CHAPTER 115 – Mistilteinn (Part 8)

While Kim Suho and Kim Hajin were conquering the hidden stage of Suwon's Devil Nest, back in Cube's Fitness Center, Rachel was finishing her physical training and was preparing to go towards the forest that was close to the dorms to continue her training with Quick-Step.

{I wonder what my master is doing...} She thought to herself while walking towards the changing room.

She would normally go running towards the forest to meet with Cristopher, but as he wasn't in Cube today, it would be only her training.

{Maybe Olivia's already there...} The thought for a moment, before reaching to open the door.

Or so she tried, but the voices she heard from the changing room stopped her, making her frown.

"...Did you know? Kim Hajin likes Rachel." Some girl said inside the changing room.

"What? Really? No way!" She heard another one answer with a surprised voice.

"Yes way. Can't you see how he's been following her around recently? People are saying he's going to confess to her soon." The previous girl continued.

{What are these girls saying?} Rachel's frown deepened.

Just as she was planning to enter, someone else stood beside her.

"Aren't you going in?" Chae Nayun asked her with a frown.

"..." But Rachel just looked at her before opening the door and going in. Behind her, Chae Nayun, and Yoo Yeonha also followed.

Looking at Rachel's frown, the two girls inside flinched and hurriedly took their stuff to go out of the room. But before they could make it, Rachel spoke.

"You two. Stop making rumors that people might misunderstand." She said with a stern voice. "Hajin doesn't like me. We're just friends, and the reason he was looking for me recently was just because of the group project."

Both girls trembled a little before bowing.

"We're sorry!" Both girls shouted and left the room.

Rachel let out a deep sigh.

"What was that?" Chae Nayun asked as she looked at the retreating girls.

"Nothing..." Rachel just shook her head.

"Mm… It must be because of the rumors." Yoo Yeonha said while tapping her chin.

"What…?" Rachel turned to look at her. "Did you hear them too?"

"Yes." Yeonha shrugged. "A lot of people have been talking about it recently."

"What? What rumors?" Chae Nayun tilted her head. "What am I missing here, Yeonha? Tell me."

"No." Rachel protested.

"It's nothing really." Yoo Yeonha shrugged before she turned to Rachel. "Oh, about that. You're in that person's team, right?"

"That person...?" Rachel tilted her head.

"She's talking about Kim Hajin." Chae Nayun said with a sigh. "For some reason, she can't call Kim Hajin by his name."

"... Yes… I can..." She let out a dry cough. "Anyways, how is he?"

"Yes? What do you mean by-"

"Rachel-ssi?" Yeonha interrupted her with a somewhat angry face. "Aren't you looking down on me too much? I know that the English Royal Court guild made him an offer. Everyone knows it."

At her words, Rachel's expression stiffened for a moment.

"I don't know anything about that."

"That can't be." Yoo Yeonha shook her head. "The English Royal Court is only given two chances per year to contact cadets. And Kim Hajin's rise in fame is only recent. Also… I heard you personally handed the contract."

"..." Rachel furrowed her brows. {Did Olivia say something?}

"At least that was what some witnesses said." Yoo Yeonha smiled. "Well, I'm kidding. But I don't think you should use the Royal Court guild's chances so easily. I know it is a special privilege acquired through an agreement between two countries, but doing so might create unnecessary enemies."

Hearing her, Rachel's eyes turned cold, and she glared at Yoo Yeonha, and the latter calmly received her glare with a smile.

"W-Wait, what, what are you guys talking about?"

"Nothing~." Yoo Yeonha said with a smile. "Since we ran into each other, would you like to come for a night snack at my place?"

"No, thank you for the invitation, but I'm busy." But Rachel politely declined.

"Huh? It's already night, what do you even have to do?" Chae Nayun tilted her head.

"I have to practice a technique that my master taught me." Rachel said with a smile.

"Your… Master…?" This time it was Yeonha who tilted her head. "Do you mean… Cristopher-ssi?"

"Yes." Rachel nodded, before taking her stuff and walking towards the exit. "I'll be leaving then. Good night."

"Wait!" Chae Nayun shouted.

"Mm?"

"W-What a-are you learning from h-him…?" She said, trying to sound nonchalant.

