I was Mistaken for a Noble Hunter Chapter 117

Family (1)

 

When a hazardous zone appears, hunters commissioned by the government are usually dispatched first to investigate.

A hazardous zone, essentially a gate made real… was a contaminated place, but at the same time, if handled well, it was also a place where resources not found on Earth could be obtained.

The same applied here.

The investigators who had previously come on a government commission would have broken, dug, and examined everything at least once.

Not just dealing with the monsters visible, they would have tried everything that could be done inside the labyrinth.

‘They must have broken this wall too. And decided there was nothing there.’

What appears when you break the wall is black smoke.

Even for hunters, going inside that was dangerous.

If you made a wrong move, you could lose your way and die as a wanderer in the fog.

That’s why the investigators likely only broke the wall and didn’t go beyond it.

But Kang Ian, a Knight of Valhalla, could feel that beyond this lay something truly connected to a demon.

There was no way he could not go.

He stepped into the fog where he couldn’t see even an inch ahead.

However, he remained tense, focusing all his senses.

The thought that he could become lost in this fog if he made even a slight mistake kept him from relaxing.

Beep!

“!?”

At that moment, Kang Ian felt around inside his clothes at the sound coming from his chest.

“…Huh.”

The source of the sound was the Evil Source Detector.

It was the device he had gotten repaired by researcher Lee Naeun when he met her again while doing a lab request before.

It was working.

‘So what’s beyond here is the source of evil.’

An object that maintained a hazardous zone… and when destroyed, purified it.

At the same time, it was a treasure that could yield a large amount of Souls of Evil and Nobility!

Though the surroundings were still filled with fog, following the detector’s direction meant there was no risk of getting lost.

Beep!

In the middle of the fog, Kang Ian stopped.

The detector was pointing here.

He drew his sword and swung it widely, and a wind mixed with mana and sword force pushed the surrounding fog aside for a moment.

What appeared was a pitch-black stone embedded in the ground, about the size of a human head.

[Powerful Source of Evil]

“!”

Seeing the message that appeared above it, Kang Ian flinched.

Unlike the sources of evil he had seen before, this one had the modifier “powerful” in front of it.

Which meant…

“A powerful reward!”

Kang Ian grinned broadly and swung his sword like lightning.

A Source of Evil has the property of protecting itself, emitting smoke that causes mental attacks on its surroundings.

Fwoosh

This time was no different, but Kang Ian, protected by the Will of Valhalla, approached it without issue.

Then he swung his Heavy Rock Sword.

Even the massive rhino had been crushed by the force of this technique.

A mere stone couldn’t possibly block it.

Crash!

Ding!

 

[You have destroyed a Powerful Source of Evil]

[Soul of Evil +3500]

[Nobility +1700]

 

“!!!”

At the message that followed, Kang Ian’s eyes widened.

“J-jackpot!”

Was this how herbalists felt when they discovered wild ginseng in the past?

This request was a huge success.

 

***

 

Rumble

After destroying the enhanced Source of Evil, the labyrinth began to collapse.

Kang Ian, who had returned through the fog back into the labyrinth, quickly rushed outside.

‘Damn. If the Association, the CIA, or Russia sees this later, it’s going to be a hassle again.’

He had been purifying every hazardous zone he entered, so it was obvious how they would start looking at him.

He hadn’t originally intended to eliminate this labyrinth like the others.

To be honest, since it was in labyrinth form, he hadn’t even thought he would find a Source of Evil.

But things had turned out like this.

Since the collapse started gradually from the deepest part of the third basement floor, Kang Ian focused on getting out first.

Fortunately, the labyrinth took quite a long time to collapse.

It would probably take a considerable amount of time before the first floor completely disappeared.

Since all the monsters inside had been cleared out, getting out didn’t take long.

“Ah? You’re already out, Hunter Kang Ian?”

The first person he saw outside was Lee Seunghoon.

Kang Ian tilted his head, not expecting anyone to be waiting for him.

“Were you waiting for me, by any chance?”

“No, not really. When you entered the labyrinth, I installed a camera here. I came to replace the battery since it was about time, but…”

Lee Seunghoon spoke with a flustered expression.

He had decided to capture everything about Kang Ian for his YouTube channel, Everyone’s Life, and personally thought that the most important scene was Kang Ian entering and exiting the labyrinth.

So he had set up a camera here, expecting Kang Ian to come out much later.

It had only been a little over three hours since he went in…

“…Did you come out midway? Was it harder than expected, so you had to give up on clearing it…?”

“No. I completed the labyrinth perfectly to the end. There won’t be any monsters coming out for a while.”

“!”

Strictly speaking, not just for a while… but forever.

Even so, hearing that alone made Lee Seunghoon’s eyes widen in shock.

“T-that quickly? No… I’m not doubting you, of course…”

If it were another hunter, he might have suspected they only cleared a few monsters on the first floor.

But this was Kang Ian.

He knew there was no way that would be the case, so he didn’t doubt him at all.

Instead, he was impressed.

‘Those self-proclaimed industry people wrote posts on the fan café saying Hunter Kang Ian would become an A-rank in the future… maybe that’s actually true?’

Lee Seunghoon was just an ordinary person, so he didn’t know the detailed differences between hunter ranks or growth potential.

