Chapter 5 – Demon Hunter (2)

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Translated by Heavenly Cat

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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As expected of a freelancer.

To think the sun hasn’t set even after finishing work and returning home.

It is an opportunity for photosynthesis that I couldn’t enjoy during my salaryman days.

If I had my way, I would have wanted to immediately jump into my sunlit bed.

Tap

I neatly hung the clothes I was wearing on a hanger.

As if that wasn’t enough, I headed straight to the bathroom.

I turned on the shower head.

Swaaa!

Damn noble’s discipline and rules!

It is even more annoying that I am gradually adapting to this tiring daily routine.

Still, let’s think positively.

The fact that cleaning doesn’t feel tedious was definitely a good thing.

“There is a lot of dust.”

……Although wearing a mask while cleaning even indoors felt fussy.

By the time I finished even the cleaning, the sun had set.

‘Right, what photosynthesis for my lot.’

I immediately prepared dinner.

I, who used to roughly solve my meals with delivery food or convenience food, was no more.

Fresh ingredients that arrived via dawn delivery.

Dishes created from being prepared with skillful dexterity.

How is a noble proficient in cleaning and cooking?

If you ask, it’s because Granfel was a fallen noble.

“Not bad.”

This was also the setting that he acquired them to make a living.

Naturally, Granfel’s noble pride wasn’t broken by something like getting his hands wet.

For me, it’s a bothersome yet thankful personality.

‘Anyway, cooking and eating at home would be better for my health, right.’

In fact, I am physically feeling the effects of a disciplined lifestyle.

Including the back pain that disappeared thanks to always keeping a straight posture.

Chronic fatigue, insomnia, and all the miscellaneous illnesses that modern people live with completely disappeared cleanly.

Of course, there aren’t only good things.

As I looked in the mirror, my hair shone under the fluorescent light.

‘Others would think it’s white hair.’

Silver hair passed down from generation to generation in the Claudi family.

According to that setting, my hair was bleaching into a silver color.

If there’s any relief, is it just the fact that the silver hair suits my current appearance quite well.

Pour, trickle

After brewing green tea, I had a teatime.

‘Being so fussy over a 50-won green tea. Really.’

Even while thinking that, I didn’t mind in the slightest.

Because over the past few days, I learned how to enjoy tea and relax.

This must also be the influence of Granfel’s soaring self-esteem.

‘Right, whatever it is, it’s better than the habit of sitting down in front of the computer right after eating.’

Thanks to that, my time to think also increased.

Is that why.

I could reach a quite plausible possibility.

“……My dark history influences me in reality.”

One by one, whenever I became aware of Granfel’s settings, they became reality.

In that case, according to the setting, wouldn’t the ‘talent’ of Granfel, who was praised as the greatest genius in the history of the Claudi family, also have been realized?

『Granfel’s talent was not limited to one thing.

A brilliant brain was a given.

His innate magical talent was at a level where he could mimic most magic just by watching it. Furthermore, even his physical potential did not fall behind.

There was a proper reason why Granfel was chosen as the successor of the family at the mere age of 7.』

The more I recall it, the more it’s truly an idea fitting a second-year middle schooler.

I just crammed in everything that was good and cool, didn’t I?

“How profoundly embarrassing.”

I muttered as such.

Whether it’s because I’m embarrassed of my dark history.

Or because I’m ashamed of the excessive praise.

I’ll find out as I verify it bit by bit.

To do that, a few tests were necessary.

“What a convenient era.”

Accessing NetTube with my smartphone.

I searched for videos of Players.

As expected, the saying ‘the rich get richer’ didn’t come out of nowhere.

Channels of Players possessing millions of subscribers popped up.

-17th Episode of Live Rift Raid . Griffin’s Nest

-You’re asking what kind of skills a Flame Mage uses?

-How does an Alchemist, a non-combat class, spend their day? Vlog Edition

Every single one of them had an enormous amount of views.

I could understand it.

Because ordinary people couldn’t even notice the existence of Rifts, let alone approach them.

It would be natural to get interested in the Players inside Rifts hunting monsters.

Of course, if a Rift collapses, they would be able to watch that sight in reality.

But that would be a disaster, it could no longer be a spectacle.

I selected a suitable video.

“?”

Just as I was about to play it, a text message flew in.

When I checked the number, it was Nam Cheol-min.

