86 – 17 – I Am the Boss – 1

—Knock, knock.

At that moment, when Gi-jun was feeling highly perturbed after hearing the full story of the current situation from Lucy, a knock sounded at his door.

“Jun, shall we have a drink?”

Of course, among his party members, Scintilla was the only one bold enough to visit him in the middle of the night.

Holding his head at her appearance, which kindly informed him that he did not have the luxury to only worry about the external situation, Gi-jun replied.

“Again?”

“I want to drink with you. Please?”

No matter who it was, not just Gi-jun, no one would have been able to resist a voice pleading so cutely.

Of course, it was not that he was giving in to her temptation, but rather with the sole intention of stripping away the delusion that possessed her.

In the end, Gi-jun ended up heading to the bar on the third floor of the lodging with Scintilla today as well.

In truth, as he was feeling frustrated after hearing Lucy’s story, it would have been a lie to say that her proposal to have a drink was not welcome at all.

“Today, we can talk just the two of us without any interruptions.”

“Did you use some trick on the others?”

“I knocked them down.”

Gi-jun thought it was a relief that he had not yet drunk the alcohol placed in front of him.

For if he had been in the middle of drinking, he would have spat it right in her face.

“Knocked them down?!”

“We sparred. Since I didn’t like how things were, I suggested that we establish a clear hierarchy.”

If Lucy had been here, she would have snapped at her for acting so presumptuously when she was just an interloper, but unfortunately, Lucy was not present.

Seeing Gi-jun’s eyes narrow, Scintilla waved her hands in excuse.

“I didn’t hurt them badly. I just—dealt with them until they didn’t have any energy left to move. All three of them.”

“Three?!”

Had she sparred with them, including Unica and Ji-hye?!

Gi-jun realized anew how much Scintilla usually held back her abilities.

He had believed that she was exerting near-full strength when sparring with him, only without harboring any killing intent, but now it seemed that was not the case either.

“Listen. All three of them thought I wasn’t serious about you.”

That was only natural.

Even though he insisted so much that he was of human origin, they wouldn’t believe him.

Gi-jun groaned softly as he drank the alcohol before him.

Was it indeed too arrogant of a thought to believe he could heal a person’s mind with his cooking?

“But you will believe me, Jun? From the moment I found you, I swore to protect you for the rest of my life.”

“That’s because you think I’m—a Flame Human, right?”

“That’s…”

That was obvious.

After all, the very reason Scintilla had sought Gi-jun out in the first place was that she believed him to be a Flame Human.

“That’s probably why the others find you difficult to deal with. Aside from that link between you and me, there is no bond connecting you to this party.”

Moreover, that link was a lie.

Everyone else knew that fact, but only Scintilla pretended not to know.

What kept Scintilla bound to this party was nothing but an illusion, a lie.

So, could the party members truly accept her as a comrade?

“A bond…”

“But don’t make such a serious face. If we don’t have one, we can just make it.”

Gi-jun held out his glass, trying to speak as lightly as possible.

Scintilla, who instinctively raised her glass to clink it against his, let out a faint smile.

Even the slightest physical contact with him served as a strength that sustained her.

“Even if I’m not a Flame Human, the memories we made while having a drink like this won’t be ruined. Right?”

“But Jun, in Leta, you ultimately can’t trust anyone unless they are of the same race. You know very well what is happening in the Species Guild Union, which was created under the guise of racial harmony, don’t you? You too should, a bit more—”

He knew it very well.

He knew it even better than Scintilla.

But.

“Scintilla, to me, it doesn’t matter what other people do or on what grounds they do it.”

Gi-jun emptied his glass in one gulp and spoke, looking straight at Scintilla.

“I will judge and act according to my own standards. So let me make this clear right now—to me, the race of my comrades doesn’t matter at all.”

“Even if the girl you believe to be a comrade is actually nothing but a vampire who constantly eyes your blood?”

“It doesn’t matter in the slightest. I already know how sincerely Laura follows me. You can’t blame instinct.”

Of course, he had been a bit surprised, though.

He could have given her some blood if she had just asked, so perhaps Laura was struggling with her identity and didn’t dare to ask him.

Thinking that he should bring it up first later, Gi-jun faced Scintilla.

“You’re the same, Scintilla.”

“We are of the same race—”

“Even if we were of different races.”

Gi-jun spoke, cutting off Scintilla’s words somewhat boldly.

“You’re already my comrade. Honestly, it was a bit annoying at first—but I knew right away that you weren’t a bad person. That’s why I’m trying this hard, too.”

