《SSS-Grade Cafe in Front of The Dungeon》 CH 1 PROLOGUE Korea¡¯s No. 1 Hunter Community ¨C Hunter Channel. Free Forum Board. ¡ª Ranking, The Slave Hunters Guild is banned. Real life player kill in the dungeon. *** [Information] Highly recommended good restaurants to the leveled hunters (136) Upvotes: 10 / Downvotes: 53 *** Writer: HingHangHong Hunters who were awakened in last month¡¯s B-Class Instance Dungeon should know this much, so please beware. Why franchise in the first place??? As you know, there are no good restaurants in front of the Hunter Guild. You¡¯ll be excited because it¡¯s a town where the buildings are brightly structured, but they¡¯ll charge you 50,000 for a bowl of soup. Now that you¡¯ve awakened, there must be some bugs who say that ?50,000 is cheap for a rice soup. Yeye. It¡¯s ?5,000 for a refill of Radish Kimchi hahahahahaha The soup tastes like a pig¡¯s foot are soaked in it. Don¡¯t waste your time and go to the franchise, yes. There¡¯s a two-story building in front of the back door of the Royal Guild Headquarters, the Whopper is so delicious. 3 minutes from the main gate of the Dungeon Management Office in Jongno 3-ga. Yep, I strongly recommend this restraurant to civil servant hunters. They serve a lot of side dishes, but the pork cutlet is delicious. If you don¡¯t go early, they run out and you can¡¯t eat it ???? I want to eat some too. Stop eating the pork cutlet. There are a lot of people, but if you say you¡¯re a Hunter, they will treat you well. For reference, this place runs by the head of the Emergency Dungeon Countermeasures team, A-Class Kang Hyunwoo¡¯s mother. If you pretend to be a hunter in this place, it won¡¯t look good. There¡¯s a time when Kang Hyunwoo himself kicked out a C-Class for trying to sucking up to him here. If you look at the first two, you¡¯ll think I am a cheap person. Yep, sometimes you need to to eat expensive foods too. It¡¯s near the Hunter Market Apgujeong branch. Address 27 Market 2nd Street. It will be easy to find because the signpost smells like money that refuses cheap people. It¡¯s expensive, but it has a good atmosphere and the dessert is served as a full course. It¡¯s nice place to talk because it¡¯s quiet when you get a room LOL Even if it¡¯s expensive, the wine is cheaper than a bottle of low-grade healing potion. Hunters belonging to CNL have a dinner party here. The Big 3 class is awesome ??. Extra. I don¡¯t know the name. There¡¯s a cafe in front of the Abyss Dungeon Gate. It¡¯s a neighborhood with nothing, but there¡¯s a cafe. There was something written on the sign, but I don¡¯t know what it meant. (Photo) Here. But the coffee is so delicious. I thought I was going to faint after taking one sip. I just ordered an Americano, but the smell is different. Try it. What should I say ¡­ anyway, it¡¯s super delicious. And I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s because of my mood, I drank two cups of coffee there and went to the dungeon to deal with the dungeon quest¡¯s mobs. I got hit because I missed my skill, but my stamina didn¡¯t wear out. It was an ice dungeon, but it wasn¡¯t cold; it¡¯s strange. Oh, there¡¯s a cat in the cafe, it¡¯s so cute. *** ¡ª Hamster-jjang: Shut up with the food articles. ¡ª HaHa: If you go to the guild, you can eat hamburgers. Pork and rice soup costs ?50,000 ©¸ Kim Seonghyeon: It costs ?80,000 for a Galbitang. ©¸ 10th Year Hunter: I am a 10th year hunter and I only eat hamburgers when I go to the guild. ¡ª My Name is Hing: The food taste in Etermore has changed TT ¡ª BY THE WAY: Hyunwoo¡¯s pork cutlet is so delicious ©¸ OO: Isn¡¯t it famous for Kang Hyunwoo, not for the food? ©¸ dda***: What are you talking about, you bastard? ©¸ Buy me a Golem: Did you also get kicked by Kang Hyunwoo? ©¸ MM: God Hyunwoo ^^ ©¸ arc: ***God Hyunwoo ^^ ¡ª Weak-Jin: CNL was having a dinner party in Etermore? frickin envy; ©¸ Elixir Dasam: I hope there are no hunters who want to go to CNL after seeing this article. They thrown the B-class hunters into third-tier party and they don¡¯t even take the advanced dungeons. A structure that benefits only the long-term. ©¸ I love you Eunrang: Yeah, it¡¯s right. This story if famous. Just pay and eat at Etermore. ©¸ OO: It¡¯s better to delete this, Elixir. CNL Legal Team manages the SNS. ¡ª Double Bianco: What is it, other than sleep, there¡¯s a cafe in front of the Abyss??? I¡¯ve never seen anything like that??? ©¸ DungDungTakTak: It¡¯s to be viral hahahaha secretly putting a shop to be viral among famous restaurants ©¸ HingHangHong: It¡¯s not viral. It was really awesome. Why do I need to make it viral? ©¸ Little Pink Jelly: Why aren¡¯t you posting pictures of the cat? ©¸ HingHangHong: That cat is quick-witted. When I try to take out my camera, it hides. TT Oh, there¡¯s also a slime. ¡ª OO: Even if it¡¯s for virality, is it make sense that a coffee drink can keep your strength intact? Stop exaggerating ©¸ GreenOnionForever: If that¡¯s the case, instead of potions, they¡¯ll run around dungeon drinking coffee ©¸ wab***: HingHangHong, were you perhaps attacked by a mental monster? LOL ¡ª Selling Human Rights: You need to drink potion, but instead you drank coffee, HingHangHong must be a C-Class. ©¸ HingHangHong: It¡¯s not viral marketing!!!!!! Just try it yourself and speak!!!! ©¸ OO: Tut Tut. Are you proud that you made a skill mistake with a mob hahahahahahahahahahahaha ¡ª HingHangHong: It¡¯s unbelievable, but it¡¯s really not a viral marketing. It¡¯s not a shame to be a C-class. Why are you making fun of me with grades, you old-fashioned bastards TT The coffee was truly godly TT *** [Chatting] Is this the viral cafe? (5) Upvotes: 9 / Downvotes: 1 *** Writer: Lime Love Team (Photo) I had a business on Abyss neighborhood so I went there, is this the one, right? It¡¯s out of town. *** ¡ª OO: I think it¡¯s right? The building looks the same. [Link] ¡ª red***: Why did they set up a cafe there? I feel sorry because they were fooled by the real estate¡¯s owner. ¡ª Lime Love Team: It looks like they are open because the lights are on. Shall we go see hahaha ©¸ LottoJackpotWish: HingHangHong viral attempt is succesful????? ©¸ HingHangHong: It¡¯s not for viral!!! *** [Chatting] I went to that cafe earlier. (with photo proof) (14) Upvotes: 15 / Downvotes: 1 *** Writer: Lime Love Team (Photo) Coffee certified haha I ordered a cafe latte based on the owner¡¯s recommendation. Delicious rich taste. The coffee is really savory and soft LOL It tastes much better than buying it in front of the guild headquarters. I¡¯m not tired and my body is not cold, this makes no sense hahahaha I¡¯m not that savvy enough hahahahahahahahahahahaha The taste is A+. *** ¡ª zba***: Is the coffee that good? Shall I go too? ©¸ Lime Love Team: yes yes the taste yum ©¸ Heonchanzeekimi: HingHangHong viral success?????? ©¸ HingHangHong: It¡¯s not for viral¡ª The bastards who didn¡¯t believe me when I said that¨D¨D ¡ª Little Pink Jelly: Is there a cat? Post the picture ©¸ Lime Love Team: I only can take this ©¸ Little Pink Jelly: There¡¯s no picture of the cat? There are only slimes ©¸ Lime Love Team: The cat is quick to noice, it¡¯s hiding. The red slime is big. ¡ª Lime Love Team: Huh??? I¡¯m about to go out after eating, but I saw a person from Cheongra Guild ©¸ MM: Heol LOL go get your autograph ©¸ ddd***: Crazy, why did you get autographs hahahaha ©¸ MM: You won¡¯t get autographs if you see Cheongra? ©¸ ddd***: Already lined up with papers ©¸ Weak-Jin: What¡¯s up with the guys above hahahahahahahahahaha ©¸ Lime Love Team: I think he¡¯s a reguler; Handsome. Age. 60 years old. My chest. Ddum ddum. ©¸ DungDungTakTak: What are you saying? hahahaha typing in a hurry ©¸ OO: Heol Cheongra, should I go there too? *** [Chatting] I went to the cafe in front of the dungeon and came into the dungeon (8) Upvotes: 1 / Downvotes: 17 *** Writer: Lime Love Team Testimonial. I¡¯m sorry for doubting you, HingHangHong. 100% crit boost when using skills. It¡¯s a skill that has less than 10% crit rate, but it¡¯s a critical hit every time I use it; this is the first time it happened. It¡¯s splendid. *** ¡ª HingHangHong: Do you understand now? ©¸ Lime Love Team: It¡¯s gleaming m__m ¡ª Hellfire Dumpling: Lime Love too, you are the same with HingHangHong tut tut ©¸ Lime Love Team: I feel like I¡¯ll get a crit if I hit you ^0^ ¡ª OO: Is there a potion in the coffee? hahahahaha ©¸ rtj***: Is there anything left to sell if you add potions to coffee? LOL ©¸ Lime Love Team: I feel sorry for those who don¡¯t know this taste TT *** [Flexing] Hit a full jackpot on the Enchantment HAHAHAHAHAHA Upvotes: 33 / Downvotes: 5 *** Writer: Cave Black Gomtang (Photo) I was prepared to ruin the item and ran an S-class enchantment, but it was a success hahahaha I actually went to that cafe. The viral cafe in front of the dungeon that HingHangHong visited. I drank the coffee there. I think the coffee is magical. *** ¡ª OO: CKCKCK Congrats ¡ª OO: Awesome. I am so jealous. ¡ª Weak-Jin: S-Class Enchantment, I¡¯m nervous, so how do I turn it; I¡¯m giving away a house ¡ª Cherry Dumpling: You said you went to that cafe??? ©¸ Cave Black Gomtang: I just went there because Lime Love saw a person from Cheongra guild there, and I tasted the coffee ©¸ Cherry Dumpling: Whoaa ¡­ shall I go too ¡­ *** [Chatting] I came to the cafe in front of the dungeon. (with Proof) (2) Upvotes: 7 / Downvotes: 0 *** Writer: Cyber Cuisine King (Photo) There are too many people, so I can¡¯t eat and just go back ???????? Those in the picture are all rankers. I see more rankers there than in Hunter¡¯s Night hahahahahahahaha Where did all the people who said HingHangHong is a scammer go? *** ¡ª Echanted Amazing Dream: I waited for two hours TT ¡ª OO: But what is the name of this place? No signboard? ©¸ ddd***: It¡¯s like ¡­ what did they say. *** This isn¡¯t it. It definitely wasn¡¯t this. ¡°Yes, two Americanos, please.¡± The ordered menu was served quickly, but the line showed no sign of shrinking. Where are all the customers coming from? I just ¡­ I just wanted to relax! I quit being a salary slave, and now I¡¯m becoming a coffee slave. CH 2 Page One: A hundred cups of instant coffee When I died, the resentment came. If I had known I would die like this, I would have ordered chicken yesterday. I¡¯ll try the hotel buffet that I¡¯ve only seen through blog posts every day. I should have used my annual leave and go to a trip. I should¡¯ve stopped working overtime. I should¡¯ve quit the company¡­¡­! It was really unfair to die in vain after working from morning to night every day. Huh? I felt something strange after grumbling to myself for a long time. I¡¯m dead, so why is my consciousness this clear? This cozy and soft feeling wrapped around my body was like the bed blanket in my room. Perhaps you will see flashing memories like a phantasmagoria the moment you die. Does a phantasmagoria mean that you can feel the texture so vividly? Furthermore, I couldn¡¯t sleep because the cell phone alarm rang loudly next to me. I waited for the phantasmagoria to end quickly and lose consciousness, but my mind became clearer and clearer. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s noisy¡­.¡± I finally woke up at the sound of the alarm. I could see the bed, the desk, and the messy interior of the room. I, I went back to the time before I died. *** It is said that it is the age of the Hunter. Hunter, a capable man who exerts transcendent power through ¡®awakening¡¯, first appeared in the world 20 and 3 years ago. And they defeated monsters pouring out of dungeons from all over the world and restored peace to mankind. The world raved about these saviors. Children envied Hunter more than celebrities and sports stars. The largest Hunter Guild, called the Big 3, has a market capitalization that exceeds any large corporations, and every move of the top ranked hunters is in the news every day. If you become a hunter, you can earn a lot of money and fame. Many people dreamed of becoming a hunter instead winning a lottery, and the educational institution established by the state to systematically train hunters recorded a competition rate of thousands to one. However, it has nothing to do with me. I am not awakened, nor am I knowledgeable about hunters or dungeons. [The veiled A-class dungeon attacker ¨C Big 3 Guild remains silent] [The salary of attacking a dungeon is a billion won?] [Preparing for retirement with the legendary item farming!] Those articles didn¡¯t interest me at all. I don¡¯t care who attacks the dungeon. I have to go to work! The company that I worked for from morning to night was a place where I can earn monthly salary. Overtime pay? Of course there¡¯s no such thing. No meal. No annual leave. No weekend pay. I repeated this life of working overtime every day and barely getting on the last train to go home. I was unlucky that day. On that day, I was working overtime and on my way to catch the last train. By the way. ¡°Ugh, Aaaargh!¡± ¡°It¡¯s Dungeon! Someone, report it to the Dungeon Management Office!¡± ¡°Miss! Be careful!¡± In front of the subway station, a rift, or a hole in the space that leads to a dungeon, suddenly appeared. When dungeons occur, the Dungeon Management Office blocks the general public from entering, and then cooperates with each guild to attack the dungeon. This is because if the dungeon boss is not defeated within the time limit, a dungeon break will occur and monsters will pour out from within. It is common for dungeons to appear like this, so people evacuated in unison and contacted the authority. The problem is that the rift happened at my feet. When I noticed it, my feet was already stepped on the rift. I was sucked into the dungeon. I don¡¯t remember exactly what happened in the dungeon. It might have erased from my memory because I was terrified. It was certain that I was chased by monsters and ran away. Anyway, I entered the dungeonas a normal person and died at the hands of a monster. I remember vividly the eerie feeling when the monster¡¯s front foot stabbed me. Dungeon death on the way back home from the company. I can¡¯t believe there¡¯s such an unfair life. I grumbled that I could not close my eyes in peace because of anger. Grumbled is a mild expression, in fact I poured out numerous abusive language. But when I opened my eyes, I was on the bed in my room. I went back to three years ago. ¡°Eh?¡± At first I thought I was dreaming, then I was happy, and finally I was skeptical with this situation. Why did I come back to life? I¡¯ve never heard of someone coming back to the past after being killed by a monster in a dungeon. It also goes back to three years ago. What does this mean? Is there anything I need to do in this second life? Eh, I don¡¯t know. Nevertheless, it¡¯s a great gain. Maybe the Dungeon took pity on my miserable life and gave me one more chance. Anyway, I decided to live my second life differently. Bye to a life full of slavery suffocated by overtime work! Goodbye. I throw away all the shackles and restraints of this world and go for freedom! *** It took less than a few days to resign and organize my luggage. Perhaps it was regrettable that the slave escaped, the boss tried to prevent me, but I left without even listening his words. I had survived to the fullest, but I couldn¡¯t devote my youth to a black company like this. The next place I headed was The White Silver Guild. When I opened the door of the guild chief¡¯s room, I saw Kwon Jiwoon looking through the documents. It finally hit me. I¡¯m really back in the past. I called him with a warm welcome. ¡°Oppa, long time no see.¡± ¡°What?¡± Kwon Jiwoon looked at me with eyes like he has seen a ghost. ¡°What¡¯s going on all of a sudden? Did you have an accident?¡± What? Did you notice that I have returned? Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s the same as usual? Do I have any marks on my face? ¡°Ah ¡­ No, nothing happened?¡± ¡°I was wondering why you suddenly giving me goosebumps. You never call me that.¡± My affectionate heart broke in an instant. Yeah. I never did. That sarcastic tone made me realize that I had returned to the past. After my parents died when I was young, I lived with my uncle, and I grew up with my cousin Kwon Jiwoon. We live separately now, but we stayed in the same house until we were 20. As there are no other siblings, we¡¯re like each other¡¯s only family. It sounds like we¡¯re pretty close to each other, but in reality, we¡¯re not. Rather, our relationship was close to awkwardness. Kwon Jiwon is the deputy guild leader of The White Silver Guild and an A-class healer. His alias is Eunrang. He ranked as the 12th healer in the country and he often appears on television, due to his striking appearance, he is also often featured in Hunter magazine. It was all thanks to Kwon Jiwoon¡¯s fame that The White Silver Guild, which is smaller than the Big Three, was widely known. In addition, since my uncle, the guild leader, went missing a few years ago, he has been acting as the guild leader. As such, Kwon Jiwoon was insanely busy. No matter how close I was to him when when we were young, I had no choice but to feel distant from him as an ordinary person. ¡°Don¡¯t show any interest in Hunters or anything like that, and just stay as a normal person.¡± It was what Kwon Jiwoon often said when we met occasionally. Did he think I¡¯d ask him a favor? That¡¯s why I got a job right away to show that I was doing well, but I didn¡¯t know it would be such a black company. ¡®Now that I think about it, it was pointless¡­.¡¯ I watched Kwon Jiwoon sitting across from the drawing room. Kwon Jiwoon looked a little younger than I remember. I¡¯m 23 years old now, so he¡¯s ¡­ he must be 25 years old. Due to the influence of the healer skill, the hair that turned silver was very conspicuous. Although he has a colorful appearance, his expression is cold, and his eyes are slightly dark. He looked tired. ¡°I heard you quit your job.¡± He asked me after I looked at his face but didn¡¯t say anything for a while. Maybe someone from the guild has told him the news. ¡°Let me know if anything happens.¡± As if he were tired, Kwon Jiwoon sighed softly. There is no reason to go around in circles with boring greetings. I got straight to the point. ¡°It¡¯s not like that, but there¡¯s something I want to do after I quit the company.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to open a cafe.¡± Even though I said that, I thought Kwon Jiwoon would naturally oppose it. What is it like to be self-employment? It¡¯s said that 100 people start and 99 people fail. In particular, jobs such as cafes with low entry barriers were often go bankrupt if they were set up without thorough preparation. If it¡¯s Kwon Jiwoon, there¡¯s more than enough reason to go against it. However, there was a reason that I wanted to open a cafe and nothing else. How to persuade him? As I was thinking about such things, Kwon Jiwoon made an unexpected statement. ¡°Sure? There¡¯s an empty spot on the first floor of our guild building. Let¡¯s open a cafe there.¡± ¡°¡­Huh? No, there¡­.¡± ¡°Why? You don¡¯t like it? I can start emptying it tomorrow.¡± On the first floor of The Silver White Guild headquarters, it was a downtown area among the bustling streets, it was a place famous for high land prices in Seoul now. This area where ?50,000 is an average price for a bowl of soup is a place where no matter how much coffee you sell, you cannot afford the rent. Usually there was a bank for hunters or a store that sold expensive hunter supplies. ¡°Oh, you don¡¯t have to worry about the rent. I have no intention of taking money from you.¡± Kwon Jiwoon added as he guessed that it was the money that caused me to panic. I waved my hand in a hurry. I¡¯m not advertising that I¡¯m a cousin of the deputy guild leader, and it¡¯s burdensome to open a store in that location. We¡¯re not that close, so I don¡¯t know why he¡¯s suddenly making such a proposal. Furthermore, I already had a certain place in my plan. ¡°No, I¡¯ve already decided the location.¡± ¡°Really? Where is it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s on the No. 16 Dungeon Gate 3 Street, Jung-gu, Seoul.¡± ¡°Huh? That place is¡­.¡± Kwon Jiwoon frowned at the address I told him. ¡°It is in front of the great dungeon?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m going to open a cafe in front of the dungeon.¡± I declared with a wide smile. *** No. 16 Dungeon Gate 3 Street, Jung-gu, Seoul In other words, it was an address that pointed to the entrance of the great Dungeon, Abyss, in Jung-gu, Seoul. Twenty years ago, this space appeared in the middle of Seoul and a large dungeon appeared. This tower-shaped dungeon continued endlessly high, unlike the instance dungeon that was created from rifts. If you attack one floor, a gate that leads to the next floor appears. And in front of this dungeon was also the place where the cafe run by my late grandmother was located. Of course, back then, it wasn¡¯t a questionable address called ¡®Dungeon Gate 3 Street¡¯, but an ordinary shopping street. The surroundings were all demolished, and even though it wasa downtown Seoul, there was only a lonely silence there. That¡¯s why no one is going to live in front of a dungeon, with uncertainty that something will happen. Unless that person is like my grandmother. After the appearance of the great dungeon Abyss, the surrounding shops received government compensation and demolished their buildings, but my grandmother remained there. She kept her shop until the day she passed away, despite her children stopped her because it was dangerous. It was the reason why I decided to open my cafe there. When I was young, whenever I went to my grandmother¡¯s cafe after school, she always made me a cup of hot coffee. The sweet taste and cozy space was definitely a precious memory. In the past life, I left my grandmother¡¯s cafe empty because I was busy working at a company. The fact was weighed on my mind, and I wanted to restore it to the comfortable space it used to be. In fact, there is also a realistic reason that it does not cost much money. Although it was old, the building of my grandmother¡¯s store remained intact. I¡¯m thinking of living on the second floor of the store, so I don¡¯t need to pay not only the store rent, but also my living rent. It¡¯s the perfect place to open a cafe with a small amount of money. The last reason is that there are no people and it is a quiet place. After opening a cafe, why am I looking for a place where there are no people? That¡¯s right. I¡¯m returned at best condition, but of course I don¡¯t have any intention to work hard. Most of all, I wanted to rest. In a cozy and comfortable cafe, just like when my grandmother was there. I don¡¯t need to have many customers. It is enough to sell coffee to hunters who sometimes want to enter the dungeon. A life where you work less and rest more. My goal is YOLO life. *** After cleaning up my living room, I headed to my grandmother¡¯s cafe. The abandoned building was very old. I couldn¡¯t see where the sign had gone, and there was a creaking sound every time a door was opened. There was a lot of preparation that I need to do before the cafe can be opened. The first step is cleaning. It took a whole day to sweep and wipe the dust inside. It was difficult, but I felt much more comfortable than when I was working at the company. As I got tired, I naturally gravitated towards coffee, but right now there was only instant coffee. I looked around as I drank coffee mix in a paper cup. ¡°What is this?¡± But there was a square television in a small room inside the store. Was it used by my grandmother? Out of curiosity, I looked around. However, there was no company mark on where it was made, and there was no power button. ¡°¡­Whoa!¡± At that time, the lights turned on and letters appeared on the screen. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.. [Checking your qualifications] [We¡¯ve confirmed that you¡¯re qualified]] [You have finally come, the child who inherited the blood of the right person. I am the one in charge of the system, have been waiting for you¡­..] I don¡¯t know what you mean. It¡¯s too long. I pressed [SKIP]. CH 3 Translated by cabinfourtranslations. The letters passed quickly as if the screen was fast-forwarded. I tend to skip the whole story even when I play games. I don¡¯t know what it is, but it didn¡¯t seem like a big deal. It has nothing to do with me. Soon the letters were skipped and a new screen appeared, and this time there was an input window. [Name: Age: Blood type: ] Are you asking me to enter the answers? I can ignore it, but I was a little curious about what would come out. ¡®My name is right, my age is ¡­ I was 26 years old before I returned to the past, so I am 23 years old. My blood type is O¡­.¡¯ I entered the answer by pressing the button on the television screen. This strange television question continued. [Which of the following is the most important thing for you?] The answer, obviously, is number four. Sure, money is important, but what¡¯s the use making money then dying without spending it? After all, money is also needed for number four. I didn¡¯t realize that until I died. At least, I wanted to spend this life leisurely. I¡¯m going to take the route of the work-life balance that I¡¯ve only been hearing about. [What do you usually do on your day off?] I chose number four again this time. When I had a day off, I was busy just making up for my lack of sleep. Self-development? Exercising? At the most, the exercise equipment I ordered was tucked away in the closet without even opening the delivery box. Socializing? With only a few friends, I sporadically reported my survival through KakaoTalk. [You overslept on your day off, but your friend called you to meet them. What will you do?] Go out to meet the friend. Ask them to meet next time and continue sleeping. The answer is undoubtedly number two. It¡¯s so important to oversleep. A few more silly questions followed. I don¡¯t know the intention of this question, but I chose the answer that I want to rest, relax, and play at all costs. It¡¯s like a psychological test. [The test is over] [Check the results] Finally, the last message appeared on the black screen, and a door suddenly appeared on the wall behind it. When I was cleaning a while ago, it was definitely a wall with nothing. ¡®Are you telling me to go in there?¡¯ ¡­ Gulp. Even a bluish light leaked from the door. The strange aura, which looks different from the store¡¯s fluorescent lights, resembled a dungeon gate. ¡®It¡¯s not like a dungeon, is it?¡¯ In my previous life, I¡¯ve only entered a dungeon once when I was caught in a rift. And the result was death. If there is a dungeon beyond this door, I never want to enter it. I cannot die again after only a few days have passed since I returned. Moreover, being stabbed in the stomach by a monster was extremely painful. It¡¯s an experience I don¡¯t want to repeat. I stepped back slowly in front of the door. But at that moment. [We are waiting for a visit from the qualified person. Please open the door and check the result.] A beeping sound came from the television along with the message. What¡¯s more suspicious, the more I stepped backwards, the louder the sound became, and I still could hear it even when I covered my ears. I shouted, shaking my head with my ears closed. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m not going! I will not going in!¡± I have dungeon trauma, and I am allergic to dungeon, and I am suffering from dungeon phobia. No, you can call it anything. I didn¡¯t want to go in there regardless. [We are waiting for a visit from the qualified person. Please open the door and check the result.] This time, I heard the voice directly in my head. I was horrified by the strange feeling. What¡¯s beyond that door that keeps telling me to come in? ¡°Should I report it to the Dungeon Management Office?¡± There were several emergency call numbers to urgently report a dungeon. Yes, it is best to leave the dungeon to the Hunter. However, as soon as I tried to take my cell phone out of my pocket, the floor vibrated with a woooh sound. ¡°¡­.Whoaaa!¡± I dropped my phone because of that, and it quickly went into a gap out of reach. There was still a door emitting a bluish light in front of me. As if entering the door was the only answer given to me. Er, I don¡¯t know anymore. It¡¯s a place where my grandmother used to live, so it¡¯s probably not something dangerous. It was scary, but I honestly wondered what the outcome of this strange test was. All right, once I open the door, and if I think a monster will come out, I¡¯ll run away quickly. I will just take a peek. If I don¡¯t think it¡¯s safe, I¡¯ll head out. Determined to do so, I closed my eyes tightly, opened the door, and went inside. As soon as I opened the door, a bluish light wrapped around me and the landscape changed. ¡°Uh?¡± Only the cold air touched my hand that was holding the doorknob. The door that had been here a while ago was gone. Huh, I¡¯m trapped. It was impossible to head out because there was no door. That strange television must have tricked me! After all, I should have reported it right away without opening the door ¡­ but who would have thought that the door would disappear altogether! ¡°Aaargh, let me out! Save me!¡± [We have confirmed the visit of the qualified person. Creating an agent.] I screamed, but all I could hear was a calm voice. Wait, where does this sound come from in the first place? Only then did I look around slowly, a little genuinely. The place I entered was a lawn surrounded by forest. It was about twenty steps wide from end to end, and the dense forest was covered with thick fog and could not be seen. Even though it was past 7 in the evening., the blue sky and bright sunlight showed me that this place was a space. It was a peaceful atmosphere compared to an usual dungeon full of tension. A gentle breeze blew from somewhere. Isn¡¯t this a dungeon? In general, there were many indoor forms of dungeons that occurred in rifts, such as caves and tombs. I¡¯ve heard that sometimes there are structures that are uniquely exposed to the outdoors, but I¡¯ve never heard of a dungeon with the sun floating in the blue sky like this. Still, that¡¯s not the point. I had to find a way out wherever I was. I looked at the lawn to see if there was a hidden door, and that¡¯s when I noticed that there was a small flower bush here. There was a cat on a flat stone by the bush. The cat with tricolored fur was taking a nap on the stone. The fur was smooth and the body ,with plenty of flesh, looked soft. Did the chat come through that door like me? As soon as I approached it carefully not to wake them up, I heard a voice in my head again. [I¡¯ve been waiting for your visit. Please name the agent.] What is an agent? Maybe this cat? ¡°¡­.Name it? Are you asking me?¡± I asked that, but there was no answer. Instead, a guide window appeared in front of me. [Enter a name: ] It was this mysterious message that called me here. Anyway, I guess I¡¯ll have to do what this message tells me to get out of here. With that in mind, I put my hand on my forehead and started contemplating the name. It¡¯s a name for the cat¡­. Name for a cat ¡­ name for cat ¡­ cat, meow¡­. ¡°Meong?¡± After all, this is the only right name for a cat. However, the system rejected it with a beep sound. [Agent rejects this name.] ¡°What¡¯s wrong with Meong?¡± It¡¯s a traditional cat¡¯s name. [This is an agent for you. Please think about it seriously.] [Enter a name: ] I was incredibly serious. I reluctantly thought of the name again, but couldn¡¯t come up with a good name. In the first place, I was a person with no sense of naming. Butterfly ¡­ no, it¡¯s a little out of place. Dumplings? nope, it¡¯s really bad. It has three types of hair color, three colors, umm ¡­. well¡­.. Then a name crossed my mind. How about Mieum? My name, Kwon Rieul, was given to me by my grandmother. The meaning is literally Rieul. Giyeok, Nieun, Digeut, then Rieul. The name was given because I was my grandmother¡¯s fourth grandchildren, but I don¡¯t know my older cousins aren¡¯t Giyeok, Nieun, and Digeut, yet I¡¯m the only one who¡¯s Rieul. Originally, they was going to register my birth as ¡®Kwon D¡¯, but the civil service official rejected it and my name became ¡®Rieul¡¯. I don¡¯t even know your name or face, but thank you. You saved my name. The justice and duty of the civil service was there. I bowed my head in the direction that the community center was likely to be. Anyway, I thought the name Mieum would be good because it was a cat I found in this space of the store that my grandmother left me. It literally means Mieum after Giyeok, Nieun, Digeut, and Rieul. The word M. ¡°¡­.Mieum?¡± I was terrified that the tricky notification message would reject me again, but I couldn¡¯t hear anything anymore. Did it pass? Instead, Mieum opened her eyes in front of me. ¡°¡­.Meooong!¡± The cat continued to stretch. The fur wiggled softly, and the round-tipped tail soared upward. The chin was round and the belly with plenty of flesh looked soft. It¡¯s a cute. I forgot that I had been looking for the exit door just a while ago, and casually approached Mieum then reached out my hand. Can I touch your stomach? I was about to pat her plump belly with my fingers. Tak. Mieum, who slapped my hand with her front paw, looked at me with squinted eyes and said, ¡°Uh-huh, don¡¯t touch me carelessly.¡± I got scolded by a cat. ¡°Eh?¡± I turned my head in doubt at what I had just heard. Who just said that? but there was still only me and Mieum here. ¡°I told you so.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a cat. You can talk?¡± ¡°Meow, do you think I¡¯m an ordinary cat? I was waiting for a qualified person to visit me as an agent running the system. I thought I was going to die waiting for you. Anyway, put your hand up here.¡± Mieum held out her round front paws. I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about, but I wanted to touch the pink jelly on her front paw, so I held out my hand as I was told. At that moment, a translucent window appeared in front of me with a tingling sound. [Checking the qualifications ¡­ Completed. The system has been activated.] [Ability is granted according to the test result.] [Class: Awakened as a Cafe Owner (F).] [Skill: Cafe in my Hand (C) has been acquired.] [Skill: The Floor is Shiny (E) has been acquired.] [Skill: Smile (C) has been acquired.] [Achievement: Became a Beginner Cafe Owner.] [Quest: Start 100 cups of Mixed Coffee (0/100)] Huuh? I think ¡­ I am awake now. [Next] Translator¡¯s Corner: About the name, Rieul is the fourth consonant in Korean alphabets (Hangul) and Mieum is the fifth. The order is giyeok (??), nieun (??), digeut (??) dieut, rieul (??), then mieum (??). In English, it would be like naming your children A B C D E. Mixed coffee is instant coffee. In South Korea, instant coffee commonly comes pre-mixed with non-dairy creamer and sugar that¡¯s why it is called ¡°coffee mix¡±. I want to keep the coffee in the end of sentence so I¡¯ll write it as mixed coffee. CH 4 Translated by cabinfourtranslations. I was perplexed by the awakening notification window that suddenly appeared in front of me, but I soon regained my composure and cheered. Awakening, I have awakened!!! Awakening is a general term for the phenomenon of manifesting the superpowers to become a hunter. The exact conditions of awakening are unknown. Some say that they¡¯re awakened while lying down at home, while others awaken when they have a life-threatening crisis or when they do something. Anyway, the important thing is that if you awaken, you can earn a lot of money with that ability. Of course, I didn¡¯t intend to enter the dungeon and fight monsters just because I had awakened. I was never going to enter a dungeon on my own feet. All Hunters are awakened, but not all the people that have awakened are Hunters. There are endless ways to earn money just by the fact that you have awakened without having to fight monsters in the dungeon yourself. In particular, if you are an item maker, you could earn a lot of money just by making items in the guild. It¡¯s something that I finally experienced after regression. I can¡¯t believe such a good thing happened! A cafe owner who hid her powers. A lone awakener who runs a cafe in front of the dungeon against the stark hunter world. It¡¯s cool just to think about it. I am immersed in pink dreams, imagining a future where I work less and earn more as an awakened person, until Mieum said in a solemn voice. ¡°Calm down and check your status. Meow.¡± The cat nagged me. But what¡¯s wrong with such a trivial thing when I have awakened? I could listen to as many nags as I wanted. I¡¯m an awakened person. ¡®Status.¡¯ I looked up at the status window with excitement. A translucent window appeared just by thinking inwardly while looking at the empty space in front of me. But¡­. Name: Rieul Class: Cafe Owner (F) Health 100/100, Energy 100/100 Strength: 8, Intelligence: 11, Agility: 9, Luck: 12 ¡°What is thiiiiiiiis¡­¡­.¡± Actually there was nothing really surprising about it. The average adult status for the general population was 10. In other words, strength and agility were below average, and intelligence and luck were slightly higher than average, but even so, they were at the level of ordinary people. The problem lies on the other part. Even if it¡¯s a lousy F-class body, what¡¯s with the ¡°Class: Cafe Owner¡±? I said that I wanted to be a cafe owner who hid her strength, but I didn¡¯t mean I just want to be a cafe owner. Great. ¡°Isn¡¯t that too much?¡± I grabbed my head and screamed, while Mieum patted me with her round front paws next to me. ¡°Calm down, I¡¯m hungry. Give me some food.¡± ¡°Are you telling me to calm down now? At the most, the awakened ability is nothing, and I am trapped in such a strange place! I also didn¡¯t come here on my own will. How do i get out ¡­ Wait, Mieum, where are you going?¡± Without listening to me, Mieum turned her body around and started walking. When I rushed to follow after Mieum, a door appeared in the air where there was nothing until just now. Mieum swung her front foot at me. ¡°If you¡¯re not coming, I¡¯ll leave you behind.¡± ¡°Coming, let¡¯s go together for a second!¡± As soon as we passed through the door, a flash of light wrapped around us and returned us to the store. It wasn¡¯t a dream, as there was still a door leaking blue light on the wall. ¡°Meooow. I slept for a long time and I am hungry. Do you have anything to eat?¡± Mieum, sitting in the shape of a bread under the table as if it were her own house, cried out and asked. I was also getting hungry after cleaning all day. However, although this is a downtown in Seoul, it is in front of the great dungeon Abyss. There are no restaurants or convenience stores nearby, so it will take an hour to get something to eat. Even if I tried to order delivery, Dungeon Gate 3 was a delivery exclusion area. ¡°What?¡± When I said that there was nothing to eat, Mieum pricked her ears and gave a surprised expression. ¡°This eligible person is going to starve me to death!¡± ¡°What¡¯s on earth is eligible person?¡± ¡°Food! I can¡¯t talk because I¡¯m hungry.¡± Mieum said she wouldn¡¯t say anything if I didn¡¯t give her food, and lay her stomach on the floor. It¡¯s pretty cute, I can¡¯t stand it. I don¡¯t know if she was trying to make a stern face, but the cat sitting in the shape of a bread and crying for food was cute no matter how I look for it. Fortunately, I found a box of cereal in the warehouse on the first floor. I was a little worried because the expiration date was erased on the box, but I don¡¯t think it will cause me death. I decided to fill my stomach with this. Too bad there¡¯s no milk. I found a suitable bowl and poured the cereal for Mieum. ¡°Hmm, you want me to eat this crap?¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t like it, give it back.¡± I tried to clear the bowl of cereal. Then, Mi-eum hurriedly clung to my hand with her front feet. ¡°No, this body will give it a special taste.¡± ¡°You say it¡¯s a crap?¡± ¡°Hey, it¡¯s crap, but I¡¯ll put up with this especially this time.¡± Contrary to what she said, Mieum buried her head in the bowl and ate all the cereal in an instant. ¡°Mumumumummu ¡­ do you have any more of this?¡± I wonder how deeply she put her head in the bowl, the cereal crumbs were clinging to Mieum¡¯s face. ¡°¡­Come on.¡± I poured more cereal into the bowl. While Mieum rustled and ate the cereal, I checked the status window once again. Maybe I was flustered earlier and misread the numbers. For example, I read a number with a zero removed. Yeah, how can you get such a terrible stats when you¡¯ve been awakened? ¡°Whoa, haaa¡­.¡± Let¡¯s calm down. I should read the numbers correctly this time. I looked at the screen with such hope. Name: Rieul Class: Cafe Owner (F) Health 100/100, Energy 100/100 Strength: 8, Intelligence: 11, Agility: 9, Luck: 12 Nothing has changed. I shook my head and muttered. ¡°I¡¯ve awakened up to this point, but I didn¡¯t know it would be this lame.¡­.¡± ¡°You chose it yourself, why.¡± Mieum interrupted from the side. After eating two bowls or cereal, the full cat groaned. It was after she licked up the cereal crumbs on her front paws. ¡°Wait, I chose it?¡± ¡°Your awakening ability is an ability formed based on the system¡¯s test results.¡± ¡°Test? I¡¯ve never done anything like that ¡­ huh, it the psychological test from before? ¡°Mrrrrrrrrrraw!¡± Mieum cried sharply as her hair stood up. She swung her front paws and threw her fists at me. ¡°Psychological test! It is a traditional test to confirm the awakening ability suitable for the eligible person!¡± ¡®Isn¡¯t that a psychological test?¡® I thought, but I had to listen to Mieum for more explanations, so I comforted her. ¡°Mieum, good girl.¡± ¡°Do you think I¡¯m an ordinary cat! ¡­¡­ Meow.¡± When I gently scratched the bottom of her chin with my hand, Mieum looked drowsy. As I fiddled more, a groaning sound leaked out. Then she explained in an arrogant voice. There is a special energy called ¡®ether¡® in the world. I¡¯ve heard of Ether. Hunter supplies and weapons all contained ether, and the more ether is contained, the more expensive it is. And the awakened person can store this ether in their body and use the skill. In other words, only those with ether affinity can gain awakening. Nevertheless, there was an exception. ¡°What is that?¡± The Awakener chosen by the system is called The Eligible. They are very rare, and they are given special abilities directly by the system. Mieum said I was the right person. It sounds like a really great explanation, but ¡­ what are the stats I actually got? Mieum added to me who was disappointed. ¡°You got the ability according to the choice of Kwon Rieul.¡± ¡°What?¡± So, the strange question that appeared on TV earlier was the process of choosing my awakening ability. If I had known that was the case, I wouldn¡¯t have answered like that. I would have responded like an enterprising, passionate, experienced rookie just like I did when I wrote my cover letter. ¡°No, do it again! I¡¯ll choose again, so let¡¯s do it again!¡± I grabbed the TV and shook it. However, the screen doesn¡¯t turn on again. As a last resort, I pounded the back of the TV, but only my hand hurt. Mieum, who looked at me as if I was something pathetic, spoke again. ¡°Ttsutsutsu, it has already been decided and cannot be changed. Please check your skills.¡± ¡°¡­Skill?¡± ¡°Yeah, didn¡¯t the notification that you got the skill popped up earlier? The exclusive skill granted by the system is the real ability of the Awakened.¡± That¡¯s right, I didn¡¯t see it closely earlier, but three skills appeared. The status looks like this, but the skills can be good. There were many hunters who made a living using them because their status had good skills even at the level of ordinary people. Apparently, there were hunters abroad who were F-class, but famous for their A-class skills. I opened the skill window with anticipation. Three skills appeared in a translucent window, there were Cafe in My Hand (C), The Floor is Shiny (E), and Smile (C). I clicked the detailed description one by one. Cafe in My Hand (C) Details: (Lv. 1) When making drinks in the store, the level of perfection is increased. Reserved Recipes: Mixed Coffee The Floor is Shiny (E) Details: (Lv. 1) Cleaning toilets can be done quickly. Smile (C) Details: (Lv. 1) Smiling makes you feel better. Is this really the end? Why is it like this ¡­ Unknowingly, I let out a sigh. I don¡¯t have any of those common self-healing or supporting skills! I¡¯m planning to open a cafe, so the ¡®Cafe in My Hand¡® skill is fine. However, even if it¡¯s a beverage making skill, the only recipe available is mixed coffee. Additionally I received skill in cleaning the bathroom. What is the advantage of using skills to quickly clean the bathroom? The last one is the Smile skill, so where can I use this? Maybe it has some hidden power? ¡®¡­Smile.¡¯ I tried the smile skill. Smile. The tip of the lips is pulled naturally and a soft arc line is drawn. It¡¯s the perfect business smile. ¡°¡­¡± And that was the end. Just smile and it¡¯s over. I didn¡¯t feel any better. I have all these useless skills. Damn, the price of being too honest with the test was bitter. Hello, my daily easy life ¡­ that¡¯s what I wanted to do. Awakening doesn¡¯t seem to achieve it that easily. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. There¡¯s a way.¡± Mieum patted the frustrated me with her front paw and started to speak. [Next] Translator¡¯s Corner: I actually still don¡¯t know the gender for the cat ¡­ because even the endearment being used is gender-neutral. I¡¯ll assume it as a female for now. Oh, and I changed ¡°qualified¡± to ¡°eligible¡± because The Eligible sounds bette CH 5 ¡°Really? How?¡± ¡°Do you know who I am?¡± I looked at Mieum. Shiny tricolor fur, pricked ears with long whiskers, and round feet with pink paw. ¡°You¡¯re a cat.¡± However, it seems that the answer was not what she wanted. A meow punch flew right away. ¡°Not an ordinary cat! I am the seventh agent to enforce the system.¡± ¡°Wow, that¡¯s great. You¡¯re so cool.¡± ¡°Do you understand now?¡± ¡°You¡¯re really cool. It¡¯s amazing. Woah.¡± In fact, I didn¡¯t know what she meant, so I praised her without putting any soul in it. When I scratch her chin gently, her expression becomes drowsy. She is undoubtedly a cat. ¡°Ahem.¡± ¡°Mieum knows all the difficult words. Great.¡± ¡°Meoooong! You¡¯re making fun of me!¡± I got caught. I had to give the cat another bowl of cereal to soothe it. Mieum spoke again, with her belly bulging and cereal crumbs attached to her mouth. ¡°Anyway, I¡¯m here to help you. If you complete the quest given by the system, you will receive a good reward.¡± ¡°Huh? Quest?¡± Was there something like that? When I heard those words, there was a quest mark on one side of the status window indeed. I opened the quest window. [Tutorial Quest: Coffee is My Dream A thousand miles starts with one step. Let¡¯s learn to use the skill, starting with the simplest coffee. Brew 100 cups of Coffee Mix: 0/100 Rewards: Experience (100 EXP), 50 rubies, Americano recipe, ???] Uh, brew coffee mix? That mixed coffee? Instant coffee? I didn¡¯t want to. I can¡¯t believe I have to make another 100 cups of coffee mix that I¡¯ve drank when I was at work. I turned my eyes to the reward item with an unwilling expression. Items other than experience points, rubies, and recipes were displayed as ¡®???¡¯ and were not visible. I understand the experience, and Ruby is the money used in Hunter Market. However, I was a regular citizen just now, so I don¡¯t know how much 50 rubies are in Hunter Market. ¡°How much is 50 rubies?¡± ¡°It is 100,000 won per ruby.¡± I tried multiplication in my head. The currency is ?100,000 for 1 ruby, then if it¡¯s 50 rubies ¡­ ?5,000,000. 5 million won? Suddenly, my eyes lit up and my enthusiasm surged. I have enough money in my bank account to cover my living expenses for the time being, but it was never enough. I can¡¯t believe I can earn 5 million won from 100 cups of coffee mix. By simple calculation, it would be ?50,000 won. Even if you sell coffee in front of the Big Three guilds, it would be impossible to make such a profit. In a word, it¡¯s a great gain. I immediately searched the warehouse and found what I needed. Fortunately, I was able to find an electric pot, a paper cup, and a few leftover coffee mixes at the bottom of the box. I was about to make coffee with the intention of fulfilling the quest conditions right away, but Mieum stopped me. ¡°Wait, don¡¯t brew as it is, use your skill to brew it.¡± ¡°Huh? Use my skill?¡± She must be talking about the skill called ¡®Cafe in My Hand¡®. Still, the coffee mix is finished by just pouring hot water. Do I really need to brew while using skill? ¡°Just try it, meow.¡± Yes, this quest has 5 million won at stake. If it¡¯s for 5 million won, it¡¯s something I need to follow. ¡®Cafe in My Hand.¡¯ I chose coffee mix from the recipe list that appeared in the translucent hologram window. A subtle glow shone in the order of the recipe. The hand moved naturally along the light. ¡°Okay, it¡¯s done.¡± ¡°Take a look at the coffee.¡± ¡°Huh? It¡¯s just a coffee mix.¡± First, as Mieum said, I stared at the mixed coffee. Then, the status window of the coffee mix appeared in front of my eyes. [Recipe: Coffee Mix is complete.] [Item: Coffee Mix (¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡î¡î) Status: Good (Time Remaining: 00:03:00) Effect: 100% faster recovery. (01:00:00)] ¡°Uh, this is¡­.¡± There was a peculiar phrase below the description of the 3-stars coffee mix. ¡°If you create it using your skill, you can give the drink a special effect. That is the real power of your skill.¡± It¡¯s not a potion, but I can give an effect to coffee, that¡¯s¡­. ¡°¡­.I¡¯ve never heard of something like this.¡± ¡°Why! Of course you¡¯ve never heard of it! You¡¯re the only one who can do it.¡± In conclusion, that¡¯s a pretty good skill? I thought about that for a while. [Status: Good (Time Remaining: 00:02:59)] [Status: Good (Time Remaining: 00:02:58)] [Status: Good (Time Remaining: 00:02:57)] ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ The remaining time in the status window was gradually decreasing. It¡¯s a waste to leave it in bad shape even though I made it at the best. I took a paper cup to my mouth before the coffee got cold. Oh, was a coffee mix this delicious¡­? The bitter coffee flavor and the sweetness blended softly in the mouth. Even the last drop made me feel regretful, and the moment I put it all in my mouth, a notification sounded. [Brew 100 cups of Coffee Mix: 1/100] The notification reminded me of the cafe management game I used to play. The gameplay was consisted of catching monsters and obtaining ingredients, making money by making menus according to the recipe, and using that money to get new recipes. The players also can decorate the store and hire part-timers, it was quite fun. I didn¡¯t get paid for it, but I worked really hard and got to the top of the rankings. However, I was hacked and eventually gave up the game. I was left in shock when my precious character greets me in an empty shop wearing only underwear. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you? You look like you¡¯re cursing in your head.¡± ¡°¡­.Nothing.¡± For a moment, I prayed that the hacker got a future full of misfortunes. Anyway, what this system does was reminiscent of cafe management games a lot. Hunters say the system is similar to a game, is it like this? Complete the quest, get the next quest, and each time you get a ruby, that is, cash. I know, I understand. I know, I know. I know how it feels. Since it¡¯s already 5 million won from the first quest, the amount will go up further for the next quest. Then¡­. This, won¡¯t this make me rich soon? I felt my heart pounding as I imagined the golden future. All right, brewing 100 cups of coffee mix is nothing. I¡¯ll hurry up and get 5 million won, get the next quest and get rich. ¡°Huahahaha¡­.¡± First of all, I decided to use all 10 bags of coffee mix I found in the warehouse. ¡®Cafe in My Hand!¡¯ ¡®Cafe in My Hand!¡¯ When I poured mix coffee into a paper cup, Mieum intervened next to me. ¡°It would be better not to make that much.¡± ¡°Why? It¡¯s good to finish the quest quickly.¡± Without listening to Mieum¡¯s warning, I poured hot water at the moment when the golden light flashed. However, things didn¡¯t go the way I expected. *** My heart thumped and my head throbbed. I rolled the blanket over to the top of my head, but no sleep came, and my mind was clear. I stared at the contents of the notification window in front of me. [Status Abnormality: Caffeine Addiction You drank too much caffeine. Let¡¯s use coffee wisely. Time Remaining until release 02:58:34] [Time Remaining until release 02:58:33] ¡­¡­¡­ [Time Remaining until release 02:58:21] Save me. *** Three days passed after meeting Mieum at my grandmother¡¯s shop and awakened. I opened the quest window and checked the contents. [Tutorial Quest: Coffee is My Dream A thousand miles starts with one step. Let¡¯s learn to use the skill, starting with the simplest coffee. Brew 100 cups of Coffee Mix: 10/100 Rewards: Experience (100 EXP), 50 rubies, Americano recipe, ???] Unlike my ambition to complete the quest immediately and receive 5 million won, the progress on the quest was slow. The cause is terrible caffeine addiction. ¡°Ha¡­.¡± This system counted the number of completion times after drinking the mix coffee, not the moment it was brewed. In other words, I need to drink 100 cups to clear it. ¡®It¡¯s a bit much, but I drink it all at once.¡¯ Thinking so, I drank all ten coffee mix on the first day. And I put them in my mouth one by one. One cup, two cups, three cups¡­. Nothing happened until the third cup. It just tastes sweet and restores my energy. But it was the very moment I drank the fourth cup¡­. ¡°¡­.Cough, Cough?!¡± I spit out the coffee in my mouth in a strange feeling. [Status Abnormality: Caffeine Addiction has occurred.] Ugh, what is this? My stomach hurt, my head was pounding, and my hands were shaking. As I sat down on the chair in agony, Mieum gave me a sharp scolding. ¡°You¡¯re addicted to caffeine. That¡¯s why I told you not to make a lot.¡± ¡°Ugh ¡­ You should have told me.¡± ¡°I did, but you didn¡¯t listen.¡± ¡°Ugh¡­.¡± I have nothing to say. Caffeine addiction was no joke. I couldn¡¯t even move my body due to the throbbing pain, and I couldn¡¯t sleep. In the end, I had no choice but to sleep motionlessly until the abnormality was resolved five hours later. ¡°Ugh¡­.¡± In other words, drinking more than three cups of coffee a day caused an abnormality. I don¡¯t want to go through such a terrible thing again. It is an absolute specification. The problem was that it will take a long time to complete the quest because I could only drink up to three cups a day. It takes about a month to fill 100 cups, three cups a day with simple calculations. Do I have to drink only coffee mix for a month? When I was playing game, I skipped not only the story but also the skill production and pursued quick play. It is unbearable to drag the tutorial quest for a month. This soul of a K-gamer is boiling. I even thought about buying a recovery pill to get rid of my caffeine addiction. But when I asked Kwon Jiwoon¡­. ¡°A cure for status abnormalities? Of course, there is something like that. The price? Hmm ¡­ These days, the price has gone down a little, so a bottle costs about 1 million won.¡± This is the answer that I received. ¡°Kwon Rieul, what¡¯s wrong? Do you need it?¡± ¡°N-no, I don¡¯t. I¡¯m just curious. I¡¯ll call you later.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not in any trouble, are you? If anything happens, tell me right away.¡± ¡°Ahaha ¡­ it¡¯s really nothing.¡± I¡¯m doing this to get a quest reward of 5 million won, I can¡¯t drink recovery potion worth 1 million won. Moreover, the effect of the skill ¡®Cafe in My Hand¡® is ¡®when making drinks in the store, the level of perfection is increased¡®. In other words, if I leave this store, the skill is invalid and the retention time is also short. It¡¯s difficult to give the coffee to people far away. All that was left was for someone to come to this store and drink the coffee mix I made. Dungeon Gate 3 in front of the great dungeon where no one passes by, this cafe is at its 16th street! [Next] Translator¡¯s Note: I changed my mind. I¡¯ll just use ¡®Coffee Mix¡¯ from now on. CH 6 As a desperate measure, I installed a vending machine in front of the store. To be precise, it is a vending machine that operates manually. The plastic box has a single button on it, but nothing inside. On the front, a large sign was written with ¡°Free coffee¡± and ¡°Enjoy your meal¡°. When a customer pressed the button, I was going to quickly make a coffee mix and put it on the table. But so far, not a single person has pressed the button. Not a single person! Yesterday, only some Hunter Guild employees passed by this place. I watched nervously as they found the (manual) coffee vending machine. ¡°Oh, free coffee! Do you want to try it? ¡°Never mind. All of those things are given by phone pal as bait.¡± ¡°Oh really?¡± ¡°They¡¯re trying to convince you to buy a 2 million won phone on a 36-month installment plan for a cup of coffee mix.¡± ¡°Hul.¡± No, it¡¯s not an action done by phone pal. My phone is 3 years old, and I feel like it¡¯s 6 years old already because of the regression. I don¡¯t sell phones, so can you just have a cup of coffee? ¡®If I said that, would it be suspicious?¡¯ ¡°Meooooong. What kind of words are that!¡± Instead, after they left, I posted a large sign in front of the (manual) coffee vending machine that read ¡°Not a phone pal.¡± However, there was no one passing by in front of the store again. It was one day when I was doing the quest sluggishly. In the meantime, the store has become quite plausible. The cleaning was finished, and the coffee machine worked without any problems. The old but cozy interior reminded me of my grandmother¡¯s old days. At least I won¡¯t be misunderstood as a phone pal anymore. But the only recipes I have is Coffee Mix¡­. ¡­ Gulp. I drank the last coffee mix of the day. When I poured everything into my mouth, a quest notification popped up. [Brew 100 cups of Coffee Mix: 25/100] There is still a long way to go until 100 cups. The coffee mix is very delicious, this fantastic sweet and soft taste is fantastic, but ¡­. now I want to drink another menu. ¡°You don¡¯t have to be in such a hurry.¡± said Mieum, who sprawled over a fluffy cushion. Maybe she liked the cushion because I heard a loud groan. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you wanted to rest? Sometimes it¡¯s important to relax. Meow.¡± I heard another sermon from the cat. Surely I want a life where I work less and rest a lot. That¡¯s the reason why I want to open a cafe here. There is no such thing as a desire to work hard. But¡­. [Brew 100 cups of Coffee Mix: 25/100] The quest window flickered in front of me. I can¡¯t even complete the tutorial quest at once. This soul of the impatient K-gamer cried. How dare I fall asleep leaving behind a quest that I haven¡¯t finished yet?! No, of course I don¡¯t. Even if I close my eyes and lie down, it¡¯s normal for me to think, ¡®Oh, I need to level up at a time like this!¡¯. I was in the middle of thinking that. Bang! Dang! Tangtang! ¡°Myaaoo. What¡¯s going on?¡± Suddenly a loud noise came from outside. Surprised Mieum jumped up from the cushion and raised her fur. What the hell is going on? It was already time when darkness fell all around. There was only one cat next to me that was busy licking cereal crumbs a moment ago. I was scared, but I looked outside carefully. Someone was lying in front of the store. ¡°Ugh ¡­ Heuk, Ugh¡­.¡± I also heard this mysterious groan. Should I ignore it and report it to the police? No, wait ¡­ is it a person? A person who also looks very tired and exhausted. As soon as I saw that tired figure, a certain thought ran through my head. It¡¯s a perfect subject tto test my coffee. Moreover, the clothes she was wearing were familiar to my eyes. It is the uniform of the Dungeon Management Official for general public officials. What is this, a government employee who¡¯s tired of working overtime? It was worth knowing the situation. Before returning to the past, after suffering from overtime work, I saw that outfit the most on my way home on the last train. ¡°Hey, are you okay?¡± ¡°Ugh¡­.¡± ¡°Come inside for a second.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine ¡­ I just fell down because I was exhausted. I¡¯m going to¡­..¡± ¡°No, take a break for a minute. Okay?¡± She refused and I almost half-forced the person who was about to go into the chair. ¡°Thank you¡­.¡± As I expected, she was a general public official of the Dungeon Management. In other words, among civil servants working in dungeon management, she¡¯s an ordinary people, not Hunters. Dungeon management sounds good, but the reality is that it is a tough position to clean up the mess of civil servant hunters. To put it in another way, it¡¯s the civil servants¡¯ hell and civil servants¡¯ graves. What was the retirement rate within a year¡­. The public official, who introduced herself as Kim Jina, widened her eyes at how hard she had suffered. I used to be like that. I felt pity because it reminded me of myself before the regression. ¡®Cafe in My Hand.¡¯ I made a cup of coffee mix. It has the effect of speeding up the recovery, so I hoped this poor official would drink and feel refreshed. ¡°Have a drink.¡± ¡°Oh, you even gave me coffee. Thank you.¡± Jina took the paper cup and gulped it down. The tired expression became a little more relaxed. At that moment, I naturally smiled when I saw the number in the quest windows go up. ¡°Would you like another cup?¡± ¡°No, I can¡¯t be so much trouble.¡­.¡± ¡°It¡¯s just a coffee mix, huh. Here, have some more.¡± Another cup, one more¡­. When I made her drink three cups in a row, Jina¡¯s face seemed to have been relieved of fatigue. I bowed my head and looked at the back that was leaving. ¡°Meooong, why do you look like that?¡± ¡°There is such a thing.¡± ¡°What is that!¡± ¡°It¡¯s something that only humans can understand.¡± ¡°Waeeong!¡± I had a thought while avoiding Mieum¡¯s front paws. ¡®I wish she would come again.¡¯ Of course, it¡¯s important to fill in the number of quests. Before that, I was worried when I saw that staggering step¡­. Umh, is this what you call a bonding between a public servant and a (former) corporate slave? *** ¡°As expected, I knew my daughter could do it.¡± It was good when she passed the civil service exam after a year. Her mother was thrilled as if Jina had become a genius. She had a hard time trying to stop her mother from hanging a placard in the neighborhood. If she didn¡¯t do it, placards saying ¡®Kim Jina passed the civil service exam¡® would have been hung all over the neighborhood. Kim Jina has been interested in dungeon since she was young. An unknown treasure trove, this mysterious space given by the ¡®system¡®. There was no better place than this to ignite her enthusiasm for learning. Because of this, she applied for the Dungeon Management Office, that everyone else said was difficult. Although the interview pass rate was low, Jina memorized the Dungeon Management Regulations and the ecological survey report of the great dungeon Abyss. She passed right away. Finally, she achieved her dream to work at Dungeon Management Office. However, what unfolded before Jina¡¯s eyes was hell. She realized with her own body why the Dungeon Management Office is called the hell and grave of civil servants. It wasn¡¯t just a matter of having a lot of workload. If she had been busy with dungeon management and research, Jina would have been happy. The joy of doing what she loves must have been greater than the hardship felt by her body. But Jina¡¯s main job is to assist the Hunter belonging to the Dungeon Management Office. The word ¡°assist¡± sounds good to hear, but what it actually meant was to please and serve. All of the Hunters were overbearing and arbitrary, but the civil servant Hunters were even worse. Although they received a high salary that could not be compared with Jina, they were often annoyed when they were told what they were supposed to do. It was normal that they couldn¡¯t be contacted during working hours since ignoring ordinary people like her is their daily routine. They even made her do small errands. When she coordinated those hunters to plan a dungeon attack, it was also common for a fight to happen. How can I work with someone who hasn¡¯t awakened¡­..! The fantasy of the Dungeon Management Office was thrown into the trash can on the third day of work, and within a week of work, Jina became a Hunter hater. She only wanted to resign, but when she remembered her mother¡¯s happy face when she passed her exam, she couldn¡¯t help it. ¡°As expected, my daughter, your mother knew you¡¯d make it.¡± ¡®Mom, if your daughter stays like this ¡­ I think she¡¯s going to break that Hunter¡¯s head.¡¯ Even that day, Jina was trudging toward her house late at night. This is because the Hunter in charge handed over the preparation of the tutorial dungeon to Jina. He said simple management tasks are not his business or something like that. Of course, it was nonsense, but Jina had no power. ¡®What¡¯s the big deal about a civil servant who can¡¯t get into the Hunter Guild because his grade isn¡¯t good enough? If you were a capable hunter, no, even if you were a D-class, you can go to the Hunter Guild, yet you¡¯re here and asked me to do what you called a simple management task? You¡¯re just trying to eat it raw!¡¯ She wanted to shoot him like this, but she couldn¡¯t even say a word in front of him. She had a timid personality, and even though he was an E-class Hunter, he was strong and scary. Finally, she was on the way home after finishing all the work that was delayed until late. Suddenly, her body staggered as she stepped on the stone that was rolling on the road. ¡°Ugh¡­.¡± She really want to quit. She wish she could hit that hunter before resigning. She didn¡¯t have the strength to get up, so she slumped down on the road and a yellow light flashed in front of her. At first, Jina thought she was dreaming. Finally, after being overworked, did she start to hallucinate? Perhaps she died from overwork, and this is the entrance to the underworld. First of all, even though it¡¯s a downtown in Seoul, there can¡¯t be a store with such a warm atmosphere on Dungeon Gate 3rd Street. However, a calm voice called out to Jina, who had fallen. ¡°Hey, are you okay?¡± A woman with a brooding atmosphere was looking worriedly at Jina. She said she was the owner of the cafe in this corner. Somehow, she went inside as the cafe owner led her and received a cup of coffee to drink. The coffee mix, which she doesn¡¯t usually drink, was surprisingly delicious. The sweet taste and soft scent seemed to melt her heart, so she ended up drinking three cups. After drinking coffee and complaining for a while, the stress was relieved a little. ¡®Yeah, it¡¯ll be fine tomorrow. No matter what happens, it¡¯s not my fault!¡¯ Thinking so, Jina returned home with a lighter step. Even so, in the next morning. Uh ¡­ ? I woke up? Normally, it would take five alarms to wake her up, but she woke up at once. Moreover, what is this power that springs up naturally? The chronic fatigue that had always bothered Jina was completely gone. She had no headache, and her body was as light as flying. It¡¯s been a long time since she has felt this sense. ¡°How did this happen?¡± Suddenly, Jina thought of the coffee mix she drank yesterday. It¡¯s a ridiculous idea, but ¡­ perhaps it¡¯s the power of the coffee. CH 7 Translated by cabinfourtranslations. ¡®I think I¡¯ll find out if I drink it one more time.¡¯ The next day, Jina headed to the cafe right away. Was it really true that she drank coffee in a cafe in this area? Her memory was blurred because she was dazed back then. Contrary to Jina¡¯s worries, the cafe from yesterday was still standing there. ¡®It wasn¡¯t a dream¡­.¡¯ There¡¯s no signage yet. However, the cleanly cleaned building stood out from afar. The retro-style red brick building has been carefully cared for by the owner. An old but cozy space, with the smell of sweet coffee flew from somewhere. Jina slipped inside, attracted by the smell of coffee. ¡°Meooow!¡± A calico cat sitting on the bread-shaped cushion cried when it saw Jina. It was a cat with plump flesh and a soft belly. ¡®I want to touch it once.¡¯ Jina inadvertently tried to stroke the cat¡¯s belly. ¡°Kiyaooong!¡± The cat screamed and dodged her hand. The creature got up, then it turned around and went inside. ¡°Mieum, what¡¯s wrong?¡± The cafe owner she met yesterday came out with a cereal box in her hand and found Jina. ¡°Jina, did you go home safely yesterday?¡± ¡°Ah, yes, I did!¡± The cafe owner poured cereal into the bowl and put it in front of the cat. The cat began to chew and devour the cereal. ¡®Do cats eat cereal?¡¯ Still, that¡¯s not what matters right now. Jina mustered up the courage to speak. ¡°Umh, the coffee you gave me yesterday¡­.¡± ¡°Oh, would you like a drink?¡± Rieul quickly made a coffee mix and handed it to Jina. The warmth of the paper cup gently wrapped Jina¡¯s hands. Jina couldn¡¯t delay it any longer and took a sip straight away. ¡­ Gulp. One more sip. The sweetness, rich taste of milk, and bitter coffee scent formed a golden ratio in her mouth. And the moment she emptied the cup¡­. As her head felt refreshed, her body began to overflow with energy. Her shoulders were also light, and she felt better with an unknown sense of happiness. As expected, this coffee. This coffee gave Jina strength. ¡°Really ¡­ it really tastes great! How can coffee taste like this? Besides, I just drank a cup of coffee, but my head feels refreshed and my body is full of energy! Oh my gosh, this is the first time I¡¯ve had coffee like this.¡± Rieul was listening to Jina with a smile. Jina, who belatedly came to her senses, felt embarrassed because she was talking too much alone. She coughed a little and continued. ¡°Please, tell me where I can buy it!¡± ¡°It¡¯s just a coffee mix.¡± ¡°But ¡­ it¡¯s so delicious and it¡¯s also pretty effective! Do you have any special tricks?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no special tricks, but ¡­ If you come, I¡¯ll brew you some, so come often.¡± ¡­ are you an angel? Later, Jina recalled the incident like this. That day, she met an angel who protects office workers. A few years later, it was included in the interview when Jina took the head position of the Dungeon Management Office. *** ¡°Thank you. It¡¯s so delicious today.¡± Jina bowed her head as she received a cup of coffee mix. I also looked satisfied at the quest window in front of me. [Tutorial Quest: Coffee is My Dream A thousand miles starts with one step. Let¡¯s learn to use the skill, starting with the simplest coffee. Brew 100 cups of Coffee Mix: 79/100 ] As soon as Jina finished her coffee, the number changed to 80. Finally, 80. Thanks to Jina, who comes to drink coffee every day, the number of quests has been filled up a lot. At this rate, we will be able to complete the quest in a few days. When I thought of receiving 5 million won, I naturally smiled. ¡°¡­.Meoooow. (You¡¯re drooling).¡± I wiped my chin in surprise at the whisper of Mieum, but it was clean. I glared at Mieum. ¡°By the way, Mieum, you¡¯re able to do ventriloquism?¡± Clearly, her mouth was making a cat cry, but I heard her voice in my head. ¡°Waaeong, Waaeooooong (Ventriloquism! Don¡¯t compare it to something like that! This is the ability to communicate directly with a special wavelength)!¡± ¡°But why are you crying?¡± It¡¯s like telepathy. Then there¡¯s no need to make a cat sound, right? ¡°Meoong (That ¡­ because I¡¯m not used to it yet¡­.).¡± ¡°That¡­.¡° Anyway. Of course, 5 million won is important, but I also wanted to get an Americano recipe quickly. When it comes to Caff¨¨ Americano, it¡¯s the drink menu that Koreans love the most. It is also the most popular menu in cafes, so it will be essential to learn Americano in order to open a cafe in the future. Above all, this coffee mix is delicious, but I wanted to try a different menu. ¡°Ha, I think I will live.¡± The newly brewed coffee mix was also emptied at once. Her complexion was better than before, but she was still working late. Even now, it is already evening, but after drinking only coffee, she said she will go to the great dungeon ¡°Abyss¡°. Is there something going on in Abyss? ¡°Ah, that¡­.¡± Jina answered my question with a dark complexion. ¡°There will be a Tutorial Dungeon soon. Since it¡¯s a tutorial, it won¡¯t be dangerous, but a veteran hunter will join in.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± Gathering and educating the newly awakened hunters that year is called a ¡®Tutorial Dungeon¡®. Even if it was an education, it was not a class, but a real dungeon attack in a practical form, and it is usually conducted on the first floor of Abyss. ¡°But everyone hates to do it¡­.¡± That¡¯s understandable. There aren¡¯t many senior hunters who want to go to the tutorial rather than dungeons with advanced rewards. Because of that, Jina, an ordinary person, said she was busy with preparations. ¡°Besides, this time around, a Hunter from the United States also decided to visit, so I¡¯m in a rush. Still, thanks to the coffee that Miss Rieul gives me, I feel energized.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Miss Rieul?¡± There¡¯s a small chance that a forgotten memory comes up like a single thread. Hearing Jina¡¯s words, I suddenly remembered the incident before I returned to the past. At that time, the news was only talking about it all day, so why did I forget about such a big deal? During the tutorial dungeon before my regression, a monster suddenly popped out of the dungeon. The level was average enough for an experienced hunter to deal with it, but they couldn¡¯t get rid of the monster right away because it appeared in the middle of tutorial dungeon. A Dungeon Break occurs. A monster that left the gate attacked a nearby private house, and just in time, an American hunter who was visiting Korea died. And the place where the monster attacked¡­. ¡®Dungeon Gate 3 Street.¡¯ Uh? Right in front of this store? Could it be that this cafe is the nearby private house they mentioned? ¡°Miss Rieul, are you okay? Are you sick?¡± Jina looked at me worriedly. Let¡¯s calm down. Huuu, haaa ¡­. Huuu, haaaa¡­.. I can¡¯t remember the date of the incident. There might still be a lot of time left. ¡°Ah, it¡¯s nothing. When is the tutorial?¡± ¡°It¡¯s in three days later.¡± There¡¯s not much time left! *** After Jina left, I put my hand on my forehead and fell into agony. What should I do if a monster appears in front of me in three days? In my last life, I was getting caught in a rift, and now I am destined to face the monster that appears in my front yard in this life? I guess I had to do the exorcism first before preparing to open a cafe. ¡®Should I run away?¡¯ Although I have awakened, I am an F-class cafe owner with no combat skills. If I run into a monster, I must get killed in an instant. Just because you know what¡¯s going to happen doesn¡¯t mean you know how to fix it. Yes, it is best to avoid danger. Let¡¯s run away. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± As I made a serious expression, Mieum, who was lying on the floor, raised her head and looked at me. Mieum does not know that I have returned from the future. Can I tell her? Wouldn¡¯t she think it¡¯s an absurd story? I hesitated for a moment but decided to speak. There are talking cats, though, and returning from the future to the past may not be a big deal. ¡°Actually, I¡­.¡± I roughly told Mieum about the past. After living as a company slave and getting caught up in a rift, I returned to three years ago, and, according to my memory, a monster will come to this area three days later. Mieum listened to my regression story like it wasn¡¯t a big deal and said something unexpected. ¡°Welp. It¡¯s weird. It¡¯s unusual for a monster to pop out of that gate.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°The original system of Abyss is ¨€¨€¨€ ¨€¨€¨€¨€¡­.¡± ¡°What?¡± I couldn¡¯t hear Mieum¡¯s voice well as if it were noisy. She raised her fur as if she felt uncomfortable, and spoke again. ¡°Meeeong! Oh my, listen correctly. Abyss is ¨€¨€¨€¨€ ¨€¨€¨€¨€ ¨€¨€¡­.¡± I couldn¡¯t understand only the important words as if it was intervened by someone. What is it? Furthermore, a system window suddenly appeared in front of my eyes. [System Error: ¡ª. ¡ª.¡ª] [System Error: ¡ª. ¡ª.¡ª] [System Error: ¡ª. ¡ª.¡ª] The window flickered in red and did not disappear. I have opened the system window several times, but this is the first time something like this happened. Somehow, it felt kind of creepy. [Next] Translator¡¯s Note: ¡°Dialogue in italic¡± : Rieul speaks to Mieum via their telepathy ¡®Dialogue in italic¡® : Rieul¡¯s thoughts, internal monologue to herself. ¡°(Cat noise translation)¡± : what Mieum said to Rieul via their telepathy. They didn¡¯t explain it in detail for now, so let¡¯s treat it like it¡¯s a telepathy. CH 8 11-13 minutes 21.07.2022 Translated by cabinfourtranslations. Mieum also sighed when she saw the system error window. ¡°I can¡¯t seem to tell you right now. Anyway, if a monster suddenly popped out of the gate, it¡¯s very likely that it was afraid of something and ran away.¡± ¡°What something?¡± ¡°That is something I don¡¯t know for sure. It could be a higher-grade monster.¡± Hearing Mieum¡¯s words, I became more confident. ¡°Mieum, let¡¯s run away.¡± ¡°Miaong?¡± But trying to run away alone hurts my conscience. I can go to a sauna for one night to avoid monsters, but what if Jina gets caught up in the accident? I, who have personally died, know very well how powerless ordinary people are in front of monsters. However, I doubt that other people will believe me if I say, ¡®A monster will appear in three days!¡®. I can¡¯t even answer if they asked how I found out. Is there any other way? *** ¡°You look more suspicious in that outfit.¡± Meeum sighed when she saw me. ¡°But this is the only way.¡± I headed out valiantly. I wore a baseball cap, sunglasses, a mask, and a jumper that did not reveal my body shape. It¡¯s the perfect bank robbery fashion. It seems like If I go to the bank, I will be taken to the police station before I can pass through the entrance. It looked very suspicious to me, but in order not to reveal my identity, it is only safe to wear a disguise like this. Dressed as a bank robber, I headed to a nearby public phone booth. My intention was to make an anonymous report. It was hard to see, but after wandering for a long time, I finally found a payphone booth. After checking once more to make sure there was no one around, I dialed the Dungeon Management Office¡¯s emergency call number. ¡ª Yes, it¡¯s Dungeon Management Office. How may I help you? ¡°I, I would like to make a report.¡± ¡ª Yes, what is your name? ¡°My name is Kwon Ri¡­.¡± Huk, I almost answered with my real name casually. This is because of my habit of answering automatically when someone asks for my name. Since I was a child, I lived a life of raising my hand and answering when they called my attendance number. No way. In my effort to cover up the fact that I regressed, I am even wearing bank robbery fashion and trying to report it anonymously right now. I hurriedly changed my words. ¡°Kim ¡­ My name is Kim Kwonri.¡± The name is a little weird, but it can¡¯t be helped. ¡ª Yes, Kim Kwonri, what brings you to call us? ¡°There ¡­ there¡¯s a magnetic field response near the Abyss, Dungeon Gate 3.¡± ¡ª Magnetic field response? A magnetic field response refers to a phenomenon in which the magnetic field becomes abnormal near the dungeon. Why the compass does not spin or the magnet doesn¡¯t work properly? There was a theory that when the compass became strange, rifts or monsters would pop out there. Predicting the occurrence of dungeons was the aspiration of many people. That¡¯s why this theory of magnetic field anomaly has received quite a lot of support. Of course, a few years later, it turns out that it is just a myth and pseudo-science without any basis. I feel like a delusional person who says that they will die if they sleep with the fan on, but let¡¯s insist. ¡°I hear strange noises ¡­ Ah, anyway, every time I pass by, there is a gloomy vibe.¡± I repeatedly insisted that the area around the Abyss Dungeon Gate is suspicious. After insisting, the agent said that they would strengthen the patrol around the area. In the past, there were many casualties due to A-class rifts that occurred when they ignored the report because they thought it was a false report. Since then, dungeon-related reports had to be dealt with unconditionally. In other words, I¡¯m relieved now. Even before the regression, it was originally said that it was not a high-risk monster that could harm people, so if the Hunters patrol in time, it would not be such a big damage if a monster appeared. I was relieved at last. Yes, leave the monsters to the hunter and I will stick to the role of a civilian who safely evacuates in advance. *** The next day, I was drinking my daily coffee mix while looking for a place to sleep on my phone. The scheduled date for the monster to appear is tomorrow. I decided to leave the store overnight and sleep somewhere else safely. When I left the company, I terminated the contract for the house I lived in before, and I couldn¡¯t go to the sauna with a cat. When looking for a hotel that allows animals, the price is slightly higher. ¡®Now¡­.¡¯ Reserve it? Or not? Wow, the bed looks fluffy and there is a bathtub with bubbles. The food looks delicious too. Still, this price is a bit expensive for one night¡¯s sleep¡­. [ Brew 100 cups of Coffee Mix: 90/100 ] I checked the quest screen. There was not much left until the number of quests were all filled. I¡¯m going to have 5 million won soon, so this should be fine. Eh, I don¡¯t know, let¡¯s just pay. Just as I was about to press the payment button on the cell phone screen, the door opened with a click. Uh, who is it? It¡¯s not time for Jina to come yet. A foreign man was standing at the entrance of the store. His bright red curly hair and piercings were very colorful. What stood out the most was the large embroidered mark on his chest. ¡°What is that?¡± ¡°Meow (You don¡¯t even know that! It¡¯s the American Hunter Association logo).¡± How am I supposed to know that? But what about America? Why is an American Hunter here? What should I do? I haven¡¯t even thought about English since I took the TOEIC test a few years ago. Hello, how are you, may I help you? The advanced English was long gone in my head. The man opened his mouth. Contrary to my concerns, what I heard was Korean. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Oh, this is a very unusual place.¡± Every time the man spoke, the shape of his mouth and the sound were slightly off. It was as if the voice was coming from somewhere else. ¡°Waaeng, Meoong (Author, he¡¯s using an interpreter artifact).¡± Mieum whispered beside me. ¡°Isn¡¯t it a little awkward?¡± ¡°Meong (He uses the cheap ones).¡± ¡°Ah¡­.¡± I heard that the interpreter artifact with good performance can even communicate easily with monsters. Of course it¡¯s expensive. This man must have used a cheap one, judging from the tone of speech translated. ¡°But who are you¡­.¡± I don¡¯t remember ever knowing someone like this in the past. Then Jina opened the door and appeared. ¡°Sir Hunter, you have to go that way, not this way!¡± Jina looked very tired saying that. ¡°Oh, Jina, what brings you here?¡± ¡°Hello, I was showing Sir Hunter around this area. The tutorial dungeon is tomorrow, but he wants to take a look at it in advance. This is James Jack Smith, a Hunter from America.¡± ¡°I am called Kwon Rieul.¡± Wait a minute, so this is the American hunter who died before my regression? I was surprised for a moment, but I calmed down as I remembered that tomorrow was the day when the monster popped out. Yeah, I¡¯m sure nothing will happen today. ¡°And a report came in, so today and tomorrow, the hunters are going to patrol this area.¡± ¡°Really?¡± I¡¯m relieved that the report went in properly. It was embarrassing to babble about magnetic field response, but it was worth it. Then, this American hunter won¡¯t die. Reassured, I took out a new bag of coffee mix. ¡°Since you¡¯re here, take a break. I was about to make coffee.¡± ¡°Ah, should I?¡± Jina sat across from the table. I quickly poured the coffee mix into a paper cup and poured water into it. [Item: Coffee Mix (¡ï¡ï¡ï¡î¡î) Status: Very Good (Time Remaining: 00:10:00) Effect: Recovery speed is increased by 100%.] Now it¡¯s possible to brew it without looking at the window anymore. I also gave James a cup of coffee, but he did not accept it and frowned. ¡°What is this?¡± ¡°Try it. It¡¯s coffee.¡± ¡°This is not coffee.¡± What? This guy? ¡°I don¡¯t drink instant coffee like this.¡± I recommended it again, but James still refused. Ignoring coffee mix ¡­ I have seen an American full of such prejudice today. ¡®Smile.¡¯ Gradually, his obstinacy made it difficult to maintain a sociable smile. Instead of forcing myself to smile, I just used my skill. The tip of the lips drew a soft arc line, creating a perfect business smile. [Activating the ¡®Smile¡® skill.] [Lv. 1. Effect: Smiling makes you feel better. This improves the mood of the subject.] [The cast subject¡¯s favorability increases.] What? Didn¡¯t it make me feel better? The seemingly useless ¡®Smile¡® had an unexpected effect. Perhaps thanks to ¡®Smile¡®, James¡¯ frowned expression has softened a little. ¡°Hmm, come to think of it, it smells good¡­.¡± ¡°Right?¡± ¡°But this is not a real coffee.¡± ¡®Hold on ¡­. Smile.¡¯ ¡°Try it at least once.¡± [Skill: Running Smile.] ¡°Hmm, if you say so, I¡¯ll drink it just once.¡± Gulp. After taking a sip of the coffee mix, James widened his eyes. ¡°This taste¡­.!¡± Another sip. ¡°This coffee is really great. Oh, it¡¯s fantastic. I¡¯ve never had this kind of coffee before.¡± ¡°Right?¡± Jina said proudly and emptied her coffee mix. James also looked disappointed after drinking all the coffee in the paper cup at once. I quickly got fresh water in the electric pot. ¡°Would you like another cup?¡± ¡°Thank you for your kindness.¡± James, who quickly emptied the second cup, said. ¡°I never expected to meet such an outstanding barista in a place like this.¡± ¡°Ahahaha..¡­¡± I¡¯m not that kind of person. And why is Jina nodding her head along? ¡°I¡¯d like to invite you to America.¡± Pardon? ¡°If you come, I¡¯d like to show you the Grand Canyon. No, that¡¯s not enough. Let me show you the dungeons of the United States.¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m fine. It¡¯s really okay, really.¡± The dungeons in Korea are terrible enough, but now you¡¯re asking me to visit the dungeons in the US? James went on about inviting me to America. It¡¯s an unbelievable affinity since we just met. Hopefully this ¡­ is it the effect of Smile? It seems like I would be stepping on American soil without realizing it if I used it three times. It¡¯s a more dangerous skill than I thought, so I should be careful. Instead of going to the Grand Canyon, I decided to do pen pals instead, and that finally calmed down James. ¡°I, I, there¡­.¡± ¡°Miss Rieul, what¡¯s wrong? ¡­. Ugh!¡± A monster ran into the store. It resembled a raccoon, but it was much bigger. It red eyes and horns were extremely hideous, it almost seemed like it would run over here and tear me apart at any moment. [The Flame Raccoon (C) has appeared.] ¡°Meoooong (It¡¯s a C-class animal-type monster. It¡¯s a nasty bastard that shoots fire when you get close)!¡± Mieum, who was sitting on my lap, whispered. Why? I¡¯m sure it¡¯s supposed to be tomorrow for the monster appears! It¡¯s a day early! [Next] Translator¡¯s Corner: Finally after the boring introduction chapters ¡­ here comes the cliffhanger. CH 9 Translated by cabinfourtranslations. ¡°Run ¡­ run away!¡± I shouted sharply, but James didn¡¯t move. He just glanced back at the monster and waved his hand. ¡°Keeek!¡± A fierce wind blew and the next moment, the flame raccoon split in two. The situation was over in a flash. James smiled leisurely at Jina and even reassured me. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I can defeat this monster.¡± Thank Goodness. I was afraid that a large-scale dungeon break would explode, but it must have been just one monster. Unlike in the past, the crisis can be avoided. My heart finally calmed down when I saw the raccoon completely double-sliced. Jina was away for a while to contact the main office, and James asked me. ¡°Tell me where I can buy this fantastic coffee.¡± ¡°Yes? If you come any time, I will serve you coffee.¡± ¡°I will return home in three days. I don¡¯t want to go back home when I think that I can¡¯t taste this perfect taste again. Please let me know.¡± This is just an instant coffee produced by mainstream brand. The coffee mix that is sold in most supermarkets in Korea. I just brewed it using the ¡®Cafe in My Hand¡® skill. Still, I was overwhelmed with James¡¯s enthusiasm and stopped my honest answer. ¡°When you go to the supermarket, they sell coffee in bags like this. Yeah? Ah, I¡¯ll write down the brand name and the address here, so if you ask the staff¡­.¡± I wrote down the supermarket address and the instant coffee brand¡¯s name in a neat paper and handed it over to James. But at that very moment. Puk. ,Monster¡¯s claws pierced James¡¯ chest. Segek. Blood spattered with a creepy sound as if something was being crushed. Its large mouth opened wide and sharp teeth bit James¡¯ arm. Drip, drip. The blood that flows down mixed with the monster¡¯s saliva. Uh? What is this? My brain isn¡¯t working properly. I¡¯m scared. My body trembled with instinctive fear and I couldn¡¯t even move properly. Big mouth and sharp teeth. The monster that appeared now was not like a C-class Flame Raccoon. It¡¯s much bigger¡­. ¡°Ugh, Heukh, Euhuk ¡­ Ugh!¡± James groaned and covered the wound with his hand. However, it was not enough to stop the pouring blood. Even at a glance, the wound just now was fatal. ¡°Run away. I will stop this monster.¡± James, who staggered up, used his skill. ¡°Keeeeek!¡± The monster that was cut by the blade wind screamed. Is it working? However, even after the gust of wind stopped, the monster was still intact. ¡°Ugh¡­.¡± ¡®It¡¯s disgusting¡­.¡¯ The monster I saw right in front of me resembled a bear. However, it was just so big and scary that it could not be compared to an ordinary bear. The fur seemed as hard as steel, and the head reached the ceiling of the store. There were horns on the monster¡¯s head and it seemed like a hole would be drilled in the ceiling. [A Cave Black Bear (A) has appeared.] It¡¯s an A-class? The late system notification delivered disappointing information. ¡°Keuuung!¡± While screaming, the cave black bear swung its front paws. Crack! The table, cut in half by sharp claws, fell sideways, and blocking our path. I could hide behind the table, but it was only a matter of time before I died. If the monster hits an old wooden table twice, it will become powder. James¡¯ wounds were fatal at first glance. I wasn¡¯t confident of running away from that monster¡¯s attack with James. No, it¡¯s the same even if I was alone. No matter how I get out, the monster will come after me and tear me apart. Ugh, it really hurts to be torn by a monster¡¯s claws. Since I am speaking from experience, you can believe this claim. It¡¯s an experience I never want to go through twice ¡°¡­.!¡± Crunch. The heavy front paws tore the table like a piece of paper. Now it was time for the monster to tear me apart with just two steps. Am I going to die again? In vain like this? A few days¡¯ events that I experienced after returning from the future ran through my head. It was a second life that was too short. The fate of dying in the monster¡¯s hands doesn¡¯t change, did regression just change the place of death? Such pessimistic thoughts dominated my mind. ¡°Ugh¡­.!¡± The moment I foresee the pain that will follow and close my eyes tightly, a translucent barrier surrounded by light appeared in front of me. It was James¡¯ skill. I was relieved for a while, but when the cave black bear pounded the barrier, it began to crack little by little. When the barrier did not break at once, the monster hit it with its horns this time. Bang! The barrier shook as if it were about to break. ¡°Unbelievable¡­.¡± James muttered with a look of despair. The pain seemed considerable. His face was pale, and his biting lips were almost purple. He murmured in a harsh voice, perhaps determined to let only me run away. ¡°Run away. I cannot move.¡± Even so, it hurts my conscience to leave the dying hunter alone and there is no way to escape in the first place. ¡°Mieum, is there any way? Mieum!¡± I called out Mieum with the feeling of grabbing the last straw. Agent of the system ¡­ it¡¯s because she said she¡¯s not an ordinary cat. ¡°Meooong (Why is that here¡­.)¡± ¡°Mieum?¡± ¡°¡­.¡± But Mieum didn¡¯t answer. She just groaned at the cave black bear with her fur raised. I was hoping for a secret skill that could solve this situation, but there seems to be no other way. You said you were an agent! You said you weren¡¯t an ordinary cat! ¡°Why is that thing here ¡­ that¡¯s not like a C-class Flame Raccoon! It¡¯s a cursed apostle who now submits to a sealed higher being.¡± Mieum? ¡°Hey, can¡¯t you just tell me in words I know?¡± I have no idea what you mean by being a higher being or an apostle. It¡¯s a completely fantasy world. And right now, right before being torn by the monster¡¯s claws, it was not an appropriate situation to talk about it. ¡°The cave black bear is not an ordinary monster. A long time ago ¨€¨€ made ¨€¨€¨€¨€¡­.¡± ¡°Mieum?¡± Again. I couldn¡¯t hear some of Mieum¡¯s words. Furthermore, a red system window blinked in front of my eyes. [Warning: Abnormal Approach] [System Error: ¡ª. ¡ª.¡ª] [System Error: ¡ª. ¡ª.¡ª] Mieum and the system window, the things I gained through awakening, were of no help in this crisis situation. I¡¯m glad Jina isn¡¯t here. At least one person could have run away. I hope she wouldn¡¯t be too surprised when she found out later. The moment when I¡¯m ready for my second death. There was a twinkling red light on the inner wall. A red light was leaking from the door leading to the space. Was it originally that color? It used to be blue. No, it wasn¡¯t the time to think about it. Let¡¯s go into that space first. Monsters won¡¯t be able to get there, so let¡¯s hang in there until another hunter comes to rescue us. ¡°¡­.¡± The thought of what to do calmed me down. It¡¯s too early to die. I¡¯ve regressed, but I haven¡¯t even completed the tutorial quest yet! ¡°Get up at once.¡± ¡°Leave me and run away.¡± ¡°Hurry up. We need to move before the barrier collapses.¡± I put my arm under James¡¯ armpit and got up. My legs trembled at the heavy weight of his body. In the meantime, James¡¯ face was getting worse every minute by minute. I was terrified that he might die like this. No, there is still time. He can survive if he enters the space through the door. I somehow managed to support his large body and move inward. It¡¯s just a little further. Just a little bit¡­. Brak! Just a few steps away, the barrier that had been close to the ground completely shattered with a bursting sound. Ooooooh! The cave black bear screamed and ran towards me. There was a red-lighted door right in front of me, but it¡¯s already too late. It would be faster for the cave black bear to tear me apart than for me to jump through the door. ¡°Ugh¡­.¡± Mieum said something at my feet, but I couldn¡¯t afford to answer. I just pray that this death will be less painful. ¡°¡­.Uh?¡± The cave black bear that was running at us paused and hardened. Then it faltered back. It still drooled and showed its teeth, but there was no sign that it would be rushing foward. What¡¯s wrong with it? The cave black bear seemed to be afraid of something. It looked at me, or to be exact, the wall behind us with terrified eyes. A gate on the wall that emits red light. Suddenly, I felt a tremendous pressure from beyond the wall. My heart is pounding at an unknown sensation. There¡¯s something. It¡¯s something sinister. I couldn¡¯t figure it out, but the primal fear that knowing there was something terrifying took over my body. I was sweating profusely without realizing it. But what the hell is in there? When I met Mieum, there was only a cozy lawn under the blue sky. I was embarrassed by the unfamiliar space itself, but there was no sign of danger. Then, a voice came into my head. [There¡¯s someone who doesn¡¯t know the subject and installs it in my ¨€¨€.] System message? No, it¡¯s different. It sounds like the system message, but much lower ¡­ it was a deep voice. I had goosebumps. It seems like James didn¡¯t hear anything because he gave no respond. Am I the only one who heard it? Maybe I ¡­ should I go to the hospital? [Go back, apostle. This is my ¨€¨€, there is nowhere for you to set foot.] It seemed like someone laughed. An extremely rough laugh. Almost at the same time as the voice stopped, a flash of light flashed. Thud! The cave black bear fell down. ¡°¡­.¡± ¡°¡­.¡± The cave black bear turned into ashes and disappeared. The place where there was a huge body now only filled with soot and dust. What happened? It happened so quickly that I couldn¡¯t understand the situation well. All of sudden, the monster disappeared. Is it really dead? My head was filled with only doubts, then suddenly I heard a man¡¯s soft voice from the entrance. CH 10 Translated by cabinfourtranslations. ¡°Are you alright?¡± It was a tall man who entered the entrance. His long, disheveled hair covered his forehead. Due to the fact that he also wore glasses, his face was not clearly visible. However, the sign in his chest clearly caught my eye, it¡¯s a sign that indicated he¡¯s a Hunter. It¡¯s a Hunter. I can live now. With a sense of relief, the image of James who was on the verge of losing his consciousness caught my eye. ¡°The injured ¡­ there is an injured person here!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s move him out. There will be other people coming soon.¡± Perhaps it was because he was a strong hunter, he carried the large James on his back and took him outside. There was a chaotic mess outside. Ambulances arrived in a row, news reporters came with their cameras, and there are also several officials who clean up the surroundings. According to what the officials who were cleaning up the remains of monsters around me said, the situation was like this: When a rift is not processed in time, the monster pops out of the rift is called a ¡°Dungeon Break¡±. Monsters that endlessly pour out and attack humans are simply a disaster. The dungeon break that occurred 15 years ago destroyed a city. But what if the dungeon break didn¡¯t happen in a single rift, but in the great dungeon Abyss? If monsters pour out of an infinite dungeon that has not yet been completely attacked¡­. It¡¯s a contingency emergency, of course. A few days ago, the hunters who were looking around this area because of an anonymous report were nervous. ¡®That must be the report I made¡­¡¯ It is said that the monsters that suddenly poured out became ashes and disappeared. It¡¯s the same as when the cave black bear died. No way, was it done by the strange voice I heard earlier? I don¡¯t know for sure yet, but it¡¯s a fortunate thing among the misfortunes. Even in the midst of embarrassment, the hunters were busy moving to rectify the situation. ¡°There¡¯s an injured person!¡± ¡°Hurry up and lay him down here!¡± The surroundings quickly became busy as the Hunters, who appeared all of a sudden, examined James¡¯ wounds and checked the broken store. It was then that I noticed something. I got surprised when I recognized the jumpers the Hunters wore. There was a large blue thread written ¡®Cheongna¡¯ on it. Why is Cheongna Guild here? Cheongna Guild was one of the top three guilds in Korea, the so-called Big Three Guilds. However, unlike the corporate guild ¡°CNL Corporation¡± and the family guild ¡°Royal Guild¡± that are also the part of the Big Three, the details of this guild were veiled. First, there was not much external activity. They rarely appeared on TV shows, and their activities were all about silently raiding the dungeons. A small guild with little external activity. It is the opposite of CNL, the guild that gained popularity with various businesses. However, no one doubts that Cheongna Guild is one of the Big Three. This is because it shows the best attack efficiency with the minimum number of people. So far, there are zero deaths have been reported during their attacks. The guild members¡¯ grades are on average B+ or higher. No. 1 in rift treatment efficiency. The 1st place in the attack progress of the great dungeon Abyss. Among them, the seven hunters who belong to the main party called ¡°Blue Vine¡± were especially famous. This is because each member faithfully performed their role. Any hunter who has ever thought of things like ¡®I wish the Tanker had done their job properly¡®, ¡®Did you doze of when you¡¯re supposed to do the healing?¡¯, ¡®Look at the damage, does the Dealer fall asleep?¡¯ would know about this; how precious are party members who can do their job well, and how difficult it is to meet them. In short, a place where strong people gather and work hard together. Even among hunters, it is almost like a fantasy Munchkin guild. And the person who leads Cheongna Guild is¡­. The number one Hunter in Korea, the guild leader is Muwon. Currently, the person who took the first place of the ranking is unknown in name, age, and address. So, instead of his name, he was called Muwon, the title registered on the Hunter¡¯s Register. Not to mention high school graduation photos, something like SNS post that was written before becoming a hunter stated ¡®I have to be the best.¡¯, ¡®Kekekeke ¡­ the darkness encroaches on my body.¡® is rare in an era when all such writings are easily stolen. Not that there were no attempts to uncover his identity, but they all ended in failure. The hunter paparazzi newspaper ¡®Hunter Scope¡®, which was particularly obsessed, even posted an apology on the main page of the site, stating that it would never cover the paparazzi of ¡®Muwon¡® again. Various rumors were circulating, things like that he actually had a dirty personality, the real ¡®Muwon¡¯ was dead and that the person who replaces him now is a fake, he is a virtual hunter, or that he is actually the final weapon made by a secret organization ¡­ there¡¯s a lot of nonsense like that but none of them has credibility. Maintaining this level of mysticism raises the question of whether he is really strong. However, after Muwon cleared the A-grade dungeon alone, the noisy sound completely disappeared. It was a dungeon that the first-team party of CNL gave up on. Without Muwon, Korea would have suffered great damage. And the video showing ¡®Muwon¡¯s skill use¡¯ had hundreds of millions of views despite the poor quality¡­. In short, he is an incredibly strong hunter, the best of the best in Korea. However, for some reason, he rarely shows up, the No. 1 ranker stayed in the shadows. At least, the deputy guild leader of Cheongna Guild showed his face on the media. I¡¯m sure the name is ¡­ what was his name? I¡¯ve heard of it before. My heart felt sorry for the name that I couldn¡¯t think of. ¡°You¡¯re Miss Kwon Rieul, right?¡± ¡°Yes?¡± When I turned my head, there was a good-looking man in front of me. ¡°My name is Han Yisung. I am the deputy leader of the Cheongna Guild.¡± That¡¯s right. Han Yi Sung. I remembered. Yeah, that¡¯s the name. I think he¡¯s in his mid-30s? Lastly, he looks a little younger than when I saw him on the news. He wore a suit and tie, which gave him a more office-like atmosphere than a hunter. He¡¯s so famous given that I¡¯ve even seen him on the news, but how does this person know me? I¡¯ve never even been on the news. ¡°Do you know me?¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you the cousin of Kwon Jiwoon from the White Silver Guild?¡± ¡°Ah.¡± He knew Kwon Jiwoon. Indeed, it was not strange to say that they were an acquaintance because both of them are hunters. Hunter Han Yisung said with a bitter smile on his sociable face. ¡°I heard a lot about you. You are very different from Hunter Kwon Jiwoon.¡± I¡¯ve heard that a lot. Compared to Kwon Jiwoon¡¯s striking appearance, I have a common impression. If you put us side by side, you¡¯ll get the impression that one is an important person and the other is a Person A. If it¡¯s an RPG game, it¡¯s like a novice village innkeeper who sees off the main character hero¡¯s party. The family of a famous hunter is usually treated like that. Although I have awakened, I am a F-class owner cafe, so I am just like a normal person. Naturally, the answer I gave was stiff. ¡°Because we don¡¯t look similiar?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s not about looks, Hunter Kwon Jiwoon¡­.¡± Han Yisung, who was waving his hand in surprise, blurted out the end of his words as he couldn¡¯t choose the right word. ¡°¡­.Rieul.¡± At that time, Kwon Jiwoon appeared through the people around him. Perhaps he was surprised to see me in a mess, drenched in blood, his dark eyes sank deeper. Why is Kwon Jiwoon here? Oh, it was an emergency, so they must have called him as a healer. ¡°Did you get hurt? That¡¯s why I told you to stop working in a place like this¡­.¡± ¡°¡­.¡± A heavy sigh followed. ¡°Come here, I will treat you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m okay.¡± ¡°Kwon Rieul.¡± But all the blood on me was from James, and all I got was just a scratch. I continued, pointing to James lying on the cot. ¡°James, more than me ¡­ Look at that Hunter first. He got hurt a lot.¡± As Kwon Jiwoon approached, the medical staff who was monitoring James¡¯ condition made a place for him. James was still unconscious. Although the first aid was already given, the arm that was bitten by the cave black bear was deeply dug, and the blood did not stop flowing, so his clothes were soaked. Kwon Jiwoon immediately used his skill, and the twinkling light from his fingertips was absorbed into James¡¯ body. Slowly, the bleeding stops and the flesh reattaches. It is an amazing skill effect whenever I look at it. Even so, James still showed no sign of opening his eyes. No, it seemed to get worse. His face is ashy and his lips are dark. In addition, Kwon Jiwoon¡¯s expression became serious. ¡°Why ¡­ what¡¯s wrong? Is it too much?¡± ¡°This ¡­ this might be difficult.¡± Kwon Jiwoon, the 12th-ranked hunter, is the nation¡¯s best healer. His skill ¡®Healing Light¡® is a powerful healer skill that can heal even the worst wounds with just a breath. When he said skeptical words like that, I was terrified. If James were to die¡­. No, let¡¯s not think about it. Why die? He needs to survive. Hunter Han Yisung, who was watching from the side, spoke to me. ¡°Miss Rieul, what kind of monster attacked you?¡± ¡°Ah, that ¡­. it was said that it was an A-class Cave Black Bear.¡± As soon as he heard my words, Hunter Han Yisung¡¯s face darkened. ¡°Why is that here?¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with it?¡± ¡°A-Class Cave Black Bear is a monster that only rarely occurs in dungeons that are originally grade B or higher. There are only a handful of them that have been observed in 20 years.¡± But the monster is already dead, so why do he looks like this? Why hasn¡¯t James opened his eyes yet? ¡°The claws of the Cave Black Bear are cursed. It¡¯s the opposite of a healing skill.¡± ¡°The trauma has healed, but the part that has been engulfed by the curse is reducing the effectiveness of the Healing Light. In order to be completely healed, the curse must first be lifted¡­.¡± ¡°There is currently no hunter in Korea who can lift the A-class curse.¡± Hunter Han Yisung let out a low sigh, and Kwon Jiwoon lowered his eyes bitterly. What, why are you two making such faces? Don¡¯t tell me there¡¯s really no other way¡­. ¡°Then, James¡­.¡± Kwon Jiwoon put his hand on my shoulder. The deep disappointment he felt has been transmitted to me as well. ¡°¡­Kwon Rieul, where are you going?¡± Is there any way? I ran into the store with a feeling of grasping at straws. Before the monster appeared, James drank two cups of coffee mix. The effect is a 100% increase in recovery speed. If I let him drink up to the third cup, the recovery effect may be stronger. It may be a silly idea, but it may work. I had no choice but to hold on to such hope. The inside of the store was a mess with debris and broken tables. I quickly found what I needed inside. Fortunately, the electrical pot was not broken. The coffee mix bags, paper cups and teaspoons were also crushed but still remained usable. I immediately used the skill while boiling water. ¡®Cafe in My Hand.¡¯ I was in a hurry. I quickly poured the coffee mix into a paper cup. [High concentration increases the perfection of the drink.] [Item: Coffee Mix (¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï)] [Status: Perfect¡­.] Without even having time to check the system notification to make sure it was done properly, I grabbed the paper cup and ran to James. ¡°Kwon Rieul, that?¡± ¡°Let me try it once.¡± Kwon Jiwoon didn¡¯t stop me. Rather than expecting it to work, it seemed like he was just concerned about my mind. It¡¯s hard to feed a person who has collapsed with hot coffee mix. I waited for the coffee to cool down moderately, then grabbed his nose and poured it into his mouth. ¡­. Gulp. Translator¡¯s Corner: You can google ¡°what is munchkin in RPG¡± if you want to get a detailed explanation of munchkin, but if you don¡¯t want to do that, you can be a simple person like me who simplified the term as ¡°munchkin = ridiculously OP¡±. I changed the translation of ?? from Cheongra to Cheongna. I used Cheongra in the first chapter because I was thinking about Blue Dragon (?? / Cheongryong), and the guild¡¯s name might be similiar. But when I googled it, Cheongna got used more oftenly than Cheongra as a place¡¯s name even though it has same hangul. Idk you guys can tell which one you like more between Cheongra and Cheongna. I¡¯m still thinking if the name is supposed to be translated to Blue-something. Cheong (?) is Blue (or Green, if that¡¯s what you choose to believe), but I¡¯m not sure about the ?. Oh, and please give this a vote too. As usual, the ¡®u¡¯ or ¡®eo¡¯ in Korean name is such a pain to decide. CH 11 Translated by cabinfourtranslations. Fortunately, James drank all the coffee mix without spitting it out. As soon as the paper cup was empty, I blinked at Kwon Jiwoon. He quickly used his healing skill. I watched anxiously as the healing light was absorbed into James¡¯ body. Please. I muttered to myself several times. ¡°Cough, cough!¡± James coughed and opened his eyes. The dark complexion gradually returned to normal. Thank Goodness. He¡¯s alive now. ¡°Ugh ¡­ This is.¡­?¡± ¡°Are you awake?¡± He hadn¡¯t fully woken up yet, but they said he was fine now that he had regained consciousness. ¡°What did you feed him earlier?¡± After James was taken to the hospital, Hunter Han Yiseong asked me. He must be wondering what kind of drink that successfully helped the healing process. ¡°That¡­.¡± I didn¡¯t mean to keep it a secret forever. I¡¯ve awakened, but I¡¯m still hesitant to reveal that my coffee has such an effect. Even though I didn¡¯t know much about Hunter, I knew that ¡®Cafe in My Hand¡® was a pretty good skill because Mieum said that I am the only one who can give an effect to coffee like this. Still, my body is a F-class. It is burdensome to get the attention if I informed others about this skill of mine now. My goal is always to be a cafe owner in a quiet place. I know how much attention Kwon Jiwoon suffered after awakened as a healer. Reporters came to the school we attended. Such a situation is no use for me. I¡¯ll have to tell Kwon Jiwoon about my awakening and skills one day, but¡­. Anyway, that one day is not now. Let¡¯s think about it later. ¡°Ah, that ¡­ it¡¯s a potion entrusted to me by Hunter James.¡± My conscience was slightly pricked because I answered with a lie. Fortunately, Hunter Han Yiseong believed me without any doubt. Rather than the fact that he drank the coffee mix, it¡¯s more likely that James was drinking a potion to dispel the curse. After being treated for my wound, I finally realized what had happened. It was the first time that a person almost died in front of my eyes. I tried to calm myself, but I couldn¡¯t stop shaking. ¡°Ha ¡­. Huu¡­..¡± I took a deep breath to calm my pounding chest. I¡¯m still survived. Not dead. James and I, who died in the hand of monsters in the past before my regression. Both of us are still alive now. Did I somehow change one future? At that moment of relief, a notification window appeared in front of me. [Achievement: ¡®Avoiding the First Death Crisis¡® has been achieved. Please collect the reward.] What? What is this? I¡¯ve achieved something? ¡°Kwon Rieul, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Kwon Jiwoon asked when I only stared into the air with a stiff expression after receiving the treatment. ¡°No, I¡¯m just a little ¡­ I guess it¡¯s because I¡¯m tired.¡± ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t want to be hospitalized?¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay. I just got treated.¡± Kwon Jiwoon gently stepped down only after I said that I¡¯m okay, there¡¯s no pain, and everything¡¯s fine five more times. In the meantime, I moved to an inconspicuous corner and opened the detail screen. [Achievement: Avoiding the First Death Crisis Congratulations. You safely escaped the danger of death. Let¡¯s value life. Reward: Branch of Yggdrasil x1] It was something uncomfortable. First of all, the expression ¡°First Death Crisis¡± bothered me. First? Does that mean there¡¯s a second and third one? I don¡¯t even want to think about going through something like this again. What¡¯s with all these ominous words? Moreover, it¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve ever heard of the thing that was written as the reward. Yggdrasil? I searched on my phone to see if it was an expensive item I didn¡¯t know about, but only unrelated game items came up. I couldn¡¯t see where Mieum had gone to ask what this was. In any case, I can¡¯t get the reward in this place where other people are present, so let¡¯s find out later. I turned off the notification window, got up, and looked around. I wanted to thank the Hunter who came to help earlier. However, no matter how much I looked around, the Hunter was nowhere to be seen. I thought I¡¯d be able to find it quickly because I stood in a high place. Shall I ask Hunter Han Yiseong? Then, Jina found me and rushed to me. ¡°Miss Rieul, are you okay? I¡¯m sorry, this happened while I was out alone.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be sorry. I¡¯m glad miss Jina is safe.¡± I was sincere. If Jina had been attacked by the cave black bear, she might have been seriously injured. ¡°I was going to come earlier¡­.¡± Jina lowered her gaze with a dark expression on her face. As soon as a C-class flame raccoon appeared, Jina requested support from a hunter of the Dungeon Management Office. However, the hunters of the Dungeon Management Agency were late with various excuses. C-class flame raccoons are not strong monsters from hunter¡¯s point of view. They said that it would not pay much, so they pushed each other to go instead. It was amazing. It¡¯s like they can¡¯t go because they¡¯re dying. Fortunately, Cheongna Guild supported us in time. It answered my question, but I felt mixed up. This is because it reminded me of my time in the company before the regression, I was stuck between people who always put something off as if it¡¯s not their business. I took it here and they told me to go over there, and when I took it over there, they told me to take it here. In the end, the grown-ups were fighting over who filled the printer with paper. Can¡¯t you just take care of the work during that time? Hunters had that kind of person too. Anyway, the inside of the store, which was damaged because of the monster, would be repaired by the Dungeon Management Office and they even compensated me. Perhaps because there are so many things like this, the procedure was simple, and all I had to do was sign a simple document and it was over. ¡°Let¡¯s talk about the details later and take a good rest today.¡± Furthermore, they even booked me a pretty expensive hotel as a temporary accommodation. Kwon Jiwoon told me to come to his house if I had nowhere to go, but I chose the hotel. It was because I thought it would be better to be alone to properly check the rewards in the system notification window. There¡¯s no reason to see Kwon Jiwoon¡¯s face at home. Even though Kwon Jiwoon was the one who suggested that, it would not have been sincere. It¡¯s also a secret that I wanted to sleep in a hotel more. They said the hotel offers a breakfast buffet. The luxurious breakfast buffet that I saw every time I blogged in my life before I returned to the past. With excitement, I searched for breakfast buffet postings on my phone. Wow, the cereal section also has a lot of variety. Mieum will like it. ¡°Mieum!¡± But Mieum was nowhere to be found. Come to think of it, I haven¡¯t seen her since she said something strange when she saw the monster earlier. Even if I didn¡¯t call her, she was always sitting at my feet and scratching the floor for food. Where did she go? She didn¡¯t run away by herself just because she was afraid, did she? I believe that Mieum is not such a disrespectful cat. I don¡¯t mind being alone because the monsters were already dead, but¡­. Mieum, you didn¡¯t go with me. I already called. There¡¯s nothing else to complain later. *** [Tutorial Quest: Coffee is My Dream A thousand miles starts with one step. Let¡¯s learn to use the skill, starting with the simplest coffee. Brew 100 cups of Coffee Mix: 99/100 Rewards: Experience (100 EXP), 50 rubies, Americano recipe, ???] I checked the quest screen with a cup of coffee mix in my hand. The clearly marked number ¡¯99¡¯ caught my eye. Finally, it¡¯s the last. The last cup of the long tutorial quest is in my hands. If I drink this one cup, I will finally finish the 100 cups of coffee mix. Since this ini the very first tutorial quest given to me, the system must have been ruined quickly if it¡¯s a modern game. These days, gamers leave quickly if they don¡¯t give them a big scoop from the beginning. That¡¯s why I hope the reward item ¡®???¡¯ is a good one. As I was holding this last coffee mix in my hand, I was reminded of the past few days. I was just trying to make 100 cups of coffee mix, but too many things happened. In retrospect, the feeling is entirely new. First of all, the hotel I stayed in while the store was being repaired was an expensive place, so it was comfortable. It¡¯s very comfortable, but ¡­ the problem was that there was no breakfast buffet. A few days ago, rifts occurred nearby and the hotel restaurant was destroyed. My buffet! Nothing really works on my favor. Instead, the hotel offered other food, but I still wanted to eat the buffet. I poured out curses about dungeons and monsters inwardly. If I had been a hunter as strong as Muwon, I would have gone into all kinds of dungeons and wiped them all out. If you¡¯re the S-class hunter who ranks first in the country, you won¡¯t be afraid of dungeons or anything. And as you walk around wearing clothes with big names on it, you can secretly say this to everyone you meet on the street, ¡®Why? Do I look like the No. 1 hunter in Korea and the guild leader of Cheongna Guild?¡¯. I would buy a triangle kimbap at a convenience store and took out my Hunter ID card, pretending it was a mistake. Just thinking about it makes me feel good. How does it feel to be a hunter that the entire nation is curious about? So, it means that I was bored at the hotel to the extent that I thought of such nonsense. I took out the ¡®Branch of Yggdrasil¡® I got as a reward for the achievement, but I couldn¡¯t figure out its purpose because it was just a wooden stick with leaves. It was quite fresh. [Item: Branch of Yggdrasil (¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡î) A branch cut from Yggdrasil, The World Tree. It¡¯s perfect for natural interiors. Type: Tree Branch Note: Water only once a week.] There were only useless contents on the detail screen. It¡¯s perfect for the interior, so you want me to hang a tree branch like this in my house? In the end, I left the tree branch in the inventory. There was a lot of talk about the monster appearing on the Internet, but there was no special content because the damage was not great. *** { [Hunter SCOPE] Hunter James Jack Smith Hunter returns home safely after discharge ¡­ a heavy return journey } ¡ª ydh***: What the hell is that yellow box? f*ck it¡¯s so many ©¸ deonjjin: Isn¡¯t that Macmogol? ©¸ Cyber Cuisine King: Why is James buying Macmogol; ridiculous; ©¸ ilIii1lI: The box looks like this (photo) ©¸ Jja***: That¡¯s really Macmogol LOL Look at this article [Link] { [Hunter TALK¡ï] Hunter James, ranked 30th in the US, ¡°The more you drink, the better it tastes ¡­ it tastes like a drug¡± showing off his love for coffee mix } ¡ª GoldenMackerel: Look at his expression in the picture lol It¡¯s real HAHAHA ©¸ Mint chocolate toothpaste: Americans are like drugs, they¡¯re real ;LOL; ©¸ fff***: Have you tried? ©¸ Kim Seonghyeon: What the company is doing right now, let¡¯s shoot a commercial ¡ª rho***: If he ranked the 30th in the US, would than mean his rank is higher than Muwon here? ©¸ Hingheng: What do you mean, bastard, attacking Muwon like this. Don¡¯t you know that the achievements of Cheongna are fantastic???? ©¸ rho***: why are you suddenly got angry kk ©¸ Hingheng: You¡¯re talking bullshit, that 30th ranker won¡¯t be able to beat Han Yiseong, let alone Muwon ©¸ Market Recommendation rtj: Hingheng doing that because he joined Cheongna Guild before ©¸ BubbleBubble: Did they even recruit Hunter; ©¸ Healer Wanted: Isn¡¯t Cheongna just Muwon and Friends? ©¸ ddd***: It¡¯s not. Muwon is a super class, but among the hunters, the second-in-command Han Yiseong is also well-known. I think it¡¯s a common information, but you guys are so bitter;; ©¸ Ciero*: They¡¯re exhausting ©¸ flame raccoon dog: But where and what does Muwon really do? *** Well, it¡¯s peaceful. CH 12 Translated by cabinfourtranslations. James returned home after sending me message that we should carry out our promise to be pen pals. For the rest of the time, I rolled around watching TV on my bed. A life of idleness with nothing to do ¡­ is really great. Some people might say that playing all-day is boring, but that doesn¡¯t apply to me. The more I play, the more I want to play, so I think I can play forever. Three days later, today, I received a call from Jina that the shop had been repaired. The leisurely hotel life was inevitably over. I left the hotel and returned to the store. But ¡­ the store was unfamiliar. Is this really my store? There was no dust on the floor and everything from the wallpaper to the furniture inside was changed into new ones. Even the coffee machine and various household appliances were neatly organized. I can¡¯t believe they repaired it to this extent ¡­ being attacked by monsters is a worthwhile experience. No, kidding. It¡¯s a joke. I took it back. A word becomes a seed. I don¡¯t want to go through it again no matter how much I¡¯ll gain from it. Among them, the newly set table was so sophisticated that it seemed to be something that will be used by a popular cafe on Instagram. I took out the Branch of Yggdrasil from my inventory and placed it on the table. The green leaves added a natural atmosphere to the interior. ¡®This branch was really an interior item.¡¯ What should I do? It would be a problem if the number of customers suddenly increases if this place is rumored to be a a cafe with pretty interior. While I was excited with this vague delusion, the missing Mieum secretly appeared from the inside of the store. ¡°Mieum, where have you been?!¡± ¡°I was called for a while.¡± ¡°Where?¡± ¡°That ¡­ The system called me.¡± It¡¯s somewhat suspicious. She said she helped me because she was an agent of the system, but she¡¯s not making excuses after running away alone when a monster appeared. ¡°What did you say back then?¡± ¡°¡­..Meow.¡± Mieum played a different tune. ¡°Why, you said something about the cursed apostle.¡± ¡°Meooong, I¡¯m hungry.¡± I wanted to push more, but I stopped because Mieum looked dull. Well, anyway, the monster died and she came back safely, so it shouldn¡¯t be a big deal. Now, I really hope nothing happens. It¡¯s my wish, I hope it¡¯s quiet and peaceful until I open a proper cafe. *** Even so, in the end, my wish didn¡¯t come true. ¡°¡­.Ah.¡± It was because the moment I was about to drink the last cup of my 100 cups of coffee mix, I made eye contact with a suspicious person. *** Korea¡¯s No. 1 Hunter Community ¨C Hunter Channel. Free Forum Board. ¡ª Ranking, The Slave Hunters Guild is banned. Real life player kill in the dungeon. *** [Chatting] Is Muwon that strong? (377) Upvotes: 39 / Downvotes: 488 *** Writer: KimchiDumpling053 (Photo) Today¡¯s Hunter TV Live is a video capture of the 2nd Ranker, Choi Cedric¡¯s attack video and specifications O.O I was a bit surprised that Choi Cedric couldn¡¯t get first place with his specs.¡­ Honestly, he doesn¡¯t even show up even though he¡¯s ranked number one o.o LOL Is he even a real person??? It feels like I can only acknowledge him as the leader of Cheongna You have to be active to be the No. 1 HAHAHAHA I think Cedric is better *** ¡ª Apple Carrot Juice: This is fresh LOL ¡ª arc***: I gave this 3 points. This is low-level aggro. ¡ª OO: Crazy, in this lifetime I see all the bastards tried their best to find faults on Muwon HAHAHAHA Let me check your eyes ©¸ KimchiDumpling053: Why, didn¡¯t you see Choi Cedric has the full reward with 60% contribution on B-grade quest dungeon in Gunsan? Has Muwon ever been like this??? ©¸ OO: f*ck, at best, it¡¯s only full B-grade rewards HAHAHAHAHA ©¸ Moong: I¡¯m sure CNL gave him the last shot LOL ©¸ KimchiDumpling053: Instead of laughing, ask Muwon to explain ©¸ OOD: Don¡¯t feed the trolls~ ¡ª Creature: Choi Ce, is this you? ¡ª sus***: Choi Ce-ya, stop babbling and go to sleep ¡ª Healer Recruitment: Why do these sucking bastards fall for the idle Muwon? LOL ©¸ 10th Year Hunter: Choi Ce is a Kongline, go away hahahaha ¡ª Green Onion Kimchi: Today¡¯s hot take is this ©¸ ttl***: Uncle, go to work; ¡ª HaHa: I don¡¯t understand why aggro always talking nonsense about Muwon when Cheongna is clearly there yeye Muwon raised Cheongna, idiots. ¡ª Cha Chayoung: Is this such a strange post? I honestly think it¡¯s true?? I¡¯m not interested in Choi Ce, but 60% on B-grade is amazing. ©¸ rrr***: That¡¯s right HAHAHAHA ©¸ OO: How much do you get paid to write this? LOL ¡ª FLIGHT: I¡¯m so annoyed with aggro, so let me try to explain everything ¨C¡® Choi Ce is strong, but he awakened as an A-class, then they made him a S-class because he won the second place. Yes. But in HunChan, there¡¯s a rumor that everything was planned for Choi Ce. There¡¯s even whispers about the reason the 20th ranker left CNL was because they gave everything to Choi Ce. ¡ª FLIGHT: Next. Is it true that Muwon was the one who created the current Dungeon Management Office system? ©¸ Buy me a Golem: What is this??? Isn¡¯t it the government??? ©¸ Lime Love Team: Before the establishment of the Management Office, it was an Awakening Center. You can¡¯t set up a guild like now, and the Hunter will unconditionally become a public servant hahaha ¡ª FLIGHT: Lime is right, yes. There was a lot of corruption and the hunters were exploited. Back in my day, they will catch you if you accidentally run your mouth on HunChan. ©¸ Lime Love Team: I was called down to the basement and they asked me why I wrote my post then pressured me to delete it haha we also have a quota of ore, so we have to go to the dungeon and dig for it ©¸ HaHa: Even if you get an item, it will unconditionally go to the Center ¡­ the Hunter can¡¯t even touch it ©¸ 10th Year Hunter: There¡¯s a lot of tangle here. Isn¡¯t there also a rumor that the Center did some kind of experiment?;; ©¸ DungDungTakTak: There was a rumor like that ¡­ that the Awakening Center tried to create the Awakened ¡­. I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s true or not ©¸ OO: I¡¯m telling you, the evidence is all gone now ©¸ [This comment has been deleted due to accumulated reports.] ©¸ [This comment has been deleted due to accumulated reports.] ¡ª FLIGHT: Anyway, Muwon rebelled against it and ran out of the Center, then he set up his own guild 10 years ago. After that, the Awakening Center collapsed then and the Management Office was established. ©¸ cba***: Does that make sense?;; The Center collapsed because one hunter left? Wow??? ©¸ HaHa: What if that one hunter is the No. 1 HAHAHAHA even if they changed, they already lost the 1st ranker. ¡ª FLIGHT: Haha, that¡¯s why even if Muwon hides his identity, the Management Office can¡¯t touch him. ©¸ Nickname: Thank you, explanatory worm. ©¸ Buy me a Golem: Hul ¡­ God-Muwon didn¡¯t let me to be a public servant HAHAHA ¡ª Hunter¡¯s Roomcorner: Did you forget that he gave up on attacking the A-class dungeon in Chuncheon two years ago? HAHAHAHAHA Who fixed that??? The idle Muwon took care of it ©¸ Sniper Fairy: It was famous LOL The Great Escape of Choi Ce ©¸ OO: I¡¯m afraid that he needs to shield himself because it¡¯s an A-grade LOL He realised that he was transformed into S-class, right??? What¡¯s stopping him in slurping Chuncheon LOL ¡ª Where is Kimchi: Kimchi Dumpling bastard, you changed your nickname because we talked about Chuncheon Dungeon, are you scared? HAHAHAHA ©¸ Super God Kimchi: They¡¯ll bury it if you stay quiet, but Choi Se always scratch it ¡ª del***: [Link] Muwon¡¯s Chuncheon Dungeon video. If you look at this, you can see that the A-class daemon melts the moment it enters the Muwon Field. ©¸ Sugar Drip: ??? This is possible??? ©¸ Legend11: How can you compare that Choi Se with this hahahahaha ©¸ cba***: I can¡¯t see his face because it¡¯s shaky TT ©¸ Buy me a Golem: Ahh f*ck the video was deleted ?? I missed it again T_T T_T T_T ©¸ TT: Let us watch it too, Cheongna bastards ?????? ¡ª Double Two: But, really, why is Muwon hiding his identity this much? Even the video was taken without a proper shot at his face ©¸ Jeju Guild District 1: I would brag about it to everyone if I¡¯m ranked as the No. 1 ©¸ Kano-jjang: I guess he¡¯s not an attention seeker like you ©¸ MM: Is it because he¡¯s ugly? ;;;; ©¸ lI1l1Il: but when a Hunter awakened, their appearance will get better, right? ©¸ OO: Maybe it¡¯s not enough LOL ©¸ MayoMayo: Han Yiseong knows Muwon¡¯s face,, if only he told us whether he was handsome or not *** In a flash, a black shadow disappeared through the window. ¡°Mi, Mieum, that!¡± ¡°Meow?¡± I didn¡¯t see it wrong, did I? I¡¯m sure I saw someone standing by the window. Contrary to my fuss, Mieum just lay on her stomach and scratched the floor as if she had not seen anything. I got goosebumps. In fact, while resting at the hotel, I was in a state similiar to arkoudaphobia. I was surprised to see a polar bear documentary on TV, my heart pounded when I saw a large teddy bear in a souvenir shop, and my heart raced just by looking at the bear emoticon on KakaoTalk. I almost died. That¡¯s how much the aftereffects were in this world. Maybe the monster appeared again¡­. No, it¡¯s not. That¡¯s impossible. Let¡¯s calm down. Who could be that unlucky. Yeah, I must have mistakenly seen the leaves flying in the wind. ¡°It¡¯s especially windy today.¡± ¡°Kya? What are you talking about? Isn¡¯t the weather nice?¡± It¡¯s the wind ¡­ right? ¡°Uh¡­.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± ¡°Uugh¡­.¡± ¡°Go to the bathroom if you are in a hurry.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not it!¡± As expected, I can¡¯t do this. After contemplating, I put down the last cup of coffee mix. I can¡¯t just leave a nauseous feeling at this historic moment ahead of the quest completion. It¡¯s probably not a leaf that¡¯s flying in the wind, but it¡¯s definitely nothing! I¡¯ll check it quickly, then I can receive 5 million won with a refreshing heart. I opened the door and went out to the front yard. Even if it was a yard, it didn¡¯t take long to look around because there was only a small space between the wall and the store. ¡®No one¡¯s here, right?¡¯ I tried to get into the road with peace of mind. Squash. ¡®Squashy?¡® I felt an unfamiliar touch my her feet. what? The moment my feet slammed on the floor again, a short scream was heard from below. When I looked over there, there was a man curled up under the wall, hiding. He opened his mouth, pointing to his foot trampled by my left foot. ¡°Ouch, ouch ¡­ excuse me, could you put your foot away please¡­..¡± ¡°Ahhhhhh!¡± It¡¯s a person. A person has appeared. Wait, a person? Whew, I thought it was a monster. Why is anyone in this place and making me confused? ¡°Sssh, look, if you can keep your voice down for a moment¡­.¡± Hiding on the wall was a man with disheveled hair and thick-rimmed glasses covering his face. His face was pale, but he¡¯s smiling. My grandmother used to say this. Beware of the man who smiles at the first meeting. Actually, she never said that. In any case, he was suspicious even at a glance. ¡°Who ¡­ who are you?!¡± ¡°So, please lower your voice¡­.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell me ¡­ are you a peddler?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not true, but¡­.¡± Then, there was a movement over the wall. There seemed to be several people running this way from over there. The man covered my mouth with his hand and hid himself against the wall. ¡°I don¡¯t read newspapers. The water pipes are fine. There¡¯s a lot of toothpaste ¡­ huufp?!¡± ¡°Shh, be quiet.¡± ¡°Ugh, mmph, mmph, hmmmp (What is this, you crazy bastard)!¡± ¡°Wait a minute, like this.¡± ¡°Ugh (Let go of me)!¡± I struggled, but the man did not release his hand. ¡°Where did he go?¡± ¡°Go over there!¡± ¡°Once you get caught, I really won¡¯t let you go!¡± After a while, the sound of words faded away. It was not until the people were completely out of sight that the man finally got up. [Next] Translator¡¯s Corner: Here comes the dictionary. Oh, and HunCha is short for Hunter Channel. ISTG I spent 15 minutes thinking about this one, before I remembered that the forum was named ¡®Hunter Channel¡¯. And will it be fine if I just write the korean suffix (things like -ssi, -ya, -nim, -ah, etc.) just the way it is? There¡¯s a limit of what can be translated to English, and using ¡®Sir¡¯ and ¡®Miss¡¯ is uncomfortable when this is a modern story with korean name. I hope the netizen talks are understandable enough for you. I already tried my best with that amount of internet slangs, but I guess the result is still in poor quality ¡­ in the meantime, there will be no updayes for 2 or 3 days because I need to recover from all these internet slangs. CH 13 ¡°I apologize. I¡¯ll release your hand, but please keep your voice as low as possible ¡­ can you?¡± I nodded. Then, the man slowly lifted his hand from my mouth. ¡°People ¡­ mmph, hmmp!¡± ¡°Haha ¡­ Actually, I¡¯m being chased right now. If you let me hide for a moment, I¡¯ll let you go.¡± Wow, it couldn¡¯t be more suspicious. Is there any reason to hide on the wall in front of this store in broad daylight and avoid people? A spy? Or a criminal? ¡°I¡¯m not a criminal.¡± Did you read my mind? ¡°I think it¡¯s harder to not know when all your thoughts are revealed on your face like that.¡± It was a perfect poker face, he was a quick-witted man. ¡°Anyway, you know what I mean, right?¡± I nodded, again. Of course, I was going to kick him out as soon as he took his hand off¡­. ¡­.until I realised one thing. While my mouth was closed with his palm, I naturally took a closer look into the man¡¯s face. Although his face is covered by thick glasses, the face line is quite fine. His eyebrows fell well, and his long eyelashes cast a shadow over his dark, twinkling eyes. His skin, which I had initially thought was pale, up close was a lively milky color. In short, this man is ¡­ handsome. It was enough to say that he¡¯s pretty. My reasoning told me I need to scream right away, but my emotions blocked it. Do you know how hard it is to see a handsome man in real life? That¡¯s enough to brag to a friend through KakaoTalk for an hour when I happen to meet a man like this on the street. I hate getting involved in troublesome things. He didn¡¯t seem like a criminal, but he was being chased, and for some reason, the man was like a bunch of troublesome things. This is my motto after I returned from death, ¡°Let¡¯s avoid troublesome things¡°. It¡¯s a motto that I just set up a while ago, nevertheless¡­. I really need to kick him out, but I need to¡­. Slowly, the man removed his hand from my mouth. His eyes met mine. It was an incredible beauty. ¡°¡­.come inside for now.¡± In the end, it was the emotional side that won. Yes, a person doesn¡¯t have to live so rationally every time. *** ¡°Mieum, a guest has arrived.¡± ¡°Meooong (what are you talking about all of a sudden)?¡± ¡°There is such a thing.¡± The man came in and sat down at an empty seat in front of the table. He was an intriguingly flawless man. I posed a question to such a man. ¡°So, why was someone from Cheongna Guild hiding there?¡± To avoid misunderstanding, I didn¡¯t just bring him in because of the man¡¯s rare and shiny appearance. This is because when he blocked my mouth, after his appearance, I also noticed a mark engraved on the collar of the man¡¯s coat. Hearing my words, the man stopped moving. I could feel him looking at me with careful eyes. ¡°Why are you surprised? On your clothes ¡­ that¡¯s the logo of Cheongna, right?¡± I pointed to the blue embroidery on the coat. The blue vine shape was definitely the logo of Cheongna Guild. The guild you belong to is the most reliable proof of your identity. This is because the guild is responsible for managing and supervising its hunters. Minor disputes were dealt with as soon as they were reported to their guild. In other words, he is a man with a solid identity. ¡°You recognize it. This ¡­ I just put anything on and went out.¡± ¡°What, is it an impersonation?¡± I sneakily grabbed my cell phone in my pocket. Impersonating a Hunter Guild is a felony. If it was an impersonation, I was planning to report it to the police immediately. ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right. Right. It¡¯s not an impersonation.¡± The bewildered man waved his hand and introduced himself. ¡°My name is Ki Yoohyun. As you said, I¡¯m a Hunter from the Cheongna Guild.¡± ¡°Then why were you hiding there?¡± ¡°That ¡­ haha, there are several reasons. Since there are so many people looking for me, let¡¯s say I just tried to avoid them for a moment¡­.¡± In a word, he¡¯s currently slacking off. I stared at Ki Yoohyun. Compared to his sparkling appearance, he is dressed in a modest way and looks somewhat shabby. I can¡¯t imagine him killing monsters in the dungeon with such a wretched appearance. Yeah, I get it. He might be a hunter from Cheongna, but he¡¯s a very weak hunter who ranked last. Moreover, the low-ranking hunter has its own difficulties. He will have to take on chores and be abused by high-ranking hunters, and he must have a lot of trouble. Even though they are Hunters, not all Hunters are the same. As I was once a corporate slave, Ki Yoohyun¡¯s situation was clearly portrayed. In such a situation, you might just want to hide from people¡¯s eyes. When I felt like I was going to die from sleepiness, I used to go to the bathroom and locked myself there. While I felt sorry for him, Ki Yoohyun looked around the store and talked to me. ¡°I didn¡¯t know there was a cafe in this place.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± Only silence continued. If it¡¯s a natural and social flow of conversation, I¡¯d offer a cup of coffee here. ¡®That¡¯s right. Can I get you a cup of coffee?¡¯ ¡®Oh, you don¡¯t have to worry about it.¡® ¡®No. I should treat you some coffee.¡® ¡®Thank you. I¡¯ll drink it well.¡¯ Like this. But I just returned from the hotel to the store this morning. Naturally, the refrigerator is empty as it has just been repaired. The only thing here now was the 100th coffee mix that I was going to drink before. Should I give him this? But the 100th coffee was meant to be savored as I celebrated the completion of the quest! It¡¯s not just a waste of coffee mix. I¡¯m not such a petty person. However, it was sad that I could not fully enjoy this historical moment ahead of the completion of the quest. It¡¯s like having the boss mob¡¯s HP cut down to 99%, but losing the last hit. ¡°¡­¡± Ki Yoohyun looked at me with a sparkling face. It was a sad look asking me to give a cup of coffee to poor low-ranking Hunter who had been struggling with chores for a while. He may have just stared at me, but when I saw his finely stretched eyes and deep eyes, my mind made up such a story at will. Ugh, those eyes are unbearable. Isn¡¯t that beautiful enough to be called a Gyeonggukji? ¡°Meooong (But the scale is too small for Gyeonggukji)?¡± ¡°Be quiet, Mieum-ah.¡± I glared at Mieum. Even if it¡¯s not a country, it¡¯s enough to tilt this store. ¡°Um, Umh, I only have coffee mix right now ¡­ have a drink.¡± ¡°Oh, you don¡¯t have to worry ¡­ thank you for the drink.¡± For my sociability, the last coffee mix left my hand. Ki Yoohyun received the paper cup and took a sip. ¡°This ¡­ It¡¯s incredibly delicious.¡± The grin from his mouth was lifted, and he took another sip with a slightly surprised expression. ¡°It¡¯s really tasty.¡± It has cooled a bit, but it is still a 4-star coffee mix that has [Status: Good]. I was a little proud to see him enjoying it. Ki Yoohyun quickly emptied the paper cup. Now it¡¯s time for the quest completion notification to appear¡­. What? It¡¯s strange. Even after waiting for a long time, the notification that the quest was completed did not appear. Is it lagging? Is there lagging in the system? Was it connected to the internet? Frustrated, I hurriedly opened the quest window. ¡®Quest.¡¯ It didn¡¯t open. ¡®Quest.¡¯ Still nothing. ¡®Open the quest window!¡¯ ¡°Is there something wrong?¡± As I stared at the air without saying a word, Ki Yoohyun spoke to me. ¡°Mm, hmmm. It¡¯s nothing. For a moment, I think there¡¯s a bug.¡± Let¡¯s think about it later. The fact that I have awakened is a secret that I have not revealed to anyone yet. I want to avoid being considered as a strange person who looks into the air and mutters to herself. ¡°More than that, I have a question¡­.¡± I changed the subject by saying anything out of embarrassment. ¡°Ki Yoohyun-ssi ¡­ ah, right! Have you ever seen the real guild leader of Cheongna?¡± ¡°¡­.yes?¡± Oh, my. I said too much. The words came out of my mouth out of bewilderment, but it¡¯s true that I¡¯m curious about that. The guild leader of Cheongna is Muwon, the mysterious No. 1 Hunter. The first and best S-class Hunter. A hunter who never came down after ascending to the top of the tower. There are only rumors floating around about him. He is completely the protagonist of a fantasy novel. It is natural for people to ask questions. ¡°He has been hiding his identity. If you belong to Cheongna, I was wondering if you¡¯ve ever seen him.¡± The question was not asked in anticipation of an answer. Even if they were members of the same guild, the likelihood that this person at the bottom would have met such an important person would be low. However, instead of answering, Ki Yoohyun said something out of the blue with a complex expression. ¡°You seem to be very interested in our guild leader.¡± ¡°Umh ¡­ no.¡± ¡°Then why do you ask?¡± ¡°It¡¯s interesting that he just keeps hiding his identity. See, if it were me, I would be bragging about being the number one right here and there.¡± ¡°That ¡­ is that so?¡± ¡°It¡¯s true. There were also rumors that he hid his identity because he was ugly, but that doesn¡¯t seem to be the case¡­.¡± ¡°¡­¡± In an instant, Ki Yoohyun¡¯s eyes, which twinkled like a deer, shook greatly. Still, this is a pretty popular rumor. How much media exposure was there for Kwon Jiwoon alone? He said that it would be cumbersome to refuse numerous requests for coverage and appearances on broadcasts one by one. Furthermore, the Dungeon Management Office used to promote the top rankers for publicity in the name of reassuring the public. Choi Cedric, a member of CNL Corporation, who is currently ranked second, is the same. He has appeared in public service advertisements, magazines, and broadcasting, plus his merchandise products are enormous. Therefore, there is a rumor that there is a reason why the No. 1 ranker hides his identity. Well, most of them seem to have been made up out of inferiority complex. ¡°If I were him, I¡¯d pretend to check the time, pull up my sleeves and show them my number one wristwatch.¡± ¡°Ahahaha¡­.¡± Ki Yoohyun slightly covered his watch as he pulled on his sleeve. I don¡¯t know why he cares when I talked about the wristwatch, which can be used as a proof of identity for the No. 1 ranker and S-class Hunter. ¡°I¡¯m afraid I don¡¯t know. I¡¯ve never met him.¡± ¡°Is that so¡­.¡± In fact, Ki Yoohyun looks like a bottom-ranker, so there¡¯s no way he would know such a top secret. I also asked a random person out of curiosity. At that moment, Ki Yoohyun suddenly leaned under the table. ¡°Uh, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Soon after, I heard the same sound of words that I heard earlier outside the window. ¡°Where the hell is he hiding?¡± ¡°Hurry up and come out!¡± ¡°That way! Isn¡¯t he hiding there?¡± It was a great reaction speed. You really have to be this fast to be a slacker. In my mind, I named Ki Yoohyun as the master of slacking off. Ki Yoohyun crawled under the table and approached the opposite window. ¡°I¡¯ll see you next time.¡± As soon as Ki Yoohyun disappeared beyond the window, a system notification window appeared in front of me. [Congratulations! You have completed ¡®Tutorial Quest: Coffee is My Dream¡¯. Please receive the reward.] Looks like the lag has finally been fixed. *** A small cafe located at Dungeon Gate 3, 16th Street. After walking without hesitation until the store became smaller, Ki Yoohyun took off his thick-rimmed glasses. The grin has long been erased from his lips. As he brushed away his disheveled hair, the hunter with the clumsy and clueless impression from earlier was no longer there. Rather, the black eyes that were exposed under the long eyelashes contained a cold light. Translator¡¯s Corner: Gyeonggukji: It¡¯s from ????, a four-character idiom that means ¡°a beauty that will tilt the country¡±. In the past, usually there¡¯s a woman of great beauty that was given the title ¡°????¡± by the public, since she¡¯s a very beautiful woman for whom the king neglects the nation¡¯s affairs, risking the fate of the country. and there are a lot of Korean names, why it¡¯s a Yoohyun again. I¡¯m weak for Yoohyuns T__T CH 14 The moment he collected the light nets scattered around the cafe building, ¡°Aaaah, where have you been?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to be here.¡± People who were chasing Ki Yoohyun found him from afar and ran to him. They were a male and female, a pair of twins, who wore identical jumpers. They stood next to each of his sides in case Ki Yoohyun ran away again. ¡°Do you know how many times we need to find the guild leader?¡± ¡°The deputy guild leader ordered us to bring the guild leader!¡± ¡°I must have told you not to call me guild leader outside.¡± The twins turned pale and bowed their heads in unison. They looked so nervous, preparing to be scolded again. Their names are Joo Shinwoo and Joo Shinhee. Although it had only been a few months since they¡¯ve awakened, they were talented enough as hunters to join the Cheongna Guild¡¯s first-tier party. They took on the role of accompanying the guild leader today. They said it was an important role, but it was nerve-wracking. Both of them were in trouble because of the guild leader who quickly disappeared. They only found him after wandering around for a long time. Korea¡¯s first and strongest S-class. The man who was widely known under the name ¡®Muwon¡®. In fact, the first time they met him, he was kind and had a gentle smile, but they still felt a sense of intimidation that was difficult to deal with. It¡¯s still the same for now. He didn¡¯t get angry at all, but they got goosebumps in their spine. ¡°How was it?¡± Among the twins, Joo Shinhee, a woman, asked while glancing at the cafe behind her. ¡°There was nothing strange. I don¡¯t feel the ether reaction either.¡± ¡°But ¡­ didn¡¯t you go to check it out because there¡¯s something that bothered you?¡± ¡°Yeah, I did.¡± Ki Yoohyun looked at the red brick building in the distance and thought for a moment. He already looked inside, but he felt nothing strange. To the extent that it seems intentional. If there is something strange, rather than the cafe ¡­ is it that woman? Ki Yoohyun recalled her dark chestnut hair and surprised eyes. ¡°This outfit.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Ki Yoohyun injected a small amount of ether into the end of the coat. A blue vine mark appeared and disappeared. ¡°Is it possible for a non-Awakened person to see the mark?¡± ¡°No, of course not. It¡¯s a mark that only reacts to ether.¡± Joo Shinwoo said so and shook his head. ¡°Did you have any problems?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m just curious.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a guild uniform. Activating the mark and verifying it are things that only the Awakened can do.¡± But how did she recognize it? Is she a Hunter? It may be reasonable to think so ¡­ still, doubts remained. There was no ether in the woman. On the surface, she was like an ordinary person. Could it be that she hid her power in front of him? That¡¯s absurd. The thought gave him goosebumps. From the moment he signed a contract with the God of Another World, The Great One, Ki Yoohyun was able to freely sense and manipulate the ether of space. If she can hide her power in front of him¡­. It will never be at the level of an ordinary hunter. Even the sloppy appearance may be a disguise. Besides, this watch. Ki Yoohyun rolled up his sleeve and looked down at his wrist. Inside the dial of the silver watch that wrapped around his wrist, there were letters engraved with a special technique. Ki Yoohyun (S Class) Rank No.1 The Hunter Certificate, specially produced for S-class hunters, has a different design according to the ranking of each hunter. In the case of Ki Yoohyun, this silver watch showed letters indicating his ranking and special mark when ether was injected. However, few people know that the proof of the No. 1 ranking is in the form of a watch. Even within the guild, there were only a few people who have this knowledge. How did the woman know about his watch? Ki Yoohyun recalled the memories of the past, or perhaps the future. He returned to the past from the future three years later. However, it was impossible to know how this happened, since he regressed to the past. The future in three years. Ki Yoohyun gathered the top hunters of each guild to form a team. This is because the cult that worships demons has succeeded in resurrecting the demon ¨€¨€¨€¨€. The top floor of the great dungeon Abyss, the worst demon who slept beyond the Ultimate Gate. The abyss that brings an end to the world upon its resurrection. Ki Yoohyun thought he¡¯s perfectly prepared. He gathered reliable and strong colleagues, and after being equipped with sufficient equipment, they took on the challenge. It was enough to say that the mankind has done all it can. But his party was defeated on the last floor. When he arrived in front of the Ultimate Gate, where the demon was sleeping, he heard a voice in his head. It sounds like a system message, but much lower ¡­ it was an eerie voice. ¡¾The key is not ready.¡¿ ¡¾You are not yet qualified to open the gate.¡¿ Then, the moment he met the demon¡¯s eyes, instead of the pain that he had expected, an eerie sensation covered his body. His memory ends here. He soon lost consciousness and when he opened his eyes, he was back to three years ago. Once again, the opportunity was given. While he was gathering his strength to prepare for the decisive battle three years later, something different from the past he remembers happened. The death of an American hunter, James Jack Smith. In this second life, just like the first, James was attacked by a monster. This time, however, he survived. Clearly, the future that should flow in the same way from his memory has changed. ¡®Why did the future change?¡¯ When he felt such a question, something different from the first life caught his eye. It was a small cafe located right in front of the desolate dungeon gate. Obviously it wasn¡¯t there in his first life. If there¡¯s any secret, it must be there. Today, when he visited to solve the question, there was only an ordinary cafe owner in the store. Ki Yoohyun recalled a woman with a soft impression he had just met. ¡®Should I take care of her?¡¯ If it interferes with the future, he was going to deal with it whatever it was. He couldn¡¯t repeat the failure of the first round. ¡®No, let¡¯s wait and see.¡¯ There are some doubts, but it is too early for him to judge that the woman is suspicious. Ki Yoohyun quietly shook his head. ¡®Anyway ¡­ I¡¯ll have to keep an eye on her.¡¯ As he looked at the small red brick building, he concluded. ¡°But is there any rumors about me?¡± ¡°Rumors?¡± ¡°For example¡­.¡± ¡°It¡¯s true. There were also rumors that he hid his identity because he was ugly, but that doesn¡¯t seem to be the case¡­.¡± That voice rang in his ears. ¡°Nothing. Let¡¯s go back.¡± He was quite concerned about what the cafe owner said, but it was not time to reveal his identity yet. Instead, Ki Yoohyun recalled the coffee he had drank a while ago. He thought it was a plain coffee mix, but it wasn¡¯t. The sweetness and softness were in perfect balance, and the savory coffee aroma calmed his mind. Moreover, after drinking the coffee, there was a warm energy in his body. If possible¡­. ¡®I want to drink it again.¡¯ *** At last. Finally, this moment has come. ¡°Whoaaaaaaahaha¡­¡­¡± ¡°You look like a villain when you laugh like that.¡± Ignoring Mieum¡¯s comment, I looked at the flashing system notification in front of my eyes. I wondered if there was a problem because the system suddenly stopped working, but it seems to be fine now. [Congratulations! You have completed ¡®Tutorial Quest: Coffee is My Dream¡¯. Please receive the reward.] I selected the [Receive Reward] button clearly shown below. [Experience: 100 EXP have been acquired.] [You have reached Level 2.] [50 rubies have been acquired.] [Skill: Extraction of Barista (D) has been acquired.] [You have acquired a new recipe ¡®Americano¡¯.] Along with the sound effect, the the excellent messages from the system appeared in front of my eyes. With excitement, I checked the contents one by one. First, level. At first, the status was poor, but I might get stronger if I level up. Name: Kwon Rieul Class: Cafe Owner (F) (Lv. 2) Health 100/100, Energy 100/100 Strength: 8, Intelligence: 12 (+1), Agility: 9, Luck: 12 ¡°¡­¡± Such expectations were shattered as soon as I checked the status screen. I must have read the number wrong. I rubbed my eyes and read it again, but nothing has changed. The reward for the level-up was an +1 increase in intelligence. ¡°Wow, it¡¯s really a lot.¡± I spoke sarcastically in a soulless voice. It was amazing. It was clear that this system didn¡¯t want my status to get stronger. ¡°Congratulations on leveling up, meoong.¡± ¡°Just laugh at me¡­.¡± ¡°You¡¯re so weak, ahahaha.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re really laughing at me.¡± ¡°What do you want me to do, meooooong!¡± Mieum raised her fur and swung a cat punch. ¡°Cheer up. You¡¯re a precious person with talent that can¡¯t be judged by a mere status. You can comfort me by saying that.¡± Without answering, Mieum yawned and sat on the bread-shaped floor. She ignored me. Well, that¡¯s fine. I¡¯m not hurt. After all, the thing I was looking forward to the most is not leveling up, but the precious 5 million won. I smiled at the 50 red rubies in the inventory. Of course, it was not a real gem, but a good used in Hunter Market. Wait, come to think of it, how do I turn this ruby into cash? I ran into a problem I hadn¡¯t thought of before. It¡¯s not like I can go to a convenience store and pay with this ruby. What I need is cash, not Hunter¡¯s supplies. ¡°Don¡¯t you even know that? Just go to the Hunter Market, register, and exchange the money!¡± ¡°Do I have to go?¡± It¡¯s annoying. Still, Mieum shook her head. ¡°Ahem, open your ears and listen, Level 2 Human.¡± Why do I feel insulted? Anyway, according to the explanation given by the proud Mieum, it was like this. Hunter supplies are usually expensive. A low-grade potion set was about a month¡¯s salary, so a high-grade item is really sold at an extraordinary price that ordinary people can¡¯t even dream of. In order to prevent the money from flowing recklessly into the market and rising the prices, restrictions were placed on Ruby¡¯s currency exchange. When you exchange more than 100 million won, you have to report it in advance and get permission ¡­ it had nothing to do with me who¡¯s only trying to exchange only 5 million won, but I still have to visit the market and register in person. ¡°Our Mieum is also smart.¡± ¡°This is common sense!¡± When I scratched her chin, Mieum, whose nose was raised, made a snoring sound. What an easy cat. The nearest Hunter Market was a branch in Apgujeong. In addition, in order to use the Hunter Market, it was necessary to register as an Awakened person at the Dungeon Management Office. Phew, I can¡¯t help it. I should register myself as an Awakened. [Next] Translator¡¯s Corner: I don¡¯t know why I still need to say this ¡­ but please do not repost, especially on social media and w*ttpad. I¡¯m going to lock this blog if I saw someone reposted this on w*ttpad or social media. Oh, and I hope you enjoy the story so far! It was nice reading the comments, I appreciate it a lot. CH 15 Even so, it¡¯s already late afternoon. The thought of visiting the Dungeon Management Office right now and going to the crowded Apgujeong area was a bit annoying. I decided to go to the Hunter Market tomorrow and put the 50 rubies in my inventory. Next was the new skill. [Extraction of Barista (D) Details: (Lv.1) Extract espresso from ground coffee beans.] To make an Americano, I have to extract espresso from ground coffee beans. Is it the skill for that? The problem was that Americano recipe. Unlike in the case of coffee mix, when I selected the recipe, the details appeared, and the content was¡­. [Recipe: Americano Ingredients: Dried Fruit of Yggdrasil, hot water.] There was an incomprehensible word written from the first line. Yeah? Is not a normal coffee bean powder? Perhaps it¡¯s the name of a bean type like Yirgacheffe or Kenya AA? There must be a bean called Yggdrasil. ¡°Wait a minute ¡­ Yggdrasil?¡± I remember hearing a similar word recently. Where was it? Yggdrasil, Yggdrasil¡­. ¡°Isn¡¯t it that tree?¡± Then, Mieum pointed to one side of the table. On the table, there was a branch that was recently obtained as an achievement¡¯s reward. I took it out to imitate the natural interior I saw on Instagram. Come to think of it, I think the name was like that. I thought it was just for interior decoration, but it turned out to be useful. However, the Branch of Yggdrasil has only a few green leaves with no fruit at all. How do I get the fruit? At that time, a new notification window appeared in front of me. [Congratulations. The Eligible who has completed the tutorial quest, you have obtained the right to access the Ether-Wiki. Ether-Wiki is an encyclopedia completed with user contributions. Gather as much information as possible to fill in the contents of the Ether-Wiki. Access Now ?] What is this? I tried to turn off the notification window, but it didn¡¯t turn off. Not only that, but the ¡®Access Now¡¯ part started flashing. It was like asking me to access it now. Should I press it or not? While I was hesitating, the contents of the system message changed. [Please log in ( ??????????? )] [Are you really not going to log in? ( ._.)] Why ¡­ why are you suddenly acting like a pitiful being? [Ether-Wiki is waiting for the right person] ??(?¡ä§¥£à?)??) A burdensome emoticon put pressure on me in the dazzling notification window. It¡¯s like I¡¯ve become a bad person. I feel like I¡¯ve become a bad person. Eventually I picked up the white flag and accessed the wiki. [Checking your eligibilities ¡­ Completed.] [The Eligible: Your rights have been confirmed.] [Ether-Wiki] [Welcome to the encyclopedia of the dimension cultivated by The Eligible.] [Information collection rate: 0.05%] [Viewable Items: ¨€¨€ ¨€¨€¨€ ¨€¨€¨€¡­..] Eh, what is this. Below the brief description, almost all of them were black blocks and could not be read. It is a feast of black squares. I was expecting it to have some great features, but it doesn¡¯t seem very useful. Sheesh, why did you ask me to see this? I was trying to turn off the wiki right away, but the system notification popped up again. [You can see more information by completing quests and collecting information.] No, it¡¯s fine¡­. I¡¯m not going to see it, so I hope you just leave me alone. ¡°Mieum, is there any way to turn off system notifications?¡± ¡°What are you talking about? Of course not!¡± It¡¯s a system that doesn¡¯t have any ¡®no notifications¡® feature. So, does that mean that I have no choice but to keep seeing this message? [Search for the item you are curious about.] If you say it like that¡­. I reluctantly typed ¡®Fruit of Yggdrasil¡¯ on the wiki screen that appeared in front of me. The page soon opened to see if this item was among 0.05 percent of the information. ¡¶The Fruit of Yggdrasil¡· Type: Plant>Fruit Description: A fruit that grows on the branches of Yggdrasil, the World Tree. You can make coffee beans by peeling off the pulp and drying it. How to get: 1) Plant the branches of Yggdrasil in the soil flowing with ether. 2) Give them fresh water. 3) If you check it after one night, the roots will fall and the fruit will open. 4) Harvest the fruits. It¡¯s really easy, right? Related Topics: How to Make Coffee Beans To be honest, the first feeling I had after reading the item¡¯s information is¡­. ¡®It¡¯s annoying.¡¯ It was too much. I need to plant and water that branch to get the fruits, not the coffee. I had a strong foreboding that it would be extremely troublesome to make coffee again with the fruit. It was annoying enough to make 100 cups of coffee mix. I don¡¯t want to work hard. I was curious about the Americano recipe, but the curiousty was not enough to make me harvest the fruits on my own. I have already received 5 million won, so do I need to work harder on the quest? I just want to relax. It¡¯s possible to run a cafe with ordinary coffee. Last time, I got involved in the system by accident, but my initial plan was just an ordinary cafe. To be precise, run an ordinary cafe, work less, and rest a lot. As if laughing at my resolution, a sound effect rang out right away. [A quest has occurred] [Quest: Start making Americano (0/1).] No, I won¡¯t. I just want to relax now. Well, I might be tempted to do it after a couple more months of idleness, but not now. Go back. [Check the quest.] [Check the quest.] [Are you really not going to check? ?~?] This system now seems to have decided to stimulate my conscience with a pitiful concept. A pitifully pleading message kept flashing before my eyes. Yeah, I got it. Let¡¯s open it. Even though I opened it, it doesn¡¯t necessarily mean I have to do it. I opened the blinking quest window in front of me. [Main Quest: The Path of The Barista (1) Congratulations. Now you are ready to start your career as a barista. Whoever conquers Americano, conquers the cafe. Making Americano: 0/1 Reward: Experience (200 EXP), 100 rubies, random recipe] It doesn¡¯t necessarily mean I have to do it. It¡¯s not. It¡¯s really not, but¡­. If I exchange 100 rubies, I can get 10 million won. The moment I did the calculation, many things that could be done with 10 million won flashed through my head. 5 million won is a lot of money, but with 15 million won, wouldn¡¯t my future be more secure? ¡°Uh¡­¡± Was I this easy? I felt a little ashamed, but the temptation of 10 million won was more than enough to throw my pride in a trash can. ¡®Ah, I don¡¯t know. I¡¯ll give it a try.¡¯ I valiantly grabbed the branch on the table. Okay, all I have to do is plant this and wait overnight. However, a strange word stood out in Ether-Wiki. It is the part where the Branch of Yggdrasil must be planted in the ¡°soil flowing with ether¡±. What¡¯s that soil flowing with ether? Does that mean not on a plain land? ¡°Mieum, where is the soil flowing with ether?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a common sense. Don¡¯t you know that too, kyaooo!¡± ¡°I think you and I have a slightly different range of common sense.¡± ¡°Heung, I¡¯ll give you a special explanation. A soil flowing with ether, an etheric soil, of course means the soil inside a dungeon.¡± ¡­.what? When I heard the word dungeon, I immediately tried to throw away the branch. ¡°Why are you so surprised? Isn¡¯t there an etheric soil nearby?¡± ¡°Where is that?¡± Suddenly, Mieum got up and walked inside. The place where Mieum headed was in front of the wall inside the first floor of the store. That is, the door that leads to the space where I first discovered Mieum. I was deliberately pretending not to see it! ¡°If you plant the tree in the soil inside and water it, it will take root.¡± ¡°Is there anywhere else?¡± ¡°You can go to the dungeon, meow.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Still, this space would be better than a dungeon. Now, no strange voice could be heard, and instead of the suspicious red light, it was emitting an ordinary blue light. There is no sign of danger. Yeah, it¡¯s not a big deal. After I finally calmed myself down, I followed Mieum and entered the blue gate. Inside the gate, nothing has changed frrom my last visit. The blue sky with floating round clouds, the warm sunlight, and a broad forest of green lawns. If it¡¯s not due to the fact that it¡¯s a space, it would be a comfortable and peaceful scenery that makes me want to pack a lunch box and have a picnic. I guess I was worried for nothing. After seeing the peaceful scenery, I was relieved and found a suitable land for planting the tree branch. There happened to be a place where the sun was shining and the soil was soft. I didn¡¯t have a shovel, so I dug up the soil by hand and inserted the branch. And when I poured the water from the water bottle I brought with me, the process was over. The withered leaves seemed to be slightly alive. It¡¯s just a night away. By the time I finished my work, it was already dinner time. I left this space immediately, had a moderate dinner, and came up to the room on the second floor. It was not spacious, but there was enough room to stay with a bed and furniture. Outside the window, I can see the endless walls of Abyss. It¡¯s not Riverview or Ocean View. It¡¯s Dungeon View. Still, it¡¯s good that I don¡¯t need to spend money on rent. The only inconvenient things are the convenience store is far away, and I also cannot order delivery food. It was still too early to go to sleep, so I turned on the TV. ¡ª Hello, I¡¯m Sera, the reporter of ¡®Hunter TV Live¡® who delivers today¡¯s Hunter news the fastest! We received a news that the Tutorial Dungeon, which had been postponed, would be resumed soon. What do you think about it? ¡ª Yes, it¡¯s been delayed by a week due to the last week¡¯s monster attack. The Hunter Community has high expectations for this year¡¯s rookie hunters. ¡ª Tutorial Dungeons are very helpful for the growth of low-level hunters. The famous Hunter Kang Hyunwoo also cleared the Tutorial Dungeon at 1st place! ¡ª They are still accepting additional recruitment. Hunters who awakened this year, thank you for your participation. ¡ª Okay, the next news¡­. Hunter TV was in the middle of explaining the Tutorial Dungeon. It was a story that had nothing to do with me. I¡¯m a F-class Cafe Owner. If you¡¯re not a combat hunter, you don¡¯t have to participate in the tutorial dungeon. Of course, I have no desire to participate at all, not even a little, not this much. What can a Cafe Owner get from the dungeon? Translator¡¯s Corner: I want to see the customer soon, so here¡¯s another release for today. CH 16 Before the screen moved on to the next news, my phone vibrated. [Shin Mira: Rieul, what are you doing?] [Shin Mira: Why is there no chat lately? Are you working overtime?] [Shin Mira: That¡¯s right, right, you said that you resigned. Wow, I¡¯m really envious ??] It was KakaoTalk from my high school friend, Shin Mira. Come to think of it, I even told her about the news of my resignation, but I wasn¡¯t able to contact her for a while because I¡¯ve awakened and experienced some crazy things lately. ¡°Human, you have friends.¡± What does this cat think of me? I like to be lazy, but I still have friends. Although I only reported my survival through KakaoTalk. It¡¯s been a long time since we met because the last time was before my regression. [Me: Yep. I really recommend resignation, it¡¯s good for your health] [Me: See you when you¡¯re less busy] [Shin Mira: OKOK~] After replying to the Kakaotalk, I washed up and lay on the bed. Tomorrow, the branch will bear fruit. I¡¯m glad I didn¡¯t have to wait long. I fell asleep with that thought. *** ¡°It didn¡¯t grow at all?¡± The next morning, when I went to check the branch, I was surprised. Far from bearing any fruit, the Yggdrasil¡¯s branch had withered more than yesterday. The green leaves even turned yellow at the tips. Flutter. Ah, the leaf fell off. It seems that the rest of the leaves will fall off if they withered a little more. ¡°You said it grows quickly in one night.¡± I protested, but the system¡¯s message was silent. Yesterday, you put up a notification pretending to be pitiful to the point where my eyes hurt, but are you pretending not to know anything now? Instead, Mieum said in a small voice. ¡°The branch lost a lot of strength while left outdoors. So it seems that ordinary water cannot make the tree grows. Waeoong¡­.¡± ¡°Then what water should I use?¡± The description in the Ether-Wiki was ¡®fresh water¡¯. Can¡¯t I use tap water? Should I buy Evian and pour it over? ¡°You need water with a high ether concentration.¡± ¡°Where can I find it?¡± Mieum didn¡¯t answer right away and stared at me. Ah. Now I know what happens when this cat makes a face like this. Obviously, she¡¯s trying to make me do something incredibly cumbersome. Stop, you don¡¯t have to answer. I¡¯ll pretend I didn¡¯t hear it. ¡°If you scoop up ethereal water from the dungeon and pour it in, it will survive.¡± I covered my ears. ¡°I can¡¯t hear anything. I can¡¯t hear anything¡­.¡± ¡°Participate in the tutorial dungeon.¡± ¡°All of a sudden?!¡± ¡°There is a river in the tutorial dungeon on the first floor of Abyss. You can get the water from there.¡± I knew it. I feel like I keep getting involved. It was clear that Mieum and the system were working hard to get me into the dungeon. I should have noticed it from the moment it kept saying that it was easy and that it would give me a reward. This is it. A story in which the main character of an RPG game who was only going to run an errand in a neighboring town, eventually gets caught up in a troublesome task and fights the Demon King. Yeah, I don¡¯t want it. If the system is an RPG game, my role is like the innkeeper of the starter village who sees off the main character. I was just trying to water the branch. I refused to play the story of entering the dungeon after getting caught up in troublesome work. ¡°I really can¡¯t hear it. Ahaha, Mieum, I can¡¯t hear you at all.¡± ¡°Meooong!¡± Mieum jumped up with her back feet and threw a meow punch. The cat¡¯s forefoot attack is quite painful. ¡®I¡¯m going to put her in the bath soon.¡¯ I vowed revenge in my heart. ¡°Waeoong! You look like you¡¯re up to something!¡± Like a ghost, she noticed my thoughts, and Mieum jumped up and rushed to my lap. The movement of jumping, which did not go well with her heavy figure, was quick. As I staggered at the heavy attack, the hand that covered my ear fell off. Tiling, Tiling. Then a clear sound effect pierced my ears. The system, which had been silent until now, opened a notification window. [A quest has occurred] I don¡¯t fall for this trick anymore. This innkeeper is busy today because she has to go exchange the 5 million won. I don¡¯t have time to check things like quests. However, the system arbitrarily pushed the quest details screen. [Sub-Quest: Our Blue River and Green Mountain Oh dear, the precious branch is on the verge of drying up due to lack of ether. Let¡¯s make the branch green again by giving them water flowing with ether. Required Items: 1 liter of ethereal water Pour ethereal water on the branch 0/1 Reward: 3 Golden Draw Tickets] Uh, Golden Draw Ticket? Is it a lucky draw? The worst civilization ever created by the mankind. The draw that makes you dream in vain and brings despair at the extreme odds of 0.1% or 0.5%. ¡°¡­¡± Uh, I almost fell for it. It¡¯s because of my old habit of not being able to stand just by looking at the drawing. No, it¡¯s not. I won¡¯t do it. I¡¯m not doing it. *** The intersection in front of Exit 2 of the bustling Apgujeong Hunter Market Station. In Seoul, where land is famous for being expensive, I saw a flashing sign of the Hunter Market Apgujeong branch. The large exterior of the building and the sophisticated interior seemed to be shouting, ¡®go away, foolish rookie¡¯. In the afternoon, I came to this Hunter Market as scheduled. However, only the destination is the same. The today¡¯s purpose is completely different. It was not to exchange 5 million won, but to purchase items to enter the dungeon. ¡°Ha¡­.¡± I really had no intention of doing the quest. It¡¯s true that there wasn¡¯t¡­. The problem is I¡¯m weak-minded person. The branch withered as if it was going to die at any moment, and I felt like I had to finish the quest once I started it. They even give me tickets for the golden draw. It¡¯s not that I fell for the golden ticket. I just felt sorry for the dying branches. It sounds unconvincing, but it¡¯s true. Of course, I had no intention of jumping into the dungeon recklessly, and initially made my own plan. It is said that ethereal water can be collected from the river on the first floor of Abyss, where the tutorial dungeon will be held. So, wouldn¡¯t it be okay if I had a party with the Hunter participating in the tutorial and just went in to fetch the water? Or I can pay them money and ask them to bring me some water. With that in mind, I entered the party matching service on the tutorial dungeon application site. It was an intermediary site for hunters who wanted to join a party. Wizards, healers, assistants, and others who had difficulty clearing dungeons by themselves used this to form parties and participate. After skipping all the long explanations, I entered my personal information in the application box, but an error appeared with a beep. ¡°Huh? What¡¯s wrong with it?¡± /System Error/ How can a F-class live with this shame! I know what ¡®contact separately¡® means at times like this. If you ask, they will say that it is difficult to form a party because of the low grade. ¡®Hunter-nim¡¯s grade is a bit ¡­ it is difficult to participate with a Hunter of the desired grade.