5
Chapter 5
It was their first raid, but the rewards were quite lucrative.
First off, a Level up.
The biggest change from leveling up was the fact that Joohyun had gained a new Skill.
[Contract Ability Sharing] : You can share the Magical Girl's Ability!
Contracted Magical Girl Roster
[Lee Yuna]
-Shared Skill : [Fireball! LV2]
'This is great.'
Joohyun had clearly seen the power of Fireball with his own two eyes on the 1st floor.
'Even if a monster rushes at me, I won't have to just sit there and take it.'
Previously, Joohyun's biggest problem was his lack of an offensive Skill.
Without an offensive Skill, he had no choice but to rely on someone else.
But now that he had an offensive Skill, he didn't have to solely depend on Yuna, his Magical Girl.
'Yuna got a Skill too.'
As Joohyun's Level went up, Yuna's Level increased as well.
Joohyun opened Yuna's Status Window to see what kind of Skill she had gained.
Skill : [Fireball! LV2], [Fire Circle LV1], [Fire Storm LV1]
[Fire Circle LV1] : A ring of fire appears at the cast location!
[Fire Storm LV1] : A firestorm erupts at the cast location!
'Ooh.'
Just reading the descriptions showed they were useful Skills.
Whether she knew she had gained Skills or not, Yuna was sleeping like a log.
"Hehe. CEO, you're so soft..."
"...What in the world are you dreaming about?"
Joohyun got goosebumps all over his body just looking at Yuna. He didn't know what kind of dream it was, but ignorance was definitely bliss.
He left Yuna as she was, quietly stepped out into the living room, and turned on the TV.
He had been too tired to check after coming out of the tower, but the news was bound to be buzzing about what happened yesterday.
'Since a global announcement would have been posted to all Awakeners.'
Sure enough, every channel on the TV was talking about Yuna.
-The world's first SSS-rank. Magical Girl, who is her true identity?
-The Magical Girl catching the whole world's attention, will she secure her place as South Korea's Supernova?
"Hmm."
Joohyun couldn't help but let out a low groan as he watched the news.
'At this rate, people will be swarming in front of the Association President.'
Joohyun recalled the time with Choi Seoyeon in the past. People had camped out in front of the Association President back then.
It was highly likely that there would be even more people than back then.
After all, it was a whopping SSS-rank.
Had Joohyun not become a Mascot character like this, he definitely would have camped out in front of the Association as well, waiting for the Magical Girl to appear.
Even though the chances of scouting her over other Management companies would have been slim anyway.
Anyway.
'But right now, everything is completely unknown.'
The Awakening Detector.
It was a type of Artifact made from Mana Stone.
They say the energy radiating from a person differs based on their rank.
By measuring that energy, one could deduce whether someone was a true Awakener and what rank they were.
And the day Choi Seoyeon underwent her awakening evaluation.
On that day, an incident occurred for the first time where the value exceeded what the Awakening Detector could evaluate.
SS-rank. Until then, the highest rank among Awakeners had been S-rank, but an Awakener named Choi Seoyeon completely broke that record.
'Her Ability was Sword Saint, wasn't it. On top of being an SS-rank Ability.'
People could tell just by looking at Choi Seoyeon's Ability that she had cleared the 1st floor with an S+ rank.
Seoyeon didn't deny that fact, either.
In the tower, the initial reward items varied depending on the clear rank. The number of Mana Stones you could obtain was different as well.
Basically, the maximum number of Mana Stones you could get from the 1st floor was two.
If you got a C-rank or lower, you couldn't even obtain them.
And when Choi Seoyeon cleared the 1st floor, the number of Mana Stones she received was ten.
However, when Joohyun and Yuna cleared the tower.
[Exiting the tower.]
[30 Mana Stones have been distributed.]
They received a whopping three times the amount of Mana Stones that Choi Seoyeon had received.
Even Joohyun almost lost his mind when he saw that.
