The Arrogant Ice Spirit
The newly born ice spirit had the clean appearance of a boy.
His neatly combed-back white hair and frost-covered attire suited his handsome face.
He looked to be around fifteen years old.
“I am a great spirit.”
Icicle spoke his first words.
Henrik and Iris, witnessing spirit creation for the first time, stared at the spirit with curious eyes.
“Whoa. So this is an ice spirit?”
“Do not call me with those crude lips, foolish human.”
“What did you say?”
Henrik frowned.
Icicle gave him a look that said, “So what?”
“Do I need to repeat myself?”
“This brat really has no manners, huh?”
Henrik let out a dry laugh and looked at Kang Yoonsoo.
Just then, Sally, who had been in Shanette’s arms, hopped over.
Sally looked up at Icicle with a bright smile.
“Hi! Nice to meet you, little brother! I’m Sally. I’m your big sister!”
Icicle’s face twisted the moment he saw Sally.
“You think something as weak and tiny as you is my big sister?”
Objectively, Sally did look much younger.
Sally puffed out her cheeks and clenched her tiny fists.
“Sally isn’t weak! And she’s not tiny either!”
“How absurd. I refuse to acknowledge you.”
Icicle spoke coldly.
“Wh-what?”
“Why should I call someone weaker than me my big sister in the first place?”
Sally’s eyes welled up with tears.
“Sally… Sally is your big sister…! You’re… my little brother…! Sally… Sally just wanted to play with her little brother…!”
“Hmph. I have no reason to bow my head to a spirit weaker than myself.”
“Waaah! You’re mean!”
Sally burst into tears and returned to the summoning realm.
Paying no mind, Icicle turned to Kang Yoonsoo.
“You created me.”
“Yeah.”
“But why do you look so weak? I can’t believe you’re the one who made me.”
“I’m stronger than you.”
“Hmph! Nonsense.”
The moment Icicle snorted, Kang Yoonsoo drew his twin swords and crossed the blades against the spirit’s neck.
Even a spirit could be cut by a blade.
The spirit flinched, then stammered.
“…Y-you can at least handle the basics.”
“You are the spirit I created. So I will give you a name now.”
“A-all right, just take the swords off my neck!”
Kang Yoonsoo withdrew his blades.
Icicle crossed his arms arrogantly once more.
“I hope it is a name noble enough to satisfy me.”
“Acle.”
“Acle? Are you joking? What kind of plain name is that?”
Kang Yoonsoo quietly moved his hand toward his sword hilt.
Acle forced the corners of his mouth upward.
“It is not to my liking, but I suppose it cannot be helped.”
Kang Yoonsoo placed a finger on the spirit’s forehead.
Acle frowned in displeasure.
“Acle.”
Kang Yoonsoo gazed at the status window, lost in memories of the past.
Acle was a difficult spirit to handle, but he would eventually prove his worth.
However…
“Acle.”
“What?”
“Don’t die in this life.”
Acle stared at Kang Yoonsoo with a strange look.
“What are you talking about?”
“There is no need to sacrifice yourself for me. No need to sacrifice yourself for other spirits either. Just do your part.”
“You are a strange human.”
Acle’s eyes held an odd glint.
“Have you ever seen me before, when I was just born?”
Kang Yoonsoo simply looked at Acle in silence.
Far too many times.
Watching you die by your own hand.
“Acle, return to the summoning realm.”
“Hmph.”
Acle snorted but returned to the summoning realm anyway.
Kang Yoonsoo had to work to shake off the strangely lingering feeling.
* * *
Somewhere deep underground.
The only light came from a flickering lamp on the table.
A chewing sound echoed.
Crunch.
Repman, the merchant of the Twilight Glass, slammed his fist on the table.
“So you’re saying that guy wasn’t one of your clan members?”
“Our clan isn’t crazy enough to cut off a money source. Besides, we only showed the tattoo—there was no other proof. The story about burying explosives underground was a lie too. Why would we take that kind of loss? It was an impersonation, plain and simple.”
“But that guy knew your clan’s structure like the back of his hand!”
“That just means he tricked you well, doesn’t it?”
The man kept his face buried in the shadows.
The only visible part of him was his long legs resting on the table.
Crunch.
Repman’s anger flared at the man’s attitude.
“You have no idea how serious this situation is!”
“I know. The experienced merchant got thoroughly scammed by some rookie and came to take it out on me?”
The clan members standing in the darkness around them sneered.
That only made Repman’s mood several times worse.
“There’s someone impersonating you! The losses I suffered so far are just a few hundred potions and an old carriage, but who’s to say the same thing won’t happen again?”
“I’d love to keep mocking you, but I’ll hold back. For the sake of Twilight Glass’s reputation, I’ll get revenge for you.”
The man raised his right hand in a surrendering gesture.
Crunch.
“Tell me what the guy who scammed you looked like.”
“He was wearing a Terminal, so he’s a traveler. Tall and slim, carrying a pitch-black sword. He had silver-maned wrist guards, a black ring, and a blue bracelet. Most importantly, he had no expression at all.”
“No expression? Why is that part of the description?”
“It’s true. That scammer didn’t show a single expression the entire time he was dealing with me. It was hard to believe he was human.”
Repman looked disgusted.
Then the man spoke seriously.
“Hmm. Might as well say you got screwed by a ghost.”
The clan members burst into laughter once more.
Crunch.
Repman spoke in a tired voice, as if he was too exhausted to even be angry.
“Anyway, I need you to make contact. It’s not just because of my personal desire for revenge. I have a feeling that if we leave this alone, it’ll become a much bigger problem later.”
