Chapter 68

< Blue (1) >

[Don't worry. There's no need to overdo it.]

[Let's just finish him off and leave.]

[What do you think?]

[We didn't even level up much.]

[It's fine! It's peace!]

[What are you talking about again? No.]

[I get it. Even if I go out secretly, don't say anything. Anyway, I don't have much to do for a while.]

The red eyes without whites quickly read the text floating on the window. Meanwhile, other notification windows kept popping up.

[Awakening Nalred Pahsamuh 10-level skill condition met]

[I-25 dungeon first clear]

[I-3 dungeon special clear B-2 achieved]

The 'Rookie' moved the fin-like appendages at the end of its body to check Nalred Pahsamuh's affinity information and process the rewards for the first and special clears. Since there were no special conditions for the rewards, the system handled them immediately upon acceptance. However, the 10-level skill had to be manually selected and connected from the options that matched the affinity and current state.

During this time, Han Yujin's chat window disappeared. He had left the dungeon.

After handling a few more tasks, the Rookie waved its long, flat fins and went to the lounge.

On a white chair that looked like a moon carved out, 'Droplet,' once the source of water in a world, was polishing a broken deer antler. The antler, made of translucent crystal, emitted a faint light.

"I was so nervous."

Sitting with its fins gathered in front, the Rookie sighed.

"I can only see part of Honey's conversation, so I don't know exactly what's going on. The atmosphere is not good. It's fortunate that this time it ended well, but isn't Honey's brother still a bit dangerous?"

Droplet smiled ambiguously at the Rookie's words.

"Since there's no precedent for the effects of the perfect caretaker keyword, or for it being applied multiple times, it's hard for us to predict. But we've already saved Honey's life once. If we nurture him well, he'll become the most reliable protector."

Droplet's words did not ease the Rookie's expression. Instead, the frown deepened.

"I guess I'm just more comfortable with typical heroes. The system is also more at ease with oracles than games. Of course, the most hands-off is a world that has evolved to virtual reality."

"Once it reaches virtual reality, it's like hitting a dead end."

"Exactly! That's why I like the Demon King Hero story the most! Being a god is fun too. Next time, I want to be the god of chicken and beer. The food in that area is usually bland. Fried, seasoned, soy sauce, garlic, spicy..."

As the Rookie listed the types of chicken, it suddenly remembered something and looked at Droplet.

"But what about the blacksmith? Doesn't he have potential too? Honestly, I'm worried and feel guilty about Honey. Can't we change the target?"

"It's different from Mr. Shallos. He had been a blacksmith for hundreds of years, but Yoon Myeongwoo has never even made a hoe. Thanks to Mr. Shallos' gift, he will grow quickly, but it will take at least 30 years to create mythic-grade equipment. Time is short."

Droplet twirled the deer antler in her hand and continued.

"If Honey fails, I'll move the blacksmith to the next world. All he needs is time."

"What about Honey?"

"We want to take him out, but will he accept it with that title?"

"Indeed. He would refuse. If we force him out, it would be too dangerous..."

The Rookie's long, drooping ears sagged. At that moment,

"This team is just a matter of time, right? Congratulations, congratulations!"

A translucent woman appeared suddenly. The ghostly woman stretched her neck out happily and laughed.

"But why is the rookie so glum?"

"It's the skill, it's unsettling."

"I heard. It is unusual, but the kid might be better off, don't you think?"

"Is that so?"

"Of course! It's much better than having no potential. Besides, our rookie, if this continues, you'll soon lose your rookie status, won't you?"

At that, the Rookie clapped its fins.

"Right! That's true! Ah, I want to decorate Honey's room. How should I decorate it? They said the people in that world love Christmas! A big tree, reindeer, a red Santa!"

"Sure, sure. We should enjoy ourselves. No need to frown. Let's raise a toast in advance!"

A clear glass of alcohol appeared in the ghost's hand. She raised it lightly and smiled.

"To the confined, rebellious children!"

-------------

"Once the skill is applied, it can be trained and grown even in daily life."

[Time to adult transformation (71:01)]

After about thirty minutes of enthusiastic ball throwing, the time was reduced by about twenty minutes. The efficiency is much lower, but if I pay attention for two to three hours a day, I can finish two months' growth in about a month.

I should.

"Don't increase the workload. Don't increase the workload."

Let's pretend I didn't know unless it's really urgent. If this fact gets out, I'll be pestered with requests to pay more attention to my child and engage in a battle of nerves. And there might be envelopes slipped into the toys.

But I should tell Yoo Hyun. I don't want him to get upset if he finds out I've been hiding something.

"You didn't use to be like this when you were young. Being a Hunter must be bad for your emotions. Peace, you mustn't change."

-Clang!

"Don't stop growing, though."

I didn't realize Peace had already grown to a sub-adult. Wait, does that mean we were actually unnecessary? Since it was designed to withstand C-rank, it could have broken out at B-rank. Yet it stayed in there obediently.

"Our Peace is so well-behaved."

-Grrr

Now I don't have to worry about Piyak attacking.

Since I was already in the training room, I played with Peace a bit more and then went upstairs. When I opened the front door, I heard the TV. Did Myeongwoo come home early?

But there was no one in the living room except Piyak.

"…Piyak?"

-Piyak!

Piyak, who was sitting on the sofa with the remote control next to it, turned to look at me. No way, did Piyak turn on the TV? How did it get up on the sofa? Looking around, I saw the basket where Piyak was kept lying upside down under the sofa.

Did it flip it over and use it as a step? Unbelievable.

"…Our child was actually a genius."

Look at this, it's even pressing the remote control with its feet. Should I send it to a talent show for animals?

"Our Piyak, watching TV all by yourself. What were you watching? Was it fun?"

