Chapter 55
Chapter 55
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 55
Chapter Title: How the No. 1 Ranked Hero Protects the World
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I'm bored. Really bored.
What I'm bored with is having to end up hospitalized every single time I clear a dungeon. And wasting several precious days every time I pass out.
That's right. After clearing the dungeon in Sinchon, I was out cold for a total of three days. I guess I should count myself lucky that it wasn't a full week like last time.
Even after waking up, I had to spend a full additional day undergoing thorough examinations, so I was still stuck in the hospital.
They recommended rest because my fatigue buildup was quite severe.
At least this hospital stay was pleasant since it was a private room with no other patients.
"Oh, this is tasty."
Of course, it would be even better if there wasn't this guy sitting next to me, peeling apples and eating them all by himself...
I stared pitifully at Lee Woo-yeon as he hacked away at the apple in huge chunks.
Those apples had been placed in this VIP room from the start, each one plump and enticing. And now they were being ruined like that.
"You've never peeled fruit before, have you?"
"Yeah, first time. How'd you know?"
Anyone could tell it was his first time. Chunks of the apple flesh were still stuck to the peels.
That was already the second apple he'd massacred.
And just as he was about to butcher the third one, our pre-arranged visitor arrived.
"Sorry for the late greeting. Nice to meet you, Kang Ye-na. I'm Choi Min-hyuk."
The young man smiled as he set his briefcase down by the hospital bed.
The name on the business card he handed me was Choi Min-hyuk. Before I could even finish reading it, he explained his position.
"I work in the Hunter Support Division of the Hunter Industry Promotion Agency. I've been assigned to handle you among the government-evaluated S-Rank Hunters, so you'll probably be seeing a lot of me."
He flashed a grin—tall stature, sharp features behind glasses, a refined face that was quite handsome.
He glanced around the room and said,
"The room's a bit cramped. It was prepared in a hurry, so please bear with us."
It wasn't cramped at all. This was a VIP room in a major hospital. I just nodded awkwardly.
"Long time no see."
Lee Woo-yeon, sitting beside me, greeted him as well.
Choi Min-hyuk had noticed him the moment he entered the room, but he only returned the greeting now, looking distinctly uncomfortable.
"Yes, Hunter Lee Woo-yeon. Long time no see."
"Feels like it's been over a year."
"I suppose so."
He showed zero interest in continuing the conversation.
I glanced back and forth between them.
Choi Min-hyuk was handsome too, but next to Lee Woo-yeon, the contrast made his features seem faded somehow.
Catching my gaze, Lee Woo-yeon narrowed his eyes in a subtle smile.
"Hm? What's up?"
...I'll just ignore that.
I turned my eyes away from Lee Woo-yeon and looked at Choi Min-hyuk.
"Since you're the patient, I'll get straight to the point without wasting time. Kang Ye-na, you're the current Rank 1 'Wandering Pilgrim,' correct?"
The moment I heard that, I felt the hair on the top of my head stand on end.
Rank 1? Rank 1!
Embarrassment flooded me instantly.
Becoming the person in question myself, it felt... so cringey. Having others call me Rank 1 this and that... I'm not some internet novel protagonist or anything...!
"Kh, pfft..."
Lee Woo-yeon, watching me turn red and unable to respond properly for a while, was clearly amused and stifling laughter beside me.
That's right. In the end, the Korean government had found out who I was.
It was thanks to that I ended up in this VIP room while unconscious.
Of course, I'd braced myself for it.
Even setting aside that Hunter Lee Seon had figured me out, the message declaring me the top contributor after defeating the dungeon boss monster had popped up. Every hunter in the dungeon would have seen it.
At that point, guessing that the 'Wandering Pilgrim' was a hunter possessed by the Knight Commander wasn't hard.
It had been doomed from the start when I'd volunteered to enter the dungeon in front of Professor Kim Suk-ja. Getting exposed was just a matter of time.
Still, in that situation, I'd judged that deploying me was the most efficient way to clear the dungeon.
I didn't regret that decision.
It was just... a bit embarrassing right now...
But you can't compare embarrassment to human lives.
At least they hadn't seen my real face since it was in a 'possessed' state. Even if I ran into the hunters I'd met inside the dungeon again, they wouldn't recognize me.
