Chapter 302: Holiday (3)
On one hand, I regretted that Kim Gi-ryeo wasn’t recruited into the Korean Magic Tower Guild.
‘If equal relations are difficult, I want to at least be on friendly terms by any other means.’
The best way for hunters to build friendships is to form a proper team.
‘Perhaps our team standby, Jeong Ha-seong, might waste away without fully grasping the secret… Haha.’
But considering that cold-faced hunter, would he really need a partner in this life?
“Esther Hunter. Why are you sighing? Was my magic stone marking too slow?”
“That can’t be.”
Esther reflected on how much she regretted that the hunter in front of her hadn’t joined the guild.
An alien stealthily watched the curse mage’s expression, ensuring that she wasn’t particularly angry before having such thoughts.
‘Fortunately, I’m functioning well.’
Scritch scritch scritch.
He quietly stroked his gloves from a blind spot Esther couldn’t see.
‘Experiment complete.’
Not just with A-Class monsters.
Even the unseen power of curses could be absorbed if it had the right direction.
‘It was awkward to show bare hands that play a crucial role in casting as a mage, but now that I have this excellent covering, I’m happy!’
The [Midnight Gloves] were now perfectly complete.
Today, he gained another resourceful means of survival.
Thus, Gi-ryeo barely suppressed the melody bubbling up and finished the magic stone marking process.
The long outing had come to an end.
*
Shortly after that.
At a Municipal Hunter Training Facility in Seoul.
“Your right shoulder is too low, Jeong Ha-seong. Is your body slightly asymmetrical?”
I had finally returned to a complete normal life.
In fact, it had been quite a while since I reclaimed this state of peace.
I took care of the crazed skill thief and crafted my new equipment to my satisfaction.
After getting everything done, I had even saved up some cash, so honestly, what kind of hardships could there be in one’s life?
‘I’ve been taking enough naps and meals I couldn’t achieve in my previous life.’
There was little to explain about the last two weeks.
It was almost as if South Korea itself was peaceful.
And by peace, I meant that the plan I started this year was wrapping up smoothly.
A whopping 3 billion won worth of tuition fees each month.
Although various events had delayed it,
Well, to speak honestly, there were still plenty of matters to take care of.
Still, one must wrap up such a large financial curriculum neatly, right?
“Asymmetrical? Really?”
“No. It was just a bad posture. I misjudged it.”
However, the real reason I returned to the position of a professor wasn’t solely for that sense of responsibility.
The compensation I received from Japan’s Imabari had somehow been completely squandered, leaving me unable to secure a top-grade residence, but that’s whatever.
“Hmm.”
Recently, the atmosphere in the world I reincarnated into felt somewhat ominous.
[Is this another result of ‘ecosystem destruction’? The U.S. government officially acknowledges an increase in global gate difficulty.]
[“Should I look for something else?” The unexpected plight of F-Class hunters…….]
[[Column] The rarefication of the lowest-tier monster, the Horned Rabbit. Is it justified to classify dungeon creatures as endangered species?]
Just by entering any online news site, I could quickly ascertain the situation.
The headlines from various newspapers suggested one common trend, and unless one was completely oblivious to the news, how could anyone be unaware?
‘It seems like something that shouldn’t be laughed off.’
Synthesizing the contents I’d skimmed through, the issue was this:
The dungeon difficulty level of the world seemed to be on the rise.
‘This is no laughing matter…’
Even though it wasn’t a major upheaval yet, new magical beasts were frequently appearing in many dungeons.
Most shockingly, researchers found that even in just ten years, the concept of F-Class Gates could vanish from the world.
[“Should I look for something else?” The unexpected plight of F-Class hunters…….]
Such articles stemmed from that phenomenon.
Originally, Earthlings perceived the difficulty of dungeons as merely cycling between easy and difficult intervals like the four seasons.
However, eight years after the Dungeon Shock, it became clear that the strength of the monsters was subtly increasing as statistics had accumulated over time.
