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chapter 18




The average viewership of the Battle Against 100 Men broadcast was 5.32%.
Jae Woo received an additional 2 million won (~$2,000 USD) for surpassing 5% viewership, so he received a total of 12 million won (~$12,000 USD) from GBS.
And with Eder’s 1,000 gold, which he’d exchanged to cash, he had 22 million won on hand (~$22,000 USD).
“I’d like to pay back 20 million won.”
Jae Woo planned on paying back his family’s debt first. After all, it was such a waste to pay the bank’s monthly interest.
“Yes, yes.”
The employee in charge of debt smiled brightly.
“Please extend the term of redemption. You can’t reduce the interest rate, can you?” Jae Woo asked.
“A moment please, sir.”
The worker looked at their monitor and checked Jae Woo’s family information.
“You have good credit, and you have never paid your interest late. I believe I can extend the term of redemption by 1 year. Would you like to do that?”
“Yes.”
“The term of redemption has been extended by a year, but I cannot lower your interest rate,” the worker said, maintaining a professional smile.
“I understand.”
Jae Woo had paid off 20 million won of their debt right then and there.
* * *
Jae Woo visited a cosmetics store on his way home.
“Welcome.”
“Please give me an anti-wrinkle cream.”
He bought a 200,000 won ($200 USD) anti-wrinkle cream as a present for his mother.
“5 assorted sushi please.”
“When it comes to cake, nothing beats chocolate.”
Jae Woo even bought sushi and cake for his sisters, went home, and waited for his mother to come home.
It was 8:00 at night.
The front door opened; his mother had come home.
Normally, his mother came home at around 12, but she would come back early on these days.
“Welcome back!”
Jae Woo and his sisters welcomed their mother back.
The living room table was set with sushi, cake, the rolled omelets that Yura had made, japchae, etc.
“What’s all this?” his mother asked in astonishment.
“I have some good news,” Kang Oh said.
“Good news?”
“I made quite a bit of money, so I repaid some of our debt.”
“That really is good news.”
His mother beamed.
That’s how their simple and cozy party began. The entire family sat around the table.
“Mom, please use this.”
Jae Woo passed her the cosmetic cream.
“You didn’t have to spend all that money on me.”
“It’ll apparently get rid of your wrinkles.”
“I’ll use it well.”
“Where’s mine?” Mina asked, and Jae Woo pointed at the assorted sushi as if saying ‘just eat’.
“Tch.”
“Looks like Yura will finish eating everything.”
Contrary to how slim she looked, Yura was a massive glutton and was devouring the sushi at a rapid pace.
Tuna belly, gone!
“Ahh.”
Mina jumped in and quickly began eating the sushi.
Yura, who had finished the cake for dessert, was smiling in satisfaction and rubbing her belly.
Meanwhile, Mina was sucking on her fork in disappointment.
“Now let’s all go in and sleep,” their mother said.
And that drew the curtains on their family party.
* * *
“What?”
Kang Oh furrowed his brow.
“That’s…”
Eder hesitated.
“Tell me again.”
“I couldn’t find any clue,” Eder said and Kang Oh glared at him.
“You couldn’t find anything?”
“Yes. I read The Loxia Chronicles from start to finish, but there was nothing written about a magic sword.”
“Did you read it properly or did you just skim it again?”
Kang Oh looked at him suspiciously.
“No, I definitely read it all the way through.”
Eder desperately waved his hands. His Hyper Intuition wasn’t alerting him to anything, so he wasn’t trying anything this time.
“Are you absolutely sure that there’s nothing there regarding the magic sword?”
“Yes, I’m absolutely sure.”
Eder had desperately read through The Loxia Chronicles in order to find some clue regarding the magic sword.
However, there weren’t any clues to be found.
“Hmm.”
Kang Oh’s expression relaxed at Eder’s statement. After all, he couldn’t ask him to find something that wasn’t there.
“It talks about swords a few times here and there, but there wasn’t anything that specifically talked about the magic sword,” Eder said.
