I was Mistaken for a Noble Hunter Chapter 127

Overseas (1)

 

“L-let’s go together!”

After blankly staring at Kang Ian’s back for a moment, Choi Seobin quickly hurried after him.

“I guess I didn’t think for a second about what kind of person you are, Mr. Kang Ian. You’re not the type who’d be happy just because someone lets you skip something like this…”

She glanced at him cautiously, worried that her earlier suggestion… meant as consideration, might have been taken the wrong way.

Fortunately, Kang Ian didn’t seem to care much.

Trying to change the subject, she spoke again.

“By the way, seeing how quickly you cleared the Black Gate… was the difficulty inside easy? I thought it would be extremely hard.”

She hadn’t asked earlier if he needed help for no reason.

Since a massive boss monster like Hometos had appeared, she had naturally assumed the inside would be very difficult.

“Yes, well. It was easy. That lich boss-like thing was still alive, but aside from that, it was mostly just minor mobs.”

“What!? That thing was alive!?”

Choi Seobin jumped in shock, and Kang Ian shrugged.

“To be precise, it was preparing to revive, but I dealt with it completely before that.”

Hearing Kang Ian speak so casually, Choi Seobin was horrified.

If what he said was true, it meant he had prevented a crisis that could have endangered not just Busan, but all of Korea.

A boss monster like that would have caused a catastrophic situation.

“My goodness… that’s truly a relief.”

Choi Seobin let out a breath, placing a hand on her chest.

“In that case, maybe all the Gate’s energy was concentrated into that boss monster since it was so powerful.”

Sometimes that happened.

According to the theories of gate research scientists, all the energy inside a gate could converge into a single powerful entity.

A so-called boss monster… and in such cases, they were extremely dangerous, often leading to disasters if mishandled.

Considering it was about to revive, that seemed likely.

“Could it be… You entered the Black Gate without resting because you realized the boss monster wasn’t fully dead?”

“Well… something like that.”

“Wow…”

Choi Seobin thought Kang Ian’s judgment had been excellent.

At the time, the hunters had been celebrating, believing the monster had been defeated.

If someone had thrown cold water on that, it would have led to conflict.

If they had wasted time arguing, the worst-case scenario… its revival, might have occurred.

Instead of arguing, Kang Ian acted immediately and prevented a catastrophe.

It was an incredibly courageous decision.

 

***

 

‘Feels satisfying.’

Kang Ian wiped the sweat from his forehead and smiled with satisfaction.

Even he, a superhuman, was sweating.

That alone showed how difficult and demanding the disaster recovery site was.

Collapsed buildings and streets, wrecked roads and cars.

The damage was astronomical.

Naturally, there was endless work to be done, and Kang Ian took on the hardest, dirtiest, and most exhausting tasks.

Ding!

 

[You have made a great contribution to disaster recovery]

[Nobility +466]

 

As he worked, large amounts of Nobility came in from time to time!

It hadn’t even been a few hours, and he had already seen that message eight or nine times.

‘My accumulated Nobility is already close to 4,000.’

The timing of exiting the Black Gate had been perfect.

He might have missed out on this goldmine otherwise.

Because of that, Kang Ian kept thinking about how to find even harder and more difficult work.

With his superhuman speed and genuine effort combined, his workload was unmatched.

Naturally, that caught the attention of reporters.

“Wow… that’s Kang Ian, right? I’ve even heard his name here in Busan. Seeing him in person is really something.”

“Crazy, right?”

“Rather than crazy… it’s like… I can’t believe someone like that actually exists, even while watching him with my own eyes.”

Kang Ian had made the greatest contribution to resolving the Black Gate incident.

At that level, he could’ve demanded massive compensation from the Association or government… but instead, he personally stepped in to handle the lowest-level, hardest labor.

“Because of him, some hunters who were feeling self-conscious are starting to move too. The whole atmosphere’s getting more active.”

“They say one person can change a group’s mood. This is exactly that kind of case.”

Hunters didn’t have to participate in relief work.

But Kang Ian’s example prompted at least the more conscientious ones to step forward.

“I’ll help too.”

“Man… I usually don’t work for free, but after seeing you, it feels wrong to just leave. Let’s do this together.”

Each of those few hunters contributed as many as a hundred ordinary workers.

Of course, Kang Ian wasn’t pleased.

“Hey, go work somewhere else. Do the easier tasks, not the hard ones.”

As Kang Ian waved them off, the hunters exclaimed in admiration.

“Wow… even now, you’re taking on the hardest work yourself and looking out for us?”

“Huh… I’ll just do whatever needs doing, too. Seriously, I’ve got to learn from you.”

Kang Ian didn’t like them hovering around and taking away his Nobility gains.

That’s why he told them to go away… but instead, their eyes lit up, and they became even more motivated.

With the unexpected appearance of competitors (?), Kang Ian stopped talking and threw himself into the work even more intensely.

This positive cycle repeated several times.

Thanks to that, Busan…. despite suffering massive damage, recovered at an incredible speed.

Throughout the process, reporters took photos, and Kang Ian’s actions quickly spread across the media and the internet.

 

***

 

Hometos, now forcibly bound to Kang Ian by contract.

At first, Kang Ian had considered killing him once he had taken the treasures from the Black Gate.

