Chapter 107 : Chapter 107

Chapter 107 - Renewal (1)

“...Is this really a Dragon's Heart?”

Leila said as she inspected the blue stone in her hand from various angles.

“Even as you say that, you already know it’s genuine, don’t you.”

There was no way a grandmaster-level black magician/alchemist like her would mistake it.

And as if agreeing with my words, Leila nodded her head while slightly turning her gaze away.

“No, but...”

Hmm.

If I saw several more of the same item wrapped in something resembling a tablecloth, I would probably have a similar reaction.

After all, Dragon’s Hearts, of all things, were rolling around as if they were snacks laid out in a marketplace.

“Anyway, with this, the commission fee is settled. Satisfied?”

“...Yeah, I am, but. It doesn't seem like it’s going to end with just the commission fee, does it?”

Leila replied, rolling another Dragon's Heart I handed her in her hand.

Of course not.

I had somehow made a connection with the world’s greatest alchemist, and on that front, I had plenty of Dragon’s Hearts, a top-tier material.

It would be a waste not to place a production request.

“I was hoping you could make a weapon using that as a core.”

“...A weapon? What kind?”

“Rather than a weapon, it’s a slightly more interesting item...”

And as I continued to explain the concept of the item I had in mind.

“...”

“...”

In the seats next to us, an atmosphere that was the epitome of awkwardness was rising.

“...Um, sister...?”

“I am Climber Seo Hye-in.”

“...Yes, Climber Seo Hye-in. By any chance, a little while ago, that...”

“No.”

“...”

“I don’t know what you saw, but no. Nothing of the sort happened.”

The combination of Seo Ah-in trying to strike up a conversation while fidgeting and Ms. Seo Hye-in turning her head completely away and brushing off her words.

It seemed like adding a ‘Hmph!’ sound effect would fit perfectly.

I mean, this was the person who had even opened up a skill slot for me just because I was close to her younger sister.

Just how dishonest did you have to be to act like that?

“By the way, Ms. Seo Hye-in. What brings you here?”

It seemed like the conversation would make no progress at all if I didn't intervene, so I quickly changed the topic.

At that, Ms. Seo Hye-in looked at me and Leila as if she had suddenly remembered something.

“...”

She must have placed a request with her.

The kind that I shouldn't find out about.

I thought this person needed to practice her poker face a little more.

“No, I think Mr. Kim Gyu-sik, who can guess that just from a glance, is the crazy one...”

Quiet, you.

“...This actually works out well. I had something to deliver to Mr. Kim Gyu-sik anyway.”

“Yes?”

Deliver?

To me?

As soon as I heard those words, the timetable in my head instantly unfolded, but there was nothing particularly important that I would be involved in at this point in time.

Well. If it wasn't an important matter, there would be no reason for Ms. Seo Hye-in to hold me back and say such a thing.

“It’s about Mr. Kim Gyu-sik still being F-rank. No matter how you think about it, isn’t it strange?”

But as soon as I heard that sentence, my doubts completely vanished.

Ah, right.

If this kind of talk was coming up at this timing, the set event was obvious.

“Are you talking about a rank renewal?”

“Yes. To be honest, since your face has been getting around here and there lately, there have been continuous talks within the Association about how it’s strange to just leave you as an F-class.”

That was likely true.

In that case, I thought it would be perfectly fine to give me a special promotion through a celebrity track. It wasn't as if I hadn't proven my skills.

Of course, the Association wasn’t so foolish as to not have thought of that, but the fact that ‘Ms. Seo Hye-in’ had come to deliver this in person suggested quite a lot.

It meant there was someone pulling strings from behind.

Mr. Seo Jin-seong.

“...”

Well.

If there was a loafer who kept hanging around his two daughters, I, too, would feel like probing a little more closely.

Shall I play along willingly?

“Then let’s do it. The rank renewal.”

“...Yes?”

As if she hadn't expected such a cool response from me, Ms. Seo Hye-in’s voice trailed off in a flustered tone.

“A-are, are you sure you’ll be okay?”

“...”

What was with asking me if I was okay after she was the one who asked?

It felt like she was admitting with her whole body that this was not a proper rank renewal process.

“Well, there’s nothing to not be okay about.”

To be precise, there was absolutely nothing to lose by going.

The methods of the rank renewal event that came around this time varied greatly depending on the branching paths, but the ‘place’ where the event took place was a common factor.

And, well.

There was something else that could only be obtained by going there.

***

[ Special Quest: Share Skill Upgrade ]

[ Subdue 2 SS-class Demonic Beasts. (1/2) ]

That’s right.

As expected, it seemed that just tearing the heart out of the dragon in a lore battle was properly judged as a ‘subjugation.’

It didn’t say ‘kill’ here either. It meant that as long as it felt like ‘I won!’, regardless of what happened, it was fine.

And the place I was heading to now was where a guy perfectly suited for such an act would appear.

“Hey, look over there. That’s Kim Gyu-sik, right? Is it really him?”

“Should we try talking to him...?”

“...”

Of course, to say I was going to a terrifying place where an SS-class demonic beast would appear, the atmosphere of where I was currently sitting was a little too bright.

The closest approximation would be the feeling of a high school retreat bus.

