Sigh... Sigh...

Slurp. Haaah...

“This is really...” Yura’s sweaty face was filled with pleasure. “It is really too delicious.”

Yura sucked up the last of the noodles. She didn’t know that instant noodles could be so delicious. Yura had never gotten the chance to experience it previously, so she didn’t know ramyun could be this delicious despite having read about it. Now that she tried it, she found it comparable to the chewy noodles and cool broth made by the chef of a five-star hotel. The flavor of the slightly unfamiliar seasoning stimulated the tip of her tongue, and a chill went down her spine.

“Additionally, you don’t need to wash ingredients and can cook it right away... It is simple...”

Feeling impressed, Yura wiped at her mouth with a napkin. It was a graceful gesture. It didn’t seem like she was eating Korean style Chinese food in a hotel but rather a fancy restaurant in France. On the other hand, Grid had the atmosphere of a local Korean restaurant. He buried his face in the bowl and was gulping down the soup. “Kyah~ good.”

Grid truly admired the taste of the ramyun he made. The amount of water had been just right, the eggs had been placed 1 minute and 45 seconds before turning off the fire, and the scallions had been placed eight seconds before turning off the fire. The perfect trinity was fulfilled, and this was the ideal ramyun taste. 

‘Isn’t this steady progress?’

Certainly, he had grown. He was confident that he wouldn’t lose in a ramyun cooking competition against a Michelin three-star chef. Grid was seriously distressed.

‘Once I go back to South Korea, shall I cook jjampong?’

Would it be more delicious than the jjampong ordered from a Chinese restaurant?

‘Umm....’

Preparing food ingredients and investing time and energy in cooking—the original Grid would’ve been reluctant to do that. Now, Grid watched Yura’s face as she sat opposite him. He watched a person precious to him eat his cooking (?) and thought it wouldn’t be bad to take up cooking as a hobby in the future.

“Wait a moment.” Yura grabbed a new napkin and wiped at Grid’s mouth. A flowery scent struck the tip of Grid’s nose.

“...” Grid was worried about blushing. He was unable to calm his wild heart and sprang up from his seat. “Yura...!”

“Yes...? Yes!” Yura was startled because Grid suddenly got up and called her name. She saw the red-faced Grid breathe out from his nose.

Gulp. Yura swallowed her saliva. This was the Ramyun Effect that she had often heard about in dating. She had been hoping for this moment, but she had no experience with dating. Thus, she couldn’t help being afraid. The moment Yura was trying to make a determined effort—

“I-I’m going to the bathroom.”

“...”

Grid hurriedly left Yura alone and headed to the bathroom, then he checked the mirror right away. He was worried that he had chili powder on his teeth. However, Grid’s teeth were healthy and had no gaps. Thus, it wasn’t easy for foreign matter to get caught. His white teeth were glistening.

‘Am I handsome?’ Grid rinsed his mouth and carefully examined himself in the mirror.

It seemed there was no difference between his current appearance and his appearance in the extremely honorable painting. He had treated the painting as a post-processed photo while Lauel, the Overgeared members, Irene, and Lord had been amazed by it without showing any resistance.

‘Certainly, I often think I look better than before.’

He had been exercising steadily for four years. Compared to the days when he didn’t exercise, his facial features had filled out and he now looked good. The biggest change was his smooth skin that didn’t show any signs of acne. He had sweated for four years without missing a single day, and his skin had improved from excreting all the waste. Of course, sweating wasn’t enough for everyone to have better skin.

“Um...” Grid tried all types of poses. He tried a pose that showed off his wide shoulders, waist, and side.

‘...I look cool.’ A wide smile spread over Grid’s face. His self-esteem rose sharply as he gained confidence in his appearance.

“Hum hum.” Grid washed his hands and touched his hair roughly. Literally, he was being really rough. He swiped through his hair three or four times. Despite this, Grid’s hairstyle was wonderful like the hairdressers of a Cheongdamdong beauty salon had touched it. It made his appearance even more brilliant. It was the same reason why he made ramyun well. This was the power of his dexterity. From the moment he connected to the game, he had worked without resting, and his delicate finger movements were engrained into his ‘muscle memory’. These habits were partly expressed in reality.

Grid emerged from the bathroom and headed to the living room, only to let out an impressed sound, “Wow...”

This was because the sight of Yura sitting in the sunlight in the living room was as beautiful as a painting. It had been a few years already, but he still couldn’t adapt to her beauty and lost his soul for a moment.

‘She has become prettier.’

By the way... It seemed that she changed into a new attire? He remembered that she was originally wearing jeans and a sweater, but she was now wearing a one-piece dress. Looking like the main protagonist of a movie, Yura’s long white legs caught Grid’s eyes.

“Are you going out?” Grid asked as he sat across from her.

Yura shook her head with a red face. “No.”

“I see.”

She probably just wanted to relax in a comfortable outfit. Grid thought it wasn’t a big deal and checked her schedule, “When are you going back to South Korea?”

“I wanted to match Youngwoo-ssi’s schedule. Take my plane.”

“Oh, that’s good. A private plane is very comfortable.”

“Just tell me and I’ll lend it to you at any time.”

“Really?”

In fact, Grid had worried about whether he should buy a private plane or not. He thought it would be better to have one when considering the benefit of convenience for his family. However, the prices of the planes varied depending on the model, model year, and interior design. The one that Grid wanted was worth over 100 billion won. Of course, he could buy it if he wanted to, but it was psychologically burdensome to spend such a large amount of money at once.

