Chapter 309. Introduction
After clearing the Tower of a Hundred People. About three days later.
"Huh?"
A street in Seoul. Recently, a certain type of restaurant has been gaining popularity among a small group of young people in Korea. Most people usually choose a place to eat based on the quality of the food. But now that it's the age of gr and sorcery, magic users have beco common sights along the streets.
"Hey, isn't that Hunter Ahn Yoon-sung?"
"Where?"
"Oh, while you were looking sowhere else, he slipped into that alley over there. But no matter how I look at it, his style was totally that of Hunter Ahn Yoon-sung."
"Wow. Did a monster co out?"
"There was no alarm, so maybe he was just passing by?"
Earth's magicians, having appeared at the wrong ti, ended up attracting attention they never asked for. Thanks to the rise of social dia, their monster-slaying feats spread rapidly, and broadcasting companies—riding the wave of admiration for these new-age heroes—seized every opportunity to feature those involved in the hunts on air.
On a certain Earth-like planet, even sports stars—whose main job is physical performance—were expected to uphold moral standards. So there was no way the Hunter class, who were actively saving the world in real ti, would receive any less attention. Lately, the hunting industry had been consistently voicing discomfort over one particular issue.
[Anonymous Bulletin Board]
[#: It's hard to eat out comfortably anywhere!]
It might be a different story if they had willingly chosen careers like celebrities or politicians. But most of them were just ordinary people who happened to awaken—and yet, excessive attention was placed on them, leading to problems.
[Anonymous Bulletin Board]
[#: People with low awakening levels probably won't understand this inconvenience. For high-ranked Hunters, we have to call restaurants in advance to ask if they even accept awakened individuals during peak hours. = = Sigh... Before I awakened, my hobby was visiting popular restaurants, but now even just standing in the gets complaints—=]
[#: The comnt above, you want to co all the way here and fight over ranks?]
[#: Even as an A-rank, it's this uncomfortable for —can't imagine how the S-ranks live.]
[#: I'm an S-rank and I eat just fine, yup.]
[#: How?]
[#: There's that item that suppresses your magic power, you know. I wear that and also control it myself separately, yup. If you do that, no one can even tell you're awakened. Honestly, you're only having trouble because your skills aren't good enough.]
[#: You can control it so well that people can't even tell you're an S-rank? Hey, which one are you—Jung, Seo, Kim, Kang?]
[#: ? , Kim Giryeo =]
[#: = = =]
[#: = = =]
[#: As expected of a global integration site where 40 S-ranks were using it—makes sense, you idiots.]
...And so, lately, private restaurants that even awakened individuals can comfortably use have started popping up for various reasons. These private restaurants operate in a way similar to those rumored celebrity spots where they'd pull down the shutters if you paid enough. The food quality isn't particularly outstanding for the high price, but providing a quiet space for hunters exhausted by constant attention—now that's a modern business model.
"Huh?"
Tat.
Soone mutters from the staircase leading to the second floor of a small building tucked between alleyways.
A shaved head, always kept closely trimd. And in contrast to that, a fashionably dressed man—wearing the kind of trendy outfit that would likely earn praise on social dia.
"He is usually always here before the scheduled ti... Could it be that he couldn't find the place?"
In front of the private restaurant ntioned earlier, a hunter dressed like that was anxiously pacing—but soon, the young man's face lit up with a bright smile.
"Hyung-nim!"
"Sorry, I couldn't really tell where the entrance was... I had to trace your mana just to make it up here."
Ahn Yoon-sung and Korea's fourth S-rank Hunter—these were the hunters about to enter the restaurant today.
"Am I still on ti for the reservation?"
"Of course!"
For the record, despite the grand service format, all this place actually served was ordinary food like fried chicken and beer.
.
.
.
Correction. Now that I think about it again, I guess you can't really say the nu here is all that ordinary.
"They serve alcoholic drinks, including [God's Droplet]?"
"Huh? Wasn't that why you wanted to check this place out?"
"I kept seeing the na pop up online, so I just thought the food here was supposed to be good."
"I heard there were already cocktail bars in the Yeonnam-dong area that used Gods of Droplet, but I guess this place got popular because it's the first in Korea to serve it as beer."
Tak.
