After returning from the convenience store, Kei placed the bag of food on the counter and began helping Mrs. Kim prepare lunch. Mrs. Kim rolled up her sleeves and went to the kitchen to wash vegetables and chop meat.
Kei originally wanted to help her, but the old lady immediately waved her hand.
"Just watch the store for a while. I cook rice very quickly."
"But I don’t know how to trade."
Kei started.
"If customers ask anything, just call me. If there are no customers, you can sit still, don’t arbitrarily reduce the price of my goods."
Mrs. Kim laughed loudly, finished speaking and went inside the house.
Kei sat behind the counter, both hands neatly placed on the table top. He tried to appear calm, but inside he was a little nervous, because this was the first time he had to personally interact with the store’s customers.
If the other person asks you something you don’t know, how should you answer? What if they discover that you don’t understand anything about this world? What if they realize he’s not the real Kim Kei but a magician from another world?
Kei thought while looking at the colorful space rings displayed in a glass cabinet.
At that moment, the bell in front of the store rang, Kei immediately raised his head.
Three people entered the store, two men and a girl. The man walking in front had a tall body and a face full of discomfort. As soon as Kei saw him, he immediately recognized that they were the three hunters he met at the convenience store.
As soon as Lee Jae Ji saw Kei, he stopped walking. He squinted his eyes then walked straight towards the counter.
Kei’s expression remained calm, but the hand under the counter tightened slightly.
This person just grabbed the female cashier’s collar. If he wanted to cause trouble here, he wasn’t sure he could handle it, after all, the magic power in his body was still empty right now.
Lee Jae Ji stopped in front of Kei, bent down and put his hands on the counter, looking at Kei with a provocative expression.
"Are you that kid from before?"
Kei nodded calmly.
"That’s right."
He raised his eyebrows and picked up a space ring as if he really intended to make a purchase.
"You look like a salesman here, don’t you?"
"I’m standing right in the sales counter, ladies and gentlemen."
That answer made Lee Jae Ji speechless for a moment. He originally intended to find a reason to cause trouble, but the teenager in front of him answered so calmly that he didn’t seem scared like he expected.
"Don’t pretend to be calm. You meddled in our business at the convenience store, and now you’re here. Are you following us?"
"No. I just live here, don’t you see that the convenience store just now is very close from here?"
"You live here?"
Lee Jae Ji looked around the store, his expression even more uncomfortable.
"Where is Mrs. Kim? Are you Mrs. Kim’s nephew or little son? I’ve been here a few times but have never seen you before?"
I was startled, but still patiently answered him.
"She is cooking."
"Then call her out here."
Lea Jae Ji said proudly, nodding her head.
"She’s busy. If you want to buy anything, you can let me pay for it. I won’t charge you extra money. Don’t worry, hunter-nim."
Kei’s short answer made the corners of Lee Jae Ji’s eyes twitch. He was just about to slam his hand on the counter when the man behind him stepped forward and grabbed his wrist.
"Jae Ji, that’s enough."
The other man smiled awkwardly at Kei, he was feeling guilty because his friend had put Kei in an awkward position.
"Ular, are you defending outsiders again?"
Lee Jae Ji said complainingly.
"He helped us earlier, we should have thanked him, why did he cause trouble in Mrs. Kim and this young man’s store?"
The injured man just now spoke up. His arm had been lightly bandaged, but his face was still a bit pale from blood loss.
Ular bowed deeply to Kei.
"Sorry for my teammate’s attitude. Thank you for finding the first aid kit for us at the convenience store."
Kei was a bit stunned.
"No need to thank me. It’s just a small matter."
Ular shook his head, refusing to let Kei feel any more awkward, he knew this young man was a truly kind person.
"For us, it’s not a small thing."
The man sheepishly scratched his head.
"My name is Ular, rank D hunter."
He pointed to Lee Jae Ji, a muscular man with an annoying frown on his face who was always causing trouble for Kei.
"He is Lee Jae Ji, also a D rank hunter."
Ular then looked towards the girl standing still next to the door.
"And she is Hanna, rank F hunter, in charge of healing."
Hanna bowed slightly. She still seemed timid, her hands clutching the hem of her shirt.
"Hello..."
"All three of us belong to the Black Rose Guild. We are all rookie hunters of the Black Rose Guild this year and are in the process of training new recruits."
Ular continued to explain.
"Black Rose is a B rank Guild, and is also the guardian guild of this Dong-San city. We are usually in charge of handling Dungeons near the city area, although my team has only been assigned to Dungeons below E rank."
Kei listened to every word and quickly memorized the information.
B rank guilds, D rank and F rank hunters and Dungeons around Dong-San city. This is all the knowledge you need to know if you want to continue living safely in this world.
"So you guys came here today to buy items?"
Kei asked.
"That’s right."
Ular nodded.
