Hunters Keep Coming To My House - Chapter 8

Chapter 8

[External reinforcement of the house is in progress, approximately 40% completed. 

Door: +4

Exterior wall: +4

Windows: +4

Roof: +4. 

The proficiency of the skill <Target of House Reinforcement!> has increased from 0% to 10%. 

An event in recognition of your efforts! 

When you shout the ‘Activate Skill’ command, the reinforcement probability increases by 10% for about 30 minutes (not applicable for +5 or higher). 

Now, strive even more for the success of the quest!]

Looking at the system window floating at the top of my field of vision, I grinned broadly. 

Despite being inside the gate, I had lost track of time and focused on renovating the house for about six hours, but it didn’t bother me.

After all, if it were my mana power, I would have upgraded only one door and left.

It wasn’t a joke, it was the truth. 

Using both the skills <Upgrade Anything> and <Target of House Reinforcement!> simultaneously drained mana power at an alarming rate. Of course, it was a matter since using two skills simultaneously was quite challenging even for a hunter skilled in those skills.

Moreover, the skill <Upgrade Anything> was a skill that raised the success rate to 66.66%, which could be seen as both a good and bad skill. It wasn’t easy to have a success rate higher than half, but…

‘If I were lucky, my house wouldn’t have fallen into the gate in the first place.’

If I were really lucky, such a thing wouldn’t have happened in the first place. 

Using the house accessory reinforcement skill called <Target of House Reinforcement!> while increasing the probability using <Upgrade Anything> somewhat yielded decent results. 

Why?

Because <Target of House Reinforcement!> had different reinforcement probabilities depending on proficiency. When using the skill for the first time, the proficiency was 1%, so there was a high chance of failure even if the skill was used.

So, raising the success rate with <Upgrade Anything> was essential. Of course, I didn’t know this fact from the beginning.

‘It took about 10 minutes of using the skill to realize.’

No matter how much I shouted <Upgrade Anything>, only mana power was consumed, and I found out when tearing my hair out that there was no success window popping up.

[This is already the 10th failure!

A special tip for Seo Yeon-oh!

<Upgrade Anything> is a skill that raises the success rate of any skill to 66.66%!

Keep in mind that it only increases the success rate!]

The system kindly informed me of this, so following the advice, I used both skills simultaneously, allowing me to quickly complete the house renovation. 

Thanks to that, I reinforced everything, from the door and exterior wall to the windows and roof, all the way to +4. 

Amazingly, as soon as I reached +4, failures continued to occur.

Perhaps the proficiency was lacking, so even with the auxiliary skill, success did not appear. Still, +4 was a splendid result. Of course, Han Seung-hoo’s mana power was a huge help.

‘Han Seung-hoo’s mana power also played a role in following my commands.’

I still don’t understand why I can use someone else’s mana power as if it were my own. 

It was something I instinctively knew from the moment of awakening, like a newborn calf immediately being able to walk. Someone mentioned that my mana power naturally assimilates well with others. 

Using it so frequently eventually turned it into a skill.

‘Skills are said to emerge based on individual characteristics.’

Well, I guess so. Thanks to this, I made good use of it as a side job.

‘It’s not an ability limited to humans…’

It even applied to mana stones. By purchasing reasonably low-grade mana stones and infusing my mana power, they became stones one or two grades higher. Selling them brought in quite a substantial income. 

However, I didn’t engage in transactions frequently to avoid being caught. I was afraid that if I were exposed, criminal organizations might come to kidnap me.

Anyway, another reason I could enter more gates than hunters of the same level was because of this.

‘The ability to use someone else’s mana power also means giving mana power to others.’

Still, I never expected to handle Han Seung-hoo’s mana power as my own during my lifetime. Even better, the quantity and quality allowed me to use the skill more efficiently.

Han Seung-hoo, who had entered the house, wore quite a tired expression. Although he tried to hide it thoroughly from me, he seemed to be avoiding eye contact.

Looking at Han Seung-hoo like that, I couldn’t help but display a bright smile. Thanks to that, I felt less tired myself.

“Thank you for today. Thanks to you, Mr. Han Seung-hoo, I feel a bit relieved and can sleep well.”

“…Oh, I just stood there quietly.”

“It was easy because you created a shield for me.”

“…I just did what needed to be done.”

“Since you’re tired today, go inside and rest. I’ll call you when it’s time for dinner.”

“…Alright, then I’ll rest for a bit.”

