A Public Servant Hunter Who Exploits Skill Combinations – Chapter 49
Translated by: Hanzo
Chapter 49: Guild Training (2)
Inside his neat office, Ma Jung-seok and I sat facing each other.
“I don’t know if it will suit your taste.”
“It has a very nice aroma.”
Ma Jung-seok took a sip of the coffee in his cup and said,
“Instant coffee is the best, after all.”
“That’s right. This deserves a Nobel Prize.”
I expected him to prefer high-end tea, but surprisingly, his taste was similar to mine.
“I heard about Tae-ho. I heard you saved my son from those nasty hunters.”
“Is Tae-ho okay?”
“He’ll be fine after a few days of rest.”
“That’s a relief.”
“I’ll get straight to the point. I want to thank you.”
So that’s why he called me here.
Well, since he was from a wealthy family, it was only natural that he’d want to reward me.
If it weren’t for me, his son would have died without anyone knowing.
But perhaps because I didn’t particularly lack money, I didn’t feel the desire to accept any.
Unless it was in the billions, that is.
Besides, accepting money for saving a friend felt a bit off.
“I just happened to be passing by and saw Tae-ho going in. It seemed suspicious, so I followed him inside.”
“If you refuse, what does that make us?”
“I didn’t do it expecting any financial gain. I just helped because my friend was in danger. If I had been in that situation, Tae-ho would have rolled up his sleeves and helped me too.”
That wasn’t entirely true, but Ma Jung-seok shook his head as if he didn’t believe it.
“Tae-ho doesn’t have that kind of character. Ever since he was young, he’s never lacked anything… He thinks everything should revolve around him. It’s my fault for raising him that way. Even if he had seen you in trouble… If it didn’t benefit him, he might not have done anything at all.”
Since it was his own son, he would know best.
And honestly, the Tae-ho I knew was exactly like that.
That’s part of the reason why, despite his future as an S-rank, I was closer to Mun Jung-ho than to Ma Tae-ho.
But what did it matter? Even if such a situation had actually occurred, I wouldn’t have resented him.
Besides, it wasn’t like I had completely ruled out any potential benefits from my actions.
To be precise, I was just playing hard to get.
It wasn’t really in my nature to refuse something that was being offered.
If someone’s giving it, why reject it?
I may be materialistic, but I was just pretending not to be.
More than anything, money wasn’t what I wanted.
“You don’t have to, but if you insist… Well, if you insist, I guess there’s no choice.”
“That would ease my conscience. I hate owing people.”
“But I’ll decline any financial compensation.”
“So you have something else in mind?”
I subtly began to reveal what I really wanted.
“You know that students who come for training at the academy are essentially limited to D-rank gates, right?”
“Of course.”
“And I’m set to train with the Magma Guild for a month.”
“I’m aware of that as well.”
“But honestly, I have no interest in D-rank gates. They’re not suited to my level.”
Upon hearing my words, Ma Jung-seok’s pupils briefly widened before narrowing again.
He must have caught on since I had broached the topic.
“What can you offer me?”
“You’ve got guts, I’ll give you that. Are you asking for permission to enter gates of all ranks?”
I simply smiled.
“Wouldn’t that be reasonable?”
Heh heh heh…
This was exactly what I wanted.
It wasn’t intentional, but I had still saved his son.
As a father, he had to do something in return.
It wasn’t the kind of situation he could just brush off with a simple "thank you."
Even from Ma Jung-seok’s perspective, there were people watching.
Well, if I was going to accept something, I might as well take something beneficial to me.
From my past-life memories, I knew that an S-rank Gate would appear during the training period.
Since it was a field-type gate, whoever arrived first would claim it…
If I couldn’t participate due to training restrictions, I would gain nothing from it.
But with the proper authorization, I could naturally take part. That would be killing two birds with one stone.
Not to mention, I was curious to see what kind of crafting blueprint might come from it.
“Alright. I’ll grant you full access to all the gates the Magma Guild participates in.”
Ma Jung-seok was well aware of how significant this privilege was.
