Chapter 35

Chapter 35

I Installed a Dating App and Girls from Another World Became Obsessed with Me.

Episode 35: Blind Date (3)

Having received a sudden change of plans from my blind date, I arrived at a restaurant in Cheongdam-dong.

It was a high-end restaurant with interior design and all tables in private rooms.

Omakase? Fine dining? I had seen it on NewTube several times, but this was my first time actually coming.

The menu alone explained why.

The cheapest course was a whopping 500,000 KRW, and the most expensive was over 1 million KRW.

Given the neighborhood, it seemed to cater to people with overflowing wallets.

“The D course has shrimp as the main dish. Should I go with that?”

In the past, I would have ordered the cheapest thing with trembling hands, but now there was no need.

Before coming here, the inquiry messages on my job posting on the hunter app were overflowing.

A wizard not affiliated with a guild was on the market?

And not just a 1st circle wizard, but a 2nd circle wizard??

“Oh, the party leader is C+ rank, and the other members are all C rank.”

If I went to a C-rank gate and just casually threw fireballs from the back, then landed a big hit on the boss, I could earn hundreds of thousands of won per day. There was no reason to tremble over a course meal costing tens or hundreds of thousands of won.

Even though gates were dangerous, if I was in the rear of a party going to a gate of appropriate rank, I wouldn’t get seriously injured.

For the time being, I should focus on earning money by going to gates and building my body by learning swordsmanship at the dojo.

Knock knock- While planning my future, someone knocked on the door.

I hadn’t pressed the bell, so it wasn’t a waiter. That meant only one person could be coming.

“Am I too late?”

The person who entered was my blind date, Choi Hye-na.

With her intense red hair, purple eyes, and traditional witch-like attire, she was much prettier than in the photos.

I realized that the photos didn’t even capture half of her real beauty, let alone any editing.

“No, I just arrived too.”

Choi Hye-na smiled lightly and sat down.

Meanwhile, her figure, revealed when she took off her coat, shocked me once again.

‘…Is someone filming a hidden camera prank on me? Every woman I meet has an amazing figure.’

The wolf beast-person I met during the day was short, but her overall figure was so good that even most models couldn’t compare. Her perfectly trained physique was captivating.

And Choi Hye-na’s chest was smaller than Iris’s and Cheon Yeo-hwa’s, but her overall balance was incredible.

Was she… a wizard? Not a Pilates instructor?

I was once again impressed by Choi Yeong-ok, who introduced me to such a woman.

“Hmm…”

Just like Kang Hyeon-u was secretly admiring Choi Hye-na’s figure following his male instincts, Choi Hye-na was observing Kang Hyeon-u with her wizard instincts.

Specifically, she was observing the vast mana surrounding him.

Naturally, just as people couldn’t inhale oxygen without breathing, it was the same with mana.

If a wizard didn’t increase their concentration through meditation to absorb mana, the mana wouldn’t approach them.

But he was different.

It seemed like the mana was eager to become one with him, constantly swirling around him.

It was just lingering because he hadn’t allowed it, but if he did, it would become his magic power at any time. This meant he could drastically shorten the mana assimilation process.

Of course, having a lot of magic power didn’t mean you could forcibly increase your mana circles.

However, there was no doubt that he could perform significantly better than other wizards at the same level.

“It’s my first time meeting you in person. Nice to meet you. I’m Choi Hye-na.”

“I’m Kang Hyeon-u.”

They exchanged light handshakes and greetings.

“Shall we order first? I come here often, so I guarantee the taste.”

I ordered the D course with gate-harvested pumpkin flower shrimp as the main dish, and Choi Hye-na ordered the B course, which recreated classic French cuisine.

When the waiter who took our order left the room, a heavy silence fell between us.

‘What should I talk about?’

Apart from Iris and Cheon Yeo-hwa, I had never properly talked to a woman. Moreover, this was my first time on a blind date.

And my date was someone from the upper class, whom I would never have met otherwise.

Eventually, silence continued until the ordered dishes arrived.

Of course, the awkward silence only bothered Kang Hyeon-u.

Until the dishes arrived, Choi Hye-na constantly observed Kang Hyeon-u.

He had reached the 2nd circle at the same age as her, and the process took less than a week.

It was absurd.

Even she, who was praised for her dazzling talent, took six years to build her mana circles.

That was only possible because she received lessons from a much younger age with her family’s help, while others only started at 11.

It took another six years to reach the 2nd circle, and the 3rd circle was reached by a stroke of luck.

Therefore, she couldn’t be considered a full 3rd circle wizard. It would improve over time, but not now.

Of course, she obtained the national wizard certification, but she was insecure about not being a complete 3rd circle wizard.