-Pip! Pip!

It seemed to be explaining something, but of course, I couldn't understand. Is there an item to translate monster language anywhere?

"Sure, sure. You're so smart."

I put Peace down on the sofa and took out a mana stone from my inventory.

"This is the D-rank dungeon boss mana stone that Uncle Yoo Hyun caught."

It was quite large, considering it was from a high-level D-rank dungeon. It was almost as good as a C-rank regular mana stone. I thought it would definitely like it.

-Piyak

But Piyak didn't show much reaction.

"…Piyak? Are you hurt somewhere?"

One of the first signs that an animal is unwell is not eating. Can monsters be taken to a vet?

"Really not going to eat-."

-Piyak!

Oh, it's eating. It greedily picked up and swallowed the mana stone pieces with its small beak as if nothing had happened.

-Pip!

Then, after flapping happily,

-Clunk!

It slipped and fell under the sofa. Despite the basket being right there, it immediately hopped back up onto the sofa.

…Does eating mana stones make it a bit dumber?

The ship carrying the three monster babies purchased by the Hyeon Guild arrived at Incheon Port. One was top-tier, and two were high-tier.

Until they were loaded onto the ship, the monsters were only valuable as rare pets. They were also very expensive to feed compared to their purchase price. Even wealthy collectors of rare animals usually only bought mid-to-low-tier monsters. High-tier and above were difficult to manage without a mid-tier Hunter on site.

But now the situation has completely changed. Especially the top-tier monster baby, which is being sought after by major guilds worldwide, had Hyeon's Hunters spread out on the dock even before the ship docked. It seemed like everyone except the two teams in dungeon raids had come.

"Shouldn't Hyeon increase the number of Hunters?"

I said, standing by the dock and looking out at the sea. The salty smell of the sea was strong. It had been a while since I saw the sea outside the dungeon. I didn't have much to do. I've been living too strictly.

"Yerim will have to clear an S-rank dungeon soon, so we'll need to form a new S-rank team, right?"

Moreover, we can't maintain a small, elite team forever. As the number of dungeons we manage increases, the current number of people won't be enough. We'll need to recruit widely, from A-rank to B-rank and C-rank.

"I'll start increasing the numbers after sorting out MKC."

Yoo Hyun, who was looking at the same view, said.

"Hunter Park Yerim will form her own team."

"Form her own? Not matched by the guild?"

"S-rank teams are usually like that. S-rank Hunters have to find their own teammates. I did the same. If the guild interferes, it's harder to form a proper team."

"It's not easy to find unaffiliated A-ranks, and it's not easy to poach from other teams or guilds. Yerim will have a tough time."

Should I give Yerim a heads-up when I find an A-rank with combat affinity? She can take them directly into the dungeon and awaken them without waiting for the Awakening Center to open. It's easier to awaken combat skills optimally.

"By the way, bro, take this."

Yoo Hyun took a necklace out of his inventory and handed it to me.

"What is it?"

I pretended not to recognize it, even though I knew what it was as soon as I saw the small metal ornament and its design. It's still an extremely rare item.

"It's a translation item. Once the breeding facility opens, people will come from overseas, so you'll need it."

"You're giving me this even though you said you were blocking people from contacting me... I'm touched. You've really changed. I should have talked to you more."

"Where did you hear that?"

"The guild leader of Seongseong mentioned it casually."

More accurately, from Riet.

"Thanks. I'll use it well."

I was planning to get one anyway.

"Bro, it's been a while!"

At that moment, a familiar voice called out. Turning around, I saw the guild leader of Breaker, Moon Hyun-a, approaching with long strides. Her face, beaming with a mischievous smile, looked like a young boy's.

"Did the kids arrive safely?"

"They just docked. No unusual reports, so they should be fine."

Yoo Hyun answered. Moon Hyun-a, glancing at Yoo Hyun, turned and stood next to me.

"Everything okay while I was gone?"

"Everything's fine."

I just secretly went into a few dungeons, got a few new titles, killed a few people, and almost got locked up by my brother. It was quite eventful over a few days. But everything ended well, so it's fine.

These things happen in life, especially when you're in a loop.

"Bringing in three at once, won't you have one left over?"

"No, we won't."

Yoo Hyun said firmly.

"You didn't ask your brother."

"You don't have the authority."

"Be more considerate. Didn't we agree that the top-tier one would go to you? It's a waste to not use it in a few dungeons. How about lending it to me sometimes? It would be good for both of us to gain experience. What do you think?"

That's true. Honestly, it's a waste to keep it just for myself.

"You have a point, but it doesn't have to go to Breaker."

"Why not? Han Yoo-hyun, Park Yerim, and Seong Hyun-je, they all have preferences. But I don't. I just want something fast and strong."

"Do you only use S-rank Hunters for mounts? S-rank raid team members also need mounts to clear dungeons quickly."

It might be possible to give one to each A-rank Hunter in the future, but not right now.

"Besides, it can also be used as a substitute for S-rank Hunters."

Moon Hyun-a's expression turned sulky at my words.

"Stop being so picky and lend it to me at least once. I'm curious about the difference an attack with the top-tier mount's charge would make. I'm getting a headache just thinking about it. Let me at least see it!"

It's common for high-level combat Hunters to be obsessed with improving their stats, but is she really that curious to come here in person?

"I'll lend it to you a few times. But it won't be free."

"Of course! I'm not that shameless. Especially when it comes to my bro. Just name it."

At that moment, Yoo Hyun, who was on a call, hung up and said,

"They just unloaded the monsters."

"Really?"

Finally, I can see them. I'm curious about what kind of kids they are.

< Blue (1) > End

ⓒ Geunseo