Chapter 35

He was quite serious, and Cho-i wasn’t interested in him. Cho-i closed her eyes as she was. And she fell asleep for a moment. And when she opened her eyes again, the sun was rising. There was someone else in front of her. Where did that talkative healer go?

“Why are you sitting there so miserably?”

“Don’t you think it’s your fault?”

Taehyeok Sa, with a bandage wrapped around his head, was visible. He seemed to have come as soon as he woke up, as his clothes were still dirty. He’s dirtying the bed as he pleases in his own company. How enviable. Cho-i slowly blinked her eyes without getting up. She hadn’t fully shaken off her sleepiness yet.

“So, want to talk about it?”

“About what?”

“What did I do to make you look like that?”

“I only have one thing to say.”

“What is it?”

“That wasn’t you.”

“…”

Cho-i was silent for a moment, then smirked.

“You figured that out, huh?”

“It was obvious at a glance. How could I not know when your eyes were rolling?”

“I didn’t know I looked like that.”

“So, what exactly is that Parasitic Ring?”

“Unfortunately, I don’t know either.”

“You don’t know?”

“I joined Paehyeok to find that out. To find the hidden dungeon where I got this ring again.”

“A hidden dungeon, huh…”

Taehyeok Sa answered in a somewhat tired voice. Cho-i chuckled as she watched him.

“If you’re sleepy, sleep here.”

“Sleepy? Me?”

“No?”

“I guess so.”

For some reason, Taehyeok Sa obediently lay down beside her. Cho-i giggled and turned halfway in her seat to look at him.

“Do Guild Masters not get proper sleep when they’re out and about?”

“Most of them don’t need to sleep for long, so yes.”

“It’s a tiring position.”

“Because the benefits outweigh it.”

“Sleep is more important to me.”

He closed his eyes. Cho-i saw him close his eyes and got up from her seat.

“So, let’s talk again after you’ve had a good night’s sleep.”

And she… SLAP! She slapped his cheek as he lay there, then ran out of the sleeping quarters at full speed. Taehyeok Sa, dumbfounded, couldn’t even get up, just stared with wide eyes at the open door. He let out a hollow laugh and cradled his throbbing cheek. The burning pain lingered.

“I’m the only one who can handle that.”

He voiced the thought he’d had when dealing with Cho-i Hyeon, who had lost her reason in this absurd situation. He didn’t know what had happened, but he, an SS-Rank, was the only one who could handle Cho-i Hyeon in that state. The Entity must not be allowed to leave this world. He had a mission of his own: a mission as humanity’s strongest being to guard against threats.

“Not letting anyone take it…”

It must be in his hands, that thing. He lowered the hand that had been rubbing his cheek. And he said,

“I must keep it in my hands and manage it.”

This was Taehyeok Sa’s second emotion towards Cho-i Hyeon. A strange obsession. Something Cho-i Hyeon would have jumped at and slapped him for again if she knew.

Cho-i couldn’t even wait for the elevator, so she ran down the stairs. When she didn’t sense anyone following, she stopped and looked back.

“Even though I beat him up soundly, I don’t remember it.”

She felt wronged. The other side might feel wronged too, but for Cho-i, her own feeling of injustice was more important. Fully awake, she took the elevator to the first floor. Coming out of the building, she hailed a taxi and checked her watch; it was almost 6 AM. She opened the system window again. The skill she had seen earlier was still in the skill tab. But then.

“What is this?”

Something else was sparkling in the skill tab. When she selected the Entity, another window popped up.

[Skill First Use Reward][Confirm]

“Confirm.”

When Cho-i pressed confirm, another skill appeared in the skill tab. It seemed to be a linked skill.

[Skill Supporter][When using the skill Sanity Paralysis, you can designate a supporter. However, a supporter can only be an entity that has helped with growth at least once.][Item required for growth: Red Magic Stone (S)]

“Supporter?”

Cho-i opened her inventory and looked at the Red Magic Stone. The description for the Red Magic Stone was very simple.

[Red Magic Stone (S)][Unlike other magic stones, this is a Red Magic Stone.]

It was a very unhelpful description. She knew someone who would be more knowledgeable about these things than her. And also the easiest to deal with.

[Dongju Kim]

Tru-lu-lu-lu-. The default ringtone played, and it was a while before a click was heard.

-…What is it?

It was a low voice, heavy with sleep. Cho-i asked abruptly,

“Do you know about Red Magic Stones?”

There was a long silence from the other end before a question came.

-Why do you ask? “I just got one.” -Lucky you. “Do you know how and where to use this? There aren’t any special instructions.” -You use it to raise your rank. “Huh?” -I said, you use it to raise your hunter rank. “Like you?” -…Yeah, kid. “Got it. Thanks.”

Hanging up the phone, Cho-i got out of the taxi and immediately stormed into Nara’s house. Or rather, shouldn’t I say ‘our house’?

“Hey!”

Cho-i opened the front door, then abruptly swung open the bedroom door, finding Nara Shim still buried in bed, asleep.

“Are you sleeping?”

Cho-i sat by Nara’s bed and took out the Red Magic Stone from her inventory.

“Are you sleeping? Sleeping? Do you know what I went through? I was already wondering what to do.”

She thought of her skill, Supporter. If only she had the Entity, couldn’t she make her her supporter and tie her down? After all, she was her friend and also someone who knew too many secrets.

“But how do you use this?”

She turned the magic stone over and over, then soon thought of a method.

