Chapter 05 …
[Ruth’s illness has been alleviated.]
“…Ruth… Ruth!”
The moment I heard the sound, I urgently called out for Ruth first.
“Ruth!”
Ruth, who had fallen into despair, convinced her disease could never be cured.
How happy would she be if she knew?
“Ruth!! Ruth! Ruth…”
I opened the door and went inside.
On the bed—
There was Ruth, eyes closed, floating in the air.
“What on earth…?”
A yellow light surrounded her small body.
And within that light, the dark, murky energy slowly seeped out.
The dull yellow glow brightened into a vivid gold.
‘…Was that the cause of her illness?’
Shu-shu-shu-shuk.
Soon, Ruth slowly descended and opened her eyes.
“Ruth! Are you okay…? How’s your body? Do you feel better?”
[Foolish human. How dare you? Show respect before the Agent of God and bow your head.]
“…”
[…]
“…”
[Just kidding.]
Then she wobbled over and snugly crawled into my arms.
Just by looking at her movements, I could tell she was healthier than before.
Like a 90-year-old becoming an 80-year-old.
Even so, Ruth seemed satisfied.
[Human. This… is all thanks to you.]
Her voice trembled with emotion.
[Because of you, I have found my future.]
“…Ruth.”
Memories flashed through my mind.
The divine dragon—Agent of God—lowering herself before a “pathetic human.”
Wearing a dog outfit, with a dog collar, climbing mountains in her sickly state.
Sleeping in the same bed as the human she looked down on.
Eating food she didn’t want.
Doing confusing things she didn’t understand without complaining.
Casting aside the name of “Agent of God,”
Even letting go of her pride.
And I watched it all from beside her.
“No. I didn’t do any of that. You did.”
[Human… you are still pure.]
“Pure? It’s just the truth.”
Pat pat.
Then, another voice echoed.
[You have obtained the EX-Rank Passive Skill: ORR.]
“…EX… rank skill? Orr?”
My mouth dropped open in shock.
…There’s an EX-rank skill?
No way.
Did I mishear and it was actually EYES-rank…?
…What is Orr?
[Human…]
“Huh?”
?
Ruth’s mouth was wide open too, just as shocked as I was.
Her eyes were round.
She looked more surprised than when I guessed her name.
[Human… how… how do you know about Orr?]
“I just got it as a skill…”
[Hmph… To give Orr to a pathetic human… What is the God of this world thinking?]
“…You know what Orr is? Is it really EX-rank?”
[Orr is the divine authority gifted to our Divine Dragon race—the agents created by God.]
Divine authority…?
Divine… authority…?
Divine… power?
What even is that?
“…So, what exactly does it do?”
[Orr is the greatest of the greatest. Something a pathetic human could never possess.]
“…”
That doesn’t explain anything.
[It cannot be defined by words. Orr is Orr. That is the most accurate description. Nothing in this world surpasses Orr.]
“…”
Very unhelpful.
Should I go to the Hunter Association…?
[No matter how you explain it, a pathetic human cannot understand Orr. You didn’t even know it existed until now. How could you understand it?]
“…”
Why are all my skills like this?
I don’t know anything about my own abilities.
Even if I go to the Association, I have a terrible feeling they’ll just give me another F-rank evaluation.
[But do not worry, human. Even if you do not understand, you already possess Orr. That alone is more than enough.]
“…Is it? Is that enough?”
[Yes.]
“…”
I want to know what is “enough.”
A slightly healthier Ruth became more energetic.
The biggest change—she started eating a lot.
All the rice stocked in my inventory disappeared fast.
[Human. I want to eat cow intestines. I used to eat a lot of them when I was healthy. I keep thinking about it.]
“Cow intestines?”
This was the first time Ruth ever said she wanted to eat something.
Having an appetite must be a good sign, right?
[I want to eat cow intestines.]
So I went to the marketplace and bought them.
They were expensive—Korean beef.
I grilled them carefully so she wouldn’t get sick, and she devoured them instantly.
[Delicious. So delicious. They taste far better than the cows from my world.]
There goes my money~
But then—
Shhhhhh.
The murky darkness within Ruth’s yellow aura faded, and her light brightened again.
That meant she was getting healthier.
“Want more? I’ll buy more?”
