Buk Yeomjon's Feast

Carpe followed Buk Yeomjon to his dwelling.

The place had a very simple layout. A few pieces of furniture made from stone and wood sat in a space that was neither too spacious nor cramped.

According to Buk Yeomjon, it was a residence he only used in his human form, and dust had piled up considerably from years of neglect.

Of course, that dust was swept away in an instant by a single spell from Buk Yeomjon.

"Wait here a moment. I'll whip up some food real quick."

With that, Buk Yeomjon headed to what appeared to be the kitchen.

And while waiting, Carpe began checking the details of the items he'd acquired.

"This is ridiculous."

Carpe let out a hollow laugh as he scanned the item details.

"Is it really okay to just get something like this for free...?"

-What, did you eat something bad? You're the guy who jumps out of bed for freebies, and now you're pretending to have a conscience?

"No, but usually I at least put in some minimal effort."

If not that, he'd at least used his Unlock skill for a freebie.

But this time was different.

"This is just an NPC going 'Here, take it' and tossing it over. A level 300 Legendary weapon, no less."

The shield was an excellent item too.

A Unique item called the Shield of True Flame, which granted high fire resistance and immunity to burns when equipped.

"If I put this up at the auction house, it'd go for a fortune, right?"

-Obviously. The only downside is no growth options, but at this point, level 300 gear is impossible to get outside random boxes. Auction house would explode.

"I'm scared... What kind of karma is this gonna bring back?!"

-Don't want it? Just leave it then.

"That's not even an option. I'll take the karma."

Carpe obediently stowed the items in his inventory. Lately, his item luck had been so good he was starting to question if it was okay.

"All done! I grilled plenty, so eat up."

Just then, Buk Yeomjon returned with a massive tray piled high with meat. It looked like enough for dozens of people.

"Whoa, smells amazing."

"Right? I even slathered on my special sauce I'd been saving."

"......"

Surprisingly, Buk Yeomjon said cooking was his hobby. Cooped up for ages, he'd reached the level of a master chef tinkering with recipes.

-The world's strongest being, and his hobby's so humble.

'Yeah. The Sahe's aura in my mind is dropping in real time.'

"Come on, eat before it gets cold."

"Ah, sure. Thanks for the meal."

Carpe nodded and picked up a piece of dinosaur meat.

"Huh?"

Holy shit. What is this?

Carpe nearly cursed out loud. The taste was that shocking.

"Whoa, this is seriously delicious."

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

The aroma and flavors exploded in his mouth the moment he ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠bit in, and each chew unleashed bursting juices in perfect harmony.

He'd swear it was the best food he'd ever eaten in his life.

But the real surprise was that the amazement didn't end there.

"Insane."

The elf forest dew wine had boosted stats by about 5 for 30 minutes. This gave a whopping 25, plus damage reduction!

"Tasty, huh? I made a ton, so take leftovers if there's any. Still good cold."

"......"

His throat tightened.

Was it from wolfing down the meat, or from Buk Yeomjon's generosity? He couldn't tell.

"Oh yeah, by the way..."

As they ate, Buk Yeomjon started asking questions.

Carpe answered as best he could with everything he knew, and Buk Yeomjon seemed satisfied.

He was especially intrigued by the story of how Carpe defeated the Servant Lord's fragment in the elf forest.

"That bug laid eggs everywhere, yeah. Good job. Pests like that need exterminating forever."

"......Pest?"

"Useless thing like that? Total pest. Anyway, so you caught its interest."

Buk Yeomjon pointed to the Servant Lord's Token ring Carpe wore.

"That ring. I checked it earlier—no tricks at all. Pretty amazing."

"......That's amazing?"

"Yeah. With that sleazy bastard's personality, it'd normally ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠have a curse or soul-binding contract. But it's clean. Proof he really took a liking to you."

"Come to think of it..."

Carpe recalled his first meeting with the Servant Lord. It had looked at him and said:

[You've got something interesting. I like it. Let's bet on that unknown something. Can you break the eternal cycle?]

The Servant Lord had given him an Epic-grade ring with those words.

The unknown something.

And the eternal cycle.

Carpe had interpreted it as relating to his 0-star Patron Spirit Cheonma or his 10-star skill Unlock.

Wondering if fellow Sahe Buk Yeomjon might know, he asked—but alas.

"Dunno. Unlike that guy, I don't have eyes that pierce everything. 'Eternal ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠cycle' doesn't ring any bells."

Buk Yeomjon just shrugged.

"I see."

"Yeah. But if that sleaze said it, you've definitely got something special. Hmm... This is fun."

Buk Yeomjon pondered for a moment, then continued.

"Alright. I've decided."

"Decided what?"

"Wanna do a job with me?"

Around the time Carpe was meeting Buk Yeomjon.

A massive incident was brewing among RaSe players.

"General! All preparations complete. Just issue the declaration of war."

"The banner of the Top 10 Guilds. The time for conquest has come!"

One of the Top 10 Guilds, Silver Lion Guild, had finally been pushed to the brink of collapse.

"Hunt the lion! It's war!"

Silver Lion Guild had been the first among players to receive a national quest, but unforeseen factors led to failure.

The fallout severely weakened their forces, allowing other guilds to close in rapidly.

And one such guild.

Samguk Guild had finally challenged Silver Lion to a guild war.

Excluding the Top 10, Samguk was among the strongest guilds, renowned for two main reasons.

First, true to its name, membership was restricted to those whose Patron Spirits were figures from Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

Regardless of nationality, they recruited solely based on Patron Spirits—a hardcore concept guild.

RaSe's undisputed king of concept guilds: Samguk Guild.

And one more thing.

The other factor making Samguk famous was its guild master.

In-game name Bongseon.

The master was RaSe's official ranking #2, famous for drawing the 8-star Patron Spirit Lu Bu!

RaSe players called him "Lu Bu" or "Lady Lu Bu" instead of his nick. He was the only known player with Lu Bu Patron Spirit.

"The time for ascension has finally come."

Guild war in 48 hours.

Samguk's guild master Bongseon stroked the massive red horse beside him with an ecstatic expression.

'Red Hare! At last, you're mine.'

Red Hare was a Legendary-grade pet obtainable only via Lu Bu's Patron Spirit quest.

After endless affinity grinding, he'd unlocked the quest and cleared it to claim Red Hare.

The moment he did, Bongseon was certain.

With this beast, even Silver Lion is mine!

'If only I could've gotten the Sky Piercer Halberd...'

Sky Piercer was another Legendary from the Patron Spirit quest. Sadly, he couldn't progress that far—his level was too low.

"Gotta settle for this Unique spear. But it's more than enough for a toothless lion..."

"G-General! Big trouble!"

As he struck a pose on the plains, an aide knelt before him.

"What is it? You're uncharacteristically frantic, Sima Yi."

"Th-that's not important! The auction house...!"

"Auction house?"

"Legendary spear... Argh, this RP is killing me. Legendary item dropped! A halberd! Sending link, check it!"

The man called Sima Yi yelled, manipulating something. Item info appeared before Bongseon.

"......Holy shit. Gotta snipe this now."

A level 300+ Legendary halberd.

Bongseon finally understood what "love at first sight" meant.