The first thing Heo Tae-seok had felt was gratitude.
'Black Scythe-nim actually accepted me into his party…'
Who ever would have thought he'd get to party with the famous Black Scythe?
The second thing he'd felt was admiration.
He'd watched him slice a Centaur in two with a single stroke, something five people fighting together could barely manage.
It was overwhelming martial prowess.
'As expected of Black Scythe-nim. He really is someone worthy of respect.'
He found himself wanting to become strong like Black Scythe.
And the third emotion he'd felt—
'Holy crap… Thanks to Black Scythe-nim, my level shot up like crazy in just six hours.'
Was gratitude once more.
When he'd first joined the party, he never imagined his level would rise by thirteen.
'Thank you, Black Scythe-nim. Thank you so much for taking a worthless nobody like me into your party.'
Ever since he'd met Black Scythe, good fortune had followed.
How could he not be thankful?
But there was one feeling that made him forget all those other emotions in an instant.
"Gwooooar!"
Slice— thud—!
It was pure, spine-tingling awe.
'H-he killed the boss i-in one hit?'
No matter how strong Black Scythe was, he'd never imagined he'd actually one-shot a boss.
'You insane bastard! You stupid bastard!'
Heo Tae-seok cursed his own earlier thoughts.
'You want to become strong like Black Scythe-nim? That's impossible!'
He realized it too late.
Black Scythe was someone in a realm he couldn't reach, no matter how high he climbed.
'He's someone far beyond my reach. A being I can't even dare look up to.'
In his eyes, Black Scythe was nothing less than a god.
He didn't look like a fellow human being anymore.
'I've received grace from Black Scythe-nim… What do I do? How can I help him?'
Even after returning, he wracked his brain searching for a way to repay that grace, but nothing came to mind.
Compared to the woman who clung to his side providing buffs, he was even more useless.
A wave of pointless gloom washed over him.
'Haa… If only I had a class that could actually help Black Scythe-nim…'
A Dark Mage was only good for hunting; in other respects, there was nothing he could do.
'It's not like I can even help him with hunting…'
A wolf pup couldn't possibly be of help to a fully grown wolf.
He'd just get in the way.
'I can't do anything for him in the Otherworld.'
He would have to look somewhere else.
'Like in reality, for example.'
A perfect idea came to him.
What did a god need?
'Devout believers.'
Heo Tae-seok grinned.
The day after he returned home—
Ryu Min was checking flight schedules on his phone.
'I should go see Russell and get my Durability restored again.'
This time, things might be different from before.
The prophecy about Round 6 he'd given Russell must have helped him a lot.
Just then, Ryu Min's phone vibrated.
"Hm?"
It was an international call from a number he recognized.
He answered immediately.
-Is this Mr. Ryu's number?
"Yes, this is him. Russell Daniel?"
-Ah, hello, Prophet-nim. First of all, I wanted to say thank you. I almost died out there, but I made it back thanks to you.
Russell's voice was full of excitement.
He could guess what had happened, but still—
"Did something happen?"
-I'll explain it all in detail when I get there.
"Get here? You're coming to Korea?"
-Yes. I've already bought a ticket and I'm in line.
Ryu Min had been planning to go see Russell, but now the guy was already queued up to come to him.
'What is this? Nothing like this ever happened in the previous regressions…'
He'd helped Russell more times than he could count, but the man had never said he'd come all the way to Korea before.
-Mr. Ryu? Did I overstep? If this is a burden, I can still canc—
"Not at all. I wanted to see you too. It's great that you're coming in person."
-I couldn't possibly make Prophet-nim come all this way when you've helped me. Is Seoul fine?
"I'll pick you up at Incheon Airport. Let me know your arrival time, and call me again once you land."
-I will, Mr. Ryu. Then I'll see you at the airport.
He met Russell the following day.
"Mr. Ryu!"
Russell, walking toward him with a light backpack slung over his shoulders, broke into a wide grin when he spotted him.
"It's really great to see you in person!"
"Welcome to Korea, Russell."
After a brief handshake, he led him toward the parking lot.
"Let's go. I'll be your guide."
"Man, I've got so much to talk about, my tongue's itching… but I'll hold it in for now. Haha!"
Russell turned out to be quite the talker.
On the way to the parking lot, Ryu Min actually found himself wishing he'd quiet down a little.
"Hop in."
"W-wait! I-is this a Lamborghini Aventador?"
"You recognize it?"
"Come on, you can't think just because I live in the mountains I don't know anything. This is basically my dream car!"
"Wake up. No amount of being a raid leader is ever going to buy you one of these."
"That's why it's a dream car! Hahaha!"
The two of them climbed into the sports car and pulled out onto the road.
"Anywhere you want to go?"
"More than that, is there somewhere quiet we could talk?"
Checking the time, Ryu Min nodded.
"It happens to be lunchtime. Want to grab something to eat?"
"Oh, sounds perfect. I've wanted to try Korean food— I heard it's famous."
"Then I'll take you somewhere I know well."
He brought Russell to a traditional Korean course restaurant inside Ma Kyung-rok's hotel.
He'd made a reservation beforehand just in case, so getting a room wasn't a problem.
