Chapter 18

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 18

Chapter Title: The Birth of a Hero (2)

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Mm-hmm, yeah, yeah.

Praise and glorify my great achievements even more.

A fluffy pleasure that burrowed all the way to the nerve endings.

As always, the unique sensation of being uplifted by others was strangely addictive and oddly satisfying.

'Good thing it all went according to plan.'

Depending on the admin's temperament, they might not have accepted the bet at all, but V seemed pretty flexible, so it felt worth a shot.

What if V hadn't accepted? I'd just turn around, moon them, and be done with it.

What if V accepted but wasn't conquered by my transcendent cuteness? I'd never even imagined such a possibility.

'...'

Even though V now knew that Archive's High School Dropout Middle Schooler was Clam's star influencer, it honestly didn't matter much.

Cha Se-ra knew that much anyway, and by regulation, senior Archive admins were strictly forbidden from leaking user personal info.

As long as absolute powerhouses like J. J. Russell existed, they could never target channel users maliciously. The backlash would be too much to handle.

Click.

Click, click.

Anyway, after sharing a glimpse of my greatness with the channel today, I was in a pretty good mood.

With light steps, I rummaged through my closet, pulled out my masterpiece outfit, and started snapping new photos to bestow upon my followers.

Snap!

Snap, snap!

Today's ensemble: a white-based suspender skirt and a brown-beige beret. I added ruby earrings that clipped on without piercing for a pop of color.

'Hm.'

It was my favorite recent purchase, and the impact when worn was no joke.

To commemorate today's heroic feats, I decided to treat my followers to my signature pose.

Snap!

Left hand up for the victory V.

"Hmm... I think that's enough for today's testing."

"...Yes, Doctor. Good work."

C-Rank Hunter and Weathermancer Mohamed bowed slightly with a somewhat unsatisfied expression before heading to the provided break room.

'Sigh.'

A small sigh. And disappointment. For the hefty pay he'd joined the project, Mohamed's recent results weren't exactly stellar.

'Too bad. I really felt it today.'

Mohamed's analyses and predictions often missed the mark. The doctor didn't show much disappointment, but Mohamed himself couldn't help feeling conflicted.

Lately, even when he felt near-certain, he'd been misreading atmospheric flows more often.

'Is there some principle to this power I haven't grasped yet? Or am I just not talented enough?'

After awakening as a Weathermancer, Mohamed had felt like the vast sky was his friend.

He could often glimpse its mood like a conversation, and on good days, share a bit of rapport.

A mystical experience hard to find anywhere else.

Mohamed had long been captivated by those days, but sometimes he felt an inexplicable sense of alienation, like the sky wasn't the entity he knew.

'...I don't know. Maybe befriending the vast natural world was arrogant hubris on my part?'

The sky was inherently capricious and mischievous, but now its unpredictability felt a bit frightening.

Whoooosh!

Clouds drawn by Mohamed's mana began shifting form and veering from their path, only to be soon absorbed into some vast, unknowable circulation.

Where it went, or what current it joined.

Mohamed, who could only sense a facet of the sky, had no way of knowing.

South Korea's A-Rank Hunter.

The prodigy on track for S-Rank, Dungeon's Lotus, the 21-year-old genius swordswoman.

Yi-rin Shin had lately felt the sky's whims growing more extreme. And it wasn't just her imagination.

"The weather's been great lately, huh? If we could keep clearing schedules like this without issues, that'd be ideal."

"...Yeah."

Unavoidable outdoor activities for the guild's public tour program.

Despite high rain chances, the sky had only briefly clouded over in the morning before showering bright sunlight repeatedly.

'Not just once or twice...'

Colleagues and staff chalked it up to luck, but Yi-rin thought differently.

Lately, whenever she did something, it felt like the sky was accommodating her of its own will.

'Sunlight... so warm...'

For a moment, she wondered if her class had sky-blessing abilities, but that seemed unlikely.

Yi-rin tilted her head, then succumbed to the drowsy warmth. A staffer soon found her dozing in the flower bed, hurriedly woke her, and escorted her to the next spot.

After all schedules ended, back at the guild-provided residence, Yi-rin casually checked her postponed notifications on her phone.

(Photo)

Views: 78.9K

Likes: 21.2K

'...Cute.'

The girl in a pretty outfit and adorable beret, one hand fluffing her hair, the other making a V.

Yi-rin rarely used SNS, but checking this girl's photos had become one of her few interests.

- Yi-rin: (Heart)

- wldks_08: (Heart)

Recalling their recent message exchange, Yi-rin reached for the heart emoji again, then froze, remembering advice from a former colleague.

'Sending hearts too often to someone you're not close with... might make them uncomfortable...'

After pondering, Yi-rin blankly lifted her smartphone and activated the camera.

Snap!

It reached the screen's recipient a little while later.

"...?"

Why'd she suddenly send me a finger V made with a doll?

I had no idea, but... maybe a reaction to today's post?

It was cute in its own way, but such a random idea. Of course, that's what we all liked about her.

'Channel master is falling hard...'

Did the channel users even suspect their leader was quietly becoming my captive?

Basking in a vague sense of superiority, lips curling up, I couldn't contain the rising smugness and started spamming the channel again.

Hm, not quite the flavor I wanted.

Probably because my big performance jacked up the users' favor too high, dulling the impact.

Still, the aggro just wasn't pulling like it should.

Checking the channel state, sure enough, users were already burning other bait.

Skimming a few channel posts made the situation clear enough.

Switching on the news quick, breaking reports on the escaped Skilla were already rolling, and within my detection range, sudden atmospheric anomalies hit too.

"...?"

I hadn't noticed just from posts, but surprisingly, Skilla could interfere with the weather.

Rain, wind, and lightning specifically?

I stirred the atmosphere to reveal myself and chase it off, but Skilla roared dismissively, scattered nearby clouds, and pressed straight ahead.

'...Hmph.'

Daring to defy me, peer of Heavenly Grandson Hwanung, greater than Wind Earl, Rain Master, and Cloud Master combined?

Confirming its arrogant attitude, I expanded my sensory range, taking in and observing every inch of the West Sea skies.