Chapter 50: Something is off

I mumbled a song as I cleaned the incubator’s gla.s.s window.

I didn’t really have to clean the gla.s.s, but I wanted to observe the egg beyond the gla.s.s a little clearly.

I forgot about the content of the letter for a moment since the letter gave me a headache. Focusing on cleaning the incubator refreshed how I felt.

The incubator was larger than a king sized bed. At the center of the circular shaped incubator, there was a dragon egg.

It was the egg that I purchased through the auction.

It was going to take a little more time before it hatched. Also, there were a few more conditions that needed to be met.

Still, I had been staring at the egg whole day, wondering if the egg was going to move or not, wondering if there was anything odd.

The last owner of the egg didn’t know how to make the egg hatch, so the owner placed it on the auction. However, I was different.

I also didn’t know how to make it hatch.

However, I gave points to the easy difficulty challengers to inquire the managers.

‘Ha!

There’s nothing you cannot do if you have a lot of points.

Points are the best.’

I fully prepared all items I was going to need after the dragon hatched.

I was going to bathe the dragon in elixir as soon as it hatched.

I was going to provide it with various pa.s.sive skills. I was also going to give it a blessing so it won’t have health problems.

Its drinking water also had to be diluted elixir. I was going to make the food for it by crushing great earthworm with spirit’s byproduct.

I even prepared a gigantic mixing machine for making the baby food.

The fairy lavas, which were to be fed to the dragon once it grew up a little, were hard to obtain because fairies were so rare.

I made a place at a corner of the residential area. I had been diligently increasing the number of the lavas there.

I even prepared a huge, lavish nest and toys for intellectual development.

There was a chance the baby dragon would not follow me as its parent. So, just in case, I even learned polymorph magic.

I was going to take care of the baby dragon while in the state of being morphed into a dragon.

I was concerned the baby dragon might feel awkward about the fact that I don’t have a dragon heart. So, I made a dragon heart and installed it inside my body.

I even practiced and perfected natural movements while being morphed into a dragon.

Fortunately, I was pretty used to reptiles and other similar beings.

I never knew that the time I spent with her and the knowledge learned from her would be used this way.

Preparations were perfect.

I just needed to wait until that baby dragon to wake up.

Hm…

Everything was going too perfectly. A sensation of pure bliss was rushing at me.

It felt like everything was going to work out just fine if I just relaxed and waited like this.

It felt like I no longer needed to agonize over things or suffer.

Of course, the world never work that smoothly, especially in this h.e.l.l Difficulty.

Still, I tried hard to be positive and be happy.

I finished cleaning the incubator. While I was resting and drinking a cup of coffee, a message alarm rang.

It had a familiar name.

[Lee Ho-jae, 60th Floor: What is it?]

[Kim Min-huk, 99th Floor: What else? I’m contacting you before I get going. The Round is about to start soon.]

I thought this guy was going to stay at the 30th Floor in Normal Difficulty forever.

I wondered if he was going to grow old there, but in the end, he was about to get out of the Tutorial.

‘Now that I think about it, it must be quite surreal to him.

He swore that he was going to spend the rest of his life in Tutorial, but he is about to leave.’

[Kim Min-huk, 99th Floor: It’s a little hard for me to believe it, but it is not to the point of being anxious. I am going to live a quiet life outside anyway.]

‘I am sure you would.

That guy isn’t going to runaround to kill monsters.

Instead, he probably will show up on the news.

… Along with politicians.

Korea was the top country that produced greatest Awakened warriors in the world, and he was the man who led the Korean Server since its initial establishment.

Other countries were trying to figure out the reason behind the Korean Awakeneds’ strength by examining the atmosphere, rules and system inside Korean Tutorial.

Kim Min-huk also had plenty of great connections.

Many people were going to call for him.

If he stayed in Korea, he was going to be treated like a royalty. He would be offered huge sums of contract. He would also be offered all sorts of special ent.i.tlements. Moreover, he could take the world of politics by storm.

Many famous Awakeneds were slowly moving into the politics.

Kim Min-huk said he was going to live a quiet life. I doubted the world was going to let him be.

[Lee Ho-jae, 60th Floor: It’s too bad. If there was going to be a day of the great harmony, I could at least see you before you go.]

[Kim Min-huk, 99th Floor: It’s fine. It’s not like the day of the great harmony happens for a good reason. I would rest easier with it not happening.]

[Lee Ho-jae, 60th Floor: Really? I thought they were not so bad after the first one?]

