Chapter 288: Sky Monster (1)

"I see! If you tap it like that, you can reduce the damage to the metal.”

It was learning and teaching.

"Rather, you can make this area thin and smooth...”

"If we make this a little bit more fluid for an aerodynamic design...”

And the ensuing discussion alone took two full days...

"Seo Jun-Ho, come here," Graham called out.

When Seo Jun-Ho went over, a concept art was pushed forward to him.

"

Ohh…

"

It was full-body armor with a sleek design reminiscent of a sports car.

Seo Jun-Ho stared at it with sparkling eyes and asked, "Is this it? My new armor?”

"Right, but I'm not done with teaching yet.” Graham glanced at Kwon Noya and continued, "It won't be until a week or so before he gets to a level where we can work on it together."

"A week..."

"In the meantime, you get the materials."

"Materials?" Come to think of it, Seo Jun-Ho wondered what kind of mineral this armor would be made of. "What should I get?"

"Serium."

"Seri… um?”

He had never heard of such material. It was also completely different from what Seo Jun-Ho thought.

"That's unexpected. I thought you'd use Cold Iron like for the spear you made last time.”

"At first, I was going to make it with Cold Iron, but..." Graham pouted. "I changed my mind after hearing this guy."

"From Kwon Noya?”

"There is a clear limit to the Cold Iron."

A clear limit? When Seo Jun-Ho looked confused, Graham explained, "Cold Iron could give a weapon or armor extreme properties, but that's all."

"… Is Serium different?"

"It's different. I'm thinking of taking your Frost skill to the next level."

Seo Jun-Ho was certainly interested.

‘In other words, it’s only going to have the ice element if it’s made with Cold Iron, but…’

If made with Serium, it would strengthen the Frost skill itself. A piece of equipment that made you stronger would always excite Players.

"I'll be right back. Do I just ask for Serium from Del Ice?"

“They don’t have it there. Find Duke Schubert. It's a metal that can only be found in his territory."

"Duke Schubert...”

He was one of the only two dukes of the Ruben Empire. Seo Jun-Ho was familiar with the duke’s name, as he was so famous. However, that could also be why Seo Jun-Ho’s face darkened.

"If it’s a duke, Players can’t just go meet them."

In the first place, a Player couldn’t meet even a baron—the lowest level of the aristocracy at will—unless they had a letter of recommendation.

"

Hmm?

That's weird. I believe Kim Woo-Joong said you should be able to meet him."

"What? What do you mean...”

As he trailed off, Seo Jun-Ho's eyes suddenly widened. A conversation from the past popped up in his mind.

“Do you still have the ‘Final Horizon’ you got last time?”

"Yes."

"Then, you should go and visit Duke Schubert one day."

It was a conversation with Kim Woo-Joong at Del Ice.

"

Oh,

I actually forgot about it.”

“So, can you do it?”

"Probably..."

"We need a lot, so bring as much as you can. It's as expensive as mithril, but… you have a lot of money, anyway."

With that said, Graham and Kwon Noya put their heads together again and continued their discussion.

‘Duke Schubert…’

It was a journey for the creation of his own armor. Seo Jun-Ho moved without saying a word.

***

The Schubert Dukedom had the second largest castle in the Ruben Empire after the capital. Perhaps because of that, the entrance to the duke's residence was surrounded by a high fence with no end in sight.

"Stop, Player."

The knight blocking the front door stopped him. As expected of a knight of the duke's family, the knight’s aura was out of the ordinary.

‘The knight of Maliva I saw a while ago...’

This knight of the duke’s family was strong enough to kill that knight in three seconds. If compared to a Player, although Seo Jun-Ho had never seen one, he thought the knight would be around level 160.

"A letter of recommendation, or an appointment. Do you have either?"

"I do not."

"Then go back. You can't go any further," the knight then said without blinking.

It was his job to give these notifications dozens or hundreds of times a day.

"Final Horizon."

“…?”

Seo Jun-Ho told the frowning knight.

"Please relay this to the duke: do you want to see Final Horizon?"

"What kind of nonsense is that?"

"He will know if you tell him." Seo Jun-Ho calmly continued, "I have never made a separate appointment with the duke, but he will likely want to see me."

"

Ha…

What a load of crap. Do you really think you're the first one to say stuff like that? Go home."

The knight mustered his magic; he clearly didn’t want to listen anymore. As the atmosphere turned for the worse, his fellow knights approached one by one and surrounded Seo Jun-Ho.

‘There’s no need for me to fight.’

Seo Jun-Ho stepped back, raising his hands.

"I made it clear. What happens later won’t be my responsibility.”

"Leave."

At the order, Seo Jun-Ho turned his back to the residence and walked away.

"As expected, it's not easy to meet a duke."

"What are we going to do now, Contractor…?”

At the Frost Queen’s murmur, the corners of Seo Jun-Ho’s lips rose.

"Even if he can’t hear, wouldn’t he be able to see?”

"…What are you saying?”

A question mark floated over her head.

***

Duke Schubert's schedule was jam-packed. The schedule was divided by the minutes, and he never went around alone. He was always accompanied by bodyguards consisting of knights and mages, and he always had advisors. Today was the same.

"What's next on the schedule?"

"It is a meeting concerning Raman Village. The fields were destroyed last night, and seven residents were killed."

"…Is it him again?" Duke Schubert’s body was pretty well-maintained despite being over fifty years old. While walking down the hallway, his gruff face hardened. "This is difficult. What did the hired ones say?"

"They said if he doesn't come down, there's nothing they can do….”

When the surroundings became quiet—

Crash!

