Episode 79
079. Being Somewhat Fast is Its Feature
With just this alone, all the burdens he had to bear to obtain his fourth class melted away like snow.
No, his skill proficiency would grow even faster.
*With the ‘Narcissist’ title granting 100%, the ‘One Who Astonished the Blacksmith’ achievement granting 50% for Production-type skills, the ‘One Who Revived the Ancient Heart’ achievement granting 50% for all skills… adding the ‘Successor of the Star’ for another 200%…*
Even simple calculations made his head spin.
For Production-type skills, he could now raise proficiency at a rate five times faster than others.
For other skills, 4.5 times faster.
This went beyond merely being fast; it felt like taking a step closer toward what was considered impossible: ‘All-Master’.
Grrrrumble-
At that moment, a sound came from Geumson’ stomach.
He needed to put aside complex thoughts and satisfy his hunger first.
Opening the fridge, all he saw were a few wilted green onion stalks and two eggs with a precarious expiration date.
“Guess I’ll boil some ramen.”
Just as he familiarly filled a pot with water and turned on the gas stove—
Knock knock-
A knocking sound came from the front door.
It was early morning after staying up all night playing Lepione. No one should be visiting at this hour.
When he opened the door, he was met by familiar faces.
“Ms. Cha Yu-kyung…? And Manager Kim Min-jun is here too? What brings you…?”
Cha Yu-kyung and Manager Kim Min-jun.
And behind them, brawny men in uniforms emblazoned with the ‘Mirae ISA’ logo stood in a line. They seemed to be moving company staff.
“Did you forget? Today is the promised moving day…”
Gold-hands felt a pang of realization.
He had been so focused on Lepione that he’d completely forgotten moving day had arrived.
Cha Yu-kyung quickly picked up on his demeanor.
“It’s alright. If you’re not prepared, we can schedule another time.”
Cha Yu-kyung showed no sign of irritation, accommodating Geumson.
But after a moment of thought, Gold-hands decided.
“No. Let’s do it today. I don’t have much to pack anyway.”
Compared to the presence of Lepione, Gold-hands’ studio was shabby.
All the furniture there were just optional items.
The only things worth packing were his Lepyon access gear, a few sets of clothes, and the collection of old game titles he’d gathered over time.
“Manager Kim Min-jun.”
“Yes, Team Leader.”
“From packing to transport and setting up the new place—handle it perfectly without leaving a speck of dust. Ensure Mr. Geumson feels no inconvenience.”
“Understood!”
Simultaneous with Manager Kim’s response, Geumson’ studio began to be organized.
Watching the room being tidied up in an instant, Geumson could only stare in a daze. He had been about to boil ramen, and now this chaos.
Just then, Cha Yu-kyung approached Gold-hands and spoke softly.
“By the way, Mr. Gold-hands?”
Cha Yu-kyung seemed cautious, even somewhat apologetic.
“There’s a guest who came to see you. Would you be willing to meet them?”
“A guest?”
“Yes. Someone named Megan from the Panteria Guild. Have you heard of her?”
Megan.
The moment he heard that name, Geumson’s heart sank with a thud.
Of course he knew. Having experienced the Age of Ruin, Gold-hands couldn’t possibly not know the name ‘Megan’. She was a core player several times more important than any half-baked ranker.
‘Don’t tell me… it’s that Megan?’
If it was Panteria’s Megan, it was certain.
Though inwardly convinced, Gold-hands, as he was now, shouldn’t know. That would be the normal appearance.
As Gold-hands’ thoughts deepened, Cha Yu-kyung seemed to misunderstand his silence.
“Ah! Sorry. If you’re uncomfortable, you don’t have to meet—”
“No.”
Geumson cut her off.
If it was Megan, he had to meet her. It was best to forge a connection and maintain friendship as quickly as possible—for both Gold-hands and humanity.
“I’ll meet her. Should I go now?”
Cha Yu-kyung, who had cautiously asked expecting a refusal, could only tilt her head at Gold-hands’ unexpectedly proactive response.
Meanwhile, in Lepione Aertos.
In a shabby inn on the city outskirts, Moiran wore a dejected expression.
‘Really… I failed? Me?’
It was long past the time for the magic circuits she had sabotaged to cause problems.
But nothing happened.
Aertos remained peaceful.
At this point, even Moiran had to admit failure.
“Don’t tell me… it’s really Gold-hands? That guy couldn’t have…”
For some reason, Gold-hands kept coming to Moiran’s mind.
There was no evidence of his involvement. Only her sharp intuition kept pointing toward him.
