Chapter 38 : The Summon from Dae-gak

Raising both arms that had become useless, Gu Chilseong tried to block the wok.

That was all he could do.

However, the orichalcum-titanium alloy weapon could not be stopped by stone limbs.

Crack.

Gu Chilseong was mercilessly flung away, spinning through the air.

“Ugh, cough.”

Landing on the ground, Gu Chilseong gasped harshly.

His lungs seemed to be spasming from the strong impact, making it difficult to breathe.

He noticed that the surroundings had become unusually quiet.

Only the sound of Medusa Rats crawling echoed, and the intermittent screams of his subordinates had ceased.

The trap he had laid—his plan to turn all the enemies into stone—was ironically what the Seven Stars used to ambush him.

Turning his barely movable neck, he confirmed that all his subordinates had been turned to stone.

Gu Chilseong glared fiercely at Yuseong, the culprit who ruined everything like this.

“Why… why did you get involved?”

If it weren’t for Yuseong’s sneaky ambush from behind, none of this would have happened.

“Gamja, and everything you’ve done to me.”

Yuseong’s expression as he looked down on Gu Chilseong was unreadable.

He didn’t smile, but his face seemed to look down on him with pity.

Gu Chilseong’s rage surged uncontrollably.

“Damn it! What did I ever do to you? Smile! If you had destroyed my guild alone, I’d tell you to smile, you bastard!”

If it had been Baek Yuseong instead of his sworn enemy Seong Jeokpyo standing there, he wouldn’t have been so calm.

The fact that Gamja, by some unknown grudge, had taken everything from Gu Chilseong made his face neither happy nor moved—just cold and harsh.

“If it’s you, it’s fine, right? For some reason, Medusa Rats don’t even turn you to stone.”

Gu Chilseong shouted bitterly.

Before his vocal cords, now also turned to stone, could no longer speak, he tried to curse in full.

“But what about those Red Eye bastards?”

As he said that, Gu Chilseong curled his lips into the vilest smile he could muster.

He wasn’t wrong.

The Medusa Rats sent to Red Eye must have already turned those bastards to stone.

Even if some were still alive, as long as the Medusa Rats were rampaging around this vast area unchecked,

their destruction was inevitable.

Baek Yuseong understood Gu Chilseong’s intentions.

“You even worry about others.”

It was astonishing.

There was no special bond between Red Eye and Yuseong as Gu Chilseong assumed.

But if Red Eye were wiped out entirely, collecting the remaining balance would be difficult, that was true.

“Kuk, hahahaha!”

Yuseong laughed out loud when Gu Chilseong stood still.

But his laughter quickly stopped.

“What, what is it…”

Yuseong raised his hand to the sky and muttered something.

“Sun Sanctuary, your priest…”

Sun Sanctuary, and priest.

Suddenly, a report he had received from his subordinate came to mind.

Yuseong had offered strange sacrifices to the statue of the Eight Commandments, receiving not just ordinary blessings but something else.

From Yuseong’s hand burst dazzling light.

Unlike artificial lighting or anything else.

Warm, sunlit light with heat.

The solar light pouring from Yuseong’s hand brightened the surroundings.

“Zziiiik, keeeek!”

The Medusa Rats caught in the light began to frenzy.

They seemed agonized by the sunlight, darting about wildly, and soon even their Nest began to collapse.

That fear spread throughout them, and the Nest endlessly sucked the Medusa Rats in as if it were a whirlpool.

Yuseong looked down at Gu Chilseong, who stood with his mouth agape in despair.

“Sorry it didn’t go as planned.”

Though not sarcastic, Yuseong’s words stirred Gu Chilseong’s insides with fury.

Trying to curse, he suddenly realized his vocal cords wouldn’t move.

His face was already beginning to petrify.

With all his strength, he tried to curse with his mouth alone.

“Da…mn…”

But Gu Chilseong failed to finish the last syllable and turned to stone.

His face twisted into a grimace, lips forming the shape of the word “die” as he froze.

“Even in death, you’ll be embarrassed.”

Later, when the Adventurers’ Guild and Prosecution came to collect evidence,

if they found Gu Chilseong still frozen with that expression, it would be a bit pitiful.

