Episode 29
Kang Jin-hyeok concisely summarized the events that had occurred outside and told Lucia.
Also, how your job and skills have changed.
He spoke openly about which of the skills had changed.
Among hunters, it is considered foolish to leak such information.
But Kang Jin-hyeok thought that there was no need to keep it a secret from Lucia.
Not only was she a hunter, but she also taught me how to manipulate auras and helped me catch new monsters.
Besides, there was something I wanted to ask Lucia personally.
“What do you think about this karma number thing?”
Among the newly acquired skills, ‘Judgment’ allows you to see your karma level.
Kang Jin-hyeok couldn’t figure out exactly what this meant.
I wondered if she might know something if she lived in another world.
“That’s the number you were muttering about when you saw me and the groundhog.”
“Huh? Did you hear that?”
“Even if you don’t know the groundhog, it’s hard to fool my ears.”
Even if she’s half-elf, she’s still an elf, so Lucia wiggled her ears up and down.
“You said 82 for me and 72 for the land squirrel?”
“that’s right.”
“Then how many did you look like?”
“I think I remember it was 64.”
If you just look at the numbers, Kang Jin-hyeok was the lowest and Lucia was the highest.
If you just look at it and guess, it might be a strength value.
However, the skill description clearly states the meaning of karma as ‘up’.
“Just looking at the explanation, it seems like the more evil you commit, the higher the value goes… … .”
Kang Jin-hyeok observed Lucia’s reaction as he came up with his inference.
According to his reasoning, it was no different from saying that she was the worst of the worst.
Despite the rather irritating meaning, Lucia didn’t show any sign of being offended.
Rather, he nodded quietly as if he understood.
“I think so too. I’ve had a pretty rough life. It wouldn’t be surprising if my evil deeds stat was high.”
“What? You boasted about yourself last time, saying that you were a platinum-rank adventurer and that you were trustworthy.”
“At least I didn’t get stabbed in the back.”
“… … Does that mean you stabbed me in the face?”
“I’d rather shoot than stab.”
As an adventurer, if you take on a mission, you are bound to get involved in all sorts of incidents.
While helping with convoy work, he encounters bandits, and while out hunting monsters, he fights with a group that wants credit for their achievements.
Moreover, Lucia had an exceptionally beautiful half-elf appearance.
Because of her appearance, there were more than a few who dug traps or made surprise attacks to target her.
It was a difficult situation to survive in with the shallow determination of ‘I will never kill anyone.’
“Living as an adventurer in my world is not a very clean life.”
“… … .”
Kang Jin-hyeok looked somewhat shocked.
It was difficult for him to accept it when she, who had helped him so much as a complete stranger, said something like that herself.
It seems like we’ve already become attached in such a short period of time.
Somehow, I felt like defending Lucia.
“But the difference between you and me isn’t even 20 degrees.”
“I don’t know yet whether 20 is a small difference or a big difference.”
Since I didn’t know what actions would cause the stats to go up, I couldn’t make any rash decisions.
“Come to think of it, where I used to live, once every few hundred years, a saint who could distinguish good from evil with her eyes would appear… … .”
Kang Jin-hyeok was shocked when he heard Lucia muttering meaningfully.
“I’m a man. I have no relationship with a saintly human being.”
Kang Jin-hyeok doesn’t know what the saint’s role is in the place where Lucia lived.
However, as long as the word ‘woman’ was included, it was a job that could never match with a man like himself.
What if he were a saint?
‘A saint’s ass.’
Kang Jin-hyeok laughed at the thought that came to his mind.
I may be proud of living an honest life, but I didn’t live a particularly good life.
Above all, the saint’s words, “If someone hits you on the left cheek, turn the other cheek as well,” did not fit him at all.
It is the way of the world to return the blow that was struck once.
“Who said you were a saint? That means there were people with such abilities in our world too.”
“That gentleman said he had the ability to distinguish between good and evil. How can I be sure that my ability is the same?”
Kang Jin-hyeok’s hidden skill was an ability that could not be determined by circumstantial evidence alone.
In order to make an accurate judgment, it was necessary to test several cases.
Lucia, who had been lost in thought while savoring the sweetness of the new candy in her mouth, soon came to a conclusion.
“Anyway, now is not the time to be looking for a mine.”
I’m not saying this because I absolutely don’t like the idea of being a nerd.
Lucia continued, adding further explanations that were not asked, like a thief whose feet had been numb.
“I need to find out the standard for that karma value right now.”
“Standard? Doesn’t it just go up if you commit evil deeds?”
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“You shouldn’t think so simply.”
“Why?”
“Think about it carefully. Who set the standards for good and evil?”
Come to think of it, just as Lucia said, Kang Jin-hyeok had no idea who was judging good and evil.
If the system determines, then who sets the standards for that system?
“If you don’t know who created the standard, you should find out for yourself. Right?”
“But the dwarf uncle’s request comes first… … .”
“It’s not a big deal to put off something like that. There’s no set time frame. Besides, do you know how hard it is to go down there?”
According to Lucia, it would take more than three days at Kang Jin-hyeok’s speed.
If you encounter monsters here and there, your progress will be further delayed.
“You want me to continue to harbor this curiosity during the tedious hours of searching for mines? That would be torture to me.”
Lucia, who presented two options while spreading out her index and middle fingers, forced Kang Jin-hyeok to make a choice.
“Find out about mines and your skills. You know best which one is more urgent.”
As she said, what was important to Kang Jin-hyeok was to find out the true nature of his hidden skills.
