Chapter 114
Chapter 114
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 114
Chapter Title: Kindred
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Unhyang mentioned a name, and Soo-hyuk echoed it back.
"...Who?"
"Kindred. You don't know him? He's famous."
Soo-hyuk shook his head.
As if he wouldn't know.
He was an exceptional crafter who had made a name for himself for over a decade. Kindred's failed works were rated Rare, and he had the skill to make standard Unique gear look like a joke.
In fact, Soo-hyuk's first weapon, the 'Nameless Demon Sword', was Rare-rated yet not even considered a failure among Kindred's creations.
One of the few crafters in this tower capable of producing Legendary items.
That was Kindred.
But.
"How do you know Kindred?"
That was the problem.
Kindred had no face. He was shrouded in mystery.
His residence. His identity. His goals. Not even his gender was known.
"My sword is a bit special. There aren't many people who can repair it, so I heard about him while asking around."
Unhyang said this as she patted the sword at her waist.
How special could it be that even repairing it was so difficult?
"Well, I met him a few times and helped the guy out."
"Helped him?"
"Yeah. There were some thugs trying to forcibly take his items, so I beat them up."
"But you didn't really need to. Kindred's pretty strong himself."
As Cheongryang chimed in, Unhyang scratched her head awkwardly.
"It was just meddling on my part."
He could roughly guess how they became friends.
But one worry remained.
"Is it okay to introduce a hidden crafter like him to me?"
"Sure. No need to worry. He's not really hiding anyway."
Unhyang let out a deep sigh, as if she understood his concern, and continued.
"He's not hiding—he's just obsessed with crafting items and doesn't come outside."
Meeting Kindred could wait.
It was good news that he could meet him, but there was something more urgent right now.
Soo-hyuk quickly filled his stomach and rented a carriage led by blue-furred wolves.
It cost a whopping 3,000 points. But the distance was far, so he couldn't run there himself.
He had deliberately taken off his mask for now.
It would be much easier to move quietly without it.
'It's been a while since I've gone out bare-faced.'
With nothing on his face, he even felt awkward. But thanks to that, no one paid him any attention.
It was late, as the sun began to set.
In the distance, he saw a yellow safety line with a warning sign.
* Restricted Area. Demon Infestation Zone *
It was a sign not to cross, but it only made him think he'd come to the right place.
That was it.
Soo-hyuk got off the carriage and told the blue-furred wolves to stop.
"Stay here."
Grrr-.
The well-tamed blue-furred wolves lowered their bodies.
Soo-hyuk soothed the wolves and gazed at the forest.
A forest that gave off an eerie vibe somewhere.
It was the place recently known for demon sightings.
'Is it still there?'
Time had passed while taking the trial. It might all be over by now.
But even so.
If there was even a chance to learn something, he had to come here.
Crunch-.
With that, Soo-hyuk stepped into the forest where no light reached.
A forest blocked by dense trees, not a single ray of light penetrating. Even though it was night, walking through a forest where not even moonlight slipped in gave him chills.
It felt like stepping into the maw of a massive beast.
The forest wasn't just dark—the air was thick with the metallic stench of blood.
'It hasn't been long.'
He focused his eyes, scanning the dark forest here and there.
Traces of battle were scattered everywhere. Quite a large fight had taken place, with several trees toppled.
But despite those traces, the forest was unnaturally silent.
As if the forest itself had fallen asleep with the night.
'Too quiet.'
He could tell something had swept through.
The guild had moved.
Something had definitely happened here.
Swish-.
He followed the traces, moving his feet.
All the Blue Zone members who had gathered here were gone.
Either they retreated, or one of two things: they achieved their goal, or they decisively failed.
Soo-hyuk hoped for neither.
Achieving their goal meant one of his living comrades had died, and failure meant they weren't alive to begin with.
Either way, it was despair.
The night deepened. The air grew colder, and the silence stretched on.
The only sound was his footsteps.
'Really nothing here.'
He'd searched the forest nearly all night, but found nothing special.
Just scattered battle traces and corpses here and there.
Then.
Creak-.
Soo-hyuk's steps halted at one spot.
Parting the bushes blocking his view, he spotted two red-skinned demons in the clearing.
But.
'Frozen?'
Their condition was off somehow.
One was half-frozen to death, and the other was frantically trying to thaw the frozen demon's body.
What kind of situation was this?
"You again?"
The demon that belatedly noticed Soo-hyuk whipped around warily.
A demon with a boyish, youthful face.
If not for the skin and red eyes, he wouldn't seem like a demon at all—his features were that round.
