Chapter 213

It wasn’t like he had something urgent to do, but staying at home without power was definitely worse.

He thought about getting some exercise.

‘Exercising for two hours is a bit…’

Since he still only ran in the mornings, investing two whole hours in exercise seemed excessive.

His form was improving quickly.

What started as a five-minute pace was now down to the mid-three-minute range.

That was close to a marathon-level record.

He didn’t feel the need to do more than that.

He didn’t have any particular hobby either.

He thought about his newly bought car and nodded to himself.

‘Since I got a car, I might as well go somewhere a bit farther.’

It felt awkward to suddenly make plans with friends.

Changing into casual clothes, he grabbed his car keys and wallet, then headed out.

He went to the underground parking lot and drove the car out.

Though a novice driver, maybe thanks to the memories and experiences of various ghosts,

He wasn’t nervous.

He even managed to drive quite well.

He handled Seoul’s busy roads pretty decently.

‘Let’s go there.’

He chose his destination…

The Future Department Store in Yeouido, a place he normally wouldn’t visit much.

The reason was simple.

He hadn’t eaten lunch, and just earned some money but hadn’t bought anything for his parents.

Though they didn’t really care about such things, it felt right to take care of it as a son.

So, Seonghyun drove his used Matizen into the department store.

No one looked down on him for driving a compact car.

After all, these days, who would?

After parking and entering the huge department store…

‘Hmm.’

He wasn’t used to such large department stores, so even the usually indifferent Seonghyun was a little surprised.

A huge lobby like a plaza and countless people quickly passing by.

He didn’t want to look uncultured, but he couldn’t help it.

His gaze was dragged around by crowds and flashy shop signs.

With all that, he didn’t even know where to start.

‘There are so many people.’

He thought he should check out the food court before the break time ended.

Looking around, the place was crowded.

Feeling a little uncomfortable, he thought to himself,

‘Simple restaurants would have been better.’

Still, Seonghyun searched around for some decent places and entered a moderately priced Japanese tonkatsu restaurant.

Seonghyun wasn’t usually a big fan of tonkatsu.

But he didn’t dislike it either, and it looked better than the other menus, so he went in.

When he looked at the menu, he couldn’t help but be startled.

‘Thirty thousand won?’

Usually, Japanese tonkatsu would cost at most around fifteen thousand won, or at the very expensive end, maybe close to twenty thousand.

How could tonkatsu be thirty thousand?

Seonghyun, with over fifty billion won in his account, still thought thirty thousand for one tonkatsu was too much.

Well, it was thirty thousand for a set.

Ordering just a single item was in the low to mid-twenty-thousand range.

Still expensive, but…

‘That’s crazy.’

He had heard prices were rising.

It seemed true.

He had the menu in hand, and it felt awkward to leave without ordering, so he chose the loin cutlet and filet cutlet.

He didn’t expect to be eating something so expensive.

But hoping it tasted good, he waited.

Steaming, hot tonkatsu arrived.

‘Let’s see…’

Taking a bite, he felt it was somewhat better than other Japanese tonkatsu.

‘Hmm.’

Was it worth that price?

It wasn’t bad.

Still, satisfied, he finished and left the restaurant.

Now that he’d eaten,

Should he pick a gift for his parents?

Thinking that, he wandered inside the department store.

He shook his head slightly seeing the crowds and the ghosts clinging to some of them.

Also, many ghosts were wandering alone.

‘No wonder crowded places are tiring.’

It wasn’t just the crowds of people —

The number of guardian spirits attached to people was huge, and many ghosts floated around in the surroundings, straining his eyes.

Still, maybe thanks to absorbing the memories and experiences of many ghosts,

His stamina and mental strength had improved, so it wasn’t so easy to tire.

‘That’s a luxury brand, right?’

Since this was his first paycheck—or first salary?

Anyway, it was the first time he’d earned money to buy something for them.

So buying luxury items felt right.

They usually say people buy underwear with their first paycheck, but

Since he earned quite a bit,

Seonghyun thought that and just as he was about to head towards the luxury brand,

Someone grabbed his arm.

What?

Turning his head in surprise,

“Oh my, hello.”

“Hahaha, hello.”

A pair of a man and woman greeted Seonghyun with gentle smiles.

Seonghyun tilted his head in confusion.

Was he someone they knew?

No, not at all.

Having gained the ability to absorb ghosts’ memories, his own memories had become clearer, so he could be sure.

They were people he had never seen before.

But why had they suddenly grabbed him?

Feeling something strange, Seonghyun glanced briefly at them and the figures clinging behind them, then asked,

“What is this about?”

“Oh~ nothing much, but have you ever been told that you have great energy?”

“You really have very good energy.”

At those words, Seonghyun nodded as if it were obvious.

“Yes, I hear that often.”

It was true.

He heard that from ghosts all the time.

Being called a noble person or having good energy.

Having heard it countless times, he nodded without much expression.

The man and woman who spoke to him looked flustered.

Usually people don’t admit to hearing such things.

Thinking that, they exchanged a glance.

