Editor: Stomatopoda, Nets,
The treasures he took from the Dragons a long time ago had, unfortunately, not been returned yet . This was largely because the Dragons feared and avoided Cheol-ho .
Many of the treasures were destroyed when fighting the Devil, reduced to unsalvageable scraps of metal . Only a few remained functioning .
For example, this .
Cheol-ho touched the necklace slightly . The necklace was silver . It was called Mana Road, so named for its ability to sense and measure nearby magic density .
When mana was detected, it gradually changed to a turquoise color, the hue depending on the mana concentration . In short, if you go near a dungeon the turquoise colour would gradually become visible .
“Hmm . ”
The heavy gate in front of him was a dungeon . The mana concentration in the dungeon was also very high . Sure enough, the Awakening Society members had firm control over the area .
Cheol-ho headed towards the dungeon .
Strangely, no one saw Cheol-ho . Perhaps there was no one in the world who could catch Cheol-ho when he didn’t want to be found . One of the six classes that Cheol-ho mastered was stealth . Mastering the stealth class allowed him to move around all but invisibly . Cheol-ho slid between the busy, hurrying workers, and grasped the situation from their chatter .
‘It’s a mine . ’
There were times when a magic stone mine was discovered . Literally, it was just a mine with piles of magic stones and practically no threatening monsters . Finding one was like winning a lottery .
Of course, Cheol-ho was not interested . If the people in this world used this magic stone mine properly, they would be able to make great progress in a short period of time .
However, everything had its risks . First, it was a dungeon .
There were many changing threats in a dungeon .
For example, as what happened with Kim Man-ho, the god of Food, cracks in the dimension could rarely appear . Dangerous hidden bosses may be summoned through them . In addition, under the damage of the crack, the terrain of the dungeon itself would also change .
However, there were quite a few able awakeners in this world .
It shouldn’t be a big problem for them to overcome these issues .
A familiar face was walking along on the other side of the work site .
It was Kim Sang-hu and his other team members . They were trying to enter the dungeon in search of new equipment .
Machangsa had at least 30 team members with him .
Oh, he could see Kim Man-ho over there too .
They slowly entered the dungeon gate .
“Hello . ”
“Oh, welcome . ”
The man had been looking for a restaurant for quite some time .
“I’d like a beer please . I don’t need any side dishes . ”
This man only drank beer .
Even though he was skinny, his eyes were fierce . He was quite tall, with a slender figure . He was the first-class awakener with the nickname Gearwalk .
Not long ago .
It was a festival day . After visiting the restaurant with Shadow Cat at the height of the festival, he used to come back every night . Gearwalk was a simple young man .
He couldn’t believe he was a first-degree awakener .
He looked about twenty-two years old, but Cheol-ho didn’t ask his age . He loved to drink, and would down ten beers in a row before returning home .
He didn’t say anything in particular, although he always looked like he was thinking over something while drinking the beer .
“Excuse me, sir . ”
However, that night was different .
“Yes?” Cheol-ho answered .
“What should I do to look good in front of a woman?”
“Oh?” Cheol-ho asked back with a tilt of his head . He soon realized the gist of the question .
“Ah . ”
Huh .
This was a tough job .
Cheol-ho thought about it with his arms crossed . How could he ask him that? Cheol-ho had very rarely been around women in his life . Before being summoned to this world , he had only dated one woman , and he didn’t have much experience . After being summoned to this world?
Damn it . There was no time for love when each day was a battle for survival . As a result , the years went by, a vague fear of women quietly arose, and his interest in them gradually disappeared .
He was already 60 years old . Oh god . Come to think of it, that was seriously it, right?
Now it was Cheol-ho who was agonizing under the question .
“Hmm…” Cheol-ho muttered in an awkward manner .
Gearwalk shook his head .
“Ah, nothing . One more beer, please . ”
He finished the freshly poured beer in one motion, and spoke .
“You know, I think it’s a secret . ”
Ironically it was in the newly discovered dungeon that Gearwalk first met her, and became immediately infatuated . It was about two years ago . The dungeon has probably since been taken over . It all happened when Gearwalk found something unexpected in the new dungeon . A group accompanied him for the investigation, during which a hidden dungeon boss appeared .
It was her who stepped forward then .
“Strong women are my ideal type . Strong women are attractive . I don’t know what more to say . A strong woman is cool and beautiful . Another beer, please . ”
Cheol-ho quietly agreed . He also had a crush on a strong woman . When you think about it, it was sentimental .
She was the softest, most beautiful, and yet strongest woman Cheol-ho had ever seen . Sometimes he still thought of her .
‘…Good-bye, Miro Lycas . ’
Her final words with him still lingered in my ears . Thinking about it somehow broke his heart a little .
“Anyways, I’ve had a crush on her for a long time . I’ve never had an answer . ”
“What do you mean, ‘no answer’?”
“She’s very chic, very cold . But ugh, she’s charming . ”
“…”
This man’s troubles were interesting .
Come to think of it, this was what worried people in their 20s . It was not saving people, or saving the world, but these little things . These things drove young people into a corner .