¡¯ They¡¯ll just give you an answer like this. I had no choice but to look for recruitment posts from the Hunter Community. But¡­. [Recruitment] Tutor-Party Member Wanted, special treatment for E-class or higher healers [Recruitment] Those who will join the Tuto Dungeon!! Starting from D-class [Chatting It¡¯s a bit difficult for F-class to apply for party recruitment postings; [Recruitment] Looking for 4 person for Tutor-Party, class is irrelevant (E-class declined) No matter how hard I tried to find it¡­. [Recruitment] Tutor¡¯s Dream Bus Ride Oh, this would be fine. I don¡¯t have to force myself to find a party to enter, I just need to stick on a strong hunter like a dust and then get the water. I clicked on the post with that in mind. *** [Recruitment] Tutor¡¯s Dream Bus Ride Upvotes: 13 / Downvotes: 1 *** Writer: Jijon Party Leader C-class Level 20 Inspection Level Authentication Available Possessing a full set of C-class inspection equipment Knowing the strategy of guaranteed quick clear Low-level non-combat hunters are also welcome ^^ This supreme leader is responsible and I will make sure that even a low-level newbie can clear the tutorial dungeon ^^ Everyone knows that tutorial dungeons are important for early level up, right? Don¡¯t hit each other and choose a really capable hunter in advance ^^ There are only three seats left, so if you are interested, please send me a message as soon as possible. ¡ùCaution¡ù No bus fare nego¡ª You keep asking me to negotiate, but I¡¯m offering you the lowest price. ¡ª¡ªBus Fares¡ª¡ª D-class 10 rubies E-class 30 rubies F-class 100 rubies *** What, you charged 100 rubies for a F-class? 10 million won? Have you ever seen such a vicious hunter? Even the nickname ¡°Ji-jon¡± is ridiculous. I pressed the downvotes button and closed the window. [Recruitment] F-classes go around together Yes, it would be better to form a party with similar awakening classes than to be placed on top by a strong hunter. *** [Recruitment] F-classes go around together Upvotes: 5 / Downvotes: 0 *** Writer: F-class Hello ^^ It¡¯s hard to find a party for new hunters who have awakened to F-class ?? You can beat the tutorial with plenty of ease if you get together with the F-classes~!! We are looking for F-class hunters to go with us. I¡¯m a ranged attack mage, so I¡¯m recruiting for a defensive or swordsman class. If you¡¯re not in combat class ¡­ I¡¯m sorry ^^;;;; And you know that it is manners to match the equipment with at least an E-class item set, right? Please send me a message~!!! *** Yes, you¡¯re sorry¡­. After being rejected many times like this, the anger slowly rose in my heart. Obviously, I feel bad if I keep getting rejected even if it¡¯s for a place I don¡¯t want to go. If I talk to Kwon Jiwoon, he¡¯ll surely get me some ethereal water, but¡­. ¡°Don¡¯t show any interest in Hunters or anything like that, and just stay as a normal person.¡± When I remembered those words, I couldn¡¯t open my mouth. We are not close, and I¡¯ve already bothered him with the black bear incident last time. I haven¡¯t even told him that I have awakened yet. So, I will somehow go into the dungeon alone and finish the quest. Who knows for sure that I wouldn¡¯t be able to do it! ¡°Miaaaaw? What¡¯s wrong with you, human? Your eyes are scary.¡± ¡°Mieum, don¡¯t stop me.¡± ¡°Waeooong?¡± That¡¯s why I came to this Hunter Market Apgujeong branch. CH 17 I was thinking of buying a cloak with stealth effect for 50 rubies. This is because, of course, I have no intention to fight the monsters with only a paper-like F-class body. At the most, it was a waste of the ruby ??I earned, but after completing the quest, I can resell the item. I couldn¡¯t bring Mieum because I didn¡¯t know if it¡¯s allowed to bring my cat to Hunter Market, and there was also no carrier for transportation. The unfamiliar Hunter Market . I was a little anxious because there was no talking cat next to me. No, there is no room for weak thoughts. I made up my mind and entered the entrance on the first floor of Hunter Market. ¡°Welcome. How may I help you?¡± Compared to the shiny exterior, the inside was more customer-friendly than I expected. However, the lobby was empty, probably because it¡¯s during the time when there were few customers. The staff near the entrance greeted me with a friendly smile and a bright voice. ¡°Uh, I¡¯d like to buy some equipment. Where should I go?¡± ¡°Is this your first visit? Then, please fill out this registration card first. Oh, you can sit on that sofa over there and fill it out comfortably. Do you need to borrow your pen?¡± But the kindness ended as soon as I submitted my registration card. The eyes of the staff stayed on the Hunter¡¯s grade column of the registration card for a long time, and in the next moment, the face of the staff was colder than ice and frostier than winter. ¡°Ex ¡­ excuse me?¡± ¡°The VVIP is scheduled to visit today, so all the staff are busy. You have to wait a little bit.¡± Then the staff pointed to the farmost room. Are you telling me to go over there? ¡°There are things that are right for you.¡± The staff left me behind and went into the staff room behind me. I called, but she doesn¡¯t even look back. That¡¯s right. Among Hunters, they treated grades like a gangster. The winner has a monopoly. In other words, the strongest is the best. Yes, I am patient person with good humanity who entered the inhuman world of the Hunter world. I will endure it. Since I don¡¯t have anything urgent to do, I decided to pass the time by looking at the items. I headed towards the far end of the room pointed to by the staff. I was wondering if it was a small room, but the room was quite spacious and decorated with a sophisticated interior. Again, no one else was visible except me, and various equipment and items were displayed in a glass showcase with a security device. ¡°Umh, the price¡­.¡± Judging from the attitude of the staff, it must have been the area where the lowest-grade items were collected, but all of them were exorbitantly priced. The cheapest items such as a shirt that increases defense by 10 and a ring that increases dodge rate by 10% also started with 100 rubies. I was a little worried about whether it would be possible to buy the stealth cloak that I wanted for 50 rubies in here. ¡°Umh¡­.¡± I looked at all the items in the showcase, but the staff showed no sign of returning. No matter what they said about VVIP or something, it¡¯s a bit harsh. How long do I have to wait? Then, a commotion was heard from the other side of the hallway. When I poked my head out of the door and looked around, the Hunter Market¡¯s staff was yelling at someone. Their voice was so loud that it could be heard by everyone on the other side. What¡¯s going on? The sound was coming from the consignment shop area. A consignment shop refers to a shop where hunters in the production field sell items directly after paying a certain fee to the Hunter Market. They mainly sold miscellaneous items that were made to train their crafting skills, but most of them were not good enough to be officially sold at Hunter Market. However, even if it is a miscellaneous item, it is helpful enough for low-grade hunters. Above all, the price was cheap, so it was a favorite area for poor hunters. I also tried to buy a cloak at the consignment shop at first. However, the consignment shop area was empty due to an interior repair. No, now that I see it, there was only one consignment shop in the far corner. A loud noise was heard there. ¡®Is there a fight?¡¯ The staff showed no sign of coming here, and I was curious because of boredom. I approached them with the intention of seeing what happened. ¡°I have already told you not to open business here.¡± It was such a loud voice that it hurt my ears. A Hunter Market staff shouted at the consignment shop in the corner. The owner of the shop was a wrinkled old lady. The old lady shrugged her shoulders under the pressure of the staff. ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear the order to empty the shop because a VVIP is scheduled to visit today? Please clean it up quickly.¡± ¡°But ¡­ here¡¯s the consignment shop permit ¡­ I¡¯m properly authorized.¡± The old lady unzipped the bag at her waist and took out a crumpled permit. It was definitely an official permit with the seal of Hunter Market. However, the staff did not blink an eye when he saw the permit. ¡°We will refund the price of the permit. If you don¡¯t clean it up quickly, I¡¯ll call the guards.¡± The old lady flinched at her stiff staff¡¯s attitude. She was intimidated on her own, the large staff standing in front of the skinny and short old lady. It was a pitiful appearance that awakened the Confucian girl inside me, but the staff was tough. ¡°B-but it¡¯s a useful item for the tutorial dungeon ¡­ I have to sell it before the tutorial dungeon, but if you tell me to leave now¡­.¡± ¡°Haha, what did you say?¡± The staff laughed out loud. ¡°VVIP is coming. Who do you think would buy such a sloppy item? Do you think they will give you any attention? Guard!¡± The staff beckoned the guards of Hunter Marker. It seemed as if the approaching guards would push and drag that weak-looking old lady at any moment. ¡°Wait, wait a minute!¡± Without realizing it, I shouted and interrupted. Because the old lady in the consignment store reminded me of my late grandmother. No, if it were my grandmother¡­. ¡°What nonsense are you talking about? Open your eyes and see. Here, can¡¯t you see it has the word ¡®Business Permit¡¯? I¡¯ve already paid for it, but you want me to leave? It looks ridiculous because it¡¯s old lady¡¯s money. I¡¯ll take care of it whether it¡¯s sold or not, so don¡¯t worry. What¡¯s wrong with me lying down in my shop? Go out!¡± ¡­ she would have said that. She wasn¡¯t the type to lose anywhere. Anyway. ¡°Sir, why are you like this?¡± First of all, the way I spoke was polite, but my eyes were full of curse. ¡®It was that F-class from earlier. Ha, it¡¯s crazy today. A wanderer will quietly watch and then go home.¡® It seems like the staff would say that. I continued without giving in. ¡°I was going to buy it.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Grandma, how much is the item?¡± I glanced at the bundles of items placed on the shelves of the consignment shop. It caught my eye that the price tag said ¡®all for 50 rubies¡®. Thank God. I did my best. I didn¡¯t have to step back because I didn¡¯t have enough money. People have pride. I took out 50 rubies from the inventory and placed them on the shelf. ¡°Here¡¯s 50 rubies.¡± ¡°Oh, student, you don¡¯t have to.¡± ¡°No. I was just in need of that item. Hurry up and take it. You don¡¯t have to stay in a place where they kick people out at their own will.¡± Then I took the set of items handed to me by the old lady and turned around. I strode out of the Hunter Market, bumping the shoulders of the staffs and guards. I didn¡¯t look back at all, as if I would never come back to a store ignores customers like this. After 20 steps like that, I crouched down on the floor and pulled my hair out. ¡°Ugh¡­.¡± I did it. I didn¡¯t mean to buy this¡­. I was just going to get some water from the dungeon, so I was just going to buy an inexpensive cloak¡­. I checked the item set that I received without looking properly. [Low-Grade Windshield for Beginner (¡ï¡î¡î¡î¡î) [Low-Grade Shovel for Beginner (¡ï¡î¡î¡î¡î) Type: Weapon Attack: 2 Note: Useful for digging. Farmer¡¯s friend.] [Low-Grade Item Set for Beginner (¡ï¡î¡î¡î¡î) Type: Consumables Including bandages, bands, flares, smoke bombs, herbs.] ¡­. No, that¡¯s not it. Let¡¯s not regret it. Although it is completely different from the item I was going to buy, I used 50 rubies and returned to square one, but the Confucian girl inside me shouted. This is the right way! You don¡¯t do that to a grandma. Ha. I was about to go back after finishing my mind, but the old lady called me from behind. ¡°Student, wait a minute.¡± ¡°Ah, yes, what¡¯s wrong?¡± The grandmother I saw up close had a slightly different impression than before. I thought she looked fragile earlier, because her face was wrinkled and her hair was white, but somehow I felt an atmosphere that was not easily approachable. There was a kind smile on her lips, but her eyes were sharp and her posture was flawless. ¡°I forgot this.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± It was a ring that the old lady gave out. A red stone was embedded in the monotonous gold ring. ¡°Take it. I¡¯m selling this too, but I forgot to give it to you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine. You don¡¯t have to give it to me¡­.¡± ¡°This ring should be in the hands of the right person. It looks like the student suits it.¡± ¡°Ah, yes¡­.¡± I received the ring on surprise. What is this? At first glance, it looked like an ordinary ring. Does it have any special abilities? I checked the detail window of the ring. [Cthugha¡¯s Ring Type: Accessories Effect: Unusable.] However, the description of the item was very concise. The name is listed, but the level and ability are unknown. The effect is also unknown and cannot be used. Is it a failure of crafting skills? Still, I liked the ring shape because it was pretty. As soon as I got it, I put the ring on my hand. At least I should wear it. ¡°As expected, it looks good on you.¡± ¡°Uh, thank you ¡­ Grandma?¡± I was about to say goodbye, but the old lady had already left first. When I saw her back, I remembered my grandmother again, and my anger soared at the tyranny of Hunter Market. Yeah, well done. This is not the time to be discouraged by this accident. Now that the situation became like this, I¡¯ll make an Americano and earn 100 rubies. I don¡¯t know who the hell the VVIP is, but we¡¯ll see. I couldn¡¯t see straight ahead because I was burning up my motivation. As I was about to leave , I bumped into a person who was coming in front of me. ¡°Ugh, I¡¯m sorry ¡­ huh?¡± Tall, deep dark eyes covered with thick rimmed glasses, and a shiny face. It was someone I had met. Right, it¡¯s the master of slacking off. Ki Yoohyun, who made eye contact with me, smiled brightly. He looked even more handsome when he smiled with his handsome face. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect to see you here again.¡± [Next] Translator¡¯s Corner: Confucian girl (?? ? / yu gyeo geol): a conservative (polite, kid) woman. It¡¯s a slang that using pun words because as you can see, the hangul is similiar to the english word ¡°You Go Girl¡± ???, translated as Cthugha, probably refers to one of The Great Old Ones, a great spirit god (elemental?) who reigns over all fire and lightning spirits. You can google it, it¡¯s a fictional deity in the Cthulhu Mythos. It seems that our MC really has the power of fantasy MC SJHDJSAKL CH 18 This time, Ki Yoohyun dressed in an inconspicuous outfit, an ordinary coat without a guild mark. Furthermore, he was alone. A doubt flashed across my mind when I saw the outfit. Is he slacking off again? ¡°Are you slacking off again?¡± Oh, the thought just came out of my mouth. ¡°Well, it¡¯s sort of like that.¡± ¡°You¡¯d better go somewhere else. They told me to leave because the VVIP is coming.¡± Over Ki Yoohyun¡¯s shoulder, I could see the Hunter Market¡¯s staff was looking this way. Despite his restless attitude, he did not approach this way easily. It¡¯s a completely different attitude from the overbearing appearance earlier. What¡¯s wrong with him? Well, it¡¯s none of my business. I looked away from them. ¡°¡­Take care.¡± I hope you slack off safely. I nodded and tried to step aside, but Ki Yoohyun blocked my way. I turned to the other side. However, Ki Yoohyun also followed me to the other side. ¡°Do you have anything to say to me?¡± ¡°You bought a good item.¡± ¡°What?¡± Are you talking about this shovel and miscellaneous item set? However, what Ki Yoohyun pointed to with his finger was the ring I just received from the old lady. ¡°Do you want me to tell you a secret?¡± ¡°¡­.I don¡¯t.¡± I don¡¯t remember having a relationship that close enough to share secrets with this man. Moreover, I had a foreboding that it would be troublesome to hear the word ¡®secret¡® all of sudden. I¡¯m not going to tell you my secret, and I¡¯m not curious about your secret, so I hope you go on your way. However, Ki Yoohyun continued to speak at his own will. I guess he¡¯s not good at listening to people. ¡°The VVIP, the one scheduled to visit today, is Hunter Kim Deokyi, an A-class craftsman. It¡¯s the first time in ten years since she went into hiding for skill training. In order to buy the items from the craftsman master that finally will appear on the market for the first time in a long time, there is a fierce battle under each guild¡¯s purchasing department. The master¡¯s items are worth calling.¡± ¡°¡­.Hee.¡± ¡°I came here because I heard that the craftsman master is visiting today, but it¡¯s already too late.¡± Ki Yoohyun dropped his shoulders slightly as if he was regretting it. It¡¯s already late, I guess he came while I was arguing at the consignment shop. ¡°Oh, one more. There is a rumor that the item that the master craftsman released this time is the only one. It is a unique item that can¡¯t be found again in the world.¡± It was an interesting story, but that was it. It was an item that a craftsman who had disappeared for 10 years made for the first time in a long time, so I also wanted to take a look at it at least once. Still, if it is that rare, it would be sold at a price that I can¡¯t even dream of with 50 rubies, so somehow it felt like it was a story of a different world. The day will not come when I can look at the craftsman¡¯s items. I have finished my business, so I decided to leave Hunter Market and go back to the store. But Ki Yoohyun kept following me. He was walking five steps behind me, but I couldn¡¯t pretend that I didn¡¯t know it. I sighed and looked back. ¡°Why do you keep following me?¡± ¡°¡­.Ah.¡± Ki Yoohyun¡¯s eyes widened. Did you think that I wouldn¡¯t know after following me so clearly? It was amazing. ¡°I don¡¯t have any strange intention. So ¡­ I also have business to do at the dungeon gate¡­.¡± ¡°Ah, is that so¡­.¡± When I turned around and started walking again, Ki Yoohyun followed me closely and talked to me. ¡°By the way, Rieul-ssi, you¡¯re awakened.¡± Only registered Awakened person could enter the Hunter Market. I pondered for a moment and answered half-heartedly. ¡°Well, it¡¯s something like that.¡± ¡°Then are you participating in the tutorial dungeon?¡± ¡°Yeah, I am.¡± To be honest, I was only thinking of getting the water, but I nodded my head. Ki Yoohyun continued to talk, regardless of my dry attitude. ¡°I am about to participate in the tutorial dungeon too, can I go with you?¡± Before I knew it, I came up to the side and looked at Ki Yoohyun who was standing there. With his big eyes, his tall body looks weak. The cold Hunter Channel¡¯s party recruiting posts came to mind. Was this man also rejected several times while trying to find a party? ¡°Yoohyun-ssi is a member of the Cheongna Guild. Don¡¯t you have anyone in the guild to go with you?¡± ¡°Ahahaha ¡­ Everyone said no because they¡¯re busy.¡± They¡¯re cold-hearted, too. Usually, the same guild members organize a party, but no matter how weak Ki Yoohyun seems, it¡¯s too much that they don¡¯t even organize a party for him. The Big Three guilds are great, but they are too cold-hearted to its guild members. Except for the fact that I was an Awakened, I didn¡¯t tell this man anything about my class or job. This man seemed desperate enough to even hold onto someone like me. ¡°Therefore ¡­ If Rieul-ssi is okay with it, I want to have a party with you.¡± ¡°But I¡¯m a non-combatant, so I won¡¯t be much help.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. As long as you come with me.¡± ¡°I might get in the way.¡± ¡°That¡¯s all right.¡± Ki Yoohyun persuaded me, saying, that he¡¯ll do his best to help me. Listening to his story, apparently he applied for a two-person party, but the hunter who was originally going to go with him broke his promise. ¡°You can cancel it and apply again.¡± ¡°That ¡­ Haha, the fees are outrageous¡­.¡± Oh, my¡­. Faced with Ki Yoohyun¡¯s pleading eyes, I unknowingly nodded my head. He¡¯s a little suspicious, but¡­. Since I couldn¡¯t buy the stealth cloak I wanted, I¡¯m in a difficult situation too, so I thought it would be nice to have a party member. ¡°Well ¡­ Let¡¯s go together, then.¡± ¡°Really? Thank you!¡± Ki Yoohyun smiled brightly. He looked genuinely happy. ¡°And I have one more request.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to drink the coffee you gave me before one more time. It was really delicious.¡± ¡°It¡¯s all gone.¡± I guess he wasn¡¯t lying about the coffee tasted delicious, Ki Yoohyun was noticeably disappointed. Still, now I¡¯m thinking of making an Americano. ¡°I¡¯ll make a new coffee instead, so I¡¯ll let you drink it then.¡± *** The next day, my eyes opened wide before the alarm went off. I went to bed early yesterday, but I was restless. It felt like a waste of time, so I dug into the blanket again, but once I woke up, my mind was filled with nothing but fuss. Eventually, I decided to just get up early. I came down to the first floor after taking care of the sound of footsteps so that Mieum, who was sleeping by the bed, did not wake up. The appearance of Abyss could be seen through the large window on the first floor. The dungeon that soared endlessly toward the sky boasted an overwhelming majesty. How many floors are there? Even now, several guilds are conducting raids for item farming or training, but the identity of that dungeon remains unknown. There are many speculations that there are very strong monsters up there, that you can become a God if you finish the last floor, or that it will lead to another world. Today, I am going over there. Once again, I felt a little nervous. I quickly took a shower and changed my clothes. I still have plenty of time until the time I agreed to meet with Ki Yoohyun, but there was work to be done before departure. ¡°What¡¯s all this?¡± About two hours later, Mieum woke up and asked as she came down the stairs. ¡°Waeeooong, it smells strange.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a strange smell, it¡¯s the smell of sesame oil.¡± ¡°Why does it smell like sesame oil!¡± Perhaps because she hated the savory smell, Mieum raised her fur upright and groaned. I didn¡¯t pay her any attention because was absorbed in what I was doing. I wrapped the gimbap. ¡°Ugh, it exploded. What should I do?¡± The waist of the gimbap burst because too much filling was added. I have no choice but to eat this for breakfast. I laid the seaweed again, put the rice on top, and put the filling ingredients inside. This time, I was able to cut gimbap in just the right size. I lined up the line in the lunch box and packed the gimbap. ¡°Mieum-ah, would you like to eat gimbap too?¡± ¡°Waeoong¡­.¡± My eyes stung. Mieum looked at me in amazement. However, although there are individual differences, the tutorial dungeon takes half a day. Even if I come back as soon as possible, it must already be afternoon. That¡¯s why I need a lunch box, and if it¡¯s a packed box, gimbap is the national rule. After filling my stomach with the bursting kimbap, it was time to leave. I poured a generous amount of cereal into Mieum¡¯s bowl and packed my bag. There was nothing special about it. The inventory contains a 1-liter water bottle for the ethereal water and a set of low-grade items purchased from Hunter Market. I don¡¯t know if it will help, but I also brought the seedling shovel and wore the low-grade windshield for beginner. Even having a defense of 2 would be better than nothing. Finally, after packing the gimbap, I felt a little excited because it felt like I will go on a picnic. ¡°Then, Mieum-ah, take good care of the house.¡± ¡°¡­.Meow.¡± Mieum, who was eating her breakfast with her head stuck in a bowl, nodded and greeted me. I locked the door and set out for the dungeon. After walking for about three minutes, I arrived at the dungeon gate of Abyss. It¡¯s just around the corner, but this is the first time I¡¯m at the Dungeon Gate. It¡¯s not a tourist destination, so there was no reason to come. In front of a large tower-shaped dungeon, there was a disk that sparkled with blue light. Unlike usual, the area was crowded with rookie hunters trying to enter the tutorial dungeon. We were supposed to meet here¡­. I wandered around the Dungeon Gate trying to find Ki Yoohyun. If I knew this would happen, I would have asked for his contact information. ¡°Ah, that¡¯s him!¡± Fortunately, I was able to find Ki Yoohyun without difficulty because he¡¯s taller than the others. When I shouted out loud, Ki Yoohyun also found me immediately and came closer. ¡°Rieul-ssi, hello.¡± Ki Yoohyun was dressed in a simple outfit with a black coat on the outside. It was in contrast to the fact that the hunters around us were equipped with full-fledged equipment. Among his neat clothes, only the silver watch, the only accessory, stood out. ¡°You don¡¯t have any other weapons?¡± ¡°Ahaha ¡­ the weapon I usually use is currently in a broken state.¡± I¡¯m nervous¡­. Well, since it¡¯s a tutorial, it¡¯ll be fine. [You have a party. Party Member: Kwon Rieul, Ki Yoohyun EXP distribution method: Equal distribution.] The moment I received the party scroll that Ki Yoohyun gave me, a system notification popped up in front of my eyes. It was written that if you kill a monster while forming a party, the experience points are distributed to both. ¡°Then shall we go?¡± We had no reason to stay long at the entrance. Ki Yoohyun and I immediately lined up in front of the dungeon gate. Fortunately, the line got shorter and it was our turn. ¡°Kwon Rieul and Ki Yoohyun, it¡¯s your party, right? ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Here¡¯s your tutorial bracelet.¡± A public official guarding the dungeon gate put a paper bracelet on my arm. It looks like a wristband usually used for entering a concert hall. ¡°If you tear this bracelet in a crisis, the Hunter who was waiting inside the dungeon will come to help you. If you think it¡¯s dangerous, use it right away.¡± The public official continued his explanation with a tired expression. The tutorial dungeon is a quest dungeon for training rookie hunters, and the difficulty of the monsters inside is adjusted according to the hunter¡¯s abilities. In this way, it is unlikely that anything dangerous will happen, but in case of an emergency, you should always ask for help. As the explanations on how to find a way inside and how to clear the dungeon were almost finished, a loud noise was heard from behind. ¡°Let¡¯s hurry up. I¡¯m going to burst and die if I need to wait a little longer. Such explanations are not something that even newbies want to hear.¡± When I turned around, a Hunter in a splendid outfit was standing in a crooked posture. Translator¡¯s Corner: I¡¯m worried for the MC ¡­ what if she meet a good-looking scammer smh T__T CH 19 Translated by cabinfourtranslations. He was equipped with equipment that looked expensive, but in a word ¡­ he looked like a peacock. After him, there were four hunters in relatively modest outfits. It was a rather unusual party composition. ¡°If you¡¯re going to keep dragging your feet, we¡¯ll go first.¡± Even though we didn¡¯t answer, the peacock squeezed in. The public official pushed him away, denied his interruption, but he was stubborn. Eh, let¡¯s just avoid him. The public official seemed in trouble, so I just told him to send the peacock first. The official bowed to me and checked the papers with a tired look. ¡°Yes, I will check the entry of the Supreme Party.¡± A familiar word came into my ears. An old-fashioned name that might have been used about 10 years ago. I think I¡¯ve heard such stupid words lately. Where was it¡­. ¡°Huahahaha! I don¡¯t need explanations like that. Just trust this supreme leader, we¡¯ll clear the tutorial in no time. Newbies, let¡¯s go quickly.¡± That¡¯s right, the person nicknamed ¡®Ji-jon¡®! He is the owner of that bus recruitment post on the Hunter Channel. A vicious hunter who demanded 100 rubies from an F-class. ¡°Wow, bad luck¡­.¡± I said while watching Jijon and his party disappearing beyond the dungeon gate. ¡°To be campaigning like that when you¡¯re a C-class, your head would hit the ceiling when you¡¯re an S-class hunter.¡± However, Ki Yoohyun shook his head with an ambiguous expression. ¡°Um ¡­ I don¡¯t think so. It¡¯s a matter of personal character. S-class is not necessarily arrogant¡­.¡± It¡¯s weird. There are less than 10 S-class hunters in Korea, so why is this man desperately making excuses? Anyway, it¡¯s our turn again. The dungeon entry process was very simple. Ki Yoohyun and I stood on the disc, and the official operated the gate. A blue light covered me, and when I opened my eyes, I was in a field. Tiling! [Welcome to the great dungeon Abyss A tutorial is currently in progress. I wish all the best for beginners.] [Cthugha rejoices over your visit.] Uh, what was that just now? But before I could properly check it, the notification disappeared. I took my eyes off the system notification and looked around slowly. The first thing that caught my eye was the sky dyed red in the sunset. A gentle breeze swayed through the sparsely growing reeds and shrubs. The remnants of a half-collapsed building could be seen in the distance, but it had an unusual style as if it were somewhere in a foreign country. Rather than inside the dungeon, it seems that we are in a certain historical site. ¡°This is inside the Abyss?¡± The sky, the wind, and the sunlight felt real. Only the slightly damp air felt a little odd. However, unlike me, Ki Yoohyun didn¡¯t look surprised at all. It even seemed like he was familiar to the place as he leisurely looked around and measured the direction. ¡°The Abyss is not a real tower, but a place where the space overlaps. It¡¯s not just a single building, but rather it can be said that each of these different spaces are connected. On the other floors, there area the sea and snowy fields.¡± ¡°Wow ¡­ have you been there?¡± ¡°No. That ¡­ I heard about it. From someone who has been there.¡± Ki Yoohyun was embarrassed and corrected it. He knew it in detail, so I thought he¡¯d been there before. ¡°I don¡¯t see anyone else.¡± ¡°Each party would have fallen to a different place. The starting point and the goal point are different for each person, so you won¡¯t have to run into each other. Come on, let¡¯s go.¡± Ki Yoohyun began to walk in one direction. I asked, hurriedly following him. ¡°Uh, do you know the way?¡± ¡°It¡¯s ¡­ It¡¯s just a feeling.¡± Indeed, there is no map or anything, so we have no choice but to go somewhere. By the way, it was an unbelievable scenery in the dungeon. The reeds and trees all look real. There was no time to feel bored as I looked around with a curious mind. After walking in the field for about ten minutes, a green lump that looked like a jelly appeared in front of me. At the same time, the system alarm rang. [Green Slime (F) for Beginners has appeared.] Slime is different from the cave black bear that attacked the store recently. It had no sharp teeth or claws, and its translucent and smooth body trembled softly. In short, it looks cute. ¡°Kyuuu¡­.¡± Even the sound of slime is cute. It was the moment when I subconsciously took a step closer to take a closer look, The slime¡¯s round body spread like a membrane in an instant and tried to attack me. ¡°Uwah!¡± I stepped back in surprise, and there was a flash of light. When I opened my eyes, the slime had melted away. ¡°Huh?¡± What was it just now? He didn¡¯t cast spells for magic skills, and he didn¡¯t even show hand gestures for offensive skills. [Party Member: Ki Yoohyun has defeated the Green Slime for Beginners (F).] [You have gained 10 EXP.] Only the notification window that appeared in front of me with a ring sound, informed me that Ki Yoohyun had just killed it. ¡°Rieul-ssi, are you okay?¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m okay ¡­ Did Yoohyun-ssi kill it?¡± I asked Ki Yoohyun with a suspicious look. I had thought about it a while ago, but after entering the dungeon, my suspicions grew stronger. This person ¡­ is he strong? With a relaxed attitude, he was melting the slime in an instant. It was a suspicious situation, but Ki Yoohyun answered with a shy expression, saying that he was also surprised. ¡°Hahaha ¡­ because it is for beginners, the difficulty must have been set to easy.¡± Does he not know that he¡¯s strong yet? A breathless power that I¡¯ve only heard of? Or is this actually a haha bus? Did I enter the world of ¡°I am too strong as a rookie hunter¡± without realizing it? Was he actually a possessed person? Either way¡­. ¡®I have to stay close to him.¡¯ If Ki Yoohyun becomes famous in the future, I¡¯ll post something like, ¡°I cleared the the tutorial dungeon with Ki Yoohyun¡°. I will put a sign on the store saying ¡°It¡¯s the coffee that Ki Yoohyun drank¡± and sell coffee for hundreds of thousands of won. ¡®Hehehe.¡¯ ¡°Rieul-ssi.¡± Ki Yoohyun spoke to me, who fell into a snobbish thought for a moment. ¡°Ah, yes, yes?!¡± ¡°Be careful. Slime is not such a dangerous monster, but ¡­ it¡¯s better not to touch it.¡± ¡°Do they have any poison?¡± ¡°Your skin swells and itches when you touch it.¡± ¡°Ugh¡­.¡± That¡¯s a big deal. I have to be careful. Colorful slime contiued to appear along the way. Ki Yoohyun easily killed various slimes such as green, blue, and yellow slimes. The melted slime was absorbed into the ground and disappeared. Because of that, the system notifications were popping up one after another in front of my eyes. [You have gained 10 EXP.] [You have gained 10 EXP.] [You have gained 10 EXP.] ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ I¡¯m in the state of doing nothing, but still gaining the experience points. This is a bit ¡­ isn¡¯t this such a good benefit? At this rate, I think I can level up without lifting a hand. Is this enough to just enter the dungeon? As I walked while my partner was melting the slime, I came across a fork covered with bushes. Then, I heard the sound of running water nearby. Heugh, I was distracted by the free experience and almost forgot my original purpose. ¡°Yoohyun-ssi, please wait¡­.¡± The moment I was going to reveal my original purpose for entering the dungeon¡­. ¡°Wuahahaha! The Supreme swordsmanship!¡± The peacock that appeared from the other side ¡­ no, Jijon swung the sword in his hand. Behind him, there were still four beginners with tired faces. Jijon swept away the slimes around him and shouted in a loud voice. ¡°If you get caught in this supreme swordsmanship, you¡¯ll get one shot! WUAHAHA.¡± Oh my gosh, the skill name is also bad¡­. And why are you screaming when you use your skill? I glanced at Ki Yoohyun. ¡°You said we won¡¯t run into the others.¡± ¡°We¡¯re out of luck.¡± ¡°This is the hunting ground of the supreme leader! The little ones are just getting in the way, so get them out quickly.¡± I had a foreboding that it would be annoying to run into that guy among many hunters. I was about to ignore it and slowly move forward, but ¡­ something happened. Kuuuung, Kuuuung. My body trembled at the suddent vibrations of the ground. What, did an earthquake happen? Ki Yoohyun also looked surprised at this unexpected situation. Soon, a system notification window appeared in front of me. [Warning! Tutorial dungeon is a special dungeon designed to help beginners grow. Please use the dungeon with a difficulty level that suits you.] [The difficulty of the tutorial dungeon changes due to the appearance of a strong player. Tutorial Dungeon¨DSpecial Hard mode starts. Defeat stronger monsters and get more experience.] What the hell does this mean? As I read the notification window in disbelief, I heard laughter next to me. ¡°O¡¯my my ¡­ wuahahaha!¡± It was Jijon. ¡°I¡¯m sorry about this. I was just trying to help you beginners ¡­ but it looks like I¡¯m too strong to come in here. The difficulty of the dungeon went up because of me, I¡¯m sorry.¡± I don¡¯t think so. I don¡¯t know exactly what the situation is, but I have a strong feeling that it wasn¡¯t him. At that moment, the sun in the western sky disappeared and darkness descended as if time was fast-forwarding. And as the red moon in the middle of the sky emitted an ominous light, it was obvious that an unusual change had occurred. Thump, Thump, Thump-. The moment when the regular pounding of the ground stopped¡­. [Dungeon difficulty increased. A Giant Slime for Experts (???) has appeared.] The giant slime came toward us, bouncing its whole body. The body, which appeared from the bushes, seemed to be over 5 meters tall. The body glowed fluorescent green in the dark. I think it¡¯ll be real bad my your skin if I touch it. Jijon stepped forward to bite back at the bizarre sight. ¡°Huahaha! Don¡¯t worry. Even if it¡¯s a giant, it¡¯s still a slime. This supreme leader will be able to get rid of it.¡± Oh, he was pretty cool now. ¡°Hiyaaah ¡­. Supreme Swordsmanship!¡± Jijon swung the sword in his hand. However, the giant slime bounced the sword lightly. The wind blew the sword out of his hand. Still, Jijon did not give in. ¡°Eugh ¡­ It¡¯s pretty solid. But I still have this skill. Ultimate ¡­ The Supreme Iron Fang!¡± The moment he shouted ¡°Hiyaaah¡± a tremendous amount of power was condensed into the his fist. Jijon jumped sharply and swung his fist towards the giant slime. Tung-. However, Jijon¡¯s fist could not penetrate the smooth body of the giant slime. Jijon¡¯s body, which bounced off with a bang, rolled on the floor. ¡°¡­.Ugh.¡± Jijon, who got up with a moan, glared at the giant slime with a determined expression. Then, he ran away. ¡°Huh?¡± It was so fast. I soon couldn¡¯t see his back. ¡°Leader ¡­ wait, let¡¯s go together!¡± When Jijon, the leader of the party, ran away, a group of bewildered beginners followed him. In an instant, only Ki Yoohyun, the giant slime, and I were left here. The giant slime bounced off its body with a flash of light. ¡­. it seems to say that it¡¯s our turn next. Translator¡¯s Corner: I think I forgot to mention it before, Jijon (??) means supreme / the best. It is out-dated expression. It comes from Chinese character (ÖÁ×ð) and was used as an honorific title for a king in the past. Well, you probably still see it being used in martial arts novel. That¡¯s why the MC thought his skill name is ridiculous. ¡­ and guys, please stop jinxing the MC in the comments T__T CH 20 ¡°¡­Haa. Rieul-ssi, please stay away in a safe place for a while. It will be over in a minute.¡± Ki Yoohyun let out a light sigh and pointed to the back of the tree. ¡°Will you be fine by yourself? Even the C-class Hunter¡¯s attack just now didn¡¯t work.¡± ¡°It¡¯s all right.¡± ¡°Okay, then.¡± Without asking twice, I quickly ran towards the place Ki Yoohyun was pointing. Even if I¡¯m with him, a +2 attack shovel won¡¯t help. This non-combatant will hide quietly. Ki Yoohyun seemed to be making some gestures while looking at the giant slime. Then a net of light fell from the sky and covered the giant slime. The net began to bind the slime to prevent it from bouncing. Even with such skill, Ki Yoohyun doesn¡¯t seem to be struggling at all. As expected, this guy is pretty strong¡­. ¡°¡­Eh?¡± As soon as I touched the ground while watching the scene in front of my eyes, my body fell down. The problem was that it was difficult to see the ground because of the darkness around. There was a steep slope behind the tree. ¡°¡­.Rieul-ssi!¡± I tumbled down the slope. ¡°Ugh, Ouch¡­..¡± How much I tumbled? when I came to my senses, there was no place that didn¡¯t hurt. The surrounding area was covered with bushes, and it was impossible to see where it was originally. ¡°Yoohyun-ssi!¡± I called, but there was no answer. [Party: Kwon Rieul, Ki Yoohyun] Only the party window showed that Ki Yoohyun was still in the dungeon. It looks like it doesn¡¯t come with communication or GPS functions, so I can¡¯t find his location. Should I rip this bracelet? I saw the paper bracelet I received from the entrance. They said that if I tear it up in a crisis, they will come to my aid. I haven¡¯t got the ethereal water yet, but¡­. ¡°Kkyuuuuu¡­¡­¡± Then, as I was about to tear the bracelet, a red slime appeared in front of me. ¡°Aaargh!¡± I was startled and swung my (attack: 2) shovel wildly. But the slime circled around me without attacking me or running away. Not only that, it kept bouncing its body in one direction. This strange behavior seems to be trying to tell me something. ¡°Uh ¡­ do you want me to follow you?¡± ¡°Kkyuu.¡± The slime replied. It kept bouncing in front of me. Can I follow it? If I follow it, it will probably say ¡®Ta-da, you¡¯ve fallen into a trap¡® and then maybe slimes will be pouring around me. Ugh, I think I¡¯ll lose if I fight it. I hesitated for a while, but eventually I decided to follow this slime. In any case, I was separated from Ki Yoohyun and I did not know the way. It¡¯s not like there¡¯s any other way around. This slime in front of me is not showing aggression. Well, hesitating at times like this doesn¡¯t fit the situation. I¡¯ll follow it and if I think it¡¯s going to be dangerous, I¡¯ll rip the bracelet. It was dark all around, but it wasn¡¯t difficult to follow the slime with a flash of light. It was sunset until a while ago, but suddenly it became dark. It made me realize that this is really a different space. Moreover, the red moon in the sky radiated a magical light. But that bright red moon ¡­ it looks like it¡¯s looking at me. Eh, it¡¯s probably just my imagination. How can the moon look at me? It doesn¡¯t even have eyes. Haha, ha¡­. It¡¯s just my imagination ¡­ right? ¡°Kkyuu.¡± After walking behind the slime for a while, I heard the sound of running water from somewhere. After about 5 more minutes in the direction of the sound, a small river appeared through the bushes. That¡¯s a relief. I was wondering if I should go back without getting the water. I took out the plastic bottle I had put in my inventory and filled it with river water. The water shimmered softly in the plastic bottle. Tiling! [Item: Ethereal Water (¡ï¡ï¡î¡î¡î) Water rich in ether. It helps the growth of plants.] The name that appeared in the system window was also clearly ethereal water. I filled up one extra water bottle and put it in the inventory. Heavy plastic bottles are safe to carry because I have inventory. It must have been quite heavy to walk with this plastic bottle in hand. It¡¯s good to be awakened like this. Great. The purpose has been achieved. Now, let¡¯s tear the bracelet and call someone. There was no way to find Ki Yoohyun in this wide dungeon, and my legs started to hurt. ¡°Kkyuu, kkyuu.¡± However, the slime kept bouncing around me and squealing. ¡°¡­Eung? What?¡± ¡°Kkyuuuu!¡± It would be nice to have an interpreter artifact that translates slime words. I felt stuffy because all I could hear was ¡°Kyuuuu¡°. However, the appearance of slime was quite desperate to ignore. Why, isn¡¯t there a story like this? The dog ??suddenly dug in the ground with its front paw, and when I dug the spot with a shovel, I found a lost item. The dog barked and was noisy in the middle of the night, so I came out and found out that the house was on fire. I tend to believe such a story. When an animal tries to tell you something, you should never ignore it. I don¡¯t know if this slime can be considered an animal, but¡­. Perhaps feeling frustrated because it couldn¡¯t communicate, the slime turned toward the bushes and circled around one point. There was some kind of long grass growing there. ¡°Are you talking about this grass?¡± ¡°Kkyuu.¡± The slime bounced its body. It looks like I got it right. On the surface, it¡¯s just plain grass, and it looks a little bit like rice plant¡­. As soon as I touched the leaf with my hand, a familiar alarm rang. [The condition has been met.] [Skill: The Barista¡¯s Eyes (D) has been acquired.] [The Barista¡¯s Eyes (D) Details: (Lv.1) You can find the ingredients.] Suddenly, I have a new skill. Woah, looking at the description, that¡¯s a pretty good skill. As expected, it was good to listen to the animal (?). There is a grass pointed at by the slime right in front of me, so let¡¯s try the skill. ¡®The Barista¡¯s Eyes.¡¯ Immediately, item information appeared in front of me. [Item: Dungeon Sugar Cane (¡ï¡î¡î¡î¡î) [¡®Dungeon Sugarcane¡® has been added to the Ether-Wiki.] The word ¡®sugar¡¯ caught my eye at once in the notification window. With ¡®magic¡¯ in front of it, it must not be ordinary sugar. Maybe it will give some effect like the coffee mix¡­. ¡®Can I take it?¡¯ I think it would be useful if I could make sugar. Once I take it, I¡¯ll figure out how to do it later. I gently scooped the dungeon sugarcane with a shovel and put it in my inventory. It¡¯s a crappy weapon with 2 attack power, but it was all useful in this case. Since it¡¯s actually a seedling shovel, it¡¯s perfect for digging soil. I was crouching down in the dark and digging up dungeon sugarcane. Because I was so focused on my work, I didn¡¯t even notice that something was approaching. Tuk. ¡°Aaah!¡± ¡°Rieul-ssi, are you okay?¡± ¡°Huk, ah, yes!¡± When I turned my head, there was Ki Yoohyun with a worried look. Ah, I was surprised. I thought something had appeared. I was embarrassed to scream for nothing. I shook my knees and got up. ¡°I couldn¡¯t see you at the drop point, so I went looking for you. Did you get hurt?¡± ¡°No, I rolled down, but I¡¯m fine.¡± Even though I said it was okay, Ki Yoohyun looked at me with his deer-like eyes. Ugh, the guilt was no joke when I received the concerned gaze of the handsome man. I was a little sorry that I made him worry for nothing because I was chasing after a slime. ¡°Then shall we go?¡± ¡°Yes, wait a minute ¡­ eh.¡± Uh, where did that red slime go? I wanted to thanked it because I got my new skill. Maybe it ran away in surprise when it saw Ki Yoohyun. No matter how much I looked at the bushes, I could not see the shiny round body. ¡®I wish we could meet again.¡¯ I left the bushes behind with a slight regret. After that, I was able to go around the dungeon without much trouble. Slimes appeared a few times, but Ki Yoohyun melted them all, and I only need to eat the experience points. It felt like I was playing a game with auto-battle turned because the slimes have already been melted even before it came into view. After walking along the road for a while, I saw the exit. The exit was in the form of a disk that leaked blue light, similar to the entrance. You¡¯ll be able to exit the dungeon if you get on that disk. I have achieved my goal, and now I hurried to the exit with a desire to go home quickly. Then I heard the rumbling sound of the ground behind me. No way, it can¡¯t be¡­. I believe it won¡¯t be such a cliche development that a boss monster appears and the party falls into crisis when it¡¯s just around the corner of the exit. Maybe it¡¯s just that the ground is shaking a little¡­.? [Boss Monster: An Iridescent Giant Slime (???) has appeared.] Gee, the system notification shattered my hopes. Almost at the same time as the notification window, a slime appeared on the far side of the bushes. Maybe because it¡¯s a boss monster, the slime that appeared this time was rainbow-colored and huge. The translucent jelly-shaped body shining in its colorful brilliance was quite intimidating, it looked incredibly strong. It seems that Ki Yoohyun is stronger than I thought, but ¡­ is it possible to kill that slime too? I thought it would be unreasonable to face the boss alone. It¡¯s not even just Hard. It¡¯s a Special. Special. I am not good at English, but I know what special means. Fortunately, the giant slime was still far away, and the exit was close. I looked up at Ki Yoohyun, who was standing next to me. Perhaps Ki Yoohyun was also thinking the same thing as me, as he smiled with a refreshing expression. We spoke almost simultaneously. ¡°Shall we run?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s run.¡± No matter who came first, we started running towards the exit. I was out of breath because I usually didn¡¯t exercise. ¡°Huuh, Huu¡­.¡± I think I¡¯ll be there soon¡­. No, what slime is that fast? Is it a rubber ball? A rainbow-colored slime was approaching quickly, bouncing its body. I couldn¡¯t have imagined that such a large body could be bounced like a rubber ball. The slime was getting closer and closer, there was no time for me to admire it. I ran as fast as I could, looking ahead. This is the first time I have run like this since my high school physical education exam. And then¡­. ¡®It was so hard, I drank milk and vomited¡­.¡¯ Heugh, I almost saw the phantasmagoria. No, now is not the time to think about that. The moment our feet barely touched the disc, the slime caught up with us. As I shrank in anticipation of the ensuing attack, a net of light unfolded and covered the slime. CH 21 The slime caught in the net completely melted and rained down through the blue lights of the exit gate. [You have defeated the boss monster ¡®Iridescent Giant Slime¡¯] [Tutorial Dungeon¡ªSpecial Hard has been cleared.] [You have reached Level 5.] Almost at the same time as the notification appeared in front of my eyes, a blue light surrounded me. ¡°I¡¯m back¡­.¡± It was night inside the dungeon, so I couldn¡¯t know the exact flow of time, but half a day passed and it was evening when I stepped out of the gate. The sunset dyed the stone walls of the Great Dungeon red. ¡°We cleared it somehow.¡± I took off my windshield and was breathing hard, but Ki Yoohyun didn¡¯t look tired at all. We ran together, but why am I like this? As expected, is it lack of exercise? In any case, the purpose has been achieved. ¡°Thank you for today.¡± ¡°I ¡­ thank you for coming with me.¡± ¡°Come to the store in a few days. I¡¯ll make you a nice cup of coffee.¡± Wait, 10 million won. Ah, no, it just popped out of my head. Wait for me, Americano. And on the way back to the store after saying goodbye to Ki Yoohyun, I realized that I had forgotten something important. Ah, I didn¡¯t eat the gimbap. *** Dukduk. The room was just as quiet as when Ki Yoohyun came out. After checking once again to see if there was anyone through the window, Ki Yoohyun carefully put his body in. Just when he was about to silence the sound of his footsteps and sat on the chair inside, the door suddenly opened. ¡°Guild leader, where have you been!¡± ¡°E-ehem, what¡¯s going on, Hunter Han Yiseong. I¡¯ve been staying still like this.¡± ¡°Take the leaf off your shoulder and speak again.¡± Ki Yoohyun hurriedly took his hand to his shoulder and tried to shake off the evidence of going out. However, there was not a single dust on his shoulder, let alone a leaf. ¡°It¡¯s a lie.¡± ¡­. He got caught. ¡°Don¡¯t make excuses. I knew you were out.¡± Knowing that Han Yiseong had already been convinced, Ki Yoohyun shrugged his shoulders. ¡°¡­.The twins are all on fire.¡± Han Yiseong, the deputy guild leader of Cheongna Guild and the one who¡¯s in charge of external affairs, used to have a headache because of the guild leader who often disappears whenever he takes his eyes off him. No matter how much external affairs Han Yiseong is in charge of, there are cases where approval from the guild leader is required. However, it was impossible to keep an eye on Ki Yoohyun all day while he was busy with his original job. So, instead, he put the twins Joo Shinwoo and Joo Shinhee as watchmen. The twins, who joined the guild relatively recently as A-class hunters, admire Ki Yoohyun and have no urgent missions right now. They¡¯re the most suitable watchdogs. ¡°Follow him like a leech.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Just trust us.¡± He believed in the twins who nod with their bright eyes. Still, Ki Yoohyun disappeared again, avoiding the eyes of the twins who kept following him. The twins couldn¡¯t say anything harsh to him because he¡¯s the guild leader they admired so much, even though it¡¯s okay to be more strict with the guild leader who keeps slacking off. Again today, the twins ran and confessed that the guild leader had disappeared. In the end, Han Yiseong got involved again. Although he is ten years older than Ki Yoohyun, they had known each other before the establishment of the guild, and he was the closest person to Ki Yoohyun in the guild. However, by the time Han Yiseong found Ki Yoohyun, he had already entered the tutorial dungeon. ¡°¡­.Do you know how hard it was to control the area around the tutorial dungeon?¡± ¡°I had no choice because no one in our guild would go with me.¡± ¡°You call that a reason? Do you have a conscience or not?¡± Han Yiseong touched his forehead. The current guild leader and the No. 1 Hunter. That fact alone is difficult enough, but he suddenly asked to go to the tutorial dungeon for beginners. What would the others Hunters think when they heard that? If it¡¯s a company, it¡¯s like the boss suddenly calls out and makes you a cup of coffee¡­. ¡°Are you having a hard time these days?¡± ¡°Still, Director Kim has a very nice personality. I really like Director Kim.¡± It¡¯s like saying the same thing. ¡°Maybe the guild leader ¡­ is he going to cut me off? I was late in using my skills before, I¡¯m not helping¡­.¡± ¡°Does it mean that my level is only suitable for the tutorial dungeon?¡± ¡°Uhuk, I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯ll listen carefully to the tutorials and come back!¡± If that¡¯s the guild leader¡¯s will, then I will retire. It was also Han Yiseong¡¯s job to calm the guild members who said they would lock themselves up in a certain mountain for training. ¡°¡­.does it bother you that much?¡± Han Yiseong, who had been complaining for a while, changed his tone. The reprimand for the guild leader, who disappears frequently, was enough. However, he was curious about why he went to a tutorial dungeon for beginners. Up until now, Ki Yoohyun had never been interested in anything, and he seemed not to be interested in anyone. Then, he suddenly showed interest in something. There is only one reason that he can guess. ¡°¡­.It¡¯s not like that.¡± However, Ki Yoohyun shook his head with an ambiguous expression. ¡°I heard everything from the twins. You visited the cafe in front of the Dungeon Gate a few days ago.¡± ¡°There¡¯s really no secret in this guild.¡± ¡°You said there was no abnormal reactions.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± Han Yiseong recalled the owner of the cafe at Dungeon Gate 3rd Street, which Ki Yoohyun is paying attention to. He met her when the monster appeared there, but there was no particular impression. Isn¡¯t it enough to remember that she has a soft and innocent impression? She didn¡¯t look suspicious enough for Ki Yoohyun to care. ¡°If you have any doubts, I will attach a person.¡± ¡°No, don¡¯t do that.¡± Ki Yoohyun immediately blocked Han Yiseong. He spoke repeatedly in a strong tone. ¡°Never, don¡¯t approach her until I tell you otherwise.¡± Ki Yoohyun was deep in thought. Cthugha¡¯s Ring. It¡¯s the first masterpiece that the craftsman Kim Deokyi released after 10 years. Just by holding it in your hand, you can summon the God of another world, Cthugha, so it¡¯s worth calling. Originally, no matter how advanced a craftsman was, it was an item that humans could not create, but Kim Deokyi miraculously succeeded in making it. The one and only thing in the world. That ring is unique. In the pre-regression past he remembers, Cthugha¡¯s ring fell into the hands of the enemy. This is because the craftsman was deceived by the enemy and handed over the goods. Ki Yoohyun knew that the craftsman, Kim Deokyi, was secretly visiting Hunter Market that day. So, he went to meet her. He wasn¡¯t trying to get the ring. It was an unnecessary item for him who had already made a contract with another God. He was just trying to warn her to beware of those who seek the ring. However, when Ki Yoohyun arrived, the craftsman had already left, and the ring had fallen into Kwon Rieul¡¯s hands. ¡°You bought a good item.¡± ¡°What?¡± That ridiculous look. She didn¡¯t even seem to know what Cthugha¡¯s ring was. It¡¯s not known why the craftsman hid her identity and opened a consignment shop in Hunter Market, or why she handed over the ring to her. It¡¯s no use to ponder about someone who originally has a mischievous personality. But since Kwon Rieul became the owner of the ring, he needed to know about her. Ki Yoohyun came up with a suitable excuse and entered the tutorial dungeon with Kwon Rieul, and used his skill. ¡®Abyssal Gaze.¡¯ The Abyssal Gaze was a skill to read a Hunter¡¯s information. He can¡¯t read opponents stronger than him, but at least in Korea, there is no such person. Depending on the result, he even decided to get rid of her straight away from the tutorial dungeon. By the way. Name: Kwon Rieul Class: ¨€¨€ ¨€¨€ (F) (Lv. 2) Health 100/100, Energy 100/100 Strength: 8, Intelligence: 12, Agility: 9, Luck: 12 Achievements: ??¨¢? ¡ã¡¤??? ¡Àa¡ä¨¦¨¤? ¡ã?¨¢ ? ?¨¢ ?¡À¡Á ?1? ? ¡­¡­ ¡ª¡ª¡ªEND¡ª¡ª¡ª Judging by her low status, Kwon Rieul¡¯s statement as a non-combatant is probably true. However, the class was block-processed and the letters were broken, so it could not be read properly. It was the first time a result like this appeared. James¡¯ survival, Cthugha¡¯s ring, skill error¡­. Is this all a coincidence? No way. Ki Yoohyun doesn¡¯t believe in coincidence. All the signs, and his senses, were directed at Kwon Rieul. She¡¯s obviously hiding something. So is this a positive or negative variable? He¡¯ll have to wait and see. ¡®I¡¯ll have to keep an eye on her from now on.¡¯ If he becomes sure that it¡¯s a risk factor later, it is not too late to remove it then. But¡­. ¡°I¡¯ll make you a nice cup of coffee.¡± Those words were expected in a pure sense. Meanwhile, Han Yiseong was thinking of a completely different idea when he watched Ki Yoohyun. ¡®Did I just point out the wrong place?¡¯ He thought that Ki Yoohyun was concerned about the cafe in front of the dungeon gate only because there was something suspicious about it. But, instead of putting a watch on it, he ordered to ¡®never approach her¡®. Furthermore, he has been thinking to himself just now and even gave a faint smiled. It¡¯s like¡­. Come to think of it, the cafe owner and Ki Yoohyun are about the same age. 25-year-old Ki Yoohyun and 23-year-old Kwon Rieul. A young man and woman, only two years apart. The melancholy impression of her chestnut brown hair must be attractive. When he removed the prejudice that one side was Ki Yoohyun, the No. 1 S-class hunter, there was no better picture than this. ¡®I didn¡¯t notice!¡¯ Han Yiseong, someone who has been married for 5 years and a fan of We Got Married, looked at Ki Yoohyun with affectionate eyes. Ki Yoohyun was awakened and became a Hunter when he was 13 years old. The first and strongest S-class. The process has never been smooth. The hardships ran through his mind. When Ki Yoohyun was 15, Han Yiseong founded a guild and entrusted the guild leader position to Ki Yoohyun. It was not that Han Yiseong had great ambitions. The boy at the time seemed to have no interest in anything. He needed no one and didn¡¯t care about anyone. There was only darkness in the silent eyes that stared at him. It was an appropriate image for the strongest S-class hunter, but if left alone, it seemed like the boy would soon die somewhere. For that reason, he created a guild. Because the boy needed a place where he could take a breathe and put his trust. Gradually, Ki Yoohyun regained his smile and seemed to feel relaxed. ¡­. that¡¯s what it looked like. Even so, Han Yiseong knew. There was no change from the time he looked at the remains of the expressionless face monster. There is something terrifying inside that people like him can¡¯t even imagine. But now Ki Yoohyun showed the most lively figure of himself that Han Yiseong has ever seen. His black eyes are gleaming with light. Indeed, it has already been five years since Ki Yoohyun became an adult. The boy with black sunken eyes is really old enough to look elsewhere now. ¡°Guild leader, do you have any intention of revealing your identity?¡± Feeling the weightlessness of the years, Han Yiseong asked. Ki Yoohyun slowly shook his head. ¡°No ¡­ not yet.¡± Well, they haven¡¯t even become close yet. If he reveals his identity this early, the other person will feel burdened. ¡®As you said, I will never disturb you, so fighting.¡¯ Having made such an absurd misunderstanding, Han Yiseong decided to watch Ki Yoohyun with warm eyes. [Next] Translator¡¯s Corner: I hope you guys don¡¯t get bored because the plot somehow feels slow-paced ¡­ well, I really like this story because it can be included to the healing genre LOL the story is nice and the plot doesn¡¯t give me too much stress. Oh ¡­ and, which one do you like more between ¡®Ultimate Gate¡® and ¡®Ultimate Door¡®? I used ¡°gate¡± before because it seems more suitable for a hunterverse story like this, but lately I got tempted by the word ¡°door¡± too. CH 22 Translated by cabinfourtranslations. Klang. ¡°Uh, I¡¯m going to sleep more ¡­ uh, huh? I opened my eyes because of the loud sound. I jumped to my feet in case something has happened again, but the sound came from none other than the television. ¡°¡­¡± Mieum, who would normally scratch the floor for food as soon as I woke up, was calm. It turned out that she was currently obsessed with the TV. On television, a daily drama rerun was in the air, and the actor entered the door with a bang, making a loud noise. After returning from the tutorial dungeon yesterday, I immediately watered the branch. And after filling my stomach with the leftover gimbap, I fell asleep quickly. Now, I have a throbbing headache and a backache from sleeping that much. There was nothing I had done other than walking around in the dungeon, but I must have been unexpectedly tired. Right now, I have to go check if the branch has grown well. This time, it must have taken root properly without withering. But even after I washed up and came out from the bathroom, Mieum remained seated. I¡¯ve never seen this cat so quiet. ¡°Mieum-ah, let¡¯s go see the branch.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Mieum, aren¡¯t you hungry? Would you like some food?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Mieum, is it that fun?¡± ¡°Waeeong, this is a very important scene right now. It is about to be revealed that the villain swapped the heroine¡¯s child. The abandoned child awakened as the youngest hunter and was adopted by a wealthy family, but he can¡¯t remember his mother due to amnesia. He almost met his mother in the last episode, but his path was crossed by the villain¡¯s scheme¡­.¡± ¡°Ah, yeah¡­.¡± Mieum-ah, I¡¯m glad you¡¯re happy¡­. Somehow, I ended up listening to the entire story from the beginning to the end of the drama. It was only after the last scene and the next episode¡¯s trailer was finished that Mieum stood up. ¡°Do you like that drama?¡± ¡°Kyaoong! I just happened to see it.¡± ¡°The next episode will air at two o¡¯clock in the afternoon.¡± ¡°Who said I¡¯d watch ¡­ it¡¯s two o¡¯clock in the afternoon.¡± What an easy cat to understand. I came down to the first floor with Mieum and headed to the space. But as soon as I passed through the blue door of the wall, I hit my head with something. ¡°Ugh.¡± What the hell did I bump into? I rubbed my sore forehead with my palm and lifted my head. ¡°¡­.Ah.¡± It was a large branch that hit my head. No, a tree. The branch was the size of my body. The tree was the size of my body, and the trunk was so thick that I couldn¡¯t hug it all even with my arms wide open. Each branch bore a reddish-brown fruit. A tree big enough to fill this space greeted me. Although it was written in the status window that it would grow in one day, I didn¡¯t expect it to grow this big overnight. If we can grow trees in this way, I think the global warming problem can be solved quickly. ¡°¡­¡± It¡¯s a little, no, quite absurd, but¡­. Anyway, it¡¯s time to make coffee. [Congratulations! You have completed ¡®Sub-Quest: Our Blue River and Green Mountain¡¯. Please receive the reward.] [You have obtained 3 Golden Draw Tickets.] The moment I checked the Branch of Yggdrasil, which had grown large, a quest completion notification rang. The name of the quest was strange, I guess it was because it was a tree that grew this big. A shiny golden draw ticket entered my inventory. I wanted to draw right away, but I left it as it is for now. This is because drawing must be done with a reverent heart. ¡°It¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve heard of such thing, meoong.¡± Mieum, who heard my words, said that it was nonsense. ¡°It was a stormy night¡­.¡± ¡°What are you talking about all of a sudden?!¡± ¡°I was approaching the number one spot in the game rankings that day.¡± ¡°It has nothing to do with the storm!¡± Pak, the front paws flew to me. Ranked No. 1 as a F2P player. It was a very difficult and lonely road. From selling personal information to viewing advertisements and grinding ¡­ I collected free goods by doing all I could do. A precious cafe raised by my infinite labor. However, I was not able to take the first place because I failed to get the ¡®Platinum Royal Gorgeous Teacup Set¡® until the end. Should I give up like this? At that moment of despair, I accidentally pressed the draw button. With that said, you can guess the ending. At that time, I pulled out a set of the platinum teacups and eventually won first place. ¡°¡­.this has taught me something.¡± ¡°What is that, meooong!¡± ¡°The draw must be done in a state of mindlessness. In addition¡­.¡± ¡°In addition?¡± ¡°If you spin it until it comes out, it¡¯s 100% guaranteed.¡± ¡°¡­.¡± I felt a bit of a crisis as a human being because I got cold stare from a cat. Anyway, I tried to turn off the notification window, but I heard a ringing sound again. [Achievement: ¡®Guardian of the World Tree¡® has been achieved. Reward will be applied.] [Achievement: Guardian of the World Tree The World Tree, Yggdrasil, has been saved safely. The World Tree expresses its gratitude to you. Reward: Strength +10.] The new achievement notification made me feel better. It¡¯s not necessarily because of the reward. To be called ¡®Guardian of the World Tree¡¯ is somehow cool. I felt like I had done a great job. What¡¯s more, the reward is pretty good because my strength is increased by 10. In the tutorial dungeon, Ki Yoohyun defeated the boss that caused me to reach level 5 at once, but because of the staggering rise, I still have only 10 strength. Now I have 20 in the strength status. It¡¯s doubled thanks to the achievement. How strong have I become? I rolled up my sleeve, exposed my forearm, and tightened my arm. However, no matter how hard I tried, there was no muscle. Mieum, who could not bear seeing me like that, murmured from the side. ¡°That¡¯s not how it works.¡± ¡°¡­.is that so?¡± ¡­. I received a cold stare from the cat twice today. After lowering my sleeves in shame, I approached the tree and picked a piece of fruit from the open branches. It has a round shape that resembles a cherry, a reddish skin, and even this unique smell ¡­ when I took a bite, it tasted sour and sweet. It¡¯s really a coffee fruit. It has a huge name, ¡®World Tree Yggdrasil¡®, but it¡¯s a coffee tree. I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s an insignificant thing or not. So now I have to make coffee from this fruit¡­. ¡®Ether-Wiki.¡¯ [Checking your eligibilities ¡­ Completed.] [The Eligible: Your rights have been confirmed¡­..] ¡®Skip.¡¯ I skipped the feast of letters that were listed in a row without any regrets and opened the ¡®How to Make Coffee Beans¡¯ section. ¡¶How to Make Coffee Beans¡· How to: 1) After washing the harvested fruits with water, remove the flesh and leave only the seeds. 2) Dry the seeds well in the sun. 3) Complete in about three days. That¡¯s easy, right? Related Topics: Roasting The explanation was simpler than I thought. It doesn¡¯t look as easy as it seems, but ¡­ let¡¯s try just a little bit. I went back to the store and picked the fruits in a bucket of moderate size. The bucket full of fruits was heavier than I thought, but it was easy to lift thanks to the increased strength status. Ah, maybe that¡¯s how it works? Do I have to do a lot of work from now on? Eh, no way¡­. However, considering the bucket full of fruits and the rest of the process, I think that is correct. Is it the mercy of Yggdrasil, The World Tree, for me to die because of this? Next, the fruit was washed in the sink to filter out impurities. Then I returned to this space with the vinyl sheet I found in the warehouse. ¡°Huk, huuk¡­.¡± In a corner of this space surrounded by a dense forest, where the branches did not reach, a vinyl sheet was laid in places where the sunlight was reflected and the fruits were poured on it. The heavy fruit was twice as heavy because it was wet, and sweats began to form on my forehead. Now it¡¯s time to separate the seeds from these fruits. But how? I read the Ether-Wiki again, but there was no detailed explanation except for the phrase ¡®remove the flesh¡®. First, I decided to try peeling the flesh by hand. When I pressed it with my fingertips and gently peeled it off, only the green seeds inside came out. All right, I can do it this way. ¡°Waeooong¡­.¡± Mieum also helped peel the coffee fruit with her claws. Perhaps thanks to its jagged claws, she is quite good at peeling fruit. However, doing it by hand has a limit. Even after the two of us peeled off the fruits for a long time, it didn¡¯t seem that the remaining fruits would shrink at all. I wonder if I can finish this today. As I focused on the small fruit in a bent position, my back and waist also hurt. It¡¯s so hard to drink an Americano¡­. ¡°This isn¡¯t it¡­.¡± ¡°Kiyaooong! What are you talking about all of a sudden?¡± Something felt wrong. Where did it go wrong? This isn¡¯t it. ¡­ Why am I working so hard? I returned, quit my company, and decided to open a cafe here. It¡¯s a life where I can work less and rest more. In terms of time, I decided to work two days a week and take five days off a week. No, I almost lost my original intention because I was tempted by that wicked system. To seduce an innocent cafe owner with a golden draw ticket¡­. ¡®Scary system guy¡­.¡® If it¡¯s a system, shouldn¡¯t there be a way to solve it all at once instead of doing it manually? When I searched on my phone, I found a machine that automatically peeled off the flesh. ¡®Oh, I wish I had a machine like that.¡¯ However, it is difficult to obtain it in Korea, which is not a coffee producing country, and there is no place to put it. Besides, I want to open a cafe, not a coffee farm. Still, I did not have the energy to remove the remaining flesh by hand. ¡°Let¡¯s take a break for now.¡± I sat moderately on the trunk of the Yggdrasil¡¯s tree. The cool breeze cooled the sweat a little. Oh, come to think of it, I brought sugarcane from the tutorial dungeon. Is there a place to plant it? I opened my inventory and tried to take out the sugarcane from the dungeon. But ¡­ there was a red ball in the inventory that I saw for the first time. Huh, did I put this in there? After awakened and got an inventory, I put this and that because it was convenient. Wet tissue, band-aid, hand cream, leftover coins and receipts, earphones, and so on ¡­ but I don¡¯t remember putting a ball like this. I took the red ball out of my inventory. As soon as I took it out, the ball got bigger and landed on the floor. ¡°Kkyuu.¡± I heard a familiar cry. ¡°Kkyuu, Kkyuuu.¡± A translucent body resembling red glittering jelly, and this cry. Even the bouncing motion of the body elastically. It was the red slime I met in the tutorial dungeon. [Next] Translator¡¯s Corner: Back in the earlier chapter, it was already stated that Rieul¡¯s status are on the average. I¡¯d like to point out that it¡¯s the average of ordinary people, since F-class isn¡¯t much different from an ordinary people, not Hunters. Hunter is supposed to be far superior than ordinary people. That¡¯s why Ki Yoohyun would naturally judge that she¡¯s weak©¥because it¡¯s true. Oh, and F2P shorts for Free-to-play. As a F2P player, Rieul played the game without spending any money. It must be a familiar term if you play games like the popular Gensh*n Impact. And here¡¯s our cutie slime. CH 23 I wondered where it went back then, but it must have come into the inventory along with the sugarcane. What should I do, do I have to take it back to the dungeon? ¡°Meow! Did you catch a rare red slime?¡± Surprised at the sight of slime, Mieum raised her fur. ¡°I didn¡¯t catch it ¡­ but is it rare?¡± ¡°Red slime is the only type of slime that is not poisonous to the body. That¡¯s why they don¡¯t get along with other slimes, and they are also easily attacked by high-ranking monsters, so the number has decreased a lot.¡± ¡°Umh¡­.¡± Hearing that, it was a bit cruel to take it back to the dungeon. Should I raise it? There were quite a few cases where slime was kept as a pet. It was mainly a slime tamed by Hunters in the tamer class. Although this red slime is not tamed, it is calm¡­. A system window appeared in front of me while I was thinking. [Red Slime can be appointed as an agent. Would you like to appoint it? Yes / No ] You¡¯re saying I can raise this slime, right? ¡°Would you like to stay here?¡± ¡°Kkyuuu.¡± The slime bounced up and down. Yes, I have a cat who eats cereal and loves drama, and I also have a slime now. [Please name the agent. Enter a name: ] A name¡­. Umh ¡­ Rieul, Mieum, since it¡¯s the second addition the family ¡­ it¡¯s Bieup. ¡°How about Bieup?¡± The slime suddenly started bouncing its body from side to side violently. Perhaps that alone was not enough, so it drew an X on the floor while bouncing all over the place. It was a clear sign of rejection. ¡°¡­.Do you hate it that much?¡± I¡¯m a little hurt. What¡¯s wrong with Bieup? It means my dongsaeng, this older sister is sad. I thought it was perfect¡­. However, the slime continued to grumble and object. I had no choice but to give it another name. ¡°Um, then ¡­ since it¡¯s similar to jelly, do you like Jelly?¡± ¡°Kkyuuu!¡± It refused this name too. It¡¯s a very tricky slime. ¡°Because you resemble a rubber ball, Tangtang?¡± ¡°¡­.¡± I felt a cold gaze. A cool silence fell around so that I could know the answer without looking at slime¡¯s gestures. ¡°I don¡¯t think it likes the name.¡± Don¡¯t be like this. Mieum, not you too. In addition, as soon as I said the other names I thought of such as Red, Pearl, and Chubby, the slime instantly rejected it. ¡®Don¡¯t tell me ¡­ am I the problem?¡¯ Am I not talented in naming animals? In the end, half-desperate, I came up with a name that came to mind. ¡°Because you¡¯re a slime, how about Lime?¡± ¡°Kkyuu.¡± Finally, the slime gave a positive answer. Judging by the light gestures bouncing back and forth, it seems to like the name quite a bit. Suddenly, a new member of the family named Lime appeared. ¡°Kkyuu, kkyuuu.¡± Lime spun around me. Its translucent and bouncy body looked soft and pleasant to the touch. I think I can touch the red slime since it¡¯s not poisonous. I want to touch it once. ¡°Can I touch you?¡± ¡°Kkyuu.¡± When I gently pressed my index finger on its body,e I felt a soft yet elastic touch. It has a unique texture that, although slightly viscous, did not stick to my hands. Rub, rub, rub¡­. Rub, rub, rub¡­. Haha, I almost lost my mind for a moment. It¡¯s an incredibly addictive touch. At this rate, I thought I could stay like this for hours. But what should I feed it? I don¡¯t know if it had a mouth because it was originally in the form of a round jelly. It cried kkyuu, but it was unclear whether the sound was even coming out of its mouth. ¡°Lime, what do you eat?¡± ¡°Kkyuuuu.¡± Lime bounced its body and pointed to the coffee fruit on the open branch of Yggdrasil. ¡°Uh ¡­ are you eating this?¡± ¡°Kkyuu.¡± I picked a coffee fruit and gave it to Lime. Lime took the coffee fruit with its mushy body and swallowed it, then immediately spat out the seed. Seed ¡­ in other word, green coffee beans. Wait, then, is it possible for Lime to eat only the flesh of the fruit and leave the seeds? ¡°Lime, can you eat all of that too?¡± ¡°Kkyuu.¡± Lime, who somewhat answered in a proud tone, approached the place where the coffee fruit was abandoned. It spread its body as wide as a membrane, covering the coffee berries on the vinyl sheet like a wave. Tuk, Tuk. The seeds began to fall on the vinyl sheet. It took less than a few minutes for all the flesh of the coffee fruits to disappear and only the seeds remained. It was much more than a person and a cat has been managed to finish just now. Lime returned with a slower movement than before because it was full. Behind the slime, I saw a mountain of seeds. So the situation right now is¡­. Me + Mieum < Lime ? I felt a little bit of shame, but¡­. Anyway, the work was done in one shot. God, I have a really nice new family member. [Green Beans (¡ï¡î¡î¡î¡î) Status: Dry The flesh-removed seed of the coffee fruit. You need to dry it well in the sun to make good coffee. Time Remaining: 3 days] *** It took three days for the green beans to completely dry. What I did for those three days¡­. ¡°Haaaaa¡­..¡± I just played. For some reason, the system didn¡¯t bother me, and there was nothing else I could do but wait right now. What do you do when you have free time like this? Exercise? Self-improvement? No, of course I¡¯m just fooling around as much as I want. It¡¯s been three days since I¡¯ve been immersed in all the mundane things in the world. Today, I woke up late again, lay on the bed, and accessed the Hunter Channel on my cell phone. [Issue] Let¡¯s make a public discussion about Hunter Jijon. (413) [News] Tutorial Dungeon¡ªSpecial Hard Attack Hunter Unknown (133) [Notice] Notification of sanctions against ill-mannered user ¡®Jijon¡¯ [Chatting] Is normally this unkind? ?? (57) The world is also peaceful today. I couldn¡¯t see anything special, so I skimmed through the text and got up because I was hungry. Looking at the clock, it was 1:00 p.m. It was time for the green beans to be dry. When I went down to the first floor after washing up, Mieum and Lime were talking about something. The two of them have become close, now they used to hang out together and play with each other well. As I got closer, I heard Mieum¡¯s clear voice. ¡°Waeeeongh, do you understand!¡± ¡°Kkyuuu¡­.¡± ¡°The bowl is here, the toilet is over there, and the drinks are in the refrigerator. What is missing comes out when you urge the human to clean up.¡± ¡°Kkyu.¡± I thought she wanted to explained the location of the item because she came in first. ¡°No, the TV is on the second floor. By the way, you have to watch KBS at 7:30.¡± ¡°Kkyuuu¡­..¡± ¡°No. Watch the rerun. Kyaoong!¡± They started arguing over the TV channel. ¡®Both of you look happy¡­.¡¯ Leaving the two who kept arguing, I went into the space and checked the coffee beans. [Green Beans (¡ï¡ï¡ï¡î¡î) Status: Dry The flesh-removed seed of the coffee fruit. It dries well and is suitable for making coffee after roasting.] After three days, the well-dried green beans had a shape that looked exactly like the coffee beans I knew. The long journey had finally come to an end. I immediately brought my green beans back and prepared to roast them. Fortunately, there was a roaster in the store. However, it was not a commercial product used in a professional roastery cafe, but a household product that was roasted on a gas fire. Originally, I was planning to buy roasted coffee beans and use them. ¡®I was planning to do it, but how did this happen¡­..¡¯ If it wasn¡¯t for the system¡¯s quest rewards and the special effects of coffee, I would have just prepared to open an ordinary cafe. I heated the roaster on a gas fire, and then the dried green beans in the wire mesh. This roaster was bought for home roasting as a hobby a long time ago, but it was left unused. Thank you, the past me. Without this, I would have had to wait another few days to order and receive the roaster. Of course, at that time, I would never have imagined that I would be roasting coffee made from the fruits of Yggdrasil. As the temperature rose and the wire mesh went round and round, the beans began to roast. Now it going to smell fragrant and crack¡­. What? Why is there no change? The gas fire is definitely on and the roaster is at normal temperature. However, the coffee inside was not roasted at all. And this pattern¡­. I had an ominous hunch. Somehow I have a hunch that something very troublesome will happen. ¡®Ether-Wiki.¡¯ After skipping all the texts that appear in front of me, I opened the roasting information page. There¡¯s nothing particularly strange about it¡­. I quickly scanned the roasting information with my eyes, and at the end, my eyes caught the small letters. The letters written in 3pt were invisible unless you open your eyes wide. [*Note: Roasting must be done with etheric fire. Please be careful as it does not roast on a regular gas fire.] Etheric fire? It¡¯s a very ominous word. My eyes met Mieum, who was sitting on her stomach in the corner and watching the roaster turn. ¡°Meoong¡­.¡± As if she had something to say, she cried a little and looked into my eyes. Isn¡¯t this pattern too much? No wonder it¡¯s been quiet for the past few days without a bothersome notification, was it for this moment? The feeling of betrayal was immense. It seems that this system is trying to send me to a dangerous place with such a repeated pattern. I won¡¯t. I won¡¯t do anything about it. How am I supposed to bring the fire? It was then, Suddenly, the red stone in the ring I was wearing began to glow. It¡¯s the same ring I got from the old lady in Hunter Market. ¡°Uh, why is this¡­.¡± Hwuur. Another dark red flame from the gas fire moved to the lower part of the roaster. The roaster on fire spun round and round. Oh, it¡¯s working. Soon, the roaster began to smell fragrant. [Next] Translator¡¯s Corner: Dongsaeng is younger brother/sister. I assumed that you must have already known this if you read KR webnovel ¡­ it¡¯s a gender-neutral term, so ¡­ no, I won¡¯t guess the slime¡¯s gender. Does slime even supposed to have a gender? I already explained about the name before. After Rieul and Mieum, there¡¯s Bieup. ?? (?), ?? (?), and then ?? (?). Rubber / bouncy ball is ??? (taengtaengbol), so it¡¯s Tangtang. Let¡¯s just hope that Our MC¡¯s future husband has better naming-sense :¡¯D CH 24 ¡°The day has finally come¡­.¡± After three days of roasting, I was finally able to get my hands on well-aged coffee beans. I¡¯m glad I have a ring that I bought at Hunter Market. Thanks to the ring, I¡¯ve avoided the sabotage of the evil system. I opened the box and checked the condition of the coffee beans inside. [Green Beans (¡ï¡ï¡ï¡î¡î) Status: Mature Beans aged after roasting. It is aged properly and is suitable for making coffee.] ¡°It¡¯s well-aged, meong.¡± ¡°Kkyuu.¡± I didn¡¯t want to do DIY like this. Is this what a farmer feels like when he cooks rice with his own rice? When I saw the vivid brown color of the ¡®real_end_last_final_beans¡¯, I felt proud. I wondered what it would taste like, so I decided to try making coffee right away. Having obtained the beans, the next process was relatively simple. First, I decided to try the skill I got last time. ¡®The Barista¡¯s Extraction.¡¯ As soon as I used the skill, the method of extracting espresso came to my mind, and my hands moved naturally. First, I ground the coffee beans with a grinder. Finely ground coffee beans were placed in a portafilter and tamped by pressing firmly with a stamp. When the properly set machine was operated, espresso was soon extracted. ¡­ Gulp. The rich smell of coffee made my mouth water. After putting hot water in a coffee cup, pouring the espresso and mixing it, the Americano was finally completed. [Item: Americano (¡ï¡ï¡ï¡î¡î)] Status: Good (Time Remaining: 00:30:00) Effect: Nullifies the debuff. (01:00:00)] ¡°I just wanted this cup of coffee¡­.¡± Tears seemed to come to my eyes when I remembered the hard work I had done to make Americano. Debuff invalidation, the effectiveness is fraudulent. This time, I put eight ice cubes and cold water in a glass and poured espresso. I like it hot, but I also wanted to drink iced Americano. Stir slightly to mix it well and it was done. [Item: Iced Americano (¡ï¡ï¡ï¡î¡î) Status: Good (Time Remaining: 00:30:00) Effect: Using skill does not consume energy. (01:00:00)] The effect of Iced Americano also seemed quite useful. Wouldn¡¯t it be helpful when using advanced skills that consume a lot of energy? ¡®I don¡¯t know if that day will come¡­.¡¯ ¡°Hurry up and drink it!¡± ¡°Kkyuuuu.¡± As I looked into the Americano¡¯s status window quietly, a cat and slime, who were impatient, rushed me. So, let¡¯s drink these two precious cups of coffee made by my hard work. First, I took a sip of hot Americano. The soft yet deep taste warmly wrapped the body. My stiff body and mind gradually relaxed. Next, Iced Americano. This time, a fresh taste poured into my mouth. It was refreshingly cold, yet the finish was clean. As soon as the glass was completely emptied, the quest completion notification rang. [Congratulations! You have completed ¡®Main Quest: The Path of The Barista (1)¡¯. Please collect the reward.] [Experience: 200 EXP have been acquired.] [100 rubies have been acquired.] [You have acquired the new recipes: the basic 5 menus of the cafe recipes.] The satisfaction of being rewarded. The joy of finally making the coffee. A high level of concentration that suppresses serenity. ¡°¡­.Right now.¡± ¡°What are you talking about all of a sudden?!¡± ¡°¡­.Kkyuu?¡± I selected the Golden Draw Tickets from the last quest in my inventory. A perfect state of mindlessness. This moment was the right time to draw. [Current number of Golden Draw Tickets owned: 3] [Please pull the handle.] I pulled the handle of the translucent drawing box that appeared in front of me. At the end of the hologram, where the capsules were quickly mixed, what came out was a white capsule. [Agility status increases by 1.] [You have acquired 1 Ruby.] There¡¯s only one chance left. ¡°Whoa, ha¡­.¡± ¡°Hmmm, golden items don¡¯t come out so easily.¡± Ignoring Meeum¡¯s criticism, I immediately pulled the handle. ¡°Done!¡± I have succeeded! A golden capsule came out with a splendid effect different from before. [You have acquired an item. Check your inventory.] [Item: Stainless Steel Thermos (¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡î¡î) It maintains the temperature of the beverage for a long time. Capacity: 700ml] Inside the inventory was a thermos that was commonly used. Just a thermos. It wasn¡¯t a good item at all, and I was disappointed for a moment, but as I read the description, a certain possibility crossed my mind. Maybe¡­. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you? No matter how disappointed you are, you shouldn¡¯t give up¡­.¡± ¡°Wait a minute! ¡°Waeeong?!¡± I immediately made another cup of Americano and put it in the thermos. Then, I checked the status window. [Status: Good (Time Remaining: 00:30:00)] [Status: Good (Time Remaining: 00:30:00)] ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. The time remaining did not decrease while the coffee was kept in the thermos. With this thermos, it was possible to drink the coffee in good condition even far away from the store. It¡¯s a good item even if it doesn¡¯t look like one, right? I was thrilled by the joy of winning the draw, and for a moment, my phone rang. At first glance, it was a text message. What is it? There¡¯s no reason for me to get a text message. Normally, I would have skipped over it because it was just an advertisement text, but why do I feel so anxious? ¡­ Gulp. Eh, it¡¯s probably just my feeling. The heart-pounding is probably because of the caffeine, and the chills on the back of my neck are ¡­ yes, it¡¯s probably because I drank Iced Americano earlier. I unlocked my phone and checked the text. The person who sent the text message unexpectedly was Kwon Jiwoon. [Rieul-ah, how¡¯s the store doing?] [Come to the guild when you have time. Let¡¯s talk ^^] A heterogeneous speech. A smiling emoticon that feels more uncomfortable than the text. Boom, it felt like my heart was going to drop. *** The next day. I was looking at the text left by Kwon Jiwoon on my phone again. Ugh. Just reading the short sentence stings my stomach. Kwon Jiwoon doesn¡¯t call me this way. He had his guild member to deliver our business, but he didn¡¯t welcome me to the guild. Besides, what¡¯s with the emoticon ¡°^^¡±? Ugh¡­. Ki Yoohyun came to the store when I caught this bitterness several times. I contacted him to offer him a nice cup of coffee, as I promised before. The phone connection isn¡¯t available in the dungeon, so I was going to wait patiently because he might be late. Surprisingly, Ki Yoohyun arrived at the store in about 20 minutes after leaving a text message. Isn¡¯t it quite far from the Cheongna Guild building here? However, Ki Yoohyun, who knocked on the door with a bright smile on his shiny face, looked very relaxed. ¡°Ki Yoohyun-ssi, don¡¯t you go to the dungeon?¡± Anyway, it¡¯s true that I promised to let him drink the new coffee. I asked that question while putting the coffee beans in the grinder. ¡°Haha, the guild members feel pressured if I go with them.¡± Does it mean that if an unskilled hunter joins a party, it will be a burden because of the loss of power? ¡°And the deputy guild leader Han Yiseong also told me to go early.¡± ¡°¡­is that so?¡± ¡°Yeah, he¡¯s not that kind of person, I wonder what kind of wind was blowing¡­.¡± According to Ki Yoohyun, Hunter Han Yiseong sent him to go right away when he said he had something to do at this store. I heard that each guild is busy because there was a C-class instance dungeon occured recently. From what I¡¯ve heard, it seems like they don¡¯t want to take Ki Yoohyun to the dungeon. In the Hunter world, survival of the fittest was natural, but I still felt sorry for him. Even though the main party of Cheongna Guild is famous, they don¡¯t even run dungeons together. I thought this guy was pretty strong when I saw him before. Oh, and by the way. While making a hot Americano, I suddenly brought up the issue that concerned me these days. ¡°What does it mean when someone suddenly does something that they have never done before?¡± ¡°Did something happen?¡± Ki Yoohyun was watching Lime walking around. When asked where I brought this pet slime, I replied that I picked it up nearby. Well, I¡¯m not lying. I picked it up from the inventory. ¡°No, I just want to know in general sense.¡± In fact, Kwon Jiwoon¡¯s text kept bothering me while making coffee. At first, I wondered if I had read it wrong or if it was a spam text message with the same name and number as Kwon Jiwoon. However, the denial of reality had no effect. No matter how much I looked at it, it¡¯s true that the text was from Kwon Jiwoon. I decided to visit the guild a few days later, but I couldn¡¯t guess what was going on. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Usually¡­.¡± ¡°Usually?¡± Avoiding Ki Yoohyun¡¯s touch, Lime bounced back. ¡°They¡¯re going to die.¡± ¡°Ah, that¡¯s not it.¡± Kwon Jiwoon is the best healer in Korea. He was in pretty good health even before my regression. I don¡¯t think he suddenly changed because of illness. Ki Yoohyun glanced at me with a slightly startled expression and spoke again. ¡°Did there ever be an event that could change their mind? For example¡­.¡± ¡°For example?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a regression or something like that.¡± I felt like my heart was going to drop. Ki Yoohyun was still admiring Lime¡¯s translucent body. He turned his head obliquely, so I couldn¡¯t see what expression he was making. ¡°Well, it¡¯s just an example. Twenty years have passed since the system created the Awakened, but no regressors have ever been observed ¡­ so far.¡± ¡°That ¡­ that¡¯s true. Ahaha¡­.¡± Speaking of regression all of a sudden, I was surprised to think if you knew about my regression. Why are you making your answer so meaningful? You surprised people. CH 25 Translated by cabinfourtranslations. Is that the reason why Kwon Jiwoon, who is a close person to me, suddenly sent such a text message? I tried not to think about the case, but there was only one conclusion that came to mind. I think the fact that I¡¯ve awakened got caught. I thought Jiwoon might notice because I registered as an Awakened person in the Dungeon Management Office, went to Hunter Market, and I also joined the tutorial dungeon. ¡°Don¡¯t show any interest in Hunters or anything like that, and just stay as a normal person.¡± The cold words came to mind. He wish I didn¡¯t bother him, how would he react if he found out that I have awakened? Ugh¡­. It felt like my heart was being squeezed tight. ¡°Rieul-ssi?¡± ¡°¡­.It¡¯s nothing.¡± First, let¡¯s think about it tomorrow, and for now, let¡¯s focus on making coffee. ¡®Cafe in my hand.¡¯ After extracting the espresso, I made an Americano using my skill. As soon as the espresso was poured into the hot water, the fragrant smell gently enveloped the surroundings. However, after making the coffee, there were not many beans left. After all, the roaster is small, so it decreases quickly. I took the green beans out of the box, put them in the roaster, and ignited them with the ring. Hwuurr, red flames began to heat up the roaster. ¡°Uh ¡­ what did you just do?¡± Ki Yoohyun, who was watching the scene, asked. ¡°Yes? Ah, what Yoohyun-ssi said was right. This ring is a really good item.¡± ¡°Ah, yes¡­.¡± Even though he said it was right, he looked shaken. ¡°If you light a fire with the ability of this ring, it¡¯s great for flavoring the coffee.¡± Even the degree of roasting could be adjusted automatically when lighting the fire. If the beans made from the fruits of Yggdrasil are lightly roasted, they will have a floral scent and strong acidity, and when roasted strongly, the smell of nuts and savory taste became stronger. The exquisite taste change is fantastic and, as long as I didn¡¯t get addicted to caffeine, I thought I could drink several cups of it all day. I bought a filial piety item at a low price. ¡°You¡¯re using Cthugha¡¯s ring as a gas burner¡­..¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Nothing. It¡¯s ¡­ I¡¯m glad you¡¯re using it well.¡± The answer is bland. I handed out the finished cup of hot Americano to Ki Yoohyun. ¡°Anyway, have a drink.¡± Ki Yoohyun received the cup of coffee and took a sip. I watched the scene with with a pounding heart. This is because it is the first time to show the taste of Americano to others. This Americano is truly labor-intensive coffee made with my own labor. I was very curious about how other people would feel about the taste. ¡­ Gulp. After drinking the Americano, Ki Yoohyun¡¯s expression softened a little. Then, suddenly, a long bar sign appeared over Ki Yoohyun¡¯s head. The more he drank coffee, the more golden gauge filled up until it¡¯s almost 100% full. It even has a sparkling effect. What is that? ¡°Yaooong (It¡¯s a sign of satisfaction, the more satisfied they are with the coffee, the higher it goes).¡± ¡°There was no such thing when I made coffee mix, right?¡± ¡°Meong (New features are available when you¡¯re leveled up).¡± Ah, I was level 5. That¡¯s why I can see that now. ¡°Waoooong (the higher the level, the more abilities)¡­.¡± I pretended I didn¡¯t hear anything. She was trying to sneak me into the dungeon. Who knows what will come back. After drinking all the coffee, Ki Yoohyun put down the coffee cup. ¡°What do you think?¡± The golden gauge above his head had already given me the answer, but I asked with anticipation. ¡°It¡¯s very delicious.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°It seems bitter, but not too bitter, and although it is thick, it is soft on the throat. I¡¯ve tried many coffees, but I¡¯ve never tasted anything like this before. What¡¯s more, drinking this makes my body feel lighter.¡± I also thought the Americano was delicious, but I was excited by the rave reviews that exceeded my expectations. It was not empty words, considering the almost full golden bar. Ki Yoohyun emptied all the remaining Americano and asked. ¡°What¡¯s the price of this Americano?¡± ¡°Uh ¡­ The price?¡± ¡°Since it¡¯s a cafe, aren¡¯t you trying to sell it? If it tastes like this, I want to order it as much as I want.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true, but¡­.¡± Actually, I haven¡¯t decided yet. Until now, I did not receive any money because I had made a lot of coffee mix to fill the number of quests. Today, too, I just invited Ki Yoohyun to taste the coffee. But I¡¯ll get paid if I open a cafe later. Still, it was harder to decide the price than I thought. I think it¡¯s too cheap to follow the normal Americano price. However, it seemed that it would not sell if I set the price blindly. Besides, I have only two animals to discuss with. ¡°You have to get 1 million won, kiya!¡± ¡°Kkyuu, kkyuu.¡± Neither was very helpful. Tiling! Then, a familiar alarm rang. I looked at the translucent window that appeared in front of me. [The menu is ready to be sold.] [Please set the price.] [Americano: 0 Ruby] The cursor was blinking over the number 0 and it was possible to designate a number. However, the unit is ruby. Heh, why didn¡¯t I think of this? Yeah, it¡¯s a cafe that mainly caters to Hunters anyway, so it¡¯d be better to get the money in rubies. Hunters always carry rubies, and the price will be less objectionable. If you say ?100,000, it feels expensive, but if you say 1 ruby, it doesn¡¯t feel very expensive. That¡¯s why the price of paid items in the game is displayed in ¡®diamond¡¯ or ¡®jewel¡¯ rather than cash. If you draw a card for ?100,000, you¡¯ll fell the reality, but if you draw it with 100 jewels, it seems like a jackpot. When I selected the number 0, the text ¡®Recommended Price: 1 Ruby¡® appeared. I entered 1 as recommended by the system for now. [The price has been set.] ¡°I¡¯m going to get the money in ruby. It¡¯s 1 ruby.¡± At that moment, the alarm rang again. [A quest has occurred.] [Main Quest: The Path of The Barista (2) You¡¯re a confident barista now. Increase the sales menu by completing the cafe¡¯s five basic menus (caf¨¦ latte, cappuccino, cafe mocha, vanilla latte, and caramel macchiato). Complete the 5 basic cafe menus: 0/5] [Rewards: Experience (200 EXP), Random Recipe, ???] [Sub Quest: The Ultimate Coffee Make a deep connection with your true friend with the ultimate coffee. Delivering the Ultimate Coffee: 0/1 Reward: Skill Point 1] I skipped all the notifications that seemed to make me do something annoying just by looking at their names. Then one last notification popped up. [Achievement: ¡®First Key¡¯ has been achieved. Please collect the reward.] [Achievement: First Key Congratulations. You have obtained the first key.] However, the name of the achievement was strange. The first person to drink the coffee I made was Kim Jina. After that, James also drank it, so Ki Yoohyun was the third. Why is he called the first? What is the ¡®key¡¯? The notification window felt uncomfortable because there were only short words and no detailed explanations. Although there¡¯s no reason to refuse the reward¡­. ¡®Collect reward.¡¯ [Achievement Reward: A new area has been opened in the space.] Huh ¡­ an unexpected reward has arrived. *** Korea¡¯s No. 1 Hunter Community ¨C Hunter Channel. Free Forum Board. ¡ª Ranking, The Slave Hunters Guild is banned. Real life player kill in the dungeon. *** *system: This is a deleted post. [Chatting] The hunter who defeated the Tuto Dungeon boss hasn¡¯t been revealed yet??? (24) Upvotes: 1 / Downvotes: 3 *** Writer: OO Is the Management Office missing? Iron rice bowl bastards?? *** ¡ª God-sung: It hasn¡¯t come out yet? ©¸ Triple Set: Isn¡¯t it just not announced???? ©¸ MM: all the top performers were announced until last year, so why not just this time?? ©¸ ddd***: right ¡­ it¡¯s weird ¡ª Gunsan Il-jjang: Why is the Management Office an ¡®iron rice bowl¡®? The salary is so small. ©¸ A-Grade Potion Farm: It¡¯s just a general job, but a hunter job earns a lot of money haha ??If you¡¯re a DE-grade, it¡¯s better to be a civil servant than rolling in a guilds. ©¸ MM: totally agree ¡ª rba***: Is there an experienced hunter who tutored this time? When I saw the issue, it said that there was a mutation [Link] ©¸ Super Phone: Isn¡¯t there supposed to be no boss in the tutorial?;; ©¸ No Power: I heard that it was Special Hard, does anyone know? I¡¯ve never had this before; ©¸ F-class: Giant slime really doesn¡¯t fit the deal. No matter how much I hit it, 0 is reduced ???? ©¸ OO: Slime is strong; LOL ©¸ Consignment Shop No. 3: Slime must not be ignored hahahaha ©¸ Red Jelly Chop: I want to raise a pet slime, is there no tamer fortress for sale? ©¸ Lime Love Team: Posts about slime for sale are prohibited in Hunchan; please check your notice. ©¸ Red Jelly Chop: WHY? ©¸ Lime Love Team: The case of disposing of slimes and abandoning them happened before. ©¸ Red Jelly Chop: Huh ???? ©¸ wab***: Aren¡¯t you just weak? ©¸ OO: hateful??;;; ¡ª cba***: We are looking forward to hearing from anyone who has participated in this tutorial dungeon or is familiar with it. ©¸ Making Golem: What is this??? ©¸ Elixir Dasam: The above is the email address of Ripple, C&L¡¯s legal team. ©¸ Making Golem: eh? what¡¯s going on; [Administrator]: The post have been made private at the request of the right holder. Reason for request: spreading false information. *** Jijon looked up. The building in front of him was very colorful and large. If you make a building with a desire to show off your money, it will look like this. It is said that the sculptures modeled after the Great Dungeon Abyss placed at the entrance alone are worth several billions won. C&L street No. 1, Seocho District, Seoul. In other words, it¡¯s in front of C&L Corporation¡¯s headquarters. A few days ago, the unfortunate C-class Hunter Jijon, who was expelled from his guild and had his Hunter Channel ID suspended, headed towards the entrance. ¡°What brings you here?¡± As soon as he passed the entrance, a security guard in a suit approached him and asked fiercely. A security guard is not something to be trifled with. The security team consisted of at least D-class or higher hunters, and they were given equipment that could temporarily nullify skills. Jijon tried not to show signs of nervousness and began to talk. ¡°Ah, I ¡­ I have an appointment today.¡± ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°It¡¯s Jijon.¡± ¡°¡­.yes?¡± Five years ago, after awakening, Jijon abandoned his original name. His real name was so common and ordinary that there were three people with the same name in his school alone, so it was like an ¡®ordinary person¡¯ name. His alias was given with the great intention of becoming the supreme leader of the Hunter World. He worked under this name anytime, anywhere. However, the security guard in front of him only looked at him with a look of what-nonsense-are-you-talking-about. Shrinking Jijon quickly put his real name on his mouth. ¡°¡­.I¡¯m Kim Jihoon.¡± ¡°Yes, it has been confirmed. Take the elevator at the end of the right corner. You have to take this visitor¡¯s card to open the door.¡± He got the visitor¡¯s card and headed inside. He never thought he¡¯d be here again¡­. [Next] Translator¡¯s Corner: Iron rice bowl (???): ¡®iron rice bowl¡¯ means ¡®a strong and unbreakable rice bowl made of iron¡®, and it is interpreted as a metaphor for a job with low risk of dismissal and stable employment. Copied from Wikipedia, ¡°Iron rice bowl¡± is a Chinese term used to refer to an occupation with guaranteed job security, as well as steady income and benefits. The Chinese term can be compared to the similar (but not identical) English concept of a ¡°job for life¡°. Traditionally, people considered to have such positions include military personnel, members of the civil service, as well as employees of various state-owned enterprises (through the mechanism of the work unit). Thank you, Wikipedia. I changed CNL to C&L. I actually like CNL better, but ¡­ this name is important. Oh, I also changed ¡°receive reward¡± to ¡°collect reward¡±. Now I think ¡°collect¡± is more suitable because it¡¯s not like she can rejected the reward. I know the netizen-talks probably bored you, but don¡¯t skip it. It¡¯s kinda significant for the later plot. CH 26 Translated by cabinfourtranslations. He was waiting for the elevator after taking the visitor¡¯s card when people stormed out of the next elevator. The most notable person is Choi Cedric, the 2nd ranker. Judging by the familiar face next to him, the others are also the top rankers in grades A to B. Jijon sneaked away from their eyes. This is because he was discouraged by their splendid appearances. Even so, they didn¡¯t even glance at him. Once, he too could be among them. Five years ago, Jijon, who was awakened as a C-class, was scouted by C&L Corporation. Being able to be a part of such a large guild, he signed the contract without even reading the contract properly, thinking that he could also become a celebrity. However, a few months later, he was cut off due to a minor problem and transferred to a subcontractor¡¯s guild ¡­ no, he was demoted. Since then, Jijon¡¯s life has become very difficult. No matter how risky the dungeon was, the subcontracted guild could hardly make any money. Even if he collected a lot of ether ore, I had to pay most of it to the original office. So, he was just trying to get a little extra income by participating in the tutorial dungeon for beginners. He didn¡¯t know there would be a dungeon mutation! Jijon, who ran away in front of the giant slime, spat out all the rubies he received from the bus fare and apologized. However, the beginners did not forgive him, and even the guild cut him off, saying that he had disgraced the guild¡¯s reputation with bus scams. And yesterday, he even got a call from the C&L guild leader. Why him? He had already been cut off from the guild, are they going to sue him? Jijon shuddered as he recalled the infamous C&L legal team. Then, the elevator stopped on the top floor and the door opened. ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting. This way, please.¡± The secretary, who was standing in front of the elevator, greeted Jijon. ¡®¡­.a woman or a man?¡¯ The secretary was very beautiful. Long eyelashes cast a shadow over the pale cheeks. The clear features were impressive enough to be unforgettable at a glance. However, the unique mysterious atmosphere made gender and age seem ambiguous. It gives off a realistic, yet unrealistic feeling. ¡°The guild leader will be here soon.¡± The secretary took Jijon to the reception room inside and gave serve him a cup of tea. A few minutes after sitting on a sofa that felt rather uncomfortable because it was so fluffy, the door opened again. ¡°You¡¯re here.¡± ¡°Ah, yes, umh, hello.¡± Jijon jumped up and bowed his head. The opponent beckoned him lightly to sit down. The CEO of C&L Corporation, Lee Sein. Her ability as a hunter is not very strong. She was only ranked 88th in the top 100. However, she was a talented person who developed C&L Corporation, which started as a small guild, into a Big Three guild. Even now, she¡¯s also a businessman who was still not satisfied and led aggressive investment and business expansion. There is even a myth that the hunter chosen by Lee Sein will rise to the top. ¡®Why would such a person¡­.¡¯ ¡°Hunter Kim Jihoon.¡± ¡°Please call me Jijon.¡± ¡°Hunter Kim Jihoon.¡± ¡°Y-Yes.¡± Frightened, Jijon bowed his head. ¡°You don¡¯t have a guild you belong to right now, do you?¡± ¡°¡­.That¡¯s right.¡± It was Lee Sein who demoted him to a subcontractor¡¯s guild, and who pressured them to cut him off from the guild, but he couldn¡¯t say that. ¡°Your mother is a single-parent, and your younger sister is a civil servant? It¡¯s a good job. They have steady income. If I hadn¡¯t established this guild, I would have taken the civil service exam.¡± Creepy. He got goosebumps. It¡¯s been several years since he left his house to become Jijon in the Hunter world. He did not contact his sister at all. However, Lee Sein already knows his younger sister¡¯s whereabouts. ¡°Uh ¡­ may I know for what purpose did you call me?¡± ¡°There is one dealer-damager spot left in our guild¡¯s 2nd attack team. How about it? You know we¡¯re the best in the industry.¡± ¡­Gulp. Suddenly, his eyes widened at the big offer. Even if it is the second team, it is not a subcontract, but a direct attack team. He, who used to be in the third team, knew well how difficult it was to get positioned there. Sometimes, low-grade dungeons are accompanied by Choi Cedric, the second ranker. Jijon imagined a dazzling future; the image of himself being part of the group he just met in front of the elevator. Jijon¡¯s name is placed next to Choi Cedric, who¡¯s ranked 2nd in the country. The supreme sword technique he developed will be widely known. Then, his dark past of running away from the giant slime will soon be forgotten. Lee Sein offered a contract to Jijon, who could not hide his excitement. B: Hunter Jijon (real name: Kim Jihoon) Even after he took a second look, his name was clearly there. His heart began to pound. ¡°Of course, with the condition that Hunter Jijon cooperates well.¡± ¡°If you ask me to cooperate, what¡­.¡± ¡°What happened in the tutorial dungeon?¡± ¡°Ah, yes, I understand.¡± ¡°I heard that the hunter who defeated the dungeon boss was not revealed? Do you know who they are?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know who it is, but ¡­ I¡¯ve seen it.¡± Jijon remembered the man he met in the tutorial dungeon. He felt a terrifying power from him. If someone had killed the boss, it would have been that man. Lee Sein smiled broadly. She even poured tea directly into Jijon¡¯s cup in a friendly manner. ¡°First of all, tell me what happened in the tutorial dungeon. Everything.¡± *** After Ki Yoohyun went back, I headed for the space beyond the wall. Yggdrasil, who was still growing luxuriantly, greeted me. The coffee fruits that hung on the branches did not shrink even after being picked. On the vinyl sheet, Lime¡¯s peeled green beans were drying well. ¡®I don¡¯t think much has changed¡­.¡¯ ¡°It¡¯s over there!¡± ¡°Kkyuu!¡± In one corner of this space, there was a place where the thick fog had been lifted. As I got closer, a notification window popped up. [You can open a new area. Would you like to open it? Yes / No ] Whoosh. When ¡°yes¡± was chosen, the fog was completely cleared and a new empty land appeared. ¡°As you progress through the quest, more and more areas will open and you will be able to obtain various things, kyaooong!¡± Mieum explained from the side. ¡°Then what do you use this area for?¡± ¡°That ¡­ we should find out from now on.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know much¡­.¡± ¡°Waeeong!¡± I looked at the newly opened area after dodging the flying meow punch. It¡¯s just empty land, and there doesn¡¯t seem to be anything special about it¡­. The ground was covered with soft soil instead of grass. The fine soil without weeds or gravel looked like a good field to grow crops. I checked the empty land in front of me. [Place: Abundant Field Have a weekend farm in your front yard. Feel free to grow crops.] I was just going to open a cafe, but now even farming was added to the list? Ah, yeah. I wished I could plant the dungeon sugarcane here. I took out the dungeon sugarcane that I had left in my inventory. After getting it from the tutorial dungeon, there was no place to plant it, so I kept it in my inventory. Over the course of a few days, the leaves and stems dried up and all that remained was seeds. After digging holes in the field at intervals of 20cm with a seedling shovel, the seeds were planted. Then, the seeds were well covered with soil, and water was sprinkled over the field. Planting all the seeds took a lot longer than I thought. It was even boring because it was a simple repetitive task. Ugh, my back hurts ¡­ I wish there was an easier way to do it. Anyway, when I finished planting seeds, a notification window popped up. [Crop: Seeds of Dungeon Sugarcane (¡ï¡î¡î¡î¡î) After a day of watering, it will grow into Dungeon Sugarcane. Let¡¯s grow them with love. Time Remaining: 1 Day] It didn¡¯t take long until it was fully grown because it was a crop obtained from dungeon. It¡¯s a good solution for a quick-tempered person. Well, I¡¯m glad I didn¡¯t have to wait that long. OK, let¡¯s check the rest the next day. *** The next day, as soon as I opened my eyes, I roughly had breakfast and went into the space. It was because I was worried about the condition of the Dungeon Sugarcane. Back when I planted the tree of Yggdrasil, it was withered, contrary to the information that it would grow in a day. Hopefully, the same situation won¡¯t be happened twice. ¡°Meoong ¡­ aren¡¯t you in too much of a hurry?¡± ¡°Come quickly.¡± Fortunately, what greeted me was the densely grown dungeon sugarcane. Its height was about my waist, and the stem resembled bamboo, but was a little thinner. [Crop: Dungeon Sugar Cane (¡ï¡î¡î¡î¡î) A grass commonly found in dungeons. The sap of the stem tastes sweet. Note: Ingredients for Magic Sugar.] Umh, it grew well. According to the system¡¯s description, the sap from the stem is the ingredient of sugar¡­. I tried cutting off some stalks of sugarcane. Unlike the hard outer skin, the soft inner flesh was revealed when the skin was peeled off. I pressed the insides of the flesh with my fingertips and gently licked the flowing sap with my tongue. At that moment, I felt a strong sweetness on my tongue. ¡°¡­.Ah.¡± Even though it is surprisingly sweet and rich in flavor, it has a clean finish. I didn¡¯t think my mouth would get dry even if I ate this sap. It tastes very good, but ¡­. how do you make sugar from this? I looked at Lime, who was sitting next to me. It ate the coffee fruit, so I was wondering if it could eat this stem as well. ¡°¡­¡­kkyuu?¡± I held out a stalk of sugarcane to Lime, but¡­. ¡°Kkyus ¡­ kkyuuus!¡± It drew an X while bouncing its body on the ground. I couldn¡¯t understand it words, but I felt it was angry, saying something like ¡®how can you ask me to eat something like that?¡¯. I¡¯m sorry¡­. This method doesn¡¯t work. Is there any way¡­. Tiling. Then a familiar alarm rang. [Search for the item you are curious about. Access now ?] A sudden notification like this means that the Wiki has the information about how to make the sugar. Since there was no other way, I simply accessed the Wiki as the system told me to. ¡®Ether-Wiki.¡¯ [Checking your eligibilities ¡­ Completed.] [The Eligible: Checking your rights¡­..] ¡®Skip.¡¯ When I skipped the text in front of me, a screen full of black squares appeared. There is still very little to read. After selecting ¡®Dungeon Sugarcane¡¯ from among the few items, the page opened immediately. ¡¶Dungeon Sugarcane¡· Type: Plant > Crop Description: A crop that grows in some dungeons with temperate climates. You can make magic sugar by processing the sap of the stem. How to make Magic Sugar: [Continue Reading] ¡°Uh, what is this¡­.?¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°This is¡­.¡± There are too many letters! As soon as I selected ¡®Continue Reading¡®, a feast of letters unfolded before my eyes. It was so long that there was no end in sight. I skimmed the contents, trimmed the stems, squeezed the sap, filtered out the residue, boiled, boiled, boiled, and boiled again ¡­ (latter part) it¡¯s something like that. This is not it. It¡¯s troublesome, complicated, cumbersome, and annoying just by looking at it. I had no intention of doing this long process myself. Wait, what about this? ¡°I got a good idea.¡± CH 27 ¡°Meooong! What are you talking about?¡± I opened the skill window. The skills I¡¯ve acquired so far have appeared all over the place. All of them are small skills, but there were some that could help now. [The Barista¡¯s Extraction (D) Details: (Lv.1) Extract espresso from ground coffee beans.] Sugarcane is not ground coffee, but extracting the sap from the stem is also extraction. Don¡¯t I have nothing to lose, anyway? Let¡¯s try it. I used the skill while holding the dungeon sugarcane stalk in my hand. ¡®The Barista¡¯s Extraction.¡¯ [Unable to extract due to low skill level] [Extraction may fail. Do you still want to extract it? Yes / No ] Instead of the skill being used immediately, a warning window appeared. I chose ¡®yes¡® without hesitation. [The level is too low, three times the energy is used.] [Use energy. 85/100] The skill was used with a feeling of a slight loss of strength. [The extraction is complete.] The dungeon sugarcane stalk disappeared, but what was left in my hands was not sugar. It was just a black, gooey mass that smelled musty. The cat and slime ran away from me quickly, saying it smelled bad. On top of that, this squishy and sticky feeling was very uncomfortable. Ugh, I think the smell will remain even if I wash my hands. [Item: Failed Dungeon Sugarcane Sap (¡î¡î¡î¡î¡î) The sap of dungeon sugarcane that failed to extract. It¡¯s useless for anything. Please separate and dispose food waste in food waste bags.] Is it just me who feels the subtle sneer in the system message? But it¡¯s too early to be disappointed. When I used the skill, it clearly said, ¡®the skill level is low, so it cannot be extracted¡®. It does not mean ¡®the item is not subject to skill application¡¯ or ¡®there is no effect¡¯. In other words, it means that I can extract sugar by raising the skill level. But until now, my skill level has not risen even when I complete the quest. ¡°Mieum-ah, how to raise my skill level?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t even know that? If you have a skill point, invest it ¡­ kyaaang! Go away!¡± Mieum, who ran away quickly because of the bad smell, straightened her hair up. Skill point. I think I heard it somewhere recently. Oh, there it is. This is it. I thought it would be cumbersome before, but now there was something I was looking for in the quest window that had been neglected. [Sub Quest: The Ultimate Coffee Make a deep connection with your true friend with the ultimate coffee. Delivering the Ultimate Coffee: 0/1 Reward: Skill Point 1] However, the explanation of the quest window was quite vague. What is the ultimate coffee? Can¡¯t I do it with my labor-intensive Americano? What is a deep connection with a true friend? Please write a clear words for the system. If you use this kind of vague expression in the game system, you¡¯ll get a lot of complaints. These complaints were poured out, but the system didn¡¯t even listen. Tiling! Oh, there¡¯s a new notification. You¡¯re trying to give me a hint.¡­. [The Ultimate Coffee ¡­ because that¡¯s the ¡®ultimate¡¯.] ¡­ Are you kidding me? *** I decided to find a way to finish the quest later, and I returned to the store after packing some dungeon sugarcane for practice. While looking for a suitable box to store the sugarcane in, Mieum suddenly ran towards it. Pabk! ¡°Huh?!¡± While supporting her body by standing on her back foot, she quickly swung her front foot. The leaves of the sugarcane fluttered and shook after being punched. ¡°Mieum, why are you doing this?¡± ¡°Eheum, it¡¯s nothing.¡± How suspicious¡­. I grabbed the stem of the sugarcane and gently shook the leaves in front of Mieum. Mieum, who was pretending to be decent and refused to look at this side, swung her front paws again. She jumps up and down, aiming for leaves that are likely to be caught but still cannot be caught. The cat, who was absorbed in playing for a long time and belatedly came to her senses, made an excuse. ¡°That ¡­ it¡¯s shaking in front of my eyes, so I can¡¯t help it.¡± I felt betrayed. You didn¡¯t even look at the toys I bought you, but this ¡­ did you like this? How great is that¡­. I sympathized with the heart of a cat owner who raised a cat who plays with only a small piece of tissue, leaving behind expensive toys. Eh, I don¡¯t know. Anyway, as long as it¡¯s fun. I gently waved the sugarcane stalk in front of Mieum. Pakpak! Then, as soon as the front paws were about to touch it, I quickly removed the stem. After repeating it a few times, Mieum got angry. ¡°Kyaooo! This great agent wouldn¡¯t catch a thing like that! Do it again!¡± ¡°My arm is starting to hurt¡­.¡± ¡°Do it again!¡± Pakpak! ¡°What is an agent in the first place?¡± Pakpak! ¡°What! You don¡¯t know that too? On behalf of the system¡¯s will, the great¡­.¡± ¡°But Mieum doesn¡¯t do anything for me.¡± ¡°Waeoong?!¡± Mieum looked at me in shock. The leaves of sugarcane ripped off on her claws fluttered to the floor. Still, it¡¯s true that all this cat has ever done was eat, sleep, watch television and roll around. Even Lime does a better job by peeling the coffee fruits. Even when I almost became a monster¡¯s snack, she went somewhere else by herself. She said she was scolded by the system, so I didn¡¯t say anything. ¡°Waeuuung¡­.¡± With a sullen cry, Mieum lowered her head. ¡°Why don¡¯t I want to help? As an agent who serves the great ¨€¨€, I am trying to pass on the knowledge of ¨€¨€.¡± [System Error: ¡ª. ¡ª.¡ª] Another error window popped up, probably because of what Mieum just said. ¡°But there¡¯s not much I can tell you yet. Due to the system limitations ¡­ to avoid ¨€¨€¨€¨€¡¯s gaze ¡­ I can¡¯t even peel a single fruit, and I¡¯m useless¡­.¡± Uh, what should I do ¡­ this response was unexpected. I was just trying to tease her a little bit¡­. I feel like I¡¯ve become a vicious human being who asks cats to pay for their meals. ¡°Mi-Mieum. Come on, this.¡± I waved the sugarcane stalk again, but Mieum just bowed her head and muttered melancholy. ¡°There¡¯s nothing I can do ¡­ I¡¯m just eating¡­.¡± ¡°No, Mieum explained a lot in the beginning. You also taught me how to use skills.¡± ¡°It¡¯s only the first time. Now, don¡¯t you already know how to do it well? Waeung¡­.¡± I vigorously shook the sugarcane in front of her eyes, but Mieum continued shoveling without even realizing it. She was good at shoveling¡­. Next to her, Lime comforted her by rubbed its body. However, the effect was insignificant. ¡°Right! Do you want a snack? Are you hungry?¡± When you¡¯re depressed, eating sweets is the best. I took out the box of chocolate checks I had saved and waved it in front of her. What should I do? This doesn¡¯t work either. This time, I scratched Mieum¡¯s chin. ¡°Meoong¡­.¡± Despite the sound of a drowsy cry, Mieum did not regain her liveliness at all. As a last resort, I brought several of the store¡¯s square tissue papers and ink pads for painting. I pressed Mieum¡¯s front foot on the ink pad and stamped it on the tissue. ¡°Our Mieum¡¯s footprints are pretty. Oh, should I put your foot stamp on the store tissue? It must be popular because it is cute. Right?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Oh, it worked a little bit. She tried to hide it, but I could see Mieum¡¯s mouth twitching. I stamped her foot on the tissue again. Then, the phone in my pocket rang. I entrusted Mieum to Lime and checked my phone. It was KakaoTalk from my friend, Mira. [Shin Mira: Rieul, do you hear the talk?] [Shin Mira: Did you hear that he became a hunter??] [Me: Who is he?] She still has a habit of forgetting the most important subject. Who the hell is it? When I looked back on my past memories, I couldn¡¯t immediately think of the Awakened people around me. Awakened isn¡¯t that common¡­. Aside from the out of the blue content, Shin Mira dit not respond to my KakaoTalk for a long time. It seems that she has been called away while playing a game. I was curious, but I put my phone back in my pocket. Time is running out. I really don¡¯t want to go, but ¡­ I have a business today. ¡°I¡¯m going out for a while.¡± ¡°Kkyu.¡± ¡°Waeong¡­¡­.¡± Two animals saw me off in a weak voice. *** I filled the thermos that I obtained from the golden draw with hot Americano. [Item: Americano (¡ï¡ï¡ï¡î¡î)] Status: Good (Time Remaining: 00:30:00) Effect: Nullifies the debuff. (01:00:00)] The time remaining in the status window does not decrease. After confirming that the thermal effect worked properly, I took the thermos and left the store. The destination is the White Silver Guild. Yes, today was the day I promised to meet Kwon Jiwoon. The reason why I prepared the coffee is simple. If Kwon Jiwoon says he knows that I¡¯ve awakened, I¡¯ll try to show him that my skill is to make this kind of coffee. If I say that I¡¯m not going to be a Hunter ¡­ that I¡¯m just going to run a cafe, at least ¡­ it won¡¯t bother him. I felt my steps were heavy. I took the subway and got off in front of Central Guild Station. I only need to walk a little to see the building of the White Silver Guild. When I came before, I didn¡¯t feel it because it was right after I returned, but the White Silver Guild also has an atmosphere that it was a difficult place to access. There¡¯s not a single speck of dust in the entrance. As the name suggests, I entered the entrance of the white and shiny building with a slightly restless feeling and headed towards the information desk. ¡°We will help you verify your identity ¡­ ah, Kwon Rieul-nim. He is waiting upstairs.¡± It¡¯s comfortable to pass it right away just with my face, but I can¡¯t get used to this cold atmosphere. I got on the elevator and got off the top floor and was about to head to the guild master¡¯s office, but a person came out from the other side. ¡°¡­.Ew.¡± I checked who it was and frowned subconsciously. I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m meeting Park Heeyoung and not anyone else. CH 28 Park Heeyoung. She¡¯s a senior hunter in the White Silver Guild and a B-class tanker, she was Kwon Jiwoon¡¯s shield. Park Heeyoung devoted herself to protecting healer Kwon Jiwoon, and tried to stop everything that stood on his way, both inside and outside the dungeon. For example ¡­ me, an ordinary relative who can¡¯t be of any help to him. ¡°Kwon Rieul-ssi, do you not understand the current situation? Hunter Kwon Jiwoon is the best healer in Korea. It means he doesn¡¯t have time to pay attention to these little things.¡± ¡°But I still have to give this to him¡­.¡± ¡°Give it to me. I¡¯ll give it to him.¡± ¡°Please tell my brother to contact me.¡± ¡°Stop whining. He¡¯ll call you when he has time.¡± Being treated like this, naturally, the number of my visits to the guild decreased. Well, Kwon Jiwoon didn¡¯t contact me either, so Park Heeyoung must be right. I was glad she wasn¡¯t here in my last visit before, but I was unlucky this time. Sure enough, Park Heeyoung frowned at me again this time. She also has a knack for showing her hatred just by her face. ¡°What happened this time?¡± No, I didn¡¯t want to come either. ¡°Don¡¯t you know that Hunters are busy because a rift appeared a few days ago? The deputy guild leader has a schedule today, so he¡¯s not available.¡± Kwon Jiwoon called me, so I was angry because I was treated as an uninvited guest. I, too, did not hide my displeasure and spoke straight away. ¡°It¡¯s a family affair, so what does Hunter Park Heeyoung have to do with it? Whether we meet or not, I will take care of it.¡± ¡°He¡¯s not here right now.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you know that I came here because he asked me to come? I won¡¯t come voluntarily because I don¡¯t want to see Park Heeyoung-ssi.¡± ¡°Kwon Rieul-ssi!¡± Perhaps because of the loud noise, the door of the guild leader¡¯s room opened. Kwon Jiwoon found me and asked with a puzzled expression. ¡°Kwon Rieul, if you¡¯re here, why don¡¯t you come in? What is Hunter Park Heeyoung doing here?¡± Park Heeyoung, who had stiffened, immediately put on a troubled expression. Huh, right. It¡¯s a lie that he¡¯s not here. ¡°I ¡­ Miss Rieul visited, so I was going to show her around.¡± She¡¯s truly a snake. It was amazing to see her speaking in a polite and kind manner unlike before. ¡°Why are you giving tour here? Didn¡¯t you say you have an appointment today?¡± ¡°It ¡­ it¡¯s changed all of a sudden¡­.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s enough. I¡¯ll hear you later. Kwon Rieul, come in.¡± I looked at Park Heeyoung sternly once and followed Kwon Jiwoon into his office room. *** Something was strange. I don¡¯t know exactly what it is, but the atmosphere was totally strange. As I sat down on the sofa in the reception room, the staff brought tea and sweets. Chewing on the crunchy cookies, I waited for Kwon Jiwoon to bring the words up. ¡°¡­.?¡± But he didn¡¯t speak at all. As I lifted my head in the unexpected silence, I saw Kwon Jiwoon licking his lips. Kwon Jiwoon opened his mouth only after I ate two more tasteless cookies on the plate. ¡°How are you these days?¡± ¡°Uh, what¡­.¡± I blurted out the end of the sentence awkwardly. It felt very awkward to hear that suitable greeting. In this case, the sweets I just ate seem to be on top. ¡°Were you surprised before? Is there no pain? If it hurts anywhere, don¡¯t hold back and tell me right away.¡± ¡°Uh, I¡¯m fine.¡± I thought he was going to say, ¡®I heard you¡¯ve awakened¡®. Kwon Jiwoon continued beating around to bush for a while longer. ¡°Rieul-ah, you¡¯re 23 years old this year.¡± ¡°Uh¡­.¡± ¡°It¡¯s already been more than three years since we¡¯ve lived separately.¡± ¡°¡­.¡± He¡¯s not a relative that I met on some holiday ¡­ if I left it alone, all sorts of personal stories would come out. It would be better to just be criticized first than to keep hearing this. ¡°What are you trying to say?¡± ¡°You are the opposite of a Hunter.¡± ¡°What?¡± I doubted my ears for a moment at the random remark, but Kwon Jiwoon had a serious expression on his face. ¡°It¡¯s not something for me to say, but they are arrogant, selfish, and live in their own way. I don¡¯t want you to get involved with people like that.¡± ¡°Uh ¡­ I don¡¯t really like Hunter either.¡± I just accidentally became an Awakened. ¡°Yeah, you thought well. Kwon Rieul, you¡¯re an adult now, but ¡­ it¡¯s still too early for that.¡± What on earth are you talking about? How can it be too early to be an Awakened? This is a world where many people are awakened when they¡¯re still in elementary school. I was puzzled. However, Kwon Jiwoon was lost in thought by himself, and he suddenly said something else. ¡°After all, I was not in favor of opening a cafe in such a place. Why don¡¯t you come to the first floor of our guild now? It would be much better than place.¡± ¡°¡­.what?¡± After all, this was the purpose. I hate it. Although I suddenly awakened, entered the dungeon, and rolled in an unexpected direction, I am still preparing to open my cafe little by little. Furthermore, if I placed my cafe on the first floor of this guild, I have to keep meeting people like Park Heeyoung. It seems that Park Heeyoung is being annoying to me for Kwon Jiwoon¡¯s sake. I didn¡¯t want to keep confirming that I was a burden to Kwon Jiwoon. I wanted to spend my time leisurely while running a cafe, but I didn¡¯t intend to do it with Kwon Jiwoon¡¯s money. The feeling of being denied of all my efforts in the past made me feel depressed in an instant. I was expecting him to talk about something different this time because he called me after a long time and asked me how I was doing. Something more like a family story. I can¡¯t do this. ¡°I¡¯ll take care of it. Did you call me just to say that?¡± I got up abruptly to show him that I didn¡¯t want to listen any more, but Kwon Jiwoon grabbed me. Perhaps he still has something to say, he spoke out urgently and quickly. ¡°I met Hunter Han Yiseong and I heard everything.¡± ¡°So what?¡± ¡°A hunter from his guild is making romantic advances to you.¡± ¡°¡­Huh?¡± Are you talking about Ki Yoohyun? ¡°He said that person comes to your store every day. If you don¡¯t like it, say no. I¡¯ll never let him approach you.¡± Only then did I realize that Kwon Jiwoon had a ridiculous misunderstanding. Romantic advances ¡­ what? I thought I heard it wrong at first. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me ¡­ are you talking about Yoohyun-ssi?¡± ¡°Calling him by his first name ¡­ have you already become that close to him?¡± ¡°If I don¡¯t call people by their first names, then what should I call them¡­.¡± Hey, you there, obviously I can¡¯t call him that way. So, this is it. It wasn¡¯t that he found out about my awakening, but he misunderstood that Ki Yoohyun was approaching me with a different meaning. I¡¯m glad he didn¡¯t find out about the awakening, but¡­. I shook my head with a disgusted expression. ¡°Are you crazy? It¡¯s not like that. Don¡¯t talk nonsense.¡± Ki Yoohyun has come to the store for coffee a few times recently. But he¡¯s really coming for the coffee. Although he was strangely friendly, he smiled broadly as if he was moved every time he drank coffee. ¡°Then it¡¯s not true?¡± ¡°Of course it¡¯s not.¡± I don¡¯t know what Hunter Han Yiseong said that led to such an absurd misunderstanding. ¡°Well, it was kind of strange.¡± ¡°I know right?¡± For a moment, I thought I was lucky that the misunderstanding was resolved. ¡°Because that kind of bum doesn¡¯t suit you.¡± Huh ¡­ what? I was surprised to hear Kwon Jiwoon¡¯s sudden acceleration. From an objective point of view, isn¡¯t Ki Yoohyun so handsome that it becomes burdensome? ¡°Wait, then what kind of person would suit me?¡± ¡°If it¡¯s a Hunter, first ¡­ he must be strong.¡± ¡°To what extent?¡± ¡°To the point where he won¡¯t lose to anyone.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°But it¡¯s not good to believe in your own strength and run wild just because you are strong. He has to be someone who does his part quietly.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± What? Did you watch a movie about a hero in the dark yesterday? More than that, there is only one person in Korea who meets that condition, isn¡¯t it? Umh, let¡¯s respect his taste¡­. Feeling a little drained, I took out the thermos I had brought. I brought it with me just in case I got caught, but it¡¯s hard to take it back. Since I brought it all the way here, I wanted to give it to him and leave. ¡°Don¡¯t say anything weird and drink this.¡± ¡°What is this?¡± ¡°This is the coffee I made.¡± ¡°You said you made coffee? It¡¯s all right, you can take it back.¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t need it, you can just throw it away.¡± ¡°¡­.I don¡¯t mean that.¡± With a complicated expression, Kwon Jiwoon received the thermos. Still, it didn¡¯t seem he will throw it away. There is really nothing to say now. I left the guild leader¡¯s room straight away. *** It was the time when I came out of the White Silver Guild, Bugh. My body slumped against the hard object. While walking without looking straight ahead, I bumped into a person coming from the opposite side. ¡°Ugh, I¡¯m sorry.¡± I bowed my head and tried to continue my steps, but I was blocked. ¡°Kwon Ri?¡± ¡°Yes?¡± Let¡¯s raise my head, in a word ¡­ there was an athletic man standing in front of me. Curly golden hair, sun-tanned skin, and thick, firm-looking arms. The man seemed to know me, but I couldn¡¯t remember where I had seen such a man. A man wearing only a thin sweatshirt even though it¡¯s cold today. I smiled and pretended to know him. ¡°Can¡¯t you recognize me?¡± It was only after hearing that voice that a name came to mind. ¡°Uh, maybe¡­ ¡­ Choi Yichan?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right! I didn¡¯t know we¡¯d meet here. It¡¯s been a long time!¡± I was very confused and looked at him blankly. Choi Yichan is my high school friend. We used to buy snacks together at the cafeteria. ¡®He was very small back then¡­.¡¯ Back then, he was often targeted by bullying due to his small stature and docile personality. His eyes are much higher than mine now. Now I need to look up to see his face. His shoulders are broad and his arms look muscular, making his body looks sturdy. Therefore, it was not unreasonable not to recognize him immediately. ¡°Ah! Wait a minute.¡± While talking, Choi Yichan rushed to somewhere. He picked up an old lady¡¯s luggage across the crossing. Then, a person pulling a stroller, a person with difficulty walking, a child who almost fell at the crosswalk¡­. It took a long time for him to finally come back to me. It¡¯s really Choi Yichan. That guy has always been the kind of person who couldn¡¯t let go of someone in difficulty. But if I remember correctly, Choi Yichan would have been serving in the military by now. And after he was discharged¡­. Suddenly, my heart began to pound loudly. The memory I had buried consciously seemed to reveal itself in my head. After being discharged from the army, I¡¯m sure¡­. ¡°Oh! Haven¡¯t you heard the story yet?¡± Choi Yichan smiled brightly. ¡°Story? What story?¡± ¡°I heard Shin Mira told you about it.¡± I took my phone out of my pocket. In the meantime, Shin Mira sent me the answer through KakaoTalk. [Shin Mira: Who do you mean who??] [Shin Mira: It¡¯s Choi Yichan.] [Shin Mira: Choi Yichan awakened and was discharged immediately. He said he¡¯d like to see you next time.] ¡°Awakened¡­?¡± ¡°Heh, so I was discharged from the army not too long time ago. Haha.¡± ¡­.you¡¯re still alive. I swallowed the thought that came to my mind. For an instant, as if the fog had been lifted, I remembered the buried memory. [Next] Translator¡¯s Corner: ¡°She¡¯s truly a snake¡± actually the term used by Rieul is ???? (red spotted snake). It¡¯s a metaphor for a sneaky person who is sly and plays tricks cautiously without arousing suspicion or being noticed easily ¡°Bum¡°, the original word is ???, it means a useless person who does not fulfill his/her duty properly. I can¡¯t find an english word that matched it perfectly and the dictionary translated it as ¡®Bum¡¯, so let¡¯s just take it. I really like Kwon Jiwoon the most in this story because I had a great time translating this chapter :¡¯D CH 29 After returned to the past, I was immediately distracted by my own problems, so I couldn¡¯t even think of it. No, maybe I was deliberately trying not to think about it. Even before my regression, Choi Yichan had awakened as a Hunter. He was an E-class defensive hunter. All my friends and I congratulated Choi Yichan. It¡¯s generally not a high grade, but Hunter is Hunter. They¡¯re rare, and not everyone can become an Awakened. There was no one better suited to be a Hunter than Choi Yichan, who likes to help others. Back then, we giggled and teased him about what if he would soon become famous and we¡¯ll only see him on TV. We really didn¡¯t get to see each other again. A rift occurs near an elementary school in Suwon, Gyeonggi-do. Choi Yichan, who was nearby, voluntarily jumped into the dungeon to prevent the children from getting caught up. That was his first and last dungeon trip. The dungeon that was initially identified as an F-class dungeon unexpectedly transformed into a higher-level attribute dungeon, and Choi Yichan died without even using his strength properly due to the powerful attribute attack. The three letters of his name was found at the end of the list of fatalities in the Breaking News. That was it. No bodies were found. After that day, Choi Yichan¡¯s story was taboo among my friends. Not only that, but we stopped talking about Hunter completely. No matter how great Hunter is, Choi Yichan died in the end. We didn¡¯t know how to accept the death of a close person. ¡°Kwon Ri, are you sick? You don¡¯t look good.¡± The remark brought me to my senses. I lifted my head. A sun-tanned face was looking anxiously at me. He¡¯s still alive. It¡¯s only a memory before the regression, and the present Choi Yichan is still safe. The tremor finally stopped when I repeated it in my mind. ¡°No, I¡¯m okay¡­.¡± ¡°Ah, I¡¯ll call you later. Let¡¯s eat together sometime.¡± ¡°Uh, hey, wait a minute!¡± I called, but Choi Yichan only waved his hand and continued his run. Soon, his back became as small as a fingernail. He¡¯s still alive. But soon¡­. My heart was beating wildly. I have never thought deeply about the meaning of regression. I just thought I was lucky to have come back from death, and I was focused on living a different life from the past. However, that was not all. This is what it meant to be back in the past. I can meet someone who I will never see again. Perhaps ¡­ I might be able to change the future. The wind was cold. I stared at his back as he moved away and turned around. *** ¡°I¡¯m home.¡± Flutter. When I returned to the store and opened the door, a piece of paper fluttered in the wind fell over my head. Uh, what is this? When I picked it up, it was a tissue. A tissue with Mieum¡¯s feet stamped in the middle. The tissue stamped with the footprints must have been blown away. I put the tissue in my pocket, and one flew away again. Flutter, flutter, flutter¡­. The endless pouring of tissues were all stamped with footprints. ¡°¡­.¡± I had an ominous feeling. I hurriedly entered the store and looked around. A mountain of tissue was piled up on the floor and on the table. Not only that, but they also left footprints on the floor and the walls. ¡°Mieum-ah, Lime-ah, where are you?¡± I wandered around looking for the animals that caused the accident. Soon, a thin cry was heard from the warehouse inside. Bang. I slammed the door open and looked inside. The cat, who was obsessed with stamping the floor with its paws for a long time, and the slime who had been encouraging it were startled. ¡°Mieum?¡± ¡°Waeung¡­¡­.¡± ¡°Lime?¡± ¡°Kkyuu¡­¡­.¡± The two animals kept their heads down as if they were ashamed. ¡°You must have had a lot of fun stamping¡­.¡± I¡¯m glad she got her liveliness back. My head ached at the thought of wiping out all those ink stains. Raising animals is really hard¡­. *** Kwon Jiwoon lifted his head as he felt his head throb. Time passed, and the evening was near. There was still work to be done, but stiff fatigue weighed on his body. ¡°¡­Haa.¡± The image of him rubbing his fingertips around his eyes looks very delicate. After his awakening, his hair turned to silver and it created an atmosphere like a cold winter breeze. Kwon Jiwoon picked up the document he had left on his desk. He already knows the content even without reading it. There will be no difference between the documents he has already received several times and this one. The document was about the guild leader of White Silver Guild. In other words, it was the result of a search for Kwon Rieul¡¯s uncle and Kwon Jiwoon¡¯s father. There are no results. His father entered a dungeon a few years ago and never returned. Normally, you¡¯d think he was killed in the dungeon. Hunter¡¯s death in the dungeon has happened many times since the birth of dungeons, monsters, and Awakeners in the world. However, Kwon Jiwoon did not think his father was dead. It¡¯s not just because it¡¯s hard to accept reality. It¡¯s because there was something suspicious about the day his father went missing. That¡¯s the reason why he¡¯s still not giving up and continuing the search. ¡°¡­.¡± Kwon Jiwoon looked into his status window. Red mark blinks in the notification indicator. [Your mana has run out.] [Debuff: All stats are reduced by 70%.] He overused his skills today to treat the hunters who were injured in a rift a few days ago. When he¡¯s about to run out of mana, he drank potion, and again, and again¡­. After repeating this process several times, his status were lowered to the bottom due to a debuff caused by mana depletion. Ever since his father disappeared, the White Silver Guild has been Kwon Jiwoon¡¯s responsibility. He never took that responsibility too seriously. However, when his status were in such a mess, a sense of helplessness that could not be swallowed all rose. There are about 30 minutes left until the next schedule. It¡¯s not that new letters would pop out of the paperwork just by staring at it. The throbbing in his head only got worse. Kwon Jiwoon put the document down on the desk and leaned back on his chair. He thought he should take a break for a while. At that moment, a silver thermos in the corner of the desk caught his eye. His cousin, Kwon Rieul, left this thermos behind. ¡®She said she made coffee.¡¯ Kwon Jiwoon hesitated for a moment, then reached out for the thermos. ¡®Even though I said I didn¡¯t need it.¡¯ While muttering like that, he did not throw it away and took the large thermos in his hand instead. The headaches were tormenting him endlessly. Still, Kwon Jiwoon was against setting up a cafe in front of the Dungeon Gate. The Great Dungeon Abyss. One day, it suddenly appeared in the middle of the city. The monsters, the Awakeners, and the system ¡­ it¡¯s an unknown dungeon that brought it all together. Kwon Jiwoon felt a sense of urgency when he saw the endlessly stretched up wall. It¡¯s an absurd expression, but at one point he felt like it was alive. It¡¯s a space that has always been quiet for now, but no one knows what will happen in the future. What if something dangerous happens in front of the dungeon gate? Even so, he couldn¡¯t stop Kwon Rieul because it was the first thing she wanted to do. With a complicated mind, Kwon Jiwoon thought of his only cousin. Since his awakening as a healer, a rare class, Kwon Jiwoon has received a lot of attention. Korea¡¯s first A-class healer with strong healing skills. It was natural that the expectations were high. However, not all the attention was positive. It would have been better if they¡¯re undermining or criticizing his abilities. The attention was also drawn to his family instead. Doubts and accusations about the missing father, and¡­. Not only paparazzi, but there¡¯s also people who approach his only cousin for solicitation purposes. In the end, Kwon Jiwoon thought it would be better to keep a distance to protect his younger sister. Although it may seem calm on the outside, the current Hunter World is a vicious battlefield. His desire for his younger sister to keep a distance from this ferocious community also played a part. But now, a Hunter is approaching Rieul. Besides, his smile is very suspicious. ¡°¡­.Ha.¡± As expected, he should persuade her to move the cafe to the 1st floor of the guild. It seemed to be more reassuring to keep her nearby. The headache got worse and worse. He didn¡¯t feel like drinking coffee, but he didn¡¯t want to throw away what she had brought for the first time in a long time. He opened the thermos. As soon as he opened the lid, he could smell the sweet scent of coffee. A scent resembling a fragrant nut seemed to wrap around him warmly. ¡°¡­.!¡± Forgetting that he didn¡¯t want to drink coffee, Kwon Jiwoon immediately poured the coffee into a cup. The dark brown water was warm as if it had just brewed. The warmth in his hands melted the tense tension. Even though he only took a sip, the aroma and savory taste of the coffee filled his mouth. As soon as he came to his senses, he emptied the entire cup, and poured another cup out of regret. Then, he realized that his head didn¡¯t hurt. The headache that had been plagued him all day as a side effect of mana depletion was completely gone. ¡®Status.¡¯ The debuff on the status window was also released and returned to normal. What¡¯s going on? It¡¯s the first time a debuff has been lifted so quickly. For what reason¡­. Is it a coincidence? Kwon Jiwoon cut off the idea of stretching out branches. What¡¯s the reason? The coffee his sister made for him was delicious, so he felt at ease. He felt not only fatigue, but also the heavy worry and anxiety that had always been on the side of his head washed away. It was the first time since his awakening that he felt so at peace. As the anxiety that had been weighing him down all the time was relieved, it felt like Rieul¡¯s work was no big deal. ¡°There¡¯s no need to be so impatient.¡± He also put aside his decision to have Rieul move her cafe right away. Let¡¯s wait a little longer. Kwon Jiwoon put down the empty cup. Only the coffee scent remained and lingered around him. *** ¡°It¡¯s here? This place is very hollow.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a store left by my deceased grandmother.¡± ¡°It¡¯s very, uh, elegant, uh ¡­ it¡¯s quiet and the atmosphere is nice!¡± At my words, Choi Yichan demonstrated a tallulah. He must have squeezed the best possible words after seeing the only old building on a desolate road. When he heard that I had set up a cafe, Choi Yichan said he wanted to come and play. I said yes right away. Perhaps by meeting and talking to him, I could figure out a way to change the future. Choi Yichan got caught up in the dungeon on the day when the first snow fell across the country. I don¡¯t remember the exact date, but it¡¯s clear that the breaking news came out while I was watching the weather news. It¡¯s late October now. There is a little time until the snowy season. In the meantime, if I trace my memory, maybe¡­. Maybe I can find a way to change the future. CH 30 ¡°Come in first.¡± I decided to tell Choi Yichan honestly about my return and the planned future. Returning from the future to the past ¡­ I was worried that no one would believe such an absurd story, but Choi Yichan¡¯s life is the most important thing. By the way. ¡°Yichan-ah, I have something to tell you.¡± ¡°Huh? What is it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s ¡­ soon ¨€¨€ will ¨€¨€¡­..¡± What? I tried to say ¡®Suwon¡®, but my voice didn¡¯t come out. ¡°On ¨€¨€, ¨€¨€¨€¨€ ¨€¨€¨€¨€ is¡­.¡± Again. I tried a few more times, but it was the same. Words such as Suwon, Dungeon, and Mutation could not be spoken at all, and it was useless to say it in a roundabout way. Any attempt to tell anything about the future was blocked. [System Error: ¡ª. ¡ª.¡ª] [System Error: ¡ª. ¡ª.¡ª] ¡°Meooow (It¡¯s the intervention of causality).¡± Seeing me in confusion, Mieum spoke to me. ¡°What? What is that?¡± ¡°Waeong, waeoong, waeong (The system prevents pre-regression facts from intervening in the present, because it is a memory that currently does not exist and will only happen in the future).¡± ¡°But it¡¯s okay when I told Mieum about it before, right?¡± ¡°Kyaooong (Because I¡¯m not part of the time axis).¡± ¡°How can you do that!¡± In other words, it is impossible to directly tell Choi Yichan what will happen in the future. I felt afraid and displeased that the system could even shut my mouth. ¡°Kwon Ri, what¡¯s wrong?¡± After I didn¡¯t say anything for a while, Choi Yichan called me worriedly. ¡°Uh, yeah, that¡¯s it.¡± I looked up at Choi Yichan. The body wrapped in the blue sweatshirt looks very strong. I could see the tight muscles that would never come out without proper exercise. Is it possible to be so different just by awakening? I¡¯ve awakened, too, but I didn¡¯t change at all on the outside. It¡¯s been about 2 years since the last time I¡¯ve met Choi Yichan, and in reality, it¡¯s been about 5 years if I include the time before I returned. He was incredibly unfamiliar. ¡°It¡¯s just a little ¡­ You¡¯ve changed a lot.¡± ¡°Huh? Me? Oh! My face is a bit tanned, right?¡± No, not that¡­. However, his simple and bright personality, his tendency to worry about others, and his inability to turn away from those in need, has not changed at all. If this is the case, the same thing will happen again¡­. No, it¡¯s not. It¡¯s too early to give up. I have to find a way to change the future, even if I don¡¯t say it directly. Yes, talking with Choi Yichan might give me a hint. I struggled to swallow my discouragement. ¡°Kiyaaoong (Is that man your friend)!¡± Mieum, who was lying on her belly on the floor, cried when she saw Choi Yichan¡¯s long shadow. ¡°Meooong (Unlike you, he looks sincere).¡± Instead of answering, I mumbled, pointing to a black stain on the floor. ¡°There is some ink here.¡± ¡°Waeuung¡­.¡± Mieum, startled, rolled her eyes. I didn¡¯t say anything, but she sneaked to the corner and raised her front paws. I guess she¡¯s reflecting on herself. Yeah, you should be a little sorry. It was really hard to clean the store with Mieum¡¯s footprints all over it. Even after brushing and wiping with a mop, there was no end. I even thought about using the cleaning skill I had forgotten. The Floor is Shiny (E) Details: (Lv. 1) Cleaning toilets can be done quickly. This ¡®the floor is shiny¡® really only applied to the bathroom. I had no choice but to wipe the floor and walls of the store myself. Wait, then if I level up my skill, can I use it anywhere else besides the bathroom? Well, I¡¯ll figure this out next time¡­. At that time, Choi Yichan came back after looking around the store. ¡°Wow, you have a cat, too. It¡¯s cute.¡± Choi Yichan gently tickled Mieum¡¯s chin. Mieum looked at him, and slowly lowered her front paws and placed her chin on Choi Yichan¡¯s palm, making a squeaky sound. She let it slide because she felt sorry for him. Come to think of it, where¡¯s Lime? Normally, it¡¯d stick next to Mieum. ¡°Meooong (it went to the space)¡­.¡± Really? What¡¯s the matter? Let¡¯s put off showing off Lime next time. I spoke as I turned to the espresso machine. ¡°Sit down. I¡¯ll make you something to drink.¡± ¡°Ooooh.¡± Choi Yichan looked at me with expectant eyes. I has not yet made the basic five menu of cafes ordered by the system, but I decided to make a different menu today. Since I met Choi Yichan for the first time in a long time, I wanted to make a drink that suits his taste rather than to finish the quest. To sum up this guy¡¯s taste in one word, he liked sweetness the best. There have even been times when he poured coffee mix over ice cream and ate it. The menu I¡¯m going to make today is similar to that, but a little different. I decided to make it sweeter than the common affogato. I took out two glasses, filled each with ice, and used the skill. The espresso was extracted and poured onto the ice one by one. After the espresso on the ice cooled down, I poured milk into the glass and added vanilla syrup. The last thing to put in is this. I opened the refrigerator next to me and took out the vanilla ice cream I bought from the supermarket yesterday. It was two flavors of vanilla ice cream wrapped in paper. It was a little expensive, but I¡¯m glad I bought it with a big heart. I put two yellow-flavored ice creams in Choi Yihan¡¯s share and two blue-flavored ice creams in mine. It¡¯s like adding vanilla ice cream to the vanilla latte, so the sweetness will be very strong. It was finished after I sprinkled chocolate powder on top of the ice cream. I held out the glass to Choi Yichan. ¡°Okay, it¡¯s done. Try it.¡± ¡°Woah, it looks delicious. Thank you for the drink.¡± I also had a glass in my hand. I took a bite of ice cream with a spoon, then mixed it with coffee and drank it. The fragrant vanilla scent and deep sweetness were mixed in the mouth in a balanced way. After slowly savoring the taste, I watched Choi Yichan. He had just tasted the coffee, too. ¡°Is it good?¡± ¡°¡­.¡± ¡°Choi Yichan?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± There is no answer. Instead, a long bar appeared above Choi Yichan¡¯s head, and the golden gauge began to fill up. Soon, the gauge filled up to the end, and the effect of exploding sparks appeared. Well, it must be delicious. I took another sip of the drink again. The softness of the milk and the rich taste of espresso wrapped the sweet vanilla ice cream. The sweetness seems to wash away the fatigue left in my body. However, since I made it without following the recipe of the ¡®Cafe in My Hand¡¯ skill, there seems to be no additional effect. The status window doesn¡¯t appear even when I look at the drink¡­ Tiling! A familiar sound rang out. [Congratulations! You developed a new recipe on your own. You can register this drink in your own recipe. Please register the name. Name: ] Did the system have this feature? After thinking for a while, I entered the name ¡®Ice Cream Coffee¡¯. Then, a new status window appeared. [Item: Ice Cream Coffee (¡ï¡ï¡î¡î¡î) Status: Good (Time Remaining: 00:30:00) Effect: Your body will get cold.] Wow, it¡¯s possible to register a menu like this. After emptying all of my glass, I asked Choi Yichan, who was still silent. ¡°Yichan-ah, what do you think?¡± ¡°¡­.¡± ¡­ Gulp. I don¡¯t know that he¡¯s really focused on drinking. Instead an answer, the golden gauge exploded again and a notification popped out. [The target loves your coffee. You made a deep relationship with coffee.] Heum, heum. I don¡¯t know what that means, but it¡¯s delicious, right? Will they give me something? Achievement? Or is the quest completed? However, no matter how long I waited, no new notifications popped up. Uh, is this the end? This is the right mood to give me something really good! Isn¡¯t it natural to say, ¡®Now that you made a deep relationship with coffee, you should receive a reward¡®? According to the pattern so far, I thought the system would give me a golden ticket. Did they just raise the standards? Did they only compliment me that it was that good now? I feel like the reward is getting worse and worse¡­. I remembered a game where the system was pretty generous when I was a beginner, but when I leveled up to a certain extent, the reward was reduced like a ghost and they started charging. You¡¯re going to screw it up if the system is like this! I grumbled in my mind that the system was going to go bankrupt while saving user rewards. ¡°Gulp, gulp, gulp ¡­ huaaa, ah!¡± In the meantime, Choi Yichan ate all the ice cream in the glass and gulped down the remaining coffee. After drinking every last drop, he looks at the bottom of the glass as if it were a pity. I picked up a tissue and handed it to Choi Yichan. Choi Yichan, who roughly wiped the cream off his mouth, looked at me. Those eyes were filled with joy. ¡°This is so delicious!¡± A voice full of pure joy. ¡°That¡¯s a relief. Haha, thank you.¡± ¡°Oh, it tastes like ¡­. paaah, then it becomes soft.¡± What does that mean¡­. But his sincerity was fully conveyed. Even without looking at the gauge above his head, I could feel it just with his expression and eyes. ¡°I¡¯ve never had anything like this before. It¡¯s so delicious!¡± I was overjoyed with Choi Yichan¡¯s intense reaction. All the coffee I made so far has been well received. Even the first coffee mix tasted special. But this is a menu that I came up with to suit Choi Yichan¡¯s taste. Seeing a close person happy made me feel a different sense of pride. I took the ice cream out of the refrigerator again and asked. ¡°Do you want me to make you one more?¡± ¡°Oh, good!¡± Krak. It was the moment when Choi Yichan put the empty glass down on the table. It wasn¡¯t a rough move, but the thick glass cup was shattered into pieces. CH 31 It was so cleanly smashed. The shards of glass were the size of a fingernail. Choi Yichan, who turned white, shook his head in embarrassment. ¡°Uwaaa, I¡¯m sorry! I was just trying to put it down a little.¡± Choi Yichan panicked and tried to clean the shattered glass with his hands, but the more he touched it, the more the glass pieces shattered. If he did it a few more times, I thought the glass would return to the sand. First, I calmed down Choi Yichan. ¡°Calm down. This is fine.¡± ¡°Hua, I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m really sorry. I didn¡¯t mean to do this¡­.¡± Choi Yichan repeatedly apologized even though I said it was okay. While I was cleaning the glass, he got flustered and opened his mouth carefully. ¡°Actually, I haven¡¯t been able to control my strength since my awakening, so it¡¯s like this sometimes.¡± ¡°Aha. I heard that happens.¡± When awakened, status such as strength and agility rises overnight. That¡¯s why it takes time to learn how to control the strength properly. For your information, it had nothing to do with me, whose status was not high at all even as an Awakened person. Should I say I¡¯m glad I didn¡¯t break a cup, or should I say it¡¯s a pity¡­. ¡°I exercise every morning to control my strength.¡± ¡°Exercise? What do you do?¡± Come to think of it, he was jogging when we met in front of the White Silver Guild. ¡°Umh, let¡¯s see ¡­ First, I do 100 squats, 100 planks, and 100 burpees every morning, then I run a full marathon, then I repeat squats, planks, and burpees again, and then¡­.¡± ¡°¡­.What?¡± ¡°But today, I only did half of my usual routine because I came here, so I guess it happened because I was a little less tired.¡± ¡°I see¡­.¡± I moved a little farther away from Choi Yichan. If I add up all the workouts I¡¯ve done since I was born, I think it would be less than his daily workout. When I was a high school student, I used to be the first to get tired and drop out of physical education classes. Not only that, but those wide shoulders and hard muscles greatly changed the impression. He used to be like a small puppy, but now he¡¯s like a big dog¡­. Choi Yichan, who was carefully eating the freshly made ice cream coffee, asked abruptly. ¡°By the way, what is the name of this cafe?¡± ¡°Ah, that¡­.¡± I was greatly embarrassed. ¡°Why? You haven¡¯t decided yet?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s not like that ¡­ it¡¯s just¡­.¡± After a moment of hesitation, I finally answered in a mosquito-like voice. ¡°Cafe Ri¡­.¡± ¡°Uh, what?¡± ¡°Cafe Rieul¡­.¡± The name of the cafe is very important. I struggled to name it in a very strict, significant, and serious manner. However, all the names that come to mind were not met the condition. ¡®Dungeon Cafe¡® doesn¡¯t seem like the right name either. ¡®Cafe Abyss¡®, umh, it seems like a name for a place that will go bankrupt soon. ¡®Dungeon Gate Cafe¡®, uh¡­.. This is the level of my creativity. I should have kept up with learning that fosters creativity when I was young. After much deliberation, I asked the two animals. ¡°Hey, is there a name that¡¯s colorful and simple, memorable, but not too flashy, and moderately unique and familiar?¡± ¡°Put my name on it!¡± ¡°Kyuuuuuuu¡­.?¡± They didn¡¯t help at all though. I thought about it all day, but I couldn¡¯t think of a good name, so I decided to give it my name. When I thought about putting my name on the signboard, I was embarrassed because it seemed too self-conscious. ¡°Kiyaoong (Cafe Mieum is more suitable)!¡± Let¡¯s ignore the cat who is interfering with my decision. ¡°Really? That¡¯s cool!¡± Choi Yichan did not think it was strange at all. Thank you. It¡¯s a little comforting. ¡°Then how are you these days? Since you¡¯ve awakened ¡­ are you going to join a guild?¡± While we were having a small talk, I carefully brought up the main topic. He smiled awkwardly and shook his head. ¡°Haha, no, I¡¯m an E-class. It must be difficult to find a guild that will accept me.¡± I¡¯m sorry for Choi Yichan, but I felt relieved for a while. ¡°Still, I¡¯ve awakened. If there is someone in need, I want to help.¡± ¡°¡­¡± With a grin, Choi Yichan tapped me on the shoulder. ¡°Tell me if you need anything. I¡¯ll come to help. It¡¯s hard enough because I have a lot of power left over.¡± ¡°Uh? Really? Then, next time ¡­ I¡¯ll ask you next time. Will you really come?¡± I said with a feeling of grasping at straws. The dungeon, where Choi Yichan was involved before my return, broke out in Suwon, Gyeonggi-do. Seoul, especially Gangbuk, is quite far from there. So, at least this place will be safe for him. I was terrified to think that I might not see him again when winter approached and it snowed. ¡°Ah, of course. I will come right away when you call me, so please call me.¡± Choi Yichan smiled broadly. He gave me that promise and left the cafe. *** [Congratulations! You have completed ¡®Sub-Quest: The Ultimate Coffee¡¯. Please collect the reward.] [Your skill point: 1] [Please choose a skill to level up.] After Choi Yichan left, the quest completion notification popped up and the skill points came in. It seems that the quest was accomplished by giving Choi Yichan an ice cream coffee earlier. So what on earth is The Ultimate¡­. The question remained, but it wasn¡¯t important. I leveled up the Barista Skill by using skill point with excitement. [The Barista¡¯s Extraction (D) Details: (Lv.2) Extract only the desired substance from the mixed substances.] ¡°Huhuhu¡­.¡± As expected, I was right. If I use this skill, I will be able to make sugar without bothering with trimmed the stems, squeezed the sap, filtered out the residue, boiled, boiled, boiled, and boiled again steps. There is no reason to waste time. I took the stalks of the dungeon sugarcane that I had cut beforehand. I used the skill immediately before the deluded Mieum attacked the fluttering leaves ¡®The Barista¡¯s Extraction.¡¯ [The extraction is complete.] With the glittering light, the stalk of the dungeon sugarcane disappeared and only the sap remained. Dark brown with a moderately sticky texture, and this sweet smell that comes out of it. When I dipped it a little and tasted it, I could feel the deep sweetness. We have succeeded! ¡°Meow, it smells good!¡± ¡°Kkyuuuu!¡± Since the sap extraction was successful, the remaining process was simple. I poured the sap into a square bowl and placed it on a well-ventilated window. After feeding the cat and slime, I ate dinner, and when I came back, it hardened just right. The sap that had turned into hard caramel was cut into squares with a knife. When I put the square lump in a blender and grind it, it soon turned into fine granules of sugar. [Item: Magic Sugar (¡ï¡ï¡î¡î¡î) Natural sugar made by hardening the sap of Dungeon Sugarcane. It¡¯s sweet, but it¡¯s good for your body. No matter how much you eat, don¡¯t worry about blood sugar. Sugar has many uses. But before that, there was something I wanted to make first. *** The next day, I called the cat and slime in front of me and asked with a solemn expression. ¡°If there is one thing missing about this cafe, what would it be?¡± Mieum and Lime had a lukewarm response. ¡°Kyuu¡­.?¡± ¡°What are you talking about all of a sudden, meong.¡± ¡°Tell me. What is the shortcoming of this cafe, which is about to officially open now?¡± Mieum, who was lying down on her stomach for a while, raised her front paws up. ¡°Mascot?¡± ¡°Kyuuu.¡± ¡°Of course, there should be a cute animal mascot.¡± ¡°¡­.not that.¡± ¡°Interior?¡± ¡°Kyuuu.¡± ¡°No. It¡¯s not that, think carefully.¡± I shook my head. Mieum raised her front paws, proudly said that this time is the correct answer. ¡°Customer!¡± ¡°Kyuuu, Kyuuuuuuuu!¡± Next to her, Lime violently bounced its body as sign of agreement. ¡°¡­.¡± That¡¯s what you guys thought about the shortcoming of this cafe? ¡­ I am a little hurt. Giving up on asking these animals for the correct answer, I put the plastic bag in my hand on the table. Then, I took out the stuff inside one by one. Eggs, butter, and flour. They were all just bought from the supermarket. And I put the magic sugar that I finished yesterday next to it. ¡°What this cafe lacks ¡­ It¡¯s a dessert.¡± As expected, cafes should have dessert menus as well as drinks. Americano is delicious, it¡¯s surprisingly delicious, but ¡­ I felt a little disappointed. If there is dessert here, it¡¯ll be perfect. Sweet dessert and fragrant Americano. The taste of Americano gives a refreshing finish to the soft sweetness. Needless to say, it¡¯s a fantastic combination. So, after finishing the sugar, I decided to make a dessert to eat with the coffee. ¡°¡­.¡± I waited for a while, but the system did not respond. It¡¯s a right time to launch a completely new quest¡­. I was a little puzzled because it was different from the time when the notification rang to the point of raising my annoyance. After the obsession phase, is it neglecting me now? I was skeptical that it was only in the beginning that the rewards were generously poured and then slightly reduced. Well, anyway. The menu I¡¯m going to make today is butter cookies. The ingredients are simple and relatively easy, so it is a recipe that I can make. The soft texture that melts softly will go very well with coffee. First, leave the butter at room temperature, put it in a bowl, and whisk it. Next, add sugar and mix it until there¡¯s no crunching sound. Add eggs and flour to creamy butter in order, then mix it to complete the dough. ¡°It¡¯s done ¡­ wait, Kwon Mieum, stop!¡± ¡°Why?!¡± Mieum tried to taste the dough by dipping it with her front feet. I can¡¯t let my guard down with this cat. She tried to pretend she didn¡¯t do anything wrong, but the yellow dough on her front feet was an undeniable evidence. While separating Mieum from the bowl, it was Lime¡¯s turn in aiming for the dough this time. Dungdung, dungdung. The bowl that hit Lime¡¯s elastic body shook unsteadily. ¡°¡­.Huk!¡± That¡¯s a relief. I caught it by a hair¡¯s breadth. I almost fell on the floor. ¡°No, you have to bake it before you can eat it.¡± ¡°Kkyuu¡­.¡± ¡°No kkyuu!¡± I quarantined the two animals that were only disturbing. Then, I started to squeeze the dough into a circle on an oven plate. ¡°Ugh¡­.¡± It was difficult at first, but soon I was able to knead the dough into a suitable shape. Next, the oven was preheated and the dough was put in. It was a small home oven, but it was big enough to bake a plate of cookies. Soon, the cookies were baked golden in the oven, and the fragrant smell spread throughout the store. Unable to wait for the cookies to be fully cooked, Mieum and Lime stuck together and looked into the oven. Then, I heard a knock on the door. I looked at the clock and it was just on time. I didn¡¯t realize that so much time had already passed because I was so absorbed in baking the butter cookies. ¡°Come on in.¡± ¡°Hello.¡± The long-awaited guest, Jina, entered the cafe. CH 32 Today, I met Jina for the first time since the incident where the Cave Black Bear appeared. It was reported that the Hunters of the Dungeon Management Office, the people who were late in responding the last case, were all replaced. In addition, Jina was recognized for her quick work, so her affiliation was changed. From Hunter¡¯s Assistant to the Emergency Dungeon Countermeasures Team, directly under Hunter Kang Hyunwoo. Hunter Kang Hyunwoo is so famous that I have even heard of his name. He is a role model for the public officials. Since she is directly under such a popular person, it is practically a promotion. Still, now that she works almost exclusively at the main office, she doesn¡¯t come to the Dungeon Gate often. Until now, I only contacted her through KakaoTalk, but I¡¯ve been curious about something, so I invited her today after a long time. However, Jina¡¯s face was dark. I thought she would feel better now because she¡¯s done with Hunter¡¯s Assistance¡­.. Deep dark circles, bloodshot eyes, and a sigh that flowed out unconsciously. It was about the same as when she first collapsed in front of this store. ¡°Jina-ssi, are you okay?¡± ¡°Ah ¡­ no. I¡¯m fine.¡± You don¡¯t look fine¡­. ¡°Are you busy with work?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like that, but I¡¯m just a little worried about something¡­.¡± I quickly sat Jina in the chair. Then, I grabbed Lime, who was stuck in front of the oven, and placed it on her lap. I thought that if she touched the chewy body, she would feel a little more comfortable. This slime¡¯s body was addictive, the more you rubbed it, the more you want to rub it. As expected, when she touched Lime, she couldn¡¯t resist and began to fiddle it. Rub, rub, rub¡­. After fiddling with Lime for a while, Jina opened her mouth. ¡°The truth is, my mother¡¯s son is a Hunter.¡± ¡°Your mother¡¯s son?¡± ¡°I mean my brother.¡± ¡°Ah¡­.¡± ¡°A few years ago, he strangely changed his name and left home. And then he made an accident!¡± Rub, rub, rub¡­. Perhaps she recalled a bad memory, the hand that touched Lime became rough. ¡°But he suddenly called me some time ago and boasted that he was going join a famous guild. After this, he will not be ignored in the future.¡± Jina shook her head. It seems that the person she called oppa was quite a troublemaker. ¡°I hope he doesn¡¯t get into trouble because it¡¯s a famous guild or something. Hunters are really¡­.!¡± Jina, who let out a heavy sigh with a complaint, suddenly paused. ¡°Ah, I¡¯m sorry. Rieul-ssi is a hunter, too.¡± ¡°Ahahaha¡­.¡± I told Jina that I had awakened. To be precise, she learned it naturally. It happened because I inquired about shop repair issues and tax issues. Jina¡¯s older brother was a hunter, too ¡­ I wondered if I would have a chance to meet him one day. ¡°But Rieul-ssi doesn¡¯t seem like a hunter.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°Oh! Uh, look, I mean, it¡¯s not a bad thing! In a good way!¡± Jina was taken aback and added an afterthought. ¡°Meooong, meoong (Isn¡¯t it because you are weak)?¡± I ignored Mieum. It was a compliment that felt incredibly sincere as it passed by. ¡°But this place smells good? Umh¡­ is it the smell of butter and sugar?¡± Ding! The cookies just happened to be all baked in the oven. ¡°I was working on a new menu. Would you like to try it?¡± ¡°That¡¯s so nice!¡± I opened the oven and checked the cookies. A savory smell sprang up. It is well baked golden-brown cookies. The shape did not spread or crumble, and it was shaped like a round rose. [Item: Butter Cookie (¡ï¡ï¡ï¡î¡î) A golden brown buttered cookie. Your coffee¡¯s best friend. Beware of similar products.] Is it because I didn¡¯t use the ¡®Cafe in My Hand¡¯ skill? The butter cookies have a status window, but no other effects are attached. Of course, even without that effect, the dessert is great on its own. ¡°Waeeong yum?!¡± ¡°Be careful because it¡¯s hot ¡­ ah, it¡¯s already too late.¡± Mieum, who was aiming for a cookie, straightened her hair. She seems surprised by the heat of the freshly baked cookies. I prepared the coffee while I transferred the cookies to a plate and cooled them down. I¡¯ll eat it with freshly baked hot cookies, so a cold coffee would be nice. I made two iced Americanos and sat across the table. The afternoon sun shining through the window was warm. It was a perfect time to enjoy a cold coffee. I took a bite of the butter cookie first. The soft, not crumbly cookie melted down with a fragrant smell in my mouth. This time, I took a sip of iced Americano. Take another bite of the cookie, another sip of coffee¡­. As expected, I was right. It means that Americano and cookies went very well together. Sweet and bitter. Coffee after a sweet dessert. It was a fantastic harmony. ¡°What do you think?¡± Eating sweets relieves stress. Jina, who ate the butter cookies and drink her iced Americano, exclaimed. ¡°It¡¯s really tasty!¡± The golden gauge above the head also showed Jina¡¯s satisfaction. Tiling! At that time, a system notification that I saw for the first time appeared in front of me. [The condition has been met. Combo bonus will be generated. Ah, it really reduced the stress. Perhaps thanks to the combo bonus, Jina looked more comfortable as if she had relieved some worries about her family. After distributing the cookies to Mieum and Lime, I sat at the table, enjoyed the coffee and cookies, and brought up what I wanted to ask Jina. ¡°Jina-ssi, do you know about higher-attribute dungeons?¡± ¡°Yes?¡± Sparkle. Jina¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Rieul-ssi, you¡¯re interested in dungeon, too!¡± Umh, it¡¯s not really like that¡­. But Jina opened her mouth with an excited expression. Dungeons, hunters, and monsters have become common in this world, but not many people are interested in the dungeon itself. They only care about how to get rare items and how to clear the dungeon quickly. How the dungeon works and what the ecology is is out of interest. ¡°It¡¯s really stupid.¡± ¡­ Jina let out a sigh, ¡°The dungeon is an unknown land where undiscovered mysteries lie!¡± As she said that, Jina¡¯s face overflowed with life that was different from just now. She entered the Dungeon Management Office because she liked dungeons. It was true love. It was true that there was little information about the dungeon itself. So, it was even harder to find the information I was looking for. I tried to find out about the dungeon where Choi Yichan was involved in the pre-regression past. If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. Gathering information about the dungeon may lead to new ways to avoid the future. However, the only thing I remember is the keyword ¡®higher attribute dungeon¡¯. It was difficult to find information about the dungeon with only this vague memory. I also checked the Ether-Wiki, but¡­. [Ether-Wiki] [Welcome to the encyclopedia of the dimensions cultivated by The Eligible.] ¡®Higher attribute dungeon.