Chapter 10

< Flame Horned Lion (1) >

After exchanging phone numbers with the future SS-class skill holder, Yoo Myeong-woo, I parted ways. Getting him to join the Haeyeon guild is another issue, but maybe I should try to convince Yoo Hyun that he can feel something incredible from Yoo Myeong-woo.

When I returned to the Haeyeon guild, it seemed that some rumors had already spread, and people were looking at me with curious eyes.

"Is that person the older brother of the guild leader?"

"I've never seen him before! He doesn't look much like him."

"Hey, older brother of the guild leader! Are you really an F-rank?"

People sure talk a lot. It seems most of them came just to see me; they should go home and rest on weekends.

"I am an F-rank, and please move aside."

Get lost, all of you. Everyone except the on-duty staff, go home.

At this point, I hadn't caused enough trouble yet, so there were no death glares or curses.

I started to hear trash talk regularly about six months later, after the Awakening Center was established and I awakened.

Right after the announcement that the Awakening Center would soon open, a few people came to me. They said they had high expectations for me, having an S-rank Awakened as a younger brother, and I entered the Awakening Center on its opening day with their sponsorship and awakened.

And, well, the result was F-rank.

There were many reporters there, and headlines like "The brother of an S-rank Awakened is also S-rank?!" were all over the place... After that, I got a lot of hate and criticism, and the sponsors who backed me started demanding contracts, leading to debt...

The debt is one thing, but the hate I received is still frustrating. Did I ask for articles to be written? They made up sensational stories and then criticized me. Go after the clickbait journalists, damn it.

Thinking about the past and the future, I felt like I was about to cry, so I quickened my pace. It's so unfair, damn it. I will definitely get revenge on those damn journalists. If it weren't for that incident, my life wouldn't have been half as ruined.

Especially Kim Seung-joon and Park Hae-shin. I'll never forget these two. They twisted my interview and stirred up trouble. Just wait and see.

I clenched my teeth and got into the elevator. To get to Yoo Hyun's place, I had to go through a security check on the 10th floor, then go to the portal room for another identity check before entering through a designated mini portal. I might as well move to the staff dormitory because of the hassle.

'So, where is my room?'

Yesterday, I was so impressed by the huge TV that I watched soccer and fell asleep on a sofa that was as comfortable as a bed. The soccer game was really boring.

Athletes, due to their physical prowess, often awakened at E-rank or higher. As a result, they retired one after another, and now only mediocre players remain in soccer, basketball, and baseball because those with E-rank stats or higher are not considered ordinary and cannot participate in games.

However, a league for C-rank and below Awakened is expected to be established soon. C-rank and below earn less than professional players, so there are many complaints.

'How many rooms does Yoo Hyun's place have?'

It occupies half a floor, so it's incredibly spacious. I opened one of the nearby doors, and it was empty.

"Living alone, so most of the rooms are probably empty. It's a waste of space."

Muttering to myself, I walked down the corridor. I hadn't been this way before... Oh.

An indoor garden surrounded by glass walls appeared. It's more like a greenhouse, isn't it? The trees are dense, and various flowers are growing wildly...

"Kyaaang!"

"Ah, what is it!"

As I walked along the glass wall, something cat-like jumped out from the bushes. It has red fur, a fox-like tail, and a single horn on its head, and it growled threateningly at me. I hope this glass wall is strong.

"That's a small thing, but it's quite fierce."

Is this a cage rather than a greenhouse? It doesn't seem to be an ordinary animal. What is it?

Just in case, I tried using the leaf skill on the cat.

[2nd Tier Unicorn Subspecies ? Flame Horned Lion (Juvenile)

Current Stat Rank: C

Potential Stat Rank: A~S

Initial Optimal Skill:

Flame Breath (S) - Acquired after growth

Flame Dash (A) - Acquired after growth

Gigantification (A) - Acquired after growth

Flame Resistance (A) - Acquired

※Cannot grow without the help of an adult]

"Is this cat a Flame Horned Lion?"

I couldn't hide my surprise as I looked at the growling cat.

A 2nd Tier Unicorn Subspecies Flame Horned Lion. With a high tier and being a Unicorn Subspecies, which is among the upper ranks of magical beasts, it has high stats, fast speed, and powerful skills, making it a monster that even an S-rank would find difficult to handle alone without proper elemental resistance.

It would have been easier for Yoo Hyun to handle due to his fire resistance.

'Did he catch it to tame it? Has an Awakened with the Taming skill already appeared?'

If taming is possible, it would be a great mount for Yoo Hyun. But it would also need to be possible to grow it. It's a dead end if it can't grow without an adult's help.

...Maybe my Baby skill works on monsters too? There was no mention that it only works on humans.

Let's try...

[The target is in an incomplete state of being moved by the keyword.]

The same message appeared as when I used it on Kim Sung-han. There was no indication that the skill couldn't be applied. It works on monsters too!

[If the Baby skill (L) is applied, the 2nd Tier Unicorn Subspecies ? Flame Horned Lion will take 15 days to mature.]

Another message appeared. Since it can be applied for 3 days every month, it would take 5 months to mature.

'Certainly, Yoo Hyun didn't have a mount even 5 years later.'

The higher the dungeon, the larger the interior, so having a mount is convenient. However, Yoo Hyun, due to his skill, couldn't ride a mount without A-rank or higher fire resistance. If he were attacked during movement, he might accidentally kill the mount while using attack skills.

'So, he caught the Flame Horned Lion but failed to grow it.'

