episode_0006

First, an explanation was necessary.

Why I ended up becoming a scavenger, and how I found a corpse in the bushes today.

When I briefly explained, their expression turned pale.

They seemed surprised, saying they didn’t know I could control cockroaches, then smirked.

“-Really?”

“What?”

“You wouldn’t get excited over cockroaches… no matter how much you dislike the skill, right up to that extent…”

“Are you crazy! What would I do with cockroaches!”

Some things are just not worth doing. Even if it could be misunderstood, believing it outright, how would that work out?

“How do you control cockroaches then?”

“Tsk. A few days after getting the skill. One day while I was peacefully asleep, I heard rustling sounds from the trash can. Damn it. I woke up from my nap to check, and these damn bugs were having a rave party in my trash can, causing a commotion.”

“Your trash can?”

“Don’t make me say it, figure it out yourself.”

I demonstrated the skill again.

[Nectar (Νέκταρ) (E~?)]

[You gain the power to attract females with your semen.]

[It also has a slight cosmetic effect.]

-Females.

Song Seong-yeon muttered briefly, then blushed as she connected the dots between my trash can and this skill.

“Eek.”

It was a short, shocked voice.

“You get it now?”

“Is what I understood correct…? They smell your semen and gather around…?”

“That’s exactly it! I was puzzled too, but it really happened. Those damn cockroach bastards, I learned they can reproduce asexually among females at that time. So, do you know what happened to me? Now I either burn the trash or deal with it in the bathroom! Oh man, life sucks. Don’t you think so too?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh damn, thinking about it gives me hives again.”

Slurp slurp.

I downed the drink, burning my throat.

I don’t know what I’m telling my childhood friend whom I met after years.

…It’s too embarrassing.

“Calm down. I’m fine. There are many weird things in the skills; I feel it too. It was Top’s mistake for giving that, not yours, Chang-gi.”

“Still, because of that, I’m treated like a scavenger. It was my mistake to think of using it this way, but still, really-”

“Right~! You thought well. How many corpses have been returned to their families because of you? You’re doing well, right?”

“Thanks for saying that. It means a lot. It’s good to have a friend who understands by my side.”

“Whatever. Are there even two friends like me in the world?”

His emphasis on friendship was suspiciously strong, but I stopped suspecting since earlier. The rudeness is on my side.

Seong-yeon has been approaching me kindly since earlier, why am I doubting with what shame…

“He’s handling his alcohol well. Feels like it’s stronger than usual…”

I glanced at the bottle I held in my hand.

A common green soju bottle labeled [For Business Use].

…It must be because of my mood.

“So, until now, you’ve been finding bodies with bugs or hunting monsters?”

“Yeah. Like a D-rank loser suddenly becoming a property owner, I never dreamed of it. But even with this name, I keep getting burned by acid or bitten by hyenas. I’m fed up with all this crap for no reason, not even my friends.”

“There are so many rude people in the world. Once I went up to North Korea to clear a tower and when I came down, someone asked me, ‘Why do you look like a girl, are you really skilled?’”

“They asked if you were skilled? Even those upper-class jerks have attitude problems. How many hunters in the world are better than you?”

“Really? So when I said let’s fight, did they run away without a word?”

“Kid, well done. Just hearing it makes me feel refreshed for real.”

“Heh heh.”

Clank clank clank.

They exchanged drinks once again.

Another round. And a piece of meat.

“So, you’ve never used it on a woman before?”

“The skill? Of course, I have.”

“You said there were no women around earlier.”

“I didn’t shout it out loud anywhere, but you know that secluded spot in the Tower? I paid money there and did this and that, man.”

“…Red Light District?”

“It’s a damn rural place. The Tower is like an extraterritorial zone anyway. Honestly, I didn’t want to hang out in such a place and didn’t have the money for it, but I had to confirm the skill, so I had no choice… ”

“Hmm…”

A displeased tone seemed to disrupt the mood.

What’s this about?

“You asked.”

“I wonder if there wasn’t another way.”

“What other way? So, you’d date and have sex just to confirm the skill? That would be truly dishonest to my partner, man.”

“…Yeah. That’s true.”

Even that brief change in expression was soon replaced by a smile.

What was that annoyance about just now?

Is he really gay?

“So, about the skill? Did it work on a human?”

“Not at all. It’s rated E, after all. Do you think you can easily seduce a woman just because you had sex once? So, I had some vague expectations, but either it doesn’t work on humans from the start, or maybe because it’s written as ‘female,’ it’s a biological thing. But if you think about it that way, isn’t it normal for humans to be divided into males and females too? In the end, I thought it was a matter of skill level and gave up.”

“That makes sense. I also thought the skill level was the issue as soon as I saw it.”

“Really? You’re the expert in this area more than I am. It’s reassuring to hear it from you.”

“I know similar skills. Oh, just to clarify, I’m talking about the grade, not the sexual aspect.”

“The grade?”

Seongyeon asked me to show him the skill again.

This time, it was with a skill card.

