Chapter 40 – Both Crossed the Line.

A short interview was over.
Perhaps this interview was created by Kim Ga-hee with the intention of dropping me.

In the first place, it was an honor for the academy director to have an interview in person.
It’s not inside the academy, it’s because we’re bringing in students from outside the academy.

If it wasn’t diligent, it would receive a backlash from the existing students.
I knew how much Gaon Academy was an object of envy among hunters.

While I was thinking about going to university, I didn’t even think about entering this academy.
Even if my skills and prospects were outstanding, it was difficult to afford the tuition there.

Gaon Academy consists of half regular students and half scholarship students.
In other words, the general students who wanted the title of Gaon – these were also basically students with skills and talents – were the structure that supported the rest of the students with real potential.
In addition, Kim Ga-hee was blocking all donations from outside.

That was the main reason why Gaon Academy became the best academy without outside interference.

It was luck in itself that I had the opportunity to enter this place.
Any Hunter my age would envy.

“Did you say C-class?”

Gahee Kim asked me.

“You’re right.”

There is no doubt about it.
Because the status window was showing clearly.

“Hmm.”

Gahee Kim took out something of hers from her inventory.
I immediately recognized what it was.
Even if its shape is different from that commonly used in the future.

‘Rating meter.’

It was a device that showed not only the grade but also various information about the Hunter.
At that time, it was not possible to create a complete grade meter with the technology, and the information displayed was extremely limited.
The price was also very expensive.

However, there was no way Kim Ga-hee would carry such a defective item.
What she brought out must have been the most advanced grade measuring device at present.

‘That’s good.’

It was nice to be able to be confirmed in this way.
It’s because I can’t claim it with my mouth alone.

“Put your hand here.”

I put my hand on the device Kim Ga-hee held out.
It was a device I would use often in the future, and since I owned one, I was familiar with the working mechanism.

The professor also watched this carefully.

I thought the bottom of my palm was slightly heated, and then a mechanical sound rang in succession.

The measurement data was then displayed.

Clearly it was marked C.
The type is a balanced type.

This was the limit that the current grade meter could indicate.

“Right.”

Gahee Kim put her rating meter back in her inventory.

“There really must have been a mistake in the last measurement. Hey, I thought you couldn’t be a D-Class. Gahee. Did I say This guy is in lecture.”
“The monster ran away. I’ve heard it ten times. If you listen to it one more time, your ears will bleed. Not a big deal. It’s common for our students.”

The person concerned was in front of him, but he didn’t blink an eye and dismissed it as nothing.
But I was rather comfortable.

Because, as she said, it’s not a big deal.
In dungeons like low-level monsters, it doesn’t matter at all.
Because hunting monsters like that while working as a guild would never make ends meet.

“Really, you are so cold. Anyway, haha!”

The professor slapped me on the back again.

“Our Sunggyu passed, right?”

Gahee Kim said.

“Can you come out tomorrow?”
“Excuse me, but can I leave next Monday?”
“Why? Are you going to rest on the weekend?”
“No. There is a training that I am doing, so I want to enter after finishing this. If you enter Gaon, you will have to do it all over again.”
“Hmm.”

Kim Ga-hee gave a short answer.
She didn’t specifically answer in the affirmative, but I could interpret it as taking care of it.

Food started to be served.
When the meal started, the past history between the professor and Kim Ga-hee became the main topic.

Anyway, the food was luxurious, and it was fun to hear about their past.

S-class Hunter Kim Ga-hee.

I wondered in what direction my life was going.

#

“Congratulation!”

Shin Hye-yeon smiled brightly and congratulated me.

We met in the afternoon to go to the practice room.

No matter how many Gaon Academy interviews you have, you shouldn’t miss out on important routines.
The 400% increase in the training effect was still being applied.
Now, that deadline is not far away.

The reason I asked Gahee Kim if she could not attend the academy from next week was because I wanted to go after this deadline was over.
If you go there, you will obviously have less time to practice with Shin Hye-yeon.
Until then, I wanted to enjoy this effect with her.

