Chapter 30: The Family Meeting 2

We came to the house in Seoul for the family meeting.

The matter regarding the oyster farm was entrusted to Han Jae-im, and after exchanging contact information, Jae-sik and I parted ways.

As soon as we arrived home, the family meeting began immediately.

The topic was, “Is it okay if Baek Do-woon and Baek Un-cheon don’t return and continue living as solo hunters?”

I revealed to Do-hee and Tae-cheon the fact that the world tree had grown on my smartphone.

Also, that I had consumed its fruit and gained its power as a result.

Upon hearing this, the two shook their heads vigorously.

“Hoo, have you finally lost it?”

“We should take you to a mental hospital right now.”

“Yeah, let’s do that.”

“I’ll look into it right away.”

I expected such reactions.

“Finally lost it?”

I didn’t expect such a reaction.

Hearing myself say it, I guess I must have thought I’d go crazy someday.

These two are really something else.

With a sigh, I took out my smartphone and showed them the world tree.

There’s an old saying, “Seeing once is better than hearing a hundred times.” No matter how much I explained, showing it was faster.

Tae-cheon took the smartphone and looked closely.

“This is the smartphone game you’ve been playing, right? Wow, the tree actually grew.”

“Yeah, that’s the world tree.”

They looked at me with faces that clearly didn’t believe it.

It sounds unbelievable, I understand.

But… it really happened.

Do-hee, who was sitting next to Tae-cheon, also looked at the newly grown world tree saplings on the smartphone.

“Oh my, so cute.”

Hearing that the saplings were cute made me feel good.

Feels like a proud parent?

“Huh? My mana…”

Do-hee, tapping the screen, seemed flustered.

Probably because her own mana had transferred into the smartphone.

The saplings were just as flustered. A message window popped up.

[The world tree saplings are deeply impressed by the pure mana of their owner.]

“Pure mana…”

“How did the big brother know that?”

“Oh, that…”

“Could it be that they sensed my mana?”

I was about to explain that the saplings told me, but Do-hee had no intention of hearing my answer.

“Feeling my mana’s nature, that’s amazing…”

She mumbled and fell into thought.

I figured it was good, so I decided to leave her be.

If she thought I was amazing, it would help in persuading them.

As I tapped the smartphone screen with my finger, Do-hee asked a question.

“Are you transferring mana to the saplings now?”

Hmm.

“Huh! Is that really the world tree?”

“That’s right. This is the proof.”

I tapped the screen firmly.

The mana was transmitted to the saplings inside the smartphone.

Tae-cheon slowly nodded.

“The world tree… why on earth did it grow inside a smartphone?”

“I don’t know.”

Come to think of it, I never really thought about the reason.

Why was the real world tree growing game listed as a smartphone game in the first place?

I even tried to confront the game developer about why they made such a crappy game.

There was no related information to be found.

Only a name left on the game app: ‘?@ ㅇ 0{[? 아 340!7’.

What could 06 mean?

Only a question remained.

“Hmm, since the topic is about whether it’s the world tree or not, let’s think about that next time.”

“Oh, right, that’s true.”

“I’m against it. I’m fine with big brother being a hunter again, but why leave the guild? You should just be with us.”

“Yeah, that’s what I’m saying.”

“I told Tae-cheon this too: I don’t intend to form a party with you guys again—”

“We’re not talking about a party. Solo hunter? Fine, let’s do that. Who’s against it? But, as Baek Un-cheon’s Baek Do-woon.”

“I don’t want that.”

“Then why not?”

If I operated in Baek Un-cheon, Do-hee and Tae-cheon wouldn’t leave me alone.

They’d do everything possible to provide the best support—whether weapons or items.

Because I’m their one and only oppa and friend, I’m incredibly precious to them.

Also, to erase the guilt they harbor in their hearts.

The two had guilt over that day two years ago, when I stayed behind and fought alone so they could both escape.

Oppa risked his life to save a comrade; a friend risked his life to save a friend.

Feeling guilty about that, how could I accept their full support?

I never acted for personal gain.

I absolutely refused to accept anything out of discomfort.

Moreover, I don’t want to grow like that.

I want to stand by their side with my own strength.

“You both grew without my help, so I want to do the same—”

“What are you talking about? You had no help? You did so much!”

“That’s right. Without big brother, we wouldn’t have become Grade 4 hunters in two years!”

“Don’t even think that.”

“Hmm… If I wasn’t here, you wouldn’t have become Grade 4 hunters?”

I’m grateful for the compliment, but…

They were just being nice to me as their comrade and friend.

I really didn’t do much in those two years.

Managing disbanded mercenaries, growing the world tree.

That’s it.

Did I do a lot? So why do I have to hear nicknames like ‘Mountain of Failure’ or ‘Backbone Breaker’?

That’s right.

Because of that, the real-world evaluation is quite the opposite.

I’m not called ‘Mountain of Failure’ or ‘Backbone Breaker’ for nothing.

Even the party members of those two don’t like me.

They even know how reckless I was in the past since we all came from the same orphanage.

Very well… Don’t worry about nonsense talked by people who don’t understand!

“Exactly! You’re the one who brought those disbanded mercenaries into our guild; how can you say you did nothing—”

“Ah, really! Anyway! That’s how I’ve made up my mind!”

As expected, it’s hard to convince them when it’s two against one.

Now, if I say I’m going back to Baek Un-cheon, will they stab me in the back?

If I flee to the opposite side of the Earth, somewhere in South America, even they wouldn’t be able to catch me easily.

Just as I was thinking that, Tae-cheon sighed heavily.

