The cheerful thud echoed from Kang-hyuk Uncle’s head.
As such a clear and beautiful tone resonated, my heart gradually softened.
‘That build-up was just too long, damn!’
[Is it already the end of part one?]
Kang-hyuk Uncle was currently fainted, frozen in place from excessive shock.
Whether it was from being hit or from actual pain, I couldn’t tell, but it was probably the former.
Soon after, he slumped down.
‘Slow, aren’t you? Even the fall is sluggish.’
[What will you do now?]
‘That’s already been decided.’
As he collapsed, I slowly approached him.
Of course, it wasn’t out of concern.
‘Gotta get a certified shot for this.’
[It’s a pity I couldn’t capture the moment he fainted.]
A certified shot.
It’s basic to upload a certified shot when you come across something worth commemorating.
Why do fishermen take a picture of their catch and struggle to post it?
It’s all because of that instinct deeply ingrained in our genes.
It’s the same now.
Having finally caught a crazy guy, my inner bragging gene was itching to show off.
[But who are you going to brag to?]
‘Let’s show it to Professor Kim Ji-sun or Cheonma. Professor Ji-sun might give me bonus points.’
Before I knew it, I had arrived in front of Uncle.
I was about to step on the head of the unconscious Uncle to take a selfie.
Finally, I opened the photo app on my phone and, with a grin, pressed the shutter button.
– Click!
– Thud!
Two sounds occurred.
One was the shutter sound accompanied by the flash from the phone camera.
And the other was Uncle Kang-hyuk grabbing my ankle, which was resting on his head.
‘… Did I capture his toughness in full? The stun is already wearing off.’
[He’s about to fly away.]
Just as Pies said, I was thrown right away.
Thanks to that, I briefly flew before crashing into the ground in an awkward roll.
When I regained my senses, Uncle Kang-hyuk was already grooming his head and getting up.
At that moment, our house door opened, and Mom appeared with something in hand.
Mom accidentally made eye contact with me.
However, without a moment’s hesitation, she ignored me and headed straight for Uncle Kang-hyuk.
“Hey, young man next door. Here, take some stir-fried pork.”
“Thank you!!” exclaimed Uncle Kang-hyuk as he quickly bowed 90 degrees while naturally receiving the side dish.
He looked quite used to it; he must have relied on her many times.
As soon as Mom handed him the side dish, she returned inside and immediately locked the door chain.
[… Well, I can’t go home for now.]
‘Guess I have to barge into Uncle’s house then.’
Uncle was cradling the stir-fried pork as if it were a precious treasure and tried to walk back to his house.
Without casting a single glance at me.
[He’s gonna get away.]
‘Where do you think you’re running, you bastard?’
I quickly stuck my foot in the closing door and started forcing it open.
Uncle tried to close the door.
I was trying to push it open.
We didn’t yield to each other at all.
Soon, our strength reached perfect equilibrium.
“Damn, I’m holding something important right now, so let’s play later.”
“Shut up and open the door quickly.”
Uncle conceded defeat.
Because a sound began to seep from the newly installed door that shouldn’t be heard.
The only unfortunate thing was that if he had declared defeat just 5 seconds sooner, it would have been nice.
The force exerted while trying to open the door left an unerasable scar.
A rather deep dent.
It could almost be called scrap metal.
Furthermore, the door hadn’t even been purchased for an hour.
“This damn bastard. You seem stronger than last time.”
“I told you, I got my abilities.”
“Tch. No wonder my head hurts more than usual.”
“I didn’t even hit you with enhanced arms, quit whining.”
Uncle still looked like a complete idiot.
However, probably because he was dating Yerim, he looked quite neat.
“… Uncle, right? Where did your idiotic self from before go?”
“Why, did you fall for me?”
“Are you crazy, you bastard?”
[What’s this Kang-hyuk-Shinwoo chemistry? T.T]
‘Stop talking nonsense without a mom.’
[I have neither a mom nor a dad.]
‘Ah, damn, immunity kicked in.’
Then suddenly, Uncle seemed to feel something off in my words and asked back.
“You said you can enhance your body?”
“Yeah, I can. And I’ve shot a death beam like that old Cheonma, although it was half-baked.”
“Oh! Did you meet that idiot?”
Uncle spoke as if genuinely pleased.
If Cheonma saw this, he would undoubtedly be furious and clench his fists.
“Damn it, you were saying how much you got burned by coins.”
“The one who buys them is the idiot.”
Uncle chuckled and mocked Cheonma.
But I already knew.
This idiot in front of me had also dived into cryptocurrency.
“So, does that mean you plunged into Elf coin too?”
“… That’s why a debt collector came after me.”
“You borrowed money to invest in coins, huh? Looks like you got what you deserved.”
“I tried to pay it back.”
‘Nothing’s changed here.’
[Do not become like such a person.]
A nonsensical remark.
Amid it all, he reverently placed the stir-fried pork in the fridge.
Yep, that typical foolish Uncle Kang-hyuk.
A sense of bizarre relief wrapped around me from the familiarity.
At that moment, Uncle turned his gaze back towards me.
“Hey, you just said you tried using a death beam, right?”
“Yeah. I tore my palm and managed to use it.”
“You really used it without thinking. Is it a single-use repulsor?”
