The Magical Hunter Girl Decorates the Dungeon! - Chapter 26

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Magic Hunter Girl Decorates the Dungeon! Episode 26
MC lowered his voice.
“Another thing we have in common—all of these items are made with cutting-edge Dungeon Resources technology. Now, Dungeons are essential to Korea’s business.”
“That’s right.”
“But you know how unfair it is for our elders? They sacrificed their youth for the nation, and when they retire, everyone just sings the praises of Awakened Ones. Even when they try to buy essentials, their wallets get cleaned out!”
“Exactly!
“That’s when we need—”
As the atmosphere grew heated, MC slammed the table. “To jump into the Dungeon business ourselves! Just like the Hunters!”
“Well, at our age……”
“There’s no such thing as too late in this world! For our elders, who can’t just charge recklessly into a Dungeon! We have—”
A dramatic musical swell.
“Developed the Hunter Talent Detection Machine!”
A video began playing on the slide.
Before a machine that looked like a dentist’s chair.
An elderly man with a beaming smile approached and lay back in the seat.
Moments later, the machine flashed with brilliant white light—
The old man raised both hands wreathed in blue radiance and cheered.
“You see! This person’s Hunter talent has been confirmed!”
As gasps of amazement rippled through the crowd, Iji narrowed her eyes.
‘There’s an AI watermark in the corner of the video?’
She’d learned this in school.
Never trust AI videos blindly.
“Grandmother. Geum Grandmother.”
“Mm?”
“That video is fake. It was made with AI.”
“Oh my, our Iji is quite smart, isn’t she?”
While Geum Grandmother relayed Iji’s words by nudging the companion grandmother beside her.
MC continued his spiel.
“Actually, these days my company is looking for part-time workers to handle Dungeon Byproducts from the Dungeon. But not just anyone can do this kind of work.”
“That’s so.”
“It would be nice to call Hunters, but! I thought it was only right to give an opportunity to our dear elders who have been loyal customers of our ginseng and Jade Plates all this time.”
“Exactly!”
“We’ll add an extra thousand won to the minimum wage! And most importantly—if Magic Stones are mixed in with the byproducts? We’ll give those to you as supplementary income!”
“Ooh!”
“If you’re interested in working, for just thirty thousand won! We’ll use that very machine to confirm whether you have any talent or not!”
Thirty thousand won.
At a price that would realistically buy three square meals, the room fell silent.
But MC’s mouth kept moving.
“Once this machine officially launches, we’ll charge two hundred thousand won per test. Today is the cheapest you’ll get.”
“……But you see.”
An elderly woman raised her hand and asked.
“If the test comes back saying I have no talent, doesn’t that mean I lose thirty thousand won?”
“If nothing shows up, we’ll convert that thirty thousand won into investment shares! Our elders don’t lose anything!”
The slide advanced with a flourish.
“We’re a premium company like this. When we go public, thirty thousand won invested now will give you… much more in three years if you invest more…”
Iji couldn’t make sense of it.
But this much was certain:
A person who lies once can lie twice, can lie three times.
‘The Awakening talent test is fake.’
Most of the rest was probably lies too.
By then, several adults had pulled out their wallets.
The crowd had already fallen for it.
Even if Iji stood up and shouted ‘Those are scammers!’ the adults wouldn’t believe her—she was certain of it.
MC smiled broadly and spoke.
“Well then, who would like to be tested first—”
“Me!”
Among the grandmothers and grandfathers slowly raising their hands.
Iji quickly kicked off her shoes, jumped up onto her chair.
“I want to get tested! I have money!”
The exhibition hall fell silent in an instant.
As awkward laughter spread among the elders, MC let out a sigh.
“Sigh… Child. How old are you?”
“I’m nine years old!”
“This is an event for our elders. Why would a child want to take a test?”
“I want to be an Awakened One too!”
“You don’t need to rush. Now sit down, and among those elders who raised their hands earlier—”
“I have to treat my sister well!”
The thin, high-pitched voice of a nine-year-old rang out clearly through the hall.
It was a situation MC couldn’t physically ignore. And the content was troubling enough to catch him off guard.
“What? What did you say?”
“I live alone with my sister, just the two of us. She’s struggled so hard raising me.”
“Ah… I see.”
“But I have to wait eleven more years to become an adult, and even then, being an adult doesn’t mean you earn good money……”
“Right, true.”
“My sister has suffered so much……”
It wasn’t a lie.
Iji’s nose was already stinging.
“So… if I become a Hunter, I can treat my sister well quickly……”
“Oh my…”
The surrounding grandmothers clucked their tongues.
Even Geum Grandmother’s companion, who had been taken aback at first, now had glistening eyes. She must have known Iji’s circumstances.
