Chapter 80
“What, what, what… what is this!??”
Robert froze completely.
What came into his view was a forest of buildings.
In fact, by this world's standards, just seeing such tall buildings lined up together was astonishing enough.
Linia was also looking around with an interested expression.
But this wasn't something to be surprised about here.
This wasn't Seoul.
In other words, it would be a long time before a forest of skyscrapers appeared.
“But... what is that monster?”
“Gom.”
Gomi had naturally joined us when I was walking along the mountain trail.
It was so natural that even I didn't notice at first.
“This one? It’s Gomi.”
I stopped petting Gomi.
Gomi looked at Robert as if to say, What are you talking about?
“No, just an animal, I guess.”
“How dare you! To call our Gomi ‘just an animal’! It’s a sacred beast that understands human speech!”
How dare he!
I don't know why he got so smart, either.
“O-okay...”
Our Gomi doesn't even bite.
He really doesn't bite; he just catches fish and eats them.
Sometimes, if I bring him meat as a reward, he'll tear into that too.
“Now go. Someone might see you.”
I waved Gomi away.
We were getting to the point where it overlapped with hikers' trails.
Even someone without my high stats could hike here safely.
If someone spotted us, it would become a hassle.
Gomi knew that too, so after rubbing against me once, he disappeared back into the mountain.
“I finally have a signal.”
I picked up my smartphone and called Sera.
“I already contacted a friend, so let's wait until she gets here.”
Complaining about it being her day off, but still coming anyway—that was so like Sera.
“Ms. Sera! It's been so long!”
Aris shouted.
“You've been here before?”
“Yumia brought me here once. There are so many amazing things here!”
“I want to look at bedding...”
“You'll be shocked once we go to the stores.”
I'll have to take Linia to a furniture store later.
After waiting a little while, Sera arrived by car.
It was a bit different from the one I'd seen last time, but it was still a very luxurious car.
“Long time no see.”
“Hey.”
I walked up closer to Sera.
Seeing her again after so long made me really happy.
Maybe that's what childhood friends are like.
Sera smirked at me too.
“Hello, Ms. Sera!”
Aris greeted her too.
In very fluent Korean.
'...?'
Sera was about to respond naturally, but then she noticed something odd.
“Hey... wait. You got really good at Korean.”
“I practiced during vacation!”
“...Didn't she basically not know Korean at all until before vacation?”
That was true.
She definitely had been...
“I had no idea either.”
She'd been watching a ton of Korean content on my tablet.
Even if that helped her learn the pronunciation, this level was...
'That's just talent.'
Linia and Robert were conversing with the help of Sera and the blessing's power.
“Hmm. This place feels very different from the world we lived in. Robert Carter, a first-year student at Reinhart.”
“You two are the second people from another world I've met. I'm Sera, an A-rank hunter from the Republic of Korea. Nice to meet you.”
“Hi... nice to meet you. I'm Linia Dreamwell, a friend of the top student.”
“So she really did take the top spot after all... and that thing is the top student too...”
Sera brought a hand to her head.
Why, what, why?
Sera asked, looking at Linia.
“But do people from another world have this much mana?”
Sure enough, these two had more mana than ordinary students.
But if you ask whether everyone from another world has that much mana...
“Not as much as these two.”
One difference here is that even commoner children naturally have mana.
But even so, these two are off the charts.
Ordinary students already become a handful once they reach third year, after all.
“That said, you have quite a lot of mana yourself.”
“That comes with the job.”
Even considering that, Sera's mana was on the high side.
There are only three S-ranks in Korea, but A-ranks are still incredibly rare.
At most, a few dozen.
“Earth's humans can't be underestimated either.”
“I agree. People from other worlds are strong.”
I had a feeling our sample size was a little strange.
Well, they'll manage somehow.
* * *
Linia fell asleep the moment she used the reclining feature to lay the back seat down.
Even like that, was she maybe studying in her dreams?
No. She might just be sleeping even in her dreams.
Robert was checking out the car and testing its features one by one.
Not even a kid riding in a car for the first time would do that, you brat.
“What kind of magical tool moves like this? Where's the mana source!”
Robert was hoping to study in the magic department, wasn't he?
So he did seem to know something, but he was completely off the mark.
“It runs on gasoline.”
“...Gasoline?”
“There is such a thing.”
What would you know?
I should show it to Chloe later too.
Or maybe just bring her here.
“So, where to?”
Sera asked me.
“Let's go to my house first.”
Since it's nearby, I was thinking of stopping by.
Of course, I had no intention of staying overnight.
“Ah, there?”
Sera turned the steering wheel.
After driving for about twenty minutes, we arrived in front of some abandoned factory.
I said it was my house, but when the abandoned factory came into view, question marks seemed to pop up on Aris's face.
“...What kind of facility is this?”
“This is his house.”
“...This?”
Aris looked at me in shock.
There was pity in the way she was looking at me.
“No, I had no choice if I wanted a place to train, dismantle monsters, and stay overnight. Don't look at me like that.”
An old first-generation hunter I used to work with sold this place to me cheap.
If it weren't for him, it would have been hard to get such a good property.
For reference, that guy retired from being a first-generation hunter and is living well with two kids.
