'Now that I think about it, my summoning attribute’s cooldown time has completed.'
He smirked while looking at Balzac doing the laundry.
A third demonic monster summon…
He'd already done it twice, so he couldn't help but think about it.
'Why is it that guys from the Ernor continent keep appearing?'
At first, he wanted a kerberos; then a halcyon.
But the result was that he kept summoning beings from a place called the Ernor continent that belonged to another world. It wasn't what he expected.
'Since the second one also came from the Ernor continent, the probability of a third one being from there is high.'
If that was the case, he had to think carefully before summoning another demonic monster.
First, leaving everything aside, if he summoned Lucifer, everything would be over.
'I cannot beat that guy at the moment.'
The archdukes were strong.
They were so strong that he couldn't think of any other word than strong.
That was clear, seeing how Lucifer was considered a godly being in the Ernor continent.
'Although the probability is low.'
Lucifer wasn't a demonic monster but a demon. The probability of a demon being summoned was probably extremely low.
'But calling Echidna and Balzac demonic monsters is weird.'
Even if the probability was close to 0, if there was a chance that Lucifer could be summoned, he couldn't use it without thinking about it carefully.
Everything he'd worked so hard for could crumble instantly with one mistake.
'I cannot let that happen.'
KangWoo shook his head. Even if it were a desperate situation, summoning a demonic monster was too risky.
'Then, I'll just have to wait for the Demon Cult…'
Ring-
A bell sound rang through the house, cutting his thoughts short.
"I'll go."
"No. It's okay."
KangWoo stood up. He was closer to the door.
'Is it Chae YeonJoo?'
The only person who would visit him at such an hour was probably her since she lived close to him.
KangWoo opened the door.
"Huh?"
KangWoo's eyes widened.
As he opened the door, he saw an extremely handsome young man standing in front of him.
Among the people KangWoo knew, only one person had such an appearance.
"So you came back."
"Long time no see, Hyeongnim."
KangWoo smiled.
For the past three months, he'd strangely felt lonely, but Kim ShiHoon, his soul partner, had returned.
'It's nice to see him after such a long time.'
"I've missed you."
Kim ShiHoon hugged him.
'No, I didn't miss him this much.'
KangWoo's expression hardened. He smiled awkwardly and pushed him back.
"Hahaha. Calm down, ShiHoon."
"I heard there was a war during this time."
'Get off.'
"I'm glad… You returned safely, Hyeongnim."
'Hey, bastard, back off.'
KangWoo put more strength to push Kim ShiHoon back, but he wasn't able to do that.
'Did he eat a bull?'
It was an incredible strength. KangWoo looked at Kim ShiHoon in surprise. It was at that moment…
"Huh?"
Kim ShiHoon looked at the living room. His eyes widened.
An intense Qi burned from his inside.
Kim ShiHoon took out the sword.
"It's dangerous!"
[Huh?]
Balzac was calmly picking up the laundry in the living room, but Kim ShiHoon reacted after seeing a skeleton.
[How dare a human interrupt Balzac while picking up the laundry!]
Balzac was also someone very strong. He concentrated demonic energy on both hands and prepared to fight.
"Stop!" KangWoo shouted.
He extended his hand toward Kim ShiHoon, who was running forward, and Balzac, who was trying to counter him.
'Fuck, my house!'
The first comfortable house he'd obtained after ten thousand ears…
That place was about to be destroyed.
* * *
"Oof."
He sighed in relief.
Before the two could clash…
Kim ShiHoon was able to stop by a very narrow margin. In Balzac's case, he stopped because an order to the demonic monster activated.
"S-sorry. I didn't imagine he was Hyeongnim's summoned monster."
"No, it's understandable."
Just taking into consideration that he looked like an undead monster, it would be weird if he didn't think that.
"Leaving that aside. Did your training end?"
KangWoo looked at Kim ShiHoon.
He didn't exactly know, but there was something he was sure about…
'He became stronger.'
A smile appeared on his face. The Qi within him couldn't be compared to before.
In terms of talent, he was already in an incredible plan. What he lacked was the specs to back the talent up, but it seemed like they'd gone up quite a lot.
He wasn't sure how many levels he had gained over the past three months, but his physical specs couldn't be compared to before.
'Good.'
He nodded while making a satisfied expression.
Kim ShiHoon's growth had another meaning compared to other people.
It didn't matter how much stronger other people became, from KangWoo's point of view, they were getting strong enough to be able to defend themselves.
But there was a chance Kim ShiHoon could become stronger than Echidna or Balzac.
The possibility was real, seeing how much stronger he'd become in just three months.
