"..."
Riceball shook the eggshell slightly.
"Put a little more effort in. Just a bit more."
"..."
Yoon Seo watched with clenched fists, cheering on. However, despite the time passing, the shell only continued to tremble and did not crack. After a while, Riceball, who had been struggling to break the shell, seemed to give up and fell silent.
Yoon Seo patted Riceball and resumed his knitting.
After spending the day strategizing for the dungeon raid, he returned home in the evening. Today's to-do list included baking cookies and knitting. As soon as he finished showering, he quickly mixed the dough without even checking the recipe and put it into the oven.
When he first started baking cookies, he struggled a lot. Sometimes the dough wouldn't come together due to a 5g difference, or it wouldn't rise in the oven. Now, he could do it with his eyes closed. It had been a long time since he last used the scale.
While waiting for the cookies to bake, he continued knitting. He had finished the ones for Soo Jaehee and was now working on the 100th knit…. He had intended to knit without thinking about who to give it to, but his hands were already knitting according to Kwon Jihan's size. With the precise eye of an S-rank awakener, there was no need to ask Kwon Jihan for his upper body size.
'Well, I got to eat something delicious, so let's consider this a thank you.'
Kwon Jihan had made pasta for dinner after they had Korean food for lunch, and it was incredibly delicious. Even Yoon Seo, who preferred Korean food, thought he could eat this kind of pasta for a lifetime.
'I wonder if he has a Western cuisine chef's certification?'
Curious, Yoon Seo picked up his phone.
'Kwon Jihan Western cuisine chef'
A search revealed that he had not yet obtained a Western cuisine chef's certification. Well, he probably didn't have the time.
Related searches included 'Kwon Jihan Korean cuisine chef', 'Kwon Jihan cooking skills', 'Kwon Jihan food photos', and 'Kwon Jihan seasoning'. Yoon Seo could hardly resist clicking on 'Kwon Jihan seasoning'. Upon seeing the related search results, Yoon Seo's eyes widened.
'He did a commercial for seasoning? No, why would he do a commercial when he could just start a seasoning company… Oh, he donated all the appearance fees….'
Feeling a bit solemn, he was about to turn off his phone when another related search caught his eye: 'Kwon Jihan donation'.
'His donations are enormous. At this rate, isn't Kwon Jihan like a welfare system for our country?'
Yoon Seo clicked his tongue at the amount of donations, which seemed almost excessive, making him question if he was preparing for retirement. At that moment, another related search term appeared: 'Kwon Jihan CF', 'Kwon Jihan variety shows', 'Kwon Jihan movies'.
He appeared on TV too?
With the reflexes of an S-rank awakener, Yoon Seo quickly clicked on the search term.
In the TV clip, Kwon Jihan, still quite young, was seen in his teenage years with a nonchalant expression, conversing with the host. The 30-second commercial clip ended sharply after a minute. The next clip was also a 30-second commercial with a minute of content. Slightly irritated, Yoon Seo paid for the episodes Kwon Jihan appeared in and connected the videos to the TV.
'He was 18 at the time. Oh, so Yoo Juncheol became the new guild master and used the most popular hunter show to showcase him. Kwon Jihan looks really nonchalant… Ah, he smiled. Seeing him smile, he does look quite young. …. Why is the host asking about his ideal type and making a fuss… So even back then, his ideal type was a recluse genius. Ha, a hidden power user, that's totally me. Ridiculous, really…'
After quickly watching the two variety show episodes Kwon Jihan appeared in, Yoon Seo then paid for a movie where Kwon Jihan made a cameo. His screen time was 2 minutes and 34 seconds, with only three lines of dialogue.
Yoon Seo's reaction after watching it was:
Why is this guy also good at acting?
What exactly can't he do?
Handsome, fit, with good values and character, excellent cooking skills, and now good at acting—what is he lacking?
Aaaaah!
Yoon Seo silently screamed in frustration.
***
It had been four days since Yoon Seo started commuting to Yoo Juncheol's mansion. He was now explaining the maze terrain, the third terrain of the grand dungeon.
"Did the guardian deities not send any messages on which path to take?"
The question came from Grace Elysia. Yoon Seo answered calmly.
"Back in those days, you couldn't expect much from the guardian deities."
Grace nodded and lowered her gaze.
Do Deungsoo, who had been listening carefully to Yoon Seo, spoke up.
"This time, even though it's a maze, we shouldn't get too lost. As Yoon Seo-ssi knows from visiting the dungeon, the paths are automatically saved in the dungeon map, so changes in the mountain rocks or cliffs won't be a big problem. In the caves, you can use monster detection skills or items to find your way immediately."
"Prepare plenty of items like monster detection, flying items, and underwater breathing items. Also, shield traps."
"Huh? Shield traps can't be installed inside the dungeon."
"..."
"The principle involves carefully infusing magical power into the shield contained within the trap to activate it, so it's said that installation isn't possible in a dungeon that's already filled with magic…"
Do Deungsoo couldn't finish his sentence. He could read something from Yoon Seo's gaze, which was fixed on him. Yoo Juncheol seemed to notice something as well and urgently asked.