“If you’re saying that much, I’m curious about the guy’s face too. I’ll go meet him.”
“Can you find him soon?”
“If he’s still in the capital, I can find him in half a day.”
Crunch.
Repman asked with a weary expression.
“By the way, what have you been eating in the dark this whole time?”
“Well, what do you think I’m eating?”
“Something long that you’ve been gnawing on with your front teeth… carrots or cucumbers?”
“Kheheh!”
The man let out an unidentifiable laugh.
Repman felt a chill at the madness tangled within it.
Not a single sane person here.
If it weren’t for the profit from drug trafficking, he never would have contacted the Black Tiger Clan in the first place.
Crunch. Crunch.
He quickly stood up and held out his hand.
“Anyway, I’m counting on you. Yushido.”
The man was Yushido, leader of the Black Tiger Clan.
Yushido’s hand reached out and grasped Repman’s, shaking it.
For a moment, Repman had to suppress the urge to vomit.
The middle finger of the hand he was shaking was missing.
* * *
The forge was bustling with activity.
But now, everyone’s eyes were fixed on one spot.
Kang Yoonsoo carefully stitched the joint with the needle tip of the body-sewing tool.
“Check the fit.”
Jang Inwi clenched and opened his right hand.
He swung his right shoulder widely and even poked it with a needle to test the nerves.
“Incredible. It doesn’t feel like a prosthetic at all. I can move my fingers freely. I can barely feel any pain, but it feels like this arm has always been mine?”
“Of course. Who made it, after all?”
Henrik chuckled.
He had been the one who requested a corpse from the mortician and crafted a suitable right arm.
Jang Inwi stared in wonder at his freely moving right arm.
Seeing their leader like that, Durman sniffled as if his nose stung.
“Oh dear. I don’t know how to repay this kindness. Our leader can live like everyone else now. He won’t have to hear people call him a cripple anymore, how wonderful is that?”
“Hey, Durman. Disability isn’t something to be ashamed of.”
“Ah, that’s not what I meant!”
Jang Inwi stood up and bowed deeply to Kang Yoonsoo and Henrik.
“Thank you so much. I don’t know how to repay this debt. Whether it’s money, goods, or anything else, I’ll compensate you.”
“I don’t need it right now.”
Kang Yoonsoo refused indifferently.
“What? But…”
“Instead, help me when I ask for it later.”
“Will that be enough?”
“Yeah.”
Jang Inwi and Durman expressed their gratitude over and over.
If left alone, they looked ready to give them anything, so Kang Yoonsoo and Henrik quickly left the forge.
The two men walked through the noisy streets.
“Since when do you turn down rewards?”
“It’s better to think about later than now.”
The two men entered the inn.
Then a woman with reddish-brown hair came running over in a panic.
“Kang Yoonsoo! Henrik! This is terrible!”
“What’s wrong?”
Shanette revealed the most devastating fact in the world.
“Iris ate soap and collapsed!”
“……”
* * *
“From today onward, I must hate soap.”
Iris, seated at the table, spoke in an angry voice.
The inn was quiet at this hour, so they were the only ones sitting at the tables for dinner.
Henrik waved his fork mockingly.
“I’m curious. What kind of mindset makes soap look delicious?”
“Henrik, I am seriously angry. Teasing me does not make me happy.”
“Oh? Our little miss has learned how to get angry now?”
Shanette sipped water from her cup and asked.
“So, did you successfully attach Jang Inwi’s right arm at the forge today?”
“Of course. It’s an arm I made.”
“Wow. That’s amazing. If you use the body-sewing tool, you can restore any lost body part, right? If done well, couldn’t you heal all the sick people in the world?”
“No. Like I said before, failure has massive side effects. For example, if the wrist joint fails, you might feel nothing but pain there forever. In the worst case, you could even attach parts of other monsters when there are no dolls available. Of course, the success rate would be extremely low.”
“The body-sewing tool is truly an incredible legacy.”
“I suppose so. More importantly, I’ve always wanted to ask—why do you ask so many questions?”
“Tch, is being curious a crime?”
“Bothering me is a crime.”
Just then, the waitress brought the ordered food.
Steaming meat stew, crispy bread, and fresh fruit with excellent texture.
Kang Yoonsoo spoke to the waitress who had brought the food.
“Alcohol too.”
“Ah, I forgot.”
The waitress smiled kindly and brought barley beer.
After confirming the waitress had returned to the kitchen, Kang Yoonsoo drank the alcohol and began eating.
Kang Yoonsoo chewed and swallowed a large bite of the veal stew, the main dish.
Henrik gave him a puzzled look.
“Since when do you overeat? Were you that hungry today?”
“Our food has been laced with a powerful sleeping drug. That waitress is a member of the Black Tiger Clan. She’s hiding assassins in the kitchen to kidnap us.”
Everyone stopped eating.
Especially Shanette and Henrik nearly spat out their food.
“K-Kang Yoonsoo! What are you saying?”
“It’s fine. We won’t die, from experience.”
“If you knew it was drugged, why didn’t you say anything!”
“Because I’m going to let them kidnap us on purpose.”
The moment he finished speaking, an overwhelming drowsiness washed over them.
There was no time to stick fingers down their throats and vomit the food.
Kang Yoonsoo calmly closed his eyes.
Meanwhile, his companions glared at him with burning eyes.
“Please… say these things in advance next time…!”
“You disgusting… unlucky… bastard…!”
“I’m sleepy…”
Everyone collapsed face-first onto the table.