Chapter 89 : Chapter 89

Chapter 89 - Gear Up

“The atmosphere is a bit... very different, isn't it?”

As soon as she saw the city streets, Seo Ah-in brought that up.

Well, for sure.

The sight of Climbers clad in practical gear, looking like they could go hunt Demonic Beasts right away, standing guard everywhere was something unimaginable in Asia.

Unlike the Asian bloc, where it was hard to even see a Demonic Beast outside the ‘Tower’, the West was an environment where dungeons were scattered all over the living areas.

Demonic Beasts coming down from dungeons to living areas in search of food was probably a phenomenon that happened at least once or twice a month.

On top of that, considering that gates from which Demonic Beasts occasionally appeared in the middle of the city also opened every now and then, that level of armament was more than understandable.

“What about the others?”

“Ah, most of them have already gone to the lodgings and passed out. They said their motion sickness was terrible.”

“...”

These weaklings.

I couldn't believe they were Climbers like me.

No. In this case, it would be better to see it as me and Seo Ah-in being very sturdy.

In fact, on the way here, the plane had been shaking for hours due to turbulence, and there were quite a few people who were taken away in an ambulance as soon as we landed.

The West was a neighborhood where things like mana storms also raged frequently due to the influence of gates and dungeons, unlike the East.

‘Looking at it like this, it's a real picture of hell...’

Living with such danger so close, it was inevitable that the gap with the Asian bloc would widen like crazy.

No matter how hard you trained, your growth rate could never be the same as those who fought for survival every day.

By the way.

“You should go rest too, why did you follow me. You don't even know where I'm going.”

“...”

Seo Ah-in didn't answer and just fidgeted.

She was probably doing this because she was too embarrassed to say it out loud.

What she was thinking was obvious.

It was her first time setting foot on foreign soil, and she was probably fidgeting because she was as excited as a middle schooler on a field trip.

“...We're not here to play.”

“I-I know that!”

The fact that she couldn't refute it even while huffing and puffing confirmed it.

But I had no intention of sending her back just for that. The real event would start tomorrow anyway.

This was the preparation stage for that.

“But, where exactly are we going?”

“To go shopping.”

“...Pardon?”

Seo Ah-in was making a face as if to say what nonsense I was talking about after just telling her we weren't here to play, but it probably wasn't the kind of shopping she was thinking of.

Because there were things you could only get here.

High-quality Mana Stones, metal frames with good mana conductivity, and various tools to process them.

In Korea, these were things that only people with strictly issued licenses could touch, but here, you could easily purchase them as if you were buying groceries at a supermarket.

It was pretty clear what I was going to do with this.

“Are you... making a gun?”

“Huh? You can tell?”

“It's common for rear-line Climbers to carry customized weapons. There were a few in the Hunting Alliance too.”

Come to think of it, I haven't seen you use a gun much lately, Kim Gyu-sik-ssi?

Seo Ah-in, who said that, tilted her head.

Well, that was because I didn't have much use for it.

After the Cheonryongpo was completed, there weren't many situations where a long-range projectile weapon was needed.

The enemies I had met so far were all guys who could be dealt with somehow with simple standard weapons like a sword and the attack options on my armor.

“Oh? Then does that mean a powerful enemy that can't be dealt with by such means will appear in the future...?”

“No, not particularly.”

To be honest, if my stats were appropriately met, I could see the ending even with my bare hands.

It meant there were no enemies I couldn't face because I lacked equipment.

“Then what's the point of this shopping trip?”

“Just defeating them won't have much of an impact.”

“...Pardon?”

Even in the game, the Guild Grand Unification Event was an event that was recommended to be stepped on and passed by.

There were things to take away, but what was more important.

“There's a guy I don't like.”

Because there was a guy whose bud needed to be nipped in advance.

If left alone, a seed that would surely make many people unhappy would emerge.

He wasn't a guy who usually showed himself on the official stage, and most importantly, if it weren't for this event, it would be hard to get a clear shot at his head early on.

