▶ Chapter 36. Coin Arcade Gate (4)
“Still, you were amazing. You did extremely well!”
I sincerely clapped my hands.
“Second Brother, congratulations!!!”
Han Dongju jumped up and down beside us while clapping loudly.
“Level 30!!! Amazing!!! HunterAnham Big Sis, thank you!”
“Junggeun, congratulations. HunterAnham, thank you once again.”
Even Han Yonghwan’s normally cold face was flushed with excitement and happiness.
“Second Brother, you’re hungry, right? Let’s hurry out and eat! HunterAnham Big Sis, do you like makchang?”
“I do!”
“There’s a famous makchang restaurant nearby.”
“Then let’s go!”
The three brothers and I said,
“Complete As Is.”
Immediately, a flood of text appeared.
[Notification: Mission complete.
This Permanent Gate will close in 10 seconds. At that time, everyone inside will return to the original world.]
[Mission contribution results are as follows.
1st. Han Junggeun, approximately 84 percent
Reward: 1 Random Draw Box, Rank 8, 8 Inventory Slots
2nd. HunterAnham, approximately 8 percent
Reward: 3 Random Draw Boxes, Rank 7, 3 Inventory Slots
3rd. Han Yonghwan, approximately 5 percent
Reward: 1 Random Draw Box, Rank 7, 2 Inventory Slots
4th. Han Dongju, approximately 3 percent
Reward: 1 Random Draw Box, Rank 7, 1 Inventory Slot]
[Rewards will automatically be placed inside your inventory.]
We could only react the same way as before.
“A Rank 8 box?!”
Han Yonghwan, Han Junggeun, and I all snapped our heads toward Han Dongju and stared at him.
Han Dongju closed his eyes with a serious expression and concentrated.
Then his eyes suddenly opened wide.
“I have a feeling something amazing will come out again!”
The moment we returned to the waiting room, Han Dongju took a mat, folding screen, and incense out of his inventory, just like last time.
I selected Divine Power Enhancement Mode as before.
Then I poured an enormous amount of divine power into the Rank 8 Random Draw Box Han Junggeun had taken from his inventory.
Let’s open the box!!!
What was inside was...!
One hour later.
“I’ve never seen Second Brother smiling like that before.”
While eating perfectly grilled makchang, Han Dongju whispered quietly.
“....Neither have I.”
Han Yonghwan, who was rapidly grilling a huge amount of makchang for everyone, gave the same answer.
I had searched through countless photos of the three brothers while deciding whether they were suitable disciple candidates, and even I had never seen this expression.
Han Junggeun was currently smiling from ear to ear.
Why?
Because the reward from the Rank 8 box was none other than a Pet Exchange Ticket.
Even Han Junggeun, who had remained calm in front of 313 Rank 7 badger monsters, looked extremely nervous when he injected mana into it.
And the pet that appeared was,
a tiny penguin small enough to fit in one hand.
Perhaps because it was still a baby, instead of smooth black and white feathers, its body was covered in fluffy gray down.
There was also a faint strap-like marking around its chin.
It looks like a small, chubby stuffed toy. It is pretty cute.
It was understandable that Han Junggeun, a huge animal lover, had instantly fallen for it.
And the penguin seemed to have a good personality too.
Twelve didn’t even greet anyone when it first appeared. It just threw a tantrum demanding sweet and spicy fried chicken instead of makchang.
Then I gave Twelve a piece of makchang.
“Quack.”
This is pretty edible too. Hurry up and give me more.
After confidently demanding more, Twelve was now happily eating everything I placed in its bowl.
The penguin was completely different from Twelve.
The moment it appeared with a pop, it recognized Han Junggeun as its owner.
“Kyah.”
It made an adorable sound and rubbed its fluffy face against Han Junggeun’s hand with a smiling expression.
Yes, even penguins could smile!
I swear Han Junggeun’s eyes turned into hearts at that moment.
The penguin politely bowed to greet the rest of us too.
Unlike Twelve, it was not noisy at all.
It quietly sat on the table in front of Han Junggeun and happily munched on the makchang he fed it.
A penguin, and a baby penguin at that, is eating makchang....
Twelve was eating it just fine too, so it was probably safe.
“Second Brother, I think that one is a chinstrap penguin.”
“A chinstrap penguin?”
“Yeah. I searched online. That’s what it says. Apparently, they’re famous for having terrible personalities.”
Han Junggeun’s expression immediately hardened.
