Chapter 33
“This is so good.”
Sori had thought the Boss’s Healing Bath Powder (A) she got from the Red Ginkgo Tree boss would sit in her inventory forever.
She wasn’t the type to enjoy baths at home, and she had never really gone to spas either.
The reason she finally made the grand decision to take it out of her inventory was simple.
“Ah… my shoulders hurt. My back hurts like crazy.”
Trying to do something she wasn’t used to had left her entire body aching. She had never served that many customers all at once before. Even pain relief patches didn’t help much.
Shhhhhh—
As water filled the bathtub, she read the instructions.
“Add just one spoon for perfect fatigue recovery.”
A small spoon was included. Following the instructions, she added a spoonful to the tub.
Suddenly, a faint blue light began to rise from the water.
“Is… is this okay?”
She checked the instructions again.
A soft blue glow will restore lost stamina and lasts for 24 hours.
As expected, it wasn’t just an ordinary bath powder. Twenty-four hours of effect.
“Well… I guess I’ll trust it.”
She slowly lowered herself into the water. She had just turned the tap casually, but somehow the temperature was perfectly warm.
The blue light wrapped around her body, almost like a glowing blue blanket. It even felt cozy. Soon, just as the instructions promised, the pain throughout her body began disappearing rapidly.
“So this really is a Boss Healing Bath Powder… it’s different.”
After ten minutes, she felt like she could climb Hallasan immediately if she wanted.
This bath powder was insane.
Sori couldn’t help but admire it.
“Hopefully it doesn’t run out quickly… Ah, this is so good.”
After a while, when she felt even the old fatigue melt away completely, the blue light shining in the water gradually faded. The water soon returned to its normal lukewarm state.
It seemed the effect was over.
Sori jumped up from the bathtub.
“Wow, I feel completely refreshed!”
And just like that, Sori discovered the joy of bath products.
* * *
Looking at her nearly empty refrigerator, she knew she couldn’t keep worrying forever.
So on her day off, she came to Agora Market, wearing the same long hoodie she had worn before.
“Ah, this feels great!”
The wind hitting her fully refreshed body felt cool and fragrant. After shrugging her shoulders once, she looked around.
If you want to hunt monsters, preparation is essential.
Most importantly: potions and armor.
Since I’m here, maybe I should look at stealth hoods too.
If she had enough money, she planned to buy a new stealth hood—something with better performance. Of course, if she didn’t have enough money, she’d just forget about it.
Sori opened her balance window.
Balance: 23,075 Gold
“Hm.”
It seemed like quite a lot, but compared to real hunters it was still painfully small.
Still, she decided to buy what she could and not stress too much. She headed first to a potion shop.
It looked like an ordinary store with a display window. Someone unfamiliar might mistake it for a pharmacy.
“Hello?”
“Welcome!”
A lively voice greeted her. A man wearing a shiny black silk hat stepped out from behind the display window.
“I’m here to buy some potions.”
“What kind of potion are you looking for, Hunter?”
“What… kind of potion?”
Apparently there were many types. Seeing her clueless face, the man smiled.
“You must be a new hunter! Let me explain the cheapest one first.”
He picked up an item from the display.
“This one is called ‘Baekma’ (White Horse). When you’re completely out of breath, drinking it restores enough stamina to run at full speed for two minutes. And of course, it’s very cheap. Just 1,000 gold.”
Cheap? It only lets you run for two minutes…
The hunter world really was something else.
The clerk continued.
“This next one is a step up. It’s called ‘Dracula.’ It allows five minutes of full-speed running. It’s popular among new hunters because it’s cost-effective. It’s 2,000 gold.”
Dracula? What a strange name. And the price was still outrageous.
If she bought a few potions, she’d go broke instantly.
“What’s the most expensive potion?”
The man had looked ready to skip that part, probably assuming new hunters wouldn’t buy it anyway. But she asked anyway.
“Oh, curious, are you? Of course.”
He stepped behind the desk and carefully brought something out.
A translucent glass bottle that looked like it might contain wild ginseng.
“This is ‘Frankenstein.’”
What a name.
“This is the highest-quality potion we carry. Even if you’re about to faint—or already fainted—drink this and you’ll immediately wake up and run. The effect lasts a full hour.”
“Wow… that’s amazing.”
Sori remembered losing consciousness in the tutorial dungeon.
“When you become a great hunter someday, you might be able to buy it. One bottle costs 30,000 gold.”
