You Will Be Blessed If You Do Good Deeds¿

"Meow meow!"
"Ugh...."

When Leo yelled at Robo, Robo made a noise like sniffing, embarrassed.
Jeong Da-jeong, who had been watching this, whispered.
"......Isn't it a bit strange to raise a dog and a cat together? They always seem to be fighting."

"They're not fighting. Leo is just thinking... hey!"
"Meow!"
Thwack!

Just as I sided with Leo, Leo slapped Robo’s nose.
Although it still looked like a kitten, its strength was no joke.
Robo, who got hit on the nose, jumped up in surprise and soon slumped down.

"Yelp...."
"Isn't this fighting?"
"......It's a scolding, a scolding."

"Meow!"
Don't eat that!
 
In reality, the reason Leo was scolding Robo instead of getting mad was obvious.

When Robo killed Margarita’s sentinel following my orders in the dungeon, Robo didn’t just eliminate the sentinel; it also absorbed its mana.
No wonder there was so much ash on Robo’s snout.
My subordinates generally subsist on mana.

So, in a situation where there was no other mana to absorb, the mana of the sentinel would have been a rare delicacy for Robo.
‘It’s bound to backfire.’
I had entered the dungeon last weekend and didn’t return until Wednesday.
And now it was Thursday evening.

Since returning from the dungeon, Robo had been suffering from a stomach ache.
When we were still in the dungeon, Robo seemed fine, but as soon as we got home, it started complaining about stomach pains and was whining throughout the night.
At first, I didn’t know what was happening, but after checking Robo's body, I found that Margarita's mana had stayed inside Robo’s body, causing friction and pain.

My subordinates, who take animal forms, don’t have human-level intellect, but they excel at sensing mana and are highly sensitive to other people's souls.
Mana is, after all, the power of the soul.
If Robo, without my assistance, recklessly absorbed the mana of a powerful mage like Margarita, it was bound to cause problems.

"Meow!"
Stupid!
 
That’s why Leo was mad at Robo for this.

Even though Leo seemed worried when we first came back from the dungeon, grooming Robo and staying close, as soon as Leo realized that this was Robo's own fault, Leo started getting angry.
Robo, realizing its mistake, was making pitiful, deflated sounds.
"Whine... whine...."

Still, it’s not like Robo is a puppy—it's a wolf, but now it’s acting too pitiful.
As expected, Jeong Da-jeong was taken in.
"It's so pitiful... you’re really not sick, right? Then should I give you a treat? I bought some jerky."

"That's a bad habit."
And actually, Robo doesn’t avoid Jeong Da-jeong as much as it does Leo, but it doesn’t eat jerky from Jeong Da-jeong recklessly either.
Anyway, Robo did something that deserved to be scolded, so I decided to leave it alone this time.

‘I’m tired too.’
This time, I was definitely... exhausted.
Thanks to that, I was now slouched on the sofa once again.

Why?
‘Didn’t expect to be sent to work today…’
I had just finished work.

And, I had just returned from the dungeon yesterday!
While the dungeon run over the weekend was considered work, that didn’t mean I got any extra days off.
It was just that I would get the weekend overtime pay, but my time off disappeared.

So, as soon as I returned to Seoul, I went straight to work as usual... After dungeon running with Shin Ji-eum and Lee Pyeong-hwa, I was finally home.
Even Lee Pyeong-hwa kept nagging me, asking why I went to the dungeon without telling her. My ears are still ringing from it.
I feel like I might die.

‘Maybe if they paid more, I wouldn’t mind.’
Weekend overtime pay is based on national standards, so it’s not a huge amount.
Still, the compensation was sweet.

I opened the status window again, which I had checked countless times since yesterday.
Jeong Da-on (Normal)
Potential Ability Rating: S-Class

Health: LV. 45 (Max: None)
Strength: LV. 55 (Max: None)
Mana: LV. 85 (Max: None)

Overall Level: LV. 54
 
The stats themselves were only slightly improved in health and strength.

