Chapter 24
#24. Martial Arts
Ding-
[The matching has ended]
[Affection Change]
[Iris Lumeria Baiart Peledia 85♡ → 95♡]
[Bond Level Change]
[Iris Lumeria Baiart Peledia Lv.1 → Lv.3]
[Calculating…]
[600 Love Coins have been awarded]
[Remaining Coins: 1,850 Coins]
[Name: Iris Lumeria Baiart Peledia
Age: 524
Race: High Elf
Affiliation: EB-17
Occupation: Archmage
Disposition: Sage Ruler, Pacifist, Devoted, Vegetarian······]
[Remaining Matching Time: 143:59:45]
As soon as the air currents changed, I found myself back in my room.
“The settlement reward is pretty sweet.”
Perhaps because my Bond Level with Iris had increased, the time remaining until rematching had also been reduced from a week to six days.
I laughed while looking at the countless screens floating before me, but perhaps because I had returned to the safety of my room with a C+-rank magical beast right in front of me, all the tension drained from my body, and I collapsed onto my bed.
“Ah, it fucking stings... I'm dying, I'm dying...”
Because I had not treated my wounds properly, my clothes and bed were stained with blood from the stab wounds covering my entire body.
I wanted to wash up and sleep immediately, but I had to get treatment before my condition worsened.
Ordinary people would go to a hospital when they were sick or injured, but things were different for people with money.
“Was there a church with an actual priest near my house...?”
Of course, there wasn't. The church I found with a map app was quite far away, at least thirty minutes by taxi.
I let out a deep sigh at the inconvenience already, but I put on some bandages and adhesive bandages, changed my clothes, and left the house.
The taxi I called through the app arrived soon after.
“Please take me to Seoul Central Holy Church.”
“Sure.”
Priests, who use divine power manifested through their faith in God, perform miracles that heal other people's wounds.
Magic had trouble doing that, so I had heard that mages had once researched healing magic very enthusiastically, but I had no idea how things were now.
Anyway, becoming a priest was just as difficult as becoming a mage. Talent was a given, but it also required unwavering faith in God.
Those selected in that way then had to undergo years of rigorous training at the Holy See in the Vatican.
“Haha, you seem to be injured, and since you're going to a church, I suppose a young man like you must have made it big? My son ought to work hard like you, but all he does is play around at home... Sigh...”
As the taxi driver said, getting treated at a church cost at least several hundred thousand won, and depending on the patient's condition, the amount written on the bill could skyrocket to an absurd level.
Still, considering that external injuries could be healed so cleanly that not even scars remained, and that chronic conditions like baldness and cancer could also be cured, it was not an entirely unreasonable price.
Of course, I heard that diamond-spoon brats even went to church when they caught a cold.
“Yes, that’ll be 23,000 won.”
“Thanks.”
The magnificent church building came into view as soon as I got out of the taxi.
They must have poured an unimaginable amount of money into it.
“Should I exchange money first?”
For reference, my bank account was currently empty.
I had spent everything buying a bed and various other things when I went to meet Iris.
Of course, I wasn't worried. I had fifteen magic stones harvested from the dungeon. And they were not ordinary D+-rank monster stones; every single one came from an elite specimen.
According to what I had seen on online communities, magic stones from elite specimens were more expensive than those from monsters of the same rank.
And right next to this church stood the Hunter Association building.
“Customer number 54.”
Feeling a strange sense of déjà vu, I sat down at the counter where my number had come up.
Just like the ones at the Mage Tower, the female employee here was extraordinarily beautiful.
‘What other job pays that well while being as deadly as being a Hunter?’
It might be unfair to generalize, but honestly, if she was that beautiful, was there any real advantage to working at the Association?
“I’d like to exchange some magic stones.”
“Yes, please place them all over here.”
Her bright, constant smile certainly made people feel good when they came in to do business.
Even if you could tell it was just an act, wouldn't Hunters still consider it nice?
I had just come back after getting worked to death running through gates, so if a pretty woman welcomed me with a smile, I would probably like it too.
