Chapter 95

< Cut Part (1) >

After Seonghyun left, I had a hard time comforting Noah, who was feeling depressed because he thought he was useless. I told him several times that it was my responsibility since I was the one who hired him, but his gloomy face wouldn’t change. I had to explain in detail that it was really fine, that Noah’s value was significant, and that it was a beneficial deal for me, going through each point, before he finally seemed to understand.

In reality, it wasn’t a loss. On the contrary, it felt a bit unsettling that Seonghyun had stepped down so easily.

‘No matter what, he’s an S-rank Hunter, and to let go so easily...’

What kind of demands could he have? But it’s not like it’s forced. There was no evidence, and he readily accepted my offer to refuse if it seemed too much to handle. So far, the conditions were too favorable for me.

...He’s not the type to do something that would cause a loss. What’s his plan? Could it really be out of goodwill? I checked my child’s skill status window, but Seonghyun’s name wasn’t there.

‘Maybe I’m too prejudiced.’

I don’t know. I’ll be sure when I see what he wants from me.

More importantly, should I keep it a secret from Yuhun or should I report it? Why do I have to worry about such things? Still, I’m the older brother. I won’t hide it, but there’s no need to report it every time.

If he asks, I’ll tell him.

I couldn’t have missed hearing that Seonghyun came and went, but I didn’t hear from Yuhun until evening. After all, from a distance, it just looked like he delivered a flower basket, had a brief conversation, and left quietly. It would be strange to ask about it in detail.

Instead, I got a call from the Hunter Association, urging me to start producing Special Skill Awakeners and asking when I would resume identifying non-awakeners. It was a task I volunteered for, but seeing their eagerness to get free benefits made me feel uneasy.

If those people had managed the Awakening Center properly, I wouldn’t have had to step in.

‘If Song Tae-won were still alive, the Association would be the same, but I can’t just let him die.’

Wouldn’t it be better if Song Tae-won took over the Association? It’s strange that a national S-rank Hunter isn’t the Association President. Why doesn’t he have any ambition for power? Maybe I should try to persuade him to take over the Association for the country’s sake.

Besides, Yerim is going to the dungeon, so I was told to keep Peace hugging me tightly. After Yuhun and Peace returned from the S-rank dungeon, Peace’s stats were S even in human form. With Noah always on standby, I really don’t need to worry about my safety anymore.

- *Purr*

Peace made a pleasant purring sound and rubbed his body against my legs from head to tail. He seemed very pleased that Blue wasn’t at home. I thought they had gotten along better.

Blue had taken up residence on the circular pergola in the rooftop garden. As he grew larger, he found the house and the breeding facility too cramped and rarely came inside. I planned to build a special house for the griffin on the rooftop garden. He had made his own nest with branches and cushions, but it could easily be blown away by the wind.

“Wouldn’t it be easier if you could shrink like Peace?”

Unlike Peace, Blue seemed to keep growing throughout the training period, showing no sign of returning to his younger form. Comet, being a wyrm, might also want to go outside when he gets bigger.

I posted a video of the grown-up Blue being affectionate on social media. I’m worried he’ll want to expand his flight range once he’s fully grown. Thanks to the recent issue of Yuhun shortening the dungeon exploration time, the laws regarding monster breeding are expected to be relaxed soon. Still, many people will be concerned about large monsters flying around the city.

Maybe I should appear on more broadcasts to show that our Blue is so gentle and well-behaved. There are many requests, but...

‘If it doesn’t work, maybe I should buy some land in an uninhabited area and create a ranch or something.’

A beach area would be nice too.

I’ve been getting requests for monster breeding from overseas, but I’ve put them all on hold. The monsters I bought from Haeyeon are arriving one by one, but I haven’t brought them yet. Once the unicorns are registered and Comet finishes his first training, I’ll consider bringing more.

“Piyak, do you want to eat a mana stone?”

*Pip*

Piyak, who was taking out flowers from the flower basket on the table and laying them out, answered briefly. It meant no.

The more I look at them, the more I think they might be different species. Piyak, who loves mana stones and jumps around, and Piyak, who doesn’t eat mana stones but is curious and well-behaved. Even if their personalities are different, why doesn’t the well-behaved Piyak eat mana stones?

Myeongwoo finally appeared late at night. With his fear resistance turned off, a slight sense of intimidation could be felt from the heat emanating from him. It felt similar to being close to a large fire, even though it was just heat. Without fear resistance, meeting Ismuar might be quite scary.

“Are you okay? Are you getting enough rest?”

“I’m fine.”

Myeongwoo scratched the back of his head as he spoke. His words were one thing, but his face couldn’t hide his fatigue. Even with his stats increased, it’s not like he can push himself endlessly.

“What are you making that’s so difficult? No matter how good the item is, take care of your body first.”

Tsk, tsk, I sighed and poured the herbal medicine into a cup for him.

“It’s more complicated than I thought. I didn’t expect it to take this long.”

“Have you been trying to make an SS-rank item already? If it doesn’t work out, start with something easier to build up your proficiency and then try again.”

“I might as well finish what I started.”

He smiled, showing no intention of changing his mind. If I had known, I would have used my child’s skill growth to help with his proficiency. It would have been useful.

“By the way, do you have any more of those bracelets?”

“Those?”

Myeongwoo took out five transparent beads the size of a one-won coin from his inventory.

“I made them from the leftover fragments after cutting.”

“Cutting? What did you cut?”

“I’ll tell you later. They’re similar to the bracelet from last time.”

I took two of them. If they nullify damage, it would be good for Myeongwoo to have them as an emergency measure.

[Shallos’ Beads]

This time, they had a proper name, but there was no effect description.

“Shallos? Is that the name of the material you cut?”

“Yeah, something like that. I’m busy, so I’ll leave now.”