“And honestly, it's perfectly livable!”
“R-right.”
“I see...”
What, have these guys only ever lived sheltered lives?
Of course, I don't live here anymore either.
“At least look inside before you say that.”
Since the children of wealthy families looked shocked, I had no choice but to show them the inside.
I hopped in through the thick grass that had grown up around it.
'But why is the grass bent?'
There seemed to be a bit more trash nearby, and there were also signs that some of the grass had been burnt.
As if someone had stayed here for quite a while and even eaten meals here.
'But what kind of bastard would do that?'
Even homeless people aren't fools; they wouldn't come to a place like this.
There are tons of insects, and with no trees at all it's just hot—why would anyone come here?
I dug into the ground beside it—not my Inventory.
A rusty key came out, and I inserted it into the entrance and turned it.
Then the entrance of the abandoned factory opened.
“Come on! Get in!”
“Is this some kind of ruin...?”
“Ugh... can't we not go in?”
“It's nothing special anyway. It's cooler inside because it's shaded.”
Since it was daytime and the sun made it feel a little hot, Linia reluctantly came inside.
Inside were a bed mattress, a sink, and hanging targets and scattered scarecrows.
The targets had dozens of arrows stuck in them, and the scarecrows were covered in sword marks.
“W-what is all this...?”
“Ah, this brings back memories. Things I used for practice and never cleaned up.”
How nostalgic.
Back then, my stats weren't good enough, so I made up for it with practice however I could.
It was really hard back when I wasn't awakened.
“You used a bow too?”
“Yeah.”
I don't use one now that I have magic.
I used to, though. It was good for finishing off enemies without much risk.
“Look closely.”
Robert pointed at the targets.
“They're all dead on target. Some of the arrows are even piercing other arrows.”
Ah.
Those were shots I messed up.
If you shoot right beside an arrow, it won't break and you can reuse it, but I made a small mistake and pierced it instead.
But hey, a hit is a hit, so let's just let it go.
“Even Imperial archers couldn't shoot like that...”
“Ah, here it is.”
I opened the lone cabinet sitting there.
“Ugh, but I can't use these anymore.”
What I was looking for were my old weapons.
But they were either heavily rusted or just worse than what I use now.
—Fsss...
I tried coating them with aura, but they evaporated except for the handles.
“......”
The dark red handles were staring at me awkwardly.
This won't do.
I put a few weapons into my Inventory as keepsakes and went back to the three of them...
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I misunderstood you. I apologize.”
“What?”
“You really did work yourself to the bone.”
“You... lived like this...? I won't get mad next time if you eat my ice cream!”
“Hmm... is this really a place where people live?”
No. I'm not that bad.
* * *
And so, the chaotic abandoned-factory exploration...
Or rather, the event where I was downgraded from a commoner to a charity case ended.
We were on our way to Seoul.
There was a tower entrance over there too, and our original purpose was to pick up some supplies.
While we were driving along the overpass like that...
—KWAAAANG!!
An explosion went off somewhere, and Sera shouted urgently.
“It's a mana explosion! Watch out!”
“W-what happened!”
“Index, Protect!”
Linia reacted instantly and quickly deployed a wide-area defense spell.
Thanks to that, the rocks and clumps of dirt flying from the center of the explosion were mostly swept off the edge of the overpass.
[Emergency Gate detected!! Evacuate!!]
Sirens blared loudly.
We stopped the car and looked at the gate from a distance.
A space rippling black like a black hole.
It's a gate.
Even at a glance, a substantial amount of mana was pouring out.
“This is... an A-rank-level gate!? You guys, evacuate for now...”
Sera looked at me in surprise, but I had a different thought.
“Sera.”
“Yeah?”
“I want to clear that.”
“What?”
If we clear it, at least we won't have to worry about money this time.
Since it's an emergency gate, it probably won't yield that many resources.
But even if only a little mana stone comes out, it'll be more than enough for travel expenses and the mana stones I'd use to power the generator.
“You're really going to do it?”
“We've got more than enough firepower anyway.”
“Fair enough.”
Sera alone might even be able to clear it.
And then there's me and these guys.
“Let's team up like old times.”
“Sounds good.”
* * *
“Sorry, but this A-rank emergency gate has already been assigned to a party.”
Jeon Jinguk, the B-rank party leader of the Cheonmyeong Guild, received an unexpected answer from the association employee.
He applied as soon as the gate appearance was reported.
Emergency gates are more dangerous than normal gates, but their clearing difficulty is lower.
So with specs like theirs, they would naturally be approved.
Almost all A-rank-and-above hunters in Korea were already assigned to jobs.
“What? Our side is made up entirely of a high-end B-rank party! We're the right fit! Please submit a transfer request...”
“The White Tiger Guild has sent out Hunter Sera.”
“...Sera?”
But clearing a gate requires a party.
“...What? But who would go with Hunter Sera...”
“And apparently she's going with four people of A-rank caliber. Since Hunter Sera said so, it must be true.”
It's probably not a bluff.
Hunter Sera is someone who almost never says anything lightly, whether in public or in private.
“...What?”
But he couldn't help but shiver.
Not one or two, but four?
Does the White Tiger Guild have talent sprouting out of the ground or something?