Chapter 168: 168

“Well, I wasn’t thinking straight…” Song Jong-Chul scratched his head as he talked, as if he were in a tough spot.

However, Kim Jin-Woo knew immediately with the Eyes of Truth that Song Jong-Chul had in fact intended this outcome and was enjoying every minute of it. It was obvious that he was provoking Jung Chan-Sik.

Kim Jin-Woo wasn’t particularly interested as to why Jung Chan-Sik was at the association or why he had charged toward him, so he coldly cut Song Jong-Chul off, saying, “Sounds like it’s nothing important.”

Song Jong-Chul was about to excitedly tell his story, but quickly shut his mouth. He seemed to have been left speechless, as the reaction was different from what he had expected.

But regardless, Kim Jin-Woo went straight to the matter on his mind, asking, “Is the Association doing business with the general public now?”

“Business?” Song Jong-Chul replied with a puzzled expression. Just from his facial expression alone, it appeared as if it were a genuine question, but the Eyes of Truth revealed that it was all a farce.

“Down gem. Someone told me that he bought it from the Association for five million won,” Kim Jin-Woo said.

It was a completely empty down gem, to be precise. But even for dungeon babies, it wasn’t so simple to check the contents of a down gem. Thus, he hid that fact from Song Jong-Chul.

“Ah, that?” Contrary to what Kim Jin-Woo expected, Song Jong-Chul quickly acknowledged the fact. “No one really owns these things, do they? If someone wants it and they have the money for it, they can buy one.”

But Song Jong-Chul still had a lot to hide. Even though Kim Jin-Woo knew that the down gem was empty, he continued to speak as if he were unaware. “Looks like there’s quite a lot of supply these days, huh.”

“No way. We’re simply disposing of old stock,” Song Jong-Chul said.

It was an absurd conversation, but there was a key difference between Song Jong-Chul and Kim Jin-Woo. Song Jong-Chul had no way to look into Kim Jin-Woo’s heart, while the latter had the unbelievable ability that was the Eyes of Truth.

“Well, that’s none of my business,” Kim Jin-Woo said while slowly stepping back.

Song Jong-Chul, who couldn’t possibly be aware of such a fact, showed a big smile as he looked at Kim Jin-Woo. It seemed almost like a benevolent smile that showed not an ounce of his true inner feelings. He asked, “Well, that aside, how about we catch up on how we’ve been doing? We’re pretty close, aren’t we? In my own way, I’m fond of you, you know?”

It was Song Jong-Chul who had told Kim Jin-Woo about several secrets related to the birth of dungeon babies, as well as the detour route to the Deep Floors via Ustus.

He wasn’t wrong to say that, since Kim Jin-Woo had benefited quite a bit from him. Thus, Kim Jin-Woo restrained himself as he talked about what he had been doing as of late. “I’ve just been heading to and fro from the Underworld. I’ve been busy.”

“As expected of the highest level dungeon baby. To think that you’d head to the Underworld given the situation right now. Ordinary explorers like us can only make do with the creatures flowing out of the entrance,” Song Jong-Chul remarked.

It was a meaningless conversation. But the two men constantly kept their guard up as they sized each other up. On the surface, it was an equal conversation where neither side was particularly pressured. But Song Jong-Chul was already losing in terms of his presence.

What the hell has he been doing over the past year? Song Jong-Chul was smiling brightly as he kept up his friendly demeanor, but that was only on the surface. Deep down, he was constantly observing Kim Jin-Woo, the 12th Floor dungeon baby that had become a totally different monster from just a year before.

He was taken aback by the sheer presence emanating from Kim Jin-Woo, who had changed drastically. There was an unknown majesty in his voice when he talked, and his deep black eyes seemed unshakable by anything that went against him. It was impossible to guess what was buried behind those deep black eyes of his.

Occasionally, when their gazes connected, Song Jong-Chul felt the look of indifference behind Kim Jin-Woo’s gaze and shuddered without even realizing it, feeling as if his insides had been stripped away. It all felt familiar yet uncomfortable. Song Jong-Chul knew that he had seen such a gaze before, but couldn’t quite remember it, and that started to drive him mad.

But what made him even more uncomfortable was the fact that Kim Jin-Woo was staring at the wall behind him. Coincidentally, the area Kim Jin-Woo’s gaze kept returning to was a custom-order safe that he had hidden behind the wall. The Level 12 title isn’t for show, that’s for sure. I’m the President of the Explorers’ Association, and yet here I am, feeling all confused.

The uncomfortable feeling was brief, and Song Jong-Chul quickly laughed. The wall that hid his safe behind it looked just like any other wall. It made absolutely no sense to think that Kim Jin-Woo could see through that wall and notice the secret safe behind it. Song Jong-Chul thought he was suffering from a kind of compulsion simply because he was overestimating Kim Jin-Woo.

However, there were some things he wasn’t aware of: The fact that Kim Jin-Woo had activated the Highlord’s special ability, the Eyes of Truth, to see right through him, and that Kim Jin-Woo was staring at the wall was no coincidence. It was due to the fact that Kim Jin-Woo was in possession of an invisible being that watched the world through his eyes—the parasite.

[Something invisible to your eyes has been detected by the parasite’s senses.]

[The parasite’s ability, ‘Guidance’, has been activated.]

Kim Jin-Woo smiled inwardly as he saw something flashing green on the other side of the wall. Found it.

He tried to ignore Song Jong-Chul’s fidgety attempts to divert his attention, but the parasite’s ability was still active.

[A pile of down gems has been discovered.]

