Episode 49: A powerful mental attack has come in.
Episode 49: A powerful mental attack has come in.
South Korea's top celebrity, singer, and hunter, Han Mina.
She, who had moved so many people with her beautiful appearance and fantastic voice, was currently in a huge crisis.
"Wh-wh-where did it go? I can't be without it..."
She trembled as she searched her room here and there.
No matter how much she checked her arms, the item that was supposed to be there was nowhere to be seen.
"It's gone. It's gone... Ugh... If I don't have that, I c-can't handle my schedule."
She was desperately looking for one item.
It was a bracelet that shimmered in purple, the one she wore on her left wrist every day.
It wasn't an ordinary bracelet.
Of course, that didn't mean it was a magical artifact with some special ability.
"W-without that, s-self-hypnosis won't work..."
She muttered in a shrinking voice, stuttering as she searched the same spot over and over again.
Tears began to well up in her trembling eyes.
The purple bracelet she had lost.
It was a kind of symbol she used to confirm that she had successfully hypnotized herself.
Only with that could she maintain her ego even after being hypnotized.
The reason was simple.
When she wasn't hypnotized, the bracelet looked purple, and when she was hypnotized, it turned pink.
She didn't know why there was a difference in color.
It was just important that it helped her maintain her ego significantly.
The reason the ego of Han Mina could remain safe even after hypnotizing herself and staying that way all day was all because of that.
South Korea's top celebrity, Han Mina.
That was a mask created by self-hypnosis by her, a shut-in loner.
[Owned Skills]
[Active: Hypnosis (S)]
[You can control the desired target.]
An S-rank cheat skill.
If used well, it was a skill that could not only make one a celebrity but also secure an absolute position at school.
However, if there was a limitation.
[Daily usable points: 240P]
[You can increase the maximum points through training.]
There was a set total amount per day.
Hypnosis is powerful, but hypnosis beyond those points was impossible.
Hypnotizing the richest person in the country to hand over their money was possible, but it required at least 500 points to do so.
Yes. At minimum.
If you consider the difficulty of getting past layers of security to approach the rich person, it would cost much more than that.
So she thought.
What is the most efficient way to use this power?
Hypnotizing herself in the mirror.
Asking to have the confidence to do anything.
[Hypnosis cast on oneself is not permanent.]
[This hypnosis consumes 100 points.]
[10 points are consumed per hour.]
Thanks to this skill, she could be Korea's top celebrity for 14 hours a day.
Although she didn't realize it, it was because Han Mina was a born idol who possessed a beautiful appearance, a curvaceous body, and a natural voice.
However...
"I can't... Ah, this won't do..."
Han Mina, who couldn't find the bracelet in the end, curled up in the corner of her room, trembling.
Her body shook.
She had no motivation.
That's just how a woman like me is.
I knew this would happen.
I got careless thinking I had succeeded, and now I've lost it.
I'll never be able to be a celebrity again.
All those sparkling things...
She became a celebrity partly because she hated fighting, but also because she longed for the sparkling life of a star.
She thought she had finally found such a life...
Vrrr!
-Manager Kang Jung-hoon.
It's a call from the manager.
She couldn't answer.
Because the current her was a severe shut-in who couldn't even hold a conversation with people.
She couldn't bring herself to answer.
-What's going on?
Only after several missed calls did a text come.
-Are you planning to flake on all your schedules today? Come out quickly. I'm waiting in front of your house.
"Ugh, ah... What do I do?"
She didn't want to cause trouble by not handling her schedule, but she couldn't go out either.
"I-I'm sorry..."
Eventually, Han Mina sent a text.
-I'm sorry. I don't think I can go today. I'm not feeling well. I'm really sorry.
Manager Kang tried to persuade her endlessly, but what's impossible is impossible.
Because without that bracelet, she couldn't hypnotize herself.
She couldn't even attempt it for fear that the fragile personality of Han Mina would disappear due to hypnosis.
-I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm really sorry.
She could only say she was sorry.
-Understood. Then I'll take care of everything related to it, so please focus on recovering your condition.
