Chapter 70 – Omens (2)
“Teacher Lee Jung-ah told me that.”
Sitting at a cafe table, I recalled a story from class. Ichi didn’t seem to have any thoughts. She nodded her head, squishing her empty soda can like an accordion. Senior Yoojeong smiled and said.
“Oh, is that him? Thank you. Very few people talk like that.”
Senior Yujeong nodded her head and said. We dragged our languid bodies and stretched out in front of the table. My body was tired, so I didn’t have any random thoughts, but the words teacher Lee Jung-ah said kept lingering in my head. Senior Yoojeong shook an ice glass filled with Americano. A rattling sound caught my attention. She asked me
“So, how was your day?”
She seemed to want to change the subject. I too, looking for something to say, turned her head round and round, then saw her familiar face approaching from a distance and said:
“Hayeon?”
Her silver hair stood out, her lips full of displeasure with the world. She was wearing a large, baggy jumper and baggy trousers. When she saw us, she clicked her tongue once and waved her hand in her pocket.
“Hey, I’ll buy you some food. Follow all three.”
“Yes?”
Was there a great connection between her and us? I couldn’t understand why, so I also opened my eyes wide and tilted my head. Senior Yoojeong urged us on while smiling awkwardly as if she knew something.
“Go quickly. There are no bad people among those who buy food for you.”
“That’s right.”
Hearing her words, Ichie nodded her head. Seong Ha-yeon drove her mid-size car. Yujeong senior was in her passenger seat, and we sat huddled in her back seat. Ichie sat as close to me as possible, so Seong Ha-yeon smiled and said,
“What are you doing? There are plenty of seats, so sit apart.”
“It’s hot, so I’m going to use the air conditioner.”
“Okay?”
She shrugged her shoulders and buckled her seat belt. I asked.
“By the way, what are you buying it for?”
“I just want to buy it. Why? What’s wrong?”
She replied in a somewhat aggressive tone. I got embarrassed and shook my head and replied that it was nothing. She nodded her head, as if she liked that I didn’t ask. And she said this to Yoo-jeong senior.
“What do you want to eat?”
“Do you have anything you want to eat?”
Yujeong looked back at us and asked. Seong Ha-yeon added it.
“Choose the expensive one. Expensive ones.”
Even if I was told to choose an expensive one, I couldn’t think of an expensive one with my head marinated in soup and chicken ribs. As we stared at each other with our eyes wide open, Seong Ha-yeon grabbed her gear and said.
“Hey, let’s just go to a meat restaurant. Is it somewhere I know well?”
She poked her head out slightly, as if asking for our consent. As we nodded at her, she looked ahead of her again and stepped on her accelerator. Through the window of the car moving smoothly, the academy building was being pushed back.
********
Oil dripped on the lid of the black pot. Charcoals attached to the floor like built-in cabinets were blazing and giving off heat. When a chunk of meat boasting thick fat and bright red meat was picked up with tongs and put on a handful, the oil splattered in all directions along with the savory smell. Yujeong sunbaenim put kimchi on the side. The well-cooked old paper soaked into the pork fat and was sizzling.
An entertainment program was in full swing on TV. Hyunwoo Lee came out and was being filmed doing an interview. Seong Ha-yeon secretly looked at the TV and said while avoiding her gaze.
“Eat a lot. Many.”
Somewhere, I heard the sound of soju glasses being clinked. Lightly dressed people with loose ties were sharing drinks and laughing. Seong Ha-yeon, who brought tea today, looked at the soju with regret.
Senior Yoojeong said as she flicked her glass of soju.
“Oh, it’s been a while since I ate meat, so it’s delicious.”
We nodded. Ichie clumsily wrapped the wraps, took a bite, and then her eyes twinkled. Seong Ha-yeon said.
“Eat a lot. Many. If you want more, do more.”
She pointed to her menu board and asked if there was anything else she would like to eat. Because she acted so aggressively, senior Yoo-jeong stopped her. As she lightly grabbed her hand to dry it, Seong Ha-yeon furrowed her eyebrows and nodded her head. And she said, spinning her soju glass round and round.
