Chapter 202. FRESH
It’s a clear morning.
Just getting out of bed, everything in the world seemed brighter today, and the air was refreshing.
And it’s not just my imagination.
Kim Gi-ryeo’s lung had been in a severely damaged state since I was reincarnated.
So every time I breathed, a prickly dull pain would settle in my chest.
Not to mention, I hadn’t mentioned that I occasionally coughed up blood when my condition was bad.
“Haaam.”
All these minor inconveniences are now a thing of the past!
Dragon’s Lung. Specifically, the body tissue reinforced by some magical alveoli no longer caused the previous problems.
Now my lung capacity has increased dramatically, and overall athletic performance has improved.
It’s great. Everything is great.
Well, now that I’ve regained my longed-for health.
Should I try doing something that I really wanted to do…?
–Swish.
A historic first casting!
I opened my palm and executed a spell I’ve used since the past.
A sophisticated array of formulas that could not even be compared to the primitive magic used by Earthlings.
On Alphauri, great mages were the tier that creates new miracles.
Additionally, they refined the formulas used by past mages to eliminate unnecessary elements.
This is the modified version of the freezing spell that I worked on myself.
It freezes matter at a speed faster than the blink of an eye, and the mana consumption is only 1/2 of the original.
Truly, there’s no hint of waste in this execution.
I had often heard people say that this magic was beautiful among my peers. Just how much effort did it take to bring the culture of an intelligent being from mere technique to this level of art?
“It’s done.”
–Crackle.
Soon, a cold chill began to gather on my apricot-colored palm.
What I created was none other than a circular ice with a diameter of 10 cm.
In an instant, I produced a suitable amount of water and frost from an empty space—a miracle.
And the cost of this was merely the equivalent of a nail’s worth of my bodily mana.
“It’s done. I did it!”
Now I can freely use low-level magic!
Confirming that the casting was successful, I immediately moved to the next action.
GRAB!
I grabbed a bottle of water that had been rolling around in one corner of the room and activated the same spell on it.
–Crackle. With a rough adjustment of the power, the lukewarm water instantly became as cold as water that has been left in a refrigerator for six hours.
Such a convenient technique.
This type of spell, which converts temperature, greatly affects the quality of life.
In hot summer weather, I can cool my body with just one breath, and I no longer have to fear the cold winds creeping in through the gaps of an old house.
Since the magic I use is the latest civilization polished to its peak on a single planet, its speed of bringing comfort is incomparable to the machines here.
Moreover, in this world called Earth, such living is an added benefit.
Energy usage is free!
No matter how much external mana I draw upon, there are no costs! Hahaha!
‘Legal tax evasion… just hearing that combination of words makes my heart race.’
I swallowed my laughter and rubbed my dry palms together.
As I have realized at some point, there are many environmental differences between Earth and Alphauri. If I use the formulas established in my previous life as they are, there’s a high chance that the magic won’t activate normally.
However, here, whenever I felt discomfort in daily life, I promised myself I would definitely use that magic after fixing my lungs, so I calculated the spells in the meantime. Thus, I can immediately cast any low-level magic that pops into my head.
For example, something like “Clean.”
By the way, do Earthlings even know what that is?
Ahh… “Clean” is a composite spell synthesized from various elemental magics to a mild level, and it has the function to eliminate foreign substances from the body. In other words, it cleans me up…
To be honest, I thought I would go crazy following the inferior cleaning methods here…
‘Well, it’s good that I can solve it now.’
Huff.
I took a deep breath, filling my lungs.
Lost in all sorts of thoughts, I noticed it was already 1 PM. That means I must be hungry; it seems like I need to intake some nutrients.
Clang.
Suddenly, a pot on the kitchen shelf opened. The pot was caught by an unseen force and whipped through the air.
And before long, the inside of the pot was filled with clean water.
Bubble, bubble, bubble.
Even though it hadn’t been in contact with a heat source, the liquid surface started boiling independently.
