DTW 119

DTW

Chapter : 119

“…Yes.”

“?”

Suhyun was beginning to feel uneasy. If it were Kim Chang-sik showing this attitude, he would have prepared to hit him once and then speak with a smile. But seeing Seo Kang-seok act like this, it didn’t seem like a trivial mistake.

‘This isn’t someone who would normally cause trouble…’

“What is it? Don’t waste time—just tell me.”
“Well… I have good news and bad news.”
“Ugh… fine. Let’s hear the good news first.”

“I’ve awakened as a psychic.”
“What?! Really?!”

Suhyun grabbed Seo Kang-seok by the shoulders in excitement. He had been slightly worried since the members of Uncle Joe’s Company were slow to awaken their psychic abilities.

‘As expected, those guaranteed to awaken do awaken!’

“What kind of psychic ability is it?”

Suhyun already had a guess. It was a poison-related ability.

Seo Kang-seok clenched and opened his massive hand repeatedly. At the tips of his fingers, a dark green substance began to form.

“Is it synthetic poison?”
“Yes, I can store a certain amount in my body….”

An ability to combine existing poisons to create new ones and store them internally. It wasn’t as freely controllable as Suhyun’s poison skills, but it was still an excellent ability.

‘So that’s his power.’

Even this level was more than enough to handle ordinary enemies. Poison was a weapon of immense strength, especially when paired with knowledge and understanding of it. Seo Kang-seok was a perfect candidate in that regard.

“So if that’s the good news, what’s the bad news?”
“You remember what you gave me, Team Leader?”
“What did I give you?”
“…The antidote….”
“Ah, the Inscribed Face Stone.”

Compared to the transparent jewel that absorbed psychic abilities, the Inscribed Face Stone didn’t particularly interest Suhyun. It was just a lower-tier version of his own power—there was no reason to covet it when he already had poison skills.

“Why?”
“Well… it’s gone.”
“??”

Seo Kang-seok wasn’t the type to lose things easily. Suhyun soon learned the situation. It wasn’t theft or simple misplacement.

“It went into your body?”
“I didn’t do it on purpose!”
“No… this guy… Who said anything? Even if you lost it, it’s fine. Relax.”

Seeing Suhyun remain calm even though a treasure that could fetch an astronomical price from collectors had disappeared touched Seo Kang-seok deeply. He had known Suhyun’s character, but the feeling never failed to impress him.

“I went to my daughter to retrieve it, and she was curious and grabbed it with her hand. Then, in an instant….”
“Gone?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm….”
“I will repay it! I don’t know how long it will take, but….”
“No. That’s fine. How is your daughter’s condition? Has anything changed?”

Seo Kang-seok’s expression brightened at the question. Suhyun guessed something had indeed changed.

“Her condition has improved dramatically. The doctors were astonished.”
“Wait a minute. Could it be….”

Suhyun gave him a suspicious look. Kang-seok came from a hunter family and lived with poison in his system. It was impossible for him not to accumulate poison. If this trait had been passed to his daughter…

‘If it’s a congenital poisoning condition, couldn’t I just treat her with my poison ability?’

“Yes?”
“Nothing. The doctor being amazed—how amazed exactly?”
“They said she could be discharged soon….”
“Other than that, anything unusual?”
“Nope.”
“Then that’s not bad news!”
“Sorry!”

Suhyun kicked Seo Kang-seok’s leg. Feeling anxious now seemed silly. Kang-seok hit the floor but immediately regained his stance.

“I thought I accidentally killed someone.”
“Th-That couldn’t happen…”
“Think before you speak about what’s bad news. Congrats on your daughter’s discharge. Are you planning to keep visiting the hospital?”
“Yes? I do intend to.”
“Good that her health improved, but putting unknown substances in the body is a bit worrying. I know someone in this field. Works at a government research lab. I’ll introduce you.”
“Ooh…!”

Tears welled in Kang-seok’s eyes as he tried to grab Suhyun’s hand. Suhyun, seeing that expression on such a bulky figure, recoiled and pushed him away.

“Stop that. Repay it with work instead. Now that you’ve awakened, there will be even more to do.”
“Yes!”

Thanks to Suhyun, Kang-seok’s worries vanished completely, but Suhyun gained a new one because of him.

‘Artifacts… can they merge with a human body?’

This was an unprecedented phenomenon.

According to current academic consensus, artifacts created by other species likely originated from psychic users of those species. Seen this way, the Inscribed Face Stone could be considered an artifact—a core extracted from a monster’s corpse, with special abilities.

Suhyun was already troubled by his unnoticed ability to manipulate time, and now another phenomenon had emerged, doubling his headache.

‘Ah, damn, I should hand this over to Choi Ji-eun.’

It was always easier to hand over troublesome matters to a researcher. Just as before.

“Suhyun, you have time now?”
“Depends on what it’s about. What is it?”
“Remember the person you introduced me to last time? Lee Seung-su.”
“Ah… why him?”
“He came looking, insisted on seeing you.”
“?”

