< Thorn Winged Dark Dragon >
“Exactly what happened here?”
Yerim asked, looking at the hospital room that looked like a typhoon had swept through.
“Nothing much.”
“It was nothing much but cracks appeared on the walls? They definitely said that these are special walls?”
“Since I’m fine, it’s the same as nothing happening. Chirpie, come here.”
-Chirp!
Yesterday’s matter was covered up. I couldn’t say ‘an SS-Rank demon king appeared, but it disappeared’. So only Kim Sunghan and I knew about the Dokkaebi King.
“Even though you say that, ahjussi’s face looks really bad? You look tired.”
“That’s just because I couldn’t… sleep.”
I had thought that sleeping fitfully for one day wouldn’t show since I slept through two days. Ah really, if it was an S-Rank dungeon, then it would take a really long time. Since it was just the two of them, it would take at least ten days.
“……My only younger brother, this bastard really…”
“Whew, our ahjussi is stressed out; what should we do? Do you want a glass later at dinner?”
“At any rate, alcohol is… Yerim?!”
What did I hear just now? When I stared at Yerim, taken aback, wondering if my ears were off, she smiled like nothing was wrong.
“At any rate, alcohol is like water. Because of my stats, unless I pour down a fairly potent one, I won’t get drunk.”
“Whether you get drunk or not, why would you drink alcohol! This juvenile delinquent!”
“I do fly[1] around a bit~.”
Not that ‘biheng’… When I covered my face with my hands, Yerim burst out laughing and hit my arm.
“I just took a little taste out of curiosity. It tasted bad.”
It made sense she was curious about the taste of alcohol, but Yerim, this punk, really. Still, I wondered if I didn’t pay enough attention even though I was her guardian.
“Still, hold back until you’re an adult. Of course for other things too. And if you can, don’t smoke even after becoming an adult. Are you studying well lately?”
“Uh……”
Yerim froze. To think it made an S-Rank freeze in one breath; one sentence outshone skills.
“You couldn’t have taken much classes while you were going into dungeons, so to catch up, don’t you have to work hard? But yesterday, you stayed here at the hospital all day, and you came here in the morning today, too.”
“Th-that’s true, but ahjussi is more important! It’s okay, I already told my teacher, and they said it was okay……”
Even if they were a homeschool teacher for high rank Hunters, they should be a low rank Hunter or a normal person getting hazard pay, so how could they refuse an S-Rank saying she wanted to rest?
“I have somebody who’s going to escort me today. I’m going to be guided through the rearing facility by that person, too.”
“Who is it?”
“The Chief of Awakened People Management.”
Yerim tilted her head. It seemed like she didn’t know much.
“The S-Rank Hunter affiliated to the Ministry of Public Administration and Security who allows the Hunter Association to manage even S-Rank dungeons, Song Taewon. Within the country, he’s the sole S-Rank Hunter who isn’t affiliated to a guild, but to the nation. Up to now, our schedules didn’t match, so we haven’t met, but contact came asking to guide as well as meet once.”
Song Taewon was an Awakened Person who used to be a policeman. Unusually, even as an S-Rank Awakened Person, he stayed as a public official. He could be aiming for the fast track in public service, but he was a person who didn’t have that kind of greed.
A large reason why the Association was holding up well between large sized guilds, was thanks to Song Taewon.
“While we’re at it, you meet him, too. Since he’s the very first person who will rush over when an S-Rank Hunter breaks a law.”
I went down to the hospital parking lot with Yerim. Maybe because it was an exclusive building for Hunters, it was quiet. It was because there were healers for wounds, and Hunters, who didn’t catch diseases much, didn’t have any reason to go to the hospital. For F-Rank Hunters whose stats were a little better than normal people, medical insurance didn’t even work here, so they went to an normal hospital.
“It seems like he hasn’t arrived yet.”
“You’re right. Should we go to the outside parking lot and wait?”
Shortly after going outside and sitting on a bench near a flowerbed, a small red car that looked obviously old came rolling in. Seeing that, astonishment flashed through Yerim’s face.
“Ah-ahjussi, there, there… it seems like an S-Rank Hunter is in there…… Is there something wrong with my senses?”
“He’s normally that kind of person.”
I said, standing up from my seat. I had heard rumors, but actually seeing it, I was also a little dumbfounded.
The squat car stopped, keeping the parking lines. The man coming out from it had a large build, unsuited to the small car. With the perfectly straightened clothes and face that seemed like it would be that of the main character of a serious action movie, he carefully closed the car door in case it would break.
“……Why is he like that?”
“It’s because he’s a public servant.”
“I mean, even if he’s a public servant, there are a lot of people who live well, he’s an S-Rank Hunter……”
She mumbled with a expression that said she saw something she shouldn’t have. It was something that was a little hard to understand. I knew he didn’t get paid as a Hunter, but it was a high ranking position, so the annual income shouldn’t be low.
The S-Rank public servant, Song Taewon, nodded lightly. Just when he had nodded his head, a large, sleek, obviously-expensive-even-at-a-glance sedan slid into the parking lot. As if racing on a highway, without decreasing its speed, it turned, when.
