Finally, I'm E-Class! (1)
Ah...
When I snapped out of it, I found myself waking up in a luxurious single hospital room.
Shit, where the hell am I?
There was an IV drip in my arm, but the laceration on my thigh and all those bite and sting marks all over my body had healed perfectly, leaving not a single scar.
This must be the handiwork of a skilled healer...
I tried to recall the memories from last night.
Yeah, I was underground on the third basement level, at Mayonnaise's place, frantically scooping royal jelly with a flower shovel...
A devil-bee had charged in and attacked the hive's foundation...
Right as I was about to swing my adamantium pickaxe at its head to finish it off...
Something in its pitiful eyes had softened my heart...
So instead, I activated my Her Majesty’s Sting and fired a perfect drop on its snout.
The thing fell down through the big hole left in the bee chamber.
Its wings must have been paralyzed, making it impossible to keep flying.
Anyway, I searched the entire devil-bee hive and managed to collect every last bit of royal jelly.
I even scooped up the scattered 130 million gold coins on the floor...
I reached over to the belt lying beside the bed and checked it.
Eleven and a half bottles of 500 ml royal jelly were neatly packed inside.
"Whew~"
And then...
I had taken the waypoint in a completely drained, near-death state...
I had hesitated for a moment.
Should I head toward the redevelopment area, or to Medipharm...
I chose the Empire Medipharm for the simple emergency treatment they could provide, swam out from the lake bottom, and...
The moment I saw Han Yejin’s worried face sitting on the bench in front of the lake, all the tension I had pumped up the entire day melted away.
"......"
I had no memory after that.
Even though I was a hunter...
I had been stung hundreds of times by devil-bees, stabbed in the thigh by a Her Majesty, and then gone into overdrive and done the crazy royal jelly shuttle...
It was no wonder I had passed out.
Clang—
At that moment, the door opened and Han Yejin entered.
"Oh! Gilma-nim! You’ve woken up?"
"Ah, what happened?"
"Gilma-nim, you collapsed the moment you saw me yesterday, so I was shocked. Luckily, there were professional staff on duty here, so I had them treat you while you were unconscious."
"Hehe. Is that so? Sorry... Ah, right. You must have worked overtime yesterday, so please submit a claim for that later."
At that moment, Han Yejin’s cheeks flushed slightly as she said,
"...No. It wasn’t overtime... I just wanted to wait for you, so I waited. I wanted to stay up all night, so I stayed over. It doesn’t seem like overtime."
"T-that’s right?"
There was a slightly awkward atmosphere.
I quickly pointed at my thigh and said,
"Who treated me like this?"
Just as Han Yejin was about to answer, the door opened with a clang and Jang Hancheol and a young, elegant woman entered.
"Ah! Representative."
"You’ve woken up. It’s really a relief."
I sat up and said,
"It’s troublesome for me to keep bothering you, so I’m truly sorry."
"No, no. Rather, I’m worried because this isn’t a formal hospital and the treatment might be insufficient."
"Ah, no. I’ve already recovered completely. But who is it that treated me so perfectly?"
"I was actually planning to introduce you sometime soon. This is my late younger brother, Jang Sara."
The elegant young woman bowed her head deeply as she greeted us.
"Hello. I’ve heard a lot about you. I heard that you saved my sister and my nephew from the Rot Virus at the apartment that day. It’s late, but I want to express my gratitude."
I bowed my head along with her from the bed and said,
"Gratitude? Since you treated me so well, I should be the one thanking you. Haha, I never imagined Representative Jang’s little brother would be such a skilled healer."
At that, Jang Sara shook her head and said,
"Ah, I’m not a healer. I’m just an entomologist and potion researcher."
Jang Hancheol added,
"My little sister has been interested in social insects since she was a child. So she went to university against my father’s wishes, majoring in biology at Harvard. Then the Tower rose, and she switched her major to entomology. She recently received her PhD in entomology from Columbia, and now she’s the director and chief researcher at our Empire Medipharm."
"Wait, you look younger than me... Already a PhD?"
Jang Sara smiled shyly and said,
"I’m not young. I’m already twenty-five."
Jang Hancheol added,
"My little sister was called a genius since she was a child, so she entered university at fifteen. That’s why everything moved quickly."
Hehe, a genius from the back alleys?
Still, I shouldn’t feel inferior.
I’m a doctor too...
Not just a doctor, but a Nobel Prize + PhD...
"What was your major?"
Then Jang Sara answered,
"I was planning to tell you anyway... I majored in entomology, specifically social insect entomology. My thesis was on ‘Hybrid Social Insects,’ so that’s why I could treat you, my benefactor, even if clumsily."
