Chapter 123

"...Hello…"

Ahn Seohye greeted me with a face frozen with obvious tension. After I gave her a casual greeting back, she expressed her thanks with a halting and strained voice.

"I don't know… why you helped me like this, but… Thank you so much."

I felt her emotions through Eye of Perception. She was scared of me, but her feelings of gratitude were real. And through Observer's Eye, I saw through the true nature of the fear I was feeling.

'Darkness.'

There was intense darkness in the depths of Seohye's eyes. The wounds and pain inflicted on her over many years were ingrained deep in her heart, creating a pool of inky darkness so deep I thought for a moment it would swallow me whole.

'She didn't use a debuff skill on me or anything.'

And yet, the wounds engraved on this child's very existence were so grave she had something close to a 'debuff' effect on me. Eye of Perception and Observer's Eye gave me a keen sense of just how many injuries this young lady had suffered and endured.

Physical contact, like a handshake, was utterly out of the question. We began to talk, and thanks to Yeonseo and Sunhwa being there, our meeting went on harmoniously.

After some time, I asked the question that was on my mind.

"I'd like to hear a little about the Predator Tree Colony."

"About that…"

Seohye's explanation went on, and it was shocking to the extreme. I already knew she had been to the Predator Tree Colony multiple times, but that wasn't all.

For a moment, I was speechless.

"..."

Seohye stared at me with slight fear. She had an intense fundamental fear of men. My silence must have scared her. Noticing that, Yeonseo patted Seohye's shoulder.

"Don't be frightened. It's alright. That guy's someone who'll start meditating in the middle of a raid. Sometimes he gets crazy focused and goes radio silent like that."

I was actually silent because of shock rather than being focused, but Yeonseo's consoling words and smiling eyes seemed to reassure Seohye.

"...You're not mad, right?"

"No."

I wasn't mad. Far from it. I was super happy.

"So basically, you have a special quest."

And the name of that quest…

"Called 'Find Charles'?"

She had a quest called Find Charles! And I had a quest called 'Find Charles' Owner'.

"Yes. But there's only about one week left to clear it."

"I see. Where is his owner?"

"He's in the Predator Tree Colony. In a mansion connected to it."

My quest also had about one week left. We both got the quests at similar times and were tackling it from different ends with different methods.

'Did the former Ahn Seohye also have this quest?'

That, I didn't know. But I had a hunch the former Ahn Seohye—the one before meeting me—was unable to complete this quest.

'Things related to Ahn Seohye are changing.'

I also told her honestly.

"Actually, I also have a quest."

I shared the quest contents with her, and her eyes grew wide. She was just as surprised as me. Yeonseo made a fuss next to us.

"Wow. This is amazing."

Our interests were perfectly aligned.

"Boss. Tell me honestly. Did you help Seohye because you knew this?"

"As if."

No matter how broken my Eye of Perception might be, I couldn't see what quests others had.

Yeonseo grinned. "It would've been a bit disappointing if you said yes."

There seemed to be some kind of weird magic in Yeonseo's smile. The darkness I was picking up from Seohye with Eye of Perception brightened a little every time it came in contact with Yeonseo's smile.

Yeonseo gave me a light wink, as if to ask, "I did good, right?" Seen another way, it also looked like she was explicitly asking for praise.

'Yes, yes. Thanks.'

I just threw her a word of praise in my heart. Yeonseo had asked me this on purpose to show that I didn't help Seohye because I wanted something from her or because there was profit to be had. Her question was meant to console the heart of a child fearful of society and adults.

After some more chatting, I called Seohye earnestly.

"Seohye."

"Yes?"

"I'll speak frankly."

Sincerely, without lies. I decided to drop all pretenses in front of this girl who was deeply wounded and feared the world.

"I'd like to cooperate with you. There's something I want, and you can also clear your quest through me."

Simply put—

"We're in a 'you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours' position. A win-win trade."

I didn't think dumping a whole load of goodwill on this child would make her open her heart. And I doubted she would say yes if I skipped directly to ask, "Will you go on a raid with me?" This was better. I frankly stated that we both had something to gain, so if she was willing, I wanted to work with her.

"But I won't force you."

The Predator Tree Colony and 'Find Charles' Owner' weren't originally in my plans. It would be awesome if I could clear them, but it couldn't be helped if I couldn't.

"..."

"I won't ask you to respond right now."

We were still in the process of building trust, after all.

"Please give me your answer within the quest time limit. I'll respect whatever decision you make."

One day passed, and I got a call directly from Seohye. I could feel from the way she spoke that she was really struggling to talk to me, but it was still very encouraging that she personally called me.

–Um…

After a long moment of hesitation, she continued.

–I've decided to do as you suggested, sir.

I wasn't particularly displeased by that stiff 'sir'. She had never called anyone 'Oppa' in her life. Sunhwa told me it was because her mouth wasn't used to it, or something like that. Her way of address wasn't that important, and I was more than willing to be considerate of this child.

'It's not that she's intentionally trying to distance me. It's just that this is extremely hard for her.'

The important thing was something else.

'Is it really possible to keep up a party, no, a good relationship, with the Red Demon?'

There was deep darkness in her heart, a pool so deep my Eye of Perception couldn't see the bottom of it. I was more than willing to cooperate with Seohye, but that didn't mean I would 100% trust her.