“There is no way our Seven is like that.”
Why was its name Seven?
Because Han Junggeun had said,
“Since I received this pet thanks to HunterAnham, please name it for me.”
So I answered,
“Alexander Napoleon Friedrich George III Shahanshah Gwanggaeto VII!”
“....”
“That’s too long, so let’s just call him Seven.”
That was how the name was decided.
When they heard it, both Han Junggeun and the penguin, Seven, seemed to suffer from violently shaking pupils.
They must have liked it.
Suddenly, Twelve stopped with a piece of makchang held in its beak and blinked.
“What’s wrong?”
Twelve dipped the makchang into a sauce filled with chopped Cheongyang chili peppers, then began munching again.
It seemed delicious, because Twelve nodded its ridiculously tiny head in satisfaction.
“....Was it thinking about whether to dip it in sauce? Is this thing really a duck and not a human?”
Han Dongju asked with a dumbfounded face.
“It’s a duck. But honestly.... even I’m starting to doubt it.”
“Quack!”
“What did it say?”
“It wants more Cheongyang peppers in the sauce.”
Han Junggeun was the one who answered.
“Second Brother, can you understand Twelve now too?”
“Seems like it. Here.”
Han Junggeun gently added more Cheongyang peppers to the sauce and carefully pushed it in front of Twelve.
“Quack.”
Twelve said thank you, but nodded its head in a delinquent way.
I openly glared at Twelve.
Twelve flinched, then pretended not to notice.
“HunterAnham, I truly thank you. But I’m sorry and ashamed to ask this.... I would like to request another three levels.”
Han Junggeun politely bowed his head.
At the same time, one hand was carefully stroking Seven under the chin.
“Does something happen to Seven when Hunter Han Junggeun reaches Level 33?”
“Yes. Seven’s level and mine appear to be connected. When I reach Level 33, Seven will grow and gain another special skill.”
Han Junggeun told me all the other information about Seven as well.
Seven was a permanently bound living creature, could enter the inventory, occupied one slot, and had a special automatic looting skill.
“That part is the same as Twelve. Twelve’s special skill appeared immediately, but Seven’s starts at Level 33.”
“If it’s a special skill, it must be amazing! Maybe it gives bonus experience like Twelve?!”
Han Dongju spoke excitedly.
Han Yonghwan seemed similarly interested, but spoke calmly.
“HunterAnham, if you don’t mind, what do you think about raising Junggeun to Level 33 first? If Seven’s special skill gives bonus experience, it could benefit you as well.”
Originally, after getting Han Junggeun to Level 30, the plan was to raise me to Level 15.
Still, I readily nodded.
“Yes. That’s fine. Hunter Han Junggeun, exactly how much total experience do you have right now?”
“600,210 points.”
I took out my shiny new phone and calculated it with an app.
“You need 119,790 points to reach Level 33. Using Rank 7 normal monsters as the standard, after rounding up, you only need to kill 444 monsters.”
“Not ‘only’ 444.... That’s 444 monsters....”
Han Dongju muttered.
“The Palgongsan Gate respawns after thirty-five days, right? Waiting until then is a little too long. Are there any other Coin Arcade Gates in Korea?”
At my old job, I had heard that Palgongsan was the only one, but I asked just in case.
“There aren’t any others in Korea.”
“That means there are some overseas.”
“Yes. There are three more. But visiting them will be difficult. Two are too low-ranked, and one is Rank 8, but the situation around it is complicated, so it would be better not to clear it.”
“That’s disappointing.”
“Instead, I’ll investigate other overseas Permanent Gates. However, negotiations abroad are difficult, so it may take some time.”
I nodded.
“Until then, let’s clear domestic Rank 7 Permanent Gates. If we independently clear several gates managed by other guilds one after another, people may complain. But if we contact the Hunter Association, they’ll probably cooperate.”
“Yes. If it seems like they won’t cooperate, tell me immediately. I’ll take care of it.”
“....That sounds slightly terrifying.”
Han Dongju said that.
I pretended not to hear.
“Even if everything progresses quickly, it will still take several days. Please rest properly in the meantime. Rest is important too.”
Han Yonghwan filled my plate with carefully grilled makchang.
“Here, eat more.”
“Yes.”
Both Twelve and I ate until our stomachs were ready to burst.
Afterward, we immediately used the portal to return to Seoul.
“Wait a moment.”
Before I left, Han Dongju smiled brightly and took a paper bag filled with something out of his inventory.
