## Chapter 24 – 24. 무협
#24. Martial Arts
Ting-
[Matching has ended]
[Favorability change]
[Iris Remeria Baiart Pelledia 85♡ → 95♡]
[Affinity Level change]
[Iris Remeria Baiart Pelledia Lv.1 → Lv.3]
[Calculating…]
[600 Love Coins have been awarded]
[Remaining Coins: 1,850 Coins]
[Name: Iris Remeria Baiart Pelledia
Age: 524
Race: High Elf
Affiliation: EB-17
Occupation: Archmage
Disposition: Benevolent Ruler, Non-killing, Devoted, Vegetarian······]
[Time remaining until rematch: 143:59:45]
The flow of air changed, and I was back in my room.
“The settlement reward is pretty good.”
Plus, maybe because my affinity level with Iris went up, the time remaining until the rematch decreased from a week to six days.
I was smiling as I looked at the countless screens in front of me, but maybe because I had been facing a C+ grade monster and then returned to my safe zone, my tension completely dissolved, and I collapsed onto the bed.
“Ugh, it freaking hurts… I’m gonna die, I’m gonna die…”
Because I hadn’t treated them properly, my clothes and bed were stained with blood from the cuts all over my body.
I wanted to wash up and sleep right away, but I had to get treatment before it got worse.
If I were a normal person, I would go to the hospital when I was sick, but things were different for rich people.
“Was there a church with an official priest near my house…?”
Of course, there wasn’t. The church I found on the map app was quite far away, requiring a 30-minute taxi ride.
I already sighed heavily at the thought of the hassle, but I put on bandages and band-aids, changed my clothes, and left the house.
The taxi I called through the app arrived quickly.
“Please go to the Seoul Central Holy Church.”
“Yes, sir.”
Priests, who use divine power based on faith in God, perform miracles to heal the wounds of others.
It’s hard to do that with magic, so I heard that magicians used to study healing magic very hard, but I don’t know about now.
Anyway, becoming a priest is as difficult as becoming a magician; talent is essential, and faith in God must be the foundation.
Those selected must undergo rigorous training for years at the Vatican.
“Haha, you seem to be hurt, but you’re going to church, so you must be successful, young man? My son should work hard like you, but he’s always just playing at home… Sigh…”
As the taxi driver said, getting treatment at a church costs at least hundreds of dollars, and the amount on the bill can skyrocket depending on the patient’s condition.
Still, considering that they cleanly fix external wounds without leaving scars and cure chronic diseases like hair loss and cancer, it wasn’t an incomprehensible price.
Of course, the diamond spoon kids go to church even when they have a cold.
“Okay, that’ll be ₩23,000.”
“Thanks for the ride.”
As soon as I got out of the taxi, I saw the magnificent church building.
I don’t know how much money they poured into it.
“Should I exchange money first?”
For the record, my bank account is currently empty.
I spent it all on a bed and other things when I went to see Iris.
Of course, I’m not worried. I have a whopping 15 magic stones collected from the dungeon. Not just ordinary D+ grade monster magic stones, but all elite monster magic stones.
According to what I saw on the community forums, elite monster magic stones are more expensive than magic stones from the same grade of monster.
And right next to this church was the Hunter Association building.
“Customer number 54.”
Feeling a sense of déjà vu, I sat down at the counter where my number was displayed.
Like the Magic Tower, the staff here were incredibly beautiful.
‘Where else can you find a high-paying job where you die as easily as a hunter?’
It’s not fair to generalize, but honestly, if they’re that pretty, there’s no merit in working at the association, right?
“I’d like to exchange some magic stones.”
“Yes, please put them all here.”
Certainly, the smiling face made the person who came to work feel good.
If they showed that much skin, wouldn’t that be nice for the hunters?
I’d feel good if a pretty girl greeted me with a smile after running around in a gate.
“Just a moment.”
I took out the magic stones from the bag I had brought.
“Oh… my?”
“They’re all D+ grade, and they’re from elite monsters.”
Seeing a pretty girl with her mouth wide open was definitely not a common sight.
A little later, a small notification sound rang on my phone as I left the Hunter Association.
[S Bank]
[Deposit ₩31,200,000]
[Balance ₩31,275,420]
The price of a D+ grade magic stone is ₩1.3 million each, and with an additional 60% for being from an elite monster, a total of ₩31.2 million was deposited.
“…Hunting is really worth it, isn’t it?”
Certainly, cash is better than coins for now.
Maybe it’s because there are so many places to use it right away.
“I should move soon, and I want to buy a decent car… Well, I need to save a little more money for that.”
₩30 million is by no means a small amount of money, but it’s not enough to move and buy a car.
In the end, I have to solve either the house or the car first, but no matter what, it’s still the house.
I want to get out of this smelly and uncomfortable studio apartment.
***
Kang Cheol-ho, the 13th Director of the Korea Branch of the World Hunter Association.
He is one of the top ten most powerful people in East Asia and an S-class hunter with a strong body that can withstand missile strikes with his bare hands.
His nickname is Iron Man.
“This many magic stones, from a 21-year-old man?”
As befitting his nickname, Iron Man, he usually doesn’t show much emotional change on the outside, but this time, the pitch of his voice was clearly different.
Of course, it was a subtle difference that only his close aides could notice, but he was clearly surprised.
“Yes, he exchanged them at the counter on the first floor just now.”
“He must have found an undiscovered gate.”
With the development of technology, it has become possible to know the location and timing of gate creation, but that is not 100% perfect.
Occasionally, gates with cloaking abilities escape the range of the detectors and cause numerous casualties by triggering surprise gate breaks while waiting for the right time.
Such gates are called undiscovered gates.
