Chapter 45
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 45
Chapter Title: The Forgotten Promise (1)
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A few days after all the preparations for establishing the guild were complete.
Kang Sa-hu called Meister Park Ju-hee.
Before entering the B-rank gate, he had secured a promise from her to custom-make whatever he wanted.
Now that he had obtained 'Duke of Hell Demadras's Blood-Drinking Scythe,' he was no longer relying solely on the highly inefficient necromancer magic. He mixed in close-quarters combat with the great scythe.
Kang Sa-hu was feeling the need for armor.
On top of that, the robe he'd received initially was torn and frayed in places from countless gate hunts, so he planned to get a replacement as well.
[What the hell have you been doing, calling me now?!]
Of course, with so much time having passed since clearing the B-rank gate, it was inevitable that Park Ju-hee would yell at him fiercely.
Moreover, for some unknowable reason, her voice carried a thick undercurrent of hurt feelings.
Sensing that, Kang Sa-hu calmly apologized for the delay, soothing her anger before he could finally schedule the appointment.
He arranged to meet the others at Park Ju-hee's workshop, then picked up Kang Ji-ye and headed out.
But even that drive wasn't entirely comfortable.
[Aaaahhhh—!]
"Yes, Dad."
[I'm so proud! Such a good boy! My son and daughter, performing the requiem ritual all by themselves—!]
He was sobbing so hard that his voice was thick with moisture, followed by the sound of him slapping his back.
Soon, his father's agonized wail echoed faintly from afar, and his mother's voice came on the line as she took the phone.
[Sa-hu.]
"Yes, Mom."
"Mommy!"
Kang Ji-ye, who had been keeping quiet because she couldn't bear to interrupt her father's emotional outburst, cried out happily.
[Ji-ye is with you too, huh.]
"Yeah! Mom, did you see me and oppa doing the requiem ritual?"
[I did. Even the Necromancer Society is in an uproar over it.]
Her voice was calm, but it brimmed with pride and satisfaction.
[Still, you have to be careful. I can't believe you two went ahead and held a requiem ritual just by yourselves. Don't do that again.]
"Mom, are you smiling?"
[What are you talking about?]
As Kang Ji-ye asked in bewilderment, her mother's tone grew even more composed.
[And Sa-hu. It might be better to visit the Necromancer Society after some more time passes. Things are still red-hot from your requiem ritual. If you show up now, the people already interested in you will just hound you even more relentlessly.]
"Huh?! Oppa, you're going to the Necromancer Society?!"
Kang Ji-ye, who hadn't heard about it, exclaimed in surprise, and Kang Sa-hu nodded in affirmation.
"To process the trolls I harvested into soul cores with soul power."
"What? Why didn't you tell me?!"
Kang Ji-ye grumbled sulkily, but Kang Sa-hu replied calmly.
"Because you've been totally focused on gate hunting lately. And you don't like the Necromancer Society much anyway."
"Well... yeah."
Kang Ji-ye had always been scared of dark places by nature.
Her parents were necromancers from birth, so she naturally studied what was needed for a necromancer and visited the Necromancer Society countless times.
But those were always unavoidable visits for work—she'd never gone there of her own accord even once.
Moreover, as Kang Sa-hu pointed out, after gaining reliable comrades and growing closer to them over time.
And through hunting, earning big money, and above all, seeing how people needed her abilities.
She had proactively contacted Bae Deok-ho, Kim Ho-myeong, and Lee Yu-rim to join hunts diligently, finding great satisfaction in it.
And this was both the reason Kang Sa-hu had rushed to form a guild before heading to the Necromancer Society and why he'd stuck with these trustworthy comrades until now.
Now that they were all bound under the guild's umbrella, it was safe to say the risk of Kang Ji-ye hunting with random new hunters she met while wanting to hunt—and getting into danger—was resolved.
[...I see. It's not dangerous, right?]
Her mother asked worriedly upon hearing how into hunting Kang Ji-ye was, but Kang Sa-hu answered matter-of-factly.
"Yes, I have reliable comrades."
At his unwavering words, the worry vanished from her voice—she had already realized he'd prepared safeguards out of concern for Ji-ye.
[Good, I trust you. My son. And our daughter too.]
"Yeah! Don't worry! I'm an awakener with healing abilities, so I don't even have to fight directly!"
[Okay, got it. And Sa-hu. Not just for the requiem ritual, but preparing the materials and magic will take some time too. Don't come right away—wait about a month. By then, everything will be ready, and this hype will have died down.]
"Yes, understood. Thank you."
It was a relief since leaving right after forming the guild felt burdensome anyway, so Kang Sa-hu gladly accepted her suggestion.
His father, who had collapsed from getting smacked on the back, rejoined the call, and the family chatted warmly together after so long.
Before they knew it, they had arrived at Park Ju-hee's workshop amid the conversation. Spotting the guild members waiting outside, Kang Sa-hu greeted them and ended the call.
"Ah, I miss Mom and Dad."
"Wanna come to the Necromancer Society with me?"
"Nah! Mom and Dad will be there soon anyway. In the meantime, I'll fill in for you and hunt even harder!"
Kang Sa-hu chuckled at her response, fully immersed in hunting as expected.
As the two got out of the car, Kim Ho-myeong and Lee Yu-rim, who had arrived early, welcomed them.
A few minutes later, Bae Deok-ho arrived right on time, and all the Afterlife Guild members gathered together.
"Shall we head in, then."
