Episode 29

Dokkaebi (1) is the twenty-ninth episode of The S-Ranks That I Raised webtoon.

Han Yoojin tasks Yoo Myeongwoo with sharpening blades, then goes to meet Seok Hayan, who inadvertently introduces him to the Dokkaebi.

Summary
Yoojin swears Myeongwoo to secrecy and presents him with a number of dull kitchen knives, getting him to sharpen them, which increases his progress towards acquiring Gold Forge's Owner. Satisfied, Yoojin tells Myeongwoo that he'll have to sharpen 10,000 such blades, and begins reassuring him, only for Myeongwoo to be surprised at the simplicity of the task, explaining that he likes repetitive work. With Myeongwoo sorted, Yoojin goes to visit Seok Hayan, currently working out of Haeyeon's R&D lab. She speaks with him for hours about the dungeons and Awakening, bemoaning the lack of dungeons within the country from which to draw data. Yoojin commiserates, saying research would be easier if foreign countries would share their dungeon data; he thinks about how Seok Hayan left for America due to this reason, wondering how to keep her back.

Meanwhile, Seok Hayan is cheerily readying buckwheat jelly and rice wine in a ritual intended to summon the Dokkaebi, a famous but mysterious Hunter who styles themself after the dokkaebi of Korean folklore. With their teleporting skill, the Dokkaebi made a name for themself by saving people from dungeon breaks and natural disasters. Though their teleportation ability allowed them to uncover people's secrets, their safety was guaranteed due to their declaration that they wouldn't reveal any of the secrets they knew so long as they lived, ensuring that everyone with something to hide would work to protect them. Seok Hayan, hoping that the Dokkaebi could tell her more about dungeons, is using rituals she looked up on the internet to try and call them to meet her. Yoojin, bemused, points out that they're not actually a mythical dokkaebi, and suggests asking Haeyeon Guild to set up a meeting on her behalf instead.

Their conversation is interrupted by a blackout. Both Yoojin and Seok Hayan turn on their phones, and Seok Hayan screams in terror when Yoojin's phone illuminates a ghostly, blood-spattered figure behind him. Startled by her screaming and subsequent passing out, Yoojin looks around and spots the strange figure; Fear Resistance triggers, and no longer afraid, he realizes that it's the Dokkaebi, calling for them to stop. The Dokkaebi obligingly restores the lighting and drops the disguise, apologizing for scaring Seok Hayan to the point of unconsciousness. While they talk, Yoojin realizes that he can use his skills on them and impulsively decides to try and influence the Dokkaebi, since their teleporting ability would mean Seok Hayan doesn't have to leave the country for her research. He claims to not have been frightened by the Dokkaebi's show; riled up, the Dokkaebi begins arguing with him, insisting that they're scary. Yoojin immediately asks if they want to bet on whether they can scare him again, satisfied at having successfully baited them.

Characters

 * Han Yoojin
 * Yoo Myeongwoo
 * Seok Hayan
 * The Dokkaebi, Yoon Yoon

Locations

 * Haeyeon Guild building
 * Yoojin's dorm room
 * R&D labs

Skills

 * Dokkaebi's unnamed teleportation skill
 * Fear Resistance

Novel & webtoon differences

 * Yoojin tells Myeongwoo about the blade-sharpening "drill" after negotiating with the major guilds, rather than after their first dungeon raid together, as in the novel. Additionally, Myeongwoo's blade-sharpening progress was at 0/10,000 when Yoojin checked it, instead of being at 8/10,000.
 * Seri explained that the progress count was changed in order to make it clear how progress was made.
 * Seok Hayan and Yoojin's conversation also happens after negotiating with the major guilds, and also after Yoojin tells Myeongwoo about the "drill". In the novel, this conversation happened after the first theory lesson for Haeyeon's novice Hunters.
 * Yoojin doesn't say that his research focus is on monsters when turning down Seok Hayan's offer to collaborate.
 * In the webtoon, Yoojin doesn't know that Seok Hayan is trying to meet with the Dokkaebi until after conversing further with her, so he doesn't ask for her to introduce him to the Dokkaebi in exchange for discussing dungeons, like he does in the novel. Rather, he learns that the Dokkaebi might appear and thinks back on their history only after Seok Hayan begins trying to call upon them in his presence.
 * Since Yoojin never tested turning off Fear Resistance, he's not particularly frightened by the Dokkaebi's jumpscare like he is in the novel.

Trivia

 * Since Seok Hayan was described as being bad at drawing, to achieve an unskilled look for her art, Seri recruited a non-artist acquaintance to draw Seok Hayan's illustrations.