Calling A Typhoon (1)

A morning when Kim Han had just come out of the workshop and fallen asleep as if unconscious.

The spacious dining hall on the first floor looked unusually larger today.

Kim Han was still asleep and hadn’t come down, and Mae Young-ryeong was gone, having been kidnapped.

Besides, Biosis and Talis hadn’t been seen since dawn, and Lee Hyo-ju was the same.

Naruan, Hazel, Arun.

The three, sparsely seated at the enormous round table in the vast dining hall, focused solely on eating without saying a word.

Naruan would put a piece of meat in her mouth, chew while staring at the entrance, then put another piece of meat in and stare at the door again, repeating the action.

“Naruan, when you’re eating, just eat.”

At Hazel’s motherly scolding, Naruan’s expression turned ‘planted’ (sullen).

“Is the captain not coming again today? And where did Ice Witch go?”

“Huh? Right. The cold-blooded witch isn’t visible? She’s more punctual than a clock.”

At Naruan’s remark, Arun also finally noticed and looked for Lee Hyo-ju. Hazel provided the answer.

“Well. I heard she went out early this morning? I didn’t ask where she was going. If Lee Hyo-ju moved like that, her companion probably ordered something special.”

“…Mm.”

“I see.”

Arun greedily brought more meat to his mouth again in the morning, and Naruan, still with a ‘planted’ expression but unwilling to give up the meat, ate his breakfast in a leisurely yet combative manner.

‘Battlefield of the Gods’ Year 2, February 11.

If this were Korea on Earth, it would still be the height of cold. But Exorsus, which maintains a warm springlike climate year-round, felt just as chilling in atmosphere.

Winter hadn’t arrived; it was just proof that the mood had grown that ominous.

Everyone walking the streets or out on errands wore masks over their mouths and tried to avoid bumping into one another while moving about.

A sight like a gray city.

A plague even clerics couldn’t cure. Strange deaths and vanishing corpses. Numerous related eerie rumors.

Not only Exorsus but the entire ‘Battlefield of the Gods’ continent had become sour-hearted like a northern ice wall, and people began to show signs of seeking Gods or showing hints of panic.

Leaving the mansion early, Lee Hyo-ju had spent two to three hours a day for the last three days observing directly, using the special skill ‘Gwaneum [Ex]’ to watch a common house in the western area from afar and collect information.

Under the gray robe that Lee Hyo-ju wore, she was fully armed with all the equipment Kim Han had made for her.

Not only wearing the Red Drake leather armor set, she held the ‘Solarium’s Ticker’ in her left hand and focused on the house with the striking red roof.

After some time, Lee Hyo-ju finally moved.

Like an ordinary person walking down the street.

As Lee Hyo-ju walked along the side of the road and passed the house she had been watching,

‘Power Activating. Time Stop.’

Murmur…!! Suddenly―

The world stopped. Sounds vanished.

Birds in flight froze mid-flap in the air, and petals scattering in the wind hung suspended as if frozen.

In a world where everything except Lee Hyo-ju had stopped, she alone moved.

She gently pushed the door to the right. As she had investigated, it wasn’t locked.

The moment she entered, what grabbed Lee Hyo-ju’s attention wasn’t the cluttered interior or an indoor bathroom like on Earth.

A woman sitting at the dining table, enjoying her meal.

Even to Lee Hyo-ju, a woman herself, the woman was so beautiful that ‘too beautiful’ was the only way to describe her, and she drew her gaze.

‘That woman.’

The woman Kim Han had said needed to be specifically recruited.

After confirming once more that the woman matched Kim Han’s description exactly, she placed the communication crystal and a red sheet of paper on the ‘ㄱ’-shaped table near the entrance, closed the door, and stepped out to the street.

‘Deactivate. Power Deactivate. Flow Control. Slow.’

With the world moving slowly, Lee Hyo-ju quickly left the scene.

Only after moving a good distance did she deactivate her power and, leaning on a wall with one hand, catch her breath.

