"Granddaughter, I entrust you with full authority. As the sole contractor, you can summon me."
"Why-why, why-why (Lord Ktuga himself...! Human, you're quite something. This is a good opportunity)."
"Quack, quack, quack!"
The animals beside me jumped around.
"Hmm, not bad. Not as chaotic as the primordial chaos, but it's a fairly pure power."
As if to add, As said this.
Ding.
Following Ktuga's declaration, a system window appeared before my eyes.
[The Great One: The Eternal Flame Ktuga wishes to contract with you.]
[If you contract, you can receive Ktuga's protection.]
"…."
I just stared at the system window for a moment.
[If you contract, you can receive Ktuga's protection.]
[If you contract, you can receive Ktuga's protection.]
The window blinked repeatedly, as if urging me.
But….
"Do I really have to do this?"
From the atmosphere, I could tell it was something significant.
A living flame that can transform into a human and back into a flame—how could it not be impressive?
The title in the system window is 'The Great One.' It must be truly great.
But, as they say, great power comes with great responsibility.
In other words, unwanted great power comes with unwanted great responsibility.
Even if I were given such a great power, I wasn't sure I could use it well. There must be someone more suitable out there. With that thought, I hesitated to nod.
Perhaps Choi Sedric would be a better fit. He's strong. I turned to look at him, but—
"Eh? Why? Feeling burdened? Ha, well, it suits you, so accept it. You, what's it called, Coffee Shitaku!"
"Please don't call me that…."
"Meow, meow (Coffee Shitaku, Coffee Shitaku)!"
"Quack, quack!"
Our pets were excitedly mimicking the name….
He's still using that nickname. I silently prayed that Choi Sedric would develop better language habits.
What about As, the self-proclaimed Twilight Demon King?
"I don't like fire."
But before I could even meet his eyes, As refused.
"Ugh…."
"Don't worry, granddaughter. If you don't want it, nothing will change. Just think of it as a contract to enhance the ring's power."
I was still hesitant.
Well, I do need the ring's power when roasting beans….
Forget it. Complicated thoughts don't suit me. Besides, there's a man around here who has the greatest power and responsibility in Korea. Maybe I can handle this contract without much preparation.
I slowly nodded.
At that moment, the ring on my left hand heated up, and a system window appeared.
[The Great One: Contracted with the Eternal Flame Ktuga.]
[Eligible: Abilities granted according to the will of the righteous.]
[Skill: Eternal Flame (S)
Details: (Lv.max) Can summon Ktuga.]
Wait, S-rank?
There's a huge difference between vaguely feeling it's strong and seeing the rank directly.
"…Hic."
I hiccuped from the shock.
"Hic, hic, hic!"
"Hey, hey, don't die. What did that fireball do to make you choke!"
"No, I just received a skill as part of the contract. The skill is S-rank…."
"Hic, hic, I'm going to die… hic!"
"Why-why (To be surprised by something like that, you have a small heart)."
"Water, water, water."
"Here, drink some water."
I drank the cup of water As handed me and finally stopped hiccuping. Phew, I thought I was going to die.
If I had died from getting an S-rank skill on my F-rank body, I would have been a strong contender for the 'Erwin Award' for the most absurdly deceased hunter.
After the commotion finally settled down.
The topic had suddenly shifted to the contract with Ktuga, but the most important thing is the return. I need to return the real estate that has turned into a hill to its original place.
"So, can I go back? …With my real estate, too."
Ktuga shook his head.
"Not now. The □□'s nagging is so intense that my area of influence is limited. Wait until the stars' flow changes."
"When will that be?"
"Let's see…."
Ktuga looked up at the sky. I couldn't see the stars due to the sunlight, but he seemed to be reading the stars' flow, lost in thought.
The longer he was silent, the more anxious I became.
Ktuga claims to be immortal, so he must have lived for a very long time. Pepe also said he was 1200 years old.
The cliché of immortals having a different sense of time or a world where time flows differently is a common trope. I hope it's not one of those clichés.
"By any chance, it's not 300 years from now, is it?"
Ktuga lowered his gaze from the sky and smiled.
"Tomorrow."
Phew, thank goodness. 299 years and 364 days earlier than I feared. I was impressed by the K-Otherworld's respect for busy modern people.
