Chapter 8
Chapter 8
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: Tomboy Childhood Friend's [Sex Partner] Invitation
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First, some explanation was in order.
Why I'd ended up with 【Scavenger】, and how I'd stumbled across the 【Chomok】 corpses today.
I gave her the short version, and her face drained of color.
She pulled a surprised face at first—"I had no idea you could control cockroaches"—then gaped.
"Wait, no?"
"What?"
"No way you got turned on fighting cockroaches... I get not liking the skill, but going that far..."
"Are you insane?! What the hell would I do with cockroaches?!"
Crazy bitch. There's shit you say and shit you don't.
Sure, it was easy to misunderstand, but come on—don't take it at face value!
"So how do you control cockroaches?"
"Tch. A few days after getting the skill, one night I'm sleeping peacefully and suddenly hear rustling from the trash can. Fuck. Half-asleep, I check it out, and these little bug bastards are swarming my trash like it's a rave."
"Your trash can?"
"Don't make me spell it out—use your imagination."
I showed her the skill again.
Song Seong-yeon muttered "females" under her breath, then connected the dots to my trash can and blushed bright red.
"Eek."
It came out in a squeaky, girly voice.
"Getting the picture?"
"What I'm thinking... is right? They smelled your cum and gathered there, going at it...?"
"Bingo! I was baffled too, but they actually followed. Learned then that female cockroaches can reproduce asexually. And you know what my life's like now? I burn any TP after jerking off or flush it down the toilet! Fuck my life. Right? You think so too, yeah?"
"Yeah."
"Ah, fuck, thinking about it gives me hives again."
Gulp, gulp.
I slammed back the soju, scorching my throat.
What the hell was I telling my childhood friend, who I hadn't seen in years?
...This is mortifying.
"Calm down. I'm fine with it. I've seen plenty of weird skills out there—it's the tower that fucked up, not you, Chang-gi-ya."
"Still, that's why they call me Scavenger. Yeah, it's my fault for twisting it that way, but still—"
"Exactly~! You used your head. How many bodies made it back to their families because of you? You're doing great."
"Thanks for saying that. Gotta keep smart friends close."
"Damn right. How many friends like me are out there?"
She was emphasizing "friends" awfully hard—suspicious as hell—but I'd been too paranoid lately, so I let it slide.
I'm the rude one here.
Seong-yeon had been nothing but friendly, and here I was doubting her...
'This booze is hitting nice. Feels stronger than usual...'
I glanced at the bottle in my hand.
A standard green soju bottle labeled [Commercial Use].
...Nah, just my imagination.
"So you've been finding bodies and taking down mobs with bugs this whole time?"
"Yup. Never dreamed a D-rank scrub like me would end up with an epithet. But even with it, they call me 'leopard' or 'hyena' over the burn scars. Not like they're my buddies—why do they care?"
"World's full of rude assholes. Last time I cleared a tower up north, some jerk stared me down, asking if I was really that skilled or just pretty."
"They questioned you? Top brass must be blind. How many hunters outrank you?"
"Right? So I flared my aura and said 'wanna test it?'—he tucked tail and bolted."
"Good for you. Just hearing that feels good."
"Hehe."
Clink, clink.
We traded shots again.
One more round. A slice of meat.
"So you never tried it on women?"
"The skill? Nah, I did."
"But you said no girls earlier."
"Didn't shout it, but there's seedy spots in the tower corners, y'know? Paid for some action there."
"...Red-light district?"
"Slum special. Towers are basically lawless anyway. Didn't wanna go, couldn't afford it otherwise, but had to test the skill..."
"Hmm~."
A displeased hum slipped out.
What?
"You asked."
"Just wondering if there were other ways."
"Other ways? Date and fuck to test a skill? That's being dishonest to a partner."
"...Yeah, true."
That flicker of annoyance melted back into a smile.
What was that about?
Is she actually gay?
"So, did it work on humans?"