The ‘Gwaneum’ skill, which she’d grown much more accustomed to over the year, informed her that the back street was noisy.

Sweat drenched Lee Hyo-ju’s face under the robe, but a smile full of satisfaction and accomplishment was etched on her lips.

Chatter, chatter, squirming (?).

Forced awake by the noise in his half-sleep, he realized she must have fallen asleep around evening, yet the sun was already high at noon.

Turning his head, he saw a sight: Naruan and Hazel were chatting and drinking tea with spirits.

He rubbed his eyes and shook his head roughly as if still half-asleep, but the scene remained the same.

In short, this picture was reality.

“What are you doing?”

“Oh?! Captain! You’re awake!”

“Ah, companion. You’re up.”

―Friend.

―Slept well?

―Here, I’m drinking tea with a cute gnome and a friend’s companion.

―Don’t worry, we haven’t harmed you.

At the short question, each race (gnome, high elf, spirit) insisted on saying one thing they wanted to say.

“How are you… Could it be I fell asleep without dismissing the summons?”

The spirits all nodded in unison in affirmation.

The sight was absurd yet made her snicker.

He clumsily got out of bed, stretched a little, and approached the tea table.

“So, what about the others?”

Nodding at Hazel, who handed him the tea, he brought the steaming cup to his lips and asked.

“Ice Witch’s been gone since morning! And the two old men aren’t around. The dummy is clattering at the training ground.”

Lee Hyo-ju probably went to prepare the final stage of the operation, and the two masters likely had separate tasks and went to deal with Shio since morning.

And the dummy? Ah, Arun. If Arun is ‘clattering’, is he testing a newly learned spell?

“I see. I should get moving too.”

“More work?”

“Yes. This job requires a lot of preparation. I’ll head out and return. What will you do in the meantime?”

At my question, the four spirits’ faces turned strange.

They looked as if they naturally expected dismissal and wondered why Kim Han was asking them.

“If you want to stay here, do so. In non-combat situations, staying summoned all day is no problem. I’ll be moving around Exorsus too, so distance shouldn’t be an issue. Since you’re out after a while, enjoy it if you want.”

―Oh! Of course!

―It was truly right to receive him as a friend, not a contract.

―Indeed. So many would be jealous.

―Go and come back safely. We’ll enjoy tea and the luxury of human food for the first time in ages. Thank you, friend.

“Alright. Rest then. I’ll be back.”

“Companion, always be careful.”

“Yes! Captain, make lots of money!”

“…Where did you learn to say that?”

“Huh?”

Naruan blinked her bright eyes, tilted her head briefly, then furiously waved her right hand.

He shook his head, went down to the first floor, opened the heavy mansion door, and stepped out onto the street.

Pulling his robe hood down to partially hide his face, he walked while drawing out a communication crystal from his inventory, covering it with the roomy sleeve of his robe and infusing divine power into it.

―Yes, disciple.

“Master, did you find it?”

―Yes. There wasn’t really anything to find. At the mercenary guild street the fighter mentioned, he’s once again running dice tricks as usual.

“Thank you.”

―Hohoho. This much is nothing. See you later.

After the brief communication, he tossed the crystal back into his inventory.

While Mae Young-ryeong’s problem was dealt with and the plague issue was being resolved, the two masters decided to stay at their old house for a while.

Thinking he should soon open some liquor in his inventory, he hurried his steps.

One profession that disappeared entirely after the plague became widely known and rumors began spreading was the coachmen.

Whether because it’s a profession that contacts many people, or because horses caught the plague and disappeared, no one knew.

In any case, coachmen couldn’t be found anymore, and he had to traverse this vast Exorsus on foot.

‘Tsk. Stealth. Divine Shift.’

Exorsus was larger than expected, and if he avoided people while walking, he might not arrive by today.

Keeping stealth and using Divine Shift, he leaped from roof to roof and swiftly headed southwest to the mercenary street.

A place still bustling despite the plague circulating. From one corner of the mercenary street, a hawking voice kept calling out.

