I was Mistaken for a Noble Hunter – Chapter 115

Author: Cireng

Demon (7)

Lee Seunghoon, while running the YouTube channel <Everyone’s Lives>, had experienced both the sweetness and bitterness of society.

To be precise, most of it had been bitter.

Capitalist society was harsh.

People only cared about their own affairs, turned a blind eye to others, and there were even those who would outright push others down.

There was a reason why acts of kindness made the news.

It was because they were so rare to see in everyday life.

Lee Seunghoon knew this reality well, and that was why he became even more drawn to Kang Ian.

A hunter who was talented and outstanding, yet also kind and good.

At first, he thought it might be an act, but after seeing repeated reports, he became convinced that this person was genuine.

After joining the fan café and learning more about Kang Ian’s actions, that belief only solidified.

And yet, to meet him in a place like this!

“S-so the hunter who was coming here… was Hunter Kang Ian!”

“Ah… yes. Haha.”

Kang Ian was slightly flustered as a stranger suddenly stared at him with sparkling eyes.

Hunters were treated somewhat like celebrities, but most people only watched from a distance.

Hunters weren’t just celebrities. They were superhumans with power.

Reporters might boldly ask rude questions face-to-face, but ordinary people would end up fearing walking at night if they did such a thing.

But approaching like this so directly?

“I’m a member of KangSamo! I’ve read almost every article about you, Hunter Kang Ian!”

“Ah…”

‘Ah. KangSamo.’

Kang Ian had heard of it as well.

It was his own fan café, after all.

But since he wasn’t particularly interested, he had only acknowledged its existence and moved on, not even knowing who ran it.

‘My fan… how interesting.’

He had met many people in the same field or reporters, but this was the first time someone approached him like this.

“N-now’s not the time. Paper… where’s my pen…”

Lee Seunghoon hurriedly rummaged through his belongings.

“An autograph! Please give me an autograph!”

“Calm down. I can give you an autograph anytime.”

Kang Ian naturally gave him an autograph, calming his heightened excitement.

Recently, he had gained quite a bit of fame, so he had signed autographs a few times, and now he could produce a fairly decent signature.

“To be honest, when I heard a hunter was coming here, I was very suspicious. I thought for sure it was a scammer, or at least someone with ulterior motives.”

“Haha…”

“But to think it’s you, Hunter Kang Ian. Did you come after hearing about the villagers’ hardships? Maybe not other hunters, but someone like you would definitely do something like this out of pure goodwill.”

“……”

Not really.

Kang Ian had chosen this request to quickly repay his Nobility debt.

After all, requests that helped people like this were the best way to earn Nobility.

Far from pure, his motives were quite self-serving, and his conscience pricked at him.

So instead of saying anything, Kang Ian simply smiled quietly.

That shroud of mystery made an even deeper impression on Lee Seunghoon.

‘He doesn’t exaggerate or decorate his achievements. Not only is his character good, but he’s humble too…’

Lee Seunghoon felt frustrated.

Someone like this should be the one becoming famous, yet the world is full of scammers.

One of the reasons he ran his YouTube channel was to vividly convey the reality of society.

And the existence of such a good person was something more people needed to know.

Shouldn’t the world be one where good people are rewarded?

‘I’ll capture all of this in detail on YouTube!’

Lee Seunghoon made up his mind.

***

A hazard zone in the form of a labyrinth dungeon.

The hazard zone that had appeared next to Gungchon-ri was exactly that.

As a place imbued with inhuman power, the labyrinth was extremely deep.

Once you passed through the small entrance, an endlessly stretching corridor carved deep underground awaited.

On top of that, it exuded the eerie atmosphere unique to hazard zones.

Even hunters with weak nerves might be afraid to enter.

However, Kang Ian’s mind, protected by the will of Valhalla, was firm.

Moreover, he didn’t know what kind of penalties he might face if he failed to repay his Nobility quickly.

‘A deep, eerie underground dungeon? A place like this probably has even better rewards, right? Even better!’

Kang Ian moved forward with even more energy.

That said, he did not let his guard down.

He was fully armed.

With the <Floating Shield> skill, he raised a shield that covered most of the front of the corridor, and behind it, he held a staff in one hand and a longsword in the other.

[Wand of Tiny Lightning]

[A wand containing the creator’s effort to hold even a trace of lightning’s power. True to that intention, it only contains a very tiny amount.]

[Slight increase in power when using lightning-type magic skills.]

[Required Evil Souls: 1200.]

Since it was his first time buying a magic staff-type item, he chose something reasonably decent.

Since he only had one magic skill, <Fast Lightning>, he picked an item specialized for that category.

‘Now, a thousand-something Evil Souls isn’t that much of a burden… but magic-related items really are expensive.’

Magic-type items and skills were far more expensive than regular ones.

Now that he was a B-rank hunter, defeating monsters of a similar level would grant several hundred Evil Souls per kill.

