By Zephyria ‘…Eternal Stones don’t come out every day, and we can’t go Rift exploring every day. Besides, this time we didn’t even take a guild fee.’
Opportunities to earn this much at once would be rare for a while. Especially since the Class 5 monster was intentionally encountered for experience, for the time being, the monsters the Little Sheep team would face alone would be at most around Class 3. Yohan, perhaps having similar thoughts, subtly asked Lee Hyun-muk.
“May I ask roughly how much you earn each year?”
“Hmm… Four years ago, I think I earned a little over 15 billion from byproduct sales alone.”
Yohan’s jaw dropped. To earn nearly 15 billion from byproduct sales alone… Furthermore, Awakened individuals received significant tax benefits from the country related to monster hunting.
“They barely take any taxes, do they?”
“That’s right. I only paid a few hundred million in taxes.”
Yohan, who possessed a relatively small sum of ten million won, decided to be humble. Of course, Yohan’s affiliation with the Little Sheep team was only temporary, and if he were to actively participate in Team Sun in the future, his earnings would likely surpass Lee Hyun-muk’s. That’s how valuable a Purifier was.
As Lee Hyun-muk ran his fingers through his damp hair, he said, “In this line of work, it’s customary to buy a weapon with the first money you earn. Most people buy something like a dagger.”
“A dagger…”
It seemed to be an emergency weapon for use in life-or-death situations. Although he already had a magnificent spear, Yohan was admittedly tempted by the dagger. Lost in thought, something suddenly came to mind.
“By the way, are the rumors about Re-awakening true?”
Today, Yohan had heard more about Re-awakening at a dinner gathering disguised as a company outing. Seo Yakrin had heard rumors about Re-awakening while visiting another guild for guild affiliation matters.
‘To become stronger after being corrupted and then purified, what kind of bullshit is that?’
Seo Yakrin had said, scoffing derisively. These rumors were even more specific than what Yohan had heard. To become stronger after being corrupted and then purified? It seemed the rumors originated from Lee Hyun-muk’s interview. Lee Hyun-muk replied as he gently dried his wet hair with the hairdryer until it was fluffy.
“Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if there were people who actually believed in Re-awakening and tried it.”
“That… I suppose so.”
Anyone with a sound mind wouldn’t willingly invite corruption in pursuit of Re-awakening. Even seasoned mercenaries with extensive experience in Rift exploration or monster hunting would scoff. Yet, there were always people in the world who did foolish things. Wasn’t the Awakening Party itself similar in nature? Of course, one in ten people in the Awakening Party sometimes did genuinely Awaken, but it was undeniably dangerous.
“Moreover, the new abilities I, Chan-ha, and Seung-ryong have acquired are completely different in nature from abilities gained through Awakening.”
Lee Hyun-muk added. It was as if some of the beetles he saw in the lab today had become unusually large, sped up their metamorphosis, or could produce incredibly sticky silk – abilities created by extreme distortion and twisting, by chance. In reality, Joo Ho-young, who had never fallen into a Flood, and Seo Yakrin, who had only fallen two or three times, did not possess such peculiar abilities.
“I’ve already passed on a message to look into those Re-awakening rumors… There, all done.”
Lee Hyun-muk turned off the hairdryer and tidied his fluffy hair. As he organized the hairdryer’s cord, Yohan hesitated and then subtly looked back. Seeing his lover gazing up at him from between his legs, Lee Hyun-muk paused. Without having done anything yet, his eyes were already sparkling, and his cheeks and ears were flushed.
“Why, Yohan…”
The trailing end of his affectionate address lingered slightly. Thinking that the floor must be hard and uncomfortable, he decided to lift Yohan onto the sofa and reached out his hand, but Yohan subtly burrowed further in.
“Oh my…”
Chuckling as if at a loss, Lee Hyun-muk spread his legs as Yohan pushed. This younger lover was full of youthful vigor, as expected of his age. It was likely also due to being a High-level Awakener, possessing exceptional stamina and recovery.
“Is it okay to touch…?”
“As much as you like, however you please.”
Yohan, who had spoken first, swallowed nervously. He placed his hand on Lee Hyun-muk’s thigh and awkwardly caressed it. But that was brief; he suddenly became bold and slipped his body between his legs. With a defiant gaze, Yohan looked up at Lee Hyun-muk, his face mere inches from between his legs. A shadow fell across Lee Hyun-muk’s face as he looked down at Yohan.
“Yohan… is that really what you want to do?”
“Yes? Yes.”
He was actually a little embarrassed, but seeing Lee Hyun-muk’s hesitant reaction made him want to continue. Yohan slowly moved his hand from his thigh forward. At some point, his hand felt a substantial volume. Hesitantly, Yohan pulled down the other’s pants. The thigh his hand rested on twitched and tensed.
