Chapter 68 – Maintenance (3)

Kim In-ho. He’s a pretty diligent guy.

I didn’t know he was breaking his back raising his late sister’s child.

There isn’t much I can do for someone like Kim In-ho.

The ultimate healing vending machine.

The disease-curing machine, Katrinne, is by my side.

“Heehee.”

That girl, Katrinne, was peering into something.

“Kkarin.”

“It’s not ‘Kka,’ you idiot.”

Yup, Kkarin.

“What are you up to?”

“Me? Heheh. I was providing relief.”

Once again, Katrinne had stacked up boxes of ramen for the domain’s residents.

They all ate well with just one box of ramen before, but with this much, it looked like they wouldn’t have to worry about food.

“Wanna see?”

“Yeah.”

When Katrinne swept her hand over the desk, a hemispherical dome appeared.

Soon, a scene like a medieval SimCity unfolded.

This is seriously amazing.

Pixelated figures of residents walked the streets. In the market, pixelated merchants hawked their wares, and you could even see children running around and playing.

At a glance, it just looked like watching a gameplay video.

‘If I can find a way to travel between dimensions, I should be able to find a way to return the domain, too.’

Unlike me, Katrinne is connected to the domain.

Thanks to that, Katrinne, who used to be a light eater, had become a glutton to maintain the domain.

No, actually, she says it’s not that she’s forcing herself to eat, but that her appetite has become enormous.

So I couldn’t really nag her about it.

“Huh, but that’s strange.”

“What is?”

It really is strange.

“The market is pretty big, isn’t it?”

I mean, the domain had been transported to an unknown dimension and was just floating there.

I don’t know if the residents were getting motion sickness or not.

In any case, being cut off in another dimension should naturally mean they can’t trade.

Not just in another world, but even in the modern world, you need something to transport goods for trade, whether it’s a plane, a ship, or a vehicle.

But what about the floating island now?

It’s a completely isolated space.

In other words, they have no choice but to be self-sufficient.

“Hey, don’t they need something other than ramen?”

“Like what? Ramen is enough. Are you dissing ramen, Mister?”

“Like salt or stuff like that. The floating island can’t be trading right now.”

Hearing my words, Katrinne rolled her eyes.

I’m right, aren’t I?

In the other world, spices are incredibly expensive.

Especially pepper.

It’s more expensive than a lump of gold. There’s a reason they say salt is worth its weight in gold, you know?

“That’s right. Salt. Salt would be better. The domain’s income would increase right away.”

Does that mean she’s only been giving them ramen until now?

I thought she was pretty smart back in the other world.

No wonder I feel sorry for the residents.

“But we are trading right now, though.”

“Trading? You are?”

“Yeah.”

How the hell are they doing that when it’s just floating up there?

“Once a month. They say a trade route opens up. I heard we can trade with other major cities then.”

What is that about?

So, this floating island here is trading with the other world?

“Ramen is the most popular item. Heheh. It’s selling well at a high price.”

It looks like they barely have enough for themselves, and yet they were selling it.

More importantly, is it really okay to sell off modern artifacts like that?

“Does that even make sense?”

“Does the domain coming over here make sense in the first place?”

She has a point there.

I feel a bit dazed.

Wait, that floating island. Could it be some kind of dungeon?

Usually, when something from another dimension crosses over to this side, a gate is formed.

Sometimes it’s in the form of a rift, other times it looks like a black hole.

Some are said to look like actual castle gates that swing wide open.

Each one had its own unique characteristics.

If a gate isn’t closed in time, a dimensional space—in other words, a dungeon—manifests here.

It’s usually in the shape of a citadel, an underground prison, or a fortress.

‘It wouldn’t be strange for an entire city to come over.’

The scale is a bit large, but this is also like a type of dungeon.

Thinking about it makes me feel uneasy.

The boss monster I met in Mago’s dungeon.

No, Diana told me to save her.

Not just herself, but ‘us.’

Why did an ordinary girl become a monster?

I don’t know. There’s still too little information.

“Mister, Mister! Do you remember the general store owner?”

“Yeah.”

I remember him. The big-nosed idiot who pretended to be jovial. He was always whining about women.

“I heard his wife just had quintuplets.”

“Quintuplets? Wait, he got married?”

“Of course, he’s been married for a while.”

Wow, that’s unexpected.

I thought he’d never get married.

I don’t know who she is, but she must have a strong spirit of self-sacrifice.

Uh, a person? She is a person, right?

