Being a freelancer was the best.
Even after finishing work and coming home, the sun hadn't even set yet.
Back in my corporate salaryman days, that would've been completely unthinkable.
It was a rare opportunity for some honest-to-god photosynthesis.
Deep down, I wanted nothing more than to dive headfirst into my sunlit bed, but…
Fwip─
I neatly hung up my clothes on the hanger, then headed straight for the bathroom to crank on the shower.
Ssssss!
Damn noble etiquette and rules!
What annoyed me even more was that I was actually getting used to this exhausting routine.
On the bright side, cleaning didn't feel like a chore anymore.
"There's so much dust."
But… wearing a mask to clean inside my own house felt a bit excessive.
By the time I finished wiping down every surface, the sun had already set.
Right, as if someone like me gets to enjoy photosynthesis.
I immediately set to work preparing dinner.
The old version of me that survived purely on instant ramen and cheap delivery was officially a thing of the past.
Fresh ingredients had arrived early that morning.
My hands moved with practiced precision, prepping and cooking with effortless skill.
How could a nobleman be so skilled at cleaning and cooking?
Because Grandfel was a fallen noble.
"Not bad."
Even this was baked into his character backstory—a skill acquired simply to survive.
Naturally, getting his hands dirty with kitchen work wasn't enough to dent Grandfel's unshakeable pride.
For me, it was a personality trait that was annoying yet helpful.
Besides, cooking my own meals is bound to be better for my body.
In fact, I was feeling the physical benefits of this disciplined lifestyle.
It started with my back pain, which vanished once I began maintaining proper posture.
On top of that, chronic fatigue, insomnia, and all the minor ailments modern people live with had completely disappeared.
Of course, it wasn't all good.
When I looked into the mirror, my hair gleamed under the fluorescent light.
Anyone looking at me would think it's just white hair.
Following the lore of the Claudi bloodline, whose silver hair was passed down through generations, my own hair was bleaching out into a brilliant silver hue.
The only saving grace was that the silver hair actually looked quite good with my current appearance.
I brewed a cup of green tea for my tea time.
Playing high society with a 50 won tea bag. Seriously…
Even as I thought that, I didn't care in the slightest.
Over the past few days, I had learned to enjoy tea and embrace a moment of leisure.
This, too, was likely the influence of Grandfel's immense pride.
Well, whatever. It's certainly better than plopping down at the computer right after eating.
Thanks to that, my time to reflect increased as well.
Maybe that was why I was able to arrive at a plausible possibility.
"It appears the shadows of my past hold sway over my present reality."
Every time I became aware of a piece of Grandfel's backstory, it became reality.
If so, wouldn't Grandfel's talent—the very setting that hailed him as the greatest genius in the history of the Claudi family—manifest as well?
『Grandfel's talent was not limited to a single field.
A brilliant mind was a given.
His innate magic talent let him mimic most spells at a single glance. What's more, his physical potential was equally impressive.
There was good reason Grandfel was chosen as the family heir at the age of just seven.』
The more I look back on it, the more it sounds like the cringey delusion of an eighth grader. Didn't I just jam in every cool and awesome trait imaginable?
"Utterly mortifying," I muttered.
Whether this embarrassment stemmed from my dark past or from the excessive praise remained to be seen.
To figure that out, a few tests were necessary.
"What a convenient era."
Accessing NetTube on my smartphone, I searched for videos of other players.
They weren't kidding when they said the ones who have everything always want more.
Channels of players with millions of subscribers popped up.
[Rift Raid Live Broadcast #17: Griffin's Nest]
[What Skills Does a Flame Wizard Use?]
[A Day in the Life of a Non-Combat Alchemist? Vlog Edition]
Every single one had astronomical view counts.
It was understandable.
Ordinary people couldn't even notice the presence of rifts, let alone approach them.
It was only natural to be curious about players hunting monsters inside.
Of course, if a rift collapsed, people could witness it in real life.
But that would be a disaster, not a spectacle anymore.
I selected a suitable video.
"?"
