A few dayster, the Gate Star’s anniversary event was now just around the corner. Of course, all the necessary preparations had beenpleted during this time. The moreplex matters, like visas and other formalities, had all been taken care of by the Korean Magic Tower.
<i>‘Korean Magic Tower, huh.’</i>
By the way, with an overseas trip ahead, it suddenly crossed my mind—why does that guild go by the name Korean Magic Tower of all things?
“Do they have a branch overseas?”
I turned on the inte to quench my curiosity. However, the topic ended up being surprisingly trivial.
<b><i>【 Knowledge Ing 】</i></b>
<b><i>[Q. Why is it called the Korean Magic Tower?]</i></b>
<b><i>[A. When the guild system wasunched, someone randomly registered usable guild names (simr to iming a nickname in a game), and that’s how the name ‘Magic Tower’ was taken.</i></b>
<b><i>But since they offered an outrageous price to sell the guild name, we decided to rename it to ‘Korea Magic Tower.’</i></b><b><i>– Source: Esther Interview in 20XX]</i></b>
To provoke a curse sorceress like that, the name thief might be suffering from some random misfortune by now.
<i>‘Poor thing.’</i>
Anyway, with my curiosity satisfied, I started heading to the meeting ce. After arriving early and waiting, Esther soon appeared at the airport.
“Huh? Isn’t that an S-ss hunter over there?”
“Huh, where?”
“Over there. Huh? Wait, I just noticed that Hunter Kim Giryeo is over there too!”
Since few people recognized me, I thought that people in the world didn’t really care about their neighbors. But seeing this, I wondered if the reason the surroundings had been quiet all along was simply because my magical power was low.
<i>‘My eyes are getting moist…’</i>
While everyone’s attention was focused on me, Esther approached me from beyond the crowd, waving her hand.
“Giryeo-ssi! You got here early! I’m sorry to keep you waiting. Then shall we proceed with the procedures right away?”
“Yes.”
And they must have noticed that I was preparing to leave the country so confidently…I had already finished reporting to the US ording to the [Knight’s Oath]. Since my time with the Rakshasa Temple, I had noticed that Kang Changho had beenrgely indifferent to where I wenttely. Of course, I could roughly guess the reason behind this. It was a bit of a bluff, but after all, I was officially an S-rank Hunter.
<i>‘Usually, it’s a level that’s hard to go somewhere and die.’</i>
It’s nice that the stalker’s interest has faded, but without Kang Changho’s attention, I was also anxious.
– Suddenly heading to the U.S.? I have a lot of important schedules this week… so it might be difficult for me. I’m sorry, but could you go to the party by yourself? If you’re with Esther, there’s nothing to worry about anyway.
I briefly recalled the conversation I had with Kang Changho. But his busy schedule won’tst forever.
Finishing my thoughts, I grabbed my suitcase and hurriedly followed behind the curse wizard.
***
The airne. It’s quite fascinating that a metal chunk weighing around 170 tons can fly through the sky. But today, there was still something surprising left.
“This is a trantor?”
After finishing the immigration check, Seo Esther handed such an item to Giryeo, who was standing next to her.
“It’s thetest model. I was so eager to get it that I ordered it directly, and luckily it arrived just in time.”
The device, resembling bone-conduction earphones, was ck and connected by a thin wire to an external unit about the size of a palm.
“Just ce the earpiece like this over your ear…ow, the foreignnguage the other person spoke will be automatically tranted and heard. There’s a slight dy, though.”
“Aha.”
“Plus, with just a press of a button, I can convert my speech into English too!”
“Wow.”
“As expected, Pixy’s technical skills must be acknowledged~”
<i>Tak.</i>
After a long while, Giryeo fiddled with the trantor in his hand and asked a question, unable to suppress the curiosity he had felt for some time.
“Um, so… what exactly does a ce called ‘Pixy’ do?”
At this, Esther widened her eyes and began to answer.
“Yes? P, pixy? Well, it’s apany that mainly makes things hunters need, right?”
“Ah.”