[Kim Min-huk, 99th Floor: That’s because you didn’t do any work, you rascal. While you were sitting around doing nothing, we solved things by working our b.u.t.ts off.]

[Lee Ho-jae, 60th Floor: That’s not true. I worked too.]

[Kim Min-huk, 99th Floor: Sitting on a corner, you had been inflicting injuries on your body to increase pa.s.sive skills. You are not referring to that as work, are you? Well… Back then, you were helpful even when you just stood there yawning with your hands to the back.]

‘… I cannot beat him on this topic no matter how long we continue.

I should move on to the next topic.’

[Lee Ho-jae, 60th Floor: Still, it is too bad. I heard another day of great harmony is going to happen soon.]

[Kim Min-huk, 99th Floor: Really? When?]

[Lee Ho-jae, 60th Floor: You don’t know?]

[Kim Min-huk, 99th Floor: Of course I don’t, you rascal. It’s been a while since I quit the Order of Vigilance.]

[TL: The Militia in past chapters is now called the Order of Vigilance.]

‘That makes sense. He is like a soldier on the last days before the retirement. I guess it is possible that information related to work would not get delivered to him.’

[Kim Min-huk, 99th Floor: Does Jung-ah know?]

[Lee Ho-jae, 60th Floor: Probably.]

[Kim Min-huk, 99th Floor: In that case, it probably won’t happen, as usual.]

The day of the great harmony, unlike its peaceful name, happened only when there was a serious problem in the Tutorial.

So, the information about the day of the great harmony happening soon served as an alarm that something problematic was happening inside Tutorial.

As soon as the information about the day of the great harmony happening was spread, the Order of Vigilance made the move, and the problem was solved.

When the problem was solved, the day of the great harmony did not happen.

It was unfortunate.

It was not like they could just let the problem be so the day of the great harmony could happen.

Actually, many people wanted the Order to just let the problem be so the day of the great harmony could happen.

They were mostly the people who wanted to meet families or friends who got scattered inside the Tutorial.

However, the Order of Vigilance, Park Jung-ah to be precise, did not listen.

‘Another day of the great harmony probably won’t come until the day Park Jung-Ah clear the Tutorial and leave.’

[Kim Min-huk, 99th Floor: Hey, since the topic came up, I got to ask. Are you guys still the same as always?]

‘The same as always?’

[Lee Ho-jae, 60th Floor: That’s right.]

‘Of course it is.’

[Kim Min-huk, 99th Floor: I thought there was plenty of time to think about things. Isn’t it about time you guys joined up again?]

‘Um…

This is not something that an answer would just come up because I had the time to think.

Besides…

Even if we made up, what is going to change?

Nothing.

As long as I’m stuck here…

[Kim Min-huk, 99th Floor: Once I leave Tutorial, who else is left that can talk to her with ease? It is hard now as it is, so why don’t you help out?]

[Lee Hojae, 60th Floor: What are you babbling about? Are you the matchmaker? Moreover, are you in position to do that?]

[Kim Min-huk, 99th Floor: You rascal…. I’m trying to help, yet you can’t just sit quietly and accept it. Tsk. Still, think about it again. It looks like Jung-ah is interested.]

‘Jung-ah is?

Something is off.

I bet this rascal said the same thing to Jung-ah before he contacted me.

I bet he did only with a different name.

[Kim Min-huk, 99th Floor: That’s not it, you rascal.]

I sent a message to Park Jung-ah to satisfy my curiosity.

I couldn’t stand it if I had something I was curious about.

There was no message back from her.

Instead, Kim Min-huk responded.

[Kim Min-huk, 99th Floor: Hey! You poked at it right away? Jung-ah sent me s.h.i.t load of insults.]

[Lee Ho-jae, 60th Floor: Ki ki ki ki ki…]

[Kim Min-huk, 99th Floor: What’s so funny? You thoughtless rascal. Is it past the time for your medicine?]

[Lee Ho-jae, 60th Floor: My resistance skills are so high that I can’t take things like medicines. Ki ki ki.]

[Kim Min-huk, 99th Floor: I really need to do something about this rascal…]

[Lee Ho-jae, 60th Floor: I’ll try talking to Jung-ah later. By any chance, if the day of the great harmony does not get canceled, I’ll talk to her face to face.]

‘It means I am not going to talk to her.’

[Kim Min-huk, 99th Floor: If the day of the great harmony really happens, I guess you can see that newbie too. Many have high hopes for her. Just who is she? She is breaking through the h.e.l.l Difficulty.]

[Lee Ho-jae, 60th Floor: There were a few that made that far. She is still only at the Sixth Floor. Don’t get her all worked up with false sense of confidence.]

