Kang Oh checked his new skill, Seal Demon.

[Seal Demon]

Allows you to seal a powerful demon within a sword. The sword which is used to house a demon will transform into a demon sword, and its power and abilities will completely change as a result.

This skill can only be used once, and a peerless blade is required to use this ability. The demon that you wish to seal must also be on the brink of death.

Type: Active/Skill

With this, Kang Oh could create his own demon sword.

Since he could only use the skill once, he'd have to save it for a long time until he came across an exceedingly powerful demon.

That's the only way he'd be able to create an extremely powerful demon sword!

"Then it's time to say goodbye," Grande Loxia said.

His body began to fade.

"Rest in peace."

Kang Oh waved his hand.

"I leave Tasha in your care."

Tasha was Blood's original name.

"You don't have to worry about her."

He'd treat her with care!

Kang Oh grinned.

"Let's meet again someday."

Grande Loxia stroked the sword.

Then, the demon sword began to shake. It seemed like she was saying farewell.

Grande Loxia gave her a kind, warm smile.

A short while later, his body completely disappeared as if smoke had dispersed through the air.

"Hoo, it's finally over," Kang Oh sighed deeply.

His search for the demon sword had finally come to an end.

"Um, Mr. Kang Oh."

Sephiro raised his hand.

"Yes?"

"Have you seen the necklace that came with the demon sword?"

"The necklace?"

Now that he mentioned it, there had been a necklace with the demon sword. The necklace was adorned with a crude panther head.

He'd been so occupied with the demon sword that hadn't taken a look at it before.

"This is it."

Sephiro quickly picked up the panther necklace.

"20% of the loot is mine, right?" Sephiro added.

"Yes."

Kang Oh nodded his head.

"I don't need anything else, so please let me have this necklace."

He could see desperation and greed in both Sephiro's eyes and attitude.

"Please give it here. I'd like to see what all the fuss is about."

Kang Oh stretched out his hand.

"Can't you just let me have it?"

"He's right. Mr. Sephiro did his best and he was a huge help too," Eder butted in and supported him.

Kang Oh glared at him, which completely shut Eder up.

"Please let me take a look at it first."

Kang Oh didn't pull his hand back.

"Ahem."

'Let's see here.'

Sephiro passed him the necklace, and Kang Oh immediately looked through the item's information.

[Grande's Precious Panther Necklace]

The necklace that the legendary knight, Grande Loxia, obtained after defeating a gigantic, menacing monster panther during his knight qualifying examination.

It's said that he wore this necklace for the rest of his life. It's old and crude, so it doesn't have much aesthetic value.

+ Panther's Speed: Equipping this quickens all of the player's movements.

+ Cat Eye: Improves one's vision, and marks an enemy's weak points. Allows the player to distinguish between objects in the dark.

+ Hunting Know-how: Increases experience and proficiency earned during battle by 10%.

Rank: S

Abilities: Main Stats +10, Charm -10

Minimum Requirements: None

"Holy crap."

The necklace had no equipment requirements!

Not only that, but the effects were amazing!

The item would enhance one's vision, and also provide an increase in experience and proficiency. It was definitely a valuable item!

He knew why Sephiro so desperately wanted the item.

Sephiro was drawn in by how the item would quicken a player's movements and improve their vision. To an Archer, it was an item that increases all of the stats they needed! Plus, it would also increase one's experience and proficiency gained.

But there was a tiny flaw: it didn't offer much in terms of stats.

"Getting this for a 20% stake isn't reasonable. As you well know, this is an extremely valuable item," Kang Oh said.

"Why not?" Sephiro asked.

"Can't you just let him have it? We're all friends after all."

Eder, who'd remained silent, couldn't help it and spoke once more.

"Well, it's not like it's impossible," Kang Oh said.

"Then..."

Sephiro's eyes glinted. 'Really?'.

"However...! There's a condition."

"What is it?"

"Our 1 month contract that I paid for with the Rose family's arrow is almost over."

In exchange for the Rose family's purple arrow, Sephiro had to assist Kang Oh for one month.

However, that one month period was almost up.

"W-What about it?"

Sephiro had a bad feeling about this; his voice trembled.

"Let's extend our contract by another month."

Kang Oh grinned.

He had no intention of letting Sephiro go; he was competent, and he could work him like a dog too.

Even without this necklace, he would've found another way to keep Sephiro around.

"T-That's a little..."

Sephiro looked like he wanted to cry.

Hunting with Kang Oh.

Although they hunted extremely quickly, the amount of experience he gained was pretty mediocre. After all, he was hunting monsters that were a lower level than him.

He didn't get anything else. Kang Oh would take all of the items for himself.

"You don't want it? I'm fine with that too."

"Ugh!"

Sephiro was between a rock and a hard place.

He really wanted the necklace, but he didn't want to extend his time with Kang Oh.

"Think carefully. I can still call you for help six more times," Kang Oh said, essentially saying 'Even without this, I have other ways of keeping you around!'.

'You demon!'

Sephiro glared at Kang Oh.

'Guess I should dangle the carrot now.'

If he pressured Sephiro any more, then he'd give up on the necklace. That wasn't what Kang Oh was looking for.

"In exchange, I'll let you have 20% of the loot from now on."

Sephiro's eyes shook. But still, he wasn't completely convinced.

"I plan on remaining here for a while. Isn't the Great Forest an ok place for you to hunt too?"

Kang Oh dangled another carrot.

"Sunday is your free day. If you have a shoot or you have something else you need to attend to, then I'll take that into consideration," he whispered sweetly.

As he did so, he continued to dangle the necklace in his hand.

"Phew."

Ultimately, Sephiro snatched the necklace from Kang Oh's hand. It was his way of saying that he agreed to the terms.