¡¯ [No results were found for your search. Gather more information to make your encyclopedia more meaningful.] ¡°¡­.¡± The system didn¡¯t help either. As soon as I hit the wall, I eventually decided to ask the person who was most interested in dungeons I knew; Jina. ¡°You know that there is such a thing as an ¡®attribute dungeon¡¯ among dungeons, right?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I¡¯m actually hearing it for the first time now. But that¡¯s not the point, so let¡¯s move on. Literally, it means a dungeon in which certain attribute appears strongly. ¡°Fire, wind, ice and poison are the most representative. If you don¡¯t have the right armor or potion, you get attribute damage. If a particular ether becomes too strong in this attribute dungeon¡­.¡± ¡°What will happen?¡± ¡°It transforms into a higher attribute dungeon.¡± Jina continued her explanation. ¡°There are two high-level attributes: light and darkness. However, high-level dungeons are 100% dark attribute.¡± ¡°Why is that?¡± ¡°The light attribute only occurs when the dark ether is purified in a special way. Purification is impossible by human power. So, theoretically it exists, but has never been observed in practice.¡± ¡°I see¡­.¡± ¡°And dark dungeons are very dangerous because they inflict dark damage to hunters. They could lose their life.¡± ¡°¡­¡± According to Jina¡¯s words, the dungeon in which Choi Yichan was involved before the regression would also be a dark dungeon ¡­ because they said the F-class dungeon has been transformed into a high-attribute dungeon. Then, it would be nice to have an item that can block the dark attribute. ¡°Is there any way to nullify the dark damage?¡± ¡°Yes?¡± Jina¡¯s face turned pale. ¡°Huh, are you thinking of going into the dark dungeon? No, it¡¯s not a place for a non-combat hunter!¡± I waved my hand in surprise. ¡°No, I don¡¯t mean to go in. I¡¯m just curious.¡± After reconfirming that I really had no intention of entering the dark dungeon, Jina continued. ¡°Well, the dark dungeon has not occurred in several years, so the related items are rare.¡± ¡°I see¡­.¡± ¡°Even the amount of stocks has disappeared as a result of hoarding in illegal guilds. The main office is cracking down on it, but they¡¯re so secretive that it¡¯s hard to catch.¡± ¡°An illegal guild?¡± The word I never heard before came out. ¡°It means a private guild that is not registered in the Dungeon Management Office. No, you can¡¯t even call them guilds!¡± Jina raised her voice as if she suddenly got angry. As a result, Mieum, who was putting her front paws on the cookies on the plate, was surprised and took off her front paws. I pretended not to notice the cookie crumbs around her mouth. ¡°They do all kinds of vicious things, including smuggling and tax evasion. In particular, the guild called the Shin-Crown Party is given special caution.¡± ¡°Is it a dangerous guild?¡± ¡°It was there before the Dungeon Management Office was established.¡± ¡°That means¡­.¡± ¡°That means it¡¯s very wicked!¡± Jina looked at me for support. I nodded at the force of it. The current Dungeon Management Office was established 10 years ago. Prior to that, an institution called the Awakening Center was in charge of Hunter-related work. However, there were many problems such as corruption and collusion, so it is said that the hunter world at the time was like a lawless zone. Slavery contracts, item smuggling, exploitation ¡­ all conceivable heinous things happened. Back then, an F-class water body like me would have been rolled into a dungeon as a porter or ore slave. Well, I¡¯m glad it¡¯s gone now. It was said that a guild called the Crown Party, which committed all sorts of illegal activities at that time, was active again under the name of the Shin-Crown Party. After talking up to that point, Jina took out a thick book from her bag. It was a hard cover that was too thick to hold with one hand. ¡°I didn¡¯t know that Rieul-ssi was interested in dungeons! Please refer to this Dungeon Ecology Encyclopedia for more detailed information. I will lend you this.¡± ¡°¡­.Do you usually carry such a thick book?¡± ¡°Even though there are some ebooks, it¡¯s easier to find what you¡¯re looking for when you flip them by hand.¡± Buk! When I put the book down on the table, the sound was very heavy. ¡°¡­.It¡¯s also good for self-defense.¡± Jina said that it¡¯s okay to read it slowly and return it later, then she left the one-hit instrument ¡­ no, she left the Dungeon Ecology Encyclopedia with me. Now that I¡¯ve got it, I¡¯ll give it a try. Maybe I can get some information¡­. ¡°Then it goes back. Meooong.¡± ¡°Kyuu ¡­ kyuuuu!¡± ¡°Uh, heem¡­.¡± Huk, I fell asleep. It was a book with a tremendous sleep effect. *** My shoulders were stiff from falling asleep on the table. While rubbing my shoulders, I noticed that that Lime was missing again. ¡°Uh, where did Lime go?¡± ¡°Meoong (It went to the space).¡± ¡°What are you doing there¡­.¡± Is it taking a nap inside? I went into the space beyond the wall to bring Lime out. Yggdrasil, still with thick branches and lush leaves, greeted me. There were so many branches that even though I picked a lot of coffee fruits, it didn¡¯t seem to have shrunk at all. ¡°Lime-ah, where are you?¡± ¡°Kyuu, kyuuuu!¡± Lime was crying in the small space behind Yggdrasil. [Next] Translator¡¯s Corner: If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles (????? ????). it¡¯s a popular quote from Sun Tzu. I¡¯m actually not sure what should the cult¡¯s name be translated tbh. It¡¯s ?????? (sinkeuraunpara / sin keu ra un pa ra). I think the correct way to read it would be ? ??? ??, ? is God, ??? is Crown, and ?? is ¡­ idk, is it blue? and their previous name is ????? (just delete the Shin). but God-Crown Blue doesn¡¯t make sense as a name ¡­ and I don¡¯t want to call it ¡®God¡¯ because it doesn¡¯t suit the organization, so I keep it as Shin-Crown for now ¡­ and for the para ¡­ I wrote it as ¡®Party¡¯ because it¡¯s close to ¡®para¡¯ and looks like a proper guild name. Well, now that I think about it, the Shin-Crown probably should be ¡°Neo-Crown¡± or ¡°New Crown¡±. Because, for example, ????? (shingugminjuui) is neo-nationalism / new nationalism. And considering they added the ¡°Shin¡± part when re-establishin Huh. I don¡¯t know, You guys can give me suggestion if you find a better name ¡­ CH 33 ¡°What were you doing there?¡± ¡°Kyuu! Kyuuuuuuu.¡± Hardly, Lime moved its body and said something. Umh I have no idea ¡­ I should have brought Mieum, who understands Lime¡¯s words well. I don¡¯t know how she can interpret ¡°kkyuu¡°. ¡°Isn¡¯t there such a thing as a slime translator?¡± ¡°There is, but¡­.¡± ¡°But?¡± ¡°Sometimes it¡¯s good not to know, waeeong!¡± Why, what is it? What¡¯s the secret behind that whisper? I¡¯m looking for a slime translator. let¡¯s give it a try¡­. ¡°Kkyu, kkyuu.¡± Lime called me, who was in a different thought for a moment. Then, while bouncing its body, it pointed to a certain place. ¡°That thing?¡± ¡°Kkyuuu!¡± In the direction Lime pointed out, there was a branch with more fruit than the other branches. The color is deep. The fruit was so ripe that it looked like it was going to fall off at any moment. Do you want to eat that fruit? ¡°Do you want to eat that?¡± ¡°Kyu ¡­ kyuu!¡± ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll pick it for you.¡± I reached for the branch. However, I couldn¡¯t pick the fruit well because it¡¯s hard to reach. ¡°Um, just a little more¡­.¡± I leaned in the direction of the branch and clung to the tree trunk. As soon as I picked the fruit, my hands slipped. ¡°¡­.!¡± Then, as my foot tripped over the roots that rose above the ground, my body lost its balance. Uh, wait. Was there a slope like this here? A steep slope was hidden in a corner of this space surrounded by a thick foggy forest. It¡¯s really exquisitely hidden away from the outside. Of all things, my body rolled towards it. ¡°Kyuuuuuu!¡± Surprised Lime chased me, but a slime without a hand couldn¡¯t catch me. The moment I chewed my lips tightly in anticipation of the pain that would follow, the surroundings stopped. It felt like time has stopped. And then, the system window appeared. Tiling! [You made a deep connection with coffee] [Skill: The Bond of a Cup of Coffee (B) has been acquired.] [Crisis situation! ¡®The Bond of a Cup of Coffee¡® is activated.] [Skill Lv.1: Activation time 00:05:00 / Cooldown 24:00:00] [Target: ¡®Choi Yichan¡¯ is selected.] What? Surprised, the system window appeared again in front of me. [Caution! It¡¯s a skill that consumes a lot of energy.] [Skill: Defense is The Best Defense (C) is used.] [Defense increases by 500% for 5 minutes.] The surroundings, where time seemed to have stopped, moved again. I was falling off the slope, and the ground was already close. Ugh, it¡¯s crashing! But just before hitting the ground, my body curled up and took a perfect fall posture. I¡¯ve never learned anything like this, but my body moved naturally, as if I had known it from the beginning. Bang! ¡°Eugh, aaa¡­.¡± I was startled when I got up, rubbing the hard part with my hand. ¡°¡­Uh?¡± It doesn¡¯t hurt. There was a tremendous sound just now, but I didn¡¯t feel any pain. I thought I would break some bones, but my body was fine. What¡¯s going on here? ¡°Kyuuuuuu¡­..¡± From the top of the slope, Lime bounced down. Worried about me, it circled around. Touching Lime¡¯s soft body for a moment, I finally calmed down and checked the system message that just appeared. It definitely said that I had acquired a new skill. ¡®Skill.¡¯ There was an unfamiliar skill in the skill window. I opened the detail screen right away. [The Bond of a Cup of Coffee (B) Details: (Lv.1) You can copy the skill of the person who drank the Ultimate Coffee. (00:05:00) I can copy the target¡¯s skills? I¡¯ve never heard of a skill with such a huge effect. Copying, reflecting, and nullifying a skill are fraudulent skills that only the main characters of a fantasy novel can acquire. If you write something like ¡°I can copy other people¡¯s skills¡± on the Hunter Channel, your post will be deleted immediately after receiving malicious comments asking if you learned about Hunter from a web novel. Even taking into account that the limit of the ultimate coffee drinkers is unclear, and the cooldown is 24 hours, it was still unbelievable that it was only a B-grade skill. Wait a minute, I got a strange notification when I asked Choi Yichan to drink the Ice Cream Coffee. [The target loves your coffee. You made a deep connection with coffee.] The message meant that his skill could be copied. Then, wouldn¡¯t it be possible to copy more targets if I let multiple hunters drink my coffee? Huh, what if I can copy the S-grade skill and use it? ¡°Awesome¡­.¡± The golden future of ¡®Skill Copying Honey Bee¡® seemed to unfold before my eyes. Wait, it¡¯s not yet the time to be ambitious. First, let¡¯s check Choi Yichan¡¯s skills. Maybe it will give me a hint to avoid the tragedy that was set for him in the future. ¡®The Bond of a Cup of Coffee.¡¯ I immediately tried the skill again. [You can¡¯t use the skill because the cooldown has not passed. Time Remaining until unlocked 23:50:16] [Caution! It is a skill that consumes a lot of energy. If the remaining energy is less than 10, a status abnormality will occur.] [Target: ¡®Choi Yichan¡¯ can be selected.] Due to the cooldown, it was impossible to use it, but I could see the skills that can be copied. A feast of letters continued. [Double Slasher (F) (Lv.1) With a certain probability (0.05%), the attack occurs twice during a normal attack.] [Push (E) (Lv.1) Constant probability (0.1%) to push the enemy when defending.] There are only two ambiguous combat skills with poor probability. I don¡¯t think there¡¯s anything special¡­. Eh. There was a hidden next page on the skill list. When I turned the page, the red letter ¡®Unacquired¡® flickered. [Defense is The Best Defense (C) /Unacquired/ (Lv.1) Defense increases by 500% for 5 minutes. ¡ù This skill has not been acquired yet. How to acquire: Successfully defend 100 times with a shield.] [A Deadly Blow (A) /Unacquired/ The next attack has a 100% chance to inflict a critical hit. ¡ù This skill has not been acquired yet. How to acquire: Attack monsters 200 times with a weapon.] [Coffee is My Strength (S) /Unacquired/ (Lv.1) Attack power increases by 800% when in caffeine addiction ¡ù This skill has not been acquired yet. How to acquire: Attempt to attack while intoxicated with caffeine.] [The Light that Illuminates The Darkness (S) /Unacquired/ (Lv.1) Nullifies dark attribute damage for 1 hour. ¡ù This skill has not been acquired yet. How to acquire: Carry a dark etheric item for 24 hours.] Choi Yichan has not yet mastered most of the skills. However, once he gets it, it¡¯s unbelievable that he¡¯s an E-class hunter. Below the description of the skill, there were even kind instructions on how to acquire it. I paid attention to the last of them, ¡®The Light that Illuminates The Darkness¡®. Nullifying dark attribute damage? Wait, wait¡­.. The dungeon that Choi Yichan jumped into before the regression was a dark attribute dungeon. So, in other words, skill acquisition = nullify dark damage = survival? ¡°¡­.¡± My heart thumped loudly. When there was hope that Choi Yichan could come back alive using this, I couldn¡¯t control my joy. However, on the other hand, I also had these doubts. The information was given out of the blue. Why is the system giving me the information I need? Maybe it¡¯s up to something. No, but as long as Choi Yichan can survive, it doesn¡¯t matter whether it¡¯s up to something or not. The skill grade is also an S-grade, and they kindly taught me how to get it. First of all, I need to help Choi Yichan to acquire the skill. The question is, where do you get the dark etheric item? ¡°Kyuuuu, kyuu¡­.?¡± Lime called me when I didn¡¯t move while looking at the system window. I think it thinks I¡¯m hurt somewhere. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m fine. I¡¯m not hurt.¡± ¡°Kyuu!¡± Fortunately, the way up was quickly found. There was a pedestal to step on the slope. I returned to the cafe, fed coffee beans to Lime, and put my body on a chair. I took my phone out of my pocket and accessed the Hunter Channel. I entered several related keywords such as ¡®dark ether¡®, ¡®dark item¡®, and ¡®dark etheric item¡® into the channel search box. However, there are not many search results. Even so, all of them looked like this. [Chatting] Day 15 of Dark Farming Prayer (0) [Chatting] It¡¯s a dark item; (1) [Chatting] Amazing dark ore ¡­ or I thought it was (2) [Issue] Beware of buying dark etheric items!!! (325) [Chatting] Isn¡¯t it an urban legend?;; (0) [Chatting] Day 99 of Dark Farming Prayer (0) ¡°Uh¡­.¡± I have a feeling that it¡¯s going to be hard to get. I don¡¯t know exactly what the dark etheric item is, but it was almost like a fantasy item. It must be difficult to obtain easily in the Hunter Market. I posted on the Hunter Channel as my last resort. After a while, a comment notification sounded. I quickly connected to the Hunter Channel on my phone. *** [Chatting] I¡¯m looking for a dark etheric item. (2) Upvotes: 0 / Downvotes: 0 *** Writer: F-class Cafe Owner I¡¯m looking for a dark etheric item. Any grade, any type, it¡¯s fine as long as it¡¯s dark. If you sell it, please contact me. *** ¡ª Haster: [Link] Look for it here. ©¸ Healer Wanted: It¡¯s a phishing site on this comment link. Don¡¯t click. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ I calmly deleted the post. CH 34 [Achievement: Find The Best Combo The notification window flickered in front of me. I was half asleep and stared at the window blankly. Yesterday, I failed to get information about the dark etheric item, and I even remembered opening the thick Dungeon Ecology Encyclopedia again. And¡­. ¡­¡­ I must have fallen asleep. ¡°Ugh¡­.¡± I slept in an uncomfortable position and my neck was sore. As I stretched, there was a crackling sound in my neck. I achieved an achievement, but a day has already passed. Why now? Isn¡¯t your system too slow? The notification quickly appear when you asked me to do something bothersome, it¡¯s a sabotage to only post a reward notification late. [Sorry for the inconvenience caused by the service delay.] Eh, yes¡­. The tone of the system is slightly different from usual. It was questionable, but it was not an important situation. I chose to receive the reward while rubbing the back of my stiff neck. [Finally, you are The Eligible who is ready to grow as a Cafe Owner. The system update will start. 1, 5, 10 ¡­ 100% Complete. The Dimensional Shop feature has been unlocked.] Uhm? What¡¯s this? ¡°You have finally unlocked that feature! Meow!¡± Mieum intervened as I blinked at the notification window with my half-asleep head. ¡°What is The Dimensional Shop?¡± ¡°It is a store that transcends dimensions, specially prepared by the great system ¨€¨€ ¨€¨€¨€. You can buy things that are not easily available through the system.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­.¡± ¡°Waeongh!¡± Mieum jumped up with her front paws and punched me. ¡°The response is lukewarm! React more enthusiastically!¡± ¡°Wow. Whoa. Whoa.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no soul in it!¡± ¡°But right now, I don¡¯t have anything I really want¡­.¡± Pakpak. Mieum¡¯s front paw hit my back again. I paused as I set Mieum, who was rushing at me wildly, aside. Wait, it¡¯s an item that I can¡¯t get easily? This shop feature at this timing, maybe there¡¯s a dark etheric item there. System guy, you¡¯re helpful sometimes. I¡¯ve only been complaining all this time, and I¡¯m feeling a little sorry. My sleepiness ran away. I tried this new feature right away. ¡®The Dimensional Shop.¡¯ [Dimensional Shop] Welcome! This is a shop that connects multi-dimensional gaps. The Eligibles can purchase the items they need. Item update time: 24:00:00 left] I checked the item list while passing through the exciting description. ¡°Umh, 1 ruby for a fresh milk¡­?¡± [Fresh Milk: 1 Ruby Savory Whipped Cream: 2 Rubies Chocolate Sauce: 5 Rubies Cinnamon Powder: 3 Rubies ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.] But, let alone a dark etheric item, there were only ingredients for food and coffee drinks. Is it an item that I can¡¯t get easily? ¡°Why do you only have these?¡± Pakpakpak! Mieum threw her front paw at me again, but this time I turned my body aside to avoid it. ¡°What do you mean ¡®only¡®? We¡¯ve selected the right items for the right person!¡± ¡°¡­.this?¡± ¡°Kiyaoooo, what would be the right item for a cafe owner? Isn¡¯t that a drink ingredient?¡± But they sell milk at the supermarket, too. I lost interest and tried to close the shop window. [Super Special Rapid News] HOT tea/won/clothing/top/store ¡ì new user special. special. three. days. 100% discount on immediate purchase ¡ùNo eat-and-run ¡ù?New stock every day?New items Various rare / rare / ITEM coming soon ¡ì taste ¡ì quantity ¡ì yes ¡ì affection ¡ì Direct entry ?E.N.T.E.R?CLICK ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. It is a business that is so desperate that it brings tears to my eyes. Yeah, well, if you say that ¡­ I checked the detailed screen of the item. [Item: Fresh Milk (¡ï¡ï¡î¡î¡î) Milk obtained from a rare A-class Golden Triangular Rhinoceros. A rich taste different from ordinary milk. Other items were similar. Each of them was accompanied by an explanation that it improves the quality of the drink. There are rubies I got from the quest last time, so I¡¯ll buy some. First of all, milk is essential, and¡­.. The ingredients piled up like a mountain on the table. [20 rubies have been paid.] Heck, I came to realize that I¡¯ve overspent. Even if I regretted it, 20 rubies were already changed to ingredients. No matter how much I look at the screen, I can¡¯t see the refund button. Isn¡¯t this a rogue shop¡­. I blamed myself at first, but being able to purchase cafe ingredients through the system was a pretty convenient feature. If the quality of the drink gets better, it means that it has a better effect. Yes. I bought them all because I needed them. I quickly finished rationalizing. [Main Quest: The Path of The Barista (2) You¡¯re a confident barista now. Increase the sales menu by completing the cafe¡¯s five basic menus (caf¨¦ latte, cappuccino, cafe mocha, vanilla latte, and caramel macchiato). Complete the 5 basic cafe menus: 0/5] [Rewards: Experience (200 EXP), Random Recipe, ???] Since I bought the ingredients, I decided to do the five drink quest that I had postponed. It¡¯s too boring to endlessly go through the Dungeon Management Encyclopedia. As you move your hands, you may come up with a good idea to find the item. I paid attention to the ¡®???¡¯ in the quest reward column. Just as The Dimensional Shop has been updated without notice, there must still be hidden parts in the system. The quest could be an unexpected hint, and there was a possibility that ??? might be a good item. Yes, rather than holding onto a book and thinking about it, let¡¯s start with what I can do. I hate to work hard, but finding a way to save Choi Yichan is an exception. Once this problem is solved, I should run the cafe really leisurely. There are a lot of coffee beans and other ingredients, so there is no need to enter the dungeon anymore. It was a step forward to the opening of a relaxed and free-spirited cafe. Before that¡­. ¡°Give, give me food! Waeeung!¡± ¡°Kkyuu!¡± Mieum cried as she scratched the empty cereal bowl. When Mieum cried, Lime just cried along. ¡°Human, I¡¯m hungry!¡± ¡°Kyuuu!¡± ¡°Yes, yes¡­.¡± I couldn¡¯t resist Mieum¡¯s whining, so I looked in the cupboard, but all of the cereal had run out. My neck is sore because I fell asleep on a book. It¡¯s a bit far, but I decided to go to the convenience store to buy something to eat. ¡°I¡¯ll be right back, so wait for me.¡± ¡°Give me food! Waeoong!¡± ¡°Kkyu!¡± I was kicked out at the behest of the animals. I don¡¯t want much. I only wish there is one convenience store in front of the Dungeon Gate. This is probably the only place in downtown Seoul that doesn¡¯t have a convenience store. If possible, I want a chicken restaurant too. I took a step with these vain thoughts. It¡¯s late October. The chilly morning air felt pleasant. I was on my way back from the convenience store where I walked for a long time to buy cereal and gimbap for me to eat. I stood looking at the endlessly upward stone wall of the Great Dungeon Abyss while stretching my body. My sore shoulder has eased a little. At that moment, I could feel the presence of people in the vicinity. ¡®Who is it?¡¯ I turned to the side of the sound. The owners of the voices were Ki Yoohyun and Han Yiseong. I thought about greeting them, but the two were talking in a serious mood. The wind made me hide. I wanted to avoid them, but I have to pass the road in front of them to get back to the store. I didn¡¯t mean to eavesdrop. Do I have to make some noise? But here, ¡®Uhum, hmm, it¡¯s been a while.¡® Wouldn¡¯t it be incredibly awkward if I sneak out while doing it? Anyone who sees it will think it¡¯s suspicious I was thinking about how to appear as unobtrusive as possible, but I heard the sound of words. It was an unusual atmosphere. ¡°Is it them again? You¡¯re making a nuisance for yourself.¡± ¡°The possibility that the denomination was involved¡­.¡± ¡°The denomination was destroyed at that time¡­.¡± ¡°The remnant is still alive¡­.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll find it within today ¡­ how do you find it? ¡­ I¡¯ll hand it over to the Management Office¡­.¡± ¡°Take care of it right away¡­.¡± Take care? Deal with what? I couldn¡¯t hear all the words afterwards, but the meaning of the word ¡®take care of it¡® was quite eerie. It was never an atmosphere to talk about garbage disposal or automatic bank transfers. ¡°¡­..¡± It was already too late to appear naturally. Should I step back for now? I could take a detour. Gulp, it was the moment when I swallowed dry saliva and took a step back¡­. Pop! ¡°U-Uagh!¡± The concrete brick wall where I was hiding burst. The hard bricks were turned to powder in an instant. If I had taken two more steps to the side, it would have been my head, not the brick, that had exploded. ¡°Who is it?¡± A cold voice was heard overhead. ¡°¡­.Hick.¡± I shut my mouth. I was so startled that I hiccuped. Neither sitting down nor standing, I leaned out of the wall in an awkward position. I could feel the frozen gaze looking down at me. Ki Yoohyun said in a slightly dumbfounded voice. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± ¡°Hiccup, Hic ¡­ Hick.¡± No words come out because of the hiccups. I tried to hold my breath, but the hiccups kept tormenting me. I covered my mouth with one hand and pointed in the direction of the store with the other. ¡°¡­.Yes?¡± ¡°Uh, hick.¡± It¡¯s right in front of my store, so what do you mean with what are you doing here! Instead of proper words, it came out as hiccups. However, the atmosphere has not improved at all. The sharp eyes stared at me. Let¡¯s be still, the skill I can use at times like these¡­. ¡®Smile.¡¯ [Running the ¡®Smile¡® Skill.] The corners of my mouth drew a gentle arc and gave a perfect business smile. ¡°¡­.¡± ¡°¡­.¡± But still static. I don¡¯t know if it works or not. One more time. ¡®Smile.¡¯ [Running the ¡®Smile¡® Skill.] Slowly, Ki Yoohyun softened his expression. With just a little smile, the atmosphere changed drastically. The well-stretched eyes drew a gentle curve, and the morning sunlit eyelashes cast a shadow. His face was so beautiful that it was hard to make eye contact. It was really scary just now. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I surprised you.¡± Maybe you weren¡¯t trying to surprise me, but to blow my head off? I had such doubts, but I accepted his apology for now. ¡°Uh, uhm. It¡¯s okay. Be careful in the future.¡± At that time, Han Yiseong, who alternately looked at Ki Yoohyun and me with a cautious expression, bowed his head and said hello. ¡°Haha, it¡¯s been a while¡­.¡± It was our first meeting since the Cave Black Bear appeared, so it had been quite a while since I met Hunter Han Yiseong. ¡°Did you have anything to do here?¡± Ki Yoohyun smiled softly. ¡°That¡¯s right, I was just about to stop by the cafe later.¡± I think you just explicitly avoided to answer my question. CH 35 Well, that¡¯s enough. I wasn¡¯t that curious either. It¡¯s best not to interfere with stories that have nothing to do with me. I recalled the last time I worked for a company in my life; the painful memory of having to go hiking with my boss every Sunday after moderately agreeing that hiking is good for health. This is a lesson that I learned through my body. I smiled lightly and changed the topic. ¡°Then, why don¡¯t you come with Hunter Han Yiseong?¡± ¡°Uh? You mean me?¡± Hunter Han Yiseong was flustered and waved his hand. ¡°I have an urgent matter to deal with from now on.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Please have a good time together.¡± ¡­.a good time? I just recommended coffee, but the expression was a little strange. Perhaps it was true that he had business to do, Hunter Han Yiseong left quickly. I thought it was an opportunity to make a new regular, but it¡¯s a pity. *** After Hunter Han Yiseong left, I returned to the store with Ki Yoohyun, who was left alone. ¡°Kids, I¡¯m here.¡± ¡°Kkyuu!¡± ¡°Kyaooooo (Is he that human again)?!¡± Mieum, who was welcoming me, or to be exact the cereal, said when she saw Ki Yoohyun, who followed me. She¡¯s a bit shy. Since they¡¯ve met a few times, she¡¯s slowly getting used to to Ki Yoohyun. ¡°Hello, Mieum.¡± ¡°Waeoong!¡± As soon as Ki Yoohyun approached Mieum and greeted her, Mieum raised her flashy front paw and threw a meow punch. Pakpak! Oh, he avoided it. Ki Yoohyun avoided all of Mieum¡¯s front paws that flew quickly and stroked her chin gently. Mieum¡¯s uncomfortable expression gradually softened at his tickling touch. ¡°Meooong¡­..¡± What an easy cat. In the meantime, I poured cereal into Mieum¡¯s bowl. ¡°I¡¯m going to make a new menu today. Would you like to try it?¡± ¡°Ah, that¡¯s great.¡± Among the five basic cafe menus, the first menu to be made was cafe latte. It¡¯s popular, and it¡¯s the second most in demand basic menu after Americano. I took out a thick porcelain cup for the cafe latte. Then, I brewed a shot of espresso and put it in. Next, I had to heat up the milk. I took the milk out of the refrigerator. The ¡°fresh milk¡± I bought at the Dimensional Shop earlier was cold. It looked very fresh and savory, as its name suggests. ¡°You are using unusual milk.¡± ¡°Ahaha, that¡¯s right¡­.¡± Let¡¯s keep it a secret that this is the milk of a Golden Triangular Rhinoceros. ¡®Cafe in My Hand.¡¯ [Recipe: You selected Caf¨¦ Latte] Following the recipe¡¯s instructions, pour milk into the milk pitcher, then dip the steam wand and activated it. When I lowered the milk pitcher slightly, bubbles began to form. When adequate foam formed, the steam wand was locked and the milk pitcher was taken out. Done, a velvety soft milk foam is completed. The temperature and foam of milk were just right. After tilting the cafe latte cup at a right angle, I held the milk pitcher high in the other hand. I poured the milk in circular motions to mix it well, and when it is about 2/3 full, I placed the pitcher close to the cup. After pouring until a white circle was formed in the middle of the coffee, I stopped and the cafe latte was finished just right. [Item: Caf¨¦ Latte (¡ï¡ï¡ï¡î¡î) Status: Good (Time Remaining: 00:30:00) Effect: 20% of maximum energy is restored.] It has the effect of restoring energy at a ratio, not an integer. It¡¯s quite an effect to fill up 20 percent of energy. ¡®It won¡¯t work for me¡­.¡¯ With my maximum energy of 100, if I drink it, only 20 will recover. However, if a person with high ability drank this coffee, it seemed that the amount of restored energy would be quite large. ¡®For example¡­.¡® I glanced across the seat. ¡®This man whom I presumed to be strong.¡¯ ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°¡­.Nothing. Try it.¡± I repeated the same process one more time to make another cup of cafe latte. I decided to make one for Ki Yoohyun and the other for me to taste. It was because I was quite curious about the taste of cafe latte made with milk that I bought on impulse. I sat down at the table and immediately took the cup to my mouth. ¡°¡­Mmh.¡± The exclamation naturally leaked out. ¡®It wasn¡¯t false advertising.¡® It was worth buying this milk using ruby. If I can buy this kind of milk easily, the system seems to be useful. The elastic foam touched my lips first. Then, I felt a subtle sweetness. The rich taste of milk went well with coffee, and brought out the flavor even deeper. I can¡¯t believe that cafe latte is this delicious. I think I can drink even a few cups. ¡°It¡¯s delicious. This ¡­ it¡¯s really tasty.¡± Ki Yoohyun also took a sip of the cafe latte and spoke briefly. There seemed to be no lie in his smirk. At the same time, a golden bar appeared above his head. I watched the golden gauge fill up above Ki Yoohyun¡¯s head with a happy expression. The more he drinks cafe latte, the brighter it gets. The moment the bar kicked it to the end, I¡¯ll get a message that I have made a deep connection with coffee What? However, no matter how long I waited, the message did not appear like it did on Choi Yichan¡¯s case. Why? I frowned and glared at the gauge. ¡®100% ¡­ It¡¯s not.¡¯ At first glance, it seems 100%, but it was different. The gauge had stopped at about 98%. In the past, I thought it was 100% by eye measurement, but in fact, there was a slight gap. Ki Yoohyun closed his eyes and slowly savored the taste of the cafe latte. The expression was comfortable and soft. But¡­. It¡¯s not a lie to say it¡¯s delicious, but¡­. It¡¯s not the 100% satisfactory ¡®Ultimate Coffee¡®. Slowly, my fighting spirit began to rise. I want to see a full golden gauge full like when I gave the coffee to Choi Yichan. If you are not 100% satisfied with this delicious cafe latte, what did you not like?! I asked Ki Yoohyun, who put down the empty cup. ¡°I¡¯m actually working on a new menu. Is there anything lacking in that cafe latte?¡± ¡°No, it tastes great. It¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve ever had such a delicious coffee.¡± Still, the gauge didn¡¯t move a bit at 98%. ¡°Yoohyun-ssi, what¡¯s your favorite drink?¡± ¡°Yes? Well, I drink everything well.¡± ¡°Umh¡­.¡± The word ¡®drink everything well¡® also meant that he has no special preference. It is the opposite of Choi Yichan, who only likes sweet drinks. Rather, it would be easier to find the ¡®Ultimate Coffee¡¯ for someone with a clear preference like Choi Yichan. The limitation of the skill ¡®The Bond of a Cup of Coffee¡¯ is to copy the skill of ¡®The person who drank the Ultimate Coffee¡®. In other words, in order to copy their skill, the person has to drink their favorite coffee. So, in front of this man, whom I presumed to be secretly strong, I wondered what Ki Yoohyun¡¯s skill would be. Maybe he has a very strong skill, so I might be able to copy and use it. No, it¡¯s too early to be discouraged. I¡¯ve only made the first of the five basic cafe menus. The next menu will definitely have a different reaction. It was unacceptable that this cafe latte was only 98% satisfactory. I decided to make the next menu right away. Next was cappuccino. Cappuccino is similar to cafe latte in that the milk is added to the shot of espresso, but the ratio of milk foam was different. ¡®Cafe in My Hand.¡¯ [Recipe: You selected Cappuccino.] First I took out a smaller porcelain cup and then poured in the espresso. After that, I heated the milk again. However, this time, the bubbles were enriched by injecting air longer than before. After scooping up the milk foam with a wide spoon, pouring it over the espresso, and pouring the remaining milk into the cup, it was finally done. A golden circle of coffee appeared on the rim of the cup. Finally, when I sprinkled cinnamon powder, the status window appeared. [Item: Cappuccino (¡ï¡ï¡ï¡î¡î) Status: Good (Time Remaining: 00:30:00) Effect: 20% of maximum stamina is restored.] This time, it was the effect of recovering stamina at a ratio. This effect didn¡¯t help me much either, but the coffee was still delicious. The rich milk foam was light and soft. ¡°How about this one?¡± I looked at Ki Yoohyun with a pounding heart. However, the gauge over his head stopped at exactly 98% this time as well. No matter how long I waited, the gauge didn¡¯t seem to move. ¡°Thank you for the drink ¡­ is there anything wrong?¡± ¡°Umh¡­.¡± I forgot to answer Ki Yoohyun¡¯s question and was lost in thought. Was it a problem that it wasn¡¯t a sweet drink? Everyone likes sweetness. Even if it is bad for the body, the sweet taste is still sold well. Even that cat alone likes Chex Choco the most among many cereals. ¡°Kiyaoong (Why are you looking at me all of a sudden)!¡± After removing Mieum, who was trying to attack me with her front paws, from the scene, I took out the ingredients I bought from the Dimensional Shop from the cupboard. It¡¯s chocolate sauce. [Item: Chocolate Sauce from Hell (¡ï¡ï¡î¡î¡î) A sauce made from the black fruit of the hell dungeon Its bittersweet taste can be used for mocha coffee as well as various desserts. Choose the number one premium brand¡¯s chocolate sauce.] Although the description was somewhat like a sloppy flyer, the smell of the bottle was very thick and sweet. For the third menu, I decided to make Cafe Mocha. Since the chocolate sauce has a sweet taste, I thought that I would be able to get 100% satisfaction this time. First, I put chocolate sauce in a cup and poured the espresso. Stir with a teaspoon to dissolve the sauce well, then pour the steam milk, and it was done. It was time for him to taste again. The image of Ki Yoohyun taking a sip of cafe mocha looked like a slow-motion scene from a movie. Even though he was just picking up a cup of coffee and bringing it to his mouth, it felt like he was filming a commercial. His sparking eyes were filled with expressions. No, it wasn¡¯t the time to stare at his face and lose my mind. The important thing is ¡­ satisfaction. After slowly savoring the cafe mocha, Ki Yoohyun put down his coffee cup. He said something, but I couldn¡¯t hear him. I was all focused on his head. The gage above his head gleamed brightly. When I saw the beautiful light, I felt baseless confidence that it would work out this time. But ¡­ the brilliant light stopped exactly at 98%. 98% again?! CH 36 No matter what I feed him, the reaction is exactly the same, is he a machine? The truth is the man in front of me isn¡¯t the Hunter Ki Yoohyun, but a humanoid robot, isn¡¯t it? If he wasn¡¯t a robot, how could he gave the same satisfaction every time? ¡°¡­.What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Nothing¡­..¡± I can¡¯t help it. Let¡¯s step down today and try again next time. The reason that the same result came out no matter what drink is given may be due to a different cause. Above all, I wanted to taste the cafe mocha that smells sweet. I put my disappointment aside and took my share of cafe mocha. The chocolate sauce, which is said to be made with the fruit of hell, was thick and delicious. Then, suddenly, I thought about the dark etheric item. Ki Yoohyun is also a hunter, so maybe he knows something. The item is still unobtainable. I spoke to Ki Yoohyun, who was drinking cafe mocha, with the feeling of grasping at straws. ¡°Yoohyun-ssi, umh, there is something I want to ask you.¡± ¡°Yes? Please tell me.¡± ¡°Do you know about dark etheric items? I¡¯m looking for a place to get it.¡± Heck. Ki Yoohyun was surprised. Click. He put down the cafe mocha that he hasn¡¯t finished drinking yet. When he raised his head, he had a cold expression on his face, as if he had become a different person in an instant. It reminded me of his appearance when he detonated the concrete bricks earlier. Ki Yoohyun spoke with a ferociousness that seemed to be able to break my head, no, the cafe mocha cup. ¡°Why are you looking for it?¡± ¡°I ¡­ I need it for something.¡± I¡¯d like to explain why I need it and ask for help, but I couldn¡¯t do that because my mouth was blocked by the system. I couldn¡¯t talk about things that happened before the regression, just like the dungeon in Suwon. ¡°Come to think of it, I haven¡¯t asked about your Hunter Class, Rieul-ssi.¡± The sharp eyes stared at me. A little bit pressured by the sudden change of atmosphere, I answered the truth. ¡°Yes? I¡¯m a Cafe Owner.¡± ¡°No, not that.¡± ¡°But I¡¯m a Cafe Owner?¡± ¡°Ha ¡­. I didn¡¯t ask about your job, Rieul-ssi.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why I said I¡¯m a Cafe Owner.¡± ¡°¡­Fine. You don¡¯t seem to want to answer.¡± It was extremely unfair. I only told the 100% pure truth! I looked at Ki Yoohyun with an angry heart. I was determined not to tell anyone about my skills as much as possible. This is because the ¡®Cafe in My Hand¡®, a skill that can give special effects to coffee, was a better skill than I thought. Name: Kwon Rieul Class: Cafe Owner (F) (Lv. 5) Stamina 100/100, Energy 100/100 Strength: 20 (+10), Intelligence: 13, Agility: 11, Luck: 12 ¡ù Strength increases by 10 with the effect of the achievement ¡®Guardian of the World Tree¡¯. I have reached level 5, but my status as an F-class is still at rock bottom. It is said that the sum of strength, intelligence, agility, and luck must be at least 400 to enter the dungeon. The cutline for a slightly usable Hunter is 500. But if I add it all up¡­. ¡®Hm¡­..¡¯ It¡¯s saddening, so let¡¯s not count. A hunter with the ability to make buffs and recovery coffee even though she¡¯s an F-class ¡­ it¡¯s a perfect combination to be exploited. In reality, when I watched the news, there have been several cases of the exploitation of hunters in the production world by binding them to messy contracts. It was not difficult to imagine signing the wrong contract and becoming a coffee-making slave. Such a thing is absolutely dreadful. However, Ki Yoohyun did not appear to be a person to chat around. I want to ask for help if he knows about dark etheric items. No, this is just an excuse. It was unfair to be suspected even though I revealed my Hunter Class. What¡¯s wrong with a Cafe Owner! ¡°So, my Hunter Class is a Cafe Owner!¡± ¡°¡­..What?¡± Ki Yoohyun asked with a blank expression. It was the first time I¡¯ve ever seen this man with such a stupid expression on his face. ¡°I made that coffee with my skills, too. Making coffee is my skill.¡± ¡°Your skill is making coffee?¡± Ki Yoohyun lifted the coffee cup in front of him and examined it. The cafe mocha, which he had only drank a couple of sips, was lightly rippling. I extracted the espresso again in front of him and quickly made a cup of Americano. Ki Yoohyun¡¯s staring gaze was burdensome, but fortunately, my hand moved perfectly with the power of the skill. ¡°Yeah, like this.¡± Tak. I put down the coffee and continued to explain. ¡°This coffee has a special effect. If you drink it, it will give you various buffs and recovery effects.¡± ¡°¡­.¡± ¡°Hey, Yoohyun-ssi?¡± ¡°¡­.¡± Ki Yoohyun still had a blank expression on his face. Then, without saying a word, he lifted the cup and emptied the remaining cafe mocha. The status of the cafe mocha I just checked is like this. [Cafe Mocha (¡ï¡ï¡ï¡î¡î) Status: Good (Remaining Time: 00:30:00) Effect: Increases recovery speed by 200%.] So, even if you drank the cafe mocha, it would be difficult to immediately realize the effect in a place other than a dungeon. However, Ki Yoohyun stared briefly into the air and hardened his face. Judging from the direction of his gaze, he seemed to be checking his status window or the coffee¡¯s description. Then, he slowly let out a low sigh. ¡°No way ¡­ this is nonsense.¡± ¡°It¡¯s real.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve seen a coffee with a healing effect.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because it¡¯s a skill that only me can use.¡± ¡°It¡¯s amazing that such skill exists.¡± Ki Yoohyun looked genuinely shocked. I¡¯m glad he believes me, but ¡­ that much? I thought it was a good skill, but is it that surprising? The following words were also far beyond my expectations. ¡°How can you judge this kind of coffee so cheaply?¡± ¡°¡­what?¡± For reference, the price of Cafe Mocha is 3 rubies. I¡¯ve just decided between 2 rubies and 3 rubies. To be honest, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s that cheap¡­. Ki Yoohyun shook his head. ¡°No, it¡¯s groundbreaking to be able to recover without the risk of potion poisoning. The price is not suitable for its worth.¡± ¡°If you drink too much of this coffee, you¡¯ll get caffeine addiction, too.¡± ¡°¡­.Caffeine addiction?¡± He gave me a look of ¡®what¡¯s wrong with that?¡¯. ¡°Caffeine addiction is harder than you think.¡± You can¡¯t sleep and your head is pounding. It was never an experience I would want to go through twice. ¡°But the same is true. You can double-recover.¡± ¡°Hee¡­.¡± According to Ki Yoohyun, this was the case. If it is possible to recover by drinking coffee, it is twice as efficient as using potion with simple calculations. It was a huge effect when you consider how many items were consumed to increase even a little efficiency when attacking the dungeon. In addition, the efficient recovery potions were expensive. Compared to that, this coffee price is not burdensome at all. Hmm, that¡¯s right. ¡°Meoooooooooooooong (Now you understand, human)!¡± I don¡¯t know why this cat looks so proud. It was a better skill than I thought. ¡°Why are you here?¡± ¡°Yes?¡± It was out of the blue. Can¡¯t I stay here? This is my house as well as my store. ¡°If you promote coffee with a healing effect in a more prosperous place, not in this remote place, you can make a lot of money.¡± ¡°But ¡­ I don¡¯t intend to work so hard.¡± ¡°Ah.¡± Ki Yoohyun let out a short exclamation. The distance between our way of thinking has widened slightly after the reaction of not understanding my words at all. ¡°If I promote the effect of this coffee and set up a store in a busy downtown area, I have to keep working.¡± I have to use my skills to the make coffee, so even if I hire a part-time worker, the coffee making is still my responsibility. An act that goes directly against the goals of this ¡®working less and resting more¡® life. I had no intention of doing such a thing. If a customer who accidentally discovered this cafe is satisfied with the coffee, that¡¯s already enough for me. A store that only people who know, know. There¡¯s something like that. ¡°Waeoong (Isn¡¯t it a store that no one knows right now)¡­.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not the time for cats to cut in.¡± ¡°Waeoong¡­..¡± While touching Mieum¡¯s thick belly for a moment, Ki Yoohyun¡¯s voice was heard. ¡°Certainly. It would be better to hide that skill.¡± A voice without even a slight laughter was enough to stimulate my anxiety. Umh, I will continue to live quietly from now on. Ki Yoohyun asked me, who made such a resolution anew. ¡°But it¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve heard of such a class. How did you awaken?¡± ¡°That¡­.¡± It was very embarrassing to say that I was consistent in answering that I want to take a break in a psychological test. I glossed over in vague terms. ¡°It just happened.¡± ¡°Just ¡­ happened?¡± ¡°Ju-just by accident! The class was decided by the system notification.¡± ¡°Waeooong (You¡¯re so bad at lying)¡­..¡± Mieum¡¯s pitiful gaze was felt from the back of my head. Wait, why am I answering this man like making an excuse? I immediately switched the positions and asked him a question. ¡°Then what is your class, Yoohyun-ssi? How did you awaken?¡± ¡°¡­.¡± ¡°¡­.¡± ¡°Are you looking for dark etheric items because you need them to make this coffee?¡± I think he just changed the subject. Well, there we go. I¡¯ll let it slide. ¡°It¡¯s similar.¡± I was frustrated because I couldn¡¯t say that I needed it to save my friend, but I want him to believe me. ¡°I can¡¯t go into detail, but ¡­ I really need it for something.¡± ¡°¡­.I understand for now.¡± Ki Yoohyun, who had been pondering for a while, sighed and continued talking. ¡°I don¡¯t know where dark etheric items are. It¡¯s been a long time since the last dark-attribute dungeon occurred. However, there are some people who play tricks in the middle.¡± Ah, I know this story. Recalling what I had heard from Jina, I quickly responded. ¡°Are they the Neo-Crown people?¡± ¡°Yeah, they¡¯ve been involved in smuggling for a while now. They¡¯re stupid bastards who¡¯s up to what they¡¯re doing. They will be dealt with soon.¡± The twinkling black eyes gleamed coldly. But it was only for a moment. He softened his expression. ¡°Other than that, some people who have a lot of knowledge about items seem to know. I think she knows about it.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Ki Yoohyun mentioned an item maker Hunter. She used to be a hunter who led a famous item crafting workshop, but now she is in hiding. Since she dealt with various items, he said she must have some information. I got a feeling. If you look at it as a game, [Let¡¯s gather information about dark ether items 3/3 ? Done] seems to have popped up. Being a hidden item maker, she seems to have a lot of information. If you watch a movie, don¡¯t you think that a master, who has always turned their back on the world, always helps the main character? A reclusive master whom one has only heard of. I finally found a clue. ¡°I can introduce you if you want.¡± ¡°Please do me a favor.¡± I nodded in hope. CH 37 What image comes to mind when you hear the word ¡®hiding¡¯? In the mountains with good air and water, living quietly in a deep place where no one visits? Or living a leisurely life in the countryside, teaching children or farming, and turn your back on the glamorous past? Or it¡¯s a free-spirited life that is likely to be cast in ¡®I¡¯m a Natural Person¡®? Maybe it¡¯s a life where you live in a well-managed Hanok and enjoy the atmosphere. ¡°Then where should we go?¡± What if I have to go too far? Mieum and Lime need me to feed them. Should I book a train ticket? It¡¯s better to take KTX even if it¡¯s a little expensive, right? Still, it wasn¡¯t all. The place where Ki Yoohyun called me was completely unexpected. ¡°Ah, Rieul-ssi, you¡¯re here.¡± ¡°¡­.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Wait, I¡¯m fighting my own prejudice.¡± ¡°¡­.?¡± *** The next day, the place where Ki Yu-hyeon called me was in front of Cheonggyecheon, Cheonggye 3-ga. When I went there at the appointed time, Ki Yoohyun was already waiting. The black coat covering the long stretched body looked good on him. The large eyes beyond the thick-rimmed glasses found me and he smiled. Whenever his slightly long black hair swayed gently in the wind, people passing by glanced at him. As expected, he has a very striking appearance. ¡®Why are you wearing those glasses?¡¯ I don¡¯t think his eyesight is bad. In the first place, Hunter¡¯s physical ability improves upon awakening, so there is no one with poor eyesight. Is he using it to cover his face? Eh, that¡¯s not possible. It¡¯s not a worldview where people can¡¯t recognize your face by putting dots under your eyes or wearing glasses, and the glasses did not even cover his bright face in the slightest. Behind Ki Yoohyun, there was a beverage advertisement shot by the 17th ranker, Hunter Oh Seoho, who is famous for his handsome looks, but honestly, he stood out more than the billboard. Is he just wearing the glasses because he likes them? Hmm, yes, let¡¯s respect his taste. ¡°Is she here?¡± I glanced around and parted my lips. Cheonggyecheon Stream ¡­ is too urban for a reclusive master. This street is also close to the store. I only need to take the subway, get off at Euljiro 3-ga Station, and walk a little to arrive. The surrounding area was crowded with shops that were just opening, trucks carrying goods, and office workers who were busy walking. ¡°Please step aside for a moment.¡± ¡°Ah, yes.¡± The man who was unloading a large box from the truck called me. I hurriedly moved sideways to avoid it. It¡¯s complex. The shopping district¡¯s unique hustle and bustle was filling the surroundings. It was very different from the image of hiding that I had vaguely imagined. I thought it would be a nicer place with better air and good water¡­. Ki Yoohyun talked to me, who was reflecting on my own prejudice for a while. ¡°Come here, please.¡± ¡°Oh, let¡¯s go!¡± Ki Yoohyun made his way through the complex Cheonggyecheon shopping district. He walks fast, perhaps because of his long legs. I hurried after him and he waited for me in front of the entrance of a narrow alley. A sign that read ¡®Cheonggye 3-ga Workshop Street¡® was seen right next to it. In the Cheonggyecheon area, there were originally small workshops of hunters of the item-making industry. There were also street vendors that handled rare items, so it was quite crowded until a few years ago. There was even a saying, ¡®If it¡¯s not in the Hunter Market, go to Cheonggyecheon¡¯. By the way¡­. ¡°Are many places closed?¡± Unlike the lively surroundings, ¡®Cheonggye 3-ga Workshop Street¡¯ had a lonely atmosphere. Although it was a weekday morning, there were more closed places than open places, and there was hardly any sign of human¡¯s activities. ¡°As the hunters in the crafting industry gradually moved to large workshops, they declined a lot. It must have been a difficult environment for small workshops to survive.¡± ¡°I see¡­.¡± As I went into that old-fashioned alley for a long time, I saw a certain commercial building. It was difficult to find the entrance because miscellaneous etheric ore and crafted items were laid out in front of it. ¡°Here it is.¡± Ki Yoohyun opened the door that had been hidden in all sorts of things. There was a squeaking noise, noting how long no one had come and gone. ¡®Is it okay to come in?¡¯ I went to get an item and fell into a different world, this scenario is not going to happen, right? ¡°¡­.Gulp.¡± I carefully shoved myself into the door. Compared to the narrow entrance, the inside was unexpectedly wide. There was even a courtyard attached to the renovated old Hanok building. If it wasn¡¯t for this courtyard, it would have been a pretty quiet atmosphere. After a long walk in the long courtyard, we faced a door again. The signboard covered in dust had the words ¡®Kim Deokyi¡¯s Workshop¡¯ written on it. Screech. I opened the creaking glass door and went inside. Soon, a harsh voice was heard from inside the dusty grass. ¡°I must have locked the door, how did you get in?¡± ¡°It was open¡­.¡± ¡°I already said that I don¡¯t sell items anymore. Hurry up and go home.¡± It was a small, skinny old lady who came out from the inside. ¡°¡­.It¡¯s you.¡± Her face was wrinkled, but her posture was straight and her voice was clear. The old lady, who was not easily approachable, frowned when she looked at Ki Yoohyun and tried to kick him out as if she had nothing more to say. I immediately remembered where I had seen this old lady. She¡¯s the old lady from the consignment shop in the Hunter Market at that time! Someone who sold me a set of miscellaneous items and a ring for 50 rubies. ¡°Oh, Grandma! Hello! I bowed my head in delight. The Grandma, who was about to kick us out the door right away, was happy to see me. ¡°You are ¡­ we met at the Hunter Market back then.¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. Ah, please call me Kwon Rieul.¡± ¡°I am Kim Deokyi. Come on in. I know you have come to see me.¡± ¡°¡­. Didn¡¯t you tell me not to cross the threshold here?¡± Ki Yoohyun smiled bitterly. ¡°Even if I say that, you still come as you please.¡± Ki Yoohyun and Grandma knew each other, the world is small. Wait, so this old lady is the reclusive master? Come to think of it, thanks to the ring the Grandma gave me, I was able to roast coffee beans without going into the dungeon. No wonder it was good, it was an item made by a reclusive master. My respect flared up. I immediately held out the ring with a red stone and said, ¡°Grandma, I really enjoy using this ring you gave me before. Thank you!¡± ¡°Really? What did it work for?¡± ¡°Huh? Didn¡¯t Grandma make it?¡± ¡°I made it, but it was luck that I completed it. All I did was pass it on to the right person.¡± I think you¡¯re being overly humble. What do you mean it was luck? A genius needs 99% skill and 1% luck. Anyway, I answered Grandma¡¯s question. ¡°This ring, it produces fire! I¡¯m using it well for roasting coffee.¡± ¡°¡­.¡± ¡°¡­.¡± Silence. The calm conversation was cut off and a cold silence filled the place. The old lady looked at me with a mysterious expression that was hard to describe. She seemed astonished, and she also seemed to be devastated. Next to me, Ki Yoohyun was holding back his laughter. I poked his ribs as a sign of asking why he was laughing, but there was no sign of him stopping laughing. Don¡¯t tell me ¡­ is it not supposed to be used to light fire? However, Grandma soon said with a soft smile. ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re using it well.¡± Huh, that means it¡¯s okay, right? Grandma took us to the room inside the workshop. There were mountains of items piled up inside the workshop, and they all looked amazing. I asked, pointing to one of the strange-looking bottles. ¡°Woah, there¡¯s a lot of interesting things here. What is this?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a potion that temporarily erases your presence.¡± ¡°What about this?¡± ¡°A neutralizer used to control the effectiveness of an item.¡± ¡°That stick over there¡­.¡± ¡°It¡¯s an item with only the last deadline left.¡± ¡°This brush ¡­ woah, grandma. How did you draw on such a small place?¡± ¡°Ehem, that¡¯s about¡­.¡± While looking at the items inside, I chatted with Grandma for a while. There were many strange items in the workshop. As I reacted enthusiastically, I could see the corners of Grandma¡¯s mouth slowly loosened. As expected, there is no one who dislikes compliments. The inside of the workshop, which looked like a mess at first glance, was well organized by its own laws. All of the neutralizers and etheric potions were labeled, and the item crafting tools were shiny as if they had just been cleaned. Without attachment, someone wouldn¡¯t have managed it this carefully. It seems that she still like crafting items, so why is she hiding? After a moment¡¯s hesitation, I asked cautiously. ¡°Are you not making items anymore?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± ¡°May I ask why?¡± ¡°Not for any particular reason. I just did my mission.¡± ¡°Mission¡­..¡± Grandma didn¡¯t say much more, she only smiled and changed the subject. ¡°So, why are you here today?¡± E-eh. I almost forgot my point. As I looked around, I realized that a lot of time had passed. ¡°I¡¯m actually here to ask you a favor. I¡¯m looking for a dark etheric item. I was wondering if you knew how to get it.¡± ¡°That¡­.¡± The surprised old lady soon said with a stiff expression. ¡°Why are you looking for it? Dark ethers can seriously harm people depending on how they are refined. If that¡¯s the case, I can¡¯t tell you.¡± ¡°No, not like that!¡± I hurriedly waved my hand. Ki Yoohyun and everyone else¡¯s reaction was bad, so I guess it¡¯s a really dangerous thing. ¡°You can¡¯t tell me the reason?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like that ¡­ I¡¯m just not sure if you¡¯ll believe me.¡± ¡°Let me listen and judge it for myself.¡± ¡°I need it to save my friend. For my friend ¡­ I need it.¡± In order to avoid the interference of causality, there is not much that can be said, such as the story that a dark-attribute dungeon will appear soon or that Choi Yichan is going to die there. I just said that it was a necessary item to acquire the skill to protect my friend¡¯s body. It must have been an insufficient explanation, but Grandma did not ask any further questions. ¡°It¡¯s a small amount, but I still have an unrefined dark ether. It will be enough to make one small accessory.¡± At last. It was as if a halo was shining behind Grandma. ¡°Thank you! Thank you so much!¡± ¡°But instead of just giving it you, there is something I want Miss Rieul to do for me.¡± ¡°Yes? What is it? Please feel free to ask me anything!¡± ¡°I am looking for something left by someone. Her name is ¡­ Park Heesun.¡± Park Heesun? Uh, this name is¡­. ¡°Is it my grandmother¡­..?¡± Translator¡¯s Corner: Just in case you don¡¯t know what Hanok looks like, it¡¯s a traditional Korean house. CH 38 I was surprised that my grandmother¡¯s name, who died a few years ago, suddenly popped up. Is it the same person? Park Heesun isn¡¯t such a unique name. However, Grandma smiled slightly and confirmed my presumption. ¡°She showed me a picture of her granddaughter only once. You¡¯ve grown up.¡± Grandma lightly tapped my shoulder with a delighted look. She then took a picture out of her arms and showed it to me. Kim Deokyi, who looked a little younger, and my grandmother were in it. The two seemed to be very close. ¡°Did you know each other?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been helped by her before.¡± There was a deep longing in her voice. Her gaze remained on me, but Grandma seemed to be looking at a very far place. ¡°She had already passed away when I asked about her news in order to repay her.¡± ¡°Yes, a few years ago, she was sick¡­.¡± ¡°There must be a hand mirror among Park Heesun¡¯s belongings. It¡¯s something I lent her before. I want to get it back, so I hope you can find it.¡± Grandma briefly explained the shape of the hand mirror. However, I didn¡¯t find such a hand mirror while cleaning up the junk left in the store. I didn¡¯t throw away my grandmother¡¯s stuff. No one else could have touched it. But it was hard to refuse just because I had never seen such a thing. It wasn¡¯t just because the dark etheric item was absolutely necessary. It was because I felt a deep longing from Grandma. For me, longing is always a strong emotion. It seeps out of the cracks in memory and violently scrapes a person¡¯s heart. There comes a moment when that vague yet enormous emotion is exceptionally unbearable. At such a time, I know how powerful memories are. I answered carefully. ¡°I don¡¯t know if there¡¯s a hand mirror left. I¡¯ve never seen my grandmother¡¯s things when she was organizing them, but ¡­ I¡¯ll look for it in the warehouse.¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough. Thank you.¡± Grandma smiled softly. It was a face full of loneliness. *** Kwon Rieul was looking around to see if the items in the workshop were interesting. Ki Yoohyun stood from a distance and looked at her figure. There¡¯s a big change in her facial expression. After hearing Kim Deokyi¡¯s explanation, she nodded her head enthusiastically and looked at the next item. Kim Deokyi also continued to explain as if she found her reaction interesting. It¡¯s not that the suspicious part has completely disappeared. However, she did not appear to have a direct relationship with the Stellar Wisdom Order. That¡¯s a relief. ¡®Because I don¡¯t have to kill her.¡¯ That thought was sincere. At that moment, Kim Deokyi, who came closer, tapped Ki Yoohyun on the shoulder and talked to him. ¡°There¡¯s too much power in your shoulders.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°It must be so powerful. Why don¡¯t you relax a little bit?¡± Ki Yoohyun opened his mouth to Kim Deokyi in a cold voice. His tone was polite, but there¡¯s sharp edges on his words. ¡°What do you know?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know anything.¡± ¡°You¡¯re joking too much. I know you can¡¯t afford to pass that unique item in vain.¡± ¡°¡­.¡± ¡°Why did you give her Cthugha¡¯s Ring? Who the hell is that person?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t seem to know either.¡± ¡°¡­.¡± Instead of answering, Ki Yoohyun looked at Kim Deokyi with a frozen expression. It was an expression that there was no time for puns, but the craftsman in hiding was still relaxed. ¡°Don¡¯t make that face. I just heard a voice one day.¡± ¡°A voice ¡­ you say.¡± ¡°It said that my role is to complete the Cthugha¡¯s Ring and hand it over to the right owner. I followed that voice. I don¡¯t know anything else.¡± ¡°You¡¯re saying that she is the right owner to own the Cthugha¡¯s Ring.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Ki Yoohyun frowned. At the end of the field of his vision, he could see Kwon Rieul, who was still happily sightseeing the workshop. ¡°Then who is that person? What power does she have¡­.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear a voice too?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± Ki Yoohyun distorted his face. He knew what Kim Deokyi was talking about. The atmosphere changed greatly depending on the man¡¯s well-formed facial expression. When he removes the polite smile that he has barely maintained so far, what remains is the cold-hearted figure of the absolutist. The black eyes were as hot as a fire. If Kwon Rieul had seen him right now, she would have been more suspicious of his identity, but she kept her eyes away from Ki Yoohyun. ¡°I think I¡¯ve treated the craftsman master with enough courtesy.¡± It was a warning that if she said the same thing one more time, he wouldn¡¯t put up with it. Even so, Kim Deokyi was standing still. Ki Yoohyun awakened as a Hunter at the age of 13. However, unlike any other Hunter¡¯s awakening, it was neither a coincidence nor a miracle, and there was no celebration or cheer. His awakening was artificially prepared. The Awakening Center. It is known to the public as the predecessor of the Dungeon Management Office, which disappeared due to corruption, but the reality is even more terrifying. First, those who named themselves the ¡®Stellar Wisdom Order¡® occupied the upper floors of the Awakening Center. It was a pseudo-religious group that raved about searching for the truth of the universe. Under the direction of the denomination, the ¡®Center¡¯ gathered young children to artificially create Awakeners. Ki Yoohyun was one of those children. Without even knowing the purpose of the ¡®Center¡®, he thought that they were good people who took care of him who lost his family. And that day, the ¡®Center¡® opened the ¡®Gate¡¯. It was a gate that could summon demons from another world. All the children who met the demon beyond the gate went crazy and eventually died. A lot of time has passed, but Ki Yoohyun still remembers that day vividly. The screams, cries, bloods, pains, ¡­. and the voice. [Completing The Demon Summon. Implements a demon at the specified coordinates.] [¡­¡­Failure. Intervention in reality is limited by Causality.] [Great Demon: ¨€¨€¨€¨€ looks at you from beyond The Ultimate Gate.] ¡¾I¡¯ve been waiting for you, child. ¨€¨€lady.¡¿ A terrifying murmur that he heard directly in his head. He couldn¡¯t reject the voice even if he covered his ears. The one beyond the door was smiling. He doesn¡¯t know how to explain it. An overwhelming fear that transcends human cognitive abilities. The emptiness that just exists. An amorphous chaos that drives humans crazy just by looking at them. At the same time as the creepy sensation, a translucent window appeared in front of him. [Great One: ¨€¨€¨€ ¨€¨€ wants a contract with you.] [We¡¯ve confirmed that you¡¯re eligible.] [The Eligible: The ability is granted according to Ki Yoohyun¡¯s will.] [Class: Awakened as a Righteous Ruler (S).] [Skill: The Power of White Light (S) has been acquired.] ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ [Causality has reached its limit. Any further intervention beyond this may cause a reality collapse.] [Connection is forcibly terminated ¡­ 30 seconds until the connection ends] ¡¾I am asleep at the edge of the Abyss. Find me.¡¿ [Connection has been terminated.] When he woke up, there was a sea of ??blood all around him. All the children who were with him died, and the only survivor was Ki Yoohyun. And he awakened as the first and best S-class Hunter in Korea. ¡°Oh, we finally succeeded! It¡¯s an S-class!¡± ¡°O ¨€¨€¨€¨€, Great Demon, you finally gave us an answer!¡± The Awakening Center cheered that the experiment was finally successful. Like the crazies, they didn¡¯t seem to care about the deaths of other children. It was disgusting. Ki Yoohyun, who was awakened, immediately decided to destroy the Awakening Center. At that time, the only person with him was Hunter Han Yiseong. 15 years old, the end of a long fight. He succeeded in destroying the Awakening Center and driving out the Stellar Wisdom Order. However, the denomination did not give up and moved into the shadows, and they eventually resurrected the Demon. While climbing the dungeon to prevent the Demon¡¯s resurrection, Ki Yoohyun thought about this. He wants to ask the Demon who sits beyond the Ultimate Gate. Why did that happen? Why only he survived? ¡­. why did the ¡®voice¡¯ call him that day? But regardless of his will, time rewinded to the past. Time that repeats again. This time, he is trying to save the world from the Demon. The question of that day remains unanswered. Some people say that the voice they hear when they awakened is the voice of God, and some gave it aa wonderful name like ¡®The voice of The Star¡®. Some even called it ¡®The Holy See¡¯. It is known as a cosmic deity who speaks to very few Awakeneds and grants them special powers. However, its essence is not only good for humans. From that day on, Ki Yoohyun felt that a part of him had worn away. No matter how much he tried to recall, he can¡¯t remember what he was like before his awakening. If he let his guard down even a little bit, he felt like the ¡®voice¡® in him would devour the rest of him. But Kim Deokyi mentioned a voice. Ki Yoohyun frowned with displeasure. ¡°I heard a voice, too.¡± ¡°¡­.!¡± He was startled. Did Kim Deokyi also sign a contract with the Divine God of the universe? ¡°It told me what to do and what my role was.¡± ¡°¡­.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting for that day since the moment I¡¯ve awakened, and it¡¯s only finally come true.¡± Kim Deokyi¡¯s face looked very comfortable while saying that. Ki Yoohyun slowly opened his lips. ¡°I don¡¯t believe in fate.¡± ¡°Hm?¡± ¡°No matter who you hand over your unique item to ¡­ If I determine that she is interfering with my goal, I will remove her.¡± ¡°Hohoho¡­.¡± The retired craftsman, who put everything down, burst into laughter. ¡°As expected, there¡¯s too much power in your shoulders. If you relax a little, you will see something.¡± That¡¯s what the craftsman said. The enemy is still breathing in the shadows. With a bitter smile, Kim Deokyi left. ¡°What are you doing there?¡± ¡°¡­¡­Ah.¡± At some point, Kwon Rieul approached him. Ki Yoohyun looked back with a soft smile as if he had set his blade aside. ¡°Grandma said I could take this. It¡¯s pretty, right?¡± She had a small flower-shaped hairpin in her hand. A white stone embedded in the center of the flower stood out. ¡°That¡¯s¡­.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± He tried to say that it¡¯s a four-star rare item that reduces mental damage, but he stopped himself. It seems that she knows it as an ordinary hairpin, so it would be more comfortable not to know the truth. She¡¯s an ordinary person. At least, on the surface. Although she had awakened, let alone the denomination, she was an ordinary person who didn¡¯t know much about hunters or dungeons. Nevertheless, Ki Yoohyun felt a strange feeling every time he met her. Especially when he drank her coffee. Not only her coffee¡¯s ability to recover, but also a warm feeling that is difficult to define in a word seemed to fill him up. Why does he feel this way ¡­ he still doesn¡¯t know the answer right now. ¡°Give it to me.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± Ki Yoohyun picked up the hairpin from Kwon Rieul¡¯s hand. Then, he ran through her chestnut brown hair with his fingers, and pinned the hairpin. Kwon Rieul stood still, motionless, until he let go of his hand. Looking at her wavy chestnut brown hair and red cheeks, Ki Yoohyun muttered lowly. Before he knew it, a faint smile appeared on his lips. ¡°Lucky.¡± Because I don¡¯t have to doubt you yet. Ki Yoohyun thought so from the bottom of his heart. CH 39 ¡°It¡¯s not here.¡± ¡°Here, too¡­.¡± Returning to the store, I began to search the warehouse for a hand mirror. As I checked the pile of junk for a long time, Ki Yoohyun¡¯s voice suddenly came to mind. ¡°Lucky.¡± ¡°Aaargh!¡± ¡°What¡¯s the matter! Kyaooooo!¡± ¡°Kyuuuu!¡± ¡°How many times already!¡± Next to me, Mieum and Lime criticized me. But the more they did that, the clearer my memory became. Long eyelashes that created shadows in his face, gently curved lips, white cheeks, and a pair of lively clear eyes. Ki Yoohyun¡¯s face from up close was so destructive. I thought I got a little used to that face because I saw it often, but apparently I wasn¡¯t. His fingers tickled against my hair¡­. The time it took to put the hairpin on must have been brief, but it felt like a long time. In the meantime, I couldn¡¯t move my body because I was nervous. As soon as the finger fell off, a faint smile crossed his lips. And a voice that gently touched my ear, ¡°Lucky.¡± ¡°Aaaargh!¡± ¡°Waeooong! This human, are you going to surprise me again and again?¡± As I screamed again, Mieum threw her front paw and punched me. But ¡­ the more I tried to forget, the more the strange word kept floating around in my mind. It seems that the stimulation was too great for me, who did not have the good-looking-immunity. Anyone who hears that kind of voice right in front of their eyes won¡¯t be able to snap out of it. Besides, what¡¯s lucky? Don¡¯t omit the subject and object! No, let¡¯s calm down. Perhaps it was a meaningless word. After all, he¡¯s a bit of a weird person. I struggled to get rid of my thoughts and concentrated on finding the requested item. The warehouse was very spacious and complex. I cleaned it once last time, but it was impossible to completely organize all these things. It was filled with items from the store that are no longer in use, various miscellaneous items, and my grandmother¡¯s belongings. This was also the place where I found many things I needed, such as the coffee mix and vinyl sheets. Newspapers and magazines from 10 years ago were also piled up in boxes. Hmm, there¡¯s news of a famous hunter¡¯s wedding. I used to play this cafe tycoon game ¡­ it came out at this time. Hekh, I almost inadvertently read the magazine. For some reason, If I find a book while cleaning, I always ended up reading it. I put down the magazine and focused on searching again, but I couldn¡¯t even see any hand mirror. ¡°Cough, cough.¡± Furthermore, there was a lot of dust, so I kept coughing. ¡°Kyaoooo! How long do I have to do this!¡± ¡°Kyuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!¡± Mieum and Lime, who were searching the inside together, protested. ¡°Until you find it.¡± ¡°This is ridiculous! Waeoong!¡± ¡°Kyuu!¡± I ignored their protest and pointed to a box in the corner. ¡°There. Take a look inside that box.¡± ¡°There is no mirror. Meong¡­..¡± Then, Mieum tried to sneak out of the warehouse. ¡°Where are you going!¡± ¡°Kiyaooo?!¡± I grabbed Mieum¡¯s tail. I couldn¡¯t see Lime because it had already escaped. Lime, even you¡­. I continued to search the warehouse with Mieum, who kept trying to escape, but I couldn¡¯t find a hand mirror. Meium, who had turned into a ball of gray fur because of the dust, grumbled. ¡°Those who want to get back things that are years old have no conscience. Just say that the statute of limitations has expired!¡± ¡°Umh, but¡­.¡± Kim Deokyi said that she would give up if I couldn¡¯t find my grandmother¡¯s hand mirror, but I was concerned about Grandma¡¯s expression. She had a very sad and lonely expression, like she¡¯s longing for something. It seems to be a very important item, so I really wanted to find and return it. But¡­. ¡°Huk, huu ¡­ cough, cough!¡± No matter how hard I try to find¡­. ¡°That slime runs away alone ¡­ waeoong!¡± The result was zero. I only saw a mountain of junk. I wonder if it¡¯s not here. When I was exhausted and about to sink to the floor, Lime, who had run away alone, returned and bounced in front of me. ¡°Kyuuu!¡± ¡°Oh, what?¡± ¡°Kyu, kyuuu!¡± ¡°Wow, did you find the hand mirror?¡± ¡°Kyuuu¡­..¡± I have no idea what you mean. Lime headed out of the warehouse, bouncing up and down as if urging me follow it. There¡¯s no clue left anyway. I quickly followed after Lime. ¡°Oh, is it here?¡± ¡°Kyu!¡± The place where Lime took me was the entrance to the space. Hey, there¡¯s no way it¡¯s here. My grandmother was not an Awakened. Has my grandmother ever been in here? However, there was no hand mirror in the warehouse or in the other room. The only place left is this space. I thought I should check it out rather than leave a feeling of frustration. I entered the space. The blue sky, the dazzling sunlight, and the large Yggdrasil tree greeted me. There was a well-grown dungeon sugarcanes on one side and a field of dried coffee fruits on the other. I looked around, but I couldn¡¯t see anything like a hand mirror. As expected, it¡¯s not her either. As I was about to hide my discouragement and go out, Lime called me again. ¡°Kkyu, kkyuu, kkyuuu!¡± ¡°Uh, why? What?¡± Lime bounced its body, pointing to one corner of this space. The place Lime pointed to was the slope where I rolled last time. At that time, as I fell off that slope, I got the skill ¡®A Bond of a Cup of Coffee¡®. ¡°Are you talking about that place?¡± ¡°Kkyuuu!¡± It was unlikely that the hand mirror was hidden in the empty ground beneath the slope. Still, as Lime was bouncing its body with a lot of effort, I decided to check the bottom. I took my steps carefully and went down the slope. Immediately, the animals followed me. ¡°Slow, human! You¡¯re the reason why I¡¯m walking this slowly!¡± ¡°Woah, Mieum is good at coming down slopes. She¡¯s amazing.¡± ¡°Ahem!¡± ¡°Then you¡¯d be good at climbing up the slope, wouldn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Of course, meow!¡± Thud. Mieum, who ran up the slope again to the end, came to her senses. ¡°Kiyaoo! Are you teasing me!¡± Ah, I got caught. The bottom of the cliff was empty land, just like the last time when I fell. The ground was covered with grass, and random piles of stones piled up in front of us. ¡°¡­..Huh?¡± Then I noticed something and was startled. I didn¡¯t notice it before, but there was a small path in the crevice of the pile of stones. It was a difficult location to find unless you look closely because it was blocked by a stone. What¡¯s there? I quickly approached the crevice in the pile of stones. Inside, there was a bigger space than I expected. There was also a small cabin in a place covered with bushes and not easily visible. A cabin in a place like this? Is it a reward from the system? However, even after waiting for a while, the system remained silent. Fortunately, the door was not locked. I noticed as soon as I opened the door of the cabin. This is where my grandmother used to be. Compared to the old exterior, the inside of the cabin had a cozy atmosphere. There were thick carpets on the floor, curtains on the windows, and even a small table in front of it. It was all my grandmother¡¯s taste. It was clear that my grandmother had decorated this place. Still, how did a cabin like this exist in this space? Could it be that my grandmother was an Awakened? But there was no more time to think about it. ¡°Human, look at this!¡± ¡°Huh? ¡­¡­Ah.¡± Because on the table in the cabin, there was a small hand mirror. From the round shape to the flower-shaped decoration, it looked exactly the same as the mirror that was described by Kim Deokyi. ¡°This is it!¡± I quickly picked up the hand mirror and tried to lift it up. Now¡­. Crack. The moment I touched it, the hand mirror cracked. ¡°Oh, no!¡± I hurriedly let go, but it was already too late. The hand mirror was completely shattered then. ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°¡­..¡± It seemed like a very precious thing, but it broke¡­. Lime and Mieum approached me, who was in despair. ¡°Kkyuu¡­.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not your fault.¡± Somehow the cat comforted me. ¡°Looks like this item is modeled after The Mirror of Nitocris. It is a tool that reflects the existence of the other world.¡± What, and it wasn¡¯t an ordinary hand mirror? ¡°It was broken because it¡¯s out of effect. Even if you left it as is, it would have broken anyway, meoong!¡± ¡°But¡­.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a mirror, can¡¯t you just put it back together!¡± Yes, even if it¡¯s broken, it¡¯d be better to return it. If you put the pieces together well, you might be able to put them back together. I gathered up the mirror pieces and came out of the space. I was going to return this hand mirror to Grandma right away. I hope she is happy. *** It took quite a while to search through the warehouse. When I found the hand mirror, it was almost evening. Since it was late, I thought about going to the workshop tomorrow for a while, but I changed my mind. It would be better to deliver it as soon as possible. ¡°Then, I¡¯ll go. Take care of the house.¡± After giving Mieum and Lime plenty of dinner, I headed to Grandma Kim Deokyi¡¯s workshop. When I came with Ki Yoohyun, it was easy to find, but the road was complicated to find alone. I wanted to ask Ki Yoohyun to accompany me, but I gave up on the idea. I¡¯m the only one who has business with Grandma, so I felt bad to ask him to come with me every time. ¡°Lucky.¡± ¡°Aaargh!¡± I stopped to scream a little. It was fortunate that no one was around. His burdensome handsome face and strange atmosphere have not yet left my mind. It seems that it still takes more time for the good-looking-immunity to develop. Instead, since I found the hand mirror for Grandma, I just left a KakaoTalk message informing him of my visit. ¡°Um, this is probably the right way¡­.¡± The ¡®Cheonggye 3-ga Workshop Street¡¯, covered with a red sunset, had a more gloomy atmosphere than during the day. Even the noise of work hours does not come into this alley. The faded signboards and tightly closed shutters looked like the beginning of a horror movie. Ugh, I¡¯m not good at horror movies.¡­. At this rate, an unwanted development would suddenly appear. ¡°Ah, there it is.¡± After wandering for a while, I finally found the signboard of Grandma¡¯s workshop. However, the atmosphere was a little different from when I came before. The arrangement of the junk placed in front of the entrance has been changed. It looked like someone had ripped it apart. In addition, the floor was damp. Did it rain? But the weather was sunny today. There was a strange smell came from somewhere. ¡®Can I go in?¡¯ As soon as I pushed the door open, someone jumped out from inside. ¡®Are you a guest?¡¯ Bugh! He looked at me and paused for a moment, then shoved me hard on the shoulder. ¡°Ouch ¡­ Excuse me!¡± I called him angrily, but he had already run away. There are really all sorts of weird people. I sighed inwardly and entered the workshop. Then, a sound came from inside. I quickly turned towards the sound. ¡°Grandma, I¡¯m here. Are you there? I shouted loudly, but there was no answer. The lights were brightly lit in the workshop. As if Grandma had just been here, there was a teacup left over from drinking on the table. It¡¯s still warm when I touch it. However, Grandma was still nowhere to be seen. ¡®Where are you?¡¯ As I headed towards the back room, I heard a low groan. ¡°Ugh¡­.¡± There was an old lady lying on the floor. ¡°¡­¡­Grandma!¡± I ran quickly and got Grandma up. ¡°Are you okay?¡± It must be difficult for her to speak. As I hurriedly examined her condition, something damp touched my hand. ¡­.. Blood. CH 40 She also had torn cuts and bruises on her head. My heart was pounding. It¡¯s not just a fall or an accidental wound. Someone attacked Grandma. The moment I saw the wounds, I intuitively noticed it. ¡®Don¡¯t tell me, that guy before¡­.¡¯ Drip, drip, drip. The blood soaked the floor. First, I had to take Grandma to the hospital. I didn¡¯t have much time. ¡°Grandma, I¡¯m calling an ambulance now¡­.¡± ¡°Hurry ¡­ run away¡­.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± Grandma licked her dry lips. I couldn¡¯t hear her well because her voice was so thin and she¡¯s trembling. ¡°Please don¡¯t speak more. The wound could open. Hold on to me!¡± After raising Grandma up, I was about to go outside, but all of sudden, an acrid smell spread. ¡°¡­.Uh?¡± Tap. A lit paper flew in from the outside. Unbeknownst to me, gasoline was sprinkled on the floor. The embers quickly grew, and the fire burned objects in the workshop, blocking the exit in an instant. Someone set the fire. My heart was pounding even harder. In an instant, The fire blazed high so quickly and smoke began to come inside. If we didn¡¯t get out quickly, we could suffocate like this. ¡°¡­¡­Ugh!¡± I tried to get close to put out the fire, but I had no choice but to retreat from the scorching heat. This time, I took water from a bucket and poured it on the fire. It seemed to die down for a moment, but then it started to burn more intensely. What should I do? There is no time to spare. I thought it would be better for me to take the water on my back and carry Grandma out. ¡°Grandma, wait a minute!¡± I took the tap water from the bucket again and poured it over my head. Even the cold sensation is soon wiped out by the heat. ¡°¡­.¡± The fire grew stronger. It was the moment when I felt my head dizzy from the heat and the acrid smell¡­.. The texture of the air seemed to have descended heavily. I¡¯m definitely standing in the same place, but it feels like a completely different space from before. Then, a wide net of light spread over my head. I¡¯ve seen this kind of net somewhere. Where was it¡­. Right, it was when I went to the tutorial dungeon with Ki Yoohyun. The scene that followed was incredibly mysterious. It was unbelievable even though I witnessed it with naked eyes. Fine particles of light from the air formed a net and landed on the flames, and the fire disappeared in an instant. It could only be described as completely gone. The red flames, the acrid smoke, and the heat that heated my cheeks. After the net was lifted, they ceased to exist as if they had not been there from the beginning. Only the remaining soot reminded me of the existence of the fire. [Achievement: Avoiding the Second Death Crisis Congratulations. You safely escaped the danger of death. Let¡¯s value life. Reward: Random Skill Point 1] Almost at the same time as the annoying system notification pops up. ¡°Rieul-ssi!¡± It was Ki Yoohyun who ran into the blackened and collapsed entrance. He slumped down after his black eyes found me, gave off a light of relief. I¡¯m alive now. The moment I saw him, I was so happy that I felt like crying. ¡°What happened? Are you okay?¡± The fire was extinguished, but Grandma was still unconscious. I held back my tears and spoke. ¡°Yoohyun-ssi, Grandma¡­..¡± *** He failed. He failed again. Jijon forced his trembling legs to move. He could see a workshop engulfed in flames from a distance. His fear grew bigger, and now his whole body began to tremble like an aspen. It seemed as if the flames behind his back were chasing him. Jijon, who ran to a place where the fire was hidden by the darkness, collapsed. He recited as he touched the ground with his weak hands. ¡°It¡¯s not me¡­.¡± He didn¡¯t do it. He didn¡¯t kill the old lady. But who will believe him? The old lady is already¡­. ¡°Ri-right! Report ¡­ report¡­.¡± Jijon tried to take his phone out of his pocket. However, his fingertips trembled and did not move properly. ¡°I didn¡¯t do it¡­.¡± No one hears the low murmur. In return for letting him join C&L Corporation, CEO Lee Sein put forward one condition. It was to get a ring with a red stone from a certain Hunter. She said it would be okay to spend any amount of money. Not only that, she even said that illegal means can be used if necessary. At first, Jijon thought it was an easy job. The Hunter World is a world of the law of the jungle. Even if Jijon forcibly takes the ring away from the opponent, the weaker side is at fault. However, when he found out that the opponent was an old lady, he was greatly perplexed. She was a small, skinny grandmother who would collapse at the stroke of his fist. He was a supreme man who would do anything to succeed as a hunter, but he wasn¡¯t vicious enough to threaten an old lady with force. ¡°I know who sent you.¡± The old lady was not surprised to see Jijon holding a sword. Rather, she served hot barley tea and said in a calm voice. ¡°The ring you¡¯re looking for has already been delivered to the right owner.¡± ¡°Ugh ¡­ the right owner is none of my business! Give me the ring!¡± ¡°That is impossible. Instead, I¡¯ll give you one of the items here, so can you step down?¡± ¡°Who do you think came to get these junk items?¡± ¡°All of them are made by me, Kim Deokyi.¡± ¡°Hmmm, hmm! Then show me ¡­ well, if it¡¯s a decent item, I can accept it!¡± He couldn¡¯t scare the old lady, so he tried to step down after getting a suitable item. Whoosh! Then, suddenly, a mysterious man appeared from behind and swung a knife. An unpleasant sound was heard. The knife stabbed the old lady¡¯s stomach in an instant, and the assailant ran away immediately. Jijon was startled, unable to breathe. ¡°Grandma, are you okay? Wa-wait, hold on a second. I ¡­ damn, you bastard!¡± Thinking that he had to catch the criminal, Jijon hurriedly ran out the door. The assailant had already disappeared, but as a C-class Hunter, he should be able to catch up. Such a vicious bastard could not be forgiven. However, as he left the main gate of the workshop and chased after the mysterious assailant, the fire that flew from somewhere lit up. ¡°O-oh, no¡­..¡± The fire spread quickly and blocked the entrance to the workshop. The moment he saw that sight, he was filled with fear. The assailant had already disappeared, and he was the only one left. At this rate, he will be accused of being the culprit. It can¡¯t happen. This time he succeeded in trying to become a successful hunter. He cannot be framed for murder. Jijon was driven by fear and fled from the workshop. Still, in the end, his conscience caught his feet. Every time he thought of the old lady¡¯s palce face, his steps became heavy, and he eventually collapsed on the ground. Jijon gasped for his breath and murmured. He¡¯s the supreme. In order to become the supreme leader of the Hunter World, he gave up his common real name and took this name. However, it is impossible to run away just because he¡¯s afraid of being framed. He could barely hold the phone in his hand. Jijon struggled to suppress his shaking and entered the number on the screen. The sweat drips down like rain, and his fingers slide. ¡°Ugh, 1, 1, 9¡­.¡± It was just then. Pukh! ¡°Aaargh!¡± A person on the other side of the alley stepped on Jijon¡¯s hand, who was holding the phone, with his foot. He was so strong, even with the power status of a C-class Hunter, Jijon couldn¡¯t shake his hand. Krak! The phone screen shattered on the heel. His face, terrified and in pain, was reflected on the black screen. The bones of his right hand appear to have been broken. Jijon carefully raised his head, wrapping his right hand that had been trampled on the heel of his shoe. In front of him, an unexpected figure was looking down at him. ¡°You¡¯re¡­.¡± It was the secretary who guided him when he met Lee Sein, the CEO of C&L Corporation. A very beautiful secretary, but with an atmosphere of ambiguous age and gender. His name is Aeon. Wait, did he have a face like this? Was he this creepy? Jijon met the secretary¡¯s eyes and was frightened. The eyes with a strange light seemed not to be human eyes. It was strange, as if it had been embedded with bluish imitation jewels. Before he knew it, goosebumps appeared on the back of his neck. Then, the secretary smiled slightly and moved his lips. The tone was soft, but the cold, subdued voice felt intimidating. ¡°It¡¯s disappointing.¡± ¡°Y-Yes¡­.?¡± ¡°The CEO will be very disappointed, too. We can¡¯t believe you can¡¯t do such a simple thing right. How would the CEO, who believed in Hunter Jijon, feel about this failure?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell me ¡­ no way, you ki-killed the old la-lady.¡± The hardened tongue did not move straight. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Even if Hunter Jijon didn¡¯t do his job properly, I handled it well. I¡¯m glad the weather is sunny. The news said that even a small fire can easily become a big fire because it is dry.¡± ¡°But the old lady ¡­. such an old lady, how can you?¡± ¡°We explained everything to you. The current No. 1 ranker will betray humanity, and we need that ring to stop him.¡± The secretary bent his knees and sat on the ground. Jijon was startled and tried to step back, but it was quicker for the secretary to step on his hand. ¡°Argh! Argh!¡± The back of his hand, crushed by the heel of his shoe, hurt. Irrespective of Jijon¡¯s screams, the secretary slowly took out his phone and held it out. Jijon didn¡¯t know what it meant, so he blinked blankly, and the secretary smiled. It was a creepy smile. ¡°If Hunter Jijon feels remorse, it¡¯s okay to report it. Yes, because you can¡¯t do anything bad to an old lady.¡± ¡­ Gulp. ¡°But do you know this? The knife that stabbed the old woman at the crime scene would be found.¡± ¡°That, what¡­.¡± ¡°Not long ago, the CEO gifted a weapon to Hunter Jijon. Where¡¯s the knife that Hunter Jijon used to use now?¡± Jijon, who understood the secretary¡¯s words, turned pale. The knife he originally used was disposed of by the Hunter Market, so he entrusted it to this secretary in front of him. His name was written on it. He clearly saw a strange man who suddenly appeared attacking the old lady. But what if that person was ordered by C&L? What if he used his old weapon as the crime weapon? Even if he reports it, it means that he is the one who will be accused of being the culprit. ¡°Ugh, if I say that I was ordered by C&L, it¡¯ll blow it up.¡­.¡± ¡°Do you have any evidence?¡± ¡°Evidence ¡­ there are plenty of them!¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t even sign a contract with us.¡± ¡°What, what¡­¡­?¡± The secretary continued as if reading a book. ¡°Hunter Jijon is a person who has nothing to do with our company. However, it is regrettable that we, as a leader in the Hunter industry, did not realize that such a vicious hunter exists. We will do our best to be more careful in recruiting talent for the development of the Hunter industry in the future.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°¡­..If we do it, it will be over.¡± The secretary said abruptly, putting him on the last wedge. ¡°The Hunter Jijon¡¯s family are all ordinary people.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°You must be very worried. Rifts, monsters, and every other things. It¡¯s a dangerous world. We don¡¯t know where or what¡¯s going to happen.¡± ¡°¡­.Hik.¡± Tuk. Eventually, Jijon dropped his phone from his hand. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. The CEO still believes in Hunter Jijon. You¡¯ll do well next time.¡± Coldly, the secretary laughed. CH 41 ¡°Grandma, are you awake?¡± ¡°Uh.¡­.¡± It was at dawn when Grandma, Kim Deokyi, opened her eyes. It was fortunate that Ki Yoohyun had a potion and we were able to treat the wound in the abdomen immediately. After that, she was admitted to the hospital where the rest of the wounds were treated. The doctor said it would have been dangerous if it was a little late because she was old and the cut was not good. ¡°Sir, why can¡¯t Grandma wake up? Don¡¯t tell me ¡­ are there any other abnormalities?¡± Even though all the trauma was treated, Grandma was still unconscious. The explanation given by the tired doctor as he rummaged through the charts was not very reassuring. ¡°Because she¡¯s old ¡­ she had a lot of shocks on her body. I think we have to wait a little longer.¡± ¡°Yes¡­.¡± Before moving to the hospital, we immediately reported the incident to the police, but neither the assailant who stabbed Grandma nor the arsonist could be caught. I remembered the man I ran into at the entrance to the workshop. I remembered the strangely hurried footsteps of a man who wore his hat tightly. It was clear that he was the culprit. ¡®I think I¡¯ve seen that person somewhere¡­.¡¯ His face was covered by the hat, but his body shape and jawline were somehow familiar. It would have been helpful if I looked more closely. I felt sorry for it was regrettable. There was nothing I could do now. Still, didn¡¯t want to go back, leaving Grandma alone, so I decided to stay at the hospital. Ki Yoohyun also remained in the hospital room. Oh, come to think of it, I couldn¡¯t even say thank you due to the hecticness.. If he hadn¡¯t come on time, I would have been really in danger. ¡°Yoohyun-ssi, you saved my life. Thank you.¡± ¡°Rieul-ssi.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± He, who was standing next to me, came closer to me. Without realizing it, I took a step back. One more step forward. I took another step back, too. Ki Yoohyun asked as I continued to step back with a gap of two steps. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°That ¡­ it¡¯s just¡­.¡± I know it looks weird, but I couldn¡¯t bear to see his face up close. This is because I have not yet developed immunity to that sparkling face. Especially when he ran into the entrance of the burning workshop, he almost looked like a savior. Ugh, it¡¯s blinding. ¡°So ¡­ anyway, just go ahead.¡± ¡°¡­..Ha.¡± Ki Yoohyun gave up on approaching me and pointed to my hand instead. ¡°I hope you get treatment.¡± ¡°¡­¡­Ah.¡± I looked into my palm. I was injured while trying to escape with Grandma. It¡¯s a little bit hurt, but not severe. ¡°This is okay, I can apply medicine later.¡± Ki Yoohyun frowned slightly as if he didn¡¯t like my answer. ¡°¡­¡­I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°Yes? What?¡± No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn¡¯t think of anything for him to apologize to me. However, Ki Yoohyun looked very distressed. ¡°I was complacent. I shouldn¡¯t have let Rieul-ssi go alone ¡­ I was careless because I thought there was still time left. The future can change as much as it wants.¡± I¡¯m not sure what he¡¯s talking about¡­. He said he¡¯s sorry for putting me in danger alone ¡­ but how can Ki Yoohyun predict that an arsonist would appear in Grandma Kim Deokyi¡¯s workshop today? Yeah, even as a regressor, I didn¡¯t know that. Ki Yoohyun, who was looking at me with an apologetic expression, took a bottle from his inventory and sprinkled what was inside on my hand. ¡°Uwah, it¡¯s cold ¡­. Oh?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be surprised. It¡¯s a potion.¡± As soon as the transparent liquid was sprayed on the palm, the wound began to heal. The palm of the hand quickly returned to a state without a scratch. Not only that, but somehow I felt energized and relieved from fatigue. At that moment, a notification sounded. [The status has been restored to the maximum by the effect of the Advanced Potion (¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡î).] Just by looking at the name, it looked too expensive to be used for scratches on the palm. ¡°¡­.Thank you.¡± After thanking him awkwardly, there was silence again. The police came for a while, but they returned after saying that the case would be transferred to to the Dungeon Management Ofice. It¡¯s because the culprit who stabbed Grandma is most likely a Hunter. Trying to kill such a good person¡­. They have to be caught and thrown in jail. I swallowed my anger inwardly. Ki Yoohyun must have felt the same way as me. ¡°The culprit ¡­ will be caught, right? ¡°They¡¯ll be caught.¡± Given that he answered the question with a sense of urgency. Then, I suddenly remembered Ki Yoohyun¡¯s skill. If it wasn¡¯t for Ki Yoohyun¡¯s skill, it would have been a very dangerous moment. This is because the fire spread too quickly in the barrel where the arsonist sprayed gasoline. However, the skill was really mysterious. As soon as the delicate particles of light became dense nets and covered the surroundings, the texture of the air changed. Is it a magic skill? No, it¡¯s a little more¡­. ¡°Yoohyun-ssi, the skill you used earlier¡­..¡± The moment I was about to ask what the skill is¡­. The nurse called us to inform that Grandma woke up. I forgot what I was going to say and rushed to Grandma. ¡°Grandma, how are you?¡± Grandma, who only blinked for a while, opened her lips. A faint trembling voice came out. ¡°¡­.What happened?¡± ¡°I went to the workshop today and you collapsed, so I took you to the hospital.¡± ¡°The workshop ¡­ Ah!¡± Grandma jumped to her feet. It was such a strong force that it was hard to believe that she¡¯s an injured person. In her eyes, a fiery spark flashed. She seems to have remembered what had happened. ¡°Lie down more. You still need to rest.¡± ¡°What happened to the workshop?¡± ¡°It¡¯s ¡­. there was a fire, but it is now extinguished ¡­ Grandma?!¡± Before I could finish speaking, Grandma got up from the bed and left the hospital room. There was no time to stop her because she was so fast. ¡°Wait, Grandma, let¡¯s go together!¡± Ki Yoohyun and I chased after her in a hurry. *** The eastern sky is bright in the twilight. Arriving at the entrance of the workshop, Grandma collapsed. ¡°Ah, unbelievable¡­.!¡± The workshop building was a mess. Numerous items were broken or burned. The black soot showed how terrible the fire that hit this place was. Ki Yoohyun approached the grieving old lady quietly. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I put out the fire, but I couldn¡¯t save the workshop.¡± ¡°¡­.No, that¡¯s enough. I wouldn¡¯t have survived without you.¡± ¡°Is there anyone you think is the culprit?¡± ¡°The culprit ¡­ well, he¡¯s ¡­ oh, no way!¡± Grandma, who jumped up again, headed inside the burned workshop. She opened the soot-blackened door and entered the small room next to it. There was no sign of fire, but the inside was a mess. The shelf collapsed and items were spilling onto the floor. Grandma picked up one of the broken glass bottles and let out a sigh. ¡°Oh my god¡­.¡± The broken glass bottle was empty. ¡°Grandma, what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°This is a bottle of dark ether that I kept.¡± ¡°What?¡± The same was true of other glass bottles. I looked at the floor, but nothing was intact. ¡°Now there is no dark ether left. To get a new one ¡­ I don¡¯t know how long it will take ¡­ I¡¯m sorry.¡± It was a heavy voice. ¡°¡­¡­¡± On the day of the first snow, a dungeon that killed Choi Yichan will occur. Even if I tried to save the dark ether from now on, there was a high possibility that I would not be able to make it in time. Then again, just like in the past¡­. My eyes darkened. As I stepped on the floor with a sigh, I suddenly remembered the hand mirror I found in the space. Come to think of it, I haven¡¯t been able to return it yet. It¡¯s a pity it¡¯s broken, but wouldn¡¯t she feel a bit better if she received this? I rummaged through my inventory, pulled out a hand mirror, and held it out to Grandma. ¡°I found the mirror that Grandma described. I¡¯m sorry. It¡¯s broken, but please take this.¡± ¡°¡­¡­broken?¡± ¡°Yes, I touched it and it cracked.¡± ¡°¡­¡­!¡± Grandma took the hand mirror with a surprised expression. She then looked carefully at the broken marks. ¡°This mirror is an artifact modeled after The Mirror of Nitocris. Unless its effectiveness is exhausted, it is something that cannot be broken by human power.¡± ¡°¡­..Huh?¡± It just broke¡­..? It cracked the moment I touched it, really lightly. Maybe I have a hidden power too? Am I the one who is secretly strong? I was drowning in vain thoughts. ¡°Wait, since it¡¯s broken¡­.!¡± At that moment, Grandma, who remembered something, turned the broken piece of the mirror upside down. Slurp. An amorphous black lump came out from the back of the mirror. What on earth is this? The lump was the size of a little fingernail, and the texture was like a sticky liquid or a gas. When she put it in the bottle, it gave off a strange blinking light. As I stared with curious mind, Grandma said. ¡°This is dark ether.¡± It¡¯s the dark ether. It was my first time seeing it in person, so I couldn¡¯t realize it well. ¡°I¡¯d rather be glad it was broken. It took a small amount of dark ether to process this mirror. It¡¯s a small amount, but if I reprocess this, I think I can make one item.¡± ¡°Yes? However ¡­ this is the mirror Grandma was looking for.¡± ¡°It¡¯s all right. After all, it¡¯s something that has been used. It would be more meaningful to help Miss Rieul.¡± Having said that, Grandma got up. She started looking for tools to craft items in the messy workshop. Unlike before, Grandma¡¯s face was full of vitality. ¡°Wait a minute.¡± I told her to go back to the hospital, but she didn¡¯t listen at all. Reluctantly, I left Grandma, who engrossed in her work, and came out into the workshop¡¯s front yard. It¡¯s been about an hour. ¡°Take this.¡± Grandma came out of the door and handed me something. It was a pendant made by reprocessing the broken hand mirror. At the end of the thin chain was a small water drop-shaped stone. A strange light seemed to twinkle within the black stone. Immediately, the status window of the item appeared. [Black Pendant (¡ï¡ï¡î¡î¡î) A common design, but used as a token of friendship. Type: Accessories There was no special effect, but it was clearly written as ¡®dark¡®. ¡°¡­..Thank you!¡± I finally found it. With this¡­.. ¡°You said you needed it to save a friend.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Grandma said with a soft smile. ¡°I hope I can be of help.¡± Her smile, as if reminiscent of someone who was not here, seemed somewhat affectionate. *** The day after I got the pendant. ¡°Haa¡­.¡± ¡°Rieul-ah, how about putting it on like this?¡± ¡°Is it horizontal? Umh, I think it¡¯s a little crooked ¡­ If I do this, this side is tilted. I will try again.¡± Choi Yichan was looking at the store sign on the wall. It was a weight that was difficult for me to lift with both hands, but Choi Yichan held it lightly with one hand. He looked around and positioned it carefully. ¡°Is this okay? ¡­ Uh, what¡¯s with your expression?¡± ¡°Huh? Oh, no. Nothing.¡± Choi Yichan looked at me worriedly. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°No ¡­ Yichan-ah, do you think about the sign? Does it look okay?¡± ¡°Eh? Yes! It¡¯s very cool and sophisticated.¡± ¡°¡­.really?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know much about this, but ¡­. it¡¯s so pretty!¡± There is no lie on his beaming face. Choi Yichan¡¯s positive response was a bit tempting. ¡°It¡¯s a picture of a worm, right? It¡¯s unique.¡± ¡°¡­.¡± ¡°Uh, wrong? Then ¡­ is it a snake?¡± ¡°¡­.¡± ¡°Mieum, can¡¯t you change this sign?¡± Mieum answered my whisper in a conceited tone. ¡°Kiyaooong (That¡¯s why you should have put my name on it)!¡± ¡°Mieum knows all the difficult words.¡± ¡°Waeoong (Ahem)!¡± ¡°Ha¡­..¡± On this sunny day, the reason I sighed when I saw a signboard that isn¡¯t clear whether it was an earthworm or a snake, goes back to yesterday. CH 42 Yesterday, after handing me the pendant, Grandma went back to the hospital. Ki Yoohyun also said he need to go because he has something to do. ¡°Do you have something to do? Now?¡± ¡°Yes, I have an urgent business to take care of.¡± The eyes that said that were sharp, without even the slightest smile. ¡®Take care of¡® doesn¡¯t seem to be something like going to the post office or bank transfer. Still, both of us stayed up all night. Are you not tired? People need to sleep on time. I urged him out of pity. ¡°Would you like to have some coffee at the store?¡± ¡°I really want to, but I can¡¯t. I¡¯ll stop by next time.¡± Umh, then there¡¯s nothing I can do about that. By the time I left Ki Yoohyun and returned to the store, it was almost noon. I stayed up all night, but I wasn¡¯t tired thanks to the high-quality potion Ki Yoohyun gave me. With the joy of finally getting a dark etheric item, my steps were rather light. ¡°I¡¯m here.¡± First of all, I have to feed Mieum and Lime, then contact Choi Yichan and hand him the pendant. ¡°Did you take good care of the house?¡± However, I couldn¡¯t hear Mieum and Lime¡¯s answers. ¡­ Don¡¯t tell me! I checked the floor first. However, the floor is still clean. Fortunately, they didn¡¯t make a mess of the store with the footprint stamp like last time. So ¡­ where and what are they doing? ¡°Mieum-ah? Lime-ah? What¡¯s wrong, are you still sleeping?¡± Oh, there she is. ¡°¡­.meooong.¡± Suddenly, Mieum appeared from the corner. But instead of coming close immediately, she swung her paw strangely from afar. ¡°Huh? What?¡± ¡°Meooong¡­.¡± I can¡¯t hear you. ¡°What is it? Mieum-ah, why don¡¯t you come here and tell me?¡± The answer came from someone other than Mieum. ¡°You¡¯re coming quickly.¡± ¡°A-aargh!¡± I was startled by the cold voice that suddenly interrupted me. The person, who was sitting in a chair, got up. The action caused Lime, who was on his lap, cried and bounced to the floor. The owner of the voice was Kwon Jiwoon. Whoa, I was surprised. I thought he was a thief. Why the hell is Kwon Jiwoon here at this hour? ¡°Kiyaoong (Where have you been! That man came all of a sudden this morning)!¡± Perhaps a lot of complaints were piled up, Mieum threw her front paws at me. According to Mieum, Kwon Jiwoon suddenly came this morning. What¡¯s more, he has been waiting all this time knowing I¡¯m not here. Without a word, staying still. It¡¯s a very worrying situation for Mieum, who wants to run around to her heart¡¯s content. ¡°Waeoooooong (It¡¯s irresponsible to leave us alone with that human)!¡± ¡°I had a reason, too.¡± I asked Kwon Jiwoon while patting Mieum¡¯s chin gently. ¡°What happened all of a sudden? Aren¡¯t you busy?¡± No matter how much I thought about it, there was nothing for Kwon Jiwoon to suddenly come to see me. Why did you wait for me here for hours when you must be busy with guild work? ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°¡­..¡± Flinch. His eyes shook. Kwon Jiwoon did not answer for a moment with a stiff expression. I waited patiently for his words. The words that came out after a long time were unexpected. ¡°I¡¯m just here to give this back.¡± Tak. Kwon Jiwoon put a stainless steel thermos on the table. Ah. I put Americano in that thermos last time. I completely forgot about it. But ¡­ it¡¯s not something that needs to be delivered directly. We¡¯re cousins, but we don¡¯t see each other often. ¡°You can ask someone else to do it.¡± ¡°Kkyuu¡­¡± Is it because of the mood? Lime¡¯s nonsensical cry sounded like it was reprimanding me. ¡°Or ust leave it there.¡± ¡°Waeooong¡­.¡± This time, Mieum glared at me. No, why, what. Why are you looking at me with an expression that I said something senseless? Did I say something weird? ¡°Meooong (No, you¡¯re screwed up).¡± I felt weird being treated like this by a cat. He¡¯s come all the way here, so I can¡¯t tell him to leave right away. Above all, as if pushed by the silent pressure from Mieum and Lime, I offered him coffee. ¡°Umh, now that you¡¯re here, would you like to have a cup of coffee?¡± I just said it. I asked once out of courtesy. Of course, I thought Kwon Jiwoon would refuse. Even when I gave him coffee in that thermos before, he didn¡¯t welcome it. ¡°Yes, shall we?¡± ¡°Huh ¡­ aren¡¯t you busy with the guild?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not always that busy.¡± Well, then. After that, I decided to make the quest menu, vanilla latte and caramel macchiato. I took out the vanilla powder and caramel syrup I bought from the Dimensional Shop. The vanilla latte was made in a similar way to the cafe latte. First, put vanilla powder in a glass, then pour espresso to dissolve it well. Next, pour the steamed milk with soft foam into the glass and it¡¯s done. [Item: Vanilla Latte (¡ï¡ï¡ï¡î¡î) The caramel macchiato was also not difficult, but the order of putting it into the glass was different. Put the caramel syrup in a glass and pour the steamed milk first. Next, when the espresso is poured, the surface of the drink is marked with brown dots. Finally, it was completed by sprinkling caramel drizzle in the shape of a honeycomb. [Item: Caramel Macchiato (¡ï¡ï¡ï¡î¡î) Status: Good (Time Remaining: 00:30:00) Removes a random status abnormality.] Both glasses have a pretty good effect. I left the vanilla latte for myself, and handed the caramel macchiato to Kwon Jiwoon. ¡°¡­.¡± ¡°¡­.¡± Gulp. The moment the other person takes a sip of my coffee¡­. This moment is always tense. Especially, it¡¯s Kwon Jiwoon. Maybe it¡¯s because we feel distant even though we¡¯re cousin. Kwon Jiwoon, who drank the caramel macchiato, was quiet for a while. He just gently stroked the cup with his fingertips. His expression is also cold, his usual expressionless face, so I have no idea what he is thinking. ¡°¡­.Strange.¡± ¡°Uh, wh-what?¡± Unknowingly, I was nervous at the low voice. ¡°It seems that every time I drink the coffee you give me, I feel better. My potion addiction is finally gone.¡± ¡°Ahaha, it must be a coincidence.¡± I laughed without realizing it. I was happy to know that the coffee I made was working properly. The bar of light that appeared above his head slowly fills up. There was no ¡®you made a deep connection with coffee¡® notification, but I was happy nonetheless. ¡°¡­.Kwon Rieul.¡± ¡°Uh, huh?¡± ¡°I told you to move the cafe to the first floor of our guild before.¡± ¡­ Gulp. ¡°Let¡¯s forget about it.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to move ¡­ uh? Really?¡± ¡°You followed our grandmother well, so it may be natural that this happened.¡± Was it an illusion that those small muffled words sounded bitter? ¡°Good luck.¡± After leaving those words, Kwon Jiwoon went back after drinking all the caramel macchiato. Admit it ¡­ did you get it? Like in a cooking cartoon, you drink a cup of coffee and feel touched, ¡°If it¡¯s you, you can do well here!¡°, is this that kind of situation? While I was bewildered, a system notification popped up. [Congratulations! You have completed ¡®Main Quest: The Path of The Barista (2)¡¯. Please collect the reward.] [Main Quest: The Path of The Barista (2) You¡¯re a confident barista now. Increase the sales menu by completing the cafe¡¯s five basic menus (caf¨¦ latte, cappuccino, cafe mocha, vanilla latte, and caramel macchiato). [Rewards: Experience (200 EXP), Random Recipe, ???] Among the quest completion rewards, ¡®???¡¯ was the only item other than experience and recipes. So please, I hope it¡¯s a good thing. With a pounding heart, I chose to collect the rewards. [Experience: 200 EXP have been acquired.] [You have reached Level 6.] [You have acquired the new recipes: ice menus.] Thud! Then, a heavy sound pounded the floor. [The volume of the reward is too large to be received in the inventory.] [The reward is automatically generated outside your inventory.] ¡°Oh¡­.¡± In this case, I have no choice but to have expectations. It doesn¡¯t necessarily mean that something big is always good, but how big is it that it doesn¡¯t even fit in the inventory? Is it furniture? Why not, Cafe Management games always have interior decoration elements. I thought it would be nice to put a piece of furniture in the empty space over there. I checked the reward with excitement¡­. Hence, this signboard appeared. ¡°¡­..earthworm?¡± ¡°Waeooong (Earthworm)¡­..¡± ¡°Kkyuuu¡­..¡± The cries of Mieum and Lime felt sad. A squiggly line was drawn on the signboard. To put it bluntly, I would call it an avant-garde design. No way, I don¡¯t want to believe it, but ¡­. the name of the cafe is ¡®Cafe Rieul¡®, so did the shape of the letter ¡®?¡® symbolize it? ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.. Well, let¡¯s just put it in the warehouse. There¡¯s no way I have to hang this on the wall. I was trying to drag the signboard and move it to the warehouse, but the system notification popped up again. [Special effects are applied when signboard is installed.] [Item: Signboard of Cafe Rieul (¡ï¡ï¡î¡î¡î)] Type: Sign The signboard of . The name of the cafe was completed with a simple yet glamorous, familiar yet unique, classic, and modern touch. Note: It has the effect of attracting customers¡¯ attention when installed. More customers pay attention to the cafe.] ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.. Is it a crossroads between performance and appearance? It seems that they forced me to choose between an ugly item that performs well or a pretty trash. I wanted the eye-catching effect of the customer, but I didn¡¯t want to hang a sign like this on the wall. ¡°When you have a dilemma, there is only one solution.¡± ¡°Kyuu?¡± ¡°What is it!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll put it off for now.¡± I put the sign right in the corner. I was going to leave it as it is for a while. And I checked one more remaining system notification. [Achievement: ¡®Avoiding the Second Death Crisis¡® has been achieved. Please collect the reward.] When Grandma Kim Deokyi¡¯s workshop caught fire, this notification popped up. This is the second crisis after the last time, how many times are there? Why do I have to go through a death crisis when I¡¯m just running a cafe? Aside from this uncomfortable feeling, the reward was ¡®Random Skill Point 1¡®. In other words, it would mean that it randomly raises a skill level by one. I don¡¯t have a good memory with the word random. Before collecting the reward, I checked the skill list. In the meantime, there were also new skills, so there were a total of six skills. Cafe in My Hand (C) Details: (Lv. 1) When making drinks in the store, the level of perfection is increased. The Floor is Shiny (E) Details: (Lv. 1) You can quickly clean the toilets. Smile (C) Details: (Lv. 1) Smiling makes you feel better. [The Barista¡¯s Extraction (D) Details: (Lv.2) Extract only the desired substance from the mixed substances.] [The Barista¡¯s Eyes (D) Details: (Lv.1) You can find the ingredients.] [The Bond of a Cup of Coffee (B) Details: (Lv.1) You can copy the skill of the person who drank the Ultimate Coffee. Well, among these, the level goes up randomly. It¡¯s fine as long as it¡¯s not ¡®Smile¡® and ¡®The Floor is Shiny¡®. The other four skills seemed to be useful if they were leveled up. Four out of six. The probability is about 66%. That¡¯s a pretty high probability. ¡®Collect reward.¡¯ Was it a problem to have such expectations? The result, which appeared with the sound of ¡®Tiling¡®, was far beyond expectations. [You have acquired 1 Random Skill Point.] [The Floor is Shiny (E) level has risen to 2.] The Floor is Shiny (E) Details: (Lv. 2) You can quickly clean the floor.] ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.. Ugh, you¡¯re a terrible desire sensor¡­. [Next] Translator¡¯s Corner: I¡¯ve already explained this before, but just in case you forget, ¡®Rieul¡¯ is the fourth consonant of the Korean alphabet, ?. and I changed the wording of The Floor is Shiny¡¯s skill details, I¡¯ll edit the details in the previous chapters when I¡¯m not lazy. (I got headaches from doing the game¡¯s event, so I postponed it and did this chapter instead.) CH 43 Let¡¯s calm down. It¡¯s too early to be disappointed. Maybe there¡¯s a hidden effect on the skill. I tried using the skill with hope. ¡®The Floor is Shiny.¡¯ Shashashak. A light gesture swept away the dust on the floor. Within a few minutes, the floor was clean without a speck of dust. I could see my blank face reflected on the smooth floor. ¡°¡­.Waeoong?!¡± It was so clean that Mieum, who stepped on the floor, slipped. It¡¯s convenient. It¡¯s useful, but when you think of hunter skills, you would think of something cooler. ¡°Ha¡­.¡± As I looked at the signboard and the skill window, the time has already turned into noon, and Choi Yichan came to the store. Today, I called Choi Yichan to the store. I planned to give him the pendant as a gift with a reasonable excuse. ¡°Kwon Ri, hi!¡± Choi Yichan was wearing light sportswear today as well. As he entered, he was surprised to see the shiny floor. ¡°Ow, this place is really clean.¡± ¡°Thanks ¡­ oh, would you like something to drink?¡± ¡°I would love to. Then, just like before.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± However, Choi Yichan, who drank two cups of ice cream coffee in succession, found a signboard left in the corner. ¡°Oh! Is this your shop sign? Do you want me to put it on for you?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s all right. You don¡¯t have to.¡± It was a 100% sincere refusal with no lies. However, Choi Yichan accepted this as a politeness. ¡°Hey, is it because it¡¯s heavy? Don¡¯t worry about it. I¡¯m an Awakened, this is nothing! Trust me.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s really all right¡­.¡± ¡°If you hang it over there, it will look good. Right?¡± ¡°Uh, huh¡­.¡± ¡°Wait, I¡¯ll put it on for you in a minute.¡± Eventually, Choi Yichan found nails and hammers from the warehouse and immediately began to put up the signboard in the suitable place. Indeed, Choi Yichan was always like this even before the regression. He likes to help others, and he finished the work he was supposed to do once without any fuss. It felt strange to see Choi Yichan, who was still the same person as he was before the regression. But now that I have the pendant, the same accident won¡¯t be happened twice. While Choi Yichan was putting up the sign, I also have work to do. It was making a menu that made the drinker addicted to caffeine in one shot. ¡®The Bond of a Cup of Coffee.¡¯ There was one thing that caught my attention among Choi Yichan¡¯s skill list I checked last time. [Coffee is My Strength (S) /Unacquired/ (Lv.1) Attack power increases by 800% when in caffeine addiction ¡ù This skill has not been acquired yet. How to acquire: Attempt to attack while intoxicated with caffeine.] It works pretty well. It increases the attack power by 800%, so it¡¯ll be helpful if he can get it. The problem is that he has to be addicted to caffeine. According to my experience so far, someone has to drink four cups of coffee to develop caffeine addiction. However, it would be difficult to go into the dungeon and drink four cups of coffee in an emergency. What if a monster attacks while drinking the coffee? So, I decided to find a way to become addicted to caffeine in one shot. ¡°Like this ¡­ can I do this?¡± ¡°What are you doing?!¡± ¡°Kkyuu?¡± As I adjusted the settings of the espresso machine, Mieum and Lime leaned their heads. ¡°To extract a ristretto.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that!¡± Ignoring the curious animals, I adjusted the grinder settings, and then used the skill. ¡®The Barista¡¯s Extraction.¡¯ Soon, the machine began to extract a thick ristretto. ¡°¡­.There we go.¡± About 15ml of thicker and heavier coffee was made. It was more concentrated as it was extracted with half the volume of espresso. Still, this alone is not enough. I repeated the same process a few more times, adding four shots of ristretto to the glass. And this time, ¡®The Barista¡¯s Extraction.¡¯ was used again for this extracted coffee. It was to concentrate the ristretto once again. Dripping. The black, sticky liquid fell into the glass. Due to the effect of the skill, the capacity was further reduced, and only half of the glass was filled. As soon as all the undiluted liquid was put into the glass, a new status window appeared. [Item: Dark Coffee Extract (¡ï¡î¡î¡î¡î) It¡¯s a very concentrated undiluted coffee. Because it¡¯s too strong, you get caffeine addiction at once when you drink it. Be careful with your intake.] I succeeded! I did succeed, but ¡­ is it possible for Choi Yichan, who only likes sweet coffee, to drink this? The undiluted liquid in the glass smelled very strong and bitter. I dipped the tip of the spoon a little and tasted it, and that alone caused the strong taste blew in my mouth. ¡°Mieum-ah, Lime-ah, look at this for a second.¡± ¡°What, do you need my help!¡± ¡°Kkyuu¡­..?¡± I held out a glass of undiluted liquid to the animals. Mieum, who sniffed it slightly, raised her hair up and flew off her front paw wildly. ¡°Kiyaoooo! What is that, you¡¯re trying to kill me!¡± ¡°Kyuuuuuuuuu.¡± Lime didn¡¯t even come close at all because it smelled bad. This should not be the case. No matter how much I wanted him to get the skill, I didn¡¯t want to feed him something that didn¡¯t taste good. If it¡¯s Choi Yichan, he¡¯ll spit it out as soon as he put it in his mouth. I need to find a way. ¡°I need to use it.¡± I first took out the sugar I had made. Next, there was one more material needed. ¡®The Dimensional Shop.¡¯ [Dimensional Shop] Welcome! This is a shop that connects multi-dimensional gaps. The Eligibles can purchase the items they need. Item update time: 12:00:00 left] I opened the system window and called up the Dimension Shop. The Dimensional Shop was updated once every 24 hours, at midnight, before that, you have to pay rubies to renew the items. I was worried if there was no item I wanted on the list, but fortunately, I was able to find it right away without renewing it. ¡°I found it.¡± When I paid for the ruby and accepted the item, Mieum opened her eyes wide next to me. ¡°What are you going to buy that for!¡± ¡°Fufu, you¡¯ll see. This is all I need.¡± ¡°It looks like paper, meow!¡± The item I bought was gelatin. I decided to make coffee jelly using this gelatin. Jelly is tastier than the undiluted solution and is easier to eat. The making process was also easy and simple. I put cold water in a bowl first, then put gelatin and let it soak for a while. While waiting for the gelatin, sugar was mixed into the coffee extract. ¡°Hmm ¡­ should I add a little more?¡± I splashed in sugar without sparing it. It was because the taste of the undiluted solution was so strong that a small amount of sugar was coated. Sweetness is a measure of taste. Stir thoroughly with a spoon and dissolve the sugar until it does not rustle. ¡°Are you trying to make poison!¡± ¡°Kkyuu¡­¡­..?¡± Next to me, Mieum and Lime looked distrustful, but I ignored them. ¡°Can you just have a faith in me?¡± Just in time, the gelatin was properly softened by the water. I mixed gelatin in a bowl of coffee extract. Finally, the liquid was transferred to an appropriately sized glass cup. Now, all U have to do is put this glass cup in the refrigerator to harden it. ¡°Kwon Ri, what are you doing?¡± I put the coffee jelly in the refrigerator, and Choi Yichan just returned. ¡°I was making a new menu.¡± ¡°Really? I want to try it, too.¡± ¡°Yap, we still have to wait until it¡¯s done, but ¡­ I¡¯ll let you eat later.¡± Later, after the dungeon explodes. ¡°I put up the signboard. Do you want to see if it¡¯s crooked?¡± ¡°Uh, huh¡­.¡± There was a big sign on the red brick wall. I don¡¯t know how much Choi Yichan paid attention to it. It was straight. not even a millimeter crooked. The good news was that it wasn¡¯t that bad when we put it on. I didn¡¯t feel the simple yet glamorous, familiar yet unique, classic and, modern touch. Unknowingly, I kept looking at the sign, and I felt the urge to enter the store. Perhaps this is the effect of a signboard that attracts the customers¡¯ attention. Yes, when it comes to appearance or performance, it is the nature of K-gamers to choose performance. That¡¯s how I ended my self-justification. Well, I need to repay Choi Yichan for this. ¡°Yichan-ah, I can¡¯t say it¡¯s a reward, but ¡­ I have something for you.¡± ¡°Huh? No, no! This isn¡¯t hard at all! Feel free to let me know if there¡¯s anything else I can do for you. There¡¯s no need for reward.¡± ¡°Take this.¡± I handed the pendant to Choi Yichan. It was a very awkward situation to hand over the pendant as a gift, not as anything else. In addition, the simple design, a black stone the size of a little fingernail, seemed suspicious at first glance. However, in order to acquire the skill, it was necessary to wear this pendant for more than 24 hours. I was in the midst of contemplating what to explain if Choi Yichan felt suspicious. ¡°¡­..¡± With a careful touch, he accepted the pendant. His cheeks were slightly red. He seemed shy. Huh? Only then did I suddenly realize that giving accessories can be seen as meaningful. I didn¡¯t think of that because I was only focused on how to save Choi Yichan. Furthermore, simple design is a design that is good for a gift. No, no, no. Choi Yichan, what are you doing! When we were students, we used to look down on each other during self-study! Choi Yichan must have felt the same way. I added an explanation in a hurry. ¡°Hey, there¡¯s nothing strange about it! It happened by chance, but I thought it would suit you well! It¡¯s some sort of reunion gift, something like that?¡± The more I explain it, the more I feel like I¡¯m screwed¡­. ¡°I know. You don¡¯t mean anything else.¡± Choi Yichan hung the pendant right around his neck. ¡°Thank you. I like it.¡± ¡°It looks good on you. I hope you don¡¯t take it off your body and wear it for more than a day.¡± ¡°Yes, I will do that.¡± Without asking the reason, he nodded his head. He¡¯s my friend, but he¡¯s so nice. Anyway, it¡¯s not like I¡¯m forcing him to buy a fake crystal necklace that purifies his qi. I worried about it for a moment, but seeing the black stone fluttering around his neck gave me peace of mind. *** While waiting for the coffee jelly to harden, Choi Yichan played with the animals inside the store. Mieum and Lime, who were bored, welcomed the new player. The problem was that Choi Yichan¡¯s physical strength was different from mine. ¡°Come on, grab this. Here.¡± Choi Yichan grabbed the stalk of the dungeon sugarcane and shook it back and forth. The leaves fluttered in front of her eyes, but Mieum, who was already exhausted, could not even raise her front feet properly. ¡°Meong, waeooong (I can¡¯t do it anymore)¡­..¡± ¡°Kkyuuuuuu¡­..¡± ¡°Meoooong (This human, how can he not get tired)!¡± With a pathetic cry, Mieum and Lime completely stretched out to the floor. Choi Yichan, who finally let them go, said abruptly. ¡°Rieul-ah, where did you get this slime from?¡± CH 44 ¡°Huh? Lime? Ah, I picked it up right in front.¡± Actually, it was a slime that I bumped into in the tutorial dungeon, but I said it with a little adaptation. ¡°I see. I asked because I wanted to raise slime, too.¡± ¡°How about buying one?¡± It was not uncommon among hunters to raise slimes as companion monsters. It¡¯s relatively easy to tame, harmless, and it¡¯s cute. Slime ASMR videos were also popular, and a hunter¡¯s slime gained popularity on YouTube and even released goods. It is also easy to get a rental. All you have to do is pay a Hunter from Tamer class and ask them to sell it. However, Choi Yichan shook his head with an ambiguous expression. ¡°Umh ¡­ I¡¯ve looked into that once.¡± ¡°Why?¡± There are so many people who want to buy slime from Tamer. It¡¯s okay to have to wait a long time. If you take out the number ticket and wait, your turn will come one day. The problem is that the Tamers are starting to screen people. Only hunters from a large guild, famous hunters, or even the high-ranking hunters could get slimes. Currently, Choi Yichan¡¯s Hunter-grade is E. It was the entrance cut. In sumarry¡­. ¡°You¡¯ve changed your mind¡­¡± ¡°Hahahaha¡­..¡± Even though it¡¯s common knowledge, it¡¯s really disgusting that they discriminate even when it comes to buy a slime. Choi Yichan murmured, drooping his shoulders. ¡°I¡¯m afraid I need to find another job instead of Hunter.¡± ¡°Uh ¡­ why?¡± ¡°Even if I¡¯m an Awakened, I¡¯m just an E-class. I don¡¯t think I can do very well¡­.¡± ¡°¡­.Yichan-ah.¡± ¡°Ahaha! It¡¯s a joke, I¡¯m kidding it! I just said it!¡± Contrary to what he said, there was a sense of discouragement that could not be erased with a laughter. I remembered being neglected in the Hunter Market. Did he go through something similar? ¡°Then do you want to work part-time at our store?¡± It was half a joke, but Choi Yichan laughed out loud. ¡°Oh, great! Please let me do it.¡± However, as far as I know, there is no one more suitable for a Hunter than Choi Yichan¡­. I mean¡­. It was just the time when the coffee jelly hardened. I opened the refrigerator and took out the glass. When I slightly pressed the jelly with a spoon, I felt the elasticity. Done, It hardened well. It would be delicious to sprinkle whipped cream or condensed milk on top, but I skipped it this time because it¡¯s not something to eat right now. It would be nice to eat jelly made by reducing the amount of gelatin in a cold drink. Maybe I¡¯ll try it next time. [Item: Coffee Jelly (¡ï¡ï¡î¡î¡î) Status: Very Dark Effect: When consumed, you develop caffeine addiction in one shot. ¡ù Be careful with your intake.] As soon as I entered the recipe name, the item window popped up. Done, the effect of ¡®caffeine addiction at once¡® was written on it. Among the skills that Choi Yichan has not acquired, there are two S-ranks. If he has the pendant and this coffee jelly, he can get the ¡®The Light that Illuminates The Darkness (S)¡¯ and ¡®Coffee is My Strength (S)¡¯. The grade determined by the sum of the status and the skill grade are separate matters. However, if he gets two S-class skills, even if Choi Yichan is an E-class, he won¡¯t be ignored like before. No matter how rude and disrespectful tamers are, they¡¯ll sell slime to him then. I wrapped the coffee jelly well in a bag and held it out to Choi Yichan. ¡°Yichan-ah, this is ¡­ later, later.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± He looked at me with a friendly smile. ¡°Later¡­..¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Later, when you enter a dungeon.¡± ¡°Dungeon? Hey, I¡¯m not even a member of a guild, so what¡­..¡± ¡°Still! You can go in there. You might suddenly get caught up in a rift. After all, it¡¯s a dangerous world.¡± ¡°¡­.Uh.¡± ¡°Then, when you enter a dungeon, be sure to eat this right away. It will be easy to eat because it contains a lot of sugar. If you eat it then ¡­ It¡¯ll help you.¡± I really wish he won¡¯t go. No matter whether there is a dungeon in Suwon on a snowy day, or people are in danger because of it. Leave such work to the Dungeon Management Office, the Big Three Guild, or stronger hunters. I hope Choi Yichan stays in a safe place. I wanted to tell him that if it wasn¡¯t for the system¡¯s interference, you shouldn¡¯t enter the dungeon even now. But ¡­ even if I tell him what I know about the future, Choi Yichan will make the same choice. Because he has a kind and friendly personality. He wouldn¡¯t be able to turn a blind eye to the children caught up in the dungeon. In the end, I even returned, but all I could do was give him the pendant and this jelly. ¡°Okay, I got it. I will eat well.¡± Again, Choi Yichan accepted the coffee jelly without asking anything. He didn¡¯t forget to add, ¡°I¡¯ll definitely come to help you next time.¡±. *** [Congratulations! Signboard was installed to spread the name of the cafe. Finally, you¡¯re ready to open a cafe. I was surprised by the sudden system update notification. [Name: Cafe Rieul Grade: F Fame: 0, Popularity: 0] The new window that appeared only added the status of the cafe, but there was nothing special about it. I handed the pendant to Choi Yichan, and I¡¯m ready to open the cafe. I hope there will be no life crisis from now on and only good things happen. I should run a quiet cafe as my first goal. A life of less work and more rest. I¡¯ll be a person who doesn¡¯t lose my focus. I¡¯m a little dissatisfied that the cafe grade is F, but ¡­ finally, I opened a cafe. Then, a notification window popped up. [A quest has occurred.] [Quest: The Sorrow of the F-Grade Cafe Begins.] [Main Quest: The Sorrow of the F-Grade Cafe You¡¯ve finally got your own cafe. But it¡¯s still Grade F. Very few people know the existence of this cafe. Gather customers and raise the grade, let¡¯s rise to fame. Meet 10 customers: 0/10 Rewards: Experience (200 EXP), 1 Golden Ticket, ???] No, I don¡¯t want to raise the grade?! *** Korea¡¯s No. 1 Hunter Community ¨C Hunter Channel. Free Forum Board. ¡ª Ranking, The Slave Hunters Guild is banned. Real life player kill in the dungeon. *** [News] The Cheonggye 3-ga¡¯s Workshop fire ¡®found a suspected arsonist.¡¯ Rushed Investigation (39) Upvotes: 5 / Downvotes: 1 *** Writer: Pumplebot The police are investigating a fire that is presumed to have been arson at Cheonggye 3-ga Workshop Street. According to the police, a fire broke out on the 27th at 7:15 p.m in a workshop on Cheonggye 3-ga. A workshop building was burned, and a person in her 70s was seriously injured¡­. (Ellipsis) The police and the Dungeon Management Office are investigating the suspect as a planned arson. However, the investigative authorities replied that they could not yet reveal whether the suspect was a Hunter. *** ¡ª Quail: Why are you posting this here? ©¸ Pumplebot: What??? What¡¯s the problem? ©¸ Quail: Don¡¯t you know that only Hunter-related news is allowed on the Hunchan news bulletin board? Don¡¯t just put anything up; ©¸ HingHangHong: Eh,,? what are you talking about, it¡¯s Hunter news,,,? ©¸ Quail: Why is this fire news a Hunter News? I¡¯m not here to see the news like that. ¡ª dta***: I was wondering what the top comment was about, but you don¡¯t even know what¡¯s on Cheonggye 3-ga? LOL ©¸ Cheese Pizza: I¡¯m a newbie who awakened last week. What¡¯s on there? Please tell me ©¸ dta***: Cheonggye 3-ga Workshop Street ©¸ 10th Year Hunter: People these days don¡¯t know the Cheonggye 3-ga Workshop Street? HAHAHA The Cheonggyecheon Workshop was better than the Hunter Market..,, lol If you go down Cheonggyecheon after 8 pm, it¡¯s a potion honey pot ©¸ Tamer Wanted: but they said it¡¯s been a while since craftsman disappeared from that place;;; ¡ª red***: There were a lot of rare items sold in Cheonggyecheon O.O Hunter Market commissioned a lot of direct transactions with Ebara O.O Popular workshops lined up when items were released. ©¸ Legend 12: Is it true that they also sold A-class golden triangular rhino cubs? ©¸ red***: yeah, it¡¯s true, but it¡¯s not in the Workshop Street, it¡¯s in a monster shopping street next to it haha ??I¡¯ve heard rumors that the Holy Sword was sold at the Workshop Street ©¸ Market recommendation: But why is it gone now? I heard it for the first time today ©¸ Flight: Many small workshops merged into large workshops. Even if you pay a little Hunter Market fee, it¡¯s easy to train crafting skills and supply materials in a large workshop. Still, there are a few left. ¡ª Pumplebot: Quail makes a mess¨C f*ck it¡¯s a complete set up LOL ©¸ OO: When I checked Quail¡¯s account, it¡¯s been less than a month since he joined. it had been less than a month since I started. Usually, the newbie is the loudest kk ©¸ Quail: I reported you because it is against the rules to share member information. ©¸ OO: what; hahaha run around the dungeon one more round while you¡¯re at it hahaha ©¸ 10th Year Hunter: it¡¯s okok a newbie must have a dark history hahahaha if there is something you don¡¯t know, let me know. ©¸ HingHangHong: what is this? It¡¯s suddenly so heart-warming hahaha ¡ª Jeju Guild No. 1: There was a rumor that the place where the fire broke out was Kim Deokyi¡¯s workshop, is it real? ©¸ I Bought a Golem: Huh..? Where did you hear such a thing; ©¸ Jeju Guild No. 1: In the previous post, someone posted that he was related to her, but it was already deleted; ©¸ rtj***: hahahahaha Do you believe that? then I¡¯m Eunrang lol ©¸ Healer Wanted: It must be a phone pal lol ¡ª lI1l1Il: But what if it¡¯s real? I searched the picture and I think it¡¯s near the location [Link] ©¸ gotohell: does that mean someone hired a contract hunter to kill her? ©¸ MM: English Nick, why are you suddenly jumping out of the blue here? ¡ª Cheese Pizza: Who is Kim Deokyi? ©¸ Pumplebot: Hey, please delete the comments quickly, they are flocking to you?? ©¸ Flight: It¡¯s been a while since she retired from being the best craftsman hunter in Korea, but she¡¯s still the only one who¡¯s been given the title of craftsman master. It is said that she also made the critical 99 5-star Holy Sword, which was sold at the highest price at a market auction a few years ago. You don¡¯t deserve her ? ©¸ ttl***: Kim Deokyi isn¡¯t even active these days, what¡¯s with this sudden anger ©¸ Healer Wanted: If you pick up a single item that is rolling on her floor, you start with at least a 3 stars. ©¸ red***: Looking at the photos, it seems that the workshop was all gone lol;; ©¸ TT: Huh, a long time ago at the craftsman¡¯s workshop, she gave me a piece of cinnamon candy while I was waiting for my turn, what kind of crazy bastard was aiming for such a nice person ???? ¡ª HaHa: I¡¯m sure the criminal is really a Hunter; I heard that the main office is investigating, and the victim is also Craftsman Kim Deokyi. Someone said they saw her at the hospital 10 minutes ago. ©¸ gotohell: I set up a fundraising account at Hunter Bank to raise money to hire a contract hunter. [Link] ©¸ MM: No, English Nick, don¡¯t rush; *** Fortunately, amidst the misfortunes, Grandma Kim Deokyi was able to be discharged from the hospital two days later. It was possible because Ki Yoohyun immediately treated the wound with potion, and the trauma healed quickly. Actually, she didn¡¯t even have to be hospitalized, but since went to the hospital, she was told that she need to receive a full package of health checkups. However, the burned workshop was not fully restored. The building was currently undergoing restoration work by the Dungeon Management Office, but it was impossible to return the numerous items there. ¡°¡­..it¡¯s not a big deal.¡± Grandma laughed bitterly. It is fortunate that she is in good health, but after all, thinking about the culprit makes me angry. How could they do such a terrible thing to such a kind old lady! The culprit hasn¡¯t been caught yet. However, with some identification, the person in charge of the investigation said that it would only be a matter of time before he was caught. I was told that the culprit proudly left the weapon that stabbed Grandma at the scene. As long as you get caught, I won¡¯t let you go. I will make you regret having committed such a vicious thing. ¡°Meooong (Human, your expression is scary)!¡± Ahem, hm. Anyway. Grandma, who was discharged from the hospital today, came to see my cafe because she was curious. Even though I repeatedly said she could come empty-handed, Grandma held out a big bag to me as soon as she came in. Translator¡¯s Corner: Translating netizen forum is sjdhdkasjads I need to pay attention to the account name because it¡¯s important for the story so it¡¯s hard T__T and wow I can believe we need 44 chapters to open the cafe ¡­ should I say congratulations for reaching this point? ah, and this blog reached 600 followers, I¡¯ll do triple release tomorrow to celebrate that ^^ CH 45 ¡°What is this? Woah ¡­ cups?¡± The bag was full of disposable paper cups and plastic cups. At a rough estimate, it looked like 500 each. However, it wasn¡¯t an ordinary cup. The name ¡®Cafe Rieul¡¯ stamped on the center of the cup caught my eye. ¡°You told me that you¡¯re opening a cafe soon. I made it because I thought you would need a takeout cup.¡± ¡°Thank you, Grandma!¡± After all, not all customers drink in the cafe. I didn¡¯t think of a take-out customer, but it was a must-have item. [Item: Custom Takeout Cup (¡ï¡ï¡î¡î¡î) x 1000 Type: Disposable Cup Note: Preserve the condition of the drink. (2:00:00)] Not only that, but it also had a good effect. The retention time of drinks made with skills is only 30 minutes. However, if I put it in this cup, I can keep the drink for a longer period of time. ¡°If it¡¯s not enough, tell me anytime. I will make more for you.¡± ¡°Ahahaha ¡­ please do it then.¡± 500 for hot drinks, 500 for cold drinks. A total of 1000 cups. In addition, this quiet place is in front of the Great Dungeon Abyss.. The day come when I use up all these cups¡­.. Hm ¡­. In about three years? ¡°It¡¯s a wonderful place.¡± ¡°Haha ¡­ Thank you.¡± Grandma, who looked around the cafe, admired it lightly. In fact, it was quite crowded in the store now. On one side, I was roasting coffee in a roaster, and on the other, I was solidifying the sap of dungeon sugarcane. Mieum and Lime, who just finished eating, even ran around the floor. Seriously, don¡¯t run, I¡¯m surprised. ¡°Kyuu, kyuuuuu!¡± ¡°Meoooong!¡± Tadadak. Tong, tong, tong. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.. Embarrassed, I quickly turned away. ¡°Ah! Silly me. I haven¡¯t even served coffee yet. Grandma, what do you like?¡± ¡°Well, then I¡¯ll have a sweet and cool one.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Sweet and cool. I thought about it for a while while looking at the recipe list. There¡¯s ice cream coffee, but it¡¯s better to make a new menu. Yeah, I¡¯ve decided. I checked and found all the ingredients. I decided to make an iced caramel macchiato. Cold drinks were also not much different from hot drinks in the way they were made. Add caramel syrup, ice, and cold milk, then froth the milk separately and place it on the glass. Then, pour in the espresso and sprinkle with caramel drizzles. I handed the finished drink to Grandma. ¡°Grandma, here¡¯s the iced caramel macchiato.¡± ¡°Thank you ¡­ ah.¡± While taking the glass, Grandma looked out of the window. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? What¡¯s there ¡­ ah.¡± The sky, which was clear in the morning, suddenly turned gray. Then, one by one, snowflakes fell from the sky and soon began to pour. Already ¡­ the first snow? It¡¯s only the end of October. I thought there would be some more time until the first snow fell. I looked up at the sky in bewilderment at the earlier-than-expected snow, and my phone vibrated loudly. It was an ominous notification. *** Ki Yoohyun made his way through the narrow alleyway without hesitation. ¡°Wait, let¡¯s go together, guild leader!¡± ¡°He told us not to call him a guild leader outside!¡± ¡°That¡¯s not the point now!¡± There is no time. The twins Joo Shinwoo and Joo Shinhee quickly chased after Ki Yoohyun, who had already become so far away. The surrounding area was an ordinary villa village. Although it is far from the subway station, the rent is so cheap that it becomes a neighborhood where mainly students and young office workers live. On the road leading to similar villas, Ki Yoohyun moved his legs without hesitation. How long did he walk? Soon, he stopped walking in front of a building. ¡°¡­..¡± The twins who followed Ki Yoohyun immediately opened their mouths. ¡°Is the suspect here?¡± ¡°The bad guy who¡¯s trying to kill an old lady!¡± ¡°However, a simple attempted murder would be investigated by the Dungeon Management Office. Guild leader ¡­ no, is there a reason why Hunter-nim is looking for it himself?¡± ¡°You idiot! Guild leader ¡­ no, Hunter-nim is trying to kill that bad guy himself!¡± ¡°Are you stupid? Guild leader ¡­ no, do you think that Hunter-nim is as mindless as you?¡± His head was throbbing. ¡°¡­.Quiet.¡± At Ki Yoohyun¡¯s words, the twins shut their mouths. He rolled his eyes and look around. As he walked up the stairs of the deserted villa, Ki Yoohyun was lost in thought. The incident in which Craftsman Kim Deokyi was attacked also happened in the past timeline. However, the timing was different. In the first timeline, it was a few months later, so he let his guard down. How foolish of someone like him, who even returned to the past. Ki Yoohyun recalled the image of Kwon Rieul, who smiled while saying that she¡¯s okay, even though she had burns on her palm. It wouldn¡¯t have happened if he hadn¡¯t escorted her into the workshop. ¡­. So, the wound is his own responsibility. While looking at the scene in such regret, he found a weapon dropped there. It wasn¡¯t an ordinary knife. Although the grade was low, it was a sword dedicated to hunters that had a good length of use. The sword¡¯s handle was engraved with a name. It¡¯s as if it¡¯s there for someone to find it. Still, no matter how stupid the criminal is, he will not be thoughtless enough to abandon a weapon with his name on it. It was highly likely that someone left it on purpose. Furthermore, the unique ether on the weapon was weighing on his mind. Dark, black ¡­ unpleasant ether. He had smelled something like this somewhere. Although it was a small amount, his sensitive senses did not miss it. ¡®Then ¡­ the owner of this sword may not be safe already.¡¯ The destination was the top floor. He knocked on the door and at the same time read the etheric flow through the door, but there is no sign of activity inside. Ki Yoohyun opened the door without delay. ¡°Nobody¡¯s here.¡± ¡°This ¡­ it¡¯s like an armor.¡± Joo Shinhee picked up a clothes from the messy floor. It has a colorful design reminiscent of a peacock. ¡°¡­.We are a step late.¡± ¡°Did he run away?¡± ¡°The wanted will be issued soon, so it appears that he has fled.¡± The room was a mess due to the daily necessities and clutter. The owner appeared to have left home in a hurry after causing the incident. Or made it look like that. There¡¯s only one way. He doesn¡¯t want to use it that much because it¡¯s dealing with causality and everything. Ki Yoohyun sighed lightly and looked around the small room. ¡°Stay away.¡± ¡°¡­..!¡± The twins took a couple of steps back with a nervous expression. After confirming that they were far enough apart, he used the skill. His skill name, The Power of White Light. It is a unique skill that placed Ki Yoohyun at the top of the ranking. However, few people know exactly what skill it is. Only the fact that it deals with space was known. It was the first time for twins who hadn¡¯t been in the guild for a long time to actually see them. [The Blessing of ¨€¨€¨€ ¨€¨€ applies.] [Skill: The Power of White Light (S) is activated. [¡ù Caution: Excessive intervention may be resisted by causality.] At the next instant, the mass of the air changes. Although it was definitely the same space, the air was heavy unlike before. The twins felt as if a transparent curtain was blocking them. Fine particles of light surrounded the entire room, and soon the extended senses began to read information. There is only one thing. The ether buried in the sword found at the scene. [Matching information found.] Ki Yoohyun picked up an object that had been thrown away unnoticed in one corner of the room. It was a small ornamental decoration that usually attached to a sword. The moment he saw the clear star shape carved in the center, Ki Yoohyun¡¯s eyes became fierce. ¡°¡­..Guild leader?¡± No matter how long time has passed, there is no way he can¡¯t recognize this. This is the symbol of the Stellar Wisdom Order.. It¡¯s a clear evidence that the enemy has already begun to move. The moment the corner digs into his skin, who¡¯s grasping the decoration tightly and forgetting about the pain¡­. ¡°¡­.Oh!¡± Joo Shinwoo looked out of the villa¡¯s window and sounded surprised. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you? ¡­ Ah.¡± It snowed. The clear sky was cloudy before they knew it, and thick snowflakes fell. ¡°It¡¯s a special day. The first snow is already here. It¡¯s a bit fast.¡± ¡°Ugh, there¡¯s going to be traffic.¡± Ring. Suddenly, their phones vibrated. [Safety Guide Notice ] Today at 13:17, an F-Grade rift occurred in Gwonseon-gu, Suwon. Residents in the vicinity are requested to evacuate as soon as possible, and please use the detour road as it is under two-way traffic control.] The tension that had been around for a moment soon subsided. Grade F rifts are not uncommon, and the risk is low. The response team of the Dungeon Management Office alone will be sufficient to rescue victims and stabilize the dungeon. But as soon as they saw the next message that came one after another, they all froze. [Safety Guide Notice ] The rift in Gwonseon-gu, Suwon has been upgraded to Grade A. It¡¯s presumed to be a dark attribute mutation dungeon. Crisis alert has been raised to ¡°Severe¡±. The area is scheduled to be closed, please evacuate as soon as possible.] ¡°Uh, uh, what should we do?¡± ¡°A-grade attribute mutations like this ¡­ I¡¯ve never seen something like this before.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a dark attribute. The location is also very bad. People ¡­ uh, what should we do?¡± ¡°Hunter Joo Shinwoo, Hunter Joo Shinhee.¡± The twins, who were pale and bewildered, came to their senses at Ki Yoohyun¡¯s call. His dark eyes sank coldly, and there was no agitation in his expression. The twins¡¯ earlobes reddened at the thought that the guild leader, whom they had long admired, showed such a calm yet unsightly appearance. ¡°Haa, this isn¡¯t the time to be leisurely looking for the culprit. Let¡¯s go back to the guild right away.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Before leaving the villa, Ki Yoohyun once again grabbed the star-shaped decoration tightly. His heart was beating wildly. *** I picked up my phone that was constantly vibrating. Even unlocking the phone was difficult because my fingertips were shaking. I could only check the text after sliding my hand several times. [Safety Guide Notice ] A-Grade dungeon shockwave occurred in Gwonseon-gu, Suwon. The area is under lockdown. Evacuate as soon as possible.] Several texts poured out over a short period of time all informed the crisis. I immediately called Choi Yichan, but he didn¡¯t pick up the call. I knew this day would come and I imagined this moment several times, but I couldn¡¯t calm down my nervousness. Wait ¡­ what time is it now? What time was it when I handed the pendant to Choi Yichan yesterday? The condition for acquiring the skill ¡®The Light that Illuminates The Darkness¡¯ is to possess the item for 24 hours. The time is close. If 24 hours hadn¡¯t been passed yet, he wouldn¡¯t have gotten the skill. Inside the dungeon, the situation changes rapidly every minute and every second. If it¡¯s too late to acquire the skill and the same thing happens again¡­.. ¡°Miss Rieul, are you okay?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Miss Rieul!¡± I barely raised my trembling head to the sound of Grandma calling. Swoosh, something came into my mouth. When I unintentionally picked it up, it turned out to be the straw of the iced caramel macchiato. CH 46 I made this for Grandma ¡­ I was going to say that. ¡°Drink first.¡± Gulp. The cold and sweet taste came into my mouth and I finally calmed down. ¡°Have you calmed down?¡± ¡°Yes, thank you ¡­ Ah! I need to watch the news.¡± I went to the front of the television right away and turned it on. All channels were reporting about Suwon¡¯s dungeon. An anchor with a firm expression reported the dungeon in the studio, and soon the screen was connected to the live scene. ¡ª We will connect a reporter on Suwon to check the damage situation. Reporter Choi Sera! What¡¯s the situation at the scene? ¡ª Yes, as you can see from my side, the impact of the dungeon is quite large here. Transforming into an A-grade dark attribute dungeon, this whole area was literally devastated. Beyond the screen was chaos. Completely collapsed buildings, injured people, hunters rushing to evacuate people, and ¡­ the entrance to the dungeon where the space appears distorted. ¡ª The area is now closed and residents are evacuated, but the situation has literally turned into a chaos due to the occurrence of irregular shock waves. ¡ª According to the briefing by the Dungeon Management Office, many civilians, including elementary school students, were caught in the rift. Reporter Sera Choi, what¡¯s the rescue plan? ¡ª Yes, according to the survivors, many elementary school students were caught up when the rift occurred, and a hunter entered straight away to save them. It is not yet known who the hunter is, but it is presumed to be an E-class. ¡ª An emergency rescue party is now organized, and they will start as soon as the shock wave subsides. However, as it is a high-risk dark dungeon, thorough preparation is required. From there, the screen returned to the news studio. The anchor explained the dangers of dark attribute dungeons, but none of them came to my mind. For a long time, I¡¯m just staring nervously at the news screen until the anchor delivered the news with an urgent expression. ¡ª Oh, right now! Breaking news just came in. I¡¯ll connect you to the site right away. Reporter Choi Sera! ¡ª Yes, I just got some surprising news at the site of the dungeon in Suwon ¡­ What? That¡¯s kind of absurd. ¡ª Calm down and tell me. What¡¯s the situation at the scene? Instead of answering, the camera lit the entrance to the dungeon emitting blue light. ¡°¡­..!¡± Through the gap, I could see curly golden hair and familiar blue training suits. Thank Goodness. Choi Yichan is unharmed. At the moment of relief, the reporter shouted with an excited look from beyond the screen. ¡ª S-class! A new S-class hunter has been born ¡­. Huh? *** At the road that he happened to walk by, as soon as the rift broke out in front of his eyes, Choi Yichan jumped inside without hesitation. It was a waste of time to even think about it. The moment he jumped into the gate, it was humid and acrid air that greeted Choi Yichan. Every time he breathed in, the unpleasant smell filled his lungs, and when he exhaled, his head ached. His only weapon, a dagger, was taken out, but no strength went into his hand. It¡¯s because of this unpleasant air. The black and sticky thing mixed into his breath seemed to fill his lungs and made his body heavy. ¡°¡­¡­Ha.¡± The moment he wiped the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand and fixed the dagger again. Kkkkieee! An insect-type monster with a black, glossy shell appeared and attacked Choi Yichan. Swish! Choi Yichan rolled to the side. The grass where he had just been was cut off by the sharp front paws of the monster. If he had been a little late, it would have been his ankle, not the grass, that was cut. ¡°Ugh¡­¡­¡± Sweat dripped down his eyes and made them sting. He has to get his act together. If he doesn¡¯t come to his senses, the children won¡¯t be able to¡­. Swish! Again, the monster jumped at him. He narrowly avoided the subsequent attack and swung his arms wide. The monster¡¯s shell cracked with an unpleasant sensation. ¡°Ugh¡­.!¡± He pressed down the dagger so hard that his arm trembled. After stabbing for a long time, the nucleus was finally destroyed. ¡°Haaa, haaa¡­¡­.¡± He defeated the monster at the end of a fierce battle, but his arm was wounded. The blood from the wound turned black as soon as it touched the air, giving off a strange smell. The headache that had been tormenting him since earlier was getting worse, and now it was hard to control his body. If the monster appears again, victory will no longer be guaranteed. He can¡¯t even see where the children are. He needs to find them quickly and escape¡­.. Leading the heavy body, Choi Yichan thought. ¡®Why am I so weak?¡¯ Choi Yichan wanted to be a hero. When he was a child, he was caught up in a rift near his home. At the moment when he thought he was dead, a Hunter who jumped into the rift alone saved him. He wanted to save others like the Hunter who saved him. If there was someone in need around, he helped without hesitation. However, as an ordinary human being, there were few things he could do. That¡¯s why he was happy when he¡¯s awakened. How many times have you dreamed of this moment? The moment when he can save children in the same situation as himself with his own power. But he¡¯s still powerless. Choi Yichan inadvertently fiddled with the pendant hanging from his neck. He kept wearing it around his neck as he was told not to take it off his body. If it was a gift she gave him, he would happily keep even a roadside stone He knows best that Rieul has no other meaning. Nevertheless, the word ¡®reunion commemorative gift¡® lingered in his heart. Choi Yichan recalled Rieul¡¯s cafe. It still takes a lot of work, but it¡¯s a cozy space. He promised to help her again in the future. So¡­.. Rescue the children and return. He wanted to go back and drink the sweet coffee she made for him again. Having made up his mind like that, he became hungry even though it didn¡¯t fit the situation. ¡®That¡¯s right, what Rieul gave me¡­.¡¯ She told him to eat it when he enters the dungeon. Her repeatedly asking expression bothered him, that¡¯s why he kept it in mind. Choi Yichan opened the bag he received from Rieul. Inside, there was a meticulously packaged black jelly and a spoon. When he ate the jelly with the spoon, he could feel the strong coffee taste and sweetness together. It¡¯s unique but delicious. ¡°Ugh¡­..¡± After eating all the jelly, the headache got worse and his heart pounded. The moment his trembling knees bent and touched the ground. ¡­. a voice was heard. ¡¾Do you need power?¡¿ ¡®Where is this voice coming from?¡¯ It was a desolate field around, and there were no monsters or other survivors in sight yet. Still, the voice pierced his ears clearly. No, it seems to be speaking through a sense other than hearing. ¡°Who ¡­ who is it? If you¡¯re hiding, come out!¡± Suddenly, Choi Yichan felt a hot sensation around his neck and reached out. A small black stone was caught in his fingertips. It was the pendant he got from Rieul. The pendant was shining. The black light whispered to him. ¡¾Do you need power?¡¿ The voice is heard again. At first he was surprised, then he was suspicious. Why did he hear such a strange voice? It¡¯s been quite some time since he got caught up in the rift. Maybe he heard something nonsense in a state of extreme tension. However, the moment he held the pendant in his hand again, his senses realized it before his thoughts. It¡¯s connected to the divine nature of the universe through dark ether contained in the pendant. ¡¾Answer. So what¡¯s your answer? The power to make your wish come true.¡¿ As if led by the voice, Choi Yichan nodded his head. *** I didn¡¯t mishear. The reporter in the news screen clearly looked at Choi Yichan and said that he was an ¡®S-class hunter¡¯. Did Choi Yichan become an S-class? What happened to him in the dungeon that he suddenly became an S-class? It is rare for a Hunter who has awakened once to raise the grade. Even if they do, it will only go up one level or not at all. As expected, he would have obtained the S-class skills through the pendant and coffee jelly I gave him. Even so, is he going from E-class to S-class at once? The children came out of the gate behind Choi Yichan. There were a few injuries, but everyone was well. Choi Yichan took the gate stone in his hand and put it in the entrance of the dungeon that emits blue light. As the ominous blue light subsided, the entrance, which seemed to pour out monsters at any moment, calmed down. ¡ª Woaaaaah! At that moment, tremendous cheers and applause erupted. The scene was in a festive mood, forgetting the tension from before. The broadcast did not continue properly due to the cheers, so the screen returned to the news studio in a hurry, but there was no difference. It was because the announcer in the studio was also in tears and gave a standing ovation. ¡°That¡¯s a relief.¡± ¡°Yes, really ¡­ it¡¯s a relief.¡± The festive atmosphere is understandable. That¡¯s because it was almost impossible for there to be no fatalities in A-grade dungeon. Moreover, somehow, Choi Yichan even got the gate stone. Although they are often used interchangeably, ¡°rift¡± and ¡°gate¡± are strictly different concepts. First, dungeons occur with ¡®rifts¡® in the real world. This rift is very unstable, sucking in objects around it, and conversely, it spit out monsters. If you defeated the boss in the dungeon, you can get an item called ¡®Gate Stone¡®. If you put this item into a rift, the rift turns into a gate, and you can freely enter and exit without the risk of monsters popping out. So, in general, when a dungeon occurs, the attack proceeds in four stages. ¡­.. It was stated in the book I borrowed from Jina. However, the fact that Choi Yichan came out with a gate stone means that he finished up to the second stage at once. It¡¯s also an A-grade dark dungeon. This was like a miracle. The news continued. The public officials of the Dungeon Management Office ran to Choi Yichan, and what he said in an excited fast tone was just aired on the news. After the situation calmed down a little, the interview began. All the news, newspapers, and even the guild officials who were at the scene pointed their microphone to Choi Yichan. Click, click, click! ¡ª Hunter-nim! This way! Please look this way! ¡ª Can¡¯t you see that I¡¯ve been here since a while ago? Don¡¯t cut in line. ¡ª What did you pay here for? ¡ª Move back, Hunter Scope! There was a brief disturbance in the heated interview atmosphere. Everyone¡¯s attention was focused on the first words of a new S-class hunter that was born after a long time. Choi Yichan, who was in front of dozens of cameras and microphones, looked puzzled. He didn¡¯t seem to understand what had happened yet. Haha, he¡¯s popular. I¡¯m glad that Choi Yichan is alive, but besides that, to become an S-class hunter¡­.. I felt strange, yet thrilled. CH 47 ¡ª Hunter-nim! Congratulations on becoming Korea¡¯s seventh S-class hunter! A soft laugh spread all around. It was by no means hostile or disrespectful. In the view of the new S-class, they have no choice but to cheer no matter what he says. In addition, from the No. 1 in the rankings, who doesn¡¯t reveal his face, Choi Yichan¡¯s youthful appearance will feel fresh among the S-classes who are known for their feisty personality. ¡ª You just brought out the gate stone, did you defeat the dungeon boss? Please tell us how you got it done! ¡ª I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on either. Something talked to me, something else appeared again, and somehow this happened. ¡ª It happened somehow ¡­. you say? ¡ª Yes, so I just grabbed the monster that came out. Gate stone? The stone just came out. ¡ª ¡­¡­.. It was a remark that made the reporter, who was constantly pouring out questions, bewildered for a moment. [Breaking News] The new S-class hunter ¡­ ¡°The Boss, I just grabbed it and it died.¡± ¡­. the same article will be published. ¡ª Ehem, hm, Hunter Choi Yichan, now many guilds want to recruit you, is there any guild you¡¯d like to join? ¡ª No, I¡¯m still ¡­. I don¡¯t know. ¡ª Oh, you¡¯re thinking of establishing a new guild with Hunter Choi Yichan as the main character! ¡ª Yes? It¡¯s not like that. Umh¡­. ¡ª The C&L Corporation and the Royal Guild have already announced their intention to recruit you. Since he already answered appropriately, he can now refuse the interview, but Choi Yichan continued to answer with bewildered expression. He was not accustomed to receiving attention in the first place, and he seemed to be embarrassed by the great enthusiasm at the interview site. ¡ª Ah, breaking news! Hunter Han Yiseong of Cheongna Guild has now announced that you will be recruited regardless of the conditions. At the bottom of the news screen, there is a big caption that reads, ¡®The Big Three is willing to recruit him ¡­ what is the future of the new S-Class?¡¯. It¡¯s a mess. Choi Yichan diligently got involved in the reporter¡¯s interview. ¡ª The guild, thank you for the recommendation, but I have something to do before that, so I won¡¯t go into it now. ¡ª Can I ask you what¡¯s going on? ¡ª It¡¯s a bit personal¡­. ¡ª Ah! Is this a secret mission? ¡ª It¡¯s not like that, I¡¯m, uh, trying to help a friend¡­. ¡ª Then, you have a place to belong! ¡ª I don¡¯t belong¡­¡­ I know you¡¯re aiming for a scoop, but it¡¯s too harsh. At this point, I felt pity for Choi Yichan. I stood up thinking I should put in a complaint to stop the coercive interview. ¡°Grandma, I¡¯ll make you a new coffee.¡± After I confirmed that he was unharmed, I was so relieved that I became thirsty. Now, I should watch the rest of the interview with a relaxed mind while drinking coffee. I quickly made two new iced caramel macchiatos and returned to the TV. I took a sip of strong and sweet coffee and looked at the screen again¡­. What happened when I took my eyes off the TV for a brief moment? ¡ª Yes, since I belong to Cafe Rieul, I won¡¯t be joining any guild for a while. ¡°Cough, cough?¡± Why ¡­. is my name coming out of there? *** Korea¡¯s No. 1 Hunter Community ¨C Hunter Channel. Free Forum Board. ¡ª Ranking, The Slave Hunters Guild is banned. Real life player kill in the dungeon. *** [News] (Hunter SCOPE) Choi Yichan, the star of the Korean Hunter World, who is he? (17) Upvotes: 0 / Downvotes: 2 *** Writer: F-class Last week, a new star was born in the Korean Hunter World. The main character is an S-class Berserker, Choi Yichan. I¡¯ve dug up information about him¡­¡­ (More) *** ¡ª DUNZIN: Duplicate ¡ª rho***: Duplicate ¡ª Healer Wanted: moron idi?? ¡ª Little Pink Jelly: Duplicate posts are not allowed. Check out the announcement again. ©¸ rho***: f*ck this has been uploaded more than 5 times today. ¡ª OO: I¡¯ve never seen this before??? ¡ª Legend 13: Who cares if it¡¯s duplicate; You¡¯ll see it again, the whole community is in uproar because a new S-class appeared, so why are you being so managing here ¡ª ftf***: I hope these guys stay attached to Hunchan 24 hours a day and continue to be funny. ©¸ OO: 2222 lol ¡ª Mansucker Zombie: Choi Yichan is an S-class Berserker. That¡¯s so cool. Then, it¡¯s possible for me to get ¡®tteoksang¡® too ©¸ jka***: Sir, that is Choi Yichan ©¸ OO: Choi Yichan is eligible for tteoksang award no no ©¸ Mansucker Zombie: nice shot ¡ª MM: Guess which guild he would join ©¸ No Power: How does it feel to choose from the Big 3? ©¸ Lime Love Team: It looks like it¡¯s going to be Royal, right? He goes well with Royal ©¸ MM: I can tell that you¡¯re from Royal; ¡ª Buy me a Golem: But what did Bichichan say at the end of the interview? ©¸ del***: Huh? what about it??? ©¸ Buy me a Golem: When Bichichan said where he belongs ©¸ OO: Oh, the sound is off and I can¡¯t hear it ©¸ Buy me a Golem: Heol ?? the broadcasting guys always got away with stuff like this ©¸ OO: HAHAHAHA You understand, they saw Bichichan in front of their eyes, so they couldn¡¯t concentrate ©¸ Buy me a Golem: sh*t I agree LOL *** ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­.¡± Choi Yichan bowed his head. Today is the opening ceremony of ¡°Cafe Rieul¡°. There is nothing special about the opening ceremony. I just made a bunch of butter cookies after putting a flowerpot with a ribbon that Choi Yichan brought while apologizing to me a while ago. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry.¡± Even though I said it was okay several times, Choi Yichan apologized again. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to ¡­ they suddenly put the camera in front of me and asked, and I couldn¡¯t figure out what it was¡­..¡± ¡°That¡¯s because you¡¯re really good.¡± Choi Yichan apologized for saying in an interview a few days ago that he belonged to ¡®Cafe Rieul¡¯. It happened because he remembered the promise to help me in the midst of embarrassment. Choi Yichan crumpled his large body into the inner seat as if he was ashamed. His long legs poked forward. Choi Yichan, who has yet to decide which guild to enter, was, so to speak, a prey to the Hunter World. He didn¡¯t know how the hell did they found out, he told me he turned off his phone because he received so many unknown calls. Not only that, he left the house where he lived in a hurry because people came to his house. I said he could stay here for a while if he had nowhere to sleep, but¡­. ¡°Is it because you¡¯re uncomfortable? You can use it separately because the first and second floors are separated.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s, it¡¯s just little ¡­ I can¡¯t do that!¡± Choi Yichan firmly refused. ¡°Then where do you live now?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. That wide earth, life flows with the wind!¡± ¡°¡­..¡± Are you okay¡­.. Instead, I decided to hire Choi Yichan as a temporary part-timer only during the daytime. Using an S-class hunter as a part-timer ¡­. no wonder it just opened, but it already feels like a great cafe. Choi Yichan, who had suffered a lot for several days, had a dark circle under his eyes and a haggard expression on his face. However, Choi Yichan has the upper hand of power. He doesn¡¯t have to suffer from such a nuisance if he decides to. In the vertical Hunter World, Choi Yichan, a new S-class hunter, can do everything he wants. It¡¯s possible to cheat with power anyway. Even the No. 1 ranker blocked all coverage of himself. However, Choi Yichan did not seem to have any intention of doing so. He looked like someone who would only use his power for the right cause¡­. ¡°Are you not going to join a guild?¡± If he joins a guild, the guild can solve it even if Choi Yichan does not directly respond to the interview. It would be better for Choi Yichan, who can¡¯t say anything hateful, to have a guild. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s fine. I don¡¯t really want to.¡± ¡°How about Cheongna Guild?¡± It was a little surprising that Cheongna Guild also wanted to recruit Choi Yichan. They¡¯re a small elite guilds that rarely hired new hunters. Hunter Han Yiseong is a good person, and Ki Yoohyun is also ¡­. he¡¯s weird sometimes, but he¡¯s a good person, so wouldn¡¯t they suit Choi Yichan? Still, Choi Yichan shook his head firmly to the side. ¡°Umh ¡­ No, not now.¡± Well, it¡¯s okay if you don¡¯t like it. Right now, he¡¯s very surprised because of the series of interviews, but Choi Yichan will do well wherever he goes. ¡°Kiyaoong (One more time! Do it one more time)!¡± ¡°Kkyuuu, kkyuu!¡± Choi Yichan held Mieum and Lime in both hands and played with them, throwing them in the air. His hand technique was amazing, as if he was juggling. ¡°Meoong, meooong (Ugh, I¡¯m dizzy)¡­..¡± ¡°Kyuuu¡­.¡± You both seemed to be having fun. Well, until this heat goes away ¡­ let¡¯s say he¡¯s a temporary part-timer who¡¯s in charge of playing with animals. Choi Yichan, who played with Mieum until her eyes turned pink, spoke. ¡°But I was surprised that Rieul was also an Awakened.¡± ¡°Ahaha¡­.¡± I revealed my awakening to Choi Yichan. Rather than trying to reveal it on purpose, it just happened. As I explained the effect of coffee jelly to Choi Yichan, who returned from the dungeon, it happened naturally. There was no reason for me to lie. ¡°Somehow, when I ate that coffee jelly ¡­ what¡­..¡± ¡°What happened inside?¡± After awakening, it is very rare that the grade goes up several stages or the class changes. I¡¯m very curious about what happened. Choi Yichan tilted his head with an ambiguous expression. ¡°Uh ¡­ that ¡­ I don¡¯t know. Something talked to me, and then something came up. How do you explain it?¡± Well, I have no idea either¡­.. Choi Yichan gave a lengthy explanation as he traced his memory, but it was difficult to interpret the words that did not contain any proper nouns. What is ¡®that¡®? Anyway, it doesn¡¯t matter because he¡¯s back alive. In fact, I was worried and anticipating that the number of customers would suddenly increase since ¡®Cafe Rieul¡¯ was mentioned in the breaking news, especially the breaking news with the highest viewership ratings. ¡°Is this the cafe that the new S-class hunter mentioned?¡± ¡°Is it such an amazing place that even the new S-class hunter talked about it?¡± ¡°Here, give me the whole menu from start to end!¡± ¡°Me too! I came first!¡± What if this happens? I don¡¯t intend to work that hard¡­.. However, overshadowing the worries, only Grandma Kim Deokyi and Jina stopped by earlier, and the store that had just opened is quiet. CH 48 A red brick building built on a deserted road. There was a man watching the cafe located 3 minutes away from the Dungeon Gate of the Great Dungeon Abyss. His age is early 40¡¯s. The recorder and camera were hidden in a vest with several pockets. There were also a cannon phone and a fake ID in his bag. Due to frequent overtime work, the area under his eyes were dark and the beard grew jagged on his chin. There¡¯s also a peculiar scar on his forehead. However, only his eyes were gleaming as he looked around. ¡®It must be there.¡¯ The man¡¯s name is Kim Taewoon. 42 years old, single. His occupation is a reporter for the weekly magazine Hunter Scope. Hunter Scope is famous for its Hunter paparazzi, groundless rumors, and gibberish gossip. It is a weekly magazine that cannot be said to be high quality information source. Kim Taewoon also made money by covering such frivolous rumors. He receives money and writes articles that the client wants. It¡¯s a standard and exemplary giraegi. When it comes to money, the ethics of journalists are not taken into account. However, not long ago, an ugly rumor came into Kim Taewoon¡¯s ear. Some guilds smuggle special monsters from dungeons. At that moment, his reporter¡¯s hunch shone. This is a big deal. If he digs this properly, he can get rid of the stigma of being a yellow press journalist. ¡­. or he can rip off a generous sum of money by keeping his mouth shut. The news he heard while investigating the rumors one by one was the birth of a new S-class Hunter. Now that everyone is curious about this sacred S-class, the coverage is a race of speed. Kim Taewoon immediately began investigating Choi Yichan by all means. And he found out that the Hunter went to and from the cafe in front of that dungeon gate every day. Paparazzi, no, it was the result of a field investigation. ¡®Well, it¡¯s worth stepping back.¡¯ Anyway. The fact that an S-class hunter was suddenly doing a part-time job at a cafe, not doing anything else, gave off a strange smell. S-class! There are fewer than ten S-class hunters in Korea. Whatever you do, you will make more money than that. An S-class hunter who wants neither money nor power? ¡®There can be no such thing. I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll do something bad in the back.