Lee Hyun-muk was wearing comfortable pants made of a stretchy material, so they slid down easily as Yohan pulled. Yohan, who unhesitatingly pulled down the underwear as well, paused. With a soft rustle, it slipped down from where it was snugly held against his thigh.
Even though he had seen it many times before, Yohan found himself becoming respectful with it so close. Kneeling, he carefully cupped it with both hands and began to gently stroke it. Lee Hyun-muk, who had remained still until then, shifted his posture and let out a long breath.
With just a little touching, his penis instantly hardened and grew noticeably larger. The heat felt through his palm was so intense that Yohan’s cheeks grew even hotter. At the same time, blood rushed to his own groin. Wiggling his toes, Yohan focused on what he held in his hand. His touch was less sensual and more about satisfying curiosity.
“But…”
Glancing up at the slight furrow in Lee Hyun-muk’s brow, Yohan swallowed dryly again and cautiously opened his mouth.
“But what?”
“This is how it was originally, right…?”
“Originally…?”
Realizing the ambiguous meaning of the question – whether it was its original size even before falling into the Abyss – Lee Hyun-muk chuckled. Without answering one way or the other, he caressed Yohan’s cheek and invited him again.
“Just lie back comfortably on the sofa here… and I’ll do something pleasant for you, Yohan.”
It was a tempting offer, but at the same time, Yohan felt a pang of jealousy and delight that such a capable person lacked no part of him. He impulsively took what he held in his hand into his mouth. Lee Hyun-muk’s large hand, which had been caressing his cheek, froze.
“Mmm…”
Though he had barely put it in his mouth, more like just touched it with his lips, Lee Hyun-muk let out a low groan. Seeing that he seemed pleased, Yohan gently nibbled the glans with his lips and then tentatively extended his tongue. He licked the now-moistened urethral opening. It tasted rather bland.
“…It must be uncomfortable.”
“It’s not…”
As Lee Hyun-muk tried to dissuade him again, Yohan retorted out of stubbornness. It wasn’t uncomfortable; it was burdensome, to be precise. He tried to awkwardly fit it into his mouth, but realizing he would either dislocate his jaw or suffocate, Yohan stopped and diligently licked. His red, soft tongue moistened the veined shaft and the glans until they gleamed. At that, the lover, who wasn’t very talkative to begin with, fell completely silent. Yohan liked that very much.
He sucked on the tip of the penis, large enough to span his face, like eating ice cream, and then looked up. Lee Hyun-muk’s eyebrows were furrowed. In his dark eyes looking down at him, a dark, viscous desire dripped. In the shadows, his even more handsome face made Yohan lose focus, and his grip loosened, causing the erect member to bounce off his cheek.
“Ah.”
Yohan instinctively squinted one eye. He felt awkward, thinking it must have looked like he winked. Suddenly, his body was lifted. When he came to his senses, he was lying on the plush sofa. With only the damp, warm heat left on his hands and cheeks, Yohan opened his mouth to say something but then screamed.
“It’s dirty!”
Lee Hyun-muk was licking Yohan’s toes. The feeling of the soft flesh digging between his toes was so unfamiliar that goosebumps erupted all over him. Lee Hyun-muk, holding his ankle firmly and curling his toes, asked with a smiling face,
“Yohan, what part of you is dirty?”
Well… if one were to ask what part was dirty, there was certainly no dirty part. He was a Purifier, after all. Even in the Abyss, Yohan had always maintained his own cleanliness and comfort. However, even though he knew his feet were clean intellectually, his heart felt differently.
“No, it’s dirty conceptually! Ah!”
Regardless of Yohan’s flustered state, Lee Hyun-muk licked his feet sensually. His tongue moved slowly along the arch of his foot. Before he could even feel ticklish, he sucked on his anklebone with a wet sound, staining it red. Then, with his lips and tongue, he caressed his calf and the back of his knee. His pants and underwear had been removed at some point.
“Haa…”
A pinkish penis stood erect between Yohan’s legs. Just by caressing Lee Hyun-muk’s with his mouth, he had become aroused by the erotic sensation. Lee Hyun-muk, who had been caressing the inside of his thighs with his lips, took Yohan’s penis into his mouth. Yohan gasped and writhed.
“…Ah, y-yes.”
The sensation of his penis being drawn into the soft, wet mouth was ecstatically good. Yohan trembled and instinctively drew his legs together, trapping Lee Hyun-muk’s head. Panicked, he tried to spread them apart again, but Lee Hyun-muk wrapped his arms around Yohan’s thighs.