‘It’s only natural for the host to want to inflict greater pain as it becomes accustomed to stimulation.’
I folded my arms and lost myself in thought for a moment.
‘But the real problem is the speed. Why is everything progressing so swiftly on Earth?’
F-Class monsters like the [Poison Butterfly], which cause nearly no harm to humans, had already vanished from Earth by 28%.
Extinction of any species must be approached with caution, regardless of the underlying reasons.
‘Even if it’s a creature made through unnatural means.’
If F-Class Gates were entirely gone in a decade,
Perhaps job opportunities for psychics could expand in various countries.
‘Strictly speaking, this side isn’t really F-Class to begin with.’
What’s the deal with the employment crisis for awakened ones anyway!
Earthlings, I just dislike working!
‘Ugh, lately, I’ve been feeling so defeatist that I’ve cut down on calling myself a great mage, but still, having a proper job is a no-go for me.’
Duh…
Anyway, I hesitated at the thought of that frustrating word, which was hard to complete.
And internally, I thought.
‘Ha.’
This phenomenon of rising dungeon difficulty is ultimately the ki-simche protesting to eat more.
But, I had lost all status as a mage and had become a mere half-eater.
‘Damn it.’
The statistics reported by Earthlings are worrisome in many ways.
‘I could somehow manage the possession body. But on the other hand, what should I do about the monster waves generated by the ki-simche?’
How on earth could a F-Class hunter, who treats various barriers as dust, fight and win against enhanced monsters?
‘If the ki-simche mess up the settings, wouldn’t I also get swept away as an extra?’
Tremble tremble.
The more I thought about the future, the more trapped I felt in a dead end.
Thus, I resolved to continuously research methods to awaken the growth talent of this body—Kim Gi-ryeo.
Of course, I’d also seek alternate paths to prepare for the possibility that this research might not yield results quickly.
It wouldn’t be a bad idea to cultivate a reliable weapon to protect me.
“Whoo…”
“…….”
Turning my head, I saw a familiar figure of a mammal in the center of the gymnasium.
I briefly looked over the man seated in a meditative posture.
From that position, it was clear that the new landlord was currently engaged in a meditative-like activity.
Top of the head.
Shoulders.
Thighs and ankles, and so on.
In that state, where low-grade ignition magic stones were placed all over the body, he could keenly refine the heat sense that fire mages primarily employed.
‘It’d be nice to flatter this rare good landlord as much as possible in this capitalist society.’
However, in this correction process, another identical issue was discovered.
‘Clumsy.’
Jeong Ha-seong is a serious theorist…….
Since he had waived the rent for me, I initially tried to frame it in a positive light, but it merely meant he was utterly clueless regarding magic.
In the classes up until now, the growth methods I taught were structured so that results could be achieved depending on the volume of practice, provided the principles were understood, so it was fine.
But the final skill I was currently teaching relied 90% on intuition.
No, rather it was purely talent driving 99.999%.
‘The prepared class is nearly coming to an end.’
Honestly, I don’t think Jeong Ha-seong can complete that skill properly.
The final technique of a fire mage, encircling flames around oneself, combining offense and defense.
Well, regardless of their race being one that worships fire, it’s impossible for an ordinary mammal to pull it off.
‘But still, repeating such training should allow him to control overflowing magic power more keenly. It’s not a loss for Jeong Ha-seong regardless.’
I shoved my hand into the pockets of the new suit pants.
‘But evaluating it from the standpoint of a professor, I often think it’s a waste of time; I should just finish this class quickly instead of dragging it out to get paid…’
After a moment of waiting, the alarm I had set on my phone rang.
5 PM.
The class had concluded safely for today.
‘Sigh.’
We exited the hunter-exclusive gymnasium just in time for the end of the session.
At that moment, however,
The student who hadn’t asked a single question during class suddenly began to chat.
