Chapter 6
“O-oh…!”
I gazed at the blue longsword in my hand.
To aura users, the ‘Mithril Sword’ was an endgame weapon, practically a strategic national asset.
‘Nice.’
I’d sold off a lousy A-Rank weapon and gotten an ultimate weapon in return.
There couldn’t be many people in the world as lucky as me.
“Hell yeah!”
On top of that, I’d gotten 400 million won in cash as a bonus.
What kind of creative economics was this?
Excited, I went to brag about it in the gallery.
[Title: Who am I? ‘Mithril Sword Owner’]
(Photo of the Mithril Sword in all its splendor)
It was surprisingly easy to get, haha.
-Wtf, how did you get one already?
-Was the newbie born with a silver spoon? Suddenly feeling distant…
-DaggerTechniquePro) Fuck, I feel deprived. I had no mom and no money, so what the hell does the newbie not have?
└WokeUpAsATSGirl) I have no mom, no dad, and no home, though?
└DaggerTechniquePro) Oh.
└That Daggercel is seriously too much.
└Apologize, you bitch.
└DaggerTechniquePro) I’m sorry...
The comment section united as one to tear into DaggerTechniquePro.
“Mwahaha.”
Never thought the immunity to parent-related insults I’d built up over the years would come in handy here.
‘Who am I?’
I’m someone who can sue for defamation based on a true statement if anyone insults my parents.
While I was feeling grateful to have no parents…
└But newbie, don’t you have a house?
└DaggerTechniquePro) Come to think of it, yeah. Were you lying about not having parents too?
Someone started doubting whether what I’d said was true.
‘Hmm.’
Then again, the gallery users might think I owned a home.
I did live in a house, after all.
└WokeUpAsATSGirl) I do have a house, but it isn’t mine.
└DaggerTechniquePro) What the fuck does that mean?
└WokeUpAsATSGirl) There was an empty house, so I’m just living in it?
└DaggerTechniquePro) ?
└PureAndLovely*) Even I feel a bit of a wall here;;
└That legendary beggar even the blue-tag mod acknowledged has arrived, damn.
└That’s rough.
I’d basically broken into an empty house and started living there.
It was a miracle the water and electricity hadn’t been shut off yet.
Anyway.
└WokeUpAsATSGirl) Daggercel, attention.
I spent a fun night ragging on the daggercel with the gallery users.
***
Morning, just as the sun was coming up.
“Ugh…!”
Since I’d been fired from my part-time job, I woke up leisurely and stretched.
‘I’m still kind of tired.’
Maybe it was from using aura, but I’d fallen asleep like I was collapsing while I was busy ragging on DaggerTechniquePro.
“Mmm.”
I stared at the yellowed ceiling and thought about what I had to do today.
‘If I go to the Tower now, I won’t be able to clear it.’
You can’t re-enter a Tower until 24 hours after clearing it.
Which meant I could only enter around evening.
‘Maybe I’ll rest a bit until then.’
First, I opened a delivery app and ordered fried chicken.
[Your current residence is a high-risk area.]
[Delivery fee: 51,000 won]
“Huh?”
My place was a high-risk area? That made no sense.
Aside from running into goblins and orcs on the street, and the occasional A-Rank monster causing a ruckus, how was it not safe?
“Tsk, tsk…”
I grumbled, but ended up ordering the chicken anyway.
Since I’d gotten 4 million gold yesterday along with the Mithril Sword—in other words, 400 million won.
I could afford to indulge myself this much.
Just as I was about to lie in bed and browse the gallery…
“…Hmm.”
Suddenly, I became conscious of the clothes I was wearing.
The absurdly oversized fit looked like it could slip right off me at any moment.
‘I’ve been too busy to buy any until now.’
I should buy some clothes that fit this body.
…And underwear too, while I’m at it.
***
After ordering a few things online, the chicken arrived.
‘How long has it been since I had fried chicken?’
It was the first time since I’d eaten chicken from a food-waste bag when I was little.
Even through the revulsion, the savory taste had been delicious.
Anyway.
After setting up the chicken in front of my computer, I opened the Hunter Gallery, and…
-Crunch.
I bit into a piece of chicken.
“…What is this?”
It tasted strange.
Something… something indescribable seemed to fill my mouth.
‘There was food like this in the world?’
It felt like the first 21 years of my life had been worthless.
‘Still, I’ll be able to eat stuff like this to my heart’s content from now on.’
I could get stronger.
Maybe even stronger than an S-Rank Hunter—or perhaps even the world’s number one.
…I had no proof, but still.
‘Let’s check the Hunter Gallery.’
I casually browsed the gallery while eating chicken.
I hadn’t checked it for the past few days, so there were all sorts of fresh topics, including…
[Title: Did Korea get an S-Rank???]
What’s with the Korean name at the top of the tutorial rankings?
-The name is even ‘GeniusSwordMaiden.’
└It’s about time Korea got a petite, youthful female S-Rank instead of an old hag like Kwon Dohwa, yeah;;
└Old hag, my ass lol.
└Our Dohwa noona is still in her twenties.
└You looking down on Dohwa noona, Hwaseong City’s savior?
[Title: Korean government declares, ‘We’ll stop any more promising Hunters from slipping away’ lol]
(A meme saying that newly Awakened high-rankers must serve mandatory terms under the government)
They must’ve been pretty shocked to see someone take first place in the tutorial.
They released an emergency statement right away.
-Is this gonna lead to riots?