“[Skill Card Revealed].”

I took it out.

A dull-colored card fitting for an E rank.

The so-called crap card.

Proof that a Hunter’s life is screwed.

“My thoughts were right after all.”

“What was?”

Looking at that trashy skill, Seongyeon seemed to confirm something.

Curious about what he discovered, I raised my head, and Seongyeon came close, almost touching my cheek, to reexamine the skill card.

“Look here. See the corner?”

“Corner? …Hmm?”

As indicated by Seongyeon, the corner of the skill card showed signs of being slightly torn. Like unwrapping a chocolate bar, inside the torn part of the wrapper, silver shone.

“Do you see it?”

“Uh, uh, uh! But isn’t this strange? There was no trace of this when I looked at it last time??”

I had indeed examined it carefully.

After all, it was my first skill in life.

“But now it shows these marks?”

What the hell is this?

“This skill, confirmed it’s at the E rank. It can evolve. The fact that the outer part is torn is evidence that experience points have been collected.”

“So, collecting experience points makes it tear like this?”

“Exactly. Can you see it shining silver inside? That’s the next stage.”

“Wait, the damn skill evolves!?”

“There aren’t many cases like this. Due to the [Hunter Information Protection Act], there are restrictions on information exchange, and guilds haven’t delved into it, so it’s unknown territory.”

My heart raced.

Evolution!

My skill! Can this damn skill of mine become stronger!

“He’s really a top-ranked player. A ranker. How do you know information that even scum like me wouldn’t be aware of?”

“It’s not so much because I’m a ranker, but there’s a similar case around me. That Seres I mentioned earlier had the same kind of thing. He also had a shitty skill in the early stages of becoming a Hunter, so I immediately recognized it.”

“Is that so?”

This person Seres is mentioned quite frequently.

Ranking, alias, and face are vaguely remembered through TV… Could it be that Seongyeon has a hidden girlfriend?

Quietly praying for the relationship between the two to go well, I lightly scratched the slightly itchy spot.

“Is this because of experience points?”

“Yeah. You probably did something that fits this skill, so the card reacted.”

“Actions that fit the skill… Oh damn…”

“No, it’s not about leading cockroaches. You’ve been using it almost every day for over a year in that way. So it wouldn’t have just torn this much.”

“Other than that one time at Hongdeungga….”

“…Could it be that?”

“Oh! Really!? Your words do make sense with the purpose of this skill! Since then, you haven’t moved a muscle, so it makes sense that the skill card only tore this much!”

On the contrary, if I had been entering daily, by now the skill card would have evolved.

Shiiiiiiit!!!!

I never thought you wouldn’t realize such a simple condition. After returning from Changgwan, I checked the skill card once, but not noticing then turned out to be a big mistake.

“Ah, really. Today, there are so many things to be happy and sad about. Just when I thought I found a way to enhance my skills after getting into an argument with a drunkard, my childhood friend didn’t help me at all. Instead, I realized I was holding a dung ball….”

“Another drink, please.”

“Cheers!”

“Gulp gulp.”

…Ugh.

No. A feeling of melancholy started to creep in.

If I continue like this, I might lose my temper due to intoxication, so I firmly held onto my sanity.

“Don’t be so gloomy. Do you know who is in front of you? It’s the 9th ranked promising hunter, Dan.”

“……?”

“You’re wondering, right? I wouldn’t just tell you bad stories about Changgi.”

My heart raced again.

In fact, it was a good story just to hear that the skill could become stronger. Even though my attitude was off, naturally, there was a better story waiting.

“What’s the story?”

“Well, you see, there’s a way to level up quickly~♪”

“Really!?”

“Yes. You realized that gathering experience points is actually a simple matter.”

“Uh… Is that so?”

It was simple. Although it was a condition like asking a man to hug a woman related to ovum and sperm, it was still simple.

“So here’s the problem~! Hehe, as we climb the tower pretending to raise our hunter grade and get stronger by defeating strong monsters, how can we make our skills stronger faster~?”

“Um….”

Hunters get stronger by defeating stronger monsters. This is also a form of self-training.

The skill demands that I embrace a woman. Which means….

“…Embrace a better woman?”

“Bingo!”

Once again, a thud.

After filling the glass, clinking, taking a sip, and smiling broadly.

“That’s right. Just embrace a better woman. Simple, right?”

“What do you mean by simple…. Oh wait, because of you, my head hurts.”

“Why?”

“The standard for a ‘better’ woman is too vague. Are you telling me to hug a model with a great figure? Especially someone like me, a speckled nerd?”

“Wrong. It’s not that ambiguous. In your case, the criteria for assessing value are clear.”

“What value?”

“Changgi. We’re hunters. So, what do you think determines a woman’s value in our eyes?”

“……Ranking or hunter grade?”

“Yes. Exactly that.”

Damn it.

Already infamous, and now you’re telling me to embrace a top-tier hunter?

And not just any top-tier person, but someone from the celestial realm that money can’t even touch!?

This is screwed up, seriously!