FLIA 134

Then the corruption removal chamber, made of metal heated up to high temperature. The heat close to one hundred degrees lasted for an hour, so no matter how tough a corrupted scavenger was, it would be difficult to survive. The few that survived that heat were destroyed by the poison that was dropped in afterward.

After the high-pressure washing process ended, the cleaned byproducts were taken out one by one. Yohan thought the corruption was not completely removed, but it looked safe enough that civilians could use it for a long time. It was a method of removing corruption that could only be applied to nonliving matter.

“Let’s see, this is…”

They appraised the bones, feathers, and beak of the monster bird they had hunted. Kim Jinhyuk observed and tested them in tedious detail before nodding.

“Good. This is sufficient material to make protective gear. And these feathers are light yet especially resistant to fire, so they will be useful. The claws are especially long and hard, so if processed well, they will make good weapons. After all metal rusts quickly in rifts.”

Byproducts of a quality impossible to gather from normal animals were preferred by awakeners as material for protective gear or weapons. Yohan suddenly remembered the dead tree in the Reed Sea where he had lived for a while. Even a high-level awakener like Lee Hyunmook had taken quite some time to shape that tree. In other words, considering its strength and durability, it could easily withstand most monster attacks.

Of course the best of all was the Eternal Stones, but that was not something easily obtained. Yohan remembered the Black Mountain, where eternal stones piled up in such immense quantity that they formed a mountain range.

‘It must still be shimmering with colors even now…’

Yohan, who was lost in thought, came to his senses at Kim Jinhyuk’s words.

“The final appraised value is about ninety million won.”

Ninety million won! After subtracting the lab’s corruption removal fee and dividing by the number of people, each person received close to seven million won. If they added the eternal stone sale money, it was well over ten million won. The rookies, who had earned such large income in just two days of exploration, were very happy. Kim Jinhyuk continued.

“You can take cash, but you can also have the material processed to make weapons or protective gear at a cheap price.”

While the Little Lamb team members each debated and discussed what to do, Kim Jinhyuk quietly leaned toward Yoon Seungryong and asked in a low voice.

“But have you heard the rumor? About a re-awakened.”

Yoon Seungryong, watching the rookies with his arms crossed and a pleased look, tilted his head. Kim Jinhyuk, who was still appraising the opponent’s frightening strength with his ability, flinched but pretended not to notice and listened to Yoon Seungryong’s reply.

“Huh? If you mean re-awakened, you mean our team leader?”

“No, no… They say someone re-awakened during a rift exploration.”

Ju Hoyoung, who had been paying almost no attention to anything and focusing on his game console, pressed pause and lifted his head.

“What does that mean? A re-awakened? That’s not just a rumor?”

Yohan’s ears perked as he examined claws hard enough to rival metal. He also knew well that “re-awakening” was only an excuse Lee Hyunmook had used to explain his white hair and changed abilities.

“They say it’s not just a rumor because it came from the Yujeong Lab this time.”

“Our team leader suffered like hell trying to re-awaken, you know? That’s nonsense to say someone re-awakened just by exploring a rift. Why didn’t it ever happen before, and suddenly now?”

When Yoon Seungryong and Ju Hoyoung scoffed, Kim Jinhyuk nodded in agreement. He also thought it was absurd that a re-awakened suddenly appeared. After all, how many countless rift explorations had there been until now? So the topic was soon forgotten.

“Uh, Yohan. You…”

One of the Little Lamb team members, who had decided coolly to take cash and was on his phone, called Yohan with a flustered voice.

“You’re in an article.”

“An article? What article?”

“Looks like what Park Seungmin said yesterday got published as news.”

So there really had been others who heard Park Seungmin’s words on the spot. Even the visible headline was quite aggressive.

[The identity of another Abyss Returnee, a parachuted rookie of the Taeyang Guild?]

Before Yohan could read more closely, a hand quickly covered his screen. It was Ju Hoyoung.

“No. It’s better if you don’t look at the internet for now.”

“Ah, yes…”

Even before, Ju Hoyoung had advised him not to look at such things. It was probably advice drawn from his own experience. Yohan obediently followed his words.

But after returning to the guild, taking more training, and as quitting time approached, his hands itched. Especially since his family kept texting and calling to ask if he was okay, and many people in the guild kept sneaking glances at him.