“Please test me……. I have thirty thousand won!”
Iji emptied her pockets. Crumpled bills—her saved allowance and the emergency money her sister had given her—fluttered like flags.
That was the deciding blow.
Some grandfather shouted out loud.
“Do her first!”
The grandmother across the way, who had been waving her hand first, crossed her arms in an X.
“Let the child go first instead of me.”
“A little thing like this using the machine? It won’t wear it down! Not a scratch! Do it for free!”
“Child, use that money to buy yourself some candy instead. Here, take this.”
Someone even tried to press a fifty-thousand-won bill into her hand.
In any case, the elders’ resolve hardened—
And MC finally surrendered.
“Sigh… Come over here, child.”
“Okay!”
Iji followed MC in quick, short steps.
Meanwhile, the stage screen had changed to a performance video.
‘Looks like all the scammers gather around me.’
Good.
I’ll confirm they’re all frauds in one place, then send them all home.
Iji checked the buzzer in her pocket once more.
The room backstage where MC and the other Event Staff had gone.
A machine that looked far shoddier than the AI video was sitting there.
“Just lie down here roughly, touch over there roughly, and concentrate. If you have ability, your hand will probably glow.”
“What’s the principle?”
“You wouldn’t understand anyway. Just lie down.”
“Ugh. I should tell the grandmother who came with me that this is scary and I shouldn’t do it.”
“Ugh… When the machine starts! Magic Stones inside generate negative ions! Which collide with the Jade Plate laid under the mat, gathering the positive ions inside you to your hands!”
“Got it!”
Perfect nonsense put Iji’s mind at ease.
As she lay in the machine, the Event Staff pressed a switch.
With an awkward AI voice saying ‘Beginning examination’, LED lights glowed white—
MC spoke firmly.
“You have no talent.”
Nothing happened—her hands didn’t glow at all.
“Now get out. Earn your money by working.”
“Okay.”
“Wait! Take the thirty thousand won as you go. It’s not that I’m trying to cheat you out of every last penny, it’s just that this needs to be handled properly……”
“I don’t want it.”
“Huh?”
MC, about to cheat her out of the money, blinked.
Iji spoke firmly.
“This machine is fake.”
On the day she’d visited the Municipal Career Experience Center.
The Magic Stone tool the instructor showed had clearly emitted a light only visible to Hunters.
But this one showed no sign of that whatsoever.
“There’s no Magic Stone inside the machine, is there?”
“What, what are you—”
“I know a way to check everything. And that stuff about having a Dungeon is all lies too, right?”
“The Dungeon is real— ……Oh.”
The Event Staff started to argue, then realized his slip.
MC swore under his breath.
“Damn it… You go find this girl’s guardian!”
“Yes, sir!”
“Kid. You don’t need the thirty thousand won, so hold grandma’s hand and go home. Alright? I’ll give you ten thousand.”
The guy’s nerve was impressively brazen.
Iji shook her head.
“I won’t just take grandma home.”
“What?”
“I’m sending everyone home.”
“Who’s going to believe you… Oh.”
Iji held up her phone.
The moment MC said ‘oh’, a white line in the center of the screen wavered.
A recording app.
“This you—!”
MC reached out.
Iji nimbly dodged behind the machine.
‘He can’t catch me!’
Her small frame shone in tag games.
The man chasing after her finally bumped into the dental chair with a grunt and stopped.
The door opened.
“Good heavens, what’s all the rush—oh! Iji? Hey, hey, what are you doing!”
MC, who had been reaching for Iji, suddenly barked.
“Hey, close that door!”
“What? This grandmother is…?”
“Just keep her occupied for a moment! Close it now!”
“Sigh… Understood.”
The Event Staff sighed and reached for the door handle.
Iji panicked slightly.
‘If I press the buzzer now, I can only get rid of MC!’
But the most panicked person was beyond the door, in the hallway.
“Wait… Elder?”
The Event Staff, who hadn’t fully closed the door.
The old woman holding the handle—Geum Grandmother—was strong.
Through the crack in the door, her fingers trembled, unable to close it any further.
Geum Grandmother gritted her teeth and spoke.
“Why did you call someone and then close the door? Locking her up right before my eyes.”
“Ah, ma’am? Please calm down. We’re not kidnappers or anything… Urgh! What kind of strength—”
“Open it.”
“I’ll open it right away, just give me a moment— Ack!”
Geum Grandmother suddenly let go. The door slammed shut, and the Event Staff staggered backward.
When he finally regained his balance and stood up.
The small old woman in front of him murmured.
“Husband, forgive me.”
“What did you…?”
Is she senile?
The diminutive elderly woman extended both hands forward and spoke.
“I promised not to use my strength… Looks like I can’t keep that promise.”

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