I was Mistaken for a Noble Hunter Chapter 51

Assault (12)

 

Several decades had passed since Gates, the monsters, and the Awakened first appeared.

At the beginning, the world was so chaotic that it seemed civilization might collapse.

In fact, there were a few countries that had fallen because they failed to respond properly.

In some places, Gate Rampages had erupted in succession, turning the land into territory ruled by monsters.

In other cases, villains had overthrown entire governments.

As a result, the whole world had been in turmoil.

But gradually, rules were established, and procedures were put in place.

Most countries were able to return to normal.

In places like Mexico, parts of South America, and Africa, many territories were still controlled by villains…

But in any case…

As a member of the UHN Safety Council, Song Sangmin could not view this incident lightly.

People had only just barely gotten used to gates becoming part of everyday life.

And now monsters were suddenly bursting out of human bodies?

‘Chaos will break out.’

People would start avoiding contact with others.

If someone nearby looked suspicious or sick, they would try to run away from them.

They would live in constant fear, wondering when and where a monster might suddenly emerge.

That could not be allowed.

Society had only been stabilized with great effort.

If chaos returned, villains hiding deep underground might emerge and run rampant again.

‘Monsters must only come out of the gates. For now, that absolutely has to remain true.’

Just as Song Sangmin was deep in thought…

An employee who had been continuously checking articles on his smartphone cautiously called out to him.

“Um… Director.”

“Yes?”

“I looked through the articles that were posted, and it seems the reporters couldn’t properly grasp the situation at the time since they were evacuating. They’re only saying that a monster appeared. It doesn’t seem like they know that it came out of Hunter Meladin’s body.”

“Really?”

Song Sangmin’s voice brightened slightly.

If that was the case, there was still a bit of hope.

“Well, that makes sense. We had to replay the CCTV footage several times because we couldn’t believe it. The reporters probably just assumed a monster appeared from somewhere… they wouldn’t imagine it came from a human.”

“That seems to be the case.”

“Does it look like any reporter captured that moment in photos or video?”

“Judging from the articles currently uploaded, it doesn’t appear that anyone captured the exact part that contains the core of the problem.”

“In that case… we might be able to turn the situation around.”

Director Song Sangmin quickly formed a plan.

“Let’s push Hunter Kang Ian.”

“Pardon? Push Hunter Kang Ian?”

“Yes. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that he stopped the Giant Mantis that appeared today almost entirely by himself.”

If the Giant Mantis had appeared naturally, the attention of everyone gathered here would already have been focused entirely on Kang Ian.

“Judging by its appearance and the fact that the other hunters couldn’t do anything at first, that wasn’t a normal Giant Mantis. We should consider it a boss-level enhanced monster. And Hunter Kang Ian held off such a creature alone.”

It was perfect tanking ability.

If a guild saw this footage, they would probably offer Kang Ian a blank check on the spot and try to recruit him as a tank.

“And later he even applied buffs to the surrounding hunters and practically finished the monster off himself.”

“To be honest… It’s surprising. I’d been hearing his name a lot lately, but to think he would show more impact than John Gibson or Nakao Ryusei.”

The implication was simple.

Among all C-rank hunters at this moment, Kang Ian might be the best in the world.

It also meant he was the greatest rising star.

“We’re going to push that narrative. There was almost an accident, but it was prevented thanks to the appearance of a hero. Hunter Kang Ian has been gaining quite a reputation lately as well, right? That should be enough to cover up the details of the incident.”

“But will Hunter Kang Ian agree to that? We’d basically be covering up our problem using his fame…”

They would need to coordinate their story with Kang Ian in advance to keep the secret.

It was uncertain whether he would view it positively.

“I’ll go persuade him myself. We’ll offer appropriate compensation.”

Director Song Sangmin stood up.

It was time for him to act, as a former A-rank hunter and a director of the UHN Safety Council.

 

***

 

Meanwhile, while the UHN staff were busy holding an emergency meeting…

Kang Ian was resting in a private room.

Many other hunters had suffered severe injuries and were receiving intensive treatment.

But Kang Ian didn’t even have a scratch.

