現実逃避

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< Preparations Done (2) >

“You have finally contacted me. Can I look forward to it?”

Suk Hayan, with a gleam in her eyes, sat in the opposite chair. Today too, she had on a long dress that seemed like something you would see in a summer resort. And earrings in the shape of large pineapples were dangling from her ears.

“First of all, please look at these.”

I held out the tablet that had the Japanese dungeons’ data. White fingers flicked through the tablet about two times, and her eyes slowly became bigger.

“This is……”

The movements of the fingers became faster. The gaze flickering up and down was busy. Not that long of a time passed, and then Suk Hayan lowered the tablet she was holding onto the table. She took a deep and long breath and then opened her mouth.

“Data that was definitely investigated; is that right?”

“That is right. I guarantee it.”

“This much data in not that long of a time… And you definitely made a system and even arranged it.”

“Are there any places that need to be supplemented?”

“You should not ask me that. I haven’t investigated some of even the country’s dungeons yet. The Hunter Association is not being cooperative yet. Of course, it would be weird to give permission to someone who hasn’t even properly prepared anything yet. That was why I was trying to set up a lab.”

“Ah right, has Haeyeon Guild contacted you about the problem of the lab?”

Suk Hayan nodded her head.

“My uncle said that they have the intention to help. But I did not feel disposed to being affiliated to one guild. I don’t want the research results to be used too commercially. Of course, I am not saying Haeyeon Guild will do so, but it would be good if the dungeon information could be used by anyone freely, or at minimum, by paying an equal price.”

“That is a really commendable attitude. I am in agreement. But, if usable results come out, it would be difficult for Suk Hayan-ssi to protect.”

At my words, Suk Hayan’s frowned slightly.

“That is so. Then would it really be better to collaborate with Haeyeon Guild?”

“That would not be bad, but I would like to offer a proposal.”

“Han Yoojin-ssi would?”

“Yes. You are aware that a monster rearing facility is being made, correct?”

“Of course. I even saw the construction going on, on my way here. Ah, could it be!”

Suk Hayan slapped her hand on the table.

“I saw it on the news! The monster rearing facility that is going up right now and the building next to it will be receiving the protection of five guilds from now on for five years? Could you be offering a place for my lab?”

She was sharp. I didn’t need to explain in length.

“Yes. That is correct. At minimum, you could have your safety guaranteed for five years. A-Rank Hunters will be stationed there and in case of an emergency, we can receive aid from Haeyeon Guild right next door.”

Of course, once the research results started to come out, that wouldn’t be enough.

‘S-Rank Hunters really are needed.’

Riette and her brother would really be perfect. They weren’t affiliated to a guild and their abilities stood out. For now, we were mutual followers. I was thinking of putting comments on each other’s accounts a bit and building some closeness for show, and then actually contacting.

‘The best would be highest rank monsters, though.’

Magic beasts were much less likely to be won over by someone else or to betray you, compared to people. And they wouldn’t be absent because they needed to attack dungeons. The problem was that for now, it was harder to find a highest rank baby monster than an S-Rank Hunter. It was exactly just two only, right now. Peace and the one coming by boat.

And guilds that could attack S-Rank dungeons wouldn’t try to hand over the difficultly found baby monsters, either. If nothing really worked out, should I add the guy who is planned to be used for my protection? For me, I would be surrounded by crowds of kids anyways.

Right now it was just Haeyeon, but when baby monsters started coming in from here and there, even for just them, the guilds would know to thoroughly protect us on their own. It’s a little awkward to say this about the kids, but they would be something like hostages. No, monster hostages[1]?

“Above all, it is a place where prominent guilds from, of course the country, but also the world will come looking. I am speaking of Hunters who mostly attack high rank dungeons with relatively lacking data. And since they would be visiting in the position of being the other party involved, it wouldn’t be hard to extract information. Of course, I am thinking of assisting for this part as well. Not just that, Suk Hayan-ssi would be able to make connections with high rank Hunters who would need the dungeon research results the most. Depending on how you act, even without my help, the lab could become as big as you want.”

Instead of being at a level of a lab, it could become a separate giant institution.

“Oh……”

Suk Hayan froze.

“Ah, is that so? I suppose it would be?”

“First, if they are S-Rank Hunters, all of them would come looking for you at least once. Especially if they need to entrust highest rank monsters, they have no choice but to come personally, even if only because it is uneasy to not.”

Or, at least, they would send several A-Rank Hunters.

“That’s, I, truthfully that sort of thing is difficult for me.”

Suk Hayan said hesitantly.

“My grandfather has a lot of personal connections, so even while earning my degree, I did not have much cause to ask for favors. So bargaining with the research instead of simply presenting to the research society, is a little… Though I am good at secluding myself in the lab for a hundred days.”

“You were good at making an offer to me?”

“Oh, rather than an offer, that was bulldozing into you. And I had thought that Han Yoojin-ssi was a research practitioner like me.”

Then again, she just thoughtlessly yelled, ‘Let’s research together! Let’s collaborate!’.

“Please do not worry. In the first place, Suk Hayan-ssi cannot handle everything on your own, and it wouldn’t be right for you to.”

It was a waste for Suk Hayan to also do trivial things. And for things like related negotiations, a specialist should handle them.

“And you are not going to run the lab by yourself, either.”

“Yes, yes! Of course. Right, will you look at this?”

Suk Hayan held out and showed her cell phone. There was a photo on the screen. Suk Hayan and five men and women who seemed like foreigners. From people her age to middle-aged, even elderly, it was a diverse group of ages and races.

“This is D-Mate. It is a dungeon and Awakened People research meeting that is on its 2nd year this year.”

“A research meeting?”

“Yes. Of course, I haven’t told them about the data that Han Yoojin-ssi will be providing. If it is alright, can I bring my friends over? All of them will be pleased.”

At her words, I looked a little closer at the photo. The elderly person with grayed hair and the middle-aged woman were familiar. They were researchers who were under Dungeon Persons with Suk Hayan. I vaguely remembered them because they had even appeared a few times on TV with Suk Hayan.

“If they are people Suk Hayan-ssi can trust, then I will welcome them.”

“You are saying something that is a little burdensome.”

“Burdensome, you say. In the first place, isn’t it Suk Hayan-ssi’s lab?”

“Still, there are so many parts you are helping with, so I cannot act however I wish. Right, this one here is Jayden. He has more interest in Awakened People rather than dungeons, so if it is a place where a lot of high rank Hunters would come to, he probably would try to stay here even if he has to pay money? If he hears the news, he wouldn’t be able to sleep for three days and two nights and look for Jesus.”

The face of Suk Hayan, who was introducing the other meeting people, was bright like a light was shining. Her voice was cheerful as if she was singing, as well. It seemed like they were a team that got along considerably well.

‘It seems like she’ll do well on her own after I just give some support.’

To think that there was a research meeting. Then again, there was no reason people who were passionate about dungeons and had the ability would just stay still doing nothing all this time.

“Please take the tablet for now.”

“Could I? Are you not worried about the data being leaked?”

“At any rate, they are just a part of Japan’s dungeons. And I would like you to research other things before the dungeon formation laws. Things like degree of mana saturation.”

“But wouldn’t the formation laws be the most urgent?”

“That is true, but just for the time being. There is something I need to check separately.”

There was the matter of Riette, and there was a possibility that the dungeon formation rules would have changed from the original future. I should check when I would meet the system people in a few days.

It would be good if they let me know properly, refreshingly, this time.

When I returned home, I saw Myeongwoo pacing around the living room restlessly. Going around and around the table, he seemed like he was praying around a pagoda[2].

[Sharpening the blades of 10,000 bladed tools(Progress 9,839/10,000)]

Now he didn’t even have two hundred left to fill up. It would be finished today.

“You’re that nervous?”

Myeongwoo stopped walking. Maybe he had slept fitfully last night because his eyes were bloodshot.

“……I think I did it too fast. What should I do if a weird D-Rank or lower thing comes out because I did it too fast and too carelessly?”

“That wouldn’t happen.”

I said concisely, and woke Peace and went to my room to bring Chirpie. After putting Chirpie on my head, I picked up Peace. It was a little difficult because both of them tried to cling. Chirpie at least quietly stayed apart for one or two hours if I gave it the magic stone bottle, but Peace didn’t do anything like that. He wouldn’t ask me to hold him when he was all grown, right?

“But… if a useless one comes out, it really would be disappointing, right……?”

“Even if that happens, don’t be too disappointed.”

Of course, an SS-Rank skill probably would come out, but even if it failed because of the rare chance a system error occurred, there was no change in that Yoo Myeongwoo was an impressive guy. Since he possessed abilities that would let him be successful and live extravagantly right away as long as he took the right direction.

“No, not me, I meant you…”

Myeongwoo said with a gloomy expression. Hm? Me?

“Me? I mean, I don’t have anything to be disappointed about.”

At my words, the gloomy face evolved into an agonized look.

“Because you don’t, expect anything at all…?”

“No, no. It’s not that I’m not expecting anything. Of course I do. If I didn’t have some sort of expectation, I probably wouldn’t have waited for the last day and tried to go with you? But Myeongwoo, you’re impressive enough to me as you are now, so even if you didn’t get a skill at all, there would absolutely be no reason to be disappointed. Not just me, but Yerim also comes to rob the fridge at the drop of a hat.”

One day, she had grabbed me and started with, ‘You can’t ever start a rumor that Myeongwoo oppa is good at cooking. Even what we have to eat isn’t enough,’ and went on a cooking review for over one hour. Though I didn’t know why she was expressing her appreciation to me instead of Myeongwoo.

“Truthfully, even if you went into the restaurant business instead of being a Hunter, you’d be a hit? A full-fledged restaurant would be busy and tiring, so something like a cafe would be good too. You could use part-timers for the drinks and just make enough snacks or cakes or something and sell them, and in that time, past a line forming, you would also be able to put out franchises one after the other. If you want, I can get a place for you.”

If Myeongwoo got busy, I would be sad, so I was against making a proper restaurant. It would become jam-packed, no doubt.

“……I’m thankful for your words, but I don’t really want to do that.”

“Really?”

That was a surprise. …Could it be he didn’t like cooking? There was no indication of that.

“Calm down, and let’s go down for now. We should see to the end.”

“Yeah.”

Myeonwoo, who was walking to the door, suddenly stopped walking and turned to look at me.

“Whatever the result is, thanks, seriously. I mean it genuinely. So Yoojin, if you’re not disappointed, then I’m okay too.”

“I said I’m not disappointed.”

When I told him again, his expression became brighter.

I went down to the equipment management department with Myeongwoo. Of course, an A-Rank Hunter also accompanied us, and it was while holding Chirpie and somehow Peace. Because he didn’t try to come down from my arms. Maybe it was because I had been busy continuously going into dungeons and couldn’t pay him attention lately, but he was stubborn for a while so I just took him along.

Thanks to that, the equipment management team people’s gazes were strange, but whatever. Should I have put Chirpie on my shoulder instead of my head? But it wouldn’t have been able to balance well on my shoulder.

Meanwhile, the workroom that Myeongwoo had been using had changed a lot from when we first came. There were two new big racks, the organization became neat, and even the lighting had been replaced for a brighter one. Even the chair in front of the grinder looked more comfortable and better than the one before.

“It looks like people paid some attention to you?”

Myeongwoo scratched the back of his head with a bashful face.

“Yeah. They said I was working hard. One day, Minsuk ahjussi watched me sharpen knives and told me to join the management team if I wanted to. Saying that I could just put on equipment if I was short on strength.”

If he had seen that, then that was a natural response.

“As expected, you really are impressive.”

Although it was awkward, him smiling seemed like his anxiety was definitely lessened.

Yoo Myeongwoo sat in front of the grinder. I dragged over the original chair that was pushed into a corner, and also sat down. When the power turned on and the machine started to work,

-Chirp!

Maybe Chirpie was surprised, because it flapped and then rolled and fell onto my lap, on top of Peace. It was briefly upside down, and when it raised its body and tried to dash to the machine, I quickly grabbed it. Was it fascinated by the machine working rather than being surprised?

“Stay here quietly.”

During that time, Myeongwoo had been skillfully sharpening knives. The still accurate, fast, and uninterrupted motions were elegant.

[Sharpening the blades of 10,000 bladed tools(Progress 9,843/10,000)]

The number on the opened status window also went up without a break. Peace didn’t seem particularly interested, but Chirpie watched the knife sharpening with its beak open wide. Watching that, what was it understanding? Though it was a captivating scene even if you watched it without knowing anything.

Without room to feel it tedious, the number exceeded 9 thousand 9 hundred. Nine hundred ten, twenty, thirty.

He had said that normally he rested after sharpening forty to fifty, but today he didn’t stop his hand for even a moment. I did worry that he might ache after doing that, but it should be okay because it was the last day.

And finally,

Clang

The ten thousandth knife fell on top of the pile of knives on the ground.

(Progress 10,000/10,000)

The status window’s conditions disappeared. I looked at Yoo Myeongwoo whose movements stopped. Outwardly, there was no change. But his gaze was stuck in the middle of the air. He was looking at a message window that I couldn’t see.

Did it succeed? Did it pop up properly?

An uncertain uneasiness finally came over me.

“…Myeongwoo?”

Say something at least. Just then, I heard a whoosh, the rough sound of a breath being drawn in. Thick tears fell. The machine completely stopped, and the scattered knives on the floor quietly reflected light.

I waited. I didn’t need to wait for that long.

The chair scrapped back, and Yoo Myeongwoo rose from his seat. The face that turned to look at me had no trace of tears and was very bright.

It was self-confident.

“Yoojin.”

“Yeah.”

That guy’s voice was calm. My voice actually shook more.

“I got an SS-Rank skill.”

When I heard that, a smile naturally spread across my face. I had known that it would happen, but a smile came out like I had absolutely no idea. I didn’t need to fake happiness, and was actually happy.

“Congrats.”

I didn’t speak in length. As if that was enough, that guy also smiled.

[1] the word for ‘hostage’ (인질) has the word/character for human 인(人) in it, so in this sentence, yj just swapped it for ‘monster’

Prev ch.

< Preparations Done (1) >

Han Yoohyun and Sung Hyunjae. The two people stared at me. Yoohyun had an expression that said ‘let’s just talk separately’, and Sung Hyunjae had a gleam in his eyes that said ‘quickly spill it’.

While sitting down, I let the silence sit for a moment before opening my mouth.

“It may be a surprising topic, but what do you think of Awakening Centers?”

“Awakening Centers?”

There were expressions asking why that was suddenly coming up.

“Yes. It should be about three months until the announcement. Right now should be the height of the interior facilities construction. If it is possible, could I hear an explanation about the Awakening Center facilities?”

Of course, it wasn’t that I didn’t know. Just how many times, and how detailedly, did they explain on TV? At my words, the two people exchanged gazes for a moment. The one who opened his mouth was Sung Hyunjae.

“The core of the Awakening Centers is an A-Rank item, Illusion Maze. It’s a mind-related item that shows someone an illusion similar to reality. But for mind-related items or types of skills, if your Mental stat is even a little high, it often doesn’t work. Even as an E-Rank, apparently you feel a sense of separation. But if the targets are Unawakened People, it can safely and realistically threaten them and make them Awaken.”

The Awakening Center’s method of Awakening was simple. It showed you an illusion of being attacked by monsters and made you Awaken. It wasn’t that there weren’t any cases where people received a psychological blow, but it was a comparatively safe and accurate method.

And obviously, most were Awakened with combat skills, possibly combat assistance skills. Since it was Awakening from trying to survive monsters.

“It takes an average of 17 minutes for one person to Awaken, and there is a limit of 30 minutes since psychological problems can occur. Currently, there’s a total of five Illusion Mazes that the Association possesses and each one can apply illusions to up to thirty people at once.”

“Then in approximately thirty minutes, one hundred and fifty people could Awaken.”

“It isn’t 100% Awakening, so in actuality, it should be a little less than that, but I heard that they’re planning on initially increasing the number of Awakened People to a thousand per day, and within half a year, up to three thousand.”

