NOVEL WEB Chapter 10.
“Hmm…”
Looking at Lee Sooah’s status window, a sigh involuntarily escaped me.
It was the first time I had seen a status window so covered in red indicators.
Ah, I can see other people’s status windows.
Of course, that sounds obvious in a way.
It wouldn’t make sense to be able to invest points in someone else if I couldn’t see their status window.
“No way. You’ve been living like this…?”
I finally began to understand why the S-Ranks were making such a fuss.
Of course, until now, I had been solely focused on Chae Suhyeon, so I had no idea about the other S-Ranks.
“Ah, Oppa, why are you searching for that girl’s information? You’re right here with me but looking up another girl?”
“Hah… Oppa, I’m going to become an S-Rank Hunter… why do you keep looking up other S-Rank Hunters? I don’t get it…?”
“With how well I’m treating you, why do you keep turning your gaze elsewhere!!”
Well, I could maybe search a bit.
It wasn’t just because she was a woman; I was trying to gather information about S-Rank Hunters but was being stopped.
“That makes sense… S-Rank Hunters always seem to be doing well, then they crash, right…?”
“Can they not see this themselves…?”
“Or even if they can see it, is there nothing they can do about it…?”
Of course, this was a familiar feature for me.
I had used it countless times already.
“Ah, Oppa!!!!”
“Hah… Oppa…”
“Hey, Baek Jihoon…”
“Oppa… really, are you going to do this?”
I was with a very hysterical Chae Suhyeon.
Each time, I used a bit of points from the status window to make adjustments.
“Phew. It’s getting better.”
“Hah… I feel like I can finally breathe.”
“You need to do better, so I don’t have to get angry.”
Come to think of it, I had been living like a slave hadn’t I?
Ugh, what a fool I am.
Without realizing it, I smacked my own head.
“Huh? Why are you doing that? Jihoon?”
The Hunter next to me jumped slightly in surprise.
“Ah, I’m sorry. I suddenly remembered something.”
The Hunters nearby began chatting among themselves again.
“Um…Hunter Lee Sooah …”
I recalled the Hunter Lee Sooah I had seen before. She was certainly graceful and elegant… yet a person of strong resolve… Though her image is somewhat different now.
You can easily find out with just a little search online.
[Ah, Lee Sooah. That f*ing b*tch. Her tits are ridiculously big. So damn tempting.]
[What’s the point? She’s such a b*tch. Apparently, she abuses her power.]
[That makes it even more tempting.]
[Crazy bastard.]
[I hear she doesn’t care about anyone? Supposedly has a really bad temper.]
[Hah, if she would show me her temper, I’d be into that. I can take it.]
[If you get slapped by an S-Rank Hunter, your head will fly off. Haven’t you seen someone hit by a volleyball player?]
Everyone thinks of Lee Sooah as having a quirky personality.
“Um… maybe… it’s because of the issues displayed on her status window.”
I felt a tremendous curiosity arise. Not just because of my fondness for Lee Sooah Hunter… But wouldn’t anyone be curious in this situation?
What would happen if I improved Hunter Lee Sooah’s condition? What if I turned off this glaring warning light…?
“I want to try.”
After all, I had an overflowing amount of points returned from Chae Suhyeon. Plenty enough.
To put it simply, I could easily elevate at least three Hunters to S-Rank top-tier status. With that, I could be considered a point tycoon in the Hunter world.
Compared to that, the points needed for status ailment improvements were but a drop in the bucket.
“I’ll give it a shot. I’m curious.”
I moved my fingers and began resolving various issues on the status window. The status window, which had been filled with red marks, quickly became clear.
“Um… now…”
I looked over at Lee Sooah Hunter.
As expected, her expression began to brighten up considerably.
“See? This is how you should look pretty.”
Just by changing her expression, it felt like she returned to her peak days. It felt as if a halo was shining behind her.
“Hey there, Jihoon. What are you doing? Why so busy? Do you have a lot to sort out on your status window?”
As I momentarily lost myself staring at Lee Sooah, a hunter sitting in front of me spoke up.
“Oh my. Are you watching Hunter Lee Sooah right now?”
Then he giggled and continued.
“Isn’t Hunter Lee Sooah beautiful? Wow… she was even prettier back in the day. Of course, any vigorous young man in his 20s would find it impossible not to fall for her.”
“Right? Anyone who joins our team feels the same way.”
“Well, she’s not a tree that can’t be climbed, so sneaking a peek wouldn’t hurt~”
“Uh, Manager, you’re a married man, saying that… about your wife…”
“Ah! Save me!”
He was making idle chit-chat. I felt a bit embarrassed for some reason. That wasn’t the kind of look I was giving her… Well, I couldn’t completely deny it either.
In any case, I felt a bit relieved that Hunter Lee Sooah’s expression brightened.