“Awakening testers, analyzers, etc. These days, there’s no item that doesn’t have technology.”
To be more precise, they’re technicians who discovered how to use magic stones? Esther tilted her head and continued her exnation.
“But did you know? This is something most people don’t realize. Pixy originally started as a game developmentpany.”
“Games?”
“The title ‘SOM’ is quite famous… Anyway, that’s not the important part.”
Esther’s tone brightened as she spoke about her favorite hobby.
“The holographic screens of the analyzer we use. Do you know where all this technology came from? Surprisingly, they were all originally for games.”
<b><i>[Unidentified Gate]</i></b>
<b><i>[Description: No gate information.]</i></b>
<b><i>[Rank: EX]</i></b>
Many of the items that hunters use disy text in the air, and it turns out that this technology was derived from an attempt to create more vivid games.
“But when the Dungeon Shock urred, surprisingly, this Pixy ss technology turned out to be very useful.”
“Hmm.”
“Even monsters that suddenly appear can also disy information windows like in a game. There’s a significant difference between having that information and not having it.”
In other words, the technology that was originally intended to disy the game’s UI ended up unintentionally helping the hunters.
“That’s why the terms we use ovep a lot with game culture.”
The great thing about Pixy was their recognition and ssification. They used thepany’s technological prowess to measure and analyze the unknown, and eventually came to name it ‘magic’ faster than anyone else.
“Games are usually designed to be intuitive so that many people can enjoy them, right? That’s why the gate concepts named by Pixy have naturally settled into society…”
Esther, who had been praising Pixy enthusiastically, suddenly frowned. She looked as if she had been betrayed.
“The problem is that the engineers from Pixy who should have been recognized for their contributions ended up getting absorbed by the U.S. government.”
“Absorption?”
“Thanks to that, I heard they’ve long since abandoned the game business and are now only making support devices using magic stones.”
This trantor also has magic stones. Esther muttered with a gloomy expression as she said that.
“It’s a bit sad for someone who dedicated their life to that game.”
The shutdown of the [SOM] servers. Esther, who was recalling her past experiences, added an exnation as if she still had more to say.
“But actually, I expected this day toe.”
“Why?”
“Pixy has often been said to have unnecessarily good technology from way back.”
Their technology was several steps ahead of other gamepanies of the time. ording to enthusiasts, it was said that such geniuses were too valuable to be wasted on something as trivial as games.
“Especially when the initial model of this trantor came out, it really turned the whole world upside down. Do you remember that, Giryeo-ssi? Haha, who would have thought that a patent like this would be born from a global online game?”
Esther, whoughed brightly like a pearl rolling on a silver tray, soon exchanged jokes with the guild’s secretary.
“Wow~ Pixy must have interrogated aliens again. This trantor is really light!”
“Wow!”
“Anyway, how many aliens do they put in every time a new productes out here?”
<i>Hahaha. Hohoho.</i>
At that moment, one of the group members suddenly started to break out in a cold sweat, but fortunately, no one ahead of them noticed.
<b><i>.</i></b>
<b><i>.</i></b>
<b><i>.</i></b>
It wasn’t long before they arrived at the party venue. The building where the party was being held was surprisingly close to the city center, but once inside, I could feel that the organizers had prepared thoroughly.
<i>‘A protective barrier.’</i>
It was a sturdy multiyered barrier that must have consumed three infinite power cores.
<i>‘To be exact, it’s a barrier to protect the general public outside.’</i>
As the two Awakeners entered the building, the guard at the entrance began a simple identity check.
“Please wait a moment.”
With violet hair, a short stature, and drooping eyes adorned with thick eyshes, this was undoubtedly the leader of a certain guild representing Korea.
“This is Hunter Gi Ryeo?”
When the security guard asked the formally dressed man for his name, he nodded and replied.
“Confirmed. You may enter.”
“Thank you.”
There were nomunication problems between them, perhaps because they were wearing two-way trantors.
“…Still, since it’s a machine, there might be asional errors.”
