Epilogue (11)
“Thank you so much. You really saved me.”
“My kid got married young, and my grandson’s right about that size. How was I supposed to just send you off? He’s finally sitting up pretty well on his own now. So cute. How old is yours?”
“He just turned five months.”
In reality, Bin wasn’t even quite four months old yet, but since he was growing a little fast, I answered with five months. Familiar scenery slid past outside the car window. Seoul, seen after so long, hadn’t changed. Everyone must be doing fine.
“There haven’t been any dungeon breaks lately either. It’s peaceful these days.”
“Sure is. Feels like just yesterday people were saying the world was going to end. The government and the Hunter Association say nothing much will happen anymore, but how are we supposed to trust that? It’s a scary world to raise kids in.”
“It’ll be all right. It has to be.”
I tried casually bringing up dungeon–related talk, but the officer didn’t show any particular reaction. My face was the same as ever, and yet he didn’t even say I looked like Han Yujin. Forget recognizing me as the same person; it seemed he couldn’t even register a resemblance.
“Thank you. Take care.”
I bowed and got out in front of the apartment complex. The sight of the decent–looking high–rise complex made me smile before I knew it.
‘Housing was what I was most worried about, too.’
I obviously didn’t have money, and there was a limit to how many magic stones I could bring. Turning magic stones or items into cash wasn’t easy either. High–grade magic stones and items were strictly controlled. If an F–rank with no track record whatsoever tried to sell one, that could go wrong fast and end with me in jail.
In the end, I had been wondering whether I would have to get rid of some low–grade magic stones in a hurry and find some cheap monthly rental room somewhere, but.
“Let’s see. Which building was it?”
I took out the postcard Seong Hyunjae had sent me. The apartment address and passcode were written at the bottom of it. It was one of Sesung Guild Master’s villas.
‘Guess it’s not the one from Chuseok.’
How many apartments did that man own? Anyway, he had said it was something like a secret safe house, so it would be good for staying hidden. The caretaker only visited early in the morning at the end of every month to clean, so I just had to step out briefly then. He had also said there probably wouldn’t be anyone checking the maintenance fees in detail. Unlike the heavily secured penthouse from last time, this place was a normal apartment. The entrance and elevator only needed ordinary passcodes, and the unit itself didn’t have any separate security system.
“Nice place.”
– Chirp!
It might technically be a normal apartment, but look at the size of the living room. There seemed to be at least four bedrooms too. Chirp, who had been cramped from hiding for so long, fluttered up into the air. The place was fully stocked with appliances, too. And as it happened, today was the last day of the month, so the caretaker had already been by. I wouldn’t have to worry about that for a whole month.
After looking around the apartment once, I went into the bedroom with a bed. Seasonal clothes were hanging in the dressing room, and the bedding closet was filled with all kinds of blankets. It was stocked down to the bathroom supplies, practically like a hotel. The actual owner had probably never even set foot in this place.
“Oh, there are watches too. Should I sneak one out and sell it?”
Wouldn’t I draw suspicion if it was too expensive? First, I took the baby crib out of my inventory and laid Bin down. Since it was a special item made by Myungwoo, I had needed to exchange an A–rank piece of equipment to bring it over. Maybe because the environment had changed so abruptly again and again, Bin fell asleep soon after, clutching his stuffed animal.
“I’m kind of sleepy too.”
– Chirp.
“Should we just rest properly today?”
I washed up, changed clothes, and lay down on the bed. The moment I closed my eyes, sleep came rushing in. I fell into a deep sleep without dreaming at all.
“Bin, you can be good while I’m gone, right?”
“Awoo.”
A tiny hand grabbed my finger. I didn’t want to leave him behind, but I had no choice. As I soothed Bin, I took out the King of Harmless’s drawer. Drawer 71 had been charged with Myungwoo and Haneul’s help, and its function had been changed too. I could still use the internal space, but its size had shrunk drastically. Compared to before, it had become much more compact, so it consumed less mana as well.
