Chapter 36
Chapter 36
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 36
Chapter Title: B-Rank Regeneration
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I recalled when and how my Regeneration Skill had reached B-Rank in my previous life.
It was a day when I was in good condition. I pulled out some holy water to hunt low-grade undead, but before I could sprinkle it, a ghost closed in. There wasn't any real danger—just annoyance—so I swung my arm without a second thought. At that moment, life force erupted from me, smashing the ghost to pieces, and my skill leveled up on the spot. I racked my brain for anything else special I'd done, but nothing stood out.
One thing was certain: it had leveled up from taking down that ghost.
* * *
“Hunter Lee Ji-seok, has the gate entry suspension not been lifted yet?”
A call came from the Awakening Bureau.
“No. It has.”
“Uh... Our records show it's been lifted, but you've only been hitting undead gates, so we called to double-check if it's still in effect.”
“It's lifted. I'm just heading in because I need to.”
“Could you tell us what for? If we share it with other hunters, it might help reduce the aversion to undead gates going forward.”
Her voice brightened with hope that undead gates might become even slightly more appealing.
“I'm just going in to train against undead. I don't think it'd help other hunters.”
“Ah... Training... Got it.”
He hung up in a tone that made it clear he didn't quite get it.
It wasn't strange for the Awakening Bureau to call. I'd been clearing multiple undead gates a day for over a week now.
I'd taken a beating from ghosts myself, and Na-young and Sang-heon were exhausted from following me around.
“I'll go alone from now on. You two get some rest.”
“Then... I'll rest a bit...”
“I'll go. I'm not tired.”
Sang-heon started to brighten at the thought of rest, but Na-young cut in before he could finish.
“Hey... what am I supposed to do then?”
“Oh, you can rest. Na-young and I can handle it.”
“Yeah, take a break. I'll go help Dad.”
It didn't matter if it was just the two of us. Na-young could clear an E-Rank gate solo now, so she was plenty for support.
“You're really not coming?”
Leaving Sang-heon grinning at the prospect of rest, we headed for the gate.
I was short on spare potions today, so I topped up my life force with mana stones. Potions had better value, but I had plenty stockpiled at home anyway.
It was a method I'd figured out in my previous life, though back then I didn't have the surplus mana stones to use it often.
After taking a thorough beating from ghosts, I gripped a life force-packed ogre mana stone and absorbed it until it crumbled to dust, refilling my reserves.
I'd spent ages getting pummeled one-sidedly. With my past life's memories and experience, expelling life force should have been easy, but it wasn't, and it was frustrating as hell.
My mind started to blur, so I clenched the mana stone in my fist and sucked in life force.
But as I did, dozens of ghosts swarmed me, chipping away at my life force, so the refilling barely kept up.
'Let's see who wins.'
Irritation turned to stubborn resolve. I grabbed every mana stone I'd brought, filling both hands, and sucked them dry with all I had.
Suddenly, life force surged through me like it was about to explode. It overflowed, leaking out of my body.
[Regeneration Skill has leveled up from C to B.]
“Huh?”
Looking down at my fist, I saw a blob of life force rippling around it.
I stared at the life force cloaking my fist for a moment, then hurled it at a ghost.
“Kiiiiiaaaaaak!”
The ghost let out a chilling shriek as it dissolved into smoke.
It worked.
I wrapped my fist in the life force aura and easily dispatched even the ghosts trying to flee.
“Ji-seok! It worked, right?”
Na-young came running over from where she'd been watching, beaming.
“Guess I had to overcharge my energy.”
Higher life force meant more excess to expel. It seemed obvious now, but it hadn't occurred to me until then. In my previous life, the skill must have leveled up simply because my total life force had hit the threshold needed for expulsion.
My legs buckled, and I swayed.
“Ji-seok! You okay?”
Using life force as an aura was inefficient. With my life force already low from the beatdown, it left me drained.
Still, while I hadn't gained levels from the ghosts, my stamina had gone up by 3, but it wasn't enough. Until I leveled more, I'd avoid using the aura unless absolutely necessary.
“No knack for it yet, so I overdid the power.”
“Take a break.”
Na-young sat me down and sliced jerky from her bag, feeding me bit by bit. I topped up life force from mana stones at the same time.
“Thanks.”
I looked at Na-young's face as she sat beside me. If it weren't an undead gate, the mood would've been nice—but with the rotten purple ground and undead monsters everywhere, it wasn't.
“The world's all purple. It's pretty.”
I whipped my head to stare at her without thinking.
She thought this was pretty? Witch senses must be different.
“It's... not pretty? Weird?”
She asked, reading my expression.
“No, purple's pretty. Ah, you've been a huge help. Rest up for a while starting tomorrow.”
“Sounds good. What'll you do?”
“Keep hitting gates.”
“Right.”
Na-young sighed.
* * *
Smack!
