Chapter 141
Chapter 141
Hyunwoo drank again with a beautiful woman in each arm . However, this time there was no one besides Sungyoon .
They had gotten closer to each other in the past two weeks, so he didn’t feel awkward turning down Hyunwoo’s attempt at sticking women next to him .
Of course, this only deepened Hyunwoo’s suspicion that Sungyoon swung for the other side .
“So, how was it? What did you think about fighting against the high rank monsters?”
Hyunwoo asked the question when he lost count on how many cups of alcohol he drank . Sungyoon had been quietly sipping his drink as he was mostly focused on eating the side dishes . He didn’t want to think about the price tag on the alcohol . When he heard the question, Sungyoon looked back at the monster hunt that he had experienced not too long ago .
“It was very hard . ”
As expected of Hyunwoo’s labyrinth, it had lived up to its name of being the highest ranked labyrinth . If Hyunwoo wasn’t looking over him, he wouldn’t have been able to get out alive even if he had 100 lives .
“At the same time, I gained much from the experience . ”
He learned about the various characteristics of high rank monsters, and he was able to engrave their battle style into his head . He also learned how to use his Gems more smoothly and effectively .
“That makes it all worth it for me . Still, you should never let your guard down . The same types of monsters populate the Great Labyrinth, but they are much stronger . ”
“Understood . ”
Sungyoon deeply engraved Hyunwoo’s advice into his heart .
“Ah . How would you like to divvy up the moonstones I’m carrying?”
All the moonstone acquired within Hyunwoo’s Personal labyrinth was stored within Sungyoon’s storage Gem .
As if to prove that they had fought against high ranked monsters, all the moonstones they acquired were large in size .
If Sungyoon didn’t have his storage Gem, he would have had to expend a ma.s.sive amount of energy to transport the moonstones .
The size and quant.i.ty was that large . When converted, the amount of money they’ll receive would be ma.s.sive .
However, Hyunwoo sounded blase about it .
“You can keep them . ”
“What? No . I cannot take such a large amount of money for myself . Above all else, ¾ of the moonstones were dropped from the monsters you killed . ”
At Sugnyoon’s objection, Hyunwoo just downed another cup of alcohol down his throat . Then he spoke the truth .
“I’ll be honest . Moonstones are like pocket change to me . I find the process of converting moonstones into money to be annoying . ”
“…… . ”
He was speechless . From his estimates, Sungyoon possessed moonstones worth several million dollars at the very least .
This was a conservative estimate .
However, such a figure was considered to be pocket change in front of this man .
Sungyoon was in front of one of the highest ranked Connectors, and he once again confirmed that Hyunwoo possessed a ma.s.sive amount of wealth .
“You can have it . If you don’t need it, you can throw it away . ”
“…then I’ll receive it with thanks . ”
Sungyoon decided to accept his favor . To be precise, he decided to accept Hyunwoo’s laziness .
“Good, good . That’s the way it should be . You shouldn’t turn down pocket money given to you by an old man . ”
Hyunwoo let out a magnanimous laughter . He occasionally brought up his status as an old man, and Sungyoon still had no idea how to respond to such words .
Afterwards, the drinking continued . Hyunwoo continued to drink alcohol like a fish . Sungyoon tried not to break the mood, so he continued to take little sips of alcohol .
Hyunwoo spoke most of the time . Sungyoon listened, and he replied at the right moments . He basically tried to humor Hyunwoo .
Time pa.s.sed like that .
“I’m sorry, but I’ll have to leave now . ”
Sungyoon spoke .
When he looked at his watch, he realized it was very late . The hands of the clock had already done a full revolution, and it was already a new day . He was supposed to meet the Ross siblings today .
He had to go into a labyrinth again with them, so he wanted to be in good physical and mental condition .
Sungyoon expected Hyunwoo to complain, but Hyunwoo unexpectedly let him go without a fuss .
“Is it that late? Yes, you should go . You suffered a lot trying to humor this old man . ”
“No . The last couple days have been very helpful . Thank you very much . ”
Sungyoon gave a bow towards him .