While Ahn Yoon-sung was setting the tableware at lightning speed, I took off my new gear—Midnight Gloves—and slipped them into my pocket, then wiped my hands with a wet tissue.
"But there's nothing to worry about—since you said you wanted to try it, I actually ca by a day early to check the place out in advance."
"What?"
"It just so happened that there was one spot open two days in a row. And yeah, the chicken here is seriously delicious!"
As you can tell from this scene, I was dining out for the first ti in a while. Originally, I was supposed to visit that SN S-famous restaurant opened by a foreign awakened being about two days ago. But thanks to so weakling F-rank suddenly collapsing because of the [Tower of a Hundred People] incident, that reservation went down the drain.
"I've unintentionally caused trouble."
I thought I wouldn't be able to share a al with him for a while, since I'd failed to keep a promise from the past. But despite the cancellation—originally, according to what I'd heard, Ahn Yoon-sung had been invited to that restaurant as part of a family gathering, but his father, who strongly disliked Western food, backed out and they needed soone to fill the seat—he didn't give up on the al. On the contrary, he rembered a passing comnt I'd once made about being interested in a certain place, and he even went out of his way to make a reservation there for us.
"How can there be a creature in this world that's so easy to take advantage of..."
If I were to admit it now, I've beco almost half an internet addict, yet because my soul is that of an alien being, my entire daily life still feels awkward.
"These days, shops often only take reservations through social dia, so for an alien like , it's kind of hard to use them."
Thanks to the help of a native, I get to enjoy the latest Earth culture—it's honestly a joy in many ways.
"Here's the food you ordered—"
"Ah, thank you!"
"Thank you."
Still, I still don't understand the act of deliberately drinking poison at a high price.
Crunch.
While Ahn Yoon-sung was talking about the golden liquid infused with [God's Droplet], I absentmindedly picked up a piece of fried batter from the edge of the plate and thought.
'Indefinitely postponing retirent, huh.'
Postponing retirent.
A few days ago. It was just a fleeting thought of that option I had started to seriously consider after a certain experint.
'Back when Jung Haseong caused a scene at the budaejjigae place, I only postponed my retirent because I was afraid I'd get beaten up for hurting the regular team's morale...'
If soone with an F-rank awakening level keeps trailing after S-ranks, injuries like the one during the Tower of a Hundred People incident are bound to happen again and again.
'It seems that the values from the reagent experint are not enough to just disappear like this...'
But due to various circumstances, I couldn't give up my status as a hunter just yet.
The main reason was accessibility. This profession gave easier access to information about the gates created by the spirits than anyone else. And since I was even posing as an S-rank, I could directly contact the Association President whenever I wanted. How could I possibly give up such a golden status?
"H, Hyung-nim, I know it's a bit presumptuous, but... would it be alright if we had a toast before we officially start eating?"
"Is 'honored' really the right word to use in a place like this?"
That's enough pointless thoughts. I turned my head at the voice calling from across the table, and there was an Earthling now whose familiar face was smiling as he held out his glass with both hands.
Ahn Yoon-sung. An Earthling with whom I've managed to maintain a steady connection, even up to this very mont.
"Hmm."
Actually, calling Seonwoo Yeon a friend was just a joke. A magical scale sohow ca close enough that we ended up sharing the truth to survive, but while I'm certain about her humanity, it's still awkward to say that she and I share a close bond.
Frankly, in this unfamiliar otherworld...
The only Earthling I could genuinely call an acquaintance is Ahn Yoon-sung. Look—right now, even if it's just because of the food, I'm clinking glasses with an Earthling and indulging in this inefficient ritual.
'Hmm, is this the item from China that's said to be able to knock even high-ranking Awakened unconscious?'
Clank.
The sound of glass clinking echoes from one side of the private room.
I hadn't said it before, but in truth, that Earthling nad Ahn Yoon-sung has done a lot for my safety whenever trouble arose.
[Gram ↗]
[nayunsang (Ahn Yoon-sung) ↗]
[2,137 people like this post]
[Hello.
A lot of people have been asking whether this article was fabricated.
But in my opinion, he actually went easy on them again this ti.
I an, how else would the bones of the Hunter who took the first swing at our hyung still be intact?
From what I've seen, even when soone picks a fight, he always stays calm and handles it gracefully!!
