Chapter 192.

I was driving the Dwarven Supercar through the 6th floor Splendor .

Gentle wind blew past us .

Colorful flowers could be seen everywhere, and the eyes of deer twinkled from the mountains afar .

The scenery put my mind at ease .

In this simple state of happiness, I couldn’t help but reminisce .

I didn’t know why, but the memories from a far past flickered in my head .

In my teenage years, I felt invincible with my friends by my side . I studied hard for the college exam .

Years passed, and I was in the military long before I had a chance to enjoy my life as an adult .

After I was discharged, I started writing .

Things went well, I earned some money and finally left home . Back then, I thought I had achieved everything solely on my own .

But I was wrong .

The support from my parents and relationships I had established with others over 25 years were what made me who I was back then .

Well, I spent 25 years there, and 5 years here .

How would they have changed in five years?

Was the world I lived in still the same world I knew?

A strange anxiety rose from the depths of the beautiful scenery .

“Hajin . ”

Suddenly, Boss called my name .

“…Yes?”

Absorbed in thought, I answered her a little late .

The weather was especially nice today on the 6th floor .

I felt as if I was in the center of a glittering universe .

“…”

Boss stayed quiet . The silence incited me to turn around, and I saw Boss glaring at me .

“What?”

“Where did you say we’re going?”

“Huh? I said, the hot spring… Aah~”

I scratched my head .

No wonder she misunderstood .

My mind was completely occupied with the landscape that I forgot to explain .

“I don’t mean anything strange by it . The hot spring is used for training . There, your stats go up really fast . ”

Kieeek—

Suddenly, Spartan descended and sat on Boss’ shoulder . It was quite skillful of him to catch the Dwarven Supercar at such a high speed .

“…For training?”

—Prrrr .

Spartan looked at Boss with twinkling eyes .

He seemed to be having strange thoughts again .

“Yeah . My stats went up by 2 in a week . ”

“…Really?”

It seemed Boss finally took interest .

The way she mumbled ‘hot spring, hot spring, hot spring…’ even made her look excited .

“Also, that horse is still following us . ”

Hearing her, I smiled wryly .

Just like what Boss said, Bucephalus was indeed still following us . She appeared to be speed walking and not quite running, yet her speed was equal to that of the Dwarven Supercar running at 100 km per hour .

“She’s super fast, right?”

“…”

Boss nodded in silence .

“Look carefully, and you should be able to obtain some information . ”

“…? I can’t see anything . Just a question mark . ”

“Ah, I forgot . ”

The information of a Lv . 13 creature couldn’t be viewed on the 6th floor . Players gained increased access to information the higher they climbed, and the highest level that one could access on the 6th floor was Lv . 10 . The reason I was able to view Bucephalus’ information was because of my smartwatch .

“Have you heard of Bucephalus?”

“Bucephalus?”

Boss’s eyes widened a little .

It seemed she’d heard the name before .

“Of course . She appears in the novel I’ve been reading . ”

“…I see . Anyway, that’s her . ”

“Hm? How is that possible? Didn’t that horse die a long time ago?”

“Well, I mean, I don’t know . It’s just that anything’s possible in the Tower… . ”

We continued talking and soon enough we arrived at the hot spring .

White steam obscured the view of the water sparkling like diamonds, surrounded by rocks reminiscent of emeralds .

“We’re here . ”

“Oho… . ”

The scenery was indeed beautiful enough to impress Boss .

“…!”

Boss, who had been scrutinizing the hot spring, suddenly widened her eyes . She must have received the system notifications regarding the ‘skill increase’ .

“Um… Hajin, should I go in, just like this?”

“Huh? Oh… um…”

I looked at Boss . She had clothes on: Lv . 4 Leather Armor and Robe, both of which I had made for her .

“It’s better to get undressed . Completely . ”

“…What?”

Boss frowned at me .

“Well, we’re like a family, so it’s noth-… I’m joking . Boss, you know how to put up a barrier . ”

I could sense her face turn grim, so I quickly took my words back . She didn’t know how to take a joke .

“…Barrier?”

Boss asked back in seriousness .