“If I don’t use it, it’ll lack damage.”
“Well, from the way you talk, you seem to have grasped the basic concept. Wait a moment.”
Uncle started rummaging through something in a basement-like storage room.
Every time the junk piled up like a mountain shifted, dust nestled in the gaps wiggled slightly.
After some digging, Uncle grabbed something and immediately handed it to me.
“Here, this should be useful.”
But I couldn’t say much.
And that was because, in Uncle’s hands was…
“…….What is this?”
“What do you mean… Ah, damn.”
It was a massager that often appeared in Japanese AVs.
Just then, was it turned on? The massager started operating with a tremendous vibration sound.
“Why do you have something like this?”
“……When I’m tired with Yerim, I need to call on the machine’s power.”
“Why would a top-tier Hunter be out of stamina?”
“Remember, humans can’t beat machines.”
Uncle said with an extremely serious look.
Anyone would assume this was the serious part.
However, the atmosphere was utterly ridiculous due to the massager doing its job in Uncle’s hands.
“I can work for an hour, but this thing finishes it in just 5 minutes.”
“I get it, so turn it off. It’s really uncomfortable.”
Uncle started rummaging through the junk pile again.
However, not finding what he wanted, he just let out a sigh.
And the things that came out during that process were even more vulgar than the previous massager.
In the end, I left Uncle’s house half-running after receiving an empty promise to find and send me what I was looking for.
Because I thought that if I stayed there longer, my sanity would not be intact.
“Damn. Just looking at it makes me exhausted.”
[What’s there to be exhausted about? Don’t show it, it’s obvious.]
‘Stop… using… facts…’
I arrived in front of my house, but the door was tightly shut.
I naturally headed over to the bar I visited last time looking for salvation again.
Hoping there might be someone, I contacted them, but the replies were saying they couldn’t come.
Uncle replied that Yerim would come over, so I should use what I found well.
Hyeji said she couldn’t come because her dad kept stopping her.
Kim Baekhong probably sensed something ominous.
In the end, I went into the store alone again.
Just 10 meters away from the store.
The owner, recognizing me, came out to greet me and guided me to a cozy corner with high-end tables.
[In games, you get labeled a fool for spending hundreds, but reality is completely the opposite.]
‘That’s a relief, right? Apparently, some users invested several billion and got sued by the game company.’
[What idiot game company does that? It’d be more reasonable for them to host a concert instead.]
So, while I was endlessly pouring drinks, suddenly the bar began to buzz.
Wondering why, I turned my gaze and saw someone standing proudly at the bar entrance.
Yep.
Choco Hyung had come to fetch me.
‘Seems like he’s come to tell me the house door is open.’
[Maddening. Maddening. Maddening.]
I asked Choco Hyung if he wanted to drink too, but he said he was experiencing muscle loss, so I just handed him some meat.
We wrapped up the leftover food and drinks and slowly headed back home.
*
A day before the break ended.
Decided to return to the academy early.
Since it was a newly moved apartment, it seemed like a crazy person besides Kang-hyuk Uncle was living next door.
At 4 AM, someone was banging on our door like crazy and pressing the doorbell incessantly, clearly a person not right in the head.
I was too scared and lost the courage to stay at home any longer.
‘Fortunately, I was awake practicing guitar at that time, so it’s all good.’
[Yeah. There are really many scary people in the world.]
After experiencing the world’s fears, we returned to the academy slightly earlier than others.
Hyeji said she would personally drop me off on the last day of the break.
When I tried to contact Jeong Ahyeon since I thought of her, there wasn’t even a sign that she had read my text.
[She must be busy with something.]
‘Well, it can’t be helped.’
The moment I was about to contact Elcia, I suddenly remembered one crucial fact.
The fact that I didn’t have Elcia’s contact number.
Given that she had probably been dragged into the Forest of Elves, it wouldn’t have been a pleasant time, and I felt slightly sorry for not contacting her throughout the break.
[She must be sulking.]
‘… This isn’t a kidnapping flag, right?’
While worrying about Elcia’s future before regression, I suddenly received a call from an unknown number.
I immediately suspected it was a scam.
Keeping my guard up, I cautiously answered the phone.
“Hello?”
– “Is this Shinwoo student? This is the academy’s HR department.”
Sudden contact from HR.
I was perplexed.
“… Sorry, did I do something wrong?”
– “No! We’re only calling to inform you that your ability registration has been officially completed!”
[Finally registered! Congratulations!]
‘… I really got registered?’
Somehow, it seems I managed to pass.
Honestly, I didn’t expect it to go through.
“Yes, thank you. So, what about the registration certificate and license?”
– “That will be delivered tomorrow. As for the license, since only physical enhancement is registered, you can pretty much consider it just decoration.”
“Understood. Thank you!”
After that, the call ended.
I felt a little strange.
The registration, which I thought wouldn’t be completed until the end of the story, was done so easily.
‘Maybe they’re giving me this in advance since they think I won’t finish the work.’
[I’m worried about how they plan to actually conclude it.]
Both relief from having my ability registered and discomfort from there being only one day left of the break swirled inside me.
To dispel unnecessary thoughts, I set up a modest table for a celebration party.
A solo celebration.
At the same time, a small celebration for just the two of us.