The Taming skill can only tame monsters of a lower rank than the skill level. The Flame Horned Lion is at an S-rank level, so it can't be tamed unless it's a juvenile. But as a juvenile, it's at a C-rank, so a B-rank Tamer could tame it.

But it won't grow.

'He couldn't use it as a mount in its current state. If I grow it, it would be perfect.'

Even a common magical beast is treated like an S-rank item as a mount, so it's a waste to leave a magical beast with such a perfect attribute. As a Unicorn Subspecies, it's faster and more powerful than a regular magical beast. It's really top-notch.

But the keyword is the problem. Can it understand human language?

"Hey, kid. Can you understand human language?"

"Kraang! Kuk!"

"It can't understand, huh."

"Krrr"

Still, it would be a waste to give up. How can I train it? I've seen many dogs in animal farms that understand human language.

'I'm not sure if it needs to understand the keyword or if it just needs to feel the emotion from hearing it.'

The keyword itself can be somewhat flexible. In the past, the keyword "cheer up" worked even if I said "cheer up," "cheer up please," "cheer up," or "cheer up." So, as long as the meaning is roughly conveyed, it should work. But if understanding is required, it's a problem.

How do you teach love to a Flame Horned Lion?

'Let's experiment with this one to see which way it is.'

Like Pavlov's dog, if I say "love" every time I feed it, it will react. After learning that "love" means food, if I starve it for a few days and then say "love"...

Bang!

At that moment, a door opened as if it were about to break. It doesn't seem like someone else would do that in the guild leader's house, so is it Yoo Hyun?

Good timing. I need to tell him I'll try to raise the Flame Horned Lion.

"Yoo Hyun... Ah?"

As I went to the corridor to call him, his expression was not good. His eyes and mouth were tightly set, as if he was angry. What's wrong?

"Why? What-."

"Give it to me."

My brother approached me, growling. What, what? Is he talking about the gift card? The amount was too much, I guess. ...I almost used it all. Can it be refunded?

"Black Poison Pill."

"·...What?"

"Give it to me now."

Not the gift card? How did he know I bought the Black Poison Pill? The Hunter Shopping Mall guarantees privacy. Does the gift card send a payment notification?

"Why-."

"Give it to me."

His voice became more aggressive. His eyes were even glowing dark red. Thanks to my Fear Resistance, I'm not scared, but why is he acting like this?

"Wait, what-."

"Brother."

Let's talk. You're cutting me off.

If I resist, he might grab me by the collar, so I had no choice but to take out a Black Poison Pill from my inventory. I was planning to use it for solo F-rank dungeons. Do I have to give it all?

"The rest too."

When I took out the remaining two and offered them, Yoo Hyun's expression finally relaxed. He put the Black Poison Pills in his inventory and sighed.

"Why did you even think of that?"

"·...What?"

What are you talking about?

"Were you so desperate?"

My brother seems to be talking nonsense. Is he already affected by the heat? He has strong fire resistance.

"I don't know what you're talking about, but if it's about desperation, I'm more desperate. You're a reliable guy."

You're so trustworthy that I could probably get a billion won if I vouched for you. Of course, you shouldn't vouch for anyone, even family.

My words made Yoo Hyun's face contort. Why is he reacting like that when I said he's reliable? I wish I had a skill to read his mind.

"Don't say that. Brother, you... were even prepared to sacrifice your life for me."

...What? You're not against it? You died, and I came back to life because of that.

"Um... I don't really understand, but I-."

"If you were taken hostage, don't even think about using poison. I'll save you no matter what, so don't even think about dying."

"Wh-what?"

Poison? That's what it was!

Of course, he doesn't know I have poison resistance.

Black Poison Pill is a wide-area poison gas. If you use it without poison resistance, it would mean both of us die... It's understandable that he would misunderstand.

I laughed awkwardly.

"Hey, I wasn't thinking of that. Why would I die?"

"Brother...·"

He suddenly hugged me. No, don't do that. It's a misunderstanding!

"Thank you."

"Wait, that's-."

"But your concern is enough, so don't worry about me and take care of yourself."

...I've never worried about you.

Since Yoo Hyun reacted so strongly, I felt embarrassed to tell the truth and just nodded. It's also hard to explain why I have a high poison resistance skill that can handle Black Poison Pills. It would be suspicious if I said I suddenly got an L-rank poison resistance.

"By the way, Yoo Hyun. There's a red cat-like thing over there."

As I pulled away from his embrace, I asked. Yoo Hyun looked in the direction of the greenhouse.

"It's a Flame Horned Lion juvenile."

"Flame Horned Lion?"

"Yeah. You've never heard of it? It first appeared in an S-rank dungeon we cleared two months ago. I caught it to use as a mount, but it hasn't grown at all in two months."

Of course, it wouldn't grow. It's a magical beast that can't grow without an adult's help.

"The Tamer who tried to tame it said it needs special conditions to grow. We don't know what those conditions are, and since it's useless as it is, we plan to dispose of it."

"Dispose? Are you going to auction it?"

"No. We have to kill it. If it grows in someone else's hands, it could be a problem, especially if it falls into the hands of one of the three major guilds."

It was a cold statement. Even if it's a monster, you can develop feelings for it after raising it for two months. It's quite cute.

"That's a waste. Can't I raise it? Even as a juvenile, it's stronger than me. It could be useful in emergencies."

"It might be difficult for you to raise it. The food costs are not cheap."

"How much?"

"One C-rank magic stone per meal."

...Ten million won? Are you kidding?

< Flame Horned Lion (1) > End

ⓒ Geunseo

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