[ Even If You Tell Me to Rest (1) ]
“Mister.”
The heavy voice sent a faint tremor through my chest. The mythic-grade power that accompanied it rendered my fear resistance useless. Quickly turning off the teacher skill made things a bit better.
“I told you not to use that skill, didn’t I?”
It was definitely Yerim standing in front of me, but she felt completely different. She radiated an aura of intimidation that reminded me of the Mermaid Queen, making it hard to interact with her as casually as usual.
But wow, the Ruler of Water skill’s duration really does last a while.
“I’m not using it now. Hey, Yerim.”
“Yes?”
“It seems like you can still use it. Why don’t you get used to it a little more rather than standing around like this—”
A giant wave crashed over me, or that’s how it felt. I realized she hadn’t really been angry before. She just barely furrowed her brows, and already, my heart sank.
“Oh, uh…”
Without thinking, I reached out and grabbed Yuhyun’s arm, stammering. Calm down. Everything ended well, so why am I panicking?
“You knew there’d be a toll on you before you used the teacher skill, didn’t you?”
“I did… know. But that’s just part of the job, right? No one goes into a dungeon expecting to leave without a scratch. Remember that frog? I ended up passed out for days back then.”
By comparison, this time I still had my eyes wide open.
“This isn’t the same.”
Yerim’s voice was firm. Her piercing gaze remained heavy and intimidating. I haven’t felt this cold shiver down my spine in a long time.
“We didn’t need to use it this time, unlike with the frog. We would’ve won just fine without it.”
“But if you could gain even a little more understanding of the Ruler of Water—”
“Mister.”
… I never thought hearing that word could be so unnerving. I wanted to tell her to use this time to get more accustomed to the Ruler skill, but I’d just make her angrier. Still, it felt like such a waste.
“Yuhyun, help me out here.”
Frustrated, I turned to my brother to try and mediate. But the look he gave me was just as cold as Yerim’s.
“This time, I’m on Hunter Park Yerim’s side.”
Oh, uh… So, you’re angry too? Does the intimidation from Yerim not affect Yuhyun? Or is she holding back around him? Given his rank, it’s probably the latter. Yerim’s really become skilled at controlling her power.
Using that control to scold me is a bit painful, though.
“I get that you did it with good intentions. But you can’t go about it like this. Nothing happened this time, thankfully, but even now I can feel how immense the Ruler of Water skill is. And you just accepted that power without being the item user? If it was so difficult, you should’ve turned it off instead of pulling in even the Sesung Guild Leader! Are you insane?”
“Yerim, calm down—”
You’re terrifying right now. It feels like I’m standing on the edge of a cliff, staring at a storm-tossed sea, waves crashing up to my feet, and a huge ship sinking in the distance.
Realizing this wouldn’t work, I turned to Seong Hyunjae as a last resort.
“Uh—”
“I’m on the young lady’s side as well.”
Why him too? Frustrated, I glared, silently demanding his reason. His reply was brazen.
“If you go overboard and get yourself injured, it’s a loss for me. You still owe me, with interest unpaid, and you have yet to take up even one of the three promised favors. I’m owed quite a bit.”
“You owe him, Mister? How much?”
“What’s this about him helping you three times?”
Yerim and Yuhyun both chimed in, pressing me. I figured Seong Hyunjae wasn’t worrying purely out of concern, but why did he have to mention it now? He’s obviously doing this to mess with me.
“It’s, uh… not money. Nothing major.”
“Then what is it if it’s nothing major?”
“No way it’s nothing major.”
Great, I’ve got no allies. Or, rather, they’re supposed to be my allies, but no one’s on my side. The gate’s open already, so maybe I could just slip away. As I cautiously took a step back, I felt water coil around my legs. When I lost my balance, the air—or rather, the moisture in it—cushioned me like a plush sofa.
Wow, look at Yerim’s control over water. Impressive enough to bring tears to my eyes, though why she’s using it on me is a mystery… At least she’s getting some practice.
“I think you need to cool your head, Mister. You haven’t been awakened that long, yet you’ve already been through so much. Maybe you’re numb to the danger now.”
“You haven’t been awakened long either.”
“My stats are all S-rank. My mental fortitude is high, too, you know? But you’re practically a civilian, a regular civilian!”
