Acquired the Scam Rune in the Academy

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Home Town(4)

S-grade Holder, Ryu Ji-hyuk is a mysterious figure.

There is little known about his personal information, and true to his nickname ‘The Mysterious Holder’, he doesn’t often reveal himself.

In fact, it’s hard to find eyewitness accounts of people actually seeing him, leading to rumors that he might be residing overseas.

However, he’s not completely disappeared either. Whenever he’s forgotten about, he would resurface and bring significant achievements to the association.

He is called the free-spirited soul of the Holder world due to his unique persona.

“…Yes.”

It’s not just quite surprising, it’s extremely surprising.

There are only five S-grade Holders in the country, and this particular one is known to keep a low profile.

And he is the father of Park Jin-woo?

Of course I would be shocked and flustered.

This is perhaps a plot twist towards the very end that wasn’t even revealed in the original work.

“I never imagined I’d get to meet Holder Ryu Ji-hyuk at our house all of a sudden…”

As an S-grade Holder shrouded in mystery, there isn’t much publicly known information about him, his name, appearance, basic build, and that he is in the warrior class, wielding sword and shield as a defensive type.

While the skill in the warrior class lies in tanking and counter attacking, Ryu Ji-hyuk is the only one who has risen to the S-grade in this classical form.

That’s why he receives immense respect from many other warrior-type Holders.

The man himself, however, just shrugged his shoulders with the amiable smile he had shown us earlier.

“Is that so? The names I gave – Park Ji-hwan, Ryu Ji-hyuk, Kim Ji-sung – all have ‘Ji’ in the middle, don’t they.”

I was momentarily at a loss for words.

No… Who would notice something like that, teacher.

Seeing him casually mention such a ridiculous story confirms that he is indeed Park Jin-woo’s father.

I shook my head briefly to gather my thoughts, and asked the most important question. “Then… What should I call you?”

Ryu Ji-hyuk, Park Ji-hwan, and the other identity introduced to my parents today, Kim Ji-sung.

With three different names, the proper form of address was an issue.

“Call me Park Ji-hwan. That’s my real name, and it would be more appropriate for Jin-woo’s friends to call me by that name.”

I nodded in agreement. I also thought that name would be the most suitable to use.

I can switch back to calling him Kim Ji-sung when my parents return.

“Holder Park Ji-hwan.”

“Speak comfortably.”

After organizing my thoughts, I asked the question that had been burning in my mind. “I understand that you are Jin-woo’s father. I was surprised, but I also understood that you are the S-grade Holder Ryu Ji-hyuk, considering your camouflage abilities and your past activities. But…”

I hesitated briefly before continuing. “I don’t understand why you’re telling us this. If you’ve been hiding it all this time, you must have your reasons. Even though we are Jin-woo’s friends…”

“Telling you because you’re Jin-woo’s friends is part of the reason, isn’t it?”

“…Huh?” With a puzzled expression, I asked back, and Park Ji-hwan let out a hearty laugh.

“Haha, I was just joking. But that’s not a completely wrong statement either. I revealed that I’m Jin-woo’s dad right away when I saw you. Showing you my identity as Ryu Ji-hyuk is a different matter, though.”

He took a sip of the tea on the table, and continued slowly. “The reason I revealed my identity to you is simple. I may need your help right now.”

“Our… Help?”

“That’s right. I’m currently chasing after a certain organization. That organization doesn’t exist in reality, and the clues can only be found in dungeons, not in the real world. One of those clues is in the field where your parents are farming, here in Haenam. That’s why I’m here as Kim Ji-sung.”

He had many vague and unclear aspects.

He couldn’t tell us all the information, but the contradiction arose from him asking for our help within that.

Nonetheless, one thing was certain.

Park Ji-hwan is chasing after a specific organization, and he’s asking us for something in that regard.

“Can you at least tell us what that organization is?”

“Not yet.”

“Is it something similar to the Villains?”

“Worse, more fundamentally evil than that.”

Hearing that, I nodded.

I had predicted to some extent that another ‘evil group’ would emerge after the <Villains>.

Submaster Hwang Seong-yeon had fled, and bits of information related to the ‘other world’ were starting to surface one by one.

Of course, I didn’t expect to obtain this information in such a manner, but…

It seems Park Ji-hwan is tracking the traces of this unknown organization.

“I roughly understand. Anyway, the conclusion is that you want us to tackle some dungeons, right…” I said, carefully unraveling the tangled threads.

In fact, there was one more contradiction in his words.

“But can we do what you, as an S-grade Holder, cannot? We’ve just recently been promoted to A-grade, while you are an S-grade.”

How can we do what an S-grade cannot?

And entrusting this task to us, who are merely the friends of his son, was also questionable.

However, Park Ji-hwan firmly nodded. “It’s possible.”

“How so?”

“Because the dungeon I want you to tackle is the Chamber of the Transcendent.”

“…!!”

The sudden mention of that term made my eyes widen.

