Three days had passed since the C-rank Gate run. Since it was Saturday, Jin-A got home early. She sniffed the air, then quickly kicked off her shoes.
"Oppa, what's this? Did you order chicken?" "I already ordered it right on time for when you'd get here." "Wow!"
Jin-Woo, seated at the dining table, gestured for her to come over. Jin-A's eyes went wide and she came scurrying over.
"Well, well. What's the occasion? My stingy brother. Something good happen?" "Hey, hey, put your bag down first. What kind of girl is in such a hurry?" "As if. My bag isn't even heavy."
Not long ago, she was the type who didn't want to pack a folding umbrella because her bag was too heavy. Jin-Woo clicked his tongue but couldn't hide the smile creeping onto his face.
'Something good happen?'
Of course it did. His bank account balance had jumped from 800,000 won to 183 million won today. The 180 million was money from selling mana crystals, and the remaining 500,000 went to the landlord for rent. 180 million! He'd finally gotten his hands on a sum like that from a single raid. He'd been working as a Hunter steadily, but only now did he feel like a real one. After all, it was an era where people thought of money first when they heard the word "Hunter." The expression on the staff member's face at the mana crystal exchange was still vivid in his memory.
"Did… did you capture all of these by yourself?" "It just sort of worked out that way." "Incredible… truly remarkable."
Forty-nine C-rank mana crystals. The appraised value came to just over 300 million. But the taxes were brutal.
"Forty percent?" "Yes. For individual sellers, the tax is 40 percent. For guilds, it's 10 percent." "Why the lower rate for guilds?" "Unlike individual strike teams, guilds are required to cooperate unconditionally when a mobilization order comes down."
Now that he thought about it, when the accident happened in the double dungeon, Baek Ho guild and the Hunter's Association surveillance team had arrived together. Guilds cooperated more with the state and the Association because they received those privileges. So he'd thought about it for a moment.
'Should I hold onto the mana crystals and sell them after joining a guild?'
But he soon gave up on the idea. By the time he was active in a guild, his primary targets would be A- and B-rank Gates. The mana crystals from those would be incomparable in price to C-rank ones. Now was when every penny counted.
'And I can't just recklessly stamp my seal on some guild contract to save a little on taxes.'
"Alright. Let's do the deal."
That was how he'd gotten the 180 million. Just as Jin-A had said about something good happening, the chicken and beer were a celebration party to mark his newfound fortune.
"Time to eat."
Jin-A's hand instinctively drifted toward a can of beer. Jin-Woo's finger flicked her forehead. *Smack!*
"Ow!" "You get this."
A can of cola was placed in front of Jin-A.
"Hiii… I was just joking…"
Jin-A rubbed her reddening forehead. Jin-Woo cracked open a cold beer can and chugged it down. Just then—*ding!* Jin-Woo reacted sharply to the system sound.
'A system message, out of nowhere?'
[Harmful substance detected.] [Treatment has begun via the effect of 'Buff: Detoxify'.] [3, 2, 1… Detoxify complete.]
'Detoxified a harmful substance? Could it mean alcohol?'
Jin-Woo finished the rest of the beer and cracked open another can on the spot. *Glug glug glug.*
[Harmful substance detected.] [Treatment has begun via the effect of 'Buff: Detoxify'.] [3, 2, 1… Detoxify complete.]
The same message appeared again. He'd just downed two cans of beer in the blink of an eye and felt absolutely no buzz. Whatever this buff was, its effect was unmistakable.
'What is this?'
Jin-Woo tilted his head. He'd never met a Hunter who could cast buffs before. Most Hunters with that kind of special ability worked for guilds. He had no chance of encountering one attached to the Association.
'Even if someone had secretly cast a buff on me, the system message would have notified me.'
That left two possibilities. He'd received the buff while unconscious, or he'd received it before the system activated. Personally, he leaned toward the latter.
"Oppa, what's wrong? Did you get indigestion? Be more careful."
Jin-A asked, worried, as Jin-Woo's expression grew serious.
"I just remembered something urgent. Go ahead and eat without me."
Jin-Woo went to his room. Then he meticulously retraced even the smallest memories, checking whether he'd missed anything.
'Ah.'
Something flashed through his mind.
'Every quest had a reward. Even the penalty quest. But there was one quest whose reward I never checked.'
