Hunters Keep Coming To My House - Chapter 50
Chapter 50
No, what is this…
I froze in that spot. It was because too much had been accepted beyond the line my mind could handle right now. It was a result that was much more bewildering than I had expected.
Due to this, Cha Jae-joon was greatly perplexed, his eyes widening in astonishment.
“Ms. Yeon-oh, are you okay? Ms. Yeon-oh, are you all right? What on earth did the system do?”
“……”
“Excuse me? Ms. Homeowner?”
Ms. Yeon-oh…
I could barely regain my composure just before Cha Jae-joon was about to burst into tears. More accurately, I was not regaining composure, but rather, I deemed it appropriate to grasp my sanity, thinking that I needed some time alone to organize the situation.
“Sorry, but could you give me a moment?”
“Yes?”
“I have something I need to check right now. It’s a bit urgent…”
“Oh, it seems like the system did something strange. I often experience such things, so I can empathize. Hurry and resolve it. I’ll tidy up the kitchen and play with Ellie Kim and Arvani in the yard.”
“…Please make sure not to mess up the house.”
“Of course. Just trust me!”
Cha Jae-joon pounded his chest twice with a fist, his expression showing no trust at all. Though I felt like isolating each of them, my situation was urgent, so I endured it for now.
“Then, I’ll leave it to you.”
After entrusting everything to him, I hastily rushed into my room. Then, I opened the problematic quest window once again.
“Let’s start by reading the most noticeable one.”
[The path to becoming a ‘Perfect Homeowner’ is right here!
A quest has been generated!
?Raise the proficiency of <Save Water and Electricity! (0%)> to a minimum of 50%.
? Raise the proficiency of <Cleanliness is Next to Godliness! (0%)> to a minimum of 60%. Success Reward: Free electricity and water, a house that doesn’t require cleaning.
Failure Consequence: Permanently deduct all stats by 100.]
“…It’s not just one quest, is it?”
This was deception. Pretending to be just one quest but ultimately forcing me to achieve two cunning quests.
It didn’t give me an easy quest, despite its outward kindness.
Like the nightmare of upgrading everything in the house during the <Upgrade Everything> quest.
Even so, I can’t just take a knife to the system right now… It’s just unfair to me.
Leaving aside the fact that the system’s condition becomes increasingly complicated over time…
What the system wants from me right now is…
“Raise the proficiency of <Cleanliness is Next to Godliness! (0%)> and <Save Water and Electricity! (0%)>?”
…No, it shouldn’t need an explanation of how to raise them!
Suppressing the rising anger inside me, I carefully read the quest window again. It was to check if I had missed anything.
“This is outrageous.”
Where on earth does someone take water and electricity bills with mana?
And not being able to clean for more than two days? Does that result in a decrease in stamina?
Are you serious, system?
The difficulty level was extremely high.
Especially for someone like me, a low-level hunter for whom every stat point was precious.
“I’ve been sweating blood to raise my stats, and this darn system is draining me like a flea’s liver. Oh…”
Oh, my foundation is completely falling apart.
It’s not a joke; it is falling apart.
I started losing 50 mana every day as maintenance fees. Moreover, if the quest fails, all stats are deducted by 100 each.
…I’ve just barely surpassed 100, and now it’s all being taken away?
Really… the system is bad… you.
“But the success reward is quite amazing, though.”
A lifetime of free electricity and water, and the reward I liked the most was “a house that doesn’t need cleaning.”
“So, does that mean the house will clean itself even if I mess up the room? It feels like becoming a homeowner who can do everything with just a snap of fingers…”
But then what’s the point… I haven’t succeeded yet.
Sigh. A sigh escaped involuntarily.
Still, if I clean once a day, the proficiency will increase by 5% each time, so I could easily reach the minimum proficiency of 60% needed for the quest in just 12 days.
Considering bathroom cleaning once within that period was acceptable, it wasn’t a bad deal.