But Moiran tried hard to ignore that intuition.
“Ah, it can’t be. It’s just… a city of mages, so the defense systems must be better than I thought.”
Steeling herself, Moiran left the inn carrying a bag, as if she’d made a decision. A secondary measure prepared for such a time. She didn’t like it, but it seemed she had to use this method.
‘If this doesn’t work either… I might have to give up on the hidden quest.’
‘The Allure of Beasts’—a scent that could lure monsters within a 10km radius with just a single drop.
Dozens of bottles of it were in Moiran’s bag.
She began sprinkling it around the city.
‘The Allure of Beasts,’ undetectable by humans but sensed only by monsters, started to spread secretly through the city.
However, as if seeing through all her actions—
High in the sky, a pair of rainbow-colored eyes watched her from above.
– Tia!
Vrooooom-!
A supercar roared as it sped down the road.
Geumson, sinking into the premium leather seat, blankly watched the scenery whizzing past the window.
He was wearing a baggy t-shirt and sweatpants—a look entirely mismatched with the luxurious interior of the supercar.
‘How much does a car like this even cost…?’
A glance at the steering wheel emblem revealed a shield with a rampant horse.
As he awkwardly cleared his throat, Cha Yu-kyung, holding the steering wheel, chuckled and said,
“It’s just an ordinary means of transport.”
“Ordinary… means of transport?”
“Being somewhat fast is its feature.”
Contrary to her claim of ordinariness, the surrounding cars yielding way didn’t seem ordinary at all.
Thanks to that, the car soon stopped before a super-tall mixed-use building towering into the sky in the heart of Gangnam.
Security guards in black suits stood guard sternly at the entrance.
“Just asking… this isn’t the officetel you mentioned, is it?”
“Huh? It is. It’s the penthouse on the top floor. A place where you can see Seoul’s nightscape at a glance. I hope you like it.”
Cha Yu-kyung said it casually, but Gold-hands couldn’t close his mouth.
Somehow, Cha Yu-kyung seemed to have a slightly different concept of an ‘officetel.’
No, Mirae Group seemed to be in a different class.
While staring blankly at the building, Cha Yu-kyung led Gold-hands to the promised location: a private cafe on the first floor.
Inside the cafe, a woman sat at the innermost window seat.
Platinum-blonde hair shining transparently under the sunlight, and icy blue eyes that were cold yet held unfathomable depth.
‘Megan… just as she was back then.’
Gold-hands’ steps slowly halted.
Megan, unchanged.
In the Age of Ruin, the words she left behind echoed in Geumson’s ears.
[“Mr. Gold-hands, humanity… is defeated. This is a predetermined ending. No matter what we do, we can’t change it. So, what are we fighting for? Why must we continue this meaningless resistance?”]
The day the survivor camp was swept away by waves of monsters.
Megan had collapsed in front of the hologram screen in the control room.
Whether from overusing her ability, bloody tears streamed from her eyes, and her bloodless lips trembled.
Megan, possessor of the ‘Eyes of Direct Sight.’
An ability that, just from an item’s name, could discern its traits, and as it developed, could pierce through opponents’ strategies, tactics, and even thoughts.
The day her ability finally managed to directly see humanity’s future.
[“I saw it. Nothing works! No matter what we do, no matter how we struggle… the end is predetermined. Everyone dies. They all die!”]
Megan, as if in panic, had slumped like a child before the situation board of the collapsing defense line.
The pity was that Gold-hands back then had no room to comfort her.
He too was barely holding on, witnessing comrades die daily, crushed by his own helplessness.
So, Geumson had no choice but to pull her up in a somewhat rough manner.
[“Then shall we all die together? Right now, right here?”]
Megan, with bloody tears.
Her bloodshot red eyes and Gold-hands’ eyes clashed in the air.
But Gold-hands continued.
[“Yeah, we’ll all die. So what? Are we just going to sit here crying, waiting to die? Until monsters come to tear off your limbs and devour your guts?”]
Gold-hands’ voice held no trace of sympathy.
He grabbed Megan’s shoulders roughly and shook her.
[“We have to struggle. For one more day, even a single day. With the thought that maybe the future you saw is wrong, that we’ll give this damn world a big middle finger, we have to endure!”]
Gold-hands’ urging, which was nothing like comfort.
No, it was the anger Gold-hands had been storing up.
But Megan silently watched him for a while.
Then, slowly, very slowly, she rose from her seat.
No more tears flowed from her eyes.
After that day, Megan never spoke of the future again.
Instead, she only struggled, just as Gold-hands had said.
Like a madwoman.
