Aesthetics (2)

“Distortion immunity?”

Kang-hoo’s eyes widened.

“Immunity,” the ability to nullify unfavorable status effects that could be inflicted on you, was an extremely powerful weapon.

Wasn’t it?

When it came to an area you had immunity in, you didn’t have to worry about it at all.

Just like how Kang-hoo hadn’t feared flames in the slightest when facing Explosion of Scorching Heat.

A close example was Lars, who, despite being far higher level than Kang-hoo, hadn’t even dared to take on Explosion of Scorching Heat.

Because he lacked absolute flame resistance—flame immunity—like Kang-hoo, all he could do was avoid it.

But Kang-hoo didn’t need to care about fire at all, so he could actually turn it around and use it to subdue the monster.

Explosion of Scorching Heat tried to draw out even more flames to suppress Kang-hoo, but it was pointless. The result was death.

Aesthetics of Stillness. Aesthetics of Unity.

Aesthetics of Healing. Aesthetics of Space.

Those were the four special options he’d gained in addition.

Each effect was so enormous it couldn’t even be converted into monetary value.

With Aesthetics of Space, he could neutralize even some attacks from Vincent Meyer, whose spatial utilization was exceptional.

“Now this was packed. Properly stuffed to the brim.”

That satisfied feeling didn’t leave easily. He’d reached Level 415, and his stats had been massively refreshed.

Agility 820, Strength 240, Stamina 200, Toughness 100, Magic Resistance 100—growth gained from swapping shoes alone.

To see this kind of effect, you’d need exponentially more items the lower the grade went.

Given you couldn’t stack equips in the same slot, his shoes were essentially “graduated.”

Unless something surpassed these—or tempted him with a set-item effect—he would wear them forever.

“Ayane, should we head out?”

“I…… still can’t believe it.”

“Yeah. Let’s wake up from the dream after we get out. We need to hand over the map, and we should soothe our exhausted bodies a bit, too.”

“Yeah. Hoo. Hoo…….”

As if she couldn’t control her pounding heart, Ayane followed behind Kang-hoo with a hand clenched tight over her chest.

Because beyond the talisman options she’d told Kang-hoo about, it had many more additional effects attached.

Kang-hoo said it was only natural for her to take it, and that there was nothing to be grateful for, but— no matter how she thought about it, she couldn’t see it that way. A zero-grade item wasn’t a reward you could casually hand to someone.

To exaggerate just a little, it was the kind of item that could divide a hunter’s life into Act One and Act Two.

Its value was far too great to brush aside with a simple “thanks” or “I’ll use it gratefully.”

Nothing came to mind right now for how she could repay Kang-hoo.

But she wanted to think it through and arrive at an answer no matter what.

For Ayane, who repaid debts clearly, what she’d received from Kang-hoo this time was a truly enormous kindness.

The moment Kang-hoo and Ayane came out of the dungeon, they were welcomed by Lars and moved to a villa provided by the Stark Guild itself.

All the way there, Lars poured out nonstop praise for their dungeon clear.

At the same time, he voiced his regret that they hadn’t been able to accomplish full exploration and a full clear themselves.

It wasn’t envy of the two’s results—it was the natural ambition a hunter had.

The ambition to get things done on your own, without relying on others.

And since they couldn’t do it, while Kang-hoo and Ayane wrapped it up so cleanly, it was only natural to feel a sense of self-reproach.

Kang-hoo handed Lars a notebook where he’d carefully drawn the dungeon’s interior map, and said,

“There may be omissions in the finer terrain details. But we definitely secured the main route.”

“Ah, this is more than enough. Looking at the route you drew, it’s a route we never chose. We were focusing our effort on the wrong place.”

Lars pressed his throbbing temple hard.

Seeing the map Kang-hoo handed over made it immediately obvious that the routes they’d explored so far had been in the wrong direction.

He was curious.

There must have been countless forks—how had Kang-hoo found the correct answer as if he’d pinpointed it?

Since it ended in a happy ending, there was no reason to question the process, but there was still a fundamental curiosity.

What Kang-hoo achieved now was like finding the single correct answer among dozens of choices.

If you chose while knowing the answer, it would be 100%, but if not, the probability could only be extremely low.

Unless you had the ability to know the dungeon’s start and end, it was indeed a mysterious achievement.

So— he didn’t begrudge the promised reward to Kang-hoo and Ayane. If anything, he judged it as a cost-effective deal.

Now that he had the dungeon’s “answer sheet,” all he had to do was repeatedly clear it along that route. The profit would come quickly.

After about thirty minutes of travel, they arrived at the villa—and it was far larger than Kang-hoo had expected.

Calling it a “villa” was generous; it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say they’d moved an entire village inside.

He said it was a place for commemorative events where all guild members participated on special days, or for enjoying banquets.

But since it was an ordinary day now, it wasn’t being used, and no guild members were inside except the caretaker.

As they followed Lars into the main building, Kang-hoo stopped when he noticed something beside the annex that looked like it had been abandoned mid-construction, and Lars said,

“There is a recovery room inside the main building, but we tried to build an annex dedicated purely to recovery and failed. I apologize. You ended up seeing a structure that became an eyesore unintentionally.”

