The Garden Of Pearl Spitting Tortoise (1)

“I’m sorry!”

Meowi bowed her head 90 degrees with a vigorous shout.

The person she was apologizing to was none other than the kind female employee who had first helped Meowi and me.

“Oh dear, Miss Hana. Why do you keep bowing your head? It looks so sad.”

The employee waved her hands as if to say it was okay, but Meowi had no intention of getting up.

“I’m really sorry.”
“…Oh, dear…”

30 minutes earlier.

Meowi and I, having finished all preparations, met in front of the ‘Guild’ headquarters building.

“……”
“……”

Without saying much, we exchanged a smile and quietly shook hands.

“How’s your condition?”

Meowi, smiling, nodded her head.

She clenched her cute little fists tightly and said energetically.

“The best!”

Flames of passion were fiercely burning in her eyes.

With determination to give it her all, knowing this wouldn’t come again… and that this was her last chance, I couldn’t help but smile involuntarily.

As if proving that she had truly done her best, the equipment looked much better than when I first saw it.

‘…Well, it’s not like the grade has increased or anything.’

There was a story behind this.

Originally, Meowi intended to buy an Uncommon grade shield at all costs.

‘…Was the price 35 million won?’

But because Im Hyeja loved Meowi, she only charged the original price.

The market price was said to be over 50 million won…

‘What a waste.’

I immediately dissuaded her.

―No, Miss Hana. There’s no need to waste money like that.
―…M-meow? But… even a single grade difference means a lot between Normal and Uncommon.
―It’s okay. Trust me.
…

She told me to trust her, saying that the shield she was using now was enough for her.

The reason was that both she and I would get new equipment this time.

And they were going to be Rare grade weapons.

So, she bought something other than a shield.

“Have you equipped it?”

Quick to catch on, Meowi pulled out the shield to show me.

There was no significant difference, but unusually, there was one slot in the shield.

And in it, a smooth, shining gem was embedded.

[Shining].

An artifact that grants the [Transparent Sight] trait exclusively to the owner, beyond the shield.

‘It was 50 million won.’

I paid half of the funds on her behalf.

―I-I’d rather go into debt. There’s no need to use your precious money, Mr. Seha!
―Oh, we are in the same boat. We share the funds together.
―…Still.
―Don’t worry. You just need to earn more than this.
…
And so, after various events, she entered the Guild, and was currently bowing her head earnestly.

“I’m really sorry. I’d like to retract my statement about quitting as a hunter.”
“Miss Hana.”
“I know the settlement must have already been made, but still… somehow–”
“It wasn’t done.”
“…Uh?”

The female employee winked at the surprised Hana.

“I didn’t even file the report in the first place.”
“Wh-why…?”
“Because I believed… I believed that Miss Hana would come back, and that she wouldn’t give up just like that.”
“Ah…”

Then she turned her gaze towards me and bowed deeply.

“Thank you, Mr. Seha. It’s surely because you held on that our Hana has regained her light.”

There was nothing she could do.
After all, she was just an ordinary receptionist.

“Therefore… please take good care of our Hana.”
“Don’t worry about that.”

Satisfied with the response, the female employee rummaged through a drawer and placed two items on the counter.

One was the bronze E-grade Hunter’s License that Meowi had returned.

And the other one was.

“This is the official party contract that Mr. Yu Seha mentioned over the phone.”

“…!”

At those words, Meowi shivered as if she were electrocuted.

Staring up at me with her mouth agape made me feel quite embarrassed.

“Mr… Seha…”

Her eyes were slightly teary, evidently quite moved by what I did.

Well, her reaction wasn’t unreasonable.

It was just a piece of paper, but the meaning it held was significant for any hunter.

It wasn’t a hastily formed group for a day or two, but a formal partnership contract promising to stick together for a long time.

You might think it was just ordinary if you only look at it, but this contract contained one very powerful force.

‘A vow.’

The binding application form that Moon Bora had explained based on the ‘origin’ as collateral.

A covenant that must be unconditionally kept by an ‘Awakened,’ enforcing a heavy toll if betrayed.

In essence, It was like I was telling Meowi,

‘I will never betray you.’

