F-Rank Secretly Becomes Stronger - Chapter 73

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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73

 

“So, you won’t remove it?”

 

“That’s what I decided.”

 

Garisto, whom I met again after coming out of the Training Room.

 

When I explained the conversation I had with the Ego during the brief time it disappeared, he showed an interested reaction.

 

“Then were all those stories about demons used as test subjects also illusions shown by the Training Room?”

 

“…Come to think of it, there was that.”

 

A matter I had forgotten about because there were so many other important things.

 

As I was briefly troubled since I couldn’t hear it, Garisto’s voice echoed in my head like before.

 

[That’s right, I made all of it.]

 

“….”

 

Now that it has developed an ego, can it keep chattering with voice instead of messages?

 

Hearing voices that others couldn’t hear didn’t seem like a good thing, but I let it slide for now.

 

“It says it made them itself.”

 

“Hmm… the Training Room shouldn’t have that kind of ability. Is it an effect from the Dream Herb?”

 

The Training Room that developed an ego due to the Dream Herb and even gained the ability to show illusions.

 

It had gained quite a lot of functions compared to the beginning.

 

‘Though it doesn’t seem particularly helpful to me.’

 

Since it could do something, maybe it would become useful somehow later.

 

“Well, now that it’s passed to you, I hope you’ll put it to good use.”

 

“Yeah, thanks for looking into it.”

 

“Rather, it was good for me to see something interesting.”

 

Garisto organizing his tools as if it was nothing special.

 

Glancing around slyly, he continued with subtle expectation.

 

“Still, if you’re grateful, couldn’t you persuade it to let me touch it just a little more….”

 

[No way.]

 

A firm answer that sounded in his exact voice.

 

Juhyeok relayed that answer for him.

 

“It’s saying no quite firmly.”

 

“…Sigh, can’t be helped.”

 

The laboratory after finishing all business.

 

I deliberately ignored Garisto’s disappointed gaze and bid farewell to the mansion.

 

*

 

[I want to eat Magic Stones.]

 

“No.”

 

After visiting Garisto Mansion.

 

The Training Room, which had now begun to reveal its voice, whined every day like a hungry baby wanting to eat Magic Stones.

 

“You were fine without eating Magic Stones before.”

 

[I always wanted to eat them back then too, I just couldn’t speak.]

 

“Good grief….”

 

I thought Magic Stones were only needed for operation.

 

Like the appetite humans have, the guy always wanted to eat Magic Stones.

 

It was making such a fuss that I roughly bought a B-rank Magic Stone and fed it one, but it only stayed quiet for a moment.

 

After a day passed, it quickly started bothering me again, saying it was hungry.

 

“Still, not right now.”

 

[Why~]

 

“I told you. I need to raise funds for guild establishment from now on.”

 

Right now I don’t have enough leeway to spend Magic Stones on the Training Room.

 

A situation where costs for guild establishment will continue to be needed.

 

S-rank Gates don’t appear that often, so only going through A-rank Gates constantly means money doesn’t accumulate quickly either.

 

‘Isn’t there some work that could earn more money?’

 

Something that could make money during rest periods between entering Gates?

 

I thought about it briefly, but nothing particular came to mind.

 

‘Guard missions? There probably aren’t many people looking for short-term ones like that.’

 

It would be nice if there were paying guard missions like when I first met Hyeonsu, but such cases weren’t something you could see often.

 

“Hah….”

 

Do I have to just wait around like this?

 

If only there weren’t legally mandated rest periods, he would have gone there every single day.

 

Unfortunately, all gates require going through the Association’s oversight, so sneaking in secretly isn’t an option.

 

‘…All gates?’

 

A memory suddenly came back to him.

 

Every gate he had entered so far was one accessed through the Association.

 

Was that really the case?

 

Looking back, he had entered gates not managed by the Association a few times.

 

“Mephisto.”

 

The gate that would open on the way to meet Mephisto.

 

A gate that would briefly open and quickly close in a deserted rural area.

 

‘But how did that gate escape the surveillance network?’

 

No matter how remote the mountain valley, if a gate opened, the Association should normally detect it immediately.

 

Despite that, Mephisto opened and closed gates at the same location every day.

 

‘Is there some kind of method?’

 

Since he didn’t have specialized knowledge about gates, it was difficult to speculate.

 

Still, what mattered was the fact that Mephisto could create gates without being caught by the Association.

 

She possessed the ability to open and close them at will afterward.

 

‘The problem is that guy won’t open them for free.’

 

Mephisto always prioritized equivalent exchange.

 

Previously, she had proposed the ridiculous condition of staying attached to Jia for a whole week.

 

If he asked her to open a gate again this time, there was no telling what kind of contract she might propose.

 

‘I felt bad about getting heated and making a mistake at the very end back then.’

 

He recalled the last day of that contract again.

 

When she suddenly became unreasonable, he uncharacteristically lost his temper and didn’t act like a civilized person.

 

Because of that, he showed his friends a scene that could cause misunderstandings on the last day, and had quite a hard time calming her down while she stayed angry for a while.

 

‘She’ll obviously try to involve Seong Jia again this time.’

 

Additionally, even if Mephisto opened a gate for him, it wouldn’t be of much help.

 

Because all magic stones must have a clear source indicating which gate they came from.

 

Magic stones sold on the market had to have reliable gate information, and due to thorough inspections, trying to deceive and sell them would likely lead to getting caught and causing problems.

 

Of course, there was also the method of selling through black market channels, but he didn’t particularly want to use that since it could become a problem and hold him back when establishing a guild.

