Chapter 111. Omen
Well then, since Seonwoo-yeon stopped talking, it’s my turn to bring up a topic.
‘Should I ask about Su Ye-hwi who came out of the gate?’
Gi-ryeo had quite a bit to discuss with this association employee, but unfortunately, the conversation didn’t unfold as he had thought.
Suddenly his phone rang.
“Just a moment.”
And when he answered, the topic was something completely unexpected.
– Yes, this is Plan Delivery. We have a delivery scheduled soon; are you home?
“Delivery? What kind of delivery?”
– It’s from a place called Fashion & Homme. Anyway, Mr. Kim Gi-ryeo, are you at home right now?
“Well, I’m not there at the moment, but I’ll probably be home soon…?”
– Alright, I’ll just leave it at your door.
“Wait a minute… What?”
The call abruptly ended.
He was startled by the delivery guy’s words and hurriedly started preparing to return home.
Whatever it was, leaving a package outside the door just didn’t sit right with the Alphauri’s common sense.
‘What if someone picks it up? What kind of nonsense is that?’
Gi-ryeo retrieved his dagger and muttered.
“I didn’t order anything. What on earth is this about? Seonwoo-yeon, I’m sorry, but I need to go right now. See you later.”
Without much thought, Seonwoo-yeon let him go.
Saying he had to go receive a delivery seemed like such a mundane reason, even though the other person was an alien soul.
“Be careful!”
So, Kim Gi-ryeo hurried down the corridor.
“Hmm.”
But seeing him from behind made things a bit more certain.
Seonwoo-yeon quietly watched the retreating figure of the 4th S-Class Hunter, noticing the coat he was wearing was of a design she recognized.
‘That’s from that brand.’
A French fashion brand starting with ‘M.’
Of course, the outerwear there was a bit pricey for someone like her to buy.
The wool coat Gi-ryeo was wearing cost at least two months’ salary for an average worker.
‘What’s gotten into him?’
Seonwoo-yeon briefly wondered how someone who usually dressed so casually suddenly started wearing something so expensive.
And soon, the other party would learn about the secret behind his clothing costs…
A little later.
Gi-ryeo arrived home.
[From: Fashion & Homme Apgujeong Store Seo Yohan]
He checked the sender’s name on the box and was startled.
The mysterious package had been sent by none other than Esther’s sibling.
‘All suits.’
Rustle, rustle.
Inside the box filled with clothes.
On a neatly folded bundle of clothing was a small card with a handwritten note.
[It’s a gift. Hope you wear it well during winter. ^-^ -Esther]
It seemed that the kind curse mage was genuinely concerned that the alien neighbor might freeze to death.
“Oh ho.”
So that was why they asked for my address.
Gi-ryeo finally understood past events and began ripping open the clothing wrapping.
If it’s a free gift, why refuse?
According to the information provided by the corpse’s brain, clothes on Earth were worth about 10,000 to 20,000 won, so there wasn’t a need to feel any burden…
[￦1,900,000]
Wait a minute. What’s this doing here, a price like that for an electronic appliance?
“…?”
Gi-ryeo paused momentarily at the price tag attached to his new clothes.
But after searching for the product name online, he found out that indeed, this vest was worth that much.
Which meant…
“Uh?”
He finally realized the truth.
Esther’s brother ran a premium select shop that only dealt with luxury and high-end brands.
The suits he had mindlessly been wearing were worth hundreds of thousands of won.
“Clothes cost more than my organs?”
He began to sweat profusely as he grasped the scale of the guild master’s generosity at the Korean Magic Tower.
Honestly, with prices like these, he wanted to sell everything off and convert it into magic tools…
But no.
If he did that, he would die from the worst curse in the world.
*
Recently, the TV has been noisy over the appearance of the 4th S-Class Hunter.
It was exceptionally rare to have four S-Class Hunters in such a small country.
Well, the ratio of S-Class Hunters was understandably peculiar.
Among them was one awakened who forged their awakening level.
‘Now that I have a higher status, the reporters have stopped dropping by.’
Here in Kim Gi-ryeo’s studio.
I was back in my safe place with a barrier keeping me secure.
And now, as usual, I was engrossed in my phone, searching.
[Now, Korea can proudly say it’s a true Hunter powerhouse. Four top-level hunters in such a small territory…]
[(Achievement) Ranked #1 in S-Class numbers per capita (Congratulations)]
[What would Kim Gi-ryeo’s awakening level be?]
[S-Class awakening, so enviable.]
With every passing day, I was gaining more fame!
Netizens were thrilled that now, with four S-Class Hunters, the world felt even safer.
But unfortunately, the reality wasn’t quite that easy.
‘Am I crazy? Do you really think I’m going to help you all with this F-Class body?’
Of course, if I act as I wish, I can’t avoid bad public opinion.
But the criticisms that would flood in the future? Not my concern.
I was about to switch into a new body soon.
“Let’s see, has the association president finally made the payment?”
I opened my online banking to check my account.
Of course, it turned out that preparing a large sum of 3 billion won in cash on short notice was quite difficult, and my balance showed no changes.
‘Still only 100 million won.’
But wait a minute.
How does a person who spent all his money preparing for the missing Imugi still have 100 million won?
For now, I hadn’t touched the suits Esther gave me.
I sold sturdier second-hand items instead of those fabrics.
“Ugh, I really didn’t know a Knight’s Pact would be so expensive…”
Just a few days ago.
I resold [Hermes’s Shoes], which I had used during a terror incident.
I needed quick cash because the contract for the association president was close to 200 million won.
Plus, this body couldn’t maintain the effects of items for that long.
I needed to get rid of the unsuitable magic tools quickly.
‘I only wore them a few days, but the resale price dropped by a whopping ten million won…’
And it wasn’t the time to cling to equipment.