After checking around, Yohan secretly opened the news on his phone. In the meantime dozens more articles had been uploaded. He clicked on one. The article was more detailed than expected. His real name was not mentioned, but even the fact that he was the second son of a certain pharmaceutical company was revealed, so anyone who knew would recognize him. Looking at the comments, it was chaos.

-Wow, being born with a golden spoon is everything, fuck, how can dirt spoon people even live with envy.

-haha He must have worked so hard to get into the Taeyang Guild, only to be a parachute fuck

└ If you’re jealous, you go into the Abyss too

Even I, a mid-level, couldn’t get in, but a low-level did

└ Taeyang Guild always picked lots of low-levels, that just means you’re weaker than a low-level

└ What are you talking about, I’m in Sunrise Guild right now

└ Ah yes, let’s look at your past comments, accountant, lawyer, Yujeong Guild mid-level awakener, and model lol, let’s say accountant, lawyer, mid-level awakener, but how do you belong to both Sunrise Guild and Yujeong Guild at the same time?

└ Sunrise Guild? The one that fell from 1st to 4th? The guild with the traitor Goda bastard? The guild that lost all its manpower and everyone is on the verge of overwork death?

└ They’ve got a high-level purifier now, it’s only a matter of time before they’re back to 1st But if he’s an Abyss Returnee, isn’t it fair he got into Taeyang Guild? He’ll handle monsters well

└ Yeah, but he’s still a low-level S Pharmaceutical Company, that means Samyeong Pharmaceutical. Looks like all the sons are awakened? Isn’t Yang Yosep, the guild master of Neon Guild, the one who signed a contract with Samyeong?

While Yohan was absorbed in reading the comments, Ju Hoyoung once again appeared out of nowhere and swiftly snatched the phone away.

“Confiscated.”

“Ah…”

Yohan, who had been reading the comments with a slightly sullen face, flinched. Most of the comments cursed at him as a parachuted golden spoon. None of it was particularly wrong, but he was not hurt as much as he thought he would be. He did not feel good either, but with his mindset these days, he reached this conclusion.

‘After escaping the Abyss, I even get to experience hate comments. But even if I get hundreds of them, this place is still the best…’

After glancing at Yohan’s expression and confirming that his condition was not bad, Ju Hoyoung smiled. He handed the phone back to Yohan and spoke.

“Go check your bank account. The settlement money should already be in.”

“Already?”

Yohan opened his bank app and checked his balance, then smiled in excitement. Even though it was something Lee Hyunmook and Seo Yakrin had spoon-fed him, it was the first money he earned himself after always getting allowance from his family. Yohan quickly forgot the comments he had read earlier, raised his hand high, and declared.

“Let’s have a team dinner! Today it’s on me!”

***

“No, I really wanted to treat everyone big.”

Yohan flopped onto the sofa and grumbled, voicing his complaint to Lee Hyunmook. Lee Hyunmook wiped the water droplets hanging from the ends of Yohan’s wet hair with his fingers and shook the empty takeout cup.

“This is enough.”

“No! It’s not enough! Drinks don’t even cost much!”

“Are you not going to dry your hair, Yohan-ah? Should I dry it for you?”

Lee Hyunmook changed the subject. Yohan, who had planned to just let it air dry out of laziness, was tempted and ran to get the hair dryer, then sat quickly between his legs. He accepted Lee Hyunmook’s touch without hesitation, showing how used to it he was. Soon the loud noise of the dryer filled the room, and warm air blew over Yohan’s head.

Today Yohan had planned to treat the Taeyang Team to a meal with the money he earned from his first rift exploration. He had even bravely decided to buy beef, especially at a time when prices were high. But after the pleasant dinner ended, when Yohan tried to swipe his card, it turned out Lee Chanha had already quietly paid. Yohan threw a fit, so after coaxing and soothing him, they only let him buy drinks. Now he was cutely sulking about it.

But even if it had not been Lee Chanha, no one would have let Yohan pay. After long years of activity in Sunrise Guild, they had all accumulated immense wealth. There was no way they would let their much younger youngest member, and their precious savior, spend the small money he earned. And besides, while Yohan and the other rookies were thrilled about earning over ten million won in just two days, for them it was nothing.