“Then I’m thankful. I don’t need it often, but I’ll ask if I have to send my parents overseas.”

“Yes! I’ll take care of it!” Yura’s eyes brightened the moment Grid mentioned his parents. 

Grid looked at her strangely ambitious figure and carefully brought up a topic, “Did your grandfather call?”

“...Yes. He promised to no longer discuss the issue of inheriting the company. It is all thanks to you.”

Yura had heard the details from her grandfather. Once she learned that Grid had tried so hard for her, she was happy and grateful enough to weep. Then a long conversation ensued. Yura confided in Grid about what had happened between her parents and her grandfather. She told him about how she wanted to fulfill her father’s wish and that she would do it through Satisfy.

“Youngwoo-ssi protected my dream. I’ll repay the favor, even if it takes the rest of my life.”

“Just stay by my side, and it will be enough.”

“By your side...”

“Let’s work hard to grow the Overgeared Guild together.”

“...”

As expected, it would be hard to hear an answer today. Yura knew his heart, but she still felt greatly disappointed upon hearing Grid’s response. However, she couldn’t rush people’s hearts. She fully understood Grid’s position and vowed to wait. It was at this moment that...

“Who is it?”

There shouldn’t be any guests, but Yura got up as the sound of the bell rang out. It was then that she made a mistake. Her grandfather had acknowledged her right to her own life, and she had confessed her heart to Grid. She hadn’t done much today, so why had a great deal of her energy been consumed? The moment she got up from the couch, Yura felt dizzy and fell sideways.

“Are you okay?” Grid hurried over and helped her up. His big hands covered her waist and neck, and the expression in Yura’s eyes changed. “Youngwoo-ssi...”

Gulp.

Duguen! Duguen! Duguen! Grid’s heart thumped. He felt like he was going crazy because Yura’s face was right in front of him. Grid couldn’t repress his boiling desire, and he felt like the tightly pulled line was breaking. Irene’s appearance dimmed for a moment. Grid lost control, and his eyes focused on Yura’s lips.

“...?!”

“...?”

Then the front door suddenly opened. Feeling startled, Grid and Yura hurriedly pulled apart and turned toward the door. Grid immediately recognized the uninvited guest. His eyes were fixed on a certain part of the uninvited guest, and he hadn’t even looked at the face yet. Grid was astonished as he belatedly confirmed the identity of the uninvited guest. “Jishuka?”

“Hello? What are the two of you doing?”

“Uh... T-That...” Grid tried to explain. 

Meanwhile, Yura—who was still breathing hard—opened her mouth and asked, “By the way, how did you get in here?”

Jishuka smiled and pulled something out of her pocket. It was a knife.

“...”

“...Huh, this isn’t it.” She put the knife away and pulled out a master key from her other side pocket. “This hotel is part of a chain my father owns. I used some of my connections. Is there anybody who doesn’t know about the relationship between Yura and me? I was worried because I couldn’t get in touch with my friend. Thus, he handed me the key.” 

“...”

“So, what were the two of you doing?” 

Was it possible to burn people with only a gaze? As he faced Jishuka’s eagle eyes, Grid thought it was certainly possible. There was an awkward silence before Jishuka suddenly brought up some news, “Oh, I’m going to move to South Korea today. There is a rat who is an eyesore.”

Jishuka stared at Yura like she was going to eat her. The leopard-like spirit stretched out, but Yura didn’t shrink back at all. Instead, she said, “Welcome to South Korea. I’m looking forward to the National Competition next year.”

“There is nothing to expect. I will participate in the same events as you, so the total amount of medals won’t change.”

“Are you being affected by personal feelings? It is an unprofessional attitude.”

“Unprofessional? I’m not getting paid to play the game. Who is a pro? I just do whatever I want.”

“It is about basic responsibility. As the representative of our country, we have to distinguish between private and public matters.”

“You are talking about responsibility even though you acted so shamelessly.”

Sparks flew as Yura and Jishuka glared at each other. Grid was in the middle and couldn’t regain his reason.

‘When did their relationship become so bad?’ 

*** 

“It has been a while.”

It was after the end of the 4th National Competition. Kraugel went straight to the best spearsman on the continent, Kirinus. He was a person Kraugel had met during the course of his class quest. Kirinus, who had been chopping firewood, recognized Kraugel and said, “It will be much easier and faster to become stronger if you chase Muller’s shadow instead of taking this stubborn and slow path.”

Kraugel fell to his knees. “Sword Saint Muller said there were times when even he relied on a spear.”

“I heard that the sword, not the spear, is the strongest weapon.”

“I still want to learn the spear.”

Sword Saint Kraugel’s class wasn’t effective because of a single item—Blue Dragon Sword Breaker. Now Kraugel realized that there wasn’t only one road. Just as Grid used a variety of weapons depending on the situation, Kraugel believed that he should be able to handle a variety of weapons. He was also qualified.

“You have finally received enlightenment. Yes, the process of training is different, but combat eventually boils down to one thing. The process is just as important as the outcome. I will honor the reputation of the Sword Saint and respect your will.”

[A hidden quest has been created!]

Three years... It was a quest that required him to stay in one place for a whole three years. The quest meant his level was likely to stagnate. However, Kraugel accepted the quest without hesitation.

“Thank you very much.”

Kraugel didn’t want to lose to his only competitor, Grid. He wanted to maintain his relationship with Grid forever by constantly advancing and demonstrating his skills.