Five years of experience, yet here I am, being scolded. Yuhyun chimed in to add to her point.
“Hunter Park Yerim’s right. Why not take a solid rest for a while?”
“Rest? I’ve got so much to do. Monsters, the Association breathing down my neck, foreign contacts, dungeon runs with Myungwoo…”
I still had to help Yuhyun with his skill and spirit, prepare for that damned zombie, secure the dungeon with ingredients for stamina potions, go through a few S-rank dungeons for the newbie’s promised rewards, help Moon Hyunah, Kim Seonghan, and Noah grow, figure out the Liette issue, find other naturally awakened S-ranks, see if Song Taewon could become Association Head, handle Choi Seokwon from MKC, bring in Do Hamin… I’m pretty sure there’s someone else, too.
There’s so much to do. Why is there so much?
“I’ll hold off the Association.”
“But if you do that, they might decide to raise the entry limit for Awakening Centers.”
“If they have any sense, they wouldn’t. If you say you need a break, Hunter Yu Myungwoo would help, and Sesung and Breaker wouldn’t object either. It’s another way of protecting you.”
“Pressuring the Association would make for some enjoyable downtime, regardless of Yujin’s situation.”
If that’s his idea of fun, what on earth is he doing the rest of the time? But if they’ll cover me, that’s welcome. There’s plenty of time before the Awakening Center’s opening, so as long as the Association’s nagging is out of the way, I can take my time. This cuts down my workload. That’s nice.
“Take it easy, Mister. Is someone chasing you?”
Yerim’s voice had softened slightly. I felt a cool hand rest lightly on my forehead.
“I’ll try to take it easy.”
“Not ‘try’—you need to take care of yourself first. What happened before? I don’t appreciate it.”
“Got it. I’m sorry.”
If the same situation happened again, I’d probably pull the same move, which makes me even sorrier. I just want Yerim to grow stronger and be that much safer. It’s selfish of me.
The rain started to slow, and the pressure surrounding Yerim faded, the item’s effects finally waning. Her scowling face wasn’t scary at all—if anything, it was adorable.
“So, what do you think of water control? Do you feel like you absorbed a lot?”
“I’m not sure yet. I should practice before I lose the feel of it entirely. Maybe I should lock myself in a water dungeon for a few days.”
“Just don’t overdo it.”
Yerim gave me a sidelong look.
“Who are you to say that, Mister?”
Trying to dodge questions from her and Yuhyun about what I owed Seong Hyunjae and what his favors entailed, I exited the dungeon. The lake had vanished, leaving behind only a huge crater and Song Taewon’s weary face.
Losing the entire special containment facility—he must be struggling to figure out what to do next. This mess must feel like a bolt from the blue. At least Yuhyun’s rampage can be conveniently swept under the rug.
“Looks like you conquered the dungeon safely.”
“Yes. It was a unique dungeon, so I’ll explain the method separately.”
I answered while drying my hair with a towel. Once you know the method, it shouldn’t be too difficult to— actually, no, it will be. Wouldn’t it be something if other hunters entered and ended up facing Yuhyun or Seong Hyunjae at the end? How would anyone clear that? Staring at the gate in dismay, I watched as the blue light faded, and then it disappeared.
“…Looks like there’s no need for an explanation.”
That’s a relief, though. Song Taewon let out a sigh, unable to contain it in the face of another anomaly.
“With the dungeon breaking right after forming, only to vanish like this, I’ll be dealing with this for quite a while.”
“Still, it’s a difficult dungeon, so it’s better this way. Or just brush it off as a geological anomaly with water surging and receding. There’s no trace left anyway.”
“That won’t be possible.”
Song Taewon replied with a bitter smile. He then looked over to Yuhyun and Seong Hyunjae, who were drying off with towels from each of the guilds.
“Was there any unusual… interpersonal conflict inside?”
“No. No real issues.”
Just me getting scolded a bit. After a polite nod, Song Taewon left to handle cleanup. He’s busy now, and he’ll probably be even busier soon. Compared to him, I might actually have some free time.
‘That guy would definitely be better off at the top than running himself ragged down here.’
If the Association could work like a pseudo-guild with an S-rank hunter as its head, it’d solve the manpower problem quickly. For now, with a civilian as head, high-ranking hunters are reluctant to join.