Even if it was just a thousand people per day, if it was ten days, it would be ten thousand, one month, thirty thousand. If it was the same as the future’s ratio, one out of a hundred of those twenty thousand, two thousand, would qualify to be a Hunter.

On top to that, did the initial thousand people only go for about two days? At people’s insistence, it rose to three thousand, even four thousand in an instant. They didn’t rest on holidays either. The news headline at that time: The number of Awakened People in the Awakening Center’s opening first month exceeded hundred thousand!

It meant that in one month, as much as a thousand novice Hunters had poured out. As a person who had been involved in the center of that chaos, I couldn’t help but unconsciously frown.

“Don’t you think that is too many? Even now, dungeons are being sufficiently and safely managed.”

“Even if you said it was thirty thousand every month, there would only be ten among them with usable combat power. Practically speaking, you can’t say it’s a lot.”

……That’s, well. That was right. In that person’s eyes, you had to be at least B-Rank to be usable. Even socially, you had to be C~D-Rank for people to go ‘oh, you’re a Hunter’. Even speaking of F-Rank me, I was painted with the stereotype of being F-Rank, so there was no point in saying more.

“Even so, there would be hundreds of people getting Hunter licenses every month. That means that novice low rank Hunters who could go into dungeons would come pouring out.”

If they had mediocre abilities and gave up on being Hunters, then that would be a relief. But the cases where they didn’t do so would be a problem. Especially since, for the initial Hunters from the Awakening Center, there were hardly any cases where they gave up. People around them kept on goading them on, and even the TV prattled on that all they had left to do was to succeed.

“The quality of training would of course fall, and the supply of low rank items would become lacking.”

The Awakening Center Awakening wouldn’t come with the registration subsidy, and you had to pay for the basics program, too. At that, it was a week-long boarding program before, but it wouldn’t be long before it would decrease to three days, and finally one day.

“I know what hyung is worrying about.”

Yoohyun said. Then Sung Hyunaje also lightly pulled his laced fingers apart and lifted them.

“Clumsy Hunters would pour out, and clumsily run to dungeons and die. But Han Yoojin-gun, even we can’t do anything about that. Anyone could easily become an Awakened Person. It’s a cool story.”

It was obviously so. Just seeing how the line that stayed the night for days and days didn’t break off, it was a story that everyone would think charming.

“But then noncommittally restricting that? Of course, for safety, about a hundred per day is an appropriate number. If it’s that amount, about thirty new Hunters would appear per month, so it would be possible to manage them stably. But if a facility that could Awaken at most three thousand restricted it to, not even half, but thirty people per day, the soaring approval ratings would hit rock bottom.”

Approval ratings. Was it a political issue?

“In the first place, you can’t deceive them by saying it’s only possible for only a hundred per day. There are already many Hunters who know the effect of the Illusion Maze item. And even if the Awakening Centers said they would place a restriction, if the Awakening method was revealed publicly, private Awakening Centers would form without a doubt. It’s been decided that the Association would manage C-Rank and higher mind-related items and skills, but would everyone reliably uphold that? In the end, there’s no way to stop the outpour of unprepared low rank Hunters.”

“But if that many people die or get hurt, the social impact will be big. There is also a high possibility of giant guilds being tangled up in it.”

It was like that in reality too.

“We also know that. That’s why we’re planning on putting out a scapegoat.”

Yoohyun said.

A scapegoat. The one that suddenly came to mind was MKC. In the original future, they endured up to three years later, but… it seemed like the two of them getting together and whispering was about using MKC as a throwaway card and profiting.

‘Yoohyun. Originally, Haeyeon Guild and I were dragged into it.’

Of course, Haeyeon didn’t go so far as going under, and instead, I remembered that three or so big-ish guilds were beaten up as representatives. Guilds had monopolized easy dungeons, had luckily taken advantageous positions and there wasn’t support for latecomers, look at these three guilds swindling low rank Hunters, etc. – they were driven into a corner through the mistakes of several guilds, not the government and Association, and sensational journalists had poured out.

Though I was also busy getting hit by it, so I didn’t accurately remember things other than my own matters.

If it was something like MKC, it would become an excellent punching bag.

“And even if it wasn’t an election problem, it is necessary for the Awakening Center to produce Awakened People.”

Sung Hyunjae said.

“Dungeons are being managed safely, but it won’t continue forever. As you know, the proportion of high rank Hunters is extremely low. To make enough high rank Hunters with that low proportion, there is no choice but for many low rank Hunters to appear.”

Continuing, Yoohyun added an explanation.

“What the government and the Association want is also the many high rank Hunters. Industries related to dungeon byproducts are quickly being developed. And valuable byproducts usually come from high rank dungeons. But, even for the country’s high rank dungeons, though the management is done well, attacks can’t be done exactly matching the reset time except for the sole highly valuable minority. Since the number of high rank Hunters is lacking. Those remaining dungeons are also a waste, but it’s not far until it’ll be possible to bid for foreign dungeons as well. Targeted toward countries that can’t properly manage their dungeons and Hunters. So they want to increase the number of high rank Hunters even a little faster.”

Both had faces that showed that they thought it was a slight sacrifice for the future.

Right, well. Only about the first year was a fuss, and then it did get stable. As the number of high rank, mid rank Hunters rose sharply, dungeon industries developed more and more.

Unconsciously, I sighed.

“Hyung, don’t be so concer-.”

“If we make people stop on their own from going to the Awakening Centers, and find high rank Awakened People faster than the Awakening Centers. Then, there wouldn’t be a problem.”

A strange glint shone slightly in the eyes of Sung Hyunjae, who had seemed like he was listening to a young child’s complaint. On the other hand. Yoohyun was hugely taken aback.

“Wait, hyung! What are you trying to do?”

“It sounds to me as if Han Yoojin-gun is saying he could do something like this.”

“You have heard correctly.”

Crash!

“Hyung!”

That guy Yoohyun kicked his seat and stood up. It seemed like he had guessed what I was going to say. Just looking at his expression, it seemed like he would grab the scruff of my neck and drag me out. I did good to say it where the Seseong Guild Leader was present.

“Don’t get worked up and sit down. I was thinking of revealing it anyways.”

“But……”

“Seeing the young master’s reaction, I feel more and more interest building up.”

It wasn’t anything much.

“I am thinking of making a special Awakening Center.”

I said, gesturing at Yoohyun to sit. He glared at me, and then finally sat down again. With his mouth shut tight, it seemed like he was sulking.

“A special Awakening Center?”

“Yes. Like what it sounds like, it is an Awakening Center with a specialty for Awakened People with special skills. Since the Association’s Awakening Center can only do combat-related Awakenings right now.”

“…Is that possible?”

“Yes. My skill can know an Unawakened Person’s possible Awakening stats and optimized initial skills. Even just knowing the optimized initial skills, it would not be difficult to match them and make the person Awaken.”

“……Hyung, really.”

Yoohyun grumbled as if groaning. I also didn’t think of revealing it, like our promise, but it was because of the situation.

“……Can you know without restriction?”

“Of course, without a restriction, from F-Rank to S-Ranks and higher. But, for the skills, I can only see the names and have to guess the effects.”

Sung Hyunjae’s expression became serious.

“Did you discover Hunter Bak Yerim with that skill too?”

“Please call it a coincidence before getting the skill. For my trust. Truthfully, is it not coincidence to discover S-Rank Hunters?”

“So, are you saying you’ll stop people from going to normal Awakening Centers with the special Awakening Center?”

“Yes. The method is simple. The number of people that the special Awakening Center will be able receive is 100 per day. Adding on to that, it will be known that if you Awaken at the combat specialized normal Awakening Centers, you will not be able to get your original aptitude-based special skills.”

Of course, there was the possibility of getting it as the 10 level skill, depending on how much you worked. But it definitely wouldn’t be easy. To raise your levels, you had to go into dungeons, and naturally only combat abilities would become emphasized. So usually, you’d get the 10 level skill as combat-related too.

“There is enough time left until the opening of the Awakening Centers, so before that, I am thinking of gathering Awakened People with special skills. While I am at it, it would be good if they are people with low stats and high special skills. The majority of Awakened People are F-Rank. If these people had also Awakened normally, they would have become ordinary F-Ranks. But because they Awakened to aptitude-matched special skills, they became C-Rank, B-Rank. It is that kind of story.”

A normal Awakening Center? That is doing something that will bury your hidden talent! Somehow B-Rank, possibly A-Rank, and higher that that too! Please look at this blacksmith with an SS-Rank skill, who was an F-Rank Hunter. Awakened Person, of course you would want to be one. But with a hasty choice, an SS-Rank special skill that is revered worldwide could be lost forever!

Something like this.

“Still, if you’re limiting it to a hundred people, there will be quite some people who wouldn’t be able to wait.”

“I am planning on announcing that once the data piles up and a system is made, the number of people admitted to the special Awakening Center will increase. I will just quickly check the skills and other people will do the consultation on the rest. Then, they would have a little more patience.”

Checking a status window was finished within ten seconds. If we computerized and other people took care of the skill analysis and consultation after I entered the data, over one hundred could be checked in one hour. And anyways, there would only be one or two people out of a hundred for special skills that needed consultation.

“If we only block the initial gathering for now, it would also not overheat from then on. And the Association’s Awakening Centers will keep restricting the number of people to a thousand. Please tell them to keep to the official public holidays and to stick to the 5 o’clock work ending hour. No, please give them a 10 to 4, with about a two hour lunch time.”

It was a sinecure.

“In order to do so, you’ll have to throw something at the Association too.”

“I am sitting in a place where there is a large transient population. I will find and bring them high rank Hunters. I can also fish out special skills that could have disappeared if they went to the normal Awakening Centers. How appealing is that, even just looking at me? Should I also go abroad on business trips sometimes? If I give this much, it seems like I should get something back.”

Magic beast rearing skill. I didn’t actually have it, but if another one like this appeared, it would outshine new S-Ranks. And what about Myeongwoo?

An incredible gem could be hidden among the F-Ranks that would be cursorily Awakened, and would disappear in vain. I would be choosing to suffer and find those for them.

“If the government and the Association have their heads screwed on right, should they not give a PSA saying ‘please visit the special Awakening Center first’, instead?”

“That is also so.”

Sung Hyunjae quietly laughed. Yoohyun gave an earth-shaking sigh.

“Good. There will be rake-offs too. Especially the overseas business trips are alluring.”

“That is too dangerous.”

Yoohyun frowned and continued speaking. I also thought that going as far as abroad was going too far. While I was speaking, it became excessive.

“Please be satisfied with dividing the country’s Awakened People’s information. By taking it by dates.”

“Are you saying to put it up to luck? Anyways, it seems like we have to set a date and discuss it, but I wonder if there is a way to leave out Breaker and Hanshin.”

He was a greedy ahjussi. For me, it would be better to involve both of them.

“Ah, and I am thinking of making one of the costs for raising a familiar, be including a sponsorship for low rank Hunters. Of course within the country, but also overseas.”

Both of them had taken aback expressions. It wasn’t like I was going to pack up and take money even when I was dead, and I was saying I would be making some welfare instead of the reward I should be getting, so what. Even with just getting proper training and being well equipped with equipment, the people who would die would have their lives saved.

There was no reason to not do something that wasn’t hard to do.

“Follow me back too, boss!”

In the middle of the night, the Dokkaebi popped out.

“This is a present!”

The thing that was held out along with the cheerful voice, was an animal doll for some reason. With red fur, looking similar to a fox, and with a golden horn added… Peace?

“That’s the 30cm normal edition, and mine is the 50cm limited edition!”

Normal edition or limited edition or whatever, exactly what was this? Looking at the tag, it seemed like they had bought it in Japan.

“Is this possibly…”

“A Peace doll! Isn’t it cute?”

“It’s cute, but why did you buy it in Japan? Making dolls as you wish and selling them, is that okay?”

“They were selling it as a baby Horned Flame Lion doll, but it’s a weak excuse~.”

If you insisted it was a monster doll, then there wasn’t anything I could say, but Japanese guys were really… Like this, they would make Chirpie dolls and sell them too.

At the Dokkaebi’s nagging to follow back, I went into that guy’s social media account. On the first display, I saw a photo taken wearing a bear doll mask.

“……Di*ney Land?”

“I couldn’t go to Uni***sal Stu****!”

No wonder, I was thinking they were late; so they had done a ton of sightseeing before coming back, huh.

“It seems like you had fun.”

“Yeah! Of course, I worked hard too!”

The Dokkaebi held out the tablet. Looking at their social media, it seemed like they had done the work in their spare moments in between playing. Still, when I checked, it was full of data. Even the number of dungeons they had investigated was quite a lot. That’s right, it was good to do the work you had to do well and play well.

“So that’s Chirpie! Sticky rice cake!”

-Chirp!

“The glutton sticky rice cake that’s dating a magic stone bottle! Ta-da, look at this!”

-Chirp chirp chirp chirp!!

Hm? Why was Chirpie suddenly making a fuss… when I took my eyes off the tablet and turned my head, I saw the Dokkaebi holding out a piece of a magic stone to Chirpie. The color of the magic stone was silver. A-Rank magic stone.

“Hey, wait!”

-Cheep!!

As soon as it heard my voice, Chirpie hurriedly took the magic stone piece and swallowed it. That glutton! What were you going to do if you get sick!

“Don’t give that to it!”

“Why? It’s eating it well. Is boss possibly starving the sticky rice cake?”

-Chirp!

Chirpie cried as if replying, and received and ate the remaining magic stone. That brat. I quickly held Chirpie up and inspected it. There was no change in the status window and it looked fine outwardly, so it was a relief.

“You’re picking up and eating A-Rank magic stones as an F-Rank? What are you going to do if you get sick?”

-Chirp!

“It’s not chirp. It might be dissatisfying, but I’m regulating you because I’m worrying about you. Hm? Monsters’ states aren’t properly known, so we have to be as careful as possible. We don’t even know the appropriate way to heal you.”

-Cheep!

As expected, it didn’t understand even a bit. That’s right, what was I expecting from a kid.

“Dokkaebi, you too, you can’t just go around sprinkling magic stones. And you can’t just recklessly give someone else’s magic beast something to eat. You have to ask and get permission first before you give anything. Okay? Not just for Chirpie, but for other monsters, animals, and kids, too.”

“You talk like my grandmother.”

Grandmother? What grandmother. Could it be that if the keyword gets applied to this guy, continuing from grandfather, I would become a grandmother?

Anyways, with this, the preparation to reel in Suk Hayan was complete.

Prev ch.

< Pretended to Forget (3) >

“Hunter Han Yoojin-nim!”

Bak Hayool shouted with a voice filled with welcome and worry. At the same time, surprise seeped into the expression of those guys on guard.

“I was wondering, but it’s really Han Yoojin?”

“Why is Han Yoojin here? I thought he was hidden away somewhere you couldn’t even see his face by the Haeyeon Guild Leader!”

“Fuck, is Han Yoohyun coming here too?”

Those guys were taken aback and scanned the surroundings. Then again, they couldn’t have thought that I came by myself. But I was alone.

“Did the Haeyeon Guild Leader really come here too?”

Bak Hayool was excited, with his face smeared with his nosebleed. Did this guy still like Hunters after being hit? That was an illness.

“I am alone.”

“Sorry? But-!”

“Please just close your eyes.”

I stood to the side and used the earrings’ shield skill on Bak Hayool. Bak Hayool yelled something, but I used it to the maximum so even sound was blocked and I couldn’t hear him. It was B-Rank shielding so unless I made a mistake, not a single hair on him would get hurt. I shouldn’t use the poison, as much as possible.

“…He’s alone?”

Kim Yongjin mumbled, as if he couldn’t believe it. He sure had a lot of suspicion.

“If I wasn’t alone, someone probably would have burst out already. You all probably know, but I’m in a position of getting quite an excessive amount of protection, right?”