And I will definitely keep my promise till the end.

So please trust me too.

“……”

Drip.

Overwhelmed with emotion, Meowi looked up with teary eyes.

For her, having never been written something like this before, the emotion must have been doubled.

“…Is it really okay to do this with someone like me?”
“Of course. And I’m only saying this now, but let’s make a promise.”
“…A promise?”

I bowed slightly and met her gaze as I extended my pinky finger to her.

“Do not belittle yourself.”
“…!”
“Look forward to it. I will lift you so high that you won’t need to bow to anyone.”
“…Yes!”

Shortly after, the two of us communicated in a private room provided by the guild.

With a secure system in place, we could share information confidently.

‘…I’d like to enter the gate right away if it were up to me.’

There was a need to establish some direction and explain it to her.

“Miss Ma Hana.”
“Yes!”
“…Can you show me your status window?”

Without hesitation, she handed over a translucent window.

I expressed my gratitude and carefully examined it.

Hmm, I expected as much as this.

‘There was a reason Moon Bora said those things.’

Several issues caught my eye immediately as I looked at the status window.

‘Her overall stats are too poor.’

Speed was passable for a tanker, but the rest was insufficient for her to be used.

I was just saying this in case, but it was absolutely not because Meowi was lazy or lacked effort.

On the contrary, the fact that she had as many as six traits was proof of her bone-crushing effort to grow.

‘And she even has resistance.’

Resistance wasn’t a stat that would be given from the start.

In fact, there wasn’t even a dedicated slot for ‘resistance.’

She must have acquired it through handling and dealing with all sorts of poisons with her fern-like hands and experiencing being poisoned and detoxified.

Despite her hard work, the reason she didn’t shine.

It could be explained with just one word.

‘Talent.’

Whether it was Moon Bora or Im Hyeja.

Talent, painfully acknowledged even by Ma Hana herself.

It was because it erected a mountain-like barrier that prevented Ma Hana from advancing.

‘This is to be expected, isn’t it?’

Only in “GAL” or with resources based on “Crimson Pyroxene” could one boost growth so dramatically.

Here, such cheat-level convenience items didn’t exist, except for the parcel that came to me.

So, how does one grow?
Here, it’s the dog-like talent that shines.

‘Talent is synonymous with growth rate.’

Often, the star one is born with is said to represent one’s talent.

Based on this, the efforts of the character and the mentor combine to break limits. That is growth.

In that sense, Ma Hana definitely had the worst conditions a character could have.

Rather, I’m surprised by her growth rate being displayed now.

“…2★, I see.”

Ma Hana was undoubtedly a born 1-star character.

This meant she had raised her growth rate through her own efforts.

“Did you pass the 2-star test?”
“Yes, yes. Back then… when my father was still alive… I received a lot of help. And the conditions were easy to meet…”
“What kind of quest was it?”
“It was a hunting quest. Hunt 50 monsters of the same rank as yourself.”

Indeed, the easiest one came up.

Perhaps it was the result of the luck she possessed.

‘Still, that’s impressive that she grew on her own.’

In the first place, it was often more difficult to meet the conditions than to be promoted.

At any rate, she currently has no answer.

‘Her rank is low, her potential awakening is slow, and she neither has the wealth nor the connections to freely buy miraculous potions for rapid growth.’

But if she was going to make weak excuses, she wouldn’t have mentioned it in the first place.

‘There’s a common saying.’

A crisis is an opportunity for success.

Precisely because she was in the worst situation, another path to growth remained.

The training method I thought of the moment I first saw Meowi.

A way to leap up the stairs so quickly that it shuts up those who talk about talent or whatever.

The key was the ‘pure’ state.

‘A term referring to a state of emptiness, having consumed no spiritual pills or elixirs.’

I asked Ma Hana directly, and she said she had tried some herbs, but never properly consumed any spiritual ones.

If she had, she would have dealt with it accordingly, but not eating them was best.

‘I’m aiming for it too.’

The ‘Hidden Piece’.

Through the status window, I confirmed that Yu Seha also showed no signs of special enhancements taken for growth.

