A Public Servant Hunter Who Exploits Skill Combinations – Chapter 27
Translated by: Hanzo
Chapter 27: Midterm Exam (1)
Cough, cough...
I nearly spit out the food I was eating.
“Dad. What are you doing?”
“Ah-ahem.”
Yoo Chae-ah’s face turned red.
“Ah, seriously, this is so embarrassing.”
“If you want a car, stay quiet.”
Yoo Sang-wan was staring at me intently.
It was clear that he wanted an answer right away.
Reluctantly, I responded.
“…I think she’s a good person.”
“Is that so? Sounds like you’re not interested in her as a woman.”
I didn’t bother to refute him.
With Yoo Chae-ah sitting right there, it didn’t seem appropriate to openly say I wasn’t interested.
“Then let me rephrase the question. What do you think about Impact?”
“…Pardon?”
“I’m thinking of passing on Impact to the man who marries my Chae-ah… Are you interested in Impact?”
As he spoke, Yoo Sang-wan subtly observed my reaction.
Pass down Impact?
This guy was playing hardball…
I casually picked up some side dishes in an attempt to appear unfazed.
"That man… must be in for a rough time."
Yoo Sang-wan immediately shot back.
“Because of Chae-ah’s personality?”
“D-Dad!”
So he already knew…
“What makes you think it’ll be rough? Care to elaborate?”
Yoo Sang-wan’s gaze sharpened.
I calmly spoke about what I knew of the Impact Guild.
“Impact is currently ranked fifth. With you being an S-rank, the guild might be maintaining its fifth position for now, but it’s bound to grow more precarious over time. To maintain that ranking, greater efforts will be required.”
In other words, without Yoo Sang-wan, could the Impact Guild even survive?
“I didn’t realize you thought so little of Impact.”
“Is that how my statement sounded? What I meant was, the Impact Guild is hunter Yoo Sang-wan himself.”
“Hah! Feels like I’m dealing with an old snake. Haha. You’re what, twenty years old now? But you’ve got quite the seasoned touch.”
Even though it could have been interpreted as offensive, Yoo Sang-wan burst out laughing.
It could also be interpreted as a compliment to himself, after all.
“I was planning to give up after listening to Chae-ah, but the more I see, the more tempted I am.”
Yoo Sang-wan’s eyes sparkled even brighter as he looked at me.
“Most people spout nothing but sugar-coated words when I ask them something, but you’re refreshingly honest. I quite like that.”
Yoo Sang-wan smiled as he stared at me with approval.
Why does his stare remind me of the principal?
“Chae-ah, you do have a good eye for people after all.”
He placed his spoon down and rose from his seat, continuing as he stood.
“I was just testing you, so don’t take it seriously. Relationships between people aren’t something you can control anyway. It’s all about mutual understanding. Take your time finishing your meal, and if it’s late, feel free to stay over or do as you please.”
Once Yoo Sang-wan left, Yoo Chae-ah let out a deep sigh.
“Phew. My dad’s always like that. I hope you understand.”
“No, it’s fine. From what I can see, he’s as bold and good-natured as they say.”
“Actually, he’s been worrying a lot about maintaining the guild… because I’m not good enough.”
Looking at the concern on her face, I fell into thought.
Fifth place is incredibly impressive.
Why isn’t that enough for them?
Is it that once you’ve climbed so high, you feel compelled to hold on to it no matter what?
Do you just become obsessed with having more?
Maybe it’s because I lived a lowly life in my past, but I can’t understand their lives.
Even after being sent back thirty years, I’m just trying to live comfortably and reap the rewards.
Perhaps I’ll never understand why some people push themselves so hard.
No, that’s not it.
Because I’ve lived thirty more years and returned, I know.
Even if you live like that, struggling endlessly, in the end, it’s all meaningless.
You can’t take anything with you when you die.
And to acquire it, you need to go through excruciating effort—I know this better than anyone.
Because I’ve been there, done that… and failed as well.
So for me, it’s enough if I enjoy the present moment and am happy.
I just want to live a life where I have more good memories than bad ones when I reach the end.
But they would never understand how I feel.
Not unless they died and came back like I did.
I offered her some words of encouragement.
