Chapter 309: Introduction
Three days after clearing the White Tower.
“Oh?”
On a street in Seoul.
Recently, a specific type of restaurant has become popular among a small group of young people in Korea.
Normally, people pick a restaurant based on the quality of the food.
But now, with the era of great magic, magic functionaries are frequently seen strolling along the sidewalks.
“Isn’t that Ahn Yoon-seung Hunter?”
“Where?”
“Oh, he just went into that alley while you were looking somewhere else. But no matter how I look at it, his fashion screams Ahn Yoon-seung Hunter.”
“Whoa. Did a monster show up somewhere?”
“Since there were no alarms, he was probably just passing by, right?”
Earth’s mages inadvertently attracted attention due to poor timing of their emergence.
Thanks to the development of social media, stories of them slaying monsters spread rapidly, and various broadcasters eager to ride the wave of a new age hero have constantly sought hunting individuals for coverage.
Naturally, even sports stars on Earth had to maintain their morality.
Therefore, hunters who were saving the world in real-time couldn’t escape the spotlight either.
Lately, the hunting industry has been consistently voicing discomfort about one topic.
[Anonymous Bulletin Board]
[♞: It’s hard to eat out in peace!]
It might be different if they had chosen to be celebrities or politicians.
Most were just ordinary individuals who awakened, yet excessive attention turned problematic.
[Anonymous Bulletin Board]
[♜: Those with low awakening levels wouldn’t know this discomfort. High-ranking hunters must call in advance to ask if awakened can be accommodated during peak times. Sigh… Before awakening, my hobby was exploring tasty places, but now just standing in line leads to complaints… 😭]
[♙: Hey, do you want to stir the pot here, Mr. Mr. Low Rank?]
[♞: Even as an A-Rank, I find this inconvenient. I can only imagine how S-Ranks manage!]
[♗: I’m S-Class and eat out just fine. 👍]
ㄴ[♜: How?]
[♗: There’s a magic item that lowers magic levels; wear that and control yourself. So, it’s just you guys who are struggling because you lack skills.]
ㄴ[♟: So S-Ranks can adjust to the point they’re unrecognizable? Who the heck are you amidst Jiung and Kang?]
ㄴ[♗: Me? I’m Kim Gi-ryeo. 😏]
ㄴ[♙: LOL]
ㄴ[♗: 😂]
[♘: Indeed, with 40 S-Ranks using the global integrated site, what a bunch of fools.]
… Thus, recently, for various reasons, private restaurants that awakened individuals can use comfortably have started to emerge.
These private restaurants resemble those rumored establishments where celebrities would get the shutters down for them when they paid.
Not that the food was exceptionally high quality for the high prices, but they provide a quiet space for hunters tired of attention, so it seems to be a modern business model.
“Oh?”
Tap.
In front of a small building between the alleys, someone mutters.
A skinhead maintaining a permanent scratch.
And in contrast, the latest trendy male fashion that would get praised on social media.
“Usually, you’re always out here before the scheduled time. Did you perhaps struggle finding the place?”
In front of the previously mentioned private restaurant, a hunter dressed that way fidgets, and soon the young man’s face brightens.
“Hyung!”
“Sorry, I couldn’t see where the entrance was… I barely found my way up after hunting for your magic level.”
Ahn Yoon-seung and Korea’s Fourth S-Class Hunter.
These were the hunters about to enter the restaurant today.
“We’re not late for the reservation, right?”
“Of course not!”
For reference, despite the grand operating method of this place, the menu featured only ordinary food like chicken and beer.
.
.
.
To clarify.
Upon reflection, it wouldn’t be right to say it dealt only with ordinary items.
“[God’s Droplet] is included in the drinks?”
“Oh? Wasn’t that why you wanted to come here?”
“I figured it was just a place known for its good food; I see its name pop up often online.”
“I think there was already a cocktail bar mixing [God’s Droplet] around Yeonnam-dong. But selling it as beer here seems to be a first in Korea, so it must be popular!”
Tap.
