TRHSOS 22

Chapter 22

!!CAUTION!!

They said it was a gentle breeze…

I stared blankly at the veranda, now reduced to nothing but its skeleton.

How is turning an entire building into dust in an instant considered “gentle”?!

The only small relief was that the concrete had literally turned into fine dust, so there were no falling debris to cause an even bigger accident.

How the hell is this fan made that a single wave of it could pulverize a veranda like a sheet of paper in a shredder?

Feeling the true power of the fan, I opened the system window.

[Fan of the Hot Spring Ruler (EX)]

[A fan imbued with the power of the hot spring dragon for thousands of years. Only the contractor who has been engraved with the Constellation ‘Ruler of the Hot Spring’ can equip it.]

[Unique Skill (usable while equipped)]

• Level 1 Skill: Gentle Breeze (S)

• Level 2 Skill: Locked

• Level 3 Skill: Locked

• Max Skill: Locked

…So it was an EX-rank fan?

I had expected it to be more than an ordinary item since it was a relic, but the power of Gentle Breeze was incredible—even for a Level 1 skill.

And if a Level 1 skill is S-rank, what does that make the next levels?

It really drives home how different hunters and constellations are in terms of power.

While secretly marveling, a line of text suddenly caught my eye.

[Intimacy required to unlock Level 2 Skill: 0/300]

Intimacy… what is that?

[Press the lock to complete quests and increase intimacy to unlock the unique skill.]

According to the explanation, it seemed I had to increase intimacy to unlock higher-level skills.

Do I need to “befriend” the weapon?

Well, stronger is better, right? I pressed the lock.

[Do you want to proceed with the Level 2 Skill Unlock Intimacy Quest? Accept/Decline]

Of course, I accepted!

[You have accepted the Level 2 Skill Unlock Intimacy Quest.]
[Level 2 Skill Unlock Intimacy Quest has been initiated.]
[Become friends with the Constellation! (1)]
[Hold hands with the Constellation ‘Ruler of the Hot Spring’ for 10 seconds (0/10 seconds)]
[Reward on success: Intimacy +100]

What? I’m supposed to hold hands with whom?

I wanted to deny it, but if it’s the Constellation ‘Ruler of the Hot Spring,’ it had to be Haeryeong.

So raising intimacy isn’t like weapon mastery—it literally means intimacy… with a Constellation?

And the fact that the quest title has a “(1)” at the end means there’s more after this, doesn’t it?

After checking the quest details, I was sure.

Yeah, the Level 2 skill will never unlock.

Yeah, even S-rank skills are more than enough to survive in this world.

I decided to put everything into Gentle Breeze.

If the fan is this strong, I wonder how powerful the earrings are?

The fan’s abilities had been absurdly overpowered, so my expectations for the earrings rose dramatically.

[Earrings of the Hot Spring Ruler (EX)]

[Earrings made with cloth imbued with the power of the hot spring dragon and decorated with a thousand-year Yeouiju jewel.]

[Unique Skill (usable while equipped)]

[Passive Skill ‘Pretty is Best. Thrilling’ applied]

Why is the passive skill named like that?

I paused for a moment at the shocking name, but curiosity got the better of me and I checked its effect.

[Passive Skill ‘Pretty is Best. Thrilling’ increases nobility and charm, adds beauty to appearance, and raises popularity.]

No wonder my rough skin suddenly felt as smooth as a peeled egg.

My overall aura changed, too.

If I usually looked like a wandering unemployed person around town, now I felt like I’d stepped out of a comic—mysterious and otherworldly.

Sure, the transparent silver hair and changed eye color contributed, but overall… I didn’t seem like a person from this world.

It feels embarrassing to say it out loud.

Was this the secret behind Haeryeong’s dazzling, flawless beauty?

Even though the fan alone had already exceeded normal standards, the earrings could enhance my appearance just by wearing them… I quickly understood why Constellation characters all looked perfect.

Yeah, even if they’re all crazy, I’d rather have a good-looking one.

At least it gives you something nice to look at, right?

Still, compared to the fan, it was a little underwhelming.

Just as I was about to close the system window, a small note in the corner caught my eye.

[Set effect available when worn together with the relic ‘Fan of the Hot Spring Ruler’ (?)]

Set effect… that sounds important, doesn’t it?

Why did they write it so small?

