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GM Ch33
by misacchi“Aren’t you afraid of bugs? There are hunters who never enter dungeons where bugs appear.”
“It’s gross, but it’s okay.”
“Team 1’s next schedule is a half dungeon. I’ll consider having you join the raid.”
“Okay.”
While the conversation continued, Minjun took out a cup from his inventory after eating candy and extended it forward. As he did, the cup was halfway filled with water. Soohyuk wondered what kind of harmony this was. As he watched curiously, Minjun drank water and put the cup back into his inventory.
The sequence of actions went smoothly. More than that, Soohyuk was surprised by the fact that water appeared in the cup without any warning.
“Is that water from a water spirit?”
“Yes.”
“But I can’t see the water spirit?”
“You won’t see them unless they intentionally reveal themselves.”
“What about the lizard over there?”
“It would be strange if there was nothing and it was burning.”
Soohyuk laughed at Minjun’s absurd answer. Hunters’ abilities varied greatly. He didn’t find it strange at all, but he couldn’t help it if he thought so.
“What kind of animal does the water spirit turn into?”
“This is a snake. Sometimes it even turns into a fish. Would you like to see it?”
“Mhm.”
When Minjun stretched out his hand into the air, a bluish snake appeared coiled on his palm.
“What is his name? Since the fire spirit is Apple?”
“Grapes.”
“So it’s another fruit as well. Then what about the wind and the earth spirits?”
“The spirit of the wind is Plum, and the spirit of the earth is Tangerine.”
“Why are they all edible?”
“Because they are the same color?”
Soohyuk chuckled at Minjun’s intuitive naming skills. It revealed Minjun’s personality too well, as all the names were of edible fruits. While they were talking like that, the water spirit on Minjun’s palm disappeared in an instant.
“It is a little shy.”
Soohyuk was confused when he heard that the spirit was shy. But since little was known about spirits, he had no choice but to trust Minjun’s words.
“Then what about the lizard?”
“It’s closing its eyes.”
Just as Minjun said, the large fire lizard curled up in the oven had its eyes tightly closed. Opening one eye briefly, the lizard seemed to glare at Soohyuk as if scrutinizing him, then closed it again.
“Can spirits touch other people?”
“Only people they like. They have clear preferences. Um, it says it’s okay with the guild leader. Would you like to touch it? Just don’t pinch or harass them.”
“Isn’t it hot?”
“Nope.”
“Then, let me try here.”
Curious, Soohyuk quickly stretched out his hand. He didn’t know when he would have another opportunity to touch a spirit in the future. Minjun reached into the furnace. Then the large lizard shrank and climbed onto Minjun’s palm. The small lizard soon moved onto Soohyuk’s palm.
“I can’t feel the weight?”
As Minjun said, it wasn’t hot. Rather, it was strange because he could feel the lizard’s feet touching his palm, but he could not feel its weight.
“It’s naturally light.”
“Oh?”
The lizard, burning with red flames, stood on all fours, raised its face and blinked several times as it looked at Soohyuk. With even its pupils red, the lizard looked quite cute.
“How cute. Its eyes are bright.”
“Right? Oh, it’s embarrassed.”
The lizard spun around in place. And this time, without looking at Soohyuk, he turned his head somewhere else.
“Can it understand human speech?”
“It understands intentions. Now, please give it back. It seems excited.”
Minjun received the lizard-shaped fire spirit back from Soohyuk. Normally, the spirit was very shy, but reacting like this to being called cute was a first. He wondered why. He asked just in case, but the spirit showed no particular reaction.
“Me too, can I touch it just once?”
Just as he was about to put the fire spirit back into the oven, Park Hanyoung, who had changed his clothes, approached him rapidly. Minjun alternated between looking at Park Hanyoung’s pleading face and the lizard, then laughed.
“Yes. Give me your hand.”
“Ah. Uh-huh.”
Park Hanyoung wiped his palms on his pants and held out both hands. Minjun placed the fire spirit on Park Hanyoung’s palm.
“Wow… it’s really…”
As the lizard blinked and gave a look, Park Hanyoung laughed brightly.
“Isn’t it amazing? To think such a mysterious being could become a friend.”
“They’re all so sweet.”
“I thought so. I wish I could summon spirits too. You know, I also bought a spirit stone just in case. It didn’t come up for sale often, so I waited for a long time. I carried it around with great care, but as time passed, it just turned into a hard rock.”
