Chapter 20 - Preparation for Departure
Preparation for Departure
Translator : Elizabeth
Chapter 20: Preparation for Departure
Jo Tae-hoon contacted me as soon as the next day arrived. He said the dispatch period is 2 months, same as other Hunters, and can be extended up to 5 times.
=However. If you rest for 2 months after the dispatch ends, you can go on another dispatch, so don't worry. “Then should I just rest for those 2 months?” =Yeah, covering up your tracks is annoying too. “Understood.” =Ah. And don't forget to return to the country once a month. “Of course.”
Jo Tae-hoon thinks Yu Eun-ha won't reach the level he aims for during this dispatch period. It seems he intends to approach when Yu Eun-ha’s growth stagnates.
‘But if we only go to Gates higher than her level from the start, she can reach the target level within a few months.’
Inevitably, I'll have to rent the Energy Coating skill frequently, but it's an unavoidable choice if I want to grow alongside her.
“Ugh... C-Rank really gives very little experience now, huh?” “How much did it go up?” “Every time I block... it goes up by 0.8%. If you had applied the Link skill, it would have been 1.2%.” “…That is sufficiently fast.”
Unfortunately, I stopped gaining experience from C-Rank Gates. Just in case, I sent Yu Eun-ha back and entered a B-Rank Gate alone, but...
[You have defeated a monster.] [Experience for Innate Ability: Universal (EX) Lv.5 increases by 0.02%.]
I found out it decreased not to 1/4 like before, but to 1/10. That said, I can't take Yu Eun-ha to A-Rank Gates either, so for the time being, I have to operate in B-Rank...
‘Since monsters in B-Rank Gates number 200 anyway, if I use the Link skill, experience will rise by 6% per run. Plus, since we’ll aim to close Gates at the dispatch location... conclusively, the acquired experience will increase.’
Actually, I was prepared for my growth speed to slow down by going to New Zealand because of Jo Tae-hoon’s words. But thanks to the words of the Daemyung Group Chairman who contacted me the very next day, I could move beyond relief to anticipation.
=That Jo bastard made a mistake this time. “A mistake?” =Yes. Just because it's New Zealand doesn't mean it's all the same. There is a place called Queenstown on the South Island of New Zealand, and Gates are overflowing there. “…Even if there are many Gates, isn't there no guarantee that there are Gates where I can grow?” =The highest-ranked Hunter in Queenstown is C-Rank. They periodically request high-ranking Hunters to handle Gates just enough to prevent Breaks.
If we go to Queenstown as the Chairman said, it would become possible to freely enter and exit B-Rank or higher Gates...
“Chairman. Would Jo Tae-hoon send me to Queenstown?” =No matter how much influence he has, do you think he would stop you from going to support a place they can't manage themselves? “Couldn't news reach Jo Tae-hoon?” =Don't worry about that. I will pull some strings separately. So you just need to remember to meet me every time you enter Korea. “Understood.”
Thanks to the Chairman pulling strings, my growth won't slow down. More importantly, in New Zealand, I can enter Gates without worrying about anyone watching.
‘Yu Eun-ha might get exhausted after entering a Gate once, but I can enter consecutively.’
This is because thanks to the ring I received from the Chairman, my Origin Power recovers to maximum after waiting just about 8 hours. Naturally, wearing a ring I hadn't seen before could get me caught, so when I shared the fact that I obtained the ring with Yu Eun-ha...
‘Wow... Senior. Your life has completely bloomed now, hasn't it?’
That answer came back, making me chuckle hollowly. Certainly, things started going well after my innate ability became Lv.2, but that doesn't mean all the hardships until now have been compensated.
“I should at least stand at the peak.” “Ung-eng?” “Ah. No. Please finish eating.” “Yep!”
Right now, in front of me, there is Yu Eun-ha inhaling Kimchi stew and rice as if starved. Since it's the day of departure, she started storming through the food saying she would miss Korean food already.
“By the way, is it really okay?” “What do you mean?” “That... maintaining this skill continuously.” “It’s fine. As you know, my mana has increased a lot, so maintaining just one is perfectly possible.”
The skill she is talking about is the Link skill. For the skills I will permanently acquire in the future, I sacrificed one skill slot to permanently acquire the Link skill.
‘But there was unexpected income.’
After permanently acquiring the Link skill, Universal’s experience started increasing by 0.5% per hour. In other words, even if I do nothing, I can gain 12% experience per day.