“He married the waitress from the inn next door.”

Huh.

I remember that waitress, too.

Thanks to her voluptuous figure, she made many men want to stop for a drink.

He’s a lucky man, that general store owner.

How on earth did he woo her with that face?

“They asked me to name the kids. How about One, Two, Three, Four, and Five?”

“Stop before they stage a rebellion.”

It’d be a problem if they stormed the empty castle with no lord.

“Well, it seems like everyone’s doing fine.”

“Yeah, thankfully.”

I glanced at Katrinne’s profile as she smiled faintly.

What is this kid thinking?

When you look at her, she just seems like a carefree, innocent kid.

But she’s always worrying about her people.

Doesn’t she want to go back soon?

“Mister, what is it?”

“Huh?”

“Because you’re staring hard enough to drill a hole in my face.”

“Ah. Right.”

I was so fascinated that I momentarily forgot my original purpose.

“Do you remember the disease caused by mana stones from back then?”

“Yeah.”

A mana stone sickness outbreak once occurred in the domain as well.

We took down a huge black dragon, and it was a real headache because the damn thing spread disease everywhere before it died.

“In-ho’s son. Well, not his biological son, but someone in his family has the mana stone sickness. I’m hoping you can treat him.”

“It’ll probably require materials, you know.”

“That’s not a problem.”

I’ll have to prepare the materials myself.

They’re my people, after all.

* * *

The treatment is simple.

You extract the contaminated mana stone flowing through the body and embed it into a pure, raw mana stone.

With that, the patient suffering from the mana stone sickness is cured.

Of course, there are downsides.

It can’t be used indiscriminately.

Aside from consuming Katrinne’s mana, the cost of the mana stone needed to treat the patient’s body is also substantial.

A rough estimate came out to about 110 million won.

In the past, that would have been a staggering amount of money.

On a trainer’s meager salary, I would have had to go without proper food or clothes for years to touch that kind of money.

But things are different now.

The more I invest, the more I get back.

I bought 100g of pure mana stone ore from the Demon King and gave it to Katrinne. I dropped her off at the hospital and waited outside.

“Oh, isn’t that the delivery guy?”

“The delivery guy? The one who harassed our Huni-oppa?”

Two women who seemed to be Seol Ji-hoon’s fans shot daggers at me as they passed.

Then they started furiously typing something on their phones.

Just in case, I searched for “delivery guy” and “Lee Hyunbin” on social media.

As expected.

-Saw that bastard Hyunbin who harassed Huni-oppa

┕ㅠㅠㅠ Huni-oppa

┕You just let him be?

┕Delivery guy is ugly af. His clothes are trashy too.

What’s wrong with my clothes? What, should I wear a suit all the time?

“Ugly af” and “trashy clothes.”

People are going to get the wrong idea at this rate.

It’s best to correct this kind of false information quickly.

I waved my phone at the women who were sneaking glances at me.

While the two women blinked, not understanding what I was doing, I pointed two fingers at my eyes, then at them.

For a moment, both of their faces turned pale.

Yeah, that’s right. I see you. I’m watching. Got it?

Soon, the two women disappeared like a shot, and the post was deleted.

While I was at it, I searched Seol Ji-hoon’s name.

Seol Ji-hoon. As expected, he’s very popular.

He’s probably the most popular S-rank hunter, regardless of age or gender.

His public image is that of a sincere and gentle person.

‘They’re all blind.’

It was enough to make me scoff.

The guy’s a villain.

A terrorist, just like the ones who indiscriminately murder anyone hostile to hunters and tried to summon an earth dragon to wipe out innocent civilians.

And yet, just because he’s handsome, people look at him through rose-colored glasses.

The Tushin Guild has been quiet lately.

They’ve been passive about their raids, too.

Seol Ji-hoon will be going on a raid again soon. If I were them, I wouldn’t let such an expensive asset sit idle.

‘Since he failed in the dungeon, maybe they’ll have him support a gate raid.’

That’s my prediction.

In fact, he might be waiting to lure me into a gate.

After losing to me before, he might have come up with some kind of countermeasure.

Like getting support from his comrades, for example.

Just then, my phone vibrated.

-Katrinne: Mister, done.

After getting Katrinne’s message, I went up to the hospital room.

There’s no good reason to linger in a hospital room. Mana stone sickness is still known as an incurable disease.

Right now, the only way to cure it is for Katrinne to extract the mana stone herself.

