Press Conference (1)
Park Jihun stared down at the rune stone in his hand. His second one already. It had only been a little over two weeks since he awakened. Yet here he was, holding a rune stone that most hunters would never see even once in their lifetime—not once, but twice.
'I wonder what skill it'll be this time.'
The last one had given him martial arts. It was the perfect skill for him, since his combat technique had been sorely lacking. He was genuinely curious about what this next one would bring.
'Honestly, it'd be nice if it's actually useful.'
It wasn't about selling it for a high price. Jihun already had more money than he knew what to do with. The B-rank Special Gate he'd been dragged into had been so lucrative that he didn't even need to bring back any mana stones. Well, technically it wasn't that he didn't bring any—it was that once the succubi became his familiars, he couldn't obtain mana stones from them anymore. But anyway, it wasn't about the money.
He wanted a skill that would be useful for him to learn. The martial arts alone had given him a massive boost in ability. Even if this one didn't lead to the kind of insane growth he'd experienced before, Jihun would keep getting stronger. And if he ran into another special case like this Succubus Gate, he'd grow explosively again. The more powerful he became, the more valuable the skills he learned would be.
'Shall we take a look?'
Jihun gazed at the rune stone and pulled up its information window.
[Rune Stone]
[Upon use, 'Attribute Conversion' skill can be acquired.]
"...!!"
Attribute Conversion. Wasn't that the final stage of the third tier of mana control? The very realm he'd trained like crazy for but ultimately couldn't reach because he lacked the talent. This was it!
"Holy shit, jackpot."
This wasn't just useful. This was the grand prize. The absolute best skill he could have gotten right now.
'Fuck, does this mean I can do Fire Sword now? Can I actually use magic?'
In his mind, Jihun pictured himself swinging a flaming sword while hurling spells left and right.
"This is awesome."
His eyes began to sparkle.
"Do you like it?"
Sira smiled sweetly as she watched his shining eyes.
'Ah, so that's why Sira's class was Mage?'
Other than the charm magic that was a racial trait of succubi, she hadn't seemed to use any other spells. He'd found it strange when he saw her familiar class listed as Mage, but seeing the rune stone cleared up the mystery immediately. Looking at how Kar had become a martial artist because of the rune stone's influence, it was clear that the gate's core affected the boss's abilities.
"This is the best. I'm so glad I got dragged into this gate."
Jihun truly meant it.
His average stats had gone up by nearly 120 points just from coming here.
He had gained Sira, a named intermediate succubus, along with her fifty-seven subordinate lesser succubi. An entire legion of succubus familiars.
And then—
The rune stone has been used.
The used rune stone has been destroyed.
You have acquired the 'Attribute Conversion' skill.
Level 1
Changes the attribute of mana. The attributes that can be granted vary depending on affinity and proficiency with each element.
He had even obtained the skill for Attribute Conversion—the one he'd given up on because he had no talent for it. This Special Gate really had given him the complete gift set. Everything he could possibly want.
"Wow~ To be honest, at first I thought if I just got sucked dry by a succubus and died, I'd have no regrets."
He never imagined he'd walk away with this much.
At his words, Sira let out a charming giggle.
"Hehe, for someone who thought that, you sure tried your hardest to make me submit for real."
As she spoke, she gently stroked the heart-shaped crest engraved on her lower abdomen.
"I just got carried away because it felt so good."
Jihun grinned and turned away. If he kept building this strange atmosphere with her, he was going to end up fucking her again and miss the chance to leave the gate.
'That would be a real problem this time.'
With the rune stone that served as the gate's core now gone, they had to get out quickly. The gate would close soon.
"First, I'll put all the girls in the sub-space... then only me and Jiyeon will exit."
Because this had been an unexpected situation, they hadn't been able to stop the media. There were surely hordes of reporters waiting outside, along with hunters standing by to rush in the moment the gate reopened.
'They're going to be pretty shocked when we come out.'
An F-rank hunter and a B-rank hunter clearing a B-rank Special Gate and coming back alive? Of course they'd lose their minds. There would definitely be people suspecting it was a false registration, claiming there was no way he was really F-rank.
'I guess I can't hide it anymore.'
Jihun decided it was no longer possible to conceal his rank increase. His base stats, even without the Alpha Male multiplier, were already hovering at the edge of B-rank. Even at the bare minimum, B-rank was B-rank. At this point, his stats qualified him as a high-tier hunter.
If he added the Alpha Male skill that had just leveled up—now giving a flat 2.4x multiplier regardless of gender—his average stats would exceed 440. That was top-tier even among A-rank hunters.