¡¯ Kim Taewoon himself is an F-class hunter. The darkness of the Hunter industry has been deeply affected him. In addition, due to his long career as a journalist, he has become a cynical person who does not believe in human goodness. His long-forged, sharp sense of a reporter shone. Come to think of it, there were reports that the smugglers were using cafes and shops as a hideout. There was also information that a fairly high-ranking Hunter was behind them, so they couldn¡¯t easily dig it up. While following Choi Yichan, he once found a suspicious person. Unfortunately, he missed it. Each piece of information seems far apart at the first glance, but when you put them side by side, they pointed to one answer. If it¡¯s big enough for an S-class hunter to move directly, it must be a smuggling of a rare monster, the ¡®Long-tailed Phoenix¡®. Yes, that place is definitely the hangout of the smugglers. So, Kim Taewoon was currently in the process of infiltrating Cafe Rieul. Choi Yichan just went into the cafe. Clearly, there must be something in that place. ¡®Damn it ¡­ I can¡¯t see what¡¯s going on inside.¡¯ He hid himself in a close spot, but Choi Yichan can¡¯t be seen because he was covered by an exquisite angle. The secret camera and recorder, which are artifacts for coverage, are always useless at times like this. ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°¡­..¡± He waited for a long time, but there was no news from inside. Gulp. Kim Taewoon raised his body. You can¡¯t rely solely on these artifacts to catch the scoop. A journalist is a person who runs on his own feet. ¡®That¡¯s a cafe ¡­ in that case.¡¯ It would be natural to approach it by pretending to be a customer. Kim Taewoon approached the cafe, pretending to be an ordinary customer. Ring. The bell hanging on the door rang to announce the arrival. ¡°¡­.¡± But the moment he entered, an awkward silence fell. A pair of careful eyes glanced over him. ¡®Bingo.¡¯ As expected. It looks like an ordinary cafe, but it¡¯s fake. It¡¯s a space with a different purpose, so they¡¯re wary of new customer. Sometimes a lie is more plausible than the truth. Kim Taewoon could not have guessed the truth that Rieul was only thrilled because he was the first (not an acquaintance) guest who came on the opening day. With a natural step, he opened the door and looked through the menu. ¡°Ah, welcome!¡± Quickly, the owner of the cafe approached the counter. She was a woman with a soft impression and a normal atmosphere. Huh, this kind of person was involved in illegal monster smuggling in the shadows. Kim Taewoon¡¯s eyes became sharp. ¡°Would you like to order?¡± ¡°Then, I¡¯ll have this.¡± Kim Taewoon pointed to any menu on the menu board. What¡¯s unusual is that the price is set in ruby. Maybe it¡¯s some kind of password. The S-class hunter, Choi Yichan, was sitting alone in a seat near the counter. Kim Taewoon looked at him carefully. After all, he intended to investigate him by pretending to be an ordinary customer. After paying 2 rubies without hesitation and sitting down, the menu came out soon. It was an iced Americano and cookies. He didn¡¯t really want to eat it, but he could feel the owner¡¯s gaze from behind. ¡°¡­..!¡± When their eyes met, she turned her head and avoided. No matter how you look at it, there is a hint of doubt about this. If he doesn¡¯t eat, he will look suspicious. ¡°Mmm¡­.¡± Kim Taewoon first took the butter cookie. The sweet smell of sugar and butter made his stomach hungry. Come to think of it, he skipped lunch. As if attracted by the smell, he took a bite of the cookie. Crispy. The cookie with plenty of sugar and butter melted softly in his mouth. Once he ate, he couldn¡¯t stop his hands. As the sweetness filled his mouth, he took a sip of the iced Americano. Originally, he didn¡¯t like coffee very much, but it went well with these cookies. One bite of a cookie, another sip of coffee. The empty stomach filled up and the head calmed down. The migraine that had always bothered him has subsided. Feeling sad that the cookie plate was empty, he raised his head. ¡°¡­¡­!¡± Before he knew it, Choi Yichan had disappeared. He was also meticulous to leave without any noise. ¡®Shh, I missed it.¡¯ Kim Taewoon thought as he bit his tongue in frustration. Then, he¡¯ll have to come back tomorrow. He couldn¡¯t figure out which one was greater: the regret of the loss or the joy of eating these cookies again. *** On the first day of Cafe Rieul, I was very happy. That¡¯s because a customer came to the cafe. It¡¯s not someone I know, but a ¡°real customer¡±. It was a man in his 40s wearing a fishing vest and a field jumper over it. It¡¯s obvious that he¡¯s passing by and he¡¯s like, ¡°Huh? There¡¯s a cafe here. Shall I take a short break?¡±. He¡¯s that kind of customer! As expected, thanks to the signboard, the cafe seems to have stood out. I was excited to finally have a first customer. ¡°Waeoooong (When did you say that you didn¡¯t want to work hard)?¡± ¡°That¡¯s one thing, this is another matter.¡± I don¡¯t intend to work hard, but the fact that there are no customers in my newly opened store ¡­ it made me feel sad. Choi Yichan, who saw a customer coming in, sneaked up and sat in a corner. I felt sorry for his unwillingness to be noticed. Anyway, this monumental first guest ordered the ¡®Iced Americano and Butter Cookie Set¡¯ with a blunt expression on his face. That¡¯s right, it has a stress-reducing combo effect, so it¡¯s a perfect menu for tired people. The menu was quickly prepared and handed out to the customer. And, anxiously, I watched the customers eat the menu. ¡°¡­..!¡± Oh, our eyes met. I quickly averted my gaze with embarrassment. I was curious about his impressions, but it¡¯s rude to stare at the customer too much. The customer also came to the cafe the next day. The next day, and the next day¡­¡­. [Cumulative Sales: 12 Rubies] Thanks to this, the sales were gradually gathering. I was happy to have a regular customer for a while. ¡°Huum¡­..¡± ¡°Kiyaoo, why are you like this!¡± ¡°Huum¡­..¡± I have a new problem. It¡¯s because of the regular customer in question. ¡°That man, he must have a different purpose. Waeooong.¡± ¡°Kyuu!¡± At Mieum¡¯s outrageous remarks, Lime added a cry of agreement. ¡°Meooong, he comes at the same time every day and order the same menu. It¡¯s suspicious!¡± ¡°Kyuu, kyuuuu!¡± ¡°Maybe he¡¯s just a big fan of butter cookies.¡± ¡°Waeoong!¡± Pakpak! Mieum lifted her front paws and punched me. Haha, but now I can avoid it without looking. Mieum, who missed a shot in the air, said again. ¡°Who will come all the way to the Dungeon Gate like this every day just because he likes butter cookies! Meoong, I bet he¡¯s coming because he has a different purpose.¡± That¡¯s true, but¡­¡­. ¡°Different purpose, what can it be?¡± ¡°That man must be a member of the Dungeon Smuggling Organization, kiyaooo! He chose this place as a place to make a deal, avoiding other people¡¯s eyes. But the other party he was supposed to make a deal with had already betrayed him. He comes here every day, unaware of that fact, meooong¡­..¡± ¡°What¡¯s the evidence?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the feeling of this body!¡± ¡­. I shouldn¡¯t have asked. No wonder she watched ¡°Midnight Mystery Drama, The Whereabouts of the Missing Hunter¡± until late last night. That¡¯s the story of the drama. I opened the oven while thinking that I should refrain this imaginative cat from watching the drama in the future. A sweet and savory smell sprang up. Just when the freshly baked butter cookies are transferred onto the plate, there was the sound of the door opening. Speaking of the devil. ¡°Oh, welcome!¡± ¡°This one, please.¡± Today, at the same time, this customer came and ordered the same menu and sat down at the same seat. Choi Yichan broke a cup today and went out, saying he would return without strength. The customer sneaked a look at Choi Yichan¡¯s usual place, but without saying anything, he accepted the iced Americano and butter cookies. As the customer took a bite of the cookie and drank the coffee, a twinkling bar appeared above his head. The bar was filled with light ¡­. and it stopped. ¡®It¡¯s the same today¡­.¡¯ This is my concern. The bar of light that represents the satisfaction that rises above this guest¡¯s head. It¡¯s about 60 percent based on eye measurement. It stopped at the same level every day with only slight differences. In other words, this customer is not completely satisfied with the menu. Maybe the coffee doesn¡¯t taste good? No, it can¡¯t be. I had such doubts for a while, but the chances are low. Iced Americano and butter cookies are in perfect condition today. Then what on earth is unsatisfactory about this menu? The customer had an atmosphere that was somehow difficult to approach and had an expression of ¡®don¡¯t talk to me¡¯. But today, I decided to be brave. ¡°Excuse me, sir, maybe ¡­ do you not like the menu?¡± Translator¡¯s Corner: Giraegi (???) is a compound word of ?? (gija: means a journalist, reporter and editor) and ??? (tsuraegi : means a trash). It refers to a person who significantly lowers the level of journalism with false facts and exaggerated inflated articles in Korea and has a significant lack of expertise as a journalist. CH 49 ¡°¡­¡­!¡± The customer looked surprised for a moment, then answered with a cautious tone. ¡°It¡¯s not like that.¡± However, there was still nearly half of the iced Americano in the glass, and the overhead bar was not fully filled. ¡°If you don¡¯t like it, I would like to offer you a different menu.¡± When she asked again, the customer added an explanation. ¡°This menu is very delicious. It¡¯s just that I don¡¯t normally drink coffee.¡± ¡­¡­Ah. A slow enlightenment flashed through my mind. He can¡¯t drink coffee. It was natural that this customer ordered the same menu every day. After all, coffee was the only thing on the menu. No matter how special coffee is made with the ¡®Cafe in My Hand¡¯ skill, there is nothing that can be done about taste and constitution. Some might say this. ¡°It¡¯s because you haven¡¯t drunk a real delicious coffee!¡±. No, the taste of ¡°real delicious coffee¡± is just not that person¡¯s cup of tea. A cafe must have a menu other than coffee for customers who can¡¯t drink coffee. I was busy making the menu in the quest, so I didn¡¯t think about it. Anyway, this customer is ordering without complaints, but the light bar that only filled up to half was annoying to my eyes. Yeah, I made up my mind. Let¡¯s make a non-coffee menu. ¡°Next time ¡­ we plan to make a new menu other than coffee, you¡¯ll be able to eat it on your next visit.¡± ¡°¡­¡­!¡± Perhaps because I suddenly brought up a new menu, the customer looked surprised. ¡°When should I come?¡± Uh, when? I didn¡¯t think about the date¡­. It¡¯ll be fine in a few days. When I pointed out the appropriate date of next week, the customer nodded carefully. As soon as a customer left the store after saying he would come that day, a system notification appeared in front of me. [A quest has occurred.] [Quest: Complete the non-coffee menu (0/1) begins.] *** ¡°Hua ¡­ Huahahahaha¡­..!¡± As soon as he left the door of Cafe Rieul, Kim Taewoon couldn¡¯t resist his joy and burst into laughter. Done. It was worthwhile to go in and out of the cafe pretending to be an ordinary customer for several days. Order the same menu several times at the same time. Finally, he got a clue to the illegal monster secret trade. There will be a big deal in their hideout in a few days. It¡¯s a smuggling of the rare monster, a long-tailed phoenix. It was the news delivered by Kim Taewoon¡¯s secret information, who had given a considerable amount of money, alcohol, and food by him. But it was just that, and he couldn¡¯t figure out exactly how the deal was done. The only clue was here at Cafe Rieul. There must have been a clue here to participate in the deal. No matter how much he looked at the situation for several days, there was no result, but Kim Taewoon did not give in. A true journalist must have his own sparkle and persistence. He believed in his senses. That¡¯s why he ate butter cookies and iced Americano every day. And finally, today. When the S-class Hunter Choi Yichan was away, the cafe owner secretly asked if the menu didn¡¯t suit his taste for the first time. Kim Taewoon was surprised, but soon regained his composure. It was clear that this question was a test for the trading deal. Otherwise, then why would they suddenly ask what the menu he likes? He doesn¡¯t like coffee, but he¡¯s been drinking it all to avoid suspicion. He carefully chose his words and answered calmly. ¡°It¡¯s not like that.¡± The cafe owner, with a surprised expression on her face, asked him to visit again. The date she specified is ¡­ It was the same as the date of the smuggling trade, as stated by the secret informant. Done. He finally found a clue. If he digs this up properly, he can get a scoop. Like that, Kim Taewoon left Cafe Rieul with a light step. without even realizing that he had made a ridiculous misunderstanding. *** [Sub Quest: Satisfy The Customer] People have different tastes. Create a special non-coffee menu that satisfies even the customers who don¡¯t like coffee. Deliver Non-Coffee Menu to Customer: 0/1 Rewards: Experience (100 EXP), 1 Golden Ticket, Fame (5), Popularity (10)] When I read the new quest, it was not particularly difficult. Hot chocolate, tea, fruit juice, etc. There are many kinds of cafe drinks other than coffee. I would be able to create one of them. However, under the quest window, a small letter in the size of 3pt caught my eye. ¡°Ugh¡­.¡± [¡ù Note: Do not use ordinary drinks. Create a special drink according to the recipe.] ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ That¡¯s right. It was obvious that this system did not allow me to be comfortable. Nothing was going to be easy. The problem is that all the recipes I have now are coffee. There is no quest to get a new recipe. I opened the recipe window to see if there was any new information and looked around. At that time. [You have acquired information about a new recipe with a high level of curiosity.] [You have acquired a new recipe ¡®Lemonade¡¯.] ¡°Huh?¡± I didn¡¯t do anything, but I suddenly got a recipe? What kind of system is this.¡­. It was a bit uncomfortable because they gave me a recipe all of a sudden. But now that this notification popped up, it means that I have to make lemonade to complete the quest. However, there were words written in the recipe details that I couldn¡¯t understand. [Recipe: Lemonade Ingredients: Purifying Tree¡¯s Fruit, Magic Sugar, Sparkling Water] ¡°¡­¡­?¡± Can I call a drink that doesn¡¯t contain lemons lemonade.¡­? Aside from the question of the essence of lemonade, what is a Purifying Tree? Judging from the name, it looks like a tree. ¡°A tree with the power to purify the unclean, meow! The fruit is very refreshing.¡± ¡°Really? Then where can we get that Purifyng Tree?¡± ¡°That ¡­ meooong¡­¡­¡± I shouldn¡¯t have asked. Perhaps she felt my pitiful gaze, Mieum puffed up the hair on her tail and flew her front paws. This time, I received a good reception. ¡°Do you think I¡¯m an encyclopedia! Let¡¯s look up the encyclopedia! Meoong!¡± ¡°Encyclopedia¡±? Was there something like that? ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you forgot! Meooong!¡± That¡¯s right. Come to think of it, the system has an encyclopedia function. It was of little use, so I completely forgot about it. I dodged a flying meow punch and connected to the Ether-Wiki. [Checking your eligibilities ¡­ Completed.] [The Eligible: Checking your rights¡­..] ¡®Skip.¡¯ I skipped the string that was listed in a row, and searched for the item ¡°Fruit of Purifying Tree¡±. ¡¶Fruit of the Purifying Tree¡· Type: Plant>Fruit Description: A fruit from the branch of a Purifying Tree that has the power to purify unclean things. It tastes sour and fresh. How to get: ¨€¨€¨€ ¨€¨€¨€¨€ ¨€¨€ ¨€¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.. Fortunately, the item was open, but the way to get it was painted black and could not be read. Then where should I get the information? Should I just ask people around me one by one? What¡¯s with all these annoying quests? Should i just quit? At the time when I was drowning in trouble, Choi Yichan returned. ¡°Yichan-ah, you¡¯re a little late ¡­. uh, what¡¯s that?¡± There was a large plastic bag in Choi Yichan¡¯s hand, who said that he had lost all his strength by running. ¡°Haha ¡­ I bought it on the way here.¡± When I opened it, it was fruit. It was a considerable amount because it was full of apples, pears, and bananas. ¡°On the way? From where?¡± It¡¯s impossible to find a fruit shop near Dungeon Gate 3, which doesn¡¯t even have a convenience store. ¡°That¡¯s, haha ¡­ it just happened.¡± Hopefully he wasn¡¯t forced to buy it¡­.. Anyway, there were a lot of fresh fruits, so I decided to put aside the worries about the quest and eat it right away. It was just when I was hungry, and I don¡¯t think the answer will come out just by thinking about it. ¡°I will cut it.¡± After taking out the plate and fruit knife, Choi Yichan first began to peel the apple. However, the attempt soon ended in failure. ¡°¡­..Ah.¡± This was because the apple was broken into small pieces in Choi Yichan¡¯s grasp. I took the knife from Choi Yichan. ¡°Cheer up, I¡¯ll cut it.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m¡­¡­.¡± ¡°I just wanted apple juice, and that¡¯s good.¡± Choi Yichan was still having trouble controlling his strength. He¡¯s better than before, but he still broke my coffee cup once in five times. Even an S-class hunter has many inconveniences. He said that the progress of finding a new house to live in was very slow, as he has to find a place with strict security. It¡¯s me who lived alone even before the regression, so it¡¯s nice to be able to meet friends like this every day. I cut the apple and put it on the plate. When I tried one piece, it was well-riped, so it tasted deliciously sweet and sour. After sharing it with Mieum and Lime, we sat down together for a while and ate apples. Sitting down like this and eating apples suddenly reminded me of the old days. Before regression, before starting to live alone, I lived with Kwon Jiwoon. Kwon Jiwoon had not yet awakened, and we had a good relationship. At that time, I couldn¡¯t cut the apples, so Kwon Jiwoon used to cut them for me instead. Half of the apple, which he had cut for a while, would belong to Kwon Jiwoon. ¡®There was a time like that¡­.¡¯ Until Kwon Jiwoon awakened. A lot has changed since his awakening. I couldn¡¯t adapt to the changed environment, and I thought Kwon Jiwoon, who suddenly became the leader of the guild, must had gone through a lot of things too. As Kwon Jiwoon became busy, I naturally spent more time alone at home. When I wast left in an empty house, all kinds of negative emotions flooded in. Am I bothering my brother? Why aren¡¯t my parents and grandmother there? Such unanswered questions rushed in. I thought it would be better to live alone, so I decided to live alone after entering college. However, I still could not meet Kwon Jiwoon until the day of the move. ¡°Isn¡¯t Kwon Jiwoon here? I am moving today.¡± ¡°He¡¯s busy right now. I¡¯ll deliver it to him.¡± ¡°But if I could just talk to him for a second¡­..¡± ¡°Kwon Rieul-ssi, do you not understand what I¡¯m saying? The deputy guild leader is busy.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± Time passed with only some things deviated like that ¡­ and it ended with an absurd death. However, this time, the future has changed in many ways because of the regression. Choi Yichan, who should have been dead in the past, is eating an apple in front of me. Then, will it be possible to change the relationship with Kwon Jiwoon? No, let¡¯s stop. What¡¯s the point of thinking like this? It¡¯s not uncommon for cousins to be estranged from each other. I just felt dull for no reason Shall we cut a pear this time and eat it? ¡°Yichan-ah, would you like to eat a pear too?¡± ¡°Oh? That¡¯s nice.¡± I was rummaging through the plastic bag to choose a ripe pear, and the leaves came out from inside. ¡°¡­¡­? What is this?¡± On the surface, they are just plain green leaves. Did the leaves get mixed in the plastic bag? I shook the leaves with my hands, and suddenly the system window popped up. [Skill: The Barista¡¯s Eyes (D) is used.] [Item: Leaf of the Purifying Tree (¡ï¡î¡î¡î¡î) Type: Leaf The leaf of the Purifying Tree. It smells good, but you can¡¯t eat it as is.] What? Suddenly? ¡°Yichan-ah.¡± ¡°Huh, what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Where did you buy this fruit?¡± CH 50 Choi Yichan said that while he was running, he bought some fruit at a stall. Fortunately, he had received the flyer and handed it to me. [Happy Green Life Fruit Shop Direct Delivery/Courier Service available ¡ù Free shipping over ?30,000 010-xxxx-xxxx] The name is a bit unusual, but it looks like an ordinary fruit shop advertisement¡­. Is there such a thing as the Purifying Tree in a place like this? Let¡¯s go and see. I thought it was a tree growing in the dungeon, of course, because the system wanted to throw me into the dungeon whenever there was a chance, but was it actually possible to buy it at a fruit shop? However, perhaps because the flyer was made from recycled back paper, a completely different contents were printed on the back. I was about to take notes of the phone number and fold the flyer, but when I saw the back, I was startled. [Happy Green Life Dungeon Farm Dungeon Plant Cultivation/Sales Specialist ¡ù Dungeon Management Office Authorized Designated Company ¡ù a PhD in Dungeon Botany ¡ù Dungeon Plant Experience Farm is operated. 010-xxxx-xxxx] Yes, I should go to this farm. The moment I saw the name of the farm, I suddenly remembered something that happened before the regression. It was a story from a TV show. It¡¯s the story of a botanist who is fascinated by the plant ecosystem of Dungeon. After awakening, she threw everything away and only immersed herself in researching dungeon plants. It may seem somewhat vague to say this, but the actual broadcast treated her like a ¡®Martian¡® or a ¡®Venusian¡®. In short, she was treated like a freak. It wasn¡¯t a very interesting subject, but I was sucked into it with proper trailer fishing and provocative editing and watched it until the end. It was something like this¡­. [] This is the Hunter Market¡¯s consignment shop area where numerous items are traded. It¡¯s crowded with hunters who want to buy items at low prices, but the Venusian is interested elsewhere. The Venusian who scanned the surroundings quickly stopped at one place. ¡°How much is this?¡± What the Venusian pointed to is ¡­ a seed? ¡°What did you just buy?¡± ¡°Dungeon arrowroot, Green Etheric Toothed Carrot Seed.¡± ¡°It ¡­ Isn¡¯t that a plant monster?¡± ¡°No. They¡¯re often mistaken for monsters, but they¡¯re all ordinary plants.¡± The place where she headed with the seeds of the monster is home to the Venusian. ¡°What are you doing with these monster seeds?¡± ¡°Of course I¡¯m going to grow it.¡± You raise a plant monster? The Venusian takes the frightened PD Kim to the greenhouse. ¡°This place has the same ether, temperature, and humidity as inside the dungeon. Any dungeon plant can grow perfectly here.¡± It¡¯s filled with toothed carrot and orchids with blades like razor. ¡°Isn¡¯t it creepy to see them like this?¡± ¡°Fufu, aren¡¯t they cute?¡± ¡°What are the benefits of growing this?¡± Does it have any special effect? PD Kim, who claimed that he¡¯s not in good health due to continuous overtime work these days, is interested. ¡°Yeah? Can¡¯t I just grow them? They¡¯re cute.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid?¡± A Venusian who pours etheric water into a flowerpot and takes care of them with care. One of them has finally bloomed. ¡°I worked really hard to grow this.¡± Ugh, this is a flower? ¡°It seems to resemble ¡­. human head.¡± ¡°It¡¯s called a hair flower. Look. Isn¡¯t it pretty? Touch it.¡± PD Kim carefully stretches out his hand. Kwak! ¡°Argh! Aaaaah! It bit me!¡± Crack! ¡°Argh! Let go of me! Save me!¡± [¡Î] ¡­¡­. The last scene was the PD running away with his hand bitten by a flower that resembles a human head. After that, they were criticized a lot for promoting the Dungeon Farm, and eventually, the ¡°Secret of the Venusians¡± program, which introduces unique hunters, ended. It was obvious that this Happy Green Life Dungeon Farm was on the program. ¡®It¡¯s a place where human hair flower is grown, so it¡¯s not strange to have a Purifying Tree too.¡¯ But I remember that this farm was closed later ¡­ it must have been a big event because it was a hot topic, but what was it? Well, I can¡¯t remember the reason for the closing. Anyway, it looks like it¡¯s still open, and I got a hint, so let¡¯s go check it out. *** In front of an ordinary apartment complex. Happy Green Life Fruit Shop was there. ¡°How much is a basket of apples here?¡± ¡°Five thousand won.¡± The stall was quite crowded with customers looking to buy fruits on their way home from work. I approached the owner, who was holding fruit in a plastic bag with an indifferent look on her face, and spoke to her. ¡°Excuse me, where should I go to get to Happy Green Life Dungeon Farm?¡± This is because there was no farm around the fruit stall. The address written on the flyer is here for sure¡­. ¡°Go that way.¡± The fruit shop owner pointed to a certain place. It was a bonus to see all kinds of unusual people. As I turned my head, I saw a signboard saying ¡®Farm¡¯ in a position that seemed to be covered by bushes, next to the narrow path leading to the mountain behind. ¡°Ugh¡­.¡± The joy of finally finding it is for a momentarily. As soon as I entered the trail, I could feel the hot air. In addition, toothed carrots and razor-blades orchids were grown on both sides, creating a very eerie atmosphere. Shush, shoo, shush, shush¡­.. There seems to be a strange noise coming from somewhere¡­. If I had known it would be like this, I would have come with Choi Yichan. I regretted belatedly that I said I would go alone because I could go in vain. I climbed up the creaking stairs and went into the farm. The stifling air was full of unique smells and questionable plants, but I didn¡¯t feel any sign of human¡¯s activities. ¡°Excuse me, is there anyone here?¡± There is no answer. ¡°Nobody here? I¡¯d like to buy something.¡± Is there no one here? The moment I¡¯m thinking about going back disappointed. Dudangtang! There was a sound of something collapsing inside, and then a person rushed out. ¡°Uh, yes, what¡¯s up? I paid the electricity bill last week.. The electricity really shouldn¡¯t be cut off, but if you could wait a few more days ¡­ are you not here to collect the electricity bill?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m looking for some saplings.¡± ¡°Huk, are you a customer? Are you a guest? A visitor other than that filthy hunter ¡­ it¡¯s the first time in a month, no, the first time in two months? Come this way, please come this way!¡± The owner of the farm was almost the same as what I saw her on the broadcast before regression. Only the lower part of her long hair was dyed green, and she wore a green jacket over a green satin skirt over her light green shirt. She wore green horn-rimmed glasses. It¡¯s a clear concept-specific outfit¡­. Obviously the name¡­. ¡°My name is Lee Chorok, the owner of this place. I¡¯m a botanist. What are you looking for?¡± Yeah, it was Chorok. Even the name matches. ¡°We are different from similar companies. You can choose the dungeon plant that is right for you, recommended by a Ph.D. holder through a scientific method. If you trust me, I will do my best to serve you.¡± The leaflet given by Lee Chorok said, ¡°Recommendation of Dungeon Plants by Blood Type¡± and ¡°Today¡¯s Fortune UP, Lucky Color Plants by Constellation¡±. It has nothing to do with science.¡­. But from what she just said, it seems that there have been no customers for two months, is it really okay here? Anyway, after returning the pseudo-science flyer, I took out the leaf of the purifying that had been in the bag with the fruit. ¡°I¡¯m looking for this tree.¡± As soon as Lee Chorok saw the leaf, she recognized what it was. ¡°Ah! It¡¯s a Purifying Tree. There is a lot of fine dust these days. As the name suggests, the Purifying Tree has the effect of purifying the air, so it is recommended as a horticultural plant for home use. Just in time, there is a sapling that¡¯s been airlifted from the C-grade dungeon ¡­ shall I show you?¡± It was an eye full of anticipation and desperate sales. When I nodded, Lee Chorok quickly led me to the sapling. [Item: Sapling of the Purifying Trees (¡ï¡î¡î¡î¡î) Type: Sapling The sapling of a young Purifying Tree. When planted, it gives off a delicate floral scent.] The name of the status window is definitely Purifying Tree. I didn¡¯t expect it to be so easy to find. The thought that this quest would be finished easily made me smile. ¡°How much is it?¡± ¡°It just so happens to be on sale! We are offering it for only 50 rubies at a special sale price.¡± ¡°¡­.Eh.¡± It¡¯s more expensive than I thought. I counted the rubies left in my inventory. Excluding the store sales, I spent 70 of them to buy various materials from the 100 I got from the last quest. Of those, 50 are almost all of them. ¡°Umh¡­.¡± Let¡¯s go back and think about it slowly. There is no law that says you have to buy it now, and if you do well, you might be able to get it elsewhere. ¡°I¡¯ll think about it more and come back.¡± However, this dungeon botanist, Lee Chorok, seemed hesitant and quickly started adding options. It was formidable agility. ¡°Customer-nim! It¡¯s not an easy tree to get. In some C-grade dungeons, it can only grow when the ether contained in the soil is biased towards the water attribute. It also has excellent air purification ability.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a bit pricey though¡­.¡± ¡°If you buy it now, we also provide an ether-fertilizer set for fast growth, a dedicated watering can, and gardening scissors as a bonus!¡± ¡°Well¡­.¡± ¡°The first and second book of Growing Dungeon Plants that even elementary school students can understand is also included!¡± On the cover with toothed carrots and hair flowers, ¡®Author: Lee Chorok¡¯ was written. It was like a self-published book. ¡°I¡¯ll also give you two roots of toothed carrots! Absolutely special price! Great service!¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s fine.¡± Just the thought of a carrot with teeth gave me nightmares. ¡°I opened this farm with a pool of bank loans, and it¡¯s been two months. ¡­ there was no customer but one strange hunter. They are all precious trees that I airlifted from the dungeon and raised.¡± Yeah ¡­ I wouldn¡¯t buy dungeon plants unless I had my own reasons. ¡°Electricity and water bills have been delayed for several months. If business doesn¡¯t go like this ¡­ my sister, ah, she is the owner of the fruit shop in front of this farm. My sister said she would turn this place into a fruit shop.¡± The fruit shop seems to be doing well. ¡°Ah, if this tree sapling doesn¡¯t sell ¡­ I¡¯ll die here alone like dust with the trees¡­.¡± An incredibly burdensome look swept over me. The ability to erase the debt of mind was no joke. It was really hard to say ¡®I¡¯ll buy it next time¡® in front of those mournful eyes and sad TMI. Well, it¡¯s true that I need a Purifying Tree, and I got a lot of extra money, so I¡¯ll just buy it. ¡°Then ¡­ I¡¯ll buy it, give me this.¡± ¡°Please think of saving me, huk! Yes? Re-really? Are you buying this?¡± Lee Chorok, who was squeezing tears with a sad expression, was pleased with my words. ¡°Huk, wait a minute. Right! While you wait, please take a look at the greenhouse.¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m fine.¡± ¡°This way! You can look at it comfortably.¡± Lee Chorok pushed me into the greenhouse of the farm and soon disappeared, saying that she will pack the sapling and miscellaneous items. I shouted, ¡°Please take out the carrots¡±, but it doesn¡¯t seem to be heard. Basically, she seemed to have a personality that didn¡¯t listen well to others. A greenhouse full of strange-looking plants unfolded before my eyes. It¡¯s a little scary, but ¡­. since it¡¯s been a while, let¡¯s take a look around. ¡®If I don¡¯t touch a human head flower, I¡¯ll be fine.¡¯ But I soon regretted this decision. CH 51 ¡°¡­¡­Where am I?¡± Snake vines in the front and sticky spatula that large enough to swallow people in the back. I¡¯m lost. A few dozen minutes of wandering around trying to find a way out¡­. ¡°I failed again¡­.¡± A melancholy murmur was heard from nearby. It was the voice of a young man. Where is that sound coming from? I walked towards the side where the sound was heard. Thank Goodness. I thought I was stuck in a greenhouse like this, but I can find someone and ask for a way out. A voice of lamentation continued to be heard. ¡°Haa ¡­. I failed again¡­.¡± The crying voice sounded like a gloomy ghost. ¡°What the hell should I do? In my power ¡­ it is not enough¡­¡­.¡± I was able to find the owner of the voice when I turned around in the direction of a large sticky spatula. ¡°I ¡­ why is it always like this.¡­.¡± A man was crouching on the floor, looking into a small pot. The flower in the pot was withered. The leaves are yellow and the stems are bent, and the petals are likely to fall off if touched incorrectly. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on, but it looks like he¡¯s difficult to talk to. I tried to back off a little bit. Rustling. ¡°¡­¡­!¡± The man, surprised by the sound of my footsteps, raised his head. As his white cheeks grew redder, he spoke in a voice that couldn¡¯t hide his embarrassment. ¡°Yo-you, how did you get in here? Haven¡¯t you heard that no one is allowed to come in?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know about it?¡± He looks about the same age as me, but why is he talking informally from the beginning? Naturally, I became short-spoken. ¡°¡­¡­! There, it says don¡¯t come in.¡± ¡°But there is not?¡± ¡°What? Do you have a problem with your eyes? It clearly said no entry here! Eh?¡± There was only a piece of white paper attached to the place the man pointed to. A white paper with nothing written on it. The man took the paper and checked it. On the back, it says ¡®No Entry¡®. ¡­ You put it upside down. So, obviously I can¡¯t see it. The bewildered man spoke again in a sulky voice. ¡°Ehem! Anyway, I¡¯m busy right now, so go away.¡± ¡°I have a question ¡­ Ah.¡± Pretending to be a grown-up, he flipped his hair over to reveal his forehead. However, the cheeks that were still young, the eyes without double eyelids, and the slightly raised eyes were familiar. It looked like a face I had seen somewhere, and I immediately remembered who this man was. The No. 2 in ranking, Hunter Choi Cedric. An S-class swordsman who is the representative Hunter of C&L Corporation, one of the Big Three guilds. It was natural that he looked familiar because he appeared in so many media outlets, contrary to the No. 1 ranker, which is almost underwater. The last thing I remember is¡­¡­. ¡°It¡¯s too late for the Healer to heal now. While the swordsman catches the monster himself, what if the Hunter who only heals in the back can¡¯t heal properly?¡± ¡°Oh, tell me again. The healing can¡¯t be done? What? I¡¯m out of the healing range? Aren¡¯t healers supposed to chase after me on their own? After all, you all get money thanks to our guild.¡± It was a personality controversy¡­. It was noisy for a while because the large bomb was detonated on a live broadcast that could not be edited. The Healer professional guild ¡®Garden of Blessing¡® stood up with a promise to boycott Choi Cedric. In the end, it ended with Choi Cedric apologizing publicly, but it became controversial again, saying that the apology was not sincere. In other words, a ranker who is known for his personality controversy as well as his skills and fame. To see such a famous hunter here ¡­ it¡¯s really a small world. In the meantime, I¡¯m stuck in the memories for a while. ¡°Ah, yes, yes, I see.¡± ¡°What?¡± Choi Cedric suddenly ripped open the ¡®No Entry¡® paper, scribbled something on the back, and held it out. ¡°Here! My autograph! I signed it, so go now.¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t need it.¡± I¡¯m not really a fan, so what¡¯s the use of a Hunter¡¯s autograph to me? It was also signed on the back side with tape marks. But he seemed to interpret my words in a different way. ¡°What? Do you want to take a picture with me? Well ¡­ yeah, I originally can¡¯t, but I¡¯m in a mood today. Take this and go quickly. I am someone with a private life too.¡± Click. Without giving me a moment to say anything, he snatched my phone, took a selfie, corrected it meticulously, and returned it. ¡°No ¡­ not this, I was going to ask you how to get out of here.¡± ¡°¡­¡­!¡± Choi Cedric¡¯s cheeks slowly flushed. ¡°Hey! Yo-you should¡¯ve said that in the first place! I, I thought you were a fan who came all the way here again!¡± I tried to tell him. It¡¯s him who made a fuss. ¡°But what¡¯s that flower?¡± I pointed to the withered flower in the pot. ¡°¡­.it¡¯s just flowers. Now go. The exit is over there.¡± For ¡®just a flower¡¯, you looked at it with a depressed expression earlier¡­.. ¡°You said, my power is not enough, so what should I do?¡± Choi Cedric must be a type of person who turns red quickly. ¡°You, you, you! You secretly listen to people talking to themselves!¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t hear it secretly, since you were talking to yourself in front of the road I was passing through.¡± ¡°¡­¡­!¡± ¡°Anyway, what¡¯s this flower?¡± In a greenhouse full of flowers that look like a human head, vines with snakes, and sticky spatulas big enough to eat humans, this flower just withers and looks quite ordinary. However, the delicate soft blue petals somehow bothered me. ¡°Don¡¯t be interested! It¡¯s a very precious flower. It¡¯s not something anyone can get.¡± That very precious flower is dying¡­. It was a moment when I wanted to ask more about the flower. ¡°Customer-nim! Where are you in now? The sapling is ready. You didn¡¯t come close to the dungeon spatula, did you? Customer-nim! The Dungeon Sticky Spatula is very cute, but you can be eaten if you touch it!¡± ¡°This way!¡± Lee Chorok found me and approached me at a fast pace, but she was surprised to see Choi Cedric. ¡°Huuu, haa, Customer-nim, you are here! Here, the sapling of the Purifying Tree you purchased ¡­ Huuk, why is Hunter Choi Cedric here? ¡­ Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ve done something to Customer-nim?!¡± ¡°What? How do you see me?¡± ¡°You said you¡¯d kill me like this before.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± Perhaps he noticed the silent contempt in my gaze, Choi Cedric hastily added. ¡°That¡¯s ¡­! It¡¯s because you say it¡¯s hard to save this flower¡­¡­!¡± ¡°Anyway, you can¡¯t do that. She¡¯s my first customer in months.¡± Is this place okay.¡­. Ringing. Then, Choi Cedric¡¯s phone vibrated long. ¡°¡­¡­! I¡¯m going.¡± Choi Cedric, who was going to say something to Lee Chorok, went out of the greenhouse as soon as he checked the name on the phone screen. It seems to be an urgent call. ¡°Why is he here?¡± ¡°No way, gosh, Customer-nim, what happened? That Hunter is a bit nasty, has a bad temper, and has a very poor attitude, but he¡¯s not a bad person ¡­ at least I don¡¯t think so, and it¡¯s not like I can¡¯t say no ¡­ that¡¯s it.¡± Lee Chorok, who said so, looked pale as if she had recalled even a bad memory. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter what happened ¡­ what is this flower?¡± ¡°Oh, you were watching this. It¡¯s a flower called the Blue Celaeno flower.¡± As soon as I heard the name, a status window appeared in front of me. [Item: Blue Celaeno Flower (¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï) A legendary flower that is said to contain the starlight of Celaeno. Note: Withered.] 5 stars¡­..? I was surprised to see that the grade of an ordinary-looking flower was 5 stars. ¡°This flowerpot was entrusted to me by Hunter Choi Cedric.¡± According to Lee Chorok, this was the case. Blue Celaeno Flowers are not only very rare but they are also very difficult to bloom. One day, Hunter Choi Cedric brought the seeds of this flower and asked her to make the flowers bloom at any cost. Lee Chorok accepted the job on the pride of a botanist. ¡­ Rather than that, it seemed that the money offered by Choi Cedric was too large to refuse. ¡°But ¡­ the ether content of the soil needs to be controlled very delicately. I¡¯ve been trying it for months now, and it¡¯s not working.¡± ¡°It¡¯s such a rare flower, can it be a high-quality item material?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like that¡­¡­.¡± Lee Chorok clouded the end of the sentence. She seemed hesitant to say this. Then, she carefully added the backstory. ¡°Hunter Choi Cedric¡¯s younger sister has a rare disease. It¡¯s a disease where the flow of ether in the body gets tangled, so it¡¯s very painful ¡­ there is currently no cure. But only this flower, the Blue Celaeno Flower, is said to the relieve pain.¡± ¡°Ah¡­.¡± That¡¯s what happened. I felt a little sorry. I searched the name of the flower on the Ether-Wiki to see if there was any information. [Checking your eligibilities ¡­ Completed.] [The Eligible: Checking your rights¡­..] ¡®Skip.¡¯ [No results were found for your search.] ¡­¡­¡­¡­.. That¡¯s right. It¡¯s not helpful when I really need it. If that¡¯s the case, I wish I could find a way. *** Choi Cedric, who left the farm, headed straight to the headquarters of C&L Corporation, his guild. ¡°Hunter-nim, I will help you to verify your identity.¡± ¡°Get lost!¡± Choi Cedric ignored the security guard¡¯s restraint and went straight through the entrance. The beep beep sounds were heard, but he didn¡¯t care. The security guard was perplexed, but didn¡¯t catch him.This is because there was no one here who didn¡¯t know who he was just by looking at his face. However, with an angry expression, he simply dismissed the security warning notification. There is no room for hasty steps. He immediately got on the private elevator and got off on the top floor. The top floor, which was accessible to only a few people, had a bleak atmosphere. A secret door appears when you touch a specific location on a white wall with no decorations. After confirming the Hunter license, the door opens, and you must repeat the same process after passing the connecting hallway to enter the hidden area. As soon as he walked through the door, he could smell the medicine. The smell of disinfectant ¡­ and the smell of pain and death. Choi Cedric approached at a quick pace and opened the innermost door. ¡°¡­.Rona-ya!¡± Beyond the door was a room decorated like a hospital room. On the bed was a skinny little girl asleep. No, you can call it sleep. The girl¡¯s sleep is full of pain and fear, not rest and comfort. She screams in fever and pain, but her mind is trapped and she cannot wake up. She is the only younger sister of Choi Cedric, who suffered from a rare disease three years ago and was unable to open her eyes. And now the girl is having a seizure. ¡°Uh ¡­ ugh, hugh¡­¡­. uh, aaaaagh! agh! ugh, hugh!¡± Screams filled the room. Choi Cedric quickly ran to the bedside. ¡°Rona-ya! Oppa is here. It must be really hard. Rona-ya¡­.¡± But no answer is returned. The girl could only continue to let out a moan of pain. Choi Cedric turned to the healers who were waiting next to him. ¡°Why don¡¯t you treat her?¡± ¡°Well ¡­ that¡­¡­.¡± The healer blurted out the end of their words at the sudden question. ¡°As you know, even if we use healing skills, it¡¯s ¡­. there is no improvement.¡± It was true. The two healers in the hospital room are the best healers in Korea, with the exception of Kwon Jiwoon of the White Silver Guild. He took the blame for monopolizing the top healers and paid a huge amount to hire them. However, it was impossible to relieve Choi Rona¡¯s pain no matter how many healing skills they poured. This is because the rare disease rejects all skills and potions. [Next] Translator¡¯s Corner: New characters unlocked : D Celaeno is a real blue star in the constellation of Taurus. CH 52 His throat was burning. Choi Cedric burst out in anger. ¡°Then are you saying that you guys just sucking your fingers when Rona is in pain?¡± ¡°Oh, no! How could we? We¡¯ve been using healing skills.¡± ¡°What about now?¡± ¡°I-I have run out of mana, so I can¡¯t use it anymore¡­.¡± Choi Cedric grabbed the Healer¡¯s neck before he could even finish speaking. ¡°What? Out of mana? Say it again.¡± ¡°Uh ¡­ Ugh.¡± He knocked the Healer¡¯s body to the floor. He grabbed his head with one hand and threw him to the floor. Although he did not use any special skills, the overwhelming status of an S-class Hunter was enough to put pressure on the Healer by itself. Bugh! His body fell like a leaf. Regardless of the pain, Choi Cedric gave strength to his grip. ¡°Uh¡­ Ugh! Ugh!¡± His neck fits tightly into the palm of Cedric¡¯s hand. The Healer, who belatedly realized that he was holding his leash, trembled like an aspen. ¡°You say, ¡®I can¡¯t use my skills because my mana is low¡¯. Then, is there any reason for you to stay here?¡± Sheeng. Choi Cedric drew his sword. The moment he saw that silver blade, the Healer turned white. Cut. This man is really thinking of cutting him. ¡°Ah ¡­ no, no. I can use ¡­ I-I will use¡­.¡± ¡°What are you talking about?¡± When he stood up again, the Healer¡¯s face was a mess of blood and tears. He slapped his cheek with his hand, he was so nervous that he almost fainted. He can¡¯t use the skill at this rate. Swish. Choi Cedric threw the healer away. In turn, he spoke while looking at another Healer, who was shaking in the corner. ¡°You?¡± ¡°¡­.Hick!¡± ¡°You can¡¯t?¡± ¡°Huk, I-I will use it! I can do it!¡± The agitated Healer reached out to Choi Rona and cast a skill. The previous skill use had already exhausted her mana to the bottom and she was dizzy, but there was no other way. If she doesn¡¯t use her skill, she¡¯ll end up like the other healer who fell to the floor. ¡°Uh ¡­ ugh, uhh, heugh!¡± The white light from her fingertips swam through the air. However, the light of healing disappeared without being absorbed by Choi Rona as if it were blocked by something. ¡°Ugh ¡­ cough, cough!¡± ¡°Continue.¡± Once again. One more time¡­. The Healer, who reached her limit, poured out her skills until she vomited blood, but there was no change. Choi Rona still looked in pain. Choi Cedric looked at the figure quietly. ¡®Useless things.¡¯ He always thought about it when he was injured during battle in dungeon and got treated with healing skills. They¡¯re useless. No matter how badly injured he was, he healed quickly when he received the healing skill. Every time he saw the cuts that were deep enough to show the bones heal and the flesh fills in, Choi Cedric felt disgusted and couldn¡¯t stand it. He wanted to cure his sister¡¯s illness instead of this insignificant injury, but they couldn¡¯t save the only person he wanted to be healed. ¡®If only I have that flower¡­.¡¯ Blue Celaeno flower. It was the only medicine that worked for his sister¡¯s illness. If only that flower could be saved, at least ¡­ he would be able to take away the pain that tormented Rona. What are you dreaming about? Would you resent me for not being able to do anything in your dreams? He didn¡¯t cry. Choi Cedric looked at his sister¡¯s thin face with dry eyes. After a while, Choi Rona¡¯s seizures stopped. he eyelids were still tightly closed,, but the screams and convulsions died down. It was already midnight when he left the hospital room after wiping her wet forehead in cold sweat. As he closed the door to her room carefully so as not to make a sound, someone approached him. ¡°I heard you had another fight?¡± ¡°¡­.CEO-nim.¡± It was Lee Sein, the CEO of C&L Corporation. ¡°I don¡¯t mean to scold you to the extent of being angry. It was a bit noisy today.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­.¡± Choi Cedric drooped his shoulders as if a thorn had fallen out in front of Lee Sein. A bitter smile appeared on Lee Sein¡¯s lips. ¡°How is Rona?¡± ¡°She¡¯s a little bit better now.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I was going to come back after hearing that she had another seizure, but the meeting is only over now.¡± ¡°It¡¯s all right. Still, if you could come and see Rona next time¡­.¡± At that time, the secretary next to her called Lee Sein. A discreet but clear voice cuts off the conversation. It was a calculated soft invasion. ¡°CEO-nim, it¡¯s time to go.¡± ¡°Really? Then, I¡¯ve got to go. Cedric, I¡¯m sorry. Let¡¯s talk again later.¡± ¡°¡­.Yes.¡± Without hesitation, Lee Sein turned around. Before following her, the secretary¡¯s gaze rested on Choi Cedric¡¯s face for a moment. Then, a faint smile stayed on his lips before melted away like a bubble. Choi Cedric looked at his back as he moved away. His name is Aeon. The strange face, whose gender and age are not clear, with the eyes adorning that face as if they are embedded with glass eyes, is emotionless. A lot has changed with the advice that that secretary gave to Lee Sein. Originally, Choi Cedric was introverted and timid. However, after he became an S-class hunter, he had to act arrogantly in front of others because what people want is an S-class appearance that is worthy of the strongest. A weak appearance is only a good weakness to be bitten. It would have been better to be arrogant and self-righteous. That¡¯s why he decided to hide the existence of the sick Choi Rona from the world. A melodramatic story doesn¡¯t suit the Rankers. No one is curious about sad stories. In the end, Choi Cedric became famous and admired. But¡­. His younger sister suffers alone in a secret hospital room where no one comes to visit, and he can¡¯t even show his sadness in front of others. Is this really correct? The answer to the question he posed alone is unknown. It was a noisy night. *** What day is it today? So, today is the day I meet celebrities. ¡°Ah!¡± After the commotion at the farm, I left the farm with a sapling and a bundle of miscellaneous gifts. I was walking after getting off the subway at the nearest station to the Dungeon Gate when suddenly someone made a sound of surprise. In front of me was a girl who looked roughly in her mid-teens. ¡°What are you doing there ¡­ Ah!¡± A boy who looked the same appeared. Do they happen to know me? But I have no memory of meeting these kids. The twins, who were looking at me with their eyes wide open, were embarrassed and lowered their heads. ¡°Uwah! I¡¯m sorry. I surprised you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry!¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s fine ¡­ have we met somewhere?¡± ¡°Our guild leader ¡­ oh, no, I mistook you for someone I knew.¡± ¡°Huh, hey, Joo Shinwoo! Gu ¡­ no, Hunter-nim, where did he go?¡± ¡°No way ¡­ did we miss him?!¡± ¡°¡­.That way!¡± Hurriedly, the twins ran towards the other side of the crosswalk. They were so fast that I couldn¡¯t even follow their moves. Only the sound of ¡®I told you to watch him carefully, you idiot!¡¯ came in the wind. They are noisy kids. Are they sure they¡¯re mistaking me for someone else? I think I¡¯ve heard their voices somewhere.¡­. Well, I don¡¯t know. It was just a moment when I stepped back to go back quickly. A long shadow cast under the orange streetlight. I inadvertently lowered my head to the starting point of the shadow and was startled. ¡°¡­¡­what are you doing there?¡± The owner of the shadow was Ki Yoohyun. Under the bright orange light, Ki Yoohyun answered with a troubled smile. ¡°Ahaha ¡­ It¡¯s been a while.¡± A blind spot on the wall that is hard to see from the other side, a pair of glasses to cover that gorgeous face (for reference, they¡¯re not helpful at covering his face a all), and a black coat. I¡¯m starting to understand this situation¡­. Hasn¡¯t something similar happened before? As I recalled, the twins I met earlier came back. Ki Yoohyun hid himself in the dark to avoid the lights of the street lamps. ¡°Yoohyun-ssi?¡± But the twins were faster. Running back and forth, they surrounded Ki Yoohyun back and forth and spoke. ¡°Gu ¡­ no, Hunter Ki Yoohyun-nim, you are here!¡± ¡°We won¡¯t miss you anymore! Please calmly return to the guild.¡± Could it be that Ki Yoohyun, this person, was trying to slack off and playing hide and seek with these cute little children? ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°Rieul-ssi, I feel your eyes sting for some reason, is it just my imagination?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not just your imagination.¡± ¡°¡­.¡± Then, the twins talked to me. ¡°We¡¯re being rude earlier. Guild ¡­ we were looking for Hunter Ki Yoohyun-nim.¡± ¡°Pardon us!¡± Same face, same jumper. The girl with long curly hair looked relatively proud, and the boy with a short hair had a more lively atmosphere. They¡¯re so cute. Then, they introduced themselves. ¡°My name is Joo Shinhee from Cheongna Guild.¡± ¡°I¡¯m Joo Shinwoo!¡± ¡°You can call me Kwon Rieul. Please ¡­ huh?¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing. It¡¯s not¡­.¡± The twin hunters of the Cheongna Guild? I remember. I saw them in a video before my return. As soon as they awakened, they¡¯re a promising prospect who was selected for the main party ¡®Blue Vines¡¯ of Cheongna Guild. The older sister, Joo Shinhee. An archer. Her specialty is an ice pick that targets the opponent¡¯s heart. The younger brother, Joo Shinwoo. A wizard. His specialty is a curse that gnaws at the opponent. The part that left an impression more strongly than their abilities was their facial expressions. A pale, doll-like face that has erased all the innocence and vitality one would expect from a child. The coldness in their eyes. The motion of wiping the blood off the cheek looked cruel. I blinked slowly and looked at them again. A lively, friendly boy and girl were looking up at me. No wonder I didn¡¯t immediately recognize them. I couldn¡¯t connect them with the hideous appearances in my memory. How do these cute kids change like that? 3 years is longer than I thought¡­. ¡°It looks heavy.¡± Ki Yoohyun suddenly talked to me, who was shocked by the future of the twins. ¡°No, it¡¯s not heavy.¡± The sapling of the Purifying Tree was about two spans long, so it was light enough to be held with one hand. Other than that, there is one bag filled with miscellaneous items that Lee Chorok gave me. ¡°It¡¯s too much to carry alone.¡± ¡°Huh? But it¡¯s not a lot?¡± If it was heavy in the first place, I would have put it in my inventory to bring it. I don¡¯t want to have a toothed carrot or something in my inventory, so I just walk with it. However, Ki Yoohyun was firm. ¡°You¡¯re on your way to the store, right? It¡¯s be heavy, so I¡¯ll carry it for you.¡± Ki Yoohyun, who didn¡¯t listen to me at all, took the sapling and bag from my hands. This person is really¡­.. I don¡¯t know exactly what happened, but the twins were chasing Ki Yoohyun. So now, you¡¯re using me as an excuse to get out of this situation¡­.? ¡°Then, I have to help Rieul-ssi, so I¡¯ll be on my way.¡± ¡°Eek, Gu ¡­ Hunter Ki Yoohyun-nim!¡± Joo Shinhee quickly tried to catch Ki Yoohyun, but Joo Shinwoo pulled her back. Then, they put their heads together and whispered in the corner. For your information, it was loud enough for a whisper, so I could hear half of it. ¡°You idiot! Did you forget what the deputy guild leader said?¡± ¡°What is it, you idiot!¡± ¡°The reason Hunter Ki Yoohyun-nim these days¡­.¡± ¡°Ah, aah¡­!¡± ¡°¡­.?¡± The twins glanced at me. The gazes are very passionate. ¡°Then, she¡¯s the¡­!¡± ¡°Yeah, now you understand the situation, you idiot!¡± ¡°Who are you calling an idiot, you idiot! Then uh, what should I do? Should I call her with ¡®unnie¡¯?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s too early to call her that. So we shouldn¡¯t ¡­ it is imperative that ¨E. do you understand?¡± ¡°Joo Shinwoo, you¡¯re saying something useful.¡± ¡°This is nothing.¡± Nod, nod. As if they had reached a dramatic agreement, the twins stood up and greeted me with the utmost respect. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, there¡¯s nothing we can do about it.We¡¯ll be on our way.¡± They bowed and turned around without hesitation. Translator¡¯s Corner: Sorry for the delayed update. The Wi-Fi in my dorm has not been able to connect to internet for days and I¡¯m running out of mobile internet data. Please pray that my Wi-Fi will get fixed quickly T___T CH 53 However, there was one thing that bothered me to send them like this. ¡°It¡¯s night time, can we just send the children? It¡¯s close to the store here, so let¡¯s take them with us.¡± Ki Yoohyun smiled bitterly. ¡°They are young, but they are hunters. The road at night is nothing for them.¡± ¡°No. They might be hunters, but they¡¯re still children.¡± The twins I had seen before the regression flashed before my eyes. The soulless eyes that seem to be disillusioned with the world bothered me. I can¡¯t let them change like that. I wanted to protect that lively and innocence that still remains. Children have to live a life of watching children¡¯s animations at 5 p.m. after school and wondering about what would they eat for dinner. As long as they become a hunter belonging to a guild, there may be difficulties to do all of that in reality, but children are still children. ¡°Hunter Ki Yoohyun-nim is right.¡± ¡°We can go on our own.¡± ¡°Really? That¡¯s too bad. I was going to make you a hot vanilla latte if you stop by.¡± ¡°¡­.Vanilla latte?¡± The twins¡¯ eyes shook wildly. They looked as if they wanted to eat. ¡°I¡¯ve never had a vanilla latte. They said I can¡¯t eat it yet because I¡¯m young.¡± ¡°Endure it, you idiot! I¡¯ve never tried it either.¡± I could hear all the whispers. ¡°Ah, there are butter cookies, too.¡± ¡°¡­¡­!¡± A few seconds to wander between desire and patience. ¡°¡­¡­it¡¯s all right.¡± ¡°Right. We won¡¯t disturb you!¡± Gee, patience won. The twins walked away with a same bustling gait as they did when they appeared. Well, it¡¯s no big deal. Next time I see them, I¡¯ll have to feed them sweet drinks and snacks. *** I walked on the way back to the store side by side with Ki Yoohyun. Around the Dungeon Gate, where buildings and cars are gradually decreasing. Only the dimly lit streetlightslights illuminated the way. The shadow lengthened and shortened as we walked. Surprisingly, there is really nothing. It¡¯s such a quiet place in the middle of Jung-gu, Seoul. Strictly speaking, the Dungeon Gate of the dungeon ¡®Abyss¡¯ was not a part of Seoul City. That huge dungeon appeared by tearing and distorting the surrounding space. Therefore, the shape of the map of Seoul changed before and after the creation of Abyss. An open space between City Hall Station and Hoehyeon Station as if both ends were pulled by hand. The place painted with a black square box is Dungeon Gate 3. Still, since it is located in Seoul, development is made for accessibility, but the reason why there is no convenience store is clear. The smell of air changes slightly as you walk toward the center. The color of the soil that is stepped on by the feet is also different. There was an unknown dungeon in this place. A huge stone wall that has not been revealed what lies at the end of it. A person with a sensitive temperament feels scared just by looking at it. ¡®For that matter, I didn¡¯t have any problems¡­.¡¯ I slept well, ate well, played well, hmm. As silence came, I naturally paid attention to the sound of footsteps next to me. ¡°¡­¡­.¡± Ki Yoohyun, who took my goods at his own will, remained silent for a while. Come to think of it, it¡¯s been a while since I met Ki Yoohyun. This is the first time since we separated in front of Grandma Kim Deokyi¡¯s workshop the day after the fire. The moment I was slightly distracted by the shadow on his face. ¡°Rieul-ssi.¡± A calm call came to my ears. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°You said something earlier.¡± ¡°What are you talking about?¡± ¡°Even if they¡¯re hunters, they¡¯re still children.¡± ¡°¡­Yeah.¡± I turned my head and looked at him. Beyond the glasses that couldn¡¯t hide the gorgeous face at all, the bright eyes stared at me. ¡°Do you really think so?¡± The answer to the question came out quickly. ¡°I do. Just because your body is strong doesn¡¯t mean your mind is also strong.¡± 20 years since the Great Dungeon appeared. Young Awakened was no longer unusual or rare. Awakening is a coincidence or fate that can happen to anyone regardless of age. Rifts keep popping up, and the world wants a Hunter. My words may sound absurd in this situation where you have to face death if you don¡¯t deal with rifts in time. However, I think it is harsh for children, who are curious about dinner side dishes or watching children¡¯s animation after school, to face monsters. Of course, there are minimal safeguards. Awakened people under the age of 12 cannot belong to a guild and are required to be protected by the Dungeon Management Office. Even so, this is not enough. Some children are forced by their parents. Some children mistake it for their own will. Some children enter the dungeon because they want to be praised. The twins Joo Shinwoo and Joo Shinhee are no exception. If I remember it correctly, they¡¯re 14 years old this year. They¡¯re still pretty young. What the hell happened in the past three years that changed their personality that much? Did Cheongna Guild overwork them? I didn¡¯t think the No. 1 guy would be like that, but is he actually a vicious guild leader? Ki Yoohyun spoke again while I was busy accusing the No. 1 ranker, whom I¡¯ve never met, in my head. ¡°Rieul-ssi may be different, but ¡­ Hunters are often said to lack a bit of humanity.¡± His words were understandable. The human mind is more influenced by the body than we think. The strong power, the dungeon experience, and changes in the surrounding environment are obviously damaging to the mind. Wait a minute, but what¡¯s the word in the front of his sentence? Did he say that I may be different because I¡¯m an F-class? Ki Yoohyun¡¯s words continued. ¡°The same goes for those kids. They look like that, but there is a part in their heart that is worn out and dull. Nevertheless, do you still think so?¡± A cautious tone, as if to confirm an important fact. The bright eyes gazed at me. I don¡¯t know why he¡¯s asking me this, but I only have one answer anyway. ¡°Of course, then you should treat them better. Awakening doesn¡¯t mean you become a different being, right? That¡¯s what adults do.¡± I can¡¯t do this. Next time I see the twins, I¡¯m not going to just feed them snacks, but I¡¯m going to make them watch an animation VOD for children. It should be prepared with exciting content that cannot be stopped once played. Tiling! Then, suddenly, a system notification sounded. [A quest has occurred.] [Sub Quest: Lady of the Children¡¯s Heart You value children. Let¡¯s present good memories to the targets1. Feed snacks to the target: 0/1 1 Joo Shinwoo, Joo Shinhee Reward: None.] Unusually, it was a quest without a reward. That¡¯s right. It¡¯s not because I want to be rewarded, but because I can be nice to them with pure kindness. If it can help the twins¡¯ mental health in three years, that¡¯s enough. When I meet the twins again, let¡¯s complete it. This system has always been a nuisance, but sometimes it does a good job. Turning off the quest window, I noticed that Ki Yoohyun was still looking at me. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Were you touched by what I said?¡± As an excuse, it was only a joke. I didn¡¯t say anything special, so it¡¯s just a light conversation to be laughed on before we moved on to another topic. It seems that my intention was not conveyed to Ki Yoohyun at all. He was silent for a while, as if he was tracing some memory, and then he opened his mouth. ¡°Yes, I think so. No, that¡¯s right. I¡¯m touched.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± No, this guy is really¡­. It was a perfect atmosphere to tackle right now. What if I suddenly become serious? Don¡¯t you know Tiki-Taka? I lost my words and kept my mouth shut. ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± What are we going to do with this atmosphere? *** Fortunately, it was only a short way to the store. On the remaining road where the early winter wind was quite chilly, I walked with Ki Yoohyun while telling him about the recent situation. There¡¯s nothing much to say about my recent situation. I can¡¯t tell the story of Choi Yichan, who claimed to be a temporary part-timer to avoid the annoyance around him, so all that¡¯s left is the story of a new regular customer. ¡°¡­.so I was on my way back after getting the ingredients to make lemonade.¡± As I reached the front door of the store, I reached out to ask for my goods. ¡°Rieul-ssi, is there any chance that the guest ¡­ was he a man in his 40s wearing a fishing vest?¡± ¡°Ah, yes, that¡¯s him.¡± Ki Yoohyun was looking at the bushes across from the store. We don¡¯t have to talk face to face, but why do you have to look over there? What is there? ¡°Does he have a scar on his face?¡± ¡°Umh ¡­ come to think of it, there was a scar¡­.¡± ¡°When did you decide to try the new menu?¡± ¡°It¡¯s in 7 days ¡­ what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°I happen to have time that day, so I¡¯d love to try Rieul-ssi¡¯s new menu too.¡± It¡¯s weird. I¡¯m sure he¡¯s smiling, but why did I feel so cold? *** The next day. After waking up leisurely and eating breakfast, I went into the space to find a place to plant the sapling of the Purifying Tree. It was narrow because of Yggdrasil that occupied most of this space, but if I look carefully, I will find a place to plant a tree. ¡°Ah, this will do.¡± I looked inside this space and found the right place. Next to the field planted with Dungeon Sugarcanes, there was a perfect empty space for planting a tree. I squatted down, dug up the soil with a shovel, and planted the sapling. I asked a question to Mieum, who was rolling around next to me, while gently covering the soil. ¡°You know, when someone becomes a Hunter, do they sometimes lose their humanity?¡± What I was going to ask was about what Ki Yoohyun said yesterday. ¡°Hunters are often said to lack a bit of humanity.¡± It was a calm and subdued voice, unlike his usual loose appearance. The refined tone strangely lingered on my mind. ¡°There¡¯s no such thing!¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Of course, some people may have different personalities, but it¡¯s more like revealing one¡¯s true nature when the poor get rich, or when the people at the bottom get power.¡± ¡°You mean it depends on someone¡¯s personality?¡± ¡°Yeah, but¡­.¡± Mieum-ah, I get anxious when you blur your words like that. ¡°When you make a ¡®contract¡¯ with a Great One, if you sympathize with the Great One too much, you may lose your original self as a result of that influence.¡± Uh, what did you just say? Suddenly, two unfamiliar words appeared. ¡°Who is the Great One?¡± ¡°Kiyaoo! Don¡¯t you know that, it¡¯s common sense!¡± ¡°I think you and I have a different range of common sense.¡± ¡°Do you think the Awakeneds can just use the skills? All are empowered by the Great Ones! Among them, there are cases where they give more special power to a contractor through a ¡®contract¡®, waeeong!¡± ¡°Hmm ¡­ so, is it an incredibly strong being that gives you power? Something like the one who works behind the scene or The Holy See?¡± ¡°Sometimes they call it that, waeeong!¡± It looks pretty good just from the explanation. ¡°Can I do that too?¡± It was only a question out of mild curiosity. However, Mieum and Lime became quiet at the same time. ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the matter¡­.?¡± For a moment, there was only silence. ¡°Kkyuu! kkyuuuu!¡± Lime began to cry with great force. ¡°Uh, huh, what?¡± ¡°Kkyuuuu! kkyuu! kkyuuu!¡± It bounces its body and raised the volume of the cries. However, there were no words that I could understand other than ¡®Kyuuu¡®. Sorry. Lime, I don¡¯t know what you mean. ¡°Kyuuuu!¡± I wish I have a slime translator.¡­. *** After gently covering the roots with soil with a seedling shovel and pouring the water from a plastic bottle, the planting of the Purifying Tree was completed. The sun is warm, the wind blows gently, and the soil is moist. It will grow well here. There was some space left next to it, so I moved the tooth carrot and planted it. It¡¯s hard to keep what I received. No, I don¡¯t want to keep it. ¡°Shush, shoo, shush, shoo, shush, shush, shush.¡± Mom, the carrots make strange noises and cries¡­. It doesn¡¯t matter if it grows well or not. I checked the status window of the Purifying Tree right away. However, there was one big problem. [Next] Translator¡¯s Corner: The quest name, Lady of the Children¡¯s Heart is actually not a 100% correct translation (or at least, I¡¯m not sure). It¡¯s ????, i¡¯m not sure what¡¯s that supposed to mean but ?? is children¡¯s heart and ?? is related to female / women, so I translated it like that to suit the story. ISTG, I spent two hours to think about this one. However, the ???? here definitely refers to the epitaph of Bang Jeonghwan, a pioneer of Korean juvenile literature and a children¡¯s rights activist, who led the establishment of Children¡¯s Day in Korea. That¡¯s the phrase that was written on his tombstone, taken from the Chinese character ͯÐÄÈçÏÉ, meaning ¡®a child¡¯s heart is like freshness¡¯. Tiki-Taka (????) derives from a football term. It refers to short quick passes to move the ball down the field. In conversation, it means back and forth. The conversation going well between you two as it¡¯s going back and forth. CH 54 [Item: Purifying Tree (¡ï¡ï¡î¡î¡î) 6 months? What, six months? 6 months is by no means a long time for a normal tree to bear fruit. But so far, Yggdrasil¡¯s fruits and Dungeon Sugarcane have grown in just one day, so why is this the only thing that takes six months! The quest is just a quest, but at this rate, I can¡¯t give the customer a new menu. Is there any way¡­.. Tiling! [New entry has been updated in Ether-Wiki.] At that moment, a system notification sounded quickly. They give me a hint after a long time, so let¡¯s just obediently accept it. When I accessed Ether-Wiki and checked the ¡®Latest Update¡® column, I saw one new item that wasn¡¯t there before. ¡¶How to Promote the Growth of Crops¡· You want to make your crops grow faster. You are a K-gamer who is not satisfied if you do not progress quickly. You need to skip all the letters in order to be satisfied. [Continue Reading] Huh, is it jus me or is there really a grudge that can be felt in the encyclopedia¡¯s explanation? Anyway, I calmly clicked [Continue Reading]. Hello~ This is Ether-Wiki. Today I bring you information on how to promote the growth of crops. We will deliver the necessary information to The Eligible, so please don¡¯t forget to read it until the end. Of course, it takes time to bear fruit! Did you know that? But you want to finish the quest as soon as possible, right? That¡¯s why, today! Make special fertilizer for The Eligible who wants to grow crops quickly¡­¡­. (ellipsis) Today, we learned how to make a special fertilizer. If it was helpful, please access the Ether-Wiki. ^^ What kind of viral blogging¡­.. As if it had been copied from somewhere, there was only one line of information that I wanted in a feast of long and insincere texts. That¡¯s a relief. I can prepare it right away. By the way, this Ether-Wiki seems to update information according to my actions. The notification pops up every time I do something. It seems that such an explanation came out when I first logged in¡­. Can¡¯tI figure out how to save the Blue Celaeno Flower through this wiki? I remembered the image of Choi Cedric, whom I met at the farm yesterday. As soon as I appeared, he pretended to be fine, but the expression on his face looked depressed because of the flower that was about to wither and die. It has nothing to do with me. It¡¯s irrelevant, but¡­. It bothers me that his family is sick. If the flow goes as it has been, the system might tell me. Well, let¡¯s do what I can first. I left the space and took out a paper box that was stuck in the warehouse. In the meantime, a lot of the contents gathered, so the box was quite heavy. ¡°Kwon Ri, what are you going to do about that?¡± Choi Yichan arrived just in time to move the box inside. ¡°Huh? Ah, I¡¯m going to use it as fertilizer.¡± ¡°That?¡± The ingredient of the fertilizer told by Ether-Wiki was the coffee grounds left over after brewing coffee. The garbage bag fell off and I was collecting it without throwing it away, and it turned out well. ¡°Give it to me. I¡¯ll move it.¡± Choi Yichan picked up the box and asked where to go. However, we soon ran into a problem. The blue entrance to the space on the wall was invisible to Choi Yichan. ¡°Waeooong (Of course, do you think this is a place where anyone can come in)!¡± ¡°¡­.Is that so?¡± Naturally, I thought anyone could come in. ¡°Kiyaoong (Me, the entry to this space is only allowed to those who have been approved by the agent who runs the system)!¡± ¡°Then approve it.¡± ¡°Meoooong (That ¡­ it¡¯s not that easy)¡­..¡± I knew it. That¡¯s right. ¡°Waeooong (Don¡¯t look at me with eyes that say, ¡®It¡¯s useless, but I¡¯ve done well so let¡¯s just accept it because it¡¯s pitiful¡®)!¡± ¡°Ah, I got caught.¡± ¡°Kyagyakyaeong!¡± So, I told Choi Yichan to wait and tried to lift the box. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m not very helpful.¡± ¡°A, that¡¯s nonsense. You¡¯ve already helped me so much.¡± I patted his shoulder to tell him not to mind because he was helpful enough already, but Choi Yichan looked disheartened. ¡°At best ¡­ I thought I would be of more help to you.¡± The words were swallowed in a sigh. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Choi Yichan shook his head sideways. His frizzy hair, reminiscent of a puppy, shook. ¡°I will wait here. Go.¡± There doesn¡¯t seem to be any color in the smiling face¡­. I told him to cheer up because it was okay again and went into the space. Coffee grounds were gently sprinkled around the planted sapling. The soft light from the soil was absorbed by the sapling and the status window was updated. [Item: Purifying Tree (¡ï¡ï¡î¡î¡î) Type: Tree It is a good tree to purify the unclean. It has a delicate floral scent. Status: Growing Time Remaining until the fruit ripens: 1 Day] Done. This is it. The next day, safely, the lemon ¡­ Ah, no, I should call it the fruit of Purifying Tree. It has a yellow color, a size that fits in one hand, a round shape, and a sweet scent. No matter how I look at it, it looks exactly like a lemon. Let¡¯s call it fake lemon. The tree grew quite large overnight, and when I picked all the ripe fake lemons, it was a considerable amount. Fake lemons piled up like a mountain in a large bowl. The inside of the store was filled with a sweet and sour scent. I declared in a solemn voice, with a fake lemon in one hand and baking soda in the other. ¡°So, are you all ready?¡± ¡°Yeah, I am.¡± ¡°Nyaaa (Of course)!¡± ¡°Kkyuuu!¡± A temporary part-timer (characteristic: S-class hunter) and the two others answered energetically. I decide to make Lemon Chung with all the picked fake lemons. If I leave it, it¡¯ll only expire. I need lemon syrup to make lemonade anyway, so it¡¯s good to make a lot and drink it over and over again. So today, we are going to deal with this mountain of fake lemons together. It is cumbersome because of the large amount, but it is not difficult to make lemon chung. The first thing to do is to clean the fake lemon. ¡°See, this is how you do it.¡± I soaked the fake lemon in water with baking soda and washed it with my hands. After watching me, Choi Yichan also dipped the fake lemon in water. ¡°Eung, like this¡­.¡± Squelch. The fake lemon was crushed in Choi Yichan¡¯s palm because he put too much strength. ¡°Ahhhhhh!¡± As a result, the juice of the fake lemon flew into Choi Yichan¡¯s eyes accurately. ¡°Huk, Yichan-ah, are you okay?¡± ¡°Ugh, it stings, heugh.¡± ¡°Hurry, wash it with water. Hurry.¡± Thanks to his strong S-class body, he got better soon, but¡­. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s do it again. Just relax your hands and wash them gently. Gently.¡± ¡°Eung, gently¡­.¡± Squelch. ¡°Aaaaaah!¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.. The same thing happened over and over again, and only after both eyes became bright red did Choi Yichan give up washing the lemon. It seems that the strength is not properly controlled yet. Life isn¡¯t easy even for an S-class. ¡°Haha ¡­ I¡¯m sorry.¡± With a gloomy expression, he hung down his head. I quickly pushed his back, fearing that he might become as depressed as yesterday. ¡°It¡¯s okay, you can help me with something else. Just go over there and rest, okay?¡± After leaving Choi Yichan, who retires like that, the remaining labor force is¡­. ¡°Waeoong, Waeoong (It smells good)!¡± A cat is playing while rolling a fake lemon with its front paw. ¡°Kyuuuu!¡± A slime that spreads its body like a membrane, swallows the fake lemon, and then spits out only the seeds. Let¡¯s just do it by myself¡­¡­. Now it is just one F-class cafe owner with one power and two pets. It¡¯s weird. I decided to live a life of working less and resting more, specifically, working two days a week and taking five days off. Why am I washing a large amount of fake lemons after picking them up in the morning? I felt more and more drawn into this system and quests. ¡®Maybe I¡¯m the problem¡­.?¡¯ After washing the fake lemon thoroughly in water mixed with baking soda, I rinsed it once with water, and the cleaning process was finished. If it¡¯s a bought lemon, I¡¯ll need to wash it more, but since this is a freshly picked fruit, this should suffice. Next, it was time to cut the fake lemon into slices. After wiping off the water, cut the top of the fake lemon and discard it, then cut it into 0.3 cm thick slices. Choi Yichan, who was aiming for an opportunity to intervene, promptly offered to help. But¡­.. Puck! He had to give up because the fake lemon was minced instead of sliced. What, isn¡¯t it okay because that means you can cut monsters that aren¡¯t fake lemons well? ¡°I¡¯m sorry, again¡­..¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay. Can you play with Mieum and Lime for a bit?¡± BGM is heard behind my back as I sliced the fake lemon. Tadadadak! ¡°Unyaaaaa!¡± ¡°Kyuuu! Kyuuu!¡± ¡°Ahaha, you guys, one at a time.¡± Through the window in front of me, I can see the huge stone wall of the Great Dungeon Abyss, and there¡¯s a lively cry behind me. There¡¯s also a tak, tak, tak sound as the lemon was cut in cutting board. It¡¯s so peaceful¡­¡­. Ah, just to avoid misunderstanding, I¡¯m not saying that I hate peace. A life of eating well, resting well, playing well, and cutting fake lemons into thin slices. It is truly a life suitable for a regressor. This F-class regressor wants to rest. Remove the seeds from the sliced ??fake lemon and place it in a large bowl. Then, pour sugar equal to the weight of the fake lemon and mix well. It took quite a while to finish it up to here because of the large amount. While waiting for the sugar to melt for a while, I got a little hungry. Well, let me try one. I picked up a slice of fake lemon mixed with sugar and took it to my mouth. ¡°¡­¡­!¡± The first thing I tasted was a thrilling sour taste. Then, the sweetness that neutralizes the sourness filled the mouth, and the rich citrus scent cleared my head. It is delicious to eat as it is, but it will taste even better if it is aged. After boiling it in hot water, wiping the sterilized jar well, and then filling it with sugar-pickled fake lemon, the making of lemon chung completed. I looked at the lemon chung jar neatly placed on the shelf. Just looking at the golden shining jar in the midday light gave me peace of mind. Well, it¡¯s peaceful. Really. *** I was alone in the store that evening when I promised the regular customer a taste of the new menu. It¡¯s because Choi Yichan, who was here with me until now, has returned. ¡°Are you going now? Where are you going?¡± ¡°Hahahaha! No, it¡¯s okay! I have a place to sleep!¡± ¡°What? Aren¡¯t you still looking for a house? Where are you living now?¡± ¡°The earth, the wind is with me! Don¡¯t worry.¡± ¡°Wait, don¡¯t say anything weird. Where do you really spend your time? Yichan-ah?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going, see you tomorrow!¡± But he left only a cheerful smile behind. Is he really okay? He¡¯s a little strange these days¡­. My friend¡¯s Hunter Grade went up and he suddenly became weird, what should I do? I¡¯ll question him in more detail tomorrow, anyway. ¡°Welcome.¡± ¡°That thing, please give me what we talked about before.¡± The customer in the fishing vest showed up on time. Without saying anything else, he sat down and asked for the drink. Did you expect it that much? Then, I have to live up to your expectations. [Next] Translator¡¯s Corner: Lemon Chung: Chung means ¡®preserved with sugar in a jar¡®. Taken from (as usual) Wikipedia, Chung/Cheong (?; œ[) is a name for various sweetened foods in the form of syrups, marmalades, and fruit preserves. In Korean cuisine, cheong is used as a tea base, as a honey-or-sugar-substitute in cooking, as a condiment, and also as an alternative medicine to treat the common cold and other minor illnesses. Originally, the word cheong (?; œ[) was used to refer to honey in Korean royal court cuisine. oh, and my WiFi got fixed, but apparently I¡¯m unlucky to get a room where the signal is poor LOL CH 55 Translated by cabinfourtranslations. I put freshly squeezed salty lemon chung in a glass cup. Next, pour carbonated water to the cup and fill it with an appropriate amount of ice. Although it¡¯s cumbersome to make lemon chung, the process of making it to a drink is simple. [Item: Lemonade (¡ï¡ï¡ï¡î¡î) Status: Good (Remaining Time: 00:30:00) Effect: It purifies the mind.] Perhaps because it was made from the fruit of a Purifying Tree, a purification-related effect came out. However, when I held out this lemonade without lemon, the customer made a puzzled expression. Did he not expect lemonade to come out? ¡°Not this, you¡¯re supposed to give me something else.¡± ¡°What?¡± Was there something like that? ¡°This is the new menu that I was supposed to give you today.¡± The customer raised his voice, as if he felt stuffy. ¡°Not this kind of drink! Aren¡¯t you trading the Long-tailed Phoenix today?¡± ¡°The Long-tailed Phoenix ¡­ What is it?¡± Judging by the name, it looks like a monster. Is it a rare monster? ¡°Don¡¯t play innocent! You, I know you¡¯re in touch with the smugglers!¡± ¡°What did you know? Don¡¯t talk about scary things like smuggling! This is an ordinary cafe!¡± ¡°Why is there an ordinary cafe like this?¡± ¡­¡­¡­ I have nothing to say about that¡­. I don¡¯t know why, but this customer seems to have a strong misunderstanding. I explained again to clear up the misunderstanding. ¡°That ¡­ still, this is just a cafe.¡± ¡°Then where is the Long-tailed Phoenix?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never seen such a monster before. There¡¯s only a cat and a slime here.¡± ¡°Nyaooong.¡± ¡°Kkyuu!¡± ¡°¡­¡­.!¡± The customer suddenly distorted his face and tried to leave the store in a hurry as if he had nothing more to do. However, I hurriedly reached out and grabbed the customer. Where are you going? You have to drink this to complete the quest. My Golden Draw Ticket! ¡°Sir, it¡¯s already made, so please drink this before you go.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need it!¡± ¡°Take just one sip.¡± ¡°What the hell is this drink¡­¡­!¡± However, as I kept strongly insisting it, the customer eventually took a lemonade cup in his hand. Gulp, he drank a sip. Flinch. He looked at the lemonade again with a surprised expression. Gulp, gulp¡­. He emptied all the remaining lemonade. Above his head, the satisfaction gauge began to fill with light. The sparks appeared so clearly that one could guess his feeling without asking. The sour taste, the deep sweetness, and the sparkling taste of carbonated water. Surrounded by a storm of fresh taste, the customer was very moved. [The target loves your drink. You made a deep connection with drink.] [Congratulations! You have completed ¡®Sub Quest: Satisfy The Customer¡¯. Please collect the reward.] [Experience: 100 EXP have been acquired.] [You have obtained 1 Golden Draw Ticket.] [Fame: 5 / Popularity: 10.] [Cafe Rieul¡¯s current grade: F] A quest completion message rang just in time. Done. Since the misunderstanding was cleared up, I tried to tell him to go quickly. ¡°I ¡­ I¡¯ve been living my life wrong.¡± Pardon? ¡°At first, it had its own meaning. I tried to spread my will as a hunter on the media. However, the better the view counts, the more money it makes.¡± The customer¡¯s story continued. ¡°From that moment on, I became a slave to Aggro. Clickbait articles, gossip, advertising articles ¡­. I¡¯ve become a giraegi.¡± I couldn¡¯t get my mind off the pouring feast of TMI. In summary, this guest is Kim Taewoon of Hunter Scope. His job is writing low-level articles to earn views, in other words, he¡¯s a trash journalist. He said that he came here while investigating the site of the smuggling of illegal monsters. After talking to himself for a long time, the customer¡¯s face looked very clear when he raised his head. A pair of burdensome twinkling eyes. A comfortable expression that dispels all false desires. A smile full of good intentions You looked very pure¡­. ¡°I was wrong! That¡¯s not true journalism!¡± It¡¯s a very different attitude than before. What is this? I checked the status window of the lemonade again. The rather vague expression of ¡®purifies the mind¡® caught my eye. No way ¡­ did the lemonade purify the journalist¡¯s mind? The journalist ahjussi exclaimed with flawless, clear eyes. ¡°Thank you! You opened my eyes. Now I¡¯m going to walk down the path of true journalism!¡± Well, at least it¡¯s better than continue being a giraegi, right? ¡°It¡¯s ¡­ cheer up. That¡¯s right.¡± The moment when I exhorted the journalist ahjussi like that. The cafe door opened and Ki Yoohyun appeared. ¡°I came here because I was worried.¡± With a calm look in his eyes, he turned to the clear-eyed journalist ahjussi. ¡°What kind of situation is this?¡± I don¡¯t know about that either¡­. [Achievement: Almost Infinitely Transparent You purified the mind of a disturbed person. His heart is now pure. His heart will never be tainted by darkness again. Reward: Ether-Wiki Update] Uh, this much? It was almost at the same time as the achievement that felt so grandiose that it felt embarrassing. ¡°¡­¡­.!¡± The eyes of the journalist ahjussi who preached the path of true journalism with an impeccable face and Ki Yoohyun met. ¡°Huk, Yo-you are¡­.!¡± ¡°You remember. It¡¯s been a long time.¡± A smiling lips with a soft voice. However, the journalist¡¯s face turned pale. Not only that, but his body began to tremble. He seemed to be afraid of Ki Yoohyun. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect to see you here.¡± ¡°Today, today, by chance ¡­ it¡¯s just a coincidence! I didn¡¯t come here on purpose! Then, I¡¯ll get going!¡± The last words were so shaky to the point of being hard to understand. The journalist ahjussi quickly packed his bag and left the store. I was wondering if I should keep listening to the pouring TMI, it¡¯s a relief that I¡¯m lucky. ¡°Did you know that man?¡± ¡°In the past, we had bumped into each other because of an information gathering.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Hunter Scope, which he belongs to, is a little famous. In a bad way.¡± Come to think of it, I remember reading it. What is a famous Hunter¡¯s secret private life like, and some famous guilds have big names behind them. It was a false initials article with no basis. ¡°I applied for a restraining order because he was so persistent.¡± ¡°Hee ¡­ what kind of information he gathered?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡± ¡°Yoohyun-ssi?¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad Rieul-ssi is okay.¡± It¡¯s a pity that he changed the topic. Hmm, he said he came all the way here because he was worried, so should I skip it? ¡°But it will be fine now.¡± Because the journalist has been completely purified by the power of lemonade. It was a terrifying effect. Well ¡­ Anyway, cheer up. In that way, I wished th journalist ahjussi good luck in the future. By the way, the Ether-Wiki has just been updated as an achievement reward. [¡®Blue Celaeno Flower¡® has been added to the Ether-Wiki.] The update was, as expected, a way to save the Blue Celaeno Flower. The flower that Choi Cedric struggled to save. The quests in the right place, the bizarre achievements, the Wiki updates ¡­ This system does not react mechanically, but it seems to have an intention. It¡¯s meant to annoy me. Still, thank you for teaching me how to save the flower. Thank you¡­¡­. ¡¶Blue Celaeno Flower¡· Type: Plant> Description: A legendary flower that is said to contain the starlight of Celaeno. How to Bloom Blue Celaeno Flower: [Continue Reading] ¡°¡­¡­.!¡± I was astonished when I checked the Ether-Wiki. This is the information I¡¯ve been waiting for, but ¡­. uh, is this real? Is it really okay to do it like this? It¡¯s not a scam, right? *** The next day, I headed back to Happy Green Life Dungeon Farm. Of course, the purpose is to save the Blue Celaeno Flower, but as soon as she found me, Lee Chorok was horrified. ¡°Cu, cu, cu ¡­ customer-nim? Wha-what did you come here for?¡± ¡°Hello. I have something to ask you today¡­¡­¡± ¡°Tuesday, no refunds!¡± ¡°¡­.Yes?¡± ¡°Even if you don¡¯t like the Purifying Tree, I can¡¯t give you a refund!¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it still refundable according to the Consumer Protection Act?¡± ¡°But ¡­ I-I have already spent all the money, so I don¡¯t have any money to give it back to you!¡± ¡°All 50 rubies?¡± Isn¡¯t that quite a lot of money? ¡°That¡¯s because I paid the overdue electricity bill and dealt with this and that¡­.¡± I looked around the farm for a while. Lee Chorok tried to cover one side in a hurry, but I had already seen it. The appearance of the farm was quite different from when I came before. Above all, a large plant at the entrance stood out. ¡°What is this?¡± ¡°Ah, customer-nim! You have a god eye. This is a Flying Spaghetti Tree! It¡¯s a very rare child, and I was lucky enough to get a bid. Once a day, it tells us a Neapolitan ghost story.¡± ¡°¡­¡­how much was the bid?¡± Lee Chorok carefully spread out five fingers. Well then¡­. ¡°I didn¡¯t come here to get a refund.¡± ¡°Customer-nim, please don¡¯t refund ¡­ huh, is that so? Ugh, I was surprised. You should¡¯ve quickly said it. I was wondering if I should sell my kidney.¡± Is this place really okay? ¡°Then why did you come?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a Blue Celaeno Flower.¡± ¡°Ah, yes, yes!¡± ¡°I found a way to save it.¡± ¡°Is that true?¡± Lee Chorok took me to the greenhouse immediately without asking long questions. Soil, water, temperature, nutrition ¡­ she said that the flowers did not come back to life, even though she did everything to the best of her knowledge. Choi Cedric¡¯s urging is getting worse day by day, and she wants to grab the straw. It must be a situation where she wants to believe what I¡¯m saying out of the blue. ¡°I told you not to come in!¡± Even today, Choi Cedric looked depressed in front of the flowers in the greenhouse. ¡°U-Uagh! Hunter Choi Cedric, don¡¯t be so angry. We have a visitor.¡± ¡°Oh? Ah, back then ¡­ my fan?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a fan.¡± This person and that person listen only to what they want to hear. ¡°As I¡¯ve said before, I have a private life. It¡¯s hard to ask for an autograph anywhere. ¡­ Ah, you¡¯re not a fan? Don¡¯t ¡­ don¡¯t confuse people!¡± His earlobes are blazing red. ¡°Then why are you here?¡± ¡°I know how to save the flower.¡± ¡°¡­¡­! Don¡¯t talk nonsense!¡± Choi Cedric distorted his expression. The look of embarrassment that was here until now was nowhere to be seen, and he seemed to be wary of me. CH 56 ¡°I¡¯ve met a lot of people who say that. They were all scammers. How are you going to do something that even the plant otaku here couldn¡¯t?¡± ¡°Then what if I succeed?¡± ¡°What? What nonsense¡­.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong, couldn¡¯t it be successful? Whether I succeed or fail, you won¡¯t lose anything, so why you don¡¯t just let me try?¡± Choi Cedric looked at me with an expression that couldn¡¯t hide his agitation. Hope, and fear of having hope, a greater discouragement. Still, perhaps, the expectation that this time might be different. Just by seeing that complicated expression, I could guess what Choi Cedric had to go through. A similar thing must have happened many times during that time; having expectation, being disappointed, and looking forward again. So far, this is the widely known image of Choi Cedric. An arrogant, impudent, tough-tempered Ranker. However, when I saw him in person, he felt more like a child. ¡°Okay! If you succeed, I¡¯ll do anything for you. Money? Connections? Just say anything.¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough. I¡¯ll tell you what I want when I succeed.¡± I have no choice but to try anyway. After taking a deep breath, I looked back at Choi Cedric and said, ¡°Excuse me ¡­ can you step back a little bit?¡± ¡°Huh? Why? Can¡¯t you save the flower when I look at it? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re trying to spy on this flower in secret?!¡± ¡°That¡¯s not it ¡­ Well, I¡¯m nervous because I¡¯m close to a celebrity!¡± ¡°Seriously, why didn¡¯t you tell me sooner? You deserve to be nervous, ok, I understand! Now, is this enough?¡± I can¡¯t believe this worked. I approached the pot after learning that Choi Cedric had taken about five steps apart. The petals, which were originally blue, have dried up yellow, and the stem is likely to break at any moment. The Blue Celaeno Flower is a flower with the power of regeneration. However, this flower was already dead from the time it was a seed. Thanks to Lee Chorok¡¯s care, it sprouted, but it withered in the end. So what should we do to regenerate the flower? Regeneration presupposes death. In other words, you must die completely before you can be reborn. I brought Cthugha¡¯s ring close to the flower. Hyurr. The fire from the ring burned the flower in an instant. The moment white ashes fell into the flowerpot. ¡°What are you doing?!¡± ¡°¡­¡­Huck!¡± Choi Cedric rushed in and pulled me by the collar. A powerful force lifted my feet from the floor. It¡¯s suffocating. ¡°Choi©¥ Hunter Choi Cedric, calm down and let¡¯s talk first.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t I calm enough now?!¡± His eyes lost in anger. But ¡­ he¡¯s controlling his strength. If I had been grabbed by the collar with the power of an S-class Hunter, I would have gone to the other world. ¡°You! Why did you burn the flower?! Don¡¯t you know what kind of flower that is?! I¡¯ll let you go, depending on your answer!¡± ¡°Ugh ¡­ that ¡­ cough, cough!¡± ¡°Answer me!¡± I couldn¡¯t open my mouth because I was suffocated by the tremendous power. The best thing I managed to do is pointing to the flowerpot with only the tip of my finger raised. ¡°Huk, Hunter Choi Cedric, look at this!¡± Lee Chorok made a startled sound. ¡°It is not! The flower!¡± ¡°What? ¡­..Ah.¡± Choi Cedric¡¯s eyes widened. Thud. He let go of the strength in his hand. If it had been a little later, I would have really passed out from lack of oxygen. That¡¯s why I deliberately told you to step away, but it didn¡¯t work. ¡°Cough, cough! Huk, I thought I was going to die! Coughl!¡± I coughed exaggeratedly on purpose. Every time I coughed, Choi Cedric¡¯s face turned white. In terms of powder pact, I think it will be around number 13. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, before ¡­ I thought you killed the flower ¡­ I¡¯m so sorry.¡± ¡°All right, let¡¯s look at the flower quickly.¡± ¡°Ah, yes, yes!¡± A yellow-green bud sprouted over the potted plant spilled with white ashes. The buds grew rapidly in an instant, extended the stem and leaves, and eventually bloomed a blue flower. The blue petals with a soft light looked very mysterious. [Item: Blue Celaeno Flower (¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï) A legendary flower that is said to contain the starlight of Celaeno. It has the power of regeneration. Note: Fresh.] The contents of the status window have also changed. ¡°Finally, with this flower¡­.!¡± The moment when Choi Cedric, who was moved, was about to embrace the flowerpot. Kukukung! A heavy vibration was heard, and the soil of the pot began to soar toward the sky. ¡°Huh, uh¡­.?¡± A thick root that stretches out mercilessly far. There was another plant under the Blue Celaeno Flower. The plant, which absorbed the power of the flower, began to grow wildly, destroying the greenhouse, and wrapping it around with roots. ¡°Aaaah, no, my greenhouse!¡± ¡°¡­.Dodge!¡± Crash! And that blue light flickering in the middle of the plant¡¯s roots¡­. It¡¯s a rift. Boom, boom! The branches cut through the ceiling and the roots dig up the ground. Ah. I remember. The reason why Lee Chorok¡¯s farm was closed before the regression. That¡¯s because a dungeon occurred on the farm. There was no time to escape. I was just sucked into the dungeon. Slurp! The body, sucked into the rift, slid down the stem. I lost my balance and fell flat on the floor. ¡°Ouch¡­..¡± The surroundings were dark and bumpy, just like the roots of a very large tree, and there was a smell of musty grass from somewhere. The sour smell that stung my nose, the damp air, and the wriggling floor. This was a dungeon formed inside a plant. Very rarely, it is said that some rifts are hidden in grass or trees. It is usually safe to prevent the parent plant from bursting into a rift. But what happens if the plant is exposed to dark ether? The plan and the rift fuse, and the plant itself becomes a dungeon. A rift was hidden in one of the dungeon plants that Lee Chorok grew, and dark ethers were released in the greenhouse to help the plant grow. Later, as the ether was absorbed, the plant turned into a dungeon. As a result, Happy Green Life Farm was closed. This is the end of this business that I remember from the pre-regression. That plant otaku is really¡­. However, due to the regenerative power of the Blue Celaeno Flower, the rift broke earlier than before the regression, and I was caught up in the situation. Usually, normal dungeonized plants are not so dangerous. The question is ¡­ what kind of plant was the basis of this dungeon¡­.. Tiling! [Dungeon: You have entered Monster Hell.] [Monster Hell is currently starving.] The name of the dungeon appeared in the notification window. Uh, monster hell¡­¡­? Wait, let¡¯s get this straight. An insectivorous plant that secretes digestive juices and eats flies is called Flies Hell. Then, monster hell is the plant that secretes digestive juices and eats monsters. The possibility that a plant that melts monsters can melt humans is..¡­? ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. Hiss! ¡°Aaa, aaagh!¡± The vines of the plants that stretched out forward fired secretions. The secretions spilled on the floor sizzled and melted the surroundings. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll ever be okay if I get hit. Then, the alarm rang again. [Monster Hell is currently starving.] ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°Save me!¡± I tried to save a flower, but I woke up something I shouldn¡¯t have woken up. When I was horrified as I imagined the future me melting without a trace inside this giant plant, I heard a voice next to me. ¡°Hey.¡± ¡°Uh, huh, oh?¡± ¡°Why do you look like you saw a ghost? You¡¯re not going to make any difference.¡± ¡°Huh ¡­ Choi Cedric?¡± Tak, he grabbed the stem in the air and landed on the floor. Unlike me who fell down, it was a stable landing. His score is about 9.5 out of 10. ¡°Sheesh, it bothered me that a civilian also came in.¡± There is no one else. Fortunately, Lee Chorok doesn¡¯t seem to be getting caught up. ¡°Do you have any weapons or items that you can use?¡± ¡°Hmm ¡­ This?¡± I took out the +2 attack shovel from my inventory and showed it to him. ¡°Huh? Really? Is this an item?¡± He looks like he¡¯s never seen an item like this before. He looks around the seedling shovel and admires it as if it were a strange thing. When he returned it, he said, ¡°You must have been very surprised, but calm down and trust me! Huahaha!¡± I thought you¡¯d laugh at me. ¡®As expected¡­.¡¯ I added confidence to the discomfort I felt earlier. The No. 2 ranker, Hunter Choi Cedric of C&L Corporation. Numerous personality controversies that followed the name crossed my mind. Compared to the personality controversy, I think he¡¯s kind¡­. At that time. Crash, pugh! ¡°Huaaaa!¡± Choi Cedric laughed when he saw me jumping back in surprise at the pouring secretion for the second time. ¡°Why are you screaming all of a sudden? Are you scared?¡± ¡°Hey, look at all this grass that¡¯s spraying water. If it hits me, I¡¯ll melt and become manure for this dungeon!¡± ¡°Oh, that one?¡± Sheeng. As he replied indifferently, he drew out his sword and swung it. Two times exactly on both sides and up and down. A sword almost the size of Choi Cedric¡¯s, as light as a fly swatter. Crunch! The leaves that spit out secretions were destroyed. ¡°What are you afraid of?¡± Chak, he returned to his previous position and put the sword around his waist. He brushes his slightly messy hair with his hand and smiles brightly. As if now is the time to admire. What is this weird feeling¡­. ¡°Wow, that¡¯s really great. It¡¯s so cool.¡± ¡°¡­.Ehem, hmm!¡± Even with words that didn¡¯t contain much soul, an indescribable joy spread across Choi Cedric¡¯s face. ¡°I¡¯m glad I have Hunter Choi Cedric. I¡¯m relieved.¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. You only need to trust me!¡± Didn¡¯t he usually get a lot of compliments ¡­ he shrugged his shoulders and walked away. I see. I know what this feels like. He looks a bit like my house cat. ¡®Suddenly, the No. 2 Ranker feels familiar.¡¯ Anyway, entering this strange plant dungeon was at first bewildering, but I soon regained my composure. Lee Chorok will protect the Blue Celaeno Flower well. All I have to do is get out of here and there¡¯s no reason to be scared because I¡¯m with the second most famous Hunter in Korea after Muwon. Crack! Slid, kaaang! Crush! He proceeded forward, slashing the leaves and stems that spewed out secretions. ¡°Huh! Over there! Behind you!¡± ¡°Where?¡± Shush, bang! In Monster Hell, there were parasitic insect-type monsters. However, However, they died at one stroke of Choi Cedric¡¯s sword and became manure. Is this how it feels to ride an express bus? Ignoring the road, he cuts off the roots and stems in front of him and proceeds. The Munchkin¡¯s companion experience was amazing. This must be why movies where the main character just smashes everything are popular. I also felt the refreshing procession of destruction briefly. However, this Monster Hell dungeon was bigger than I thought. I walked on the uneven roots for a long time, but I still couldn¡¯t see the end. Translator¡¯s Corner: Otaku (???) is a Japanese word for people who have an obsessive interest in a specific object, mainly Japanese manga and anime fans. Sometimes, the word ??? is shortened to ??. Flies hell (????) is Venus Flytrap. CH 57 There was only one way to escape from this place: Killing the dungeon boss of Monster Hell. The problem was that it was difficult to find the main body of Monster Hell in this wide dungeon. I think we¡¯re on the right way, considering the steepness of the climb, but instead of the main body, only the stems and insects that spew digestive juices were visible. While climbing up the thick roots for a long time, Choi Cedric tapped me. ¡°Hey.¡± ¡°¡­.Why?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s rest here for a moment.¡± That¡¯s good to hear. There happened to be an empty space on one side without bugs or sticky liquids. As Choi Cedric used a certain skill, a translucent barrier wrapped around him. Once I entered the barrier, there was less moisture and less sour smell inside, making it easier to breathe. I flopped down on the floor and caught my breath. When I wiped my sticky hands with the wipes I took out of my inventory, I felt like I could live a little. Perhaps because of the unique damp air, walking in the dungeon was more tiring than I thought. As I caught my breath, I had a thought. ¡®I want to drink coffee¡­.¡¯ If I can drink just one glass of iced Americano right now, I won¡¯t have any other wishes. Even if it wasn¡¯t an Americano made with skill, I might have put a Kanu Coffee in it, so I talked to Choi Cedric while looking through inventory. ¡°The outside must be in a chaotic situation by now because a dungeon suddenly appeared.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± But there is no return answer. ¡°Still, since I came in with the No. 2 in the rankings, it¡¯s not such an emergency. Where did that plant otaku got something like this from?¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± Why is there no answer? No matter how hard I looked through the inventory, there was no Kanu. Instead, I took out the golden ticket that I got from the last quest. [Current number of Golden Draw Tickets owned: 1] [Please pull the handle.] I was going to save it, but should I spin it now? I might get something better if I spin it in the dungeon. After taking a deep breath and calming my mind, it was the moment when I was about to draw with excitement. ¡°¡­.He-hey.¡± ¡°Huh? Why?¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± But again, there is no answer. Choi Cedric messed up his hair, brushed it again with his hands, sighed, murmured something in his mouth, and finally opened his mouth again. ¡°¡­¡­I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°You know, I grabbed you by the collar.¡± At a glance, he looked at me and then lowered his head again. Looking at his face, he seemed to be really sorry. I smiled and replied. ¡°Never mind. You apologized before. You must have been surprised when I suddenly burned the flower.¡± ¡°Yes, that flower¡­.! Thank you very much. I¡¯ll pay you back for saving that flower when we go out here. Just say anything.¡± I had already thought of the price I would ask him, but I asked out of curiosity. ¡°What can you give me?¡± ¡°Any amount of money¡­¡­! No, it¡¯s too insincere to just pay for it with money.¡± My heart is pounding¡­.! ¡°Right, how about joining our guild?¡± ¡°¡­¡­what?¡± If it¡¯s Choi Cedric¡¯s guild, it¡¯s C&L Corporation. The largest of the Big Three guilds, the three stars of the Hunter Guild. Although it was systematic, it was famous for its tight atmosphere, such as performance pressure. Of course, I don¡¯t have any intention of joining that guild. Do they even accept an F-class? I stared at Choi Cedric. He has a slightly flamboyant face, but his eyes were sincere. Sure, his guild is the best, so he seemed to believe that I would want to join the guild. ¡°I¡¯m an F-class?¡± He¡¯s not prejudiced in a weird way. ¡°What does the Grade have to do with it? You saved the Blue Celaeno Flower that even the plant otaku couldn¡¯t do. You¡¯re better than the plant otaku ¡­ yes, Plant Tentaku-nim!¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± I¡¯m not that kind of person¡­¡­. ¡°Don¡¯t call me that.¡± ¡°Why? Be confident. It¡¯s not something that anyone can do. Plant Tentaku-nim!¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± Only after pleading not to use such creepy expressions did Choi Cedric stop calling me that. ¡°Anyway, I have no intention of joining the guild.¡± ¡°Why? If it is my recommendation, you¡¯ll get the free pass for all the document screening, practical test, and interview.¡± It¡¯s kind of hard to say that I don¡¯t want to join his guild because it¡¯s tough. After a moment of contemplation, I opened my mouth. ¡°I am a free spirit¡­.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°I have no intention of staying in one place. That¡¯s why I don¡¯t want to join the guild.¡± ¡°Yeah, then it doesn¡¯t matter. That would be nice.¡± I was only half-joking, but, unexpectedly, Choi Cedric nodded his head obediently. ¡°¡­¡­I envy you.¡± The words he added in such a way were deeply sincere. ¡°This is what I want. I run a cafe.¡± ¡°Ah! You¡¯re going to open a chain store? The head office is a little difficult with my authority, but I can give you a seat in the branch office right away.¡± Are all the rankers like this? I was taken aback by the sudden, ridiculously large-scale offer. ¡°That¡¯s not it! I was going to ask you to come as a guest sometimes¡­..¡± It was at that moment when I was waving my hand to convey the exact meaning. ¡°¡­¡­!¡± Tiling, the notification sounded. [You have acquired an item. Check your inventory.] Heck, I guess I pressed the draw button without realizing it while I was in the middle of the conversation. I tried to do the draw with a lot of excitement. The taste of the moment you spin it! That is the charm of Gacha! My lucky draw! [Item: Simple Coffee Making Kit (¡ï¡ï¡ï¡î¡î)] A portable coffee tool set that allows you to enjoy coffee anytime, anywhere. Now, enjoy coffee to your heart¡¯s content in the dungeon. Note: New user privilege! 1 serving of coffee ingredients included.] Soon, the regret was completely forgotten. There was a coffee making kit in the inventory. With portable burners, moka pots and cups, enough coffee beans, and other ingredients to drink for one time. I grumbled that I wanted coffee and something like this came out. For some reason, something useful was selected. ¡°Cedric, would you like some coffee?¡± ¡°Eh, now? Here? Not a buff potion, but coffee?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll know when you drink it.¡± I ignored Choi Cedric¡¯s eyes, who was looking at me with an absurd expression. A notification popped up the moment I took the coffee making kit out of my inventory and held it in my hand. [The condition has been met.] [Skill: Dungeon Exploration After a Cup of Coffee (B) has been acquired.] [Dungeon Exploration After a Cup of Coffee (B) Details: (Lv.1) When making drinks in the dungeon, the level of perfection is increased.] Using my new skill, I extracted espresso with mocka pot and made iced Americano. The fresh scent was relieving the fatigue. The effect of preventing energy consumption was applied immediately. I also handed an iced Americano to Choi Cedric. However, his eyes as he receives the cup shake anxiously. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? You can¡¯t drink bitter coffee?¡± ¡°No! Who says I can¡¯t drink it?¡± Choi Cedric snatched the cup and took a sip of coffee. ¡­ Gulp. He tried to make a casual face, but it didn¡¯t last long. Seeing the astringent expression that could not be hidden, I searched the inventory while holding back my laughter. ¡°Do you want some sugar?¡± ¡°Hey, you should¡¯ve told me sooner if you have that!¡± I also drank an iced Americano next to Choi Cedric, who added plenty of sugar to his cup. Insect-type monsters buzzing around the barrier, stems that shoot secretions, rocking floor ¡­ the scenery cannot be called pleasant even with empty words, but the coffee was delicious anyway. Drinking in the dungeon is quite tasteful¡­. Puk! Wiiing, pooh! A flying insect-type monster was hit by secretions. The leaves opened wide, snatching the melting insect and swallowing it. After the unpleasant squeaking sound, only the two wings of the insect-type monster were left. ¡°¡­¡­.¡± What¡¯s with the atmosphere¡­.. I lost my appetite for the Monster Hell¡¯s Meal Live Show. I can¡¯t wait to get out of here. After emptying all the cups, I called Choi Cedric next to me. ¡°Let¡¯s get going. I can¡¯t wait to get out of here ¡­ huh?¡± In the meantime, Choi Cedric was looking into his phone screen. There¡¯s no connection in the dungeon, but he looks very serious. As an excuse, I didn¡¯t mean to look at it on purpose. The picture on the screen naturally caught my eye. ¡°Who is it?¡± ¡°¡­¡­! Wh-what are you doing? I was so surprised. Don¡¯t look at me like that.¡± It feels unreasonable that an S-class hunter complains about being surprised by an F-class hunter. ¡°Sorry. I won¡¯t look at it.¡± ¡°Ehem, hmm, if you want to see it, I can show you.¡± Suddenly, the phone was pushed in front of me. ¡°If you look at it a lot, it will wear you out, so watch it carefully.¡± Are you telling me to look or not? There was a picture of a girl in the phone screen. Peach-colored cheeks, large eyes, and thick lips; she looks pretty cute. Is she a family? If you look closely, her eyes are similar to Choi Cedric¡¯s eyes. ¡°Your younger sister?¡± ¡°Yup. But when you say it like that.¡± ¡°¡­¡­?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t she the cutest in the world? Honestly, isn¡¯t she an angel? She¡¯s my sister, but how can she be so pretty? Ah! She should have been a calendar model! Should I make a calendar now? But I can¡¯t let all the idiots see a picture of our Rona.¡± He poured ut a lot of silly comments without even blinking an eye. Is it a joke? It¡¯s too much adoration for a younger sister. ¡°Yes, I can make it a premium limited edition!¡± No, this is 100% pure sincerity. Look at his eyes. He¡¯s that man. Choi Cedric¡¯s words were not a lie, the girl in the picture was cute. She¡¯s definitely cute, but¡­. Choi Cedric must be 22 years old now, but the girl in the picture looks pretty young. When I looked at it carefully, she seemed to be an elementary school student. Is she a younger sister with a big age difference? ¡°Your sister is really young?¡± ¡°Ah, that.¡± Choi Cedric¡¯s face, who was pouring out old bulldozer comments with an excited look, quickly casted a shadow. ¡°This ¡­ this is the only picture I took while she was awake.¡± Ah. Was this girl the sick family of Choi Cedric that Lee Chorok talked about? ¡°She¡¯s 16 years old now.¡± She has to go to high school next year. Choi Cedric added with a bitter expression. He said that his younger sister, Choi Rona, suddenly fell asleep one day and did not wake up. He mobilized all available means, including potions and healers, but there was no improvement. Suddenly, I remembered the image of Choi Cedric before the regression, who had an attitude only for the Healers. Is this the reason he doesn¡¯t like Healer? It¡¯s an unreasonable feeling, but there are moments when it¡¯s hard to endure without blaming someone. ¡°But it will be alright when we go out here because you saved the Blue Celaeno Flower. With that, Rona will be comfortable.¡± Choi Cedric, who forcibly shook off his depression with such words, suddenly changed the topic. ¡°How about you?¡± [Next] Translator¡¯s Corner: Tentaku: ???. Otaku is ???. ? is five, while ? is ten. Yeah, Cedric has a peculiar humor. Kanu Coffee is another well-known coffee product by Maxim. Sorry for the sudden hiatus! First week of college hit me like a truck¨C It will be back to normal now that I finished adapting to the schedule (at least, I hope so.) CH 58 ¡°What?¡± ¡°What about your family? Do you have any brothers or sisters?¡± Of all things, talking about family here, he brought up the topic I don¡¯t want to think about the most. It was a topic for a change of atmosphere and small talk, but I don¡¯t want to talk about it much. I blurted out my words vaguely. ¡°Uh ¡­ what.¡± However, Choi Cedric didn¡¯t seem to have much sense. Seriously, the S-classes don¡¯t have to be smart. Rather, the people around them must have been the ones who were busy reading the room. Choi Cedric, who didn¡¯t understand my subtlety at all, said proudly. ¡°Let¡¯s stay friendly. We only have one family.¡± ¡°Gosh, you¡¯re preaching when you¡¯re younger than me?¡± ¡°What are you talking about? Why am I younger than you¡­.¡± I raised my hand and pointed to the S-class in front of me and myself alternately. ¡°You are twenty-two. I am twenty-three.¡± ¡°What¡­.?¡± Although there is only a year difference, Choi Cedric widened his eyes as if he had not thought of the possibility that I was older. I asked sulkingly at the startled face. ¡°I mean, do you think other people¡¯s families are similar?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not it¡­.¡± ¡°Even if it¡¯s a family, it may or may not get along well. Still, isn¡¯t it worse to stay friendly when the relationship is bad?¡± It would be completely out of the blue to hear what he once boasted about his younger sister. Still, Choi Cedric nodded at my words with a serious expression. ¡°I know. I¡¯m sure there must be some people that are better off without their families.¡± ¡­ just like our representative¡¯s family. The murmur of words in his mouth sounded very small. ¡°But?¡± ¡°But it¡¯s true that we only have one family. No matter how you come to a conclusion, you should try what you can before that. So that you won¡¯t regret it.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± Well¡­¡­ I have nothing to say because he said the right thing. Actually, there is one thing I keep thinking about these days. It¡¯s about Kwon Jiwoon. If I recall how we were before the regression¡­. I just ¡­ I lived a life pretending I didn¡¯t know him. Ever since I went to the guild and had a few fights. ¡®That¡¯s right, I don¡¯t want to owe something to my Hunter¡¯s relative.¡¯ I¡¯ve had such a hard time. After I left the house we lived together, I¡¯ve just been careless. As long as we don¡¯t bump into each other, I won¡¯t get hurt, so I thought that was the best way. And now, I¡¯m back. Originally, I was going to live as quietly as before, without bumping into each other. However, I couldn¡¯t help but be bothered by the ridiculous misunderstanding and his weird behaviour when I came to visit him recently. ¡®I can¡¯t hide my awakening forever¡­.¡¯ It can¡¯t be helped if talking openly doesn¡¯t work. Still, before that, we have to talk to each other without hiding anything at least once. That¡¯s right. That¡¯s true, but ¡­. If I had put the right thing into practice right away, I would have been a person who never missed the summer vacation homework. And on the last day of each vacation, I wrote a month¡¯s worth of diary. ¡°Anyway! I¡¯ll think about it after I get out of here!¡± Choi Cedric, as if he agreed with me, rose straight up. After pouring the coffee left in the cup into his mouth, he deactivated the barrier. The moment he tried to get rid of the insect-like monster flying around him with one hand and move again¡­. Thump, Thump, Thump. The floor began to move with a heavy sound. A vine that rose nearby wrapped around my ankle and pulled it hard. Slowly, the body slides down the ramp. ¡°Aaargh!¡± ¡°Uh, hey, there!¡± Swing! Choi Cedric cut off the stem wrapped around my ankle with his sword. What would happen if you cut off the stem while the body is hanging in the air? Puck! ¡°Ugh, Ouch, Ouch.¡­.¡± Naturally, it goes straight to the floor. I almost went to the afterlife before I even met the boss. But there was no time to complain. There was a strong smell of grass leaves, and at the same time I felt a sense of pressure. [Monster Hell (B) has appeared.] [Monster Hell is currently starving.] This is because the boss of the dungeon, Monster Hell, has appeared. *** Crack! The greenhouse glass shattered. Thick roots cut through the floor and long branches extended to the ceiling. ¡°Aaah, no, my greenhouse!¡± And there¡¯s a blue light flickers in the center. [Monster Hell is blooming. Dungeon: Monster Hell is activated.] [Protective barrier during mealtime in Monster Hell: When eating, do not even touch the monster before it appears. Be careful not to disturb the meal of Monster Hell.] When Lee Chorok came to her senses, the two people who had just been here had already been sucked into the rift. ¡°Nonsense ¡­ it¡¯s ridiculous.¡± Lee Chorok covered her mouth with a trembling hand. When she got these seeds, she never imagined it would be like this. A few days ago, she was at a shopping street in Cheonggyecheon that she frequented. The Cheonggye 3-ga Monster Shopping District is narrowly between legal and illegal. The main items were animal-type monsters, but there were also shops selling dungeon plants from time to time. ¡®This is where the real rare items come out.¡¯ There are even rumors that a rare long-tailed phoenix was traded here. With the eyes of a hawk, Lee Chorok searched the sale discount stands. Then, there was someone who spoke to her. ¡°You must be looking for dungeon plants.¡± ¡°Yes? How do you know that?¡± Lee Chorok looked back to the voice with wary. This is because there¡¯s a high probability that the first person to talk to her here is a scammer. A shop in the corner. There was a person there who somehow didn¡¯t seem alive. The eyes are expressionless, as if they had been pierced with glass eyes. ¡®¡­¡­!¡¯ Lee Chorok felt reluctant and tried to back down. However, the shopkeeper¡¯s next words stopped her. ¡°Don¡¯t you remember me?¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve ever seen someone like you ¡­ Ah.¡± An unfamiliar memory flashed through her mind at that moment. Suddenly, the store owner in front of her felt very familiar. ¡°I¡¯ve never met ¡­ A, aa, ah! I¡¯ve seen you before!¡± ¡°Looks like you remembered me.¡± Why did she forget? It was definitely a regular store that she visited several times. The shopkeeper laughed and took out a box. ¡°A very rare item has arrived, how about it?¡± It was a seed the size of half a fist. When she put her hand on it, she could feel it the thumping from the inside. What this beat means is¡­. ¡®¡­¡­!¡¯ Lee Chorok turned pale and pulled away. Dangerous. However, the shopkeeper only smiled. ¡°It is the seed of Monster Hell.¡± ¡°There¡¯s a beat inside ¡­ This, this, no way¡­¡­.¡± ¡°Yeah, a rift, it¡¯s integrated with a rift.¡± ¡°It¡¯s dangerous.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not possible. There¡¯s no chance for the rift to awaken because it¡¯s completely sealed.¡± ¡­.Gulp. The seed with rift was emitting a strange light. The light is so beautiful that it¡¯s bewitching. Eventually, Lee Chorok purchased the seed. It is very rare for dungeon plants and rifts to be completely integrated. Since it¡¯s a rift and dungeon plant, the power of either side can grow, so even a slight loss of balance will cause the rift to burst. As a plant otaku, no, as a botanist, her curiosity could not turn away from the seed. Furthermore, the store owner¡¯s words somehow had a power that was hard to refuse. She brought the seed and kept it well. ¡°You said it wouldn¡¯t burst¡­¡­!¡± The moment the Blue Celaeno Flower bloomed, the seed grew at a frightening speed and a dungeon occurred. It was disconcerting, but the rescue of the people inside came first. When she reported it to the Dungeon Management Office, a public official hunter was dispatched shortly after. A large plant dungeon nestled in the middle of a greenhouse. Still, with Choi Cedric inside, there will be no casualties. However, as officials began to inspect the farm, Lee Chorok could not be relieved. ¡°Ma¡¯am, where did you buy these toothed carrots?¡± ¡°That¡¯s ¡­ in Cheonggyecheon.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s in Cheonggyecheon? If you do not report after the transaction, you will be fined.¡± ¡°I do not know ¡­ I don¡¯t remember that well, ha, ha, ha¡­.¡± ¡°Toothed carrots must wear a muzzle. Your business will be suspended for not wearing them a muzzle.¡± ¡°Haha, yes¡­..¡± ¡°You acquired this dungeon plant through an illegal business.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not just a dungeon plant, it¡¯s a Flying Spaghetti Tree! A very precious tree that tells a Neapolitan ghost story once a day¡­.!¡± ¡°You haven¡¯t applied for permission to handle dungeon plants or registered your business. You didn¡¯t even pay your taxes.¡± ¡°That ¡­ I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°Put it on.¡± Red labels were attached here and there based on the cold-hearted public official¡¯s judgment. ¡®Foreclosure¡® in large letters. ¡°Aa nooo!¡± Lee Chorok screamed. Foreclosure tickets, penalty, fines, business suspension¡­. Even if the dungeon situation was resolved, Lee Chorok was in a position to become a part-time worker at a fruit shop. She got a Ph.D. in Dungeon Botany, but she¡¯s a part-timer at a fruit store! All of her PhD classmates are frying chicken now, so it was a common career path. While a doctor changed course to a part-time fruit shop worker, a man hurriedly ran into the broken greenhouse. A pale face and a rough breath. It seemed that he had arrived immediately after receiving a call. Lee Chorok was surprised to find out who the man was. ¡®Kwon Jiwoon of The White Silver Guild? Why is such a tycoon here¡­.?¡¯ ¡°Is the rescue going on?¡± It was a cold voice that couldn¡¯t hide the trembling. A pair of eyes filled with anxiety fluttered wildly. Kwon Jiwoon urgently asked the public official who was dispatched. CH 59 ¡°We¡¯re planning to deploy the attack party after observing the situation inside a little more. We have Hunter Choi Cedric inside right now.¡± It was meant to reassure him, but Kwon Jiwoon shook his head. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. It¡¯s an urgent situation, so please send them in immediately. I will go too.¡± ¡°¡­¡­! I¡¯d be reassured if Hunter-nim supported them. We¡¯ll be ready to deploy them right away.¡± ¡°Ah ¡­ you can¡¯t!¡± Lee Chorok hastily interrupted them. ¡°Stand back.¡± The public official pulled her back. Kwon Jiwoon looked at her with a cold stare. Goosebumps crept up the nape of her neck. Still, she moved her trembling lips. ¡°Monster Hell makes its cocoon and builds a barrier when it gets settled for a meal.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°A protective barrier has already been activated around the rift. If you forcefully break it ¡­ If the complex etheric flow is broken, they won¡¯t be able to come out of it forever!¡± Halt. The silver-haired Healer stared at Lee Chorok. ¡°¡­It¡¯s not a natural rift. Why is there such a dangerous thing here?¡± ¡°That¡¯s ¡­ I don¡¯t know ¡­¡­ Ahaha¡­¡­¡± In addition to the large fine, 72 hours of Dungeon Safety Training was additionally decided. Lee Chorok, who has now become a part-time worker at a fruit shop and a huge debtor, looked at the rift emitting blue light. The seller told her it surely wouldn¡¯t wake up. The Monster Hell, gleamed extravagantly in the starlight of Blue Celaeno Flower, shone like a demon. The prayer she repeated in her heart was a desperate earnestness. ¡®Please be safe, Customer-nim.¡¯ The sharp gaze of a Hunter, whose nickname was The Silver Wave, turned towards her. If something happens inside, she doesn¡¯t think he¡¯ll let her go. ¡®Please come back alive soon.¡¯ Please save me from those eyes¡­¡­. *** A plant-type monster that shoots digestive juices to dissolve living things and takes in nutrients. Its digestive fluid is stronger than hydrochloric acid, and it can even melt the outer skin of a hard-skinned monster. A very scary creature that catches its prey with its agile vines and slowly melts it. By Ether-Wiki. Seeing the Monster Hell that appeared in front of me, I was bewildered for a very short time. This is because there is a swordsman who ranks second here. A speed-type dealer who penetrates into the front of the enemy with agile movements. It is a skill that no one can match among swordsmen. His well-known nickname is¡­. ¡°Go! Kongdrick!¡± ¡°¡­.Don¡¯t call me that.¡± While saying that, Choi Cedric smiled leisurely. He came forward with a sword as tall as his height. Wait a minute, the same Munchkin line was a bonus. Sreeng. The blade drew a circle. In an instant, it digs into the front of the Monster Mell and cuts it diagonally. He cut off the roots again without leaving any gaps. Shashashak, Bang! The Monster Hell was neatly split in two. The stem that spouted digestive juice also lost its strength and drooped. ¡°Done!¡± Now it¡¯s time for the escape gate to open¡­. ¡°¡­.Huh?¡± Keuoooo! The Monster Hell, which seemed to be dead, arose again. The wound from the sword healed without a trace. That¡¯s absurd. I¡¯m sure it just died! Choi Cedric fixed the sword and held it. He shouted. ¡°Well, it¡¯s the same if you¡¯re still alive. If I cut it over again, it¡¯s over!¡± Wow, that¡¯s so reliable. The comfort of the Munchkin bus is amazing. Choi Cedric, who ran with a bang, jumped up. His body flew through the air. A lush branch of the resurrected Monster Hell appeared in front of him, but Choi Cedric¡¯s sword is faster. Swiish, kaang! The big swinging sword cut the Monster Hell clean. Then, the bursting lightning skill is thrown down. Pooooong! A shard of wood struck by lightning. This time, I was convinced that we had succeeded. However ¡­ a new branch sprouted from the tree stump hit by lightning and quickly resurrected. Perhaps even Choi Cedric did not expect this to happen, he frowned and shook his head. ¡°It doesn¡¯t make sense. I¡¯ve never heard of a B-class minion resurrecting without a cooldown.¡± Then, something came into my sight. ¡°Hey, look over there! That one!¡± ¡°Why? Don¡¯t come out and just stay in the shield ¡­ Huh?¡± A starry blue flower was hanging on the top of the branches of Monster Hell. I wasn¡¯t mistaken. It was the Blue Celaeno Flower that was revived with a lot of efforts. Choi Cedric¡¯s face hardened in an instant. ¡°That ¡­ No, we have to take that to Rona.¡± The flower seemed to be sucked into the rift with us and it got swallowed by the Monster Hell. Wait, let¡¯s put our thoughts together. The power of Blue Celaeno Flower is regeneration. Having swallowed the flower, the Monster Hell naturally continues to regenerate. In other words, in order to prevent it from regenerating, we first have to deal with the source of power, the Blue Celaeno Flower. Yes, the conclusion. You have to pull out the flower first to get out of here. ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± Choi Cedric also came to the same conclusion as me. However, instead of eliminating the flower, he took a defensive stance. Chiirk! He only avoided the attack of Monster Hell that began again, and seemed to have no intention of attacking. ¡°Cedric, what are you doing? At this rate, it will only be resurrected again!¡± He shook his head with a stiff expression. A low desperate voice was added. ¡°I need that flower to save our Rona. We can¡¯t get rid of that.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± Stand firm and defend against attacks. At first, Choi Cedric held out well. He cut the stem while avoiding the attack, and when it revived, he cut it again. ¡°¡­Kugh!¡± But as time went on, his movements started to slow down a little. ¡°Ugh¡­.¡± The skin burned with an acrid smell. Choi Cedric does not move even though the pain must be considerable. ¡°Stand back.¡± Choi Cedric cut down the vines that attacked me while blocking the attack of Monster Hell. Still, there is no end to this. The cut-off vine quickly grew back, and it seemed that the monster piece of wood will never give up on today¡¯s main dish. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me, are you planning to die here?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not true. But¡­.¡± His gaze turned to the flower of the starlight in the distance. He knows. As long as the flower has already fused with the monster, it is difficult to separate it. Here, it is a rational choice to kill the boss, exit the dungeon, and retrieve the flower seed again. I¡¯m sure Choi Cedric knows, but¡­. Even if he gets hurt, he doesn¡¯t want to give up medicine to save his sister. He can¡¯t cut the flower that can save his sister with his own hands. Shush! After a moment of distraction, vines soared from the floor. ¡°Hyaaah!¡± At that moment, Choi Cedric grabbed his sword and jumped up. It was as light a motion as flying. He stepped on the branches of Monster Hell and took another leap. Avoiding the subsequent attack, he approached in an instant and stretched out his hand toward the Blue Celaeno Flower. 10 meters, 5 meters, 1 meter ¡­ is it working? ¡°¡­.! Keus!¡± Just before he could touch the flower, the Monster Hell shook its body. His hand slipped down, clutching nothing but air. It is difficult to pull out a single flower from the tip of a huge tree that moves violently without injury. Not to mention that it¡¯s a tree that spouts digestive juices too. A vine wrapped around Choi Cedric¡¯s body as he tried to make a leap again. Swoosh, bang! He cut it straight away, but this time, it shoots digestive juices at the spot where he¡¯s about to land. ¡°Ugh¡­.!¡± His unprotected feet touched the digestive fluid sprayed on the floor. However, instead of attacking the Monster Hell, Choi Cedric took a defensive stance again. If this is the case, there is no end. The only ending is waiting for the rescue and enduring the brunch of this monster and its minions. I had to make a move. I nervously carried on with my thoughts. ¡°¡­.All right!¡± ¡®The Bond of a Cup of Coffee.¡¯ [Target: ¡®Choi Yichan¡¯ has been selected.] The S-class Choi Yi-chan¡¯s skills will be helpful. That¡¯s what I thought. ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°Umh¡­..¡± I turned off the system window without using Choi Yichan¡¯s skill. This is because all the skills that can be used were skills that strengthened original ability by multiples. Even if you inflate a dust, it¡¯s still a dust. With my 20 strength and +2 attack power, even if I use it multiple times, it would still be weaker than a single cut of Choi Cedric¡¯s sword. It¡¯s not that Choi Cedric is weak in the first place, he isn¡¯t actually struggling with the Monster Hell. The cooldown of ¡®The Bond of a Cup of Coffee¡¯ is 24 hours. I have to be careful because I can only use it once. ¡®Then what should I ¡­ huh?¡¯ [The Bond of a Cup of Coffee (B) Details: (Lv.1) You can copy the skill of the person who drank the Ultimate Coffee. (00:05:00) Cooldown: 24:00:00 Available for: Choi Yichan, Kim Taewoon.] I tried to turn off the unhelpful skill window right away, but an unfamiliar name caught my eye. Kim Taewoon? Who was that? Was there such a person? ¡°¡­..Ah.¡± That¡¯s right, it was the name of a journalist from Hunter Scope. Too many things happened in one day that I forgot about it. I thought it might be of some help, so I opened up the skill window. [Views Explosion! (F) (Lv.1) You can write an article that contains information about the target. There is no guarantee that the article is necessarily true.] [Paparazzi (E) (Lv.1) You can follow the target without being detected for a certain period of time. (01:00:00)] ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. It¡¯s truly the skills of a trash journalist ¡­ It optimized for fake news production. This is why fake news is all over the world. For a moment, I was busy complaining in my mind. While Monster Hell was persistently attacking today¡¯s main dish (Choi Cedric), there were the minions who were aiming for the side dish (me). Ssssshk! ¡°Huaaaa!¡± They¡¯re the bug-type monsters. None of them are actually strong. However, the swarm of insects had its own visual pressure. ¡°Huah! Eh, F-killer!¡± But there is no such thing in the inventory. Wiiiiing~ ¡°Go away! Aahh!¡± Instead, I took out the shovel and pounded the floor, but it was not enough to fight off the swift swarm of insects. Then¡­. I used my skill towards an approaching swarm of bugs that¡¯s going to eat my flesh. ¡®Aaah! The Floor is Shiny!¡¯ Shashashak! ¡°¡­.Huh?¡± The amorphous ether overturned the floor, and the bugs disappeared from the surroundings in an instant. That was not the end. The skill stretched out to make the floor completely shiny. Keuoouooo! The screams of Monster Hell rang out. All the roots that had fallen to the ground were cut off. It tried to spread its roots again straight away, but not a single dust was allowed on the floor. CH 60 Eventually, the Monster Hell, who lost its roots, lost its balance and stumbled greatly. Choi Cedric, who did not immediately understand what happened, admired with a surprised look. ¡°You have such a strong skill ¡­ That¡¯s amazing!¡± Well, I didn¡¯t know I have such a serious cleaning skill. If I level up the skill one more time, I think I could clean the world. Anyway, I have to use everything I can. ¡­¡­. ¡®The Floor is Shiny!¡¯ I used the skill again as I moved forward. Snip. The larger roots were cut off. I walked towards the center of the Monster Hell, once again, again¡­. At last. Cuckoo cuckoo! The Monster Hell, with all its roots uprooted, fell like a carrot right before shipment. Uh, this really works¡­¡­? *** Monster Hell, whose roots were cut and fell like a freshly plucked sweet potato stalk. Taking advantage of the moment, I shouted again. ¡°Go! Kongdrick!¡± However, the rebellion of Monster Hell, who did not want to lose the flower, the source of its life, was also enormous. As soon as Choi Cedric approached, it stretched out its branches and roots in all directions, creating a circular prison. In result, we were trapped in it. He cut it with his sword and I used cleaning skill, but the branches that were cut quickly grew back. We made a gap and forced our body out, but it was the same. The branches of the tree moved slowly, and they just made a prison again and locked us up. What is this ¡­ is this a regression? No, a loop? The Infinite Return of Monster Hell? Then, a good idea flashed across my mind. If only the Blue Celaeno Flower can be taken from the Monster Hell, then there is no need to continue this sluggish work because it will no longer be able to regenerate. I opened the skill window and read the contents. There is a skill I focused on. [The Barista¡¯s Extraction (D) Details: (Lv.2) Extract only the desired substance from the mixed substances.] ¡®It¡¯s ridiculous ¡­ no, it¡¯s not. According to my experience so far, it is definitely possible!¡¯ I found a way. A few preparations were required to try this method. First, I talked to Choi Cedric. ¡°There¡¯s no end to this. Let¡¯s take a break.¡± Choi Cedric looked impatient, but he agreed that there was no end and nodded. In the end, we decided to rest for a while while being trapped in Monster Hell. The first thing I did was make coffee. Trickle. A sweet smell spread all around. I handed the freshly made cafe mocha to Choi Cedric. ¡°What is this?¡± Once I gave it to him, he received it, but it seemed that he did not understand the current situation. ¡°Hurry up and drink.¡± However, experience is quicker than verbal explanation. The effect of cafe mocha is a 200% increase in recovery speed. It¡¯s must-have for Choi Cedric, whose body has been burned by the digestive juices. ¡°¡­¡­!¡± Choi Cedric, who drank the cafe mocha and experienced the effect firsthand, looked at me in surprise. ¡°Wh-what is this? It¡¯s healing the wounds faster than a potion!¡± ¡°It¡¯s just coffee.¡± ¡°Besides, it feels like the smell of chocolate is dancing in my mouth! This bitterness of sweetness, it¡¯s the taste of life!¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s not like that¡­.¡± ¡°This is definitely like that!¡± Shivering, answering humbly, and shuddering again. It¡¯s been awhile since I¡¯ve played with Choi Cedric, who has a silly commentary skill installed passively as his main (S) skill. Choi Cedric nodded with a serious expression and said. ¡°I see, you are¡­.¡± All I did was use my skills to make coffee, but it¡¯s nice to hear compliments anyway. Calling me a genius barista is a bit exaggerated though, hahaha. ¡°Coffee Maniac, no, Coffee Tentaku!¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± What¡¯s going on with the lexical system of this No. 2 ranker? After threatening Choi Cedric so that he would never call me like that again, I drank my share of vanilla latte. All preparations are done. Now, all that¡¯s left is to try. ¡°Can you give me a second?¡± ¡°What? What are you going to do?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll find out if you leave me alone.¡± ¡°If you kill the flower¡­.¡± ¡°No, you don¡¯t have to worry.¡± A hand that was clasped so tightly that the knuckles turned white caught my eyes. Slowly, Choi Cedric rose almost at the same time as he nodded. Shashashak! The moment I cut off the branches that made up the prison, I threw myself forward. I used the skill straight away without a break. ¡®The Barista¡¯s Extraction.¡¯ [Extracting extremely difficult targets.] [Extraction may fail. Do you still want to extract it? Yes / No ] Originally, it would have failed with a high probability, but I chose ¡®Yes¡® without hesitation. Because¡­. [The effect of vanilla latte is being applied. When using a skill, there is a 100% chance of a critical hit for 1 time.] [Crit! Unbelievable extraction succeeded.] [The extraction is complete.] The twinkling light is gone, and what¡¯s left in my hands¡­. ¡°¡­.the Blue Celaeno Flower!¡± The effect of The Barista¡¯s Extraction (Lv.2) is to extract only the desired substance from the mixed substances. Although ¡®barista¡¯ is included in the name, there is no explanation that it should be used only for coffee. In other words, it¡¯s like this. Mixed Substances = Monster Hell + Blue Celaeno Flower Desired Substance = Blue Celaeno Flower I thought, holding the flower in one hand. Hey, this really works¡­.? ¡°¡­¡­! How can it be so easy? You, do-don¡¯t tell me you cheated on the Grade¡­.¡± ¡°I¡¯m a true F-class. Hurry up and get it.¡± ¡°¡­.Thank you.¡± I felt a deep sincerity in the short words. Choi Cedric received the Blue Celaeno Flower from me and put it in his inventory. Tiling! [Unbelievable Achievement: ¡®Touching Monster Hell while Eating¡¯ has been achieved. Please collect the reward.] [You have defeated the boss monster ¡®Monster Hell (B)¡¯] [Dungeon: Monster Hell has been cleared.] [You have reached Level 10.] I skimmed through the notification window that popped up. I thought it was a breaking-the-balance scam, but after killing the boss, it really worked. Now all we have to do is escape. As I headed towards the escape gate created near the body of Monster Hell, the alarm sounded again. Tiling! [The current space cannot be maintained due to the death of Monster Hell.] [The space is forcibly destroyed ¡­ 30 seconds until it¡¯s gone.] Tick-tock-tick-tock¡­. The remaining time in the system window quickly decreased, and the dungeon collapsed from the end of the field of view. The air from the original greenhouse was mixed and ate this space. For a moment, I admired that strange sensation. The soles of my feet began to sink. Isn¡¯t 30 seconds too short?! ¡°Aaaaahhh¡­¡­!¡± ¡°Hey, be careful!¡± Choi Cedric caught me as I slide. Then, he threw me towards the escape gate, telling me to get out first. The moment I passed through the blue light of the gate. ¡­.Huh? The remnants of Monster Hell were wrapped around my feet, and the wind swept them up into the air. This damn monster wood minions! My body fell to the floor. No, I killed the boss with my breaking-the-balance fraud skills, but my future of dying here is already decided! Fortunately, the system responded quickly on its own. [Crisis situation! ¡®The Bond of a Cup of Coffee¡® is activated.] [Target: ¡®Choi Yichan¡¯ is selected.] [Skill: Defense is The Best Defense (C) is used.] [Defense increases by 500% for 5 minutes.] I¡¯ve been through this situation before. Rolling, roll! There is no pain in the body that has landed in the perfect falling posture. ¡®The Floor is Shiny!¡¯ The monster¡¯s remnants wrapped around my feet were also perfectly slain. Perfect 2 Combo! Feeling proud inside, I raised my head, and our eyes met. ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± With whom? Kwon Jiwoon. Why the hell is Kwon Jiwoon here? Did I see it wrong? However, that unique silver hair, there can be no two faces in the world with such a cold atmosphere. The destroyed greenhouse, tearful Lee Chorok, and dungeon plants with red stickers on them. All of those things didn¡¯t even catch my eye. He probably didn¡¯t see it, right? I just used a defensive skill, but it would have just looked like a fall. I blew away the remains of the monster, but that¡¯s just a cleaning skill¡­. ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± No, let¡¯s stop running away from reality. A shock spread across Kwon Jiwoon¡¯s expressionless face. He approached me and bit his lips as if to pick his words, but no words came out. He saw it all! ¡°Uh, umh, Oppa, what brings you here¡­¡­?¡± Kwon Jiwoon frowned slightly. ¡°Here, I was informed that there was a rift in this farm.¡± When a rift suddenly bursts, the Dungeon Management Office first checks the status. After that, if it is not possible to take care of it only with the Hunters belonging to the Dungeon Management Office, they¡¯ll put a request for support from the guilds. There are many criteria for requesting support, such as the size of the guild and the Hunter¡¯s ability. In the case of rift that are not particularly dangerous, it¡¯s just ¡­ it¡¯s a turn. It¡¯s like class duty. Perhaps it happened to be Kwon Jiwoon¡¯s turn today. ¡°Really? Hahaha, what a coincidence.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± Silence again. Let¡¯s calm down. After all, I was supposed to tell him about my awakening. I didn¡¯t expect to bump into him like this, but now is the time to say it. I took a few deep breaths and then moved my lips. ¡°Oppa, I¡¯m awakened.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± CH 61 Instead of answering, a cold finger touched my forehead. The scratch on my forehead, which I didn¡¯t even know existed, was healed in the light emanating from his fingertip. ¡°Thank heavens. There doesn¡¯t seem to be any serious injuries.¡± ¡°Uh, well ¡­ yes.¡± ¡°They say you can go home as soon as you file a damage report. You must be very tired even if you don¡¯t have a trauma. Take a good rest when you get back.¡± What is this weird feeling¡­.. I was nervous because I was afraid that he might get angry because I hid my awakening, but Kwon Jiwoon said nothing. ¡°¡­¡­?¡± Is the confession of my lifetime completely ignored? Did he pretend that he didn¡¯t hear it? Umh yeah, I guess he didn¡¯t hear it because it was noisy around us. I said it again clearly. ¡°Kwon Jiwoon, I¡¯m awakened now?¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± This time, he looked a little shocked. Oh, is it because of that? ¡°That¡¯s, umh, I mean, I didn¡¯t mean to hide it, but somehow ¡­ Ah, and I¡¯ll never say that I want to join your guild, so don¡¯t worry.¡± It¡¯s strange. I said it with the intention not to make him worry, but Kwon Jiwoon¡¯s expression darkened even more. ¡°It seems that I¡¯m not reliable enough for you.¡± The following words sounded sad. Kwon Jiwoon grabbed my hand. All the visible wounds had all disappeared in the white light. The hand that gripped mine was trembling. ¡°If something happened, you should have called me.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t connect my phone inside the dungeon.¡­.¡± Unbeknownst to me, the words of an excuse group came out. ¡°I won¡¯t ask you why you came to such a suspicious place, but at least you should have told me. I was suddenly informed that you got caught in a rift, and do you know how much I¡­.¡± I flinched unconsciously at the deep fear. His reaction felt strange. I was in confusion because it was the first time I saw him acting like this, it was the time when I tried to choose an answer¡­. ¡°What are you doing there ¡­ Eh.¡± Choi Cedric came out of the escape gate. As he was talking to me, he saw Kwon Jiwoon in front of me and was startled. ¡°It can¡¯t be ¡­ Hunter Kwon Jiwoon..¡­?¡± ¡°Hunter Choi Cedric. It¡¯s been a long time.¡± Kwon Jiwoon reached out his hand first and asked for a handshake. However, from the side view, the atmosphere was not very friendly. ¡°This is the first time we met since you said that you¡¯d buy my guild with money if I didn¡¯t accept the offer to join the affiliate of your company.¡± Choi Cedric, have you ever done anything like that¡­. Indeed, it is known as a bad guild among The Big Three. ¡°That ¡­ due to the circumstances, at the request of the CEO-nim, I can¡¯t help it¡­.¡± Choi Cedric, who muttered something in embarrassment, held his breath. He belatedly changed his words as if he had recalled his external concept. ¡°Huu, hmm! You will regret not accepting the offer then!¡± Clench. The handshake ended in a bloody atmosphere. But¡­.. It was a hell of a bad performance. With anxious gaze, his tone was stiff as if he were reading a book. It¡¯s such a bad acting, but he succeeded in pretending to be an arrogant ranker, is everyone blind? ¡°I have work to do, so I¡¯ll go back first. See you next time.¡± There was no time to stop him. I wasn¡¯t sure if he didn¡¯t want to talk to Choi Cedric anymore or if he¡¯s avoiding me. Kwon Jiwoon turned around as it was. By the way, C&L Corporation was trying to eat Kwon Jiwoon¡¯s guild? ¡®It¡¯s strange¡­.¡¯ The White Silver Guild is a small guild centered on the top ranker Healer, Kwon Jiwoon. Naturally, no matter how top-ranked he is, a Healer cannot go around the dungeon alone. There¡¯s also the fact that the guild leader disappeared, so the scope of activities of The White Silver Guild was narrow compared to its popularity and recognition. This means that there is no reason for a large guild like C&L to be greedy about it. Furthermore, according to my memory before the regression, C&L Corporation took the Healer¡¯s professional guild, Garden of Blessing, as a subsidiary. It¡¯s an extraordinary merger declaration of the Guild, which once had conflicts with Choi Cedric and even declared a boycott. Maybe there was too much money to refuse. In short, it¡¯s not that they want to merge because they don¡¯t have enough healers. ¡®Hmmm¡­.¡¯ Something must have happened with Kwon Jiwoon¡¯s guild. Still, right now, nothing was known. I wanted to ask Choi Cedric for more details, but he made an unexpected sound, showed off his full-fledged acting skills. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that, that¡­.¡± ¡°You mean Kwon Jiwoon?¡± ¡°Yeah! What¡¯s your relationship with that Healer?!¡± ¡°Huh? He¡¯s my cousin.¡± Choi Cedric had a genuinely bewildered expression on his face. He covered his hand over his face and murmured to himself. ¡°Of all things, it was Kwon Jiwoon¡¯s family. Then, my image is completely messed up.¡± What¡¯s wrong with him? After muttering to himself for a while, he raised his head. ¡°Still, I won¡¯t give up¡­.¡± No, what? ¡°Be prepared!¡± For what? *** A hospital room with cool shade. Choi Cedric sent out all the healers who were guarding Rona. Also, the Healers, who were afraid of receiving his anger like the last time, left the hospital room as if they were running away. Today, his sister was suffering from nightmares. Her cheeks are hot with tears. ¡°Rona-ya¡­.¡± Opening the inventory right away, Choi Cedric stopped. He was afraid. The Blue Celaeno Flower was his only hope to cure Rona¡¯s disease, which had no improvement by all means. How long has he been searching for a way to make the flower blooms after he accidentally obtained the seeds? After a lot of hard work, the flower finally came to life. However, what if this also fails? The despair when the single hope you believed in was crushed. Choi Cedric was not confident that he could endure it. Still, he didn¡¯t hesitate for long. He opened his inventory and set the potted flower down by the bedside. Blue starlight emanated from the petals. A dazzling light drifted through the shady space and filled the entire hospital room. The groan slowly subsided and the breath became comfortable. It was not long before Rona slowly opened her eyes. ¡°¡­..Rona-ya!¡± Her face was pale and her dry hands trembled, but the girl looked straight at him. It¡¯s been years since the last time he saw her awake like this. ¡°Oppa¡­.¡± ¡°Are you conscious? Uh, that¡¯s right, it¡¯s me. Your brother is here.¡± She reached out her hand. Choi Cedric took Rona¡¯s hand. He felt sorry for her skinny little hand. Rona leaned on Choi Cedric¡¯s hand and got up. Her body, which had been lying in bed for a long time, was too heavy for even the smallest movement, and her arms trembled. Still, there is no time. Rona licked her dry lips. ¡°Rona-ya, lie down first. Here¡¯s the water. Drink some water.¡± ¡°Oppa, that man, be careful¡­.¡± The latter words were mingled with rough breath and could not be heard properly. It was the limit. Slowly, Rona fell asleep again. He called her name a few more times, but the heavy eyelids didn¡¯t move. However, the sleep was comfortable. There was no pain as before, and the tight breathing and softly closed eyes seemed to be dreaming of a daydream. Now, he¡¯s so happy that this alone brought tears to his eyes. Choi Cedric ruffled Rona¡¯s hair slowly. He¡¯ll make sure that his sister will get better. Until then, just have a good dream. When he was thinking like that, the door of the hospital room burst open. It was Aeon, the secretary of the CEO. ¡°¡­¡­? What¡¯s going on?¡± Choi Cedric inadvertently hid Rona from the secretary¡¯s gaze. Aeon has shown his face in this hospital room several times. But why? That faint smile made him feel uncomfortable. ¡°How about Miss Rona? Has she gotten any better?¡± Aeon spoke in a worried tone. At those words, Choi Cedric forgot his vigilance and his heart softened a bit. He must have been mistaken. He¡¯s a little reluctant, but ¡­ this person has dedicated himself to the guild. What is he even thinking? ¡°Uhuh, thanks to this flower, she feels much better.¡± ¡°CEO Lee Sein-nim said she had something to say to you.¡± ¡°Really? Tell her I¡¯ll be there later.¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s urgent.¡± ¡°¡­.Okay, I got it.¡± Choi Cedric rose from the bedside with regret. Rona is sleeping comfortably. In the meantime, he¡¯ll be back for a little bit. ¡°Rona-ya, Oppa will be right back.¡± After stroking his sleeping sister¡¯s hair once, Choi Cedric left the hospital room. After the sound of footsteps completely disappeared over the door¡­.. ¡°¡­¡­.¡± Suddenly, there was no smile left on Aeon¡¯s face. In the horrifying silence, he erased all his facial expressions and and his non-human gaze turned to the girl on the bed. Then, he reached out towards the starlight flower. Without hesitation, Ion tried to crush the Blue Celaeno Flower with his hand. Kiing¡ª The intangible barrier deflected Aeon¡¯s hand. Sparks burst, followed by black smoke. ¡°¡­.Cih.¡± His palm was burnt black even though he only touched the barrierfor a short time. Aeon clicked his tongue and hid the darkly hand. Well, that¡¯s enough. It doesn¡¯t make any difference even if you have this flower now. Wouldn¡¯t it be just a comfort for the mind? ¡°You won¡¯t be able to do anything anyway.¡± Leaving those words behind, Aeon turned his body. The door closed. The girl is asleep. *** ¡°Uh ¡­ CEO-nim? What did you just say?¡± ¡°Why? You can do it.¡± The top floor of C&L Corporation. Rather than a Hunter Guild, it was a room decorated like a representative office of a large company. Choi Cedric looked at the CEO, Lee Sein, who was sitting across from him. Hair combed to one side, a luxurious suit, and a relaxed smile like a successful person. He has known her for a long time, but maybe because it¡¯s been a while since he has seen her, he felt particularly unfamiliar with this Lee Sein. Besides, what she just said¡­. ¡°Didn¡¯t you decide not to touch The White Silver Guild?¡± ¡°Yeah, I did.¡± Smile. Lee Sein smiled. It was the same smile that he practiced several times in front of the mirror years ago while saying that he couldn¡¯t be underestimated by other Hunters. ¡°It¡¯s just that the plan has changed.¡± ¡°But if that¡¯s the case¡­.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Nothing dangerous will happen. You¡¯re just like my little brother, do you think I would let you do something dangerous?¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°Yes, Cedric?¡± The gentle, soothing tone reminded him of the old days. They are not real siblings. However, from the time the guild was named by adding C for Choi Cedric and L for Lee Sein, they became as close as family. In the old days with Rona, the three of them lived together in a building that was so small that it could not be compared to now. The scent of the distant past stimulated his longing. ¡°All right, Noona.¡± Choi Cedric swallowed the discomfort. Yes, there is no way Lee Sein would give wrong directions. This uncomfortable feeling must be just an illusion. The goal is the same as then: Making C&L the best guild. For the sake of this goal, he followed all instructions, even if it was incomprehensible. Nothing has changed. However¡­.. Did you know that you didn¡¯t even ask me a word about Rona, Noona? [Next] Translator¡¯s Corner: Since being here means that you¡¯ve read korean novels, I would just assume that you already knew the basic words like oppa, noona, etc. If you don¡¯t know about it, feel free to ask~ Oh, which one do you think look better between ¡®Noona¡¯ and ¡®Nuna¡¯? If I¡¯m not mistaken, both is correct and acceptable. CH 62 Korea¡¯s No. 1 Hunter Community ¨C Hunter Channel. Free Forum Board. ¡ª Ranking, The Slave Hunters Guild is banned. Real life player kill in the dungeon. *** [News] (Hunter SCOPE) ¡®Drink coffee and your stamina goes UP?¡¯ A topic about coffee that raises one¡¯s ability (17) Upvotes: 2 / Downvotes: 37 *** Writer: Pumplebot (Ellipsis) Coffee is a familiar drink in our daily life. However, it turned out that there is a coffee that gives special buff effects to Hunters. It¡¯s not a potion. Just coffee. However, the effects of drinking a cup of coffee are varied. From strength and energy recovery, debuff nullification, and critical rate increase. I was able to receive a buff that is difficult to obtain even with advanced potions. I couldn¡¯t believe it at first either. However, all the Hunters who drank the coffee at this cafe said the effect is real. Choi ¡ð¡ð¡ð¡ð¡ð¡ð (23, Hunter): I don¡¯t know what it is, but if you drink it, you¡¯ll get ¡­ and then hwaa¡­¡­ I do that. By the way, what that flashes just now? J¡ð¡ð¡ð¡ð (32, Hunter): Ah ¡­ It¡¯s the best in Korea, no, the best in the world. I¡¯d like to invite you to America. The taste of coffee that only those who know it know. However, it won¡¯t be long before coffee becomes the Hunters¡¯ necessities. I recommend you to experience it in advance before it becomes popular. Journalist Kim Taewoon from Hunter SCOPE [email protected] *** ¡ª Cheese Pizza: Huh, what is this;;; ¡ª OO: What kind of home shopping drug sale is coming up? HAHAHAHAHAHA ¡ª dda***: Isn¡¯t this HunChan? I thought I was in a shopping mall; ¡ª Picking Golem: Pumplebot is corrupted; ©¸ Pumplebot: What?; fck I just posted a new article??? ©¸ Picking Golem: Even if you scoop it, why are you putting this stupid thing here, don¡¯t you have anything else kkkkkkkkkk ¡ª Pumplebot: I give up fck I won¡¯t share information now ©¸ Bbooing: ???? I¡¯m enjoying your post, Pumplebot. Just ignore what the weirdos above are saying. ©¸ Healer Wanted: right right more people enjoying it ¡ª tda***: Even as a commercial, the absurdity is too much?? ¡ª OO: Home shopping these days is no joke HAHAHAHAHAHA It¡¯s good to consume it in dungeon LOL ©¸ I am powerless: ?? My mom keeps watching home shopping and sending me healthy juice, so I¡¯m going crazy. What does health juice have to do with dungeon ©¸ Market #13: Eating as a way of gratitude is also filial piety. If she sends it to you, drink it kkk ©¸ HingHangHong: Sharing go go? ©¸ I am powerless: OK of course sincerely who wants to share it in front of Hunter Market today? ¡ª Mansucker TteoksangAward: fck lol lol lol lol yeah, that¡¯s right. this is written by Burning King ©¸ MM: What is that??? ©¸ Mansucker TteoksangAward: It¡¯s the nickname of journalist Kim Taewoon yep Search for Kim Taewoon on the news portal hahahaha f*cking lots of garbage articles ¡ª Human Rights start at Grade C: Burning King wrote this before too, ¡®It¡¯s good if there¡¯s a rift, the risk pay is fairly decent¡®, he wrote an article like that and made him get cursed at ©¸ MM: Gosh, I know it yeah yeah he¡¯s a giraegi ©¸ Jeju Guild No. 1: When the rift in Sangam broke, he pointed the camera at the victim and made a fuss. ©¸ Picking Golem: He¡¯s also famous for hiding in front of Cheongna for 30 days to cover Muwon. ©¸ I am powerless: Heol ;shivering; how courageous ©¸ ftf***: So what happened? ©¸ Picking Golem: Hunter Scope was almost closed, so now they don¡¯t even touch Cheongna LOL ¡ª Healer Wanted: But Burning King is a bit different these days?? ©¸ MM: What are you talking about?;;; ©¸ Healer Wanted: (Focused Report) ¡°Re-subcontract to a subcontractor ¡­ Even if I go around the dungeon, the ¡®no pay¡¯ slave guild did not disappear.¡± [Link] This is by Burning King ©¸ MM: Huh, did they write the wrong name???? What happened to Kim Taewoon?? ©¸ I am powerless: Cheonggyecheon, Hunters of the Production World: A History of Light and Darkness [Link] This is also Kim Taewoon???? ©¸ OO: wow; did he eat something wrong? ¡ª Lime Love Team: Burning King came to our guild interview yesterday and I heard that he changed a little. ©¸ Jeju Guild No. 1: what¡¯s this nonsense??? last year he was being f*cking annoying by persistently poking around. ©¸ Lime Love Team: How should I say it ¡­ the state of his eyes became clear ©¸ MM: Huh? ©¸ Weak-Jin: What are you talking about?? ©¸ Jeju Guild No. 1: what kind of clear spirit do you have LOL ¡ª Human Rights start at Grade C: So you¡¯re into the Burning King religion or something? ©¸ Lime Love Team: nope it wasn¡¯t like that, you¡¯d know if you saw it in person fk be nice ©¸ I am powerless: A clear-eyed madman?? ¡ª OO: Well, I heard that there are some strange religious missionaries in every guild these days. Watch out, Hunchaners. ©¸ Mansucker TteoksangAward: All of sudden, I¡¯m too busy running around the dungeon for a religion hahahahaha ©¸ Pumplebot: Aren¡¯t you just busy opening LOL ¡ª Shuv: It didn¡¯t look that bad, right? It¡¯s about exploring the truth given by the Great One, it looks so good~ ©¸ OO: heol;;; What is this? Goosebumps;;;; *** The incident at the Happy Green Life Dungeon Farm was quickly settled. It was a rare plant-dungeon, but it passed quietly without any news reports. As a consequence, just like before the regression, Lee Chorok¡¯s farm went out of business. It¡¯s not only because a rift broke out, but also because numerous violations were discovered during the investigation and she avoided a lot of fines. Fortunately, she was spared from being locked in the jail because they recognized her contribution of reporting immediately when the dungeon occured. Suddenly, a large package was delivered to the cafe, and when I opened it, it was a box of apples sent by Lee Chorok¡¯s sister. I¡¯m sorry to trouble her with this. The apples were delicious. ¡°Huu ¡­ Customer-nim, I¡¯m so sorry.¡± ¡°It¡¯s all right. I¡¯m still alive anyway.¡­.¡± ¡°As a token of apology, please accept this!¡± Lee Chorok, who¡¯s planning to close her farm and work part-time at a fruit store in the future, handed me a seed. Most of the dungeon plants were confiscated, but luckily she was able to recover this one. Since it is a very rare seed, she said she would leave it to me, who revived the Blue Celaeno Flower. ¡®Monster Hell appeared from the rare seed that you bought¡­.¡¯ I was nervous. I was incredibly anxious. I tried to refuse, but the investigation found it harmless, so I eventually accepted it. How did I do the investigation? ¡°Miaaaaw (Hoo, this is a pretty precious thing)!¡± ¡°¡­is that so?¡± ¡°Waaeoong, waeoong (this is nothing dangerous)!¡± ¡­ that¡¯s what Mieum said. Umh, well. Let¡¯s just believe it for now. I planted the unidentified seed in the corner of the space and forgot about it. And, today. ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°Hello.¡± The twins of Cheongna Guild, whom I met with Ki Yoohyun last time, came to the cafe. The purpose is, of course, to eat snacks and watch touching animations. Two cups of warm vanilla latte. There were a lot of apples left, so I served cookies with apple jam inside. It was a sweet cookie with warm apple jam flowing when you take a bite. ¡°Whoaa!¡± Joo Shinwoo, with his eyes wide open, bit a cookie. Next to him, Joo Shinhee gave him a harsh scolding. ¡°You idiot! Did you forget what I said earlier?¡± ¡°Huk, right.¡± Joo Shinwoo put the cookie down on the plate and bowed his head. ¡°Thank you!¡± He¡¯s so cute¡­.. However, instead of picking up the cookies, Joo Shinhee only wiggled her fingers. She seemed to have something to say. ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Does it not suit your taste? Can I give you something else?¡± ¡°What? No! It¡¯s not that, just¡­..¡± ¡°Yes?¡± She wiggled her fingers again, pondered for a while, and finally opened her mouth. ¡°I, umh ¡­ may I call you Eonni?¡± ¡°Yes, of course.¡± ¡°Eonni ¡­ Thank you for the food.¡± What should I do? She¡¯s so cute.¡­. No matter what happens, I decided to make sure that those children did not change in 3 years as they did before the regression. The twins¡¯ eyes twinkled as they sat next to each other and drank the vanilla latte while holding the cup with both hands. Without looking at the bar of light rising above their heads, I could tell that the drink was delicious. [The condition has been met. Combo bonus will be generated. Combo: Children¡¯s Menu (Vanilla Latte, Apple Jam Cookie) Effect: Perfect nutrition for children.] [Congratulations! You have completed ¡®Sub Quest: Lady of the Children¡¯s Heart¡¯.] The system notification that sounded with tiling is set aside for now. Now, it was the time to watch the touching animal animation that I prepared in advance. ¡°Heuk, huhuhu¡­.¡± ¡°Kkyuu¡­.¡± ¡°Waeoooong, meow, waeooong (No, run away, meow, you can¡¯t go there)!¡± The one who became most immersed in the story was our house cat. Sitting side by side with Mieum and Lime, I made two new cups of coffee while watching the twins who were absorbed in the TV. One cup was for Ki Yoohyun, who came as the guardian of the twins today. ¡°¡­¡­thank you.¡± He smiled and picked up the cup of coffee in front of him. The long eyelashes casted a shadow on his face, and a faint smile crept onto his white cheeks. It was an appearance that inadvertently made me exclaimed my admiration. I¡¯ve met this man several times already, but I can¡¯t get used to it. Especially those dark eyes that seem to have something to say, even though he¡¯s just looking at me¡­.. ¡°Rieul-ssi.¡± Oh, he really did have something to say. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been through hardships.¡± ¡°Ahaha ¡­ It was kind of like that.¡± ¡°I am glad you are safe.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± Obviously, the case where I got caught up in Monster Hell wasn¡¯t reported in the news. It¡¯s not because the case is trivial. There is a possibility that other incidents may have been involved behind the distribution of the seed of Monster Hell, so the incident was not reported for information control. He¡¯s in the same Hunter industry, so he might have heard the information, but¡­¡­. I took a sip of coffee and looked at Ki Yoohyun again. A striking appearance. A Hunter in the bottom of Cheongna Guild¡¯s hierarchy. For such a thing, he has a relaxed attitude that feels daunting. I met him for the first time because he was hiding under the wall of this store, and I have encountered him often since then. Umh¡­.. If you look at him, this man is also very suspicious. Is he actually a huge tycoon? Translator¡¯s Corner: THE NETIZEN TALKS IN THIS CHAPTER SOMEHOW FEELS SO HARD I ALMOST GIVE UP T__T Please do not repost!!! I do not translate those netizen catters for hours only for people to repost it and remove the credit. CH 63 ¡°Nyaaaang (It¡¯s such a touching story)!¡± ¡°Kitty, you have to be happy, heuk¡­..¡± ¡°You idiot! It¡¯s natural to have a happy ending!¡± ¡°Who are you calling an idiot, you idiot!¡± The bickering sound of the kids who were watching television brought me back to my senses. Ey, I had a ridiculous idea. Why would a tycoon be in a place like this? Ah, speaking of store sales, it¡¯s still the same. How many guests came yesterday¡­. Anyway, there was only one customer. He was a Hunter, but at first glance, it looked like he was doing the Hunter Channel while drinking coffee. I hope he would write a good review. Thanks to that customer, I was able to accomplish the quest to gather 10 customers. [Congratulations! You have completed ¡®Main Quest: The Sorrow of the F-Grade Cafe¡¯. Please collect the reward.] [Main Quest: The Sorrow of the F-Grade Cafe You¡¯ve finally got your own cafe. But it¡¯s still Grade F. Very few people know the existence of this cafe. Gather customers and raise the grade, let¡¯s rise to fame. Meet 10 customers: 10/10 Rewards: Experience (200 EXP), 1 Golden Ticket, ???] [Experience: 200 EXP have been acquired.] [You have reached Level 11.] [You have obtained 1 Golden Draw Ticket.] [Ether-Weki has been updated.] [The Great One is interested in you.] [The name of has been passed on to many people.] [Converts the acquired recognition to fame ¡­. Completed.] [The Grade of the cafe has become E.] [The atmosphere of the cafe improves with the Grade E reward. More people pay attention to the cafe.] [A new area has been opened in the space as the Grade E reward.] [Name: Cafe Rieul Grade: E Fame: 20, Popularity: 25] A system notification popped up, but the cumulative number of customers was 10 and the Grade was only E. Well, what I wanted from the beginning was this kind of cafe. I¡¯ve saved the flower to save Choi Cedric¡¯s sickly younger sister, and now that I don¡¯t have to go into the dungeon, it¡¯ll be peaceful. ¡°I wish it will always be this peaceful¡­.¡± Oh my goodness! I was startled by the unintentional mumble. I said the forbidden line. As it turns out, in a novel or manga, when the main character says something like ¡®It will always be peaceful now,¡¯ a non-peaceful event will happen. ¡°When I return home, I will marry my fiance.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll wash my hands when I¡¯m done with this.¡± ¡­. they were selected as top 3 words that should never be said. Well ¡­ It¡¯s gonna be okay, right? It¡¯s going to be fine ¡­ right? *** After the twins with puffy eyes and Ki Yoohyun went back, I checked my watch. There was no news even though it was almost time for Choi Yichan to come. Did something happen? Shall I make a phone call? Ah, that¡¯s right. Choi Yichan still has his phone deactivated. ¡°¡­.Huh?¡± Then, I found a note on one side of the table. It was in an inconspicuous position because it was pressed with a coffee cup. What¡¯s this? The note was written by Choi Yichan. The last sentence of the thickly written message, starting with a greeting, caught my eye first. [I realized my shortcomings. I will come back stronger. ¡ª Choi Yichan] ¡­.. What? *** Is this all right? The pace, which had gradually slowed, came to a complete stop. Choi Yichan looked back several times. The red brick cafe building has now become so small that it looks the size of a fingernail even with an S-class physical ability. ¡¾Do you regret it?¡¿ As he stopped to look at the cafe for a while, a voice penetrated his mind. Choi Yichan answered inwardly, leaving his gaze intact. ¡®No.¡¯ ¡¾Your expression says otherwise.¡¿ ¡®Noisy.¡¯ ¡¾You¡¯re such a picky contractor.¡¿ It was after returning from Dungeon in Suwon that this voice began to be heard in his head. A strange voice that asked if he needed power. Choi Yichan ignored this voice at first. ¡¾Contractor.¡¿ ¡°¡­¡­Kwon Ri, I¡¯m going to run a marathon!¡± ¡°Huh?! Didn¡¯t you say that you ran 40 km earlier?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to run 40 kilometers more!¡± ¡°What?!¡± He must have heard those sounds because he exercised less. It¡¯s because he felt like a crazy person. ¡¾Isn¡¯t it time for you to give me an answer?¡¿ Every time he heard that sound, he ran and ran again. No matter how much he moved his body, he did not get tired after becoming an S-class. On the contrary, he would break a cup on daily basis because he couldn¡¯t control his strength, so running was a perfect exercise. ¡¾You gained power through the contract, but you ignored me. In human terms, it called ¡®Eat and Run¡¯.¡¿ ¡°I¡¯ll be back after doing squats!¡± ¡°Yichan-ah, again?¡± ¡¾Contractor, you¡¯re eating and running away.¡¿ ¡°Huuh, huu¡­.¡± ¡¾¡­¡­.¡¿ Even after becoming an S-class, the surroundings are complicated, and even the strange voice in his head bothers him. He thought it was because he was full of energy, so he took protein and exercised again. Then, the voice began to talk about the future. ¡¾Next February, there will be a rift in Mt. Jirisan.¡¿ ¡¾The phoenix is ??lost.¡¿ ¡¾That person is ill.¡¿ From big events to the future of passersby. He stubbornly ignored the words he didn¡¯t want to hear. ¡¾Aren¡¯t you curious what will happen to your friend?¡¿ ¡°What are you saying?¡± But he could no longer ignore what it said about his friend, Kwon Rieul. Moreover, the content¡­. ¡­¡­she¡¯s going to die? His heart thumped loudly. The image of Rieul smiling well all the time flashed through his head. How glad he was to see her again. It was a future he didn¡¯t even want to think about. ¡°What are you talking about? If it¡¯s nonsense, I won¡¯t let you go.¡± The black pendant on his neck heated up. Choi Yichan knows this is how this mysterious voice laughs. After laughing for a while, he continued his talk. ¡¾You answered that you needed power. So I gave you power.¡¿ ¡¾But, Contractor, you can¡¯t save everything.¡¿ ¡°Stop talking nonsense and tell me what to do.¡± ¡¾There are things you have to give up to save your friend.¡¿ ¡°No, I want to save everything.¡± There was no wavering in his voice. Again, the pendant heated up. ¡¾After all, I feel like I¡¯ve been ripped off.¡¿ ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡¾All right, Contractor, I¡¯ll give you a mission.¡¿ Tiling! [Quest: The Trial of the King in Yellow Begins.] ¡¾You will be able to obtain the power you want at the end of the Trial.¡¿ If so, there is no choice but to do it. In the end, Choi Yichan left a note and left Cafe Rieul. He¡¯s a bad liar. If she looks at his face, he will definitely be caught. ¡°Where should I go?¡± ¡¾First ¡­ Let¡¯s go to the Abyss over there.¡¿ The voice pointed to the huge dungeon in front of him. ¡¾I¡¯m the one Who is Not to be Named. Be careful and remember.¡¿ ¡°You¡¯re not Voldemort.¡± ¡¾¡­¡­.¡¿ ¡¾Call me The King in Yellow, ¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€.¡¿ ¡°You should have said that earlier.¡± ¡¾¡­¡­.¡¿ *** Why did Choi Yichan leave all of a sudden? What is it that he realized he¡¯s lacking? I was shocked to see the note left by Choi Yichan. I couldn¡¯t think of any reason for him to leave suddenly. It was nice to have Choi Yichan during that time, now I felt lonely. ¡°Are you there?¡± Just then, there was a knock on the door. ¡°Yes! Come on in.¡± ¡°Hello. My name is Kang Hyunwoo, and I¡¯m the head of Emergency Dungeon Countermeasures Team from the Dungeon Management Office.¡± ¡°Rieul-ssi, long time no see!¡± A public official in a formal suit was standing in front of the door. Next to him was Jina. ¡°I came here after hearing the news that the new S-class Hunter, Choi Yichan, is here. Can I see him?¡± Well, he used to be here, but¡­¡­. ¡°He just left.¡± ¡°Then when can I see him?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­?¡± I handed the note left by Choi Yichan to the man in front of me. ¡°¡­¡­!¡± The two officials who checked the note were in despair. There used to be an S-class, but now there was none. *** ¡°¡­Please drink.