Chapter 183 Preparing the Spider Hunt (2)
“I suddenly heard a voice…”
It did not take long for Jung Hayeon to realize that she was in the item shop. She must have received a message that said I had asked for her. It seemed I had been too lazy in my past life since I still received new information after living here for ten years.
“I apologize for calling you suddenly.”
“No, I am actually happy. However, the situation…”
I told her the reason I needed her, and she nodded with a flushed face.
“It’s nice to hear that you need me.”
“I am in your debt.”
The petals were part of Jung Hayeon’s body, and I worried that she would feel pain when taking a leaf off her lower body. However, it did not seem so as I asked her whether she was all right.
“A leaf falls off my head now and then, so it seems all right. The stem would be a lock of my hair, and while I had not taken a petal off from my legs, I think I can manage this.”
“I see.”
She did not seem to be in pain as she pulled a leaf off her leg, and the goblin seemed to say with his eyes to hurry things up. I ignored him as I stared at Jung Hayeon. I needed two locks of her hair, a petal from her leg, and three leaves on her head. She got the leaves and the stems, but she seemed afraid to take off the petal.
“If it’s all right, can you…”
“I will.”
I gently pulled at the petal and saw Jung Hayeon grimace a little.
“It hurts a bit, as the petal seems to be stuck on my skin.”
The petal seemed like a tooth, and I thought it would be better to take it off quickly. I did so when Jung Hayeon did not expect it, and it came off with a cute gasp from her. She did not seem to be in pain, and I thought I would need to give her something she wanted as a reward after everything was over. Jung Hayeon seemed happy at my smile, and I spoke to the goblin after nodding to her.
“The ingredients are ready.”
“Give me the points.”
I looked over the inventory to sell and thought I would reinforce both weapons at the same time by getting 1.5 million points. I had enough from the battle of the East, and the total was 1.52 million in total.
[Blood Dagger now has 1.52 million points.]
I did not need to wait and gave the spear to the goblin.
[The Rotten Spear of Yggdrasill will be reinforced using one million points and the ingredients.]
I did not hear hammering, but light shone from the smithy. The spear that had come back to me looked much more alive than before.
[The Purified Spear of Yggdrasill.]
[Elves had made this spear using a rotten branch. It has been restored closer to its original form after going through a purifying process. It is sharp and strong and heals the user’s stamina and magic continuously.]
[Agility+3]
It was a good weapon, and I may be able to heal more than before. The spear may help me endure Park Hyeri’s attacks and assist me in the long run. I looked at the reinforcement window again.
[The Purified Spear of Yggdrasill – 4000000 points]
I was surprised to see that I could reinforce it once more. I did not have enough points, but…
[The Purified Spear of Yggdrasill can be reinforced using the following items. The tear of Yggdrasill (0/1), The petal of Yggdrasill (10/10), The root of Yggdrasill (1/1)]
I had to stare at Jung Hayeon again after reading the item list. Her body was like a treasure chest, and I thought humans would come after her if they knew. She flushed as I continued to look at her.
“Tae…sung.”
I patted her head as she said my name, and her smile made me feel happier.
“I thank you. Do you have anything you want? I will give it to you if I can.”
“No, it’s enough that I was able to help.”
“I want to do this for you.”
I knew that she would refuse once, and she now spoke in a whisper.
“…If you say so, I will tell you later.”
I nodded and looked around. I thought there would be other items I could reinforce using the material from her body and thought I had heard of an armor made of Yggdrasill’s roots. It was definitely worth a try later. I used the rest of my points to reinforce the longsword and came out of the item shop happy. Jung Hayeon had disappeared first as her job was over, and now I was also back to my tent. I looked over the weapons in satisfaction and went out of the tent with my map.
I went to thank Jung Hayeon in her tent and rode Ibar to go out. The weather was cloudy. The map did not help me locate Park Hyeri, but I could guess when she would appear.
She would appear soon, according to the data, and it was highly probable she would come out in the East again.
The important thing was to scout the area, and I left my tribe with my newly reinforced items.
**
“Thank you.”
“I also learned something.”
Ragia nodded to Gark, who was the second strongest in the Blood Dagger clan. His ability was to hide, and he was stronger than her in every way.
“I did not think our subleader would ask me for help.”
“It was necessary.”
Ragia’s ability was intuition, which was quite an ambiguous skill. She could only guess where an attack would come next or whether something would bring a positive or negative result. It was pure guesswork that just enabled her to survive.
While she had been able to guess a bit where Gark was a little, she still lost by a wide margin. She could only block his attacks, and while she had not imagined she would win against him, Ragia looked down at herself as she lowered her dagger.
“You’re dissatisfied.”
“I cannot abide this feeling of getting nowhere.”
“That was why you asked for this mock fight. You’re strong, and you work hard. You will bring results.”
Ragia did not say anything, as Halfblade was saying only the right things. She had thought of herself at a similar level with him when first coming to this clan, but now the gap was too deep. She had not been lazy but had been left behind.
“Do not rush. Blood Dagger does not want you to be a warrior.”
“……”
“I am stronger than you, Ragia, but I am insufficient to become the subleader. That was why I lost my name. Blood Dagger sees accurately, and you have been chosen by him. It is honorable and respectable to have been so.”
Ragia still felt bitter, as she knew that she was shallow. She obsessed over small achievements and cried over little things. If she had been stronger, she would not have run from the trials nor break up her clan. She knew her limits and did not even dare to say so.
“But…”
“If you cannot trust yourself, trust Blood Dagger, who has chosen you.”
[Don’t belive in you, believe in the me that believes in you]
Gark was stable and straight, and he reminded Ragia of her shallowness even more.
“Thank you for your…advice.”
“Anytime.”
Ragia stood still as Gark walked away. She knew she could not blindly believe Blood Dagger, and she now slowly walked up to Blood Dagger’s tent.
She only wanted to know why he had chosen her. The ogre protecting the tent spoke to her as she came near.
“He is out.”
Ragia nodded as she went in, as she had prior consent to enter. She did not see his weapons nor the map. Ragia could guess that he was searching for that human and felt a headache coming on. She felt like he did not trust her. It was then she felt a presence outside.
“Ragia, what is it?”
It was Blood Dagger’s voice.
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