Chapter 98
Chapter 98
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 98
Chapter Title: Meeting the Supreme Sorcerer
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“Mm, I’ll swing by the next school too.”
Those were Ji Su-jeong’s words.
After meeting Hae-jin, Ji Su-jeong had joined the Villain Buster Squad.
Since then, she’d been hitting three or four middle and high schools a day, wiping out every bully in South Korea.
Of course, she had to come back, so she carried return scrolls crafted by Raffaello.
Raffaello had acquired the scroll-making skill on his path to becoming a Sage, and he was grinding its proficiency by producing all sorts of magic scrolls.
Among them, one of the trickiest was inscribing teleportation magic circles. He’d been practicing casually, but he’d poured effort into making these for Ji Su-jeong’s returns.
With the return scroll from Raffaello in hand, Ji Su-jeong reported in, and Hae-jin replied.
“Got it. Just handle that one today, and let’s grab dinner together later.”
“Really?!”
“Yes.”
“Then I’ll wrap it up quick and be back, Hae-jin oppa!”
With that, Ji Su-jeong set the coordinates for the school she was heading to next and activated Raffaello’s instant teleportation magic circle to depart.
Watching her go, Hae-jin said.
“She’s actually pretty good at this.”
“Yeah, tell me about it. I’m dying over here. Making five spatial transfer scrolls a day and all.”
“But your proficiency’s going up nicely thanks to it, right?”
“True enough.”
Hae-jin finished his conversation with the approaching Raffaello.
That was when it happened.
Bzzz-.
“Hm?”
Hae-jin glanced at his smartphone as it vibrated.
Seeing the notification, he tilted his head.
“Who’s this?”
It wasn’t a call.
It was a chat message.
Hae-jin checked the contents.
[Po: Hey?]
A user named ‘Po’.
Hae-jin replied to the question.
[Park Hae-jin: Who is this?]
[Po: You gave me your ID and told me to contact you?]
[Park Hae-jin: Ah, Supreme Sorcerer?]
[Po: Yep.]
Confirming it was the Supreme Sorcerer messaging him, Hae-jin said.
“Park Bo-young, so ‘Po,’ huh?”
“Huh?”
Raffaello, standing nearby, wondered what Hae-jin was suddenly on about.
Hae-jin shook his head at him.
“Nah, go do what you need to. I’ve got to chat with this messenger.”
“Got it.”
Following Hae-jin’s instructions, Raffaello left to handle his tasks. Alone on the living room sofa, Hae-jin conversed with the player using the ‘Supreme Sorcerer’ nickname, Park Bo-young.
[Park Hae-jin: Glad you reached out.]
[Po: Why’d you ask me to contact you?]
[Park Hae-jin: I’m teamed up with some players right now, and I wanted to ask if you’d consider joining us.]
[Po: Join you, Park Hae-jin?]
[Park Hae-jin: Yes.]
Hae-jin was asking if she’d tackle the Trials’ Arena with him.
But the Supreme Sorcerer seemed to be giving it deeper thought than expected, as her reply didn’t come right away.
‘She’s mulling it over, huh.’
Hae-jin was satisfied by that, oddly enough.
On the surface, no one would turn down an invitation from ‘Massacre’ Hae-jin.
Turn it down? They’d be clinging to join him in a heartbeat.
Why?
Because Hae-jin was the world’s strongest player.
Who’d refuse the world’s top player?
Teaming with him basically guaranteed better survival odds in the Trials’ Arena.
Of course, Park Bo-young might hesitate.
Players from other zones might not know, but those in Hae-jin’s zone would think of certain people when joining him came up.
Namely, ‘Jung Nam-gil’ and ‘Kang Hee-soon’.
The two who’d tried to latch onto Hae-jin only to get used and die instead.
Recalling them might make one question teaming up with Hae-jin.
But.
Anyone with basic common sense would know why Hae-jin had gotten them killed.
Especially Koreans—they’d know better than most why he’d done it.
The pair were vicious serial killers who’d have kept murdering if left alive.
That’s why so many had called Hae-jin ‘Massacre’ early on, only for some to hail him as a hero now.
Even so, any player would have to weigh it.
Was teaming with Park Hae-jin truly beneficial?
They’d know trying to use him could end up like Jung Nam-gil and Kang Hee-soon.
After a quiet spell of deliberation, Park Bo-young finally replied.
[Po: Honestly, it’d be great if we could team up. You’re the strongest player out there. But why offer this to me? That’s what I’m curious about.]
Park Bo-young asked.
Why Park Hae-jin was inviting her to team up.
Hae-jin gave a simple answer.
[Park Hae-jin: I don’t think it’s strange to recruit the Supreme Sorcerer, who’s always in the top ranks.]
[Po: So, are there any players in your group that I might know?]
Park Bo-young asked if there were familiar names among his teammates.
