Chapter 58 – My Heart Swells with Pride

-Tushin VS Hanul. A battle of pride in the Jeungpyeong Dungeon.

-Comparing the guilds’ strengths. Who will clear it faster?

-Hanul Guild’s rapid growth. A guild to watch next year.

-The Best Five. Will the lineup change after five years?

All eyes were on the upcoming Jeungpyeong High-Rank Dungeon.

“It’s gotta be Tushin. No doubt about it!”

“Are you crazy? Why are you stating the obvious like it’s some big revelation?”

For the students of Raon Academy, a training institution for aspiring Hunters, news about the Hunter world was the most exciting topic.

-Hanul Guild’s Lee Hyunbin, a secret weapon against the Tushin Guild. License test scheduled within the week.

“The Deliveryman’s name has been popping up a lot lately.”

“Still, he’s no match for the Holy Knight. How is a porter supposed to take on a Dual Awakened?”

“It’s not like they’re gonna fight one-on-one anyway, so who cares?”

“Hey. What’s scarier, a sword imbued with aura or a delivery box imbued with aura?”

“Aren’t deliveries supposed to be a welcome sight? That’s the golden rule.”

The students snickered. Watching them, Seo-yeon simply listened in.

“Honestly, I think the stories about the Deliveryman being strong are exaggerated. He just awakened as a Hunter, so his level must be low.”

“I’ll give you that.”

“That’s not true. He’s over level 50.”

“Even if he’s an S-rank, I doubt he really has a training ability. And they’re hyping up the new healer he’s bringing in as some kind of genius.”

“Just like a porter, always hyping up another supporter.”

“That’s not true. She really is a genius.”

The chattering male students glanced at Seo-yeon.

“What’s with you, Lee Seo-yeon? Are you a fan of the Deliveryman?”

“No.”

“Sun! Come on, I told you to join Team Seol! Huh?”

Seo-yeon’s best friend, Hye-kyung, started her proselytizing, shaking her phone with a pictorial photo of Seol Ji-hoon as the wallpaper.

“Seol Ji-hoon looks like some pretty boy. A real man should look like Lucky Boy, Lee Han-seong!”

“You mean the loser boy who’s always getting caught flying drunk and posting apologies?”

“A man’s got to drink a little as part of his social life. Right?”

Soon, the bell for the end-of-day homeroom rang, and the male students returned to their seats.

Seo-yeon scoffed. *Hmph.* Her mister’s reputation was still low, but soon, people would know who the strongest was.

*Should I just tell them?*

Seo-yeon was itching to say something but held back. To tell them that the S-rank Hunter, the team leader of Hanul, was the person she lived with.

“But seriously, Sun. Are you a fan of the Deliveryman?”

“No.”

“The Deliveryman’s not bad, though. If it weren’t for my dear Seol, I might have switched sides.”

Hye-kyung’s words made Seo-yeon feel a little better.

It had been bothering her to hear her mister being looked down on just because he was a supporter among all the S-ranks.

Seo-yeon didn’t know how amazing the other S-ranks were. But she knew better than anyone just how amazing her mister was.

“Actually.”

“Yeah?”

“We live together.”

“Who does?”

Seo-yeon gave her clueless friend a bright smile.

* * *

“Whoa, n-no way! Seriously? For real? Swear to God?”

“It’s true.”

“That Deliveryman… no, Lee Hyunbin is your uncle?”

On their way home from school, Hye-kyung’s eyes sparkled with wonder.

Hye-kyung was Seo-yeon’s best friend. Keeping such a big secret from her had been weighing on Seo-yeon’s mind.

Besides, it was bound to come out naturally someday anyway.

“Can I… can I meet your uncle?”

The truth was, if Hye-kyung hadn’t been a fan of the Holy Knight Seol Ji-hoon, she might have become a fan of Lee Hyunbin.

“Um, my uncle’s probably busy.”

“Aww, Sun. Please!”

“I’ll try contacting him first.”

“Hehe! It’s not much, but here, take this.”

The chocolate bar slipping into her school uniform pocket looked sweet and hefty.

Seo-yeon smiled with satisfaction and contacted her mister.

-Oh, really?

“Yeah. Mister. Are you free?”

-So you’re coming over now?

“Yep.”

-S-Seo-yeon. Don’t come. You shouldn’t…

Kim Tae-yang’s sad cry could be heard from the other side of Hyunbin’s phone.

Though she felt a little bad, Seo-yeon headed to the guild with Hye-kyung.

They hailed a taxi, and Hye-kyung’s eyes shone as she gazed at the line of guild buildings in Guild Town.

