Chapter 363: So What Tier Were You Again?

The sky was blue, and the chirping of birds sounded like the singing of angels. The sunlight that shone from between the clouds lit the room.

"Aaaahh," Oh Kang-Woo expressed.

This was life. The ten grueling millennia that he had suffered through in Hell were likely for this very moment— no, it must have been. He looked up at the sky from the windowsill in melancholy.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Cha Yeon-Joo, who had come to his room because it was past noon, frowned.

Kang-Woo, who simply looked out the window without looking at her, remarked, "It's a beautiful day... is it not?"

"It's raining."

"Can you not hear the chirping of birds?"

"I said it's raining, you moron. There aren't any birds."

"They sound like angels singing..."

"Hah," Yeon-Joo chuckled in sarcasm at Kang-Woo's nonsense.

Kang-Woo smirked and looked at her pridefully as if she was an ignorant girl. Yeon-Joo frowned aggressively.

"What?" she asked fiercely, feeling displeasure from the look that Kang-Woo was giving her.

Kang-Woo grinned while paying no mind to her response and said, "How do I look like to you right now?"

"Like a dumbass."

"Don't you feel anything new about me?"

"I'd guess your brain was switched out for a new one."

Kang-Woo would usually not take such cutting remarks idly by, but he was different now. He smiled as if he was a saint who could embrace everything in the world and nodded.

"Yeah, I guess it could've been," he replied.

Yeon-Joo's mouth was left agape, and she rubbed her arms as if she got goosebumps.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Did you take a bullet to the head?"

It was a pointless question. There was no way that there would be guns in Aernor, and even if there were, they would never be able to pierce through Kang-Woo's head. No, even if a bullet managed to, Yeon-Joo knew that Kang-Woo would be perfectly fine.

"Wait..."

Yeon-Joo's eyes narrowed. Kang-Woo looked as if he had a screw loose, and the bed was so disheveled to the point that Yeon-Joo wondered how he had slept. There weren't many things that could explain this situation.

"Well, well." Yeon-Joo stared at Kang-Woo ridiculously. "I was wondering why a guy like you, who doesn't even need sleep, was nowhere to be seen in the morning, but you sure went at it."

The back of Yeon-Joo's head hurt just from imagining what Kang-Woo had likely experienced last night. She was boiling with rage for some reason, and was surging with the desire to slap the grinning Kang-Woo's face. Crack. Yeon-Joo kicked a nearby chair to vent her frustration, and it shattered.

"Kang-Woo, did someone stop by?" Han Seol-Ah arrived with a boiling pot in hand. There was no question what was inside.

"Ngh...!" Yeon-Joo flinched.

She knew very well how mentally unstable Seol-Ah was lately. Yeon-Joo did not even want to imagine the chaos that would ensue from Seol-Ah seeing that she and Kang-Woo were together alone in his room.

"This is— w-w-w-w-w-w-w-w-well..." Yeon-Joo backed away while stuttering.

"Oh, you're here too, Yeon-Joo?" Seol-Ah placed the pot on the table while smiling. "Great timing. Come eat with us."

"Eh?"

Yeon-Joo's eyes widened. Such behavior from Seol-Ah was unimaginable from how she had recently been, exuding bloodlust whenever Kang-Woo was involved with any women. She was acting like herself when Yeon-Joo had first met her.

"Did you sleep well, Kang-Woo?" Seol-Ah asked as she approached Kang-Woo with a smile and kissed him softly on the cheek.

"Yeah," Kang-Woo energetically nodded.

"Fufu. The food is ready, so come to the table," Seol-Ah said while gently patting Kang-Woo's head.

Yeon-Joo stared at the two of them dumbfoundedly and sighed. "Sheesh. You two sure were made for each other."

She thought, 'All couples, just fucking die.'

"Oh? You're not gonna join us?" Seol-Ah asked.

"I don't wanna get in the way."

"Don't be like that and come take a seat." Seol-Ah smiled brightly and grabbed Yeon-Joo's hand.

Yeon-Joo, after thinking for a bit, ended up taking a seat. Seol-Ah sat next to Kang-Woo and opened the lid to reveal kimchi stew filled with eel and garlic[1].

"Huh?" Yeon-Joo expressed.

'Eel?'

"Hohoho. Eat tons and regain your energy, Kang-Woo," Seol-Ah remarked.

"Thanks for the meal, darling."

"Wait, wait, wait." Yeon-Joo quickly waved her hands. "Eel in kimchi stew?"

She had never heard of such a combination.

"What's wrong with it? We have it like this all the time." Kang-Woo tilted his head as if he couldn't understand what the problem was.

Yeon-Joo remained silent and slowly turned her head toward Seol-Ah. She was filling Kang-Woo's bowl with the kimchi stew with a very wide smile.

"You..." Yeon-Joo stared at Kang-Woo pitifully.

"What?" Kang-Woo asked.

"No, never mind." She shook her head and sighed.

Kang-Woo had some of the kimchi stew and asked Yeon-Joo, "Come to think of it, what brings you here?"

"Oh, right." Yeon-Joo recalled the reason why she had come to Kang-Woo's room in the first place. "Iris woke up."

"Oh, really?" Kang-Woo put down his bowl and asked, "How is she doing?"

"She's acting a bit weird. She was trembling a ton as soon as she woke up, like she was terrified by something."

Seol-Ah slightly flinched. She turned to look at Kang-Woo in guilt.

