Poppy, the King of Griffins.
A Demonic Beast who held his place even in Hell as the leader and big brother of the Demonic Creatures.
A primordial Demonic Beast whose beak could split an adamantium wall with a single strike and whose wings could whip up a gale with a single flap.
And that very Poppy, the King of Griffins, was sobbing as tears as fat as chicken droppings streamed down his face.
“I love it.”
Ji-hoon, on the other hand, smiled with satisfaction.
[Sob... Big Brother, this is too cruel... sob. To think you would do this just because you wanted to see your little brother naked....]
Poppy sobbed as he covered his hole-riddled body with his wings.
He did look a little pitiful.
Ji-hoon consoled Poppy as he spoke.
“It had to be done. If more of the others from Hell Farm come over, we need to look after them. You’re the eldest, so make a little sacrifice.”
There was one more thing.
This was nothing less than a feather from the King of Griffins.
What was more, it was not a reward for clearing a Gate, but a fresh feather he had harvested himself.
As expected, the newly plucked feather gleamed with an ivory hue even more radiant than the feather he had received as a reward.
‘I can feel the mana.’
Even an F-rank could sense mana.
The radiant energy seeping from the feather elevated the very air throughout the surrounding area.
Ji-hoon waved the feather this way and that.
“Can you make this invisible?”
[Sob... Make the feather invisible? That is not difficult.]
Poppy lightly tapped Ji-hoon’s feather-holding hand with a talon. Mana surged out, and the feather smoothly faded from sight.
“Ooh!”
He could still feel it in his hand.
“This’ll do.”
[But Big Brother, why are you doing this?]
“I’m going to make necklaces.”
He cut the Demonic Creature Ranch Whip Lash he had just bought into four equal pieces. Each piece of the whip became a necklace cord of a suitable length.
He threaded one of Poppy’s feathers onto each cord.
“Done!”
Before long, he had made feather necklaces that looked like trophies claimed by hunters.
[King of Griffins Necklace
: A necklace made from a feather of the King of Griffins. It can store a certain amount of mana for later use.]
[But Big Brother, why are you making these?]
“If they carry these, won’t the others from Hell Farm catch your scent? And the weaker monsters won’t even come near them.”
Poppy covered his beak lightly with his right wing, seemingly moved.
[As expected! You truly are clever! Every last lowly grunt will foam at the mouth and faint from the aura of my feathers! And my younger siblings!]
Poppy stood on the sofa and struck a pose like a statue.
[All my younger siblings will recognize Big Brother and me!]
I really hope so.
If they ran wild in another Gate, they might end up being raided by other Hunters.
He did not even want to think about it.
Ji-hoon squeezed his eyes shut.
“Poppy.”
[Yes, Big Brother.]
“Let’s make sure we’re the ones who bring the others from Hell Farm back.”
***
The payment for transferring the Dungeon arrived the very next day.
[I apologize, Hunter. Your salary will not be paid until next month....]
That was what Baek Kang-hyeon had said over the phone, but still.
Ji-hoon had made a whopping one billion won in a single day.
What was the first thing he would do with the money?
“Poppy, we’re having a chicken party today!”
Feeding him Mana Crystals would be efficient, but Poppy knew the joy of eating too, didn’t he?
Ji-hoon brought various kinds of chicken for the voracious Poppy—fried, sweet and spicy, soy sauce, cheese, curry, and more.
From where?
Mom and Dad’s shop, of course.
[Ah! Big Brother, this cheese! It is exactly to my taste!]
After all, back in Hell, he used to steal the other Demonic Beasts’ shares whenever milk-and-cheese feed was served.
Maybe it’s because he’s a Demonic Beast out of European legends. He really loves cheese.
Ji-hoon watched Poppy while entertaining that pointless thought.
“Poppy, your feathers have already started growing back.”
Feathers were sprouting again from the spots Ji-hoon had plucked the day before.
[It will take a week for them to grow back completely. And mana is rather scarce here... so they may lack luster.]
So pursuing taste alone would not produce high-quality feathers.
“Do you want a Mana Crystal?”
[It is nutritious, but I do not like it because it tastes bad, Big Brother.]
Fair enough.
Food that was good for you never tasted good.
[Why is there no bird meat from Hell on Earth?]
Back in Hell, Ji-hoon had made the Demonic Beasts’ feed himself.
Poppy’s eyes reddened as he said he missed the taste.
I’m glad he thought the feed I made tasted good.