Jin-Woo hurriedly opened his message log. At the time, the System was foreign to him and he didn't even know what a reward was, so he'd just dismissed it. But back then, a message had definitely appeared confirming quest completion conditions had been met. His heart started to race. Jin-Woo found the message at the very bottom of his log.
[Welcome, Player. (Confirmed)]
Jin-Woo spoke in a trembling voice.
"Confirm."
*Ding!*
[This System supports the growth of the 'Player'.] [If you do not comply with this System's directives, a penalty may be imposed.] [Reward distribution is complete.]
Just as he'd thought. There had been a mention of a reward. The voice he'd first heard in the underground temple. It had said this:
['Secret Quest: Courage of the Weak — all completion conditions have been met.']
A Secret Quest was still a proper quest. But he'd never checked its reward. At the time, he'd thought it was all a hallucination.
[…if you do not comply, a penalty may be imposed.] [Reward distribution is complete.] [Would you like to check your reward?] (Y/N)
'Yes.'
*Ding!*
['Secret Quest: Courage of the Weak' — Completion Reward] Grand Sorcerer Candiaru's Blessing. The Grand Sorcerer Candiaru, impressed by your courage, has gifted you a special spell. As long as Candiaru's Blessing remains with you, you will always enjoy a strong and healthy life. "May light be upon the challenger's path." — One-time effect 'Will of Rehabilitation': Restores all damaged body parts. — Persistent effect 'Longevity': Grants immunity to all diseases, toxins, and abnormal effects. Regeneration while sleeping increases explosively.
Now everything finally clicked into place.
'So that's why my injured leg…'
The reason his severed leg had returned to normal was the quest reward. The reason he wasn't getting drunk right now, too…
'Wait—immunity to all toxins?'
Jin-Woo's eyes flew open. Could this mean…? He rushed to his storage and pulled out an item.
[Item: Kasaka's Poison Gland] Obtained. Difficulty: A. Type: Elixir. A pouch containing refined Kasaka venom. Obtainable at an extremely rare drop rate upon defeating Kasaka. Drinking the venom grants tough skin but permanently damages your muscles due to the toxin. Effect 'Kasaka's Iron Scales': Physical damage -20%. Side Effect 'Damaged Muscles': Strength -35.
'If the toxin is what damages the muscles, couldn't the Detoxify buff cancel it out?'
There was only one way to find out. Jin-Woo squeezed his eyes shut and downed the liquid inside the pouch. *Gulp, gulp.* The viscous liquid slid down his throat. It tasted foul and fishy, but he endured it.
'Good things never come easy, huh…'
Once he'd swallowed all the venom, a message appeared.
[Harmful substance detected.] [Treatment has begun via the effect of 'Buff: Detoxify'.] [3, 2, 1… Detoxify complete.] [Side effect 'Damaged Muscles' has been removed.]
"I knew it!"
Jin-Woo clenched his fist. Still, just to be sure, he pulled up his stat window.
'Stats.'
[Stats] Strength: 53 Stamina: 30 Agility: 53 Intelligence: 30 Sense: 35 (Allocatable stat points: 0) Physical Damage Reduction: 20%
Just as expected, there was no decrease in Strength. It remained at 53 points, and a new stat—Physical Damage Reduction—had appeared. It was limited to physical damage, but reducing incoming damage by a full 20 percent was a remarkable ability.
"Awesome!"
While Jin-Woo was celebrating his new stat, Jin-A's voice called from the living room.
"Oppa, do you know someone named Yoo Jin-Woo? Someone named Yoo Jin-Woo is asking for you." "That's probably not Yoo Jin-Woo…"
Jin-Woo went to the living room and took the receiver from his sister.
"I've changed my number." —Hyung-nim, it's me. Yoo Jin-Ho.
Just as he'd suspected. The voice on the other end was familiar.
"…How'd you get this number?" —I know someone at the Association. You weren't picking up your phone, so I had to call. "Get to the point." —Ah! Sorry, Hyung-nim. But there are some things hard to say over the phone… Could we possibly meet in person?
Jin-Woo tilted his head.
'Even after going through all that, he still wants to meet me?' —Please, Hyung-nim. I really need your help.
He was an oddball, that one for sure.
***
At Yoo Jin-Ho's insistence, Jin-Woo allowed him exactly one hour. They met at a franchise café in front of Jin-Woo's apartment building.