According to the contract, I would receive 3 billion won within two weeks, and once I obtained a new lung, I could use the magic to switch bodies.
‘If I fix the lungs, I can say goodbye to this pathetic body!’
I began selecting which body to switch to.
Either target the corpse of an awakened who was recently buried or wait for someone to die during a Dungeon Break.
I had plenty of options.
Then a few days later.
【Fresh Korean Apples】
“……”
As promised, the association president sent the required 3 billion won…
Saying it’s because of issues with tracking the funds, well, that’s all fine.
But the fact that this huge sum was packed in a box meant for apple packaging? Let’s ignore that for now.
I turned my gaze back to the phone screen.
[Search term: Dragon’s Lung]
[Search results: 0]
Tap, tap, tap.
No matter how many times I refreshed, the screen stayed unchanged.
At this point, anyone could see the problem I was facing.
“There are no items…”
There were no items.
The most important seller of [Dragon’s Lung] wasn’t showing up, no matter how hard I looked.
“Dammit!”
I fell into despair as I stared at the empty screen.
I was certain that the moment I decided to buy a Dragon’s Lung, there had been listings in the trading house.
Just one would suffice, and since there were few people looking for it, it had stayed on the list for several months!
But now, that awful stock had sold out, and no new ones appeared?
‘Damn it all!’
Was this like the feeling of a certain rickshaw puller who bought soup for his wife?
I had over 2.6 billion won in cash, yet I couldn’t achieve my goal.
Day after day, no matter how long I waited for the desired item to appear on the market.
“Things aren’t going as I planned…?”
However.
This past Monday, a remarkable item finally appeared in the Korean Hunter market.
[Emergency Disaster Text
[[Korean Hunter Association] Today (28th), an unidentified monster appears on the road in front of Seocho-gu Hunter Mall. Analysis is underway, and the market will be temporarily closed until the 30th.]
Note that they didn't mention that the item was the Dragon's Lung.
“……”
I checked the message and rubbed my nose.
On the 28th, Monday.
The newscaster conveyed breaking news with a stern expression.
An unidentified object appeared on the road of the Hunter Mall, which deals with gate items.
“The black obelisk that rises tall resembles an Egyptian obelisk.”
Moreover, this incident wasn’t limited to Korea.
Mongolia, Vietnam, Spain, England…
The black spires had appeared in an overwhelming number of countries.
This was a phenomenon happening simultaneously around the globe.
Furthermore, the obelisks that appeared in various countries had similar characteristics.
“They say it’s inscribed with the Arabic numbers ‘86164.’ What could it mean?”
People debated the meaning of the numbers, and the leading theory was:
“Experts suggested that it represents Earth’s rotation period in astronomy, meaning 86,164 seconds.”
If that were true, why was this monstrosity marking a day in this area? What would happen after a day passes?
[Is it possibly going to blow up? ㄷㄷ]
In this world, “suddenly appearing summoned creatures” was an ill omen.
The necropolis explosion pattern from the Ice Palace Gate.
The combustion stone skill of the Lava Giant monster.
Many gates had borrowed similar attack methods.
And the way to neutralize those techniques was commonly “destroy the summoned creatures before something happens,” ensuring safety.
The association quickly began to take action based on their past experiences.
“Breaking news. The Hunter Association has issued mobilization orders for certain awakened individuals…”
However, that mysterious object remained steadfast in its place despite being hit with various supernatural abilities.
“Wahhhhh!”
“Hey, it’s obvious this time again they were wrong.”
“What on earth is that made of to be so solid?”
Ultimately, the association called upon a few awakened individuals as the final verification step.
[[Korean Hunter Association] (Call) S-Class Hunter Jeong Ha-seong, please confirm and reply.]
The young mages standing at the pinnacle of the food chain.
*
Wow, this planet is a mess every single day.
The damage from the Imugi incident hasn’t even recovered yet, and now there’s chaos again.
‘Perhaps I’m not in a position to complain as an Alphauri.’
Anyway, right in front of me is quite a spectacle happening.
One of just four rare Hunters in Korea is having a tussle with a rock.
“Darn it, so annoying!”
Crash!
Esther kicked the obelisk while grumbling.
But even at this moment, the black object didn’t have a single scratch. Honestly, if even an S-Class is failing, I think we might be out of options.
“Mr. Gi-ryeo, want to give it a try? Oh, my hand hurts too much to continue.”
As you can gather from this dialogue, I had just shown up at the location where the black obelisk had emerged.
And the reason I came here…
It’s simple.
I’m currently trying to play pretend and show off like I’m an S-Class.
‘When will items show up…’
From the flow of things so far, it seems that buying the Dragon’s Lung is going to be a long-term battle.
But the longer it takes to switch bodies, the more this body’s reputation drops.
As promised to the association, I intend to ignore all upcoming Dungeon Breaks.
‘Look at Kang Chang-ho. Even behaving however he wants, he’s still an S-Class, and no one can touch him.’
When preventing disputes, sheer overwhelming force is unmatched.
In that sense, this situation was perfect for me.
No monsters. No risks.
Furthermore, the top-tier Hunters who came before me were failing consecutively to break the obelisk.
‘If I use this, I can flaunt being an S-Class, even as a fake.’
I planned to use this safe request to associate myself with the other Hunters.
S-Class failure to break the obelisk!
If something like that happens, I could sneakily benefit from Esther’s established reputation.
‘Hehehe… I’m a genius, after all.’
It may seem like a cowardly tactic, but I don’t care.
After all, this is all a choice I made to protect myself from the peril of the world, akin to a hedgehog’s quills.
“Alright. Please step aside for a moment. I’ll give it a try.”
I stepped up, justifying my bravado.
It was time to take a shot at it.