“I’m glad you think that . I reserved a room for you upstairs, so you should get a good night’s rest . I want you to continue to work hard raiding labyrinths once again . ”
He would have to spend another night in the enormous suite, so he felt a bit uncomfortable about it . Still, he was unable to turn down Hyunwoo’s gesture of goodwill . Sungyoon got up and he tried to leave the drinking party .
“Wait a moment!”
At that moment, Hyunwoo stopped Sungyoon from leaving . He took out something from his storage Gem .
“Take this . ”
Hyunwoo tossed it towards him . Sungyoon’s body moved before his mind could formulate a thought . He s.n.a.t.c.hed the item out of the air .
“This is… . ”
Even in the ambient light of a bar, the item shone brightly as if it wanted to let its presence be known .
Sungyoon blinked his eyes . It was a small wedge-shaped Gem letting out a gold light .
“Isn’t this a Gold Gem?”
It was the same rank as the highest rank Gem possessed by Sungyoon .
The Gold Gem had saved his life many times before, so it held a high status inside his heart .
“You can have it . ”
Hyunwoo spoke those words as if it was a throwaway comment . However, the meaning behind those four words weren’t light at all .
“What?”
Of course, Sungyoon sounded baffled as he asked back .
“You should think of it as a present for spending time with this old man . ”
Hyunwoo was too nonchalant in his words that Sungyoon wondered if he had misjudged the value of a Gold Gem . However, it lasted only a moment . He knew that wasn’t true .
“This present is too much . I already received all the moonstones . I cannot take this too . ”
Sungyoon was firm in rejecting the gift . He placed it back on top of the table . The women on either side of Hyunwoo looked on with interest in their eyes .
“This is why it is so hard to give a gift to someone that is rigid like you . ”
Hyunwoo griped .
“Just take it . The Gold Gems are in an awkward spot where they can’t even crack my lineup of backup Gems . I have no use for it, so I would rather you use it . If you really feel uncomfortable taking this gift, you can think of it as a rental . I don’t care either way . ”
“…do you perhaps want something from me?”
He was being too nice in a one-sided manner . It was starting to make Sungyoon suspicious about Hyunwoo .
In the first place, Sungyoon had a hard time trusting others, yet he was following around Hyunwoo without much of a fuss . This was out of character for him .
However, there were few reasons why he was behaving this way .
Sungyoon greatly trusted Jimin, who was his benefactor . Jimin was the daughter of Hyunwoo’s dead friend, and even after several years, Hyunwoo continued to look out for his dead friend’s daughter .
Hyunwoo was also one of the greatest Connectors of this world . Even if he had some kind of machination with Sungyoon in mind, Sungyoon had very limited use . In a process of elimination, Sungyoon guessed Hyunwoo was trying to help Jimin through him .
Sungyoon also wanted to gain some experience, so he could prepare for his future raid to the Great Labyrinth . This was why he had gone along with Hyunwoo .
However, this gesture was too much . He couldn’t gloss over it using these reasons .
“Something I want . . . ”
Hyunwoo smirked .
“Do you realize how arrogant you sound right now? Do you really think you can offer me something I want?”
“…… . ”
When Hyunwoo framed it in that fas.h.i.+on, Sungyoon had no answer . The man in front of him already had what most humans wanted in life .
“You are a naturally suspicious person, so it can’t be helped . If you want an answer, I want you to get as strong as possible . That is what I want from you . ”
It was a very strange answer .
However, Sungyoon interpreted it as ‘Get strong quickly, so you can become Jimin’s strength . ” Since Hyunwoo was coming at him like this, he couldn’t continue to hold out .
“…I’ll borrow it for a short time . ”
Sungyoon picked up the Gem once again, and he spoke .
He wasn’t taking the Gem . He was borrowing it . Hyunwoo looked frustrated by Sungyoon, but that wasn’t the end .
“Also, I’ll be sure to pay back this favor . ”
“…you are quite the frustrating person, my friend . ”
It seemed Hyunwoo had given up . He waved his hand away . He was telling Sungyoon to go . Sungyoon bowed his head once, then he exited the pub .
After Sungyoon left, one would have a.s.sumed he would continue to drink an obscene amount of alcohol with the women by his side . Unexpectedly, he sent the women away .
