Chapter 23

▶ Chapter 23. I Can’t Give Up! (3)

“Oh, you’re pretty tough, aren’t you?”

That was Mundal’s reaction.

It felt a little strange hearing that from someone who probably would have snapped C-guy’s arms and legs if I hadn’t stepped in.

Still, I felt amazing.

It was a Grade 9 Gate, yet I had rescued survivors and even threatened a villain!

I was incredibly proud of myself!

But I’m tired... Going all the way back home sounds exhausting.

Since I had come all the way to the beach, staying at a nearby hotel sounded like a good idea.

That’s it! A vacation at a seaside hotel!

It was the kind of luxurious experience I had always wanted to try!

Just thinking about it suddenly gave me strength.

“I’ll be going now!”

≪Stealth≫

“She disappeared!”

“I wanted to at least treat you to a meal!”

“HunterAnham-nim, you’re the best!”

“Thank you so much!”

People looked around in every direction, shouting a few words each.

Just like last time, their sincere gratitude flowed warmly into my heart.

I quietly moved away and glanced back.

At the people I had saved.

Except for C-guy, of course.

Junwoo was smiling again while tightly wrapped in his mother’s arms.

And Mundal...

“HunterAnham-nim! If we meet again, make sure you give me your number!”

He was waving both hands enthusiastically.

I really don’t want to meet him again...

I had a feeling he would be troublesome.

I shook my head and flew away even faster.

HunterNet

1. ZERO DEATHS!!!!!!

2. └And it wasn’t even Grade 7, it was a freaking Grade 9 sudden Gate!!!

3. Good thing it appeared over the ocean instead of directly on the beach, so fewer people got caught up in it...

4. └The three people who got dragged in and survived must’ve used up an entire lifetime’s worth of luck.

5. I still can’t believe foul-mouthed Mundal was the one saying not to use the kid as bait.

6. └Are you doubting HunterAnham-nim right now?! HunterAnham-nim said she heard it clearly!

7. └I believe in HunterAnham-nim!!!

8. └Mundal isn’t a villain;;

9. └Mundal has a bad reputation because he curses a lot and refuses to raid Gates in Korea, but he’s definitely not a villain. If anything, he’s closer to a villain hunter.

10. └He’s the best buffer in the world!

11. └Apparently he’s nice to kids and doesn’t curse in front of them.

12. Mundal once saved my older sister overseas. She said he was really kind!

13. └A Kindhearted Potty Mouth! Sounds like a movie title.

14. └(Link) Have you seen this video? He’s seriously amazing at cursing...

15. └Compared to my grandma, he’s nothing.

16. But why did he suddenly come back to Korea? He’s avoided this country like he had debt collectors chasing him all this time??

17. Praise HunterAnham-nim!!!

18. └Praise!!!

19. └Praise!!! (2)

20. └.......

“Hehehe.”

I lay back on a sunbed by the hotel pool while reading posts on HunterNet praising ‘HunterAnham.’

This is heaven!

The thought naturally came to mind.

...But maybe I should’ve gone to a better hotel?

When I searched earlier, the best hotel in Gangneung cost around 700,000 won if you wanted a room on the same day.

The price had scared me so badly that I had chosen a 200,000-won hotel instead, but this place had a swimming pool, and even the room had a bathtub!

Still, I felt a little disappointed.

I have plenty of money now, so I could’ve gone to the 700,000-won hotel... That much spending probably wouldn’t attract the National Tax Service’s attention.

I had lived in poverty both in my previous life and this one, so spending money freely still wasn’t easy.

Sob, sob.

After crying internally, I focused on the internet again.

HunterNet

1. [Translation] American Reactions to HunterAnham-nim’s Latest Achievement

2. [Translation] Japanese Reactions!!

3. [Translation] Spanish Reactions!!

Reading posts like these made dopamine explode inside me like hot spring water erupting from the ground.

Muahahahaha!!!

I couldn’t stop myself from grinning from ear to ear.

But there was something that made me even happier than all this praise.

HunterNet

1. Thank you so much for saving us! I’ll never forget what you did for me!

2. Thank you from me as well!

3. Thank you, HunterAnham-nim!

The sincere smiles of the people I had saved.

No masterpiece in the world could ever be as beautiful or enchanting as those smiles.

I knew that better than anyone.

And besides...

People who nearly die usually try to live more kindly afterward.

It was one way to dye the world with goodness.

From now on, after I save people, I should openly tell them to live as better people.