[Kim Min-huk, 99th Floor: I won’t of course. Still, she knows how to handle it. Unlike others…]

[Lee Ho-jae, 60th Floor: Yeah. Although she is not as good as me.]

[Kim Min-huk, 99th Floor: You were just a special case. She got to the Sixth Floor in ten rounds. That’s quite fast. How long did it take you to get to the Sixth Floor?]

[Lee Ho-jae, 60th Floor: Was it around Round Three?]

[Kim Min-huk, 99th Floor: You are a fiend. Seriously. Although it would be hard to compare to you, this newbie has plenty of talent. Don’t be so anxious.]

[Lee Ho-jae, 60th Floor: I know, but I don’t know how long it will take from the Sixth Floor. Also, of all things, she is an archer.]

[Kim Min-huk, 99th Floor: Do you think she can get through?]

[Lee Ho-jae, 60th Floor: Probably. If it looks like she will never be able to get through the floor, I’m thinking about giving her items so she can.]

‘Honestly, if I sensed that Lee Youn-hye didn’t stand a good chance since the First Floor, I would have helped her move up by showering her with items.

Even if someone is terrible at this, getting to the Tenth Floor is possible with items.

With some incredible luck, getting to even the 30th Floor is possible with items.

Just like how they do it in some of other countries.’

[Kim Min-huk, 99th Floor: So, well… I’m sure you are on top of things on that.]

[Kim Min-huk, 99th Floor: Ah, I was going to ask you about this. I totally forgot.]

[Kim Min-huk, 99th Floor: How strong are you?]

‘What?’

[Kim Min-huk, 99th Floor: When I leave the Tutorial, there will be many that will ask me about you. Whenever they do, I need to give a rough answer at least. So, how strong are you now?]

[Lee Ho-jae, 60th Floor: I am not sure. What should I use as the frame of reference to compare my strength?]

[Kim Min-huk, 99th Floor: How about G-rank monsters? Although none of us have seen it in real life.]

In the outside world, the monsters were rated based on their strength and threat level. Initially, the ranks were made of A to F. One day, suddenly, the S rank was also introduced. After a while, even G-rank was added.

I wondered what they would call it if a new monster beyond the G-rank monsters showed up.

Anyway, the G-rank monsters were beyond just being a dangerous organism. They were national level threats.

I heard that there were just four of them on Earth.

Also, all four of them, after claiming their territories, stayed inside the area and never left. So, the humans choose to give up the areas instead of trying to reclaim them.

However, a G-rank monster named Oclrera claimed its territory near Manhattan, New York.

U.S. could not give up that area. They brought in Earth’s greatest Awakened warriors and poured in all of their air power to destroy Oclrera.

In that battle, about half of S and A-rank Awakened warriors, the greatest warriors in existence on Earth, were killed.

I didn’t know exactly what kind of power that Oclrera had.

As Kim Min-huk said, we never saw it in person. We only heard about G-rank monsters from newbies who ended up in Tutorial.

‘If I a.n.a.lyze it based on what the newbies said and the information on the normal news…

No, there is no need ‘

[Lee Ho-jae, 60th Floor: I’m probably super strong even if you compared to those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds. Well…]

[Kim Min-huk, 99th Floor: Thank you for the thoughtless answer that I think I’ve heard before.]

As we talked like that, we started to talk about old days.

From how we met, during the times of hardship, when things were going well…

The memories of them were like short stories.

It was because I was always alone in h.e.l.l Difficulty.

I got to meet Kim Min-huk in person only for a few times besides the day of the great harmony.

Besides that, all I remembered was communicating with him through the Community.

Still, that was not all there was to my friendship with Kim Min-huk.

He was one of my very few friends. He was my family.

‘Not being able to meet him in person is going to be the same even when he leaves the Tutorial.’

To split the hair here, it was just the conversation through the Community that I was going to lose.

However, losing that felt like a good bye.

[Kim Min-huk, 99th Floor: I’ll be going first. I’ll see you outside.]

‘… It’s as it should be.’

[Lee Ho-jae, 60th Floor: All right. Say h.e.l.lo to others who are outside.]

‘That’s right. I should also get out. I should.

It is obvious.’

I wonder what was troubling me back then.

Among the papers in disarray laying on the table, I found the letter I was going to send to Lee Youn-hye.

The letter was tightly packed with written words. The very last row was empty.

In that only remaining s.p.a.ce, I filled it with a sentence.

Please tell Kiri Kiri about Zara.