Songs in the Void

ICDS Universe, Earth, South Korea, Yeongdeungpo.

After the spar between Tatsuo and Shin, Tatsuo, Sumire, and Hwaya went back to Lana's house, declining Mrs. Kang's invitation to stay for dinner as they did so. Instead, they called a cab and went back to Lana's house, as she would surely have dinner waiting for them.

On their way back from the Kang residence, Hwaya had received a call saying that the two mana stones she requested were ready. And when they arrived at Hwaya's mother's house, there was a black sedan waiting for them on the side of the street.

After Hwaya received the two mana stones, the trio entered the house. And just as they expected, Lana had a table full of Korean cuisine waiting for them. So, they all sat down and had a nice meal together.

"Thank you so much for helping Hwaya deal with that Gate." Lana said as she helped Tatsuo and Sumire put food on their plates. "I was so worried. That thing could have been really dangerous."

"Don't worry about it, Ajumma." Tatsuo said in fluent Korean. "I would never let people get hurt by monsters if I can help it."

"Yeah, besides, Hwaya-Neesan is our friend." Sumire said with a smile. "so, if she ever needed our help, we would definitely help her."

"Sumire!" Hwaya squealed excitedly as she reached to her side and pulled Sumire into a hug. "I love you!"

"I love you, too, Nee-San." Sumire replied with a smile as she returned Hwaya's hug.

Meanwhile, Tatsuo only glanced at Hwaya. He did not consider her a friend. But he did not hate her, either. So, he kept his mouth shut.

Seeing the different reactions, Lana smiled at her daughter and Sumire. However, she raised an eyebrow when she saw Tatsuo's lukewarm reaction. Though she was curious to know why he reacted so differently, she was not so curious that she would ask and destroy the atmosphere. She would just have to ask Hwaya later.

Not long later, the quartet finished their meals. Then, while Lana cleared the table, after refusing Tatsuo and Sumire's assistance, Tatsuo, Sumire, and Hwaya headed upstairs. Tatsuo had to forge an accessory for Hwaya, after all.

"Tatsuo, here are the mana stones." Hwaya said as she pulled the two mana stones out of her Inventory. I didn't know if the level of the monster would make a difference. But I figured stronger ones would be better. So, I got ones from A-rank monsters."

Tatsuo took the mana stones with a blank expression on his face. Then, he looked them over carefully. After a moment, he nodded in approval.

"Well, at least they didn't con you." Tatsuo said with a smile. "I mean, you didn't even really check them when you took them from that guy that showed up earlier."

"As if they would dare." Hwaya said while flicking her hair behind her. "If they did and I found out, they would never have a chance of getting me to come to Korea. Not that I would ever give up Britan for Korea in the first place."

'She probably won't even remember saying that after Brightman pushes things too far when the Event Dungeons turn into Field Dungeons.' Tatsuo thought to himself as he simply nodded to Hwaya's statement.

"So, what shape do you want your accessory to be?" Tatsuo asked as he put away one of the mana stones.

"Huh?" Hwaya exclaimed in surprise. "I can choose?"

"Yeah, since I haven't forged an accessory for you yet." Tatsuo replied. "In fact, it doesn't even have to be metal. It could be a belt or a sash, or a shawl. I'm pretty good at tailoring and leatherworking, too."

At first, Sumire and Hwaya were surprised when they heard that. A moment later, however, they remembered that Tatsuo had made his own defensive gear, which did not seem to have any metal parts. So, they quickly believed him.

"Hmm… Let me think." Hwaya said as she raised her right hand to cup her chin. A few moments later, her eyes lit up as she reached into her Inventory to pull out an item. "Can you add it to this?"

In Hwaya's hand was a stylish black dress with a white spiderweb pattern. It was the [Arachne's Silk Dress] she received from the Event Dungeon. And considering the fact that it had better stats than the dress she commissioned from the Dungeon, Hwaya thought it was the perfect choice.

"Sure, that's fine." Tatsuo replied with a nod as he took the dress from Hwaya. Then, he continued with a wide smile. "In fact, it's great. This way, I don't' have to make anything."

