YuWon had made a great show saying he didn't need anyone when he left the auditorium. But now, standing outside, he found himself in a situation where he definitely needed help.
Going back to the auditorium for help was not an option. Besides, even if he returned, he doubted anyone but Soo-Ah and Min-Joon would be of some use, thanks to their unique skills.
Maybe Yeji could help—no. Not her.
Just then YuWon came up with a plan. It was risky, and he had no clue if it would work, but it was worth a shot. Thankfully, he had already set a checkpoint, so even if things went wrong, he could respawn and try something else.
As YuWon entered the building again, he was surprised to see Yeji arguing with Hoon and a few others. But before he could hear what they were talking about, they saw him and immediately became silent.
YuWon looked at Gina behind him and wondered if he should order her to kill Hoon. It wouldn't be difficult, and it wasn't like he cared about the opinion of those around him. But he shook that thought out of his head.
No. Not yet. Besides, I'd need more cannon fodders to fight the monarch. Once it is dead, I can deal with Hoon myself.
While he was lost in his thoughts, Soo-Ah and Min-Joon noticed him and ran towards him. However, they stopped when Gina jumped in front of YuWon, baring her teeth and claws at them.
"It's fine Gina," YuWon said, patting her head. "You don't need to be worried about them."
Upon hearing his words, Gina retracted her claws and stood by his side like a model wife. Soo-Ah looked at Gina with unease.
It wasn't surprising. After all, they had spent hours killing goblins and now they were supposed to accept her? Even if she looked human, she was a monster and Soo-Ah was worried about YuWon moving around with her.
Meanwhile, Min-Joon kept staring at Gina. To him, she was no different from any other attractive woman, despite being a goblin. Soo-Ah noticed his gaze and promptly smacked him on the back of the head.
"Snap out of it," she muttered, glaring at him.
"Ow... are you sure you're a necromancer?" he replied, caressing his head. "I thought they were supposed to be weak."
"Keep running your mouth and you'll find out who is weak," Soo-Ah replied, making a fist.
Min-Joon gulped down the words he was about to say. Even if he hadn't known her for long, he knew better than to argue with Soo-Ah when she was in one of her moods.
Once done, Soo-Ah turned her attention towards YuWon and asked, "Did you hear about the region boss?"
"Yeah, that's why I'm here," YuWon commented. "I need your help."
"That's great!" Min-Joon exclaimed. "I'll leave you two to discuss your plans and... take my leave—"
As usual, he didn't want to fight an unnecessary battle. But before he could slip away, Mickey poked his back with the sword, as if reminding him that running wasn't an option.
"When I asked for help, I meant both of you," YuWon commented and Min-Joon sighed.
"Fine, I'm in."
YuWon nodded, but then noticed everyone's gaze on him. Following his fight with Hoon, they must have realized he was stronger than most of them, if not all.
They probably wanted to join him for a better chance of winning. But knew better than to ask shamelessly for his help after everything they had done. However, YuWon didn't like their eyes on him.
"Let's get out of here first," he suggested. "We can talk somewhere else."
Yeji watched YuWon, wanting to call him over to join their larger group. But she hesitated. He had made it clear that he didn't want to work with them, so there was no point in trying to convince him.
She kept her mouth shut, watching as YuWon disappeared with the rest of his group.
***
Slowly, the group approached the spot where YuWon had killed the Hobgoblin. All the while, his attention was solely on Gina, watching her every move.
When they turned and came face to face with the corpse, YuWon wondered if seeing her dead father would trigger some kind of emotional response in Gina.
But to his surprise, she didn't seem much affected by it. She just walked over to the corpse, kneeled down, and closed her eyes as if praying for her father.
When Gina finished, she stood up and resumed her place by YuWon's side as if nothing happened. He looked at her, searching for any sign of sadness or anger.
After all, she had once severed his head by mere implication of her father's death. But now she seemed eerily calm. Noticing his gaze, Gina smiled up at him before shaking her head.
"I already told you," she said, as if reading his mind. "You're the only one who matters to me, husband. No one else."
"Are they for real?" Min-Joon whispered in disbelief. "They look like a couple out of some drama series."
Soo-Ah was equally stunned, but for a different reason. When YuWon had referred to Gina as his partner, she had assumed they were merely working together. Only when she heard Gina call YuWon her husband did she realize the relationship the two shared.
"...maybe I should find and get married to an elven prince," she mumbled.
"Yeah… it's possible if you were the last female on the planet." Min-Joon commented, ignoring Soo-Ah's sharp gaze.
After patting Gina's head, YuWon turned to Soo-Ah and asked, "Resurrect it."
The request really caught Soo-Ah off guard. She looked at Gina, unsure if it was the right thing to do. But she was worried about nothing.
"You should do as my husband asks," she said, without even looking at Soo-Ah.
YuWon couldn't help but smile at the way Gina emphasized the word husband. As if she was worried Soo-Ah would steal him away from her.
Soo-Ah didn't wait and stretched out her hand. However, unlike the last time, nothing happened.
"What's wrong?" YuWon asked when Soo-Ah failed for the eleventh time.
"I... don't have enough mana," she replied.
Of course, she doesn't.
YuWon realized his mistake. The last time when Soo-Ah raised Skullee she was already level 10. However, that wasn't the case this time. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough time for them to raise her level.
"It's fine," he said. "We'll figure something out later—"
However, just then Gina walked up to Soo-Ah and gently took her hand. The gesture confused Soo-Ah, while Min-Joon cursed himself. If only he had chosen a class like the necromancer, he would be holding Gina's hand.
YuWon loudly cleared his throat while side-eyeing Min-Joon, who immediately turned around as if he wasn't thinking about Gina.
"Try again," Gina urged Soo-Ah.
Soo-Ah nodded and gave it another shot, this time with Gina's support. Immediately, she felt a surge of mana rushing into her body. A moment later, Skullee was back. But something was different this time.
Instead of being a simple skeleton like before, Skullee had absorbed the dead goblins around it, forming a skeletal armor over the main body. But that wasn't all.
Resurrected skeletons would usually only bow down to their master, but Skullee turned and bowed before Gina. It surprised everyone but Gina and she smiled at YuWon.
"Father wants to thank you," she said, playing with her hair. "For accepting me, and he demands at least seven grandchildren as dowry."
"We've got what we need. Time to leave." YuWon quickly replied, and he turned to leave without answering.