There wasn’t just one or two people who would be shocked seeing me do this kind of thing here. At my words, those guys were relieved.

“Did that stat F-Rank lose his mind?”

When a D-Rank tried to go over to me, Kim Yongjin stretched out his arm and blocked them.

“Wait. There has to be something for him to be that confident. Just from the fact that he followed us here without being caught means it’s not normal.”

“Still, aren’t his stats definitely F-Rank? He got certified by the Association.”

“Even if he had a lot of equipment, he wouldn’t be at a level of a C-Rank. He’s a piece of rice cake[1] that rolled over.”

The rice cake was our Chirpie. It really rolled around well, all round and soft.

“First of all, should I say I’m happy to see you? We have a relationship where it’s our first meeting, but it’s not our first meeting.”

At my words, those guys had expressions like asking what nonsense I was saying.

“…Though I did see him on TV.”

“No, we really met for real. Actually, I regressed. I came back to the past. You’re surprised, right?”

Saying this in front of guys I had killed with my own hands 4 years ago, it really was pleasant. And it was super realistic. Yoohyun came alive so right away, that it was little ambiguous.

“It was as much as 5 years! Ah, I met you guys 4 years ago. It’s 1 year from now, and after that I never saw you guys again. Since I killed you. Since I could meet you again, I’m really pleased. You’re going to die anyways, so become my bamboo forest[2].”

Let’s just let it out refreshingly.

“……What, is he crazy?”

“I also know that I look crazy, but if you say it openly, I’ll be hurt. And you guys don’t have your heads screwed on right, either. If I’m fifty steps, you bastards would be five hundred steps. Especially Kim Yongjin, you seriously crazy bastard. I was really regretful because I killed you too comfortably that time.”

That I would get one more chance like this, thank you. If I really thought like that, then I really would seem like a crazy guy. I didn’t actually like killing people. But, while living, you couldn’t help but lose control at least once, and even though the matter with me disappeared, there was no change in that those guys ruined and would ruin a lot of people’s futures.

“Still, thanks to you guys, I came to my senses.”

After the 2nd year, I properly established myself. I couldn’t make a fixed team, but around that time, I was able to regularly save Hunters with okay abilities… wait. Thinking of, that time was exactly when MKC went under and Haeyeon had entered that empty seat.

Unlike when Awakening Centers appeared and things were chaotic, it was when there was breathing room. And I started to hear less hateful things from Haeyeon. Until the dungeon level of difficulty started to become unruly. …Was it that my little brother had placed people around me?

And the time when Yoohyun had personally run into the dungeon that changed rank, was around when Haeyeon had been established as 1st in the country and the guild leader had free time in his own way.

“Hm, people really can’t be too free.”

If he was busy fighting with other guilds, he wouldn’t have had the leisure to do something crazy like running in before the gate closed. Instead, he would have sent one or two A-Rank Hunters at most.

“That guy really doesn’t seem like he’s in his right mind?”

Along with the gazes looking at the crazy guy, I heard whispers. I felt wronged. My mind was clear, in general.

“Even though I don’t know lottery ticket numbers, it’s true that I returned to the past. What should I tell you? Is there anything you’re curious about? Should I tell you the S-Rank Hunters that will appear from now on? What about amazing-rank new dungeons? You have a lot of interest in stocks, right? Lee Dongwan, the stocks you just bought are going to become a scrap of tissue within a month.”

This pathetic bastard that still muttered on and on about it one year later.

Anyways.

“It’s good that we met again like this. You guys haven’t regressed so you wouldn’t know my feelings, but, it actually felt dirty that all the things I suffered through disappeared. So I tried not to think about it. At any rate, the situation changed a lot, and I decided to be well-behaved at first. Above anything else, I didn’t… I tried not to think about the fact that the people who I was involved with and who had died, were alive and walking around.”

It wasn’t just that people I was close to died, either. Thanks to that, I lived. At the same time, I even received their memories. In front of my eyes, the corpse was there, but the memories of that person thinking of me rose up in my mind. For Yoohyun, it was a portion of his whole life’s memories, so it came in sparsely, but usually, the memories right before dying came in without fail. If it was just someone I knew to a certain extent, it was still okay.

But, if that was them worrying about me, it was really circumstances that would drive you crazy.

If they were an uselessly good person, so there were only good memories. The auditory hallucinations of my name being called, didn’t leave my ears for days and days. If I kept on remembering, it felt like I would die, so I purposely tried to forget.

But now they were all alive. How should I explain that feeling?

Unlike with Yoohyun, I had buried it inside for several years. Unlike with Yoohyun, now they didn’t even know me.

Like those guys in front of my eyes.

Should I be happy, or sad, or say that I’m sorry, or that I’m thankful? Before that, was it okay to contact them and meet them? It was thanks to you dying that I lived.

I couldn’t consult somebody about something like this, and I just went on pretending I had forgotten.

“What do you guys think? Some of them were really good people. To the point that I fell into alcohol with a heart that felt it would go halfway crazed.”

Maybe they didn’t want to listen to my words anymore, because those guys went into a combat formation. You should reply at least. Grumbling, I took out the curved knife that I got as a reward from the D-Rank dungeon.

“Drive him into the middle and catch him alive!”

Along with Kim Yongjin’s shout, the two Hunters who had shields in front of them moved toward my front. The C-Rank defense Hunter used a skill and quickly moved around to my back. I stretched out a hand and grabbed that guy’s collar and picked him up and hurled him as if throwing him over my shoulder.

Bam!

Then I stabbed the curved knife into the forehead of the shield Hunter on the left and stole the shield and threw it at the guy on the right.

Crack!

“Urgh!”

The hit shield broke, and the Hunter who was holding the shield couldn’t endure the strength and tumbled back.

“What is this!”

While the D-Rank Hunters were taken aback, Kim Yongjin tried to run away right away. The decision sure was fast.

Thorn Trap.

“Argh!”

Kim Yongjin fell forward, like a frog hit by a rock. I took out the curved knife and cut the leg of the defense Hunter struggling to stand up, and used Thorn Trap on the remaining Hunters.

“As expected, contacting them would be good? Hm? Yongjin.”

I asked, going toward the trembling Kim Yongjin.

“I remember their phone numbers, but what should I say? Since they don’t know me. But, I can’t continue like this, pretending I don’t know them. Since those people would be alive like you guys. Right now, it’s probably before they Awaken, but when the Awakening Centers form, they’ll become Hunters, and they’ll go into dungeons like you guys. In the middle of that chaotic situation.”

I nicely cut one of Kim Yongjin’s legs and released Thorn Trap.

“Arghhh! Uck, you, you, exactly what…!”

“I don’t need to take all responsibility just because I regressed. In the first place, it became things that don’t exist. Still, it’s left remaining in my memories. If I keep on pretending I forgot, I really would seem like trash.”

Then what should I do?

I used Thorn Trap on Kim Yongjin again, and took a magic stone powder bottle out of my inventory and scattered enough of it in the surroundings. The monsters nearby weren’t all caught. They would quickly come crawling out.

“I hope that we really won’t have reason to meet again.”

I sighed once and turned around. Look at Bak Hayool, that guy. I told him to close his eyes, but he still watched it all and vomited. I went toward him and withdrew the shielding.

“Are you okay?”

“…Ah, yes. I, am.”

“First, let’s leave. Monsters will appear, smelling the blood.”

“Yes, yes.”

I turned back to the road we came on, taking Bak Hayool with me.

“It would have been good if they had listened when Hunter Han Yoojin-nim was persuading them with words…”

Around when we reached the cleanly cleared gate, Bak Hayool, who had regained his energy, spoke. I wasn’t persuading them. I had unilaterally consulted them. It seemed like it looked like persuasion because he couldn’t hear.

“Please do not pay any mind. Listening to them, they were bad guys who had already harmed many people.”

“Really?”

“Yes. And this matter, please keep it a secret. Originally, I am in a position where I shouldn’t wander around like this. The hiding skill is also a secret.”

At my words, Bak Hayool had an incredibly excited expression. His recovery was too fast. Did he not feel a sense of reality yet? There were kids like this. Being fine the day of, and then crying and making fuss after two or three days.

“I did not know that Hunter Han Yoojin-nim was that strong! It was as much as two C-Ranks – could it be that you are actually stat B-Rank or higher?”

“It is not like that. Of course, my abilities are also a secret.”

“Yes!”

“You can keep the secret, right?”

“Yes! Of course!”

His words were confident. I sent Bak Hayool a smile that said I would trust him. Of course, I wouldn’t actually trust him.

I decided to take Bak Hayool and use him, but I naturally couldn’t until I checked what kind of guy he was. In order to do so, I purposely showed him.

The plan had changed slightly, but I was originally thinking of showing him just the hiding and Thorn Trap skills.

If I directly came and helped and even told him about skills that others didn’t know, obviously his mouth would be itchy. On top of that, he was a celebrity who met with a lot of people, and spent his time buried in countless words. It was an environment where he would want to thoughtlessly talk about the things he knew.

‘It became a bit more of a dramatic situation than planned, so his lips would also get looser.’

If he couldn’t hold it in and spilled, then that was the end of that.

Right now it was that I was inside the impenetrable security of Haeyeon Guild. While coming here, I didn’t release the hiding skill at all. I had ridden the bus while continuing to hide my appearance. Besides Bak Hayool, the witnesses would have their mouths shut with death, and whatever he talked about, all would be dismissed as lies.

‘If his lips stay closed, it’s a pass for now, or just end with using him for special skill public relations.’

It was three A-Rank special skills, so at minimum, about one of them would be useful. It would be good if it was worth the hard work.

“I really do not know what to say to express my thanks. I had thought that all Hunters were good people. They are people who protect us so that dungeons do not burst open!”

……It might be that it wouldn’t be worth the hard work. Bak Hayool continued speaking, smiling softly.

“Can I call you hyung? You are five years older than I am. I am twenty years old.”

“Ah, yes.”

He was the same age as Yoohyun, but why was he this different? Though twenty was still young, but still.

“Exchanging contact information-.”

“It is not possible yet. Please also delete the messages when we get out of the dungeon. It is better to completely erase the evidence related to Awakening brokers.”

We should part after I checked that he deleted the messages. Were they able to be recovered? Though I didn’t say that I would directly go to save him.

“For the time being, you also cannot contact me. If we are caught, it would become bothersome in various ways.”

At my words, Bak Hayool had a face like an abandoned dog.

“For how long?”

“For about two weeks. I will just contact you first.”

“I will keep your secret and diligently wait for you. Please definitely contact me. Do not forget me. Please.”

How long did we know each other that he was so eager? It seemed like it would get through right away if I said the keyword.

“I will put up shielding for you, so please wait here quietly. I will finish the dungeon attack and come back.”

“Yes, hyung! Please be careful!”

Seeing the bright appearance of him smiling widely and waving both arms, a sigh automatically slipped out. He really wasn’t it…

I safely came back and washed and changed clothes. In the meantime, the number of social media followers had passed units of ten thousand. There was also a lot of foreign languages among the comments. I erased the messages between me and Bak Hayool, and uploaded a video of when Peace was young.

There were texts from Yoohyun and Yerim as well.

[Hyung, you have social media?]

[Ahjussiahjussiahjussi!! Please follow me back!]

It looked like Yerim also was on social media.

[yup]

[Tell me your account.]

I sent replies and then fiddled with my cell phone for a while. I slowly pressed the number that I still remembered. It rang for a moment, and soon the call was picked up.

[Hello?]

It was a familiar voice. It was a voice that I wouldn’t have heard ever again. I had thought that it became dim in my memories, but it drilled clearly into my ears.

‘Deceiving, what deceiving! At any rate, I don’t have a team either.’

‘It’s okay. Don’t pay it any mind, Yoojin. It’ll all pass.’

Even one or two things I had buried away came to mind. I didn’t know my memory was this good. It would be awkward to cry anew, so I smiled.

“I apologize. I called the wrong number. …Have a good afternoon. Always.[3]”

I hung up.

Then, for now. I should do something about the Awakening Centers that would be set up soon. If that chaos occurred again, I wouldn’t be able to leave it be.

[Yoohyun, do you have time? I have something to talk about. It’s important.]

[Is it urgent? There’s a guest here right now.]

[Who?]

For a moment, there wasn’t a reply. Then, a text came from an outrageous person.

[It’s okay with me, so come up and let’s talk.]

It was the Seseong Guild Leader. Then, Yoohyun also sent a text.

[You don’t have to come.]

[No I’ll go.]

Since he was a related person. It would be better to have two, rather than one.

[1] ‘rice cake’ is used metaphorically to mean sth really good, so a better tl would have been sth like ‘a piece of gold’ or sth like that, but I left it lit. bc of the following sentence abt chirpie.

[2] ok so not sure what he means here. Namu wiki says that ‘bamboo forest’ is field-related internet communities where you anonymously complain abt your job, and for college students, it’s an internet community page where you can gossip anonymously abt students at your school; think like yikyak, or my college had a ‘[redacted, my college’s name] confessions’ facebook page. So from context, maybe he’s saying ‘be my secret confessions group since y’all are gonna die and take my secrets to the grave anyways’.

Prev ch.

< Pretended to Forget (1) >

A small lake spread out in the middle of green plains.

Lake environments were rich in money-making resources, so they tended to be popular, but that was for C-Rank dungeons and higher. D-Rank and lower also did make more money. But underwater combat was too difficult for low rank Hunters to touch.

If you didn’t have related skills, you had to separately prepare equipment or items, so there were cases where people could suffer a loss at any moment instead. Thanks to that, it wasn’t hard to bid on this time’s D-Rank dungeon, too.

“The view’s nice.”

A bright blue sky was reflected on the clear surface like a mirror. Every time the wind blew, the grass gently danced around and ripples trembled rhythmically.

Even before the regression when I was busy looking after my own life, I sometimes felt that the dungeon’s scenery was intriguing. Now when I was overflowing with leisure, I took it a step further and had doubts.

Making something like this, and even resetting it each time, as expected, wouldn’t you have to be about god level to do something like this?

‘Though the system people seemed far from omnipotence.’

Speaking of, today was quiet. Were they busy? Them chattering about nonsense was annoying, but since there wasn’t even a greeting, I was little sad.

‘We would probably be able to speak a bit more properly in a few days.’

Let’s just quickly clear the dungeon and leave. This was the third unauthorized outing. If I got caught[1], it wouldn’t be strange. I shouldn’t drag it out, and quickly finish and return.

I walked up close to the lake. I was using Wall Lizard, so there still wasn’t any change to the lake.

‘The usual monster was fish[2] type, right?’

It was a monster that looked similar to an eel and that could act even outside of water to a certain extent.

The items I was going to use today were the Mana increase earrings and mana potions. It was these two. I had no intention of directly going inside the water.

I sat with my knees touching the lakeside, and lowered my hand into the water.

Sticky poison.

The already strong C-Rank poison had double the effect and then doubled again with Veteran. That terrifying poison slowly spread through the water. The flawlessly clear water started to show a faint gray.

“Somehow my conscience is pricked a little.”

It was inside a dungeon, and the opponents were monsters, and it would reliably reset once the attack ends.

But still, I felt like I was doing something I shouldn’t do. It is illegal to fish using poisonous substances. It is also unallowed to use electric shocks. Nature love, environment protection.

-Kooukkoouk

It wasn’t long before noises similar to a toad’s cry as well as a 3-meter-ish eel burst out of the water.

Splash!

Jump!

The eels jumping out of the water in a row couldn’t even open and close their mouths several times before they died in a row. Near where the poison started, the corpses of eels who couldn’t even struggle and died instantly, floated up.

The effect was really good. It was so good, I felt like I had become an illegal sewer pipe spewing out toxic waste water.

‘If it’s this much, then this should be good, right?’

I took my hand out of the water and waited a bit. Big and small eels ceaselessly burst out and floated up. It wasn’t that big of a lake, but there were quite a lot.

-Keuwouh!

When about more the half the eels died, a blue eel raised its head from the small island in the middle of the lake.