I shot a glare at Lee Woo-yeon, who was still chuckling beside me, then composed myself and looked at Choi Min-hyuk.
"...Yes, that's me."
"Good. Thank you for confirming."
The silver lining was that Choi Min-hyuk's attitude was professionally detached.
I cleared my throat. In a world where everyone used real names, I was grateful he didn't ask why I'd chosen such a name.
"Guess you got found out after all, Rank 1."
Having Lee Woo-yeon teasing me from the side made it even more appreciated. I really wanted to smack him, but I had my social dignity to maintain, so I held back.
Choi Min-hyuk glanced at the smiling Lee Woo-yeon and cleared his throat.
"Ahem. What we'll discuss next is somewhat personal, so it might be uncomfortable. Do you intend to stay, Hunter Lee Woo-yeon?"
It was a clear eviction notice, but Lee Woo-yeon just snorted and crossed his arms. That was his way of saying he wasn't leaving this room. Very mature.
"That's for Kang Ye-na to decide. If Ye-na tells me to go, I will."
Choi Min-hyuk added with a reluctant expression.
"Frankly, I'm the one who's uncomfortable."
"That's not my concern. Kang Ye-na, should I step out?"
The arrow had turned back to me.
An awkward tension hung between the two.
I'd already gotten a heads-up from Hunter Lee Seon about this situation.
In fact, the moment Lee Seon heard I was awake, he'd called the hospital front desk to reach me.
True to his personality, he hadn't stopped at just hearing my voice and relaxing—he'd wanted to rush right over. But when he heard Lee Woo-yeon was stuck to me like glue, he gave up on coming immediately.
He said they'd probably fight if they saw each other. He didn't want to do that in front of a patient?
Very adult of him.
Anyway, instead of coming himself, Lee Seon informed me that a government official from the hunter management department would visit.
He also advised that since Lee Woo-yeon generally didn't get along with government affiliates, it might be best to ask him to go home for a bit.
But ignoring that tip was entirely my fault.
The reason was ridiculous.
Lee Woo-yeon had brought sweet potato latte, and I couldn't bring myself to chase him away.
I wanted that sweet potato latte so bad, but as a patient, I couldn't exactly go out myself.
...That was half-joking, anyway.
Given my ignorance of Korean affairs, having a sharp guy like him nearby would make it easier to ask for explanations later, no matter what came up.
There wasn't anything I needed to hide from Lee Woo-yeon right now, either.
"It's fine if he listens. I can guess what it's about anyway."
"...In that case."
Choi Min-hyuk still seemed hesitant, but as a field official, time was precious. He prioritized duty over discomfort with Lee Woo-yeon and got to the point.
"Alright, Kang Ye-na. Can we assume all the stats you registered directly with the government were falsified?"
"Uh..."
How had I entered them again? Honestly, I couldn't remember.
"Here they are."
Seeing my blank look, Choi Min-hyuk pulled out a printed A4 sheet showing my registered stats.
Lee Woo-yeon peeked over my shoulder and snickered.
"Stamina 20 was too much, Kang Ye-na."
No, those were my actual stats from a month ago!
Thinking back, I'd just entered my real stats at the time. It wasn't falsified.
Still, somehow I'd survived with these pathetic tin-can stats.
Tears were welling up suddenly.
I gazed up at the hospital ceiling and replied.
"Yeah, I'm bad with numbers."
"..."
Choi Min-hyuk fell silent, but as a seasoned professional, he responded smoothly.
"...Stat registration is self-reported, but please enter accurate figures going forward. It helps the government manage hunters."
He seemed to be gritting his teeth a bit.
I nodded vaguely. No need to get into the honest details there.
"And, after the rankings were announced, the government issued an official notice through the Hunter Association to locate you. You're aware of that, right?"
"Nope."
Choi Min-hyuk looked skeptical at my immediate denial, but I was confident.
I'd figured the government might look for me, but I hadn't seen any notice. I wasn't even registered with the Hunter Association—didn't even know what it was!
"You can be honest. It's all self-reporting anyway, so you haven't broken any laws."
"I really didn't know."
"...Understood."
He clearly wasn't convinced.
Choi Min-hyuk's gaze was turning a bit irritated, but I averted my eyes and played dumb.
Best to gloss over this like a sly fox hopping a fence.