“You can do it, Noona.”
I’ve seen it myself.
“Of course. I’ll keep going until I succeed.”
Ugh… that determination… She’s scary when she gets like this…
As the meal came to an end, she suddenly asked,
“But no matter how much I think about it, I just don’t get it… Why don’t you like me?”
“…What?”
With a firm expression, she continued.
“Oh, don’t misunderstand. I’m not saying I like you or that I’m interested in you. I don’t even see younger guys as men. It’s just that I’m used to guys liking me, so meeting someone indifferent like you is a first. I’m just curious why.”
On one hand, it’s incredible confidence, and on the other, it’s a severe case of princess syndrome.
Even her determination is palpable in this situation.
“Is it because I’m older than you?”
“No? It’s only a four-year difference.”
“If it’s not age, then what? Hmm… My chest is big enough, isn’t it?”
I was speechless as she brought her hands to her chest.
“Stop! What are you doing in front of your 'little brother'? Are you crazy? Seriously.”
“Then what’s the problem!?”
“You’re too overbearing to be considered a woman.”
Her narrowed eyes glared at me.
“Hm? That’s all there is to it?”
“And… I don’t really have any plans to date anyone.”
“What…?”
She stared at me for a moment, then dramatically covered her mouth, feigning shock.
“You… don’t tell me you’re impotent!?”
Oh, this woman is driving me nuts.
How does the conversation even lead to that?
I was about to argue with her, but I knew I’d lose, so I decided to hold back.
Besides, this was her home turf.
***
When I returned to the dorm, Jun-hyuk greeted me with a grin.
“Oh~ The main culprit of global warming has arrived.”
“What are you even talking about?”
“You’re super hot these days.”
“Where did you pick up a lame joke like that?”
“I saw online that this kind of joke works when good-looking guys say it.”
“Well, you learned wrong.”
“Why’s that?”
“You should’ve started by working on your looks. Don’t go around saying stuff like that. You’ll tank what little popularity you have left.”
“Damn, that was my killer joke…”
“Forget the jokes and focus on studying. Midterms are coming up soon. Are you prepared?”
He spoke proudly.
“Of course, I’m totally ready. I’m a 9th class student, after all.”
“Ninth class?”
“You didn’t know I made it to the 9th class?”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah, ever since you told me to use a spear during the mock exams and your advice before that, my mana refinement has improved, and I’ve been climbing up the rankings in every practical test and quiz. Now I’m in the 9th class.”
“Oh? Not bad.”
Jun-hyuk, who couldn’t escape the 10th class for two straight years…
He’s already made it to the 9th class?
His improvement wasn’t a bad thing for me either.
After all, in the future, he was the only friend who stayed by my side even when I was washed up.
“You’ll probably take first place again, right? You’re running around catching monsters with hunter Yoo Chae-ah… Honestly, you’re basically a pro at this point.”
“Well, that’s… mostly luck.”
“You always call it luck.”
I couldn’t exactly tell him I knew everything.
Midterms, huh…
Up until now, my grades were just a warm-up.
What really mattered was from here on out, but I had no intention of getting good grades in the upcoming midterms.
I’d become more famous than I intended while trying to reap some benefits.
‘I’ve already laid the groundwork for being a public service hunter, but if I keep standing out, the guilds will start bothering me again…’
This time, I planned to tank my grades on purpose.
If I wanted to enjoy the sweet life, I needed to keep things moderate.
Right now, I was already too prominent.
‘Looks like it’s time to start scaling back.’
As I recalled my midterm exams from my previous life, I began strategizing how to achieve average results.
***
The building collapse incident, the half-day group mission disguised as an MT, and the spread of eyewitness accounts and footage of the ice monster had caused Jung Tae-sung’s reputation to skyrocket.
And news of it had even reached here.
Director of the Hunter Department, Shin Myung-min.
He began his morning early, listening to his secretary’s report.
“Recently, there’s been a surge in field gates in the Gyeongbuk region, drawing a lot of guild activity to that area.”
“Looks like the folks in Gyeongbuk are going to be busy.”
An influx of guilds also meant a need for people to manage them.
Since the association was responsible for guild placements, this was inevitable.