“…”

“Even if you stop calling me a Flame Human, I want to remain your comrade. What about you?”

“But, we are—of the same race, I told you…”

Scintilla’s voice as she answered was somewhat quiet.

Right, there was no way something that hadn’t worked all this time would be resolved with a single drinking session.

He prayed that Mr. Mark Twain would watch over them.

Gi-jun gave a bitter smile, ordered more alcohol, and spoke.

“Then think of it as words from a fellow member of your race and remember it. Let’s make a bond that makes us true comrades, a connection that makes us care for each other transcending race. Yes?”

No, wait.

It felt like he was still not drunk enough to say such embarrassing words.

As he smacked his lips and waited for the drinks to arrive, Scintilla replied in a quiet voice.

“I’ll… try.”

“Thank you.”

“Though the connection between you and me is already firm.”

“Then just think of it as me wanting to get closer to you.”

“I want that too…!”

At those words, Scintilla’s eyes went wide with delight, and he had to exert immense effort to stop her from moving to sit right next to him.

Ye-min had been the same in taking comradeship in a strange sense and overreacting, and he wondered what she was doing around this time.

…According to Ji-hye, it seemed she hadn’t had a boyfriend even once all this time, but was his heart growing slightly complicated again at such thoughts because Ye-min had once been the object of Gi-jun’s admiration?

Ah, fortunately, the alcohol arrived before he could get any more embarrassed.

“I knew you’d be here! A Godfather for me too!”

“Phew, phew, I’m not late…”

“Lord Jun, you were safe…!”

In addition, Ji-hye, Unica, and Laura arrived as well.

At this point, they might as well have included Gin too, and Gi-jun felt they were all being too harsh since the boy still hadn’t shown his face.

By the way.

“Didn’t you say they had no energy left to move?”

At Gi-jun’s teasing words, Scintilla replied with a serious face.

“Next time, I should make sure they can’t get up until the next morning.”

* * *

The promised two weeks flew by like an arrow, and the day of the faction war drew near.

Nabinya and Lucy had still not returned by then.

“We’ll get through this on our own. We can do it, right?”

—Kiii!

Morning.

Gi-jun adjusted his mask securely and left the lodging, stroking Ur who sat on his shoulder.

The party followed behind Gi-jun with worried expressions.

Since they all knew that Lucy had not yet returned and that the Species Guild Union was up to something shady, their concern was far from minor.

“Oppa, will you really be alright?”

“Of course. You know it firsthand from experiencing it with your own bodies.”

Pressing down on Ji-hye’s deeply furrowed brow with his finger to smooth it out, Gi-jun grinned.

When he had swung his shield with the momentum to break all her limbs, he had looked like nothing but a demon, but now he looked like an angel again; to soothe her pounding heart, Ji-hye repeatedly chanted Mok-su’s name in her mind like a Buddhist prayer.

“Congratulations on the growth of your Endurance status grade. Your Strength is still Common, but now we can slowly start thinking about leveling up and growing your race grade.”

“How hard did you roll me for two weeks for it to grow like this? I really didn’t expect my status grade to grow without a single level up!”

“Are you grateful?”

“Thank you!”

She really was honest.

As Gi-jun turned around chuckling, Scintilla called out to stop him this time.

“Jun, I still think there is something hidden. You said there is no danger, but—this request is suspicious from start to finish.”

“I guess I really can’t inspire trust.”

Gi-jun, wearing a bitter smile, lightly patted the shoulder of Scintilla, who was frowning deeply.

“Watch closely. I’ll finish it all without getting hit even once.”

“…Alright, I’ll watch closely.”

“Good.”

Gi-jun smiled and nodded at her words, but internally, he muttered, ‘Liar.’

Despite the fact that she had never looked straight at him even once until now.

Even though they had met less than three weeks ago and had no opportunity to share deep emotions, she was obsessed with him solely because they were of the same race.

All of her feelings and actions toward him were built on the delusion that he was a Flame Human.

Coldly speaking—far from looking straight at him, Scintilla had not even truly met him yet.

Indeed.

Gi-jun had still not been able to strip away the daze that possessed Scintilla.

“Liar…”

At that moment, hearing a softly muttered voice, he raised his head to see Laura behind him covering her mouth with a startled expression.

Fortunately, Scintilla seemed not to have heard because she was focused only on Gi-jun—but Gi-jun heard it clearly.

“Ah?!”

