<Episode 87>
I blinked blankly.
Hide the fact that I had reawakened?
Why?
“May I ask why?”
“Because people fear what is new.”
Bitterness colored Hunter Lee Hyunwoo’s voice.
His gaze drifted somewhere into empty space, as if tracing back to an old memory he would rather forget.
“When I first awakened as an S-rank, I was only sixteen years old. I had no real guardian, and I had even lost my memories.”
He continued calmly.
“There were people who welcomed the birth of an S-rank hunter, but most did not. People said things like, ‘It must be a system error,’ or ‘A child like that can’t possibly be S-rank.’ All sorts of things were said.”
A trace of undisguised exhaustion showed on Lee Hyunwoo’s face.
“They remeasured my rank dozens of times. They even forced me into dangerous dungeons to prove my abilities. People who envied and resented me, politicians who wanted to tear me down and profit from it somehow…”
He paused and looked at me.
Deep concern and a protective instinct lingered in his eyes.
“Even I went through that much as an S-rank. If Hunter Haneul, the world’s only SS-rank, were revealed to the public… chaos beyond imagination would erupt. Countless people would rush in and try to use you for their own purposes.”
I swallowed hard.
Just hearing it made my head ache.
The moment my awakening became public knowledge, my peaceful daily life would undoubtedly be shattered.
“I’m not saying you should hide it forever. It’s just…”
“Until I fully understand my abilities and am prepared to handle them, we should keep it secret a little longer?”
At my words, Lee Hyunwoo smiled softly and nodded.
“Exactly. You don’t need to worry about the shop. I have an A-rank item that conceals mana levels.”
He took out a gemstone necklace from his inventory and handed it to me.
An item that concealed mana levels.
It was exactly what I needed right now.
“Thank you. I’ll keep it a secret for the time being, just like you suggested. I hate attention and drama anyway.”
I had only just reopened the shop.
I had no desire to become the center of rumors and controversy before I was ready.
As I put on the necklace, I looked at him.
“By the way, there’s something I’ve been curious about…”
Ever since awakening as an SS-rank, one question had been lingering in my mind.
With a playful smile, I looked at Hunter Lee Hyunwoo.
“Do you think I could beat you?”
“…Pardon?”
“No, I don’t mean actually fight! Just in theory! My rank is higher, isn’t it? I’m SS-rank.”
Still seated on the sofa, I threw a few mock punches into the air.
“I feel lighter now, and I think I’ve gotten stronger too… At this level, shouldn’t I be able to defeat an S-rank hunter?”
Lee Hyunwoo chuckled.
“I’m not sure. A higher rank doesn’t automatically mean greater combat ability. What I sense from you isn’t overwhelming destructive power but rather…”
He paused briefly before gently wrapping his hand around my fist.
His large, sturdy hand completely enclosed my much smaller one.
The rough but warm touch instantly spread through me.
“I sense a stronger energy of creating and transforming things. I suspect you’ve awakened as a special-type or production-type hunter rather than a combat-type.”
“A-Ahem. I guess that makes sense. I mean, it’s not like I suddenly feel capable of smashing boulders with my bare hands! Haha!”
The atmosphere was becoming strangely awkward.
I forced an unconvincing joke and quietly pulled my hand free.
For some reason, the back of my hand felt hot, as though it had been burned.
“…First, I should figure out exactly what my ability is! One moment.”
I reached into the air and opened the system windows I had been ignoring.
As if they had been waiting, notifications poured out all at once.
Looks like quite a commotion had happened while I was unconscious.
—
(Congratulations) SS-Rank Awakening Complete
Your F-rank Master was secretly overpowered all along?!
Everyone who looked down on our Master can come at us all at once! (⋆ˋ⑉̈ˊ)൭൭⁼³₌₃
Surprise Gifts:
* Employee Recruitment Ticket (3)
* New Menu Unlock Ticket (3 Types)
* Shop Upgrade
* SS-Rank Requests Available
* 1,000 Points
—
The system window was even using emoticons, which it normally never used, to celebrate my reawakening.
It seemed genuinely upset about how people had looked down on me for being F-rank all this time.