“On top of that, no one wants to handle gates below E-rank, which is becoming a major problem.”
“…”
Gates that were too remote or offered low rewards were often ignored by guilds, leaving the association to handle them.
No matter how many public service hunters they recruited, there simply weren’t enough people.
On top of that, they had to track which gates opened where, at what time, and what kinds of monsters appeared. They also needed to record the byproducts obtained and compile reports for review and approval.
They had to verify and process damage compensation procedures for those harmed by monsters…
And even listen to grievances from people victimized by hunters.
So why didn’t ordinary people take on hunter-related jobs?
Because it was difficult for ordinary people to handle gate-related tasks.
Identifying awakened individuals, issuing their registrations, managing them, tracking which guilds they joined, and keeping tabs on what they hunted and where.
When gates appeared, someone had to go verify them and inspect the monsters, but without being awakened, entering a gate or handling monsters was dangerous.
And since most people they dealt with were awakened, it was better for awakened individuals to handle the work.
As a result, laws were established so that only awakened individuals could take on gate-related jobs.
However, this led to another problem: awakened individuals were reluctant to become public service hunters.
The biggest reason was that being a public service hunter didn’t pay as well as joining a guild and hunting monsters.
“They’re already clamoring for more personnel.”
“What can we do if there aren’t enough people? The Hunter Department and the association haven’t been around for long. It’ll take time to stabilize things.”
For every problem, there’s a solution somewhere.
But this problem was so complex that a deep shadow darkened Shin Myung-min’s brow.
“Anything else?”
“Two days ago, a new monster appeared in Jebudo. Initially thought to be S-rank, it turned out to be A-rank. It looked like a giant ice golem, and the Impact Guild retrieved its corpse.”
“Is that so? New monsters keep popping up, the information we need to record grows, but we’re short on manpower… Sigh…”
The secretary, seeing Shin Myung-min’s frustration, suggested a potential solution.
“Recently, a trainee hunter from Gyeonggi Academy named Jung Tae-sung has been a hot topic.”
“Jung Tae-sung? Oh, the student from the building collapse incident?”
“Yes, that’s correct. I heard he aspires to become a public service hunter.”
“Isn’t that just something kids say when they don’t know better?”
It was possible.
After all, people’s minds could change faster than flipping a coin.
“Did he cause some kind of incident again?”
“That same student and Yoo Chae-ah from the Impact Guild defeated the monster that appeared in Jebudo.”
“What? He’s still just a first-year, isn’t he? How did a first-year take down an A-rank monster? Was Yoo Chae-ah that strong?”
“They defeated it together. Of course, Yoo Chae-ah did most of the fighting, but just enduring the cold of an A-rank ice monster is impressive in itself.”
Hearing this, Shin Myung-min responded pragmatically.
“Hmm… That’s true, but he’s still just a first-year. There’s over a year left until graduation. Who knows what might happen in that time or how far he’ll develop?”
The secretary, anticipating this concern, had already looked into Jung Tae-sung’s background.
“I’ve checked his school records. If he continues to grow at this rate, he’s expected to reach at least A-rank. As you know, there are very few A-rank public service hunters.”
Surprised, Shin Myung-min asked with a hint of disbelief.
“At least A-rank? Then are you saying he might even aim for S-rank?”
“Yes, the teachers at the academy have given him high marks.”
Shin Myung-min had seen Jung Tae-sung’s name in the news a few times.
He had thought of him as just a slightly talented student, but hearing that he might be a major figure piqued his interest.
“And even if Jung Tae-sung doesn’t reach A-rank, it won’t matter.”
“Why’s that?”
“Right now, he has an excellent public image.
From the building collapse incident to the ice monster, there was only one hunter casualty, and no civilian deaths.
Plus, people love a hero.
I believe Jung Tae-sung’s timing is perfect.
If he becomes a public service hunter, it’ll greatly improve the image of public service hunters.”
Hearing this, a vision began forming in Shin Myung-min’s mind.
“A hero… A hero of this era. A hunter who isn’t tainted by money or power, who only cares about citizens’ safety. A hunter who saves people instead of killing them. That’s a nice picture. So, what’s the plan?”
A sly grin spread across the secretary’s face.
“I have an excellent idea.”
....
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