“Hunter-nim.”
“Huh?”
“By the way, that glove seems new. Did you get a new item?”
A pair of leather gloves from Earth.
This was my trump card, which cost a billion won.
Moreover, since there was no magic in reality worth summoning with [Memorize], there was no need to disclose any secrets.
“I just got it because my hands were cold. They say it’s made from one-horned beast hide.”
“But it’s not even September yet?”
“Chronic cold hands.”
Oh.
Seeing the back of the leather glove, he bragged in a way, and innocent Jeong Ha-seong immediately nodded, as if he understood.
And after questions were resolved, only useless conversations flowed from there.
“Hey, Ha-seong. Should we make some soybean paste stew once we get home?”
“Huh?”
“Since I’ve been mooching, it’s been hard to say anything, but that side dish store you order from just doesn’t taste good no matter how I think about it.”
“Stew?”
“I noticed you always barely touched the broth. People need to eat well for their skills to perform well, you know….”
In a situation where I desperately wanted a specific menu but didn’t own the kitchen, I pretended to care about my landlord’s preferences as I directed the selection for dinner.
Moments later.
The operation was successful.
Tricked by the idea that a balanced diet was necessary for achieving magical accomplishments, Jeong Ha-seong started the car.
Originally, I intended to head to the nearby grocery discount store to get the ingredients.
‘Since I saved on rent, I should spend a bit on good ingredients.’
By the way, there must be some unique culture surrounding vehicles on Earth.
I just couldn’t figure out what that might be.
‘Hmm.’
When the car Jeong Ha-seong drove arrived,
I thought I might as well sit in the back right seat since it seemed to offer a broader view.
However, at that moment, the top-ranking hunter expressed his astonishment with a significant shift in magic power.
Was the driver startled because it was an empty space that I wanted to sit in the back?
‘What does that even mean?’
Hesitating would only make things seem even stranger.
So I tried my best to ignore his reaction and stubbornly pushed through my choice.
‘Let’s see. First, I need to buy. Seasoning, zucchini, tofu…’
It was while I was waiting for the car to reach the destination with the desired seat that—
Ding ding.
Ding ding.
A sound that the main owner of my body had once heard fleetingly in a drama quickly materialized into reality.
Simply put, the ringtone set as the default alarm on the phone filled the car.
I had changed that ringtone to a water droplet sound for fun when I bought a new phone.
‘Damn it.’
The number one Hunter in South Korea’s phone is ringing.
Is there anywhere more ominous than this in the world?
“The call….”
The driver’s signal turned red.
As the car briefly halted in compliance with road regulations, Jeong Ha-seong pressed a button on the steering wheel to answer the call remotely.
-Hello……!
“I’m driving.”
Ha-seong, indicating his status, remained calm overall.
It seemed like he was used to such situations.
However, the person on the other end of the line seemed to be in a hurry, shouting something like their feet were on fire.
Thunk.
I rested my elbow on the window frame while pensive.
‘Oh dear.’
As expected of a planet where there’s a saying, “a flower blooms for only ten days,” peace among hunters wouldn’t last even a month.
.
.
.
What was the nature of the contact that reached Jeong Ha-seong?
Long story short, the current state of the Korean Hunter Association was in total chaos.
“In any case, Hunter-nim… I apologize for contacting you while driving. But if you have time, please come to the association.”
They urged him to find a gap in his time, even if it meant skipping a meal rather than just worrying about the soybean paste stew.
-Is it really urgent?
A male voice akin to an announcer queries.
However, the following statement from the association’s guide had them immediately convinced.
It’s possible that even those outside the Hunter realm might remember the term that was about to be mentioned.
“I’m so sorry, but we have too many questions for you, Hunter-nim.”
Rattle rattle.
The guide, fidgeting while holding the phone, soon revealed the culprit to the connected S-Class hunter.
“It’s— it’s critical! In Sejong City, [White Tower] has appeared…”