[CaféX]
Despite it being a weekday, the café was packed since the meeting was right after the lunch rush.
"Hyung-nim! Over here!"
Yoo Jin-Ho greeted him warmly. Before stepping into the café, Jin-Woo had heightened his senses to the max, but he detected no trace of another Hunter. At least it didn't seem to be a setup for revenge. Not that he'd done anything to leave a lasting grudge in the first place. Jin-Woo sat across from Yoo Jin-Ho.
"I didn't think we'd meet again."
On the table was a half-eaten cup of ice cream. Yoo Jin-Ho stood and asked:
"Have you ordered? Shall I get you a coffee?" "Nah, I'm fine."
Yoo Jin-Ho sat back down looking oddly deflated. Jin-Woo spoke first.
"So, what did you want to—"
Just then.
"He really said that? That was such BS back then."
Jin-Woo glanced to the side. At the next table, three hulking, rough-looking students from the sports team were chatting up three girls. Jin-Woo tried to refocus on his conversation.
"What did you want to talk about?" —When did I ever say that! Dude's making stuff up again in front of the girls!" "…Talk about what." —You said it! Whoa—want me to show you the photos? I'll lay the evidence right out!"
The boys' voices were loud, and the girls' giggling was just as bad.
"…"
The noise made it nearly impossible to keep talking. Jin-Woo stood up with no other choice and walked quietly over to the next table. The boys' eyes all swiveled toward him.
"Could you keep it down? There are a lot of other people here."
One of the boys put a hand behind his head and bobbed it in a half-hearted bow.
"Y-yeah, yeah. We'll be quiet. Our bad."
The girls snickered.
"…"
Jin-Woo stared down at them in silence, then turned to leave. But the moment he turned, something tapped the back of his head. It was a crumpled-up paper napkin.
"Pffahahaha!" "Hehehe!" "Dude, don't do that."
The boys were openly clutching their stomachs with laughter, and the girls pretended to restrain them while smirking. Watching this, Yoo Jin-Ho's expression slowly froze over.
"Hy-Hyung-nim…"
Jin-Woo picked up the unused spoon sitting next to Yoo Jin-Ho's ice cream and walked to the counter.
"Look at that. He's going to go tattle." "Mom, those guys are being loud. Make them stop. Pfft."
The trash talk continued even then. Jin-Woo asked the nervous-looking female employee:
"How much for this spoon?" "I'm sorry, sir. We don't sell spoons separately at this store." "It's not more than 10,000 won, right?" "Huh? Ah, no. Probably…"
Jin-Woo placed a 10,000 won bill on the counter and turned away.
"Sir? Excuse me, sir?"
Ignoring the employee's voice, Jin-Woo headed straight for the table with the sports team boys. Noticing the dangerous look in Jin-Woo's eyes, the boys rose from their seats.
"What? What's up?"
Every pair of eyes in the café converged on that table. Jin-Woo held up the spoon for them to see.
'…?' '…?'
When question marks appeared on the boys' faces, Jin-Woo began to crush the spoon in his hand with all his strength. The spoon lost its shape mercilessly inside his fist. The boys' faces gradually turned blue. *Tick.* The thing that rolled onto the table was no longer a spoon. It was a ball of crumpled metal.
"Gah!"
The boys swallowed hard.
'That's not normal human strength.' 'A-a Hunter.'
The boys exchanged glances, then the one who'd thrown the napkin bowed his head first.
"S-sorry."
The other members bowed their heads one after another.
"I'm sorry." "We made a mistake. We're sorry."
Their faces deathly pale, the boys bowed several times before dragging the girls out of the café as if fleeing. Ooh— the surrounding patrons who'd been bothered by the noise sent grateful glances toward Jin-Woo. Jin-Woo returned to his seat. Yoo Jin-Ho's eyes sparkled.
"That was so you, Hyung-nim!" "Anyway."
Jin-Woo got back to the matter at hand.
"So why'd you want to meet?" —Well… Hyung-nim. I've been doing a lot of thinking. A whole lot. And I really felt I had to tell you this, no matter what."
Jin-Woo tilted his head.
"What is it?" —Hyung-nim, the truth is…"
Yoo Jin-Ho blushed, looking sheepish, then mustered his courage and spoke.
"The truth is, I'm putting together a personal strike team."
Without a single second of hesitation, Jin-Woo replied:
"Denied."