Ning's eyes narrowed as he read the situation. "What's wrong with grandmother?" he asked.
"She's sick," Hi-Ah said. "She's currently in the hospital under the care of the doctors."
Ning's face showed a bit of surprise as well as worry. "Is she okay? Is she hurt?" he asked.
"She's not fine, or she wouldn't be in the hospital," his uncle said. "But she's being taken care of and that's all that matters."
"What happened to her? Some sort of disease? Or maybe some accident?" Ning asked.
"No, she's just poisoned, like everyone else," Hi-Ah said.
"Sorry, poisoned?" Ning asked. "How long has she been poisoned?"
"For 3 years now," Hi-Ah said.
"THREE?!" Ning was surprised. "She's been poisoned for 3 years and they haven't treated her yet?"
"How do you expect someone to just treat an old lady with Mana poisoning?" Hi-Ah asked.
"Mana poisoning?" he had never heard of that before. So, he quickly asked the system for some information.
<Mana in the air accumulates in everyone's body. Those who can make use of it gain powers, and those who can't end up with a body that doesn't function as well. In severe cases, they fall into a coma, unable to wake up unless treated.>
"Ah, she's mana poisoned huh?" he said. He asked the system if he could treat her, and was surprised to hear he couldn't.
He could for a short time, but it was impossible to stop the poisoning from returning again. To heal one completely, one needed to find a fruit that grew in the most treacherous of dungeons.
"Is there any dungeon around here that has the fruit that can heal her?" Ning asked.
"Nephew, you do not need to worry about it, this little girl will get the antidote in no time," his Uncle said.
"I'm already an A-rank, or at least I will be today. I will try hard and gather some more mana stones. After I make enough, I will gather S-rank's worth of mana stones and become S-ranked."
"Once that happens, I can go into the dungeons where the fruit grows," Hi-Ah said.
"I see," Ning said. "Still, won't it take a long time?"
"What else can I do?" the girl asked and shook her head.
"Don't think about that for now, Nephew. It's early in the morning, so you must not have eaten yet. Let me make you some breakfast," his uncle said. "Hi-Ah, take care of the cleaning."
"Yes, father," she said and quickly got to work. Ning waited around for the girl to be done before sitting by the table.
"By the way, I wanted to ask. Your hair, is it natural, or did you dye it?" Ning asked.
"I dyed it of course," Hi-Ah said. "I would've loved to have my hair change colors after awakening, but I suppose I'm not so lucky."
"I see. Also, if you don't mind me asking, does a B-Rank hunter not make much money?" he asked.
"We do make enough," she said. "But I need to take care of grandmother, so I end up not spending most of the mana stones I get from a dungeon hunt."
"I see," Ning said. "I would love to enter one of these dungeons."
"Are you a hunter?" she asked.
"Umm… I am awakened, but I'm not officially a hunter," Ning said. 'I am, right?' he asked.
<yes, but your case is unique>
'Unique? Unique how?' Ning asked.
While Ning started talking with his system, Hi-Ah brought out her phone to try and converse with White Depth Field.
Unfortunately for her, however, none of the apps on her phone could translate what White Depth Field would say.
In the end, Ning had to intervene and help translate. Tae Hi-Ah was practically infatuated with White Depth Field's incredible look and physique, so much so that Ning had to tell her that he was already married.
When she learned that, she was very disappointed.
His uncle returned with some breakfast a few minutes later and they ate together as they talked.
His uncle asked various different questions like where he was staying and what he did for work. Ning remained as vague as possible but made it sound like he was looking for some new opportunities at the moment.
"Oh, and how long will you be staying in Korea?" he asked.
"As long as I need to," Ning said. "I don't have any plans of staying in any specific place anyway."
"Oh, then you must stay in South Korea," his uncle said. "You can do that right?"
"Umm… sure," Ning said. "I don't see why not. I have some small business to take care of away from here, but once I return, I can think about staying."
"Oh, what sort of business?" Hi-Ah asked.
"I need to go get my wife," Ning said.
"Oh, you're married?" she asked.
"Master, you're married too?" White Depth Field looked at him with surprise.
"Oh, didn't I tell you yet?" Ning looked at White Depth Field before turning back around.
"Yes, I'm married. She's foreign, so she's in her country at the moment. I will have to go get her," Ning said.
"Oh, a foreign wife, huh? You really did quite good for yourself, nephew. Your parents would certainly be proud," his uncle said.
They talked for a while longer before Hi-Ah stood up to go get dressed. She was to become an A-rank today, so she was very excited.
Ning wanted to see how that worked as well.
"Cousin, can I come with you as well? I want to see how the ranking system works," Ning said after Hi-Ah walked out after being dressed.
She was dressed in an official governmental outfit with a black suit and white shirt underneath. Her bright red hair contrasted with her outfit, giving her a hint of uniqueness that would help her stand out even in a crowd.
She looked toward Ning after hearing his question. "Umm… I don't think you're allowed to go in there just because you want to," she said.
"You can't even wait around there?' Ning asked.
"No, you can do that," she said. "But the actual testing happens way inside where the regular folks aren't allowed. Even other hunters aren't allowed unless you're there to get tested."
"Oh," Ning thought. "Then I can go in if I was to get tested too?"
She looked at him with a weird expression. "You want to get tested?" she asked.
"Yes," Ning said. "I've never officially become a hunter, so I'm also quite interested in seeing how it all goes."
"Umm… okay, I guess," she said.
"Do you have a car? We can go in mine," Ning said.
"Sure, I don't have one so that is easier for me," Hi-Ah said.
"Let us go then," Ning said and stood up. "Uncle, I will see you later. White, let's go."
"Yes, master," White Depth Field stood up and walked out of the house. They then got into the car with Ning driving it and his cousin sitting next to him.
White sat in the back. As for Saphandra, she was still hiding inside Ning's clothes.
Once they were all in, Ning started the car and they were all on their way.
