Page 174

Friendship?? (1)

1.

Despite its monstrous appearance, the monsters head was quite vulnerable.

Using his spear, Siwoo plunged it into the center of the creatures forehead (or somewhere close to it). It didnt even shriek, rather it twitched once before dying.

As light vanished from its eight eyeballs, its flesh began to melt.

The tar-like, dark body almost liquified, slipping through the crevices amidst the debris.

Among the swirling black liquid, Siwoos and Sharons gazes were drawn to a certain glimmering object.

Eyeballs No, they were crystals that were embedded in the body of the Mother Homunculus.

Ah Ah! Ah!

Sharon, quick! Pick them up!

Having stood by Siwoos side the whole time, fearing that the Mother Homunculus might cause one final round of chaos, Sharon suddenly cried out.

In her panic, she swiftly gathered the crystals, while Siwoo rushed over to help her.

He didnt want these valuable crystals, even more valuable than gold, to vanish into the buildings cracks.

This reminded him of a certain scene in Spirited Away.

For a while, they were occupied with collecting the crystals.

Because of Siwoos clumsy use of his telekinesis, they ended up spending a full two hours to collect everything.

In total, they managed to gather around 4,091 crystals.

According to Sharon, they weighed around 5,4 kilograms.

Which meant, they could get 5,4 billion won if they were to exchange it at the Witch Point.

F-Five B-Billion

After confirming the final count, Sharon staggered with her mouth agape.

Siwoo expected shed be jumping for joy, but it seemed like the huge amount of money just left her dumbfounded instead.

When her body started to wobble, Siwoo lent support by holding her in the waist.

Earning five billion Is like Working 600,000 hours at the convenience store

H-Hey, snap out of it!

Im going crazy Oh, Im so happy What do I do?

The huge amount of money, equivalent to winning the lottery, wasnt the only thing that they got. Siwoo actually stumbled upon something else.

A heart-shaped piece near the Homunculus heart.

Every part of the Homunculus, save for the crystals and this piece had melted already at this point.

As he watched Sharons half-ecstatic, half-fainting state, he also gazed at the heart in his hand. There was a complicated emotion in his face.

Its size barely matched his fist, but it looked incredibly eerie.

If he were to place it in a glass case, itd resemble a preserved heart specimen.

What do you think this is, Sharon?

I dont know Ehe Ehehe Five billion

Laughing joyously, she clung to Siwoo as if she was high on morphine.

Their skinship wasnt excessive, but he could feel her soft chest pressing against his arms as she embraced him tightly.

Haah

Seeing her so happy made him chuckle involuntarily.

In his opinion, she did deserve this kind of reward in her life.

While he was thinking as such, Sharon, who had been giggling uncontrollably, suddenly stiffened up.

Oh!

She remembered something.

Della.

Because of her loss to Della, she had lost her hunting ground.

Which meant, if they lingered here any longer, she might silently swoop in and snatch away all their spoils.

I-I cant let that happen

Noticing her suddenly trembling like a squirrel, Siwoo looked at her with a puzzled expression.

Lets go back. Quickly.

Why? Is something wrong?

Sharon instantly regretted her words.

If she were to mention Dellas name here, itd blow her cover of having seen through his lies to her.

Therefore, she quickly straightened up and acted nonchalant.

Ah, well Im just tired. Lets go home, watch a movie and get some late-night snacks.

But you told me youd be treating me to dinner tonight.

Then, tell me what you want to eat! Ill treat you! I want to take a shower first though.

She spread her arms, as if to showcase her appearance.

Her body was covered in soot and dust.

Similarly, Siwoo also looked as disheveled as she was. They both chuckled heartily at each others messy state.

In any case, their hardship ended here.

They went back home together, leaving behind the Interdimensional Barrier that was gradually shrinking and vanishing.

2.

On their way back home, they decided to prepare a feast.

They chose a famous jokbal1Korean dish consisting of pigs trotters cooked with soy sauce and spices. restaurant known for its delicious food, and ordered half-half jokbal2Jokbal, but they divided it to half smeared with soy sauce and the other half with spices. and mak-guksu3Korean buckwheat noodle, because they didnt want to eat exclusively heavy food. Not only that, they also ordered a full plate of spicy tteokbokki4Spicy rice cakes for some heat. And since they thought that theyd need something refreshing after the hot dishes, they added a serving of tuna sashimi.

Finally, they ordered ice cream for dessert.

As they sat at the table, enjoying their meal, they began discussing the issue of the crystal distribution.

No, I cant possibly take all of them for myself

Yes, you can. I already told you, Im happy enough to see my magic improve.

Naturally, Siwoo stated that hed hand over everything to Sharon.

Since he had Countess Geminis black card in his possession, he didnt need to fret over money.

Besides, he also didnt care much about money.

Im not pressed for money, so its only fair that you, someone who needs it more than me, gets all of them. Besides, I really dont see the point in having more money when Im already living so comfortably.

B-But You did all the hard work It just doesnt seem right for me to take everything like this Siwoo, can you reconsider?

If you hadnt taught me Elemental Magic, Id end up as a dog food today.

