Once he imbued mana into it, the crystal spat out a clear light. It repeatedly alternated between bright and dark.

Ten minutes passed by in a blink. The call didn’t go through no matter how long he waited.

‘Why isn’t she picking up now…’

It wasn’t uncommon for someone to not pick up immediately.

One might chalk up the first couple of times to coincidence, but it would be hard to do the same starting from the third.

He knew Kim Hannah wasn’t the type of person to be taken out lightly, but still…

‘Scheherazade.’

Seol Jihu closed his eyes. Kim Hannah had told him to keep away as much as possible until he grew his strength.

In the past, his clueless self feared Sinyoung, but things were different now.

Seol Jihu had gotten incomparably stronger than before, and he had several powerful comrades as well. Unless Sinyoung had gone completely crazy, it was hard to believe they would openly scheme against him.

After a long period of deliberation, Seol Jihu decided to head to Scheherazade after his business in Haramark finished.

He was prepared to visit Sinyoung’s headquarters if need be.

There had to be a reason.

A reason that he couldn’t get in touch with Kim Hannah.

*

Jang Maldong returned four days later. He brought along two beggars with him, who turned out to be the Yi siblings upon closer inspection.

Just what awful experience did they go through?

Seol Jihu swallowed hard as he saw Yi Seol-Ah and Yi Sungjin collapse as soon as they stepped into the office.

“Welcome back.”

“Mm.”

Jang Maldong personally carried the siblings to their room before sitting down on the couch. Then, he spoke with a brusque voice.

“Show me the spear and the books.”

He went straight to talking about the fruits of the expedition.

Seol Jihu took out the Spear of Purity and the two technique books. Jang Maldong opened the books, put on a magnifying glass, and narrowed his eyes.

“Hm…”

Flip, flip.

He studied the faded books for tens of minutes. After entirely skimming through...