Chapter 67. Hadong (3)
Two days later.
Seonwoo-yeon and Kim Gi-ryeo really arrived in Hadong.
‘Was it a mistake to ask?’
However, as soon as this B-Class Hunter stepped onto her hometown soil, she was engulfed in shallow regret.
“Should I handle the Gates?”
“Yes….”
They had to enter the dungeon right away because training outside could lead to accidents.
To be honest, she wasn’t thrilled about it.
Entering an unknown alien world with a hidden Awakening level and a disguised registrant, just the two of them?
Was this really the right thing to do?
‘Ugh….’
But there was no choice.
‘This guy is right. It would be a disaster if a passerby gets hit by a skill.’
They soon arrived at a nearby F-Class Gate.
The interior of the Gate was a vast plain perfect for training, but her mind wasn’t at ease.
‘Will it really help me use my skill in three days?’
Everything still felt uncertain…
“Hold on.”
Kim Gi-ryeo glanced at the nervous Seonwoo-yeon and pulled something out of his jacket.
It was an unexpected assortment.
“Alcohol swabs and a bloodletting device?”
Why were these things, typically found in a pharmacy, here?
She tilted her head as she accepted the bloodletting needle.
However, the next sentence was somewhat chilling.
“I’ll disinfect your wrist.”
“Uh?”
“Disinfect this area well and prick yourself. Now.”
Right from the start, she was told to draw blood.
“W-why?”
Seonwoo-yeon’s eyes widened.
Kim Gi-ryeo just stated dryly while observing her.
“Do you know what your biggest problem is?”
“Problem?”
“It’s the manipulation of magic power. You’re not just clumsy, you can’t grasp it at all.”
“Uh…”
“So we’re going to use the quickest method.”
Until this moment, Seonwoo-yeon couldn’t quite understand what he was saying.
“What are you waiting for? Hurry up.”
But what could she do?
Eventually, under his instruction, she began to draw her blood.
At the same time, it seemed Kim Gi-ryeo was drinking something potion-like, but she was too distracted by the bloodletting device to see properly.
“Is this enough?”
Click!
As she pressed the bloodletting device, a needle pierced her skin.
Seonwoo-yeon revealed her wrist, where blood began to bead.
“Yes. You did well. Now, we need to get a feel for handling magic power…”
But then Seonwoo-yeon wondered why he was disinfecting his own hand.
He then seized her injury with a firm grip.
“Watch closely. I’m going to show you just once.”
With her wrist held, Seonwoo-yeon startled, trying to speak, but…
She was left speechless by the sensation that followed.
“Ugh!”
Whoosh.
As if she were being violently pulled by someone, the magic inside her swirled roughly.
An alien substance, clearly different from blood.
Moreover, the mana resting in her heart passing through her lungs sent a sharp stimulus she had definitely felt before.
‘When I first used my skill at the B-Class Gate…’
Seonwoo-yeon bit her lip, overwhelmed by the vivid flow of magic power.
Just then,
All her senses abruptly cut off.
Kim Gi-ryeo had released her hand.
“Are you okay?”
“Ugh!”
As soon as she heard that one line, cold sweat broke out like a dam bursting.
Somehow, he was manipulating her magic power as he pleased.
“Anyway, try using your skill again.”
“Uh?”
“Feel the sensation you just experienced. Come on.”
His casual tone when telling her to try using her skill seemed rather untrustworthy.
Nevertheless, trusting in the emotions she had just felt, Seonwoo-yeon followed his advice.
‘If I just follow the sensation I felt earlier…’
But it was at that moment.
In the pristine, calm weather, a sudden gust of wind blew.
Whoosh.
The B-Class Hunter with her bangs blown back widened her eyes. What? This is…
“My skill!”
An awakening skill.
She felt foolish for not trusting him until now.
Could something she struggled with until now show results so easily, even when visiting so-called experts?
“Did you see that? My skill just came out!”
Seonwoo-yeon shouted with joy.
Though her counterpart didn’t seem impressed.
“Of course it would. Honestly, it was strange for an awakened being with such specs to not have used a skill until now.”
“Really?”