[6th Rank Water Dragon Type – Blue Eel

Current stat rank C

Growth possible stat rank C

Optimized Initial Skills

Water Cannon❨C❩ Acquired

Wave Making Tail❨C❩ Acquired]

It was a dragon type. Though the species was eel. If it was a 6th rank water dragon type with stat C, it was on the higher side among C-Rank monsters. Still, if it was dragon type, rather than the mana stones, the corpse was more expensive. To lure it towards shore, I released Wall Lizard.

-Keureureu

The Blue Eel discovered me. It was raising its head upright when it moved its fins that had long claws and slipped into the water.

“That’s right, come.”

I should give the magic stone to Peace and the skin and bones to Myeongwoo. They were too cheap of materials for an SS-Rank skill, but they should be okay for practice.

-Keureuk

The speed of the vigorously swimming Blue Eel gradually became slower.

-Keureu…

Even the color of the scales turned gray. Ah, oh no. The complexion also wasn’t good at all. In the end, it couldn’t even reach the shore I was on, and.

-Kieek

Burble

…I’ll pray for your soul.

Along with the sound of the Blue Eel dying, it sank into the water. The poison was strong, but I thought it had been neutralized a lot so it would be okay. I thought about using the tentacles to fish it out, but I just left it. It would be a bit much to use something poisoned.

Then, an escape gate appeared at the lakeside.

Now, what kind of title would come out this time?

……Um. The message window wasn’t popping up.

“……Excuse me, people who made the system?”

Was it a lag? I was thinking that it was pretty quiet – did a communication error occur?

[Impressive achievement! With stat F, attack skills less than F, using less than five items, you have successfully attacked an D-Rank dungeon by yourself!]

Oh, finally the achievement window… did pop up, but.

‘It’s no news for a long time again.’

When I waited for a while, a message window appeared again.

[Please choose.

Being Durable(S)

Can’t Be Found(S)

Swift Footed(S)]

Why suddenly choices? I had never heard of being able to choose an achievement award title. Could it be it was slow because this was being prepared?

‘I’m thankful that you gave me choices, but it would be even better if you let me see the explanation windows.’

Still, I could more or less guess, looking at just the title names. They were respectively defense, hiding, agility or instant movement related titles. Were they named simply like that so it would be easy to understand?

‘All three of them are titles that seem like they would be good for my protection.’

I had wanted a double buff for special skills. And for a D-Rank dungeon attack by myself, wasn’t it a bit stingy? This time was also S-Rank. I had thought that it would be around SS-Rank level; it was a disappointment.

Anyways, I had to choose one among the three – which should I pick?

‘An S-Rank defense skill would be good too. But if it was a stat increase, then it would be a loss.’

Of course, it would probably raise it a lot, as an S-Rank title, but with my basic stats as F-Rank, it wasn’t to the point of being meaningful. My earrings’ shield skill would probably be more useful instead.

‘Still, since they’re purposely picked by the system people, unless they’re thinking of putting me in a predicament, I think they’re skill titles.’

If it was an S-Rank defense skill, it would be perfect for a short term fight. But if it went long term, then I would probably just become a hunched turtle. It wasn’t like I had a means of attack or anything, and if I was indoors, even if just my room door was locked, I wouldn’t be able to move an inch.

‘Anyways, except for monsters, there wouldn’t be guys trying to kill me, so hiding or agility would probably be better.’

Swift Footed wouldn’t be teleportation, looking at the name, and it would be a type that gave instant movement or increased movement speed. Hiding was definitely better than that. Just looking at Wall Lizard, just how usefully and well was I using it?

If it was a hiding skill attached to an S-Rank title, it would be A-Rank at minimum. Still, just in case, should I ask?

“The Can’t Be Found title, is it correct that it comes with an A-Rank or higher hiding skill?”

[˙~˙;;;]

Ah, yes. They couldn’t tell me.

“If Swift-Footed is a teleportation skill, please send an emoticon.”

It was quiet. As expected, it wasn’t teleportation. Then I should get hiding.

Of the three titles, I chose Can’t Be Found.

[Can’t Be Found(S)

The F-Rank Hunter that overcame a D-Rank dungeon alone is an expert in hiding?

Hidden Puzzle[3](A)

One More as a Freebie(S)]

It was a title explanation that seemed like they had tried to make it fit the achievement. The other two explanations would probably be similar to this. Hidden Puzzle should be the hiding skill, and what was One More as a Freebie? The name seemed like it was added as a freebie but the rank was S.

‘The other two probably would have been this combination too.’

One more as a freebie as a defense or agility related skill. It was probably something like this.

[Hidden Puzzle(A)

Become a state where it is hard for you to be perceived even if focused on or looked for]

Hidden Puzzle seemed like it wasn’t that my appearance itself disappeared, but that it was hard to be recognized, as a skill similar to Wall Lizard. And One More as a Freebie was.

[One More as a Freebie(S)

Sharing one S-Rank or lower title or skill with 1 opponent while in contact

Standby time for reapplication per each skill 15 days

※Relevant skills exempted]

…Wow, wait. Was this the main thing? It was possible to share skills and titles? Which were the S-Rank and lower ones again?

“They paid attention to me complaining that they were baubles.”

I was a little moved.

Let’s see, first of all, the recently acquired S-Rank titles were Miracle and Veteran. Item doubled and attack skill effect doubled. Oh shit.

If it was going to be like this, I should’ve just chosen the defense skill.

‘It has to be while in contact, so I would probably be able to follow along to a mid rank dungeon at most.’

Since I could use a B-Rank shield skill through the earrings. Hiding was useless in a melee. If it was an A-Rank or higher defense skill, I would be able to follow along to a high rank dungeon too! It was regrettable.

Still, if an S-Rank dungeon burst or something, it could be handled quickly. When the dungeon level of difficulty would start to go up quickly, it wouldn’t be far before I would probably have no choice but to make good use of it.

Besides that, Hidden Puzzle, and two pretty useless assistance skills. And the Seed-Leaf skill.

‘The one the system people were aiming for was probably this Seed-Leaf skill. Since it seemed like they wanted me to raise Hunters.’

Standby time for optimized Awakening use: 30 days. Somehow, I might be able to use it three times per month. Since the Freebie skill standby time was 15 days.

But the problem was that the keyword applied targets were limited; the My Brat skill was L-Rank so it was impossible to share. In the end, it was either I wouldn’t be able to use it, or it would be relevant to people I applied the keyword to. Seeing how the system people purposely stuck in the Freebie skill, it was likely to be the latter.

Then, the remaining problem was the people to share the skills with.

‘I have to keep on hiding the optimized Awakening, so I need people I can trust.’

If this was discovered, it would get really bothersome.

For familiars, there was a demand limited to giant guilds or high rank Hunters. But for optimized Awakening, it was obvious that the Unawakened People in the entire world would crowd around asking me to use it on them.

Truthfully, wouldn’t I be an unscratched lottery ticket?

After Awakened People appeared, anyone would’ve had that kind of thought at least once. But there was a person who could increase the probability of winning and who would scratch the lottery ticket for you? Of course you would want to find them and hand over your lottery ticket.

On top of that, there was even a restriction on the number of times, so it would become a pandemonium that made my head hurt just imagining.

‘If I exclude the high rank Hunters who have to go into dungeon attack every few days, the only immediate one is Myeongwoo.’

There weren’t people I needed to optimally Awaken right away, so I should wait a bit and see.

When I returned home, a parcel had arrived in the meantime. It was a newly bought cell phone.

The one I was using was thrown around when I was kidnapped, so a corner had broken, and above all, the camera performance wasn’t good.

“Now, Peace. Look here. No, don’t come over.”

-Geureureung

If you clung to my leg, I wouldn’t be able to take a photo.

“Chirpie, did you go into the kitchen again?”

-Chirp chirp!

Because I fed it magic stones in the kitchen, it would crawl there at the drop of a hat and chirp.

“Chirpie, come here.”

-Chirp!

“There’s magic stone powder here.”

When I set the bottle with C-Rank magic stone powder on the table, immediately.

Tap tap tap tap

I heard the sound of small footsteps running over. The baby bird that had reached the bottom of the table started to flap and hop.

-Chirp chirp chirp!

Did you like eating that much? I took a photo of Chirpie trying as hard as it could to go up the table. Should I take a video?

-Chirp!

Chirpie, who was jumping for a long time, suddenly stopped. Then it snapped around to the side. That guy’s eyes landed on Peace, who was sitting at my feet.

-Cheep cheep cheep

Whatever it was thinking, Chirpie went toward Peace. And then.

“Oho.”

It started to crawl on top of Peace’s body. Peace looked up at me as if taken aback.

-Kkioong

“Bear with it for a bit.”

That Chirpie wasn’t a complete idiot. It was praiseworthy.

-Chirp!

Finally reaching and standing on top of Peace’s head, Chirpie flapped its small wings and shouted a roar of victory(?). Peace sent a gaze asking me to do something about this irritating tiny thing.

“Just a minute, just a minute.”

Cute. I definitely had to take a photo of this.

-Cheeep, cheeep

After getting on Peace’s head, Chirpie turned its direction toward the table. It spread its two wings wide with what it thought of as solemnity. The distance was a bit much – would it be okay?

-Chiiirp!

With a burst, it jumped! Then,

Bump bump

It landed precariously on the edge of the table and bounced about two times, and then rolled and stopped. Oh, it succeeded.

-Chirp!

“Our Chirpie, you’ve become a little smarter in the meantime.”

It felt like just yesterday when it couldn’t differentiate between the TV and the real thing. Though it really was yesterday. I took a picture of it clinging to the magic stone bottle and cheeping, and broke F-Rank magic stones and gave them to it.

-Cheep!!

Huh, it didn’t eat immediately and complained. This guy’s food demands were gradually getting more severe.

“You’re not going to eat? I’ll take it away?”

-Cheep!!

When I stretched my hand toward the magic stones, it quickly ate all of them up and hugged the magic stone bottle again.

“Peace, look at your little sibling. Like that, it’ll try to swallow it by the bottle.”

-Kkiang

Peace tapped my leg with his front feet as if saying ‘it’s not my business so pick me up instead’. That was your food, punk.

I left Chirpie to film a romance with the magic stone bottle, and picked up Peace and sat on the sofa. I had already downloaded the social media app.

‘It has really been a long time.’

I hadn’t ever done it properly either. I made one following the trend, but I didn’t really have anything to post about so I quit soon. I put the profile photo as the photo of Peace and Chirpie that I had just taken a moment ago. How cute. Then, I put up the photos that I took a long time ago of Peace when he was young, the photo of Chirpie rolling on the table, and the one of Chirpie holding the bottle.

Did I have to put things like tags on them?

‘Hmm, let’s just be laid back about it.’

First, I followed Haeyeon Guild, and then Seseong, Breaker, and Hanshin. I should follow MKC for now, too. And the Hunter Assciation and the market had separate accounts.

While I was looking for those, like that.

2,155 followers

The followers that were 0 had increased in an instant. How was it so fast? The guild accounts had also followed me back in that time. The comments were also continuing to increase.

-Peace!!! It’s noona!!!! ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ[4]

-Ah hella cyuteㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ What is that cotton ballㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

-no way this really han yoojins account? theres another monster???[5]

-thought it was sticky rice cake want to put it in my mouth!!!!!!!

-crayz[6]…… look at when Peace was a baby….. take me♡

Mmhm, my kids were quite cute. In order to not receive suspicion for following Riette’s account, I should follow about a hundred more people. It was a bit much to just follow Hunters, so should I find a few famous celebrities? Who was popular these days?

I checked the messages I had gotten as I searched through my memory. More than half were questions asking if it really was me. Among them, one that seemed excited stood out to my eyes.

-Hello!! This is Bak Hayool, who met you last time at the broadcasting station! I apologize for suddenly sending a message like this, but I am truly very pleased to see you! Is Chirpie a new monster you have acquired? It is really so cuteㅠㅜㅠㅠㅠ

Broadcasting station? Bak Hayool? Who was that? As soon as I went to Bak Hayool’s account, I remembered right away.

It was the guy who had optimized skills based on his face.

[1] lit. ‘tail gets stepped on’ from ‘if tail is long it gets stepped on’ which means ‘even if you do bad things without others knowing, eventually, you’ll get caught’

[2] like the ‘abnormal bird’ from several chapters ago, this word also means ‘abnormal fish’. Once again, as there is no eng equivalent for mythical fishes, I’m leaving the tl as ‘fish’

[3] lit. ‘finding hidden image’ but it’s basically a pictorial puzzle where you look for hidden objects in a cramped picture. Was super tempted to tl it as ‘where’s waldo’

[4] i’m sure it’s obvious & I think it’s come up in prev ch but ㅠ is a krn letter and it’s used like this to imply tears the way TT is in eng

[5] these 2 sentences were written w no spaces, which is common in krn bc spaces aren’t as important as they are in eng, so to give a corresponding eng internet writing feel to that, I put it all in lowercase

Prev ch.

< One Night’s Curse and Poison Dragon (2) >

Maybe they were using a type of hiding skill, because I couldn’t clearly see their appearance. But the silhouette was definitely a human. And they spoke too.

Was it an S-Rank Hunter who had a hiding skill?

That wasn’t in my memories.

I scrutinized the collapsed silhouette and went toward the basket that Chirpie was in. As soon as I picked up Chirpie, who was sleeping without knowing a thing, the silhouette jumped up.

“Wow, how thrilling. Darling, what was that? My curse resistance is S-Rank, but I had to put on a de-cursing item to finally pull free?”

It was a woman’s voice. The curse resistance was S-Rank – it was a little awkward for me to say, but she must be a fiend.

According to The Weak’s Premonition, she had stat S-Rank, S-Rank poison skills and curse skills, SS-Rank short-range physical attack skills, an SSS-Rank title… What was all this. She really was a Hunter I hadn’t heard of or seen. Exactly what kind of title was it that there were three S’s stuck to it?

Of course, the attack power could be nonexistent like my L-Rank titles, but it seemed like that possibility was low. Because.

[Awakened Person – Riette

Current stat rank S

Possible Awakening stat rank S

Optimized Initial Skills

Eternity’s Severance(SS) Acquired

Knife’s Path(S) Acquired

Dazzling Aura(S) Acquired

Flowing Cloud(A) Acquired]

Severance, knife, aura. No matter how you looked at it, they were initial skills that had nothing to do with curses or poison. In other words, the poison and curse skills she had were highly likely to be the SSS-Rank title’s skills.

“What could you be looking at, our cutie[1].”

…I didn’t like the way she spoke at all. With that name too; was she a Westerner?

‘Setting aside stats, the skills are no joke. If the ranking competition existed now, she would be in the highest range.

Proximity combat aptitude and poison and curse SSS-Rank title. And she seemed to have a hiding skill too. Seeing how the Lauchtas’ Natural Enemy skill was set off, the SSS-Rank title was also related to curse and poison dragons. It was Dio Valshesis, right? It was a monster I hadn’t heard of, but just looking at the name, it didn’t seem like a normal fiend[2].

“Darling? Why don’t you show me a reaction already or something? Are you frozen from surprise?”

“If you have business, you should have requested visitation through phone during the day, Riette-ssi.”

“Oh my?”

Right after the exclamation full of surprise, the blurred silhouette became clear. Showing her appearance in the darkness, was a beautiful woman with a cheerful smile. A bob that was cut short for activity was a dark black and the two eyes were a clear gold.

Gold eyes. The appearance of high rank Hunters could change strangely, according to their aptitude or skills, but that had too different of a gold quality to be called something that belonged to a human.

“How could you have known? My name. And darling, wasn’t it that you were stat F-Rank with nonexistent attack skills?”

She didn’t look an Easterner, but her Korean was proficient. It was probably thanks to the item hanging around her neck. It was a translation item that sometimes came out in S-Rank dungeons.

“Is it not basic for Hunters to hide one or two?”

