Seomun Hyeok had gone ahead and tracked down Pyo Haram’s residence. It had been exactly one day since he received the information from the Dokkaebi information broker.
Is this the right place?
Trash piled up here and there in the narrow alleyways, banners opposing redevelopment hanging from utility poles and trees. Crumbling houses and walls sprayed over in red paint.
In this old hillside slum, the neatly dressed Seomun Hyeok stood out conspicuously.
“What’s a young man doing around here?”
“Is he here to collect a debt from the Kim household again?”
“Shouldn’t someone warn them?”
The residents’ whispers trailed long behind Seomun Hyeok’s footsteps like a shadow. With hearing sharper than an ordinary person’s, he pretended not to notice and made his way quickly to his destination.
The address is… Ah, this must be it.
He arrived at a black iron gate with a red-spray-painted X on it. The exterior was rundown and bleak, but the clutter of household garbage piled out in front of the gate made clear that someone lived there.
“Ahem.”
Even without extending his energy sense, it was easy enough to tell that someone was on the other side of this gate. Inexplicably nervous, he cleared his throat and adjusted his grip on the fruit basket he was carrying in one hand.
Then he knocked on the door — tap tap.
“You — Dragon Heart thief!”
“……?”
The door swung open with a sharp voice, and the man who came shooting out jabbed a finger at Seomun Hyeok and shouted.
This was not at all the kind of meeting he had anticipated, and Seomun Hyeok’s body went rigid.
Thief… me?
He had gone hungry in his life when things were hard, but he had never stolen anyone’s belongings.
There had to be some kind of misunderstanding. To clear up whatever misunderstanding it was, Seomun Hyeok hurried to explain the purpose of his visit.
“You’re Pyo Haram, yes? There’s something I’d like to ask, and I’ve taken the liberty of coming to find you. I’m from the special dungeon that occurred in Seoul a few days ago—”
But his composed words never reached their end, cut off abruptly. Without any regard for what he was saying, the other man, who had been seething on his own, suddenly threw a punch at him out of nowhere.
“You came just in time! Hand it over! My Dragon Heart!”
“What? No, wait, what is this all of a sudden—?!”
The expensive fruit basket in Seomun Hyeok’s hand dropped and rolled across the ground. He had no time to register the fact that the basket had fallen — he was too busy dodging the barrage of fists coming at him from all sides.
Naturally, the punches of an E-rank healer couldn’t so much as graze a single hair on an S-rank attacker’s head. Unlike Pyo Haram, who was gradually running out of breath, Seomun Hyeok remained completely composed, focused entirely on trying to make sense of the situation.
His eyes look a little unhinged. Could he have some kind of mental issue? Or drugs?
Through the disheveled bangs falling over Pyo Haram’s face, the eyes that peeked through in glimpses held a glint of madness. The bloodshot whites of his eyes, the pale complexion, the traces of blood at the corner of his mouth.
His condition isn’t looking good…
This won’t do. Judging that words alone weren’t enough to calm him down, Seomun Hyeok had no choice but to use force to restrain him.
“Excuse me.”
“Ow!”
He had no intention of hurting him. Whatever else was true, the man in front of him was practically the same as someone who had saved his life.
He simply couldn’t keep going on like this — so he pulled back as much strength as he could, snatched Pyo Haram’s wrist, spun his body around, and pinned him against the wall.
“Ow! My shoulder! You — you scoundrel! My shoulder’s been yanked out of its socket!”
“……? It hasn’t. The human body’s structure allows for this degree of shoulder rotation.”
“It hurts! I’m telling you it hurts and you’re giving me a lecture?!”
Even plastered flat against the wall, Pyo Haram kept fuming and hissing. Seomun Hyeok was wincing at his ringing ears when he noticed that the hand he was gripping was also covered in blood that had dried black.
Not just a drop or two — the entire palm was a mess. That kind of volume wasn’t something produced by an ordinary wound.
Did he get hurt somewhere?
Seomun Hyeok’s grip loosened slightly as he tried to check Pyo Haram’s condition. It was at that moment that Pyo Haram, who had gone quiet at some point, murmured something strange.
“…The mana… why…?”
“Pardon? What did you say…?”
In that instant, an enormous amount of mana surged out through the hand that was touching Pyo Haram. The alien sensation — unlike anything he had ever felt before — froze Seomun Hyeok in place.
What is this?
He was about to instinctively pull his hand away. At that moment, the jet-black pupils of Pyo Haram, who had turned to glare at him, bled through with a flush of red. The instant he registered that, an explosion erupted between the two of them.
Bang! Kra-boom—!
Seomun Hyeok’s body was thrown backward. Naturally, losing his grip on Pyo Haram came with it.
