Ch. 41 - Chapter 41

The vanishing dignity of the 'S' rank. Chun Haesun, where is he?

Not long ago, an earth-shattering event occurred that set the world abuzz. In the recent quarterly Hunter Qualification Test, an Awakener astonishingly achieved an ‘S’ rank. Since Maria, revered as the ‘Holy Mother,’ or ‘Saintess’, he is the only individual to have ever received an ‘S’ rank rating in the Qualification Test stage. Being not only a high-ranking but also an exceptionally rare Healer type, people showed him great interest and had high expectations. The Awakener’s name is Chun Haesun, a promising individual who hasn’t even turned twenty yet.

He found the media attention burdensome, but that wasn't too big of an issue. There have always been Hunters, including Maria, who prefer to avoid media exposure. Just as there are Hunters who enjoy the spotlight, there are also those who dislike being in it.

The problem is that Chun Haesun's disappearance goes beyond just personal preference. Although he hadn't joined a guild yet, he was on the verge of starting official activities, having completed the mandatory number of training dungeons during his probation period. However, to everyone's surprise, even two months after receiving his official Hunter designation, he has remained inactive and completely vanished without a trace. There has been no news of him joining a guild or making any notable dungeon raids. This behavior starkly contrasts with that of other senior hunters, who began making remarkable achievements right after becoming S-rank.

Being a Hunter is a profession that requires as much a sense of duty as it does the privileges it affords. The fundamental duty of a Hunter is to save people from the threat of monsters. This is an unconditional principle that must be upheld, regardless of rank.

In the future, Chun Haesun will receive immense popularity and benefits as an 'S'-ranker. If he becomes an 'S'-rank healer, he could even choose and join any guild he desires. There are more than just a few guilds eagerly waiting with open arms, promising him the best treatment. This would likely hold true even for Korea's top guild, 'Glory Guild'.

The stage is already set. Though it's unclear why Chun Haesun chose to disappear, if he's biding his time for better conditions, one might think he's already waited long enough. We hope he will soon demonstrate the qualities expected of an S-rank healer that the public is eagerly awaiting.

- Editor-in-chief Jinhee Ga, Daily Capital Eye

└Hey. Is it okay to write an article so blatantly criticizing hunters?

└Well, its not exactly wrong. It’s true that people have high expectations for him.

└Setting aside his lack of activity, why hasn’t he joined any guild yet?

└Exactly. If he were a Knight, he could just charge into a dungeon alone and smash everything, but he’s a Healer, so he can't.

└ Damn, these idiots are so nosy. Did Daily Capital Eye give him liquor or rice cakes when he became a hunter?

└I just hope he's active soon. I'm already anxious because the gates have been popping up so frequently lately.

└Chun Haesun!! Hurry up and sign with our Bishop Guild to protect our Dongnae District!!

└Wake up. Didn’t you see how they blatantly mentioned Glory Guild? They might not have said it outright, but this article’s basically a promotional ad.

└ That bastard Ga Jinhee from Daily Capital Eye is the one who writes articles praising the Glory Guild every month. He's the most disgusting journalist of them all.

* * *

On the way to the black market, I received a call from Yuk Cheolwan.

[Hunter Chun Haesun. Have you seen the article?]

"Yes."

[They’re vile bastards. How could they write garbage like that without even checking the facts…!]

Yuk Cheolwan fumed, as if the matter were his own.

Since we had been running the Poison Dungeons together, it was only natural he felt more emotionally involved.

[I’d like to step up and clear things up myself, but… that feels like I’m overstepping.]

"It is."

[If you'd like, I can find a journalist who would write a statement on your behalf.]

"No. It's fine."

[Are you saying you'll just stay quiet like this? This is blatant instigation.]

"People only see what they want to see and believe what they want to believe. Even if I step forward and deny it, those who want to discredit me won't believe me anyway."

[Still……]

"Rather than the content of the article, I've been thinking about who would benefit from it."

[Benefit from it... Are you perhaps referring to the Glory Guild?]

"It could be the Glory Guild, or it could be another guild. What's certain is that if I get swayed by the article and rush into a contract, I'll be playing right into their hands. Whoever they are."

[……]

Yuk Cheolwan, who had been extremely agitated, suddenly fell silent.

