“You must have had a hard time because of Hanbyeol, right? Since the kid lived like a wildling in the mountains, he must have had problems with interpersonal relationships and all sorts of things. He’d never hung out with anyone his age besides me… though I’m not really sure I count as his age group. Anyway, thank you so much for getting along so well with our kid!”
Sin Seora, having gotten out of the van, bowed politely to me and Yeon Haneul.
She was cheerful and had a rough-and-ready impression, just like in the game.
Personally, I wondered if she hadn’t helped shape Gang Hanbyeol’s personality in many ways.
Having lost his arm and his family, he had been in despair at the world until he was taken in by Seo Jeongjin, the Tugwi.
He must have gradually been influenced by Seo Jeongjin, with whom he lived, and by Sin Seora, who visited from time to time.
In fact, the short prologue had also exuded such a nuance.
‘So that’s why Hanbyeol likes… no, likes Seora noona. To Hanbyeol, who must have gone through such a difficult time, that noona must have looked like a savior.’
It was a pity for Gang Hanbyeol that Sin Seora herself didn't seem to notice.
I comforted him inwardly and spoke to Sin Seora, who had her head bowed.
“Please don’t do this. We’re the ones who were helped by Hanbyeol, aren’t we? Right, Haneul?”
“Yes, that’s right. Hanbyeol is such a kind and good kid. So please raise your head, unni.”
“Ah, really? That’s unexpected for Hanbyeol…. And speak comfortably. Hanbyeol and I talk casually, so what’s the big deal. I’m speaking casually to you two right now too. Please don’t feel awkward.”
“Really? I’m more comfortable that way too, so I’ll speak casually.”
“Yeah, me too. Unni, thank you.”
Saving Gang Hanbyeol’s face was only right as a friend.
Yeon Haneul and I praised him, getting Sin Seora all excited.
Meanwhile, he, who had been suddenly belittled by her, looked displeased.
“I’m not some social misfit. Are you trying to make me sound weird?”
“What, are you sulking? But it’s because you’ve racked up so many sins…. Obviously you must have picked fights with people left and right, taking after the Tugwi-nim. What do you expect? The rumors say as much too. I got a feeling the moment people pointed at you calling you a plunderer on the way here.”
“Kuk…. Still, I don’t just go around snatching things like Master does, okay?”
“Yeah, from the perspective of the person being robbed, you’re all the same.”
Gang Hanbyeol and Sin Seora exchanged banter back and forth.
As they did so, both of their faces were filled with clear enjoyment of each other.
Anyone could tell they were on good terms.
Yeon Haneul and I snickered.
‘Anyway, I wonder what Seora noona’s status window looks like.’
In the game, I hadn’t been able to see Sin Seora’s status window because she couldn’t be recruited into Gang Hanbyeol’s party.
But in this world, it was different.
I focused on her pupils and brought up the status window in my field of vision.
[Personal Information]
Name: Sin Seora (Female · 21)
Epithet: Maestro of Divine Artistry
Affiliation: Sin Jongho’s Workshop
[Held Gift]
Psychometry (Psychometrist)
[Physical Abilities]
Stamina: 51
Strength: 54
Endurance: 43
Agility: 60
Mana: 58
Luck: 50
Remaining Points: 0
Her stats were quite decent even though she hadn’t attended the Academy separately.
She was at a level where she could work as a Hunter without difficulty if she put in a bit of effort.
‘Agility, Mana, and Luck are quite high.’
In this world, Agility coexisted with the Agility and Dexterity attributes.
Here, Agility made the body lighter, heightened reflexes, and governed nimble movement.
And Dexterity governed handiwork, such as allowing one to handle weapons well.
Therefore, the reason for Sin Seora’s high Agility could be explained by her occupational characteristic of crafting armaments.
Her Mana was likely for the same reason.
Since one had to know how to handle mana well to craft high-value armaments.
As for Luck….
I supposed it was likely related to armament crafting success rates.
‘But what is Psychometry?’
It was a Gift unmentioned in the game.
I decided to check the detailed information.
[Psychometry]
◆ Gift Classification
—Automatic Activation Type
◆ Detailed Effects
—Consumes mana to read the memories of a target in direct contact. (However, the effect does not apply to living targets.)
—Increases understanding of the target depending on condition.
‘…So it was this kind of Gift.’
It seemed like a fairly useful Gift for someone like Sin Seora who crafted armaments.
Perhaps her Gift was the secret behind why she boasted a 100% crafting success rate in the game.
Because to craft good armaments, one needed to understand the crafting materials.
‘Soul stones are materials that require deeper understanding than any other. With Seora noona’s Gift, I can trust her even more with this.’
I couldn’t help but grow more expectant of Sin Seora.