Yuseong nodded slightly and turned his body away.

Now, it was time to chase off all the rats and secure the Gamja.

***

Jang Dojin also activated the ‘Priest of the Sun Sanctuary’ special ability, following Yuseong.

As the two radiated light and made a round of the colony, not a single Medusa Rat remained, and the Nest was destroyed.

Contrary to Gu Chilseong’s expectations, Red Eye surprisingly suffered very little damage from the Medusa Rats.

There were a few with one limb turned to stone, but only one fully petrified.

And that minimal damage was thanks to the sacrifice of that one person.

“Ah! Brother!”

“Brother Jeokpyo! Ugh ugh ugh!”

That person was Seong Jeokpyo.

He was standing frozen in place.

He had hardened in a pose that resembled a giant bird spreading its wings wide.

His Gift: Blood Net allowed him to control blood at will.

He had turned his own blood into wings, using them to shield his subordinates.

He was a sacrifice who had braced himself for death.

Seong Jeokpyo was the first to turn to stone because of this.

But thanks to him, those behind him were safe.

“Ugh, brother, we won! We won!”

“Come back, brother!”

Red Eye Guild members were shedding tears without having time to rejoice in victory.

They kneeled before the petrified Seong Jeokpyo, wailing loudly.

“Y-Yuseong, thank you. Ugh, thanks to you, our brother’s dream…”

Cheon Younghun expressed his gratitude to Yuseong.

Now the leader of Red Eye, Cheon Younghun fought to hold back his tears.

But bloodshot eyes and trembling tears betrayed his effort.

“Thanks to catching Gu Chilseong… our brother’s wish…”

He trailed off, suddenly collapsing.

Then he grabbed the stone Seong Jeokpyo, crying.

“But brother, now that you’ve turned to stone like this, what are we supposed to do? Brother Jeokpyo, brother!”

Though middle-aged, Cheon Younghun couldn’t hide his tears for Seong Jeokpyo, his lifelong companion.

The other guild members started sobbing as well.

Jang Dojin, watching this, cautiously spoke to Yuseong.

“Brother… isn’t there a way to cure petrification?”

“Shh, let’s watch a bit more.”

Red Eye didn’t know there was a cure for petrification.

Their emotions were reaching a boiling point.

“Brother, we can’t leave our big brother like this. Ugh…”

“What? What do you mean?”

“Let’s bring him back. To the new guild headquarters, let’s bring him.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“So no one will ever forget Brother Jeokpyo. We’ll bring him to the guild HQ and thank him every day… ugh!”

Go Byeong Jae suggested this and embraced Cheon Younghun.

Yuseong could no longer bear to watch.

“I can’t stand this anymore.”

And Yuseong pushed past them, approaching Seong Jeokpyo.

It was a noble sight.

A determined expression, accepting death for his subordinates.

But a living Seong Jeokpyo was better than one who was dead.

Yuseong pulled out the Pilapple and juice remaining in his backpack.

He poured it all over Seong Jeokpyo’s petrified body.

Carefully, so no spot was missed.

Go Byeong Jae, watching what Yuseong was doing, screamed.

“Ahhh! Brother!”

Though unsure what was happening, he instinctively lunged at Yuseong.

“Stay still. Just a moment.”

But Yuseong bent and dodged Go Byeong Jae.

Go Byeong Jae rolled once on the ground, quickly got up and shouted.

“What are you doing to brother right now!”

“I’m treating him.”

“Treating…? You mean to heal him?”

His expression showed disbelief.

But when he saw what was happening to Seong Jeokpyo’s body, Go Byeong Jae was left speechless.

Crack, crack.

Just from pouring it, cracks began to form on the petrified Seong Jeokpyo.

In moments, the cracks spread throughout his entire body.

Crack, crack, crack, snap!

The stone covering Seong Jeokpyo shattered completely.

Soon, the statue disappeared, revealing Seong Jeokpyo’s battered but living form.

He took a deep breath as if breaking out of an egg.

“Ugh! Heh, hah, guys… Gu Chilseong is… ugh.”

He still seemed to think he was in the middle of a battle, fumbling.