I really want to learn from Giryeo hyung's amazing personality too... Maybe the answer really is ditation training? ↗]
[#Exercise #PetitionForHarsherSentencesForAwakenedCris]
Yeah. Many things...
[icac_If Hey, your hyung is seriously ugly. Anyone who says like that guy must have sothing wrong with their eyes.]
[- Inayunsang Ah!! 😡 I've thought this for a while, but the power of language is really amazing. It's kind of fascinating how even a short comnt like this can hint at whether soone has friends or not 😡 😡]
Wait a second. Now that I think about it, that guy've done way too much for .
'Co to think of it, Ahn Yoon-sung doesn't use social dia often, but thanks to his status as an A-rank Hunter, his voice once ca quite a bit of weight online.'
First, let explain, around the ti the 3rd kidnapping incident ended...
There's no way the press releases spread online by Kang Changho could be true. How could even an S-rank Hunter subdue another of the sa rank without causing any injuries? This must be sothing the governnt fabricated, afraid that rumors would spread claiming Korea's awakened combat force is weak!
...Apparently, there were so people who briefly made claims like that.
What silenced them all was Ahn Yoon-sung's active presence on social dia. The shaved-headed man before tirelessly described the everyday combat prowess of the fourth S-rank he had personally witnessed, all to eliminate the sar campaign against . As a result, the theory about the vast skill gap between Kim Giryeo and Kang Changho gradually gained credibility. And most recently, a photo taken at a Japanese airport of Tori and Ito bowing politely to soone ended up becoming an unexpected news article.
"..."
For your information, I won't go into detail about how public opinion on the Internet is currently being ford...
'This drink called beer. I had quite high hopes for it, but as expected, it's not as surprisingly delicious as the fresh, tangy fruit I had for the first ti after reincarnating.'
To put it simply, I ended up becoming a regular face in South Korea's national-pride YTube videos, following in the footsteps of Jung Haseong.
'Is there a reason?'
It was around the ti I was chewing on a piece of chicken while lost in thought.
Tiring!
A notification rang on Ahn Yoon-sung's phone, which had been pushed to one side of the table.
"Oh! Sorry!"
"It's nothing to be sorry about."
According to the Earthling's explanation, the notification only appears when a mutual follower sends a ssage. Even after hearing the whole explanation, I still don't really get what that ans.
[Direct ssage]
[archery_11: Yoon-sung, did you see the news that just dropped? The reporters are going crazy again, bringing up your hyung.]
News. Chaos. Even with just a quick glance, it's obvious that so kind of real-ti incident has occurred—and worse, it feels like I'm involved in it. In that case, what exactly is this "news" they ntioned in the conversation?
"Ah, ah! So, this is... um, well..."
Ahn Yoon-sung apologized to and briefly chatted with his acquaintance. And as a result, the details of the incident were revealed to be as follows.
"Ey, what is this? After checking it out, it's really nothing special."
"What is it?"
"They said the news is reporting that [Beast] caused another commotion. And whenever that awakened one goes on a rampage, a bunch of attention-seekers always start saying stuff like, 'Isn't that actually your hyung in disguise?' and all that."
Putting his phone back into standby mode, Ahn Yoon-sung glanced over this way and began speaking with a slightly excited tone.
"..."
"Um... so, since we're on the topic anyway, would it be okay if I took a quick selfie while having dinner with you, Hyun-g, and posted just one photo on my SNS feed?"
"..."
"Of course, I know you wouldn't care about a silly rumor like this, hyung! Ah, it's just for an alibi—just in case, you know? You can never be too sure in this world!"
It's not like I have any portrait rights left to protect after that inevitably nasty incident—I an, my face has already been plastered everywhere. What's the point in worrying about it now?
With a boneless chicken piece clenched between my molars, I gave a weak nod. The Earthling, delighted, quickly snapped a selfie that captured the two of us from his side of the table.
Click.
But just as a chanical sound ca from Yoon-sung's phone, I swallowed the food I had in my mouth and asked my companion a question.
"Wait a minute..."
I was planning to just brush it off, especially with this fried chicken right in front of , but...
"The Beast, reappeared?"
As expected, no matter how much I thought it, the story that ca up during the conversation still seed strange.
Author Thoughts
Hi, from now on, I will update this novel 3 chapters/week. Thank you for all your support so far:)
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