A Public Servant Hunter Who Exploits Skill Combinations – Chapter 32
Translated by: Hanzo
Chapter 32: Fragments of Memory (1)
Crunch.
“...”
Jun-hyuk sat on the dormitory bed, watching Snake chew on a mana stone with an expression of fascination.
“Wow, seriously... you’re just feeding it that?”
“Yeah.”
“You do know how much that thing is worth, right?”
Of course, I know better than you...
“Well, probably around 1 billion won or so.”
Jun-hyuk’s jaw dropped, and he stammered as he spoke.
“You’re feeding that to your pet even though you know how much it’s worth?”
Jun-hyuk didn’t understand.
If this creature, after consuming mana stones, could lend me mana like it did, I might one day be able to obliterate S-rank opponents like they’re nothing.
Though for now, it’s lying around, groaning from exhaustion after lending me its power.
But its potential for growth is undeniable.
More importantly, I’ve already experienced how its growth directly benefits me.
I had no reason to hinder its progress.
Honestly, I was lucky this time.
I don’t know when I’ll ever get my hands on mana stones of this caliber again.
And it was only thanks to Ma Jung-seok setting the stage so well that things wrapped up smoothly.
If I sold all of these, I might have enough to live comfortably for the rest of my life.
But now, I have a reason why I can’t stop growing.
***
The Previous Night
I couldn’t finish my serious conversation with Snake because people kept interrupting us. Only after returning to the dormitory could we have some time alone.
‘Let’s continue where we left off.’
<Why did you push yourself so recklessly?>
‘I was just trying to hold out for three minutes.’
<Do you realize how dangerous it is for someone like you to use up mana so suddenly?>
Snake had said something similar back during the retreat.
‘Dangerous?’
<Because of your distorted mana pathways. Unless they’re corrected, pushing yourself like that could leave you unable to use mana ever again.>
The ability to use mana is an incredible blessing...
And now I might lose it?
It’s shocking words didn’t end there.
<Not only that, but this incident has twisted your mana pathways even further.>
‘What are you talking about? My mana activation works just fine.’
<It’s a temporary phenomenon. The time it takes to activate mana has likely already shortened.>
‘No way...’
<And worse, if you push yourself like that one more time and your mana pathways get completely blocked, it might put your life in danger.>
‘T-that can’t be...’
<Do I look like I’m joking?>
‘Then... what am I supposed to do?’
<As I said before, I can fix your twisted pathways and restore them to normal.>
‘How...?’
<I need to regain my strength.>
Back during the MT, when Snake helped me take down the ants, it had said the same thing—that it needed to regain its strength to fix my twisted mana pathways.
And the way for it to regain its strength...
It was, of course, mana stones.
At first, I thought it was just an excuse to devour mana stones.
But after going through this experience myself, I couldn’t help but trust its words.
For now, I just need to avoid pushing myself too hard.
I decided to use the mana stones I had to help Snake grow as quickly as possible.
Right now, its growth was the most important thing.
Even apart from healing my mana pathways, having it grow stronger would only benefit me.
If Snake becomes stronger, then I’ll become stronger too.
And there’s no downside to becoming stronger.
The stronger I am, the easier it’ll be to reap the rewards.
So, I resolved to invest generously in the snake.
Crunch.
For some reason, it seemed cuter than usual today.
Next time, I’ll give it a cool name.
Grow well.
For my sake.
***
The Next Day
The video of me taking down the wolves was broadcast on TV.
My parents must be worried.
As I was about to call them, my dad called me first, as if he had impeccable timing.
-“It’s me.”
“Hey, Dad. I was just about to call you.”
-“What was that lightning thing?”
“You saw it?”
-“It was shocking.”
Yeah, I was shocked too. Since it wasn’t really me who did it. Heh.
“I’m fine. How about Mom? Did she get scared?”
-“Your mom didn’t see it. She’s busy watching her dramas.”
Is her drama more important than me?