“Wow, but why does Hunter Lee Sooah look even prettier today? She seems to be in a good mood…?”
“Hmm? That’s true. What could it be… Is something good happening?”
“What good can happen? If anything, only bad things have happened. With Chae Suhyeon…”
“Manager, shh.”
This Manager seemed to be the type to say anything that came to mind. Well, I suppose it’s good to have someone like that around.
“Jihoon, if you’re interested in Hunter Lee Sooah, just let us know. We’ll push you hard.”
“Oh come on, Manager, do you really think that will work?”
There was a lot of meaning behind that statement. Even without saying it, Hunter Lee Sooah was quite famous.
As someone who puts up walls against men.
I know she’s kind to me as a teammate, but it’s unlikely that it will develop beyond that. And right now, I have no room to be concerned about such things.
My goal is Chae Suhyeon.
I need to take it one step at a time. Who knows what this girl might do to mess with me next?
“Ha… If only I were ten years younger. I’d approach Hunter Lee Sooah…”
“Manager, ten years ago, Hunter Lee Sooah would have been a minor. That’s against the law. Tsk tsk.”
“Ah.”
It seemed like these people just played around like this. Still, I’m glad the team seemed to have a cheerful atmosphere.
“There are definitely some Hunter teams with a ridiculous atmosphere from time to time.”
“Well, there’s no need to look too far. Just think about Chae Suhyeon…”
I recalled the past.
“Oh, Oppa. Is that all you can do? You’ve only scored 120 points today? When are you ever going to become an S-Rank Hunter with this?”
“Sigh… You promised you would take good care of me, right? You said you wouldn’t let me get my hands dirty? You said you would let me live comfortably?”
“What am I to you, Oppa? Am I just a living fleshlight? Really? Is it going to work like this, being so slow?”
“Oppa, I know it’s tough. But first, we need to reach a higher place quickly. That’s the only way we can live comfortably.”
Looking back on it now, it was incredibly harsh whipping.
“Sigh… I guess he was a madman. To have achieved those results in such a short time.”
I momentarily fell into a brief contemplation.
“But, Jihoon, what did you originally do?”
Suddenly, the question hit him out of nowhere. Perhaps the alcohol was starting to kick in, as everyone’s expressions began to relax.
“Oh, I…”
It was truly awkward to bring up his story. Where should he start, and how far should he go?
Surely, while talking, the topic of Chae Suhyeon would inevitably come up. After all, for the past few years, his entire life had revolved around Chae Suhyeon.
Didn’t he have anything to talk about besides that?
“Hey~~ Normally, you shouldn’t ask about past stories~”
The manager, who had been observing his expression, reached out and stopped him.
“What I did isn’t important; what matters is that you saved all of us today, right?”
He felt the atmosphere shift dramatically.
“Wow… but Jihoon, how did you possess that skill? That skill consumes a ton of points, you know? I have at least 4,000 Hunter acquaintances on my smartphone. But among those guys, not a single one probably has that skill, right?”
The manager raised his smartphone, looking a bit smug.
“Really… I thought I was going to die earlier, you know?”
“Yeah, yeah… Were you originally hunting Medusa? But Medusa’s drop items are pretty lousy…”
Even in games, there are undoubtedly unpopular skills.
Today, the skill I recorded was exactly that unpopular skill.
Rather, it would be treated as strange if I captured it…
“Haha… Back then, I had no idea and just…”
I decided to vaguely brush it off. Explaining that I had an overflow of points would certainly lead to no one understanding, and I’d be treated as a weird person.
More than anything, the atmosphere right now isn’t bad.
I felt that if things continued like this, I would have a satisfying Hunter life.
“Oh wow~ I really got lucky. Who would have thought that something I recorded by accident would turn out like this? If Jihoon had come in just a day later, we would have been totally out of luck.”
“Ugh… that’s terrifying…”
“Phew… Thankfully, it’s a relief. I think I made a good first impression.”
I felt that my Hunter life would go smoothly.
“Sooah, you seem to be in a good mood today?”
Suddenly, the manager sprang up and walked over to Hunter Lee Sooah.
He seemed to be quite tipsy.
“Oh no, the manager is doing that again.”
The other Hunters nearby started to get up to stop him.
“Huh? Um…”
While talking with someone else, Sooah’s expression turned surprised upon hearing the manager’s words.
She definitely looked a bit flustered.
“Hmm. She really seems surprised to be in a good mood…?”
“Thank goodness. I hope it helps her to deal with Chae Suhyeon.”
I decided to fully commit to the Blue Guild.
*
Sooah stepped out to the restroom for a moment.
“Hmm…? What is this…? Why is this happening…?”
She was tilting her head as she looked at her reflection in the mirror.
She moved around and twisted her body.
“Huh…? Why do I feel okay…? Why…?”