“That... How much A did you say... is needed?” “It’s 80, but you don't need to worry. Even in the current state, we can run B~A Rank Gates without trouble.” “Then what if an Irregular or Gate evolution occurs?” “Then I just use ‘that’ which you told me about last time.”
If I rent and use S-Rank Psychokinesis, hunting most monsters is possible without trouble. Although I haven't verified it in reality, I think I can handle even S-Class Irregular monsters or Gate evolutions.
“Ah... Then I certainly don't need to worry.” “As long as you stick with me, there won't be any problems.” “That’s obvious! Since Senior is my mentor, I plan to stick to you all the time!” “Let’s sleep separately at least.” “Uh... Don't tell me, was that a joke?”
Since Yu Eun-ha started looking at me with a bizarre expression again, I sighed and shook my head.
“I’m serious.” “Ah... Senior seems to be the type who... tells the truth like a joke.” “…I’ll be careful.” “Urgh....”
Yu Eun-ha glanced at me with a troubled expression, then suddenly spoke with an expression of recalling something.
“…Right! That! I think the Association is too much too.” “What do you mean suddenly?” “Even so, we volunteered for dispatch, so Economy is too much! They should have booked Business!” “Ah... It seems the budget is insufficient, so it can't be helped.” “That’s true, but! Senior ended up spending money!”
Actually, it wasn't a lack of budget, but happened because Jo Tae-hoon unilaterally added us to the dispatch list. It wasn't originally the time to gather a dispatch team either, and I heard the real dispatch team rides Business or First Class.
“Well, neither I nor Junior Eun-ha need to worry about plane costs anymore, do we?” “…That is true.”
One of the things I had to finish before departure was disposing of the gems obtained from handling the Jeweler monster last time. Yu Eun-ha stubbornly refused to receive a share, but I remembered the address listed on her profile.
‘Even if it was monthly rent, I lived in a studio, but Yu Eun-ha was in a goshiwon (cramped study room).’
So I tried to give her 20%, but since she refused until the end, we settled on giving her 10%. In fact, even 10% meant over 500 million won went to Yu Eun-ha.
“Did you finish the contract well?” “Yes! Although I was surprised it was more expensive than I thought.” “How much was it?” “300 million! It’s a 15-minute walk from the Association, but inside that range, it went up more than double.” “…Still, seems like a pretty decent price.” “Right? Senior thinks so too, right?”
She said she put down a 1-year short-term lease because the dispatch can be extended up to 5 times.
‘I’m confident I’ll rise to SS or higher within half a year, but the problem is when Yu Eun-ha will reach Lv.6.’
If lucky, I might be able to rent SS-Rank skills within 2~3 weeks immediately. If another effect is attached this time too, it might take an additional 1~2 months...
‘Me becoming SS-Rank is practically confirmed.’
So what I need to care about is Yu Eun-ha’s growth, so I hoped there would be as many B-Rank or higher Gates scattered around as possible.
“Senior! Let’s go now!” “Are you done eating?” “....” “Junior Eun-ha?” “Can I eat just one more bowl of banquet noodles?” “…Go ahead.”
Eventually leaving the lounge with Yu Eun-ha, who demolished even the banquet noodles, I checked the tickets while walking toward the plane.
“…Senior. By the way, once we arrive in Auckland, do we go straight to the New Zealand Hunter Association?” “No. I plan to rest for a day before going.” “Why?” “Would you look at the flight time written on the ticket?” “Flight time...?”
A long flight time of 11 hours and 40 minutes was written on the ticket. Furthermore, she doesn't know yet, but we have to take another plane from Auckland to get to Queenstown.
“Hieek... It takes a super long time?” “That’s why I changed the seats to First Class.” “Ah! So we can go comfortably?” “…To prevent fatigue from accumulating.”
Talking like that, we boarded the plane, but as soon as we were guided to our seats by the flight attendant, we had to pause.
“This is First Class...?” “…It is different from what I thought too.”
Honestly, First Class is synonymous with luxury seating, so I was surprised that the upgrade cost only a few million won...
“Isn't this a Business seat?” “…Ahaha. Customer. The seat you are looking at is indeed our Korean Air’s First Class, Blossom Suite 2.0.” “She says so, but...” “Eh....”
Instead of the spacious and luxurious space we imagined, there were seats like Business Class. When we made blatantly disappointed faces, the flight attendant gave a brief explanation and welcome drinks with an awkward expression and left.
“…Still, wouldn't it be more comfortable than Economy?” “Th, that is true.” “First is First, after all.” “R, Right! Since it’s First... Firs... Haa....”
Trying hard to attach meaning to the name value of ‘First’ itself, we headed for Auckland.