So it wasn’t too burdensome, but before, he wouldn’t have been able to afford it at all.

‘According to the first survey team, this labyrinth has three floors.’

Hazard zones continuously generated monsters due to their unique energy.

As they accumulated, sometimes they would overflow outside, but this place was ambiguous.

They did accumulate, but only a few monsters actually came out.

It wasn’t a particularly important area, and the number of monsters coming out was small.

It was a difficult place for the government to continuously assign hunters.

Moreover, the monsters of the labyrinth seemed to prefer staying inside and didn’t wander far.

At most, they would disturb the mountain where the villagers’ ancestral graves were, then return.

Because of that, it was hard for the government to take action.

Anyway, after preparing like that and advancing for some time…

Grrr!

Kyaa!

From beyond the darkness came the characteristic cries of monsters.

Kang Ian immediately swung his staff.

Pajijik!

A white lightning spark flashed at the tip of the staff, and a bolt shot forward.

The lightning struck into the darkness.

The monster’s cry vanished.

Ding!

[You have defeated evil]

[Evil Souls +96]

As he approached, he saw the charred corpse of a gray dwarf, burned by lightning.

A Gremlin.

A dwarf-type monster similar to goblins, but nimble and specialized in stealth attacks from the darkness.

Common in labyrinth-type gates, and tricky due to its assassin-like traits.

“…That was lucky.”

He had taken it down with a single spell.

It was possible thanks to the no-chant, near-instant casting speed.

Of course, hitting something at range with magic involved a lot of luck.

Even with enhanced vision and accuracy as a superhuman, this was still his first time hitting something with magic.

Kang Ian swung the staff a few times to get a feel for it.

That had been luck, but it felt like he could quickly make it into a skill.

Then he moved forward again.

Kiya!

Grrr!

From the darkness ahead, eerie cries echoed intermittently.

If they were assassin-type monsters, they should have attacked silently… making noise like this was strange.

But that meant they were intelligent.

Eerie air. Darkness that barely allowed any visibility.

Hearing sinister cries from beyond naturally made people tense and shrink back.

No one could maintain that level of tension for long, so their strength would eventually drain… and then the monsters would strike.

That was why assassin types were troublesome.

Pajijik!

Of course, for Kang Ian, making noise like that was actually helpful.

<Fast Lightning> lit up the darkness.

His accuracy wasn’t 100%.

He was firing toward where the sounds came from, so naturally, the hit rate was low.

But if the accuracy was low, he could just repeat it.

Fast Lightning had no chant, fast casting speed, moderate mana consumption, and decent power.

That’s what made it possible to use both sword and magic together.

White lightning bolts continuously shot toward the source of the sounds.

At first, the monsters intended to shake Kang Ian’s mind with eerie noises, but instead, they were just telling him, “We’re over here!”

Ding!

[You have defeated evil]

[Evil Souls +99]

[Evil Souls +101]

…

After repeating this several times, the sounds from the darkness suddenly stopped.

***

At the same time, Kang Ian was inside the labyrinth…

Construction was underway on a prime piece of land in Samseong-dong, Seoul.

At the orders of Russia’s second-in-command, Medverev, a house was being built for Kang Ian.

Medverev, who had been meeting figures from political and business circles during his stay in Korea, arrived at the site.

Immediately, his aide rushed over.

“Your Excellency, you’ve arrived.”

“How is the construction going?”

“Yes. The design was completed just yesterday, and materials have been prepared, so construction began today. We plan to hire awakened individuals as specialized workers, which should significantly shorten the construction period.”

“Quality matters more than time. What’s important is whether Hunter Kang Ian will be satisfied.”

“We commissioned a top-tier architectural designer. The materials being used are also carefully selected as the best.”

“Let me see.”

As Medverev extended his hand, the aide respectfully handed over the blueprint.

It showed both the interior structure and overall design.

“But why is the swimming pool so small? It’s a three-story house with a basement, yet there’s no elevator inside?”

“Ah, in Korea, if the swimming pool exceeds a certain size, it violates housing laws and incurs taxes and fines. The same applies if an indoor elevator is built too large.”

“Taxes? That’s something we can pay for. Should Hunter Kang Ian feel inconvenienced over a few taxes?”

“My thinking was short. I apologize.”

“As long as you understand. Don’t make the same mistake again.”

“Yes, Your Excellency!”

The aide bowed deeply as Medverev left again due to his schedule.

Nearby, several CIA agents were watching the scene.

They were monitoring the Russians, but lacking authority, they couldn’t interfere.

So they could only watch with uneasy expressions.

‘Surely… Hunter Kang Ian isn’t going to naturalize to Russia, right?’

Swallowing hard, the agent looked again at the construction site.

Giving him a house like that… not even as part of a contract, wouldn’t that create goodwill where there was none before…?

The CIA needed to act.