Though the Tower of Hellnest could no longer be cleared of its boss, the dungeon itself hadn’t closed. In other words, the mana stones inside could still be mined as much as needed.
Since both Baek Tae-beom and I had contributed significantly to the raid, Hansung was also granted rights to participate in the mana stone excavation. And part of the fruits of that labor was now right before my eyes.
Looking at the large, glittering mana stone, it was almost breathtaking. This thing must be worth billions.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant for sale.
“I won’t ask what exactly you’re planning to make. I’m sure you’ll take care of it in your own way, Choi Ga-hyeon.”
“Thank you.”
“But can I ask why your body looks like that?”
Slumped on the sofa like a limp octopus, I answered Lee Myung-won with barely any strength in my voice.
“There’s a reason…”
“I have no idea what kind of shit you’ve been getting yourself into.”
“There’s a story behind it…”
Lee Myung-won sighed deeply. His voice started to overlap with Apollo’s nagging.
[CH. Private / One More Dazzling Than the Sun: That’s why I told you to take a longer break!]
[CH. Private / One More Dazzling Than the Sun: You’re ridiculously hard-headed, just like… someone. Tsk tsk.]
No, wait—that wasn’t an overlap. I was literally being nagged at.
Right then, Baek Tae-beom returned and seemed visibly alarmed when he saw the state I was in. Tossing the food he’d brought toward Lee Myung-won, he rushed to help me up with a worried expression.
“Hyung, hyung. What the hell happened to you? Did that bastard hit you?”
He was even calling Lee Myung-won “that bastard” now. Did I raise you to be like this? The words nearly spilled out of my throat but stayed there. Honestly, my body felt so wrecked that any kind of nonsense might’ve come out.
It was as if I’d been testing the limits of my physical endurance.
I stretched my arms out toward Baek Tae-beom.
“Hug me.”
In that moment, Baek Tae-beom’s expression hardened. I wondered if I’d said something wrong and slowly went over my sentence in my head, but there didn’t seem to be anything off. Still stiff, Baek Tae-beom awkwardly slipped his arms under my armpits and lifted me up. His neck, which brushed against my forehead, was hot and feverish.
I liked the warmth, so I nuzzled against it. He flinched and tightened his grip around me. His voice trembled as he called out.
“Hyung…?”
I answered calmly.
“Grab the mana stone and let’s go see Ahn Ki-yoon.”
And only after meeting Ahn Ki-yoon was I finally able to stand properly again.
Ahn Ki-yoon looked at me with a baffled expression.
“Wh-why do you look like that…?”
“What about how I look?”
“You—you look like a poor office worker who drank like hell the night before, partied till 7 a.m., and still clocked in at 9.”
Why is the imagery so damn specific?
I sat Baek Tae-beom down on the couch, trying to ease his worry, then sat beside him. Ahn Ki-yoon, who had been examining me with concern, soon brought out a sketchpad.
“I came up with two final design drafts. W-wanna pick one?”
To me, they both looked more or less the same. One was black, the other white. That was it. But judging by the look on Baek Tae-beom and Ahn Ki-yoon’s faces, they clearly thought otherwise. They started chatting about which one worked better, what design elements stood out, and so on.
“White suits hyung better, after all.”
“B-but black’s not bad either, is it? Especially with this little accent here. Wouldn’t white make his shoulders look narrower?”
“That’s way too frilly. This gold detailing looks way better. Plus, this one makes the legs look short.”
Not a single filter, even with me sitting right in front of them. Since our last talk, Ahn Ki-yoon had gotten a lot more comfortable around Baek Tae-beom and now spoke with much less hesitation. I sipped my tea and watched as the design was edited in real time.
[CH. Private / Free Wind: Ga-hyeon’s contractor has a better eye for aesthetics than I expected.]
[CH. Private / One Who Seeks to Prevent Destruction: Is there anything that kid can’t do?]
[CH. Private / One More Dazzling Than the Sun: Hmph. Human “aesthetic sense” is all the same anyway.]
[CH. Private / One More Dazzling Than the Sun: That’s not how you do that design. This is how you do it.]
[CH. Private / One Who Guides the Dead: I. Prefer. Black.]
[CH. Private / One Who Seeks to Prevent Destruction: Even if you voice your opinion here, we still won’t be able to take it into account.]
The debate ended sooner than expected. I wasn’t sure where exactly their interests aligned, but in the end, the final design was a more comfortable-looking uniform. White, with golden accents—something that made Apollo look immensely satisfied.
“Now, now just give me the mana stone.”
I retrieved the mana stone from my inventory. Ahn Ki-yoon took the raw, unrefined mana stone and gently placed it on top of the sketchpad where the design was drawn.