Lee Seung-su. A merchant contacted to negotiate with the orcs of Kebaswak.

‘What’s this about?’

If he came because he heard about the wizard awakening and hoped for some scraps, Suhyun intended to chase him away immediately. He went inside.

“Sorry!”

But inside, what he saw exceeded expectations. Lee Seung-su was lying flat on the floor, forehead pressed to the ground.

“Is today a day for receiving apologies?”
“Eh?”
“You have one minute to summarize what you did, quickly and simply. Go!”
“Uh….”
“1, 2, 3, 4….”
“I will explain!”

After working with Suhyun, Lee Seung-su couldn’t shake his curiosity about what the orcs possessed. With Mogok gone, it was easy to approach the remaining orcs and gather intel.

Red Boar Mushrooms—prices skyrocketing, a commodity capable of making a fortune if the production site was secured. He naturally offered the orcs more money than Suhyun to sell him the mushrooms.

The orcs, having already sold the existing stock to Suhyun, agreed to futures contracts for the mushrooms yet to grow. Suhyun told them to handle future deals with others, so they hesitated little.

It was common in Cameron to steal trading partners, especially if the target was weak.

But the news he received instead was the appearance of humanity’s first wizard. Bad luck like that was unimaginable.

If he wanted, he could have leveraged the government to crush him with ease. Lee Seung-su chose to beg directly instead of suffering later.

“Do you really need to beg? You could have just taken over the trade.”

Suhyun knew the Red Boar Mushroom prices would soon crash. Lee Seung-su just looked foolish; nothing more. But he interpreted it differently.

“I truly regret my mistake and sincerely ask for one chance!”
“I’m not threatening to kill you. Stand up first.”

With one finger, Suhyun helped him up. He had more important matters than wasting time on a single merchant.

“I brought a gift. Let me bring it inside!”
“Wait, we barely use this office…”

Lee Seung-su signaled, and staff brought in objects. Exquisite crafts made by other species began to pile up.

“Seriously, things like this…”

Thud!
“?”
“Handle them carefully! If anything breaks, will you pay for it?”
“…”

At his command, the workers nodded silently. Lee Seung-su turned to Suhyun.

“What did you just say?”
“Did you think you could get away with this?”
“WHAT?!”

Cameron was small, but Suhyun didn’t expect to meet the person he was looking for here. He changed his tone upon seeing the face of Lee Seung-su’s subordinate.

‘Gu Jung-chul?!’

Gu Jung-chul. Nicknamed “Iron Arm,” a remarkable fighter, but essentially a naïve human. Before joining the military, he had borrowed heavily to make a living. Suhyun had never asked for details.

‘Working here? So he vouched incorrectly…’

Apparently, neither side knew each other’s abilities. Suhyun shook his head. Gu Jung-chul had never known about his psychic abilities before being told—a rare case for a congenital psychic.

“That guy?”
“I needed a strong laborer.”
“He owes a lot though…”
“How much?”
“About 120 million won remaining.”
“Deposited in his account.”
“!”

Lee Seung-su was shocked by Suhyun’s casual tone. Then even more shocked—the account only had 30 million won.

“Uh… only 30 million was deposited?”
“Wasn’t the principal 40 million?”
“How did that happen?”

Realizing his greed was inappropriate, Lee Seung-su snapped back to focus. His merchant instincts emerged at last.

“Why was 10 million excluded?”

Curiosity got the better of him. Suhyun remained expressionless.

“It’s the boss’s life cost.”
“…Thank you.”

Lee Seung-su bowed deeply, asking no further questions.

“I’ve repaid all debts.”

Gu Jung-chul blinked and nodded, like a cow. Suhyun sighed. He had gone through this before, trying to make him useful, and now it was happening again.

“You’ll work here from now on. You might have questions, but hear about the place from the others later. Start with training. You need to awaken first.”

Gu Jung-chul typed and displayed:
-Why?

Why repay his debt, why bring him here—a compound question.

“Because you’re useful.”
“???”

Gu Jung-chul tilted his head. He didn’t consider himself particularly useful. Sure, he was strong, but nobody would repay his debt and bring him along just to be a laborer.

“Yeah, you don’t get it yet. Don’t worry. You’ll see soon.”

Suhyun approached Gu Jung-chul with a fist crackling with sound. He felt a strange unease.

Gu Jung-chul was called Iron Arm because of his unique psychic.

Enhancement.

Few abilities depended so heavily on the user’s skill. Gu Jung-chul focused mainly on boosting durability—a purely defensive power.

If he consciously resisted, even a scrap of cloth became as hard as steel. This ability had saved his life countless times.

Combined with his exceptional loyalty, few would jump into fire so fearlessly.

The problem: he didn’t realize his potential.

‘The answer is training.’

“Kuahk!”
“Stand up. We’re not done yet.”

Gu Jung-chul staggered to his feet, unsure why Suhyun was attacking so fiercely.

“Do you feel anything?”
“…”
“If not, we’ll keep going until you do.”
“Why, why?”