CH 10

Hi there! My name is Kirara and as you might have guessed, I absolutely adore everything that sparkles. My love for reading webnovels and light...

After the red-haired Chihuahua left the house, I also went outside. My destination was a luxury thrift store that would neatly organize Seo Go-woon’s extravagant tastes.

“Even if you come back later, we don’t return items that have been bought once. You know that, right? If yes, please sign here.”

I half-listened to the thrift store owner’s voice while signing the sales agreement. I didn’t know if Seo Go-woon would wail if he saw this if he ever returned after I left his body.

‘It’s none of my business. I needed the money right now, anyway.’

“Alright, I’ve deposited the money,” the owner, worried that the heart of a gullible customer like me might change, showed me the deposit transaction and took the signed agreement.

Since all the items sold were a limited edition, and the owner had bought it at a relatively low price, it was understandable that he wanted to quickly finish the transaction. However, unrelated to the owner’s impatience, I was happy to have obtained more money than expected.

“Where is the nearest item store?” Thinking about my now fattened bank account, I asked the owner about the location of an item store.

“Item store? For a small shop, you can use the one right next door, and for a larger shop, head down the alleyway. But is sir a hunter yourself?”

“Yes. Thank you for your help,” I quickly finished my greetings and left the store.

Preferring luxury items was a common practice for ordinary people, but most hunters favored items that would protect them. As a result, it was natural for the owner not to recognize Seo Go-woon’s background as a hunter.

Which hunter would invest more money in flashy, design-focused luxury items rather than equipment that could actually protect them? Seo Go-woon, had awakened as a hunter but didn’t live a proper hunter’s life, was the odd one.

“It really is huge.”

The item store was not only beautiful, but also enormous. Since items were available for general use, many people were coming and going. I picked up a guide map and slowly entered the building. All the items displayed were being displayed under dazzling lights, accompanied with serene classical music playing in the background.

Hmm, it has a similar vibe to the department store I visited to buy a gift for my class president.’

I looked at the products sold on each floor and took the escalator.

“Hey, isn’t that Seo Go-woon?”

“Really? It is Seo Go-woon.”

“Why did he come to the item store? Is he here to cause trouble again?”

“Last time, he kicked out all the customers, even renting the whole place, only to return everything he bought.”

“They say that the guild leader of the Noeul Guild personally came to handle the refunds.”

Hunters were rare, but unless they were Rankers, they usually went unnoticed. Seo Go-woon wasn’t even a Ranker, plus he wasn’t even properly active as a hunter. Yet people still recognized him.

‘How infamous is he as a troublemaker?’

I covered my face with my hand, embarrassed. I didn’t know what Seo Go-woon was actually like since the novel only mentioned his ‘troublesome acts’,’ but the fact that hunters recognized his face was surprising.

‘I need to buy something and get out of here quickly.’

Pretending not to hear anything, I got off the escalator and entered the first store I saw. My joy was not in luxury shopping but in shopping for items. However…

“What do you need… Ahh!”

The moment he saw me, the man was so startled that he fell, and I couldn’t help but feel depressed. With his slicked-back hair, well-dressed suit, and even a neat smile, the man, who was clearly an employee here, shuddered as if he had seen a loathsome creature.

‘What did I even do for him to scream like that…?’

I looked at the employee with a bewildered expression. The way he was trembling made me feel like I was a robber or something.

‘Could it be that Seo Go-woon had caused trouble here too?’

“What’s going on?”

Another employee who had been in the store’s warehouse rushed out. Judging by the gold name tag he was wearing, he seemed to be the manager.

The employee who had hastily run out asked me with a stiff expression on his face. “What brings you here?”

“I came to buy items at the item store, what else?”

“I apologize, but no matter how much you intimidate our employee…”

“Intimidate? He screamed and fell down by himself just by making eye contact with me. As I said, I’ve come here to buy items,” I replied irritably to the employee who seemed ready to capture a living person.

“Jeong-hwan, I’ll handle this. You can go inside.”

“Yes… I’m sorry, manager.”

After the manager helped the trembling employee up and led him inside, he spoke, “If you need anything, please let me know.”