Then, the conditions to go ‘there’ should be met.

By the way, you might think paid goods are like spiritual medicines, but they’re not.

Originally, it would make sense if they fit the conditions.

But they are ‘paid’ goods, after all.

If I set a condition that it’s not allowed, 99% of the supervisors would protest, but the GM isn’t foolish enough to set it up like that.

‘…Wait a moment.’

Only then did I notice two unique abilities.
Among them, the one labeled [???] caught my eye.

“Excuse me, Miss. Ma Hana. There’s a ??? in the unique abilities… Do you happen to know what it is?”
“…! Y-you can see it?”

Ma Hana, surprised, explained that no one except her father had ever noticed it before.

And she herself didn’t know either.

It had been written there since the day she first awakened her ability.

Come to think of it, Moon Bora must have seen the status window too, but she didn’t say anything special.

‘Ah, could Meowi be a true-star?’

True-Value.

There was no official term, but it was one of the terms casually used by the supervisors.

Gacha sometimes yields a character with a rare skill at a very low probability when drawing the same character.

‘…But Meowi is already in a known category, and at most, it would be Rare…’

Questions followed one after another, but I decided to let them go for now.

There’s nothing I can do about it right now.

‘This concludes the analysis and direction we need to take.’

Now it’s time to share our feelings.

“Miss Ma Hana. I actually have a few important requests to ask of you.”

“Yes! Just tell me.”

“Even if you don’t say it… I know you cannot fully trust me now.”

Startled.

At my words, Meowi’s shoulders flinched.

My actions must seem quite suspicious.

And they would become even more suspicious in the future.

No, beyond that, they would be unsettling for her to even reason.

After all, one must wonder where I got such information and what my identity was.

‘But just as I resolved in the forge, I won’t care at all.’

Of course, I wouldn’t go around shouting to everyone that I knew all sorts of hidden pieces and the future!

I had enough sense for that.

The only ones I would show this side of me without reservation were my precious characters.

I wouldn’t hide from them.

Even if regrettable moments might come from such actions, I wouldn’t stop.

“You may doubt. You may be wary. In the worst case, you may also leave. But just one thing…”

Please know that everything I do is for you.

“Please take good care of me.”
“……”

As I bowed my head, Meowi remained silent.

Blushing slightly, she fidgeted with her fingers.

“…I’m actually the one who’s sorry to you… for trusting me like this… and yet if I am having doubts…”
“I would doubt myself too if I were you, Miss Ma Hana.”
“…I will trust you. No matter what… I will trust you.”
“Thank you. And now, the last and most important request remains.”
“Wh-what is it?”

Meowi looked up with a tightly clenched, cute fist.

So cute!

Anyway, forget growth, hidden pieces, talent, and all that stuff. This is the real crux.

None of it matters!
None of it matters!

Ah! Since the first time we met, I’ve been itching to address this. It was hard to resist now.

“Let’s speak informally.”
“…Yes?”
“Let’s speak informally. We’re the same age after all.”

Though she looked at me as if I were being absurd, I was serious.

In the game, I would definitely hear those comforting words, “Did the Supervisor arrive? Welcome. I’ve been waiting.”

“Formal speech is fine, but… I really want us to be the kind of friends who speak informally and feel more comfortable.”

As I looked at her with burning eyes, she slightly blushed and turned her head away.

“…Ah, Dad said that men and women speaking informally to each other… and that it is the first preparation for becoming an adult… Is-is this what it means?“

“Huh? What did you say?”

“It’s nothing! No, it’s not. Yes, I get it. Please take care of me, Seha.”

“I should be the one asking you that. Please take care of me, Meowi!”

I emphasized her nickname on purpose.

At my words, Meowi looked surprised for a moment.

Then she smiled broadly, showing an angelic smile.

10 minutes later, having finished all preparations, we headed straight for the gate.

“Then I wish you good luck.”

The female employee came to greet us upon check-in.

“I’ll be going.”
“I will go and come back safe.”

Meowi and I, who responded energetically, looked at each other and nodded.

Slowly, we moved our steps.
Immediately after, a wave of blue light completely engulfed us.