“It’s not one or two, though? Just a while ago was a curse skill, probably around SS-Rank. And you seem like you have a skill that lets you read another person’s information. Weren’t you vigorously reading something?”

As expected, the Seed-Leaf skill was caught right away in front of an S-Rank Hunter. I lowered Chirpie back into the basket and smiled gently.

“It was a hidden card. That it did not work, made me quite disappointed.”

“It was just that the match up was bad. That it’s a skill that can incapacitate even an S-Rank curse resistance, is pretty impressive.”

It was doubled again through the Lauchtas’ Natural Enemy. Exactly how many times did it rise again?

“First of all, can I assume that you do not have any intention to attack?”

Chirpie was right next to me, and Peace and Myeongwoo were nearby. It was better to avoid a fight as much as possible. And, if the skills were to that extent, even if Yoohyun came, the chance of winning wasn’t that high. A proximity aptitude with an S-Rank poison and curse – it was to the point of being evil.

Thankfully, she didn’t seem to have the will to fight.

“Yes, of course. Above all, our natures really don’t match. The curse skill that I sent as soon as I released myself from your curse – did you feel it?”

I didn’t feel it. It was an S-Rank curse skill, so did it just disappear because it was too insignificant?

“My curse resistance skill rank is a little high.”

But pretending I knew, I shrugged my shoulders. She held out both her hands as if answering.

“My curse skill is condition specialized, so it’s weak to use during combat, but I’m upset that it didn’t get through even a little bit.”

Simple attack curse skills like Blackie’s Thorn Trap were things that monsters usually had, and normal Hunters’ curse skills were condition specialized. Used for inventory sealing or contracts and such, with usage versatility being high… wait. Could it be?

“……Did you happen to come find me because of ripping the contract?”

“That’s right! So it was you?”

I mean, did you come just for that? I was dumbfounded. Looking at my expression, Riette quickly added an explanation.

“It’s not just for that reason. I came because I also have a request. In the first place, I didn’t even think that you had destroyed the contract. I was thinking about asking you if you knew anything about it, while I was at it. But seeing Han Yoojin-ssi’s abilities… the kidnapping incident really must have been a trap for MKC?”

It wasn’t. But I put on an expression that said ‘it could be so’.

“That kind of rumor seems to be going around, then?”

“There’s talk that it’s a matter schemed up by Seseong and Haeyeon collaborating together. Anyways, are you going to keep standing while we talk?”

Riette, who had walked to the bed, raised just one long leg and straddled it. Hey, this woman.

“Why don’t you take off your shoes.”

“Ah, right.”

She obediently took off and threw her combat boots. She had cat-patterned socks.

“Aren’t they cute? I bought them in Dongdaemun[3].”

“Ah, yes.”

“Darling, you’re too dry. For things like this, you should know to come up onto the bed on your own.”

Then she lied down diagonally and waved me over. From the window, the moonlight… or rather the light from the opposite side building was dim, so the atmosphere was good, but I didn’t want to use the bed together with an S-Rank Hunter I didn’t know – an SS-Rank proximity cutting skill holder.

I thought it over for a bit and then went to the bed. I didn’t lie down and just sat on the opposite side.

“An illegal contract being shredded – is that not something that you normally do not pay attention to?”

Was an illegal thing illegal without reason? There were cases from time to time when the other person had curse resistance and had prepared tons of de-cursing items before contracting. But even if she had a different primary purpose, to think she was going to purposely check.

At my words, Riette had a bit of a sheepish expression.

“That’s because it hasn’t been long since I started.”

“It has not been long?”

“That’s right. I just started the business so I couldn’t help but pay attention. I only just got the curse skill ten days ago.”

Ten days? Just that?

“Could I possibly ask how you got it?”

“Darling, you’re grilling too much. When you’re not even coming closer.”

“You have learned my secret, so let us agree to each keep our mouths shut.”

“Secret? Do you mean the stats and skills? They’re things the Haeyeon and Seseong Guild Leaders know anyways.”

“They do not know.”

At my words, she turned over onto her stomach. The two gold eyes turned big and round.

“They don’t know? Really? That’s a surprise.”

“If it is this extent, is it not a secret worth a trade?”

Although my card was about half fake. But if she found out the truth, she could guess that I had some kind of special skill. So it wasn’t that I was giving away a little.

“What should I do?”

“I also know that it is a skill that came from a title.”

“Wow, you really do have a skill that can check status windows. Darling, you’re too much. Okay. It’s a title I got after catching an S-Rank dungeon boss monster.”

“A Dio Valshesis?”

“I mean, if you already know everything, why are you asking?”

Riette pouted her lips.

“SSS-Rank title Dio Valshesis’ Twin. It’s a title that you can get when you catch the twin dragons Dio Valshesis with just your sibling from the same mother. My younger brother is also an S-Rank Hunter.”

As benefiting a high rank, it was title with a difficult condition.

“Could I also hear which dungeon it was?”

“It was an illegal dungeon from China…”

She slightly wrinkled her forehead and continued speaking.

“It might be hard to believe, but it disappeared after the attack.”

“It disappeared?”

“…You’re not surprised? It’s not a lie.”

“I know. I believe you.”

Twin curse and poison dragons Dio Valshesis. There was no way information about a dungeon with that kind of monster as a boss wouldn’t have been revealed in 5 years. So, obviously.

It was a dungeon that should have come out 5 years later.

The dungeon suddenly disappearing was probably because the system administrators took action.

‘So that’s why there was no information about such an incredible Hunter.’

If she was simply a female proximity attack aptitude Hunter, I had heard of her before. The name was different, but there were a lot of Hunters who didn’t use their real names, so she should be the same person. It wasn’t like S-Rank Hunters were common, and if their aptitude and gender were the same, then there was no mistake.

In other words, in the original future, Riette didn’t get the the Dio Valshesis’ Twin title. Since it was even before the relevant dungeon appeared.

…Would there have been similar things to this?

“You believe me? Really?”

Riette furtively came to my side. Looking at her from close, she really was a beauty. I was captivated by that face for a moment, so I was sitting blankly until an arm stretched out and wrapped around my waist.

“But darling, it’s a little strange.”

“…What is?”

She pulled my waist and stuck close. She lightly raised her upper body and touched her nose to my shoulder.

“……Are you possibly a dragon type too?”

“I am a human.”

“But the feeling is… same kind? No, rather than that… being able to easily knock out something like a Dio Valshesis, hmm, a big shot kind of feeling?”

…I was wondering if it was because of Blackie’s skills, but no matter how I looked at it, it seemed to be the effect of the Lauchtas’ Natural Enemy or the Dragon Slayer title. Then again, Blackie also was frightened, so even if Riette felt a strange feeling, it wasn’t weird.

“Darling, I’m getting a little excited.”

“……Excuse me?”

“You smell good, too. Do you use cologne?”

I did use a lot of body wash. Before that, she was clinging too much.

“How about moving away a little?”

“Darling, you’re really twenty-five, right? You’re too cold.”

“I am at an age where I can differentiate people as I go at them. At any rate, let us talk some business instead.”

I figured out everything I was curious about, so it would be great if you left already. Riette roughly loosened her arm as if sulking and then sprawled out[4] on the bed.

“You’re too much. Would it wear down that thing for you to chime in agreeably? At any rate, it’s sad that normal people aren’t drawn in.”

“…They are not drawn in?”

“Yeah. They’re not. It’s the same as having become about half dragon half human, so the sexual preference also must have changed.”

Is that so. That wasn’t right but it was another person’s business.

“Please just finish up your business and leave. I have to sleep.”

“So cold. You were cute when I saw you on TV. Speaking of, why is your face the same, darling? It seems like your stats are quite high. It’s still fine right now, but if it’s the level of getting compensation, normally-.”

“I did not get any.”

It’s the original.

“Then again, it hasn’t been long since you Awakened, right? My business is obvious. I have a baby monster I want to leave to you.”

“If it is that, please call during the day. You shouldn’t not know my contact information.”

All sorts of spam calls came, so could an S-Rank Hunter not find out my phone number? At my words, Riette widened her eyes.

“Are you pretending not to know? The guilds that negotiated with you have fire in their eyes, so how would I be able to directly call? Especially your brother is going around openly threatening people to not think of personally contacting you.”

Was Yoohyun going around doing that?

“Then you can come over directly?”

She bared her teeth in a smile[5].

“It’s just that, if I don’t get caught. You saw my skills. Originally, I wasn’t planning on showing my face. I hadn’t even dreamed that you could see through to an S-Rank Hunter’s status window. I was planning on secretly coming in and checking your intentions and secretly reeling you in.”

Then again, if you had a hiding skill, instead of using a traceable phone call, directly coming to find me was safer.

“So you want me to raise a baby monster for you?”

“If I openly leave it with you, it’ll come to light that I contacted you; can’t you make a way to connect? There’s a lot of people who are impatient other than me.”

She was pretending to be cute, going ‘please~’.

“Do you have social media?”

“Hm?”

“I will be making an account soon. Of course guilds, but even many Hunters use social media, so I will first follow and then contact you. When my social media account is made, please make a related post. And please give me your ID now.”

“Ah, I didn’t manage it properly though. Here’s my ID.”

After taking a piece of parchment and a pen from her inventory and writing her ID, she ripped it off and handed it to me.

“Thanks, love you~.”

Hearing the prattle that she loves me, suddenly the thought of applying the keyword to Riette too, came up. Because the effect was doubled, it seemed like it would work if I said it even once carelessly. It didn’t take long for even Blackie, who I couldn’t communicate with, so if it was someone who could understand the love ballad, it would quickly be applied. What should I do? Should I fill one empty S-Rank place and at the same time give her a growth buff sometimes?

If the growth buff was also applied doubled, it did seem like I was giving too much. First, let’s check if the keyword effect would appear.

“Do you happen to have someone you think of as a caregiver? Someone who raised you.”

“Hm? No. Not at all. Rather, I raised my younger brother. Speaking of, you raised your younger brother too, right?”

“Yeees, well…”

I did raise him. But looking at the results, I, just, well.

“……Even so, he Awakened on his own, and went on his own road on his own.”

On one morning. He was right about to take the CSAT, graduate, and go to college. I had thought that if he did, my work would have been done too.

Ah, I just thought of it. The savings account I put away for tuition. There was no use for it so I had let it sit the whole time, and then I had cancelled it before going to meet the Awakening broker. So that was why my bank balance was bigger than I had thought.

“Darling?”

Somehow that will disappeared and I flopped down on the bed.

“If you have finished with your business, please leave now. I will sleep now.”

“Really just sleep?”

“Yes, I will sleep.”

I just closed my eyes. I felt Riette peeking from above. The gaze looking down, as well as.

“Han Yoojin-ssi, I’ll come to play again.”

“…No thank you.”

“Thanks. Sleep well.”

A light feather-like[6] touch brushed against my forehead and then left. There was the sound of shoes being put on, and then the door opening and closing. The Weak’s Premonition that had been noisy the whole time became calm.

It was silent.

I opened my eyes again.

‘…The system people really are working.’

On top of blocking the progress, they even erased a dungeon from 5 years later that popped out. Though it was already attacked. It would have been the first attack, so I wondered what rewards they got. Should I have asked that too?

‘During the 5 years, following the level of difficulty, the rewards also increased. Then again, compared to the title, a decent regression item wouldn’t be much.’

Dio Valshesis’ Twin. If it was an SSS-Rank title, it was a rank that hadn’t appeared even 5 years later. That I knew of.

She said she had become about half human half dragon, so wouldn’t it have been inheriting exactly the Dio Valshesis’ abilities, a type like that? On top of that, it was a twin title, so it was obvious both siblings received it.

‘If just the two of them caught the monster, as well as attacked an illegal dungeon, the siblings probably were acting with just each other without a guild or a team. If it were two S-ranks, it would be more than enough right now. Riette has a proximity attack aptitude, so would the younger brother be assistance, possibly healer? No, if he was an S-Rank healer, there would have been no way it wasn’t revealed, so the likelihood of him being assistance would be high.’

It could be a long range aptitude or on the magic side, too.

Anyways, both of them were at the level of being outside of rank, for now. It was one thing that it was a waste to just leave them alone, but it was to the point of being uneasy to do so.

Even so, should I say it was a relief that Riette was in a position to ask me for a favor? But, I couldn’t know how far that would go.

‘The keyword effect wouldn’t exactly appear for Riette.’

She was a curse and poison dragon type, so the application would be easy, but she didn’t have someone she thought of as a caregiver. If so, then as expected, I had to reel in the younger brother.

It was a younger brother raised by that older sister. Even if I didn’t see him, I could more or less guess his personality. At the least, he would listen well to his noona.

Since he was the same curse and poison dragon type, the keyword application would happen straight away.

‘I should ask her to introduce me to her brother.’

For the social media profile, whose picture should I use, between Peace and Chirpie?

[1] it uses the word for ‘pretty’ and means ‘person who looks or whose behavior is pretty and lovable’ but there’s no direct word for it in eng. ‘Pretty’ in krn can be used to describe the way a person acts, in which case it means more like polite/sweet, so I guess something like ‘sweetie’ could work too. ‘Cutie’ felt like it had the closest nuance, imho, though there is a word for ‘cutie’ in krn too.

[2] yj uses the krn word for ‘monster’, which I’ved been tl-ing lately as ‘fiend’ to differentiate from dungeon monsters (the eng word). Idk if there’s a special reason he’s using the krn word or if it’s just bc, but putting a footnote just in case

[3] it’s a large commercial district w a lot of shops

[4] lit. ‘lie down comfortably as the character 大’, i.e. w arms and legs askew/spread out

[5] lit. ‘bit off a smile at the corners of her mouth’. It seems like a turn of phrase the author made up but I don’t think it means ‘bit out a smile’ which in eng means ‘reluctantly/forcefully smile’, but rather more like ‘smile wickedly’ so I made my best approximation.

[6] lit. ‘cotton fluff like’

Prev ch.

< Chirp (3) >

-Kkiook!

Puuhk!

The Moss Monkey that got its head crushed fell from the tree. At the same time, Chirpie on top of my head flapped its wings.

-Cheep cheep! Cheep cheep!

It was a sign that the monkey killed just now had a magic stone.

I had found two F-Rank magic stones and fed them to it, and afterwards, when I caught monkeys with magic stones, it started to chirp as if asking for them. It seemed like it was feeling the presence of magic stones.

“Chirpie, you’re more of a big eater than I had thought.”

With this, it was already the sixth, but it was still flapping, saying it would eat. On top of that, unlike Peace, it didn’t even touch meat and only ate magic stones.

-Chirp! Chirp!

“Alright, alright.”

It hadn’t even been thirty minutes since you met me. But seeing how it was sticking right to me and even pressing for food, the kid was a bit shameless. Was it too young to distinguish people’s individuality[1]? Or was it that it regarded anyone as its parent if they fed it?

Moss Monkeys’ magic stones were usually around below the nape. When I took a knife and cut the skin, above my head, it was really tap dancing.

-Cheep cheep cheep! Cheep!

Ugh, blood splattered. Even though I was careful to the upmost, I couldn’t help but get, of course my hand, but also the sleeves to the elbow spotted with blood. I should wash at the pond or something before I go out.

I passed the magic stone over to the beak of Chirpie, who had come down to my shoulder in the meantime. It was small because it was an ordinary F-Rank monster magic stone, but it was still a size that was hard to swallow in one gulp, and yet it went down really well.

-Chirp!

“Are you going to eat more?”

-Chirp!

I didn’t know what it was saying, but it didn’t sound like it was full. Alright, let’s see how much you can eat.

I thoroughly rummaged through the not that large forest, and caught and killed Moss Monkeys. During a dungeon attack, you didn’t need to catch all the of the ordinary monsters. You just had to hunt over half of the entirety and catch the boss monster. But the more you hunted, the little longer the dungeon would be stabilized, so the Association recommended to exterminate as much as possible.

Technology that could accurately tell a dungeon’s saturation state hadn’t been developed yet, so in cases where you caught only half and came out, you had to separately report it.

