-Olivier: When you come to work today, please start from the 8th floor.
At the very top of the building, which the Hanul Guild had rented out entirely, was the royal floor reserved only for the executives.
The urban jungle visible outside the window was like a breathtaking scene straight out of a drama.
Enjoying that view, I had a private meeting with Im Jaejoon, who was sitting in the so-called chairman’s chair.
“How’s guild life treating you?”
“It’s manageable.”
“I heard rumors that you’re being ostracized?”
Olivier, dressed in office wear, smirked as she handed me some tea.
“You think I’m being ostracized? Hmm, this tea tastes good.”
“I saw you eating alone yesterday. The tea I drink is always delicious.”
“I work alone, so I eat alone. Roaming around in a group and acting like gang leaders in alleys is something only horned idiots do. How much did this tea cost?”
“Well, horned idiots aren’t useful. They just smell bad and are stubborn. It’s expensive. Just think of it as drinking your monthly salary.”
At Olivier’s words, I gave her a stunned look.
A single cup costs millions? Why would anyone drink this? Is this how the chaebols have fun?
“Why have you been talking about horned idiots from the start? And cut out the pointless tea talk.”
Horned idiots.
No, it’s horned idiots in the past.
Im Jaejoon showed a slight discomfort. This guy can’t even joke.
“Anyway, why did you call me here today?”
“We’re about to prepare for a Mid-Rank Dungeon.”
“Mid-Rank? Don’t you need a team to enter?”
Lowest Grade Dungeons allow solo play. Basically, they’re places with Lesser Goblins or bugs from other worlds.
But from Lower Grade Dungeons onward, you move in parties because there are Boss Monsters.
Lower and Mid-Rank Dungeons differ in level, so the party composition needs to be solid.
That’s why entering alone is forbidden.
Unless you’re a powerful hunter ranked at least S-rank.
“What’s your level now?”
“Level 10.”
“That’s borderline.”
Right now, the highest level in the world is Mr. Cowboy Bob from the U.S., who’s at level 75.
The world’s strongest is level 75. I hit level 100 in another world.
Of course, it didn’t go any higher, even after slaying dragons.
I don’t like having someone above me.
“That’s why I told you to form your own team. How’s that going?”
“To decorate the room, I have to clean first.”
“Do you have anyone in mind?”
“Not yet.”
Mentioning ‘anyone in mind’ reminded me of Katrinne and Kim Taeyang.
Kim Taeyang, whom I recently trained. He occasionally sends messages, and his arrogance has gone up a notch.
I’ve seen news calling him a promising member of the Hwarang Guild. He has good specs, but he tends to get cocky when he’s relaxed.
As long as he doesn’t blow it in one blow, he has great potential.
“Why not just put that little noble lady in the team?”
“She wants to go to school. I’d rather let her study.”
“That’s like burying a pearl in the dirt.”
“Exactly. Katrinne would be celebrated as the top healer in this world.”
“We’re in a peaceful place now. Living peacefully is best.”
I wasn’t unaware of that.
She can revive the dead, heal the sick, and cure the injured.
Unlike healers here who just buff and recharge shields.
If Katrinne’s powers became publicly known, it would cause a huge sensation.
She’s young but fought wars every day in her previous world.
She saw life and death, watched over piles of corpses, and bore heavy burdens running a vast territory on her small shoulders.
Thinking about turning Katrinne into a hunter made me hesitate.
“Well, it seems that young lady thinks differently.”
“What do you mean?”
“You don’t need to know.”
Im Jaejoon smiled knowingly as if he was hiding something.
Olivier nodded in agreement while sipping her tea.
“You’re dense.”
“Dense? Me?”
I scoffed in disbelief.
Have you ever lost a battle because of someone as dense as me? Don’t you remember your past?
“So, is that why you called me here?”
“No. I called you to officially execute the contract.”
“Contract?”
“Yes. Secretary Kim, bring it here.”
Olivier eagerly pulled out a black leather briefcase. She dialed the password and opened it.
“These are equipment made at the Hanul Guild workshop.”
Inside the bag lay several throwing knives.
“They come as a set with the belt. After throwing, they reload into the belt after a certain time.”
“Unlimited use, huh.”
The belt holds four daggers.
You throw them, they hit the target, disappear after some time, and return to the belt.
“I’ve prepared the Number 2 Sword made from the same material as the Number 1 Sword you received last time.”
Crazy.
Right in front of me was a two-handed sword straight out of a manga.
“I was impressed by how you wielded a Two-Handed Sword before.”
I lifted the sword. It felt heavy and well-balanced. If my strength were low, I wouldn’t have been able to lift it.
I swung the sword several times. It was massive. Enough to cut the neck of a giant monster.
Crack!
I accidentally hit the table with it.
“Oops, sorry.”
“No problem. I’ll just deduct it from your salary.”
“What if I make another mistake while you’re saying that?”
I swung the sword toward Olivier. She smiled.
“I will support you with whatever is made at the workshop. If you need any other weapons, just say so.”
“What about armor?”
“The Power Suit you’re wearing now is the latest model. It’s not something mass-produced like instant food.”
Since it’s developed by combining Magic Stones with weapons, that makes sense.
“Instead, I prepared something else.”
“Oh? What is it?”
Thanks to how much I liked the weight of the Number 2 Sword, I looked forward to other items.
“I considered durability and breathability.”
“Mr. Im was worried that as you get stronger, others might keep you in check.
So, depending on the situation, you can hide your identity and act covertly in this suit, called the Justice Armor.”
