Chapter 64
Chapter 64
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Vajra Guardian
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"Fuck, you're Sam-soon!? Sam-soon!!?"
"Don't yell, you idiot!!"
"Aaaack!!"
In an instant, Kim Sam-soon lost her mystical aura. She swung the long staff she was holding at Baek Hyun's shin before hurriedly pulling her face cloth back down over her face.
She whipped her head around, checking if anyone nearby had heard the commotion.
Fortunately, it was so late that the sun had set long ago, so there was no one around.
Except for the petite Daoist strolling over leisurely with his hands behind his back.
"I get that you're confused, but yeah, that's Sam-soon. We were late because we had to bring her along."
The Daoist who looked so small he could be mistaken for a child opened his mouth as he toddled over on short legs befitting his tiny frame.
But even in that casual gait, there was a subtle lightness skill at work, making his pace surprisingly faster than a grown man's brisk walk.
At Wudang Beetle's arrival, Baek Hyun rubbed his still-throbbing shin and spoke calmly.
"Honestly, I half-expected her to be a girl from our chats, so it wasn't that shocking. I got all the shock out of my system way back."
He had definitely been pretty surprised when he first learned Sam-soon was a woman.
A total pervert among perverts, rotten among the rotten, who'd ground through twenty custom builds just to catch him, spewing sex jokes and curses too filthy to repeat... and she turned out to be a woman? A seriously pretty one, at that...
He'd tried denying it at first, refusing to believe it.
But no matter how he searched, the only person from the Zhuge Clan around his age was their prized golden child.
And when rumors of her "Heavenly Martial Body" surfaced, he had no choice but to accept that Kim Sam-soon was a woman.
"What? Then why'd you act surprised?"
"It was fun."
"Fair enough."
"Plus, Sam-soon would've been secretly disappointed if I didn't react."
"That too."
Watching their natural back-and-forth, Kim Sam-soon finally couldn't take it anymore and let out a shrill squeak.
"What do you mean, disappointed!? You think I'm some kid!?"
"Why's she talking like that all of a sudden? Did she decide on a polite speech concept?"
"Fair enough."
"No, it's not!? It's just stuck in my mouth... and since it's my first time seeing you in real life, it's only polite!! Why are you two acting like it's still the game!?"
"Oh..."
Only then did Wudang Beetle and Baek Hyun remember they hadn't actually met in person that long ago. They turned away with belated coughs.
"Why are you getting awkward now!!"
The situation and people felt so familiar that they'd unconsciously bantered just like in the game.
How long did that awkward atmosphere last?
In the end, Baek Hyun, with his stronger S tendencies, spoke first.
"Ahem. Come to think of it, we don't even know each other's ages... How old are you? I mean, pre-possession."
"25."
"I'm 24. So I'm the younger one... Should I call you bro, casually?"
"Yeah, that works."
"Got it, bro. My original name was Lee Hyun—just the surname different from now."
"Seo Ha-neul. Got demoted from sky to clouds."
"Haha, guess you got nerfed on height too when you possessed."
"Hahaha, yeah, but you wanna go?"
Just like that, the two guys settled their titles in a flash. Their eyes then slyly turned to Sam-soon.
She let out a small sigh but went along with it, introducing herself as if pushed into it.
"Pre-possession, I was Shin Ruha, 21 years old. Now I'm Zhuge Xuexia, the young lady of the Zhuge Clan. Call me Xuexia in front of others?"
"Wait, you're younger than me? Come on, say 'oppa' to your big bro here."
"I'll just stick to polite speech, so deal with it."
"Aw, why!? I call Azure Cloud bro, that's not fair!!"
"Fair enough."
"You pretend to be all polite, but you're the rudest one here!?"
"That too."
"You two keep calling me Sam-soon!!"
"Oh."
The two men were suddenly speechless at their own rudeness catching up to them.
"Fine, if you promise never to call me that again, maybe once..."
"No helping it. Give up on oppa. The core's still Kim Sam-soon—what's the point of hearing it?"
"Fair enough."
"Should I just go full game mode? Wah!?"
Zhuge Xuexia nearly reverted to her legendary keyboard warrior self, 'Kim Sam-soon,' with typing speeds over 1,000 keystrokes per minute.
But she barely clung to reason before fully regressing, sealing her inner 'Kim Sam-soon' and switching back to polite speech.
"Anyway, even with that guy making us late, two full hours? What took so long?"
"Oh, that? Some guy named Nangong Hui who clings to Sam-soon. Took forever to shake him off."
"Poor pitiful fool. Chasing a shell without knowing what's inside... How tragic."
"Tragic my ass—he's the typical asshole who thinks he's the best. Smashing his face till even his mom and dad can't recognize it wouldn't be tragic at all."
"Whoa, back to character already?"
How much time passed as they chatted?
After sorting names, titles, and various small talk...
