On Hiatus: God's Personal Reasons

Chapter 54: Guardian, You Must Fully Believe in Yu Il-Shin

A S-rank dungeon had appeared at the Blue House. Due to a precedent at the National Assembly, the government and Hunter Association swiftly dispatched a team onsite. They were a huge raid party consisting of S-rank Hunters such as Baek Yoo-Hyun, Sung Mi-Na, along with thirty other high-ranking Hunters.

However, the other Hunters were questioning if they were even needed. After all, Sung Mi-Na could probably clear the dungeon on her own.

Sung Mi-Na stood by a two-headed serpent. The fact that the monster was a few hundred meters long made her look tiny in comparison. The scene looked so surreal.

-Krrrr...

Sung Mi-Na's eyes turned blue.

-Shut up.

Frustrated, Sung Mi-Na stepped on the growling Two-Headed Dragon’s head. Its hide could deflect steel, yet Sung Mi-Na’s heel penetrated it with ease. Unable to let out even a roar, the dragon could only shed huge droplets of tears.

Sung Mi-Na's ability was mind control. As a Psychic-type Hunter, the Hunter Association had set her combat level to be lower than her actual level. Since she disliked combat to begin with, she was assigned to support the rear that day. However, just as they were about to kill the Two-Headed Dragon, Sung Mi-Na stepped to the frontline.

Grimacing, she looked down at the heads she trampled on and commanded.

-Kill each other.

Born sharing a body, the two heads never fought—until that day. They ferociously attacked, gnawing and poisoning each other. As a result...

“Are you really an S-rank Hunter? Dragons are known to have particularly high mental resistance. How did you manage to easily...” Baek Yoo-Hyun said with a frustrated look.

“You can do the clean up yourself, right? Hand me the Return Stone.”

“What? Where are you going?!”

“Just give it to me!”

Annoyed, Baek Yoo-Hyun tossed the shining blue Return Stone to Sung Mi-Na.

“Hey, what’s the rush? That stone is worth 100 million won. Do you absolutely have to use it? Can’t you just go home normally?”

“Shut up! It’s none of your business!” Sung Mi-Na anxiously bit her nails and muttered under her breath. “I only joined because Miracle said the monster was a Dragon-type! What is this worthless shit? ...Darn it, what a waste of time!”

Swoosh!

Afterward, she used the Return Stone and disappeared from the dungeon.

“Ugh, I swear, her mood swings...” Baek Yoo-Hyun scratched his head.

Sung Mi-Na was a renowned blue-chip of the advertising world due to her innocent beauty. Such bullshit. In reality, she was a tyrant through and through!

“Tsk. Thank god she’s a beauty.”

With a smile, Baek Yoo-Hyun turned to the dumbfounded Hunters left in the dungeon.

“Then, as our queen said, shall we clean up this place? We conquered an S-rank dungeon with no casualties. Amazing, right?”

***

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[Quest: Low-tier Benevolent God Promotion (In Progress)]

Normal Followers: 5,212,326/1,000,000,000

Followers of intelligent beings at S-rank and above with potential for transcendence: 0/10

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[Quest: Low-tier Malevolent God Promotion (In Progress)]

Normal Followers: 0/1,000,000,000

Followers of intelligent beings at S-rank and above with potential for transcendence: 0/10

-----

So, I ended up taking both promotion quests.

“Ugh. Can I even clear them?”

Both quests had an insane difficulty. Either amass a billion followers or kill them. Otherwise, amass 10 S-rank followers or kill them. Both were hopeless.

Well, worrying over this wouldn’t help to solve anything. I’ll just think over it later.

In fact, it didn’t make much of a difference being a Lowest-tier or Low-tier god.

I should just visit Sung Mi-Ri at the hospital first.

I returned Seong-Yeon to my older sister, then headed to the hospital where Sung Mi-Ri was admitted. Thus, I arrived at Buhwal University Hospital.

“I think it’s here?”

Knock knock!

I knocked on the door to Room 505.

“Ms. Sung Mi-Ri! Are you in?”

“Whoa! Wow! Ouch! Mister!”

The fully bandaged Sung Mi-Ri was doing push-ups with an index finger. When she spotted me, she jumped up and rushed over to greet me.

“Teacher Yu Il-Shin! Are you here to visit me? I’m so happy!”

Her eyes sparkled. If she had a tail, she’d probably wag it like a little puppy.

“Haa, why are you doing this when you’re hurt?”

“Hehe, I’m feeling a bit sore from staying still all day.”

Her bright smile made me unable to argue any further.

“Are you feeling better?”

“Yes! I’m totally fine! Without a single scar to be seen! Would you like to check?”

Sung Mi-Ri unraveled her bandages to show me the wound on her back. Flustered, I quickly turned around.

“How does it look? Totally fine right?”

Um, hello? Do you realize that we’re treading very thinly on child-youth protection law? I didn’t see anything, Your Honor!

“Who are you?”

Just then, I heard an ice-cold voice.

Looking ahead, I saw a woman standing with a baseball cap pushed down low. Her face was covered with sunglasses and a mask. Despite her casual attire—jeans and a puffy stadium jacket—an unmistakable aura surrounded her.

Her brows furrowed as she looked at both of us.

“Prick, what’s your relationship with my younger sister?” she asked.

“Younger sister”? She’s Sung Mi-Ri’s older sister?

