novelraw Chapter 96
Chapter 96
Before the guild called [Wonderland] was properly established.
Around the time when people were experiencing economic panic as Pantheon ended its service.
"Young miss, are you serious?"
"Yes, I'm serious. It's a necessary task."
Cheon Yuhwa had been buying various kinds of knowledge from such players.
Among them were the unique martial arts of a clan that were passed down to only one person, magical research materials that were secretly studied, and books containing the enlightenment one gained while training their aura.
The task of buying each book, such as martial arts books, magic books, and superpower books, was still ongoing.
Moreover, the library of [Wonderland] contained all the knowledge that Cheon Yuhwa remembered, so now, even if they were classified into martial arts, magic, and superpowers, an enormous number of books had been collected, with each category easily exceeding ten thousand volumes.
"Yes. It doesn't matter."
That's why Kim Jae-hyun nodded.
Although it was a good source of income that various guild members borrowed and consistently earned money from, honestly, considering the money [Wonderland] earned every month, it was at a level where it didn't matter if it was there or not.
On top of that, copies of all the books had already been made, so lending out a few books was nothing.
'And the stronger Mr. Lee Shin becomes, the worse it will be for us... it seems like it could be, but in the long run, the benefits will be greater.'
Having come to that conclusion, Kim Jae-hyun took out his favorite tablet.
"First, excluding the books on magic and superpowers, there are approximately 14,057 volumes."
"That's more than I thought. Then if we sort out only the ones about cultivation methods from among them?"
"Then there will be 5,507 volumes left... Are there any other conditions you want?"
"If we exclude the basics and only keep the ones at the level of secret manuals or higher, how many will be left?"
Cultivation methods can be broadly divided into three stages.
The stage of martial arts that focuses on the method of strengthening the body with internal energy and its concept.
The stage of martial arts that includes the concept of materializing internal energy and internal energy into a weapon.
And the stage of martial arts that goes deeper into it and deals with the concept of Ganggi.
The first is a martial art that contains the basic martial principles of each clan and is repeatedly learned by basic disciples.
To give an example from reality, it would be good to call it Taekwondo or Hapkido.
From the stage above that, one begins to display miracles by seriously melting the sword ki created using the internal energy in the dantian into the forms.
As a martial art that begins to utilize sword ki, from this stage, each clan attaches the name of a secret manual and prohibits its leakage to the outside.
It was so serious that in Pantheon, there was even an incident where a player was infinitely hunted until he deleted his character after leaking a martial art once.
But the place where they were now was reality.
Even if one sold the secrets of the internal energy cultivation method of the martial art they had learned in the game for money because of their immediate livelihood, it was unlikely that someone would come and poison their food or throw a dagger at them.
"If we exclude them like that, there are about 3,000 volumes."
At Kim Jae-hyun's words, Lee Shin asked as if he were puzzled.
"That's a lot more than I thought. I thought there would be only about 100 volumes at most."
"We bought a lot in the beginning, and although it's not as much as then, there are still people who want to sell their martial arts."
In fact, most of them were written by Cheon Yuhwa, but Kim Jae-hyun decided to just keep quiet.
He didn't want to get into trouble by running his mouth unnecessarily.
Fortunately, Lee Shin, who didn't have any particular doubts about Kim Jae-hyun's words, said with a bright smile.
"Great! Then I'll take all of them."
"......Yes?"
At Lee Shin's words, Kim Jae-hyun reflexively looked at the list of cultivation methods.
The cultivation methods of orthodox arts, unorthodox arts, and demonic arts were mixed in a disorderly fashion, showing no uniformity at all.
But Lee Shin, who had approached Kim Jae-hyun's side before he knew it, smiled as if that were a good thing and gave a thumbs-up.
'Hoo, I don't know. It's not like I could ever understand this person's mind, and it's none of my business what a customer does with the goods they buy. It's not like we're trading illegal goods either.'
Above all, with this amount, Lee Shin would stay still for a while.
For Kim Jae-hyun, that fact was the most appealing.
Kim Jae-hyun, who had suppressed a slight sense of anxiety, pressed the button on the table.
"Did you call?"
Then, not long after, a woman in a stylish suit with her hair neatly tied up opened the door of the guild master's office and came in.
