EFME 39

“May I check it?”

“…Yes.”

Sunyul answered with a bit of hesitation. He was a little worried about what he would do if it was a strange item, but… he couldn’t throw a tantrum and say no.

Yoonjae looked at Sunyul for a moment before picking up the potion.

And then.

[Recovery Potion]

Description: A red-colored recovery potion. Use by pouring on the wound.

Effect: When used on an injury, speeds up the wound’s recovery rate.

What he could confirm was an option that was truly as plain as it gets.

Seeing Yoonjae’s unenthusiastic expression, Muyoung used his [Omniscient Tome] skill to check the potion’s options. After reading the short description, Muyoung let out a smirk.

“His contribution was low, so it’s a natural reward.”

“I suppose so. I was looking forward to it a little.”

He thought that since he was a special being, maybe his reward would be different. Yoonjae set aside his feeling of emptiness and looked back at Muyoung.

“Hunter Kwon Muyoung, may I check the reward you received?”

There had been a request from the Ability Management Office to check Muyoung’s reward as well, and since he had already agreed to it, Muyoung obediently checked his inventory.

The reward Muyoung received was a staff with a magic stone embedded in the end of a thick tree branch. However, Muyoung’s expression became strange as he looked at the staff’s system window.

[December’s White Starlight]

Description: An exquisite staff made by embedding a magic stone into a carefully tended divine tree.

Effect: When using a skill, the skill’s power increases and its range is expanded.

Owner: ■■■

“Is something wrong?”

“See for yourself.”

Muyoung handed the staff to Yoonjae. After checking the system window, Yoonjae let out a low groan.

“…The owner is strange.”

Items obtained as rewards from dungeons either have no owner or are bound to the person who obtained them. Therefore, Muyoung, who obtained this staff, should be the owner, but this staff had an owner, yet it was impossible to see who it was.

“Can you put it in your inventory?”

Muyoung took the staff back and tried to put it in his inventory. It went in without any problem. Items with an owner don’t go into another person’s inventory, but for it to go in so easily… It was truly a strange thing.

“Besides, the item’s name is a bit odd too.”

“The item name? Why is that… Ah.”

Yoonjae realized it belatedly. He thought the name sounded familiar somewhere…

“The name is similar to the items Hunter Park Haemin makes.”

“Right.”

Park Haemin names items by putting the month or date the item was made at the beginning. Including a color in the item name was also a naming method Haemin often used. Muyoung’s weapon, ‘Seventh Day’s Black Night,’ was also made by Haemin and had a similar name format.

“May I take this staff with me?”

“No.”

Muyoung refused flatly. Yoonjae sighed.

“I’ll just look at it quietly and return it.”

“No means no. However, I can lend it to Park Haemin.”

“You don’t trust the Ability Management Office?”

“Would you, if you were me?”

Muyoung’s gaze flickered toward Sunyul. With Sunyul as an example, Yoonjae didn’t have much to say. Yoonjae had also found out belatedly that the experiments of the Korean Ability Research Institute had gone a bit too far.

“…I understand.”

If it was truly related to Haemin, it would be more certain for Haemin to research it. He didn’t know how much the higher-ups would understand that, but thinking that it was out of his hands from there, Yoonjae obediently backed down.

“Hey, we set a new record for clearing the dungeon, aren’t we having an after-party?!”

Just then, Jaehoon, oblivious to the sensitive atmosphere, ran over excitedly and said. Muyoung frowned as if he was making a fuss over nothing and said.

“I’ll give you my card, so go ahead.”

“That means you should come too! Hey, Lim Sunyul. Don’t you want to go too?”

Sunyul’s eyes wavered at Jaehoon’s words that dragged him in. He wanted to go, but if Muyoung didn’t like it… he didn’t want to insist.

Reading the faint expectation in Sunyul’s eyes, Muyoung finally sighed.

“Let’s go.”

“Really?”

Muyoung nodded at Sunyul, who spoke in a slightly excited voice.

“It’s been a while since we’ve gone anyway.”

“Alright, that’s more like it. Then let’s go after we finish collecting.”

“Then I’ll be on my way first.”

Yoonjae said, checking his watch. As if he had known he would leave, Jaehoon showed his disappointment.

“Huh? Manager Go Yoonjae, you should come with us.”

“It’s alright. I have to write a report.”

“A report? Today?”

“Yes. Today.”

“Seriously?”

“Yes, seriously. Now if you’ll excuse me.”

Yoonjae turned his body around. Jaehoon clicked his tongue as he watched Yoonjae’s back disappear toward the exit without any lingering attachment.

“Vicious, so vicious. The sheer malice of writing a report right after a dungeon run. You have to give him credit.”

“You should learn from him a little.”

“Me? Do you think that’s possible?”

“At least write them on time.”

“I’ll try my best.”

Jaehoon bantered and then escaped as if running away. And he approached the side where the dragon’s corpse was.