“… Do-hee, there’s nothing we can do now. Do-woon wouldn’t be in charge of Baek Un-cheon’s ‘Un (fortune)’ for no reason.”

“I know. I know…”

“What are you talking about?”

Suddenly, they looked at each other.

Then, sighing, they nodded.

According to Tae-cheon, I’m responsible for the luck of Baek Un-cheon.

But that’s just the name.

Baek Do-hee’s Baek.

Baek Do-woon’s Un.

And Tae-cheon’s Cheon.

There’s no actual role or meaning behind it.

But Do-hee said flatly,

“Do it alone.”

What? Why suddenly come to an agreement among yourselves like that?

It’s a little unsettling, but since I agreed, I guess it’s settled?

Do-hee pushed the tip of her staff toward me and said,

“Want to activate the shield?”

“Turn it on?”

“You’ve been activating it all this time?”

Hmm.

“You really block every attack.”

Then, white mana shot toward me from Do-hee’s staff.

I was startled by the sudden attack but stayed still because I had the wooden barrier activated.

Wham.

“Ow…”

The white mana struck my head.

It felt like getting flicked on the forehead.

Then, a warm sensation spread, and the pain subsided.

Could this be… Healing?

Really? Why does healing hurt?

How can healing cause pain?

More importantly, why did Do-hee learn a technique that hurts the opponent with healing?

Is it because of Tae-cheon and me?

“Don’t just trust the shield. Be careful. There are infinite ways to bypass it and attack only big brother.”

“Got it. But don’t worry, even if the wooden barrier cracks—”

“I’m worried! How can I not worry? Big brother is the type who’ll do anything once he sets his mind to it!”

Zzzip.

I had nothing to say considering what I’ve done so far.

That he’s the type who’ll do anything once he sets his mind to it is true.

For now, I had to calm them down.

“You probably heard from Tae-cheon, but now I don’t flinch at any serious wounds. Even if my head is smashed—”

“My head, smashed…”

Do-hee frowned and looked at me as if hearing it for the first time.

Turning to Tae-cheon, he frowned deeply and shook his head sideways.

“Oh, you didn’t tell him about that day.”

“Idiot, you told me to keep it a secret!”

“Oh? So big brother Tae-cheon knew too?”

“The family meeting just ended.”

Do-hee glared at us with eyes colder than ice.

Hoo, if I suggested another family meeting here, she’d be furious.

I had no choice.

Here, I just had to accept Do-hee’s anger.

Please save me.

As soon as Thursday dawned, I went to Jae-im’s forge.

I wondered if I was too early, but I wanted to see the equipment as soon as possible.

The sign on the door still said, [Work in Progress: Please take kitchen supplies as you like.]

Had she really not come out even once since that day?

I opened the door and went in, but, as on that day, Yu Jae-im was nowhere to be seen.

However, I sensed no signs of life.

There was no sound of hammering coming from inside.

Maybe she worked all night and fell asleep, I thought, cautiously walking toward the workshop.

“Oh.”

Yu Jae-im wasn’t even in the workshop.

Maybe she went out to buy eggs or something.

I looked around quietly.

Even if she wasn’t here, the equipment should have been finished, so I wanted to check first.

In the middle of the workshop stood a huge sword reaching up to my shoulder.

Made of wood, the sword’s design was quite unique—a longsword with a thin and long leaf shape, with the blade covering almost half of its length.

Along the edge, there were patterns that seemed to activate when mana was injected.

Perhaps those patterns were engraved with a “Yeo-ui’s Eye.”

Getting closer, I saw a note attached to the sword’s handle.

I peeled off the note and read the item description.

[Arbor Capulus 6A 0900145 (Grade 5), shortened to ‘Arca’.]

[Attack power: Grade ^, Durability: Grade 5, Max Mana: 50,000.]

[Attack power increases upon mana injection.]

“No, how can you just write the name without explaining what it means?”

It looked like Latin, but I wasn’t sure which language exactly.

Since it mentioned max mana increase, the world tree sap liquid must be inside.

Arbor Capulus.

It might be a bit fancy, but I liked it.

Also, shortening it to Arca sounded nice.

Next to Arca was a light armor piece.

It was the one repaired after being damaged by a skeleton lord.

It looked a bit different, like it had been remodeled during the repair.

There was a piece of black cloth sewn into the armor that wasn’t there originally.

The black cloth extended upward over the armor and formed a hood covering the head.

I thought it might be the skeleton lord’s shadow cloak.

[Shadow’s Eye (Grade ^)]

[Defense power: Grade ^, Durability: Grade 8.]

[Shadow Brightness (Grade ^) – Can enter own shadow up to 3 times a day and emerge from the opponent’s shadow.]

Since it had Shadow Brightness, my guess was probably correct.

I grabbed the Shadow’s Eye and Arca and left the workshop.

Then, I noticed a note left on the counter.

I wasn’t going to read it, but the name ‘Baek Do-woon’ at the top caught my eye.

Probably a message about temporarily leaving due to some matter.

Upon checking, my guess was roughly correct.

Yes, roughly.

[To Baek Do-woon]

[Tork Crowd came looking for me.]

[If you follow them, they say they’ll give information about Oppa.]

[As proof, they showed the hammer Oppa used.]

[Hmm. Probably an ambush. Surely.]

[Still, I’m going to follow them. Just in case there’s only one thing.]

[P.S. I can’t foolishly follow them without preparation.]

[Requesting Hunter Baek Do-woon’s help.]

[If Yu Jae-im doesn’t return to the forge by midnight on the 27th, please come find her.]

[The reward is a lifetime usage pass to Jae-im’s forge… I wonder if that’s enough.]

“… Families shouldn’t be messed with. Families.”