On Hiatus: God's Personal Reasons

Chapter 66: I’m the Star Hunter Lecturer, Yu Il-Shin

I let out a curt sigh as I looked at the small and feisty Ko Myeong-Ji, burning with determination. Was she that eager to spar with me?

Actually, I could see why she was acting like that. She must’ve been frustrated at how I’d been conducting lessons in the past week. I left my students to self-study while sleeping the whole time. I must’ve been a bad substitute teacher.

This morning.

“Ouch, my head.”

As if having a splitting headache wasn’t enough, the first thing I saw in the wee hours of morning was...

“Groooooook!”

Homeless Uncle, Choi Kang-San, snored loudly with his stomach out. The redhead youngster, Baek Yoo-Hyun, who looked more like an idol than a Hunter, was snuggled up to him. They were both fast asleep.

Fuck, my eyes! My eyes!

A few empty bottles of alcohol rolled near their feet. They chugged them last night.

And you’re telling me they’re S-rank Hunters? I could sense a dark future looming over South Korea.

“Haa.” Sighing, I kicked the two rude men lightly. “Excuse me. Shouldn\'t you be sleeping at home?”

Neither of them reacted, so I decided to stomp on them instead. They didn’t budge in the slightest. As expected of S-rank Hunters and of the Combat-type. If it had been just a day or two, I’d let them be. But it’d been a week! I was growing frustrated with each passing day.

On the first day...

Choi Kang-San came to my dorm, bringing an armful of alcohol. He wanted to congratulate me on landing the job.

“Haha! Congratulations on getting the job, lad! This calls for alcohol!”

My boss congratulated me with free alcohol, so I gladly accepted it.

The next day...

“Yeah, Yoo-Hyun. Why are you here?”

“How can I turn a blind eye when my partner is troubling someone! I’ve gotten my hands on a good bottle of alcohol, so I brought it along as a gift!”

He had a point. I was forced to live with Sung Mi-Na to help restore her memory. Baek Yoo-Hyun brought a few bottles of alcohol as compensation, and they were too good to refuse.

A case of Johnnie Walker Blue King George V. A bottle of rare alcohol, which was hard to come by. Simply put, the temptation was too strong.

“Welcome in, Hunter Baek Yoo-Hyun.”

“Haha. Why are you so stiff? Just call me hyung.”

“Okay, Yoo-Hyun hyung.”

Heck, I was even willing to call him “father” for that Johnnie Walker Blue King George V. That day, the three of us drank happily.

The third day... I clutched my head from the awful hangover that resulted from drinking two days in a row. My grunting was interrupted by my editor-in-charge.

Mighty Editor-in-Charge: Hahaha! Mr. Yu! Congratulations!

Yu Il-Shin the Almighty: Yes? Ah, did you find out that I got employed?

Mighty Editor-in-Charge: Oh, c’mon, Mr. Yu, stop playing dumb. Your latest novel on Dalpia won first place in the Best Popular Novel rankings!

Yu Il-Shin the Almighty: Huh? Really? You’re joking, right?

Mighty Editor-in-Charge:

(stern teddy bear emoticon) You really have no clue? No wonder you haven’t updated in so many days! Go check it out!

It was indeed news to me. After seeing the offensive comments and disastrous view count, I thought my latest novel was hopeless. I quickly accessed Dalpia and looked at the popularity rankings.

Dalpia Golden Best Popular Novel rankings

1st. God-Gamer God-Writer (Writer: TheOnlyGod)

“N-no way!”

I felt struck by lightning. It was real. It had arrived—the day I reached the top of the popularity rankings! Moreover, the waves of negative comments from before had now turned into full-blown praise

-Il-Ho is so cute!

-When will our pearly doll Anty appear?

-Muuuscles! Writer-nim! Make the Gayamis appear more often, please!

-Darn it, the intelligence of the main character...

Katalk katalk!

Mighty Editor-in-Charge: You should upload the next chapter! Your readers are dying to read it! This is the most important period! Maintain this hype until it becomes a paid serialization! As you may know, I believe in you. Good luck! (cheering teddy bear emoji)

Trickle—

A single tear rolled down my face. I was in despair, thinking that my writing career had ended. But it didn’t. Just as I was crying tears of joy, Choi Kang-San and Baek Yoo-Hyun appeared out of nowhere.

“What’s wrong, Lad? Did something happen?”

After hearing my story, the two of them exclaimed in delight.

