Chapter 81: Chapter 81

Jeong-Hoon was so dumbfounded that he couldn’t even speak.

[Take it off right now?! You’re not worthy of wearing something as insignificant as me, you bug!]

‘It’s a bit ferocious, so I sealed it.’

So that’s what he meant.

But this wasn’t ferocious, it was just rude.

“Shut up.”

Sorry, but he can be rude too.

Depending on who he’s dealing with, of course.

[Ha, how did I end up being talked down to by such an idiot? This is all because of that bastard Siegfried. Where is Siegfried? Huh? Where is he? Tell me now!]

Mukho started to throw a tantrum.

Since the voice was echoing in his head, Jeong-Hoon felt a headache.

“You’re hopeless.”

He understood that Mukho might have resentment after being sealed by Siegfried for so long, but he wanted to get rid of this headache first.

Jeong-Hoon took off Mukho.

Mukho’s voice disappeared as if it had been washed away.

===

[Sealed Mukho]

-Type: Armor

-Grade: Epic

-(Sealed)

-(Conditions are required to unseal it.)

===

The stats were still sealed.

Only when Mukho accepted Jeong-Hoon as its owner would the seal placed by Siegfried be naturally released.

“Let’s just tear it apart.”

Jeong-Hoon growled lowly, looking at Mukho.

There were times when you had to suppress someone with force if they didn’t understand words.

Now was that time.

‘It’ll probably take something like Anima to damage it.’

If it was difficult to tame, he would just get rid of it.

Jeong-Hoon took out Anima and put on Mukho again.

“I’m going to tear you apart now.”

“Who?”

Anima was naturally summoned and perched on Jeong-Hoon’s shoulder.

“The clothes I’m wearing now.”

“Aha. Where did you get those rags? Take them off, they’re ugly.”

[Ugly? Your lizard eyes are the ugly ones.]

Mukho’s target shifted to Anima.

Anima’s eyes widened.

“Oh, the clothes can talk?”

[Clothes? Hahaha! You can’t possibly recognize my nobility with those candy-like eyes.]

Anima, as if it wasn’t even worth responding to, grinned at Jeong-Hoon and said,

“Hoon, shoot about 100 arrows into it.”

“I was thinking the same thing.”

[Huh? You don’t think you can do anything to me with arrows, do you?]

Mukho scoffed.

“Why not?”

Jeong-Hoon smiled and carelessly threw Mukho on the floor.

Then he casually pulled Anima’s bowstring and shot at Mukho.

The mana arrow accurately pierced Mukho.

“One shot isn’t enough.”

Anima said with a serious face.

“I know.”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Jeong-Hoon pulled the bowstring again and shot at Mukho.

One shot, two shots, three shots, four shots.

After more than ten shots, Mukho’s sleeve fluttered slightly.

Was it a sign to stop?

He slowly lowered the bowstring and approached Mukho, pulling out the arrows that were stuck in it.

The mana arrows disappeared without a trace.

‘Let’s see…’

Jeong-Hoon put Mukho back on.

[Aaagh! Stop it! Stop!]

Mukho’s screams echoed in his head.

“Oh, you’re being noisy again.”

Anima, who had been quietly listening on Jeong-Hoon’s shoulder, frowned.

“It hasn’t been educated enough yet.”

“I agree.”

“Let’s shoot 20 more arrows and continue talking.”

As Jeong-Hoon was about to take off Mukho, a hurried voice echoed in his head.

[Talk! Let’s talk!]

At the request, Jeong-Hoon stopped pretending to take it off.

“Talk, good.”

“Tsk, we should have done more.”

Anima, showing its disappointment, climbed onto Jeong-Hoon’s head.

[Grrr, candy eyes. Don’t get cocky.]

“Cocky? Know your place.”

[You look like yellow pee.]

“What?! Pee? You’re worse than ink.”

[Hahaha, at least I don’t smell like pee. Just look at your size. If I get close, you’ll probably smell like goblin armpit sweat.]

“Hoon! Fuck this bastard up! Fuck him up!”

As the argument quickly escalated into a fight, Jeong-Hoon quickly intervened.

