Chapter 374. Raid Prohibited
In the latter stages, he mostly adjusted the strength of his skills to match his companion, but the occasional surge of power revealed was truly intense.
“It’s sothing I easily made with magic, but maybe it’s ti to show off my strength a bit.”
Besides, Kim Giryeo himself had persistently insisted on his increased muscle density, citing it as evidence.
“Is… that so? There are no signs of your illness progressing, and you’re truly completely healthy now?”
One Monday afternoon, the alien finally earned trust as a reward for their efforts. They were finally free from the cautious treatnt they had endured since the last Happiness Gate incident and the confirmation regarding lung cancer. Kim Giryeo breathed a sigh of relief as he observed the noticeably relaxed deanor of the national hero. It was good that at opposition to making money had eased, but the fact that restoring his image still required such complicated efforts was sowhat exhausting.
That native he saw in the early days of the Earth migration was truly easy to deal with. In any case, that Awakener nad Jung Haeseong was suspicious about everything.
“Since Ahn Yoonseung is a-rank, he basically doesn’t even think about talking back to …!”
A hunter belonging to the Neo Sisters Guild would not along even if you said you made soybean blocks out of beans. And if you showed them blocks made from red beans, they’d just go along with it, too.
“Co to think of it, didn’t that guy say he didn’t have any special plans this week?”
Sob sob.
Kim Giryeo, briefly pessimistic about his second life filled with excuses, quickly changed the subject. After all, he had just finished today’s tasks. And, considerately, that thought about the mammal had also co to mind.
“Alright. Let’s call Ahn Yoonseung and have a al together for the first ti in a while.”
The blonde Alphaurin thought he might spend his free ti building so camaraderie.
“It’s not right to only contact soone when you need them.”
For once, the alien was making a sensible decision.
“You have to build goodwill like this from the start if you want to exploit soone consistently.”
Anyway, that’s how it was. Perhaps the Alphaurin habits hadn’t completely faded, as the soul raised a phone along with its petty calculations. But from the Earthlings’ perspective, it was an inconsequential matter.
[Calling… Ahn Yoonseung]
No, a hero revered as a global idol… didn’t ignore soone in such a lowly position, and on top of that, actually ca to see him regularly? No matter how you interpreted it, such behavior could only be perceived positively by a human.
.
.
.
And so, Kim Giryeo and Ahn Yoonseung t very smoothly.
“Hyung-nim.”
At that mont, Ahn Yoonseung displayed an unexpected hesitation.
“Why?”
From what he explained in detail, it seed that he felt sorry about the call he made during the Red Gate incident a few days ago. When chaos broke out in Seoul, he was called the strongest water mage. Frankly, this could easily have had negative consequences.
“I’m sorry for causing trouble.”
“Yoonseung, don’t go that far too…”
As Ahn Yoonseung lowered his head, Kim Giryeo waved his hand, trying to dissuade his Earth acquaintance.
“I’m actually grateful that you believed I was fine and called . Usually, people treat like a liar.”
Of course, ever since coming to this planet, I have bent the truth a little more than usual.
“I, I didn’t really believe it. I just followed your request to treat as usual… so sohow I feel even more sorry…”
“That won’t do. Hey, Ahn Yoonseung. From now on, for every apology you make, you’ll have to pay a fine.”
“Heupht”
Anyway, they smoothly resolved the situation through conversation.
The place where the hunters t again was a hunter-exclusive restaurant in the city. Since the alien had already co to the capital to receive the comndation, he figured it would be best to settle a al appointnt before returning to the coast. They quickly followed through on their plan to have a al together.
“Wow, this is delicious. As expected, Ahn Yoon-seung has such refined taste—no matter which restaurant we go to, it’s always above average.”
Around that ti, a peculiar ornant in the restaurant caught the alien’s eye. Just like the misconception he had when he first set foot in this solar system, it was a plant that had been decorated in various ways by human hands.
“Co to think of it, Christmas is coming up soon!”
“Yes. Christmas is exactly two days away!”
Now he rembered the na. It was called a “tree.” Kim Giryeo nodded as he looked at the green decoration that dominated the restaurant interior.
“I didn’t really know until last year. But now I see—every year, it’s a tradition to decorate like this at this ti.”
And just as he began speculating about the origins of Christmas, Ahn Yoonseung spoke up.
“Oh, right. But, hyung, you’ve recently ford a guild, and you’ve been actively going on hunts with Hunter Jung Haeseong, haven’t you?”