Low-Level Telekinesis, Low-Level Water Magic, Low-Level Fire Magic.
One by one, the magic’s operational possibilities were being demonstrated.
In the past, I would have already run out of mana at the stage of lifting the pot, but now that I fixed my lungs, I could easily withstand three minutes of cooking time. My body’s fuel efficiency has changed so drastically that I would almost say I became a completely different person overnight.
So, with a joyful heart, I sat in front of the table with the completed ramen.
“……”
About ten minutes later.
After finishing my meal, I finally came to my senses.
In my joy of obtaining new lungs, I had excitedly performed all those insignificant spells since they had little power.
But this was actually the natural order of things.
Kim Gi-ryeo is an F-Class Hunter. In other words, he’s a barely awakened being with a mana capacity the size of a mouse’s tail.
No matter how much a great mage saves resources, there are clearly limits.
I was still absurdly weak.
There were more things I couldn’t do than things I could.
“Hmm.”
But it’s not necessary to sink into negative thoughts on a day like today.
Let’s think positively.
Having passed the major hurdle of obtaining the Dragon’s Lung, all I need to do now is acquire the body of another awakened being, which is the last ingredient.
Of course, it didn’t need to start at a high rank. Just starting at D-Class would be enough; with my skills, I could definitely step up gradually.
‘Once the exchange is safely over, I’ll put this body in the tomb I’ve seen before…’
By the way, has some attachment developed without me realizing?
Thinking about throwing away Kim Gi-ryeo’s identity felt disappointing.
After all, how much effort and money had I put in to keep this piece of trash alive? Now, at this determined time, I was continuously providing nutrients, polishing it, and caring for it. By now, it’s only natural to develop some affection for my possession.
Moreover, thinking about the life that the body’s owner led brings a personal sense of regret.
“Since one is useless as a weakling, I should just live long and well instead of becoming a corpse.”
I quietly muttered this to someone. And I got up from my seat.
Thinking about it, my food supply had run out at home. So I needed to go out today.
*
Squish, squish, squish.
Two sets of footsteps echoed down the quiet alley.
A silver sedan, rusty with neglect, a freshly washed SUV gleaming on the surface, or an imported car with a round emblem.
This was the main street of a studio apartment complex with various cars illegally parked.
Among the characters walking down the street, the smaller and lighter one soon looked up to start a conversation.
“Daddy.”
At her voice, the man next to her responded, gazing down at her with a smile on his face.
“Daddy, guess what~”
“Yeah.”
“Friends at school said there’s an S-Class Hunter living around here. Is that for real?”
For reference, the small Earth girl was pointing to a multi-family housing area characterized by old red bricks.
A street lined with rental studios sized from 5 to 10 pyeong.
Usually, even a D-Class Hunter wouldn’t be enough to catch a glance in this residential area, but I definitely remember hearing about a top-tier Hunter living in this neighborhood…
“Uh, that’s probably true.”
When he answered, the girl’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Why?”
“Hmm?”
“Hunters make a lot of money. Why does that person live here?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Mom says that if she strikes it rich in a dungeon, we’ll move to Safe First all the time.”
“Well, that’s just because all of us care about our daughter. I hear that place has good security.”
“So that Hunter doesn’t have a daughter, so he lives here?”
“Well, it seems like he’s not married. Uh, anyway, I don’t really know much about that.”
Why do kids have such unique curiosity, anyway?
As a question about an S-Class Hunter flowed, the father held his daughter’s hand tighter and said briefly.
“But sweetheart, you shouldn’t point fingers at the houses where others live like that. Would you feel good if people were insulting our house?”
“I didn’t insult it.”
“When I was a child, I lived in a rooftop room because we were poor. Is that a bad thing? No, every house has its circumstances.”
“Okay.”
“So think of it as someone’s precious home, whether it’s this place or that place~ Understand? It’s not strange that someone lives there.”
In truth, even while saying this, he couldn’t understand why a Hunter like Kim Gi-ryeo would live in such a rundown studio.