“Stop it. You want me to shoot 100 arrows into you?”

[Sh… It’s strange. Why does it hurt? What the hell did you do to me?]

Mukho quickly became obedient, as if it was in considerable pain.

As they say, the rod is the medicine for a madman.

The wisdom of our ancestors is truly amazing.

“I don’t know. Anyway, I’m trying to tame you.”

[Ha, you? Tame the great me?]

“If you don’t like it, I’ll throw you into the fireplace.”

Siegfried had said that Mukho had a will of its own, so even if the robe was torn or burned, it would recover quickly.

That meant it had the ability to automatically repair its durability.

But now, all its abilities were sealed.

As proof, Mukho was now tattered from being an arrow target.

[Fire…?]

Mukho’s voice trembled slightly, as if it was anxious.

“Yes. You’re currently sealed from all your abilities. So if you get burned, you’ll be destroyed.”

[Destroy me?!]

“If I can’t tame you, it’s better to get rid of you.”

He meant it.

It didn’t have to be Mukho. He could just replace it with another piece of armor.

As if sensing Jeong-Hoon’s sincerity, Mukho added in a hurried voice,

[You’ll regret it if you destroy me?! I’m Mukho! Mukho!]

“I might regret it a little. But it’s okay.”

[…Don’t lie. A human full of desire can’t help but be greedy when they see me!]

“It’s also troublesome to have too much self-love.”

Jeong-Hoon smiled bitterly.

“Hoon, are you really going to burn it? I’m all for it.”

Anima smiled brightly.

“If it doesn’t acknowledge me as its owner, I’ll have to.”

[If I acknowledge you as my owner?]

“Then the seal will be released and you won’t be destroyed, right?”

[…Alright. I’ll accept you as my owner.]

Mukho said, as if resigning itself.

Then the tattered Mukho began to shine golden, and golden stripes were engraved all over the black robe.

[Mukho’s seal is released.]

[You have become the owner of Mukho.]

===

[Mukho]

-Type: Armor

-Grade: Legendary

-Defense: ? (Adjusted according to the wearer’s level)

-Evasion: ? (Adjusted according to the wearer’s level)

-Physical Damage Reduction: 15%

-Magic Damage Reduction: 15%

-Remaining Durability: 100% (Durability recovers automatically.)

-Special Ability (1): X (Ability lost due to the aftermath of the seal)

-Special Ability (2): X (Ability lost due to the aftermath of the seal)

-Special Ability (3): X (Ability lost due to the aftermath of the seal)

===

However, Mukho’s stats were not very good, unworthy of its Legendary grade.

It had lost most of its abilities because it had been sealed for so long.

[Kyaaa! What are these meager options?]

Mukho screamed.

It seemed quite shocked.

On the other hand, Jeong-Hoon was very calm.

‘I can restore it later.’

If it was lost, he could just restore it.

Of course, Mukho, who didn’t know that, was making a fuss.

How did Siegfried even manage to carry this guy around?

If it wasn’t Legendary, he might have just thrown it to another martial artist.

“You’re so noisy. Be quiet!”

Anima shouted.

[Shut up! Do you know how I feel? Do you know how I feel, trapped in clothes and losing even the little bit of stats I had left?!]

“How could I not? I was originally a dragon too.”

[…You’re trapped too?]

“Well, you could say it’s similar.”

[…]

Mukho shut its mouth.

Did it feel a sense of camaraderie?

“Anyway, it’s time to go ba…”

As Jeong-Hoon was about to turn around, a record wrapped in red cloth caught his eye.

It also had Siegfried’s name on it.

But there was only one sheet of paper inside.

-If you’ve unsealed Mukho, you’ll be able to see the writing on the first line. Take this paper with you. I’ll tell you how to restore Mukho’s abilities.

It seemed to be written in special ink.

Jeong-Hoon put the paper in his inventory.

* * *

[Whisper/Minzi -> Hoon: Jeong-Hoon! Do you have some time? The guild leader really wants to see you…]

As soon as he came out of the Mu Tower, he had a whisper from Yeo Min-Ji.

