The Skill Maker

‘Does that mean things will get better from now on?’

What Ariel said had a similar feel to when his mother inquired about his future to a fortune teller.

Now that he thought about it, it was pretty similar.

She said something like his suffering will bring him even more luck.

Because of that, Hyun-s…o…b..came a bit blunt.

Despite the fact that a lot of different people try to meet with her, the information that she provided wasn’t up to his expectations.

Like most people these days, Hyun-Soo also had a pessimistic opinion about superst.i.tion, so it’s possible that he felt that way even more.

“From the things that she had said, there were some vague areas. Ariel can only see a glimpse into the future.”

Kim Yoo-Na agreed with him by saying that she completely understood him.

But she didn’t stop there.

“But it’s weird how her predictions are usually right. Especially the predictions that happen in the near future or are about simple things, they’re usually detailed. On the other hand, for events that happen far off into the future, they’re vague and more symbolic. I think that might be your case Hyun-Soo…”

“Really?”

“On top of that, she sometimes explains it vaguely on purpose. Humans tend to focus on that one thing when they’re told that it’s fixed into their life. Ariel refers to the uncertainty as ‘hope for the future.”

Kim Yoo-Na explained that it’s the key point in separating the future that’s not fixed.

Hyun-Soo was confused by all of this, which caused his head to hurt.

‘d.a.m.n it. Who said it would be good to know the future?’

She said it was different for events that will happen in the near future, but everything that Hyun-Soo heard was vague.

He thought about telling her everything and discussing it with her, but Ariel told him that predictions that are related to him should be kept to himself, so he couldn’t ask.

Predictions could be interpreted differently depending on the point of view.

But still, Hyun-Soo somewhat had an idea as to why she spoke so vaguely about it.

‘Is she trying to make me think about the different directions?’

If she spoke with a conclusion, then that prediction would become reality.

Because it wouldn’t give an opening to other interpretations.

It’s possible that he might not prepare or work hard for it after thinking that it’s been set in stone.

It was probably to put him on guard for that.

‘They did say that the future can be changed.’

It may be a guide, but he knew that it wasn’t the perfect answer.

It’s to make him contemplate and think more so that he can make the best choice.

Even though she sees into the future and predicts their destiny, Ariel explains it in a way so that the listener won’t completely submit to it.

‘Something about it is ironic, but…it could be because I heard it from a fortune teller.’

Repulsion about a set path.

He dreamed about changing the future since he knew about the future.

It was a sort of challenge.

When he thought about it that way, Hyun-Soo felt like he could understand Ariel a little more.

‘I should take my time and think about this.’

The prediction that Ariel made.

What did it mean?

But there wasn’t anyone that could tell him the answer since the actual answer didn’t exist.

While looking at a blank answer sheet, Hyun-Soo realized that there was one thing he needed to take care of.

“Yoo-Na! It’s your turn. Come in!”

Ariel’s voice brought Hyun-s…o…b..ck to his senses.

Kim Yoo-Na disappeared into the transparent door.

It seemed like she came to introduce him and to hear predictions about herself.

Kim Yoo-Na came out moments later.

She had a complicated look on her face.

“Like always, you just need to make the decision. I only provided you with a guideline, but that doesn’t mean it’s the answer.”

Ariel came out with her and spoke with a smile.

Her and Kim Yoo-Na had two different expressions.

‘It seems like she’s a difficult person to understand.’

Ariel reminded him of a Sphinx that gave a riddle and was having fun watching people trying to solve it.

It seemed like she worked on her own seeing as how she didn’t live at the base, but was part of the clan.

And it seemed like she had a deeper relationship with Kim Yoo-Na, the clan’s leader.

It’s possible since her hidden cla.s.s was a fortune teller and there was no reason for her to actually partic.i.p.ate in the hunts.

She was more like an advisor.

“Let’s see…this will be the fee. I saw it a couple of days ago in a dream. I was eating this.”

Ariel grabbed the coffee and food that Kim Yoo-Na bought and displayed a satisfied smile.

“I’ve only been eating greens, so you have no idea how much I’ve missed this. Have you tried it Hyun-Soo? It’s really delicious.”

“Enjoy.”

He couldn’t ask to share after seeing how happy she was for getting the food.

They spent more time talking and eating with each other afterwards.

Hyun-Soo mostly listened and Ariel was the one that did most of the talking.

Kim Yoo-Na just went with the flow and made comments here and there.

“Have your questions regarding Ariel been answered?”

Kim Yoo-Na asked on their way back.

“They have been, but I’ve got an even bigger headache. I’m not sure if I should believe her or not.”

When he replied after thinking about what Ariel told him, Kim Yoo-Na let out a short laugh.