Well, I guess she wouldn’t have expected to see her son on the news, shooting lightning bolts everywhere.
Even I didn’t see that coming.
“How did you see it, Dad?”
-“I saw it on my phone. My friends were saying you must’ve made a fortune, but why haven’t I heard anything?”
I had already transferred the money to his account.
“Dad, I sent some allowance money to your account.”
-“Why is a student like you sending me money? Where would you even get it?”
“You said you saw me hunting, right?”
-“I saw it, yeah, but I didn’t know it paid that much.”
“It was just luck. I didn’t send too much, so use it to buy what you need and maybe take Mom somewhere nice.”
-“Alright, I’ll do that.”
“Okay, tell Mom I said hi—”
Click.
He hung up again...
***
The Day of the Hunter Festival
There’s a particular reason why I can’t miss the Hunter Festival.
At the festival, auctions are held, and very rare items come up for sale.
“Tae-sung, it’s the festival! Let’s hit up a pub!”
This guy wanted to drink again.
“I’m not really in the mood for drinking.”
“Then what are you gonna do...?”
“I’m thinking of checking out the auction.”
“The auction? Do you even have money?”
“Of course, I’ve got money.”
“Oh, right. You killed all those wolves recently, didn’t you?”
“Even without that, I’ve got money.”
I still had the money from selling the other pet egg untouched.
“Then I’ve got nothing better to do. Guess I’ll tag along to the auction.”
The festival featured a variety of events.
Pubs run by students were popular, but people also came to see items made from monster hides, weapons, and more.
Since most of these weren’t crafted by ability users, they couldn’t be stored in inventories, so they were often used as decorative items.
Bracelets, rings, and other accessories were the most popular.
Accessories made from particularly radiant scales were very popular, often regarded as lucky charms.
They had the vibe of trendy items that were in fashion.
“Oh, look at that. It’s a belt made from ogre leather.”
Belts made from ogre leather were extremely durable and resistant to scratches, making them quite popular even among ordinary people.
The difference between items made from monster byproducts by regular people and those crafted by hunters with crafting abilities was the inclusion of “special abilities.”
The distinction lay in whether or not the item could enhance a hunter’s abilities.
Humans had found ways to turn every part of a monster into something valuable.
For example, they’d make coats from the fur of hairy monsters or eat the meat of fatty monsters. Ever since Gates appeared, monsters had become integrated into almost every aspect of human life.
Of course, not all monsters were usable.
Even now, every time a new monster appeared, researchers would harvest and study it to determine whether it could benefit humanity in some way.
The saying “nothing is useless in this world” seemed to apply even here.
Or perhaps it was a testament to human persistence.
For hunters, items like these were what they called “junk loot.”
“We need items that drop directly from monsters, not stuff made by people. Items from monsters come with stats.”
“Why don’t items made by people have stats?”
The answer was simple.
“Because they’re made by humans.”
“What if a hunter made it? Would it have stats then...?”
Huh? Jun-hyuk was suddenly approaching this with sharp insight.
“Well, yeah. If the hunter had crafting abilities, then it could have stats.”
“But there aren’t any hunters like that, right?”
“True. Not yet.”
“Not yet? Does that mean there will be some later?”
I subtly avoided the topic.
“Well... who knows? There might be someone with that kind of ability someday.”
“Are there crafting skill cards or something?”
The moment Jun-hyuk mentioned “crafting” and “skill cards,” a strange chill ran down my spine.
And then, a fragment of memory surfaced.
***
In the past, Jung Tae-sung had attempted skill combinations.
For 20 years, he worked on skill combinations, but that wasn’t the only thing he did.
What had started as an effort to recover his arm dragged on for one year, two years... and as the years passed, his exhaustion grew. To soothe his frustrations, he would occasionally step outside his home to take a walk in the park and get some fresh air.
That day was one such day.
He had felt suffocated and just wanted to breathe some fresh air.
“Haah... If only I could get my arm back somehow...”
For the first time in a while, Jung Tae-sung’s phone rang.
