HG Ch 22
by Luna<22>
Of course, Yoon Iseo didn’t just throw Eunho into hell without warning. He was sly. He always acted cold and indifferent unless he had something up his sleeve. Only then would he pretend to be kind to Eunho.
“Joo Eunho.”
“Yes?”
“Where is it? The talisman that came out after defeating the Chang-gwi.”
Even though it wasn’t the first time, Eunho still fell for Yoon Iseo’s tricks far too easily.
“This one?”
Eunho took the worn talisman made of rough hanji paper out of his bag and waved it lightly. The talisman, made of traditional Korean paper, fluttered limply with each motion.
“Yeah, that one. Tear it.”
Yoon Iseo gave the instruction in a calm, matter-of-fact tone.
“…What?”
Why tear it? Did he know how hard it had been to get? Eunho’s shin still ached from getting kicked by the Chang-gwi while obtaining it. He immediately raised his head.
“When are you going to tear it?”
He lowered his head again. The moment he saw Yoon Iseo’s serious, no-nonsense expression, any rebellious impulse in him faded like a spark smothered under a wet rag.
“I was just about to.”
Was he really supposed to tear it? Wouldn’t that destroy the item? He couldn’t even remember if something like this had happened in the novel.
After hesitating, he finally ripped it. A small part of him thought, If this goes wrong, Yoon Iseo, being max level, can take responsibility.
Still, he only tore off the corner at first, which earned him a scolding from Yoon Iseo again. With a sulky expression, Eunho tore the talisman in half with both hands.
At that moment, light burst from the talisman. The light instantly transformed into a translucent system window.
| [Main Quest: The Prophecy Book Wandering the Village (In Progress)] [SYSTEM] You observe the talisman found in the Chang-gwi’s lair. [SYSTEM] This is a sealing talisman. |
Eunho brightened.
“Oh! As expected of someone at max level! Tearing the talisman triggered a quest.”
He was about to say, “Give me a sec to read this,” and focus, but Yoon Iseo spoke in a disinterested tone, “Don’t bother reading it. We’re busy, just skip through it.”
Skip through it?
His protest came out before he could stop himself.
“No, what if the author hid a secret message in the story or something? How can you just carelessly skip it?”
“Then go ahead and skip it diligently.”
“You seriously sound like an old man when you nitpick like that.”
When Eunho criticized him, Yoon Iseo gave a dry smirk.
“I’m naturally gifted at using age as authority, you know.”
“What authority? Just wait a second, I read fast, okay? I swear I can finish this in three seconds.”
The moment the words left his mouth, Yoon Iseo crossed his arms. His pretty lips parted smoothly.
“3.”
“Come on, don’t be childish.”
“2.”
“…Time out! Time out! Fine, I get it, just start the count over!”
Fumbling in the air, Eunho pressed the “Next” button.
| [SYSTEM] Have you heard of the hermit who lives in a thatched cottage in Seoraksan? He’s a famous Taoist said to cultivate spiritual power by drawing on the mountain’s energy. This talisman appears to have been made by him. It might be the one that sealed the Chang-gwi… [SYSTEM] Could this be the reason the Chang-gwi suddenly appeared in the once-quiet Jirisan? [SYSTEM] Let’s go find the hermit and uncover the truth. |
Saying he could read it in three seconds was, of course, nonsense. He’d started examining each word like an archaeologist studying an artifact before snapping out of it. At least five minutes must have passed. He grew nervous about facing Yoon Iseo, who was standing behind him. This was the guy who actually started counting down when he said “three seconds.” He was probably keeping track of every second over the limit.
Maybe I should’ve said three minutes instead.
Only after the system window disappeared did Eunho hesitantly turn to look at Yoon Iseo. He braced himself, wondering just how annoyed his expression would be as he glared at him.
But to his surprise, Yoon Iseo was simply watching him quietly, like someone long used to waiting.
“All done?”
Yoon Iseo tilted his head slightly, leaning in. The distance between them shrank.
Bright white sunlight streamed down, tracing every line that made up Yoon Iseo. A man who seemed to shine as if he were the only one in the world. His gaze was locked on Eunho without a hint of distraction.
It felt strange. Somehow, this moment seemed oddly familiar. Like something he’d seen countless times before. Familiar enough that his hand almost reached out instinctively to gently brush the corner of Yoon Iseo’s eye, his earlobe, or the edge of his cheek.
What… was that?
Eunho suddenly froze in place.
“I asked if you’re done reading the script.”
Crack.
A jarring noise echoed in his head like something had snapped. Snapping back to reality, Eunho quickly swallowed the words he’d been about to say.
