A Public Servant Hunter Who Exploits Skill Combinations – Chapter 39
Translated by: Hanzo
Chapter 39: An Unexpected Gift (2)
He really came!?
And this quickly, too.
I had no choice but to reveal my identity because I couldn't finish things before other hunters arrived, but I never thought he’d actually come.
And not just anyone—someone of such high stature.
I feigned ignorance and opened my mouth.
“What brings you all the way to Pohang...?”
“I heard that it was Hunter Jung Tae-sung who handled the gate that appeared in our factory.”
I was not even an official hunter yet, but hearing him address me as 'Hunter' made it feel quite respectful.
“Yes, that was me.”
“And I was told that you asked to relay a message to us. You mentioned that if any damages occurred while hunting the monsters, you’d be willing to compensate. Is that correct?”
Well, to be honest, if it weren’t for me, the factory would have suffered even greater damage.
But that’s something that happened in the future of my past life.
These people wouldn’t know about that future, would they?
To them, the current damage was the first incident.
So, to them, it might've felt like a major loss.
As for me, I had gained enough, so I figured providing some compensation wouldn't be a bad idea.
I had asked a hunter in Pohang to relay my words to the factory workers if they inquired, and it seems he did a good job.
Still, I thought they’d just hear it and ignore it...
I never expected them to actually come… Rich people sure have their ways...
“So, are you here to claim compensation...?”
“Haha, no. It’s quite admirable that someone as young as you would even consider our factory. Most hunters usually demand money in return for protecting us.”
“What?”
“We found your sincere consideration quite endearing.”
Huh? The situation was taking an unexpected turn...
Honestly, if I had been stronger, I could’ve taken care of the monster without overturning the blast furnace. I regretted that.
If only I could have minimized the damage further.
I decided to be honest about my thoughts.
“To be honest… I wasn’t really concerned about your company’s profits. I was more worried about the wages of the workers who wouldn't be able to work while the factory was being repaired.”
I felt I understood better than anyone.
After all, wasn’t it similar to when I lost my arm and couldn’t find a job in the past?
“So, I wanted to compensate for that.”
“Haha, I like you even more now. Oh, I haven’t introduced myself properly yet. I’m Jang Woo-hyun, Vice President of Crezin Steel.”
I already knew who he was.
He would soon develop something incredible.
He was also the next chairman of the Crezin Group.
In the future, he would create a new material that combined mana with special minerals from dungeons, helping save countless lives.
‘But why is he here…?’
Even though he was much older than me, he greeted me politely, which made me unconsciously bow slightly.
I accepted his business card and looked at him with a bewildered expression.
He continued in a calm voice.
“I looked up some information about you, Hunter Jung Tae-sung.
Ah, don’t misunderstand—I didn’t dig into your background, I only checked publicly available data online.
I got curious because your perspective seemed different from other hunters. I heard you aspire to become a public servant hunter. Is that correct?”
“That’s right.”
“I also heard you defeated an A-rank monster by yourself. The location of that hunt happened to be one of our affiliate companies, which is why it was reported to me.”
Ah... I didn’t know that.
This steel company must be huge.
Everything seems to belong to them.
“With your skills, you could earn an enormous income by joining any guild, couldn't you?”
“I was just lucky.”
“I don't believe such luck comes to just anyone.”
“Then what do you think?”
“We would like to sponsor you so that you can continue on the path of an upright public servant hunter.”
“What?”
“There aren’t many high-ranking public servant hunters, are there?”
“Well, that’s true.”
“Most say it's because of financial reasons. So, we want to support you—not as much as elite hunters earn, but at least enough for you to live without financial worries.
Would you consider our offer?”
This was truly unexpected.
An incredible connection just fell into my lap.
***
Honestly, when I returned to the past, I thought it would be enough to live well on my own.
I didn’t care what happened to others.
But I realized that my small actions could bring about great results.
I used to think I lived a tough life in the past, but now I wonder if I was just selfishly thinking only about myself.
Was I living the wrong way?
Is that why I was given another chance...?
When I returned home after a long time, nostalgia hit me.
“Oh, my son is back?”
For some reason, my mom’s face clearly showed she was in a good mood.
Well, her son was doing well. That’s understandable.
“Did something good happen?”
“You sent your dad some money, didn’t you?”
“Oh, that? I made some money hunting monsters.”
“I heard being a hunter is dangerous, but it seems you make a lot of money.”
She had no idea.
In the past, it took me three whole years to earn this much money.
But now, it took less than three months.
Knowing the future gave me a huge advantage.
But I couldn’t stop here.
I planed to squeeze out every benefit I could while it lasted.
For that, I needed to build my strength.
“Oh, by the way, I bought you some clothes. They say it’s the kind hunters like.”
A jacket made from monster leather.
It didn’t have any special attributes, it just looked stylish.
Lately, a lot of people have been giving me things.
“Try it on.”
I put on the jacket my mom bought, but it fit too tightly for some reason.
“When did you get such a great physique?”
Well, I've been training every day...
Being a hunter required physical strength, after all.
Swinging a sword without any muscles was entirely different from wielding one after daily training.
It wasn’t that I specifically aimed to build muscle. The result came naturally as I steadily trained my stamina through mana refinement.
Of course, before my awakening, I did nothing but breathing exercises, so naturally, my muscle mass couldn't compare.
"I’ll need to change the size, huh?"
"Eh, I’ll just wear it as it is."
"What do you mean, ‘just wear it as it is’? I was already planning to exchange the clothes I bought for your dad because he didn’t like the color. You can come with me."
"Where did you buy them?"
