Chapter 44
“Aah, augh….”
As always, it’s the time spent sprawled on the floor after finishing home training by following the video Ophelia prepared.
Actually, I was told to shower right after finishing the exercises, but after home training my body is literally exhausted….
And every time I think about it... “home training” << that word is way too girly. For someone as cool as me, it should be closed-door training, or maybe knight training?
Well, what I actually do is twenty gratitude cat poses, four sets a day.
ㅡWhirr, whirr.
“Huh, who is it.”
I don’t know what’s going on, but Ophelia seems to have something to do outside again today. The pretty good mana stone she got after clearing the gate last time got eaten by Minium.
And Ophelia had gone back from kid mode to adult mode. I was going to play Jammotta with kid Ophelia, too.
“Chae-rin unnie?”
“Hello? Eve?”
“Ah, yes! I answered!”
“Mm, okay. What were you doing?”
“Uh... I was doing some closed-door training….”
“Closed-door training? Pfft... really? You’re going to get super strong?”
“Ahem... of course.... I’m a Hunter, you know....”
Of course, since I’m a summoner, what difference does it make whether I move my own body, but still, if something bad happens and I can’t run away because I don’t exercise, that would be a problem.
“I see. Then do you maybe want to try going into a gate with the Nova Guild raiding party?”
“Huh!? With the Nova Guild!?”
That’s incredibly sudden. Of course, I am an A-rank Hunter and I do possess some pretty incredible abilities, but... is it really okay for me to suddenly go into a gate with the Nova Guild like this?
And I’m not even part of the Nova Guild. Sure, I’m a little close with Chae-rin unnie, who you could call the Nova Guild’s leader, but...
“W-where is it...?”
“Two months ago, a large dungeon-type structure opened in Ansan. Last week its rank was finalized at B-rank, and this time the First Mission has opened. Ah... does Eve not know what a First Mission is?”
“First Mission! I know that too!”
Inside an entry-type gate, monsters respawn periodically. The methods vary, so sometimes the monsters inside just breed with each other, and sometimes one will just drop in from somewhere.
A First Mission means the first clear of an entry-type gate or a tower/dungeon-type structure. It means it’s never been cleared even once, so it’s the most difficult expedition, with the highest number of monsters.
“This time the Nova Guild is going in as the C-time raiding party, and it’d be nice if Eve came along?”
“But... would it really be okay for me to go to a place like that...?”
“Of course it’s fine. First, let me explain why I want to take you along, okay?”
The dungeon structure that appeared in Ansan this time is a gigantic hill. In another sense, it has a tomb-like shape. Since it isn’t buried underground, it was easy to inspect the interior, and the risk of structural defects or collapse is virtually zero.
Although it’s huge and packed with monsters, each individual monster apparently has pretty low combat power. That’s why it was rated B-rank despite its size.
On top of that, the Nova Guild is the C-time raiding party, so they’ll be going in third, with fifteen-minute intervals. If I join, that means two raiding parties have already gone in ahead of us. Apparently there are even D-time raiding parties.
Overall, it’s easy and safe, but there are a lot of them and it’s a hassle.
‘Huh..? This is cleanup duty….’
But this kind of thing is actually the best target for Hunters. Only in games do you fight while risking your life, barely hanging on as you take down tough enemies.
In real life, if you make one mistake, get hurt, and even end up with aftereffects on your body, your Hunter career is over. Think of it as a way to make a ton of money easily and safely.
Overall, the conditions are amazing, and I kind of get why Chae-rin unnie wants to bring me along.
“And I’m going in too.”
“Gasp, really!?”
So Chae-rin unnie is in the same raiding party too? Of course, since it’s Nova’s raiding party, I did think that might be the case. Then I guess the inside of the dungeon is safer than resting at home. It’s common sense that the spot right next to an S-rank Hunter is the safest one, right?
“Ah, then I’ll talk it over with Ophelia.”
“I already called Ophelia~ I’ll send you the schedule, so check it once, okay? Ophelia will probably explain it well when she gets home later.”
“Ahaha... yes.”
How does Ophelia keep secretly taking on work behind my back and getting permission first?
* * * * *
“Do you understand to some extent?”
“Mm, I completely understand.”
After Ophelia came home from finishing her work outside, she gave me a whole explanation about the parts where I needed a prior briefing.
Since it’s the C-time raiding party, we won’t be going in through the exact same route the A and B teams used. They thoroughly searched the interior of the tomb structure and made four high-priority routes that seemed like the best ones to clear, and although the paths overlap somewhat from team to team, they’re still different routes.
It means there shouldn’t be any need to walk through completely empty routes already cleared by the teams ahead of us.
“The exact location is Bono-dong in Sangnok-gu, Ansan City. On a wide open lot that used to be a landfill, a tomb-shaped structure was built over part of the ground here, maintaining an average incline of about 21 degrees over roughly 150 meters. The C-time raiding party’s route heads toward the summit area up top, and durability checks on the stone walls making up the tomb’s interior have been completed. For now, it can be considered the area with the lowest cave-in risk.”
