Chick 162
by CristaeChick Class Hunter Is Doing His Filial Duty! Episode 162
After a lecture from the teacher about not bothering friends, Groo returned and sat back down in his place.
Unfazed by the teacher’s scolding, Groo gripped his trowel with renewed determination.
“Groo, this time the goal is to become friends with Hu-yeon.”
“Is that so?”
Uju answered indifferently.
“Yeah! I need to show her lots of earthworms.”
Swallowing a rising sense of nausea as he recalled the slippery worms, Uju cast a troubled glance at Groo. He doubted Hu-yeon actually wanted to see any worms, but Groo seemed wholly unconcerned with her wishes.
Suddenly, Uju noticed the fox keyring attached to Hu-yeon’s trowel.
He, too, had a chick keyring dangling from his bag.
They were character goods modeled after the members of Hyeonak Guild.
Ever since learning Groo was part of Hyeonak, Uju had joined the Hyeonak supporters, watched all the videos, saved every photo… In short, he’d begun proper fan activity.
So he recognized it immediately: that keyring was a brand-new piece of Hyeonak merchandise, fresh on the market.
Joorim was the black wolf, Groo the pale yellow chick, Nayeon the brown rabbit, and then…
‘If it’s the fox character… is that Dan?’
So that’s why she kept glancing over.
Since Dan adored Groo, Hu-yeon must have wanted to become friends with him too.
But days had passed and she still hadn’t summoned the courage to speak, managing only furtive glances.
Not that it was any concern of his. Uju turned his attention back to Groo.
Groo, still clutching his trowel, was speaking fervently.
“And you know… I’m going to become the Supreme Hunter. That’s why I do filial duty.”
“Supreme?”
Groo stabbed the trowel into the soil.
“Yeah. Supreme!”
As Uju tried to recall what ‘supreme’ meant, Groo continued, this time in a solemn voice.
“I can do it, just like Dad. Helping people in need!”
‘A Supreme Hunter…’
A halo seemed to shine behind Groo.
Uju’s breath caught, his mouth falling open.
‘He’s so cool…!’
As Groo puffed his cheeks in pride, Uju turned to the garden, his face glowing red.
“Oh! Uju, Groo made Mefi-1 again! Take a look.”
Groo took out the chick drone he’d built during craft time, and Uju checked it over. They’d worked on modifying the drone together at home once.
‘Though I mostly just watched…’
Suppressing a little feeling of inadequacy, Uju asked,
“Is it stronger now? Why was it weak before?”
“Dad said it’s because when the magic energy turns into electricity, there’s a loss, and that’s why it gets weaker.”
Uju nodded with a troubled expression.
He didn’t understand a thing.
Sensing this, Groo drew a picture in the dirt with a stick.
“The circle magic stone becomes triangle electricity.”
Groo drew a small triangle inside a circle.
“This part that’s left disappears, that’s what it means.”
“Ohhh…”
Now understanding, Uju asked,
“So what do you do about it?”
“Well, you use a really, really expensive magic stone or you make the triangle bigger…”
“An expensive magic stone… wouldn’t that cost hundreds of millions…?”
Groo gave a low, knowing laugh.
“That’s why Groo made an amplifier!”
Ta-da! Groo opened the chick’s chest to reveal a magic stone fitted inside a capsule.
“But then another problem came up.”
Groo activated the Mephisto Series Prototype mk.1.
Crackle—!
The chick released an electric attack that covered a wider area now, but it was still only about as strong as static electricity—nowhere near powerful enough to be useful in a dungeon.
‘Maybe making equipment is still too hard for Groo.’
Groo raked at the soil with his trowel and heaved a deep sigh.
No matter what anyone says, equipment is the crown jewel for manufacturing types!
The romance is seeing an item you made flying through the dungeon!
But so far, Groo had only managed some excellent syrup—and even that was just C-Class!
