episode_0031

The guild leader stared at me blankly for about 5 seconds after my words.

A smile crept onto her lips, a mix of surprise and various emotions.

However, the smile was first businesslike.

Second, it seemed to indicate she found something cute.

And the third was a bit different.

Very different.

“Hmm.”

I’m not sure if using this word is appropriate, but it was a sly… yet sticky smile.

Unconsciously flinching, the guild leader smiled coyly, licking her lips with a long, slender tongue that made it hard to believe it was in her small, delicate mouth.

Uh, did I touch something I shouldn’t have?

“Ha, this is something. Yuseha-nim? You are truly a man with many sins.”

“…Excuse me?”

“It’s a concern. It seems you are unaware of your own actions. If that’s your nature… even so, if you do such things, you might end up in a tough situation.”

“…Excuse me?”

I stupidly replied, not understanding the meaning of her words.

The guild leader raised her index finger and began drawing circles on my chest.

“Yuseha-nim? You are charming. A handsome man to the point where any passing woman would turn and harbor various emotions. And now that you’ve come of age, you also have a refreshing scent. It’s like a fruit that everyone finds tempting.”

“Uh…”

“I’ve lived for about 290 years this year, but I’ve never seen a man as charming as you.”

“…Thank you?”

“In truth, if it’s just looks… ultimately, it might be a fleeting desire. This is quite troublesome.”

Guild Leader Nuna closed the distance little by little.

She brought her face closer to my neck.

A sweet and nutty scent, like milk, wafted through my nose.

“Could it be that you’re so kind and cute… like a defenseless child…”

“Uh… excuse me?”

“This is advice from an elder.”

Guild Leader Nuna’s voice whispered like a snake in my ear.

“If you smile or wag your tail so freely, you’ll be devoured by wicked women in no time. Just like me.”

“Uh, um…”

“Do you know why elves have a bad reputation?”

I do. When I searched on the wiki, it came up immediately.

In ‘Gosra,’ elves are portrayed completely opposite to the typical fantasy image.

One day, they suddenly came from another world and wreaked havoc on nature, doing whatever they pleased.

In the end, they were driven away to the distant land of steel as rootless foreigners.

There were many incidents, but one of the most famous involving elves was the ‘male hunting…’

Males of other species, especially those with similar aesthetics to human males, were indiscriminately abducted in a spree of kidnappings.

They even took women if they were pretty.

In fact, this incident was a decisive reason why the church directly intervened and drove the elves away.

I was quite surprised when I first heard about it.

In ‘Gosra,’ it’s only described to the extent of everyone leaving the school.

The details of what happened were not recorded.

And this could also be an indirect reason why elf characters don’t appear in the game.

“Our elves are a race with very strong sexual desires. Their offspring are selfish genes that are always born as females.”

Ah, so that’s why kidnapping became prevalent.

It’s a structure that can’t be helped.

“I also had a hard time suppressing my boiling desires when I became an adult. Now I’m a bit calmer… but still, among elves, I’m a young one. I still have a long way to go.”

With a teasing smile, Guild Leader Nuna put her index finger to her lips and gestured ‘shh.’

“Purebloods are rare to see, but there are quite a few half-elves like me. So… be careful?”

“Yes, yes!”

“Mm, mm…”

As I nodded sincerely (?) to her advice, a voice could be heard.

The cat was covering her blushing face.

Peeking through the gap between my fingers, I stared at the guild leader and thought to myself, ‘Is this what adult love looks like?’

…Meow. Aren’t you going to protect me?

“Anyway, I understand.”

The guild leader, finding my meowing cute, patted my head and spoke.

“If you’ve purchased it for 10 billion, the higher-ups will surely view it favorably. My influence will also increase accordingly. Let’s consider the deducted amount as a personal favor from me. And now, I shall offer you my first favor.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes, it’s not exactly a favor, I was planning to give it to you regardless of the ‘Trial’.”

The guild leader smiled warmly at both of us, who were puzzled.

As I reached out into the air, my wrist astonishingly passed through the space.

“Meow?! Oh, a pocket dimension?”

I gazed at it with eyes full of admiration, thinking it was an expensive artifact.

As someone who took on the role of a ‘porter’, there was nothing more tempting than that.

‘…No.’

It was indeed a ‘pocket dimension’.

But it wasn’t an artifact.

It was the effect of a ‘Skill Rune’.

The black square particles eroding the space had a unique impact.

Without a doubt, it was the ‘Rare Treasure Vault’ rune of the ‘Mimic’.

And it wasn’t just an ordinary Mimic.

Mimics could be identified by the color of their particles, and that one was black. It was a ‘Mirage Mimic’.

‘…Crazy. It’s like a walking lottery ticket.’

A Mirage Mimic as rare as a B+ grade ‘Towon’. I had never seen one more than 30 times.

Such a rare creature…

‘…What on earth is the identity of this guild leader?’

Click-.

What the guild leader took out from the ‘pocket dimension’ was a black case.

“I’ve been preparing this for a few days now. It’s impolite to just compensate the heroes who prevented the disaster with cash.”

The guild leader winked as beautifully as she spoke and pressed a button on the box.

With a hiss, the contents were revealed.

“This is a gift for the heroes who prevented the breakout and for the two juniors we have high hopes for in the future.”

Upon opening the box, two large glass bottles were visible.

Inside the glass bottles, green spheres shimmered.

Strangely, emerald green waves swirled like a vortex.

“…Wow, it’s beautiful.”