“Ooh! We should celebrate this! Lad—no, Writer Yu! I never knew you had such a talent! So, you weren’t just an ordinary jobless guy!”

“Jobless? Did you think that I was unemployed all this time...?”

“Haha! We can’t sit around on a day like this! Kang-San hyungnim! Il-Shin bro! I’ll treat you guys to a meal!”

“No, wait! I have to work on the novel!”

The fourth day...

“Aigoo, my head hurts. I’ve grown old. I’m already hungover after three days of drinking? Unbelievable... Age is catching up on me.”

“Why don’t we sober up with some hangover drink?”

“Yes, hangover alcohol! The only way to cure a hangover! Hahaha! Yoo-Hyun knows his stuff. Lad, you’ll join us, right?”

“Get lost! I have a novel to write!”

“Hehe, even if you say no, your body doesn’t lie. Bwahaha! How does the Ballantine 30 Years taste in your throat? Tasty, isn’t it?”

The fifth day...

“What a gloomy day. How about having Dongdongju and Korean pancakes?”

“An excellent choice.”

“I-I’m done...”

“Nuh-huh! Did you forget our oath that night? Like Liu Bei, Zhang Fei, and Guan Yu’s Oath of the Peach Garden, we seek not to be born on the same day! We merely hope to drink on the same day!”

“What nonsense is that!”

“Tsk. Yoo-Hyun, drag him away!”

“Got it, Hyungnim.”

“Let me go! I said let me go! Let go of me, you drunken fools!”

The sixth day...

With a light gesture, Choi Kang-San suggested another round of drinks. Baek Yoo-Hyun nodded, before grabbing onto my shoulder when I attempted to escape.

Then, it led to the present, today.

They were a menace. Choi Kang-San was a raging alcoholic. Despite his adamant refusal, Baek Yoo-Hyun clearly had feelings for Sung Mi-Na. Thus, they stuck to me and invited themselves over so shamelessly.

Of course, I could see why he’d be bothered to see his crush sleeping with another man. But I wasn’t even alone with Sung Mi-Na. Did I look that shady?

“Sword Demon. Throw these men out.” I said to the other tenant in my room.

Sword Demon slept like a statue among the stacks of statues in the corner. When he heard my instruction, his eyes flew open.

“Understood!”

Deftly slinging Choi Kang-San over his shoulder, he lifted Baek Yoo-Hyun with another hand and strode out the door.

Toss!

I could faintly hear the sound of something being thrown away in the distance.

Snore snore—

Only the Sung sisters were left in the room. They snuggled up to each other, sound asleep. The sight comforted me, like a ray of sunlight.

Nice. Now that the menaces are gone, let’s complete the manuscript before I head off to work.

I turned on my laptop.

Tadak. Tadadak.

Thus, in the first year of the Yu Il-Shin calendar, Saintess Anty was crowned the first empress of the Holy Nation of Gayami.

Unable to withstand the tyranny of the empire, refugees from all across the continent joined them. Soon, the Gayami population reached fifty million. The Gayami tribe had evolved into a nation.

Holy Empress Anty wore a radiant golden crown and pure white robes as bright as the dawn. The moment she appeared in the city square, both the people and Gayami armored soldiers fell to their knees. They marveled at her venerable figure, blessed by God Yu Il-Shin’s grace.

Then, Holy Empress Anty extended her hands to the people, opening her pomegranate-red lips.

“Finally, this day has come. How we have suffered! How many of our people have perished by the empire\'s blades? If not for the mercy and grace of God Yu Il-Shin, we would be facing extinction! My beloved people, are you witnessing this? Our gallant, hundred generals and valiant soldiers of Gayami! I, the first Holy Empress of the Holy Nation of Gayami, Anty the First, shall stand against the corrupt empire! I shall save our people from destruction, and spread the teaching of our great and merciful God Yu Il-Shin!”

“Waaaah! Long live the Holy Empress!”

“Everyone! Do you believe in God Yu Il-Shin?”

“Yes! God Yu Il-Shin is the one true god! Puck Yu Il-Shin! Puck!”

The people and soldiers cheered in unison.

Meanwhile, Il-Ho was still challenging the Tower of the Warriors...

I had been working on my manuscript for a while when...

Pull—

I felt a tug on my sleeve.

I turned around and saw Sung Mi-Na rubbing her eyes drowsily.

“Me, hungry.”

Thanks to my treatment, Sung Mi-Na had recovered quite a bit. Her mental age should be around ten years old now, I think?