The already dark surroundings turned pitch black without a single light. Zhuge Xuexia, the precious heir who needed to get home on time, sighed and spoke up.
"Sigh... That rotten jerk wasted so much time we couldn't even get to the main topic.
Tomorrow we'll meet another player and talk then. If I don't head home soon, my dad might send people across all of Hubei looking."
With that, Zhuge Xuexia handed Baek Hyun an elegantly crafted nameplate and continued.
"Come to the Jade Blossom Inn at the start of the Chen hour tomorrow. Show this to the maid, and she'll guide you. See you there."
"Where's the Jade Blossom Inn? I don't know the streets here."
"...I'll just come pick you up."
Zhuge Xuexia tucked the nameplate back into her sleeve.
"Yaaawn~ Waking up alone like this is rare these days..."
The first morning in Hubei City dawned for Baek Hyun.
He stretched and yawned, moving his refreshed body.
Thanks to his Solar Heavenly Spirit Body, he never needed sleep, but mental fatigue still built up, so he made sure to get deep rest every three days.
The elders and senior brothers who'd gone off on business right after arriving returned to the lodging over an hour after Sam-soon and Azure Cloud left.
They ate lightly, rested briefly, then headed out again on errands.
So right now, he was the only Starpoint Sect disciple left in the lodging.
The space wasn't huge, but using what was meant for dozens all by himself felt not just spacious, but eerily empty.
"You're here? Good, right on time."
As he stepped out, a slender girl with her entire head covered by a face cloth waited outside.
A long staff hung at her waist like a sword.
Baek Hyun placed a hand on her shoulder and spoke.
"Miss Escort, to the Jade Blossom Inn~"
"Cut the crap and get your hand off. Here, a guy touching a girl without permission isn't just harassment."
-Smack
With speed invisible to the eye, Zhuge Xuexia drew her staff and smacked his hand away. She quickly scanned Baek Hyun's outfit up and down.
Her gaze stopped at his feet.
"And what are those tacky cloth shoes?"
"Oh, these? Good ones wear out fast from my martial arts. Feels wrong wasting fancy ones."
Even in the countryside, as the sect leader of a Nine Great Righteous Sect's Starpoint Sect, money for shoes wasn't an issue.
But his plebeian sensibilities from his past life couldn't handle treating expensive shoes like disposables, so Baek Hyun always wore cheap, worn-out, rustic ones.
"Aren't you embarrassed walking around in those? Meeting prestigious clan heirs in that makes you look like a pushover for no reason.
I'll buy you a pair for formal occasions, so wear those from now on when meeting people."
"For real? Sweet!"
Having sorted one annoyance, Zhuge Xuexia immediately pointed out another.
"And what's with that cheap iron sword? Why are you still carrying junk like your main weapon?"
"Been too busy training to farm gear. First playthrough, can't just snag a famous sword instantly. But now that I'm out in the jianghu, I'll pick up something decent eventually?"
"Can't even get a proper weapon? So lazy... I'll call Hubei's top craftsman to make you one. Switch to it as soon as you get it."
"Whoa, you even have connections with master smiths? Our Sam-soon really lived diligently, huh?"
Truly, among players, you're the most reliable.
At those words, Zhuge Xuexia coughed lightly, her face flushing.
"Ahem, probably. PvE-wise, YSG's a step ahead, but he's optimized for solo and speedruns. Factoring in teamwork and first-run quirks, I'm still the best..."
Seeing that, Baek Hyun smiled warmly to himself.
'Still such an easy one.'
She showed it now and then.
Strong pride but craving praise—if you just patted her head and said she did well, she'd handle important tasks on her own.
Her creating and optimizing most guides in Dominating the World stemmed from old-timers wanting newbies without the hassle—a praise fest.
"You guys should count possessing with me as heavenly luck. When you couldn't even farm gear properly, I handled intel networks, businesses, all sorts of tasks... Realistically, no one else could juggle it all."
"Yeah, yeah, our Sam-soon is the b..."
Just as Baek Hyun went to pat her head like always...
He had to freeze.
An unimaginable sight had caught his eye.
"...What the hell is that."
Overwhelming.
The moment it entered his view, nothing else came to mind.
Muscles so defined they showed through thick Daoist robes—a giant frame with build impossible for this era's people.
Add his rugged, hardened features, and it felt like facing a battle-hardened veteran hero. The pressure crushed his whole body.
If a Vajra Guardian upholding the Dharma descended to the mortal world, it'd look like that.
Even Baek Hyun faltered for a moment at the shocking sight.
But Zhuge Xuexia smiled casually.
"Oh, there he is. I said I'd bring one more besides you."
"Right, you mentioned another player. So that guy's..."
"Yep. That's him."
-Flash
His belatedly noticed gleaming bald head blinded Baek Hyun's vision.
"...Living up to the nick perfectly."
Baek Hyun could only nod.