The reason he had ended up in the medical room was simply that he had been in a daze.

And it was understandable.

Although the monster had been strong, the rewards he received from killing just that one creature were enormous.

“Alright. Let’s check things one by one.”

Inside the quiet private room, Kang Ian reviewed the messages that had appeared earlier.

First, the quest reward.

Knight Commander Tezeros had said that completing the quest would give him a random box, just like when he changed jobs to a lower knight.

That had been true.

[Valhalla Random Box]

 When opened, one random skill or item will appear.

Previously, Kang Ian had obtained the Scroll of Cooldown Removal from this.

Although random, it removed the cooldown from one of the skills he possessed.

It was an absurd item.

Thanks to it, Kang Ian could now continuously use Blessing of Judgement Flame as long as he had mana.

“Alright! Give me another one of those!”

He would be happy even if the same thing appeared again.

Currently, the only skill he had that still had a cooldown was the light-attribute buff skill Guidance of Xeros.

Using it on that would be perfectly fine.

Kang Ian grinned.

Then he opened the box.

Flash!

White light burst toward Kang Ian.

His heart pounded.

He swallowed nervously in anticipation.

And then what appeared was…

 

[Gate Mission Ignore Scroll]

[Item Effect: Automatically counts any mission given inside a gate as completed.]

[Item Restriction: Can only be used in C-rank or lower gates.]

 

“…?”

‘What is this…?’

High-rank gates didn’t always have the simple Type-A structure, where you just killed monsters and destroyed the core.

Many required special missions inside the gate.

And the more difficult and complicated the mission was, the greater the difficulty of the gate.

This scroll seemed to allow those missions to be ignored entirely.

‘It’s… good… I guess?’

But where would he even use something like this right now?

Feeling somewhat conflicted, Kang Ian pushed aside the thought and moved on.

The Level 10 reward remained.

[Valhalla’s Shining Random Box]

 When opened, one special skill or special item will appear at random.

He had expected a lot since it had the word “Shining” attached to it.

But judging from the description alone, it didn’t seem that different.

A special skill or special item.

Apparently, this also depended on luck.

With an expectant expression, Kang Ian opened the box.

Flash!

‘Please… please…!!’

After a moment, the light faded.

“A helmet?”

It was a helmet.

 

[Helmet of Twilight]

[A helmet crafted while receiving the light of twilight.]

[It is sturdy due to the blacksmith’s passion.]

 

“What the hell is this thing!”

It was a dud.

It belonged to the Twilight Series, which Kang Ian already possessed.

Of course, he considered the Twilight equipment decent.

But that was only in terms of value for the price.

After all, it only costs 350 Evil Souls.

It wasn’t bad, but…

Since Kang Ian had hoped for something much better, he felt disappointed.

Compared to the Scroll of Cooldown Removal he had gotten before, this practically felt like a failure.

“Ha… seriously…”

But complaining wouldn’t change anything.

It would only make him feel worse.

Kang Ian tried to brush off his disappointment.

At that moment…

Ding!

 

[With the addition of a Twilight item, the set effect has been updated.]

[Twilight Set Effect]

[When 3 or more Twilight items are equipped: All physical abilities increase by 20% during twilight hours.]

[When 4 or more Twilight items are equipped: All physical abilities increase by 30% during twilight hours. All physical abilities increase by 5% even outside twilight hours.]

[Twilight Strike becomes available.]

 

The newly updated set effect.

When Kang Ian saw it, his eyes changed.

‘Stat increases… and an active skill too?’

The set effect had expanded.

Previously, his physical abilities only increased during twilight hours.

Now he gained a permanent increase as well.

And there was also a new skill called Twilight Strike.

‘In that case… this is actually pretty good.’

His opinion immediately changed.

Moreover, the Twilight series Kang Ian had seen in the Valhalla shop only contained three items.

He had checked several times when planning the best purchases.

The Twilight Helmet did not exist in the shop.

That was why he hadn’t known there was even a four-piece set effect.

‘I need to test this soon. I should contact the boss.’

He needed to ask if there were any good gate requests available.

