Chapter 042
< The Youngest of Our House is Thinking Something Strange (1) >
Kim Tae-seong was lately having a happy time in his own way.
Exactly, the moment the Dang-geun-tap (Tower Market) notification rang.
Ding-dong!
[Gorani Man 12 has registered [Golden Corn].]
[Description: Corn that fully embraced the energy of sunlight. It is very sweet.]
“Caught you!”
Over the last 2 weeks, Kim Tae-seong used the lesson from his miserable failures and bet everything on pure manual labor.
He had 3 terminals up simultaneously and refreshed Gorani Man 12's sales page 24 hours a day.
It was a method of using one account to press with three fingers on three terminals at once.
He took cat naps and substituted meals with potions.
He poured an A-Rank Hunter's superhuman focus and stamina only into this one trade.
And finally, he succeeded in purchasing without even a 0.01-second delay.
A moment of "reality check" came, wondering if he really had to go this far, but the joy of putting Gorani Man 12's crop into his hand was greater.
After the trade, Kim Tae-seong sent a chat to Gorani Man 12 with a trembling hand.
[SUNG_STRONG: Truly··· truly thank you, Gorani Man-nim!]
For this trade, Kim Tae-seong offered the [B-Rank Rare Artifact: Flame Lizard's Leather Gloves] he had obtained by risking his life on the 30s floors as the trade item.
And he mustered up courage to confess the problem he had been most contemplating.
[SUNG_STRONG: Uh, Gorani Man-nim. By any chance, may I ask your expert opinion?]
[Gorani Man 12: Yes?]
[SUNG_STRONG: Did you see the news lately? The giant Rift in the Okinawa sea.]
[Gorani Man 12: Ah, that. I saw it.]
[SUNG_STRONG: Since I belong to the Bureau··· stories of dispatching support personnel to that area are coming out. They told me to take charge of at least the outer reconnaissance mission, and I’d like to ask your expert opinion on how you think about it, Gorani Man 12-nim.]
The reason Kim Tae-seong asked this of Gorani Man 12 was simple.
Because he believed that an existence that creates such miracle crops would surely have a different insight than himself.
A moment later, a reply arrived.
[Gorani Man 12: Hmm······ wouldn't it be dangerous?]
It was only that one sentence.
[SUNG_STRONG: !]
[SUNG_STRONG: As I thought! Thank you so much for the clear answer!]
* * *
National Hunter Management Bureau, Operations Headquarters Office.
“So, you mean you still haven't found the cause?!”
Park Jin-soo shouted while striking the desk.
Before him stood an equipment team staff member who was completely intimidated.
It was another equipment failure accident.
“Have you contacted Old Man No?”
“We tried, but it seems he turned off his phone······.”
“Useless bastard!”
Lately such things had become noticeably frequent.
At first, it was at the level of minor equipment malfunctions.
But now the situation had become much more serious.
A high-output mana amplifier used by B-Rank Hunters exploded during training.
And in the middle of a Rift site, a mana barrier generator would turn off without reason.
Dizzying moments that almost led to fatal accidents were repeating.
It was already beyond the controllable area, no different from the collapse of the entire system.
Park Jin-soo was going crazy.
Performance had to be raised, but accidents catching his ankles kept breaking out.
Everything was something that started since the old man No and the E-Class nobody vanished.
“You’re doing nothing right!”
While Park Jin-soo was fuming, another staff member hurriedly reported to change the mood.
“Team Leader! Good news! Valhalla Guild has sent a technical support agreement to provide technology and funds for free for the modernization of Bureau equipment!”
“What? From Valhalla? Haha, this is very well done!”
Park Jin-soo, who was just having a furious face, was all smiles again in an instant.
“As expected of a wealthy guild, they have a big hand. They must be trying to do some image making by giving things away, and we just have to take it ravenously.”
He didn't contemplate even a little on what intention Valhalla had in making such an exceptional proposal.
“Right, how is the Okinawa Rift case going? Did you find out Muryong's identity?”
“Not yet.”
“Is that so? Hmm······ well, but it's okay. Since we have A-Rank Hunter Kim Tae-seong, we can save face in this dispatch, can't we?”
This dispatch to the Japanese Rift was very important for the National Hunter Management Bureau as well.
Of course, since they lacked an S-Rank Hunter, they couldn't play a leading role, but just dispatching one A-Rank Hunter to add strength was a golden opportunity to save face in the international community and recover the support of the citizens.
However, hearing those words, the staff member's face darkened.
“Uh, Team Leader. Th-the thing is······.”
“What, what's the problem again!”
“Hunter Kim Tae-seong······ said he will not participate in this dispatch.”
“What?!”
Park Jin-soo jumped up from his seat, exploding with a rage of a different level than a moment ago.
He looked ready to flip the desk right now.
“Just why!”
The staff member answered with a troubled expression and a trembling voice.
“······He said that person said it's dangerous.”
“That person? Who is that!”
“He said Gorani Man 12-nim said it's dangerous, so he won't go out······.”
“······What?”
Park Jin-soo’s face distorted.
It was absurd.
Because of a single word from an unidentified internet seller, an A-Rank Hunter recruited with immense treatment is refusing a national mission.
“I brought him in by paying a massive amount of money, yet far from climbing the Tower to death, he's just stuck to his phone every time and it's driving me crazy. What about what?”
Of course Kim Tae-seong was filling the minimum raid counts specified in the contract.
But that was all.
Once he returned from the Tower, he didn't even come out of the lodging for several days, saying it's a mana recovery period.
He seemed to have no will at all to raid higher floors.
Thanks to that, inside the Bureau, talk of whether bringing him in like that was rather a loss was coming out.
