The Wind Silk Robe (5)

It happened on one of the many days he spent crafting robes at the campsite. A thought suddenly struck him.

What if his skills hit another wall out of nowhere?

Last time, there had been a seal — the moment he learned his tenth skill, everything locked up. Until his average proficiency reached 80, he hadn't been able to acquire a single new skill.

So, let's see. As of now, Seo Hwarang had learned thirteen 1st Circle spells in total. Add to that eight production-related skills, and that made twenty-one already.

He'd blown well past the ten-skill mark, and nothing had happened. Did that mean the seal was a one-time thing?

Or, he could look at it another way.

Production skills don't come with a Mastery tag.

Maybe the seal only counted skills that could reach Mastery, the way magic did. Either way, there was no way to know for sure. If something popped up, he'd just deal with it then, same as always.

Time flowed on, and the day the one-week mark arrived—

"Whew."

He finally finished all nineteen robes.

Two in deep, rich blue, and seventeen in sky blue.

"Wow!"

Bella clapped her hands together.

"That's truly incredible! I don't know who'll be wearing these, but they must be some kind of extraordinary organization! The white tiger emblems look positively alive!"

For some reason, Bella had been laying the flattery on awfully thick lately.

Swish, swish. He gave her head a casual ruffle, then turned to Yoo Seon-ah.

"What about you, noona?"

"Me? I'm at 79 right now! Any day now!"

Oh.

That was fast.

Not faster than me, though. Still, it was on a completely different level from the average pace. Was this the power of an Orthodox Mage?

"Then I'm going to start reading my book now."

"Got it! If you can't push it all the way up, I'll come finish it off for you."

Preparation was required before heading to Earth — a warm-up of sorts. Rock Shield.

With his heart quietly thrumming with anticipation, Seo Hwarang took out a skill book and began to savor it slowly, letting the words sink in.

This would be his fourteenth spell.

"Mm-hm."

Click, click!

Park Juhee was combing through domestic and international market listings, hunting down cooking-related skill books — and lately, life had never tasted sweeter.

Wasn't it said that life was all about luck?

Starting a business in Gaemi Village was a stroke of genius.

Seona Couture. The name didn't exactly roll off the tongue, but there was no mistaking the scent of a jackpot hanging over it.

A craftsman who can produce Unique-grade items. This brand was bound to go global before long.

Only one thing troubled her.

The delivery deadline.

Yesterday, Seo Hwarang had texted her: one day would be enough.

Is that even possible? He couldn't have already made them. If he had, he never would have agreed to customizing the colors and emblems. Which meant he really was claiming he could produce all nineteen robes in a single day, literally—

"Whew."

No point dwelling on it. Every impossible condition he'd ever set so far, he'd backed up without fail.

So cooking skill books only come with the one skill?

That's what her research showed. Unlike other crafts, there were no auxiliary skills — ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠no prepping, aging, cooking, plating, nothing of the sort. Just Cooking, plain and simple.

Maybe that was why the price ran considerably higher than other production skill books.

...Ten billion won?

No, "considerably" wasn't the word. It was astronomical.

Must be high demand. Still, she had her doubts. No matter how skilled a cook you were, could you really earn ten billion won from cooking alone over a lifetime? Well — the top 0.1% could surely parlay it into a business worth far more than that, but still.

Ten billion won just to learn some cooking skills! Wasn't that a bit much?

It was probably a pride thing. Star chefs were overflowing across the world, Michelin three-stars included. And if they wanted to sharpen their craft even further, what choice did they have?

They had to awaken.

I'll have to hunt for this one after the robe payment comes in.

Park Juhee nodded to herself.

That's what Employee Seo Hwarang said. Business expenses that went into the company should absolutely be expensed as such — but any books he bought for personal use were to be paid out of his own allotted share. Which, of course, was only right.

"Whew."

A man with both the talent and the remarkable integrity to match. The more she thought about it, the more certain she was: meeting him had been the great fortune of her life.

She'd just let out a light breath and turned to some other work when—

Bzzt!

A text arrived.

Wha—!

Startled, Park Juhee snatched up her phone at top speed.

What...?

Excuse me?

Everything was ready — after a single day?

The Awakening Management Bureau.

Team Leader Ha Taemin frowned, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a crease forming between his brows. In his grip was a dossier — every scrap of information on Yoo Seon-ah, documented in full.

"Unbelievable."

Every line of it defied belief. How did someone who was E-rank until recently become C-rank overnight — and pick up an advanced Tailoring skill on top of it?

It came down to one of two possibilities. Either she'd been deceiving them all along, or she was deceiving them now.

But Ha Taemin weighted the scales toward the former. Her closeness with someone of near-chaebol standing like Ha Seorin was suspicious in itself. Above all, that incident with the D-rank Horned Bats finally made sense now.

It wasn't Seo Hwarang's side after all — it was Yoo Seon-ah's?

First things first.

BAM!

He brought the stamp down hard on the file.

Let's keep watching.

Swish.

Ha Taemin turned the page.

White Tiger Guild. The Guild Master's office.

Guild Master Baek Ji-hyeop shot up from his seat.

"What?"

"What's wrong, hyung-nim?"

Vice Guild Master Hwang Cheol-woo, sitting on the sofa nearby, answered with a start.

"The robes we won at auction yesterday, remember?"

"Yes."

"They're already finished. They're telling us to come pick them up."

