Chapter 37: The Chosen One (2)
The next day, Oh Kang-Woo went to where he had promised to meet up with Han Seol-Ah and Kang Tae-Soo.
"Kang-Woo hyung-nim!! Over here!!" Tae-Soo, who had already arrived near Dongincheon Station, shouted and waved his hand upon spotting Kang-Woo.
"Keep it down, man. You're embarrassing me." Kang-Woo frowned when he saw that everyone around them was looking at Tae-Soo.
"Hehehe. Did the thing you had to do last night go well, hyung-nim?"
"Yeah, it did."
"I'm glad to hear that! Ah! Hyung-nim, these two are the Players that I said I'd introduce you to!" Tae-Soo pointed at a girl with brown hair and a young man who had a sword on his waist.
'Oh, my God.'?Kang-Woo's eyes widened at the sight of the young man.
The young man was so good-looking that the expression "as handsome as a Greek statue" seemed ridiculously fitting. He was so stunning that even his surroundings seemed to shine when Kang-Woo looked at his face.
"This handsome gentleman is Kim Si-Hun, and this little kid is Choi Eun-Bi," Tae-Soo introduced the pair.
"Who are you calling a kid?!" Choi Eun-Bi exclaimed.
"Haha. If you aren't a kid, then what are you?"
"Hmph. Says the guy who looks like he's forty…"
"Wh-What?"
Eun-Bi ignored Tae-Soo and turned around to face Kang-Woo. With bright eyes, she approached him and extended her hand for a handshake.
She said, "You're the oppa that Tae-Soo oppa has talked so much about, right? I've heard a lot about you! Oh, also, you can speak casually to me, Kang-Woo oppa!"
'Is she another Tae-Soo?'?Kang-Woo laughed while gazing at Eun-Bi.
It was impressive how friendly she was.
Kang-Woo began, "All right. First, why don't you guys tell me your Trait type and rank—"
Eun-Bi suddenly squealed excitedly, "Kyaa! Are you the healer unnie?! Woah, you're so pretty!! And your breasts… Damn, it's like you have three heads. You're like Cerberus!!!"
"H-Huh? Th-Thank you…?"
"Unnie, let's take a selfie!! I'm gonna brag to my friends!"
Kang-Woo, who hadn't been able to finish his sentence, watched dumbfoundedly as Eun-Bi dragged Seol-Ah somewhere. Seol-Ah extended her hands toward Kang-Woo as if she were a deer being dragged away by a lion.
At that moment, the man with the sword on his waist approached Kang-Woo and extended his hand.
"Nice to meet you. I've heard a lot about you from Tae-Soo. I'm Kim Si-Hun."
"Oh, yes, hello."
"I'm currently Level 12, and I've unlocked an A-Rank Trait on my Second Awakening. As you can see, I'm a warrior."
Kim Si-Hun spoke very respectfully. Furthermore, he just told Kang-Woo the information that he was most interested in.
'He's like a manhwa protagonist,' Kang-Woo remarked inwardly.
Kang-Woo shook Si-Hun's hand.
He was certainly a little jealous that Si-Hun was so good-looking and well-mannered yet talented as well, but he thought Si-Hun would be very helpful as an ally.
'They're thankfully nothing like those Andras Guild members.'
Kang-Woo could sense the desires flowing out of Si-Hun and Eun-Bi. With his highly-sensitive demonic body, Kang-Woo was able to decipher what kind of desires people possessed, and he couldn't sense any impure or unsettling desires in Si-Hun and Eun-Bi.
He wasn't sure why they hadn't joined a big guild, but it seemed like Tae-Soo wasn't lying when he said that they were trustworthy people.
"And Eun-Bi is a mage with a B-Rank Trait," Si-Hun added.
"Oh, thank you."
"She's a bit too energetic… I apologize."
"It's okay."
While Kang-woo was talking to Si-Hun, Tae-Soo approached them and proudly puffed out his chest.
"What do you think, hyung-nim? They both seem trustworthy, right?" Tae-Soo asked.
"Yeah," Kang-Woo replied.
"Hehehe, see? I told you I have a good eye for people!"
"Then how did you almost get killed by your party members last time?"
"Th-That's…" Tae-Soo didn't know what to say in response to that sharp remark and avoided Kang-Woo's gaze. "That was a divine revelation from the heavens telling me to meet you, hyung-nim! Yep, that's it!"
"…" Kang-Woo looked at Tae-Soo bemusedly, thinking he was being absurd.
Tae-Soo coughed and changed the subject, "Ahem. More importantly, what do you think about this party?"
"Well, first, the composition is perfect."
The party had one tank, two damage dealers, and a healer that could both heal and buff. Kang-Woo had nothing to say about it in terms of team composition.
'Furthermore, they have both melee and ranged damage dealers.'
It wasn't just the composition that was good. Two of the party members each had an A-rank Trait, while the other two had each gotten a B-rank Trait with their Second Awakening. Their Traits were so highly ranked that they could even be considered a carrying party.
'Not bad.'?Kang-Woo looked at the four of them with bright eyes.
Even at first glance, it was obvious that the party consisting of these four people had great potential. They were talented people that even Kang-Woo, who used to have strong demons like Balrog as subordinates, wished to have around.
'Although I still have to watch them a little bit more.'
However, having a good team composition and great talent did not necessarily mean they would make a good party. Many other things needed to be taken into consideration, like their basic battle sense and ability to make quick decisions.
'But they're still worth raising.'