Meeting Gi-jun’s gaze, Laura shook her head with wide eyes as if it wasn’t her.

At her transparent behavior, Gi-jun couldn’t help but laugh.

“Laura, get along with Scintilla.”

“Y-Yes! Understood!”

“I don’t think I can, though?”

“You are in the same party.”

“…Hmph.”

Seeing her react this way even though she shouldn’t have heard Laura’s muttering, the two of them indeed did not seem to be on very good terms.

Come to think of it, was it also Scintilla who had warned him to be wary of Laura because she was a vampire?

Considering he had not yet improved Scintilla’s condition, it seemed there would be many things to do to normalize the party once this request was over.

“Then let’s go, everyone. They said they prepared special seats for my party members.”

“How many hours will the faction war last? I should have popped more popcorn.”

“Four hundred calories per hundred grams—”

“It’s fine because I’ve been exercising a lot lately! You’re so mean, Oppa!”

The location where this faction war would take place was a ruin managed by a high noble of Cor.

Apparently, unlike normal faction wars, this location had been obtained through negotiations with the noble solely for this event, but now that he knew Demander’s detailed circumstances, even that felt suspicious.

“First of all, long-range sniping is out of the question.”

“Ji-hye, you were actually thinking about that seriously…”

“Of course, since we are in the same party.”

The way to enter the ruins was through a gate, similar to the ruins he had found with Ruthven before.

Three hundred warriors were drawn from each of the three races participating in the faction war, totaling nine hundred people who would enter the gate, and Gi-jun, who was playing the highlight role—the boss—was scheduled to enter before them and head to the designated location.

“We’ve been waiting for you, Mr. Jun!”

The human representative Christian, who welcomed him in front of the gate to the ruins, greeted him with a bright smile and offered a handshake.

As Gi-jun shook his hand, Christian pulled his hand back in surprise and made a fuss.

“Phew, the heat of a Flame Human is even greater than heard! Could you be of an even higher race than a Flame Human?”

“Sometimes there are those who feel it hotter. …Though that doesn’t seem to be the case for you.”

Gi-jun let out a chuckle, muttered something incomprehensible, and received a disc-shaped magic tool from him.

This was the transmission device that would teleport him to a safe place if he took a certain level of impact, and at the same time, it also served as a damage meter that would measure the impact inflicted on him by each race.

He wished he could check the numbers himself, but he could only regret that he could not.

“Where is the location I will be teleported to when this device activates?”

“Right here. We will station members of the union here, so if you return the device and greet the nobles…”

“There’s nothing bad about building connections with the nobility.”

“As expected! You are easy to communicate with!”

Seeing him look genuinely pleased as he spoke, it seemed he had not played any tricks on the transmission device.

After all, since Christian had signed a magic contract, he would suffer fatal damage if he tried to harm Gi-jun by tampering with the device in any way.

‘If that’s the case, then indeed…’

Gi-jun’s eyes deepened.

“Then, let’s head to the viewing area, companions! You will be able to watch the struggle of each race in real-time through the video transmission devices placed inside the ruins, and there is also a device dedicated to Mr. Jun, so you can check immediately if anything happens!”

“Nothing other than the expected events had better happen.”

Scintilla responded to Christian’s words in a chilly voice.

He laughed and nodded, saying that would of course be the case.

“Oppa, do your best!”

“Lord Jun, I will cheer for you.”

“Lord Jun…!”

“Please return safely, Lord Jun.”

“Jun.”

He waved back with the same sentiment to his comrades who were speaking to him with strong resolve.

Turning around, he attached the device to his chest and leapt beyond the gate without hesitation.

It was a lush, dense forest.

Perhaps tracking the transmission device Gi-jun wore, a video broadcasting device—a camera—could be seen floating in the sky.

—Operation start. Do you remember the location?

“Yes. I’ll move right away.”

Perhaps it also served as a communication device; nodding as he heard the voice of the union’s guide through the transmission device, he immediately began moving, cutting through the trees.

The place where he had to position himself was the very peak of the giant volcano located in these ruins.

It was surprising enough that there was a volcano inside the ruins, but they even said it was an active volcano that erupted from time to time.

Since the crater was reportedly filled with bright red lava forming a lava lake, one would not even dare to approach unless they had incredibly strong heat resistance.

Of course, since he had already visited ruins where the moon rose and a divine beast appeared to swallow it, he was confident he would not be surprised by a mere volcano now, but…

‘It seems they tailored it to my concept. Right, Ur?’

—Kihit!

