In Yoo-shin also became serious.
“What is it?”
“Since he has a new house, shouldn’t Henri Raymond Charles Françoise VI Noona have a new house? She must be jealous that she suddenly has a younger sibling and has to live together, but how sad must she be to live alone in her old house. I can't believe you're slower than Gong Taeseong at figuring this out!”
“Ugh………………. Gyu-ha-ssi.”
“Huh?”
There were many things I wanted to say, such as that hamsters shouldn’t live in the same cage, but it’s okay to live in different cages, and that living in different cages isn’t called living together.
“No, it’s nothing.”
He just let it slide. Anyway, Hyeon Gyu-ha probably wouldn’t be saying this unless he didn’t know.
‘I have to do well.’
Since I gave in to taming 8-se I wanted to repay him. I don't know what to do because I always receive things from Hyeon Gyu-ha.
"Where can I buy a cage? Department store?"
"I just bought it online."
Then, he quickly handed over the tablet. In Yoo-shin tapped the screen to do some shopping and chose one of the cages that Hyeon Gyu-ha had chosen. 6-se is a breed that doesn’t need a large cage, but since the cage is too big, it wouldn’t be bad to change it.
He was done with shopping and was about to leave the hospital room, stroking the face of 8-se, who was groaning in his pocket, when the doorbell rang.
“Oh! I got a text message saying I passed!”
I knew I had passed the physical test, but I was happy to see the official results. When he excitedly showed him the passing text, Hyeon Gyu-ha smiled with satisfaction.
“Then I should give a congratulatory gift to Yoo-shin-ssi who worked hard to pass the exam. Would you like to extend your hand?”
“Hands?”
He wondered what it was, so he slightly held out his palm, and he turned it over so that he could see the back of his hand. Then, he felt a smooth sensation sinking into his left ring finger. In Yoo-shin’s pupils grew wide.
"This is………………."
"It's a hamster ring. Isn't it cute?"
As he said, it was a cute ring with a hamster hugging his finger. Although it was simple in design, the silvery, transparent sheen was luxurious. He couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.
"It's really cute. Where did you get this ring?"
“It’s a handmade couple ring.”
As he said that, Hyeon Gyu-ha wiggled his fingers as well. Before he knew it, he had an identical hamster ring on his left ring finger.
“You made it yourself, Gyu-ha?”
“One-day class, with Kwon Seong-gil.”
“Wow………………….”
When he said it was a ring he made himself, it caught his eye even more. When he looked at it closely, he noticed that the hamster's face shape was not balanced on both sides and looked somewhat rough. He couldn't help but laugh when he imagined Hyun Gyu-ha bending down with his long body to carefully make the ring.
“They say it’s a one-day thing, but in reality, it wasn’t made in one day. Since adamantium has a different melting point than silver, it took longer than expected to refine the mold, so I went and made it little by little whenever I had time. Fortunately, I was able to finish it before the physical test.”
“Wasn’t it silver?”
When he heard that and felt it, he realized that it really was adamantium.
[Adamantium ring made by Awakened Hyeon Gyu-ha]
“I plated it with silver so it doesn’t stand out too much.”
“Can I really receive this?”
Of course, Hyeon Gyu-ha’s sincerity was appreciated. However, I couldn’t help but feel that it was too much of a gift for a disguise, since we weren’t even dating.
As if he knew his hesitation, Hyeon Gyu-ha ruffled In Yoo-shin’s hair.
“I think of it as a disposable self-defense item. When you’re in danger, just inject mana into the ring and say the trigger word, ‘Pagye(파계, 破界).’ Then, no matter where I am, even if I’m outside the erosion gate like a few days ago, I can break the boundary and come to you. Since I’ve saved my mana, it’ll be okay even if Yoo-shin’s mana is low.”
When he heard that it was for self-defense, his burden was relieved.
“Thank you. I’ll cherish it.”
“The length of the ring automatically changes to fit the size of your finger, but if possible, I’d like it to be worn on your left ring finger.”
“The skill on the ring is a kind of teleportation, right? It’s unusual that the starting word is a pagye.”
“Well, strictly speaking, it’s different from teleportation……………….”
For some reason, Hyeon Gyu-ha seemed to be pondering his answer even more. In Yoo-shin quickly shook his head.
“If it’s a difficult question to explain, you don’t have to explain it.”