“Come, come. Hurry, come! Money for money games.”

Who would run a shell game in this time of widespread plague fear?

Still, a middle-aged man, completely unconcerned, was engrossed in hawking customers.

Kim Han deactivated stealth and approached the man.

“Ah! Welcome, please come.”

“Dice?”

“Yes. Now, you only have to choose whether it will be high or low.”

“Before that… this.”

He placed a yellow registration card on the table the excited man had spread out and was explaining over.

“Ah, you want money first? How much… Huh?”

“I would like to be taught the ‘Dance of the Dice.’ Transcendent Waterloo.”

Waterloo, who had always greeted others cheerfully even when no customers were around, suddenly hardened in seriousness.

Originally, the Dance of the Dice was intended to be learned around the end of year four. It was understandable to hesitate because it was a power tied to the uncertainty of luck.

But the past of Mae Young-ryeong that Genesis had relayed sounded ominous, and Genesis’s final warning was terrifying.

Decisively, after receiving and checking the items he intended to deliver through Mae Young-ryeong from the gardener, he made up his mind.

[Felici’s Bracelet]

A bracelet containing the first kiss of the luck fairy Felici.

Luck increases by a guaranteed 5.

[Felici’s Ring]

A ring imbued with the aura of the luck fairy Felici.

Luck increases by a guaranteed 2.

[Luck Potion] ×4

Potions made from the maiden blood of the luck fairy Felici.

Luck increases by a guaranteed 5. Usable only once each.

From the items’ stats alone, it was clear Genesis had paid a hefty price.

But all of them were equipment and potions related to luck.

The moment he confirmed these goods, Kim Han decided without further hesitation to receive the Dance of the Dice.

“Ha, damn. Is it really my turn now… Normally you’d prefer not to leave the house at a time like this. You must be somewhat lucky?”

“Is that so? I always considered myself an icon of bad luck.”

He had worn both the bracelet and ring, and because only one luck potion could be consumed, he had already taken one. Waterloo’s comment that he might be a bit lucky wasn’t wrong.

“Damn. An icon of misfortune that’s luckier than me… damn it. Here, take it.”

Waterloo flicked a cubic die with his thumb.

Kim Han snatched the flying die from midair, and a line of text appeared in the air.

『Would you like to learn the growth skill ‘Dance of the Dice [Ex]’?』

“Yes, I will learn it.”

『Scanning the body of the representative to receive the transmission. 61%… 99%… Complete. Luck 125(+7). Calculating loss rate… Complete! Overflowing luck ignores differences in rank. Loss rate 0%.』

『Beginning transmission of the growth skill ‘Dance of the Dice [Ex]’.』

There was no particular pain. Nor did any special effect or discomfort occur.

Just… how to put it. Yes, it felt like his condition improved.

You know those days when you wake up feeling unusually refreshed and light.

The kind of day you go play billiards with a friend, give the spin the wrong way, and it still miraculously goes in perfectly.

A day when you kick hard at the goal and, despite seeming to miss, it rolls in by luck.

In short, a day when everything seems to go your way. Kim Han felt like he had woken to such a morning.

『You have successfully received the growth skill ‘Dance of the Dice [Ex]’.』

『Due to the influence of the growth skill ‘Dance of the Dice [Ex]’, you have acquired the title ‘Stop the Move! Is That a Sleight of Hand?’.』

“What?”

It was odd enough to earn a title, and look at the title’s name.

He worried the messages floating in the air were starting to take on an Arun-esque tone.

[Title: Stop the Move! Is That a Sleight of Hand?]

Blessed by the luck fairy, you can interfere with every action of targets whose luck is lower than yours.

(Against targets with lower luck) Increases perfect evasion chance by 20%, perfect defense chance by 20%, and complete immunity chance by 20%.

The title’s name felt very Arun-like, but fortunately the effects weren’t obnoxiously Arun-like.

A 20% figure was enormous in the ‘Battlefield of the Gods’, where magic, ranged attacks, and traps rained down.

‘Confirm.’