The Novel’s Extra’s Extra

“At least it was faster than I thought it would be…”-I said while walking towards Cube’s Portal Station alongside Hajin and Rachel.

“Well… It was just an interrogation about what happened and stuff, nothing difficult. Did you thought we would be there for hours?”-Asked Hajin.

“Mm… Mostly, yes. I thought we would be there for at least two hours. With a more brutal investigation.”-I answered him.

“Nah… We were victims. They just wanted our testimony.”-He said. “Also, thanks for matching my words… It would be hard to explain that I had a personal weapon with me.”-He said while thanking both me and Rachel.

“No problem, dude.”

“…”-Rachel nodded. “I should be the one thanking you both.”-She said.

“Told you not to worry about it.”-I said while looking at her. “So… You’re going already, right?”

“Mm?”-Hajin turned to look at her. “Oh, are you going back home? To England?”

“…”-She nodded. “What about you?”-She asked, seeing as we all were walking towards the portal station.

“We’re going hunting out of Cube…”-Hajin said.

“Yeah, Gangwondo Wonju, time to cash in some money.”-I said while stretching.

“Mm.”-She nodded.

After that, Hajin’s smartwatch rang, and he stopped to look at it, before hanging up immediately. It sounded multiple times after that, with a lot of messages coming.

I and Rachel kept walking ahead while he seemed to be reading someone’s text.

“So, you remember how to train, right?”-I ask her while walking.

“Yes, thank you Cristopher-ssi.”

“No problem, you have my number. Just text me if you have doubts.”

“Huh? Wait for me!”-He shouted after answering and ran after us. “Man, don’t leave me behind…”-He said to me.

“You’re the one who stayed back.”-I shrugged. “So, everything good with your girlfriend?”-I then chose to tease him.

“Wh-what? What girlfriend? I don’t have one! It was just a bombshell that suddenly texted me.”-He retorted back.

“…”-Rachel’s face went a little bit red; it seems she’s not that accustomed to this kind of thing.

“Mm… If you say so. Well, let’s hurry. Park Soohyuk must be waiting for us already.”-I urged him.

“Um… If I may ask… What was that weapon that you used back there?”-Rachel suddenly asked Hajin.

“Well, it was an extremely expensive weapon, along with a few special abilities of mine…”-Hajin answered while scratching his head.

“Oh… Okay…”-She said while we entered Cube’s Portal Station and then went towards Seoul.

Once there, Rachel suddenly stopped to look at us.

“I’m going this way.”-She said while pointing towards the international portals. “Thank you both, once again.”-She slightly bowed. “I’ll bring some gift back. And Cristopher-ssi… I’ll pay you again, for what you’ve been teaching me… I really feel that I’ve been improving a lot.”

“Don’t worry, there’s no hurry. See you.”-I said, and she gave us a really small smile, before going away.

“Wow… This is the first time I’ve seen her smile.”-Said Hajin.

“True… It’s really hard to make Rachel smile.”-I answer him.

“You said it as if you’ve seen her smile before.”-He looks at me with an eyebrow lifted.

“Because I did.”

“Oh, right, what’s that about you teaching her?”-He suddenly asks.

“Oh, I’ve been training her with Natural Energy, sooner or later she’ll become an elementalist. More sooner than later.”-I said to him while starting to walk towards Wonju’s portal. “Come on, Park Soohyuk should be already there.”

“What? You can teach her that?”-He asks.

“Yes, she has the constitution to being an elementalist, while she can’t constantly keep Natural Energy inside of her, she’ll be able to use it with her elementals as a proxy.”-I shrugged.

“… What about me?”-He asks.

“Forget it. You can’t. And you would need to first train your magic power, and we’ve already talked about that.”

After that little chat, we went towards Gangwondo Wonju, and just as we were exiting the portal station, we could see Park Soohyuk waiting for us alongside a HUV.

“Man… There are too many people…”-I said while going towards him.

“Of course, it’s midday on a weekday, a lot of people are using the portal station right now.”-Said Hajin.

“Hey! How are you both?”-Park Soohyuk said hi to us.

“I’m good.”-Hajin answered.