¡± First, I made two cups of Americano for two frustrated government officials. ¡°This¡­! It¡¯s really delicious. I can¡¯t believe it¡¯s the same name as black beans that only tasted bitter.¡± ¡°Right? I told you that Rieul-ssi¡¯s coffee is delicious.¡± Jina shrugged her shoulders with a proud expression. It¡¯s such a friendly coffee time for a moment. While drinking the Americano, the public officials¡¯ expressions relaxed, but soon they became depressed again. I glanced at the business card I had just received. Hunter Kang Hyunwoo, the Head of Emergency Dungeon Countermeasures Team. He is famous. He has the best image among Korean civil servant hunters. I remember him briefing with a stiff expression every time he appeared on the news. ¡®Another piece of information is¡­¡­¡¯ It was known that his parents run a famous restaurant. I was curious, but I haven¡¯t been able to go yet because it¡¯s always crowded. No, this isn¡¯t important. I had heard that Jina became directly under Hunter Kang Hyunwoo, but I did not expect that he would come this far on his own. He has neatly combed hair, angular attire, modest behavior, and even though I said it was okay, he went to get the receipt and paid the coffee. He¡¯s truly the embodiment of an FM. His dark expression made me straighten my shoulders as well. ¡°Do you happen to know the contact information of Hunter Choi Yichan?¡± ¡°I know, but ¡­ you won¡¯t be able to reach him.¡± Kang Hyunwoo immediately called the number I gave him. As expected, the sound that came out was ¡®No Connection¡­.¡¯. ¡°Why did he leave?¡± I have a hunch. I don¡¯t know exactly what this is, but it sounds like a fine for negligence. In Korea, laws related to Awakened Persons are rather strict. In particular, the boundaries for the uncontrolled forces are enormous. Every May, ¡°It is the month of voluntarily updating the Awakened Rankings.¡± and ¡°If you update your ranking, you¡¯ll get tax reduction benefits.¡±, these kind of promotional materials were posted all over the city. However, after reawakening to S-class, Choi Yichan cut off his phone and worked part-time at this cafe. ¡­ There were so many things that bothered me. All that remains is a single note of unknown meaning, ¡®I will come back stronger¡®. If this is the case, he might have a big problem. I have to make up for it somehow. Worried about Choi Yichan, I squeezed out a suitable answer. ¡°That ¡­ thinking about what true strength is ¡­ Ah, that¡¯s it. It¡¯s like a journey to find himself!¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± It didn¡¯t work at all. The officials are looking at me with suspicious eyes. Kwon Rieul has gone into chaos! At that moment. Flutter. A piece of paper fell from the file that Kang Hyunwoo was holding. Due to the bright colors and the font size of 20pt, the content caught my eye even when I didn¡¯t purposely look at it. Is it because of copyright issues? It¡¯s fortunate that there is no Bono X No. It was written in a design that would have made the designer¡¯s backbone quite tingly. CH 64 When I heard the full story, it was like this. It has been a long time since Muwon, the No. 1 in Korea¡¯s Hunter Rankings, disappeared. The overwhelming power was compared to his quiet deeds. He¡¯s occasionally wiping out serious rifts alone. Someone with a past that cannot be revealed no matter how much you dig, a Hunter behind the curtain who doesn¡¯t even bother with attention. The influence Muwon has on the Korea¡¯s Hunter World was enormous. It became a problem when the number of Hunters who admire him and imitate his hard work has increased. Even if someone becomes an A-class, instead of registering with the Dungeon Management Office, they¡¯ll become a dark hero who¡¯s playing hard in the shadow of Abyss. It caused quite a commotion. There are many Hunters who try to pose as Fake Muwon for the number of views on YouTube, so the so-called Sandbag Prevention Act has been newly established. With this brief explanation, I could guess what kind of situation he has been dealing with. The new S-class, Choi Yichan, who announced his existence on the news after clearing the Suwon dungeon splendidly, disappeared without measuring his ranking or renewing his Hunter Registration. An E-class on paper, but S-class on reality. It¡¯s only natural that Kang Hyunwoo¡¯s powerful radar, who suffered from countless people who hid their power, was triggered. This case was immediately designated as a first-level management target and the team leader, Kang Hyunwoo, moved directly. With the formidable administrative power of the Dungeon Management Office, Choi Yichan¡¯s whereabouts were known, but he did not come right away because it was difficult if he approached Choi Yichan prematurely. I¡¯ll be be hard to find an S-class who is determined to be hidden. Instead, in order to convince Choi Yichan smoothly, a compensation plan was perfectly prepared for renewing the Hunter Registration to S-class. Finally, he came today to catch Choi Yichan ¡­ no, to encourage him to register. ¡°When did he leave?¡± In the behalf of Kang Hyunwoo, who is frozen, Jina carefully asked. ¡°About an hour ago¡­¡­?¡± ¡°Unbelievable¡­.¡± Thud! If only they had come a day or a few hours earlier ¡­ the officials were frustrated. The two government officials left their direct contact information and asked me to contact me when he returns. After seeing them off with regret, I was trying to clean up the empty cups, but Mieum and Lime were playing with some paper. ¡°Kkyuuu!¡± ¡°Nyaaaah (Give me that, slime guy)!¡± ¡°Kkyuu, kkyuuu!¡± Pakpak! The battle between Mieum, who flung her front paws, and Lime, who was chubby and dodged perfectly, continued. The result is Lime¡¯s victory, who showed a perfect dodging technique. ¡°What is that?¡± I approached the two animals and quickly took the paper. ¡°Meoooong (The human dropped it off earlier)!¡± ¡°If you find something like this, you must return it immediately ¡­ Hmm?¡± The paper was a flyer looking for a person. There was a picture of a young man with an ordinary impression that he would be easily forgetten even if we run into him on the street. His name is Kim Jihoon. I¡¯ve never heard of this name. By the way¡­. ¡°¡­.Doesn¡¯t he look like I¡¯ve seen him somewhere?¡± ¡°Kkyuu!¡± ¡°How do I know that! You didn¡¯t even take me! Kyaooo!¡± Mieum turned her head to show that she¡¯s sulking. Lime also makes a cry of sympathy next to her. These animals are upset because I went to the farm to save the Blue Celaeno Flower alone. They can¡¯t believe that I did such a fun thing on my own. Is that fun? Besides, I almost died there¡­¡­? ¡°I just wanted to see the flower of starlight, meooong!¡± ¡°Mieum, you said you didn¡¯t want to go into the suitcase.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you ask the flower owner to show it to us?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Kyakyaooong!¡± Mieum jumped up and threw a punch. She really wants to see the flower. Still, what¡¯s done can¡¯t be undone. ¡®I got Choi Cedric¡¯s contact number, but let¡¯s keep it a secret¡­.¡¯ ¡°I heard it¡¯s a medicine for his sick younger sister. How can I ask him to show me?¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± However, Mieum didn¡¯t answer. I glanced to her because I thought she was sulking again, but the words suddenly continued. ¡°That¡¯s a strange story.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°The Blue Celaeno Flower blooms under the starlight of Celaeno. It is not a drug to cure a disease.¡± ¡°But the Monster Hell that swallowed the flower was revived?¡± ¡°That is because of the influence of ¨€¨€¨€ Celaeno ¨€¨€! That¨€¨€¨€ regenerates monsters with magical power¡­..¡± [Warning: Abnormal Approach] [System Error: ¡ª. ¡ª.¡ª] Mieum¡¯s voice crackled and began to drifted away, and a red warning window popped up without a fail. This damned system window! ¡°Waeoong! Hurry up and level up!¡± ¡°All of a sudden?!¡± However, now that I¡¯m level 11, my status is this much. Name: Kwon Rieul Class: Cafe Owner (F)(Lv. 11) Stamina 110/110, Energy 110/110 Strength: 22 (+10), Intelligence: 14, Agility: 13, Luck: 14 Although it was only a little, I¡¯ve became stronger, but it seems that it was still not enough for Mieum¡¯s level. ¡°I can¡¯t speak because you¡¯re weak! In order to unleash the power of me, the seventh agent who enforces the system, you, human, must be strong, meong!¡± Pakpak! After avoiding the flying front paws, I looked at Mieum. She has cereal crumbs around her mouth. In the morning, she occupied the front of the television and watched the drama, and until five minutes ago, she played with tearing paper. Bickering with Lime is a bonus. ¡®She¡¯s having a lot of fun¡­.?¡¯ It was brazen to see the seventh agent completely forgetting her duty and pretending that she¡¯s not enjoying the life of a cat. ¡°Nyaoong! Don¡¯t look at me with the eyes that see me like I¡¯m only good at talking and only playing around!¡± ¡°Ah, I got caught.¡± ¡°Kyakyakkyaoong!¡± Avoiding the interference of the system, Mieum told me that the flower is not harmful. Come to think of it, it¡¯s not a cure, but, to be precise, a pain reliever. ¡®Whatever it is, I hope she doesn¡¯t get sick¡­.¡¯ Anyway, I looked at the flyer again. ¡°Hu-um.¡± Is it just a feeling? He has a very common impression, so it¡¯s highly likely that I misunderstood about seeing this person somewhere. As I was about to put the flyer in the drawer, the store door suddenly opened. Jina, who had just returned, was in front of the door. Her face was red from running and she was breathing heavily. ¡°Jina-ssi, what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Did I leave anything here?¡± ¡°Is this it?¡± ¡°Ah!¡± Jina approached quickly and received the flyer. ¡°Yes, this is right. Thank you.¡± ¡°By the way, who is that?¡± ¡°This is¡­.¡± Jina bit her lip. When I looked at her, it looked like water will pouring out of her eyes at any moment. At that time, Kang Hyunwoo, who was waiting outside the door, called Jina. ¡°I¡¯m not sure yet ¡­ I¡¯ll tell you later.¡± She bowed, nodded her head, and turned away. What¡¯s going on? Jina looked pale. *** Choi Yichan left a note as if he was about to practice martial arts while being hit by a waterfall. I finally decided to support him, although it¡¯s a shame that the temporary part-timer and the person in charge of playing with the animals left. I¡¯m worried, but after he became an S-class, he experienced a lot of inconveniences . I don¡¯t know what he¡¯s trying to do, but there must be a reason why he suddenly left. That¡¯s what I thought, but¡­.. ¡°What¡¯s going on¡­¡­.¡± Life didn¡¯t go my way. For some reason, the number of customers suddenly increased a few days ago. [Skill: Cafe in My Hand (C) is used. Recipe: Cafe Latte] I put the cafe latte in a takeout cup and served it to the customer. Without a moment to catch my breath, the next order came in. ¡°Two cups of vanilla latte, please.¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s coming!¡± ¡°Can I make a group order?¡± My eyes were spinning as I thought about calculating the price, making drinks, and washing the dishes. ¡®Yichan-ah, please come back¡­.¡¯ I felt the desperate need for a part-timer now. [You have obtained 1 Golden Draw Ticket.] [You have obtained 1 Golden Draw Ticket.] [You have obtained 1 Golden Draw Ticket.] In the midst of a sudden business boom, notifications were constantly popping up in the system window. [A quest has occurred.] [Sub Quest: The Dream of Cafe Revival The first step towards an SSS-Grade Cafe. Make money by selling your menu. Ruby: 100/100 Reward: ???] [The Dimensional Shop has been upgraded. You can purchase more various items.] [Achievement: ¡®Where Are You Looking? That¡¯s My Afterimage.¡¯ has been achieved. Please collect the reward.] [Achievement: ¡®I¡¯m the Ruby Rich of the District.¡¯ has been achieved. Please collect the reward.] [Achievement: Where Are You Looking? That¡¯s My Afterimage Unbelievable speed! You¡¯ve processed a flood of orders at a dazzling speed. Reward: Agility +10] [Achievement: I¡¯m the Ruby Rich of the District Accumulated 300 rubies earned through cafe sales. Get richer and richer. Reward: Comfortable Cafe Table (¡ï¡ï¡î¡î¡î)] [You have obtained 1 Golden Draw Ticket.] [You have obtained 1 Golden Draw Ticket.] [You have acquired a new recipe ¡®Einspanner¡¯.] [You have acquired a new recipe ¡®Cafe Romano¡¯.] And so on¡­¡­ The quest was cleared as soon as it occurred, and new recipes and golden tickets were piled up in the inventory. However, there was no time to look into the details because customers are constantly pouring in and ordering coffee. [Caution: Your energy has been depleted. (0/110) Status abnormalities may occur when using the skill.] As I used my skills for a long time to make coffee, I ran out of energy. After drinking an iced Americano that eliminated energy consumption, I processed the remaining orders again. I want to go home. The problem is ¡­ this is my home. In the meantime, there have been almost no customers, so it¡¯s good that there are more customers now. ¡°Oh my God, I can¡¯t believe coffee tastes like this¡­¡­!¡± ¡°One more cup of this, please!¡± It was also true that seeing the customers happy and telling me the coffee was delicious made me feel proud. But why the sudden increase of customers all of a sudden? ¡°Nyaoong (You don¡¯t like it when there are only few customers, but when there¡¯s a lot of customer, you also don¡¯t like it because it¡¯s too much. You¡¯re really arbitrary).¡± ¡°Noisy.¡± I glared at Mieum while pouring coffee into a takeout cup. That¡¯s the original mentality of a human. They¡¯re sad when the business doesn¡¯t go well, but they hate it when they¡¯re busy. ¡°Waeoong (Human)¡­..¡± ¡°It¡¯s not something you can say while using my Netflix ID.¡± There¡¯s no other animal here more perfectly adapted to royalty than you. At that moment, I could hear the words of the customers who had just received their coffee. ¡°This is the coffee shop that has special effects, right?¡± ¡°I feel like I¡¯ve gotten stronger!¡± ¡°It¡¯s really delicious here!¡± ¡­¡­what? How did this coffee get rumored to have special effects? I want to run away¡­. Tiling! Then, the system notification rang again. [A quest has occurred.] [Sub Quest: A Dungeon Walk You¡¯re tired of your work, go away. Let¡¯s go around the dungeon, take care of your health, and refresh your mood. Enter a random dungeon: 0/1 Rewards: EXP (500 EXP), 100 rubies, random recipe] I can¡¯t say anything. I got goosebumps at the quest that popped up as if it had read my mind. Why is this system doing this to me? [Next] Translator¡¯s Corner: Sandbag is actually not an actual translation. The real used word is ???, it refers to a main character who hides their power / a person who has an atmosphere of hiding power on the outside, but is actually strong on the inside. It actually being used once when Rieul was suspecting Ki Yoohyun¡¯s ability back in the tutorial dungeon. Back then, I just changed the word to something similiar. I didn¡¯t expect the term to haunt me again¨C I can¡¯t find a good direct translation, so in this chapter, I used sandbag. It¡¯s a an English slang that means ¡°to downplay one¡¯s ability or act as though one is much less skilled in some task or activity in order to deceive and take advantage of someone/something.¡± We finally reached the timeline¡¯s prologue. I hope you enjoyed the story! CH 65 I¡¯ve been thinking about this for a long time, but ¡­ it seemed clear that this system did not simply make mechanical reactions. As if reading my mind, it offered quests or rewards, and sometimes it seemed to make fun of me. There were times when it used a friendly tone and displayed text that seemed to have been scraped from a viral blog. ¡®Is there really someone inside the system?¡¯ That doesn¡¯t make sense though, hmm. I wondered what the intention was if this system really responded to me. It hasn¡¯t done any harm to me so far, but I don¡¯t feel like it¡¯s just helping me. ¡®Anyway, it¡¯s clear that it wants to throw me into the dungeon.¡¯ Of course, I will never go. I immediately turned off that ominous quest window. Rather than going to the dungeon, I decided to become a coffee slave, so I handled the accumulated orders, but it wasn¡¯t long before I hit my limit. The red light flickered on the system window because I ran out of stamina. In addition, the coffee beans were also bottomed out. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but we are closing our business now.¡± ¡°What? Already?¡± ¡°Here, I¡¯ll give you ten times the ruby, so please sell me more!¡± ¡°I ran out of coffee beans. I¡¯m sorry. We will open the business when the ingredients come in.¡± ¡°Then, give me lemonade!¡± ¡°It¡¯s all gone, too.¡± ¡°Aaaagh!¡± After sending the desperate customers outside, I didn¡¯t even have the strength to move a finger. I put green beans in the roaster and lit it with the power of the ring. Then, as I smelled the coffee beans being roasted, I collapsed on the table. ¡°Ugh¡­.¡± Since it is a small home roaster, the amount of coffee that can be roasted at once is small. Until now, it¡¯s been fine, but when the customers flocked in earnest, it became inconvenience. Should I buy a commercial roaster? Just in time, the last quest reward increased the amount of empty land in the space. I think it would be nice to have it installed there. ¡°I wish you could give me a roster instead of useless things as a quest reward¡­.¡± I muttered deliberately. As I guessed, if there is a will in this system, please listen to my opinion and reflect it. ¡°You know, the roaster that turns automatically. The one that can roast a lot at once. It can be installed in the space.¡± ¡°What are you muttering to yourself, meow?¡± ¡°Kkyuuuu¡­..¡± Next to me, Mieum and Lime looked at me with strange eyes. Hmmm, I guess you don¡¯t understand my big meaning. Come to think of it, I received a cafe table as a reward earlier. How do you use that? Tiling! The moment when I tried to re-read the system notification, a new message popped up. [Comfortable Cafe Table (¡ï¡ï¡î¡î¡î) can be installed. Do you want to install it? Yes / No] When I selected ¡®Yes¡®, a hazy light flashed and the cafe table changed. The top plate was made of dark brown thick wood and had a warm atmosphere. It looked a little bit more luxurious than the original table. [Item: Comfortable Cafe Table (¡ï¡ï¡î¡î¡î) Type: Furniture A wooden cafe table. When you sit down, you can feel a little comfortable. Note: Satisfaction +1, Comfort +1] [Clear more quests to collect various furniture. You can upgrade your cafe.] ¡°Give me the roaster¡­¡­.¡± [Collect various furniture.] [Collect various furniture.] I see. This system listens to me, but it only hears what it wants to hear¡­. It was the part-timer that was more urgent than the roaster. In fact, on the first day when the number of customers began to increase, I already posted job openings. However, even though the conditions were better than the average, there were no applicants because of the location. As soon as they heard that it was in front of Dungeon Gate, they turned it down. ¡°Umh¡­.¡± At that time, when I was in agony, the store door opened again. I barely got up on the table and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. We¡¯re out of ingredients today, so we¡¯re closed¡­.¡± ¡°Hey, I guess I¡¯m late.¡± The visitor was Ki Yoohyun. He was alone today, not with the twins. Wearing a black coat, with his slightly long hair combed nicely, he smiled bitterly as if he had guessed the situation when he saw the empty store and the melancholic me. ¡°Yoohyun-ssi, don¡¯t you want to work part-time at a cafe?¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to.¡± ¡°¡­¡­yes?¡± ¡°It would be an honor to work at your cafe, Rieul-ssi.¡± I didn¡¯t know he¡¯d say that he liked it¡­. ¡°Isn¡¯t your guild banned you from doing double jobs?¡± ¡°There is no rules like that.¡± Suddenly, I remembered my memories of working at a company before the regression. At lunchtime, there were employees who left a nearby cafe and bought coffee from a distant cafe where they had to cross two railroad crossings. Later, I found out that the part-timer at that distant was handsome. I was curious too, but I couldn¡¯t go during lunch time because I was busy eating and sleeping. I looked up at Ki Yoohyun and did a simulation in my head for a while. White shining cheeks, balanced features, long arms and legs that match his long coat, and a pair of sparkling eyes that seem to tell a story just by looking at them. If he works part-time here, the number of customers is likely to increase. ¡°I¡¯m just joking. I can¡¯t use a guild hunter as a part-timer¡± ¡°That¡¯s unfortunate.¡± ¡°Ahaha¡­¡­¡± I hope you don¡¯t look at me with such a sad expression. We¡¯re lucky that there are only a cat and a slime who are busy playing here, because it¡¯s a face that could be misunderstood if other people saw it. I got up in front of the table. ¡°Please sit here. I¡¯ll give you something to drink.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you already closed?¡± ¡°That¡¯s true, but ¡­ I have enough for you, Yoohyun-ssi.¡± Fortunately, there were enough beans to make two cups of coffee on the bottom of the box where the beans were stored. Since I was tired, I want to drink a sweet drink. Still, I want the finish to be clean, is there anything like that? Ah, this is it. There happened to be a suitable recipe from the new recipes I got today. ¡°I¡¯m going to make a new menu.¡± ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡± Next is the ingredients¡­¡­. The Dimensional Shop has the ingredients it needed. I bought a whipped cream made from the milk of A-class Golden Triangular Rhinoceros. First, add sugar to the whipped cream . For this menu, it was important to make the right viscosity, neither too watery nor too hard. When I listened to the whipping machine, it felt moderately heavy, and it was perfect when it flowed down. Next, I poured espresso into the glass and added ice and water to make a strong iced Americano. After pouring the freshly made whipped cream on top of it, the process was over. All right, Einspanner¡¯s done. [Item: Einspanner (¡ï¡ï¡ï¡î¡î) Status: Good (Time Remaining: 00:30:00) Effect: Stamina and Energy are continuously restored for one hour. (10 points per minute)] The thick and bitter iced Americano was covered with sticky whipped cream. The layered appearance in the glass was also pleasing to the eye. I decided to drink this finished menu right away. The sweet and soft cream entered my mouth first. The rich taste of milk and sugar were just sweet enough to make me feel good. Next, the coffee flavor. The thickly brewed Americano neutralized the creamy taste, leading to a delicate change in taste. This is the taste. It is sweet and soft, but the finish is clean. Sipping Einspanner while sitting down on the chair gave me strength. It¡¯s due to the effect of Einspanner, which gradually restored my almost-zero stamina and energy. Hee, I think I¡¯m going to live a little now¡­. ¡°It¡¯s really good.¡± Ki Yoohyun also drank with a cup of Einspanner. At that moment, a beam of twinkling light rose above his head. I was lost in thought as I watched it for a moment. ¡°¡­¡­.¡± It¡¯s not every day, but just like today, Ki Yoohyun often came here and ordered coffee. Considering the distance between the Cheongna Guild and the Dungeon Gate, I have a reasonable suspicion that he seems to come whenever he has a chance. That doesn¡¯t mean he¡¯s doing anything special here. All he does are drinking coffee and chatting about daily life before going back. His daily chatter is¡­¡­. ¡°The guild members went to the lower-grade dungeon today. I didn¡¯t go because they said I didn¡¯t have to.¡± or sad. ¡°I heard you went to the dungeon with Hunter Choi Cedric.¡± ¡°The expression is strange. I didn¡¯t go there, I got caught up¡­¡­.¡± ¡°That¡¯s too bad. I also want to go with Rieul-ssi.¡± ¡°No, I have no intention of going to the dungeon even if I am dead and come back to life.¡± or unusual. ¡°Hunter Han Yiseong was very disappointed because he missed the new S-class. I heard his whereabouts are unknown now, do you happen to know about it?¡± ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know, hahaha¡­¡­.¡± ¡°It¡¯s amazing. The new S-class, as well as the plant dungeon. Rieul-ssi is always involved in something different from the past.¡± ¡°Yes? What did you just say¡­.¡± ¡°¡­¡­it¡¯s nothing.¡± It looked like an interrogation. Anyway, at first I felt like he was a regular after seeing him so many times, but it changed a little from some time ago. Since when¡­. ¡°Hm ¡­ uhm¡­.¡± ¡°Rieul-ssi?¡± ¡°Umh¡­.¡± A sudden enlightenment flashed through my mind. Ah, it¡¯s from then on. At that time, after buying the Purifying Tree from Lee Chorok¡¯s Happy Green Life Farm, I ran into Ki Yoohyun, who was with the twins, on my way back. I don¡¯t know exactly how to express it, but the meaningful eyes that were looking at me and the feeling of distance that has diminished a bit¡­. ¡°Rieul-ssi.¡± A soft voice was heard. I was surprised at how close it was. He caught my attention so easily just by slightly tilting his head. His bright eyes turned to me, and I felt a cool touch on my hand. ¡°There¡¯s powder on your hand.¡± ¡°¡­.Ah.¡± I had coffee powder on my wet hands. Ki Yoohyun picked up the tissue and gently wiped my hand. As if that was all he had in mind, his hand quickly fell, but the distance between us was still close. What is this? Normally, I would have thought about what else it meant to Ki Yoohyun. Yesterday, I even asked my friend, Shin Mira, through KakaoTalk. [Me: There¡¯s a customer who comes to the store every day] [Shin Mira: Fixed income is the best] Yeah, that¡¯s true.¡­.. All right, I shouldn¡¯t think too much, let¡¯s just ask. ¡°Yoohyun-ssi seems to like coffee very much.¡± I didn¡¯t say I¡¯d openly ask him. Still, if I want to ask why he comes every day ¡­ this is right. ¡°It¡¯s because the coffee made by Rieul-ssi is delicious.¡± The coffee is actually delicious, though. ¡°And¡­.¡± Ki Yoohyun hesitated for a moment, blurring the end of his words. He looked like he was choosing the right words. At that moment, Mieum, who was lying on her belly on the floor, suddenly intervened. ¡°Waeoong, waeoong (This man, you hardly notice the taste).¡± ¡­. What? What are you talking about? CH 66 I was taken aback by the unexpected sudden development. ¡°Iyaoong (His sense of taste seems to have weakened considerably).¡± ¡°Cough, cough!¡± ¡°Rieul-ssi?¡± ¡°Ah, it¡¯s nothing¡­¡­.¡± ¡°Here, have some water.¡± The coughing only stopped after I took the glass of water that Ki Yoohyun handed me and drank it. Didn¡¯t you just detonate a big bomb like it was nothing? Mieum¡¯s words continued regardless of my reaction. ¡°Iyaooong (That¡¯s a lot going on ¡­ that must affect his mental faculties as well).¡± ¡°What are you ¡­ ah, don¡¯t tell me¡­.¡± Suddenly, I remembered what Mieum had said before. She said that if you sympathize too much with the Great Old One, you may lose your original self. ¡°Does that mean Yoohyun-ssi signed a contract with a Great Old One?¡± ¡°Waeoong, meooong (Yeah, that¡¯s quite ¡­ no? Oh my oh my goodness ¡­ This is amazing)¡­..¡± ¡°Mieum-ah?¡± ¡°Nyaaaah (That¡¯s weird. It is different from the arrangement of ¨€¨€. How come at this point ¡­ Don¡¯t tell me ¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€ is)¡­¡­!¡± [Warning: Abnormal Approach] [System Error: ¡ª. ¡ª.¡ª] Mieum-ah, an error window popped up because of you¡­, I turned my head away from Mieum, who was talking to herself, and looked over Ki Yoohyun¡¯s head again. The satisfaction gauge is still about 98% full. ¡°He hardly can taste it, but the coffee is still delicious, right?¡± ¡°Kiyaoong (Of course! What do you think your skills are)!¡± ¡°¡­.Coffee making skills?¡± ¡°Kyaoooog (Coffee made with the skill that reduces the effect of assimilation. In other words)¡­..¡± ¡°In other words?¡± ¡°Meooong (He can taste the coffee)!¡± At that time, I felt my cheeks sting and turned my head. Ki Yoohyun alternately looked at me and Mieum, who suddenly cried. I almost became a weird person who¡¯s talking to a cat. ¡°Ehem, hmm. I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I was just trying to say that every time I drink the coffee made by Rieul-ssi, I feel warm.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± Let¡¯s imagine. Regardless of the cause, he¡¯s unable to sense taste. No matter how much he eats delicious food in the world, such as chicken, pizza, and famous hotel buffet that just got delivered, it would only feel like a lump of soft food for him. A situation in which one eats for nutrition, but does not feel the joy of eating at all. For me, it¡¯s a tragedy that can destroy humanity. But when he drinks the coffee here, it tastes good. Just like a paint that was painted on only one place in the achromatic world, he can only felt the bitterness, savory, and sweet sensations in this coffee. I¡¯m so sorry to hear that¡­.. No wonder he wants to drink the coffee I made every day. That must have been the reason why he showed his face often these days. Yeah, it wasn¡¯t because he had any other meaning, it was purely because the coffee was delicious. Regrettably, I told Ki Yoohyun that he could come for coffee anytime. Then, my phone vibrated. When I checked the notification, I jumped up. ¡°Rieul-ssi, what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°The call I have been waiting for has arrived.¡± That¡¯s good. I couldn¡¯t open the cafe tomorrow because I didn¡¯t have any coffee beans. I can take care of my other business at this chance. I posted a sign on the front of the door saying, ¡°We are closed today because we¡¯re out of ingredients.¡± *** The large conference room was empty. In the dim place where the lights went out, there was one person sitting unnoticed. She was a quiet woman with long hair up to her waist and wearing a pair of glasses. Her name is Ju Noeul. She put her hand on her forehead and sighed. ¡°Haaaaa¡­..¡± Tiling! Then, her phone rang. Ju Noeul hastily checked her KakaoTalk. [ ¨C Hunter Han Yiseong] Hunter Ju Noeul. I¡¯m sorry for the late reply! I¡¯m afraid I won¡¯t be able to attend today¡¯s Hunter Association meeting. It¡¯s a pity that I have to have a meal together after meeting with a senior Hunter ?? In summary, he wrote a long greeting, but he eventually missed the meeting. Han Yiseong, who sent her a reply, is a gentleman. That unfortunate CEO of C&L didn¡¯t even read her message at all. Noeul closed the KakaoTalk window and murmured. ¡°These people are so mean¡­¡­.¡± Korea Hunter Association. An autonomous organization that protects the rights and interests of each private guild in Korea and promotes the development of the Hunter World through exchanges. ¡­. that¡¯s what written on the website. However, not many Hunters are aware of the existence of this Hunter Association. ¡®That¡¯s because it doesn¡¯t have anything to do¡­.¡¯ Since most of the Hunter-related tasks are exclusively handled by the Dungeon Management Office, the role of the Hunter Association has been greatly reduced. The Hunters who knew about the Association also didn¡¯t pay any attention to it was contributed to the reason as well. Most of them are even asking what this is when the Association send a notice reminding them to pay their membership fee. However, even an Association in name only needs to operate. She has no luck. Ju Noeul took over the position of the President of the Association this quarter because her name was caught in the lottery. Today is the monthly regular meeting of the Korea Hunter Association. Still, no one came, either. Goodness, the humanity these days¡­. ¡®Whatever, I don¡¯t know anymore¡­.¡¯ Let¡¯s kill time and go. Ju Noeul leaned against the chair and connected to the Hunter Channel with her phone. Then, as she looked through the new posts, she diligently commented on the slime-related post. Ju Noeul, 29 years old. An S-class summoner. She is the guild leader of the Royal Guild, one of The Big Three guilds. Her Hunter Channel¡¯s nickname is Lime Love Team. The activity of checking out the new posts on the Hunter channel quickly ended. This is because Ju Noeul was a community addict who spent most of her day on the Hunter Channel. ¡®I¡¯m thinking about going to that cafe¡­.¡¯ Ju Noeul recalled what happened a few days ago. That day too, Ju Noeul was browsing the Hunter Channel in the guild room. However, all the text was already gray. She was baited by a viral post written by a Hunter Channel¡¯s Gonick, and went there for fun. A unique cafe near the Dungeon Gate of the Great Dungeon Abyss. The coffee was delicious and had a strange effect, but above all¡­. It was the red slime that caught her eyes. It has pure red color, not cloudy or mixed with other colors. A real red, which is rare in the slime world where grades are divided by subtle color differences. She wanted to touch it just once. She had never seen such a slime in her long slime life. The conference room is still empty. ¡°All right, I¡¯ll go¡­¡­.¡± However, Ju Noeul was in despair 30 minutes later. ©¥ We are closed today because we¡¯re out of ingredients. ©¥ ¡°It¡¯s too much¡­.¡± She cleansed her eyes and looked again, but the contents of the paper attached to the door did not change. The cafe, which quickly became popular in a matter of days, had already been closed. ¡°I want to see the rare slime¡­.¡± Just as she fell down on her knees in despair, her phone got a call. It was from a guild member of the Royal Guild. ¡°What¡¯s going on¡­..¡± ©¥ Guild leader, I put all the items in the guild leader¡¯s office on Karrot, so please know that. ¡°What! Don¡¯t you know what those things are¡­.¡± ©¥ What those things are? It¡¯s all junk. Why did you buy multiple slime cushions in the same color? I¡¯m selling all but one. ¡°It¡¯s not the same color, but if you look closely, there is a difference between (255, 0, 0) and (192, 0, 0)¡­.¡± ©¥ What¡¯s the difference between that one and that one¡­. ¡°Ah, no! I¡¯ll clean up the guild leader¡¯s office by myself, so please take a look at it.¡­.¡± ©¥ You said the same thing last week. No. ¡°How can you do this to your family¡­¡­.¡± ©¥ I don¡¯t have a family like the guild leader! The Royal Guild is widely known as a family guild in the Hunter World. However, the guild members have different surnames, and the guild are mainly composed of young Hunters of similar ages. Therefore, there have been rumors circulated that the ¡°family¡± means not blood ties, but things like gangsters or mafia. ¡®It¡¯s an outrageous rumor¡­.¡¯ The reality is simpler ¡­ it wasn¡¯t much. 7 years ago, at a pension in Gangneung, Gangwon Province. A official meeting of the Man-game Club ¡°Only You Fold the Bitter Server Termination¡± was held. Ju Noeul was the organizer of the meetup. However, at that time, a rift broke out in the valley near the pension. It ended fine because the meetup participants, who were caught in the rift, awakened as a group and stopped the rift together. The problem was a broadcast interview that came to cover the heroes of Gangneung. ©¥ Well, what kind of relationship you guys have? They have different places of residence, different ages, different schools, and different occupations. The curious reporter¡¯s eyes directed at them. Ju Noeul, who had a temperament, felt that it was too much to answer with, ¡®It¡¯s a club meetup of the man-game Only You Fold the Bitter Server Termination¡®. It¡¯s too much for an answer ¡­ she was embarrassed. Yes, online family is also a family. The value of cyber kinship is comparable to a real family! Ju Noeul, who made such a sudden move, proudly declared. ©¥ We¡¯re a family¡­¡­. The name was changed to Royal Guild in response to the opposition that they would not join even if they died if she named it ¡®Only You Fold the Bitter Server Termination¡®. As it is, she established a guild with precious cyber blood relatives and worked hard enough to be considered one of the Big Three guilds. However, seven years was cruel. Seven years is long enough time for a person to quit being a fanatic. ¡°Guild leader, I¡¯m done with that man-game.¡± ¡°You¡¯re too much¡­.¡± ¡°I¡¯m old and tired now, and I don¡¯t have the strength to be a fan.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s the pledge of the day to collect the Platinum Royal Gorgeous Teacup Set and reclaim the first place from the server¡¯s No. 1 user ¡®R¡¯¡­..¡± ¡°Guild leader, stop playing such Man-game and play this God-game. If you pre-register now, you¡¯ll get an item.¡± ¡°¡­.traitor!¡± She made a cozy otaku guild, but when she came to her senses, she was the only one who was a maniac and the others were already left the field. Furthermore, she heard the news of the server termination after that. For several months, she wandered around as a mental vagabond in the sorrow of losing her home. Then, Ju Noeul had a fan accident again. It¡¯s to be a fan of slime! Finally, she became an ultimate fangirl. Now, she thought that the only thing left in her fangirl life is to walk on the flower road, but she faced something that was too harsh even for the hardships of life. Selling her precious goods on Karrot is too cruel! Of course, she was also too much for filling the guild building with fan merchandise. She bought three of the same goods for actual use, storage, and promotion, and then put them in the guild¡¯s common warehouse. She tried to put up a rainbow-colored giant slime statue at the entrance of the guild, but it was rejected¡­. Ju Noeul, who had been stabbed a lot, muttered pitifully. ¡°Once a family, forever a family. An online family is also a family¡­..¡± ©¥ Ah, I already got a call from Karrot. I¡¯m hanging up. ¡°No, you can¡¯t¡­!¡± The phone call was cut off before she finished speaking, and Ju Noeul was left in despair again. CH 67 ¡°Kkyuu?¡± Lime bounced and cried. Let¡¯s review the daily life of this red slime in our house. It often plays with Mieum, but more often than that, it usually plays alone. When Mieum is watching a television drama while tapping on her belly, it bounces around on its own, bouncing its small body. From inside of the store to the surroundings of the Yggdrasil and to the corners of the space, it roams freely, and it occasionally makes a kyuu sound as if it was talking to itself. ¡°Kkyuu, kkyuuuu.¡± I¡¯m curious. What does that kyuus mean? In such a situation, while looking for a way to communicate with slimes, I came across a video by chance. It¡¯s a famous video that has been on the main screen of YouTube for a while. On the screen, a green slime bounces its smooth and soft body. ©¥ Kyuuu, pi! Kyuuuu! A cheerful cry is heard. The videographer pointed a small machine with a black-and-white liquid crystal at the Green Slime. Kyuu, kyuuu, pi! The light flashes as the machine recognizes the sound. After a while, a string appeared on the screen. ¡®I feel good. I like it.¡¯ ©¥ Kyuuuuuu! Again, the machine recognized the slime¡¯s cries without missing a beat. ¡®I¡¯m a slime. I like clean water.¡¯ This is an introduction video of a slime language translator that has become a hot topic. The high-performance interpreter artifact, which can also interprete the slime language, was too expensive to buy even if I sold the whole store, but maybe I can buy this language translator! I thought so and searched, but I soon ran into a wall. [GIFT] AI Portable Slime Language Translator SlimeTALK¡ï It¡¯s temporarily out of stock. We¡¯ll send you a notification when it¡¯s in stock. [Subscribe for notifications] They didn¡¯t sell this slime language translator anywhere. It turned out that they produced only a small amount for a pre-release and sold it for a limited time, but the company went bankrupt before starting the general sales. With the recent popularity of slime, many people are looking for it, but there are no items left for sale. There was no choice but to hang a keyword notification on the Karrot market, which is a trending platform among Hunters, and wait. It was difficult to obtain because only a few hundred were produced, but blessed are those who wait! As time went by, the Karrot notification alarm finally rang. I made an appointment to meet and make the deal right away. ¡°Then, I¡¯ll go buy the slime language translator.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s a good idea, waeooong.¡± Unexpectedly, Mieum showed a negative reaction. Before, she said it¡¯s better not to know what Lime said. What¡¯s the secret of Lime¡¯s kyuu sound? ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Sometimes it¡¯s good not to know, waeoong!¡± ¡°Then Mieum can translate it for me.¡± Mieum said that she does not exactly understand Lime¡¯s words. Instead, by reading the wavelength of the slime¡¯s cries, the vague meaning can be grasped. I told her that she can just tell me the meaning, but Mieum firmly did not translate it. ¡°Don¡¯t go. It¡¯s for your own good, kyaoooo!¡± ¡°I already made an appointment on Karrot. I¡¯ll be back!¡± And at the meeting place. The other person appeared with a large bag, as if he had several Karrot appointments. ¡°Slime Language Translator SlimeTALK¡ï, is this right?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right¡­¡­.¡± ¡°Wait a minute.¡± He rummaged through his bag. There were only slime goods in the bag, such as large slime cushions, slime figures, slime glasses cleaner, and slime humidifiers. You must really like slime¡­.. ¡°Here you are. As the bonus, I¡¯ll also give you a slime cushion, a slime can badge, and a slime random figure box.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± The one I bought was a palm-sized machine, but the bonuses were bigger. ¡°No, you don¡¯t have to give me this much¡­.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay. We still have 20 more of the same ones, so feel free to take them.¡± His shoulders droop with a deep sigh. After listening to his story, I heard that there was no more space in the container because people around him bought dozens of the same goods. The warehouse was already full and things invaded the room. It only leaves a place to lie down, so when he tried to fall asleep, he¡¯s forced to make eye-contact with the large slime figures. If that¡¯s the case, there¡¯s nothing I can do¡­. Anyway, I returned to the store with the language translator and the large slime cushion that I received as a bonus. ¡°What¡¯s this, waeoong!¡± ¡°Kyuu!¡± I threw the cushion to Mieum, who liked the soft texture, and immediately turned on the language translator. ¡°Lime-ah, tell me something.¡± ¡°Kkyuu, kkyuuuuu!¡± The light on the slime language translator flickered and the screen soon turned on. My heart is pounding ¡­ what did it say? ©¥ The incarnation of ¨€¨€¨€¨€ will soon awaken. The dark ether has reached its critical point. Huh? It was a difficult text that could not be guessed from that cute appearance and the cute cries. It seemed like a warning that something big would happen in the future. ¡°Lime-ah, what did you just mean? Can you please say it again?¡± ¡°Kkyu ¡­¡­ kkyuu, kkyuuu, kkyuu!¡± ©¥ 3.14159265358979¡­¡­. Huh? Is it an error? Why does the circumference rate appear? I rocked the machine up and down. Then, the letters on the screen disappeared again. Well, there must have been a brief error. Yeah, it¡¯s Lime¡¯s kyuu sound, why would a circumference rate comes up? ¡°Kkyuuuus! Kkyuuu, kkyu!¡± ©¥ Ac, Th, Pa, U, Np, Pu, Am, Cm, Bk, Cf, Es¡­¡­. Mom, it¡¯s saying weird things¡­¡­. Lime, you¡¯re a science slime. ¡°Do you now understand the pain I went through, human! Waeooong!¡± I tried a few more times, but only the scientific knowledge without context was listed, and it didn¡¯t tell me what I was curious about. I gave up and decided to put the slime language translator in a safe drawer. As expected, communication with this slime was too difficult for me. *** When darkness fell, in an abandoned house near the Dungeon Gate. Jijon looked around with a nervous expression. ¡®Why did this happen?¡¯ ¡®Where did it go wrong¡­.¡¯ He lamented inside, but it was too late. Around Jijon, there was a group of people waiting while smoking cigarettes. They have loud voices and rough attitudes, they were engaged in a job that was not good to look at, even the equipment worn over their bodies. They giggled while bragging about trivial things, but if you look closely, you can feel the tension that cannot be hidden from their faces. They¡¯re just pretending to be calm and bluffing. One of them approached Jijon and held out a pack of cigarettes. ¡°Have a smoke too, hyung.¡± ¡°I quit smoking.¡± ¡°Gosh, you¡¯re a poison.¡± Huk. He spit cigarette smoke at his face. He patted him on the shoulder and continued his words, ignoring the frown on Jijon¡¯s face. ¡°Don¡¯t be too nervous. It¡¯s not like you¡¯re doing this once or twice.¡± It seemed that the man was trying to convince himself rather than encouraging Jijon. The words continued. ¡°We all heard who was behind us. It¡¯s C&L! The C&L! I heard that a high-ranking person in C&L takes care of us directly. Hyung is already a member of our Neo-Crown, so please don¡¯t worry.¡± Throwing burnt cigarette butts on the floor, the man glanced back at him. The moment the large wooden box caught his eye, his fingertips trembled slightly. The cause of this strange tension is that big box. A sealed box containing the long-tailed Phoenix, a rare monster that can only be found in a special environment. The group around Jijon are the guild members of Neo-Crown Party. Their purpose today is to hand over this rare monster to a trading partner at a high price. However, this box gave off a strange atmosphere. Even though it was just a box, he can feel an indescribable sinister and unpleasant aura from the box. Is there really a long-tailed Phoenix in it? It looks like there¡¯s something much scarier in it. The sealing of the box is perfect. The monster must have fallen into a deep sleep. Nevertheless, he was afraid. Damn, he shouldn¡¯t have accepted this either. Jijon poured out a sigh inside. He should have turned down Lee Sein¡¯s offer at that time. No, even if he was arrested for being framed of murder, he should have reported it then. ¡°If you just take care of this, I will take responsibility for the rest.¡± Believing the secretary¡¯s words, Jijon came to this place today. Still, that must be a lie. If this goes wrong, they¡¯ll put all the blame only on himself somehow. It felt like an invisible rope was squeezing his throat. ¡°Kek¡­.¡± It¡¯s already late. ¡°You¡¯re late.¡± Across the darkened Dungeon Gate, the trading partner appeared. The partner was a foreigner. Even though it was night, he covered his eyes with sunglasses, and accompanied by an interpreter and a Hunter who appeared to be a bodyguard. Although his nationality and identity were unknown, he offered a large sum of money. They don¡¯t care about the other person¡¯s identity. The Neo-Crown Party simply wanted to hand over this ominous box quickly. The trading partner muttered something, and the interpreter next to him delivered his words. ¡°He wants to check the item. Please open the box.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± The wandering gazes were crossed. No one wanted to open that box. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Is there something wrong with the item?¡± ¡°Of course not, how can you doubt us like that!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you know that we don¡¯t trade based on trust alone? We can¡¯t trade until we check the item.¡± ¡°Ck, I understand.¡± It was still an unwilling response. The leader of the Neo-Crown Party spoke, pointing to one person. ¡°Hey, you go open it.¡± ¡°I ¡­ you mean me?¡± ¡°Then, do you mean I should open it by myself!¡± In the end, the best runner approached the box. It was the moment whenhe inserted the key into the lock and tried to turn it around. Thud! ¡°Aa-aaahhh!¡± ¡°Why are you making a fuss?¡± Even such a reproachful voice trembled slightly at the end. ¡°Hyung, there is a strange sound inside!¡± Thump, Thump, Thump! The dull vibration gradually grew stronger. ¡°I heard you guys are the notorious Neo-Crown Party, but you all are terrified of this thing.¡± Pick, the interpreter who ridiculed them stepped forward and tried to open the unlocked box. ¡°Hey, why don¡¯t you just stop¡­¡­.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you? It must have been sealed¡­.¡± Puck! The interpreter could not even finish speaking. The box split vertically, and a black hand popped out of it. [Next] Translator¡¯s Corner: MY HUNCH IN PREVIOUS CHAPTERS IS RIIIGHT. IT¡¯S REALLY NEO-CROWN PARTY!!! They used proper spacing in this chapter, and the world used is ?, means faction; party (or can also be mean as ¡®clan¡¯). Now I can sleep in peace. CH 68 It¡¯s not a Long-tailed Phoenix. It was a black, large hand that could not even be considered a human. The hand grabbed the interpreter¡¯s body with strength. Crack! The interpreter died with a chilling, unpleasant sound. ¡°Ugh¡­..¡± A suppressed scream came out. The Long-tailed Phoenix is ??not an ordinary monster, it is also called a Holy Beast that deals with the light attribute ether. However, the box contained that large hands with grotesquely grown nails, and even the dark ether leaked out thickly from it. At that moment everyone noticed. There is no way that such an ominous thing could be the Holy Beast, the Long-tailed Phoenix. So ¡­ what the hell is that monster? ¡°Huaagh!¡± Swish! The box was completely smashed and the monster jumped out. With agility that did not match its huge body, the monster began to attack the fleeing humans. Long fingernails and teeth tore the humans to pieces. ¡°Uu-ugh¡­.¡± Jijon¡¯s legs, who were trying to run away, lost their strength. Blood has already poured from the wounds scratched by the monster¡¯s claws. The monster who tore off the man who offered Jijon a cigarette a while ago turned its head towards him. It¡¯s coming up to his position. His head is numb, Jijon thought a question as he felt the blood pouring from his body. Was he going to die like this after all? It¡¯s a death befitting an extra. Had he known that he was going to die here, he would have contacted his mother and sister. He closed his eyes and prepared for death. Then, someone jumped forward with a sword. It was Choi Cedric, who was disguised as a bodyguard. Choi Cedric swung his long sword lightly to block the monster¡¯s attack. Klang! The monster who lost the power battle took a few steps back. ¡°Are you okay?¡± ¡°Uh, yes, yes¡­.¡± ¡°What the hell is this ¡­. hang in there.¡± Why is Choi Cedric here? The appearance of Choi Cedric, who confronted the monster with his sword, was hopelessly cool. He looked so different from himself, who came to this point by repeatedly making bad choices and was about to die while helping illegal things. Choi Cedric is strong. Unlike Jijon who could not even set foot in the Hunter¡¯s World, he¡¯s the signature Hunter of C&L, currently ranked second in the Rankings, and an S-class. A guy like that wouldn¡¯t have anything to worry about, and a guy like him wouldn¡¯t be able to understand. Rather than being grateful for being saved, the sense of inferiority that he had swallowed raised its head. ¡°¡­¡­!¡± At that time, the monster who tried to attack Choi Cedric ran away, as if it decided that it was hard to win over him. ¡°Stay there!¡± Choi Cedric tried to chase after the monster, but he stopped when he saw that Jijon¡¯s wound was severe. The order he received from CEO Lee Sein was to disguise himself as a bodyguard and steal the box that was going to be traded today. It¡¯s just his own speculation, but she may be thinking of fabricating this event as the work of the White Silver Guild. ¡°Then the trader who paid for it wouldn¡¯t sit still, what would you do?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care about others.¡± It was a strange way of speaking. For some reason, it felt like she knew they¡¯re going to die by that monster¡­. According to Lee Sein, he should leave the wounded alone and chase the monster¡­¡­ The wounds are severe even by the looks of it. At this rate, he¡¯ll die in no time. The hesitation was brief. Choi Cedric gave up his pursuit and approached Jijon. ¡°Wait a minute. I¡¯ll at least use a potion.¡± He searched his inventory and pulled out a high-quality potion at random. ¡°That¡¯s expensive¡­¡­.¡± ¡°Is the price important now?¡± As he poured the potion into the wound, he suddenly saw the injured man¡¯s face. Those stubborn eyes and sulky expression, somehow he¡¯s familiar with it. ¡°Eh, have we seen each other before?¡± ¡°¡­¡­you¡¯ve got the wrong person.¡± Jijon bowed his head obliquely and avoided his gaze. However, Choi Cedric¡¯s gaze was persistent. ¡°No, I definitely saw you! This guy, you¡¯re lying because you¡¯re afraid to be a criminal. Obviously before, so ¡­ Ah.¡± Choi Cedric swallowed a sigh. He remembered where he saw Jijon. In the C&L guild headquarters, in front of the elevator dedicated to the guild members. They belong to the same guild, but why is a Hunter from C&L here? Didn¡¯t she certainly say that she wouldn¡¯t put the members of their guild in danger? ¡®Noona, what on earth ¡­ what are you doing behind my back?¡¯ Choi Cedric¡¯s face was contorted. *** [Lack of mana due to incomplete summoning.] [Charge your mana. In case of mana depletion, the body cannot be maintained.] The black thing protruding from the box ran down the street with its heavy body. However, the pace was only getting slower. Its stomach was hot as if it had swallowed a fire, and the desire for destruction rose. It wanted to pour out all its magic and devour the surroundings. The black energy that enveloped its body gradually weakened. The body, which had run out of mana, was now having a hard time moving. [¡ù Caution: Your mana is extremely insufficient.] Originally, it was in a deep sleep. The sleep waiting for the promised day was comfortable and sweet. However, the humans forced it to wake up. The humans periodically injected dark ether, disturbed the sleep, and interrupted its dreams. It wanted to kill all the hateful humans who woke it up. ¡°Ck¡­.¡± Its body refused to move. [¡ù Urgent: Activate the body composition system. 1, 5, 10, 20 ¡­ Due to the lack of mana, the body composition task cannot be completed. Stop the operation.] [Enforcement of Mana Saving Mode] [Compose a temporary body.] After the black mist that wrapped around it lifted, what was revealed was the figure of a young boy. The unconscious boy fell to the ground. It was in front of Cafe Rieul. And at that time, Rieul, who was roasting coffee beans, heard a thump. ¡°Hey, are you all right?¡± When the boy woke up, there was a woman with a puzzled face in front of him. The woman looked at the boy with a worried expression and said, ¡°You were lying down in front of this place. Are you sick?¡± The boy blinked slowly. He felt a sense of discomfort in his body. His eyes were low enough to require him to look up at the woman, and his limbs were small and slender. Due to the depletion of mana, it was only possible to create such a small and poor body. ¡°¡­.Cih.¡± The boy moved his eyes and looked around. There was a woman with no sense of crisis in front of him, and the surroundings looked like a cafe. ¡°Umh, you don¡¯t have a fever¡­.¡± The woman reached out and touched the boy¡¯s forehead. ¡°¡­¡­!¡± It¡¯s unpleasant. Tak. The boy immediately struck off the hand and tried to kill the woman with his magic. However, it was not possible due to the lack of mana. [You are using Mana Saving Mode.] [Annihilation of the target is impossible.] [It is recommended to adjust to the surroundings for the time being.] [Downloading Human World Knowledge (Basic). 1, 5, 10, 20, 50 ¡­ Completed.] He¡¯d rather pretend to be a normal kid for now. The boy who had judged that way, muttered in a weak voice. ¡°It¡¯s not that I¡¯m sick, I¡¯m just dizzy for a second¡­¡­.¡± It was a faint voice and pitiful eyes that aroused sympathy. The woman jumped to her feet. ¡°I should report it to the police.¡± ¡°¡­¡­No police!¡± It was bothersome to get involved with more humans. ¡°Why? The policeman will take you home.¡± ¡°Home ¡­ I don¡¯t want to go home.¡± The woman nodded slowly as she accepted the words. ¡°Sit here and wait a minute.¡± For a moment, he could hear a rattling sound, and then a white porcelain cup was pushed in front of him. ¡°¡­¡­?¡± Through the downloaded human world knowledge, he could see that it was called ¡®coffee¡®, specifically ¡®cafe mocha¡®. The liquid in the glass is black. Why are you asking me to drink this? He pushed the cup away, but the woman held it firmly to the boy. ¡°Your body will warm up. Hurry up and drink it.¡± ¡°¡­.Okay.¡± It would be better to obey her words here. With a reluctant expression on his face, the boy tilted his cup. The sweet taste flowed into his mouth first. Then, the heavy taste of espresso, which supports the sweetness, and the savory taste of milk. It was incredibly delicious. Not only that¡­¡­. ¡°¡­¡­!¡± His mana has been restored. It¡¯s only a little, but he could feel a little bit of magic power filling in his body. That can¡¯t be true. The boy took another sip of the cafe mocha. It didn¡¯t come close to the powerful mana he originally had, but he definitely gained power. The boy hastily emptied the remaining cafe mocha. ¡°Uh-huh¡­.¡± When the boy emptied his cup, the woman glanced over the boy¡¯s head and looked proud. He didn¡¯t like it. He didn¡¯t feel any special power from her. Nevertheless, the power of coffee given by this stupid woman was undeniable. If he recovers his mana, he can kill such a woman in no time. If he can get his original body back, he will wipe out all the humans who woke him up. To do that, he has to somehow find a way to drink more of this coffee. ¡°¡­¡­.¡± The boy was lost in thought. [Next] Translation¡¯s Corner: I accidentaly drank expired milk and it didn¡¯t end well T__T CH 69 Unexpectedly, the cafe has been in a difficult situation for the past few days due to the sudden increase in customers. However, it¡¯s different now. Hoho, look at this perfect preparation. The roasted beans were also aged just right, and the sub-ingredients were swept from the Dimensional Shop. I also made a lot of Lemon Chung. I went to Grandma Kim Deokyi¡¯s workshop and bought many take-out cups. With this amount, there will be no problem running the store for a while. Clothing OK, cleaning OK, machine setting OK. Well, everything is perfect. We¡¯re ready to reopen. In the meantime, there has been one change in the store. ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°I¡¯m preparing to open the cafe soon.¡± ¡°¡­¡­hmm.¡± He has a sulky voice and a cynical expression. Children of this age are really sensitive. I found the boy collapsed at the shop door yesterday. Like Jina, why is everyone falling down in front of this store? Is this some kind of falling hot spot? Anyway, I brought the boy inside. He had a pale complexion with a very thin, frail body. In addition to his uncertain attitude about what had happened, he was reluctant to report to the police. Why? What happened? After all the pitiful and sad talk, I decided to look into it a bit more tomorrow before deciding whether to report it or not. Anyway, it was already late at night, so I couldn¡¯t let such a vulnerable child out. What if he fall down again? For now, I decided to put the child to sleep in an empty room on the first floor. ¡°Hey, what¡¯s your name?¡± An unexpected answer came back to the careful question. ¡°Do you think that a mere human can be qualified to call me by name?¡± Uh, huh¡­? Is it something like his setting? ¡°It looks like you don¡¯t want to talk about it. Still I can¡¯t just call you with hey, you ¡­. then I¡¯ll give you a temporary one.¡± The pale boy looked uneasy. ¡°Waeoooooong (I don¡¯t think that¡¯s a good idea)!¡± ¡°Kkyuuu!¡± Mieum and Lime¡¯s protests were ignored. ¡°What do you think about Bieup?¡± ¡°¡­¡­!¡± The boy¡¯s face contorted. He poured out his next words in a low, quick tone. ¡°The infinite evil seething from the the primordial chaos, the incarnation that shared the magical powers of the Abyss. What do you think of Asmodeus, the Demon King who brings twilight to the world! It¡¯s a name that humans can¡¯t pronounce recklessly!¡± Uh, huh¡­? Twilight ¡­ what? Is this the 8th-grader syndrome that I¡¯ve only heard of? Is it like a black flame dragon on his left arm? ¡°Yeah, since I can¡¯t pronounce it, you¡¯re Bieup.¡± ¡°¡­¡­!¡± Tingling. The boy stared at me and shuddered. ¡°My name is Asmodeus.¡± ¡°Asmo ¡­ what? It¡¯s too long.¡± ¡°Haaa ¡­. cih, call me whatever you like.¡± In the end, I decided to call him Ash. It wasn¡¯t his real name, no matter how I heard it. Since he¡¯s of a delicate and sensitive age, I have to adapt to his worldview. ¡°Yes, the bathroom is over there. You have bandage on your left arm, are you hurt?¡± ¡°¡­¡­! Don¡¯t touch it. The bandage on this arm cannot be removed because the magic of the Abyss is asleep.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Those who doesn¡¯t have the magical eye won¡¯t be able to see it. It is an incarnation imprint that connects me with the being in the Abyss.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± I see. He¡¯s the real one. He has such a genuine cheeky expression and tone. Yes, let¡¯s respect Ash¡¯s setting as an adult. ¡°Uh ¡­ huh, if it¡¯s that important, I won¡¯t touch it.¡± ¡°Haa ¡­ to be able to recognize the value of this imprint, you¡¯re quite good for a human being. You will be swallowed up by the darkness.¡± It¡¯s a compliment ¡­ is it? So, after putting this unusual Ash to sleep, the next morning came. After a simple breakfast, I gave him a sweet cup of coffee and Ash drank it well. Although his expression was sulky as if it were not delicious, I was proud because the satisfaction bar above his head was honestly filling up. ¡°It¡¯s time to open the cafe soon. You can stay as long as you want, so play comfortably with the kids in the back room.¡± ¡°Waeooong (Do you think we are in charge of babysitting)!¡± Mieum protested as she straightened her tail. ¡°Kkyuuu!¡± There¡¯s also a slime that agrees next to her. Seriously, what are you guys doing to a hurt sensitive child? Are you being territorial with a child because you¡¯ve been here for a long time? ¡°Why, you¡¯re similar in age, and you¡¯re perfect ¡­. ah, ouch!¡± I couldn¡¯t avoid the meow punch flying from the front because I was concerned about Ash. Mieum is eating well, I felt like her front feet are getting heavier. ¡°¡­¡­what are you doing?¡± A cynical voice was heard again. Ash looked at me and the animals alternately with a gaze of looking at something pathetic. ¡°Ehem, ehem. Then, Mieum-ah, Lime-ah, please take care of him.¡± ¡°Humph.¡± ¡°¡­..Kyaoong!¡± Ash jerked Mieum¡¯s tail. Surprised, Mieum threw a meow punch, but Ash avoided it leisurely. ¡°Kkyuu! Kkyuu!¡± I don¡¯t know which side it¡¯s rooting for, but Lime is encouraging them from the side. See, they¡¯re in sync. *** As soon as the cafe opened, which was notified in advance, customers rushed in. ¡°One takeaway cafe latte, please.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have two iced Americanos. That¡¯s right, and please add a cafe mocha.¡± ¡°Oh, is it a new menu? Then, please give me an Einspanner.¡± I was extremely busy taking orders, making drinks, and washing dishes. Save me¡­.. The procession of customers never ends¡­¡­. Where did my healing life after the regression, the one that was supposed to be a relaxed, lazy, and comfortable life, go? Where the hell did the rumors about my coffee come from? It¡¯s not like I was on a broadcast or did viral marketing. The fact that I make the coffee through my skills seems still unknown, so there is nothing dangerous at the moment other than overwork. ¡°This 255, 0, 0 vivid color, this size and the fluffiness! This cushion is so familiar ¡­ It must be the limited edition of Real Red Slime Large Cushion, it¡¯s pretty outdated custom production ¡­ where did you buy this cushion¡­.¡± ¡°Ah, I bought it from Karrot.¡± At that time, Lime bounced and leaned on the soft cushion. ¡°Keuhuk! Sli-slime on the cushion I sent away with tears ¡­ the meeting of the Real Red Slime and Real Red Slime Cushion! It¡¯s an honor ¡­ can I take a picture¡­..¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Click, click, click! She takes a lot of pictures of Lime, who¡¯s posing around as a model. Like her, there were slightly strange customers, but other than that, most were ordinary customers. After taking care of a flood of orders, I took a moment to post a part-time job recruitment notice at the door. I hope that I can find a part-timer as soon as possible so that I can get out of this busy situation. Although there are zero contacts so far¡­¡­. I don¡¯t know if Choi Yichan is doing well. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on, but he might as well give me a phone call. I didn¡¯t think of him just because I needed a part-timer. It¡¯s just ¡­ he stayed here for a few days and then disappeared, so this place felt a little empty. When I returned to the counter after posting the recruitment notice, Ash was taking orders from customers who had gathered in a short time. ¡°Ash, just rest. You don¡¯t have to do that.¡± No matter how busy I am, how can I make that frail child, whom I presumed to be a runaway teenager, work for me? Even when he¡¯s just sitting there, I felt like he was going to faint. The reason I told Ash that it was okay to stay here today was purely from my heart. However, Ash skillfully received the pouring orders. ¡°Two iced cafe lattes, one Einspanner, two vanilla lattes, and one cookie set. They came in like this.¡± ¡°Uh, wait, how much is it¡­¡­.¡± ¡°15 rubies.¡± Each time I made a drink, he served it quickly, and even cleaning the table perfectly. ¡°Ugh!¡± ¡°¡­¡­? What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± ¡°Nothing, it¡¯s just blinding me for a moment.¡± What is this incredible ability¡­¡­. With his cynical expression and a slender figure, it¡¯s unimaginably fast and perfect movement. In an instant, the delayed orders were processed and the store was cleared. He shook off his hand and asked suddenly. ¡°Are you looking for a part-timer? What should I do to do that?¡± Tiling! [A quest has occurred.] [Main Quest: Finding a Part-Timer The customers are rushing in like the tide. You can¡¯t handle this popularity alone! You need help. Hiring part-timer: 0/1 Rewards: Experience (100 EXP), Fame (10), Popularity (10), Skill Point 1] As soon as Ash spoke, a new quest appeared. I looked at Ash again. With a small and slender body, he has a cynical expression on his face, but the cheeks that gives off a youthful appearance caught my eye. ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Part-time jobs are only available for people over 15 years old.¡± Ash replied indifferently to the words I had said. ¡°How old do you think I am? I¡¯m not that young.¡± ¡°How old are you?¡± ¡°Well, I haven¡¯t counted properly since I was 2000.¡± Ah, that¡¯s his setting¡­. ¡°Fail.¡± ¡°¡­¡­!¡± ¡°65 is the retirement age.¡± At the playful addition, Ash hesitated for a moment and murmured. ¡°I¡¯m 17 years old.¡± He appeared to be under 15 on the outside, but he was older than I thought. CH 70 ¡°Is there a reason why you want to work part-time here? There must be vacancy elsewhere.¡± However, Ash shook his head with a firm expression. ¡°No, there is no other place ¡­ nowhere.¡± Just in time, thanks to Ash¡¯s quick touch, I can afford to take a break for a while. I made another cup of cafe mocha that Ash enjoyed yesterday, handed it to him, and spoke carefully. ¡°Ash, if you said that because you were sorry for me, you don¡¯t have to do that.¡± An anxious gaze reached me. ¡°You were worried because I looked busy today. Ash is also kind.¡± ¡°Who-who are you calling kind as you please! How could you say such a bad thing! Are you trying to insult the Demon King, Asmodeus, who summons the twilight of the world!¡± Ugh, huh¡­..? You must be embarrassed to be praised¡­¡­. ¡°I let you sleep here yesterday just because you looked unwell, not to make you work. You can stay here as long as you like, so don¡¯t worry about it, just relax. Okay?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that, it¡¯s that¡­¡­!¡± ¡°That?¡± Ash avoided my gaze with a sullen expression. What a sensitive age. ¡°Co.¡± ¡°Co?¡± ¡°Coffee¡­.¡± ¡°Ah, was it delicious? I¡¯ll make it again as much as you want.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that, I want to do the part-time job.¡± ¡°The part-time job ¡­ once you have these documents, you can do it.¡± Ash was determined to work part-time. I briefly wrote down the necessary documents on a piece of paper. ¡°¡­.sheesh.¡± ¡°Oh, Ash! Where are you going?¡± Ash, who grabbed the list of documents, got up and ran outside. Did I hurt his feelings? He¡¯s really in a difficult age¡­. *** With a cold expression on his face, Ash was immersed in thought. Coffee is the source of mana recovery. In order to continue drinking this coffee, it was necessary to infiltrate the cafe without being doubted. Through the downloaded knowledge of the human world, he came to the conclusion that he could infiltrate the cafe with a ¡®part-time job¡¯. The situation is perfect because this person is also looking for a part-timer. However, there was one unexpected difficulty. It¡¯s the documents. ¡°The part-time job ¡­ once you have these documents, you can do it.¡± A feast of unfamiliar words. ¡®It¡¯s a lot different from a thousand years ago.¡¯ Thousands of years ago, if he just shot a meteor in moderation, humans would take care of him and gave him what he needed. However, due to the lack of mana, most of his magic was sealed. Ash went out to find another way to make the documents. At that time. ¡°Aaa, aaaah!¡± On the street, an old man saw Ash and collapsed while screaming. It¡¯s a man who was wearing a colorful vest over his skinny body. A terrified pale face, a trembling body. In addition to that, his eyes filled with joy and admiration. ¡°Do you know me?¡± ¡°Se ¡­ se-serve, no way, are you the Demon King, Asmodeus-nim?¡± He nodded. The old man gasped and prayed in a light motion. ¡°Ooh, oh ¡­. ooh! Demon King Asmodeus¡­..¡± ¡°You have good eyes.¡± Ash, who was satisfied with the old man¡¯s worship, smiled. ¡°Please! please ¡­ there is a place where my colleagues gathered. The Great Demon Lord needs a worshiper. Please accept our worship.¡± ¡°Nice.¡± Finally, he met someone who treated him worthy of his power. Ash followed the old man. Ash didn¡¯t know, but this old man¡¯s true identity is the head of the cult of the Demon King, Twilight. He has been waiting for the resurrection of the Demon King for a long time and has even tried the summoning himself. However, the summoning failed. No matter how much he waited, the Demon King did not resurrect and his colleagues left one by one. Currently, his main activities are¡­. ¡®The Demon King Really Exists¡¯ ¡®Worship! The Demon King will be resurrected soon.¡¯ It was to put up illegal posters like this all over the streets. Once a week, he waved a picket in front of a downtown subway station, grabbed the passersby. and asked, ¡®Do you believe in the Demon King?¡¯. He already lost his followers to other similar religions, but¡­. The time of hardship is over. Hodl got the victory. Hodl won the war. ¡°I have a job for you.¡± ¡°Yo-you absolutely may ask anything.¡± The old man, who had worshiped the Demon King for a long time, instinctively noticed. He looks like a slender boy in shabby clothes, but this man is the Demon King he has been waiting for. That cynical eyes and the cold voice. The strictness of giving orders out of the blue in front of the worshippers was certainly not from a fake. What is his first command? Making a living sacrifice? Or a curse on humanity? The blood of the Demon King worshipper? Maybe ¡­ is it the use of stakes of forbidden curse? However, the old man couldn¡¯t help but be flustered by the words that followed. ¡°Make documents for part-time jobs.¡± ¡°Yes, I will ¡­ yes?¡± ¡°Did you not hear it? Documents.¡± *** It was an hour after Ash ran out of the store when he heard he needed the documents. ¡°That¡¯s enough, right?!¡± As soon as he returned, Ash put down the envelope containing the documents. I looked inside and there was everything I needed, including a health card. I looked carefully just in case, but it wasn¡¯t a forgery. The guardian¡¯s consent form contained the name of a child protection facility operated by a place called ¡®Religious Foundation Twilight¡®. What¡¯s going on? There must be a reason why he wanted to work part-time here. Name: Kim Ash Age: 17 The name Ash, it was his real name¡­¡­. ¡°All right.¡± It was a situation where I had to find a part-timer anyway, and I was concerned about Ash¡¯s situation. ¡°¡­¡­!¡± He raised his head in surprise. The joy that he couldn¡¯t hide is revealed on his face. ¡°Hoho ¡­ you will be swallowed up by the darkness.¡± It¡¯s good that he¡¯s happy¡­.? Anyway, I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on, but I hope he can cheer up. ¡°Please take good care of me in the future.¡± Tiling! [Congratulations! You have completed ¡®Main Quest: Finding a Part-Timer¡¯. Please collect the reward.] [Experience: 100 EXP have been acquired.] [Fame: 10 / Popularity: 10 have been acquired.] [¡¯s current Grade: E] [Skill point owned: 1] [Please choose a skill to level up.] As soon as the quest completion notification sounded, the skill point came in. Hmm, what skill should I raise¡­. After much deliberation, this is the skill I chose. ¡®Cafe in My Hand.¡¯ As the business grew rapidly, the frequency of using this skill increased tremendously. Just as there was an amazing fraud effect when I leveled up ¡®The Floor is Shiny¡®, I was expecting something good would happen if I level up this skill. Cafe in My Hand (C) Details: (Lv. 2) When making drinks in the store, the level of perfection is higher. ¡°Heh?¡± At first, I didn¡¯t immediately notice what had changed. It just changed from ¡®level of perfection is increased¡® to ¡®level of perfection is higher¡®. I¡¯ll experiment it a little later to see what the difference is¡­.. Then, the ringing sound rang again. [¡ù Cafe in My Hand (C) Level Up Effect: When you drink coffee, you won¡¯t get addicted to caffeine up to five cups.] Wow, that¡¯s awesome. *** At the same time when Rieul was about to write an employment contract with a new part-timer. Her cousin, Kwon Jiwoon, was banging his head on the desk. Bang! ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°Deputy guild leader, I just heard a loud noise, is there something wrong?¡± ¡°¡­¡­it¡¯s nothing.¡± ¡°All right.¡± Bang! ¡°Deputy guild leader?¡± ¡°Ehem, uhum, it¡¯s okay.¡± Kwon Jiwoon stood up awkwardly. The reason why he is so troubled is, of course, his cousin. Kwon Rieul. ¡°Oppa, I¡¯m awakened.¡± Rieul said that she had awakened. His cousin, who still seems pretty young. It was shocking at first, but Kwon Jiwoon¡¯s brain moved quickly. ¡®Then you should join the White Silver Guild.¡¯ It¡¯s a a matter of course. He¡¯s the deputy guild leader and his father, Kwon Seokmin who is currently missing, would surely agree. Which guild you belong to is another proof of identity for a Hunter. The White Silver Guild is not a large guild, but it has a good location and is one of the important guilds in Korea. If they have Rieul as a member of the White Silver Guild, whatever she does in the future, the guild will be helpful for her. It would be easier to fill out the application form electronically instead of on paper. He was thinking about the procedure in a rush, but Rieul cut his thoughts and drew a line. ¡°I¡¯ll never say that I want to join your guild, so don¡¯t worry.¡± The words weighed on his mind. ¡°¡­.Haa.¡± Kwon Jiwoon slid his eyes down. An empty phone text message writing window caught his eye. He wrote a few meaningless letters and erased them again. It¡¯s because he noticed a report on the recent trend of dungeon raids next to it. Recently, C&L Corporation¡¯s intervention in the raids conducted by the the White Silver Guild has been intensifying since a few weeks ago. Even if he tries to push through the principle, the opponent is the largest guild among The Big Three. There was no way to arbitrarily take away the contribution of the raid by pushing with the quantity. The same thing happened in all three recent dungeon raids. This is obviously intentional. In addition, C&L approached the guild member of the White Silver Guild and offered a transfer. The guild¡¯s main members remain the same, but some other members have already left. If this is the case, it is clear that the power of the White Guild Silver will be weakened. C&L was trying to absorb the White Silver Guild. ¡®I don¡¯t know how the hell I got so out of my mind.¡¯ In this situation, would it be the right choice to bring his younger sister to the White Silver Guild? The closer he gets to his younger sister, the more they will pay attention to her. For a moment, Kwon Jiwoon looked into the old memories of the past. CH 71 He awakened at the age of 18. The rare awakening of an A-class Healer, his young age, his status as the son of guild leader of the White Silver Guild, and his splendid appearance ¡­ all those factors made his awakening appeared on the headlines. ¡°Wow, oppa, you¡¯re amazing!¡± The admiration of his two-year-old cousin, who often quarreled with him, was enough to excite the young Kwon Jiwoon. After awakening, because of the training and the interviews, time went by busily. Especially after he entered a dedicated training facility, he had little contact with the outside world. He thought it didn¡¯t matter. His father trained him to the point where he felt a little impatient, and it was hard to catch up with the progress. His younger sister was 16 at the time. Kwon Jiwoon finally realized his position when an incident occured. Suspicious men attacked the house where they lived at the time, taking advantage of the absence of Kwon Jiwoon and his father, Kwon Seokmin. They were armed with illegal weapons that were not readily available, and they were thoroughly concealed their identities. Further investigations was unable to identify their backgrounds. It wasn¡¯t a stalker or an accidental offense. It was clear that it was deliberately intended to kidnap Kwon Rieul. The purpose, surely, is Kwon Jiwoon himself. That day, Kwon Rieul had gone to their grandmother¡¯s house, probably because she¡¯s bored waiting for her family who rarely returned. What if Rieul didn¡¯t go to their grandmother¡¯s house and stayed home? Or what if she came home a little earlier? He felt like he was losing his footing. The day before, he remembered talking about being close to his cousin without much thought. It may not be directly related, but at that time, Kwon Jiwoon could not escape the idea that Kwon Rieul was almost in danger because of his words. After that, it wasn¡¯t long before his father went missing. As he succeeded in his father¡¯s footsteps and took over the guild management, Kwon Jiwoon began to distance himself from Kwon Rieul. He sent his subordinates for security purpose, but just like with any other relatives, there were only a handful of direct contact between them. ¡°Please take good care of Rieul.¡± ¡­. but the idea that they should keep their distance has not changed even now. Kwon Jiwoon eventually put his phone down from his hand and took a sip of coffee in the cup instead. ¡°¡­¡­it¡¯s bitter.¡± Since it was left unattended for a long time, lukewarm coffee splashed his mouth. The coffee that his sister gave him back then was delicious. Knock knock. The subordinate who came in after knocking handed out some documents. ¡°Deputy guild leader, these are documents related to next week¡¯s guild leaders meeting.¡± ¡°I see ¡­ the guild leader of C&L will also come.¡± Only the boring stuff continues. Kwon Jiwoon sighed. *** Beep, beep, beep¡­. ¡°He¡¯s not answering the phone¡­.¡± The signal went on endlessly. I waited a little longer, but there was still no connection, so I put down my phone. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°Huh, it¡¯s nothing.¡± I shook my head at Ash¡¯s words and went back to the counter. The person I just called is Kwon Jiwoon. The last time we met was when the dungeon broke out at the farm, I was concerned that I couldn¡¯t tell the story properly. However, as expected, the call I made with a big heart was not answered. Hmm, he must be busy. ¡®Well, it¡¯s always been like this¡­¡¯ There¡¯s nothing to be disappointed about because I didn¡¯t have any expectations. Anyway, it¡¯s been a few days since Ash started his part-time job at Cafe Rieul. There were still many customers, but the situation has stabilized a lot. At least every night before going to bed, I don¡¯t have to contemplate the meaning of life and work. He was lying in front of the store when we first met, so I thought he was weak, but Ash did a really good job. From time to time¡­. ¡°Why should I, Asmodeus, the Demon King who brings twilight to the world, have to suffer such humiliation?¡± ¡°Kukh, if I regain my strength, I will wipe out all human beings.¡± ¡°Chocolate Sauce from Hell? No wonder it tastes good, it¡¯s an elegant and wonderful name.¡± I¡¯m embarrassed by this eighth grade syndrome. Well, at that age, let¡¯s respect his worldview. I bent my knees, made eye contact with Ash, and smiled. I gently stroked Ash¡¯s hair while the boy was planning to wipe out humans with meteor using the sleeping power in his left arm. ¡°I see. Ash is awesome.¡± ¡°¡­.Cih!¡± Even though I said nice things, Ash turned his head away with an angry expression. ¡°Waeooongg (You were wrong this time).¡± Why me?! ¡°Kkyuu, kkyuuu!¡± I interpreted Lime¡¯s words with the slime language translator that I had stuck in the drawer. ¡®Right, she¡¯s right.¡¯ No, why me?! Until yesterday, you guys were attacking and bickering with each other, so why are you taking sides at times like this? Suddenly, I felt lonely¡­. Well, let¡¯s get back to business. ¡°The menu you ordered is here.¡± ¡°Here, next order.¡± ¡°I¡¯m done organizing.¡± The hand moves without stopping. Although there was no smile and the words he said were short, he finished the work with accurate hand movements and quick actions. Ugh, it¡¯s so dazzling. I can¡¯t look straight ahead. Perhaps Ash is the Light and Salt of the cafe part-timer world, and the savior of the single self-employed person. ¡°Ash, you¡¯re like an angel!¡± ¡°¡­..! What do you mean¡­¡­! How could you say such an insult to Asmodeus!¡± That¡¯s his setting¡­. ¡°Ah, yes, I understand.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t answer half-heartedly.¡± ¡°I apologize, Ash-nim.¡± ¡°¡­¡­Hmph!¡± He turned his head sullenly, but I saw the corners of his lips rising slightly. What an unfriendly, cute little guy. *** It was time to close the business after almost running out of the prepared ingredients for today. ¡°Ash, I¡¯ll make you a cafe mocha. Let¡¯s rest.¡± Nod. Instead of answering, Ash nodded his head and quickly sat down in front of the table. He hummed with his chin up, and when he caught me staring, his face reddened. ¡°What, wha-what are you listening to!¡± ¡°Huh? Nothing?¡± ¡°Then ¡­ forget it.¡± ¡°Hm, hmm, humm, next is heumm, right?¡± ¡°¡­¡­! As expected, you heard it! Go away!¡± ¡°Then you don¡¯t need a cafe mocha?¡± ¡°What ¡­ you¡¯ve already taken out the ingredients, so you can¡¯t throw them away.¡± ¡°Ahaha, yes, yes.¡± I handed him a cup of cafe mocha with plenty of Chocolate Sauce from Hell, which Ash called an elegant and wonderful name. The moment he took a sip, the bar of light filled up. He really likes cafe mocha. He tried to drink it with a bad expression every time, but it was obvious. The cafe door opened when Ash was almost done emptying his cup. The long-awaited guest came. ¡°Ah, come on in.¡± ¡°Eonni, hello.¡± ¡°Hello, noo©¥¡± ¡°Don¡¯t call her noona, you idiot!¡± ¡°Why only you can call her that, you idiot!¡± ¡°I got permission from Eonni!¡± They were the twins, Joo Shinwoo and Joo Shinhee, and Ki Yoohyun. I heard that the twins recently went to a dungeon with high difficulty. What does someone need to do when they come back from a dungeon? ¡°Meong (What)?¡± ¡°It¡¯s Dungeon Detox.¡± ¡°Kyakyaoong (No, that¡¯s not it. The dungeon isn¡¯t even poisonous)!¡± ¡°Kkyuu!¡± It¡¯s poison. It¡¯s not good for your health. Not long ago, I got caught up in a dungeon again unintentionally, as someone with dungeon trauma and dungeon allergy, I¡¯m pretty sure about what I¡¯m talking about since I also have a recurrence of dungeon phobia. ¡°Waeoong¡­.¡± ¡°Kyuu¡­.¡± I could feel the cold gazes on the back of my head. That¡¯s why, for Dungeon Detox, I closed the cafe a little earlier than usual and invited the twins. Ki Yoohyun ¡­ well, I guess he just came with them as their guardian. Even if I don¡¯t invite him, he¡¯s a person who shows up very often. ¡°¡­¡­!¡± ¡°¡­¡­!¡± The twins, who were about to enter and sit down, were startled when they found Ash. They looked at Ash with a cautious expression and widened their distance. Ash also looked at the twins with his signature cynical eyes. Is it because they¡¯re at the same age? They must be shy. ¡°This is Ash, who has been working part-time here since last week. Ash, these are Hunter Joo Shinwoo and Joo Shinhee. Please be friendly to each other¡­.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± No, it wasn¡¯t that they¡¯re shy. It was actually like wild water beasts being wary of each other and measuring the opponents. The moment the fight seems to begin right away and the ¡ú+[Attack] is about to fly. Joo Shinhee ran up to me and hugged my waist. ¡°We¡¯re Eonni¡¯s closest friends!¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right.¡± Jo Shinwoo nodded a beat late. ¡°We watched anime together. Did she also allow you to call her Eonni?¡± ¡°¡­.Cih.¡± Ash, who turned his head with a sulky expression, added in a small voice. There was also a subtle, but not completely hidden, smirk on his face. ¡°I live with her.¡± ¡°¡­¡­!¡± ¡°Really?!¡± It¡¯s true. Ash looked like he had nowhere else to sleep. When I hired him as a part-timer, I gave him a room on the back of the first floor. As soon as I said yes, Ash and the twins started a nerve war over me again. Mieum, lying on her belly on the floor, added the observation review. ¡°Waeoooong (You¡¯re so popular with kids)!¡± ¡°Ha, haha¡­..¡± With the kids circling around me, I felt like I have entered an illusion world of Hahaverse. ¡®All The Kids in My Store Like Me¡¯, something like that¡­..? ¡°You got a part-timer.¡± Ki Yoohyun slowly added more words. ¡°I also wanted to work part-time here. It¡¯s a pity I don¡¯t have the opportunity.¡± No, why are you interfering? Besides, how could I use a guild¡¯s Hunter as part-timer¡­. ¡°Adults like you shouldn¡¯t be jealous of children.¡± ¡°¡­.Yes.¡± After a long time, I was finally able to separate the twins and Ash and seat the guests in the table. Instead of coffee, I put a bunch of magic sugar, pots, baking soda, and other ingredients. on the table instead of coffee. There is also a gas burner and a spirit lamp. Joo Shinwoo asked with his eyes wide open. ¡°What are you making with this?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll find out soon enough.¡± Since the twins came to the cafe for the first time in a while, it would be better to try a new menu than the existing one. Dungeon detox requires special experience. All of sudden, customers began to flock to the cafe, and there were quite a few new recipes. I haven¡¯t finished making it yet because I¡¯m exhausted every day after the cafe is closed. Huh, in a game, isn¡¯t there a section where the progress is suddenly fast? A section where the level goes up at once or items come in a lot. It feels like I¡¯m in that section. ¡®Cafe in My Hand.¡¯ I glanced through the recipe list. Among the many new recipes, there happened to be a good one to enjoy together. It¡¯s Dalgona Coffee. In my life before the regression, there was a time when a recipe of the same name was popular. It was a recipe that added sugar and water to instant coffee and stirred it for a very long time. ¡®My hands really hurt¡­¡­.¡¯ Unlike the usual coffee-making, the drink I will be making today has a recipe that requires me to break real dalgona into coffee. I was going to make dalgona for this coffee one by one. After all, it¡¯s fun to make dalgona. I placed a ladle and the spirit lamp in front of the twins, one at a time. Ki Yoohyun decided to help the twins because it could be dangerous. In the past, when this place was my grandmother¡¯s store, I was scolded for burning a ladle while trying to make dalgona. After hitting me hard on the back, she told me that¡¯s not how to do it. It reminded me of that time. ¡°Do you want to try, too, Ash?¡± ¡°¡­.it¡¯s fine.¡± However, he replied bluntly as if he was not interested. ¡°Really? I have one ladle left, but there is no one to make it ¡­ Ash, can you help me?¡± ¡°Then ¡­ it can¡¯t be helped.¡± Ash quickly picked up the ladle. Really, he¡¯s really an unfriendly and cute guy. Translator¡¯s Corner: Light and Salt (?? ??): It is one of the parables that Jesus gave when teaching the Sermon on the Mount. It is taken from the phrases ¡°you are the light of the world¡± and ¡°you are the salt of the earth.¡± The meaning of this parable can be seen as living like the light that illuminates the dark world and the salt that purifies the corrupt world. Dalgona is a Korean candy made with melted sugar and baking soda. It became popular again recently because of Squid Game. CH 72 Lastly, I put a gas burner and a pot for my share. Since I was making dalgona, I was going to make a lot and store it. ¡°Meong, waeooong (You always say you don¡¯t want to work, but you¡¯re a human being who likes to increase your own work! You say you only want to play, but your behavior is completely the opposite)!¡± ¡°Kkyuuu!¡± Umh. I¡¯ve recently started to feel the same way. Maybe I¡¯m the problem¡­¡­? Maybe the DNA of the corporate worker from my past life has been exerted. Even if I think I want to play, I will unintentionally look for work to do. Ugh, let¡¯s stop imagining scary things. ¡°No, it¡¯s not like that. The cafe would be idle once the hype died down. I¡¯m only busy right now because it¡¯s on the peak level.¡± ¡°Nyaaaah (Heummm, I hope it works out the way you want it to)¡­.¡± I rubbed Mieum¡¯s belly fat, and then returned to the front of the table. Anyway, it¡¯s time to make dalgona. First, I filled the pot with a little water and put plenty of magic sugar on the ladle, then I turned on the gas. Joo Shinwoo, who followed me, turned on the spirit lamp and raised his ladle, asked in a curious voice. ¡°Should I do it like this?¡± ¡°Yes, don¡¯t stir it.¡± At the words, the twins and Ash straightened their posture and grabbed the ladle. It was important to dissolve the sugar as it is without stirring it. When it was heated for a while, the sugar melted and became transparent, and bubbles began to rise. ¡°Not yet. We have to wait a little longer.¡± The children were excited by the sweet smell that came out. There were some children whose eyes twinkled and blushed in an easy-to-understand manner, and there was also a part-timer at our store who worked hard to pretend that it didn¡¯t bother him. As the sugar water boiled down, more bubbles came up, and little by little, it turned brown. ¡°¡­You can stir it now.¡± At my permission, the children added the pre-dipped baking soda and began to stir. I also added two tablespoons of baking soda to the pot and turned off the burner. If you stir it while it¡¯s on the fire, the temperature will rise too high and there would be a risk of burning. When stirred quickly with a whisk, the dalgona turned light brown and swelled up. When it is sufficiently inflated and the inside of the pot becomes thick, pour it on the pre-laid sheet. You have to move your hands quickly because you have to scrape it all off before it hardens. ¡°Wow¡­¡­..!¡± Watching the golden lumps pouring down, Joo Shinhee exclaimed in admiration. Looking around, the children also poured dalgona on the sheet in front of them. It swelled up without a burn. ¡°That¡¯s okay! It¡¯s soft.¡± ¡°I made it better, eonni.¡± ¡°¡­..Cih.¡± When I was young, I used to burn my tongue because I tasted it when it was sticky, before it hardened properly. In the meantime, I burned the ladle to black and ate it¡­¡­. ¡°Waeoog?!¡± I knew it. I hugged Mieum, who was still trying to eat a hot dalgona lump, and put her away. You shouldn¡¯t look at me like that. I saved your life. Since this dalgona is intended to be added to drinks, I decided to harden it without pressing it flat. After letting it swell for a while, it hardened just right. The dalgona, wrapped in paper, was broken into appropriate sizes using hands and spoons, and then I placed in a container. The remaining process is simple. I put ice and milk in a transparent glass cup that shows the inside well. A generous amount of freshly made dalgona slices were placed on top and espresso poured over it. I also didn¡¯t forget to decorate the dalgona pieces made by the children as toppings. Tiling! [Item: Dalgona Coffee (¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡î) Status: Good (Time Remaining: 01:00:00) Effect: All stats are increased by 100% for 10 minutes.] After completing the drinks according to the number of people, a ringing system window appeared. Dalgona coffee has a pretty good effect. I didn¡¯t expect it would be a 100% increase in status. If the strength is 100, it becomes 200, so it is more efficient than any buff potion. Another thing to note is the Grade. Unlike before, a 4 stars Grade came out from the beginning. The status retention time is also more effective. This was the level-up effect of ¡®Cafe in My Hand¡®. This is the meaning of ¡°when making drinks in the store, the level of perfection is higher¡°. As all recipes went up to 4 stars, their effects were strengthened. In addition, it was good to be able to drink up to five cups of coffee a day without getting the ¡®caffeine addiction¡®. As I was dealing with the rush of customers, I quickly became groggy. ¡®What a relief.¡¯ But why are my eyes getting wet.¡­. Now it¡¯s time to taste it. Each person took a cup of dalgona coffee and sat down. ¡°Thank you for the drink.¡± ¡°Wow, it smells like sugar!¡± ¡°¡­¡­hmm.¡± First, I picked up the dalgona that was used as a topping and took it to my mouth. Crunch! The soft dalgona with a lot of air bubbles crumbled in the mouth. The sweet taste of sugar mixed with the slightly bitter burnt taste was a taste that I did not get tired of. I also handed out dalgona slices to Mieum and Lime, who were complaining next to me. The two of them were quiet for a while as they melted and ate the dalgona. ¡°Nyaaaah (I want to eat more)!¡± ¡°Kkyuuuuuuu, kkyuu!¡± It would have been nice to have Choi Yichan here, I felt sorry for him. This sweetness is just what Choi Yichan likes the best. I don¡¯t know what he does for training to get stronge ¡­ I wish he could come back soon. I¡¯m going to feed him a ton of dalgona. After stirring the dalgona powder, which began to melt little by little, to mix well with the drink, I tasted it with a straw immediately. Along with the sweet drink, I chewed a piece of dalgona that came into the mouth. ¡°¡­¡­!¡± ¡°It¡¯s delicious¡­..¡± ¡°You must be a genius!¡± The children who drank the dalgona coffee poured out their appreciation. Everyone¡¯s reaction was different, but I could tell that it was delicious without looking at the bar above their heads. I glanced at Ki Yoohyun next to me. He, too, was drinking dalgona coffee in front of him with a soft expression. Come to think of it, I¡¯ve met him several times, but I still don¡¯t know much about this man. According to Mieum, the guess that his sense of taste is greatly weakened is the part that worries me. It would be very stimulating if you drink a sweet drink after normally not being able to taste well. Wouldn¡¯t it similar to the joy of having a snack after having an upset stomach and eating only unseasoned white porridge for a week? ¡°Why are you looking at me like that?¡± Oh no. I suddenly felt pity, so I must have stared at him too much. ¡°Have some more of this.¡± I scooped up another spoonful of dalgona pieces and poured them into his cup. Eat at lot of dalgona, my action was out of a pitiful heart. ¡°¡­¡­?¡± Suddenly, it was quiet around me. When I turned my head, the children were staring at me. Ash frowned, and the twins¡¯ eyes twinkled. Then, when our eyes met, they turned their heads. Guys, I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re thinking, but don¡¯t be so obvious. Joo Shinhee suddenly brought up a new topic, apparently trying to cover up the awkward atmosphere. ¡°We went to a B-Grade dungeon yesterday.¡± ¡°I also got the boss. It¡¯s a B-class Venomous Kraken!¡± ¡°I¡¯m the one who got the last hit!¡± ¡°You idiot! My curse weakened that octopus, that¡¯s why you were able to hit it.¡± ¡°If I didn¡¯t hit the headshot, we missed it, you idiot!¡± Oh my¡­.. I was going to do a Dungeon Detox, but the topic went away with the dungeon story. Surprisingly, Ash showed interest to this story. ¡°Hoo, that¡¯s pretty cool. The Kraken is a tenacious guy that even I can¡¯t get rid of at once.¡± ¡°¡­¡­! Are you a Hunter, too?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like that.¡± At the startled question of Joo Shinwoo, Ash shook his head. The twins made eye contact with each other and looked at Ash again. ¡°You look pretty strong, though?¡± ¡°Right, I think you¡¯re strong?¡± ¡°¡­. Huh, you guys seem pretty strong for humans, too.¡± ¡°I¡¯m Joo Shinhee, and he is Joo Shinwoo. I¡¯m an archer and he¡¯s a wizard, but he¡¯s good in using dark curses.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a great talent. Call me Ash.¡± They suddenly became friends?! The twins and Ash chattered about other monsters. The dungeon talk continued actively. Dungeon Detox, heuk¡­. The original planned Dungeon Detox was completely out of order, but ¡­ well, enjoy yourself anyway, that¡¯s fine. And as time passed, it was time for the guests to return. ¡°I almost forgot about this.¡± Ki Yoohyun, who rose from the chair, took something out of his pocket and held it out to me. When I received it, it was a small object with a single round button. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± ¡°Umh ¡­ should I say it¡¯s like a crime prevention bell? Rieul-ssi seems to be going through a lot of dangerous things.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like that¡­¡­.¡± I was panicked before when I was swallowed by the Monster Hell at the farm, but it ended well. ¡°Keep it and press it if something dangerous happens. I will come to help you.¡± ¡°Can I try pressing it once?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Click! I pressed the button, but it didn¡¯t make a loud sound or flash like a normal security bell. However, Ki Yoohyun smiled and said that it worked properly. Is there an app notification on his phone? First of all, I decided to accept it as his way of saying thank you. It¡¯s not a big deal so far, but the number of customers in the store has increased significantly. I may need Ki Yoohyun¡¯s help when problems arise. Still, it¡¯s best not to have anything that makes me use it¡­. *** ¡°Fufu, did you have fun today?¡± ¡°¡­¡­Not really.¡± ¡°Shall I ask them to come over next time?¡± ¡°Well, whatever.¡± ¡°Ash, you did a great job today. Good night.¡± The woman with a foolish face said so, then she closed the door and left. He was offended by the way she smiled every time she saw him. Still, he was able to successfully infiltrate this place as a part-timer. The coffee she made was very tasty and his mana quickly recovered. What Ash particularly liked was the cafe mocha. The harmony between the bitter coffee taste and the Chocolate Sauce from Hell was fantastic. Thanks to his steady drinking of the coffee she made, his mana has restored to some extent. [You are using Mana Saving Mode.] [Mana recovery amount: 20%] [Some spells may be unusable due to lack of mana.] Now he can easily kill that one woman as much as he wants to. He could even make her obey his orders through mind control. But why? He felt reluctant. Ash inadvertently put his hand on his forehead. It was the spot that Rieul had just stroked. There was still a subtle warmth. CH 73 Ash remembered what Rieul had said. ¡°Is it delicious? Do you want one more?¡± ¡°Wow, Ash is really quick with his hands.¡± ¡°Okay ¡­ It must have been hard ¡­. As long as you¡¯re fine with it, you can stay here.¡± She often smiled softly when she saw Ash, even when she was devastated by the work in front of her. There were many times when she patted his head or treated him like a child. She muttered to herself that it was the 8th Grade syndrome, but he didn¡¯t know what the 8th Grade syndrome was. In particular, when she looked at him with her affectionate expression and stroked his head, his anger rose. She treats him like a weak child! He felt like his heart was filled with unwanted warm and touching things. He knew it instinctively. This warm thing will fall like a drizzle and weaken himself. That¡¯s why he wanted to use his magic to scare her, but on the other hand, he also wanted everything to stay the same. ¡®The man with black eyes was unpleasant, but¡­¡­.¡¯ Today, he also met human children who have quite good senses. They have eyes that could recognize the strong, so they¡¯re pretty good for a human being. It was fun to make dalgona for the first time. As soon as his dalgona swelled up, it was funny that the woman next to him liked it more than himself. And he hates to admit it, but¡­¡­. He really doesn¡¯t want to admit it, but¡­¡­. Working part-time was more fun than he thought. Receiving and delivering orders from the endless customers. Every time he cleaned up the pile of work, the woman widened her big eyes and admired him. ¡°Ash is definitely a genius!¡± ¡°¡­¡­this is not a big deal.¡± He said that, but he didn¡¯t feel bad. He washed the cups and saucers thoroughly and put them back in place. When he looked at the neatly organized counter after finishing all his work, he felt proud. Ash is an incarnation made with the magical power of a Demon who was originally sleeping in the Abyss. To him, the memories and experiences of individual are meaningless. If he disappears someday and returns to his main body, it will all be a memory that will disappear. There are busy part-time job, children who can communicate well, and a woman who smiles with a sad expression. These are all memories that will disappear when this body dies, but somehow ¡­ he loathed it. That¡¯s all. Ash laid his body on the futon. Next to his pillow was a large, bright red slime-shaped cushion. The woman with a foolish face left it here because she thought he would feel lonely sleeping alone. ¡°Now, you wouldn¡¯t be lonely if you have this, right?¡± Involuntarily, he touched his forehead again. Even though the warmth has already cooled down, the hand that traces the lost warmth is soft. The bright smile of the woman came to his mind. ¡°¡­.shit.¡± Let¡¯s wait a little longer. He hasn¡¯t recovered all of his mana yet. Let¡¯s kill her when he completely recovers his mana. Yeah, it¡¯s because of his mana recovery. That¡¯s all. Really. *** ¡°You missed the incarnation?¡± The top floor of C&L Corporation, in the CEO office. After hearing Lee Sein¡¯s words, her secretary, Aeon, frowned slightly. It is a change of expression that is hard to notice if you don¡¯t look closely. However, it was a rare expression for him, who always had a calm and refined smile. ¡°Yes, the box was empty. The area has been searched, but it hasn¡¯t been found yet.¡± Lee Sein looked over her subordinate¡¯s report again and spoke. There was something strange about the report. The disappearance of the incarnation. A missing body. Choi Cedric, who was at the scene disguised as a bodyguard, said everyone was dead and no one survived except him. There¡¯s no way Choi Cedric would lie to her. However, no matter how many times she counted, one corpse was missing. ¡®Was there one less person than planned from the start?¡¯ Lee Sein decided to forget about the number of corpses first. Those guys were so arrogant, they might not have reported the change in personnel. Dealing with the survivor, if there¡¯s any, can be done later. The more important thing is the whereabouts of the incarnation. ¡°You must find it. You know what it is. For our plan, we really need the incarnation of the Daemon Azathoth.¡± ¡°I know, but where did it disappear ¡­ I don¡¯t see a clue.¡± It was a long-planned plan. First, the Holy Beast, the Long-tailed Phoenix, was captured and used as a vessel to summon the incarnation. Then, the dark ether was poured in little by little until the Holy Beast was completely corrupted. In order to obtain the dark ether without leaving a trace, they had to take a detour route. It has been several months since they used the Neo-Crown Party to collect the dark ethers. By sacrificing the completely blackened Holy Beast, they succeeded in summoning the incarnation. They dealt with all the people involved in this work, kept their mouths shut, and the access route was washed clean as well. The incarnation was not yet complete, but it didn¡¯t matter. Lee Sein¡¯s only purpose was to forcibly seize the incarnation, then extract and use its infinite mana. ¡®If only I had that power ¡­ I can make Choi Cedric the No. 1 in the Rankings.¡¯ In addition, it is possible to shake off their disgusting competitors and put ¡°C&L Corporation¡± in the top spot, in name and reality. It was all a plan presented by the competent secretary in front of her. Aeon was such a perfect secretary. All the secret measures he suggested were novel and achieved perfect results. Thanks to Aeon¡¯s advice, C&L Corporation was able to grow from a powerless small guild to its current position. Again, the plan was perfect and the execution went smoothly. However, the whereabouts of the incarnation are ambiguous. ¡®If I can¡¯t find it¡­.¡¯ Lee Sein tapped nervously on the desk. If the incarnation was found by someone else, not only would the efforts so far be in vain, but the guild could also be in danger. ¡°What¡¯s the way ¡­ do you have any idea?¡± The secretary Aeon, who had a beautiful smile like a painting, gave her the answer again this time. His eyes, resembling imitation jewels, shone strangely. ¡°Of course there is a way.¡± ¡°Really?¡± So far, there has been no problem that has not been resolved just by listening to Aeon. Lee Sein looked at Aeon with trust and expectation. ¡°This is it.¡± Aeon took a small golden box out of his arms and handed it to Lee Sein. Click. When she opened it, she found a strange little object that looked like two pyramids joined together. ¡°What is this¡­¡­?¡± ¡°It¡¯s modeled after a great artifact. It¡¯s an imitation, but it¡¯s definitely effective.¡± It¡¯s ominous. She didn¡¯t know what it was. Nevertheless, she felt a very strange force in the object. When she looked at the center of the object, she felt her head throbbing and there¡¯s also a feeling of nausea. ¡°It¡¯s an item that causes rifts.¡± ¡°¡­¡­! What?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to be so surprised, CEO-nim.¡± He gave a gentle smile that didn¡¯t match what he just said. The incarnation is the alter ego of a Demon made with mana. If it has escaped, they will only have to create a new body and summon it. However, there is only one incarnation that can be summoned at the same time. In order to summon a new incarnation, the previous incarnation must be handled, in other words, it must be killed. This item is a rift generator that summons monsters of the Outer World. The summoned monsters will take care of the escaped incarnation after chasing the smell of mana. ¡°Fufu, it¡¯s simple, isn¡¯t it? There is no need for CEO-nim to get her hands dirty. I will prepare the new incarnation summons. All you have to do is break this, CEO-nim.¡± Aeon grabbed Lee Sein¡¯s hand and pulled it up onto the pyramids. With a slight press, this little object already felt like it was about to break. ¡°¡­¡­!¡± Surprised, Lee Sein pushed the box away. Her hands trembled. ¡°Ah ¡­ no matter what, I can¡¯t do such thing. The damage ¡­ the damage will be great.¡± ¡°Then, I will entrust this box to CEO-nim, so think about it carefully.¡± Aeon added with a smile. ¡°You¡¯ll soon realize that I¡¯m right. Don¡¯t forget. All you have to do is break it. You need the magic power of the incarnation, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± Click. Aeon closed the door and went outside. Lee Sein, who was startled, tried to put the box out of sight right away. No, she can¡¯t. She can¡¯t do such a thing. But ¡­ But maybe¡­¡­. *** ¡°¡­..CEO-nim?¡± Choi Cedric was surprised and stopped walking. Lee Sein, with a blank expression on her face, was walking down the hallway. Lee Sein did not notice the existence of Choi Cedric standing right in front of her. It¡¯s strange. Choi Cedric came closer and called her louder. ¡°CEO-nim, where are you going?¡± ¡°¡­¡­! Ah, Cedric.¡± Lee Sein is surprised as if she just woke up from a dream. She tried to smile, she needed to tell him that it¡¯s nothing, but her lips were stiff. ¡°What is this?¡± Choi Cedric asked, pointing to a box protruding obliquely from Lee Sein¡¯s suit pocket. ¡°¡­¡­!¡± Tak! Before Choi Cedric could reach it, Lee Sein slapped his hand away. Only the sound of the slap echoed loudly in the empty hallway. ¡°Ah, I¡¯m just curious because it¡¯s something I haven¡¯t seen before¡­..¡± Lee Sein apologized as she hurriedly wrapped the box in her arms. ¡°I was a little oversensitive because it was an important item. I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°It¡¯s all right.¡± Then, silence. An awkward current flows. After hesitating, Choi Cedric opened his mouth first. ¡°I ¡­ CEO-nim, I have a question for you, can you spare a moment?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I need to attend the Guild Leaders meeting soon ¡­ let¡¯s talk next time.¡± Without waiting for Choi Cedric¡¯s reply, Lee Sein left with a busy pace across the hallway. Choi Cedric, who was left alone, sat on the sofa at the end of the hallway. He took his phone out of his pocket and looked into it. He pressed a number, but he eventually put it back down without pressing the call button. ¡°Ha¡­..¡± His chest was tight. CEO Lee Sein has been strange these days. It¡¯s already been a few days, and when he asked her what¡¯s going on, she didn¡¯t give him an answer. She didn¡¯t say anything about the black monster that escaped from the box. She just asked several times if the number of bodies was correct. Feeling uncomfortable, Choi Cedric hid the existence of the survivor. It was just a hunch. Somehow, he felt like he should do that. That survivor, a Hunter with an unusual name, Jijon, said he¡¯d quit his job as a Hunter, so it wouldn¡¯t matter¡­. ¡®What the hell are you doing¡­¡­.¡¯ No, not just this time. At some point, Lee Sein has more things to hide from him. At first, he took it for granted that the management of the guild was Lee Sein¡¯s responsibility. He didn¡¯t know much about the complicated stories, so he had to be faithful to his role: raiding the dungeons. Choi Cedric¡¯s first Grade when his awakening happened was Grade A. Currently, he¡¯s an S-class. It is undeniable that the guild¡¯s full support has greatly helped him to rise to his current position. So, in order to become a necessary Hunter for the guild, he moved according to Lee Sein¡¯s orders. However, little by little, more and more things inside the guild that he did not know increased. It¡¯s a ridiculous imagination, but¡­¡­. Sometimes, he even thought he was just a scarecrow who drew the attention of the public. Since when it started¡­. In retrospect ¡­ it has been since the secretary appeared. Choi Cedric wanted to vomit this sense of discomfort somewhere. However, who on earth can he talk to? CH 74 Rona is still in a deep sleep. He didn¡¯t want to tell her a dark story, lest he ever get in the way of his lovely sister¡¯s dreams. The guild¡¯s Hunters are uncomfortable with Choi Cedric. In any case, he had a lot of conversations with the plant otaku, no, the botanist Lee Chorok. However, he couldn¡¯t possibly tell her the secrets of the guild. And that woman ¡­ Kwon Rieul. Choi Cedric recalled when he was caught up in the dungeon on a farm. He remembered the taste of the coffee she made in the dungeon, he even remembered her soft voice. Her soft eyes were quite cute, and unlike her first impression of being emotional and vulnerable, she felt cool because she was bold when she appeared in front of the monster. Somehow, he even told her stories that he didn¡¯t normally tell others. He promised to visit the cafe she runs, but he hasn¡¯t kept it yet. He vaguely wanted to talk to her. He had her contact information in advance. However, Choi Cedric tried to dial her number on his phone several times, but in the end, he couldn¡¯t make the call. ¡°Haa.¡± He couldn¡¯t do it. He didn¡¯t know what to say. He was a mess, with vague feelings of anxiety, doubt, and isolation all intertwined. He wanted to talk, but he didn¡¯t know what he should say to her. In front of that person, he was only going to show her the image of him as confident and cool as possible, the appearance that¡¯s worthy of the No. 2 ranker. Wouldn¡¯t it be surprising to call her out of the blue and talk about depressing things? She would never have noticed that his original personality was timid and gloomy. Furthermore, she said that she was a relative of Kwon Jiwoon of the White Silver Guild. C&L is constantly pressuring the White Silver Guild. ¡®So how can I tell her that I might do something that harms her brother¡­¡­.¡¯ He can¡¯t possibly tell her that¡­. Did Romeo and Juliet feel like this? Around the same time that Choi Cedric was troubled by thinking of a somewhat absurd metaphor, in Cafe Rieul, at No. 16, Dungeon Gate 3 in Jung-gu, Seoul. Kwon Rieul was faced with one difficulty. *** Eh? I rubbed my eyes and looked at the system window again. However, the content did not change. [Fresh Milk: Out of Stock ¡ù We are currently preparing for stock. We¡¯ll send you a notification when it¡¯s in stock.] Eh? In the meantime, Cafe Rieul has been running smoothly. With the skill level up, recovery became easier, and customers consistently visited the cafe. I enjoyed the self-employed super easy mode, where there were somewhat unusual customers, but most were just ordinary customers. I was able to enjoy the dream life of a real cafe tycoon; roasting coffee beans, making sugar, and selling drinks to customers every day. Above all, the existence of Ash, the all-around part-timer, makes all of this possible. Thanks to this, sales of the store rose quickly, the sales of the store went up quickly, and through achievements, new recipes were obtained and my level was also raised. The shop runs like a sail into the wind. There were times when I felt anxious because it went so smoothly. ¡®It¡¯s weird. It¡¯s about time they started to get in my way ¡­ why is the system quiet?¡¯ It¡¯s just a baseless feeling, but I thought that the system wouldn¡¯t let this comfortable, trial-free state go unnoticed. However, I didn¡¯t expect this problem to happen. Suddenly, milk and whipped cream were sold out in the Dimensional Shop. ¡®Did I buy too much because the business is doing well these days?¡¯ I paid ruby and tried to refresh the product list, but it was the same. Out of stock, out of stock, out of stock¡­¡­ They only took my rubies and don¡¯t give me the milk I really need. ¡°Waeooogh, waeooong (Aren¡¯t you thinking too badly of the great system).¡± Mieum spoke, secretly took the side of the system. I didn¡¯t know how this circular pattern of disturbance events keep occuring. This reminded me of a cafe management game in the past. With indomitable labor and selling personal information, I barely managed to get 1st place in the rankings, but only annoying sabotage quests were launched. I should¡¯ve listen when people called it Man-game. And there was a guild with a strange name, what was it ¡­ ¡®Only You Fold the Bitter Server Termination¡®, people from that guild kept bothering me. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Oh, wait, we ran out of milk.¡± Anyway, I can¡¯t help it because I can¡¯t find something I don¡¯t have. I thought I, unfortunately, should use ordinary commercial milk, but¡­¡­. ¡°¡­¡­Ash, how do you like it?¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± Ash swallowed his words with a mixed expression. The satisfaction bar above his head gradually filled up ¡­ but it stopped in the middle. That¡¯s a more definite answer than the words he didn¡¯t say. I also put down the cafe latte I was drinking. To clear up any misunderstandings, even the ordinary milk coffee is not at all tasteless. The harmony created by the bittersweet espresso and the fragrant milk definitely matches the taste of caffe latte I know. The problem is that my taste buds have become accustomed to coffee made with milk from the Dimensional Shop. Furthermore, the Grade that came out when using ordinary milk was only 1 star, and the recovery efficiency was poor. This can¡¯t be done. Anyone who has tried the coffee I made before will surely feel the difference in taste I didn¡¯t want to hear rumors that the taste changed after gaining popularity. Eventually, I decided to remove drinks that use milk from the menu until milk was available again. The problem is that milk and whipped cream are used the most after coffee beans in the cafe menus. Without milk and whipped cream, the rest of the menu were Americano, iced Americano, and lemonade. Naturally, complaints arose. ¡°Give me a cafe latte, please. Huh, you can¡¯t do it now?¡± ¡°Please ¡­ I can¡¯t cheer up if I don¡¯t drink cappuccino from this cafe!¡± ¡°I want to drink vanilla latte¡­.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll pay twice as much, so please sell it to me!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll pay three times, no, five times¡­¡­.¡± I sent back the disappointed customers and looked at the Dimensional Shop sadly, but it was still out of stock. Where can I get the milk? According to the explanation of the item window, the milk that has been used so far is the milk of the A-class Golden Triangular Rhinoceros. Where is the A-class Golden Triangular Rhinoceros? Tiling! [¡®Golden Triangular Rhinoceros¡® has been added to the Ether-Wiki.] The system notification rang as if it had been waiting, but there was nothing particularly helpful in the Ether-Wiki. The content was just a simple explanation of the ecology of the Golden Triangular Rhinoceros. [Do you want to play the clip ¡®Ecology of A-Class Golden Triangular Rhinoceros¡¯? Yes / No ] I didn¡¯t know that this wiki also has a video function¡­.. [You can¡¯t see it anywhere else! Let¡¯s meet the ecology of the Golden Triangular Rhinoceros, who lives only in Grade A clean land. A video to heal the hearts of modern people who are tired of city life, released for free for 3 days.] There was a long ad phrase. After thinking for a while, I chose ¡®No¡® and got up. It is important to find a way to get milk, but I decided to deal with one of the delayed things first. Sales have accumulated considerably in the meantime. Since I¡¯ve earned money, now I have to spend it. ¡°Ash, come here for a second.¡± ¡°¡­.Why?¡± ¡°I have a place to go.¡± ***¡¯ An hour later. ¡°¡­¡­.¡± His eyes sting. Ignoring the silent protest, I lightly pushed Ash¡¯s back. ¡°Then, I¡¯ll wait here.¡± In the end, Ash, who gave up his resistance, sighed and trudged. We¡¯re in clothing store in Yongsan¡¯s shopping mall. Of course, I came here to buy Ash¡¯s clothes. When I first found him collapsed in front of the store, Ash was wearing very old clothes. No, rather than clothes ¡­ it¡¯s a double? The shape was difficult to recognize, and it was not even an ordinary modern doubles. There were all sorts of miscellaneous things in the warehouse, but there were no clothes that a boy the size of Ash could wear. In a hurry, I made him wear my clothes under the name of a part-time job uniform, but it was too big. The sleeves of the shirt and the pants are folded up, but no matter how you look at it, it¡¯s clear that he borrowed someone else¡¯s clothes. I thought I should buy some clothes, but I couldn¡¯t find the time to spare. This situation turned out well. ¡°We ran out of milk, so we¡¯ll close the cafe early today.¡± After closing the cafe early, I came here to buy Ash¡¯s clothes. Ah, of course, I¡¯m going to pay for his clothes. For reference, Ash is properly paid for his part-time work. However, isn¡¯t Ash a runaway teenager with reasons that he can¡¯t say? It would be nice if he can save his part-time job salary and spend it on other things. It would be best for me if Ash can keep working part-time in the cafe, but ¡­ he could go to school or something like that later. In addition, the store¡¯s sales have also risen a lot. If it continues like this, I can buy a house, no, a building soon. ¡­¡­ Hmmm, let¡¯s dream about the future of a building owner later. What should you do when you make money? You have to use it right away! The sales are piling up steadily, but I¡¯ve been busy and haven¡¯t had time to spend them. As a member of the modern consumer society, I cannot let this happen. Yeah, right now is the moment we need Labour Detox! Since Ash had only been at the store, I used this opportunity and went out of the Dungeon Gate to shop and eat out after a long time. I brought Ash to Yongsan, which is relatively close and has a lot of clothing stores.¡­. ¡°Ah! It looks good over there. Let¡¯s go there.¡± ¡°¡­¡­Ugh.¡± As soon as he saw the crowds in the shopping mall, he had a tired expression on his face. ¡°How about this? Try this on.¡± ¡°Never mind. I don¡¯t have to wear it.¡± ¡°This is pretty, too.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not¡­.¡± This uncooperative attitude. This must be ¡­ it¡¯s like a little kid who doesn¡¯t want to go shopping with his family. ¡°Ash, is it a lie that you are 17 years old?¡± ¡°Huh, I got caught. I¡¯m actually over two thousand years old¡­¡­.¡± He¡¯s still keeping up that setting¡­. ¡°Whether you¡¯re two thousand or fourteen, I won¡¯t let you go until you choose at least three sets, so give up.¡± ¡°¡­.Cih.¡± ¡°Is there anything you like? Ash, you can buy whatever you like, okay?¡± ¡°Hoo, that¡¯s nice.¡± ¡®Humans are trash¡¯, Ash, who had been following me reluctantly with a grim expression, pointed to a clothing store. ¡°Really? Then shall we go there ¡­ Huh?¡± I doubted my eyes. CH 75 Translated by cabinfourtranslations. A large shopping mall connected to the Yongsan Station. This place is lively and crowded with many people who come to enjoy shopping or to watch a movie. How come there¡¯s such a store here¡­¡­? In a dark overall T-shirt, the strong picture drawn on it stands out. The picture looks like it has the ability to summon something. If it were only that, I would have accepted it as a store that dealed with unique fashion. However, when I saw the huge promotional placard, I hesitated. ¡®Demon Cult Twilight Official Sponsor¡¯ ¡®The Best Fashion that Suits Your Missionary Work¡¯ ¡®I Also Like The Black Flame Dragon on The Left Arm.¡¯ Wait, I think I can feel a strange aura in those clothes¡­¡­ No way. Everything in that clothing store has captured the heart of the 8th Grader boy. I grabbed Ash as if possessed and led him to a casual children¡¯s clothing store on the other side. ¡°Ash, if you try this and this on, I¡¯ll make you coffee when we go back.¡± ¡°¡­.Really? But I¡¯ve already finished my share today?¡± As Ash was young, I decided that it would be bad to drink too much caffeine, so I had set it to two cups a day. Still, sometimes it¡¯s fine to drink a little more. Good thing I still saved some milk. ¡°It¡¯s okay. Let¡¯s try this on you quickly.¡± It was so hard to buy new clothes for Ash. ¡°Customer-nim, it really looks good on you!¡± The clerk brought a bunch of things, said that they were the new recommended products. Shirts, cardigans, coats, and more. I told Ash to try the clothes the clerk gave him once, and then paid for it. Everything is so cute. Ash, who finally wore clothes that fit his body, looked different from before. ¡®This is the joy of spending money..¡­!¡¯ ¡°This outfit looks good on you, too. You look like a perfect children¡¯s clothing model!¡± Ash was surprised by the clerk¡¯s silly praise. ¡°¡­¡­ children¡¯s clothing?¡± Oops, he almost found out that this is a children¡¯s clothing store. I quickly finished the bill and went out. The urgent business is over. However, I took the escalator upstairs instead of heading to the subway station. ¡°Where are you going?¡± ¡°Now that we¡¯re outside, let¡¯s watch a movie together.¡± ¡°Never mind, I dont like that kind of thing.¡± I knew he¡¯d say that, so I prepared the answer in advance. ¡°I have a two-person popcorn coupon, but if I watch it alone, I can¡¯t eat both popcorns. It would be nice if Ash is with me.¡± ¡°Well, then ¡­ it can¡¯t be helped.¡± Seriously, he¡¯s such an unfriendly, cute little thing. ¡°What kind of movie is this?¡± ¡°Ah, it¡¯s an occult fantasy movie. It is a story in which the main character investigates the events around him and finds out that it is the devil¡¯s work. It¡¯s a little scary, but in the end, they say that the main character defeats the devil.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°Ash? What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°What such a sad story¡­¡­.¡± I don¡¯t know where the sad content was in my words, but tears well up in his eyes. Still, he didn¡¯t say he wouldn¡¯t watch it, so we headed upstairs to the movie theater to watch the movie. I need to buy popcorn first, but where is the popcorn stand¡­. Bang! ¡°Huh?¡± There was a sudden roar in the direction of the downstairs where we passed. It followed by screams. People are screaming and running somewhere. What are you screaming about all of a sudden? Don¡¯t tell me ¡­ did any rifts occur? No, there was never a rift in Yongsan in my memory before the regression. ¡°Ash, I¡¯ll be right back after seeing what¡¯s going on. Wait here.¡± ¡°¡­¡­! Wait!¡± Ash tried to grab me in surprise. I told him that it was fine, left him with a large number of shopping bags, and headed in the direction of the sound. Fortunately, the identity of the roar was not a rift. But what the hell is that? There was a shadow coming this way through the screaming and scattering people. Human? No, a monster? What ¡­ what is that? *** At first, Lee Sein was not willing to follow the suggestion of her secretary, Aeon. Create a rift to kill the escaped incarnation. The risk is great. If it founds out that she did it, the punishment will be unavoidable. Most of all, it was her conscience that stood in the way. In order to develop the C&L Corporation, several illegal acts have been committed, and she also dealt with the competitors without hesitation. However, as for the general public, Lee Sein was a person with an average morality. A rift in the city center would inevitably lead to unrelated people being caught up. She didn¡¯t want to go that far. There¡¯s still time. How long would the incarnation, who just woke up from the seal, have run away? If she calls the Hunters from an affiliated organization and order them to search for it, she¡¯ll find it. All right, let¡¯s do that. After clearing her mind, Lee Sein threw the golden box into the deepest part of the drawer. And from that day on, she suffered from terrible nightmares. Her nightmares were a past she tried to forget about, and there were also times when unidentified monsters popped out in her dreams. When she was alone, an unfamiliar voice pierced her mind. ¡¾Open the box.¡¿ ¡°Huk, heuaah!¡± ¡°CEO-nim? Is something wrong?¡± ¡°Ah, no ¡­ It¡¯s nothing.¡± ¡¾Open the box.¡¿ Unable to endure the endless voice ringing in her head, she tried to return the golden box to Aeon. ¡°CEO-nim, did you call me? You don¡¯t look well.¡± However, this time, a strong fear and rejection swept over her body. The foreboding that something more terrifying would happen if this box was removed from her hand, the fear that came from it, and ¡­ the desire to acquire power! Yes, power! Didn¡¯t she always want power? Lee Sein wasn¡¯t good in her ability as a Hunter. She borrowed the effects of several items and barely achieved the Grade C. That¡¯s why, rather than moving directly, she raised the guild by recruiting excellent Hunters. But if only she has the magical power of the incarnation, she¡­. ¡°¡­¡­!¡± Lee Sein suddenly came to her senses. What was she trying to do? That¡¯s absurd. It¡¯s ridiculous, but¡­¡­. In the end, she couldn¡¯t throw away the box. And today, a meeting of the Guild Leaders attended by the heads of various guilds in Seoul. As soon as Lee Sein, who arrived a little early, entered the meeting room, the sound of conversations stopped. People who have been chatting for a long time avoid her gaze with awkward smiles. ¡°What kind of interesting story were you talking about? I¡¯m curious, too.¡± ¡°Haha, a rare item came into our guild. I was just about to show you.¡± There was a gauntlet on the table. It didn¡¯t seem to be a lie that it was a rare item since it already stood out just by its appearance. ¡°Really? Is this it?¡± She reached out towards the gauntlet, but the man on the other side stopped her. ¡°Ehem! I¡¯m sorry, but this item only can be applied for a B-class higher, so for CEO Lee Sein-nim, it¡¯s a little¡­.¡± Silence. Subsequently, a gentle smile appeared. Eyes mixed with superiority cross in the air. There was no one in this place as high-ranking as Lee Sein. Didn¡¯t the man who was condescending in front of her also asked Lee Sein to bridge his way to the political world? Nevertheless, it was funny of him to feel superior with one item like this. Taking back her hand, Lee Sein smiled brightly. ¡°You look good. I hope you continue to play on this field in the future.¡± ¡°Ah, that¡¯s, CEO-nim¡­.¡± The man¡¯s face turned white when he understood Lee Sein¡¯s meaning. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be safer for Korea to have someone who can directly operate these rare items?¡± It happened when she was on her way back from the conference hall. She felt dizzy due to the lack of sleep and stumbled. The person who was walking from the opposite side ran and supported her body. ¡°¡­¡­Are you all right?¡± The falling silver hair is familiar. It was Kwon Jiwoon. Unlike her, he was a person of distinct talent. From the moment he awakened, he attracted public attention for being the first A-class Healer. She remembered the boy with silver hair who calmly answered the interview. ¡­ she also awakened on the same day, but the situation she was in was very different. And now, even in a situation where C&L puts pressure on Kwon Jiwoon¡¯s guild, he still has that nonchalant look on his face. After all, on the inside, he must be going to laugh at herself like the guys from before. For that reason, Lee Sein hated Kwon Jiwoon. She just wanted to blow up the Hunters who relied on their talents. Tak! Lee Sein shook off the hand that supported her and got up. ¡°¡­¡­it¡¯s all right.¡± She didn¡¯t remember how she came back to her room after that. She heard a voice again, and it seemed that she lost her mind. Are you sure you¡¯re satisfied with this? No matter how high she rises, her inferiority complex will not go away. You already know it. How to fundamentally get rid of this disgusting sense of inferiority. You just have to get your hands on its power. ¡¾Open the box.¡¿ ¡°¡­¡­!¡± Suddenly, by the time she came to her senses, everything was already too late. Lee Sein moved her trembling hand and picked up the golden box on the floor. ¡°Oh ¡­. no¡­¡­¡± It¡¯s already late. The strange-looking pyramid model inside was broken. ¡®Calm down. He said it was an item that caused rifts. If it¡¯s a rift ¡­ I have enough resources to take care of it.¡¯ She is the representative of the largest guild in Korea. If she moves the affiliated Hunters, she will be able to reduce the damage. However, it wasn¡¯t a rift that popped out of the box. Lee Sein rushed to the window. Is that, huh ¡­ a Gate? There was a big hole in the sky. An amorphous black monster poured down from a hole covered in dark mist. She thought that there was an unpleasant stench, and a notification window popped up. CH 76 ¡ª I am powerless: ??? You didn¡¯t mean to go in the first place, did you? ©¸ Double Bianco: I have fewer days of Hunchan access than you GG ¡ª gotohell: but what¡¯s the black thing in the picture, clean your windows ¡ª OO: Heol, there¡¯s something in the corner ©¸ Double Bianco: there¡¯s nothing, what are you talking about fck don¡¯t scare me ¡ª Jeju Guild No. 1: Look at the disaster texts, everyone. We¡¯re in trouble. *** Jijon recited to himself somberly. I can¡¯t do this. I can¡¯t do this anymore. I was also just an ordinary person who couldn¡¯t do anything remarkable. I¡¯ve been clinging to things that don¡¯t suit me for too long. That was the conclusion that Jijon made. The scene of the incident where the Long-tailed Phoenix disappeared a few nights ago. Choi Cedric just let Jijon go. He must have thought that he wouldn¡¯t be a threat. ¡°I don¡¯t see you here today. Don¡¯t touch the dirty work again and just live a normal life.¡± Choi Cedric turned around after saying that ¡­ to be honest, it was cool. He didn¡¯t think he could be like that unless he was born again. ¡®Let¡¯s turn myself in.¡¯ Even if he is lucky enough to be cleared of the attempted murder charge, Jijon had already been involved in the smuggling of the Neo-Crown Party. Punishment cannot be avoided. It would be difficult to prove the C&L Corporation as the master of the allegations. ¡®That secretary¡­¡­.¡¯ He wouldn¡¯t have left any evidence. He felt relieved after he decided to turn himself in. Let¡¯s live a normal life after being punished. He¡¯s ashamed to face his mother and younger sister, but ¡­ he¡¯ll have to contact them. It¡¯s about 30 minutes before Rieul and Ash headed to the shopping mall. At first, Jijon was walking the alley to get home and organize himself. Then, there was a quiet movement across the street. Someone¡¯s footsteps are closely followed from behind. ¡°Are you Kim Jihoon?¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± A man standing in front took out his ID card from his pocket and showed it. The large mark of the Dungeon Management Office caught his eye. ¡°I¡¯d like to hear from you for a moment, so let¡¯s go to the main office together.¡± A person standing behind his back gently placed his hand on his shoulder. ¡°Uh, what¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure you know. You were at the Cheonggyecheon arson site, right? There is a witness who saw Kim Jihoon.¡± ¡°¡­¡­!¡± Jijon soon gave up resistance. He knew this moment would come anyway. It¡¯s an arrest ending, isn¡¯t it perfect for a piece of crap like him? Jijon raised his hands and nodded slightly, revealing that he had no intention of resisting. After that, there was a stench coming from the wind from somewhere. ¡°Oh, hot!¡± Suddenly, he felt hot inside his body and Jijon searched for his arms wildly. It was as if he was burning himself with hot iron. The Hunters surrounding Jijon were panicked and when they tried to subdue him, a star-shaped ornament came out of his inner pocket. ¡®What¡¯s this? Did I buy something like this?¡¯ The thought did not last long. ¡°Be careful!¡± ¡°Ugh, huaa! What is that?¡± The sky turned black. A stinky wind engulfed his body. Crak. A huge amorphous mucus that appeared from the sky opened its mouth and swallowed Jijon. The mucus that had already swallowed several humans became a huge lump. ¡°Keurere¡­.¡± An ominous cry was heard. With the agility unsuitable for a giant, the giant lump monster pushed the surrounding Hunters and ran away. ¡°It ran away!¡± ¡°Ask the main office for backup!¡± ¡°¡­.a monster appeared! It¡¯s currently being tracked. Please ask for support from each guild!¡± *** ¡°Aaargh! Run away!¡± ¡°Ugh, the emergency exit is already blocked! Go the other way!¡± ¡°I lowered the disaster prevention shutter and closed the barrier. Come inside!¡± The shopping mall was chaotic due to the sudden appearance of a monster. I don¡¯t know if I can call that a monster. The black and sticky lumps had no fixed form. It flows down, stands up on both feet again, and runs toward this side. The monster control shutter was immediately lowered, and the Hunters in charge of safety management helped the shoppers evacuate, but the situation did not calm down. The monster freely changed its shape and invaded inside. The Hunters attacked the monster, but it took no damage. In addition to that, a huge hole appeared in the sky. Black lumps were constantly pouring out of the hole. I was on the way to grab Ash¡¯s hand and head to the evacuation area. ¡°¡­¡­¡­Ash! Be careful!¡± The monster who ran through the barricade aimed at Ash. I reflexively pushed Ash¡¯s back to avoid the attack, but it was pushed out of the disaster prevention shutter. ¡°¡­¡­¡­Uh!¡± The space changes. The black lumps liquefied and wrapped around it, and all its forms began to collapse. The pillars, railings, and floors melted down, losing color and becoming an opaque membrane. Only darkness that can be seen in all directions. The exit is not visible. A huge hole rattles overhead. ¡®Ash, come here.¡¯ ¡®¡­¡­.¡¯ I made eye contact with Ars and held my breath. Somewhere in the dark space, the sound of the monster¡¯s footsteps thumped. If we made even a little noise, I thought the monster would tear us apart right away. I clasped Ash¡¯s hand tightly to hold back the tension. The tremor calmed down a little when I felt the warmth of his small, soft hand. Strange. Why did this happen? I don¡¯t know all the future events that happened before the regression, but I clearly remember the big events. Monsters have never appeared in Yongsan. Even if a rift broke out in the neighborhood right next to it, Yongsan was still intact. There was even a meme called ¡®Yongsan Barrier¡¯. The reason why I chose Yongsan as the place to come to buy clothes for Ash was because I unconsciously thought Yongsan was safe. How come something different from before the regression happened? Is it because the future has changed? Still, it¡¯s weird. The sole variable that can change the future is me, who have the memory before the regression, but the changes I have made are only few. Both the saving of James and the early rift in the Lee Chorok¡¯s farmhouse had a clear cause. However, no matter how much I looked back on my actions, I didn¡¯t do anything that would make a monster appear in Yongsan. Is it like a butterfly effect? Still, how can the monster that appeared in Yongsan has any connection with me, who run a cafe in front of the Dungeon Gate? Tiling! My phone vibrated. [Safety Guide Notice Around 17:00 today, an Otherworld Gate occurred over downtown Seoul and an unidentified monster appeared. We are currently investigating the cause and responding to it. Please be careful.] Even though it was a very weak vibration, the monster in this space noticed us. The black giant suddenly rose from the floor. ¡°Ash, get away!¡± Even though I was closer, the monster¡¯s fist aimed exactly at Ash. It was as if the monster was being attracted to Ash. I realised it for sure. This monster is trying to kill Ash. ¡®¡­.The Floor is Shy!¡¯ The monster who was hit by the skill lost its balance and rolled sideways. ¡°Run!¡± Taking advantage of that opportunity, I got up and took Ash¡¯s hand. I just ran blindly. As I crossed the ruined space in search of an exit, I was taken aback. ¡°¡­¡­!¡± Ah, there¡¯s one more. The future I changed. It was Ash who was lying in front of the store. It¡¯s a leap, I was leaping to the conclusion, but¡­. Before my regression, the store was an empty abandoned house. What if Ash died there the day before my regression, without any help? What if, since Ash is alive unlike back then, this black monster appeared to kill the surviving Ash? I looked at Ash quietly. Even in this urgent situation, he has a cynical expression that seems to be indifferent to the situation, but his hand is holding mine tightly. The warmth, tension, and trembling are transmitted through the hand. It¡¯s enough to think about it later. At the moment, one way or other.¡­.. ¡°That¡¯s enough.¡± Ash let go of my hand. ¡°Shh, Ash, you need to get out of here and go to the evacuation area barrier. You will be safe there.¡± ¡°I¡¯m nothing more than an incomplete summoned body created with insufficient mana anyway.¡± I had an ominous feeling. It¡¯s not the usual setting story, I have a hunch that Ash would say something ridiculous. ¡°Ash ¡­ what are you talking about?¡± ¡°Since only this body will be dying, don¡¯t be so surprised by the subject, Human.¡± Before I knew it, the black giant followed us to a short distance. Instead of running away, Ash turned his back on the monster. I reached out, but I couldn¡¯t reach him. No, I have to save him. ¡°¡­¡­!¡± I used the item in my hand with the feeling of grasping at straws. It was a crime prevention bell from Ki Yoohyun. In a moment¡¯s time, my hand could barely grasp this item. Click, the moment I pressed the button that didn¡¯t make a sound. A net of light descended. CH 77 A net of light that is so delicate that it is hard to notice if you don¡¯t look closely. I¡¯ve seen something like this before. The monster who was about to attack Ash was startled. ¡°Geuwoooo¡­..¡± It screamed and twisted its body, but the net of light tightened around the monster¡¯s body more tightly. Thud! The giant fell to the floor. The particles of light formed a certain shape, and soon a man appeared in the air. Slightly long black hair, a coat wrapped around his tall body, white cheeks, and pair of black eyes that were filled with light. I called out his name with happiness. ¡°¡­.Yoohyun-ssi!¡± Tak! Ki Yoohyun, who landed on the floor with a light gesture, looked around and asked. ¡°This ¡­ what is this situation?¡± I¡¯d like to know too¡­¡­. Teleportation? Or a summon? He said it was a crime prevention bell, but I didn¡¯t expect that Ki Yoohyun would suddenly appear. Anyway, thanks to him, I was still alive. I was so glad and grateful to the extent that I wanted to shed tears. I explained that I came to Yongsan with Ash and was attacked by a monster. After that, I¡¯m trapped in this space all of a sudden. ¡°And¡­.¡± Ash was still calm. He still has the expression that seems to be saying ¡°only this body will be dying¡± right away. However, I can¡¯t let him say that again. I spoke in a low voice. ¡°The monster is targeting Ash.¡± Ki Yoohyun¡¯s expression turned serious in an instant. ¡°Ah, that¡¯s why something different from the past happened.¡± He murmured those words, it seemed that he has a guess. ¡°I don¡¯t think it would be a good idea to get out of here and go to the evacuation area.¡± I agreed. People in the evacuation area could be in danger, and vice versa ¡­ those people might also put Ash in danger. ¡°Yes, then¡­¡­.¡± At that moment, the fallen monster screamed and rose. It became even bigger by merging its body with a new monster that rose from the ground. The limbs stretched out in a bizarre direction and were hideous. It tore the net and tried to attack Ash again with incredible blindness. ¡°¡­.I handled it poorly.¡± Ki Yoohyun, who was not at all panicked, immediately beckoned to the monster. The moment the net of light tied the monster stronger and tried to make it stop breathing, something caught my eye. It was hard to see because it was wrapped in black mucus, but a piece of cloth was wrapped around the monster¡¯s body. A piece of cloth? No, it¡¯s clothes. The monster was dressed in a mess of torn clothes. But I think I¡¯ve seen that gorgeous design that reminds me of a peacock somewhere¡­. Such unusual clothes, where did I¡­. I grabbed Ki Yoohyun¡¯s hand in a hurry. The reason of my action was because I found something inside the monster¡¯s translucent body. Something wrapped in mucus that looks like a human being. Surprised, Ki Yoohyun stopped using his skills. I barely moved my trembling lips. ¡°Yoohyun-ssi, that¡¯s ¡­ have we seen it before.¡­?¡± I remembered. When I went to the tutorial dungeon, I ran into a Hunter named Jijon. Obviously, he ¡­ he was wearing that unusual outfit. No, that was a long time ago. Maybe I just saw it wrong. That ¡­ that monster couldn¡¯t have swallowed a person¡­. Tiling! Then, a system window appeared in front of me. [You¡¯ve acquired the person¡¯s information.] [Name: Kim Jihoon (Hunter Name: Jijon) Grade: C Class: Inspection Details: (More)] The flashing system window in front of me pointed exactly to the fallen monster. Looking closely, a body, which was originally human, was entangled in black mucus. ¡°Thi-this monster ate human ¡­ No, it was merged. How did this happen¡­.¡± Without answering, Ki Yoohyun looked at the monster. A silent stare ensues. It seemed like he was reading the information by using a skill or something. After a second, he sighed briefly with a solemn face. ¡°¡­.Ah.¡± I could tell just by that reaction. He obviously saw the same content as me. I¡¯ve never heard of a monster that swallows people and makes them part of its body. Besides, why is that monster trying to kill Ash, not anyone else? What¡¯s that black gate in the sky? ¡°Ugh¡­..¡± The extreme tension made it difficult to breathe. While I was exhaling a short breath, there was a hand holding my shoulder. It¡¯s Ki Yoohyun. ¡°Rieul-ssi, calm down.¡± ¡°How can I calm down now¡­.!¡± ¡°Look this way.¡± Tak, Ki Yoohyun caught my attention by snapping his fingers. Fine particles of light moved in the air, creating a square space. The prison of light wrapped around the monster, it gradually decreased and eventually shrunk to a size that fits the body. Wriggling, the monster tried to escape the prison of light, but the prison was solid. ¡°I understand the situation. I know what Rieul-ssi is worried about. Still, you don¡¯t have to decide everything now.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°First, I made a simple barrier. The black monsters are looking for the boy¡¯s presence, but they won¡¯t be able to break through the barrier. There is time before the Gate in the sky is fully opened. So for now, calm down.¡± As I looked up at the sky, a system notification popped up. The time decreased in real time. [Gate of The Faceless One ¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€ Time Remaining until it¡¯s fully open 05:27:10] Let¡¯s calm down. He¡¯s right. Yeah, whatever that monster was originally, I can¡¯t know or solve everything. The work that requires force is the domain of a Hunter who is stronger than me. So let¡¯s just think about what we I do now. What I can do now¡­. The most important goal is for me and Ash to go back safely. There are several things I don¡¯t understand about this situation. However, rather than understanding the situation, this goal is more imporant. I finally calmed down when I narrowed down my goal. When I cooled my head, I could see the situation more calmly. Thanks to Ki Yoohyun, I avoided a life-threatening crisis right away. I might find a way out of this. Then, I noticed the system window blinking in the corner of my view. I checked the contents by selecting (More). [Details: Family Relations ¨C Mother, Younger Sister (Kim Jina).] What? The person who fused with this monster was Jina¡¯s brother? I had heard that Jina had a troublesome Hunter brother before, but I didn¡¯t know it would be this Hunter. But why does the system window show this information to me? This question was resolved as soon as I saw the following notification. [Warning! Target: If the cursed person dies, it may interfere with the progress of the quest in the future. Please pay special attention.] ¡°¡­¡­!¡± Notification with clear intention. A warning sign that sounded almost like a threat flashed red. Wait, what this means is ¡­ that man is still alive. And the system doesn¡¯t want that man to die. That¡¯s probably why it stimulates my conscience and compassion by informing me of his family relationship. ¡®I know that, but¡­¡­.¡¯ What do you want me to do? As if responding to my question, a series of notifications came up. [Warning! The power of The Faceless One ¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€ is active. It will be deactivated when the following conditions are met. Would you like to check the quest chain? Yes / No ] Of course, I chose [Yes]. [Main Quest: Stop The Chaos! It¡¯s a big problem. The power of The Faceless One ¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€ has been activated by the imitation of ¡®Shining Trapezohedron¡®. At this rate, the chaos spreading through the city cannot be stopped. Stop the Gate opening and save the city. Rewards: Gate Extinction. Monsters in the city disappear. Ether-Wiki Update Cafe Rieul (E) Grade increased ??? Time Limit: 05:11:10] [There are two ways to clear this quest. Please select the method you want to proceed.] ¡°Crazy¡­.¡± The curse popped out of my mouth reflexively. However, when I felt the gaze of the two people standing next to me, I quickly swallowed the back words. Who the hell is the Incarnation Asmodeus? I didn¡¯t even have time to think about that question. The explanation was immediately added. [¡ùHint: Please note that the Incarnation Asmodeus is currently using the name of Kim Ash (17 years old).] ¡­¡­what? Of course it¡¯s number two. I have no intention of choosing number one no matter what. [Once selected, it cannot be changed. Please choose carefully. Route 2 is not recommended as it is very difficult. Are you sure you want to proceed like this?] I¡¯m sure! This system window showed the same content three times before moving on to the next one as if it finally understood my meaning. 1. Protect the Incarnation Target: When the Incarnation, Asmodeus, dies, the quest will fail. Protect the target in a safe place. Hide the Target in a safe place: (Incomplete) Note: One additional person can be granted the right to enter the space.] ¡­.hide him in a safe place for now. ¡°¡­.Yoohyun-ssi.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Is there any way to get back to our store from here?¡± Translator¡¯s Corner: After reading a bunch of rofans with useless ML, Ki Yoohyun feels really refreshing T__T he took that ¡®one call away¡¯ very seriously¡ª CH 78 Why? Ash thought. Why the hell? His hand was held tightly by a person next to him. He tried to wriggle and pull his arm, but the strenght that was holding his hand only became stronger. A strange warmth was felt through the palm of his hand. When he sensed an abnormality in the shopping mall at Yongsan Station, the first thing Ash did was checking his mana. [You are using Mana Saving Mode.] [Mana recovery amount: 35%] [Due to lack of mana, some spells may be out of control when used.] He had recovered enough mana to kill a monster like that. Just as he was about to release his magic, a soft hand stroked his forehead. ¡°Ash, I¡¯ll be right back after seeing what¡¯s going on. Wait here.¡± She gave him a worried look, as if he¡¯s a weak and young human being. He has always thought it was annoying, but somehow it bothered him. Once she finds out who he is, this human won¡¯t pat him on the head or smile to him with that stupid face. She will be wary and afraid of him. Just imagining it is very ¡­ he felt bad. Maybe it¡¯s because he thought about that. [Magic control is unstable.] ¡°¡­¡­!¡± At this rate, the person next to him will be caught up in uncontrolled magic. Ash hastily pulled back his magic. It can¡¯t be helped. The only way left is to die. He made up his mind like that, but Ash couldn¡¯t understand. Why does this person make such a sad face? Ash¡¯s current body is not his real body. Asmodeus, an incarnation formed by gathering magical powers of the primordial chaos, is also a small and fragile imperfect body due to lack of mana. This dim-faced human seems to think of himself as just a ¡®8th Grader Syndrome¡®. Since it was a word that was not in the Human World Knowledge (Basic) that was first downloaded, Ash did not know what the 8th Grader Syndrome. It is probably a rare disease that affects children of a certain age. Back to the main idea. In fact, even if this body dies, he will return to the original primordial chaos and a new incarnation will be created. It is different from the extinction of real existence. That¡¯s why Ash himself didn¡¯t feel much of a sense of crisis. He just intuited the expected end. But why is this stupid-looking human being so desperate? ¡°Yoohyun-ssi, first ¡­ I need to take Ash to the store. It is safe there.¡± ¡°There¡¯s a way.¡± A man named Ki Yoohyun created a door in the air. ¡°It¡¯s a door that forcibly breaks down the space. However, the area near the Dungeon Gate is inaccessible, so you have to walk from there.¡± As soon as the space is broken, the attack will come, so he added that he will go with them. ¡°¡­.I see.¡± The usage is simple. Without hesitation, Rieul grabbed Ash¡¯s hand and opened the door. The surrounding black veil faded like a mirage. The next moment, the stone wall of the Great Dungeon Abyss appeared red in the evening sunset. Normally, it would have been a very beautiful sight. However, straight away, black monsters poured down from the Gate in the sky. The monsters rushed in with a strange cry. Monsters that have crossed over from the Otherworld Gate, brought in by The Faceless One. There is no easy way. They¡¯re wandering endlessly in search of food. That food is himself. It¡¯s an incarnation created out of primordial chaos. They won¡¯t stop until they have swallowed Ash. ¡°¡­¡­!¡± Recognizing the existence of Ash, a black monster suddenly began to run fast. The dark-eyed man quickly used his skill, and a net of light stretched out and caught the monster. ¡°Run. I¡¯ll take care of these.¡± ¡°¡­¡­I got it! Ash, hold my hand.¡± That dark-eyed man probably hated him. He smelled of white light. A person who uses the power of the Spinner in Darkness would have quickly seen through his identity. In fact, this man glanced at his information right away with a cold expression on their first meeting. And yet why¡­. The clasped hands did not lose any strength. She still held him tight and pulled him in. He¡¯s sure that she already knew. At least, the fact that he¡¯s not a young and weak person. Still, why is she so desperate? Thud! A monster appeared from the opposite side of the direction they were running. The arrow that flew in stopped him from rushing towards Ash. ¡°¡­¡­ you!¡± They were the twins he had met before. One of the twins shouted at Rieul, who turned around. ¡°Eonni, hurry up and go!¡± Rieul, who briefly looked worried, held Ash¡¯s hand again and ran. She opened the door of Cafe Rieul and shouted as she pushed his body in. ¡°Kwon Mieum, open the door!¡± ¡°Waeooong, waeoog (What are you talking about all of a sudden?! Whoa, what are those monsters)!¡± ¡°Kkyuu!¡± The strange talking cat was startled. Next to her is a slime that always recites strange things. Even these cat and slime have never been afraid to him, an enemy. ¡°I don¡¯t have time to talk. I granted permission to enter the space to the target, a part-timer at our house, Kim Ash!¡± ¡°Nyaaaa!¡± A subtle light wrapped around his body, and soon there was a blue door on the wall leading to the space. Rieul pushed Ash into the door as it was. However, she doesn¡¯t come inside. Her hand that was holding him tightly fell off, and Ash¡¯s hand scratched the air. ¡°Ash, listen.¡± Beyond the door that was dazzled by the light and could not be clearly seen, Rieul grabbed Ash¡¯s shoulder and whispered. ¡°It¡¯s safe in here. No one will find you.¡± A face stained with sweat and dust, but Rieul¡¯s brown eyes, which are infinitely soft, were deeply captured in his eyes. ¡°You may be bored, but don¡¯t ever come out and hang in there for just one day. I¡¯ll be back soon, so just stay here until I come. Okay?¡± ¡°¡­¡­Yes.¡± He ended up not asking anything he wanted to ask, until the door closed and she was completely out of sight. ©¥ Why are you trying to save me? Beneath the huge tree trunk, Ash hugged his knees and sat down. His warm hand is cold. Somehow, he felt like crying. It¡¯s only then that he realized. Even if he was just a piece of Incarnation that came out of chaos, ¡°he¡± wanted to live. *** [ 1. Protect the Incarnation Hide the Target in a safe place: (Completed)] As soon as the quest was over, the next quest appeared as if it had been waiting. 2. Find the Fragments of the imitation of ¡®Shining Trapezohedron¡®. Fragments of the imitation of ¡®Shining Trapezohedron¡® are hidden throughout the city. The Gate Opening cannot be prevented unless all fragments are removed. Find the fragments and destroy them completely. When the Time Limit (04:31:22) has passed, the quest will fail. Destroying the Fragments 0/5: (Incomplete) Note: Coordinates 37¡ã29¡¯xx.4¡åN 127¡ã00¡¯xx.0¡åE] When I safely hid Ash in the space and came back, I saw Ki Yoohyun following me. First, let¡¯s start by sharing information. I read the contents of the system window that appeared in front of me as it was to Ki Yoohyun. ¡°The system gives you such detailed instructions? I¡¯ve never heard of that before ¡­. No, I got it for now.¡± ¡°Do you have any more questions?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a lot, but ¡­ I am not going to ask you now.¡± It¡¯s the same for me. ¡°Me too. For now, I¡¯ll pretend I¡¯m not curious.¡± Ki Yoohyun suddenly appeared, and his abilities¡­¡­. The questions that filled my head were put away into a corner. It was more urgent to deal with this situation than to resolve the questions. In such a dramatic way, a ¡®let¡¯s talk about it later¡¯ alliance was born between Ki Yoohyun and me. The only way to solve this situation is to destroy the fragments. There must be something called the fragment at the coordinates given by the system. But how do you move to the coordinates? While I was busy thinking about it, Ki Yoohyun took out an item that looked like a scroll. ¡°It¡¯s teleportation scroll.¡± It¡¯s originally illegal to use it in the city, but since it is an emergency now, it¡¯s okay¡¯s fine, he added. ¡°It¡¯s hard to move to a place I¡¯ve never visited just by coordinate values. It could be a dangerous place. If you tell me the coordinates, I¡¯ll use the teleportation magic.¡± ¡°Umh, Yoohyun-ssi.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Do you mind if I come with you? I don¡¯t know what will happen.¡± ¡°That¡¯s all right. I¡¯m curious about the quest, and I¡¯m also worried about Rieul-ssi.¡± ¡°¡­¡­thank you.¡± As soon as I tore the scroll, light wrapped around my body, and I felt as if my spirit was being sucked into something. We arrived at an ordinary playground. There was no need to worry about how to find the fragment in this wide place. This is because Ki Yoohyun quickly found it with his white light net. That skill is very convenient. What came out was a star-shaped ornament. Is this a fragment of the Tra-something? [Item: Fragment of the imitation of Shining Trapezohedron (¡î¡î¡î¡î¡î) It¡¯s an imitation, but the effect is certain. It strengthens the power of The Faceless One.] As soon as I held the fragment in my hand, a notification window popped up. I applied force, but it doesn¡¯t break easily. ¡°Rieul-ssi, use the ring you¡¯re wearing now.¡± ¡°Ring? ¡­. Do you mean this?¡± Ki Yoohyun pointed to the Cthugha¡¯s ring in my hand. Was this such a great thing? I used it almost exclusively for coffee roasting. I was skeptical and tried it. Hyuurr. As I concentrated my mind, the rising flame burned the fragment. It became completely white ash and the fragment crumbled. ¡­.you were right, this ring is really great. Immediately, the new coordinates were updated on the quest window. It¡¯s probably the location of the next fragment. ¡°Then, let¡¯s go to the next location!¡± CH 79 Teleport, find the fragment, burn it, and repeat. We ran into a black mucus monster in the middle, but we were able to avoid it easily. At this rate, it seemed that the quest could be cleared smoothly. Finally, the last coordinates. Tak! When I opened my eyes, what I saw was the hallway of a certain building. It looked like a basement as there were no windows. The walls and floors were cleanly cleaned, but there was no sign of human¡¯s activity. ¡°Where are we?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­..¡± The strange thing is that the surrounding scenery feels familiar for some reason. I have no memory of entering a building like this, but the structure and the shape of the walls were not unfamiliar. Where did I see it? Where¡­. As I was trying to remember, I heard a voice next to me. ¡°Rieul-ssi, there is one thing I want to ask you.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t we agree not to ask each other questions?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that question.¡± What is that question and what is this question¡­. ¡°Okay, you can just ask.¡± His gaze was not directed at me. The bright light of an incandescent lamp illuminates his profile. Ki Yoohyun opened his mouth while examining the structure of the hallway. ¡°Why is Rieul-ssi involved herself directly in this case? Is it because your acquaintance is the family of the Hunter who was swallowed by that monster?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the quest¡­.¡± I blurted out the end of my words when I tried to answer reflexively. It¡¯s because I realized that the words I was going to say wasn¡¯t the right answer, it was just an excuse I made to myself. It¡¯s true that I¡¯m bothered by the identity of the person swallowed by the monster. If it wasn¡¯t Jina¡¯s family, I would have felt sorry for him, but I wouldn¡¯t have taken the risk myself. ¡®That¡¯s what the system told me, but¡­¡­.¡¯ No one forced me to follow the will of the system. The city was thrown into chaos when monsters appeared from a huge gate in the sky. It is different from the future I knew, the things that happened before my regression, and it is not a situation that I, a non-combat F-class Cafe Owner, can solve by myself. If it wasn¡¯t for the information given by the system with the specific quest, then quietly evacuating with Ash would be the correct action. There are so many strong hunters in Korea, and I am not even an official hunter. But¡­.. I remembered the expression on Ash¡¯s face, the boy who was holding my hand gently while lowering his eyes. He can¡¯t say what¡¯s inside his mind and hides his true feelings with a sulky expression, but even the faint trembling that he can¡¯t hide transmitted through his hand. I¡¯m not a person of great morality, and I hate dangerous things. However, it¡¯s impossible to pretend that I didn¡¯t know anything when I saw Ash behaving like that. So the situation is simply like this. I didn¡¯t get forced by the quest, but the quest told me what I wanted to do. Come to think of it, it was like that from the beginning. It was my own wish to make coffee and open a cafe, and I also wanted to help Choi Cedric at that time. I was grumbling while following the quest of the system, but I actually wanted to do it in the end. Suddenly, I remembered what my cat said. ¡°Meong, waeooong (You always say you don¡¯t want to work, but you¡¯re a human being who likes to increase your own work)!¡± Whew, she¡¯s right. I guess I¡¯m the problem¡­. ¡°That¡¯s it, I just want to do it.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no reason. It¡¯s just ¡­ I just can¡¯t ignore it and acted like I didn¡¯t know what happened.¡± Ki Yoohyun smiled slightly at my rambling words. He resumed his footsteps. ¡°It¡¯s here.¡± Only after seeing the door at the end of the hallway he was pointing to, I knew where this place was. A vivid guild mark engraved on the iron door. And¡­. ¡°¡­¡­Rieul-ah?! Why are you here?¡± My one and only cousin appeared. Why is Kwon Jiwoon coming out here? No way. The person closest to me is actually the final villain? ¡­¡­of course it wouldn¡¯t be such a cliche development. ¡°Kwon Rieul, how can you be here¡­..?¡± ¡°¡­.Oppa.¡± I really want to ask. Why is Kwon Jiwoon here? Although Korea is small, what is the probability of meeting my older cousin, whose relationship with me became awkward after I moved out of the house, while I tried to kill the enemy according to the coordinate values of the system? I couldn¡¯t think of it right away, but now I know for sure. This is the basement of the White Silver Guild. In the past, there was a guild common warehouse here. When my uncle was still here, whenever I came to the guild building, I always looked at the warehouse, so I got used to it. The underground warehouse where various items were stored was a place that stimulated curiosity. Well, that story is more than a decade old. ¡°There were some circumstances. I came here with a teleportation scroll.¡± ¡°You used a teleportation scroll?¡± ¡°¡­¡­! I can¡¯t believe an outsider enter the guild at will. What do you think you are doing?¡± Hunter Park Heeyoung, who was standing next to Kwon Jiwoon, burst into anger. Kwon Jiwoon stopped her, but her firm expression does not unfold. ¡®If it wasn¡¯t for the deputy guild leader, really.¡¯ She has that kind of look. It¡¯s still the same¡­. Hunter Park Heeyoung, a B-class tanker of the White Silver Guild. I don¡¯t ¡­ we¡¯re not on good terms Every time I came to the White Silver Guild, she didn¡¯t like my visit. Still, her sensitive reaction just now is understandable. All Hunter Guilds in Seoul are equipped with barriers to protect the buildings from rifts and monsters. Barrier stones for maintaining the barrier are, of course, very valuable, and are stored in the most secure place. If I remember it correctly ¡­ just beyond this iron gate is the barrier room where the barrier stones of the White Silver Guild are stored. Not only is the entry of outsiders strictly prohibited, but the door is not opened unless there is a special reason. Earlier, Ki Yoohyun said that there was the last fragment beyond this door. I glanced aside. Ki Yoohyun, who made eye contact with me, nodded slightly. Why on earth is the last fragment in the deep part of The White Silver Guild? Gulp. I swallowed my dry saliva without realizing it. It definitely smells of something illegal. So far, I¡¯ve been steadily following the ¡®I was a novice village innkeeper, but now I have to face monsters¡® route. When I followed the quest, I refused the development that the villain was actually a close person. It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve gotten tired of such a twist. Furthermore, how will Kwon Jiwoon react if I ask him to open the barrier room where outsiders are not allowed to enter? ¡°¡­¡­.¡± While I was hesitating, unable to speak directly, Kwon Jiwoon spoke to Ki Yoohyun. ¡°I¡¯ve seen you before. Aren¡¯t you Hunter Ki Yoohyun?¡± ¡°¡­¡­Long time no see.¡± ¡°What is your relationship with Rieul?¡± ¡°Haha, I¡¯m close with Rieul-ssi. I¡¯m accompanying her.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± Kwon Jiwoon turned his head and looked at me again with a look of disapproval. I was in a mess after running and rolling in the mall. As if he had guessed something had happened when he saw me, he approached me and quickly poured out words. ¡°Kwon Rieul, it¡¯s dangerous out there now.¡± ¡°Huh? Uh¡­..¡± ¡°Since you said you became an Awakened, I won¡¯t ask you how you showed up here. We¡¯re in an emergency because of the occurrence of an unprecedented Otherworld Gate. I¡¯ll send Hunter Park Heeyoung with you, so go home right away.¡± ¡°Wait, wait, Kwon Jiwoon!¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Before I go back ¡­ I have a favor to ask of you.¡± ¡°Say it.¡± ¡°Here, we have to open this door.¡± ¡°¡­¡­! Do you realise where we are and what you¡¯re saying? It¡¯s not a place to open out of curiosity.¡± Park Heeyoung rushed in. ¡°Seeing you say that, you must have a reason.¡± ¡°¡­Yes, it¡¯s a long explanation ¡­ there might be something wrong inside.¡± ¡°All right.¡± Unexpectedly, Kwon Jiwoon listened to me without asking any more questions. ¡°Deputy guild leader! I am against it.¡± ¡°Hunter Park Heeyoung, step back.¡± The moment Kwon Jiwoon unlocked the seal of the barrier room and pushed the heavy iron door to the side, the wrong was immediately apparent. The barrier room was a small room with white stones on the floor and walls. It¡¯s not a specific item, but the entire room was a device that maintained the barrier of the White Silver Guild. The barrier was densely engraved in silver letters on the square rock on the floor. The wall served as a medium to activate the barrier. The room was all black now. It was black all over, as if paint had been poured on the whole room, and the letters, which was originally silver, was in a rusty color. ¡°Ugh¡­..!¡± And there is a strong smell that you can still feel even when you pinch your nose. It¡¯s not a mere bad smell. This was ¡­ this was the smell of rotting corpse. ¡°What the hell happened?¡± In a hurry, Kwon Jiwoon was the first to run into the barrier room. He checked the rock on the floor and sighed. There was a large bird on the rock. The feathers, which was originally beautiful colors, was discolored to black. It wings were broken and it couldn¡¯t move properly. Every time it flapped, a sound filled with pain was heard, and the bird¡¯s eyes were wet with tears. The dark red marks scattered around it ¡­ it¡¯s the blood of the bird. I knew right away that death was near. The smell was coming from this bird. As if foreshadowing the end that was approaching, the bird drooped. The blackened feathers were fluttering before they fell to the floor. Why is this bird in the sealed barrier room? ¡°Who did this?¡± Kwon Jiwoon shook his head low. The last time he checked the barrier room was three days ago. At that time, he said, there was nothing wrong. It is a place where no one can easily enter and exit, and there is no sign that the door has been opened by force. Kwon Jiwoon and Hunter Park Heeyoung, who stood next to him, do not seem to know what is going on. In panic, I hurriedly approached the rock and tried to take a look, but Ki Yoohyun grabbed my shoulder. ¡°Rieul-ssi, it¡¯s that bird.¡± ¡°¡­.what?¡± His voice, which had always been calm, trembled slightly. ¡°The fragment ¡­ that bird, it¡¯s inside the Long-tailed Phoenix.¡± Tiling! As soon as he finished speaking, a quest notification popped up. 2. Find the Fragments of the imitation of ¡®Shining Trapezohedron¡®. Destroy the Fragments 4/5: (Unachievable) A notification that told me it cannot be achieved, followed by the next quest that appeared immediately. 3. Fragment Fused with Sacrifice Blackened sacrifice: The Long-tailed Phoenix and the last fragment are completely fused, making them impossible to separate. Choose one method to destroy the last fragment. When the Time Limit (03:05:11) has passed, the quest will fail. Destroy the Last Fragment 0/1: (Incomplete) I¡¯ve heard the name of the Long-tailed Phoenix. Certainly ¡­ I remembered what the giraegi, no, the journalist, who came to the store said. ¡°The Long-tailed Phoenix is not an ordinary monster!¡± ¡°It emits an ether of light, and lives only in special areas among dungeons.¡± ¡°It¡¯s more than a monster, it¡¯s a Holy Beast.¡± It was said that the phoenix had the power to purify its contaminated body by itself, but¡­¡­. It seemed to have lost its power now. ¡°Grooo¡­..¡± The black bird spat out a painful sound. As I brought my hand closer, I felt a burning sensation. The pain of the dying bird swallowed by the darkness was too vivid. It was sad. In addition, if it¡¯s fused with this bird, how are we going to deal with the fragment? As soon as I thought so, the notification window popped up again. [ 1. Sacrifice: Burn the Long-tailed Phoenix (Difficulty: Easy) ? Recommended 2. Sacrifice: Purify the Long-tailed Phoenix (Difficulty: Special Hard)] ¡°¡­¡­!¡± Again. The system again forced me to choose. CH 80 Still, my answer was set. I picked number two straight away. It¡¯s a bird that was called the Holy Beast. No, even if it¡¯s not a Holy Beast, it would make me sad to see anyone suffering like that. So, if there was any way to save it, I wanted to save it. [Route 2 is not recommended as it is very difficult. Are you sure you want to proceed like this?] I ignored the following notification window and asked. ¡°How ¡­ is there a way¡­¡­?¡± ¡°Let me see.¡± Ki Yoohyun suddenly stepped up. Ignoring Park Heeyoung, who was muttering about whether we had time to pay attention to a bird, I asked him. ¡°Can you do it?¡± ¡°Perhaps.¡± Ki Yoohyun casted a skill towards the Long-tailed Phoenix. The white light that emerged from his fingertips gradually grew and became a curtain of light. The feathers wrapped in light slowly regained their original color. The feathers fluttered in the light of the iridescent color on a white background, and soon it flapped its wings. ¡°Wow¡­..! I burst into a sigh of relief for a moment. At the same rate as white light particles purifying the feathers, darkness again began to erode the Long-tailed Phoenix. The bird, which had been struggling a few times to get up, lost its balance and fell down, and is swallowed up by the darkness again. ¡°¡­¡­ let¡¯s try again.¡± A light flashed from within the black eyes. The unpleasant smell that filled the surroundings disappeared in an instant. The net of light tightly enveloped the bird and removed the pollution. The long golden tail shone in its original brilliance, but just for a moment. ¡°Ssaeek, ssaeeekk¡­..¡± The poison brought by the fragment engulfed the bird¡¯s body helplessly. There is no end to this. The Long-tailed Phoenix lost its original power because it swallowed the fragment. No matter how much you purify it, the result is the same as long as you don¡¯t destroy the fragment. ¡®In order to break down a completely fused fragment¡­¡­.¡¯ [ 1. Sacrifice: Burn the Long-tailed Phoenix (Difficulty: Easy) ? Recommended The notification window blinked again, as if it¡¯s inviting me to choose that option right now. The Long-tailed Phoenix lowered its head as if it had sensed its own fate. Gulp¡­. One gesture could put an end to this poor bird¡¯s suffering, but I couldn¡¯t do it. I couldn¡¯t do it because there was a clarity in the tear-soaked bird¡¯s eyes. No, it¡¯s too early to give up. As long as this system has led me to this point, there must be a way somewhere. Until now, the system had never been able to tell me everything neatly, so if I search thoroughly, there must be a hint somewhere. There will be. I wanted to believe there was. I looked at the translucent window in front of me in terrible tension. ¡®Ether-Wiki.¡¯ [Checking your eligibilities ¡­ Completed.] [The Eligible: Verifying Kwon Rieul¡­..] ¡®Skip.¡¯ I skipped the long floating texts and checked the items one by one. I was in the spirit of grasping at straws. There aren¡¯t many open items, but there might be hints hidden somewhere. Then, an unconfirmed notification flashing in the corner opened at will. [Do you want to play the clip ¡®Ecology of A-Class Golden Triangular Rhinoceros¡¯? Yes / No ] ¡®No.¡¯ I didn¡¯t have time to watch cows documentary right now. But¡­.. [Do you want to play the clip ¡®Ecology of A-Class Golden Triangular Rhinoceros¡¯? Yes / No ] The system window urged me to choose yes. This system window can be operated by recognizing the user¡¯s gaze, voice, and accident. I used all of my gaze, voice, and thought to choose ¡°No¡± with all my might, but it didn¡¯t work at all. If you¡¯re going to choose whatever you want, why did you ask my opinion in the first place¡­..? [The video will be played.] I felt like my body was being sucked into something. And the next moment, I was on a lawn. ¡­¡­what? A lawn? Wasn¡¯t I inside the building just now? *** The shining sunlight in the blue sky, the leaves of grass swaying in the wind, and the appearance of cows grazing in the distance¡­¡­. It was such an idyllic landscape. I blinked slowly at the peacefulness of the quiet pasture. Their ¡®video¡® also has a VR function? The breath I inhaled smelled of summer grass. Bewildered, I looked down. The crushed leaves of grass dyed the soles of my shoes green. When I reached out my hand, I could feel the feeling of the fluttering grass. ¡­¡­ Where am I? I had goosebumps. How can there be such a realistic video? It was as if I was suddenly summoned to an unfamiliar place rather than a video. Let¡¯s look at how to turn off the system again, really¡­. I was trying to look around slowly. ¡°¡­¡­!