The F-Rank Guild Master Has Too Much Money Chapter 29

 

 

The whip yanked back toward Yeon Do-jin. It was like a tug-of-war, until I let go.

 

The sword vanished without a trace. The whip snapped back toward Yeon Do-jin, then, as if it had a will of its own, veered straight for me instead.

 

Just as I was about to form another sword, Saphi darted in front of me.

 

“Saphi?!”

 

“Kyaak!”

 

With Saphi’s sharp cry, a gust of wind burst forth. The charging whip lost its momentum and faltered.

 

Yeon Do-jin reeled in the wavering whip, chuckling slyly. 

 

He’d just attacked me out of nowhere, and now he was smiling?

 

“A tamer? Don’t tell me you’re only posing as an F-rank because you’re a Dual?”

 

☆No! has donated 300 Mana Stones.☆

Aether is using the power of God~

 

You crazy bastard, what’s the point of lying about ranks?! And since when do you talk to me so casually?! Have you no manners?!

 

Yeon Do-jin’s whip lashed out again.

 

I held my ground, blocking with both my sword and the gusts Saphi unleashed.

 

Amid the chaos, while I scrambled to defend, Yeon Do-jin strolled forward as calmly as if on a walk. With one hand, he casually undid the buttons of his black suit jacket.

 

“What does it matter if I’m a Dual or not? And why attack me out of nowhere?!”

 

“Do you know my nickname? They don’t call me a mad dog for nothing.”

 

“That’s—!”

 

The word slipped out before I realized it.

 

And for the record, he attacked before I called him a mad dog!

 

The golden whip came hurtling again. Saphi countered with another gust of wind.

 

“Try blocking this one too,” Yeon Do-jin said in a low voice.

 

The instant the whip touched the gust, the wind dissipated like smoke.

 

“Huh?!”

 

I snatched Saphi into my arms and rolled aside. A sting burned across my cheek.

 

“Kkii!!”

 

Before I had time to process the pain, the whip lunged again. This time I formed a shield instead of a sword. The wind condensed into a solid barrier, and the air shuddered with a deafening bang.

 

Unlike Saphi’s weaker gusts, the shield formed with my divine power held firm against Yeon Do-jin’s whip. Each strike landed like a death knell.

 

“Are you trying to kill me?!”

 

“If you die from this, it’ll be disappointing.”

 

“Hey! I’m an F-rank!!”

 

“A normal F-rank would’ve died already.”

 

“What did you just say?!”

 

“What does it matter? What’s so different if one person dies here?”

 

What kind of twisted nonsense is that? Yeon Do-jin just shrugged, unbothered.

 

“If you don’t want to die, then show me something interesting—like what you did at the ant nest, or the Myeongdong dungeon break. Otherwise, I’ll kill you here.”

 

The whip snapped forward again. I shoved Saphi behind me, dispelled the wind shield, and summoned another wind-formed sword.

 

I deflected the strike, but it recoiled instantly. Bracing myself, I caught the blow aimed at my face on my blade. Yeon Do-jin drew the whip back.

 

“You’ve been dodging like an F-rank until now, but it seems you’re finally ready to fight.”

 

I wiped the dampness from my cheek. My hand came away bloody.

 

☆Holycow has donated 300 Mana Stones.☆

Our Aether is hurt! That bastard!! How dare he!! Hurt our Aether!!

 

☆National Treasure Face! has donated 300 Mana Stones.☆

How dare he touch a face on the level of a national treasure?!

 

☆Don’t Think You’re Getting Away With It. has donated 300 Mana Stones.☆

I’ll see you in hell! You think you can touch a face too precious for mortals and still get into heaven?!

 

☆That Bastard!! has donated 300 Mana Stones.☆

Daring to attack a god?! Aether, don’t let him live!

 

Yeah, exactly. Even though I’m in a human body now, I’m still a god. How dare you attack a god?!

 

“Fine. I won’t hold back anymore.”

 

The foundation of creation is oneself. The greatness of a god lies in that truth.

 

“Saphi—stay back!”

 

I dodged the whip and clenched my fist. A wind-formed sword materialized in an instant.

 

A fresh gust erupted from behind, pushing me forward. With a single step, the wind carried me straight into Yeon Do-jin’s range.

 

The moment he entered my reach, I swung—the blade stretching a handspan longer mid-strike.

 

Boom!

 

‘Whatever a god creates, whatever he wields—he is already its master.’

 

That truth doesn’t change, even in a human body.

 

The snow-crusted floor split apart under my swing. Yeon Do-jin dodged faster than I’d expected.