'I can't completely let down my guard around her.'

I helped change her living situation. But that alone wouldn't change everything. What if she started acting like the Red Demon I remembered? What if that was her true nature?

'Then…'

I might end up killing her. I couldn't let the tragedies the Red Demon's rampage created repeat themselves. We were working together now because our interests aligned, and I was only giving her the consideration she deserved.

'First, the Predator Tree Colony.'

I decided to start by checking out the Predator Tree Colony with her. Once again, we met in front of a fast food restaurant. That alone was major progress. She was willing to meet me, a man, alone.

"Let's eat before we go."

While we were eating, Choi Sung-gu also arrived. After ordering four hamburgers, he sat down, sweating.

"Oi. Are we really gonna go there? With just this kiddo?"

Her registered age was 18, and her actual age was 19. She was a little too old to be called a kiddo.

"You have a map, too."

"I mean, I don't want to go."

Predator Tree Colony. A place with a swarm of Predator Trees.

"She'll be our guide. She's already been there several times."

"That's 'cause she has a special class. I'm fucking scared of Predator Trees, man. We barely killed one, and you really want to go to a place with more? Can't you just let me off this once, my friend, my boss, my guy?"

Nope. It would be a huge loss to leave a top-class magician like Choi Sung-gu behind. I was about to tell him as much when I noticed Seohye's eyes growing wide.

"You hunted a Predator Tree?"

"Yes, we goddamn did. The two of us nearly burned to death back then."

I remembered the heat created by the oil and magic flames synergizing, plus the Rot Water and the decomposition poison on top of that.

"Seriously, I was scared for my fuckin' life, dammit. It was fucking HOT."

Seohye had a look of disbelief on her face. "But I was told a Predator Tree was impossible to hunt at my level."

"What's your level?"

Because Sung-gu asked so casually, Seohye just blurted it out without thinking.

"34."

Then, she made a look of 'oops', which she quickly hid. However, she wasn't so fast that she could escape my Observer's Eye.

'Is she not allowed to disclose her level?'

Did her Guardian instruct her to not tell anyone? Or her Streamer?

'Come to think of it…'

I couldn't feel her Streamer at all. She was at this level at this age. That was a ridiculous growth speed. In addition, a special barrier was concealing her Guardian's name. She was definitely hot topic material, so why? Why hadn't any Intermediate Administrators made a contract with her yet?

I butted into the conversation, taking advantage of the fact that Sung-gu's jaw was on the ground.

"Next time, don't say your level honestly."

"..."

If she was in that kind of situation, I just had to turn the situation to my advantage. I wasn't saying that I would make use of her, but that I would make use of the situation. I was sure of it. She hadn't reached that level on her own.

"Your level is completely outside the realm of common sense."

The top Rankers were currently level 30-31. A young girl who hadn't made full use of her 'barrier' yet and hadn't fully participated in any real raids was level 34?

I took a bite of my hamburger, then continued talking like I was discussing the weather.

"You might have realized it yourself, but you're an Irregular."

She was no ordinary Player.

"It's possible that someone forcibly adjusted your level."

To do that, an extremely strong Guardian would have had to incur a huge sacrifice. There were almost zero Guardians who would go that far.

"Or it could also be that your starting level was different from others."

For example, she might have started at level 30.

"And I'm sure your Guardian doesn't want that fact to be revealed."

"..."

I could see from the expressions flashing on her face that she was terrible at lying.

"So my advice is to be careful of what you say from now on."

"...Yes. I understand."

Sung-gu shook his head while munching on his third hamburger. "This monster of a Player. Jeez. I'm tired of it, like seriously. Can you just see from A to Z after hearing a few words? Sometimes, you scare me. Do you even know, bro?"

"..."

I ignored Sung-gu's nonsense like water off a duck's back. After our meal, we went to a specific clearing.

"This is where I usually activate the gate."

"Ah."

It was a children's playground, a place with stones, lumps of dirt, and steel structures like monkey bars and swings.

'All those elements are important for barrier magicians.'

That was why Seohye chose a place like this to activate the gate.

"Did you pick this place?"

"..."

That looked like a no. That 'special Guardian' must have told her.

'Just who could it be?'

The Red Demon's Guardian was never discovered. No matter how favored Seohye was, it was still amazing there was a Guardian out there pouring everything they had for her.

'It would be good if I could find out who it was.'

There weren't many Guardians as devoted as Seohye's. That was the kind of Guardian you had to nab, because they would give you blind love and devotion.

"Forget it. Don't answer me."

I turned my gaze from her to Sung-gu. "You've got your map, yes?"

"Yeah. This is my lifeline, so of course."

The map was marked with the locations and even the spawn times of the Predator Trees.

"Ah. Your crazy must have infected me. To think I'd be walking into hell with my own two feet… The world is truly strange."

To my amusement, Sung-gu's lighthearted attitude was helping Seohye relax. She was going into a field with two men, she could go in with her heart just a little more at ease. Sung-gu's whining was good for something, at least.

'Though that wasn't his intention.'

Seohye picked up a few pebbles. She took out a shovel from her Inventory and piled up a few clods of dirt here and there.

'Red threads.'

She also took out red thread and scattered it in several places.

"I'll begin now."

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