Chapter 232. Is It Not?
The consequences began to approach quietly.
However, the culprits behind all this—the grade forger—was simply mindlessly consuming food at the restaurant.
Spoonfuls of perfectly cooked rice and chewy shiitake mushrooms were delicious.
*
A few days later.
Monday returned.
– Hoo, hoo, hoo.
Could this be what the rat-burning festival before the first full moon of the year looked like?
In the distance, a sorcerer was elegantly swirling his magic around his hand.
Intense blue.
It was a new color of flame completed through someone’s painstaking efforts.
Jeong Ha-seong was adjusting it to ensure that the color didn’t drift away from the radius around his hand.
Before long, the flames Ha-seong ignited left a beautiful trajectory in the air, akin to a fish’s fins.
“Ugh!”
But at that moment.
Jeong Ha-seong gasped in surprise like someone burned by fire and suddenly stopped the skill.
No, to clarify, not like someone who was burned, but like someone who actually was burned.
“Did you get hurt?”
“No, no. Not that badly…”
Where I came from, the fire mages had such terrifying attribute defenses that it was better not to even think about trying to kill them with fire in the first place.
Anyway, how are Earthlings this soft and weak?
And how the heck was this F-Class corpse remarkably sturdy enough to endure my soul among so many frail vessels?
‘They say that every sigh here cuts down on your lifespan; if that were true, I’d be dead already.’
Sigh.
I secretly began to lament while Ha-seong wasn’t looking.
This might be a bit of an off-topic question, but do adult Earthlings remember their childhood dreams exactly?
First off, to clarify my own childhood, my dream was to become a Magic Scholar, and I actually achieved that goal quite well.
I mean, I was already a soul with experience of success.
So how hard could it be to achieve a dream two times?
‘Hmm.’
This morning.
In a hurry for survival, I had finally wrapped up my future planning that I hadn’t had time to think about before.
After deep consideration, the new life goal I seriously wanted to achieve this time around was:
[A free bum with overflowing money and leisure time, but absolutely nothing I have to do.]
It might sound a bit silly, but from my perspective, this was a rather serious and desperate goal.
A lazy freeloader, huh?
But paradoxically, the first thing I had to do to realize this dream was to work hard.
‘At least I should take responsibility for what I started.’
The renewal of my contract for the lectures had come.
The remaining duration was three months, just like before.
In this second half, while the number of classes would stay the same, if deemed necessary, I planned to visit Ha-seong directly even on days off to continue the training.
If this process went smoothly as expected, Jeong Ha-seong would learn one more new magic that was called a skill in this place.
“Ha-seong, stop. Stop.”
“Huh? …Ah, no, I’m fine. I still have plenty of mana left…”
“It’s obvious your concentration is dropping; if you push too hard, the little grasp you have will slip away.”
Thus, I safely finished the first class of the contract worth 9 billion won and exited the gymnasium.
The clock in my mobile phone indicated it was already 7 PM, but it was still bright outside due to the summer.
“Shall we go eat samgyetang?”
“Oh, yes. By the way, you always mention the menu for the day right away, Mr. Hunter.”
“Don’t you like chicken?”
“It’s not that I dislike it; I just find it fascinating…”
What’s so fascinating about it?
‘Could it be that ordinary Earthlings… don’t think about what they want to eat every day?’
I bit down on my greedy desires as I took out my mobile phone.
In anticipation of days like this, I had already searched for restaurants accessible to high-class Awakened ones, so I planned to call and ask if they were still open.
.
.
.
…And fortunately, after receiving a positive response from the restaurant, I found myself seated in front of the food.
Clang.
By the time the ordered samgyetang arrived in a separate room, Ha-seong across the table said,
“Uh…”
“Yeah?”
“I have one thing I would like to ask.”
“Go ahead.”
“A few days ago, during class, you said that I’ve grown enough that I wouldn’t have to worry even if I quit the classes.”
It was rare for him to bring up casual topics, so I listened cautiously to Ha-seong’s words.
“…Was that a sincere statement?”
But I didn’t expect such a dull topic to follow.
Whenever I taught something, he tended to follow along well.
His serious attitude towards learning made a significant contribution from the very beginning regarding his mindset.
I initially thought he was just a talentless sorcerer, but objectively speaking, the man in front of me was an extraordinary talent worthy of being a disciple.
Moreover, Jeong Ha-seong’s brain undoubtedly had a high understanding ability, which greatly affected our lessons.
Thud.
I put my glass of water down on the table thoughtfully.
Earth.
This world had only recently discovered mana, which made it a bit violent…
Alternatively, those who were not satisfied with reality and had some form of craving possessed a tendency toward awakening, meaning there were slight distortions in their characters.
‘Mutants tend to embrace their imperfections closely.’
This tendency generally disappeared rapidly with the passage of time.
My planet experienced the same.
In ancient times, the Alphauri, who could withstand the phenomenon known as awakening today, were favored by magic, possessing sturdy bodies.
However, after revealing the myriad secrets of the incomprehensible world, it was the real scholars who ultimately drew the most lethal power from magic.
‘In terms of Earth’s magic level, the influence of intelligence won’t stand out that much yet.’
But still, there is no harm in being a studious mage.
I finished my thoughts and said a few words to my disciple.
“You’re doing well on your own, so the instructor can go off to eat chicken without worry, right?”
“Um…”
“And at this point, you should be able to feel your own abilities. It’s a sincere compliment, so don’t hesitate to accept it.”
However, Ha-seong’s response was…
“Understood.”
This was a few seconds later.
