Commanding summons is also part of a mage’s skill. Of course, the wolf was currently nerfed to match my limited stats. Even so, defeating monsters in C-rank dungeons and collecting their hearts was not particularly difficult.
And with those monster hearts…
“We need a reagent to reinforce your master’s shell.”
To endure the mana boiling inside me, I first had to strengthen my physical body. And on top of that, my current body was in a rather weakened state.
Naturally, after using the Flame of Purification.
Even among incantation magic, the Flame of Purification was on a completely different level from what I had used before.
My previous chant spells had been, comparatively speaking, quite simple. They were spells with a kind of buff effect, temporarily amplifying the mana circuits so that I could handle mana I normally couldn’t, so even if the mana circuits overheated and the body was damaged, it wouldn’t deal a deep blow to the soul itself.
But the Flame of Purification is an incantation magic that uses my soul as collateral to judge the sins of the opponent’s soul and annihilate it completely. It expels a human soul from the path of reincarnation they would normally be able to walk. This time, because the opponent’s sins were deep, my own soul was unharmed, but since I had already absorbed a great deal of mana and then used incantation magic on top of that, the physical fatigue was incomparable to usual.
…Well, let’s just say it was a rather grand way of venting my anger.
“I’ll probably need more than twenty.”
And in situations like this, the most effective method is, naturally, to strengthen the body. The most commonly used material for physical enhancement reagents is monster hearts.
In humans, mana resides in the soul, and since the body lacks organs capable of gathering and withstanding that mana, we create mana circuits to circulate it, but monsters are different. Their bodies are far sturdier than humans’, so they often store mana directly within themselves. There’s a reason things like the “Dragon Heart” are passed down as legendary elixirs. That’s why monster hearts always make excellent reagent materials.
And I, too, am quite a capable reagent maker. It’s one of the basic qualifications a great mage should naturally possess.
“Of course, it’s not a perfect solution.”
If something as simple as this could solve the so-called “water balloon” state, there would be far fewer people ending their Hunter careers so anticlimactically. At best, making body-strengthening potions from mere C-rank monster hearts is nothing more than a stopgap measure. On top of that, even if I kept using such reagents, eventually they would stop working on my body altogether.
Still, for now, just buying time was enough.
The time I promised Han Jaeyeong was five days. By today, I needed to restore my body enough to circulate the minimum mana required to supply the wolf. Once the wolf brought back the materials, all I had to do was make the reagents.
“I just need to get my body into shape enough to return to Korea.”
After that, I've also thought about how to strengthen my body.
“Woof!”
“Don’t bark so loudly, people will come.”
“...woof.”
The wolf barked more quietly, reading the room. Despite being much bigger than Leo, it was actually far gentler by nature.
“Come to think of it, should I give you a name too? Jeong Dajeong will definitely say something when he sees you.”
Pant, pant, pant!
“Wolf, how about that? No, that’s too obvious… How about Lobo?”
(T/N: Lobo is (in the southwestern US and Mexico) a timber wolf.)
Thud, thud, thud! The wolf—no, Lobo—pounded the floor with its front paws. It clearly didn’t like it.
“That’s a pretty sincere name, you know. Or did you already have a nickname?”
The now-dead mage used to call this one the Demonic Hound. It seemed to like Demonic Hound better and was rejecting the name Lobo because of that…
“What on earth did you do to get the nickname Demonic Hound… Anyway, I can’t call you that. Anyone would think you’re a monster just hearing it.”
Which, in truth, you practically are, but still, keeping up appearances matters. Jeong Daon was already drawing some pretty unfavorable attention in Korea, so I couldn’t very well call you by such a terrifying name.
Whine… Lobo wagged its tail with a dejected look.
In any case, that settled its name. Come to think of it, it actually suited him quite well.
“I don’t have time to indulge your sulking. Go and be back before dawn.”
With that, I opened the hospital window.
Lobo glanced at me sidelong, then squeezed his body out through the window and leaped out swiftly. Jumping out, he landed lightly on the rooftop of the nearby building. A little sulky, but so loyal that he would surely gather the monster hearts as ordered. Isn’t this what they call auto-hunting?
Leaving the window open, I flopped down onto the hospital bed. It finally felt quiet, peaceful. For the first time in a while, I focused on my breathing in silence and slipped into meditation.
“...”
During the day, between Lee Pyeonghwa, Lobo clinging to me at my side, and Jeong Dajeong constantly calling, I had wanted nothing more than some peace and quiet, but now that I was alone, it almost felt too quiet. I suppose that’s what makes getting used to things so scary.
“Ah, this is annoying…”
My meditation didn’t last very long. In the end, I kicked off the bed and got up. For the past two days I really had done nothing but sleep when I needed to for minimal physical recovery, and spend the rest of the time reading newspapers, but it was still boring.
“Maybe I should leave a clone and sneak out for a walk or something…”
Knock, knock!
That was when I heard the door to the hospital room open.
“Um, Patient Jeong Daon.”
“Yes?”
A nurse whose face I’d grown familiar with over the past few days peeked in. She, too, was a Korean-speaking nurse arranged through the embassy’s consideration.
But she looked quite troubled, and behind her stood several hospital guards who also looked unsure what to do.
What on earth was going on?
“A guest has come, but, um…”
“Isn’t it past visiting hours? Who is it?”
A stiff voice, mechanically altered, came from behind the nurse, “I know it’s outside visiting hours, but I really can’t make time at any other hour.” It was the same kind of voice Han Jaeyeong had used when they activated their translation item.
I widened my eyes when I saw the face appearing behind the nurse. It was someone completely unexpected.
“You are…?”