“It might’ve been mentioned as a mysterious or ominous sword, rather than a magic sword,” Kang Oh said.
After all, the middle-aged man in the Adventurer Guild or Tino hadn’t called it a magic sword.
“Yes. I kept that in mind while reading, but there weren’t any mentions of it.”
“Then was there anything regarding strange items that great or successful people had?”
“The Loxia family was incredibly renowned, so… there were several famous or great individuals that came from the family, yet there was nothing that matched your description, Sir Kang Oh.”
Based on how he was acting, it was clear that Eder had read through the entire book.
It was also true that there were no overt mentions or clues regarding the magic sword.
If that’s the case, then he needed to find another clue aside from the book.
“Should I grill Tino?”
He recalled Tino, the old man who’d drank that expensive honey water.
“Why don’t you try asking someone directly involved?” Eder suggested all of a sudden.
“Where are you going to find people from a ruined house?” Kang Oh asked.
“You don’t find people; you find ghosts,” Eder said.
“What did you say?”
“Since the Loxia family was one of four great knight families of the Altein Empire, there should be one or two of them that have turned into Ghost Knights,” Eder said.
“So you’re saying I can just do what we’re doing right now; go and find one of the Loxia knights and ask them?”
“Yes.”
“Where do I find Ghost Knights?”
“I heard several Ghost Knights gather at Taksen Castle.”
As Eder was a ghost himself, he was knowledgeable in the subject.
“Really? Then I guess I’ll have to go there to find some more clues.”
Kang Oh knew about Taksen Castle as well.
Taksen Castle was a hunting ground that contained Ghost Knights varying from level 60 – 80.
It was just the right hunting ground for him with his ghost-felling magic sword.
“I’ll be able to level up there too.”
He’d find some clues and simultaneously hunt monsters.
It was really appealing to Kang Oh.
He’d found something to do, so there was no reason to dawdle. He stood up immediately.
But Eder grabbed him.
“It may be difficult to speak with them if you go without a plan,” Eder said.
In the past, Ghost Knights were NPCs, but now they were undoubtedly monsters.
Like Eder!
So, a conversation was possible, but he needed something that would allow him to speak with them.
“Don’t worry. I have a plan. You stay here and read The Loxia Chronicles one more time,” Kang Oh said.
“I beg your pardon?”
Read through all 1,500 pages of this again?
“Read through it slowly this time around. When you take a break, read something you’re interested in.”
He decided to be generous to Eder, since he’d come up with a brilliant plan.
“I understand.”
Eder nodded his head; he’d set some medicine books aside and merely glanced at them yesterday.
“I’ll get going.”
Kang Oh left the central library.
* * *
There was a seamstress’s workshop near the Altein Central Library.
The wooden sign, labeled Marianne Ganelle, creaked.
“Welcome.”
Kang Oh opened the door and went inside.
A young seamstress greeted him.
“I’d like an overcoat with this image clearly visible on the front and back.”
Kang Oh passed the paper with a drawing of a leopard biting a sword.
“We at the Marianna Ganelle always do our best to fulfill our customers’ requests to maintain their trust in us. Your request is, of course, our priority.”
The seamstress smiled professionally.
“Please make it out of the cheapest material! All that matters is that the image needs to be clear,” Kang Oh said.
“Sir, we just received a batch of high quality Silver Wolf fur, so while we’re at it…”
“No thank you. Please make it according to my specifications.”
“Mm. I understand.”
He’d just finished ordering a cheap promotional overcoat with absolutely no practical use or aesthetic value.
“I’m ready.”
Once he received his overcoat, Kang Oh headed for the intercity warp gate.
The gate was essentially just a large magic circle drawn over a marble floor.
The magic circle was glowing an iridescent color.
Kang Oh entered the magic circle.
Because he was already registered as an Adventurer, he could travel wherever he wanted, so long as he paid the fee.
“Haroton!” Kang Oh yelled.
And he was enveloped in an iridescent pillar of light.
