The Legendary Adventurer, Kim Sung-tae!
“Whoa…… Isn’t that guy the one from the rumors?”
“His description matches, but no way. There’s no reason he’d come here……”
“Maybe it really is him, just like the rumors say……”
“Ugh. Let’s go somewhere else.”
“Ooh, is that the adventurer?”
“That adventurer showing up here? This is big news!”
Sung-tae could sense the atmosphere turning strange. The adventurers avoiding him weren’t just scared—their eyes mixed disgust and terror, like they’d spotted something filthy.
Most of those glares came from female adventurers, while the men shot back looks of envy, surprise, respect, and curiosity, smirking all the while.
What the hell. Seriously.
The stark difference in reactions killed any desire Sung-tae had to approach them. Not that anyone would’ve let him anyway. Even now, as he headed for the guild, both the admiring and the disgusted adventurers slunk away without coming near.
What rumor has spread about me?
The only thing adventurers might know was that he’d gone off with Leo to defeat the Demon King. He’d never done anything else involving them, so how had word spread to provoke this?
He racked his brain for any adventurer-related incidents, but aside from his first time in the human world, nothing came up. So it must’ve stemmed from then. And the person he’d spent the most time with back then was……
Did Leo say something weird about me?
Sung-tae pegged Leo as the sole source. Nothing else made sense for starting rumors about him. But hadn’t Leo called him “senior” and followed him with ironclad trust? Sure, you never really knew people, but Leo didn’t seem the type.
No, she wouldn’t do that.
Blind trust was bad, but so was excessive suspicion. The Leo he knew wouldn’t badmouth him or spread gossip. So why were the adventurers shunning him like this?!
“Hoo. No clue.”
The worries spiraled endlessly with no answers. He wanted to grab someone and demand what the rumors said, but he tabled it for later and headed into the guild.
“This is it.”
“This commission looks pretty tough.”
“Party members wanted! Recruiting adventurers for an A-rank quest!”
“Here you go. Commission fee of 150 gold, paid right away.”
“S-rank! Any S-rank adventurers here? We’ve got an urgent job!”
Stepping into the Adventurer Guild hit Sung-tae’s group with a wave of chatter. True to form, adventurers swapped stories about quests and monsters, while those just back from jobs dragged their battered bodies around, exhausted.
In that clamor, Kim Sung-tae appeared. The moment he did, the indifferent adventurers started exchanging glances and fell silent one by one.
……It got quiet.
If it’d been quiet from the start, fine—but shutting up the second he walked in felt like he was being ostracized. Irritated like a king outcast, Sung-tae strode boldly to the receptionist.
The receptionist wasn’t much different. Stuck by duty, she just trembled at her desk like a frightened lamb.
“W-Welcome. A-Are you here to take a commission?”
“No. Here to update my rank. Mind not judging me on sight?”
His bruised mood still raw, Sung-tae snapped curtly, shoving his badge forward.
“Here. It’s ‘C’-rank, but there must’ve been a mix-up. How do I get it re-evaluated?”
“J-Just a moment to check……”
The receptionist reached for the badge to inspect it closely. But her hand shook like a lamb before a wolf, nowhere near touching it.
Impatient, Sung-tae pushed it closer—making her shriek and bolt.
“N-Nooo!!!”
“……”
He knew he wasn’t popular with women. Back on Earth, he’d barely dated. But this blatant flight was a first, wounding him deeper than mere offense.
“Sorry about that. She just got married, so it’s not that she hates you, Sir Kim Sung-tae. Let me apologize on her behalf.”
“……Fine.”
Another receptionist—a man—bowed in apology. But the scar on Sung-tae’s heart wouldn’t heal.
If you hate me, fine—but running off because she just got married? What the hell?
“Badge confirmed. It really is you, Kim Sung-tae.”
“Hey. Did I do something wrong? What do people think of me?”
A cornered beast turns fierce. Sung-tae lobbed the straight question at the receptionist, scanning the room. The female adventurers had vanished; only men remained, eyeing him with complicated looks. A few still shone with envy.
“You really don’t know? As the Kim Sung-tae from the rumors, that reaction from women is only natural.”
“What did I do!! What the hell?!”
“No, not exactly wrong…… Hmm. Depends on perspective…… Can’t give a straight answer.”
The receptionist glanced up with subtle eyes. Sung-tae fell silent amid the complexity, but a few envious adventurers approached, speaking for her.
“Hey, you’re really Kim Sung-tae?”
“Yeah, that’s me! So what’s the rumor making everyone act like this?!”
“Ooh! It really is Kim Sung-tae! You look just like the rumors—I was doubting!”
They gawked like celebrity spotters. One finally gave the answer he craved.
“The legendary playboy who took down the Saintess!”
“……What?”
“Not content with marrying the Saintess, he knocked her up in days, then snatched custody and ditched her—the bad boy Kim Sung-tae!”