‘Something’s off.’

‘Typical MZ generation behavior these days.’

Maybe thinking Seonghyun was just cynical,

They spoke more aggressively to push through.

“Lately, haven’t you felt like your clear energy is blocked?”

“Things not going well recently….”

“No, that’s not the case.”

At that point, Seonghyun started to catch on.

At first, it was just suspicion.

But by now, it was impossible not to see.

‘They’re those famous cultists.’

Often called cult believers.

He had only heard about them online or through friends.

He never thought he’d meet them in person.

That made Seonghyun curious, and he turned his body toward the two.

He had his parents’ gifts to buy soon.

He might as well hear what they had to say.

As he turned, the two flinched slightly, then exchanged glances again.

‘What should we do?’

‘So typical of the MZ generation.’

Maybe they thought Seonghyun was turning to confront them.

The woman took the lead in speaking seriously.

“We’re sorry to say this, but while things might be going well now, they could get difficult for you soon. We’re not strange people; we study people.”

“Studying people helps us sense things like energy and flow really well.”

“Hmm.”

Seonghyun silently nodded at their story.

If it were the old Seonghyun, he would have dismissed it as nonsense and moved on.

But to be honest, now Seonghyun could do that too.

Only limited to ghosts, but still—he could.

Even though it was obvious these two were lying, when Seonghyun quietly nodded,

They seemed to think their words had gotten through and started chattering excitedly.

“But while we were looking at your good energy, we saw that your ancestors are angry.”

“That’s why we took the liberty of speaking to you.”

“Do you happen to know what it means when your ancestors are angry?”

They went on excitedly.

Seonghyun shook his head.

“Ah! So you don’t know!”

“When your ancestors are angry, it means…”

Cutting them off mid-sentence, Seonghyun spoke.

“No, our ancestors aren’t angry.”

“Pardon?”

“Ah, you might not realize it, but…”

“No. I just asked them, and they’re not angry. Rather, your ancestor is angry.”

Interrupting again, Seonghyun pointed at the woman.

What was this now?

The two thought Seonghyun was just being stubborn and trying to turn the tables, but—

Something felt off.

He wasn’t someone just arguing for the sake of flipping the script.

‘He feels… serious?’

‘Wh-what is with this guy?’

Sensing something strange, they gulped, slightly overwhelmed by the sincerity they felt.

Pointing at the woman, Seonghyun said,

“You’re Park Jihyun, right? And your grandfather’s name is Park Chunbok.”

“Y-yes, yes, what???”

“W-what?”

At the sudden personal details, the woman—no, Park Jihyun—stared at Seonghyun with eyes wide as saucers.

What was happening?

Ignoring her reaction, Seonghyun continued,

“After joining some strange club in college, you started going to those gatherings often. He’s angry about that. It seems he’s very upset that you cut ties with your parents and left. Your grandfather, Park Chunbok.”

“M-my g-grandfather…???”

She couldn’t even think to ask how he knew in such detail.

How he knew the name of the grandfather who passed away when she was young.

She could only feel that his words were true, and Park Jihyun’s face turned pale.

“Hurry home. Your parents are worried—Grandfather Park Chunbok is worried.”

“Hic… sob. Y-yes. Th-thank you.”

As if instantly repenting at Seonghyun’s words, Park Jihyun burst into tears and ran off somewhere.

Left alone, the man trembled as he met Seonghyun’s eyes.

He didn’t understand the situation, felt fear watching his partner run off,

But at the same time, as someone who had fallen into a cult,

Curiosity pushed through his fear and he asked,

“M-me too, can you see…?”

“Uh… did you have a poodle?”

“Choco!!!”

Suddenly, the man shouted and collapsed to the floor crying.

Seonghyun was even more surprised and stepped back.

Like the woman, the man seemed to repent and sobbed loudly.

Feeling a little awkward watching him, Seonghyun just turned around and left.

Thinking it was a strange experience, he went back to the luxury store where he was looking for a gift for his parents.

After buying a suitable present and feeling satisfied, he still saw the man sitting on the floor calling out for Choco, but he ignored him and headed to the parking lot.

Not wanting to accidentally meet him and ask how Choco was doing,

Seonghyun hurried to the parking lot.

1.

The hero Luke used one of his many items.

He didn’t know where the current Overlord had gone.

But he knew the Overlord had come to this place, the Chasm of Despair, and had already found traces of this generation’s Overlord.

Marks left by the Overlord’s powerful skills.

Having discovered this, the item he used should be enough to track the Overlord.

He didn’t know who this generation’s Overlord was, nor why the Overlord was trying to stop him in the Over Palace.

Still, he wanted to meet and talk at least once.

He wanted to know about the past.

Using the item, Luke found the Overlord’s location.

A red dot marked on Luke’s unfolded map.

Looking at it, Luke muttered,

‘So, he’s here.’

Hexia—the city of death, the city of black mages.

Now that he had found the location,

‘Let’s go.’

Meanwhile, Hindel behind Luke sighed and shook his head, seemingly having given up.

- Ah, God.