"It wasn’t clumsy at all. You healed me perfectly with not a single scar. Haha. Did you perhaps apply some purified flavonoid to my wound?"
Jang Sara looked startled and asked,
"...W-what... Secret...?"
"Huh? It was secret? I just... accidentally... just... haha. Anyway, from now on, shhh! I’ll keep it secret! Secret!"
Damn it.
The knowledge I gained because of the degree had slipped out of my mouth without me realizing it.
But Jang Sara’s bewildered expression didn’t disappear.
It was as if she was staring at the man in front of her in disbelief, wondering how he knew what she had barely researched for months to figure out.
She was a genius girl who had entered Harvard at fifteen.
Basically, she was modest and polite, but her intellectual curiosity seemed unstoppable.
"I’ve also had some questions... Can I ask? Sorry, but I scanned you, benefactor. The highest floor came out as first floor. But so far, not a single devil-bee has been found on the first floor..."
Then Jang Hancheol cut her off.
"Sara, why are you suddenly being so rude? And the benefactor is still recovering, right? You should definitely wait until later..."
Then Jang Sara immediately bowed her head and said,
"Sorry. Hmm, I was being too rude. Then I’ll go for now. I hope the benefactor recovers quickly."
She left the room after leaving a slightly awkward atmosphere, but before closing the door, she added one last thing.
"Benefactor! Once you’ve fully recovered, you must answer my question. That thigh wound... I’m afraid it wasn’t a normal devil-bee queen’s sting... Hmm. There’s something... something..."
Clang.
Hmm.
As Han Yejin and I stared at the door she had left in a dazed expression, Jang Hancheol smiled awkwardly and said,
"Haha. Being the youngest, she’s always been spoiled and pampered at home, so she has some bad habits. Please understand. Ah, right. I also had some urgent matters I wanted to discuss with the benefactor... When will you have time?"
"Ah, now is fine. How about taking a light walk and talking?"
* * *
Shortly after, Jang Hancheol and I were walking along the path inside the Medipharm grounds, chatting.
"Don’t worry about my sister too much. I’ll handle it carefully so the story about the benefactor never leaks out."
"Haha. Thanks for that."
Jang Hancheol was a smart man.
He had probably already guessed that I wasn’t a normal F-class scavenger on the first floor.
But he was signaling that he wouldn’t spread my secrets in detail while keeping his word.
"By the way, you mentioned you had something you wanted to say to me?"
"Ah, that. I didn’t want to burden the benefactor with unnecessary worries, but it seems I have no choice but to pass on this information."
"What is it?"
"Yesterday, the VIP who won the entire Ogure 3-set set called Yamashita Executive and the Zhao chairman and set a new bounty on it. Probably the same call reached the person named Ji Yosin."
My heart sank.
"Is it about my identity and bounty?"
"No, that’s not it. The VIP doesn’t know yet that the benefactor or I are behind this auction. The bounty the VIP set is on the belt and bracelet that the double-paletted Ogure was wearing."
"Belt and bracelet?"
"Yes. The VIP said he would add 20 billion if they were sent in addition to the 8 pieces."
20 billion.
According to Citadel’s explanation, if a hunter had opened one resistance with 100 billion, they could open the entire resistance for an additional 200 billion.
So this wasn’t just becoming E-class by a hair’s breadth, but a chance to become a real, proper E-class.
Of course, I could also sell the royal jelly inside the belt to level up.
But in that case, I wouldn’t be able to raise my stamina 100 because I sold the royal jelly.
If I sold the belt and bracelet and earned 200 billion, I could absorb the royal jelly in a storm and immediately raise my stamina to 200.
And gain an additional 100 ability points.
That was a massive jackpot equivalent to raising 25 levels!
However.
The double-paletted Ogure’s belt and bracelet set were too useful for me, a hunter who had to dig deep into the ground...
Even with simple stat calculation.
The belt + bracelet would give 228 strength, but
100 stamina was only worth +100 health or resistance.
So even at 200 billion, I concluded I couldn’t sell the item.
"I’d want to sell something like that too... but I don’t have it."
I said this while already wearing the belt. Then Jang Hancheol smiled calmly and answered,
"I see. Then it’s best to just stay quiet."
"Anyway, thank you for giving me such valuable information."
"Haha, no. Ah, right. Do you know who the VIP was that won the double-paletted Ogure 3-set set that day?"
"...I don’t really know."
"Actually, that person is my nephew. The only daughter of my older brother, the guild master of the Empire Guild."
I already knew that.
Was there any chance I didn’t know?
After all, there had been such a ridiculous thing that day...