 

I didn’t manage to wound him, but the satisfaction of forcing him back was undeniable.

 

His whip lashed again. I raised a wind shield to block, then drove forward with another sword strike.

 

The wind carried me in a surge. I slashed, and Yeon Do-jin caught the blade with his whip.

 

“Looks like you prefer fighting with a sword.”

 

“A club is the best cure for a mad dog like you.”

 

He chuckled softly.

 

I gripped the sword with both hands, shoving against him. He stepped back, just beyond reach.

 

“A sword isn’t a club, though.”

 

“Doesn’t matter—getting hit hurts the same either way.”

 

Switching the weapon to one hand, I rotated the blade so the dull side faced him and swung.

 

The sword extended to match my full height. A thunderous shockwave of compressed wind boomed.

 

The explosion shook the air. Yeon Do-jin slid further back, widening the gap between us.

 

The lengthened blade had coiled around his whip. My hand trembled.

 

Unlike against the ant queen, my body was warning me—it couldn’t bear much more.

 

Should I stop here? Or release everything at once, knock him out, and escape?

 

“You make all kinds of things with the wind. What kind of skill is that?”

 

“I don’t owe you an answer.”

 

“Is that so? Then I’ll find out myself.”

 

Yeon Do-jin hurled his whip. It hovered in the air, its tail twisting like a snake.

 

That thing… it sent chills down my spine.

 

How does it move like that? What’s making it do that?

 

‘Clairvoyance’

 

[Mythos’ Whip (??)

 

A whip infused with the power of the God of Destruction. The user is chosen directly.]

 

☆Gasp? has donated 300 Mana Stones.☆

Is that Mythos-nim’s whip?!

 

☆Mythos-nim has donated 300 Mana Stones.☆

Didn’t he create the world and go to sleep?

 

Crazy. Why is Mythos’s power in human hands?

 

Could Yeon Do-jin be connected to Hyung? Or did Hyung steal the god’s power, like Saphi?

 

“I wasn’t wrong. Your eyes turn purple.”

 

“What?”

 

“How much are you hiding?”

 

What is he talking about? My eyes… purple? Did they change when I used Clairvoyance?

 

“You really are interesting.”

 

So that’s why he stared at me before—because of my eyes.

 

I bit my lip. I shouldn’t have used it. If I’d kept quiet, maybe he wouldn’t have noticed.

 

“You’re not going to tell me why they change color, are you?”

 

“Of course not.”

 

“Then let’s get serious.”

 

What do you mean, “get serious”?

 

Don’t tell me everything until now was just a warm-up?!

 

“What?”

 

Yeon Do-jin took off his gloves.

 

What the—wasn’t he supposed to be a clean freak? Why take them off now?

 

“It’s a skill I haven’t used since the SS-rank dungeon in Australia.”

 

The clear sky of the dungeon began to darken. Yeon Do-jin grinned broadly, arms crossed. His smile radiated menace.

 

“Die, or block it.”

 

Boom.

 

The sky split open. Black clouds spilled across it.

 

☆Amazing! has donated 300 Mana Stones.☆

The sky just opened before my eyes—amazing!

 

☆Unbelievable! has donated 300 Mana Stones.☆

Can a human even do that?!

 

Lightning struck the ground.

 

My brow furrowed. That power—I knew it. I’d only seen it once before.

 

The power of space. My bastard brother’s power.

 

Corne, you bastard. Why does Yeon Do-jin have your strength?

 

“You might not know this.”

 

His head tilted, his grin unshaken. At some point, the last of the clear sky had vanished. His face was visible only in the flashes of lightning before my eyes.

 

“When you die in a dungeon, you vanish without a trace. Try to block this.”

 

“You crazy bastard.” 

 

I let out a bitter laugh.

 

Disappear without a trace? What a joke. Even if I die, I’ll regress back to twenty. That means I won’t disappear without a trace—and I absolutely hate regressing!

 

☆I Hate It! has donated 300 Mana Stones.☆

No! I don’t want to start over! Aether, use everything you have!

 

‘I was going to anyway!’

 

I drew deep from the gods’ power within me. I knew instinctively—the power I used against the ant queen wouldn’t cut it here.

 

One chance. I had to end this in a single strike.

 

My body trembled under the strain. I forced my shaking arms apart and clasped my hands together.

 

Wind gathered. The hurricane that had shredded the queen compressed, denser and denser.

 

My hair and clothes fluttered. Yeon Do-jin’s smiling face seemed to waver slightly.

 

Suppressing the rising sensation within me, I forced myself to swallow, though a bitter taste lingered in my mouth.