But that emotion seemed to be perceived differently by Yeon Haneul and Gang Hanbyeol.
“What? Is Seora unni pretty?”
“Gyeonu? You better keep your promise.”
“….”
Yeon Haneul pinched my side hard.
Gang Hanbyeol glared at me with his eyes wide.
Under the gaze of both, I quickly apologized.
“Alright, I said alright. I won’t look. I just won’t look, okay?”
* * *
We couldn’t take out the Puppet Maiden’s soul stone right in front of the training hall where people were openly coming and going.
To avoid attention, we took Gang Hanbyeol’s van and moved to a deserted place.
“Wouldn’t it be fine here since we’re far from the Geumgangje area?”
“I suppose no one would come all the way here unless they had business.”
The place Gang Hanbyeol had driven the van to was a parking lot permitted for Academy staff.
Student-owned vehicles were not granted access.
However, we were able to enter smoothly without access restrictions at the parking lot entrance.
It was thanks to registering Gang Hanbyeol’s vehicle as a Shield business vehicle following Do Sieun’s advice earlier.
‘It’s also thanks to Hanbyeol being close with the Chairman, so the Chairman used his discretion.’
Soon, Gang Hanbyeol found an empty spot and parked the van.
As soon as he turned off the engine, I asked Yeon Haneul,
“Haneul, since you never know, please set up barriers to ward people away and soundproof barriers around us.”
“I’ll add one that blocks presence as well, deploying a triple-layered barrier.”
It seemed like overkill, but we had to be thoroughly vigilant so that the energy contained in the Puppet Maiden’s soul stone wouldn’t leak outside.
Thanking Yeon Haneul, who had spread the barriers, I took out the box containing the soul stone from my pocket.
When I opened the box, the soul stone inside revealed itself, emitting a brilliant light, and at the same time, an intense energy radiated from it.
“This is the Puppet Maiden’s soul stone.”
“…Amazing. I grew up under my grandfather since I was young, so it wasn’t rare for me to see soul stones, but this is the first time I’ve seen such a beautiful one. As expected of a Sixth Demon’s soul stone. Highest grade, no… even the highest grade would only diminish this soul stone’s value. Absolute highest grade. This is more than worthy of that value.”
“Seora noona, is there even such a grade? It’s my first time hearing of it….”
“No. I just made it up right now because I had no other way to express it.”
While Gang Hanbyeol climbed over to the back seat.
Sin Seora looked into the box on my lap and exclaimed repeatedly.
So excited by the soul stone, her eyes sparkled, her mouth hung open, and she leaned her body toward me.
It seemed like she might collapse at this rate.
“Can I take it and look at it myself? I’ll handle it without scratching it.”
“I was planning to entrust it to you from the start, so go ahead. Take it and examine it comfortably.”
“Thank you so much!”
Sin Seora shook her tied hair vigorously and carefully reached out to lift the box containing the soul stone.
Then, returning to her seat and leaning back, she held the soul stone and explored it this way and that.
“I’m going to look into its memories now, so even if I don’t move, please leave me be. I can’t have my concentration broken.”
“Got it, we will.”
Sin Seora, having asked for our understanding, soon manifested the mana within her body.
With her eyes closed, she groped the soul stone with her hand.
She was reading the memories accumulated in the soul stone with her Gift.
We stood guard, watching over her in case something went wrong.
Some time passed, and she opened her eyes.
“I nearly had my mind devoured. This is why soul stones are so tricky to handle. Especially since the owner of the soul stone is a Sixth Demon, it was even more so.”
“Are you okay? I have a hat that clears the mind, do you want to use that? No, just use it quickly.”
“Where did you get something like this? Hmm… from the Heartland, I see. It’s embedded with Clear Mind. Thanks, I’ll use it well. I was already feeling uneasy because my mind felt contaminated, so I should refresh my mood.”
Sin Seora looked mentally exhausted.
Then Gang Hanbyeol took out the Magical Silk Hat for her as she rubbed her eyes.
Wearing the white magician’s hat, she soon showed a cheerful face, as if she had sorted out her emotions.
“This effect is pretty good. Makes me want it.”
“Want me to give it to you?”
“No, it’s fine. It’s yours, why would I take it?”
At the Academy, Gang Hanbyeol’s image was mainly portrayed as an evil spirit obsessed with stealing others’ belongings.
Watching Gang Hanbyeol trying to give Sin Seora anything he could, the corners of my mouth twitched upward.
It was a scene where I could glimpse his feelings for her.
‘Do I act like that toward Haneul too….’
When I glanced sideways at Yeon Haneul sitting next to me, she too seemed happy watching Sin Seora and Gang Hanbyeol.
Noticing my gaze, she glanced at me and smiled.
It was then that Sin Seora changed the subject.
