The Player Who Stands Above All

Chapter 172

"It's been a while."

"I know, right. It's been a while."

Lee Shin answered Crowley's words lightly and sat down.

Although they were talking, their eyes were not on each other.

"I thought you'd come soon since you called last night, but I didn't think you'd come today."

Crowley was in the middle of handling work, signing several piles of documents spread out on the table.

"Well, it's not just that those guys' artifacts are all done, but my artifact is also all done, right? I couldn't just wait. Oh, this looks interesting."

Lee Shin was looking at the various artifacts displayed in Crowley's room.

Although it couldn't be called a proper posture for a conversation, it was more comfortable and natural for the two of them to do this.

One was because it was more efficient to be able to handle documents while talking, and the other was because it wasn't boring to look at interesting things while talking.

But fundamentally, it was a scene that was possible because both of them were capable people who could easily handle several things at once, as if breathing.

Hwiririk-

Lee Shin said, spinning the three small daggers that were on the shelf on his hand like a pen.

"So how are that Lee Rion guy and Hyunyoung? It wasn't a waste of time, as I said, right?"

At Lee Shin's words, Crowley organized the signed documents and made a judgment on the two.

"Certainly, both of them are useful. Lee Rion has the talent of a typical alchemist. He makes potions with various characteristics and uses a unique method of solidifying them."

Seuk-

"On the other hand, Lee Hyunyoung has above-average talent in all kinds of magic. She is growing by harmoniously using alchemy and various magic. Normally, it's a talent that's perfect for growing rapidly only in the beginning and then getting lost later, but… since the three of us are sticking together, there's no worry of her getting lost."

Crowley, who had finished speaking, looked at Lee Shin and said.

"Although the way they utilize it and the talents they have are different, it seems clear that both of them will grow greatly someday."

"Right?"

Lee Shin made a triumphant expression as if to say, 'wasn't I right', but Crowley ended his reaction by just nodding his head once without any particular agitation.

"Isn't your reaction too dry?"

At that, Lee Shin made a bored expression, but Crowley had already returned to work mode.

"I'm giving both of them as much support as I can. I'm already using that Lee Rion guy as my assistant and have even given him a room where he can conduct his own experiments, and as for Lee Hyunyoung… I should give her something on this occasion and send her off."

"That's fine. I don't have anything to do for a while, so I was thinking of staying here for a bit before I go."

Meomchit-

At Lee Shin's words, Crowley stopped playing with his pen and quietly glared at him.

It was a look that said, 'why are you deciding to spend time in our guild on your own'.

At that, Lee Shin returned the daggers he had been spinning on his hand to their original place and said with a wide smile.

"I know it's not polite to suddenly barge in and say this, but… you've also barged into my house and done this before, right? So let's just call it even."

"…Hah."

As Lee Shin came out like this, Crowley, who was at a loss for words, agreed with him in silence.

At that, Lee Shin chuckled.

"Well, think of it positively. They're the close friends and family of your only two disciples, right? As a master, you should show that much generosity."

"I understand very well today why Alice hates you."

"Huh? I've made up with her. We even exchange phone calls now."

Lee Shin said that, smiled widely, and then naturally changed the subject.

"Then now, I'd like to see the guy I ordered."

At Lee Shin's words, Crowley looked at him with an expression that, for him who rarely showed his emotions, clearly showed that he didn't want to give it, to the point where it was visible on his face.

But as if he had thought it couldn't be helped, he soon let out a quiet sigh and took out a glove from a drawer and placed it on the table.

"As the dungeon break occurred, I was able to obtain much better materials than I had originally expected, and as I went up to LV.4 this time, a much better artifact than I had expected was created."

Although it was an explanation that implicitly contained the words 'I don't want to give it to you', Lee Shin only heard that it was a high-performance artifact and then closed his ears.

It was a black leather glove, and a pure white line was connected like a circuit, decorating the glove.

"But is this all there is to it, one side?"

"That one side is all there is. As I was making it, I thought there was no need to make it for both hands."

At Crowley's words, Lee Shin put the glove on his right hand and clenched his fist a few times.

Even though he was wearing it, he could feel the touch well, so if he closed his eyes, he probably wouldn't even know he was wearing a glove.

[Black Room]

-Unique

-A black leather glove with both excellent elasticity and defense. It is a masterpiece created by a genius alchemist who leads the era, and its value is very high.

-[Thousand] Selectively active. You can store a thousand weapons that have been engraved in the subspace connected to the glove.

-[Weapon's Resting Place] Always active. The weapon that has left the subspace is recovered after a certain period of time and slowly recovers its durability in the subspace.

-[All For One] Selectively active. By disassembling weapons of the same performance, the performance of the one remaining weapon is dramatically increased.

