Chapter 20: Oh no, Why?

[The Goddess, with a sulky expression, berates the stubborn Hero.]  

“Hey, Goddess, you’ve been getting a lot more twisted lately than before.”  

[The Goddess narrows her eyes and asks whose fault that might be.]  

“Oh, is it because of me?”  

I replied casually, digging into a warm Americano topped with honey bread and whipped cream, roughly handling lunch.  

Come to think of it, I hadn’t eaten lunch yet, but it felt a bit much to chow down so heartily now—maybe I’d fill up with meat for dinner instead.  

[The Goddess doesn’t believe the Hero’s words.]  

[(ᄆ_ᄆ)]  

[She says I’d just end up eating ramen if I got lazy.]  

‘Normally, I eat ramen when I get lazy during gaming, and grill meat when I’m peckish.’  

That’s just the typical lifestyle of a shut-in.  

I diligently attend classes and study in the library on weekdays, after all.  

So on weekends? Isn’t it fine to live a little sloppily like this?  

[The Goddess sighs and asks if I have no intention of helping.]  

“Taking action to help right after a bit of conflict feels a little off, doesn’t it?”  

[The Goddess asks if we didn’t just properly make up a moment ago.]  

“Why are you grilling me like this?”  

It’s been twenty years since I met the Goddess, so I roughly get how she thinks.  

But just as she has her own circumstances, I have mine.  

The IRL fight’s settled for now, but jumping to help someone who cursed me out feels too transparent.  

She didn’t even say she was hurting—wouldn’t it look like I’m interested and trying to flirt?  

No, seriously, why?  

Approaching someone who hasn’t said they’re sick with medicine and going, “I’ll cure your condition,” feels way too nosy.  

Of course, if it worked out perfectly, she’d probably feel great and there’d be no issue.  

‘Then she might end up liking the person who saved her, getting married, having kids—that’s how savior stories usually go, right?’  

[The Goddess looks at the Hero with contempt.]  

‘Not me—I’m saying that’s how savior stories work!’  

[The Goddess looks at the Hero with contempt.]  

‘She doesn’t believe me.’  

Is it okay for a Goddess and Hero to have this little trust between them?  

Lamenting this sad reality, I downed the last of my Americano like it was medicine and stood up.  

“Sigh, more work piled up.”  

I’d bickered with the Goddess over this, but our squabbles are a regular event.  

The process of figuring it out is a hassle, but I was planning to look into it anyway.  

It still feels nosy to care when the other person hasn’t said anything.  

‘She’s seen that condition a few times too, hasn’t she?’  

Blocked energy channels, a body that freezes, constant burning pain—conditions that, if overcome, could unlock incredible talent.  

An incurable disease in folk medicine.  

A devil’s curse.  

Evaluations varied by region and era, but these conditions shared something in common.  

Depending on the degree of talent and severity of symptoms, they gradually eat away at your lifespan.  

In simple terms:  

‘Terminal.’  

If she keeps going like this, she’ll die in a few years.  

[The Goddess looks at the Hero with contempt.]  

“Stop glaring at me already!”  

Even making up my mind causes a fuss.  

Deciding to help doesn’t mean I can fix it right away.  

From what I can tell, I’d need to gather some materials from a dungeon, and to get there, I’d need credentials or a pass.  

So yeah, there’s a bunch of prep work, but I figured I’d tackle it like overdue homework.  

‘I wanted to procrastinate as much as possible, like summer break homework.’  

But there was someone I needed to visit first.  

“You’re finally here.”  

The moment I stepped into the professor’s office, a pair of sparkling eyes greeted me.  

“I was wondering when you’d show up. Seeing how well you keep up—today included—following the class pace must not be hard for you, right?”  

Sure, there’s a lot more I’d like to teach you.”  

A bonus line dripping with max affection.  

Professor Shin Arin of the Combat Department, beaming with a wide smile, fidgeted with her hands.  

It’s like she couldn’t hold it in—wriggling like a live octopus, pulsing with insane vitality or something.  

‘She’s kind of a pervert in a weird way.’  

The class just ended, and seeing her so full of energy, you’d really call her superhuman.  

