Chapter 171.

There was no sun in Prestige and, consequently, no day and night . When Rachel woke up, it was around 8 a . m .

Inside [English Royal Court Guild’s Hideout], Rachel was the only one awake . The other six members of the Royal Court guild were still asleep, which spoke to how tough their previous day was . After buying their citizenship the day before, they had spent the rest of the day hunting undead monsters .

Together, they hunted 157 Lv . 1 undead and 78 Lv . 2 undead .

Almost 30% of this was Rachel’s achievement . Her light elemental ‘Lux’ had performed greatly .

“Huu… . ”

They made 375TP, and since they still had enough of Kim Hajin’s deer meat to last another week, they didn’t need to spend money on food .

As such, Rachel felt refreshed even though she felt a bit sore .

Rachel stretched and opened the Community .

—Does anyone want to go down to the 2nd floor to get food?

—The food situation here is hell . Fuck, how can they call this place a residential area?

—Argh – . – I can’t go down because I already bought my citizenship . Fuck, don’t buy the citizenship, everyone . It screws you over if you want to go back down .

—I made a [group] for an undead hunting party . Click on the link to join or ask questions .

Many Players were expressing their dissatisfaction in the Community . However, Players on the 2nd floor wouldn’t know anything about it, since the Community couldn’t be used on mission floors .

Rachel scrolled through the angry posts looking for useful information . After a few minutes, an interesting post caught her eye .

[There’s a Lv . 3 longsword being sold outside the inner wall . ]

There was a screenshot attached to it as well .

—Brother and sister NPCs are running the shop . This shop looks like an important one . It’s selling items Lv . 2 and above .

The post even contained a list of items being sold at the shop .

Lv . 3 Decent Steel Longsword

Lv . 2 Red Crystal Axe

Lv . 2 Bear Leather Jacket

…

After looking through the list in a daze, Rachel found herself rummaging through her pocket .

“Oh, this place got famous real quick . ”

A guild member’s voice rang out from behind her .

Rachel was startled but turned around pretending to be unfazed .

“…Do you know about it?”

“Yes . ”

It was Devel, a male member who was four years older than her . Because of his handsome appearance, he was quite a celebrity in England .

“I think this post went up two days ago . But even the cheapest item in that shop is 700TP . We can only watch for now . ”

“Ah…”

Rachel let out a dry cough and glanced at her inventory .

Lv . 3 Gargoyle’s Leather Armor .

‘Was it a waste to buy this…? N-No . It was thanks to this armor that I couldn’t be hurt by undead monsters . ’ Rachel quickly got rid of the doubt in her heart .

“First, let’s eat . Wake everyone up . Today will be just as busy as yesterday . ”

“Yes!”

Devel quickly woke up other members while Rachel began to cook Kim Hajin’s deer meat on a frying pan . She sat around the frying pan with members who just woke up and ate breakfast .

“Thank god for this . Without it, we would have been screwed . ”

“We’d either be starving or buying the Player Shop’s emergency bento box . ”

“Vice-leader, I have the utmost respect for you . ”

“…It’s nothing . ”

Because the deer meat came with a Lv . 2 Satiety effect, eating just a little bit was enough to make them full . Since it was also delicious, no one had any complaints . In fact, they were extremely grateful to Rachel .

“Oh right, will those two be okay? They’re both magicians, and it didn’t look like they brought any food . ”

One member suddenly asked about Aileen and Yi Yongha, who left them yesterday .

“They should have food . ”

Rachel spoke firmly .

“They asked me if I learned the Dismantling technique . ”

—Kid, did you learn the Dismantling technique?

Rachel replayed Aileen’s child-like voice .

“…Dismantling technique?”

“Yes . ”

To obtain the Dismantling technique, one needed to ‘properly’ dismantle a monster with their own hands . Since Aileen and Yi Yongha would have never experienced such a thing on earth, the Dismantling technique was likely hard for them to get .

“I think they have monster corpses in their inventory . It wastes a lot of space, but the inventory can fit one or two corpses . ”

“Oh… as expected of vice-leader, you have great insight . ”

Speaking of the devil, a system alert popped up .

[Player WorldsStrongestMagicHero sent you a friend request . ]

From the nickname, Rachel could guess who it was . For now, she delayed accepting it .

“After we’re done eating, why don’t we go visit this famous shop?”

“…Pft . ”

Other members began to laugh .

Rachel narrowed her eyes and glared at them .

“…Why are you laughing?”

“Nothing!”

“Forming a close relationship with a shop is very important, you know . ”

“…Yes, of course, let’s go! Get ready, you guys!”