“I’m also great, though, not as much as you man.”-I said while looking at him from head to toes. “You sure seem totally like another person. Money does bring change.”-I said while whistling.

The guy was dressed in a new suit, with nice sunglasses covering his face.

“Yeah… You sure are using our money really well, huh? Shouldn’t we send some commission to investigate you for embezzlement”-Hajin joked.

“Oh, come on, it’s all for work. See this baby? It’s so we can go further and get better spots to hunt. Totally a justified and proper business expense. And the suit is for formalities and giving a better impression so the business can grow hahaha.”

“Wow, that’s the kind of business I like hahaha, come on.”-I said. While going towards the new HUV.

Park Soohyuk opened the back door and both of us and he got in the driver’s spot, and we went towards the Field.

“So, are we stopping at the 1km mark again?”-He asks both of us.

“Yeah, but we’re going to hunt a lot more today.”

“Yup, not stopping until we are filthy rich hahahahaha”-I said while laughing.

“Oh? You seem to be in a good mood. Something happened?”-He asks me.

“Yes, two weeks’ worth of vacation! Until Thursday two weeks later I’m not having classes! This means more money from hunting!”-I answered

“Nice! Let’s go then!”-He said while pushing on the accelerator.

“So, how’s the business going?”-Hajin asks.

“Great! Thanks to you both now I’m slowly expanding the business and making more money! Hahaha”-He answers.

“That’s the spirit! Let’s go!!”-I said.

“Oh well, it’s not bad that things are going great.”-Hajin answered.

After a little while, we finally made it to the entrance of the Field.

“Here we are. Let’s go down for a moment, we need to ask a permit for our vehicle.”-Park Soohyuk said and we all got down from the HUV.

“Aaahhh… So good to stretch…”-I said while stretching after getting down from the car.

“You weren’t in there for too long.”

“Still, I’m not that accustomed to cars, you know. I prefer bikes.”-I said while finishing stretching.

“Hahaha, sadly there are not many places here in Korea where you can run a good bike…”-Said Park Soohyuk.

“Yeah, man… You have to go somewhere with long lonely roads to really enjoy a good ride.”-I said before Park Soohyuk went to ask for the permit to enter with the vehicle.

“Huh?”-Hajin suddenly sounded surprised and I turned to look towards where he was looking.

There, what we saw was Yoo Yeonha, who was with a group of men who seemed guildmembers from Essence of the Strait, she was looking around the Field.

“Wow, who would know she would come here today too.”-I muttered.

“Well, she’s probably here for some kind of business…”-Hajin answered.

“Right, she’s always like that… Poor girl…”-I said with a face full of pity, looking at her talking with those around her as if she was some kind of adult and not a 17yo girl.

“Mm?”-At that moment, Park Soohyuk came back with the permit to go inside. “Do you know her?”-He asked.

“Yes, but she seems to be busy, so let’s go.”-Hajin said, and I just nodded.

“Eh?”-But before we could go towards the HUV, Yoo Yeonha spotted us, and started walking towards us. “Hello?”

*clack, clack, clack, clack*

The sound of her heels resounded in the place until she was right in front of us.

“What are you doing here?”-She said while looking at Hajin and slightly glancing at me.

“We’re here to make money.”-Hajin answered.

“Mm~ I see~”-She said before glancing at Park Soohyuk.

“Ah… This is my, well, our agent.”-He said while pointing at Park Soohyuk.

“Ah! Nice to meet you. I’m SH Agency’s Head Manager, Park Soohyuk.”-He said while slightly bowing.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Yoo Yeonha, still a cadet.”-She answered with a slight nod.

“Oh, okay…”-Park Soohyuk answered slightly awkwardly while glancing at the four men that were behind Yoo Yeonha like bodyguards, they were slightly intimidating to him.

“Ah, they’re from Essence of the Strait”-She said while pointing at the four men, who just stood there without knowing what to do. Seeing them like that, Yoo Yeonha slightly glared at them and they immediately bowed towards us.

