Chapter 53 – Everyone Has Different Ideal Types

Everyone Has a Different Ideal Type

└ Is the fight between the Delivery Man and the Paladin for real? Just imagining it makes my heart pound!

└ Didn’t the Paladin get a dual awakening? That makes him twice as strong, right? The Porter doesn’t stand a chance.

└ Did you not see him slice off the dragon’s head? Honestly, not even the strongest hunters in the US could do that.

└ Honestly, wasn’t the Delivery Man just carried by his items?

└ Let’s be real, the Delivery Man is a likable hunter.

└ Why is everyone being so “honest”?

News broke that a high-level dungeon had opened. Then came the articles announcing that top-tier guilds like Shinhwa, Hanul, Tushin, and Myeongga would be teaming up to raid it.

The online communities erupted when another article confirmed that Hanul’s Lee Hyunbin and Tushin’s Seol Ji-hoon would be participating.

└ If dungeons were live-streamed, it would be a massive hit. Why hasn’t anyone developed that yet?

└ I heard they’re researching it worldwide.

└ It’d be faster for me to awaken as a streamer.

Many people were dying to know the outcome.

Unfortunately, however, a dungeon raid required at least a week to pass before it could begin.

The magic core that had crossed over from the gate was transforming into a dungeon core, spreading a dungeon field throughout the surrounding area.

The dungeon, with its ominous, crimson glow, was evolving in a way that best suited the monster ecosystem.

The raid hadn’t started yet because the dungeon hadn’t fully formed.

No one knew what would happen if they recklessly stepped into such a dimensionally unstable state.

In the early days, there had been several incidents where entire raid parties who entered unstable dungeons went missing.

After that, entering an unstable dimension was strictly forbidden.

└ So damn curious. Who’s gonna win?

It was rare to see two S-rank hunters enter a dungeon together.

Unless it was one of the most dangerous, highest-level dungeons.

Part of the reason was the small number of S-ranks, but there was also no need for these individuals, who were akin to tactical weapons, to gather in one place and compete.

However, the poor relationship between Hanul and Tushin had resulted in them drawing their swords in opposition, which became excellent gossip material for online communities, fueling heated discussions all night long.

***

“Mister. They’re saying you’re going to get crushed.”

Katrinne spoke, looking up at me from her smartphone.

Crushed? What do you mean, crushed?

“Right now, it’s 76 to 24. Tushin is getting a landslide of votes to win.”

“For this dungeon raid?”

“Yup.”

I snatched Katrinne’s phone and looked at it. ‘Tushin vs. Hanul: Who Will Be the Victor?’

Beneath the provocative title was a poll.

It had descriptions of each guild’s members.

Seol Ji-hoon, Tushin’s ace hunter.

Silver, bleached hair. In his mid-twenties, he had become a hot topic for his idol-like looks.

With a sick mother and a young sister, his family had been struggling financially, and he had stumbled into a job as a hunter’s porter.

In the early days of hunters, there were no regulations for porters, no licenses to be issued, so anyone who wanted to could do it.

Thanks to that, there were a ton of incidents and accidents.

He struggled to make a living until one day he awakened by chance and clawed his way up to S-rank.

He was like a manga protagonist.

His abilities as a Healer were shield energy recovery and a defense buff.

His abilities as a Knight involved being a dimensional severance tank using a shield of light.

As the best tank in the country who also possessed healing abilities, his nicknames were the Paladin, the Holy Cockroach, and so on.

In contrast, my specs were pathetic.

In my thirties, failed interviews at several guilds, worked as a trainer, and then got lucky with an awakening, only to become a Porter.

I boast the largest inventory capacity in the country and can even store living people for transportation. And I have surprisingly high combat ability.

That was the entirety of the assessment on me.

Even from my perspective, comparing the two S-rank hunters, Seol Ji-hoon seemed overwhelmingly stronger.

‘Let’s see.’

I had expected Tushin to play the Seol Ji-hoon card. No, I was the one who provoked it.

Now that my powers as a Hero were properly unlocked, I was curious just how strong a modern S-rank hunter was.

Of course, I couldn’t do everything by myself.

Who could kill the dungeon monsters faster? That depended on the combat abilities of the party members.