His outstanding mana control, martial arts foundation, the stat reduction and stiffness inflicted on opponents by Alpha Male, and now Attribute Conversion on top of it all. Not to mention his personal combat power—Shin Jiyeon had risen to A-rank, and while she wasn't here right now, so had Chen Mei. He also had a legion of B-rank succubi and four C-rank familiars.
Just Jihun and his familiars now rivaled a decent mid-to-large guild in power. And since the number of familiars would only keep growing, with his growth having no limits, it wouldn't be long before he surpassed even the largest guilds... even those operating on a global scale.
'It's time.'
With the explosive growth he'd achieved in this B-rank Special Gate, the Land of Succubus Sira, Jihun believed he now had the strength to fend off threats from others to some degree.
"Yeah. Let's make it public."
Jihun announced to all his familiars, including Shin Jiyeon, that he would reveal everything—how his stats increased, and roughly how many familiars he had.
"From now on, let's move openly without hiding or lying about anything. I haven't done anything wrong anyway. This is the right move, isn't it?"
Of course, possessing a special power—and one so overwhelmingly strong that it couldn't be controlled—would naturally invite threats. But now that he was strong enough to handle those threats, there was no longer any need to hide.
He'd already been sick of sneaking around and secretly clearing gates in secret. That kind of life had been getting on his nerves.
"Yes, if that's what you want, Sunbae."
"If Master likes it, Kar likes it too!"
"Well, it's not really our business."
"P-public...! Public exposure... haa, haa..."
"I don't know what it is, but I'm in favor~"
Shin Jiyeon and the other familiars all seemed to agree.
...There was one weird one in the middle, but since she was always like that, they simply ignored her.
But then—
"But Master, if you do that, won't a huge number of people come looking to become your familiars?"
Briana, who had been quiet until now, spoke cautiously.
If Jihun revealed his ability, people would learn that the human Shin Jiyeon had become his familiar and that her stats had increased. Wouldn't hunters go crazy and swarm him?
It was true that Jiyeon had risen to A-rank. An explanation for that would be necessary. And if they found out that Jihun's power could raise the stats of human hunters too, the picture of hordes of hunters rushing in would become incredibly annoying.
He could drive them away somehow, but the desire to raise one's hunter stats was far stronger than a reporter's desire for a scoop. It was obvious that it would become a huge hassle for Jihun in many ways.
On top of that, the idea of a person turning another person into a familiar could lead to ethical issues like slavery and human rights. To avoid creating unnecessary trouble, it was better to avoid that angle.
"It's fine. What I'm going to reveal is only that my stats and the stats of my familiars increase."
Jihun had already thought this through. He did plan to mention that his familiars' stats increased as well. That was the only way to explain his absurd value and insane growth speed. It would also make it easier for him and his familiar party members to be acknowledged when entering higher-rank gates.
"But Jiyeon is separate."
Jihun pointed at Shin Jiyeon as he spoke. When he said she was separate, it meant—
"Jiyeon achieved an accomplishment in this Special Gate and her stats rose because of it. That's how she reached A-rank. No one would think a person could become a familiar anyway, so we'll just explain it roughly like that."
And when she eventually reached S-rank...
'Well~ By then it'll be harder to make excuses... but we can just say Jiyeon got a skill that raises stats too. We'll figure something out when the time comes.'
With that thought, Jihun stored all his familiars except Shin Jiyeon into his sub-space and stepped out of the gate with her.
#
"Huh?"
The Special Gate in Gapyeong. For over four days, there had been no change whatsoever. Then suddenly, something began to happen.
The violently swirling gray vortex slowly began to calm. It gradually transformed until it looked like an ordinary gate—a simple black rift.
"T-that's..."
It was an obvious change that anyone could see. Something had definitely happened inside. But it was strange. If everyone inside had simply died, the gate would have made a low humming sound to indicate it could be re-entered. The fact that the gate was completely subsiding meant...
"D-don't tell me... they cleared it?!"
At someone's shout, everyone stared at the gate with expressions of disbelief.
The reporters who had been waiting to deliver the tragic news of Park Jihun's confirmed death faster than anyone else.
The Hunter Association staff monitoring the gate's condition.
Even the Pine Guild raid team that had been dispatched to rush in and clear the gate the moment it reopened.
All eyes were focused on the gate when—
"Haa... Finally out."
"Ugh~ How long has it been since I last breathed fresh air?"
From within, two people—Park Jihun and Shin Jiyeon—walked out with relaxed steps.