Just as I was about to play it, a text arrived.
Checking the number, it was Cheolmin.
We hadn't explicitly exchanged numbers, but I had contacted Cheolmin first after seeing his recruitment post.
He must have kept my number.
…Why is this text so long?
Long story short, he was asking to meet immediately—or by tomorrow at the absolute latest.
I had no idea what his intentions were, but the request was troublesome.
"This matter demands my undivided attention."
Regrettable as it was, analyzing the videos was a matter that could completely change my life as a player.
I sent a brief reply and opened a boss raid video overflowing with a frenzy of skills and magic.
After watching the lengthy footage in my usual upright posture, I finally spoke.
"This shall suffice."
* * *
Inside a high-end restaurant in Cheongdam-dong, Cheolmin Nam and Taemin Nam sat waiting at their reserved table.
"I still have my doubts," Taemin admitted.
"You actually believe half of it? Believing your incompetent older brother? Thanks."
"Brother, do you really have to keep talking like that?"
Cheolmin burst into laughter upon seeing Taemin get so worked up.
Why didn't I realize it back then—that Taemin was a brother to be proud of?
"Everyone's got different talents, big bro. I just mindlessly grinded games, while you simply lacked the time to play. When it comes to Arcana knowledge, I guarantee you know way more than I do."
Hearing such genuine acknowledgment from his brother hit Cheolmin deeply.
To think I used to harbor an inferiority complex toward him…
Cheolmin was truly ashamed of his own foolishness.
"I'm kidding. Just kidding."
"You're so hard to read, I don't know if I should believe you or not…"
"Still, I don't go back on my word. I'm going to give it my all as an analyst."
"Can I record that?"
"Go ahead."
"Sigh, should I actually believe this?"
Cheolmin had resolved to quit being a player.
He intended to accept Taemin's offer and work as an analyst for the guild.
Naturally, his decision stemmed from the trauma of having his body taken over by the imp.
I already knew my shortcomings long ago. More than that…
This was the only way to repay his debt to the man who had pulled him out of despair.
That man hadn't merely defeated the imp—he had given Cheolmin the chance to pull himself back together and move forward.
He had truly saved him.
And Cheolmin wanted to offer a fitting repayment in return.
"Now I'm getting curious. You're not the type to misjudge a player… So did he actually hunt that imp? And overwhelmingly, no less?"
Cheolmin nodded at Taemin's question.
"Actually, calling it overwhelming doesn't even do it justice. How should I put it? Even while fighting the imp, he didn't suffer any status effects and didn't seem tense in the slightest."
"If you say so, big bro. But I don't get it."
Taemin scratched the back of his head in frustration.
"Why would a player like that enter a low-level rift in the first place?"
The reason was actually quite simple.
Back then, Hoyeol was barely level 55.
But Taemin and Cheolmin had no way of knowing that.
Taemin knitted his brows and continued.
"Besides, that fight honestly doesn't add up either. Resisting a status effect means his willpower stat has to be insane… but didn't you say he fought with a dagger instead of magic?"
"Yep."
"Arcana has thousands of classes, but I can't wrap my head around this one."
Taemin shook his head.
Still, confusion was one thing; potential was another.
"Which is why I definitely want to recruit him and find out."
Besides, he's someone you acknowledged.
Cheolmin had played a massive role in helping Taemin reach Rank 11.
From analyzing boss attack patterns to steering guild strategy and recruiting new talent, Taemin knew he never would have made it this far without his brother's help.
"Plus, I owe him big time."
On top of everything else, that guy had saved his brother.
Driven by that gratitude, Taemin had drawn up a recruitment contract.
Reviewing the contract again, Taemin clicked his tongue.
"I have to make sure our rookies—no, even our executives—never see this."
"Why? Would they flip out if they saw it?"
"Of course. It's basically a deal where we take all the losses."
Which was precisely why it was an offer impossible to refuse.
Taemin was confident.
Leaning back, he waited for a reply with a relaxed mind.
Bzzzt─
"That was fast. What'd he say, big bro?"