Team 3, whom I personally trained, is strong. Kim Tae-yang, Kim In-ho. Those two Kims are talented and persistent.

Seo Hyun-ji is a bit of a shame. If she had just given up the entertainment industry and focused on this, she would have improved immensely.

Of course, her current abilities were overwhelmingly stronger compared to when she first arrived here.

But she was still far from the standard I wanted.

Naturally, I would be the one to fill in for the team’s lack of offensive power.

The Tushin Guild has an S-rank tank, so they can form a very stable and sturdy team. This is where I’ll need to deploy my secret weapon.

“Hey.”

“Yeah.”

“What Priest skills do you have unlocked right now?”

The healers here could, at best, restore one’s physical condition and stop bleeding.

But Katrinne in her prime possessed divine power so strong she could even resurrect the recently deceased.

As someone with experience, I knew this well.

“Rapid Digestion Recovery LV Max.”

Katrinne began to list them off, counting on her fingers.

“Delicious Food Detection LV8. Food Change LV3… Ow, Mister. That hurts! It hurts when you grab my head like that!”

Seriously, how could she have let herself learn such useless skills, even if I had been neglecting her?

I, too, was recovering my strength through the same synchronization rate as her, so I knew how it worked.

I knew that abilities were randomly recovered according to the synchronization rate. But why were those useless food skills at such a high proficiency level?

Maxing out a skill is incredibly difficult. How much must she have used them to make that possible?

“Not those useless skills.”

“Why are they useless? Don’t you eat, Mister? I’d rather detect and eat delicious food than tasteless food. And is it a sin to want to eat more? Ow, that hurts. I said it hurts!”

It is a sin.

The sin of emptying my wallet. As the grinder of my fist spun on her temple, Katrinne answered honestly.

Currently, Katrinne’s Lord level is 10, and her Priest level is 5.

Pathetically low.

To be honest, I never intended to bring her along with me at first. I had thought she should just attend school like a normal kid, enjoy her life, and then return to her original world.

But Katrinne wanted to be a hunter. She said it was for the money, but I felt there was some other reason she wasn’t telling me.

-Activating Knight Order skill.

-No suitable candidates for knighthood currently found.

The fastest way to level her up would be to recruit her into the Knight Order. But the skill doesn’t apply to Katrinne.

-Activating Insight skill.

-Insight does not work on a Monarch.

This is frustrating. Is it because my skill level is still too low?

No, the message said it doesn’t work on a Monarch, so that doesn’t seem to be the case.

More than that, it felt strange that Katrinne, who was a Lord in the other world, was explicitly labeled a Monarch here.

To my eyes, she was nothing more than a little glutton. From another angle, maybe a healing vending machine?

“Hey, share your status window.”

Knowing that resistance was futile, she obediently shared her stats.

Katrinne L. Elibelle

-Lord LV10 / Priest LV5

-Strength: 01 + 02

-Agility: 05 + 11

-Stamina: 08 + 13

-Magic: 15 + 95

-Luck: 31 + 99

…….

What did I just see?

Her strength is one thing, but why is her agility so low?

Back in the other world, she used to ride horses quite well.

“Ah, that? It’s because I used buffs.”

Seriously, a kid her age should be running on her own power. She’s been doping all this time?

Her stamina is also terrible.

Seriously, where did all that food she ate go?

This was a total disaster.

I needed to train her, at least a little.

“Can you take a break from school next week?”

“Why?”

Her eyes held a hint of expectation.

“I think I’m going to need your power.”

“My power? Heheh.”

Something about this feels unpleasant.

If Katrinne’s Priest abilities were brought to bear, it would allow for remarkably stable party management.

Seeing her cross her arms with a smug look, acting all high and mighty, made me feel inexplicably annoyed.

“Well, if you really need me, I guess I have no choice.”

“No, I can manage without you.”

“I’ll do it for pork belly.”

She set up such a dramatic mood as if she was going to ask for something grand, but it was just for pork belly?

No, it wasn’t *just* pork belly.

Sizzling pork belly, grilled garlic, wrapped in lettuce and perilla leaves, and then you take a big bite!

Just thinking about it made me want some.

“Deal.”

“Oh yeah!”

Katrinne immediately got excited and threw on her jacket.

“Ah, right. I should call the kids too.”

