A Leisurely Wait
'Waiting leisurely, huh...'
I knew that wasn't Kang A-jin being overly complacent. If we'd been anywhere else, we might have had to worry about Jo Dong-geun ambushing us. After all, there was no place in Korea beyond the reach of his power and influence. Escaping anywhere was impossible. But this was a house wrapped in barriers. It was obvious how much effort she'd put into keeping her home hidden. Even Jo Dong-geun wouldn't find this place easily.
Was everything calculated?
I looked at Kang A-jin with a newfound sense of awe. Everything felt like it was flowing according to some meticulously laid plan, drawing my eyes back to her. Of course, she hadn't predicted everything. There had been some luck involved, and a few hopeful guesses that panned out. But at the very least, I could tell she was always thinking two or three steps ahead of ordinary people.
For now, though, I needed a shower myself. It wouldn't do to walk around in front of the other women reeking of Jo A-young's scent.
By the time I emerged, freshly cleaned, Jo A-young had naturally joined the others. Her expression as she stared at her phone was far from calm.
"The calls keep coming. And the texts are getting nastier."
Jo A-young had witnessed Jo Dong-geun's abilities up close more than anyone. Even if she hadn't realized his true nature, she'd always felt his overwhelming presence. Hunters could sense each other's mana, after all. She could feel the insurmountable gap in power. Just his intent alone could make someone piss themselves in terror. Hadn't Jo Dong-geun used that exact tactic to keep Jo A-young by his side? An unspoken pressure that screamed, You can't live without me. Like a psychopath slowly breaking someone down.
"What do we do?"
Jo A-young asked with a worried face.
"If I don't reply, he's gonna flip out."
"He'll just get more frantic," I said.
Unlike the anxious Jo A-young, Kang A-jin remained utterly composed.
"Tell him you're visiting a friend on an island. Say the Wi-Fi's spotty, so it's hard to stay in touch."
Kang A-jin's excuse was a bit clumsy. If he really tried to track her, he'd figure out she wasn't on any island. Especially since Jo Dong-geun could make it even easier if he put his mind to it. But as a stall tactic, it would work just fine. Panic clouded judgment. And right now, buying time worked in our favor.
"Yes, unnie."
Jo A-young nodded and typed out the message. Moments later, her phone erupted in a frenzy of vibrations.
"Any important info on that phone?"
"No, nothing really..."
As Jo A-young answered, Kang A-jin levitated the phone into the air with her sorcery. A sharp crackle echoed as it crumpled like paper. Then, with a hiss, it vaporized entirely.
"Ah..."
Jo A-young sighed, staring at the spot where her phone had been.
"Sorry."
"No, it's fine. I feel relieved now, actually."
And she wasn't kidding—Jo A-young looked genuinely unburdened, freed from what was essentially Jo Dong-geun's leash.
"Shall we eat?"
Before we knew it, dinnertime had arrived. Kang A-jin set the kitchen tools in motion again, opening the fridge to let ingredients float out. Knives danced gracefully, slicing potatoes and carrots to perfect sizes. It was mesmerizing no matter how many times I saw it.
# I used the mana measurer Kim Seol-bi had stored in her inventory to check my changes. The concrete results confirmed what I'd felt.
B-rank...
Top 20% within B-rank, no less. I'd suspected I wasn't average, but this was explosive growth. Pouring all those buffs into Jo Dong-geun had backfired spectacularly in my favor—the experience gains were beyond imagination.
"It won't always be like this," Kang A-jin explained.
"A-young-ssi was the only person in the world who could give Jo Dong-geun those unique buffs. But your connection with her is different. It's like we forcibly severed the thread of power aimed at him and grafted it onto you. So the first time yielded massive experience, but from now on, it'll be just a bit better than normal."
"I see..."
I was a little disappointed—my expectations had been dashed—but this wasn't something to oversimplify. Above all, we'd crushed Jo Dong-geun's momentum, our main enemy. Without Jo A-young, without exposing her to my ability, how could we have faced him?
Kang A-jin's house felt utterly severed from the outside world. No matter what was happening out there, I spent my days underground with her, learning sorcery. Reaching B-rank had undeniably broadened the scope of spells I could wield. Not only had the variety increased, but my existing ones grew stronger too. If my previous spells were level 1 or 2, now I could handle 3s and 4s— even level 5s.
Sorcery lessons had become even more enjoyable. I received instruction tailored to my level while devoting time to crafting usable talismans. Truth be told, there wasn't much else to do in this space.
Kang A-jin, who had been lecturing me from a thick open book, suddenly froze in surprise. She began speaking to thin air.
"Master, is that true?"
Her eyes were fixed on someone invisible to me, locked in conversation. From her words, I guessed it was the master she'd mentioned before—the Brazilian one. Probably quite old, judging by the vibe. And likely a woman.
"Has the situation there improved?"
"Yes, I'm still studying diligently without slacking."
The usually cool-headed Kang A-jin turned downright childlike when talking to her master. It was refreshingly cute, perfectly matching her appearance.
"Understood. I'll prepare to receive you, Master."
With that, the conversation ended. I blinked in shock. Receive who? Was her master coming to Korea?
And my guess was spot on. Kang A-jin, her face unusually flushed with excitement, said,
"Master's coming here. This is great."
"Really? How long has it been?"
"Over five years, I think. She's revered as a saintess in Brazil, so leaving wasn't easy, whether she wanted to or not. But recently, she passed her position to a disciple. Now she has time and is coming to see me."
"That's wonderful."
"Yes. I need to prepare."
I figured "preparing to receive her master" meant heading to the airport or something equally ordinary. A natural assumption. At the same time, I wondered if we could even step outside without risking Jo Dong-geun's grasp.
But her preparations were beyond imagination. I knew the basement was deep, but I had no idea what lay below.
"Want to come with?"
"Huh? To the airport?"
Kang A-jin gave me a look like I'd said something absurd.
"Going outside now would be dangerous. Staying here until Jo Dong-geun weakens is our best bet."
It felt like a non sequitur, but I realized I was the one who'd misunderstood.
"What kind of preparations?"
"Master's coming from the other side of the world. She could manage alone with her abilities, but if we open the door wide on this end, it'll be much easier."
"Pardon? What do you—"
I recalled the bizarre powers Kang A-jin had shown so far. Among the most impressive was her warp ability. A heavy car had zipped through a warp zone, covering vast distances in an instant. She'd warped not just her own vehicle but multiple cars and people at once.
I knew little about sorcery, but I suspected it required extensive preparation. Hiding the house had clearly taken immense time and effort. Setting up warp routes was probably just as arduous.
Then...
My vague hunch became reality in the place Kang A-jin led me to.