I didn’t feel the presence of Moss Monkeys anymore, so I went toward the pond. Chirpie, who had eaten up the magic stones every time they appeared, must have been in a good mood because it was humming softly.

“If magic stones were normal food, your stomach would’ve already burst.”

While eating everything I gave it, in the end, it ate an amount that was larger than its body. Even if they were magic stones, they should still pass through the stomach, so it seemed like the absorption was fast.

-Cheep cheep cheep~ cheeeep

“You’re a glutton, a total glutton.”

This guy’s food costs would be formidable. Even if it was F-Rank, exactly how much was it?

The pond that was at the edge of the forest was considerably big. In the middle of the clear water where lotus-leaf-like things were floating, there was a small green island.

-Gooreureuk

Maybe it had sensed us, because a giant Moss Turtle extended its head. The long canine teeth were considerably threatening.

-Chirp! Chirp! Cheep cheep! Cheep! Chirp!

“…My head is ringing. Calm down.”

As soon as it saw the turtle, Chirpie started to make a commotion. It didn’t seem like it was frightened – was it asking me to catch it? Since it pestered me to give it magic stones after catching the monkeys, it seemed like it thought that that turtle’s magic stone was extremely appetizing.

-Cheep cheep cheep!

“Okay, okay.”

I thought that the excited Chirpie would fall off or something, so I lowered it from my head and held it in my arms. In the meantime, the giant turtle cut through the water and slowly came over. If you came over, then I was thankful.

-Koouhh!

“What koouhh.”

Swish!

I grabbed the long neck by wrapping a tentacle around it and,

Puuk!

I pulled strongly and flung it out of the pond. The upside down turtle struggled. Not dragging it out, I cut the bent neck with a knife.

-Cheep cheep cheep! Chirp!

“I got it. Just wait a mome-.”

[Surprising achievement! With stat F, attack skills less than F, and using less than three items, you have successfully attacked an F-Rank dungeon by yourself!]

……Huh? Suddenly why an achievement message window…

[S-Rank title ‘Miracle Rookie’[2] granted!]

Continuing, a miscellaneous items acquired window popped up. No, before that, what was this?

“Miracle Rookie?”

Was it a title you could get when you solo attacked a dungeon with stats and attack skills F-Rank or lower and using only a few items? The condition really was nasty. How could you get this? They should at least make it so that you can wear a lot of equipment.

Though I got it.

‘Did they consider it without the skills and stats from the Repayment skill?’

If someone had special skills like me, or had found a few high stat equipment with attack skills attached, I guess they could get it. Though who would do something weird like that. If you had equipment that could be used to beat a F-Rank dungeon alone, you should make a team and go to a D-Rank dungeon. On top of that, having that kind of ability meant that you were incredibly rich. Equipment costs should be in units of a billion, at minimum.

-Chirp chirp! Chirp chirp!

When I stood blankly, Chirpie went past urging to breaking out of my arms and jumping down. Then, it flapped around and dashed to the giant turtle.

-Chirp!

Ah geez, that glutton. Blood got all over your feathers. First, I cut the turtle’s belly and took out the magic stone. It was a F-Rank, but it was a boss monster’s magic stone, so it was considerably big. It was about the size of two fingers, so it was impossible for Chirpie to swallow.

-Chirp! Chirp!

“Ok, wait. I’ll break it for you.”

-Chirp, cheep!

When I was just holding the magic stone, it grabbed my pant leg by its small beak and stretched it. Why was it so greedy for food? I tsked and showed the magic stone to Chirpie.

“Look, it’s too big.”

-Chirp!

Chirpie, who had happily cried when it saw the magic stone, quickly bit the magic stone. Then,

-Chweep chweep chweep

Letting out gusty noises, it struggled to swallow it no matter what. Hey, would that go in? Why don’t you pass a camel through the eye of a needle?

“You’ll die like that. Hand it over.”

In case it would get sick trying to forcefully swallow it, I took the magic stone back. When I did, it froze as if shocked, and then it flopped down and,

-Cheeeeeeeep! Cheeep, cheeeeep!

It looked up at me and started to cry loudly. It was a tone that said that it was upset to death because its food was stolen. It was dumbfounding and it was cute; where did this kind of pig pop out from?

I quickly broke the magic stone and scattered it on the ground. Then, it excitedly pecked and ate as if it hadn’t ever cried.

I looked at Chirpie doing that for a moment and then opened the status window. I saw the newly registered title.

[Miracle Rookie(S)

A surprising beginner Hunter who solo attacked an F-Rank dungeon with very weak abilities.

Twice as many dungeon item rewards]

……Wow, twice as many item rewards. It really was good. It was quite good, but I didn’t need to do dungeon attacks.

‘They’re giving out these bauble[3]-like titles?’

Something like this was amazing[4] only if someone at least A-Rank got it. Especially if you went into an S-Rank dungeon, two S-Rank magic stones would fall out each time and there would be twice as many S-Rank items and if the first attack reward special items also fell out doubled, then it would be an incredible jackpot.

Giving this kind of thing as a title a stat F-Rank can get – were they joking around?

‘Though, even if it’s a low rank Hunter, it’s better than nothing.’

Even if I thought about it simply, the income was doubled, and it would be much easier to find a team using this. If you did well, you could follow into even a C-Rank dungeon.

Though as low rank Hunter use, it didn’t seem to be S-Rank level.

Would I be able to use it when the Repayment skill was initiated someday?

Outside of that, there weren’t a lot of items. Maybe because they were rewards from a solo attack, they were good despite being F-Rank, so it was almost to the level of being D-Rank dungeon attack rewards, but they were common things.

‘But this, if I attack a dungeon of a different rank by myself, would they give me a title as a reward?’

That was immediately captivating. If it was my current ability, I could beat up to a D-Rank by myself. A C-Rank probably would be possible too, but from there, it would get too big so if I went into attack by myself, I wouldn’t be able to finish in one or two days. There also wasn’t much time left for the Repayment skill, so it would be good to challenge up to a D-Rank safely.

‘I’m a little sorry to Peace, but I should say that I’m going to rest at home for a while and…’

The exclusive entrance pass was the problem. Still, it probably wouldn’t be hard to find up to D-Rank. If I couldn’t find one, then that was that. First, let’s just try.

“If you’ve finished eating, let’s wash up and go home.”

I washed my hands first and then took off my clothes and dipped them into the water. The blood seeping out spread over the surface and then disappeared. It seemed it would be hard to completely erase it, so it’d probably be better to wash cursorily and then buy new ones on the way and wear them before getting back.

I grabbed Chirpie too and dipped it in the water. When it got wet, it became about a quarter the size. So it was relying on its feathers, huh.

-Chirp cheep!

I wondered if I had wet the baby bird too much, but when the water was shaken off lightly, it became fluffy. Convenient.

Just in case blood drops had splashed onto my face, I washed my face too. When I doused myself with cold water, the inside of my head felt like it became clear.

At the same time the message content that had been pushed back for a bit came to mind.

‘Do I have to move more actively?’

I had thought the speed of the dungeons’ level of difficulty rising and number increasing would definitely be the same as before the regression.

But apparently it wouldn’t be.

They said they were delaying the progress, but it seemed like it couldn’t help but get faster than before.

‘The familiars could cover it to a certain extent… but instead of monsters should I pay attention to people?’

The person who made the system – no, since they said ‘we’, it was people – tossing me the quest to fill up with 50 S-Ranks seemed to mean telling me to prepare by raising S-Ranks. Since, if I found and raised Hunters that originally couldn’t reach S-Rank and couldn’t get special skills, like Yerim, or possibly Myeongwoo, then it would be a huge help for combat power.

Of course, because the optimized Awakening was limited to 30 days, I wouldn’t be able to use it often, but besides that, there was something else that I could do.

‘Special skill Awakening Center.’

It was something I had briefly wondered about making and then stopped.

After checking optimized skills with Seed-Leaf, a facility that prepared that person’s matching environment.

If people who would just get passable combat related skills, were Awakened suited to their aptitudes, it would obviously be helpful in various ways. Even if they happened to not get their optimized skills, if it seemed like a waste, I could apply the keyword and raise them, like with Myeongwoo.

“……The problem is that I only have one body.”

-Chirp

I grumbled as I twisted my clothes to squeeze out the moisture. Fuck, how could I do that many things alone? Raising monsters, checking the aptitudes of people too, Awakening them, applying the keyword to raise their skills too, and also connecting the Dokkaebi and Suk Hayan in my spare time.

Was it ‘please work alongside child care’?

“Still, letting go would be worrying for the future.”

So what if I had a building. If an S-Rank dungeon burst nearby, it would be boom. Just see, if something like a 1st rank dragon type burst out, it would become a sand castle.

I had thought I would be able to live at least the next 5 years without worrying, shit. Why was my life so difficult?

Taktak

I loosely shook the moisture off my clothes and then put them one. I also washed the soles of my shoes. I only put on the sunglasses and the cloth that covered my mouth, and then put Chirpie inside the upside down hat and covered it with the remaining cloth.

“You definitely can’t come out.”

-Chirp!

The sound was similar to a normal chick, so people would probably think I put in a bird. If it was a person you couldn’t even see the outer appearance of, you’d think it was a baby of a big type of bird.

I quieted Chirpie, telling it not to come out again, and left through the gate next to the pond.

When I left the dungeon management building, I checked my cell phone first. While inside the dungeon, the phone would have been out of service, and the piled up texts were only from unknown numbers. If it was discovered that I had disappeared, as soon as I had come out of the dungeon, my cell phone probably would’ve gone wild.

Before going back to Haeyeon Guild, I dropped by a clothes shop and bought new clothes to wear. I purposely picked a slightly loose shirt and put Chirpie inside, and then tried using Lizard Stuck on the Wall toward a sales assistant. Thankfully, the sales assistant couldn’t notice, of course me, but also Chirpie.

‘Chirpie, please stay quiet.’

It just didn’t need to make a sound.

Thankfully, after eating even the turtle’s magic stone, maybe its stomach was full, because it was half asleep.

I safely came up to the dorm floor using a similar method as when I was leaving the building. The entrance’s Hunter had put aside the book in the meantime and was knitting of all things. Maybe thanks to the high stat, the speed was really fast.

After reaching my house’s door and searching the surroundings, I let go of the skill. I took off the hat and sunglasses, and moved Chirpie back to the hat. Now all I had to go was go inside.

‘……Is it be okay to put a baby bird and a cat together?’

Suddenly a worry came up. Peace was a unicorn subspecies, but he was as close to carnivores and the cat family as a lion, and no matter how you looked at Chirpie, it was a baby bird.

……If I went in like this, wouldn’t there be bloodshed? No, in the first place, could I even raise them together? If I taught them not to harm each other, would they understand?

‘Even for monsters, they weren’t all carnivores, and there should be natural enemies among them.’

So I had to think about things like that if I had to raise several, huh. If Peace clawed at a dragon wing bone in front of Seseong’s future baby dragon, the atmosphere would be strange.

“What should I do?”

For now, I didn’t think it would be good to go in defenseless. With my current stats, it would be easy to block Peace, but I only had one body. It would be hard coaxing and teaching them, grabbing Chirpie on one side and Peace on the other. Should I call for the entrance’s Hunter for their help?

No, it would be good to get the help of someone acquainted with Peace. When would Yerim return? I was taking out my cell phone wondering if I should contact her, when I felt an approaching S-Rank.

“Hyung? You said you were going to sleep because you had a cold so what are you doing standing in front of the door?”

“…Then why did you come? I told you not to.”

“I wasn’t planning on waking you, just-.”

-Chirp

Chirpie cried. Yoohyun stared at me, the hat that I was holding. Um, I was caught faster than I had expected.

“……A chick?”

“I picked it up.”

It wasn’t a lie. It was just that the place I picked it up in was a dungeon.

-Chirp chirp

“You picked it up?”

“Someone threw it away in a hallway. Or it might have wandered in. Anyways I picked it up.”

“Is it really a chick?”

That little brother had an expression full of suspicion.

“It’s not a normal chick…”

Ah well, I did need to tell him. I lifted the hat’s cloth and showed Chirpie while speaking.

“It’s a baby monster.”

“What?”

“F-Rank. It’s weak. Wouldn’t someone have picked it up, unable to kill it, and then couldn’t raise it so they threw it away? Anyways, I do raise monsters.”

Like someone who leaves their dog at an abandoned dog shelter or a pet dog cafe. Please do not abandon your pets.

“……”

“Just consider it’s that.”

Yoohyun let out a small sigh. I was the one raising it, so why were you sighing?

“Even if it’s F-Rank, it’s a monster, so get it tamed. I’ll call over someone tomorrow.”

“Okay. Before that, while you’re here, help me persuade Peace.”

“Persuade?”

“If I just thoughtlessly go in, he might mistakenly think that I brought alive food.”

After roughly explaining the situation, I covered Chirpie with the cloth again and then opened the door. Maybe he had already noticed I had come, because I heard footsteps pacing past the inner door.

“Peace, wer- will you be good?”

I was going to ask him if he was being good, but I quickly changed it.

-Kkiang!

I pretended not to see him jumping, asking to be held, and went to the living room. It would be better for the location to be large.

“Okay, Peace. You can’t attack.”

I said, holding the hat and showing it. Peace might have noticed something because he kept on looking at that hat since a while ago. His ears were perked up and his eyes were bright.

“It’s not something to eat, but your dongsaeng, your younger sibling[5].”

I slowly took off the cloth covering Chirpie.

-Chirp!

A white and round head popped up. When it chirped again, Peace’s eyes widened.

“Your younger sibling-.”

-Keureureu

Hm, as expected, he didn’t see it as a younger sibling. In an instant, Peace bared his teeth and jumped up.

But right before the canines could touch the hat,

Tak

Yoohyun’s hand grabbed the scruff of Peace’s neck. Then.

Hwiik-

He threw him?! What, the hell.

…Han Yoohyun this bastard?!

[1] lit. ‘distinguish it and me’ where ‘it and me’ is one word that means ‘him and me, or that side and this side’. Normally it’s used when talking abt sides of sth, or sth like ‘distinguish between friend and foe’. But in this context I think it means more like chirpie can’t differentiate individual autonomy, like how babies & kids are naturally self-centered.

[2] the title is in eng transliterated to krn

[3] lit. ‘chicken ribs’ where one of the metaphorical meanings is ‘sth that is mostly useless but still a waste to throw away’. There’s no exactly corresponding word in eng, but ‘bauble’ brings into mind ‘sth pretty but useless’ so I thought it would be close enough?

[4] this word is used colloquially as slang as amazing/awesome, but it originally means ‘big success/win’ so it’s kind of a double meaning? So in the next sentence I tl’d it as ‘jackpot’.

[5] unlike krn, eng doesn’t repeat words for emphasis that often, unless you use a synonym instead, so in krn, yj said ‘dongsaeng’ twice, but I tl’d it like this

Prev ch.

< Chirp (1) >

It wasn’t easy holding back the urge to turn back now at least. It felt like I had become a horror movie character who had to pretend to the end that they couldn’t hear the creaking footsteps coming closer from behind.

‘I’m still using Lizard Stuck on the Wall.’

Just in case, I had been using it slightly since before we arrived at Seseong Guild. Since Yoohyun, who knew the normal me, could only feel it faintly, no matter how impressive Sung Hyunjae was, he probably wouldn’t be able to easily notice. Would he do something like pressing his nose to my body and smelling me, like that little brother?

“Ah, Guild Leader!”

Kang Soyoung finally noticed and turned around, so I could turn and look as well. A man who looked a lot younger than his age despite fast approaching forty, was wearing a light attire. The shirt with the sleeve buttons undone had its sleeves rolled up about halfway and he didn’t have anything like a tie. He really seemed to have free time, so I really couldn’t say ‘oh, coming all the way when you must be in embroiled in work’ and such to that appearance.

“It’s a relief that you look healthy. I worried a lot.”

