The monitor screen spun rapidly.
I flicked my wrist holding the mouse lightly.
Click. Click.
Red kill marks burst in rapid succession at the center of the screen.
Already my 40th kill.
My dynamic vision and reflexes pushed to their limits with mana.
The movements of ordinary people were no different from still images.
The battlefield in the game was a massacre.
The all-chat window in the corner of the monitor exploded.
[That hacker bastard's at it again.]
[Is it fun playing with aimhacks and wallhacks?]
[Reported the hell out of you. RIP lol]
Toothless scraps of text.
I moved the mouse indifferently and aimed at the next target's head.
A yawn escaped.
How boring.
Slam.
The door behind me burst open roughly.
A familiar, tired voice pierced through my headset.
"Oppa! How long are you going to keep playing games!"
It was Kang Ha-eun.
I replied half-heartedly, my eyes still fixed on the monitor.
"Close the door. The AC's escaping."
"Is the AC the problem right now? Get up already!"
"What for."
"Seol-a's treating us to dinner today! She said she's so grateful you helped with that Gate last time!"
Whatever.
I tapped the keyboard.
I pushed my character into the middle of enemy lines.
"So what."
"What do you mean 'so what'! Let's go right now!"
Kang Ha-eun grabbed my right arm and shook it.
The hand holding the mouse jerked wildly off course.
My character on screen fired into empty air before getting hit by concentrated enemy fire and collapsing.
[YOU DIED]
Death.
The chat window exploded again.
[Hacker down!]
[Finally died lmao serves you right idiot.]
This is driving me crazy.
I let out a deep sigh and released the mouse.
"Ah. You're really annoying."
"What's annoying! My oppa's going to die from not seeing sunlight. Get up already!"
Dragged down from my chair by Kang Ha-eun's persistent grip.
I gave up.
It was better for my mental health to comply obediently than to try breaking her stubbornness.
"Fine. Fine, so let go of my arm. You're stretching my clothes."
"Yes! I'll coordinate your outfit perfectly today!"
The closet door opened.
What Ha-eun pulled out excitedly was a white blouse covered in frills and a navy jumper skirt.
Even a wide-brimmed beret for my head.
In front of the mirror.
The spitting image of an elementary schooler's field trip outfit.
The dignity of a thirty-two-year-old man didn't exist in this house.
I threw open the balcony window roughly.
I grabbed Kang Ha-eun's nape with practiced ease.
Wrapped myself thickly in a mana field and stepped into empty air.
I rose up and flew toward the heart of Gangnam.
The destination was a top-class omakase restaurant.
I landed silently at the quiet entrance in a back alley of the shopping district.
My eyes met Yu Seol-a's, who had come out early and was pacing around.
"H-Hero! You've arrived!"
She bounced up like a spring and bent her waist at a 90-degree angle.
The gazes of passersby turned toward us all at once.
"You're early. Raise your head. It's embarrassing."
"Seol-a~!"
Kang Ha-eun ran over and hugged Seol-a, making a fuss.
After exchanging brief greetings, we entered the restaurant.
A private room with the luxurious scent of cypress wood.
The head chef in cooking attire greeted us.
The moment his gaze touched my silver hair and jumper skirt, his pupils expanded microscopically.
As expected of a top-class restaurant's chef.
He hid his confusion instantly and offered a deep bow.
"Hunter Kang Tae-ho. It's an honor to serve you. We've prepared the finest ingredients today."
"Yeah. Just serve whatever."
I hopped up onto the chair.
The chair was high, so my toes didn't reach the floor.
Legs dangling in the air.
Familiar but uncomfortable feeling.
I wiped my hands with a warm towel.
I stared quietly at Seol-a in the seat next to me.
Designer bag and styled hair.
Anyone would think she was a chaebol heiress rather than a Hunter rummaging through monster guts.
"Yu Seol-a. This is your first dungeon payout, right?"
"Yes! That's right!"
"What money do you have from selling E-Rank Gate trash to come to an expensive place like this? Aren't you overdoing it?"
At my dry criticism, Seol-a grinned and pulled out a black card from her wallet, waving it.
"Ah, the dungeon payout was peanuts so it all went to equipment repairs. This is my dad's corporate card!"
"What?"
"I told my family that thanks to the National Savior, I returned from my first real combat without a scratch! Then Dad gave me a card and told me to treat Hero with the absolute best. My family does business, so we're pretty well-off!"
So she's something like a chaebol family's youngest daughter.
I should have realized from the designer goods wrapped around her from head to toe.
Seol-a shook her clenched fists and shot me a fanatical look.
"I couldn't possibly treat Hero to something cheap! Today I'll max out Dad's card limit and provide the finest meal!"
A terrible burden.
I turned my gaze sharply toward the chef.
"Got it, got it. Yeah. I'll eat well."
The first course, steamed abalone, came out.