I handed the list I had prepared in advance to the manager, who had a determined expression on his face, as if to say, ‘I alone will stop you.’ After briefly examining the list, the manager’s determined expression disappeared, and he asked with a puzzled face.

“…Are you, by any chance, going to the dungeon?”

“Do I need to disclose where I’ll be using them?”

As I frowned, the manager became flustered and waved his hands, “Ah, no. It’s just that it will take some time to prepare. If you could wait a moment…”

“Then I’ll go to another floor and come back.”

As I handed over my card, the manager calculated the amount and returned it.

“Your card has changed. From the Noeul Guild card to Mr. Seo Go-woon’s personal card.”

“You talk more than I expected. This and that.”

“……We will have everything ready while you’re away.”

I nodded and headed to the 5th floor. The crowd had grown larger and louder, but I didn’t care.

‘I wouldn’t see these people once I returned to my world. What’s the point of caring?’

I decided not to care about what anyone said, as I had given up on improving my relationship with Seo Taeju.

Upon arriving on the 5th floor, the floor and above were restricted to hunters only, so the entrance was blocked by a metal door.

I approached the employee in charge of checking hunter IDs.

“Hello. This is… Hunter, Seo Go-woon?!”

His reaction screamed after seeing the word, Hunter. When someone said Hunter to someone else, it usually meant out of recognition for their abilities, but… It was different for me since it would have a different meaning. I then clicked my tongue and pointed at the iron gate with my finger.

“Can I go in?”

“Huh? Yes, you, you can go in.”

Ignoring the flustered attendant, I went inside. There was no separate store on this floor, unlike the second floor. It was a private area just for Hunters.

‘I think Seo Taeju bought a sword here.’

I could tell even from reading the novel that the private room for Hunters was very simple.

“Welcome, Hunter Seo Go-Woon. We are pleased to have you in our private room. Please, come this way.”

The personal shop attendants were much friendlier than the outside attendant. The room they led me to, bowing deeply as if they were treating me with utmost respect, was brimming with luxury, unlike the simplicity outside.

As I sat down on the plush sofa the attendant guided me to, a golden potion was placed on the table.

‘Oh, they give potions in places where only Hunters can enter?’

In the novel, potions had different colors depending on their effects. Silver for healing, gold for fatigue recovery, blue for mana recovery, and so on. The potion in front of me was a fatigue recovery potion.

‘I wonder what this tastes like.’

Having only ever consumed silver healing potions to avoid dying, I picked up the potion out of curiosity and spun it around. The attendant lowered their posture and spoke, “If you tell me what you need, I’ll prepare the catalog right away.”

“No, just give me all the catalogs. I have a lot to buy today,” I gestured, putting the potion down and leaned back on the sofa. Then I grinned, a smile Detective Kim absolutely despised.

“Didn’t I tell you not to smile like that because it makes you look evil?”

“Are you Mr. Seo Go-Woon?”

I had smiled to imply that I would cause trouble if the items weren’t good, but the attendant took it differently.

“I’ll bring you catalogs of items even more valuable and stylish than luxury brands,” the attendant said before quickly getting up.

“Ah, but before that, bring me the Infinity Pouches.”

A satisfied smile crossed the attendant’s face.

“Of course.”

◈◈◈

I momentarily lost myself as I gazed at the enormous forest that seemed to be filled with the scent of phytoncide.

“How can it be like this?”

Unlike the tower that revealed another world once inside, the dungeon’s landscape changed in the blink of an eye. The soil beneath my feet and the fragrance in the air were all reminiscent of a real forest.

“It feels like I’ve come to the mountains to catch a rogue dr*g dealer.”

In the past, way before I possessed Seo Go-woon’s body, I had been dispatched deep into the mountains to find a runaway dr*g dealer. I had no reason to refuse then since I was in a position where I had to comply if ordered.

‘Did it take about two nights and three days back then?’

As I walked, thinking of those times that have now become memories, I finally noticed a place that matched the description in the novel. Next to the grassy trail, there was a patch of weeds that reached up to my waist. In this weed patch, which seemed natural for a forest, albeit somewhat out of place, monsters were hiding.

I bent down and touched the ground.

“Refine.”

