Hunter Kindergarten, Dolphin Class! - Chapter 118

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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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Chapter 118

 

The Dungeon Boss called the ‘Seat of Discernment’ finally opened its mouth.

 

“Your delusion has gone too far.”

 

It was an androgynous, beautiful voice that was neither female nor male.

 

Kang Ho-won and Lee Seo-hyeok had expressions showing they couldn’t even grasp what those words meant, but…

 

I know.

 

‘It definitely said that after seeing my Status Window.’

 

Goosebumps ran up my neck all the way to the top of my head.

 

『 NEW! aka. Seat of Discernment has rejected your Friend Request. 』

 

‘How can it see it? Until now, no one except me has ever seen…’

 

No, my thinking was wrong from the start.

 

‘That thing isn’t human.’

 

Where is there a law saying that a being far beyond common sense can’t see the Status Window that I can see?

 

However, the current situation where a non-human opponent was speaking in human language was sufficiently eerie.

 

The Golden Veil fluttered in the wind.

 

The golden eyes didn’t move. They remained fixed on me.

 

“We’re not close enough to become friends. Isn’t that right?”

 

…I’ve never been rejected for such a reason before, so I’m not really sure.

 

I stood there frozen in shock. I had expected it to be an intelligent being capable of high-level thinking, but…

 

I could tell at once that this wasn’t just a simple intelligent being. Last time, the Demon Tribe I encountered in the Mysterious Forest Dungeon was also intelligent, but this was on a completely different level.

 

The pressure I could feel from my very skin.

 

…Moreover, its alias is ‘Seat of Discernment’. That’s clearly extraordinary.

 

But wait, did it say ‘Seat’?

 

I don’t know much about it, but isn’t ‘Sangja’ a Buddhist term referring to someone who cultivates the Way? But that appearance….

 

As a sudden wave of information crashed over me, my brain began to overheat and boil.

 

“That’s the boss? …Seo-hyeok.”

 

“Yes.”

 

Lee Seo-hyeok gave a short answer to Kang Ho-won’s question, who asked with a furrowed brow.

 

I caught their intention from that brief exchange.

 

‘No.’

 

However, in the brief moment I was frozen, the two Field Team hunters seemed to have already finished their calculations.

 

‘They’re trying to proceed with the clear by quickly eliminating the boss.’

 

Before I could stop them, Kang Ho-won disappeared instantly along with Lee Seo-hyeok.

 

And when they reappeared, they had already approached within arm’s reach of the ‘Seat of Discernment.’

 

I could tell instinctively.

 

‘It won’t work.’

 

Sure enough, just before Lee Seo-hyeok’s outstretched arm could reach the Dungeon Boss’s head.

 

“Commotion drowns conversation in a quagmire.”

 

Flick.

 

With a single weak wave of his hand, the two hunters were swept away and disappeared in a sandstorm.

 

“…!”

 

‘Shit.’

 

I forced my body, which had reflexively tried to rush forward, back to its original position.

 

I need to get a grip.

 

‘Kang Ho-won and Lee Seo-hyeok disappeared, they didn’t die. Probably…. They’re not dead.’

 

I clenched my fists. Since it seemed like they wanted to talk, it was clear they had no intention of attacking us immediately.

 

So what I needed to do now wasn’t just stand there stupidly with my eyes wide open, but whether I had to bow my head or beg desperately, I needed to ask them to let us out.

 

‘If I back down here, it’s over.’

 

I hid Noah behind me and stared straight ahead.

 

The golden eyes still hadn’t moved and remained in place.

 

“Are you… the boss of this dungeon?”

 

“Such things can be replaced at any time. What’s important is having the ability and qualifications to handle it. That way, no matter who rules this place, it can continue to thrive.”

 

It was a cryptic answer.

 

‘Does that mean they weren’t originally the Dungeon Boss, but took over that position?’

 

I couldn’t get a sense of how strong they were. Would things have been different if Nabi had been beside me at a time like this?

 

I gritted my teeth.

 

‘Think. I have to save everyone somehow.’

 

Just as my mind was racing silently.

 

“You’re the one who made our Dad like that, aren’t you?!”

 

Noah burst out from between my legs where I had carefully hidden him and shouted. The child had a face that looked ready to cry as he pointed his finger at one person holding a telephone.

 

Below orange hair, I could see a man whose face had lost all color.

 

“Wait a minute, Noah.”

 

“You, you… evil alien!!”

 

Noah! Right now, there’s nothing good that can come from provoking that thing!

