Chapter 76 …
He said he’d step outside, so I wondered where he’d gone—turns out he’d been waiting in the corridor.
And the moment I came out, he called me…
‘Was he waiting for me?’
There was no other explanation.
Why would a guy who had been dying to pick a fight with me suddenly do that?
It was uncomfortable, but at the same time, I was curious.
When I stopped for a moment and met his eyes, Zerdik narrowed his brows slightly.
It was only a trivial change in expression, yet it looked like a still cut from a photoshoot.
‘…He really is handsome.’
He still had a youthful face, but remembering what Hyuna had said, wasn’t he already making quite a few girls cry even now?
“…Are you heading to the Brackish Rock Forest?”
A cold voice that didn’t match that delicate face slipped past his lips.
Do-hyun answered coolly.
“Yeah.”
Even though he understood the situation, there was no reason to use honorifics when the other was speaking casually.
And that guy was, at most, nineteen.
Do-hyun was twenty-three. If anything, he should be the one receiving polite speech.
Of course, that was just the mindset of someone raised in Korea with strong Confucian values. From Zerdik’s perspective, as a knight, this was probably natural.
In any case, maybe he hadn’t expected Do-hyun to speak casually. Zerdik paused briefly, then nodded.
“…I see.”
“Yeah.”
Silence fell. Several seconds passed.
‘What is this.’
If he had nothing to say, couldn’t he just leave?
Why grab someone and then not talk?
His ten hours of playtime were already far from enough… Just as Do-hyun, reaching the limit of his patience, was about to turn away, Zerdik suddenly asked:
“What do you know about the Abyss? Have you ever met a contractor—… no, let me rephrase.”
“?”
“Have you ever met a contractor whose entire body was consumed by the Abyss? One with a half-broken horn on their forehead.”
“No.”
Do-hyun answered immediately.
The only being of the Abyss he had encountered was the Iron-Blooded Demon Dragon. He had seen a summoner once, but that guy wasn’t really human to begin with.
Maintaining eye contact, Zerdik slowly nodded.
“…I see.”
For some reason, his cold voice sounded even lower.
But the next moment, it returned to its usual cynical tone.
“Understood. I wish you fortune in battle.”
“You too.”
Without even properly hearing the reply, Zerdik turned and walked away.
‘That was anticlimactic.’
Did he really wait just to hear that one answer?
Thinking about it made Do-hyun feel oddly amused—yet faintly unsettled.
But only for a moment. Watching Zerdik’s retreating figure, Do-hyun soon turned around as well.
Once he stepped out into the corridor, Zerdik no longer occupied his thoughts.
More precisely, he didn’t have the luxury to think about him.
‘I need to get out and start hunting. Ah, wait. If I go out, are those small fry going to latch onto me again? That’ll be annoying…’
There were too many people targeting him to worry about just one guy.
The moment he stepped outside, all eyes would focus on him.
They had all stared as he entered the Grand Temple—once he headed into the field, they’d likely trail after him, saying he was an easy mark.
If it were just one or two, he could deal with them quickly.
But if they came at him endlessly like links of sausage, that was a different story.
How was he supposed to progress his quest properly like that?
‘Tsk… what should I do? Isn’t there a good method?’
He stood there, unable to leave the Grand Temple, lost in thought.
—Master, why aren’t you going out?
“Wait a second. My head hurts right now.”
—Why?
“It’s too annoying to deal with every single one of them, but avoiding fights after they provoke me would look bad… Tsk, if only I could hunt secretly… If only I’d gotten a stealth skill… huh?”
Do-hyun suddenly froze and snapped his head around.
Startled by his master’s sudden movement, Jihad flinched.
—W-why? Why are you looking at me like that? That’s creepy.
Jihad looked up anxiously.
Do-hyun’s eyes gleamed.
Not at Jihad himself—but at what he was wearing.
In the end, Do-hyun muttered:
“You… mind taking that off for a second?”
—…Huh?
What Do-hyun was staring at was the Black Goblin Shaman’s robe Jihad was wearing.
He had just remembered one of its special options.
The robe had two special options.
One increased the power of magic-related skills by 6%—a solid bonus.
But that wasn’t what had caught his attention.
‘It definitely had a face-recognition interference option, right?’
Back then, he had wondered why such an option was attached and had simply returned the robe to Jihad.
Ironically, it was the perfect option to break through this situation.
After all, Jihad had worn it all this time without once having his identity exposed. That alone proved its effectiveness.
The robe itself also helped conceal one’s identity.
‘With that… I might be able to slip out unnoticed?’
He’d still attract attention once he started hunting in the field—but that was a problem for later.
For now, it would at least make the process smoother.
“What are you doing? Hurry up and take it off.”
—…What?
Jihad’s reaction was strange.
As Do-hyun strode toward him, Jihad shrank back and began retreating.
—W-wait, Master. I respect your preferences and all… but I’m not into that… I think most men wouldn’t be. And we’re not even the same race—
“What nonsense are you talking about? Stop being weird and just take it off.”
—U-ugh! N-no!
Ignoring Jihad’s nonsense, Do-hyun tried to snatch the robe.
