Everyone gets three chances in life.
...or so they say. I didn't believe it at first.
"Heh heh, heh heh heh... Hee hee..."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
[Deposit] 100,000,000 won - XX Bank
Now I have no choice but to believe it.
Ah, seriously. Who would've thought such luck would come my way?
Just for pretending to be friendly with that girl from the Recovery Department a few times and then betraying her, I get 100 million won. Talk about striking gold.
Sure, I had to give up on the Cheonmu Hunter Academy exam, but who cares? There's no way I could've handled the practical test with my skills anyway. A real monster hunt for the practical? Does that even make sense?
And even if I somehow passed, it wouldn't be worth more than 100 million, right? There are plenty of other hunter academies out there besides Cheonmu. I can just ace the exam at one of those.
'How many zeros is that? It's unreal seeing this much money in my account.'
With this, I won't even have to worry about four years of tuition. It's overflowing to the point where tuition isn't even an issue.
That Kim Isabel girl must've pissed off someone really twisted. 100 million just to sabotage her exam? What kind of psycho did she cross?
...Whatever. Thanks to that psycho, I'm rolling in cash, so I don't care.
'A real monster hunt? If it weren't for this insane request, I would've bolted the second I heard.'
Convincing that scaredy-cat took so much effort. Good thing I'll never have to see her again.
No way one girl from Recovery could handle a dungeon alone and pass the exam properly. And if there's an accident, the academy will handle the rescue, right? Can't have casualties.
Well... even if she gets hurt by some bad luck, that's not on me.
'It does feel a bit iffy.'
...Come to think of it, how did that guy know the practical was a real monster hunt? I remember it being hologram monsters up until last year.
I asked a bunch of questions, but he just told me to do the job and shut up, so I did.
Ah, whatever. It's done now. What can I do about it anyway?
The money's in the account. I'm washing my hands of it.
'Chicken, pizza, and mala tang for dinner tonight!'
Eat my fill and forget it all.
Just think of it as a high-paying part-time gig!
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"Da-Dark Spear!"
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡
Dark Spear
-Stab!
'Grrgh...'
The orc corpse pierced through the throat by Cha Eun-ju's dark magic spell crumpled backward.
After thirty minutes in the dungeon, having taken down over a dozen monsters, signs of fatigue were starting to show on Cha Eun-ju.
"Huff, huff..."
Unlike Shadow Ball, which she could fire off casually, Dark Spear required compressed mana and intense focus.
She'd started with goblins but had been facing orcs nonstop lately, so it was no wonder she was tiring out.
And unlike training in a stationary field, she had to trek through forests and mountains to hunt them down, which took its toll.
"Tired? Want to take a break?"
"I-I'm fine... I still need more materials..."
"No need to push yourself. You've got about an hour left on the clock, so take it slow."
"B-But don't you need to gather them fast for a good score...?"
"They didn't dock points for submitting late on the written exam. Probably the same here."
"I guess..."
"I'll handle gathering while you rest against that tree or something. Hand over your pouch."
"O-Okay..."
Judging that she couldn't move while I gathered anyway, Cha Eun-ju handed me her pouch and leaned against the tree.
Now on my fourth orc, I butchered its chest and head, extracting the two most valuable parts and stowing one in each pouch.
[8/10]
[8/10]
The orc heart—the most prized part—went into Cha Eun-ju's pouch, while the valuable brain went into mine.
We could've split evenly, but I was deliberately funneling the best stuff her way so she could score higher.
I didn't need to worry about tuition anyway; passing was enough for me. Her getting top marks and a scholarship would benefit me too.
If she took part-time gigs for tuition, it'd cut into our dating time—which meant less taming time, delaying her full submission as my obedient slave.
I wasn't doing this out of pure affection for Cha Eun-ju; it was all calculated self-interest. Though it helped her too, of course.
'Just two more slots left. One's reserved for that "special" one at the end...'
One more orc or two goblins, and we'd be done.
Plenty of time before the main event, so let's focus on her stamina recovery.
"Butchering's done, Eun-ju. Rest a bit more here, then we'll move..."
"Mm, hmmm..."
"..."
She must've been exhausted; she'd fallen asleep quietly while I worked.
Makes sense—she'd soloed for both of us nonstop for thirty minutes.
Trekking the woods hugging those massive breasts? For a homebody like her, unlike my daily conditioning routine, it must've been grueling.
-Plop.
Planning a slow start anyway, I sat beside her and quietly watched her sleeping face.
I'd seen her "hypnotized" act plenty, but genuine sleep? First time today.
"Mm, huff..."
"..."
Her huge breasts rose and fell with each breath.
That naturally lewd body of hers stirred base urges again.
'No one's around...'
We'd gone deep hunting strong mobs, so most students probably wouldn't venture here.
Maybe the perfect chance to test how much I'd tamed the real Cha Eun-ju—not the Suggestion: Hypnosis version.
-Poke, poke.
"Mm, mmm..."
She reacted to my finger prodding her soft cheek—not deep sleep, then.
Thinking this chance wouldn't come again easily, I cautiously cupped her breasts with both hands and rubbed slowly.
-Rub, rub.
"Nnh, n-nnh..."
Just gentle strokes over her thick tracksuit at first—bland response.
Slowly ramping up would wake her naturally, letting her realize I was groping her.
Would she keep "sleeping," or feign waking with resistance? That'd gauge her conditioning.
A normal girl might bolt up furious, but Cha Eun-ju—heart mostly mine already—probably wouldn't.
Judging so, I rubbed her chest, then squeezed harder.
-Squeeze.
"N-nnh...?"
...Woke her right up.
Wanted to catch her waking expression, but eye contact might force her to drop the act.
So I avoided her face, focusing on her breasts, rubbing up and down slowly.
-Squish, squish.
"...Ngh."
-Squish, squish.
"...Hah, ngh..."
...She's sticking to the act, anyway.
Natural moans escaped in light sleep, but now she stifled them obviously.
If undertamed, she'd fake rising and pretend nothing happened.
Knowing I was groping her and not resisting? Proof the past days' work paid off.
Best harvest: this reaction without Suggestion: Hypnosis. Means I can condition her body directly from now on—no skill needed.
Like faking hypnosis without using it, forcing her to play along as if real.
Then I'd see true "hypnotized" acting, not skill-induced.
'Can't wait just thinking about it.'
Skill-forced acting was convenient, but nothing beat genuine submission.
-Grip!
"Ngh, nhf...!"
One final firm squeeze, then I pulled away.
Not the spot for full training. Linger too long, someone might show.
Got all the intel I needed; this was plenty.
-Pat, pat.
"Cha Eun-ju, wake up."
"...Wh-what?"
...Her acting's awful.
Painfully awkward "just-woke-up" routine. I barely held back a laugh.
"Time to move. Materials are done."
"S-Sorry. I must've dozed off..."
"Yeah, looked like it."
"I was really asleep until you woke me, Seon-ho."
"Sure. You were out cold."
"..."
Adding excuses in case I doubted—adorable.
She seemed recovered, so time to find Kim Isabel or Han Sora.
Miss the event window, and Kim Isabel escapes with their hero's help—triggering his awakening.
Seo Woo-jin's power: grows stronger with women's affection. Gotta block those flags hard.
'Can't let my girls fall for that loser.'
Kim Isabel, Han Sora, Cha Eun-ju—all mine.
Anyone threatening my harem plan—hero or not—gets axed.