Although everyone felt like they'd struck a good deal, how much each side actually gained was another matter.
Sung Jinwoo was very upfront about the fact that he couldn't stay in the Underworld for long periods of time—not only because his family depended on him, but more importantly, because he still needed to make money.
Castorice, however, didn't really mind.
Amber was a long-lived being who had already lived for over a thousand years.
To her, a single human life, while still not short, wasn't all that long either.
Waiting a century wasn't a problem. So before Sung Jinwoo officially became a resident of the Underworld, she allowed him to simply clock in for four hours a day there.
Sung Jinwoo hadn't expected her to be this easygoing. He wasn't the greedy type, so he nodded and agreed without hesitation.
After settling the matter of his future work arrangement, Sung Jinwoo shifted the topic to something else.
"Castorice-ssi, have you ever heard of a hunter who can keep growing stronger indefinitely?"
"In this world, no," Castorice replied calmly.
"Because in this world, human magic power is forcibly infused up to the maximum they can endure."
She said it lightly, but the information packed into that single sentence stunned Sung Jinwoo.
This world? Forcibly infused to the limit? Other worlds? Who was doing the infusing?
No—if dungeons were considered other worlds, that could sort of explain it, but… he could tell. The girl in front of him definitely didn't mean it that way.
"I have a system," Sung Jinwoo said.
"Every day it gives me training quests and rewards me with points that increase my physical abilities. And there's also a shop—I can exchange points for items and weapons."
He wasn't the type to worry about saving the world. He just wanted to live his own life well. Even though her words carried massive implications, he didn't press further or overthink it.
"…"
Castorice nearly failed to catch her breath.
You have a system too?
Instinctively, she assumed his system was some kind of branch system under the main system the core consciousness had mentioned before.
But on second thought, if that were really the case, there was no way it would allow its host to chat with her so peacefully.
Come to think of it, system-type protagonists weren't exactly rare. So… was Sung Jinwoo actually the protagonist of this world?
A glint of inquiry flashed through Castorice's eyes before she shook her head.
"I've never heard of such an existence."
"I see…" Sung Jinwoo was a little disappointed, but he still wasn't ready to give up.
"Then what about the double dungeon from before? Do you remember it? I only got this system after coming out of there."
"I'm sorry. I don't know much about that either," Castorice said, shaking her head again.
"If I'm not mistaken, the system you mentioned is probably inside your body, not attached to your soul. I could check it by touching your body, but…"
"But I'd die if you did that," Sung Jinwoo sighed. He quickly put it out of his mind and asked another question instead.
"If one day I die because of this system, could you help pass a message to my family?"
"Hm…"
Hearing that, Castorice realized the man in front of her didn't truly trust the system inside him. He was even wary of it.
If they were unrelated, she wouldn't have cared much. But considering he was now technically working for her—and that she was quite curious about the system herself—she said, "You don't need to worry about that."
"What?" Sung Jinwoo froze, not understanding what she meant.
"Hunter Sung, have you forgotten?" Castorice smiled. "I am the administrator of the River of Souls."
"Ah…? Wait—don't tell me!?"
This time, Sung Jinwoo really couldn't keep it together.
Before, Castorice had already revealed plenty of things he couldn't understand, powers he'd never even heard of. But without seeing them firsthand, none of it felt real.
This was different.
When it came to this, no one could stay calm.
"Castorice-ssi… can you revive the dead?"
"You could call it my selfishness," she said.
"I'm also curious about the system you mentioned. But forcibly investigating it would undoubtedly cost you your life. So… consider this the price I pay for my own hypocrisy."
She wanted to investigate it, but if she did, Sung Jinwoo would die. That meant she'd have to wait until after his death—but doing that would be a desecration, whether to the dead or the corpse.
No amount of compensation afterward would erase that act.
"How is that hypocrisy?" Sung Jinwoo didn't care about any of that. All he felt was a deep sense of relief. The smile on his face became genuinely sincere.
"If there were more of this kind of hypocrisy in the world, I'd gladly accept all of it."
This was huge. Absolutely huge. With this, he had nothing to worry about anymore.
"I've already given Hunter Sung the method and authority to enter the Underworld. This place is your trial, so I won't disturb you any further," Castorice said as she stood up.
Since he was the type to grow stronger by fighting monsters, there was no need for her to stay and compete with him for kills.
Based on her investigation of this dungeon, Sung Jinwoo wouldn't be in danger. And even if he really couldn't handle it, he could always retreat to the Underworld.
Though if it came to that, she would be a little disappointed.
"Alright. I won't see you off," Sung Jinwoo said, waving his hand.
Neither of them cared for empty pleasantries. After a brief farewell, Castorice disappeared from the spot.
When she emerged from the dungeon again, she noticed several people at the entrance still frozen in the same poses as before.
That wasn't surprising. When she'd entered the Red Gate earlier, she'd sensed that the flow of time inside was different from the outside.
Depending on the Gate's rank, the disparity could grow even larger. She'd stayed inside for about an hour, but only a few minutes had passed outside.
"C-Castorice-ssi… Hunter…"
The surrounding hunters immediately put on ingratiating expressions when they saw her.
"There's no need to worry. Hunter Sung and Hunter Yoo can handle the situation inside," Castorice said, nodding to them.
Then she leapt into the air once more, riding the undead dragon back to her residence.
It was a house assigned to her when her ID card was generated—a one-hundred-square-meter apartment with two bedrooms and a living room, located on the edge of downtown. Not too remote.
But… university, huh.
When she'd set up her background, she'd gone with a reclusive personality that wouldn't attract much attention.
But once her identity as an S-rank hunter was exposed, it would inevitably draw curiosity and scrutiny. By then, it'd be too late to hide.
Lying on her bed, Castorice thought it over and decided to inform the Hunter Association about the special nature of her abilities.
But as soon as she opened her phone, she was greeted by a flood of unread messages.
Most of them were from Han Song-Yi. After all, they'd exchanged numbers. Her messages were mostly about how dangerous today had been and heartfelt thanks for being saved.
Castorice patiently comforted her for a while before checking the other messages.
Unknown Sender: Hunter Castorice! Although you've already submitted your credentials, please do not enter dungeons without authorization!
Unknown Sender: I forgot to mention—only hunters who are registered with the Association and have a team or guild are allowed to enter dungeons. Before registration, you must also complete an ability assessment!
Uh…
Castorice really hadn't expected that. She'd thought that once her magic power was measured, that was it.
She still needed an ability test? No one had told her that…
Could it be… that in this world, this was common sense? Like 'apples are red'?
Thinking that, Castorice felt a little awkward.
In that case… it kind of looked like she'd broken the rules… didn't it?
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.