“*chuckle*”-A small laugh escaped my mouth looking at how such a small girl would make four big grown males bow with a glare, out of political and economic power, making everyone look at me. “Oh, sorry, I remembered a joke and it made me laugh a little.”-I said, still with a smile on my face.

“…”-Yoo Yeonha only nodded slightly but didn’t retort back, though I feel a slight glare from the guys behind her.

“… The Essence of the Strait?”-It seems that Park Soohyuk was a little bit lost in thought with the mention of the second-best guild in Korea, and the world.

*ring~ ring*

Suddenly a smartwatch rang.

“Oh, wait.”-It was Kim Hajin’s.

I looked into his smartwatch to see who was, though I already had an idea.

[Chae Nayun: Haa, what would I gain by betting with someone who doesn’t know anything about bows? Just screw off.]

“…”-He smirked a little before replying back.

[Kim Hajin: What? You scared?]

[Chae Nayun: Ha. You wanna die? I was going easy on you, so don’t you get cocky…]

[Kim Hajin: Just like you said, I’ve never touched a bow before. But if it’s you… One month. One month is enough for me to catch up to your level. Of course, that’s strictly in archery.]-He answered before crossing his arms.

“…”-I just smirked at him.

“What?”-He retorted to me.

“Nothing.”-I just shrugged.

“Um… Are you perhaps texting Chae Nayun?”- Yoo Yeonha suddenly intervened between us.

“Huh!?”-Hajin was a little surprised. “Wh-what? How did you know?”

“…”-She just grinned while putting up a hologram from her smartwatch. It was a conversation with Chae Nayun.

[Chae Nayun: Hey, look at what this kid is saying to me. I’m speechless, S.P.E.E.C.H.L.E.S.S. Do I take on his bet?]

“Pfft… So, you were betting with her?”-I ask him.

“Well… Yeah…”-He said while shrugging. “Either way… Tell her to do it.”-He said towards Yoo Yeonha.

“Eh? Have you used a bow before?”-Yoo Yeonha asked surprised.

“Nope, not even once.”-He said while shrugging. “But I need only one month to beat her.”

“Wow, look at that confidence. I like it.”-I said to her while patting his shoulder.

“How can you be so confident? Isn’t your Gift related to guns?”-Yoo Yeonha asked him.

“…”-But he just stared at her, probably trying to find a good answer to her question.

“*tsk.* Fine, I won’t ask… So sensitive…”-But it seems she thought he didn’t want to talk about it.

{Well, she does have that bad habit of misunderstanding things and creating whole conspirative theories…}-I thought to myself, trying not to laugh.

“Well, shall we go?”-I said while looking at both Park Soohyuk and Hajin.

“Ah, if you’re here to hunt. Can I come with you?”-Yoo Yeonha suddenly said.

“Mm… Sure, why not.”-Kim Hajin shrugged.

“It doesn’t matter to me.”-I just shrugged.

After that, we all went towards the HUV, I sat in the passenger seat, while both Yoo Yeonha and Hajin seated behind. We then entered the Field with the vehicle.

I got to admit, the travel wasn’t anything comfortable, as it seems the HUV wasn’t modern enough to provide a comfortable ride, though it's not like I care.

“*whistle…* Look at that! There’s a lot of people there. Are you sure there are enough monsters for so many people?”-I ask Park Soohyuk

“Yeah, those monsters basically get restocked each day, either from unconquered dungeons or towers.”-Said Park Soohyuk while driving.

“Mm… It’s okay then.”

“Ehew…”-Yoo Yeonha let out a little sigh while grabbing hard from the holders in the vehicle.

“So, what are you doing here?”-Asked Hajin. “I thought you would be going on vacations or something.”

“What use going on vacation has? In this world you have to see things, hear things, feel things if you want to advance forwards.”-She answered while looking at him.

“Mm… Okay.”-He said while looking again towards the front.

“Did you hear that Hajin? That girl knows what’s necessary. You should learn it too. Hahahaha”-I laugh.

“Don’t start things… *sigh…*”-He says with a sigh.

“Oh, come on. I wasn’t being sarcastic. It’s true. What she said. Though, there’re a few things I don’t agree completely.”-I said while shrugging.

