Chapter 343 - Extra Chapter 2 – Still the Earth Goes On (2)
It was an early summer afternoon with a clear sky in Hong Kong’s famous A-rank continuous gate, Ice House Garden. Kang Shin-hyuk had been sitting down at a stand.
“Kaah!”
[Heavy! Heavy!]
The baby dragon was carrying his child and flying in the sky. In all actuality, he didn’t have much power yet, so he was floating at the height of one meter rather than flying in the sky, but Ian was having fun.
“Higher, higher!”
[Heavy! Pig! Can’t fly anymore!]
“Ian’s not a pig, nor is he heavy!”
“Hey, look over there.”
“What? Magic tool? Is that a monster?”
“It’s with a child?”
The kids were playing and making noise, so it was unavoidable the superhumans waiting to enter the gate noticed them.
“It’s the guest zone.”
“Selling cocktails? Go into the dungeon with a cocktail that has a buff effect!”
Vita, dressed as a waitress, shouted in a lively voice to pull the customers’ attention to her. For reference, Kang Shin-hyuk wore a waiter’s outfit as well.
“Uh, what? Isn’t that Kang Shin-hyuk?”
“Puppeteer? Why is the Puppeteer at an A-rank gate? Ooh, there’s the Alchemist too?”
Kang Shin-hyuk and Vita were eye-catching, but today’s main sight was the Bartender. People soon discovered Claire’s presence at the stand with a shaker. It was no exaggeration to say they were the hottest couple in the world, so interest in them gathered.
“What the hell is going on? Are you experimenting with potions?”
“I heard that the Alchemist opened a bar in Seoul before.”
“If you can drink a cocktail made by the Alchemist, I don’t care! One Black Russian!”
Before long, one of the braver superhumans approached and ordered a cocktail. However, Kang Shin-hyuk smiled and shook his head.
“If we were thinking of selling regular cocktails, we wouldn’t do business here. What we’re selling here is a cocktail specifically tailored to the nature of the gate you’re going into.”
“It fits the gate...?”
“Yes. The cocktail name is... Honey, what did you say?”
He already knew, but it was on purpose. Today, Claire, who maintained the silent concept, shook the shaker politely and poured a fiery blue liquid into the glass before speaking.
“The Frozen Heart. $50,000 per cup.”
“Have you heard?”
“50,000?! No, but okay!”
$50,000 for a cocktail was a scam that wasn’t worth thinking about. Most of all, the man and the other superhumans who flocked to this neighborhood were trying to enter an A-rank dungeon so they could pay the price without difficulty.
“Oh, what is this? Drinking it is very strange... Is this fire? Should I drink it?”
“Just drink up.”
The man who paid the 50,000 dollars coolly took a quick sip of the blue flamed cocktail. Immediately after, a message window appeared before his eyes to inform him of the change of condition.
“No, what is this... is it true? Then... hey! Everyone come here!”
He immediately yelled for his party members.”
“Come and drink one! Come quick!”
“No, I hate alcohol...”
“Shut up and drink!”
The man immediately paid $250,000 for his party members and ordered five more. Claire skillfully prepared five servings of the cocktail, as if it were expected. Again, today’s Claire went for the silent concept, so Vita handed over the cocktails to their guests with a smile.
“Ooh, thank you.”
“Can I really drink this?”
“It was made by the Alchemist, so you have to drink it even if it’s poison.”
The man’s party members drank them at once, and then a similar appearance was repeated. Barely freed from the hectic flood of messages, they bowed their heads to Claire and ran toward the gate. Vita opened her mouth as she watched them run as if they were on fire.
“It lasts for eight hours, so they don’t need to rush like that.”
“Because this gate is a place they can hunt for a few days inside, I guess they want all they can get.”
The Ice House Garden was an area with monsters and traps that used extreme cold. The Frozen Heart, developed by Claire, gave high resistance to cold temperatures for a certain period of time and even increased attack and defense power in cold regions. Those who drank it were probably 1.5 times stronger when they were in the Ice Garden.
“What, why are they doing that?”
“Wait a minute. Did they change after drinking that? It looks like it’s not an ordinary potion.”
“If it were, it wouldn’t hurt... Huh?’
“Custom-made?”
The superhumans, realizing what had happened, ran to the stand. Surprised by the crowd rushing forward, the baby dragon flapped his wings and quickly moved back.
“Give me one drink!”
“Everyone in the party, so eight people, 400,000 dollars, right?”
However, despite the numerous requests, Claire held her index finger up.
“$100,000 per cup.”
“Yes? Previously, those people paid 50,000 per cup...”
“Eight glasses cost 800,000 dollars! Here you go!”
Next to the man who dumbly questioned the price jumping up, another superhuman quickly grasped the situation and handed over his card. Kang Shin-hyuk took it quickly, and Claire made eight cocktails.
