#112 A Story Close to a Novel
A Story Closer to a Novel
"Daddy."
Kang-ho sat Seol-a down in front of him and began brushing her hair.
Her thick hair was quite satisfying to brush; the rhythmic brush, brush strokes had a rather pleasant, calming effect.
Kang-ho looked down at Seol-a, who was calling him Daddy.
"......"
It felt awkward.
But every time he heard that word, he felt a little prickling sensation in his heart.
"Daddy!"
As Seol-a called out again, Kang-ho shifted his gaze. Then, pinching her chubby cheeks, he answered.
"Yeah."
"Yeah!"
Seol-a's method of conversation was incredibly simple; she was a kid who was happy enough just feeling that communication had been made.
"Yeah."
"That's wight!"
What exactly was right?
As if that delighted her, Seol-a beamed brightly and plopped down, lying flat on Kang-ho's lap.
"Y'know, dis."
Clutching the beef jerky Kang-ho had given her tightly in both hands, Seol-a nibbled on it piece by piece.
"Ish yummy."
Being a fox by nature, she couldn't get enough of anything meat.
While nibbling away, Seol-a pointed out the window.
"Hm?"
Turning his head, he saw Furball by the window with its big, round eyes wide open.
Seol-a spoke clearly, enunciating each syllable.
"Fur. Ball."
"Yeah, Furball."
[Big bro.]
As Theo, who was lying on the bed on the other side of the room, playing with his smartphone with a sulky face, spoke, Seol-a quickly repeated after him.
"Big bwo."
[That's it, good job.]
Kang-ho forced back a burst of laughter.
"Yeah, you did a great job."
Grrr—!
Furball rolled its eyes playfully, as if it were excited.
"Give big bwo some, too."
Seol-a, good-hearted as ever, held out her beef jerky to Kang-ho.
"Yeah, we should."
Kang-ho lifted Seol-a up, opened the window, and let her stroke the spot between Furball's eyebrows.
[What a truly bizarre family dynamic.]
Theo clicked his tongue, then suddenly tilted his head.
[Huh, what's this.]
His smartphone had completely frozen.
[Am I out of data?]
While he was tilting his head in confusion, a man suddenly stood outside the window.
He was gently stroking Furball.
"Were you looking for me?"
It was a man wearing a white dress shirt and black trousers—an outfit you could see anywhere.
Kang-ho knew the name of this man with white hair and a monocle very well.
"Epsilon."
At Kang-ho's word, he smiled softly.
"You're looking for Gunther."
Kang-ho nodded at Epsilon's words.
"Gunther should be able to process these items."
—The races of Izenbaum each have their own unique abilities. Some are born with this kind of manual dexterity, while others possess extraordinary mechanical engineering skills.
Kang-ho suddenly remembered what Gunther had told him.
Epsilon's gaze turned to the Eternal Crystal.
"Perhaps."
His gaze then shifted to Kang Jun-seok, who was sitting next to Kang-ho. Looking at him, Epsilon smiled.
"You must be Baal."
"It's a name I'm not entirely fond of."
Kang-ho could now see Epsilon's true nature.
Deep cyan mana fluctuated all around him, forming bizarre patterns.
It felt like a round photo album, where various scenes were repeatedly drawn and erased.
"I suppose you can see it now."
Epsilon asked as if he already knew, and Kang-ho nodded.
"Yeah."
Suddenly, Kang-ho asked him a question in return.
"You could see the future."
Kang-ho slowly continued.
"Did you happen to read this future, too?"
"This future, huh......"
Epsilon shook his head.
"This future had two possible outcomes. This is entirely the result of your choices. The one thing I overlooked was......"
Epsilon winked one eye.
"That your abilities were far greater than I expected."
He quietly closed his eyes.
Soon.
Fwoosh—
The deep cyan mana, which looked almost divine, created waves from Epsilon's entire body.
Soon, his hair fluttered.
The eye opposite to the monocle, previously hidden by his hair, was fully revealed.
A pupil that looked as if constellations were engraved into it!
Something flickered in that eye, which looked like an endlessly deep universe, before quickly vanishing.
"You're in luck."
He finally spoke.
"Gunther isn't too far from here. I'll give you the time and place; just get there on time."
"Does that mean......"
"Yes. It means someone is going to stumble upon a fortuitous encounter."
Epsilon suddenly looked at Theo, who was lying on the bed, rolling his wide-open eyes.
"Friend."
[......!]
"That research you're doing, it's definitely going to be worth it. It matches perfectly with a Grand Mage of the Demon Realm."
[I-it does?]
Epsilon winked one eye at Theo.
"What research?"
At Kang-ho's question, Theo stuck his lip out.
[Just some stuff.]
.
.
.
.
.
.
Kang-ho and Jun-seok walked into Seoul Bank.
Jun-seok pulled out his newly issued citizen ID.
"What's that?"
"Ah, this."
Kang-ho tapped his SS-rank Awakener license.
"It's handy to have. Wanna get one too?"
"I'm good."
The branch manager, who had come running the moment he saw Kang-ho, felt cold sweat trickling down his back.
This was Choi Kang-ho!
The man classified as an SS-rank Awakener, and the one causing a massive stir worldwide.
"Customer Choi Kang-ho! Thank you so much for visiting our branch! I will escort you to the VVIP room immediately."
"Lead the way."
Kang-ho nodded.
The branch manager then checked Kang Jun-seok's citizen ID.
'Who is this person?'
Checking the bank's customer data, the manager's jaw dropped.
'Heeek!'