Even if he called it self-reporting, the government couldn't be thrilled with my actions. Falsified stats, and not stepping up even when they sought the Rank 1.
But what could they do?
I crossed my arms.
"So, what's the real point? You're not here just to say 'it's all self-reporting, no worries,' are you?"
The government's intentions were obvious.
In a world where every hunter's power mattered immensely, I was an S-Rank prize with system-backed Rank 1 status and endorsements from Lee Seon and Lee Woo-yeon.
They'd want to recruit me somehow.
That was probably why Choi Min-hyuk wasn't prying deeper into who Kang Ye-na was.
Ranking by achievement points, it was bizarre that I'd stayed unknown this long.
A quick check would reveal I'd been bedridden in a Wonju hospital in Gangwon Province for the past five years.
That might make me seem suspicious, but with my abilities guaranteed, they wouldn't dig too hard.
They couldn't afford to ruffle feathers.
The issue was my stats hadn't actually reached true Rank 1 levels yet.
Considering Korean hunters' standards, top ranks seemed plausible... I glanced at Lee Woo-yeon. That guy was off the charts.
Anyway, I'd fully expected the government to approach me humbly for these reasons.
What surprised me was that Choi Min-hyuk seemed tougher than anticipated. I'd figured they'd send someone more compliant.
"You must know already."
Finally, Choi Min-hyuk bristled.
Beside me, Lee Woo-yeon mouthed "Ooh" to rile me up.
"We'd like the Rank 1 to help stabilize Korean dungeons. Of course, this is the national defense duty every Republic of Korea citizen must—"
I cut off his impending lecture.
"In short, you're saying I should fulfill the obligations for S-Rank Hunters. Four or more dungeon raids per month, right?"
"...Correct."
This was info Lee Woo-yeon, one of the current S-Rank Hunters, had shared directly—not on the internet.
Lee Seon had said the government would notify about these duties first.
From their perspective, managing dungeon saturation levels made it a fair measure.
I had no complaints.
Honestly, it was surprising Korea used self-reporting. I'd half-expected fines.
With capable hunters in short supply, they must've been thrilled I popped up—no fines or anything.
Monsters breaking out could be handled with modern weapons at a cost, but inside dungeons, only inventory items were allowed.
Dungeon clears relied heavily on individual hunter abilities.
"I have no intention of refusing dungeon raids, but I have conditions. Two of them."
My plans required a certain number of clears anyway.
If it made dungeon entry permits easier, it was win-win for me.
"Please, state your conditions."
My ready agreement seemed unexpected; Choi Min-hyuk looked tense. He probably anticipated harsh demands.
No need to tense up like that. Nothing extreme.
I slowly stated the conditions I'd prepared.
"First, keep my information confidential."
"Ah, Hunter Lee Woo-yeon already tipped us off, so we've handled the articles that went up."
Right. A lot had happened while I was out.
One was the article claiming the top contributor in the sudden Sinchon Dungeon Break clear was the 'Wandering Pilgrim.'
Here's how it leaked:
Post-clear, an emergency interview was set up to reassure citizens. One participating hunter blurted it out carelessly.
The top contributor in this dungeon clear was the 'Wandering Pilgrim.'
Prime headline material.
Especially in Sinchon, with civilians watching. Apparently, from nearby rooftops, people had cameras aimed at those exiting the dungeon, thanks to Lee Woo-yeon.
The saving grace: Lee Woo-yeon, speaking for unconscious me, told the government I likely didn't want info released. So all articles were pulled as misinformation.
Internet communities still buzzed about me.
The 'Wandering Pilgrim' name had resurfaced, so interest persisted despite takedowns.
Choi Min-hyuk pointed that out.
"However, even with articles down, the internet's too advanced these days. Can't fully guarantee it. Media backlash is an issue too."
I'd factored that in.
"The government's best efforts are enough. Until I reveal it myself."
Gotta milk the anonymity while I can.
Especially before my stats hit a safe level. Didn't want a knife in the back mid-sweet potato latte.
Choi Min-hyuk noted my demand and cautiously asked.
"You said two conditions. What's the other? Our division intends to accommodate S-Rank Hunters as much as possible for smooth operations."
No need to be that tense.
I opened my mouth.
"Ah, the other one is..."