Chapter 184  

Yu-Seong thought that most of his companions, or perhaps all of them, had reached the Tower of Heaven’s 10th floor before him. Thus, as he wandered around, he thought that he might come across some familiar faces.

In fact, he was not mistaken.

"...Huh? Choi Yu-Seong?"

At a bar that had the atmosphere of becoming quite lively after sunset, a man was drinking on the terrace. He recognized Yu-Seong and his eyes widened in surprise.

"Bernard Yoo?"

In response, Bernard stood up from his seat with his distinctive bright smile, walked toward Yu-Seong, and hugged him with his arms outstretched. He said, "Wow, how long has it been since we last met?"

Yu-Seong nodded with a smile as Bernard patted his back quite roughly. He replied, "Yeah, it feels like it's been a while."

"It's been almost six months. By the way, are you alone?"

Next to Bernard was Meghan, who was relaxing together with him. She greeted Yu-Seong with a nod and raised her beer glass.

"What do you think? How about a drink before you go?"

"I'm actually looking for my companions right now but..."

"But?" Bernard, who was sitting slightly apart from Yu-Seong, asked him, "Well, you don't really have to keep wandering around, do you? You can easily see people passing by from this terrace seat.”

In fact, Yu-Seong also needed a break. He knew that he would likely become busy again once he returned to Earth, so he decided to take the opportunity to enjoy this leisure time.

***

“You’ve made a good choice,” said Benard Yoo.

Yu-Seong ended up joining Bernard and Meghan. He sat on the terrace outside the bar and started to drink beer. Putting down his glass with a bright expression, he exclaimed, "Ah, it's so refreshing!”

He had been running non-stop since entering the Tower of Heaven, and this one glass of refreshing drink was something he had missed.

"They say they preserve the temperature with magic, but I think it tastes even better than Earth beer," Bernard said.

"I agree," Meghan chimed in.

"Agreed, agreed. By the way, when did you two arrive on the 10th floor?" asked Yu-Seong.

"It's only been three days since we got here. At that time, there weren't that many people, but there were suddenly so many more the next day,” said Bernard.

Yu-Seong's eyes twinkled from the unexpected information that Bernard had given.

'I guess that time didn't seem to pass that much.'?

Beside Bernard, Meghan tilted her head at the Dragon Egg in Yu-Seong’s hand. She asked, "May I ask what that is?"

"Oh, this... Um..." After thinking for a moment, Yu-Seong nodded lightly and replied, "I believe it is a Dragon Egg."

"Phew-!" Bernard's eyes grew wide with surprise as he spewed beer into the air. "What? What did you say? A Dragon Egg? That winged creature?"

"Yes. Actually, I'm pretty certain," Yu-Seong replied.

"My goodness, where did you even get it?"

"On the 9th floor. There was a bit of a story behind it."

"There's something like a Dragon Egg coming out of the 9th floor? Well, we have also experienced something similar to a hidden-piece a few times, but..." said Bernard.

After hearing that, Bernard and Meghan couldn't hide their surprised reactions. No other emotions but curiosity could be found in their gaze as they continued to look at the egg.

'If I had to say, it's curiosity.'?

Despite knowing the truth, there was no sign of greed or any negative emotions. Yu-Seong couldn't help but smile as he realized that Bernard and Meghan were also good people.

'...And that's why I decided to stay with them.'?

In truth, carrying the Dragon Egg alone was burdensome for Yu-Seong. The egg was unusually large, attracting unwanted attention. Therefore, it was difficult for him to protect it alone.

'It's better to have trustworthy people around.'? As Yu-Seong looked to the side with that thought in mind, Bernard asked with widened eyes and a disgusted face, "Why are you smiling at me suddenly?"

"Just because. Do I need a reason?” asked Yu-Seong.

.

“Maybe it's because he likes you, Bernard?" suggested Meghan.

"Between men? Don't make me shiver, Meghan."

"Same-sex relationships are possible too. It's surprisingly common. Bernard, you don’t seem to know, but..."

"Stop. I'm not part of that. Let's just pretend I didn't hear anything,” said Bernard.

"I don't dislike him, but I'm not interested in that either, Meghan," said Yu-Seong.

At the intense denial of the two, a strange look of disappointment crossed Meghan's gaze. She said, "It's not as bad as you think.”

"It doesn't matter if people love each other, but don’t get me involved," said Bernard.

“Hm…”

After making a strange nasal sound and stroking her chin, Meghan turned to Yu-Seong as if she suddenly remembered something. She asked, "How about with Kim Do-Jin?”

"Well, he's still the same. We came up here together, but I arrived a little late."

"But didn't he wait for you?" Bernard asked.

"He's never been the type to wait," Yu-Seong replied with a smirk as he tipped his beer glass.

"Come to think of it, he has a pretty selfish personality," Bernard commented.

"Yes, very mean. I still curse his name when I remember how much trouble he had caused us on the 9th floor," Yu-Seong said with a hint of anger in his voice.

"Why do you keep hanging out with someone like him? Just cut him off," Bernard suggested.

"I'm thinking about cutting him off already," Yu-Seong replied with a smirk.