He only knew that B-rank was already considered upper-tier among hunters.

But many people on the fan café said Kang Ian’s potential wasn’t limited to B-rank.

At the time, he thought they were just fans with high expectations… but now, it seemed they were simply stating facts.

“Th-then I’ll go tell the villagers the news first!”

“Let’s go together. It’ll be easier if I’m there to explain.”

“Y-yes!”

 

***

 

Lee Seunghoon trusted that even if Kang Ian came out quickly, he had done the job properly.

But among the villagers of Gungchon-ri, some were anxious.

It was only natural, since he came out so quickly.

If a monster suddenly appeared while they were working, it could easily lead to a major accident.

Lee Seunghoon did his best to reassure and persuade them.

“Please trust him! Hunter Kang Ian will stay by your side, and if a monster appears during the relocation work and causes problems, I’ll compensate you with my own money!”

With him going that far, the villagers were finally able to relax and begin their work.

Moreover, the contract for Kang Ian’s request included a clause stating that he had to protect them for up to a week after the relocation began.

It had been easier to just clear the labyrinth completely… and at the same time, he could earn points and practice new skills and swordsmanship.

In any case, the relocation work began like that.

At first, he considered telling them that the hazardous zone would soon be purified.

But the villagers had already moved their lives elsewhere.

Even if the zone was purified, the relocation still had to be done.

The work went smoothly.

At first, the villagers were uneasy, but as Kang Ian calmly stayed by their side and no monsters appeared, they were able to focus on the work.

After several days without any issues, they came to fully trust Kang Ian.

“I’ll help as well.”

“Y-yes!?”

Kang Ian even rolled up his sleeves and personally helped, getting dirt on himself.

Many hunters gave off a half-noble aura, but seeing Kang Ian help with such menial labor deeply moved the people.

“You don’t have to help with this… how could you do such work…”

“What’s the point of just standing around? Hunters are strong… it makes us perfect for manual labor.”

Kang Ian smiled kindly… a smile refined through volunteer work, and joined in the tasks.

Thanks to that, the relocation work, which was expected to take a week, was completed in just four days.

‘I can go home earlier.’

Kang Ian felt satisfied that the request ended quickly.

His clothes were a bit dirty, but he could just wash them later.

And at that moment…

Ding!

 

[You have fulfilled the wish of the villagers of Gungchon-ri]

[Nobility +550]

 

“!!??”

Following the powerful Source of Evil, another big reward hit.

Normally, you couldn’t gain 550 Nobility from a single volunteer activity… but various factors must have combined.

He barely held back the urge to cheer in front of the villagers.

Still, he had to quickly hide the corners of his twitching lips.

“Ah, Hunter. Thank you so much. Thanks to you, everything finished safely.”

The head of the youth association (though he was over 65) grasped Kang Ian’s hand as he spoke.

“It’s modest, but the villagers gathered more funds. It may be a small amount to you, but this is the only way we can express our gratitude.”

As he said that, he held out several thick envelopes.

If they were filled with 50,000-won bills, it must amount to at least tens of millions.

“No. You’ve already done the relocation work… how could I accept this?”

However, Kang Ian firmly refused.

‘If I accept something like this and it’s treated as a transactional act, that’d be a problem. They might even take back the Nobility I earned…’

He didn’t think that would actually happen… but you never knew.

A noble act had to remain noble.

“But still…”

“It’s really fine. Please keep it, and instead, hold a village feast.”

At Kang Ian’s gentle smile, the association head was left speechless.

In truth, they had forced themselves to gather more money out of concern that problems might arise later if they didn’t compensate a hunter somehow.

Yet he spoke like this.

Meanwhile, Lee Seunghoon did his best to capture everything on camera.

‘Wow… he’s truly amazing.’

Using both his handheld camera and a drone, he wanted to capture the hopeful atmosphere Kang Ian had created.

‘Just like I saw in the articles… Hunter Kang Ian really is exactly as I imagined. He even refused money and looks so satisfied.’

Kang Ian tried to hide his smile quickly, but Lee Seunghoon caught it in that brief moment.

He was clearly smiling with happiness.

It was obvious he genuinely took joy in helping people without any ulterior motive.

Lee Seunghoon was deeply moved once again that such a person existed.

His eyes burned with determination.

‘Not sleeping tonight!’

Editing was hard work, but he wanted to stay up all night to edit this video as quickly as possible and show it to the public even a day sooner.

 

***

 

Having finished the request happily, Kang Ian finally let out the smile he had been holding back as he left Gungchon-ri.

He had earned a lot of Souls of Evil and over 2,000 Nobility.

With a single request, he had repaid more than half of his loan.

At this rate, it seemed unlikely that the senior Knights of Valhalla would come to collect.

‘I have a bit of time left.’

On the way back to Seoul.

Since the request finished earlier than expected, he had some spare time.

Originally, he planned to work out or visit Cheon Hajin, but both said they were unavailable today.

Even his usual volunteer work was fully booked.

At that moment, something he had been putting off came to mind.

“Driver, could you turn the car around?”

“Yes. Where to?”

“Take me to Cheongju.”

It was time to visit his parents’ home for the first time in a while.