"Man, she's someone you can hardly ever meet under normal circumstances, so how the heck did the leader...?"
Knowing that Meister Park Ju-hee, affiliated with the National Intelligence Service, avoided meeting others and preferred to focus quietly on her work.
To Bae Deok-ho, it felt like Kang Sa-hu had worked some kind of magic by exchanging numbers personally and securing a custom-make promise.
Screeeeech—
The heavy door swung open, and as they entered, Park Ju-hee was waiting, slouched crookedly in her chair—just as scheduled.
Kang Sa-hu greeted her upon seeing her in her usual free-spirited outfit: baggy overall jeans and a tank top.
"Hello. Long time no see."
"......"
Park Ju-hee just glared at him sideways in response to his greeting, saying nothing.
As Lee Yu-rim twitched her eyebrow and stepped forward, Park Ju-hee—who had been silently staring—finally spoke.
"You've cleared the gate ages ago, so why'd you only call now?"
Catching her off guard with the question, Kang Sa-hu took a moment to gather his thoughts.
Quickly realizing she was sulking, he chose his words carefully before replying.
"I'm sorry. As you might have heard, what was supposed to be a C-rank gate shifted to B-rank, making it extremely tough to clear. The fatigue built up so much that I had no chance to breathe."
"......?"
"......???"
Everyone around looked at Kang Sa-hu in confusion, but he ignored their reactions.
The guild members weren't the only ones surprised by his unexpected answer.
"Wh-what?! You think I don't know?! Just the other day, you were perfectly fine doing that... soul-soothing ritual thing!"
Park Ju-hee raised her voice even sharper in flustered panic, bringing up the requiem ritual, but Kang Sa-hu was stronger than she expected.
"Yes, we soothed the spirits of the hunters who met unjust ends. Because of that, the fatigue piled up unavoidably, and I couldn't even get out of bed properly for three straight days. I'm sorry."
In reality, he'd just rested soundly for three days, but it sounded like he'd barely escaped the brink of death. Park Ju-hee shut her mouth.
An awkward silence fell.
As everyone except Park Ju-hee stared at Kang Sa-hu in shock.
Breaking the silence, Park Ju-hee apologized to him in a voice completely different from before.
"S-sorry. I misunderstood. Must've been busy and tough."
"No, no. I should have called sooner. I'm the one who's sorry."
As he apologized again, Park Ju-hee jumped in surprise, waving her hands frantically and shaking her head side to side.
"N-no, no! Don't apologize! Now that I know why, we're good!"
"Glad to hear it."
Seeing her anger fully dissipated, Kang Sa-hu softened his expression.
Under Park Ju-hee's guidance, he led the guild members—still reeling from the shock—to their seats.
Perhaps still embarrassed for flying off the handle without knowing the full situation, she cleared her throat awkwardly and got down to business.
"As promised, I'll custom-make one thing for each of you. But since I originally promised it to just the two of you at first, I don't want to spend too much time on the other three."
"Understood. We're grateful just for that."
At Kang Sa-hu's words that lifted her up, Park Ju-hee looked inwardly pleased, her face beaming with pride.
"Alright, then. Tell me what each of you needs. What do you want?"
"I need daggers."
Starting with Lee Yu-rim piping up eagerly, Bae Deok-ho requested a bow, Kim Ho-myeong a shield.
And when Kang Ji-ye asked for a new staff, Park Ju-hee shook her head.
"All weapons perfectly suited to your classes, huh. So you need a staff too?"
"No, I need armor."
Her unexpected answer made Park Ju-hee and the others' eyes widen round.
"Leader? Why armor all of a sudden?"
Bae Deok-ho voiced the question everyone was thinking, and Kang Sa-hu explained matter-of-factly.
"Because of the new weapon and skill I got."
"Ah! I saw it in the requiem ritual video. That huge scythe you were holding?"
Kang Sa-hu nodded at Lee Yu-rim's question.
"Hmm? What, that wasn't for the ritual? It was a weapon? Where'd you get it?"
Intrigued by the mention of a new weapon, the quietly listening Park Ju-hee asked sharply again.
Pondering how to answer for a moment, Kang Sa-hu decided against full honesty since the world didn't yet know about the Monolith's core shop. He opted to gloss over it.
"I got it clearing the B-rank gate."
A picture's worth a thousand words, he thought. Rather than explaining further, showing it would be better. He reached into empty air.
Subspace
A hole the size of a human head appeared in midair.
A skill obtained from a spirit through the requiem ritual.
As he activated Subspace, a hole the size of a person's head materialized in the air.
While everyone stared in astonishment.
Kang Sa-hu reached into the Subspace and pulled out the scythe, shrunken to smartphone size.
"I-is this the leader's new skill?"
"Yes, it's called Subspace."
From the skill's name alone, people intuitively grasped its purpose.
Their faces showed they had tons of questions left, but since they were in the middle of a discussion, Kang Sa-hu shot them a look meaning 'later,' then restored 'Duke of Hell Demadras's Blood-Drinking Scythe' to its original size.
Clang-clang-clang!
The smartphone-sized great scythe returned to full size in an instant.
Gasp of admiration burst out.
Kang Sa-hu gripped the great scythe in his right hand and turned to Park Ju-hee to explain it.
"This great scythe..."
Kang Sa-hu shut his mouth as he began.
Before him stood Park Ju-hee, who had crept right up close at some point, her eyes sparkling as she inspected the scythe.