As they lightly clinked their beer glasses, they suddenly felt a heavy presence behind them and heard a voice.

"...look who's enjoying themselves by bad mouthing someone behind their back."

Turning around, Yu-Seong and Bernard spewed their beer into the air.

“Phew-!”

“Pheww-! Kim Do-Jin?"

"Disgusting."

Do-Jin sat down at an empty table nearby, crossed his legs, and stared outside as if he had no connection to the three of them.

"How did you get here…?" Yu-Seong asked urgently.

Without even glancing at Yu-Seong, Do-Jin called for the owner and ordered a beer.

“Didn’t you go up to the 11th floor first?" asked Yu-Seong again.

Do-Jin, however, still gave no response.

Bernard watched Do-Jin and raised his eyebrows with his eyes narrowed. Then, he said, "Seems like he's sulking.”

"Sulking? Really?" Yu-Seong asked.

"True, it's not like he would sulk over something as small as talking about him," Bernard explained.

"Wasn't it not just talking abotu me, but also talking behind my back?" Do-Jin burst out as he glared at Bernard, then he emptied the glass of beer at once.

Yu-Seong noticed something strange in Do-Jin’s behavior before his eyes widened in surprise. He asked, "Hey, what about your egg...?"

"My egg hatched. I didn't expect you to still be carrying the egg. And...the color has changed too," said Do-Jin, glancing at Yu-Seong's purple egg. Tilting his head in curiosity, he asked, "What exactly happened?"

"If I answer, you should also tell me why you are here," said Yu-Seong.

"I’ll think about it if you apologize first."

"Sorry."

"..."

Yu-Seong's calm apology filled Do-Jin's eyes with a strange emotion. It was anger, according to the Character Understanding skill. "Why? I apologized as you told me to.”

"The sincerity... Never mind," said Do-Jin. He sighed deeply, rubbed his forehead, and lowered his head. He muttered, "Since when did I become so childish?"

"You've always been childish," Bernard responded.

"Shut up, Bernard."

"See? Even a little teasing makes you sensitive."

Yu-Seong quickly intervened and sat between the two who looked like they were about to explode at any moment. He warned, "If you two really start fighting here, the security guards will catch you. And considering you’re here before me, shouldn't you know that already?"

"Hmph, who’s fighting with who?" Do-Jin replied.

"I never bother fighting with such a childish guy," added Bernard.

While the two exchanged a few more light arguments as they glared at each other, Yu-Seong suddenly thought that the scene was quite familiar to him.

‘Yoo Jin-Hyuk and Chae Ye-Ryung.’

Perhaps the phrase ‘lovers' quarrel’ would be more fitting for them. Although, what exactly should he call these two in front of him?

As Yu-Seong pondered, Meghan snapped him out of his thoughts. She commented, "Wow, what a hot friendship.”

"Quiet, Meghan!" scolded Bernard.

"What a noisy woman," muttered Do-Jin.

Meghan shrugged her shoulders at their intense gazes.

***

It took more than thirty minutes for the two men to cool down. In the meantime, as Yu-Seong silently watched the people passing by on the terrace, other customers started to come into the bar. This was because there were many people who were interested in seeing the group drinking outside.

"So, why did your egg turn out like that?" Do-Jin asked.

“Oh, this…” Yu-Seong pondered for a moment before explaining calmly. "A god appeared and gave me some sort of blessing, so the color changed into this.”

"A god appeared in front of you directly?" asked Do-Jin.

"Yeah," responded Yu-Seong.

Do-Jin smirked and shook his head side by side. "You're lying again. Well, I'll let it slide this time."

"You never believe me whenever I tell you the truth.”

“I'd rather believe you if you said you made a contract with a demon," said Do-Jin.

"Don't demons suit you more than me?" said Yu-Seong.

"Wait, can I ask a question?" Bernard, who had inserted himself between Yu-Seong and Kim, raised his hand.

"Say it," said Do-Jin.

"Did a real Dragon hatch from your egg?" asked Bernard.

Do-Jin nodded slightly as he tilted his beer glass.

“Then, where is it?”

"Here," Do-Jin replied briefly as he pointed to his own shoulder.

"Can’t see anything."

In response, something black and shiny about the size of a human head briefly appeared on Do-Jin's shoulder. Then, it disappeared again.

"J-Just now..."

"Antareus, that's what I named it. Since you guys don't believe me, I thought I'd show you its appearance for a moment." Do-Jin smirked and scratched the air above his shoulder with his index finger.

Kiiuuuung-!

Then, a strange sound came from the empty air.

"A-Are you saying it's really a Dragon?" exclaimed Bernard.

"It is indeed a Dragon, and it's impressive that it can use magic despite being born recently,” said Yu-Seong.

Do-Jin raised his head with pride at the reactions of Bernard and Yu-Seong, clearly showing how proud he was of the dragon he had obtained.

‘But, when will my Dragon be born?’

Just as he looked at Do-Jin with an envious gaze and placed his hand on the purple Dragon Egg, Yu-Seong felt a sensation of something wriggling and moving from within the egg. The movements were transmitted to the surface.