"He could've petted him more, but he left, saying he didn't have time. Our Chichi whined so much, looking super disappointed. If he could choose his own summoner, he'd probably pick Jihan hyung in a heartbeat."
The more Yoon Seo listened, the more shocked he became. He even started wondering if Jaehee was lying. Should he use
Seeing Yoon Seo openly display distrust and suspicion, Jaehee burst out laughing.
"Pretty unexpected, right? I was horrified at first too, but now I get it. Jihan hyung is a good guy. Well, except for being a fighting maniac."
[The
[Confidence: 90 : Neutral: 10 : Doubt: 0]
Yoon Seo ended up using the skill, and when he confirmed that Jaehee's words were completely sincere, he was even more shocked.
Fierce eyes, a cocky attitude, a thug-like way of speaking, and a love for fighting…. He knew better than to judge someone at first glance, but hearing that Kwon Jihan described as a good person was unbelievable.
'So Jihan being one of the "Chosen One" wasn't a Gaia System error after all.'
Kkiiing.
Too stunned to react, Yoon Seo almost withdrew his hand. But before he could, Haechi gently nudged his hardened hand with its large head.
Jaehee eagerly urged him on.
"Hurry up and pet him more! Our Chichi wants more!"
But as Yoon Seo snapped out of his daze, he finally withdrew his hand.
"You said we were going to train."
"Hing."
The big guy made the same sad whining face as Haechi. Yoon Seo was reminded of Lee Domin. That guy always pulled the same pathetic act whenever Yoon Seo refused to give in.
'But I wanna touch Spirit toooo. Let me touch it.'
'You're so creepy. That's why Spirit doesn't like you.'
'It's just because you don't like other people touching it. Spirit actually likes my touch toooo.'
He always dragged out his words like he was trying to be cute, and it made Yoon Seo want to gag.
'If it were him, he probably could've pet Haechi forever.'
Out of everyone Yoon Seo knew, Lee Domin was the kindest. And it wasn't just Yoon Seo's bias, other Revengers said the same.
They said he was too noble for this world.
Back then, whenever he heard that, Yoon Seo would get goosebumps and insist Domin wasn't that great. But the Revengers would just smile wistfully.
"I'll try hitting you with about 100 tons of force. Think you can handle it?"
"Not sure, one sec."
Suppressing the rush of old memories, Yoon Seo responded and activated
A translucent shield formed.
"Oooh."
Jaehee let out a loud exclamation.
"This is
"It's
"Ehh."
As if his admiration had been a lie, Jaehee immediately jeered in disappointment.
"Come on, Chichi could break
There were always people like Jaehee who underestimated general skills just because they weren't rare, assuming special skills were automatically stronger.
Yoon Seo didn't particularly want to give advice to someone he had just met today. But considering that Jaehee was only twenty and would be entering dangerous dungeons in the future, he figured he should at least let him know that general skills could also be powerful.
"Let's just try it first."
"I'm telling you, it's gonna break right away. Fine, I'll show you. Come over here. If the shield breaks, you could get hurt, hyung."
Yoon Seo obediently moved next to Jaehee. With full confidence, Jaehee called out to Haechi.
"Chichi, smash it with all your strength."
Kraaaang!
Haechi raised its front paw, its fiery mane flaring, and slammed it down on the barrier. A loud thud echoed through the training hall. The barrier didn't break.
This time, Haechi kicked off the ground and leaped high, crashing its entire body into the barrier. But the shield remained intact, without even a single crack.
At this point, Jaehee's eyes widened in shock.
"This… this is really
"It is."
"I've never seen
"I'm B-rank."
"Yeah, right. You're not even trying to lie."
Jaehee let out a hollow laugh.
Of course, this
Boom, boom! Haechi kept pounding on the barrier. Even after dozens of minutes, it didn't waver or crack. Eventually, with Yoon Seo's permission, Jaehee summoned additional help.
['Soo Jaehee' has summoned
[12th Demon, 51st Demon, and 72nd Demon have been summoned.]
Three demons, each with unique appearances, materialized beside Haechi in a swirl of black smoke.
"Hell yeah, strong demons this time! Wish they'd show up like this during real battles."
"Hey, demons! Go break that barrier! Show Yoon Seo hyung what you got!"
Jaehee yelled, jumping around excitedly. He really was just a kid fresh out of high school.