"Oh, and... I could feel some sort of strange energy from Iris. She emits a golden aura from time to time."

"Mm." Kang-Woo nodded.

It was most likely because the power of the high elves dormant within Iris had awoken due to Seol-Ah.

"But why did that little brat pass out in the first place? Did something happen?" Yeon-Joo asked.

"Just a little something." Kang-Woo avoided answering the question while smiling awkwardly. There was no way that he could tell Yeon-Joo that the angelic instincts in Seol-Ah had gone out of control and caused her to kidnap and threaten Iris. "I'll go see her later."

"No." Seol-Ah shook her head. She grabbed Kang-Woo's hand and continued, "I'll go, Kang-Woo."

"You?" Kang-Woo looked at Seol-Ah, conflicted.

No matter how he thought about it, it would only bring negative results.

Seol-Ah continued with an expression filled with guilt, "I feel like I would have to apologize to her personally."

"Hmm..."

Although it did not seem like a good idea for the kidnapper herself to visit the victim, he couldn't bring himself to refuse when Seol-Ah's eyes were filled with a firm will.

"Okay. I'll leave Iris to you, darling."

Seol-Ah's mental state had become very stable after their interaction last night.

'But who knows when she'll relapse?'

Kang-Woo knew very well how powerful the impulses brought about by instincts were. As long as Seraph was inside Seol-Ah, her obsession may go out of control at any time.

'But...'

Kang-Woo scanned Seol-Ah. Her face was filled with guilt and worry for Iris; she was the same kind Seol-Ah that he had known for a very long time.

'I shouldn't have anything to worry about for the time being.'

He should not make any rash decisions, but Seol-Ah did not seem like she would lose control in the immediate moment.

"Apologize? Did you do something to Iris, Seol-Ah?" Yeon-Joo asked.

"Oh... U-Uhmm..."

"What? Did you scold her or something?" Yeon-Joo snickered.

Seol-Ah scratched her cheek while smiling awkwardly.

"She deserves it, considering all of her shit that we had to endure." Yeon-Joo shook her head while waving her hand. "Anyway, I came to tell you that, but a certain someone was as lifeless as a 0/14 ADC against a Vladimir with 23 kills. No, maybe Tahm Kench is a better reference in this situation[2]."

"What does that mean?"

"Hmph, nothing a troll who steals the CS from an ADC would know."

Kang-Woo raised an eyebrow. Although he had no idea what Yeon-Joo was saying, it felt extremely unpleasant. He narrowed his eyes and poked at her weakness.

"Big words for a Bronze player."

"..."

"I was curious, so I looked it up. You're treated no better than an insect."

"N-Not true!! I just have terrible luck in teams! Just looking at skill alone, I'm...!"

"So what tier are you again?"

"Y-You son of a bitch!"

Yeon-Joo trembled in anger. She wanted to refute Kang-Woo's claims, but she collapsed in despair from the irrefutable fact. Kang-Woo felt great satisfaction. He snickered once the displeasure he had felt earlier disappeared.

"Well, that's enough of that. Let's eat before the stew gets cold," Kang-Woo said.

"Urgh! Just you wait! I've just been slacking off. If I actually put my mind to it, I can easily escape Bronze...!"

"I'd say it's practically hopeless, considering you're still stuck in that tier despite your physical prowess."

Kang-Woo chuckled. He had more or less of an idea after playing a few times with Yeon-Joo that there was no way that she would be in such a low tier with her superhuman reaction speed.

"Shut up!! You don't know shit!" Yeon-Joo exclaimed.

'That fiery temper of hers is probably what's holding her back. Well, it has nothing to do with me.'

Kang-Woo smirked and had more of Seol-Ah's kimchi stew.

"Kaaah."

It was delicious. Whether it was eel or anything else in it, kimchi stew was kimchi stew. Kang-Woo got up after emptying three bowls of rice in an instant.

"I'll take care of the cleanup," Kang-Woo stated.

"No, Kang-Woo. Let me."

"You made it, so I should be the one to clean." Kang-Woo placed his hand on Seol-Ah's shoulder as she was about to get up. "Besides, you were gonna go visit Iris, weren't you?"

"Ah..."

Seol-Ah nodded with a gloomy expression after recalling what she needed to do. Kang-Woo levitated the pots with the Authority of the Sky and turned his head to Yeon-Joo.

"Right, then. Let's go wash the dishes."

"Why me?"

"You had some too."

"You ate ten times more than me!"

Yeon-Joo frowned aggressively, but followed behind Kang-Woo anyway while grumbling. Kang-Woo smirked and headed to the imperial kitchen with Yeon-Joo.

Smash—!!

Just then, something fell through the ceiling of the imperial castle. Kang-Woo pulled Yeon-Joo behind him by the shoulder and extended his arm forward, creating a shield shining gold.

"Wh-What the—?!" Yeon-Joo shouted.

Kang-Woo paid her no mind and focused on the being that had fallen from the sky.

"Uriel?"

"Kang... Woo..."

A bloodied angel was stretching out his arm toward Kang-Woo.

"Hurry..."

Uriel staggered toward Kang-Woo and kept himself up while grabbing Kang-Woo's shoulders. The angel, whose entire body was tattered beyond belief, squeezed out a warning.

"Run... away."

1. Freshwater eel is known in Korean culture to boost sexual desire, and I believe garlic does as well. ☜

2. I am too lazy to explain this. People who don't play LoL don't need to know, and those who play LoL know anyway. ☜