“Just a moment, please.”
I took the magic stones out of the bag I had brought along and placed them on the counter.
“Uh...?”
“They’re all D+-rank, and they were taken from elite specimens.”
A beautiful woman standing there with her mouth hanging open was certainly not a sight one got to see often.
A short while later, a small notification sound rang from my phone as I left the Hunter Association.
[S Bank]
[Deposit: 31,200,000 won]
[Balance: 31,275,420 won]
A D+-rank magic stone cost 1.3 million won, and because these came from elite specimens, they received a sixty-percent premium, for a total deposit of 31.2 million won.
“...This really makes hunting worthwhile, doesn't it?”
For now, cash was definitely better than coins.
Perhaps because there were so many places I could use it immediately.
“I should move soon, and I’d like to buy a decent car too... Hmm, I guess I need to save a little more first.”
Thirty million won was by no means a small amount of money, but it was not enough to move and buy a car either.
In the end, I had to deal with either a home or a car first, and no matter how I looked at it, a home came first.
I wanted to leave that smelly, uncomfortable studio apartment already.
***
Kang Cheol-ho, the thirteenth director of the Korean branch of the World Hunter Association.
He was one of the ten most powerful people in all of East Asia, as well as an S-rank Hunter with a body strong enough to withstand a missile barrage with his bare flesh.
His nickname was Iron Man (鐵人).
“Such a quantity of magic stones, and from a mere twenty-one-year-old man?”
True to his nickname, Iron Man rarely showed much emotional change on the surface, but this time, the fluctuation in his voice was unmistakable.
It was a subtle difference that only his close aides could likely notice, but he was clearly astonished.
“Yes, he just exchanged them at the counter on the first floor.”
“He must have discovered an undiscovered gate.”
Technological advances had made it possible to know where gates would appear and when they would be created, but even that was not one hundred percent perfect.
Occasionally, gates with concealment abilities escaped the range of detection devices, waited for the right moment, and then caused countless casualties by triggering a surprise gate break.
Such gates were called undiscovered gates.
People were advised to report them to the nearest police station or Hunter Association as soon as they were discovered, but they could also clear them at their own discretion.
Only Hunters or holders of hero licenses could do so.
Of course, an unlicensed person who cleared one was not automatically punished.
Undiscovered gates were classified as special gates by nature, making them quite difficult. Superhumans capable of handling them were valuable personnel that had to be secured at the national level, so there was no reason to make trouble unnecessarily.
Although the law said otherwise, reality tacitly tolerated it.
“Fifteen magic stones from D+-rank elite specimens... Was it a C-rank gate?”
“The information team is currently tracking the individual’s recent movements, so we should have the results soon.”
“There’s no need to rush. But we must move discreetly so the major guilds don’t notice.”
“Yes, sir.”
After the employee finished his report and left the Association president’s office, Kang Cheol-ho walked toward the window.
He quietly gazed outside.
His eyes passed over countless buildings and reached a man several dozen kilometers away.
A hanok mansion on the outskirts of Gyeonggi Province, boasting a splendid appearance.
This place was said to be where a blue dragon slept, and the leader of Azure Dragon, one of Korea’s major guilds, had built his nest there.
He paid no attention to Kang Cheol-ho’s gaze and merely snorted.
“Arrogant human bastard.”
***
With my bank account suddenly much fatter, I headed straight for the church building.
The area around the church was crowded with people, but the inside of the church itself was quiet.
And extremely extravagant.
‘At this level, if I had become a priest instead of a mage, I could have made money hand over fist.’
Of course, priests were forbidden from having contact with the opposite sex while being trained at the Vatican, so I didn’t think I would want to become one even if someone offered me the position.
“Welcome, brother.”
While I was looking around the church, a man who appeared to be a priest approached me.
“I came here for treatment. Where should I go?”
“Ah, you’ve come to receive the Lord’s grace. Please follow me.”
Following him, I came to a space furnished like a hospital.
“Would you show me where you’re injured?”
I immediately stripped to the waist.