[Human. I want to learn about this world. Bring me books of knowledge.]
Ruth became curious about the world and developed a hunger for knowledge.
Showing interest must also be a good sign.
So, after thinking about it…
I borrowed as many books from the library as I could carry.
But Ruth read at a ridiculous speed, so I had to return them the same day and borrow more.
For a while, I was basically Ruth’s book delivery service.
I didn’t even have time to train.
And I still needed to figure out how to use Orr.
“Ruth, I need to train…”
Shhhhh.
Her murky aura faded again, becoming brighter.
I had no idea why. What did books have to do with health?
As Ruth got healthier, she started gaining chubby cheeks.
[Human, I want to see Seoul from above. I cannot fly yet, so take me to a high mountain where I can look down upon the city.]
“…Seoul?”
I had never been to Seoul.
When I was about to die earlier, I regretted my short life and lack of experiences.
So my decision was fast.
“Let’s go!”
We got on a bus to Seoul that very day, and early next morning climbed Bukhansan.
Of course, halfway up, I had to carry the panting Ruth.
We looked down at Seoul, then came down and ate samgyetang.
Then we went straight to Sokcho and climbed Seoraksan.
Ate squid, swam in the ocean.
Took a boat to Jeju Island and climbed Hallasan.
Did some Jeju sightseeing and ate tangerines.
[Gwanghee. This country has more delicious food than the world I lived in. Let us go eat more delicious things.]
“Let’s go! We’ll eat everything! Food tour!”
My savings from the Hunter Academy were drying up fast.
But for Ruth’s health, it didn’t matter.
Money isn’t important. Life is.
Every day, we traveled wherever Ruth wanted.
And then…
I realized something.
The more I did for Ruth, the more my yellow light grew—little by little.
And the bigger the light, the stronger my power became.
“…”
I thought I was doing good things for Ruth, but…
Without realizing it, I was also doing good things for myself.
And then…
During a conversation with Ruth, I learned something shocking.
This yellow light I could see—
It was Orr.
[When Heaven is about to bestow a great task upon a person,
it first tests their mind with hardship,
wears out their bones and muscles,
starves their body,
and throws their life into chaos.
It is to shake their heart, grow endurance,
and allow them to accomplish what they once could not.]
Hearing chanting, I went to look.
Ruth was reading a book.
“Ruth, what are you reading?”
[Gwanghee. Who is this ‘Mencius’? Is he the Agent of God who rules this world?]
“Mencius? He’s an ancient man from China. He’s dead now.”
Truthfully, I don’t know much about Mencius.
Maybe he was an ethics teacher or something.
[To even fool the Agent of God… humans may be pathetic, but you have deep insight.]
No one fooled anyone, but I didn’t bother explaining.
Ruth looked serious.
[Humans of this world have broad common knowledge, but lack absolute wisdom. Yet because of this Mencius, I have changed my mind.]
“Oh? Mencius is that great?”
[Gwanghee. To pierce the essence of things requires deep thought.]
Through books, Ruth learned culture and common sense of this world.
After reading thousands of books, this was the first time she praised anyone like this.
[Ah. Mencius was a genius. There are geniuses in every world. Bring more books written by geniuses.]
“Ruth, are you just going to read all day? Is it really that fun?”
[Though still shallow to me, books are the polished thoughts of humans. Just by sitting here, I learn what values this world holds.]
Ruth glanced at my sturdy body, then continued.
[Gwanghee. Physical training is good, but internal strength is just as important. Your thoughts become actions, actions become life, and life becomes your present and future.]
When Ruth acts serious like this, it’s best to just go along.
She used to be the Agent of God, after all.
Agreeing brings positive results.
And positivity makes life enjoyable.
“Then I’ll read too. I was planning to go on a walk downtown, but it can wait.”
I flopped down next to Ruth.
[A walk?]
“What should I read first? Ruth, recommend something.”
Ruth closed her book, crawled into the bedroom, and came back with a brand-new dog outfit we bought in Jeju.
[Put this on, Gwanghee. Let’s go for a walk before sunset.]
“You’re not reading? Didn’t you say knowledge shapes my future and life…?”
[Gwanghee. Seeing once is better than hearing a hundred times. Don’t you know that?]
“…”