Since there was only one collector, and a dragon’s hide is so tough, it’s impossible to dismantle it with just the collector’s strength, so other hunters joined in.

The people not dismantling the dragon wandered around, breaking whatever minerals they could find.

Sunyul quietly watched as even Muyoung joined in, turning the dungeon upside down. At the same time, he thought about the message that had appeared before his eyes a little while ago.

‘It said there’s currently an error with the inventory function.’

Doesn’t that mean that I should be able to use an inventory normally?

‘Status window.’

Calculating…….

Just in case, he called up his status window, but still, nothing showed up properly.

‘What am I, really?’

[The ‘Traveler of the Eternal Night’ praises Lim Sunyul as the most excellent hunter on Earth.]

‘That’s the Guild Leader.’

[The ‘Traveler of the Eternal Night’ assesses that Lim Sunyul is a greater hunter than Kwon Muyoung.]

Sunyul scoffed at the stupid constellation that didn’t know anything. It seemed like the constellation was getting angry about something, but he ignored it.

‘I don’t know what I am, but…’

The fact that I have a system probably means there’s a high chance I’m human, right? Sunyul wanted to lean on that fact.

⊹₊｡ꕤ˚₊⊹

Most of the raid team that had just come out of the dungeon attended the after-party. There were no serious injuries, and they had even broken the shortest record, so everyone was in high spirits.

Sunyul sat in a corner and enjoyed the boisterous atmosphere. Because they had spent three nights and four days together, many people took care of him, and he had sipped every drink they gave him, getting quite drunk.

Thinking he shouldn’t get any more drunk, Sunyul went outside to get some air. The winter wind was quite cold. As he stood still, taking in the cold wind, the door next to him opened and Muyoung came out.

“Did you come out because of me?”

“The air was stuffy.”

Muyoung replied curtly and then roughly ruffled the hair of Sunyul, who had a sullen look in his eyes.

“I told you it’s not because of you.”

“…Because you have to watch over me.”

“If I had to watch you from close by all the time, I wouldn’t have even sent you to the guild’s break room. This much distance doesn’t matter.”

“Well, that’s a relief then.”

Muyoung stood next to Sunyul, who was smiling lightly.

“What were you thinking about?”

“Huh?”

“You looked down.”

“…It’s nothing.”

Sunyul kicked the ground with his shoe for no reason.

“Everyone is talking about things only they know. Ah, I don’t mean I was upset about that.”

Sunyul added hastily, as if he’d made a mistake. When Muyoung nodded, Sunyul continued, relieved.

“Suddenly… I had a thought. Can I belong in a place like this? I wondered.”

“……”

“I can’t, can I?”

“It will be difficult in the near future. But it won’t be impossible.”

Not just telling him everything would be fine was very Muyoung-like. Because that Muyoung didn’t conclude it was impossible, Sunyul could smile.

“I hope so. I really do…”

Sunyul’s eyes sparkled as he imagined that day. Muyoung thought those eyes were quite beautiful. So much so that he wanted to keep looking at them.

“Let’s go inside for now. It’s cold.”

“Okaay.”

Sunyul replied, dragging out the end of his word.

After going back inside, Sunyul, making his efforts to sober up seem pointless, accepted a few more drinks and fell asleep as if he had fainted. Muyoung used Sunyul as an excuse, just handed over his card, and left the after-party.

Returning home, Muyoung laid Sunyul on the bed. After watching the sleeping Sunyul for a moment, Muyoung returned to his room, washed up, and immediately headed to his study.

Muyoung also had to write a report on the dungeon run of the past four days. He didn’t need to write it today… but he sat down at his desk, wanting to organize his thoughts.

The report Muyoung would write was about Sunyul. His reason for obediently complying with the Ability Management Office’s request to write a report was solely for Sunyul’s sake. Because he didn’t want to create any noise that would make Sunyul uncomfortable.

Muyoung wrote a few lines of sentences made of refined words and then stopped.

The usual him would have quit this kind of unhelpful and annoying task immediately. But Muyoung, as he had been doing recently, willingly accepted the trouble this time as well. On top of that, today he had even deceived Yoonjae, and behind him, the Ability Management Office.

Kwon Muyoung had to admit it. The fact that Lim Sunyul would change his life. The change had already begun, and more and more things would change.

Muyoung recalled the sight of Sunyul saying he had dreamt of him. He suddenly felt a thirst. He also felt a sudden urge to visit Sunyul’s room.

Instead of yielding to the thought that came to mind, Muyoung took out the weapon he had obtained from hunting the boss monster. It was definitely an item he was seeing for the first time, but he felt like he had seen it somewhere before. Even though that shouldn’t be possible.

Muyoung had a feeling that the owner of this staff would be Sunyul. And also the thought that he would look quite good holding this staff.

Why did Lim Sunyul come to Kwon Muyoung as a reward?

Asking the still-unresolved question, Muyoung closed his eyes.