“Hmm... What is this? How am I supposed to do it?”
“I’m sorry, Master. I have no idea either.”
In the dim hours of dawn, the living room was the only part of the house illuminated.
Kang Hyunsoo and Swallow stared at the message floating in the air with serious expressions.
There was nothing wrong with the living room itself—quite the opposite.
A luxurious entertainment center adorned the space, complete with a massive TV, a stark contrast to the one-room studio Hyunsoo had once lived in.
After clearing an A-rank dungeon, he had moved from his cramped studio to this upscale home.
Though he hadn’t had the time to search for or move into a new place himself, Go Kyungseok, the head of the Hunter Bureau, had provided him with this premium residence.
The house came fully furnished with all essentials, cleaning services every three days, and even a spacious underground training area.
While the lack of protective barriers meant he couldn’t use his more destructive skills, it was sufficient for light training.
The environment was as ideal as it could get.
Yet despite these improvements, Hyunsoo and Swallow frowned deeply, all because of the message hovering before them:
[You have reached the 10th Absolute Beauty Quest.]
[A special mission has been assigned to elevate your rank further.]
[Absolute Beauty Quest 10]
[Unlock your resonance through a beautiful choice. (3%)]
Hyunsoo had received this new Absolute Beauty Quest not long ago.
After sweeping through Lazy Baek Jinnam’s store and collecting clothes from other shops, the following message had appeared:
[You have completed Auxiliary Beauty Quest 16.]
[Collect 300 unique pieces of clothing (300/300).]
[Rewards:]
[Charm +5]
[Fashion ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ rank increased significantly from E to C.]
[Fashion-related Appearance Power effect +100%.]
[Fashion now provides a default 100% bonus to Appearance Power gains.]
Completing the auxiliary quest had brought substantial rewards.
Then came the next challenge:
[Fashion rank requirements met.]
[Absolute Beauty Quest assigned.]
[Absolute Beauty Quest 10]
[Unlock your resonance through a beautiful choice. (3%)]
For once, the Absolute Beauty Quest was accessible—but it came with a problem.
No one, not even Swallow, understood what “a beautiful choice” meant. Even more perplexing was the fact that 3% of the quest had already been completed without them knowing how.
This lack of clarity was a serious issue.
Without knowing how to progress, the quest could take days—or even months—of trial and error.
No, months would be optimistic.
Some Hunters never completed their quests, giving up out of frustration.
While Hyunsoo had mastered the process of clearing swordsmanship quests thanks to his past-life experience, the beauty quests were entirely new. Their vague and often absurd requirements frequently left him at a loss.
Swallow had been an invaluable guide so far, but even he was stumped by this one.
“Forgive me, Master. As your beauty assistant, I am ashamed to admit that I have no clue how to approach this quest.”
“Tch. No use beating you up over it. That won’t solve anything.”
Hyunsoo sat cross-legged on the floor, glaring at the floating message.
Normally, he’d berate or tease Swallow, but he knew it wouldn’t help.
Besides, the quest wasn’t completely stalled—3% had already been achieved. Maybe the progress would increase naturally if he continued his routine.
As Hyunsoo and Swallow mulled over the meaning of “a beautiful choice,” his phone buzzed, signaling an incoming text.
[Asenne’s Do Minjung: Hey, Hunter, what are you up to? I just finished practice and have a little downtimeㅎㅎ.]
“It’s from Do Minjung.”
“Hmm, so it is.”
The text ended with a playful tone, but Hyunsoo barely reacted.
To her fans, such a casual and affectionate message would’ve been electrifying, but to him, it was just another text in a growing pile.
[Samcheon Guild’s Jin Seoyun: Been busy lately? Let’s go on a raid together sometime!]
[Hunter Bureau’s Choi Jiwoo: The Babylon agents we captured are starting to talk. We’ll likely find their base soon—I’ll keep you posted.]
[Yuhana the Hunter: Shopping was so fun, Hyunsoo oppa! I’ll definitely use the salon voucher you gave me!]
It wasn’t just Do Minjung; messages from other women arrived regularly without any effort on his part.
“Hehe. Truly the Alpha Male, Master. Messages from a chaebol’s daughter, the star of the Hunter Bureau, a future world-renowned Hunter, and Korea’s top idol—all at once? Impressive.”
“Alpha Male, my ass... They’re just coincidences.”
Anyone would consider this network of connections extraordinary, but Hyunsoo didn’t think much of it.
In his previous life, he might have fantasized about dating one of them. However, he now understood they weren’t interested in him romantically. Besides, he wasn’t in a position to entertain such thoughts.
“Phew. Thinking won’t solve this. Let’s just get moving.”
Rising from the living room floor, Hyunsoo returned to his routine.