Among the Climbers aboard the hovercraft provided by the Association, none of them looked to be over their 20s.

They look much younger than Ms. Meirin...?

“...They’re so fresh-faced they’re practically green. I feel like I’m leading a group of kids.”

Seo Ah-in, who was fastening her seatbelt in the seat next to me, muttered as such.

“Have you ever done something like that before?”

“To the extent of guiding the chicks who came for a tour of the Hunting Alliance...? But the feeling I’m getting from our surroundings right now is very similar to that.”

In fact, the aura rising from our surroundings was very similar to the feeling of chicks chirping.

‘Certainly...’

I had heard from Ms. Seo Hye-in that I was taking a test to be promoted to B-class at once with the help of a special exemption system.

To say that these guys were getting promoted to B-class with me, the atmosphere was far too peaceful. I would even believe it if they were said to be Boot camp cadets.

I hadn't been briefed on the test method, but I could tell at once that something was strange.

“...No, wait a minute. I think you’re right?”

“What?”

“They’re wearing cadet badges. I think they’re the same as the ones we used at Boot camp?”

“...”

No way.

Why was that actually true?

As I was staring that way in disbelief, the hovercraft began to glide down and land somewhere. It seemed we had arrived at our destination.

And when we stepped out of the hovercraft, what was revealed before our eyes was an uninhabited island with no sign of human presence.

Hmm. The air is nice.

It was a refreshing feeling, as if I could pull off a fortuitous encounter that I could use for scams for a long, long time to come.

“The mana is incredibly abundant. It seems like there won’t be a big problem even if we draw on it a little recklessly, right?”

Seo Ah-in said that as she looked around.

Well, it was a characteristic that was favorable to me.

Gnosis's Heart was still entrusted to the Master of the Magic Tower. In a situation where I couldn't use mana recklessly without thinking like before, such an environment would at least serve as a temporary patch.

As I was thinking that, other hovercrafts began to arrive one after another nearby.

And looking at the guys who revealed themselves from inside, the feeling that something was strange grew stronger and stronger.

While our side was full of chick-like cadets, the group of guys getting off the other hovercrafts was composed entirely of burly, seasoned, battle-hardened veterans.

No, what is this?

Why do they look like they’ve come to prepare for a war, while only we have a picnic atmosphere?

As I was feeling utterly confused by the atmosphere, Ms. Seo Hye-in came up onto a platform set up on the beach and grabbed a microphone.

Seeing her in a stiffly worn uniform and with a much sterner expression than usual, I thought that people really do change completely in a public setting.

“To all of you who have attended this Guild Competition Hunting Tournament, thank you for coming all this way. I am Seo Hye-in of the Hunting Alliance, the host of this event.”

A Guild Competition Hunting Tournament... huh.

Hmm.

It was an event that I also remembered.

It was a competition where, along with the party members under you, you would hunt freely for two days on an island where demonic beasts appeared, and the side that caught the most game and scored the most points would win.

Right.

With party members.

“C-Climber Kim Gyu-sik looked this way!”

“No. He was staring at the horizon behind you.”

“No! He definitely looked at me!”

The chicks chirping behind my back.

And a heavy rifle gunner with 10 years of experience belonging to another guild, a barbarian warrior who looked like he had just come from rolling around on a snowy mountain, a swordsman who looked like he had probably taken care of about 300 people...

“...”

Hey.

You said it was a rank renewal.

Why are you suddenly dropping a hell-difficulty event on me?

***

“...Well, procedurally, it couldn't be helped.”

After the event had progressed to a certain extent, Ms. Seo Hye-in, who had approached me, said so in a voice that was suppressing her apologetic feelings.

“It couldn't be helped that this method was forced upon us by the higher-ups, but it seems those children were the only participants who volunteered to join Mr. Kim Gyu-sik's side...”

“...”

How sad, Kim Gyu-sik.

Was I that unpopular? Was my increased recognition all just an empty shell in the end?

“No, I think it’s actually the opposite.”

“What?”

“In the East Asian region, there hasn't been a case of such rapid growth as Mr. Kim Gyu-sik’s for a while. You single-handedly showed a performance that surpassed the status that several guilds with quite a name for themselves had until now. As a natural course of action...”

“...I must have gotten a lot of flak. With one person being able to do that much, what have you all been doing until now, they must have said.”

“That's correct.”

And this was the result.

It meant that if other guilds were to join my side, they would either threaten them with private retaliation, or completely block the information that I was participating here, or in some way or another, they would have tried to keep the people who were trying to join me away, gritting their teeth.

They must have thought that if I failed to perform well here and they achieved better results, their reputation would naturally recover.

“...Ah, you little bastards.”

A person can be successful.

Instead of congratulating me for it, what did they have to gain by raining on my parade like this?

“I have nothing more to say than to apologize for putting you in such a difficult situation... Mr. Kim Gyu-sik?”

“Yes?”

“No, um... why are you smiling?”

“Because it’s fun.”

“...”

No. It really was.

Actually, after I had become somewhat famous, I hadn't had many opportunities to see guys who revealed their hostility and charged at me like this.

But to have the guts to charge at me so openly, saying ‘please tear me to shreds.’ How commendable.

“I think I can go all out without a guilty conscience for the first time in a while.”

So.

Let’s respond to that sincerity.

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