The Cute Mage's Quest (1)
Lee Hyeon-woo, the department manager at the Hunter Association—also known as the Awakened Association—was a civil servant who had luckily awakened a B-class trait early in the Great Cataclysm era. He had built up achievements and secured a position at the Association. In short, he was an incredibly fortunate man. His actual abilities weren't outstanding, but they were at least average. Yet today, despite his flashy rhetoric and the government's direct support that had once allowed him to effortlessly recruit Korea's awakened into the Association, he was regretting ever joining the Association after becoming a Hunter for the first time.
That day, Lee Hyeon-woo shed tears for the first time in a long while, recalling the abuse he had suffered back when he was just an ordinary office worker at a small-to-medium enterprise, and the hardships that had followed.
"Agh, the more I think about it, the more pissed off I get."
After ending the conversation with that Hunter Association department manager Lee Hyeon-woo, I let out a sigh filled with anger that still hadn't subsided even after quite some time. Lee Sieun, who had been watching the entire chat from start to finish beside me, shook her head and started cursing out the Awakened Association to help cool my temper.
"Sigh, I knew it. Those bastards have been shady since the early days of the Great Cataclysm three years ago."
"Ah, really? What were they like back then?"
"Don't even get me started. They used the national emergency as an excuse to round up newly awakened people without proper consent and shove them straight to the front lines like conscripted soldiers. They treated the awakened like convenient military pawns or expendable resources."
Lee Sieun snorted in disbelief.
"These days they pretend to care about public opinion and act like they've changed by putting on a show of respect, but deep down it's the same. That old geezer mindset of waving patriotism around to pressure people and demand unpaid overtime? They'll never let that go. If you're really annoyed, just say the word. I'm still Padak 1, after all—I can use my authority to mess with their IPs or accounts."
When she clenched her fist and got genuinely worked up on my behalf, the irritation boiling in my stomach finally started to settle. As always, she looked cool and aloof on the outside, but she had this strangely easygoing, tsundere side to her.
"It's fine. No need to get your hands dirty—well, your hands—over this. Just let them self-destruct on their own."
I waved my hand lightly with a chuckle. Once my mood had improved a bit, I suddenly remembered an item I'd obtained yesterday and forgotten about.
"By the way, those five Extreme Symbols I collected yesterday combined into a gacha ticket. I should open it."
"Extreme Symbols…? Ah, right, you said you got one every time you cleared Extreme difficulty."
"Yeah."
A golden ticket radiating light materialized from the air and landed in my hand.
I stared at its appearance for a moment—it reminded me of a giant golden ticket from some movie—then casually tore it open.
Flash—!
The ticket scattered into dazzling particles of light, and a new system message filled my vision.
You have acquired the trait: Skill Enhancement (A).
Description: Once per day, you can temporarily enhance the performance of one skill you possess. The enhancement resets at midnight.
"Oh…"
It was an upgraded version of the B-rank Skill Enhancement I already had. Getting something from a similar category was a little disappointing, but that feeling only lasted a moment.
"With this, I can milk even more out of Auto-Moderation Mode."
Without hesitation, I applied the newly acquired A-rank enhancement to the Auto-Moderation Mode skill.
Ding—.
Supreme Padak Authority: Auto-Moderation Mode's performance has temporarily increased!
Current effect: Maximum duration increased from 10 hours to 16 hours.
"Holy crap, 16 hours!"
Lee Sieun, who had been peeking at the message beside me, shouted even more excitedly than I did. Well, her reaction made sense. The longer I kept Auto-Moderation Mode active, the more the 40% share of experience and coin rewards she received through our contract would explode.
"Hey, Lee Minhyuk! You're the best, seriously the best!"
She jumped around and clapped like it was her own achievement. Feeling a bit embarrassed by her fuss, I casually picked up my smartphone.
"Can't let a day like this pass without celebrating. How about chicken and beer?"
"Deal!"
We both shouted at the same time. Forty minutes later, the table was set with two freshly fried chickens—one plain and one seasoned—along with two ice-cold cans of beer covered in condensation. We cracked open the cans with a satisfying hiss and clink, then silently tapped them together in the air.
"Kah, nothing beats fried food and beer when you're pissed off."