I had heard of this person several times on the news, and even recently, so recognizing her was easy enough.
“Association President Estella?”
The one who had suddenly appeared was Estella, the president of the International Hunter Association and an American S-rank Hunter. But why in the world was she here?
“Oh, if you know who I am, this will go faster.” The woman slipped past the nurse and approached me, extending her hand in a friendly manner. “Nice to meet you. I’m Estella. That’s a code name, so I don’t have a surname. Just call me comfortably.”
I stared at the hand she offered. I was curious why someone of her stature had suddenly come to see me, but…
This is actually a good opportunity.
I’d been curious about her anyway. With the International Hunter Association based in Manhattan and Yu Hanul mentioning that he’d met her as well, I had been wondering if I might get a chance to meet her at some point; never expected her to come to me first.
“I’ll pass on the handshake.”
That aside, I had no particular desire for physical contact.
“Oh, sure. That makes sense, you might find it uncomfortable.” After being refused, Estella withdrew with a bright smile. “But talking is fine, right?”
“…I suppose so.”
“You heard that, right?”
She glanced toward the nurse, who still looked troubled but had no choice but to close the hospital room door. From the nurse’s perspective, it wouldn’t be easy to turn away someone as important as the president of the International Hunter Association, citing visiting hours, without even asking my opinion.
Once the nurse and guards left the room, I began to properly observe Estella. Her known age should have been over sixty, but if you told anyone that, they would probably scoff. At most, she looked like she might be in her thirties. Of course, it’s widely known that once a Hunter reaches a certain level, aging slows down, but still…
Elastic, voluminous blonde hair and sharp blue eyes. She had piercings not only on her ears, but on her lips as well. They seemed to be magic items, as faint mana waves could be felt from them.
Even aside from those features, her tall, lean figure, firm build, and casual shirt and slacks made her a beauty anyone would do a double take at.
And then…
No.
A bit of the tension drained out of me.
I looked into Estella’s soul with my observation skill, but found no trace of Orbis whatsoever. Estella was not Orbis’ reincarnation.
I thought there was a high chance they’d be hiding within the International Hunter Association…
The more I thought about it, the more suspicious it was that the machine used in the Supernatural Test had been updated starting this very year. Since that machine was developed by the World Hunter Association and distributed to each country, the assumption that Orbis might be on the World Hunter Association’s side seemed quite plausible. And given their approach to cult leaders like Lee Manbok, it was practically a given that they had risen to a certain position. That was why Estella, as the Association President, had been a strong candidate too…
Estella smiled brightly. “Are you done observing?”
It seemed she had been waiting for me to finish examining her.
“And I think you might be misunderstanding one thing. I don’t casually probe other people’s bodies just because I shake hands with them. In fact, that’s called manners.”
“…My apologies.”
“There are plenty of people who don’t bother with manners, so I understand. Especially in Korea, where there are many high-level Hunters relative to the country’s size, competition is fierce…”
Estella crossed her arms, nodded, and then stepped back to lean against the wall some distance away, as if to reassure me. Despite being the head of the International Hunter Association, her attitude was quite casual.
And I didn’t particularly like that. Because I had just seen straight through her soul with my observation.
To think she’s similar to Yu Hanul…
I never imagined I would encounter another soul like Yu Hanul’s on this Earth.
There are people like that, sometimes. Souls that radiate a brilliant light of their own. No matter how much filth life throws over them, no matter how much humiliation they endure, that light is never obscured; people who persist in carrying out their convictions.
I don’t think Yu Hanul or Han Jaeyeong spoke very highly of her, though. This is unexpected.
Honestly, just looking at her was blinding enough that I didn’t want to see more. It felt like sunlight being reflected by a mirror. She was exactly the kind of person I preferred to keep my distance from.
“So, what brings you here to see me?”
“Potential S-rank Hunters are quite rare. And to have someone survive a dimensional stranding and emerge in this city, it made me want to meet you at least once. Given your injuries, I thought a formal invitation would be a burden, so I held back. Hmm, is the translator working well?”
“I understood what you meant.”
Given the nature of English, it seemed to be translating everything into polite speech, but it didn’t feel bad.
Estella smiled as if relieved. “I heard you’ve suffered some physical damage. If you’d like, the World Hunter Association can provide healing potions. Let me know if you need them.”
“I’m fine—”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll send them through Hunter Han Jaeyeong. Or rather, I’m trying to put you in my debt, so I’d appreciate it if you felt a little burdened.”
"..."
“I’m just joking. Well, half-joking.”
“I think the translator’s performance is a bit lacking.”
"Haha!" Estella burst into hearty laughter. “Even if I say ‘in debt,’ I don’t mean a financial one. Once Korea’s mandatory service ends, you’ll be free, so I’m just showing you some options you might choose later, Hunter Jeong Daon.”
“You’re telling me to come to the U.S.?”
“Yes! America is the land of freedom. The World Hunter Association warmly welcomes talented individuals.”
In other words, she had come to make an early scouting offer.
“My mandatory service still has a long way to go. Isn’t this a bit early?”
“At most, thirty-nine months. At my age, that much time passes in the blink of an eye. Honestly, it was lucky we met like this. Normally, you can’t even leave the country for those thirty-nine months, right?” Estella said with a smile full of goodwill. “In fact, if you’d just express a positive intention right now, I could pull some string—”
Thump, thump, thump! Footsteps came running from outside the hospital room.
Estella, who had been about to continue, wore a subtle smile. “Well, looks like we’ve been interrupted.”
Bang! The door burst open, and a man rushed into the room.
“Estella. What do you think you’re doing?”
It was Yu Hanul.