Chapter 46…
I Drew an EX-Grade Reincarnation
The item that fell out of the box I’d received as a so-called reward.
The moment I saw it, my face twisted into a frown. It couldn’t be helped.
“……What is this?”
What had dropped onto the bed was, surprisingly, not a normal item at all.
[■ You have obtained a reward.]
[■ Egg (???)]
“An egg…….”
It was just an egg. Slightly larger than an ordinary chicken egg.
Why was this here? This was the reward?
“……Why can’t I see the grade either?”
The grade that should have been displayed was filled with question marks. Normally, either Korca’s Illusion or the Eye of Insight would’ve activated and told me something.
‘Nothing like that happened.’
Being handed an egg with no explanation whatsoever was baffling enough.
And this had been an SS-grade reward.
“Ha.”
It was disappointing, sure.
“……Still, if it’s an SS-grade reward, it’s got to be something good, right?”
I did have some expectations. For now, I had no idea what this egg was.
But it wouldn’t take long before I realized just how absurd this thing really was.
Right after recruitment for the Knight Order ended—
With Ye Jiram becoming vice-captain according to the results of the contest Irene had proposed—
The Association, as if it had been waiting, released the official announcement.
[New Knight Order roster finalized.]
[A counter-terror unit with an astonishing average grade of A.]
[The unit led by the one known as the world’s strongest, “Hail Irene,” includes none other than the S-class superhuman Thunder Spirit Jin Yeonhee—]
[Surprisingly, the vice-captain is the Black Night Witch, Ye Jiram……]
[In the recent labyrinth exploration, it was the newly established Knight Order that achieved the fastest breakthrough, with the standout performance coming from Yeouido’s hero, superhuman Lee Jinwoo……]
Articles filled my phone screen. Unlike before, when everything revolved around the Martial God, this time there were a lot about me.
Well… both are technically me, so that sounds weird.
Anyway, not just the news—online networks were on fire too.
I don’t get it. Is it even possible for two A-ranks to clear an S-rank gate?
Watching them, it didn’t look that hard though.
Not hard my ass. I stepped on a trap and exploded like jelly. How the hell did they just walk through?
They moved like they already knew everything.
Did you see the Black Night Witch’s face? She looked like she didn’t even know what was going on.
Pretty sure that Lee Jinwoo guy did everything.
What is he? Some kind of scouting-related reincarnation? Otherwise there’s no way they break through that easily.
It’s not just scouting. My party had an A-rank scout and he died in the first room.
So what, you’re saying it was all luck?
Forget that—how did they kill the final boss? The difficulty got raised to S-rank. And they’re just two A-ranks.
The network was lively. Extremely so.
“……Hmm…….”
A lot of attention. It seemed people found it that shocking that two A-ranks had cleared an S-rank gate.
Well.
‘……It is shocking.’
The difference between an A-rank and S-rank gate was immense. The biggest difference of all—
‘Was it called Authority…?’
A power possessed exclusively by S-rank superhumans.
The strength only those who had once stood at the peak in their previous lives could wield.
I’d heard that whether you had that power or not made an enormous difference.
‘……Authority.’
It was why people said an A-rank could never defeat an S-rank.
And why there was controversy that two A-ranks—who supposedly didn’t even possess Authority—had cleared an S-rank dungeon faster than “Hail Irene.”
That Lee Jinwoo guy even soloed the boss.
Kim Hyukcheol couldn’t handle the difficulty spike and the footage cut out. So how did he kill it?
Did this guy fake his rank?
I flinched.
Sharp observation.
Fake it? The Association measured him at headquarters in front of everyone. He’s A-rank.
If it’s the Korean branch, you can trust it. They’re the strictest with measurements.
Because of North Korea, obviously.
Korea was famous for the precision and clarity of its rank evaluations. After so many incidents, they’d made sure of that.
Then how did he kill it?
As debate continued without resolution, one new post appeared.
[Author: Black Night Witch]
“Huh?”
It was Ye Jiram.
The moment it was uploaded, the view count skyrocketed. What did she write? I hurriedly clicked in.
[Black Night Witch: What’s with all the noise? You can just kill it, you know. Is it really that upsetting that your big sis took down an S-rank?]
As expected—no brakes whatsoever.
Comments flooded in instantly.
What do you mean “just”? How did you actually do it?
└ Black Night Witch: How? We broke through and beat it. Didn’t you watch the video?
I did, but it still doesn’t make sense.
└ Black Night Witch: Then what part doesn’t make sense? It’s all in the video. We broke through and cleared it. What’s the problem? Sounds like the problem’s your eyes.
└ Black Night Witch: Go wash them and replace them if you’ve got time to spout nonsense.
“…….”
Wow.
No matter how many times I saw it, she really did have a temperament that lived up to her nickname.