This person was also a VVIP.
In the entirety of Seoul Bank, there were only six VVIPs!
For two of them to visit at the same time, it was enough to completely snap him to his senses.
'Someone I've only ever seen on paper......'
Carefully looking at the additional information:
The co-owner of the private vault was Choi Kang-ho.
However, this vault had never been opened once in the past 30 years.
Gulp!
For such a person to visit alongside a big shot like Choi Kang-ho, the branch manager felt like passing out.
Choi Kang-ho was Seoul Bank's biggest individual customer.
This represented his total net worth, including physical assets.
However, there used to be a time in the past when Mana Stones replaced currency.
Even in the modern era, Mana Stones sometimes substituted for currency, but due to the stable value of cash, it was less frequent than before.
In the past, excluding artifacts and cash, the VVIP who surpassed even Choi Kang-ho in pure Mana Stone reserves was this customer, Kang Jun-seok.
With ultra-premium VVIP customers, whose private vault maintenance fees alone were exorbitant, standing right in front of him, he felt a sense of awe!
'He's young......'
Furthermore, this man also maintained the youth of someone in his 20s. Was this even possible?
He soon let out a hollow laugh.
Right.
In this day and age, what made sense and what didn't wasn't important. He massaged his forehead and slowly bowed his head.
"I-I-I will escort you personally."
As they entered the private vault, the whole place sparkled.
"You collected quite a lot."
"I guess I did."
Kang-ho looked around.
Inside Kang Jun-seok's private vault was a truly staggering accumulation of Mana Stones.
"Didn't have anywhere to spend Mana Stones?"
"Not really."
That was true.
Kang-ho had also gathered more than enough Mana Stones, and honestly, he didn't have much use for them either.
Inside the vault, Mana Stones were piled up like mountains.
The rule was that only the owner or co-owner could enter the private vault, but there was a specific reason why it was so unorganized.
"It was a hassle."
Kang-ho scratched the bridge of his nose as he said that.
He had just dumped them in because organizing them was annoying, resulting in this mess.
Kang Jun-seok chuckled and began picking out only the largest, thickest ones from the pile.
Mana Stones were considered premium items from A-rank upwards.
Starting from S-rank, they were elevated to a level that only dropped in raid-scale events, and SS-ranks held supreme value, needless to say.
The appearance of just one was enough to make news headlines, and obtaining an SS-rank Mana Stone was the ultimate item for a guild to prove its capabilities.
The S-rank Mana Stones roughly sorted out from the vault numbered about a hundred.
On top of that, there were fifteen SS-ranks.
Even the news of selling a single SS-rank Mana Stone would set international news ablaze, so having fifteen was truly a story closer to a fantasy novel.
Seeing them casually pack fifteen SS-ranks and about thirty S-ranks into a cloth sack, slinging it over their shoulders like luggage, the branch manager felt his breath hitch.
As they left the bank, he bowed at a strict ninety-degree angle.
"H-have a safe trip!"
The time Epsilon had mentioned was 7 PM, and the location was near the East Sea.
When they arrived on time, sure enough, the whole world flashed brightly over there, and a bizarre Gate had formed.
Kang-ho and Jun-seok arrived in front of it.
At some point, someone slipped out from inside.
"......!"
Seeing Kang-ho, his eyes widened in considerable surprise.
"What brings you here?"
It was Ian Rampage, the world's 2nd ranked Awakener and the wealthiest man on the planet.
Kang-ho smirked and waved his hand.
"Yeah, we have some business here, too."
"......"
He was sweating cold bullets, looking as if he had just been through an intense experience.
"What Charon said was true. I......"
Kang-ho realized Ian was extremely excited. And sure enough, what he was holding in his hand were the Constellation Gloves.
"That makes a total of three pairs of Constellation Gloves."
"......"
Ian suddenly realized that an extraordinary energy was radiating from the cloth sack slung over Kang-ho's shoulder.
"Don't tell me that's..."
"Mana Stones."
"......!"
At the very least, there were more than fifteen SS-ranks! And he couldn't even fathom how many S-ranks were in there.
"My god......"
Mana Stones that would shock even him, the owner of the world's largest Mana Stone business, were casually stuffed into that shabby sack.
Kang-ho patted Ian's shoulder.
"Let's finish this talk at home. It'd be annoying if this closed."
"Ah, yes."
As Kang-ho and Jun-seok stepped into the Gate, Ian stood there blankly, blinking his eyes.
'Beings outside the bounds of logic.'
People who casually handled Mana Stones that would shock even him, the wealthiest man in the world.
People who could easily control the world but had absolutely no interest in doing so.
He felt it was perhaps a stroke of luck to witness two absolute beings who truly commanded awe.
"......Hahaha."
He laughed in disbelief and turned around.
Fwoosh!
When Kang-ho and Jun-seok arrived inside the Gate, that familiar scenery was fluctuating around them.
A collapsing world!
Meteors embroidering the sky!
And standing solitary amidst it all was the blacksmith, Gunther.
"We meet again."
Gunther smiled warmly.
Kang-ho slowly walked up to him and bowed his head.
"It's good to see you again."
"Seeing as you sought me out yourself...... it seems you got some help from that Epsilon fellow."
Gunther laughed as if amused.
"Yes. I received Epsilon's help."
"Right...... So what is the reason you sought me out?"
Without another word, Kang-ho pulled out the Eternal Crystal.
"......!"
"I want to process this. If you need Mana Stones, I can provide as many as you need."
"Oho...... An Eternal Crystal?"
Gunther's eyes sparkled.