"Hoo, hoo," Kang Oh laughed.

Pitiful bastard.

Henceforth, he'd be forced to be Kang Oh's subordinate.

* * *

Saturday...

5:30 P.M (1730).

Jae Woo got off the taxi.

"So this is it."

What he saw looked like a refined, 2-story building with a large terrace, but the entire building was actually a restaurant.

The restaurant was called Yurim.

He'd promised to meet Soo Ah here.

"Let's see here..."

Jae Woo looked himself over.

His younger sister, Mina, had great fashion sense, but she was only willing to help him after he'd given her a huge allowance. These clothes are what he'd gotten with her help.

This was apparently called the 'boyfriend look', which was really popular nowadays. It supposedly focused on distinct, eye-catching colors and patterned shoes or what not.

His forehead was refreshingly bare, as Mina had done his hair for him.

"I've bought some flowers too."

He was carrying a bouquet of roses in his hand.

"Mm. Good."

Jae Woo opened the door and entered the restaurant.

It was clean inside and it had a cozy atmosphere.

"Welcome. Do you have an appointment?" a nice looking waitress gently greeted him.

"Yes. The appointment is under the name, Jeong Soo Ah," Jae Woo said.

"I understand. Please follow me."

The waitress led him to a room upstairs.

There was a giant glass window on the wall, which let him see the blue sky and overgrown thicket outside.

"Would you like me to bring you a drink?"

"I'd like some water please."

He was thirsty for some reason, not to mention that his heart was pounding too.

"I understand."

Jae Woo gulped down his water while he waited for Soo Ah.

How much time had gone by?

The door opened and Soo Ah came in wearing sunglasses.

"Oppa!"

She was wearing a white one-piece dress, but she looked prettier than usual.

"Oh, you're here?"

Jae Woo and Soo Ah simultaneously beamed.

"Oh."

Soo Ah sat down and looked him over. It felt like he was a student all over again; her gaze reminded him of a teacher looking over his homework.

"Who did this for you?"

"Who did what?"

"I've seen your fashion sense before. There's no way you came up with this all on your own."

'Wow! She's sharp.'

"My little sister picked it out for me," Jae Woo said.

"She styled your hair too?"

"Yeah."

"She has good fashion sense. It looks really good on you."

"It does?"

Kang Oh bashfully scratched the back of his hand. Then, he gave her the bouquet of roses.

"Here."

"Did your little sister tell you to buy this too?"

"No. It was the woman at the flower shop. She told me that a bouquet of roses was perfect for a first date."

"Thank you."

Soo Ah beamed and accepted the flowers.

"Yoon Se Hwa hasn't bothered you since?" Jae Woo asked.

"No. I saw her briefly on a music program, but she behaved herself."

"Tell me if she gives you any trouble. I won't let her get away with it."

"Ok."

Knock, knock.

"Excuse me."

The door opened and a woman in her early or mid 30s came in. She was also wearing a chef's jacket.

"Unni!"

They seemed to be acquainted, as Soo Ah didn't bother with the honorifics and spoke comfortably.

"It's been a long time since you last came. With a man, no less."

The female chef glanced at Jae Woo with a mischievous expression.

"Um-hum. This is a guy I'm really close to!"

Soo Ah pointed at Jae Woo, slightly embarrassed.

"Hello. My name is Choi Jae Woo."

"I'll ask Soo Ah separately whether you're an acquaintance or someone she's actually really close to... It's nice to meet you. I'm this restaurant's chef-owner, Lee Soo Min."

"We're really good friends. We're also part of the same guild in Arth," Soo Ah said.

"I'm in your care."

"Sure."

Jae Woo and Soo Min shook hands.

"Unni is a really famous chef, and..."

Soo Ah started going on and on about her.

"You can flatter me all you want, I'm still going to charge you for your meal," Lee Soo Min smiled and said.

"No discounts for a celebrity?"

Soo Ah sported a naughty expression.

"You're a celebrity?" Lee Soo Min snorted.

"I'm pretty famous too."

The two ladies teased each other like real sisters.

"Whatever. I'll make you some good food, so eat up before you go."

"Ok."

"Then I'll see you in a bit, Mr. Jae Woo."

"Alright."

Lee Soo Min departed, and a short while later, the food came to their table.

There were a variety of clean side dishes, multi-grain rice in stone pots, richly flavored doenjang soup and boiled meat, sanjeok, and dried corvinas.

It was quite the spread.

"She specializes in Korean cuisine?"

"Yes. But she cooks Japanese, Chinese, and French cuisine well too. She's also good at Southeastern cuisine too. That's why she's called the Chef Without Borders."

"Wow. She seems like a big deal."

"She is. Anyway, please enjoy your meal."

"I will, thanks."

Not only was the food amazing, but it had the feel of a home cooked meal, which made it easy for him to eat.

He was dining with someone close with such good food, so the atmosphere was incredibly amicable.

"How was Paris?" Jae Woo asked.

A while back, Soo Ah had travelled to Paris.

"I was there for work, so I didn't get to sightsee much."

Soo Ah looked disappointed.

"It's ok. You can go sightseeing next time," Jae Woo comforted.

"Yeah! So about that... Parmarl? Anyway, didn't you say you were looking for something there?" Soo Ah said, recalling the messages they'd sent each other.

"I found it, of course."

Jae Woo gave her a peace sign.

"Oh, what was it?"

"An SS-rank sword!"

"Wow, really?"

"Hoo, hoo."

Jae Woo and Soo Ah chatted while they ate.

They'd spoken over the phone or in game several times already, but speaking in person was different.

They continued to spend their time together happily, the smiles never leaving their faces.