Chapter 32
Chapter 32
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 32
Chapter Title: Inspection (5)
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─ No, you fucking bastard, why'd you end up like this? Why are your arms and legs all fucked up...?
─ There was an incident. But who are you? Why barge in here cursing at Sun-woo?
─ This bastard's a member of the Milky Way Guild's Training Team 4, and I'm the team leader.
So damn noisy. I can't sleep.
My consciousness slowly stirred awake.
─ Because of this asshole, we couldn't even enter the Tower today. Wasted the whole time. Our dungeon reservation's gone down the drain.
─ Is the dungeon the priority right now? When someone's badly hurt?
Someone's arguing.
The voices came through sharp and clear.
"I won't argue that Sun-woo's a bit of an idiot. But don't call him that. I can't forgive badmouthing an injured person."
The tone sounded like the scream I'd heard before blacking out.
Who was I with right before I passed out?
My memories were hazy.
'Why am I...'
My body wouldn't move.
It felt like something was gripping me tight—like ropes binding me down.
Looks like I'd been kidnapped or something.
I forcibly pried open my heavy eyelids.
An unfamiliar ceiling.
A pure white ceiling greeted me.
Had I been summoned to another world or something?
Time to prep for the tutorial?
Those thoughts crossed my mind.
"Oh! You're awake!"
Figures started coming into focus in my blurry vision.
A welcome face—Han A-ra spotted me waking up and rushed over, waving her hand.
Her pale palm waved back and forth right in front of my eyes.
"Ah, fuck."
Next to Han A-ra was Choi Da-eun.
What the hell was this woman doing here?
Had she followed me even to another world?
'That might actually be touching...'
But this wasn't some other world. I was in a perfectly ordinary hospital room.
A super comfy single room, at that.
Han A-ra approached my bedside and looked down at me.
"Sun-woo, you had a dungeon raid scheduled for today, right?"
"Today?"
At Han A-ra's words, I racked my brain trying to recall today's schedule.
'Got acknowledged by Hunter Han So-ra...'
Right. I'd arrived at the Joseon Guild headquarters for my duel with Han So-ra.
Went down to the training room in the basement of the HQ building and met Han So-ra, who was waiting there.
We were just supposed to warm up and then duel.
'After that... no memory.'
Did I win?
Judging by my current state, probably lost?
My arm was in a cast.
My leg looked seriously fucked up too, though I had no idea how.
I looked like a pharaoh buried under a pyramid, mummified and resurrected. You'd believe it.
'...How the hell did this happen?'
I'd leveled up Unicorn's Blessing to 2.
Its activation conditions got massively eased as a side effect.
Park Sun-woo, genuine E-Rank Hunter, dubbed this condition "Non-Virgin Smite."
With this, I figured I could beat non-virgin Han So-ra.
Honestly, I didn't even need to win outright.
No way I could beat an S-Rank anyway.
I just needed to prove it.
Show S-Rank Hunter Han So-ra that this was my level.
I had a shot.
It was a matchup heavily in my favor.
I had zero doubts about my victory.
Virgins are super rare in Korea.
Unicorn's Blessing Lv.2 activates, Non-Virgin Smite secures the win.
'A twenty-seven-year-old like Han So-ra has to be a non-virgin. It's only natural to think that.'
Or...?
Thinking back to Choi Da-eun...
It was kinda iffy to declare Han So-ra a definite non-virgin.
Anyway.
'Must've blacked out after that.'
But why the hell was Choi Da-eun suddenly at the hospital?
The Milky Way Guild's Training Team 4 hunt was still two days away.
No clue why, but Training Team 4 got some free time.
I used that time wisely.
First three days, used the Taming App to fuck street chicks by the hundreds.
Saturday: pre-planned dinner with Han A-ra.
And Sunday...
'...Knocked out by Han So-ra's strike.'
Opened my eyes to a hospital ceiling.
No idea how much time passed.
But I could guess.
Choi Da-eun, already looking fierce, had her face twisted like a demon.
A true devil descended.
I could tell right away how long I'd been out.
Just to check, I asked.
"How long have I been out, A-ra?"
"Two days."
"I see."
The answer was as expected.
I nodded deeply, finishing my long timeline recap.
"Park Sun-woo, you fucking bastard."
There's a classic experiment that perfectly explains conditioned reflexes.
Pavlov's dog.
Ring a bell and feed it repeatedly, and eventually, just the bell makes it drool.
That's me right now.
I'd become Pavlov's dog—Choi Da-eun's dog.
Just hearing her signature shrill voice made my balls tighten up.
"...Yeah, what?"
Her face screamed fury, eyes murderous.
Choi Da-eun glared at me and demanded.
"Fuck, why didn't you show up today?"
She could see my condition too.
No way I could enter the Tower like this.
Still, she stubbornly demanded an explanation.
