After tiring Jiho out, Suhyuk picked the photos he was most satisfied with and posted them to his social media. The explosive responses from the post as soon as it went up delighted Suhyuk.
“Wow, so this is the power of trends….”
“…This is all Hunter Hur Suhyuk.”
“No, there wouldn’t have been so many comments if it was just me. I am reaping the benefits of Guildmaster Shin Jiho-nim!”
Hur Suhyuk brightly replied before immersing himself in reading through the comments. Next to him, Jiho slowly looked around his surroundings.
The dungeon they’ll be entering today, Hwasun Dungeon #14, has a limit of 30 people. Unlike the smaller dungeons he’s been in thus far, this dungeon is classified as mid or large-sized. As such, this is the most people Jiho has had to use [Blessing of the Star] on before entering a dungeon.
Since there isn’t much time left before they have to enter, he has to start gathering mana.
[Absorption of the Celestial Sphere].
This gate is in the middle of a low mountain. Though they recently paved a road to the gate, the rest of the area is covered by trees. While Jiho can absorb mana from artificial objects, the mana absorbed from nature is still the most comfortable for him.
As Jiho began to absorb mana, a large gust of wind blew around him.
“Wow….”
At some point, Suhyuk had taken his eyes off of his phone to look at Jiho in a daze. Jiho smiled at him before using his skill.
[Blessing of the Star].
Soon, a large amount of clean, purified mana fell on Suhyuk as the most sacred blessing in the world.
Hur Suhyuk’s reaction was the most intense yet.
Thanks to [Since Juhyuk-hyung is the Best], Suhyuk’s always thought of himself as a B-rank hunter. But the amount of mana Jiho cast on him is what’s usually used on A-rank hunters: 1200 MP. It’s many times stronger than how Suhyuk usually perceives himself.
Thanks to this, Suhyuk felt much greater of a change than others did.
Panting from the extreme exhilaration, Suhyuk clutched his chest and fell to the ground. Startled, Jiho quickly looked over Suhyuk.
“Are you alright!? Is it because I used the skill too suddenly….”
“N-no. I am alright. Just a little… surprised, that’s all…. C-carry on.”
Suhyuk stammered as he reassured Jiho. Understanding Suhyuk’s desire to calm himself on his own, Jiho thoughtfully stepped away.
After Jiho left, Suhyuk tried to cool his burning face.
‘What was that?’
As soon as he received the buff from Shin Jiho, the shock stunned Hur Suhyuk, as if the buff had changed not only himself but the entire world.
A shock so great that it overturns his unwavering truth.
To Hur Suhyuk, his older brother Hur Juhyuk is a mountain that he can never cross. Even when his brother awakened as an F-rank and he awakened as a B-rank, that gap couldn’t be closed.
The person who managed to take that endless gap and even slightly close it was Chun Hui Seong.
The person Hur Suhyuk most respects and is grateful to in the world. The person who took Suhyuk’s worthless self, trimmed and polished him into a jewel, and put him on display to the world as something worth seeing.
But right now, Hur Suhyuk feels something just as intense as what he felt from Chun Hui Seong from Shin Jiho.
Of course, the type of feeling is slightly different. To call it respect, it’s way more intimate; and to call it gratefulness, it’s not that innocent either.
Actually, Suhyuk has always felt inferior when he looked at Shin Jiho. Not only is Jiho close to his family despite his family being much better-off than Suhyuk’s is, but even the doubts about him being a B-rank hunter–which was Jiho’s only shortcoming–were quelled after he advanced to S-rank.
All Suhyuk’s ever felt towards Shin Jiho before was inferiority; he didn’t particularly like or dislike him.
Because Shin Jiho is too perfect for someone as pathetic as him to look at. There’s no mistake that God poured everything into making Shin Jiho while he just slapped things together for Hur Suhyuk. That’s why Suhyuk only thought of Jiho as a distant and fleeting figure, but….