As I muttered the skill inwardly, a sharp cone emerged from between the weeds, piercing the belly of a squirrel-like monster. With a squeak, blood splattered on the weeds and a message appeared. Using skills had become as easy as breathing.

[You have gained experience points.]

“One down.”

I used my skills to eliminate monsters whenever I saw a weed patch, making my way to the boss room. The forest dungeon was quieter than I expected. In contrast to regular forests, the only sounds in the dungeon were my footsteps and the movements of monsters. There was not even the noise of insects. I then looked at another weed patch that appeared and touched the ground.

As I watched a squirrel-like monster die from being pierced in the belly, I frowned, “Hmm, there are fewer monsters than I expected.”

The dungeon ‘Animal Forest Pandemonium,’ as described in the novel, was full of monsters. It was fair to say that every animal one could find in a forest, such as squirrels, badgers, and rabbits, had been turned into monsters. However, the only monsters I had encountered so far were the squirrel-like ones hiding in the weeds.

There were no signs of field monsters like badgers or rabbits that should have been present.

‘It’s been about a month since it was last cleared according to the search results, so most of the monsters should have respawned by now. Why aren’t they appearing?’

“Could it be that someone came here before me?”

Today, while in the forest dungeon, I intended to check how much mana was consumed when using alchemy, and how much rest I needed to recover it. However, due to the long intervals between defeating monsters, my mana was fully restored, making it impossible to accurately measure.

“Sigh. Can’t be helped.”

Since this dungeon is not privately owned by any guild but shared by all hunters, there’s no way to hold anyone accountable for sneaking in and out.

‘It must not be my day,’ I shrugged my shoulders and aimed my skill at the patch of weeds in front of me.

“Refine.”

“Kiee-!”

The ground within the weeds transformed into sharp cones, piercing through the monsters’ bellies. Green blood and entrails slid down the cones.

[You have gained experience points.]

“Anyway, the more I use it, the more fun it gets.”

‘Refining’ was an intriguing skill the more you knew about it. As the proficiency of the skill increased, more intricate decomposition was possible, and if materials were available, it allowed me to create necessary items through alchemy.

“Why did Seo Go-woon do such foolish things when he had this power?”

The more I utilized the ability, the more pitiful Seo Go-woon seemed. With a power like this, why did he resort to steal from others?

‘Well, that’s why he died early, I guess.’

I shook my head and stopped walking. The trail had come to an end.

“So it should be around here… Ah. There it is.”

I looked at the five patches of weeds a little further away. This was the last barrier to the boss room and the primary habitat of the squirrel monsters. I raised my hand above the ground, observing the five patches of weeds on both sides. It was my first time attempting to use ‘Refine’ on not just one but five patches at once, so I felt a bit nervous.

“Refine.”

Unlike before, my mana drained in one go, and five cones simultaneously burst forth from the ground.

With a thud, something was pierced, followed by the monsters’ screams in succession.

‘Based on the screams, have they all died?’

[You have gained experience points.] [You have gained experience points.] [You have gained experience points.] [You have gained experience points.]

“Huh? I’m missing one?”

While looking at the experience gain message, I saw a monster rushing out of the weeds and desperately shouted.

“Refine!”

This time, instead of a cone, a stone wall was created in front of me. The charging monster couldn’t avoid the emerging stone wall and collided head-on. I hurriedly touched the stone wall and activated ‘Refining’ skill again, and the spikes that sprouted in the middle of the wall pierced the monster’s body.

“Arrgh.”

A short scream and a thud were heard.

[You have gained experience.]

With a slight delay, the experience message window appeared, and I disassembled the stone wall. The monster was dead, its body riddled with holes as if it had been stung by a porcupine.

“That was close. Was my aim off? Or is it because the skill level is still low?” Scratching my head, I continued walking.

As the path disappeared, a messy trail filled with countless flowers and weeds, reminiscent of an untouched forest, emerged. However, the flowers and weeds seemed trampled as if someone had passed through.

“I hope that place hasn’t been looted yet.”

It wouldn’t be a problem if someone arrived before me and defeated the boss monster. Rather, it would be a good thing for me, as I wouldn’t have to engage in unnecessary battles. But if that person had targeted my item…

“Please.”

There was no choice but to pray that my ominous thoughts would miss the mark.