Bam!
It rammed into the small car’s rear end. The poor small car was partly destroyed, but the sedan just had a slight scratch. Yerim, who had seen that, mumbled quietly.
“Nice.”
Let’s pretend I didn’t hear it.
The person who came out of the sedan’s driver’s seat was none other than Sung Hyunjae. With a refreshed face, that crazy guy raised and showed one hand toward Song Taewon. In his hand, was a paper that looked like a business card.
“File the repair costs to here. Or should I give you the car keys? Seeing you go around hunched over with that build, my foot unconsciously hit the accelerate. It wasn’t on purpose.”
“For this at least, I’m on Seseong Guild Leader’s side.”
Yerim whispered. I mean, what was wrong with driving a small car? As a once petit bourgeois, I was on Song Taewon’s side.
“Accepting money over a certain amount is against the law.”
Song Taewon said placidly. But the eyes looking at Sung Hyunjae weren’t pretty. In the first place, he was on cat-and-dog-like terms with giant guild leaders.
It was because the giant guilds that legally received a considerable tax exemption were considered to be tax evading organizations.
It was the same for the guild leaders, who were also irritated by the S-Rank Hunter who had the Hunter-related special authority to investigate. It was because it was someone like Sung Hyunjae, that he was doing that kind of crazy provocation; even if it was the guild leader of a fairly large guild, they would’ve had to step back in front of Song Taewon.
“Besides that, why have you come all the way over here? Guiding Han Yoojin-ssi should have been entrusted to me.”
“I came to escort the kids’ dad.”
Saying so, Sung Hyunjae turned to look at me.
“The Thorn Winged Dark Dragon’s dungeon attack finished this morning.”
Seeing how he was in a good mood, it seemed like they were successful in capturing the baby dragon.
Song Taewon’s car couldn’t move, so we ended up dropping by Seseong Guild first. Song Taewon was displeased, but he didn’t have a car, and it was on the way, and monster rearing was in a contract, so he couldn’t block it.
On the way, Sung Hyunjae asked derisively if he was going to escort a precious person with a paper-thin car, and Yerim also agreed. While Song Taewon, who had been listening silently like a stone Buddha, apologized, saying that he didn’t think ahead and that next time he would at least rent a car, I became more sorry.
I was worried that Yerim was hitting it off well with Sung Hyunjae…
“Hello, Han Yoojin-nim!”
Hunter Kang Soyoung met me with a beautiful face like flowers blooming. She was obviously incredibly pleased, but it soon changed to a worried face.
“Is your body alright? I should have gone directly myself, but the other person was Chief Song Taewon.”
“It is alright. I am fine.”
She seemed like someone who could communicate well enough, so she should have come directly. Then, the poor small car would have been safe… right?
I couldn’t be sure. Just looking at her skill, Kang Soyoung would be good at hitting the accelerate, too.
“Please come this way!”
The place where Kang Soyoung guided us to had one cage. In the small soft nest made inside there, a black being was sleeping with its body rolled up.
[3rd Rank Flying Dragon Type – Thorn Winged Dark Dragon(Juvenile)
Current Stat Rank D
Possible growth Stat Rank A~S
Optimized Initial Skills
Acid Breath(S) Achieve after growth
Thorn Armor(A) Achieve after growth
High Speed Flight(A) Acquired
Poison Scales(B) Achieve after growth
※No growth without an adult’s help]
This guy had the same condition as the Horned Flame Lion. I left Chirpie with Yerim and went closer. Apparently they had waited until the egg hatched and then caught it to bring out – it really looked like it had just been born. Past being small, it was exactly the size of a puppy. Was that why its stats were D-Rank, unlike Peace or Blue?
Maybe because it was young, it didn’t have thorns yet. The scales also looked soft instead of firm. The round belly lightly went up and down, and the tip of the tail twitched occasionally. There was a silver ring-like necklace around the thin neck.
“It is really cute, right? Right?”
Kang Soyoung whispered quietly. It actually was cute. Though most things were cute as babies.
“The name is Comet[2].”
“Is it female?”
“It does not matter.”
So she didn’t know.
“We will be able to know once it grows. If the wings are on the bigger side and the poison stronger, then it is female, and if the thorns are on the longer side compared to the wings, it is male.”
Would a female be better as a kiseungsu?
Kang Soyoung took out the owner’s token. She held it tight in both hands and looked at me tearily. Behind me, I heard Yerim mumble that Soyoung unni’s acting innocent also was no joke.
“Our Comet, please take good care of it. I will come looking for it often. I will come every day I am not doing a dungeon attack. If there is anything wrong, please contact me anytime. If there is also anything you need, please let me know, whatever it is.”
“Please do not worry; I will take care of it well.”
I received the token, put it in my inventory, and opened the cage door. The baby dragon didn’t show any indication of waking up.
“Its stat rank is higher than Han Yoojin-nim, but is that okay?”
“It is okay.”
At the most, my hand would get bitten a little. Right next to me, there was an A-Rank, and three S-Ranks were guarding behind, so they would help before something big happened.