Watching Song Taewon’s retreating figure, I called over Yuhyun and Seong Hyunjae.
“We need to deal with Choi Seokwon. At least, we should take care of his lackeys.”
I gave Seong Hyunjae a brief explanation of why this dungeon appeared. As long as Choi Seokwon’s contract with the Filial Duty Addicts continued, we couldn’t leave him alone.
“It’s hard to touch him directly outside the dungeon. Especially after the commotion that Young Master caused.”
“What commotion? Where’s the evidence? All I see are some mud-soaked footprints.”
Even if I said that, Choi Seokwon’s side would surely heighten their guard after this. Silently cutting him down might be impossible.
“Then I’ll make a formal visit request so I can at least…”
“You’re on break, hyung.”
Yuhyun cut in firmly.
“We’ll keep an eye on things, so don’t worry about it for a while.”
Easier said than done. But with Yerim joining in and staring at me with sharp eyes, I gave a reluctant nod. For the next few days, I’d at least pretend to rest.
-Vrrr
A round, flat robot vacuum whirred as it roamed the living room, with Chirp perched on top, chirping as if to hurry it along. I hadn’t been able to use it before with Blue around, as she kept swatting at it like a fly.
‘Cute.’
I uploaded a video of Chirp riding the vacuum to SNS. My follower count has grown a lot lately. Comments and messages were piling up, but I hadn’t checked any of them; I just kept uploading consistently.
Settling into the couch, Peace immediately leaped onto my lap, waiting. I scratched his neck, and he flopped onto his back, purring contentedly, his tail swaying with delight.
The TV was showing yesterday’s coverage of the lake dungeon. An Association official with a serious face droned on and on. I flipped through channels but found nothing interesting.
‘Not like there’s anything I haven’t seen.’
A downside of regression. Even though I hadn’t had time for entertainment back then, everything popular was still familiar. When life as a hunter stabilized a bit, I’d watched a lot of TV and VODs.
What to do now? Read a book? Yerim’s training her skills in a dungeon, Yuhyun’s busy with yesterday’s mess, and maybe I should’ve joined Myungwoo’s shopping trip, though who knows what he needs for two days straight.
“Fine, let’s take a walk.”
Picking up Peace, I called for Chirp. He stumbled off the robot vacuum with a small squeak, so I scooped him up and placed him on Peace’s back.
Heading outside, I caught the eye of a hunter on guard. They hadn’t monitored this closely before, so security must’ve increased.
“Just going up to the rooftop garden.”
I informed him of the destination and went up. It was still morning, so the sunlight was gentle, though it’d heat up soon.
-Kyyaa!
I hadn’t taken more than a few steps when Blue flew over, wings wide. Peace flashed his teeth, and Blue, startled, landed quietly in front of me.
-Kyaoo.
“You doing alright? Not too uncomfortable?”
Looking up, I saw Blue’s house set up nicely in one corner of the garden. Hopefully, she wasn’t feeling lonely on her own. Maybe I should find her a suitable hunter to match with. If paired with a domestic hunter, Peace and Blue could take turns accompanying me. There was also Noah.
Maybe I’ll drop a hint to Moon Hyunah? She’d probably be interested. If she and Yerim ever work together, it’d be helpful for her to have a flying mount, too.
Thinking about it, I dialed Moon Hyunah. Just as it started ringing, an unfamiliar voice answered.
[Yes, Han Yujin? What’s your business?]
“Huh…? Uh, isn’t this Breaker Guild Leader’s phone?”
[All incoming calls for the time being are routed through the security office. Any calls for Han Yujin will also go through security. Since you’re on vacation, that is.]
…What the hell? What did they do to my number? Does this mean I can’t even handle calls?
“Um, could you connect me to the Breaker Guild Leader? It’s just a friendly invite if she has time to hang out.”
They agreed and connected me to Moon Hyunah. Wondering if the call was tapped, I just asked if she wanted to come over casually. She readily agreed, and I hung up with a sigh.
‘Was it Yuhyun, Yerim, or both?’
There could be even more involved. Those kids really don’t trust me.
Not long after, Moon Hyunah arrived. Eyeing Peace and Blue with a mix of greed and admiration, she suddenly spoke up.
“Did you know your brothers’ reputation’s been tanking lately?”
…What on earth?
–TL Notes–
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