[Black Night Witch: I’m getting pissed, so tone it down. If you keep spouting crap, I might just decide not to reveal what reward we got.]
At that, the network went quiet.
You’re going to reveal it? The reward?
No way. Seriously?
Why would you reveal that?
People were more confused than anything. This was an S-rank gate reward.
Considering S-rank artifacts were usually managed at the national level, Ye Jiram saying she’d reveal it was absurd.
[Black Night Witch: Whether I reveal it or not is up to me. So if you want to know, sit quietly.]
After that, she stopped posting.
“What is she doing, seriously?”
Had the storm passed? With just that one statement, the network calmed down. Not completely—posts were still coming—but not like before.
‘No way.’
A thought occurred to me.
‘……Did she redirect the attention away from me?’
Since the discussion kept circling around me, maybe she stepped in to diffuse it.
‘For all her rough talk…’
Ye Jiram didn’t actually seem like a bad person.
The moment I thought that—
Bang. Bang. Bang.
“Huh?”
A noise came from the door. Not a bell—someone was pounding on it.
“Who is it……?”
—Open up.
“……What?”
Startled by the familiar voice, I hurried over and opened the door.
Standing there was, unbelievably, Ye Jiram.
“What brings you here……?”
“I came to hang out.”
“Pardon?”
Before I could react, she pushed past me and walked inside.
“Whoa, what is this?”
She let out a laugh as she looked around.
“I’m the vice-captain, but your room’s twice the size of mine?”
“Excuse me? Bigger?”
“What is this discrimination?”
My eyes widened. My room was bigger?
“Because you’re under that woman’s command? They treat the original members differently or something?”
She looked unimpressed. A delicious smell wafted from her.
The source was obvious.
“……Chicken?”
“Smells good, right?”
“Why did you……?”
“What do you mean why? I bought it so we could eat together.”
Chicken? At this hour?
I glanced out the window. Early evening. The schedule had been canceled today due to the labyrinth gate, so everyone was resting at their lodgings.
And she just showed up like this?
“To eat chicken?”
“I’ve got beer too.”
She grinned, holding it out. A faint scent of cigarette smoke lingered around her.
“…….”
“Sit.”
She casually took a seat at the table and began setting up the chicken and beer.
Then she gestured to the seat across from her. You’d think this was her room.
Crack. The beer can opened as soon as I sat down.
“Why are you just sitting there? First time drinking?”
“Yes.”
“Huh?”
She looked genuinely surprised.
“You’ve never—ah. You’re twenty, right?”
“Yes.”
I’d never drunk before. Even after becoming an adult, I never felt like it.
“…….”
She smirked at my awkward tone.
“Good chance to learn. You’re supposed to learn how to drink from adults.”
“Adults?”
Like we had that big an age gap?
“Oh? Don’t look at me like that. I can read your thoughts.”
“My eyes always look like this.”
“Bullshit. You don’t have parents, do you?”
“…….”
What?
That was incredibly rude.
As I stared at her, stunned—
“Just had a feeling. I don’t either.”
“……I don’t think I look particularly parentless, though?”
“‘I don’t’? What’s that supposed to mean? That I do?”
“…….”
“You little—?”
“Cheers.”
I clinked my beer can against hers.
“You’ve got some nerve.”
I took a sip. So this was beer.
It wasn’t good.
“How is it?”
“Bitter. Doesn’t taste good.”
“Exactly. That’s the point.”
She bit into a drumstick.
Watching her, I asked,
“What did you come for?”
“What do you mean? I told you. Chicken.”
“……That’s really it?”
She looked at me with amused eyes.
“What more do you need? We cleared a gate together. Feels like we got closer, doesn’t it?”
“Maybe, but—”
Somehow—
“It doesn’t feel like that’s the only reason you came.”
“……Oh?”
She set her beer down.
“Why do you think that?”
“Just a feeling.”
[■ Hero’s Hyper Senses activate.]
It really was a feeling.
That kind of feeling.
“You’re perceptive, huh?”
“Not entirely clueless.”
“Figures. Kids who grow up without parents are good at that.”
“I repeat, I don’t exactly look like I—”
“Shut it.”
What kind of orphan bonding conversation was this?
“Well, since you already caught on.”
She leaned back in her chair.
Chugged her beer like she was possessed.
“Hey.”
“Yes?”
“Let me ask you one thing.”
Her eyes changed. Resting her chin on her hand, she looked at me.
“You.”
Something stirred inside me.
“By any chance—”
Ding-dong—
‘Hm?’
The doorbell rang. Someone else had arrived.
“What? Were you expecting someone?”
“No……? Not really……”
Confused, I went to the door and opened it.
“Who is— …Huh?”
Standing there was someone I absolutely did not expect.
“……Why are you here?”
A woman with black hair and blue eyes.
For some reason, Thunder Spirit Jin Yeonhee was standing at my door.
And she didn’t look happy at all.