While Groo was moping, Uju, lost in thought, spoke up.
“Can’t you collect the electricity first before firing it?”
“Collect it?”
“Right now, the electricity just spreads everywhere, doesn’t it?”
Uju used a stick to draw squiggly lines like steam around the triangle.
“Yeah, like Pikachu.”
“But if you gathered the energy in one spot and fired it, wouldn’t it be a lot stronger?”
“Like a gun?”
“Yeah.”
“Hohhh…”
It was an intriguing idea.
Groo poked thoughtfully at the dirt with his trowel.
Hyeonak’s training hall.
Having changed clothes, Dan accepted a sports drink from the in-house PR content team staff who’d been waiting for him.
“Dan, why don’t we rest a bit before filming your training video?”
“Okay~ Dan’s on the move~”
Dan answered playfully as he wiped his face with a towel.
He’d just returned from shooting a strategy walkthrough in his sponsor-branded outfit.
There was a set amount of video to record per the contract, so he had to film whenever he could find the time.
They’d planned a short break before starting the next shoot.
Draping the towel around his neck, Dan asked Hwang Yumin, head of the promo team,
“About what Lee Soyeon said. Is that making things tough for the company?”
Hwang Yumin let out a soft sigh.
“It is tough, but it’s not the first time. This’ll blow over. Things will quiet down in time, but unfortunately, it’s contract renewal season, and that’s the real headache.”
If a bunch of contracts got canceled at once and no new deals came in until public opinion settled, this quarter’s revenue would…
Hwang Yumin ground her teeth, cursing Lee Soyeon.
The noise was so fierce it sounded as if her teeth might shatter, and Dan nodded nervously.
“I see…”
“Don’t worry yourself too much. The demand for S-Class idols is always high.”
Idol, she said. Dan gave a wry, put-upon smile.
“So you’re planning to overwork me to make up for the losses?”
“Mmm, clever. That’s why you escaped repeating a grade.”
“Come on, noona! That was only because of attendance issues!”
Giggling, Hwang Yumin took a step back from the now-bristling Dan.
“Really, don’t worry. It’s not like I’m trapping us all on a sinking ship. It’s just… a sinking ship.”
“How can anyone say that and then tell me not to worry?”
She folded her arms and scowled.
“Seriously, at times like this it’d be great if our Japso Hunter could step up—just make a quick appearance in a Hyeonak promo video, right?”
Dan let out a soft laugh at Yumin’s hope.
“That’ll be hard.”
“Or maybe Serhi…”
In difficult times like these, Hwang Yumin was eager to get anyone to help promote Hyeonak.
Creak, creak—
A four-wheeled bicycle burst energetically into the training hall.
- Dan! I have a proposal…
The mechanical voice trailed off, cutting short.
All eyes—Dan’s, the PR staff’s, and those of everyone preparing for shooting—turned to the teddy bear riding the bicycle.
“…Japso?”
As soon as someone said it, the bicycle spun on its axis.
Creak, creak—
The four-wheeler, picking up speed, headed quickly back toward the entrance of the training hall.
‘Busted!’
Groo pedaled furiously, trying to escape.
But—
Grab!
‘Nngh! Nnnngh!’
The pedals wouldn’t move.
‘It won’t budge!’
The unfinished teddy bear’s head slowly turned to look back.
The long rear handle was firmly gripped by a woman.
“HUNTER! We’ve been waiting for you! Today, we’re going to treat you right!”
Hwang Yumin, head of the PR team, was all smiles—she’d caught herself the perfect prize. Staff members were also gathering in groups around Groo, blocking all escape.
‘S-Scary!’
Groo trembled, dwarfed by their looming shadows.
Dan pressed his hand to his forehead, looking troubled.
He had heard the bicycle and guessed it was Groo, but hadn’t expected him to show up in full gear.
‘This is bad.’
The PR hyenas would never let a prize like Japso escape once he’d walked right into their nest.