▶ Chapter 12. My First Disciple (2)
Because the Demon King’s invasion had dragged on for so long, it had become difficult to secure enough food.
Apparently, more and more people had been starving to death lately.
We need to grow more crops.
But the rulers of the various countries hoarded everything, whether it was seeds or money, and refused to share.
The world was on the verge of destruction, yet those bastards still cared more about filling their own pockets.
This world is such a mess because of people like them.
I wanted to just kill every last one of them, but the fact that I couldn’t was one of my greatest frustrations.
I’m going crazy.
My head felt like it was going to explode from thinking about one problem after another.
Whenever that happened, I would stop by the orphanage and check on the children I had rescued.
Partly to make sure the orphanage teachers were raising them properly without abusing them, and partly to clear my own head.
“P-Put me down!”
His face was mostly hidden by the long bangs that had grown however they pleased.
Still, I could tell his face had turned red.
He seemed embarrassed.
“I said put me down!”
“Oh, okay.”
His red face was cute, but I gently lowered him back onto the floor.
Still flushed, he shouted at me again.
“I asked if you don’t hate being a Hero!”
“Oh, right. That’s what you asked. No, I don’t hate it. I like it.”
“Why do you like it? You get hurt every day fighting monsters! Doesn’t it hurt a lot?”
“It doesn’t hurt because I’m a Hero.”
“Liar! It hurts! It hurts a lot!”
I placed a hand on his head.
I was going to pat him, but he immediately smacked my hand away.
He really seemed to hate being treated like a little kid.
He was like a prickly kitten.
Cute.
“You don’t even get to sleep properly because you’re busy helping people, and you barely get to eat! There are tons of people demanding that you save them! And there are even people who curse at you when you couldn’t save someone even though it wasn’t your fault! So why don’t you hate being a Hero?!”
I smiled and answered him.
“I can understand how the people who curse at me feel, to some extent. They lost someone they loved. How could they possibly be thinking straight? A few insults are nothing.”
There had even been a few people who foamed at the mouth and charged at me with weapons, screaming that I had killed their loved ones instead of the monsters.
Compared to that, a little cursing was almost cute.
“......”
“And I like saving people. I think that’s just the kind of person I am, regardless of the Hero’s Blessing.”
Of course, there were times when I got completely sick of being a Hero.
“......”
“Because I’m that kind of person, you’re alive too.”
“......”
“So don’t curse me. Be grateful instead. Got it?”
“...ank you.”
“Hm?”
This time, not only his face but even the back of his neck turned bright red.
Then he shouted again.
“Th-Thank you!”
I smiled brightly and asked,
“Are you really grateful?”
“Y-Yeah! I really am!”
“Then do you want to become my disciple?”
“Huh?!”
“Honestly, saving the whole world by myself is getting a little too difficult. I was thinking I could take in some promising kids as disciples and teach them a few things.”
It was something I had started considering recently.
“You, for example. You were born with an incredible amount of mana. You can become very strong. What do you think? Want to become my disciple?”
“...If I become your disciple, will I get to stay with you?”
“Yeah. You have to stay close if you want to learn a lot.”
“Then I’ll do it! I want to!”
“Good. Being enthusiastic is a good attitude. All right, then. You’re my first disciple!”
“Wait, your first disciple? You’re going to take other disciples too? Ow!”
That last scream came because I smacked him on the head.
“How dare you speak casually to your master, who is as high as the heavens! Use polite speech!”
“You’re only seven years older than me! The teacher at the orphanage said seven years isn’t even a big difference—ow!”
“Even if there were only one year between us, a disciple must speak politely to their master and treat them with proper respect! Understood?”
“......”
“Keep acting like that and I’ll cancel the whole disciple thing.”
“...Yes. I’ll speak politely.”
“And?”
“...I’ll treat you respectfully.”
“And don’t get jealous of my other disciples. Got it?”
“......”
“Answer me.”
“...Yeees.”
His shoulders drooped.
His body was already tiny, and somehow he looked even smaller now.
It almost made me feel sorry for him.
“By the way, what’s your name?”
“My name is...”
“Lu.”
I opened my eyes while murmuring his name.
The scenery I had been seeing in my dream just moments ago was gone.
So was his face.
Instead, all I saw was the old, low ceiling of the tiny one-room apartment belonging to Kim Suyeon.
I want to see Lu.