"No. I wasn't able to reach the place I was aiming for."
'What a greedy bastard.'
He'd made him like that, but he felt proud.
KangWoo drank the coffee Echidna had brought him and spoke.
"Then, why did you return?"
It probably wasn't because he 'missed him.'
"…"
* * *
There was a short silence.
KangWoo tilted his head while looking at him with a hard expression.
“Someone came searching for me while I was training."
"Someone came?"
"Yes. It was a person wearing a white mask."
KangWoo narrowed his eyes. There was one possibility he could think of.
"The Guardians?"
"Haha."
Kim ShiHood nodded while laughing.
"As expected of Hyeongnim.'
"I can't think of anyone else trying to search for you."
Kim ShiHoon was a Guardian—beings of which there were less than ten members of all around the world.
There was no way they would leave someone as important as him alone.
"Yes. A member of Guardians came searching for me."
"Hmm."
"It was someone Hyeongnim also probably knows."
"Hmm? Didn't you say that person was wearing a mask?"
"After I said I had no intentions of talking with someone who doesn't show their face, they took off their mask."
Kim ShiHoon smiled bitterly.
KangWoo nodded while his eyes shone. Considering how Kim ShiHoon was, it was an appropriate response.
"Good. So, who was it?"
"Grace McCarbin. Hyeongnim, you've heard about her, right?"
"Ah…"
KangWoo let out a short exclamation. There was no way he hadn't heard about her.
The First Lady, Grace McCarbin…
There probably wasn’t a single player that didn’t know of her.
The first and strongest player…
The main reason the United States was still the strongest country…
Listing all of her achievements would probably require quite a few A4 papers.
'So she was a Guardian.'
It was understandable.
Leaving KangWoo or Kim ShiHoon aside, she'd grown at an incredible pace.
It was understandable if the reason behind that growth was her talent as a Guardian.
'She might be stronger than the rumors.'
There was quite a lot of detailed information regarding Grace McCarbin because there were many records of her fighting against monsters.
But among those, there wasn't anything about her being a 'Guardian.'
That meant she'd hidden her relationship with the Guardians on purpose.
Then there was a chance she was stronger than what the rumors stated.
'How fun.'
KangWoo's eyes shone with interest.
After he reached 120 in a stat, he thought there wasn't any player stronger than him.
But after hearing that Grace McCarbin was a guardian, his thoughts changed a bit.
'That's good news.'
The basic goal of the Guardians and KangWoo was the same.
As long as it wasn't someone crazy like Alec, they could stay perfectly as allies.
It was good news hearing that the allies were stronger than he expected.
"So what happened after that?"
"She suggested that I join the Guardians."
It was something he'd expected.
"I said I'd think about it since I wanted to ask your opinion."
"Well done."
KangWoo smiled. He'd dealt with the matters as expected.
"Then, is Grace McCarbin in Korea at the moment?"
"I'm not sure about that, but I told her about you, and she asked if you could also come. She seemed to be interested."
"Good. Did you get her number?"
"Instead of a number, she told me how to meet them."
"How to meet?
KangWoo tilted his head. Kim ShiHoon stood up.
"Follow me. I'll guide you there."
* * *
KangWoo told Han Seol-ah, Echidna, and Balzac to stay at home, and then he followed Kim ShiHoon to the rooftop of the building where KangWoo lived.
Kim ShiHoon opened his mouth after taking a glance around.
"Here seems good."
"What are you planning to do?"
"Wait a bit."
Kim ShiHoon took out an artifact that was the size of a fist. A blue light came out of it.
He threw the artifact on the floor.
Clack Bzzt-
"Woah."
The artifact opened, and a white gate that a person could cross appeared.
'It reminds me of a science fiction movie.'
KangWoo smirked. He began walking along with Kim ShiHoon.
The two people crossed the gate.
"Here…"
It was a white space. The ceiling, walls, and even floor were shining with white light.
He saw a door at the end of a passageway.
Click-
He opened the door.
A white room appeared; there was a giant circular table in it.
There were two people at that table.
'One is Grace McCarbin.'
KangWoo turned his head.
She was a blonde woman who seemed to be in her mid-forties. It was the Grace McCarbin he'd seen through pictures several times.
'The other person is…'
A woman sitting in a wheelchair.
Her light-brown hair reached her waist. She was so thin that you couldn't help but think she'd break if you weren't careful.
Her skin was pale as if she were sick. The white dress she was wearing made her look even sicker.
The woman, who seemed to be in her mid-twenties, had her eyes closed.
"Nice to meet you."
She opened her mouth with her eyes still closed.
"My name is Gaia."