"Please guide Mr. Lee Shin to the library and then let him choose the books he wants. Ah, you don't have to take any money."
"Yes, I understand."
Thus, the woman took Lee Shin and went outside.
Lee Shin hummed a tune and followed the woman outside, like a person going to buy a new volume of a manga he had been waiting for.
He didn't know what on earth he was going to do with the cultivation methods, but as he was thinking that he hoped he would stay quiet while the two organizations were fighting, a question suddenly came to Kim Jae-hyun's mind.
"Come to think of it, since when did that person start talking to me informally? Thinking about it, I think Yeonhwa-nim also spoke to me informally recently."
Hmm…
Kim Jae-hyun debated whether he should point this out or not, but he decided to just let it go.
He didn't think he could correct Lee Shin's self-willed, my-pace attitude, and because of his occupational hazard of having been a butler since he was young, it was more comfortable for him to deal with people who spoke informally rather than people who spoke formally.
'And it's not like he's going to force me to speak informally either.'
Having organized his thoughts up to that point, Kim Jae-hyun brushed off all his thoughts with a single sigh and began to sign the documents he had put off for a while.
Chwarararak–
The word 'master' seemed infinitely insufficient to capture the image of Kim Jae-hyun signing dozens of pages with a single movement of his finger, as if it were flowing water.
***
Lee Shin walked towards the house with a light step.
'I got a lot more than I thought. Honestly, I was thinking I'd be grateful for just about 100 volumes. I just looked at the titles, but there are some quite famous ones too.'
Thus, Lee Shin, with a bright and cheerful heart, opened the front door.
"Oppa...! It's not you."
Lee Shin was met with the openly disappointed face of Lee Hyun-young, who was wearing the tracksuit that Lee Shin had given her in the past.
As soon as the door opened, Lee Hyun-young, who had even abandoned the breakfast she was eating and ran over, was disappointed to see that the person who opened the door was Lee Shin, and was even more disappointed at the fact that Lee Hyun-seok was not there.
"No, if you divide it by category, don't I also fall into the category of oppa?"
"No, according to the classification of a current middle school girl, you fall into the category of ahjussi."
"I feel so sad I can't hide my tears."
Lee Shin said, and passed by Lee Hyun-young and went inside the house.
Then he took out the carrier he had put in his inventory and placed it next to the sofa.
"Hey, red-haired ahjussi, what's this?"
"If you're curious, you can open it."
At Lee Shin's playful words, Lee Hyun-young looked at the carrier with a very suspicious gaze, then carefully opened the zipper with her fingertips.
Hoodoo-dook-
Then, several bundles of paper fell out.
"This is?"
"Secret manuals of martial arts. I think I'll be at home for a while reading them. Ah, for reference, Yeon-woo and Hyun-seok will be late because they're playing with a new friend."
At Lee Shin's words, Lee Hyun-young, who was about to put the dishes in the sink, reacted.
"A new friend? Didn't they leave for two weeks to train?"
As Lee Hyun-young looked at him as if she didn't like it, Lee Shin thought for a moment before opening his mouth.
"A friend they got to know while training. They've already become as close as comrades who have overcome several life-and-death situations."
It wasn't a lie.
In fact, the three of them had become closer as they faced the ordeal of Lee Shin.
Of course, as a member of the Ten Kings like Cheon Yuhwa or Yeonhwa, Baek Hyun-woo's overall combat ability was superior to Lee Shin's.
But as the long-term battle went on for over a week, Baek Hyun-woo began to be slowly pushed back by Lee Shin.
Lee Shin's personality of loving to fight, his spearmanship that used the opponent's strength, and the characteristic of [High-Speed Recovery].
On top of that, since it was inside a dungeon, Irhegue continuously operated the cultivation method according to the secrets of the [Flame Lightning Water God Art] and continuously replenished his internal energy, and there was even the nutritious, high-calorie sweet bean jelly developed by the 7th team of [Wonderland].
Various things flowed in Lee Shin's favor in a comprehensive way.
As a result, Lee Shin was able to push the three of them for two weeks without sleeping once, and likewise, without letting the three of them sleep.
