If Guru became an amazing hunter, he could stay with Hyeonak forever.
‘If that happens, Mom and Dad would be happy too, right?’
Clouds of thought puffed up in his mind.
His arms and legs popped out again, and soon, Mom Sheep and Dad Sheep appeared. Mom Sheep and Dad Sheep, now hunters, hugged Baby Sheep tightly as he tossed money around like tissue paper.
‘You’ve become the ultimate, strongest, most supreme hunter ever!’
‘We’re so proud of you! The ultimate, strongest, most supreme hunter, Guru!’
Hmm, it was quite the touching reunion scene.
Alright! Let’s become such an incredible hunter that even Mom and Dad would be shocked!
If he adjusted his goal, completing the quest would actually be a huge advantage.
The quest rewards would serve as a foundation for his growth.
‘Quest reward = Level up = Becoming an amazing hunter with loads of money!’
Fueled with determination, Guru let out a snort of excitement.
‘Has the next quest popped up yet?’
Just as Guru opened his status window, a loud fanfare played, and pop-up windows flooded his vision.
[Achievement: <Raise Me!> Unlocked!]
You can easily soothe your guardian.
[Quest Complete! Claim Your Reward!]
‘A reward!’
Please let it be something good! An S-rank skill! An S-rank material!
Guru, who had imagined all the things he wanted, quickly pressed the "Claim Reward" button. The letters swirled and jumbled together.
[(Due to an unreadable title), the reward has been changed...]
Huh?
[Congratulations! You have acquired the skill ‘Deep-Rooted Attachment (S).’]
[You can now use the additional skill ‘My Own Filial Piety Skill’ from ‘Deep-Rooted Attachment.’]
‘Fi...lial piety?’
Judging by the rank, it didn’t seem bad, but the name wasn’t exactly reassuring.
‘Still... it’s an S-rank skill.’
It had to have some kind of incredible ability.
[Passive Skill]
Deep-Rooted Attachment (S): When achieving a certain level of attachment index with a prospective guardian, you can register them in a slot as your guardian.
When the guardian and child are together, happiness is more easily felt, and mana recharge efficiency increases.The attachment index with the guardian can be raised through various filial piety activities. The child will earn ‘Filial Piety Points’ as a result. ‘Filial Piety Points’ can be used as resources for growth in various areas. Let’s explore different ways to use them through actual activities.
Unlike normal passive skills, Deep-Rooted Attachment had its own separate skill window.
There was a rectangular empty slot. When Guru tapped it, a pop-up appeared.
[Would you like to register ‘On Jurim’ as your primary guardian?]
[Yes/No]
‘Yes...’
With a firm tap, Jurim’s face was registered in the empty slot.
[On Jurim]
[Primary Guardian]
Next to Jurim’s registered face, there were additional empty slots.
Below them, in wobbly handwriting, was a tip:
[Tip! Find a new secondary guardian and register them in the slot!]
[Eligibility Criteria: Individuals with no history of child abuse or other disqualifying factors.]
[Note: Guardians ranked lower than the user cannot be registered.]
‘Oh...’
Deep-Rooted Attachment seemed to be a special skill that allowed Guru to choose his guardians and receive a massive amount of growth resources.
If he stuffed his guardians into a bag, he could rapidly grow in a short time...
‘This is amazing!’
On top of that, it even came with an additional skill with a strange name.
[My Own Filial Piety Skill]
Guru’s Hands are Healing Hands: By touch, you can restore your guardian’s mana.
Caution:
Filial piety skills can only be used on guardians.To prevent misuse by guardians, there are restrictions on disclosing the skill’s details.
‘So this is the power of an S-rank skill!’
Guru opened his stats window, which was filled with nothing but 1s across the board.
He wanted to use his Filial Piety Points to increase his stats right away...
But the number of Filial Piety Points he currently had? 0.
‘Guru... poor...’
The excitement that had puffed him up like a crowned pigeon deflated instantly, leaving him as shriveled as a soaked Pomeranian.
‘Tch.’
Guru pouted and pulled his blanket over his head.