But the girl’s father managed to suppress the rising curiosity.
Whatever circumstances a Hunter like Kim Gi-ryeo had, it wasn’t something he needed to care about.
The existence of an S-Class Hunter was merely an illusion to ordinary citizens, like something from a TV show.
They say they catch the monstrous beasts that are always a threat from somewhere.
But usually, those extraordinary strong beings are busy dealing with monsters around A-Class, so they don’t appear before the vast majority of monsters threatening the townsfolk.
S-Class Hunters exist far from the lives of ordinary citizens.
Until now, I had thought of them like that.
–Creeeak!
Suddenly, the sound of a bird shrieking echoed from somewhere.
It seemed too loud to be the cry of a small bird like a magpie or a jay.
At that sound, the father and daughter instinctively looked up at the sky.
Then, a huge shadow from above them swept past.
A large pupil on a wide white eyeball.
Red feathers falling like rain.
And a beak sharp enough to burst human flesh like a balloon.
“Kyaaaaaaaaaaak!”
“Huh!”
It’s a monster!
The girl’s father noticed the presence of the beast and swallowed hard. A massive bird flying while screeching like a human child.
I don’t even know its name, but a creature of that size would surely pose a great threat regardless of the existence of mana.
“Ah, Daddy…!”
“Shh!”
He pulled his child close and held his breath.
Yet, despite such rapid response, the creature eventually perceived their presence and circled around to perch above the ordinary father and daughter.
Huff. Huff.
In the tense moments of suspension, the mysterious giant bird flapped its wings, gauging its prey several times before tilting its long neck down. This was a sign that the monster was preparing to hunt.
“Huh…!”
If it leaped forward at the beast’s charge, at least there might be a chance of survival, but facing a creature several times larger than a human, his body froze in the moment.
–Rustle.
But then.
Suddenly, a sound like plastic friction echoed from the opposite side of the alley.
Under normal circumstances, it would have been a trivial noise, drowned out by the city’s clamor. But today, it resonated with unusual clarity in their ears.
“Huh? What’s that?”
The ordinary father and daughter, their eyes consumed by fear, turned to find a figure appearing from the alley.
Blond.
Rolling up his sleeves and wearing a white dress shirt, holding a plastic bag from a nearby discount store.
“Beginner Killer?”
The fourth S-Class of Korea. It was Kim Gi-ryeo…
The young man who appeared across the way lightly lifted the hand that wasn’t holding the bag.
And drew a short line with his index finger from the bottom to the top.
That was all.
“Kweeek!”
But based on the hunter’s little gesture, a deathly scream echoed from above.
Whoooooooosh… Crash!
Soon after, a massive bird monster fell in front of the father and daughter.
Thud, thud.
With its long neck twisted almost two turns, its life had been ended in vain. Yes. Kim Gi-ryeo had used telekinesis to snap the enemy’s neck at the moment he saw the monster.
“Is this area known for being a haven for beginner killers?”
A situation that directly illustrates the meaning of a great mage with repaired lungs.
Kim Gi-ryeo roughly rummaged through the body of the fallen monster, checked for any magic stones, and then pulled out his phone.
“Hello? This is the complaints department at the Association? I’d like to report a waste disposal. One monster just crawled out in front of my house…”
What followed was a brief call.
Then, the blond man continued on his way.
Tap, tap, tap.
An S-Class Hunter left a light acknowledgment to the stunned father and daughter and vacated the spot dryly.
Just after reincarnation, I felt threatened by the Beginner Killer, and now I could easily kill a mere monster like it with the push of a button. It was remarkable progress.
“……”
When the sound of his footsteps faded a little, the child in her father’s arms spoke.
“Daddy, I want to move here.”
“Let’s go home and tell mom.”
However, due to the same reason, rental prices for all units in this area, except for the home of an S-Class Hunter, had skyrocketed, and their dreams were soon dashed.
Just now, I mentioned that a house holds no value in a person’s worth.
But could the opposite be true…?
