“Ah, this...”

Kim So-mi hesitated, holding the dagger I handed her. Her gaze was captivated by the blade of the dagger. She even infused it with mana and swung it a few times.

“No way! How did you make it?”

“Well, I guess you could say it’s just about focus and dedication.”

“Ah...”

Kim So-mi went to the sofa opposite and sat down with a thud.

“Isn’t this too much?”

“Why?”

“I was obsessed with weapons for a while, and I saw all the good ones. The money I spent back then is worth a few buildings in Gangnam. But I’ve never seen anything like this. Even a collaborative piece by famous S-rank designers and artisans wouldn’t reach half this level.”

“Don’t praise me too much. I made it in a hurry, so I’m already worried about it.”

“In a hurry? In a hurry? How much do you want to belittle those active artisans? If you release this in the market right now, it will be worth tens of billions!”

“Tens of billions?”

It was an expensive price.

Even more so considering I made it in just a few hours.

“The reason it’s worth tens of billions is because you’re not famous in the weapon-making industry, Hyun-ho. Half the price of both artisans and designers is their name value. Prices rise exorbitantly due to reasons like collaborations with famous brands, limited editions, etc. If your name becomes a brand, what’s to say the price won’t increase tenfold, a hundredfold?”“Ah~”

I nodded.

It seemed I wouldn’t have to worry about money.

“Can you make something even better? Is equipment possible? Please make it! I’ll pay you!”

Kim So-mi said with a pleading expression.

I didn’t believe that women were inherently weak to material things, but I thought that this was true for Kim So-mi at this moment.

Well, what hunter wouldn’t be greedy for good equipment and weapons? As she said, meeting a great artisan is never an easy task.

“Later. I don’t have the materials right now.”

“Yes!”

Kim So-mi smiled brightly and held the blade of the dagger up to the fluorescent light.Seeing her happy made me feel a little uneasy.

. . .

Kim Yeon-seo was fiddling with her phone. She was caught in a strange urge. It was nothing less than the urge to contact someone.

‘Professor… ’

Why couldn’t she shake off the thought of Han Hyun-ho? Even if it wasn’t necessarily him, the faculty at this academy was excellent.Especially in recent years, many famous professors have been hired.But she didn’t feel the same way towards any of them as she did towards Han Hyun-ho.It felt like it had to be him.It was as if her current discomfort would be completely healed if she just saw him.

While she hesitated, the phone in her hand rang.

“Oh my god!”

Startled, she almost dropped her phone. With a bit of hope, she checked the screen with a fluttering heart and chuckled.

‘It couldn’t be.’

She thought so much about Han Hyun-ho that she mistakenly thought he might have called.

But the words that appeared on the screen were ‘Dad’.

Since her father was the only family she had and a precious person, she answered without hesitation.

“Dad!”

[Daughter! What’s going on!]

“What? You’re calling after three months, and you’re saying that? What’s wrong?”

[Professor Han Hyun-ho was fired! Is this a joke?]

“What are you talking about? He quit days ago. Do you know the chairman died?”

[I don’t care about that Park Seok-cheol, whether he dies or not! It’s better for humanity if such a rotten person disappears. Well, another rotten person will quickly take his place. Anyway, the important thing is Professor Han Hyun-ho! Why did he quit!]

“Why are you asking me? Watch the news.”

[Ah… If Professor Han Hyun-ho is gone, there’s no meaning in sending you there…]

“Watch the news and get your head straight, then call me again, okay?”

Kim Yeon-seo hung up and sighed.Even though he was like this, she didn’t dislike him.Rather, she felt more comfortable with a father she had to take care of.

. . .

Kim Yeon-seo’s father, Kim Kyung-soo, was an advisor at SG Corporation and also an expert in Dungeon Studies.

He awakened as a B-rank, but he had no special abilities, instead, his brain became more active, and his stamina became inexhaustible, so he was dedicating himself even more to research and achieving results.

However, he was too engrossed in his work that he neglected his only daughter. He sent her to Alpha Academy, where she lived in a boarding school, and he was able to travel overseas with a lighter heart for his research.

But when he returned to Korea after three months, he heard shocking news.It was that Alpha Academy had kicked out Professor Han Hyun-ho.He knew well that political actions were rampant in this field, and many things happened that were not common sense.But he couldn’t believe that a world-renowned academy would make such a stupid decision.

‘Who’s to say Alpha is big because of whom!’

As a researcher, he had insights that ordinary people, and even hunters, couldn’t have.He could predict things that couldn’t be clearly explained with words just by looking at the series of events.He didn’t know specifically what abilities Han Hyun-ho had, but his abilities couldn’t be simply seen as teaching abilities.It was a great blessing that such a person awakened in Korea and became a professor at an academy.Wasn’t that why his daughter was growing up so well and became an A-rank hunter?It wasn’t just a dream to become an S-rank hunter under his guidance.