After a moment passed, a much calmer voice could be heard.

[...You're right, Hunter Chun Haesun. I haven't been acting my age.]

"Haha. Well, I appreciate it anyway? You got as angry as if it were your own problem."

[It's only natural. How could I not, when someone like Hunter Chun Haesun, who does such noble work, is being treated this way instead of being praised…..]

'Noble work..…’

No.

It was not about noble work or anything like that. I was just doing what needed to be done. In exchange for clearing the Poison Dungeons, I obtained a Golden Core.

The Black Cores obtained inside the dungeon can only be absorbed by me.

And the ownership of the rare herbs belonged solely to me as well.

Except for the promise to use the Aurum Bloom on Yuk Cheolwan's wife, everything I had done had been for my own needs.

The reason I wasn't angry after reading the article wasn't because I'm a virtuous person.

No.

In a way, I suppose it was actually a very accurate article.

Yuk Cheolwan, not knowing the full truth, probably thought of it as a kind of ‘voluntary work to clear dangerous dungeons’. But I’m not such a benevolent person.

Therefore, there was no way I would let an article sway me into signing with any guild.

No matter who paid for that article, things wouldn’t go the way they wanted.

[By the way, where are you headed today?]

"I’m going to a place where I can sell the rare herb."

[…You must be heading somewhere dangerous…. Do you need me to help you?]

"Thanks for the offer, but this is a place where the Clan Leader would have a hard time moving around. Even ordinary pickpockets here use Stealth skills."

[Unbelievable… this place is incredible.]

They were basically useless without their Stealth skill, but still, he was not wrong.

As always, I headed to the black market with the Cuprum Bloom in a black plastic bag.

"Hey, look who's here. Isn't this the guy from the news?”

"Has the news already reached here?"

As Bisu approached with a sly grin, I couldn't help but let out a wry smile.

She wasn't pickpocketing like she was supposed to and instead reading articles.

"I need more antidote and monster bait."

"How much?”

"Five times the amount I received last time."

"Crazy. Are you going to dig for Aurum Bloom or something?"

"Yeah."

Bisu stared at me with a dumbfounded expression.

"For real? Seriously?"

"Why? You worried?"

"Bullshit. Worried my ass."

Bisu scoffed and turned her head away.

Her eyes seemed to waver for a moment,  but perhaps that was just my imagination?

She went inside the black market and came back with the items I wanted.

Of course, nothing came for free.

The previous purchase had cost around two million won, so this time I had to pay close to ten million won.

Some might consider it a huge expense, but compared to the money I had made so far, it was nothing.

Just one of the Cuprum Bloom I brought today alone was worth that much.

"Is the grandma lady here?"

"Yeah."

"Take me to her.”

"How many times have you been in and out, and you still haven't memorized the passageways?"

"I know the way. It's just that they won't open the door for me."

"Ugh. You're so annoying."

Bisu grumbled under her breath but then started walking ahead of me.

If it weren't for the scar by her lips and that temper of hers, she might’ve been a beauty queen of sorts. Just looking at her appearance alone, she seemed like she could hold her own even compared to the magnificent (?) Maria.

Especially that red hair of hers, no one could pull it off quite like Bisu.

"Hurry up. I really need to take a shit."

"...Alright."

Of course, she didn't seem to have the slightest awareness of it herself.

* * *

It felt like it had been a while since I last saw Yaksha in person.

Given that he rarely handled transactions directly unless absolutely necessary, it seemed that wasn't an inaccurate description.

Lately, whether I brought regular Cuprum Bloom or even Silver Bloom, I couldn't catch a glimpse of Yaksha.

He must be somewhere up to something bad.

"Old lady. I'm here."

"Hehe. There's more than one or two who've died young calling me that….."

"Then tell me your name."

The subordinates of Yaksha varied in age.

In particular, this old woman, who took on the task of evaluating the affinity of ‘objects’, was so ancient that it was impossible to even guess her age.

She didn't even have any special nicknames like Bisu or Hwan Gyeok.

Yaksha would always call this ‘Old Lady’ whenever he needed to appraise an object, and naturally, I started doing the same.

"Sniff sniff."

