The Armor Finds Its Master
It had taken a staggering 21 years to create the Yeon Ga Full Armor. Five years just to conceive the idea and design it, and more than ten years to gather the materials.
He'd never dreamed of handing such a blood- and sweat-soaked item to another soul—let alone giving it away for free.
He had no regrets about this decision.
For the entire Yeon Family, it would bring profits dozens, hundreds of times greater.
Tomorrow, Yeon Un-jae would summon the family members and make his declaration. The Yeon Ga Full Armor had departed to find its rightful master. And a genius had appeared who had mastered the Cheon Noe Byeok in a single day.
Regrettably, that genius was not of the Yeon Family—a fact he would state unequivocally.
If anyone wished to reclaim the Yeon Ga Full Armor for the family, they should hone their skills and challenge Kim Jun.
Then the entire family would transform. No longer competing among the family's middling talents, they might even unite against an outsider.
In that instant, Yeon Un-jae found himself gripped by a single question.
Why had Yeon Jong-ho chosen today of all days—when Kim Jun was immersed in training—to visit the Yeon Family?
Having joined a team, he should have been deep in training.
That meant Choi Min-su must have granted enough rest time for him to return to the Yeon Family.
What an uncanny coincidence.
If Yeon Jong-ho hadn't descended to the Bukmyeong Hall, if he hadn't witnessed that face twisted in hatred, Yeon Un-jae likely wouldn't have decided to let the boy don the Yeon Ga Full Armor.
He sensed the hand of design behind it all.
Not Choi Min-su. Unlike his reckless youth, the man was wise now—but his style was utterly different.
Then?
Yoo Wan-seop!
Kim Jun's visit here must have been Yoo Wan-seop's doing. Yoo Wan-seop had likely maneuvered Choi Min-su to set this plan in motion.
Yeon Un-jae glanced at Kim Jun.
With an innocently guileless expression, he remained focused on the Cheon Noe Byeok.
'As expected, he knows nothing. Truly Yoo Wan-seop. A scheme you can't resist even knowing it's a trap. I've learned a real lesson.'
At that moment, a loud gurgle echoed through the room.
Kim Jun placed a hand on his stomach, his eyes pitiful—like a starving beggar wearing his face.
Yeon Un-jae burst into laughter.
Bang!
The King Snake's tail lashed straight at Pink Team, but the two tankers retreated only about a meter, their defense formation holding firm.
The radiant barrier conjured by Kim Jun—the second tanker and team leader—faded swiftly.
The two dealers behind them unleashed a barrage of magic at the King Snake. Fireballs and Ice Arrows couldn't slay it, but they were plenty to drive it off.
"King Snake fleeing to 11 o'clock."
Main buffer Yeom Sang-taek reported. It had escaped his detection range.
Choi Muhyun shot a glance at Kim Jun.
"You good?"
"...Nah."
Kim Jun replied to his steadfast friend.
He raised his left hand. His middle finger was bent backward. The sheer force of the impact had snapped it.
Sa Yeonggyo hurried over, popped it back into place with a sharp crack, and cast a healing spell.
"Let's take a break."
Choi Muhyun said.
"Yeah."
Kim Jun agreed.
Pink Team logged out.
Outside the simulators, Choi Muhyun eyed the pod Kim Jun had been in.
Kim Jun had gone missing yesterday.
The guild house had erupted in chaos, only learning later he'd gone to the Yeon Family to master tanking skills. Go Cheolmin's frantic call had prompted Choi Min-su to casually say, "Oh, that?" and spill the details.
Under Go Cheolmin's pressure, Choi Min-su phoned Yeon Un-jae.
They learned Kim Jun had trained with the family head all afternoon and into the late evening, enjoyed a lavish meal, and was still honing his skills in the Bukmyeong Hall.
Only then could Pink Team breathe easy.
Go Cheolmin had even called Kim Jun's mother to explain everything.
As expected of Kim Jun, Choi Muhyun thought.
But even for him, picking up a practical tanking skill—one viable in real combat—in just a day? Impossible, he'd been sure. He planned to advise measured training upon his return.
That advice never came. Kim Jun had pulled an all-nighter at the Yeon Family.
Thank goodness. He'd have regretted that boneheaded counsel forever.
As Kim Jun emerged from the simulator, Sa Yeonggyo—waiting nearby—handed him a towel.