“Well, if I continue like this, I’ll be able to work with Mr. Kim Hunter safely, right?”
“Uh?”
“Just now, you evaluated that I’m doing well.”
Job?
Job.
As the mention of the matter came from the other party’s mouth, I gradually halted my actions.
“Ah.”
A moment of silence stretched on, and a long revelation flashed through someone’s mind.
‘Ah~’
That’s right.
I had only just realized that another bait caught in this quasi-fraud act.
The regular team system of the Hunter Association!
Exactly, at the beginning of the contract, I had indeed lured the Garion Guild leader with such useless rewards.
‘I had been carelessly assuming that Jeong Ha-seong and Seo Esther would end up working together from my perspective.’
However, just like from the beginning of the contract, I had no intention of keeping that promise even a little bit.
‘Ugh.’
I pondered for a moment, biting on the jujube in the samgyetang.
Then I continued the conversation.
“By the way, this is a question I’m genuinely curious about. Do you want to work with someone like me?”
Putting aside the consideration of why to detach the S-Class, I felt it was strange.
“After all, now that you can handle your abilities well, team defense abilities aren’t as crucial anymore. And with your personality, talking to someone two years older without any honorifics makes me hardly a good coworker.”
Gulp.
I said this and poured cold water from the nearby pitcher into my cup.
“Isn’t that because you’ve lived abroad? I’ve never thought Mr. Hunter was a bad person.”
Wait, what?
“Hold on, what? Abroad?”
“In fact, someone once gossiped about you when you dropped the honorifics in front of me during class, saying it down the hall of the association.”
“….”
“When I turned around to clarify, I found that Ahn Yoon-seung Hunter was already explaining it.”
My brother had been abroad for a long time, unconsciously doing this only to close acquaintances.
Don’t judge people behind their backs for not adhering strictly to the Korean hierarchical system.
As expected of a defensive sorcerer, he thoroughly defended his acquaintance.
‘Why the sudden foreign discussion…? Oh!’
This time I could grasp which tale had caused the ruckus.
To be exact, a few conversations I had with Yoon-seung in the past had been the problem.
In the early days of my reincarnation, having been in a body with fragmented memories, I wasn’t able to answer most of the questions regarding a Korean’s basic information.
When that happened, I sometimes tried to dodge suspicion with jokes about being jet-lagged.
However, an ordinary person has no right to investigate others’ immigration records, so it seems Ahn Yoon-seung took my extraterrestrial excuse quite seriously.
I clasped my head and spoke.
“No, um, haha, I’m not sure how to explain this… but anyway, that’s not the reason.”
“Yes.”
“Actually, I prefer to speak casually because… well, it’s more economical; anyway, it’s just a bit quicker and simpler.”
“Ah huh.”
As I was fumbling for excuses, Jeong Ha-seong nodded earnestly.
‘If it were the National Intelligence Service, they might think my actual age could differ to hide my identity, but it seems that’s not the case.’
Outwardly, I could not fathom what hidden intent Jeong Ha-seong had.
I awkwardly shifted my gaze, denying the overseas tale Ahn Yoon-seung had spread.
As I was delicately picking the chicken ribs out of the boiling pot, the hero across the table began to speak again.
“Anyway, I don’t care about issues like honorifics at all. As I said before.”
“Ah.”
What he just said was that.
In fact, when I first disclosed my physical age to the hero, we had had some conversation on a particular topic.
– Jeong Ha-seong. But now that I know I’m younger, aren’t you going to speak casually to me?
– I simply prefer this.
– You prefer honorifics more?
– I don’t know if it’s a victim complex or what, but while working as a hunter, I often feel that people underestimate me because of my age, so I purposely changed my speech for social situations.
– Oh~
– …I guess after losing all the few friends I had to Dungeon Shock, I haven’t had many chances to speak casually, so I’s gotten pretty awkward now.
– I see.
– ‘Damn, why did I ask this?’
The unspeakable embarrassment from back then…
Anyway, Ha-seong seemed to still want to collaborate despite recognizing that his teacher was an inconsiderate person, which as far as I was concerned, was quite a troublesome request.
‘I’m now a true F-Class Hunter with no chance for improvement.’
With the basic qualities of an Alphauri and the Divine Tree Sapling, I somehow managed to secure physical and mental defenses.
However, my attack capabilities were at zero.
Teaming up with Jeong Ha-seong with my power almost as close to zero seemed impossible by any means.
“…It’s encouraging to hear you say that honorifics don’t matter; at least it’s good to hear.”
Then from now on, I shall go for the direct approach.
“But about the team… no matter how well you’re doing right now, I’m still not quite ready to work together…”
“Is it lacking?”
“Not really. I suppose it’s just that?”
From the start of the contract, I had clearly stated, ‘I can’t form a team unless you have the skills that I’m willing to recognize.’
I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to downplay the skill level of Korea’s number one ranking.
“I knew you’d say that.”
But hold on a moment, what did you just say?
“Then I have one favor to ask, Mr. Kim Gi-ryeo Hunter. If you have time, could you please watch the YTV Channel’s afternoon news this Wednesday?”
While the extraterrestrial was lost in thought, the young disciple of Earth eagerly sipped the steaming soup of samgyetang like it were cold water.
Tonight, I had other plans, so I should leave first; I would pay the bill, so he could enjoy his meal without worry.
And after this event, when Wednesday returned,
Following the favor I received, I turned on the 9 PM YTV broadcast.
But at the moment when a certain subtitle streamed across the screen,
I let my hands tremble and accidentally dropped my mobile phone onto the blanket.
That damn fire mage had stirred up trouble again!