¡± A beautiful tree in the distance. A strange woman appeared under the shade of the tree. ¡¾Finally, we met.¡¿ ¡°Yes? Do you know me?¡± It¡¯s definitely the first time I¡¯ve seen that face. I¡¯ve never been abroad, and I have no memory of meeting a woman that looks like a saintess in a fantasy RPG. However, the voice was familiar. This voice that rings directly in my head, surely somewhere¡­¡­. My vision suddenly blurred while I was still trying to recall. The landscape that lost its color looked as if its borders had been crushed. What¡¯s going on? ¡¾It¡¯s because of the interference with causality.¡¿ ¡¾This is not a good situation to have a long talk.¡¿ ¡¾Just one. You can ask me anything you¡¯re curious about.¡¿ The words brought me to my senses. It suffices to follow through on the vague memories later. First of all, there was one thing I wanted to ask this fantasy RPG saintess. ¡°I want to know how to save that bird, the Long-tailed Phoenix.¡± ¡¾You will know the answer.¡¿ ¡°Yes?¡± I didn¡¯t know, so I asked you? Just as I was trying to argue, a large bird flew from beyond the blue sky. The bird circled the air and sat on the shoulder of the fantasy RPG saintess. The bird looked sick. The wings that had lost their original brilliance drooped helplessly. There was no energy in the whining chirping. The saintess picked a fruit from the tree behind him and gave it to the bird. It¡¯s a dark red fruit that is slightly larger than the thumb. The bird opened its beak and swallowed the fruit. Soon, from the tip of its beak, the bird was reconciled to light and disappeared. Only the white feathers fluttering in the wind proved the bird¡¯s existence. ¡°¡­¡­!¡± I was surprised for a moment. Soon a new Long-tailed Phoenix appeared in its place. Flapping! The white feathers sparkled in the sun, and the bird flew back to the far side of the sky. Glittering particles of light poured out in the place where the Long-tailed Phoenix passed by. ¡°Ah¡­..¡± Here, my senses have become surprisingly sensitive, and things that I would not have known before came to my head naturally. It feels like I am receiving knowledge that does not belong to me directly in my head. The Long-tailed Phoenix, which purified the pollution accumulated in the body, returned to the ether of light, and a new bird¡¯s body was created from the ether. This is the meaning of the name ¡®Phoenix¡®. The ¡®ether of light¡¯ that exists in the dungeon is the bird itself. As long as the ether system circulates endlessly, there is no death for this bird. That¡¯s why it¡¯s called the Phoenix. The saintess called me, who was distracted by the mysterious sight. She picked another fruit and handed it to me. The moment I put the cold, soft fruit on my palm, the space completely collapsed. My field of vision turned dark. Just before it was crushed, only her voice remained, tickling my ears. ¡¾How is it? Your second life?¡¿ ¡°¡­¡­!¡± ¡¾We will meet again.¡¿ ¡¾I hope you can get the life you wanted until then.¡¿ It¡¯s a completely meaningful words. I¡¯ve seen this a lot in games. A character who appears in front of a novice villager character in an RPG game, who peacefully runs errands at a grocery store or hunts slime, and speaks incomprehensible words with a vague expression. A character who only says a lot of meaningful words such as ¡®I waited to see you again¡¯ or ¡®I need your help¡¯ and doesn¡¯t actually give any help. When a character like that appears, something troublesome happens. I don¡¯t like that kind of thing. You said you¡¯d let me run a cafe. Rest! Don¡¯t you know what it means? I¡¯ll take into account that there are more cafe customers than I thought, but I don¡¯t want to get caught up in big things I don¡¯t know. That saintess, what are you going to raise me for? ¡°¡­..ah.¡± While complaining inside, a unfamiliar memory flashed through my head. I remembered. Where I met the saintess. I¡¯m sure that time¡­. The thought was there. A storm of light covered my vision. *** ¡°Huk, huu¡­.¡± My eyes were tingling with sweat. I blinked blankly. ¡°Rieul-ssi?¡± ¡°Kwon Rieul, what¡¯s wrong?¡± The room was painted black. This was truly the barrier room I had been before. I don¡¯t know how much time has passed. I could feel the gazes of Kwon Jiwoon and Ki Yoohyunn looking at me anxiously from the side. I could also see the figure of Hunter Park Heeyoung, who ws agitated, too. What was that just now? The scene that had been overly vivid faded away in an instant, so there was no sense of reality yet. ¡°Are you okay?¡± ¡°Uh, huh ¡­ I was surprised for a second ¡­ I¡¯m surprised.¡± The system said that it was a video of A-Class Golden Triangular Rhinoceros, but there were no cows, and it wasn¡¯t even a video in the first place. If there is a Consumer Agency for the system, I would like to file an appeal. [Thank you for using it.] A message popped up immediately. I¡¯m not teasing you.¡­. Ki Yoohyun reached out his hand and wiped my forehead with a handkerchief. As the distance between me and Ki Yoohyun got closer, I could see Kwon Jiwoon¡¯s expression hardening over his shoulder. Ki Yoohyun, who bowed his head obliquely, asked in a low voice. ¡°What did you see?¡± ¡°¡­¡­what?¡± CH 81 ¡°I think you just saw something, something that was unreal.¡± How far does this man know? He seemed to know for sure that I had just seen something. The moment his eyes got even closer between the light silence, ¡°Ssaeek, ssaeeekk¡­..¡± The shrill breath of the bird evoked the surroundings. The bird was still dying on the rock. Is it the influence of the fantasy scene I just saw? I can clearly felt the feeling of the Long-tailed Phoenix as if its emotion could be grasped. Pain, sorrow, resentment, murderous intent towards the one who made it this way, and even greater despair. ¡°I saw something ¡­ more than that, what is the state of the phoenix?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not good. Even if I remove the pollution, it¡¯s only temporary. It¡¯ll be come back quickly because of the fragment it swallowed inside.¡± ¡°If there¡¯s any fruit, I¡¯m not sure, but¡­¡­.¡± ¡°Fruit?¡± All of sudden, Kwon Jiwoon opened his mouth. ¡°They said that the Long-tailed Phoenixes purify the body by eating rare fruits. It¡¯s called the fruit of Yggdrasil, the World Tree.¡± ¡°Ah, that.¡± I know what it is, I have it©¥I was about to say that. ¡°Still, the fruit of Yggdrasil has never actually come into the hands of Hunters. Now the way to get it is ¡­ there¡¯s probably no way.¡± ¡­.Huh? I¡¯m using it to make coffee beans? The coffee beans that I give Lime as a handful with rice? That ¡­ it¡¯s a very precious thing¡­. Just this morning, I served Lime a bowl full of that fruits¡­. I quickly opened my inventory. All coffee beans are being stored in this space at the store, not in the inventory. It is unknown whether this bird, whose time is on the verge of death, will be able to endure if we go back to the store to pick up the fruit first. However, if the sight I saw earlier wasn¡¯t a dream, I¡¯m sure it¡¯s here¡­. There is. Dark red colored fruit with soft texture. ¡®It¡¯s the fruit that the saintess gave me earlier.¡¯ Park Heeyoung immediately accepted Kwon Jiwoon¡¯s words. Without mercy, she said again that there was no way, so let¡¯s get rid of this phoenix quickly. I pushed her away and approached the Long-tailed Phoenix. ¡°Kwon Rieul? What are you¡­.¡± And pushed the small fruit through the gap in the open beak. When I pressed its beak tightly to prevent it from spitting out the fruit, I saw the bird¡¯s neck moving. Right after swallowing the fruit, the waves of light fluctuated greatly. Was it an illusion? Even though it was a room with no windows, a clear wind seemed to have blown from somewhere. The wind blew away the damp stench, making it easier to breathe. Paaash©¥ Fine particles of light melted the darkness on its wings, the Long-tailed Phoenix reconciled with light and disappeared. Flutter, a feather fell on the palm of my hand. The particles of light scattered into the air slowly formed, and a new Long-tailed Phoenix appeared. ¡°Beautiful¡­..¡± Without realizing, I let out an exclamation. On the straight white wings, a long golden tail falling from the sky. The silent eyes, that seemed to be able to erase despair, looked around. I was immediately understood why it was called a Holy Beast. Flapping its wings, the bird came closer. Tiling, the alarm sounded just in time. The Long-tailed Phoenix suddenly came to me as if it knew the contents of the notification window. [3. Fragment Fused with Sacrifice Destroy the Last Fragment 0/1: (Completed)] [4. Stop The Chaos It¡¯s finally the last step. Fly the bird resurrected from death near the Otherworld Gate. The causality will stop the chaos brought by The Faceless One ¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€. When the Time Limit (02:27:46) has passed, the quest will fail. Take the Long-tailed Phoenix to target location: (Incomplete) Note: 37¡ã33¡¯¡Á¡Á.6¡åN 126¡ã59¡¯¡Á¡Á.4¡åE] All we have to do is solve the last quest. Now it was time to go out to the ground with a bird that was surprisingly light compared to its size. ¡°I have to release it outside. Oppa, let¡¯s go together.¡± It¡¯s a bird found in their guild, so Kwon Jiwoon must be concerned about the whole story. I recommended it with that in mind. ¡°Go first.¡± However, Kwon Jiwoon gently pushed my back forward. ¡°I¡¯ve got work to do here.¡± The barrier installed under a guild protects individual guild, but at the same it¡¯s also part of the barrier that protects the entire city. Restoration is urgently needed, and as it is unknown how the Long-tailed Phoenix, which broke through the seal and swallowed the fragment, was abandoned, there must be a lot of work to be done. That¡¯s true, but ¡­ I thought we¡¯d surely go together. I felt a little hurt. ¡°Of course, there are a lot of things I want to ask you. Still ¡­ I¡¯ll tell you the details after I get back.¡± ¡°All right.¡± We have been avoiding each other, but now is the time to really talk to Kwon Jiwoon. ¡°¡­.I will back soon.¡± ¡°Hunter Ki Yoohyun, please take good care of Rieul.¡± With those words, Kwon Jiwoon left the door first with Park Heeyoung. The quest, which suddenly began, is now in its final stage. It will be over soon, so was it because of the relief that I could talk to Kwon Jiwoon about what I couldn¡¯t talk about before? Why did Kwon Jiwoon¡¯s cold, hardened face go unnoticed? Why¡­. *** The Long-tailed Phoenix was released near Namsan Park, the target location. ¡°Woah¡­.!¡± After flapping its wings a few times, the bird soon found its strength. It looked back at me for a moment and then immediately moved its wings vigorously. A bird resurrected from death split the air. *** In front of the base of the target he had been following for a long time, journalist Kim Taewoon¡¯s mind was surprisingly calm. There was no such thing as a tremor. Just a little excitement and the joy of finally being able to tell the world the truth. Why had he forgotten this joy until now? That day, the moment he drank lemonade at the cafe in front of the Dungeon Gate, Kim Taewoon was truly reborn. And currently. ¡°Hey, are you crazy? Don¡¯t you know that there¡¯s a big shot behind them?¡± ¡°Department head, this really works. You know my skill. I will make sure that the number of views will explode.¡± ¡°Explode? If you ask the wrong question, the company will explode, not the number of views. Don¡¯t pester them, let¡¯s stay quiet.¡± ¡°Department head, please trust me once.¡° ¡°You said the same thing when you almost shut down the company because you touched Muwon before.¡± ¡°At that time ¡­ I¡¯m sorry. Still, this time it¡¯s different.¡± ¡°Not to mention, the main article of this issue has been decided. We will announce the MBTI of the Top 50 rankers.¡± ¡°Who sees stuff like MBTI?¡± Bang! ¡°That bastard¡­.¡± As if he had become the main character in a detective movie, he even threw his resignation card so nicely and finally found this place. The secret hideout of the illegal guild, Neo-Crown Party. Suspicion of smuggling and various illegal acts, allegations of illegal funds by large guilds, etc. He was going to figure it all out today. [Paparazzi (E) (In use) (Lv.1) You can follow the target without being detected for a certain period of time. (0:38:13)] There is still plenty of time to use the skill. Kim Taewoon carefully examined the surroundings and entered the hideout decorated with an ordinary store. ¡°¡­¡­!¡± He held his breath and waited for a while, but he couldn¡¯t feel any movement inside. At first glance, it looks like an ordinary stationery store. On a shelf on one wall, stationery items with large slimes were lined up. On the other side, there is a checkout counter and a poster for a discount event. However, when the button hidden under the checkout counter was operated, the display case moved and the hidden safe was revealed. ¡®The number is ¡­ that¡¯s right.¡¯ This is information obtained by feeding the secret informant with a lot of alcohol, money, and food. For a moment, he felt nervous about what an opportunity this is. Click, the safe opened with a sound. Inside were two fairly thick notebooks. Kim Taewoon immediately picked up one book. When he opened it, each page was full of numbers. Is it a slush fund book? However, Kim Taewoon, who looked through the numbers closely, realized that the content was different from what he expected. ¡®You disgusting guys¡­..¡¯ This is a record of the Long-tailed Phoenix. These people slowly contaminated its body by continuously injecting dark ether. Then, it was used as a sacrifice to summon ¡®something¡¯. Rare monster smuggling, illegal experimentation ¡­ even if the illegality is not considered, the horrors of the attached photo have caused physiological discomfort. The other notebook contained the flow of funds to acquire dark ether. A huge amount of money was deposited into the account of the Neo-Crown Party. It¡¯s been through the middle bridge many times, but the source is clear ¡­ this is an important piece of data. ¡®For now, I¡¯ll take pictures of everything.¡¯ Click, click! If he take the original as it is, there was a risk of being caught breaking in. Kim Taewoon was absorbed in photographing every page of the ledger. As a result, he was late to notice the signs of an approaching presence. Kung, thump, kung©¥ Kim Taewoon was startled by the sound of heavy footsteps. There should still be plenty of time for the skill to be effective, did someone follow him? He hurriedly turned the display back and stood in the corner of the wall, covering himself with curtains. It was a poor hiding, but now he had no choice but to hope that he would not be found out. However, it was neither a pawn of the Neo-Crown Party nor a security guard who entered the hideout. ¡®Wha-what, what is that ¡­ what is it?¡¯ At first, he thought it was a monster covered in black mucus. No, it¡¯s not. Trapped in black mucus ¡­ was human. This amorphous black mass had devoured humans and made them a part of itself. Besides, he had seen that face before. ¡®The leader of Neo-Crown Party?¡¯ He was a man whom he had been following for a long time, but he disappeared when Kim Taewoon finally caught a clue. At the time, he just thought that he got caught following him¡­. His thoughts didn¡¯t go any further. His eyes met with the lump of black mucus and, to be exact, the person who was swallowed up in it. ¡°Uugh¡­.¡± His urge to vomit rose sharply. Kim Taewoon covered his mouth with his hand and silenced the sound. He was nauseous. It feels like it constantly scratches and scrapes his mind with a fine needle. He knew as soon as he saw the lump of black mucus through the gap in the curtain. There is no way he can stay sane by looking at such a thing. It¡¯s like seeing the chaos crawling from the bottom of the abyss. Just when Kim Taewoon felt his vision blurred and was about to collapse. Hwaaak©¥ A bird with a long golden tail flew into the window. A particle of light from the bird¡¯s wings fell on him. ¡°Huk, haa, haa¡­.¡± The moment he was surrounded by particles of light, his head became clear again. The nausea and fear soon subsided. A mass of black mucus that had frightened him was melting by the particles of light. CH 82 The site of Yongsan was filled with chaos. ¡°Hunter-nim, be careful!¡± Kim Jina shouted at a Hunter who was distracted. The called Hunter quickly turned around and swung his weapon. Splosh! The monster that appeared from behind was hit with the weapon in the head, but there was no damage. The black mucus limped for a moment, and only took a step back. ¡®Monster? No, it can¡¯t be ¡­ I¡¯ve never seen a monster like this before.¡¯ An amorphous black mass that constantly changes shape. With slow action, it only showed little aggression. As if looking for something, it tapped the people around it and wandered around. The strange thing is that attack doesn¡¯t work on it. It¡¯s physically possible to push it slightly, but no attack could defeat that monster. Some people with sensitive constitution were confused when they saw the monster. Just looking at it seemed to shock their mental strength. Kim Jina has memorized numerous books about dungeons so far, but there was no data on such a thing in any book. She¡¯s not even sure if it¡¯s an actual living thing in the first place. And there was another surprise. ¡®Otherworld Gate¡­.¡¯ Kim Jina looked up at the sky. There was a huge hole in the sky emitting a strange light. So far, it¡¯s still quiet, but the magical light is getting stronger. The sky seems to be looking at her. It looked similar to a rift, so she tried to measure the mana with a measuring instrument, but the ether-meter only gave an error. It¡¯s different from the usual rifts. No rifts have ever shown this pattern. ¡®Then that¡¯s¡­¡­.¡¯ Suddenly, the data she read recently crossed her mind. A confidential document found in the Awakening Center, the now-defunct predecessor of the Dungeon Management Office. It was a record of an ¡®Otherworld Gate¡® that occurred only once about 10 years ago. It bears a striking resemblance to that. [Gate of The Faceless One ¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€ Time Remaining until it¡¯s fully open 00:58:32] The Faceless One. If Jina¡¯s prediction is correct, what is going to appear through that Otherworld Gate is¡­. She felt a burning sensation in her stomach. It¡¯s hard to believe, but it¡¯s an incredibly dangerous situation if her predictions are correct. They have to evacuate people quickly. ¡°Sir, you can¡¯t go that way!¡± ¡°Follow the agent to the shelter. It¡¯s safe in the shelter!¡± She shouted loudly at themuddled crowd. There was little Jina could do as she was only a civil servant, not an Awakened. She just encourages people so that even one person has less damage. However, the gate of the sky emitted a stronger light, and the power of the black monsters grew accordingly. In the moment when discouragement rises like a mist, a white bird appeared from somewhere, cutting through the sky. A bird with a long golden tail flew from the direction of Namsan Mountain and slowly circled the air. The figure shining yellow in the moonlight looked like lightning. Jina immediately recognized what that bird was. It was such a mysterious wonder that even those who were in chaos would inadvertently be distracted. It¡¯s so noisy, yet so peaceful at the same time. The traces of light embroidering the dark sky erase the anguish. The next moment, the Long-tailed Phoenix flew into the Otherworld Gate. ¡°Ah¡­.¡± It scattered into pieces of light. Kukukung©¥ A heavy thunder rang out, and thunderstorms poured down. The rain began to melt the surrounding black mucus. The monsters, which had been messing around and attacking people until a while ago, quickly lost its strength, melted down, and absorbed into the earth. Little by little, the hole in the sky closed. Beyond the evacuation barricade, someone belatedly cheered. After that, a big round of applause and cheers followed. ¡°Oh, my God!¡± ¡°We survived! We survived!¡± Everyone was stunned, but it was the real that they survived. There are still some remaining questions about why this happened. The investigation, post-processing, restoration, and-so-on ¡­ thinking about the rest of the work made her eyes turned dark. Still, even after this moment passed, she sympathized with the cheers. It¡¯s over now. After everything, she survived. At that time, she was trying to take care of the remaining civilians and guide those who did not have any injuries home. Jina, who was passing near the mucus, was startled. It was because a familiar shape emerged from the black mucus that had just melted. It¡¯s her troublemaker older brother. Her older brother who ran away from home a few years ago after changing his name to Jijon, declaring that he would make a name for himself in this world. She made flyers and inquired about his whereabouts, but there was no news. Then, all of a sudden he was involved in some kind of injury case. He became an important witness forr the Dungeon Management Office¡¯s investigation team, but he went missing again. Jina was so worried about his brother getting into all sorts of trouble. After being released from mucus, he looked stunned as if he had not yet grasped the situation. Jina rushed to to him in a fit of emotions. ¡°Huh? Why am I here ¡­ Kim Jina?¡± ¡°Eugh, this ¡­ this stupid person!¡± Bugh! A powerful blow blew through his back. Ah, the stupid person who rubbed her back was exactly the image of her brother she remembered. As she felt the relief, her tears welled up. The last time she saw her brother was clearly pictured in her memory. ¡°Kim Jihoon, what is all that baggage? What are you doing this late at night?¡± ¡°Fufufu, little sister, I forsook that name. From now on, call me Jijon.¡± ¡°You must be crazy¡­.¡± ¡°Then, Adios! I¡¯ll see you again when the name of this Jijon rules the Hunter World!¡± ¡°Wait, Mom, did she know? Where are you going? Hey! That name¡­¡­.¡± Jina is finally able to say things that she couldn¡¯t say to him a few years ago. ¡°Oppa, Jijon ¡­ it¡¯s really a bad name.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± So, please come back home. *** I was relieved to see the system notification that appeared in front of me. [Congratulations! The power of The Faceless One ¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€ has been disabled. The Gate disappeared.] [Congratulations! You have completed ¡®Stop The Chaos!¡¯. Please collect the reward.] [Ether-Wiki has been updated.] [The Grade of the cafe has become D.] [A new area has been opened in the space. You can install new items.] It¡¯s done. As I watched the hole in the sky gradually close, I thought so. There are still questions and things to deal with, but the biggest crisis has been overcome. Rain started pouring down from the sky that had completely met the night. The heavy rain in early winter is chillingly cold. Hot coffee is the best on a rainy day. He must have been surprised because I suddenly pushed him into the space. First, I¡¯ll go back to the store, pick up Ash, and drink coffee together. I¡¯ve already done so many things that don¡¯t suit a Cafe Owner today, so I need a break. Yeah, it¡¯s already late, but I¡¯ll have to ask Ki Yoohyun, who has always helped me, to come with me. For Kwon Jiwoon ¡­ let¡¯s call him tomorrow. After deciding so, I looked for Ki Yoohyun and turned my head. Then, a red light shone in front of me. [Warning! Location: The barrier of the White Silver Guild has been destroyed.] What ¡­ do you say? *** After a short deliberation, I decided to go back to the White Silver Guild. There is probably nothing I can about the destroyed barrier, but there must be a reason why the system deliberately raised a warning notification. Well, when Kwon Jiwoon says, ¡®It¡¯s fine, so go home¡®, I¡¯ll go home and drink some hot coffee. With that thought, I headed to the White Silver Guild with Ki Yoohyun, but the situation was worse than I expected. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°Wait, you are not allowed to come in here.¡± ¡°I¡¯m the family of Kwon Jiwoon! Please let me pass.¡± A person, who appeared to be a public official and was blocking the way, stepped away with a sad expression. Why? Why are you making that face? Even though it was almost 1:00 in the morning, there were quite a few people in front of the basement of the White Silver Guild. However, the strange thing is that most of them were public officials, and the people of the White Silver Guild were nowhere to be seen. Including Hunter Park Heeyoung, there were only four of them. Even considering the late hours or the absence due to the Dungeon Raids, the amount is too small. Where did everyone go? And where is Kwon Jiwoon¡­. ¡°¡­¡­Ah.¡± At that moment, I saw the inside of the open barrier room through the crowd. Rift? No, the barrier? In the middle of the translucent membrane with intricate patterns on it, there was Kwoon Jiwoon. There was no sign of consciousness. Someone called him out loud, but he didn¡¯t budge. He looked like he was hurting somewhere. A Hunter, who appears to be a wizard class, forced the barrier to open. However, while muttering for a while, the wizard who used his skill shook his head. ¡°Keuh ¡­ I can¡¯t. It does not respond to any external connection attempts. I don¡¯t think it will be possible to forcibly destroy it at this rate.¡± I didn¡¯t understand. It was less than two hours after I left this place with the Long-tailed Phoenix. What has happened in the meantime that Kwon Jiwoon is trapped in there alone? Wasn¡¯t that just a barrier maintenance device? I looked back at Hunter Park Heeyoung. ¡°Heeyoung-ssi, what happened? You were next to Kwon Jiwoon the whole time, weren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°That ¡­ it¡¯s¡­.¡± Her face was pale and her lips trembled. At other times, she would have said something unpleasant to me, but Park Heeyoung also seemed to be greatly shocked. ¡°The deputy guild leader ¡­ the barrier in the barrier room can only be operated by the current deputy guild leader. Earlier ¡­ he said that he would check it by himself to see if there was anything wrong with the barrier. I¡¯ve been watching the situation outside for a while, and in the meantime¡­.¡± The Long-tailed Phoenix has been brought back to life, and the contamination of the barrier room must have been handled. Now that the barrier room is safe, she left Kwon Jiwoon to do what he wanted, and she went outside to check out the chaos caused by the monsters. And when she returned, the situation was like this, so she reported it to the Dungeon Management Office. She said that the cause or circumstances are unknown. ¡­¡­there was something suspicious about it, but anyway, that was what she said. [Next] Translator¡¯s Corner: I was thinking about how neat the author put the scenes in order while translating this chapter ¡­ someone got his brother back, and the other lost her brother ¡­. anyway, I¡¯m sorry for ruining the mood by making a fuss, but even though the translation quality isn¡¯t that great (this blog is actually a personal blog runs by only me, myself, and I, if you didn¡¯t notice it), please do not be such a shameless person and indirectly (or worse, directly) claiming this is your translation when all you did was copy-paste the whole thing ¡­ and yeah, I¡¯m talking about you, lightnovelpub. Big sites like them really have the time to delete the translation credit and the occasional chatter in translator notes but still keeping things like this ¡­ CH 83 Translated by cabinfourtranslations. ¡°Where did all the guild members go? Does anyone else know what¡¯s going on?¡± This question was answered by another person. ¡°That ¡­ these all the Hunters belonging to The White Silver Guild.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°There are some Hunters who aren¡¯t present because of the Dungeon duty, but they¡¯re only a few. That ¡­ something happened recently, so our Hunters decreased a lot.¡± He lowered his gaze as if it was an uncomfortable story. Again, Park Heeyoung recited in a trembling voice. ¡°Earlier, that bird must have caused the problem! Otherwise, why the deputy guild leader suddenly ¡­ heuk.¡± A mournful cry broke out. She looked really shocked. ¡°Hey, calm down. This may be a simple barrier stone malfunction. Let¡¯s try it again.¡± The wizard closed his eyes and reached forward. However, the translucent membrane only shook a little, and there¡¯s no change. ¡°Cough, cough!¡± Perhaps due to the rebound of the skill, the wizard stumbled with a rough cough. The wind cut off the skill. When the wizard tried to reach forward again, someone stopped him. ¡°That¡¯s enough, that¡¯s enough. You don¡¯t have to.¡± An old man came forward from the back row of the crowd. A stumbling gait. Seeing the people around us taking half a step back with a nervous expression, he seemed to be someone in a high position. ¡°We don¡¯t have time for this. Everyone knows how important the protective barrier installed in the guild is. As soon as the sun comes up, we will start working on the creation of a new barrier.¡± ¡°Wait ¡­ what do you mean?¡± ¡°Did you not hear it? That¡¯s literally it. The father disappeared and the young hunter took over the barrier, and it seems that he didn¡¯t manage it properly.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± At this moment, I really hated this arrogant bastard. ¡°If a protective barrier is destroyed in one place, it will adversely affect the barrier of the entire city. If we leave it as it is, it will weaken the chain and increase the possibility that a rift will burst. We can¡¯t leave it as it is. I will close this place right now.¡± ¡°Close ¡­ what about Kwon Jiwoon?¡± ¡°When he wakes up, he will break the seal on his own and come out ¡­ if he wakes up.¡± ¡°You ¡­ what are you doing?¡± ¡°I¡¯m late to introduce myself. My name is Kim Doochun, the Defense Barrier Response Officer of the Dungeon Management Office.¡± Tak! I slapped his outstretched hand that shamelessly asked to shake hands. My stomach was boiling. His words just now ¡­ this person intends to leave Kwon Jiwoon, who is now in a coma, inside the barrier as it is. I don¡¯t know how good he is in defense response, but how can he say that about Kwon Jiwoon? Apart from my personal feelings for Kwon Jiwoon, I know his life. A top-class Healer, a deputy guild leader of famous guild, and a young Hunter with good looks to use. While praising that Kwon Jiwoon was great, I clearly remember how much burden the Dungeon Management Office put on him since he was a kid. ¡°Is that what you¡¯re saying now? How could the Management Office do that?¡± ¡°Hoo. So you can take responsibility, miss?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Tsk, I don¡¯t think you know because you¡¯re an ordinary person.¡± At this moment, I hated this person so much to the point that I wanted to kill this arrogant idiot. ¡°Each guild¡¯s protective barriers form a single great barrier, and that plays a role in suppressing the incidence of high-grade rifts. The power of this barrier also helps when closing the rift. However, if this chain is destroyed and there is even an A-Grade crack in the middle of the city, can you take responsibility for it, miss?¡± ¡°What, that¡¯s¡­.!¡± It was the moment when I was about to scream in anger. ¡°¡­¡­That¡¯s strange.¡± A low, calm voice cut through the air. It was Ki Yoohyun. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know the cause or the details of the situation yet, but you hurriedly said you will close the barrier.¡± ¡°Hmmm.¡± ¡°As far as I know, the crisis response procedure isn¡¯t like that, but ¡­ it seems like you want to deal with the barrier quickly. I wonder if there¡¯s anything about it that would danger you.¡± The arrogant old man asked Ki Yoohyun with a disapproving look in his face. ¡°What are you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m just accompanying Rieul-ssi. You don¡¯t need to know the details.¡± Smile. Ki Yoohyun, who was staring at the arrogant old man for a while, pulled the corners of his mouth. ¡°Did you not hear anything from your boss? There seems to be no possibility of promotion.¡± ¡°What, wha-what¡­.!¡± Perhaps promotion was a red button, the arrogant old man¡¯s face quickly turned red with anger. ¡°One more thing. The protective barrier here has not been destroyed.¡± ¡°What? Is that true?¡± ¡°Yes, it was destroyed once, exactly, but regenerated shortly thereafter.¡± ¡°Wh-wha-what nonsense!¡± Ignoring the arrogant old man¡¯s protest, Ki Yoohyun continued speaking. ¡°As you said, this barrier is under the management of Hunter Kwon Jiwoon. Although the barrier is not a living thing, it does protect itself to some extent. It seems that the moment Hunter Kwon Jiwoon was fatally wounded, a barrier was activated to protect him.¡± ¡°Fatally wounded?¡± A bitter light flashed in his dark eyes for a moment. ¡°It¡¯s strange. He¡¯s from the Healer class, but Hunter Kwon Jiwoon, an A-class hunter, was fatally wounded in the guild building, not anywhere else.¡± Naturally, everyone¡¯s gazes followed Ki Yoohyun¡¯s movement. His feet stopped in front of Hunter Park Heeyoung. ¡°Hunter Park Heeyoung ¡­ do you have anything to tell? Did you not feel anything unusual?¡± All of sudden, her shoulders trembled. ¡°I ¡­ I don¡¯t know. Outside, I was looking outside¡­.¡± ¡°Okay, you¡¯re outside. Then, you must have seen the Gate that occurred today disappear.¡± ¡°Yeah, I saw it. It appeared big in the sky.¡± ¡°After that, you discovered and reported the incident, and the response officer came so quickly, I guess you had a connection.¡±.¡± Eyes are intertwined in the air. Park Heeyoung screamed. ¡°Me, a-are you doubting me?¡± ¡°That¡¯s something you¡¯ll find out if you look into it slowly.¡± Ki Yoohyun came close to Park Heeyoung. His voice was so low that only Park Heeyoung and I could hear it. ¡°You¡¯d better not expect the one who approached you to save you¡­.¡± I couldn¡¯t hear the last words. I don¡¯t know what he said, but after Ki Yoohyun took a step back, Park Heeyoung¡¯s face turned pale. The emotion that appeared in eyes that trembled like aspen trees ¡­ it was horror. Then, she vomited the words in a trembling voice. ¡°That ¡­ I didn¡¯t mean to do it. The deputy guild leader, if only he didn¡¯t doubt me¡­.¡± When Ki Yoohyun and I left this place, the time when the white bird with its golden tail flew across the sky and scattered light. Kwon Jiwoon, who was left alone, called Park Heeyoung and asked: was it Park Heeyoung who brought the dying Long-tailed Phoenix? ¡°You don¡¯t have to tell me who ordered it. I already know.¡± ¡°Deputy guild leader, I don¡¯t¡­¡­!¡± ¡°If you tell me honestly about why you did this, I¡¯ll take care of it on my own.¡± Panicked by those words, she attacked him ¡­ and Kwon Jiwoon was seriously injured. At that moment, the barrier that was in a state of rest was activated, triggered to protect Kwon Jiwoon¡¯s body. After that, Park Heeyoung contacted that arrogant troll behind the same background and tried to fix the situation. ¡°You! Shut that mouth!¡± A roar from the arrogant old man sounded far way. My patience ended there. ¡°How¡­.¡± The reason I¡¯ve been ignoring Park Heeyoung and did not do anything to deal with her, even though she has been very unkind to, was simple. She was Kwon Jiwoon¡¯s subordinate, so I thought that she would be helpful to Kwon Jiwoon. However, it¡¯s not enough to betray him, she also tried to hurt Kwon Jiwoon. Why? What¡¯s the price that made you do something like that? Unable to hold back my anger, I strode forward, but Ki Yoohyeon grabbed my arm. ¡°Rieul-ssi.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t stop me.¡± ¡°¡­.I wouldn¡¯t dare.¡± A large hand covered my hand. Long, hard fingers dug into my clenched fist. It tickles. I had a scratch on my palm because I clenched my fist as hard as I could without realizing it. I was so agitated that I didn¡¯t even feel the pain. Ki Yoohyun slightly stroked the red blood-stained wound with his finger and dropped a few drops of potion. The wound healed quickly. As if that was the only purpose he had, he let go of his hand and took a step back. ¡°Just, there¡¯s no need for Rieul-ssi to be in pain because of people like this.¡± My tears were about to pour down. *** The situation was all sorted out. Less than 10 minutes later, a new person from the Dungeon Management Office, and Hunter Park Heeyoung was detained. ¡°Why ¡­ ho-how did the Director come all the way here ¡­ aren¡¯t you supposed to be in Jeju right now¡­.!¡± ¡°Take him.¡± Even the arrogant bastard was dragged somewhere. Now, we only need to rescue Kwon Jiwoon, who is trapped inside the barrier. The new wizard tried to open the barrier again, but¡­. ¡°Eheuk, heuk!¡± The barrier doesn¡¯t even budge. Drops of blood fell from the wizard¡¯s mouth, who let out a strong cough due to the skill¡¯s reaction. ¡°Wait.¡± Ki Yoohyun, who had been quiet for a while, sighed lighty and stepped forward. ¡°It will be difficult to forcibly open the barrier from outside. The barrier worked to protect the caster, that is, Hunter Kwon Jiwoon. It recognizes an external approach as an attack and pushes it away.¡± The wizard replied in confusion. ¡°But if we don¡¯t open this, we won¡¯t be able to save the person inside.¡± ¡°We shouldn¡¯t force the barrier to open, someone has to go inside the barrier and wake him up.¡± ¡°It¡¯s too dangerous. It¡¯s just invisible to the naked eye, but the ether flow is tangled in there.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡­.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡± ¡°¡­.wait, Rieul-ssi?¡± ¡°I can do it.¡± [Main Quest: Into the Silver Storm The barrier seeks to protect the caster. Come into contact with the barrier and rescue the caster. Contact the barrier: 0/1 Rewards: Fragment of Memory, The resurrection of the Target] I glanced at the system window in front of me with dry eyes. Now, running a quest like this means I can do it. However, I did not say that I would do it because of this system that forced me to do it. This incident didn¡¯t happen before the regression. Back then, the White Silver Guild was solid, and Kwon Jiwoon was also safe. That¡¯s why I subconsciously thought that nothing would happen to Kwon Jiwoon again this time. However, something that¡¯s different from the pre-regression past happened again. As far as I know, the variable is only me who came back from the future. If the situation is like this¡­¡­. What if it happened because I changed the future? Just as saving Ash turned into a big deal, what if something I didn¡¯t notice led to this? ¡­¡­what if it¡¯s because of me? Translator¡¯s Corner: The ¡°old man¡± used in this chapter is actually a very rude slang lol it¡¯s like ¡°old man (derogatory) (I love how the ML plays the part as a safety net in this story ¡­ it¡¯s imporant to have someone who can do everything for you if you dream of a lazy future. and save your tears for the next chapter, everyone. don¡¯t cry yet T___T (yes, this is me purposefully leaving you all with cliffhanger) CH 84 PUBLISHED ON 6th Oct 2022 Translated by cabinfourtranslations. After Kwon Jiwoon awakened a long time ago, we have been on a poor relationship, but there has been no more bad feelings. Although his way of expression was bad, Kwon Jiwoon may also have been concerned about me. My parents died when I was a child and I couldn¡¯t even remember them. After that, my grandmother passed away, and my uncle disappeared. Kwon Jiwoon is the only family I have left. What should I do if he¡¯s in danger because of my regression? Maybe I shouldn¡¯t have come back, I shouldn¡¯t have survived. If it was going to be like this, I should have died the way I was then. No ¡­ It¡¯s too early to think like this. I looked at the flashing system window once again. Then, I reached for the translucent membrane in front of me. I felt like my mind was being sucked into something, and darkness enveloped my vision. Soon everything became distant and I didn¡¯t even know where I was. And¡­. ¡°Blech, blargh ugh, ugh¡­¡­!¡± I couldn¡¯t stand the disgust and vomited. *** A black space. After a while, a whitish light shone, and a different space appeared in front of me. This is ¡­ this is our store? No, the interior is a little different. There are no noisy cat and slime in sight, and there are no unusual signs on the outside. Above all, there¡¯s a voice from a distance. ¡°Rieul-ah, can you give me one more?¡± ¡°Eung. I ate it all.¡± Ah. When my grandmother was alive, Cafe Rieul was still my grandmother¡¯s cafe. Inside the counter, my grandmother was knitting, and I, in my school uniform, was sitting crookedly and playing games on my phone. An empty store. There are no other customers. Judging from the level of the character on the phone screen, it¡¯s when I was about 16 years old. At this time, I often came to see my grandmother after school. It was before I met Choi Yichan and Shin Mira, and there was no one when I went home anyway. ¡°Rieul-ah, that must be fun.¡± ¡°Eung. It¡¯s just so-so.¡± I answered with a sullen expression and tapped the draw button on the screen. I frowned at the bad result. ¡°How is Jiwoon doing these days?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. Don¡¯t even bring up Kwon Jiwoon¡¯s story to me. He¡¯ll do it on his own, you know.¡± ¡°Are you not on good terms with Jiwoon?¡± I pouted my lips with a complicated expression. I was upset, but it was hard to be honest. The ensuing words were hand-made tell-tale fights. ¡°It¡¯s more like ¡­ Kwon Jiwoon has awakened, he told me first¡­¡­.¡± Bang! Before I even finished speaking, the door opened with a loud noise. ¡°Aaaah! I was surprised. What¡¯s going on all of a sudden ¡­ huh?¡± Kwon Jiwoon, who still looks like a student, was standing in front of the door. ¡°Kwon Rieul, have you been here?¡± ¡°Why? It¡¯s up to me whether I come to Grandma¡¯s house or not. What does Oppa have to do with it?¡± ¡°Haa¡­.¡± Young Kwon Jiwoon was still clumsy in hiding his expressions, so his emotions were revealed on his face. Rough anxiety, and the relief that came to him the moment he found me. Why didn¡¯t I notice it back then? A few scenes flowed in front of me as if they were fast-forwarding. A man who tried to kidnap me for the purpose of intimidation. Kwon Jiwoon, who¡¯s deliberately trying to distance himself from me. He tried to call me several times on that topic, but in the end he could not make the call and put down the phone. Darkness covered my body again, and then there was silence. This time, Kwon Jiwoon was in front of me. It seems to be in the future rather than the present, but I don¡¯t know exactly when. This is because the surrounding landscape was not clearly visible. Kwon Jiwoon was expressionless. The dry eyes stunningly slanted down and directed toward the floor. Is there something on the floor? I couldn¡¯t see the floor because my vision was not free. ¡°The Light of Healing¡­.¡± A white light appeared from his fingertips along with the trembling voice. The light that should have been absorbed by the cast target was not absorbed and floated in the air. Once again. Again, again, and again¡­¡­. However, ¡®Light of Healing¡® still doesn¡¯t work properly. Kwon Jiwoon¡¯s hands, which had been repeating his skill for a long time, fell down. Kwon Jiwoon¡¯s expressionless face cracked. The deep emotion that pours through the gap ¡­ ah. It¡¯s despair. ¡°Why this doesn¡¯t work¡­¡­?¡± ¡°It¡¯s strange. It¡¯s a skill that I¡¯ve used hundreds or thousands of times, so there¡¯s no way it won¡¯t work. Please ¡­ again, I need to try again.¡± The result is the same. ¡°Please, wake up ¡­ I came here late, are you mad at me for making you wait? Stop being angry and open your eyes, okay?¡± ¡°Hunter Kwon Jiwoon, calm ¡­ calm down.¡± ¡°Wake up. Wake up, please!¡± ¡°She was too close to the rift, we didn¡¯t have the time to handle it. By the time we rescued her, she was already ¡­ I¡¯m sorry.¡± Tears welled up. The tears quickly burst into tears. A violent cry that makes even the listener becomes sorrowful. Wait, no way this is¡­. That¡¯s absurd. I went back to three years ago, so this shouldn¡¯t have happened. My vision shifted slightly downward. Although the face was invisible, the droopy limbs and the clothes that person wore were strangely familiar. Kwon Jiwoon bursts into tears with a distorted face and recites. ¡°I, your brother is here, so please open your eyes. Wake up. Kwon Rieul¡­.!¡± It¡¯s dark again. I could feel my mind being dragged back to somewhere. ¡°Uhgh¡­.¡± I was nauseous. There is no end to the darkness. Even though I couldn¡¯t even recognize my body, the disgust felt amazingly clear. It¡¯s painful. Since I¡¯ve returned, surely this must be a time that doesn¡¯t exist. It can¡¯t be true. There¡¯s no way that there¡¯s a future where I die and Kwon Jiwoon is left alone. He was worried about me, so he purposely kept his distance, and I can even count the number of times we¡¯ve talked properly to each other. To be left alone while I¡¯m being full of joy and happiness here ¡­ that¡¯s too cruel. ¡°Lies¡­..¡± ¡¾That¡¯s right, that¡¯s a lie.¡¿ ¡°¡­¡­!¡± Light suddenly poured out of the infinite darkness. The blonde saintess was standing there. There was a more pressing question than what happened or why she was here. I shouted at her. ¡°Really? It¡¯s all lies?¡± ¡¾Sure. This world does not adopt multiverse.¡¿ ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡¾When you turn back time, everything is a time that does not exist, and it¡¯s a possibility that won¡¯t come true. It¡¯s just a lie I made up.¡¿ ¡°Really?¡± ¡¾Rest assured. I¡¯m serious.¡¿ I was relieved at first. Then, I got angry. If it¡¯s a complete lie, why did you surprise me by showing this? ¡¾I feel like you are regretting your return. By turning back time, you have already saved your family.¡¿ It didn¡¯t comfort me at all. ¡°Saintess¡­.¡± ¡¾Saintess?¡¿ It¡¯s long to say that it¡¯s a saintess character who appeared in the beginning of a fantasy RPG game and said meaningful things to the novice protagonist. ¡¾You still say funny things.¡¿ ¡°What happened? Is Kwon Jiwoon safe?¡± ¡¾Do not worry. When you open your eyes, he will return too. It would be difficult if he died here, so I had to use some rough means since I was in a hurry.¡¿ I was relieved at first, but¡­. There was something on my mind about what she said. So far, I¡¯ve met this saintess three times in total. One time, when I tried to save the corrupted Long-tailed Phoenix today. Next, it¡¯s right now. One last time¡­¡­ It was before I came back to the past, it was when I faced death in the last life. *** After being killed by a monster, my vision was all covered in darkness. Suddenly, a blonde saintess appeared out of nowhere and talked to me. ¡¾This is a big deal. I would be in trouble if you died here.¡¿ ¡°Uh, huh?¡± ¡¾It would be inconvenient to talk about it in this situation. Now, come here.¡¿ A hazy light poured down and the surroundings changed completely. Blue sky and the gentle wind, the lawn was unrealistic. I, who just got hit by a monster, mumbled in bewilderment. ¡°No way, is this heaven?¡± Is this the beautiful afterlife, where I died after working every day? Post-labor beautiful post-life life? ¡¾Unfortunately, that is not the case. You are not dead yet.¡¿ ¡°What ¡­ really?¡± I could see the phantasmagoria along with the pain, and I was convinced that my life was over. ¡¾Accurately, at the moment of death, causality was cut off and this time axis was wound up on an independent loop.¡¿ ¡°Uh, huh ¡­ I see!¡± I don¡¯t know what that means, but I nodded for now. ¡¾Do you understand?¡¿ ¡°Uhm, no, not at all.¡± The saintess with shiny blonde hair burst into a cheerful laugh and spoke again. ¡¾I am trying to save you.¡¿ ¡°Why?¡± I looked at the saintess with suspicious eyes. I knew intuitively that she was a transcendent being. Anyone would notice if they died and suddenly a woman in a white dress with shiny blonde hair pops out. However, there are not only a couple of people who accidentally get caught up in a rift and die an unfortunate death. Why is this saintess trying to save me? An iron rule for single-person households in the city. You need to see something that sounds too good with suspicion. ¡¾Because I have to.¡¿ Gently, the saintess smiled. She apparently avoided answering. ¡¾However, due to the limitations of causality, I can only intervene with the Awakeneds. So, I will let you live on the condition that you become an Awakened.¡¿ ¡°¡­..¡± Of course, it¡¯s better to live than to die. However, I still can¡¯t believe I¡¯m dead, and awakening was too unrealistic. ¡¾I will give you the power you desire. Is there any awakening ability you want?¡¿ I have a very consistent personality. The memory of this day was erased, but my actions were consistent even then. ¡°Ability? I don¡¯t have any¡­.¡± Moreover, I was in a state of mental exhaustion due to long overtime work. ¡°I just want to sleep a lot.¡± ¡¾That is not an ability.¡¿ At that time, I suddenly remembered the contents of a game I had worked hard on a long time ago. Yeah, there were times when I thought I wanted to live a life like that game. ¡°Then ¡­ cafe? I want to open a cafe.¡± ¡¾Cafe. You¡¯re an Eligibe person after a long time ¡­. it¡¯s not a common opportunity. You can be a great hero if you want to.¡¿ ¡°No, I¡¯m not interested in that.¡± ¡¾Swordsman, wizard, no, any class can give you the ability to aim for the top of the world.¡¿ ¡°The position I want is an innkeeper who sees off the main character in the village for beginners in RPG games.¡± ¡¾You are telling a very interesting story ¡­ Yes, if that¡¯s what your wish is.¡¿ *** ¡­¡­. ¡­¡­. The darkness enveloped me again and when I opened my eyes, I came back to three years ago, on my bed. I had completely forgotten this memory. How could the memory have been erased so neatly? I awakened through a psychological test on TV and opened a cafe as promised, but¡­. ¡®There have been so many unexpected incidents.¡¯ I looked at the saintess, who was emitting a twinkling light alone in the darkness. She was smiling as lively as that day. ¡°What do you want from me?¡± CH 85 The system has clear intentions. It must not because the saintess is a philanthropist that she prevented the death of Kwon Jiwoon, Jijon, and me. Then, what is the intention behind it? ¡¾There is no such thing. You just have to live your daily life in this second life.¡¿ ¡°Lies.¡± ¡¾Yes, it¡¯s a lie.¡¿ Heat surged inside. Let¡¯s not get angry. I am an adult, an adult ¡­ think of this saintess as a superior employee who repeats funny jokes. She¡¯s A and I¡¯m B. The saintess has Kwon Jiwoon¡¯s life in her hands, so I have to endure it, I have to endure it¡­¡­. ¡¾You¡¯re too much. I saved his life without any conditions, but such heartless words.¡¿ Heh, do you read my mind? ¡¾Someday, you will reach the Gate. Your cat will guide you.¡¿ ¡°¡­¡­really?¡± Are you sure you¡¯re saying that after looking at Mieum¡¯s daily life? She¡¯s enjoying it after adjusting perfectly to the life of royalties. ¡¾Ahaha, she woke up after a long time, so she got so excited. Please understand. She will fulfill the role of the seventh agent properly.¡¿ ¡°What is the Gate?¡± ¡¾The Ultimate Gate. The pathway to reach the truth of the universe. The garden where the Great Master sleeps.¡¿ I updated her description in my mind. Meaningful¡­. A saintess character who appears at the beginning of a fantasy RPG game and speaks meaningful words to the novice protagonist, but does not explain it in an understandable way. The white light grew stronger and the darkness trembled. This conversation seemed to have come to an end. ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡¾You said I¡¯m a saintess. It¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve been called like this. I really like this character.¡¿ ¡°Is the system you?¡± ¡¾Rather than that, a tool for contacting this world without defying causality is what you call a system. Well, I made it, though.¡¿ She drifted away. Only the voice can be heard clearly. ¡¾Let me formally introduce myself to you. I¡­¡­¡¿ ¡¾The One-in-All. The All-in-One.¡¿ ¡¾The one who observes all three times.¡¿ ¡¾The manager who guards the Gate, and¡­¡¿ An unpronounceable name tickled my ears. The light was swallowed up by the chaos boiling deep in the darkness. Not yet. There was something I had to ask. I cried out in a hurry. ¡°One last thing! Why does the future change after I returned? Did such a big deal happen because I came back to the past?¡± ¡¾I¡¯m sorry, I can¡¯t answer that. The law of causality applies strictly to me too. I cannot intervene in the actions of other Gods. However, you don¡¯t have to blame yourself for what happened today because it¡¯s not caused by you.¡¿ ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡¾And what does that matter now? For now, first of all, please rejoice in the return of your family.¡¿ ¡­¡­. ¡­¡­. The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was the strong waves of ether and ¡­ Kwon Jiwoon, who was lying on the floor. ¡°Deputy guild leader!¡± ¡°Rieul-ssi!¡± I heard a voice calling me from far away. Slowly, I reached out and grabbed Kwon Jiwoon in front of me. At that moment, the etheric waves that wandered around collapsed, and the translucent membrane was broken. People outside rushed in and stopped walking. In the suffocating silence, the tightly closed eyelids are slowly lifted. ¡°¡­¡­?¡± As if he did not immediately understand the situation, Kwon Jiwoon looked at me with a bewildered expression. Haha, it was an expression that didn¡¯t really suit his cold-looking face. ¡°Uh ¡­ the phantasmagoria¡­.?¡± Rush. I hugged the dazed Kwon Jiwoon tightly. ¡°Uh, Rieul-ah, why are you here¡­.¡± ¡°Oppa, I¡¯m glad you¡¯re okay, heuk¡­.¡± Yes, what the saintess said is true. Let¡¯s first be happy that Kwon Jiwoon is alive. Other things are just trivial compared to him. That Kwon Jiwoon doesn¡¯t have to cry because he¡¯s left alone. With that being said, it¡¯s ¡­ I think going back in time has a meaning. *** Korea¡¯s No. 1 Hunter Community ¨C Hunter Channel. Free Forum Board. ¡ª Ranking, The Slave Hunters Guild is banned. Real life player kill in the dungeon. *** [Chatting] Hunchaners, let¡¯s make a wish (213) Upvotes: 887 / Downvotes: 0 *** Writer: Pink Jelly (Photo) Oops! You made eye contact with the sacred Long-tailed Phoenix flying in the sky. If you click upvotes, your wish will come true under the protection of the Phoenix. *** ¡ª Healer Wanted: Please help me find a healer T_T ¡ª Cherry Dumpling: Hun!! ©¸ Cherry Dumpling: Chan!! ©¸ Cherry Dumpling: Dae!! ©¸ Cherry Dumpling: Bak!! ¡ª OO: I wish to enter this year¡¯s Top 100 rankings ¡ª dlt***: health comes first ¡ª MM: skill level up please ¡ª HUNCHAN KIMI: please let me cut down my time on Hunchan ©¸ OO: Don¡¯t you think it will come true if you turn off the phone instead of leaving a comment here,,? ¡ª Lime Love Team: The ruler of the Earth is Slime please let me cast this 3 times a day ©¸ dlt***: madness;; ¡ª F-class Cafe Owner: Please help me get some milk,, ¡ª Jeju Guild No. 1: But the picture came out well ??? it was taken fcking well hahaha I actually saw the Long-tailed Phoenix that day, and it was so holy it felt like my heart was being purified ©¸ I am powerless: You didn¡¯t live in Jeju Island..? ©¸ Jeju Guild No. 1: yes I do, but I had to come to Seoul. Someone called me. ©¸ Jeju Guild No. 1: I wish for skill mistakes in the dungeon of those who stole my item ©¸ OO: You don¡¯t seem to have been purified at all,,; ¡ª Ppueng: Please let me pass the White Silver Guild,,!!!!????? ©¸ I love you Eunrang: Huh? The selection for White Silver Guild? ©¸ Ppueng: yes yes it was posted yesterday, the recruitment announcement ©¸ cdt***: Heol, what¡¯s going on, they haven¡¯t recruit a Hunter since Kwon Seokmin disappeared. ©¸ I love you Eunrang: maybe I should apply for a tanker ©¸ OO: I think your papers will be cut because they are disgusted by your Hunchan nickname ©¸ cdt***: hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha ©¸ I love you Eunrang: you¡¯re too much, it¡¯s my heartfelt sincerity towards Kwon Jiwoon?? ©¸ OO: it¡¯s disgusting,, *** For a while, the Hunter World was in a uproar due to the incident of Kwon Jiwoon¡¯s guild that happened right after the Otherworld Gate. A few days passed. It was around the time when the enthusiasm of the special news and expert-invited case analysis broadcasts that were held every evening was also waning. I was faced with one hardship. ¡°Kwon Rieul-ssi, please come forward.¡± ¡°Ah, yes ¡­ yes!¡± Ah. My left arm and left leg came forward at the same time. Click, click, click! As soon as I climbed onto the podium with a creaking step, the camera flash quickly exploded along with the sound of applause. A middle-aged man with a gentle impression said something, but I couldn¡¯t hear it well because I was nervous. That must have been a good word. After receiving the square award that was pushed out in front of me, I was baptized again with photos. ¡°This concludes the 19th Hunter¡¯s Night Commendation Ceremony.¡± It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve worn a suit, and I felt uncomfortable every time I moved. I came down the podium after greeting the audience with an awkward gesture. It¡¯s over¡­ In the front row, Kwon Jiwoon smiled and waved his hand. My eyes naturally turned to him. With a shy expression on my face, I hurriedly took a seat next to Kwon Jiwoon. As to how this happened¡­. After Kwon Jiwoon woke up within the barrier that day, I went back to the store once to check Ash¡¯s condition, but soon I headed back to the White Silver Guild. And I talked a lot with Kwon Jiwoon. There¡¯s a lot of stories, really. Kwon Jiwoon explained that in order to protect me, he had no choice but to keep a distance. When I told him that I thought my brother hated me, he was startled and denied it. ¡°Every time, you told me not to show interest in Hunters and just be a normal person.¡± ¡°That¡¯s ¡­ Hunters are ruthless and selfish, and fraudulent methods targeting the family of high-ranking Hunters are rampant.¡± ¡°I wish you had told me that.¡± ¡°But ¡­ yeah, it must have felt that way to you. I¡¯m sorry.¡± I wanted to complain a little more, but when I heard his worrds, all my anger vanished and I had a hard time pretending not to cry. ¡°Then, Rieul-ah. I¡¯ve heard that you¡¯ve awakened, but ¡­ what happened then?¡± ¡°That¡¯s ¡­. so ¡­ first of all, my class is a Cafe Owner.¡± ¡°Ah, yes. That¡¯s right.¡± For a moment, I thought he was going to give me an unexpectedly normal reaction. ¡°I heard that your business is going well these days. The coffee you make is delicious, so it will continue to do well in the future.¡± It¡¯s definitely a good word, but somehow it feels like it¡¯s missing the point. It¡¯s an ambiguous reaction that seems to contain no soul. I felt like I¡¯m having a deja vu. Specifically, it made me remember the time when I revealed my Hunter Class to Ki Yoohyun Kwon Jiwoon seems to have taken my words as a job introduction. No, why would I suddenly bring up my job? I wish I could get rid of the stereotypes about Hunter Class. Someone in the world might have a class called Cafe Owner besides me, right? If there is no Cafe Owner, at least there is a Restaurant Owner. Maybe. ¡°It¡¯s not that, my Hunter Class is the owner of cafe. I¡¯m an F-class Cafe Owner.¡± ¡°Oh? Ah, yes ¡­ what?¡± I roughly recounted what had happened so far, except for the fact that I had regressed. I couldn¡¯t tell him the regression part because of the limitations of the system, and even though it had already happened, I didn¡¯t want him to be saddened by the fact that I died once. Since I omitted the part about the involvement of the saintess and the system, it turned out to be quite a bizarre story. ¡°Well, roughly ¡­ that¡¯s what happened.¡± It¡¯s good to have an open conversation with Kwon Jiwoon. It is difficult to maintain a serious atmosphere with family members for a long time. Should I say that my cheeks are itchy? It feels awkward and embarrassing. I was trying to bring up another topic, but Kwon Jiwoon suddenly opened his mouth. ¡°If that¡¯s what happened, you should be rewarded.¡± Translator¡¯s Corner: I¡¯M SORRY FOR THE LATE UPDATE. I got stressed out lately because paypal suddenly perma-banned my account for absolutely no reason ¡­ I only used it for Ko-fi and haven¡¯t made any other transactions but they judged that I was suspicious without giving me clear reason???????? I FELT WRONGED, I ONLY USED IT FOR A MONTH AND NOW I WOULDN¡¯T BE ABLE TO USE IT FOR (MAYBE) EVER T___T Ah, sorry for the sudden dramatic rant. Since Ko-fi is obviously unavailable for me now, I moved to buymecoffee ¡­ I still like Ko-fi better though. I hope the one who caused my account to get unfairly banned a very long-lasting nightmares T_T CH 86 Award, that was quite out of the blue. ¡°Huh, what ¡­ award?¡± ¡°Just in time, there will be a commendation ceremony for the Hunter¡¯s Night event, so I need to contact the person in charge right away.¡± ¡°What? Oppa, thank you for your consideration, but isn¡¯t a Hunter responded to rift out of its scope?¡± It¡¯s a ¡®Hunter¡¯s Night Celebration¡®, so it may sound strange, but it actually is. That¡¯s because, until a decade ago, they had made a lot of rewards in the name of awarding a commendation to a brave Hunter. As a Hunter, it is not uncommon to enter the dungeon, so the reason depends on the attachment. There was a wide range of awards that were given out in a rotating manner. Since then, rewarding Hunters for simple reasons such as ¡®they responded well to the rift¡¯, ¡®they attacked the dungeon faithfully¡¯ were prohibited. Specific reasons and strict screening have became mandatory. They say that there is a reason for all the rules¡­.. ¡°That¡¯s not true. You said that you¡¯re an Awakened, but Rieul, you don¡¯t belong to a guild or a public institution. It¡¯s great enough to step up in a situation where you¡¯re not obligated to.¡± ¡°That ¡­ I was just worried about the part-timer at my store.¡± ¡°Then it¡¯s even more amazing.¡± ¡°Eww.¡± Now that I look at it, Kwon Jiwoon looks like a dull fellow. Why didn¡¯t I realise it before? No, I was just trying not to realise it. My mouth puffed at the embarrassment. Then, the door of the drawing room opened after a knock. ¡°Yes, Hunter Kwon Jiwoon is right.¡± ¡°Huh ¡­ Jina-ssi? You were here?¡± ¡°I heard about the circumstances from Hunter Ki Yoohyun earlier, and I think you deserve a commendation. I will pass it on to the person in charge.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s okay ¡­ Jina-ssi, aren¡¯t you busy with your work?¡± ¡°Ah, not that much. Leave it to me.¡± ¡­¡­. ¡­¡­. The screening process went on like flowing water. In the end, today has come. It¡¯s nice to receive the award and the prizes (it¡¯s cafeteria meal ticket and fee discount coupon.¡­), but it¡¯s more embarrassing than I thought. ¡°Now that the time has come, how about lunch?¡± Kwon Jiwoon asked me. Well, before I left, I gave the animals plenty of food, and I also prepared a lunch for them, so I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll be fine. ¡°Okay, that¡¯s great. Where are we going?¡± I was about to leave the venue with Kwon Jiwoon, but someone passed by from the opposite side and approached me. ¡°Rieul-ssi, congratulations.¡± ¡°Ahaha, thank you.¡± As a matter of course, it is said that Jina¡¯s brother, Jijon, who returned to his original form, was immediately arrested. It¡¯s not because of the attempted murder charges. When it comes to the case where Grandma Kim Deokyi¡¯s workshop burned down, Jijon is out of the list of suspects and is only an important witness. However, even if the circumstances are taken into account, there are suspicions that he has been involved in various illegal activities. It will be known only when the results of the investigation come out, but it seems difficult to avoid punishment. ¡°Well, who can blame that man for his own gain? I¡¯m glad you saved his life. I hope he comes to his senses after being punished.¡± That¡¯s what Jina said¡­. She looks tired, but her expression is more relaxed. I was relieved to see it. The family of a public official belonging to the main office is an important witness in a large case. Due to this reason, Jina decided to quit the Dungeon Management Office immediately. She had her thoughts, and there must have been some unspoken pressure around her. However, it was Kang Hyunwoo, the head of Emergency Dungeon Countermeasures Team, her boss, who unexpectedly stepped up. ¡°We can¡¯t miss an excellent assistant like Jina-ssi.¡± ¡°Please stay at the main office. Jina-ssi didn¡¯t do anything wrong.¡± She finally decided not to quit thanks to his full support. I¡¯m very curious about this part of the story. I want to hear it in detail. ¡°Jina-ssi, I¡¯m going to have lunch now. Do you want to join?¡± ¡°I would very much like to do that, but what a pity ¡­ it¡¯s the day Rieul-ssi receives the commendation, so I came out for a while. I have to go back soon.¡± Oh dear¡­.. Jina was holding several file folders in one hand and a book in the other hand. The letters on the cover caught my eye. ¡º FINAL preparation for the non-Awakened person screening promotion test with a complete summary in one book. ¡» That¡¯s it. A slow one-hit shot. If she swings it, I think she can send her opponent away in one shot. It seems that Kang Hyunwoo¡¯s words impressed Jina. With an energetic gait, she left with the deadly weapon, no, the book. ¡­ Next time we meet, I¡¯ll make you a strong cup of coffee. *** After separating ways with Jina, I was walking side by side with Kwon Jiwoon to go to the restaurant he had reserved. ¡°¡­¡­?¡± I ran into a little boy in a black suit that fitted him perfectly. His hair was neatly combed to expose his forehead, and his face was expressionless. His cold eyes, seemingly indifferent to the adults around him, even showing signs of boredom. He has a cold atmosphere that is hard to approach. I could see a couple of people around him trying to talk to him, but they¡¯re backing away at the cold reaction. Strangely, he looks familiar. Is it just my feeling? ¡°Kwon Rieul, what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Ah, nothing. I¡¯m coming.¡± Five steps ahead, Kwon Jiwoon called me. I quickly tried to follow him. ¡°¡­¡­Ah.¡± Then, I happened to make eye contact with the child who turned his head in my direction. His cold face turned bright red in an instant. ¡°Oh! Hey, hurry up and come here!¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong? I told you not to call me for something that wasn¡¯t a big deal because it¡¯s annoying.¡± ¡°You idiot! This is not the time for that!¡± Whoops, he snatched a child with the same face in the same outfit that was a little far away. Then, they both started running this way at the same time. Don¡¯t tell me, those kids¡­¡­. ¡°Eonni, hello! What are you doing here? I was surprised!¡± ¡°You idiot! Didn¡¯t you know that Noona was getting a commendation today? I knew about it!¡± ¡°Who allowed you to call her noona, you idiot!¡± ¡°You can call me noona¡­.¡± ¡°What did you say, she said I can!¡± ¡°I also wanted to see you receiving the commendation, Eonni! I couldn¡¯t go because I had a really annoying job today. Congratulations. You¡¯re so cool.¡± ¡°Congratulations!¡± The cheerful voices pouring in before I could even finish a word. They were the twins, Joo Shinwoo and Joo Shinhee. Their atmosphere changed so much when they were wearing a suit, I couldn¡¯t recognize them at once. No, the clothes aren¡¯t the problem ¡­ the cold expression from before was so different. ¡°Wait! Hunter Joo Shinhee, we have to finish our conversation.¡± At that time, the person who was persistently talking to Joo Shinhee earlier got angry and tried to grab her shoulder¡­. ¡°¡­¡­go away.¡± He caught her gaze and backed away. That¡¯s right, they used to be like this before the regression. Hmm. I need to work harder on Dungeon Detox¡­. There was no appearance of Ki Yoohyun or Hunter Han Yiseong next to the twins. This is in front of the main hall of the Dungeon Management Office. Did these kids come here to do business alone? ¡°Where are you going now?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to have lunch now.¡± ¡°¡­.Rieul-ah.¡± When I didn¡¯t come, Kwon Jiwoon came back to find me. ¡°Ah, I¡¯m meeting my acquaintances for a second.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°¡­¡­!¡± The twins looked very surprised when they saw Kwon Jiwoon. Their eyes alternately looked at Kwon Jiwoon and me, and somehow they looked nervous. Why? Are these kids wary of fellow Hunter? They turned around and whispered to each other in a low voice for a moment. Among the twins who came back to face me, Joo Shinhee was the first to exclaim resolutely. ¡°Lead ¡­ Hunter Ki Yoohyun-nim also wanted to come today!¡± ¡°Tha-that¡¯s right! He was going to come and congratulate you!¡± ¡°Eonni, it¡¯s not that he didn¡¯t come on purpose.¡± I know. I already got congratulatory messages on the phone. I was very embarrassed to receive the commendation by myself, as I did the work of saving the Long-tailed Phoenix and saving Kwon Jiwoon with Ki Yoohyun. Since Ki Yoohyun was a hunter belonging to a guild, he was not eligible for the commendation He didn¡¯t seem to care, but¡­¡­. ¡°Why do you think so? It¡¯s a fair reward for what Rieul-ssi has done, please take it easy. It¡¯s a pity I couldn¡¯t attend in person that day.¡± ¡°Ah, are you busy that day?¡± ¡°Yes, I have to deal with a little troublesome work. There are a lot of people in the main office who will feel uncomfortable when they see me.¡± ¡°What on earth did you do¡­.¡± ¡°Haha, somehow it just happened ¡­ congratulations in advance.¡± We had that conversation. ¡°Yes, I heard. I heard he was busy?¡± As if he wanted to defend Ki Yoohyun, Joo Shinwoo quickly nodded. ¡°Yes! The old raccoon could have just opened his mouth quickly ¡­ ouch! Ouch!¡± Joo Shinhee pinched Joo Shinwoo mercilessly and lowered her voice. ¡°You idiot! You can¡¯t talk about that! He said it was a secret.¡± ¡°But, I hope that old raccoon doesn¡¯t interrupt. In the meantime, Noona said she¡¯s eating with that white hair.¡± ¡°It¡¯s all right. I think lead ¡­ Hunter Ki Yoohyun-nim still has an advantage.¡± ¡°Really?!¡± ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s lunch, not dinner, so there¡¯s still a chance of winning. Dinner is dangerous!¡± Guys, I can hear you¡­¡­. I understand roughly what the misunderstanding was, but there is no end to this. I swallowed a bitter smile and first introduced the twins to Kwon Jiwoon. ¡°Oppa, I think you probably know, but these children are Hunter Joo Shinhee and Hunter Joo Shinwoo of Cheongna Guild.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± They bowed their heads slightly with a wary look. Translator¡¯s Corner: dull fellow: ??? (it usually translated to good-for-nothing, but I think dull is better), mainly used to refer to people who constantly brag about their family members. Ki Yoohyun, fighting!!! LOL CH 87 ¡°Is that so? You look very close with them.¡± ¡°Huh? Ah, yes. They¡¯re regulars at my cafe.¡± The twins stared at each other in surprise before they looked at me again. ¡°Re ¡­ am I a reguler?¡± ¡°Yeah, are you not?¡± ¡°I am a regular, Eonni! I will become a regular.¡± ¡°Me ¡­ me too!¡± They nodded their heads eagerly. If you look at them in this way, they are really ordinary kids. ¡°Kids, and this is Kwon Jiwoon, the deputy guild leader of the White Silver Guild. He¡¯s my cousin.¡± ¡°¡­¡­!¡± ¡°Are you cousins?¡± The twins stared at each other again, then they looked at Kwon Jiwoon. Then, a bright smile appeared on their round cheeks. ¡°Hello!¡± ¡°Hello!¡± Their eyes are sparkling. The signs of being strangely wary suddenly disappeared and the lively expression returned to their faces. I also offered lunch to the twins, but they promised to join me next time because they had something to do. However, before leaving, Joo Shinwoo was wriggling his fingers for a long time. It¡¯s obvious that he has something to say. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Hey ¡­ noona, is he okay?¡± ¡°He? Ah, you mean Ash?¡± The last time they met was when we ran away from the black mucus mass in front of the Dungeon Gate. I guess that¡¯s why he was worried about him. ¡°Yeah, he¡¯s fine. Come and see him next time.¡± ¡°¡­¡­! Yes.¡± Swiftly, the twins ran away with a relieved expression. I looked at their backs and thought. ¡®He¡¯s fine, but ¡­ he¡¯s kind of weird.¡¯ *** ¡°Guys, I¡¯m home.¡± After having lunch with Kwon Jiwoon, and packing desserts for Ash and the animals, more time passed than I expected. ¡°Waeeoong! You¡¯re here now, human! Why are you so late?¡± ¡°Kkyuuuuuu!¡± As soon as I opened the door and walked in, I was greeted by Mieum¡¯s meow punch and Lime¡¯s body bump. It hurts quite a bit when they hit me with all their might. ¡°Don¡¯t be so angry. Look, I bought some snacks.¡± I took out the Earl Grey cake, made by a famous dessert shop, from the box I had in my hand. Since I received an award today, I¡¯m glad I chose the biggest size. Mieum put her paws down when she saw the big cake. ¡°Mieum, you are a cat, but you really like snacks.¡± ¡°Waeooogh?! Cat discrimination! Is there a law that says cats shouldn¡¯t eat snacks!¡± Well, there isn¡¯t, but¡­¡­. I suddenly remembered what the saintess had said in my vision. ¡°Your cat will guide you.¡± Really? This one? ¡°Hmm¡­.¡± ¡°¡­.woogyaag?! Why are you suddenly looking at me with such suspicious eyes! It wasn¡¯t me, it was this guy who ate it, meoow!¡± ¡°Kkyu! Kkyuuu!¡± ¡°Mieum, I can see the cream around your mouth.¡± ¡°Mrrrrrrrrrrawr.¡± After avoiding the heavy meow punch that quickly flew in, I sliced ??the cake according to the number of people. However, one person is missing. ¡°By the way, where is Ash?¡± ¡°He¡¯s stuck in there alone, meow!¡± ¡°¡­¡­?¡± As Mieum said, I found Ash when I went to the next room. He was sitting with his knees up and watching TV. The movie on the screen is The Priests. As the main character ran with the black pig, Ash shed tears. Huh ¡­ was that a sad story¡­? Anyway. I tapped lightly on the already opened door and started talking. ¡°Kim Ash! I bought a cake. Come out and let¡¯s eat together.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a very delicious cake. Come quickly.¡± ¡°¡­.Eung.¡± Reluctantly, Ash got up, but he didn¡¯t make eye contact with me. All I could see was Ash¡¯s red neck and earlobes. ¡°Ash, do you have a fever?¡± When the fever rises, the tear glands become loose. Maybe that¡¯s why he sniffled as the movie was running toward a happy ending. I sat with my knees on the floor and made eye contact with Ash. Then, I reached out and tried to measure the heat on his forehead. ¡°Euh¡­.!¡± As soon as my fingers tried to sweep his bangs lightly, Ash violently removed my hand. Then, with an even hotter face, he rushed out and sat down in front of the table. When he first came here, he had an unfriendly attitude, but something seems different this time. It¡¯s hard to say exactly what it is, but it¡¯s different. The reason ¡­ is it because of that day? After confirming that Kwon Jiwoon was safe, I returned to the store once. The purpose was to get Ash out of the space. How anxious he must be to be alone in that place. It must be boring because there is nothing else but a big coffee tree and sugarcanes. I¡¯ll meet him quickly and tell him everything is okay now. My eyes were swollen from all the crying that I did while hugging Kwon Jiwoon tightly. Mieum and Lime, who were sitting on the floor, were surprised to see my face. I went straight into the space. Ash was sitting under the tree trunk, hugging his knees. The dull expression on his face made me realize that it was really over now, so I hugged Ash. ¡°Ash, you¡¯ve waited for a long time. It¡¯s okay now.¡± Rush. Ash¡¯s small, skinny body came into my arms. He was startled, his shoulders and back stiffened. I slowly patted Ash¡¯s back. Little by little, I could see his shoulders relaxed and his earlobes were burning. It was only after he was completely drained that Ash slowly opened his mouth. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you asking?¡± ¡°Huh? What?¡± ¡°Now you know. I¡­.¡± The latter words did not continue for a long time. Then, he added in a barely audible voice, ¡°I¡¯m not human¡°. When he thought I didn¡¯t hear it, Ash opened his lips again, and eventually let out only a thin breath. Yes, as Ash said, I know that Ash¡¯s identity is not an ordinary human being. Now that I think about it, I should have noticed it when he was lying down in front of this store. I just thought he was a kid in his sensitive age with a situation.¡­. However, it didn¡¯t mean that I didn¡¯t want to investigate Ash¡¯s identity just because I felt sorry for him. I wasn¡¯t someone with such a nice personality. The system no longer tells me to deal with Ash. I don¡¯t know what that means, but keeping Ash doesn¡¯t pose a threat to me. The black eyes tried to look calm, but the anxiety inside them was clearly visible. The guilty conscience that I would feel if I interrogate and drive out Ash, who makes such a sad expression. The uncertain safety that might be gained from doing that. I weighed Ash and the uncertain safety, and I chose the former. Besides, he¡¯s a genius part-timer¡­. Just imagining running the cafe by myself without Ash makes my eyes turn dark. I continued speaking, hugging Ash tighter. ¡°Are you the being called the incarnation of Asmodeus?¡± ¡°¡­¡­!¡± His eyes shook greatly. He looked as if he was saying, ¡®Why are you doing this when you know it?¡¯. ¡°Come to think of it, you said it when we first met. I thought you were just babbling.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t like being here?¡± Flinch. Ash, who was surprised, slowly shook his head. ¡°Okay then. Ash is the part-timer at my house, huh.¡± ¡°¡­¡­Yes.¡± It was good to bring him out like that, but he has been acting in that way since then. I think his behavior lately is a bit of a mess; he seems to be shy, and somehow he seems to be restless¡­. I wonder if it¡¯s because he¡¯s in a difficult age. That¡¯s what this is all about. I took out the roasted coffee beans. The event that threw the city into chaos is over. The danger of rifts and dungeons is still lurking, but for now it is peaceful. However, there was still one problem in Cafe Rieul. [Fresh Milk: Out of Stock ¡ù We are currently preparing for stock. We¡¯ll send you a notification when it¡¯s in stock.] It is true that there is no sign of milk coming in. The Dimensional Shop didn¡¯t sell milk even though they ate a few of my rubies. A cafe without milk ¡­ unintentionally, the menu has decreased significantly. Instead, I found this menu while looking through the list of recipes I¡¯ve gotten so far in the hopes of making a new menu. Well, this is it. There was no milk in the ingredients, and it seemed perfect to drink in this current situation. I first picked the fruit of the Purifying Tree, the lemon, from the space. Then, I washed the lemon thoroughly and sliced it finely. Next, brew the espresso. It was a simple menu that was completed by adding espresso to a coffee cup with sliced lemon. As I put one more cup down in front of me, a status window appeared. [Item: Cafe Romano (¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡î) Enchantment is another word for granting magic. It refers to applying magic to an item to increase its efficacy semi-permanently. The problem is that sometimes the item will broke when the enchantment fails. If an expensive item that you¡¯ve worked hard to get is damaged due to the enchantment, you will get an anger disorder. I thought it would be good to give this menu to Grandma Kim Deokyi next time. The fresh lemon scent blends well with the flavor of the espresso. After taking a sip of coffee, I spoke to Ash. ¡°Ash, do you want some sugar?¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay. It is delicious as it is.¡± Even though he said so, Ash, who took a sip of coffee, had a complicated look. Seeing that the satisfaction bar fills up only after he ate a big piece of cake with a fork, bitter coffee doesn¡¯t seem to suit his taste. ¡°Ash is good at drinking bitter coffee.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± ¡­¡­I decided to pretend I didn¡¯t know. ¡°Unyaaaah (Me too! I¡¯m different too)!¡± ¡°Kkyuu! Kkyuu!¡± As soon as the cake plate was placed in front of them, Mieum and Lime quickly ate it up and started playing with cream on each other¡¯s bodies. Hey, how do you guys clean that up¡­¡­. Well, it doesn¡¯t matter because there is ¡®The Floor is Shiny¡®. Leaving the two creamy lumps alone, I also took a bite of the cake. It¡¯s delicious. *** ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t want to join the White Silver Guild?¡± It was when I had lunch with Kwon Jiwoon. He said in a casual tone, but I knew he asked seriously. I quietly shook my head. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°Okay, I understand.¡± It was an offer that I had already rejected once. As if it was just a confirmation, Kwon Jiwoon did not ask again and only wet his throat with water. [Next] Translator¡¯s Corner: The Priests is a real Korean movie. I haven¡¯t watched it though, the genre (supernatural, mystery, thriller) isn¡¯t exactly my cup of taste, so I can¡¯t explain to you why Ash cried while watching that lol CH 88 Although the barrier problem was resolved, the situation of the White Silver Guild was still complicated. As a considerable number of hunters have left the guild, it is impossible for the guild to raid the dungeon. The guild¡¯s capability to solo-attack a dungeon is an important criterion for dividing the so-called ¡°Grade¡± of the guild. Moreover, Hunter Park Heeyoung, who was always next to Kwon Jiwoon, hit the back of his head like that¡­. No wonder Kwon Jiwoon¡¯s mind is complicated. Ah, I should have ripped off all of Park Heeyoung¡¯s hair. I ripped it off that day, but I still can¡¯t get rid of all my anger. She is detained and being investigated by the Dungeon Management Office. There must be several charges at stake, so we won¡¯t meet again. ¡°I should recruit new hunters now.¡± Kwon Jiwoon added. In order to maintain the White Silver Guild, which was founded and raised by my uncle, Kwon Jiwoon said that he had rarely recruited new hunters. However, Kwon Jiwoon, who said that they could not stay in this state forever, seemed relieved. I suddenly remembered Choi Cedric. The hunters who belonged to the White Silver Guild moved to the guild under the C&L Corporation. It would be natural for a person to suspect C&L is behind the incident of the White Silver Guild. However, there is no clear evidence due to their cunning actions. Is Choi Cedric also involved in this? When we met in person, he didn¡¯t feel so insidious, but¡­. Hmm, it¡¯s hard to tell right now, so let¡¯s think about it later. In such a bad situation, there is only one reason why he asked me to join the White Silver Guild. To protect me. In the past, he purposely kept his distance to protect me, but this time, he¡¯s just trying to keep me close to his watch. As a cafe owner, I don¡¯t have anything to do in the White Silver Guild right now. That¡¯s why I refused. I¡¯m happy to confirm my relationship with Kwon Jiwoon and the affection of my family, but I didn¡¯t want to be a burden for him. When I said so, Kwon Jiwoon was bitter. Still, he quickly accepted my decision. ¡°But you¡¯ve never been a burden.¡± He didn¡¯t forget to add this. And¡­. ¡°Waeooong (Human, what is this)!¡± At Mieum¡¯s cry, I cut off the thoughts that were expanding. As the bag fell sideways, the award certificate that I had put inside came out. It was the moment when Mieum and Lime, who happily ate the cake, were about to touch the award certificate case. ¡°Wait! Kwon Mieum, Kwon Lime, stop! Stop!¡± ¡°Kyagyakyaong?!¡± ¡°Kkyuuuuu!¡± Mieum, who was startled, puffed out her tail. In the meantime, I grabbed a wet tissue and approached the two animals. ¡°I told you not to touch a piece of paper when you have something on you!¡± Whew, I¡¯m glad. I was able to stop Mieum and Lime, who were almost becoming creamy lumps, from stamping their milk fat footprints on paper. I freed the animals only after thoroughly wiping their bodies, the soles of their feet, and the corners of the mouth. ¡°Kkyuuuu! Kkyuuu!¡± ¡°Nyaaaah (Is this the thing called the award certificate)!¡± There¡¯s a brief moment for them to look into the letters of the award certificate. Soon, the two began to play, bouncing the award certificate case. They really like unexpected things. ¡°Please be quiet ¡­ eh, well done.¡± I tossed the award certificate case to dry the animals that were bouncing the award certificate case to hit each other¡¯s foreheads and left them alone. I wanted to stop at that¡­. Instead, I looked at the award certificate placed alone. I was very embarrassed, and the thought of receiving an undeserved award remains the same. ¡®Still¡­.¡¯ It feels nice. *** Midnight. Ash felt thirsty and opened his eyes. The light sleep had already receded. He put down the red slime cushion he was hugging and stood up. He was going to take water out of the refrigerator and drink it for a while, but an unexpected scene grabbed Ash¡¯s feet. ¡°Um¡­..¡± A hall on the first floor where yellow lights glow softly A woman with a foolish face was lying flat on her stomach at the table. What is she doing here until this hour? Ash¡¯s question was solved before he even approached her. It¡¯s because he heard a sound of steady breathing. On the table, there is a book with ¡®Dungeon Ecology Encyclopedia¡® written on its cover. It seems that she fell asleep while trying to read that book. ¡®If I leave her alone, she will wake up on her own. ¡® Ash ignored her and tried to head toward the refrigerator. However, this time, he heard a voice. ¡°Ash¡­..¡± ¡°Why?¡± He waited for a while, but the words didn¡¯t continue. It seemed that it was just a sleep-talking. Ash became curious about the latter words of the sleep talks that was swallowed by the drowsy breathing, and he was annoyed at himself who was curious about such things. The woman tossed and turned her body, but there was no sign of waking up. The weather is already in early winter. The first floor, where the heating was turned off, was quite chilly, so if she continued to sleep like this, she would definitely catch a cold. ¡°Haa¡­.¡± She was a woman who could only be described as really stupid. It would make him feel bad to see her sniffling with a cold. He thought that he had no choice but to hug her and take her to the room on the second floor. ¡­¡­and then, he hesitated. He remembered the time when she hugged him in the space beneath the huge tree. Her eyes were swollen and she looked like a mess, yet she patted him on the back, saying she was worried about him. He doesn¡¯t know how she is so insensitive. Ash felt his earlobes burning hot. He has been feeling strange since that day. Every time this woman approached him without hesitation or swept his hair, his breath became short and his cheeks became hot. That¡¯s why Ash was trying not to encounter Kwon Rieul as much as possible, even though there was no success today. ¡°¡­¡­.Sh.¡± No, this is not it. Unlike this woman who hugs people everywhere, he is just trying to move her to her room. That¡¯s really all it is¡­. Nevertheless, touching her while she was asleep felt a bit cowardly. In the end, Ash took a step back without embracing Kwon Rieul. Instead, he used his magic to levitate her body. [The connection is not smooth. Reconnection requires reconstitution of existence.] The warning window flashed in front of him. Ash frowned slightly and then deleted the warning window. As the Otherworld Gate was closed, in the aftermath, Ash became a ¡®separated link¡¯. In other words, the connection with the main body was completely disconnected and it became an independent entity. The ego of an individual incarnation is meaningless to oneself. Originally, he would not be able to withstand the instability and chose extinction, but¡­. Ash made his way to the second floor with Kwon Rieul¡¯s floating body. She didn¡¯t wake up even when he, without shaking, put her down on the bed. Ash thought, looking at her quietly. It¡¯s a weak human body, so it can¡¯t be helped. ¡®I should protect you.¡¯ *** It happened when I talked to Ki Yoohyun on the phone for the commendation. Before I hung up, he blurted out some words. ¡ª Rieul-ssi, I have something to tell you ¡­ when do you have time? ¡°Then, come to the cafe when it¡¯s convenient for you, Yoohyun-ssi.¡± ¡ª No, it¡¯s not that ¡­ I¡¯d like to see you outside separately. Ah. He helped me many times, but I always asked him to come to the cafe. Even so, I thought I should express my gratitude properly, this is great. That¡¯s how I made an appointment today. As soon as the cafe was cleaned up, Ki Yoohyun arrived just in time. As the weather was quite chilly, I put on a thick coat and prepared to go out. ¡°Then, Ash, I¡¯ll be back.¡± However, Ash ran forward and blocked Ki Yoohyun. ¡­¡­what? Even at first glance, the sullen expression looked dissatisfied with something. ¡°Ash, what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± Shashashak, shashak. When Ki Yoohyun stepped to the left, Ash went to the left, and when he went to the right, he also went to the right. Left, oh, left, left, oh, left, right again. He blocked the view with the perfect timing. All Perfect Combo! I didn¡¯t know that our Ash had a talent for rhythm games. With his agile and swift movement, he can show off his brilliant skills without being intimidated by any arcade. No, no, not this. ¡°Yoohyun-ssi, why are you matching the rhythm with the kid again?¡± When I turned around, Ki Yoohyun turned his head with a shy expression. ¡°It¡¯s fun, that¡¯s enough¡­.¡± I approached Ash, who actually had not been able to hide Ki Yoohyun at all because of his short height, and asked. ¡°Ash, what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°When are you coming home today?¡± ¡°Well ¡­ I think it¡¯s going to be a little late.¡± It is early evening now. Considering the time it takes to eat and move, it might be late at night. Anguish crossed Ash¡¯s face. He has something to say, but he looked like he was hurting his pride. I sat knee-to-knee on the floor, made eye contact, and waited for Ash¡¯s inner conflict to come to an end. It seems that it was the speaking side that won after a fierce battle. He closed his eyes tightly before opened his lips. ¡°Noona¡­.!¡± ¡°Uh, huh?¡± It was the first time Ash called me noona. No matter how much I asked before, he didn¡¯t listen. In the meantime, the voice saying noona with a face that looks better because he ate and rested well was so cute. Ash¡¯s cheeks flushed red. ¡°Waeoong (good job, good job)!¡± ¡°Kkyuuu!¡± Ash continued, leaving behind the audience who did not clear whether they were teasing or cheering him. ¡°Noona, can you come home early today?¡± ¡°Uh ¡­ huh?¡± Why is he suddenly doing something he usually didn¡¯t do? Translator¡¯s Corner: Holstein and Jersey are cow types, in case you didn¡¯t know. This 8th section of the novel will be full of fluff, enjoy the cuteness~ CH 89 It¡¯s cute, it¡¯s incredibly cute, but I¡¯m flustered. ¡°I¡¯m scared to sleep alone ¡­ I hope Noona comes early.¡± Ash wiggled her fingers and avoided my gaze. Indeed, only a few days has passed after the attack of the mass of black mucus. Even though Ash is something that is not human, even if he¡¯s the (self-proclaimed) Demon King of Twilight, he¡¯s still such a young kid, so it must be scary. I eventually promised to come back early and set out on the road. ¡°Nyaaaah (Isn¡¯t that too much)¡­..¡± ¡°Kkyuu, kkyuuuu¡­..¡± ¡°Waeooogh (Little guy, your acting is terrible).¡± The audience¡¯s strict criticism was heard behind my back. They¡¯re cold. *** Ki Yoohyun looked nervous when there¡¯s only two of us after we left the cafe. As usual, he smiled brightly. However, he led me to a large, expensive-looking car parked in front of the store with a stiff attitude somehow. The car was driven by Ki Yohyun himself. ¡°Rieul-ssi, what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Ah. I think you are good at driving.¡± It felt strange to see him at the wheel like this because he always randomly appeared and disappeared as he wanted. ¡°I wanted to move quietly today, so I paid some attention.¡± Umh. I can see the reason why reverse parking with parking ticket in the driver¡¯s mouth has been talked about for a long time. The side profile of Ki Yoohyun, who is driving the car smoothly while holding the steering wheel, looks cool even at first glance. His slightly long hair was neatly brushed to reveal his straight forehead, and his clothes also matched his tall height. What is he trying to say that makes him pay this much attention? No matter how hard I thought, I couldn¡¯t think of the reason why he would need to tell me separately. What did we talk about the last time we met? I¡¯m sure that¡¯s¡­. ¡­..Ah. I swallowed a sigh. I remembered the memory of a big hand that covered mine, and a voice that touched my ears. ¡°Just, there¡¯s no need for Rieul-ssi to be in pain because of people like this.¡± It felt like the warmth of his hand was spreading throughout my body. His soft voice, the concern contained in it, touched my heart greatly. It is too destructive to hear such words from such a person. It seems that not enough time has passed for the handsome immunity to develop yet. ¡­.that¡¯s why I deliberately tried not to think about it! My heart thumped loudly. At this rate, it will be difficult to face Ki Yoohyun. I creaked, desperately trying to think of something else. Thoughts, other thoughts ¡­ hmm, so¡­. Come to think of it, I have a closet license. I got my license, but I didn¡¯t have time to practice because I used public transportation for work anyway. Wait, when did I get my license? Obviously that¡¯s¡­. ¡°¡­¡­Ah.¡± ¡°Rieul-ssi, what¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Nothing ¡­ it¡¯s just¡­.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± That¡¯s right, I¡¯m back. I got my driver¡¯s license before I returned to the past. In other words, I have to get my license again. ¡°¡­¡­I was thinking that I should get a driver¡¯s license.¡± It was a bit saddening. While I was sad that I had to get my driver¡¯s license again, the car ran smoothly down the road. Since it was the Hunter¡¯s Night, the street was congested from early evening. Hunter¡¯s Night, simply put, was a festival-like event for Hunters held once a year. It was held every year without fail even in situations where rifts suddenly broke out because it has a meaning to inform that Korea is safe. The most popular event is the bargain sale of Hunter Market. People has been waiting in line from the night before to buy a sale item. In addition, a long line was seen outside the car window due to events held by each guild. It¡¯s a very different street scene from when we were panicked because of the black mucus lumps. In order to avoid the crowds, he place where Ki Yoohyun drove the car was a restaurant located on the outskirts. It seemed that he already made a reservation in advance because the staff immediately guided us to our seats. The restaurant has a flashy atmosphere as if it¡¯s a place where people would never visit unless something special happened, so my shoulders became stiff with tension. A completely separate room for a quiet conversation. The food came out shortly after we sat down at the designated seats. Everything looked delicious, and I especially liked the fresh seafood dish. Well, we¡¯d better talk after we eat. As soon as the cafe was closed, I came straight here, and I¡¯m getting hungry. All the food was delicious. I tasted the dishes that come out one by one in the order of the course, then Ki Yoohyun suddenly spoke. ¡°Hunter Han Yiseong asked me to thank Rieul-ssi.¡± ¡°Yes? Why?¡± I remembered the good-looking Hunter Han Yiseong. However, no matter how much I thought about it, I didn¡¯t remember doing anything that would make him feel grateful to me. ¡°Hunter Han Yiseong is on good terms with Hunter Kwon Jiwoon.¡± Well, they looked pretty close when I saw them before. ¡°I see ¡­ then the two are friends?¡± ¡°Rather than a friend¡­¡­.¡± Ki Yoohyun, who was choosing his words for a while, continued. ¡°As a Hunter, if you work in the guild for a long time, you will naturally find out that there aren¡¯t many people you can trust. For Hunter Han Yiseong, Hunter Kwon Jiwoon is a rare opponent.¡± Even so, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s something I should be thanked for. I was embarrassed by the unexpected words, but Ki Yoohyun, who moistened his throat with water, opened his mouth again. ¡°Rieul-ssi, what happened within the barrier that day?¡± ¡°Ah, that¡¯s¡­¡­.¡± That annoying meaningful experience ¡­ no, can I say that I met the saintess? It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t trust Ki Yoohyun, but I was reluctant to say it as I couldn¡¯t understand the exact meaning of what the saintess had said. ¡°No, I¡¯m sorry. You don¡¯t have to answer.¡± ¡°.¡­why?¡± ¡°Asking Rieul-ssi about this first feels a bit ¡­ cowardly. Let¡¯s have this conversation again after I say what I have to say.¡± ¡°Yes, go ahead.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± For a moment, silence fell. As if to finally bring up the main point, the black eyes filled with light turned straight to me. The extremely serious expression on his face made me nervous as well. It was the moment when Ki Yoohyun licked his lips and was about to say something. Knock, knock. The staff opened the door, came in, served the dessert, and went out again. Perfect timing as if you were aiming for it! I don¡¯t think it would be possible to intentionally enter at such an exquisite timing. The conversation was cut off naturally. Ki Yoohyun swallowed what he was about to say and pushed the plate in front of him instead. ¡°Try this. It¡¯s savory and delicious.¡± I suddenly felt a sense of incompatibility. What is it? I think I forgot something. ¡°Yoohyun-ssi, how about this? What does this taste like?¡± Ki Yoohyun tasted the dessert on the plate without any doubt. ¡°It¡¯s sour. I think there¡¯s citron in the sauce.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°¡­what¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Yoohyun-ssi, it may sound strange, but ¡­ have you ever had problems with your taste buds like being unable to taste something?¡± However, even without hearing the answer, Ki Yoohyun in front of me seemed to have no problem tasting the taste. ¡°No. I¡¯ve never had a problem like that ¡­ why?¡± At that moment, the words of a certain cat came to mind. ¡°This man, you hardly notice the taste.¡± ¡°His sense of taste seems to have weakened considerably.¡± Yes, it¡¯s Mieum who told this story. In other words, it is not a confirmed story, but it¡¯s just Mieum¡¯s wild talk. ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°Rieul-ssi?¡± I poured out my resentment towards a certain beast that was not here. Kwon Mieum, we¡¯ll see. You¡¯re dead when I get home! *** ¡°I¡¯m against it. Please reconsider.¡± It was Han Yiseong who shook his head at Ki Yoohyun¡¯s words. ¡°No. I know Hunter Han Yiseong¡¯s concern, but my thoughts remain the same. I¡¯m going to tell Rieul-ssi today.¡± ¡°If that¡¯s what the guild leader¡¯s will ¡­ I understand.¡± Ki Yoohyun recalled this conversation and touched his forehead. Understand be damned. He should have said it more clearly. Don¡¯t disturb me. *** ¡°It would be easier to talk in a place where there are no people.¡± After finishing the meal, Ki Yoohyun, who said so, drove the car again. Huh? Wasn¡¯t the restaurant quiet and empty just now? Ki Yoohyun, noticing the question in my eyes, smiled bitterly. ¡°It looks like there¡¯s a mouse.¡± As soon as he finished his words, the car made a big U-turn. Huh? I think our genre has just changed. Is it just me? The car sped down the road into the city. Then, with his exquisite driving skills, he circled the road and went uphill at an unexpected timing. The buildings gradually decreased and soon became a mountain road. The car stopped in front of an observatory after running for a while. It was a place where you could look down at the city from the top of the mountain. An observatory where darkness began to fall. There were quite a few people around the observatory. ¡°That¡¯s right. I heard there¡¯s a fireworks display today.¡± Hunter¡¯s Night Fireworks Festival was today. The fireworks don¡¯t detonate real gunpowder, but they are created with mana by the wizard-class Hunters. This is also a traditional event that has been going on for several years because it also means showing off that there are many high-grade Hunters in Korea. The scene where the colorful fireworks created by ether embroidered the night sky is quite spectacular, so it is understandable that there are so many people. It¡¯s especially true today. If I remember correctly, the person in charge of the fireworks display this time is Hunter Oh Seoho, ranked 17th, who is famous for his handsomeness. It was rare for a ranker to directly take charge of such entertainment, so it became a hot topic. When I looked around, I saw many people holding objects with Oh Seoho¡¯s picture. It wasn¡¯t a good atmosphere to talk quietly, but everyone was excited anyway, so they were not interested in others. Rather, it might be easier to talk in this atmosphere. Since I¡¯m not immune to that face, it¡¯s very nerve-racking to face Ki Yoohyun in a quiet place. Moreover, I had never seen this fireworks properly before the regression. Ah. I¡¯ve only seen it once. It was late night at the company, it looked small through the gap in the building outside the window. ¡®It¡¯s a sad memory¡­.¡¯ As such, I was a little excited. [Next] Translator¡¯s Corner: Closet license: ?? ??, it refers to a license that has not been used for a long time. The license is obtained, but not being used for its purpose, so it is like storing a license in a closet. Reverse parking while biting the parking ticket is kinda popular romantic idea in Korea, here¡¯s the example: CH 90 I found a suitable seat through the gap between the people who played the timing game to catch the best spot. It falls next to the observatory and is not visible to people, but it is a place with a good view because the front is open. ¡°Yoohyun-ssi, go over there. I think we can see it well over there.¡± ¡°Oh, yes, I will.¡± Claiming the spot is a race against time. I grabbed Ki Yoohyun¡¯s arm and strode to the right spot. Then, it wasn¡¯t long before the fireworks started. First, a small yellow flame painted a picture in the sky. The picture drawn by the beautiful fireworks is ¡­ huh¡­? Someone¡¯s face? It was Oh Seoho¡¯s face, who winked with a lively and bright smile. The phrase that appeared at the bottom with the autograph was ¡®Made by Oh Seoho¡®. ¡°He ¡­ he¡¯s a strong narcissist.¡± ¡°He¡¯s not a bad person ¡­ in some way.¡± ¡°Oh, have you met him?¡± ¡°Somehow, yes.¡± Ki Yoohyun answered briefly as if it¡¯s not a topic he wanted to talk about. Although the first one was embarrassing, the following fireworks were colorful and beautiful. The dazzling light constantly changes shape and paints pictures in the sky. Oh Seoho is truly an illusionist. Although he is now more widely known as a celebrity, his abilities were enormous. When a huge castle appeared in the sky of Seoul and then turned into butterflies and disappeared, it seemed to lead people into a fantasy world, not mere fireworks. It was a moment when I admired the fireworks in the cool breeze. ¡°¡­¡­?¡± I suddenly felt uncomfortable. What is it? ¡°Yoohyun-ssi, one moment.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°So, umh, ah, I¡¯ll get something to drink from the vending machine.¡± ¡°I will go.¡± ¡°No. It¡¯s right over there, okay. Stay where you are.¡± There was a beverage vending machine not far away. I bought two warm barley teas and pretended to return to my original place, then I glanced over the bushes. ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°¡­¡­Ah.¡± He tried to press his hat on in a hurry, but it was already too late. There¡¯s no way I can¡¯t recognize the silver hair that glitters subtly even in the dark night. ¡°..¡­Kwon Jiwoon, what are you doing there?¡± Kwon Jiwoon was crouching behind the bushes, and next to him was a good-looking man, Hunter Han Yiseong. ¡°Haha, ha. Rieul-ah, it¡¯s a coincidence to meet you here.¡± ¡°¡­¡­Hello, long time no see.¡± ¡°Dont tell me, oppa, you¡¯re not following your younger sister or something like that ¡­ right?¡± Right? No matter what, Kwon Jiwoon isn¡¯t free enough to do such things, right? I stared at him with those words in my eyes. ¡°Ah, no, no, of course not! That¡¯s impossible. This is a coincidence, a coincidence.¡± ¡°But why are you two here?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just to watch the fireworks. It¡¯s a long-awaited opportunity.¡± All this time, who hasn¡¯t been interested in exciting events in their lifetime? I looked at Kwon Jiwoon with suspicious eyes. ¡°This is behind the observatory, so you won¡¯t be able to see it here¡­.¡± ¡°Oh! Over there, over there! There¡¯s just a seat over there, let¡¯s go!¡± Just as I was about to investigate further with doubt, Hunter Han Yiseong got up with Kwon Jiwoon. Seeing them rush toward the front of the observatory to get a good seat in a hurry, they looked quite close. A while ago, Ki Yoohyun said that the two were friends, so it was true¡­. How close would they be to see the fireworks together? After watching their backs for a while, I went back to where Ki Yoohyun was. While watching the remaining fireworks, I talked about this and that with Ki Yoohyun. Unexpectedly, he was a pretty good talker. I talked about the new menu I made yesterday, and Ki Yoohyun said that the main office of the Dungeon Management Office was busy dealing with the last case. ¡°Wow, that¡¯s cool.¡± The final highlight, fireworks with the motif of a winter forest, decorated the grand ending. The fantastic forest, which seemed to have a refreshing smell, turned into snowflakes and disappeared one by one. Soon after, even the last snowflake turned into darkness, and the fireworks ended. It¡¯s indeed a nation with ¡®hurry up¡® culture. People who filled the observatory began to leave, saying they had to go home quickly before the traffic jams. He said he had something to say, but Ki Yoohyun didn¡¯t talk much until the fireworks were over. Is he going to talk about it after the number of people decreases? While drinking still warm canned barley tea, I looked at Ki Yoohyun quietly. More than two months have already passed since I first encountered this man in the front yard of the store. Ki Yoohyun helped me several times, and he was generally kind. Sometimes he says strange things, but I think he¡¯s a good person. However, there were times when I felt a strange feeling that was hard to express from him. How should I describe it ¡­ he has a well-shaped face that can¡¯t be covered with long hair or glasses, but he doesn¡¯t have a presence for that. His presence suddenly appears here and there, but it also would disappear again and again all of sudden. As we talked from time to time, he knew a lot of things, but he seemed not to be interested in anything. I felt like he¡¯s here and not here at the same time. It seems that some part of the person named Ki Yoohyun is somewhere else, not here. That¡¯s still the case. That¡¯s why I believed Mieum¡¯s words that he barely felt any sense of taste without any doubt. Somehow I thought this person might be like that. After the fireworks, darkness fell again. The street lamp lights don¡¯t reach here. Those black eyes gleamed as if they contained light even in the dark. Looking at his face, I suddenly remembered when he appeared at the shopping mall in Yongsan. He appeared with particles of sparkling light, and it felt as if he would disappear soon. I unintentionally stretched out my hand, but I didn¡¯t know where and what to catch, so I took it back. ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± In complete silence, I couldn¡¯t stand the silence and opened my mouth first. ¡°It¡¯s getting cold. I guess it¡¯s really winter now.¡± ¡°Yes. It¡¯s quite cold.¡± ¡°Yoohyun-ssi, what do you want to tell me today?¡± He has a clear expression of hesitation. Ki Yoohyun took a light breath and slowly opened his mouth. ¡°That¡¯s ¡­ I¡¯m sorry. I wasn¡¯t ready to speak, so I kept you waiting, Rieul-ssi. There was a disturbance.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay. It was fun to watch the fireworks, and as Yoohyun-ssi said, it seems that Kwon Jiwoon and Hunter Han Yiseong are friends.¡± Since they came all the way here together. Ki Yoohyun smiled bitterly at my words. He must have known that. ¡°You may be surprised, but I¡­.¡± However, the latter words did not continue straight away, and he went silent again. In the distance where the sound of his breathing could be clearly heard, I could feel his tension. Ah. I can¡¯t stand this tense atmosphere. ¡°Hey, what¡¯s is it? I won¡¯t be surprised, so tell me.¡± At the same time, even I became nervous. Unable to bear the atmosphere, I opened my mouth again. ¡°Are you trying to tell me some secret? For example ¡­ is it that Yoohyun-ssi is the No.1 ranker, Muwon?¡± ¡°¡­.yes?¡± Flinch. Ki Yoohyun was visibly surprised. His black eyes trembled greatly. Huh, was that really it? What am I supposed to say¡­. *** Ki Yoohyun decided to reveal his identity to Rieul. He couldn¡¯t lie to her any more. His reason for hiding his identity from before the regression to the present is simple. When it comes to the first ranker of the current Korean Hunter World, he¡¯s already a kind of strategic resource that has already surpassed individuals. It was natural for his actions to be limited as much as his strong abilities. There was a practical reason to avoid unnecessary friction and move freely. In the end, he did not trust others; Hunter Han Yiseong, who was always by his side, or even the party where they had the final decisive battle together. In addition, Ki Yoohyun soon realized that there was a missing part of his memory. In particular, the past memories before his awakening were unclear. Information such as date of birth, age, and where he was born remained, but he doesn¡¯t think it¡¯s him. He felt like he was looking into other people¡¯s memories, as if he was reading a book. Each cell that makes up his body felt unfamiliar. Can he simply call the collection of recorded information himself? ¡®It¡¯s finally over.¡¯ ¡®Thank you so much, Hunter-nim¡­!¡¯ When the Awakening Center was destroyed, there were people cheering that the Hunter World could finally be normalized. The person they have been waiting for is Muwon. At that moment, Ki Yoohyun was unfamiliar with himself and could not stand it. He felt terribly reluctant to respond to their jubilation. It seemed as if the shadow had been erased and became a solitary existence. The Power of White Light. It is a skill that manipulates space using the dense web of light created by The Spider Goddess, the being who makes threads in the dark. However, whenever Ki Yoohyun uses this power, he gets the feeling that he is flowing into ¡®the other side¡¯ through the net of light. One day, the moment this web was completed, he felt a fear that he would disappear beyond the ¡°Ultimate Gate¡± and that this place would be taken over by someone other than himself. Who on earth can he share this feeling with? Then, he went back to three years in the past; now. At first, he had no intention of revealing his identity to Kwon Rieul. Many things have already changed from the original pre-regression past. The person at the center of all the changes is Kwon Rieul, which must not be a coincidence. However, she¡¯s an ordinary person by all accounts. Far from being related to the cult or the Demons, she also got injured by the tactics aimed at Kim Deokyi¡¯s workshop. It would be best to maintain a loose relationship as it is. He would help when she¡¯s in danger, sometimes go for coffee, never reveal who he is. A loose relationship that only shows a well-made human figure. That¡¯s what he thought. ¡°Awakening doesn¡¯t mean you become a different being, right?¡± Those words somehow stuck in his mind. It¡¯s not meant for him. She must have said it out of concern for the twins who were still young. The words may be so plain and trivial that she won¡¯t even remember it. Still, the more he thinks about it, the more it feels like she said that for him. When he drank the coffee she made, he felt the empty space of his worn-out soul was filling up. Every time he tasted that warmth, he wanted to ask. Even now, do you still think awakening does not make you a different being? However, the day when he was unable to keep his decision to not reveal his identity and maintain a loose relationship came. The city is thrown into chaos as black mucus appeared. ¡°Oh, you were just here. Guild leader?!¡± As soon as Rieul pressed the security bell, Ki Yoohyun jumped over the space without hesitation towards her. It took some time to figure out where it was, as the action was faster than the accident. The net of light knocked down the monster. She embraced the child who was made as the incarnation of the Abyss. He saw her standing there, her face filled with determination to save such a child. ¡°¡­.Yoohyun-ssi!¡± The moment he heard the clear voice. Ki Yoohyun felt the urge to let her know who he was. [Next] Translator¡¯s Corner: ¡°Hurry up¡± culture ( ???? culture): it refers to Korean¡¯s culture where a fast-paced lifestyle is embraced since most Koreans tend to do everything very quickly. I think I have a nasty bad luck this month ¡­ this afternoon my laptop suddenly decided to do windows update WITHOUT ASKING FOR MY OPINION and now it can¡¯t be put to sleep or hibernate (when I did that, I was greeted by black screen and I had no choice but to forcibly turn it off). I already tried many suggestions in internet but nothin works wtf this is why you shouldn¡¯t update Windows. ANYWAY, I hope you enjoy this chapter! see you on monday (I really need to start working on the new series). CH 91 PUBLISHED ON 19th Oct 2022 Translated by cabinfourtranslations. Therefore, in the present. Ki Yoohyun made an appointment to meet with Rieul in order to reveal his identity. Ironically, even though he was nervous, his heart started to get excited. Perhaps because it is a meeting only for the purpose of meeting her, which is different from the previous loose relationship. He reserved a restaurant that serves food that she might like. The atmosphere is calm, so it would be perfect to have a quiet conversation after eating. However, as soon as Rieul greeted him with a bright smile, his head went blank. Ki Yoohyun can¡¯t imagine how her expression will change as soon as he opens his mouth. Will she get angry because he lied to her? If so, it¡¯s still fine. He will apologize as much as he can until her anger subsides. However¡­. What should he do if she becomes wary of himself? If he¡¯s unable to see her comfortable smile again, if she sees him as a stranger ¡­ just imagining it seems to tighten the tension in his chest. The moment he finally made up my mind and tried to open his mouth. The staff knocked on the door, it was time for the dessert to be served. Not far beyond the wall, he could feel the presence of Han Yiseong. Even though he knows that he can¡¯t fool Ki Yoohyun¡¯s senses, he dares to continue to follow him, is it a protest because he asked for his understanding? Han Yiseong strongly objected his decision to reveal his identity to Rieul. It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t understand why he was against it. He¡¯s probably worried about the loose relationship he has worked hard to build up. Ki Yoohyun admitted that Han Yiseong¡¯s interference was rather welcome. This is not a good place to talk because of the interruptions. With that excuse, he drove the car and headed for the dark observatory. He was confident that he would say it this time ¡­ until he saw the light of the fireworks shining on Rieul¡¯s white cheeks. Her chestnut brown hair slowly flutters in the wind. Her large eyes, who were looking at him, blinked slowly. Exhaling a light breath, she rubbed the canned drink with her cold fingers. The whole figure was clearly engraved in his eyes. A few minutes to urge lips that were barely moving passed. Ki Yoohyun neatly admitted defeat. He has never been so indecisive, but he doesn¡¯t have the courage. Yeah, next time. Let¡¯s talk next time we meet. He. was greedy. He didn¡¯t want to break this soft atmosphere with useless words. I didn¡¯t want to see those eyes, who were looking at the fireworks embroidering the sky, filled with vigilance. Let¡¯s do so. He enjoyed an ordinary outing like this. He swallowed the words he was going to say, but when he was about to say let¡¯s go back because it will be cold soon, Rieul said something all of sudden. ¡°Are you trying to tell me some secret? For example ¡­ is it that Yoohyun-ssi is the No.1 ranker, Muwon?¡± Ki Yoohyun stared blankly at the woman in front of him. There was only one word that his spirit uttered. ¡°¡­.yes?¡± *** It¡¯s not something to be proud of, but I¡¯m really ignorant. As such, I didn¡¯t guess Ki Yoohyun¡¯s identity from the beginning. At first, I thought he was a Hunter on a bad end. In addition, until the fire broke out in the Grandma Kim Deokyi¡¯s workshop, I considered him as a Hunter who was stronger and had more time than I thought. But soon I realized something strange. Ki Yoohyun¡¯s ability to freely manipulate space using white light was strong and extremely useful. With that kind of ability, he could be famous, but only few people know about Ki Yoohyun. The twin hunters of The Cheongna Guild follow Ki Yoohyun well. Han Yiseong also seemed somewhat polite to Ki Yoohyun. It was by no means the attitude toward the Guild¡¯s lowest-position Hunter. In the first place, can a Hunter at the bottom of the Cheongna Guild, not just any small guild, use his time freely like that? Isn¡¯t Hunter some kind of employment contract? Crucially, the suspicion was solidified because when Kwon Jiwoon was in crisis in the White Silver Guild, the Director of the Dungeon Management Office took over the case himself. A Hunter who can move the Director who stayed at the Jeju branch due to some kind of dungeon development problem¡­.. Let¡¯s think about it. He is a strong member of the Cheongna Guild, but there is only one hunter whose personal information is unknown. The leader of the secretly powerful trend, the No. 1 ranker, Muwon. Moreover, meaningful words that can never be thought of something an end-position ranker would say keep passing by. He was changing the subject so clearly.¡­ Once the hypothesis was established, all the evidence was clear. The first and best S-class that has maintained his position at the top of the tower all the time. Someone who¡¯s completely like the protagonist of a fantasy novel, Muwon. However, the images of the two were so different that it took a long time to connect them. It was clear that Ki Yoohyun was not good at hiding his identity, or had no intention of hiding it from the beginning. Otherwise, how can he go around showing off his power? When I recited my thoughts, Ki Yoohyun sighed lightly and rubbed his forehead with his fingertips. The thin tension that had been floating around was nowhere to be found. There was a complicated expression on his face; he looked frustrated and relieved at the same time. ¡°Rieul-ssi.¡± After licking his lips a few times, Ki Yoohyun continued. ¡°If you knew ¡­ why didn¡¯t you tell me?¡± ¡°That¡¯s because it¡¯s your personal privacy?¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± A look of disdain reached my cheek. Why? you can have the worldview where people won¡¯t recognize that you¡¯re the same person just by changing your hairstyle or wearing glasses. Seeing that no one noticed that Ki Yoohyun was Muwon when it was so obvious, I thought that there was an agreement not to talk about that. ¡°¡­.I thought you would hate me for deceiving you.¡± ¡°Eh, I wouldn¡¯t.¡± There are things I didn¡¯t tell him either. It¡¯s weird to reveal your secret to someone you¡¯ve just met. Besides, it wasn¡¯t that shocking when I found out. The person who is strong and helps me well, and likes to appear and disappear all of sudden is still the same person. Whatever his identity is, it doesn¡¯t change much. Well, I thought I¡¯d tell him someday when the situation arises and until then¡­. ¡°It¡¯s like a social consideration for the poor No. 1 ranker who wants to avoid the world¡¯s attention.¡± ¡°You treat people like a mola-mola¡­.¡± Ki Yoohyun was confused. ¡°But why did you suddenly decide to reveal it?¡± The night air was quite cold. The warmth of the can of barley tea has long since cooled. As we walked towards his parked car, Ki Yoohyun handed over his gloves. I accepted it without hesitation, but there was space left because it was big. I added, fiddling with the rest of the glove with my fingertips. ¡°Weren¡¯t you trying to hide it for a reason?¡± ¡°To tell the truth, I went back in time.¡± ¡°Eu, cough! Cough, cough!¡± This time, I was really surprised. Ki Yoohyun handed me his own barley tea can and handkerchief when I choked in surprise. I drank it without hesitation. I thought I was going to die. Ki Yoohyun is also a regressor? Ki Yoohyun opened the car door for me, who was still out of reality. I got on, but my mind was spinning. ¡°So ¡­ Yoohyun-ssi, do you mean that you¡¯re a regressor?¡± ¡°You believe me. I thought you¡¯d think it was ridiculous.¡± ¡°That¡­.¡± I¡¯m the one who knows best that regression exists. Rather than the possibility that Ki Yoohyun suddenly became absorbed in a fantasy novel and took the concept of a possessor, it is more likely that he¡¯s a regressor who remembers the past like me. ¡°I originally didn¡¯t mean to tell you this fact, but¡­.¡± When I unexpectedly accepted his true identity as if it was nothing, he made up his mind to tell me that he was a regressor. The following conversation was a story that gave me goosebumps even though the heater.was turned on. Three years later, in the Great Dungeon Abys, the Demon is resurrected. Ki Yoohyun tried to stop the demon, but he returned to the past the moment he reached the last floor, ¡®The Ultimate Gate¡®. ¡°That ¡­ when was it? The date ¡­ when was the date?¡± I was surprised to hear the date Ki Yoohyun said. ¡®It¡¯s same as me.¡¯ Before the regression, it was the same day I died. Did Ki Yoohyun go back to the past because I went back? Or did the saintess use her hand on Ki Yoohyun? I don¡¯t know¡­. This made me want to reveal that I am also a regressor. ¡°¡­¡­.¡± However, as soon as I thought so, my lips didn¡¯t move. I got it right away. The system holds me back. I resented it, and at the same time, I felt wronged. Why me! Does causality discriminate against Grades? Is it because I¡¯m an F-class? ¡°I can¡¯t tell you everything about the future because of the restraints of causality¡­.¡± Ki Yoohyun¡¯s words continued. Behind the Demon¡¯s resurrection, there was a crazy religious group called the Church of Starry Wisdom. Even now, they are plotting the resurrection of the Demon God. Isn¡¯t the worldview suddenly expanding too much? ¡°Rieul-ssi has already been involved in many incidents. I think the cult is behind it. That¡¯s why I was going to tell you to be careful.¡± ¡°I see¡­.¡± Three years later, something big will happen. In addition, Ki Yoohyun also said he was trying to prevent the resurrection of the Demon. Although it still feels far away, a sense of reluctance remains. I nodded. ¡°And one more thing.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Earlier, you asked me if I have any problems with my sense of taste.¡± ¡°It¡¯s ¡­ I¡¯m sorry for asking you that nonsense.¡± That¡¯s what my cat said. As he hurriedly shook his hand out of embarrassment, Ki Yoohyun added. ¡°My taste buds are definitely fine, but ¡­ when I reached the Demon¡¯s Gate, the Ultimate Gate, I felt that a part of me had flowed through the door.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°I have incomplete memories when I sealed the Demon¡¯s Gate. I have become a different person than I was before awakening, and I feel that no matter what I do, I can¡¯t go back to the way I was. It¡¯s kind of a sense of loss.¡± Huh. Listening to Ki Yoohyun¡¯s serious words, I suddenly thought of his satisfaction bar when he drank coffee. The bar that stopped at 98% without reaching 100% no matter what menu he consumes. It may be an absurd idea, but ¡­ I thought that the unfilled 2% might be the missing part he was talking about. Translator¡¯s Corner: Mola-mola: ???, or sunfish. It¡¯s a fragile fish that gets stressed out easily. Treating someone like a mola-mola means you treat them like they¡¯re such an extremely fragile person. Sorry for the late update. I¡¯m on hate relationship with my laptop right now because now it¡¯s also can¡¯t be turned off normally ¡­ I¡¯m mad with Wind*ws. and the weather these days is not exactly good. if you live in a country with rainy season, don¡¯t forget to bring umbrella anywhere! It keeps raining on my place to the pain there¡¯s even flood in the next neighbourhood. CH 92 ¡°You said that before.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Awakening doesn¡¯t mean you become a different being.¡± Ah. Was it on the way back from buying the Purifying Tree at Dungeon Plant Farm? I vaguely remember that I said such a thing while talking about the twins, Joo Shinwoo and Joo Shinhee. ¡°The moment I heard that, I felt relieved. I feel like you¡¯re telling me that I also haven¡¯t become a different person.¡± ¡°But that ¡­ that¡¯s something anyone can say.¡± Indeed, it is. It¡¯s not a big deal to hear what I said again through his mouth. If I randomly asked anyone on the street, they would say the same thing. ¡°That¡¯s possible.¡± Ki Yoohyun readily affirmed what I said. He added straight away. ¡°But Rieul-ssi is the only one who actually said that to me. So¡­.¡± His voice fades into a trembling breath. I turned my head and looked at Ki Yoohyun quietly. ¡°So I wanted to tell Rieul-ssi. About who I am. At least, I want to be honest with Rieul-ssi.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± Blurry? No presence? Why did I think of such a ridiculous idea earlier? The man who¡¯s staring at me looks so clear. The eyes that shone even in the dark, the warm gaze, the well-shaped chin, and even the softly closed lips. My heart was beating loudly. This was different from the reflexive tension of facing a man who looked incredibly beautiful. I felt unfamiliar with this feeling. Surely, I am not sensible. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on, but¡­. The problem is that I¡¯m not ignorant enough to mistake this feeling as a sense of debt or concern for a man who sealed the Demon Gate alone. I hurriedly turned my head and murmured a little. ¡°That ¡­ it¡¯s late, let¡¯s hurry up and go back. Ash asked me to come back quickly.¡± ¡°Haha, yes.¡± Ki Yoohyun also turned around and straightened his posture. It was only after his eyes had moved away from me that I could barely breathe. My grandmother told me to run away if I felt sorry for a man because I couldn¡¯t give an answer. Grandma, I think I¡¯m kind of screwed¡­. We hardly spoke to each other while driving toward the store. Finally, the car stopped in front of the store in a tense but not uncomfortable silence. I tried to open the car door quickly, but it didn¡¯t open well, perhaps because I was in a hurry. Ki Yoohyun¡¯s upper body got close to the point he could pull the lock without any problems. I tilted my head back in surprise. ¡°Rieul-ssi, seat belt.¡± ¡°¡­¡­Ah.¡± Click. Ki Yoohyun reached out toward me and unfastened the seat belt that had not been loosened properly. Then, he added with a smile. ¡°Rieul-ssi, think carefully about my proposal.¡± *** ¡°Huh, ah, haaa¡­..¡± When the car that left after dropping me off was completely out of sight, I took a deep breath. As I inhaled the cold air, my mind finally calmed down. My cheeks were so hot that I could tell without having to touch them. Cafe Rieul was right in front of me, but I couldn¡¯t go in like this. My face right now was obviously looked like someone who had something special happened to them. It was difficult for me to respond to the overflowing curiosity of the animals in my family. I have to to cool my cheeks for a while before going inside. It was when I was about to go around the alley in front of the store with that in mind. ¡°¡­.Huh?¡± I felt a strange gaze and turned my head. There was a stranger standing on the other side of the road. The first thing that stood out was a very beautiful appearance. Although the gender was not clear, I felt a strong charm that attracted my attention. However, the eyes that are just staring without any expression are creepy. The eyes that emptied the emotions that human eyes naturally contained seemed empty. I¡¯ll go into the store and cool my cheeks. At first glance, the stranger didn¡¯t seem like an ordinary person. I felt reluctant and tried to open the cafe door quickly, but my body didn¡¯t move. It was as if someone had paralyzed my body. The strange man narrowed the distance with me in an instant. His hand touched my cheek. I could feel a creepy coldness on my hot cheek. Before I knew it, a suspicious person¡¯s long finger slightly touched my hair and then moved away again. ¡°¡­.it¡¯s you.¡± What? ¡°The owner of the key. The one who will reach the Ultimate Gate.¡± ¡­.pardon? I want to ask what on earth is he talking about, but my lips don¡¯t move. I had no choice but listen to this strange man¡¯s words. ¡°Ah, what absurd misunderstanding I have! Ha, hahaha ¡­ why did I just find out now! The change has already begun. So, this round has become an independent loop out of the infinite spiral. Yes, since the old human survived, or even earlier, the catastrophe had already begun.¡± It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve heard someone talking nonsense, without caring whether I listen to it or not, like this. The eyes that were empty, as if they had been pierced with glass eyes, twinkled, and the feeling of this strange person was clearly felt. It¡¯s joy. He trembled with joy. The things that Ki Yoohyun said a while ago flashed my mind. He told me that a crazy religious group will appear. I knew it right away. It¡¯s this guy. There was a sapidity in his eyes, drunken with his own thoughts. The strange person mumbled the unknown words for a while, and then smiled brightly. Hick. It was like crazy pseudo-religion to do missionary work in a place like this. I want to run away, but my body doesn¡¯t move. ¡°Are you wary of me? Don¡¯t worry. Will I harm the owner of the key that finally appeared?¡± Again, his hand brushed my eyes and the pressure eased a little. I managed to utter my words with a barely suppressed breath. ¡°It¡¯s ¡­ what is it?¡± Is that it? You¡¯re Messiah or something, so pay for the apocalypse or buying a statue, is this that kind of pattern? ¡°You don¡¯t have to know now. As long as you reach the Gate, we will naturally meet again.¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t know anything about that!¡± I tried to speak as sharply as I could, but the trembling ends of my words were swallowed in my breath. Before I knew it, the sweat went into my eyes and it stung. I closed my eyes tightly, and when I opened them, the person holding me was gone. *** Crash! ¡°Heuh, huuh¡­.¡± When I hurriedly opened the cafe door and entered, Ash and the animals turned their heads, as if they were waiting for me. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you, waeong!¡± When I heard Mieum¡¯s carefree voice, I finally realized that I had returned home. I wiped the cold sweat from my forehead with the back of my hand and pretended to be calm. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s too cold for run.¡± ¡°What? I didn¡¯t see him like that, but he has no manners. I can¡¯t believe he¡¯s not taking you home after a date!¡± ¡°Date?¡± Ash asked sharply. Mieum added, throwing her front paws at Ash. ¡°Then what did you think the two went for, waeooong!¡± ¡°¡­.Humph.¡± It wasn¡¯t a date, and Ki Yoohyun took me to the front of the store. No, rather than that, since when did Ash understand Mieum¡¯s words? There was a lot of things to tackle, but I sat on the floor without saying anything. What had just happened was terrifying, and my body lost all strength. I murmured in my mind. ¡®What, I¡¯m scared¡­.¡¯ I should seriously consider Ki Yoohyun¡¯s proposal. On the way back in the car, he made me an offer. The proposal was to officially reveal as a cafe selling drinks with special effects. He said that it can be registered as a special business by requesting to the Dungeon Management Office. In return, he would make his guild guard this cafe in case something unpleasant happened. So far, the cafe has been running without any problems, but it was unexpectedly popular. I don¡¯t know where and how the rumor spread. The dream of a five-day work-weekend (which means five days of rest) has not been fulfilled, and there is no guarantee that it will be fine in the future even if it has been successful so far. ¡®But¡­.¡¯ Seeing my face filled with dislike, Ki Yoohyun added. ¡°If you don¡¯t like having too many customers, you can only take a set number of people by reservation.¡± Ah. I didn¡¯t think of that. It¡¯s not a damaging proposition for me. Rather, it¡¯s a proposal that doesn¡¯t benefit Ki Yoohyun. When I asked him that, Ki Yoohyun shook his head. ¡°No way. If I can stably drink Rieul-ssi¡¯s coffee every day, that¡¯s a benefit.¡± Still, I feel like I¡¯m one step further away from a relaxed and comfortable cafe. I put his offer on hold to think about it more and came back home. Immediately, a crazy pseudo-religious man appeared. It¡¯s not enough to simply say that I was subjected to unpleasant missionary work, the joyous expression on his face was making me too uncomfortable. I immediately took out my phone and tried to send a message to Ki Yoohyun. However, the input was not done properly because my hands were shaking. Huu, let¡¯s calm down. It¡¯s late, so I¡¯ll go to bed first and I¡¯ll call him tomorrow morning to ask about the offer in detail. I turned off the chat window and stood up. ¡°I¡¯m going to bed.¡± ¡°Kkyuuu!¡± But the next morning. I couldn¡¯t contact Ki Yoohyun right away. Because something unexpected happened. ¡°Eh¡­.?¡± *** In the same time when Kwon Rieul was in shock, Lee Sein slowly raised her head. Her mind was clear as if she had woken up from a long dream. The throbbing headache and the strange voice disappeared. In that sense, Lee Sein could look around with a perfectly calm head. The guild leader¡¯s room in the quiet C&L Corporation. She could see what she had accomplished so far. Glittering skyscrapers, numerous commendations, strong position, fame, and countless Hunters who follow her words¡­. ¡­.and for her who doesn¡¯t have a family, Choi Cedric and Choi Rona are like her real family members. How long has it been since she stopped by Choi Rona¡¯s hospital room? Has she ever had a quiet conversation with Choi Cedric? She has already had enough success, so why was she so restless? Didn¡¯t she miss something precious because she was chasing a mysterious thirst? ¡°¡­Let¡¯s stop.¡± Lee Sein, who made such a decision, stood up. In her hand was a request for the attendance as a witness sent by the Dungeon Management Office. The content was about explaining her relationship with the Neo-Crown Party. It¡¯s better like this. It¡¯s still manageable. Let¡¯s quit the plan, acknowledge what they need to admit, and focus on the operation of the guild. Click! Then, the door opened. In front of the door stood Lee Sein¡¯s secretary, who had been missing for a while. ¡°¡­Aeon.¡± Days have passed since the Otherworld Gate was closed and the power of The Faceless One ¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€ was deactivated. Lee Sein did not bother to look for her secretary even though she noticed that he had disappeared. He was always a reliable secretary, but from some point on, she felt uneasy. ¡°Aeon, where have you been?¡± Therefore, Lee Sein¡¯s words flowed out somewhat stiffly. ¡°CEO Lee Sein-nim.¡± Aeon entered the room with a silent step. The secretary in front of her is smiling incredibly brightly. The beautiful eyes that would catch anyone¡¯s attention disappeared under the eyelids and then reappeared. Startle. Lee Sein felt goosebumps on her back. Wait, was Aeon originally look like this? What did he look like? How come ¡­ the person in front of her felt so unfamiliar. No, was he human in the first place? A cold voice reached her ears. ¡°You failed. This time, too.¡± CH 93 ¡°The plan ¡­ is done now. Aeon, let¡¯s just quit everything. I can still fix it now. I can fix it, so let¡¯s just¡­.¡± ¡°What a foolish human being. You can¡¯t handle one of these things right.¡± ¡°What? ¡­ uugh.¡± There was no time to question the sudden change of tone. Lee Sein was nauseous and hurriedly covered her mouth. In front of her eyes, the human form of Aeon began to collapse. No, that can¡¯t be human. Such a terrible thing. What the hell is going on¡­.. The thinking did not continue. Just looking at the collapsing figure, she felt the pain of something rubbing the delicate texture of her mind with sandpaper. After several seconds, Aeon turned into a half-melted, amorphous black mass. ¡°¡­¡­!¡± The figure resembled the black mucus that attacked the city a few days ago. Lee Sein suddenly remembered a name. ¡­.The Faceless One. Indeed, it¡¯s a suitable name for the object in front of her. ¡°Ua-aaagh! Go away!¡± Snap, the black mass collapsed and attacked Lee Sein. ¡®I have to use items for self-defense¡­..¡¯ Lee Sein¡¯s class is a secondary wizard. He always carried a self-defense item that was simply activated to compensate for his lack of physical power. To compensate for the lack of physical strength, she always carried self-defense items that were simple to activate. However, before she could use her hands, the item that touched the half-melted Aeon melted away. ¡°Ugh¡­!¡± Resistance is not enough. Lee Sein, who fell on the floor, threw the vase she caught while reaching out wildly. Clatter! There was a loud bang. The thrown vase was hit head-on by Aeon. ¡°Heuk, heugh ¡­. heugh ¡­ is it done?¡± Startle. Aeon stopped moving. She was relieved for a while, then the half-melted face burst into laughter. ¡°Kehehehe, hehehee, heheehee¡­.¡± ¡°Ugh¡­!¡± With a bizarre laughter, Aeon came closer. She thought he should run away, but her body did not move. As she witnessed the unknown horror, it seemed like he was cutting her mind with a carving knife. Aeon, which melted completely and became a black mass, grabbed Lee Sein. Then, without hesitation, the black mucus was pushed into Lee Sein¡¯s mouth. It¡¯s suffocating. ¡°Eu-euugh! Uugh!¡± ¡®I have to tell Choi Cedric¡­.¡¯ It was the last thought she had before she lost her mind. The door opened again when the struggle had stopped completely. A Hunter of C&L Corporation spoke carefully. ¡°CEO Lee Sein-nim, I heard a loud noise. Is there something wrong?¡± Lee Sein slowly rose up. She combed her disheveled hair with her hand, arranged her crumpled suit, and turned back to look at the Hunter. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I slipped my hand and dropped the vase. Can you call someone to clean it up?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll call them in a minute.¡± The Hunter, who was about to close the door and leave, tilted his head slightly and turned his head again. ¡°Uh, by the way, CEO-nim.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Were you alone? I saw Aeon-ssi coming this way earlier.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯ve been alone the whole time. Maybe he went somewhere else?¡± The eyes of Lee Sein, who gave that answer, glowed dull like imitation jewels. *** It was a normal morning that day. After turning off the alarm on my phone three times, I reluctantly got up. I gave food for Mieum and Lime, then I ate breakfast on the first floor with Ash. Originally, I was going to make egg rolls, but I failed to flip it, so it became scrambled eggs. Well, it¡¯s cooked, so that¡¯s enough. Ash had been sulking for some reason since last night, but he didn¡¯t skip breakfast. I¡¯m glad, you have to eat well before going to work. After finishing the meal, I checked the stock. I still have enough coffee beans. This was because I obtained an item after went through 10 consecutive rounds of golden drawing tickets accumulated as rewards for quests or achievements. [Item: Fully Automatic Large Roaster for Business (¡ï¡ï¡ï¡î¡î) Roast anything and everything. A fully automatic system that anyone can use easily. It can be installed in the space to save space. It can be used conveniently with the Cthugha¡¯s Ring. ¡ù Free installation] The large roster that I was eagerly waiting for! I fell in love as soon as I saw this item. Now, I can easily roast a large amount of coffee beans. So, shall we make a little more sugar? Thinking that way, I casually looked out the window and got surprised. ¡°Huh¡­.?¡± Blue sky and warm morning sun. The view is open and refreshing. Does anyone realise what¡¯s weird here? The ominous appearance of Abyss, the Great Dungeon that always looked big in the window, was nowhere to be seen. No, more than that. I rushed out and checked the outside. Sshwaa~ I heard the sound of waves. Sunlight poured down over the golden sandy beach, and fantasy-style buildings were sparsely visible in the distance. ¡°Where am I¡­.?¡± The outside of the store had become a strange place. Tiling, the alarm sounded. [Congratulations! You have completed ¡®Sub Quest: A Dungeon Walk¡¯. Please collect the rewards.] Cafe Rieul was placed on a cliff overlooking the sea. The word ¡®placed¡® for a building is awkward, but this situation can only be expressed that way. Did a hurricane happen while I was asleep yesterday? It¡¯s not some sort of Wizard of Oz, how did the whole store building move to a strange place? I gazed blankly at the blue sea out the window. Yes, I like the sea, too. A peaceful summer resort is great. A vacation where you lie on a sunbed and do nothing, then eat and do nothing again. It¡¯s fantastic. However, I did not want the whole store to fly to the sea. ¡°What¡¯s going on here¡­.¡± I decided to calm down and see if there were any other abnormalities. The inside of the store was as usual. The space was accessible as usual, and the electricity and water supply are fine. However, my phone has no connection. When I put down my phone that kept failing to connect, I found the quest completion notification blinking. What kind of quest was this? I checked the detailed explanation of the quest, and soon lamented. [Sub Quest: A Dungeon Walk You¡¯re tired of your work, go away. Let¡¯s go around the dungeon, take care of your health, and refresh your mood. Enter a random dungeon: 1/1 Rewards: EXP (500 EXP), 100 rubies, random recipe] [Experience: 500 EXP have been acquired.] [You have reached Level 13.] [You have acquired a new recipe ¡®Irish Coffee¡¯.] ¡­¡­. Yeah, I got this quest. The fact that this quest, which was constantly ignored, was suddenly completed, that is. This is in the dungeon¡­. Since I don¡¯t want to go into the dungeon, it throws the whole store into the dungeon while sleeping. It is truly a system of great thinking. I rubbed my forehead while glaring at the system notification, and Mieum protested next to me. ¡°Waeoolgh! Not me, it¡¯s not me! I don¡¯t know!¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t said anything yet?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you just look at me suspiciously!¡± That¡¯s true. It was this cat that was most closely related to dungeons and the system here. However, Mieum ran wild, claiming that it was unfair, and eventually drooped her head and muttered. ¡°Waeoong ¡­ I don¡¯t have the authority to do such a big thing. What kind of power does a low position have¡­.¡± Next to this cat, who is in a state of wasting time and reciting the sorrow of a subordinate. ¡°Kkyuuuuu! Kkyuu, kkyuuuu!¡± This time, Lime suddenly began to cry with tremendous momentum. ¡°Lime-ah, what¡¯s wrong? What¡¯s going on?¡± Seeing the body bouncing like a rubber ball, it looks like it has something to say. I quickly took out the slime language translator and tried to interpret Lime¡¯s words. ¡°Kkyuuu .. kkyuu!¡± ©¥ I can feel His power up close. ¡°Who is he? Rather, Lime-ah, do you know where this place is?¡± ¡°Kkyuu, kkyuu, kkyuuuuu!¡± ©¥ The Eternal Living Flame, His great garden. Worship. ¡°¡­.what? So who is that?¡± ¡°Kkyuuuu, kkyu ¡­ kkyuuu¡­.¡± ©¥ 3.14159265358979¡­¡­. This time, the circumference rate came out. I asked a few more times, but the results were the same. The periodic table of elements, the quadratic formula, etc. Anyway, something irrelevant to what I was curious about came up and and then it ended up being silent. What a have-no-answer science slime. Why are all the animals in my house like this¡­. I gave up getting information from Mieum and Lime and approached the window. I opened the window slightly and looked outside with only my head sticking out. I looked around for a while, but all I could hear was the sound of the wind. As I was doing it for a long time, Ash came closer and asked. ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°Ash, shh!¡± Although it is inside the dungeon, there is no sign of a monster. Instead, there is only a view that would fit a sub-title such as ¡®Relaxing Episode Summer Vacation¡¯. Can I go outside? I don¡¯t think there¡¯s any dangerous monsters. ¡°Oh, wait a minute, Ash! Don¡¯t go out on your own!¡± ¡°Are you going to stay like that? If you¡¯re late, I¡¯ll leave you behind.¡± Ash grabbed the doorknob and asked with a sullen look. Er, I don¡¯t know. It¡¯s not like I can find a solution just by thinking about it here. I went out of the store after Ash. I searched around with Ash for a moment. However, there was nothing particularly noticeable, and the system window was still quiet. I was about to say let¡¯s not go too far and go back to the store first. Rustling. I heard the sound of something stepping on dry grass right up close. At that moment, my nerves were on edge. ¡°Ash, stand back. There¡¯s something over there.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be scared. I¡¯ll take care of it if I have to.¡± Contrary to Ash¡¯s intention, the way he straightened his shoulders while saying that was very cute. ¡°So if I protect you, you and I will¡­.¡± ¡°Will?¡± ¡°Will be¡­!¡± As soon as Ash was about to say something, the presence beyond the bushes grew bigger. I was surprised as I stared over the bushes with the intention of roasting it with the power of the ring on my hand. It was ¡­. a cow. A large body, black spotting fur on white background, and a mild-looking face. I rubbed my eyes and stared at it again, but it¡¯s really a cow. The only thing that was unusual was the golden triangular horns on its head. Soon, a system notification appeared in front of my eyes. [A Golden Triangular Rhinoceros (A) has appeared.] Fortunately, the cow did not show aggression. The cow, who glanced at us and soon lost interest, began to eat grass leisurely. The scenery worthy of the peaceful and idyllic summer vacation episode unfolded before my eyes. Phew, I¡¯m relieved. It¡¯s not a dangerous situation. ¡°Ash, let¡¯s go to the other side over there.¡± But the sound of Tiling, as if trying to grab my foot, rang again. [Sub Quest: Where is The Pounding Heart? Don¡¯t you need milk, an important ingredient that enriches the taste of coffee? A Golden Triangular Rhino appeared in front of you. Raise the favorability of the Golden Triangular Rhino to the highest level. If you succeed in taming it, you can get milk. Taming the Golden Triangular Rhinoceros: 0/1 Rewards: Exclusive Barn, Advanced Automatic Milking Machine] Eek¡­.. Milk is still out of stock at the Dimensional Shop, and as a result, and the range of menus has been greatly reduced. I need milk, I do need it, but ¡­ I don¡¯t want to get it from a cow myself. I hope this system remembers that I am a person who prefers to buy and spend money rather than DIY. [The Golden Triangular Rhinoceros is indifferent to you.] [Favorability: ?????] The problem is now that the entire store is teleported into an unknown dungeon. There is no other information other than this sub quest. Translator¡¯s Corner: It¡¯s still the same with previous chapter, please be understanding if there are typos asdfghjkl oh, and I just found out that NU automatically added the newest chapter ¡­ I always added it manually all this time¡­. CH 94 Yeah, it¡¯s true that I need milk, and if it¡¯s about favorability, there¡¯s a ¡®Smile¡® skill, so let¡¯s give it a try it. ¡®Smile.¡¯ My lips moved naturally and drew a perfect commercial smile. [Activating the ¡®Smile¡® skill.] [Lv. 1. Effect: Smiling makes you feel better. This improves the mood of the subject.] [The cast subject¡¯s favorability increases.] ¡°Eummoo.¡± The golden triangular rhinoceros that was grazing turned its head and looked at me. Oh, it¡¯s weak reaction, but it¡¯s responsive. All right, let¡¯s do it again. And then again, again¡­. [The Golden Triangular Rhinoceros is a bit interested in you.] [Favorability: ?????] ¡°Heuh, heuugh¡­¡± The corners of my mouth ached. I don¡¯t know how much I smiled to fill just one heart. On calculation, it seemed that it would take enough time to make my mouth cramp to fill up to five hearts at this speed. It must have been quite boring to just watch what I was doing. Ash took a step closer to the cow. ¡°What the hell are you doing?¡± ¡°That¡¯s it, I was trying to tame this cow by increasing the favorability.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the way of a weak human being. Predators do not seek the favor of their prey.¡± Huh? Now I know that our genius part-timer is not an ordinary 8th grader boy, but a mysterious unknown entity called the incarnation. I learned about it from the last black mucus incident. Even so, the dialogue just now greatly seemed like something that was said by a boy in his storm and stress period. ¡°Isn¡¯t it enough to turn this disobedient monster into steaks?¡± ¡°Aaaaah! Kim Ash, calm down! The Golden Triangular Rhino is a milk cow, not beef cow!¡± I caught Ash in a hurry. ¡°Cows are the same when they are roasted over a fire.¡± ¡°Mmmoooo!¡± Surprised by Ash¡¯s spirit, the Golden Triangular Rhino took a step back. [The Golden Triangular Rhinoceros is wary of you. The favorability decreases.] No, how did I raise its favorability! ¡°Calm down, yes, think of cafe mocha! You need milk to make delicious cafe mocha!¡± Stop. At the word ¡®cafe mocha¡®, the part-timer of our house stopped moving. Taking advantage of that opportunity, I quickly opened the Ether-Wiki. It was to find a way to increase the favorability other than using the smile skill. ¡¶Golden Triangular Rhinoceros¡· Type: Animal Monster>Mammal Grade: A Description: A cow monster that lives only in A-grade clean dungeons. It is characterized by black and white spots, and the main food is pasture. Its milk can be collected. What the Golden Triangular Rhinoceros likes: [Continue Reading] The information was exactly what I wanted. According to the contents of this wiki, in order to increase the favorability¡­. ¡°What are you doing outside, leaving me alone waeoong!¡± At that time, Mieum and Lime came out of the cafe after hearing the commotion we made. However, the Golden Triangular Rhino, who saw Lime¡¯s vivid red body, suddenly began to snort. Every time Lime bounced its body, it got more and more excited. ¡°¡­Kkyuuu?¡± The Golden Triangular Rhino ran towards Lime. Surprised, Lime refused the cow by bouncing its body. But each time the vivid red lump glimmered in front its eyes, the cow¡¯s excitement grew more and more. ¡°Mmmmooo!¡± ¡°Kkyu, kkyuuu¡­.¡± Cows are actually color-blind, so the myth that they get excited when they see red is not true. For some reason, this Golden Triangular Rhinoceros seems to have suddenly became a fan of Lime. Lick. The cow licked Lime¡¯s smooth body with its tongue. The cow licked so meticulously, it wasn¡¯t long before Lime¡¯s plump body became soaked with saliva. ¡°Kkyuuu, kkyu¡­.¡± The reaction showed that Lime hates it so much. I could even tell without using the slime language translator. ¡°Kyagyagyaolg! This red blob is full of saliva!¡± Mieum backed away, frightened. Splosh! Lime, who was dodging around, bounced off its body and stuck to the face of the Golden Triangular Rhinoceros. It won¡¯t be able to breathe if it continues like this. The moment I was about to separate Lime, who was quickly soaked in saliva, from the Golden Triangular Rhino. ¡°Mmm, Mmmoooo!¡± The cow¡¯s favorability began to rise. [The Golden Triangular Rhinoceros is interested in the Red Slime.] [Favorability: ?????] [The Golden Triangular Rhinoceros is very interested in the Red Slime.] [Favorability: ?????] The hearts were filled up red at an incredible speed ¡­ in the course of time. [The Golden Triangular Rhinoceros thinks it¡¯s okay to live together with the awesome Red Slime.] [Favorability: ?????] [Taming is complete! Summon: The Golden Triangular Rhinoceros in love obeys you.] [Congratulations! You have completed ¡®Sub Quest: Where is The Pounding Heart?¡¯. Please collect the rewards.] [Exclusive barn construction is available. Select ¡°Build¡± in the space.] [Advanced Automatic Milking Machine can be installed. Select ¡°Install¡± after building the barn.] The quest was cleared on its own. ¡°Mmmmme.¡± The Golden Triangular Rhino walked into the space on its own before I could say anything. It was said that love is like a spark, and indeed it was as fast as lightning. *** Choi Yichan swung his sword at the monster. Shashashak, kwang! It was as fast as lightning. The sword accurately aimed only at the vital points of the monster. Choi Yichan, who finished the battle with agility that is difficult to imagine with his large body, checked the system window. [Name: Choi Yichan Class: Berserker (S) (Lv.39) ¡ù The Great Old One: In contract with the King in Yellow.] The level has risen quite a bit. Now, if he catches a few more monsters, the quest will end. ¡°Haa¡­.¡± ¡®I want to go back soon.¡¯ With that thought in mind, he grabbed his weapon, but he felt a presence behind him. The sound of someone stepping on dry branches. Is there another monster? He must have killed all the monsters in this area. The moment Choi Yichan tried to turn to the side where he heard the sound, a voice intervened. ¡¾Don¡¯t go that way.¡¿ ¡°Why?¡± ¡¾Something bad will happen.¡¿ Hmm. After hearing those words, Choi Yichan was lost in thought for a moment, then headed to the place where the sound came without hesitation. ¡¾Gosh, there¡¯s no trust.¡¿ It¡¯s been several days since he entered the Great Dungeon Abyss. In the meantime, this King in Yellow has often meddled with him. Some places are dangerous, some have good items, and so on. The result of naively following that voice was to fall into the high-level monster zone from the beginning. Even though he¡¯s an S-class, it¡¯s the end of peace and the beginning of suffering for the dirt-spoon Hunter who has no practical experience and no decent items. The present achievement was a level that was achieved through tears. Choi Yichan¡¯s action, stained with distrust, was firm. Leaving his giggling voice behind, he checked the identity of the presence. In preparation for the monster¡¯s attack, he prepared to use his skills at any time with a weapon in his hand. Crumble. The footsteps got a little bigger. The location where the grass swayed was low. It is not something large in size. Considering the size of the sound, it weighs about 60 kg. There¡¯s no way humans are here¡­.? ¡°Huh, don¡¯t tell me¡­.¡± For a moment, Choi Yichan doubted his eyes. However, his keen sense gave the same answer. The owner of that presence is¡­. Shreek. He put the weapon in his hand. A man appeared from where his gaze was directed. He was a middle-aged man who lost his weapon and wandered around. He had no visible major wounds, but he seemed to have suffered quite a lot, with a thick beard and only a sheet of rag on his body. His face was thin because he lost weight, but his eyes were gleaming. If this wasn¡¯t in the dungeon, the awful-looking man would be misunderstood as a homeless person. However, Choi Yichan approached him and bowed his head. ¡°Ahjussi, hello!¡± ¡°¡­¡­?¡± The middle-aged homeless man turned his head. He looked confused about where he was. ¡°I¡¯ve met you once before, do you remember me? I¡¯m a friend of Rieul, Choi Yichan. You¡¯re Rieul¡¯s uncle, right?¡± ¡°¡­.Huh?¡± Hunter Kwon Seokmin, the father of Kwon Jiwoon and the uncle of Kwon Rieul, who went missing in the maze dungeon a few years ago, looked surprised. *** ¡°Mmmoooo.¡± ¡°Yeah. Go, go.¡± It¡¯s on its own. A big cown sat down in the space and cried. In the meantime, the area was expanded as a quest reward. As I got closer, the notification rang. [You can build an exclusive barn. Do you want to build it? Yes ? / No ] In an instant, a barn with a roof and a feeder was built. [Summon: The Golden Triangular Rhinoceros in love likes the special congratulatory address.] A milking machine with a thick tube and a stainless steel barrel was installed on the body of the Golden Triangular Rhino. I immediately pressed the button on the milking machine. For a moment, there was the sound of a machine running. ¡°¡­¡­!¡± Drip. White milk started pouring into the stainless steel barrel. [Item: Freshly Squeezed Milk (¡ï¡ï¡ï¡î¡î) Milk freshly squeezed from from a rare A-class Golden Triangular Rhinoceros. A rich taste different from ordinary milk. It makes the quality of the drink better.] This milk has one more star than when it was purchased from the Dimensional Shop. It was worthwhile to bring the Golden Triangular Rhinoceros after all the hard work. ¡°Kkyuu¡­¡± Lime bounced its body as if telling me that it had done all the hard work. Anyway, since I finally got my hands on the milk, I decided to have a cup of coffee before I looked around more. At the moment, there is no hint about where this place is, and the freshly squeezed milk with a fragrant smell looked very delicious. Can¡¯t I drink coffee in the dungeon? Of course, I can. Sure. Yes, dungeon exploration is also about eating. I went straight out of the space with milk and prepared to make coffee. I displayed the recipe list that was much longer than the beginning and thought about what to make for a while. The answer soon came out. That¡¯s the menu I need now. Ice cream coffee. This is a menu that I hadn¡¯t made since Choi Yichan left with only one note. To avoid misunderstanding, it¡¯s not that I didn¡¯t make it because of him. There were no customers looking for this menu because it was just winter. I can¡¯t even contact him through phone, and I don¡¯t know where and what Choi Yichan is doing. The Dungeon Management Office is looking for him like crazy, but if he has not yet been found in this narrow Korea, is he still inside the dungeon? I hope everything¡¯s all right. With that thought in mind, I quickly made coffee. I put ice, espresso, milk, and vanilla syrup in a glass. It was done after pouring plenty of ice cream and sprinkling chocolate powder. This time, I also served the coffee to Mieum and Lime in a small glass. Although they were not usually interested in coffee, they drank the coffee without saying a word. ¡°Come on, Ash, try it.¡± ¡°¡­.Okay.¡± First, take a bite of ice cream, then mix it with coffee and take another bite. Naturally, exclamations flowed out. ¡°I think I¡¯m going to live a little now¡­.¡± Ash agreed with a nod. It¡¯s a sweet coffee with milk that I haven¡¯t tasted in a long time. Of course, the taste is good, but there was another reason why I chose this menu now. Because it was so hot right here. It was winter outside, but in one night, I transported over to a cliff on the beach in midsummer. CH 95 The sun is hot and the air is humid. Even though I took out thin clothes right away and put them on, the effect is insignificant. I was sweating profusely just by going out for a while and bringing the Golden Triangular Rhinoceros. It would have been nice if the the air conditioner had been installed in advance, but now I only could taste the regret. However, how could I have guessed that the building would suddenly transport over a cliff on the beach in midsummer weather like this? [Item: Ice Cream Coffee (¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡î) Status: Good (Time Remaining: 01:00:00) Effect: Your body will become very cold.] What caught my eye at that moment was the effect of ice cream coffee. With the sweet taste, cold energy flowed into my body. It was cool as if it¡¯s the blessed by Willis Carrier (the inventor of modern air conditioner). The heat has cooled down and I¡¯m feeling a bit refreshed. I murmured, emptying the rest of the coffee. ¡°This is probably what they called leisure in the midst of business¡­¡± ¡°That Korean-Chinese phrase is accurate, waeoong.¡± While tackling, Mieum also drank the ice cream coffee. I thought it must be hotter for her because she was a fur beast. I did get some milk though. About where on earth is this place or how can we get back, nothing has been resolved. Still, the fact that the coffee is delicious is comforting. ¡°¡­.? What is it?¡± At that moment, Ash raised his head as if he had sensed something. Strange. I barely cooled down, but I felt the heat again. Furthermore, the heat grew stronger and stronger, as if a fire had been set nearby. I got surprised when I turned my head along with Ash¡¯s gaze. It wasn¡¯t just my feeling. There was a real fire in front of the store. ¡°Fire¡­.! Where¡¯s the fire extinguisher? We have to bring the fire extinguisher!¡± As I rushed to put out the fire, I was startled. When I looked closely, the fireball had the shape of a child. It looked like a fire spirit. And the fire spirit, who was trudging towards this side, began to shed tears. It sounds strange that a fire sheds tears, but that was the only way I could express it. The tears that flowed from the spirit¡¯s eyes turned into water vapor and disappeared. ¡°Huhuhu¡­.¡± It really sounds like, ¡®There¡¯s something wrong with me, so ask me quickly¡®. The mournful weeping continued for a long time. The spirit glanced at this side and then started crying again. It seemed that the spirit in front of the store would not move. After a moment of contemplation, I approached the fire spirit. I¡¯m worried because the spirit is crying a lot, and it was hard to ignore those eyes that say ¡®come and talk to me quickly¡®. It will be difficult when the spirit who¡¯s tired of crying comes into the store. Tables and chairs are all made of wood. ¡°Hey, why are you crying?¡± The fire spirit raised his head, scattering water vapor. ¡°Cold fire, gnome, bad.¡± ¡°Cold fire?¡± ¡°They, I, cooled down. Pepe, swimming, impossible. Pepe, home, impossible.¡± ¡°Where is your home?¡± ¡°Sea, Pepe, Master.¡± ¡°Oh, I see¡­.¡± I have no idea¡­¡­. Perhaps it was because there was no inquiry into the language system, it was difficult to understand the words of the fellow who just laid out words. This is what I finally figured out after repeating the question and answer for a long time while sweating in the hot heat. His name is Pepe. He is a fire elemental spirit, and he serves the master of ¡®Eternal Living Flame¡®. One day, however, the Master¡¯s family, a piece of flame, ran away from home. It is said that Pepe went on a trip to find the piece that ran away from home under the order of his Master. ¡°Piece, run away, bad.¡± ¡°Kkyuuuu¡­..¡± ¡°Huh, Lime-ah, what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Kkyuu¡­.¡± Slowly, Lime hid behind me. The slime seemed to be avoiding Pepe. Lime, don¡¯t tell me you¡­¡­. For now, I calmed down Lime, who was clinging to me, and kept listening to the story. He said that after looking for a runaway piece for a long time, he finally found a piece of flame. He swallowed the piece to take it right away. However, it was actually a piece of cold flame that was different from what Pepe was looking for. The action cooled his body and made him unable to swim in the sea. ¡°Master, wait, sea.¡± He cried because he had to return to his master¡¯s side, but he couldn¡¯t cross the sea. After much deliberation, I spoke in a cautious tone so as not to hurt this spirit. ¡°Peppe, look, it¡¯s supposed to be ¡­ fire goes out when it touches water.¡± But Pepe shook his head firmly. ¡°Possible, swim, ring.¡± ¡°¡­.Ring?¡± ¡°Cthugha-nim, ring, fire. Pepe, swim, possible.¡± ¡°Are you talking about this?¡± He nodded. What Pepe was pointing to was a ring with a red stone in my hand. Cthuga¡¯s ring. It is an item that I use to roast coffee after buying it from Grandma Kim Deokyi. ¡°Eternal, flame, fire.¡± Is that okay? Pepe¡¯s body is also fire, and this ring is also used to light fire, so it¡¯s okay, right? I used the power of the ring towards Pepe in doubt. Hyuur. Pepe¡¯s body caught the fire, and I felt an incomparable heat.\ ¡°Pepe, warmth, joy.¡± However, it was only for a short time that the intense flames enveloped his body. Pepe¡¯s body cooled again. ¡°Pepe, cold, sadness.¡± Pepe burst into tears. While I was thinking about how to soothe this spirit that is scattering water vapor¡­. Tiling! Tiling! A notification window popped up with a cheerful sound that didn¡¯t fit the atmosphere. It was a quest. [Main Quest: Saving Pepe the Fire Spirit You have met Pepe, a pitiful spirit who has lost his way. Let¡¯s warm Pepe¡¯s body and send him home. Since ancient times, alcohol has been used to warm the body. Coffee with alcohol will work. When you achieve it, the Eternal Living Flame will honor you. Item Required: Irish Coffee Deliver Irish Coffee to Pepe: 0/1 Reward: Starlight of Fomalhaut, Corresponding Dungeon Map] There were two things worth noting in this random quest. So far, the main quest has only appeared in a large number of cases. Therefore, it was highly likely that this quest would not only help Pepe who came across by chance, but also have an answer to the current situation. Second, a map given as a reward. Starlight of Fomalhaut ¡­ is it an item? I don¡¯t know what it is, so let¡¯s skip it for now. The important thing is the map. If I have a map, I can see what this place looks like. The exit may be marked, or I may get a hint of how to get out of this unidentified dungeon. There is no time for hesitation. I checked the recipe and asked Pepe right away. ¡°Pepe, how old are you?¡± ¡°Age, question, boomer.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°Koreans, rank consciousness, bad.¡± He was a very intelligent spirit¡­¡­. ¡°It¡¯s not that, it¡¯s because it¡¯s the information we need to help Pepe.¡± ¡°Pepe, early, 1200 years old.¡± It¡¯s a lot more than I expected, but ¡­ he¡¯s not a minor, so that¡¯s fine. I asked Pepe to wait in front of the store for a moment, and then I returned to the store. Whiskey was needed to make Irish Coffee, the condition of the quest. When I selected whiskey in the dimensional shop, a warning window popped up. [Excessive drinking is bad for health and causes abnormalities.] [Are you 19 years or older? Yes ? / No ] That¡¯s pretty thorough¡­¡­. When I selected ¡®yes¡®, a small glass bottle of whiskey fell into his hands. When I opened the lid, a strong smell came out. The alcohol seemed quite strong. I added sugar to the whiskey and heated it to the point where it wouldn¡¯t boil. Then, espresso and hot water were added one after another. Next, I needed whipped cream. The whipped cream was obtained by manipulating the buttons on the milking machine installed on the Golden Triangular Rhino. When I filled this whipped cream to the end of the glass, it¡¯s done. [Item: Irish Coffee (¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡î) Status: Good (Time Remaining: 01:00:00) Effect: Your body will become very warm.] A strong scent emanated from the glass. The harmonious aroma of sugar, coffee, and whiskey made my mind relaxed. I immediately brought the glass to Pepe, who was waiting in front of the store. ¡°Pepe, drink this.¡± ¡°Smell, good, drink.¡± Pepe took the glass. The glass began to melt as soon as Pepe touched it, but fortunately, he was able to drink it all before it completely melted. And as the last drop of Irish coffee disappeared into his mouth, a powerful flame enveloped Pepe¡¯s body. ¡°Pepe, hot, joy.¡± My sweat dripped down. It was so hot that I had to step back to avoid getting burned. We have succeeded! [Congratulations! You have completed ¡®Main Quest: Saving Pepe the Fire Spirit¡¯. Please collect the rewards.] [You have acquired the Starlight of Fomalhaut. You can observe the stars of Fomalhaut star in the space.] [You have obtained the Dungeon Map.] ¡°Pepe, thank you, repay.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, you don¡¯t have to repay me.¡± I did that just to complete the quest and get the map anyway. ¡°Savior, my home, invitation¡­¡­!¡± However, it seems that the alcohol in the Irish coffee was too strong. Drunken Pepe suddenly began to get excited. ¡°Invitation, banquet, excitement¡­¡­!¡± Every time Pepe moved, a burning flame spread out in all directions. At this rate, Pepe¡¯s flames would burn our house. ¡°Oh, calm down, Pepe! Hold on. Calm down.¡­!¡± ¡°Invitation, decline, impossibe¡­..!¡± The flames made scorched marks on the store¡¯s brick walls. Just before the fire spreads to the trees in the yard. It was Ash who calmed Pepe. He threw a violent glance at the blazing flame. ¡°Calm down. What rudeness is this to my master!¡± ¡°World, Twilight, Demon King¡­.? Why, here, exist?¡± ¡°The spirit of fire, be courteous to my master.¡± ¡°Hey, Ash, if you say that about your employer, it might be misleading.¡± I hope you don¡¯t misunderstand. The only contract between Asj and I is an employment contract that complies with the Labor Standards Act. Master, it sounds a little ¡­ wrong. ¡°Master, I don¡¯t know, sorry.¡± Fush, the flame died down. Dramatic reconciliation between non-human beings ¡­ no, it seemed that the hierarchy has been sorted out. Pepe, who became much calmer than before, hung his head sadly. ¡°Pepe, friend, none. Alone, home, lonely. Apology, reflection, goodbye.¡± The tears that overflowed from Pepe¡¯s eyes became steam and scattered. He bowed his politely. I hurriedly called Pepe, who was about to leave. ¡°No, Pepe, I will accept the invitation. Thank you.¡± ¡°Really, joy, excitement!¡± I glanced at the map I just received as a quest reward. A small island in the middle of the sea. A large star was drawn where Pepe¡¯s house was. The ¡®Event¡¯ mark flickered. I don¡¯t know exactly what kind of event it is. Pepe¡¯s invitation could be a solution to this unanswered situation. Translator¡¯s Corner: leisure in the midst of business: ??? [æÖÐée] leisure in intervals of one¡¯s business; a moment of relief (snatched) from pressure of business; a break in the pressure of one¡¯s (official) work. The phrase is taken from Chinese characters, æ (busy), ÐÄ (heart), Íö (perish/die). It means something like ¡­ you are living your life without taking care of your heart because of your busy life. I don¡¯t know much about Chinese though, so I can be wrong. Feel free to correct me~ AND YES, I GOT MY LAPTOP BACK but only after I replaced the motherboard and ram¨C life is indeed hard. It still has error sadly T__T I still can¡¯t sleep or shutdown it without making forced shutdown ¡­ I will take it back to the service center (they really going to meet me three days in rows¨C they shouldn¡¯t be complaining because I paid a lot for the service though) so let¡¯s pray they can fix it in a day because there¡¯s no way I spent another two weeks without my dear laptop again T__T Ah, please welcome our Pepe! CH 96 It was the day of the interview to select new hunters for The White Silver Guild. Since there has been no new recruitment for a long time, the number of applicants was enormous. After selecting the documents, the interview was conducted. ¡°¡­.what is this?¡± Kwon Jiwoon, who was exhausted of interviewing one after another since morning, picked up the paper on the desk. The applicant in front of him answered quickly with a bright expression. ¡°This is my heart, please accept it!¡± It was a slogan that said, ¡®I love you Eunrang¡®. ¡°¡­¡­¡­Haaa.¡± Kwon Jiwoon touched his forehead. At one time, there was a time when making a Hunter¡¯s name, different from the real name, was popular. It was a time when the public¡¯s attention was different because there were fewer rankers than now. The influence of the No. 1 ranker, Muwon, was also significant. Everyone tried to come up with a cool Hunter name like Muwon. Now, most of the Hunters just use their real names, so it¡¯s a dead trend. Kwon Jiwoon also used the name ¡®Eunrang¡® immediately after awakening due to the influence of the trend. However as time went by, the name was a little, no, a lot ¡­embarrassing. Is it a little better than the Twitter nickname he made when he was in middle school? Today, the name is the same as his black history. The idea of ??daring to pick a name that has become a black history as a slogan and hand it over¡­. ¡­.is she making fun of him? It was at the moment when Kwon Jiwoon was about to notify the applicant ¡®I love you Eunrang¡¯ that she was rejected. ¡°Guard, call the guard! A homeless man broke into the interview room!¡± There was a commotion outside. ¡°Wait! You are not allowed to enter!¡± The noise grew louder and louder. Naturally, the interview was interrupted, and he was distracted by the uproar outside. ¡°The deputy guild leader here is my son!¡± ¡°Do you think there were only one or two people who said that!¡± ¡°Oh ho, let me go!¡± ¡°How did you get through the security gate? Let¡¯s come over here and talk.¡± Bump! The intruder, who shook off the dissuading staff, opened the door without hesitation. He was a middle-aged man who looked like a scoundrel. He is obscured by his messy hair and beard, but his face is familiar. For some reason, he was with the new S-class, Hunter Choi Yichan. The man shouted, avoiding the employee who was about to take him out immediately. ¡°I¡¯m your father!¡± ¡°¡­¡­what?