“Mhm.”
“So, starting next year, you’re planning to focus and generate a lot of profit, then?”
A one-person guild is usually established to take advantage of tax benefits. Ahn Yoonseung, combining the information he knew, surprisingly ca close to the truth. However, at this point, a slight discrepancy erged.
“No. It’s not like I’m saying all year long next year or anything—it’s definitely not that long-term.”
Clang.
The blonde man picked up a skewer of lamb roasting over the central fire. Just before bringing it to his mouth, he finished the sentence he had been saying.
“Yoonseung-ah, let make this clear right now. I’m going to rake in a ton of money in this industry and make my move. By the second half of next year, I’ll be holding a retirent press conference, so mark my words.”
Hearing that, Ahn Yoonseung laughed heartily, as if watching a cody show. It was genuinely pleasant to see a young man laugh so well. Even though, in truth, no joke had been made.
“If it weren’t for that 40 billion hole, I wouldn’t be living like this.”
For reference, the mansion the alien had painstakingly purchased recently suffered burst pipes after trying to save on water bills. The blonde Awakened continued the al with a sowhat bitter expression.
“Retirent, you say? Well, as long as your Awakened abilities are strong, there are plenty of companies nowadays that would call on you!”
“I’m not planning on taking that kind of job, though.”
“EH? Ah! Right. Now that I think about it, you’ve always avoided wielding your psychic powers recklessly. So that’s why you’re saying that.”
“…”
But contrary to the will of this archmage, the Earthling sitting across him appeared very content with his profession.
“However, I also always try to be careful with the power I’ve gained easily. The more I work, the more I find that being an Awakened suits .”
“So people are desperate not to be unemployed, and yet he looks so happy working like that.
“Did I ntion this? Um, actually, I got into university for French Language and Literature…”
“That’s the first I’m hearing of it.”
“When I attended classes as a freshman, I realized it didn’t suit at all—quite different from what I had imagined.”
“Really?”
“When I talked with classmates who were top of the class, I thought, ‘Wow, I could never be that passionate about studying…’”
“Wait, top of the class?”
“Ah! Hyung-nim, as expected of soone I respect. It’s right to avoid using slang needlessly. But I went and made another foolish mistake—”
Ahn Yoonseung went on to share a few more words about the friend in his departnt who had the best grades. By the ti the conversation, which had briefly veered off, returned to the original topic, he even said sothing like this.
“Anyway, that’s the conclusion. Thanks to you, hyung-nim, I’ve found my place in this industry, and I like it. Since I’m in good shape, I’m planning to give it my all.”
“Don’t overdo it.”
“Thank you! I’ll be careful not to overdo it, but I’ll still do so extra work around Christmas this year since I don’t have any plans.”
The A-rank hunter, famous for his skinhead style, expressed his aspirations like that. By now, the lamb chops they had just ordered were fully cooked, so it was ti to focus on eating and ease up on the conversation for a while.
“Hmm.”
Christmas. Christmas…
Kim Giryeo mulled over the recent remark and, for so reason, let his thoughts drift elsewhere.
‘Just because it’s a global holiday doesn’t an the mana bodies will conveniently take a break.’
Surely, there could be no shortage of work on Christmas. The archmage—more precisely, soone who found the constant demand for hunters sowhat displeasing—was not entirely happy with this state of affairs. But there was nothing else he could do.
‘The thought that I could massacre the Gisimche again… that was before I recognized the limits of the Earthlings in the warehouse.’
As could be naturally inferred from how he had remained inactive even after his second awakening, Kim Giryeo could no longer rush into an all-out battle. He couldn’t just swap bodies after suffering heavy losses, and there was only one usable corpse left at his disposal.
‘I’ve barely regained my freedom; I don’t want to recklessly risk a precious life.’
Probability estimation was a basic ability of a soul from a great mage. Using this skill to run various calculations, the conclusion beca clear: an imdiate showdown with the Gisimche was impossible.
Experints like transferring into a top-tier corpse, complete restoration of the lungs, or inventing suitable magical tools, and so on.
The process leading up to extermination was arduous.
‘Even with SS-class abilities, I still have a long way to go before regaining my full stature.’
However, the fortunate part was… the planet he had reincarnated onto still had ample ti left. For now, judging from what Kang Changho had ntioned, it could be inferred that the second-stage warning of the cosmic parasites—known as [Possession]—had indeed already occurred.