And to completely crush that guy ‘for sure’, ‘to the point where he can't recover’, and ‘without any repercussions’, I needed to get a firearm.

“Hmm.”

But a problem was soon discovered.

I couldn't buy the Mana Crystal, which was the most important part for operating the gun. It was like not being able to put an engine in a car.

I heard that it could be misused to make a bomb, so it could only be sold to strictly authorized personnel.

“Aren't we also licensed Climbers?”

“Two F-class Climbers from a little-known Asian guild is practically the same as having nothing.”

“Wow. Kim Gyu-sik-ssi is a celebrity whose face has been on public television.”

I keenly felt that this was a foreign country in a place like this.

I was at a point where people were starting to ask for my autograph in Korea.

“What should we do, then?”

“Well.”

I scratched my head and looked around.

What to do. This was a little difficult.

“...Should I just go on a robbery spree.”

Should I just wipe them all out?

I could slaughter them to the point where they couldn't even open their mouths...

“You say such things without batting an eye?!”

If I did that, the security Climbers on patrol would probably slaughter me.

Hmm. Still, I had to get it somehow today. Was there no way?

As I was thinking that and scratching my head.

“Kim Gyu-sik? Seo Ah-in?”

A breakthrough was found in an unexpected place.

***

Jeong Min-woo.

A guy whose face was starting to get blurry, who had been beaten like a dog on a hot day by me in the Climber License acquisition test before.

“...The way you remember it is very unpleasant.”

No, but it's a fact, what can I do.

Ignoring his crumpled expression, I continued the conversation and found out that he had also come to attend the Guild Grand Unification Event as a member of Jeokpungdae, a guild representing Korea.

“By the way. Are you also preparing for the tournament?”

“Huh?”

A question was suddenly thrown at me.

“Tournament?”

“The main event of the Grand Unification Event. Most of the attending guilds will be aiming for that.”

A tournament, he must be talking about the competition where Climbers held mock battles. An event held at the very end of the festivities, like a world martial arts tournament.

“...”

Hmm.

I was aiming for that too.

To be precise, my goal was to blow the head off a certain bastard who would be there, so the feeling was a little different.

“It's similar... I guess?”

“Is that so?”

Jeong Min-woo, who said that, glanced at my shopping cart.

He scanned the items inside and then his gaze returned to me.

“Couldn't get a Mana Crystal? With your guild's recognition, you probably couldn't even get a certificate issued.”

Embarrassingly, yes.

Of course, if you tease me, I'll smash your head.

As I was thinking that and looking at him, Jeong Min-woo shrugged and replied.

“Then wait a moment.”

“Huh?”

He then walked into the shop selling crystals, took the most expensive item among those on sale, and threw it into my cart.

Perhaps because his main job was shooting guns. The item he picked was undoubtedly a masterpiece. It wasn't just expensive, it was the crystal that had the best compatibility with the materials I had chosen.

“Pay me back later.”

“...Huh?”

“It's a gift. Climbers from the same Asian bloc should help each other.”

“...”

What the.

This wasn't your image.

Take off your mask. You're not Jeong Min-woo.

As I stared at him with a dumbfounded expression, Jeong Min-woo clicked his tongue and opened his mouth awkwardly.

“I know from experience. You're a guy who will definitely stand out this time too.”

“Huh?”

“...It's annoying. But in this event, you're the only human among the Asian Climbers that we can pin our hopes on. At least, that's what I think.”

Ah.

Is that so.

“...”

Considering this guy's background, it wasn't that strange.

Among the main characters, Jeong Min-woo was a guy who had more than enough reasons to especially dislike the West.

Enough to speak to me with such a serious attitude despite his twisted personality.

“I'm asking you. Land a blow on those guys.”

Leaving only those words, Jeong Min-woo turned his body and disappeared.

***

“...What was that just now?”

Seo Ah-in said, tilting her head.

“I've known him for a while, but that's the first time I've seen him so obedient.”