And with the part that remained.
“Number 71.”
Light gathered around the cube–shaped drawer, and its form changed. The item grew in an instant and transformed into a human. I could now summon Number 71 from inside the drawer to the outside.
“You called, Master?”
“Uh… yeah.”
Number 71, wearing Noah’s appearance, bowed to me. This time it was Noah, huh… While adding the summoning function to Number 71, we had tried to change his appearance too. Having it be someone I knew was kind of burdensome, and it could become a problem if other people saw him. But in the end, it remained random among the people I knew. My affinity still seemed to influence it, because Yuhyun appeared the most often.
“Then please take care of Yubin while I’m gone.”
Number 71 wasn’t an all–purpose butler out here the way he was inside the drawer, but he could still move around at the level of an ordinary human. He was fairly good at looking after children, too. If not for Number 71, I would have had to start by finding someone to leave the baby with.
“Chirp, if anything happens, come straight to Dad. Got it? If it seems dangerous, bring Bin with you. Here, Mini–Mini Cookies.”
– Chirp!
The baby crib had a protective barrier function attached to it too, but just in case.
“Here’s the remote. Cable TV is connected too. That doesn’t mean you should get too absorbed in watching it.”
– Chirp chirp.
Snowfall Tree, I’m counting on you. Maybe I should give the snow tree a separate name too. Snow… Seol is already taken. Since it’s a white tree, Baekmok. Should I use the character su, meaning tree? Baeksu… no, definitely not. But right now, Bin is the Snowfall Tree, the Primal Origin. Hmm. I could think about it slowly.
I left the apartment while organizing the things I needed to do in my head. Even a non–Awakener could go to a Hunter market and officially sell a small amount of F–rank magic stones. There were cases where people happened to pick up monster magic stones during dungeon breaks, after all. But selling one or two F–rank stones wouldn’t get me much. I didn’t have any F–rank stones anyway.
Through official sales routes, E–rank and above required a hunter license, and starting from D–rank, they checked the source. Well, if you were an S–rank hunter, they would probably buy even a high–grade magic stone you slapped down in front of them without much procedure. Which meant that if the current me wanted to sell mid–grade stones, my only option was to go through the black market.
‘B–rank and higher would be dangerous. D–rank should be just right.’
If some weak–looking guy showed up with a B–rank magic stone, there would definitely be people tailing him to see whether he had anything else. C–rank was a little iffy too, and a few D–rank stones would be more than enough to keep me comfortable for a while.
Under the muggy sky at the start of June, I had no money for fare, so I walked hard on foot. If I had a phone, I could have quickly sold a few things from the apartment secondhand. Once I got money, I needed to get a phone first. Myungwoo had said he had handled it so I could use my resident registration number as it was. He had probably applied something related to perception.
“Um… excuse me…”
Relying on my memory, I went to one of the closer stores that secretly traded mid–to–low grade hunter goods. From the outside, it looked like a small, shabby aquarium shop. The display window was blocked by large fish tanks, and tropical fish, goldfish, and guppies were written in big letters on the exterior. The inside was cleaner than it looked. Plump goldfish and brightly colored tropical fish swam around in the tanks.
“Um, a friend told me about this place.”
I spoke toward the back of the shop while making sure I looked thoroughly intimidated. Like a clueless beginner. If they treated me like a complete newbie, I wouldn’t get the proper price, but it would be safer.
“A friend? What friend?”
Along with an irritated voice, the shop owner, who seemed to be in his mid–to–late thirties, came walking out. Seeing his large tropical fish–shaped earrings made me think of White.
“They said if I came here, I could sell…”
“Sell what? I sell. I don’t buy. And don’t go releasing anything into the Han River.”
“Not fish. This.”
Pretending I knew nothing, I took out one D–rank magic stone. The owner’s brow furrowed sharply, and he grabbed my arm, dragging me inside.
“Seriously, what bastard sent a newbie like this? What a damn pain.”