“Ugh, eh, ugh.”
“The princess is taking the safe route.”
“Aha! Sounds good.”
Ophelia told me there were some back-and-forths after that too, but nothing I really needed to remember. The raid starts exactly two weeks and three days from now. So it’s December 19.
“Since the princess doesn’t usually get much exercise, I regularly recommended home training. Recently, I also added walking schedules to improve her basic stamina.”
“Mm, right. Totally healthy.”
“According to the Dungeon Research Lab, the C-time raiding party route is expected to take about 3 hours and 40 minutes to break through and return.”
“It doesn’t take nearly as long as I thought?”
“That’s right.”
Well, when I’m glued to a computer, four hours pass in no time, so if this is shorter than that, couldn’t I get through it in a flash? And going into gates? That’s more fun than I expected.
Of course, it might be really hard for people who fight with their bodies, and this sounds a little mean... but I’m not the one fighting, am I?
“Since the princess safely completed her home training today, doing any more practice afterward is highly likely to lead to poor condition. Therefore, today is rest day.”
“Yay!”
“Instead, from tomorrow you’ll be going to the training center managed by the Oseong Group, where your combat abilities will be improved. Please go to bed early tonight.”
“W-wait a second. I’m going every single day?”
“That’s right. But proper rest and a structured training schedule are in place, so there’s no need to worry.”
“Waaah.”
* * * * *
For two weeks I practiced like crazy. The home training, which had started with toddler gymnastics, gradually got harder, and I thought my stamina had improved, but...
“Princess, you’ve perfectly handled every training schedule I prepared.”
“Sniff sniff, can I head back down now?”
“Yes, you may.”
As I trained hard and rested hard every single day, I didn’t go into the Awakened Gallery for a while. For some reason, I started missing those idiot Awakened Gallery regulars. Had I ever lived this diligently before?
Honestly, I really had coasted pretty hard up until now. From an ordinary person’s point of view, Awakened people just one day go poof and get superpowers and then surge ahead. Like, wake up and you’re an S-rank Hunter??? That’s the kind of feeling it gives.
Awakened people, too, go through tremendous effort, blood, sweat, and tears... my last breath.... In other words, I’ve now become a proper Hunter.
“Minium! Are you ready?!”
ㅡClack!
Minium had become utterly disciplined. Its moonwalk was at least twice as fast as it had been two weeks ago. Since it was the one eating the most mana stones, it would have been a problem if it hadn’t gotten this strong.
“Suri! How’s your condition?!”
ㅡKii
Suri was already good before. Now it’s even better.
“Dangdang! What did you do!?”
ㅡBEEP!!
Dangdang had changed completely. Its butt-wiggle speed was 30 percent faster. Just kidding, by feeding it some mana stones I was able to massively improve the camera’s performance.
With the added function that lets the camera be detached from its back, I can now watch in real time the images the camera picks up on Dangdang’s monitor instead of recording them. Suri will carry this around and scout extremely quickly with it.
“Ophelia is... well, because she’s the smartest.”
“Thank you.”
There are no B-rank Hunters in this First Mission. Four raiding parties made up of twelve people each, all A-rank only—a tremendous dream team.
It’s probably because it got a reputation as a super easy farming spot. It really might be the safest place in all of Korea. Besides, our raiding party even has Chae-rin unnie, who’s S-rank.
“Princess, I have something prepared for today.”
“Mm? What is it?”
“It’s a new outfit for the princess.”
“Ah.”
* * * * *
“Hyukseon-hyung-nim, long time no see.”
“Well, if it isn’t Jeong-un. Why is it so hard to see your face these days?”
“Haha, hyung-nim, you’re the one who never comes out of Union.”
“Hmm, is that so.”
Ansan’s Sangnok-gu, Bono-dong. The site of the former landfill, now home to the dungeon structure named Desert Mausoleum.
One hour before the First Mission resumed, at exactly noon. This place was already packed with veterans overflowing with raid-party-level mock combat experience.
“There! It’s Kang Woo-jung!”
“Hey, hey, the Odus vehicle is coming in..! Hurry and get a shot!”
As the major figures of the raiding parties appeared one after another, a convoy of black vans rolled in late. While the reporters’ shutter barrage and the scuffling of burly awakened site personnel created a commotion, the door opened and someone poked their head out.
“It’s Yoo Chae-rin!!”
The only active S-rank Hunter in Korea, Yoo Chae-rin, and behind her, an unknown presence cautiously poking a foot out beyond the van door.
“That is... who is it?”
“In the same vehicle as Yoo Chae-rin?”
The site’s sole S-rank drew enormous attention, and everyone’s eyes turned that way. As a surprisingly slender figure with short legs stepped onto the ground, the sound of camera shutters filled the site.
“Eve, you okay?”
“Mmph... yes!”
“You don’t need to be so nervous.”
“Phew... understood...!”
One of Ophelia’s special drills: a pose that’s easy for reporters’ shutters to catch.
‘I’m so nervous I feel like I’m about to wet myself….’