Before Ahn Yoon-seung could set the table with lightning speed, I pulled out my new late-night gloves and wiped my hands with a wet tissue.
“But you don’t have to worry, since you wanted to come here, I checked it out a day prior!”
“What?”
“I happened to find a couple of spots open for reservation for two consecutive days. And wow, the chicken here is amazing!”
As you could see from this scene.
It had been a long while since I went out to eat.
Originally, I was supposed to go to a famous restaurant opened by an awakened foreigner a couple of days ago.
But due to some F-Class weakling collapsing during the [White Tower] incident, that reservation went down the drain.
‘Oops, I unintentionally caused trouble.’
I thought I wouldn’t be able to share a meal with that guy for a while since I couldn’t keep a past promise.
However, even after being invited with his family to the restaurant, where his father was extremely averse to Western food, Ahn Yoon-seung didn’t give up on dining.
Instead, he remembered my slight interest in a certain place he mentioned casually in the past, got us a reservation himself.
‘How does such a useful creature exist in this world…’
Now acknowledging, I’ve practically become half an internet addict, and yet due to my soul being an alien, my daily life still felt awkward.
‘These days, restaurants frequently take reservations via social media, making it hard for an alien like me to use them.’
Thanks to the natives’ help, I get to enjoy the newest Earth culture, so I’m pretty happy all around.
“Here’s your order!”
“Ah, thank you!”
“Thanks.”
Still, the act of deliberately sipping poison with a hefty price tag continues to baffle me.
Crisp.
While Ahn Yoon-seung spoke about the barley-colored liquid containing [God’s Droplet], I popped a piece of fried crumb from the plate into my mouth.
‘Retirement indefinitely postponed.’
Retirement delay.
Just a few days ago.
I briefly recalled that choice I seriously began considering due to some experiment.
‘When Jeong Ha-seong went wild at the army stew place, I postponed retirement due to merely fearing the team’s morale would drop…’
Following S-Class hunters as an F-Class with potential for injury similar to [White Tower] could lead to several mishaps.
‘But I can’t disappear just like that considering the figures from the reagent experiments…’
Yet for various reasons, I couldn’t give up being a hunter right now.
The most prominent reason was accessibility.
This profession allowed access to information regarding gates created by ki-simche better than anyone else.
Even pretending to be an S-Class allowed me to contact the association president directly if need be—how could I give up such a golden status?
“Hyung, I’m sorry, but can we toast before we start eating?”
“Is ‘sorry’ really a word to use here?”
That thought was where I stopped.
I turned my head toward the voice coming from across the table, where Ahn Yoon-seung, in a now familiar figure, grinned and extended his glass with both hands.
Ahn Yoon-seung.
An Earthling I’ve been getting along with just fine up to this moment.
‘Hmm.’
Truth be told.
Using the term “friend” with Seonwoo-yeon was a joke.
A magic scale came close to me, and I ended up sharing truths to survive, but while I had confidence in her humanity, it felt ambiguous to say there was intimacy.
Honestly, in this unfamiliar otherworld, the only Earthling I could genuinely call a dear acquaintance was Ahn Yoon-seung.
Look—now, while it’s technically about the food, I’m even clinking glasses with this Earthling in a show of pointless camaraderie.
‘Hmm, is this the item from China that could make even high-ranked awakened people tipsy?’
Clink.
A sound of glasses clinking echoed from a corner of the separate room.
I hadn’t mentioned it until now, but honestly, this Earthling Ahn Yoon-seung had done a lot for my safety whenever something came up.
[Gram ↘]
[nsyunseung (Ahn Yoon-seung) ⋮]
[2,137 likes on this post]
“Hello everyone.
Many have asked if this article is manipulated; in my opinion, it seems this time, he has quite a bit of favor—otherwise, how would our Hyung’s beaten hunter bones still be intact?
I’ve seen him handle provocations calmly, no matter the circumstances!
I’d like to really learn from Ki-ryeo Hyung’s amazing character, but is the answer meditation training? 🤔
#Exercise #AwakeningCrimePenalties]
Yeah. Many things…
[icac_ff Yo, your Hyung is ugly as heck. Those who like that guy must have something wrong with their eyes.]