“Yes . Just get naked inside a barrier . The hot spring will be most effective that way . It’ll help you train your magic power . Would you like to give it a go now?”

“Hmm… Okay . ”

Boss walked into the hot spring fully-clothed . I stopped Spartan from trying to go after her .

—Pieeek…

The bird was about to throw a tantrum when I managed to cover his beak . Boss glanced back at me and Spartan, then formed a black, dome-like barrier around her . The barrier divided the hot spring exactly in half . Half for me, and the other half for Boss .

—Prrr!

I let go of Spartan since the barrier was already up .

Spartan rushed towards the barrier as soon as I set him free .

“Hey, you can’t go in anyways…?”

Swoosh—

To my surprise, Spartan penetrated the barrier with ease .

“…What?”

I tapped on the barrier as a precaution .

Tok, tok .

It was firm enough to make knocking sounds .

“…”

To enter Boss’ barrier without losing a drop of blood…so this must be the power of a divine bird .

Feeling somewhat envious of Spartan, I took off my clothes and entered the hot spring . Then I opened my inventory and went over what I had to do .

[Lv . 2 Consolidation Coupon]

[Lv . 3 Skill Consolidation Coupon]

I got these two last week as part of my reward for being the first to enter the 6th floor .

Of the two, the [Lv . 2 Consolidation Coupon] obviously had to be used to upgrade the system .

Chwaak—

I ripped the Consolidation Coupon in half without any hesitation .

[You used a Lv . 2 Consolidation Coupon . ]

“I’ll apply it to the system . ”

[Consolidating ‘Lv . 1 Extra7’s System’ . ]

[‘Lv . 1 Extra7’s System’ became ‘Lv . 2 Extra7’s System’ . ]

I raised my system to level 1 last time . Now it became level 2 .

[Your waiting room increases in size and its efficacy improves . ]

[Your inventory level increases from Lv . 1 to Lv . 2 . ]

[You can now access a wider array of information . ]

[Community…]

I quickly glanced over a myriad of system windows . Now, it was time to use the Lv . 3 Skill Consolidation Coupon .

‘Let’s see where my skills stand right now . ’

[Basic Skill List (3/3)]

[Lv . 4 Extraction and Permanent Materialization (2 slots)] [Skill Exp 55%]

[Lv . 3 Synthesis (1 slot)] [Exp 0]

[Extraction and Permanent Materialization] could be upgraded through repetitive training and was at level 4 . However, [Synthesis] was still at level 3 since it could only be upgraded with Skill Consolidation Coupons . As such, it was quite obvious which skill I should use the skill consolidation coupon on .

[Synthesis increases to Lv . 4 . ]

[You can now apply the skill in a more diverse way . ]

Just like that, [Synthesis] was now Lv . 4 .

The maximum level for a normal skill was 11 .

I was about halfway there, so now I should be able to do what I’ve been wanting to do .

“Now then… . Let’s take the ‘Hot Spring of Peace’ to my waiting room . ”

I took out the reward I got from the castle attack, the [Lv . 4 Special Chemical Activity Beaker] .

===

[Lv . 4 Special Chemical Activity Beaker]

-—Lv . 4 Property Transformation

===

As soon as I filled the 1L beaker with the water from the hot spring, ‘Property Transformation’ activated . The water inside the beaker turned into heavy liquid similar to mercury .

Then I used the [Synthesis] skill on the hot spring water .

Synthesis also had the power of compression . The semi-solid water became compressed, making extra space in the beaker .

From here, I just needed to repeat this process multiple times .

I used the beaker and [Synthesis] to gather and compress the water from the hot spring . 1L to 2L, 2L to 4L, 4L to 8L… In the end, I was left with 128L worth of spring water compressed inside a 1L beaker .

“All done . ”

I spoke with a wide grin .

Now I just had to bring this over to my waiting room . Then I’d turn the compressed water into liquid again and release it inside the mini hot spring I prepared .

To leave the hot spring as it is seemed like a waste, so this was the solution that I came up with after much deliberation . Of course, the spring water would lose its purifying ability after compression, but Stigma’s magic power could take care of that .

In any case, I was about to return to the waiting room with the beaker…

Splash—

…when the water splashed .