Still, that was one thing and this was another.
“You can’t live on chicken alone. I’ll have to make you a Mana Crystal salad next time.”
[Blech, I truly hate that, Big Brother.]
“No picky eating!”
Ignoring Poppy, whose expression had instantly stiffened at the words Mana Crystal salad, Ji-hoon got dressed.
“Anyway! Let’s go out, Poppy.”
[Yes, Big Brother. By the way, where are we going?]
“We should look around the neighborhood, don’t you think? You need to learn the rules around here, too. Now, shrink yourself.”
Poppy shrank to about the size of a Toy Poodle.
Ji-hoon dressed him in a kindergarten uniform made for dogs.
“Yellow suits you perfectly!”
[But Big Brother, I am the King of Griffins....]
“Forget that little detail. Let’s go!”
***
The colossal S-rank monster, the King of Griffins.
But now he was reduced to trudging along behind Ji-hoon in a bright yellow chick hat and dog clothes patterned in yellow and pink.
[This is uncomfortable, Big Brother....]
“Poppy, your wings are twitching.”
[But I think these clothes will damage my honor. Nor do they befit the name Poppy....]
Ah, right.
Back when Ji-hoon first gave him the name Poppy.
He remembered telling the griffin that it was the strongest name on Earth.
Ji-hoon offered a plausible excuse.
“Do you think true strength comes from your appearance? If you’re really strong, you should be able to wear dog clothes without a word.”
[That may be true, but....]
Poppy stuck his beak out in a pout.
“I’ll buy you a whole oven-roasted chicken later, so bear with it.”
[Gasp! What is that?! I look forward to it!]
After pacifying Poppy with food, Ji-hoon strolled through the streets.
He also taught Poppy various things he needed to know about life on Earth.
“You understand, right? Don’t pick fights with people. Unless I give you an order, you have to stay in the form of a small dog no matter what.”
Poppy nodded repeatedly in response.
He was brimming with discontent.
[Someone of your caliber could rule this world with ease, Big Brother....]
“Whoa, don’t say something so dangerous.”
Am I some king of Hunters?
Why would I do anything that troublesome?
Ji-hoon waved his hands, adamant that he would never do anything of the sort.
[Whimper... But at Hell Farm....]
“That only applied to Hell Farm.”
In truth, he had never intended to rule Hell Farm or anything of the sort, either.
How did I, who used to live as a complete coward, end up like this?
They kept up that idle chatter, and Ji-hoon cycled through such pointless thoughts, until they were passing the neighborhood playground.
“Um, excuse me....”
He was unmistakably a kid, wearing a school uniform with AirPods in his ears.
Despite his delinquent looks, the high school student addressed Ji-hoon with a timid expression.
“Are you Brother Ji-hoon, by any chance?”
“Me?”
The boy, who looked impossible to classify as either a delinquent or a model student, raised his voice in amazement.
“Brother, don’t you remember me?”
“So who are you?”
How could he? It was remarkable that Ji-hoon had managed to remember even just his parents’ faces over a hundred years.
“I’m Seon Woo-jae! I live next door!! Apartment 1402!”
“Seon Woo-jae? Next door?”
The name brought a memory rushing back.
A hundred years ago—or ten years ago by Earth’s calendar.
There had been an eight-year-old boy next door who was always sucking his snot back up.
“When did you get so big?”
“Well, ten years have passed. You finally returned, Brother Ji-hoon!”
***
“Come to think of it, ten years have passed.”
Ji-hoon’s time had stopped in Hell, but a full ten years had unquestionably passed on Earth.
Apparently, everyone around him had assumed during that time that Ji-hoon was a Returnee.
“Wow, I heard you’d returned safely, but I can’t believe I’m meeting you like this....”
Ji-hoon remembered Seon Woo-jae clearly.
–Brotherrrr.
–Stop. A man doesn’t cry at the drop of a hat. Hurry and dry those tears. I’ll give you three.
–But, but Ju-hyeon from the next class... he just.... He hit me even though I didn’t do anything, sniff, and then!
–I won’t give you any puffed rice if you cry.
–...Hic.
He had been a first grader who cried every day.
Because both parents next door worked, Ji-hoon, who was taking a leave of absence from college, had often looked after him.
But why’s he speaking so formally to me?
...Ji-hoon felt the ten-year gap deep in his bones.
“So you’re in your second year of high school now?”
“Yes. Though I don’t attend school....”
“Why?”