“Ah…? Ah, yeah.”
…What kind of ridiculous thoughts was I just having?
“Then move already. We don’t have time.”
What was with someone like that, who rushed others, being the same Yoon Iseo who’s used to waiting?
Eunho shook his head as if to clear his thoughts. “I’m coming!” he said, then followed behind Yoon Iseo, consciously moving his mouth to scatter his lingering thoughts.
“Anyway, it’s a main quest. Hyung-nim, do you even know where that thatched cottage is on Seoraksan? That’s where the hermit’s supposed to be.”
“I know. We’ll go later.”
“Later? You were just grilling me about wasting time, and now we’re going later?”
“We’re short on time, so we need to be efficient. I thought we’d start with something you like.”
Something I like?
As Eunho blinked in confusion, Yoon Iseo kindly clarified.
“The basics.”
* * *
He narrowly dodged the resentment-filled attack of a jet-black wraith. Something came flying toward his midsection. Eunho raised his weapon to block it, then quickly bolted to widen the distance.
“Help! There’s a person trapped in here!”
But of course, there was no one to save him. He had to survive on his own. He reloaded quickly and opened fire. Even one missed shot could mean getting hit. His eyes were burning from the sheer focus.
| [SYSTEM] You have gained 21,300 experience points. [SYSTEM] You have gained 24,120 experience points. |
Eunho was desperately clearing out the swarming wraiths all around him when—
“What’s all the commotion?”
Yoon Iseo appeared out of nowhere, covered in a mass of clinging vengeful ghosts. There was no telling where he’d even gathered all of them. No, to begin with, does any MMORPG game even allow this kind of free-form mob-pulling? This had to be stopped immediately. Do the developers even know what they’re doing? If this keeps up, veteran players will start exploiting it by kiting high-level monsters into low-level areas and killing off newbies, and what then?
This didn’t seem like a well-balanced MMORPG at all.
“You asked for a carry. I’m giving you one.”
“How is this a carry?! Since when does a power-level carry make the low-level guy suffer?!”
“If you don’t like it, then get to a higher level.”
The swarm of vengeful ghosts clinging to Yoon Iseo suddenly turned toward Eunho. The grotesque motion, with countless backs of heads turning into faces, made him recoil in horror. Perhaps his hands were trembling from the shock.
Isn’t aggro supposed to be drawn to the strong ones? Why are they coming after the weakest one—me?
Even the aggro system here was weird. The ghost swarm, which had been attracted to the max-level Yoon Iseo, instantly switched targets the moment they spotted Joo Eunho. There was no mercy in this system. Just pure, cowardly aggression.
But such was life. Cruelty made survival easier. Just like that mob of monsters gang-attacking with ruthless efficiency.
Eunho, who desperately wanted to be just as ruthless, cried out in despair.
“Nyaa-ruined game!”
Still, what choice did he have? With them swarming in from all directions, standing still meant getting killed. Gritting his teeth, Eunho fired back, practically in tears.
| [SYSTEM] You have gained 21,900 experience points. [SYSTEM] You have gained 24,900 experience points. |
What on earth was going on? In a game where 70 was the max Spiritual Power, he’d gone from 57 to 63 in just two in-game days. What was this, a pro-gamer boot camp? If you forced someone suffering from gaming addiction through something like this, they’d quit cold turkey and swear off games for life.
“Enough already! I’ve leveled up plenty. Let me do the main quest now!”
He didn’t even have time to reload anymore. Desperate and pushed to his limit, Eunho swung his gun wildly like some savage from a pre-civilized era.
“It’s more efficient to grind up to 65 and then tackle all the main quests at once.”
“Then help me!”
“If I help, you won’t get any EXP because of the level gap.”
“Someone save me!”
“You were throwing a fit about wanting a carry earlier. You’re really hard to please, you know…”
Beyond the tidal wave of monsters, Yoon Iseo stood there with a relaxed, vacation-like expression, as if he were cooling off at the beach.
“Lovely Yoon Iseo!”
“You flatter me.”
Eunho was too distracted bickering with Yoon Iseo to notice when—thud—he took a direct hit to a vulnerable spot. His body, still haunted by memories of the Chang-gwi attack, tensed up instantly.
However…
Did that… kind of hurt less than expected? Or is it just my imagination?
Maybe his defense stat had gone up from leveling?
| [HP] 332 / 3490 |
“Aaaaugh!”
The moment he checked his health bar, Eunho abandoned all thought. He didn’t have the luxury to think. If he died and had to reset, he’d have to go through this hell again!
His face went ghostly pale as he called upon every god known to man. With trembling hands, he lit the fuse once more.