"At Cheonghwa Department Store. Oh, and Shin-ae’s mom next door mentioned she’d be going there too, so I might ask her to come along."
Cheonghwa Department Store... That’s exactly where I was planning to go.
It was a week off before the guild training session.
I remembered how our neighbor got hurt when a gate opened at Cheonghwa Department Store back then. That’s why I intended to deal with the gate.
I was about to tell her not to go anyway.
"Mom, I’ll go instead."
"Huh? You?"
"Yeah. I have something to do there. Oh, and let the lady next door know to take the day off."
"Why?"
"That place is going to have a massive sale soon."
"Is that true? Then should I return the clothes I just bought and buy them during the sale?"
"Didn’t you already wear them?"
"I guess I can’t return them, huh?"
"Of course not. I’ll get you something even better. Want me to buy you a designer bag too?"
"No need. I don’t care about that stuff. But lately, the TV seems kind of small… When I went next door, their TV was so big, and the picture quality was so good, you could even see the actors’ pores."
Was that a long way of asking me to buy her a new TV?
I’d forgotten my mom’s preferences.
She loveed watching dramas more than going out.
I grabbed the clothes to be exchanged and left the house.
Strictly speaking, I also had business at the driving test center near Cheonghwa Department Store.
Well, two birds with one stone.
I’ll handle the gate, save people, and improve my reputation.
Most importantly, I could get mana stones.
For an unaffiliated hunter like me, field gates were practically precious assets.
Though it was only a C-rank gate, so the profit wouldn’t be huge, I needed to stay active to feed this glutton sleeping on my back.
It was not like I could remember every gate or go to all the ones I did recall.
I needed to finish quickly and get my license.
‘Hey, Snake.’
<What is it?>
‘I was too busy to ask, but are my twisted mana pathways fixed now?’
<Yes, your mana flow indeed returned to normal as a result of sixing your disrupted pathways.>
‘Really? Then the mana I’m sensing is...’
<Yes, it’s genuine, pure mana.>
It was the energy I vaguely felt when I first sensed mana after returning to this life.
Looking back, the reason my initial mana levels seemed unusually high was likely due to the twisted flow.
In my previous life, I was too slow to sense mana and didn’t recognize it.
Now, I’ve fully mastered mana activation and progressed to a higher stage, but over time, the mana became muddied.
Not realizing this, I recklessly overused my mana...
If I hadn’t met Snake...
I might’ve ended up with an even weaker body than in my previous life.
‘Does this mean I can now reach an even higher level?’
<You’ve already surpassed your former self.>
I could feel it to some extent.
After activating mana, my body felt lighter than before.
My destructive power was far greater than I’d imagined.
This meant that, from being B-rank, I was now reaching A-rank levels.
Though in the future, this might only count as C-rank strength.
But that’s a story for when the ranking system is reestablished in about ten years.
Until then, I’d be recognized as A-rank.
If I keep working hard, I might even reach true A-rank.
Adding my skill combinations and elemental abilities, my pure attack power might even approach S-rank levels.
Though, of course, it wouldn’t compare to an actual S-rank.
‘Refining mana by following the flow you showed me seems to gather mana faster.’
<What are you talking about? I never showed you anything.>
‘Huh? When you moved through my mana pathways back then...’
<Wait, you remember that? Well, this is unexpected.>
‘Why? Is there a problem?’
<That’s the method dragons use to refine their mana. How do you even...?>
‘What? Don’t tell me I’ll turn into a snake like you.’
<I told you, I’m not a snake!>
‘But no matter how I look at it, apart from the legs, you’re definitely a snake. So why do you keep insisting you’re a dragon?’
<I was a dragon!>
‘Not a dragon wannabe?’
<I lost my yeouiju (dragon orb).>
‘Your yeouiju? Where did you lose it?’
<If I remembered, do you think I’d still be like this? I need to recover my lost powers to retrieve the yeouiju.>
‘Sounds complicated.’
<When you’ve lived a thousand years, life gets complicated.>
‘Doesn’t living longer make things easier?’
<Try living it yourself before saying that.>
I’ve lived 51 years, but that’s nothing compared to a thousand.
Still, considering Snake seemed close to S-rank even now, how powerful was he at full strength?
***
About an hour later.
A gate would open inside the department store.
First, I needed to evacuate the people.
Why is it that they’re holding so many events today, of all days?
The sheer number of people entering and leaving the department store made it hard to keep count.
I approached one of the guards in a black suit at the entrance.
"Excuse me, I need to tell you something."
"What is it?"
"A gate might open here soon. Could you start evacuating people?"
The guard glared at me.
Even though he was wearing sunglasses, I could feel the glare.
Judging by his reaction, he didn’t recognize me and didn’t seem interested in hunters.
It’s like not knowing a famous soccer player if you don’t follow soccer.
I wasn’t that famous anyway.
Only those interested would know me.
"This isn’t a place for jokes. Please leave."
"I’m not joking."
"Step aside."
"What are you going to do if a gate really opens? Shouldn’t you at least report it to your superiors?"
"Sigh... Sir, listen. You’re the third person today with this story. Do you think I wouldn’t realize if a competitor sent you?"
What kind of situation was this now?
Being a hero wasn’t as easy as it seemed.
This must've meant I was still lacking.
If I were at the level of Hong Pal-gwang, Ma Jung-seok, or even Yoo Chae-ah, I wouldn’t be treated like this.
But I couldn’t blame the guard.
There have been actual cases of people pulling pranks like this, causing harm in the process.
Because of them, decent folks like me had to suffer.
Looks like I’d have to show him myself.
Show him what rank I truly am.
....
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