After nodding briefly, Han Seung-hoo walked toward the guest room. I thought we might have more conversation to get closer, but he seemed even more tired than I expected.

“S-levels get tired too, huh?”

I raised my arms above my head and stretched. 

It felt like my body had stiffened from staying tense for too long. My neck, shoulders, waist, legs – there wasn’t a part of me that didn’t feel sore. I thumped my waist with a fist and took a long breath.

“Well, maybe I’ll rest a bit too…”

I had done some reinforcement, and with Han Seung-hoo around, there shouldn’t have been an incident like the door breaking down before. I took a step toward my room to take a short break.

“…I didn’t clean?”

I glanced at the vacuum cleaner, an expensive one I had bought, placed next to the room. No matter how many things happened, if I didn’t run the vacuum cleaner daily, dust tended to accumulate. 

I swallowed hard. Even though my body felt sore, it seemed like if I didn’t clean today, I would keep putting it off tomorrow. Despite the muscle pain, today was the first day in my own house. So, I should be diligent with household chores.

“…I should, right?”

I guess…?

As I made up my mind to clean up, I could see the dust and debris that Han Seung-hoo had brought with him when he broke down the door.

“Tomorrow, I’ll make him clean up.”

He’s not paying rent, eh? He’s not paying rent. Well, I used mana power instead.…

Making up my mind, I reached for the vacuum cleaner. Holding the vacuum cleaner that I had just bought, I turned it on.

Vroom!

The vacuum cleaner made a loud noise. As a newly opened vacuum cleaner, its suction power was excellent. It was cleaning very thoroughly, leaving no trace of dust behind.

Yeah, this is the taste of spending money. I considered the cost-performance for everything else, but for the vacuum cleaner, it was worth spending the money.

I sang a tune while energetically moving around every nook and cranny of the house. I went through the kitchen, lightly checked my room, and then struggled to carry the vacuum cleaner upstairs for cleaning. 

“Hmm, all done. Oh, it’s a bit regrettable that I can’t ventilate properly.”

Of course, even though monsters couldn’t enter my house, I hesitated to open the window. Although Han Seung-hoo had chased away monsters from the yard earlier, there was always the uncertainty of when they might return. 

Moreover, I couldn’t rule out the possibility of a hunter sneaking in, not just monsters.

‘Well… I shouldn’t be careless; there’s too much at stake.’

I had to succeed in the quest, after all. I plugged the vacuum cleaner back in its place and surveyed the now spotless house.

Just as I was content with the cleanliness, there was a knock on the door. Very distinct.

It was undoubtedly the sound of knocking. It was not the sound of monsters colliding with the exterior wall. I could be certain of that. 

Why? 

‘…There’s no presence.’

Neither mana power nor any indication was felt, as if intentionally concealed. For a living being, mana power and presence should naturally be perceptible.

Moreover, if it was a monster making the sound, the system would have notified me, and Han Seung-hoo would have noticed it faster than anyone else.

So, the owner of this knock was skilled enough to remain unnoticed even by Han Seung-hoo. 

I sighed. Somehow, the identity of the unexpected visitor seemed suspicious.

Still, this uninvited guest seemed to have manners. They concealed their presence but made the knock announcing their visit.

‘Wait a minute, normally when someone visits a house, knocking is normal, right…’

I shook my head vigorously for a moment. I had already become accustomed to abnormal things in just half a day spent in this place with unusual occurrences. 

I sighed again as if to expel the weariness and headed to the front door where the knocking had occurred.

“…No wonder things were going well.”

Yeah, if things are going well, it’s not me…

I turned my gaze in the direction where the sound came from. In my hand, I held a dagger I had taken out of the inventory.

Ready to attack at any moment, I cautiously peeked outside through the hole in the front door. But…

“…There’s nothing there.”

Thinking that I might have missed something, I searched every nook and cranny, but there was not a shadow of a person, let alone a living being.

I closed my eyes tightly, opened them again, and reexamined, but the result was the same. Could I have heard auditory hallucinations?

The fact that someone was coming had quietly stressed me out, and I wondered if I had heard nonexistent knocking sounds.

Given the possibility, I took a deep breath and put the dagger back into the inventory. As I was about to pass through the living room to enter my room…

Knock, knock.

The knocking sound echoed again. This time, it sounded closer than I had thought. I instinctively turned my head towards the source and quickly found the cause.

A black silhouette, wrapped tightly in black cloth, was staring at me through the living room window, emitting a knocking sound.