Chapter 2

I couldn’t help but rub my eyes in disbelief, staring back at it repeatedly.

“Huh? I can actually retrieve them?”

Even though I was staring wide-eyed, I found it hard to believe.

How could I have had such a perfect function available to me?

A feature that was just right for this situation, something I truly needed.

“No, I’ve never seen anything like this before. What is this? I’ve definitely searched through everything thoroughly!”

Memories of the past kept flooding back.

I had meticulously searched every corner of the status window to deeply analyze my attributes.

But there had been no mention of such a thing.

I had undoubtedly looked for it multiple times while cultivating Chae Suhyeon.

It had been tough, after all.

There were moments of grumbling, and I had felt a bit uneasy too.

There had been times when I wanted to consider it a sunk cost and just quit midway, but I couldn’t.

I had already invested too much, and she had definitely told me to believe in herself.

Damn it. I should have just quit back then.

Even while I was lost in thought, the retrieve button was still blinking, seemingly begging me to press it.

It shone in red, as if to indicate how important it was, pulling me into deep contemplation.

“Is this really retrievable?”

“I’ve only invested in Chae Suhyeon. So, what happens now?”

“I don’t care. Damn it. What happens to her has nothing to do with me. Why should I worry about someone who’s quietly waiting to backstab me?”

“Forget it. Whatever happens, I’m just going to live well moving forward.”

My plan to quickly train my girlfriend and change my life had been utterly shattered.

Yet right before my eyes, a chance to restore it was being presented to me again.

“What more of an opportunity could there be?”

“Let me just press it. No matter what happens, I’ll just go for it.”

In truth, I was quite a cautious and composed person.

Even when buying a single item, I would thoroughly consider and evaluate it from multiple angles.

The same went for the status window.

I diligently searched on the internet and made judgments on what to do next.

Ah, of course. Regarding the status window, not just me but almost all hunters behaved in that way.

Everyone was cautious about how to invest the hard-earned points.

In a game republic like South Korea, a strategy guide is a must, right?

But today was a little different.

“I don’t know. Damn it. Just let it be.”

I felt like I was in a do-or-die situation. After spending so much time on it, I felt like my character had been deleted. I thought it would be nice if I could at least earn some crumbs.

“Please, let me recover at least some of it…”

After deeply praying in my heart, I pressed the retrieval button on the status window.

With a flash of effect, another notice appeared.

[Retrieval is in progress. It takes time for the other party’s stats to decrease. The invested points will be returned at three times their value.]

“Eh?”

Having pressed the retrieval button with the mindset of gambling, I could only be dumbfounded once again.

“What does this mean? You’ll get your points back at three times their value?”

I was surprised and started to rummage around.

“Wow. Damn.”

The detailed page listed the conditions for fulfillment. It had to be for a long period, the invested value had to exceed a certain amount, and you had to part ways by shouting a specific word at the other person.

“What kind of ridiculous conditions are these?”

The absurd conditions didn’t matter to me at all.

“I did shout after much deliberation, so I’m glad I shouted that foul word at her.”

I felt a sudden sense of pride in myself. My emotions were fluctuating rapidly throughout the day. I was falling from heaven into the depths of hell and barely managing to claw my way back.

“This damn, bitch.”

Looking at the guide page for the retrieval process, Cha Suhyeon’s face came to mind again. The person who had toyed with me during that time. Such a detestable expression.

“Hey, thanks. Because of you, I became rich in points.”

Actually, three times as much.

It was an absurdly exaggerated situation.

Even a simple calculation would reveal that I could easily rise to S-Rank.

When I combined my points with Chae Suhyeon’s, we reached a level that could secure first place in S-Rank.

It was more than enough.

I felt dizzy in this unexpected situation, but I decided to pull myself together.

After all, I was in a position to make a fresh start.

‘It takes time for the other party’s stats to decrease…’

Hmm…

It was a phrase that made me think a lot.

While points flowed in for me immediately, it seemed to take some time for Chae Suhyeon to feel the effects.

‘Wait a minute…’

I immediately began calculating.

I wanted to analyze what would happen to Chae Suhyeon if she lost all her points.

C-Rank.

“Damn… I’ve been played around a lot.”

I clenched my eyes shut and suppressed my anger internally.

From the start, I might as well say that my share accounted for over 70% of Chae Suhyeon’s rank.

It had always been like that.

