Two Mages
Until Chae-rin had to go back to the States, I made sure to spend as much time with her as I could.
It's not like it'll be months—just a few days should be fine.
The guild would run itself perfectly well without me. That was only possible because every single member was a formidable asset in their own right.
"Th-that tickles!"
"Woof!"
Rir had become absolutely inseparable from Chae-rin. Kids would be kids—show them a puppy and they light right up.
...He's not technically a puppy, though.
He certainly acted like one, so I figured it didn't matter. In any case, after enjoying those rare, leisurely days, the day finally arrived for Chae-rin and Mother to return to the States.
"Oppa..."
Chae-rin looked up at me with eyes brimming with tears. Her face carried more emotion than I could ever have imagined from her before. I gave her a small smile and met her gaze.
"Next time, I'll come to America."
"Really?"
"Once things calm down a little, that is."
Come to think of it, even in my previous life, I'd never once seen how Chae-rin and Mother actually lived over there. In this life, I had no reason to avoid it anymore—I'd have to pay them a visit someday. I had no idea exactly when that would be, though.
I should hurry as much as I can.
Now I had another reason to grow stronger. To make our family happier in this life than I had in the last.
"Mother will miss you too, you know."
When I lifted my head to say that, the corners of Mother's eyes flushed faintly red. Then she ventured, almost shyly:
"Could I... have a hug? Just this once?"
Without a word, I opened my arms. Her small frame fell into them at once.
"...You've grown so much. Our son."
A single sentence weighted with many meanings. The arms wrapped tight around me seemed to squeeze harder than they needed to.
After the hug ended, I bowed my farewell to Mother and Chae-rin.
"Take care, then. Safe travels, Chae-rin."
I hoped, with all my heart, that we'd see each other again before long.
Having seen my family's faces and enjoyed some quality time, it was time to return to everyday life.
"Ngh...!"
"Your fundamentals really are excellent."
I whirled my spear, probing for openings and thrusting in rapid succession.
"But that alone doesn't make you outstanding."
Karin hurriedly raised her shield to defend, but she was already too late. The extended spear reached its target faster than she expected.
Thwack! Thud!
The spear hammered into the gaps in her guard as though it were being sucked in. Her barrier chipped away chunk by chunk until it hit zero percent in no time.
"Good work out there."
"Wow... Tae-hyun, hasn't your spearwork gotten even sharper lately?"
Karin gaped at me, her mouth forming a perfect circle.
"Please teach me spear techniques too!"
You could think of Karin as a warrior-class version of Shin Min-woo. Thanks to the nature of Divine Artifact Summon, the more weapons she could handle, the wider the range of attacks available to her. Apparently she'd recently taken up archery lessons under Shin Yeon-hee as well.
The more weapons she masters, the better.
She could already wield nearly everything at an above-average level, but this was no field for complacency.
"Sure. I'll teach you sometime."
"R-really...?!"
Karin sucked in a breath, evidently stunned that I'd actually agreed.
"Then instead of putting it off, why don't we start right n—"
"Spear."
A chill slid down my spine for an instant. Baek Seo-ha, who I hadn't noticed approaching, was sweeping her sunken eyes over the two of us. Then her gaze snapped onto Karin and locked in place.
"Didn't I tell you that you'd be learning the sword from me first?"
In their sparring match on the first day, they'd apparently traded one win apiece. And even that had been a razor-thin affair, with each leaving the other at around three percent barrier.
Baek Seo-ha keeps kicking herself over it, but...
From where I stood, it was astonishing progress. Ayase Karin was Japan's number one ranked hunter. Holding even ground against her was nothing to scoff at.
Compared to the Baek Seo-ha of this point in my previous life, her growth was on an entirely different plane.
Not that Karin was fighting at full armament.
If they went all-out right now, Karin would probably win. But considering pure potential, Baek Seo-ha had the edge. Especially with that SS-rank skill, Blackening—while everyone else grew by one, she'd leap from two to three in a single bound.
"Ahaha... r-right. I did promise to learn the sword from you, Seo-ha..."
"Then let's start right now. Draw your sword."
"But today, for some reason, I'm really in the mood to learn the spear first, you knooow..."
"Sword. Draw."
"Yes, ma'am!"
Karin bolted off to grab a practice sword. Watching her scurry away, I remarked with an easy smile:
"Seems like you two get along pretty well."
"...Go inside."
Baek Seo-ha's brow furrowed.
What, why?
If she was willing to teach Karin swordplay, weren't they clearly on good terms? I mean, I'd gotten this close with this life's Baek Seo-ha the same way, hadn't I?
"Tae-hyun. You really are..."
Baek Seo-ha ran a hand through her hair, looking utterly exasperated.
"What?"
"...Never mind."
It wasn't as though I was completely clueless about why she was acting like this.
Until now, Seo-ha's been very much the de facto second-in-command of Shinseong.
She was the first guild member ever recruited, and one of the founding purposes of the guild itself had been to stand up to Seong Yong-ho and protect the Cheongnyong Sword Sect. On top of that, her raw combat power was the highest among the members after mine.
And as far as outside perception went...
Baek Seo-ha was the Sword Sect's leader; I was its vice leader. So naturally, the public assumption had to be that I was the Guild Master and she was my Vice Guild Master.
She was the one who led the guild in my absence, after all.
But with Karin's recruitment, that balance had gotten murky. Only I knew the full extent of Baek Seo-ha's potential. Everyone else had nothing to compare but what was visible right now.
Right now, the only thing Baek Seo-ha had going for her was being a founding member.
In terms of current strength or public recognition, she lagged far behind. Some media outlets had even reported that I'd recruited Karin specifically to fill the vacant Vice Guild Master seat.
Of course, Karin will soar far beyond her past self too.
