Chapter 89
Chapter 89: Tanker (2)
“I’ll present the shield first.”
Nam Ho-yeol scanned the shields displayed in the store.
Shields that had been made long ago and collected dust in the shop.
Finally, he could take one out from there.
‘That one looks good.’
With his arms crossed, Nam Ho-yeol pulled out a shield hanging on the wall.
It was a round shield, perfectly rounded without any sharp edges, and was quite large with a diameter of over 1 meter.
However, what was peculiar about it was that the surface of the shield looked like soft jelly.
“This is a shield I made for fun back in the day, and here it is now.”
“It looks a bit unusual. What’s it made of?”
“It’s coated steel with the skin of a Jelly Pig layered on top.”
“Jelly Pig…”
Yoo Ji-han nodded at the familiar name.
The Jelly Pig, a Rank 3 Monster, is a type of monster born from the pig’s skin filled with gelatin, heavily influenced by magic.
Its skin looks like soft jelly and has excellent shock absorption properties.
It’s not only fairly lightweight but also has a self-repair feature for minor wounds, making it a common material used for crafting equipment.
‘The size is perfect too.’
It suited the large body of Chilla well.
After holding the shield himself, Yoo Ji-han found it quite light relative to its size.
Normal tankers might not prefer its rugged appearance, but things were different for Chilla.
“Chilla, look here.”
Min Yu-ri, who had gone outside, demonstrated how to use the shield in front of Chilla.
She showed the inner handle and how to hold it.
She was explaining how to use the object known as a shield.
“Wanna give it a try?”
“Chirp…?”
Min Yu-ri handed the shield’s handle to Chilla.
Chilla tilted its head, looking at the shield that came closer.
Kim Si-hu watched this and said, “Will that even work? Are we asking too much from Chilla…?”
“Honestly, I’m not sure either.”
Chilla had been active without any equipment until now.
Even Min Yu-ri, who had been with Chilla all along, wasn’t fully convinced that it could handle a shield.
But Yoo Ji-han thought differently.
“I feel like Chilla is smarter than we think.”
A tanker that protects party members without sparing its own body, centered around its master Min Yu-ri.
During their time together in the field, Yoo Ji-han had carefully observed Chilla’s actions.
As a result, he realized that it was as intelligent as a young child.
It might be unfamiliar now, but he believed it would easily learn to use a shield.
“Grab it.”
Yoo Ji-han directly adjusted the shield into Chilla’s hands.
Chilla, caught off guard, focused its gaze on the round shield.
“You block attacks with that.”
“Chirp chirp.”
Thud! Thud!
Yoo Ji-han struck the shield Chilla was holding with his fist.
Each shock transmitted to the shield made Chilla’s ears perk up.
“Just like this.”
Thud!!
This time, Yoo Ji-han hit the shield a bit harder.
Given the stance of the one holding the shield, the impact could have been uncomfortable.
However, Chilla still did not let go of the shield.
“Oh…”
“Is this working?”
After conducting a few more tests, Yoo Ji-han finally decided to purchase the shield.
*
While Yoo Ji-han’s party was ready to leave the workshop after entrusting Nam Ho-yeol with equipment crafting…
“Please wait a moment.”
“Pardon?”
“Five… no, ten minutes will do. I’ll make something for you as a service.”
Nam Ho-yeol’s hands were moving quickly at the workbench.
About ten minutes later, after fervently working on something…
A large strap-like item was created in his hand.
“This is a device to secure the shield to Chilla’s body. Try putting it on him.”
“Oh!”
What he made in an instant was a device that could secure the shield to Chilla’s back.
He also mentioned that he would make provisions for attaching the shield to any armor he would craft later.
Since Chilla usually ran on four legs, it was an excellent suggestion.
“Contact me when everything is ready.”
“Alright!”
Receiving an unexpected gift, they left the workshop.
Min Yu-ri looked at the shield securely fixed on Chilla’s back and said, “Mr. Ho-yeol seems to care more than expected.”
“Thanks to him, we come here often.”
“I guess I understand why we chose this place.”
Separately from ordering Chilla’s armor crafting,
Every time Yoo Ji-han’s party met with Nam Ho-yeol, they always ended up receiving more than they expected.
Even the newly joined Min Yu-ri could feel that.
“Now that we have a shield, I think we should teach Chilla how to use it at the training center.”
“That sounds good.”
Bzzz—
A vibration rang from Yoo Ji-han’s mobile phone.
He picked it up to check the message that had arrived.
[Jang Sa-im: I have successfully delivered all the Giant Pigeons I had to the Monster Restaurant.]
It was a message from Jang Sa-im, stating that he had successfully sold the Giant Pigeons hunted at Hangang University.
Yoo Ji-han sent him his thanks.
[Jang Sa-im: As for the mutations, I’m keeping them instead of selling them as you advised.]
[Yoo Ji-han: Understood.]
[Jang Sa-im: There’s a company anxious to buy them, but it’s been tough turning them down.]
However, Yoo Ji-han’s party decided not to sell the mutated Giant Pigeons.
The reason was simple.
Given the circumstances, it was clear that the mutated ones were the creatures that had definitely eaten humans.
Humans eating monsters that had fed on other humans.
There are no special regulations for using monsters as food, so it is tacitly tolerated.
But if you know about it, it feels extremely unpleasant.
‘I’ve heard that human flesh has even come out of monster stomachs.’