 

‘Even if I obtained magic stones, I’d have to use them all as food for the Training Room anyway.’

 

Should he make a contract with Mephisto just to obtain magic stones that could only be used as food?

 

No matter how he looked at it, that didn’t seem cost-effective.

 

Juhyeok suddenly became curious and asked the Training Room.

 

“How long can you last if you eat one S-rank?”

 

[I can last a week with one big one like I ate last time.]

 

“That’s poor fuel efficiency.”

 

[What’s fuel efficiency?]

 

“It’s something that exists.”

 

So if he fed it an S-grade magic stone, it would stay quiet for about a week?

 

In that case, it would be better to just listen to a week of whining.

 

Since he didn’t want to make a contract with Mephisto just for food-purpose magic stones.

 

He was just thinking he should go out for training and carefully ration the remaining B-rank stones when.

 

‘Wait, I don’t need to make a contract with Mephisto, do I?’

 

While looking back at the past, a scene suddenly came to mind.

 

[I can also create ordinary gates where monsters come out. Everything from F-rank to S-rank.]

 

The image of Jia creating a gate instantly just by snapping her fingers.

 

She said she gained the ability to create gates after making a contract with a demon.

 

And not just B-rank or A-rank, but everything up to S-rank.

 

[I used it. There’s nothing better than gates for taking down bad guys without evidence.]

 

Moreover, she already had a track record of using it.

 

The fact that she still hadn’t been caught despite that meant there wasn’t much worry about being discovered.

 

Moreover, when he said he wasn’t needed, the gate was immediately erased.

 

The concern about leaving evidence was also very minimal.

 

‘I won’t be able to sell the magic stones, but if I stockpile magic stones to feed the Training Room, it should stay quiet for a while, right?’

 

It was practically the same as securing all the mana needed to operate the Training Room.

 

Juhyeok suddenly stood up from his seat.

 

[Where are you going?]

 

“To feed you.”

 

[Really?]

 

“Yeah, so wait quietly.”

 

Training was scheduled for today, but something more important had come up.

 

Juhyeok immediately sent a text to Hyeonsu saying he would skip today’s training and prepared to go out.

 

*

 

“Why have you been so listless lately?”

 

“I’ve always been listless.”

 

Today, unusually, Jia had arrived at the company early and was busy lounging around.

 

She had returned to Hyeonho Candy after finishing a week-long vacation that had been both sweet and eventful.

 

“It’s not because you can’t meet Jung Juhyeok, is it?”

 

“There you go again.”

 

Every day, whenever there was a chance, it was Jung Juhyeok, Jung Juhyeok.

 

Just because that guy acted impulsively on the last day, whenever her friends met, they would only talk about that guy.

 

“He hasn’t even contacted me.”

 

The contact numbers they had exchanged just in case during the week they spent together.

 

Juhyeok had no contact during the week they were together, and even after they parted ways, except for a formal thank you message and an apology for his mistake on the last day, there had been no communication at all.

 

“Just be satisfied with staying moderately close friends.”

 

“We’re already satisfied enough with the current state.”

 

The relationship that seemed to have grown quite close after spending a week together with Jia.

 

He thought they would probably continue to maintain a friendly relationship with Hyeonho Candy in the future.

 

His resistance to Hyeonho Candy seemed to have diminished a bit while spending time with Jia.

 

Yeonho was more than satisfied with the current state.

 

“But you don’t seem satisfied, which is why I’m saying this?”

 

She was always lounging around the same way.

 

But unlike her usual sprawled-out state while chain-smoking, she had a somewhat melancholic expression.

 

She kept spacing out as if there was someone she wanted to see, so he couldn’t help but have such misconceptions.

 

“I’m more than satisfied, so stop talking about it.”

 

Of course, she herself didn’t notice her own behavior.

 

She just felt that returning to work after a long time made her even more reluctant to work and more sluggish.

 

Jia, getting tired of listening, put wireless earphones in her ears and tried to quietly watch some short videos.

 

[Jung Juhyeok]

 

Speak of the devil and he shall appear.

 

Just as they were talking about him, a call arrived from the person in question.

 

These days, she heard about Jung Juhyeok every day, so it felt somewhat like an Indian rain dance, but still.

 

Anyway, the important thing was that he had contacted her.

 

Jia suddenly got up from the sofa she was lying on, cleared her throat for a moment, and answered in a nonchalant voice.

 

“Hello.”

 

[What are you doing?]

 

“Just working.”

 

She wasn’t working at all.

 

But saying she was lounging around would look bad, so she vaguely said she was working.

 

[If you have time, I was thinking we could meet briefly.]

 

“…With me?”

 

[Yeah, are you free today?]

 

“Well, I’m not sure.”

 

An ambiguous answer she gave because she had plenty of time anyway but didn’t want to seem too eager.

 

“I think I’ll be free around lunchtime.”

 

[Then let’s meet for lunch. I’ll pay.]

 

“…Whatever.”

 

[I’ll come to your company later.]

 

The call ended just like that.

 

Yeonho paused what he was doing for a moment and looked at her as he answered.

 

“Was that Jung Juhyeok?”

 

“Well, yeah.”

 

Jia answered as if it was just an ordinary matter.

 

She got up from the sofa and headed outside the room, saying,

 

“I’m going to smoke a cigarette real quick.”

 

“…Alright.”

 

A voice trying not to show any reaction.

 

Yeonho didn’t bother to mention the fact that the corners of her mouth had risen so high they looked like they might tear.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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