Chapter 302: The Saint of the Empire (3)

Once it was over, Seo Jun-Ho slept for two days straight. The innkeeper even knocked on his door because they thought it was suspicious how he wasn't coming out of his room.

Seo Jun-Ho combed through his frazzled hair and gave a big yawn. "Mm. Why am I still tired after sleeping so much?"

"Indeed, that is the devious nature of sleep. I, too, am always cautious of avoiding the phenomenon."

"...You try to avoid it?"

"But of course. Why are you looking at me like that?"

"...It's nothing. Keep doing that, then."

His stomach rumbled. Now that he was awake, his hunger caught up to him all at once. He went down to the restaurant on the 1st floor and ordered a generous amount of food before wolfing it all down.

"Ah, I finally feel alive."

After finishing his meal, he checked the message from Gilberto on the way to his room. "He said he got there safely."

"It is good to hear," the Frost Queen said.

Gilberto had gone ahead to Earth to receive treatment for his injuries.

"When I have time, I should give him a visit," Seo Jun-Ho said.

"Indeed, you should. Come to think of it, the child with the sword is also hospitalized at the moment, correct?"

"Sword...? Oh! You mean the Sword Saint?" Seo Jun-Ho recalled seeing articles saying that Kim Woo-Joong got injured while fighting the 3rd floor's Floor Master. He had received a lot of help from the man, so it would be rude to ignore his predicament. "Once I go back down to Earth, I guess I should make my hospital rounds."

Seo Jun-Ho sat in front of the table and placed a wooden box on top of it. As he did, the Frost Queen casually sat down on the other side.

"I'm going to use this today... And I have four choices."

"Keen Intuition, Hunter's Night, Confession of the Dead, and Cell Regeneration, correct?"

"That's right." Seo Jun-Ho wanted to discuss with her which of his skills he should raise the grade first. "For now, let's leave out Confession of the Dead and Hunter's Night."

"I agree with the notion."

Those two skills were out of the running from the very beginning. Frankly, Seo Jun-Ho didn't feel any real sense of dissatisfaction with Confession of the Dead. Even if its grade increased, he didn't expect a dramatic difference. The same was true for Hunter's Night. By nature, it was a skill that could only be used at night, so it had an obvious limitation.

"Certainly, their potential is lower than the other skills," the Frost Queen added.

"That only leaves two, then. To be honest, my first thought was choosing Cell Regeneration," Seo Jun-Ho admitted. Though the skill was relatively new, it was very useful, as befitting of an A-grade skill. If it became S-grade, Seo Jun-Ho even thought that it would be able to compete with Rahmadat's Super Regeneration.

"But..." Seo Jun-Ho let out a long sigh.

Vrrr! Vrrr!

The problem was Keen Intuition... Ever since he discovered the wooden box at Paradise, Keen Intuition had been screaming for it.

"If I'm being honest... I just want to make the decision as soon as possible. I feel like my head is being crushed."

"I-I will do my best."

Vrrr!

The bastard was crying out again. It was like a child promising to be good while begging for a toy.

"Ugh. Honestly, raising Keen Intuition's grade wouldn't be that bad either." He removed his personal feelings and approached the issue from an objective point of view. "The Heaven's Net reminded me how convenient of a skill it had always been."

Keen Intuition informed him of things his five senses or instincts failed to notice. It was even more effective whenever he was at a crossroads.

"The number of times Keen Intuition has led me down the wrong path has been very few. But..."

What if when he raised its grade the only change was that Keen Intuition would help him find his enemies better? By then, his regret wouldn't matter for it would already be too late.

Vrrr!

Keen Intuition rung in his temples again.

"It's going off again. Where is that confidence even coming from..."

If any other skill were begging like this, he would have chosen Cell Regeneration without a second thought.

'But this confuses me. I don't know if Keen Intuition wants Higher Level because it wants to get stronger...'

Or if it was telling him the correct choice...

"So, it is like that." The Frost Queen banged on the desk. "If you wish to see immediate, tangible growth, you should choose Cell Regeneration.

"And if I trust Keen Intuition, I should go with it?"

"Hmm." The Frost Queen crossed her arms and fell deep into thought. She had a habit of sometimes scrunching the bridge of her nose whenever she was thinking about something.

It didn't take her long to make her decision, though. "I have thought long and hard, and I believe that raising the grade of Keen Intuition would not be a bad choice."

"...Be honest with me. You just chose randomly, right?" Seo Jun-Ho thought he heard her mutter, "know-it-all" while she was making her decision. When he looked at her as if she were suspicious, she banged on the table, looking upset.

"No! I have suitable reasons!"

"Tell me what those suitable reasons are, then."

The Frost Queen gulped and started. "Consider this. What effects would there be if you raised the grade of Cell Regeneration?"

"The regeneration rate would get faster...and I suppose the requirements to acquire cellular resistance would be lowered too."

"I think so as well. Then, what of Keen Intuition?"

"..."

Seo Jun-Ho couldn't answer right away. If he knew how Keen Intuition would evolve, then there would have been no reason to ponder this much in the first place.

"Then let us consider the past. When did you acquire Keen Intuition?"

"It's been a long time. I got the skill right after I got Watchguard of Darkness."

"And what was its grade back then?"

"D-grade." Going from C, B, A...That meant that its grade had increased a total of three times. Seo Jun-Ho dug through his memories of the past. "I think I first got it... about half a year after my debut as a Player."