"?" Rachel tilted her head for a second before she shrugged and smiled at her. "It's a movement technique."

"..." Chae Nayun's eyes widened as Rachel left the place.

Meanwhile, inside Yoo Yeonha's mind.

{Why did she ask Hajin and not Cristopher to join her guild? Is it because of what he said before?}

***

Somewhere around Spain, in the vast wilderness that once was the autonomous community of Extremadura, a trio went out of a hole that was at the base of an old dead-looking tree.

"Did you see that, daddy!?" Evandel shouted excitedly after getting out of the hole.

"Yes, yes. I saw it, Ev, you were amazing." Cristopher smiled at the excited child.

"Yay! I blew up that giant tree's arm with my fireball! And then my ghosts froze its other arm and, and, and Shina! Shina broke the arm with her claws and fangs! And I finished it with another fireball! It was amazing!" Evandel shouted as she jumped around.

"Hahaha… Yeah, it was. You're getting quite proficient with your power." Cristopher said as he patted the head of his excited daughter.

He then turned to look at the exhausted leopard cat and also patted her head.

"You too, Shina. It took me by surprise, but you're growing at an astounding speed. I should take you to more Dungeons, I want to see how much you will grow." Cristopher said with a smile, while Shina rubbed herself on his hand while purring.

"Yes! Shina is so awesome!" Evandel embraced Shina, who was now bigger than the child, even standing on her four paws.

"Well, I guess it's time for us to leave." Cristopher said as he stretched.

"Mm? Where?" Evandel tilted her head, still embracing Shina.

"Did you forget?" Cristopher raised an eyebrow before he smiled at her. "You wanted to go to Disneyland, right? Let's go."

"Woah…!" Slowly, Evandel's mouth opened wide. "YES! LET'S GO! LET'S GO! Come on!"

And just like that, a trio formed by a tired leopard cat, a young man, and an excited child, started to walk towards the nearest Portal Station.

{When will Park Soohyuk have the bike ready? It would be faster just to ride through the wilderness.} Cristopher thought.

***

Back at Suwon's Devil Nest, the barrier that trapped Kim Suho and the caucasian man finally broke apart.

Inside of it, the caucasian man lied unconscious on the ground while Kim Suho had a haggard expression, he was currently holding Mistilteinn while panting.

Even without awakening, the branch was an amazing weapon, not falling short of its mythical origin. Combining that with the fact that the man he fought against was a swordsman, Kim Suho could still win by himself.

{Though it's not like I didn't do the same. Though I did use a more underhanded method.} Kim Hajin thought with an awkward smile.

"You won?" Hajin said as he looked at Suho.

"... So did you." Suho, catching his breath, also answered as he saw Hajin standing in place.

Both of them laughed before Kim Suho broke the silence.

"...Anyways." Kim Suho said as he turned serious. "Hajin, I don't think this is a normal branch."

"Oh yeah?" Hajin smiled. "To me, it looks amazing at first glance."

"Really? How?" Suho tilted his head.

"...First." He said as he nodded towards the unconscious Djinn. "We should probably leave this place."

"Oh… Right." Suho nodded with an awkward smile.

"Are you too tired to walk out?"

"No, it's okay. I can still walk." Suho said after letting out a deep sigh. "Let's go, we don't know when their guildmates will come."

"Yeah." Hajin nodded and both made their way out of the Dungeon.

"Oh, by the way, what happened to the guy you fought against?" Kim Suho asked.

"He… ran away..." Hajin smiled awkwardly as he scratched the back of his head.

"Oh..." Suho nodded. "Shouldn't we report them to the Association?"

"No… We don't have evidence." Hajin said as he shook his head. "Plus… This place is actually a hidden stage of the Dungeon those guys were conquering, seeing as we were the ones who entered without following the proper procedure, we might get punished instead of them."

While Hajin did say something that looked to be true, in reality, he just wanted to protect his soon-to-be fortune.

If Packhorse Masters were denounced, the stocks he and Cristopher bought would all go to the bottom of the pit.

{That guy might go crazy if I let that happen...} Hajin thought for a moment.

Once outside the entrance they came from, Hajin and Suho went down the mountain, trying their best to evade any monster, until they finally reached the middle of the mountain, where the monsters aren't that dangerous.