We never particularly exchanged numbers, but I had contacted Nam Cheol-min first after seeing his recruitment post.

My number must have remained with him.

……Why are these words so long?

To summarize the long text message, it was that he wanted to meet.

And right now at that, or even tomorrow if that doesn’t work out.

Oh my, I do not know his goal, but it is troublesome.

“It is a task requiring focus.”

It’s a pity, but.

Because this is a matter that might alter my life as a Player.

After replying briefly, I played the video.

A Boss Raid video where skills and magic ran rampant.

For a long while.

Standing with a straight posture, I, who had been watching that video, opened my mouth.

“This should be sufficient.”

*

A high-end restaurant located in Cheongdam-dong.

Nam Cheol-min and Nam Tae-min.

The brothers were waiting at the appointed place.

“I’m still half in doubt.”

“You believe me even by half? Your foolish older brother? Thank you.”

“Hyung, are you going to keep talking like that?”

Nam Cheol-min burst into laughter as Nam Tae-min bristled with anger.

‘Why didn’t I know back then.’

His proud younger brother, Tae-min.

“Everyone has different talents. I just played games ignorantly. You just lacked the time to play, hyung. I bet you’re more knowledgeable about Arcana than I am. I guarantee it.”

The fact that such a guy truly acknowledged him.

To think he held an inferiority complex towards such a younger brother.

Nam Cheol-min was genuinely ashamed of his own foolishness.

“I’m just joking. Joking.”

“He’s such an inscrutable person, I don’t know if I should believe it…….”

“Still, I never go back on my words once I’ve spoken. I’m going to try it properly, being an analyst.”

“Can I record you saying that?”

“Be my guest.”

“Haa, do you really believe this?”

Nam Cheol-min decided to quit being a Player.

He planned to accept Nam Tae-min’s proposal and work as a guild analyst.

Naturally, the experience of having his body stolen by an Imp was what led him to such a decision.

‘I knew of my own shortcomings a long time ago. More than that.’

The man who saved him from despair.

This was the only way he could repay his debt to him.

He didn’t merely defeat the Imp.

He saved him,

so that he could gather his resolve and move forward.

Nam Cheol-min also wanted to offer a fitting repayment to him.

“Now I’m getting curious. There’s no way you would misjudge a Player, hyung……. Did he really hunt the Imp? Overwhelmingly at that?”

At Nam Tae-min’s question, Nam Cheol-min nodded.

“Actually, saying it was overwhelming isn’t enough. How should I put it? Even while fighting that Imp, he didn’t look affected by status effects, let alone look tense in the slightest.”

“If you say so, hyung, it must be the case. But, I don’t understand.”

Nam Tae-min vigorously scratched the back of his head out of frustration.

“Why would such a Player enter a low-level Rift?”

The reason for that was simple.

Because the man, Ho-yeol’s level at the time was merely 55.

However, Nam Tae-min and Nam Cheol-min could not possibly have known that fact.

Nam Tae-min frowned and continued to speak.

“Besides, that battle is honestly questionable. Resisting a status effect means his Mental Power stat is enormous……. The person, he fought with a dagger, you said? Not magic.”

“That’s right.”

“I know there are thousands of classes in Arcana, but I simply can’t guess.”

Shake shake.

Nam Tae-min shook his head.

But being frustrated and possibilities were two separate things.

“……That makes me want to unconditionally recruit him and figure it out even more.”

Above all, wasn’t this a Player acknowledged by his brother?

Nam Cheol-min’s help played a major role in Nam Tae-min becoming the 11th Ranker.

Starting from analyzing boss patterns.

The operational direction of the guild.

Even to recruiting new Players.

He knew very well that he wouldn’t have been able to rise to this position without his brother’s help.

“Well, my feelings of gratitude are also huge.”

Moreover, he said that man helped his brother.

Therefore, Nam Tae-min drafted a recruitment contract filled with such gratitude.

Nam Tae-min clicked his tongue while looking at that contract again.

“I definitely can’t let our rookies, no, even our executives see this.”

“Why? Is it enough to cause an uproar if they see it?”

“Of course. This is, well, a business where our side only suffers losses.”

But it must be an offer that cannot be refused just as much.

Nam Tae-min was confident.

So he waited for a reply with a comfortable mind.

Buzz

“A reply came quickly. What does it say?”

Even at the moment his phone vibrated.

