"Crunch, Crunch!"
"…"
"Gluck, gluck, Oof!"
Clang-
KangWoo's body trembled after finishing a pint of beer.
Just like how water seeped into the dry, drought-stricken ground, the beer spread throughout his body.
'Yes, it was this taste!
It was a flavor that made you nod.
Fried chicken and beer.
It was a combination that one couldn't even imagine in hell.
"Is it delicious?"
"Yes, it's the best."
"Hmm."
Han Seol-ah narrowed her eyes as she looked at KangWoo, who was frantically eating the chicken. She spoke with a bit of an offended voice tone.
"Is it better than my kimchi stew?"
She knew that being jealous because of something like that was ridiculous.
But she couldn't help but feel a bit jealous while watching him enjoy eating chicken like that.
"That…"
You could see the doubt in KangWoo's eyes.
Chicken and kimchi stew…
It wasn't an easy decision to make.
"I prefer Ms. Seol-ah's kimchi stew."
KangWoo answered after thinking about it for a while.
The chicken was delicious, but his love for kimchi stew was stronger.
"Hmm. R-really?"
After hearing his answer, she slightly blushed. Then, with a smirk on her face, she opened her mouth.
"I think Mr. KangWoo is a bit of a quirky person."
He’d looked like a violent beast while fighting against Han TaeHyun.
His usual appearance was cold and calm.
But while eating, he looked as pure as a kid.
She couldn't find a better word than “quirky” to describe him.
It was hard for her not to be interested in him.
"Mr. KangWoo… Do you have any friends or family?"
She thought that if she met people that knew KangWoo, she'd be able to hear more about him.
"…"
At her words, KangWoo took a sip of beer.
Tap-
"I don't have any."
"Yes?"
"I don't have friends or family."
"…"
He'd lived his whole life alone.
His parents had given him for adoption when he was still a baby. After coming out of the orphanage, he’d been busy working, so he hadn’t had time to make friends.
During those times, the only thing that’d motivated him to keep going on was the delicious food he ate from time to time.
He might have given up living a long time ago if it weren't for that.
"Then why were you at that E-rank gate—"
"One day…"
KangWoo cut off her words and looked at her with deep, sunken eyes.
"One day, I'll explain it to you."
There was no point in explaining his situation right then. Not only was she probably not going to believe him, but even if she did, he didn't want to tell her.
"Okay, understood…" Han Seol-ah said while smiling bitterly.
"I'm going to trust Mr. KangWoo."
"Thanks."
While nodding slightly, KangWoo took out an envelope and gave it to her.
"This…?"
"It's the money that was left after buying a smartphone. It should be approximately $3,000 USD."
"Why are you giving me this…"
"I'm staying at your house, so think of this as the rent."
"Th-that! I can't accept this."
Han Seol-ah shook her head.
He had saved her life. She couldn't accept money from him for rent.
"You've spent a lot of money because of the basic education. I know that your family’s situation isn't good."
"But…"
"Don't feel burdened by it. I'm also getting to eat delicious food every day. If you don't feel comfortable considering it as rent, think of it as the price for food ingredients."
Objectively speaking, Han Seol-ah's cooking skills were good.
It would be a huge loss for him if she couldn't show the full extent of her abilities because she didn't have money to buy ingredients.
"Mr. KangWoo, thank you…"
Han Seol-ah accepted the envelope with an expression that seemed like she was about to cry at any moment.
She was worried about their monthly living expenses, so that envelope was equivalent to rain in the middle of a drought.
"Fufu, tomorrow I'm going to buy better meat for the kimchi stew. It's going to be more delicious than before."
Han Seol-ah said it with a kind smile and put the envelope in her bag.
"Woah…"
The moment he heard the words “kimchi stew”, KangWoo's eyes shone.
KangWoo was moved by those words she'd said as nothing.
He clenched his fists while trembling.
'As expected, Ms. Seol-ah is an angel.'
Preparing kimchi stew every day?
It wasn't something that you could do if you weren't an angel.
'Let's spend the rest of our lives together, darling!'
A field of flowers was spread in KangWoo's mind.
Han Seol-ah had wings on her back and was smiling at him in that flower field.
Warm, steaming kimchi stews were floating around her.
An ironic scene of a demon being moved by imagining an angel and kimchi stew was happening at that moment.
If someone that knew KangWoo's identity saw what he was imagining, they would've been shocked and said it was a chaotic scene.
"Oh yeah, Ms. Seol-ah."
"Yes."
"Is there a D-rank gate around here?"
"Hmm… Yes, there's one," Han Seol-ah said while remembering.
"What monsters come out?"
"I haven't been there, but they said lizardman appear in it."
* * *
"Lizardmen, huh?"
It was a monster that often appeared in fantasy novels.
'I'll go there tomorrow.'
KangWoo kept talking while thinking that.
"Is there anything you know about them? Things like habits or weak points."
He had no intentions of relaxing just because they were D-rank monsters.