At such a time, Kim Tae-seong's remark was enough to stir up Park Jin-soo’s anger.
“Does that even make any sense! A-A-A-A-ARGH!”
He was truly at his wits' end.
* * *
Since returning from the Tower, it had become a daily routine to ask [Khalif's Great Grimoire] this and that.
Vrrr-
A vibration announcing connection rang from the ear cuff on my ear.
I threw some trivial questions.
“Our Hasuo is in childhood stage, how can I raise it well?”
- [Referencing page 372 of the Mysterious Spirits section of Khalif's Great Grimoire. A primordial existence does not grow through material nourishment, but through great narratives.]
- [Conclusion. Provide meaningful experiences such as bond with the master, encounters with strong enemies, and exploration of the unknown.]
“······In the end, it means I should take it around and let it eat experience points.”
It sounded like abstract nonsense, yet it was strangely persuasive.
“Is it okay for Muryong to eat this much like now?”
- [Referencing the preface of the Myth section of Khalif's Great Grimoire. A primordial existence possesses a nature to crave all pure energy in the world to reclaim lost authority. This is a regression instinct, not hunger.]
- [Conclusion. The gluttony will not stop. Rather, the only solution is to help growth by continuously supplying high-purity energy suitable for the vessel.]
As expected, it meant I should just keep giving Muryong lots of delicious things like now.
I felt relieved and vowed to keep giving Muryong lots of delicious food in the future too.
“Just how much stronger can our Gorani become?”
- [Referencing page 812 of the Wild Animal section of Khalif's Great Grimoire. That entity is in a state of having transcended the ecological limits of an ordinary water deer (Gorani). It is presumed to be in the process of evolving into a rare sonic beast subspecies from page 58 of the Magic Beast section.]
“......Rare subspecies?”
I didn't know if this was real, but the explanation it gave exceeded my expectations.
- [According to the records of the Great Grimoire, this entity possesses a characteristic where potential expands infinitely depending on the surrounding environment and consumed food. In particular, it tends to break through the limits of its species (species breakthrough) through a bond with the master.]
- [Conclusion. At present, its limit cannot be measured. it will become as strong as it can possibly be.]
“Our Gorani was that much······.”
I stared at the Gorani who was taking a leisurely nap in the shade next to the shed.
It's not just a big Gorani······ but an existence in the stage of evolving into a magic beast?
No wonder, its body had been changing unusually lately.
Under the coarse fur, muscles were firmly established like rock.
And the energy of a different class from wild animals felt faintly every time it moved.
I would really believe it if someone said it was a magic beast.
“It's amazing, indeed.”
A proud smile naturally formed.
It was just a ferocious beast when we first met, but it's become a reliable family member and a sturdy partner.
Now I felt at ease just having the Gorani by my side at the house.
“······.”
And the question I had been circling around and couldn't ask.
Why was I afraid to ask?
Hesitating, I threw the most important question.
“······Mana Hypersensitivity Syndrome. Is there a cure?”
- [Referencing page 1024 of the Ancient Diseases section of Khalif's Great Grimoire. That symptom is a phenomenon where the entity's unique laws collapse due to chaotic external energy. To restore the damaged laws, higher laws than those are required.]
- [Conclusion. Only an existence with the authority of creation or initialization can perform fundamental treatment.]
Creation or initialization.
Isn't that just telling her to be reborn?
- [Additional hint. Perhaps that seed is already sprouting by the Master's side.]
“?”
It was a cryptic answer that still didn't tell me the exact answer.
Seed of authority? Something sprouting by my side?
‘Wait?’
Unintentionally, I stared at Hasuo, who was playing with Muryong in the herb garden.
“Pwa-aeng!”
Hasuo fluttered the green leaves on its head as if it felt good.
‘Was that originally there?’
Come to think of it, it seemed I had been seeing it since a few days ago.
Apparently Hasuo was surely growing.
‘Could it be that that is helpful to So-ye?’
I stared intently at Hasuo.
Right. Originally, I was going to raise the [Primordial Fleeceflower Seed] as a spiritual medicine.
Tower 10th Floor.
I remember the memory when I first discovered that seed at the Dimensional Shop.
It was a Legendary rank, wasn't it.
My power was also becoming stronger through spiritual medicines, and I had expectations that I could obtain a Fleeceflower better than the 100-Year Fleeceflower.
That was the unique reason I bought the seed.
“······.”
Let me ask once more.
“······By any chance, is that seed talking about Hasuo?”
- [Referencing page 373 of the Mysterious Spirits section of Khalif's Great Grimoire. Originally, ‘Primordial Fleeceflower’ exists only as a crystal of pure energy without an ego.]
- [However, under the influence of the ‘Absolute's Herb Garden’ and the ‘Primordial Being’, that entity was born as a unique existence with an unprecedented ego in the world. And while growing into the childhood stage, it became aware of its fate.]
- [The ‘Primordial Fleeceflower’ completes its meaning of existence by dedicating its everything and fulfilling its Master's most earnest wish. It will not be greedy and will readily accept its fate.]
“What?”
Words I couldn't just pass by echoed in my ears.
“······Hasuo accepted that fate?”
- [Affirmative. Rather than being sad about its fate, the Primordial Fleeceflower feels joy in the fact that it can be helpful to the Master.]
Again, I stared at Hasuo.
Hasuo was still playing pranks with Muryong with an innocent face as if it knew nothing.
The appearance of waddling over with its small root hands to receive water drops when I watered the garden.
The appearance of silently approaching and leaning its body against my leg when I sat on the veranda.
To think that in all those pure actions, the heart of self-sacrifice was contained.
‘Even feeling joy?’
The youngest of our house is thinking something strange.
< The Youngest of Our House is Thinking Something Strange (1) > END