I looked up and saw Bucephalus splattering water with her front legs .

Splash splash

Splash splash

The water splashed all over my face .

“…”

I faked indifference and messaged Boss .

「Boss, can you help me with my training after you’re done?」

Boss 「Trauning?」

「Yup . Training . 」

Boss 「Ok . But what kind of traoning are you referring to?」

「Archery practice . And it’s training, not traoning . I’ll shoot, so all you have to do is evade . 」

Boss 「It’s a typo . 」

In addition to the Hot Spring of Peace, there were many other training grounds on the 6th floor .

For example, the Jewel Forest and the Dark King Mountain Range were nearby .

The Jewel Forest was a great place for training skills, and the Dark King Mountain Range was great for training Traits .

「But first, spend 3 more hours in there . It feels nice, right?」

Boss 「Yes . It’s good . 」

After a short pause, Boss sent one more message along with a screenshot . So she learned how to take a screenshot . Good for her .

Boss 「(Photo)」

Boss 「Lol . 」

It was a photo of Spartan splashing water . In it, Spartan was smiling like he was the happiest bird in the whole wide world .

“… . ”

For some reason, I felt bitter . Why was I jealous?

“Ku, kuhum . ”

I closed my eyes slowly and was about to share vision with Spartan… but held back .

I endured the blazing desire .

It was all thanks to my endurance stat which amounted to an amazing 7 . 207 .

**

Time flew, and Boss and I spent our time well .

Leaving aside other details, Boss restored 3 . 5 points of magic power .

As for me, I raised my Trait ‘Master Sharpshooter’ to 57% grade 5, and ‘Extraction and Permanent Materialization’ to level 5 . I also succeeded in creating a scaled-down version of the ‘Hot Spring of Peace’ in my waiting room . It wasn’t as good as the original, but it was still worth 1-2 hours of my time per day .

—Prrr, prrr .

Most importantly, after 4 additional days of playing hard to get… I finally tamed Bucephalus .

—Hiiing .

[Lv . 13 Bucephalus consents to becoming your pet!]

[This relationship can break anytime because Bucephalus’ loyalty is weak . ]

I was satisfied with the temporary ‘master and servant’ relationship between us . I had enticed her by saying I’d give her good food everyday if she became my pet .

“Boss, can you recommend me a name?”

And now, Boss only had about an hour left to spend .

I asked Boss as I stroked Bucephalus’ mane .

“Can’t you just call her Bucephalus?”

“No . That stands out too much . ”

“Hmm… . ”

Boss rubbed her chin, deep in thought .

“Kwangmyung . What do you think? Kim Kwangmyung in Korean style . ”

“…”

Suddenly, my mind went blank . It was such a weird name that I had to doubt my hearing .

“Hm . Do you not like it?”

“Huh? Ah… It’s… . ”

‘Well, I suppose it’s better than Spartan,’ I thought .

“It’s good, but she’s a girl . ”

“Ah . That’s right, a girl . Then… How about Sannuri?”

“Oh? I like it . ”

Sannuri .

It was an unexpectedly pretty name .

I asked Bucephalus for her opinion, but she didn’t seem to care about her name and simply nibbled the grain I had given to her .

“Alright, let’s go with Sannuri . ”

[Lv . 13 Bucephalus’ nickname has been set to ‘Sannuri’ . ]

[Lv . 13 Bucephalus secretly likes her new name . ]

For the record, you could park(?) tamed animals in the waiting room . I already prepared a stable with an automatic feeding machine in the waiting room as well .

“Then, I’ll see you later . ”

I said to Boss . Currently, there was a ticket in her hand .

===

[7F Ticket]

—Use this ticket to travel to the starting point of the 7th floor .

—You cannot return to 6th floor ever again after using this ticket .

===

“Okay . I’ll go on ahead . ”

Despite saying so, she didn’t use the ticket . Instead, she placed her hands on the crystal stele nearby and went down to the 3rd floor . She was probably trying to save the first-time rewards for me .

“… . ”

She was unexpectedly considerate when it came to things like this .

I stood there for a while, then turned around .

I had about 4 hours left now .

There was nothing left that I needed to do in a hurry, but there was one more person that I had to meet .