Thick abalone topped with innard sauce.
I pushed it into my mouth.
The texture chewed softly with a savory umami flavor.
My irritated mood lifted.
Capitalism does taste good.
Fatty tuna belly, sea urchin, botan shrimp.
Top-grade ingredients appeared on the plate one after another.
Ha-eun and Seol-a were busy taking food photos.
I silently chewed and swallowed sushi, enjoying the fullness.
The meal was about halfway through.
Noise erupted from the hall.
The sliding door opened roughly.
Three men with faces flushed bright red staggered in.
They seemed to have entered the wrong room while looking for the bathroom.
Guys decked out in designer suits and gold watches.
Mid-sized guild executive badges were pinned to their chests.
The typical type who swagger around after making some money.
"Hey, where'd the chef go! Huh?!"
One of the men slammed the end of the table.
The room's atmosphere froze.
The chef bowed with a troubled expression.
"Sir, this is a private room, so you'll need to leave..."
"Do you know who I am?! Huh?! Don't you know our guild just won the rights to a B-Rank Gate?!"
A terrible alcohol smell.
The man turned his head and our eyes met.
Elementary schooler physique in a jumper skirt.
The corner of his mouth curled up unpleasantly.
"What's this. Wasn't this a no-kids zone? Why's there a brat sitting here."
The man staggered toward me.
Ha-eun and Seol-a's faces turned white.
Seol-a stood up urgently.
"E-excuse me! If you knew who this person..."
"Who? Huh? Whose daughter is having omakase here..."
The man reached his hand toward my shoulder.
Annoying.
Suffocatingly annoying.
Having to watch a dog bark while eating.
I put down my chopsticks.
I tapped my right index finger lightly on the table.
Woom.
A heavy, terrible wave of mana.
I increased the gravity within a 2-meter radius dozens of times.
A weight as if a giant iron hammer had struck down on the men's shoulders.
"Kuk...!"
"Urk...!"
The man's outstretched hand plummeted to the floor.
They collapsed flat on the ground without even managing to scream.
They gasped for breath with their faces smashed into the marble floor.
The bizarre cracking sound of bones throughout their bodies creaking.
"Let me eat in peace."
I said dryly.
Only then did the man's pupils, now sobered from the alcohol, shake violently.
Silver hair. Red eyes. A 140cm kid.
Overwhelming mana crushing them without moving a single finger.
The faces of the guys who realized who I was turned deathly pale.
"Hiiik...! K-Kang Tae-ho Hunter...!"
The man trembled and pleaded.
"S-spare us...! We've committed a mortal sin...!"
The sight of them prostrate on the floor, drooling snot, was ugly.
I withdrew my mana.
As the crushing gravity disappeared, they scrambled to their feet.
"Get lost. You're killing my appetite."
"Yes! S-sorry! We'll leave right away!"
The men fled the restaurant without looking back.
The room became as quiet as a mouse.
I raised my chopsticks toward the chef.
"One more eel sushi. With lots of sauce."
"Ah... Y-yes! I'll prepare it right away!"
The chef wiped his cold sweat and began making sushi.
Seol-a sitting next to me had her mouth hanging open.
Ha-eun shrugged as if accustomed to it and picked up her teacup.
The meal ended.
I patted my stomach and walked out of the restaurant.
The night air was cool.
"Hero! It was truly an honor today! Please get home safely!"
Seol-a bowed deeply in farewell.
I waved my hand casually and grabbed Ha-eun's nape.
I raised a mana field and rose into the air.
Seoul's night view spread out below my feet.
I flew cutting through the wind.
Ha-eun, who had been admiring the night view inside the field, suddenly spoke up.
"Oppa."
"What."
"What do you think of our Seol-a? She's really kind, rich, and pretty, right?"
A random question.
I answered indifferently, my gaze lowered.
"Well, not bad."
"Right! Then aren't you interested? Should I set you up? Seol-a's totally your biggest fan. Would you consider meeting..."
I slowed my flight speed.
A hollow laugh escaped from sheer absurdity.
I turned my head and stared at my sister blankly.
"What? Dating?"
"Yeah. Why. You're thirty-two now, you should get married."
I let out a short sigh.
I turned my gaze to my own body.
The cute navy jumper skirt fluttering in the wind.
A child's 140cm frame that didn't even reach someone's solar plexus.
Was this the appearance of a thirty-two-year-old man to discuss dating?
"Ugh."
Deep reality check.
"Look at my body. What dating. Stop talking nonsense."
A dry, self-deprecating voice.
Ha-eun shut her mouth tight.
She glanced at me, then carefully averted her gaze.
She didn't pester me anymore.
Bitterness crossed my sister's face too.
Inside the silent mana field.
The night wind felt cold.
I increased the flight speed again.
I cut through the night sky in silence, heading toward the penthouse.
