The Emperor Maker
Han Sehyun took Kang Yoonsoo to an old tavern.
Shanette, exhausted, said she would head to the inn first to rest.
Lee Kang-hyun and the men tried to follow Han Sehyun no matter what, but he firmly refused to join them, insisting he wanted to speak with Kang Yoonsoo alone.
The two sat at a corner table and placed their orders.
“Two glasses of lime liquor. And some non-greasy snacks.”
“Ah, yes, yes, understood.”
When Han Sehyun smiled, the waitress blushed shyly and scurried off to the kitchen as if fleeing.
The women in the kitchen would surely gossip about the unfamiliar handsome young men.
The lime liquor arrived in large glasses. The grilled chicken wings served as snacks had golden-brown skin glistening with oil.
Han Sehyun loosened the straps of his armor and sat comfortably.
“Do you like troublesome things?”
“No.”
“Me neither. So I’ll get straight to the point.”
After taking a sip of the lime liquor, Han Sehyun spoke.
“I heard from the Alchemist Clan that you killed the boss monster of the top floor of the Chimera Dimension, Lavian.”
Kang Yoonsoo nodded slowly without taking his mouth off the glass. It was a rather peculiar gesture, but Han Sehyun paid it no mind.
Han Sehyun chewed and swallowed a piece of grilled chicken wing.
“After catching that homunculus, you must have obtained the non-decaying heart. I want to buy that heart from you.”
“Not selling.”
“If you want, I can give you enough money to live comfortably without worrying about levels.”
“Not selling, I said.”
“Then I’ll have to kill you.”
Kang Yoonsoo looked at Han Sehyun with indifferent eyes.
Han Sehyun smiled faintly. His lips still held a smile, but his eyes were cold.
“You said you won’t sell. Then I’ll kill you and take it. Is there another way?”
Han Sehyun naturally switched to informal speech. After all, Kang Yoonsoo had been using informal speech first.
Then Han Sehyun leaned forward toward Kang Yoonsoo. He naturally pointed his index finger at Kang Yoonsoo’s neck.
Blood droplets formed on Kang Yoonsoo’s nape, as if cut by a sharp edge. His fingers possessed an unusually keen sharpness.
‘Sword Body Transformation skill.’
Han Sehyun’s unique skill. It allowed even his fingers to gain blade-like sharpness for a short time.
Han Sehyun was arguably the strongest among the current continent’s Travelers. In his past life as an assassin, there had been more than one or two occasions when he nearly died after receiving an assassination request from Han Sehyun.
But that was in the past. In his thousandth life, he had no intention of killing Han Sehyun.
Han Sehyun continued to smile as he gently waved his finger.
“I hope you’re not stupid. Not everyone in the world avoids murder.”
Kang Yoonsoo looked at Han Sehyun indifferently.
“I know.”
“Then hand over Lavian’s heart.”
“No.”
Han Sehyun made a slightly dumbfounded expression.
“Then you want to die?”
“No.”
“What the hell are you saying?”
“You can’t kill me.”
“Hmm. How can you be so sure?”
“Because you want to become the emperor.”
Han Sehyun raised his finger like a blade at an angle. His gaze turned peculiar.
“You know I want to become the emperor?”
“Yeah.”
“How do you know that?”
“The White Lion roars toward the throne.”
It was about the shape of the cloak issued by the White Lion Clan.
Kang Yoonsoo spoke calmly.
“A beast doesn’t roar without reason. It only roars toward its prey.”
In an instant, the sharpness of the finger touching his nape disappeared. Only the sensation of an ordinary finger remained.
Han Sehyun lowered his finger. He was silent for a moment.
“Hahaha!”
Suddenly, Han Sehyun burst into laughter. On the other hand, Kang Yoonsoo remained expressionless.
Yet, undeterred, Han Sehyun laughed breathlessly, delighted.
“First time! Since coming to this side, this is the first time I’ve met such an interesting man. I really like you. It’s the first time I’ve seen someone speak so calmly even with a blade at their nape. This makes me want to talk more.”
“Words I don’t want to hear.”
Kang Yoonsoo’s reply was cold. Even so, Han Sehyun grinned. It was clearly different from the smile he had worn out of courtesy earlier.
Kang Yoonsoo spoke in a low voice.
“Stop the request you’re currently working on. You won’t be able to complete it anyway.”
“You’re telling me to give up Lavian’s heart? Then what are you going to do for me?”
“I’ll make you the emperor.”
Han Sehyun’s eyes lit up.
“You’re going to be my Emperor Maker?”
“Yeah.”
Kang Yoonsoo nodded. Because with this one word, the journey ahead would surely become much easier.
“How?”
“There’s a way.”
The two talked for a long time. The more Han Sehyun listened to Kang Yoonsoo’s words, the more serious his expression became. What had been only a vague outline at first gradually took on a concrete form.