“…This is perfect as is.”
As Ahn Ki-yoon murmured softly, the mana stone began to slowly sink into the sketchpad. Once it had fully absorbed the stone, radiating a white glow, he reached straight into the paper.
And just like pulling something out of an inventory, he drew a complete uniform from within the sketchpad.
It was a skill worthy of awe—one that relied entirely on the user’s imagination.
[Uniform of Snowfall from the Golden Sky A]
[A uniform modeled after that day. Wearing it suppresses negative status effects.]
Yes, this was exactly the kind of armor I had been looking for.
Armor to resist Angrboda’s erosion.
After pulling out gloves and shoes to match, Ahn Ki-yoon inspected everything for defects before handing them to me. Still, I couldn’t help but wonder—what did it mean that the uniform was “modeled after that day”? What day?
When I asked about it, Ahn Ki-yoon shook his head.
“I-I’m not sure either… A lot of things reflect my subconscious, so sometimes even I don’t understand the descriptions that come with it.”
It left an odd feeling in my chest, but there was no turning back now. Just creating this one set had practically cost tens of billions.
I changed clothes in the room Ahn Ki-yoon had shown me. The uniform, gloves, and shoes fit my body perfectly. It felt awkward wearing this kind of uniform for the first time, but the Constellations seemed pleased.
[CH. Private / Free Wind: Ga-hyeon! That looks so good on you! It’s perfect! You look like a prince on a white horse!]
[CH. Private / One More Dazzling Than the Sun: Of course. I do have a good eye, after all.]
[CH. Private / One Who Guides the Dead: White. Is. Good.]
When I came out fully dressed, Ahn Ki-yoon gasped.
“Wow, I—I honestly thought the design might’ve been a bit too much. But with the right hanger… It really works. I like it.”
“Yeah?”
Baek Tae-beom slowly scanned me from head to toe. Then he took hold of my shoulders, turned me around to examine the back, and faced me again, locking eyes. It was so intense that I glanced away, only for his gentle voice to follow.
“You look beautiful, hyung.”
I scoffed, incredulous.
“‘Beautiful’? What are you saying to your hyung?”
“What else should I call it when something looks beautiful?”
Was he trying to act like my equal now?
“If we’re talking about who’s prettier, isn’t it you?”
“Then let’s say we’re both beautiful.”
That was an unsatisfying conclusion. Watching us, Ahn Ki-yoon timidly mumbled.
“W-what are you two doing…? Are you guys dating…?”
“What? That’s ridiculous.”
To think I’d live to hear someone ask if I was dating Baek Tae-beom. I couldn’t even look at him, afraid he’d look upset, and hurriedly offered an explanation to Ahn Ki-yoon.
“Of course not. Anyway, we’ll be heading out. We’ve got work to do.”
“Mm… O-okay.”
Ahn Ki-yoon gave Baek Tae-beom a quick glance and nodded.
After returning, I reviewed the location and building layout of the Red Apple Guild that I’d learned from Kim Seong-jae. Thankfully, one of the Hansung Guild members had <Clairvoyance>, so I was able to get my hands on the necessary intel.
“They really set up shop far out…”
Arms crossed, I studied the blueprint drawn by Lee Ji-hye, the hunter with <Clairvoyance>. I already knew the general location from The Apocalypse Chronicles of Another World, but there was no reason to turn down a detailed interior map.
“How do you plan to infiltrate it?”
“You still have the lock of hair we took from Kim Seong-jae, right?”
“Yes. Here it is.”
I opened the shop.
‘I’d seen this item before…’
[New Items!!!]
[Elegant Stone Table S
Price: 42,999 Coins]
[Bed of Unmelting Water S
Price: 120,000 Coins]
[Beautiful Butterfly’s Desk A
Price: 20,000 Coins]
I flipped past the new items page without hesitation.
[Imitator’s Potion B]
[Drop in a strand of hair from your target and drink to assume their appearance. (Duration: 1 hour)
Price: 10,000 Coins
Would you like to purchase? Yes / No]
[You have purchased Imitator’s Potion B.]
[Remaining Coins: 2,500]
I handed one of the potions to Lee Myung-won.
“I’ll be using this.”
He looked impressed, as if he thought the plan was solid.
“Then… are you planning to infiltrate alone, Mr. Choi Ga-hyeon?”
“Yes. That’s the plan.”
As I spoke, I glanced toward Baek Tae-beom. He’d seemed off for a while now, ever since we left Ahn Ki-yoon’s place. He didn’t look pleased—though I couldn’t quite pinpoint why.
Did something about it bother him?
And yet, instead of the strong objection I’d expected, Baek Tae-beom surprised me by nodding.