I murmured in admiration.

She probably reacted like that because she had never seen it before, but as soon as I saw it, I was surprised and asked.

“Guild leader, is this a ‘Trait Rune’ by any chance?”

“Meow?!”

“Yes. It’s a type that allows you to obtain recorded ‘traits’ just by consuming it.”

She explained as if it was nothing special, but my expression hardened even more.

I had a pretty good idea of what it was.

As a ‘Gosra’ veteran of 5 years, a former ranker and broadcaster, my insight was screaming.

The unique color and rotating pattern.

It was undoubtedly one of the difficult-to-obtain ‘traits’.

“It seems like Yuseha knows what this is.”

“Meow?”

She nodded in agreement.

“…Is it the ‘Magnifying Glass of Mesto’?”

“…M-Mesto?! Mesto!?”

“…Surprising. You really guessed it. Are you really a rookie hunter?”

“I’ve seen it in the dictionary.”

“…Meow. Meow…”

The ‘Magnifying Glass of Mesto’.

The name may sound grand, but it’s essentially an ‘observation’ ability.

A skill that is commonly seen in games, allowing you to observe and analyze the opponent’s ‘status’.

However, it’s not as convenient as one might think.

‘It can only be used on monsters.’

You can’t use it on other hunters.

And the area of usage is limited to places with magic.

It also has various restrictions and pitfalls.

In short, it’s like a trap in many ways.

As I obtained it, it was extremely difficult, all because of the title [Mesto].

‘Viscount Mesto.’

A rare boss that occasionally appears in the high-level dungeon where the vampire ‘Bloodstained Castle (A-grade)’ emerges.

When you defeat this guy, one of the dozens of [Runes] that come out is this.

‘Crazy, not just one but two… and even processed to be stored for a long time…?’

My suspicion of the guild master grew stronger.

No, to be honest, I was scared.

There are hardly any NPCs in ‘Gosla’ who show such valuable items so casually.

Considering her position as the guild master, the rewards and influence she offered were too immense.

‘…This, this…’

Am I caught in the gaze of a giant?

Whether or not, the guild master, who looked at me as if I were cute, gestured as if to drink.

“Go ahead and have it.”

“Are you really okay with this? Even if I can’t do this, it’s worth tens of billions-”

“-I told you. It’s my gift to the heroes. Are you really going to refuse my favor?”

It wouldn’t be polite to talk so much and not eat.

Me and Meonyangi quietly consumed it, expressing our gratitude.

[Consuming the Rune .]

[It is of Epic grade.]

[The power of the vampire viscount who has roamed the Bloodstained Castle for a long time supports your physical body.]

[As an acquisition reward, Strength +1, Speed +1, Mana +2, Spirit +1 increase.]

[Obtain Blood Resistance: 5.]

[Increase in affinity towards ‘Vampires.’]

[Some female vampires feel sexual attraction towards you. Be careful of their passionate advances.]

“Wow.”

The effect of the characteristic itself is so-so.

But the increase was insanely high.

Indeed, it was an Epic characteristic.

‘The types of rising abilities are good.’

My biggest weakness right now is mana.

Due to the limit of being a man, I struggle after using [Ryucham] a few times.

In this situation, an increase of 2 in [Mana] was like a godsend.

“Do you like it, both of you?”

“Receiving something so big, I don’t know what to say…”

“Mu… ah… ah.”

“Meonyangi, wake up.”

“Mu… ah… ah.”

“Hehe… I’m happy that you like it.”

Well then, let’s stop here…

“Shall we get up, us?”

* * *

After completing all the transactions, we parted ways with the guild master with smiles.

We also got something good.

When we shook hands at the end, I felt something strange on my hand.

Huh? I checked and found a paper folded with her name and number written on it.

-See you next time~

I saved it on my phone right away.

Such high-class connections.

It’s hard to come by.

‘…Su Okbin.’

An unusual name.

Originally, there is a ‘Su’ in existence, right?

No, in this fantasy world, it’s foolish to nitpick about that.

Anyway, she’s an unknown person.

Not just as a character, but even as an NPC, she’s an extra I’ve never heard of.

Of course, her abilities seem too remarkable to be called an extra.

‘Whatever.’

Right now, the sight of our Meonyangi, who is happily wagging her tail, is more precious to me.

“Hehe.”

“Do you really like it?”

“Yes, hehe. It’s so unbelievable…”

Meonyangi muttered, ‘Is this a dream?’ because what she received was too big.

Then she pulled her cheeks and said, ‘It’s not a d-dream…’

“S-So happy.”

“Huh?”

“I… will work hard.”

She had a lot to say, but there was no way to express it all… so she just clenched her fists tightly.

Her mouth naturally curled up.

‘An angel.’

She’s an angel.

Yes, this is an angel.

I raised my hand above Meonyangi’s head.

Now, she accepts my touch without showing any signs of dislike.

“Meow~”

“Hehe.”

With a fatherly smile, I made a promise once again.

To fulfill her dream. To be by her side.

And she vowed to stand against the impending evil.

For example…

“Hey, you two-bit. Found your next mark?”

“Looking for trouble again? Who are you trying to deceive this time?”

The duo appeared as if they had been waiting for her.

They casually scanned her from head to toe.

Dressed in attire that seemed to ward off the cold, with a strange dagger hanging from their waist.

Without a doubt, a pair of class.

‘I remember.’

The day she first encountered Meonyang.

The duo who had passed by her, spewing disrespectful words, were undoubtedly the same ones.