What is this intense emotion he’s experiencing from Shin Jiho?
Is it the high from the skill? A simple explanation, but there’s no other way to explain this extreme change in emotions.
As if a worthless bug forced to crawl on the ground suddenly transformed into an eagle soaring through the sky…. This strength momentarily plucked out Suhyuk’s deep-rooted inferiority and presented him with liberty.
Wouldn’t anyone want Shin Jiho if they could obtain this power?
Anyone.
Wrapped up in this unidentifiable emotion, Hur Suhyuk shakily pushed his body up.
“Shin Jiho….”
Whispering this so quietly that no one else could hear it, Suhyuk touched the ear cuff that Jiho had returned to him. The ear wearing the ear cuff feels hot for some reason. Just as hot as Suhyuk’s gaze is right now.
Meanwhile, thinking nothing much of the passionate look aimed his way, Jiho walked up to the leader of today’s combat team, Chun Hui Seong.
Because the way Jiho used his mana was so flashy, Chun Hui Seong had already been staring at Shin Jiho.
“Since we will be entering the dungeon soon, I think I should cast the skill now.”
“There are still a few minutes left, will that not make a difference?”
“No, it takes a couple of minutes for me to gather mana and cast the skill.”
Jiho calmly answered the blatantly probing question. There’s no need to hide this information since it’ll be obvious once Jiho uses the skill anyways. And besides, Chun Hui Seong will only believe what he sees with his own two eyes.
With only a few minutes left, Hui Seong called everyone together.
Under Hui Seong’s intense stare, Jiho repeatedly used [Absorption of the Celestial Sphere] and [Blessing of the Star].
Jiho also used the skills on Lim Seung Joo and Sung Moon Young, who he didn’t have a chance to talk to because they were strategizing with Heaven’s guildmembers, and passed words of encouragement.
No matter how many times Jiho uses his skills, they cause no harm to his body. Because his max MP increased, Jiho doesn’t need to overexert himself to repeatedly use [Absorption of the Celestial Sphere] anymore.
Even in the past, [Absorption of the Celestial Sphere], a skill that absorbs mana without much of a penalty, was an overpowered skill, but the stronger Jiho becomes, the better its efficiency.
After checking system windows and casting his skill on each and every person, there were two people left.
Chun Hui Seong and Chun Hui Lim.
Chun Hui Seong’s eyes were full of suspicion as he looked at his guildmembers celebrating as if they had won the lottery before turning distrusting eyes towards Jiho, as if Shin Jiho was the leader of a cult.
Even at the receiving end of a sharp glare that was determined to not miss even the slightest trick, Jiho cast his skill on Chun Hui Seong.
Though Hui Seong tried to keep a poker face, the corners of his lips unconsciously rose slightly. Instead of feeling dissatisfied, Hui Seong’s eyes sparkled with interest.
“I see…. No wonder there was such noise.”
Chun Hui Seong’s response as he stepped aside was surprisingly mild. When he stepped aside, he revealed Chun Hui Lim, who was disinterestedly standing in the back with his terminal.
“Then I suppose you will have to suffer one last time. Have you ever used this skill on an S-rank hunter before?”
“I have used it on an SS-rank hunter, but this would be my first S-rank.”
“…”
Jiho left Chun Hui Seong, who was speechless, behind, and approached Chun Hui Lim.
Jiho was wondering what Chun Hui Lim was doing when the raid’s about to start, but he was playing games. Even though there’s no way he didn’t know someone had approached him, Hui Lim didn’t even raise his head.
“Hunter Chun Hui Lim.”
“What.”
“…Before we enter the dungeon, I will cast my skill on you.”
Jiho told Chun Hui Lim, who wasn’t even looking in his direction, before opening Hui Lim’s system window to check his stats.