Even when we went into dungeons, I handled almost everything.

“Ah, anyway, Oppa. Whether you or I do it, the total reward is the same, right?”
“Oh. Can’t you do something? Isn’t this what a man is supposed to do?”
“It’s hard. It’s difficult. I’m so tired of this. Ugh, why make it worse?”
“Oppa, shouldn’t someone with more free time handle this?”
“Ha… just take me to the nearest café, will you?”

Looking back, I realized I was a complete fool.

“Why did I act like that? Damn it.”

I could tell I was really a sucker thinking about it.

When I recalled carefully, Chae Suhyeon had always just played around in the back.

I had done almost all the work.

But it was fine.

Ironically, because of that, I was only finding humor in the current situation.

I was getting back threefold for all the hard work I’d put in until now.

On the other hand, Chae Suhyeon would have no choice but to face the consequences of her previous carefree attitude.

“Ah. Watching an S-Rank first place holder crumble down to C-Rank would be quite a sight.”

Although I had spent a long time together with Chae Suhyeon, it took only a moment for my feelings to cool.

It was definitely a moment to celebrate together for achieving the S-Rank 1st place just a moment ago.

Perhaps because I fell into despair during my happiest moment, the shock was immense.

“Wow, Bro, congrats! Suhyeon finally hit 1st place, right?”
“That’s awesome. She actually made it to 1st? You’ve put in so much work. When are we grabbing drinks to celebrate?”
“Dude, congrats on Suhyeon hitting 1st. Now all you need is to join a major guild, and you’re golden.”
“Congrats, man. You’ve really put in the effort.”

Suddenly, I remembered the congratulatory messages that had poured in on my smartphone.

“Hah… Everyone is congratulating me like this.”

“When exactly were they planning to stab me in the back?”

“Surely they didn’t plan this from the start, did they?”

I was filled with disappointment.

Of course, I quickly organized my thoughts and began preparing for a fresh start.

“Yeah. I’m going to start over.”

Seeing the congratulatory messages ignited a fire in me.

From today, we could officially live well as an S-Rank couple.

“I’ve invested so much until now, I can’t just let it go foolishly.”

I shook off the spot and stood up.

The shock from Chae Suhyeon was one thing, but I had to step forward into my life anew.

“The triple points… It might be nice to become an S-Rank right away, but….”

My mind was full of complicated thoughts.

In this situation, I needed to carefully consider what actions to take next.

“First of all, raising my Hunter rank suddenly to draw attention doesn’t seem prudent.”

“I could unnecessarily attract scrutiny.”

The world of Hunters resembles the existing society.

A fierce competitive society.

Fights between guilds also broke out to seize and monopolize dungeons.

And slander and backroom dealings against competing hunters were also common.

“There’s no need to draw attention unnecessarily.”

“After all, time is on my side.”

I looked at the overflowing points in my status window and smiled contentedly.

Being S-Rank or whatever, I was at a level where I could freely allocate almost all my skill tree points.

I could essentially say I was at the level of a point tycoon.

In this situation, there was no reason to rush.

It was important to move wisely and carefully at a slow pace for my advantage.

‘For now… joining a large guild would be a good idea.’

Chae Suhyeon and I had never joined a guild until now.

Of course, due to our very rapid growth rate, we had received countless scouting offers.

‘Ah. Oppa, joining a guild sounds nice, but if we go there, we’ll have to engage in all the unnecessary PR stuff and even participate in pointless CFs and broadcasting activities, right? I just want us to focus on earning points… what do you think? I’d prefer if you used the energy for guild activities on me instead. That way, we can grow faster. Hehe. You get what I mean, right?’

Looking back now, I thought that her opposition to joining a guild was purely for her own benefit.

“Ha… she was very strategic. No wonder. I was curious why she was so reluctant to join a guild while doing so well.”

“To establish a solid foundation in the Hunter industry, I need to join a decent guild…”

“Ha… but I’m E-rank…”

In situations like this, there was nothing to do but rely on connections.

“Hey, bro. Long time no see.”

“Oh, hey senior! Congrats! I heard the news. That’s awesome.”

“Haha, thanks. But I actually need a favor.”

“A favor? What’s up?”

“Yeah. Is there a bottom-tier spot open in your guild?”

I had to ask a junior I knew, even though it felt a bit awkward.

“Uh, our guild? Why do you need to join us?”