Chapter 132

The Hunter of the Other World Who Is Being Misunderstood

A few days later, Gate Star’s anniversary celebration was just around the corner.

Naturally, all the necessary preparations had been completed in the meantime. The more complicated matters, such as visas and other formalities, had been handled entirely by the Korean Magic Tower.

‘The Korean Magic Tower, huh.’

With an overseas trip ahead of me, a question suddenly occurred to me.

Why, of all possible names, was the guild called the Korean Magic Tower?

“Do they have branches overseas?”

To satisfy my curiosity, I searched the internet. The explanation, however, turned out to be surprisingly trivial.

[Q. Why is it called the Korean Magic Tower?]

[A. When the guild system was first introduced, someone registered a number of desirable guild names at random, much like claiming usernames in a game. That was how the name “Magic Tower” was taken.

Since the person demanded an outrageous sum in exchange for transferring the name, the guild ultimately registered itself as the “Korean Magic Tower” instead.]

To think someone had deliberately provoked a curse sorceress like that. By now, the name thief was probably suffering from some inexplicable streak of misfortune.

‘Poor bastard.’

In any case, with my curiosity satisfied, I headed for the meeting place.

I arrived early and waited for a while. Before long, Esther appeared at the airport.

“Huh? Isn’t that an S-rank Hunter over there?”

“What? Where?”

“Over there. Wait, isn’t Hunter Kim Kiryeo there too?”

Since so few people ever recognized me, I had assumed that people on this planet simply paid little attention to those around them.

But judging from their reactions now, perhaps the real reason my surroundings had always been so quiet was simply that my magical power was too low to attract notice.

‘My eyes are starting to water...’

While the crowd’s attention settled on me, Esther approached from beyond them and waved.

“Kiryeo-ssi! You arrived early! I’m sorry to have kept you waiting. Shall we begin the procedures right away?”

“Yes.”

They must have noticed that I was preparing to leave the country without a trace of hesitation.

I had already reported my trip to the United States in accordance with the [Knight’s Oath]. Ever since the incident involving the Rakshasa Temple, Kang Changho had seemed largely indifferent to where I went.

Of course, I could roughly guess why.

It might have been little more than a bluff, but officially, I was still an S-rank Hunter.

‘Under normal circumstances, an S-rank isn’t someone who can easily go somewhere and get himself killed.’

It was certainly convenient that my stalker’s interest had waned, but without Kang Changho watching me, I also felt strangely uneasy.

– You’re suddenly going to the United States? I have several important appointments this week, so it’ll probably be difficult for me to come along. Sorry, but could you attend the party without me? If you’re with Esther, there shouldn’t be anything to worry about anyway.

I briefly recalled my conversation with Kang Changho.

Still, his schedule would not remain busy forever.

Pushing the thought aside, I picked up my suitcase and hurried after the curse sorceress.

***

An airplane.

It was fascinating that a mass of metal weighing nearly one hundred and seventy tons could soar through the sky.

But that was not the only surprise awaiting me today.

“This is a translator?”

After we completed the immigration procedures, Seo Esther handed the device to Kiryeo, who stood beside her.

“It’s the newest model. I wanted one so badly that I ordered it directly from the manufacturer, and fortunately, it arrived just in time.”

The device resembled a pair of bone-conduction earphones. It was black, with a thin wire connecting it to an external unit roughly the size of a palm.

“You just place the earpiece over your ear like this... Ah, and then whatever foreign language the other person speaks will automatically be translated for you. There’s a slight delay, though.”

“I see.”

“And if you press this button, it can translate what you say into English as well!”

“Wow.”

“As expected, you really have to acknowledge Pixy’s technological prowess~”

Click.

Kiryeo spent some time turning the translator over in his hands. Eventually, unable to suppress a question that had been bothering him for a while, he spoke.

“Um... What exactly does a company called Pixy do?”

Esther’s eyes widened.

“What? P-Pixy? Well, they mainly manufacture equipment for Hunters.”

“Ah.”

“Awakening testers, analyzers, and so on. These days, practically every Hunter-related device contains some form of their technology.”

More precisely, they were engineers who had discovered methods of utilizing magic stones.

Esther tilted her head and continued.

“But did you know? Most people don’t realize this, but Pixy originally began as a game-development company.”

“Games?”

“Their title [SOM] was quite famous... Though that isn’t the important part.”

Esther’s voice brightened as the conversation turned to one of her favorite hobbies.

“You know the holographic displays used by analyzers, don’t you? Have you ever wondered where that technology came from? Surprisingly, it was originally developed for video games.”

[Description: No gate information available.]

Many of the devices used by Hunters displayed text in midair. Apparently, the technology had originated from attempts to create more immersive games.