Before Choi Hye-na appeared a fellow-aged wizard who was breaking through circles at the fastest pace in human history.

‘He doesn’t look like a genius at all.’

At first, she was very suspicious. Could such a monster exist?

She was convinced he was a fraud, not a wizard, but after meeting him in person, she couldn’t deny it.

Unbeknownst to Kang Hyeon-u, Choi Hye-na’s eyes held a faint hostility. It was a sticky emotion mixed with jealousy and self-loathing.

“It’s delicious.”

Unaware of that, Kang Hyeon-u enjoyed the dishes that had arrived.

“…That’s good.”

Choi Hye-na also continued her meal in silence.

After the meal, we finished with dessert.

It was the first time I’d spent so much on a single meal, but I understood the satisfaction of spending money like this.

“Now that we’re full, can I get straight to the point?”

Choi Hye-na, who had wiped her mouth with a napkin, spoke first.

“I’m sorry, but I have no intention of getting married. Or rather, I don’t intend to date anyone.”

“…?”

Choi Hye-na’s straightforward statement negated the purpose of this meeting.

“Then why did you come?”

If that was the case, she could have just declined over the phone. I was curious why she had changed the appointment to the same day and called me out.

“I was curious. Who exactly was the person who reached the 2nd circle at the same age as me, and accomplished it in less than a week?”

In the end, she had made the appointment just to satisfy her curiosity.

“So, what do you think after meeting me?”

Inside the small room, Choi Hye-na’s magic power began to pulsate.

“Honestly, I’m not impressed. Why did that brilliant talent choose someone like you?”

She had given up on pretending to be polite, and didn’t hesitate to reveal her magic power or give a hostile answer to a stranger.

“I have a proposal.”

Her rude demeanor, which seemed ready to unleash magic at any moment, was gone, and the atmosphere had completely changed.

“What proposal?”

“It’s simple. Let me study you. Being loved by mana? That’s beyond simple talent.”

Choi Hye-na was a wizard.

She decided to prioritize rational gains over emotional jealousy.

“I’ll compensate you generously. You seem to be quite poor. How about 30 million won for each research collaboration?”

Choi Hye-na seemed to have a blueprint for what she wanted.

If she could find out why he was loved by mana, she could not only reach the full 3rd circle but also glimpse the 4th circle in the near future.

She didn’t even consider the possibility of him refusing.

She thought that someone who had lived in poverty as a war orphan would have no choice but to accept her offer.

It was a bad move to immediately accept sponsorship from any company just because he had become a wizard. If he knew his talent, he should raise his value and get better terms. What he needed now was funding for smooth magic research.

If 30 million won was too little, she was willing to offer 50 million. And even more.

She had plenty of money.

But Kang Hyeon-u’s answer far exceeded Choi Hye-na’s expectations.

“What are you talking about, you crazy bitch?”

His usually indifferent expression instantly turned into a hostile and murderous one.

“…What?”

“Listen closely. Do you know what’s more important than the Seongbuk Choi clan or being a genius wizard? Manners. You seem to be lacking in basic human decency. What? Wizard? Research? Bullshit.”

He emptied a glass of cold water in one gulp.

“Changing the appointment to the same day is ridiculous, telling someone who came for a blind date that you have no intention of dating is annoying, and revealing your magic power to a stranger? Is that what your prestigious family taught you as manners?”

To be honest, changing the appointment and saying she had no interest in a blind date were things I could have overlooked.

But I couldn’t ignore her calling me poor and revealing her magic power.

“In my opinion, you’ll only reach the 3rd circle. Why? How can someone who lacks basic human decency become a high-ranking wizard?”

With those words, I stood up from my seat.

I left the restaurant, leaving Choi Hye-na with a blank expression.

“Hoo…”

Was this what it felt like to crave a cigarette?

My first blind date, which had a bitter aftertaste, was a disaster. Despite the excellent meal, I was in a bad mood.

I was about to hail a taxi to go home and wash up when…

“Hey!!”

Choi Hye-na, who seemed to have rushed out of the restaurant, was glaring at me.

“What?”

“You, you…!! How dare you, a beggar, speak to me like that!!”

Choi Hye-na, unable to hide her anger, approached me with a flushed face and murderous eyes.

“You better be prepared. You won’t find a place to set foot as a wizard in this land…”

Choi Hye-na, who was spewing out her anger with a venomous voice, suddenly felt something ominous.

And so did Kang Hyeon-u.

The two talented wizards simultaneously felt an abnormal sign of unknown mana.

The mana was trembling as if it were terrified of something, and they both tried to leave the place immediately.

But a huge, unidentified gate, which appeared as if tearing through the air, swallowed them both.