I was Mistaken for a Noble Hunter Chapter 67

Fame (4)

 

‘No… this isn’t good…’

Shim Junseok looked at Kang Ian with a troubled expression.

A request from the Behemoth Guild.

It was worth a whopping 400,000 dollars… over 500 million won when converted.

It was certainly an enormous sum for a C-rank hunter, but still…

He hadn’t even finished explaining the details yet, and Kang Ian already said he’d take it?

“Hunter Kang Ian. This isn’t something you should decide so easily. The place they want you to go is a B- rank danger zone. It’s the Land of the Dead in California.”

Back in the early days when gates and monsters first appeared, every day was practically a battlefield.

There was no organized combat yet, and there were many cases where gates couldn’t be cleared before they went berserk.

Sometimes this even happened near major cities.

That’s how the Land of the Dead came to be.

Its danger rating was B-.

That was because most of the monsters that appeared inside were zombies or ghouls.

Even so, it was classified as B-rank because of its overwhelming numbers.

And if you went deeper inside, even higher-level monsters would appear.

“The undead there are just too numerous. No one understands how they keep spawning, but it’s practically endless.”

“Then how is San Francisco still fine?”

“That’s because the mayor regularly commissions hunter guilds to reduce their numbers.”

In the Land of the Dead, zombies continuously spawned.

Although it was some distance away from San Francisco’s city center, leaving it alone would eventually result in monsters flooding the city.

That’s why periodic extermination operations were necessary.

“Don’t underestimate it just because the monsters are low rank. Even hunters can’t handle being swarmed. One mistake and you’ll be buried under a horde of zombies.”

Shim Junseok continued explaining with detailed examples.

Unlike inside gates, danger zones allowed the use of modern electronic devices.

That meant data from past raids had been steadily accumulated.

Kang Ian listened carefully.

“Even so, I’ll take it. I think I can handle it.”

Then he spoke firmly.

The more he heard, the more certain he became.

‘This is definitely worth doing.’

Even though it was a 30-day limited item, he had the “Replica of Saint Bruta’s Gloves.”

A piece of equipment that reduced the power of nearby undead by 50%.

Normally, zombies and ghouls would already go down in one hit… but with those gloves, he might be able to defeat them with just a light touch.

‘They might go down just from brushing against them.’

So how could he resist?

“……”

At this point, even Shim Junseok became a bit confused.

‘Huh? Maybe, like Hunter Kang Ian says… it really is doable?’

Of course, as the head of the office, he still had to be extremely cautious…

Kang Ian understood that concern.

Naturally, he would worry.

But Kang Ian couldn’t explain his item.

It was hard to say where he got it from, and when it disappeared after 30 days, what explanation could he possibly give?

Valhalla items were meant to be kept to oneself.

To change the mood, Kang Ian looked through the other documents.

The Behemoth request was simply at the top because it paid the most; there were several others.

“Hm?”

Then one request caught his eye.

 

[C-Rank Gate Raid Support and Training]

[Client: Team Leader Lee Jigwang of the Ohseong Guild]

[Payment: 100,000,000 won]

 

The client was none other than Team Leader Lee Jigwang of Ohseong Guild.

The very first hunter, Kang Ian, had formed a connection with… Someone who had helped him greatly.

“Ah, there’s also a request from Brother Jigwang. He said he’d like to clear a gate together.”

“Ohseong Guild?”

Ohseong Guild was known for its infrastructure. There was no way they couldn’t handle a C-rank gate.

“Hmm. They recently recruited a few new hunters, but apparently they have… some personality issues. A bit… well…”

“They’re arrogant, I guess.”

“Exactly.”

Shim Junseok nodded.

It wasn’t unusual.

Just awakening alone gave people power that made them feel superhuman.

And if they were special enough to be recruited into a major guild like Ohseong?

Their pride would naturally skyrocket.

“Among C-rank hunters these days, you’re the most famous, aren’t you? And you rose from F-rank incredibly fast. So I think they want you to go in together and show the recruits what the real standard looks like.”

Then Shim Junseok added:

“Of course, Brother Jigwang will be there too, so safety won’t be an issue.”

“Then I’ll take this one.”

“You made a good choice.”

Shim Junseok smiled in relief.

If the Behemoth request was something to seriously worry about, this one was something he’d actively recommend.

“Then, when would you like to do it? They said they’ll fully match your schedule.”

“Today.”

“…Today?”

“Yes. I’ll go right now.”

The biggest reason Kang Ian chose this request was the note at the bottom stating that it could start today.

All other reasons aside, he just wanted to get it done quickly and earn 100 million won.

 

***

 

Ohseong Guild was one of the top major guilds in Korea.

It was founded with funding from the globally renowned Ohseong Group.

There was a perception that Ohseong was the best at everything.

That applied to their guild as well.

While there were several Tier 1 guilds in Korea, only a few were considered truly top-tier.

Ohseong Guild was one of them.

Go Chanwoo and Sung Soohyuk were hunters scouted by Ohseong.

They had awakened as F-rank, joined small-to-mid guilds, and within two years rose to C-rank after standing out.

Many hunters failed to break past C-rank, but they had advanced quickly.

After successfully transferring to Ohseong Guild, they could even aim for B-rank in the future.

Their confidence soared.

On the way to the gate, Sung Soohyuk approached Go Chanwoo.

“Chanwoo. I heard Hunter Kang Ian is joining us for this gate?”

