"Riceball, sit on my shoulder."
Peep.
The small bird fluttered down to perch on Yoon Seo's shoulder.
The tavern was noisy. Unlike the people outside who had stopped what they were doing to observe the outsiders, the customers inside paid no attention to the new visitors.
"Hmm."
Kwon Jihan stroked his chin as if intrigued. When he glanced at Yoon Seo, Yoon Seo also nodded. Only Myam seemed confused.
"What's up, myam?"
"No, I just find this skill interesting."
Kwon Jihan grinned and walked further inside.
The bartender, who looked similar to a human except for his blue skin, was the first to speak.
"Are you outsiders? Where are you from?"
"We're from Earth."
"Earth, huh? Never heard of it. Don't take it personally. The universe is big."
"I'm not offended. You'll eventually learn about Earth anyway. Now, hand over the box."
"The box?"
"Don't play dumb. There's only one reason for outsiders to come here."
The bartender smirked slyly.
"Even if I hand it over, can you open it?"
"We have the key."
As soon as Kwon Jihan said those words, the atmosphere changed.
The tavern patrons, who had previously paid no attention to the newcomers, stopped what they were doing and fixed their gazes on them.
"Did he just say they have the key…?"
"Interesting. Where is this Earth?"
"Except for the android, they don't look strong."
"Heh heh, they're clearly carbon-based lifeforms. I can think of dozens of ways to kill them in under a second."
The atmosphere turned tense, and Riceball chirped excitedly. Yoon Seo barely managed to calm Riceball, who seemed ready to transform into a dagger at any moment.
Kwon Jihan raised his voice slightly, declaring to everyone in the room:
"Just so you know, I'm a Judicator. I'm the type who never backs down from a fight, so don't even think about starting trouble."
"Most people who come here call themselves Judicators. But none of them have ever managed to steal or destroy a skill."
"You'll find out whether I'm lying or not soon enough. Come at me. All of you, if you want."
Kwon Jihan grinned, motioning with his chin toward the tavern's entrance and started walking. The customers also began standing up, drawing their weapons.
As Kwon Jihan passed by Yoon Seo, he said.
"Just so you know, hyung, I didn't start this fight."
"Hold on."
Before the door could be opened, Yoon Seo blocked the way. Kwon Jihan, along with the challengers from the tavern who were about to follow him, stopped.
'Amaur' uses the skill
It has no effect on you.
'Amaur' uses the item 'Effective Alarm Clock.'
It has no effect on you.
'Amaur' uses the item 'Yellow Eyes.'
It has no effect on you.
Yoon Seo swiped away the constant notifications and said.
"Amaur, stop trying. It's not going to work. Your alert log is getting annoying."
"…"
'Amaur' uses the item 'Benefactor's Staff.'
It has no effect on you.
"I said stop… Having many heads doesn't make you smarter."
"Hyung, isn't this irritating? Just wait a moment. I'll deal with that jerk and make him kneel before you. Hey, come out!"
"Is there really any point in fighting? He's weaker than you."
"Even so, with all those heads, he should give some decent experience points."
Kwon Jihan rolled up his sleeves, clearly ready to fight. When Yoon Seo stepped aside from the door, Myam intervened this time.
"Wait a moment, myam!"
"What now?"
"Is the translator broken, myam? Why do you keep speaking in singular terms? You said, 'Come at me,' and 'I'll deal with that jerk.' You should be saying 'them,' myam!"
"Oh, that's because they're all one."
"What do you mean, myam?"
"These customers are all one person. It's called
"That's correct. Other than us, there are only two people in this tavern—the bartender and Amaur."
Myam's eyes widened, stretching out and retracting with a whirring sound from surprise.
The customers, realizing they'd been found out, let out defeated chuckles and put down their weapons.
In an instant, they melted into a liquid form with a pop sound and disappeared.
Peep peep!
Riceball flapped its wings. A normal bird would have burrowed into its owner's hand in fright, but not Riceball.
Should I transform into a dagger now? Do I transform? Should we fight immediately?
Yoon Seo placed his hand over Riceball's sparkling, eager eyes.
The liquid slithered and disappeared, and the door at the back of the tavern creaked open.
Creak—
From there, Amaur crawled out. Or rather, slithered out.