If Jung Tae-sung had been like a typical first-year student, only capable of handling D- or at best C-rank gates, the situation would have been different.
But as far as he knew, Jung Tae-sung had already surpassed B-rank with ease, and now he seemed to be approaching A-rank.
‘He’s improved again in just a few days? Is it even possible to grow this fast?’
Considering what he might accomplish in the gates, this was a significant loss for the guild.
Even so, he granted Jung Tae-sung the access without much hesitation.
After all, the young man was his son’s lifesaver.
If he had asked for the entire Magma Guild, he might have given it to him.
Ma Jung-seok was well aware that the way he had pressured his son, Ma Tae-ho, was purely out of his own greed.
He wanted the guild he had founded to gain greater fame.
He wanted Ma Tae-ho to grow quickly and lead the guild.
But he never imagined that his ambition would bring disaster.
Hadn’t his own brother been killed in a gate?
Wanting his son to be strong had been his way of protecting him, but it had backfired.
Now, he was truly grateful to Jung Tae-sung for giving him another chance.
***
To be honest, if I weren’t a regressor, this situation might never have happened.
In that sense, I did feel a slight twinge of guilt.
‘Even if I decided to only keep good memories in this life, that doesn’t give me the right to take away the good memories that should belong to others. So, if I’ve disrupted things, I should help where I can while still securing what I need for myself.’
I couldn’t save everyone.
I didn’t have the power to prevent everyone who had died in the future from dying again in the present.
But I wanted to at least make sure that those who had lived well in the future wouldn’t die now.
Especially those close to me…
‘To do that… I need more power.’
Until now, I had thought I had clear limits, so I was only aiming for moderation. But now, I could see potential for growth.
Since I had the opportunity, why not grow as much as possible?
I left the Magma Guild’s headquarters and headed toward the guild’s field office.
‘Mir.’
<Don’t talk to me. I’m leveling up right now.>
‘…’
After buying a car and setting up a phone for him, Mir had become completely absorbed in gaming.
He had even shrunk himself down to a size convenient for gaming.
Thanks to that, he looked just as cute as when I first met him.
‘Hey, doesn’t maintaining that form drain your mana?’
<That was true before. But now, I can sustain this size easily. The mana I recover is greater than what I use.>
‘Well, considering all the mana stones you’ve devoured…’
<Kekeke. This is way too fun.>
Mir, who was sitting on my shoulder, was playing a game when I glanced at it and spoke.
‘What’s so fun about a simple, repetitive grinding game…?’
<It’s fun because you can see your growth so clearly! The game’s world is unique, and the story is good too. It’s a world where dragons are supreme.>
So that’s what you liked about it.
Most games usually have a demon king or a dragon as the strongest being…
‘But aren’t those dragons?’
<Dragons and yong (Korean dragons) are the same thing, right?>
‘They look different, though.’
<Well, judging by their abilities, they seem pretty similar.>
‘That’s true.’
<The humans of your world sure have great imaginations. How did they create something so similar without ever seeing one?>
‘Who knows…?’
Mir wasn’t just playing games on my phone. He was absorbing all kinds of information—forums, news, economics, culture, novels, webtoons, and more.
Because of that, he had way too many questions.
Is this why they say someone looks the cutest when they're sleeping??
‘Hey… don’t you ever sleep?’
<I only sleep when I run out of mana.>
‘That explains it… I’ve been having trouble sleeping lately.’
<That’s because the way you use mana is similar to how dragons use it.>
‘Are you sure my body is okay?’
<I’m not entirely sure, but if there was something wrong, wouldn’t you have noticed symptoms by now?>
‘Good point. If anything, my rank has gone up… so I guess it’s a good thing?’
<Hold on. I need to focus. It’s a boss fight. The boss battles require precise control.>
‘…’
Look at this game-addicted self-proclaimed dragon…
Before I knew it, I had arrived at the guild office.
“Oh, hey. You must be Jung Tae-sung, the one joining our guild for training.”
“Hello.”
“I’m Park Dae-sik. I’m 24, and I’ll be your mentor.”
