Her expression seemed to say, So we’re getting serious now, and she rose to her feet with enthusiasm.
“Let’s set the barrier aside for now.”
But at the words that immediately followed, Rachel tilted her head, as though her enthusiasm had vanished.
“Rachel-ssi. We’ve known each other for about eight months now, haven’t we? And for one semester of that, we stuck together because of the team project.”
“Pardon? Ah, yes. I suppose we did.”
“It’s nothing much. I’m asking because I’ve been watching you in actual combat all this time… Rachel-ssi, have you ever taken a spirit affinity test?”
“Spirit affinity?”
“Yes. I have a bit of an eye for these things. My senses are sharp, too, and you know Chae Nayun is my work, right?”
Chae Nayun was currently an extremely hot cadet not only on Cube’s community but also among various guilds.
Not only had she switched from bow to sword, but the moment she changed to being a swordswoman, she began showing overwhelming results in practical combat.
“Yes. When I was young, I did get good results. But…”
She asked with her eyes how I had known that.
“Your magic power is different somehow, Rachel-ssi. I don’t know if you’ve noticed it yourself, but your magic power changes in nature little by little depending on the environment.”
This was a characteristic of Rachel’s that I had set.
At that, Rachel’s eyes widened, as though something came to mind.
“Ah, that’s right! I did feel something like that, too. But as for spirit affinity, it felt like my development stopped after I turned ten, so I gave up on it entirely.”
Of course it had stopped. In the first place, methods for cultivating the power of spirits had hardly developed at all in modern times. Even in the other world where Kim Suho had lived, spirit masters were rare, so that said everything.
But things were different now.
The butterfly spirit powder that had seeped into Rachel’s body.
It would serve as a passageway between Rachel and spirits.
Moreover, I already knew the efficient training method that Rachel and Kim Suho would later put their heads together to devise.
“Then let’s start over from the beginning. It might have been a problem with the training method.”
Rachel looked at me with suspicious eyes. I felt like I knew why. She had come to learn a barrier, but I was spouting all sorts of strange things, so even Rachel was probably beginning to feel frustrated.
“You know the problem right now isn’t the barrier, don’t you? You said you thought you were in a slump. You should be thinking about overcoming the slump itself. Only thinking about the barrier is a stopgap measure, and you’re putting the cart before the horse.”
“Ah, right. Of course.”
But Rachel accepted it very quickly. This woman was unexpectedly indecisive.
“This time, you see the grass beneath your feet, right? Try resonating your magic power with the thought that you’re conversing with the grass—no, that you’re sharing magic power with the grass.”
“Ah, yes. I’ll give it a try.”
The most important thing when it came to handling spirits: “resonance with nature.”
Rachel closed her eyes and followed my words. Like that,
three minutes, five minutes, ten minutes… As time passed, Rachel’s body grew limp, as though it might melt away.
She concentrated so hard that a haze rose beneath her feet. Yet there was no change at all in the grass itself, and just as I was thinking that we might have to stop—
“Oh.”
A small change occurred in the grass.
The blades of grass touched by Rachel’s magic power began to emit bright green lights shaped like droplets of water.
There were few droplets, and their light was faint, but it was unmistakable.
That was an extremely demanding ability, one that required not only talent but also an inborn “nature.”
The power of spirits.
“Rachel-ssi. Rachel-ssi? Open your eyes slowly.”
At my quiet voice, Rachel slowly opened her eyes.
“…Hm?”
A tiny gasp full of question.
Rachel stared at the cute green droplets shimmering before her eyes, her face blank for a moment.
I smiled and muttered.
“What is this? I’m going to have to charge an enormous tuition fee.”
Rachel’s dazed gaze fixed on me this time.
* * *
After my encounter with Jin Sahyeok in Busan, the days at Cube passed without anything special happening.
If this were a novel, those were the sorts of days that would have been glossed over with the sentence, “A few days passed, then a few weeks, without incident.”
During that time, I did what I could do, and what I had to do
.
First, as an apprentice mercenary of Geronimo, I completed two more missions. One was the assassination of a Djinn, and the other was cargo escort.
Perhaps the captain was quite pleased with how I completed the missions, because I received another offer.
This time, it was an official contract.
