I Had Insurance Ready

I had taken out insurance. Watching the hunters who let themselves get swept up in the mood instead of making rational decisions, I tasted something bitter in my mouth.

"How's your body feeling?"

"Senior... you're still here?"

Hyeon Jung-gil paid no attention to the crowd focused on Jo Giman. Instead, he was already exchanging greetings with the insect sorcerer Kim Seon-min, who had revealed himself.

"Jung-gil. I don't have much time, so I'll have to leave right after seeing you."

"Understood. Thanks to you, senior, we were able to prevent a terrible disaster. I am truly grateful."

"Kkkl- Of course, you fool! This little stunt probably shaved off half my lifespan! Work hard so you never have to call me again!"

"I will do so."

"Always quick with the words. Heh heh-"

Kim Seon-min let out a hearty laugh and vanished. Hyeon Jung-gil was about to leave without lingering when Kang Yeonsu grabbed his ankle.

"Guild Master! I have something to discuss with you—"

"Hm?"

Yeonsu hurried over to Hyeon Jung-gil and spoke with him briefly. I wanted to eavesdrop, but his unique domain blocked the waves of my senses, making it impossible. Still, I had something I wanted to show him, so I approached. Yeonhee followed me without much thought.

After their short conversation, the pair noticed us drawing near and offered faint smiles. When Kang Yeonsu pointed at me and said a few words, Hyeon Jung-gil dispelled his domain, approached me, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and spoke.

"Hmm— They say you're quite the mysterious being. Is that true?"

"Clack clack clack."

"Hm? Hahaha! Well now. A skeleton soldier with its own ego? You remind me of that fellow."

I knew exactly who he meant by that fellow.

The ancient empire's Skeleton Knight Commander...

When people think of the pinnacle of the undead, they usually picture an Archlich or Death Knight. But anyone who's actually faced one will unanimously say the Skeleton Knight Commander is the strongest. Of course, he belongs to the Death Knight lineage, but there are ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠clear differences. His martial prowess is on another level, and astonishingly, he retains a clear sense of self and is known not to kill people recklessly.

"His name is Ilwol?"

"Y-yes!"

Hyeon Jung-gil examined Yeonhee's aura with eyes full of interest before speaking again.

"I see. Summoner Lee Yeonhee... You possess truly remarkable talent, just as the rumors said. To handle a being like this so naturally... Your future looks very promising indeed."

"That's... I-I didn't do anything today..."

"Nonsense. Think back. Did you really do nothing?"

"...... I did manage to save quite a few people trapped in the building..."

"There you go. That's more than enough."

Hyeon Jung-gil smiled warmly like a grandfather looking at his granddaughter. Then his complexion suddenly turned deathly pale, and he tried to leave.

As I thought, his body...

Despite my bitter feelings, I stepped in front of Hyeon Jung-gil and drew my greatsword, assuming the upper-right stance.

"Hm?"

I swung the greatsword downward with force, exactly as I had learned from him in my previous life.

Whoooosh—!

I repeated the motion several times, displaying my crude and clumsy swordsmanship. If I had been in human form, my face would have been beet red with embarrassment. Still, I wanted to show him at least once, even if it meant swallowing my pride.

Thanks to you, I can at least do this much now...

The more I swung, the more complicated Hyeon Jung-gil's expression became. When I finished my demonstration, he stared at me in silence for a long moment.

"That... that swordsmanship... Where on earth did you learn it?"

"......?"

Both Yeonhee and Yeonsu looked utterly bewildered, wondering what was going on. I met Hyeon Jung-gil's gaze briefly, then tossed him one of my daggers.

Whoosh—

"Oh my goodness!!"

"Whoa?! Hey!!"

Yeonhee jumped in shock as I suddenly threw the dagger. Yeonsu seemed to debate for a split second whether to catch the flying blade.

I may not be able to connect with everyone, but I need to create a link with my first master.

I had only spent a single month with Hyeon Jung-gil inside a dungeon maze. I couldn't claim to know everything about him, but by my standards, he was an incredibly righteous and just person with perfect balance between mind and body. If anyone could become our ally, he was the first person who came to mind.

But in this life, he had no connection to me. There was no reason for him to watch our backs without cause. So, in preparation for the day I might meet him, I had made one particular preparation after my class change.

A dagger crafted from my own bone. I had engraved one of his secrets—something only I knew—into it. And now I had sent him that very dagger.

Hyeon Jung-gil lightly caught the dagger between his index and middle fingers. He looked at the bundle of 'well-wishing notes' tied to it and stared at me with a dumbfounded expression.

The more insurance, the better.

If Jo Giman decided to harm us, we might be suppressed before we could even use the earring artifact. Since that item activates just by tearing or burning it, these notes would serve as an excellent backup. If Master responded, we might at least buy enough time to escape.

I knew this was a terrible thing to do to him, but if it meant saving Yeonhee, I was willing to become a bastard. Right now, I was trying to use him. But I believed Hyeon Jung-gil would willingly let himself be used by me.

After reading the engraving on the dagger, his face crumpled. His gaze locked onto me.

"How... how did you..."

Hyeon Jung-gil's voice trembled faintly as he looked back and forth between me and the dagger. Soon after, his domain began to surge violently, revealing its colors.