Because receiving 30 Mana Stones from the 1st floor was absolute nonsense.
Even among Hunters raiding above the 10th floor, receiving 30 was a rare occurrence.
'But the problem is that I can't get a Certificate.'
Normally, it would be right for Joohyun, who had awakened, to receive an Awakener evaluation and get a Certificate.
'But I can't go looking like this.'
If a cute, talking creature suddenly appeared before the Association President, it would definitely draw more attention than a Magical Girl.
In a bad way, that is.
'I'd definitely end up as a biological experiment.'
It was natural that an Awakening Ability wouldn't last outside.
So even if he pleaded that it was an Awakening Ability, they wouldn't easily believe him.
Joohyun reserved getting an awakening evaluation for himself as an absolute last resort.
'Then, should I tell Accountant Yuna to get it? That has its own problems too, though.'
The biggest problem was that Yuna wasn't an Awakener.
She had become a Magical Girl through his awakened Ability.
There were too many differences between her and a regular Awakener.
'Still, it wouldn't hurt to try, would it?'
If she came out as Unawakened, it couldn't be helped, and even if she got a high rank and was exposed as a Magical Girl and received love calls, she could just say she already belonged to a Management.
'She wouldn't say she's going somewhere else after becoming my Magical Girl, would she?'
Since she made a Magical Girl contract with Joohyun, the chances of Yuna going to another Management were clearly extremely slim.
'Wait. If we say she's with "Gather Around Management," it'll be free promotion and catching two birds with one stone, right?'
The revival of the Management might no longer be an impossible dream.
Come to think of it, there were many benefits to be gained even if she revealed her identity.
"Should we just go ahead and reveal it?"
Then, the Awakener Association might even provide all sorts of support.
It was while he was spreading the wings of his imagination, picturing Yuna's identity being revealed, the Management becoming famous, and them sitting on a pile of money.
Joohyun turned his head when he felt a strange gaze from his side.
There.
"Whoaaa..."
Were Yuna's younger siblings, staring at Joohyun with sparkling eyes.
'Where have I seen this repertoire before?'
Sensing danger, Joohyun slowly tried to back away, but it was already too late.
"It's a talking puppy-cat!"
"Catch it~!"
"Gaaah-!"
'Somebody save me!'
He had felt it when playing with his nieces and nephews, but the hardest thing in the world was playing with kids!
And so, the game of tag didn't seem to end until Yuna woke up from her sleep.
* * *
"Absolutely not!"
"Ah, why! I'm telling you, this is our chance to sit on a pile of money!"
"Anyway, no means no!"
Joohyun had told Yuna to transform into a Magical Girl and reveal her identity.
But Yuna was shaking her head, frowning deeply and saying it was absolutely impossible.
"How can I appear in front of people in such an embarrassing outfit! I'll probably die of embarrassment!"
"You're exaggerating..."
At her murderous glare, Joohyun had no choice but to take a step back.
Joohyun let out a small sigh from inside Yuna's bag.
"Then, what will you do if you come out as Unawakened? We have to sell Mana Stones to get money. The business registration is still active, so we have to put your name under the Management to sell Mana Stones or whatever."
"If I happen to come out as Unawakened, I'll think about it then."
"So stubborn."
"What doesn't work, doesn't work!"
"Tch."
"What do you mean 'tch'!"
There was no winning when Yuna was this stubborn.
Joohyun gave up on revealing her identity.
'We could have sat on a pile of money.'
Joohyun peeked his head slightly out of the eco-bag and looked around.
Perhaps because it was the weekend, there were many people on the streets.
Joohyun watched the people passing by like that.
And there was a new fact he had discovered.
'I can see gauges on absolutely everyone.'
He could see gauges on everyone, regardless of whether they were men or women.
Generally, men had a gauge of around 10%, regardless of their age.
Women's gauges were higher the younger they were, but almost no one exceeded 50% no matter what.