 

***   

 

These days, Shim Junseok has been living happily.

“Hm-hm~.”

In truth, despite being the head of the Happiness Office, he hadn’t been very happy.

He constantly worried about recruiting hunters for the office.

He had to maintain the office’s reputation by solving requests.

As the director, he had to maintain connections and sometimes even go out to the field.

Even four bodies wouldn’t have been enough.

But recently (although things were still difficult), many good things had happened.

Thanks to Kang Ian.

“Hehehe. Our Hunter Kang Ian is truly a lucky charm!”

How had such an incredible rookie fallen into his lap?

Lee Jigwang, the team leader of the Ohseong Guild who had introduced Kang Ian, was probably still bitter about it… But Shim Junseok didn’t care.

Technically speaking, Kang Ian was only a C-rank hunter, which wasn’t particularly high.

But in Shim Junseok’s eyes, he was a hunter beyond ranks.

First of all, he was incredibly popular.

And it was all positive popularity!

‘I blamed myself for not stopping him when he went to the Hwaseong Gate… but who would have thought it would lead to such a great outcome.’

They say crisis and opportunity are separated by only a thin line.

Kang Ian had overcome the crisis beautifully and claimed the reward.

Recently, the office had been flooded with requests specifically asking for Kang Ian.

On top of that, Kang Ian wasn’t lazy and had plenty of ambition.

He handled more than two difficult requests per day.

At times, it made Shim Junseok wonder whether he was a person or a machine.

Because of that, the office’s reputation was steadily rising.

Shim Junseok’s dream was slowly coming true.

A life where he no longer needed to go to the field and only supported hunters!

Ding~

At that moment, a notification sounded from the computer indicating a new email.

The sound meant that the email was related to Kang Ian.

He had intentionally set it that way.

“Let’s see what came in this time.”

Shim Junseok checked the email with a grin.

But soon, his expression turned serious.

 

[Hello. This is the National Crystal Research Institute. We would like to submit a designated request to Hunter Kang Ian from your office. … (omitted) … The contract amount will be 50 million won in advance, and 450 million won upon success, for a total of 500 million won…]

 

The National Crystal Research Institute.

A government-affiliated organization similar to the Hunter Association.

Because it was essentially a public institution, it was highly trustworthy.

But the amount was enormous.

“Fifty million upfront and four hundred fifty million upon success? What the hell is this…”

No matter what, paying 500 million won for a single request to a C-rank hunter?

That was excessive.

If that much money was involved, it meant the task was extremely complicated.

‘I should look into it.’

He would need to investigate the details.

Still, since the amount was so large, he should contact Kang Ian first.

At the very least, Kang Ian should know about this request.

‘He’s probably enjoying himself at the Hunter Forum right now, eating and drinking.’

After working so hard recently, Kang Ian had taken the day off to attend the Hunter Forum.

Shim Junseok thought that was good.

People shouldn’t only work.

They should rest sometimes, too.

Of course, to other hunters, he usually yelled:

“Stop playing around all the time! Go work already!”

But in front of Kang Ian, Shim Junseok always wore the smile of a saint.

He picked up his smartphone to make the call.

Then he noticed several messages and missed calls he hadn’t seen because his phone was on silent.

‘What?’

Sometimes he put his phone on silent when he wanted a bit of personal time.

But in that short period, far more messages had arrived than expected.

 

[Boss! A monster appeared at the Hunter Forum! A monster!]

[It’s been dealt with now, but apparently the damage is pretty serious…]

[B-breaking news just came out! They’re saying Hunter Kang Ian killed that monster!]

[The news is going crazy right now! Pick up the phone!]

 

“???”

Several messages and missed calls from acquaintances.

Startled, Shim Junseok immediately opened the news.

 

[Hero Kang Ian Throws Himself Into Danger Once Again!]

[One medal is not enough. He deserves an even greater one!]

[A true hero who steps forward in moments of crisis without regard for his own safety!]

 

“…What the hell happened now?”

Shim Junseok muttered without realizing it.

Seriously…

Could something really go wrong at a Hunter Forum he had attended just to take a breather?