Chapter 75

Some time later, the two Hunters finished their conversation and returned to their respective homes.

As soon as Kim Kiryeo arrived at his studio apartment, he reactivated the barrier he had previously taken down. Strangely enough, it no longer felt as troublesome as it once had.

“Was there only one person sent by the Cult...?”

The identity of the intruder who had been harassing him had already been uncovered.

Once the S-Class Hunter captured and threatened him, the man quickly spilled everything he knew.

Perhaps those who entered the criminal underworld with nothing but faith in their Awakened abilities did not possess the steadfast resolve of independence fighters.

In a way, this outcome had been entirely predictable.

“They must be shaken after what happened. Will they refrain from trying the same thing again for a while?”

Now that the matter had been settled...

Kiryeo lay down on his bed to catch up on his lost sleep.

At the time, however, he still had no idea just how significant the deal he had made would prove to be.

***

Several days later.

“What did you just say? Say that again!”

Only then did Su Yehwi learn what had happened to the assassin he had sent.

“He failed?”

The so-called underworld hitman had been unable to deal with a mere F-Class Hunter.

According to the broker’s report, the tiny studio apartment had been surrounded by a barrier whose security exceeded even that of the Korea Magic Tower headquarters.

And the shocking news did not end there.

“That’s impossible!”

Even after discovering the flawless barrier, the assassin hired by Su Yehwi had refused to give up and attempted to break into the target’s home...

But his efforts had ended in disaster.

All because of the person Kim Kiryeo had summoned.

“Why would that Hunter help Kim Kiryeo?”

Kang Changho.

One of South Korea’s S-Class Awakeners.

Not only had he shown an interest in an F-Class Hunter, but he had personally dealt with the assassin as well?

“Why?”

The call ended with the grim report that Kang Changho had critically injured the hired assassin before handing him over to the police.

Since the mission had failed, Su Yehwi was under no obligation to pay the promised success fee.

But at this point, the issue was no longer about money.

“No way...”

Kim Kiryeo was suspected of being a high-ranking Hunter concealing his true class.

Naturally, Su Yehwi had considered the possibility that the assassin might be defeated after a fierce battle.

But he had never imagined that an S-Class figure would become directly involved.

“He has some kind of connection to Kang Changho?”

What kind of person was Kang Changho?

He was the most notorious outsider in the Hunter world.

Other Hunters maintained at least a minimal public record by periodically participating in gate raids, but Kang Changho’s official activities could be counted on one hand.

An S-Class Hunter attracted attention whether he wanted it or not.

That was precisely why Su Yehwi knew.

Until now, Kang Changho had never maintained a friendly relationship with another Hunter.

Then why?

Why would such a self-centered Awakener answer the call of an F-Class man living in a room barely five pyeong in size?

‘How did this happen...?’

There could be only one explanation.

That F-Class Hunter was no ordinary man.

A powerful sense of unease settled over Su Yehwi.

Kim Kiryeo.

Just who in the world was he?

***

The day after completing the oath.

“Oh my~ Kiryeo, how is it possible that you don’t own a single thing in your name?”

The moment I opened my eyes, I began to complain.

“How am I supposed to gather 2.6 billion won?”

Two billion six hundred million won.

Now I had to figure out how to obtain such an enormous sum of money.

‘And I have to do it within ten years.’

Even before making that promise with Kang Changho, I had always felt the need to escape this useless Awakened body as quickly as possible.

And the most reliable way to overcome my current limitations was to acquire a new set of lungs.

If I could replace my lungs, I would be able to use body-alteration techniques even while trapped at F-Class.

Compared to Earthlings, I could achieve several times the efficiency using the same amount of mana.

—Yoonseung-ah, does something called a ‘Dragon’s Lungs’ exist?

—It does.

—Could you check the market price for me?

—It costs 2.6 billion won.

This time, however, I needed a rather special set of lungs.

Even for me, undergoing major surgery to remove and replace my lungs in such poor physical condition would be difficult.

‘There’s a chance the operation could fail.’

A simple lung transplant could be performed using the lungs of an ordinary person, and the preparation costs would be relatively low.

But even the slightest mistake during surgery could kill me.

So I changed my approach.

[Dragon’s Lungs]!

If I used an item dropped by a dragon-type monster, most of those problems could be resolved far more easily.

“I need to earn money.”

And so the subject returned to where it had begun.

Fortunately, I had already decided how to solve the problem.

“Whew. I really didn’t want to resort to this forbidden method again...”

Click.

I unlocked the phone using Kim Kiryeo’s fingerprint and contacted someone.

I’m sorry, kind Earthling...

***

Korean Hunter Association Headquarters, Third Floor.

Monitoring Room.

“Bzzzz...”

A fly concealed itself in the shadow of a bookshelf and stared intently at a computer being operated by an Association employee.

—Click, click!

Several lines of text flashed chaotically across the fly’s ruby-red compound eyes.

(08:17) [Suspicious Area 1] [Concentration C] Jamsil-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul...