Thirty thousand gold.
For one bottle.
That was 300 million won.
High-level hunters probably bought hundreds or thousands of these.
Sori swallowed.
“I see… then I’ll take five of the first one you mentioned. The White Horse.”
She had no other choice.
She had just spent the equivalent of 50 million won in a single purchase. It hurt her heart, but what could she do?
I just need to earn more.
That was the only conclusion.
5,000 gold has been withdrawn!
“Thank you! Please come again, Hunter!”
She still had more things to buy. Now she wondered if she had spent too much on potions.
Next, she stopped by a spice shop.
“Do you have powdered Stephany leaves?”
Spices were surprisingly cheap.
200 gold.
The fact that she now considered that cheap showed how much she had gotten used to hunter economics.
“I’ll take one jar. Oh, and…”
She bought a few other spices she was running out of.
1,000 gold has been withdrawn!
Next: armor.
“Where do they sell armor…”
She looked around carefully, but unlike other stores, armor shops were hard to find.
The area was like a maze of alleys stacked like blocks. One alley led to another, then another long one branching off sideways.
The signboards were good, but if you weren’t careful, it looked easy to get lost.
Thirty more minutes passed. Still no armor shop.
Then she noticed a woman wearing a hood like her.
“Still, for armor, this watch is actually pretty decent.”
The woman was talking on the phone.
Armor?
Sori’s ears perked up.
She decided to ask her and waited quietly for the call to end.
Under the hood, red hair swayed in soft waves with the wind.
“Yeah, okay. Got it. Let’s meet there.”
Her voice sounded very cool. She definitely looked like a high-level hunter.
Luckily, she didn’t seem to recognize Sori.
“Excuse me.”
After the call ended, Sori approached.
“Sorry, may I ask you something?”
The woman turned around.
“Yes? What is it?”
She took a cautious step back. A typical hunter habit.
“Sorry, but do you know where the armor shops are?”
“Oh, armor? Go that way, turn at the corner, then go straight.”
The woman explained surprisingly kindly.
“There are a few stores there. You must be a new hunter.”
“Ah, yes. It’s my first time here.”
“Yeah, I got lost a lot at first too. You’ll get used to it.”
“Thank you.”
The woman smiled.
The wind pushed her hood slightly back.
Her face became clearly visible.
Huh?
It looked familiar.
Where have I seen her before…
Then Sori remembered.
“Ah!”
“Yes?”
The woman didn’t seem to recognize her. Sori quickly covered her mouth.
“N-no, it’s nothing. Thank you for the directions.”
“Sure. Have a good shopping trip.”
Click. Click.
The woman walked away elegantly and disappeared around the corner.
“Phew…”
Her name was Hong Mari.
Sori remembered that she had gone to the same university as Minjung.
They were roommates… I think.
They were close at first, but later had a huge fight and fell out.
Sori had visited Minjung’s place a few times back then and had seen her. She also remembered hearing that Hong Mari worked many part-time jobs because her family situation wasn’t great.
After she and Minjung fell out, Sori never saw her again.
“So she awakened.”
Seeing her again here in the hunter market was unexpected.
And judging from her presence, she seemed like a pretty high-ranked hunter.
Back then she was just an ordinary college student.
“Hunters really are different.”
It made sense that Hong Mari didn’t recognize Sori. They had only seen each other briefly a few times, and years had passed.
Feeling oddly nostalgic, Sori sent Minjung a message.
Are you working? Busy?
Minjung replied.
Taking a break right now. Why? Something happen?
Do you remember Hong Mari? Your old roommate?
Minjung didn’t reply immediately.
“Busy?”
Just as Sori was about to put her phone away, it rang.
It was Minjung.
“Hello?”
—Why are you suddenly asking about Hong Mari? Did you meet her?
Minjung’s voice sounded excited.
“Uh… yeah. I think I saw her passing by.”
She answered vaguely.
—Did that crazy bitch ask what I’ve been doing lately?
“No, no. I just saw her passing by…”
—Ah, sorry. After we fell out she went around talking trash about me everywhere.
“What? Trash?”
—Yeah. Now she’s an A-rank hunter, so she’s gotten really arrogant. I ran into her at a college reunion recently. I only went because they said she wouldn’t be there, but anyway…
Minjung went on ranting about Hong Mari for several minutes without stopping.
Maybe I shouldn’t have brought it up…
Sori sighed quietly and kept walking.