[Some of the down gems were already used up and have been depleted, but most of the down gems are still completely intact and filled with energy.]

Seeing those messages appear in front of him, Kim Jin-Woo slowly got up from his seat.

“Uh, you’re going off already?” Song Jong-Chul asked.

“I’m sure we’ll meet again,” Kim Jin-Woo replied.

“Wow, I guess we’re really close now, huh, for you to talk about next time?” Song Jong-Chul remarked. Despite saying that, it was obvious that he was hugely relieved that Kim Jin-Woo wasn’t sticking around any longer.

“Think what you will,” Kim Jin-Woo remarked. Then he said, “I’ll head off then.”

“Let’s grab a meal together next time,” Song Jong-Chul said, not revealing his true intentions until the end.

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But as soon as Kim Jin-Woo’s presence disappeared, his demeanor completely changed. He ordered, “Sang-Sik and Ja-Chul, trail that guy. I need to find out why the hell he came here, and where he’s going next.”

A short answer came from outside the door, followed by the sound of footsteps leaving.

“Fuck. Why does this feel so off?” Song Jong-Chul muttered.

“Look at you. You said you were so confident, but in the face of the highest-leveled dungeon baby, it doesn’t matter if you’re the Association President or whatever, right?” Jung Chan-Sik grunted with a resentful look on his face.

But Song Jong-Chul had no intention of letting him do all the talking. “Chan-Sik, you poor boy. Even as a man, I’m telling you that our Chan-Sik is no match for our friend over there. Well, I’m sure even Lee Jun-Young has been won over to his side, so this is all pointless talk.”

“Cut the bullshit. Lee Jun-Young isn’t that kind of helpless woman,” Jung Chan-Sik shot back.

“Who said Lee Jun-Young was helpless? I’m just saying that our friend is pretty charismatic. Isn’t that the trend these days anyway? The bad boy style. If I were a girl, I’d be completely swooning over him,” Song Jong-Chul remarked.

When Song Jong-Chul brought up Lee Jun-Young, who was basically Jung Chan-Sik’s Achilles’ heel, he quickly tucked his tail between his legs.

“You should have treated her better when you could; why are you fretting about this only after she left? If you were going to be like this, then you should have just forced her to stay by your side, down gem addiction or not,” Song Jong-Chul added.

Jung Chan-Sik wasn’t all worked up for nothing. Every time Lee Jun-Young was brought up, his visibly twitchy appearance would be completely different from the ferocious appearance he had put up just earlier.

Song Jong-Chul looked at him as he clicked his tongue. “I don’t understand you. I really don’t. You should have just made her yours with the promise of down gems.”

“Don’t be rude,” Jung Chan-Sik mumbled.

“You don’t be rude. Are you forgetting who I am? I’m Song Jong-Chul, man. I’m Song Jong-Chul. You bitch, you think I don’t know why you gave Lee Jun-Young those down gems? With just a word from me, your reputation will be thrown into the gutter instantly. You should be grateful to me,” Song Jong-Chul snapped, his eyes flaring up.

Jung Chan-Sik fell silent as life drained from his face. He couldn’t believe that the man in front of him was once the leader of the team of explorers who had gone against the Association.

“Don’t mope around like a dog caught in the rain, yeah? I’ll shake things up with regard to that friend of ours. Who knows? Maybe another opportunity will come to you,” Song Jong-Chul said.

At those words, Jung Chan-Sik closed his eyes tightly.

***

Kim Jin-Woo left the Explorers’ Association, but smiled as he felt himself being tailed. He said, “I’m heading home; there’s no need to tail me. Your boss knows where I live anyway.”

There was no answer. But Kim Jin-Woo resumed walking, as if he had expected such a non-response. It was only a long time after he disappeared that a couple of faint voices finally emerged from the shadows, where the streetlamp’s light didn’t reach.

“Urgh, how the hell do we tail that?”

However, even that sound was soon consumed by the silence, and nothing could be seen or heard again.

“Master.”

Kim Jin-Woo reappeared from the alley, showing no signs of surprise when he saw Angela suddenly pop out of the darkness. He remarked, “I told you to head back first.”

Angela simply giggled at his answer and hugged his arm, saying, “I have nothing to do anyway; it’ll be nice if we head back together.” She smiled brightly, as if she were on a date.

Unlike before, Kim Jin-Woo no longer pushed her away in her recent attempts at skinship and displays of affection. However, he looked her in the eye before stopping in his tracks.

“Why? Are we being tailed?” Angela asked.

“No, that’s not it.” Kim Jin-Woo momentarily looked in the direction of the Explorers’ Association before resuming his walk. He said, “Well, I left something behind.”

“What did you leave behind?” Angela panicked slightly when she heard that Kim Jin-Woo had left something behind.

“Ah, no need to worry. I’ll be back soon to retrieve it,” Kim Jin-Woo answered.

Angela looked at him, feeling more confused by the minute. But even as Kim Jin-Woo saw her confused expression, he didn’t bother to explain himself, simply smiling quietly. At that moment, blue light flashed in his eyes before disappearing immediately.

***

The accidents continued to occur, but the construction work kept going. Bad rumors started to circulate about the presence of magic and curses, which made many of the workers reluctant to work, but Kim Jin-Woo took care of the situation by paying them more money.

"If you work like this, we'll end up doing twice the work!"

“Then tell me, why are you kicking up a fuss now? Should we just fool around doing nothing while those old farts over there are working?”

There were arguments that day, as usual. Thanks to the supervisor’s intervention, it didn’t escalate into a big fight, but the overall mood at the site was simply atrocious.

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