Just like other animals, monsters need to be properly processed when cooking.
Yet, according to some community reports, there were instances where human flesh was found while processing monsters.
It’s said that such trauma has caused people to leave related industries.
‘What to do.’
Giant Pigeons are mainly consumed in restaurants.
However, since they decided not to sell them for consumption, Yoo Ji-han was contemplating how to handle the mutated ones.
Then came a call.
“Hello?”
Kim Si-hu answered a call from somewhere.
“…What did you say?”
Kim Si-hu responded with a serious face.
After a moment, he carefully said, “Um, Ji-han hyung. The Hero Department is on the line.”
“The Hero Department? Why?”
“Do you remember the man we caught at the university? The one with white hair flying around with mutations?”
“Why is he involved?”
“They said he committed suicide during interrogation.”
“What?”
Yoo Ji-han stopped in his tracks while walking.
Min Yu-ri, who was listening, also stared at Kim Si-hu with a shocked expression.
“He committed suicide?”
“More precisely, they suspect it was suicide.”
“What do they mean by suspect?”
“They said he suddenly coughed up blood and died while his hands and feet were bound…”
A man who died after coughing up blood while fully restrained.
The Hero Department believed he had chosen death on his own.
‘…….’
Yoo Ji-han recalled the man he had encountered at the university.
It made the effort of not killing him on the spot feel meaningless.
What was it that made him want to hide so desperately that he chose to end his own life?
‘These guys are really annoying.’
Not only did they take the lives of innocents, but now their own too.
They viewed the value of life as something incredibly light.
Yoo Ji-han found it very displeasing.
“The Hero Department wants to buy the Giant Pigeons we secured.”
“But we’ve already sold almost all of them.”
It was already too late to ask for complete cooperation.
Most of the Giant Pigeons secured on-site had already been sold.
“Should we sell them the mutated ones?”
“If they offer a decent price, it should be fine.”
It was a creature that needed to be dealt with anyway.
If the Hero Department intended to purchase them for research purposes, Yoo Ji-han had no reason to refuse.
‘Looks like the guild will start accumulating some money soon.’
After buying Chilla’s equipment, the current capital of the guild was around 200 million.
Considering the money recently earned, even after deducting Min Yu-ri’s several months’ salary, there was still a surplus.
It was uncertain when it would come to purchasing expensive equipment.
However, by securing initial capital through loans and spending as soon as earnings came in, the guild was gradually moving into the profit-making stage.
‘It’s a rare occurrence, though.’
A newly formed guild with only Rank 5 and Rank 4 parties often finds it common to operate at a loss while getting suitable equipment.
But already facing profits at this stage was…
A very good sign.
*
Cheong Yeong Academy’s public training center is open to stakeholders, including students, 365 days a year for free.
The Yoo Ji-han party, including Chilla, visited that public training center.
“Looks nice!”
“It’s clean and has plenty of machines.”
Yoo Ji-han’s party members looked around the training center.
Compared to the public one, this space was much cleaner and better equipped.
Moreover, there were machines that they hadn’t seen even in Keroes!
They caught a glimpse of the enormous financial power that Red Hole was investing in Cheong Yeong Academy.
“For a while, we won’t have to worry about training.”
Min Yu-ri, who usually worked alone, also frequented the public training center when she needed training.
However, it required the tedious process of waiting to get the desired training.
Now, with just a short move from the office, they had access to the almost empty training center, making it incredibly convenient.
“Over there.”
The Yoo Ji-han party entered a personal training room where they wouldn’t be disturbed.
Today’s purpose for visiting was singular.
Teaching Chilla how to use the shield.
“Chilla.”
“Chirp!”
Min Yu-ri took the shield off Chilla’s back and handed it to him.
However, since it seemed that Chilla was still unfamiliar with the shield, it just held it in hand like a statue.
“Like this.”
Yoo Ji-han held the shield in front of him.
Then he gestured to Min Yu-ri.
“I’m going to shoot!”
Following the prearranged signal, Min Yu-ri released one magic arrow aimed at the demonstration.
Whoosh!
An arrow flew toward Yoo Ji-han with adequate force.
Thud!
The arrow lodged itself into the upper part of the shield, the Jelly Pig’s leather.
The area where the arrow hit slightly bogged inwards, but after the magic forming the arrow dispersed, that area returned to its original flat shape.
“Watch closely!”
Min Yu-ri shot arrows while Yoo Ji-han blocked.
Chilla observed the scene attentively from the side.
“…….”
Why was his master shooting arrows at someone he thought of as a comrade?
What was the role of that round metal plate?
This was the process of figuring it out.
“This time, it’s your turn.”
“Chirp chirp!”
Yoo Ji-han passed the shield back to Chilla.
Then, just like Yoo Ji-han, Chilla raised the shield towards Min Yu-ri.
“I’m shooting!”
Min Yu-ri seized the moment and shot an arrow toward the shield.
Thud!
Chilla stood firmly, blocking the arrow without any wobble.
After exchanging several rounds of attacks and defenses…
“I blocked them all!”
“Oh…”
Chilla blocked every single arrow that came flying in.
Even when Yoo Ji-han brought forth his sword.
“Chirp!”
Chilla raised the shield in Yoo Ji-han’s direction.
It instinctively guarded against the blade.
It had shown itself to be more than just a capable tanker than expected.
‘This kid is surprisingly good at it.’
I should have bought the shield sooner.
