Chapter 27

Thump, thump.

Meanwhile.

In a luxurious building in the heart of Seoul, a kind of banquet was being held on the top floor.

The banquet, hosted by someone, was extremely lavish.

Luxurious marble interiors, red carpets, and brilliant gold ornaments.

It wasn’t just the background that was splendid.

The attendees were also incredible.

The heirs of the top 10 corporations in the country.

And young Rankers.

Among them.

“Hoo.”

Gi So-yul, sitting in a corner, let out a deep sigh.

‘Boring.’

She had attended at the request of her brother, Gi Parang, but.

She wasn’t really a party person in the first place.

‘Even more boring than before.’

In the past, she could at least tolerate it.

Even just having conversations with the Rankers she met here.

There was a time when she thought it would help improve her skills.

But now.

It seemed futile.

Frankly, it seemed childish.

Because.

No matter which Ranker enjoying themselves here you brought.

They wouldn’t be able to beat that ‘Old Man’ she had faced.

She could be sure of it.

Compared to that Old Man, everyone here was just an infant.

‘Sigh, I was going to finish up quickly and leave.’

She was itching to move.

She wanted to quickly meet Ju Dong-hoon and see him training.

In the midst of the fierce training, she wanted to steal the Old Man’s teachings for herself.

Realistically, that was the most helpful method.

Still, she couldn’t skip this banquet.

She was already just loafing around in the guild without doing anything.

Didn’t she have to show her face at places like this?

For a large guild like ‘Parang’ to operate smoothly, this kind of networking was essential.

Of course, she had no intention of being proactive.

Just showing her face was enough.

‘The real networking is done by my brother.’

Frankly, she thought that even doing this much was a great concession and consideration on her part.

“……The Ranker I became friends with when I went to America last time, you know? He said he really wanted to see So-yul! Hahaha, So-yul, are you even listening to me?”

“Yes, I’m listening.”

She couldn’t help but yawn.

The man chattering beside her right now was Shin Jong-oh.

A C-grade Hunter.

But she couldn’t ignore him.

He was the grandson of the chairman of Oseong Group, one of the top 10 corporations in the country.

No matter how powerful Rankers were in this world.

In a capitalist society, the power of money was immense.

As long as there was a truckload of Rankers who moved according to money, it was unavoidable.

“So, how about it? Should I arrange a meeting? Haha, I have some good whiskey that I got as a limited edition…….”

“…….”

The constant annoying muttering.

The temptation to [just use my ability to assassinate him?] briefly flashed through her mind, but she nodded vaguely and listened.

Only checking the wall clock with her eyes.

And soon.

[07:00 PM]

As soon as it turned seven o’clock, she jumped up.

“Gi So-yul?”

Shin Jong-oh’s eyes widened.

Gi So-yul replied curtly to his call.

“I’ll only be here until now. I have a prior engagement.”

Exactly 6 hours had passed.

It was time to return to Ju Dong-hoon.

She had already gotten permission from her brother in advance, so it didn’t matter.

“Ah, no. Already? The banquet is just starting…….”

“Thank you for today.”

A light bow.

She cleanly turned her back and left the banquet hall.

“…….”

Gritting.

Shin Jong-oh, who had been silently watching her, ground his teeth.

‘That unlucky bitch. Does she think she’s everything just because she’s a Ranker?’

Shin Jong-oh clenched his fist tightly.

His hands trembled with rising anger.

‘How did it come to this?’

Clearly.

Their relationship wasn’t like this from the beginning.

“…….”

Shin Jong-oh recalled his first meeting with Gi So-yul.

Was it about a year ago?

At this banquet.

When he fell in love with her clear and beautiful appearance.

He had decided.

To make Gi So-yul his woman.

Even when others shook their heads, saying she had too cold of an impression, she looked as beautiful as clear ice in his eyes.

Also, their positions weren’t bad.

He was a third-generation chaebol, she was a Ranker.

He thought they were a reasonably good match.

‘Until just a month ago.’

But, at some point, she had changed 180 degrees.

She used to at least answer him with sincerity, but now she just stares blankly and thinks about other things.

Why, had she changed like that?

‘Could it be that the rumors going around are true?’

Rumors were secretly circulating that she was holed up next to someone every day.

Could she have a hidden man?

‘I should go check it out.’

Shin Jong-oh’s eyes sank coldly.

“Hoo, hoo.”

My vision spun.

A familiar-looking empty lot.

Thud!

I threw the staff I was holding onto the ground and sprawled out on the ground in a starfish shape.

“Huaaa, I thought I was really going to die.”

My limbs ached.

My body was so languid, it felt like I would get on the express train to dreamland if I closed my eyes.

I was physically and mentally exhausted.

“The sun hasn’t set yet.”

When I looked up at the sky while lying down.

It was dyed yellow with the sunset.

‘Gi So-yul said she’d be gone for about 6 hours…….’

Judging by the fact that she wasn’t around, it didn’t seem like 6 hours had passed yet.

It felt like I had stayed up for two days straight.

‘Since it’s evening, she’ll probably be here soon.’

That short amount of time was fine.

I didn’t think that the Dark Shadow Unit guys would come barging in right now, by some incredible coincidence.

“Hoo.”

I stared blankly ahead.

The status windows were densely filling my field of vision against the backdrop of the blue sky.

They were rewards that I hadn’t checked yet.

‘Should I check them out slowly?’

First, I checked the increase in stats.

[The status of ‘Bone Five’ is being adjusted.]

[Technique has increased by 2!]

[Strength has increased by 1!]

[The level of the skill, ‘Fireball’ (Lv.8) has increased by 1.]

[The level of the skill, ‘Air Shield’ (Lv.8) has increased by 1.]