It is recommended to report them to the nearest police station or Hunter Association immediately upon discovery, but it is also possible to clear them at your discretion.
Only for those with a hunter or hero license.
Of course, people who clear them without a license are not unconditionally punished.
Undiscovered gates are basically classified as special gates, so the difficulty is considerable. A superhuman with that much ability is a valuable resource that the country must capture, so there was no reason to create unnecessary problems.
Unlike the law, it is tacitly tolerated in reality.
“15 D+ grade elite monster magic stones… Was it a C grade gate?”
“The information team is currently tracking the person’s recent movements, so the results will be out soon.”
“There’s no need to rush. Instead, we must move discreetly so that the large guilds don’t notice.”
“Yes, Director.”
As the employee finished the report and left the director’s office, Kang Cheol-ho walked to the window.
He quietly looked out the window.
His gaze reached a man tens of kilometers away, beyond the numerous buildings.
A Korean-style mansion on the outskirts of Gyeonggi Province, boasting a beautiful appearance.
This place, called the Blue Dragon’s Lair, is where the leader of Cheongryong, one of Korea’s largest guilds, had his nest.
He scoffed, not caring about Kang Cheol-ho’s gaze towards him.
“Arrogant human.”
***
With my bank account full, I headed straight to the church building.
The area around the church was crowded with people, but the church itself was deserted.
And it was very fancy.
‘At this rate, I would have made a fortune if I had become a priest instead of a magician?’
Of course, priests are prohibited from contacting the opposite sex while being trained at the Vatican, so even if someone asked me to, I wouldn’t want to do it.
“Welcome, brother.”
While I was looking around the church, a man who appeared to be a priest approached me.
“I came to get treatment, where should I go?”
“Ah, you have come to receive the grace of God. Please follow me.”
Following him, I came to a space decorated like a hospital.
“Can you show me the wounded area?”
I immediately took off my shirt.
I have wounds on my legs, but I didn’t want to film a strip show in front of a man.
“…These are severe wounds.”
“I have them on my legs too.”
The priest nodded once and placed his hand on my shoulder.
“Our Father, who art in heaven.”
As he began to recite the prayer, a golden light settled on his hand, and the light flowed through my shoulder and began to heal the wounds on my body.
“Thy mercy be upon us. Amen.”
After only two short lines of prayer, my body was 180 degrees different.
Not only were the cuts all over my body gone, but my left ear, which had been half cut off, was healed without a single scar.
‘This is insane.’
So that’s why the news says that guilds spend billions of dollars trying to recruit priests.
“You’ve done a great job.”
Of course, there was no power without a price.
The priest was sweating a bucket for healing me. In fact, his complexion looked paler than before.
Divine power is the power given by God, not an omnipotent power that humans can use at will in exchange for faith.
“That’ll be ₩9,410,420.”
“…”
₩9.4 million for one treatment… I might as well call a funeral director next time I get hurt.
And why is there a card reader for the offering?
·
·
·
[Would you like to purchase the Imperial Army’s Magic Sword?]
[Y/N]
[Y]
[You have purchased the Imperial Army’s Magic Sword]
[Remaining Coins: 1,450 Coins]
Back home, I was busy preparing for the upcoming new matching.
I filled my inventory with various survival tools, emergency food, and a huge amount of drinking water that I had purchased from the hunter shop on the way home. Unlike food, water can be stored in tons per inventory slot.
However, there were so many types of survival tools that I had to pack them in a separate bag. In fact, it was better to do so.
With the matching survey, you can narrow down the other person’s appearance and hobbies, but you can’t decide what world the other person lives in.
For example, if you put in the hobby of black magic, no one knows whether you will go to another world where there are real black magicians, or to a place where there is a chuunibyou girl obsessed with the delusion of black magic.
That means that you might end up in a world where you can’t use magic.
I’m not good at swordsmanship, but the magic sword was good enough that even I, who doesn’t know much about swordsmanship, could use it.
[Imperial Army’s Magic Sword]
[Grade: Rare]
[Sharpness increases when magic power is applied]
“Would this have helped if I had it in the dungeon?”
I don’t know. I was too busy dealing with magic back then.
It was a part where I realized why there are so few magic swordsmen.
After that, I continued to pack my bags and prepared thoroughly.
Ting-
[Would you like to proceed with matching?]
[Y/N]
[Y]
[Thank you for using this app. Please complete the survey before proceeding with matching.]
[Preferred race]
[Preferred gender]
[Preferred age range]
·
·
·
Race: Human, Gender: Female, Age range: 20s. I set it up so that a reasonably easygoing person would come out.
[Thank you for your cooperation]
[Matching will begin soon]
[Please note that matching may take some time]
I positioned myself so that I could draw the sword and wand from the inventory at any time.
I had already put on the monocle and ring.
Under my clothes, I wore a leather armor made of monster hide.
[Matching is complete]
[Moving to planet AXZ-174]
A large beam of light surrounds me.
I hope this matching doesn’t involve skydiving without a parachute like last time.
***
Fortunately, the start of this matching was not skydiving without a parachute like last time.
Instead.
“…”
“…”
[Romance consulting curriculum will be conducted]
[Analyzing Chun Yeo-hwa’s disposition]
[Analyzing…]
[Analysis complete]
[Name: Chun Yeo-hwa
Age: 20
Affiliation: AXZ-174
Occupation: Second Young Lady of the Heavenly Demon Church
Disposition: ??]
A small lake in a forest.
There, I made eye contact with a naked woman.
“…Hello?”
At my shy greeting, the woman took out a sword from somewhere and slowly began to walk out of the lake.
Staring at me with murderous eyes as if to kill me.
Without a moment’s hesitation, I turned around and ran away.