He wiped the sweat, murmuring thanks.
Choi Muhyun had thought he knew the guy better than anyone, but in this moment... he looked like a genuine monster.
Mastering the Cheon Noe Byeok in one day!
Lately, the gap between Kim Jun and him felt wider than ever.
Like Kim Jun blazing ahead in a sports car while he huffed and puffed on a bicycle, chasing desperately.
He wanted to beat him more fiercely than ever.
Not with Moon Shadow Cannon tricks, but head-on... with pure skill.
Yeom Sang-taek offered a bottle of water.
"Thanks."
Choi Muhyun forced a grin.
"I'm so embarrassed I wanna die."
Yeom Sang-taek whispered.
"Why?"
"...Why am I the main buffer? Talk to the team leader. With Sa Yeonggyo here, how can I be main buffer?"
Choi Muhyun actually laughed this time.
"What'd Kim Jun say?"
"He says I'm the main buffer."
"Then you are."
"Hey!"
Yeom Sang-taek was dead serious.
Choi Muhyun got it. Sa Yeonggyo's official addition to Pink Team hadn't been announced, but once it leaked, everyone would scrutinize him.
How amazing must Yeom Sang-taek be to relegate Sa Yeonggyo—the Association President's granddaughter—to second buffer?
Great expectations bred great disappointments.
That's what gnawed at Yeom Sang-taek.
Choi Muhyun would face the same soon enough.
Interest in him—the guy who'd bumped Kim Jun to second tanker—would skyrocket too.
At his growth rate, Kim Jun would surpass him as a tanker in no time. If Kim Jun dominated in tanking power... there might be no room left for Choi Muhyun in Pink Team.
"Let's grab a drink later. Just us."
Choi Muhyun said.
Yeom Sang-taek stared at the tanker in surprise.
Now that he thought about it, they'd never drunk alone.
"...Sure."
Then Go Cheolmin approached.
"Choi Muhyun, a word."
"Yes, Master."
Choi Muhyun headed to the master room.
Go Cheolmin closed the door and sat opposite.
"Surprised, huh?"
"...By what?"
Choi Muhyun flinched but played it cool.
"Kim Jun. Nailing Cheon Noe Byeok in a day. I was floored—you must've been wrecked."
Busted. Choi Muhyun went silent.
"This stays between us. Leak it, and Kim Jun's in danger."
Choi Muhyun looked up at his master. No clue what was coming, but it involved Kim Jun.
Go Cheolmin spoke in a near-whisper.
Choi Muhyun listened intently.
His heart thundered. He never could've imagined that happening to Kim Jun.
The explanation was brief, but its weight crushed him speechless.
"If you're doubting your tanker skills, snap out of it—it's an illusion. Kim Jun didn't master it in a day. That internal energy in him... it's decades of accumulation. Bone Transformation... born from dancing on death's edge countless times. Clear?"
The helplessness tormenting Choi Muhyun vanished clean away. In its place surged a sting of betrayal—he'd been the only one in the dark.
"Dad knows, right?"
"Of course."
"Min-jeong?"
"Told her today. No plans to tell the rest. Not because I distrust them—they just don't need to know."
Choi Muhyun instantly grasped what he needed to know: his own dejection at Kim Jun's brilliance. Ashamed his master had seen it, he couldn't meet his eyes.
"I see you as the one to follow in senior Choi Min-su's footsteps. Keep pushing steady and strong... you could surpass your father."
The words brought grateful tears.
In that moment, Choi Muhyun realized he possessed something his father lacked.
Confidence that he could surpass him.
"I believe that too."
A declaration without a shred of doubt.
Intrigued by the tone, Go Cheolmin asked,
"What makes you so certain?"
"I've got an outstanding rival."
Choi Muhyun rose and left the master room. Booming laughter followed.
Yeom Sang-taek waited at the stairs below, likely fretting over his teammate.
"Everything okay?"
"Yeah."
Choi Muhyun said with feigned gravity.
"...What happened?"
"Drink's off. And for the foreseeable, we're eating, sleeping, training here. Bring that spider of yours. Group camp."
"Group camp?"
"Gotta defend main tanker and main buffer pride, right? Plus, solo's boring. We're doing this together."
"Got it!"
Choi Muhyun and Yeom Sang-taek headed to the simulators side by side.