“No, your consideration as it is is more than enough. And it’s too beautiful to call it an eyesore. I assumed it was simply under interior repair.”

“It’s not that—rather, we managed to procure Pietà flowers with difficulty, but maintaining them was hard.”

On Lars’s face as he shook his head, you could see the struggle of dealing with Pietà flowers, which were notoriously finicky.

Pietà.

Even Master K had tried to grow them, only for all the flowers to wither and die. It was the same no matter how many times he tried.

At this point, the only person presumed to know proper care methods was Emilia Rose.

They did have a dedicated caretaker, but that caretaker only carried out Emilia Rose’s instructions.

If he created a connection with Emilia Rose, he might be able to get a hint about how to manage them, but— there was no need to extend that kind of goodwill to Lars.

Instead, it would be better to learn the care method from Emilia Rose and manage Lars’s Pietà flowers for him.

That would raise his value in Lars’s eyes, which was far more profitable. He needed a smart application.

The moment they entered the main building.

Ayane, guided by Lars, headed first to a special room.

Oliver Trask, the craftsman who would modify Ayane’s mana-shot rifle, was already there.

The entire room was made of transparent glass, making it possible to observe every process from outside.

“So that’s what he looks like.”

The name Oliver Trask had been mentioned in the original story as well.

But like a character who was only named in passing, he’d only been briefly described and then forgotten.

Seeing him in person, he was young. Even if Kang-hoo estimated generously, he seemed about the same age as him.

Oliver Trask’s fame wasn’t a recent thing. It was a reputation that had continued since the Day of Judgment.

A talented genius was different—age didn’t seem to be any obstacle for Oliver.

Normally, masters and artisans were proven by years of accumulated experience, but Oliver seemed to be an exception.

“Kang-hoo. I’m going to stay here until the modification is finished. I want to see how it goes.”

“Do what you like.”

Ayane put a chair in front of the special room and sat down.

Kang-hoo followed Lars farther inside.

That place was also a special room, but unlike the one where the modification was happening, it seemed to be a space meant for conversation.

On the long table, the dungeon license that had been prepared in advance was laid out. It was a neatly packaged physical copy.

“This is the license we promised as your contract reward. The official rental permit from the German Public Safety Bureau is included as well.”

“Thank you.”

“Please check it again.”

At Lars’s words, he looked over the rental permit, and sure enough, it stated a rental period of nine years and nine months.

Before that rental period ended, the future would probably end one way or another.

Either he would stop the Demon King ending in spectacular fashion, or he’d be in the afterlife experiencing a whole lot of hellfire.

He hoped it was the former, but there was nothing he could guarantee. Neither pessimism nor optimism came easily.

“No issues. I’ll put it to good use.”

“Thank you. You’ve worked hard.”

“Are we resting here for a day?”

“Not just a day—you can stay longer. Rest as comfortably as you like.”

“No. One day is enough.”

“Um…….”

Seeing Lars trail off awkwardly, it felt like he was about to bring up a third request.

The bigger the guild, the more dungeons it owned—and proportionally, the more unexplored and uncleared dungeons it had.

If it was the Stark Guild, one of Germany’s leading guilds, there were surely more troublesome dungeons to deal with.

And sure enough—

“Would it be possible to discuss an additional arrangement? If you have room in your schedule.”

The expected line came out.

But this time, he didn’t intend to accept the offer unconditionally—he intended to examine exactly what kind of dungeon it was.

His dungeon information-gathering ability required consuming precious constellation power.

And even then, the maximum was five uses, and he only had three left. Unless it gave him a clear motivation, he could never use it.

“Let’s hear it first. Where is the dungeon located?”

Kang-hoo’s eyes sparkled.

If it was a dungeon inside the Golden Triangle, OK—if not, NO regardless of reason. The basis for that judgment was clear.

If one only looked at the result, negotiations for the third request fell through—because it was a dungeon outside the Golden Triangle.

Since he didn’t want to openly give the impression that he only wanted dungeons inside the Golden Triangle, he first refused using a schedule excuse. He also cited the uncomfortable internal environment of the identified dungeon as a reason.

Either way, it was a day of rest.

Ayane was still watching the modification in the special room, and it looked like it would take a very long time.

Even so, Ayane didn’t change her posture even once, watching the process with shining eyes.

Seeing her cherished weapon gradually become stronger already seemed to make her heart flutter.

Kang-hoo took a bottle of sparkling water from the refrigerator in the living room, and just as he was about to drink it, a call came in.

The caller was Master K.

He was the kind of person who never called unless it was necessary—so what was this about?

“Yes, I’m on the line.”

-Is everything going well?

“Yes, it wrapped up well.”

-Then are you coming back home?

“For now, it looks like that.”

This wasn’t the kind of thing that would normally interest K.

Even so, asking whether it was done and whether he was returning suggested he was curious about Kang-hoo’s whereabouts.

-Hey.

“Yes.”

Just like Lars, K also hesitated before speaking today. It wasn’t like him.

-I wasn’t sure whether to say it, but I think it’s better to tell you in advance.

“Yes, please tell me.”

-Hyungnim was forcibly returned to Shinwol.

“What?”

-He was forcibly returned to Shinwol. Has Hyungnim never told you about Shinwol?