Chapter 115
Chapter 115
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 115
Chapter Title: The Mask Slips
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"......"
Soo-hyuk was at a loss for words for a moment.
He had completely forgotten. That he was currently bare-faced.
'Where the hell was my head at.'
Covering his face with one hand in a hurry and berating himself did nothing—the water was already spilled.
And he was aware of exactly why he'd made such a blunder.
'Sold out. Sold out to those bastards.'
The ones who had bought off Soo-hyuk's mind were none other than Si-woo and Ye-ryeong.
Or more precisely, the people he presumed were Si-woo and Ye-ryeong.
But even one was enough.
As long as he could confirm they were alive, Soo-hyuk believed all his past hardships would be rewarded.
The problem was that he'd gotten way too excited about it.
"......I forgot."
"Looks like things went really well. You're even making mistakes like this."
It was true. His mind had wandered off elsewhere for a bit.
Soo-hyuk let out a sigh, removed the hand covering his face, and nodded.
"It did go well."
"Really? That's great, then."
"My face......"
"It's handsome, though? I was a little worried you'd turn out disappointing in person, but no need for that."
That wasn't what he'd meant to say.
Unhyang was already nodding with a satisfied look. She seemed pleased with his appearance.
Soo-hyuk, who had been wearing a troubled expression at her reaction, shook his head.
'Well. Does it matter?'
He'd been flustered by the absurd slip-up, but it wasn't really a problem. Unhyang was the only one who knew this face anyway, and it looked nothing like old Lee Soo-hyuk's.
More importantly.
'It's not someone else......'
It was Unhyang who'd seen it.
The thought that she'd use his face as leverage or a weapon for anything shady didn't even cross his mind.
And right on cue.
"I'll keep it a secret from Cheongryang that I saw your face."
Unhyang spoke again with a playful expression.
"You didn't want to get caught, right? So of course I have to keep it for you."
It was like she'd peered right into his thoughts, scratching exactly the right itch.
"Thank you."
"In return, when it's just the two of us eating from now on, show it to me like this sometimes."
"Like this?"
"Yeah. Without the mask."
Unhyang stuck out her pinky with a bright smile.
"Then I'll guard Suhyuk-nim's secret with my life."
Thud.
Having pulled an all-nighter, Soo-hyuk threw himself onto the bed without even washing up.
He lay there spread-eagled, staring up at the ceiling. He let out a deep sigh over his pathetic mistake.
Of course.
"I'll guard Suhyuk-nim's secret with my life."
There didn't seem to be much cause for worry.
'If it becomes a problem, that'll be later.'
Smooth.
Soo-hyuk touched his bare face, untouched by makeup or anything.
'This face is my insurance.'
The face under the mask was like another mask to him. If he ever needed to hide his identity and clash with Blue Zone in the future, his unknown bare face could serve as a weapon in some way.
Smooth.
He pulled the Flower of Ice out of his inventory and fiddled with it again.
'It's definitely that guy's.'
Even now, he could faintly sense the guy's mana from this flower.
But he still couldn't be certain. Unless someone deliberately melted it, this flower would likely remain in this state for ten years, a hundred years.
It might have been made twenty years ago, when Si-woo was alive.
But it wasn't the ice he'd seen in the forest.
'It's definitely him......'
The last lingering question mark.
'Why is he hiding?'
Out of fear of Blue Zone?
Soo-hyuk knew well the power of giant guilds. And now, twenty years later, their influence was far vaster than in his era.
But even so, hiding like this didn't make sense.
If the guy was alive.
Why had he done nothing for the past twenty years and stayed hidden?
'Maybe it's not Si-woo?'
Thinking that tangled his mind into a maze again.
If only he'd show up right in front of him and clear it all up.
Smooth.
After fiddling with the flower for a long while, he put it back in his inventory.
Too many thoughts.
Obsessing over worries he couldn't solve right now would just poison him.
What he needed now was positive energy to bolster his mental strength.
'I can meet him.'
He forcibly untangled the mental maze.
The guy was definitely alive. And not as far away as he thought.
At this rate, they'd surely meet.
More importantly right now—what had drawn him there?
'Same reason as me, probably.'
According to the young demon, Blue Zone and Si-woo had visited the forest at completely different times.
By the time Si-woo arrived, Blue Zone had already withdrawn completely.
And that meant.
'Their goal had nothing to do with Si-woo......'
Blue Zone had pulled out of the forest quickly. If they hadn't achieved their objective, they would've scoured it for much longer.
'Was the rumor true?'
The ominous thought crept up alongside his disbelief.
He knew the rumor of a traitor in Blue Eyes was false—he'd been right there as the party involved.