My face turned red. I was wearing the same sweatshirt I’d been wearing for the past few days. My sneakers were also worn out. I reeked of unemployment. A wave of regret washed over. Had I known that I’d meet her older sister here, I’d have dressed better!

“I’ll kill you if you deceive my younger sister.”

Although she was shorter than me by two heads, the eyes behind those sunglasses were as sharp as a hawk’s.

Just as I was wondering how I should best answer her, Sung Mi-Ri chimed in. “Unni! Why are you so rude to Teacher Yu Il-Shin!”

“Teacher? This guy?” The woman took off her sunglasses.

Well, they did look alike. In contrast to Sung Mi-Ri’s, the woman’s gaze was frigid as she scanned me up and down.

“Is he a teacher from the Hunter Academy?”

Huh? Hunter Academy? Oh, so that was why Sung Mi-Ri’s uniform looked so familiar when we first met. She became a B-rank Hunter at such a young age, after all. I could see why the Hunter Academy would scout her. Moreover, most of the active S-rank Hunters in South Korea were graduates from there.

In short, that was an elite course. But me, a teacher of the Hunter Academy? No way. I was just a third-rate writer who struggled to pay his own bills.

“I,” I was about to answer when I noticed that Sung Mi-Ri kept winking at me with a sullen look on her face. “Yes, yes... That’s right.”

Unintentionally lying hurt my conscience.

“What do you teach?”

“I-I’m a physical education teacher.”

Technically, it wasn’t wrong. Hadn’t I been helping Sung Mi-Ri with training?

“In that case, you’d be active as a Hunter. But why haven’t I seen you around?” She stared at me, her gaze skeptical and taunting.

“What is your rank? You don’t look like much.”

“Unni, that’s too harsh!”

I was dumbfounded, unsure of how to respond.

“He’s super amazing! You may not recognize him, but he might be stronger than you?! Don’t look down on him!" Sung Mi-Ri blurted.

The woman dropped her gaze, before throwing her hat and mask onto the floor.

Her staggering beauty made me speechless. The blue-chip of the broadcasting industry, whose beauty surpassed most celebrities. All this time, I could only see her on TV or Newtube. But now, the S-rank Hunter Sung Mi-Na was standing in front of me in the flesh. I thought the similarity in their names was purely coincidental, but they were actually siblings.

Actually, I had a hard time believing any of this was real.

“Mi-Ri, you sure are brave.”

Approaching her younger sister, Sung Mi-Na’s hair stood on ends due to an invisible force at work.

“What? Nothing scares you now that you’re an A-rank Hunter?”

She might be smiling, but her gaze was chilling.

“Need I remind you who’s stronger?”

Howwwwl!

The air around Sung Mi-Na distorted like a mirage as if repelled by the aura she emitted.

“Ugh...” Sung Mi-Ri turned pale and broke out in cold sweat.

Sung Mi-Na turned scornful at the sight. “Hmph, how weak you are. And you call yourself a Hunter? Just do as you're told, got it?”

“I-I...”

Sung Mi-Ri tried to answer, but she could only tremble in fear under the invisible power that was suppressing her.

“Please calm down, Miss.”

I stepped in to prevent things from escalating further.

Sung Mi-Na looked up.

Tzzz!

The blue aura in Sung Mi-Na’s eyes pierced through me.

“Outsider, get lost!”

Wow, despite her slender frame, she sure is loud.

“Ugh, you’re louder than expected.”

I frowned. It was as if she was screaming in my ear.

Briefly, she had a flustered look on her face.

“Why aren’t you leaving? How?”

“Pardon? Ah, I might have stepped out of line, but isn’t it better to talk things out as siblings?”

“Y-you...?”

Even Sung Mi-Ri was beaming at me.

Ah, that burdensome expression again...

“As expected of my teacher! You resisted Unni’s Power of Words!”

Power of Words? Something that could affect people in real life? But why would Sung Mi-Ri bring that up now?

Ms. Sung Mi-Ri, good things will happen if you say nice words. However, the opposite is also true.

“You... is your rank...?” Sung Mi-Na gave me a complicated look. Suddenly, she lowered her gaze. “I apologize for my rudeness. I misunderstood because you look too young to be a teacher. You’re Mr. Yu Il-Shin? I entrust my younger sister in your hands.”

Unlike earlier, Sung Mi-Na’s attitude shifted drastically.

“Ah, no. I should be the one saying that.” Reflexively, I bowed in return.

“I’ve got an appointment to go to. I’ll see you another time.”

“Oh, sure.”

“Sung Mi-Ri. Don’t skip your meals just because the hospital food tastes horrible.”

Then, she placed a paper bag on Sung Mi-Ri’s bed. It was porridge from a famous franchise.

Despite her temperament, she seemed like a nice older sister.

Afterward, she turned on her heels.

Hmm. Should I tell her?

“Uhm, Miss...”

After hesitating for a while, I finally decided to stop her.

“Yes? What’s the matter?” Sung Mi-Na turned around.

“Are you feeling sick? Or cursed, perhaps? Uhm, does a curse of Abysm ring a bell?”

My skill had activated on its own, and I saw something in her appraisal window.

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[Sung Mi-Na]

A female human. Around for 24 years.

Special note: Under the curse of Abysm of the God of Destroyer.

-----

God of Destroyer again? Why does he appear so often?

Shiver!

Goosebumps crept up my back instantly. If looks could kill. Sung Mi-Na was glaring at me as if I were her mortal enemy.

“How did you know?”