**

For two days, I spent time with Evandel . I went to Disneyland in America along with Haeyeon and Hayang, toured Michelin 3-star restaurants, and personally watched how far Evandel’s spirit magic progressed .

To expand on this, Evandel’s growth was exponential . Though I’d have to exaggerate ever so slightly… her ghost army could likely fight Shin Jonghak on even grounds .

“You’re leaving her with me again?”

After having fun without regrets, I returned home .

Yun Seung-Ah visited me, saying she had something she wanted to say .

“…Yes, I don’t really have any other choice . ”

Evandel was sleeping soundly on my lap .

I stroked her head and smiled bitterly .

“Evandel didn’t cause you any problem, did she?”

“Not at all . She even helped me do laundry when I said she didn’t need to . Oppa adores her too . ”

“…That’s great to hear . ”

I breathed a sigh of relief .

“But um… I think we’re going to sell this place soon . ”

Yun Seung-Ah brought up something concerning .

“This one too?”

“Yeah, I don’t think Oppa’s work is going well either . I came to say that . ”

“Ah… . ”

“But don’t worry about Evandel . I’ll take good care of—”

“Then I’ll buy it . ”

“Her…”

In an instant, Yun Seung-Ah’s eyes widened in shock .

“I’ll buy your house, and you can keep living here . It’ll be my way of paying you back for all the trouble I caused . You don’t need to pay rent or anything either . ”

“Erm… you’re that rich? It’s expensive to live around here, you know . ”

I simply smiled .

I haven’t been checking my account recently with all the mercenary work I had to do as Fenrir and preparing for the Tower, but when I checked today, I jumped in surprise .

5% of Essential Armory’s stocks, 15% of SH Agency’s, 15% of Essential Pharmacy’s, and other stocks of Essence of the Strait’s businesses… Just the ‘dividend’ I got from them came out to 30 billion won . With how much I made as Fenrir, that amount jumped to 50 billion .

“As you know, I’m Fenrir . ”

“But still, bullets are expensive . This apartment is crazy expensive too . We refused to sell it at first at even 13 billion, but we only decided to sell it because we were offered 20 billion . ”

20 billion won for a 165~200 square meter apartment . Although it might sound expensive, it was understandable considering that Seoul was the safest place on Earth . In fact, the cost of living in Seoul would only go up as time went on .

“I can buy it, so don’t worry . Is this why you haven’t been looking well?”

“Me?”

Yun Seung-Ah smirked .

“I’m fine . Even if I don’t have a house, I can just sleep in my office . The problem is, well… the entrance ticket . ”

“The Tower of Wish entrance ticket?”

I tilted my head .

“Yeah, those things are no joke . Do you know how much they’re going for right now?”

I didn’t . Even if I did, they would have surely changed by now .

“Green tickets are 200 million each, yellow tickets are 400 million, oranges are 700 million, reds are 1 . 5 billion, and black is practically a blank check . ”

“Then…”

My face darkened as well .

I suddenly had a bad feeling . If Yun Seung-Ah couldn’t get a ticket for Suho…

“We wanted to enter the Tower too! Those damned loan sharks!”

Yun Seung-Ah slammed her fist down on the table .

“I don’t know how, but they found out about every ticket we obtained and seized them!”

At the same time, my heart sank .

But my brain spun quicker in urgent situations . It was a skill I gained from working as a mercenary .

Thankfully, I quickly came up with a solution .

With the Book of Truth, I should be able to find one with one day of hard work .

“You don’t have any left?”

“…Haha, who do you think I am?”

But it seemed that wasn’t necessary .

Yun Seung-Ah grinned and held up her index finger .

“I have one . Plus, it’s the best ticket you could get, the black ticket . ”

“Oho… I’m glad . That’s for Suho, right?”

“Yeah, that’s the least I can do for him . ”

I breathed a sigh of relief .

After entering the Tower, Kim Suho should find one hidden piece after the other and become Creator’s Sacred Grace’s wings .

“Oh, before I go…”

I checked my Gift .

===

▷Young Dwarf’s Dexterity

[Intermediate rank] [Illusion-attribute] [Evolving – grade-7] [Growth EXP: 3%]

===

As I thought, it didn’t revert back .

As long as I didn’t die in the Tower, I was able to return to Earth with newly synthesized Gifts and improved ranks .

Anyways, to think that it would be intermediate-rank at just grade-7…

It might even reach Master rank at grade-1 .

“…Before you go back, what?”

“Oh, um, I have a gift for Suho . With a black ticket, you can bring up to three equipment with you into the Tower, but I doubt Suho’s equipment is top-class . ”

“… . ”

Yun Seung-Ah flinched, feeling guilty .

