Chapter 44
Chapter 44
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 44
Chapter Title: The Princess Has Debuted
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“Ugh, ahhh…”
As always, it was time to lie sprawled out on the floor after finishing the home workout video Ophelia had prepared.
She’d actually told me to wash up right after the exercises, but my body was literally in a state of collapse after a workout, so…
And I think this every time, but… “home workout” is such a cringey term. For someone as cool as me, it should be something like “secluded training,” or maybe “knight training?”
Well, what I’m actually doing is four sets of twenty gratitude cat poses a day.
Bzzzt, bzzzt.
“Huh, who’s this?”
I wasn’t sure what was going on, but it seemed Ophelia had something to do outside again today. The rather high-quality magic stone we got from the last gate run was eaten by Minium.
And Ophelia had reverted from a kid back to an adult. I was hoping to play “Kid Can’t Clear Tower” with elementary schooler Ophelia.
“Is this Chae-rin?”
“Hello? Eve?”
“Ah, yes! I’m on the phone!”
“Yeah, great. What were you up to?”
“Ah… I was in the middle of… secluded training…”
“Secluded training? Pfft… really? Are you going to get super strong?”
“A-ahem… Of course… I’m a Hunter, you know…”
Of course, since I’m a Summoner, it doesn't really matter how much I move my own body, but I can't let my lack of fitness get me into trouble if I ever need to run away.
“I see. In that case, would you be interested in entering a gate with the Nova Guild’s assault team?”
“What!? With the Nova Guild!?”
This was incredibly sudden. Of course, I’m an A-rank Hunter with extraordinary abilities, but… is it really okay for me to suddenly enter a gate with the Nova Guild like this?
Besides, I’m not even a member of the Nova Guild. Sure, I’m a little friendly with Chae-rin, who you could call the leader of the Nova Guild, but…
“Wh-where is it…?”
“A large dungeon-type structure opened up in Ansan two months ago. Last week, its rank was confirmed as B-rank, and now the First Mission has opened up. Ah… Eve, you might not know what a First Mission is, right?”
“First Mission! I know what that is!”
Inside an entry-type gate, monsters regenerate periodically. The methods vary; sometimes the monsters inside just reproduce, and other times they just pop out of nowhere.
A First Mission refers to the first-ever clear of an entry-type gate or a tower/dungeon-type structure. It means it’s an unexplored state, with the highest number of monsters, making it the most difficult expedition.
“The Nova Guild is going in as the C-time assault team, and I was thinking it would be great if you could join us.”
“But… is it really okay for me to go to a place like that…?”
“Of course, it’s fine. First, let me explain why I want to bring you along, okay?”
The dungeon structure that appeared in Ansan is a massive hill. Looked at another way, it’s like a tomb. Since it’s not buried underground, it was easy to inspect the interior, and the risk of structural defects or collapse is close to zero percent.
Despite its enormous size and large number of monsters, the combat power of individual monsters is said to be quite low. That’s why it received a B-rank despite its size.
Moreover, the Nova Guild is the C-time assault team, meaning we’ll be the third team to enter, with a 15-minute interval between teams. If I participate, it means two assault teams will have already gone in ahead of us. They said there’s even a D-time assault team.
Overall, it’s easy and safe, but it involves a lot of monsters and is a tedious job.
‘Wait a minute…? This is just grunt work…’
But for Hunters, this is the best kind of target. It’s only in games that you risk your life fighting ridiculously strong enemies by the skin of your teeth.
In reality, one mistake could lead to an injury, and if any aftereffects linger, your Hunter career is over. You could see this as an easy and safe way to earn a ton of money.
The conditions were great overall, and I felt like I had a pretty good idea why Chae-rin wanted to bring me along.
“And I’ll be going in too.”
“Huh, really!?”
Chae-rin is going to be on the same assault team? Well, I guess it makes sense since it’s Nova’s team. In that case, the inside of the dungeon might be safer than relaxing at home. It’s common sense that the safest place to be is next to an S-rank Hunter, right?
“Ah, then I’ll talk to Ophelia about it.”
“I already spoke with Ophelia~ I’ll send you the schedule, so can you check it? Ophelia will probably explain everything when she gets home.”
“Ahaha… Okay.”
How does Ophelia keep accepting jobs behind my back and giving her permission first?
“Do you understand everything so far?”
“Mhm, I completely get it.”
After finishing her business outside, Ophelia came home and gave me a thorough explanation of all the preliminary details I needed to know.
First, just because we’re the C-time assault team doesn’t mean we’ll be following the exact same route as teams A and B. They’ve scoured the tomb’s interior and created four routes with the highest priority for clearing. While the paths for each team overlap to some extent, they are different routes.
It’s safe to say we won’t be walking down empty corridors that the previous teams have already cleared.
“The exact location is Bon-o-dong, Sangnok-gu, Ansan. It is a large, open lot where a landfill used to be. A tomb-like structure was formed, encompassing part of the ground and rising about 150 meters with an average slope of 21 degrees. The C-time assault team’s route heads towards the peak of this structure. While the durability of the stone walls forming the tomb’s interior has been confirmed, this route is considered to have the lowest risk of cave-in.”