¡± *** Korea¡¯s No. 1 Hunter Community ¨C Hunter Channel. Free Forum Board. ¡ª Ranking, The Slave Hunters Guild is banned. Real life player kill in the dungeon. [Chatting] I¡¯m going to take this for the interview of the White Silver Guild? (4) Upvotes: 0 / Downvotes: 2 Writer: I love you Eunrang (Photo) What about this This is a slogan I made fufufufufu are you impressed? ¡ª OO: You crazy, why would you take it to the interview ¡ª MM: How the hell your documents passed? ©¸ Hellfire Dumplings: The Korean recruitment system has a lot of problems they can¡¯t filter out this kid ©¸ wab***: hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha [Chatting] Waiting for the interview for the White Silver Guild fufu (22) Upvotes: 0 / Downvotes: 2 Writer: I love you Eunrang (Photo) I have to wait for a long time, too many people Now this is where I¡¯m going fufu There are so many kinds of snacks in the pantry sh*t I forgot two cookies while waiting ¡ª Golem TwoGen: The kimchi soup is pitiful ¡ª MM: Did you really carry that slogan LOL ¡ª John Vermeta: Kwon Jiwoon is likely to turn cold LOL mood ruined ©¸ I love you Eunrang: If I can receive his cold stares, I will burn my body ©¸ rra***: this lunatic, this is the.real.mad.ness. ©¸ John Vermeta: f*ck HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA ¡ª Sindorim Transfer: d*mn how many posts are you writing about going to an interview with this little White Silver Guild? ©¸ rra***: You said you didn¡¯t ask and not curious about it, but you came in a minute after it being posted ,? crazy obsession,,?? ©¸ I love you Eunrang: I¡¯m sorry,, ?? My heart has already been devoted to Eunrang ©¸ OO: That¡¯s terrible. and Kwon Jiwoon already ditched his Eunrang nickname ©¸ HingHangHong: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA ¡ª Carrot Carrot: I don¡¯t agree with the comment above, but why are you making such a fuss with this White Silver Guild?? I heard that they lost all the members to C&L ?? I saw the announcement that there were no tankers, but isn¡¯t it just a small guild? ©¸ red***: The guild established by Hunter Kwon Seokmin, even if the size has decreased, it has a name value ©¸ Cheese Pizza:Who is that¡­? ©¸ FLIGHT: He is a B-class Hunter who has been active since the beginning. He had suffered a lot to establish a guild since the Hunter World was a mess back then. He is more well-known than his son, Kwon Jiwoon. ©¸ I love you Eunrang: But to me, King God General Eunrang is the only one ©¸ FLIGHT: Your concept is awful;;;;; ©¸ OO: The concept that even King FLIGHT is terrified of hahahahahahahaha ©¸ Cheese Pizza: Why aren¡¯t we seeing him these days? Retired? ©¸ FLIGHT: There was an accident in the dungeon, well, there are conspiracy theories and it¡¯s complicated ¡­ it¡¯s hard to explain ¡ª I love you Eunrang: Heol, it¡¯s finally my turn ©¸ OO: Write a review later [Chatting] The White Silver Guild Tanker Interview Review (12) Upvotes: 86 / Downvotes: 0 Writer: I love you Eunrang (Photo) This King interview was interrupted; The moment Kwon Jiwoon, who was fascinated by my outstanding abilities, tried to hand over the pass necklace A homeless man broke in?? ¡ª Healer Wanted: I¡¯m your father HAHAHAHAHA take a look at this lie ©¸ I love you Eunrang: It¡¯s not a lie, he really suddenly said ¡®i¡¯m your father¡¯ hahahahaha ©¸ trt***: Did you enjoy Star Wars,, ¡ª red***: ???? No way, is that Hunter Kwon Seokmin-nim??? ©¸ I love you Eunrang: Who is that ¡­ ruined my interview TT It was right before the contract was written ©¸ red***: Kwon Jiwoon¡¯s father ©¸ I love you Eunrang: No wonder I felt a natural, LOHAS, and eco-friendly appearance, fashion that gives a finger on the modern consumer market bb ©¸ OO: Tallulah LOL ¡ª FLIGHT: Heol, Kwon Seokmin is back? Take a closer picture ©¸ I love you Eunrang: No, they took him to the next room, so I can¡¯t see TT I¡¯m waiting alone ?? ¡ª I¡¯m powerless: Heol the number of views on this post is amazing hahahahahaha ¡ª Hunter 24Hours: Hello, this is Hunter 24Hours, which delivers the fastest news about the Hunter World! I love you Eunrang, I¡¯m leaving a comment to ask you in detail about the interview for the White Silver Guild interview that you participated in today Please contact [email protected] ^^! *** ¡°Father ¡­ what has happened in the meantime?¡± The drawing room of the White Silver Guild. It took a little longer for the father and son to have a reunion. They had to send back the people who had gathered and silence them. In the meantime, Kwon Seokmin, who got a haircut and shaved, has a much cleaner appearance. Although he lost some weight, he looked exactly like the father Kwon Jiwoon remembered. Kwon Jiwoon felt a lump in his throat. He is the father who disappeared in the maze dungeon shortly after his awakening. At one time, he was worried about whether he should give up the search because he was discouraged. Still, he came back safely. The anguish and anxiety of the past swept his mind like a wave. ¡°How come the guild guards don¡¯t recognize the guild leader? Son, we almost couldn¡¯t even have a reunion between father and son because I couldn¡¯t come into my guild.¡± ¡°Please understand. Over time, almost everyone has changed.¡± Kwon Seokmin looked confused at the remark. ¡°What do you mean? Why did you change all the guards just because I was away for a month? Did you actually try to kick your father out? Are you succeeding to the throne?¡± ¡°Wait, a month?¡± It was not uncommon for the time flow inside and outside the dungeon to be different. However, it has been at least six years. It was surprising when the time difference reached six years. ¡°No wonder I thought you had grown up a lot. It looks like the building has been remodeled. Gosh, what year is it now?¡± ¡°¡­. Year 20¡Á¡Á.¡± ¡°What! Damn, I skipped too much time. Still, it¡¯s still okay if the error rate is within 3 years. If we had any further differences, we would have a big problem.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡­father?¡± Mumbling, words that do not make sense followed. This was not the situation to ask what had happened in the past. ¡°¡­¡­.¡± Kwon Jiwoon slowly lowered his arm that was about to hug his father in emotion. Yes, how can he understand how his father, who returned after many years, feels? Kwon Jiwoon decided to give his father more time to calm his mind and turned his head to the side. Choi Yichan, who had followed Kwon Seokmin, bowed his head. ¡°Hello! You¡¯re Rieul¡¯s cousin, right? I¡¯ve heard about you a lot.¡± ¡°Yeah. What¡¯s your relationship with our Rieul?¡± ¡°Haha, I¡¯m her friend from high school ¡­ for now.¡± Kwon Jiwoon chuckled. Her friend is the new S-class Hunter that the Dungeon Management Office is currently looking for. It¡¯s like that Hunter from Cheongna and Choi Cedric as well. Somehow there¡¯s a lot of weird guys around his sister. Be that as it may. ¡°How did you find my father?¡± ¡°That¡¯s ¡­ by chance, in the dungeon, I happened to run into him.¡± It was the moment when Kwon Jiwoon slightly frowned at the ambiguous answer and was about to ask again. ¡°Huk, that¡¯s right, Rieul!¡± Kwon Seokmin, who was muttering to himself, screamed. ¡°Son, where is Rieul? Rieul, I have to meet my niece soon!¡± CH 97 ¡°Calm down. I¡¯ll try to contact her.¡± Yeah, this isn¡¯t the time to be like this. He must have been worried about Kwon Rieul a lot, and he should let her know about the good news right away. Kwon Jiwoon immediately picked up his phone and called Kwon Rieul. However, there was only a dial tone and the phone call not get connected. Her KakaoTalk is also inactive. ¡°She¡¯s not answering the phone right now. I¡¯ll try to contact her again in a little while.¡± ¡°No, we don¡¯t have time. We have to meet her soon!¡± ¡°Father, calm down.¡± However, Kwon Seokmin looked impatient. In the end, Kwon Jiwoon could not win over his father and got up. ¡°Rieul recently opened a cafe. The location is quite unique, but ¡­ it¡¯s very delicious. If we go there, we will meet her.¡± ¡°Ah, I¡¯ll come with you.¡± He deliberately postponed the interviews, but there were several reporters in front of the guild to see where the rumor came from. It is not easy to solve the family affair. The three of them went out the back door to avoid the reporters and headed to the cafe run by Kwon Rieul. ¡­and they were surprised. ¡°Son, I can¡¯t see the cafe with my eyes. What¡¯s going on?¡± No. 16 Dungeon Gate 3 Street, Jung-gu, Seoul. The whole cafe building disappeared. And just at that moment. Another person was surprised to see Cafe Rieul completely disappeared. ¡°What is this¡­¡­.¡± Ju Noeul lamented. What kind of Wizard of Oz is this¡­¡­. *** ¡°Pepe, swimming, possible!¡± A serene summer beach under the cliffs. When Pepe, the fire spirit, made a big gesture, the fire blazed and the waves split sideways. ¡­¡­can I call this swimming? The smell of salt in the air became stronger as the seawater vaporized in Pepe¡¯s heat. Soon the sea floor was completely exposed and the yellow road continued. Seaweed and seashells are trampled on. ¡°Here, guests, banquet!¡± ¡°¡­¡­ well, let¡¯s go.¡± At the end of the road, I could see a small island. The star sign on the map pointed exactly to that place. I don¡¯t know what it is there, but that place has an event. Is there no other way but to go? ¡°This guy, why can¡¯t you hold me more carefully, waeolg!¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡­Walk on your own.¡± ¡°Hmm, it¡¯s not bad if you do this.¡± As for the animals, Ash and I decided to walk with one each. I was with Lime and Ash took Mieum. Mieum tossed to and fro for a long time as she felt uncomfortable in Ash¡¯ arms before she finally found a pose she liked and made a whining sound. The Golden Triangular Rhino will be left in the barn. It was a long distance to walk with a cow, and the cow didn¡¯t want to move because it liked the barn. It¡¯s been a while since the four of us walked behind Pepe. ¡°Heuk, huuuh¡­.¡± I breathed out. My eyes were tingling with sweat. It was terribly hot¡­¡­. Lime¡¯s body was cool, so it felt good to touch it, but there was a limit for that. The effect of ice cream coffee has already ceased. Furthermore, the more I moved, the stronger the heat became. ¡°Pepe, hukh ¡­ how long do we have left?¡± I spoke to Pepe, the only one here who was fine. ¡°Soon, arrival, relax!¡± ¡°Why is it so hot here?¡± ¡°Hot? Pepe, cool!¡± Yeah, you would ¡­ my body is not made of fire, I felt like I¡¯m going to die¡­. Fortunately, however, as Pepe said, we soon arrived at our destination. There was a village on a small island that I thought would only take 10 minutes to go around. Pepe led us to the village. Stone houses were sparsely visible, and there was a large temple in the center of the village. It was like an altar to worship the Eternal Living Flame. And soon, I discovered the identity of this tremendous heat. ¡°Who, visitor, guest?¡± Beyond the stone wall, the fire spirits that looked just like Pepe stuck their heads out. It was so hot because of the heat they radiated. ¡°Pepe, home, welcome.¡± ¡°Guests, welcome, banquet!¡± The little spirits surrounded us and chattered. If possible, I would like to inform these spirits that there is a thing called structural prepositions in Korean. The words that were heard in pieces seemed to mean that they welcomed us as guests. Pepe and the spirits took us to the center of town to hold a welcome party. However, there was an unexpected content among the words that were heard in pieces. ¡°Huh? There is other visitor besides us?¡± ¡°Traveler, distress, visit.¡± Almost at the same time, an unfamiliar voice was heard in front of me. ¡°Ah, hot, it¡¯s hot!¡± No, it¡¯s not an unfamiliar voice. ¡°Ha, I understand that you really want to see it, but it gets hot when you touch it all of a sudden. Yes, one by one, stand in line and watch one by one.¡± There was a man showing his weapon to the crowd of fire spirits. A face with a slightly frivolous atmosphere and upturned eyes caught my attention. ¡°Oh, you guys, haha. Do you want to shake my hand? We can¡¯t shake hands because my palm will burn, but what about autographs?¡± And this unbearable way of speaking. ¡­.No way. ¡°¡­.Huh!¡± Choi Cedric, who turned his head and found me, was startled. ¡­¡­why are you here? *** The table was set. A large stone dining table in the town square. To not overshadow the word banquet, these fire spirits served a fairly generous menu. Perhaps because it was an island in the middle of the sea, the main menu was seafood. It was fortunate that it wasn¡¯t a fire-baked stone or black charcoal. ¡°Pepe, common sense, yes. Humans, stones, not eaten.¡± ¡°Uh ¡­ I¡¯m sorry for the misunderstanding.¡± ¡°Food, delicious, eat!¡± In particular, the fresh tuna sashimi that I picked up with chopsticks was delicious. The tuna tataki looked appetizing, and the grilled tuna tasted savory. The heat emitted by the fire spirits cooked the seafood in real time. ¡°Waeolg, waeooong (The hospitality is quite good)!¡± ¡°Kkyuu¡­.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡­Not bad.¡± After confirming that the party ate the food satisfactorily, I turned my head toward Choi Cedric. I never thought I would meet this guy here. ¡°How did you get here?¡± ¡°Huh? Me? I¡­¡­.¡± Choi Cedric, who was about to eat the well-cooked grilled tuna, put down his chopsticks and answered. ¡°My heart is heavy.¡± ¡°¡­¡­what?¡± Choi Cedric said he has a hobby of taking a dungeon walk whenever he feels depressed. Is it the problem with the urban sprawl? Is it because there is not enough green space in Seoul? Leaving the decent park and taking a walk in the dungeon isn¡¯t a hobby that I can sympathize with as a human being, but ¡­ everyone has different ways to relieve stress, so let¡¯s understand it. ¡°That¡¯s why I wanted to do one round of the Great Dungeon Abyss.¡± ¡°Wait, is this Abyss?¡± ¡°Huh, you didn¡¯t know?¡± ¡°Of course I didn¡¯t know. I slept and woke up to find the whole store was here.¡± ¡°What the ¡­ listen.¡± Choi Cedric continued his explanation in a pompous voice. In the Great Dungeon Abyss, there is a floor called the Safe Zone. It is difficult to understand that ¡®Dungeon¡¯ and ¡®Safe¡¯ can be used in one sentence, but anyway, it is said to be so. Twenty years have passed since the huge dungeon suddenly appeared in the world. It wasn¡¯t that Hunters hadn¡¯t climbed the Great Dungeon for 20 years. The Safe Zone is where the moving gate was installed after the boss was eliminated. ¡°Hmm, I understand. You¡¯re saying this is the Safe Zone, right?¡± I picked up squid sashimi, which was raw squid sashimi, and asked. However, Choi Cedric shook his head. ¡°No, I don¡¯t know that.¡± ¡°¡­..what?¡± Choi Cedric was originally planning to go back after taking a walk in the Safe Zone. But he didn¡¯t want to go home, so he went a little further and deeper. Then, he was caught up in a sudden etheric wave and fell into this field. I expected a systematic explanation, but in the end, Choi Cedric is also in distress. ¡°Haaa, you ¡­ I thought you knew how to get out.¡± ¡°I can go out?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Choi Cedric took out a teleport scroll from the inventory. ¡°It¡¯s a scroll that teleports to the gate. You can use this.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you go back when you have something like this¡­.¡± ¡°Just because. I don¡¯t want to go home today.¡± ¡°Waeooong (Hoo, this guy¡¯s natural flirting is pretty good). ¡°¡­.Flirting?¡± Ash turned his head with a sulky look. I pushed the grilled squid on the plate in front of Mieum. Fortunately, Mieum stopped talking nonsense because she was eating squid. At that time, a fire spirit called Choi Cedric. ¡°Human, friend, help.¡± ¡°Oh, seriously, I¡¯m in trouble if you keep calling me that. Yes, I¡¯m coming, I¡¯m coming.¡± Tuk, a freshly caught fish was placed on the table. Shashashak. Choi Cedric took out his sword and sliced the fish in an instant. The fire spirit applauded and cheered. ¡°Cutting, splendid, flawless.¡± ¡°What? Do you want me to do this too? Yeah, I can¡¯t help it then.¡± ¡°Perfect, gorgeous, wonderful.¡± He¡¯s excited¡­.. So, he doesn¡¯t know the details, but he doesn¡¯t want to go home and the reactions of the spirits were spectacular. Intoxicated by the response of these spirits, he was spending time here without returning immediately. Choi Cedric, who returned after slicing a few more fish, handed me his teleport scroll. ¡°I have an extra, so use this if you need it.¡± ¡°Huh, thank you. Thank you so much!¡± I accepted it without hesitation. I can go back if I have this scroll. If I can go back, it doesn¡¯t matter whether there¡¯s a star sign on the map or an event. However, I was devastated by Choi Cedric¡¯s words that followed after that. ¡°But can you use it?¡± ¡°Uh ¡­ why?¡± Is there any side effect? Or is it an item that cannot be used by F-class Awakeners? ¡°You said you came with the whole building earlier? If you use the scroll and go back, what will you do with the property?¡± ¡­¡­. ¡­¡­. Ah, that¡¯s right. My store¡­. If I go back just with my body like this, I will only have a few family members without a house or a store¡­. At that moment of frustration, a huge flame suddenly appeared in the sky. Flames swirled in the air. A haze rose from the intense heat that could not be compared to before. The fire spirits bowed down on the floor and cheered. ¡°Master, appear, welcome.¡± ¡°Master, hooray, welcome.¡± [The Great Old One: The Eternal Living Flame Cthugha has appeared.] [Welcome to the Garden of Cthugha, the Eternal Living Flame.] The flame that floated in the air gradually turned into a human form. Red hair flutters in the air. Tak! The man who set foot on the floor with a bang looked like a human being made from flame. He looked like he was in his fifties. His hair, beard, and eyes were all red. Pepe ran forward and bowed his head. ¡°Master, Pepe, come home. Humans, home, help.¡± ¡°¡­.Hmm. Yes, you¡¯ve had a hard time.¡± Fortunately, the master of the spirits used the prepositions properly. He looked at me in a crooked posture. Then, his face crumpled. ¡°Why is there a human here who smells like Heesun?¡± What ¡­ who? Translator¡¯s Corner: Hi, hello again everyone. I¡¯m deeply sorry for the sudden long lack of updates T__T brought back my laptop to the service center and after a week, I took it back because not only they can¡¯t fix the problem, they added the problem ¡­ and they reinstalled my laptop to Windows 7 for absolutely no reason and now I¡¯m just sad because I lost all my apps, my saved settings, and now the windows notepad in my laptop can¡¯t read the korean file correctly¨C so yeah, now I¡¯ll just accept this fate and start saving to buy a laptop. I hope this one can¡¯t hold on a while longer though T__T I will do my best T__T CH 98 At that time. Ki Yoohyun was thinking while looking at his phone. He got a KakaoTalk message from Kwon Rieul. [Kwon Rieul] Yoohyun-ssi today idk ¡°Umh¡­.¡± ¡­¡­what does this mean? *** Cthugha, in his human form, stared intently at me. The red eyes were filled with confusion, irritation and longing. Unable to overcome the pressure, I slowly retreated back, but Cthugha came closer. The heat hit me. Soon enough, the sound of breathing could be heard. ¡°Answer me. Intruder, why do you smell like Heesun?¡± ¡°Yes? Perhaps ¡­ are you talking about Park Heesun?¡± Cthugha, who stood crookedly with his arms crossed, nodded his head. ¡°Yeah. I can¡¯t forget this peculiar smell.¡± ¡°Why do you smell people!¡± I backed away, appalled. I took a shower in the morning. However, this field is in summer weather and I walked with Pepe for a long time. When I glanced at him as if I were looking at a strange person, Cthugha looked embarrassed. I opened my mouth cautiously. ¡°Park Heesun is my grandmother.¡± I didn¡¯t know that my grandmother¡¯s name would come out here again. What was the relationship between this Eternal Living Flame and my grandmother? As soon as I answered, the flames died down, and the atmosphere became calmer. ¡°Euh-euhem. I see, grandgirl. Granddaughter, I mean. Here, here. Eat as much as you like.¡± Cthugha pushed the tuna plate towards me, but it had been a long time since he burned it to charcoal when he was angry. ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°The hospitality here is so poor.¡± ¡°Pepe, sincerity, unfair.¡± ¡°What did you say?¡± ¡°Tuna, tuna, tuna.¡± Pepe, who could not go against his master, quickly caught the tuna again. I picked up fresh sashimi and ate half-cooked tuna. It was delicious because it was cooked well. ¡°Ash, try this too. It¡¯s delicious.¡± ¡°¡­¡­I ate a lot.¡± ¡°Oh? Boy, you have to eat well to grow up like this Hyung. Yeah, I¡¯m in a good mood! If you eat it all, Choi Cedric will sign it for you.¡± ¡°Haa¡­.¡± ¡°Waeoong, waeooolg (This guys, his eyes said, ¡®what¡¯s this annoying human being¡®).¡± I forgot about the troublesome situation and enjoyed the dinner for a while ¡­ until Cthugha spoke to me again. ¡°All right, well ¡­ how is Heesun doing?¡± ¡°¡­.she passed away.¡± ¡°¡­¡­!¡± Cthugha took a deep breath. He looked shocked. ¡°I see, that¡¯s right. Has it already been that way?¡± Remorse was deeply etched on his face. It felt strange to see this human-shaped fireball mourning the death of my grandmother. ¡°I had a good time with Heesun. However ¡­ it¡¯s sad. Human time is too short. An immortal like me always misses the shadow of the mortal.¡± Murmuring. The latter words ruffled into his breath. Wait, don¡¯t tell me¡­.? Suddenly, a possibility that I didn¡¯t want to think about ran through my head. My grandmother had always been alone since I was very young. I thought my grandfather died early, but ¡­ now that I think about it, I¡¯ve never heard about him at all. Not only that, there is not a single photo left. As if he didn¡¯t exist in the first place. In addition, my uncle, Kwon Jiwoon, and I are all awakened. There are three Awakeners in a row in one family. Isn¡¯t that a pretty rare chance? No way. Eh, that¡¯s ridiculous. I stared at Cthugha. ¡°Umh¡­.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Cthugha, with red hair and red eyes, looked just like a human. What if it¡¯s possible for these godlike creatures, like Cthugha, and humans, to produce offspring, and that¡¯s why their blood flows through me? What if the reason for the successive awakenings of my family is because of the secret of this birth? Mieum¡¯s eyes shone as if she had reached the same question as me. Even if she pretended not to, I could still feel her excitement. She¡¯s like a K-drama fan who loves the secret of the main character¡¯s birth. I carefully raised my doubts. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me ¡­ then, are you my grandfather?¡± Spurt. Choi Cedric spilled the juice he was drinking. ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± A still silence where no breath can be heard. With everyone¡¯s attention focused on us, Cthugha answered with a vague expression on his face. ¡°No, Heesun and I had a pure relationship.¡± ¡°Phew¡­.¡± Thank God. I was free from the suspicion that 25% of my blood is non-human. My precious humanity, my precious genes. I will continue to live like a human being. ¡°Was my grandmother awakened?¡± ¡°No, she was not an Awakeneds, but she could read the stream of the stars.¡± Astrology ¡­ is it something like that? I asked again. ¡°Then, how did you meet my grandmother?¡± ¡°At that time, Heesun lived in a cabin in the forest. While wandering away from the ethereal world, I happened to meet her, and I was fascinated by her ability.¡± The story is likely to be long. The fire spirits attentively brought yellowtail sashimi and alcohol. Cthugha, who ate a piece of the well-cooked yellowtail sashimi and spewed vaporized alcohol, continued his words. ¡°Heesun was very picky, so she would not eat anything other than freshly cooked rice at every meal.¡± ¡°¡­¡­yes?¡± ¡°She only slept at the warmest part of the room. So every morning I cut firewood and fetched water.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± I had to work hard not to spit out the words that popped into my head. However, after hearing about how he made the charcoal himself and cooked rice by setting fire to the furnace for a long time, I couldn¡¯t help but to have this thought. So this is¡­¡­. ¡­.rice shuttle? It was a memory that didn¡¯t match the sad expression on his face. ¡°But I am an immortal of the ethereal world. I couldn¡¯t always be by her side because of the limitations of causality. This is a body that can only move according to the stream of the stars.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± Cthugha emptied his glass. The smell of alcohol whips through the air. ¡°Then one day, Heesun called me and made a request. She asked me to put my power on a stone so she can summon me any time.¡± Wait, don¡¯t tell me¡­. I quietly hid my hand under the table. Cthugha continued his story. Cthugha, who was happy to hear that she would call him anytime, quickly handed over a red stone containing his power. However, the next day, he said that my grandmother had disappeared. Cthugha waited for my grandmother in the cabin until the stream of stars changed. Still, my grandmother did not return, and the causality imposed on him reached its limit. Eventually, Cthugha returned to his garden, this place, and now time has passed. All he heard was that my grandmother had passed away a long time ago. It was a strange story. At the time she ran her cafe, my grandmother seemed to have no interest in ¡®God of Another World¡® or ¡®Dungeon¡®. I can¡¯t believe such an old lady met Cthugha. I felt the need to know more about my grandmother during my lifetime. But that¡¯s for later, and for now¡­¡­. I hesitated for a moment and showed him my hand. ¡°Is this the stone with your power?¡± ¡°¡­¡­!¡± Cthugha¡¯s Ring. Since the name contains the name of Cthugha, it must be correct. This ring was made by Grandma Kim Deokyi, but an item requires raw materials. Moreover, my grandmother and Kim Deokyi were acquaintances. In other words, it is reasonable to think that the stone was passed away by the order of Cthugha ¡ú my grandmother ¡ú Grandma Kim Deokyi ¡ú me. ¡°How could you¡­¡­!¡± Hyuur. Cthugha was again transformed into a great flame. This living flame erupted in rage in all directions and began to burn everything. ¡°Master, fury, run away.¡± The fire spirits retreated, and the flames burned. ¡°I trusted her and handed her a stone of power. She tricked me! It¡¯s not supposed to be a stone that I gave humans so they can use my power recklessly!¡± ¡°Eu, aaaa¡­..!¡± ¡°Hey, hey, it¡¯s dangerous!¡± Choi Cedric pulled me back, who almost got caught in the flames. Cthugha, who was angry to the point that he looked like he would devour everything, quickly extinguished the push-type flames. The drooping red hair looked sullen. ¡°Haa ¡­ I thought it was strange.¡± Cthugha murmured desolately. ¡°I summoned the stone containing my power several times. Originally, she should have been summoned, but no matter what I did, there was no response. I managed to summon it today, but a brick building flew in.¡± It¡¯s you! Because of you, the whole store was summoned here. I found the culprit. In my mind, I wanted to grab his neck and shake him. ¡°Master, heartbreak, sorrow.¡± Pepe said something that I didn¡¯t know whether it was consolation or not. ¡°That ¡­ I have listened to you well, and I understand the situation well. Look, umh ¡­ cheer up.¡± If the cause is Cthugha, then Cthugha must have the solution as well. ¡°Is there any way to return to the original state with the building here?¡± ¡°It¡¯s none of my business.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°This is my garden. Once in, it is mine, the owner of the garden.¡± ¡°What?! Where do you even get that idea? What kind of ¡®if you cross over with gold, it¡¯s all mine¡¯ is this?!¡± Although I protested, Cthugha¡¯s reaction was cold. ¡°The smell of Heesun remained in the building.¡± ¡°Ah, yes. It¡¯s the building she lived in until she died.¡± ¡°If so, the building is a trace of Miss Heesun. Feel free to go back if you want to, but leave the trace of Heesun here.¡± He¡¯s crazy¡­. You said it¡¯s a pure relationship, a pure relationship! I should have recognized it since he mentioned the smell earlier. Real estate means a lot to modern people, but he wants me to leave it behind! Still, Cthugha was stubborn and I had no confidence to fight and win against him, who appeared to be close to God. At that time when I was stuck in the situation, Lime, who had been quietly silent and held on my lap, bravely stepped forward. ¡°Kkyuuuu. Kkyuu ¡­ kkyuuuuu!¡± ¡°Ah, Lime-ah!¡± ¡°Kkyuu ¡­ kkyuuuu!¡± While bouncing its body, Lime approached Cthugha. ¡°Hoo? Aren¡¯t you the piece of flame that ran away from home a while ago? You¡¯re back.¡± As expected, Lime was the piece who ran away from home¡­¡­. The conversation between Lime and Cthugha continued. ¡°Kkyuu, kkyuu, kkyuuuuuu kkyu¡­..¡± ¡°What? The heir to the legitimate power? Is she eligible?¡± ¡°Kkyuuuu ¡­ kkyu ¡­. kkyuuu.¡± ¡°Hmm, hmm, I see. You didn¡¯t run away, but you followed her, hmm.¡± ¡°Kkyuu, kkyuuu!¡± ¡°That mortal ¡­ I see, hmm. The owner of ¨€¨€ watched by ¨€¨€, hooo¡­.¡± Why are you looking at me in an uneasy way and saying things I don¡¯t understand? Since I met the saintess not long ago, I want to refuse meaningful conversations for the time being. After talking to Lime, Cthugha turned his head and looked at me with a warm gaze. ¡°Granddaughter.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you say no earlier?¡± ¡°To me, the blood ties of the mortal are not significant. However, I guess it¡¯s a fate that we met like this. You are like my granddaughter.¡± Cthugha smiled and continued. ¡°Good. I will make a contract with you.¡± Translator¡¯s Corner: rice shuttle: ??? (babsyeoteul). The word shuttle (??) comes from the popular slang bread shuttle (???), ? means bread and ?? means the english word ¡®shuttle¡¯. It¡¯s means a shuttle (bus) that delivers breads to another person. The term was first used among Korean High School students and refers to a person who is being bullied, and does little errands such as delivering bread to their classmates. In here, Rieul used ? (boiled rice) to express that Cthugha is like someone who was builed by her grandmother to deliver rice. Grandma basically gave false hope to a God¡­. CH 99 ¡°¡­.yes?¡± While I was lost in my mind, Cthugha made a wild conclusion. ¡°Granddaughter, I will delegate all my power to you. You can summon me as the sole contractor.¡± ¡°Waeuuung, waeuuung (Cthugha-nim himself¡­..! Human, you¡¯re pretty good. This is a good opportunity).¡± ¡°Kkyuu, kkyuu, kkyuuuuu!¡± The animals jumped next to me. ¡°Hmm, not bad. It¡¯s not as much as the primordial chaos, but I can feel the power of a fairly high purity.¡± Even Ash said this. Tiling! Following Cthugha¡¯s declaration, a system window appeared in front of me. [Great Old One: The Eternal Living Flame, Cthugha, wants a contract with you.] [You can get the Blessing of Cthugha when signing the contract.] ¡°¡­¡­.¡± Let¡¯s just sit back and look at the system window for a moment. [You can get the Blessing of Cthugha when signing the contract.] [You can get the Blessing of Cthugha when signing the contract.] The window flickered repeatedly, as if rushing me. But¡­. ¡°Do I have to do this?¡± I can fully understand that it¡¯s amazing based on the atmosphere. A living flame with the ability to turn into a human and then turn into a fire again, if that¡¯s not great, that¡¯s even weirder. The name that spelled system window is ¡®Great¡¯, so it must be actually great. However, they said that with great power comes great responsibility. In other words, with great unwanted power comes great unwanted responsibility. No matter how great the power was, I wasn¡¯t confident I could make good use of it. There must be someone more suitable than me somewhere. I didn¡¯t readily nod at the thought. Wouldn¡¯t Choi Cedric be more suitable? He¡¯s strong. I turned around with that thought. ¡°Eung? Why? Is that burdensome? Heh, really, it suits you well, so accept it. You are the, what is that again, Coffee Tentaku!¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t call me that¡­¡­.¡± ¡°Nyaaaah, nyaaaaah (Coffee Tentaku, Coffee Tentaku)!¡± ¡°Kkyuuu! Kyuuu!¡± The animals of my house are so excited that they¡¯re imitating him¡­. I can¡¯t believe he still uses that title. In my mind, I prayed earnestly that Choi Cedric would develop the right language habit. Then, what about Ash, The (self-proclaimed) Demon King of Twilight? ¡°I hate fire.¡± However, even before making eye contact, Ash expressed his refusal. ¡°Ugh¡­.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, granddaughter. It won¡¯t change anything if you don¡¯t want to. Just think of it as a contract to strengthen the power of the ring.¡± The hesitation was still there. Yes, the power of the ring is essential when roasting beans¡­.. Er, I don¡¯t know. Complex thoughts do not fit me. There is a man around me who has the greatest power with the greatest responsibility in Korea. I wonder what would happen if someone without much determination like me signed such a contract. I nodded slowly. At that moment, the ring on my left hand heated up and the system window popped up. [Great Old One: You have signed a contract with Cthugha, the Eternal Living Flame.] [The Eligible: The ability is granted according to Kwon Rieul¡¯s will.] [Skill: Eternal Flame (S) Details: (Lv.max) You can summon Cthugha.] Wait, S-grade? There was a huge difference between feeling vaguely strong and seeing the grade mark in person. ¡°¡­.Hick.¡± I was so startled that I hiccuped. ¡°Hik, heuck, hick!¡± ¡°Oh, hey, don¡¯t die. What did that fireball do to you? You can¡¯t breathe!¡± ¡°Nothing, I just gave her skill according to the contract. The skill grade is S-grade¡­.¡± ¡°Hik, heuck, i¡¯m dying ¡­ hick!¡± ¡°Waeooong (You¡¯re such a human being with small liver to be surprised by such a thing).¡± ¡°Water, water, water.¡± ¡°Here, drink some water.¡± I finally stopped hiccuping after emptying the glass of water that Ash gave me. Phew, I thought I was going to die. She got an S-grade skill in an F-class water body and was so shocked that she hiccuped and died. With this content, I almost became a strong candidate for the ¡®Erwin Award¡® given to a Hunter who died unexpectedly. After barely calming down the disturbance. The topic suddenly shifted because of the contract with Cthugha, but the most important thing is the return. The property that has become movable must be returned to its original place. ¡°Then, I can go back, right? ¡­ with my building.¡± Cthugha shook his head. ¡°Not now. The nagging of ¨€¨€ is enormous that the area where I can intervene is limited. Wait until the stream of stars changes.¡± ¡°When is that?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­.¡± Cthugha looked up at the sky. I couldn¡¯t see the stars because of the sunlight, but he was lost in thought as if he were reading the stream of the stars. The longer his silence grew, the more anxious I became. Cthugha probably has lived a very long time because he said he¡¯s immortal. Earlier, Pepe also said he was 1200 years old. An immortal with a different concept of time from humans, or a world where the flow of time is different from the outside world is a clich¨¦. Don¡¯t tell me that sort of clich¨¦ thing happens. ¡°By any chance, it¡¯s just ¡­ 300 years from now, it¡¯s not like this, is it?¡± Cthugha grinned, taking off his gaze toward the sky. ¡°It¡¯s tomorrow.¡± Whew, I¡¯m glad. It¡¯s 299 years and 364 days faster than what I was worried about. I was moved by the K-different world that respects busy modern people. ¡°Tomorrow night, a day later, the path of the stars opens when the when the starlight of Fomalhaut shines. I will install movement magic in the building, so you can go back through that path.¡± ¡°¡­¡­I can trust you, right?¡± ¡°Of course, of course! Will the Flame of Eternity lie to his granddaughter? It ¡­ the smell, no, the trace would be fine¡­. Leastwise. Anyway, before I go back, I have to spend a day in this midsummer dungeon. Then, again, there is only one thing to do. Pepe and the fire spirits approached and surrounded me. Their eyes were filled with curiosity and aspiration. The spirits shouted along Pepe¡¯s lead. ¡°Coffee, coffee, coffee.¡± ¡°Coffee, coffee, coffee.¡± As if to match the response of the spirits, a ringing sound rang out. [Sub Quest: Business Trip Never Ends! Behold, the eyes of the eternal spirits. Listen, the voice of the spirits calling you. The fire spirits are interested in your coffee. Let¡¯s make a big profit from the business trip. Sell Irish Coffee: 0/20 Rewards: EXP (200 exp), Fame (10), Popularity (20), Connect Anywhere ¡î Mysterious Door] *** Ju Noeul looked at the faces of those who quietly moved ahead. First, the new S-class hunter, Choi Yichan. Kwon Seokmin, the guild leader of the White Silver Guild, who has been missing for several years. And Kwon Jiwoon, the healer of the White Silver Guild. It¡¯s a unique combination. She¡¯s very curious about why they¡¯re looking for her regular cafe that has disappeared. ¡°Hey, aren¡¯t you coming?¡± Choi Yichan, who was walking ahead, called her. ¡°Coming, I¡¯m coming¡­.¡± As she moved quickly, Ju Noeul glanced at Choi Yichan. He only moves silently with a calm expression on his face. Among them, Choi Yichan is the person she cares the most. Because he turned down her offer of recruitment mercilessly. ¡®What¡¯s wrong with Royal¡­.¡¯ The Royal Guild, which had many long-distance dealers in its early members, suffered from a chronic shortage of short-distance dealers. A new S-class melee berserker appeared at a time like this! She can¡¯t help but to desire it. So she squeezed the budget and promised the best treatment in the industry. As a bonus, there is even a welfare system that supports his fan activity up to a certain amount of money per month! However, the feedback was unheard. In fact, he had just turned off his phone, but Ju Noeul did not know about it. That Choi Yichan is with the father and son of The White Silver Guild. No way, are they promised to hire him under the water¡­. ¡®I can¡¯t leave him like that¡­¡­.¡¯ This was the reason why Ju Noeul quickly stepped into this party. Of course, that¡¯s not the only reason. It is true that she was also concerned about the whereabouts of the missing regular cafe. Now, she doesn¡¯t feel like she has a proper day unless she drinks that cafe¡¯s coffee and watches the real red slime every day. However, the main reason is this. She can¡¯t miss out on this exciting event. She¡¯ll have to follow along and figure out what¡¯s going on. To find out¡­. ¡®I should write a review on Hunchan later¡­.¡¯ The party moved to the seventh floor after passing the Dungeon Gate of the Great Dungeon Abyss. It was Kwon Seokmin who took the lead. ¡°Son, this way!¡± He proceeded through the dungeon without hesitation as if he knew where the cafe owner would be. He rode the warp gate, avoiding the path where annoying monsters appear. ¡®Don¡¯t tell me this road is¡­¡­.¡¯ Ju Noeul stopped walking. She put her question into her mouth. ¡°Umh, Hunter Kwon Seokmin-nim, are you going to the Garden of Cthugha, the Eternal Living Flame?¡± ¡°Yes. It must be there!¡± Aside from the question of why the cafe that disappeared as a whole is there. ¡°That field is difficult to access ¡­when the Hunter enters, the owner of the garden gets angry and sets them on fire ¡­ it¡¯s totally well-done¡­.¡± ¡°Then, is there no other way? Umh, you¡­¡± Choi Yichan looked back at Ju Noeul and blurred the end of his words. ¡°My name is Ju Noeul¡­.¡± Ju Noeul looked at Choi Yichan¡¯s face, clouded with worry. He looked like a sullen puppy worrying about his owner. What is his relationship with the cafe owner? While being curious about the relationship between Choi Yichan and the cafe owner, she shuddered at the thought of Choi Yichan¡¯s signing of the contract with the Royal Guild as a token of gratitude after solving the problem. She doesn¡¯t want to be grilled by Eternal Flame. Still, it¡¯s a game worth playing for the S-Class Melee Berserker. Wait, guild members of the Royal Guild! This guild leader will take the big fish as a new guild member! Ju Noeul declared with confidence. ¡°Just trust me¡­.¡± Ju Noeul took a small needle out of her pocket and pricked her finger. Drip, drip. Four drops of blood fell into the shadow of Ju Noeul. The shadow swirled as if swallowing the blood. [Skill: Wyvern Summon (S) is used.] Four winged little dragons emerged from the shadow. Kwon Jiwoon, who recognized this, briefly admired it. ¡°Wyvern¡­..!¡± It was Ju Noeul¡¯s main skill, Summoning. The difference from the Taming skill is that it does not tame the subject. In exchange for Ju Noeul¡¯s blood, the Wyverns signed a summon contract. The content is to quickly take the group to their destination. It only fulfills the role set according to the contract, and the Wyverns are not obligated to obey her. In other words¡­. ¡°Euegh, ug! Son, are you going to throw me, who has become useless, here? Are you succeeding to the throne?¡± ¡°Father, since my head is ringing, the loud noise is a little, eub¡­.¡± ¡°Eugh, I don¡¯t know what it is, but something is popping up.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­..¡± As they prioritized speed, the comfort of the ride was extremely poor. CH 100 In an instant, the Wyverns leapt into the space of the Garden of Cthugha, the Eternal Living Flame. ¡°There it is!¡± On a cliff on a sunny beach, they could see a brick cafe building. However, as the Wyverns got closer to the cafe, they felt puzzled. An unexpected scene unfolded before their eyes. Small fireballs lined up in front of the cafe. ¡°Now, one at a time, do not push!¡± ¡°Coffee, coffee, coffee!¡± A cheerful answer followed. *** Time, overflowing. Ingredient, the stock is sufficient. Consumer, they¡¯re being curious. Quest, there¡¯s a reward that looks good. The conditions were perfect for business trip, but one problem remained. The fire spirits could not be brought into the cafe. If these fire spirits, whose bodies are made of fire, enter, the inside of the building will burn quickly. However, if I said that I would not sell coffee to the spirits for that reason, they would be angry. The expectant eyes were directed at me. ¡°Perfect, gorgeous, wonderful!¡± ¡°Number one, fantastic, coffee!¡± Pepe¡¯s real-time reviews were also enough to stimulate the spirits. Pepe, you¡¯re good at viral marketing¡­. After returning to the beach where the cafe was placed with spirits who were not about to back down, I was lost in thought. There is an option to make coffee inside and bring it outside, but it is cumbersome. I¡¯d rather do this. I took out moderately-sized (and also flame-retardant) plate from the warehouse on the first floor of the store. I don¡¯t know why this stuff is in the warehouse. Come to think of it, this warehouse was large for the size of the store and had all kinds of items. ¡®Why did Grandmother collect these things¡­.¡¯ Anyway, let¡¯s leave the question behind. With the help of Choi Cedric and Ash, I was able to quickly create the things I wanted. It is a counter where you can place an order and get a drink while walking outside. The so-called walk-through counter. ¡°Now, one at a time, do not push!¡± The curious fire spirits quickly lined up at my words. Since everyone ordered Irish coffee, it didn¡¯t take long to process the order. ¡°Coffee, coffee, coffee!¡± The last fire spirit received the coffee with a lot of cream in a porcelain cup. The moment the spirit drank the coffee while emitting a hotter fire, the quest completion notification popped up immediately. Tiling! [Congratulations! You have completed ¡®Sub Quest: Business Trip Never Ends!¡¯. Please collect the rewards.] [Experience: 200 EXP have been acquired.] [You have acquired Connect Anywhere ¡î Mysterious Door.] [Fame: 10 / Popularity: 20.] [¡¯s current Grade: E] ¡°Oh, look over there!¡± ¡°Kyagyakyoo (It¡¯s a Wyvern)!¡± When I was about to check the reward sone by one, I turned my head to the sharp cry of Choi Cedric and Mieum ¡­ and I got startled. Uh, that¡¯s ¡­ a monster? No, there¡¯s a person riding it? Four monsters resembling dragons appeared in the middle of the bluish blue sky. If you look closely, you can see that they are flapping their wings with one person on their back. It was the moment when I rubbed my eyes with my hands and tried to look again. Wait ¡­ those wyverns, are they coming this way? A brilliant aerobatic flight embroidered the sky. While someone¡¯s screams echoed in the background, the Wyverns landed on the ground. ¡°Ouch, it hurts¡­.¡± Poof. The Wyvern disappeared as if melting in the shadows, and the people who got off the Wyvern¡¯s back got up with the sound of pain. I was astonished to see their faces. ¡°Umh ¡­ excuse me?¡± I knew all of them¡­. *** ¡°¡­¡­so I was selling coffee to the spirits.¡± It took quite some time to sort things out. First, it took a while to calm the fire spirits who wanted more coffee and send them back. Also, the visitors who came by riding the Wyverns required some time to overcome motion sickness. We barely sat down and talked to each other about what had happened. This is the summary of what we talked about. First, Ju Noeul. She is a regular who often comes to our store to drink coffee. ¡°I was worried about the sudden disappearance of the store¡­.¡± ¡°Ahaha, it happened to be like this. Ah, I¡¯m Kwon Rieul. Please call me Rieul.¡± ¡°I am Ju Noeul ¡­ I¡¯m the leader of the Royal Guild.¡± Huk, she was a famous person. I thought she was YOLO life-seeker like me, so I felt an inner intimacy alone¡­. Wait, in this case, the heads of two Big Three guilds are regulars at my store. Aren¡¯t my regulars too strong? Is this the S-Classes That I Fed? It turned out that she was an S-class Summoner, who summoned the Wyverns and flew here. The second is Kwon Jiwoon. ¡°Ugh, Rieul-ah, get me some water, eub¡­.¡± ¡°Are you okay? You¡¯re sweating a lot. Hurry, drink this ice water.¡± He can¡¯t come to his senses even after emptying all the cups of water. I let Kwon Jiwoon sit comfortably against the chair. Looks like he had a great flight. There¡¯s also Choi Yichan. ¡°Haha ¡­ long time no see, Rieul-ah. How have you been doing?¡± I was dumbfounded by the nonchalant greeting. He left behind a strange note and disappeared, what? How have you been doing? ¡°Long time no see? You¡¯ve worried people, and that¡¯s what you¡¯re going to say?¡± I was going to slap ahim on the back, but I gave up immediately. In the meantime, his body has become ¡­ stronger. It felt like my hand would hurt more if I hit it. Not only that, but the atmosphere has changed. There was a slightly sharp look on his face, made him looked like a gentle large dog. He also wore proper armor, not his usual training clothes. He has become more like a Hunter. It seems that the content of the note ¡°I will come back stronger¡± was not a lie. I met him for the first time in a long time, but it felt awkward when the atmosphere changed like this. Choi Yichan lightly grabbed my hand, which stopped halfway as I was about to throw a smash on his back. The calluses on Choi Yichan¡¯s palm touched my finger. ¡°¡­¡­.¡± I could feel Ash¡¯s sharp gaze in the back of my head. He must have been nervous because there were a lot of strangers. As if he was showing that he¡¯s sorry, Choi Yichan scratched the back of his head with one hand. ¡°Haha ¡­ sorry. Well, I tried to contact you right away, but my phone didn¡¯t work in the dungeon.¡± ¡°Of course¡­.¡± ¡°I came out of the dungeon and tried to call you, but this happened again.¡± Choi Yichan took his phone out of his pocket and showed it to me. The screen had been completely smashed somewhere. ¡°I grabbed it hard and it became like this, haha.¡± A shy laugh followed. This Choi Yichan, who closed his eyes when he smiled, was the Choi Yichan that I knew. Actually, Choi Yichan is Choi Yichan, so things will not be that different from before. The awkwardness finally disappeared and I lost the tension in my shoulders. Choi Yichan followed me with a smile. And the last one was my uncle. My uncle, who has not been heard from since he went missing in the dungeon a long time ago. Choi Yichan is said to have stumbled upon him in the dungeon. I changed the future and Choi Yichan survived, and Choi Yichan saved my uncle and the future changed again. When I thought about it that way, I was both happy and moved. ¡°Rieul-ah!¡± ¡°Uncle!¡± He was nice to me in the past. I was so moved that I hugged my uncle for a while. ¡°Ah, thank goodness we met. Rieul, aren¡¯t you a high school student right now? How did a student open a cafe?¡± ¡°I ¡­ I am twenty-three.¡± He thought I was years younger than I actually was. What the hell happened to him? ¡°Is that so? No wonder my niece seemed a little big. Hi, yes, I¡¯m glad the error rate is only this much. If it had been any further, I would have almost messed up my work.¡± ¡°¡­.work?¡± My uncle gave me a serious look. ¡°Niece, listen up. Among the items your grandmother left behind, there is one that contain the power of Cthugha. I don¡¯t know who has it now, but we have to find it.¡± ¡°Are you talking about this?¡± I showed my uncle the ring on my hand. ¡°Oh! I can¡¯t believe you got it already. Oh, I¡¯m proud of you, my niece. So now that crazy old man ¡­ no, we have to meet a fireball.¡± ¡°Fireball ¡­ are you talking about Cthugha?¡± ¡°Yeah, don¡¯t be surprised and listen. There is a secret island in this field. They say that the road can only be opened by the guidance of the fire spirit.¡± ¡°Yes, I have been there.¡± ¡°We must meet Cthugha in the his temple on that island and make a contract. It¡¯s embarrassing, but now I believe that this eldest son needs to¡­.¡± ¡°The contract ¡­ has already been signed¡­..¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°¡­¡­Uncle?¡± My uncle was speechless. It seemed that he¡¯s disappointed. I felt a little sorry because I seemed to have unintentionally intercepted his words. ¡°Ehem, ahem! My niece, you have become a good child on your own. You¡¯ve grown up so well, hahaha!¡± But how does my uncle, who has been missing for a long time, know about the ring and the contract with Cthugha? Did my uncle meet the saintess too? ¡°More than that, Uncle, what have you been up to?¡± ¡°This worldline is tangled with too much work ¡­ To stop that ¡­. hmmm ¡­ heum¡­..¡± Mumble, unfamiliar words followed. In this way, it was difficult to ask what had happened. I slowly released the arm that was hugging me with emotion. Yes, how can I understand my uncle¡¯s feelings? I hoped my uncle would calm down and turned my head toward Kwon Jiwoon, who just took a shot of ice water. ¡°What happened to Uncle?¡± ¡°He was lost in the maze dungeon and when he came out ¡­ eugh, eub.¡± Kwon Jiwoon vomited again with a pale face. My uncle was lost in maze dungeon, and he spent a month inside that place. However, when he finally got out, he could barely understand that six years had passed. If I asked him any more questions, he¡¯d probably spill what¡¯s inside his stomach soon, so I stopped talking. ¡°¡­.okay, I¡¯ll listen to it later. Just take a rest¡­.¡± Then, I remembered one thing. It has been a long time since Kwon Jiwoon took over the business, but the original guild leader of the White Silver Guild was my uncle. Now that my uncle has returned, Kwon Jiwoon¡¯s burden seems to be reduced. ¡°Then, Uncle, are you returning to become the guild leader now?¡± However, my uncle gave an unexpected answer. ¡°No, that¡¯s impossible.¡± ¡°Huh, really?¡± ¡°What? Father, what do you mean?¡± As if it had never been heard of before, Kwon Jiwoon also raised his head in surprise. ¡°I have already lost all of my hunter abilities. Now that I am not an Awakened person, I¡¯m only an ordinary person, so I am going to step down from that position.¡± ¡°What ¡­ Father, what happened?¡± ¡°There was some stuff happened in the dungeon.¡± ¡°¡­¡­!¡± Doubts grew even more. However, my uncle did not elaborate further. He just shook his shoulders as if he was trying to forget the terrible memories. CH 101 Is it true that my uncle is no longer an Awakened? There are cases where the ability becomes stronger or, conversely, weaker, but I have never heard of such a case of someone losing their awakening status. ¡°Nyaaaah (It¡¯s real).¡± Mieum answered my question with a languid cry. ¡°Then maybe ¡­ is it possible to get it back?¡± ¡°Meow, waeuuung (It¡¯s impossible. I don¡¯t know what happened ¡­ but the etheric affinity has disappeared, and the access to the system is completely lost.)¡± ¡®Unbelievable¡­.¡¯ ¡°When we go back, I will first submit an investigation request to the main office. We¡¯re going to re-investigate the missing dungeon ¡­ what are you doing?¡± When the large bomb suddenly exploded, only my uncle remained calm. My uncle cut off Kwon Jiwoon¡¯s words and talked to me. ¡°Niece, do you have a paper and a pen?¡± ¡°Ah, yes, I have. Here.¡± I found a piece of paper and a pen in the drawer and handed it to my uncle. My uncle scribbled something in a flowy handwriting, stamped it with his thumprint, and handed it out to Kwon Jiwoon. Letter of Appointment Name: Kwon Jiwoon I appoint the above person as the guild leader of The White Silver Guild. Kwon Seokmin ¡°¡­.Father!¡± ¡°From today on, you are the guild leader. Now, congratulations! Come on, clap.¡± I was out of my mind. I don¡¯t know what the hell is happening, but everyone started to clap because we were swept away by the atmosphere. Nothing has been resolved, but when we applauded together, there was an atmosphere of celebration. ¡°Congratulations¡­¡­.¡± ¡°Haha, congratulations.¡± ¡°The darkness will be with you.¡± In this way, a new guild leader of the White Silver Guild was appointed in the dungeon. Kwon Jiwoon still looked like he had a headache, but it didn¡¯t seem to be caused by motion sickness. *** The night has come even in the dungeon. The hot sun had set, and only the red moon shone on the calm night sea. I can¡¯t go back until tomorrow night, so I have to spend a day in this beach dungeon. However, the room in the store building was not enough for everyone to stay overnight. Since I figured out a way back, and Cthugha promised me a safe return, I told the people who came to see me to go home first. ¡°Father has finally returned, and it¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve been this relaxed, so I don¡¯t think I have to hurry.¡± ¡°Is this child name Lime? ¡­. haaa, it¡¯s so cute.¡± ¡°Uh, I don¡¯t want to go home.¡± ¡°Hahaha, I don¡¯t have a home yet.¡± Everyone refused for their own reasons. Then I¡¯m wondering if I should put a blanket on the floor of the store, but my uncle suggested a new opinion. ¡°It¡¯s camping! If you come to the sea, of course you have to do camping!¡± ¡°It¡¯s good ¡­ I always wanted to do an Inssa event like this once¡­.¡± In the meantime, Ju Noeul, who became close to my uncle, immediately expressed her consent. All of a sudden, camping was decided with an atmosphere suitable for the ¡®Relaxing Episode Summer Vacation¡¯. As they are all hunters, they have camping equipment for dungeon exploration in their inventory. After setting up a tent on the beach and grilling the seafood given by the fire spirits, the atmosphere was quite good. It¡¯s safe, but when I think about how I ended up camping in the dungeon, I have mixed feelings¡­. Well, I don¡¯t know. As long as it¡¯s fun. However, this thought occurred to me. ¡®I wish Yoohyun-ssi was here too.¡¯ I think he will adapt well even among this random combination because he has a friendly personality. I wonder if he¡¯s surprised because the entire store building has disappeared by now. I wanted to tell him not to worry because I was safe, but it was frustrating because my phone has no connection. I haven¡¯t been able to tell him that I met a crazy pseudo-religious man yet ¡­ I should contact him as soon as I get out of here. Previously, when revealing his secret, Ki Yoohyun said that he was trying to prevent the resurrection of the Demon. We have only one thing in common: we are regressors. I don¡¯t know if there¡¯s anything I can contribute to that goal, but I couldn¡¯t help but care about him. ¡°So I wanted to tell Rieul-ssi. About who I am.¡± Ah. I can¡¯t. A memory that was bad for my heart almost came to my mind. It was not a good memory to recall when we were all building friendships like this. I tried to cut off the branching thoughts and looked around. ¡°Why is Wi-Fi not working in the dungeon yet when we are an IT powerhouse¡­.¡± In the midst of the murmur of Ju Noeul, who is suffering with her disconnected smartphone, is heard as background sound. Suddenly, I noticed that Choi Cedric was nowhere to be seen. Where did he go? He was here when we set up the tent. ¡°Ash, wait a minute.¡± ¡°Where are you going?¡± As soon as I got up, Ash quickly tried to follow me. However, he was held back by a grab from the other side. It was my uncle. ¡°Part-time boy, come here and sit down. You¡¯re still young, but you work so hard for a part-time job. You¡¯re admirable. Come and eat more.¡± Tak! Ash spoke, roughly shaking off my uncle¡¯s hand. ¡°Don¡¯t touch it. The power of the Abyss is asleep in this hand.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± The relaxed atmosphere freezes. My uncle, who was eating the grilled fish, looked at Ash quietly, and Kwon Jiwoon quickly intervened in order to fix the atmosphere. ¡°Father, he¡¯s not a relative on the holiday, what is this? Let the little ones play.¡± ¡°Dang, son, just because you got the guild leader appointment letter, you are treating me like an old man in the back room now.¡± ¡°Haa ¡­ didn¡¯t you just hand it over at your own will?¡± I should give Kwon Jiwoon some headache medicine later. Ignoring Kwon Jiwoon, who rubbed his temple, next to him, my uncle continued to talk to Ash. ¡°I see, I see. But that hand, in my eyes, it looks like it¡¯s disconnected. The imprint has already disappeared.¡± ¡°Hoo ¡­ being able to see through that, for a human being, you¡¯re pretty good.¡± It worked?! Ash quietly sat down next to my uncle. My uncle said as he rummaged through his pockets. ¡°I should give pocket money to such a great child. Um ¡­ ah, I don¡¯t have my wallet. Son.¡± ¡°¡­.here it is.¡± Kwon Jiwoon handed his entire wallet to my uncle, who took out a bunch of money from inside. ¡°Here, pocket money.¡± ¡°¡­It¡¯s okay, I don¡¯t need such a thing.¡± ¡°Oho, if an adult gives it to you, you say yes and receive it. Take it now.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± Well, given that atmosphere, it wouldn¡¯t be a big deal to leave it as it is. During this time, I sneakily left the campsite and headed to the dark beach in search of Choi Cedric. It didn¡¯t take long to find Choi Cedric. It was because Pepe¡¯s red body shone in a corner of the beach where there was no sign of anyone, and a sad voice was heard. ¡°Haaa ¡­ why am I like this¡­.¡± I have a sense of deja vu about this situation. Choi Cedric was sitting opposite the bonfire and muttering something with a depressed expression to Pepe. Pepe has a bored look on his face. ¡°What are you doing there?¡± ¡°¡­¡­!¡± He guess he was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn¡¯t even notice my presence. Choi Cedric¡¯s cheeks gradually heated up. ¡°Yo-you, you! If someone looks serious, you have to pretend not to know!¡± ¡°Ah, I was going to, but¡­.¡± Pepe kept staring at me as if he¡¯s asking me to do something. It was strange that he said he didn¡¯t want to go home, but why is he being depressed here alone? I slumped down next to Choi Cedric to hear what happened. As if it was very boring, Pepe ran away as soon as I came. ¡°Pepe, boredom, coming home!¡± Tap, tap, tap¡­. Pepe¡¯s footsteps faded away, and only the sound of waves and burning bonfire could be heard on the beach. Choi Cedric didn¡¯t kick me out, but he didn¡¯t say anything. He just gazed at the burning bonfire and sighed. ¡°Haa¡­.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± I quickly got bored. However, it was not possible to leave Choi Cedric, who looked like there¡¯s something wrong happened to him. Well, then I¡¯ll ask him first. I had something to say to Choi Cedric. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°¡­..do you know that Romeo and Juliet ends in tragedy?¡± ¡°Huh? I know. They¡¯re both dead in the end. Why all of a sudden?¡± ¡°Haa ¡­ that¡¯s why I can¡¯t tell you.¡± ¡°¡­..?¡± It was an unexpected sound to say with such melancholic eyes. The words have no connection at all. ¡°It¡¯s just, because of the guild problem ¡­ never mind.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± If it¡¯s a guild, it¡¯s probably related to C&L. I also don¡¯t have good feelings for C&L, and it was too much to ask a lot of questions about a guild¡¯s internal issues. So I answered with a short answer, but Choi Cedric brought it up again on his own. ¡°Hey.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Why do people suddenly change?¡± ¡°What is the matter for that question?¡± ¡°Ah, oh, nothing happened! It¡¯s just, what is it, general! Yeah, generally speaking.¡± There¡¯s something going on¡­¡­. I looked at the bonfire that was gradually losing its flames and thought about the answer to Choi Cedric¡¯s ambiguous question. ¡°Mmh ¡­ memory loss?¡± ¡°No, their memory is fine. They remember exactly what happened in the past.¡± ¡°Then, isn¡¯t it just a change of heart? ¡®You just have to live a good life from today, eat three meals a day, and exercise¡®, they might be thinking like this.¡± ¡°No. It¡¯s not that kind oof change, it feels uncomfortable, and sometimes I feel like they¡¯ve become a different person¡­.¡± Choi Cedric frowned, pouring out unorganized thoughts. I put the words that came to my mind into my mouth. ¡°Then, isn¡¯t it like being possessed?¡± ¡°What? You, uh, wha ¡­ what nonsense are you talking about?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s a general theory. I¡¯m saying there¡¯s a clich¨¦ like that in general.¡± ¡°Sheesh ¡­ that¡¯s enough.¡± As if this topic was really over, Choi Cedric stopped talking. After that, he asked again. ¡°Didn¡¯t you come because you had something to say? What is it?¡± ¡°Ah, that. I want to say thank you.¡± ¡°Yeah, thank you ¡­ wh-what, what?!¡± Is it that surprising? When I saw Choi Cedric leaning backward with his eyes wide open, I laughed. I could see a camping site in the distance. Kwon Jiwoon was staring at my uncle with a bitter smile. Still, I know that look isn¡¯t really troubling. Even if he looks like that, he¡¯s enjoying himself. If I had kept avoiding my relationship with Kwon Jiwoon, I wouldn¡¯t have seen him like that. The decisive trigger for the reconciliation was the incident of the White Silver Guild, but it was Choi Cedric¡¯s words that helped before that. ¡°That day, when we entered Monster Hell. Cedric, you told me. Since we only have one family, do what you can so you won¡¯t regret it.¡± ¡°¡­.¡± ¡°That was very helpful. That¡¯s why I wanted to say thank you, and I happened to meet you here.¡± ¡°¡­.¡± Seriously saying something like this in front of the dying bonfire, it feels so¡­. ¡­incredibly embarrassing. ¡°Anyway, so Cedric, you should stop thinking about depressing things¡­..¡± I smiled and talked to change the awkward atmosphere. Jump. Choi Cedric suddenly rose to his feet. ¡°Yeah, I should try everything I can.¡± ¡°¡­..?¡± ¡°This is not the time for this. You¡¯re right. There¡¯s no end if I¡¯m just avoiding it. I have to do what I can.¡± ¡°Uh, huh¡­?¡± Suddenly, he clenched his fist and made an enterprising expression. It looked like it could be used as an enlightenment poster. Choi Cedric took out a teleport scroll from his inventory. Before tearing the scroll, he glanced at me for the last time. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯m leaving first. Let¡¯s meet when you get out of this place. I¡¯ll go to your cafe as a guest then.¡± The light flashed, and in an instant, Choi Cedric disappeared. Anyway, I¡¯m glad he got his energy back. It¡¯s a relief¡­.. ¡°There must be a way for Romeo and Juliet to not end in tragedy.¡± I have no idea what this last remark means. Has he been impressed by the classic masterpiece? The bonfire was completely extinguished. It was then when I stood up thinking of going back to where other people were. ¡°Rieul-ah.¡± ¡°¡­.huh.¡± Was he looking for me? Choi Yichan came closer. CH 102 ¡°Oh, are you looking for me?¡± ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re nowhere to be seen.¡± ¡°I was just talking to Cedric for a minute.¡± ¡°¡­.Ah.¡± Choi Yichan glanced toward the bonfire. Choi Cedric had already returned. All that¡¯s left is traces of a bonfire that¡¯s completely extinguished. A sharp light hovered in Choi Yichan¡¯s eyes, barely visible, then it melted in his smile and disappeared. ¡°Choi Cedric from C&L, he is that person. Are you close to him?¡± I know his contact number, but our relationship is not to the extent of exchanging personal contact. We got caught up in the Monster Hell together, but it was a coincidence. I helped him in saving the Blue Celaeno flower, but that¡¯s all. It¡¯s a bit strange to say that we¡¯re close, but it¡¯s not like we don¡¯t know each other. I gave an ambiguous answer. ¡°It¡¯s just, well ¡­ we know each other. Today, we met here by chance.¡± ¡°¡­.I see.¡± We walked along the dark beach for a while. This quiet man is unfamiliar. While looking at the crashing white waves for a while, Choi Yichan suddenly opened his mouth. ¡°Hey, Kwon Ri, maybe this is excessive solicitude.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°You¡¯d better be careful. Uh, that, C&L.¡± I stopped walking and looked up at Choi Yichan. He said that with cautious tone, but his expression was serious. ¡°¡­Is it because of their involvement with The White Silver?¡± The Dungeon Management Office was investigating C&L due to allegations that C&L Corporation tried to merge The White Silver Guild in a hostile manner, as well as the last Long-tailed Phoenix case. I didn¡¯t hear about the situation from Kwon Jiwoon in detail, but I think it will be concluded soon with the confession of the arrogant old man and Park Heeyoung, whom I met in The White Silver Guild. ¡°Well, there¡¯s that, too.¡± In other words, that¡¯s not all. However, Choi Yichan didn¡¯t say anything more and just smiled. Although Choi Cedric may not have been directly involved in the circumstances involving C&L and The White Silver Guild, I don¡¯t believe that he is completely unrelated. I wasn¡¯t that optimistic. The reason why Choi Cedric was being stuck in a corner instead of participating in the improvised camping trip must be because he was uncomfortable with Kwon Jiwoon. Considering that he did something useless like that, he has a better personality compared to his image. Still, I didn¡¯t have the heart to pretend I didn¡¯t see Choi Cedric, who gave the ¡®I¡¯m depressed¡¯ look. I guess I¡¯m a bit of an mediocre person. We walked slowly toward the campsite. ¡°Yichan-ah, I heard you saved my uncle? ¡­. Thank you.¡± ¡°Huh? Oh, no! I just happened to ¡­ Kwon Ri, I¡¯m glad I was helpful to you.¡± Choi Yichan waved his hand in embarrassment. His earlobes are slightly red. The way he didn¡¯t know what to do even when he heard obvious things was really like the Choi Yichan I know. Seeing that, I felt relieved without even realizing it. ¡°Well, are you done with your training? You said, ¡®I will come back stronger.¡¯¡± ¡°Umh¡­.¡± Choi Yichan thought for a moment, then he replied in a determined tone. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s over. Now I have to move on to the next level.¡± ¡°Next level?¡± ¡°Uh, that¡¯s¡­.¡± ¡°Waeooolg!¡± At the moment Choi Yichan tried to say something again, Mieum and Lime popped out in front of us. Mieum was holding her toy, the sugarcane leaf, in her mouth. As a result, the conversation was naturally cut off. ¡°Waeuung, waeoooong (Big man, I¡¯ll give you the right to play with me)!¡± ¡°Kkyuuuuuu!¡± ¡°Ahahaha, yes, all right. Wait a minute.¡± Following Choi Yichan¡¯s gesture, Mieum and Lime jumped up and down. They looked excited because someone who played well came. ¡°Don¡¯t bother Yichan too much.¡± ¡°Kyayakyakyak!¡± ¡°Kkyuuuu!¡± They¡¯re not listening at all. ¡°Where ¡­ are you going. Leave me alone¡­.¡± As I turned my head to the lackluster voice, I saw Ash taking a commemorative photo between Ju Noeul and my uncle. Ash¡¯s face was full of fatigue. It seems that the environment was too Inssa-like for our delicate part-timer to endure. *** The next night. A twinkling star appeared in the dark night sky. A gate appeared on the white sandy beach sprinkled with starlight. This is the path of the stars that Cthugha said. It was time to go back home. Although this beach was very beautiful, a dungeon is a dungeon. Now I desperately missed the outside world. ¡°I need Wi-Fi¡­.¡± Yeah, no phones either. I looked at the party for the last time. Since Cthugha said he would install a movement magic in the store building, I thought we could just move together inside the building, but¡­. ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s such a good idea.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not confident in moving humans. There¡¯s a possibility that I can clone people into two, or that you¡¯ll go in a half.¡± ¡°¡­.I will walk.¡± I quickly gave up when I heard Cthugha¡¯s words. Therefore, adding the humans who enjoyed great camping yesterday and our animals, the group became a considerable number of people. ¡°Lime-ah, is it okay if you come with me?¡± According to Cthugha, Lime is a ¡®piece of flame¡¯ that ran away from home. Then this dungeon must be Lime¡¯s original home. It came back at best, but is it okay to leave the house again? That¡¯s why I asked¡­¡­. ¡°Kkyu, kkyuu, kkyuuuuuuu!¡± Lime bounced its body and drew a circle. ¡°Take it. I think that kid like it there.¡± Since Cthugha said so, it will be okay. ¡°Mmmoooo!¡± And the golden triangular rhinoceros of my family, which follows Lime closely, was also with us. I had a hard time keeping Lime away from the barrel he was trying to lick. The back of the cow was loaded with seafood given as a gift by the fire spirits. I should name this one too. What should I name it? Umh, cow ¡­ the name of a cow, um¡­.. I¡¯ll think about it later. ¡°Pepe, farewell, sad.¡± ¡°Take care, Pepe.¡± After saying goodbye to everyone, it¡¯s time to finally leave. Cthugha added the last words. ¡°If you follow the path that the stars point to, you will find the way to your original home. You should never look back.¡± ¡°Excuse me ¡­ could you please not say such an ominous thing¡­..?¡± It sounds like there will be a curse that turns you into stone if you look back. Together, we set foot on the path of stars. Light continued long in the dark space reminiscent of the night sky. The name ¡®The Path of Stars¡¯ seemed to suit it. It was around the time I had walked along the path of stars for some time. ¡°Huh¡­.?¡± Suddenly, like being blowed by sandstorm, my vision blurred. I rubbed my eyes and looked again, but the blur does not disappear. And this message. [An unauthorized user has just attempted to access the service.] [You are not connected ¨€¨€ ¨€¨€¨€¨€ ¨€¨€¡­.] I was bewildered for a moment. Soon the blur cleared and the notification window disappeared. I guess I¡¯m fine now. As I tried to walk again with confidence, I suddenly noticed that I couldn¡¯t see anyone else. Obviously, we walked closely together until just now, but it¡¯s just darkness on either side. I reached out my hand, but nothing was caught. ¡°¡­.Oppa? Uncle? Yichan-ah! Kim Ash, where are you?!¡± Only my voice echoes in the distant darkness. Lime, who I was holding in my arms, also disappeared. I looked at my feet and was stunned. There was no path of light that showed the direction to go. The light had gone out and it was dark under my feet, so I couldn¡¯t even know where to go now. ¡°Everybody, where are you?!¡± I was the only one who fell. Anxiety flared up. Don¡¯t tell me I have to keep wandering in this black space. The mere imagination already gives me goosebumps. ¡°Whoa, ha¡­.¡± Let¡¯s stay calm. I¡¯ve already been through something similar once. Yes, like when the Saintess summoned me to a strange space. Perhaps the Saintess called me again this time. Otherwise, why would the others disappear? I shouted in a trembling voice into the air in front of me. ¡°¡­¡­If you call me, come out quickly!¡± There is no answer. I waited for a while, but the surroundings remained dark, and the blonde woman in fantasy-style clothes did not appear. If it¡¯s not a call from the Saintess¡­. ¡®Status Window.¡¯ I tried to load the system status window. I thought there would be some hints about this situation. However¡­.. [Interruption¨€¨€¨€ ¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€ ¨€¨€¡­¡­] [Warning: Unable to Connect.] [System Error: Blocking Access] [System Error: Blocking Access] Then, silence. ¡°Huh¡­..?¡± At the end of the bright red error window, the system stopped responding. The same goes for the Ether-Wiki. There have been several error windows so far, but this is the first time that such content has appeared. I could feel a cold sweat running down my forehead. It¡¯s scary. When the system window stopped, I really felt like I was left alone in this unfamiliar space. I feel like the deep darkness is going to devour me right away. ¡°Ugh¡­.¡± This is different from the darkness of the time when the Saintess called me. This one is more bleak and endless ¡­ it¡¯s a darkness that¡¯s trying to do me harm. I feel scared and nauseous. ¡®You need to get a hold of yourself. There must be a way out. You¡¯re not alone.¡¯ ¡­really? Where they had gone, the others were already invisible. I¡¯m just left alone in this darkness. While I was on the verge of being eroded by fear and despair, ¡°¡­¡­!¡± A young human figure appeared from the other side of the void. That black hair, straight limbs, and black eyes that twinkled even in the dark ¡­ no way¡­. ¡°Yoohyun-ssi?¡± No, it¡¯s not him. I soon realized the difference. The person, who looked like Ki Yoohyun at first glance, became smaller as he got closer to me. When he reached my front, his height barely came a little below my chest. ¡°Yo-you ¡­ who are you?¡± Smile. Only a soft smile, there was no answer. He looked like a young boy on the surface, but he resembles Ki Yoohyun a lot. If it was about 10 years ago, I thought Ki Yoohyun would look like this. ¡°Are you trying to help me?¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± Instead of answering, the boy held out his hand. CH 103 I caught hold of the hand in the nick of time. It was a cold, soft hand. I couldn¡¯t see anything in the dark, but the boy walked with my hand in his hand as if he knew the way. The soft light surrounding the boy¡¯s body leads me. Is it because of that light? My mind was strangely calm and I wasn¡¯t scared anymore. I felt a slight warmth through my palms. It¡¯s a lot smaller, but that steady walk¡­. As expected, they look alike. ¡°Hey, do you have a brother?¡± ¡°¡­.¡± ¡°Or a relative. He¡¯s about this tall, don¡¯t you know someone who looks a lot like you?¡± ¡°¡­.¡± The boy was still silent. Can I trust and follow this boy? Maybe he¡¯s pretending to help me like this, then he will lock me up here? It was a situation where such doubt would remain. ¡°¡­.¡± Our eyes met. It was hard to explain in words, but I felt that I could trust this boy. I held the boy¡¯s hand and silently followed him. The lost path of light reappeared. The glistening light moved quickly and formed a path. At the end of the path, there was an exit. ¡°Okay, I can finally get out of here! Boy, you ¡­ huh¡­.?¡± I was startled when I turned my head. I was definitely holding the boy¡¯s hand tightly until just now, yet the boy¡¯s figure was nowhere to be seen. A bright light surrounded me, and I felt like my body was being sucked into somewhere. *** The view became bright in an instant. The first thing I saw was the high stone wall of the Great Dungeon Abyss. I could feel the cold air. The dry, chilly wind of early winter knocked on my cheeks. My eyes are blinded by the clear morning sun. It was a change that made the memory of being in a midsummer night¡¯s dungeon a while ago felt like a dream. Next, as promised, I saw the store building, which arrived first and was well placed in its original place. Thank God. Everyone except me seems to have arrived safely. In front of the store, I could clearly see the faces of the group looking up at me. Wait. Why are they looking up at me? I felt a sense of freedom in my feet. It¡¯s as if I¡¯m floating in the air¡­. ¡°Whoa, uaaaaah¡­..!¡± Tiling! [The connection will be reset. 1, 5, 10, 20, 50 ¡­ 100. Done.] [Achievement: Light up the Darkness Congratulations! You were on the verge of getting lost by the bad by the bad ¡ä????¨®???¨¹, but you returned safely. Who was it that guided you? Reward: Comfortable Walk-Through Counter (¡ï¡ï¡î¡î¡î)] There was no time to carefully read the status window that appeared in front of me. The point where I appeared was the air a little above the roof of the store. For now, I was floating as if I was not affected by gravity, but my body was about to plummet down. Don¡¯t you think there¡¯s been a lot of falling incident since I awakened? How many times have I done this already? ¡°¡­.Uhh!¡± I swallowed a scream. I felt my body going down. Let¡¯s stay calm. Now I¡¯m an expert in falling. ¡®The Bond of a Cup of Coffee!¡¯ It was the moment I was about to use Choi Yichan¡¯s defense skills that I copied straight away. The falling body floated up again. A thin net of light that was barely visible wrapped around my body and held me up so that I wouldn¡¯t plummet to the ground. I have seen this skill many times already. I called the name of the person who used the skill out loud. Even though it had only been two days since we met, I was extremely happy. ¡°¡­.Yoohyun-ssi!¡± My body, wrapped in the net of light, slowly descended. Just before my feet touched the ground, Ki Yoohyun reached out his arm to hold me. I stared at Ki Yoohyun for a while in that position. My eyes were still dazzled as I suddenly came out into bright place, but I could clearly see the eyes under the shadowed eyelashes. He looks surprised. The soft hair blowing in the wind and those white cheeks really suited Ki Yoohyun. As I was doing it for a long time, Ki Yoohyun secretly avoided my gaze. A soft word followed. ¡°I was surprised. I received a call, so I came to see what happened, and the building disappeared and appeared again. Rieul-ssi fell from the sky¡­.¡± I was very surprised, too. My heart is still pounding. ¡°You¡¯ve been through a lot of incidents.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to ¡­. more than that, are you really Yoohyun-ssi?¡± ¡°Do I even have a fake?¡± He looked puzzled. ¡°Do you have a younger brother with a big age difference¡­..¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have any brothers.¡± ¡°Then¡­..¡± It was a time when I went back to my memory to describe in more detail the boy who took me out of the path of stars. ¡°Ahem, hmm, hmm!¡± A coughing sound came from behind. It was Kwon Jiwoon. He was deliberately making exaggerated sounds as if he wanted it to be heard. It looked awfully awkward. It is fortunate that Kwon Jiwoon¡¯s job is a Hunter. He doesn¡¯t seem to have any talent for acting. What¡¯s wrong with him? When I just stared at him, he covered his mouth with his hand and coughed loudly this time. ¡°¡­¡­!¡± Only then did I realize that I was too close to Ki Yoohyun in front of others. As Ki Yoohyun caught my falling body, I was half-hugged. Our faces were close. My arm wrapped around Ki Yoohyun¡¯s shoulder, and Ki Yoohyun¡¯s arm supported my back and waist. If I tilted my head a little more, I could hear the sound of breathing. ¡°That, hey, Yoohyun-ssi, your arm¡­.¡± When I panicked, Ki Yoohyun immediately loosened his arm. I dropped my body quickly. Kwon Jiwoon, who approached with a frown on his forehead, asked. ¡°What happened?¡± According to Kwon Jiwoon, others returned through the path of stars without any problems. The time I disappeared was less than seconds, even though the time felt much longer for me. When they arrived, they noticed that I was invisible, and soon I appeared from the sky. Umh¡­. I checked the system window that just popped up again. Some letters were broken and unreadable, but the nuance that someone interfered with me was clear. That¡¯s all, no more information. Only unanswered questions piled up one after another. ¡®Give me some hints and then ask me to guess¡­.¡¯ Could it be the crazy pseudo-religious man from last time? There was no evidence, but the eyes caught up in the madness were enough to make this speculation. When I thought of him, I felt both uneasy and resentful at the same time. Why only me?! I felt like my life is gradually flowing in a different direction from my goal. Maybe it¡¯s already went to that direction a long time ago, and I only realized it too late? It seems likely. I shuddered at the frightening possibility. ¡°¡­.Rieul-ah.¡± This time, Choi Yichan came close to me. ¡°Do you have a second? I have something to say¡­.¡± Although he said so, Choi Yichan¡¯s eyes were not on me, but on Ki Yoohyun next to me. Oh. The two are seeing each other for the first time. Even when Choi Yichan had a temporary part-time job here, the time was different from when Ki Yoohyun visited. What¡¯s going on? Choi Yichan¡¯s shoulders drooped and his expression remained stiff. I spoke in a bright voice on purpose. ¡°Ah! Yichan-ah, it¡¯s your first time seeing him, right? This is Ki Yoohyun, he¡¯s a Hunter from Cheongna. Yoohyun-ssi, as you probably know, this is¡­..¡± ¡°Of course I know. Choi Yichan, the S-Class Hunter. Nice to meet you.¡± With a smile, Ki Yoohyun held out his hand first. However, Choi Yichan did not accept the hand. He only looked at Ki Yoohyun with a serious expression. ¡°¡­¡­.¡± There was a moment of silence followed by a slight tension. ¡°Yichan-ah?¡± ¡°Rieul-ah, wait¡­.¡± It was the moment when Choi Yichan was about to say something, ¡°Team leader! There he is, we found him! Hunter Choi Yichan!¡± ¡°I won¡¯t miss him this time. Let¡¯s go together.¡± Government officials appeared from somewhere and surrounded Choi Yichan. It was Hunter Kang Hyunwoo and Kim Jina. This time, they were firmly armed with the determination not to miss this wild S-Class Hunter. It hasn¡¯t been ten minutes since we came back here. How did they get here so fast? They have an amazing information source. ¡°You came all the way here, how did you know?¡± Hunter Kang Hyunwoo answered with shining eyes. ¡°I heard the news that Choi Yichan Hunter appeared in The White Silver Guild. So, I thought the only place where he would appear next was here, Cafe Rieul.¡± Did he go undercover? ¡°Heugh, I can finally go home and sleep today ¡­ I kept crouching down, and my turtle neck came back.¡± He really went undercover.¡­. Looking at them carefully, the public officials were dressed in a sense of hardship. The area under the eyes looked hollow. ¡°It won¡¯t take long. Please listen to us.¡± However, Choi Yichan waved his hand with a troubled expression. ¡°Uh, wait, I need to talk to her for a moment ¡­ I have something to say to Rieul-ah.¡± ¡°Yes, as much as you like. I¡¯ll be waiting here, so you can take your time.¡± ¡°Yes, we¡¯ve been waiting so far, but we can wait a little longer. Although the deadline for updating the measurement ranking is today ¡­ if we¡¯re late, we¡¯ll be called in by the Director again¡­.¡± ¡°Ha, haha¡­.¡± It¡¯s incredibly burdensome. It was hard to ignore the eyes of public officials who were watching Choi Yichan just one step away in case they missed him. It would be even more burdening since it was Choi Yichan, who enjoys helping others. In the end, Choi Yichan dropped his shoulders. ¡°Sorry ¡­ I¡¯ll be right back.¡± ¡°Yes, go with them. I¡¯ll hear what you want to tell me when you get back.¡± The incident of flying the entire store to the dungeon ended with Choi Yichan got arrested by the Dungeon Management Office. I waved my hand at Choi Yichan¡¯s back as he was helplessly moving away. *** Korea¡¯s No. 1 Hunter Community ¨C Hunter Channel. Free Forum Board. ¡ª Ranking, The Slave Hunters Guild is banned. Real life player kill in the dungeon. [Chatting] How did Lime Love Team go to the garden on the 7th floor of Abyss?? (9) Upvotes: 0 / Downvotes: 0 Writer: RubyCopyBug I almost got well-done when I went into the Eternal Flame Garden after reading the camping review of Lime Love Team;; If it weren¡¯t for the teleport scroll, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to write this post now TT I heard that the moment you ride the warpgate, you¡¯re supposed to set it on fire and go out How do you camp there? ¡ª Lime Love Team: want me to teach you? ©¸ RubyCopyBug: ;;; you appeared 30 seconds after I wrote this ¡ª Lime Love Team: hoho it¡¯s easy if you know the tricks. You shouldn¡¯t get on the gate, but you have to use the item or skill that can leap in space on the 7th floor right right oh, make sure to stack stealth,, I don¡¯t have a item, so I just take a space leap + use a stealth summoner to enter. Be careful not to get caught when taking coordinates. ©¸ OO: Whyrano,, you should write that if you know the tricks, you¡¯ll get 99 levels in a week right away; ©¸ app**: If you don¡¯t have an item to leap space, you can call a summoner. It¡¯s easy, right? ^^! Hunchan Level Three Deceptions remarks ©¸ RubyCopyBug: Wow, that was really helpful information *^^* Just say I can¡¯t get in¡ª- ©¸ vva***: Lime always picked on me, but she was actually a deceiver. ¡ª OO: But why did you go there? Did you want a real steamy camping? ©¸ Lime Love Team: You¡¯ll find out about that after a while hahaha everything has a big meaning lol [Chatting] Lightlightlight Ranking Updated (12) Upvotes: 15 / Downvotes: 0 Writer: Pumplebot Rank No.6 Choi Yichan (S-Class Berserker) That¡¯s what it says yeah There¡¯s a little change, except for the celestial realm. Check it out. ¡ª Mangsucker Jonbeo: Jonbeo victory no matter what T__T Starting today, my nickname is Godsucker ©¸ app***: The one who took 6th place is Choi Yichan, but why are you so pleased as if you¡¯re his proxy ©¸ Mangsucker Jonbeo: God.Suc.Ker.Num.Ber.One ¡ª Pickled Radish Dumplings: Muwon is still the same, we can¡¯t even see him, but why is he ranked first? ©¸ dtl***: Powerful-in-Hiding 1st place vs Suspected of Power Trip 2nd place,, is Korea okay as it is? ©¸ Pumplebot: f*ck again, I¡¯m sick of this flow. If you want to fight, go somewhere else other than my post;; ¡ª I love you Eunrang: huff life is lonely, alcohol is sweet today ©¸ OO: Whyrano,, whyrano what happened here ©¸ Kim Seonghyun: There was a rumor about a meeting between Bichihan and Kwon Jiwoon, that¡¯s probably why hahaha ¡ª Lime Love Team: huff life is lonely,,, alcohol is sweet today,,, ©¸ OO: You¡¯re here again, whyrano¡­ Translator¡¯s Corner: Whyrano (wairano): it¡¯s Korean internet (Twitter mostly) slang. It mean what¡¯s going on? / what¡¯s wrong? Celestial Realm (???): Hmm ¡­ in gaming, it usually used to extreme the people who ¡­ you know, the elite players. It¡¯s like pro gamers, the super-advanced players who show outstanding skills as if they are playing in the sky (hence, celestial realm). In this case, the OP was saying the ranking update doesn¡¯t really affect anything other than the top rankers world. Jonbeo: (??) an abbreviation of ¡°to hold out as fuck¡±, which means to persevere no matter what difficulties may come and hold out ¡°until the better day comes.¡± Used to describe mindsets similar to ¡°sticking until the end¡± or ¡°last man standing¡±. Sorry this was supposed to be posted yesterday but I just found out that the formatting that I use for the internet forum can¡¯t be done on phone, so I went to the library today. Library is really a pretty cool place! Coolest in the world! Please visit your nearest library if you have time ^_< It would help the library to keep surviving in the digital community (high number of visitors is always good everywhere). Hmm ¡­ I hope I don¡¯t mess up anything. I¡¯ll recheck this chapter again tomorrow, need to sleep early because I will start volunteer work tomorrow (someone in the past chapter mentioned that I¡¯m probably cursed that¡¯s why all the misfortunes happened, so I decided that I need to do something that contributes good to the nature djshsdjdskj it¡¯s scary). The next chapter will probably posted in two days! I¡¯m telling you guys this so you won¡¯t have to check everyday for updates¡­. Ah and the holiday season is coming! but with this chapter, it ended our holiday arc~ hope you guys enjoy the story so far! CH 104 The guild leader¡¯s office located on the top floor of The White Silver Guild. A few days ago, the guild leader was suddenly replaced, so the place was still untidy. The staff announced the arrival of the visitor with a knock. Kwon Jiwoon, who headed to the drawing room, leaned deeply on the sofa and looked at the visitor. ¡°What¡¯s the matter? The friend of my sister, and my friend now.¡± ¡°¡­Hello.¡± Choi Yichan bowed his head. Choi Yichan, who had been held captive by the Dungeon Management Office for a full week, was finally released yesterday, and the ranking was updated. Ranked 6th on his first registration. It was a phenomenal result. Kwon Jiwoon slightly frowned as he recalled that his ranking had fallen by a notch thanks to that. He wasn¡¯t obsessed with the Hunter rankings, but it didn¡¯t feel good to lose the ranking he had maintained for a long time. ¡°I heard you¡¯re recruiting Hunters here.¡± ¡°I heard the general story. The reason why Hunter Choi Yichan said he wanted to meet me this early in the morning. Our staff ran out of breath to inform me after you contacted us.¡± ¡°Then, could you accept me into the guild?¡± Choi Yichan, who immediately brought up the main point, was still in a daze. Kwon Jiwoon lifted the tea cup on the table, moistened his throat, and opened his mouth slowly. ¡°Before that, I want to ask you something. What is the benefit for Hunter Choi Yichan to join The White Silver Guild?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°We don¡¯t even know each other, so let¡¯s be more honest. Currently, The White Silver Guild has little real power compared to its past fame.¡± The words that followed revealed difficulties that could not be hidden. ¡°My father ¡­ haa, he can¡¯t just throw everything at me ¡­ he told me that he wanted to appear on ¡®I am a Natural Person¡¯.¡± ¡°Ha, haha¡­.¡± Thinking it was a joke to lighten the mood, Choi Yihan tried to laugh. However, he had no choice but stop laughing when he saw Kwon Jiwoon¡¯s expression. That troubled look. He¡¯s serious¡­. He¡¯s truly glad that his father, who has been missing for years, has returned. However, as a result, Kwon Jiwoon had one more headache. He urged him to meet Kwon Rieul in a hurry, but when they returned from the dungeon, he disappeared with only the words that he would return to their hometown this time. It seems like he has a plan based on his meaningful tone. Does he ¡­ is that the case? ¡°I don¡¯t know what the hell he¡¯s thinking¡­.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± Choi Yichan offered silent consolation. ¡°Ahem, hm. I¡¯m ashamed to say this since it¡¯s an internal affair, but our guild is in a situation where a lot of people are missing and we have to rebuild the guild from scratch. It is difficult to treat Hunter Choi Yichan appropriately for his abilities.¡± ¡°That¡¯s all right. That kind of thing¡­.¡± Kwon Jiwoon¡¯s words continued even before Choi Yichan could say anything. ¡°As far as I know, Hunter Ju Noeul contacted you. Although she looks carefree on the outside, she leads her guild with integrity. Won¡¯t you like their terms better?¡± ¡°She ¡­ I met her yesterday and refused.¡± Kwon Jiwoon sighed inwardly. No wonder ¡®Lime Love Team¡® kept writing depressing things on Hunter Channel this morning, so this was the reason. ¡°What about Cheongna? Coincidentally, I¡¯m close with Hunter Han Yiseong. It¡¯s a high-class guild.¡± ¡°I have no intention of going there.¡± Hoo. That¡¯s an unexpectedly firm tone. Kwon Jiwoon rested his chin on his hand. A crooked smile is hidden in the palm of his hand. Naturally, the sight he saw a few days ago came to mind. The day he returned with his younger sister from the Garden of the Eternal Living Flame, Cthugha. The man who caught Kwon Rieul, Ki Yoohyun. When he saw him before, he couldn¡¯t look at it properly because he didn¡¯t have much time, but he looked very close to Rieul. It also reminds him of Choi Yichan¡¯s expression when he saw them. ¡®It¡¯s easy to understand.¡¯ Now, Kwon Jiwoon found his position both funny and unpleasant. He chose the last words to conclude the interview. The displeasure on his face was not completely hidden. ¡°I think you already know that I care a lot about my younger sister, Rieul, even if I don¡¯t say it.¡± ¡°¡­.Yes.¡± Choi Yichan nodded slightly. ¡°But that doesn¡¯t mean that I will meddle in my sister¡¯s relationships. Whatever happens, I won¡¯t do it. If Rieul likes it, then I¡­.¡± Kwon Jiwoon swallowed his breath for a moment. That¡¯s what he said, but it was not a good feeling to have someone hanging around his younger sister. With a sigh, he spat out his irritation and continued. ¡°¡­..I will accept it no matter who it is.¡± ¡°I suppose so.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re trying to join this guild because I¡¯m the family of Kwon Rieul, it means you should go home because you offended me, Hunter Choi Yichan.¡± Choi Yichan was silent for a moment. He was wondering if there was anything important to ask for a meeting this early in the morning, but it was a waste of time. He was about to raise his body and tell him to get things sorted out, but then Choi Yichan opened his mouth again. ¡°Even if the person is Muwon?¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± Kwon Jiwoon looked at Choi Yichan quietly without even moving. ¡°Haha, you¡¯re not surprised.¡± ¡°No, I was surprised ¡­ that Hunter Choi Yichan knows about it.¡± Han Yiseong did not directly reveal Muwon¡¯s identity to Kwon Jiwoon. He didn¡¯t even think about digging the information. However, there are things that you naturally notice when you interact for a long time. For example, things like the identity of the Hunter that Han Yiseong is particularly concerned about. It was only a vague guess, but he just became convinced. The reason he pretended not to know the obvious was simple. This is because all Hunters of the current generation feel a sense of debt to Muwon to some extent. Kwon Jiwoon recalled an incident from long ago. It happened not long after he awakened. An A-Grade rift broke out in the middle of downtown Changwon. Of course, it¡¯s a contingency. It was also the day Kwon Jiwoon experienced his first real fight. It was harder than the thought to treat a person who was pouring blood in critical condition. Far from being proud of having fulfilled his mission, he just wanted to run away. Then, someone shouted, ¡®We¡¯re alive now!¡¯. He was going to ask ¡®what nonsense are you talking about when the situation is so serious?¡®, but when he looked up, he was there. It was far away, but it was clearly visible. It was the sight of only one person repairing the distorted and twisted space with a net of light and returning it to its original form. He vividly remembers the emotions he felt that day. A feeling of inferiority, longing, jealousy, goodwill ¡­ there is a sense of indebtedness at the base of the countless emotions toward Muwon. Therefore, it¡¯s worth showing his loyalty by preventing that person¡¯s identity from being revealed in a form he doesn¡¯t wish for. It wasn¡¯t difficult for Kwon Jiwoon to read the still intact boundary in the quiet man in front of him. Then, how did this newly awakened S-class learn about Muwon¡¯s identity and become wary of him? ¡°He, that person, Muwon, will be the one who will resurrect the demon of the Great Dungeon Abyss.¡± The conversation jumped into a ridiculous place. The strongest Hunter in existence resurrects the Demon? That sounds unreasonable. Kwon Jiwoon slightly narrowed his eyes and spoke. ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s good to speak ill of your rival.¡± Abyss is a large dungeon in the form of a tower divided into several floors. The hypothesis that something scary is asleep on the top floor has been around for a long time. However, the current generation of Hunters simply do not have the power to reach the end yet. How far did the attacking progress go ¡­ he was in the middle of estimating it in his head. ¡°If The White Silver is just a small guild, as the guild leader said, why did C&L aim for The White Silver in the first place?¡± ¡°¡­¡­you know something.¡± ¡°More than the guild leader thinks. For example, there must be an old artifact in The White Silver that hasn¡¯t been unsealed yet.¡± ¡°¡­.!¡± It was unpleasant for an outsider to mention the internal circumstances of the guild. Kwon Jiwoon rested his hand on chin again. This time, the hardened mouth was hidden in his plan. ¡°Isn¡¯t Hunter Choi Yichan an S-class Berserker? Detection ¡­ no, do you have a prophecy skill?¡± ¡°You can meet a prophet.¡± His eyes are full of conviction. There must be something. ¡°I don¡¯t believe in occult. Hunter Choi Yichan, be careful if anyone sells amulets or jars.¡± ¡°¡­¡­Haha.¡± Choi Yichan grabbed the pendant around his neck. The small black stone sparkled exceptionally and stood out on the edge of his neck. He traced the shape of the black stone with his thumb and thought for a moment, as if it was an important object. ¡°When I was young, I was caught in a rift. The person who saved me was Hunter Kwon Seokmin. I have always thought that if I became a Hunter, I would definitely return the favor.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°You look like you don¡¯t believe me at all.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it too coincidental to bring the story up now?¡± Choi Yichan shyly scratched the back of his head. ¡°Haha, really. I want to join the guild to repay his kindness, so you can think about it that way.¡± ¡°During the week when Hunter Choi Yichan memorizes the new awakening safety rules at the Dungeon Management Office,¡± ¡°¡­..¡± Choi Yichan¡¯s face darkened when he recalled the time of hardship. ¡°I did some research on my father¡¯s condition. The cause is unknown, but it¡¯s true that the ability has disappeared. My father ¡­ is really a natural man ¡­ No, he wants to retire, so he wouldn¡¯t think that he¡¯s done a favor to Hunter Choi Yichan.¡± In other words, don¡¯t try to persuade him and just tell the real reason. Choi Yichan put down the hand that was touching the pendant. As if the conversation so far had only been an introduction, his expression became even more serious. ¡°At least I want you to know that I¡¯m saying this in favor of you, guild leader.¡± ¡°¡­.¡± ¡°At this rate, Kwon Rieul¡¯s life will be in danger.¡± Kwon Jiwoon¡¯s face hardened fiercely. CH 105 I opened the window. The cold wind blew in relentlessly. The stone wall of the Great Dungeon Abyss, which always looks dreary, greeted my eyes. It is still the same lonely view where there is no convenience store nearby. The store was well-located in the desolate 16th Street, Dungeon Gate 3. This is my morning routine these days. Due to the incident where the entire store was taken to the dungeon a few days ago, the immobility of this property has been my concern. Sure, I met Cthugha and Pepe, solved the milk problem, and thanks to the fish I received from the spirits, I¡¯ve had plenty of fish for several days¡­.. I gained a lot, but I didn¡¯t want to go through the same thing again. ¡°It¡¯s cold.¡­¡± Ash, who just woke up in the morning, opened the door and complained in a sullen voice. I quickly closed the road window and turned up the heater. ¡°Eh, are you cold? I¡¯m sorry. Right, Ash is weak, so you shouldn¡¯t catch a cold. Sit in front of the heater.¡± ¡°¡­.I¡¯m not that weak.¡± Although he tried to pretend otherwise, Ash did not avoid the heater. What a dishonest fellow. ¡°Unyaaa¡­.¡± ¡°Kkyuuuu¡­..¡± In the warmest place, Mieum and Lime were already stretched their bodies. It¡¯s really winter now. There was also one more thing I got from the dungeon. It is the ¡®Connect Anywhere ¡î Mysterious Door¡®. The name is intuitive, it¡¯s easy to understand even for me . It means that I can connect anywhere through this door. I was curious when I received this as the quest reward, but I was busy with camping. I finally managed to bring it up now. [Item: Connect Anywhere ¡î Mysterious Door (¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡î) (¡ù The official name is a Personal, Space-Connected One-Way Door, but it is serviced with a familiar name to help you understand.) It connects anywhere. It can be installed inside the cafe. Please pay attention to the direction when installing.] [Choose the location where you want to install the Mysterious Door and select ¡°Install¡°] I took out the door from my inventory and selected a suitable blank wall I had previewed. A message soon came up. [Do you want to install the Mysterious Door? Yes ? / No] [Installing the Mysterious Door. Progress: 0%] [Installing the Mysterious Door. Progress: 0.01%] ¡­¡­. [Installing the Mysterious Door. Progress: 0.02%] It was surprisingly slow. I feel like I¡¯m going to explode if I wait for the installation to finish. I can¡¯t. I¡¯m busy preparing for the opening of the cafe after breakfast, so I¡¯ll check it again after the business is over. After preparing for sales, I opened the door on time. Soon, customers with faces that lacked caffeine opened the door and rushed in. ¡°Welcome. Have you decided on your order?¡± Thus, the usual day began. There are still many problems and concerns, but I am planning to spend a day faithful to my main job today. My main job is a Cafe Owner. If I continue caring about dungeon or whatever it is, I might as well lose my job. ¡°If you feel cold, I recommend this new menu, Irish coffee.¡± Mundane life is precious¡­¡­. If there was one thing I was wondering about, it was Ash¡¯s behavior. Ash, he is so¡­. ¡°Ah, I need to wipe the table ¡­ huh?¡± The table was already sparkling without a speck of dust. ¡°Then I have to wash the dishes ¡­ huh?¡± Ash, who had just finished washing the stacked dishes, wiped the water off his hands. ¡°Ah, that customer left his phone. I have to catch up and bring it to him ¡­ Huh, Kim Ash, where are you going?¡± Ash, who hurriedly ran, returned the phone to its owner and came back to the store. ¡°Ash, let¡¯s get some rest now.¡± ¡°I need to do this.¡± ¡­ he worked too hard. Originally, he was a genius part-timer, but today he moved quickly as if he were using cloning magic. The order was processed quickly, but I was worried that he might collapse. ¡°Ash, come here.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Taking advantage of the temporary absence of customers, I half-forced Ash to sit in the chair. I put Lime on his lap and gave him snacks and coffee to completely block his action. However, while eating a the apple jam cookie that I served as a snack, Ash flinched and looked toward the counter. No way¡­ is our part-time a workaholic? I can¡¯t let this happen. Workaholic is an incurable disease. To feel joy while jumping into the swamp of labor on his own, I couldn¡¯t let Ash be afflicted with such a terrifying disease. ¡°Ash, I¡¯m going to work alone today, so would you like to rest? Right, how about contacting Shinwoo and Shinhee? They must have missed you too.¡± ¡°¡­.you don¡¯t need me?¡± No, why does the conversation end up like that? Although I explained that it was not the case, Ash still had a serious expression on his face. He poked the apple jam cookies with his fork for a moment before finally opening his mouth again. ¡°If I do all the work by myself ¡­ you¡¯re not going to hire a new part-timer.¡­.¡± ¡°Huh? I don¡¯t have plans to find a new part-timer?¡± Having Ash here is already enough, and there¡¯s no way I can easily get it just because I want to. ¡°What about the guy from before?¡± ¡°Who? Ah, you mean Yichan?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± He nodded his head suspiciously. He must have heard that Choi Yichan used to be a temporary part-timer. Aside from the fact that Choi Yichan was a terrible cafe part-timer, his part-time job was almost dedicated to play with the animals. Choi Yichan is currently being held by the Dungeon Management Office. The renewal of the Hunter¡¯s rank and the ranking measurement were completed, but there were several procedures left. Because of that, I haven¡¯t heard what he was going to say yet. ¡°Hey, Yichan doesn¡¯t work part-time here. There was a special situation before. Why would an S-class Hunter have a part-time job here?¡± ¡°¡­.I see.¡± ¡°And as long as I have Ash, it¡¯s already enough. Still, let¡¯s take it easy.¡± ¡°Keu-ahemm! I can¡¯t help it if you say that.¡± Ash ate the apple jam cookie. He pretended not to, but I saw the corners of his mouth rising slowly. Then the door opened again and a customer came in. I told Ash that he shouldn¡¯t get up until he ate all the snacks and headed for the counter. Behind my back, I could hear the animals aiming for the cookie crumbs and Ash fighting to defend his plate. ¡°Welcome.¡± The customer was a regular who often came to our store for coffee. ¡°Hello. I came yesterday too, but it was a pity that the cafe wasn¡¯t open yesterday.¡± ¡°Ahaha¡­.¡± I was actually a little worried about this. The business has been going well lately, so there must have been customers who came when I was dragged into the dungeon. Then, they must have seen the whole store gone. How am I supposed to explain the situation where the entire store disappeared and then reappeared? Am I allowed to say that I was summoned to the Dungeon and then returned? Should I say that the building was demolished in a day and rebuilt in a day? It¡¯s unbelievable¡­.. However, the regular customer said this in a casual tone after completing the order. ¡°I heard the building was being repaired? Are the repairs finished?¡± ¡°What? Ah, yes, yes! It¡¯s done.¡± The ensuing customers had similar reactions. ¡°Old houses always have problems one by one.¡± ¡°In my house, the boiler always explodes in the winter.¡± ¡°I heard the water pipe was broken? I know a good repair shop, do you want me to introduce it to you?¡± What¡¯s going on here¡­. While the store disappeared, all the customers knew that the building¡¯s water pipe had burst, so the cafe was temporarily closed. Someone who has the ability to do this ¡­ there is only one person. Tinkle, the door opened with the sound of a bell, and that one person came inside. It was Ki Yoohyun. ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°Yoohyun-ssi, what did you do while I was away?¡± ¡°What are you talking about all of a sudden?¡± ¡°The customers thought our water pipe had burst.¡± ¡°¡­.Ah. Yes, I thought the problem would get bigger, so I slightly tweaked it.¡± According to Ki Yoohyun, this was his reasoning: it was quite rare for a building to disappear without a rift. In order to prevent the repercussion, he used his skill in the empty space where the store disappeared to create a large-scale optical illusion effect. The effect was to show the illusion of a store with a sign on its door that said, ¡°We take a break due to building maintenance issues¡± to those who approached the store. ¡°It¡¯s just a simple trick. It doesn¡¯t work for a hunter who¡¯s stronger than me.¡± But at least in Korea, a Hunter who is stronger than Ki Yoohyun¡­.. ¡­ there is none. At first glance, it seems quite amazing to be able to say, ¡°I slightly tweaked it¡°. Anyway, I¡¯m thankful that I avoided the troublesome things. As a token of appreciation, I decided to treat him to coffee. Since I turned on the heater, the indoor air was warm, so I wanted to drink a cold drink. I made two iced Americanos and took Ki Yoohyun to a table in the corner. ¡°I¡¯ve been curious about something for a long time.¡± I moistened my throat with cold coffee, then I stared at the regressor and the No. 1 Ranker in front of me. He also took a sip of coffee and made eye contact with me. ¡°Do you remember when we first met? When Yoohyun-ssi was standing in front of me with a very suspicious appearance.¡± ¡°¡­. did I look suspicious?¡± ¡°Yeah? Then, did you think that you¡¯re not suspicious at all until now?¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°¡­..¡± We were briefly shocked for our own reasons. ¡°Ah, anyway, when Yoohyun-ssi came, I was temporarily unable to open the system window.¡± Ki Yoohyun rolled his eyes. He took a sip of the iced Americano slowly. It was the reaction of a person who was obviously did something wrong. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you really blocked someone else¡¯s system window?!¡± ¡°No, no, I didn¡¯t. That¡¯s not it.¡± Ki Yoohyun hurriedly waved his hand. ¡°No matter what, I do not have that ability. The system is a unique area of each hunter and cannot be easily invaded. It¡¯s just¡­.¡± ¡°You did something.¡± ¡°In order to find out information about Rieul-ssi and this building, I spread the white light net¡­.¡± Ki Yoohyun, startled by my expression, blurted out his words. He shrugged his shoulders and let out a helpless laugh. ¡°Look, please. I told you I¡¯m a regressor. This place was an abandoned house before the regression. I had no choice but to doubt the part that had changed from the past..¡± ¡°That ¡­ I see. Why has it changed, ahaha¡­.¡± I lifted my coffee cup and hid my awkward smile. ¡°In that case, this is the possibility I can think of. The system may have voluntarily blocked it to keep any information about Rieul-ssi or this store from me.¡± ¡°Is it possible for the system to do that ¡­ No, it¡¯s possible, yes.¡± I thought of the Saintess and immediately agreed. The Saintess said she created system. It was plausible, considering her mysterious power and her tendency to intervene arbitrarily. Then, I suddenly thought of my uncle. As soon as he returned from the dungeon, Kwon Jiwoon investigated the disappearance of Uncle¡¯s ability. The result has not changed. The uncle¡¯s ability disappeared and his system window was completely inaccessible. However, is it possible for an Awakened to become a normal person completely, not something caused by debuffs or abnormal conditions? If Ki Yoohyun¡¯s hypothesis is correct¡­. There is a possibility that the connection between my uncle and the system window was cut off to avoid someone¡¯s surveillance. In addition, he knew about Cthugha¡¯s ring ¡­ what on earth have you been up to, Uncle? ¡®Wouldn¡¯t my uncle know more about my grandmother?¡¯ Ever since I met Cthugha, I¡¯ve been thinking about finding out more about my grandmother. With that thought in mind, I sent my uncle a Kakaotalk message saying that I would like to see him, but¡­. [Uncle] (MountainLife-Vlog) Healing Life in the Mountains After Retirement: Act 2 of Life https://youtu.be/****** [Me] What is this? [Uncle] Niece! This Big Uncle started his own YouTube Please subscribe, like, and turn on the notifications~~ I¡¯m glad that he¡¯s happy¡­.. It¡¯s going to be a complicated story, so I want to meet him in person and talk to him as soon as possible. Still, I guess I¡¯ll have to wait a little while until he came back. There were these little things, but anyway, my day went by as usual. The essence of slice-of-life, the daily life of mundane life. It was a satisfying day¡­. [The installation of the Mysterious Door has been completed.] ¡°Huh?¡± ¡­.until the first Hunter opened the door and appeared. Beyond the open door, I could see the view of an unfamiliar dungeon. CH 106 The Hunter thought, it¡¯s a boring dungeon. There¡¯s never been such a boring dungeon like this one. The Hunter waved his hand nonchalantly with a tired expression. The dagger, which flew in a parabolic arch motion, accurately stabbed the monster in the forehead. The monster that was weaker weaker than his level died leaving only the ether ore intact. With a bored expression, the Hunter retrieved the ether ore and put it in his inventory. This is the hundredth. However, there is still a long way to go before reaching the target. ¡°Haa¡­.¡± The Hunter had no luck with guild. After wandering through several guilds, he was finally able to get accepted in his current guild. The problem is that he cannot be promoted to a regular guild member unless he meets the ether ore quota. In addition, if he resigned in the middle, he cannot find items that have been ripped off as a membership deposit. That¡¯s why for a few days, he¡¯s having a round to get a high-purity ether ore in the already stabilized dungeon. He has already made a few laps around this dungeon. Now, he could memorize the location of the monsters spawn, the terrain, and even the shelter. He¡¯s going crazy. He can see why repetition is driving people crazy. ¡°Ah ¡­ I want to quit.¡± The Hunter casually sank on the floor of the safe zone. As he caught monsters in a row, his stamina was slightly reduced, so he took out a potion and drank it. Since it was not a high-quality potion, he couldn¡¯t even enjoy the taste. He want to eat something delicious other than this. He want to lie down and watch TV after having a glass of beer with chicken. No, that¡¯s not it. More than that¡­. Come on, let¡¯s not think about it. If you miss what you don¡¯t have, you¡¯ll only feel the tastelessness of the potion. While he was standing up again to return to the boring work, he noticed a door. It was an ordinary door that was suitable for a family house. He memorized all the topographical features of this dungeon. He has never seen anything like that before¡­. After a moment of hesitation, the Hunter decided to surrender to curiosity. Whatever lies beyond, it won¡¯t be as boring as continuing to farm ore in this dungeon. He approached and opened the door with that kind of mind ¡­ and found a cafe. A real cafe. The door led to a cafe outside the dungeon. ¡°Ah ¡­ where ¡­ how did you get here?¡± The cafe owner, who seemed to have not expected the appearance of the Hunter, opened her eyes wide. She has a soft impression. It is not uncommon for indeterminate warp gates to occur in dungeons since the flow of irregular ethers randomly intertwines with ethers in other spaces. It¡¯s the first time he saw a gate in the shape of a normal door, and it leads to a cafe outside the dungeon, but¡­. The Hunter soon realized that he couldn¡¯t get out of the 1 meter radius of the door. However, the distance was enough to order a coffee. Yes, he just wanted to drink a sweet coffee. It was when he returned to the tedious farming work, chewing on pieces of dalgona in his coffee, that the strange change strucked him. ¡°Eh¡­.?¡± A monster fell. He felt an incomparable power. *** Lesson of the Day: Let¡¯s read the description carefully to the end. ¡°Kiyaong, you realize that so quickly!¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°It would have been nice if you had thought of that from the moment you awakaned. Tsk tsk tsk, you skipped all the beautiful phrases written by the great system, and now you¡¯re tasting the price of skipping, waeoong!¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡­.¡± I put Mieum in front of the heater and put a lot of cereal in her bowl. Fortunately, Mieum did not talk to me anymore as she was chomping and filling her stomach. A few days ago, a customer came from the dungeon for the first time through Connect Anywhere¡îMysterious Door. Since then, customers from the dungeon have consistently appeared through the door. The place where they originally came from was different. ¡°Huh? This is the Dungeon of Banyabong Peak in Jirisan Mountain.¡± ¡°Hey, you guys! Come here and order coffee. Ah, this place? This is Gimcheon.¡± ¡°Hello?¡± This is what I heard. The door was randomly created in dungeons in various places, and it is said that if you open them, all of them will be connected to the Cafe Rieul. Just connected, the person beyond the door could not come in more than a meter. It was also impossible to open the door at Cafe Rieul and go out to a random dungeon. Now, let¡¯s re-read the description of ¡®Connect Anywhere¡îMysterious Door¡¯. (¡ù The official name is a Personal, Space-Connected One-Way Door, but it is serviced with a familiar name to help you understand.) It says ¡®one-way¡® in ¡®connected¡®. It really only connects to one side. Well, there¡¯s nothing wrong with that¡­¡­. I was puzzled because it¡¯s working in a completely different way from what I had guessed by looking at the name. Anyway, a customer is a customer. It¡¯s a little unfair that I installed it excitedly because I got a new item, but it only increased my work. I decided to sell coffee to the hunters who appeared through this door. In fact, isn¡¯t fighting in the dungeon the moment when you need recovery coffee the most? In order to process the orders quickly, a ¡®Comfortable Walk-Through Counter¡¯, which was received as an achievement reward, was installed in front of the door. It was a stronger and cleaner counter than the one I made to sell coffee to the fire spirits. ¡°Kuu ¡­ I can¡¯t get any damage done because of the debuff.¡± ¡°Try this Americano.¡± ¡°¡­¡­!¡± The Hunter with their eyes wide open exclaimed ¡®Tasty!¡¯. The door opened again and a Hunter appeared. ¡°The dungeon boss will appear soon, so I want to strengthen my skills.¡± ¡°Hmm ¡­ how about this vanilla latte?¡± ¡°Yaaay! Critical Hit!¡± Just before the door closes, I can hear the magnificent roar of the boss who was hit by the skill. There¡¯s a lot of noise between the walls. ¡°Huu ¡­ even if I continue to pour healing skills, but the recovery is still slow.¡± This time it was several deeply wounded Hunters. I made several cups of cafe mocha and handed them over. In this way, I also recommended coffee that has an appropriate effect for Hunters. I was proud to see the actual effects of my coffee and the Hunters that like them. I¡¯ve worked so hard. ¡°Euugh ¡­ uuh¡­.¡± I soon reached my limit. In addition to the increase in the number of customers, there were many things to pay attention to because the customers came in directly from the dungeon. There was no way it could go on for a long time in this illegitimate way. ¡°Is it time to make a decision¡­.¡± ¡°Kkyuu¡­.?¡± As Ki Yoohyun suggested before, I should officially register . I didn¡¯t like it because it made me look too much like a Hunter when I registered it formally and claiming ¡®It¡¯s a coffee that has buff effects¡®. ¡°Aren¡¯t you a Hunter, waeoong!¡± Pakpakpak. Heavy front paws flew at me. ¡°It¡¯s a matter of feelings, feelings.¡± A secluded cafe that you accidentally stumbled across in front of the dreary Dungeon Gate. A comfortable and cozy time. You feel better after drinking the delicious coffee. All I wanted was something like this. ¡°Do you know what kind of traditional fairy tale the world you imagined is¡­..¡± I heard a sermon from a cat. ¡°It seems hopeless already.¡± Ash, who finished washing a mountain of dishes, said the same thing. Unlike the customers I met inside the cafe, it bothered me to see the Hunters fighting in the dungeon through the door. As expected, I want to help what I can help. Earlier, a Hunter came through the door with a severe wound. They ran out of potions. I recommended cappuccino, which has a ¡®40% stamina recovery¡® effect. The Hunter, who quickly recovered after drinking the cappuccino, thanked me. ¡°Thank you. You saved my life. I will not forget this kindness.¡± ¡°No. I already got paid for the coffee.¡± ¡°Even so, the fact that you have been a great help to me doesn¡¯t change.¡± The Hunter bowed then disappeared through the door again. I realized at the same time that I felt proud of this. I¡¯m already bad at playing the role of an innkeeper in a beginner¡¯s village, at least in this lifetime¡­.. ¡°Yoohyun-ssi, you made a suggestion before.¡± ¡°Ah. You mean the proposal to formally reveal Rieul-ssi¡¯s skill and coffee.¡± The No. 1 ranker, who seems to have a hobby of drinking coffee in our store, answered. ¡°Yes, that one. I made up my mind. I¡¯ll accept it.¡± As soon as I finished speaking, I heard a ringing sound of a cheerful notification. [Congratulations! You finally have the mindset of a Cafe Owner.] [The condition has been met. In the future, the status window and effect of coffee can be viewed by others.] [Achievement: The Mindset of a Cafe Owner You were determined to benefit the world with coffee. Reward: Cold Brew Coffee Recipe] No, I didn¡¯t make such a grandiose decision¡­. I was perplexed at the grand expression. Unless they had a special skill like Ki Yoohyun, I was the only one who could see the accurate status window of the coffee I made. Others just feel the effects with their bodies. But now, if other people can see the coffee status window, more accurate information will be delivered. Since then, the administrative process has proceeded without major obstacles. Ki Yoohyun also helped a lot. It was quickly approved as a Hunter-based special business with a piece of paperwork and a due diligence showing the actual coffee making. In consideration of the echo of the birth of the unique potion that has never been seen before, an official announcement date for releasing the embossing was set. And the day before the official announcement, I was grinding a lot of coffee beans. *** Soon, it will be the first day that Cafe Rieul, which has been officially registered as a special business, will take its first step. It would be nice to have a new menu since it¡¯s been a while. With that in mind, I decided to prepare the most recently obtained recipe, Cold Brew Coffee. There was also an intention that once the undiluted solution was made, it could be diluted and sold quickly. If it was a small roaster that I used before,mI would have given up because it was cumbersome to prepare a lot of coffee beans, but now it is worth doing it because there is a fully automatic large roaster for businesses. I went into the space and moved the beans from the bean storage bag. Then, I put green beans in the roaster and lit them. It was a ¡®completely automatic¡® structure that was completed on its own where the result was put into the storage box. In the meantime, this space has developed a lot. ¡®Shoo, shoo, shook, shook.¡¯ I just planted it, but the tooth carrot that grew well on its own was biting hard again today. Next to it was the place where the suspicious seeds received from Lee Chorok were planted, but they have not sprouted yet. ¡®Those carrots don¡¯t suck up all the nutrients, right¡­.?¡¯ I¡¯ve put in a lot of crops and machines in this space. ¡°Mmmmmeh!¡± Yeah, there¡¯s a cow too. I stroked the snorting cow as if not to leave her out. Perhaps because I wasn¡¯t with Lime, the cow showed an unpleasant reaction. The cow has yet to be named. I can¡¯t come up with a name that fits perfectly. Let¡¯s think about it more slowly. Anyway, the coffee beans brought to the store were ground thickly into the size of thick salt. After putting a filter in a large container, I poured the coffee bean powder and cold water, then I mixed it well. [Item: Cold Brew Coffee extract (¡ï¡ï¡î¡î¡î) Status: Extracting Time Remaining: 12:00:00] The next morning, just 12 hours later, the extract was filtered through a filter to be completed. I tried making cold brew coffee right away by adding water and ice. [Item: Cold Brew (¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡î) Status: Good (Time Remaining: 01:00:00) Effect: Get a random percentage of one random buff effect.] Oh. Both types and amounts of buff effects were random. It¡¯s like we¡¯re doing a lucky draw. This new menu will cause a bigger sensation than I thought. CH 107 The camera turned on a red light. Mieum and Lime, who were bickering and running around the floor until a while ago, suddenly became quiet. They leaned on the cushion and turning their heads slightly, both of them seemed to be conscious of the camera. On the contrary, Ash ran away to the corner, perhaps not wanting to be seen on the screen. ¡°Meow, meow.¡± Mieum-ah, why are you suddenly crying out ¡®meow meow¡¯? Usually it was ¡®waeoong¡¯ or ¡®waeooolg¡¯. Still, it wasn¡¯t the right time to have this conversation. ¡°Yes, this is the menu¡­¡­.¡± The left arm and left leg went out at the same time. I introduced the menu with an awkward gesture. I¡¯m glad I have the ¡®Smile¡® skill. Even though there¡¯s a fault in my posture, my expression showed the perfect business smile. ¡°So you can look at the menu and order the menu that has the special effect you want.¡± It was the first opening day when the formal registration process was completed in an instant and the embargo was lifted. The Dungeon Management Office proposed filming an introduction broadcast to publicize accurate information about the cafe. It¡¯s a burden, but¡­. It¡¯s important to give proper information at first. Think of it as a process you have to go through once you decide to reveal about the cafe. I accepted it with that kind of mind. ¡®I had a hard time trying to stop Kwon Jiwoon from appearing on the broadcast¡­.¡¯ Today, reporters and several cameras rushed in to the cafe to film the first visitors. The first customers to appear on the show was selected by lottery. They were three Hunters who seemed to be friends. One of the customers who was looking at the menu with an excited expression suddenly asked. ¡°So what is the effect of this cold brew coffee? There¡¯s nothing written here¡­.¡± ¡°Ah. It¡¯s random.¡± ¡°¡­¡­random?¡± ¡°Yes. It¡¯s a new menu that I made this time, and the type and amount of buffs applied are all random.¡± The customers¡¯ eyes seemed to sparkle and shine. ¡°Then I¡¯ll have a cold brew.¡± ¡°I want a cold brew too.¡± ¡°Uh, I was going to have a cold brew too.¡± The menu was unified in an instant. A reporter interrupted in a panic, probably because they wanted to film them ordering various menus for the broadcast. ¡°Wait, everyone¡­? There are a lot of different menus, are you not interested in this? For example, here, the caramel macchiato looks delicious.¡± ¡°No, you¡¯re not a Hunter if you avoid a challenge.¡± ¡°Yes¡­? What does that have to do with the menu?¡± ¡°I accept this challenge!¡± The reporter was forced to step down because of the stubbornness of the guests. I quickly made three cups of cold brew coffee and handed it to the customers. ¡°Wow! It¡¯s real. A status window appeared, it said that this coffee gives random buffs.¡± ¡°I¡¯m really looking forward to it.¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s try it!¡± The customers held a coffee cup in one hand and reacted as requested in advance in front of the camera. It was awkward, but I was awkward enough, so there¡¯s not much difference. Immediately, customers drank all the cold brew coffee. They¡¯re the prepared cast members so they didn¡¯t forget to show their reactions that the coffee is delicious. ¡°¡­..! 80% increase in agility. Is this okay?¡± ¡°I have a 5% increase in Luck ¡­ It¡¯s ruined, heung¡­.¡± Naturally, the gazes poured out to the last one. After drinking all the coffee, he briefly stared into the air to check his status window. ¡­ and he roared. ¡°Aaaaaaaaaaaaaa! 200% strength!¡± ¡°¡­¡­!¡± ¡°Is that true? Wow, that¡¯s awesome!¡± The reporter who was watching these various reactions was also interested in cold brew coffee. They asked if they could try a drink, so I made it right away. ¡°Mmm, it¡¯s rich in scent ¡­ it tastes clean even until the end. It¡¯s really delicious ¡­ oh.¡± ¡°Reporter-nim, what di you get?!¡± ¡°Wow. It¡¯s ¡­ my intelligence has increased by 800%.¡± ¡°¡­¡­!¡± ¡°Wow, awesome¡­..!¡± This was the beginning of the Great Hunter Gacha era. *** ¡°The person over there, you can¡¯t film YouTube!¡± ¡°Ah, wait a minute, the phone ¡­ yes, this is Cafe Rieul. No, I won¡¯t be appearing on TV anymore. What? You¡¯re going to promote it as a good restaurant? Don¡¯t say scary things.¡± ¡°Next number, please come!¡± ¡°Ten cups of cold brew coffee, please.¡± ¡°I can only sell up to two drinks per person.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you know that the national rule is to draw 10 consecutive draws? The owner has also tried it, right?!¡± I¡¯ve tried it a lot¡­. ¡°Still, I can only sell up to two cups.¡± ¡°Ugh ¡­ then I¡¯ll have two cups, please.¡± The customer who received the cold brew coffee sat down at an empty table and emptied a cup. They clenched their fists and shouted while looking into the air. ¡°Please, please, please aaaaah!¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.. It¡¯s someone who¡¯s crazy about gacha¡­. ¡°Waeooong (I don¡¯t think you have any rights to judge that).¡± ¡°Kkyuu!¡± After the broadcast filmed on the first day was aired, drawing became a huge boom among the Hunters. Hunters flocked from the next day, and they began to order cold brew coffee one after another. The popularity spread out of control as a Hunter, who hit a jackpot in the cold brew coffee draw, certified that he had killed the boss monster in a dungeon in one shot. The challenge is to take out the cold brew coffee from our store and then drink it at the dungeon to test and certify the effect. Of course, I also like to draw. I once ate only collaboration red bean bread seven days a week to get a free draw ticket. But no matter how much ¡­ why is this so popular? As a result, such videos and articles have taken over the internet. ©¥ [Unprecedented] 1000% Agility, Great Cold Brew Effect ©¥ I¡¯m not good at lottery, but I want to catch the boss (edited version) ©¥ Cold Brew Draw | Probability Verification | Dungeon Speedrun Challenge with Draw Effect I don¡¯t know if I can say it¡¯s peaceful, what to say¡­. There was also an article saying that the speed of dungeon raids has increased thanks to the popularity of the challenge. I¡¯m glad to hear that it has a positive effect ¡­ I didn¡¯t know there are so many people who like to draw. It was said that lottery was a bad civilization, but for the time being, there seems to be a long way off from the disappearance of lottery from the world. Due to the popularity of the Cold Brew Coffee, I was tempted to summon Cthugha for a while and use him as a part-timer. Still, supplementing the labor force is not a fundamental solution to this problem. I admitted that the relaxed YOLO life of the 5-day work-week system (¡ù5 days off. This is important), which was my first goal after returning to the past, has already gone away. However, I couldn¡¯t continue to be dragged around by these crazy lottery maniacs. Here¡¯s my status window at the moment. [Name: Kwon Rieul Class: Cafe Owner (F)(Lv. 17) Stamina 140/140, Energy 140/140 Strength: 26 (+10), Intelligence: 21, Agility: 18, Luck: 19] In the meantime, experience accumulated through cafe sales, and my level became 17. Still, due to the low maximum energy, there was a limit to the amount that could be made in a day despite continuing to recover with coffee. For this reason, the sales method was changed by distributing numbered tickets to customers in advance. If you submit a numbered ticket at your turn, you can purchase up to two cups per person. The cold brew coffee is also limited to one cup a day. Other than that, if a Hunter, who entered through the ¡®Connect Anywhere¡îMysterious Door¡® urgently needs recovery or buff, I decided to sell coffee to them regardless of the numbered tickets. The reason I decided to do this in the first place was because I wanted to help an injured Hunter. Urgent people come first. Today¡¯s last guest was Ju Noeul. She was with a party that seemed to belong to the Royal Guild. ¡°Oh! It¡¯s finally our turn. Cold brew coffee ¡­ is already out of stock. Then I¡¯ll have a cookie set, please. What about the guild leader?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine with Americano ¡­ more than that, Rieul-ssi, can I follow you on Instagram?¡± ¡°Ahaha, of course. I¡¯ll follow you back.¡± In the process of officially promoting the cafe, I unintentionally became quite famous. After the official cafe opening, the number of Instagram followers on my account, where I had posted a few pictures of coffee cups then forgot its existence, increased tremendously. ¡°Huh¡­.?¡± I was surprised when I opened the app to follow Ju Noeul¡¯s Instagram. There was a DM from Lee Chorok, a former dungeon-farm owner and current fruit store part-timer. The content was, ¡°I will send you a Shine Muscat directly from the production area, so can you promote it on Instagram?¡±. ¡®You¡¯re doing well¡­.¡¯ It was a pity that the dungeon farm was closed, even though it was her fault. At least the fruit shop life seems to suit her aptitude. After Ju Noeul went back, I checked my watch. It was time to distribute the numbered ticket. ¡°Ah, time¡¯s up. Eat this and rest.¡± After giving Ash the snacks, I headed to the front of the store with the numbered tickets I prepared in advance. There was already a long line of customers waiting to get a numbered ticket. Seeing so many people, I was deeply moved. ¡°Here¡¯s the ticket. Thank you.¡± I was handing out numbered tickets one by one in order. Suddenly, I found someone I thought I¡¯d seen somewhere. He was a middle-aged man with an ordinary impression, but the scarf pattern around his neck was unusual and drew attention. I saw him somewhere. Ah, I remembered. ¡°Oh! You came to get a ticket yesterday too. You must really like coffee!¡± It¡¯s a little embarrassing to say with my own mouth, but ¡­ the numbered ticket distribution, which is conducted twice a day in the morning and evening, is currently quite competitive. It¡¯s hard for even old regulars to visit every day. I thought it was amazing to come for two days in a row, so I talked to him lightly. ¡°Ahem ¡­ what¡­.¡± Nod. The customer who took the numbered ticket shyly averted his gaze and left. I looked at his back casually and realized a sense of incongruity a beat later. Wait. That customer, he never came to buy coffee? Did I not recognize him when he ordered coffee? It could be, but ¡­ it¡¯s a bit uncomfortable. Something similar happened again. Most of the customers who received the numbered tickets came to buy coffee. However, some people received the tickets for several days in a row, but I don¡¯t remember seeing them at the cafe. Is it simply that I was too busy to remember? No. I thought that was not the case. There¡¯s a reason for this. ¡°Kkyuuu¡­?¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong, waeeoong!¡± ¡°Darkness is encroaching on your side.¡± Once I finished distributing the numbered ticket, I returned to the cafe. After finishing the closing and organizing the cafe, I accessed the Hunter Channel and searched for information about our store. I searched by changing keywords, but what came out was only ordinary small talk, appreciation post, and challenge certification. ¡°Is it not here¡­.¡± ¡°What are you looking at by yourself, waeoong!¡± Just as I was trying to avoid Mieum, who interrupted me from the side, a plausible title caught my eye. [Chatting] Cafe R Ticket number 10 sorry ¡°Ah. This is it.¡± I clicked on the text right away, but I couldn¡¯t read the contents. (This post has been deleted.) The post was erased the moment I was about to read it. CH 108 Why did the post suddenly get deleted? What was it about? I became more curious because it got deleted. I¡¯ve come up with a determined spirit. I sat down and started browsing the posts on the Hunter Channel. It was not an exaggeration to say that all Hunters registered in Korea use Hunchan, so it was not easy to find the information I wanted because it was a large community. In addition, it was difficult to recognize because there were many cases where the title was written in an usual way to avoid showing up on the search result. [Chatting] I went to get a numbered ticket today. I found the most plausible title and clicked it¡­. [Chatting] I went to get a numbered ticket today. Upvotes: 16 / Downvotes: 0 Writer: Lick Pink Jelly (Photo) I went there today, and the calico cat is so cute. It looked like a baked bread in front of the heater. I also gave it snacks ???)v ¡ª Cherry Dumplings: aw aw cute cat ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ It was completely unrelated. No wonder Mieum didn¡¯t eat a lot today. It must have been because she got snacks. ¡°Wae-waeooong! It¡¯s rude to take a picture of this body without permission!¡± Contrary to what she said, her face clearly showed joy. ¡°Kkyuu¡­.¡± Lime seemed to be disappointed because there was no talk about her. Cheer up, Lime. You already have two ardent followers. It took a long time to browse the Hunter Channel with the animals that kept interfering. This time, I found the post that I really wanted. It was a new post that was posted 30 seconds ago. [Chating] CFR numbers for tomorrow, number n0 (0) Upvotes: 0 / Downvotes: 0 Writer: YY NO HIT AND RUN. Tomorrow¡¯s numbered ticket n0, one for the early phase There¡¯s one for the latter half of n0. Write a note with the offer price No reply below 10 rubies Hey, look at this. Once I figured out the trick, I was able to find similar posts without difficulty. [Chating] Direct Transaction of Unopened Cold Brew (0) Upvotes: 0 / Downvotes: 0 Writer: YY Bought today. Good condition. There are two cups left for an hour and a half of state retention time. Price 10 rubies per cup. Direct transfer message. NO HIT AND RUN & NEGO. ¡°What the¡­¡± It was outrageous and it annoyed me. I understand if you hand over the numbered ticket because you couldn¡¯t come to the cafe due to a situation. You might want others to be able to taste the coffee instead of making the ticket wasted for nothing. However, these posts reminded me of the time when I tried to get a concert ticket at the request of Shin Mira. There was only crazy ticket scalpers who wrote down a price that was several times the original price and came out like a trash human. In other words, these posters are the same kind of guys. A merchant. Just look at the fact that they make a post with a temporary nickname, then deletes it immediately when they gets an offer. What is transfer! It¡¯s for sale and the price is 10 rubies? Currently, the menu sold at the cafe is priced between 1 and 5 rubies. The cheapest Americano is 1 ruby. Since the price of whiskey sold at the Dimensional Shop was quite expensive, Irish Coffee was the most expensive at 5 rubies. I¡¯ve been asked to raise the price quite a bit. Previously, Ki Yoohyun also said that coffee prices were too cheap, but I have no intention of raising the price right now. It was hard at first because I had to brew everything from coffee beans with my own labor. It¡¯s like a cafe life that starts with zero. However, now the coffee making is mostly automated. It costs little to make the ingredients, and once the beans are roasted, there is not much to do after that. So, I think the price is reasonable. I¡¯m already rich enough to earn rubies one after another anyway. If I only think about money, there is no reason to do this labor. I¡¯m just doing it because I want to run a cafe. That¡¯s it. But when I saw them doing business with the coffee I made ¡­ I felt unhappy. Ash and I are working hard, but these bad resellers are earning money through our hardships. Tiling. The system notification sounded just in time. [A quest has occurred.] [Sub Quest: Let¡¯s Eradicate The Black Ticket Trade and Find The Light This is a big deal! Bad reseller has appeared in your cafe. Let¡¯s drive them out and create a healthy cafe culture together. Drive out the merchant who takes unfair advantage: (Incomplete) Rewards: Experience (10 EXP), Fame (1), Popularity (2), Silver Teaspoon] As if it was made in haste, the quest reward were small. Still, the compensation was not a problem right now. Even if the quest didn¡¯t appear, I couldn¡¯t leave it like this. Hmm, what should I do¡­. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± As I stared at my phone and put on a hard expression, Ash poked his head. I showed the post I just found and briefly explained the situation to him. ¡°I can¡¯t believe there are such vicious people¡­.! It is an evil deed that even the primordial chaos would be astonished at.¡± As expected, Ash, who works at the cafe with me all day, was furious. Let¡¯s spend some time empathizing with each other using anger as fuel. ¡°We have to blow up meteor on such humans.¡± ¡°Huh ¡­ no, no, that¡¯s not it! Ash, stop for a second!¡± I hurriedly rushed to catch the part-timer of my house. It¡¯s very infuriating that the scalpers sold the numbered ticket and earned more money, but that doesn¡¯t mean we can use force. After I explained that, Ash calmed down, but he asked me with a sullen expression. ¡°¡­.what are you going to do then?¡± Right, what should I do? Report it to the Dungeon Management Office or Hunter Channel? That will only have a temporary effect. There is a limit to sanctions if it is regarded as an individual transaction. At best, they will delete the post, and the merchant will do business more secretly in the future. This is a problem with black tickets and illegal trading at higher prices. The harm is great, but the grounds for legal punishment are ambiguous. I can¡¯t use force immediately as my radical part-timer suggested¡­. Still, I¡¯m too angry to leave it alone. After much consideration, I decided to ask Ki Yoohyun for his opinion. He¡¯s a veteran Hunter, so he might have some good ideas. I sent a KakaoTalk message with that in mind, and I received a reply right away. [Ki Yoohyun] If you tell me the description of that person, I¡¯ll take care of it. ^^ ¡­¡­. Why are you asking about the description? I have a hunch that ¡®taking care of¡® that Ki Yoohyun mentioned is not a sincere conversation or persuasion. It was clear that this man¡¯s idea was not much different from Ash. After all, this happened because there was demand. Someone wants to get a numbered ticket comfortably without waiting even if they need to pay 10 rubies. I wish I could systematically prevent this situation first rather than directly harming the merchant. Is there any way¡­¡­ ¡­.Ah. I called one of the contacts on my phone. The dialing went short and soon the call was connected. ¡°Hello! Yes, it¡¯s been a while since I contacted you. How have you been? I¡¯d like to ask you a favor¡­.¡± *** ¡°You can just rest.¡± ¡°Heh ¡­ a shady place is my path.¡± It has become a regular holiday for Cafe Rieul. It¡¯s been a while, so I wanted to be idle all day long, but as soon as I woke up, I got ready to go out. The purpose, of course, was to find a way to deal with the ticket scalpers. Ash also decided to go with me. He still has a brusque expression, but he seems excited to wear his new clothes. It¡¯s our first time going out together since we went shopping in Yongsan last time. Not to mention the trip to Yongsan ended up being a mess. Maybe I should have taken him around a little more¡­. ¡°Then, children, stay calm and guard the house.¡± After a while, the sounds of ¡®waeooong¡¯ and ¡®kyuuuu¡¯ were heard from the corner.The animals were already busy playing and didn¡¯t care about it, so I opened the door and left. After leaving the store, I headed to the Hunter Market. My steps are heavy. To be honest, I didn¡¯t want to come. The last time I came to that place, the staff was so unkind. It¡¯s not like I¡¯m hurt by every staff¡¯s attitude that is so strong to the weak. Still, I don¡¯t feel like I want to go get cold treatment¡­. ¡°Haa¡­.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Aren¡¯t you going in here?¡± Since I was standing in front and I didn¡¯t go straight into the entrance, Ash beckoned to me. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s useless to keep hesitating¡­.¡± There¡¯s a saying that it¡¯s better to get hit first. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll go. Ash, come with me.¡± In that way, I made my own determination and entered the entrance on the first floor of Hunter Market. ¡°Welcome. What can I do for you?¡± A kind smile and a friendly tone greeted me, but I know this perfect customer service attitude will melt away like the snow the moment I give out my Hunter ID. ¡°Uh, I¡¯m looking for something¡­.¡± It was the moment I was about to reveal my purpose with a trembling heart. ¡°Ah! I¡¯m sorry I didn¡¯t recognise you, Hunter-nim!¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Thank you for visiting Hunter Market. We will serve you with all our heart and soul to satisfy Hunter-nim today. I¡¯ll take you to the VVIP room, so please come this way with your company.¡± ¡°What¡­.?¡± I happened to be dragged into the VVIP room and sat down. With its luxurious interior, the sofa was soft enough to fall asleep right there. The staff accepted my bag and coat, and as soon as we sat down, they served expensive refreshments and juices as a welcome food. I didn¡¯t come to buy anything, this excessive kindness was burdensome. The question of why they suddenly dud this to me didn¡¯t last long. The staff quiety approached me and talked to me. ¡°Hunter Kwon RieuI-nim, I have heard the reputation of Cafe Rieul well.¡± ¡°Haha ¡­ thank you.¡± Aha. I guess I was more famous than I thought I was. The coffee of Cafe Rieul is very popular, so I got this kind of treatment even though I¡¯m an F-class? The staff spoke again, showing excessive kindness by pouring juice into the empty juice glasses. ¡°Umh, could you give me the honor of tasting Hunter-nim¡¯s coffee separately¡­.?¡± ¡°You can come tomorrow morning and get the numbered ticket.¡± However, the staff reacted with disdain. ¡°It¡¯s not that¡­.¡± ¡°¡­¡­?¡± ¡°Our Hunter Market has a close relationship with many VVIPs. We have a long-standing relationship with not only the top rankers, but also the executives of the main office.¡± ¡°But¡­.?¡± ¡°If you allow me to taste Hunter-nim¡¯s coffee separately, you will be able to build a good relationship with many VVIPs. It will also help you establish your position in the Hunter World.¡± As I said before, my coffee is popular, so try serving it to those high-ranking people as a bribe. Translator¡¯s Corner: Life happened (apparently, doing volunteer works is really time and energy consuming) and I missed the timing for the New Year¡¯s Eve, so I decided to start this year on Lunar New Year ¡­. Happy Lunar New Year, everyone! I hope you guys like these chapters, I will do more tonight~ CH 109 It occurred to me. Since the atmosphere has been like this in the Hunter Market, some Hunters may also have a strong and weak tendency. I, who was treated coldly as an F-class, received a different hospitality than before. It¡¯s a typical cider situation, but I didn¡¯t feel like boasting about how satisfying it is. I just felt sick of it. ¡°I only sell coffee to people who get a numbered ticket by standing in the line.¡± After saying that, I got up. Come on, let¡¯s finish our errands and go. ¡°More than that, I¡¯d like to go to the consignment shop.¡± ¡°Yes? Hunter Kwon Rieul-nim, there are many items in our Hunter Market that are better than the lower-class items sold in consignment shops. Originally, it¡¯s not items that anyone can see, but I¡¯ll show them to you right away.¡± ¡°No, I have business in the consignment shop area.¡± The staff was persistent. After repeating similar recommendations and specifications several times, I was able to escape from that VVIP room or whatever they called it. ¡°It¡¯s not fun here.¡± Ash muttered with a sullen expression. I totally agree with his statement. I managed to leave thestaff who said they would guide me in person and entered the consignment shop area. It¡¯s the second time I¡¯ve been here. When I first came, it was empty, but now various stalls have been opened, making it quite crowded. I headed to the shop in the most corner, inconspicuous of all. There were several items for beginners on the shelf, but no other customers were seen. The shopkeeper greeted me with a bright smile. ¡°It¡¯s been a while.¡± ¡°Grandma, how have you been?¡± It was Grandma Kim Deokyi. ¡°Today you came with a cute little boy. Do you want this Grandmother to give you candy?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a kid¡­.¡± Ash didn¡¯t seem to like the expression ¡®little boy¡®, but he quietly took candy. There was a rolling sound of candy in his mouth. To find a way to deal with ticket scalpers, the person I consulted with was Grandma Kim Deokyi. Although she is retired now, I guessed that she would know how to do it because she is a Master in the production industry. My guess was correct. Grandma Kim Deokyi said this after hearing the explanation over the phone. ¡ª Hmm. If that¡¯s the case, you can use that item. ¡°Oh, do you know how to handle it?¡± ¡ª Yes, come visit me sometime Grandmother Kim Deokyi called me to this place, the consignment shop area of Hunter Market. I found out that after retirement, she is hiding her identity and selling items for beginners as a hobby. Indeed, when I first met Grandma Kim Deokyi here, she was hiding her identity¡­. ¡°But doesn¡¯t anyone recognize your face?¡± She is a famous Master Craftsman who is the representative of the 1st generation Hunters. That¡¯s what I asked, but the old lady shook her head. ¡°Hohoo ¡­ surprisingly, people don¡¯t look at other people¡¯s faces very well.¡± So far, no one has noticed her identity. I stared at Grandma Kim Deokyi again. Even though we were indoors, she wore a sun visor and silly Paisley-patterned pants with a gray arm sleeve on the arm. It was hard to recognize her as a craftsman by usual eyes. Perhaps Grandma Kim Deokyi is enjoying the real life of a powerful woman. No, rather ¡­ a secret connection who gives mysterious power to the main character seems to be more suitable to describe her. One day, just one person, Grandma Kim Deokyi will give a rare item to a Hunter who treats her politely. I¡¯ve heard a lot about this development of, uh, if you know, you know. It¡¯s the first law of the protagonist. Be kind to ordinary-looking old people. I glanced around. A Hunter, who happened to meet my eyes, quickly approached us. Hoo, is that him? I watched him with excitement, but¡­. ¡°Where is the bathroom here?¡± Not at all. It seems that a person who has the main character traits doesn¡¯t appear that easily. ¡°Oh, here. I brought what you said.¡± I handed over the stainless steel thermos from the inventory. Inside, there were several cups of cafe romano. Item: Cafe Romano (¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡î) Status: Good (Time Remaining: 01:00:00) Effect: Increases enchantment success rate by 200% for 1 time, and prevents item damage in case of enchantment failure.] The effect of this coffee is as follows. When I talked about the effect, Grandma said she wanted to try it. Since I came to see her for the first time in a long time, I have made it generously. ¡°Thank you ¡­ huu.¡± Kim Deokyi, who was reading the status window of the cafe romano, sighed. ¡°If I had this coffee, I wouldn¡¯t have had to break items like before¡­.¡± It seems that she has been heartbroken when she recalled the items that she had cracked during the enchant process. I hope she can use it usefully. ¡°This is the item for Miss Rieul.¡± On the surface, it was a pen that looked like an ordinary digital pen. Soon after I received it, the status window appeared. [Item: Sign Pen of Binding (¡ï¡ï¡î¡î¡î) Don¡¯t forget to write your name on things. When used, an item binding effect occurs to the first owner.] ¡°I made it in a hurry, but the effect will work.¡± ¡°¡­.! Thank you!¡± Binding refers to a phenomenon in which the item becomes completely the property of the owner. Simply put, it is similar to writing a name on an object. Items with your name on them cannot be sold to others. In other words, it¡¯s non-transferable and non-tradeable. Great. This is enough to drive out the resellers. ¡°Hohoho¡­.¡± Just by imagining the merchant panicked while holding a numbered ticket with binding effect, I laughed unconsciously. I put the sign pen into the inventory with a wicked smile, then Grandma suddenly spoke. ¡°Finally, you have regained the true power of the ring.¡± Her eyes were on the Cthugha¡¯s Ring. ¡°Yes? Ah, right.¡± When I first received Cthugha¡¯s Ring from Grandma, the status window was like this. [Cthugha¡¯s Ring Type: Accessories Effect: Unusable.] However, after meeting Cthugha in the dungeon and signing a contract, the status window of the ring got updated. [Cthugha¡¯s Ring (¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï) A token of a contract with The Eternal Living Flame, Cthugha When used by the appropriate user, Cthugha can be summoned.] I haven¡¯t summoned Cthugha because there¡¯s nothing to do yet, but I can feel a different power than before just by wearing it. The ¡®stone containing his power¡¯ that became the material of this ring was handed over to my grandmother by Cthugha. The stone revolved around and ended up in my hand. Could this be a mere coincidence? Sure, solving the problem of ticket scalpers was an important matter, but the real reason I visited Grandma Kim Deokyi today was because I wanted to ask about the ring. ¡°Grandma, please tell me.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°How did you come to make this ring?¡± *** On my way home from Hunter Market, I was lost in thought. I remembered what Grandma Kim Deokyi said to me a while ago. ¡°The stone that became the material of the ring was given to me by Park Heesun-ssi as the price of lending her the hand mirror.¡± Ah, that hand mirror. I found it inside the cabin in the space at the request of Grandma Kim Deokyi. We made Choi Yichan¡¯s pendant with the broken mirror. ¡°I succeeded in making Cthugha¡¯s Ring, but I couldn¡¯t use that power.¡± ¡°¡­.¡± ¡°When I asked Park Heesun-ssi, she said the ring was properly completed properly. She just said the right owner hasn¡¯t shown up yet. She asked me to deliver the ring to the appropriate user.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell me ¡­ is that me?¡± Grandma Kim Deokyi nodded. However, it was vague how she came to know that I was the right user. She told me that it¡¯s like she heard a voice telling her I was the one. In the end, I asked. ¡°What was my grandmother like?¡± ¡°Let me see ¡­ she was too far away to be called a friend, so I don¡¯t have much to say. One thing is for sure¡­.¡± ¡°¡­.¡± ¡°She was someone who saw things you wouldn¡¯t normally see.¡± A dim gaze reached me. The last words were filled with longing. Hmm. There is something in common between the descriptions of my grandmother by people (and non-person) who remember her. First, she wasn¡¯t an Awakened. It wasn¡¯t a development of ¡®Is My Grandmother The Strongest Hunter of The First Generation?¡¯ or ¡®I Became The World¡¯s Strongest Through My Bloodline¡®. Actually, I was looking forward to it, so it¡¯s a pity. However, it is certain that the grandmother had some mysterious power. Cthugha told me that she could read the stream of the stars. For now, t is unknown what exactly that power is. Heck, if they¡¯re going to return me to the past, I wish they could have sent me back to when my grandmother was still alive. ¡®I miss my grandmother¡­.¡¯ Looking back, the reason I awakened was also because I went to my grandmother¡¯s store. Now it is just used as a place to grow crops, but the space in the store is also strange. Why there is a space like that in a building? Maybe I move along the path my grandmother prepared for me? ¡®Career planning should have been decided in consultation with the person concerned¡­.¡¯ If so, what is at the end of this? A one-on-one battle with a crazy pseudo-religious man? Saving the world? Aye, this isn¡¯t the case, though. I can help people clearing the dungeons through my cafe, but I¡¯m only a helper. Haha, ha¡­.. Only a helper ¡­ right? Ah. Talking about the crazy pseudo-religious man. When I decided to officially publicize Cafe Rieul, an unmanned security system was installed around the store. The crime prevention bell Ki Yoohyun gave me is also a valid security tool. I prepared for the worst, but fortunately, I haven¡¯t seen him yet. I hope he keeps not showing up like this¡­. ¡°Look over there.¡± At that time, Ash pulled my collar slightly. Gosh, I¡¯ve been lost in my own thoughts for too long. ¡°Sorry. I was thinking about something else for a second. Let¡¯s go. ¡­.? What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°¡­¡­that.¡± What Ash pointed to was a large electronic display board installed on the building opposite the road. It just so happened that the news was coming out. A news tap explaining road traffic conditions passed by, and Choi Yichan¡¯s face appeared on the screen. Soon there will be a big caption underneath. The S-Class Hunter Choi Yichan, 6th in the Ranking ¡­ confirmed to join The White Silver Guild. Ah. It¡¯s finally been officially announced. I stood there with Ash and calmly watched the news screen. The news dealt with the information quite heavily, saying that the game of the Domestic Hunter Guild is blah blah blah. The reason for my indifferent response is simple. I heard about it in advance yesterday. Choi Yichan, who was finally freed from the Dungeon Management Office, stopped by our store yesterday. It had been almost a week since we returned from the dungeon. I couldn¡¯t say anything because it¡¯s Choi Yichan¡¯s own business. It is said that he was only released after taking tests on strength control training and related norms ranking, as well as ranking measurement in his re-registration. Hunter Registration ¡­ I finished it very quickly¡­. Before visiting the Hunter Market for the first time, I went to the community center to register as a Hunter. When I informed them that I was an F-class, I was handed over to the person in charge right away. ¡°Miss, please write your personal information here and give me your ID Card. Don¡¯t forget to complete the safety training online within the period. Here¡¯s your pamphlet.¡± ¡­.that was the end of it. CH 110 Translated by cabinfourtranslations. Last evening, Choi Yichan visited just after the cafe was closed. ¡°Unyaaah (this human, is he back now?)!¡± ¡°Waeong, waeooong (Let¡¯s play! Play with me)!¡± The animals in our house circled around Choi Yichan and started crying. In addition, suddenly, Ash began cleaning the store, conscious of Choi Yichan as if he were looking at his competitor. The cafe has already been closed and the cleanup has been finished. The inside of the cafe, which was cleaned using the skill ¡®The Floor is Shiny¡¯, didn¡¯t even have a speck of dust. There is nothing more to do. In other words, all of them are just being a distraction. I sealed Ash and the animals in front of the television in the next room with snacks. An occult movie was airing at the moment. They finally became quiet as they focused on the screen. ¡°Yichan-ah, sit down. Would you like some coffee?¡± ¡°Haha, I¡¯d appreciate it if you give me some.¡± I made ice cream coffee with plenty of ice cream in a glass. As if it wasn¡¯t cold, Choi Yichan emptied his glass right away. Seeing him drinking it well made me feel better. ¡°Kuh, haaa, it¡¯s really delicious.¡± He tried to put the glass, which had been emptied to the last drop, down on the table. I reached out my hand in bewilderment. ¡°Yichan-ah, be careful¡­.¡± But it didn¡¯t break. There was a clatter, but there was no crack in the glass. It was a perfect control of power. The Spartan training of the Dungeon Management Office seems to have worked. Indeed, Korea is a country with a great passion for education. You can achieve anything even with a short-term education. Choi Yichan looked around the store with his chin resting on his hands. It must have looked like something new for him. I met him in the dungeon where Cthugha resided, but he was so busy that he didn¡¯t have time to look around the store back then. ¡°A lot has changed.¡± ¡°Huh? What? Oh, here?¡± The street is now slowly getting soaked in the year-end atmosphere. The period during his absence is not that long in terms of date, but in the meantime, the inside of the store has changed a lot. As rewards from the system, the tables have been upgraded to the ¡®Comfortable Table¡¯. Now, this place also has a mysterious door, a walk-through counter, and a new part-timer. ¡°I¡¯m glad you seem to be doing well.¡± ¡°¡­Thank you.¡± Choi Yichan touched the pendant hanging around his neck with his fingertips. It was the pendant containing the dark ether that I gave him before. Not only had he already acquired the skills, but he had become an S-Class Hunter, so he didn¡¯t need to wear that pendant anymore. I briefly explained this before, but he was still wearing it. ¡°Are you still wearing that pendant?¡± ¡°Uh-huh. I like it.¡± ¡°You like it? The design?¡± The pendant is just a black stone the size of a pinky fingernail hanging from a plain string. It¡¯s a very boring design to be an accessory. ¡°No, it¡¯s not like that¡­..¡± The slightly drooping eyes closed softly. A bright smile followed. ¡°It¡¯s a long-awaited gift that Rieul finally gave me.¡± ¡°¡­.¡± Thank you, but saying that made the atmosphere very awkward. Feeling a tickle on my cheek, I quickly got up. I cleaned up the empty glass, then I asked if he would like another glass. ¡°Oh, thanks, then!¡± There was no shadow in that bright answer. This time, I decided to make dalgona coffee. Just in time, the newly made dalgona hardened just right. After crushing the dalgona with a spoon, I asked while picking out a large piece and placing it in a glass. ¡°Yichan-ah, what were you trying to say when we met before?¡± ¡°Ung?¡± ¡°Before you got dragged away by Jina-ssi and Hunter Kang Hyunwoo, you said you had something to say to me.¡± ¡°Ah, that¡­.¡± I put the finished dalgona coffee in front of Choi Yichan. ¡°Just ¡­ I was going to say that now that I¡¯m back, I want to drink the coffee you make.¡± Choi Yichan picked up a piece of dalgona and chewed it. There was a crunching sound. He wasn¡¯t lying when he claimed that he wanted to drink my coffee, judging from the light bar twinkling above his head. I noticed that Choi Yichan swallowed what he was originally going to say to me and changed the subject. Should I ask for more details? If he¡¯s changing the subject because it¡¯s a difficult words to bring up, wouldn¡¯t it be better to just not ask? ¡°Eih, I thought something¡¯s happening. I can listen to you as much as you want without having to say something so vague like that.¡± I answered lightly and thought about it in my mind. Putting down the glass after a sip, Choi Yichan talked again. The smile that always hung on his face faded. ¡°Kwon Ri, the man from before¡­.¡± ¡°Before? Who do you mean?¡± ¡°The man I saw on the day we returned from the dungeon.¡± It was an ambiguous expression, but I immediately understood who he was talking about. ¡°Ah, Yoohyun-ssi?¡± ¡°Yes, that person. What is your relationship with him?¡± I was about to answer Choi Yichan¡¯s question, but I felt a strange gaze and turned my head. Ash and the animals, who were supposed to be watching TV in the next room, poked their heads out through the crack in the door. ¡°¡­.waeong.¡± When our eyes met, they pretended not to see me, but it was already too late. What¡¯s wrong with them? They looked like our conversation was more exciting than watching TV. I came back after replenishing snacks for my distracted family. What¡¯s my relationship with Ki Yoohyun? I know his true identity and his regression. The remaining answer was short, as I could not say that I felt a sense of homogeneity as a fellow regressor. ¡°Hmm ¡­ I¡¯d say we¡¯re close friends. I got a lot of help from him.¡± Coincidentally, shortly before Choi Yichan arrived at the store, Ki Yoohyun called. He informed me that I would not be able to contact him for a few days because he had some business to do. While on the phone, when I mentioned that I had decided to get help from Grandma Kim Deokyi to deal with the ticket scalpers, he said it was a good idea. Later, he added. ¡ª Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll do something as well. ¡°Is that ¡­ you¡¯re not saying that you¡¯re going to find out what they look like and deal with them, are you?¡± ¡ª Eh. I can¡¯t use such an ignorant method. ¡°Hey, Yoohyun-ssi, I think law-abiding awareness is important.¡± ¡ª Hahaha¡­. The phone was cut off with a cheerful but uneasy laugh and goodbye. As I reflected on my conversation with Ki Yoohyun, Choi Yichan looked at me with a thoughtful expression. ¡°You got help ¡­ from him. Is that all?¡± ¡°Yup.¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s fine if it¡¯s still like that.¡± The grin somehow bothered me. ¡°Yichan-ah?¡± The moment I was about to ask again. ¡°I¡¯ve decided to join The White Silver Guild.¡± ¡°What? Why?¡± I remembered a conversation I had with Choi Yichan before. It was not long after he became an S-Class. He had firmly stated that he had no intention of joining a guild. Why did he suddenly change his mind? ¡°Don¡¯t tell me Kwon Jiwoon forced you to do so?¡± ¡°Ahaha, no. I asked him to join The White Silver Guild.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad if that¡¯s the case ¡­ why did you change your mind?¡± ¡°Kwon Ri ¡­ Rieul-ah.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± He took a light breath and spoke calmly. ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to you that I¡¯m still alive like this and become an S-Class.¡± ¡°What? No. That¡¯s not what happened. Your humility is too much.¡± It¡¯s true that I did various things to obtain the dark etheric item because I did not want to repeat the tragedy of the pre-regression past. However, the achievement is obviously his. In order to save the children, Choi Yichan jumped into the crack by himself and overcame it on his own. All I did was spice things a little. I heard he raised his level a lot while he was gone. Level 40. Isn¡¯t that effort also done by himself? Even though I said so, Choi Yichan shook his head. ¡°Now that I have obtained this power ¡­ I want to do what I can in return.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± Maybe it¡¯s because of the mood, his eyes seemed to be gleaming sharply.for a moment. The tip of Choi Yichan¡¯s finger touched my hand that was placed on the table casually. Even though it touched just a little, Choi Yichan was startled and removed his hand. The atmosphere is strange. Choi Yichan added, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. ¡°So, I don¡¯t think I can do a part-time job here. I¡¯m here to say I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°Huh? Well, of course you can¡¯t. You¡¯re officially doing hunter activities. That¡¯s right, if Kwon Jiwoon gives you hard time, let me know.¡± ¡°Hahaha¡­.¡± Choi Yichan closed his eyes and smiled. He has an easy-going personality, an unreserved attitude, and even a bright smile. He is the Choi Yichan that I know, and yet now he seems to be somewhat complicated. I felt strange when I realised that I haven¡¯t meet someone who wasn¡¯t like this. Ki Yoohyun, who said that he is a regressor, is trying to seal the Demon God. The same goes for Choi Cedric, who seemed to be worried about his sickly younger sister. Now, it¡¯s Choi Yichan. There are only people with complicated circumstances around me. Gee, I couldn¡¯t believe I did a regression, but I¡¯m the only one who is simple? ¡°Waeooong, waeoolg (End of the story. Play with me)!¡± ¡°Kkyuuuu!¡± At that time, Mieum and Lime popped out of the next room with a loud noise. ¡°Hahaha, yes, yes. Come here.¡± Choi Yichan held Mieum and Lime in each hand and juggled them. I could hear the cries of our house¡¯s animals, who excitedly spinning in the air. Thank God. I¡¯m still less simple than them. Heck, I inadvertently compared myself to a cat. As a human being, I feel a sense of crisis¡­.. *** Tiling! It was one gloomy afternoon when Jinwoo heard the Hunter Channel note notification. ¡®Hehe, another one caught.¡¯ Jinwoo recently made a lot of money. It was due to the transaction for the numbered ticket of Cafe Rieul. It¡¯s none of his business what the cafe is all about and why all Hunters are making fuss about the coffee. The only important thing was the piece of paper that could order a drink was traded for at least 10 rubies and an average of 20 rubies. A cafe in a remote place in front of the Dungeon Gate suddenly rose to stardom. They rake up money every day. so it wouldn¡¯t be obvious if he stole some money from the stupid Hunters. It¡¯s mutually beneficial. One thing that bothers him is that the cafe owner recognized him. She has good eyes. He doesn¡¯t know how she remembered him in that large crowd. Still, it¡¯ll be annoying if he get caught. ¡®Hmm, I should save myself for the time being.¡¯ After peeling off and eating the stupid Hunters until today. However, the note contained something he had not expected. ¡°He said he would sell me numbered ticket ¡­? This much?¡± It was about wanting to sell the numbered ticket of Cafe Rieul at 3 rubies per ticket. It¡¯s a lot cheaper than the market price. Jinwoo went to meet the person who sent the note with a half-doubt. If it smells fishy, he doesn¡¯t have to make a deal. It was based on the calculation that there was nothing to lose just by meeting him. The place of the deal that went out like that. The opponent was a young boy who looked like someone who was ignorant of the world. He held out three numbered tickets to him while paying attention to his surroundings with a clumsy attitude. The calculator ran quickly in Jinwoo¡¯s head. At least 20 rubies per numbered ticket, and 30 rubies at best. It was a tremendous business. ¡°You¡¯re going to sell this to me? Three rubies per ticket?¡± ¡°Yes ¡­ I don¡¯t have time to go get coffee ¡­ Looking at the Hunter Channel, it seems like you¡¯re trading the numbered ticket, so I was wondering if you¡¯d get this too¡­.¡± Jinwoo spoke in a condescending manner as if he had been generous. ¡°I¡¯ll give you 10 rubies for three tickets.¡± ¡°¡­.! Thank you.¡± However, before the other person who received the 10 rubies goes back, he suddenly said this. ¡°I ¡­ I can trade numbered tickets tomorrow as well. The day after tomorrow too.¡± ¡°¡­.is that true?¡± The other person said that there are numbered tickets that can be obtained through connections, and that he can sell three tickets every day. He was a total pushover. Jinwoo was about to tell him to bring as much as he wanted right away. ¡°But ¡­ instead, there is a condition.¡± CH 111 ¡°What?¡± ¡°Umh, don¡¯t be so surprised ¡­ I¡¯d like to get an advance payment¡­..¡± Instead of constantly receiving the payment when he¡¯s selling the numbered ticket, he asked for 100 rubies of the sale price first. ¡°Haha, there¡¯s an item that I want to buy, but I have to pay the balance by today ¡­ If you¡¯re unable to do it, I¡¯ll find someone else.¡± ¡°Huh, wait, wait. You¡¯re so impatient!¡± Jinwoo did the calculating again. 100 rubies was a quite big expenditure for his pocket. However, it is a waste to miss such a pushover. If he went to another merchant while Jinwoo was busy hesitating, he might realize that he got scammed. Furthermore, Jinwoo has to be careful for a while because the cafe owner remembered his face. He can¡¯t do this business for the time being. ¡°Hmm¡­.¡± Yeah, damnit. If he sells the numbered ticket, he can get the 100 rubies back in no time. ¡°Well, let¡¯s do that! I¡¯ve used my generosity.¡± Of course, Jinwoo is not a pushover. Therefore, he carefully checked not only the opponent¡¯s contact information but also his Hunter ID Card. The advance payment was paid only after writing a simple contract with personal information. Jinwoo, who took the numbered tickets, hurriedly left. The remaining trading partner smiled and held his phone in his hand. A short dialing sound went on before the call is connected. His expression no longer bears any awkwardness. ¡°Hello. I took care of it as you told me. It¡¯s useless to keep this money, so I¡¯ll donate it to an appropriate place.¡± ¡ª Okay. ¡°You owe me a debt, right?¡± ¡ª ¡­¡­.. The other person cut off the call without giving an answer. He¡¯s such a heartless man. The man used his index finger to sweep the Hunter ID Card he just showed to Jinwoo. As the illusion spell was erased, the original letter, the name of the illusionist Oh Seoho, appeared. A Hunter who occupied the 18th place in the ranking, but now he was more widely known as an entertainer. Still, his ability to manipulate illusions was real. ¡®What on earth is that cafe that making even the No. 1 ranker cares about a fly?¡¯ His curiosity arises. Let¡¯s find out on his own sometime soon. *** ¡°What¡¯s going on here¡­.?¡± As soon as Jinwoo returned home, he posted a numbered ticket of Cafe Rieul sales post on the Hunter Channel. However, it was weird. Usually, messages would have poured out before 10 minutes went by, but he received none this time. Did he get blocked because he posted a sales post? There¡¯s no way. He changed his nickname several times so that he wouldn¡¯t get caught easily. ¡°Hmm¡­¡­¡± Looking at the clock, there is not much time left until the cafe opens. He¡¯ll have to deal with all these numbered tickets before then. He felt nervous. Jinwoo made up his mind and wrote another sales post by drastically lowering the price. However, this time, let alone message, the number of views of the post hardly increased. This is a completely different reaction than before. ¡®Is it out of fashion?¡¯ Jinwoo put a search term related to on the Hunter Channel and then clicked on the latest post. [Chatting] My heart is racing,, (4) Upvotes: 38 / Downvotes: 0 Writer: Sweet Sugar ?????? There was a dungeon that I couldn¡¯t get through because of the damage caused by the frozen attribute I was on the verge of being frozen myself because I ran out of the non-freezing potions. I cleared it because they gave me coffee through that strange door. Thank you It was an emergency, but they only received the payment in regular price;?? ¡ª OO: God R ¡ª Consignment Shop No. 2: The light that descended to the desolate Hunter World T_T ¡ª red***: To be honest, it seems like the price of the drink is too cheap. Does she get any profits after selling it so cheaply? ©¸ MM: LOL The pharmacist bastards who asked a sick person in front of them to pay express fees are animals They still filled with all kinds of plagues with coffee, which was not a big deal. So it doesn¡¯t seem to have gone out of fashion, but the numbered tickets still doesn¡¯t get sold. Damn, it looks like he¡¯s just wasting money. Jinwoo, who was in conflict while looking at the clock, got up. He was going to buy coffee with this numbered ticket himself and sell it. It¡¯s tight because there¡¯s a time limit on maintaining the coffee¡¯s condition, but it could also be sold at a high price if he caught a good pushover. But¡­. ¡°Hmm¡­.?¡± The cafe owner, who received the numbered ticket, tilted her head as if it were strange. Then, she returned the ticket to Jinwoo. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but you can¡¯t buy coffee with this.¡± ¡°What? I have a numbered ticket, so why can¡¯t I buy it?¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t get this yourself, did you?¡± The cafe owner pointed to a small mark on the corner of the numbered ticket. ¡°This numbered ticket has the binding effect to the first owner. If you were the first owner, it would glow, but there is no response.¡± The binding effect is usually given only to high-end equipment or items. It¡¯s astounding to use such a thing for a piece of paper. Still, the money already invested had to be recovered. Jinwoo lied with a calm face. ¡°I got it from a friend. It¡¯s not like friends can accept it for each other.¡± ¡°Still, we have a rule that you should come to buy it on your own.¡± ¡°My friend told me to try the coffee here. Are you asking me to throw away his sincerity to the ground?!¡± Jinwoo¡¯s stubborn attitude made the cafe owner take a step back. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I can only accept it this time¡­.¡± However, Jinwoo hardened his face when he heard the cafe owner¡¯s next words. ¡°The drink also has a bind effect, so the effect only works when the original owner drinks it. Is that okay with you?¡± ¡°¡­¡­!¡± Crush. Jinwoo crumpled the numbered ticket in his hand. ¡°What do you mean by binding?! What about my money!¡± ¡°Money? This cafe doesn¡¯t charge a reservation fee, right?¡± He was beaten. His gut instinct told him that this isn¡¯t accident. He was tricked. The stupid man, who took the advance payment with a lame excuse, hit him in the back of his head. He must have taken the money knowing about the binding effect. He was enraged at the thought that he had been caught by a pushover. ¡°You! You conspired with that nerd and took my money!¡± ¡°What? What are you talking about?¡± If he thinks about it a little bit, he¡¯ll realise that it¡¯s a ridiculous speculation. However, the fact that he got caught by someone that he thought was a pushover made him lose his reasoning. All eyes are on him. He heard whispers behind his back. He was furious, but he couldn¡¯t make a fuss because the Hunter, who stood in line behind him and stared at him, looked strong. ¡°Keuheum, no, whatever. I¡¯ll end this for now¡­.