"Ha... " Suho let out a deep sigh. "I'm really tired, I'll need to sleep a lot..."

"Haha..." Hajin just chuckled.

"It's amazing really..." Suho said as he looked towards Hajin. "How are you not tired after all that?"

"Well..." Hajin smiled awkwardly while scratching the back of his head. "I didn't have to fight with the boss like you did. I just have to pull a trigger, you see?"

Hajin said as he made the motion of pulling the trigger of his gun.

"Still..." Suho seemed to want to ask more but just shook his head. "You're really amazing, Hajin..."

{Though… I'll have to thank Cristopher, using my two streaks would normally hurt like hell… Now it doesn't hurt that much.}

"Oh well, anyways." Hajin said, changing the topic. "About your branch."

"Oh right." After he nodded, Suho took out the branch and showed it to Hajin. "Do you know what this is?"

"Well, not precisely..." Hajin said before rubbing his chin. "But thinking for a little bit, I think I have an idea. First, it's impossible for a boss like that to give a simple branch as a reward, which leads us to think that it's something special."

"Right."

"Then, if we consider the fact that the boss was a sword… Well, I would say that the reward would have to be something related to swords."

"But it's a branch." Suho said as he tilted his head.

"Yeah, that's why, thinking a little bit about folktales, legends, and myths, there's one that fits the criteria perfectly. Misteltein."

"...Misteltein?"

"Yeah." Hajin nodded. "It's a legendary sword made from a mistletoe, the same sword that killed the Nordic God of Light Baldur."

"Woa..." Suho's eyes widened as he looked at the branch in his hands. "It sounds like something amazing..."

"It sure is." Hajin nodded with a smile. "Of course, as you know, a divine weapon needs to undergo one or more awakenings to fully reveal itself. This branch must be the unawakened Misteltein, that's why it looks like a simple branch right now."

"Right..." Suho nodded with a serious face. "I guess I'll have to figure out how to do that and work hard to awaken it, huh..."

"Yeah, that's true-" He started to speak before he suddenly stopped and exclaimed. "Oh, right! I almost forgot."

"Mm? Forgot what?"

Looking around his belt bag, he took out a piece of cloth that had blue-glowing dust inside.

"What's that?" Suho asked as he looked at the cloth in surprise.

"It's a..." Hajin thought about what to say for a moment until something came to his mind. "A family keepsake…?"

"A family keepsake?" Suho tilted his head.

"N-Not exactly, just something like that, you know? Something important to me. Anyways, put the branch on the ground." Hajin said.

"Why though?" Suho asked as he left the branch on the ground.

"Just look. This dust has a special property that allows it to awaken the hidden potential of artifacts and even humans. It was a gift from an elemental." Hajin said as he approached the dust on the branch.

"Wait." Suho stopped him, grabbing his wrist. "What are you doing?"

"Huh?" Hajin looked at him surprised. "What do you mean? I'm going to apply the dust to the branch. Something must change."

"Are you sure?" Suho asked with an apologetic face.

"Huh? About what?" Hajin just tilted his head.

"Didn't you say it was important to you?" Suho said as he nodded towards the dust.

"Ah..." Hajin chuckled subconsciously. "It's important, that's why I have to use it at times like this. Where else would I use it if not on a divine grade weapon like Misteltein?"

"But still..."

"Just shut up and take it, dude." Hajin said with a sigh while sweeping Suho's hand from his wrist. "If a guy I know were here, he would be already asking why the hell you're not taking free stuff..."

"Mm..." Suho scratched the back of his head, slightly awkward. "Do you mean Cristopher?"

"Yeah, who else would say stuff like that?" Hajin chuckled, and Suho followed.

"That's true..." He nodded. "Then… Thanks, I guess."

Under Kim Suho's half-grateful, half-worried gaze, Hajin carefully sprinkled the Butterfly Seedling Dust on Misteltein.

The dust seeped into the branch, and the blue glow of the dust slowly spread through the branch, and shortly after, the once brown branch started to turn black.

Once the black color covered the entire branch, it stopped looking like a normal branch. What's more, another change quickly took place at the tip of the branch as a new leaf sprouted up from it, before falling on the ground.

{Did it happen like this in the original novel?} Hajin thought for a moment before he spoke.