Originally, the Empire Group was preparing a successor structure centered around Jang Hancheol in front of me.
It was because he was the best in academics, had the best character, and showed excellent management skills among the candidates.
But after the Tower rose, Jang Mageuk, Jang Hancheol’s half-brother, came out and grabbed the lead.
Jang Mageuk, with his overwhelming financial power, had inflated the body of the Empire Guild he had founded until it was unstoppable, and he had grown it to the point where it was now considered one of South Korea’s five major guilds.
And with that power, he had been exerting more influence on politics and business than all the Empire Group’s affiliated companies combined for some time now.
Then the current chairman of the Empire Group, Jang Cho-baek, had gradually started tilting his heart toward Jang Mageuk.
Now the successor structure was almost entirely leaning toward Jang Mageuk and his brother Jang Sang-geuk, who was pushing him.
The VIP who bought my Ogure 3-set was none other than Jang Mageuk’s only daughter.
Even in her twenties, she had enormous wealth enough to appear in South Korea’s billionaire rankings.
A B-class hunter with skills comparable to A-class.
And a flashy appearance that made all men’s hearts race...
Her name was Jang Pomi.
Damn it.
I saw her at the VIP auction that day.
She was really, terrifyingly pretty.
But...
I never wanted to get involved again.
Never.
And as I said this, I naturally recalled the incident that happened on the day of the VIP auction.
* * *
"Yes, 3.5 million gold has been raised! Then today’s highest record will be set tonight, right? Ah, here, young lady, 3.6 million! It’s 3.6 million!"
Rumblin’—
"No more? None? Okay, then let’s count."
"3.6 million one!"
"3.6 million two!"
"3.6 million three!"
Clang—
"Sold to the young lady over there!"
The moment I heard the words 3.6 million gold, my mind went blank.
3.6 million gold... how much in won is that?!
51 billion! Hehe!
Naturally, my eyes turned to the bidder.
It was unexpected.
The VIP who had won with a staggering 51 billion was
nothing more than a Korean girl of my age.
A face so beautiful it stood out.
A red, flashy yet elegant dress.
But there was a subtle poisonous air hidden in her whole body, as if she were a noble.
I felt like I had seen her somewhere before?
Not an idol...
At that moment, our eyes met.
It wasn’t polite to stare at the young lady, so I turned my head away.
Then I heard an incredulous voice.
"Hah, he’s pretending not to see? Hey, there! Waiter!"
I finally remembered that I was a waiter in a tuxedo standing there.
"Ah, yes."
When I approached her, she didn’t even look at me and said in a very fast and elegant French,
"Ah-man-di bri-nyak bri-wit, pliz."
"Ah-man... di... ne?"
She looked at me with a dumbfounded expression and said,
"...What’s up? Don’t you bring it?"
I took out my pen and notepad and said,
"Sorry, but could you please say it one more time? Sl... owly..."
She made a grumpy face and said even faster this time.
"Ah-man-di bri-nyak bri-wit, get it!"
Shit, what kind of talk is this?
I couldn’t even write it down properly.
Panicking, I bowed 90 degrees and apologized, then called another waiter to take her place and left the spot.
Whoa.
Waiter work isn’t easy.
I guess I really am a labor-type guy.
I hid far away and watched the second auction. But the second double-paletted leather auction ended up being won by her too?
This time, an enormous price of over 3.4 billion won!
I watched her from a distance in amazement, and at that moment, she called the head of the waiter team and was blazingly angry.
Probably because my service from earlier was unpleasant, she was saying something like bring her over or fire her, or something along those lines.
In the meantime, the head was trying to calm the situation by smiling broadly without offending her.
After all, I was a person specially picked by Ji Yosin, the CEO of Red Tower. The head couldn’t treat me carelessly.
At that moment, two burly men in suits came in and approached the table where the young lady was sitting. In the next scene, the young lady whispered something to the burly men, and they immediately dragged out the waiter head.
The waiter head had his collar grabbed in a tuxedo and looked extremely flustered.
I suddenly thought I had to save the head no matter what.
The mistake had been made by that crazy young lady, but the cause that had led him to that state was because I had provided it.
I followed him outside the venue, and I saw the burly men dragging the waiter into the employee-only bathroom from afar.
I ran over and slightly pushed open the bathroom door.
What I heard first was the burly man’s voice.
"Don’t resent me, miss. It’s the young lady’s order."
When I peeked from the corner, one burly man was taking a video with his phone, and the other was wiping the toilet and urinal with the toilet brush and then sucking it into a bucket and handing it to the waiter head.
"Drink all this water. If even one drop remains, you die today."