After realizing I had grown stronger than expected, I began entering Gates primarily solo. Even without pushing myself, I could earn around 120,000 won daily, which felt satisfying.

  Of course I didn't always go alone, occasionally I teamed up with ordinary Teammates when luck brought us together.

  Amid this busy routine, autumn festivities quietly approached.

  Though ancestral rites weren't commonly held nowadays, it remained a time for relatives to gather in large homes, sharing meals and updates.

  The problem was... I had become female. My parents worried about this especially.

  While this resulted from my awakened Ability, I still felt uneasy imagining how others might perceive me.

  Si-hyun and Yoo Mi-ro, who knew my true identity, had accepted it calmly, but not everyone would.

  Moreover, many relatives constantly compared me to their son, treating me like some pitiful case. With most cousins in stable careers like civil service, they judged me particularly harshly.

  "Maybe I shouldn't go?"

  I told Mom.

  "It's fine if you don't want to."

  I felt torn. Going meant enduring criticism, and appearing as female would invite gossip, yet skipping while my parents and oppa attended felt awkward, and staying home alone seemed dull.

  Ding! My phone chimed with a message from Si-hyun:

  -If you're free during the holidays, want to join an Expedition?

  = What? You have no family gathering?

  -Tired of hearing complaints about me quitting civil service

  I chuckled at his reply. Come to think of it, Si-hyun had also left his stable government job.

  "Mom! I'm not going!"

  "Suit yourself."

  = Alright then, let's earn money during the break

  -Yeah

  I decided to Expedition with Si-hyun. Though we'd kept in touch, we hadn't met in person for four weeks.

  With the holiday break stretching nearly a week, this was perfect for serious earnings.

  -

  Time passed, and Si-hyun picked me up at dawn on the first holiday.

  My suitcase stuffed with clothes and underwear, we finalized plans to operate together throughout the break.

  Si-hyun at the wheel maintained his usual scruffy appearance.

  I too wore comfortable clothes rather than dresses, though I'd applied makeup.

  When Si-hyun moved to handle my luggage, I loaded it into the vehicle myself.

  "Don't baby me."

  "Si-yeon?"

  I ignored his flustered response.

  "Let's go find somewhere with beautiful scenery and clear waters!"

  We targeted remote rural Gates. Countryside Gates had fewer competitors and offered better recognition for subjugation results.

  Settling into Si-hyun's car after two months, I noticed changes. Perhaps he'd cleaned, it felt tidier and carried a fresh scent.

  "Did you get an air freshener?"

  "Ah, is it okay?"

  "Yeah, nice."

  Why had Si-hyun changed so much? His hesitant manner made me impatient.

  I tapped his shoulder:

  "What's wrong? Nervous from not seeing me?"

  "Never mind. Let's go before traffic builds."

  Holiday travel to hometowns indeed meant congestion.

  Our first destination was a D-Rank Gate in Cheongyang County, Chungcheong Province. Relatively close to the capital yet rarely visited, it still required subjugation, with details posted online.

  This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

  After three and a half hours driving, we reached the Gate.

  Though not completely devoid of Hunters, the area felt quiet.

  While changing and registering, a civil servant greeted us with a bright smile:

  "Welcome, Hunters. Good luck with the hunt!"

  She was a cute girl. I glanced at Si-hyun but detected no change in his expression.

  This guy showed zero reaction to a lovely woman. Strange.

  As we walked toward the Gate, I nudged him lightly.

  "Wasn't she cute?"

  "What? Do you like girls?"

  Asking if I like girls?

  As a man, I should like women... but I felt nothing when seeing pretty females...

  Had I grown numb from always seeing Si-hyun's handsome face?

  "I don't know?"

  Si-hyun fell silent.

  But this wasn't worth discussing anyway, so it didn't matter.

  The Otherworld resembled a game Dungeon, with only two types of Monsters appearing: Slimes and Gargoyles.

  "The early areas have Slimes, then Gargoyles start appearing midway, right?"

  "Yes. These Slimes are hard to defeat in close combat, so they're unpopular."

  Acidic Slimes were indeed difficult to attack directly - Weapons would corrode. My Weapon was special so it didn't matter, but Si-hyun would probably use Mana release to attack.

  After entering, we discovered another reason this place was unpopular-

  The Otherworld had a linear layout. Hunters who arrived before us had already cleared all the Monsters, leaving none for us.

  After thirty minutes of walking, we reached a wide open place with multiple entrances around its perimeter.

  "It branches off from here."

  "Which way should we go?"

  There were over thirty branching paths.

  "Any hints?"

  "Wait."

  Si-hyun pulled out his phone and started checking documents. The internet shouldn't work here... he must have prepared files in advance.

  "Let's see. It says any entrance will eventually converge midway, then branch again into paths leading deeper."

  "So it's a linear structure after all?"

  "Yes. If we're unlucky and follow paths other Hunters took, we might not get any loot at all."