With the Mana Tumor that had chained her whole life now gone, she could use Divine Artifact Summon far more freely. And above all, her absolute lifespan had lengthened, opening up far more chances to shine.
Even so, I still believed in Baek Seo-ha more. If she kept growing like this, before long she could become the finest swordswoman under heaven—the World's Greatest Blade.
When it came to guiding and leading others...
Nobody suited the role better than she did.
"Hey."
I deliberately called out to Baek Seo-ha, who was moping.
"...What do you want."
"Don't worry so much."
Maybe she was a little behind right now. But looking down the road, when it came to growth potential—
"You're the better one."
—more than qualified for the Vice Guild Master's seat.
"Uh...?"
The instant the words left my mouth, Baek Seo-ha's eyes tripled in size. At the same moment, blood rushed to her face and her pale cheeks began to burn.
"Y-you... y-y-you, wh-what... what was... what was that supposed to...?"
"What was what supposed to be?"
She was stuttering so badly I couldn't make out a word.
"Anyway, keep at it. Teach that sword class well."
"W-wait a second! Tae-hyun! Hey! Lee Tae-hyun!"
Her shout thundered after me loud enough to rattle my eardrums from across the hall.
And with that, my pep talk for Baek Seo-ha was complete.
Now, what's left is...
Recruiting the people who'd walk with me—for that thing looming just ahead.
Magic Crafting.
The revolutionary skill that made the manufacture of magical artifacts possible. The gate where that skill book would drop was about to appear.
Or more precisely, where it would be exhibited.
That gate is a bit of an odd one.
Not a Mutation Gate, but one bearing characteristics unlike any ordinary gate—the kind commonly called a Hidden Gate. Reported cases were vanishingly rare, and every one of them was different, so no hard-and-fast definition existed. But every single one had contained something extraordinary.
Including the one I was headed for now. Magic Crafting was a skill that would bring a new revolution to the hunter industry.
For the sake of my plan, if nothing else.
In this life, I absolutely had to bring that skill to our side. If the plan panned out, I could slash the coming devastation by a massive margin.
Even if I can't do anything about everyone, civilian casualties would drop by more than half.
So, without fail—I would get my hands on Magic Crafting.
The gate allows exactly three people inside.
One was me, and one more slot was already locked in. That left a single seat—and I'd decided long ago who would fill it.
BANG!
I kicked open the lounge door and strode inside.
"WAAAH!"
Ah Seo-ah, who'd been dozing in a patch of sunlight on her bed, jolted upright in terror. When had she even gotten a bed in here? Every time I looked away, some new amenity appeared.
"Wh-what the hell?!"
"Ah Seo-ah, come with me."
"You burst in here and just say 'come with me'? What's that about?!"
"You don't have a choice."
"You're not even giving me options?!"
This gate called for hunters of the mage class. And not just any mages—ones with exceptional talent and skill.
Ji Yeon-ha goes without saying.
But Ah Seo-ah's talent was excellent too. Better yet, she was a guildmate, so there'd be no risk of information leaking and causing a headache. Whatever shortcomings she had, I'd simply cover them myself.
"Get ready. We leave in three minutes."
"Leave? Leave for where?"
"Yeouido."
First stop: the Magic Tower, where Ji Yeon-ha was.
"Ughh! I really got stuck with the wrong guild master, I swear!"
Ah Seo-ah sniffled as she grabbed her pointed wizard's hat.
"Sooo—why are we suddenly at the Magic Tower?"
As soon as we reached Yeouido, Ah Seo-ah dragged her feet and grumbled.
"And the fact that it's just me... I'm getting a little scared, actually...?"
"What exactly is your image of me?"
"Tyrant. Maniac. Monster. Corrupt guild master."
"......"
I take her in, and this is what I get in return. Truly a sight to behold.
"Nothing dramatic. We're entering a gate."
"Uh, uhhh? A gate?"
Ah Seo-ah flinched and went rigid.
"Aren't gates strictly a solo thing?"
"Normally, yes. But this one's a special case."
"Oooh... is that a fact..."
With that, she puffed out her chest.
"Fuhahaha! So when it counts, you come to me. You really do have an eye for talent!"
"......"
Maybe I should just leave her here.
"So that means~ the gate spawned near the Tower?"
"No. The reason we came here is to pick up one more person entering the gate with us."
"Someone outside the guild?"
A puzzled expression flickered across her small face. The members of Shinseong Guild were strong enough that there was no need to recruit from outside.
But this time was a little different.
"Who's so important that the guild master himself came running?"
"Oh, nothing special."
I said the name offhandedly.
"Ji Yeon-ha."
"...Huh? J-Ji Yeon-ha? THE Ji Yeon-ha? Master of the Korean Magic Tower?"
"Yep."
A snort of laughter burst out of Ah Seo-ah's frozen face.
"BAHAHAHA! What kind of joke is that? Ji Yeon-ha, going into a gate with US?"
She clutched her belly and cackled outright.
"Ahahaha, ahaha. Since when did our guild master develop a sense of humor?"
"......"
"Do you have any idea how many people line up just for a chance to talk to her? She's top-tier even among all the Tower Masters in the world. I know your strength is monstrous, but this time you've gone too far."
Ah. Is that right.
"You'll see when we get there."
"Pfft! Missed your window to confess it was a lie, didn't you? If you come clean now, I'll only laugh at you for about two weeks~"
I ignored her provocation and walked into the Tower.
And a short while later—
"J-J-J... Ji Yeon... ha...!!"
"You're here. I've been waiting."
"As have I. I've been dying to see you, Yeon-ha."
"Flattery, out of nowhere? Hmhm~ well, it's nice to hear. Go on, you may continue."
Toward the petrified Ah Seo-ah, I flashed a taunting little smile.