Myeongwoo put down the empty cup and disappeared as if fleeing. It’s suspicious. I narrowed my eyes and examined the beads in my hand. They seem familiar.

“...I don’t know what the material is, but to make such items from fragments...”

Then, what would come from the main body...?

‘Myeongwoo, that guy...’

It’s a bit scary. Getting good items is great, but it’s been a while since he got his skill. Is he pushing himself too hard?

“Hello, brother. You look healthy, which is a relief.”

The next afternoon, Moonhyun-a visited after finishing a dungeon run. I had brought Blue inside to train him because he kept playing pranks on the people building his house.

- *Squawk!*

“Oh, your griffin has grown a lot. I need to get a monster quickly. Thanks to you, there’s a global shortage. They’re not even showing up at the auction. It’s a complete drought!”

I stared blankly at the grumbling Moonhyun-a. What’s with that hairstyle? He had shaved off about two-thirds of his right side, and the remaining left side was dyed a deep reddish-brown, making it look even more radical.

“Your hairstyle... has changed?”

“It got burned that day. I decided to go all out.”

Was it that badly burned? Moonhyun-a swept his fallen hair to the side and smiled.

“What do you think? Does it suit me?”

“...It does, but didn’t people try to talk you out of it?”

“I got a lot of nagging! Especially from older people, who said it was inappropriate for a guild leader to look like this.”

Judging by his cheerful attitude, he clearly didn’t care about the criticism. Still, it’s a bit problematic for a guild leader. It’s cool, though.

...It suits him. Personally, I think this looks better. It’s cool.

“Why are you staring, brother? Are you smitten?”

“You’re worth looking at. And if you can’t get a monster, how about I take care of it first and help you find one? I’ve been turning down all the overseas breeding requests recently.”

“Really? Can you keep turning them down for a while? It might make it easier to find one. There are a few overseas guilds with several high-level monster babies.”

“I can’t take care of them for now, even if I wanted to. Seong is likely to bring out a baby monster from the A-rank dungeon he’s entering.”

It’s fortunate that the other two guilds are quiet.

“By the way, wasn’t this the first exploration of the S-rank dungeon you managed? I bet you got something good.”

I asked casually, even though I knew. It was definitely the tears of the white whale, a consumable item that grants skills to equipment, but it was an ice-based skill that didn’t suit Moonhyun-a, so it was put up for auction. It was quite a fuss at the time. Originally, it was bought by someone overseas, but now that we have Yerim, I want to buy it. It would be perfect for the SS-rank Mermaid Queen earrings.

“Of course! An elixir!”

“...An elixir?”

“Oh, you might not know. It’s incredibly rare. It’s almost like an extra life. Only two have appeared so far, and this is the first in the country.”

I know elixirs are rare, but... why is it appearing now?

“Anything else? Like a skill-granting item?”

“Skill-granting? If it had appeared, I would have used it and bragged about it. An S-rank gauntlet appeared, but it wasn’t that great for its rank.”

...It really didn’t appear. They didn’t just go in with two people like Yuhun, and the conditions for the S-rank dungeon exploration were the same as before the regression, with a short preparation period.

Confused, I pulled out my phone and looked up the dungeon exploration results from the past month. I had looked up a lot of dungeon information while trying to find brokers and awaken, but with five years having passed, I didn’t remember much. However, the few I did remember were exactly the same as in my memory. The white Sancros shield from the U.S., the lullaby book from the Philippines, and the wind-guiding bow from India.

All the famous items and equipment appeared, so why did the white whale tears disappear?

‘Is it because of the regression? Or is there another reason?’

The other three appearing correctly makes it more confusing. If it’s just a coincidence, it’s fine, but... should I ask the system administrators?

After talking a bit more about Ki-seung-su, I sent a text to Yuhun after Moonhyun-a left.

[I’m going into an F-rank dungeon in a day or two. With Peace. Not to level up.]

[System?]

The reply came quickly.

[Okay]

[I’ll go too.]

Is he not busy yet? If there’s another problem, I can just get another gate stone for Peace. I also have the Shallos’ Beads from Myeongwoo.

Still, I might as well keep the promise to check his skills. I hope nothing goes wrong this time.

I originally planned to bid on a suitable F-rank dungeon, but thanks to Yuhun, our destination changed to a D-rank dungeon managed by Haeyeon. Whether it’s F or D, it’s about the same level if there are no abnormalities.

‘This will just raise my standards unnecessarily.’

There are too many S-rank Hunters around. I’m starting to lose my sense of what’s normal, seeing only high-level Hunters at the breeding facility. It used to be the opposite.

I calmed down Piyak, who wanted to come along, and carried only Peace to the parking lot. I felt bad leaving Piyak behind, but how could I bring a fluffy, equipment-less ball of fluff? Maybe I should ask Myeongwoo to make items for Piyak. I’ll have to wait until he finishes what he’s working on, though.

The Hunters who are desperate to contact Myeongwoo are pitiful. There are even people who volunteer to guard the breeding facility, but Myeongwoo won’t come out.

When we arrived at the parking lot, Yuhun, who was leaning against the car, turned to look at me. Even in just a white summer shirt and comfortable pants, he looked like he could be in a fashion magazine. It’s not just the S-rank stats; he was good-looking even before awakening. Being born S-rank must have had some influence.

“You still look tired. Are you okay?”

“I didn’t get enough sleep. Now that Blue is outside in the garden, it’s fine.”

Once Comet grows, I’ll be free. But who knows when another nocturnal baby monster will appear.

We got in the car and headed to the dungeon building. Look at Yuhun not wearing his seatbelt. He should be more careful. As the saying goes, the water at the source must be clear for the water downstream to be clear.

< Cut Part (1) > End

ⓒ Geunseo