Giryeo nodded at Esther’s exnation as they walked. The ce he finally arrived at was truly a luxurious sight. A dazzling chandelier, soft gold lighting, and even delicate marble sculptures decorating the walls. The man with sambaegan eyes who entered the party looked around curiously.
“Hmm.”
However, Esther didn’t even spare a nce at the extravagant scenery of the banquet hall. There was Zhan from China, Christian from Norway, and over there was a Canadian Hunter. With such esteemed S-ranks casually gathered around, how could she focus on anything else?
After checking the guests in the banquet hall, Esther said this.
“I’ll go have a chat for a bit.”
“Yes.”
Now that the guild leader is gone, there’s really nothing left to do but look around.
As Giryeo wandered around the party hall alone, having separated from hispanion, he noticed various finger foods prepared throughout the venue. Just as he was pondering what to try from the table, someone approached and started a conversation.
“Hey!”
Arge, broad-shouldered Westerner with a cheerful expression. Of course, it was apletely unfamiliar face to him…
“Hey, where’s the drink station around here?”
“Yes?”
“What’s the point of having food ready if there’s not even a ss of champagne to go with it?”
A Korean sentence substituted with an AI voice flowed out from the earphones in his ears. However, even though the trantion wasplete, the conversation was still difficult.
“Don’t just stand there! Hurry up and bring me something to drink!”
Well, that guy has been making strange requests since a while ago.
“Uh, I’m sorry, but I don’t know where the drinks are either.”
Giryeo exined the situation to the person who approached him. However, the other party expressed even greater dissatisfaction after hearing the exnation.
“What? How did they train their staff? Who the hell left this clueless idiot here?”
“Yes?”
“Huh, seriously!”
Hearing this, the man’s misunderstanding finally became clear. The white man thought Giryeo was a staff member who managed the party and tried to ask her to run an errand.
“If you’re going to act like such a fool, just go wash some dishes in the kitchen. Do you even know how many important guests are here right now?”
“No…”
“And if you don’t know what was ordered, you should at least make an effort to find out.”
This party is an event for the members of the Gate Star guild and S-rank hunters from various countries, so the participants are essentially all awakened beings. However, since Gate Star doesn’t hire low-level awakeners, it’s only natural that the Asian in front of him is a hotel staff member, right?
“Tch, this is a mess.”
He was angry with a certain conviction, but Giryeo calmly opened his mouth to clear up the misunderstanding.
“Wait a minute. I…”
However, this attempt was drowned out by the voice that followed.
“Oh my. Enzo, you idiot!”
<i>Tak, tak, tak.</i>
In the distance, a woman in stiletto heels hurriedly approached. Unlike someone with artificially dyed blonde hair, she had shiny, healthy-looking hair. Upon reaching the scene, the blonde woman eximed in shock.
“That person is an invited guest! Do you realize you’re being disrespectful to someone of the same S-rank!”
That Asian is an invited foreign hunter? No, but…
“What are you talking about? This guy looks like a low-level…”
“Do you think everyone is as ignorant as you? S-rank hunters in Korea have a practice of restraining their mana. It’s been like that since Mr. Jung dealt with that interview!”
The man called Enzo tilted his head and looked at the other person. However, no matter how many times he checked, the result was the same. The hunter here really was showing magical power that was only F-ss.
“O, oh…”
“Forget it. Apologize and get out of here.”
As things dragged on, the blonde woman urged the bushy-haired man away. What followed was a short statement.
“Oh, I’m sorry. My friend was rude.”
“It’s okay.”
“By the way, I didn’t expect you to be at this party. It’s you, right? The one who killed that monstrous serpent.”
The woman, appearing to be taller than Giryeo, likely due to her high heels, had a model-like stature. She expressed a friendly demeanor as she requested to shake hands, mentioning that she had seen your article.
“I am Brooklyn Morgan. Nice to meet you. So, your name is… Gi, Gi…?”
“Giryeo.”
“Giria.”
It wasn’t a perfect first impression, but it was still a decent start to the conversation.
“Gi—ryu?
“Just call me Kim.”
“Thank you.”