As time passed and his vision darkened, drowsiness took hold of him in an instant.
“Haaahhhm—”.
Guru let out a big yawn and closed his eyes.
‘I need to save up lots... Filial Piety Points...’
The Next Morning.
"Ung-cha."
As Hanguru slung his puffy backpack over his shoulders, the head of his duck-shaped grabber peeked out from behind.
There wasn’t much to pack.
His only weapons—a duck grabber, a syrup bottle, a star candy bottle, a half-made teddy bear, and a few changes of clothes—were all he had.
Clutching the teddy bear and holding a shopping bag filled with clothes, Hanguru waddled out of the building.
“Hanguru, take care!”
“Hanguru! Don’t forget us!”
“Wng, you guys take care too!”
His vision was blocked by the fluffy teddy bear in front of him as he waved frantically at his friends. But just then, someone snatched the bear from his hands.
“This is all you’ve got?”
Jurim tucked the giant teddy bear under his arm and took the shopping bag and backpack from him.
“Yeeees.”
While Jurim muttered something about having a lot of shopping to do, the children rushed out in a crowd to watch him take Hanguru away.
After waving both hands energetically at his friends, Hanguru climbed into the sports car.
As Jurim buckled him in, he frowned.
“It’s loose.”
Shaking the seatbelt experimentally, Jurim sat down in the driver’s seat and started searching for a car seat.
Meanwhile, Hanguru gaped at his surroundings with his mouth wide open.
‘Shiny, sparkly, glowy.’
Even without knowing much about cars, one thing was certain—this was far fancier than the shuttle bus he had been riding until now.
Would he be able to own a car like this too if he became part of Hyeonak?
"Guildmaster, of course! Hanguru is part of Hyeonak now, right?"
Jurim briefly glanced away from the screen to look at Hanguru before chuckling.
"You remember that word I showed you before? Can you read it now?"
"Hah!"
There it was again. A cruel and merciless question directed at a mere kindergarten student.
"Th-that, that one..."
Hanguru gulped.
Watching his eyes dart around helplessly, Jurim smirked.
"You're the youngest in Hyeonak now. Think you can handle it?"
At that moment, the car smoothly pulled away.
Feeling the worms in his chest set off fireworks again, Hanguru clutched his seatbelt tightly.
"Yeeeees!"
Jurim deliberately drove slowly as he continued speaking.
"But as a member of Hyeonak, there are rules you have to follow."
"Hanguru can follow all the rules!"
"Really?"
"Yeeees!"
"Alright, first rule—no transactions on Onion Market."
"Whuh?"
His voice cracked in shock.
"No matter how skilled you are, Hyeonak absolutely does not allow illegal transactions."
Deng—
A giant bell crashed down on his head.
He had been so confident that he could follow all the rules, but this one was impossible.
‘Onion Market = Money-Making = Becoming Rich = Mom and Dad’s Pride and Joy!’
But if he refused to give up Onion Market, Hyeonak might not accept him.
‘That’s not okay either!’
It was a brutal choice. His large eyes darted back and forth.
Hanguru, sweating profusely, struggled before carefully speaking up.
“Y-yangpa is... not allowed...?”
Jurim slowed the car as they approached a traffic jam, gradually bringing it to a stop.
He narrowed his eyes, watching as a kindergarten student hesitated over his attachment to black market deals.
Why is he so obsessed with Onion Market?
"Why not?"
"Because... I need to do business..."
Jurim exhaled slightly in relief. At least it wasn’t an attachment to crime itself.
"You can do business on the Hunter Market too. Still an issue?"
"But Hanguru can't use the Hunter Market."
So it was just because he couldn’t register as an official hunter? Jurim tapped his index finger against the steering wheel.
The orphanage director seemed unaware of Hanguru’s awakening, and with no adults around to help, registering as a hunter had probably been impossible.
‘It actually worked out for the best in the end.’
If an ordinary civilian had walked into the Hunter Registration Office with an S-rank kindergarten student, the chaos it would have caused was unimaginable.
"I'll take care of that for you. Once you're registered, you can use the Hunter Market anonymously."

Comments

Loading...