The manager's reply came.
"Phew, thank goodness. Th-that was close."
Let's find the bracelet somehow and apologize later.
That should work.
Having put out the immediate fire, Han Mina thought carefully about the whereabouts of the bracelet.
It's not in the room. Not in the bag either.
That means she lost it outside.
Manager's car?
No.
Not the waiting room either.
She definitely had it on until she finished her schedule yesterday.
'Because I checked my left wrist after the hypnosis wore off.'
She didn't lose it at the filming location.
Then, something flashed in her mind.
"Right. The convenience store..."
After the hypnosis wore off, she wanted to drink beer, so she gathered her courage, went to the convenience store, and bought beer...
She bumped into a man there.
It must have fallen then.
"Ugh, Han Mina, you idiot. Why did you lose something so important..."
She got up from her seat.
She headed to the convenience store wearing sunglasses and a mask.
The culprit always returns to the scene of the crime.
That man will come too.
Definitely.
But...
"H-how did he look?"
She couldn't remember because she walked with her face down at the floor.
"Ugh, I wish the convenience store clerk had picked it up instead..."
But even that was a difficult problem for her, a shut-in loner.
"Pluto's Jewel, huh. She's a woman who wears interesting items."
I examined the bracelet I had picked up at the convenience store.
Pluto's Jewel.
It has a grand name, but it's not a ring with any special effects.
It just changes color depending on one's emotions, that's all.
Yellow when in a good mood, navy when in a bad mood, red when in love, purple when depressed, etc.
It's a thing that changes into various colors depending on the situation, so it was treated as a curious toy.
It's an unranked artifact obtainable in dungeons, but for its status, it was quite expensive.
"Wearing an out-of-fashion item, she's a woman with quite unique tastes."
It was a shame I couldn't see her face because she had her hood pulled down deep.
Even if I wanted to return the item, I couldn't.
"I brought it home because I was flustered, but..."
Still, there was no reason for me to keep holding onto it.
"Let's go return it."
It's just the convenience store in front of the house anyway.
If I leave it with the convenience store clerk, they'll take care of finding the owner.
What happens after that wasn't my concern.
"What a hassle."
I lifted my heavy butt.
I should return it.
The owner must be troubled because they lost it.
I started off to the convenience store.
And there.
"E-e-excuse me, cl-clerk, by any chance, have you seen a... bracelet that looks like this?"
I discovered a suspicious woman wearing a mask and sunglasses.
"What is that?"
Is she a thief?
No, she's too suspicious for that.
The clerk was looking troubled.
"Like I said, I haven't seen it even once. If I find what you're talking about, I'll contact you. So if you could give me your contact information..."
"That's difficult!"
As I approached the counter where the clerk was, both of their gazes turned toward me.
"Oh! Y-you!"
The suspicious woman pointed at me and shouted.
To be precise, she pointed at the bracelet in my hand.
Incheon Airport.
One of the few airports in Korea that survived after the Gate Incident, and now the largest international airport in Asia.
In that place bustling with people, there was someone who caught everyone's attention.
"Oh! Korea! The smell of garlic is so strong!"
A 2-meter giant with blonde hair and blue eyes.
It was Markerson Porter, an American S-rank hunter, a key executive of the Saint Guild, and Lee Kang-san's close friend.
Just by his appearance, he was enough to draw people's attention; he was wearing a colorful, flashy Hawaiian shirt and loose white shorts.
Whistling while wearing sunglasses, he breathed in the unfamiliar air of a foreign country.
"Phew, how long has it been since my last overseas trip."
Markerson's lips curled up.
His attire looked like he was on vacation, but in fact, he had come on a very important mission.
On the surface, it was to negotiate with Daeseong regarding the processing of the S-class gate currently being cleared in San Francisco.
And he came to resolve Lee Kang-san's request to find out what kind of weirdo was hitting on his younger sister.
"I need to move quickly."
Korea sightseeing comes after that.
In front of Markerson, who muttered to himself.
"Mr. Markerson Porter? I am Ryu Hyeong-chan of Daeseong."
