“Gasp!”

“What is this?”

The candidates were stunned.

EEurius had a smile on his face, but he was emitting a faint killing intent and pointing his sword at them.

“Then, farewell.”

EEurius kicked the ground and dashed towards them at a terrifying speed.

He looked like he would slash their throats without any hesitation.

The four candidates were too slow to react to his speed.

They could only widen their eyes and wait for the blade to come.

His first target was Namgoong Ho, who was the closest to him.

As the sharp blade approached his neck, he instinctively closed his eyes.

But that was only for a moment.

He didn’t feel any pain as he expected.

‘Huh?’

Swish!

When he opened his eyes, he saw EEurius’s back, who had spun his body like lightning.

At the same time, a loud explosion shook the forest.

Roar!

“Gasp!”

The candidates regained their senses after hearing that sound and quickly retreated.

It was not them who EEurius was aiming at with his killing intent.

He was targeting the shadow that had rushed from behind him.

The candidates were bewildered by what was happening and stared at the front with blank expressions.

EEurius knew from the beginning that there was someone following him from behind.

‘He showed himself when they were in danger, so he’s not an enemy. But why did he tail me?’

At first, EEurius mistook him for a wild beast because his presence was so weak, but after he increased his speed three days ago, he couldn’t avoid being detected by EEurius no matter how stealthily he moved.

Soon, the dust settled and the situation became clear.

EEurius opened his mouth with a surprised expression.

“You’re quite something to follow me for three days. What’s your trick?”

The person who walked out of the dust was an old man in rags with a short stature.

He grumbled with an annoyed expression.

“Eh… You young lad are more cunning than I thought. Did you know from the start?”

“Gasp!”

Before EEurius could answer, a groan erupted from among the candidates.

“Strange Beggar! No, Divine Beggar Elder!”

“Elder Noh, how did you get here?”

“Strange Beggar?”

EEurius looked at him with interest.

[Gu Cheon-geol]

Job: Beggar, Peak Master

Strength: B+ Agility: SS Intelligence: S Spirit: A Force Aptitude: A Force: A

Disposition: Free-spirited, Eccentric, Inquisitive

[Traits]

Stealth (S+), Staff Technique (A+), Formation Technique (A+)

EEurius tilted his head after examining the information.

“Beggar?”

He turned his head slightly and nodded at the candidates.

‘Explain to me why this beggar old man followed me.’

“Haha…”

The candidates had no choice but to sweat nervously.

The mysterious master was a problem, but the old man who appeared now was also a headache-inducing existence.

Strange Beggar (怪丐) Gu Cheon-geol!

He was the former leader of Dogbang, one of the pillars of the martial world besides the Five Great Sects.

His martial arts were not as strong as those of superhumans, but as the best master of Dogbang, which was known for its information network, he had no match in stealth and formation techniques.

If that was all, they would have been grateful for the senior master who came to help them, but there was a reason why the candidates were flustered.

‘The combination of an unidentified master and Elder Noh is unimaginable. I don’t know what will happen.’

“According to the rumors, he’s the one who hit the back of the head of the Lord of Justice and ran away at his birthday banquet?”

He didn’t get the nickname of a weird beggar for nothing. The rumors about him were enough to justify the epithet of a freak.

The bigger problem was that if he decided to run away or hide, there was almost no way to catch him even for a superhuman-level warrior.

He used to have a more plausible nickname of Shadowless Hound.

But after he handed over the position of the leader of his sect to his disciple, he wandered around the continent and caused all kinds of incidents, and soon he got that nickname.

Eurius summarized the words that were whispered to him in one sentence.

“So, in short, he’s a crazy beggar?”

“Great Master! I never said such a thing.”

Namgoong Ho became silent again.

He didn’t know what kind of horrible prank he would do to him if he heard it.

“Hahaha! You’re a young lad who speaks his mind!”

But Gu Cheon-geol laughed out loud at his words.

“…!?”

Eurius looked at him for a moment and asked.

“So why did you follow me?”

‘You see this?’

Eurius was much older than him, but he dared to talk down to Gu Cheon-geol, who was at least three times older than him.

He felt slightly offended.

‘This brat is relying on his martial arts and has no manners.’Of course, Eurius didn’t ignore him because of his martial arts, but because he always talked down to people, but Gu Cheon-geol didn’t know that.

He grumbled and opened his mouth.

“I heard that there was an unidentified master who easily defeated Namgoong Huang in Hoenam, so I came to see.”

“Is that all? Then you’ve seen enough, so you can go now.”

Eurius’s goal was to join up with Jegal Sega.

He had no time to waste here.