“Sorry. I ended up chatting about random things. Returning to the soul stone story, I was able to learn what kind of providence is imbued in the soul stone using my Gift.”
“What kind of providence is imbued?”
“Hmm… Should I say it’s a providence that consumes mana to create spider threads? Of course, they’re not ordinary spider threads. They’re extremely tough and strong…. Haven’t you experienced the performance of the spider threads while fighting the Puppet Maiden? No need to ramble on about it; just think of it as being able to use the Puppet Maiden’s spider threads.”
“That’s a providence useful in combat.”
In the game, armaments made from the Puppet Maiden’s soul stone had her skills imbued randomly.
Among them, I recalled several skills related to spider threads.
Most were binding-type skills, but….
‘In this world that isn’t a game, it means they can be used in various ways without being tied down to just one method….’
The electric current control skill of the Guncheong Sword was a prime example.
Therefore, the providence contained in the Puppet Maiden’s soul stone would surely be very useful.
‘The problem is what vessel, what form of armament, to contain the providence in….’
Depending on the armament, the scope of utilizing the providence could increase or decrease.
Also, it had to harmonize with the armaments I currently equipped.
‘First, since I have the Guncheong Sword, a sword is out. Bracelets, rings, brooches, and the Hongjo Sua are out too….’
What armament should I make?
I needed to consider it carefully.
Afterward, I discussed with the three and chose the most effective armament.
“Since this soul stone’s value is considerable, the other materials going into its production won’t be trivial either. But don’t worry. I’ll handle this on my end.”
“Is it really okay?”
“That’s right, noona. Shouldn’t you at least receive money from Gyeonu?”
“Why would I take money? Rather, you’re entrusting a Sixth Demon’s soul stone to me when I don’t even have that much experience yet, so I should be the one paying you out of gratitude. So I’ll cover the other material costs as a token of thanks.”
“If you put it that way, I’m grateful. Thank you, noona. I’ll be counting on you.”
“It’ll take time until completion. About one to two months? I should also service Hanbyeol’s Machine Arts while I’m at it. I’ll need to stay in Academy City during that time, but do you know of a good workshop with guaranteed security? My grandfather’s workshop exists, but there’s no one there right now, so there might be security issues.”
“Then I’ll ask my clan. There should be a workshop under the Regulus Clan.”
At Sin Seora’s statement that she planned to stay in Academy City while making my armament.
Gang Hanbyeol’s lips stretched from ear to ear.
* * *
The first day of the Geumgangje, which would last for five days, had passed.
Geumgangje, day two.
Given a break, Cha Eunsol looked around the festival with Min Arin and Go Eunbi, who were free at the same time.
“Guys! There are top blades over there! Let’s go play top blades!”
“I wish every day was a festival. Then I’d attend classes diligently, yum….”
“Hmph, talk some sense. More importantly, how much are you eating? It’s not like you have a black hole in your stomach…. Are you going to get sick doing that?”
Up ahead, students were wielding top blades directly by infusing them with mana, engaging in matches.
Go Eunbi, her interest piqued, dashed straight to the booth.
The black rabbit headband on her head shook this way and that like real rabbit ears.
Meanwhile, Cha Eunsol and Min Arin’s steps were slower than Go Eunbi’s.
It was because Cha Eunsol stopped at every booth lined up along the road, as if determined to taste the food from every single one.
Min Arin, in the position of having to stop her, broke into a cold sweat each time.
“Yum, yum. The chicken skewer is delicious.”
“Eunbi is waiting over there. Stop eating and let’s hurry up already.”
Cha Eunsol bit into the golden-brown grilled chicken and scallions together.
Min Arin, shorter than her, grunted as she pushed Cha Eunsol’s back from behind.
She didn’t bother resisting and followed Min Arin’s lead.
It was while they were walking that she stopped.
“….”
“Huh? Why aren’t you going? Don’t tell me you want to eat something again!?”
Min Arin stomped her feet.
Cha Eunsol paid no mind to her huffing and puffing in anger, and turned her head in one direction.
Her gaze went to a person passing through the bustling crowd.
The old man was wearing white clothes.
‘Who is he?’
He was too far to make out clearly, but he was an utterly ordinary old man with nothing special about him.
But strangely, he felt out of place.
The feeling was unpleasant.
It was intuition.
‘Should I follow him and look at his soul, or not….’
Cha Eunsol worried, unable to tear her eyes from the direction the old man had disappeared.
Soon, she reached a conclusion.
“Too bothersome, I won’t do it.”
“Hey, you aren’t even listening to me properly, what do you mean you won’t do it?”
She didn’t want to get tangled in pointless matters.
Such was Cha Eunsol’s sentiment.
I Became the Mid-Boss’s Childhood Friend