As a Cube cadet, training with Rachel for one hour every night became part of my daily routine. It was a mutually beneficial relationship.
After that day, Rachel treated my words almost like the word of God as she cultivated her spirit affinity, while I received Rachel’s rapier and honed my proficiency in using “Bullet Time” more sensitively and efficiently.
[Your reflexes increase by 0.05 due to sparring with a stronger opponent!]
[Your vitality increases by 0.05 due to sparring with a stronger opponent!]
[Your endurance increases by 0.05 due to sparring with a stronger opponent!]
Thanks to her, I saw the stat-increasing effects of sparring again for the first time in a while.
In any case, time passed quickly like that, and before I knew it, it was November 22.
It had been one year since I fell into this world,
and it was around the time when finals would begin in two weeks.
“This content will definitely be on the exam, so mark it.”
Right now, the class on Phenomenal Realm Analysis was in full swing. Outside the window, perhaps because of abnormal weather, it was as dark as night despite being two in the afternoon, and the weather was just as cold.
However, the cadets were the same as usual.
They studied hard while cutting down on sleep in preparation for exams, and they did not neglect physical training either.
As soon as class ended, half of them would go to the study room, and the other half to the physical training room.
But I was completely ignoring the lecture and checking the state of my body on my laptop.
[24 hours have passed since elixir ingestion. All stats increase by 0.005.]
[Analgesic effect has been memorized.]
[List of Fully Memorized Medicinal Effects]
1. Analgesic
▷Increases pain resistance for 30 minutes
▷Reassembly cooldown: 6 hours
2. Detoxification
▷Cures poison of intermediate grade or lower
▷Reassembly cooldown: 6 hours
3. Instant Amplification
▷Strength, endurance, reflexes, perception, and vitality increase by 2 for 10 minutes
▷Reassembly cooldown: 12 hours
===
[Strength 3.405 (+1.070)]
[Endurance 3.435 (+1.980)]
[Reflexes 5.140 (+2.685)]
[Perception 5.655 (+2.620)]
[Vitality 3.405 (+1.070)]
===
My body had memorized the performance and effects of the various medicines I had consumed so far.
In particular, the three above had already been memorized 100%, so now, whenever I wanted, I could obtain medicinal effects “without side effects” even without consuming elixirs.
“That’s all for the material, and starting next week will be self-study. There’s no need to preview anything, so focus only on reviewing.”
In the meantime, the professor’s closing remark reached my ears; class had ended at some point. I gathered my things and stood up. Today, I had to leave Cube for a schedule I had arranged separately.
“Hey, Kim Hajing.”
Just as I was about to turn around, an unidentified nasal voice reached me.
I narrowed my brow and turned around, and there stood Chae Nayun, her nose red for some reason.
“…Why are you sniffling?”
“I caught a cold?”
Seeing her answer with a sniffle, I suddenly recalled a question a child from a TV program had asked a Hero.
Do Heroes catch colds too?
The answer was YES.
Of course, it would last only a day at most, but it was proof that she had trained that hard.
When all the magic power in one’s body left in an instant, the temperature difference inside the body rapidly changed, and during that gap, one became vulnerable to minor illnesses like colds.
“Aren’t you overdoing it too much these days? You were in the training room until three in the morning. You should take it in moderation. You’ll ruin your body like that.”
“…What’s this? Are you worried about me?”
Chae Nayun’s eyebrows wriggled slyly. I shook my head.
“Forget it. What is it today?”
“Ah, explain this to me.”
Chae Nayun held out the homework that the Phenomenal Realm Analysis professor had just assigned. It was obvious that her intention was less to learn and more to freeload off my work, but I just solved all of it for her.
“Oh yeah~ Thanks.”
Seeing my solutions scribbled in the notebook, she smiled innocently and put it into her bag.
“Ah, right. Hey, Kim Hajing. I decided to go to Master’s camp again this winter break.”
“Master?”
“Yeah, Yoo Sihyuk.”
“Ah…”
Yoo Sihyuk’s hell training. Originally, only Kim Suho was supposed to go, but thanks to Chae Nayun’s quick switch to the sword, Chae Nayun was going too. That was a good thing.
“That’s good.”