“Yeah? Like which ones?”-She said while lifting one eyebrow.

“Vacations do have a use. You need them in order to stabilize your state of mind. If you go all the time without taking some time to you, there will come a point when your head would just explode. And you’ll go insane. So, keep it in mind, take a vacation once in a while. Though, you can also just ignore my words.”-I said while shrugging.

“…”-She just looked at me.

It was then, that Yoo Yeonha’s smartwatch rang again.

“Hey.”-She called Hajin after reading the text.

“Mm?”

“Nayun said she’ll do it. The bet.”

“Ho! You got yourself a bet. Tell me the date! I’ll take some popcorn there!”-I said towards him.

“*sigh…* There you go again, you sure have a way to irk people…”-Hajin said, just before his smartwatch rang.

“Show me too.”-Yoo Yeonha said before Hajin looked at the message. I also turned around to see.

“I want to see too.”-I said.

“…”-He didn’t say anything and just showed a hologram of the conversation with Chae Nayun.

[Chae Nayun: Sure, let’s fight. I’ll give you a month. I’ll bet my everything that I’ll win. What are you going to bet?]

“Wow, strong words, huh… It seems she’s even more confident than you, dude.”-I said to Hajin after looking at her text.

“So it seems…”-Hajin answered while smirking.

“By the way…”-Yoo Yeonha interrupted. “Why are you doing this?”

“…”-He stared at her, before looking again at the text message. “Chae Nayun’s real talent isn’t in bows… If she gives up on using a bow, she can advance much further.”-He said in a bitter tone and with slightly longing eyes.

{Now I know why this girl here got to misunderstand things… I know that you feel responsible for her… But man, your face screams that you like her…}-I thought to myself.

And just as I thought, Yoo Yeonha was looking at Hajin with a pondering face, maybe thinking some kind of weird theory.

“Ak!”-At least until she hit her head with the headrest of my seat once the HUV stopped abruptly.

“Pfft…”-I almost laughed and that won me a glare from her. “Hahahaha… Sorry… It was just so funny…”

“…Stupid…”-She murmured while rubbing her forehead. “Why did we stop?”

“Well… We’re here…”-Park Soohyuk said with an apologetic face for stopping so abruptly.

We then got down from the HUV.

“Mm? Where are we?”-Yoo Yeonha asked while looking around.

“In a monster point.”

“A monster point?”

“Ah, yes, it’s a place where many monsters appear-”-Soohyuk started to explain.

“I know what a monster point is, but, why here? How do you know there’s a monster point here…?”-She said.

“Oh, well… It’s the end of April. Monsters get more active during this time of the year, and the weaker ones get chased out from their territories, and this is a natural escape route for them. There are more routes like this, but those are well known and have a lot of people.”-Park Soohyuk explained.

“Mmmm…”-I stretched. “So, we have this place almost for ourselves.”-I said.

“Oh…”-She nodded while looking around before her smartwatch rang.

“Well, I’ll be going now.”-She said after reading the message.

“Mm? Didn’t you want to hunt with us?”-Hajin asked.

“I only said that I would be coming with you, nothing about hunting with you.”-She said while shrugging.

At that moment, the guys that were with her before came running towards where we were.

“Then, I’ll be off.”-She finally said before going towards them.

“Yeah, see you later.”-Hajin said.

“See ya.”-I also said my goodbyes.

“Yes, see you two back at Cube.”-She said before walking away. But stopped suddenly and turned towards Park Soohyuk. “Ah, by the way…”-She extended her hand. “Can I get your business card?”-She said.

“Ah, sure, sure, here you have it!”-Said Park Soohyuk while taking out a business card and giving it to her.

“Well, I’m leaving now.”-She said while going away towards the members of her father’s guild.

“Well, now’s time to go hunting.”-I said towards both of them.

We stayed all day hunting, thanks to the HUV, and a few more expansion bags Park Soohyuk had, we could loot a lot of monsters. Which netted us a nice profit, which, as usual, was re-invested.

***

I expended Thursday and Friday hunting with Hajin and Park Soohyuk on the day, while during the night I trained in the Gravity Chamber, and then, training with Olivia in a lower difficulty.