Wow, it was a kind expression and tone that caused goosebumps. If I was a little more naive, I might have quickly trusted him and been moved.

“Purposely coming out and inquiring after me, it is to the extent that I feel apologetic.”

I said, filtering out the inner feelings saying that it was burdensome so please go away. At my words, Sung Hyunjae smiled. S-Ranks were all so, but he really was quite good looking. Guys who had everything.

“You came all the way here, so how could I not come out? Above all, Han Yoojin-gun will raise my-[1].”

“Thank you very much for being concerned over me!”

Fuck, Moon Hyuna really, really! Did I have to live hearing this kind of thing! I’ll properly retaliate. Shit, just you wait. If I didn’t pay this back, I wasn’t human.

Just then, Peace, who had heard me shout, quickly came running over. Then, he looked straight up at the newly appeared person.

-Kkeuoooong

Maybe he had felt some kind of apprehension because he stuck right to my leg. Seeing that appearance, Kang Soyoung gestured toward Sung Hyunjae, saying it’s okay.

“Don’t worry, Peace. This is my Guild Leader. He isn’t danger… uh, scary, um, so… he’s a nice… not that either……”

…So this young lady couldn’t lie, huh.

“Anyways he’s a good person!”

It seemed like, as a guild leader, he was indeed a good person. If Peace could completely understand people’s words, wouldn’t he have stepped back a couple steps? But since he couldn’t, he just tilted his head, going ‘what are you talking about’.

“It’s okay. We’re on the same side right now. So you can go play.”

“Though I’m planning on us staying that way.”

Sung Hyunjae said at my words, with his voice full of laughter. What planning on staying that…… Did Haeyeon and Seseong happen to join hands? Yoohyun’s attitude today was kind of weird. Even if he was at the height of his youthful vigor, his title was guild leader, so it definitely couldn’t have been just Kang Soyoung’s influence. Did they have something like a conference in secret?

“I feel relieved even with just your words.”

“It’s a tone that says you can’t trust me.”

“It is because I have lived to now difficultly, in my own way.”

Even if you excluded the 5 years before the regression, it wasn’t a peaceful life. It wasn’t just one or two people aiming for the barely few possessions left to the children. The world was quite rough.

“Han Yoohyun, that guy, protecting is good, but you have to properly give information.”

Sung Hyunjae tsked and shook his head. I was thinking that this ahjussi would badmouth Yoohyun, so I was a little agitated, but I held back at ‘information’.

It was true that Yoohyun really didn’t tell me much at all. On top of that, I was the person directly involved in the kidnapping, but afterwards, I didn’t know a single thing about how it was being handled. When I asked, he glossed over it saying ‘hyung doesn’t have to worry about it, it’s being handled well’.

If I hadn’t had regressed and had gotten just a real magic rearing skill, I might’ve been shut up inside, spacing out, thinking that negotiations or whatever, my little brother was taking care of it all, not knowing anything about the situation taking place. Thinking of that, I had slight goosebumps.

“My brother, does have a frustrating side.”

“Though he doesn’t usually.”

……Did I have to drink with that little brother once again? I was being tackled day in and day out. I did think that both that guy and I needed a place where we could have a candid conversation.

“If it’s okay, will you sit for a bit and talk?”

Sung Hyunjae said, seeing me with a bitter expression.

What should I do?

I wasn’t planning on continuing to pretend I didn’t know anything. It was my goal to be a peaceful landlord, but I did need to exert the minimum effort in order to protect what I had.

But right now, I was staying inside of Haeyeon Guild, where my little brother had eyes and ears everywhere, so I couldn’t pull anything. It wouldn’t be hard to reel in the future’s information dealer Do Hamin, but it should be after I had built my nest.

Far from building the building yet, it was even before the demolition, so should I hear a little from the Seseong Guild Leader’s mouth?

“Yes, that would be fine.”

I nodded my head, putting on a smile that said I didn’t know anything.

We moved the table at the pergola on one side of the park. Kang Soyoung left, saying that she would bring over some refreshments. Maybe Peace had zero faith in Sung Hyunjae because he didn’t play anymore and came up to my lap and sat. Still, there didn’t seem to be any sign that he would excessively cling like before. It seemed like coming out for a walk did have an effect.

“There are parts where I don’t really understand Han Yoohyun’s recent behavior.”

Sung Hyunjae said in a characteristic easygoing tone. The kid did get a little weird because of the keyword effect – was it very severe? Still, he let me go outside, and it seemed like he got a little better.

“It might’ve been different before you got the magic beast rearing skill, but the current Han Yoojin-gun has the power to possess and cultivate your own influence as much as you want. I think that as long as you properly establish yourself, you could become bigger than a decent giant guild. In addition, you’ve already gotten the groundwork down through the negotiations last time.”

What was this, he was overestimating me. Though if I wanted, there wasn’t anything I couldn’t do.

“But I do not have that big of a greed. And as I said the other day, the demand for familiars will also gradually decrease.”

At my words, Sung Hyunjae gave a small smile.

“Do you really think so?”

“…Would it not obviously become so? Outside of something crazy like using high rank familiars as single use.”

“Of course, probably nobody would do something like that. But high rank, highest rank familiars have similar combat prowess to A-Rank, S-Rank Hunters. Instead of as familiars, they could be used as team members, or even an monster combat unit.”

Well, it was indeed so.

“Monster rearing probably would only be permitted within a suppressible range. Even for Seseong, it will be hard to possess more than four or five highest rank familiars.”

Taming wasn’t a skill that perfectly controlled monsters like some kind of puppet or robot. Even if you looked at just Peace, even though I had the owner’s token, he would complain and act unexpectedly.

Tamed monsters didn’t harm their owners, and followed them as if regarding them as their group’s leader. It was just that. If you could perfectly control and manage them, tamers would have been regarded as Hunters that attacked dungeons leading a group of monsters. Instead of a special job that tamed and parcelled out monsters like now.

So, whether they were regular monsters or tamed monsters, the relevant guilds or organizations could only possess a suppressible amount of them, just in case.

“It’s like that now. But, how will it be in the future?”

Sung Hyunjae continued speaking, smiling significantly.

“Han Yoojin-gun. The things called laws, can only exist if there are nations and societies.”

“That is indeed true.”

“From when dungeons first appeared to today, the number and level of difficulty of dungeons have been gradually increasing. Right now, it’s at a point where dungeons can be fully managed with enough breathing room left over. And when Awakening Centers appear a while later, it will get a little easier. But how much longer will that breathing room last? Personally, if it’s long, then 5 years. If it’s about that much, considerably many things will change.”

…It was an accurate prediction. Of course, in even the 5 years later that I knew, the monster rearing limitation law was still the same. But if I thought about it, truthfully then, there was no reason entirely for the law to change. Since the highest rank familiars that would make it do so, didn’t exist at all.

The highest rank tamer skill was A-Rank, so even high rank familiars were rare. It was because you had to tame monsters with B-Rank and lower abilities, and then grow them, in order to make high rank familiars. It was about half luck, since not all monsters could grow above their rank.

“……Then are you saying that it could become possible to attempt dungeon attacks with just monsters, from now on?”

“Not to that extent; it would probably become mixed. Not as familiars, but as a type of different species of Hunters. And you will become the sole person to continue to stably raise S-Rank and A-Rank Hunters.”

I heard an ominous prediction that said ‘like this, wouldn’t you be unable to retire for your entire life?’. Why didn’t I think of the fact that the laws could change? No, but still, wasn’t monsters swarming around outside of dungeons precarious? Of course, it was better than high rank dungeons bursting open……

“How should I say this, it is becoming burdensome.”

“There’s still time, so you can slowly take your place. Above all, unless someone with a similar skill appears, your worth is higher than S-Rank Hunters’. There’s no need to be hunched over like now, too. You can act however you want.”

“You are saying it is fine for me to act however I like?”

“That’s right. What’s anybody going to do if you act a bit high-handedly? It’s an ability that’s impossible to replace.”

Sung Hyunjae bent the corners of his eyes, impishly.

“You can do anything you want. Even if it’s not the guilds from the negotiation, if it’s a guild with the ability to possess high rank familiars, you could call any of them and demand all sorts of things, and they wouldn’t be able to say a single protest? Of course within the country, but also overseas. There are already foreign guilds lining up to try to talk to you. Should I give you one of their contact information? Do you want to try calling?”

“……No, that is a little much.”

Contact any guild and demand anything? What was he talking about? It was a power trip that I hadn’t even imagined. Was it that a person who had lorded their power before could do it well? I was satisfied plenty with just getting one building.

“Your current position is that level. Try showing even a glimpse of ‘ah, it’s tiring so I can’t grow them’ after you take in highest rank monster babies. Immediately there would probably be contact from the line of guild leaders asking if you need anything?”

I mean, in terms of business ethics that was a little… This ahjussi didn’t have a good personality, as expected. Why was he sitting someone down and goading them to go on various chaotic power trips? Did he think that since sincere rearing and such were also in the negotiations, it wasn’t his business?

“This is something that Han Yoohyun definitely doesn’t not know, but despite that, he’s trying to be overly protective like a mother bird brooding baby birds. It’s an attitude unlike him.”

Sung Hyunjae said in a tone that said even he didn’t know up to this much well. That’s, the keyword… the caregiver was the same person, so it seemed like it was applied double.

“It might partly be because my stat rank is so low. Even if I am in a position to extensively lord my power, if some crazy guy lunges at me, I could be killed.”

“For that, it would be solved by keeping a highest rank monster next to you. At any rate, the idea of using Haeyeon’s second highest rank baby monster for your protection is also in the middle of being exchanged.”

“Is that so?”

“He didn’t tell you this either? It’s planned to be shouldered by MKC, taking responsibility for the kidnapping matter.”

It was a good condition for me, but Yoohyun, this brat, was really completely leaving out the person directly involved. He would probably tell me once it got determined, but still, would it hurt you to give me a hint ahead of time?

“I don’t know if this is similar to what Moon Hyuna did.”

Seeing my expression, Sung Hyunjae shrugged his shoulders. She had blocked sound with her skill, so did that mean that what Sung Hyunjae knew was what Moon Hyuna told him herself?

“No, it is a little different from that. I also feel that my younger brother’s actions are excessive. Still, he was worrying about me, and he would not be able to interfere if I happen to come out of Haeyeon again, so I was turning my eyes from it.”

“I recommend properly talking it out.”

“Yes, I will certainly do so.”

While we were talking about other things, Kang Soyoung returned holding refreshments. Even just looking at how they looked, they were high class and excellent tasting snacks, but they fell a little short compared to what Myeongwoo made for me. Thinking of how he would get busy after getting the Forge skill, I was starting to feel depressed again.

“This is a little bit of sincerity.”

Sung Hyunjae handed over a small accessory box with a certificate attached to it.

“You might have heard from Soyoung, but we will soon be indebted to you, so think of it as something meaning please take good care of us.”

Was it a bribe? Seeing the certificate, it was as much as an S-Rank item. It was Mana integer increase with a B-Rank shield skill effect added to it. Wow. It was B-Rank, but to think that it was a skill effect item. Skill effect items were really rare, whether then or now. When I opened the accessory box, it was earrings similar in shape to the Black Fairy’s Earrings that were stolen. It was only different in that the color of the gems were red.

“It is a little burdensome[2].”

“It has to be burdensome for there to be an effect. And this.”

Then, what he took out of his inventory was some large wing bone. At the appearance of a well dried wing bone that had a little bit of meat stuck on, Peace pricked up his ears.

“Most high rank carnivorous monsters like dragon bones.”

It was the first time I had heard of that. Without a single bit of hesitation, Peace immediately bit the dragon wing bone that was held out. Seeing him pull it over with his front feet as if he was going to hug it, it seemed like he really liked it.

……Sung Hyunjae, this ahjussi, he might be a better person than I had thought.

Early in the morning, a message came informing of the success in purchasing an exclusive entrance pass for an F-Rank dungeon 20 minutes away from the Haeyeon Guild building by taxi.

It was a dungeon requested two nights ago. Purposefully adding more money to bid for monopoly for a low value F-Rank dungeon was rare, so there were no competitors.

As soon as I got the message about the completed exclusive entrance pass purchase, I contacted Yoohyun and told him I wasn’t going to go out and was going to rest at home. When I told him I felt a bit like I was coming down with a cold, so I was just going to take some medicine and sleep, I had a hard time stopping him from coming to find me. I also told him keep it a secret because it would be annoying if other people knew.

“When did I buy these kinds of things?”

I was wondering if I had anything to cover my face, so I had rummaged through the luggage I had stopped unpacking halfway through, until a sun protection hat appeared. It was something that covered everything except the eyes with fabric, so it looked like I definitely wouldn’t have my face discovered. Why did I buy it? Was the sunlight last year really hot? Or was there something that needed me to cover my face?

It was a little early, but it was the beginning of summer, so it seemed like it wouldn’t look too weird to go around wearing it.

I had packed the gate stone in my inventory, and had enough equipment. Even though they were only integer increases. I also had plenty of potions and I probably wouldn’t need to take an emergency food supply. Even if I didn’t come out halfway and did an attack, if it was my current rank, it would probably take around one hour.

‘It was a forest environment, right?’

According to the dungeon bid page explanation, inside of the dungeon was a small forest and the monsters that appeared were Moss Monkeys. It was a little difficult if I didn’t have a long range attack skill, but I had the 4 meter tentacles, so I would be able to handle it in an instant. The boss monster was a giant turtle that was in a pond at the end of the forest.

With the agile monkeys who swung around trees and the turtle with high defense, for an F-Rank, the level of difficulty was high.

Maybe because of that, there was even a precaution added that they advised an attack with a team including an E-Rank or higher.

If it was possible, should I do an attack and come out? Since, if I monopolized it, there would be some left over even after making up the money used to buy the exclusive entrance pass.

-Geureureureung

When I took the hat and went out to the living room, Peace, who was scratching at the dragon’s wing he got yesterday, came bounding over while making noises. I scritched the region around the horn and then spoke soothingly.

“Dad is going to out for a bit, so look after the house well[3]. It won’t take long.”

-Kkioong

“And be moderate about breaking the furniture.”

Myeongwoo would probably return in the evening, but just in case, I told him that I was going to leave Peace loose in the living room and take a nap. I told him that if I didn’t pick up because I was sleeping, to not come into the house right away and to wait. Even if Peace was good, it was a little uneasy leaving him with a stat F-Rank.

“I’ll be back.”

I had worried thinking what I would do if he tried to follow, but Peace didn’t go past the inner door and well-behavedly sat down and looked at me. He really was a good boy. There, now I just had to safely get out.

[1] bc krn is sov instead of svo like eng, the verb was left out and instead it was sth like ‘hyj-gun (to) my child-’ but since this has come up numerous times already, I’m sure the verb was gonna be ‘raise’

[2] just wanted to point out that he means that it’s burdensome bc he’s receiving too much kindness/help, which is a common way to use the word in krn.

Prev ch.

< A Date First of All (2) >

“It is too burdensome to supplement with more people just for me. I do not want to needlessly cause an inconvenience.”

Before that, I wanted even less to meet the Seseong Guild Leader Sung Hyunjae. That person himself was unpleasant, but more than anything, my current state was the problem. Yoohyun also said ‘hyung you’re a little weird’, so the possibility of Sung Hyunjae feeling something else was big.

It would be just that if I used Wall Lizard a bit and played innocent, but there was no reason for me to walk right up to him with my own feet.

“A burden! It is not at all.”

Kang Soyoung looked straight at me with her two eyes filled with sincerity. The big eyes were really pretty, too. It really was a face that seemed to embody the word lovableness. Continuing, she yelled in a voice filled with, as expected, sincerity.

“It is something for the person who will raise my child!”

……There was a time just a while ago when I heard that nonsense. I didn’t know I would hear it again.

“…It is a little not right to speak that way. If other people hear, they could misunderstand.”

“It is okay. Everyone is speaking that way.”

Wow crap, what……

“Everyone, you say…?”

Kang Soyoung nodded cutely.

