Before long, Gong Yeong-beom left the Association.
And Yoo Seonghyeon, who had been watching him go, felt a moment of relief.
From his first impression onward, whenever Seonghyeon spoke with him, he felt as if the man was hiding his intentions, which somehow made him uncomfortable.
“Huh?! Mr. Seonghyeon!”
At that moment, a chill ran through him as someone suddenly called out.
“Ah! You startled me!”
“Ah, did I surprise you? I am sorry…….”
“Mr. Myeong-su, did you get home safely yesterday?”
They said everything happened at once on unlucky days, and though he had not tried to arrange it, he was meeting everyone like this.
However, perhaps because they had struggled together the day before, this felt different from his encounter with Gong Yeong-beom just now.
“I got home safely. What brings you here?”
“Ah, a transact…….”
Seonghyeon, who had been answering, realized his mistake and stopped speaking.
Even in the Trading Room, they had taken great care to protect his identity.
Was it all right to speak so easily about it?
That thought had occurred to him.
“……I had some loot that dropped, so I had business at the Trading Room.”
After briefly thinking about it, Seonghyeon answered without deliberately adding lies.
Though he did leave out a few details…….
Strangely, unlike with Gong Yeong-beom, he felt a sense of comradeship with Jo Myeong-su.
They had awakened around the same time, but Jo Myeong-su had not stayed still.
Before long, he had become affiliated with the Association.
He felt like a comrade growing alongside him.
“Oh, I heard it is hard to get drops other than Magic Stones. That is good news!”
And even at such news, Jo Myeong-su showed sincere congratulations, without so much as a sly expression.
As expected, he did not seem like someone who would go around talking carelessly.
“By the way, what brings you here, Mr. Myeong-su……?”
“Ah, I have training at the Association. I came for training again today.”
On top of that, he was diligent.
While Seonghyeon, who had cleared the same dungeon the previous day, had been exhausted and sleeping the whole time.
There really did seem to be something different about selected Hunters.
“Wow, Association-affiliated Hunters really are busy…….”
“Come now, not at all. You are more impressive for enduring alone, Mr. Seonghyeon.”
“I was lucky, hehe.”
Of course, blushing when praised out of embarrassment was the same whether one was an EX-Rank Skill Awakened or an Association-affiliated Hunter.
“But are you not interested in joining the Association, Mr. Seonghyeon?”
“What? Me?”
“With your ability, I think the Association would welcome you.”
That was probably true, if it was an EX-Rank skill.
However, doing team activities with the Meteor skill?
When he imagined Association Hunters being thrown away by the shock wave of the Meteor skill, his eyes closed on their own.
“With my skill, I think joining the Association would be difficult…….”
“That is truly a shame. It would be nice if someone this strong were on the same team…….”
“Well, for now, we are Hunters of the same country, so are we not on the same team?”
“Fundamentally, I suppose that is true. Then may I at least have your contact information? We can share information as well.”
“If that is the case, then that sounds good.”
It was not as if he intended to become some incredibly mysterious Hunter just because he had the Meteor skill.
And while working as a Hunter, having at least one connection in the Association could only be good.
For Seonghyeon, this was perfectly convenient.
After talking a little more with Jo Myeong-su, he left the Association and headed home.
***
As soon as he arrived home, he took three thick roots out of his Inventory.
As expected of a “Hundred-Year Ginseng” that had grown for a hundred years, its size was impossible to compare to the ginseng he had seen on the internet.
But the “Thousand-Year Ginseng” was on a different level even compared to the Hundred-Year Ginseng.
‘……Six thousand Magic Stones, thirty million won each!’
When he thought of them as elixirs that made his ability stats rise with a single “click” just by eating them, he could understand the price.
Among the three roots, Seonghyeon wrapped the Thousand-Year Ginseng he had prepared for his parents carefully in newspaper, placed it on the dining table, and looked at the Hundred-Year Ginseng.
‘By the way, how do I eat this?’
He had bought it first with the thought that he needed to develop his physical ability.
But now that he was looking at the thick root, he realized he had not thought about how to eat it.
He had heard that if some ingredients were cooked incorrectly, their nutrients were lost…….
In order to consume it without waste, Seonghyeon turned on the internet and began searching.
[How to Eat Ginseng Properly]
-Ginseng, including wild ginseng, cultivated wild ginseng, and sprout ginseng, can be consumed in various ways, such as chewing it, brewing it as tea, or blending it with milk or yogurt…….
[Honey-Preserved] Eat after preserving it in honey for a long period.
-Point: The taste becomes smooth, and storage is convenient.
……
[Blended Drink] Blend it with yogurt, milk, nuts, honey, and so on.
-Point: Improves the taste and makes it easy to consume.
……
[Raw Consumption] Wash it thoroughly, then chew the whole thing for one hour.
-Point: Consume the nutrients as they are.
It did not take long for him to find information organizing the various ways to eat ginseng.
Among them, there was one method that suited him perfectly.
‘So if I want there to be no nutritional loss, I just have to chew and eat the whole thing?’
It did not take a long time, and he did not have to go through any complicated process.
He actually thought that was better.
He brought the thick root straight to his mouth. He could not imagine what it would taste like.
CRUNCH—
When his molars crushed the root and split it in half, the rich scent of ginseng was clearly released.
Then, after he chewed a few more times,
KUGH!
Because the root’s scent and bitter taste were so strong, he almost spat it out reflexively.
