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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: An Embarrassing Aftermath
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[The Constellation ‘Cupid’ is flustered.]
[The Constellation ‘Cupid’ protests, claiming, “But he definitely didn’t have a girlfriend?”]
“I don’t want to hear it.”
*Hoo.* Ha-ra sighed. After Se-heon had left, she’d spent a good ten minutes writhing in shame.
The embarrassment of her slip of the tongue, the worry about what Se-heon must think of her. On top of that, his kind but soulless rejection about having a girlfriend. A triple crown of cringeworthy history.
“Aargh!”
She kicked at the air again. Just then, the door slid open with a rattle, and the guard assigned by the Mapo branch office poked his head in.
“Is everything alright?”
“Ah. No…”
“Very well.”
The guard closed the door with a puzzled look on his face.
Ha-ra screamed silently and rolled around again. *This Constellation has no business ethics.* It had promised to make her an S-rank if she dated that man, but in reality, he had a girlfriend. *Is this what love is? Hitting on someone else's man?*
“Just let me complete the quest by dating anyone!”
[The Constellation ‘Cupid’ expresses its regret.]
[The designated target cannot be changed arbitrarily.]
“Ah!”
Ha-ra rolled on the bed again.
[The Constellation ‘Cupid’ is dumbfounded.]
[The Constellation ‘Cupid’ asks why she’s changed her mind, recalling how she refused to date while ranting about birth rates.]
*Ah, the nerve.* Ha-ra’s eyes blazed.
Well, that had been true inside the dungeon. It felt like only yesterday she had resolved, *‘As if I’d ever let you see me date, you damn Constellation.’*
But once she was out, after days of her mother smacking her on the back and nagging—*Why can't you become an S-rank? Aigoo, you really couldn't Awaken? You foolish, useless thing. So-and-so from down the street Awakened and is making a fortune, but you're still just an E-rank?*—her thoughts began to change.
Was it any wonder that she'd started to think, ever so slightly, that maybe she should just close her eyes and go through with it, dating or whatever, to somehow become an S-rank?
*‘Honestly, if all I had to do was date him regardless of the process, I was even considering asking him to date me for just three days and then break up.’*
Ha-ra sighed. The Constellation scoffed. *Did she think love was that simple?*
Ha-ra wrinkled her nose and ignored the system message. Anyway, Yoon Se-heon supposedly had a girlfriend. To be honest, his soulless tone made her half-doubt it, but if it was true, then any chance of a bright future for Ha-ra was gone for good.
But Ha-ra’s despair didn’t last long. She had more pressing matters to deal with.
“Inventory.”
She spoke the word softly, and a system window opened. It was the inventory that all Hunters possessed—a warehouse in a virtual space where they could store dungeon byproducts and Hunter-exclusive items.
Of course, it couldn't hold items from this world, with the exception of crafted items. That was why the inventory of an E-rank Hunter like Ha-ra was always empty, despite the available space.
But now, things were different.
“Hoo.”
Ha-ra let out a long sigh and scanned her inventory. The once-empty space was now half-full. The list of items was spectacular, all thanks to the byproducts from the dungeon. Besides things like the carnivorous rabbit's hide and meat, there was a wide variety of other things.
Among them, a few items stood out—
[B-Rank Monster Core]
[B-Rank Dungeon Core]
[Giant Eagle Feather] x10
[Giant Eagle Claw] x2
[Giant Eagle Beak]
[Giant Eagle Egg]
[Lucky Rabbit's Foot]
These were the things Ha-ra had obtained after taking down the field boss. In the five minutes remaining after the dungeon was cleared, she had dragged her exhausted body and diligently rummaged through the boss monster's carcass and nest.
It was only natural. To go to all the trouble of defeating a boss only to return empty-handed was unthinkable. She had gathered everything she could carry besides the Magic Stone. Even though time was short, she had managed to collect quite a lot.
Especially the two B-rank Magic Stones.
Ha-ra stared intently at her inventory for a long time, then silently clenched her fists.
*‘I’m rich now…’*
Magic Stones had become an essential commodity since the appearance of Gates. This was because they were necessary to prevent more Gates from forming.
According to Korea's building safety laws, all newly constructed buildings were required to have a Magic Stone of a specified grade embedded within them.
For small buildings or houses, an E-rank Magic Stone was sufficient, but large buildings or shopping malls required several B- or C-rank stones. A place like the 63 Building in Yeouido needed an A-rank stone. She'd even heard that some large foreign shopping malls had S-rank Magic Stones embedded in them.
A B-rank Magic Stone could fetch around 200 million won if sold carefully. However.
*‘The problem is, it’s all black market money…’*
Ha-ra's expression darkened.
It made sense. Magic Stones were considered essential goods, so they had to be traded fairly through the open market, and anyone who obtained one was required to register it with the government.