I stretched out my hand and pet the head that had small horns. It was slightly cool and smooth. When I carefully wrapped my hands around it and lifted it, it waved its tail and quietly opened its eyes.
They were dark metallic gray eyes tinted with silver. The eyes blinked and then,
-Puoooo
It shook its nose and opened its mouth wide and yawned. Only a red tongue was seen in a flash, and it didn’t have teeth yet. It looked up at me once, and then shook its wings once and coiled its body again on top of my hands. It was a size where it filled up exactly my two hands while its tail and wings slightly fell out.
To think that this small of a thing would get big enough to ride. It was startling.
“It is sleeping again. How cute, our Comet.”
Kang Soyoung made a fuss, saying that it was so cute her heart was shaking. I agreed a little. It was indeed cute.
On the way to the rearing facility, Kang Soyoung followed along. It was because she wanted to see the place where Comet would stay. I wanted Sung Hyunjae to start to leave, but it seemed like he didn’t have that kind of thought at all. He said something like both the guild leaders of Haeyeon and Breaker had gone into dungeon attacks, so as the remaining person, he had to take responsibility for me. Putting aside MKC, why was he considering Hanshin as nonexistent?
Kang Soyoung rode her bike and left first. According to Yerim, it had a ton of speed violation tickets. She was an A-Rank combat Hunter, so she wouldn’t get into an accident, but keep the law at least.
The two people seemed closer than I would’ve thought, so I asked, and apparently they had gone to hang out along with Moon Hyuna several times. Apparently they had also gone to a room escape cafe.
“We set the shortest record!”
So they broke it, huh.
The rearing facility that we finally arrived at was a round and large building, like I had seen in bird eye’s view the other day. Seeing how the ceiling was high, outwardly, it looked like a large indoors gym.
At the entrance connected to the building and at the entrance of the main building, A-Rank Hunters were placed there. Respectively, they were people from Haeyeon and Seseong. Besides them, they said that two more A-Rank Hunters and about fifteen B-Rank Hunters would also stand guard.
I wondered if it wasn’t too much for that many mid to high rank Hunters to guard just somebody else’s building, but they said with the Myeongwoo effect added, there were a lot of volunteers. It was thanks to it being known that Yoo Mywongwoo would be coming here.
And most of this explanation flowed out of, not Song Taewon’s, but Sung Hyunjae’s mouth. His skill in blocking Song Taewon’s mouth and filling the conversation was so shrewd, that I was finding it detestable. If it wasn’t Song Taewon here, but Yoohyun or Moon Hyuna, wouldn’t a large scale fight have broken out?
But Song Taewon seemed like someone who had come down after cultivating himself toward enlightenment for about ten years in a mountain. Though the glint in his eyes were brutal.
‘Could the person who killed Song Taewon really have been Sung Hyunjae?’
You couldn’t even emptily say that they got along well, but it didn’t seem bad to that extent. At any rate, it was a groundless rumor. For the official announcement, they said it was death during a dungeon attack.
-Kkyaa! Kkya!
When we went inside the building, a large lobby appeared. Blue, who had arrived first, was flying around there. Thanks to the ceiling being high, she was flying enthusiastically, unlike when she was at home.
As expected, a large place was good for raising kids. And there would less of a chance of things being broken.
-Kkyaooo!
Having discovered me, Blue flew over in an instant. I wanted to hold the guy whose eyes were bright with welcome, but I was holding the baby dragon in one arm.
“Blue, wait.”
-Kkyooo?
“Kang Soyoung-ssi, we can safely put on an item like Chirpie, or try to let it become friendly with Blue without an item, but what do you think? If it does not have an item, it would get hurt, too.”
They would become similar in stat rank in the end, but right now, Blue was stronger. At my words, Kang Soyoung looked between Blue and Comet.
“You said that Blue is stat C-Rank, right? If it is that much, then wouldn’t it be alright? That necklace is one that raises the Stamina stat, so they should be similar in Stamina at least. And I can block them if it seems like it would get hurt bad.”
If it’s like that. I gently woke up the sleeping Comet and showed it to Blue.
“Blue, this is your new younger sibling. It hasn’t been long since it was born, so don’t be rough with it.”
-Kkyaa
Blue was tilting her head, when she flew over to around my chest. Maybe the baby dragon was alarmed, because it lifted up its head and spread its wings.
-Kyak! Kyak!
-Kkyaoo!
Raising her voice and yelling, Blue opened her beak wide, and then quickly bit the baby dragon’s wing, and,
Hwik-
Threw it. Comet, who had precariously flapped its wings that were big compared to its body and flopped to the floor, went ‘kyak kyak’ as if feeling wronged. Blue looked at that kind of proudly.
-Kkyooo!
After thrusting her chest out proudly and shouting, she didn’t attack any more.
Um, I didn’t really get it, but it seemed like she had accepted it, right?
[1] the word for junveile delinquent is ‘bi-heng-chung-so-nyeon’ where ‘biheng’ means ‘misdeed’ and ‘chungsonyeon’ is adolescent/teenager. However ‘biheng’ can also mean ‘flight’.
[2] the eng word transliterated to krn