Currently, Kim Suho should only have Misteltein . Normally, guild members’ equipment were sponsored by the guild, but Creator’s Sacred Grace just wasn’t in a situation to provide top-class equipment .

“W-We can still provide low-intermediate rank artifacts… like a wrist protector . ”

Low-intermediate rank artifacts .

I laughed lightly and looked at my hand .

The modern era’s new descendant of the dwarven race . With this Gift, everything I make would become an artifact to last the ages .

In fact, I had ordered a couple of items as soon as I arrived in Korea .

‘High-intermediate rank grade-1 Mountain Tyrant’s leather’ and ‘suppressed magic stone’ .

With these, I should be able to make an item rivaling an intermediate rank artifact .

“…Uh, okay, if you say so . Ah! I just got called in! I’ll see you later!”

Called in at 11 p . m . , Yun Seung-Ah ran out of the apartment .

Koong, kwang .

The sound of footsteps rang out a few times, then the world became quiet .

“Nnng…”

Evandel tossed around, seemingly bothered by the noise . I carefully picked her up and placed her on the bed . Then, I sat down at the edge of the bed .

“Huu…”

A silent room, flowing time, and a ticking clock .

Looking down at Evandel sleeping soundly, I suddenly thought of Boss .

“…I hope she’s doing okay . ”

I didn’t know why Boss overlapped with Evandel .

But I knew what kind of a life she lived . Perhaps, I knew more about it than anyone else .

Obviously, it was because I was the one who created her background story .

A child who walked a path of sadness and pain more than anyone else, hated by everything in the world, a monster who grew up being betrayed .

Although she was suppressing the monster within her by abandoning her name… there were just too many things in this world I didn’t know .

I opened the Book of Truth, a mysterious book formed with magic power .

Using all 4 streaks of Stigma, I asked .

“Tell me Boss’ past that I don’t know about . ”

However, the Book of Truth was incapable of revealing even Chundong’s past .

[…You do not have enough Stigma . ]

Was it because a person’s past contained too much information? Or was it simply because 4 streaks of Stigma were incapable of handling it?

“Between January 1st, 2020, and January 3rd, 2020, tell me what Boss was doing and where . ”

[…You do not have enough Stigma . ]

It was the same .

“What do you know?”

This time, 0 . 1 streaks of Stigma was consumed . That wasn’t even a question…

[Everything . It is your ability that is lacking . ]

“…I guess you’re right . ”

I didn’t have much to say to that .

Scratching my neck, I closed the Book of Truth .

**

Next day, early morning .

It was time for me to go back to the Tower .

I knelt in front of Evandel who came to see me off . However, she refused to look at my eyes .

“I’ll be back soon . ”

Facing the floor, she didn’t say anything . She was hugging a rag doll that I made that looked just like me .

“Evandel?”

“…When are you coming back?”

When I asked again, she asked back with a trembling voice .

“I’ll come back in a month . ”

“… . ”

Evandel pouted and shook her head . Then, with a tiny voice, she expressed her sadness .

“…Earlier . ”

Something rose up from the bottom of my heart . Did my parents feel the same thing when they were raising me?

I embraced Evandel tightly .

“Okay . You can order anything you want to eat and have fun with Hayang and Haeyeon . Before you know it, I’ll be back . ”

“… . ”

“There are sandwiches and hamburger patties in the fridge, so you can eat those too . Ask Haeyeon’s parents to cook the patties . They’ll be great . ”

“…Un . ”

Our long yet short hug ended, and I stood up . Hayang walked up to Evandel as if to console her . Hayang scratched Evandel’s leg . She seemed to be telling Evandel to do something .

Evandel was on the verge of tears, but she didn’t cry and waved her hand .

“…Come home safe . ”

“Yeah, I’ll be right back . ”

With that, I left the apartment .

But before going back to the Tower, there was one more person I had to meet . She was someone I didn’t need to visit myself .

When I came out to the front of the apartment, a limousine was waiting for me . Its window went down, and Yoo Yeonha peeked her head out .

“You’re really back . ”

I smiled and sat down next to her . Yoo Yeonha stared at my face fixedly, then suddenly asked .

“…Did you cry?”

“No . Anyways, you must really be busy . You’re working even when you’re in a car?”

I glanced at the documents sitting on the table inside the limousine .

“I’ve been driving around a lot because of our businesses and the matter with the Tower of Wish . ”

“Mm . Oh right, here . ”

I handed her a plastic bag .

“…What is it?”

“A handmade burger . I just made it and brought one for you in case you were hungry . ”

“… . ”

Yoo Yeonha blinked her eyes . It looked like she was thinking about what to say . After a brief moment, she nodded and took the bag .

