In Korea, Kiriel didn’t have many hobbies. He spent his days borrowing comic books, visiting arcades to play games, or gaming on his smartphone. Among these, he especially loved reading comic books. Missing a day of gaming or arcade visits didn’t bother him much, but going a day without reading a comic book would throw him into withdrawal.
As usual, Kiriel was at his usual comic book store.
“What? What did you just say?” Kiriel yelped, his eyes widening in disbelief and looking utterly distraught, as if he had been diagnosed with a terminal illness.
Watching Kiriel’s pitiful expression, the owner of the comic book rental store calmly said, “We’re closing after today. Shutting down the shop.”
“B-but, why? Why on earth? What’s the problem?” Kiriel asked, unable to understand.
“Problem? Business isn’t doing well. Rent is high. I could go on. Today’s the last day we will be open. I’m getting rid of all the books starting tomorrow.”
Kiriel was acting strangely. Since coming back from the comic book store, he kept shaking his leg and biting his nails. He paced inside the small food stall for a few minutes before sitting down again, still trembling his legs nonstop.
Hakase, busy making taiyaki, slowly closed his eyes before suddenly striking the back of Kiriel’s head with his palm.
Kiriel screamed in surprise, then, glaring at Hakase with wide eyes, shouted in protest, “What was that for?”
Quit fidgeting, you idiot! You’re scaring off the customers!
Only then did Kiriel notice everything around him. It was a chilly morning, but customers who had been eyeing the taiyaki turned away whenever their eyes met his, resuming their walk without buying anything. Realizing this, Kiriel scratched his head and sighed, deciding to stay still for a bit. However, it didn’t take long before he started shaking his legs again.
This time, Hakase seriously considered getting rid of Kiriel once and for all and began chanting a spell. However, just as he was about to unleash it, Kiriel let out a heavy sigh and shared his woes.
“The comic book shop is closing for good. I was so shocked that I... I almost understood what it means to be suicidal. Thankfully, I’m feeling just a tiny bit better now.”
No wonder he hadn’t brought back any new comic books today.
Hakase thought to himself, It’s just a comic book. Who cares if you can’t read one?
But he quickly shook his head, realizing that to that idiot, comic books must be as precious as machines were to him.
“Why don’t you just read them on your smartphone? These days, humans do everything on their phones. Comics too. You, too, can probably find all the ones you like online,” Hakase suggested.
Kiriel knew that. Even rare, old comics could be easily bought and read through online bookstores. However, Kiriel enjoyed the tactile experience of flipping through pages. He shook his head. If he wanted to read them on his smartphone, as Hakase suggested, he wouldn’t have gone to the comic book store in the first place.
“If you’ve got nothing better to do, go water the fields or something.” Hakase shoved the Rain Stone toward him.
After being thoroughly beaten by Laghaim last time, Hakase was granted unlimited access to the stone on the condition that he wouldn’t use it for any evil deeds. Kiriel chuckled bitterly, took the Rain Stone, and was about to leave the food stall when he suddenly stopped.
“Now that I think about it, doesn’t the king say anything?”
“About what?” Hakase asked.
“About the farming we’re doing in the Fissure.”
“Nothing much since then.”
“Oho...” With that, Kiriel darted outside.
Kiriel ran straight to the comic book store. It already had signs plastered on the storefront.
Discount on Comics/Novels/DVDs
Kiriel approached the owner.
“How much are the comic books?” he asked.
“I told you we’re shutting down, didn’t I?”
“Not that—how much to buy the comics on clearance?” Kiriel pointed to a sign advertising the sale.
The owner scratched his head. “You want to buy them?”
“Yes, all of them. Including the shelves and furniture.”
Kiriel pulled out a wad of cash from his pocket, amounting to over 1.5 million won, which was all the money he had earned from working for Hakase.
It was an opportunity for the owner to get rid of the books and furniture in one go as part of the store’s closure. A smile spread across his face.
In an F-rank Fissure in Huam-dong, the goblins chittered as they watched their territory being “renovated”.
A creature with extraordinary energy had leveled part of the forest and begun setting up shelves. After three hours of labor, he took a few steps back to admire his work.
The newly constructed comic book cafe near the field was packed with shonen comics. It also offered snacks and drinks.
Between two trees, he nailed a makeshift sign, giving the place a surprisingly legitimate appearance: Kiriel’s Comic Book Café.
Filled only with manga, no novels or DVDs, this was his very own comic book store! Watering the fields had always been a chore, but now he could walk here with a lighter step.
“Perfect,” Kiriel exclaimed.
He thought it would be a waste to keep such an amazing comic book place to himself. The Goblin’s Forest was one of the lowest-ranked Fissures, bustling with traffic. Kiriel decided to open his shop as a resting spot for Hunters coming to hunt in the Fissure.