“Yeah, I heard. The team leader has some personal connection with him, so we’re doing a raid together this time. The guild said it’s to help us gain more experience.”

“Experience… honestly, we’ve got more experience, don’t we?”

“Well, yeah. He hasn’t even been awakened for that long, right?”

Kang Ian had become a hot topic, making waves right after awakening.

They had heard of his exploits and even watched some public footage.

He was definitely skilled.

They acknowledged that.

But it didn’t seem like the gap was that huge.

After all, they were also hunters scouted by Ohseong.

“You never know until you see it in action, right? Maybe there’s not much difference between him and us.”

“If anything, we’ve entered more gates, so we might even have things to teach him.”

“Think we’ll get some news coverage too? Like ‘Hunters who taught Kang Ian’ or something.”

“Haha, that’d be funny.”

Chatting casually, the two headed to the meeting spot.

The gate this time had formed near a park in Dongtan.

After parking, they approached the gate.

“……”

“……”

Spotting Kang Ian in the distance, they stiffened their expressions.

It was their first meeting, they didn’t want to be looked down on.

Meanwhile, Kang Ian wasn’t even looking at them.

He seemed deep in thought, staring into space.

‘What? Did he not notice us?’

‘Or is he ignoring us on purpose? Is this some kind of dominance game?’

Their thoughts became complicated.

But in reality, Kang Ian simply wasn’t paying attention to them at all.

On the way here, he had just finished some shopping.

His mind was filled with the items he had just bought.

 

[Moose’s Blade Shield]

[A shield crafted by Moose, one of the Empire’s top ten blacksmiths. To ensure it isn’t used merely as a shield, it was designed so that turning the handle releases blades from within its gaps.]

[The blades are enchanted with “Lesser Sharpness.”]

 

A brand-new replacement for his old shield, which had practically become scrap.

It would definitely pair perfectly with his floating shield skill.

 

[Skill Book: Shout of Suppression]

[The ancient ancestors of Valhalla were not knights. They were warriors who acted according to their nature, beings who pursued only strength and instinct. Their battle cries carried the power to break the enemy’s will and restrict their actions.]

[Upon activation, for 10 minutes, the caster and up to five allies gain a 20% movement speed increase, while enemies affected by the shout have their movement speed reduced by 5%.]

 

He had also bought a buff skill.

During the previous battle with the servants of evil, Kang Ian had felt his lack of speed.

This skill would cover that weakness, so he decided to splurge.

Thanks to the award he received, he was able to afford it, though he had to completely drain his Evil Souls and Nobility.

He almost cried after becoming broke, but this was exactly what he had been saving for.

‘Good thing I got that award. Otherwise, it would’ve taken much longer to afford Shout of Suppression.’

He just wanted to enter the gate and try it out as soon as possible.

That was all he could think about, so he didn’t even notice the others arriving.

At that moment…

“Hunter Kang Ian. It’s been a while.”

“Ah, Team Leader!”

Team Leader Lee Jigwang approached with a smile.

“I’ve been keeping up with your achievements. Congratulations on receiving the award, though it’s a bit late. And the medal last time as well.”

“Thank you.”

“We really should’ve recruited you into our guild back then… what a shame.”

His words carried genuine regret.

He gestured to the side.

“These are my team members… Hunter Go Chanwoo and Hunter Sung Soohyuk.”

The two bowed.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Kang Ian.”

Kang Ian greeted them in return.

Then Lee Jigwang clapped his hands to set the tone.

“Alright. Let’s focus on the job first and talk more afterward. Better to keep some tension rather than waste energy chatting before we even go in.”

“Yes. Sounds good.”

Kang Ian nodded; he also wanted to start the raid quickly.

After that, they briefly exchanged their abilities and discussed how they would coordinate inside.

There was no small talk.

Only business.

After about an hour of briefing…

“Alright. Let’s go.”

The four entered the gate.

 

***

 

At that same time, as Kang Ian entered the gate…

Shim Junseok sat in his office, deep in thought.

It was about the Ohseong Guild request.

Was he worried the mission would fail?

No.

That was impossible.

With Kang Ian there, how could a C-rank gate fail?

And with Team Leader Lee Jigwang as well, success was guaranteed.

But if there was one thing he hoped for…

‘Please let it be a bit difficult.’

He hoped the difficulty would be challenging.

Kang Ian had only experienced smooth success so far.

That might be why he was willing to accept something like the Behemoth Guild request so easily.

So Shim Junseok hoped Kang Ian would experience the true difficulty of gate raids.

‘Then he’ll become more cautious.’

He wanted him to feel both safety and difficulty.

That was how Kang Ian would grow further.

 

***

 

Team Leader Lee Jigwang, Go Chanwoo, Sung Soohyuk, and Kang Ian entered the gate together.

Ding!

 

[A mission has been assigned.]

[Mission: You have entered a castle ruled by the servant of an ancient lich. Eliminate all of the lich’s servants and purify the castle.]

 

It was a mission-type dungeon, something rarely seen in a C-rank gate.

The hunters flinched.

Mission-type dungeons were usually more complex.

Of course, with Lee Jigwang present, failure was unlikely… but it was still far more tense than expected.

However, Kang Ian tilted his head as he read the mission.

‘Servant of an ancient lich? Could this be…’

Glance.

His eyes shifted to his hands.

A pair of pure white gloves.

The Replica of Saint Bruta’s Gloves.

‘Can I try using this here?’