“Should I try feeding it to her first?”

She giggled and firmly gripped the chin of the sleeping Nara. Then, she pushed the magic stone between her parted lips.

“Nara. Ah~”

“M-what?”

Meanwhile, Nara woke up. Startled by the fact that something was in her mouth, she tried to sit up.

“Oh, don’t be too surprised.”

But Cho-i clamped her mouth shut and pushed her down onto the bed. Nara Shim struggled wildly. In her eyes, there was a look that said,

‘This crazy bitch, I knew she’d kill me someday!’

“Did I hurt you?”

“Did I hurt you?”

She wasn’t actually hurt. Cho-i chuckled and gently lifted her chin.

“Nothing bad will happen if you just swallow the Entity.”

“Ugh-, ugh!”

“Oh, you don’t trust me?”

‘I don’t trust you!’

Her eyes expressed her thoughts very clearly, but Cho-i pretended not to notice and smiled broadly. Gulp. After a brief struggle, she swallowed the magic stone that had been pushed down her throat. Seeing Nara Shim’s Adam’s apple move, Cho-i let go of her hands without resistance.

“Cough, cough, ugh.”

“Oh, don’t throw up.”

“You, what did you feed me?”

“Wait and see. Don’t you feel like something’s going to change?”

“What kind of feeling, huh?”

“Why? Is something gushing out?”

“My, my stomach hurts…”

“Bathroom?”

“No, you crazy bastard!”

Nara Shim clutched her stomach and collapsed onto the bed.

“Ahhh, my stomach hurts! Oh my god, what did you make me eat!”

“That’s strange, is this not it?”

“What’s strange about it!”

“No, I gave you something good.”

“It hurts, ugh!”

Nara Shim finally started rolling around on the bed. Cho-i got off the bed to avoid the rolling Nara Shim.

“Hmm, why is she like this?”

About thirty minutes passed. Soon, Nara Shim quieted down, panting. She was drenched in sweat and seemed to have lost all her energy.

“Damn it, what a sudden disaster while I was sleeping…”

Nara Shim’s voice was completely hoarse.

“Hey, hey. Open your system window.”

“What the hell are you talking about all of a sudden. Are you trying to mess with me…”

Nara Shim, feeling incredibly wronged, cursed and opened her system window. And then, her mouth snapped shut, and her fingertips stopped. After about ten seconds of silence, Nara Shim finally managed to speak.

“You, you, you, you, you. What, what did you, what did you feed me?”

“It’s called Red Magic Stone. A stone that raises a hunter’s rank. Did it taste terribly bad? Does it taste like stone?”

“My, my rank, B-rank, B-rank, B-rank…”

“B-rank? Oh, it didn’t go up as much as I thought.”

“You crazy bastard, I’ve reached B-Rank!”

Nara Shim grabbed her by the collar and shook her. Her eyes wide, she hugged Cho-i tightly, wanting to cheer.

“My friend, I’m sorry I doubted you. But do you have another one?”

“I’m sorry, there’s only one.”

“Th-that’s right. One shouldn’t be too greedy. But this is driving me crazy. M-me, B-Rank.”

“Isn’t C-rank and B-rank pretty much the same?”

“Only you, an A+ Rank, would think that! But from B-Rank onwards, it’s incomparable to C-Rank!”

“Really?”

“Crazy, crazy!” Nara Shim forgot all about her pain and started jumping up and down on the bed. And that festive atmosphere only lasted for a moment.

Ding-dong.
Knock, knock, knock.

“Who could it be this early?”

Cho-i went out and asked through the front door.

“Who is it?”

“We’re from the Yongseon District police station. We received a report of a woman screaming.”

“Huh?”

Cho-i flung the door open. Indeed, a man and a woman in police uniforms stood before her.

“Hello. Is something the matter?”

“Oh…”

Cho-i wondered how she should explain this. Lost in thought, she stared blankly at the police for a moment. Just then, Nara Shim came out of the room.

“What, what is it?”

“They’re from the Yongseon District police station?”

“What? Why?”

“They heard a woman screaming.”

“Oh…”

At that, Nara Shim also started staring blankly. Cho-i pondered for a moment, then pulled something from her wallet and held it out.

“This is the kind of person he is.”

“Huh?”

The police officer took the receipt Cho-i offered. And then.

“Oh…”

“You understand, right?”

“Yes, well… Still, please try not to disturb the neighbors too much…”

“Yes, I understand. I apologize.”

“Well, then, we’ll be going now. Please report if anything happens.”

Cho-i closed the door. She heard voices from beyond the door. The female officer was scolding the male officer.

“What do you mean ‘report if anything happens there’? What would they report? We should just let this kind of thing slide quietly!”

And then a few smacks on the back. Nara Shim, bewildered, asked Cho-i.

“What did you give them?”

“A receipt from an adult shop.”

“What, you crazy bastard?”

Nara Shim immediately clutched the back of her neck, feigning collapse. Cho-i tilted her head and asked, as if wondering what the problem was.

“It was resolved quietly, wasn’t it?”

“What about me! What am I supposed to do! How am I supposed to hold my head up in this neighborhood?”

“Let’s move, then.”

“Aargh!”

“Anyway, we got the money. It’s time to move, isn’t it?”

“You crazy bastard…”

“Huh? Why are you calling me?”

And so, as soon as 9 AM passed, the two began looking at real estate. It didn’t matter, since they were going to move anyway, right?