Ah, of course, it wouldn’t be free.
Hunters typically stayed in a Fissure for at least five hours during a hunt. Once they finished warming up and started hunting in earnest, it wasn’t unusual for the session to last well over ten hours. Naturally, their stamina would wane, and hunger would set in.
Shouts could be heard in the F-rank Fissure.
“It’s going your way!”
The ones hunting F-rank monsters—goblins—were naturally F-rank Hunters. These were rookies who had only recently become Hunters, and it took them a considerable amount of time to bring down even a single goblin.
After four hours of relentless hunting, they managed to collect goblin hides, teeth, and mana stones, stuffing them into their backpacks. Once their packs were about half full, exhaustion began to set in.
“Let’s take a break.”
“Agreed. My legs are shaking. I’m starving too...”
As one of the Hunters searched for a suitable spot to sit and rest, his eyes caught sight of a sign.
Kiriel’s Comic Book Café
“Huh?” he exclaimed in disbelief.
Was he seeing things? He rubbed his eyes and looked again. The words “Comic Book Café” appeared even clearer.
“A... comic book café?” he stuttered.
Even though this was just an F-rank Fissure, it was still a place teeming with monsters. The idea of a comic book café existing here was beyond belief.
Drawn as if by a spell, the man slowly approached the sign.
“Whoa!” he exclaimed.
What he found was an open clearing with a makeshift rest area. True to its name, the comic book café was lined with shelves filled with comics. There were also sofas for resting. But what truly amazed him was a small corner.
“There’s a snack corner?”
Snacks, bread, drinks, and ramen—there was an assortment of treats. There was even a gas burner and pots for cooking ramen.
Mesmerized, the man and his companions quickly made their way to the spot and saw another sign.
Reading: 100 won per book
Snacks: Check the individual price list
Please deposit the payment in the cash box
Exchanging glances, the group broke into smiles, picked out their snacks, and sank into the sofas to relax. After a while, they flipped through comic books, recovering their energy.
A coin dropped into the cash box.
“Lizard. Give me the Rain Stone. I need to water the crops,” Kiriel said.
“What’s gotten into you lately?” Hakase asked, pulling out the Rain Stone with a confused look.
Kiriel used to hate watering the crops. Lately, however, he volunteered for the task without hesitation. Although it was strange how he would spend two or three hours there each time, Hakase didn’t pry.
“Now that I think about it, you haven’t been reading comics lately,” Hakase commented.
“I still do. I visit the comic book café every day.”
“That comic rental store? You said that it was shut down. How are you borrowing books?”
“I don’t borrow anymore. I buy them directly.”
“With what money...?”
Kiriel chuckled and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
The sound of flowing water filled the air as Kiriel infused his magical energy into the Rain Stone. Then, he headed toward the comic book café—a paradise less than three hundred meters away. On his way here, he had stopped by a bookstore to buy ten new comic releases.
He unwrapped the plastic covers and neatly arranged the new comics on the shelves. Then, he restocked the empty snack corner. Lastly, he emptied the cash box, collecting the coins and bills.
The day’s earnings totaled 47,000 won. After deducting expenses for snacks and comics, his net profit was in the negatives, but Kiriel didn’t seem to mind.
Suddenly, a young man with a friendly smile and a notebook showed up.
“Hello there!” he said as he approached Kiriel.
Kiriel found the man’s attire strange. Most humans who entered Fissures wore what he called “tights,” yet this man wore neither the suit nor a mana gun at his waist.
“I’m Choi Ho-Seok from Hunter News. May I interview you?”
The next morning, Do-Jun woke up at his usual 6 AM. Careful not to wake the children, he rose quietly and vanished from the bed, reappearing just outside of it. This was Ethereal Shift, a top-tier movement technique that allowed instantaneous position shifting.
He softly opened the front door, grabbed the day’s newspaper from the hallway, and returned to the living room. For Do-Jun, every morning started with the newspaper. After setting it on the dining table, he boiled water in the coffee pot.
Soon, he brewed a cup of Americano and sat down at the table. Taking a sip, he scanned the headlines. The main article was nothing special. It covered the central strategy for Behemoth’s Core raid, a huge story for the world, but mundane to Do-Jun.
He turned to the next page.
Today’s Hunter News—recently, this popular column had claimed a spot on the second page. The headline for today’s column was extraordinary: “Unbelievable! A comic book café in a Fissure?”
Do-Jun smirked and continued reading, thinking the world was full of strange people.
Hello! This is Choi Ho-Seok from Hunter News. Today, I visited the Goblin’s Forest F-rank Fissure in Hooam-dong, where I heard about the opening of a comic book café. Fortunately, I was able to meet the owner. The foreign gentleman, who introduced himself as Kiriel...
“Ah...” Do-Jun let out a long sigh.