If they could keep growing steadily, they would probably be of great help to Kang-Woo in the future.
"I'll be going with you on today's hunt," Kang-Woo said.
"Huh? You're coming too, hyung-nim?" Tae-Soo asked.
"Yeah. I'll watch and give you some feedback on anything that needs fixing."
"Oh! Your feedback is more than welcome!! Thank you so much, hyung-nim!!" Tae-Soo said excitedly.
'This is an investment,'?Kang-Woo thought passionately while looking at the four.
He was sure that investing in the four of them would give him a huge return, so he was very motivated.
"Then let's head right into the Gate. Oh, I'll only be stepping in if I judge that you guys are in real danger, so don't let your guards down," Kang-Woo warned.
"Hehe. Understood, hyung-nim!"
Tae-Soo picked up his giant shield and energetically walked toward the Gate near Dongincheon Station. As the party of five headed over to the Gate, everyone's attention centered on them.
"Wow, look at him. He's so handsome!"
"Is he a celebrity?"
"The woman next to him is no joke either!"
Everyone's attention was mostly focused on Si-Hun and Seol-Ah. However, there was someone else who was also drawing attention—the person in their party who had the most eye-catching appearance.
"Waaaaahhh! M-Monster!" a little girl nearby cried when Tae-Soo, who was over two meters tall, walked past her.
"E-Eh? I-I'm not a monster, l-little girl," Tae-Soo stuttered.
"Waaaahhhh!! Mommyyyyyy!!!"
Tae-Soo didn't know what to do to comfort the girl, so he approached her, but that only made her cry even louder. Stumped about what to do, Tae-Soo turned back to look at Kang-Woo.
'Why are you looking at me?' Kang-Woo thought.
He didn't have an ability that could make a little girl stop crying. Nevertheless, there were too many people around looking at them, so he couldn't just ignore her.
Kang-Woo sighed and was about to walk toward the crying little girl… but Si-Hun approached her first. He kneeled on one knee and patted her head gently.
"It's okay," Si-Hun said.
"Sniff."
"He may look like that, but he isn't scary."
"R-Really…?"
"Yup, so don't cry."
"Hehehe. Okay, handsome oppa!" the little girl said with a smile on her face.
Si-Hun left the kid to her mother, who had come running due to her cries, and stood up with a smile on his face. Even though this was an ordinary situation, it looked like a scene straight out of a film just because Si-Hun was the one in the middle of it. If it were Kang-Woo who had done that, it wouldn't have looked as cool.
'This guy…'?Kang-Woo looked at Si-Hun gloomily. 'He's too much of a protagonist.'
* * *
"Chiik! Chiiiiik!"
The Orcs, who had green skin, swung their clubs.
The average size of an orc was one hundred and sixty centimeters. The orcs were smaller in stature than the average adult human male, but because they had muscular bodies, they couldn't be taken lightly.
Nevertheless…
"Hmph!"
Slam!
"Chiiik!!!"
Tae-Soo used his shield to push back the three orcs that were charging toward them simultaneously. Having been pushed by someone who had a height of two meters and a body that was more muscular than theirs, the orcs fell to the ground.
"Hahaha! How about that?!" Tae-Soo burst into laughter after feeling a rush of adrenaline from having successfully pushed away three orcs at once with a bull charge.
The orcs got back on their feet but staggered as if they were people who had just been hit by a car.
"Lightning Shock!"
Bzzt!!
At Eun-Bi's shout, the mana stone at the end of her wand glowed. Blue lightning shot out from the mana stone and struck the orcs.
"GRAAAARR!!"
"Tae-Soo oppa! There are five more behind us!"
"Roger!" Tae-Soo clenched his shield even more tightly and stomped. "Over here, you sons of bitches!"
After Tae-Soo shouted, his shield radiated light. The orcs were attracted by the light and charged over to him.
"Aura of Light!"
"Oh! Thank you, sister-in-law!"
Seol-Ah shot a ball of light into Tae-Soo's body, buffing him. After that, she shot arrows of light at the orcs.
"Haaaaap!"
"Graaaahh!"
After receiving the buff, Tae-Soo became as strong as an average C-rank monster.
Meanwhile, Si-Hun charged toward the orcs that had been pushed away.
Slash! Stab!
Si-Hun's sword drew a perfect line as he slashed the orcs. Even without taking his handsome looks into account, Si-Hun's sword skills were so beautiful that this scene looked like something out of a painting.
Si-Hun swiftly took the lives of the five orcs.
"Woah! Kang-Woo hyung-nim is great, but you're not so bad yourself, Si-Hun! Did you practice kendo before becoming a Player?" Tae-Soo asked.
"Oh, yes. A little bit as a hobby," Si-Hun answered.
"That's not on the level of a hobby," Tae-Soo remarked, impressed by Si-Hun's picture-perfect sword technique. Then, he turned to Kang-Woo. "What did you think, Kang-Woo hyung-nim? Aren't we all fantastic?"
Kang-Woo nodded at Tae-Soo's words.
Just like Tae-Soo said, everyone was so good that it was hard to believe that they had only achieved their Second Awakening.
"Hehehe. What did I tell you? I have an impeccable eye for—"
Kang-Woo cut short Tae-Soo's words and spoke with a calm voice, "First, I'm going to give you some feedback."
The party's potential was quite high because they all had high-ranking Traits. However, that did not mean there was nothing they needed to fix.
'Rather, there are too many to count.'
Kang-Woo's gaze was sharp as he continued talking.
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