Chapter 10: Chapter 10

[Translator - Night][Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 10: Kang Shia (1)

How could I know a woman I’m meeting for the first time today?

When I first saw her, she acted all tough and girl-crush-worthy, but now she’s a total klutz.

When I replied with genuine disbelief, her face turned bright red, and she lowered her head.

“Oh… I… I’m sorry. I thought you’d obviously know…”

“Are you a celebrity, by any chance?”

“Yes… I go by the name Kang Shia.”

“Oh! Kang Shia! Of course, I know Kang Shia. You’re the one who’s the youngest daughter of a chaebol family but works as an actress, right? And you’re famous for not doing kissing scenes… Wait, you’re really the Kang Shia?”

Whoa.

Now that I take a closer look, it really is her.

How did I not recognize her earlier?

Kang Shia is almost a top-tier star.

Her face alone plays in the top league.

Ah, that’s right.

Kang Shia’s usual image is cold, sophisticated, and elegant.

Her current look—with a kind expression and a sheepish, apologetic demeanor—is a complete 180.

Plus, she usually wears bold makeup.

Her bare face is so different that I didn’t recognize her.

“Wait, why is someone like Kang Shia looking for a team through an app?”

“Oh… actually… I’m in the archer class.”

“An archer?”

“Yes. I usually team up with a friend who’s a warrior, but they kept missing attacks, and when I complained, they told me to try being a warrior instead. So, in a fit of anger, I agreed, and we made a bet…”

“And then?”

“When it came down to it, I had no experience as a warrior, so I decided to use the app to find a party and gain experience… But I didn’t think I’d be this bad at it.”

An archer class?

Wow.

This is absurd. Sёarch* The nôvelFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

No wonder she didn’t have much strength for a warrior, but she was pretty agile.

She must’ve poured all her points into agility.

“If you really need to do this warrior thing, shouldn’t you at least start with a two-handed sword?”

“Yeah… I figured this wasn’t working. I got it because it looked cool… My friend uses it well, though…”

Watching the cold and elegant goddess Kang Shia fumble like this feels surreal.

Was she always like this?

“Your friend must’ve maxed out their strength stat. You’re not landing effective hits, so the monsters don’t feel threatened at all. You’d probably be better off using a lighter weapon and a shield.”

“A lighter weapon and a shield…”

“Yes. Like what I use. Want to try my sword?”

“Oh. This is manageable.”

“See? If your goal is just not to lose monsters, there’s no need to insist on a two-handed sword.”

Honestly, I don’t even understand why she made that pointless bet in the first place.

How could I possibly understand the mind of a rich celebrity?

“Thank you for the advice.”

She stood up and bowed deeply to express her gratitude.

Still, for a chaebol heiress and celebrity, she’s got great manners.

“You’re welcome. If you return that two-handed sword, you can probably afford a sword and a shield.”

“Return it? I’ve heard of that, but… I’ve never actually done it before…”

She genuinely looked clueless.

Ah… She’s polite, but she naturally exudes an air of privilege.

“Um, can I ask you a question?”

Kang Shia, asking me something?

Getting a question from a celebrity made me feel oddly important, so I nodded.

“Why are you recruiting people through the app, Kim Jiho? You seem like a pretty skilled mage. Couldn’t you just join a guild?”

I guess real mages do tend to join guilds.

I gave her the excuse I had prepared.

“Oh, I was planning to join a guild my friend’s in, but it’s a bit awkward to find party members in the meantime. I don’t know anyone yet because I just got promoted… Honestly, my level’s still pretty low.”

“You’re low-level? But you’re great at close combat and use so much magic.”

“Well, I’m level 9. I’ll hit level 10 if I clear this dungeon.”

“Wow. Level 9? I’m actually level 16…”

Level 16?

No wonder she’s so agile.

As an archer, isn’t she doing really well?

“You’re really good. Your base stats must be amazing.”

Kang Shia’s eyes sparkled as she looked at me.

She really is beautiful.

I couldn’t help but feel a little proud.

[Pollux criticizes the user, saying, “Are you even a man?”]

Without even checking the message, I dismissed it immediately.

“So, are you going to keep recruiting teammates through the app?”

“Probably, yeah.”

“Then… would you mind teaming up with me for just a week? I’ve got this bet coming up in a week, and it’s been so hard finding party members through the app.”

The Kang Shia is asking me to team up for a week?

It’s an honor, but…

Thinking about how she struggled against those orcs with that two-handed sword makes it hard to give an immediate yes.

Teaming up with her might be better than going solo, but still…

“Hmm…”

Would changing her gear make her at least 70% effective?

It has been tough finding teammates…

Should I team up with her before going solo?

But judging from how she fought earlier, I’m not entirely convinced.

“Um…”

Kang Shia looked flustered as I hesitated to answer.

Did she just assume I’d agree?

Well, she probably hasn’t been rejected much—with her looks.

But pretty or not, skill matters more…

[Pollux scolds the user again, “Are you dense?!”]

Ugh, can that annoying observer stop butting in?

As I kept hesitating, Kang Shia bit her lip and held out her two-handed sword.

“If you agree to team up with me, I’ll give you this.”

"Sorry? This two-handed sword?"

"Yes. I've never processed a refund, and anyway, I'll go back to my original weapon, the bow, in a week. You can sell it if you like…."

