Chapter 404

A few days passed after Esther said she wanted to live a life where she only had to worry about trivial things. Then, at long last, the results appeared on TV.

[Here's today's weather report: Currently, a nationwide heavy snow advisory is in effect across South Korea.

Additionally, signs of a high-level Red Gate occurrence have been observed in the Gyeonggi area.

Residents in the affected regions are advised to take note of this and exercise extra caution, especially when going outdoors.]

I rose from my seat while watching the morning news. Come to think of it, though I'm only mentioning this now, what I did back in [Castle of Sloth] was manipulate signals.

For example, the inhabitants of this planet were said to experience false hunger under certain circumstances because their brains became confused. Now, imagine constructing a twisted staircase that couldn't actually be climbed. Even the malicious entities that frequently forced a Gate's phase underground could hardly be immune to that sort of misperception.

'After all, they're living creatures too—animals that digest food, aren't they?'

In other words, at their core, the Gisimche weren't necessarily more advanced than Earthlings.

That was why I decided to tamper with the safety mechanisms of these cosmic bugs and began researching a certain technique. To be precise, I wanted to develop a spell capable of sending them the signal, 'The intruder who entered this Gate has just died a pointless death.'

Written out as a full sentence, though, it sounded unnecessarily long and cumbersome.

So, to make things easier to understand, let's summarize the new spell like this:

[A 5-rank hunter has died in this dungeon.]

[A 5-rank hunter has died in this dungeon.]

[A 5-rank hunter has died in this dungeon.]

[You made the food box so difficult that a rare host collapsed?]

The last [Castle of Pride] had ended with all that false information left unresolved.

If the Gisimche possessed proper intelligence, they surely wouldn't have overlooked an anomaly occurring in even a single Gate.

'Hmm.'

I've probably said it a hundred times by now, but the creatures that make Gates are idiots.

'No matter how extraordinary a virus's characteristics may be, you can't exactly call it smarter than a human—and the Gisimche felt more or less the same...'

In short, the Gisimche were likely to trust statistics blindly.

So, with a little anticipation, I cast my new spell to lower the Gate's difficulty.

'It's been a while since I've tried something experimental.'

But then, what became of all the research soaked in the Archmage's blood and sweat?

[Additional news regarding the Gate disaster: According to the final report from the Arctic Research Facility, no 5-rank Gates occurred anywhere on Earth today.]

Not bad.

As I could see on the smartphone screen that hadn't yet gone into standby mode, the good news just kept coming.

[In response, citizens of various countries, grateful for the week of peace, held festivals of their own.

(Street pedestrian interview)

Of course, some voices expressed concern that this might be a bad omen, like the calm before a storm, but fortunately, no abnormal phenomena have been observed so far...]

'Oh—'

In a world where mages were commonplace, there would have been no need to go this far.

'To think I actually succeeded in casting a spell I'd only ever imagined in theory... My, my. What a damned talent.'

Having already brought down the [Sin Classification], I allowed myself a few seconds of pride.

An 85% reduction.

Of course, if results like these persisted for an entire year, a whole new set of concerns would arise.

'The magical effect is stronger than I expected.'

In short, it was as though the Gisimche themselves had bowed their heads and said, 'Did we perhaps go a little too far?'

Still, even if 5-rank Gates truly vanished, it wouldn't cause any major problems for this world.

Above all, those unparalleled powerhouses known as 5-rank hunters weren't going to starve.

'After all, starvation is rare in this modern age to begin with.'

The overall difficulty of Gates had decreased.

The frequency of special anomalies had plummeted.

It certainly wouldn't leave the hunting industry unaffected, but with everyone's chances of survival significantly higher, most Earthlings would probably welcome the current trend.

'If only we could live worrying about nothing more than trivial things. How nice would that be?'

It was a moment when someone's small wish had, at least in part, come true.

And now, it seemed the time had come for me to start shaping my own wish as well.

[Contact List]

[Hunter Association President (Shin OO)]

Now that I'd successfully lowered the danger level of dungeons, the next obvious thing to do was—

"..."

Clank.

I picked up the smartphone resting on the glass table.

"Ah, hello? President Shin of the Hunter Association?"

Then I relayed a few sentences to the person on the other end of the call.

***

[Seonhan Daily]

[Page 1]

[Shocking Retirement of an S-Rank Hunter]

[Main text:

The declaration made by the S-Rank Hunter, published on the 14th, has caused a huge stir both online and offline.

Rumors have circulated suggesting that the "personal reasons" mentioned by the interviewee may be related to long-standing health issues...

(omitted)

Meanwhile, according to confirmation from the domestic Hunter Association, the hunter in question has officially submitted a request to return their hunting license.]

[HunterNet]

[pp***: Wait, he cleared [Sin Classification] just recently—why is he suddenly retiring??]

[c10**: The whole site's gone insane ㅠㅠ]

[Q3***: They say you should leave while people are still applauding, but seriously, what are you doing leaving now, Hyung. ㅠㅠ]

About twenty-four hours later, just as expected, the hunter-only anonymous forum was buzzing with activity.

Drt.

I picked out a few posts from the top of the forum and read them before eventually lowering my phone comfortably onto my lap.

"What a mess."

As anyone could tell from all the commotion, roughly twenty-four hours ago, I had personally dropped a bombshell.

"It's none of my business anyway."