Being confident about your skills was a good thing, but being overly confident could bring you trouble.
When you become overly confident, carelessness becomes a sharp sword and cuts through your neck.
KangWoo had been able to kill countless demons because they'd underestimated him by considering him a weak human.
It didn't matter if she didn't know anything, but it was better to learn as much about the opponents as possible before hunting.
"The weakness of lizardmen is the fire. Also… They're very sensitive to sound."
"Sound?"
"Yes. The lizardmen have very bad sight. They use sound to notice the presence of opponents. Parties that hunt lizardmen usually move and kill them while making as little noise as possible."
"Interesting…"
It was useful information.
'And their weakness is fire?'
KangWoo thought of one of the Authorities he was now able to use thanks to his available demonic energy increasing.
'Hunting is going to be easy.'
He smiled while thinking about getting enough mana stones that would allow him to increase his player ranking.
"Mr. KangWoo, don't you have to buy equipment like armors or weapons?"
Han Seol-ah tilted her head while looking at KangWoo, who she thought was a high-level player, but his equipment was worse than a newbie.
"I don't feel the need for them at the moment."
He had the Authority of the Blade that he could use as a weapon. On top of that, he had tens of different defensive Authorities he could also use.
If he bought equipment, the amount of demonic energy he used would go down, so he would be able to hunt more efficiently. But for the moment, he wasn't doing any difficult hunting that required him to buy equipment.
'I can always buy equipment later on.'
With the amount of money players earned, he would probably soon be able to live comfortably.
He could always buy equipment once he reached that point.
The most important thing at the moment was leveling up.
'I need to unlock the 3rd awakening and check if the Ten Thousand Demon Core seal is getting weaker.'
From what he’d read, it took other players between two to three months before they were able to unlock the third awakening, and people with lower-ranking attributes often needed up to six months. But that didn't apply to KangWoo.
He had a power that made it that it was impossible to compare him with other players that were at his level.
'It seems like I'm going to eat lizard tomorrow.'
KangWoo's eyes shone while he was eating chicken.
"Hmm…"
"Did something happen?"
"No, I was wondering what roast lizard tastes like."
"…?"
Did they say that consciousness goes with the flow?
'Now I really want to eat it.'
KangWoo emptied the beer while thinking that he should cut and bring a lizard's tail tomorrow.
"One more pint, please!"
* * *
"Mrs. KangWoo, good luck today."
"Thanks. Ms. Seol-ha too. Good luck on the education."
"Fufu. Yes. I want to achieve the 2nd awakening as fast as possible so I can work as a reliable player like you!"
She answered with a firm voice and clenched her fists. Her eyes were shining.
'She's definitely an angel.'
KangWoo was looking at her with a smile. He turned around after a little while.
"Then should I get going?"
KangWoo showed the certificate he had received from the mana stone exchange center and asked for his ranking to be improved.
After clearing out the monster hideout alone the previous, his rank had gone up by one. In just a day, he had become a D-ranking player.
Mumble-
"We're looking for a healer who has completed the 2nd awakening! Only C-rank attribute or up!"
"Get to the 3rd awakening safely! We offer a bus party! The price is $1,300 USD per hour!"
"I'm a rogue! Please, let me join your party! I'm even willing to shut up and put on the bandage!!"
There were a lot more people compared to the E-rank one in fron of the D-rank gate.
Players who had completed the basic education course immediately received a D-rank, so that's why they went straight to the D-rank gate after completing the basic education.
Of course, it was hard for people who had just unlocked the 2nd awakening to hunt in a D-rank gate.
Leaving the rankings aside, most had little to no battle experience.
That's why many people there offered the 'bus party' service.
KangWoo, who wasn't interested in those people, just ignored everyone.
'Someone just take that rogue.'
KangWoo's attention was focused on the young man shouting for someone to let him join their party.
He looked at him with pitiful eyes, but he turned around.
He had no reason nor obligation to help the young man.
"Excuse me."
He was about to enter the gate after finishing the player ID examination when someone called him.
KangWoo turned his head around toward where he’d heard the voice.
The person who had called him was a young man with a short sword.
Behind him, there were four other people who seemed to be his party members.
'Are these guys like TaeSoo?'
KangWoo opened his mouth while thinking about the guy he'd seen the day before.
"Yes, what do you need?"
"Judging by your equipment, you seem to be a newbie. Don't you want to join our bus party?"
The young man with acne on his face asked with a smile.
"Oppa, we're going to level you up safely~."
A girl who was quite pretty spoke to him while winking.
If he'd met them the first time he arrived on Earth, he might have mindlessly followed them without thinking, but right then, he was living with a girl that looked like a model called Han Seol-ah.
The words of a woman like that couldn't move him anymore.
"I'm not interested."
"Ah, wait!"
KangWoo answered coldly and entered the gate.
The young man extended his hand and tried to grab KangWoo. As KangWoo entered the gate, he aggressively frowned.
"What an asshole…"
The young man's eyes fiercely shone as he looked towards the gate.
