Chapter 387

〈 Chapter 387 〉 Part 1, Chapter 16, 22

August 27th, Morning.

I woke up to the worst morning ever. Some people were already up early, eating breakfast, while others were still reeling from pulling an all-nighter. I needed something strong to settle my uneasy stomach, and just in time, the perfect target appeared right before me.

“What’s wrong? You look absolutely terrible.”

“…Are you drinking in the morning?”

Hwanryong was chugging makgeolli straight from the bottle, shaking it around like a maniac. After giving the plastic bottle of swishing makgeolli a glance, Hwanryong wagged his fingers at me with a mocking grin.

“Ah, this is what we call rice beverage. It tastes just like the morning sunshine.”

“Who says such nonsense?”

“Pungbaek.”

“…Sometimes people do things that don’t match their age.”

Apparently, Hwanryong had become drinking buddies with Pungbaek overnight. While Pungbaek himself wasn’t anywhere to be seen, Hwanryong didn’t seem to care as he continued his solo act. I sat across from him at the table.

“What brings you here? There are plenty of other seats.”

“Because you’re the only one drinking in the morning. What’s your next order?”

“Night makgeolli.”

“…You’ve really got it bad. Alright then.”

True to the villa’s reputation, the liquor fridge was stocked with various Korean drinks. I grabbed the night makgeolli Hwanryong ordered and poured myself a glass too. Hwanryong’s eyes widened when he saw me lifting my glass.

“Wait, what? Are you going to drink too?”

“I figured I should have one.”

“Haven’t you heard what Pungbaek said about morning hangover drinks? Did you get drunk last night?”

“Yeah…”

I got drunk on Chang-yeom. So drunk that I even dreamed about playing smart games with Chang-yeom. Or was it a dream? Maybe not. I don’t know anymore.

“Hwanryong, could you check if Chang-yeom is in my head?”

“Hey, shouldn’t say stuff like that out loud in public!”

Hwanryong lowered his voice while looking around, but our area was already surrounded by a barrier. No one outside the barrier could hear us.

“I know what I’m doing. Do you think I’d say it out loud for anyone to hear?”

“That’s fair. So why bring this up suddenly? Did she cause some trouble? Hurt your feelings?”

“Not exactly hurt…”

If the dream content was true, it went beyond being upset or offended. How dare she tease me to her heart’s content then erase my memories! In every way, I needed alcohol.

“Just thinking, I’m worried I might get raped in my own body during synchronization.”

“Ah, um, I see… um…”

Hwanryong turned his head away, avoiding my gaze. Someone beyond the barrier quickly looked away too, clearly embarrassed. Right across from our table, Cheon Gaeul and Xiao Lin – an unexpected pair – were sitting face-to-face.

“Do you dislike it?”

“Of course. It’s not even my body.”

“So you’d be okay if it were your own body?”

“Are you implying something? Seriously, the world.”

Realizing Hwanryong’s intentions, I couldn’t help but feel exasperated. Apparently, all spirits awakening through synchronization were trying to take advantage of me.

“I really need a drink. Not only Seok Harang is terrifying, but now you’re planning to violate me too. So who are you planning to sync with? Cheon Gaeul? Xiao Lin? Or Yuinah?”

“……Shouldn’t you tell your conquest how to approach you? They might handle it differently.”

“If they can’t guess, they weren’t meant to anyway.”

“Fair enough. Honestly speaking, both options are impossible right now.”

Hwanryong mentioned that neither candidate was viable for synchronization currently. I tilted my head in confusion, and we clinked our glasses. Despite being mass-produced, the night makgeolli slid down smoothly with a rich, sweet taste.

“Ugh. Ahem.”

Hwanryong cleared his throat and pointed at them with his eyes. One was the ideal partner, and the other was someone he personally turned into a monster.

“In order for me to reach mythic status, there needs to be a lifelong commitment.”

“That makes sense.”

Unlike others, Hwanryong could objectively view himself and thus understood the conditions for synchronization. He must have meditated on the method after I fully awakened him as a spirit.

“Gaeul and Xiao Lin are both ready for such a commitment. The problem lies in parts neither side is willing to compromise on…”

Hwanryong sighed as he picked up his next drink. I refilled his glass, which he immediately finished in one go.

“Things went well with Gaeul. We even discussed how to win you over. At least we reached a consensus on sharing.”

“To what extent did you agree on ‘sharing’? That itself sounds ridiculous.”

“It’s important. When synchronizing, we need to determine the share of influence. Unlike Yuna who gave everything to me, my type of synchronization involves complete possession.”

“Uniting a human and a spirit isn’t easy.”

It was truly a complicated issue. For spiritual synchronization between humans and extraterrestrials to occur, there must be some common ground.

“Whether it’s revenge against Seongju, desire for strength, or love for a specific person – the former might work, but the latter is incredibly difficult. Love is 1:1. Two women competing for one person essentially means becoming one entity.”

“Yeah, hearing that from the one person involved is kind of annoying.”

“That’s just how it is. So what’s the problem?”

Cutting to the chase with the aid of alcohol,

“You, Gaeul, Xiao Lin – you all like me equally.”

“Wow, you’re such trash.”

“I’m non-recyclable waste, so it’s fine.”

“Shouldn’t we deactivate the barrier and let them hear directly? Then they might synchronize simultaneously out of anger towards you.”

