Chapter 39

In a certain upscale residential area of Seoul.

Ye-eun-byeol, a magic realm Hunter student taking the Monster Introduction course at the Academy, was reviewing her major subjects in her room.

Then, she headed to the living room at her mother’s call for dinner.

“Huh? When did you get here?”

” JUST now.”

At the dining table were not only her father but also her usually busy brother. Ye Do-hyeong is one of the few S-rank magic realm Hunters in Korea.

After Eun-byeol sat down and her father picked up his spoon, the whole family started eating.

In the cozy atmosphere, Eun-byeol suddenly spoke up with a thought that had popped into her mind.

“Hey bro, do you know something?”

“Hm? What?”

“That goblins have intelligence. Did you know that?”

Eun-byeol recalled what she learned today in the general education lecture ‘Monster Introduction.’ Do-hyeong lazily replied to his sister’s question.

“Yeah, they’d probably have some. They’re living beings after all.”

“No, I mean like learning and stuff!”

“Hmm… Not sure. Never really paid attention.”

“Right?”

It’s as if Do-hyeong’s response, implying it wasn’t important, made Eun-byeol lightly nod. Before taking the Monster Introduction course, she thought the same way.

“Why are you suddenly curious about that?”

“I took a general education class at the Academy today.”

“General? What kind?”

“It’s called ‘Monster Introduction,’ taught by a part-time lecturer.”

“Ah, a part-time lecturer.”

Do-hyeong nodded. He had taken ‘Understanding and Exploring Monsters’ by a male professor when he attended the Academy.

The professor was unpleasant but famous as a Hunter in the magic realm, so Do-hyeong took his class. It’s probably still offered.

“Isn’t this different from the curriculum I recommended?”

“What, should I just do as told? That’s my decision.”

“Haha…”

Do-hyeong chuckled awkwardly at his sister’s annoyed reaction. Regardless, Eun-byeol said what she wanted to say.

“Goblin groups apparently show similar patterns, right? When I went to the dungeon, it seemed plausible. But since they’re E-rank, I’m not entirely sure.”

“Similar patterns among groups…”

Hearing this, it did sound somewhat true. Do-hyeong became serious, resting his chin on his fingers.

“Part-time lecturer, huh? What’s their rank?”

“D-rank, and their job is Paladin.”

“Really? Their knowledge seems better than their rank.”

“I agree. Anyway, could you check if it’s true later?”

“Yeah, shouldn’t be hard.”

Goblins are everywhere in dungeons. Lower ranks have lower ranks, higher ranks have upper species popping out.

“I’ve finished eating!”

Eun-byeol quickly finished her meal and returned to her room. Watching her back for a moment, Do-hyeong fell into thought.

“Are you concerned?”

“Ah, yes. I’ve never heard such a thing before.”

To his father’s words, Do-hyeong nodded and answered. He planned to have his secretary investigate further.

If the story about goblins is true, there might be better information available. He needs to find out if the Guild is interested.

Even though D-rank is slightly disappointing, knowledge itself has great value. If it’s a part-time lecturer, they’d surely be tempted by an offer from Dawn Guild.

Talents are always in short supply, not just for Dawn Guild but for all guilds worldwide.

Meanwhile, in Eun-byeol’s case…

“Hmph, still don’t know.”

Even her S-rank Hunter brother seemed unaware of today’s lecture content. Of course, goblins are just minor monsters that can be dealt with easily.

“If there’s information like this about C-rank monsters along with D-rank…”

Eun-byeol licked her lips. This general education course, chosen casually because it was convenient, keeps exceeding expectations. The quality of the lecture by the D-rank Hunter professor is surprisingly good.

Naturally, Eun-byeol printed out the next set of lecture materials for ‘Monster Introduction.’

* * *

After assisting the Wings Guild’s C-rank dungeon field trip, the next day was off since the next field trip was scheduled for tomorrow.

After finishing lunch with Si-yoon in the living room, feeling full with good weather, a yawn escaped.

“Haaam…”

“Hey sis, wanna go out?”

“Yeah, I’ll be back soon. Is it okay if I use the empty space under the TV?”

“All my personal stuff is in my room. Go ahead!”

“Hehe…”

Since I’ve been itching to do something lately anyway…

Finally, the time has come!

“I’ll decorate it right after coming back today.”

“What are you going to buy?”

“Momo-bin merchandise! I arranged a direct trade.”

“Eh, um…”

Si-yoon awkwardly scratched her cheek in response to my answer.

Ugh, was I too much of an otaku? Still…

“…All Momo-bin items on the merchandise platform were sold out.”

“R-really?”

“To be honest, I wanted a mug, but there weren’t any used ones either. So I’m going to get stickers and keychains!”

“A, ah! G-got it!”

Si-yoon clapped her hands together in response.

“Do you need anything? I’ll pick it up while I’m out.”

“I-I guess not?”

Si-yoon rolled her eyes thinking deeply.

Hmm, what expression is that? Kinda cute.

“I’m good, go ahead!”

“Okay, I’ll be back.”

After saying goodbye to Si-yoon and heading outside, the destination for the direct trade was Daehak-ro right next to the Academy! Since it’s a familiar route, I could take the subway without any issues.

Anyway, once you’ve been somewhere, the subway’s fine, but it’s confusing every time for new places.

I comfortably sat in a corner seat since there weren’t many people. I pulled out my smartphone and earphones from my pocket.

Naturally opening the Trtube app, the recommended videos were filled with Beruters and Hunters. The algorithm seems firmly fixed on this. Whatever, doesn’t matter.

While browsing through the recommendations, a title about Summoners caught my eye, so I clicked on it.

Summoners, rare jobs even in another world, how are Earth Hunters doing them?