ㄴ[nsyunseung Oh no!! 😳 I’ve thought this since forever, but the power in language is incredible! Just from this brief message, you can sense whether a person has friends or not—how fascinating! 🤩]
Hold up.
Looking back, it seems that guy has done too much already.
‘By the way, while Ahn Yoon-seung doesn’t post much on social media, he’s quite the loudmouth online due to the name value of being an A-Class Hunter.’
To explain, around the time the third kidnapping incident concluded…
There were claims online that the press materials disseminated by Kang Chang-ho couldn’t possibly be real.
No matter how S-Class hunters were, how could they apprehend awakened beings of similar ranks without injury?
It was claimed that the country manipulated this to prevent rumors about the weakened combat strength of Korean awakened individuals!
… Apparently, people briefly made such claims.
The one who silenced all this was Ahn Yoon-seung’s active engagement on social media.
This skinhead man in front of me diligently explained the usual combat power of the Fourth S-Class to eliminate those attempting to slander me.
Thanks to that, the gap between Kim Gi-ryeo and Kang Chang-ho’s abilities gradually came to seem more credible.
Recently, there were even articles accidentally published featuring Iori and Ito politely greeting someone at an airport in Japan.
“……”
For the reference.
I won’t go into detail about how the public opinion on the internet is forming…
‘This drink called beer, I had pretty high expectations, but it’s not surprising enough—it’s not as delightful as the first time I had tangerine after being reincarnated.’
To sum it up, I became a regular guest in Korea’s Y-Tube national pride video following Jeong Ha-seong.
But of course, no matter how talented someone is born in the country, the benefits for any individual are minimal.
So why are people on this planet so obsessed with their nation’s reputation?
‘Is there some reason behind this?’
As I pondered while chewing on chicken, it was then.
Ding!
A notification chimed from Ahn Yoon-seung’s phone, which had been pushed aside on the table.
“Ah! Sorry!”
“It’s no trouble.”
According to the Earthling’s explanation, the notification only arises when a connected acquaintance sends a message.
I hardly understood what it meant even after hearing all of it.
【Direct Message】
[archery_11 Yoon-seung, did you see the news? The reporters are probably making a fuss mentioning your Hyung again.]
But the phrase showing on the screen grabbed my attention.
News.
Fuss.
Just a brief skim was enough to gauge that some real-time incident had occurred, and I felt it involved me.
Then what was this news mentioned in that conversation?
“Ah, um! Sorry, what’s this… Uh, uh…?”
Ahn Yoon-seung asked for my understanding and chatted briefly with an acquaintance.
The result of what he revealed about the incident was this.
“Ah, what’s this? After checking, it seems like nothing serious.”
“What do you mean?”
“Apparently, the news reported that a [Beast] has caused a ruckus again. And every time that awakened one goes wild, some attention seekers start speculating that it’s your Hyung.”
Wide-eyed.
Turning his phone to standby mode, Ahn Yoon-seung glanced my way, speaking with a hint of excitement.
“Your Hyung as a Beast? What a ludicrous statement! Right now, he’s here in Korea having dinner, and he’s got mountains of proofs to disprove it anyway!”
“……”
“Um… So while we’re talking about this, would it be okay if I took a selfie with you at the meal and post just one on my SNS feed?”
“……”
“Of course, you wouldn’t care about a rumor this trivial! But still, you never know about the world, right? Alibis and all that.”
With the ‘unavoidable malice’ incident already mishandled, what would be the point of taking his likeness rights now?
I numbly nodded with a piece of boneless chicken in my mouth. Ahn Yoon-seung joyfully set up a selfie for just the two of us.
Click!
But just as the mechanical sound emitted from Yoon-seung’s phone,
I swallowed the food I had been chewing and questioned my companion.
“Wait a minute…”
With fried chicken right in front of me, I was inclined to let it slide.
“But a Beast, has appeared again?”
No matter how hard I thought, the context of that conversation seemed strange.