  While hesitating over which path to choose, I noticed stone-like objects placed before some entrances.

  "These are markers, right?"

  "Seems so?"

  Though it felt like gambling, we decided to pick a passage without any stones. Before leaving, we also picked up a stone and placed it at our chosen entrance.

  We advanced slowly and soon found Slimes. I immediately activated my Spear's Light Blade skill, gradually illuminating the dim Dungeon.

  The fighting was monotonous. Si-hyun's Mana release combined with my Spear attacks quickly eliminated the Slimes, leaving only their core Magic Stones behind.

  "Look at this."

  The light from my blade brightened the entire Dungeon.

  "Just like a searchlight!"

  I swung my Spear around, shining light everywhere.

  "Dangerous."

  Ignoring Si-hyun's warning, I kept swinging until my Spear tip got stuck in the wall.

  With a rumble, part of the wall collapsed.

  "Sorry."

  "Never mind, let's go. We need to return before dark."

  Maybe it was because this was my first Expedition with Si-hyun in a while? I seemed too excited.

  After my mistake, we continued hunting in silence.

  About two hours later, we reached another large open space.

  "Gargoyles should appear from here on, right?"

  "Probably. There are small stones here too."

  We chose a path without stones. Unlike the Slime passages, we soon reached an open space with several statues.

  "One, two, three..."

  Fifteen statues total.

  "They might all awaken at once. Be careful."

  "Right."

  I checked my Spear, the light was still active.

  While advancing cautiously, we must have entered their detection range as the gargoyles began stirring with mechanical sounds.

  "They're coming. Get ready."

  I tightened my grip on my spear and charged in the opposite direction from Si-hyun.

  "Hey!?"

  Ignoring Si-hyun's startled sound, I severed the head of a gargoyle that had just activated.

  The numbers were still in their favor. Maintaining tension while continuously expending Mana, I eliminated six through evasive maneuvers. Meanwhile, Si-hyun dispatched the remaining nine.

  "Wasn't that too reckless, charging out suddenly?"

  "I've grown stronger too. I'm no longer someone who needs your constant protection."

  My solo journeys had taught me that.

  Si-hyun wore a troubled expression.

  "Sigh, fine. But warn me before you rush in next time."

  "Alright."

  My impulsive charge was indeed wrong this time. Probably a habit carried over from my solo days.

  Being only D-Class, we completed the subjugation without encountering real danger and finally reached the dungeon's end.

  "I thought this would be a treasure room, but there's nothing here."

  "That's just how Gates are."

  We chose an unexplored path for our return as well.

  The Magic Stones we collected were fewer than expected. Was it because it was a dungeon type? The limited scale of the Otherworld meant fewer monsters.

  After exiting the Gate, we discussed our next steps.

  "Shall we go to a motel?"

  Si-hyun seemed slightly flustered by this.

  "Um, well..."

  While we could sleep in the car, I wanted to shower after working up a sweat.

  "I want to rinse off."

  Si-hyun, who had been taking deep breaths, suddenly went expressionless.

  "Understood."

  Finally back to his usual self.

  We headed to the city to exchange the Magic Stones, then found a nearby motel.

  After hastily checking in, I declared I would shower first.

  Nothing beats rinsing off after sweating.

  When I emerged, I found Si-hyun fidgeting restlessly.

  "What are you spacing out for? Go wash up."

  "Ah? Oh, right."

  -

  I took his change of clothes and stuffed them into a plastic bag.

  "Let see..."

  I searched for nearby laundromats on my phone.

  Finding a self-service laundry five minutes away, I took both our clothes there.

  The empty laundromat was quiet. After loading the machines, I alternated between staring blankly at the spinning drums and playing on my phone to pass time. Once done, I carried the dried clothes back to the motel.

  Entering the room, I found Si-hyun curled up gloomily.

  "What are you doing?"

  "Where did you go?"

  "Drying the clothes."

  Disappointment was plain on his face.

  "Oh, I see."

  "What's wrong?"

  "Nothing. My expectations are my own problem."

  I didn't understand at all. What had he been expecting?

  Unfortunately, the cheap motel had no sofa, forcing us to share the bed. For some reason, Si-hyun was lying dangerously close to the edge, making me uneasy.

  "what are you doing? Move inward."

  "No need, this is fine."

  "You'll fall off. Come here."

  I forcibly dragged him to the inner side of the bed.

  Finally giving up resistance, Si-hyun lay down facing away from me.

  "Aren't you ashamed?"

  "Now you bring this up? How many times have we slept together?"

  "Hmm, true. Why only think of it now?"

  Si-hyun adopted a posture that absolutely wouldn't allow him to look my way. How strange, just months ago we could sleep together without any issue.

  Not that I'm completely without shame, but what exactly was he thinking?

  He's the one who needs to drive later, yet he wasn't considering proper rest.

  Unable to comprehend Si-hyun's behavior, I simply went to sleep.

  No point agonizing over it, Si-hyun surely had his reasons.

  -

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