 

Snowflakes scattered in the wind, all being drawn into the center of the hurricane. The blade grew taller than me, as if it could pierce the sky.

 

“Screw you, bastard.”

 

I hurled the god-imbued greatsword toward the sky.

 

Blood erupted from my mouth as the power left me.

 

Boom!

 

Our forces collided above. The hurricane roared, light blazing across the sky. The gale ripped at me as if to tear off my scalp—I had no strength left to resist.

 

Yeon Do-jin looked flustered, as if trying to act, but my body felt too heavy, and I collapsed to my knees.

 

Blood splattered the snow with every cough. I tried to cover my mouth, but the flow was too much; red spread across the ground.

 

“Ugh.”

 

As I gagged on the taste of blood in my mouth, clumps fell to the ground. After expelling the blood clots, my body felt noticeably lighter.

 

Feeling my mind clear, I lifted my head and saw Yeon Do-jin lying on the ground, seemingly caught in the explosion.

 

The massive hurricane filling the sky began to suck in everything—the snowballs that had first attacked me, the giant snowflake Yeon Do-jin had mentioned, even the snow on the ground—all were drawn into the vortex.

 

“Kyu!!”

 

Saphi spread its wings and flew in the opposite direction to avoid being pulled in.

 

I reached out, grabbed Saphi, and mustered the last of my strength to dispel the hurricane. Pushing with all my remaining power, I gasped for air.

 

The remaining snowflakes and snowballs fell lightly to the ground. If those things swarmed me, it would be disastrous. I had to deal with them first.

 

“Haah… haah… Saphi… haah… send those things… haah… somewhere else.”

 

Gasping for breath, I urged Saphi to summon a gust of wind. The confused snowflakes and snowballs were blown far away by the force of its wind.

 

Watching them scatter, I collapsed onto the ground. The cold snow seemed to soothe my aching body slightly.

 

I closed my eyes and tried to catch my breath. How long had I been lying there? Gradually, my senses returned.

 

I forced my reluctant body to stand. I didn’t know what Yeon Do-jin might do if I passed out here—but thankfully, he was still unconscious.

 

“Saphi. Lift Yeon Do-jin with your wind.”

 

I’m not a crazy person like Yeon Do-jin, so I couldn’t just leave him in the dungeon.

 

Saphi’s eyes glimmered with displeasure at my words.

 

“Sorry. I don’t have the strength right now.”

 

After staring at me for a long moment, Saphi let out a “Kyuu” and used its wind to lift Yeon Do-jin.

 

“Good.”

 

I should have patted Saphi’s head, but I didn’t even have the strength.

 

It wasn’t far to the gate, but each step felt like death.

 

There can’t possibly be a second floor, can there? If there is, I’ll just die and regress. Starting from the beginning again would be better.

 

I couldn’t let Yeon Do-jin see my eyes change color, and I had to enter the dungeon secretly, without Lee So-mi knowing I had obtained the ant queen’s ring.

 

No, wait. Even the Hunter Association president couldn’t beat Yeon Do-jin. If he wants to find out, it’s only a matter of time before he learns that I was the one who defeated the ant queen.

 

Then I shouldn’t have entered the Kanghyeon Guild’s dungeon. That’s right. I shouldn’t have anything to do with that mad dog…

 

My vision blurred, and I clenched my fists. My fingernails dug into my palms, and my fading consciousness momentarily cleared.

 

Once I got out of here, I’d call a taxi and have An Bom come get me.

 

Each time my vision blurred, I dug my nails into my palms. Drops of blood fell from where I had stepped.

 

Before stepping onto the bright white gate, I instructed Saphi to lower Yeon Do-jin and lifted him onto my back.

 

A long scratch appeared on Yeon Do-jin’s right cheek as I glimpsed him briefly.

 

‘Well, at least I landed a hit. Hehe.’

 

My satisfaction was short-lived. Despite being tall and well-built, he was incredibly heavy in his unconscious state.

 

Saphi supported me as I staggered.

 

“Thank you.”

 

With Yeon Do-jin on my back, I stepped onto the gate.

 

A blinding light burst forth—and then vanished.

 

“Huh? Guild Master?!”

 

I saw the sloppy man who had been guarding the entrance.

 

Ah. It was a one-floor dungeon. What a relief…

 

As the tension drained from my body, my legs wobbled.

 

“Guild Master!”

 

“Guild Master!”

 

Through my fading vision, I saw a man and a woman running toward me.

 

Choi Tae-hyuk and An Bom… why are they here?