He already knew who it was without looking.
The only person who ever called him was his friend, Jun-hyuk.
-What are you doing?
“Why?”
-A friend calls after a long time, and all you say is ‘why’?”
“I’m just outside getting some air.”
-You’re still working on skill combinations, aren’t you?
“Yeah.”
-A crafting skill was just revealed recently. Why don’t you try crafting?”
“Crafting?”
-Yeah, crafting doesn’t require much once you start it. You just set it up and wait. Even with one arm, you can manage it.”
“Forget it, man. Crafting? Seriously...”
-Hey, listen. This could be a great business. All you need is a crafting skill card, but making those is super hard.”
“I’m not interested.”
-At least hear me out, even if you’re not interested.”
“I said, forget it.”
Click.
Jung Tae-sung hung up and muttered to himself.
“Do I look like the type to start crafting...?”
Not long after, a message arrived on his phone.
[Hey, at least give it a shot. The success rate might be low, but if you keep at it, you might pull it off.
You can only learn one crafting skill, so keep that in mind.
People with crafting-related traits can learn three, but those folks are rare.
Think about what you really need and choose wisely.
Once you learn a crafting skill, you’ll start obtaining “blueprints” when you kill monsters.
If you don’t have a crafting skill, you can’t even see blueprints, even if you obtain them.
You can always buy blueprints later.
Let me know if you manage to get a crafting skill.
If you can’t find the blueprints or materials, I’ll help you out.
Blueprints show the materials needed, so all you have to do is buy the materials, craft the item, and sell it.
Crafting skill card recipes:
Weapons: #@! + [email protected]# + @$# + Handiwork
*Armor: #%#$ + &[email protected]# + Handiwork
Accessories: $%^#@ + &^@& + Handiwork. ]
***
What the...
This is driving me crazy.
I can’t remember it.
It feels like this happened 10 or 15 years ago.
Would it be stranger if I did remember everything?
Now, 30 years back in the past...
The moment Jun-hyuk mentioned “crafting skill,” fragments of memory flashed through my mind.
But I couldn’t recall the most critical part—the crafting recipes.
Come to think of it...
There was a skill that allowed you to craft even without a crafting ability.
Even if you learned a crafting skill, it didn’t mean you could create just anything.
First, you needed a “blueprint,” and second, the “materials” specified in the blueprint.
And depending on your “luck,” the grade of the item would be determined. Higher grades were exceedingly rare.
Hunters born with crafting abilities had an inherent advantage.
Still, having the skill was better than nothing.
Plus, the more you crafted, the more proficient you became.
‘Most importantly, I’m ahead of everyone else... This gives me a clear advantage.’
Crafting ability users wouldn’t appear until five years from now.
Crafting skills wouldn’t become widely known for another 14 years.
To reap the rewards, you had to stay ahead of the curve.
Within the next 10 years—before skill combination recipes were publicly revealed—
I needed to fix my distorted mana pathways, earn my cushy position as a public sevant hunter, and enjoy the spoils.
For that, I had to work diligently, maximizing every benefit I could get.
But what I truly wanted wasn’t the crafting ability itself.
It was the “blueprints” that dropped from monsters when you had the crafting skill.
The countless dungeons that would appear in the future...
Even just the S-rank dungeons that would appear within 10 years—there were quite a few.
Only with the crafting skill could I obtain the “blueprints” dropped by those monsters.
How could anyone know what kind of blueprints were hiding among the ones no one had ever claimed in my past life?
There was bound to be a jackpot among them.
“Choi Jun-hyuk!”
“What?”
“What did you say earlier?”
“What do you mean?”
“Crafting skill cards. Anything else come to mind?”
“Crafting skill cards? Do those even exist?”
“Just think. Anything you can remember—tell me.”
“Well... when you’re crafting, there’s usually a process, right? Like melting metal or grinding stones?”
Yes! That’s it.
At that moment, faint fragments of the crafting recipes started surfacing in my mind.
....
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