If you roll around that much, even a non-existent affection will be born.
"Hmm..."
However, Lee Hyun-young, who did not know that fact, was making a sullen face, thinking only that her brother was playing with a friend without her.
Lee Shin, who judged that it could become troublesome if he left her alone, decided to throw a bait that he had suddenly thought of.
"Hey, little sister."
"What is it, ahjussi?"
"Take this."
Hwiik-
A question mark appeared in Lee Hyun-young's eyes as she simply caught and checked the object that Lee Shin had thrown.
"A USB?"
"Yeah, it contains various magical materials, starting from the basics, so you can figure out the rest on your own. I brought it along when I was getting my own stuff, so you don't have to feel burdened."
This was not a lie.
It was truly brought along.
Lee Shin, who had arrived at the library of [Wonderland] with the guidance of the woman in the suit, had changed his mind.
Since they were giving it for free, he decided to just take everything.
He asked for all the materials on superpowers because he could use them for Eun Yeon-woo and Lee Hyun-seok.
Magic wasn't particularly useful, but it felt strange to leave just one thing behind, so he brought it along, and now, seeing Lee Hyun-young's face, he had just suddenly thought of the USB.
For reference, the reason Lee Shin had bothered to print the materials was for the simple reason that he wanted to read a paper book after a long time.
"Ooh..."
For Lee Hyun-young, who had just finished reading the magic theory book she had been reading recently, the USB that Lee Shin gave her was like a welcome rain in a drought.
Lee Shin, looking at Lee Hyun-young who was standing still, moved, asked.
"By the way, aren't you going to school?"
"Hmm? Ugh, I'm going to be late!"
Lee Hyun-young, who had quickly gone into her room, changed into her school uniform in less than a minute and ran out to the front door.
"Then I'll be off to school!"
"Yeah. See you later."
Lee Shin, who had seen Lee Hyun-young off...
Poof-
He brought the snacks he had hidden and threw himself on the sofa.
Feeling the familiar comfort, Lee Shin spent some time looking at the ceiling.
Just like before Pantheon came out.
No, come to think of it, he used to just lie down alone like this.
Because if he just lay down like this without doing anything, it was easier to suppress the murderous impulse that filled his head.
As he was recalling the past, a question came to Lee Shin's mind.
Was he the same as in the past?
Or had he changed even a little?
As he thought about that and looked into his own heart for a moment, he could find the answer so easily that it was laughable.
-I want to cut and kill.
-I want to slice and kill.
-I want to burn and kill.
-I want to crush and kill.
-I want to stab and kill.
-I want to break and kill.
-I want to fight and kill.
"I knew it."
He had been like this since he was born.
He himself did not know the reason.
Just as it was decided that a lion's cub must eat meat from the moment it is born, this impulse was embedded deep in his soul from the beginning.
That's why it was difficult to go outside.
Because when he saw someone, the first thing that came to mind was how to kill them.
On top of that, after Lee Shin entered elementary school, it became even harder to go out when he developed a strange conviction that he could easily subdue any adult.
So Lee Shin enjoyed just lying down and reading books since he was young.
Because then it was a little less boring, he could resist the temptation a little more, and it seemed to reduce his headaches a little.
Of course, since he was also a person, there were times when he wondered if he had to go against this impulse to this extent.
But the answer that came out each time was the same.
-Huh? Why? Is there something else you want to eat besides kimchi stew?
-Hmm... Then shall we go out to eat for the first time in a while?
-I just looked.
-Still, we're eating out today!
-Huhu, thanks to my son, we're eating out today.
-Are you happy we're eating out, Dad?
-Of course I am.
-Mom too?
-Of course, I don't have to do the annoying dishes.
-...Then let's go.
The moment he moved as the impulse whispered, everything he held in his hand would be shattered beyond recognition.
Of course, it was full of a bland taste that was not stimulating, so it wasn't exactly his preference.
But since it had its own taste, he had no thought of throwing it away.
"...Well, it's not bad now either."
There were times when he recalled the bland taste of that time, but he also liked the present, which was full of the emotions of a stimulating taste.
Having come to that conclusion, Lee Shin brought the paper that was on the floor in front of him and began to look at it little by little.
(End of Chapter)