The Chamber of the Transcendent.

Unlike regular dungeons, it has entry conditions, and ‘formidable trials’ that are difficult for ordinary Holders to conquer.

I had first learned about this space when training with my mentor at the start of the vacation, and the reporting on it is still ongoing, so the information has not yet been made public.

“Jae-hyun, I know that you have already overcome the trial of the Transcendent once. That’s why I’m entrusting this request to you.”

“How do you know about that?”

“It’s one of the abilities of my Rune. As a seeker, I can see what others cannot.”

Seeker…?

Another familiar keyword echoed in my ears, which had been important to both Park Jin-woo and myself.

Kang Juyeon was looking at us with a puzzled expression, as she had no knowledge of the <Chamber of the Transcendent>.

I’ll probably need to explain it to her in more detail later.

I thought for a moment and asked again. “Can’t I go with you, Holder Park Ji-hwan?”

“Haha. Jae-hyun, you should know better. There are entry requirements for the Chamber of the Transcendent. I’m already disqualified, and even you might not be able to enter.”

He was right.

Without knowing the specific entry conditions for the <Chamber of the Transcendent> that Park Ji-hwan is requesting, if we don’t meet them, the dungeon exploration would be impossible from the start.

“What if we don’t qualify?”

“Well, then nothing can be done about it. I’ll have to find other trustworthy people later who do qualify.”

“Have you considered requesting help from the Association? If you’re chasing an evil organization, they would be faster, right?”

But at that, Park Ji-hwan burst out into boisterous laughter. “Hahaha. That’s a really funny suggestion. I appreciate the goodwill, but I’ll have to decline. There’s not a single trustworthy person in the Association.”

Trustworthy Holders.

At that vague term, I quietly looked at him. “Am I considered a trustworthy Holder then?”

“Of course you are.”

“And why is that? Because I am Jin-woo’s friend?”

“That is one of the reasons, among other reasons.” Park Ji-hwan stood up from his seat as he said that.

“Anyway, I ask that you do this. This map has the location of the dungeon and the path to the Chamber of the Transcendent. If you succeed in the exploration, send me a simple greeting to your parents as a signal, and I’ll come back here to find you someday.”

His belongings were already neatly packed, as if he was about to leave our house after this conversation.

I asked while looking at that.

“Where are you going?”

“France. I have to find another path.”

“Do you often go abroad like this?”

“I tend to be abroad more often than in the country.”

So the rumors were true, – S-grade Holder Ryu Ji-hyuk is not in the country, but wandering abroad.

And that’s when I finally saw his true self, one who has given up many things and is searching for a path.

If the ‘Transcendent’ holds the most information about the other world, then Park Ji-hwan, who holds the most crucial key among the Holders, is the one.

“Anyway, I appreciate your help. If you happen to see my son and daughter, please pass along my greetings. I do visit them occasionally, but I’m not sure when I’ll be able to go home next.”

I nodded at that.

Despite being close friends with Park Jin-woo, we had never talked about his father before…

I was curious to see how he would react if this topic came up.

Park Ji-hwan, who finished packing his belongings, came up to me and lightly patted my shoulders, whispering in my ear. “Please also give my regards to Won-ho and Myeong-hyun.”

“You know the masters?”

“They’re fading memories now. That’s one of the biggest reasons I trust you.”

Park Ji-hwan said that and took his leave, lightly bidding farewell.

He’s really gone.

No, what kind of meeting and parting was that, so brief?

It seems that’s how busy of a Holder Park Ji-hwan is, and it was a stroke of fortune that we happened to meet at our house.

“…It’s complicated,” Kang Juyeon muttered quietly.

Too much information had come in such a short time.

Park Jin-woo’s father is actually the S-grade holder Ryu Ji-hyuk, who goes by multiple identities and is a mysterious figure, separate from the Association he is chasing a specific organization, and has asked us to tackle the <Chamber of the Transcendent>.

Before we could even fully process all this, he had immediately left.

My head was filled with complexity.

“…Are you going to do it?”

Swish-

Kang Juyeon suddenly moved on the sofa, coming closer to me.

Crossing her arms, she leaned her head on my shoulder and asked.

…Her natural display of intimacy is surprisingly developed now.

“Probably? Anyway, it’s a request from Jin-woo’s father, and the dungeon seems to be quite important to me as well.”

The only downside is that there’s no reward, but…

In fact, for something like the <Chamber of the Transcendent>, sharing the dungeon information would be the proper reward.

And we’d be monopolizing that.

“…Then I’ll do it too.”

Kang Juyeon snuggled deeper into my embrace as she said that.

There’s a mountain of information she doesn’t know, starting from the <Chamber of the Transcendent>.

But she didn’t ask about any of that, and just said she wanted to do it together.

I could feel her deep trust and consideration for me.

“Alright, let’s do it then.”

This visit to the main house, which was originally meant to meet my parents and hang out with Kang Juyeon, now had another purpose added to it.

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