Wow, she's really rich, huh?

This sword looks amazing.

It even seems more expensive than all my equipment combined, which is worth 300 million won.

And she's giving it to me just to use for a week?

This must be the kind of wealth that's simply beyond imagination.

"I'll escort you with utmost dedication."

I grinned as I spoke, and Kang Shia flinched, pulling the sword back into her arms.

"Oh… okay… I'll leave the sword in my car and give it to you after a week."

Hmm.

Did my expression show too much greed?

Is she worried I might run off with it?

Still, by delaying my response, she handed me this treasure.

Patience is key in negotiations, after all.

Kang Shia, who had seemed like a burden, suddenly looked like a treasure.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

The next day, she switched her weapon to a rapier and shield, and they were surprisingly useful.

No matter how much magic was hurled at us from behind, the monsters couldn’t even think about getting to me because of her swift strikes.

Kang Shia seemed to enjoy herself, attacking fiercely.

"Die, die, die! Hahaha!"

I couldn’t see her face because of her helmet, but wouldn’t her eyes be gleaming wildly?

Thanks to her properly drawing the monsters' aggro, our dungeon conquest went very smoothly.

"I'm doing okay, right?"

"You're doing great."

"Good enough to team up with, right?"

"Yes, you should've done this from the start."

"Tch. I shouldn't have started with the two-handed sword. My first impression must have been terrible. You’ll be amazed when you see me shoot with a bow."

I looked her up online and found an article stating her initial agility stat was 10.

Apparently, her family was vehemently opposed to her being a Hunter, but just as she had stubbornly insisted on debuting as a celebrity, she had persisted to become a Hunter.

Of course, due to the pressure of her chaebol family, this wasn’t officially reported, but the rumors were widespread on HunterNet.

One other perk of working with her: I could keep all the mana stones to myself.

"Are these worth much? Huh? Just a million won?"

"Just a million? Can I keep them all?"

"Sure. Oh, give me just one as a keepsake."

Except for the first stone I handed her, I monopolized all the mana stones.

Each run yielded 4 or 5 stones, which was a nice boost to my finances.

I wanted to monopolize the dungeon clear rewards as well, but since those were immediately reported to the Hunter Management Bureau, I couldn’t.

A real shame.

"Thanks for your hard work today."

"You too."

It was our sixth day together.

My level had risen to 11.7, and my stats had improved considerably.

[Name: Kim Ji-ho

Class: NOVICE

Guardian God: Pollux, God of Gemini

Title: Awakened Bat

Level: 11.7

Strength: 9, Agility: 9, Magic: 10]

[Name: Kim Ji-ho

Class: Beginner

Guardian God: Aurelia, God of the Volcanoes

Title: None

Level: 11.7

Body: E, Magic: E+, Skill: E, Luck: D++]

I had distributed my stats evenly but focused on magic this time.

I figured that when I reached level 25 and advanced to D rank, balanced stats would suffice.

By prioritizing magic first and mastering 2nd-circle spells, I could bring the other stats up later.

As for luck, investing one more point in D+ didn’t upgrade it to C- but rather D++.

It seemed I needed to invest more points to reach C.

Man, even with these stats, the Order faction total is just 28.

Some people start at level 1 with stats of 28 or 27.

The discrimination is just ridiculous.

Without the Neutral faction stats, I’d have been in trouble.

On my way home, feeling good as I rode the Association’s car, an unknown number called me.

"Hello?"

-Good evening. This is Woo Jeongsik, the butler of the Daehyun family. I’ve heard that our young lady has been in your care recently.

"The Daehyun family? Who… Oh, Kang Shia?"

-Yes.

"It’ll be over soon. What’s the matter?"

-Ah, I see. I just wanted to check when you’d be finishing.

Didn’t Kang Shia already tell them it’s tomorrow?

Why are they calling me?

"Sorry, but could you please get to the point? I’m not sure what this is about."

-Well… it’s regarding your relationship with the young lady…

Relationship?

What relationship?

Oh no, is this one of those cliché drama moments?

"Don’t tell me you’re calling to get rid of some pest clinging to your young lady, like in those old-school dramas? We’re nothing, you know. I don’t even have her number. All we talk about is hunting."

Silence.

No way. Is this real?

How outdated can they be?

Maybe I should mess with him.

"Oh, wait. Yes, you’re right. I have ulterior motives. I’m trying to charm the innocent young lady and cling to the chaebol family. If you want me to stop, pay me. Teach me 2nd-circle magic or something. Haha."

-Pay… pay you?

"Yeah. You didn’t expect me to stop for free, did you? Surely you’ve prepared something. I’ll stop approaching her if you pay me."

-Ah, p-please calm down, Mr. Kim Jiho. Our budget…

I could hear the panic in his voice through the phone.

Sigh.

Poor guy.

It’s not his fault.

He’s just another salaryman.

If I weren’t a Hunter, I’d probably be an intern at a place like that, getting scolded left and right.

"Man, you can’t even take a joke. Anyway, Kang Shia and I agreed that I’d use her expensive two-handed sword for a week. Report that it’ll be over tomorrow."

-Th-thank you very much.

"How did you even get my number? Geez…"

-I sincerely apologize for the intrusion, and thank you again, Mr. Kim Jiho.

“…And that’s what happened yesterday."

"Aaaah! What the heck! Are you crazy?!"

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]