But I couldn’t.
That connection had already ended completely.
I couldn’t even find out how he was doing.
So I should just accept it.
In my previous life, I had learned far too well that I needed to let go of the things I couldn’t do anything about.
For example, the sadness and despair over the people I couldn’t save.
If I kept emotions like that buried inside me, I wouldn’t have been able to endure.
So I should forget about Lu too... But why did I suddenly dream about him?
For a moment, something seemed to flash silver before my eyes.
What was that?
I reached out, but there was nothing there.
Still, it felt strange.
≪Search≫
I used my skill, but once again, nothing appeared.
I guess I imagined it.
Lu’s mana had been a mysterious silver color, just like his hair.
It was probably because I had just seen Lu in my dream.
I pressed one hand against my strangely heavy heart for a moment before letting go and stretching.
“Ugh, my whole body aches.”
After clearing the Grade 9 Break before, I had discovered a problem.
This body lacked stamina and strength.
Maybe because of that, after clearing the Grade 7 Gate ten days ago, I spent almost two entire days sick in bed.
I can’t keep going like this!
So I went to a nearby gym.
Personal training was pretty expensive...
Holding back tears, I paid for it and told them I wanted to improve my stamina and strength.
The personal trainer’s eyes immediately burned like blazing suns.
“You understand the beauty of muscles! Leave everything to this Gym King! I swear I’ll turn you into a Gym Queen!”
Ever since then, he had been enthusiastically putting me through hell.
It was tragic.
I became a Hunter so I could live a comfortable retirement in the future.
And yet I was suffering at the gym almost every single day.
Fortunately, Hunters didn’t really need to manage their diet, but they still had to train their bodies.
What kind of situation is this...?
Only now did I realize just how ironic it was.
Then should I quit the gym...? But since I started going, my stamina and strength have actually increased...
Among the stats, Mana, Divine Power, and Luck couldn’t be increased through training.
However, Mental Strength, Stamina, Strength, and Agility could.
Although they say Mental Strength is so difficult to increase that it’s practically impossible.
That didn’t really matter to me, since my Mental Strength was already at 100+, with nowhere higher to go.
[Mana 100+ / Divine Power 100+ / Mental Strength 100+ / Stamina 13 / Strength 11 / Agility 17 / Luck 11]
Those were my current stats.
I had earned 3,780 points from my first Grade 5 Gate, and another 22,800 points for clearing the Grade 9 Break.
And after clearing the Grade 7 Gate...
Including the additional experience from the Twelfth, I earned another 20,250 points.
That brought my total to 46,830 points, allowing me to reach Level 5.
Compared to when I was Level 1, my Inventory had gained another twenty-two slots, and every stat had increased by four.
My Stamina and Strength had increased by five instead of four.
One of those points had gone up yesterday.
It was the result of all the personal training I had endured.
They say raising stats is incredibly difficult, but if this really works, then I should keep going... But it’s way too hard!
I agonized over the irony for a while.
Then I ate a meal packed full of protein—meaning meat—and headed off to the gym.
No. Don’t call it going to work!
That phrase was bad luck.
Anyway, after being thoroughly tortured by my Gym King personal trainer, I showered and left the gym with my body aching but feeling refreshed.
Then I headed to the movie theater.
I enjoyed a good movie, ate another meal packed with protein—again, meat—and then entered the restroom of a random building.
I activated Stealth before coming back out.
After that, I headed toward a road in a secluded area.
Why?
Exactly two weeks ago, I had cleared the Grade 7 Gate that appeared in Jamsil and rescued nineteen people.
The entire world had gone wild over it.
Since the beginning of the Gate Era, there had never been another case where so many people survived a Grade 7 Sudden Gate.
On top of that, everyone had assumed NotAHunter was a damage dealer.
Now, it had been revealed that I could heal perfectly as well.
There are plenty of Hunters who can act as both damage dealers and healers.
But in most cases, their healing abilities were weak.
A damage dealer powerful enough to clear a Grade 9 Break.
At the same time, a healer powerful enough to instantly heal someone who was moments away from death.
I was the only one.
Naturally, everyone went crazy.
And then they went crazy all over again.
Especially in Korea.
It was enough national pride to fill ten huge bowls—
No.
Almost enough to reach a lethal dose.
Nearly every television station, internet broadcast, online community, and social media platform was overflowing with praise for NotAHunter.