“It’s the first time we’ve seen each other after winning the Rookie of the Year, right?”
“Yes.”
I nodded. There she met silence again. She kept her mouth shut and chose what to say for a moment before she asked me again.
“Now there will be camp training at the end of the year, how are you preparing for it?”
“Are you ready for camp training? I haven’t heard anything yet.”
“That’s right.”
Ichie ate another piece of meat, then nodded to her. Seong Ha-yeon glanced at senior Yoo-jeong. She said, lightly eating her bowl of rice.
“It’s not yet in the preparation stage, so I deliberately didn’t explain it because I was afraid it would be complicated.”
“Okay? There are a lot of things to prepare for.”
Ichie asked, tilting her head.
“Is there a lot to prepare for?”
“Have you ever thought about that? Your grade is also designated in the status window, and your nickname is also determined in the status window, so why are you given a D grade when you graduate from the academy? Like this.”
“I think so.”
I thought it was so natural. But when you think about it, it was strange. When you graduate from the academy, you get a D grade? Does the status window give you a quest like [Have an academy graduation ceremony]?
Seong Ha-yeon Hunter said.
“Actually, there is a limit to the growth of stats depending on the level of the hunter, but when you hit that growth limit, a quest appears in the status window. This is a C-class promotion, each B-class promotion gives a different mission, but only one quest from apprenticeship to D-class is given in common. [Break through the D-class gate.]”
“Ah.”
Only then did I understand this training process a little bit. Ichi also nodded. Seong Ha-yeon Hunter said.
“That’s why the academy raises your stats so you can shoot up to the D grade, and opens the D grade gate privately. Because you can open the gate on a controllable line up to C grade. The camp training is now to actually go to the D-level gate without a mentor, explore and catch the boss.”
“Then will it become a D-class?”
“It depends on how grown up you guys are now, right? If you guys have reached the final level of apprentice hunter growth, if you break through the dungeon there, you’ll get a D grade right away? Or maybe it’s just a rehearsal before clearing the D-class quest.”
It was said that the D grade was unexpectedly right in front of me. We blinked and inflated our bodies in anticipation. Seeing the strength in his shoulders, senior Yoo-jeong smiled and said,
“It starts with D grade. Since then, individuals have to train their stamina on their own, and because they have to break through gates, the growth rate slows down a lot. From then on, it doesn’t support growth like the academy did.”
“That’s why some people stay in D-Class. If you go up to a higher grade, the monsters become more terrifying and the gate difficulty itself increases, making it difficult. To be honest, it doesn’t look very good.”
“Is it that terrible?”
In fact, the highest monster we saw was only a C-class Minotaur. Ichi also had a face full of questions, as if he hadn’t seen a particularly high-ranking monster. What do high-level monsters look like? Seonghayeon shrugged her shoulders and said.
“Isn’t it nice to eat and see? Wanna see one? I found an amazing looking guy in the encyclopedia and took a screenshot of it before.”
Seong Ha-yeon Hunter took out her pad and returned the screen to us. We see the monster on the other side of the screen and frown at her. A large mushroom head was guiding people like a carrier, all with tentacles wrapped around her face. It was like sucking the brain, and it was like simply using it like a doll.
“Uh.”
I shook my head. Seong Ha-yeon giggled at the sight and put her pad back in her pocket. The meat was lightly charred and stuck to her grill. Said Ichie, startled and turning over her meat.
“If it’s overcooked, it won’t taste good.”
“Ichie knows some meat.”
Sung Ha-yeon nodded her head while saying that. Senior Yoojeong smiled beside her and took out her cell phone. She glanced at me and texted me. I glanced at her and checked her text.
[Now two. Shall we try it? I’ll go to Suhyeon’s house once before the weekend. Because I have a day off.]
I completely forgot about the story of the mushroom monster and the camp training for the D-class promotion a while ago at the sensation of my lower body suddenly swelling.