Whenever the old woman appraised rare herbs, she would always bury her nose in them and take a sniff.

Rather than smelling, it would be more accurate to say she was inhaling.

After she had finished inhaling the scent of the rare herb, she would give an assessment.

During that process, she never once examined the herb’s appearance.

After all, the old woman was blind to begin with.

“Forty million won.”

“Let’s make it a bit more, old lady.”

“Hohoho. Planning to use the extra for your funeral expenses?”

“Good grief.”

She wasn’t just joking.

Every time I questioned her appraisal amount, I could suddenly feel the aura of Aether emanating from her body.

She may be a hunched old woman now, but she must have been quite formidable in her youth.

“Alright then. Let’s make it four hundred.”

“What nonsense are you talking about?”

“Jeez. This is why I can’t even joke around with you, old lady.”

I gave Bisu a glance, and she soon took the Cuprum Bloom, placed it into a silk pouch and went away.

“Old lady, there’s something I’m curious about.”

“What is it, you rascal?”

“I think I’m starting to recognize the scent of rare herbs now.”

“And?”

"Does the Aurum Bloom also have a similar scent? Like the other rare herbs, I mean."

With her pupils unfocused, it was hard to read her expression.

The old woman’s face twisted eerily for a moment, then a hoarse voice escaped her.

“It does… A scent you can never forget once you’ve smelled it…”

“Oh-ho?”

“Seems like you're getting greedy for the Aurum Bloom… You’d better be prepared.”

“Prepared?”

“Hohoho.”

The old woman let out a sinister laugh, then stared straight at me with eyes that couldn’t even see.

“There’s a reason why this thing is hard to get… Quite a few people have found the Aurum Bloom, but none have come back unscathed. You will inevitably pay the price.”

"...That's a bit intense for words of encouragement."

I stared straight into her distant eyes and gave a challenging smile.

* * *

“Why the long face?”

When I finally showed up at the Cleanup Clan office, Yuk Cheolwan was wearing a gloomy expression.

Looking like a bandit and making that kind of face.

It looked like the kind of scene where a loan shark would come to collect a debt, only to end up running away instead.

“The permit hasn’t been approved.”

“What?”

“Lately, dungeon entry permits just aren’t getting approved. I’ve been submitting applications for days now… but I keep getting the same answer.”

"What did they say?"

"They said it's a dungeon scheduled to be handled within their jurisdiction..."

"What kind of nonsense is this..."

It was almost impossible to find a place in Seoul that wasn't under the Glory Guild's jurisdiction.

Almost every Poison Dungeon would fall under the Glory Guild’s territory.

That meant they were the ones blocking permits for Poison Dungeons.

To enter a dungeon, you need approval from both the Hunter Association and the guild that has jurisdiction.

Normally, if there’s no competition, low-level dungeons or Poison Dungeons are usually approved right away.

In the case of dungeons with plenty to exploit, they handle things for themselves, but for ‘less to gain’ dungeons, they'd appreciate it if someone would take care of it for them.

But for some reason, the Glory Guild was blocking permits for Poison Dungeons.

“Hunter Chun Haesun, why are they suddenly doing this? Have those Glory Guild people somehow developed a sense of justice they never had before?”

“You’d have better luck finding foie gras at Kimbap Heaven.”

Would those who left the residents of Gaebang Neighborhood to die really prioritize cleaning up Poison Dungeons that didn't even make money?

[T/N: Kimbap Heaven (김밥천국) is a popular, nationwide chain of casual Korean restaurants and Foie Gras is a famous and very expensive French delicacy. ‘Finding foie gras at a Kimbap Heaven’ is a sarcastic way of saying ‘it's impossible’.]

It was hilarious.

There was probably some shady reason behind it, no doubt.

“What should we do? It’s not like there are no Poison Dungeons if we head to the countryside, but..."

"No. There's no need."

Knowing that the Glory Guild was trying to block it just made me want to do it even more.

I didn't really like handling things this way, but there was no other choice.

I took out my phone and called the 'person in charge.’

A person belonging to the organization behind the Association.

I was talking about the Association official who handed me the Golden Core.

[Hunter Chun Haesun???]

A rather flustered voice came through the receiver.

"It's been a while. Supervisor Pyo Hyukgyu.”

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