‘There’s also ‘steel stamina’.’

It was an ability that had a 30% fatigue recovery effect.
I wanted Shin Hye-yeon to feel this buff to the fullest.

We practiced for about five hours with concentration.
For about two hours, I practiced with ‘sword energy’ activated.

Usually, this was difficult training even for a full-time hunter.
However, we were able to forget the time and focus to complete this difficult practice.

“Haaa…”

After taking a shower and changing her clothes, Shin Hye-yeon came out.
I handed her a can of her prepared drink.

“Today’s training was really good. My body is tired, but it was really worth it.”
“Me too.”
“People say that you can’t train well when you’re in a relationship. How did we…”

Shin Hye-yeon looked at me and smiled.
It was never a disgruntled laugh.

Of course, there was a clear reason why I practiced so intensely with her.
Because I wanted to enjoy the ‘increase in her training effect’ buff with her.
I just couldn’t tell her this.
If you explained one, you had to explain more.

As she said, dating didn’t mean neglecting training.
It is important who you meet.

All Seulgi Lee did while I was training was occasionally filming videos.
I couldn’t stand it for 10 minutes and left.
And he used the video to show off to his friends.

On the other hand, training with Shin Hye-yeon was 120% satisfactory.
Obviously, a greater synergy occurred than when practicing alone.
Both Shin Hye-yeon and I learned a lot from each other.

“Shall we go to eat?”

Shin Hye-yeon said at my words.

“Yes! Go to Seong-gyu’s house.”
“Is it my house?”
“I told you. I’ll cook for you. By any chance, do you not like my cooking?”
“No, it can’t be. I did it because I didn’t know it was today.”
“Is there a specific time to cook? I will do it more often in the future. And today we have something to celebrate.”

Shin Hye-yeon put her hand in her inventory and took out something from her.
It was a cake

Prepared in advance.
In the inventory, the freshness of the goods was generally maintained.
The temperature is also set the same as the first time.

I guessed she had ingredients as well as cakes.

“All right. Go to my house.”
“Yes! Start~”

She was much brighter than the first.
I was glad that I could give her her happiness.

#

What to say
Shin Hye-yeon’s cooking skills were not perfect.
Of course, she’s a freshman in college, and she probably hasn’t had many opportunities to cook.

I had my own look, but I went to a high-end restaurant for lunch today and there was no choice but to raise my standards.

To be clear, it would taste much better if I cooked it with the same ingredients.
However, I couldn’t tell this story to Shin Hye-yeon.
I was happy that she prepared the ingredients and cooked for me.

It was something I could never have expected when dating Seulgi Lee.

“I ate well.”
“Sorry. Because of my lack of skill.”
“What are you talking about? The more you cook, the better you get. We don’t all have to be chefs.”
“Oh! That means it didn’t really taste good.”
“No, that’s not what I mean.”

Shin Hye-yeon slapped me on the arm as if complaining, but of course she wasn’t really angry.
Then, for a moment, her expression darkened.

“However…”
“Yes?”
“I can’t see Seulgi these days, how are you doing…”
“…”

I knew all the inside stories about what kind of end Park Jong-gil and Lee Seul-gi faced.
However, what Shin Hye-yeon knew was extremely limited.

If I don’t tell her, she will have to live with this discomfort.
It was not good for her character.

“Seulgi is in the hospital right now.”
“Yes?”

Shin Hye-yeon was taken aback.

“Why?”

I told her her story.
There were few stories I heard directly from Park Eun-ha, and most of them were facts I learned through the ‘Book of Truth’.

She used the expression ‘heard’ to talk about it.

Shin Hye-yeon was naturally shocked by my story.

“If that’s the case… Then Seulgi is in the hospital, and that person named Park Jong-gil goes to the underground guild…”
“Yes, I crossed the line. Both. There is nothing we can do now.”
“Ah…”

Shin Hye-yeon sighed and took my hand.
Her head rested on my shoulder.