‘If you were to calculate this in economic value, how much would it be!’

Han Hyun-ho’s abilities were immeasurable in terms of money.If you think about his achievements so far, his current value, and his future value, it’s unimaginable.

‘That kind of person!’

The reason he sent his daughter to Alpha Academy was solely because of Professor Han Hyun-ho.If it wasn’t for that reason, there was no reason to send his daughter to Alpha.Rather, he loathed the place that had become bigger and more politically tainted.

Still, thinking that there might be something he didn’t know, he looked up news from the past few months as his daughter had suggested.As he followed the flow of events, he was dumbfounded.

‘This is all political maneuvering!’

Political manoeuvring to manipulate the public.It was clearly a trick to get rid of Han Hyun-ho.

‘He must have been jealous!’

He knew that Park Seok-cheol, a descendant of a large corporation, was a bad person.Even though he was blood-related, he received many opportunities despite his lack of ability, but he failed everything and was a castaway in his own family.Alpha Academy was the one he inherited like a forced exile.But even in his insignificant life, he got the opportunity of a lifetime.Han Hyun-ho joining the academy.Looking at the initial faculty, there were only retired hunters or overqualified fools who were only expensive.It was obvious that Han Hyun-ho alone had achieved amazing achievements afterwards.

Park Seok-cheol was a person with a strong desire for recognition.Why wouldn’t he be?He was born into a big conglomerate family and was always tested for his abilities within a competitive environment.Objectively speaking, he was born with a silver spoon, but in reality, his entire life was one of not being recognized.He wouldn’t have wanted to share the opportunity of recognition he had finally grabbed.If Han Hyun-ho was highlighted, people who knew the situation well would say, “That’s just how it is.”

‘Those guys also needed Alpha.’

DH Corporation must have been happy to have a golden egg academy like Alpha in their family.They, too, must have been uncomfortable with the uncontrolled Han Hyun-ho receiving the spotlight.

‘They did ridiculous things.’

They pinned all kinds of crimes on Han Hyun-ho.The reason he couldn’t take any of this to court was because there was no evidence.They relentlessly launched a public opinion campaign and drove him out, leaving him scarred.The news about him sexually harassing female students and engaging in perverted acts was a major blow to his image.Doing that would make it difficult for him to work elsewhere.At least in Korea, where Confucian values were strong, it would be difficult to work in the open.

‘They made him unable to transfer to another academy.’

They ruthlessly crushed him so that he wouldn’t be an obstacle to their future.

“You bastards!”

As he continued to follow the news, he noticed something recent.

‘He’s dead!’

It was a coincidence that Chairman Park Seok-cheol died on the same day as Professor Kim Ho-geun.There was a clear intent in the fact that there was no reporting at all on their connection.

However, one of the facts that came to light was that the perverted acts that were said to be committed by Professor Han Hyun-ho were actually done by the deceased Professor Kim Ho-geun.

‘Could it be… ’

Kim Kyung-soo stroked his chin and pondered for a long time.His gut feeling was that Han Hyun-ho had sought revenge.Considering what he went through, and considering the things those two did, it felt natural.

‘Why is it quiet?’

Was there no evidence left?Could that be?

There were many things he didn’t understand, but at least in this incident, the distinction between good and evil was clear.Han Hyun-ho was the former.The deaths of Park Seok-cheol and Kim Ho-geun could be considered karma.

‘First, I have to… ’

Kim Kyung-soo thought that he had to take his daughter out of Alpha Academy, which could only be described as a den of evil, full of bubbles, since Han Hyun-ho was gone.

. . .

“Where are we going again?”

“The forest calls me.”

“Huh? Then I’ll come with you!”

The strange phenomenon that happened in the abandoned dungeon that I and Kim So-mi had seen when we went out with similar words.There had never been a case of a tree growing on a corpse, let alone a case of fruits growing there that would become items that permanently increase mana.It seemed Kim So-mi was expecting to have a similar experience today.

‘I’m not sure.’

Today’s reaction wasn’t from the dungeon.I had a feeling that something would happen if I went to the forest in general.Yesterday’s feeling was concrete, but today’s feeling was ambiguous, so I thought we might just be taking a walk.

“The air is nice.”

Kim So-mi said, brushing her hair back.When I saw her at the academy, I only thought of her as a haughty and rude woman, but now that I’ve experienced her, I’ve found many other sides to her.Well, this was also all affected by ‘favorability’.It was hard to imagine her showing this side to anyone else.

“Huh? What is that?”

She suddenly pointed towards one direction.Sure enough, the bushes were swaying in that direction.At the same time, I heard the cry of an animal, “Kiing, kiing.”