I was Mistaken for a Noble Hunter – Chapter 64

Author: Cireng

Fame (1)

With Kang Ian’s full support, the plaque award ceremony was scheduled for the very next day.

Early in the morning.

The Association came directly to his home to pick him up.

A luxury sedan was waiting for him.

One driver, and one person assigned to assist him.

That assistant wasn’t just any employee.

It was Manager Lee Seyoon, who had also been in charge of Kang Ian’s C-rank evaluation.

Seeing Kang Ian come out of the apartment, she bowed her head politely.

“Hunter Kang Ian. Good morning.”

“You came in person, Manager?”

“Yes. We can’t assign just anyone to someone as cooperative as you, Hunter Kang Ian.”

She said it casually.

But in truth, her thoughts were a bit different.

‘I get to watch Hunter Kang Ian’s award process up close… of course, I had to come.’

Ever since the Hwaseong Gate Rampage incident, she had become his fan.

Of course, she didn’t show it, so no one knew.

At most, she only posted about him in anonymous online communities.

The two sat side by side in the backseat as the car departed.

Vroom

As soon as the car started moving, a police special forces escort formed around it.

Six heavily armed motorcycles, along with military trucks in front and behind.

“…What is all this?”

Kang Ian asked, looking out the window.

He had only agreed to be escorted to the ceremony, but what was with this level of security?

“Recently, there was an attack on you at the gym, wasn’t there? So the Association decided to strengthen your security.”

Ordinary hunters didn’t need escorts.

Why would superhumans need protection?

But for truly important individuals, such support was sometimes provided.

Top prospects, or hunters representing the nation…

Such people could become targets of attacks from other countries for various reasons.

That was why protection was necessary.

And Kang Ian had now fallen into that category.

Kang Ian shrugged.

“I see. Thank you.”

Being protected was good.

If those minions of evil attacked again, it would definitely help.

No, he almost hoped they would come.

They’d be welcomed with a hail of bullets, and he could complete the quest easily.

The car moved smoothly.

***

On the way, Manager Lee Seyoon asked:

“By the way, how are you feeling right now?”

“Heh. Do I even need to say it? I feel great.”

The last time he received a national medal, he gained 500 points of Nobility.

If he got a similar amount this time, it made him grin.

Watching him, Lee Seyoon felt like she was getting to know him better.

‘Unlike other hunters who only pursue practicality, Hunter Kang Ian seems to value honor quite a lot.’

Hunters inevitably became similar to celebrities.

Especially skilled ones… every move they made was watched.

Unless they craved attention, most disliked having their privacy invaded.

Because of that, many hunters disliked ceremonies like this, as they exposed them publicly.

“…”

“… ”

But the conversation quickly died down.

Lee Seyoon wasn’t particularly good at talking.

She wanted to keep the conversation going, but struggled to find topics.

Instead, she kept sneaking glances at Kang Ian.

At first, he looked slightly happy, smiling at the thought of receiving the plaque.

But as time passed, his expression gradually worsened.

Eventually, he even looked serious while fiddling with his phone.

‘…Why is he like that?’

Did she make some kind of mistake?

After thinking it over, she cautiously spoke.

“Hunter Kang Ian, if it’s not too rude, may I ask you something?”

“Yes, go ahead.”

“Your expression doesn’t look very good. Is something bothering you?”

“Ah, it’s nothing like that.”

Kang Ian shook his head.

“That’s a relief, but you do seem quite troubled.”

“It’s nothing big… I couldn’t go do volunteer work yesterday.”

“…Excuse me?”

Volunteer work?

As Lee Seyoon failed to understand, Kang Ian let out a sigh.

“I couldn’t go yesterday, so my points… anyway, I feel a bit uneasy.”

“Ah… I see.”

“Yes. So I’m planning to go today, no matter what. These days, you can even reserve volunteer work through a phone app. But most nearby places are already fully booked for today. I’ll probably have to call later and ask if there’s any availability. I really hope there is…”

“….”

Lee Seyoon unconsciously opened her mouth in shock.

That was the reason he felt bad…?

‘Seriously… how can someone be like this…?’

She almost felt like a halo was shining behind his head.

At this point, shouldn’t the country designate him as a natural treasure?

***

Although the ceremony had been arranged suddenly, a huge number of people gathered.

More precisely, they weren’t ordinary spectators.

Most were Association officials, guild members, and reporters.

After all, the organizer was UHN… the United Hunter Network, an international organization.

Its global influence was immense.

It symbolized protecting Earth from gates and monsters.

Because of that, entering UHN was difficult, and being recognized by them was even harder.