 

Breaking out in a cold sweat, I quickly covered the child’s mouth.

 

I turned around and carefully removed my hand from his covered mouth.

 

Cold sweat flowed all over my body, as if I had a wild beast behind my back.

 

‘Should I call this a blessing, it’s certainly waking me up.’

 

“Noah, listen to Teacher.”

 

“That, that evil alien is bothering us right now, isn’t it? Earlier, that alien made Teleportation Uncle and the twins Hyung disappear too!”

 

Noah’s face turned red like a tomato as he wrinkled his nose in anger.

 

‘Alien? I don’t know what misunderstanding he’s had since earlier, but… this actually makes it easier to explain.’

 

“Noah, you’ve seen many movies like this, right? Movies where aliens attack Earth and Earthlings fight back against them.”

 

It’s a typical staple of children’s SF animation, so there’s no way Noah hasn’t seen it.

 

Confirming Noah nodding slowly but surely, I opened my mouth again.

 

“Right now is exactly that situation. But even in movies, not all aliens try to invade Earth for evil reasons, right? This time will probably be the same.”

 

I really want to believe that.

 

“…Really? Then why are they bothering us? They’re bothering Dad too! Even Teleportation Uncle and the twins Hyung…”

 

“Hmm… That’s probably because, in their own way as aliens, they have reasons why they must do so.”

 

“…Then what do we do?”

 

“We need to have a calm conversation. Like when you fight with a friend and resolve it through talking. So… Noah, let’s look at the alien with a generous heart for now.”

 

Even if we’re generous, it’s really them being generous to us, but just understand it that way for now.

 

Despite his disapproving look, Noah reluctantly nodded.

 

‘Good. I absolutely can’t let Noah’s impulsive actions provoke them.’

 

I roughly wiped the sweat that had soaked my hands on my pants hem and turned around again.

 

Golden eyes, more bored and cynical than before, were watching us.

 

“Sacrificing the few for the many, you could say.”

 

With those words that came completely out of context, the opponent pointed somewhere with a long index finger, just like Noah had done.

 

At the end of that finger were people holding telephones in front of the computer screen.

 

‘What the hell is he talking about.’

 

“You too must have experienced a ‘miracle’ through that machine. And you must have paid the price for it as well.”

 

“…!”

 

Miracle, price.

 

Jelly, mana.

 

The words are different, but the context matches.

 

“To continuously produce ‘miracles’, mana is necessary, so it couldn’t be helped. Those who desire ‘miracles’ appear every minute and second. In the end… I had no choice but to bring in a separate method to distinguish those who earnestly desire ‘miracles’. If ‘miracles’ happen to everyone, then they would no longer be miracles.”

 

Is the method of distinguishing earnestness referring to that bizarre community center-style phone consultation?

 

“I won’t deny that it’s a method that’s useful in various ways for mana supply, more than expected.”

 

…Yeah, now I think I understand.

 

This bastard is now giving us the answer to the question Noah asked.

 

I’m the one who made them like that.

 

He’s telling us that the reason is ‘something like this’.

 

‘Jelly’ is the ‘miracle’ that bastard is talking about, and the ‘price’ would be ‘mana’.

 

Then… why?

 

“Why… did you include the option called ‘Emergency Dispatch’?”

 

-For Emergency Dispatch, a separate fee will be added. The fee is 1.5 Makron.

 

-1.5 Makron = 1,500,000,000 won

 

What’s the reason for including such an option, demanding an absurdly high materialistic price of 1.5 billion by human standards, instead of jelly under the name of ‘relief supplies’?

 

If what that bastard is saying is true, then all the people who called hoping for ‘miracles’ must have been equally desperate.

 

Perhaps they were in life-threatening situations like me.

 

I asked, wondering if there might be some great reason for it.

 

However, the answer that came was cold.

 

“There must exist an option they wouldn’t dare even look at for them to choose ‘Miracle’ without suspicion. The best instead of the optimal. Isn’t that a natural choice for any creature with intelligence?”

 

“Ha…”

So it was all a trap after all.

I felt all the strength drain from my body as a sudden sense of futility washed over me.

 

However, there was someone who held me firmly.

 

“What are you talking about!! I don’t understand a single word you’re saying! And who asked for a ‘Miracle’?!! I never asked for one!”

 

…Noah was gripping my hand tightly while raging at the ‘Seat of Discernment’.