"This place is nice and quiet. Private rooms and everything. Is it a Korean restaurant?"
"Something like that."
Before long, the food started coming out in waves, and each time, Russell's jaw dropped.
"H-how is there this much food? I've never had a course meal like this in my life."
"So that means you're satisfied? Good. Eat up. It's my treat."
"No way, Mr. Ryu! I can't just keep taking advantage of you. Please, at least let me pay for the meal!"
"Can you afford it? This place is a little pricey."
"How much are we talking?"
"About 130 pounds a head."
"Guh!"
Russell hastily set down the glass of water he'd been drinking.
He'd nearly sprayed it in the Prophet's face.
'N-no wonder it looked expensive! One hundred and thirty pounds… how many materials is that?'
He'd been expecting at most thirty pounds, so the number left him flustered. Trying not to show it, he said:
"I-I'll pay. This much is nothing. Don't worry about it."
"I wasn't worried."
In any case, the money Russell was using had originally come from Ryu Min.
He'd intended to save it for materials, but if he thought of it as money he'd never had to begin with, it didn't hurt to spend it.
"Russell. How about I pay for lunch, and you fix my Durability again like last time?"
"Your Durability? Of course I should do that for you!"
Accepting the Bead of Eternal Rest, Russell quickly restored his Durability and handed it back.
"Thank you. Then I'll cover the meal."
"Mm… that still feels like I'm not doing enough in return…"
"It's fine. So what happened? You said you nearly died."
"Ah, right, that."
His story wasn't particularly complicated.
Just as advised, he'd formed a party, hunted for close to six hours, then challenged the boss— and had nearly gotten himself killed.
"If I hadn't leveled up at least a bit beforehand just like you said, I would've been in serious trouble."
"I'm glad I could help. Did your level go up much?"
"I'm at 29 now."
'Same as Ma Kyung-rok.'
A Blacksmith, by name and nature, wasn't a combat-focused class.
But by reinforcing his party's weapons and repairing their Durability, he could provide a lot of support.
'In a way, he's kind of like a Buffer.'
If he'd boosted his entire party's synergy that way, it made sense his level had risen that much.
Well, Russell himself was also strong enough now to take down Orcs without much trouble.
"Still, it's embarrassing to say, but… am I really going to become the top Blacksmith? It's hard to believe…"
"If you put in the work, you can. And if you get my help on top of that, you can go even further."
"Ha ha, I already feel reassured. With Prophet-nim helping me, there's nothing to be scared of. Oh, more food?"
As the server set down more dishes, Russell gasped.
"This isn't a buffet, so how does the food keep coming? Hm!? This is amazing! What's this one called?"
"It's bulgogi."
"This is exactly my taste. I had no idea Korean food was this good."
Russell devoured it like someone possessed.
He'd probably cut food expenses to save up for materials and a plane ticket.
"By the way, Prophet-nim, are you some kind of chaebol second generation? You're young, but your car, and the way you casually tossed me a fortune last time…"
"A chaebol? No, I've just been lucky. With an ability to see the future, would it make sense if I couldn't make at least this much money? You can be as rich as me someday too, Russell."
"Ah, you mean because of the stocks?"
"Yeah. You did invest in the company I told you to, right?"
"Of course. The day you told me, I went straight to open an account. I even invested more than the half you suggested…"
"Good. In that case, even without my support later, you won't have to worry about your living expenses."
"And that company is really going to blow up?"
"Yes. That's why I told you to invest."
"What kind of business are they in?"
"You invested without even checking that?"
"I just trusted your word and figured it'd be fine. Haha…"
"Hm…"
Once the meal was winding down, Ryu Min spoke up.
"In that case, want me to introduce you to the company?"
"The company?"
"It's not far from here."
"Oh, then we should swing by and take a look."
After paying, they got back in the car and headed to Ma Kyung-rok's office.
"Here we are."
The sign that once read "Cheonma Consulting" was gone, replaced by one that said "Player Place."
'Looks like preparations are mostly done.'
He'd dropped in without warning, but it didn't matter.
It was essentially his company anyway.
"So this is the company I invested seventy percent of my net worth in? Ah—sorry, it's not my money, it's yours…"
"That money is yours, Russell. Don't feel pressured to use it."
"You really are an angel, Prophet-nim. Man!"
Watching Russell make an exaggerated gesture typical of foreigners, Ryu Min let out a short laugh.
"At this point, calling me an angel is basically an insult, you know."
"Ah, d-does it come off that way?"
"By the way, isn't it hard to live with only thirty percent left?"
"It's a bit tight, but I'm managing. If I just cut down from three meals a day to two…"
"When we leave the company later, I'll withdraw some cash for you. Ten thousand pounds should keep you comfortable for a while, right?"
"Gasp! O-of course it would."
"I see you're not even pretending to refuse."
"Ah, ha ha ha…"
Russell didn't have the guts to turn it down, even out of politeness. He could only laugh.
"But are you sure it's okay to just walk into someone else's company like this?"
"It's fine. I'm not the CEO, but it's basically my company."
"Sorry?"
Russell blinked, then his mouth fell open as something clicked.
"Don't tell me the company you had me invest in is…"
"Yes. I'm the de facto owner of this place."