Truth be told, she likely knew them all.
Hae-jin’s group were all hidden mission achievers, publicly known to other players at some point.
Seeing no reason to hide, Hae-jin disclosed them.
[Park Hae-jin: Speller, Raffaello, Anna, me, Manager Kim. That’s our current party.]
[Po: Speller’s in your party too?]
[Park Hae-jin: Correct.]
[Po: What about Joker, Paulzone, and Gilidu?]
[Park Hae-jin: Those three have no connection to me.]
[Po: I see.]
[Park Hae-jin: Yes.]
Park Bo-young went quiet again.
Hae-jin pondered it.
‘Does the Supreme Sorcerer have ties to Joker, Paulzone, or Gilidu?’
Rifling through Joo-hyuk’s memories as he thought that.
But no clear links to Park Bo-young turned up.
While Hae-jin searched those memories, a reply came from Park Bo-young.
[Po: How about we meet up first and talk?]
[Park Hae-jin: That’s what I was hoping for. Where should I go?]
[Po: I’ll send you the address. Meet there?]
[Park Hae-jin: Sounds good.]
Hae-jin soon received the address from Park Bo-young.
“Songpa-gu... Roughly set coordinates around here and we’re good?”
Using the address, Hae-jin picked his destination zone.
With coordinates locked, he activated Shadow Blink.
Whoooosh-!
Shadow Blink took Hae-jin to Jamsil Station Exit 1 in Songpa-gu.
That’s where Park Bo-young had suggested meeting.
Arriving via Shadow Blink, Hae-jin messaged.
[Park Hae-jin: I’m here.]
[Po: Already?! You from around here?]
[Park Hae-jin: Not really, but I’m here anyway.]
[Po: One sec. I’ll come down right now.]
“Hm?”
Hae-jin wondered at Park Bo-young’s words.
He’d arrived at Jamsil Station Exit 1, and she said she’d ‘come down.’
As the thought crossed his mind.
He sensed it.
A presence with a formidable aura, distinct from the ordinary people around.
Hae-jin turned his head.
There, he saw it.
A figure in a robe with the hood pulled up, concealing their identity.
Hae-jin knew instantly.
That was the ‘Supreme Sorcerer’ he’d come to meet—Park Bo-young.
Unlike the disguised Park Bo-young, Hae-jin lived openly, everything exposed.
Practically no one didn’t know his face.
So Park Bo-young spotted him right away and approached.
With a larger build than he’d glimpsed before.
Seeing the expanded frame, Hae-jin thought.
‘Male form right now, I guess.’
Park Bo-young possessed the ‘Rune of Yin and Yang,’ letting her switch genders at will.
For this first face-to-face with Hae-jin, she’d come as male to hold her own.
The approaching Park Bo-young asked.
“You’re Park Hae-jin, right?”
“That’s me.”
“Shall we move somewhere else for a bit?”
“Sure. Where to?”
Hae-jin asked where to go, as Park Bo-young suggested relocating for easier talk.
She checked where Hae-jin lived.
“Do you live nearby by any chance?”
“Nope.”
Hae-jin’s current place was quite a ways from Jamsil.
Not living there, he shook his head.
At his denial, Park Bo-young found it intriguing.
“Then you had business around here?”
He clarified it wasn’t that either.
“Nope.”
“But why were you here?”
“I wasn’t here before. You picked this meetup spot, Supreme Sorcerer, so I came.”
“A skill?”
“Yes.”
“Ah, got it. Then how about we head to my place to talk? We need to discuss future plans face-to-face.”
Having heard how Hae-jin reached Jamsil Station so fast, Park Bo-young wanted to relocate.
She insisted on her house, so Hae-jin suggested a nearby café was fine.
“We don’t have to go to your place. A café nearby would work, no?”
“I’d feel uncomfortable there.”
“I see.”
“Yeah.”
Since Park Bo-young disliked chatting at a café, Hae-jin figured he’d go along.
“Understood. Let’s talk at your place, Supreme Sorcerer. Lead the way.”
“Sure.”
Hae-jin followed her home.
Arriving, Park Bo-young pulled back the stuffy hood.
With it off, Hae-jin saw.
‘Incredibly striking looks.’
Her current male face was top-actor level—no issues there.
No wonder wearing the hood outside felt cumbersome.
‘With looks like that, people everywhere would snap photos.’
Even Hae-jin, whom others called handsome, was impressed by male-form Park Bo-young’s exceptional appearance.
Anyway, as Hae-jin masked his admiration in that context.
Park Bo-young asked.
“Tea?”
“Please.”
“Got it. One moment.”
She prepared tea for them both and returned to the living room.
Handing it over, Park Bo-young got to the point.
“You wanted to ask if I’d team up going forward, right?”
“Yes.”
Then she asked.
“What do I gain from joining you, Hae-jin?”