Nam Tae-min casually drank his orange juice.

“……He says it’s troublesome?”

“?!”

Trickle

Juice trickled down from Nam Tae-min’s mouth.

“Wh-wh-what?! Let me see!!”

Since he couldn’t believe it, he checked the text message himself, and what he saw was even more ridiculous.

-It is troublesome.

It was exactly four letters.

It was a reply to that lengthy text message.

But who was Nam Tae-min?

He caught a vibe from that short text message.

“……It’s not a refusal, he says it’s troublesome.”

His eyes narrowed.

“As expected, did he receive a proposal from another guild first?”

There are many Players, but valuable Players are precious.

That was the reason why guilds were desperate to recruit rookies.

Above all, it became even more difficult to recruit promising Players in South Korea.

The [Mage Tower] that sprouted in Seoul.

Because thanks to that, all the prominent large guilds were staying in Seoul.

Nam Tae-min’s narrowed eyes were directed towards those competitors.

“These bastards. Regardless of anything, Seoul is our home.”

The best guild in South Korea, ‘Gaon’.

However, when venturing out into the world, it struggles to even enter the top five.

Nam Tae-min knew that reality well.

Because of that, he couldn’t afford to have even a single Player snatched away.

“Hyung, try to speak a bit more specifically.”

“About what?”

“About what that man looks like. Because I think I might need to run over and escort him myself if things go south.”

“What he looks like, you ask…….”

At those words, Nam Cheol-min recalled the man in his memory.

A dress shirt and slacks, and as if that wasn’t enough, even dress shoes.

“My first impression was wondering what kind of a person this was.”

He did equip his items properly inside the Rift, but…….

No matter who looked at it, wasn’t his attire inappropriate for coming to raid a Rift?

Moreover, he wore his dress shoes like that until the end.

However, in the Rift, the man didn’t show the slightest sign of disarray.

The moment he got tangled with Gnolls and engaged in hand-to-hand combat.

The moment they fell into a trap and were surrounded.

Even the moment he faced the Imp.

There was no change in the man.

Everything about him.

Was an attitude as if he were looking down from a high place.

“……But, it’s hard to express it in words.”

Nam Tae-min asked Nam Cheol-min, who was agonizing over it.

“Did you see some kind of mythical beast? Why can’t you even explain?”

……A mythical beast?

At that sound, it suddenly came to mind.

“……Right!”

Although he had never seen one because they didn’t exist in modern-day South Korea……. There would be no word that could more appropriately express the man’s appearance than this.

“He was like a noble. And an extremely noble one at that.”

“……Huh?”

*

“This should be sufficient.”

That was a story about possibilities.

Staring intently at the video, there were thoughts dizzyingly flowing through my mind.

It was not some primal emotion like ‘that’s cool’ or ‘I’m jealous’.

I was ‘analyzing’ the magic as I saw it.

“!”

The concept of the magic surfaced in my mind.

Actually, it must be something preposterous.

If we trace its root, that was a skill, not magic.

However, I could see it.

The conviction that if only there was enough magic power to back it up, I could manifest that magic……!

Naturally, that wasn’t ‘Lee Ho-yeol’s’ talent.

“It seems his brain hasn’t stiffened yet.”

Claudi family, the greatest genius in history.

It was definitely Granfel’s talent.

Of course, it was still too early to jump to conclusions.

However, since I had seen the possibility, it was well worth the investment.

Moreover, that possibility was open to many directions.

Not only magic, but also swordsmanship, archery…….

Because Granfel’s talent had not manifested in just one area.

Well done, past Lee Ho-yeol.

Right, if you’re going to make a setting, you’ve got to cram in everything nice and cool.

Either way, the embarrassment is the same, isn’t it?

Let’s be proud in front of my dark history.

I realized that there were plenty of possibilities, but there was no rush.

Swordsmanship, archery, magic…….

Even if I decided on a career path right now, there wouldn’t really be anything beneficial.

That was due to the characteristic of the ambiguous class called Demon Hunter.

But just because it’s termed ‘ambiguous’ doesn’t necessarily mean everything is a disadvantage.

Right, the word ‘ambiguous’ can also come out when everything is an advantage, can’t it?

Even if that wasn’t it, it would be best to keep all possibilities open for now.

“In that case.”

It is time to slowly invest the stat points I had saved up.

[Owned Points: 12 Points]

I checked my status window.