"Are shield traps actually possible to install in a dungeon? If so, please explain so we can immediately modify them."
"I don't know. The person who originally designed the shield trap only said that it could be used in dungeons if upgraded."
"Do you know who the original designer is?"
Do Deungsoo jumped up in surprise and then awkwardly sat back down under everyone's gaze.
The developer of the shield trap is shrouded in mystery. Ten years ago, they revealed the design for shield traps on the internet and then vanished without a trace. Many organizations have tried to track them down, but no one has been able to uncover their identity. The fact that Yoon Seo knows about them was truly surprising.
However, thinking of this man as Seo Chaeyoon, it wasn't as shocking.
It was Seo Chaeyoon after all. There was this vague illusion that Seo Chaeyoon seemed to know all the secrets of the world.
"The developer asked not to reveal their name, so please don't make it public."
"I'll forget about it after hearing it here."
"It's Hunter Kim Miji. You probably all know her."
"Ah, it was Hunter Kim Miji."
Kim Miji was an A-rank hunter with shield and crafting skills and was very well-known. She volunteered to enter the grand dungeon and did not make it out alive.
"Did Hunter Kim Miji ask you, Seo Chae… Yoon Seo to share the shield trap blueprints on the internet?"
"Yes. In fact, at that time, there were no completed blueprints. After hearing what Hunter Kim Miji said, I drew up the blueprints and posted them online after exiting the grand dungeon."
"So, you heard it by word of mouth… and then memorized it… and drew the blueprints yourself…"
Isn't that truly genius? If it were a fantasy novel, it would be criticized for excessive settings. But thinking of Seo Chaeyoon, it does seem possible.
"That must have been really difficult."
"Rather than difficult, it was just a tedious and annoying task. If it hadn't been a last wish, I would have ignored it…"
The last part was muttered more to himself. The three of them just thought, 'Ah, it was a last wish,' and moved on, but Kwon Jihan, who had been silently listening, reacted.
"A last wish?"
A strange look appeared in Kwon Jihan's gray eyes. Yoon Seo, feeling extremely tired as he recalled the events, did not notice the change in Kwon Jihan's expression.
"Yes, Hunter Kim Miji left a heartfelt last wish as she was dying… Out of all those people, she specifically asked me, so I had no choice but to listen."
"If she had asked someone else, her last wish might not have been fulfilled. It seems like she knew exactly how you would survive."
"..."
The three were anxious, thinking that Kwon Jihan's words might trigger Yoon Seo's trauma. And their guess proved correct as Yoon Seo pulled out a pill bottle and clicked it open. Yoon Seo was about to swallow two pills without water when Kwon Jihan, looking desperate, quickly handed him some water. Yoon Seo swallowed the pills with the water.
"Damn it. This mouth of mine."
Kwon Jihan slapped his own lips. After living like this for a lifetime, changing his way of speaking was hard.
"Sorry. Do you want to hit me too?"
"No. It's true, so it's fine."
Yoon Seo answered calmly. He kept his eyes lowered, avoiding direct eye contact.
"Indeed, among them, I was the one with the highest chance of surviving. That's why everyone left their last wishes with me… Anyway, the important thing is that we should improve the shield traps. Although Hunter Kim Miji couldn't enhance them due to time constraints, she mentioned that it should be possible with some ingenuity."
"Yes, Yoon Seo. I will put my best effort into figuring it out."
Yoo Juncheol responded briskly.
Soon, Yoon Seo continued explaining the strategies.
Kwon Jihan listened attentively but was deep in thought. Yoon Seo's face, which had been deeply blanketed in despair, now appeared expressionless. However, that fleeting sense of despair was not something to be taken lightly.
'So, everyone left their last wishes with me.'
Whether it was an S-rank intuition or simply the intuition of someone interested in Yoon Seo, Kwon Jihan felt that the term "everyone" shouldn't be taken lightly.
***
"Hyung, what have you been doing these past few days?"
After finishing the morning explanations, Kwon Jihan prepared a delicious lunch, and they would rest for a while, with Yoon Seo hugging Riceball. They would then resume discussing strategies, and by 6 PM, Yoon Seo would clock out. This had been Yoon Seo's routine for the past few days.
During their brief breaks, Kwon Jihan would incessantly engage Yoon Seo in conversation about various topics. While Yoon Seo was reserved during the strategy discussions, he became chatty during these breaks.
"What did I do? I'm diligently explaining the grand dungeon strategies."
"No, I meant what you did after returning home. You look really worn out, like someone who stayed up all night obsessing over something."
"It's a misunderstanding. I'm perfectly fine."
"If there's anything wrong, let me know. You don't have to push yourself to explain everything if it's affecting you."
"I'm not pushing myself."
Yoon Seo truly wasn't overworking himself. Even though he spent his nights re-watching Kwon Jihan's articles and appearances, for an S-rank like him, it was nothing extraordinary. While others were unaware of Yoon Seo's late nights, Kwon Jihan, alone, seemed to catch on with an uncanny accuracy.