└What can a Hunter who just Awakened even do?
└Honestly, if you’ve Awakened, you should serve your country, yeah.
-But seriously, what’s with the 150,000 tutorial points? Is that some kind of EX-Rank or something?
└Could be.
└Sounds like the government is guessing along those lines too.
“Hmm.”
The whole community was burning up over me.
‘The Korean government is after me?’
On top of the government, local autonomous guilds in Gyeongsang and Jeolla Provinces were also making moves to recruit me.
They seemed to think that whichever guild brought me in would effectively become Korea’s new government.
“That’s scary.”
It felt nice, but also weird.
What if I got stabbed out of nowhere while walking outside?
‘…The knife would probably break.’
Anyway, it was still scary.
They hadn’t found out who I was yet, but I couldn’t exactly relax.
“I should prepare.”
Thinking that, I got my outfit ready for today.
***
Evening, as the sun was setting.
After making all the preparations, I left the house.
A hooded zip-up that covered me from head to toe, plus a black mask covering two-thirds of my face.
‘Perfect.’
No one would be able to recognize me like this.
What if someone approached me, suspicious?
-Whoosh!
I could just smack them with the Mithril Sword at my waist.
‘Now nobody can stop me.’
I walked to the Tower, excited.
I ran into a group of goblins along the way, but…
“Kieek?”
-Shhk!
I cut them all down in a single stroke.
‘The performance is no joke.’
I hadn’t infused it with aura or anything, but its basic cutting power felt extraordinary.
How strong would it be if I imbued it with aura?
‘I can’t wait to test it.’
Unfortunately, though, I wouldn’t have a chance to see what an aura-infused Mithril Sword could do for a while.
You could only climb one floor of the Tower a day.
My tutorial had been the exception; normally, you had to reach at least the tenth floor to encounter a monster on the level of a High Orc.
‘For the next few days, I can just swing my sword around and clear things.’
While I was thinking about various things, I soon reached the Tower, when…
“Excuse me.”
A woman behind me touched my shoulder.
‘…A kidnapper?!’
In that instant, the self-defense technique I’d honed from years of living in Hwaseong kicked in.
The strategy was to jab both eyes with my fingers and run, but—
-Tap.
My attack was easily blocked.
“Ah, I’m sorry if I startled you…! There’s something I wanted to ask you.”
Only then did I notice the badge on her chest.
[Hwasan Guild]
-Park Jiwon, C-Rank Hunter.
She was with the Hwasan Guild.
‘Good thing I went easy.’
If I’d stabbed her while reinforced with aura, it could’ve been a disaster.
The Hwasan Guild was practically the ruler of Hwaseong City.
If I’d blinded both eyes of one of their members, living in this city would’ve been impossible.
‘…But still.’
What business did someone from the Hwasan Guild have with me?
Were they doing a spot check?
‘That’s dangerous.’
I was undocumented right now.
Even in Hwaseong, which was practically a lawless zone, I’d be kicked out if they found out I didn’t have an identity at all.
-Shaa…
I strengthened my body with aura, preparing to run, when…
“You look really young. What brings you to the Tower?”
She asked in the tone you’d use with a lost child.
Well, to other people, I probably looked like a middle schooler wandering around.
“…I’m 15, and I came for a walk.”
“Hmm, I see! Walking is nice, but this area is pretty dangerous. Really dangerous monsters sometimes show up, so you should go for a walk somewhere else—”
-Rumble.
Just then, I felt the ground shake.
‘…Is it coming from the forest?’
The dense forest surrounding the Tower.
Something was racing out from there.
And then—
“W-what is this… Aaaah!”
-Crunch!
Two enormous wolves burst out of the forest and devoured people whole.
Red Dire Wolves.
They were top-tier C-Rank monsters, on par with High Orcs.
‘We need at least a B-Rank Hunter.’
I glanced at the Hwasan Guild member beside me.
She was a C-Rank Hunter. Unless there were about five people like her, charging in alone was practically suicide.
“Ah, ah…”
Maybe she knew that too, because she could only watch with a stiff expression.
“R-run! It’s a monster!”
“Help me! It’s chasing m—”
-Crunch!
A lot of people were slaughtered in an instant.
C-Rank monsters were basically living tanks. If left alone, even more people would die.
‘Should I step in?’
My identity might be exposed, but there was no helping it.
Besides, I wanted to test the Mithril Sword’s power.
-Shaa…
Just as I was infusing the Mithril Sword with aura and preparing for battle…
“Miss, run! I’ll hold those monsters off!”
The Hwasan Guild member drew her sword and approached the Dire Wolves.
“You’re going to hold those off by yourself?”
“…Yes! I may not look it, but I’m a C-Rank Hunter, so I can handle something like that on my own in no time! So you should run for now!”
She smiled brightly, trying to hide her tense expression.
Was she trying to buy enough time for people to escape?
‘What a fool.’
-Whoosh!
I drew my Mithril Sword and looked at the Red Dire Wolves.
“Guild member.”
“Yes…?”
“I used to know someone like you. They died pretty quickly living that way.”
“…”
“Be careful from now on.”
She stared at me blankly, her expression frozen.
‘Should I say something more?’
I hadn’t meant it in a bad way. If that was all she heard, she might think I was cursing her.
“Um… I’m not criticizing you or anything.”
“…?”
“It’s just that I’m like that too.”
I said that with a faint smile, and…
-Kwoong!
I charged at the Dire Wolves.