SHOWR 08

Chapter 08

Mimi’s crash course began.

“Select the sense organ you want and make the oil as you usually do.”

“If there’s a specific effect you need, you know you have to invest stat points into the corresponding sense organ, right?”

“The grade of the granted trait depends on the oil’s completion level. If the completion is high, additional traits may follow.”

“How do you raise the completion level? The more sincerity you put into crafting it, the higher it’ll be. That’s the kind of skill it is.”

Having graduated from the Hunter Training Institute, I still remembered how to use and apply skills by awakening type. I had studied the theory harder than anyone.

But since my class and skill were the kind that didn’t appear in any thesis or textbook no matter how much you searched, I had coaxed Mimi into teaching me how to use the skill.

Yet contrary to my expectations, the method of using it was ridiculously simple.

‘Just make the oil as usual. The end!’

All the knowledge I had learned at the institute—how to operate mana, where to focus it, and so on—became nothing more than scraps of paper in that moment.

“You’re really saying I should just make it the way I normally do?”

“Yes. So I’m going to sleep.”

Mimi settled down in a sunny corner of the workshop and closed her eyes just like that. What an irresponsible tutor.

Because of that, I stood in front of the workbench feeling like a small boat set adrift alone on a vast ocean.

Since she said to make it as usual, I decided to make oil using lavender—my favorite ingredient and also a common one.

In case of failure, I planned to extract it simply using the distillation method, which allows for relatively quick production.

First, I filled a round flask with pre-dried lavender flowers. The fragrant floral scent pleasantly stimulated my nose.

“Just in case, maybe I’ll extract a small amount.”

Below the flask containing the lavender, I connected another flask filled with boiling water. The steam generated from this flask would rise and meet the lavender, dissolving the aromatic components.

The steam carrying the fragrance would rise lightly, then meet cold water and turn back into liquid.

This liquid would become the base material for lavender essential oil.

Drip, drip, drip.

As time passed, the amount of liquid collecting in the receiver increased.

When I leaned in closer, I could see that the liquid had separated into layers.

The slightly oily layer on top was the lavender essential oil, and the pure water below was floral water.

“Hmm, that’s all that’s collected so far.”

Waiting was torture.

I wanted to know as soon as possible whether my skill had been properly imbued into that oil, but since I was extracting it the natural way, it inevitably took time.

“This won’t do. I’ll just make a little.”

Impatient, I removed the flask containing the liquid and placed it on the workbench.

Using a dropper, I carefully drew up only the top oil layer. It yielded a very small amount of oil. I transferred it into a brown bottle no bigger than my little finger.

Would it even be 2 ml?

Holding the bottle up to the light, I chuckled to myself, thinking that if I collected the tears from a single yawn, I’d probably have more than this.

At that moment—

A message window appeared before my eyes.

“Mimi!”

The moment I read the message, I urgently called out to the sleeping Mimi. I must have shouted so loudly that the cat leapt straight into the air.

“Kyah!”

“Th-this turned out well, right? It’s the same skill I used in the gate, right?”

I rushed over with the oil bottle and shoved it right in front of Mimi’s nose. I didn’t care whether the cat’s fur stood on end or not.

“I told you, just do it as usual. Why all the fuss?”

“It worked! I really just did it like I normally do!”

Clutching the bottle—smaller than a bottle of nail polish—I beamed with a wide smile.

“Now I just need to hire a part-timer, right?!”

At my overexcitement, the cat’s dissatisfied voice shot back.

“What a fuss.”

I was dumbfounded.

“A fuss? Did you forget what kind of quest you gave me?”

I deliberately brought up the status window and read it out loud to Mimi.

“It says I’ll lose someone precious. How could I not make a fuss?”

I may have lost my family and don’t have many friends, but that doesn’t mean I have no one precious at all.

“…I’m tired, so don’t talk to me.”

The cat, who had been staring at me as I clenched my teeth, turned its head and went back to sleep.

“Seriously…”

I couldn’t tell whether that cat was on my side or not.

When I saw that it had given me a special class and skill to help me conquer gates, it seemed like it was on my side. But when I considered the condition that I’d lose someone precious if I failed, it felt like it wasn’t.

‘I know it’s favorable toward me, but I just can’t figure out what it’s really thinking.’

To begin with, it was a creature whose very existence was questionable…

As I stood there nurturing an unsolved mystery about the cat, I suddenly heard the shop door burst open.