But because the Mapo branch chief had classified Ha-ra's promotion to S-rank as confidential, she couldn't sell these items right now. Registration was also impossible.
Amidst all this, Chief Jeong had generously told Ha-ra she could dispose of the dungeon byproducts as she pleased.
“I don't mind if you take that much for yourself.”
*That's mighty generous of you.*
Ha-ra rubbed her face with her hands. In the end, her only option was to sell them secretly on the black market. But having lived her whole life as an ordinary citizen, she had no idea how to even access the black market.
The Hunter Market, accessible via mobile phone, required user registration to even open the menu. User registration? That meant phone verification…
*‘If I post these Magic Stones now, I’ll get a call from the police station immediately…’*
*Is this even living?* Ha-ra sighed and moved the Magic Stones to a corner of her inventory.
Two useless pebbles worth 200 million won each. The other items were the same.
Of course, since dungeon byproducts had so many uses, civil servants were allowed to sell a certain amount of low-grade byproducts at their own discretion. After paying taxes, naturally.
But the byproducts Ha-ra had collected were all B-rank. Need I say more? In any case, they would inevitably be traced.
*‘No other choice.’*
Ha-ra made up her mind.
*‘I’ll sell them to a health tonic shop!’*
Among the byproducts from dungeons, some sold for particularly high prices.
Eagle beaks, bear gallbladders… yes, yes. That’s right. This was the Republic of Korea, a country overflowing with people who would eat nutria if it was said to be good for stamina. It was only natural that health tonic shops that secretly purchased dungeon byproducts existed.
[The Constellation ‘Cupid’ asks if you’re insane.]
*When my bank account balance is converging to zero, I'd rather be insane.* With weary eyes, Ha-ra sorted through the items she could sell to a health tonic shop.
No matter how she looked at it, all she had were the eagle's claws and beak. She’d probably have to grind them into a powder to sell them…
[Giant Eagle Egg]
Ha-ra's gaze stopped on the egg. She took it out of her inventory and examined it from all angles.
[Effect: Stamina +7 (Permanent)]
The eggs in Georg's nest had been as big as Ha-ra herself, and she had thought they had all broken during the fight. But after the dungeon was cleared, while she was collecting the dungeon core, Ha-ra discovered a tiny egg among them. It was just the size of her fist.
“This one seems like it would sell for a high price.”
It felt like a waste to sell it to a health tonic shop. It looked like an egg you'd just fry up and eat. But it raised Stamina by 7. For Hunters, whose stats maxed out at 99, 7 was a formidable amount.
Ha-ra scratched her cheek. *Should I just eat it myself…?*
She glanced at her stats.
[User: Kang Ha-ra (Trait: Rock Enthusiast)]
Stamina: 7
Agility: 3
Strength: 4
Dexterity: 2
Mana: 9
Luck: 1
Looking at them again, her stats were truly abysmal. The generally accepted limit for stats was 99. It was said to be 100 originally, but since no Hunter had ever surpassed 99, it was considered humanity's limit.
And yet, none of Ha-ra's stats even broke 10. Of course, they were squared when she used her Multiplication skill, but that skill could only be used once a day and lasted for just 30 minutes. Suddenly, Ha-ra's thoughts drifted elsewhere.
“...But it's squared.”
*If I eat the egg and my Stamina becomes 14, will the skill boost it to 100?* She suddenly grew curious.
But the Constellation gave no answer. It was always eerily silent at times like these.
*Aigh. I shouldn't have expected anything.* Ha-ra rolled the egg in her palm, then changed her mind.
*This won't do. I'll have to sell this to someone else later, too.*
For Ha-ra, who couldn't become an S-rank right away and had no means of earning money, the immediate 8 million won fine was a more pressing issue.
[The Constellation ‘Cupid’ tempts you to go clear out an A-rank dungeon.]
It really had no conscience. How was she supposed to clear an A-rank dungeon with just Flight and Multiplication? Of course, she did have her ultimate skill. The one that went something like *Candlelight*. The skill name was too long, so Ha-ra just called it Candlelight.
But in any case, dungeons weren't places Ha-ra could enter as she pleased. When a dungeon opened, the government would typically block the entrance first to exploit it down to the bone, allowing only authorized Hunters inside.
Ha-ra sneaking in to clear a dungeon? That kind of thing could never happen in this country.
Another sigh escaped her. Just then, *Bbi-rorok*. A text message arrived on her phone. It was from Chief Jeong Yu-jin.
Come to work starting tomorrow. Get discharged today. Come straight to my office as soon as you get in.
*Work…* Ha-ra's eyes glazed over. It seemed she would have to go back to the Mapo branch office after all.
“It was nice not having to work for a week…”
For someone who had just survived a dungeon, it was a remarkably simple joy.