Something broke through the window of the hall and made a mess of the hall.

"An ambush!"

"Protect the duke!"

In an instant, the knights scattered and made a defensive line. The mages activated their magic and kept an eye out.

“…”

The slightly surprised Duke Schubert slowly opened his mouth as if nothing had happened.

"Stay back."

"But it is dangerous...”

"Investigate outside. Find the perpetrator."

"Yes!"

Withdrawing his guards, the duke slowly walked to the hallway’s wall and pulled out an arrow.

"Arrow..."

It was an ordinary arrow, with no traces of magic on it. Turning around, he looked out through the broken window.

"…From where?"

The duke's eyes narrowed. Ironically, the arrow had flown from the back of the residence. In other words, it was a cliff. It meant that one couldn't just shoot an arrow from there even if they wanted to.

'No, if you really wanted to shoot...’

When he approached the window, Duke Schubert’s fierce gaze landed somewhere. In the distance, a mountain peak about five kilometers away came into view.

"Don't tell me it’s there...” Duke Schubert immediately shook his head.

'No, that's ridiculous. For that to be possible, you need Final Horizon, at the least…‘

Wait, Final Horizon? With widened eyes, Duke Schubert looked at the advisors.

"Send a man to the entrance post of the mansion right now."

"Yes, what should I order him to do?"

"Among the recent visitors, find out if anyone has uttered the words ‘Final Horizon’."

"Understood."

Duke Schubert looked at the arrow in his hand with hope.

***

"Here you are!”

The hotel buffet became noisy. Seo Jun-Ho was eating, and he acknowledged the visitor by slightly lowering his head.

"Hello again."

"

Haaa…

I thought you had left already. Do you know how much we searched for you?"

"Well, you told me to get lost."

"I didn't say it like that… Anyway, I apologize for that." The knight bowed his head. “I misunderstood. There are just so many people out there willing to try and meet the duke...”

"Well, I understand. To be honest, you are only working hard at your job."

"Thank you for your understanding.”

"Then let's go.”

"…What?"

"Didn't you come to pick me up?"

"T-that's right. Let's go..."

As the knight took the lead, the Frost Queen looked like she was about to cry when she previously had a bright smile while holding a bowl of food.

"But… I haven’t even taken a bite yet…”

"Let’s go first, I'll feed you till your stomach explodes when we’re done.”

"

Sigh...

”

The two put down their bowls and followed the knight to Duke Schubert's residence. As Seo Jun-Ho entered the living room, the duke rose from his seat.

"Nice to meet you, I’m Duke Schubert Laffin."

"I am Player Seo Jun-Ho. First of all, I apologize for my rudeness." Seo Jun-Ho bowed his head.

The way he had introduced himself with an arrow was indeed a little extreme and rude.

"

Hmm,

you're a well-mannered Player. I'll take that apology. Take a seat."

As Seo Jun-Ho sat, Duke Schubert suddenly thought of something. "By the way, Seo Jun-Ho, Seo Jun-Ho, Seo Jun-Ho...”

It was definitely a name he had heard somewhere. After thinking for a while, he recalled the name.

"Was it perhaps you who defeated the fiends in Port Lane and rescued the guardian deity of the South Sea?"

"It's an honor to be recognized by you."

He was referring to Seo Jun-Ho saving the Leviathan.

"I'm glad to meet a young hero. You asked if I wanted to see Final Horizon, right?”

"Yes."

"I want to see it. Very much."

Duke Schubert was an honest man. No, he just seemed like someone who disliked wasting time.

"I think we fit quite well." Seo Jun-Ho smiled.

Seo Jun-Ho was that kind of person as well. When he moved a bow from his Inventory onto the table, the duke's eyes shone.

"Is this the Final Horizon?"

"Yes."

"How can I trust you?”

"Don’t you need the strength of this bow, anyway? You can just try it out."

"That’s true.”

When the duke reached for the bow, Seo Jun-Ho gently put his hand on the bow to block him.

"…What is the meaning of this?"

"First of all, I do not know why you need this.”

There was a moment of fluster on the duke's face when Seo Jun-Ho said that.

"Are you saying that you didn't get this for me bow because you knew about the situation?"

"That’s right."

"

Hmm.

"

The duke withdrew his hand and nodded. "Let me put it in a nutshell. Do you know a monster called Telgia?"

"I have never heard of it."

"It's the name of a giant bird flying over the clouds. It was first discovered two hundred years ago. It doesn’t harm people and until recently, it was treated as a holy bird to the extent that some people would pray on the day it was seen."

Until recently? If so, it meant that it had recently changed.

"It's already been over a year since Telgia suddenly went crazy.”

Telgia descended and began to destroy everything as well as kill the inhabitants of various settlements.

"My territory has suffered loss beyond description. It's literally a sky monster of catastrophe. Aside from destroying fields, villages, and cities, it also eats the inhabitants."

"…So you needed this bow to catch it.”

"That's right." The duke nodded. "With this bow, we should be able to drag it down to the ground."

“…”

After thinking for a while, Seo Jun-Ho gladly removed his hand.

"All right, I understand the situation. So now, could I talk to you about the rental fee?"

"…Rental? You're not selling the bow?"

"You would not need this anymore after capturing Telgia, yes?"

"That's true."

"If so, it is not necessary for you to buy the bow for a huge sum. Rather, you can just give me a rental fee."

"How much do you want?"

"I would like it if you gave me a mineral called Serium rather than money," Seo Jun-Ho responded with a big smile, "If you provide me with plenty of it, Telgia or whatever… I will take care of it."