I had forgotten to lock the door, but it wasn’t business hours.

Hurriedly leaving the workshop, I checked the clock. It was only 7 a.m.

‘A customer at this hour?’

Standing in front of the shop door was someone I hadn’t expected at all.

A woman with short blonde-dyed bobbed hair, wearing a black leather jacket and matching pants. Her small stature and round eyes still didn’t quite suit her outfit style.

“N-Nara unni?”

Unni’s face crumpled, and she ran over and hugged me tightly.

“Y-you idiot! You were alive, so why didn’t you reply?! Do you know how worried I was? Why couldn’t I reach you? Seriously!”

“Ah, I fell into a gate, so my phone…”

“What? You? A gate?! How could you fall into a gate? You’re the one who notices them before a sudden gate even appears! The hospital—ugh! What’s wrong with your leg?!”

“Ah, this.”

Following her gaze, I saw the messily scabbed-over wound on my knee, exposed beneath my comfortable shorts.

As I hurriedly explained in self-defense, Nara unni used her skill on me.

“Honestly, why do you always have to get hurt like this? I never even dreamed you’d get sucked into that gate… but trying to save a grandmother—that’s so you, Bitna. There, done!”

My leg healed cleanly, smooth without even a scar. Nara unni was an S-rank healer—there was no need to elaborate on her ability.

“Wow, unni, you’ve improved so much.”

“Don’t even start. Do you know how many gates I had to close to establish my guild? The founding requirements are ridiculously strict.”

She flopped down onto the sofa with a drained expression.

“Ugh, why am I suddenly so drowsy? Maybe it’s because I confirmed you’re okay, Bitna. Yawn.”

Judging by the long yawn, my passive skill, ‘Relax (Shop visitors feel an unidentifiable sense of comfort),’ seemed to be working well.

A passive skill that works even on an S-rank hunter—pretty rare.

“But aren’t you busy? With Hunter Oh Hyeongtaek and all… How did you even make it here?”

“What kind of question is that! I came because I was worried about you!”

Nara unni was an S-rank healer and the guild master who founded the Shilla Guild a year ago.

Originally, she had run a kind of entertainment business that featured star-quality hunters on broadcasts like celebrities, but not long ago, she established a hunter guild as well.

Because of that, the initial public perception of Shilla Guild wasn’t good.

However, defying everyone’s expectations, Shilla Guild succeeded in recruiting Oh Hyeongtaek—one of only four S-rank hunters in Korea—instantly securing a place within the top three guild rankings.

I heard that ever since Oh Hyeongtaek joined, applications from hunters hadn’t stopped pouring in.

I had known since our training institute days that unni was impressive, but I truly hadn’t realized she had such an innate talent for business.

“Alright, since I’ve seen you’re okay, I should get going.”

“Already?”

“The world’s in chaos. I carved out serious time to step away. I have to catch a flight later because of the Hyeongtaek situation.”

“By any chance… what’s the situation inside the gate like?”

As guild master, unni surely knew things that hadn’t yet been reported in the media. I moistened my parched lips and asked.

I was afraid that if I delayed too long, something might happen to him.

“It’s a gate we’ve never seen before. Normally, the gate entrance closes after a certain amount of time, right? But this one is strange—you can keep sending people and supplies inside.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, it’s fortunate. It means as long as we keep sending food, they can hold out until it’s cleared. That’s why I’m somewhat relieved. Otherwise, the Japanese Prime Minister’s head would’ve already rolled into my hands.”

It was definitely a strange gate.

All the gates that had appeared so far felt like they were made to kill humans outright. So why did this one seem to have a bit more fairness?

“A Japanese search-skill hunter went in, so I thought they’d come out soon, but hell no! Kang Jinseo’s been holed up in his room and won’t come out! I tried asking him for a favor, but he’s ignoring all my calls! A fellow Korean S-rank is trapped in there—shouldn’t he obviously help?”

Though she ground her teeth in frustration, unni didn’t raise her voice. She was being considerate of my sensitive ears.

“Ha, so listen, Bitna.”

Still fuming, unni suddenly changed her expression. Before I could process the shift, she drooped her eyebrows and gently took my hand.

“Could you grant your unni one favor?”

“…What is it?”

“Tell Kang Jinseo to clear the Japanese gate first! He’s always listened to you since way back, hasn’t he? Hm?”