“But when the Dungeon Shock occurred, Pixy Glass technology unexpectedly became incredibly useful.”

“Hmm.”

“It could even display information windows for monsters that suddenly appeared, almost like creatures in a game. Having access to that information made an enormous difference.”

In other words, technology originally intended to display a game’s interface had ended up aiding Hunters in the real world.

“That’s why so much of the terminology we use overlaps with gaming culture.”

Pixy’s greatest strength lay in identification and classification.

Using its technological expertise, the company measured and analyzed previously unknown phenomena. It had ultimately been the first organization to label those phenomena as “magic.”

“Games are normally designed to be intuitive so that a wide range of people can enjoy them, right? That’s why the concepts and terminology Pixy created for gates became naturally embedded in society...”

Esther, who had been praising Pixy with great enthusiasm, suddenly frowned.

Her expression resembled that of someone who had been betrayed.

“The problem is that the Pixy engineers who deserved recognition for their achievements were eventually absorbed by the United States government.”

“Absorbed?”

“Because of that, I heard they abandoned the game industry long ago. Now they only develop support equipment powered by magic stones.”

“This translator contains magic stones too,” Esther muttered, her expression gloomy.

“It’s rather sad for someone who devoted so much of her life to that game.”

The shutdown of the [SOM] servers.

As Esther reminisced about the past, she continued as though she still had more to say.

“Still, I always suspected this day would come.”

“Why?”

“People used to say that Pixy’s technology was far too advanced for its own good.”

Its technical capabilities had been several steps ahead of those of other game companies at the time.

According to enthusiasts, geniuses of that caliber were simply too valuable to be wasted on something as frivolous as video games.

“Especially when the first model of this translator was released. It turned the entire world upside down. Do you remember that, Kiryeo-ssi? Haha. Who could have imagined that a patent like this would emerge from a global online game?”

Esther laughed brightly, her voice like pearls scattering across a silver tray, then began trading jokes with the guild secretary.

“Wow~ Pixy must have interrogated aliens again. This translator is unbelievably light!”

“Seriously!”

“How many aliens do they imprison every time they release a new product?”

“Hahaha.”

“Hohoho.”

At that moment, one member of their group suddenly broke out in a cold sweat.

Fortunately, no one walking ahead noticed.

Before long, they arrived at the venue.

The building hosting the party was surprisingly close to the city center, but the moment I stepped inside, I could tell that the organizers had taken extensive precautions.

‘A protective barrier.’

It was a sturdy, multilayered barrier that must have consumed the output of three infinite power cores.

‘To be precise, it’s a barrier designed to protect the civilians outside.’

As the two Awakeners entered the building, a guard at the entrance conducted a simple identity check.

“Please wait a moment.”

Violet hair, a petite figure, and downturned eyes framed by thick lashes.

There was no mistaking her for anyone else. She was the leader of one of Korea’s representative guilds.

“And this is Hunter Kim Kiryeo?”

When the security guard asked for the name of the formally dressed man beside her, he nodded.

“Yes.”

“Confirmed. You may enter.”

“Thank you.”

There were no communication difficulties between them, presumably because both sides were using two-way translators.

“Still, it is a machine, so occasional errors are possible.”

Kiryeo nodded at Esther’s warning as they walked.

The place they entered was truly extravagant.

A dazzling chandelier hung overhead. Soft golden light filled the hall, while intricate marble sculptures decorated the walls.

The man with sanpaku eyes surveyed the banquet hall with open curiosity.

“Hmm.”

Esther, however, spared the luxurious interior hardly a glance.

There was Zhan from China. Christian from Norway. Over there stood a Canadian Hunter.

With so many distinguished S-ranks gathered casually in one place, how could she possibly focus on the decorations?

After surveying the guests, Esther said,

“I’m going to speak with a few people.”

“All right.”

Now that the guild leader had left, there was little for me to do except look around.

Separated from my companion, I wandered through the banquet hall alone.

Various finger foods had been arranged across tables throughout the venue. As I stood wondering which one to try, someone approached me and struck up a conversation.

“Hey!”

He was a large, broad-shouldered Westerner with a cheerful expression.

Naturally, I had never seen him before.

“Hey, where’s the drink station?”

“What?”

“What’s the point of laying out all this food if there isn’t even a glass of champagne to go with it?”

A Korean sentence rendered in an artificial voice flowed through the earpiece.

Yet even though the translation itself had been completed, understanding the situation remained difficult.

“Don’t just stand there! Hurry up and bring me something to drink!”

This man had been making strange demands from the moment he approached me.

“Um, I’m sorry, but I don’t know where the drinks are either.”

Kiryeo explained the situation to the stranger.

Upon hearing his answer, however, the other man’s dissatisfaction only deepened.