Apparently, I looked so amateurish that he judged I was safe instead. He clicked his tongue and held out his hand toward me.
“Five hundred thousand each.”
“What? No, that’s way too…”
“Don’t like it, leave.”
The average purchase price for a D–rank magic stone was two million! If it was top quality, it could go for over three million. Even in illegal trades, magic stones converted into cash so easily that they usually gave you more than half the official purchase price. This was too much.
“…I heard even the lowest quality ones go for at least a million at the market.”
“Don’t like it, leave.”
Too harsh. I swallowed the urge to haggle and took out four of the lowest quality D–rank stones I had. Even then, they were all high quality at minimum. What a waste. In exchange for the magic stones, he handed me an envelope with forty fifty–thousand–won bills inside, along with a business card.
“Next time, text this number before you come. Send this number here.”
“Thank you.”
In any case, I had money now, and I felt considerably lighter as I left the aquarium.
‘He ripped me off badly, though.’
Well, to be precise, that had probably included the first–transaction fee. The business card wouldn’t be an ordinary item either. Sure enough, it went into my inventory. As long as there were no particular issues, he would probably make a proper deal with me from the second transaction onward.
In truth, those kinds of back–channel trading routes were practically necessary for low–rank hunters. New hunters especially didn’t get much of a share even when they went into dungeons. People would say they were letting them gain experience and not give them so much as a magic stone fragment, or sometimes even squeeze money out of them instead.
To get stronger, you needed experience, but equipment was essential too. You had to have equipment above a certain level before you were treated like a proper team member. But if you weren’t earning money, how were you supposed to buy equipment? Unless you were already well–off to begin with, you eventually had no choice but to quietly pocket a few magic stones.
‘Since hunters have inventories, it’s easy to sneak things out as long as you don’t get greedy.’
Magic stones siphoned off that way couldn’t be sold through official routes, so people used back–channel trades. It was also a kind of unspoken custom everyone knew about.
‘Things would get a little better if the law set a minimum dungeon reward ratio.’
They left it up to the hunters. Dungeon interiors couldn’t exactly be considered domestic territory, and public authority couldn’t reach inside them, so most countries didn’t interfere much. Was there no way to change that? Even if it was written into law, force would still make it pretty useless…
“I’ll have to register as a hunter anyway.”
How long was I supposed to last on two million won? Once I got a phone and bought daily necessities, there wouldn’t be much left. I even needed clothes. Seong Hyunjae’s clothes were all too big, so at best I could wear a robe around the apartment. Maybe I really should sell a watch.
I started by getting a phone, then went to the bank and opened a new account. Even when I used my resident registration number, no one recognized me at all. Everyone was so perfectly calm about it that it gave me a faint chill.
I took the subway toward Seocho. Myungwoo had told me not to go near Dodam or Haeyeon if possible, but I still wanted to go once. A large sign inside the station indicated the direction of Haeyeon Guild. Underneath it, Dodam Breeding Facility had been newly added. Near the exit, I could also see an ad with Peace’s photo on it.
‘A café and a souvenir shop.’
I looked at Peace’s photo for a while before climbing the stairs. The familiar scenery hadn’t changed. Pedestrians in light clothes came and went along the street. Not one of them recognized me. Even though some of them were holding Dodam pamphlets and talking about the Breeding Facility, about Han Yujin. Feeling bitter and heavy, I headed toward the Dodam building. The moment I reached the front of it, sheer disbelief punched my gloom clean away.
“…Wow.”
It really was my statue. People were even taking tourist photos in front of it. Watching them happily pose for commemorative pictures made the back of my neck burn. Seeing it in person was even worse. At least right now, it was an absolute mercy that no one could recognize me as Han Yujin. If anyone did, I would die of sheer embarrassment. For real.
‘…I want to blow it up.’