 

The thought that I should stop him dominated my mind, but words wouldn’t come out rashly. I had tried to calm the child by saying things like aliens and such, worried that this kind of situation might arise…

 

“Go back to Your Planet!! I don’t like you!”

 

“If what I said makes you uncomfortable, it can’t be helped. I merely showed Compassion, and it’s natural to receive compensation as karma for that.”

 

“If you do good deeds and then ask for something in return, how is that being good! Truly good people have to give up even that to be complete!”

 

After staring blankly at Noah who was arguing back point by point, I hurriedly picked up the child.

 

I knew that right now was the time when I should beg, putting aside pride and everything else.

 

I know without having to experience it firsthand that malice with conviction is more frightening than malice without conviction.

 

Gulp.

 

It was the moment I was wondering if I should even kneel on this Sandy Ground.

 

I saw it for an instant.

 

The moment when the golden eyes that had never wavered even once until now, wavered.

 

‘Is it shaken?’

 

By mere words from a young child?

 

However, my mouth was moving faithfully.

 

‘I can’t let this moment slip away.’ That’s what my head was screaming.

 

“Really, are you truly a ‘monk’?”

 

It was something I wanted to swallow back even after spitting it out.

 

Clear provocation.

 

It was unbelievable behavior, considering that just moments ago, I was even thinking of kneeling.

 

“I’ve never heard of a being who practices the Buddhist Path seeking ‘compensation’ for ‘compassion’.”

 

“…Ha.”

 

The bored gaze disappears. The golden eyes held a different emotion than before.

 

From boredom, tedium, and slight interest.

 

To irritation, displeasure, and shallow killing intent.

 

But I didn’t stop.

 

‘I’ve got a handle on this.’

 

On how to deal with that bastard.

 

Can ‘discrimination’ and ‘monk’ even coexist in the first place?

 

‘Discrimination’ brings about worldly desires and hinders enlightenment, doesn’t it?

 

Moreover, that bastard’s attitude is suspicious too. What kind of monk does things like setting up mana supply sources?

 

Therefore, the conclusion is clear.

 

That bastard is either an incomplete monk, or not a ‘monk’ at all from the beginning.

 

But he probably doesn’t think so himself.

 

Actually, that’s good.

 

‘Then I just need to gently provoke him and guide him to the answer.’

 

To make him act like a real monk.

 

“If you’re truly a high monk, you should show compassion.”

 

“….”

 

“Giving up compensation would be the completion of goodwill, wouldn’t it? Please show compassion for this foolish sentient being.”

 

You were shaken by what Noah said.

 

Even you think this is what a ‘high monk’ should do.

 

“….”

 

‘Now that I think about it, all the titles that appeared in the Status Window seem quite boastful.’

 

Anyway, go ahead and choose.

 

Will you maintain your hollow dignity, or will you throw it all away and try to kill us?

 

After a moment.

 

“…Giving up compensation is the completion of goodwill.”

 

“…?”

 

“I have gained an enlightenment.”

 

“…!”

 

This guy chose his dignity.

 

‘Wow… I thought I was going to die from fear.’

 

The opponent, who seemed lost in thought, appeared to be calculating something before asking me.

 

“What do you want?”

 

Suddenly, a lifeline dropped down like this?

 

Think, no, there’s no time to think – I need to grab it right away!

 

“Please let all of us out of this Dungeon.”

 

“…I deliberately destroyed the exit. In that case, there’s only one way. I’ll have to leave This Place myself.”

 

Whatever the case, the thought that we just needed to get out was dominating my mind.

 

“However, there is a condition.”

 

I guess he couldn’t abandon his habit of wanting compensation. But still, when he’s offering to let us out right here and now, where else could we go?

 

“…Please tell me.”

 

Finally, the condition for equivalent exchange along with the dungeon escape ticket was presented.

 

“It would be good to have a brief conversation with your close friend.”

 

“…Excuse me?”

 

Where do I… have friends right now?

 

“Of course, I’ll also take a little mana.”

 

“Wait, just a moment, who exactly is my close friend…”

 

Swoosh.

 

When I closed and opened my eyes, the distance had narrowed.

 

Pale, long fingers brushed up the veil and gently covered my vision.

 

Tap.

 

I was met with complete darkness.

 

Just before losing consciousness, I heard a thin, delicate voice.

 

“Fate goes round and round. Having a bad-tempered close friend constantly stuck by your side must be quite an ordeal, right?”

 

-Ding.

 

“Meeting again someday wouldn’t be too bad either.”

—————
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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