Yoon Seo was curious too. He had never faced the demons of
Even if it eventually broke, it would take a long time. So, he moved to sit on a chair by the wall. Jaehee, too excited, remained standing, stomping his feet impatiently.
"I'm gonna take a potion real quick."
"Go ahead."
"This isn't cheating. Potions are meant to be used."
"I know."
Jaehee pulled a mana potion from his inventory and chugged it. He even offered one to Yoon Seo, as if asking whether he needed one, but Yoon Seo shook his head.
His healing skill resistance applied to mana potions too, making them useless for him.
Boom, boom. Each time the demons struck the shield, its durability dropped by 1–3%. While maintaining the shield, Yoon Seo's mana drained constantly, but just as quickly, it replenished on its own. With a mana recovery rate over three times that of an average awakened, he had never run out of mana except when entering the Great Dungeon. Given his resistance state, that was a relief.
In the end, Jaehee had to burn through five potions before he finally managed to break
Yoon Seo had sparred with other awakened before, and he had always taken them down without much difficulty. No spear had ever pierced his shield.
'I wonder how Kwon Jihan would do.'
Once Jihan got out of the dungeon, he'd definitely come looking for a fight. Yoon Seo pondered how to turn him down while also imagining what a match between them would be like.
***
6. Yangpyeong Item Market
It had been four days since Yoon Seo joined Perfect Team 1. So far, the only person he had met was Park Soobin. The clingy couple and Alec had disappeared after the first day, claiming they wanted to enjoy their vacation. Meanwhile, Soo Jaehee, unable to sit still, frequently left for the open training ground instead of using the one inside the building, saying he needed to spar with other hunters.
Thanks to that, Yoon Seo spent his days alone in the first-team waiting room, watching dramas on the home theater, having meals with Park Soobin at the cafeteria, then watching more dramas before heading home when it was time to clock out. New dungeons were constantly appearing, and the Overflow Bell kept ringing, but no assignments came his way. It was the definition of a cushy job.
'The benefits here are even better than at The Guild of Leaves.'
Yoon Seo arranged a table with caramel popcorn, bottled water, and the knitting project he planned to work on while watching today's drama. It was 9:10 AM. In the past, he would have been getting ready for fieldwork while listening to Goh Heewon and Park Youngbum's chatter, but now he was more than satisfied sitting on a plush sofa in silence, knitting as he watched his show.
[Goh Heewon] The guy who replaced you is quick and efficient. But that doesn't mean I don't miss you, oppa, haha.
[Me] No need to miss me.
[Goh Heewon] Ugh, I really missed your cold responses.
[Park Youngbum] It's freezing in here.
[Goh Heewon] I bet your face looks totally expressionless right now.
[Park Youngbum] He's probably debating whether to leave us on read.
[Park Youngbum] (photo) Look at this. We've gotten close.
[Park Youngbum] See the arm around the shoulder?
[Park Youngbum] Someone used to freak out at even the idea of that, but the guy who replaced you is super friendly and proactive.
[Me] Great. Enjoy your time with your friendly and proactive teammate. I'll be off to watch my drama now. (photo)
[Goh Heewon] WTF, are you knitting while watching a drama AGAIN??? Do you even work???
[Park Youngbum] I'm gonna tell Seokyoung's Guild Master that Yoon Seo is slacking off.
[Goh Heewon] Ugh, I'm so jealous… I could totally binge dramas too.
[Park Youngbum] Damn it. ㅠㅠㅠㅠ I'm NOT jealous. Nope. Not at all.
Seeing all the ㅠㅠ in the old team's group chat made Yoon Seo smile.
He hadn't told anyone in The Guild of Leaves that he had joined Perfect. As far as Goh Heewon and Park Youngbum knew, after being rejected by the temporary team, he had been assigned to maintain and repair shield traps. That's what they would believe for the rest of their lives.
That is… assuming Yoon Seo won against Kwon Jihan.
'Haah.'
Yoon Seo set down the remote. His desire to watch dramas had vanished.
Kwon Jihan had returned yesterday after finishing a dungeon raid with the temporary team. Any moment now, he would challenge Yoon Seo.
There was no avoiding this fight. But should he win, lose, or make it a perfect tie? That was his dilemma.
If he lost, it would be revealed to the world that he had joined Perfect, and his peaceful, spring-like days would come to an end. Worse, if his face became well-known, fulfilling the wills of the Revengers would become more difficult.
But if he defeated Kwon Jihan, that would be the ultimate confirmation that he was S-rank.