Olivier pulled out something that looked like a high helmet and tight-fitting tights.
“Yes.”
“Isn’t this a Power Ranger outfit?”
“It was the inspiration.”
Olivier’s expression was very serious.
A shy-looking tight suit paired with a gaudy, shiny helmet that seemed out of place.
You want me to wear this? You want me to be humiliated?
No, even if it stops bullets and deflects knives, I’m not wearing that.
Physical attacks might be blocked, but something precious to me could be shattered.
“Don’t invest in making stuff like this.”
“Why?”
“Who’d wear this?”
“You, Hero.”
“No.”
My firm refusal made Olivier look momentarily flustered.
“Power Ranger? You’d be the Red one. If mass-produced, you’d have Blue, Green, and Pink too.”
Olivier’s eyes widened.
Could it really be true?
“If you make something like this, the Demon King will cut you off. No sentimentality.”
“Oh, don’t worry.”
Olivier answered calmly.
“Because the Demon King himself proposed and designed it.”
I glanced at the Demon King.
He anxiously averted his gaze while holding a teacup.
We planned to tackle the Mid-Rank Dungeon three days later.
Tight Power Suits like that are truly useless, but the knives and two-handed sword they gave me were pretty satisfying.
You can tell from the grip how expensive these are.
I could only imagine how much costly Magic Stone had been melted to make these.
Besides this, Olivier decided to be our Operator during dungeon runs.
Like me with the Hero’s power and Katrinne with the Eye of Truth’s strength.
Olivier was also an Elder Succubus from the other world.
A dreamwalker with an outstanding ability to connect consciousness between humans.
Her superb detection skills would be a huge help when scouting.
There was no dungeon to enter today, so I came home early.
After lounging around at home for a while, boredom crept in.
Why does the house feel so empty when I’m alone?
When I lived crammed in a small rented room with Katrinne, I never felt this lonely.
Glancing at the time, I saw it was about when Katrinne would be coming back from school.
Me: Hey, when will you be home?
-Katrinne: On my way now.
-Me: What did you eat?
-Katrinne: Two extra-large jjajangmyeon, one large sweet and sour pork, shrimp fried rice, and fried dumplings.
-Me: I’m not eating jjajangmyeon.
-Katrinne: What? I only ordered mine.
Right. That was nothing new.
I was getting used to it now.
Since my income got pretty good, it was okay for her to eat like a parasite. The only relief was she didn’t have a super refined palate.
If she demanded steak every day, I might’ve kicked her out.
I put a bowl of chadol jjambbong into the cart and ordered delivery.
A message popped up saying the food would arrive in 55 minutes.
Soon after, I heard the door unlocking and Katrinne walked in.
“Did you order, mister? You did, right?”
“No.”
“Huh? Do you want to die?”
Katrinne’s eyes, which had been shining like starlight while eating Chinese food, suddenly went dead.
“I ordered, so go wash up.”
“Yeah, I knew you would.”
Katrinne laughed as she took off her shoes at the door. But something felt off.
“Why black stockings?”
“Why?”
It was the first time I’d seen Katrinne wearing black stockings.
“You don’t like wearing stockings.”
“No, I sometimes do.”
“Oh, okay.”
Katrinne went into her room to wash up.
The delivery arrived earlier than expected.
I opened the door, set the food down, and Katrinne came out with wet hair, smiling brightly.
“Wow, this looks delicious! How many coupons do we have? Will there be a freebie next time?”
“You’re wearing long pants?”
“Why?”
“You don’t like long clothes because you sweat a lot.”
“What are you talking about?”
Something felt strange.
She usually walked around with bare legs. But now, I felt like she was trying to cover something.
Her walk was subtly odd.
“Did you hurt your leg?”
“What are you talking about? Why do you keep looking at other people’s legs?”
Katrinne answered indifferently while picking at her food, then her pupils suddenly flickered.
“In the end, it happened.”
Katrinne sighed deeply.
“I knew someday you’d see me as a woman.”
“Crazy.”
“Let’s start with an exchange diary, mister.”
“Hahaha. Should I swap lives instead?”
“Hey, joking. Hey, mister, don’t steal my food while I’m eating.”
I quickly snatched her chopsticks away and grabbed her shoulder.
Katrinne was startled, but I rolled up her pants.
As expected, her shins were covered with blue bruises.
Katrinne’s expression stiffened slightly.
“You’re hurt.”
“Ah, just a little?”
It wasn’t just a little bruise. It was swollen.
Though Katrinne ate like a parasite, her metabolism was so fast she never gained weight, leaving nowhere to hit.
“Who did this?”
“What?”
“It doesn’t look like you just bumped into something. Someone kicked you.”
Technically, a ‘joint kick.’
“Don’t worry about it. Who would kick me?”
She wasn’t someone who got beaten up.
But these days, there’s so much fuss about school violence and bullying.
Even though Katrinne is smart, I wasn’t sure if she’d adapted well to life in Korea.
I didn’t know how school life was going for her.
Maybe she was caught up in bullying but couldn’t tell me.
Katrinne kept devouring the food on the table, ignoring my gaze.
The next morning.
“I’m off to school.”
Katrinne left wearing her uniform.
I watched her leave, scratching my stomach with a big yawn.
A typical unemployed guy.
As I watched Katrinne walk away in the distance, I quickly changed into sweatpants.
I pulled my cap down, put on a mask, and hooded my jacket tightly.
‘If you don’t tell me, I’ll find out.’
Let’s see who dared touch my family.