“Wait! You’re impatient. You have to answer my questions too.”

Gu Cheon-geol stopped him as he turned around. Eurius raised his sword with an annoyed expression.

“What else do you want? If possible, I’d like to do it later.”

“You’re from the Western Continent, right? A knight or a high noble? I heard that all the warriors who reached your level there have high status.”

“That’s true, but what does that have to do with anything?”

Eurius lowered his sword slightly. He became interested in him.

‘Now that I think about it, he said he was from an information organization called Gabang. He somehow figured out that I’m from the Western Continent and have a high status?’

Gu Cheon-geol asked again.

“I heard that you’re friends with Jegal Sega and you’re going to Namhae to help them out. Is that true?”

“So what?”

“Isn’t there another place where Jegal Sega’s people are? If your goal is to join up with them, you don’t have to go to Namhae right now, do you?”

“…!?”

It was a tempting suggestion.

Finding his scattered subordinates was also an important issue. But after a moment of hesitation, Eurius shook his head.

“That’s a good offer, but I’ll decline. I have something to do in Namhae right now.”

Of course, at first he had set his priority on joining up with Jegal Sega to find his subordinates, but now he had a new purpose: collecting relics.

‘It would be troublesome if those cultists get their hands on the relics.’

And he could go to Namhae right away and send some of Jegal Sega’s people to find his subordinates.

But Gu Cheon-geol hardened his expression when he heard his answer.

“Do you have a reason?”

“Don’t you already know? I’m going to help out Jegal Sega.”

“…”

He looked at Eurius up and down with a suspicious expression.

‘He’s definitely from the Western Continent, but there’s still a possibility that he’s one of the cult’s minions.’

He was famous for his adventures, but in fact he was collecting information while roaming around the continent.

And he learned something along the way.

‘From what I’ve learned, the Dark Sect has also extended its reach to the Western Continent. It’s too suspicious that a stranger appeared at this point, even if he’s not a Dark Sect disciple.’

He was surprisingly aware of the relationship between the Western Continent and the Dark Sect, which even Je Gal Se had only recently discovered.

But he had also saved Nam Goong Hwang and the other late-stage masters, and from what he had observed while following him, Eurius didn’t seem like such a bad guy.

‘There’s no need to make trouble.’

Having made his decision, Gu Cheon Geol made a suggestion.

“Then how about you stay here for a few days? I’ll send word to Je Gal Se for you.”

Eurius shook his head firmly.

It was a question that didn’t need any thought.

Gu Cheon Geol looked at him with a pitiful expression and asked again.

“Are you sure?”

“I don’t want to waste any more time. Can I go now?”

Gu Cheon Geol tried to persuade him with a serious expression, but it was unlikely that Eurius would listen to such words.

In the end, Gu Cheon Geol resorted to his last resort.

He chuckled and provoked him.

“Hehe… Well, then I have another way.”

Eurius frowned at his unpleasant smile.

‘He’s an old man who needs a beating to come to his senses.’

“If you’re thinking of killing me, go ahead. It’s very easy for me to escape from here and let them know that you’re suspicious.”

“Are you threatening me?”

“Master Eurius, it would be better to follow Elder Gu’s words here…”

Nam Goong Ho, who had been watching, cautiously spoke up.

The reason was that even though Gu Cheon Geol was notorious for being eccentric, he was still the highest elder of the Open Sect.

Even if Je Gal Se defended Eurius, it would cause enough trouble if Gu Cheon Geol advertised to the Absolute Sect members that he was suspicious.

Eurius asked with an annoyed expression.

“So you’re saying that it would cause problems if I killed or beat up this old man and drove him away?”

“Yes.”

“Well, then I have no choice.”

Eurius raised his sword again.

If it wasn’t for the inheritance, he could have given in a little bit for the sake of finding his subordinates.

But he had to find the inheritance as soon as possible, no matter what.

‘Huh?’

Gu Cheon Geol couldn’t help but be surprised when Eurius raised his sword again as if he didn’t care about the Absolute Sect or the Open Sect.

‘What a brute!’

“Wait!”

He shouted as he jumped back and created some distance.

In fact, Eurius wasn’t the only one who was in a hurry. Gu Cheon Geol also had trouble sending an unidentified stranger to the South Sea.

He didn’t seem to have any bad intentions from what he had seen so far, but there was always a possibility.

He wanted to keep Eurius for a few days, even if he was innocent.

‘Unfortunately, there’s no way to stop that brat with a frontal confrontation.’

Gu Cheon Geol waved one hand.

He had only exchanged one blow with Eurius, but his wrist was still tingling.