He had acted a bit like an immature old man before, but now his face had cooled . His expression turned sober .
Took!
He took up his gla.s.s, and the ice s.h.i.+fted .
He looked down at his cup with no emotion in his eyes . Then he raised his head .
He took in the sight of the seat where Sungyoon had been sitting until recently .
The light in his eyes changed . There was a deep joy in his eyes .
‘He’s really amazing!’
He had observed Sungyoon as he let Sungyoon battle the monsters . As a result, he was able to confirm that Sungyoon had amazing potential .
‘Soobin can’t even reach his toes!’
He felt bad for comparing Sungyoon to Soobin .
In the past, Hyunwoo had seen Kim Soobin fight . His battle sense was mediocre .
Still, he expected Soobin to grow quickly as a Connector, but his expectation was shattered .
He remembered feeling very wistful when Kim Soobin turned out to be nothing .
However, Hyunwoo no longer needed him .
He no longer felt regret about Kim Soobin, because a really amazing Connector had made an appearance .
Hyunwoo once again emptied the cup . There were very few days like today when alcohol tasted delicious to him . He picked up the half empty alcohol bottle . It happened when he was about to refill his cup .
Koo-roo-roo-roo!
The surface slightly shook . The tables and chairs shook . The alcohol in the bottle sloshed in his hands . Hyunwoo’s body swayed a little bit .
It was an earthquake .
It wasn’t a large earthquake . The building hadn’t shook too much, yet he could hear raucous sounds from outside . He could faintly hear screams too .
It was to be expected . It was a common opinion that earthquakes didn’t occur on the moon .
However, Hyunwoo wasn’t taken aback at all . Instead, a shallow smile formed on his lips .
‘It is starting . ’
He didn’t care about the earthquake that had shaken his body . He didn’t pay attention to ruckus outside . He placed the bottle to his lips, and he started chugging it .
The amber alcohol went down his throat . In a flash, the bottle was empty .
Was it a celebration for great things to come? Or was it a consolation drink to comfort himself from the terrible things to come?
His smile could be seen through the transparent gla.s.s bottle . He had the frightening smile that made him look like the devil .
***
Sungyoon’s day started out poorly . Of course, he felt the earthquake yesterday .
Fortunately, he was in a hotel that was called the best building in Armstrong . It was built very well, so nothing had happened .
The customers had all come out into the hallway, and the manager did his best to soothe the guests .
The manager’s efforts paid off . The ruckus died down within the hotel, and people started going back into their rooms in ones and twos .
There were still nervous people present, but they had nowhere else to go .
The only territory of earth present on the moon was Armstrong . Moreover, the guest knew this hotel was well built . In the end, they decided this place was the best place to be .
However Sungyoon did see several people leave the hotel . They looked to be Connectors . Sungyoon heard some of them say they’d rather spend the night in their own Moon Surface Vehicles .
Sungyoon thought hard on it, but in the end, he decided to sleep in the hotel .
However, sleep didn’t come easily . He was barely able to go to sleep, and in the morning, he left after eating the breakfast provided by the hotel .
There were still a lot of people walking around the streets of Armstrong . However, it might have been his imagination, but he felt everyone looked a bit shaken and fl.u.s.tered .
Sungyoon headed towards the Aldrin s.p.a.ceport . He went to the appointed place .
‘…there are a lot of people . ’
There always was a large crowd here, but there were more people here than usual today . It might have something to do with the earthquake from early in the morning .
He could see some people arguing, because they were unable to purchase a ticket .
Sungyoon headed to the lobby of the airport . He folded his arms and he waited under a large clock .
How long had it been?
“Mr . Sungyoon!”
Tim waved his large hand as he approached Sungyoon .
He was larger than everyone around him, so he was easy to find . Sungyoon could see Emily by his side too .
Sungyoon unfolded his arms, and he approached them .
“How was your two week up here? Enjoyable?”
Tim pushed his hand forward as he asked the question .
“It wasn’t enjoyable, but it had its merits . ”
Sungyoon shook Tim’s hand . Then he turned to look at Emily .
“How have you been?”
“I’ve been good . ”
Emily let out a shy smile as she lightly nodded her head .
This was how the three of them joined up once again on the moon .