Chapter 111:
Since Seonwoo Yeon stopped speaking, it’s now time for the other person to bring up the topic.
<i>‘First, should I ask what happened to Su Yehwi, who came out of the gate?’</i>
Kim Kiryeo had a lot to discuss with this association employee, but unfortunately, the conversation didn’t go as nned. Suddenly, his phone rang.
“Wait a minute.”
Moreover, when he answered the call, the topic of the conversation waspletely unexpected.
<i>– Yes~ It’s n Express. The delivery is scheduled to arriveter. Are you home right now?</i>
“Delivery? What kind of delivery?”
<i>– It was sent by a ce called Fashion & Homme. Anyway, is Mr. Kim Kiryeo home right now?</i>
“Uh, I’m not sure. I’m not home right now, but I’ll probably be back soon…?”<i>– Yes, then I’ll leave it in front of the door~</i>
“Okay, wait… yes?”
The call ended abruptly. He was flustered by the delivery person’s words and hurriedly prepared to return home. Whatever it was, leaving a package outside the door was something that was iprehensible to him based on Alphauri’mon sense.
<i>‘What if someone else picks it up?’</i>
Kiryeo retrieved the dagger he had taken out and said.
“No, I didn’t order anything, so what exactly was delivered? Seonwoo Yeon, I’m sorry, but I have to go right away. See you next time.”
Seonwoo Yeon let him go without much thought. He had to go receive a package, after all. This was a really ordinary reason, even though the other person was an alien soul.
“Take care.”
Kim Kiryeo quickly walked down the hallway.
“Hmm.”
But, looking at it from behind like this, it bes even clearer. Seonwoo Yeon quietly watched the fourth S-ss as he walked away, realizing that the coat he was wearing was a design she was somewhat familiar with.
<i>‘As expected, that’s definitely that brand.’</i>
A French fashion brand that starts with “M.” Of course, the outerwear from that brand is somewhat expensive for an ordinary person like herself. The regr price of that one coat that Kiryeo was wearing was easily equivalent to two months’ sry for an office worker.
<i>‘What suddenly got into him?’</i>
Seonwoo Yeon briefly wondered why someone who usually dressed so shabbily was suddenly wearing something so expensive. And, the other person was also about to discover the secret behind the price of their coat…
A littleter.
Kim Kiryeo arrived home.
<i>[Sender: Fashion & Homme Apgujeong Branch, Seo Yohan]</i>
He was surprised when he checked the name of the sender written on the box. These mysterious packages had been sent by none other than Esther’s brother.
<i>‘They’re all suits.’</i>
<i>Sssk.</i>
Inside the box filled with clothes. On top of the neatly folded bundle of clothes, there was a small card with a handwritten letter.
<i>[It’s a gift. Wear it well through the winter. *^-^* – Esther]</i>
It seems that the kind curse wizard was personally concerned about the alien neighbor freezing to death and decided to offer a thoughtful gift.
“Oho.”
Kim Kiryeo, btedly understanding the reason behind the request for his address, began unwrapping the clothes. After all, who would refuse something offered for free?
ording to the information provided by the corpse’s brain, clothes on Earth are worth about 10,000 to 20,000 won, so there’s no need to feel burdened…
<i>[?1,900,000]</i>
Wait. There’s something like the price of an electronic appliance written here.
“…?”
Kiryeo paused for a moment when he saw the price tag on the new clothes. However, after searching for the product name online to confirm the price, he found that even just this vest alone was worth that much. This means…
“Huh?”
He finally realized the truth. The store run by Esther’s brother was actually a high-end boutique dealing exclusively in luxury and high-end brands. The suit he had been wearing without much thought was, in fact, worth several hundred thousand won.
“The clothes are more expensive than my organs, huh?”
He broke out in a cold sweat after realizing the extent of the favor the Korean Magic Tower Guild Leader had shown him. Honestly, at these prices, he would sell them all and turn them into magic tools…
Forget it.
Otherwise, he’d be cursed to death by the most horrifying curse in the world.
