GM Ch44

It was a poorly conceived plan. In particular, he was not even certain of whether the drug that caused mana poisoning was Whispering Poison or not.

However, rather than wasting time checking it himself, it was better to leave it to a powerful person like Choi Euiseong. When one drank the Whispering Poison, thorny vine patterns appeared on the chest and back near the heart where mana accumulated. If Euiseong could confirm just that, it would make things easier.

Minjun knew Choi Euiseong’s guild and home address. However, even if he sent letters by mail, they were bound to get filtered out. On the other hand If he saw an unfamiliar letter on his bed, he wouldn’t be able to help but pay attention and read it.

“It shouldn’t come off as a threatening letter.”

Minjun laughed, looking at the white envelope in his hand. It was too careless, but he couldn’t think of any other way.

Hoping for success on the first try, Minjun kept an eye on Euiseong’s house again. As it was a house where an S-class hunter lived, security was quite tight. CCTVs were a given and there were three security guards walking around. The large windows, big enough for a person to pass through, had motion detectors. Even for an S-class hunter, it seemed impossible to sneak into Choi Euiseong’s house unnoticed.

But Minjun had his spirits. Minjun gave a letter to the wind spirit who returned from scouting Choi Euiseong’s house. It was a method that had been used several times in the other world as well. The wind spirit was particularly good at carrying light objects.

The abilities of an elementalist were determined by the level of the spirits that could be summoned. Although the spirit summoned by Minjun, who was currently C-class, was low-level, it had a high affinity as it was fused with the spirit stone. The spirit accurately understood what Minjun wanted and acted accordingly.

The wind spirit moved lightly holding the letter. Although the security of Choi Euiseong’s house was thorough, there were still some loose spots.

For example, the bathroom window on the third floor was small for ventilation purposes and did not have a motion detector because it was too small for a person to pass through. It was also high above the line of sight, making it hard for the guards to look up, and it was out of the CCTV’s view.

The bathroom window was tightly locked, but the wind spirit had already slightly opened it when it had scouted. The wind spirit crept through the open window carrying the letter. It successfully avoided the internal CCTV and entered the main bedroom. The wind spirit placed a letter on the black pillow of the large bed.

“Good job.”

Minjun praised the wind spirit. Although they were physically far apart, he could feel the wind spirit’s happiness.

Lower-level spirits could only simply express their opinions. Still, thanks to Minjun’s high affinity with spirits, their relationship was a bit more special.

Minjun left the wind spirit in the main bedroom to confirm if Euiseong noticed the letter. If affinity was high, the wind spirit was like a great all-purpose CCTV. Other spirits could also be used in the same way if conditions were right.

One of the reasons he survived in the early stages even after his rank was lowered in the other world was because he used spirits well.

“I’ll leave it to you.”

Minjun said goodbye to the wind spirit and jumped out of the apartment. Even as a hunter, a C-class couldn’t survive a fall from the 22nd floor unscathed. So, he used the ‘Star Flight’ skill to descend slowly to a nearby building’s rooftop. From the third-floor building to the ground, he relied on his hunter’s physical abilities.

It was a residential area, and the sun had set and it was getting dark, so no one paid attention to Minjun who quietly appeared.

Minjun moved towards the subway station without any hesitation.

Just at that moment…

Without warning, a status window appeared in front of Minjun’s eyes and he stopped dead in his tracks.

“Ah…”

Normally, he would have just casually put the status window away. But after learning that the first believer this morning was Soohyuk, he was seized with a strange feeling.

Minjun hated studying, but he wasn’t stupid.

On the day he returned to Earth, he finally realized what the status window that appeared before his eyes meant.

It was not yet a concept on Earth, but in the other world, those who achieved great achievements were deified. This didn’t mean humans were merely glorified as supreme beings but that they literally became gods and were worshiped.

The first emperor who founded the Norden Empire in the other world was like that. He was hailed as a hero while alive and indeed became a god during his lifetime.

At first, Minjun thought it was just a myth, but it actually happened in the other world. Besides the first emperor of the Norden Empire, there were several beings who became gods.

