I was Mistaken for a Noble Hunter – Chapter 113

Author: Cireng

Demon (5)

In the end, Kang Ian was only able to break free from Shim Junseok’s clinging after practically swearing that he wouldn’t recklessly go around taking down villains.

“You really promised me. You mustn’t act recklessly, okay?”

“Got it. I even swore, didn’t I? I’m someone who always keeps what I say.”

“Phew. I’ll trust you.”

“……”

The one who should be sighing right now was him, yet they were acting like that.

Kang Ian spoke.

“Anyway, I still want to take on a new request.”

“Well… there’s no shortage of requests. There are plenty of people in the world who want to entrust work to a B-rank hunter. By the way, Hunter Kang Ian, you’re really diligent. How do you keep going like that? Hunter Limm Gayeon, what do you think when you see something like this?”

“……”

As Shim Junseok smiled and looked at Lim Gayeon, she subtly avoided his gaze.

She was well aware of her own laziness.

It wasn’t just once or twice that she had refused, even when Shim Junseok begged her to take on some requests, saying she preferred staying at home.

“H-ha ha… I should work hard too.”

“Only in words?”

“Ahem. Let’s see, I have an urgent schedule…”

“Alright, I’ll stop pressuring you. Take a rest.”

“Yes, sir!”

Lim Gayeon beamed brightly and gave an exaggerated salute.

However, Kang Ian could only smile awkwardly at the sight.

Of course, he had been steadily taking requests because he wanted to earn money and accumulate Evil Souls and Nobility, but now it was half-forced.

‘If I don’t quickly repay the Nobility loan, I don’t know what will happen.’

Tezeros had left behind a chilling remark just before they parted.

<Ah. And the Nobility I lent you came from the knight order’s shared points, so repay it quickly. I won’t set a deadline, but if I feel your will to repay is lacking, your senior knights will come to collect it.>

……

In short, it meant not to play dead and default on it.

With threats like that, what choice did he have?

He had to work hard.

“Let’s see… what kind of request would you like to take? Excluding villain subjugation.”

“Hmm… In that case, I’d like a request where I can help people more than earn money.”

Since what he needed most right now was Nobility, it was an obvious choice.

“Ah…!”

“!!”

Hearing that right in front of them, Shim Junseok and Lim Gayeon let out exclamations without realizing it.

They knew Kang Ian’s personality, but to openly look for such a request…

It was hardly different from saying he wanted to do volunteer work.

A request like the one he was seeking wouldn’t pay much, after all.

‘It seems he’s been thinking a lot after dealing with villains this time. Seeing him deliberately look for this kind of request.’

‘As expected, his expression hasn’t been good this whole time…’

Shim Junseok and Lim Gayeon couldn’t help but think that way.

“Huh… well then. Understood. If that’s what you want, Hunter Kang Ian, I should help you.”

Shaking his head, Shim Junseok pulled out one of the piled-up request documents.

Thud

“This is a request sent from a small village in Geundeok-myeon, Samcheok City.”

[Request to Subjugate a Dangerous Zone in Gungchon-ri]

That was written on the front of the document.

“To briefly brief you, a gate rampage occurred in what used to be the village of Gungchon-ri, creating a dangerous zone. The original residents were only a few households, so they evacuated safely, but there’s apparently a mountain where they have long enshrined their ancestors. It’s a mountain where the graves of their ancestors across generations are gathered, but monsters from the nearby dangerous zone are damaging the mountain. So they sent a request to subjugate the dangerous zone.”

“A dangerous zone, huh. Sounds good.”

Kang Ian nodded.

In a dangerous zone, he could destroy the source of evil and gain Nobility.

And since it was said the ancestral mountain was being damaged, if he took down those creatures…

‘Would this give Nobility? It’s a bit ambiguous.’

If it were rescuing people, it would be guaranteed, but since it wasn’t, it was a bit disappointing.

“However, there is something unusual.”

Shim Junseok flipped through a few pages and opened the last page.

“This dangerous zone is a bit of a special type. The zone altered the terrain and created a labyrinth.”

“A labyrinth?”

“Yes. It looks like a dungeon.”

On the last page, several photos were attached, showing the entrance of a labyrinth formed in the middle of a mountain and its interior.

“If you defeat the monsters in the labyrinth, it will take time for them to respawn. That will prevent further damage to the ancestral mountain, and during that time, the villagers plan to relocate the graves of their ancestors.”

“I see. But doesn’t the government support something like this? If it’s a dangerous zone, couldn’t the association send hunters or the military?”

“Unless it’s a dangerous zone that directly threatens people’s lives, the government doesn’t have the capacity to handle things like this.”

Unless it directly threatened the livelihoods or lives of the villagers, the government had too much to do to manage ancestral graves.

The village had repeatedly requested help from city hall, but they had remained silent.

“Since it’s not a wealthy village, the residents gathered money together, but the request fee isn’t much. It’s only 100 million won… honestly, compared to your value, Hunter Kang Ian, it’s an absurdly low amount.”

“That’s fine. This time, I’m not doing it for money.”

A dangerous zone, and potentially additional Nobility if things went well.

At this point, that mattered more than money, so it was naturally a good choice.

“……”

However, since Shim Junseok and Lim Gayeon were now looking at him with burdensome eyes as if they were seeing an angel, Kang Ian said, “Please take care of it,” and quickly left.

***

‘I should go train.’

After leaving the Happy Office, Kang Ian headed to the Geomwangga (Sword King House) in Myeongdong.