“Yes. Hyuna unni, that is, the Breaker Guild Leader, spoke that way several times, and in no time, it spread everywhere.”

Shit, Moon Hyuna! It spread everywhere, just what are you doing! I told you not to speak behind my brother’s back so you’re going around speaking behind mine! It wasn’t completely wrong, so it made me even more mad.

“Still, rather than ‘child’, wouldn’t something like ‘familiar’ or ‘monster’ or ‘magic beast’ be better?”

“Those do not show enough affection. More than anything, if they are highest rank familiars, they are hard-to-find partners who you will be with for life. I will really pile on love and look after it like my own child. My heart is starting to beat fast already. How lovable would my young dragon be.”

And so even her cheeks became slightly red. It wasn’t that I didn’t understand those feelings, but still… still……

“So there is completely no reason to be burdened! Rather, it is alright for you to demand more! Do you happen to have anything you need? Even if I look like this, I have quite a lot of money collected.”

Since she was a giant guild affiliated A-Rank hunter, of course she would have a lot, but if I really demanded more, it felt like I would become a bad guy bullying money from a young kid. She was eleven years younger, no six years younger. At any rate, she was a kid who hadn’t even hit twenty. And I didn’t have anything I really needed.

“No, that is fine. I do not have anything I need.”

“Then, I will help you with the walk in the garden, for now.”

“No, but I cannot bother you with something like this.”

“Please do not worry. Far from being bothered, everyone will welcome you. If you still worry, I will certainly get permission from Guild Leader.”

And then she took out her cell phone right away. Ugh… well anyways, Yoohyun wouldn’t give permission so it didn’t matter.

‘…Though I do want to go to a park with Peace.’

It really was dangerous to meet with Sung Hyunjae right now. Let’s go next time, Peace.

“Yes, Guild Leader! Yes, yes.”

In the meantime, Kang Soyoung was calling Sung Hyunjae. It was more of an amicable mood than I had thought it would be.

“Guild Leader said that you could come over any time! He said he would also send over people right away.”

Ah, yes. But there was still one more hurdle. I smiled back at Kang Soyoung and took out my cell phone.

“Then I will try to get permission from the Haeyeon Guild Leader. Since I cannot stray from here on my own just because I want to.”

“Yes, of course do so.”

I became a little sorry seeing her smile widely. There was no reason my little brother would give permission. When I called, Yoohyun answered soon. I concisely explained the whole story and then asked.

“As expected, it’s too soon to go out, right? It’s okay if you say I can’t. I’ll understand.”

Now, quickly say that I can’t.

[I do think it’s early, but if hyung is okay with it, then you can go.]

……Excuse me? Just wait a moment.

“I mean, even though it’s visiting a different guild? I can go?”

[MKC is impossible of course, and it would be a little uneasy too if it was Breaker or Hanshin, but Seseong is okay.]

That little brother said again that it was okay. What, it wasn’t the Yoohyun I knew. Did I call the wrong person?

[Anyways, I was worried because I felt like I was confining you inside too much, so go there sometimes to get some fresh air. They decorated it really well.]

…As expected, it didn’t seem like he was my brother. He wasn’t like this. Why did this person suddenly change? I had only trusted you. Shit, now that I was here, I couldn’t say I didn’t want to go.

When I glanced at Kang Soyoung, I saw an innocent smile that was asking, even with just the shape of her mouth, ‘he is saying it is okay, right?’. Ughh.

“……You wouldn’t be feeling uneasy or worried or anything?”

[That’s…um. No, it’s okay. It should be stifling for hyung too. It’ll be much safer than anywhere else, so don’t worry. I’ll call over about two from our side for the road there and back. Rest well and come back.]

“Uh… yeah……”

The call ended. That little brother had betrayed my trust. My back was all stinging.

‘……Is Seseong that trustable?’

Or, was it possibly because of Kang Soyoung? Did this brat already feel goodwill toward Kang Soyoung? He wouldn’t be selling his hyung in order to look good in front of a woman, right?

“It is really a relief you received permission! I will prepare for us to leave right away.”

Seeing her genuinely happy appearance, I thought it would be enough to for that little brother to be enamored. Even if it wasn’t Yoohyun, what man wouldn’t like her? Of course, I couldn’t know yet if he really had a thing for her, but there was no smoke without fire[1].

That’s right, it’s okay. I just had to be a little careful. Those two seemed to suit each other well. It really did seem like living alone in that large house was lonesome. If it’s like that, just quickly date and marry already. My nibling[2] would probably be cute. They said that for biracial people, there were a lot of cases where they were cute and pretty. It would be good if they looked like Yoohyun.

“Yes, I will entrust it to you.”

My younger brother as well.

“We’ve arrived~.”

Kang Soyoung said animatedly. Seseong’s roof garden was on top of the 15-story 2nd new building connected to the main building. When Kang Soyoung opened the glass door, a breeze mixed with smell of grass flowed toward us.

How long was it since I came to this kind of park?

‘……I don’t even remember that well.’

There were times when a dungeon’s environment was a forest or grasslands, but it was different from that. A walk with a light heart. I definitely didn’t have that kind of leisure.

…No, that was just an excuse; if I was going do it, I could have done it any time. How much time would it have taken to go to a nearby park? And even if I didn’t purposely go find a park, if I wanted to take a walk, I just needed to go outside of my house to do so.

Looking around at the surroundings anew while walking slowly, tilting my head from time to time to look at the sky too. What shapes the clouds were today, how much thicker had the trees along the roads grown now that it was summer – I could read the flyers stuck to the walls, and I could rest my gaze on the ants crawling between the sidewalk blocks.

‘Well, I probably wouldn’t be able to do that now even if I wanted to.’

It became that I couldn’t even dream of going around casually alone. I should just make one of these in my building.

The roof garden was large. It was wide open, but tall trees were densely planted, wrapping around the border, and hid as much as possible the fact that it was on top of a roof. The trail was well made, and at the arranged flowerbeds, there were all kinds of sculptures and fountains, a small greenhouse, etc. – it had everything it should have.

And I couldn’t see a single person.

“It seems like nobody is here.”

“In order for you to use it comfortably, the entrance has been regulated. It is not that there is nobody at all; there are a few people doing surveillance. Someone could invade from the air, you know?”

It wasn’t even a target for localized shooting, so I wondered if there even would be people doing such a thing in broad daylight, but it was thorough.

“Peace, look here. It’s a patch of grass.”

-Kkoooong

I lowered Peace on top of the grass, but far from running and playing, the young Horned Flame Lion immediately stuck to my leg. The weather was nice and the sunlight was nice and the scenery was nice, but why didn’t he seem to have any interest?

“Why are you like this? You don’t like it?”

-Kkiing

“There’s a butterfly flying around there.”

He pretended not to see the flutteringly dancing yellow butterfly. Seeing how it was like this, I started to worry. Was the trauma more severe than I had thought? Were there psychologists specialized in animals?

“What should we do, our Peace?”

When I squatted down and stretched my hand to pet his neck, he tightly grabbed my arm with his front paws. It felt like he was particularly clinging – did he not want to part from me?

‘Could it possibly be because he was made to be suddenly apart from me, not because he was kidnapped?’

He was suddenly snatched out of nowhere and was shut in a cage for a long time alone. Since he was sensitive enough to sense an appraisal skill, he could have felt the surrounding situation to a certain extent even if he was asleep.

“That kind of thing won’t happen now.”

I didn’t know how much of my words he would understand, but I first tried to soothe him.

“Look, see the noona next to us? You can tell how strong she is, right? This noona is protecting us.”

“That’s right, Peace. I’m here, so it’s okay.”

Kang Soyoung chimed in on cue. Then she bent down and pulled me into her arms a little. At the same time, Peace tensed and his fur stood on end.

-Keuheung!

“It’s okay, Peace. This noona is a good person. She’s not trying to harm me.”

“That’s right, we get along well. See this.”

And then, smack, she pressed her lips to my cheek. Uh, something like this was a little awkward… Maybe because she was a foreigner, she was too touchy-feely[3].

-Geureung?

Peace looked at us stuck close together and tilted his head.

“This noona will protect us, so you don’t have to worry and you can play. It’s okay.”

The tips of the ears covered in red fur bobbed up and down. Peace, who had finally separated from me, started to look around the surroundings. I had heard that the dungeon the Horned Flame Lion came out of was a volcanic region, so it should be the first time in his life seeing this kind of green scenery.

Paak

The still small front paws scratched the grass. The cut grass blades scattered in all directions. He twitched his nose and sniffed the grass smell a little, before turning around once in a circle and looking back up at me.

“You like it?”

-Kkiang!

He jumped in place and then started to explore the surroundings. He didn’t look like he was planning on going far, but if it was this much, I thought he would be fine soon.

“I think it would be fine if you move away now.”

I said toward the Kang Soyoung who was still embracing me. You said there were surveillance people around, so it would be great if you would maintain a proper distance.

“Should I help you up?”

“It is fine.”

Did I look like I couldn’t keep my own body steady? Though relatively, I would probably look like a hatchling tottering around like it could die soon.

I walked on the trail, following the direction that Peace wanted to go. Since a little red body was dashing around in a flowerbed full of hydrangeas, soon lavender petals started to flutter all over the place. It took an instant for a flowerbed to be ruined.

“That is-.”

“It is alright!”

As soon as I parted my mouth, Kang Soyoung smiled brightly and spoke.

“Please do not mind it. There is no problem even if you plow over the entire place. It is just landscaping, so we can just do it again.”

As expected of a giant guild, they sure were generous. Peace was having that much fun, and once the Repayment skill effect ended, we should come often to play.

“If it is not an inconvenience, could I ask about how long it takes to grow a highest rank familiar? I did not hear the specifics.”

Kang Soyoung asked, carefully.

“It differs according to the monster, so I also do not know exactly. I think it differs according to type and ranking. And there should be a difference depending on whether they follow the training well. If it is a group of dragons from an S-Rank dungeon, they should be 2nd Rank or 3rd Rank, correct?”

If only one came out, it should be 2nd Rank, but if a nest happened to appear, it would mostly likely be a group. At my words, Kang Soyoung nodded her head.

“Yes. Specifically, they are 3rd Rank flying dragon type. They are Thorn Winged Dark Dragons[4], and their stamina and defense are good and their abilities stand out even for flying dragons.”

Flying dragons were comparatively on the weak side among dragon types. But with their flight abilities standing out, they would be even more useful used as a familiar.

“As much as three thorns this big sprout from their wings; they are really cute.”

“…Excuse me?”

Did she just say they were cute? Thorns that were as big as both her arms spread wide?

“There are scale-like thorns on their tails, and those can be shot out too! They are slightly smaller than my forearm, but covered in a paralyzing poison. They are flying dragons, but they have front legs and back legs, all four of them, so they are even cuter. They are strong and their scales are hard, too. The color of their scales is black, and those glossy things look just like black gems placed in rows and look really pretty.”

Um, truthfully, far from something cute, I could only think of a terrible-looking giant lizard fiend[5] with wings. In addition, it was a tough-looking jet black dragon with thorns sticking up out of it. Her taste was a little unusual.

“Ever since I first went in for an attack, I wanted to tame them – to think that I would be able to fulfill my wish. Ever since I learned about the magic beast raising skill, every day felt like I was walking on clouds. Ah, really – could I hug you one more time?”

“You cannot.”

Since I first met her, I was thinking that the atmosphere stood out; she was really excited. It was this much even now, so when I raised a familiar for her, if I just casually told her once that I love her, the keyword would probably apply right away.

Still, I didn’t know how the keyword effect would appear, so it would be better not to do so. Something terrible like being treated like a dad or a mom by my sister-in-law couldn’t happen. Let’s be careful speaking.

I was thinking of casually bringing up Yoohyun, when,

[The Weak’s Premonition is sending a warning!]

The premonition skill that had popped up quite a lot of times while coming here, was incited again. Who was it now… fuck, it was an S-Rank. He should be busy, so why was he going around appearing here.

[1] lit. ‘if it’s not lit, would smoke come out of the chimney’ and one of its meaning is the eng equiv above, which basically means ‘there wouldn’t be rumors if there wasn’t sth true abt it’

[2] the krn word for nephew/niece is gender neutral so I’m using this. My city now.

[3] lit. ‘her skinship was excessive’ where ‘skinship’ is eng transliterated into krn as konglish slang

[4] i’m not quite sure about the ‘dark’ as there is no hanja (it is usually 'female’ but I don’t think that’s it), but given the context, that’s what it seems to be

[5] this is (one of) the krn word for ‘monster’, but I wanted to distinguish it from the ‘monster’ (the eng word transliterated into krn) used to describe the living things in dungeons

Have a bowl of hot  yuanxiao to celebrate the Lantern Festival (“15th Night”). [source]

A lot of people on the discord were interested in the Airplane extras so I decided to re-translate them to pick up some details the MTL might have missed! The first chapter is up already, I haven’t started working on the others and I’m still working on main story so next update will come… whenever.

This is a partial translation of an interview given by the author in March 2018, it can be found on her Weibo. There are actually 40 questions in the full interview about all three of her books, her upcoming fourth book and also about herself and her writing in general. I’ve only kept the parts pertaining to Mo Dao Zu Shi for the sake of clarity and because I doubt many people have finished reading all three books. Some parts were a bit confusing, hopefully I got it right…

Mild spoilers for the main story.

Original interview: https://www.weibo.com/6049110380/G7RfoEcj9

He looks nothing like Wei Wuxian, but he is everything like Wei Wuxian.

The way he fills the air with chatter, light and teasing, the way he bounces with every step, as though there are springs on his feet. The way he tilts his head to one side before a smile blossoms, glowing brighter, more brilliant, than the ten suns that once scorched this mortal earth.

Sometimes, Lan Wanji lies awake at night, gazing at his beloved, cataloguing every inch of that new body inside his head. Wei Wuxian’s eyes are wider now, his cheeks and hips more rounded, and his hair far coarser and almost untamable—too many times have Lan Wanji’s fingers caught in the tangles, causing yelps that he had to muffle with his mouth and tongue.

He’s also inches shorter, but Lan Wangji thinks it is the perfect height for him to bury his nose into dark strands and weave his arms around the slim waist. Breathe in the unique scent that is still, somehow, Wei Wuxian. He likes it even more that this Wei Wuxian has to lift his chin up for a kiss, slipping his fingers into Lan Wangji’s collar as his eyelashes flutter shut in anticipation.

And there are moments when Lan Wangji sees the pain, the anguish, that plagued his beloved before death—a flicker in those grey eyes that vanish as quickly as they appear, replaced by a silly, boyish grin. That’s why he wants the Ghost General gone, why he wants Jiang Wanyin to curb his sharp tongue and unrelenting cruelty. Why his kisses are soft and sweet and full of heart, because the language of action has always come easier to him than words, and he wants Wei Wuxian to know he’s loved, that he deserves all that Lan Wangji can offer.

“Why are you staring at me?” Wei Wuxian asks, cheeks bulging with a large bite of loquat. He dips his eyelashes, leans in close. “Am I that handsome to you, my Hanguang-Jun?”

Lan Wangji holds back a laugh. Reaches out to brush off juice from the corner of pink lips with his thumb, before bringing it back to his own lips for a taste.

“Mm,” he says, mouth tipping upwards at Wei Wuxian’s flush.

He looks nothing like Wei Wuxian, but he is everything like Wei Wuxian.

I hadn’t planned to translate another chapter but I recently discovered the extra story「朝暮」exclusive to the Taiwan physical book and it’s truly a hidden gem.

I also hadn’t planned to ever write explicit content. Oh well.

Warning: Graphic sex scene.

It was long past 9 pm and he still had not come back.

The paper lantern on the table was not yet extinguished, Lan Wangji was gazing at its hazy glow without blinking.

Rising after a long while, he walked to the entrance of the Jingshi and opened the wooden door.

He stood still for a moment. He appeared to be on the verge of stepping outside when a suspicious thud sounded from behind.