Soon, standing in the Hanul Guild’s lobby, Hye-kyung placed a hand on her heart, looking nervous.

“Yes, for two people. Our contact is Team Leader Lee Hyunbin.”

Seo-yeon, now used to the routine, got their visitor passes from the front desk and handed one over.

Seeing this, Hye-kyung’s eyes lit up with pure admiration.

“Wow, Sun. You’re so cool!”

“Ahem.”

“Like a real working adult?”

“Hmph-hmph.”

For the first time in a while, Seo-yeon puffed out her chest, grinning from ear to ear.

“This building is amazing! Wow!”

Thanks to a hefty investment, the building, constructed with expensive materials, was spotlessly clean.

It felt like a set from a TV drama, filling Hye-kyung with a sense of wonder.

“Miss Seo-yeon?”

“…!”

Hye-kyung froze on the spot.

“Hello.”

“Ah, hello…!”

Following Seo-yeon’s lead, Hye-kyung greeted the head of the Hanul Guild.

She was frozen solid after seeing Im Jae-joon, the second son of the Hanul Group and a man famous for his handsome looks.

If Seol Ji-hoon was like a boyfriend-type idol, Im Jae-joon possessed a powerful sensuality that was almost too much for a young student to handle.

Wherever he walked became a red carpet, and his words were as sweet as a voice from the heavens.

“A friend?”

“Yes.”

“Nice to meet you.”

“N-Nice to meess…!”

As Hye-kyung blushed, having unintentionally tripped over her words, Im Jae-joon gave a gentle smile.

“Miss Seo-yeon. The uniform I mentioned before is ready, so come up to the office later.”

“Oh! That was fast!”

“Of course.”

After Im Jae-joon left, Hye-kyung finally managed to calm her pounding heart and asked.

“A uniform? What uniform?”

“Yeah. They said they were making one for me.”

“You’re already working for the guild?”

“Yeah, a little?”

Hye-kyung saw Seo-yeon in a new light.

The Seo-yeon she knew was a naive friend who seemed so vulnerable she’d follow anyone who offered her candy.

“I’m jealous.”

*It’s probably nothing shady. Her uncle is an S-rank, so the guild wouldn’t dare give her any strange jobs.*

Many of the students at Raon Academy were victims of Gate incidents.

Hye-kyung was one of them.

“Want to join me?”

“Me?”

“Yeah.”

“B-But I don’t know how to do anything…”

Seo-yeon’s consideration was appreciated, but Hye-kyung was worried.

“Hanul is really short-staffed. There are probably lots of things you could do for experience.”

“Really…?”

“Yeah.”

Hye-kyung gave an awkward smile.

Following Seo-yeon up to the team training room, Hye-kyung’s heart began to pound again at the thought of meeting a pro Hunter for the first time—and the hottest S-rank at that.

“Hello!”

“W-Wait a sec…”

She had asked for a moment to calm herself, but the quick-footed Seo-yeon had already opened the door to the team training room.

The sweltering air from inside hit her face.

“Guuuh… Even with my regeneration…!”

“As expected, our Tae-yang is the best. In-ho, you should get up here too.”

“No, I’m…”

“Hey now. Don’t be shy.”

A red ring.

On it, a blond-haired punk lay sprawled out, looking half-dead.

“Perfect timing. Welcome, Seo-yeon.”

Hye-kyung’s pupils trembled as she saw the real Lee Hyunbin leaning against the ring.

She should have been fascinated and happy, but the blood splattered on his cheek gave off a chilling vibe.

“Time for a heal, huh?”

As if it were routine, Seo-yeon approached the blond-haired guy who was beaten to a pulp.

“Don’t heal me… Just leave me like this…”

“Arise, brave warrior…!”

“Don’t. I said don’t do it!”

Seo-yeon used a healing skill on Kim Tae-yang. The swollen areas from the beating vanished as if in a time-lapse video.

The pain was gone, to be sure. But the sorrow remained.

“You devils…”

“Tae-yang. This is all part of my warm-hearted plan to make you stronger.”

“Warm-hearted?”

Kim Tae-yang immediately tried to flee the ring. But Kim In-ho blocked his path.

At his friend’s betrayal, Kim Tae-yang’s pupils widened in disbelief.

“You… you betrayed me…!”

“Sorry… If you run, then I’ll be…”

Kim In-ho turned his head away sadly.

The sparring began again.

A chase ensued between Lee Hyunbin, who threw punches with a bright “Hahaha,” and Kim Tae-yang, who started to flee frantically.

