Chapter 70 – Renid (1)

The garden of the Haewon Sword Family, in the late evening lit only by the moonlight.

Two small, specially made daggers floated above my palm and began to spin.

Rosie was watching my training with fascination from the side.

“Amazing, Ji-han Unit Leader! How can your mana control be so perfect?”

Although she was still a Hatchling, it didn’t feel bad to be acknowledged by a dragon.

Because when it came to handling mana, the abilities of the dragon race were overwhelming.

“Watch carefully.”

Hwiing!

Hwiing!

The two daggers soared vertically according to my will.

The targets were two ripe apples on the tree above my head.

It was a task that required highly delicate control.

Because I planned to cut off only the stems while cutting away the small branches.

Thwack!

Thwack!

The harvesting technique was flawless, without a single error, and the two fallen apples landed precisely on both of my palms.

The part just above the stem was cleanly severed, just as I had intended.

Rosie kept exclaiming in admiration and clapping, and I rubbed an apple with my sleeve and handed one to Rosie.

“Here.”

“Cool. Ji-han Unit Leader. If I were a human woman, I would have seriously fallen for you.”

Rosie took a bite of the apple with an excited face.

“I have something to ask you, Rosie.”

“What?”

“If you put your mind to it, can you find other dragons in the Abyss?”

At my question, Rosie paused for a moment and then immediately opened her mouth.

“I almost answered for a moment there. Ji-han Unit Leader, you’re a real pro, huh?”

“So you can’t tell me after all?”

“I told you. Such talk is forbidden.”

As expected.

No matter what trick I used, she wouldn’t fall for it. It was harder than I thought to get Rosie to talk.

“And there’s something you need to know for sure, Ji-han Unit Leader.”

“What?”

“Although I’m living off your house, Ji-han Unit Leader, I have no intention of getting particularly attached to you.”

“I didn’t expect it.”

My final goal was to find the Red Dragon Devrias and repay my debt from my past life anyway.

In that process, I would have to consider the possibility of a clash with Rosie, so I had no reason to get attached either.

I was just looking for the utility value of this young Hatchling.

“And even if you are in a life-threatening situation, Ji-han Unit Leader, I might not intervene at all. Though it would be a bit bothersome for me to find a new place to stay.”

“I didn’t know it was to that extent.”

“Well, I don’t think I need to worry about you anyway, Ji-han Unit Leader? I got the impression that you’re a much greater human than I expected.”

I took a bite of the apple and was lost in thought.

How could I get Rosie to open her mouth and get what I wanted?

Unfortunately, no sharp ideas came to mind yet.

“By the way, I also have something to ask you, Ji-han Unit Leader.”

“What?”

“Are you hiding your strength, Ji-han Unit Leader?”

“What do you mean?”

“The aura of yours that I can detect, Ji-han Unit Leader, is too weak. It’s even weaker than the subordinate members of the Chamryongdan. But the abilities you show from time to time are surprising even to me.”

“What you see on the outside isn’t everything.”

“Honestly, I suspected that you might be a Hatchling, Ji-han Unit Leader. If so, all the questions would be resolved. Because our dragon race can perfectly hide our mana.”

What a novel imagination.

“So you’re still suspicious now?”

“Not really. Because you’ve asked me several questions that a real Hatchling wouldn’t be able to ask. But it didn’t seem like acting either. Tell me honestly. You’re not a Hatchling, are you, Ji-han Unit Leader?”

“No comment.”

“What, how cheap.”

“Are you in a position to say that?”

“For now, I’ll think you’re not! No matter how I look at it, you’re not.”

The fact that Rosie was denying it so strongly meant that a nagging suspicion remained.

It wasn’t bad for me.

Because there was no need for me to explain my abilities.

“Anyway, there are too many suspicious things about you, Ji-han Unit Leader. Like how you, an Earthling, knew about dragons.”

“If you’re curious about that, you can start by answering my questions.”

“I don’t want to. No, I can’t!”

It wasn’t an urgent matter for now anyway.

What was important now was to recover my past strength and to accelerate my exploration of the Abyss.

The fact that I could tackle a quest at any time because I had obtained the infinite Abyss Rune by clearing the 7th stage in Elysion’s Castle was certainly encouraging.

In that sense, I planned to move to the next quest area in the Abyss tomorrow.

***

Before the quest began, as always, the Spring of Elixir came first.

Now, I felt like I would get thorns on my body if I didn’t soak myself in the spring for even a day.

The treatment proceeded smoothly, and the thought that today I was stronger than yesterday made me feel good again.

While sitting in the spring, I could hear my name being mentioned quite a lot.

It was because yesterday’s Bimu was reported in the media.

The protagonist of the Bimu was Im Seong-jun, but the comment he made in his interview became a hot topic.

90% of this victory was thanks to Unit Leader Seo Ji-han.

He could have been a little arrogant on a day like yesterday, but he insisted on passing the credit for the victory to me.

If he was going to do that, he should have said 99.5% or so. That would have been a more accurate figure.

In any case, since more people recognized me, the need for the Human Skin Mask had grown.

Unlike the Kalia Continent, this Earth was a very tiring place because once you became famous, everyone in the world would recognize you.

There were types who enjoyed this kind of fame, but at least I was not one of them.

Before leaving the thick fog that hung over the Spring of Elixir, I put on the Human Skin Mask again.