Cheol-ho inexplicably liked the man in front of him very much .
“Are you talking about the woman who came with you last time?”
Shadow Cat .
“What? Oh, no . She’s not my cup of tea at all . She’s more like a mother to me than a possible partner . I hate someone acting like my mom . I prefer women who treat me well . ”
He had a peculiar taste .
“Anyway… another beer please . ”
Gearwalk had now drunk sixteen glasses of beer . Was it okay to drink like this?
Bam!~
His head slammed on the table .
“…”
Cheol-ho crossed his arms and looked down at him . Well, the night was long . He won’t mind if he left him alone for a little bit . While Gearwalk was unconscious, Cheol-ho selected a bottle of soju from a cabinet .
Listening to his story reminded him of old times . Cheol-ho poured the soju into a glass and sipped it .
It was late .
knock, knock~
There was a knock at the door, and Cheol-ho turned his head toward the entrance . Soon, the door opened carefully .
A woman stepped in .
Was she in her mid-20s? If you looked at her for a while, you would start to see her admirable features clearly . Her eyes were thin and sharp, without double eyelids, and her smoky makeup accented her haughty charm . Her long, smooth hair fell to her waist . Cheol-ho thought her hair was nice .
“Welcome . ”
“Hello . ”
The woman was wearing high-heeled black shoes, a white sleeveless shirt, and skinny jeans . Their tight fit flattered her body . Her qualities contradicted (Gearwalk) Chae-yeon’s . Chae-yeon has a fresh and young charm, while she exuded what could be called a mature charm .
“Phew, as expected . ”
She shook her head when she found the asleep Gearwalk . Then she bowed her head slightly to Cheol-ho .
“Excuse me . ”
She whacked Gearwalk’s back .
“Ahhh!”
He woke with a cry . She leaned down over him, and whispered in his ear .
“You’ve been drinking again, you son of a bitch . ”
Swear words seemed to fit her .
“Who, who, who, who is it?”
“It’s me . ”
“Ah!”
Was it an illusion, or did Gearwalk seem to smile a little?
“Lady! What brings you here…? …hic!”
She straightened her back and hauled Gearwalk into a standing position .
“Don’t be a disgrace . Gabi told me you’d be here . ”
“Oh?”
Gearwalk frowned and pulled something out of his pocket . It looked like a simple ring, but he could feel it releasing the energy of a magic stone .
He put the ring on his index finger .
There was a roar of noise, and the tang of alcohol was strong in the air . It seemed to be a device to eject alcohol from his system .
It was certainly an innovative invention . Soon, Gearwalk came back to his senses .
“What’s going on?” he asked .
The woman glanced towards Cheol-ho .
“I’ll be going now,” she muttered .
“Didn’t you come here because you wanted to see him?”
“What do you mean?!” she snapped, addressing Cheol-ho in a blunt tone . She turned her gaze to look at him .
“How much is it?”
“Oh right, $25 . ”
“Is it that cheap? You son of a bitch, I don’t think so . He must have drunk a lot . ”
“Yes, well…”
She paid the money, and bowed her head again
“I’m sorry for the inconvenience . Please excuse me . ”
“Don’t mention it . ”
She turned back to Gearwalk .
“You son of a bitch, do something right for once . Why do you have to bother me when you go out to drink alone at night?”
She stormed out of the door, dragging Gearwalk behind her . The sight of the two of them was quite interesting . Cheol-ho stepped outside after them to better watch them walk away .
Gearwalk lurched and attempted to sling an arm around her waist . Blades shot out from her belt, protruding from all sides . One was a long knife that shook like a cobra about to pounce .
They were all aimed at Gearwalk’s body .
“As expected . ”
He could hear Gearwalk giggling .
Ah .
She must be the Blade Queen, one of the guardians . Somehow, the level of customers had gone up quite a lot recently . He didn’t really like it . Cheol-ho laughed and went back to the restaurant . He could hear all the sounds people make, including their conversations . It had been a long time since he used that transcendent physical ability, though, and he normally didn’t listen in on others .
But…
This was a conversation that he couldn’t help but listen to .
“What the hell’s wrong with you? Isn’t it unusual to call the Association?”
“…there’s a problem with the dungeon that Sang-hu went into . ”
“What? What are you talking about?”
“Sang-hu entered the magic stone mine, but couldn’t come out . Gabi went in and said the entrance was jammed with monsters . I think there’s a rift in the dimension again . It’s an emergency for the Association . ”
“Damn it . What monster is it?”
“The entrance is full of big pigs . ”
Baaaaang!~
A motorcycle rang out loudly and they disappeared into the night .
“…”
Cheol-ho sat in his usual chair and folded his arms .
Big pigs…
The big pigs lived in groups . There were hundreds of them, each led by a head boar . As their name suggested, they had the shape of a pig and were famous for being very fierce .
They also had various forms . They adapted with their surrounding ecosystem . Thus, scholars in the Esfan continent could even say, ‘We can infer the environment in which the big pigs have evolved to be…’
“Hmm . ”
Best of all–
They were delicious .