"-Nada. Starts at E-rank. No way one fuck seduces a girl that easy. Half-expected it, but is it just ineffective on humans? Or since it says 'females,' it's biological? But humans have males and females too... Figured it's the rank, so I gave up."
"Makes sense. I thought the same—rank issue."
"You did? You're the expert here. Hearing it from you is reassuring."
"I know a similar skill. Oh, upfront: not about the sexy stuff, just the rank."
"Rank?"
Seong-yeon asked to see the skill again—this time, the full card.
"[Skill Card Reveal]."
A drab card befitting E-rank.
The proof of a ruined hunter life.
"Knew it."
"What?"
Seong-yeon eyed the trash skill and nodded confidently.
Curious, I leaned in—and she scooted close, almost cheek-to-cheek, peering at the card.
"See here? The corner?"
"Corner? ...Huh?"
Following her finger, the corner was chipped. Like torn foil on chocolate, revealing silver inside.
"See it?"
"Y-yeah! But weird—I checked it thoroughly before, no damage."
I'd inspected my first skill meticulously.
'Why now?'
What the fuck.
"Knew from the (E~?). This thing can evolve. That tear means you've built up EXP."
"So gathering EXP peels it?"
"Yep. See the silver glow inside? That's the next stage."
"Holy shit, skills evolve?!"
"Rare as hell, but it happens. Hunter info laws stifle sharing, and nonguildies wouldn't know."
My heart pounded.
Evolution!
My skill! This fucking skill could get stronger!
"You're a real ranker. How do you know all this obscure shit?"
"Not ranker perks—I've got a case like this close by. That Ceres I mentioned? Same deal. She started with crap skills, struggled hard—spotted it right away."
"Oh?"
This Ceres came up a lot.
I vaguely recalled her rank, epithet, face from TV... Seong-yeon's secret girlfriend maybe?
Praying their romance works out, I scratched an old itch.
"EXP-related?"
"Yeah. Probably reacted to skill-appropriate actions."
"Appropriate actions... Oh fuck, no way..."
"Not the roaches. You've done that daily for over a year—no way it'd only chip this much."
"Only other time was the red-light quickie..."
"...That must be it?"
"Ah~! Yeah! Fits the skill's purpose! Haven't touched it since, so this much wear tracks!!"
Meaning daily visits would've evolved it by now.
Fuuuuuuuck!!!!
Missed such a simple condition. Checked the card post-brothel, but didn't notice.
"Man. Today's a mix of highs and lows. Drunk asshole picks a fight, childhood friend saves the day—figure out skill upgrade, then realize I've been full of shit..."
"Here, another shot."
"Cheers~!"
"Cheeeers~!"
Gulp, gulp.
...Phew.
No. Blue mood creeping in.
Grabbed hold before liquor made me snap at her.
"Don't mope. Who's in front of you? Rank 9 rising star, ma'am."
"...?"
"Bet you're wondering. I wouldn't just dump bad news on you, Chang-gi."
Heart raced again.
Just the evolution news was gold. I'd been pessimistic, but she promised better.
"What news?"
"Here's the thing. There's a fast way to rank up~♪"
"For real!?"
"Yup. Even the EXP condition was simple, right?"
"Y-yeah."
Simple, yeah. Cum-attracts-females skill = fuck women. Obvious idiot condition.
"Quiz time~! Heehee, we climb towers, kill strong mobs to rank up, right? So how to level skills faster~?"
"Hmm..."
Hunters grow via tougher foes—self-training.
Skill wants women. So...
"...Fuck better women?"
"Bingo!"
Clink, clink.
Refilled, cheers, downed it, then she beamed.
"Yup. Hug better women. Simple, right?"
"Simple my ass... Headache now, thanks to you."
"Why?"
"'Better' women's too vague. Some hot model? For a leopard like me?"
"Wrong. Crystal clear criteria for you."
"What criteria?"
"Chang-gi-ya. We're hunters. What's a woman's value to us?"
"...Rank or hunter grade?"
"Exactly."
Fuck.
Already infamous—now bag a top hunter?
Someone money can't buy from the heavens?!
I'm screwed!