“Is that so.”

“No, it's really strange. For him to suddenly become so kind. Could he be plotting something instead?”

“Jeong Min-woo. Did you know he had a younger sister?”

“...Pardon?”

Seo Ah-in asked back blankly at my sudden words.

It was natural for her not to know, as he would never have blabbed about this to others.

“He... had one? First time I'm hearing it.”

“She joined a guild in Northern Europe. I know she worked incredibly hard to pass.”

“Oh, then there's even less reason for me not to know? If someone from the Asian bloc joined a Western guild, shouldn't they be bragging about it all over the place...?”

“She was used as bait and died. During a dungeon hunt.”

“...”

Seo Ah-in immediately shut her mouth.

She would have understood right away why I used the past tense ‘had’.

“How did that...?”

“They probably did it because they thought she was useless from their perspective. We had someone similar too, didn't we?”

Seo Ah-in shut her mouth again, perhaps remembering Im Jae-hwan-ssi, whom we met when we were conquering the 10th floor.

Right.

Human trash who don't even see others as the same species just because they're weaker were surprisingly common.

How much more so within the clearly established hierarchy of West-East.

“H-how did that not become a public issue?! That's ridiculous! It's not like Jeokpungdae is a powerless place!”

“Right. They have power ‘in Korea’.”

On the world stage, even Jeokpungdae was nothing more than a candle in the wind.

To the point where they had no choice but to nod their heads even at a request to end it with a settlement, saying ‘Let’s make this a non-issue, okay?’.

Because they themselves knew that if they confronted them head-on, they would be crushed in an instant.

Nominally, guilds belonged to the Association, but the successful ones among the Western guilds were practically extra-legal organizations. You couldn't even rely on public authority.

“...Then, asking you to land a blow.”

“It's probably not for the grand reason of avenging him... but because he knows he'd get his ass kicked if he fought the West. He's betting on me to take them down. Since it's like that, you don't have to worry if he's up to something.”

“...”

Seo Ah-in shut her mouth with a sorrowful expression.

At that sight, I just nodded my head and finished by inserting the Mana Crystal that Jeong Min-woo had handed over into the center of the gun.

It wasn't like I was a master craftsman on the level of Ironclad or Ebga-ssi, but what I was trying to make now was something that didn't need to be entrusted to them.

On the contrary, if those people saw what I made now, they'd probably get angry.

I checked the finished product.

Good. It was well made.

“...Is that the finished product?”

Seo Ah-in tilted her head and asked.

Well, it did look a bit bizarre.

However.

This strange-looking gun, which was in some ways crude and even comical.

It would definitely work on that guy.

On a guy with a power so strong that others couldn't even imagine defeating him.

“By the way. It's one thing for you to know such things because you're Kim Gyu-sik-ssi. But is it okay for you to tell me something like that? It's someone else's family matter, isn't it?”

“So that you can be prepared.”

“Pardon?”

“I told you in advance so you wouldn't be surprised no matter what I do tomorrow. Because I'm going to do something related to that.”

“...This man. He's actually giving a warning of the trouble he's going to cause.”

Seo Ah-in, who muttered that with a dazed look, then let out a deep sigh and continued.

“Wait. Tomorrow is... the day of the event's opening ceremony, right? You're going to cause trouble on that day?”

“Yep.”

“...A lot of very important and powerful people will be attending, right? There will be S-class Climbers too.”

“I know.”

“...”

Seo Ah-in let out a sigh as if her lifespan had been shortened and opened her mouth again.

“...I don't think you'll listen even if I try to stop you. Could you please keep it in moderation? Our guild leader will collapse if she's overworked just a little more.”

“Alright. Then I'll reduce it to a minimum...”

I groaned and flicked the abacus.

Should I try to proceed on a slightly smaller scale. Since this girl was saying this much.

“Should I kill only about 2 people?”

“That's the reduced version?!”

Yeah.

I was really holding back a lot.

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