A Daeseong executive in a suit approached him.
The smile disappeared from Markerson's face as he faced them.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Markerson Porter."
"We will escort you to our headquarters."
He didn't bother refusing their kindness.
Because receiving something like this wouldn't change the Saint Guild's conditions.
Markerson maintained a blunt expression until he arrived at Daeseong's headquarters.
"70%, this is the share our Saint Guild wants."
"But Mr. Porter, that is completely different from the agreement we made previously..."
"So you don't want to do it? I believe the settlement ratio wasn't even in the contract to begin with?"
"However, according to international law, the distribution between guilds that clear the same dungeon and gate is determined by contribution. Daeseong supported 500 hunters for this expedition to San Francisco. So..."
"You follow international law when it's an A-class gate. But this gate is S-class, isn't it? Don't you know that international law doesn't apply to S-class? When was it that you were begging to participate in an S-class gate to gain experience in the first place?"
"..."
Bang!
Markerson pulled a dagger from his waist and slammed it onto the table.
The sword was deeply embedded in a table made of spirit wood, which is said not to split unless mana is used.
He glared at the Daeseong representatives sitting opposite him, emitting a terrible killing intent.
It was a silent demonstration.
To take what is given.
"Be grateful that my brother gave you 30 percent. If it were me, I would have barely given you 20 percent."
In this era, gates were not enemies threatening humanity, but tragedies that occurred occasionally and massive resource veins containing countless possibilities.
Therefore, various companies and guilds were on high alert for newly appearing gates.
Gate ownership depends on where it appears.
The location of this S-class dungeon is San Francisco.
It was the territory of the American Federation and the Saint Guild, currently the strongest guild in the US.
Since ownership was clearly with the Saint Guild, no matter how much Daeseong tried, they couldn't argue further.
If you don't like it, beg.
For a new S-class gate to appear on your land too.
"O-okay. Then we'll do the paperwork like that..."
"Good. Then send it right away. I have personal business to attend to."
There was nothing more to say.
His role was merely to notify them of the Saint Guild's will in the first place.
Well, they might have some hope because I came here, but absolutely not.
Rather, it's a strong declaration that there will be no negotiations.
Markerson, having finished the negotiations, stood up from his seat.
"Son of a bitch..."
He heard the negotiation representative mutter a curse in Korean.
He knew it because it was a curse Lee Kang-san often used.
Cute.
Daring to spit out a curse in front of me.
"You'd better control your emotions. You might end up dead if you spit out curses in front of me without knowing your place."
Normally, his sword would have cut the opponent, but this time it wasn't drawn from the scabbard.
Because Daeseong is a major partner in Korea.
He shouldn't cause problems here.
Leaving the pale-faced representative behind, Markerson walked out to the street with a smile.
Now it's time for the real work.
"G-give me the bracelet..."
I looked at the woman who was trembling and holding out her hand to me.
The woman, with her face covered by a mask and sunglasses and her hood pulled down deep, was shaking like an aspen leaf.
Anyone could see she was suspicious.
If I had to classify her, a stalker?
She just suddenly showed up and asked for the bracelet.
Of course, she might be the original owner who lost it.
I looked at the phone in her hand.
It was a screen with a whirlpool spinning around as if it would suck you in.
What is this?
Is it a video like a kid's toy?
That was when I thought that.
[A powerful mental attack has been initiated.]
[You have resisted due to the influence of the SS-rank Charisma stat.]
What?
A powerful mental attack?
What is it?
And what is that screen on the phone?
Could it be a mental-type hunter?
Is it that much of a treasure?
No.
My appraisal clearly said it was an ordinary bracelet?
I needed to be cautious about everything.
She's a person trying to snatch the bracelet from me while using a skill strong enough for the system to warn me.
If it weren't for the Charisma stat, I would have been done for.
I don't know what it is, but there was definitely a story behind it.
I can't give it to her, absolutely not.
"How do I know who you are to give you the bracelet?"
But the woman's reaction was ridiculous.
"Wh-wh-what? Th-this isn't it...?"