¡± In the end, Jinwoo faltered and stepped back. It was an excellent display of the strong and the weak. But. ¡°Customer-nim, wait a minute. Take this with you.¡± The cafe owner held out something. It was a cup of drink. ¡°Are you trying to drug me?¡± Tak, he knocked the cup off and tried to pour it onto the floor. Chill. Again, he felt a sharp gaze behind his back. It seemed like they wouldn¡¯t let him go if he refused the favor or spilled this drink. ¡®These pushover guys¡­.¡¯ Although he muttered those swear words on his mind, he had no confidence to confront them. Jinwoo, who had long embodied the attitude of ¡®strong-to-the-weak and weak-to-the-strong¡¯, grumbled and received the cup. A system notification immediately popped up. [You are identified as the original owner.] [Item: Lemonade has a binding effect.] *** I held the binding sign-pen in my hand. Then, without hesitation, I carefully marked the numbered tickets I had prepared in advance. I was able to effectively block the tickets scalpers with this pen. There was confusion among the customers for about a day after I announced that the numbered tickets and drinks will have a binding effect, but it was quickly sorted out. Most of the customers were happy to drive out the resellers. ¡°Hmm, that¡¯s weird¡­.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± I must have said it out loud without even realizing it. Ash poked his head from the side. I shook my head and told him it was nothing, then Iwent back to work. ¡°As expected, it¡¯s strange¡­.¡± Why doesn¡¯t the quest completion notification appear? No more traders are in sight. I searched the Hunter Channel just in case, but there was no post about tranding numbered ticket or coffee. Then isn¡¯t it done? It¡¯s done, right? Is it because I complained that they¡¯re stingy with the rewards before? [This is the reward we have prepared with our utmost effort. Let¡¯s cherish it. ?(???)?] They¡¯re sulking¡­. Yeah, I¡¯m sorry for calling you stingy. I¡¯ll treasure it. I said that, but the quest completion notification still didn¡¯t ring. I opened the quest window and checked the completion conditions again. [Drive out the merchant who takes unfair advantage: (Incomplete)] No other conditions are written. So, what else do I have to do to clear this quest? The question was soon resolved. ¡°What about my money!¡± This is because a merchant who seemed to have been drawn by the big picture appeared. ¡®Ash, calm down. It¡¯s fine.¡¯ I calmed Ash, who was about to jump out immediately. The merchant was angry, but he couldn¡¯t do anything more because he was concerned about the eyes around him. He looked around and then slowly stepped back. By the way, does anyone feel a sense of deja vu in this situation? It reminded me of the time when a journalist came to our cafe before. It was nice to see the journalist¡¯s name on the main page of the portal site from time to time. He seemed to be walking on the path of a true journalist. And what purified the journalist¡¯s heart is¡­. ¡®That¡¯s it.¡¯ I handed the lemonade to the merchant with a half-doubt. ¡°Are you trying to drug me?¡± The merchant, who tried to refuse at first, could not overcome the pressures from his surrounding and reluctantly took the lemonade cup. And he drank it. ¡°¡­¡­!¡± He made a surprised face and emptied all the remaining lemonade. The merchant looked at me with clear eyes. ¡°I ¡­ I have lived the wrong life.¡± As expected, it¡¯s like this again¡­. It would be boring if I told you everything I¡¯ve already experienced once, so I¡¯ll summarize it briefly. Anyway, he will live a good life from now on; the story that he told me was something like that. [Congratulations! You have completed ¡®Sub Quest: Let¡¯s Eradicate The Black Ticket Trade and Find The Light¡¯. Please collect the rewards.] [Experience: 10 EXP have been acquired.] [You have obtained the Silver Teaspoon.] [Fame: 1 / Popularity: 2 have been acquired.] [¡¯s current Grade: D] [Item: Silver Teaspoon (¡ï¡ï¡î¡î¡î) It¡¯s just a teaspoon. Surprisingly, it can also be used as a weapon. Type: High-Speed Short-Range Weapon Attack: 1 Note: It will discolor when it touches poison.] As soon as the merchant was purified, a notification of the completion of the quest popped up. I was lost in thought for a moment, skimming through the status window. So far, there have been many other customers who have ordered and drank this lemonade. However, their impressions were usually in this way. ¡°I feel refreshed somehow.¡± ¡°It seems to clear my head, but I¡¯m not sure¡­.¡± ¡°I think it helps me relax¡­.¡± The words were more equivocal than a health supplement promotional phrase. To put it bluntly, this meant that there was no special buff effect. However, it has had a tremendous effect on some people to reflect on their lives. Does ¡®purifying the mind¡¯ mean purifying small evil? If so, wouldn¡¯t it be possible to purify something greater by raising the grade of lemonade? And maybe we can make a world free of misdemeanors by letting a lot of people drink it? Uhm, seriously, I got a little scared because I thought it would be possible. Translator¡¯s Corner: Finally we¡¯re done with this ARC. Personally, it was always satisfying to see Rieul using lemonade T__T Next chapter will be on the day after tomorrow, so you guys can come back by then! It was nice to see there¡¯s so many familiar names still showing up even after the vague hiatus¡­. CH 112 After I had eliminated the tickets scalper, the cafe was operated in peace and mid-December arrived to our door. The streets were completely soaked in Christmas mood. I am also excited by the unique atmosphere of the end of the year. Should I play carols as store background music in Cafe Rieul? It would be nice to order decorations and decorate the cafe interior for Christmas. At the end of the day, I was looking at the Christmas goods sales page on my phone with such thoughts. Suddenly, the door opened. ¡°Hohohoho, merry Christmas!¡± Santa appeared. ¡°Huh ¡­ uncle?¡± To be precise, it was my uncle dressed as Santa. ¡°Dang, to find out the identity of this Santa right away like that. My niece has a very sharp eye.¡± ¡°That ¡­ it¡¯s usual to find out about it.¡± The cotton beard was on the verge of falling off his face. My uncle cleared his throat and fixed his beard. Red Santa suit and hat. In his hand, he was carrying a gift pouch and a large fir tree. He only has a simple makeup on, but it gave off a pretty plausible atmosphere. ¡°How have you been, niece? This is your Christmas present.¡± My uncle gave me a fir tree just the right size to use as a decoration tree. However, there was one problem with this tree. It¡¯s not artificial, it¡¯s a real tree. ¡°Uncle, it¡¯s illegal to bring coniferous trees from the mountains!¡± ¡°Hohoho! Don¡¯t worry, niece! I bought it at the market.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯m glad.¡± I thought it would be a good idea to decorate this fir tree to create a Christmas atmosphere. I accepted the tree after thanking him. Would it be okay if I put it next to the counter? While contemplating where to put the fir tree, my uncle added with a serious expression. ¡°My nephew, make sure to remember what your Uncle said. It¡¯s best to pay for everything.¡± ¡°Ahaha, yes¡­.¡± I know he left the Hunter World to enjoy his life as a natural person, but¡­. He seems to have suffered a lot during this time. My uncle had become an ardent follower of the modern consumer society. I sincerely agree that it is better to pay for a living. From growing coffee to making sugar, now even milking the milk on my own ¡­ I didn¡¯t practice it much because I¡¯m running an extreme DIY cafe. My uncle took out three gift boxes from his gift pouch. Mieum, Lime, and Ash each had one share. ¡°Then this Santa Claus should give presents to the good children.¡±¡¯ ¡°Waeoooong (You know the greatness of this body and pay tribute to it)!¡± ¡°Kkyuu, kkyu!¡± ¡°Santa Claus ¡­ the one who originated from Saint Nicholas and distributes gifts on the eve of Christmas. ¡° ¡°Hohoho! Yes, you know it well. It¡¯s as if it¡¯s just been scratched from the wiki.¡± Mieum and Lime¡¯s gift was a new rice bowl, and Ash¡¯s gift was a do-it-yourself architectural miniature. Aside from the animals who were already excitedly running around the new bowl, would something like a miniature suit Ash¡¯s taste? I glanced at Ash¡¯s expression. ¡°Cut this part and apply glue ¡­ hmm.¡± He was already reading the assembly manual. He seems to like it. ¡°Ah, I¡¯ll make you something to drink. What would you like?¡± ¡°Then, I¡¯ll have Irish coffee.¡± ¡°Okay, please sit down for a moment.¡± I headed in front of the espresso machine to make coffee. My uncle¡¯s request was heard again behind my back. ¡°Niece, I¡¯d like my Irish coffee with lots of whiskey and no coffee.¡± Then isn¡¯t it just whiskey, not coffee? I didn¡¯t follow my uncle¡¯s instructions and handed him an Irish coffee with exactly the right amount of whiskey. ¡°How have you been?¡± ¡°Keuh, haaa! After all, the taste of civilization is good!¡± He took a sip of coffee and put on a thrilled expression. Hmm, it looks like he¡¯s been through a lot. My uncle told me his story. It¡¯s not unusual to start a natural life without preparation, but there were many hardships. It is said that it was a time to realize the importance of electricity, water, heating, and other civilizations. His YouTube channel, which he started to open the second act of life, has 11 subscribers and the highest number of views 53 times. Sadly, he had no choice but to give up his dream of becoming a YouTube star and go down the mountain. ¡°Dang ¡­ my friends, I even sent them a link on Kakaotalk! The ¡®1¡® mark disappeared, but why isn¡¯t the number of YouTube views going up?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­.¡± Actually, I didn¡¯t watch Uncle¡¯s YouTube either. I¡¯m sorry. After emptying the coffee, my uncle took off his Santa¡¯s top because it¡¯s hot and hung it on a chair. After that, he put his hand on his chin and asked me a question. ¡°So, what is the thing that made my niece curious that she wanted to see this big Uncle?¡± ¡°I want to know about my grandmother.¡± His face, which was more than half covered by the made-of-cotton beard, had a serious expression. He looked as if he had been reminiscing the memories from a long time ago. ¡°Did Grandmother ever live in a cabin in the woods?¡± ¡°Hmm, and?¡± ¡°Also, I wonder if you know about the abilities that Grandmother had. Cthugha said that she could read the stream of stars.¡± ¡°The streams of stars. Well, for a crazy rice cooker, he used the exact expression.¡± What a crazy rice cooker ¡­ it was a nickname that made me feel a little sorry for Cthugha. My uncle lifted himself from the chair. He recited low, looking out of the window. ¡°Stars. Yeah, it¡¯s the stars.¡± It was the time when the day has passed and darkness has fallen. The starlight was exceptionally clear today. As I raised my head following my uncle¡¯s gaze, I saw countless stars. It must be because of my mood, but it felt like the stars were looking this way. ¡°There are Gods who want to manipulate this world as they please. They are called by different names. Voices, Stars, The Constellations, Gods of Another World ¡­ the system calls them The Great Ones.¡± The uncle stopped talking for a moment and burst into laughter. ¡°Isn¡¯t that funny, niece? There is a degree of self-consciousness to claim greatness with their own mouths.¡± ¡°Hahaha ¡­ uh, yes.¡± ¡°The system is a tool for those self-conscious transcendents to intervene in the life of humans without defying the causality.¡± The smiling eyes turned to me. ¡°Isn¡¯t it strange? The system window that resembles a game gives us power.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°Transcendents try to manipulate us through the system.¡± My uncle spoke very cynically about the system. Maybe that¡¯s the reason. My uncle, who was a Hunter, seemed more comfortable now that he had lost his awakening ability. ¡°¡­waeoong.¡± As if wanting to refute my uncle¡¯s words, Mi-eum let out a small cry. However, she just rolled her eyes didn¡¯t say anything more. She seemed to be lost in her own mind. ¡°My mother ¡­ her eyes were special.¡± A beat later, I realized that those words answered my question. ¡°Her eyes?¡± ¡°Yes. An eye that can read the Causality. It is also called The Fairy Eyes.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± Even before dungeons were created in the world and the Awakeneds appeared, my grandmother was said to have seen things others could not see. My uncle chuckled, telling me that if she had acted as a fortune teller, she would have made a lot of money. ¡°And when her children grew up to a certain extent, she left behind a letter saying that she will solve the tangled casuality.¡± He said he wasn¡¯t surprised. In in the eyes of my uncle, Grandmother seemed like someone who would leave at any moment. ¡°It must have been then that the crazy rice cooker met mother. She said lived somewhere quiet.¡± ¡°The tangled casuality ¡­ is it resolved?¡± My uncle shook his head. That¡¯s something only my grandmother knows. I remembered my grandmother who was strong and kind. I wish I had known more about my grandmother before she passed away. The grandmother in my uncle¡¯s story feels like a stranger. After we finished the conversation, my uncle prepared to go back. ¡°You¡¯re going to see Oppa, right? I¡¯ll call him in advance.¡± ¡°No, not yet. I have job to do.¡± ¡°Huh? Can¡¯t you just contact Oppa first? What are you going to do?¡± My uncle put on the top of Santa¡¯s clothes again, which he had taken off, and carefully checked to see if any part of his beard had fallen off when he was undressed. ¡°Hohoho! Santa Claus has only one job to do. It is to give presents to the good children.¡± ¡°¡­what?¡± I¡¯m afraid he¡¯s serious. I could already see Kwon Jiwoon grabbing his throbbing forehead. ¡°Wait, hold on! Uncle, just one. Tell me one more thing please!¡± My uncle was about to leave after saying he was busy delivering gifts before Christmas. I grabbed my uncle¡¯s sleeve in a hurry and poured out the question. ¡°Cthugha told me that Grandmother suddenly disappeared from the cabin without a word. When and why did Grandmother, who had left like that, return?¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°¡­.Uncle?¡± Frozen as if he was recollecting old memories, he was silent for a moment. ¡°My mother returned¡­.¡± The trembling breath filled with unspeakable emotions. ¡°My younger brother and his wife, that ¡­ niece, she returned after she heard that your parents had died.¡± *** It¡¯s late. I had to prepare for tomorrow¡¯s business and get ready to sleep. Long after my uncle left, I got up from sitting in a daze. ¡°Ash, you must be tired, so get some rest.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°¡­.Ash?¡± There was no answer. When I looked at Ash, he was already immersed in making miniatures. With a serious expression on his face, he cut and sanded the parts. How did he pick such a perfect gift for Ash¡¯s taste? Did Uncle and Ash become really close at the camping? Anyway, I¡¯ll leave him alone because it looks like he¡¯s having fun. I was going to leave Ash alone and go into the space for a while, but this time, Mieum blocked my way. CH 113 ¡°Waeoong¡­.¡± ¡°Mieum-ah, what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Waeuung, The Great System, they cannot act against your will.¡± ¡°Really?¡± She must have been bothered by what my uncle said a while ago. Mieum rolled her eyes and added after staring at me for a long time. ¡°This much is true. Believe me, waeooong!¡± My uncle had a point about the system. The system, or rather, the Saintess, had given me abilities with a certain intention, Still, now it is also true that the skills and quests the system gave me are helping me. So¡­. I smiled and poked Mieum¡¯s soft cheek. ¡°Really? Mieum-ah, whose side are you on? Is it me or the system?¡± ¡°Waeong, waeooooong! That question is frivolous!¡± Like a child who was asked, ¡®Do you like your mom or dad?¡¯, Mieum was torn. She glanced at me for a while before she replied in a small voice. ¡°Of course ¡­ Human, I like you better¡­.¡± ¡°Out! Your answer timed out. I¡¯m not giving you snacks today.¡± ¡°I, I¡¯m trying to answer seriously ¡­ did you make fun of me, waeoong!¡± ¡°Oh, I got caught.¡± ¡°Kyayakyakyaoo!¡± Pak. A meow punch flew in. In the meantime, I must have gotten very attached to this cat. Teasing her gave me so much fun. No matter how the system works. ¡®I wish you¡¯d continue to be my cat¡­.¡¯ I went into the space with Lime and Mieum. The cat was glaringly sulky. ¡°Mmoooo!¡± Cornelia Longinus, who had spotted Lime, came running from the barn. She licked Lime with her tongue. For your information, Cornelia Longinus is the name of this Golden Triangular Rhinoceros. ¡­ in my defence, I didn¡¯t make up the name. Seriously. I couldn¡¯t think of a good name for the Golden Triangular Rhino, so I decided to ask everyone in the house for suggestions. We were going to have a vote and choose democratically. But¡­. ¡°How about Bieup?¡± Candidate No. 1, this is my opinion. ¡°Isn¡¯t it okay to call it Spot, waeoong!¡± Candidate No. 2, Mieum¡¯s opinion. ¡°Kkyuuu! Kkyuuu!¡± Candidate No. 3, when translated, means Pythagoras. I guess it¡¯s Pythagoras because it¡¯s a triangular rhinoceros. ¡°Belial. Hoho, I named it, but it¡¯s a nice name.¡± Candidate No. 4, Ash¡¯s opinion. I looked it up and it was the name of a demon. There were four candidates, but everyone insisted that their name was the best, so there was no consensus at all. The vote ended in a tie, and after much debate, we decided to let the Golden Triangular Rhinoceros decide for herself. ¡°Mmmeh! Mmmoo!¡± But this cow snorted and got furious. [Summon: The Golden Triangular Rhinoceros in love reveals her name.] [Name: Cornelia Longinus] That¡¯s, umh, an elegant and wonderful name. [Cornelia Longinus angrily asks why you¡¯re trying to pick someone else¡¯s name.] Uh, I¡¯m sorry¡­. ¡°Mooo!¡± As if accepting the apology, the Golden Triangular Rhino nodded. That¡¯s how I learned this cow¡¯s name. I put a new bucket in Cornelia¡¯s barn. I thought I should give this cow a Christmas present, so I prepared it. I also replaced the full milk jug with a new one. It was just when I finished my work, and I was going out with a bucket of milk. ¡°¡­..?¡± Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a slate roof. It was the roof of the cabin at the bottom of the cliff. That¡¯s right, over there. That¡¯s the place where I found the hand mirror at Grandma Kim Deokyi¡¯s request. There were traces of my grandmother there. How had I forgotten? Wait, no way. No, that¡¯s nonsense. It¡¯s unbelievable, but ¡­ perhaps that cabin was the place where my grandmother lived, the one that Cthugha spoke of. I put the milk jug back on the floor. ¡°Waeong, where are you going?¡± ¡°Kkyuuuu?¡± Leaving behind the call of the animals, I went down the cliff. After passing a small path through a gap in a pile of stones, a large space appears. The cabin remained on the border of the forest. I immediately opened the door and went inside. The room was like a living room with a thick carpet. There was a small door behind the table I hadn¡¯t noticed it when I first came to this place because it was hidden by the furniture. Beyond the door was an old-fashioned kitchen. A piece of charcoal remained in the fireplace. It was a sign of human habitation. I knew it right away. This is the cabin that Cthugha was talking about. ¡°¡­¡­.¡± My head was spinning. Until now, I hadn¡¯t really questioned the identity of this space. A forest shrouded in mist on all sides.. You can¡¯t see beyond the dense forest because there are no paths. So, I just assumed it was a closed space for planting and growing crops. If the cabin that Cthugha said is really here, where the hell is this space? Unrefined questions popped out and stirred my head. No, this is not the time. There may be another traces of my grandmother left here. Let¡¯s find it. There¡¯s definitely something that could be a hint¡­. However, the cabin is empty, with no plausible objects in sight. In the end, I stick my hand into the unlit fireplace, just in case. When I stirred through the crumbled ash, something solid reached my hand. ¡°¡­¡­this is it.¡± It was a notebook. I swept the dirty surface with my palm. In the corner, my grandmother¡¯s name ¡®Park Heesun¡¯ was written. It looks like a diary. What could she have written in it? It was the moment when I sat down on the floor and opened the diary. ¡°Ugh¡­!¡± A blinding light burst from the blank pages of the diary. My mind was pulled into somewhere. With the sound of a fast rewind, my vision blurred. Before I knew it, I was in a pitch darkness. I¡¯ve already experienced this once. I noticed that I was seeing a vision. The video rewinds quickly in front of my eyes and stops at one scene. A strange voice is heard. ¡¾Our Foolish King.¡¿ ¡¾You may repeat the time of eons.¡¿ ¡¾If you can reach the end of Causality and awaken the King on the Throne of Darkness.¡¿ ¡¾Yes, even if it transcends eons of time.¡¿ Then, I felt my consciousness being sucked into the video. The next moment, I was in an unfamiliar space. It looked like a large auditorium. I inadvertently checked the floor. It was a solid ground, my footprints are imprinted in the dirt. It¡¯s the same as when the Saintess called me. The scene was too realistic to be a mere fantasy. What is different from then is the fact that there are many people here. Most of them were children who seemed to be in the upper grades of elementary school, and there were one or two adults who looked to be guiding them. What the hell is going on here? I walked around, trying to get a sense of the situation. However, these children didn¡¯t respond no matter how much I called them, as if they couldn¡¯t see me. Then, a familiar face caught my eye. ¡°Ah, hey, kid!¡± I reached out and grabbed the child by the shoulder. ¡°¡­.Yes?¡± Thank goodness. This boy heard my voice properly. The boy turned around, looking slightly annoyed. ¡°Don¡¯t you remember me? We¡¯ve met before.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡± On the way back from the Garden of Cthugha, this is the boy who led me. But the boy had a sulky look on his face, as if he didn¡¯t remember me. ¡°My name is Kwon Rieul. What¡¯s your name, kid?¡± ¡°My teacher told me not to tell my name to an adult I didn¡¯t know.¡± He was a very smart boy¡­¡­ ¡°Teacher? Is this a school?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know that? Noona, you¡¯re really suspicious. Are you not a real kidnapper?¡± ¡°Huh? No, I¡¯m not! I¡¯m the one who, uh, came to deliver goods! So I don¡¯t know, ahaha.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± I think I¡¯ve convinced him. That¡¯s good. It was a vision, but at least I didn¡¯t get accused of being a kidnapper. ¡°This is the Church.¡± ¡°What? What did you just say¡­.¡± I wanted to ask more details, but the boy didn¡¯t listen to me and brought up another topic. ¡°We¡¯re all gathered today because we¡¯re going on a field trip. I wanted to go to Jeju Island, but they say we¡¯re going to Gyeongju. Noona, have you ever been to Jeju Island?¡± ¡°Huh? Uh, I¡¯ve been there once.¡± ¡°Che, I envy you.¡± The boy kicked lightly on the floor. ¡°Rather than that, what do you mean by what you said earlier? What is ¡®Church¡®?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know that either? That¡¯s it, of course, The Church of Starry¡­.¡± Just then, a chime sounded in the auditorium. The boy stopped talking and turned his head. An adult was gathering the children. He must be the teacher. Behind him was a large door. It had an old-fashioned design that didn¡¯t look like it belonged in an auditorium. For what? Something about that door felt ominous. It¡¯s very ominous and ¡­ I have a gut feeling that it shouldn¡¯t be opened. ¡°Oh! It¡¯s time for the gathering, I have to go.¡± ¡°Wa-wait!¡± I reached out in a panic, but grabbed nothing but air. Tada, the boy ran three steps and smiled brightly at me. The smile looked so much like someone I knew. ¡°It was nice meeting you. My name is Ki Yoohyun.¡± ¡°¡­¡­!¡± The boy walked away. It was impossible for me to intervene in what happened next. In an instant, the view became distant and I had no choice but to watch the scene in front of me like a spectator. The door opened, and something dreadful beyond is about to be summoned. Only then did I realize what this place was for. No. All the kids here are going to die. An eerie premonition flashed through my mind. Soon, my surroundings turned into chaos. The children screamed in pain and fainted. The boy screamed and covered his ears. He looks distressed. No, what are you doing? You¡¯re going to get killed! I shouted, but my voice did not reach the other side. The moment when the slender body collapsed in a heap, unable to bear the pain. Slowly, the trembling stops. A net of light stretches out from the open doorway, wrapping around the boy¡¯s body and pulling him in. Ah, I see. This is his ¡®Awakening¡¯. A net of light surrounded and patched up the boy¡¯s once shattered mind. Guided by the web of light, the boy¡¯s soul¡­.. ¡¾Oh my, you were watching something like this.¡¿ ¡°¡­¡­!¡± It was the Saintess¡¯ voice. ¡¾Did you enjoy watching it?¡¿ ¡¾I¡¯m sorry, but I can¡¯t show you more than this.¡¿ ¡¾Now, go back, to your world.¡¿ ¡­¡­. ¡­¡­. My vision is blacked out. ¡°Heuk, huuh¡­.!¡± My forehead was damp with sweat. My eyes sting in the dim sunlight. When I came to my senses, I was crouching in front of an unlit fireplace. ¡°Waeooong! Human, what are you doing there?¡± ¡°Kkyuuuu, kkyuu!¡± Mieum and Lime, who had followed me belatedly, jumped up and down in front of me. ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°Kyaoog! Don¡¯t touch me with soot-stained hands!¡± First of all, I¡¯m pretty sure that the boy I just saw in my vision is Ki Yoohyun¡¯s childhood self. I know up to that. But why did the boy I met on the path of the stars have the appearance of a young Ki Yoohyun? Is it the Time Paradox or something similiar that appears in a lot of movies? Didn¡¯t he go back in time? Is it actually time travel, not regression? CH 114 Moreover, young Ki Yoohyun. It was cute because he had a different personality from the present Ki Yoohyun, but if he¡¯s that young, I¡¯m in trouble ¡­.. aaaaaaaah, I shouldn¡¯t think about this. Let¡¯s calm down. If there¡¯s a problem, there¡¯s a solution. I looked around with the mindset of finding the answer sheet for a maths workbook. ¡°What are you mumbling all by yourself, waeooong!¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± Pass. She looks like she doesn¡¯t know anything. ¡°Are you ignoring me!¡± You¡¯re getting quick-witted day by day, Meeum-ah. I opened my grandmother¡¯s diary again, but I can¡¯t see the visions anymore. There was nothing written on it, just blank pages. Ki Yoohyun told me that he won¡¯t be able to be contacted for a few days. Even if it was possible, it would be awkward to suddenly ask about his childhood. It was difficult to explain how I knew about the past he had not told me about. It might arouse his suspicions. Most of all, his painful appearance, the explicit sight. Can I arbitrarily bring up the pain he didn¡¯t talk about just to get to the bottom of my question? Wouldn¡¯t my question dig up useless memories? Do I have the right to ask about his past? Then all that¡¯s left is¡­¡­. I got up and came out of the cabin. Keeping my distance from the flammable plants, I found a suitable clearing and opened the system window. [Skill: Eternal Flame (S) is used.] [You summon Cthugha.] Hwuuur. Cthugha appeared with a blazing flame. The flames slowly transformed into a human with red hair. However, the system notification did not end. [Attack the area in 10-meter radius with Eternal Flame.] [If you do not cancel within 10 seconds, it will be automatically executed. 10, 9, 8¡­.] ¡°Eek, cancel! Cancel!¡± [The attack has been canceled.] Gosh, I was surprised. What a scary ring. If it burn everything in a radius of 10 meter, won¡¯t I die too?! I took a closer look at the skill window. There was a small option selection window under the ¡®Eternal Flame (S)¡¯. [Automatic Attack: On ? / Off] To set the default setting of such a scary option to ¡®On¡® ¡­ I really couldn¡¯t be careless with this sytem. I quickly changed the option to ¡®Off¡¯. ¡°My granddaughter!¡± Cthugha, whose appearance became completely human, called me. ¡°Why have you never called me before? Do you know how bored ¡­ ahem, no, do you know how lonely I¡¯ve been?¡± Cthugha tried to hug me, but he stopped his action. He widened his eyes in surprise when he noticed the cabin on the border of the forest. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me, this place¡­.!¡± Dak dak. Cthugha ran towards the cabin. After passing through the empty living room, he spotted the fireplace in the kitchen and dropped to his knees. His sobs are muffled by the wind. ¡°Ooh¡­.¡± The answer is obvious from his reaction, but I still asked just to be sure. ¡°Is this where my grandmother used to live?¡± ¡°Yes, it is. I never thought I¡¯d be able to come back here¡­..¡± His head tilted at an angle. I watched him for a moment, then opened my mouth. ¡°I found this notebook here.¡± I briefly described the vision I saw when I opened the notebook, then Cthugha spoke. ¡°That looks like a fragment of causality left behind by Miss Heesun. To put it simply, a fragment of a broken link.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about¡­.¡± What is a fragment of a broken link? I don¡¯t think it¡¯s something real like a hair tie. ¡°Huh, Goodness! This is why mortals are doomed. I can¡¯t believe you can¡¯t understand this simple explanation. What should I call it ¡­ it is like a VR experience. Yes,a VR game that takes you into the past!¡± ¡°Aha¡­..¡± I finally nodded at the customized explanation. In other words, it was Ki Yoohyun¡¯s past. The image of the boy in pain flashed in my eyes. What did the Church do to him? Also, why did my grandmother leave a record of Ki Yoohyun and nothing else? She must not have known him in her lifetime. ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± We were both lost in thought, me being me and Cthugha being Cthugha. I finally broke the heavy silence by bringing up the words that I hesitated to say. ¡°You told me before that my grandmother left you without a word.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°My grandmother left this place because my parents died. The sudden loss of contact must have been unintentional, so¡­..¡± I trailed off, unable to find the right words. In the earliest years I can remember, my parents had already passed away. With no memory, there is no sorrow. It¡¯s just a vague sense of loss. The first rift. It refers to a large-scale rift that occurred simultaneously in various parts of the world shortly after the occurrence of the Great Dungeon Abyss. My parents were caught in the first rift and died. They said that I was the only one lucky enough to be rescued. All I have left is a photograph. ¡°I see ¡­ was it something like that?¡± Cthugha, who rose in front of the fireplace, left the cabin. This time, he stood on the cliff and crossed, lost in his own thought while looking down at the cabin. He looks wistful, as if he¡¯s searching for a time that no longer exists. The problem was that whenever his emotions fluctuated, flames erupted around him. This was a dangerous environment for him to set himself on fire. ¡°Aaah, be careful!¡± ¡°¡­¡­!¡± Cthugha, who almost burned all the dungeon sugarcanes after a sigh, winced. ¡°Hmm, Sorry. It wasn¡¯t intentional.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but over there, go over there.¡± Cthugha went to the place I pointed out and sat cross-legged. He sighed with a dreamy expression again. This time, however, the branch of the World Tree, Yggdrasil, was almost turned into firewood. ¡°My granddaughter, somehow there¡¯s so much combustible material here.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because this is a field¡­¡­.¡± Cthugha, who wandered around in this space, eventually settled in front of a box containing green coffee beans. Coffee was the only thing here that he could set fire at will. Apparently, Cthugha is used to being a gas burner himself. The fire roared to life, and soon there was a sound of beans being roasted. Smelling the strong coffee, I sank on the grass. Just as one question is solved, another arises. I said I wanted to be a cafe owner, not a detective. I¡¯m a person who reads mystery novels after checking the culprit spoiler first. ¡°Waeong¡­..¡± Then Mieum approached me. Lime wasn¡¯t with her, having gone to the Golden Triangular Rhino barn. ¡°Mieum-ah, what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t forget. You can do what you want to do.¡± ¡°What do I want to do?¡± ¡°What you wished for them in the first place. It¡¯s your job to do what you want to do. Waeuung¡­.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­¡­¡± I looked at Mieum quietly. Her expression was unusually serious. She looked desperate, as if she wanted to convey something. ¡°Our Mieum, for some reason, is saying the right thing.¡± ¡°I always say the right thing, waeoong!¡± ¡°Yes, yes.¡± I reached out my hand and stroked Mieum. Mieum ducked her head as if she was being bothered, but soon she purred. Yes, this cat is right. Phew, I almost got carried away. I was on the verge of becoming a person who agonized over the secrets of the world. Neither Ki Yoohyun¡¯s past nor the identity of the causality in my grandmother¡¯s vision could be known at this time. I opened the system window and checked the achievement list. Starting with the first ¡®Became a Beginner Cafe Owner¡® achievement, the latest achievement was written like this. ¡®You were determined to benefit the world with coffee¡®. What a clear and good statement. Let¡¯s save the question to another regressor for later, and let¡¯s do what we can before then. I¡¯m talking about cafe management. Just as I was organizing my thoughts, Cthugha approached me. ¡°Granddaughter, I roasted all the coffee here.¡± All that much already? Not only that, but the color was perfect. The fire had been carefully controlled to achieve the optimal roast. ¡°Hahahaha! I can do this for you as much as you want, so call me again.¡± Feeling proud of his actions, Cthugha went back on his own. I¡¯m glad he¡¯s feeling better¡­. There is an immortal who enjoy roasting coffee, so I should work hard too. After making such a simple yet progressive conclusion, I went back to the store in good spirits. ¡°Why now?¡± Ash, who should have been deeply engrossed in the architectural miniatures, grabbed my sleeve and pulled me along. ¡°Ash, what¡¯s wrong with you all of a sudden? Is something wrong?¡± ¡°Look at that!¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Ash pointed out the window. As I turned my head to follow his fingers, I was startled. A large placard was hung in a prominent location. ¡°We condemn Cafe Rieul¡­.?¡± It¡¯s really a cafe management with no windy day. *** Santa Claus, no, Kwon Seokmin hurried his steps. The streets were buzzing with the anticipation of Christmas. He doesn¡¯t feels out of place in a red Santa costume. Even those who give him a glance don¡¯t take him seriously, thinking it¡¯s a part of promotional event. There wasn¡¯t much time. This happened because it took longer than expected to retrieve the Tikkoun Elixir from the hidden altar on Jirisan Cheonwangbong Peak. The entrance to the altar is guarded by a watcher. However, Kwon Seokmin, who was disconnected from the system, was able to avoid the eyes of the watcher. After he escaped the Maze dungeon, this is a blessing in disguise. ¡°Tsk tsk, they said there could be a little time difference, but throwing away six years ¡­ it¡¯s a scam, a scam.¡± Kwon Seokmin grumbled to himself. The experience at the Maze dungeon was terrible enough for him not to want to recall. However, there are some things that he learned from this experience. ¡®It¡¯s amazing. This world is actually¡­¡­.¡¯ ¡°Long time no see. Where are you going that makes you so busy, Hunter Kwon Seokmin?¡± A cold voice cut off Kwon Seokmin¡¯s thoughts. Surprised, Kwon Seokmin turned to the direction where the sound came from. At the end of the narrow alley, a woman stood in front of him. She was dressed in a suit, her hair neatly combed. Her arms are crossed, the posture gives a feeling of composure unique to a successful person. ¡°I¡¯m just a passing Santa.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you remember? It¡¯s already been six years, but I¡¯ve met you at the guild leader¡¯s meeting.¡± ¡°I¡¯m getting older these days, so my memory is a little blurry¡­.¡± ¡°At that time, I was still just a representative of the new guild, but I shook hands with Hunter Kwon Seokmin.¡± Smile. Lee Sein smiled. ¡°¡­Heh.¡± After staring at her wordlessly for a moment, Kwon Seokmin clicked his tongue. ¡°Let¡¯s stop playing jokes that aren¡¯t funny. You¡¯ve already devoured that body, Aeon.¡± ¡°Uh-oh. Did you notice? Then this conversation will be fast.¡± The eyes shone coldly. ¡°How did you get out of it alive?¡± ¡°Tsk tsk, putting people in labyrinths. You¡¯re so mean to someone with a bad sense of direction, really.¡± ¡°The Infinite Labyrinth. It¡¯s a place that a mere mortal can never get out of, so what did you do?¡± ¡°Hahahaha! Hahahaha!¡± Kwon Seokmin burst into laughter. He leaned his back against the wall of the alley and laughed. At the same time, he scanned the surroundings. Three behind him, three in front. He¡¯s already surrounded. It¡¯s impossible for him to escape on his own. ¡°The incarnation of the Mad God Chaos. Seeing that you came looking for me, it seems you haven¡¯t found it yet, right?¡± The expression, who had Lee Sein¡¯s body, hardened fiercely. ¡°Where is the Grimoire?¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m getting older these days, so my memory is a little blurry. Where did I put it¡­¡­.¡± ¡°If you tell me the location of the Grimoire, I might be able to save you.¡± ¡°The children will resent you for interrupting Santa Claus as he delivers happiness to children.¡± Lee Sein smiled as if she had heard a funny joke. With a light gesture, the attackers surrounded Kwon Seokmin in a circle. ¡°As expected. It seems you have no intention of telling me the location.¡± ¡°¡­¡­Ugh!¡± From behind, a mysterious man attacked Kwon Seokmin. Puck! His vision went black. Kwon Seokmin was dragged away. PREVIOUS NEXT Translator¡¯s Corner: It¡¯s really a cafe management with no windy day: the expression used in this sentence comes from the proverb ?? ?? ???[???] ?? ? ?? ??, a tree with many branches doesn¡¯t have a peaceful day with the blowing wind. I used ¡°with no windy day¡± because the wind does not stop blowing that¡¯s why there¡¯s no windy day (since everyday has wind). Well, it means that a tree with many branches will always noisy because the branches will rustle and make noise even with a breeze/weak wind. It usually used to express that parents with many children will be under constant worries and concerns every day. Anyway, I think there¡¯s a lot of typos in this chapter so I¡¯ll comeback to check later skhsdskkjsjh I did this on my phone on hospital bed (nothing serious I swear, just apparently i¡¯m not suited with internship + volunteer works with too many physical activies, I¡¯ll stay in my bed and just keep this blog running from now on) instead of studying even though I have an online exam coming up tomorrow ¡­ please pray for me because it¡¯s an important exam T__T Oh, I was feeling blue lately and opening this blog gave me joy ¡­ I hope this blog will live for a long a time so please don¡¯t repost everything from here T__T This is my source of happiness¡­. and tomorrow is Valentine Day! I hope you guys get a lot of love! CH 115 ¡°Here¡¯s the drink you ordered.¡± As I handed the take-out cup to the customer and turned my head, I got startled. ¡®WE CONDEMN CAFE RIEUL¡¯ A large banner stole my attention. ¡°¡­¡­¡± There¡¯s a banner like that right across from the cafe, in a good view from the counter, so what can I say? It makes me look back at my life. ¡®Have I been living in the wrong way?¡¯ I¡¯ve been living a good life, without even jaywalking once. I was a little lazy after the regression, but anyone would do the same if they¡¯re walking on my shoes. Only people who work full-time and overtime during the weekdays, and still able to go to the gym at 5 a.m. on Saturday, can blame me, shit. ¡°Waeuung (You speak so proudly).¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± I did recycling yesterday, washed my hands, and renewed my certificate. What¡¯s the problem? Heck, I almost looked back in the past, fruitlessly searching for something to reflect on. ¡°Ash, wait a minute.¡± Unable to withstand the banner¡¯s self-reflection-inducing effect, I approached the banner. I need to know why they¡¯re condemning Cafe Rieul here. However, there was no group name or reason written on the banner. All it said was, ¡®We condemn Cafe Rieul¡®. Shashashak. As I approached, there was a sign of someone running from behind the banner. He hid in the corner of the alley and looked this way, but said nothing. ¡°Hey, if you have something to say, go ahead.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°Why did you put this up?¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± There was no answer. I guess I have no choice. I calmly turned on my phone and reported the illegal banner. Before long, a person from the district office collected the banners. Phew, I think I¡¯ll live. Later that evening, after the cafe was closed. ¡°Can I see the warehouse?¡± As soon as I took off my apron, Ash asked. ¡°Sure, but why? What do you need?¡± ¡°I¡¯m running low on building materials.¡± ¡°Okay, just go.¡± Ash has been obsessed with making architectural miniatures these days. However, he was not satisfied with making it according to the instructions of the miniature set and started to remodel the building himself. I don¡¯t know what on earth he¡¯s making because he haven¡¯t shown it to me yet. In any case, a proper hobby is welcome as it helps prevent the terrible workaholic disease. Labour detox is important. After sending Ash to the warehouse, I cleaned the hall with ¡®The Floor is Shiny¡® skill. When I switched off the light at the entrance and was ready to rest, suddenly there was a knock and the door opened. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. We¡¯re already closed for today.¡± ¡°I want to meet the owner of Cafe Rieul.¡± A strange man and woman stood at the door. They looked serious as if they knocked on the door with great determination. I could easily guess who they were. Under their coats, they wore T-shirts with ¡®We condemn Cafe Rieul¡® written on it. Aha, they¡¯re the ones who set up the illegal banner. I hesitated for a moment, but then offered them a seat, figuring I¡¯d at least hear their story about why they¡¯d put up such a banner. ¡°Anyway, since you¡¯ve come all the way here ¡­ can I get you something to drink?¡± ¡°¡­¡­!¡± I said so out of courtesy, but the two looked surprised. There is a clear sense of wariness on their faces. ¡°No, you can¡¯t take what the enemy gives you.¡± ¡°Enemy?¡± The woman calmed the man down and answered in his stead. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Just give us, uh, some cold water please.¡± If you say so¡­. I gave them two glasses of ice water and made my own hot caffe latte. The savory smell spread through the air. The soft and savory taste of coffee restored the energy that had been drained throughout the day. Their eyes focused on my coffee cup. They looked like they wanted to drink it¡­¡­. ¡°Would you like some?¡± ¡°A-ahem! No.¡± ¡°¡­¡­it¡¯s all right.¡± Well, if you refuse¡­. I took another sip of my caffe latte and asked. ¡°So, what is the reason for setting up such a banner in front of someone else¡¯s store?¡± ¡°That¡­.¡± After exchanging a quick glance, the two introduced themselves. The man was a healer from the Garden of Blessings, a guild specialising in Healers. He had circles under his eyes and looked tired. Meanwhile, the woman was a potion pharmacist and the head of the Central Pharmacy Guild, which belonged to the Potion Making Alliance. She had a long, flowing hair and an air of intelligence around her. As for the man, I feel like I¡¯ve seen him before. Hmm ¡­ I don¡¯t know. Since I can¡¯t remember him, it¡¯s probably nothing. ¡°What kind of bussiness a healer and a pharmacist might have with my cafe?¡± ¡°Ugh! Aren¡¯t you going too far?!¡± The healer snapped. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t pretend like you don¡¯t know. The drinks here at Cafe Rieul!¡± ¡°The drinks?¡± I blinked in confusion. The healer pounded on his chest and exclaimed. ¡°It¡¯s too cheap!¡± ¡°¡­¡­what?¡± After calming the angry healer, the pharmacist added a calm explanation. In short, the drinks at Cafe Rieul were so much cheaper than healers¡¯ fees and potion prices that they were driving customers away. ¡°That Cafe Latte has the effect of restoring 50% of your energy. How much are you selling it for?¡± ¡°Two rubies.¡± ¡°¡­¡­!¡± ¡°Oh my God, this is¡­..¡± They both sighed and put their hands on their foreheads. I spoke up, hoping to comfort them. ¡°Well, it¡¯s coffee, after all. It¡¯s not like we can drink it indefinitely ¡­ aren¡¯t there a lot of Hunters looking for healers and potions?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that simple. Look at this. There¡¯s stuff like this circulating in Hunchan.¡± The grim-faced pharmacist pulled a piece of paper from her coat pocket and held it out. It was a printed copy of the writings from Hunter Channel. At her urging, I looked at the paper. [Humor] Potion vs Cafe Rieul Comparison (233) Upvotes: 227 / Downvotes: 2 Writer: RubyCopyBug Debate closed. A landslide victory for CF. ¡ª Pink Jely Granny: agree agree ¡ª app***: agree agree ¡ª OO: agreeee ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ Similar comments followed below. In this post, they are talking about this. Potion is much more versatile and storable than coffee. Coffee has to be consumed within a certain amount of time, and there are fewer recipes than potions. There¡¯s also a need to mention the importance of healers who directly participating in a dungeon raids. It¡¯s just an internet meme, so they¡¯re exaggerating. I don¡¯t think anyone really means it¡­. ¡°Ha¡­..¡± Although I said so, the pharmacist still had a serious expression on her face. She sighed deeply and drank the cold water. Trying to cheer her up, I pointed to the last item on the table and said. ¡°Then, hey, why don¡¯t you try raising a cute animal?¡± Even if the rest didn¡¯t work out, she could still get an animal like I did. ¡°Waeoong?¡± ¡°Kkyuu?¡± The animals of my house, which were stretched in a liquid state in front of the heater, raised their heads quickly, thinking we were talking about them. I didn¡¯t call you, guys. Just stay there and play. ¡°I¡¯m raising one! But my dog doesn¡¯t like the smell of potions, so I can¡¯t take him with me.¡± ¡°Wow, do you have a dog? If you have any pictures, please show me.¡± ¡°Here, it¡¯s this puppy.¡± The pharmacist took out her phone and showed me an Instagram picture of a dog. It was a yellow puppy that looked like Injeolmi. ¡°Wow, he¡¯s so cute. Can I follow you on Instagram?¡± ¡°He¡¯s really smart. He¡¯s still young, but he already understands ¡®hand!''¡± ¡°Amazing! What¡¯s your puppy¡¯s name?¡± ¡°His name is¡­.¡± ¡°Keuheum, Ahem! Pharmacist-nim, ahem!¡± The tired-looking healer coughed and tapped the pharmacist on the shoulder. The pharmacist regained her senses and shoved her phone back into her pocket with an embarrassed expression. Ooops. The puppy was so cute that we got sidetracked. Still, the atmosphere has softened a little. I put aside my disappointment and returned to the main topic. ¡°For now, I understand the situation. But even if you condemn this cafe for that reason ¡­ that¡¯s right, why did you run away earlier?¡± ¡°Well, I was waiting for the right time to tell you our request in private.¡± The healer scratched the back of his head awkwardly. ¡°And what is this secret request you have for me?¡± ¡°¡­..! That¡¯s right, we have one favor to ask.¡± Two people with desperate expressions lowered their heads at the same time and shouted. ¡°Please raise the price of the drinks!¡± ¡°¡­yes?¡± ¡°We¡¯d like you to raise the price at least twice, no, five times what it is now.¡± ¡°For something like that?¡± I asked in surprise, but their expressions were serious. ¡°It¡¯s not just like that.¡± The pharmacist added an explanation, her face devoid of humor. ¡°Even with the menu called Irish Coffee, that is the case. In order to make a freezing nullification potion, I must use my skill for a long time in a sub-zero freezer. Still, I can¡¯t do anything with the bitter taste.¡± ¡°¡­.¡± ¡°But how can you defend against freezing damage with just a cup of coffee! Really, ah ¡­ I was shocked.¡± ¡°On the Healer side, things are similar. Some novice healers are denied joining the party because they already have coffee.¡± As I listened to them, I was lost in thought. My idea that the current price of coffee is reasonable remains unchanged. Considering the low price of raw materials, the current price is just right. I never thought I would hear that the price range of 1 ruby to 5 ruby is too cheap. However, these two people have a point. Hmm, how do I do it? If I¡¯m trying to be humble here¡­. ¡®My coffee isn¡¯t that big of a deal.¡¯ I couldn¡¯t say it that way. After all, it would sound like I¡¯m diminishing the hard work that goes into healing people or making potions, not just my own work. If I say it¡¯s not a big deal, these people will become people who put their heart and soul into the trivial things. Too much humility is also a form of arrogance. Besides installing the banner that gave me useless worry, they have done me no harm. Well ¡­ I can¡¯t help it. I didn¡¯t want to hurt other Hunters who were doing similar things to enforce my views on coffee prices. I also have a Healer in my family. ¡­.even though it is irrelevant because Kwon Jiwoon is the best healer in Korea. ¡°All right. Let¡¯s discuss it.¡± ¡°¡­¡­!¡± Two people rejoiced at my words. [Sub Quest: Decorate the Menu Board] It is time to make a decision for sustainable cafe management. Let¡¯s adjust the price of the menu accordingly. Reset Menu Prices Reasonably: (Incomplete) Reward: Ether-Wiki Update] Tiling! As soon as I made my intentions known, a quest appeared in the system window. The fact that it popped up means that my decision was not a bad one. The only reward was the update of Ether-Wiki, which I had forgotten existed. [Ether-Wiki is always waiting for your visit. Forever, always¡­.] A wistful phrase popped up, as if trying to stir up guilt. Uh, yeah, sorry. I answered half-heartedly and turned off the notification window. Translator¡¯s Corner: jaywalk: Ignore the traffic light or cross the street at a non-crosswalk. landslide victory (??): a term used to indicate that a particular candidate or party won an election by an overwhelming majority. Injeolmi (???): a variety of tteok, or Korean traditional rice cake coated with yellowish bean flour. It¡¯s made by steaming and pounding glutinous rice flour, which is shaped into small pieces and usually covered with steamed powdered dried beans or other ingredients. It¡¯s also used as a nickname for a cute golden retriever puppy. Passed my exam with flying colors T__T but I¡¯m still not feeling well these days T__T The bad weather didn¡¯t help at improving my health at all T__T you guys, please stay healthy!!! CH 116 Then the only problem left is deciding what a reasonable menu price is¡­. ¡°Eh, but isn¡¯t this too expensive?¡± ¡°No, this is still considered cheap.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Considering the buff, it should be about this price.¡± ¡°But I can¡¯t raise it ten times the previous price. I¡¯ll lower it a little bit.¡± ¡°Hmm, then like this¡­¡­.¡± I sat down with the healer and the pharmacist and worked out a price list for the drinks. It took quite a while as we took into account a number of factors. ¡°What are you doing there?¡± Ash, who returned from the warehouse, asked me. In his arms were hardboards, stationery supplies, and various craft materials tall as he was. I was concerned about what he¡¯s trying to make with such a large amount. Well, I suppose it¡¯ll be okay because it¡¯s only architectural miniatures. ¡°Oh, I have something to do. Ash, sleep first.¡± ¡°¡­.Okay.¡± Ash went into his room, and after a long conversation with the healer and the pharmacist, I made a reasonable new price list. But then I had a sudden suspicion. ¡°Wait a minute. I¡¯m not going to be punished for collusion or something like that, am I?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not going to happen. Don¡¯t worry.¡± The healer declared confidently. ¡°There are only two ways a Production Hunter can be punished for collusion: if they use their superior position to force abnormally high prices, or if they charge more than twenty percent above the standard price. There¡¯s no legal problem, and this is still cheap.¡± The pharmacist handed out the data. There was such a thing as a standard price list. The law was quite well established. As soon as I set the new menu prices, a system notification popped up. [Congratulations! You have completed ¡®Sub Quest: Decorate the Menu Board¡¯. Please collect the rewards.] [The entry for ¡®Throne of Darkness¡¯ has been added to the Ether-Wiki]. For some reason, just looking at the name of the updated item gave off an ominous feeling. I read it with an uneasy feeling, but it seemed to have nothing to do with me right away as it was a description of a place. Was I too suspicious of the system? [The system always puts your safety first.] I don¡¯t believe it more if you say that, but ¡­ I just turned off the Ether-Wiki. ¡°Then, I¡¯m sorry to bother you at such a late hour.¡± ¡°Next time, I¡¯ll visit you as a guest.¡± Satisfied with the arrangement, the two left. It was a decision I was happy with, but I wondered if anyone would complain if I suddenly raised the price of coffee? Surprisingly, none complained. *** The next morning. It was time to change the television channel over breakfast. I turned on the channel of the drama that Mieum wanted to watch, but suddenly a breaking news came out. ¡°Kyaaaaolg! What is this all of sudden? Where is the next episode of Hunter¡¯s Temptation!¡± Even if you complain, there¡¯s nothing we can do with breaking news. Soon, a news video appeared with large caption. 0 Deaths from Gyeongju Rift ¡­ Safely Closed Confirmed The news screen showed a street with completely collapsed buildings. However, everyone have bright faces. It must be thanks to the good news that there were zero deaths. A reporter came closer to interview a Hunter, who participated in disposing of the rift. Since he just returned, the Hunter was still lightly wounded, but he exclaimed in an excited tone as if his wounds were nothing. ¡ª Muwon! Muwon showed up! ¡ª ¡­¡­.! The scene erupts in excitement. After a while, the screen turned into a news studio, and the announcer said with a flushed look. ¡ª Right now, we have a video sent by a viewer that the No. 1 Ranker, Muwon, has appeared at the scene of the rift in Gyeongju. We obtained it exclusively from Hunter TV. It¡¯s an exclusive report, viewers. We¡¯ll show you the footage right away. The picture quality was low, with the screen jiggled as if it was covered with sand. It seemed to be filmed inside a rift. Although it was blurry, it was enough to know what the situation was. As the rift broke out, there was a lot of debris from the building that was sucked in. Beyond that, you can see a group of monsters aiming for the Hunters. The dispatched party fought well, but the sheer number of monsters meant that the formation would soon be broken. Then, a black shadow appeared. The face is not visible. It was blurry, but I recognised him immediately. That long body, that distinctive gait. Ki Yoohyun. ¡ª Who is that? It can¡¯t be¡­..! Stepping forward, he stretched out his hand. Soon, a dense net of light seemed to surround the area, and an explosion roared with a flash. The claws that were about to tear into the Hunter of the vanguard shattered. One by one, the monsters that had been pouring out fell, literally fading into the light. It took only a few minutes for all monsters to completely die. It¡¯s an overwhelming power. Why does the video, where you can¡¯t see his face and only the blurred figure, feels both wondrous and lonely? Is it just an afterimage caused by Ki Yoohyun¡¯s past video I saw last time? ¡ª Whoooaaaaaaa! Along with the cheers of the videographer, the screen shook greatly. ¡ª We¡¯re alive! ¡ª Thank you! He turned his head towards the camera, as if he¡¯d just spotted it. Just before the shadow cast by the rubble of the building is lifted and the light shines on his face, the hem of his long coat flutters in the wind. The next moment, he disappeared and the video ended. The news again led to an on-the-spot interviews. ¡ª Without Muwon, it wouldn¡¯t have ended without any harm. Keuheuk¡­.! ¡®d like to take this opportunity to thank him! He told me that I won¡¯t be able to contact him for a few days, so he must have known in advance that a rift would burst in Gyeongju. Did he change the future by blocking the rift alone? In his own way, he¡¯s working hard as a Munchkin Regressor. I¡¯ll have to do my part too. Thinking so, I tried to turn off the television, but on-site interviews continued. ¡ª Ah! And thank you for Cafe Rieul! Huh? Suddenly? ¡ª The first Healer that we deployed was caught in an abnormal condition and we almost died. They actively helped in such a crisis situation. If it wasn¡¯t for their coffee, we wouldn¡¯t have lasted until the Healer recovered. Ah. When I heard that, I remembered what happened. Yesterday, group of people who seemed to be in a hurry appeared through the ConnectAnywhere¡îMysteriousDoor. It wasn¡¯t a normal situation even at first glance, so I stopped the business for a while and made them coffee until they were ready to go. ¡ª I see, Hunter-nim, you¡¯ve done a great job. If you have any last words, I¡¯d like to hear them. ¡ª I¡¯m worried about the low price of the coffee. I¡¯m hoping that such a good place will raise their prices! Pardon? Eh, that far? As I live, I see consumers worrying about the low price. Perhaps because it was said in a live breaking news, the price increase was warmly welcomed rather than resisted. Well, regardless of the price increase. ¡®You were determined to benefit the world with coffee¡®. It feels a bit grandiose, but ¡­ does the coffee I make help the world in this way? If so, I¡¯m glad. I¡¯m glad no one died in the rift. Truly. *** One more thing happened. A few days after the price-changed menu was settled without difficulty, the healer and the pharmacist visited as guests as they promised. Judging from the fact that both of them ordered cafe latte without hesitation, it seems that they wanted to drink it that day¡­¡­. ¡°Keheum, ahem. Owner-nim.¡± ¡°Ah, yes.¡± It was after the two drank all the cafe latte, filling the satisfaction bar to the end. The healer who had been watching me from earlier, as if he had something to say, opened his mouth. ¡°Look at this.¡± The healer held out his phone. The phone screen showed a white rabbit chewing on cabbage leaves. It¡¯s pretty cute. ¡°That¡¯s my rabbit. She eats well, healthy, and really cute.¡± Aha. Back then this person actually wanted to brag about his pet too¡­. ¡°Waeooong (Post my picture too)!¡± ¡°Kkyuu, kkyu!¡± The animals on my house, who recently dreaming of becoming social media stars, interfered at my feet. I calmed the animals down and immediately followed the healer¡¯s Instagram. The number of Instagram followings with such cute animal photos has increased. And while seeing off the healer and the pharmacist, I suddenly remembered. ¡°Ah!¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Beside me, Ash tilted his head. ¡°Oh, it was him!¡± ¡°What?¡± I remembered where I met that healer. He¡¯s the healer who had accused Choi Cedric of power abuse before the regression! Due to that incident, The Garden of Blessings had boycotted the C&L Corporation, leading to their subsequent merger. I hadn¡¯t remembered it because it had nothing to do with me, but now I know for sure. ¡®Choi Cedric, is he okay?¡¯ Of course, it is not for me to intervene if Choi Cedric actually abused his power or acted inappropriately. It would be best if he apologised and made amends, but it¡¯s his own responsibility anyway. ¡®Personally, I wish Choi Cedric would apologize.¡­.¡¯ I remembered him looking depressed and troubled when I met him in the Dungeon where Cthugha lived. Hmm. I wonder what happened to him. Is he doing well? *** Choi Cedric recalled what had happened so far. The allegations of various illegal acts at C&L Corporation had been revealed to be the doings of the CEO¡¯s secretary, Aeon. Lee Sein issued an apology for failing to properly manage and supervise the secretary¡¯s behavior. She also added that she would actively cooperate with the arrest of her secretary. However, the secretary disappeared as if he had never existed in the first place. In the end, the case was closed with the C&L Corporation paying considerable compensation. The headquarters must have calculated that C&L, the largest of The Big Three, could not be pressured blindly. The decision was made in consideration of the gap in the dungeon raids, the conflict between each guild, and other variables. Anyway, C&L is back to normal. The elevator stopped at the top floor, and Choi Cedric strode inward. ¡°What¡¯s all this?¡± ¡°Ah, Cedric.¡± Lee Sein spotted him and smiled brightly. ¡°We¡¯re renovating the representative office. It¡¯s been a mess for a while after what Aeon did, and I thought we should freshen things up a bit.¡± ¡°¡­I see.¡± The person in front of him is definitely the Lee Sein he knows. C&L is back to normal. He, too, should be back to his usual self¡­.. But why does he feel so out of place? ¡°Then, isn¡¯t it like being possessed?¡± All of sudden, Kwon Rieul¡¯s flashed through his mind. What nonsense is that? There¡¯s no way such a ridiculous thing would happen. ¡­¡­It can¡¯t happen, it won¡¯t happen. CH 117 ¡°I heard you don¡¯t go home these days.¡± Lee Sein spoke to Choi Cedric. Her gaze was soft, as if she was worried about him. ¡°Yeah, well. I just don¡¯t.¡± Choi Cedric replied, trying to shake off the frightening image that had just flashed through his mind. ¡°You don¡¯t like where you live? Do you want me to find you somewhere else?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like that. The house is nice.¡± Choi Cedric lived alone in a luxury apartment along the Han River owned by C&L Corporation. It is known for its panoramic view from the living room window, lavish interiors, and tight security optimised for celebrities. It¡¯s a house anyone would envy, but there¡¯s a simple reason why Choi Cedric hasn¡¯t been home much lately: it¡¯s a place where Lee Sein¡¯s eyes can reach. Since it is owned by C&L Corporation and that place is his residence, it is natural for Lee Sein to manage it. However, from some point on, her intervention has been unwelcome and unbearable. Since when was it? Ah, it was after her secretary disappeared. The uncomfortable feeling has grown to the point where he feels more comfortable in a dungeon with an Eternal Flame than at home. So no matter where he moves, the situation is the same. ¡°Really? Then, should we remodel it? While the CEO¡¯s office is also under construction, it would be refreshing to freshen everything completely.¡± ¡°Maybe another time. It¡¯s still a bit of a mess.¡± ¡°¡­All right.¡± With a bright smile, Lee Sein gave some instructions to the employees. As if to prove the absurdity of the reluctance he¡¯d felt earlier, that figure was exactly Lee Sein whom Choi Cedric knew. An ambitious yet sensible person who was willing to be a family of Choi Cedric and Choi Rona. ¡°We only have one family. You should try what you can so that you won¡¯t regret it.¡± Again, the conversation he had with Kwon Rieul came to mind. It was something Choi Cedric had once said to her. He said that in such a smug way, but he himself had forgotten that words. He can¡¯t rely on others. He has to figure out what¡¯s going on around him on his own. ¡°¡­Cedric?¡± ¡°I just stopped by while passing by. I know CEO-nim is busy, so I¡¯m going to go now.¡± ¡°Okay. You¡¯re going to see Rona, right?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Despite his words, when Choi Cedric left the representative¡¯s office, it wasn¡¯t to visit Rona¡¯s hospital room. One floor down from the top floor, around the corner, in the innermost room. It was the office used by the secretary, Aeon, before he disappeared. They had already retrieved anything that might be evidence, but he was still hoping to obtain some information. In Aeon¡¯s office, two employees were tearing down a partition. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Ah! Oh, Hunter Choi Cedric-nim.¡± The employees dropped the partition on the floor and turned around. A brief moment of embarrassment flashed across their faces. However, Choi Cedric didn¡¯t seem to care, and asked again what they were doing. ¡°CEO Lee Sein-nim said that this office is being demolished, so we were in the process of cleaning it up.¡± ¡°Really? It¡¯s different from what she told me.¡± ¡°What?¡± The employees looked surprised. ¡°She told me to keep it as it is in case there is evidence that we haven¡¯t found yet.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± Confused glances met in the air. Lee Sein is a strict about rewards and punishments. If there is confusion in the instructions and it is known that they tampered with the office, they will be greatly reprimanded. Choi Cedric, who had lied so casually, jerked his head and pointed out the door. ¡°Leave it.¡± ¡°Yes, yes!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Wait a second. About this.¡± Now we¡¯re in trouble. Who said the wrong thing? Choi Cedric called back the employees who were trying to rush out while muttering such complaints. ¡°It¡¯s better not to report this to the CEO for now. She¡¯s a little sensitive about the construction today.¡± There¡¯s a look of hesitation on their faces. According to the ethics, it was necessary to report the confusion of the instructions immediately and reconfirm the contents. However, it would have been a pain in the arse to go report to her while she was in a sensitive state. Choi Cedric eased their worries with a refreshing smile. ¡°I¡¯ll put in a good word for you later.¡± ¡°¡­.! If you do, we¡¯ll be grateful.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°Go.¡± Only when they were completely gone and he couldn¡¯t hear their footsteps did he enter the office. He closed the door behind him and looked around. The office was empty, however, as all incriminating items had been removed. ¡°¡­¡­?¡± While looking around, something got stuck in his foot. Looking down, it was a small star-shaped ornament. Is it a keyring? Choi Cedric moved his gaze towards the direction it had rolled. It¡¯s nothing but a blank wall. No, when he looked closely, there were fine lines drawn on the wall. ¡°¡­¡­!¡± He tapped on it and there was a sound from the inside. It was obviously hollow. Choi Cedric drew his sword and thrust it into the gap in the wall. He gave it a good twist and the outer panel came off without difficulty. Beyond the wall was a tiny space, barely big enough for a child to squeeze through. There was nothing to indicate that Aeon had touched it just before he disappeared. All that remained was a photograph. It looked like it had been taken a long time ago. It must have been not long after the founding of C&L. Lee Sein was smiling awkwardly at the camera. Beside her was her secretary, Aeon¡­.. ¡°Ugh¡­!¡± Suddenly, his head hurt. Choi Cedric stumbled and groaned, holding his head. The photo fell out of his hand and onto the floor. The headache quickly subsided. Choi Cedric wiped the sweat from his brow with his hand and picked up the photo. It looked like it had been taken a long time ago. It must have been not long after the founding of C&L. Lee Sein was smiling awkwardly at the camera. It¡¯s a self-portrait of Lee Sein. He felt like he forgot something. What is it? He couldn¡¯t remember. A small note was written on the back of the photo. The content is¡­. ¡°Grimoire¡­.?¡± *** Cafe sales were booming every day, and unintentionally I became quite famous. I¡¯m embarrassed to say it, but to my surprise, yesterday I was approached by someone who wanted to make a biography for children with me as a model. ¡°Thank you for the offer, but I refuse.¡± ¡°Hunter Kwon Rieul-nim, please reconsider. So that children growing up can look up to you, Hunter-nim¡­.!¡± ¡°¡­.don¡¯t say such scary things.¡± Why do children need to look up to me? I understand you¡¯re looking for fresh items, but isn¡¯t that too much? The next regularly scheduled holiday, which had finally arrived, happened to be Christmas Day. I decided to throw a Christmas party since it¡¯s been a while. Even if it¡¯s called a party, all I planned was to do was invite acquaintances and have some snacks. I¡¯m tired of the unintentional celebrity life, so I should spend time like this sometimes. Most of the people I invited said they¡¯d be there, but I didn¡¯t hear back from my Uncle. Not only that, but he didn¡¯t even read the message on KakaoTalk. I thought he¡¯d be happy because he was dressed as Santa and handing out gifts¡­. I asked Kwon Jiwoon, but he said he hadn¡¯t even met his father. He said he would search his whereabouts just in case. Judging by the lack of updates on YouTube, I don¡¯t think he went to the mountains again. I left him a message asking him to come to the party, even if it was late, and started preparing for the party. [Dimensional Shop ¡î¡ï¡î¡ï Christmas Special Sale ¡ï¡î¡ï¡î ¡ìLoyal Customers¡ì Exclusive ?Special/Star/Ser/Vi/Ce ? This is a special sale only for The Eligible customers who have been loyal to us. Christmas Party Set (including Christmas decoration set and Christmas recipe) : ¡î¡ïSpecial Discount Price¡ï¡î 50 Rubies ¡ù Note: If you turn off this window now, you will never be able to purchase it again.] Ack, my eyes hurt¡­. The Dimensional Shop was tactfully displaying such items. I could feel their intent to take my hard-earned rubies back from me, but I bought it with great enthusiasm anyway. I¡¯ve worked hard to earn them, so I should feel good about spending them like this. ¡°Nyaaa, nyaaa (Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells)!¡± ¡°Kkyu, kkyu, kkyu!¡± ¡°¡­Bells.¡± It¡¯s okay because my family is enjoying it too. [You have acquired a new recipe ¡®Christmas Hot Chocolate¡¯.] [You have acquired a new recipe ¡®Christmas Cake¡¯.] [You have received the purchased Christmas Party Set in your inventory.] First, I decided to make hot chocolate. In the mug, I put plenty of Chocolate Sauce from Hell. I poured in the heated milk, let it melt, and then topped it with soft milk foam. In the end, I decorated it with marshmallows and finely chopped chocolate, and it looked pretty good. [Item: Christmas Hot Chocolate (¡ï¡ï¡ï¡ï¡î) Status: Good (Time Remaining: 01:00:00) Effect: It makes you feel like Christmas.] Uh¡­.? Indeed, after the Christmas season passed, it would be a meaningless effect. Next, we made a Christmas cake together. The sponge cake was topped with whipped cream strawberries to make it look delicious. [The condition has been met. Combo bonus will be generated. Combo: Christmas Party Set (Christmas Hot Chocolate, Christmas Cake) Effect: It makes you incredibly feel like Christmas.] The cake was kept in the fridge, and we all enjoyed some hot chocolate as a tasting before the guests arrived. ¡°¡­¡­?¡± However, I didn¡¯t notice any special effects. The hot chocolate, with its savoury milk and rich, sweet chocolate flavour, is very delicious, but that¡¯s all. ¡°Nyaa, nyaaa, nya (Look out the window, look out the window)!¡± ¡°Kkyu, kkyu, kkyu!¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡­.¡± Aha. I was already in the Christmas spirit before I even drank my hot chocolate, so I didn¡¯t feel the effect. The final step was to decorate the cafe for Christmas. I took out a little light bulb from the decoration set I bought at the Dimensional Shop earlier. I thought it would be pretty if I put it on the wall of the store. But then Ash looked in my direction as if he had something to say. ¡°Hey, you know.¡± He doesn¡¯t call me ¡®Noona¡® these days. He was cute back then. ¡°Ash, what¡¯s wrong? What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°I have one of those too. Something to decorate the cafe.¡± ¡°Is that so? Ah, the miniature one?¡± ¡°¡­.Yeah.¡± He put on a sulky face to hide his shyness, but I could tell he was proud. ¡°Then let¡¯s decorate the cafe with the ones Ash made. Hurry up and bring it.¡± ¡°¡­.! Okay.¡± He ran off to his room. When he returned, he held a ¡­ demon castle in his hand. ¡°¡­¡­?¡± Am I not fully awake? I saw something weird. I rubbed my eyes and looked again, but there was still an unbelievable sight in front of me. The part-timer of my house placed a miniature of a castle with a proud expression on his face. ¡°Ash ¡­ what is this?¡± ¡°The palace where the Primordial Chaos dwells, the Throne of Darkness.¡± It even had a Gothic spires and a miniature dog with three heads on the wall. Ugh, it¡¯s a perfect miniature of a demonic castle that feels too realistic. As I averted my gaze to avoid eye contact with the three-headed dog miniature, I had a sudden realisation. Wait, I think I¡¯ve seen this before. The Throne of Darkness? ¡®Ether-Wiki.¡¯ [Checking your eligibilities ¡­ Completed.] [The Eligible: Verifying Kwon Rieul¡­..] ¡®Skip.¡¯ I skipped down the string of entries, and opened the most recent one. ¡¶Throne of Darkness¡· Type: Place>Architecture Description: A palace inhabited by the Primordial Chaos. Photo: [More] ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.. I alternated between the photo attached to the Ether-Wiki and the miniature made by Ash. It¡¯s perfectly identical. How could they be so identical? I was terrified of this child¡¯s talent¡­. CH 118 I checked the architectural miniature making set box next to it. On the outside it said, ¡°Easy to Make DIY Miniature Sets. Create a Pretty Flower Shop ¨C Great for Children¡¯s Emotional Development¡°. How do you remodel a flower shop to become a Demon Castle? ¡°Waeolg! This boy, he¡¯s quite talented!¡± ¡°Kkyuu! Kkyuuu!¡± The animals in my house jumped up and down in front of the Demon Castle, admiring it. I had just created a mental distance between me and my family. A look of anticipation fell on me, expecting praise. I chose my words as best I could. ¡°That¡¯s ¡­ well, Ash is great.¡± ¡°Hmph, this is nothing!¡± He added another words with an expectant look on his face, ¡°I can make you another one if you want.¡± ¡°Noooooo, I appreciate the thought.¡± I¡¯m sorry I couldn¡¯t live up to your expectations. I¡¯m pretty sure I¡¯d have wild dreams if I had one of those in my room. ¡°¡­.Cheesh.¡± Sighing, Ash placed the Demon Castle next to the Christmas tree. In order to cultivate healthy emotions, I have done not only dungeon detox but also labor detox ¡­ I don¡¯t know what else I can detox from to get rid of the darkness in Ash¡­. I have no idea¡­¡­. He has very unique tastes, but as long as he¡¯s healthy, I¡¯m good. Huh. Anyway. We decorated the cafe for Christmas using the Christmas decorations set. When we finished, this notification window appeared. [You have completed the Christmas decoration. The effect of the Christmas decoration set is activated]. [Effect: The customer who came into the cafe feels like Christmas. Mood: +20] After all, everyone was already immersed in the Christmas spirit, so we couldn¡¯t feel the effect. Still, it was nice to see the decorations. By the time everything was ready, it was a little past noon. It was almost time for the guests to arrive. Come to think of it, it¡¯s been quite a while since I met Ki Yoohyun. I had heard that he was back from Gyeongju, but I couldn¡¯t meet him. The twins too¡­. Is it because of the Christmas decoration effect? I¡¯m starting to get excited too. I feel like I¡¯m going to hum the carols. ¡°Rieul-ssi, hello.¡± ¡°Excuse me.¡± The first guests who arrived were a duo of government employees, team leader Kang Hyunwoo and Kim Jina. It¡¯s a shame that they¡¯re still in uniform even though today is a public holiday. Kim Jina explained that they couldn¡¯t make it to the party because of work, but they took a moment to stop by. ¡°You¡¯ve come all the way here, so have some hot chocolate.¡± With a heavy heart, I made them both a cup of Christmas hot chocolate. After taking a sip of the hot chocolate, Kim Jina said with a slightly softer expression, ¡°Drinking this somehow makes me feel like I¡¯m on holiday.¡± ¡°Hmm, me too, I¡¯ve never felt like this before.¡± Team leader Kang Hyunwoo agreed with Kim Jina. ¡°The agenda, don¡¯t you think it¡¯s okay if we don¡¯t finish it today?¡± ¡°We finished the urgent stuff last week, so there¡¯s room in the schedule.¡± The officials stare at each other¡¯s faces for a moment before coming to a dramatic agreement. ¡°Then why don¡¯t we just call it a day and enjoy Christmas?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a good idea.¡± Oh. This ¡®It feels like Christmas¡® effect really worked. Kwon Jiwoon and Choi Yichan came next. While Choi Yichan juggled the animals to the carol beat, I asked Kwon Jiwoon quietly. ¡°Have you not been able to get in touch with Uncle yet?¡± ¡°Yeah. But don¡¯t worry too much. He¡¯s probably off somewhere else getting some fresh air again.¡± In fact, when Kwon Jiwoon said that, his face was full of worry. It was understandable, as his father, who had just returned from missing, disappeared again. I handed him a cup of hot chocolate. He went to the corner and started putting ornaments on the fir tree. Yes, I heard that moving your hands is a good stress reliever. ¡°Eonni, Merry Christmas!¡± ¡°You idiot! I was going to say it first!¡± ¡°You idiot! Whoever speaks first wins!¡± The next guests were the twins, Ki Yoohyun, and Grandma Kim Deokyi. The twins wore cute Santa costumes, and they also brought Ash¡¯s shares of costumes. ¡°Ugh, are you asking me to wear the clothes of a Saint? This is an insult!¡± ¡°Wow, you guys are so cute in those outfits. You look great in them!¡± ¡°¡­Heu-heumm. I could wear it for you at least once.¡± I took several photos of the twins and Ash in their Santa costumes. They are really cute. Grandma Kim Deokyi had a heated discussion with the public officials about transaction fees for crafted items. Umh ¡­ rather than a Christmas party, it seems like everyone is having fun on their own. Oh well, it¡¯s good if they¡¯re having fun. Choi Cedric said he couldn¡¯t come because he spent Christmas with his sister every year. That means now there is only one guest left. When all the guests arrive, I can cut the cake then. Thinking so, I talked to Ki Yoohyun, ¡°Yoohyun-ssi, would you like some hot chocolate?¡± ¡°Sure. But why are you looking at me like that?¡± ¡°What? What did I look like?¡± ¡°You look very curious.¡± I was curious about Ki Yoohyun¡¯s reaction when he was in a Christmas mood. So far, he has a calm appearance, not blending in with the Christmas atmosphere around him, but wouldn¡¯t it be different if he drank this hot chocolate? I¡¯m so curious. What it looks like when this man, who always feels like he¡¯s taking a step back, gets excited? I was about to hand him the hot chocolate while hiding my ulterior motives. Boom! ¡°Big deal¡­!¡± A pale-faced Ju Noeul appeared. ¡°Noeul-ssi, what¡¯s wrong?¡± She was the last person scheduled to attend today¡¯s party. Judging by the red Santa hat on her head, she was on her way to the party. But what does she mean with ¡®big deal¡®? ¡°Big ¡­ big deal ¡­ heufh¡­.¡± ¡°Here, have some cold water first.¡± ¡°Heuk, heuuh ¡­ thanks, hu, haa¡­.¡± Ju Noeul took a one-shot of a cup of ice water and caught her breath. She looked like she¡¯d run a long way. ¡°What¡¯s the big deal?¡± ¡°Look at this¡­¡­!¡± Ju Noeul handed me her tablet and displayed a certain screen. When I checked the screen at her urging, it was an ordinary blog post. [New Cafe] HIP NEW HOT SPOT ¡®SUPER BUFF COFFEE¡¯ in Guild Jungangdong Branch Writer: Starry Hello! This is Starry Guild Jungang-dong, where many famous Hunter Guilds are located, is a hot spot these days, right? There¡¯s a new emotional cafe on Guild Street! Let me introduce ¡°Super Buff Coffee,¡± a new cafe that¡¯s expected to be a hit. ? #GuildJungangdongNewCafe #NewCafe #GuildStreetCafe #SuperBuffCoffee #BuffCoffee It was an introduction post of a cafe, with several photos and a detailed description. The sparkling four-storey building along the boulevard was recently opened. The inside of the cafe was also stylish and colourful with a trendy interior. They have a great selection of drinks ¡­ ah, and the desserts and bakery are good too. The cakes look delicious. It was a cafe with a good location, so it was sure to attract a lot of customers. ¡°By the way, what¡¯s wrong with this cafe?¡± It¡¯s a very nice and colourful cafe, but I didn¡¯t feel a sense of crisis or competition. Absolutely. How many cafes are there in downtown Seoul, no, all over the country? There is no reason to be surprised by other cafe with a different location, size, and target customer base. However, Ju Noeul beat her chest in frustration. ¡°That¡¯s not it¡­!¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°This cafe is promoting that drinking their coffee will give you a buff effect¡­!¡± ¡°¡­¡­what?¡± Only then did I notice the phrase at the bottom of the blog post. The surprising thing is that the coffee of ¡®Super Buff Coffee¡¯ gives a buff effect to Hunters! From restoring your health to increasing your status to removing abnormal conditions? You can get various and powerful buffs There are many more types of coffee than the menus in Cafe Rieul, which is famous for its buff coffee, so you can freely choose your favourite. It¡¯s located in the downtown area, so it¡¯s great for busy Hunters ^0^ Recommended for Hunters who had a hard time queuing up at Cafe Rieul! Super Buff Coffee is planning to open the Hunter Market, Dungeon Management Office, Guild Crossing, and Yeouido Hunter TV branches soon ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. ¡°At this rate, you¡¯re going to lose your customers¡­.!¡± ¡°Oh my¡­..¡± It was a shocking Christmas. *** Korea¡¯s No. 1 Hunter Community ¨C Hunter Channel. Free Forum Board. ¡ª Ranking, The Slave Hunters Guild is banned. Real life player kill in the dungeon. [Chatting] Super Buff Coffee in front of our guild haha (32) Upvotes: 21 / Downvotes: 2 Writer: Cheese Pizza Today I went and tried it The atmosphere is good. There¡¯s a photo zone at the entrance. I was surprised that the staff were really kind and friendly. They gave me a service and asked if the drink was delicious (y) It¡¯s open until midnight and there¡¯s also a rooftop. The buff effect is also good, so I think I will go there often in the future. ¡ª F-Class: Review thx thx ¡ª OO: Tastes good? ©¸ Cheese Pizza: yes yes, it¡¯s edible and they give you free croffle as a service to celebrate the opening of the store okok ©¸ OO: I¡¯ll have to go there too, they have a branch in front of Hunter TV. ¡ª Lime Love Team: I won¡¯t buy from a fake store bye ¡ª Bbooing: They have so many branches nowadays, nice hahahahahaha the main branch is open 24 hours a day, good good lol ¡ª tal***: Where does this place operate?? The scale is big ©¸ Starry: It¡¯s a venture company ¡­ wait a minute. I have the brochure. Let me take a look at it lol ©¸ Starry: It started as a production guild after Seonghye Enterprise, but it has expanded into a cafe business. Right, Buff Coffee is in the process of applying for a patent, and overseas are also showing interest in them haha ©¸ Lime Love Team: It¡¯s real obvious because it¡¯s viral???? ¡ª cdt***: I¡¯m going to go tomorrow. How much is the price? ©¸ Market No. 13: Ah, about 10 rubies,, I guess it¡¯s cheaper than CFR. ©¸ cdt***: Enough quality okok Super Buff is closer ¡ª Lime Love Team: Cafe Rieul is so much better. Why do you keep talking about a fake?????? where¡¯s your conscience? ©¸ Cheese Pizza: It¡¯s too far in the corner T_T It¡¯s annoying to go to the front of Dungeon, I¡¯m lazy ©¸ Lime Love Team: Huh; Are you drinking fake drink because you¡¯re lazy????? Cheese Pizza dog, very disappointed ©¸ Cheese Pizza: Why are you suddenly attacking me? lol what are you talking about lol It¡¯s not even patented by CFR yeye lmao ©¸ Lime Love Team: What¡¯s wrong with calling fake stuff a fake??? The owner of CFR used to sell it cheaply with good intentions f*ck be loyal. Have some conscience, please. ??? ©¸ HingHangHong: 22222 ????? ©¸ Sugar Drip: 333333???? ¡ª Cheese Pizza: Dang???? I just wrote a review of the coffee I bought and I had to hear that I have no conscience? lol ©¸ red***: Lime has been posting malicious comments on every Super Buff coffee post lately hahahaha just ignore it; ©¸ Lime Love Team: No, it¡¯s not a malicious comment?? it¡¯s just that you guys keep defending it?? ©¸ OO: What can we do lol should we go to dungeon only to drink coffee, CFR should open a branch too ¡ª Lime Love Team: fck ;; If you¡¯re going to do this, then why are you bashing Hunter Market???? Isn¡¯t this the same situation with why all the alley item shops are ruined??? ©¸ Cheese Pizza: Is that the same as this?;; ©¸ Lime Love Team: Since you¡¯re only looking for an easy and comfortable road, that¡¯s why Cheese Pizza is still a newbie ??? ©¸ Healer Wanted: Please refrain from personal attacks ¡ª F-Class: On their blog, Super Buff Coffee blog posted that they¡¯re filming a CF with Oh Seoho ©¸ Haha: Awesome ;trembling; they¡¯re doing well hahahahahaha ¡ª Lime Love Team: Don¡¯t promote fake?? [This comment has been taken down for spreading rumors.] [This comment has been taken down for spreading rumors.] [Nickname: Lime Love Team] You are a blocked user. (30 days remaining until the ban is lifted) Reason: malicious comments, personal attacks [Moderator]: Hunter, let¡¯s use proper and good language.] *** The age of glory is over. To sum up what happened to me in the week leading up to the New Year, I could only say this: a large number of cafe chains called , which sell buff coffee like our cafe, have opened. At first, some people were skeptical of the effectiveness, but that didn¡¯t last long, as all the Hunters who tried their coffee said the effect was real. The stores are all located in downtown Seoul with easy access for Hunters. In addition, large stores with parking lots, stylish interiors, long business hours, and active SNS with their viral marketing, etc ¡­ in an instant, Super Buff Coffee became a hit. Therefore, it was natural that the number of customers in Cafe Rieul was decreasing. January 2nd. The first business day after the Lunar New Year holiday, the year when I turned 24 years old. Outside the window is a dungeon view with only a cold wind blowing. There¡¯s no shadow of a customer in sight. This is how my celebrity life, where even the smallest photo on Instagram could be turned into an article, came to an end. CH 119 Sipping my warm caffe latte, I thought to myself. What should I do, I have nothing to do. I¡¯ve cleaned, washed the dishes, restocked, paid the bills, and even organised my phone¡¯s photo album. I guess I¡¯ve been working too hard all this time. The long-awaited free time feels awkward. ¡°Ash, there are no customers, let¡¯s take a break.¡± ¡°¡­Okay.¡± I made cafe mocha and some snacks for Ash, then I tried to find a game to play on my phone. ¡°Everyone went too far¡­.¡± Ju Noeul, who was sitting at a table by the window and drinking her coffee, spoke in a low voice. ¡°How can you leave this place and support that fake¡­.¡± Ju Noeul was extremely angry about , claiming that it was a fake. She got into a fight while criticising the cafe on the Hunter Channel. As a result, she got banned from the Hunter Channel for a month. Seeing her suffer from Internet community withdrawal, I felt both grateful and sorry for her. I hope she gets unbanned soon¡­ ¡°I don¡¯t get it either.¡± These were the words of Ki Yoohyun, who had just arrived at the cafe and ordered a coffee. ¡°It goes without saying that Rieul-ssi¡¯s coffee tastes much better. A lot of people have problems with their sense of taste.¡± Since there were only two customers in the cafe, I naturally heard their voices. Ju Noeul nodded her head and said, ¡°You must be a customer with great taste.¡± ¡°Ah. We met at Christmas.¡± Although that Christmas party ended early due to the confusion over the news about , which is sad. ¡°Hunter Ju Noeul also has a fine taste.¡± ¡°I admit it¡­.¡± A dramatic consensus was formed between the two. ¡°Haha, thank you both.¡± It is inevitable that the number of customers has decreased. Cafes are about location, location, and location. A large chain with uniform services in front of the exit of the downtown subway station versus a private cafe with delicious coffee in the remote residential area? It¡¯s obvious which one will get the most customers. In addition, it is a large four-story cafe in the downtown area where large guilds are concentrated while my cafe is in front of the Dungeon Gate. Given the same buff, people would probably prefer the more accessible one. However, a few regulars kept coming back to Cafe Rieul and were upset about the current situation. One of them is Kim Jina¡­. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I went through all the relevant regulations yesterday, but the legal basis for punishing Super Buff Coffee is ambiguous.¡± ¡°Huck, you looked it all up?!¡± ¡°I¡¯m shocked that there¡¯s a loophole in the regulations like this!¡± ¡°Ahahaha ¡­ it can¡¯t be helped. Thank you for your concern.¡± ¡°If I had more power, I could make a regulation to punish those cowardly fake bastards right away! I¡¯m furious!¡± ¡°Your kind intention is already making me happy enough.¡± ¡°Hmph, now is not the time for this. I need to pass the promotion test and get my hands on the power!¡± ¡°¡­.Jina-ssi?¡± ¡°For the betterment of the Hunter world¡­.!¡± This incident burned her enthusiasm for promotion. I packed her a set of Iced americano and butter cookies to relieve her stress. With that kind of enthusiasm, I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll be promoted soon. I just hope she doesn¡¯t overwork herself. Also, Kwon Jiwoon and Choi Yichan stopped by the cafe together. They said they were on their way to the Dungeon to organise a party to celebrate Choi Yichan¡¯s joining the White Silver Guild. ¡°I see. If you¡¯re going to the dungeon, you might as well take out some coffees. What do you want?¡± ¡°From the beginning to the end of the menu¡­.¡± ¡°¡­¡­Kwon Jiwoon?¡± ¡°Ten cups each.¡± ¡°Oppa, if you drink that much, you¡¯ll get addicted to caffeine?¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay. I¡¯ll drink them all and then use the Status Abnormalities Potion.¡± ¡°What? What the hell does that mean ¡­ Yichan-ah, stop Kwon Jiwoon.¡± ¡°Hahaha! Is your brother overdoing it? I¡¯ll keep it moderate. Just five drinks each from the beginning to the end of the menu.¡± ¡°¡­¡­no.¡± Do you think I¡¯m going to sleep on the street right now? I packed both of them with just enough coffee so they wouldn¡¯t get addicted to caffeine. In addition, Lee Chorok sent me a box of Shine Muscat, and ¡­ I worried excessively about this. Things turned out this way, but I was fine. I¡¯m not pretending to be okay, I¡¯m really okay. I thought I wanted to help the world with my coffee, but being a popular celebrity cafe owner is not fit for me. I don¡¯t like the fact that every little thing I say on social media gets turned into an article. It¡¯s embarrassing when you go to the supermarket and someone recognises you. ¡®I don¡¯t want anyone to know me¡­.¡¯ Can¡¯t you just think of me as an NPC that sells coffee? While I was in this burdensome situation, another buff coffee vendor appeared. Now that Super Buff Coffee has opened, I should go back to my original plan and aim for the ¡®Hidden Cafe in front of a Secluded Dungeon Gate¡®. It would be a win-win for me to have a large chain cafe do the hard work for the Hunters. I¡¯ll leave the passionate business to Super Buff Coffee and stick to my role as a quiet F-class cafe owner. I came to this conclusion. However, I had one question. I ate the leftover rice cakes from yesterday as a snack and stared at Mieum, whose stomach had bulged. ¡°¡­Waeoong?¡± Mieum felt my gaze and raised her ears. ¡°Waeung, waeooong (I, it wasn¡¯t just me, Lime ate too)!¡± ¡°Kkyuuuuu!¡± Yeah, I know. Not that. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that I¡¯m the only one who can use the coffee making skill?¡± ¡°Waeuuung¡­.¡± ¡°Oh, my. Did Mieum lie to me? You said it¡¯s amazing that I¡¯m the only one who can use it ¡­ did you just randomly say that?¡± ¡°Waeooolg (That¡¯s not true).¡± ¡°Mieum, I trusted you, but ¡­ I shouldn¡¯t trust a cat.¡± ¡°Waeoong, waeooolg (I always tell you the truth, human, on the honor of the Great System)!¡± ¡°Hmm¡­.¡± ¡°Kyagyagyagyag! Gahh (You don¡¯t believe me! That skill is truly unique to you, no other Hunter has the same skill)!¡± I looked at Mieum. Her fur stands on end and she stands on her front paws. In that state, she jumped up and down and punched the air wildly She looks really frustrated. Judging from this cat¡¯s frenzied behaviour, Mieum¡¯s words seem to be true. This cat is so bad at acting. ¡°Kkyuuu! Kkyuu!¡± Beside her, Lime also sided with Mieum. showing off its support with bouncing its body. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll trust you. Then what is Super Buff Coffee? How do they sell buff coffee?¡± Mieum, who had put her front paws down again and was sitting on her belly on the floor, shook her head sideways. ¡°Waeung, waeoong (I don¡¯t know about that, it¡¯s definitely not a skill, they must be using a different method).¡± ¡°Okay, I get it for now.¡± I stroked Mieum¡¯s rounded chin. She purred, as if she¡¯s happy the suspicions had been resolved. If not a skill, what is it? Is there some sort of substance that buffs the coffee? However, mixing a potion wouldn¡¯t mask the bitterness of the potion and it would make it more expensive. ¡°Hmmm¡­.¡± ¡°Rieul-ssi, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Ki Yoohyun, who was drinking coffee next to me, spoke to me. The cat meowed all of a sudden and I was lost in thought with complicated expression, so it seems to have bothered him. Well, whatever method they use, it¡¯s none of my business. I decided not to think about Super Buff Coffee. Ju Noeul has just left after throwing up her anger, and Ki Yoohyun is the only other customer in the store now. The timing is good. I talked about what I was originally going to say to Ki Yoohyun. ¡°Did you get rid of the rifts in Gyeongju?¡± ¡°Ah, yes. Cheongna is doing a follow-up investigation, but I think it will be over without any major issues.¡± ¡°The reason why you suddenly went to Gyeongju, is it because a rift broke there before the regression?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right.¡± Ki Yoohyun nodded lightly, ¡°A lot of things are already different than they were before the regression, but there are some things that haven¡¯t changed, so I¡¯m glad we were able to stop it with less damage.¡± ¡°Even the Munchkin regressor has a lot of trouble.¡± ¡°Hahaha ¡­ Munchkin, I¡¯m not that great.¡± If anyone else had heard this comment from Ki Yoohyun, they would have called him a deceiver. If he¡¯s not a Munchkin, then who? ¡°There was also a video on the news, is that okay? I mean ¡­ your identity.¡± Isn¡¯t it a secret that Ki Yoohyun is Muwon? He smiled at my concern. ¡°It¡¯s okay. I knew I was being filmed. I knew that my face wasn¡¯t captured, so I left it alone. I was wearing glasses anyway.¡± ¡°Glasses? What¡¯s with the glasses?¡± Ki Yoohyun was still wearing the glasses he sometimes wore. They didn¡¯t hide his sharp features in the slightest. ¡°I don¡¯t think they wouldn¡¯t recognize you just with one pair of glasses.¡± ¡°I thought it was weird, but ¡­ this is a very rare item, even if it looks like this.¡± Ki Yoohyun explained with a bitter smile. Those ordinary-looking glasses were an item that he specially ordered. They were said to have the effect of making the wearer unrecognisable to others, meaning that even if they saw Ki Yoohyun¡¯s face, they would quickly forget about him. ¡°Didn¡¯t Noeul-ssi recognise Yoohyun-ssi earlier?¡± ¡°She didn¡¯t recognise me until I spoke to her.¡± ¡°Aha.¡± Wait, why didn¡¯t it work for me? Tiling. As soon as I thought so, I got a system notification. [*system: the skill that intervenes in your consciousness is currently being invalidated.] ¡°Aha¡­.¡± ¡°It is not omnipotent. It just disrupts someone¡¯s consciousness a bit,. Still, it helps when I want to move quietly.¡± Clack, the door opened and a new guest came in. ¡°Hello¡­.¡± He was a regular customer who often came to Cafe Rieul. I had a chat with him the other day. His Hunter Channel nickname, ¡®HingHangHong¡®, which was named after his real name, Kim Hyunghong, was memorable. For your information, he also had a fight over Super Buff Coffee to defend our cafe on the Hunter Channel and his account got banned ¡­ I¡¯m grateful and sorry for that. Anyway, HingHangHong came to the counter, oblivious to Ki Yoohyun¡¯s presence, and ordered a drink. The effect of the glasses must have been real, because normally there¡¯s no way people wouldn¡¯t have spotted a man that stands out like that. Huh ¡­ but what¡¯s going on? HingHangHong looked very depressed. I¡¯m surprised that there¡¯s still new readers who started reading this series from 0 and went on reading marathon ¡­ I hope I didn¡¯t scare you guys with the previous translator notes ¡­ and thank you for all the old readers for still staying with me~ anyway, prepare yourself to meet a lot of characters in this ARC! I¡¯m excited to finish this because the romance will start blooming after this ARC (ACTUALLY, HOW MANY CHAPTERS THIS HAS BEEN? THERE ARE TWO LEADS ON THE COVER, WHEN I PICKED THIS UP I THOUGHT THIS WILL BE FULL OF ROMANCE BUT 119 CHAPTERS AND THEY¡¯RE NOT EVEN PROPERLY HOLDING HANDS YET?? T_T) CH 120 ¡°Here¡¯s the drink you ordered.¡± ¡°Thank you ,,, haaaa.¡± Even after accepting the drink, HingHangHong sighed deeply with a dark expression. He seems to be deeply distressed. ¡°You don¡¯t look well. What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Ah, just, because of a dungeon raid¡­.¡± Perhaps thirsty, HingHangHong gulped down the lemonade in his hand. I added cautiously, ¡°If you don¡¯t mind, let¡¯s talk about it.¡± You might feel better if you talk about it. ¡°Umh. No, I don¡¯t want to talk about it, that¡¯s just not my thing. Haaa¡­.¡± Then there¡¯s nothing I can do. I wasn¡¯t going to pry, so I was about to wrap up the conversation when Ki Yoohyun interrupted. ¡°¡­.Is it because of Super Buff Coffee?¡± ¡°Heuk?! Since when there¡¯s another person here?!¡± HingHangHong, who had just noticed Ki Yoohyun¡¯s presence, was surprised. I fully understand the effect of glasses now, so I hope you don¡¯t surprise my regular customer who came after a long time. This one is a very timid customer. By the way, why did you suddenly mention Super Buff Coffee¡­. ¡°Uh, how did you know?!¡± ¡­¡­It¡¯s true. ¡°Actually¡­.¡± Since it was related to Super Buff Coffee, HingHangHong did not want to say it out of consideration for me. I told him it was okay, and he soon opened up. This is the summary of the story: HingHangHong had a big fight with his friend recently. The cause was our cafe and Super Buff Coffee. He said that Cafe Rieul was the original and his friend said that Super Buff Coffee was the better cafe, and then the conflict escalated. I feel guilty that he even fought with his friend. Then, as a way to make peace and put an end to the fight, he made a bet with his friend. He is a C-class tanker, and his friend is a C-class dealer. The bet was to take out coffee from Cafe Rieul and Super Buff Coffee, respectively, and then drink it in dungeon and compare which one has the best effect. ¡°What did you bet on?¡± ¡°That, of course, kaesagbbang!¡± ¡°¡­yes?¡± ¡°It means character deletion jail, the loser deletes the character¡­.¡± ¡°No, I know what the word means, I know, but¡­¡± In the games, it¡¯s not uncommon to see people betting on deleting their characters. Although money, time, and labour are invested in the characters, what is deleted is only a fictional game character. However, when the term is used by Hunters, it suddenly has a scary connotation. ¡°Thank you very much for liking our cafe coffee, but I¡¯d like to stop my customers from committing crimes.¡± ¡°Wha-what, cri-crime?! Scary. Don¡¯t talk about scary things!¡± HingHangHong threw up his hands in exasperation. ¡°That¡¯s not it?¡± ¡°Of course not! If I lose, I¡¯m going to delete my Hunter Channel ID.¡± ¡°Aha.¡± It¡¯s possible to rejoin after withdrawal, but it takes a long time. Not only that, but you can¡¯t use your old nickname. I¡¯ve been calling him HingHangHong instead of his real name, but if he loses, he won¡¯t be HingHangHong anymore. It¡¯s a big deal, it might not seem like it, but it¡¯s a big deal. Anyway, today is the day they promised to make a bet, but his friend disappeared. They didn¡¯t read his KakaoTalk, and they didn¡¯t even show their face to the guild. ¡°I knew it! He was scared that he was going to lose, so he just ran away!¡± HingHangHong burst into anger. Now that the situation is like this, he thought about getting another party and going to Dungeon. However, it was difficult to get a new party because he¡¯s still banned in the Hunter Channel. He had no choice but to give up and came here for a drink. ¡°You know, it seems to be happening a lot these days.¡± ¡°Huh, really?¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve heard of people joining a party to go to a dungeon and then suddenly going out of reach, and it¡¯s causing a lot of trouble for party leaders.¡± I became curious. I accessed the Hunter Channel on my phone and then searched with keywords such as ¡®unreachable¡® and ¡®party¡®. [Chatting] Please check the message of A who decided to participate in today¡¯s public party (0) [Chatting] The main dealer is not coming; this is Mercenary129 (5) [Chatting] These days there are too many parties got ghosted, aren¡¯t there? (13) Although it was not a large number, there were occasional postings complaining that they could not contact a party member. What¡¯s going on? ¡°Anyway, I¡¯m on Cafe Rieul¡¯s side, so cheer up!¡± With a refreshed expression on his face, perhaps thanks to being able to vent, HingHangHong left. *** Just to be clear, I don¡¯t have a rivalry with that . Really, never, I really not. They can do what they do in their cafe, and we can do what we do in our cafe. There¡¯s no reason why there should be only one cafe in the world that serves buff coffee. ¡°You sound so eager, I¡¯m not sure I believe you, waeoong!¡± ¡°Kkyuuu!¡± ¡°¡­.Be quiet.¡± I glared at the animals tackling me from the side. I don¡¯t really feel a sense of rivalry, I don¡¯t, I really don¡¯t! On the other hand, I couldn¡¯t stand the curiosity. If it wasn¡¯t some sort of ¡®Cafe in My Hand¡® skill, how the hell did they make buff coffee? I have a limit on the number of coffees I can make in a day, so how does that cafe manage to run multiple branches at the same time? The day after a regular¡¯s visit, I decided to visit that cafe myself. ¡®We hardly have any customers anyway¡­.¡¯ I¡¯ll just visit for a while. I¡¯m not spying. I¡¯m just a regular customer, okay. As his face has been known, I was going to leave Ash behind just in case. However, when I went down to the first floor, Ash had already changed into his outdoor clothes. The winter coat, which is carefully buttoned up, is very cute on him. It¡¯s obvious that he wants to go with me. ¡°Ash?¡± ¡°¡­it¡¯s nothing.¡± His words are different from his actions. If you wanted to come with me, you could have said so ¡­ unable to ignore Ash¡¯s intense gaze, I finally asked. ¡°Asu, do you want to go with me?¡± ¡°¡­.OK.¡± Well, we¡¯re just going to a cafe, so I guess there¡¯s no harm in coming along. With that, I left the store with Ash. He¡¯s such a sweet yet unfriendly guy. *** Guild Jungang-dong, where the headquarters of several hunter guilds are located. Super Buff Coffee is located in this area, also known as the Guild Street, which has recently seen the rise of several expensive and stylish restaurants. After a short walk from the subway station, we were greeted by a large building with a spacious parking lot and a rooftop. From the looks of it, the business is booming. ¡°All right. Let¡¯s go, Ash.¡± ¡°Huuu ¡­ I can feel the Abyss.¡± I braced myself and went into the cafe with Ash ¡­ and I was pleasantly surprised. The interior was sophisticated and the spacious room was comfortable. There were a lot of customers, but the staff was plentiful and the service was fast, so we didn¡¯t have to wait long for our turn. ¡°Welcome. This is the Super Buff Coffee, which gives Hunter a variety of buffs.¡± I scanned the menu with my eyes. The menu ranged from coffees to teas to juices, and the showcase was filled with delicious desserts. The cheapest Americano is 10 rubies, and the prices are generally higher than in our store. As for the most important thing, the buff effect, they were slightly better than ours, for example, my caffe latte (4 stars) is a ¡°50% energy recovery¡± buff, whereas theirs is a ¡°55% energy recovery¡± buff. ¡°Ma¡¯am, have you decided on your order? If you can¡¯t decide, how about today¡¯s recommended menu, Buttercream Latte? It comes with free macarons to celebrate the opening of our cafe.¡± ¡°Yes? Ah, then I want that¡­.¡± The staff suggested a few more menu items. I nodded in agreement, and before I knew it, I had already ordered a buttercream latte, a cream mocha, and a dessert set. It¡¯s thorough. Expensive, but it¡¯s worth the perfect and pleasant service. ¡°Umh¡­.¡± I wonder if Cafe Rieul, which I run by myself, can compete with a cafe like this? Even with the help of the system, I honestly don¡¯t think I can match¡­. Heck, I almost got soaked in a sense of defeat. I¡¯m here today because I¡¯m curious about the buff coffee of this cafe, so let¡¯s just drink it and go. Just as I was about to pick up the pager and take a seat with Ash, I heard a commotion behind me. It was so crowded that it was difficult to move. What¡¯s going on? There was a blinding light and the sound of a camera shutter. Someone was filming something. As I peeked my head out, the staff kindly added an explanation. ¡°Hunter Oh Seoho visited us to discuss advertising for our cafe. We are planning to update the visit to the cafe blog, so please pay a lot of attention.¡± Aha. Is it Hunter and Actor Oh Seoho, who ranks 18th in the Hunter Rankings (down a notch with Choi Yichan¡¯s appearance)? The scale of the promotion is amazing. I caught a glimpse of Oh Seoho¡¯s handsome face through the crowd. He¡¯s a celebrity, but I wasn¡¯t interested. ¡°Ash, there¡¯s a seat over there. Let¡¯s go over there.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Just like that, it happened while we were moving away from the crowd. ¡°¡­¡­?¡± I thought I had just made eye contact with Oh Seoho. Eh, it must be my imagination. How can we make eye contact in such a crowded place? I must have mistaken because he was so famous. As I think this, I looked at Oh Seoho again, but this time he looked straight at me and smiled brightly. What¡¯s wrong with him? I had no idea. He is someone I have never met in person, one-on-one. In any case, it is best to avoid anything that is uncomfortable. Just in time, the pager rang. I picked up my order and sat in a corner where there was less crowd this time. Coffee and dessert were placed in front of me, looking quite appetising. [Buttercream Latte / Temporarily increases maximum energy by 100%]. As I picked up my coffee cup, a status window popped up. The status widow was simple compared to the coffee I made, but the effect was clear. But how is this coffee made? Actually, when I received my order, I looked towards the kitchen, but the partitions prevented me from seeing the entire process. As far as I could see, it was a normal coffee making process. There was no sign of any skills or special actions. If it wasn¡¯t a skill, how did they give this coffee a buff effect? ¡°Hmm¡­.¡± I glared at the buttercream latte in front of me, but there was no way I could tell how it was made just by looking at it. Let¡¯s drink it first. A 100% increase in maximum energy is a pretty helpful effect for an F-class with weak body like mine, but somehow I don¡¯t like it. ¡°Hmmm¡­.¡± ¡°How long are you going to watch it?¡± As if my hesitation frustrated him enough, Ash snatched the cup from my hand. ¡°Uh, Ash!¡± Ash took a sip of coffee without hesitation. Gulped. Then, he spat it out. I didn¡¯t have time to nag him about spitting what he¡¯d just put in his mouth back into the cup. His face crumpled in disgust. It was the first time I had seen this boy make such a harsh expression. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? It doesn¡¯t suit your taste?¡± After wiping the last of the coffee out of his mouth with a tissue, Ash lowered his voice to a whisper. ¡°This ¡­ I don¡¯t think you should drink it.¡± Translator¡¯s Corner: kaesagbbang: ???, actually i¡¯m not sure how to translate it to english so I just keep it as it is. Usually, it is a term used in PvP where the losing side literally decides to delete their character in an online game. When you duel and the stakes are ???, the loser is meant to delete their character/account. It is short for ??? ?? ?. Umh ¡­ hi? ahahaha I feel bad for suddenly coming back just as I please jhs fhsjfhdsk I was a little sick these days and while it¡¯s not serious at all, I need to keep consuming bitter medicine that makes me sleepy all the time so I don¡¯t have time to upload anything for the last month ¡­¡­. okay that was enough reason. Actualy I feel lost these days and today is my birthday and I felt lonely so I decided to do this for my birthday gift for myself ¡­¡­ since this blog has always been a comfort for me. Anyway, in short, i miss you all! I will try my best to gather my energy back T___T CH 121 ¡°What? Don¡¯t tell me there¡¯s poison¡­!¡± I rose from my seat, panicking. Around me, there were many customers drinking their ordered drinks. If there was something wrong with their drinks, I should stop them right away. However, Ash tugged on the hem of my skirt and pulled me back into the chair. ¡°Don¡¯t make such a fuss. It¡¯s not going to happen right away.¡± His calm reaction makes me calm down. I lowered my voice and asked, ¡°Then? What¡¯s in it?¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s a substance that affects your etheric system, though I don¡¯t know exactly what.¡± ¡°Does the substance have a buff effect?¡± ¡°Maybe.¡± He glanced back at the coffee cup in my hand and added, ¡°It¡¯s fine for a drink or two, since it just intensifies certain etheric currents in your body. It¡¯s like an overclock, so to speak, but it¡¯s not good for long term use.¡± There¡¯s nothing special about the coffee¡¯s status window. The system doesn¡¯t pop up any other notifications. So how does Ash know what it is? I asked him and he gave me a wry smile. ¡°What do you think the Demon King Twilight is?¡± ¡°Ah.¡± ¡°¡­.you forgot?¡± ¡°Ahahaha¡­.¡± I felt a prick. I¡¯d forgotten about it because he¡¯d recently taken up a healthy hobby like making architectural miniatures, and he was friendly with the twins who sometimes came over to play. I had forgotten that this boy was not an ordinary 8th grader boy, but the incarnation of Asmodeus. On the surface, he¡¯s just another unfriendly teenager. Is it okay for Ash to stay in our store? I¡¯m glad I have Ash with me though. Oops, it wasn¡¯t time to think about this. The problem is this coffee, which is believed to contain unknown substances. ¡°That¡¯s right, I have that thing.¡± I opened my inventory and took out a silver teaspoon. This is an item that I got as a quest reward for eradicating ticket scalpers last time. At first, I thought it was just a teaspoon with 1 attack, so I didn¡¯t think much of it. Later, however, when I looked back at the status window, I was surprised. [Item: Silver Teaspoon (¡ï¡ï¡î¡î¡î) It¡¯s just a teaspoon. Surprisingly, it can also be used as a weapon. Type: High-Speed Short-Range Weapon Attack: 1 Note: It will discolor when it touches poison.] Let¡¯s read it again carefully. [Note: It will discolor when it touches poison.] That last phrase really bothered me. Poison? Poison? Up until now, quest rewards have tended to be causal to future events, unless it¡¯s a store upgrade. I mean, they¡¯re giving me something like this ¡­ am I going to get poisoned? Is such a scary fate waiting on the path of the Cafe Owner? It¡¯s so ominous. I kept this teaspoon in my inventory to avoid any mishaps that might come my way. Fortunately, nothing dangerous has happened so far, but¡­. I thought I¡¯d give this silver teaspoon a try. I dipped the teaspoon into a glass of cream mocha. Flick. Smoke billowed out with a burning sound. I pulled the teaspoon out in a panic, and the part that touched the coffee was completely discolored. ¡°¡­..!¡± Unless this item was lying to me, it was a clear evidence that something was wrong with my coffee. I felt my throat burn. Even though it was a latecomer, I had assumed that Super Buff Coffee was trying to help the Hunters by making buff coffee. However, now I was angry that they were using such dangerous means. I put the silver teaspoon into my inventory and looked around quietly I saw people drinking coffee with smiling faces. Most of them were Hunters, but there were a few who looked like regular people, perhaps they¡¯re visiting this place due to its fame. They were filming YouTube videos or taking selfies. There is no one who drinks then complains about abnormalities. ¡°Ha¡­..¡± Instantly, the fever that had risen to the top of my head cooled down. I¡¯m angry, but let¡¯s be as rational as possible. Part of me wants to scream at the top of my lungs that there¡¯s something wrong with this coffee. The problem is that I¡¯m a known face, the owner of a rival cafe. What¡¯s more, I¡¯m currently wearing a hat and a scarf to hide my face from prying eyes. I¡¯ll be lucky if I¡¯m not misunderstood as trying to reverse viralise the rival cafe. ¡°¡­¡­.¡± This is not a good place for a public debate. Okay. Let¡¯s just go home quietly and find a way to report this to the Dungeon Management Office or wherever. I left the tray of untouched coffee and dessert at the exit and turned to leave. However, a staff member, who was scanning the store with a hawk¡¯s eye, saw the tray of uneaten food and approached me. ¡°Excuse me, miss, did the menu not suit your taste?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s not like that.¡± It¡¯s bad to stand out here. To get out as quietly as possible, I shook my head with a vague smile. ¡°We apologise for not being able to satisfy you.¡± The employee bowed their head, ¡°If it wasn¡¯t to your liking, I¡¯d be happy to change your order to something else, free of charge.¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m already full, haha.¡± It¡¯s burdensome. It¡¯s incredibly burdensome. There was a sense of urgency in the staff that they couldn¡¯t let a customer who was unhappy with their drink go. Does this employee not know that there is a problem with the drink? Excessive kindness made with good intentions was hard to refuse. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ll issue you a coupon, and you can come back when it¡¯s convenient for you. We will do our best to provide you with satisfactory service.¡± No, I don¡¯t plan on coming back. I was about to dissuade the employee, saying it was okay not to give me a coupon¡­. Uh, what was that? ¡°Customer, here¡¯s the coupon ¡­ Miss?¡± While the employee headed to the staff room to get the coupon, a brief glimpse through the crack in the door caught my eye. I whispered in a small voice, ¡°Ash, did you see that?¡± ¡°¡­Yes.¡± A man walked in through the back door, and the staff greeted him politely. There¡¯s nothing particularly strange about this. However, his attire was very peculiar. He wore a long, white robe that covered his entire body and a peculiar hat. He looked like a religious man. But there¡¯s no religion that dresses like that. Wait, religion? I¡¯d forgotten about it because nothing much had happened since then, but I¡¯d met this weird cult guy once. I spoke up as if I wanted the staff to hear me, ¡°Ash, I¡¯m going to the bathroom for a minute.¡± ¡°What?¡± He was confused for a moment, but then he realised what I meant and nodded, ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll be waiting over there then.¡± ¡°The bathroom is over there, miss.¡± A thoroughly service-orientated employee pointed out the location of the bathroom. I walked in the direction they pointed, then I opened the system window in the empty hallway in front of the bathroom. The skills I¡¯ve gained so far have come up. Among them, this is the skill I used. ¡®The Bond of a Cup of Coffee.¡¯ [The Bond of a Cup of Coffee (B) Details: (Lv.1) You can copy the skill of the person who drank the Ultimate Coffee. (00:05:00) Cooldown: 24:00:00 Available for: Choi Yichan, Kim Taewoon.] Among them, I chose Kim Taewoon, the journalist ahjussi. I never thought that the day when I need to use this skill would actually come. [Paparazzi (E) (Lv.1) You can follow the target without being detected for a certain period of time. (01:00:00)] ¡°¡­it¡¯s done.¡± I turned around in front of the bathroom and headed towards the place where I had just seen the strangely dressed man. Thanks to the skill¡¯s effectiveness, no one suspected me, and I soon found him. I peeked into his face and he was a different person from the pseudo-religious man I met before. At that moment, the cafe manager approached the man. I braced myself against the wall and listened their voices. ¡°This is a precious object, please handle it with care.¡± ¡°Yes, I will do as you command.¡± The strangely dressed man handed the manager a glass vial of golden liquid. That¡¯s it. That suspicious liquid must be the coffee¡¯s secret. If I got a little closer, I could see what it was, but I couldn¡¯t because the Paparazzi skill required a radius of at least three metres. ¡®¡­..! They¡¯re moving!¡± The man headed towards the back of the staff room, towards the secret door with a very suspicious atmosphere. I hurriedly followed, but the secret door closed in front of me. There was no visible open/close mechanism, and it didn¡¯t budge when I pushed and pulled. ¡­¡­I missed it. On the closed door was the name of the company that runs this cafe. I heard that they started as a crafting guild then entered the cafe industry, but now it seemed too suspicious. And underneath, a distinctive star mark. [The ¡®Church of Starry Wisdom¡¯ has been added to the Ether-Wiki.] ¡°¡­¡­!¡± As soon as I spotted the star-shaped mark, the system notification rang as if it had been waiting. I decided to check this item right away. ¡®Ether-Wiki.¡¯ [Checking your eligibilities ¡­ Completed.] [The Eligible: Verifying Kwon Rieul¡­..] ¡®Skip.¡¯ I skipped down the string of entries and opened the item. The content was simple. ¡¶Church of Starry Wisdom¡· Type: Religion>Organization Description: A religious group that worships Chaos. It was discontinued about 10 years ago, but it has been revived. ¡ù For more detailed information, unlocking is required. My head was pounding. *** ¡°What are you going to do?¡± Ash asked me. A cold wind slapped my cheeks. Ash and I were just leaving Super Buff Cofee. The scene I had just seen was very unsettling, but it was best to get out of that place quietly. What should I do? Is there anyone I can talk to about this situation ¡­ Ah. I turned on my maps app to get directions. It¡¯s close enough to walk from here. ¡°Ash, let¡¯s stop somewhere else for a while.¡± ¡°Okay. Where?¡± I headed to Cheongna Guild. Translator¡¯s Corner: Seonghye: ??(ÐÇ»Û), Star Wisdom. I don¡¯t want to make it already obvious on previous chapter, so I didn¡¯t translate the name. It seemed that I always greeted you guys with bad news, so here¡¯s a good news ¡­ I passed my thesis proposal defense! I was pretty worried because I spent most of my time being sick, but thankfully the proposal got accepted and I can continue it T__T anyway we¡¯re going to see our male lead again soon! (I¡¯m glad he will have a lot of screentime from now on ¡­ this is romance fantasy after all) CH 122 After walking for about five minutes, I soon saw the building of the Cheongna Guild. As a small elite guild, the size of the building is not very large. However, the tall entrance of the building, divided into the main building and the annex, had a considerable presence even within this sparkling street. ¡°Is this the right place?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Together with Ash, I entered the main entrance of the guild. There was a reception desk at the front of the neatly decorated entrance hall. At first, I tried to tell the receptionist the purpose of my visit and asked for guidance. ¡°Hello. I ¡­ uuhh?¡± But I didn¡¯t finish my sentence. ¡°Eonni, hello!¡± Puk! I felt a strong impact on my back. From the inside of the guild, Joo Shinhee rushed over and hugged me. It was a pretty heavy blow. Her twin brother, Joo Shinwoo, was with her. ¡°Eonni, what are you doing here? If I had known you were coming, I would have gone out to meet you!¡± ¡°Ahaha, hello. It¡¯s been a while. How have you been?¡± ¡°Hello, Noona.¡± Joo Shinwoo shyly added a greeting. ¡°Eh? Kim Ash is here too? I wanted to go play with Eonni too!¡± ¡°Me too, me too.¡± The twins circled around me and Ash. My head was dizzy from the fast movement. ¡°Eonni, do you want me to guide you to our guild? Do you want a snack?¡± Joo Shinhee, who stopped spinning, grabbed my arm and pulled me inside, but this time Joo Shinwoo tugged on my arm from the other side. ¡°You idiot! You¡¯re troubling Noona.¡± ¡°Ahaha, it¡¯s not a trouble¡­.¡± I appreciate the hospitality, but I¡¯d like you to remember that I only have one body, guys. ¡°You idiot! She said it¡¯s okay! I¡¯m really close with Eonni, see?¡± ¡°You idiot! I¡¯m close with her too, remember?¡± The year has changed, but the twins are still the same, and it¡¯s reassuring to see them so energetic. Please continue to grow up as you are right now, unlike the twins before the regression. After a while of bickering in twos, or rather, threes, with Ash sandwiched in between, Joo Shinwoo asked. ¡°So, what brings you here today?¡± ¡°Right, I¡¯m here to meet Yoohyun-ssi.¡± ¡°¡­¡­!¡± ¡°¡­¡­!¡± The twins glance at each other¡¯s faces in surprise, then back at me. Their eyes glowed incredulously. With an eagerness that was incomparable to before, the two stuck together and marked me intensively. ¡°Welcome! Come this way, Eonni. I¡¯ll show you around.¡± Joo Shinhee grabbed my hand, and Ju Shinwoo pushed Ash¡¯s back. We were led upstairs by the twins. The stairs took us up one level and then down a long corridor leading to an annex, where there was a security gate. The twins manipulated the security device to open the gate and usher us through. There were no signs of others¡¯ presence, so it appeared that this was not a place for regular guild members or employees to enter. After leading us directly to the front of the Guild leader¡¯s office, the twins pointed to a door. ¡°Noona, over there, that¡¯s the door.¡± And then. ¡°Kim Ash, you go this way.¡± ¡°What?¡± Joo Shinwoo pushed Ash¡¯s back and turned sideways. ¡°Come on, play with us.¡± ¡°Let go of me¡­.!¡± With a grimace, Ash pushed the twins away, but two against one seemed too much. The twins surrounded him, chattering away. ¡°Kim Ash, I¡¯ll show you our armory.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you want to see my new cursed stake?¡± ¡°¡­¡­! That, I might want to see it a little.¡± Oh. Ash looked curious. ¡°I purified a fourth-grade stake to remove impurities and then carved a curse into it. It took me a week to make. It can curse even the highest-ranked demons with a single blow.¡± ¡°After purifying the 4-stars stake to remove the impurities, I inscribed a curse on it. It took me a week to make this masterpiece! It can curse even the highest-ranked demon with a single blow.¡± ¡°Hmph. You¡¯re quite skilled.¡± Ash¡¯s eyes lit up at Joo Shinwoo¡¯s words. ¡°That¡¯s right. I¡¯ll show you something special. Don¡¯t disturb Noona and play with us.¡± ¡°¡­disturb?¡± ¡°Eonni, I¡¯ll be playing with Kim Ash, so feel free to talk to the Guild leader. Take it easy!¡± ¡°Hey, let go of me.¡± ¡°This way, this way. Let¡¯s go see the cursed stake.¡± ¡°¡­Okay.¡± In a flash, the twins were gone, dragging Ash to the other side of the corridor. It looked like a storm had blown in. Anyway. ¡®I¡¯m glad they seem to be getting along¡­.¡¯ Just then, the door in front of me opened. ¡°You¡¯re here, please come in.¡± It was Ki Yoohyun. I glanced at the back of Ash who was being dragged by the twins, then entered the room. The guild leader¡¯s office of the Cheongna Guild. The room, with its table, sofa, desk, and bookshelves, had a simple atmosphere. It didn¡¯t look like it was used very often. ¡°Have a seat.¡± Ki Yoohyun was dressed comfortably in black trousers and a pullover knit. The beige knit looked good on him. After I sat down, he poured me a cup of tea and placed it in front of me. It was warm green tea. I took a sip of the tea, then looked around and said, ¡°Yoohyun-ssi, you¡¯re really the leader of the Cheongna Guild.¡± ¡°Did I look like a fake until now?¡± ¡°Ahaha, it¡¯s not like that. Just.¡± ¡°Well, the actual administrative work is handled by Hunter Han Yiseong, so I don¡¯t use this room much.¡± Having said that, Ki Yoohyun sat down across from me. The afternoon sunlight cast thin shadows over his face. He sipped his tea, waiting for me to speak. A quiet but not uncomfortable silence settled gently between him and me. I already knew in my head that his true identity was Muwon, the guild leader of the Cheongna Guild, but it felt awkward to see him here after seeing him come and go from the cafe every time. And I didn¡¯t expect him to let me in this far. Although I contacted him in advance, all we talked about was through KakaoTalk about 10 minutes ago. However, I was allowed in without any verification process at the entrance. It must be a secret that Ki Yoohyun is a Muwon, the guild leader of Cheongna Guild. Am I that much trusted by him? The Guild¡¯s office is a very public place, but on the contrary, I feel like I¡¯ve been allowed into his private space. The silence tickles my cheeks. Come to think of it, this is the first time I¡¯ve been alone with him since we went to watch the fireworks. I¡¯ve been preoccupied with everything that¡¯s happened at the cafe, and when he comes to the cafe, Ash and the animals were always with us. When we went to watch the fireworks, the atmosphere was very similar to this. ¡­ Ah. When I think of Ki Yoohyun of the day, I can feel my earlobes burning. I quenched my thirst with tea and spoke, ¡°I¡¯m sorry for asking you to meet me so suddenly.¡± ¡°No, I just happened to be at the guild, and you¡¯re welcome to come over even if you don¡¯t have a specific purpose.¡± He smiled, the eyes filled with goodwill turned to me, ¡°So, what do you have to tell me, Rieul-ssi?¡± ¡°Well, a little while ago ¡­ I went there with Ash.¡± ¡°There?¡± I told Ki Yoohyun about what happened in Super Buff Coffee. As my story progressed, Ki Yoohyun¡¯s expression darkened and eventually froze completely. He erased the smile from his face and let out a thin sigh. ¡°That¡¯s why I called Yoohyun-ssi to get your advice first.¡± Ki Yoohyun rubbed his forehead with his fingertips and said, ¡°Why did you go to such a place?¡± ¡°What? I was just curious.¡± ¡°The idea that it¡¯s dangerous ¡­. I don¡¯t think you thought about that. Not at all.¡± ¡°What do you mean dangerous? It¡¯s just a cafe.¡± ¡°It would have been dangerous if you had been caught following the suspicious man.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± I could tell that this man was worried about me. I didn¡¯t know what to say to him, since I couldn¡¯t say things like ¡°It¡¯s okay because I didn¡¯t get caught¡± or ¡°I used my paparazzi skill¡± so I just emptied my tea without saying a word. The green tea is delicious. ¡°We are also investigating the cafe.¡± ¡°What do you mean with ¡®we¡®?¡± ¡°Cheongna.¡± ¡°¡­Why?¡± I was curious about the latecomer cafe that sells buff coffee, so I went there and saw something strange. Was there some other reason for the high-level guild to investigate? ¡°Seonghye Enterprise. This is the name of the headquarters that runs that cafe, Super Buff Coffee.¡± ¡°Ah.¡± It was also written on the secret door that the strangely dressed man from Super Buff Coffee had entered. ¡°They say they started out as a crafting guild, but I haven¡¯t found any significant history. It must be a lie.¡± ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°The Seonghye Enterprise, the words they used for its name mean star and wisdom. It¡¯s a blatant name.¡± As I thought about the meaning of Seong Hye, a familiar name popped up. ¡°The Church of Starry Wisdom¡­.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± It wasn¡¯t completely unexpected, but I was surprised to see the name appeared here. Ki Yoohyun¡¯s past, Super Buff Coffee, and a religious organisation who¡¯s trying to resurrect the Demon in the future. It¡¯s like they¡¯re blatantly advertising that they¡¯re the main villain. ¡°I saw a mark like this in that cafe.¡± I drew the star-shaped mark on a piece of paper and showed it to him. Even without hearing the answer, I could see that this mark was a symbol of the Church of Starry Wisdom. Ki Yoohyun glared at the paper with a stony expression. ¡°There is one thing that puzzles me. You say it¡¯s a secret door, but they left evidence like that outside enough for Rieul-ssi to access. It¡¯s like they¡¯re trying to show off.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t this happen before the regression?¡± ¡°No. It was more of a behind-the-scenes thing, not out front.¡± Ki Yoohyun was lost in thought with an expressionless face. ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± I also thought to myself, Isn¡¯t the expiration date for regressor merit too short? It¡¯s not even half a year since the regression, but the future has changed too much. Shouldn¡¯t there still be a moment in half a year where you¡¯re like, ¡°Ah! There¡¯s something like this happened in the past before the regression!¡°? No matter how much I think about it, the future has changed a lot not because of me, but because of Ki Yoohyun. I¡¯m an F-class, but this guy is an S-class. Even if it¡¯s a future that I¡¯ve changed¡­. I set up a cafe, saved Choi Yichan, saved the flowers that made Choi Cedric¡¯s brother not sick, met Ash, got Cthugha¡¯s Ring and went to Cthugha¡¯s Garden, and my uncle returned, and through the mysterious door, I gave buffs directly to the Hunters in the dungeon.¡­ ¡­.that¡¯s a lot? Me, am I the problem? The Super Buff Coffee is probably based on our cafe. I guess it¡¯s me¡­.. For a while, the two regressors were lost in the thought since they fell into trouble without merit as regressors. Then, Ki Yoohyun opened his mouth again. ¡°It is true that what you have told me is helpful information. However, I am worried about Rieul-ssi now that I know that the Church is involved.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll investigate the ingredients of the coffee there first.¡± ¡°¡­¡­yes.¡± The most urgent task is to figure out the identity of the coffee. ¡°And I¡¯ll make sure to deal with anyone who tries to copy Rieul-ssi¡¯s cafe, so can you leave this to me?¡± He sounded sincere. I nodded slowly. There was no way I could investigate Super Buff Coffee further on my own. I decided to take him at his words and accept the favor. CH 123 After that, we had a brief chat. Ki Yoohyun told me that the twins have recently been competing to see who can grow taller the fastest. They measure their height every day, and there is a height measurement sticker on the first floor of the guild¡¯s main building. ¡°Aha¡­.¡± For some reason, Ash has been measuring his height every day lately, too, was it the influence of the twins? It¡¯s been his morning routine lately to bang his head against the wall and look disappointed. When I look at him, he pretends that he didn¡¯t measure his height, but it was obvious. Should I buy a height measurement sticker for Ash too? When I spoke about that idea, Ki Yoohyun unexpectedly shook his head with a complex expression. ¡°That ¡­ I don¡¯t think it¡¯s such a good idea.¡± ¡°What? Why?¡± ¡°At a delicate age, there are things you want to keep secret.¡± ¡°Is that so¡­.¡± Having a small talk with Ki Yoohyun made me feel at ease. I hadn¡¯t realised it, but I must have been inwardly frightened by what I had seen at Super Buff Coffee earlier. ¡°I¡¯m glad you seemed to be feeling better.¡± Maybe that¡¯s why he suddenly brought up the small talk. I was grateful for his consideration. I enjoyed talking to him, but if I stayed much longer, Ash would be waiting. Pushing myself up out of my chair, I cautiously spoke the words I¡¯d been hesitant to continue. ¡°That place, the Church of Starry Wisdom, you said they were trying to resurrect the Demon.¡± ¡°Yes, I said that.¡± ¡°The cult, did they do anything bad ¡­ to Yoohyun-ssi?¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± He was silent for a long moment. I lifted my gaze from the floor to look up at him. Ki Yoohyun locked eyes with me and smiled slightly. The corners of his eyes curved gently, but his pupils were black as if they had swallowed every last bit of light. Ah. There it was, the most obvious answer of all. The unexplained darkness in this man that was always barely masked by his smile. Maybe I just wanted to hear ¡®No¡® as the answer. In a vision, I recalled the boy struggling with pain. An incomprehensible scene where overwhelming pain, beyond the comprehension of the human mind, tearing apart his soul. A moment too brutal to be called an Awakening. I desperately wish I could hear the answer that it was a false past, that he never went through it. However, Ki Yoohyun did not deny the question and just sent me off with a smile. The door closed slowly. The look on his face just before the door closed was deeply etched in my mind. The smile on his lips bubbled up and then faded, followed by a cold expression on his face. The mysterious No. 1 Hunter and the leader of Cheongna Guild, Muwon. A regressor like me. Someone who¡¯s kind and affectionate, but also has a preposterous personality. And ¡­ a void that these words can¡¯t fill. For the first time, I felt like I wanted to know more about this man. *** Apart from my concern for Ki Yoohyun, true to my word, I decided to forget about the Fake Cafe for the time being. However, nothing in the world was going according to my will. The next day, as soon as I opened the cafe door, a customer walked in. ¡°Welcome.¡± As I greeted the customer, I was surprised¡­. ¡°Whoa, this quiet atmosphere. It¡¯s a nice cafe.¡± ¡­ because the customer was Oh Seoho. The 18th ranked illusionist Hunter, an actor, and the man I saw in Super Buff Coffee. ¡­..what is the promotional model for Super Buff Coffee doing here? I felt a shiver run down my spine. Knowing that the Super Buff Coffee was doing something fishy with their coffee, it was difficult to have good feelings for their promotional model. Part of me wanted to kick him out and not selling anything to him, but I couldn¡¯t. ¡°Waeong, waeoooong (isn¡¯t that Oh Seoho from The Temptation of the Returned Hunter)!¡± It was because Mieum was extremely happy. He plays a significant supporting role in a drama that Mieum is obsessed with these days. Mieum was too shy to approach Oh Seoho and stuck her head out from a few steps away. Her resentment would be enormous if I kick him out as I wish. Yes, he¡¯s a rival, a publicity model for the enemy, but let¡¯s take his order. It¡¯s not his fault. ¡°Have you decided on your order?¡± ¡°Umh, what¡¯s your recommendation? Please give me that.¡± Standing at an angle and resting his elbows on the counter, Oh Seoho flashed a refreshing smile. His well-set hair flutters lightly. It¡¯s burdensome. It was when I thought I should give him cold brew coffee, which I could make the fastest. ¡°Nyaaaa (I want an autograph. Ask for an autograph)!¡± ¡°Mieum, take it for yourself.¡± ¡°Waeuuung (wouldn¡¯t he get surprised if a cat talked to him)¡­.¡± Oh, that¡¯s right. I made him pay for the Irish coffee, thinking that I should at least sell an expensive menu to the enemy. I handed him the coffee, then reluctantly pulled out a piece of paper and a pen. ¡°I ¡­. you¡¯re Hunter Oh Seoho, right? can I get your autograph?¡± ¡°Are you a fan of mine?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m not ¡­ but my friend is your fan, ahahaha¡­.¡± ¡°What¡¯s your friend¡¯s name?¡± ¡°Her name is Kwon Mieum. It¡¯s ¡®Mieum.¡¯ Oh, just draw me a square. A square.¡± ¡°Waeolg!¡± When Oh Seoho wrote ¡°Dear. ?¡± on a piece of paper and signed it, Mieum jumped excitedly from behind, but she doesn¡¯t come closer. She¡¯s a surprisingly shy cat. And when he handed me the autograph, I was surprised to hear what Oh Seoho said. ¡°Hunter Ki Yoohyun, you know him, right?¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± This guy seems to know who Ki Yoohyun is. Look at the smile on his face, ¡®I¡¯m an important person¡® was written all over it. It was definitely not the look of someone asking about a single, average Hunter. I groaned inwardly, ¡®Yoohyun-ssi, aren¡¯t you actually a public good?¡¯ You¡¯re not a mysterious No. 1 Ranker, but it¡¯s just that everyone who¡¯s worth knowing already know? I should have known from the moment he said his identity was a secret yet he kept using the net of light skill. You¡¯re not even trying to hide it, are you? At this rate, no one will be surprised when Ki Yoohyun reveals his identity in the future. ¡®Oh, I knew it!¡¯ ¡®Actually, me too.¡¯ ¡®Huh? Was that a secret?¡¯ Everyone might say something like this. ¡°¡­.Owner-nim?¡± Tuk. Oh Seoho tapped lightly on the counter, drawing my attention away from my thoughts. The look on his face gave me a nagging sense of foreboding. I decided to feign ignorance. ¡°I don¡¯t know him.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a shame you say that.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Think carefully. He must have talked about me.¡± ¡°Ha¡­.¡± I searched my memory for a while, but there was no such thing. I shook my head with a confused expression, but Oh Seoho was persistent. ¡°Didn¡¯t he ever say he had a close friend, like, the only person he confided in, or something like that?¡± ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know¡­.¡± ¡°I¡¯m embarrassed to say it with my own mouth, but I¡¯m his best friend.¡± For a celebrity, Oh Seoho had a good attitude, and his behaviour was friendly. But he was a bit, umh, how should I put it? He leaned on the counter and winked one eye. It was a pose like a poster for a carbonated water commercial that once caused quite a stir. For your information, even if you pose like that in front of my eyes, I¡¯m not particularly impressed. Since I¡¯ve seen Ki Yoohyun¡¯s face so often, I¡¯ve developed a tolerance for handsome men. ¡°Best Friend. BF for short. Got it?¡± ¡®What is this¡­.¡¯ ¡°He told me when we were younger that there was no one he could trust as much as me. He held my hand like this and asked me to stay friends with him forever, so we became best friends.¡± I couldn¡¯t imagine Ki Yoohyun saying such a thing to this man. I inadvertently retorted. ¡°You¡¯re lying, right?¡± ¡°As expected, you know each other! What kind of relationship? Are you two already like that?¡± ¡°¡­.Like what?¡± Ash, who was sitting at the table and engrossed in his hobby, perked up his ears. No, that¡¯s not it. Keep doing what you¡¯re doing. Regardless of whether I responded or not, Oh Seoho continued to talk, ¡°Haha, you have high standards, Owner-nim. As his best friend, I¡¯m here because I¡¯m worried about how he¡¯s doing.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°I have time because my part for The Temptation of the Returned Hunter ends next week. Are you watching it? It¡¯s popular. Next week, my role saves the heroine and dies.¡± ¡°Waeooolg (Why are you giving spoilers)?!¡± ¡°Kkyuu!¡± Mom, I¡¯m so annoyed with this guy¡­¡­. Just then, the cafe door opened again. This time, it was HingHangHong who walked in. Anyone is good as long as it¡¯s not Oh Seoho. I greeted him with a heartfelt welcome, avoiding Oh Seoho. ¡°Welcome, HingHangHong-ssi!¡± ¡°¡­¡­?! Huh? You¡¯re going to call me by my Hunter Channel nickname out of the blue like that?! Please protect my cyber privacy!¡± Oh, my. I always call him by his nickname instead of his real name. ¡°Ahaha, enough with the pleasantries, what can I get you?¡± ¡°Hmmm ¡­ I¡¯d like an Americano and a set of cookies please.¡± ¡°Yes, here¡¯s the menu.¡± ¡°Ha¡­.¡± After accepting the menu, HingHangHong sat down at the table and sighed with a depressed expression. One could tell that something was wrong. It¡¯s the same as last time. No, this time looks worse than last time. I approached him and talked to him, ¡°You don¡¯t look well. Is something wrong?¡± ¡°Haha, it¡¯s nothing, I¡¯m fine.¡± HingHangHong tried to smile, but the corners of his mouth formed a clumsy curve. Up close, his eyes are watery. He doesn¡¯t look okay at all. Come to think of it, the last time I spoke to him, he said his friend had gone unreachable and he couldn¡¯t get in touch with him. How did that work out? ¡°What happened to the friend you told me before? Have you been in touch?¡± It bothered me that he had made a casserole bet with Super Buff Coffee and our cafe coffee. I don¡¯t want to lose to Super Buff Coffee, which supported by a suspicious group. HingHangHong replied with a darker expression, ¡°Ah, that ¡­ that¡¯s no longer the problem.¡± ¡°What?¡± HingHangHong told me what had been happening. He was angry because his friend kept being silent on KakaoTalk and didn¡¯t pick up the phone calls. Even if you¡¯re going to lose in our bet, how dare you cut me off like this! With the thought of cursing at them coolly, he went to their home. His friend was sleeping soundly at home. At first, he tried to wake them up right away. He couldn¡¯t believe they were taking a nap while ignoring his KakaoTalk. However, no matter how hard he tried, his friend wouldn¡¯t open their eyes. He grabbed them and shook their body, but they didn¡¯t respond. He slapped them lightly, and they still snored even when he poured ice water on their head. It¡¯s suspicious, so HingHangHong called a Healer. But the Healer didn¡¯t know what to do either. All he could say was that there was something wrong with the flow of ether in their body. ¡°Shit. My friend is sick but I asked to make a bet. I¡¯m a trash¡­¡­.¡± ¡°Aah, it¡¯s not HingHangHong-ssi¡¯s fault. Cheer up.¡± ¡°Haaa¡­.¡± HingHangHong sighed deeply. It was a very disturbing story. A disease where the etheric flow in the body is disturbed, causing a person to fall into an unbreakable sleep. I think I¡¯ve heard of it before¡­.. Aren¡¯t the symptoms are similar to the rare disease that Choi Cedric¡¯s sister has? By the way, Choi Cedric told me that her symptoms were alleviated by the Blue Celaeno flower, but she hasn¡¯t woken up yet. I cautiously asked HingHangHong, who mumbled something self-deprecating. ¡°Uh, do you have any idea what caused it?¡± ¡°Well, they don¡¯t usually go to dangerous dungeons, so I don¡¯t know what ¡­ Oh! there was a lot of that in the room.¡± ¡°That?¡± ¡°Takeaway cups of Super Buff Coffee.¡± CH 124 ¡°He used to drink coffee at that cafe often, but I guess he drank a lot in one sitting to win the bet with me.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°Caffeine shock? Is it perhaps a case of caffeine addiction?¡± ¡°Well, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s caffeine addiction.¡± Caffeine addiction will cause my head to hurt like hell and I will get exhausted, but there¡¯s no symptoms of caffeine poisoning that would prevent someone from waking up. ¡°Maybe¡­¡­.¡± After draining the last of the coffee from his cup with a grim expression, HingHangHong stood up, ¡°Thank you for listening, I feel better after talking to you. I shouldn¡¯t be like this, I should visit the hospital.¡± He bowed and headed for the door with a weak gait. I saw him off. ¡°That¡¯s a troubling story.¡± ¡°Uaahh, what?!¡± Oh Seoho spoke right behind me. I was really surprised. I was about to ask him to move away. Boom! Something exploded. It was a pen in Oh Seoho¡¯s hand. If this man hadn¡¯t just stepped aside, it would have been him, not the pen, that exploded. Unfazed by the unexpected explosion, Oh Seoho opened his arms towards the entrance, ¡°Hello, my best friend!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t bother Rieul-ssi and get lost.¡± Ki Yoohyun barged inside. ¡°Welcome, Yoohyun-ssi.¡± I had sent a KakaoTalk message to Ki Yoohyun as soon as Oh Seoho appeared earlier. Judging by the time, he came as soon as he saw the message. ¡°My best friend! It¡¯s been a while, but you¡¯re still as violent as ever.¡± Still? I just heard an explosion? Does this mean that this has happened more than once? How can you call that a friend? I looked at Oh Seoho with suspicion. Oh Seoho was unaffected and laughed nonchalantly. ¡°I know you¡¯re embarrassed to be honest about your feelings for this Hyung. Hot, hot, hot!¡± ¡°¡­¡­I¡¯m sorry, Rieul-ssi¡± ¡°I accept your apology.¡± ¡°More than that, just now, that customer walked out with a dark look on his face, did something happen?¡± Ki Yoohyun said without so much as a glance in Oh Seoho¡¯s direction. It was a perfect block. ¡°Ah, about that.¡± ¡°¡­¡­guys, do you happen to be unable to see me? That¡¯s weird, there¡¯s no way you can¡¯t see someone this handsome?¡± ¡°The noise is making it uncomfortable for us to talk, shall we move?¡± ¡°Best friend, stop, I won¡¯t even be breathing, so please, huphh!¡± ¡°Ahahaha¡­.¡± There was a bit of commotion, but I managed to tell Ki Yoohyun what I¡¯d heard from HingHangHong earlier. ¡°The most suspicious one is Super Buff Coffee.¡± At the end of the short story, that was the conclusion that Ki Yoohyun came to. I agree with that conclusion. ¡°He drank coffee and fell into a sleep from which he didn¡¯t wake up ¡­ could such a thing be possible?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t know yet, I will have to do some research.¡± ¡°I see.¡­¡± ¡°There¡¯s just one problem, though.¡± ¡°What?¡± In the Korean Hunter World, those at the top are given as much power as responsibility. As such, it wasn¡¯t impossible for us to simply close the cafe and investigate in the name of ¡®Muwon¡®. However, it¡¯s still unclear exactly how big Sunghye Enterprise, the company behind Super Buff Coffee, is. It was possible that we would only catch the small fish and give the real culprits a chance to escape. That¡¯s definitely a problem. The entire Cult will not be rooted out only if we deal with the small and medium-sized pieces. Next time, they can set up another company and do something similar. If we don¡¯t deal with the real culprits, we will be back to square one. We need to gather evidence one at a time and dig down to the roots. Therefore, Ki Yoohyun explained that he is looking for a way to approach without raising suspicions. ¡­.it can¡¯t be helped. One more question remained. If it¡¯s true that HingHangHong¡¯s friend fell asleep after drinking that cafe¡¯s coffee¡­. ¡°What¡¯s the purpose?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°The purpose of doing something like this. Is it to make money by selling coffee?¡± ¡°That¡¯s unlikely. There¡¯s a lot of money invested in this business. No matter how high the price of coffee is, it will take a long time to recover the investment.¡± ¡°If not money, what do they gain by selling that coffee? If the side effects are discovered, the sales will stop sooner or later.¡± ¡°The only possibility I can think of is that ¡­ they¡¯re trying to put Cafe Rieul out of business.¡± ¡°Eh, no way. There¡¯s no way they have a grudge against our cafe. this is such a remote place.¡± That¡¯s not true. That¡¯s not true ¡­ right? ¡°Then¡­¡­.¡± Ki Yoohyun thought for a moment, then spoke again. He sounded unsure, ¡°Maybe their purpose is just to get people to drink the coffee.¡± ¡°Hmmm¡­¡­¡± Ki Yoohyun and I put our heads together and immersed ourselves in our thoughts. There was too little information. Any answer we came up with would only be a vague guess. ¡°What are you guys so concerned about? You can just infiltrate them, can¡¯t you?¡± Oh Seoho suddenly intervened. ¡°I have no intention of discussing it with the enemy ¡­. huh?¡± Oh Seoho is the endorsement model for Super Buff Coffee. An enemy official. Or, to put it more dichotomously, someone on the side of the enemy. However, Ki Yoohyun casually talked about the banning process in front of Oh Seoho. If he was really on the enemy¡¯s side, he would have kept his mouth shut. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me..¡­¡± ¡°Hohoho, we¡¯re still in talks to be the endorsement model. The contract will be cancelled soon. I have no intention of promoting such an unknown thing under my name.¡± ¡°Waeoong, waeooong (as expected! I was counting on it)!¡± After being knocked down by merciless spoilers, Mieum, who had just completed a full lap of the revolving door of stop-being-a-fan and becoming-a-fan-again, cheered. Oh Seoho, please shake hands with my cat later. ¡°I went out of my way to get information about that place, haha!¡± ¡°And the result?¡± Ki Yoohyun asked briefly, not even looking in Oh Seoho¡¯s direction. ¡°The regular employees are just salarymen, they don¡¯t know anything. But the inside is heavily secured, so I couldn¡¯t get in.¡± ¡°¡­¡­that means you failed.¡± Undaunted by the cold stare, Oh Seoho coughed and cleared his throat, ¡°Anyway, I¡¯m just saying, investigating from the outside can only take us so far. Wouldn¡¯t it be quicker to infiltrate and uncover evidence or a purpose?¡± ¡°Be quiet, Hunter Oh Seoho.¡± ¡°Ack! Best friend, why are you calling me in such a distant tone?¡± ¡°¡­Haaa.¡± Oh. That¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve ever seen Ki Yoohyun look genuinely annoyed at someone. Hang on. That¡¯s a good idea? Oh Seoho is right. Investigating from the outside has its limitations. Ki Yoohyun said he¡¯s investigating the cafe, so we¡¯ll get some information eventually, but it¡¯ll take time. I¡¯d rather¡­¡­. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s sneak in!¡± Ki Yoohyun¡¯s eyes widened in surprise at my sudden declaration. What I propose is a fake job. If we became a part-time worker at the Super Buff Cafe, it would be easier to see what the atmosphere is like inside. ¡°If it¡¯s a part-time job, I can introduce you. They¡¯re looking for people to work.¡± Oh Seoho readily agreed. All right, I think I¡¯ll be able to sneak in smoothly. However, Ki Yoohyun was not amused by my proposal. ¡°I can understand what you¡¯re suggesting, but behind them is the Cult.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± Oh Seoho narrowed his eyes slightly without saying anything. Does he have a connection to the Cult? It wasn¡¯t the kind of reaction I expected to see from him. Ki Yoohyun spoke again, ¡°It¡¯s dangerous, so I¡¯ll go.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not a good idea. Who else here has worked in a cafe besides me?¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± After a moment of silence, Ki Yoohyun refuted. ¡°Rieul-ssi¡¯s face is known as the owner of Cafe Rieul. If you visit as a customer, they may not know, but if you become an employee, you¡¯ll 100% get caught.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± Oops. I hadn¡¯t thought of that at all. I was flustered. Still, I was too concerned about that place to leave it alone. HingHangHong¡¯s friend in a deep sleep, the suspicious golden bottle, the engraved mark on the secret door¡­. Worst of all, they changed the meaning of the buff coffee I make with love! As the owner of the original buff coffee cafe, this is unacceptable. I want to participate in the investigation somehow. Surprisingly, it was Oh Seoho who gave the answer. ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about that, best friend. If you have the power of Illusionist Oh Seoho, everything will be fine!¡± Hahaha, Oh Seoho burst into laughter. *** ¡°But isn¡¯t this a bit much?¡± ¡°No. Not at all! This is perfect.¡± Oh Seoho showed me the mirror. Pink curly hair, green eyes, long eyelashes, a mole under my eyes, and a flashy outfit that made me look like I could play in a metal band right now¡­. In the mirror, I saw an unfamiliar reflection of myself. Ki Yoohyun, who was next to me, had a similar situation. Shiny blond hair, blue eyes, piercings, and a gorgeous outfit that looked straight out of a fashion magazine. His beautiful, well-made face remained the same, but he was so splendid that I didn¡¯t recognise him as the same person. It was Oh Seoho¡¯s illusion. Perhaps because of the lack of manpower due to the number of newly opened branches, we got a part-time job at Super Buff Coffee just with Oh Seoho¡¯s introduction. For the time being, I decided to close Cafe Rieul in the early afternoon and work four hours in the evening. Many things have happened since I returned to the past, but I never imagined that I would have to work two jobs. Closing my own store and working part-time in someone else¡¯s store. Life is really unpredictable. Today was my first day at work, or rather, the first day of infiltration mission. After closing the cafe earlier than usual, Ki Yoohyun and Oh Seoho arrived. Oh Seoho decided to change my appearance with an illusion so that my identity wouldn¡¯t be discovered. As a gesture of goodwill, Ki Yoohyun also got changed to match me. I trusted the confident Oh Seoho to do the job¡­.. The result was a blond Ki Yoohyun and a pink-haired me. CH 125 Oh Seoho claimed that it is possible to transform someone into a different person entirely through illusion. However, he continued, the average person would have a hard time adjusting to an unexpected change in appearance. There was a risk of feeling uncomfortable around others if you were in disguise for a few days, even if it was only for a short time. For that reason, he said, he used illusions that didn¡¯t change our original appearances too much. It makes sense to me, but¡­. My pink hair and green eyes are still too noticeable. As for my outfit, I look like I should be on stage, not working at a cafe. I looked in the mirror again and asked timidly, ¡°Isn¡¯t it too flashy?¡± ¡°No, you should do this much. Dress fancy and hide your original impression.¡± I looked at Oh Seoho with suspicious eyes, ¡°Is this a reflection of your taste?¡± ¡°As expected, my best friend! I knew you¡¯d look good with blond hair! And pink, what a fantastic combination!¡± That¡¯s right. No wonder he strongly recommended this pink hair. Still, it served the original purpose of not being recognisable, so we decided to go with it. It was almost time to leave. I braced myself and headed for the door. ¡°Ahs, I¡¯ll be back. Mieum and Lime, take good care of the house.¡± ¡°¡­Yeah.¡± ¡°Waeoong!¡± ¡°Kkyuu!¡± Tiling! As soon as I left the door, the system notification rang. [Main Quest: The Coffee Spy Operation] Mission Possible! You¡¯ve decided to infiltrate a suspicious cafe! However, there are many obstacles in your way. Can you find the secret of the coffee without getting caught? Disguise Yourself: (Completed) Discover The Secret Of the Coffee: (Incomplete) Time Remaining: 7 Days Reward: EXP (500 exp), Random Recipe, Ether-Wiki Update] Still, the phrase ¡°many obstacles¡± feels uncomfortable. Anyway, the quest has begun. *** Somewhere far away, at the same time when Kwon Rieul are in disguise and intend to infiltrate the fake cafe. ¡°Heuph, cough, cough!¡± Kwon Seokmin opened his eyes. ¡°Ugh! Transcendents have no mercy these days, no mercy. I really thought I was going to die this time.¡± Kwon Seokmin slowly looked around. A small room that looks like a prison. It seemed to be underground. As long as he can¡¯t figure out the whereabouts of the Grimoire, Aeon can¡¯t kill him. Convinced of that, he had been deliberately captured. He had even taken precautions against mind control¡­. ¡°I didn¡¯t think they would knock me out by just ignorantly hitting me. Ddang, transcendents these days have no grace, no class at all. Aigoo, what if my stiff shoulder gets worse.¡± He grumbled in a lively voice, but he felt empty because there was no one to listen to him. ¡°¡­¡­.¡± He didn¡¯t feel any presence even though he made a loud noise. They must have really locked him up. Hmm. What else can this old man do to cause trouble? It¡¯s funny, it doesn¡¯t matter what he does, it won¡¯t change the ending of this world. He didn¡¯t have a watch, so he didn¡¯t know the exact date, but Christmas must have already passed. He was going to give a good boy a Christmas present, but he was late. ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. Instead, let¡¯s give new year¡¯s money to the good boy.¡± Kwon Seokmin took off the Santa costume he was still wearing and threw it on the floor, then picked himself up and tried to break the lock on the prison door. ¡°Euh¡­.?¡± But his left leg didn¡¯t move. He looked down and saw a giant shackle around his ankle. He tried to hit it with force, but it won¡¯t budge. The lock was powered using ether. ¡°Huuh¡­.¡± Kwon Seokmin sighed. ¡®Ddang. If I knew this would happen, I should have gone to the escape room cafe and practiced.¡¯ He¡¯ll have to get this out of the way first. *** Me, Ki Yoohyun, and Oh Seoho. Three of us were all dressed in colourful outfits with no unified concept, heading towards the Super Buff Coffee on the Guild Street. Bump! I didn¡¯t see the person coming from the opposite direction and our shoulders collided. The other person took a step back and immediately lowered his head. ¡°Oops! I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°I¡¯m the one who¡¯s sorry ¡­ eh?¡± I was surprised as I lowered my head back. It was because the opponent I bumped into was Choi Yichan. ¡°Then, I¡¯ll be on my way.¡± At first, Choi Yichan didn¡¯t recognise me. After a quick bow, he walked past me and continued on his way. Oh, that¡¯s interesting. The illusion is really working, even Choi Yichan, who knows my face well, doesn¡¯t recognise me. However, after a few steps, Choi Yichan turned back to me, puzzled. ¡°Umm ¡­ is it not?¡± He looked at me and tilted his head. He turned around, took a few steps, and stopped again. ¡°¡­¡­?¡± What is this? It¡¯s not like he¡¯s a dog chasing its own tail. He looked at me and turned his head again and again. I asked Oh Seoho in a small voice, ¡°You said people won¡¯t recognize me.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because he has good eyesight, he¡¯s an S-Class.¡± At this rate, he¡¯ll keep circling around me. When Choi Yichan looked into my face for the seventh time, I spoke first, ¡°Yichan-ah, I¡¯m Rieul.¡± ¡°What? What do you mean ¡­. Huh? Really?¡± ¡°Yeah, really.¡± ¡°What happened to your hair and clothes? You look like you could be in a metal band right now.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡­.¡± I had some time to spare before my part-time job. Since it would be difficult to contact him in the evening for the time being, I asked for Ki Yoohyun¡¯s understanding and briefly explained the situation to Choi Yichan. However, Choi Yichan¡¯s reaction was far from what I expected. ¡°Are you going to such a suspicious place with those suspicious people?¡± ¡°Yoohyun-ssi and Hunter Oh Seoho aren¡¯t suspicious. Their identities are clear.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant.¡± ¡°Yichan-ah.¡± The unfriendly gaze turned to the man standing next to me. Ki Yoohyun smiled bitterly. Even a fool could tell. Choi Yichan is wary of Ki Yoohyun. ¡°Yoohyun-ssi, I need to talk to Yichan for a moment.¡± I grabbed Choi Yichan¡¯s arm and dragged him to the corner. ¡°Yichan-ah, what¡¯s wrong with you?¡± ¡°¡­.I don¡¯t think it¡¯s safe.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay. It¡¯s just a cafe in town. I¡¯m not going alone.¡± My purpose is to spy. I don¡¯t intend to go any further than finding the ¡®coffee secret¡® that the quest asks for. However, Choi Yichan still had a dissatisfied expression on his face. ¡°If those suspicious people are behind this, as you say, there¡¯s no telling what could happen.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t lie to me. You just don¡¯t like Yoohyun-ssi.¡± ¡°It¡¯s just ¡­ I don¡¯t trust him.¡± From the old days, Choi Yichan has been a terrible liar. Occasionally, when he lied, his eyes flickered and it was obvious. Just like right now. ¡°Yichan-ah, what do you know?¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± He stubbornly keep his mouth shut. This is the reaction of someone who knows something. It¡¯s been a while since Choi Yichan became an S-Class, so I wonder if he¡¯s heard something from somewhere. ¡°If you know anything, tell me now. I¡¯ll listen.¡± ¡°Something like that ¡­ no.¡± I think I was a little upset by Choi Yichan¡¯s response. I didn¡¯t hide my frustration. ¡°Really? Then I¡¯ll do as I please.¡± ¡°¡­! Rieul-ah.¡± ¡°Yichan-ah, I know you¡¯re stopping me because you¡¯re worried about me. There must be a reason why you don¡¯t like Yoohyun-ssi, but Yoohyun-ssi is the one who helped me.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°More than anything, I want to do it.¡± Suddenly, I remembered what happened before the regression. I wasn¡¯t particularly enthusiastic about my job. Nevertheless, I worked late every day. The work was a good excuse to ignore the problems I wanted to ignore, like my relationship with Kwon Jiwoon. I turned my back on real problems and died at work without enthusiasm. That¡¯s the end of my ridiculous first life. I briefly looked at the blinking quest notification in the system window. Compared to that first life, how fortunate I am now to be able to face the problems I need to solve. I looked up at him quietly and said, ¡°I want to do this.¡± ¡°¡­¡­.¡± After a long moment, Choi Yichan nodded. I gently squeezed his hand and slowly released it, happy for a moment that he understood what I mean. ¡°Then I¡¯ll come with you.¡± ¡°What? That¡¯s¡­¡­.¡± ¡°¡­¡­That¡¯s a great idea!¡± Suddenly, Oh Seoho stuck his head in. ¡°Don¡¯t you usually get told that you have no tact?¡± ¡°That¡¯s why I chose a job where I don¡¯t have to worry about it.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡­.¡± ¡°Well, three is better than two, and since he¡¯s an a S-Class, he¡¯ll be a force in case of emergency. They¡¯re understaffed, so they won¡¯t turn you down.¡± Having summed up the situation so neatly, Oh Seoho snapped his fingers. His illusion changed Choi Yichan¡¯s appearance. If I had to describe his new appearance in a word, it would be a black-haired fighter. Black hair, black eyes. A long scar across his cheek. It looked like a slightly ruggedised version of the same face. But the way he looked¡­¡­. ¡°Oh, why are you tearing his clothes?!¡± It¡¯s kind of raunchy. Maybe it was to fit in with the fighting concept, but he was dressed to show off his hard muscles. His shirt sleeves were torn off, showing his arm muscles. ¡°I¡¯m fine¡­.¡± Choi Yichan said. The visual stimulus is too strong to show that sturdy body as it is. I asked Oh Seoho, ¡°Can¡¯t you change his body shape?¡± ¡°¡°How do you see my illusions? Of course I can. However, illusions do not change reality, but deceive the senses.¡± Snap. Oh Seoho snapped his fingers. The next moment, Choi Yichan¡¯s body turned into a skewer. ¡°If I change their body shape, the person will feel uncomfortable and their movements will be awkward. Try walking.¡± Choi Yichan slowly walked around the room. His steps were clumsy as he felt his shrunken arms and legs. ¡°Hmmm. I definitely shouldn¡¯t do that.¡± Snap. He snapped his fingers again. Choi Yichan returned to his original shape. For some reason, his clothes are even more torn, revealing even more muscles. ¡°Wow! It suits you. Let¡¯s go with the concept of a former martial artist who quit due to injury and is looking for a job.¡± ¡°¡­¡­why would a cafe hire a former fighter?¡± ¡°Because they¡¯re short-staffed.¡± I¡¯m not in a position to worry about the enemy, but is that cafe okay? ¡°I¡¯ll keep your name Choi Yicham.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you think that¡¯s a bit of an obvious pseudonym?¡± ¡°For your information, they are Ki Yooheon and Kwon Nieun.¡± ¡°Haa¡­.¡± Ki Yoohyun, no, Ki Yooheon, sighed. That¡¯s how¡­¡­. Kwon Nieun, a pink-haired girl who likes metal bands. Ki Yooheon, dressed like a popular Instagram model. Choi Yicham, a former martial artist who quit due to injury. Three job seekers and a guide, with a concept that didn¡¯t feel unified at all, arrived in front of Super Buff Coffee. CH 126 ¡°Ash, I¡¯ll be back.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± Ash stared at Kwon Rieul¡¯s back as she left. The door closed, and she was quickly out of sight. ¡°You look heartbroken, incarnation.¡± ¡°Kkyuu!¡± The animals approached his feet and talked to him. ¡°It¡¯s not like that.¡± Despite his reply, his expression remained gloomy. Kwon Rieul. To protect that stupid human being and to stay with her, Ash has put in a lot of effort. Specifically, eating well, sleeping well, exercising moderately, indulging in adult hobbies, etc. The twins also told him that eating lots of spinach can help him grow taller. ¡®They would never lie to me, would they?!¡¯ He ate all the spinach without leaving any leftovers, but he didn¡¯t grow at all. The height marker he carved on the wall every morning remained the same for several days. As he continued to drink Rieul¡¯s coffee, Ash¡¯s body had accumulated a considerable amount of magic power. However, he was only an ¡®entity¡¯ that has been disconnected from its main body. Unless he annihilates himself, it¡¯s impossible for him to find his original, wonderful body, not this imperfect one. At this rate, no matter how hard he tried, the stupid human will only think of him as a child. That¡¯s the case even with this incident. Someone who has experience working in a cafe and can infiltrate the enemy base. Wasn¡¯t he right next to her? But Kwon Rieul didn¡¯t even consider Ash as someone to take with her on the infiltration mission, because in her mind, he¡¯s the one who needs to be protected. Ash remembered what happened last time in Yongsan. ¡°Ash, it¡¯s all right. It¡¯s all right ¡­ I¡¯ll be back soon.¡± A gentle hand stroked his forehead. Her face was covered in dirt, but she was smiling as if she¡¯s trying to reassure him. A steady gaze. Something in his chest ached when he thought of it. He never wanted to see such a face again. It frustrated him. He wanted to help her, but what could he do on his own¡­¡­ ¡°¡­¡­!¡± Suddenly, Ash remembered something. There were humans he could mobilise, even in his current state. They could help him in case of an emergency. Thud! Ash jumped to his feet. ¡°Where are you going, waeoong!¡± ¡°Kkyuu, kkyuu!¡± Without stopping at the call of the animals, the boy left the store with a confident stride. *** Myeongdong, Jung-gu, Seoul. The headquarters of the Demon King ¡®Twilight¡¯ Cult was located there. After confirming the existence of the demon Asmodeus, the atmosphere of the Twilight Cult changed drastically. It was no longer necessary to spread illegal propaganda materials such as ¡°The Demon King is real¡± and ¡°The Demon King will be resurrected soon¡°. They also stopped doing missionary work in front of the station once a week. The truth is not dependent on the beliefs of foolish humans, it simply exists. The Demon Asmodeus is real, even if you don¡¯t shout it out loud. Once the Cult knew that there was the Demon King in this world, there was only one thing to do. The world is equal in the name of the Demon King. Therefore, it was their mission to make the world that belonged to him more beautiful. Free meal service, education service, nursery school service, etc. ¡­ the members of the Demon Cult Twilight were eager to participate in various volunteer activities. ¡°What? Demon King Cult? Where is it?¡± ¡°No proselytising is allowed in the building. Volunteer work? You want me to believe that? Get out.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t believe in cults.¡± However, due to the preconceived notions, there was no place that accepted them. The head priest of Twilight sighed as he tried to volunteer at a nearby nursery school again today, but the children shunned him. The courtyard of their headquarters was opened as a children¡¯s playground, but no one was using it. The empty swings swayed and creaked in the wind. Did he choose the wrong path? He just wanted to make the world beautiful¡­. It was then that a shadow fell on the head of the old man, who bowed sullenly. ¡°Foolish humans!¡± ¡°Heuk! Ah, aren¡¯t you Asmodeus-nim!¡± He had only seen him once, but he had never forgotten him. A pale face tinged with cynicism and futility ¡­ Pale? He must have eaten well in the meantime for his complexion has improved. The plump cheeks had gained weight and rounded out. What¡¯s more, he looked cute in his woollen beret and coat. It¡¯s not exactly a look suited for the Demon King, but¡­¡­. Eating is important. Anyway, it¡¯s good to see he¡¯s getting healthier. The plump-cheeked Ash declared sternly, ¡°Here you are. I have a task for you.¡± ¡°I ¡­ I will absolutely do it.¡± ¡°Please give us your order, Asmodeus-nim!¡± Led by the Cult¡¯s leader, the believers at the base gathered and bowed before Ash. What is the Demon King¡¯s command? To finally cleanse the tainted world? To perform the forbidden arcane arts of legend? Or¡­¡­ In silence, everyone¡¯s eyes turned to Ash. ¡°Take this first.¡± Ash pulled out several monster-shaped miniatures from his bag. He¡¯d had so much fun making them that there was no place for them in his room anymore, but it would be a shame to just throw them away. Before mentioning the real purpose, he intended to ask these humans to deal with the miniatures. Just then. A child from a nearby nursery school who had been avoiding the demonic cult Twilight approached them, pointing to an overly realistic-looking monster miniature, and asked, ¡°Wow! It¡¯s a toy! Can I play with it?¡± ¡°Huh, hmm. Do as you please.¡± After Ash¡¯s permission was given, the child waved wildly at their friends in the distance. ¡°Hey! Hurry up and come. Here¡¯s a toy!¡± ¡°Wow!¡± ¡°This thing looks so real!¡± ¡°It really is. It has magic in it ¡­ and it can move. Like this.¡± ¡°Wow! Which one is the strongest?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take the dragon!¡± Soon, the courtyard of the Demon Cult Twilight was filled with the laughter of energetic children. It was exactly the scene the Cult leader had dreamed of when he turned the courtyard into a playground. ¡®Keuheuk. He¡¯s making this old man¡¯s wish come true. As expected, Asmodeus-nim¡­.¡± As he watched the playground filled with children, he thought to himself. I will follow him for the rest of my life. *** The interview for the part-time job was over in a flash. We were three people who didn¡¯t look like the best fit for the job. However, the cafe manager only confirmed that our limbs were fine and made the hiring decision right away. Great. Now, the three of us must thoroughly investigate the inside of Super Buff Coffee. ¡°Wait.¡± Just as I was about to pump my fist, the manager stopped us. ¡°Hey, umh, Choi Yicham-ssi?¡± ¡°¡­.yes?¡± Choi Yichan turned his head nervously. Had he raised suspicions? ¡°Choi Yicham-ssi, I need you to organise the warehouse. That¡¯s great. I really needed someone to do that.¡± ¡°That ¡­ yes, sir.¡± As expected, the concept of a former martial artist was unreasonable. Choi Yichan left the party as he was deployed to the warehouse. I waved to the back of his head as he trudged away in his torn shirt. ¡°Next, is Ki Yooheon-ssi?¡± The manager¡¯s relentless personnel arrangement was not over yet. ¡°Ki Yooheon-ssi, from now on, you are Mister Glory.¡± ¡°Yes? What¡¯s with that latter name?¡± The blond-haired, blue-eyed Ki Yoohyun frowned. ¡°Mr Glory is supposed to be a foreigner who came to study abroad because he liked our cafe¡¯s coffee.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll be in charge of organizing the interior and greeting customers. Please make sure to mix English appropriately when guiding.¡± Such a chauvinistic concept in today¡¯s world?! ¡°What? Pardon?¡± ¡°Yes. You¡¯re good.¡± And with that, Mister Glory a.k.a. Ki Yooheon was dragged away, leaving the party. I was left alone. ¡°The last one is ¡­ Kwon Nieun-ssi.¡± ¡°Ye-yes, here!¡± The manager¡¯s sharp glare was directed at me, and I hoped I wouldn¡¯t be placed in a strange place. To uncover the secret of coffee, I need access to the beverage¡¯s manufacturing site. With the two S-Classes having gone their separate ways, I¡¯d have to be in charge of making the drinks. ¡®That¡¯s why I wrote down my cafe experience on my resume¡­..¡¯ In reality, it¡¯s not a cafe (part-time) experience, but a cafe (owner) experience, but let¡¯s overlook the trivialities. ¡°¡­..¡± ¡°¡­..¡± The longer the silence lingered, the more anxious I became. Had I been found out? At that time when my anxiety was maximized, the manager who had been looking at me with sharp eyes for a long time suddenly asked me a question. ¡°Do you like Sanity Finch?¡± ¡°Yes?¡± The name of a band I¡¯d vaguely heard of popped into my head. ¡°That t-shirt, that¡¯s from Sanity Finch¡¯s first world tour, right?¡± Was it? But if I said I didn¡¯t know, it would raise suspicion, right? ¡°Ah, yeah, yes! My favourite song is Sapphire Sword.¡± I put in the only song title I knew because it was used as an opening for a game I used to play. However, it seems that I chose the wrong answer. ¡°Ho, ho, you picked that maniacal song. You¡¯ve got good taste.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± Hair combed without leaving a single strand of bangs, angled shirts and pants. However, when I looked closely, the manager was wearing a ¡®Sanity Finch¡¯ badge on her jacket. She was a fan. ¡°Follow me, Kwon Nieun-ssi. You deserve to be in our crew.¡± ¡°¡­yes?¡± ¡°Just trust me and follow me. I¡¯ll make you big.¡± With the appearance of such a reliable boss, the manager winked. *** Kiiiek, bang! Late at night, I opened the door of Cafe Rieul and entered. The illusion was automatically dispelled and I returned to my original form. ¡°Kkyuuu!¡± ¡°Waeolg, what a smell!¡± The animals grumbled at the strong smell of alcohol on my body. ¡°Are you home now?¡± Despite the late hour, Ash was still awake and waiting for me. I was grateful. I dragged my heavy body to a chair. There, I laid my forehead on the table and sobbed. ¡°Heu, huhuhu, heuk¡­..¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Did something happen?¡± ¡°Ash ¡­ I, you know me.¡± I wrapped my arms around Ash and leaned my head against him. Ash frowned at the smell of alcohol coming from me, but didn¡¯t pull away. For your information, I didn¡¯t drink a drop. ¡°Tell me what¡¯s going on, those bastards¡­¡­!¡± I blurted out with 100% sincerity, drooping my tired head. ¡°Ash, I ¡­ I hate going to work¡­..¡±