“You might not believe it, but she’s a very valuable member. There probably isn’t another person like her in this entire world.”

Hyun-Soo agreed with that.

Because Interface displayed that as well.

Cla.s.s name was Fortune Teller.

Her nickname was the same.

“But how did Ariel end up joining the clan?”

“Before establishing the clan, she came to find me. And she made a lot of offers. Her suggestions were included when we created the clan. She could be considered as the first member.”

Hyun-Soo was a bit surprised.

He didn’t expect Ariel to be involved in the establishment of the clan.

And she came to Kim Yoo-Na first.

‘…Did she see into the future back then too?’

“I don’t know how far into the future she’s able to see. But there are times when I think that maybe she knows everything. She told me something before I went to Korea and in the end, she was right.”

It felt like I was on top of Buddah’s palm.

Kim Yoo-Na added that comment.

He somehow understood that feeling

Hyun-Soo nodded his head in agreement.

“I think it’ll be busy soon.”

“Is that Ariel’s prediction as well?”

“Yes and no. It’s time for us to start being active again anyways. I honestly have a feeling that maybe it’s a bit late.”

Kim Yoo-Na said that she was going to ask everyone to gather soon.

The day after tomorrow.

That was the day she decided.

And a couple days later.

It was the day of the gathering.

“A new colored portal?”

There was a green light in the clan’s activity.

All the clan members gladly welcomed it.

Even though everyone focused on improving themselves and took care of their own tasks, they were all hunters.

Excluding one small portion of the group, everyone was waiting to go on a hunt.

They were excited the moment Kim Yoo-Na asked them to gather and on the day of, they couldn’t contain their excitement.

And there was something else.

Kim Yoo-Na had another bit of news.

“That’s right. I’ve been told that a part of the requests that we recently received are new colored portals. According to the investigation group that entered first, they said the inside of it is something that we’ve never seen before.”

“I did hear rumors about it, but…I guess it was true.”

After listening to Kim Yoo-Na, one of the members mumbled.

“I heard that the information is under regulation because it can cause chaos once it’s been revealed, but since we received a request for it, we can a.s.sume that it’s real.”

“Even though we’re hunters, there aren’t that many that know the details about the portals. Have they found portals that’ve never been discovered before?”

“It’s a possibility. What I know for sure is that they’re different from the ones that we’ve seen. I’ve prepared doc.u.ments related to this, so please check it.”

The staff that were next to Kim Yoo-Na started handing out the doc.u.ments to the members that were in the room.

It looked like a report and it contained general information about the portal, a.s.sumptions and the possibility of those a.s.sumptions being correct.

‘I haven’t heard of or seen a portal that had different colors mixed together.’

Hyun-Soo started thinking while carefully reading the report.

Blue, green and purple were mixed and there was a vortex in the portal. A picture of it was printed on the report.

‘What’s this?’

Why did a portal like this appear?

It looked like an ice cream that had different colors mixed into it, so it looked pretty, but in reality, it was a portal.

And who knows what kind of dangerous opponent was on the other side.

He knew that it wasn’t as sweet as it looked.

There’s probably a strong, poisonous plant or animal.

‘On top of that, these doors.’

The same looking doors were lined up next to each other and Hyun-Soo’s eyes stopped on the information that was written there.

‘Am I supposed to choose?’

On the report, it said that the investigation team couldn’t enter and came back.

They retreated due to the lack of preparations and a second investigation had been planned.

But for some reason, that second team abandoned it.

And the request to attack that portal was given to this clan.

‘There’s nothing scarier than the unknown.’

A clan that was solely made up of talented hunters.

The ones that resolved the portals that other guilds and groups failed to resolve.

That’s what made this clan have potential and it’s how the world saw this clan.

That’s why it was obvious as to why the clan would get requests like this.

“Now that I look at it, it’s pretty unique. It looks like something you see at an ice cream shop. Anyways, I think it’ll be fun.”

“I agree. It’s the first request we got after Yoo-Na came back, so we should go all out.”

They all closed the report and spoke as if they weren’t bothered by it.

Someone else spoke out in agreement.

“What do we get for this? I’m sure they offered something with a request like this. I think it’ll be fun too, but I’m a bit bothered by the fact that the second team failed.”

“You’re right. Or they could’ve investigated, but are saying that they failed. But, it’s a challenge that’s worth trying. If we succeed, then the value of our clan will only rise.”

“But we need to consider the failure rate too. We don’t know what’s behind the door or what kind of layout it has.”

“The guys that investigated it are the problem. If only they did their jobs correctly. Jeez.”

Someone complained about how the people in the investigation group weren’t doing their jobs properly.

But when Kim Yoo-Na calmly continued talking, the atmosphere changed again.

End.