Ur continued to look in a good mood, perhaps looking forward to the lava lake.

In truth, it was because he had been in a good mood all along thanks to having Gi-jun all to himself for the past two weeks without Lucy’s interference.

Perhaps because he was moving with a light heart while coaxing the affectionate Ur, it was only after danger loomed right before his eyes that Gi-jun noticed the anomaly.

—Kaoooooooo!

Right after the shadow of a giant monster loomed overhead.

Lightly leaping to avoid a log that came flying after being uprooted, Gi-jun checked through the transmission device.

“What is that?”

—There may still be uncleared monsters inside the ruins. This is stated in the contract.

The response was extremely cold.

To be sure, the contract did contain the phrase: ‘You may be attacked by devices designed to hinder the participants of the faction war.’

Right, if it was only this level of mischief.

—Keuoooooo!

The enemy’s identity was none other than an ogre.

A giant muscular build reaching nearly four meters, a thick hide that normal attacks could not even pierce, and a monstrous strength capable of shattering a mountain—the king of terrestrial monsters.

A Unique-grade monster, in name and reality.

“As expected.”

Gi-jun nodded and kicked off the ground.

—Keahaaaat!

Was it angered by Gi-jun attacking head-on? The ogre rolled its yellow eyes and threw a fist with all its might.

However, Gi-jun pressed down on that fist with the shield in his left hand and lightly leaped, jumping over the creature’s arm in an instant to face its massive head.

—Kyak?!

Perhaps startled by him springing up right in front of its eyes in the blink of an eye, the creature tried to step back, but Gi-jun had no intention of letting it go.

Upon the shield in his right hand, which he pulled back with all his strength, Ur’s flames bloomed with a whoosh.

Using Light Mana as fuel, the flames, which gained light and power, were refined in real-time, turning into a fang of ultra-high heat.

A giant fang that was close to blood-red, yet radiated a hotter heat.

—Upon entering the ruins, the effect of the title [Conqueror of the Behind Dungeon (L)] is activated. The effects of all status and skills increase by 20%.

—You are facing an enemy of a higher grade than yourself. The effect of the title [Limit Transcender (L)] is activated, yielding a dramatically positive modifier.

—You are using a skill created by yourself. The effect of the title [Skill Creator (U)] is activated, increasing skill ability by 20%.

—You are facing an enemy much larger than yourself. The effect of the title [Giant Killer (U)] is activated, increasing all abilities by 15%.

—Upon entering the ruins, the effect of the title [Conqueror of the Behind Dungeon (L)] is activated. The effects of all status and skills increase by 20%.

—You are facing an enemy of a higher grade than yourself. The effect of the title [Limit Transcender (L)] is activated, yielding a dramatically positive modifier.

—You are using a skill created by yourself. The effect of the title [Skill Creator (U)] is activated, increasing skill ability by 20%.

—You are facing an enemy much larger than yourself. The effect of the title [Giant Killer (U)] is activated, increasing all abilities by 15%.

Indeed, since the enemy was not a boss-grade, the effect of The Last Hero was not activated, but.

—Boom!

This alone was enough to rip off the creature’s neck.

—You have defeated an enemy that is both larger and of a higher grade than yourself in a single blow. You obtain a large amount of experience. A positive modifier is granted to the title [Giant Killer (U)]!

—The level of the skill [Fire Spirit Arts (R)] has become 86. Growth is near.

—You have defeated an enemy that is both larger and of a higher grade than yourself in a single blow. You obtain a large amount of experience. A positive modifier is granted to the title [Giant Killer (U)]!

—The level of the skill [Fire Spirit Arts (R)] has become 86. Growth is near.

“Phew.”

Gi-jun, who landed softly on the ground while checking the messages, exhaled a light breath.

Perhaps because they were amazed by his performance, no words could be heard from the transmission device.

He did not care.

“Now, shall I harvest the ogre tendon that is said to be so amazing?”

And not only that, they said that an ogre’s bones were so hard and sharp that they were perfect to use as weapons.

He couldn’t be happier that he was able to encounter an ogre, a rare monster that was already difficult to meet, as soon as he entered the ruins.

“Can I perhaps hunt all the ogres in these ruins?”

—That… for the sake of the faction war, we would appreciate it if you could show a little restraint.

The guide’s voice trembled.

A deep smile hung on Gi-jun’s lips.

“Alright, I’ll try to show restraint.”

That was, if you guys showed restraint.

The faction war had only just begun.

Of course, Gi-jun’s damage meter remained completely unmoved.