“Uh, eh, ugh.”
“The path you will take, Princess, is a safe one.”
“Aha! Sounds good.”
There was more back and forth after that, but Ophelia told me there wasn’t anything major I needed to remember. The clear starts in exactly two weeks and three days. So, December 19th.
“Because you lack your usual amount of exercise, Princess, I have been periodically recommending home training. Recently, we added a walking schedule to increase your basic stamina.”
“Mhm, that’s right. I’m super healthy.”
“The Dungeon Research Institute estimates that the C-time assault team’s route will take approximately 3 hours and 40 minutes to clear and return.”
“It doesn’t take as long as I thought.”
“Indeed.”
I mean, when I’m on the computer, four hours fly by in a flash. If it’s shorter than that, I should be able to finish it up quickly. And surprisingly, going into gates? It’s actually pretty fun.
Of course, it might be incredibly tough for those who fight with their bodies, and it feels a bit wrong to say this, but… I don’t fight, do I?
“You have successfully completed your home training for today, Princess. Further exercise could lead to poor conditioning. Therefore, you will rest for today.”
“Yay!”
“However, starting tomorrow, you will be going to a training center managed by the Ohsung Group to improve your combat abilities. So please, go to bed early tonight.”
“W-wait a minute. I have to go every day?”
“That is correct. But there is no need to worry, as a schedule with appropriate rest and systematic training has been prepared.”
“Eeeh.”
I practiced incredibly hard for two weeks. The home workouts that started with toddler gymnastics gradually became more difficult, and I thought my stamina had improved.
“Princess, you have perfectly completed every training schedule I prepared.”
“Sniff, sniff, does this mean I can finally leave the mountain?”
“Yes, that is correct.”
Training hard and resting hard every day meant I hadn’t visited the Awakening Gallery in a while. I was starting to miss those foolish Awakening Bros. Had I ever lived this diligently before?
Honestly, I’d been coasting quite a bit until now. From a non-Awakened person’s perspective, Awakened beings just pop up one day with superpowers and hit the jackpot. Wake up and you’re an S-rank Hunter??? It might seem like that.
But Awakened individuals also go through incredibly arduous efforts, blood, sweat, and tears… my last breath… It means I’ve finally become a proper Hunter.
“Minium! Are you ready?!”
Clank!
Minium. It was perfectly disciplined. Its moonwalk was twice as fast as it was two weeks ago. Since it consumes the most magic stones, it would be a problem if it didn’t get this strong.
“Suri! How are you feeling?!”
Kiiit.
Suri was, well, already good. Now it’s even better.
“Doggo! What have you been up to!”
Beep-boop!!
Doggo had changed 360 degrees. The speed at which it wagged its butt had increased by 30 percent. Just kidding. I fed Doggo a fair amount of magic stones to drastically improve its camera performance.
A new feature allows the camera to be detached from its back, and the footage captured by the camera can be viewed in real-time on Doggo’s monitor, not just recorded. Suri will carry this around to conduct reconnaissance with incredible speed.
“And Ophelia is… well, she’s the smartest, so.”
“Thank you.”
The Nova Guild was sending a vehicle in an hour. This First Mission wouldn’t have any B-rank Hunters. The four 12-member assault teams were all composed entirely of A-rankers, an incredible dream team.
I guess word got out that it was a prime farming spot. It’s probably the safest place in all of South Korea. Plus, our assault team has Chae-rin, an S-rank Hunter.
“Princess, I have prepared something for today.”
“Huh? What is it?”
“It is your new attire, Princess.”
“Ah.”
“Hyeok-seon, it’s been a while.”
“Well, if it isn’t Jeong-un. Why’s it so hard to see your face these days?”
“Haha, it’s because you never leave the Union, brother.”
“Hmph, I suppose so.”
Bon-o-dong, Sangnok-gu, Ansan. The former landfill, now the location of the dungeon structure named the Desert Mausoleum.
One hour before the First Mission was set to begin, at 12 o’clock sharp. The site was already packed with veterans, each filled to the brim with experience from simulated team battles.
“Look! It’s Kang Woo-joong!”
“Hey, hey, the Orders vehicle is pulling in…! Quick, get a picture!”
As key figures of the assault teams arrived one after another, a procession of black vans entered the scene belatedly. Amidst the barrage of camera flashes from reporters and the scuffles with burly Awakened on-site security, a door opened, and someone peeked their head out.
“It’s Yoo Chae-rin!!”
The sole active S-rank Hunter in Korea, Yoo Chae-rin, and following right behind her, another presence tentatively extended a foot from beyond the van door.
“Who… is that?”
“In the same vehicle as Yoo Chae-rin?”
As the only S-rank on site, she drew considerable attention, and many eyes were drawn to her. A leg, thinner and shorter than expected, stepped onto the ground, and the sound of camera shutters filled the area.
“Eve, are you okay?”
“Ugh… Yes!”
“You don’t have to be so nervous.”
“Hoo… I understand…!”
One of Ophelia’s special training lessons: how to pose well for the reporters’ cameras.
‘I’m so nervous I feel like I’m going to pee myself…’