Aaaaaagh, this is humiliating! Once I got back home properly, that thing would be the first to go! Unable to bring myself to look directly at the statue, I walked past it. My destination was none other than the souvenir shop. The shop, which had apparently expanded in the meantime, was crowded. There were products I hadn’t seen before, too. Maybe because it was summer, they were selling fans and mini handheld fans. After checking the price of the mini fan, I picked up only a paper fan. Expensive. Should I buy a Peace plushie for Bin? Chirp would probably like it too. Hmm. Expensive.
There were a lot of things that caught my eye, but my original goal was the photo cards. In other words, photos. A family photo to slip into my newly bought cheap wallet. Since I wouldn’t be able to see them in person for a while, I wanted at least one picture. There had been one I took with Yuhyun, Yerim, and Peace.
‘I can’t help it with Seol and Byeol, but I should’ve taken one with Gyeol.’
I hadn’t known things would end up like this. Back then, taking photos had felt embarrassing and made me a little resistant. So photos really were what lasted, huh.
There was a fairly long line at the café next door. Since I’d come all the way here, I should probably stop by. I couldn’t believe I was waiting in line to see Do Hamin’s face. Still, if I got lucky, maybe Yerim or Noah would visit. There was no way Yuhyun would come.
Even that damn hamster decoration felt nostalgic after so long. Hamin, that bastard, really did make a golden Geumdong. I entered the café, but Do Hamin himself was nowhere to be seen, only an unfamiliar part–time worker. Kim Minui briefly came out, then went back into the kitchen. Business was good. Since the weather was hot, I ordered an iced café latte.
‘The coffee still tastes awful.’
I missed the kids. The empty seat across from me felt hollow. Normally, it would have been filled soon enough. The impulse to shout that I was Han Yujin and run into the Breeding Facility rose in me. This was lonelier than I had expected. Thank god I had Bin and Chirp.
After emptying the glass, I left the café. I was heading back toward the subway when a familiar car stopped at a red light. I stared blankly at the black windows, too dark to see inside. The light changed, and the car pulled away. Something colorful was smeared near the rear seat door handle. Maybe a little hand had tried to open the car door directly. Before I knew it, a smile had formed on my face.
“I should hurry home.”
Carrying the Peace plushie, I returned to the apartment. Since I planned to go to the mart with Yubin, I searched for strollers on my phone.
“…Why are these so expensive!”
No, seriously, why were they this expensive? Basic ones were several hundred thousand won, and there were plenty over a million. A stroller made from dungeon byproducts that could be stored in an inventory was a full twenty million won. I should have brought the one Myungwoo made. Even if my inventory didn’t have room, I could’ve just carried it in my hands.
“…Bin, Dad’s going to have to carry you around for a while.”
Bin laughed brightly. The big mart right in front of the apartment would probably deliver to the door. There was a rice cooker, so I needed to buy rice and some side dishes, clothes for Bin and me, baby bath products… It really was a relief that most things were already in the apartment. Bin would need a baby walker soon too. I had left the baby chair behind as well.
There were more places for money to go than I had thought. After going to the mart with Bin and buying what we needed, I left the apartment again by myself. The thought that if Sesung found out, I might even be kicked out of the apartment made me feel pressed for time. Should I shove Seong Hyunjae’s postcard at them and insist their guild master lent it to me?
The Awakening Center that Liette had so spectacularly sat on had already been rebuilt. Hunter registration was now handled through the Awakening Center too, so I rode the bus for a long while.
‘It’s changed from what I remember.’
Maybe they had decided to redo the whole thing since it had collapsed anyway. The lot was much larger, and there were more buildings too. I checked the guide sign and walked toward the Hunter Registration Office. Although it was still in the trial stage, awakening services had begun, so there were quite a few people.
‘They can only awaken combat classes, combat support, and healers.’
It seemed they grouped those three together as general awakening and called the rest special awakening. Special awakening was still in preparation, and currently only general awakening was available. The website notice said that people who did not believe they had combat–related aptitude or talent should wait for the special awakening center to open.