[The status of ‘Bone Four’ is being adjusted.]

[Strength has increased by 2!]

[Agility has increased by 1!]

[Stamina has increased by 1!]

[The level of the skill, ‘Low-grade Blocking’ (Lv.8) has increased by 1.]

[The level of the skill, ‘Low-grade Attention Grabbing’ (Lv.6) has increased by 2.]

…….

…….

…….

From Bone Five to Bone One.

The status adjustment messages filled my vision, making it hard to read.

‘Roughly, the stats have increased in a balanced way, and the skill levels have also risen to around 8~9.’

I simply summarized and moved on.

Because there were more rewards I was curious about.

‘Especially Bone Two.’

Bone Two had become special, unlike the other Skeletons.

[Hidden Quest Cleared!]

[The tyrant of the Ancient Desert Empire, ‘Tae Yang-chang’ acknowledges you as his true master!]

[The memories and will of ‘Tae Yang-chang’ are inherited by ‘Bone Two’ as is.]

[The name of ‘Bone Two’ changes to ‘Tae Yang-chang’.]

[All stats increase by 10.]

“Now it’s Tae Yang-chang.”

[Name: Tae Yang-chang]

[Stamina: 100/100]

[Unique Ability: Awakened Skeleton]

[Class: Spearman]

[Grade: D]

[Strength: 35] [Agility: 35] [Stamina: 32] [Magical power: 26] [Technique: 33]

[Skills Possessed]

-‘Low-grade Thrust’ (Lv.9)

-‘Sun Chain Strike’ (Level.1)

-‘Raging Desert’ (Lv.1)

-‘Soulflare’ (Lv.1)

‘Wow.’

I clicked my tongue.

Because a whopping 3 skills had been added.

They were clearly the attacks he had used on me in my mind.

‘The dazzling, flashing combo is.’

Sun Chain Strike!

‘The attack that covers the entire field like a sandstorm is.’

Raging Desert!

‘The one that amplifies his movement speed and attack speed by burning his Soul for a short time is.’

Soulflare!

All three were clearly amazing skills.

I knew for sure because I had been hit by them directly when I was being tested by him.

“By the way.”

Should I call him Bone Two now?

I didn’t know that the name would change when he awakened…….

‘Bone Two.’

I had named him that casually at first.

But now I had grown attached to the name.

That’s why I felt a little sad.

Tae Yang-chang somehow seemed to lack ‘affection’?

But it’s a bit ambiguous to keep calling him Bone Two when the name in the status window has clearly changed.

“Hmm…….”

I pondered for a moment.

Really ‘a moment’.

I’ve never been one to invest a lot of time in naming things.

“Okay, rather than Tae Yang-chang. Let’s go with Tae Yangi.”

From now on, you’re Tae Yangi. Tae Yangi.

It was a name that seemed to have much more affection.

[Hunter: Ju Dong-hoon]

[Title: X]

[Stamina: 0/120]

I don’t have any Stamina right now, so I can’t check, but.

Since he inherited Tae Yang-chang’s memories, I decided to believe that he would play a huge role in the future.

“Next is.”

The rewards weren’t over yet.

[You clear a ‘Unmeasurable’ rated stage.]

[You achieve a great feat.]

The next thing to check was the achievement reward.

Honestly, I found out about the achievement System for the first time this time.

Judging by the fact that it’s not known to the public, could it be that only some Rankers know about it?

[Rewards have arrived!]

[Congratulations!]

[You have acquired the item, ‘Golden Random Box’ (S-grade).]

“Random Box?”

My eyes widened.

The fact that it was an unfamiliar item called a Random Box was of course surprising, but.

‘S, S-grade?’

It was because an S-grade item had appeared.

That grade that was said to be hard for even Rankers to acquire because there wasn’t much quantity and the drop rate was extremely low!

“This is really crazy.”

Regardless of performance, the grade alone would probably be worth a fortune.

Truly heavenly value.

“Aaaa…….”

I couldn’t help but be moved.

It had been 3 years since I had eked out a living as a mercenary while receiving meager pay.

As an E-grade Hunter.

I didn’t even have any memories of obtaining a proper item.

It felt like just yesterday that I was drooling over C-grade items at stores and auctions.

“S-grade, though.”

Tears welled up in my eyes.

[Item: Golden Random Box]

[Grade: S]

[Type: Box]

[Description: A rare treasure is sealed within.]

[Effect 1: Upon opening, acquire an ‘S-grade’ item.]

Thump, thump, thump.

My heart was pounding.

Without a doubt, even when I had received the blacked Tae Yangi’s spear.

My heart hadn’t pounded this much.

I thought it was a godsend that Gi So-yul wasn’t here.

It’s not that I didn’t trust her.

But frankly, if it was an S-grade item, I felt like she would shout that it was okay to assassinate me without anyone knowing.

S-grade items are the kind that can cause life-or-death disputes between guilds.

Whoosh!

When I lightly touched the box floating in the air, a message flowed out.

[Would you like to open the ‘Golden Random Box’ (S-grade)?]

“……O, open.”

I muttered in a trembling voice.

At the same time, I prayed to the heavens.

‘Please.’

Please, something expensive.

Or, something I can use.

‘Actually, anything is fine.’

It’s a huge win if I sell it.

It’s a huge win if I use it.

If it’s the former, I won’t have to worry about money in the future, and if it’s the latter, it will be an item that even Rankers can use in the future.

Whoo-oong!

The box’s packaging began to automatically unravel.

A bright yellow golden light leaked out from the gaps.

[Thump! Thump! Thump!]

[Opening the ‘Golden Random Box’ (S-grade)!]

[We wish the Hunter good luck!]

And then.

Along with the golden light that soared into the sky.

The box was completely opened.