“I’m Jung Tae-sung. Since I’m just a first-year, I still have a lot to learn. I appreciate your guidance.”
He seemed like a good-natured person with a friendly personality, and judging by his reputation within the guild, he was well-liked.
It looked like Ma Jung-seok had assigned me a decent mentor.
“Just call me hyung (older brother). We’re not that far apart in age.”
“Alright, hyung.”
Park Dae-sik looked flustered.
“Wait, that was too fast…”
“Should I go back to using formal speech?”
“You’re messing with me, aren’t you? Hahaha. It’s fine. Tae-ho talks casually to me too. You’re his friend, right?”
“Yes, we’re in the same class.”
“I heard you saved him from a pretty dangerous situation.”
“I just happened to be passing by and saw him.”
“There are rumors you completely wrecked those guys.”
“I got lucky…”
“How did you handle three of them at once? One of them was nearly B-rank, right?”
Quickly.
Before they could even activate their mana.
It’s common to use weapons when fighting monsters.
No matter how skilled someone is, there’s a big difference between fighting with bare fists and using a weapon.
Even if you enhance your body with mana, it’s rare to channel mana into your fists.
You might be able to punch a monster, but cutting one down is another story.
That’s why they never expected me to defeat them with my bare hands.
They let their guard down, and before they could even react, I took them out.
But there was no need for a long explanation, so I brushed it off.
“Well, I got lucky and attacked them while they were focused on fighting a wasp monster.”
“Still, that’s impressive. I’ve been hearing about you since the entrance ceremony.”
“Don’t flatter me.”
“At this point, if a hunter doesn’t know about you, they’re living under a rock.”
“Most regular people don’t know who I am.”
“They’ve gotten used to this society. Unless it’s something extraordinary, they don’t pay much attention. Some people still see hunters as monsters…”
Monsters, huh…
I’d heard about this when I was younger.
In the early days of the gate incidents, the tension between hunters and ordinary people was severe.
It was likely due to the power hunters had—something normal people didn’t.
But over time, both sides made compromises and learned to coexist.
As we sat in the guild’s standby office, drinking coffee, we continued chatting.
It was a good way to get a sense of each other.
“By the way, your pet knows how to use a smartphone?”
“Oh, he’s a bit unusual.”
“My pet only knows how to eat.”
“This one eats a lot too.”
“Mine eats one F-rank mana stone per day.”
Mine doesn’t even look at anything below D-rank. Says it’s not enough.
“At this rate, I’ll go broke.”
Tell me about it…
Just then, the radio buzzed.
Beep—
—Gate fluctuations detected.
“Alright, hunters. Time to move out! Tae-sung, this is your first mission.”
Yeah… My first mission as a guild member in this life.
The guild training was going smoothly.
The people were great, and our teamwork was solid.
My team consisted of one A-rank hunter and two B-rank hunters, making four of us in total.
So far, we had only encountered low-level gates, but just watching them hunt made it clear that they were skilled.
Then, I suddenly realized something.
These people…
They were good at hunting and had great potential for growth.
So why didn’t they exist in my past life’s memories?
With their abilities, I should have at least heard their names before.
And this was the Magma Guild. With S-rank Ma Jung-seok and Ma Tae-ho eventually reaching S-rank as well, it wasn’t a small guild.
That could only mean one thing—they must have died during a hunt.
Hunters dying in gates was extremely common.
It makes the news, but it’s usually just a brief mention.
So many die that it was hardly surprising anymore.
That was why hunter salaries were so high.
Because the mortality rate was absurdly high.
And the biggest reason for that mortality rate?
Variant gates.
A gate that appeared to be D-rank could suddenly spawn another gate inside it, releasing an A-rank monster.
Or a D-rank monster you thought was defeated could suddenly evolve into an A-rank monster.
These hunters were probably killed in one of those types of gates.
And…
I don’t remember exactly when they died…
But the gate we just entered… feels like one of those variant gates.
Even if I don’t know exactly who will die or how…
I do know how this gate will change.
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