His nails extended like claws. He bared his fangs, showing hostility, but it wasn't much of a threat.
He didn't seem that impressive.
Probably why he survived.
"Again?"
At Soo-hyuk's question, the demon shrieked hysterically.
"Don't play dumb! You've invaded our forest and wrecked it twice now!"
A question mark popped up in Soo-hyuk's mind at the demon's shout.
Twice?
"Explain so I can understand. I really don't know."
The first time was probably Blue Zone.
They'd sent forces here to find the Blue Eyes traitor colluding with demons.
The traces everywhere showed a large group had swept through recently.
Then, the second time?
No, more importantly...
"Who did this?"
"My brother?"
The frozen demon nearby seemed to be his brother.
"I don't know well either. Some weird humans invaded the forest late."
"Two of them?"
"Yeah! Just two! Damn humans, do they think this is their home? Why did they suddenly barge in and... and..."
The kid clenched his fists tight, staring at his brother frozen white and dead.
"Why did those monster-like humans suddenly show up..."
From his words, those two latecomers must have been incredibly strong.
Soo-hyuk finally understood why the forest was so deathly quiet.
'All dead. Or scared of me.'
The prior clash with Blue Zone had likely killed many demons here. Then the two humans that followed cleaned up the remnants.
The survivors seemed to be just the young demons in front of him.
Even they appeared frightened seeing Soo-hyuk, who came alone.
Having already been beaten by the two before.
'That ice...'
He slowly examined the frozen demon's state.
Half-melted ice. Even without sunlight, it was slowly thawing.
Crunch-.
Soo-hyuk approached the half-melted ice.
The demon with extended claws blocked his path.
"Don't come closer-."
Flash-.
Something flickered.
The young demon's eyes went wide. Turning his head, Soo-hyuk was already behind him.
A situation where slicing his throat wouldn't have been odd.
But Soo-hyuk had no interest in the young demon's neck.
Swish-.
He reached out and examined the ice's cross-section.
While touching the ice that still emitted chilling cold amid melting, Soo-hyuk's eyes widened in surprise as he reached into his inventory.
What he pulled out was the ice flower he'd kept stored for a long time.
'The same.'
The same mana feel.
The properties differed slightly. Unlike the flower that stayed frozen at room temperature, the ice encasing the demon was slowly melting over time.
But he definitely felt it.
They were the same person.
'Targeted.'
This was where Blue Zone and demons had clashed recently.
No good leaving footprints carelessly in such a place.
"...Not a total bust."
It differed a bit from his initial expectations.
But he'd gained an unexpected harvest.
Soo-hyuk looked up at the pitch-black forest sky.
No sign of the comrade he sought, but he'd gained another hope.
Kim Si-woo.
The chances of him being alive had risen.
When he returned to the inn, the sun was just rising.
An exceedingly early morning.
He thought no one would be there, but someone was waiting for him on the first floor.
"You're back?"
Unhyang waved her hand lightly in greeting before turning back to her kit.
Soo-hyuk paused at the door, then took off his outer coat and hung it on the chair opposite her with a suspicious look.
"Did you stay up all night?"
"What's hard about one night?"
Slurp-.
She said this while sipping coffee loaded with sugar.
From her response, she had indeed waited for him.
"You didn't have to wait."
"You left in such a hurry without saying where."
"That..."
"You don't have to say if you don't want to. I won't ask."
Plop-.
She dropped a few more sugar cubes into her coffee and stirred with a spoon.
"I just waited because I was worried."
The coffee was so sweet the sugar cubes floated without fully dissolving. Even Unhyang wouldn't normally dump that much sugar in.
Dropping an unnecessary sugar cube in. Stirring with clinking spoon.
All awkward, embarrassing actions.
"No need to worry."
"Good then."
Unhyang gave an awkward smile and asked.
"Did things go well where you went?"
At her question, Soo-hyuk hesitated before nodding.
"Yes. It went well. Different from what I expected, though."
"Really? That's a relief."
Unhyang clapped her hands, genuinely happy. He couldn't tell her everything, but he wanted to give her some opaque answer at least.
For some reason, she gave him unconditional trust and stood by his side. At first, he thought it was because she was his manager and he was the streamer, but not anymore.
He'd never seen other managers, but Soo-hyuk knew clearly.
No manager in the world would side with him as purely as she did.
"I knew it. Your expression looks good."
"My expression?"
The moment he wondered how she knew.
Soo-hyuk touched his face in surprise.
Unhyang grinned as if she'd seen something amusing.
"No mask today?"