Furthermore, most adult women were between 15% and 20%.
'Strange. Yuna was definitely at 60%, so what exactly is the standard?'
He didn't know what criteria were used to measure the gauge.
'What even is Magical Girl Power in the first place?'
Joohyun wanted to contract with other Magical Girls besides Yuna.
The more Magical Girls he contracted with, the more Skills he would be able to use.
On top of that, having more Magical Girls would definitely make it easier to clear the tower the higher they climbed.
The problem was that there was no one who could become a Magical Girl, though.
As Joohyun let out a deep sigh and watched the people, Yuna arrived at their destination.
The area in front of the Association they arrived at was a complete madhouse.
All sorts of Reporters and Management celebrities were gathered there.
Everyone seemed to be waiting for the Magical Girl to appear.
Yuna and Joohyun could only gape at the swarming crowd.
She stammered at the overwhelming sight.
"I-It's beyond what I imagined?"
"I know, right?"
Even a quick glance made it feel like the crowd was larger than it had been for Choi Seoyeon.
"There's a familiar face, too."
"Where? ......Oh?"
Joohyun's face naturally scrunched into a frown.
And for good reason.
Jang Hyunjun, one of the Awakeners who had left him, was there.
Tall and strapping. A face with distinct features that gave off a good impression.
He had a likable face no matter who looked at him.
'If it weren't for that bastard....... Just think of how much money I poured into him.'
Joohyun ground his teeth with a crunch.
Hyunjun was mingling among the people, smiling affably.
With his great sociability, he was welcomed by many people wherever he went.
'He used that sociability to incite the people around him and ruin my Management.'
Joohyun still had nightmares just thinking about what happened back then. But seeing that smiling face, he couldn't help but be furious.
'Should I punch that bastard in the face?'
Such thoughts crossed his mind for a moment, but Joohyun soon let out a sigh.
There was nothing he could do right now, looking like this.
The only thing he could do was make him bitterly regret it later.
Joohyun smiled wickedly as he let his imagination run wild, picturing Hyunjun coming before him, kneeling, and begging to be taken back.
It was while Yuna was staring at Joohyun, who was smiling so wickedly, as if she found him cute.
That Hyunjun spotted Yuna and started walking over.
"Accountant Yuna! Fancy seeing you here!"
He approached Yuna with an amiable smile.
"Ahaha...... Yeah."
Unlike Hyunjun, Yuna smiled awkwardly and avoided his gaze.
"Have you been well? I heard the office was gone. Man....... I told you back then. I said that place wouldn't last long......."
Yuna just continued to smile awkwardly. Hyunjun quickly looked her up and down before continuing.
"But what brings you here? Do you have some business with the Association?"
"Ah...... yes, actually, I'm trying to acquire an awakening Certificate."
"Oh? Have you awakened, Accountant Yuna?"
Then, Hyunjun looked Yuna up and down once again and burst out laughing with a 'pfft'.
Feeling offended, Yuna frowned slightly.
"Why are you laughing?"
"Ah, sorry. For a moment, the thought crossed my mind that you might be the Magical Girl, Accountant Yuna. Even though there's absolutely no way that's true."
'Absolutely?'
Yuna barely managed to hold onto her sanity, which almost snapped at those words.
The words declaring that she was the Magical Girl rose to her throat, but she swallowed them back down.
"......I'm not exactly at an age to be called a girl anymore."
"Come on, you still look like a girl to me."
Chattering playfully like that, Hyunjun rummaged through his front pocket.
Then, he held out a business card to Yuna.
"It's the Management I'm affiliated with. If you don't have anywhere to go, come here. I'll be waiting."
Saying so, Hyunjun walked back toward the group of people he had been talking to earlier.
Watching Hyunjun's retreating figure, Yuna muttered quietly.
"Should I blast him with a Fireball?"
It was 5 seconds before Hyunjun turned into a charcoal grill.