Haa, I had intended to write about Il-Ho’s adventure today, when he cleared the 20th floor of the Tower of Warriors and obtained the divine sword. But the kid said she was hungry, so I had to feed her.

“Anything you want to eat?”

“Kimchi fried rice! Make me kimchi fried rice!”

“Alright. Please wait a while.”

As someone who’d lived an independent lifestyle for the past five years, kimchi fried rice was a child’s play.

Clunk clunk!

In the desk drawer, a certain kitchen knife shook violently, asking me to use it. Naturally, I didn’t.

Pouring ample cooking oil onto the frying pan, I seared the finely chopped scallions to let out the fragrance. Then, I added sliced kimchi and cold rice to stir-fry. Lastly, I added a soft-boiled egg with runny yolk as a topping.

“Wow! Looks so yummy!”

With sparkling eyes, Sung Mi-Na ate the fried rice, nicely coated with scallion oil, with delish.

“Ms. Sung Mi-Ri, wake up and have some.”

“Mmm, did you prepare a meal for us again...? You should’ve woken me up instead...”

“You’re still growing, so you need more sleep. Go wash up first.”

“Sniff sniff.”

Choi Kang-San suddenly appeared on the porch like a ghost. He was lying down. His sense of smell, similar to a dog\'s, must have brought him back.

“Is it time to eat? Oof, my stomach hurts... Got any soup?”

“Just eat whatever’s available.” I frowned.

Sword Demon entered the house by stepping on Choi Kang-San’s head.

“Blergh!”

“Ooh! These finely chopped scallions... this sliced kimchi, they’re proof of magnificent talent! Mr. Sword God...! How honorable!”

“This insolent punk! Respect your elder!”

“The hell, old man? Didn’t I throw you into the trash? How did you arrive here first?”

Ugh, even the breakfast was noisy.

Getting rid of those hindrances left me exhausted. When I reached school, I couldn’t muster the energy to do anything. I had to work on the manuscript whenever I was free. After Anty became queen, God-Maker’s system was upgraded, so there were more things I had to oversee. I also had Il-Ho to take care of. He’d always return to me in tatters after his trials at the Tower of Warriors.

On the outside, it might look like I was playing around. In reality, my hands were so full that even two of me might not be enough to keep up. Thankfully, I didn’t have to see both Choi Kang-San and Baek Yoo-Hyun from today on. The Hunter Association summoned them. I saw how dead serious they were during the call. But they were S-rank Hunters, so I shouldn’t think about it.

Sung Mi-Na still wasn’t in the right state to be dispatched. Whenever I was conducting lessons, she was looked after by the school nurse. When I planned to take some rest during class today and work hard on my manuscript...

-----

[Ko Myeong-Ji]

A female human. Around for 19 years.

Special note: Uses decent necromancy skill.

-----

On the other side of the sparring room, Ko Myeong-Ji glared at me with blazing eyes.

While she may be from the high school division, she’s still a student of the academy.

Not only could I see her name in the appraisal window, her evaluation on the special note was also remarkable. The future of South Korea Hunters was promising.

“Let’s go, Mister!”

She pulled off the skull necklace around her neck. “Open your eyes, my familiar Hades!”

Hades? The Netherworld King? From Greek mythology?

“Skill, Summon Necromancy!”

Rooooar!

Darkness surged from the skull necklace, and a towering skeletal being, seemingly three to four meters tall, emerged from it.

Flash!

The skeletal giant glowered down at me, its eyes flashing red. My skill activated on its own.

-----

[Giant Skeleton]

A summon from the famous 7th Realm. Around for 1,100 years.

Special note: Once a knight of the Mountain-Gnawing Titan, but has been reduced to bones over the years.

-----

“Oh, is this necromancy?! I’ve only ever heard about it!”

A necromancer Hunter that commanded corpses! I never expected this little chipsqueek to possess such a rare ability! Things were getting interesting. I could write this in my novel.

-Grrr!

Giant Skeleton roared, swinging its fist down toward me like a hammer.

“Equip malevolent god title: Brutal Killer (C).”

I equipped the title, excited to take on Giant Skeleton, but...

“H-Hades, what’s wrong? Quick, attack him!” Myeong-Ji shouted in panic, but Giant Skeleton remained unmoving like a statue.

Thud!

Then, it fell on all fours before me. I was puzzled and dumbfounded at the situation, when a wild thought popped into my head.

-Lowly...fallen subject...greets...the...great...Supreme...