Jihad, for some reason, resisted desperately.
—T-this kind of thing isn’t acceptable in our genre…!
“What are you even saying? Stop wasting time and just give it to me!”
Even though this was the Grand Temple, high-ranking NPCs like senior priests were present. There was no way they wouldn’t hear the commotion.
“What’s going on over there? And who are those people?”
“I’m not sure… I heard they’re distinguished guests invited by the High Priest.”
“Shouldn’t we intervene? Even if they’re guests, causing a disturbance in the Grand Temple is…”
As the sudden noise filled the corridor, more priests began gathering to watch.
In the end, Eliza stepped in to stop them.
—Riza! Riza-riza!
—Huh?
Do-hyun couldn’t understand Eliza’s words and showed no reaction.
Fortunately, Jihad understood Eliza far better than human speech.
The moment Eliza finished speaking, he stopped struggling.
—Ah… I see…
Realizing he had misunderstood, Jihad nodded.
But that didn’t mean he was willing to hand over the robe.
—Taking something back after giving it is the worst thing you can do, Master.
“I’m not taking it back. I’m just borrowing it for a moment.”
—If you take it, you’ll keep wearing it because it’s useful. Then what about me? Didn’t you say it’d be troublesome if I revealed my identity?
“…Hmm.”
Surprisingly logical for Jihad.
If Do-hyun wore the robe, his identity would be concealed—but then Jihad would be exposed as a black goblin guardian no one had seen before.
Avoiding attention would be impossible.
The whole point of wearing the robe was to avoid attention. That would defeat the purpose.
“No choice. Just go into the Guardian Room for a bit.”
—…What? Master, are you abandoning me!?
“I’m not abandoning you. You like it there anyway. You look refreshed every time you come back.”
—Well, that’s true, but going in alone is kind of… And didn’t you say if I go into the Guardian Room, my growth slows down?
He was right.
The reason Do-hyun hadn’t sent Jihad into the Guardian Room and had gone through the trouble of returning the robe was for smoother growth.
‘Once I reverse-summon him, the re-summon cooldown is eight hours.’
If he kept dismissing and resummoning every time he entered a city, there’d be no time to gain experience.
That’s why people who raised guardians usually kept them summoned even in cities.
They were also careful not to let them die while hunting.
‘Why did they even make a system like this?’
It was obviously designed as a penalty.
Well, he understood.
Without such a system, far more users would probably gather multiple guardians and rotate them freely.
This was likely meant to establish the identity of tamers as the true masters of guardians.
‘Still, thanks to dragging him around everywhere, Jihad’s already level 8.’
The experience was one thing, but his auto-pet loot function was incredible.
At times, it felt like picking up items alone justified his existence.
Not using that nimble hand of his would be a waste.
“Hmm… what should I do.”
—Master, think carefully. There’s a saying about being penny-wise and pound-foolish.
“How do you even know sayings like that?”
—You pick things up after living more than 150 years.
“Hmm…”
Should he just charge into the hunting grounds and accept it?
Or take the loss and reverse-summon?
Neither choice was satisfying.
Just as Do-hyun was thinking more carefully than ever—
—Riza!
—Huh? Eliza, why—oh! Right, that! We had that, didn’t we?
—Riza-riza!
—Yeah, that’ll be perfect.
The two guardians suddenly began chattering in agreement.
Curious, Do-hyun asked:
“What? What is it?”
—Ah. You probably don’t need the robe, Master. We found a better way.
“How?”
So suddenly?
He tilted his head, confused, but Jihad didn’t answer.
Seeing was believing.
Instead of explaining, Jihad took something from Eliza and held it out to Do-hyun.
“This is… a leash?”
It was a necklace.
The one Eliza had been wearing after the Guardian Room merged.
He had heard it was used as a walking leash—but why hand it over now?
—It’s something we always carried during walks… but it’s not just a simple leash.
“Then?”
—It’ll be faster if you see for yourself.
As soon as he accepted it, a message appeared.
[You have acquired ‘Eliza’s Bracelet.’]
[Eliza’s Bracelet]
[Grade: Heroic]
[Description: A bracelet cherished by the guardian Eliza.
Worried that others might covet and kidnap Eliza due to her rare species, she wore this accessory at all times.
The ‘Minor Stealth’ effect is applied, making it useful for concealing one’s identity.]
[Restriction: Eliza, Eliza’s Master]
[Durability: 26 / 50]
[Special Option: When equipped, allows use of ‘Minor Stealth.’
Stealth is canceled upon contact with anything and can easily be detected by abilities such as Clairvoyance or Detection. (Cooldown: 300 seconds)]
[Special Option: Removes mana consumption required to use ‘Minor Stealth.’]
“…Whoa.”
The moment he checked the options, the word slipped out loud.
The options were insane.
To be honest, ‘Minor Stealth’ itself wasn’t that amazing.
Its effect was weaker than regular stealth and it was far easier to detect.
‘It can even be caught by an explorer’s Search skill…’
It was practically guaranteed to be exposed by most detection abilities.
On top of that, the conditions for it to break were more sensitive, making it a rather awkward, borderline useless skill in real combat.