If it had not been worth 7.5 million won, he would not have been able to endure it.
After barely calming himself and chewing and swallowing the rest, energy soon began to rise from his body.
From that energy, he felt both heat and vitality as it spread toward his arms and legs.
‘Oh, the medicinal effect is already……!’
In martial arts stories, did they not sit cross-legged in proper posture and accept the medicinal effect?
Seonghyeon remembered such scenes and straightened his posture.
He tried to feel the energy of the ginseng flowing through his entire body.
Then, at that moment, a system notification appeared.
[Absorption complete! Meteor’s heat grows stronger.]
?
Soon, the energy of the Hundred-Year Ginseng that had been circulating through his whole body vanished as though water were draining away.
And he felt nothing.
‘What? Is that it?’
When he looked at the System Window, it seemed to have been absorbed properly, but there was no change in his body.
Seonghyeon got up and moved his body.
He clenched and opened his hand, jumped, and stamped his foot.
“Does it only apply to Meteor?”
Seonghyeon urgently took two remaining elixirs from his Inventory.
They were round pills with the names Strong Bones and Endurance attached to them.
Without any time to appreciate them, he put both elixirs in his mouth and chewed.
KUGH—!
Perhaps because he had eaten two at once, this time an even more intense sensation surged in his mouth.
Just as the energy that began in his stomach was about to spread through his whole body once again,
another notification appeared.
[Absorption complete! Meteor’s iron density grows stronger.]
[Absorption complete! Meteor’s durability grows stronger.]
???
“What! Why?”
With frustration, Seonghyeon took out the Small Summoning Pill remaining in his Inventory.
The Small Summoning Pill was said to be an elixir that increased mana, so it would surely apply to his body.
After all, Meteor would not have a mana pool.
Even though it was an elixir worth as much as twenty million won, he tossed it into his mouth without hesitation.
[Absorption complete! Meteor’s power grows even stronger.]
“Damn it…… Meteor ate everything.”
He had no idea how much stronger the already overwhelmingly powerful Meteor had become.
Contrary to what he had expected, the elixirs had only made Meteor stronger.
In the end, Seonghyeon realized that it had all been pointless.
‘Sigh, what is even the point of strengthening my body? Meteor does all the work anyway.’
Then he opened the System Window.
【Dungeon】 E-Rank
-Enter Dungeon ◀
-Exit Dungeon
‘Uh……?’
When he looked at the Dungeon Window, he realized something had changed.
The dungeon display said E-Rank instead of F-Rank.
After clearing several dungeons, he had automatically been promoted to E-Rank.
Seonghyeon thought for a moment.
Which dungeon should he enter for his once-a-day entry?
However, the decision was soon made. Meteor had just become stronger, after all.
He should check it, if only to test how much stronger it had become.
Seonghyeon pressed Enter Dungeon.
[E-Rank random dungeon transfer in progress…….]
***
[Transfer to E-1430/Goblin Settlement dungeon complete.]
【E-1430/Goblin Settlement】
『Primary Monsters: Goblins, Dire Wolves』
『Boss: High Elder Goblin』
『Main Mission: Subjugate Mid-Bosses (Elder Goblins) (0/3), Subjugate Boss (High Elder Goblin) (0/1)』
『Progress Requirement: Subjugate Various Goblins (0/100)』
『Time Limit: 15:00:00:00』
Entering a dungeon where goblins appeared as monsters gave him the feeling of the first Tutorial.
……Though the scale was on an entirely different level from the Tutorial.
“……Why is the dungeon so huge?”
The place where Seonghyeon had been summoned was a cliff at a high elevation.
Thanks to that, he could directly see the scale of an E-Rank Dungeon and feel the difference: a castle now made not of wood, but of bricks, and three broad goblin settlements surrounding it.
‘It really is on a different level from F-Rank or the Tutorial…….’
The fortunate thing was that he was far away from the main mission area, and he also had the experience from the Defense Battle.
If things went wrong, he could escape without much difficulty by hunting one hundred manageable goblins.
[E-1430/Goblin Settlement dungeon is starting.]
The moment he thought that, the dungeon began.
As always, Seonghyeon opened the Skill Window the moment the dungeon started.
“First, I should hit the boss and check the skill.”
『Meteor (EX)』
[Objective Setting]
……
5251. High Elder Goblin (Mission Target) ◀
5252. Other Location (Set Viewpoint)
5253. Saved Target (None)
‘Use.’
WHOOOSH—
The moment he used the skill, time seemed to flow slowly, as if in slow motion.
Then Meteor shook the ground with a thunderous roar unlike anything he had heard before.
Goblins were blasted away around a mushroom cloud larger than anything he had ever seen.
As Seonghyeon watched the dungeon being cleared in an overwhelmingly absolute manner, he felt bewildered.
‘……Huh? Is…… Is this not something that should be happening?’
It was a horrifying sight, as if he had used a bug. The elixirs seemed to be worth their price.
The dungeon was brutally cleared like that, without giving the other Hunters even a chance to do anything.
【E-1430/Goblin Settlement】 Cleared
『Mid-Bosses (Elder Goblins) Subjugated (3/3)』
-Contribution Rate 100% ‘I Am Meteor’
『Boss (High Elder Goblin) Subjugated (1/1)』
-Contribution Rate 100% ‘I Am Meteor’
『Time Taken: 00:00:12:10』
-Shortest Record Updated ‘I Am Meteor’