Kim Gi-ryeo spoke coldly, causing Seonwoo-yeon’s earlier excitement to fade slightly.
“Anyway, come over. Now I’ll teach you how to manipulate your skill.”
But this statement made her perk up again.
“Are you going to help me more?”
“Help, rather than teach you. You’ll need to use your skills a lot to solidify your feel anyway…”
So he intended to use his mana on training as well?
Kim Gi-ryeo spoke as if it was no big deal.
However, what followed was far from trivial.
“Seonwoo-yeon Hunter, breathe. Holding your breath while using a skill is a bad habit.”
Kim Gi-ryeo quickly identified Seonwoo-yeon’s problem and offered appropriate advice.
Concepts that were once abstract quickly became clear under his explanation.
This indicated the depth of knowledge Kim Gi-ryeo possessed.
After all, there’s an old saying.
You can’t teach what you don’t understand yourself.
‘Incredible.’
At this point, she could understand Ahn Yoon-seung’s admiration for Kim Gi-ryeo.
He truly was different from an ordinary Awakened.
“Out of breath, huh?”
“Yes. I think my mana is exhausted.”
“Let’s call it a day. I can’t just throw millions of won into potions for practice.”
That led to one question.
“Um, just a moment…”
She stopped Kim Gi-ryeo, who was getting ready to leave.
Since it was just the two of them in the Gate, it was a perfect opportunity.
“Kim Gi-ryeo Hunter. I have a question for you.”
“Oh, yes.”
Seonwoo-yeon chose her words carefully before speaking earnestly.
“I still can’t understand why someone like you pretends to be F-Class.”
Kim Gi-ryeo fell silent.
“If you wanted to, you could receive so much better treatment.”
“…”
“Why are you going to such lengths to hide your abilities?”
Faking one’s awakening grade meant deceiving the Association.
This served as a decisive reason why Seonwoo-yeon couldn’t trust Kim Gi-ryeo.
Thus, she wanted to hear an accurate explanation.
Why was he hiding his skills? Was there a valid reason behind it?
Can I trust you?
“Can you tell me why?”
Seonwoo-yeon asked with a complex heart.
At that moment, how did the person in question feel?
The rare act of dyeing one’s hair in the Hunter industry. The cold-looking man calmly closed his eyes.
‘Huh, what is she talking about…’
To be honest, from his perspective…
He was just baffled by why Seonwoo-yeon was so serious.
‘Earthlings’ mindset is incomprehensible. Why bring up grades out of the blue?’
Considering the serious demeanor of his counterpart, he decided he should at least provide some answer.
But did that answer really need to be the truth?
‘Hmmm.’
Since rebirth, Kim Gi-ryeo had experienced various types of humans.
Though there were good Earthlings like Ahn Yoon-seung among them.
What lingered in his mind were the powerful crimes he had witnessed, like kidnappings and terrorism.
When he thought back, being kidnapped or nearly robbed was all due to his weakness as an F-Class.
‘Underestimating Earthlings won’t do any good.’
Now it seemed he needed to put on a suitable front to survive.
Of course, lying wasn’t hard for him. He already had a useful excuse.
‘Alright. I’ll just repeat what I told that A-Class Hunter.’
With shamelessness,
Kim Gi-ryeo recycled the same rhetoric he had used on Ahn Yoon-seung.
“Ms. Seonwoo-yeon, what do you think of Awakening?”
Awakening isn’t the result of effort.
It’s merely something granted suddenly.
So I find this power uncomfortable.
If it can come without reason, it could just as easily disappear in a moment.
I don’t rely on my Awakening ability in my everyday life.
Naturally, things that can be solved should be done as such…
And various other thoughts. As Kim Gi-ryeo spoke nonchalantly, Seonwoo-yeon looked startled.
‘So that was the reason he doesn’t use his Awakening ability.’
In this era of skill supremacy, isn’t that attitude quite rare?
“Then when we fell into the B-Class Gate, was that why you hid your abilities?”
After reflecting on his words, Seonwoo-yeon asked.
At that, Kim Gi-ryeo scrambled to think.
“Well, that incident… I wouldn’t have been much help even if I had stepped in…”
“Why is that?”