She’s brimming with enthusiasm.  

Every time I felt her gaze and turned my head, she was always looking at me with a smile.  

Sometimes I could feel her eyes scanning me—not like she wanted to pounce, but more like she was analyzing my physique down to the bones.  

Even knowing that, it still gave me the creeps sometimes.  

‘That’s why I wanted to put off coming here.’  

I subtly shifted my eyes, glancing around the sparse office that barely had any belongings.  

A professor’s office with just the two of us.  

If no one else’s eyes were around, I worried she might suggest I join her graduate program or something.  

With my experience, becoming someone’s disciple feels a bit off—how do I even turn that down?  

I came here with that nagging concern, but—  

“Ahem, so what brings you here?”  

Thankfully, there was no sign of a recruitment pitch yet—just the kind, passionate professor vibe shining through.  

Twitch-twitch—  

Her hands, clasped tightly as if to restrain herself, were still fidgeting, though.  

Ugh.  

I glanced at the scene but tried not to focus on it, putting on a model-student smile as I got to the point.  

“I was wondering if I could get a dungeon pass.”  

To officially operate as a hunter, you need to be an adult and pass a qualification exam.  

But the administrative hassle and constant re-evaluations for rank-ups are a pain.  

Jumping straight to an S-rank license would draw too much attention, though.  

For various reasons, I hadn’t bothered getting a hunter license, but I heard there’s a way to enter dungeons without one.  

A privilege granted to reputable training institutions like Seoul’s Superpower Academy.  

The dungeon pass.  

It’s a system where a professor assesses a student’s level and issues a permit for dungeon experience.  

From what I’ve heard, first-years get up to E-rank, second-years D-rank, and third-years are guaranteed C-rank.  

For reference, C-rank dungeons have monsters between trolls and orc chieftains, while D-rank dungeons feature elite orcs and lizardmen.  

Below E-rank, you’ve got the classic weaklings like goblins, gnolls, and slimes.  

Naturally, nothing worthwhile drops in places where you’re bickering with goblins.  

It’s just a beginner hunting ground, really.  

‘So I’d like at least a D-rank pass.’  

It hasn’t been long since I enrolled in the academy.  

If they nitpick, I might only get an E-rank, but with the goodwill I’ve built up, maybe I can negotiate something better.  

That’s the confidence I came with, at least—  

“Oooohhh.”  

But why is she staring at me with even brighter eyes now?  

Even with an eyepatch covering half her face, I feel pierced by her gaze.  

Professor Shin Arin squirmed her hands again, her lips curling up as she asked,  

“You want to go to a dungeon? Which one? Up to what rank?”  

If I said I wanted an A-rank dungeon, she’d probably drag me along with her team without a second thought.  

I quickly shook my head and hurriedly named my target.  

“C to D-rank would be enough. I’m planning to gather some herbs in the dungeon.”  

“Hmm… Ohhh.”  

Trolls, orcs, lizardmen.  

To me, they’re all light prey I could hunt casually, but for a professor responsible for safety, it might be a tricky request.  

“Well, C to D-rank… You could probably handle it solo.”  

Far from worried, she actually seemed a little disappointed.  

Uh… wait, what?  

Isn’t she at all concerned about a potential casualty she’d have to answer for…?  

‘I could get nabbed by a troll or orc chieftain and be in real trouble.’  

Even I know that’s absurd as I think it, but isn’t her trust in me—a guy she’s known for barely two weeks—a bit excessive?  

Professor Shin Arin, with a faintly sulky expression, fidgeted with her hands as she spoke.  

“Then I’ll issue you a C-rank pass, okay?”  

It’s not instant—you have to apply and wait, so it’ll probably take three or four days to process.  

“I’ll let you know as soon as it’s ready.”  

“Yes.”  

“Yep, thank you so much!”  

It went smoother and cleaner than I expected.  

My business here was done, so I started angling to leave—  

“Uh, hey…”  

“Yes?”  

“If you ever have questions or anything, after class or really anytime, feel free to drop by the office. Got it? Okay?”  

It was an almost unbelievable level of clinginess for someone supposedly a top-tier S-rank hunter in society.