‘That’s to be expected. My mother even got a hidden class.’

Jeong-Hoon, who had temporarily joined Ho-Yeong, readily agreed.

The place was a cafe near his house.

There were too many eyes watching them to meet inside the game.

‘I’ve rented out the entire cafe, so let’s meet there.’

Yeo Sunwoo had even rented out the entire cafe.

Thanks to that, the cafe’s tables were all empty.

When Jeong-Hoon and his mother entered the cafe, Yeo Min-Ji, who had arrived earlier, greeted them warmly.

“I’m sorry for calling you out so suddenly.”

“It’s okay. The guild leader is your father, right?”

His mother smiled and waved her hand.

Yeo Min-Ji blushed and nodded.

“Yes, that’s right. I’ll be by your side so that no strange rumors spread, so don’t worry.”

“Okay.”

The three of them took their seats, and soon after, Yeo Sunwoo entered the cafe.

‘They look alike.’

Yeo Sunwoo looked to be in his early 40s, with a small face and sharp features, exuding an aura that would make him suitable to be an actor.

Yeo Min-Ji was the spitting image of her father.

Anyone could see that they were father and daughter.

“You’ve arrived early. I hope I’m not late.”

There were still 10 minutes left before the appointed time.

“It’s okay. We just got here too.”

His mother said, waving her hand.

“Thank you for your consideration.”

When Yeo Sunwoo also took his seat, the cafe owner approached the table with a menu.

“Please let me know if you have any drinks you’d like.”

Normally, they would have to go to the counter or use a kiosk to order, but since Yeo Sunwoo had rented out the entire cafe, the owner came out to take their orders directly.

When his mother and Jeong-Hoon chose Americano, it was naturally decided that everyone would have Americano.

“Um… The reason I suddenly asked to meet you is to promise you even better treatment.”

However, with her advancement to a hidden class, Yeo Sunwoo had no choice but to step up himself.

He didn’t know what kind of contract they had made before, but he wanted to promise her something much better.

“You’re going to give us even more?”

His mother looked a little surprised.

She wasn’t able to play with her son yet, but she was quite satisfied with the full support she was receiving from Ho-Yeong to enjoy the game.

“Yes. I want to increase the scale of support.”

Support for dungeons suitable for her level, equipment, and items.

In addition, he would give her an additional 500 gold per month, and additional rewards depending on her guild contribution.

‘500 gold means 5 million won per month.’

His mother’s eyes widened, as if she also knew the value of gold.

“Oh my…”

It was more than her monthly salary.

“Of course, that’s the basic compensation. There will be bonuses whenever you participate in guild-related activities.”

His mother couldn’t leave the starting zone yet, so there wouldn’t be any bonuses.

However, the basic compensation alone exceeded her monthly salary, so it was an attractive offer.

“I’d be grateful if you gave it to me.”

“Oh, I didn’t explain it properly. If you quit your job, we’ll add your original salary to the basic compensation.”

His mother was working and playing the game.

It was quite a tight schedule, so if she focused on New World, he would compensate her accordingly.

“Hmm…”

She couldn’t help but be conflicted.

She had started the game because she wanted to have the same hobby as her son, but now she was completely immersed in New World.

“Wouldn’t it be better to focus on New World at this point?”

He meant that she didn’t have to keep working.

Of course, the choice was hers.

Jeong-Hoon knew the future, but it was impossible for him to force his mother to do this or that.

Even if she decided to keep working, he would respect her choice.

“…Okay. Let’s do it.”

His mother made her decision faster than he expected.

“I’ll make sure you never regret that choice.”

Yeo Sunwoo said confidently and then turned his gaze to Jeong-Hoon.

“Hmm, I assume I can get as much support as I want for dungeons and items?”

That was Jeong-Hoon’s focus.

“Of course. Ho-Yeong will promise you the best treatment, Jeong-Hoon. Even after you leave the guild.”

One of the conditions Yeo Min-Ji had offered.

It was that Jeong-Hoon could leave the guild whenever he wanted.

“Good. Then I have one favor to ask right now.”