After chugging the fizzy carbonation down my throat, I immediately grabbed a big drumstick and took a huge bite. The crispy sound was followed by hot juices flooding my mouth.
"Whoa, this place's batter is no joke."
Lee Sieun also kept exclaiming in admiration as she tore into a sauce-covered wing.
"Hey, slow down a bit. You've got sauce all over your mouth."
"It's because you're eating so fast—I don't want you to steal mine!"
She roughly wiped the red sauce from her lips with her sleeve and defiantly stuffed a piece of chicken breast into her mouth.
"Then the story changes a bit."
I muttered quietly and looked away from the comment window floating in the air. If most of Murim's named experts were hiding their strength and lying low, then making hasty judgments could be dangerous.
"I should also stop using those demonic assassins who attacked us as the standard for average Murim people."
At my self-talk, Lee Sieun, who had been clearing the table of chicken bones and empty beer cans, nodded.
"Of course. Those guys were probably just bullet-fodder extras at best."
"Haa… I thought we fought pretty hard, but they were extras? That's way overblown. I want to get stronger faster. I wonder if our reliable sponsor, the North Sea Ice Palace Master, will give us another quest."
I let out a genuinely disappointed sigh without realizing it. Thanks to Extreme difficulty and my Padak abilities, my stats were steadily growing, but… just like martial arts, combat wasn't only about physical stats—technique mattered just as much. Seeing my greedy expression, Lee Sieun, who had been wiping the table with a dishcloth, burst out laughing.
"You and I are the abnormal ones. Normally, getting noticed by big shots isn't easy. The previous Padak 2 took over a year just to receive their first quest. Then they got greedy beyond their means and ended up dead. Besides, other users can receive quests from factions too, you know?"
"Really? That's news to me."
She tossed the used dishcloth into the sink and added,
"Anyway, what I'm trying to say is, don't be so impatient. With your trait combined with moderator authority, you'll become strong enough that no one can stand against you in just a little more time."
"Oh… Hearing that from an experienced senior like you makes me feel pretty grateful."
I shrugged and stood up. After lightly stretching to loosen my body, I reached for the Tower entry button floating in the air without further delay. Right at that moment—
Ding—!
It was a notification sound I'd heard once before—familiar yet luxurious. At the same time, a brilliantly glowing note appeared before my eyes.
'… Who's sending me another platinum note…'
Suppressing a smile that threatened to escape, I immediately clicked on the letter.
Sender: Cute Mage
Content: Hmph, did you think I'd give up? I raided the imperial treasury one more time and brought plenty of coins. Just like the North Sea Ice Palace Master did last time, properly promote the greatness of our Magic Tower on the community. I believe you're more than capable.
The sender was Lillian, the Lord of the Empire's Magic Tower and the strongest mage alive—the same Magic Tower Lord who had previously whined about being broke on the complaint board, gotten threatened with a block, and been chased off.
"What? Did she extort more money from the Emperor or something? Where'd she get the coins for platinum?"
I tilted my head and began reading the note's contents.
Prove the Magic Tower's Wind
📍 Objective: Clear the 7th floor of the Tower of Ruin (Extreme difficulty) using only wind magic and set a new record.
🎁 Reward: Permanent trait: Breath of the Blue Storm (will be reclaimed per contract upon failure), complete set of 1st Circle wind magic skills.
The contents were a Magic Tower wind magic promotion quest, strikingly similar to the one Seol Yeon-hui had sent.
I finished reading the text and stared blankly into the air for a moment. Breath of the Blue Storm. Just from the name, it was clearly the Magic Tower Lord's exclusive secret mana circulation method. On top of that, the reward included a full set of basic 1st Circle wind magic skills. The restriction of using only wind magic was tricky, but failure wouldn't cost me my head. More than anything, for someone who desperately needed greater power and new cards right now, this was like rain in a drought.
I curled my lips into a slight smile and reached for the accept button floating in the air.
"The timing is ridiculously perfect."
The moment I pressed accept, the living room scenery surrounding me distorted, and I was enveloped in light heading toward the Tower of Ruin. Meanwhile, Lee Sieun, who had been sorting food waste beside me, gave me a slightly bewildered look and asked,
"What? You're entering just like that?"
"Yeah, but I'll be back soon."
"Alright, good luck."