“On top of dumping the Saintess, he’s shacking up with a beastkin—the legendary philanderer Kim Sung-tae!”
“W-What?!”
“And after all that, he’s still revered by the Saintess and priests—the legendary conman Kim Sung-tae!”
“W-Wait…… Uh…… Wh-What……”
“Tell us the story. How’d you pull it off? Oh, of course……”
He’d gotten his answer, but his brain couldn’t process it—Sung-tae stammered. Then the adventurers landed the killing blow.
“You’re…… not quite human. How do you even show your face?”
＊＊＊
“Nice room, my lord.”
“Yeah…… It is……”
Two large beds in a spacious room. The lodging provided by the Adventurer Guild in Leblanc, the adventurers’ city, was bigger and better than anywhere else, offering real comfort. It’d cost a fortune elsewhere—dozens of gold—but the occupant was S-rank adventurer Garba. A-ranks overflowed here, but S-ranks were rare enough for free rooms.
“Haa.”
“My lord……”
Sung-tae lay on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. He lacked even the will to update his rank. Garba’s heart ached at his listless eyes.
She recalled the guild receptionist scene.
—Making her give birth in three days? How?!
—What? Three days? That’s not it at all.
—Gasp! Not three days—then one?! See? I told you! No exaggeration!
The rumors about Sung-tae were humiliatingly distorted. Not content with impregnating the holy Saintess who served God, he’d somehow made her give birth in three days. The child, born of her holy power, grew into a beautiful genius girl in a single day.
—But where’s the kid? The one you stole from the Saintess?
Absurd already, but worse followed. Sung-tae had snatched the child to raise himself, then vanished. Ditching his wife and stealing her baby—a shameless husband. And word was he’d dumped her for a beastkin woman.
Ultimately, his image boiled down to one phrase.
“Haa…… Not a legendary playboy—a legendary trash……”
“Don’t let it get to you, my lord. Rumors aren’t reliable.”
No one had clearly witnessed what he’d done. It started simple: God’s incarnation came down, had a child with the Saintess, and the child ascended as an angel.
Not exaggerated, just misunderstood—but true enough that if it’d stayed that way, he wouldn’t be so crushed.
Rumors thrive mouth-to-mouth, spiced with excitement and imagination. Even written tales bloat with hype and lies; spoken ones lose accuracy faster, piling on vague “facts,” edited for thrills over truth.
Priests and adventurers didn’t mix well either. Priests healed with holy power but also spread God’s love and faith. To ordinary folk, fine—but adventurers risking death against monsters? An unproven God sounded like priestly delusions.
If God existed, why monsters? A merciful God made horrors to slaughter humans?
No one said it outright—better not piss off healers when you might need them.
Holy miracles impressed Earthlings into faith, seeing Sung-tae as divine. But this was a fantasy world of mana, monsters, Demon Kings, heroes. Holy power was just another force. No one had seen God since Saint Country Barnessa began—not like verifiable heroes or kings.
Adventurers dismissed priests from the start, pegged Sung-tae as human, and twisted rumors around him into this mess.
“Aah. Should’ve acted with more dignity.”
Sung-tae berated his carelessness. Flaunting divine majesty early might’ve sold the “incarnation” rumor. Spilled milk now. No ‘C’-rank got seen as God’s avatar—adventurers prized strength. Even a real god at ‘C’ was just a noob.
“Feels like my strength’s draining……”
“My lord.”
Nothing hurt like watching a revered figure crumble. Garba, eyes burning with fury at the mocking adventurers, headed for the door.
How dare they insult my lord!
Mana surged from her. Room items shook like in an earthquake; nearby objects shredded under her sharp aura.
“Garba, stop.”
If she’d gone, adventurers would’ve died gruesomely. But Sung-tae halted her. Still in bed, he sighed away his woes, sat up.
“No need. You stepping in would just make rumors worse.”
Already trash-tier; her involvement would explode it. Killing? Aside from murder, they’d say the bullied Sung-tae sicced his girlfriend without dirtying his hands. Scaring them? Same result.
“I’ll handle it myself. They’ve underestimated me too much.”
His eyes blazed—anger, regret, resolve forged.
Adventurers’ smirks lingered. Their “respect” was boredom-killer toy-spotting after quests. Priceless playthings for idle times.
To them, ‘C’-rank Sung-tae was a conman who’d scammed the Saintess and priests—powerless, perfect for tormenting.
“Planning to attack this place, my lord?”
“Nah. No need for that. I’ve got experience. Who do adventurers grovel to?”
Recalling his first village, Sung-tae loosened the power tether to his armor. They bowed to the strong. People did, but adventurers had tiptoed words at first sight of his strength—till Leo stole the spotlight.
“Hoo.”
His excited heartbeat, envisioning what came next, shook the building.
“Weak to the strong, strong to the weak. That’s adventurers for you.”