***
These days, TV is buzzing with the appearance of the fourth S-rank hunter. It’s quite unprecedented to have four S-ranks in such a small country. Of course, it’s not surprising that the ratio of S-ranks seems odd, considering one of them is a rank-faker who manipted their awakening levels.
<i>‘Now that I’ve gained a high position, the visits from reporters have suddenly stopped.’</i>
This is inside Kim Kiryeo’s studio apartment.
I had returned to a safe ce with a barrier once again. And now, as usual, I was immersed in searching on my phone.
<b><i>[Now Korea can be said to be a proper hunter powerhouse. Four top-tier hunters in such a small country…]</i></b>
<b><i>[(Congrattions) Achievement of #1 in S-rank Hunter Poption per Capita (Congrattions)]</i></b>
<b><i>[What is Kim Kiryeo’s awakening level?]</i></b>
<b><i>[Envious of S-ss awakening]</i></b>
My fame is rising day by day!
Whileizens were pleased that having four S-rank hunters made the world safer, the reality was far from that.
<i>‘Am I crazy? Helping you with an F-ss body?’</i>
Of course, behaving like this will inevitably lead to negative public opinion. But honestly, I couldn’t care less about the criticism that’lle in the future. I’m nning to switch to a new body soon anyway.
“Let’s see, has the association president deposited the money?”
I opened up inte banking and checked my bankbook. Of course, it’s not easy to prepare arge sum of 3 billion won immediately, so the bnce hasn’t changed yet.
<i>‘I still only have 100 million won.’</i>
But wait a minute. How does someone who spent all their money preparing for the disappeared Imoogi still have 100 million won? First of all, I didn’t touch the suit Esther gave me. I sold used items, which are more durable than those fabrics.
“Phew, anyway, I didn’t know that the Knight’s Oath would be such an expensive item…”
A few days ago, I sold the [Hermes’ Shoes] I used at the terrorist scene back to the market.
I needed money urgently because the contract I had to write to the association president was close to 200 million won. Moreover, my physical condition isn’t great, so I couldn’t use the item’s effects for long. I needed to quickly dispose of unsuitable magic tools.
<i>‘I only wore them for a few days, but the used price went down by 10 million won…’</i>
And now is not the time to be hung up on equipment and such. As written in the contract, I will receive 3 billion within 2 weeks, and if I get a new lung, I can use the magic to transfer the body.
<i>‘If I just fix the lung, I can say goodbye to this damn body!’</i>
I began selecting a new body to transfer into. I could target the corpse of a recently awakened individual or hope for casualties during the dungeon break.
Anyway, there are many ways.
And a few dayster.
<b><i>【Fresh Korean Apple】</i></b>
“….”
As promised, the association president sent the 3 billion won that was requested… Considering issues like fund tracking, it’s understandable that the other party sent cash. I’ll overlook the fact that all this money was packed in apple boxes. I turned my attention back to my phone screen.
<b><i>[Search term: Dragon’s Lung]</i></b>
<b><i>[Search results: 0]</i></b>
<i>Tuk, tuk, tuk.</i>
Even refreshing the page doesn’t change the content on the screen. At this point, anyone would notice the problem I’m facing.
“There is…”
There is no listing. The most important [Dragon’s Lung] seller is nowhere to be found no matter how hard I search.
“Damn it!”
I fell into despair looking at the empty screen. Up until the moment I decided to buy the dragon’s lung, there was an item listed on the exchange. It was the only one, but because few people sought it, it had been on the list for months! And now, after that stock has sold out, no new ones have appeared?
<i>‘You damn brat!’</i>
Is this how the rickshaw man who bought Seolleongtang for his wife felt? Despite having over 2.6 billion won, I still couldn’t achieve my goal.
One day, two days, three days, four days.
No matter how long I waited, the item I wanted never appeared on the market.
“Something is going differently than I thought…?”
However, this Monday, a remarkable item finally appeared in Korea’s Hunter market.
<b><i>< Emergency Disaster Text</i></b>
<b><i>[[Korea Hunter Association] Today (28) an unidentified monster appeared on the road in front of Hunter Mall in Seocho-gu. Analysis and investigation are ongoing, and the market will be temporarily closed until the 30th.]</i></b>
By the way, they didn’t say that the object was a dragon’s lung.