“My ability is somewhat difficult to use around people…”
If he just boasted about being strong, he could end up involved in troublesome incidents later.
With a sense of crisis, Kim Gi-ryeo evasively answered.
But Seonwoo-yeon interpreted this statement quite differently.
‘He can’t use it around people? Does this mean an outstanding Hunter has a skill he can’t fully control?’
She tensed up.
Could it be that Kim Gi-ryeo was similar to the guild master of the Magic Tower, leaving a wide-ranging impact on his surroundings?
In that case, it made sense for him to voluntarily suppress his abilities.
While she understood that…
“Still, deceiving the Hunter Association is a separate issue, isn’t it?”
Due to her sense of duty as an Association employee, Seonwoo-yeon couldn’t help but urge him.
Wouldn’t it be better to reveal his true rank at this point?
Then Kim Gi-ryeo seemed to ponder for a moment, then lowered his gaze and quietly said,
“I’m sorry, but that would be difficult.”
“Uh?”
“Once you’re labeled as a high-ranking Awakened, there will be more situations where you have to use your abilities whether you want to or not.”
Hoo.
“I don’t want that. Please, I want to live quietly as much as possible.”
The narrative of hiding because he is too powerful and doesn’t want the world to trouble him.
While clichéd, it was an effective bluff.
“Got it.”
It actually worked wonders.
In the end, Seonwoo-yeon was momentarily deceived by his lie.
‘Ahn Yoon-seung’s speculation that he hides his abilities out of fear of Association interference must be right.’
After all.
If a being with Kim Gi-ryeo’s abilities were revealed to the world, it would surely cause chaos not just within the Association but also among various guilds.
‘Given such powers, it’s better for him to quietly stay hidden.’
Seonwoo-yeon felt a sense of relief.
‘Besides, it wouldn’t be fair to judge him as someone indifferent to worldly matters, considering the actions he has displayed recently…’
Yes. She finally felt like she could trust this Hunter.
“Thank you for sharing.”
Seonwoo-yeon exited the Gate with a satisfied expression.
And she suggested,
“Oh, by the way, you must be getting hungry. Shall we have a meal first?”
“Do you know any good places?”
“There is a restaurant I used to go to since I was young…”
Would she know? That Kim Gi-ryeo had been all talk throughout their conversation?
But there was no need for concern.
In the end, the one who would be at a disadvantage because of this conversation would be this Hunter.
“You’d be grateful for whatever I treat you to. I’ll eat well.”
Kim Gi-ryeo displayed a cheerful expression at Seonwoo-yeon’s offer of a meal.
A future engagement.
Little did he know that the press conference was being hastily moved forward in real-time.
*
Ding ding ding! Ding ding ding!
“Ugh, so noisy!”
The second day in Hadong dawned.
With the loud alert ringing, I immediately began preparing to go out.
I had an agenda today as well.
“Phew.”
The air in Hadong was fresh.
Being this far away, I felt like I could no longer feel the stalker’s gaze.
In any case, I felt like things were going well.
‘Smooth sailing.’
Once I finished getting ready, I headed straight to the meeting place.
The place I arrived at had a sign with a familiar name on it.
[15m ahead → Nest of the Murder Hornets (C)]
That’s right. Today was the day to gather materials for the magic power enhancer.
And the agent who would clear out the troublesome monsters was none other than this person.
“Seonwoo-yeon Hunter, are you all set?”
“Um, well, sort of.”
I said confidently to the hesitant B-Class Hunter.
“Then you can go in now.”
This was today’s task.
With the pretext of mastering skill usage learned yesterday, Seonwoo-yeon was entrusted with solo clearing of the Gate.
“Do I really have to do it alone? Is that okay?”
Seonwoo-yeon, a control mage, was lacking in confidence.
With her abilities, she could probably take out a high-ranking Hunter, so I couldn’t understand why she was so timid.
“Make sure to collect all the stingers from the Murder Hornets after clearing the Gate. I’ll check how many monsters you managed to take down with those.”
“Yes….”
“Don’t worry too much about it.”
I pointed towards the Gate entrance.
“This is only a C-Class Gate, so there’s no way anything major could happen, right?”