He maintained his Appearance Power by staying well-groomed, donned outfits suited to his dungeon raids, and focused on slaughtering monsters to level up.
After a week of intense leveling, his progress was remarkable.
His level climbed from 300 to 360, and his swordsmanship became even sharper.
Yet—
[Absolute Beauty Quest 10]
[Unlock your resonance through a beautiful choice. (6%)]
The quest’s progress had barely budged, increasing by only 3% over the week.
What puzzled him even more was the lack of any discernible cause for the increase.
The progress had gone up seemingly at random, after nights of mundane activities and rest.
“Hmm... Is it capped at 3% per week? If not, I can’t explain this.”
“It seems there’s a specific action that boosts the progress, Master. We just don’t know what it is.”
Once again, Hyunsoo and Swallow found themselves on the living room floor, staring at the floating message in frustration.
At that moment, his phone buzzed again.
[Asenne’s Do Minjung]
This time, it wasn’t a text—it was a call.
“Yes, Minjung?”
-Haha... Hi, Hunter! I’m off today, so I thought I’d call. What were you up to?
“I was taking a short break myself. Just finished a raid not long ago.”
For the past week, their interactions had been limited to polite exchanges of pleasantries.
After their meeting at the Han River, they hadn’t had much to discuss, yet Do Minjung continued to reach out with texts and calls.
But this time, her words carried a different tone—one that caught him off guard.
-Ah, that’s good to hear! So, Hunter... would you like to come over to my place?
***
"Ah, so this is Asenne's residence. I expected an apartment, but a secluded house in a quiet neighborhood? That’s unexpected."
“Well, it is a luxury housing complex, so it’s probably better than an apartment. Anyone suspicious would stand out immediately here.”
At the end of a dark alley, Kang Hyunsoo and Swallow stood chatting, gazing up at the massive house before them.
During the phone call with Do Minjung, Hyunsoo had accepted her invitation without hesitation.
Though their relationship was still a bit awkward, when asked to meet, he hadn’t given it a second thought and came straight away.
Hyunsoo approached the large gate and pressed the doorbell.
At that moment—
Buzz! Click!
A flash of light went off as a camera activated, and the gate swung open.
“Alright, I’ll cancel the summon as planned. You know what to do—stay on standby.”
“Yes, Master. Please make this a success.”
[The summon of the Beauty Assistant has been canceled.]
After dismissing Swallow’s summon, Hyunsoo climbed the steps and entered the grand estate.
The moment he stepped inside—
“Welcome, Hunter Kang Hyunsoo. You must be tired from the long trip.”
The front door opened, and Do Minjung greeted him warmly.
“......?!”
Hyunsoo froze for a moment.
It seemed she had dressed casually at home—a short dress that left much of her pale legs exposed, paired with heavy makeup contrasting her natural look.
Meanwhile, Minjung tilted her head curiously at his reaction, as if unaware of anything unusual.
“Please, come in, Hunter.”
“Oh, uh... sure. But wow, your house is huge. Is this your accommodation?”
“It’s a temporary residence. We were supposed to move to another location, but our schedule got delayed, so Chairwoman Hayuri arranged this place for us.”
“Ah, so you’re staying here with the other members of Asenne?”
“Yes, that’s right. But the others are all out with their individual schedules, so I’m the only one home right now. Please, follow me this way.”
Hyunsoo followed Minjung into the house.
The spacious hallways and numerous doors hinted at the house’s grandeur. Paintings and porcelain sculptures adorned the walls and corners, a testament to the exorbitant value of this “temporary” residence.
Minjung led him to the largest door at the end of the corridor.
Inside, a luxurious sitting room unfolded, complete with a dazzling chandelier hanging above an elegant table and plush sofas.
Minjung gestured for Hyunsoo to sit before excusing herself.
“I’ll grab us something to drink. Please make yourself comfortable.”
With an awkward smile, she left the room.
Click.
The sudden silence was jarring.
He had gotten used to Swallow’s constant chatter, even when alone. Now, without even that, the quiet felt almost alien.
It was a rare and peaceful stillness.
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Leaning back against the sofa, Hyunsoo closed his eyes for a moment.
The room was quiet, the temperature pleasantly cool, and a subtle, luxurious fragrance hinted at a high-end air freshener.
The atmosphere was soothing, as if it were encouraging him to relax and let go.
‘I can rest a bit. Minjung will wake me if I fall asleep.’
Allowing his body to succumb to the comfort, Hyunsoo drifted off.
Partly, he was still recovering from the fatigue of relentless raids, but there was something about this place that seemed to draw out his weariness.
Just as he surrendered to the growing drowsiness—
Swish...
A soft, delicate touch glided down the nape of his neck.