But the important part was the next line.
Skill "Starry Covenant" acquired.
When using this skill, temporarily unlock all latent abilities.

 
‘This is it, this is it.’
For this, I had to argue with the system for so long.

Is this how office workers feel when they endure through work just to see their paycheck?
After enduring many arguments and hardships, seeing the reward I earned brought me to the verge of tears.
This time, the system had made a considerable concession.

It seems that Yu Han-ul was really nervous, thinking I might die, which made the system uneasy.
Thanks to that, I changed my mind when I saw the state of the system and initially thought about grabbing some stats.
The stats had been increasing easily due to public sentiment getting better, and I had been succeeding in silly quests like "doing good deeds" just by breathing.

Simple stat increases weren’t worth it.
‘Unlocking all stats.’
Just thinking about it is a sweet deal.

Even though I had reached a level where I could implement some incantation magic, there were still many frustrating parts.
After all, circles, stats... I shouldn’t have to measure my level by those numbers. That’s not who I am.
But now, with just a skill, I could unlock all my stats!

Of course, there were a few limitations on this ridiculously overpowered skill.

This skill cannot be used against users performing the 'SAVE THE WORLD' quest.
The physical burden of unlocking stats is borne by the user, ‘Jeong Da-on.’

 
This meant I couldn’t use the skill when fighting Yu Han-ul...
Most importantly, if I recklessly used the skill, I could die due to the extreme strain it placed on my body.

‘That bastard really used his head in a pinch.’
The skill allows for stat unlocking, but what would actually happen was another story.
Let’s say I used that skill to unlock all my stats right now.

Even if I had trained a lot, my current body—or rather, any ordinary human body—wouldn’t be able to last more than 10 seconds before dying on the spot.
So from the system’s perspective, it’s handing me a skill that I can’t even use properly and taking credit for it.
In other words, the system is giving me a shiny, useless gift and taking advantage of it... but.

‘All swarm intelligences are stupid.’
I know full well that I can’t use the skill properly with my current body.
However.

If I accepted the conditions, it meant that I had a way to avoid it.
"Hoo... hoho..."
"Da-on, what’s going on?!"

As I lay slouched on the sofa laughing, Jeong Da-jeong, startled, turned away from feeding Robo jerky to look at me.
"Why are you suddenly laughing by yourself...? It's scary. Was the seminar that tough?"
"No, don’t worry about it."

"Don’t say it’s nothing."
Jeong Da-jeong poked at the dark circles under my eyes.
I felt irritated.

"Your dark circles have dropped all the way down here."
"Go look at your face in the mirror."
My sudden few days of absence had been explained with a weekend seminar excuse, thanks to Han Jae-young. But it turned out there was no need for a lie.

Jeong Da-on was also called in for an emergency over the weekend and had been at the company all this time.
"What exactly does your company do that calls people in on weekends?"
Jeong Da-jeong looked up at the ceiling with a wistful expression.

"I think I made a wrong career choice... I shouldn’t have chosen a game company..."
"Then just quit."
"I shouldn’t have joined the game operations team made from spaghetti code. Even when bugs happen, we can’t even touch them. All we can do is patch things together with more code... This gacha-driven, time-wasting game that just drains users’ money and time is evil. It should disappear from this world."

The system feels a slight sympathy.
 
Where the hell does this swarm intelligence feel sympathy?
"Should I destroy it?"

"Please bear with it...."
I shook my head.
"If it’s that hard, just quit that company. You can move to a more comfortable place now."

"No, I still need to work for a year to get my severance."
"I’ll just give you that money."
Listening to her complain was getting tiresome.

I had just burned almost 1.5 billion won on this house, and Jeong Da-jeong’s severance, even if it were generous, would probably only be a few hundred thousand won.
However, Jeong Da-jeong looked horrified.
"Why would I touch your money! And I need to save money so that when Da-on wants to quit being a Hunter, she can."