Amaur had sturdy bones, but was short in stature.
How short, you ask? She was only 29 cm tall.
Her appearance could best be described as a wide, flat rock with short limbs attached. On top of this rock-like body, there were hexagonal patterns resembling a turtle shell. Because of this, Kwon Jihan and Yoon Seo silently agreed to call Amaur a turtle.
"Let's sit and talk. Bartender, lift me up."
"Yes, chief."
The bartender picked up the turtle. It looked heavy, but since the bartender was also an Awakened, this weight was nothing for him.
He set the turtle down on the largest table in the tavern and sat beside her. Kwon Jihan cleared his throat and said.
"Give me something sweet to drink."
"I'll just have water."
Peep!
"Also, bring a dish of clean water for the bird to bathe in."
"I'll take 93-2 Mountain Oil, myam."
The three of them naturally placed their orders and sat across from the turtle. The bartender, though looking a bit incredulous, didn't forget his duty and went behind the bar.
The turtle chuckled with her wrinkled face.
"No wonder my skills and items didn't work—you're wielders of Gaia's skills and the Watcher's skills. You must be S-rank. Welcome. You've come at the right time."
"We don't have time for idle chatter. Hand over the box."
"Show me the key first."
Kwon Jihan pulled the key from his inventory, placing it squarely on the table before leaning back into his chair, crossing his arms leisurely.
It was a clear sign that he had no intention of letting it be taken from him.
Peep!
Riceball kicked the key with its foot, as if to assert that it should be the center of attention, and plopped down in the middle of the table.
The turtle sniffed the key that Riceball had kicked.
It didn't take long to reach a conclusion.
"It's the real thing."
"Great. You've confirmed it, now give us the box."
"Well, that's the problem. I lost the box not long ago."
At that moment, Kwon Jihan's relaxed demeanor shattered.
"What? After all that effort to secure it, you let someone steal it?"
"To be precise, the box ran away."
"What kind of nonsense is that?"
"The box is alive. Like that bird."
"…"
Kwon Jihan puffed out his chest as he looked at the bird nestled among its soft feathers, then glanced back at the turtle.
"An ego sword…?"
"More like an ego box."
"What kind of ego even is that?"
Kwon Jihan was baffled, but Yoon Seo found it reasonable.
If there's a god of tanning, then surely there could be an ego box. Maybe there's even an ego tanning machine somewhere.
"It has a rather haughty personality. I thought I was taking good care of it for the past few years, but it suddenly got upset and ran away a little while ago."
"You couldn't find it?"
"It went into a dungeon that appeared nearby."
"This just keeps getting better."
Just then, the bartender brought over their drinks.
Kwon Jihan gulped down the sweet drink filled with ice. Yoon Seo sipped through his straw, and Myam injected a hose into its side.
Peep!
A tray filled with clean water, just right for bathing, was brought over, and Riceball immediately jumped in, assuming it was its own. It splashed around, drinking and wetting its feathers, causing water droplets to fly everywhere, but no one seemed to mind.
"The system probably didn't count the ego box as an entry, so the portal should still be open, right?"
"My subordinates chased after the box, but I used my skill to keep the portal from closing."
A skill to keep the portal open.
Yoon Seo's interest was piqued at the mention of such a useful skill, akin to an 'emergency exit.'
"Does this skill prevent the portal from closing even if someone enters the dungeon?"
"Yes."
"Is it a unique skill?"
"Of course, it's unique."
"How long can you keep it open?"
"According to system time, I can keep it open for 100 days."
As Yoon Seo asked various questions, Kwon Jihan grinned mischievously.
"Hyung, are you interested? Should I take it with
The turtle was startled.
"I'm a newcomer to Black Kalia! Other than stealing the box, I haven't done anything bad yet!"
"That's a total lie, myam. We know you're the leader, myam."
"To be honest, this skill has a lot of downsides. First, it only allows entry, not exit. To leave, you have to clear the dungeon. Although people can't leave, monsters and warped beings inside can escape, so someone always has to guard the portal. It's very dangerous and has critical flaws. If it were me, I wouldn't take this skill even if it were free."
Despite all the flaws listed, Yoon Seo looked thoughtful. Knowing how strong someone with Gaia and Watcher's skills was, the turtle urged the bartender to pick her up.