I did have wounds on my leg as well, but I didn’t want to strip completely in front of another man.
“...Those are serious wounds.”
“There are some on my leg too.”
The priest nodded once and placed a hand on my shoulder.
“Our Father in Heaven.”
As he began reciting a prayer, a golden light gathered in his hand. It flowed through my shoulder and began healing the wounds throughout my body.
“Pour Your mercy down upon us. Amen.”
After that short, two-line prayer ended, my body had changed completely.
Not only were all the cuts across my body healed, but my left ear, which had been half severed, was restored without leaving a single scar.
‘This is no joke.’
This must have been why the news reported that guilds spent tens of billions of won trying to recruit priests.
“Thank you.”
Of course, power did not come without a price.
The priest was sweating enough to fill a bucket after treating me. His complexion was visibly paler than before as well.
Divine power was strength bestowed by God, not some omnipotent power that humans could freely wield in exchange for nothing more than faith.
“9,410,420 won.”
“...”
Nine million four hundred thousand won for a single treatment... At this rate, if I got hurt next time, I’d be better off calling a mortician.
And why did they have a card reader if it was supposed to be an offering?
·
·
·
[Would you like to purchase the Imperial Army’s Magic Sword?]
[Y/N]
[Y]
[You have purchased the Imperial Army’s Magic Sword]
[Remaining Coins: 1,450 Coins]
After returning home, I was busy preparing for the new matching that would soon take place.
On my way home, I stopped at a Hunter shop and filled my inventory with various survival tools, emergency rations, and an enormous amount of drinking water. Unlike food, each inventory slot could store tons of water.
However, there were so many types of survival tools that I had to pack them separately in a bag. In fact, that was probably better anyway.
The matching survey could narrow down things like the other person’s appearance and hobbies, but it could not determine what kind of world they lived in.
For example, if I entered black magic as a hobby, there was no way to know whether I would go to another world with a real black mage or one with a middle-school girl caught up in chūnibyō delusions about black magic.
That also meant I could end up in a world where magic could not be used.
I wasn’t good with a sword, but the magic sword performed well enough that even someone like me, who knew nothing about swordsmanship, could use it.
[Imperial Army’s Magic Sword]
[Grade: Rare]
[Applying mana increases cutting power]
“Would this have helped in the dungeon?”
I wasn’t sure. Back then, just responding with magic had been difficult enough.
It really made me understand why there were so few magic swordsmen.
After that, I continued packing my belongings and prepared as thoroughly as possible.
Ding-
[Would you like to proceed with matching?]
[Y/N]
[Y]
[Thank you for using this app. Please complete the survey before proceeding with matching]
[Preferred Race]
[Preferred Gender]
[Preferred Age Range]
·
·
·
Race: Human, Gender: Female, Age range: 20s. I set the other options appropriately so that someone reasonably ordinary would appear.
[Thank you for cooperating with the survey]
[The matching will begin shortly]
[Please understand that matching may take some time]
I assumed a stance so that I could draw my sword and wand from my inventory at any moment.
I had already put on my monocle and ring.
Under my clothes, I wore cloth armor made from monster hide.
[The matching has been completed]
[Moving to Planet AXZ-174]
A massive beam of light enveloped me.
I hoped that this time I wouldn’t have to go skydiving without a parachute.
***
Fortunately, the start of this matching was not another parachute-less skydive like last time.
Instead.
“...”
“...”
[The dating consultation curriculum will begin]
[Analyzing Cheon Yeo-hwa’s disposition]
[Analyzing···]
[Analysis complete]
[Name: Cheon Yeo-hwa]
[Age: 20]
[Affiliation: AXZ-174]
[Occupation: Second Princess of the Heavenly Demon Cult]
[Disposition: ??]
A small lake in a forest.
There, I locked eyes with a naked woman.
"...Hello?"
In response to my shy greeting, the woman drew a sword she had brought from somewhere and slowly began walking out of the lake.
She glared at me with murderous intent, as if she wanted to kill me.
Without a moment’s hesitation, I turned around and ran.