"...I knew you’d say that."
I shook my head.
At that moment, the news running on the TV in the background flashed by with the caption: ‘S-Class Hunter, Jeong Da-on’s new heroism revealed...’

At a time like this, she thought I could quit being a Hunter?
Right, Jeong Da-jeong, you were dreaming.
Whoooosh!

That was when my phone, which had been shoved into my pocket, vibrated, and I checked the screen.
It was the call I had been waiting for.
I was exhausted, but delaying it would have been even worse.

I got up from the slouched sofa.
"I'm going out for a bit."
"Huh? Why? Are you going to buy something? Then I’ll come with you..."

"No, I have an appointment."
"...An appointment?!"
Jeong Da-jeong was startled, a beat behind.

"An appointment, with who? At this hour? Oh, a Guild person? Emergency call?"
Take a breath.
"...If I say I have an appointment, does it automatically mean it’s a Guild person?"

"Usually it does... ack, that hurts! That hurts!"
It wasn’t a hard kick, but still.
I snorted and gave instructions for Leo and Robo to stay with Jeong Da-jeong before leaving the house.

"What do you want to drink?"
And the one who called me to the café near my house was...
Of course, it was Yu Han-ul.

A franchise café that wasn’t too crowded, nor too empty.
The moment Yu Han-ul and I entered, whispers could be heard around us.
I saw some people discreetly pulling out cameras.

I looked at Yu Han-ul, who came back with two cups of coffee, arms crossed.
"Why did you ask to meet here? I don’t think privacy is guaranteed at all."
"Well, I thought it would be more comfortable in a place where people can see. Given the current situation, it’s uncomfortable for the two of us to enter some closed space."

Just hearing that made my insides twist.
Yu Han-ul smiled as he saw my expression and said.
"And surprisingly, people don’t crowd around me asking for photos. Seems it’s a bit difficult."

Now that I think about it, when I’m alone, it’s absolute chaos, but for Yu Han-ul, not as many people seem to swarm him.
It’s probably because he’s just too famous.
Fame can sometimes be a form of power.

While sipping my iced Americano, I stared at Yu Han-ul.
‘What the hell is he thinking?’
Last night, right after returning from the dungeon.

Both Son Hyeong-hwa and Lee Hyun-jun immediately started questioning about the ‘dummy doll.’
Of course, there were all these things about humans in other dimensions and mana-absorbing monsters.
Since they were hearing these things for the first time, it was natural they would press me about it.

Especially Lee Hyun-jun, who interrogated me fiercely.
And among them, especially me.

"This reeks of suspicion, if I let this slide, I’ll be considered a fool. You came back late alone, too... What the hell are you plotting? You really need to explain it to me now."

"It wasn’t just me, Yu Han-ul came back late too."
"That’s not the point. There are so many suspicious things...!"
"Hyun-jun, senior."

Just as the conversation was about to escalate again, Yu Han-ul blocked Lee Hyun-jun.
"I’ll explain everything later. For now... let’s all go home and rest. We’re all too tired."
"Yu Han-ul!"

"Trust me. I’ll handle it."
"......"
If I had heard such words, I’d have shouted that I’d trust someone reliable, not a fool like you, but Lee Hyun-jun kept quiet.

His eyes were still filled with distrust, though...
"Okay, I trust you."
Son Hyeong-hwa tapped Yu Han-ul’s shoulder lightly.

Even Son Hyeong-hwa, his wife, stepping in like that made it hard for Lee Hyun-jun to say anything more.
‘This guy.’
And I could understand Lee Hyun-jun’s position.

Honestly, if I were in Yu Han-ul’s position, I’d have already killed me.
It’s not just that the Earth is being attacked by Orbis.
But an unexpected being with overwhelming power has appeared, one that even he can’t handle.

If I felt like it, I could commit even worse acts than Orbis.
That’s why the system has been trying so hard to put a collar on me.
‘Wouldn’t it be better to kill me if there’s a chance?’