That would make it even more effective.

I should teach my future disciples to do the same.

Originally, I had planned to accept disciples after reaching Level 10.

Starting from then, I would be able to give them bonus experience points.

I also hadn’t finished checking the personalities of the three brothers yet.

But now I had obtained the ‘Grade-7 Alert’ skill.

Technically, I could just ignore the alarms.

But I couldn’t do that.

Because at my core, I was a hero.

Then it would be better to ask the three brothers, who know more about Gates than I do, to recommend some suitable Gates and quickly raise my own level to 10 first.

After that, I could travel around with the three brothers and help them level up.

Once one of the three reaches Level 50...

I would give him the ‘Grade-7 Alert’ skill.

Then I would retire!!!

And enjoy a luxurious retirement overflowing with money!

Just imagining it sent a thrill through me.

It’s the perfect plan!

But before putting the plan into action, I needed to confirm something.

I got up from the pool, put on a robe, and returned to my room.

Since I needed to wash anyway, I filled the bathtub with hot water, added some bubbles, took off my swimsuit—which I had bought in a hurry and was shocked by how expensive it was—and climbed inside.

Ah, right.

Using my detection skill, I first confirmed that there were no Hunters nearby and no wiretapping items or anything similar.

Then I spoke.

“Twelve, it’s okay now.”

“Quack!”

Twelve cried out in response and revealed himself.

Until now, Twelve had been an invisible person...

No, an invisible bird.

It was thanks to the ‘Pet Stealth Item’ I had received as a reward two days ago.

It was a small anklet, so once I put it on him, Twelve could activate it himself using the tip of his beak.

Thanks to that, he could stay outside my inventory, which made Twelve extremely happy.

Although he gets frustrated because he can’t talk—other than quacking.

That couldn’t be helped.

And yet he still secretly eats the food I order whenever he gets the chance.

Twelve flew one full lap around the spacious bathroom before landing beside me on the edge of the bathtub.

“Quack!”

He was demanding chicken.

“Later.”

“Quack!”

“There’s something I need to do first.”

[From now on, if you have business with the System, summon it through your pet. However, you will receive a penalty if you summon it for something trivial.]

Those were the words the System had told me before.

I grabbed Twelve with both hands.

“Quack...?”

Twelve trembled slightly, as if asking why I was suddenly holding him and saying that he was scared.

I looked directly into his eyes.

“Summon the System!”

Twelve’s round eyes changed from black to a strangely familiar silver.

[......!!!]

Text appeared before my eyes.

It looked incredibly shocked.

“What’s wrong?”

[Men and women must observe proper boundaries, yet you summon me while bathing?!]

It sounded like dialogue straight out of a historical drama.

[Call me after you finish bathing!]

Twelve’s eyes changed from silver back to their original black.

“......”

I was so dumbfounded that I remained there for a moment, still holding Twelve.

“Quack!”

Twelve opened his beak wide and cried out as if telling me to get a grip.

It worked.

“Hmm. Right.”

Twenty years had passed since the Hunter Era began and the System appeared.

Countless theories about the System had circulated during that time.

Only three facts had ever been confirmed for certain.

The System could not be manipulated.

The System could not lie.

And the System was a tool created to help Hunters prevent the world from being destroyed by monsters and Gates.

That was also how the System itself defined its purpose.

However, some people believed that somewhere behind the System was a person with a class called ‘Administrator.’

So that theory was true.

Considering the conversations I had already had with it...

And now...

That reaction!

I finally understood.

“There really is an Administrator.”

I was currently bathing, but the bubbles covered everything below my shoulders.

Yet the Administrator had still reacted like that.

Which meant...

“He’s a man with Joseon-era values!”

“Quack.”

Twelve urged me to hurry up and finish washing.

“Hmm... No. The Administrator isn’t going anywhere.”

The Administrator’s identity(?) was certainly surprising, but I still wanted to enjoy my bubble bath.

“......”

Twelve glared at me.

It was probably because of the chicken.

Still, I stubbornly and leisurely enjoyed my bath.

Once I was finished, I ordered room-service chicken for Twelve—something else I had always wanted to try—with both fried and seasoned flavors.

Then I slowly dried all my hair with the hair dryer.

If he really has Joseon-era values...

I tightly fastened my robe all the way up.

“Twelve.”

Twelve had already devoured all the chicken.

I grabbed him again just like before and shouted.

“Summon the System Administrator!”