After that, Tatsuo took the second [Lizard Knight Set] he had collected out of his [Inventory]. Then, he put it on the floor in front of him, along with the [Arachne's Silk Dress]. However, before he could start the [Skill Extraction] process, Sumire asked a question.

"Does that mean you would have made something on the spot?" Sumire asked curiously. "I can understand how that would have worked if you made a cloth or leather item. It would have just involved measuring, cutting, and sewing, right? But how would you have made a metal accessory on the spot?"

Hwaya had not thought about that, either. So, when she heard Sumire's question, she turned an inquisitive gaze in Tatsuo's direction.

"Oh, I bought a magical furnace and anvil from the Floor Shop." Tatsuo replied casually. "I don't' know how it works, but it isolates heat and mana when forging magical materials. I'd guess it isolates the sound, too. But I'm not sure. I don't' have any neighbors within two floors. So, I doubt they could hear the sound of me hammering at metal."

Sumire and Hwaya could only look on with dumbfounded expressions. They had no idea the Floor Shops even sold items like that. Then again, neither of them were crafters. On top of that, they were more concerned with buying items that would make climbing the Dungeon either safer or easier. So, they automatically filtered out items that could not do either of those two things.

Meanwhile, Tatsuo pressed his hands, with the mana stone in his palms, against the [Lizard Knight Set]. Then, he started the [Skill Extraction] process. And after about fifteen seconds, the armor disintegrated, only leaving the mana stone in Tatsuo's hands.

"Did it work?" Hwaya asked, having snapped out of her daze when the mana spiked during the procedure.

"Yeah, no problem." Tatsuo replied with a nod. "but I still have to do the most important part."

Then, without waiting for a response, Tatsuo once again picked up the [Arachne's Silk Dress]. Then, he focused on [Enchanting] the [Dragon Skin] Skill onto the dress. And he was trying his best to give it the same properties as his necklace.

Eventually, the mana stone in Tatsuo's hand flashed. Then, it crumbled into dust. At the same time, the [Arachne's Silk Dress] changed slightly in appearance, as well.

While it was still black with a spiderweb pattern, it also had a scale pattern that appeared on the black parts of the dress, making it seem as if dragon scales were woven into it, as well.

"Damn it, it turned out even better than mine." Tatsuo grumbled disgruntledly.

The [Draconic Defender Necklace] Tatsuo had created earlier in the day allowed the wearer to use [Dragon Skin]. It even improved the Skill, as the original Skill reduced the user's speed by 50% during [Dragon Skin's] duration. However, the one he made in the morning only reduced the user's speed by 10%. But this one only reduced the user's speed by 5%.

"Really?" Hwaya asked excitedly as she took the dress from Tatsuo and quickly checked its stats.

And when Hwaya saw that the speed reduction was only 5%, she squealed excitedly. Then, she lunged forward and wrapped Tatsuo in a hug.

"Thank you, Tatsuo.!" Hwaya said happily. "I'll be much safer with this. Now, I'll be able to keep more people safe from the monsters."

At first, Tatsuo was going to push Hwaya away. However, when he heard her sincere thanks and the fact that she wanted to keep people safe from the monsters, he decided to let this one go. Instead, he just patted her on the back.

Meanwhile, Sumire watched this scene with a complicated expression on her face.

'Hwaya-Neesan is so sneaky.' Sumire thought to herself while watching Tatsuo and Hwaya with a combination of happiness and envy in her expression. 'I'm happy that she'll be safer. But why did she have to hug Tatsuo-Kun like that? I haven't even hugged him yet.'

Reaching that point, Sumire blushed. However, neither Tatsuo or Hwaya noticed. And she was thankful for that.

"Anyway, since I'm done with that, I'm gonna go into the Dungeon for a while." Tatsuo said as he gently separated himself from Hwaya's embrace. "I have to collect another [Lizard Knight Set]."

Nodding in understanding, Hwaya stepped away from Tatsuo. However, she was a little surprised that Tatsuo actually let her hug him, now that she thought about it. She was certain that he did not like her very much, after all.

"When are the two of you going back to Japan?" Hwaya asked while holding the [Arachne's Silk Dress] against her chest. "I'd like to show you around a little more."

Hearing that, Sumire also looked at Tatsuo. She would leave the decision to Tatsuo. Though, she could not hide the desire to stay a little longer that shined in her eyes.