When I arrived, Katrinne was sitting on a bench in front of the room, looking a little tired.

Beads of sweat were forming on her face and the nape of her neck.

I patted Katrinne’s head.

“Good work.”

“You know this calls for ten delivery orders, right?”

Getting this much labor out of her for just ten delivery orders is a real bargain.

But I can’t let it show. I still want our Katrinne to be a girl full of dreams.

“Hmm, I don’t think so.”

“Hey, it’s really hard, you know? I have to concentrate really hard. And, uh, scrape out all the mana stone spreading through the blood vessels.”

“That’s true. Alright, I’ll give you ten delivery orders for this one.”

“Heheh.”

I let Katrinne rest for a bit and looked at In-ho inside the room.

“Team Leader….”

In-ho’s moist eyes turned to me.

He was holding the hand of his son, who was breathing evenly and peacefully.

Looking at the monitoring machine, I could see the numbers had dropped significantly.

“I heard… that you spent a lot of money.”

A hundred million won is a lot of money. But for me, it’s no longer a huge sum.

I can make hundreds of millions just from a single TV appearance or commercial.

In other words, a hundred million won.

With that money, I can make talented guys like Kim In-ho completely mine.

Simply giving someone a hundred million won…

…is very different from spending a hundred million on something that person desperately needs.

“I don’t know how much help I can be, but I will do everything I can to be of use to you, Team Leader. Thank you so much.”

There’s plenty you can help with.

I hear my new hunter training business is short on instructors.

Tae-yang and In-ho know my training methods well, so they’d be perfect for the role.

Maybe I’ll have them do it as a part-time job later.

“It’s fine. For now, just take good care of your son. You can take some time off.”

“No, sir, it’s alright.”

What do you mean, alright?

You’ll have plenty of things to take care of.

“And.”

In-ho listened intently.

Seeing his reddened eyes, I could guess how hard it must have been for him.

“You must never tell anyone who cured the mana stone sickness.”

“Yes.”

“Absolutely never.”

“Yes, I understand.”

There are many people in this hospital suffering from mana stone sickness.

It might be a different story if Katrinne fully recovered her powers, but right now, it’s difficult for her to even heal one person.

“Leaving Tushin to come to you, Team Leader… I truly believe it was the right decision. Not just because of this, but always….”

A smile crept onto my face at In-ho’s words.

After negotiating the trade just to screw over Tushin, I had told Kim In-ho to come to Hanul.

I remember how his expression had brightened up instantly.

“Well then, see you after your time off.”

I can tell who’s going to be my person at a single glance.

How many comrades-in-arms have I fought alongside until now?

“Let’s go.”

“Okay, but I’m hungry.”

Katrinne said pointedly.

From the moment I first met this kid, I had a feeling our relationship would be a long one.

“Tell me what you want to eat. I’ll buy you anything.”

“Really? Heehee.”

I really did buy everything the excited Katrinne, who followed me, said she wanted to eat.

Because she did a good job.

While we were busy grilling meat, a news report came on the restaurant’s TV.

-Since the beginning of the Gate era, the Tushin Guild, which once rivaled the Shinhwa Guild that had never lost its number one spot, has seen its market share fall day by day.

Then, a voice came from the TV.

-With the recent surge in the Hanul Guild’s stock, it’s assessed that other guilds are also receiving fresh stimulation.

-The Tushin Guild, along with several others, is putting all its efforts into recruiting new hunter talent.

The face of the Tushin Guild’s Kim Shin appeared.

Hasn’t that guy been fired yet?

I thought he would’ve hit rock bottom for sure, considering he’s made more than just one or two blunders.

-We at Tushin aim for the best, and by selecting the best talent, we will actively conduct raids to help ensure citizen safety and act as a socially responsible guild.

-The new talent joining the Tushin Guild are the pillars who will lead its next generation. They are individuals who bear a sense of responsibility and duty on par with Hunter Seol Ji-hoon.

The greasy-looking Kim Shin was making this declaration in front of the reporters.

And behind him, Tushin’s new hunters were bowing.

-Hello, I’m Ryu Ji-yeon, and I’ve just joined Tushin.

A woman dressed entirely in black stood before the camera with a smile playing on her lips.

She looks familiar, somehow. Like I’ve seen her somewhere before.

-There is a hunter I admire, and I will strive to become like that person.

In response to a reporter’s question about who she admired, the woman in black gave a bashful smile.

-It’s Hunter Lee Hyunbin of Hanul.