“The problem is… <Save Water and Electricity! (0%)>, right?”
How do I increase proficiency for this one?
If I reduce water and electricity usage now, will proficiency go up? Or maybe… unplugging the cords of unused appliances as seen in electricity-saving campaigns, would work?
For water… should I cut down on shower time…?
“Or maybe just clean and then leave the house empty, using water and electricity elsewhere.”
Then it should almost converge to zero.
This is indeed the most intuitive method, but the question is whether it will increase the proficiency of <Save Water and Electricity! (0%)>.
It’s not about using skills to save water and electricity.
Judging from my experiences dealing with the system so far, what this miserable system wants is not going to be a simple solution.
Hmm… my dilemma only deepened.
“Can’t the system check the usage of water and electricity?”
Let me dig into it…
I started fiddling with the system window. Despite checking major windows like the status, stats, and titles, I didn’t find any significant discoveries.
“…Is it really not there?”
Maybe if I press on the detailed description of the skill, it will show up?
As this thought crossed my mind, I moved my hand and pressed on the detailed view of the <Save Water and Electricity! (0%)> skill.
Then.
[<Save Water and Electricity! (0%)>
?Helps conserve water and electricity within the safety zone.
?Enables control over water and electricity within the safety zone.
Current water usage: 200/100
Current electricity usage: 250/100
Currently overspending on water and electricity within the safety zone.]
Oh.
Oh….
Where on earth am I overspending?
I found it perplexing.
Honestly, is there any reason to use a lot of water and electricity in a house where I live alone? I barely use water except when washing and doing dishes, and I don’t use any heating or cooling devices due to the dungeon’s mild weather.
It felt like the system was measuring things strangely, just assuming I use less, and then demanding more mana from me as if I’m not using enough.
“…Ugh, it’s my fault for having a house in the gate.”
Yeah, I’m the one living here.
I grabbed my head and rolled around on the bed. I had to do something like this; otherwise, it felt like my insides would explode.
Gosh, seriously.
After venting my frustration by rolling around for a while, my mind calmed down a bit. I felt like I could accept all of this as a trial in a more tranquil manner.
So, I opened the door and slowly walked into the living room.
At the same time,
“…What are you all doing there?”
I could see two people kneeling and sitting toward my room and a hatchling.
“We waited quietly because Ms. Yeon-oh didn’t come out!”
“Yeah! I waited too! Arvani is a good boy!”
Kyu!
Arvani seemed to consider this part of the game as well, as he quickly flapped his little wings and patted the ground with his front paws as if urging me to take my place.
“…I’m sorry for making you worry. And please, get up. I feel bad as if I did something wrong.”
“Did something wrong? Beez?”
“…There’s something like that, Ellie Kim.”
“Ooh. Anyway, when are we going on our picnic? Now? Let’s go quickly! I want to stretch my body! I want to play with Yeon-oh!”
Even though Ellie Kim looked a bit down for a moment, she suddenly stood up and approached me cheerfully. She grabbed my hand, urging me to come out quickly, and started humming a song.
Arvani also ran towards me joining in with his song. I wondered how well they played together in the yard…
“We’re going now. Mr. Cha Jae-joon, please get ready. Do you need anything, Ellie Kim?”
“Oh, I’m good to go just like this. Everything is in my inventory! I’m versatile!”
“Alright, let’s leave in 5 minutes then.”
I thought it would be good to cool my head and think again. If I stayed in this damn house, the anger about the quests would build up, and I felt like I might have to confront the system again.
So, after 5 minutes.
We all gathered in front of the ‘door leading to reality’ after finishing our preparations.
“Mr. Cha Jae-joon, do you know how to use the gate?”
“Yes, I just think of the desired location and open the gate, right?”
I nodded in agreement. Arvani in my arms also responded with a Kyu! as if giving him approval.
Once permission was granted, Cha Jae-joon slowly began to open the front door.
And a bright light unfolded before us.