"Another day at most." Tatsuo replied after seeing the look in Sumire's eyes. "If I didn't make that video, I wouldn't mind staying longer, though. I could spar with Kang-San again, and even Kang-Ojisan, if we stayed longer. But I have a promise to keep."

With that, Sumire and Hwaya remembered that Tatsuo said he would clear the Event Dungeon at Osaka Castle. However, since he said he did not mind staying for another day, they knew that he said that for Sumire's sake.

"Thank you, Tatsuo-Kun." Sumire said while smiling sweetly. "Then, let's go have fun tomorrow."

In response, Tatsuo smiled at Sumire while nodding his head.

"I see." Hwaya said with a nod of her own. "In that case, I'll go back with you. And we can use my private jet."

"Huh?" Tatsuo replied with a raised eyebrow.

"Since you helped me with this Dungeon, I'll help you with yours." Hwaya said resolutely.

"It's only B+ ranked, though." Tatsuo said.

"Even so, I'll help." Hwaya replied. "Besides, if there's an Event Raid, it would be better to have more people, wouldn't it?"

Seeing the resolve in Hwaya's eyes, Tatsuo knew he would not be able to change her mind. So, he just sighed in resignation.

"Even if I said no, you would just follow us, wouldn't you?" Tatsuo said in an exasperated tone.

"I would." Hwaya said with a strong nod.

"Even if this Dungeon is filled with spiders, too?" Tatsuo asked with a mischievous grin.

Hwaya shuddered in response. Her expression softened, as well. However, after a moment, her resolute expression returned. Though, she looked a lot more apprehensive.

"Even if it's filled with spiders., I'll just burn everything to ashes like I did before." Hwaya said after reaffirming her resolve.

Seeing that, Sumire smiled brightly. Tatsuo, on the other hand, shook his head with a wry smile on his face.

"Do what you want." Tatsuo said. "Anyway, I'm going into the Dungeon. I'll see you two in the morning."

"Okay, see you later." Hwaya said as she turned around.

"Good night, Tatsuo-Kun." Sumire said with a smile and a wave. "See you in the morning."

With that, Sumire and Hwaya made their way towards the bedroom door. However, just before they left, Hwaya looked back over her shoulder.

"Oh yea, give me your bank details." Hwaya said. "I'll transfer the money for the dress to you."

Hearing that, Tatsuo raised an eyebrow. They had never even discussed a price for the job, other than the mana stones. Now, he was curious to see how much Hwaya would send him. So, he took out his smartphone and texted his account information to her after she and Sumire left the room.

Then, without waiting, Tatsuo equipped the [Azure Green-Scaled Body Suit] and the [Thunderclap Daggers] before entering the Dungeon to run the Lizard Knight raid three times. One of which was solo, so he could get the piece that only showed up during a solo raid. He also decided he would give the [Return Magic Book] to Sumire instead of selling it to the Floor Shop like he did with the last one.

The next morning, Tatsuo ran the Lizard Knight raid three more times. Then, he left the Dungeon and took a shower. Shortly after he was done and while he was getting dressed, he got an alert from his banking app.

"So, she sent it already." Tatsuo said as he picked up the smartphone. "Well, let's see how much she values that dress."

With that, Tatsuo opened the banking app. Then, he looked at the recent transactions section. And when he saw the amount of money that was just deposited into his account, he could not help but widen his eyes in surprise.

"Damn, she really is rich." Tatsuo muttered after looking at the number on his phone screen. "1.9 billion yen. I'm sure she doesn't have that much yen. So, she must have sent it in Pounds, and it was converted to yen. So, that means she sent…"

While speaking, Tatsuo searched the exchange rate from yen to pounds.

"Ten million pounds." Tatsuo said breathlessly.

"Tatsuo! Mom finished making breakfast." Hwaya's voice echoed from the first floor. "Hurry up and come down!"

"Alright, I'm coming!" Tatsuo shouted back as he put his phone down and finished getting dressed.

Then, Tatsuo rushed downstairs to have breakfast with Sumire, Hwaya, and Lana. After that, Hwaya took Tatsuo and Sumire out to show them around more of Korea. More specifically, Seoul, South Korea's capital city.