I simply smiled and said that. Probably from late December to early February. A three-month schedule. For three months, Chae Nayun would be away from Seoul. It was truly a relief.
“Work hard and come back.”
I decided to think only that far and tried to pass by Chae Nayun.
“Hey, hey. But.”
But Chae Nayun caught my sleeve first. Tugging my sleeve this way and that, she continued.
“Before I go, let’s go on a trip with the others. If I go to that camp, my winter break is totally gone.”
“I… don’t think I’ll have time.”
“Come on~ Let’s go together. I’ll pay for all the expenses.”
Why did she keep tugging at my sleeve while grinning like that?
But I firmly shook my head.
“I can’t go.”
“…For real?”
“Yeah. I don’t have time.”
Even when she asked again, my answer was the same.
Chae Nayun let go of my sleeve and pouted.
“Fine. If you don’t want to, then forget it.”
With a strangely hurt, stiff face, Chae Nayun shot back one line and left the classroom before me.
Then, feeling sudden gazes on me, I looked around.
Kim Suho, Lee Yeonghan, and Yoo Yeonha were staring at me with somehow very strange looks.
—Hey, Lee Yeonghan, that’s playing hard to get, right?
—Of course it’s playing hard to get.
Kim Suho and Lee Yeonghan’s whispers were loud enough to grate on my ears.
* * *
Three hours later.
A field in Gangwon Province.
“…Bite!”
It was a short shout, as though I were training a dog, but the result was impressive.
A huge wolf burst out from my chest and shot forward like an arrow, tearing into the troll ahead.
—Kieeeek!
The troll flailed in every direction, trying to tear off the wolf clinging to its neck. But Evandel’s subordinate was several times stronger than a mere rank-1 lower-intermediate troll.
Before long, the troll failed to withstand the wolf’s jaw strength and died.
—Awooo~
After taking down the troll, the wolf’s eyes suddenly went wild, and it let out a great howl.
Judging from the experience I had gained while raising the wolf lately, that reaction was quite positive.
I checked my smartwatch.
[The Phantom Wolf has acquired “Lowest-Grade Recovery” by ingesting the troll’s blood.]
Since its opponent was a troll, it had acquired a trait related to recovery.
Five days ago, it had obtained the trait [Epidermal Hardening] from an orc, so the harvest from “ingestion” could be considered quite substantial.
“Not bad.”
Like this, I had recently been absorbed in raising the Phantom Wolf. It was no exaggeration to say that the guy was worth that much.
Honestly, this wolf was much stronger than me. If someone asked who the Demon Wolf was, I could say, “Actually, it wasn’t me—this Phantom Wolf was the main body all along,” and it would be believable.
—Pant, pant, pant.
Having dealt with the troll, the wolf returned to my side, panting. The sight of its teeth and mane covered in blood was not cute, but it was truly dependable, so I stroked it diligently.
“Good job. Good job.”
—Grrr, grrr.
The wolf closed its eyes and rumbled lowly, expressing its satisfaction.
After that, I sent my coordinates to SH Agency. In about five minutes, an employee would probably come rushing over in an HUV to collect the corpse.
Then, suddenly curious, I sat on the wolf’s back and browsed SH Agency’s homepage.
“…Wow. What is this? They’ll be listed on the stock market soon.”
The homepage had developed noticeably.
There were as many as twenty-three hunters under their banner, and even a Hero named Jin Jangho, who had worked at a small-to-medium-sized guild, had joined them.
The speed at which the business was expanding was far more impressive than I had expected.
And here I was, on brotherly terms with the representative of this promising agency and a major retail investor who owned 4% of the total issued shares.
While I was feeling pointlessly proud, a text arrived.
[Where are you?]
The sender was Yoo Yeonha.
[Where are you? I’ll go to you.]
[I’ll come to you.]
[I’m in a field in Gangwon Province right now.]
[Then please wait about 30 minutes.]
“Hmm.”
Today, Yu Yeonha was the one who contacted me first, asking to meet.
I was guessing that she’d probably succeeded in processing Mistilteinn and making bullets.
I had the wolf hunt for another thirty minutes, and around the time a text came from Yu Yeonha saying she had arrived, I came out to the field entrance.