So what if I stirred up public opinion just this once?

I leaned back and did my best to ignore humanity's reactions.

[The Inevitable Malice].

More precisely, it had all begun with that single [Beginner Killer], and by now, thousands upon thousands of hours had passed since I first began my life as a hunter.

'Even a rough estimate would easily put it in the tens of thousands.'

I'm completely sick of working!

The sense of fulfillment you get from a job or social status only lasts for a day or two.

Back on my home planet, I worked myself to the bone until both my body and mind were so exhausted that I practically forced myself into an out-of-body experience.

So how much longer was this weary Archmage supposed to keep influencing society?

Frankly, it was a miracle I'd managed to keep working for several extra months at all.

'With the soul of an old geezer who's lived this damned long, just let me rest already! You bastards!'

So yesterday, I simply carried out the plan that had been postponed again and again for one reason or another.

Honestly, it wasn't even the sort of event that should have caused this much commotion...

'The original plan was to hold a grand press conference, but I had no idea how to gather the reporters, so I scaled that part down a little.'

For reference, structurally speaking, the state could hardly welcome the retirement of an S-rank hunter.

However, since they had no actual means of stopping me, everything was approved fairly quickly.

'If I return my Hunter's license, I won't be able to lay a finger on even a single escaped magical beast, just like during the [Beginner Killer] incident. Still, showing off my superpower abilities—or whatever they call them—isn't actually prohibited, so...'

Sssk.

I continued thinking as I practically sprawled across the sofa.

'As long as I can avoid all the work obligations—like having to deal with every break the Association orders me to handle!'

Oh, and one more thing.

For a high-ranking hunter like me to wash my hands of the profession entirely, I did have to meet certain legal conditions.

'If I ever need to enter a dungeon for research, I'll just use an invisibility spell and sneak in...'

That part was more or less resolved using the same condition I'd previously been diagnosed with at the hospital.

Honestly, I hadn't expected it to work this well.

The moment the Association President saw the doctor's note, he practically lost his mind from shock.

'Could leaving the tumor untreated for so long actually have worked in my favor?'

Lately, one blessing in disguise after another seemed to be falling into my lap.

And as for acquaintances like Jung Haseong or Seon Esther, people I was already close to, I'd made sure to drill the news of my retirement into their heads well in advance.

'Let's see.'

Tuk.

I picked up the smartphone resting on my stomach.

As expected, it remained silent, without a single notification.

'After all, I'd made my intention to retire painfully clear myself, so there was no need for anyone to double-check.'

With that, every problem had been resolved.

Finally.

Finally, finally.

I had completed that damned task called retirement.

From now on, all that remained was for me, the Archmage, to live my life without worrying about humans.

'For now, setting aside the remaining lessons with Esther...'

At that moment, a small concern surfaced.

More precisely, it was the question:

'Will I really be able to live well from now on without paying attention to the aliens?'

But there was no point in thinking so deeply about it that I'd practically leave a handprint on my nose.

'Ah.'

A fitting example soon came to mind.

Sitting quietly and thinking it over, I realized I already had a 'case' that was nearly a perfect success.

'Ahn Yoonseung.'

Come to think of it, back when I'd first relocated to Earth, there was probably no human I saw more often than him.

At first, even an F-rank washed-up magician like me had reason to worry about him—he was so weak that he couldn't even fend off a glem or defeat a single boss-stealing bandit.

The way he used his skills was primitive and utterly chaotic.

And yet, that same college student had now grown into someone dependable, someone who could stand his ground with confidence.

Without anyone needing to look after him anymore, Ahn Yoonseung had become a truly perfect success story.

'Since he came to mind, I might as well contact him.'

Still, it was a little disappointing that I hadn't received so much as a single text from him despite the news of my retirement...

Tik, tik, tik.

It was just as I operated my phone and dialed a certain number.

"Hey, Yoonseung-ah. Can you talk right now?"

From the call that began with that casual greeting, I managed to learn a few things.

"How's hunting been going lately? Still doing as well as before?"

For context, Ahn Yoonseung had already heard about my retirement plans in our previous conversations.

Even after the report about my license return was published, however, he hadn't contacted me much—because, as he later explained, he trusted that 'if it's you, there must be a reason for everything.'

'What's with this?'

As time went on, that young man had begun giving off an almost devotional aura.

And yet Ahn Yoonseung was clearly not a religious person.

'The atmosphere has somehow become... sacred. Maybe I should just steer the conversation somewhere else for now.'

Sssk.

Holding the phone in my hand, I exchanged a few pleasantries with him before eventually making plans.

In truth, the idea was to treat my acquaintances in celebration.

Considering the enormous amount of money I'd accumulated and would probably never manage to spend, there were only about three people left who deserved some token of my gratitude.

Of course, Ahn Yoonseung's and Gu Seohyeong's schedules had simply never lined up with mine until now.

For reference, the expensive Enchanter Nari was still overseas for training.

So in the end, I looked up train tickets to Seoul in order to meet Ahn Yoonseung, whose schedule had finally opened up.

'Today, I'll use Ahn Yoonseung as an excuse to go to a restaurant that requires at least two people.'

Someone might ask whether it was worth taking a train just for a single meal.

But now, I could easily afford to waste time on something that meaningless.

Really.

Truly.

Absolutely.

Starting today, I'm officially unemployed.