The reason the skill was created was simple. Every day without exception, Seo Jun-Ho went into Gates to hunt monsters without consideration for his own life.

"Naturally, my instincts sharpened."

What could he do to survive? What would be the most efficient way to kill the enemy? Where should he run away if he wanted to live? Every moment, he asked himself these questions and ruminated over their answers.

"And then it just suddenly appeared one day." A skill that would answer his own questions. Of course, when it was D-grade, it was very unreliable. "If I asked a question, it would only answer once every ten questions," he explained.

As its grade increased, so did its frequency and accuracy.

'Even though I always joke that it's useless...' When the time to make a decision came, the first thing he sought was Keen Intuition. If its answer had ever led to a major loss during a moment of crisis, he would not be breathing right now.

"After listening to you, I am even more inclined to choose Keen Intuition," the Frost Queen said.

"Why's that?"

"The path you must take will require more than a sturdy body."

"...That's true." Seo Jun-Ho found himself nodding along. If he walked through a path of thorns, he was bound to be pricked. He would bleed and hurt.

'If I raise Cell Regeneration's grade, the cuts from the thorns will heal faster...'

However, if he raised Keen Intuition's grade, he could avoid being pricked altogether.

When he thought about it like that, his head cleared up. "Alright, I've made my decision."

Seo Jun-Ho opened the wooden box and took out the little potion bottle.

'A potion made by the Chef himself with his skill.'

When he chugged it, two messages appeared.

[You have consumed a Unique-grade Higher Level.]

[You can raise the grade of one of the skills you possess.]

Four choices appeared, and Seo Jun-Ho pressed Keen Intuition without hesitation.

And then...

[Keen Intuition (A) has evolved into Keen Intuition (S)]

Seo Jun-Ho slowly opened his eyes. The Frost Queen seemed very nervous.

"W-what changed? Did you feel a drastic shift? Do you see the world with new eyes?"

"I..." Seo Jun-Ho slowly opened his mouth, then frowned. "I don't think anything changed."

***

What had changed?

He wasted a whole day trying to figure out what part of the skill had improved.

"Um... I do not know," the Frost Queen said. She realized what was going on and hid under her covers after saying that.

"Sigh..."

Now that he was left alone, the feelings of emptiness and nervousness crept in.

'What on earth changed?'

He spent the entire afternoon trying to figure it out, but he couldn't find an answer.

Though, he did understand why...

'Keen Intuition isn't a skill that activates whenever it wants.'

It only activated when he had to make a decision or if there was danger lurking nearby. Other than that, he didn't really have any other use for it.

"Tsk. Does that mean I have to wait?" he wondered. Even if he wanted to be thrown into danger, it wasn't like he could just run off to the Fiend Association right this moment. For now, all he could do was be patient and wait.

'Besides that, I feel like this guy has become quieter.'

Keen Intuition had always been ringing before, but now, it was quiet. Strangely enough, that made him trust it even more.

"Whatever. I'll find out what's changed when I'm in danger." He brushed himself off and stood up.

He ripped off the blanket where the Frost Queen had dozed off underneath. She raised her visor slightly. "Why are you bothering me again..."

"Let's go."

"To where?"

"Gilleon." He had to tell Baron Vashti that he had successfully avenged Simus.

And that wasn't all...

'Nobles all over the Empire were injected with demonic energy...'

He had to get a move on if he wanted to help them.

***

"Is that true?" Baron Vashti looked like he was about to jump in joy. He gave Seo Jun-Ho the promised 100 gold and took his hand. "Thank you so much... Truly."

The Player had not only saved his only son, but he had also gone as far as to avenge him. On top of that, he had even recently saved Vashti's friend, the city lord of Maliva.

"I am truly fortunate to have met you," he said.

"I'm also glad to have met you, thanks to the young master," Seo Jun-Ho replied.

"Hahaha! Oh, you...Let's not dally around like this and talk over a meal."

"Unfortunately, I think I'll have to dine with you another time."

"Hm? Do you have an important appointment?"

"Oh, well..." Seo Jun-Ho purposefully dragged out his words, and Vashti gave him the response he wanted.

"Does something trouble you? If so, tell me. For you, I will do whatever I can to help."

"Sigh... To be honest, I recently discovered that a large number of people have the same illness Simus had," Seo Jun-Ho explained.

"Same as... Simus?" Baron Vashti stiffened. This meant he discovered others who had been injected with demonic energy. "After what happened to Simus, I suspected as much... I suppose my hunch was correct."

"So, I would be very grateful if you helped me."

"And what would that be? Just say the word."

"Do you happen to be closely involved in politics?" Seo Jun-Ho asked.

The baron looked dejected. "I apologize. I wouldn't say that I am completely uninvolved, but I do not have much power."

"Hm, then could you just write a letter for me?"

"A letter?"

"Yes. I want you to notarize a statement saying that I treated Young Master Simus."

"Notarize, you say..."

This was a sensitive topic. It would cause trouble for them if rumors spread that Simus once possessed demonic energy.

However, the baron only debated it for a second before coolly saying, "So I shall. It is not like you will be doing anything bad. You're going to save people, after all."

"Thank you for your courageous decision."

"How many do you need?" Baron Vashti asked.

"I think just one will be fine," Seo Jun-Ho said.

"...Will that be enough?"

"Yes."

If Baron Vashti didn't have much political power, Seo Jun-Ho simply had to find someone with that power. With a sealed letter in hand, he left Gilleon soon after.

The next place he was headed toward was none other than the imperial capital, Leiark.