"We want to buy more healing potions and energy recovery potions. We still need to repair some equipment, but Mrs. Kim can’t help us repair the equipment, we need to go to the smithy."
Lee Jae Ji crossed his arms, he still looked at Kei with an unsatisfactory expression.
"But first I want to know why someone like you works at Mrs. Kim’s store. Are you a part-time student? Or a relative of hers?"
"I’m an apprentice. And I’m also a distant relative of the real Mrs. Kim."
Kei said solemnly, Mrs. Kim also helped him take care of this identity, now he is truly a person with roots in this world.
Ular held up a space ring and asked:
"Does this space ring require any use?"
Kei shook her head.
"Anyone who injects energy into it can use it. Even if they are hunters, they will need a suitable space ring."
Ular was a bit surprised.
"You know quite a lot."
"Mrs. Kim told me. So everyone, please trust me, I won’t miscalculate your money."
Kei calmly replied, at the same time reminding himself not to talk too much.
At that moment, Mrs. Kim’s voice rang out from inside the house:
"Kei, do you have guests?"
"Yes. They are the hunters I just happened to meet while buying food at the store."
Mrs. Kim quickly walked out of the kitchen, still holding a towel in her hand. As soon as she saw the three people, she immediately recognized them.
"Is that Ular? Did you get hurt again today?"
"I was just a little careless."
Ular smiled shyly.
"Don’t take the injury lightly."
Mrs. Kim frowned and grumbled at Ular for a moment, then turned to look at Kei.
"I’ll get them three F-rank healing potions, two more F-rank energy recovery vials. As for the money, just record it in the Black Rose Guild’s books."
"Yes."
Kei went into the warehouse to get medicine.
When he opened the box containing the healing potion, he felt the weak but steady energy fluctuations inside the glass bottles.
How strange.
These items were made using a principle he had never seen before. They do not refine magic power the way ancient alchemy does, but can use energy to create stable effects for many users.
If he understood this method of using energy to refine metal instead of magic power, he could learn many new things, especially since his body now had no magic power at all.
Kei brought the medicine to the counter, placing each bottle in front of Ular.
"Here are three healing potions and two F-rank energy recovery potions."
Ular took it, then bowed again in thanks.
"Thank you, Kei-nim."
Kei paused.
"You know my name?"
"Mrs. Kim just called you, we all heard it."
Ular laughed.
Kei was silent for a moment.
Just a simple sentence, but he still felt a bit strange in his heart. This name Kim Kei does not belong to you. But since Mrs. Kim registered that identity for him, everyone in this world will call him by that name.
Perhaps one day, he will truly become Kim Kei.
"Hyung ah..."
Hanna called out to Kei in a low voice. This shy girl who hadn’t said much until now opened her mouth to talk to Kei.
He turned to look at her.
"Thank you for helping us earlier."
"Nothing."
Kei smiled gently in response. Hanna suddenly blushed, then she softly asked Kei.
"You... aren’t you a hunter?"
"No, haven’t I been standing here selling to everyone all this time?
"So do you want to become a hunter?"
After asking, Hanna immediately bowed her head, as if afraid that her question would make Kei uncomfortable.
Kei looked at the three people in front of him. This is a rank B Guild that protects the city. Hunters go in and out of the Dungeon, fight monsters, and use items crafted from the materials they bring out of the Dungeon.
If you want to learn more about the principles of item creation, sooner or later you will have to go to the Dungeon.
But right now, Kei still doesn’t really feel like he can integrate into this world so quickly, most importantly, right now he’s just an ordinary person with no magic left.
"Maybe one day I’ll try entering the Dungeon.
He answered Hanna.
"But first I want to learn more with Mrs. Kim, I just arrived in this city yesterday, I need to be a good salesperson first.
Ular laughed loudly.
"That was a wise choice. Dungeons are not a place for the unprepared."
Lee Jae Ji snorted softly, but this time he didn’t say anything else.
Mrs. Kim placed her hand on Kei’s shoulder and patted him, smiling gently.
"The boy has not been here long. He still has a lot to learn. Right now I don’t want him to have to face dangerous monsters in the Dungeon.
"Then if you need to know more about Guilds or Dungeons in the future, just come ask us."
Ular said with a confident expression,
"Black Rose welcomes those who want to seriously learn about the world of hunters."
Kei nodded slightly.
"Okay. If there’s anything you don’t understand, I’ll ask you guys when I have a chance. After all, you’ll still have to come back to this small store."
"So it’s decided."
Ular smiled, then picked up the packed medicine bag on the table.
The three people left the store not long after.
Lee Jae Ji was the last person to step out. Before leaving, he turned to look at Kei one more time. That look was still not friendly, but Kei didn’t avoid it and just quietly looked back at him.
In the end, Lee Jae Ji still had to leave angrily.