Elementals? Golems? Or maybe monsters? Surely not necromancers, right?

…Ah, brought it up naturally somehow.

Without realizing, I rubbed my furrowed brow. Thinking of the female necromancer who often hung around the Hero party.

Why do all women gathering around the Hero act like that? What’s so great about that Hero anyway? Every time I see him, he picks fights and harasses me in a creepy way…

How come none of these memories are pleasant?

Ah, except for Mr. Luggage. Her indifference was probably avoiding getting crushed in the whale fight. Comparing it, she’s probably around C~B-rank Hunter level in Earth terms.

Anyway, the summoner disappeared at some point, but honestly, I’m not curious about their whereabouts. Time to look at something fun instead.

Shaking off random thoughts, I refocused on my smartphone screen.

The summoner in the video used a skill. Then, the ground wriggled and formed into a large earth golem.

Following the summoner’s gestures, the golem charged and began fighting zombies. It’s a massive golem twice the size of a grown man.

One-sidedly massacring zombies.

An ordinary person might have exclaimed “Oh!” in admiration…

“…What is this?”

Clearly it was summoning, but the quality is far too low.

Probably because the hunter filming the video is of low rank… Honestly, if you asked me to replicate it with earth magic right now, I probably could.

…Ah, is that so? Seems like a decent idea?

Da-young said she’d send the video equipment soon.

Separately from that, maybe I should try making a goblin and showing it moving in front of the students?

Originally, I planned to just show the video and move on since combat methods are covered in the major courses.

Would it be bad to invest a little more time?

Feels like I’m diving too deep into the flow of consciousness, but it’s not difficult for me anyway.

Maybe I can pass it off as a magical tool?

Monsters are only seen when entering dungeons or during Break events when they flood out of the gate.

On Earth, these creatures aren’t normally visible, so they’d definitely make good teaching materials for students.

Turning off Trtube and putting my smartphone back in my pocket, I organized the thoughts that just came to mind until reaching my destination.

Arriving at Daehak-ro near the Academy, I met the secondhand goods trader via安心number.

The transaction with the clingy man who tried to push additional MoMoBin goods ended successfully. Deciding against unnecessary extras besides MoMoBin, we parted ways cleanly.

Hehe, finally got MoMo’s goods. I should carefully clean and store them when I get home.

Walking happily like that, a large bookstore caught my eye.

No need to rush home immediately, so I entered the store with a light heart. The unique book smell tickled my nose.

This smell makes me feel intellectual somehow. Hmm… Should visit the library at the Academy sometime next time.

Looking around, I moved toward my interest categories in the well-organized bookstore.

Fiction, fiction… Ah, found it.

Certainly, the bookstore’s size means a wide variety of books.

Walking toward the genre fiction section.

Fantasy starting, then romance, martial arts, light novels and various other fictions catch the eye.

“Oh…”

Found a novel I’ve read before.

So this was published too? It was quite an enjoyable read, seems popular.

Reaching for the book to admire the cover.

At that moment.

“Um?”

“Eh, eh?”

Someone else was trying to grab the same book. Our fingers touched, and I turned my head.

“Tea, Tea, Teacher?!”

“…A-reum student?”

The support-type Hunter student attending my lectures let out a small scream, startled, stepping back and adjusting her glasses.

“Why are you here…?”

A-reum student rapidly blinked her eyes. Her lips and jaw trembled, her face paling.

Somehow feels like I shouldn’t be here even though I haven’t done anything wrong…

…No, that can’t be.

“Because I’m interested in genre fiction.”

“Wa…”

A-reum student covered her mouth with her hand and widened her eyes.

“H-Have you read this novel too?”

Pulling out the novel our fingers just touched. A romantic fantasy novel.

A novel focusing more on the protagonist’s growth and social standing changes rather than romance. Essentially a female protagonist fantasy novel.

“Of course, I enjoyed reading it. Have you read it too?”

“Y-Yes! It’s a masterpiece! T-Tears almost welled up when the protagonist gets recognized by others!”

Suddenly, A-reum student clasped her hands in front of her chest and lit up her eyes. Somehow, she looks like a cute puppy.

If she had a tail, it would probably be wagging enthusiastically right now.

“T-Then, h-have you read this too?”

“That was interesting too.”

“Then how about this?!”

“Ooh, that’s new to me. What’s it about?”

Suddenly turned into a novel recommendation spot.

But, this student…

“This is truly a masterpiece! It completely changed my life!”

“Ah.”

Maybe our tastes match…

Seems like the other side felt the same way. An intimate gaze was directed at me.

“…Student, what’s your number?”

“Here it is!”

Naturally exchanged numbers.

Though I have the roster, it’s not like I registered each one individually.

“Um, if you finish reading, could I possibly get a review…?”

“Hehe, sure. I’ll message you.”

“I’ll look forward to it!”

Unexpectedly made a novel friend.

Even though I exchanged numbers with a student, increasing my contact list from six to seven is historical.

* * *

After spending a beneficial time with A-reum student.

I took the subway again and returned home.

Since it’s Si-yoon’s busy working hours, the living room was empty.

“Hm?”

There was something on top of the living room desk. Curious, I approached to check.

“Wh-Why is this here…?”

It was a mug. A MoMoBin merchandise mug!

Why is this here? What is it, what?

Turning the small box containing the cup, I noticed a post-it note on one side.

– Remembering your talk, I looked and found this saved from when I watched broadcasts before! It’s a gift!

“Sniff…”

Our younger sister is truly the best in the world…

Moved unexpectedly, I wiped away the tiny tears welling up with the back of my hand.

…But did she watch MoMo broadcasts enough to buy merchandise?

She does seem knowledgeable about Beruters normally.

Is Si-yoon secretly keeping up with MoMo broadcasts too, out of embarrassment?