‘Looking at it this way, the system is actually kind of cute.’
I smiled and checked the reward list.
Maybe because it was an SS-rank awakening, but the rewards were exceptionally lavish.
Recruitment tickets, points…
It felt like the system had thrown in everything it possibly could.
‘But did any of my actual stats change?’
After closing the notification window, I opened my status screen.
My basic stats, like Strength and Agility, had increased slightly, but for an SS-rank, they seemed pretty ordinary.
Just as Hunter Lee Hyunwoo had said, I probably wasn’t combat-oriented.
‘Don’t tell me I’m SS-rank in name only and nothing actually changed?’
The ominous thought made me shiver.
Then something unfamiliar caught my eye in the Skills tab.
—
[Owned Skills]
* Iron Stamina (A)
* Talent Detection (C)
* (NEW) Blessing Touch (SS)
—
Iron Stamina had naturally increased from B-rank to A-rank.
Talent Detection was the skill I regularly used whenever recruiting employees.
And beneath them was a skill I had never seen before.
‘It’s even an SS-rank skill?’
My heart pounding, I opened the skill information.
—
Blessing Touch (SS)
Bestows a special blessing upon food (or a target) touched by your hand.
Effect: Neutralizes Mana Collision
Duration: 720 Hours
—
I tilted my head after reading it.
‘Neutralizes… Mana Collision?’
It was the first time I’d ever heard the term.
Mana Collision?
Was it some kind of hunter-specific technical term?
And I could put this effect into food?
While I was staring seriously at the system window by myself, Lee Hyunwoo asked,
“What is it? Is something different from what you expected?”
“Ah, I got a new skill, but the description is a little strange. It says it can neutralize Mana Collision…”
At that moment, Lee Hyunwoo’s eyes wavered.
“Did you just say Mana Collision?”
“Yes. Do you know what that is?”
For a moment, he couldn’t respond.
Then he answered in a low, subdued voice.
“It refers to a phenomenon where a hunter’s internal mana circuits become tangled when they awaken or use excessive amounts of mana. Most people simply call it an ‘awakening side effect.’”
It felt as though lightning had struck my mind.
The reason hunters couldn’t taste food after awakening.
The reason they struggled to sleep.
The incurable disease that afflicted hunters could never be cured by modern medicine.
Awakening Side Effects.
‘No way…’
My heart pounded loudly in my ears.
‘Can I cure that?’
I stared blankly at Lee Hyunwoo.
Meeting my gaze, he slowly nodded.
The moment I saw the trust in his eyes, I couldn’t stay still any longer.
“This isn’t the time to sit around! We have to test it immediately!”
The food I had made before had allowed hunters to taste flavors again.
But those effects had only been temporary.
‘But if I apply this new skill, they’ll be able to taste food for nearly a month? And the side effects will disappear too?’
I hurried into the kitchen.
What should I make first?
After thinking about it, I decided on custard-filled bungeoppang that made people sleepy.
Fortunately, I already had the necessary mold and ingredients in my inventory.
‘Hunter Lee Hyunwoo said he barely sleeps.’
Adding a special effect on top of that would be perfect.
My heart racing, I carefully greased the mold and poured in the batter.
Beside me, Lee Hyunwoo watched my busy movements with interest.
“Come to think of it, even though you’ve awakened as an SS-rank, you don’t seem to have any side effects at all. Is that correct?”
I stopped baking and widened my eyes.
He was right.
Nothing hurt.
I felt completely fine.
At Lee Hyunwoo’s observation, Hanyang, who was nearby, snorted and shook his head.
“It would be a mistake to compare a human chosen by me to ordinary humans, nya!”
“So you really aren’t an ordinary cat after all.”
At Lee Hyunwoo’s admiration, Hanyang nodded proudly.
Watching the two of them, I couldn’t help but giggle.
The custard bungeoppang was nearly finished.
Patiently, I waited until the surface turned golden brown before carefully removing it from the mold.
‘Perfect! Now I just need to apply the skill–’
At that moment, a bright red system window appeared before my eyes.
—
Oops! Applying Blessing Touch (SS) has failed!
—
Failed?
Are you kidding me right now?
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