Blue Zone had no reason to tarnish the reputation of Blue Eyes, their predecessor.
Unless there was one reason.
'Someone else survived.'
And their withdrawal from the forest meant they'd surely achieved their goal.
"......One step too late."
Hope and despair washed over him together.
The hope that someone besides Si-woo might have survived.
And the despair that that hope might have been snuffed out by a hair's breadth.
'If Si-woo's alive, he'll handle that side.'
Soo-hyuk forced himself to stay calm.
With his current abilities, all-out war with Blue Zone was impossible. Hell, he couldn't even take on Kim Il-su alone.
'Step by step. Step by step.'
Now was the time to focus on the one whose survival was confirmed.
'Follow Blue Zone, and he'll be there for sure. And by then, to avoid being a liability......'
Clack.
Soo-hyuk picked up the blue gem he'd left on the table.
"First, I need to get my act together."
Kindre, the demon sword forger.
Today was the day to meet him.
After about four hours of short sleep, Soo-hyuk had a simple meal with Unhyang.
Having gone to bed in the morning, the sun was already high by the time he woke, even after a brief nap. Checking the time, Soo-hyuk hurried.
"Why the rush?"
"It's late."
"It's fine. It's not far."
"It's close?"
That was unexpected.
He'd thought a reclusive forger whose face wasn't even well-known would be far from the city.
"He said he has to live in the city to source materials."
"Reasonable."
"Right? That guy's head is full of nothing but this stuff."
Tap, tap.
Unhyang said that while pointing to the sword at her waist.
She seemed pretty obsessed with items herself.
"Still, let's hurry. No point dragging our feet."
"Sure."
Unhyang always respected Soo-hyuk's decisions. The two rose from the table and set off.
It seemed close enough to walk.
Even during the walk, Unhyang didn't forget her manager duties.
"The video from this test will go up today. Oh, and Hawk's Eye has a stream scheduled for tonight."
"Review content?"
"Yeah. Kenwang was too long, so we're doing an edited version. We'll get separate streaming fees, and the broadcast revenue split 60-40. And......"
Soo-hyuk's mind whirred with calculations at Unhyang's rapid-fire report.
So many revenue streams. No wonder streamers joined agencies even if it meant splitting profits.
"Viewership spiked this time, so ad rates on videos went up too. But...... oddly, most ads are guild-focused."
"Guilds?"
"Yeah. Probably because your streams are all about top-tier play. It happens sometimes, but yours have a higher share."
Unhyang glanced at Soo-hyuk before continuing.
"Some even offered huge salaries to join their guild and stream on the side......"
"Pass."
"Thought so?"
It was a recurring theme by now.
Unhyang no longer seemed fazed. She'd just brought it up on the off chance; she trusted he had no intention of joining anywhere.
About ten minutes of walking later.
They arrived at an ordinary commercial building in the city center.
'Here?'
Soo-hyuk made a puzzled face under his mask.
He'd expected someone of Kindre's caliber to have a flashy building or some eccentric workshop.
Rumors painted him as a madman obsessed with demon swords, an old coot who went wild at the sight of blood.
"Just gonna stand there gawking?"
As Soo-hyuk stared at the building, Unhyang grabbed the door handle and led the way.
"We can just go in?"
"We have to. Knocking won't work—he's too focused on work to hear."
Some serious concentration.
Unhyang flung the door open and strode into Kindre's workshop. Doubting if this was right, Soo-hyuk followed.
The ordinary storefront hid something unusual inside.
An endless staircase.
Leading down several floors, dark enough that the bottom wasn't visible.
"Kindre doesn't meet people easily, normally."
"Thanks to you, Manager-nim, I get to."
"Not exactly."
As they descended, Unhyang explained how the meeting was arranged.
"I convinced him I had some killer materials."
"Ah......"
Soo-hyuk nodded in understanding.
"They are killer."
To forgers, materials were everything—the start and end. High-level items from top materials boosted the forger's name and value.
That's why chat had exploded when he revealed the Heart of Thunder on stream.
'Legendary-grade material item. Of course it'd tempt them.'
No known forgers, so he'd hoped to borrow viewers' hands.
Luckily, Kindre bit.
'Wonder what he's like.'
A player famed for crafting multiple legendary-grade demon swords.
Hardly ordinary. Rumors and rep suggested as much.
Step.
The end of the stairs came into view.
And below, a cautious presence—not even a breath out of place.
Finally, they reached the deep basement workshop.
"—Who is it?"
A thin, refined voice called out.
Demon sword forger Kindre.
Seeing his face, Soo-hyuk's mind reeled in confusion.
"......?"
A slender woman with red hair tied up high.
"Unhyang?"
Kindre greeted them with tired eyes.