His pale complexion showed the toll, but at least it was no comparison to when he was stone.

“B-Brother!”

“Hey, didn’t I tell you to call me the Guild Master?”

“Brother!”

Seong Jeokpyo tried to scold them carelessly, but Go Byeong Jae ran to him with tears streaming.

The other guild members joined in.

“Why are you bastards acting like this? Is Gu Chilseong really safe?”

“Brother, it’s all over! Yuseong took care of Gu Chilseong from behind and caught him all.”

“What? What?”

It took a while for Seong Jeokpyo to fully understand the situation.

How Yuseong backed him up, how the petrification was treated with Pilapple and juice.

His subordinates explained everything with gestures and words.

“Line up quickly. If you don’t treat it fast, you might never heal.”

Luckily, Yuseong still had some Pilapple juice left.

Even those with one limb turned to stone were safely treated.

“I don’t even know how to thank you.”

Seong Jeokpyo expressed deep gratitude to Yuseong, who saved his life and led the operation to victory.

Though much younger and less experienced, Seong Jeokpyo bowed deeply to Yuseong.

His subordinates bowed too.

“Well, it was originally supposed to be a one-time contract, you know.”

“We’ll pay the cost by climbing to the top, and then some.”

“I understand.”

Yuseong had simply used the Pilapple juice he received from the Adventurers’ Guild.

Thanks to that, Red Eye had saved their lives.

“Haha, I’m curious how surprised the Prosecution and the Adventurers’ Guild will be.”

“Let’s head up quickly, brother!”

The legal deal requested by the Prosecution was now more than fulfilled.

Now Red Eye could proudly register as a guild corporation and erase their past offenses.

“Where are you going?”

Yuseong’s cold voice poured over them like cold water.

Seong Jeokpyo and the others turned to him with suspicious expressions.

“You all have to harvest it.”

“Huh?”

Yuseong pointed to the colony filled with Parama Camellia.

More specifically, to the clusters of Gamja hanging from its roots.

“Didn’t I say? Except for the injured, don’t leave until you harvest all the Gamja and move them.”

Yuseong’s face twisted in a grimace as he made a declaration.

They all looked like they wanted to ignore the contract terms.

“O-of course, that’s what we’ll do.”

“Haha, yes, brother. We have to harvest the Gamja.”

Seong Jeokpyo laughed heartily, and Cheon Younghun quickly lifted the mood.

Only then did Yuseong’s face soften.

“Well, this area is just under one hectare, right? Move everything to the warehouse I mentioned.”

“One hectare. Got it!”

The reason Yuseong saved them was above all to make sure the Gamja were harvested.

Only then did Red Eye recall the original condition Yuseong had proposed.

He demanded they harvest the Gamja growing on the Parama Camellia roots and move them to the surface warehouse.

Considering the 250 million in cash Yuseong had collected, it was not a big ask.

They wondered why he’d explicitly named it as a deal condition, but seeing the vast colony made it understandable.

“Well, with twenty of us, half a day’s work will be enough.”

But Red Eye prided themselves on being physically strong.

Besides, destroying the colony was a condition from the Prosecution, so they would do it anyway.

“At this size, will one harvest yield around 500kg of Gamja? Should be quick, brother!”

“Right. Especially after eating that amazing sandwich earlier, let’s work like old-time farmers.”

Feeling upbeat, they shouted confidently.

Yuseong added with disbelief.

“Five hundred kilograms? This area should yield about 20 tons of Gamja.”

“…20 tons?”

“Twenty tons.”

Seong Jeokpyo thought he must have misheard.

He had no knowledge of yield per unit area of Gamja.

Parama Camellia was the best plant for cluster Gamja production.

“Well then, good luck.”

“Y-yeah…”

Only now did Yuseong realize why he had insisted on the Gamja harvesting condition.

Watching Yuseong and Jang Dojin leave, Seong Jeokpyo’s face turned pale blue.

“G-get your shovels, everyone.”

“Yes, brother.”

But now it was time to pay the price.

Reluctantly, they took their shovels.

That day, the total Gamja harvested weighed exactly 18 tons.

It was enough to cause endless shouts of “eighteen, eighteen” as they dug and carried everything.