A Gentle Blessing
The moment their eyes met, they both quickly looked away—two absolute epitomes of introverted shyness.
"I-it's not like that..." Suyeon muttered.
"Ah, yes..." Yunjae replied.
"It's just..."
"Yes."
"Um..."
Watching their conversation drag on with absolutely zero progress, Akemi beat her chest in frustration.
"This is so frustrating! I'll just say it! What is it?!"
When two absolute epitomes of introverted shyness met, anyone watching was bound to burst from sheer exasperation.
As Akemi pressed her, Suyeon tightly clenched both of her hands and spoke.
"I... I possess a power that harms any living thing I touch."
"Pardon?"
At those words, Yunjae stole a glance at Suyeon's hands. To the naked eye, they looked like nothing more than exceptionally delicate, beautiful hands.
"It's true! Suyeon's ability is seriously insane! No matter how strong a monster is, one touch and it's over!"
"Ah, I see."
However, since Yunjae had absolutely no interest in hunting, he merely nodded half-heartedly. Seeing this, Suyeon lifted her head, her eyes filled with a desperate, earnest plea.
"...I want to cure this."
"Pardon?"
"This isn't an ability—it's a curse! Is there any way to cure it?"
He had completely healed Gyojin's severe wounds. Of course, because of his passive-aggressive grudge, he had given Gyojin one final smack and refused to heal him afterward, which resulted in Gyojin being carted off to the hospital. Still, she thought that someone possessing such mysterious, god-like power might be able to rid her of her cursed ability.
"I think I'll have to see what it is first to know for sure."
When Yunjae reached his hand out toward her—
"N-no, you can't!"
Suyeon vigorously shook her head.
"Ah! Please don't worry! I've mastered all healing spells as well!"
He might have been the epitome of introverted shyness, but Yunjae was not cold-hearted enough to turn away someone desperately begging for help. As he held his hand out first, Suyeon's face trembled with intense anxiety.
This meant he wanted her to take his hand. He was offering to test the effects of her curse on his own body.
"It's dangerous, but if it's Slender Forearms, wouldn't it just register as a MISS? Even I had to swing thousands of times just to hit him once."
"In that case..."
At Akemi's words, Suyeon seemed to steel her resolve. She was terrified of hurting him, but if she let fear paralyze her, she would never be able to move forward.
"Whew..."
Taking a deep breath, Suyeon slowly and carefully reached her hand out to Yunjae.
*Slide.*
And the very moment their fingertips brushed—
"Ah!"
Yunjae flinched violently.
"W-what's wrong, Slender Forearms?!"
"I knew it...!" Suyeon gasped.
Had her ability activated and attacked him?
"I-I just realized... it's been so long since I've had any physical contact with anyone, I got startled!"
"Eee...?"
It seemed he had taken absolutely zero damage. Judging by how his face was flushed bright red, he was just incredibly embarrassed.
"B-but how...?"
Suyeon had clearly touched him, yet Yunjae didn't show even the slightest sign of decay or pain. As she stared at him in utter bewilderment, he offered an explanation.
"Ah! I am immune to all status ailments! So things like this don't affect me at all!"
Poison, cold, fire, electricity, confusion, charm, fear, stun, and so on. Hearing the absolute max-level player casually list his total immunity to every status ailment in existence, Suyeon's jaw dropped.
"However, since this is a curse-type ability, standard healing magic won't be able to cure it permanently."
"No way..."
Even if he was perfectly fine, it seemed there was no way to actually cure her condition.
"I see. So there really is no way."
She had already earned more than enough money to live comfortably for the rest of her life, and she wouldn't have minded losing her powers at all. Because of this, her disappointment was immeasurable.
"But there is another way!"
"Pardon?"
Yunjae reached out toward her once more and spoke.
"Since this is a curse-type ability, if we neutralize it with a Bless spell, it will be temporarily suppressed."
*Flash!* Since his original class was a Holy Knight—
"Ah!"
Suyeon's eyes widened as a warm, gentle light enveloped her hands.
"This feeling...!"
A cozy, comforting warmth settled into her hands, completely different from the cold, destructive energy she usually felt.
"I just cast Bless on you, so the curse effect won't activate for the next six to eight hours."
Six to eight hours! Suyeon stared at Yunjae with a look of utter disbelief.
"Ah..."
The epitome of introverted shyness immediately grew flustered under her intense gaze.
"But... is this really possible?"
She, too, was an absolute epitome of introverted shyness, but she simply could not believe that she had actually become normal, even if only temporarily.
"Yes! You should even be fine touching Akemi now!"