At Ji-hoon’s question, Seon Woo-jae puffed out his chest.
“I’m a Hunter.”
“What??”
“An A-rank Hunter, no less.”
Of course, he was still a rookie.
Woo-jae did tack on that qualifier.
Even so, Ji-hoon was momentarily too shocked to speak.
The gleaming A-rank Hunter ID thrust before his eyes.
Even then, he could not believe it.
That snot-nosed little kid is an A-rank Tanker?
Poppy quietly muttered from Ji-hoon’s arms as Ji-hoon stared wide-eyed.
GRRRR.
[Is he behaving like that because he thinks he is strong? That paltry amount of mana—even the laziest snail on Hell Farm, given a year....]
“Shh, shh.”
Ji-hoon hurriedly clamped Poppy’s beak shut.
“Wow, that’s impressive. Isn’t A-rank a huge deal?”
“Still, I am nothing compared to S-rank Damage Dealers like Jin Seo-yoon or Baek Kang-hyeon. I am just a day laborer who works hard at holding up a shield.”
Seon Woo-jae, who had been puffing out his chest only moments before, let his shoulders droop.
It was just the sort of thing a high school student would do.
Ji-hoon tilted his head, looking genuinely baffled.
“Still, A-rank sounds pretty high to me...?”
Then again, I’m an F-rank.
“I still have to work hard. It has been my dream since I was little—to become a Hunter who protects people.”
That did sound familiar.
Even as a child, Woo-jae could not stand seeing anyone bullied. He would charge in, only to end up crying.
“But what rank are you, Brother? Since you’re a Returnee, could you be an S-rank, even higher than me...?”
“S-rank? Not a chance. I’m an F-rank.”
“That’s a lie! How can that be when you spent a hundred years over there?!”
“A hundred years over there...? It’s true. Look.”
Seon Woo-jae calmed down once Ji-hoon showed him his Hunter ID.
“I’m still glad you’re back, Brother. Mom and Dad kept opposing my becoming a Hunter because it’s too dangerous. But now, if I tell them Brother Ji-hoon is a Hunter too, won’t they feel a little more at ease?”
“Maybe.”
“Besides, you’re a Returnee, aren’t you? The difference in experience seems to make Returnee Hunters good at farming, too.”
That was true.
I’ve got the Farming Optimization Skill, too.
Still.
“You can use me as an excuse if you need to. If something’s troubling you, I can listen.”
Ji-hoon shrugged.
Woo-jae might be an A-rank Tanker.
But at the end of the day, he was still only a high school student.
When did life ever go the way you wanted?
This was a world where even an S-rank Hunter could fall for a rental-deposit scam... no, a political scam.
There would probably be no need for Ji-hoon to do much, but Woo-jae was still the kid next door whom he had known since the boy was a snot-nosed brat.
At the very least, he could offer this much as a courtesy.
“Thank you, Brother!”
As expected, Seon Woo-jae’s face lit up.
“Yeah. And drop the formal speech.”
Poppy whimpered in his arms again.
Seon Woo-jae pounded his chest with two solid thumps like a Tanker and said,
“Yeah, Brother! I’ll help if there’s ever anything I can do.”
“Something you can help with?”
“Yeah. You haven’t been back for long.”
Ji-hoon thought for a moment, then casually asked Seon Woo-jae a question.
“Then there’s one thing I’m curious about.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“Is there anything like that here, too? You know, a marketplace that sells Hunter gear. Something like Karrot Market.”
“Oh, that? Of course there is. Do you want to see it on my phone?”
Woo-jae pulled out his phone and launched a familiar app.
[Your powerful friend in the palm of your hand! – 'Hunter Market']
The moment the app opened, countless listings flooded into view before Ji-hoon.
[For Sale] Low-Grade Mana Crystal Ore, 1 kg – 2,000,000 won
[For Sale] Goblin Hide Boots (D-grade armor) – 12,000,000 won
[For Sale] Orc’s Worn Axe (C-grade weapon) – 20,000,000 won
“Wow, there’s so much.”
“Right? It might look expensive now, but once you start working as a Hunter, the money adds up fast. If you need money, should I give you some as a welcome-back present?”
How could I take money from that little snot-nose?
Then again, he is an A-rank Tanker.
Ji-hoon decided to ask Woo-jae how much he earned later and continued browsing Hunter Market.
Then.
He froze–
“...Why is this here?”
[For Sale] Hell King’s Farm Weed (C-grade crafting material) – 100,000,000 won