It was enough firepower to send the black iron gate and the surrounding walls flying. Seomun Hyeok, who had shielded his head with both arms, caught the silhouette of Pyo Haram through the swirling cloud of dust — face-down on the ground, hacking and coughing.
“Hack! Cough cough! Pteh! Damn it all, this wretched body of mine—!”
“…Are you alright?”
“What, what?! Don’t come near me!”
The dust settled. The man coughed a few more times, then glared at Seomun Hyeok and raised an open hand toward him. It looked partly like a warning to stay back, and partly like he was readying his next attack.
Hummmm—
Sure enough, Seomun Hyeok felt the flow of mana beginning to gather in front of Pyo Haram’s hand. That explosion earlier had without a doubt been caused by the man in front of him.
Seomun Hyeok’s brow furrowed.
He was definitely described as an E-rank healer, but he’s using magic?
Could he have reawakened inside the dragon’s lair? Even so, switching classes from healer to mage — across all the runs he had gone through, he had never seen or heard of a reawakening like this.
No, more importantly, first things first…
Seomun Hyeok looked around to check whether any ordinary civilians had gotten caught up in this. Fortunately, there was no sign of anyone nearby.
Relieved, he quickly pulled out the greatsword he had stored in his inventory. He needed to be ready for whatever spell Pyo Haram was about to cast.
“Hand over the Dragon Heart and walk away quietly.”
Even through all of this, Pyo Haram was grinning and saying things that made no sense. When Seomun Hyeok didn’t respond, Pyo Haram’s gaze shifted. The flow of mana gathering in front of his hand looked ominous.
Hummmm—
It seemed like the same explosion as before was about to happen. Perhaps even stronger this time.
Seomun Hyeok drove the tip of his greatsword into the ground to brace for the incoming attack and tensed his entire body. But then.
Psssht— pfft, fssst, pfft— pshhhh….
“……?”
“……?”
Instead of the explosion from before, a feeble wisp of air leaked out from Pyo Haram’s hand. No — could you even call that wind…?
Why does it sound like air leaking out of a balloon…
Pyo Haram’s previously confident face flushed red in an instant. He looked back and forth between his own hand and the greatsword Seomun Hyeok was holding.
“…Oh for — seriously….”
And then he ground his teeth with the expression of someone who had bitten into something rotten. As if on cue, a crow that had been sitting on a nearby power line let out a caw and flew over both their heads. It was as if it were mocking the man in front of him.
Things settled down about five minutes or so after that. Pyo Haram had been sitting slumped on the ground, spewing curses and throwing a fit — when a loud noise rumbled from his stomach.
Grrrumble—
It was only natural that Pyo Haram’s face crumpled even further. He collapsed face-first onto the ground as though his energy had given out entirely, then kicked his feet and pounded the dirt with his fists.
“Um… The ground is cold. Perhaps for now you could get up and—”
Unable to just watch any longer, Seomun Hyeok awkwardly put his greatsword away and tried to speak to him. Pyo Haram, now covered in dust and grime, snapped his head up and looked at him.
“Hey.”
“Y-yes?”
“Why did you say you came here again?”
“Well, I’m not sure if you remember, but I’m from the incident in Seoul a few days ago—”
“Get to the point.”
“…I came because I have some things I’d like to ask. And to thank you as well.”
“Oh yeah? You have things to ask? And on top of that, you have something to thank me for? Is that right?”
Why has he been speaking informally this whole time?
Seomun Hyeok’s brow pinched slightly. As far as he knew, he was four years older than the man in front of him.
But now that a calm conversation was finally just barely within reach, it was hard to bring up the age gap and ask for formal speech. Seomun Hyeok set aside the mild irritation and attempted a proper exchange.
“Yes, that’s right. Do you remember me? I received your help when we were taking down the dragon back then.”
“Oh, yeah, I know, I know. I remember.”
“…I wasn’t in any state to say so at the time… but belatedly, I’m truly grateful. We were able to prevent the dungeon break, and I made it out safely as well.”
“Uh huh. Sure, whatever, but the fact that you tracked me all the way down here means what you’re curious about is pretty important, yeah?”
“…Yes. That’s right.”
The corner of Pyo Haram’s mouth curved up. It was an assured, almost arrogant smile — as though his pride had never been bruised at all.
“Alright. I’ll graciously answer your questions. But.”
But?
Seomun Hyeok tilted his head. Unlike his own bewilderment, Pyo Haram’s expression had turned a degree more serious and solemn.
Seomun Hyeok naturally waited for what he was about to say and swallowed drily. Finally, Pyo Haram’s lips moved.
“You.”
“Yes.”
“You got any money?”
“……?”
Wait, what did I just hear.