At the field entrance, Yu Yeonha was standing there wearing some round sunglasses. When she spotted me, she gave a small wave.
I walked up to her and asked,
“Is the item done?”
“Yes. After researching it, I found it was quite an incredible leaf. I don’t know what it is, but the amount of magic power it contained was comparable to a relic.”
“Must’ve been a pain to grind it up and put it in.”
“If we include opportunity costs, close to one billion?”
Yu Yeonha nodded and held out a suitcase. I accepted it without hesitation.
“Five rounds in total. To be honest, there was enough left to make about 0.3 of a round, but as you told me, I used it for research without holding back.”
“Well done.”
At the casual praise I gave without much thought, Yu Yeonha suddenly bit her lip.
“....... What do you mean, well done.”
“What, why? Then should I sue you or something?”
“...... No. I just feel sorry. More importantly. The caliber really doesn’t matter?”
“Yeah. I told you, they’re for display.”
All five rounds had been ordered to fit my handgun.
The caliber could be changed later with setting modification anyway.
“Display, my foot. Also, there’s an elixir inside.”
“Really? But you could’ve made the elixir for me later, after things worked out.....”
“They’re working out.”
Yu Yeonha cut me off.
“First, I set up facilities for supply-use potions with cultivated ginseng, and though they’re beginners, I’ve contracted three simmani as well.”
Saying that, Yu Yeonha smiled. But for some reason, it didn’t seem sincere—if anything, it was a smile that seemed meant to hide sadness.
“Well, that’s good. Are there any other problems?”
I reached into my coat and grabbed a document envelope. It was a file obtained through hacking her laptop—which had cost a whopping 150 SP—containing a list of the people who had instigated the “Yu Yeonha scandal,” along with every last bit of corruption they had committed.
I was about to hand it to her, but Yu Yeonha cut me off very cleanly.
“No, there aren’t.”
“....Huh?”
What? Has this problem not broken out yet? I quietly released the hand holding the documents.
“Then I’m busy, so I’ll be going now. If you need anything else later, feel free to ask anytime. I’ll get you anything.”
She’d get me anything~
What a reassuring thing to say. It really is convenient when the person who’ll become the owner of Seoul one day is my ally.
“Hey, hey. I’m heading out too, so do you want to grab something to eat together?”
“No. I told you. I’m busy.”
To Yu Yeonha as she coldly turned away, I said just two words.
“Sundaeguk, or hamburger.”
At that, Yu Yeonha flinched to a stop and shot me a strange glare.
“Oh, honestly. I told you I don’t like those things, so why do you keep bringing them up?”
After grumbling like that, she disappeared into a car that had been waiting nearby. The car quickly drove away with Yu Yeonha inside.
Her destination was probably either McDonald’s or Grandma’s Sundaeguk. I watched it go, then opened the suitcase.
Click—
Luxurious red velvet, and on top of it, five bullets lined up in a row.
Spotless, immaculate, and honed to a steely blue.
My face was reflected on their surfaces, cleaner than mirrors.
The me inside them showed no expression whatsoever.
===
[Mistilteinn-Processed Bullet] [Partial Mythical Grade] [Non-Attribute]
A .44 Macon platinum-processed bullet containing compressed high-purity magic power and Mistilteinn.
A portion of the power of God-Slaying seems to have seeped into it.
「Destructive Power – 9/10」
===
A destructive power reaching a whole 9.
This should be enough.
I closed the suitcase again.
The pitch-black surface of the case reflected nothing, contained nothing.
The material preparations were complete.
Then now.....
It was time to prepare the “request.”
End
I had definitely sent a text last Friday evening.
The recipient was Boss, and the contents said I wanted to “negotiate.”
However, Boss didn’t reply for an entire week, and only today did she leave a single message.
It was a set of coordinates.
The place those coordinates pointed to was on the outskirts of Gyeonggi Province, an intermediate-risk zone with little human traffic due to monsters living nearby.
It seemed to mean she wanted me to come there, but,
“······What the hell.”
When I actually arrived, a shabby abandoned house was standing alone in the middle of a dense forest.
A stone mansion that looked like something out of a horror movie. Vines and moss had settled between the faded red bricks, and beyond the broken windows there was only pitch-black darkness.
For now, I headed inside.