At this point, let us examine my contract with Kang Changho once again.

[2. Before voluntarily entering a gate, Kim Kiryeo must first notify Kang Changho.]

Kang Changho had warned me to pay particular attention to the word ‘voluntarily.’

But my attention had been drawn to a different part of the clause.

‘Entering.’

The only dungeons one could deliberately access on this planet were Blue Gates.

Under current regulations, F-Class Hunters had very little freedom when choosing their hunting grounds.

So after thinking it over, I decided to accumulate wealth through a different method.

I would hunt at Red Gates, which did not require anyone to enter them.

‘They say that any monster emerging from a Red Gate belongs to whoever kills it!’

Of course, no matter how I tried to dress up the plan, the person who would actually do the hunting was this man.

“Hyung-nim~!”

With lifeless eyes, I watched the Earthling running cheerfully toward me from the distance.

How many more times would I have to exploit this person for money?

What made it even harder on my conscience was that Ahn Yoonseung never became angry, no matter how shamelessly I used him.

“Thank you for calling me! I didn’t have anything else to do today anyway! I’ll use this opportunity to learn from you, Hyung-nim!”

I looked into his bright, innocent eyes and lowered my head.

“I was really surprised when you suddenly said you wanted to watch me work.”

“Mhm.”

“And you said it was because you wanted to correct my weaknesses...!”

The longer he spoke, the heavier the burden on my conscience became.

Yes.

That was the excuse I had used this time.

—Ahn Yoonseung, I’ve given it some careful thought. I think it may still be too early for you to display your abilities publicly within the Hunter industry.

—...!

—So what I’m saying is, why don’t you try dealing with a few Red Gates in front of me? I’ll observe how you fight and point out anything that needs improvement.

For someone occupying the very bottom of the Awakened hierarchy, I certainly had a silver tongue.

Still, it was not entirely a lie.

After all, I truly did possess extraordinary magical knowledge.

‘This time, I only need to correct one of his skills.’

Knowledge.

That was right.

In the beginning, I had even considered using my knowledge itself to make money.

For example, I could have acquired large quantities of valuable materials whose true worth had not yet been recognized, much like the absorbent material I had handed over to the Magic Tower.

Or I could have become a private tutor and taught magic to other people.

There were undoubtedly countless other possibilities if I took the time to investigate them.

But after giving the matter serious thought, I decided not to earn money by selling my knowledge.

There was one concern I simply could not ignore.

‘I must not accelerate Earth’s development because of my interference.’

The knowledge stored inside my mind was valuable enough to alter the course of human history.

But everything had to proceed in the proper order.

If Earth’s magical technology advanced abruptly because of alien intervention, would this planet not eventually become another Alphauri?

‘I’m afraid.’

As someone who had already lived within an advanced magical civilization, I could state with confidence that experiencing a technological singularity was not necessarily beneficial from a biological perspective.

Certain aspects of life might become more convenient.

But unimaginable cruelty could spread throughout society as a result.

‘For example, after bodily modifications eliminated the need for sleep in my homeland, the amount of overtime work exploded.’

Ugh.

Simply remembering my homeland made me feel sick.

Alphauri had been a thoroughly broken world.

Compared to that place, Earth was wonderful.

This wholesome society ought to be preserved as a cultural treasure.

‘It would be better for magical development to remain slow in a place like this.’

As for the absorbent material, I had only shared it because I believed Earthlings would have discovered it soon even without my involvement.

Once again, I had no intention of interfering with the history of magic on Earth.

‘I need to be careful about how much knowledge I reveal.’

For now, the safest course of action would be to provide only minor guidance regarding the primitive magic Earth’s magicians already used.

‘And even then, I should teach only a very small number of people so the information remains secret.’

While I was lost in thought, Ahn Yoonseung continued chattering enthusiastically.

“How did you know a Red Gate would appear here, Hyung-nim? I suppose someone at your level can actually see gates forming before they fully appear, right...?”

A few seconds later, however, Ahn Yoonseung abruptly stopped speaking after noticing someone approaching from the other direction.

“Huh?”

Yoonseung turned around with a startled expression.

I did not bother looking back.

I already knew who had arrived.

“Why is Kang Changho here...?”

“Hey, Kim Kiryeo!”

“Eek!”

An S-Class Hunter appeared in the middle of the quiet park.

Recognizing Kang Changho’s voice, I raised a finger to my temple.

‘After we signed the contract, Kang Changho told me to contact him whenever something dangerous happened. Just to be safe, I sent him the Red Gate schedule as well.’

Even though I had informed him that the target was only C-Class, I had never expected him to appear in person.

Of course, according to our agreement, he was required to protect me until I turned thirty-four in exchange for my life.

‘Does he truly intend to uphold his side of the bargain?’

Honestly, I had not expected him to honor that promise.

After all, the [Knight’s Oath] did not properly define Kang Changho’s obligations.

‘I expected his attitude to change after the contract was signed, so I prepared a plan.’