Yet now, a domestic hunter was receiving a plaque from them.

Of course, reporters would swarm in interest.

“He’s here!”

As Kang Ian’s car arrived, reporters rushed forward like a swarm.

Soon, the door opened, and Lee Seyoon and Kang Ian stepped out together.

Click! Click! Click! Click!

Flashes went off everywhere as microphones were thrust toward him.

“Hunter Kang Ian! How do you feel right now?”

“It’s very rare to receive a plaque from UHN! Please share your honest thoughts!”

“It’s highly unusual for UHN to award a Korean C-rank hunter instead of someone from the U.S… What do you think about that?”

Kang Ian paused briefly in front of them.

After organizing his thoughts, he spoke.

“First of all, I’d like to thank UHN for giving me this plaque, even though I only did what was expected of me.”

He bowed his head politely.

One reporter asked:

“By ‘what was expected,’ do you mean fighting monsters?”

“Yes. Hunters are supposed to fight monsters.”

Kang Ian nodded as if the question itself was obvious.

After all, it was necessary to earn Evil Souls.

“And the monster appeared in the middle of Yeouido, didn’t it? I believe protecting the city is also a hunter’s duty.”

If he received a request to defend a city?

Kang Ian would jump with joy and rush there.

Hadn’t he experienced it during the Hwaseong Gate rampage?

That was basically a festival for farming Nobility points.

He was confident he could work nonstop for 24 hours.

And on top of that, as a freelancer, he also got paid for missions.

Evil Souls, Nobility points, and money?

‘I wish they’d give me more missions like that.’

It was his personal greed.

“To be honest, I only did what was natural, so I don’t think I’ve done anything worthy of receiving such a plaque. Haha.”

He shrugged, adding his honest thoughts.

“….”

For a brief moment, the reporters were speechless.

What in the world… is there really a hunter who thinks like that!?

Even reporters, who could normally talk endlessly, were momentarily stunned into silence.

‘If other hunters heard that fighting monsters is their duty, they’d lose it.’

‘Some hunters demand gratitude just for protecting people…’

‘Is he acting? How can anyone say that?’

Such thoughts flashed through their minds.

“Excuse me. I’ll continue the rest after the ceremony.”

Kang Ian slipped past the stunned reporters and walked toward the venue.

***

YJ Company was the largest manufacturer in the hunter-exclusive armor market.

Not just overall share… in the high-end armor market, where a single suit costs over 1 billion won, they held over 90% domestic market share.

They could easily dominate the lower-end market, too. But they avoided doing so to prevent accusations of monopoly.

Anyway, their new product development team had just achieved a breakthrough.

“Sir! The sample test was successful!”

“Oh! How successful are we talking?”

“We’ve achieved over 95% of our target performance. With a bit more adjustment, we can likely reach 100%.”

“That’s excellent!”

CEO Oh Youngjun clenched his fist.

All that effort of personally hunting the Skeleton Tiger had paid off.

Development was nearly complete, and he was already excited about the market reaction.

“But sir… are you really going to ask Hunter Kang Ian to be the advertisement model?”

One researcher cautiously asked.

When obtaining the Skeleton Tiger materials, Kang Ian had helped them.

In return, the CEO had promised to give him a sample and possibly offer him a modeling deal if things worked out.

The researchers had heard about this.

“Well, I only mentioned it verbally. Why do you ask?”

“This product is going to be a huge hit the moment it’s released.”

Clothing made from monster materials.

Previously, such materials could only be made into armor.

But now, they had managed to process them into modern designs.

Of course, the material was still rigid, so it couldn’t be made into something like a T-shirt.

So they came up with suit-style clothing.

The researchers were confident in their success.

“Even if it costs over 10 billion won, people will buy it. It’ll be extremely popular among hunters. Honestly, giving Hunter Kang Ian a sample should be enough to repay his help.”

Since mass production was impossible, each suit would cost around 10 billion won.

For top hunters, that might not be too expensive… but it was still enormous.

Wasn’t that enough repayment?

“Wouldn’t it be better to use an A-rank hunter as the model? The advertising effect would be much stronger.”

No matter how much Kang Ian was being talked about recently, he was still a C-rank hunter.

His popularity couldn’t compare.

However, having seen him personally, CEO Oh was convinced Kang Ian would rise quickly.

“Hunter Kang Ian will climb up soon. My judgment is accurate.”

From both a veteran hunter’s perspective and a successful businessman’s eye…

Kang Ian was an unpolished diamond.

That was why he wanted to build a relationship early.

“Well, maybe… but for now, wouldn’t it be better to use an A-rank hunter? For example, your friend, Taesan Kang Hoopung…”