The Nami Island request had ended faster than expected, leaving him with plenty of time.

There was still some time before his evening volunteer work.

Usually at times like this, he would go to the gym and work out with Kang Hoopung, but recently his routine had changed a bit.

To increase proficiency in [Valhalla’s Secret Swordsmanship], he needed to go to the Sword King House and receive instruction.

Fortunately, Cheon Hajin had taken a liking to Kang Ian and told him he could come by anytime he wanted.

Hyaap!

Hap!

Passing the area where the general trainees were on the first floor, he took the elevator straight to the 30th floor.

“Master, I’ve arrived.”

When Kang Ian got off the elevator and said that, Cheon Hajin wasn’t alone on the 30th floor.

“Ta-hap!”

Clang!

Cheon Hajin and an unknown man were fiercely sparring with real swords.

The man swung his sword so fast that afterimages almost remained, and a fierce aura flowed.

In contrast, Cheon Hajin barely moved from his spot.

He simply received and deflected the incoming attacks calmly.

‘Like a rock.’

Just as a rock doesn’t waver even in a storm, that was exactly what Cheon Hajin looked like.

The spar continued like that for quite a while, until at one moment Cheon Hajin took a single step.

Thud!

“Ghk!”

The moment their swords clashed, the man’s expression twisted.

His legs gave out, and he was completely overpowered, unable to escape.

In the end, he dropped his sword.

The man stood up with trembling hands, as if all his strength had left him.

“Phew. I lost.”

“Good work. You’ve improved a lot.”

“Improved? Compared to you, Master, I’m nothing. That sword is really too heavy every time I try to block it. My grip gave out in one hit.”

He rubbed his hands.

Even though he was an excellent hunter, his grip had failed after only a few clashes.

“By the way, Master. It seems you have a guest.”

“A new disciple. It hasn’t been long.”

“Oh!”

At that moment, both of them looked toward Kang Ian.

The man greeted him first with a friendly expression.

“Hello. I’m Gu Yangmok from the Blue Dragon Guild.”

The Blue Dragon Guild was one of the major domestic guilds, like Five Star or Red Rose.

And judging by his presence, he was at least a B-rank hunter… likely a team leader.

“Haha. I’ve seen other disciples here a few times, but they’ve all been around for a long time. It’s my first time seeing a new disciple.”

“My name is Kang Ian.”

“I know. You’ve been all over the news lately, so I’ve heard about you a few times.”

As Kang Ian greeted him politely out of respect, Gu Yangmok waved his hand.

“And you don’t have to be so formal. We may all be disciples of the Master, but we don’t really have a hierarchy among disciples.”

The Sword King House was formed by those who respected Sword King Cheon Hajin.

While they served him as their master, the people gathered there weren’t the kind to be looked down upon anywhere else.

From famous hunters to businessmen and politicians, all kinds of people were present.

Naturally, it would be difficult to form strict senior-junior relationships among them.

There were even rival guilds and companies among them, so it wasn’t possible to arbitrarily divide ranks.

Thus, while they served Cheon Hajin as their master, the disciples maintained mutual respect among themselves.

“So feel free to be comfortable.”

“In that case, I understand.”

Kang Ian nodded after hearing the explanation.

At that moment, Cheon Hajin approached.

“After sparring with you last time, I thought about what I should teach you.”

On the day they formed a master-disciple relationship, they had sparred for a long time.

Through that, Cheon Hajin had grasped Kang Ian’s style and tendencies and decided on a sword technique that suited him.

“What I will teach you is the Heavy Rock Sword.”

Cheon Hajin could wield lightning-fast swordsmanship, soft and sharp swordsmanship like the wind, and heavy, powerful swordsmanship.

Thus, he had taught previous disciples various techniques suited to them, but judged that a heavy, powerful sword suited Kang Ian.

“Oh? Hunter Kang Ian can learn that?”

Gu Yangmok asked in surprise.

The Heavy Rock Sword relied on overwhelming force, requiring significant physical talent.

Otherwise, one needed absurd technical ability to compensate.

What Cheon Hajin had shown in the spar earlier was exactly that.

From Gu Yangmok’s perspective, Kang Ian had a well-proportioned build, not a heavily muscular one, so he wondered if it would suit him.

Moreover, the Heavy Rock Sword was particularly difficult among Cheon Hajin’s techniques.

“This kid is stronger than he looks. I heard he works out with that Kang Hoopung guy. Seems that’s not for nothing. He’s perfectly suited for the Heavy Rock Sword.”

“…You mean that ‘Taesan’ Kang Hoopung hunter? You work out with him?”

Gu Yangmok looked at Kang Ian as if he were seeing something strange.

As Kang Ian felt awkward, suddenly becoming some kind of odd person, Cheon Hajin beckoned with his hand.

“Come here. I’ll teach you the Heavy Rock Sword starting today. It will take months just to properly get started, so you must train diligently from today.”

“Yes.”

Kang Ian’s eyes sparkled as he followed him.

Sword King Cheon Hajin.

Though he was a famous A-rank hunter in the country, there were even claims that his physical abilities were only at the level of a B-rank hunter.

Even so, his overwhelming swordsmanship far surpassed his physical specs.

That was why he was respected by so many people.

To learn swordsmanship from such a person… he was excited.

“I’ll show you once first. Just get a feel for it.”

As he began to swing his sword, Kang Ian, watching intently, flinched.

‘Oh…’

He realized that Tezeros’s advice had truly been correct.

<Valhalla’s Proficiency Concentration (P) – Swordsmanship Advanced Enhancement>