Lee Hyunbin, hitting him with a wicked smile. The blond punk, getting beaten while also smiling.

He clearly looked like he was in pain, yet he was smiling. It was a situation that made no sense.

Hye-kyung’s pupils quaked as if an earthquake was happening inside them.

“Looks like today’s earnings will be plentiful.”

Hye-kyung watched her best friend, Seo-yeon, smile as if everything was going according to plan, playfully tossing a coin.

“S-Seo-yeon…”

“Yeah?”

Her friend, who had always seemed so innocent, suddenly felt like a stranger.

“I, uh, something urgent came up, so I’m going to head home…”

In the end, after promising to keep it a secret, Hye-kyung made a hasty escape.

* * *

“Mister. Do I really have to do this?”

“Yes, you do.”

“I mean, seriously, what healer needs strength training? Huh?”

Haven’t you heard that physical strength is national strength?

“Fine, I’ll do it. I’ll do it!”

That girl, Katrinne, reluctantly sat down.

-Strength: 01 / 02

-Agility: 05 / 11

-Stamina: 08 / 13

-Mana: 15 / 95

-Luck: 31 / 99

Looking at it again, it was a pathetic sight.

Even for a healer, she had completely min-maxed for a sedentary lifestyle.

Every time I saw her twig-like arms, my heart seemed to shrink.

“First, let’s build up your basic stamina.”

There’s nothing better than running for building basic stamina.

They say even the military starts each day with a morning run.

After I promised the disgruntled Katrinne a big dinner later, she finally made a show of running.

*Pat, pat, pat.*

No, it should be a *thump, thump, thump*. What’s with this *pat, pat*?

Not even a few minutes passed before Katrinne was panting and looking like she was about to die.

“*Heeuk, heok!*”

She glared at me resentfully.

They say a lion pushes its cub off a cliff to raise it strong.

“If you want to eat rice with soy sauce for dinner today, be my guest.”

“…!”

Katrinne started moving again, her body swaying limply.

My eyes met with Kim Tae-yang and Kim In-ho, who were watching her with pity.

The two of them suddenly cleared their throats and went off to work on their own muscles.

Katrinne, who had been moving like melting ice cream, suddenly had a spark of life in her eyes.

Her steps gradually became lighter.

I saw she was casting a heal on herself to restore her body’s condition.

She thought she was being clever, but with her stamina being so poor, it didn’t make much of a difference.

So she’d run for a minute, pant until her tongue was about to hit the ground, and then become fine again. Watching her repeat this every minute was almost pitiful.

“Sit-ups.”

“How many?”

“Ten.”

“Hah.”

Katrinne confidently started doing sit-ups on the sit-up board.

“Ughh…”

*Good grief.*

“Knghhh…!”

She was trembling like a caterpillar in its final throes.

“*Haa, haak!*”

That was just one.

Seeing her struggle and tremble to come back up made me sigh involuntarily.

Then, suddenly, she started picking up speed.

Like a tortoise running like a rabbit.

“Hey.”

“What.”

“Don’t use buffs.”

At my words, Katrinne scoffed.

“It’s my ability. Why shouldn’t I use it?”

“I keep telling you, what are you going to do when you can’t use mana?”

“I just won’t let a situation like that happen in the first place, okay?”

“Oh, really?”

“Hmph.”

I suddenly grabbed Katrinne’s wrist.

“Hey, what are you doing? Let go!”

Watching Katrinne flail in the empty air, I said.

“You said you wouldn’t let it happen.”

“Where’s the honor in a sneak attack?”

“You think an enemy is going to send you a text before they ambush you? Huh? ‘Excuse me, but I’m about to ambush you now.’ Like that?”

I let go of the fuming Katrinne and made her exercise again.

Katrinne, feeling wronged.

Guys like In-ho and Tae-yang do as they’re told, but since she’s family living with me, she doesn’t listen well.

In times like these, I have a good method.

“No choice, then.”

I took out a few booklets from my pocket. Seeing them, Katrinne’s pupils dilated, and she began to tremble.

“Ah, Mister! What do you think you’re doing…!”

What am I doing? These are the coupon books Katrinne has been collecting.

I recalled her beaming with joy as she collected stickers with every food delivery, planning to order a free dish.

It’s a bit cruel, but for Katrinne’s sake, I have to be ruthless.

“Ten reps.”

“…F-Fine, I get it! Just calm down and don’t touch them!”

After I threatened to rip the coupon books, Katrinne finally started exercising properly.

A swelling sense of pride.