‘I wonder what he’s doing now?’

I closed my eyes and shared vision with Spartan .

Spartan was flying across the sky on the 5th floor just as I had ordered .

“He’ll be here soon . ”

I confirmed that he had arrived near the Forest of Fairies, then headed back to the Hot Spring of Peace .

I dipped my body in the hot spring that I’ve grown a little bit tired of and waited for him to arrive .

Tik, tik—

30 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours went by… .

I now had about 40 minutes left on my watch .

Rustle—

Suddenly, I felt a presence approaching behind me .

I didn’t bother getting up .

I simply sat with a smile on my face and waited for the presence to unveil .

The rustling sound grew louder, and the sound of footsteps grew more vivid .

My heart beat a little faster as the distance between us shortened .

After 5 minutes that felt like 30 minutes—

His scent finally touched my nose .

“…Oh?”

A confused voice rang out behind my back .

However, I didn’t turn around .

I leaned against the rocks surrounding the hot spring and simply grinned . I didn’t have to check to know who this person was .

“You’re here . ”

I stared at the surface of the water, which acted like a mirror and reflected his face .

A well-tended undercut and a flawless appearance .

Kim Suho looked at me with a puzzled expression on his face .

“Long time no see . ”

It was a reunion after three years .

I was glad but also a little bit nervous .

I was to face him not as ‘Black Lotus’ but as Fenrir— as Kim Hajin .

**

Around the same time, 5th floor, [Materialized Demon Realm] .

A party made up of Aileen, Yi Yongha, Jin Seyeon, and Shin Jonghak was exploring deeper into the Demon Realm .

“The executives of the demon race aren’t anything to worry about . ”

Shin Jonghak smiled as he thought about the demon whom he had pierced to death a moment ago .

“Haha, right, you were outstanding . You have the potential to become a spear god in the future… . ”

“I don’t know about that~”

Jin Seyeon played along with him, but Aileen seemed rather uninterested .

In truth, Jin Seyeon’s original plan was to travel alone .

However, when Shin Jonghak asked her to join them, she had no choice but to accept . Afterall, she owed a great debt to his grandfather, Shin Myungchul, though it happened more than 20 years ago .

“Shall we set out again?”

“Yeah, whatever . Let’s go . ”

Aileen answered Shin Jonghak, evidently annoyed .

As a member of this amazing party, Shin Jonghak had nothing to fear for . He walked with confidence . The monsters that appeared from time to time were indeed no match for them .

For one, most enemies were killed by Jin Seyeon’s arrows before reaching them .

Even if they managed to come close, Aileen’s Spirit Speech and Yi Yongha’s hellfire, and, although not on an equal level, Shin Jonghak’s spear easily destroyed them all .

“Then, let’s walk a little bit faster . ”

Shin Jonghak led the way . He felt a little strange at the fact that he was not the leader in a group, but he was satisfied enough to be just a member . It felt as if he had become a Hero of an equal degree .

They continued on for about 10 minutes .

“Ah, there’s the crystal stele . ”

Suddenly, Jin Seyeon pointed to a distance .

“Where? Where?”

Aileen widened her eyes and looked in the direction indicated .

“It’s about 3 km away, so you might not be able to see it, Miss Aileen . ”

“…You’re joking . ”

“Haha… . ”

Jin Seyeon smiled and observed the scene .

There were three robed people standing next to the crystal steles .

One of them was very tall, probably over 2 meters in stature, and had a sturdy build . Another one was slim and held a spear in his hand . The last seemed like a woman as she was wearing heels .

“… . ”

Jin Seyeon couldn’t figure out who they were . They seemed familiar enough, but she couldn’t identify them clearly . Suddenly, the largest one turned his head and looked in her direction .

“Who is it, what is it? What or who are you looking at?”

Aileen asked in a hurry .

Jin Seyeon whispered without averting her eyes .

“They certainly don’t look friendly… We might have to confront them to use the crystal stele . ”

“Yeah? Then let’s confront them . ”

As expected, Aileen continued forward without a hint of hesitation .

“Yes . Let’s go . ”

Yi Yongha, Shin Jonghak, and Jin Seyeon followed her .

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