He had thought that he was careless when he heard that Nam Goong Hwang couldn’t last even ten seconds, but Eurius turned out to be an even more formidable master than he expected.

But Gu Cheon Geol, an old fox who had lived for a long time, wanted to use this to his advantage.

‘He’s young and has already reached such a level of martial arts. He must be very proud of his skills. He won’t refuse for sure.’Eurius looked interested when he heard his proposal.

“A bet?”

“That’s right! You look like an absolute master who has reached the fourth stage, but you won’t refuse because you think you can’t catch an old man like me?”

“What’s the bet?”

‘He took the bait.’

As expected, Eurius showed interest and Gu Cheon Geol smiled triumphantly. He confidently shouted.

“It’s simple! Catch me while I’m moving from ten steps away.”

But Eurius was actually snickering inside.

‘He must be hard to catch for any superhuman, judging by his stats. But will that work on me?’

He opened his mouth.

“What are we betting on?”

“If I win, you just have to wait here for three days. I’ll send word to Je Gal Se as I suggested before.”

Gu Cheon Geol answered and thought that it was impossible, but he also offered a condition for when he lost.

“If you win, I won’t block your way and I’ll grant you one request, whatever it is.”

“Anything?”

Eurius questioned him.

His tone was too calm and Gu Cheon Geol felt a bit uneasy.

“Ahem… within the range that I can grant.”

“Fine!”

Eurius had something in mind and accepted readily.

He added a word with a generous tone.

“About the distance, isn’t it too close for an old man like you to avoid my hand? I don’t mind doubling it.”

“…!?”

Gu Cheon Geol felt a bit angry when he sensed that his opponent was looking down on him. But he had no reason to refuse.

“Then let’s start from twenty steps away. As long as you don’t complain later, I don’t care.”

Eurius nodded and Gu Cheon Geol jumped back and created some distance again. He was sure of his victory at this moment.

‘Even if the Dark Sect leader came from twenty steps away, he wouldn’t be able to catch me while I’m running away. That brat is too overconfident.’

It happened to be a bamboo forest nearby.

It was a good place for him to use his specialty of hiding.

It was hard to notice his presence, let alone catch him when he ran away.

A moment later.

‘How did this happen?’

Nam Goong Ho, who became a shrimp in a whale fight, witnessed the scene with a trembling expression.

“Then let’s begin.”

Ssssh!

In an instant, Gu Cheon Geol dashed into the bamboo forest with an unbelievable speed.

And then his presence completely disappeared and a loud laughter came from far away.

“Hahaha! Brat, if you catch me for real, I’ll be your slave or whatever. Come on, follow me!”

It was hard to tell the direction in the bamboo forest where only bamboos could be seen everywhere.

How could he catch him when he hid his presence and disappeared like a ghost?

Thump!

His feet bounced off the ground every time and created tens of meters of distance.

His chubby body didn’t slow down at all while escaping through the bamboos.

“Hmm?”

He ran without stopping for a while and then slowed down slightly and instead hid his presence like a ghost.

‘I can’t feel the brat’s presence at all. Did he give up?’

Strangely enough, Eurius, who should have used his energy to follow him, was nowhere to be seen.

Gu Cheon Geol tilted his head and muttered.

“He didn’t look like someone who would give up?”

“Are you talking about me?”

“…!?”

Eurius appeared behind him like a ghost.

“Eek!”

He was shocked for the first time in his seventy years of life and started to run away again.

Ssssh!

He ran through the bamboo forest like flying, but he couldn’t shake off Eurius who followed him like a ghost.

He turned his head to see if he was gone, but Eurius’s face always appeared.

“Why don’t you give up now?”

“…!?”

He ran away for tens of minutes, but the situation didn’t improve at all.

“Huff! Huff! Damn it, where did you come from…”

He was someone who wouldn’t get tired even if he ran for a week day and night, but he was so flustered that his inner energy was disrupted and he started to run out of breath.

‘Did I lose him?’

He turned his head for the fifth time and saw a cold sword blade.

“Let’s end this.”

Swoosh.

Whoosh.

Gu Cheon Geol felt a chilly sensation on his head.

His hair tie had been cut and his hair became messy.

He trembled his lips and opened his mouth.

He couldn’t believe that he had lost in hide-and-seek.

“Brat… you… what are you?”

“Old man? Did you say something wrong?”

Eurius frowned and tapped his shoulder with his sword.

Only then did Gu Cheon Geol come to his senses a little bit.

And he remembered the condition he had set.

“Don’t tell me…”

The answer came from Eurius who smiled brightly again.

“Yes! Become my slave!”