Chapter 24 - If I'd Known Things Would Go This Well
Translator: Roshi
Yom had also departed on an expedition to another dimension.
Serintia had left yesterday with two extra bags of chocolate.
I'd actually meant to give her plenty, but there were only two bags left, so I just gave her all of them. She'd be visiting again in two or three days anyway, so it didn't matter.
I should pick some up on the way home from work today.
This time, instead of the usual stuff, something more varied.
There were all kinds of chocolate out there, after all.
When I imagined Serintia's face lighting up with delight after trying a new chocolate and saying it was delicious, a smile formed on my lips.
'My little girl.'
It felt like I'd suddenly ended up with an elementary school daughter.
The thought of "if I'd married early and had a daughter, she'd be about this age by now", and Serintia had stepped right into the role of that daughter.
Of course, her true identity was a True Progenitor vampire of at least S-rank, one that was growing stronger at that.
But, so what?
At the end of the day, she was a sweet, adorable daughter to me.
She said that once she got a bit stronger, she'd come visit every single day, so I looked forward to that.
In time, she'd probably be able to stay in this dimension for longer and longer.
Maybe instead of just feeding her at home and sending her off, we could spend more time together in this dimension?
'Hmm, but now that my face is so well-known, that might be a bit tough.'
If I walked outside holding Serintia's hand, people would definitely go "Whoa, is that your daughter?" and word would spread.
It'd be all over the internet in no time.
If possible, it'd be nice to enjoy our time together without all that attention.
'Well, that's a problem for later.'
I gazed at the suddenly empty living room.
With two of them gone at once, it did feel a bit quiet.
Kkiing!!
Cer, sensing my gaze, set his Comfort Toy down on the floor and stood up, wagging his tail.
"Yeah. You're the only one I've got, right, Cer?"
Kking!
I chuckled and rolled around the living room playing with Cer as he showered me with affection.
I'd woken up early today, so there was still plenty of time before work.
"How about a morning walk for a change?"
Kkiing!! Walk!
At the magic word, Cer instantly snapped to attention and sat perfectly at the front door, waiting.
His military discipline still hadn't worn off.
I smirked and got ready to head out.
I clipped on the leash, more for show than anything, put on my sneakers, and headed out along the usual walking route.
Students on their way to school spotted us and shouted.
"Whoa, it's Cer!"
"That's Cer, right, ajusshi!"
"Can we take a picture?"
Ajusshi, huh.
Well, yeah, I guess I am one.
I even have a daughter now.
"Sure, go ahead. But only if Cer says it's okay."
Kking? You're asking me?
"Wait, we have to ask Cer?"
"Cer, we're gonna take a picture of you!"
I flashed Cer a mischievous grin.
Cer, as if reading my intentions.
Kkiing! Kking!
"Ah, Cer! Hold still!"
"Ugh, the photo's all blurry!"
"Pfft, it came out hilarious!"
The photos turned out quite dynamic, but the students seemed satisfied in their own way, giggling among themselves as they left.
That age where even a falling leaf is funny.
I was like that once too.
Ahem. Thinking like this really does make me feel like an ajusshi.
Anyway.
This time, I chose Walking Route B at the fork.
The reason I had them divided like this was to periodically restore the plants along each route.
"Restoration."
Ding!
[EXP increased by 1.]
[Restoration Lv.9 (Stage 2) effect slightly increases EXP gain.]
[Gained an additional 0.14 EXP.]
...
[Gained 100 EXP as a bonus for 10 successful Restorations.]
[Restoration Lv.9 (Stage 2) effect slightly increases EXP gain.]
[Gained an additional 14 EXP.]
Even a small tuft of grass often counted as one successful cast, so hitting the 10-cast bonus was easy with plants.
And it added up to a pretty nice haul over time.
Looking at the gardens I'd restored to lush green life, I felt a sense of pride, even though I hadn't planted or raised any of them myself.
"Well, well! Hunter Jeong, you're here! Thank you, as always!"
As I was restoring the wilting plants and bringing them back to life, a voice came from beside me.
"Oh, hello. Haha."
The area I'd been restoring was the outdoor garden of a residential complex. An elderly security guard who maintained the grounds had come over to greet me.
"You know, whenever those flowers wilt, people start complaining that we guards aren't doing our job properly. But ever since you started bringing them back, Hunter Jeong-nim, that talk has completely stopped. I really appreciate it."
"It's nothing."
I get EXP and a sense of accomplishment out of it too, so it works out.
After a brief exchange, it was time for a park stroll.
"Cer, fetch!"
Kkiing!!
At the park, it was the classic game of fetch.