The location of the hostile clan’s headquarters. Movements to plant spies. Routes he could infiltrate! Top-secret information flowed endlessly from Kang Yoonsoo’s mouth.
Han Sehyun’s gaze toward Kang Yoonsoo changed.
By the time they finished talking, the sunset had already fallen.
After leaving the tavern, Han Sehyun extended his hand to Kang Yoonsoo.
“From now on, I’ve decided to trust you. At the time you mentioned, I’ll deploy personnel to raid that clan. Of course, I’ll infiltrate there too at that time.”
There was firm conviction in his voice.
“From now on, we are implicit allies. I will fully support whatever you do, and you should help with my plans as well.”
“Don’t want to shake hands.”
“Is that so? You must have some kind of cleanliness obsession.”
Han Sehyun withdrew his hand awkwardly. In fact, he still hadn’t deactivated the Sword Body Transformation skill. Though he called it an implicit alliance, he probably still had doubts and was testing Kang Yoonsoo’s insight.
He made one suggestion.
“More than that, you, do you have any thoughts of joining the White Lion Clan? Honestly, someone like you could be promoted to branch leader level in no time. We’ll also provide top-tier items for each level. It’s a privilege that’s never given to anyone else.”
“Not at all.”
Han Sehyun let out a dry laugh.
“Rejecting such an offer outright. You really are more emotionless than a rock.”
“You’re a troublesome guy.”
Han Sehyun chuckled and lightly punched Kang Yoonsoo’s chest with his fist. It meant he had deactivated the Sword Body Transformation skill.
Han Sehyun spoke friendly.
“When you arrive at the capital, look for me first. Then I’ll treat you to drinks at a proper place, not this rundown tavern. Ah, and bring that pretty Continental girl too.”
Kang Yoonsoo slowly nodded.
Han Sehyun smiled faintly and extended his right arm.
“Summon Griffin Armiyan.”
A griffin with golden wings appeared with a brilliant light. People’s gazes instantly focused on them.
Before attracting too much attention, Han Sehyun quickly mounted the griffin. He looked at Kang Yoonsoo and said.
“As I said earlier, I’ll wait for you to come to me. I will never forget the conversation we had. I hope you never forget the promise we made.”
“Yeah.”
Kang Yoonsoo answered briefly.
The griffin flapped its wings and soared high into the sky. Han Sehyun’s back quickly disappeared.
As soon as Kang Yoonsoo arrived at the inn, he entered the room.
Shanette, with her hair disheveled, was sleeping with drool all over the pillow. It was because her body was exhausted from the aftereffects of the adrenaline potion.
When Kang Yoonsoo entered, she lifted her head with a sleepy face.
“Ugh…… You’re back? Did you talk a lot?”
“More than enough.”
Kang Yoonsoo collapsed onto the bed where Shanette was lying. Shanette was too tired to even notice that he had lain down next to her.
‘Tired.’
Kang Yoonsoo fell asleep immediately, as if passing out.
Bright morning sunlight pierced through the window.
Shanette woke up. And she was horrified.
Next to her, Kang Yoonsoo was asleep with his face close to hers. His thin breathing tickled her ears.
That wasn’t all.
From Kang Yoonsoo’s backpack, a damp, red lump of meat was sluggishly crawling out. The lump of meat crawled across the floor like a slug, staining the ground with blood.
Squish…… Squish…….
A heart moving on its own like a living creature. It was a grotesque sight.
“Kyaaaaah!”
Shanette screamed from the morning.
“Kang Yoonsoo-nim! Kang Yoonsoo-nim!”
“What.”
Even though he had just woken up, Kang Yoonsoo answered in his usual voice.
Shanette was startled and pointed at the backpack.
“Look, look at that! A heart came out of the backpack on its own!”
Kang Yoonsoo, with messy hair, slowly got up. As he rose, the sluggishly moving heart suddenly hardened. The heart’s blood vessels turned into sharp awls and flew toward Kang Yoonsoo.
Thud-!
Kang Yoonsoo snatched the flying heart’s awl with one hand. Then he tore it apart in one go. Blood splattered everywhere, and even Shanette got covered in blood.
You have destroyed the life heart of the homunculus Lavian.
You have found the clue left by the Great Alchemist Minerva.
Since you have inherited the secret technique of the last Necromancer Nacron, your qualification as a practitioner has been proven.
Will you undertake the legendary quest related to the ancient heroes?
“Do it.”
During the legendary quest, the practitioner must face numerous life-threatening crises. Your choice will determine the fate of the continent in the future. Additionally, you cannot abandon the quest midway. This quest offer must be decided carefully. Will you truly undertake it?
“I will.”
Kang Yoonsoo, still covered in blood, immediately collapsed back onto the bed. He fell asleep again in no time.
Shanette watched the quickly sleeping Kang Yoonsoo, then touched her blood-soaked hair. She muttered uneasily.
“What kind of mess is this first thing in the morning……”