I squinted and pressed the tiny question mark with my pinky.

[Summon Constellation ‘Ruler of the Hot Spring’ (Spell: Summon Constellation Name) (usable once per day)]
[The Constellation ‘Ruler of the Hot Spring’ cannot refuse the summon.]

Ah, now I understand why it was written so small.

This had to be Haeryeong’s doing.

Since the summon cannot be refused, they tried to hide it as much as possible.

I can’t resist a summon that can’t be refused!

The thought of having a way to tease Haeryeong made a wicked smile creep onto my face without me realizing it.

But when my eyes fell on the completely destroyed veranda, I quickly snapped back to reality.

I have to deal with this first…

Wait, is this even something I can fix on my own?

But let’s see… barista, medicine-making, even dowsing… I’ve already overstepped the typical hot spring owner’s domain.

I decided to hold onto hope.

“Guide ‘Yeonggye,’ is there a potion to restore a collapsed house?”

[Guide ‘Yeonggye’ responds: “Where in the world would such a potion exist?”]

“It doesn’t have to be a potion. Is there anything at all?”

[Guide ‘Yeonggye’ says: “Even an EX-rank hot spring can’t do that. Go find a builder for construction issues.”]

For once, Yeonggye gave a realistic answer, and at the same time, my spark of hope died out.

Is it all over now…?

Just as I was feeling helpless, someone started knocking at the front door.

“Firefighters! Is anyone inside? We received a report of an explosion here. Could you open the door for a moment if someone is in there?”

No wonder it felt too quiet.

There’s no way no one would respond when the house just collapsed.

If I answer now, I’ll have to open the door, and then explain why the veranda was destroyed.

Can I come up with a plausible excuse?

Should I say the rice cooker or charger exploded? But… could a rice cooker really pulverize a veranda?

I’m friendly with my rice cooker, but I know that’s impossible.

Should I say the house is too old?

But anyone could see it was a new building, with high-quality internal materials and excellent construction, making it more expensive than nearby apartments.

I can’t make others suffer just so I can live.

“If you can’t move due to building collapse, please signal by voice or knocking on objects.”

What if I can move but just can’t speak?

“If there’s no answer, we’ll forcibly open the door to check for remaining explosives.”

While I was panicking, they notified me that they would soon open the door.

Even so, I couldn’t think of a reasonable excuse.

“What’s the matter? I’m the owner of this house.”

A familiar voice made the outside quiet for a moment. That voice was definitely Park Siwoo.

But Park Siwoo… wasn’t he supposed to stay on the 46th floor until the hot spring owner appeared?

My heart started racing from the unexpected situation.

“We received a report of an explosion here. From outside, it looked like the wall by the veranda was breached, so we’re opening the door to prevent secondary accidents.”

I see. The firefighters already knew the situation.

From the outside, they could only see our veranda was destroyed.

“There was an explosion inside? My sister is in there. Could something have happened to her?”

Jiho, who didn’t know the situation, sounded worried.

“There could still be explosives inside, so it’s dangerous to enter without equipment.”

I could hear the firefighters warning someone trying to go inside in case something happened to me.

“We’re both S-rank hunters, so it’s fine. Here’s our hunter license. Check it and step back.”

After Park Siwoo said that, the firefighters’ voices disappeared.

Then I saw the front door freeze in place.

Impatient Park Siwoo probably planned to break it open entirely.

If the door opened with firefighters on the scene, every media outlet would scream that the “hot spring owner lost control and destroyed the apartment veranda.”

“Unseal Engraving.”

For now, I released the engraving.

Of course, the veranda was still an unsolved problem.

‘Whoever can come up with a reason for the veranda being ripped off, I’ll really love you! So, try anything!’

Now I could only rely on the Constellations.

[Constellation ‘Do you trust luck?’ asks: “Does that mean don’t help?”]
[Constellation ‘Immortal Killer’ draws the Undying Sword, saying: “Let’s reveal ourselves and become the best.”]

‘Put that back! You useless Constellations!’

“Park Suon! Are you okay?”

In an instant, Park Siwoo smashed the door and entered.

[‘Master of the Tower’ says: “Do not forget the vow you just made” and creates a dungeon.]

‘Huh? A dungeon?’

At the same time, the ground shook, and darkness began rising from the veranda side.

[!!CAUTION!! Dungeon Break has occurred. <Rank: SS>]