That Saturday I went towards a dungeon with Olivia that was located in a jungle inside Ecuador. It wasn’t a hard one, and I used that time to help Olivia find better ways to use her power.

She can basically manipulate things using her magic power, increasing the distance they can travel, the speed, and the strength. In theory, she could be something like Magneto from X-Men, but her Gift isn’t that strong, so she adapted it to throwing knives, giving her a good way to harass her enemy from a distance, while having a way to call them back.

The only bad point is her magic power control. She needs to focus to be able to manipulate them, and while she has learned how to call them towards her and raise them from the ground. She can only do it with all the knives that are marked with her magic power.

Though she needs to learn how to control them one by one, and to do that, she needs to better her magic power control, which is why, we expended all our time in the dungeon working on her control on only a few of the knives, so she can slowly start adding more and more.

Another thing was, that she wanted to keep training the mana coating of the knives, but I rejected the idea, while it would give her power in the short term, it won’t help her in the long term.

The reward of the dungeon was something called the Earring of Echoes.

[Earring of Echoes]

[An earring born from the sounds echoing in a thousand years old forest.]

[Equipment, Enhancement]

[Increase perception by 0,3 and improves your hearing.]

After looking at the reward of the dungeon, I decided that it was time for me to actually go to a harder dungeon if just to look for a better reward and training.

We then got to Cube, and again, we trained our physical aspects, first by myself at the maximum difficulty and then with Olivia in a lower setting.

During the Sunday, I went with Olivia to Locket of Hope, where I trained the kids, and used the change to help Olivia train her magic power control. I would do the same with the kids, but they first need a little bit of physical foundation. Late that night, we again went towards Cube’s Training Center to use the Gravity Chamber. We were almost the only ones remaining in the place, as almost everyone went home or took vacations.

Monday, I started my routine. In the morning I got to exercise my magic power, along with Natural Energy and Draconic Energy. In the afternoon I went hunting with Hajin, and I ended the day training with Olivia in the Gravity Room. First by myself, and then training her. This time, I started training her magic power control in there in a low difficulty setting. That way she could try to control the knives while in there.

I kept that routine for all week, until Saturday, when I, once again, went with Olivia to a dungeon, this time in China, where there were a lot of undiscovered dungeons. This time I didn’t even look at the reward, as it would be a disappointment. I already planned my next dungeon trip; I’ll go after the next incident with the Traveling Club. So that will be like in two weeks.

Sunday, the same, I went with Olivia towards Locket of Hope so I could train the kids and also help Olivia with her magic power control, which was slowly getting better.

With that said, it was now Tuesday, with three days until classes started. I was in Hajin’s room.

“So… Tell me again why did you call me here?”-I ask him while lifting my eyebrow.

“Well… First… Here, look at this…”-He said while showing me a little seed.

“What’s that? A seed? Are you becoming a gardener now?”-I feigned ignorance.

“Now… It’s a little bit special… Look at it with Observation and Reading.”.

“Mm… Okay…”-I did that, and just as I supposed, it was Evandel’s seed. “So… This will become a witch once it sprouts?”-I ask while frowning.

“Yes, exactly, and Evandel can become a great ally for our future battles!”-He says.

“Ok, ok, but… What does it have to do with me coming here?”-I already had an idea, but I better wait for him to say it.

“Well, the truth is… This seed feeds with blood… Human blood…”-He said while scratching his head.

“You’ve been giving her your blood?”-I ask.

“Not really… The blood affects the ability of the witch… So, me being kind of weak… I just thought it wouldn’t be a good idea to feed her my blood.”

“And whose blood did you feed her with?”

“Remember the gauzes you used to clean Rachel’s blood? Well…”

“Oh… Right… Well, it could be worse, I thought you would start killing people to feed her.”

“Who do you take me from?”

“That’s true, you won't do that kind of thing... Too coward…"-I said to him jokingly. "So, I’m asking again, what does it have to do with me?”

“Well… I would like to ask you to give me a bit of your blood to feed her.”-Hajin asked while bowing.

{And he did it…}-I thought to myself.