But there was another reason, other than the guilt of delaying the dwarf’s request, that made him hesitate in his decision.
“Not right now.”
“why?”
“There might still be guys out there trying to get at me.”
Outside, the news of Kang Jin-hyeok hunting a new type of monster was still abuzz.
It was obvious that there would be violent characters who would raid in search of the location of new monsters, just like the strange men we met before.
Kang Jin-hyeok didn’t want to get involved in something like that again.
Even if it was self-defense, killing someone was not something he could do so calmly.
“Huh~”
After hearing the circumstances, Lucia understood Kang Jin-hyeok’s reaction.
But even so, she had no intention of bending once she had made up her mind.
For Lucia, it was simply unacceptable to put off something that immediately piqued her curiosity.
‘It’s a shame to miss out on something interesting I haven’t found in a while.’
Lucia had lived as a half-elf for a long time, so she didn’t get excited by simple things.
If he had been a perfect elf, he would have lived a long life in harmony with nature and never felt bored.
Unfortunately, half of the blood flowing through her body was human.
Lucia, who had not been able to devote herself to mental training like other elves, had to constantly find something to interest her throughout her long life.
Otherwise, I felt like I would dry up and die because of the dull and boring daily life.
The reason Lucia chose to live a turbulent life as an adventurer despite her outstanding abilities was because she hated a boring life.
For her, it was almost torture to ask her to put off the interest she had just found.
Lucia wanted to take Kang Jin-hyeok with her right now to satisfy her curiosity about him.
“So if we just deal with the guys that are attacking us, there won’t be a problem?”
“That’s true. Right now, everyone’s focused on it, so it’s not easy to avoid.”
“You just have to avoid it.”
“What are you talking about? How many of you do you think will attack me? How can I… … .”
Kang Jin-hyeok realized Lucia’s intentions before she finished speaking.
It was clear that that beaming expression, full of interest, wasn’t created without reason.
Since it was an expression that was revealed without any hiding, there was no need to rack one’s brain to dig into the inner meaning.
“Are you willing to help me?”
“If you want to ask for something.”
Lucia twitched the corners of her lips and subtly forced Kang Jin-hyeok to give her a predetermined answer.
Of course, having Lucia as an assistant was a great help in many ways.
But Kang Jin-hyeok found it difficult to understand.
You don’t even like going outside that much, so you want to help just because you’re interested?
There is a limit to being fickle.
Kang Jin-hyeok didn’t know Lucia’s true circumstances, so he wanted to hear a reason that would convince her.
“Why do you want to help me research my skills? Didn’t you need to research this dungeon to return to your original world?”
When asked if she had already given up, Lucia shook her head.
“I want to go back, but I have plenty of time anyway, so there’s no need to rush.”
As a half-elf, she still had at least 200 more years to live.
Since I didn’t have any family or close friends where I originally lived, I could take it easy.
“And this seems more fun than something that might or might not work out.”
“It’s fun… … .”
Is that really the only reason?
Kang Jin-hyeok thought that he and Lucia were not close enough to help each other without expecting anything in return.
Even though we had become quite close, it was a relationship where trust could only continue if there was clear back and forth between the two, so receiving help for free felt awkward.
If someone stopped you in passing and offered you 1 million won, how many people would accept it without question?
Of course, there will be people who will receive it, but there will also be many who will doubt the other person’s intentions and take a step back.
Kang Jin-hyeok was a petit bourgeois who belonged to the latter category.
“Is that really the only reason?”
“That’s enough. What more do you need?”
Contrary to Kang Jin-hyeok’s suspicions, Lucia was sincere.
“It’s an ability I’ve never seen before. Don’t you want to know what kind of power you have?”
“Of course I want to know.”
“Then why hesitate any longer?”
Lucia put her arm around Kang Jinhyuk’s shoulder and smiled refreshingly.
“What are you so scared of? Are you afraid I’ll hit you in the back of the head?”
“Oh, no, that’s not it… … .”
“How can I get rich and famous by deceiving you? Stop thinking about it uselessly. When I say I’ll help you, just accept it.”
As Lucia said, she was in a position where she had no regrets.
If you think about it calmly, there’s no way she, who came from another world, would need the money here.
Since his skills were overwhelmingly superior, there was no reason to use Kang Jin-hyeok now.
As soon as he thought about it, Kang Jin-hyeok’s hesitation completely disappeared.
‘I’m a little uncomfortable with being treated like a toy.’
Now, what was more important than pride was having someone better than an S-class hunter cooperate for free.
“It’s a hidden skill that I finally acquired, just like you said. It doesn’t make sense that I don’t even know its proper effect.”
Kang Jin-hyeok took out two return stones from his inventory and threw one to Lucia.
Even though her hand slipped and she threw it at a slightly off-angled angle, Lucia caught it lightly without any problems.
“Have you thought about how to investigate?”
“I’ll have to think about that later.”
“… … After convincing people like that, you say you have no plan?”
Even though I was looking at her in shock, Lucia shrugged her shoulders calmly.
“I said I would only deal with the guys who attacked.”
Kang Jin-hyeok let out a soft sigh upon seeing that reaction.
“Okay, it’s my skill, so I should take care of it myself.”
“Ahaha. That’s a good attitude.”
Kang Jin-hyeok used the return stone while apologizing to the dwarf in his heart.
Then, immediately, a message appeared before Kang Jin-hyeok’s eyes.
[Karma level has increased.]