So that no one would recognize me.

“Yohan senior!”

“Huh?”

The one who appeared before me with a familiar voice was Min Ha-rin.

“I was hoping it was you, and it really was Yohan senior!”

“…Why are you here.”

“Why do you ask? Of course, I came to conquer the Abyss.”

That’s not what I meant. I meant why do I run into you every time I come to conquer the Abyss.

“Which stage are you on?”

“Renid. What about you, senior?”

It was indeed a strange fate with Min Ha-rin.

“Our destination is the same.”

“Really? Does that mean you also passed Elysion’s Castle, senior?”

I nodded.

“I heard your news through the media.”

“I don’t remember hearing any news about you, senior.”

“I stopped at the 1st stage.”

“…I see.”

“Why.”

“Because it’s unexpected.”

“What is.”

“I thought you would challenge many more stages, senior.”

“It’s meaningless. It’s a place where passing is what matters anyway.”

“Right.”

“Why. Are you disappointed or something?”

“No. I’m happy to meet you again in the Abyss like this, senior!”

This girl’s tone and kindness were completely different from when I was Seo Ji-han.

Anyway, I’ll have to leave all the hunting to Min Ha-rin until we get to Renid.

***

[Welcome to Renid.]

[A quest has been generated. Safely escort one of the merchant guilds affiliated with the Titan Guild to its destination.]

※ To become an escort warrior, you must first join a mercenary guild.

Compared to Elysion’s Castle, it was a simple quest.

But for me, a troublesome setup was waiting.

Because joining a mercenary guild would not be a one-time thing.

“Senior. Shall we go to the mercenary guild office right away?”

“Do you have a place in mind?”

“As you’ve probably researched, the Titan Guild seems to have good dealings with large merchant guilds.”

“Then you go to Titan.”

“What? What about you, senior?”

“I have a place I’ve thought of.”

A look of disappointment was evident on Min Ha-rin’s face.

“I thought you would go to the Titan side too, of course, senior.”

“Even if I go there, the chances of getting the same quest are almost nil. So this time, let’s play separately.”

“If you say so, senior, then I guess there’s nothing I can do.”

If you take on the escort of a large merchant guild, the quest reward is likely to be larger.

For that reason, I also wanted to go to the Titan Guild if possible, but I had already judged that it was almost impossible.

Thus, the place I had my eye on was the Red Fox Guild.

It was new and naturally small in scale.

The quest reward would also be small.

But joining here would not be easy either.

The moment I entered the Red Fox Guild office, I could immediately tell its simple scale.

There was only one employee.

According to the latest updated information, he was both an employee and the representative.

His name was Akin, I think.

“Judging by your appearance, you seem to be from Earth?”

“That’s right.”

“Did you come to register as a mercenary?”

When I nodded, a look of delight spread across Akin’s face.

“Someone from Earth visiting our guild!”

I had heard that mercenaries from Earth were treated well here in Renid.

It couldn’t be helped, because the reason we took on escort missions was not for money but to complete a quest.

It wasn’t that our skills were lacking either, and we were sincere in our missions, so there was no reason for the mercenary guilds not to welcome Earthlings.

“Perhaps the pay…”

“You know already. I don’t need it.”

“Hahaha. Right?”

Since the currency of Renid was useless to us, we usually received almost no pay.

The same went for physical goods that couldn’t be taken back to Earth.

Just delicious food and reliable supplies were enough.

“Then let’s start with the mana measurement for mercenary registration. It’s just a formality according to the regulations, so there’s no need to feel too burdened.”

Akin held out a mana measuring device to me.

Although he said it was a formality, this was precisely why I had sought out the Red Fox Guild.

“Should I place my hand here?”

“Haha! Yes. It will be over in a moment.”

It didn’t take long for Akin’s expression to stiffen.

Because the mana level would be much lower than expected.

“Huh? This can’t be! I’m sorry, but could you please place your hand closer one more time?”

“That number is probably correct.”

“Hey! No way! You said you were from Earth.”

I placed my hand on the mana measuring device again.

Even though the same number would come out anyway.

“Are you really from Earth?”

“Yes.”

“Since Renid was connected to Earth, I’ve never heard of an Earthling like this.”

Since anyone who passed Elysion’s Castle would have been filtered out, it was a natural thing.

It was said that the phrase ‘trustworthy and useful Earthling’ was even popular in Renid.

“So you’re saying I can’t register as a mercenary?”

“Of course! No matter how new our guild is, we can’t just hire anyone, can we? If we fail a mission once, we might have to take down our guild sign.”

It was what I had expected.

The amount of mana I possessed was at a level that was difficult to inspire confidence in anyone.

“But it’s without pay.”

“Even if it’s without pay, what can’t be done, can’t be done. Just go back.”

“I heard you don’t have any affiliated mercenaries here.”

“They’ll come soon!”

“When?”

“…Th-that’s none of your business.”

“If you want to raise the name value of the Red Fox a bit, I think you should hire a mercenary and get a mission first. If you keep this up, aren’t you going to close down without doing anything?”

“Even so…”

“I’m an Earthling, you know. If you hire me as a mercenary, I think you’ll get some work just from that. Let’s start with a mission that’s easier than escorting a merchant guild.”

I looked at Akin and gave a wide grin.

His eyes were wavering, which meant his heart was already wavering.

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