She was just venting her rage.
'Why's she so pissed?'
I couldn't comprehend.
Who'd expect to get knocked out by an S-Rank Hunter?
It was like asking a car crash victim why they didn't come to work.
Psychopath.
I knew she was crazy, but this was over the top.
Even the Training Team 4 members who hated me would be on my side right now.
Choi Da-eun's reaction was that intense.
"...How could I go out like this? I just woke up."
I felt wronged.
Couldn't hold back.
Felt like only comfort from Choi Da-eun's pussy would ease the sorrow.
Han A-ra, who knew the full story, explained on my behalf.
"Sun-woo's injuries... it's all my fault and my sister's."
Choi Da-eun and the Training Team 4 members stared at Han A-ra.
A face anyone in Korea's hunter scene would recognize instantly.
I'd ended up like this because of S-Rank Hunter Han So-ra, but thanks to her, I dodged even worse trouble.
Did I cheer or curse?
"Haa, fucking hell. This pisses me off..."
Choi Da-eun swept back her bangs, muttering curses.
Veins bulged crosswise on her exposed forehead.
My mind cleared, senses sharpening.
I could finally analyze Choi Da-eun's emotions.
'Who the hell pissed off Choi Da-eun?'
Choi Da-eun was furious.
But not at me.
It was an absurd situation from my perspective.
"We can't do the dungeon today anyway."
Choi Da-eun barely suppressed her boiling anger.
She dismissed Training Team 4.
"No hunt?"
The F-Rank hunters from Training Team 4 hesitated to head home.
At Choi Da-eun's bark, they bolted like rabbits.
Choi Da-eun herself stayed in the room instead of going home.
"Tell me everything from start to finish. From your own mouth."
Choi Da-eun crossed her arms, propping up her breasts, glaring down at me with fierce eyes.
Didn't look like she was about to listen intently.
I slowly opened my mouth.
The party hunt with Mirage Guild, Han A-ra's reward, the duel with Han So-ra, and now.
Choi Da-eun was quieter than expected.
She clamped her mouth shut and listened.
Then she tossed out one question.
One that must've sounded utterly ridiculous to her.
"You became C-Rank? Killed a Dark Knight? What? Fuck, does that even make sense?"
"It's true. Sun-woo killed the Dark Knight and saved me."
Han A-ra backed me up.
My one and only ally in this world. Solid.
"C-Rank... You need at least level 100 to take down a Dark Knight. I can barely handle one myself, and you beat level 100? Beat me?"
"...Well, if special conditions align for Sun-woo..."
Han A-ra trailed off, unable to say it herself.
Choi Da-eun grew even more assertive.
She thought I was lying.
Then the single-room door opened, and a woman's voice rang out.
"A-ra's right."
Choi Da-eun whipped her head around.
All eyes turned to Han So-ra entering the room.
"H-Hunter Han So-ra...!"
Even Choi Da-eun, who seemed ready to bitch at anyone, used utmost honorifics for S-Rank Hunter Han So-ra.
Her voice trembled wildly.
Like a fanclub member meeting their top idol, overflowing with joy.
Learned something new about Choi Da-eun.
If this could boost taming progress, it'd be great.
Still lying in bed, I greeted Han So-ra.
The woman who'd half-crippled me, but I could forgive her.
'She's a virgin, after all.'
Han So-ra looked at me.
Her face was full of regret.
"Huff, huff."
Compare that to Han A-ra.
She glared at Han So-ra, breathing heavily.
The look of a kid about to ram her mom right before getting denied a toy.
"It was my mistake, Hunter Sun-woo."
Han So-ra admitted her fault.
"I hit a bit too hard... to make sure A-ra would give up on starting a guild."
"I see."
That explained the two-day coma.
"Don't lie! You were trying to kill Sun-woo!"
Han A-ra shrieked.
Han So-ra sighed and countered.
"I aimed for a level a B-Rank could block."
Opponent was an S-Rank.
If she'd gone all out, someone like me would've died without breathing.
"...I still can't believe Hunter Sun-woo took down a Dark Knight."
"Can't be helped."
Failed to prove C-Rank level.
Unicorn's Blessing didn't activate...
From Han So-ra's view, doubting me was natural.
"However."
Han So-ra's words didn't end there.
I'd already answered everything, so why continue?
Han So-ra handed a brown paper bag she'd been holding to Han A-ra.
Han A-ra's expression slowly brightened as she took it.
"A-ra takes after her mom that way—stubborn as hell and won't listen."
"Sis..."
"So, just like Mom believed in me, I'll believe in A-ra. And Hunter Sun-woo too."
Han A-ra teared up, touched.
Han So-ra ruffled her little sister's hair.
Blessed event, blessed event.
The mood felt like it should end there.
Choi Da-eun mumbled incoherently in the back.
Seemed like she couldn't grasp the situation.