Mom whacked my back.
“Ow! My hand!”
I felt the hit, but there was no way it'd hurt getting smacked by Mom's hand. She was the one yelping in pain instead.
“Mom... why?”
“You heartless kid! Don't you feel bad for Na-young?”
“Na-young? Why?”
“She helped you out for over ten days straight! No payback?”
“I've helped her plenty before that.”
“No wonder you're so dense—you take after your dad.”
“Why bring up Dad like that?”
“Whatever. She's going shopping today, so at least carry her bags.”
“How'd you know?”
“Talked to her mom. Told Na-young you need new clothes too, so don't think you can dodge it.”
“Mom, you can't just decide on your own.”
“Quiet. I've got grandkids to see someday.”
Truth was, I had feelings for Na-young too, but with the world potentially turning upside down, marriage was out of the question. Maybe once things settled.
“Dress sharp for once. Earning good money, but why neglect your own clothes? Perfect timing—ask her to pick some out.”
I threw on neat clothes from Mom's nagging and headed to the living room, where Na-young was waiting.
Her face red to her ears meant she'd overheard everything.
“Ahem... Shall we go?”
Embarrassed, I hustled her out of the house.
“Whew... Sorry. My boy's so slow on the uptake.”
“Oh, no, Na-young's just as bad. So frustrating.”
Even outside, the moms' voices carried clearly.
Na-young's senses were sharper than a non-awakener's, though not quite like mine, so she'd heard it all.
“Sorry. They forced you because of me.”
She bowed her head.
“No, I was gonna buy clothes anyway. For real.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. No time, and I suck at it, that's all. Pick some for me?”
“Leave it to me!”
I drove her to a department store and into the luxury section. In my previous life, these were things I had no interest in—or couldn't afford. Now, with money to spare, they were just convenient buys.
“Not here—higher up.”
Na-young grabbed my arm and led me upstairs to mid-range men's wear.
“Stuff downstairs is a waste. Hard to maintain.”
Both Na-young and I had scraped by financially until recently, so this felt more comfortable.
“Got it.”
She dragged me by the hand to try on clothes.
“Oh, Ji-seok, that suits you. Try this too.”
“Oh my, your boyfriend's got such a great build~”
A saleswoman with a nasal drawl patted Na-young's arm.
I quietly tried on everything they brought. Na-young definitely had better fashion sense than me.
“But aren't we trying on too many?”
She kept bringing tons, though.
“Gotta try a lot to nail your style.”
Na-young fetched clothes nonstop in all varieties. I spent two hours changing into dozens of outfits. I prided myself on top-tier hunter stamina, but it drained me like a mental attack.
“Can we... buy and go now?”
“Still more to try... Fine.”
She wanted to keep going but relented when she saw I was beat. Regretfully, she piled the keepers at checkout.
“Wait, all of them?”
“Yeah.”
The mountain of clothes got rung up, with even nearby store clerks roped in to bag them.
I trudged to the car draped in shopping bags.
“Now my turn.”
“Ah...”
I'd forgotten—this was for her clothes.
“Hurry.”
Na-young grabbed my hand and pulled.
With her stunning looks turning heads on the street, watching her try on outfits was fun. For the first hour.
Add in my shopping time, and we'd been at it for six hours straight.
I could've shrugged off her picks as good enough, but for hers, I couldn't rush her—just stood there waiting.
“Let's check other stores.”
Tireless, she yanked my arm along.
My stamina could've handled a week of sprinting with heavy loads nonstop, but one day sucked me dry.
“Oh... Sorry. Must be exhausting following me.”
She noticed my fatigue.
“No, all done?”
“Yeah, let's go.”
Ironically, her haul was way smaller than mine.
Passing the luxury section on the way to the parking lot, a dress in the window caught my eye.
A long dress with subtle white floral patterns on green, exposing the shoulders.
“Na-young, try this.”
“This? Won't suit me...”
It was different from her usual style. She favored simple, dark, deep tones that fit her perfectly. But having worn black a lot as a villain in my past life, I wanted her in brighter colors this time—a brighter life.
“Please.”
I took her hand and pulled her inside.
“I'll try this on.”
I pointed it out to the clerk, who whisked her to the fitting room.
A bit later, Na-young emerged.
Against her worries, it matched her white skin beautifully. With her face and figure, anything would look good.
“I'll take it.”
I handed my card to the clerk.
“I'll buy it.”
“No, it's a gift.”
We wrapped up shopping in high spirits and headed home.
“Mine?”
Mom held out her hand.
“Ah...”
Forgot.
“Here, ma'am.”
Na-young handed over a bag. Somehow she'd gotten clothes for both moms too.
“Tsk tsk, what would you do without Na-young?”
Like you didn't ask for it.
We were enjoying some peaceful family time when Section Chief Baek Young-sin called from the Awakening Bureau, asking me to come in.