"See?" He said with a smile. "I was right."

"...Yeah" Kim Suho muttered in awe as he looked at the new aspect of Mistilteinn.

"Then… As promised." Hajin picked up Mistilteinn and gave it to Kim Suho, before picking up the leaf on the ground. "You take the branch, and I take the leaf."

"...Hajin." Suho looked apologetic as he grabbed the branch. "Are you sure? Why don't we share this weapon? You can use it whenever you need it."

"Please..." Hajin said as he waved his hand in rejection. "I'm not a swordsman, I'll just die if I fight with a sword."

Suho sat back down, with Mistilteinn still in his hands, while Hajin stealthily turned on his smartwatch.

[Misteltein Leaf]

[A byproduct left by the god-slaying branch after its awakening.]

[You can drink a tea brewed, which will increase your body's health, or you can grind it and use it to make an amazing weapon.]

{Mm… I'll ask Cristopher to see what can be done with this. Maybe creating some bullets?} Hajin thought for a moment as he looked at the leaf.

After keeping the leaf on his belt bag, Hajin smacked his knees and stood up.

"Alright, let's go back."

"...Yeah." Kim Suho, who was hypnotized by the branch in his hands, nodded and stood up. He then took the lead, with Kim Hajin following him.

After walking for a couple of minutes, Hajin's foot was grabbed by something, making him trip.

"!" He flinched at the feeling of something grabbing his foot, and just like that, he fell face-first on the ground.

He wasn't hurt at all, but a strong sense of deja vu traveled through his body.

{Don't tell me...} He thought as he turned back to see that the cause of his fall was a root.

"..." He looked at it flabbergasted, before digging it up.

It was ginseng. Smaller than the last one, but still a thick one, with multiple roots branching out of it.

{Jackpot...} He thought as he silently put it inside his cross bag before following Suho who was still walking ahead of him.

After walking for some time, they finally made it to the Portal Station, moments before it closed.

Once they were in front of the Portal Station, Kim Suho stopped him.

"Let's split up here." Suho said.

"Hm? What about you?" Hajin tilted his head.

"Since I came all the way here, I'm going to stop by and see my family." He said with a smile. "And thank you for today."

Kim Hajin looked at him, and under the silver moonlight, Suho's honest eyes and clear smile shone brightly.

This was this world's main character.

A man who only walked the path of righteousness.

A man who never compromised or abandoned his beliefs.

An ally of justice with conviction stronger than steel, and a seeker of truth who always walked the correct path.

An existence that was already extinct in the modern world. One that Hajin always hoped would exist.

A righteous hero, one that could be trusted more than anyone else in this world.

That was Suho.

And just like his name, he was the true savior who would protect this world.

"...Yeah." Hajin said as the emotions invaded him. "See you later."

***

Back in Cube. Hajin finally walked into his room and dragged his body towards the bed.

The room was unusually empty and dark tonight.

{That's right… Evandel is with Cristopher.} He thought for a moment before a deep sigh escaped his mouth.

"Where are those two right now?" He muttered before taking out a small business card.

It was Jeronimo's.

If you looked on the Internet, you could find that they were the peak of the mercenary groups, if you didn't count the hunters from The Vast Expanse, with a mission success rate of almost 100%.

On the outside, they had 23 members, but in reality, they were just 5 or 6 members, all from Chameleon Troupe, under the disguise of Jain's Gift, 'Camouflage'.

{Boss scouted me, and not Shin Jonghak. Does she want me to fill Chameleon Troupe's empty seat?} Hajin thought for a moment, before looking at his smartwatch.

A row of messages from four hours ago was waiting for him. All from the same person.

[Chae Nayun: Yo.]

[Chae Nayun: Can you help me study?]

[Chae Nayun: I'll buy you food.]

[Chae Nayun: Answer me.]

[Chae Nayun: You gonna ignore me? -.-]

[Chae Nayun: Oi -.-]

Hajin silently looked at the text coming from Chae Nayun.

As he looked at them, Chae Jiyoon, her brother, suddenly came to his mind. And with him, Chameleon Troupe.

{With Chameleon Troupe's help… I might be able to kill Chae Jiyoon without anyone finding out...}

"...Without anyone finding out." He muttered subconsciously.