"One day from now, tomorrow night, when the light of Fomalhaut shines, the path of the stars will open. I'll set up a teleportation spell on the building, so you can return through that path."
"…Can I trust you?"
"Of course, of course! Would the Eternal Flame Ktuga lie to his granddaughter?"
That… the smell, no, the trace, is okay, right….
Anyway, I have to spend one day in this dungeon before I can return.
In that case, there's only one thing to do.
Pepe and the fire spirits approached and surrounded me. Their eyes were full of curiosity and desire. Following Pepe's lead, the spirits chanted.
The guild master of the <Silver Guild>, Kwon Seok-min, who had been missing for several years.
And the healer of the <Silver Guild>, Kwon Ji-won.
An unusual combination. She was very curious about why they were looking for the missing regular cafe.
"Hey, aren't you coming?"
Choi I-chan, who was walking ahead, called out to her.
"I-I'm coming…."
As she hurried to catch up, Juno glanced at Choi I-chan. He walked steadily with a calm expression.
Among them, the one who most caught her attention was Choi I-chan.
He had ruthlessly rejected her recruitment offer.
'What's so great about Royal…'
The <Royal Guild>, which had many ranged dealers in its initial members, had suffered from a chronic shortage of melee dealers. A new S-rank melee berserker! It was hard not to be tempted.
So she squeezed the budget and promised the best treatment in the industry. As a bonus, she even offered a welfare system to support his hobbies up to a certain amount per month!
But the response was a read-and-ignore. In fact, he had just kept his phone off, but Juno didn't know that.
Choi I-chan being with the rich man from the <Silver Guild> was suspicious. Could he have made a secret recruitment promise?
'She can't just let it go…'
This was why Juno had quickly joined the group.
Of course, that wasn't the only reason. She was also curious about the whereabouts of the missing regular cafe. She now felt that her day wasn't complete without the cafe's coffee and the Relle Slime.
But the biggest reason was this.
She couldn't miss such an exciting opportunity. She had to follow and find out what was happening. Find out and….
'Write a review on Hunterchan later…'
The group passed through the dungeon gate of the mega-dungeon 《Abyss》 and moved to the 7th floor. Kwon Seok-min led the way.
"Son, this way!"
He walked through the dungeon as if he knew where the cafe owner was, avoiding paths where troublesome monsters appeared and using warp gates.
'Could this path be…'
Juno stopped in her tracks and voiced her doubt.
"Kwon Seok-min Hunter, are we going to the Garden of the Eternal Flame Ktuga…?"
"Yes, that's it for sure!"
Leaving aside the question of why the missing cafe was there.
"That field is hard to access… Hunters who enter are burned by the owner of the garden… It's a complete well-done…"
"Is there any other way? Um, that."
Choi I-chan looked back at Juno, trailing off.
"Juno…"
Juno looked at Choi I-chan's worried face. He had a sad, puppy-like expression, as if he was worried about the owner.
What was his relationship with the cafe owner? Curiosity about Choi I-chan and the cafe owner grew, and she imagined him stamping the <Royal Guild> contract in gratitude after solving this problem.
Being burned by the Eternal Flame was not desirable. But for an S-rank melee berserker, it was a game worth playing.
Wait, <Royal> guild members. The guild master will bring a new member, a big catch!
Juno declared confidently.
"Trust me…"
Juno took a small needle from her pocket and pricked her finger.
Drip, drip. Four drops of blood fell into Juno's shadow, which rippled as if swallowing the blood.
[Skill: Wyvern Summon (S) activated.]
Four small dragons with wings emerged from the shadow. Kwon Ji-won, recognizing them, exclaimed.
"Wyverns…!"
This was Juno's main skill, summoning.
The difference from the taming skill was that it didn't tame the target.
In exchange for Juno's blood, the wyverns entered a summoning contract. The content was to quickly transport the group to their destination. According to the contract, they would fulfill their role, but the wyverns had no obligation to obey.
In other words, this meant—
"Ugh, ugh! Son, are you abandoning me here! Are you inheriting the throne?"
"Father, please, not so loud…."
"Ugh, I don't know what's happening, but something is spinning around me."
"I'm sorry…."
The ride was prioritizing speed, so the ride was extremely uncomfortable.