I was even weakened from reckless incantation magic right now.
If I had been hit by the other four's attacks, it would have been hard to predict the outcome, so wasn’t it foolish to miss such an opportunity?
"Then, I’ll call tomorrow."

"It’s not going to end with a call. Come down to my place this weekend. Got it?"
But they weren’t like me.
They didn’t realize what opportunity they were missing, and Son Hyeong-hwa and Lee Hyun-jun left their seats.

Han Jae-young let out a sigh.
"Ah, I’m drained. The troublesome guests are finally gone..."
"Do you have troublesome people too?"

"After living over 30 years in a society like this, you get used to it. It’s hard to deal with older people."
"....Hyun-jun is naturally cautious. I’ll apologize on his behalf."
Yu Han-ul spoke very calmly.

If anyone else heard this, they would think that nothing at all had happened between us.
I asked Yu Han-ul.
“Don’t you have something to say to me?”

Since I couldn’t delay it any longer, I was ready to listen to Yu Han-ul’s thoughts.
But unexpectedly, Yu Han-ul delayed the conversation.
“Yeah, but let’s talk later. Actually, I’m okay now, but you...”

“Me?”
“You and I both need to work tomorrow.”
Yu Han-ul looked at his watch and nodded seriously.

At that moment, I thought he was joking.
For the first time in a while, I thought Yu Han-ul’s joke was funny.
“If we go back to Seoul now, we won’t even sleep for 2 hours before going to work.”

“...But we’ve been dungeon hunting since the weekend, don’t we get a break?”
“You’ll get overtime pay...”
I couldn’t even complain properly to Han Jae-young, who was also wearing the same exhausted face.

If you are reading this translation anywhere other than .net or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.
It seemed like Han Jae-young, too, had a lot of questions for me, but I let it slide.
He was just in a rush to get back to Seoul and go to work too.

‘What’s with this substitute duty thing...!’
Shouldn’t this country just collapse already?
And that "later" I delayed turned out to be today, right now.

“Did you rest and go to work yesterday?”
“Do you think 2 hours of sleep is going to make the fatigue go away?”
I couldn’t even tell if Yu Han-ul had any common sense.

Now that I thought about it, the iced Americano he ordered for me was so bitter that I could even taste the salt from how many extra shots were added.
“So, you need to build up your stamina. Even if you're a mage... hahaha.”
Yu Han-ul suddenly laughed.

“This is exactly what I said in my past life, right?”
“......”
Maybe that’s true.

We weren’t total strangers after all.
“So, when did you start remembering?”
I finally asked the main question.

“After clearing the New York dungeon.”
And Yu Han-ul’s answer was exactly what I had guessed.
I should have realized earlier when he didn’t give me a clear answer and just brushed off my question back then, that it wasn’t like Yu Han-ul to act that way.

‘But still, he realized way too quickly.’
I never imagined he would recall all his past life memories in just a few months.
Could it be due to the system’s trickery?

‘...Well, at least he didn’t mistake me for the mastermind behind all of this. That’s a relief.’
But still, I had lingering questions.
“...So why didn’t you kill me?”

I asked directly.
Since Yu Han-ul had regained all his memories, I figured there was no point in beating around the bush.
“If I let you go like this...”

“What happens?”
Yu Han-ul asked again with a smile.
I paused for a moment and then asked.

“Do you trust the system’s power?”
The fact that he’s this calm probably means that he’s overestimating the leash the system has placed on me.
Either way, I wanted to live as a human, so I had no choice but to be bound under some ridiculous quest with a silly name.

But if Yu Han-ul truly believes this... then...
“No, I don’t trust the system.”
“......”

“Of course, I know how to lie, but I wouldn’t lie to Master or Senior Lee Hyun-jun. I said exactly what I told them.”
“...You think you can handle me?”
“I’d rather handle the consequences of trusting someone than regret not believing.”

And with that, Yu Han-ul extended his hand toward me.
“And maybe... this time, we might actually become friends.”