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[You have paid 5 gold to use the gate. The farther the distance, the more expensive the cost.]
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Kang Oh felt like he’d just rode an elevator, having gone all the way up a building and then all the way down.
After that, the pillar of light disappeared and was greeted by the sight of a neat little town.
Haroton was a quaint little local town with few NPCs and other users.
Kang Oh left the town and played a whistle that looked like a horse’s head.
A black horse came out from the forest.
He’d bought the horse at a horse-fair.
He could summon an Earth Spider through Alishi’s Necklace, which specialized in climbing ceilings or walls, but it was slow.
That’s why he’d purchased a horse, which was both strong and fast.
“Hiya!”
Kang Oh tightened his thighs and kicked the horse’s sides with his feet.
Once the horse began to run, Kang Oh was met with a refreshing breeze.
How much did he enjoy the wind?
“That’s it.”
He could see it from afar; there was an old castle in between sharp cliffs and canyons.
It was Taksen Castle.
* * *
The horse retreated back to the forest once he hit the horse’s butt.
He wasn’t worried; it would come whenever he played the whistle. That’s how the system worked.
“It looks cool.”
Kang Oh looked at the black castle before him.
Taksen Castle.
The cliffs, canyons, and the high black ramparts seemed to deny anyone entry.
It seemed as though archers were at the ready from within the ramparts, and above them, soldiers stood abreast with their spears.
In the past, during the times of the Altein Empire, this stood as a major fortress that protected the Empire, so countless soldiers had been stationed here.
Thus, it was quite an imposing castle. However, that was nothing more than its past glory.
Now it was a hunting ground where named Ghost Knights would come and go.
“Shall we?”
Kang Oh wore the overcoat and raised his sword.
He passed the gate, which served as both a door and a bridge, which was located above the deep moat.
“Receive the blade of knight Von Heich, who fought in the great battle of Fatalow!”
Suddenly, a blade came flying by!
Kang Oh reacted immediately.
Blade met blade. However, no sound of their clash came about.
That was obvious.
Since Kang Oh’s opponent was a ghost!
Still, it’s not like nothing was happening.
Swish!
The magic sword passed by, cutting through the self-introduced Von Heich’s green blade.
“No!” the ghost knight yelled, seeing his broken blade.
And Kang Oh cleaved downwards with his magic sword.
“H-How can this be…”
The knight looked at Kang Oh in disbelief.
It was only natural. Since a ghost’s body, which can pass through walls, was cut in twain and was dispersing into the air.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
[You have defeated the Ghost Knight, Von Heich.]
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Normally, ghost-type monsters were incredibly difficult to deal with, as physical attacks were ineffective against them, and they flew around in the air.
Moreover, the monsters in Taksen Castle were all named knights, so they were even stronger.
But with just two swings, Kang Oh had killed one of them.
‘There really was a reason that Eder was afraid of this sword.’
Abyss Blade!
The power to cut through ghosts!
It was an overpowered ability that allowed him to cut through ghosts, even though they were immune to physical attacks.
Cutting through ghosts was like cutting through water; yes, it was possible, but the Abyss Blade allowed him to cut ghosts as if the water was radish kimchi.
“Rau Hannes. I am a part of the gallant knight order!”
Once he was finished with Von Heich, the nearby Ghost Knights began to crowd around him.
However, their fate was the same as Von Heich’s.
Swish.
Saksak.
With a single swing of his magic sword, the Ghost Knights’ blades were cut apart.
Their arms, legs, chest, and their heads were no exception; they were all cut apart.
It was a one-sided massacre!
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[You have leveled up.]
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‘Nice.’
Kang Oh was satisfied with the large amount of experience points he was gaining.
And…
‘We can’t forget about finding clues to the whereabouts of the magic sword.’
“Fight me, the master of the iron mace, Gastoph.”
Then, an imposing mace-wielding knight came rushing at him.
“I’m the last descendant of the Loxia family, Kang Oh!” Kang Oh yelled loudly.
That was the moment a never-before seen descendent of the Loxia family had appeared.