The constraint is already...

If he didn't enter that space soon, he would no longer be able to remain in this world.

"Wh-what is it? What did Ilwol do—"

"It's nothing. Nothing at all... What an interesting fellow. It seems he wanted to test his strength against me."

"No way..."

"Unbelievable..."

Both Yeonsu and Yeonhee stared at me in shock after hearing his words. Even with the constraint baring its teeth, Hyeon Jung-gil calmly gathered his magic power. He gave me a deep nod before vanishing like the wind into his unique domain.

"...... He's gone......"

"Uh... that..."

The fact that he left without saying much was due to the constraint. But Yeonsu glared at me with axe-like eyes as if it were my fault.

"You son of a bitch! What the hell! Are you crazy?"

The moment he disappeared, Kang Yeonsu grabbed me by the collar and started cursing. Her momentum suggested she was ready to tear me into dozens of pieces.

"Do you even know who that person ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠is? Throwing a dagger at him? Are you out of your mind? Did [Meteor] fry your brain or something?!"

Ah... So that's what she's mad about?

I had thought she was angry about the message on the dagger. It was worth throwing it in a direction she couldn't see. I shrugged, pretending I had no idea what she meant. Yeonsu narrowed her eyes at me, but then an urgent call came from elsewhere, forcing her to turn away.

"You and I are going to talk later."

Yeonsu drew a thumb across her throat in a clear threat. Since I had been prepared to take a few hits, that level of warning didn't scare me at all.

Once Yeonsu left, Yeonhee asked why I had done such a thing. I told her I had wanted to test my strength against an incredibly powerful person. She looked at me with an exasperated expression and repeatedly warned me that I shouldn't have done that to him of all people.

"And why did you throw all those well-wishing notes with it? It's not like that person would come help us just because we tear up some paper. You threw all twenty of them!"

"Clack clack clack!"

"I can't with you..."

Yeonhee lamented that I had wasted the expensive items she had bought at the market. Regardless, I handed her ten of the well-wishing notes paired with Hyeon Jung-gil. I kept the remaining ten inside my armor where I could burn them quickly if needed. Yeonhee pouted for a moment before storing the items in her subspace.

With the small event over, we headed toward where the monster had been. A huge crowd of hunters had already gathered, all busy taking photos in front of the massive crater.

They did contribute to subjugating a top-tier monster that appeared in the city center, so I suppose this much is understandable.

What interested me more was how the monster had vanished without leaving any trace. My senses had been blurry earlier due to the magic storm.

Pushing through the crowd, I confirmed that the monster's remains were exactly as I had first sensed—nothing was left. However, the two-meter stone chunk that had been buried underground had been pulled out. It was pitch black, still emitting thick smoke. It looked so brittle that a light touch might turn it to ash and send it flying away, yet it proved surprisingly solid. Even when the investigation team leader from the Hunter Management Agency kicked it several times with force, it didn't budge.

"We can't detect any mana or biological responses at all."

"Hoo— It's finally over. What do you plan to do with this stone?"

Park Yong-hwan, Kang Yeonsu, Jo Giman, and other key figures had gathered to discuss the stone chunk.

"We planned to store it in subspace and transport it for research, but there's a problem."

Park Yong-hwan tapped the stone a few times as he spoke.

"It won't go into subspace. It doesn't even move."

"Let me try."

Kang Yeonsu immediately attempted it out of curiosity, but the stone truly wouldn't budge.

"Don't tell me... this thing isn't still alive, is it?"

"As you can see, the monster's presence has been completely extinguished."

"Is there anything more certain than the defeat message?"

"Well, that's true, but..."

"Let me give it a shot—"

Around thirty top-tier hunters took turns trying to store the object in their subspace or move it, but none succeeded. Not even Jo Giman. After failing, he nodded as if he had realized something, but from what I could tell, he seemed greatly displeased that something had appeared that he couldn't handle.

More than that, however, I was growing suspicious about something slowly entering my senses.

...Something... feels off?

I tilted my head while looking at it with Yeonhee.

"Hm? Why? What's weird this time?"

"Clack clack..."

What puzzled me wasn't anything complicated.

Why is there a Flame Mark at the very core of that stone?

As far as I could tell, the giant monster had been completely annihilated. That monolith-like stone embedded in the ground was nothing more than a condensed byproduct of the monster being finely sliced and burned. Had the mark been engraved because it came from the monster? But could you even engrave a mark on something that wasn't alive?

Though full of unanswered questions, I found myself walking toward the stone. When Yeonhee and Arin saw me casually descending into the crater, they followed without much thought.

I had tried storing it in subspace just in case, but it was impossible. If we had Lan's [Acceleration] to open up possibilities, the story might have been different.

...... A state that cannot be stored? This is even more suspicious.

I created a bone ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠dagger the size of a finger.

Hoo— You never know...

While the superhumans who had tested their subspace earlier scattered into groups of three or five to chat, I approached the monolith closely and quickly began engraving Flame Marks.

Yeonhee watched my actions with an expression of complete resignation.

Slash— Slash—

Before long, I had engraved twenty-five marks. That was when Kang Yeonsu, who had approached at just the right moment, grabbed me by the nape of my neck and stopped me from engraving any more.