“Hey, how is this...!”
“Quick, let’s get in!”
Those who drank the cocktail showed a more intense reaction than the previous party and threw themselves into the gate.
“What the hell? 100,000 is okay, so give me a drink!”
“$150,000 per cup.”
“Ah.”
“I knew it...”
The price went up to $300,000. There was no way that the superhumans would be concerned over the price, and since the ingredients were limited, this method was a way to avoid overcrowding. Despite the ever-increasing price, the superhumans didn’t back down and plunged into the gate all the more desperate for the money they spent.
“Whoo, business is over.”
“Oh, now your voice is back.”
“It was fun!”
Claire, who lived and died by her aesthetic, seemed to be truly satisfied with business today. Kang Shin-hyuk held Ian over to her, who was sleeping in his arms.
“Oh, how cute. Who are you like to be so cute?”
“He was running around all day, but he’s tired of playing with Heimdall.”
“It’s still a dragon. Did you really name it Heimdall?”
Heimdall was the name of the god who killed Loki and died in Ragnarök. The intention that Kang Shin-hyuk had in giving the dragon that name was clear. However, he replied brazenly even to Claire’s gaze.
“Don’t get it wrong. Heimdall is the chief of the Bifrost and the god of light. How good is it for this shining dragon?”
“Hey, I know the Korean proverb, Blindfolded Aung.”
[Mom!]
Heimdall rushed to Claire, jealous of seeing Ian be hugged. Instead of Claire, Vita picked him up and hugged him.
“By the way, is it okay to show the existence of a dragon like this, dad?”
“Now, only Claire is called mom.”
“I don’t think that’s the problem...”
The baby dragon flapped his wings in Vita’s arms.
[Sister!]
“Look, his education is perfect.”
“...It’s fine to call me mother too.”
Heimdall, who had been educated by Kang Shin-hyuk and cured of his habits, trembled.
[...Mom?]
“Yes. Well done.”
[Mom!]
Oh, it was dark. Kang Shin-hyuk sighed as he felt as if he needed to re-educate Heimdall again.
“Anyway, we don’t have any active duty anymore, and people won’t pay much attention. Besides, Onyx’s existence is way more different.”
“Then dad, coming out like this today and having a cocktail stand...?”
“Business trip! It’s a business trip to the Frontline Bar!”
Claire, unable to tolerate the name stand, shouted. Kang Shin-hyuk laughed and nodded.
“Yes, a business trip at the Frontline Bar. It was a performance that we held to show even if we don’t do full-scale activities; we can help superhumans in each country this way. The superhumans will see the virtue of it, and people will realize we can’t be swayed.”
“You mean, they just have to take advantage of the benefits but not expect anything else?”
“Eunah has already pulled away from the association. Instead, it seemed she started something else...”
“School.”
Kang Shin-hyuk responded as he used the stand’s equipment to make simple cocktails for all three of them.
“School? Shinyoung was doing well at educating newcomers, right?”
“Shinyoung starts as a high school. What Eunah is thinking is a facility like a gifted education center.”
“Ah, a gifted education center.”
Shin Eunah’s childhood might have influenced the planning. Claire felt a bit sad that Eunah hadn’t consulted her as she listened to Kang Shin-hyuk.
“It’s true that some of Earth’s gate conditions have stabilized as Shinyoung has increased, but in the end, the world order was reorganized around Shinyoung. Eunah seems to have decided to resolve that imbalance.”
“What, she’s just hiding behind her husband.”
“Hey.”
Shin Eunah was angry at Janus, Jormungand, and all the humans who had frustrated her...
-1 million HP bonus from the administrator admiring dad’s heart!
‘No way, you mean my conscience, right?’
Yes, he had to admit it. Shin Eunah was more obsessed with Earth than himself and was trying to normalize it on his behalf, who easily let go of his feelings of belonging when he became transcendent.
“The Gifted Education Center... I think it’ll be okay.”
“Don’t use that name.”
“You don’t want to evolve and make a cocktail with me?”
Kang Shin-hyuk shook the shaker as he spoke. After making a share for all three of them, he put it down.
“One more drink, please.”
“Dad!”
Not Heimdall’s voice, but the clear voice of a girl. Looking back, there was Shin Eunah with Sia in her arms.
“How did you know to come here? I didn’t even feel your power searching.”
“It’s on SNS. Honey, make it fast.”
Shin Eunah laughed at his question and hurried to him. Kang Shin-hyuk smiled faintly, recalling memories of something similar a few years ago.
“Dad, I want to drink too...!”
“Eunah, she’s holding on tightly.”
“Claire, you didn’t give Sia a cocktail, right?”
“Non-alcoholic is okay?”
“Hey!”
Kang Shin-hyuk prepared a cocktail for Eunah and decided to ask Sia later what cocktail she had before.
It was a Virgin Pina Colada, thankfully enough.