‘That should keep the crowds down too.’
Modern people were pretty far removed from combat, after all. Besides, since my case had become, hmm, famous, there would probably be more people who wanted special awakening.
The interior was clean and spacious. As I headed toward reception, a promotional video for the Awakening Center played on a large monitor.
[Special Awakening Center? Isn’t combat the best?
Defeating monsters and clearing dungeons! S–rank hunters are so cool!]
…This was making me a little nervous. After that overly excited voice, sure enough, my statue appeared. No, at least use a photo! Why do they keep using the statue?
[You can be one too! A rising new star of the hunter world, a special–type Awakener!]
The video kept playing, listing the achievements of the Dodam Breeding Facility director… and encouraging everyone to try special awakening. At the bottom near the end of the ad, I also saw a small line saying that special awakening required a separate fee. Unlike general awakening, they had to find your aptitude, so it was an awakening that cost time and money. It felt like an ad for a private academy.
I submitted my Awakener registration application, picked up a pamphlet, and sat down in the waiting area. Let’s see. The market and Hunter Association Building 2 were still there. Huh? There was a separate Monster Department now. Was it because of Monster Mounts? There were several other facilities I didn’t recognize, too. Things really had changed.
After skimming the pamphlet, I watched the people passing by.
‘F–rank, F–rank, E–rank, F–rank, C–rank.’
Promising Talent had disappeared from my skill list, but when I focused, their awakening ranks and growth potential appeared before my eyes. This brought back memories. More than a year had already passed.
[Number 201, Han Yujin. Please come to Measurement Room 3.]
At the announcement, I rose from my seat. I registered my skills as before, two E–rank skills, Willpower Up and Agility Up. My stats, however, were higher than they had been back then. They were decent for an F–rank at my level.
“Your Magic stat is unusually high.”
The person in charge of checking my stats spoke with a surprised expression.
“Your other stats are in the upper range for an F–rank of the same level, or the lower range for E–rank, but your Magic stat is 25.”
A year ago, it had only been 2. It had gone up more than tenfold. If Myungwoo hadn’t put the mana imprinting to sleep, it might have been even higher.
“Unlike high–rank hunters, mid–to–low rank hunters tend to have low Magic stats, and those stats grow very slowly. That’s why stat ranks are measured excluding the Magic stat.”
It was common for Magic not to change at all, let alone rise by 1, while other stats increased by 10. That was why people often said the ability that separated high–rank hunters from the ones below them was Magic.
“With a Magic stat at this level, if you had undergone Optimized Awakening, there’s a high chance you would have obtained a magic or special–type skill. In those cases, even if the other stats are low, the rank is measured higher. Even now, you can register as D–rank, or up to C–rank at most.”
“Please just give me the rank excluding my Magic stat. If I get a skill later, I’ll change it then.”
They said E–rank was possible too, but I registered as F–rank. I could raise my rank again anytime, and I liked the idea of starting over. They offered to recommend a guild that could help me acquire skills, but I declined and put my earring back on, which I had removed briefly for stat measurement.
“That’s a red earring.”
“Oh, yes.”
Had they recognized it? I flinched, but the person in charge smiled and pointed at their own ear. They had an earring similar to mine.
“It’s a trend at the Awakening Center these days. A lot of people come dressed similarly to Director Han Yujin to wish themselves luck.”
“R–really?”
Their gaze swept meaningfully over my outfit. …These are just the clothes I usually wear. I’m not copying him.
I didn’t have to wait long before my hunter license was issued. The registration subsidy was gone now. Too bad.
‘F–rank Han Yujin.’
I quietly looked down at the license. In the newly taken photo, I was smiling with a fairly relaxed expression.
–TL Notes–
Tired of seeing Ads? Then please support me on Patreon! Any tier of subscription will make it so you won’t get any ads!
If you want to support me or give me feedback, you can do it at patreon.com/InsanityTheGame
Join my Discord! https://discord.gg/BWaP3AHHpt