According to the contract, he wasn’t obligated to spare him.

A so-called unfair contract.

But Hometos knew more than expected.

<You’re asking about the roots of evil? What is that? Huh? A small stone emitting black smoke… Ah, I see. You mean the leftovers of the demon lords?>

“Leftovers?”

<Yes. The residue left behind after demon lords use their power.>

Demons existed in another dimension beyond the universe.

The physical distance was unimaginably vast, making it impossible to reach… they had to cross dimensions through special means.

<Even beings as powerful as demon lords find crossing dimensions difficult. It consumes enormous energy and can even result in death if something goes wrong. So they constantly send expendable underlings at random. Once they don’t care if they die. That’s what your world’s Gates are.>

“Expendable underlings…?”

Kang Ian found that absurd.

Even so, gates ranked B+ and above contained extremely strong and dangerous monsters.

If an A-rank gate opened, the nation monitored it closely.

And the extremely rare A+ or S-rank gates were matters of national survival.

In fact, some countries had fallen due to such gates going out of control.

“Some gates are incredibly powerful for something you call ‘expendable.’ There are terrifying monsters inside.”

<During the dimensional crossing process, some underlings awaken their potential and become stronger. It’s rare, but it happens. Or sometimes, it’s not ordinary underlings, but well-known subordinates of demon lords who cross dimensions themselves to prove loyalty.>

Hometos explained that in most cases, they were swept away by dimensional storms, and even if they made it through, they were often weakened.

<In any case, those underlings cross into your world and use that residue to continuously contaminate your dimension. Over time, it gradually becomes similar in phase to the demon realm’s hell, allowing stable dimensional travel. It’s essentially a terraforming process.>

“So in the end… demons are planning to invade this place later?”

<Yes.>

Kang Ian nodded.

The world where the Knights of Valhalla once lived had likely been destroyed in the same way.

That was why, upon becoming a mid-rank knight, he had been given the mission to destroy the roots of evil.

‘This guy really does know a lot about demons.’

Because of explanations like this, Kang Ian decided to keep Hometos alive a bit longer.

If he had questions about demons, this one was perfect to ask.

Even things the Knights of Valhalla didn’t know, this one likely did.

“Alright. Thanks for the information.”

<…Feels like I’ve barely managed to extend my lifespan.>

Hometos, having seen right through Kang Ian’s thoughts, grumbled before disappearing with a pop.

He returned to Kang Ian’s inventory, into the Life Vessel.

Normally, he recovered his strength there a little by little.

With sacrifices, he could recover much faster… but Kang Ian had no intention of providing that.

Vroooom

On the way to Seoul.

Kang Ian was sitting in the back seat of a car.

He wanted to stay in Busan longer, but CEO Shim Junseok had urgently called him, so he came.

‘At least I handled most of the major recovery work before leaving.’

The large jobs that yielded big Nobility rewards had been mostly completed.

There was no need to cling to the smaller remaining ones.

Of course, before leaving, he had buffed Lee Chaewon’s undead.

They were still participating in recovery efforts and continuing to earn Nobility for him, little by little.

It would last until the buff expired.

“Welcome, Hunter Kang Ian.”

Arriving in Seoul and entering the Happiness Office, CEO Shim Junseok greeted him warmly.

“I’ve been hearing about Busan continuously. You’ve done an incredible job.”

“It was nothing. Just doing what needed to be done.”

“Please, come this way first.”

Inside, there was already a guest waiting.

The client.

And also someone he had seen once before.

A globally renowned political figure.

The Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Security Council, Medvederev.

He smiled at Kang Ian.

With such a major figure present, it was no wonder Shim Junseok had urgently called him.

“Deputy Chairman Medvederev. It’s been a while.”

“Yes, it has. I’ve been busy and couldn’t visit often.”

With an interpreter present, the two shook hands.

“I’ll get straight to the point. The reason I came here is to request a commission. I understand that Hunter Kang Ian possesses an extraordinary ability to purify hazardous zones.”

The U.S. and Russia were already certain of Kang Ian’s abilities.

Kang Ian had no intention of hiding them, so he simply listened.

On his way here, he had asked Hometos about the roots of evil for this reason.

Shim Junseok had hinted that Russia might make such a request, so he had gathered more details.

“Currently, there is a hazardous zone in a place called Vorkuta, located north of our capital, Moscow, that must be eliminated. We would like Hunter Kang Ian to take on this task.”

Instead of answering, Kang Ian glanced at Shim Junseok.

Negotiation in such situations was his role.

They understood each other without words, and Shim Junseok immediately stepped in.

“As you know, Deputy Chairman, what matters most to a hunter is the commission fee.”

“Of course. I had no intention of offering mere money for such a difficult task.”

Russia was already building him a house as a ‘gift’ even before assigning the mission.

So what would they offer as payment?

Both Shim Junseok and Kang Ian were curious.

“Please take a look at this.”

Medvederev received a photo from his aide and handed it over.

In the photo was a single, antique-looking spear.

“The Spear of the Colossus Soldier. It was the weapon of an A-rank hunter who died in that hazardous zone. It’s a remarkable artifact… its item performance alone is enough to elevate a C-rank hunter to A-rank level. It hasn’t been recovered yet and lies near a research facility. We will offer it as an advance payment.”

“!!!”