“…I haven’t had time to eat proper food lately . Thank you . ”

The smell of hamburger rose up from the bag . Yoo Yeonha peeked into the bag and swallowed her saliva . From the way she licked her lips, it was obvious how much she was looking forward to eating it .

“Anyways, how are things going inside the Tower?”

“I’m doing fine, but your informants probably won’t come out . TP is extremely important in the earlier stages . They won’t have any to spare . ”

“I heard . The return ticket is 1000TP and the re-entrance ticket is also 1000TP, right?”

I nodded and stretched .

“Yeah . Aaah~”

“…Um, the Tower is one thing, but…”

She peeked at me and carefully brought up another topic .

“It’s… about that furniture . The chair you gifted me . ”

“Oh, the chair? It’s amazing, right?’

“… . ”

Yoo Yeonha nodded silently .

“I was just thinking, um, if the maker also makes other furniture, I’d like to ask him to make me a bed…”

“You liked it?”

“…Yes . ”

Yoo Yeonha muttered quietly .

Did she think she was the loser if she liked something?

“So um, can you ask him?”

“I can, but it’ll be expensive . ”

“…Oh? How much is it?”

As she asked, she crossed her arms as if there wasn’t anything she couldn’t buy . It was a look worthy of Seoul’s queen .

“A billion, I guess?”

“That’s nothing at all . If the bed is the same quality as the chair—”

“But it’ll be a used bed . ”

“…Eh?”

“It won’t be a new one . ”

I didn’t have time to make one for her . A bed was the hardest furniture to make . Even at my current level of skill, I needed at least half a day to make one .

However, I could send her the bed I use . Since I planned to make a new one with Dwarf’s Dexterity, I didn’t mind too much .

“A used one?”

“Yeah, I can give you the one I have . ”

“…Eeeh?!”

Yoo Yeonha screamed .

“W-What, what do you mean!?”

“It’s not dirty or anything, so don’t worry . It might smell like me, but it’ll do its job . Oh, I guess it might smell like cigarettes . ”

“S-Smell…”

“But once you sleep in it once, I promise you won’t even think about other beds . ”

Yoo Yeonha’s face slowly reddened as she glared at me . It looked like she had something to say, but nothing came out of her mouth . When her face changed color from an unripe strawberry to a tomato on the brink of exploding…

“Are, are, are you crazy—?!”

She screamed loud enough to shake the entire limousine .

However, I only shrugged leisurely .

“I mean, I can’t just whip out furniture of that level in a flash . ”

“…B-But you can just tell me the maker’s contact address . ”

“The maker doesn’t have time . Don’t worry, the bed is clean . ”

“… . ”

Yoo Yeonha looked anguished . I could practically see the internal conflict she was having .

“Huu… okay . So, where is this bed?”

She finally came to a decision .

I grinned . If a clean freak like Yoo Yeonha wanted it that badly… well, I guess she was just really tired from all her work . Objectively speaking, my bed worked wonders on the exhausted body and mind .

“Just tell me the address you want it sent to . I’ll handle it . ”

Evandel would be surprised if I gave her the one in my apartment, so I decided to give her the one I was using in Chameleon Troupe’s hideout .

“…I’ll pay for it immediately . ”

“Okay… Oh, but that wasn’t why I wanted to meet you . ”

I put on a serious expression once again .

I ended up off-topic because of the bed .

“I want to ask you for a favor . ”

“…A favor?”

“Yeah . ”

The request I had for Yoo Yeonha was rather simple .

The Book of Truth didn’t tell me anything about Chundong’s past . I tried to investigate it on my own, but it was too hard for me to do alone . Chundong was too much of an extra, an almost dust-like existence .

“You know that I’m an orphan, right?”

“… . ”

When I asked, Yoo Yeonha’s face turned cold .

She stayed silent for a moment, then replied quietly .

“…I do . ”

“It’s related to that . I’m wondering, kuhum, what happened to my biological parents . To be more exact… I want to know how they died . ”

Chundong’s biological parents were dead . That was the one thing I could find out about Chundong from the Book of Truth . Even that took 3 streaks of Stigma from me .

“I need you to investigate for me . I don’t think I can do it alone anymore . I don’t have the time either . ”

“… . ”

Yoo Yeonha didn’t say anything . She was looking down and taking deep breaths .

Because her hair was longer than before, I couldn’t see her face either .

“But well, it’s not a number one priority . I’m asking only because I’m curio—”

“Okay . ”

She suddenly interrupted me . Raising her head, she looked straight into my eyes .

“I’ll give it my best . ”

She looked determined yet hesitant .

Her eyes were firm, but her fingers were wriggling nervously on her knees .

Looking at these conflicting parts of Yoo Yeonha, I nodded .

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