Minjun did not worry about why he had gained divine status. When he became associated with the ten-headed Hydra, he gained fame and honor. In particular, the government deliberately exaggerated his achievements and turned him into a hero who saved Seoul. A memorial park was established, and statues were erected, thanks to the efforts led by Soohyuk’s memorial project committee. Documentaries were broadcast periodically as well.

People vividly remembered what happened eight years ago. If he died as a hero, he would not be forgotten and would be known for a long time. It was an ideal condition for gaining divine status.

Still, Minjun wasn’t too worried. Immediately after his dimensional shift, Minjun, who lacked common sense of the other world at that time, focused on obtaining various information from his colleagues. Among his companions were many priests and clerics, and from them he heard much about divine magic and the power of the gods. He also diligently studied doctrines while undertaking temple commissions.

From what he knew, he had not yet become a true god. And given his aversion to work and desire to retire leisurely, it was unlikely he would become a god.

In order to gain status as a god and become a god, a strong sense of responsibility and self-sacrifice were fundamental. He needed to be praised by people. If time passed like that and it was gradually forgotten, his divine status would weaken and eventually disappear, so there was no problem.

What Minjun was more concerned about was Soohyuk who had the title of first believer.

It was almost akin to being the highest priest or pope. The closest follower to a god typically held such a title. Given the man’s past actions, publicly declaring his admiration and fandom for Minjun, it wasn’t hard to understand. Building a park, erecting statues, and producing documentaries—all were driven by Soohyuk’s influence.

“The first believer, huh.”

Minjun felt a strange sense of responsibility. It was amusing, but being the first believer made him feel he ought to take care of him in some way.

Come to think of it, Minjun even given Soohyuk any items yet. The item he was planning to give in return for the gift set he received on New Year’s Day was still in his inventory. Later, after clearing the F-class dungeon a few times, He thought he could hand it over to Soohyuk as something valuable that he had picked up.

“Well, it will work out somehow.”

Minjun shook off his complicated thoughts. Once his divine status disappeared, it wouldn’t matter that he was the first believer. Until then, the best thing he could do was treating Soohyuk well.

Having organized his thoughts, Minjun resumed walking.

***

Soohyuk, the guild leader of the June Guild, was a person of routine. No matter what time he went to sleep, he woke up at 6 in the morning.

Today was no exception. Soohyuk woke up in his dormitory at the top of the guild dormitory building, ate some breakfast, and started checking the documents he had received yesterday. Since he was going to be busy for a while from now on, he had no choice but to get things done in advance.

Soohyuk finished work after 9 a.m. and was ready to go out. Before he fell asleep, he had checked all the items in his inventory. Since he was going on a dungeon raid alone with Minjun, he was more concerned than usual.

“I also made a lunch reservation.”

Soohyuk last checked the route between the restaurant where he would eat lunch and the dungeon on his cell phone. Today’s schedule was a bit simple. The goal was to clear three dungeons located on the outskirts of Seoul. There were two F-classes and one D-class. Based on the grade alone, each was scheduled to be completed in about an hour.

All of the dungeons that Soohyuk won bids for either had poor internal environments or were unprofitable.

The magic stones, items, and dungeon by-products that could be obtained by hunting monsters were all money. And dungeon raids also cost money. Potions, which could be considered a hunter’s second life, various items that helped with dungeon raids, weapons, armor, and food were almost all consumables.

Guilds that needed to make a profit preferred dungeons with as many dungeon by-products as possible in a comfortable environment.

F-class dungeons, where the obtainable mana stones were low grade and in small quantities, and with harsh environments like glaciers, volcanoes, seas, swamps, or caves, were unwanted. This was because the profit that could be obtained was rather less than the money spent. And he had to risk his life.

It was easy to win a bid for a dungeon like this without much competition. Of course, it might raise suspicions later, but since he was using a dual license issued by the National Security Agency anyway, it will probably be interpreted as community service.

The only unfortunate thing was that a one-person guild could only win bids for three dungeons a day. Otherwise, even if he hemorrhaged money, he would have done about 10 of them a day.

After sending a message to Minjun that he would be leaving soon, Soohyuk headed to the underground parking lot. Since he was moving under a different identity, he headed to the dormitory in his new car.