"Eee? But Slender Forearms! That's dangerous!"
Akemi, who knew the terrifying nature of Suyeon's ability all too well, flinched and cried out, but Yunjae shook his head.
"No, it's not, Akemi! It's not dangerous at all!"
"Still..."
Akemi hesitated, but she was the only one present who could serve as a test subject.
"...Fine, then. But in exchange, you owe me one favor, Slender Forearms!"
"Ah! That's—!"
Yunjae looked utterly bewildered by Akemi's sudden demand.
"...I don't think we should do this."
Suyeon shook her head first, not wanting to put him in an awkward position. Seeing her shrink back in fear despite the Bless spell neutralizing her curse, Yunjae felt he had no choice.
"Alright, Akemi. But hunting is strictly off the table!"
"Eee! Why?!"
"Ah! Because hunting is just so incredibly tedious!"
At his firm declaration that he would never hunt because it was too boring, Akemi slowly nodded.
"Fine! But if anything goes wrong, you have to heal me immediately!"
"Yes! But that won't happen, so please don't worry!"
And Akemi squeezed her eyes shut and thrust her arm forward.
"Okay, Suyeon! Right here!"
"But..."
"Don't worry," Yunjae reassured her, his voice filled with absolute confidence.
Reassured by his tone, Suyeon slowly reached out.
"Ugh..."
With her eyes still closed, Akemi flinched as she felt Suyeon's hand touch her arm, but—
"...Huh?"
To her utter amazement, the horrific decay she feared did not occur.
"Nothing's happening! I'm completely fine!"
"Ah!"
Suyeon was equally overcome with emotion. She gently gripped Akemi's arm, but absolutely nothing happened.
"Oh my goodness!"
Watching her weep tears of pure joy and gratitude, a warm, proud smile spread across Yunjae's face.
"I'm so glad. I'm happy that you're happy."
When he was trapped inside the game, he had only ever heard pre-programmed lines and repetitive dialogue. Even when NPCs expressed gratitude, it was always a fixed script, making the very concept of helping others feel hollow. But this place was different from the world of Mamon Saga.
"Thank you! Thank you so much!"
He had merely neutralized her curse with a simple Bless spell, yet she was sobbing like a child out of sheer gratitude. Though he was incredibly introverted and shy, Yunjae had always possessed a helpful nature, and seeing her so happy filled him with deep satisfaction.
"Incredible! You're the best, Slender Forearms!"
"Ah! My name is Yunjae, Akemi! If you keep calling me Slender Forearms, I'm going to get upset!"
In truth, he was already halfway to throwing a sulky tantrum. Amused by his attempt to pretend he wasn't annoyed, Akemi gave him a playful look.
"Alright, alright, Yunjae! But I actually really like the name Slender Forearms!"
"Ah! But I want to be called by my real name now! I only made that username as a joke, but I had to listen to people call me Slender Forearms for fifty-seven years! I just want my life back!"
It was truly tragic for Yunjae that this ridiculous username still followed him around like a permanent brand.
"Okay, okay! I promise I won't call you Slender Forearms ever again!"
"Ah! Thank you, Akemi!"
At Akemi's cool and easy promise, Yunjae's petulance vanished in an instant.
"Anyway, the duration is only between six and eight hours, so you'll need to keep that in mind."
"...Yes, I will!"
Knowing that she could touch another human being without harming them for the next six to eight hours made Suyeon look as if she had conquered the entire world. It was clear that if she ever wanted to live a normal life like an ordinary person, Yunjae would be absolutely indispensable to her.
"...Thank you so much."
Overcome with gratitude, Suyeon threw her arms around Yunjae and hugged him tightly.
"Ah!"
His breath hitched and his eyes went wide. Sensing his shock, Suyeon gently pulled back and spoke.
"Um..."
"Y-y-y-yes?!"
Suyeon couldn't help but giggle at Yunjae's completely frozen, buffering state.
"If you ever get tired of your office job, would you consider working as my personal secretary?"
After all, if she could secure eight hours of normalcy every single day through him—or perhaps, if she just kept him by her side, she could live a normal life forever. At her proposal, Yunjae's heart skipped a beat.
"I... I've never really thought about becoming a secretary before..."
He had fantasized about becoming a handsome CEO and having an office romance with his secretary, but he had never imagined the roles being reversed.
"But... being a secretary does sound a bit more sophisticated than a simple office assistant."
Perhaps playing the role of a secretary and having a secret romance with a beautiful CEO like Suyeon wouldn't be so bad after all.
"Ah! And besides, I've always had a hard time saying no to people...!"