"Are you satisfied?"

"To the point where words can't describe it."

At Lee Shin's heartfelt words, Crowley's lips curled up slightly.

Crowley was an alchemist and at the same time a craftsman.

And the races of alchemists and craftsmen were a race that was happier to hear praise for the works they had painstakingly created than to be praised themselves.

Crowley explained in a slightly relaxed tone.

"The usage is simple. If you blow your internal energy into the glove, the subspace connected to the glove will open, and the spear inside will be caught in your hand."

"Is it possible to grab several at the same time?"

"As many as you want. However, keep in mind that there are only ten spears in that glove right now."

At Crowley's words, Lee Shin lightly blew his internal energy into the glove.

Woong-

At that, black smoke naturally wrapped around Lee Shin's hand, and one by one, a total of four spears were held between his fingers.

"Oh! It's cool! It's great! It's the best!"

And so, Lee Shin played around for a while, testing various things using the glove like a child who had gotten a fun toy, and then opened his mouth with a satisfied expression.

"Then since I've looked at the artifact enough, shall we move on to the next story…"

"Tsk."

As Crowley clicked his tongue openly, Lee Shin said with a wide smile.

"Hey, don't hate it so much. It's not a bad proposal for you either."

"Hah… I won't be here for long."

Crowley sat on the sofa as if to say, 'let's just hear it', and Lee Shin sat down opposite him with a wide smile.

"First, Crowley, don't you want to test the artifact you made?"

"I'm always testing."

"But there must be a limit."

The limit Lee Shin was talking about was simple.

It was about the limit that one is bound to experience as long as one has only one body, the lack of manpower.

Since he couldn't deny Lee Shin's words, Crowley looked at him with a displeased expression and opened his mouth.

"If you interfere with my experiment at a decent level, it will only be a hindrance."

"Ah, you don't have to worry about that part. Because there are only interesting guys."

Lee Shin had seen the appearance of many Players while teleporting to many places.

That's why he could be confident.

That those guys would be a help to the experiment, not a hindrance.

"It's better to have more manpower for an experiment, isn't it?"

At Lee Shin's sound argument, Crowley began to think for a moment.

Watching that, Lee Shin smiled slightly.

"Isn't it the basis of an experiment to proceed with it in various ways and obtain various samples."

"It takes too much time. An experiment requires proper preparation."

"That's what assistants are for. And now, that assistant has one more."

Lee Shin said that and said as if he understood everything.

"As the monster break occurred this time, a huge and diverse amount of monster byproducts must have come in. Naturally, you must have had a lot of things you wanted to experiment with."

Crowley quietly listened to Lee Shin's words.

"But since time is finite and manpower is insufficient, it's not enough to bring out all the ideas in your head."

Lee Shin's words strangely dug into the parts Crowley wanted.

"But if you use these guys, you can entrust all the trivial preparations to them, and you can also pass on the experiment on the artifact you made. You just have to focus on making the artifact. How about it? Will you accept?"

Crowley asked, staring at Lee Shin.

"Did you hear about me from Alice?"

"Yes, she answered when I asked."

"Then you must know very well that my experiment is dangerous."

The experiment Crowley was talking about was not an experiment that took place in a laboratory.

It was an experiment in the style of two people fighting with one weapon and another weapon.

That's why it was dangerous.

Whether you pull the trigger lightly or strongly, the bullet always has a certain power.

This was also the case with Crowley's artifact.

Because the artifact was not a type of tool that was bound by the user's capabilities.

But Lee Shin smiled and denied Crowley's words.

"Hey, you have to say it correctly. It won't kill them, it will just end at a painful level. You won't be hit by them, and even if they are hit, they will be fully healed."

There was no way Crowley, of all people, would pretend not to know about an accident that occurred during an experiment.

Because that was an act of scratching his own belongings that he had affection for.

"Don't worry. They're guys who are used to rolling around next to me, so they'll just laugh off most things."

"…Why are you doing this for those guys? I heard you haven't even known them for three months."

At Crowley's words, Lee Shin said as if it were simple.

"It's just that it seems they can still grow, so I'm giving them a little push. The stronger they are, the more fun it is to watch."

"So you're going to stick them to me this time?"

"Yes."

Seuk-

"Because it seems best to stick them next to you."

At Lee Shin's words, Crowley, who had been staring at his eyes for a moment, nodded his head slightly.

"Alright. Then I'll take care of those guys for a while."

"Yes, don't go easy on them, push them to their limits."

Lee Shin said that, smiled playfully, and got up from his seat.

It was time to tell the guys who would be laughing and joking below the news that there would be hell from now on, along with the completed artifact.

(End of Chapter)