He was telling her the truth.

The reason why he could come up with adding weight to his Law of Shadow was because of Sharons teaching.

Still this is way too burdensome for me

She already felt apologetic when he offered her a hundred million won worth of crystals back in the department store. But, she could still make-do with that amount.

However, the number suddenly spiked to 5,4 billion won.

This much alone could cover a tenth of her total debt.

It wasnt strange for her to feel uncomfortable over receiving this much favor out of his goodwill.

That was why she expressed her concern over this matter, multiple times, but Siwoo kept reassuring her that it was okay, and encouraged her to accept it.

In the end, their bickering ended with Sharons tears.

Seriously, dont worry about it. I mean what I said Wait, why are you crying?!

Sniff Y-You really are a nice person T-Thank you Thank you so much

Okay, okay, if youre so thankful, what about making me a sandwich in return?

S-Sure I-Ill make you one

With her tears still streaming down her face, she skillfully prepared an exquisite sandwich for him, layering sliced pork trotters on lettuce and perilla leaves, topping it with noodles and fresh garlic.

This is

Meanwhile, Siwoo was experiencing a mix of emotions; Embarrassment, pride, and a sense of contentment as he watched Sharons overwhelming joy and tearful gratitude.

Ah Sniff

When he took a big bite of the Sandwich she handed him

Suddenly, Sharon hugged his head gently from behind.

Her soft breasts supported the back of his head like a cushion. When he looked up, tears fell onto his forehead.

T-Thank you Siwoo

The beaming smile on her face was truly a sight to behold.

3.

After the meal, Siwoo swiftly cleared the table and placed the heart-shaped object he had found on it.

Though it glowed with a faint red hue and appeared like a living heart, it didnt seem to move, nor did it emit any scent.

What could this be?

Initially, he assumed that it was a legacy, but he didnt know for sure.

Even Sharon couldnt figure out what it really was after examining it for a while.

This doesnt seem to be an Egg of Gnosis But it doesnt seem like a legacy either

Legacies that dropped from a Homunculus usually had distinct appearances that could reveal their purpose.

For example, if it was a rare potion, itd look like a potion, if it was an artifact, itd look like an artifact, Egg of Gnosis would look like an act, and research papers would be research papers.

Even after more meticulous examination, they still couldnt find out its purpose.

Should we just cut it open?

Is that even okay to do?

I mean, it isnt like we can find its purpose like this.

Both of them shared their opinions.

And finally they decided to split the heart-shaped object open.

Siwoo extracted a bit of his shadow and created a scalpel out of it to cut the heart.

Contrary to its appearance, it had more of a stony texture than flesh, so he needed a considerable force to split it open.

Hmm

When they managed to slice it open, something appeared out of it.

Is this A crystal?

A Homunculus crystal.

Quite a big one, about 5 cm in diameter.

They expected something amazing to come out of it, but it turned out to be just a crystal.

Well, I was excited for nothing.

However, Sharon examined the crystal even further. She held it up to the light and saw it from different angles.

Suddenly, her expression turned serious.

Hm? Did you notice something strange?

Yeah. This thing is a little weird.

What about it is weird?

Normally, when a Homunculus dies, the body slowly disappears except for the legacy it possesses and its crystal, just like what we saw today.

Okay

Sharon set the crystal aside and inspected the split heart on the table.

But for some reason, this thing remains intact. It isnt a crystal or a legacy.

As Siwoo lacked a broad understanding of magic, he struggled to comprehend Sharons words.

With a serious expression, she continued to talk.

Someone must be behind this.

Someone?

Yeah. I dont know who it is, but they did something to this crystal. Due to interference from the outside, even if the Homunculus dies, it wont disappear.

Are you trying to say that they were using the heart to control that Homunculus?

Could be, but we cant be too sure of that. It could be there to enhance its power, there are endless possibilities But, judging from the crystal wrapped inside its heart It involves some ritualistic enhancement through human sacrifice

Then, she began to dissect the heart bit by bit.

Hearing such a serious matter coming out of her mouth, Siwoo opened his eyes wide.

Human sacrifice?

Yeah, most likely A Criminal must be behind this. Anyone can tell that this is a humans heart.

Well, not me, apparently.

The split heart suddenly appeared grotesque to him.

I knew it seemed too small as the heart of that enormous monster. But, fucking hell, its actually a humans heart?

Well we dont need to overthink about it. I just need to report it to the Witch Point tomorrow while exchanging the crystals.

Really?

Yes. Ill take care of the matter from now on. You should take a good rest, youve been through quite a lot.

Sharon was correct.

Siwoo was completely drained, both mentally and physically. He didnt even have the energy left to think about anything else.

Considering the days hustle, taking a night off without overthinking things would be ideal for him.

Rather, it was a much needed reward for him.

Still up for a movie night?

Of course.

Okay, Ill take a warm shower first.

What do you want to watch, though?

Its been a hectic day today, so lets watch something calming. What do you think?

Sure, Im down.

Having decided what they wanted to watch, Sharon headed to the bathroom for a shower while Siwoo sprawled on the sofa while sipping a chilled beer.

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