I thought I'd thrown it pretty far, but he blazed over and brought it back in an instant.
"Wow, that's our Cer for you."
Kkiing!
After playing at the park and enduring another barrage of photo shutters, Cer and I were leisurely heading back when.
Kkiing?
Cer suddenly whipped his head around and started sniffing the air.
"What is it, Cer?"
Oh, could it be.
"You sense Demonic Creatures about to come out of a Gate?"
Kkiing!! That's right!
An Emission Gate.
It was time for Cer to hunt.
*
When we arrived, the scene was already cordoned off.
It wasn't a heavily trafficked road, but.
Staff members stationed in tents had set up barricades to keep people from getting too close to the Gate.
"Hunter Jeong Shin-hu! You're here! We were actually just about to contact you because things are looking a bit serious."
It was the emission period, after all.
Even with the naked eye, something was clearly about to happen.
Wuuung—.
"Cer, get ready."
Kkiing!! Leave it to me!
After we took our positions.
The Gate opened and Demonic Creatures began pouring out.
GRAAAAH! GRAAH!
"Those are...!"
"Snowfield Trolls?"
The Bureau staff were stunned.
And for good reason, Snowfield Trolls were known as the most troublesome among all Trolls.
Their white skin was the toughest of the tough.
They radiated a cold aura that inflicted a slow debuff during close combat.
Their rank was B+ level.
Since regular Trolls had appeared last time, I'd figured there was a good chance Trolls would show up again.
But of all things, the most difficult variety had to appear.
On top of that, there were more of them than last time.
However.
"Cer, fire!"
They picked the wrong opponent.
Kkiiing!!
Whoooosh—.
The moment Cer breathed fire, three or four of them went up in flames and collapsed at once.
'Wow.'
This was my first time actually seeing Cer fight with his fire breath.
The firepower was worlds apart from when he grilled meat.
So this was what real Hellfire looked like.
GRAAAGH...!
Kkiing! Kking!
Whoosh! Fwoosh!
He seared the Trolls one by one as they charged forward in rage, and they crumbled helplessly.
Several more Trolls emerged from the Gate after that, but.
"Restoration."
Shwaaah!
Light seeped into Cer.
Ding!
[Used trait 'Recharge' to restore depleted organs.]
[Gained 530 EXP.]
[Restoration Lv.9 (Stage 2) effect slightly increases EXP gain.]
[Gained an additional 74 EXP.]
Kkiiing!!
Instantly recharged to full, Cer breathed fire with even more enthusiasm.
GRAAAAAAGH....
Thud!
The last Troll went down.
Only minutes had passed since the Demonic Creatures first emerged from the Gate.
The Trolls had been wiped out without causing a single bit of damage.
And then.
"Whoa."
"YEAAAHH!!"
Cheers erupted out of nowhere.
'Huh?'
Kkiing?
Only then did I look around, and people pressed right up against the barricades were watching us and clapping.
"Wow, Cer took out all the Snowfield Trolls by himself!"
"Aren't Trolls C-rank?"
"Not all Trolls are the same. Snowfield Trolls are at least B-rank from what I've heard."
"Wow, considering the numbers, they would've needed like ten B-rank hunters if they'd called it in."
"And he just torched them all with fire, just like that!"
"The fire weakened a bit at the end, but then Hunter Jeong Shin-hu used a heal and Cer went right back to full power, burning everything. I guess that kind of thing can be healed too."
"Man, so this is what EX-rank looks like?"
"So freaking cool...."
"Nice one, Cer!!"
As cheers for Cer rang out from all around, Cer seemed startled at first.
But once he realized the praise was for him, he perked right up and started bouncing around.
Kkiing! Kking!
"Aw, yeah. Cer. You did so great."
Dogs are always hungry for praise.
When I joined in with enthusiastic clapping, Cer got even more excited and spun in a full circle while jumping.
"Hey, did anyone get a photo of Cer jumping when Jeong Shin-hu was clapping just now?"
"Me! It came out kinda artistic, actually?"
"Pfft! Dude, if you post this on Winstar it's gonna blow up with likes. Look at that motion blur."
"Posting it right now!"
With so many spectators, it seemed like tons of photos and videos were being taken.
The Bureau staff, who had been standing back at a safe distance, came running over right away.
"Hunter Jeong Shin-hu! Great work out there! Cer, good job!"
"It was nothing. All I did was recharge. Cer did all the fighting."
"Oh, come on. Anyway, we'll get the site cleaned up right away. The Mana Stones need to be extracted from the Troll bodies, so we'll settle up with you as soon as they're collected."
"Understood. Cer, let's.... hm?"
I turned around.