‘A single occurrence is fine. It only becos a real problem when reported cases start increasing nationwide.’
The only magician in this world who truly understood the Gisimche soon ca to that thought.
‘Besides, even if humanity really has reached Stage 2, there’s still nearly a thousand years left before the final stage—[Descent].’
In any case, for now there was only one thing to keep in mind: do not recklessly provoke the Gisimche. Sweeping them away with half-baked strength would only trigger disruptive evolution in the emptied ecosystem.
Kim Giryeo instead resolved to bide his ti, setting his sights on the outbreak period of [Possession], when the Gisimche would be at their weakest.
‘I could survive even if this entire Earth were overturned. So be grateful that I step in to deal with it all, you pitiful offspring of mammals.’
Of course, at this rate, when Christmas cos around, everyone will inevitably end up working without a break…
“Hmm.”
That, too, can’t be helped.
‘In the wholeso sense, that is simply not my business.’
Perhaps from the very mont he closed his notebook, fleeting thoughts—half-ford resolutions—rose and faded away.
‘I can’t go around chasing down every monster just because I pity the Earthlings. That’s physically impossible anyway…’
As he ate the lamb off the bone, he continued to think.
‘It’s fine to smash gates within the bounds of South Korea, but if I disrupt their feast on a larger scale… who knows what kind of backlash might co.’
However, that was as far as he allowed his focus to stray. It had been ages since he had gone out of his way to enjoy a proper al, and he had no intention of letting thoughts about the Gisimche ruin it.
‘Let the Earthlings handle their own affairs. I must not carelessly interfere with the ecosystem.’
So Kim Giryeo neatly set aside his lingering worries and focused on the lamb.
No—more precisely, it was the very mont he had just made up his mind to do so.
[With Christmas approaching, departnt stores are scrambling to outdo one another in fierce competition…]
For reference, the shop had a small TV mounted on the wall for custors to see. Until just a mont ago, the scrolling text at the bottom of the screen had been showing peaceful ssages, but now the subtitles had changed.
[[Breaking News] Pacific Ocean near Minamitorishima — Unprecedented and Severe Dungeon Phenonon Occurs]
“…”
“Where did I put my phone?”
“Wait a second, move the glass next to you.”
Rustle rustle.
As soon as the breaking news about the gate appeared, the hunters hastily searched for their portable devices. Naturally, Ahn Yoonseung, driven by his strong sense of duty, was among them. However, unlike the others, the most renowned hunter at the table—Kim Giryeo—showed no such reaction.
Flip.
The blond man, instead, unfolded the nu he had set aside earlier and maintained a leisurely deanor.
“What drink should I try next?”
From the standpoint of an Archmage, it was difficult to feel anything resembling tension. Co to think of it, during the recent Turkey incident, he had been startled at first upon hearing it was a gate that had swallowed an S-rank. Yet, once inside, the structure had turned out to be laughably simple.
‘Could it be yet another chaos stirred up by the ignorance of those mammals?’
Besides, he still hasn’t morized the entire map of Earth… That long island-sounding na feels like it’s part of Japan’s territory, so in any case, it shouldn’t have anything to do with Korea, right?
Hyk.
Kim Giryeo thought little of it as he finished off the remaining sparkling water.
“Heuk!”
“Wow, what is this? Is this real?”
“Isn’t this CG?”
“No, I just asked my friend who lives in Japan, and apparently, they really can see it from there.”
Mutters.
The response that ca back was unusual. Hunters, who just monts ago had been busy grilling lamb skewers, began muttering to themselves in low voices.
“Hmm?”
Having regained his S-rank status, Kim Giryeo now possessed excellent hearing. With that ability, he quickly grasped the shift in the restaurant’s atmosphere.
“Yoonseung, let see your phone screen too.”
“Ah! Yes, yes, hyung-nim.”
Then, since his curiosity was already piqued anyway, he figured out the nature of the breaking news by looking at the search results Ahn Yoonseung had pulled up.
“Hmm.”
That incident, highlighted in red subtitles, was by no ans a trivial matter. Nor was it of a scale that they, as Koreans, could simply avoid being entangled in.
“Are these guys insane?”
Tilt.
Staring at the phone screen, Kim Giryeo tilted his head with a blank expression.
Gisimche pulling off so kind of Christmas event wasn’t exactly to his liking… Either way, it had been a long ti since he had a headache capable of making even an Archmage tense had appeared.
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