Despite his refusal, Hyeon Gyu-ha still had an awkward expression on his face during the day. He stroked his chin and pondered for a while before letting out a shallow sigh and letting his lips soften.
“It’s definitely difficult. It’s difficult, but it’s even more difficult because I want to tell you.”
Hyeon Gyu-ha, who raised In Yoo-shin’s hand, lightly kissed the ring on his ring finger. I had experienced the kiss that fell like a feather several times before. I thought I was quite used to it, but it felt unfamiliar like the first time, and my fingertips shrank.
“This is a unique ability that my mother awakened. I planted the essence, which she handed to me, before disappearing, in Yoo-shin’s ring.”
There are two ways for others to use unique abilities.
First, copy unique abilities and make them into scrolls. The advantage is that you can improve and research the copied skills, but the disadvantage is that scrolls are expensive and have downgraded power compared to the original. In addition, the abilities that can be copied are currently limited.
Next, there is a method of extracting the unique ability into an essence. It has the same power as the original, but there is a fatal problem. Extracting into an essence means that the awakened person completely loses the ability.
Hyeon Sora extracted her abilities and gave them to her only son, who kept them for 20 years without using them, before giving them to someone else.
When In Yoo-shin received this ring, he didn't know what to say.
"Hey, are you holding a ritual now? The Jjajangmyeon is going to stick. Eat quickly.”
"Huh? U-uh……………….”
Every time he felt a weight on his left ring finger, that weight pulled him into a swamp of thoughts that had no answer. In Yoo-hin shook his shoulder lightly and mixed the Jajangmyeon.
Park Seung-gi, who returned safely from the gate and brought all kinds of filming footage and samples, became the idol of the lab. In Yoo-shin, who stopped by Korea University on his way home from work to ask something, was swept up in a surprise because he was a friend of the idol and Hyeon Gyu-ha's lover, and ended up sitting at the dinner that the professor said he would pay for.
Although he felt awkward mingling with people he had never met before, the students in the lab showed their affection for In Yoo-shin from an appropriate distance.
“I’ve heard a lot from Seung-gi. I heard you’re a tamer, right?”
“It’s not very useful because it’s an F-class.”
“But if you pass the licensing exam and complete the training, you can become a hunter. That’s great. My dream is to get a master’s degree and get involved in dungeon exploration.”
To enter the national gate, you need to have a hunter license or proof that you are a scholar majoring in a gate-related field. Students who are not awakened would look at me with envious eyes, even if I have an F-rank ability.
It was the first time that someone truly envied his pitiful abilities, so In Yoo-shin felt a little embarrassed.
"Where did the boyfriend who was always with you go?"
“He just dropped me off at school today because I had someone to meet.”
“Next time, come play with Hunter Hyeon Gyu-ha!”
The dining table was bustling with people enjoying a glass of soju that they had ordered together.
In the midst of the commotion, In Yoo-shin was barely able to slyly reveal the reason why he had come to find Park Seung-gi. In fact, he had tried searching the Internet to find out on his own, but since he had passed away 14 years ago, he could not find detailed information. He came to ask Park Seung-gi, thinking that he might know.
“Do you know someone named Kang Seok-woo? I heard he was a gate studies researcher.”
“Kang Seok-woo? I think I’ve heard of it……………….”
Park Seung-gi tilted his head while peeling mussels from the jjambbong.
“Sunbae, do you know who Kang Seok-woo is?”
"Kang Seok-woo? Uh………………. Ah, w-who was it, that, that……………….”
“Dr. Kang Seok-woo?”
The answer came not from the students, but from Professor Seo, who was already drunk.
Professor Seo came over and sat down next to In Yoo-hin, holding a bowl of jajangmyeon in his hand. He looked very timid, but if you get to know him, he was a scary person who had dragged Park Seung-gi, who he had picked up while playing at another school, to his lab.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve heard about that gentleman. How long has it been since he suddenly died………………. 15 years? Oh, it was 14 years ago. He was an old man, and he studied minor details, so young people these days who aren’t related might not know about him. Where did you hear about it?”
“I got it from a hunter I know.”
“Aah. If you’re a Hunter, you might remember. Dr. Kang’s research was related to the Awakened.”
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Credits:
Translator: Hoshi Miya
Editor/Proofreader: eteryl
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