Minjun, who became fused with the spirit stone in the aftermath of the dimensional shift and gained the ability to communicate with spirits, swallowed a bitter smile. Unlike other worlds where spirits were common, elementalists themselves were rare on Earth. So, the method of using spirit stones was not yet known.
Contrary to people’s expectations, spirit stones were not like spirit eggs. It was a medium that could borrow the power of spirits. It was a fact that could not be said to Park Hanyoung. Since he would not have seen a spirit stone before, it was obvious that if he told them about its use, it would raise suspicion.
Still, he felt sorry because he could see that Park Hanyoung liked spirits so much. He was thinking about calling other spirits as well, but Soohyuk suddenly stretched out his hand toward the fire spirit in the form of a lizard.
Soohyuk was staring at the lizard with intense eyes. Then the lizard looked at Minjun in confusion and seemed to ask what to do.
“Guild leader?”
Minjun called out to Soohyuk, bewildered. Now Soohyuk was pressuring the fire spirit with his strength. The shy spirit was also sensitive, and when exposed to strong power, it would run away without looking back. But now, even though he was afraid of Soohyuk, he seemed to want to go to him.
Was he scared?
If you want to go, go, and if you don’t want to go, come this way. Then, the fire spirit in the form of a lizard slowly moved its feet and moved onto Soohyuk’s hand.
Park Hanyoung, who was suddenly robbed of the fire spirit, spoke up hesitantly.
“Um, guild leader?”
“It seems to like me.”
Soohyuk snorted lightly and smiled at the lizard.
“Isn’t this because the guild leader threatened with force?”
“Me?”
Soohyuk shrugged his shoulders as if he knew nothing. In Minjun’s eyes, it seemed quite sly. Park Hanyoung interjected, “Hunter Kim Minjun. The guild leader threatened the fire spirit with his power, right? Hm?”
“Maybe?”
Minjun could not bear to take Soohyuk’s side. It was clear that the spirit moved according to its will, but it was also true that Soohyuk threatened him with force.
“Look at that. Give me the fire spirit.”
Park Hanyoung protested strongly and stretched out his hand. Anyway, Soohyuk put the lizard on his shoulder and smiled brightly at Park Hanyoung.
“Then try taking it back.”
“Hey, this is bullying you know?”
“Try it.”
“Aye, just wait and see.”
Park Hanyoung, whose face was distorted, huffed and then turned around and walked away. Soohyuk smiled triumphantly and returned the lizard to Minjun.
“Why did you do that?”
“Just because.”
“You just teased him, didnt you?”
“Me?”
“It was done on purpose, no?”
“It’s because I have a bad personality.”
Minjun wanted to look into the mind of Soohyuk, who said he had a bad personality. The man really did whatever he liked. Seeing Minjun’s bewildered look, Soohyuk smiled brightly and changed the topic.
“Shall we have a campfire?”
“A fire?”
“You know, when you camp, you watch the fire. They say looking at the fireworks relieves tension. You should do it while on night watch.”
Minjun also knew that what he meant was gazing blankly at the fire. And he had already experienced many times that looking at a bonfire brought peace of mind and body.
“Yes. Of course.”
Minjun moved the fire spirit back to the oven. Then he lowered the height of the fire pit and increased the size of the flame, then he sat down on the floor. It was the perfect posture for a campfire.
“Don’t sit on the ground. There is a chair.”
Soohyuk took out a chair from his inventory. Minjun recognized that both the wood and leather on the chair were dungeon byproducts. Although it was a magic tool, it had no additional abilities other than being sturdy. Still, a chair that could be placed in the inventory without a magic box was pretty neat.
“Do they sell things like this at the market?”
“No. This is a custom product.”
“Ooh, it’s nice.”
Minjun sat on the chair and looked around, touching here and there. It was comfortable, sturdy, and had a good design. Since he received a large down payment, he thought it would be okay to buy at least a chair.
“Do you like it?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll introduce you to the workshop I go to. The master there may be eccentric, but his skills are real.”
Soohyuk took out various items from his inventory and showed them off to Minjun. In addition to the chairs, all the camping equipment, including large tables, small tables, vintage-designed lamps, and camping beds, were all luxurious.
Minjun usually didn’t have much greed for equipment. He didn’t care about design or anything like that. He thought that if it was a weapon, it would be enough for it to be effective against monsters. He slept well even on the bare floor. However, whatever Soohyuk showed him now, he liked it all.
After Minjun retired, he dreamed of a leisurely life in a mountainous area with no people. For him, living like a natural person was the dream. Putting camping equipment in the inventory, riding on the off-roader, and traveling all over the country seemed like a good idea.