“Who?”

“The crew that’ll grill your meat.”

It was obvious that Katrinne would devour a massive amount of meat.

If I grilled it for her, I’d just lose muscle mass. This was a job for Kim Tae-yang. The guy is surprisingly good at housework, starting with grilling meat.

Seriously. It really doesn’t suit him, but for a blond, tanned delinquent, he’s also pretty good at cleaning.

He’s even in charge of cleaning our office.

‘I need to have them join the Knight Order anyway.’

It was about time I brought those two into the Knight Order system and started training them.

There was no one else in Hanul Guild as talented or as trustworthy as them.

***

<Kim In-ho: Oh, sounds great!>

<Kim Tae-yang: lololol, gotta eat as much as we trained.>

<Binge-eating emoticon>

When I texted them about having a team dinner tonight, Kim Tae-yang and Kim In-ho were ecstatic.

They think they’re going to eat a lot?

It was obvious the two of them combined couldn’t out-eat Katrinne.

<Seo Hyun-ji: Why does it have to be when I’m not there?>

Seo Hyun-ji had a schedule and couldn’t make it. I wanted to do this when everyone was together.

No, more importantly, she really needed to choose and focus.

She has the ability. She has the talent.

It’s not that she doesn’t try. At the guild training center, she acts all aloof with her arms crossed, but it was clear she had been practicing a lot at home.

Still, juggling a busy celebrity schedule with being a hunter was definitely too much.

“Oh my, so this is the girl?”

“Hello. I’m Lee Seo-yeon.”

With some time to kill before the team dinner, I brought Katrinne to the center for a bit.

Her magic stat was outstanding, but her strength, stamina, and agility were all at rock bottom. She needed some training.

“You said she was a pig, but she’s so pretty?”

“Ah, the pig.”

Katrinne glared at me.

Tsk. He didn’t have to say that.

“But you’re going to put her through basic hunter training? She’s still young.”

“Monsters don’t hold back just because you’re young, do they?”

“They do. I can make it so monsters can’t even get near me.”

The barrier that Katrinne uses. With that, pathetic mobs couldn’t even get close.

So what? What if it’s not a low-level monster, but a mid or high-level one that attacks?

“So, what kind of style are you going for?”

“…I’m thinking Kim Tae-yeon’s style.”

“Oh my.”

The director heard me and smiled. This is why I hesitated to say anything.

“Going for Hyunbin’s ideal type, are we?”

“Ideal type?”

Katrinne’s curiosity was piqued by the director’s words, and she repeated them.

“There’s a trainer Hyunbin is absolutely crazy about.”

“Mister is?”

Katrinne blinked as if she was hearing this for the first time.

Ah, that old man is about to say something unnecessary.

“Director, you’re talking about ancient history.”

“Come on, what do you mean ancient history?”

The director looked like he was having the time of his life.

Honestly, there was a woman I was interested in.

While working my grueling trainer job, I had sometimes thought that I might be able to meet her one day.

But I knew I probably would never meet her, a star who graced stages all over the world.

Katrinne looked at my face, and her pupils trembled.

What? What is it?

“Is she pretty? No, do you have a picture?”

She grabbed the director’s arm and asked urgently.

“Isn’t that a man?”

Katrinne asked after seeing the poster of trainer Kim Tae-yeon. Her eyes seemed filled with deep bewilderment.

Hair tied back neatly. An androgynous voice and a wild, square jaw. And overall, elastic muscles that seemed to breathe.

She was still a captivating woman.

I can say with certainty, she was the most perfect human in this world.

“……Ideal type.”

Katrinne stared silently at the woman with horse-like muscles in the poster, an earthquake in her eyes.

She touched her own chopstick-like arms and waist, and then the light in her eyes died.

“What are you worried about?”

“Mister….”

“You don’t think I’d make you build muscles that perfect, do you? That’s impossible, of course. We’re just going to build up some stamina, so don’t worry.”

“……”

I tried to console the dejected-looking Katrinne, but then I felt a strange energy.

Suddenly, it felt like my eyes met with an insect crawling up from the floor.

Katrinne seemed to feel it too and turned to look at me.

“Mister.”

“Yeah.”

It’s a gate.

An anomaly was occurring in this building.