“Nonsense.”

Synchronization happens 1:1. Three-way synchronization would never work due to balance issues.

“Can you divide 100 by 3? But dividing it by 2 is possible. Like splitting 100+100 by 2 to get 100. Three-way synchronization is impossible.”

“Why? 99.99% works too, right?”

“That’s not perfection. What’s a god without completeness? Even 0.01% or 0.001% less is insufficient.”

“You could fill that gap with love for me. Though the attraction from Gaeul and Xiao Lin seems different.”

Indeed. While Gaeul’s affection started as gratitude and camaraderie, Xiao Lin’s stemmed from respect for strength. Originally, Hwanryong should have disliked me, but Chang-yeom forcibly made him develop feelings by showing certain memories.

“Let’s establish first that both me and Gaeul like you. The issue lies in defining our relationship.”

“Why do you prefer male form?”

“Skydiving kuk kuk.”

“Don’t even joke about that crazy idea. Thinking about it gives me brain freeze.”

“Ho ho, looks like you have unforgettable memories.”

“Of course.”

Being free-fall embraced from the ozone layer to the ground while playing was definitely a wild bonus memory. It was an extreme choice to awaken Hwanryong’s laziness, but how would the player feel experiencing it firsthand?

“But Gaeul is straight.”

“She probably changed her mind after spending time with you. She can transform into a man if necessary. From what I heard, you initially approached her in female form, even stimulating maternal instincts. Quite advanced tactics indeed.”

“…Cough.”

Talking about someone else’s embarrassing moments is unforgivable.

“So once this issue with Gaeul is resolved, you can proceed with synchronization?”

“Yes, but it doesn’t seem easily solvable. Even though I currently tolerate seeing Chang-yeom’s face out of necessity, imagining having to look at it forever makes me want to lose my mind.”

“Seeing Chang-yeom’s face makes you lose your mind? That doesn’t make sense.”

“That’s because you haven’t seen her true nature… Seriously, do you even know what she’s like and still like her?”

To Hwanryong’s serious question, I simply shrugged. There was no need to answer, and I raised my glass instead.

“…Impressive. I admit it. Anyway, be careful. Once we reach an agreement, you’ll need to watch out too.”

“Don’t worry. I have my ways.”

“…Oh my.”

“No, not that kind of self-help. Is there a Rasputin in your brain? Seriously, stop.”

“The Rasputin is in yours! Did Chang-yeom give you wet dreams while you slept? Teasing you endlessly when you offered yourself willingly? That’s why you’re drinking, huh? Ho ho.”

“…”

I came back with an entire bottle. Hwanryong hesitated for a moment before bowing his head.

“Sorry.”

“Understood.”

“I’ll curse Chang-yeom mentally since cursing aloud will make you angry.”

“That’s fine. Phew, really.”

We clinked our glasses again. The makgeolli tasted particularly good today. It turned out to be strawberry-flavored. Damn.

“So what’s the deal with Xiao Lin? Does she also want to dominate you?”

“With Xiao Lin, it’s not about that. There’s trouble regarding combat aspects.”

“Ah, that makes sense.”

Xiao Lin originally lacked remarkable talent in illusion magic.

Specialists in mental abilities and martial arts specialists.

While Xiao Lin’s main attributes are durability and light speed, illusion magic ranks low among her secondary attributes. Hwanryong forcefully awakened and enhanced this attribute to S-rank through monstrosity transformation, making them fundamentally incompatible partners.

“She’s using transparent weapons effectively since they perform well, but ideally, she should fight directly like Karna, wielding weapons.”

“That’s the problem. Ha, Xiao Lin is undoubtedly capable as a subordinate, but attempting synchronization causes more trouble than Gaeul.”

“My condolences. This situation must be worse.”

“Agreed.”

Considering only the current synchronization difficulty, I’m confident Chang-yeom is the hardest. But dwelling on it won’t help, so I merely exchanged casual banter with Hwanryong.

“Shall we change topics? Something lighter. Seok Harang and Seoyea are now eligible for individual synchronization.”

“Seriously? How is that light? Does that mean Seongju can now be defeated by Seoyea alone?”

“…No. Since the power to remove absolute invincibility solely rests with me, it’s not possible. Even after synchronization, Seongju’s first form remains unattackable. While I can completely resist brainwashing, humanity would perish during that interval. Seongju remains an untouchable existence unless attacked by Chang-yeom. First form.”

“Cheating much. But if you can’t synchronize with Chang-yeom, aren’t you doomed?”

I nodded gravely. Even if all six synchronized, without my synchronization, defeating Seongju would require my death.

“Hold on. Let me check something myself. I’ll have a word with her.”

Hwanryong stood up and pressed his forehead against mine. Shortly after, Hwanryong covered his face with both hands and sniffled, his face bright red. He definitely had some kind of conversation with Chang-yeom in the spiritual realm.

“…What a wicked woman.”

“Don’t insult Chang-yeom just because you don’t know what happened.”

“She showed me memories of you two embracing each other, you giving massages, licking her whole body, taking care of everything yourself to please her while she reached climax under your touch… Such a trashy woman.”

“Then no comment.”

Seems like he witnessed an H-scene. I offered condolences to Hwanryong as we clinked our glasses.

The alcohol felt especially sweet today.

Even though it was strawberry-flavored.