“….”
I checked the message and rubbed the bridge of my nose in frustration.
***
Monday, the 28th.
The news anchor, with a serious expression, reported breaking news that an unidentified object had appeared on the road in front of Hunter Mall, a marketce dealing in gate items.
“The long ck stone monument resembles an Egyptian obelisk.”
Furthermore, this incident wasn’t limited to Korea.
Mongolia, Vietnam, Spain, Ennd…
The ck obelisk has appeared in so many different countries that it’s almost impossible to list them all. This is a phenomenon happening simultaneously around the world. Moreover, the obelisks appearing in each country share simr characteristics.
“They say it has ‘86164’ written in Arabic numerals there. What does this mean?”
People debated to find out the meaning of the numbers, and this was the most likely hypothesis at the time.
“Experts say that this is the Earth’s rotation cycle used in astronomy, or 86,164 seconds.”
Then why is that monster marking a day here? What happens when a day passes?
<b><i>[Is it exploding? ??]</i></b>
In this world, “suddenly appearing summoned entities” are considered a bad omen. The explosive patterns of the Ice Pce Gate’s graveyard, theva giants’ ignition stones, and various other gates have used simr attack methods.
Themon countermeasure against these techniques has been to “destroy the summoned entity before anything happens” for safety. Based on their past experiences, the association has promptly taken action.
“Breaking news. The Hunter Association has issued a mobilization order targeting several Awakened…”
However, the mysterious object stood firm in its ce despite being hit by various supernatural powers.
“Whaaaaaaap!”
“Hey, it’s obvious that this time it’s wrong again.”
“What on earth is that made of that that makes it so strong?”
In the end, the association calls a small number of awakened people as a final confirmation procedure.
<b><i>[[Korea Hunter Association] (Call) S-ss Hunter Jung Haseong, please confirm and respond.]</i></b>
The young sorcerers who stand at the top of the food chain.
***
Whoa, this is a mess every single day. Just when we’re barely recovering from the damage caused by the Imoogi, there’s already another uproar.
<i>‘Maybe I shouldn’t be the one to say this, being from Alphauri.’</i>
Anyway, a spectacle is unfolding before my eyes right now. Because only four rare hunters in Korea are struggling with rocks.
“Ah, annoying!”
<i>Kang!</i>
Esther kicked the obelisk, but even in that moment, the ck object showed no signs of damage. Honestly, if an S-rank couldn’t handle it, I thought there might be no other way.
“Do you want to try, Kiryeo-ssi? Ah, my hand hurts so much I can’t do this anymore.”
As can be seen from this conversation, I was actually at the location where the ck obelisk appeared. And the reason I came here was… simple. Right now, I’m trying to make myself look like a real S-ss.
<i>‘When will the iteme out…’</i>
Judging from the flow so far, it seems like buying the dragon’s lungs will be a long-term battle. However, the longer I dy changing bodies, the more this body’s reputation will fall to the ground. Because just as I threatened the association in advance, I’m going to ignore all the dungeon breaks that will ur in the future.
<i>‘Look at Kang Changho’s behavior. Even if he acts like that, no one can touch him because he’s an S-ss.’</i>
There’s nothing like overwhelming authority to prevent disputes. In that sense, this situation was perfect for me. There’s no monster, no danger, and even the top-tier hunters who came before me have failed to destroy the obelisk one after another.
<i>‘I can use this to show off my S-ss reputation.’</i>
I was nning to be grouped with others through this safe request. S-sses who failed to destroy the obelisk! If such an article were toe out, wouldn’t it be a chance to ride on Esther’s reputation, whose power has already been proven?
<i>‘Hehehe… I really am a genius.’</i>
It’s a bit of a cowardly method, but I don’t care. In any case, this is also a choice to protect myself from the dangers of the world. In other words, it’s like a hedgehog’s thorns.
“Yes. Please step aside. I’ll try it too.”
I stepped forward, justifying my bluff.
It’s time to get my spoon in the pot.