Even as his phone buzzed, Taemin nonchalantly gulped down his orange juice.
"…He says it's troublesome."
"?!"
Pfffttt─
Juice spilled out of Taemin's mouth.
"W-W-WHAT?! Let me see!!!"
Unable to believe it, he checked the message himself.
But the actual text was even more absurd.
[Troublesome.]
It was exactly one word.
A short reply to the excessively long text.
But who was Taemin?
He caught a hint from that brief message.
"…It's not an outright rejection, just that it's troublesome."
His eyes narrowed.
"As I thought, did he receive an offer from another guild first?"
There were many players, but valuable players were rare.
That was why guilds were frantic to recruit rookies.
Above all, recruiting promising players in South Korea had become even harder.
All thanks to the Magic Tower rising in Seoul.
Because of it, every renowned guild had set up a base in Seoul.
Taemin narrowed his eyes, thinking of those very competitors.
"You bastards. No matter what, Seoul is our home turf."
'Gaon' was South Korea's top guild.
However, when looking worldwide, it struggled to even rank in the top five.
Taemin knew that all too well.
Which was why he couldn't afford to lose even a single player.
"Brother, give me some specific details."
"About what?"
"What that man looks like. If push comes to shove, I might have to run around in person to bring him in."
"What he looks like…"
At those words, Cheolmin recalled the man in his memory.
A crisp dress shirt, slacks, and to top it all off—dress shoes.
"Honestly? My first impression was: what on earth is wrong with this guy?"
Although he was properly equipped with items inside the rift… his choice of attire was absurdly out of place for a raid.
Furthermore, he wore those loud dress shoes until the very end.
Yet through it all, the man never showed the slightest hint of disarray.
Not when he was tangled in hand-to-hand combat with gnolls.
Not when he fell into a trap and was completely surrounded.
Not even when he stood face-to-face with the imp.
Throughout the entire ordeal, nothing shook him.
He carried himself with an air of effortless superiority—as if looking down from high above.
"But describing it in words is…"
Seeing Cheolmin struggle to explain, Taemin asked.
"Did you see some mythical beast? Why can't you even explain it?"
A mythical beast?
Hearing that phrase, something suddenly clicked in Cheolmin's mind.
"That's it!"
Though such people didn't exist in modern South Korea, and he had never seen one in real life… there was no other word fitting enough for the man.
"He was like a nobleman. A remarkably noble one at that."
"Huh?"
* * *
"This will suffice."
It was a matter of potential.
As I stared intently at the video, thoughts swirled dizzily in my head.
They weren't childish reactions like finding it cool or feeling envious—I was deconstructing the magic, 'analyzing' it.
"!"
The underlying principles of magic crystallized in my head.
Honestly, it should have been impossible.
What I was watching was a system-granted skill, not genuine magic.
Yet I could see it.
I could see that as long as I had enough mana, I could manifest that magic myself!
Needless to say, this wasn't the talent of 'Hoyeol Lee'.
"It appears my faculties have not yet dulled."
Without a doubt, this was the talent of Grandfel—the single greatest genius in the history of the Claudi family.
Of course, it was too early to jump to final conclusions.
Still, now that I'd confirmed the potential, it was well worth investing in.
What's more, that potential wasn't limited to a single discipline.
Magic, swordsmanship, archery—Grandfel's gift wasn't restricted to just one field.
Good job, past me. If you're gonna write backstory, you might as well stuff in every cool and awesome thing imaginable.
The cringe was inevitable.
I decided to hold my head high and own this dark past.
The potential was undeniably there, but making an immediate decision was unnecessary.
Picking a path right away offered no real advantage, given the inherently ambiguous nature of the Demon Hunter class.
But calling a class ambiguous didn't mean it was full of drawbacks.
Right. Ambiguity can just as easily mean every trait is an advantage, can't it? Even if that's not entirely the case, keeping my options open is probably the smartest move for now.
"In that case."
Time to spend those stat points I've been saving up.
I checked my status window.
Stat Points Available: 12
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