Status
| Name | Matt |
| Occupation | Heaven’s Guildmaster |
| Rank | S |
| Title | Great Mage of the One Man Army Vagabond Hunter of the Pitch-Black Dragon Raider of the Pitch-Black Tower Contractor of XXX The Irresponsible Owner The Rude Tyrant |
| HP | 1283 |
| MP | 2419 |
| STR | 875 |
| AGI | 1350 |
| Skill | The One Who Links Taurus ( S ) Survivor of the Battlefield ( S ) Kiss My A** ( S ) Fragment of Aries ( A ) Fragment of Cancer ( A ) The Last Survivor ( A ) Fragment of Libra ( B ) One Garden Tiger Moth ( B ) Backstreet Gangster ( C ) Are you Korean? ( C ) |
On the status window, his name is written as Matt, not Chun Hui Lim. Could that be his real name? Though it’s odd that it’s written in Korean, the system usually writes other languages in Korean. The way his name’s written probably doesn’t matter much.
Awed by Chun Hui Lim’s titles and skills, Jiho used [Blessing of the Star].
“…”
Unlike other hunters, Chun Hui Lim’s eyebrows twitched upon receiving the blessing, as if he found it unpleasant. Besides that, there was no other reaction.
Wondering if the skill hadn’t worked, Jiho changed the settings on the status window to check the changes in Hui Lim’s stats. There was no error; his stats had all increased. It’s just that his reaction wasn’t satisfying.
Normally, people experience a rush of heightened emotions when they first receive [Blessing of the Star]. Although they get used to it the more they receive it, most people can’t hide their emotions the first time because of their excitement.
Jiho, who takes pleasure in seeing others’ joy when they receive [Blessing of the Star], felt a bit disappointed, but he soon came to terms with it.
What’s important is not emotions but the effectiveness in combat.
Typically, people who accept the change with indifference adapt to their changed stats faster than people who react to the change drastically like Hur Suhyuk did.
‘Yeah, this is a good thing.’
Jiho shook off his slight disappointment and took his spot at the end of the combat team.
Jiho is definitely more solemn now than he was with other dungeon raids. After all, this is only the second time that a raid team is entering this dungeon.
Unlike other dungeons that they can become familiar with by learning the pattern and gaining experience through repeated practice, this mysterious dungeon is unpredictable.
In case of any unexpected circumstance, Chun Hui Lim went through the gate first followed by high-leveled combat hunters and so on. From No Name, Jiho was the last to enter.
“F-fighting.”
After Hur Suhyuk–who seemed stiffer than before for some reason–went in, Jiho counted to ten before walking through the gate.
As always, the world behind such an unnaturally-shaped otherworldly door looks completely different from the Earth.
The moment Shin Jiho entered this world, he felt as though he had been chased from a cozy cradle into the most miserable battlefield.
The other dimension’s mana–which Jiho feels he’ll never get used to–wavered as if it was reacting to Jiho’s presence. If he were to compare it to something, it felt like a combination of severe motion sickness and dizziness.
Experiencing this feeling that he will never like, Jiho fully entered the dungeon.
As soon as he stepped in, his foot touched something squishy.
According to the information Jiho has, Hwasun Dungeon #14 has the appearance of a swamp.
Jiho heard that the swamp that pulls the legs in and the leeches that crawl up the body at the start of the dungeon are troublesome to deal with. Before Jiho could think about quickly moving through the swamp to prevent himself from sinking in, however….
Whoosh!
With a short burst of wind, Jiho’s body flew through the air as if he had been thrown. Right before his body, which was suddenly in the air, could fall into the swamp, it was stopped just a few centimeters short.
“What are you?”
Someone with a somewhat strange accent growled as he grabbed Jiho by the neck and pulled him up. Someone’s face shoved itself right in front of Jiho’s nose.
The other person was a crazed Chun Hui Lim.
LaZ Bird Corner
Get away from Jiho.
Also, I’ve been trying to reply to comments but WP has been funky on my end ㅠㅠ. Even if I can’t reply, I’m always reading your comments!!! Thank you to all my readers and commenters!!!
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