"You're serious?"

Hwang Cheol-woo narrowed his eyes. Yes, it was him — the very same Hwang Cheol-woo who'd once skinned monsters alongside Seo Hwarang.

"Something smells off, hyung-nim. Smells like a scam."

"Right? That's what I'm saying. Does any of this make sense?"

No workshop on the face of the earth produced nineteen Unique-grade items in a single day.

"Get the kids ready just in case. Full combat prep — we don't know what might go down. Let's go together."

"Understood, hyung-nim!"

Hwang Cheol-woo rose and gave a deep, respectful bow.

Baek Ji-hyeop was a Guild Master every one of his members revered — a man who poured his vast resources into the genuine growth of true awakeners.

And this Unique robe purchase... he must have stretched himself thin for it.

He'd stripped the guild's coffers bare, draining years of accumulated funds, all to climb a little higher. To leap into the ranks of the mega guilds.

If we could just become a mega guild... and if, among them, we could rise even into the elite Big 5... then what's 28.5 billion won?

The position of a mega guild wielded power that could casually overshadow even a mid-sized corporate group. Untold wealth and influence were within reach.

But.

What if this robe deal turned out to be fraud?

Every last one of those ambitions would evaporate. In other words, this was a matter of the guild's very survival.

"I'll have everyone ready immediately."

The meeting point: in front of Gaemi Village.

Hwang Cheol-woo's eyes hardened with fresh resolve.

At that very moment, even the major mega guilds were in an uproar.

The sudden emergence of a divine craftsman — Yoo Seon-ah. Someone who could, apparently, produce Unique-grade items. Recruitment blades had been drawn and sharpened to a fine edge.

"Find her, now!"

"Dig up every scrap of information you can!"

"She's unaffiliated, correct?"

"Seona Couture? What kind of person runs a business instead of joining a guild? Whatever she'd earn there, we'll pay her double — no, triple!"

The personnel chiefs of every guild scrambled into motion.

And Blue Wing — one of the Big 5, where the Sword God Ha Seoryeong served as Vice Guild Master — was just as quick off the mark.

"Vice Guild Master! Why didn't you say anything!"

"Pardon?"

She turned her head from the training hall where she'd been swinging her sword. Tall, with a figure that was slender yet radiated athletic vitality, her presence went beyond mere beauty — it approached something closer to the sublime.

"What is this about?"

A flicker of faint puzzlement crossed Ha Seoryeong's cold, aloof expression.

But the personnel chief was no pushover either. Radiating deference toward her dignity as Vice Guild Master — while awed, undeniably, by her overwhelming presence — he pressed his case boldly.

"The craftsman Yoo Seon-ah! We looked into her, and apparently she's close with your younger sister! Why didn't you mention it?"

"..."

Ha Seorin? And the craftsman Yoo Seon-ah?

What was any of this?

As her brow furrowed, the personnel chief let out a light sigh and shook his head back and forth.

This fool knows nothing but her sword!

"I see you weren't aware."

"No. It's been a long time since I've even seen my sister."

"Then perhaps use this as a chance to reconnect. And that craftsman Yoo Seon-ah — we obtained her contact information without much trouble, but she won't answer. Please, just arrange one meeting!"

Bow!

The personnel chief bent at a perfect right angle. Truth be told, the only reason he'd been so blunt with Ha Seoryeong was sheer desperation.

Any craftsman carrying the Advanced title was a precious resource. They had to secure her on the best possible terms before someone else snapped her up.

Bzzt, bzzzzt!

At the meeting point, Yoo Seon-ah's phone kept ringing off the hook.

Seo Hwarang glanced over. "What's with you? Got a boyfriend or something these days?"

"Like I'd have the time!"

Yoo Seon-ah barked. What's her deal? Okay, she was a bit old, but a woman like noona should still be popular. Cute face, loyal to a fault. And above all, she was an awakener, wasn't she? These days, awakeners trumped doctors, prosecutors, and judges alike.

Not my type, of course.

"Ugh, I don't even know how these people got my number, but the calls just keep coming. I can't even look at my phone. Damn it."

Seo Hwarang wasn't particularly fond of foul-mouthed women, but still.

"Calls? Oh."

He could see how that would happen. She'd gone and declared herself the craftsman Yoo Seon-ah, loud and proud, for the whole world ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to see.

"It's insane. From no-name mid-tier guilds all the way up to the big ones — they keep calling offering insane terms? Three of the Big 5 alone have reached out."

"And you didn't take any of them?"

"Why would I join a guild? If I were going to, I'd either go with you or at least get your blessing first."

Oooh.

"Now that's touching."

Well, to be fair — Yoo Seon-ah was the CEO of Seona Couture. She'd have seen the vision herself. She must have concluded that taking her ten percent cut here beat out even joining a mega guild. And there was always the Etherion Continent, too.

"But you know, we probably will need a guild eventually."

Seona Couture sold high-value items, which meant security was a real concern. There were only two options: sign an agreement with a mega guild, or build their own.

Hmm. He filed that away to think over later.

"Are the White Tiger folks not here yet?"

Just as the thought crossed his mind—

RUMBLE!

Dozens of black sedans forced their way into the narrow alley and ground to a halt, and from them emerged dozens of men in sharp suits.

White tiger badges glinting on their lapels — White Tiger Guild, presumably.

Huh.

Are these guys gangsters?