Seeing his face suddenly flush a deep crimson, Akemi tilted her head in confusion.
"What on earth are you imagining right now?"
"Ah! N-nothing! It's nothing! Not that anything like that would ever happen, of course!"
"Huh? What wouldn't happen?"
"Nothing! I'm perfectly content with just this!"
"Just what were you thinking about?!"
"Ah! I can't tell you!"
In any case, he had actually gotten a hug today!
I can die happy now!
Believing he had already achieved his ultimate life goals—which were ridiculously modest considering his god-like power and breathtaking appearance—Yunjae nodded with a flushed, excited face.
"But yes! If the time comes, I'll gladly do that!"
Slowly but surely, the seventy-seven-year-old was beginning to check off his bucket list.
"Based on the minimum wage, your starting annual salary will be 31.5 million won."
An annual salary of 31.5 million won just from minimum wage!
"Ah! Oh my goodness! An office assistant can earn that much?!"
During his fifty-seven years of isolation, the minimum wage on Earth had risen to 15,000 won per hour, allowing even a simple office assistant to earn a decent living. Of course, in an era where the average monthly rent hovered around one million won, it wasn't exactly a fortune.
"...But the real catch is that Mr. Lim Yunjae possesses an ability that multiplies all of his rewards by 300%, correct?"
Hearing about the 300% reward multiplier directly from Akemi, Mari, and Yunjae himself, the sheer absurdity of the ability was truly mind-boggling.
"Ah! I wish I could turn it off too, but it's a passive ability that forcibly applies to absolutely everything..."
If Mamon's Grace activated, his annual salary would skyrocket to 94.5 million won. And that was for a simple office assistant working nine hours a day, lunch break included!
"Indeed, no ordinary company could ever..."
Even Ryu Taejun, the calculating leader of the Blast Guild, looked slightly taken aback by the fact that hiring a simple office assistant would cost him that much. Of course, the unsigned contract currently listed the salary as 31.5 million won, but they claimed that the moment Yunjae signed his name, the figure would instantly triple.
This ability is the ultimate cheat code.
The Blast Guild was an organization built entirely around maximizing rewards. To them, Yunjae's passive ability was the ultimate treasure. If Yunjae ever decided to transition from office work to active duty as a guild hunter, the fierce political maneuvering among members to become his partner would be legendary.
"Very well. Please sign the contract here. Since you'll need some time to prepare for your first official day, you may start whenever you like within the next week. Just contact us in advance."
In any case, with his absurd 300% reward multiplier forcibly active, Yunjae was someone the Blast Guild could absolutely never allow to slip into the hands of a rival.
Since the Portal Incident, hunter activities had been funded globally through a coalition of governments and private sponsorships. Superpowers like the United States and China possessed highly advanced military forces capable of fighting off monsters without relying solely on awakened ability users. However, due to their vast territories, garrisoning troops in every single city was practically impossible. Consequently, smaller nations without robust militaries, as well as local municipalities within the US and China, routinely hired awakened individuals or freelance hunters to handle portal outbreaks and monster threats.
Guilds had originally formed to share lucrative information and encourage teamwork to tackle high-yield dungeons. The Blast Guild had started the same way. Under the leadership of Ryu Taejun, a highly calculating and exceptionally capable individual, the guild had recruited top-tier ability users, formed elite teams, and monopolized the most profitable operations to achieve its current colossal scale.
With a 300% reward multiplier, even a B-rank job would yield the same returns as an A-rank mission. In fact, just working as an office assistant, he'll be making several times more than most C-class hunters.
Even for a giant like the Blast Guild, Yunjae's passive was an irresistible prize. Furthermore, the guild had recently discovered an entirely new revenue stream.
Among the monsters emerging from the portals, there were occasionally transcendent beings capable of speech and rational thought, much like humans. These powerful entities established strongholds known as "dungeons" within the human world, which contained exotic materials brought from their original dimensions.
The Blast Guild had been the first in the world to successfully conquer one of these dungeons. By handing over the newly discovered material, the Unknown Power Stone, to the United States government, they had received an astronomical reward. Since then, the guild had been contacted by major global powers—including the US, China, Russia, Germany, and Japan—who possessed the military might to raid dungeons with advanced weaponry. These nations requested priority trading rights whenever the guild acquired more Unknown Power Stones. While the Blast Guild was officially the first private entity to clear a dungeon, it was highly likely that national militaries had already quietly conquered smaller dungeons on their own. Although the Unknown Power Stones were still undergoing research, it was blindingly obvious that they would generate unimaginable wealth in the near future.
If Lim Yunjae were to get his hands on one of those Unknown Power Stones...!