Kkiing!
Riiip! Crack!
Cer had already gone over to the fallen Trolls and was tearing through their hides to extract the Mana Stones.
"Wow."
Those hides were supposed to be incredibly tough, but after being scorched by fire, they tore apart like jerky under Cer's claws and teeth.
Kkiing! Here you go!
Cer darted back and forth and had all the Mana Stones collected in no time.
His tail whipped back and forth, asking for more praise.
"Oh, Cer. How are you this good, even with the cleanup?"
Kkiing! Kking!
At some point he must have let off a small burst of flame over his body, because any Troll blood or corpse stench had been cleanly evaporated, leaving him perfectly dry and fluffy.
I showered the wonderful Cer with pets.
"Oh, look at the time. I have Treatment hours coming up, so I'd better head in."
"Thanks for all your hard work!"
And so, we wrapped up our intense morning walk and headed to work.
*
[Mana Stone Settlement Deposit: 51,003,253 won]
"Wow."
After taxes, the deposited amount was 50 million won.
A measly few minutes of combat, one where Cer just blasted fire and finished without taking any damage at all, and this was the payout.
On the way home today, I'd need to sweep up some top-grade Korean beef ribeye.
Cer, the star of the show, took his Comfort Toy from me and padded into the storage room, where he sank onto his cushion.
Kkiiim.
He even yawned.
Having breathed quite a lot of fire, he seemed a touch drowsy.
Contentedly hugging his Comfort Toy, he closed his eyes and rested.
'Right, I should use Recharge in moderation.'
I could gain EXP from Recharge, and recharging Cer had given a decent amount.
But making him breathe fire just to farm EXP would be overworking Cer.
That was why I hadn't used Recharge on Cer until now.
Today was the first time, since he happened to be hunting anyway.
Still, looking at Cer's sleeping face, his tiredness seemed less like an unpleasant exhaustion and more like the pleasant drowsiness after a good workout, so that was a relief.
I quietly closed the door for him and began the day's Treatments.
"Thank you, doctor! Is there any chance we could see Cer too?"
I answered with a smile.
"Cer's a bit tired today. If you visit next time, you can see him then."
*
"Ahhh! End of shift!"
Kkiing! We're off the clock!
Cer must have gotten a good nap, because from the afternoon onward he occasionally came out to the treatment room and put on little shows.
On the way home, I stopped by the butcher shop and picked up some ribeye.
At the mart, I picked out a bunch of chocolates that looked tasty.
At the market, I bought some fresh seafood too.
And just as I was about to start grilling.
"Heave-ho."
Having sniffed out the food with uncanny precision, Yom appeared.
He didn't seem to have brought anyone along, so he must have just been exploring.
Well, that was fine.
If he brought someone new every day and they had nowhere to go back to like Cer, even a spacious studio apartment wouldn't be able to handle it.
"Yom, welcome back. Since you've just come from exploring, let me recharge you first."
I placed my hand on Yom's squishy cheek.
"Restoration."
Ding!
[Used trait 'Recharge' to restore depleted organs.]
[Gained 3,031 EXP.]
[Restoration Lv.9 (Stage 2) effect slightly increases EXP gain.]
[Gained an additional 424 EXP.]
As expected, even if all he did was explore and come back, recharging him turned it all into EXP.
Over 3,000, so he must have explored pretty hard.
"Ooh, I just crossed dimensions and my energy's already back-yom. Amazing as always-yom."
"I'll recharge you anytime, just say the word. And you've got great timing, I was just about to eat dinner. Have a seat."
Fish that had been prepped at the fish market, along with various abalone and shellfish.
All the foods an otter would love, laid out in abundance.
"I bought these because I thought you'd like them, Yom. Do they look good?"
Yom's jaw dropped at the sight of the feast.
"Thank you so much-yom...! I'm so moved-yom!"
Yom covered his eyes with both paws.
Too cute, so I snapped another photo.
These days my phone camera was practically on standby at all times.
After all, I had a growing family that was both adorable and gave me EXP.
'It's not just family that's growing, though. The patients have exploded too.'
Even more patients than yesterday.
The waiting room was packed to the brim, with the line extending all the way outside.
It wasn't particularly hard on me, but as the weather got hotter, I worried about the guardians and patients waiting outside.
Hmm. If I'd known the hospital would take off this quickly, maybe I shouldn't have bought the building?
Should I move to a bigger place soon?
But I'd been running Treatments out of this building for years now, and the thought of leaving made me a little sad.
"If only the waiting room were a bit bigger, that'd be enough."
I muttered to myself as I got dinner ready.
*****
Join our Discord for announcements or to report any mistakes.