The Shadow King's Swiftness (1)
Lee Do-hyeon and his party had just returned from their promotion celebration when the news of their chaos reached the Hunter Association.
None of the three members of the team knew the full details of what had happened inside the Seoul branch building.
It was nothing like the wild disturbances they had expected.
High-ranking officials had been summoned, and the scene inside had looked so chaotic that even two exhausted employees were being scolded.
'What's going on?'
When they arrived after only half a day, Do-hyeon had assumed the commotion was simply because they had been promoted.
But that was far from the truth.
He stood before Han Mu-yeol, the president of the Korean Hunter Association, who exuded an overwhelming presence of thick muscle and broad shoulders.
Han Mu-yeol stared at the party with an expression that said it was impossible to believe his eyes.
After watching them for quite some time, he finally let out a sigh.
"I said we'd meet again, but I never imagined it would be so soon."
"Yeah."
Do-hyeon's reply was a little blunt, but since he had no real grudge against Han Mu-yeol, the president let out a small chuckle.
After reading the neatly organized reports, Han Mu-yeol asked them.
"...So you hunted once, caught the villains, and the promotion conditions were met. Is that it?"
"Yes, that's correct."
"..."
"..."
The oppressive aura of the association president made Ji Yu-chan and Hana Rin remain silent.
Do-hyeon answered for them.
Han Mu-yeol shook his head in astonishment.
He had thought this party was interesting, but they had actually pulled off something unprecedented.
The pressure from Han Mu-yeol had eased slightly, yet Ji Yu-chan and Hana Rin could not help but stay tense.
Especially since both of them were highly sensitive to mana.
Do-hyeon, on the other hand, continued as if nothing had happened.
Han Mu-yeol sighed and said, "I see. You've already returned the points and the stone plate to the association?"
"Yes, the moment we left."
"Good. Well done."
The three members of the party bowed and left the office.
After Do-hyeon and his team had gone home, Han Mu-yeol remained seated in the same spot where they had reported.
He read the reports, which detailed their promotion and the exact points they had returned.
When he saw the staggering amount, he let out a chuckle of disbelief.
'Even on their first day of promotion, it's insane.'
They had paid 2,165 points on their very first day.
Since the Hunter Association deducted 10 percent, that meant the three of them had earned an incredible 21,650 points in less than half a day.
Han Mu-yeol was a veteran hunter who had been active since fifteen years ago.
Yet he had never seen a party like this before.
He set the smile aside and stared at the report once more.
It seemed this was no ordinary interesting party.
He had expected Korea to be turned upside down, but this was far beyond that.
'I'll have to hide this information for now.'
If such records spread, other countries would definitely attempt to seize them.
There were already several people inside the Hunter Association who knew about the other countries' plans.
Even though he knew about them, he kept quiet for now.
If he expelled them now, new people would just appear.
It was better to identify them quietly.
If news of this reached those ears, they would naturally reach out to the three of them.
It would be fortunate if they only made offers.
But not every country approached so gently.
The one good thing about it was.
'With the new duty officer today, hiding this will be easy.'
The emergency call had been sent without any explanation.
The first one to respond was Han Mu-yeol, who had learned the situation quickly.
It was fortunate.
He had already made sure that Kim Jun-hee could not speak when the others arrived.
If someone else had heard this, who knew what would happen.
As he thought that, Han Mu-yeol decided to handle Do-hyeon's party personally.
He would never entrust their affairs to anyone else.
He headed to the president's office to process the matter.
He had never imagined he would still be working at his age, but he had no choice.
'I was supposed to retire soon.'
It seemed he would have no time to rest for a while.
* * *
After a good night's sleep, Do-hyeon stretched and rose from his bed with a refreshed body.
He had returned late in the early morning after the report, but he felt refreshed anyway.
He was not sure whether it was because he was finally sleeping at home or because his body, which had surpassed human limits, had simply regained its strength.
After awakening, he immediately checked his phone.
Several messages had arrived.
[One Rin: Then, shall we enter tomorrow?]
[Ji Yu-chan: Since the boss said so, I guess.]
[Ji Yu-chan: By the way, has the boss not woken up yet?]
[Ji Yu-chan: [@Lee Do-hyeon] Let me know if there's anything you want to change.]
[One Rin: (Sending a cute bunny emoji with an OK sign)]
He had seen these messages in the group chat he had created with the others yesterday.
Do-hyeon smiled faintly and replied.
[Yeah, see you tomorrow.]
[One Rin: Tomorrow it is. Then I'll take a rest and see you tomorrow. (Sending a greeting bunny emoji)]
[Ji Yu-chan: OK]
Looking at the messages, Do-hyeon could not help but smile.
One Rin often sent cute emojis, unlike her usual image.
Ji Yu-chan, true to his appearance, replied in a cool and straightforward manner.
As mentioned in the chat, they had decided to head to the E-rank area tomorrow.
A break was necessary, but the main reason was that there were things they needed to do.
Their points and AP were both abundant, so of course there was work to be done.
'We should head to the Hunter Training Center and learn the Shadow King's Swiftness.'
Since it was this generation and he had already secured permission to visit occasionally, there was no issue.
That was why he had planned to visit today to obtain the skill.
He almost considered contacting Han Mu-yeol in advance, but since it did not matter much, he checked his alarms instead.
Because he always deleted all alarms first.
When he saw them, an unexpected one appeared.
It was not an alarm, but a bank app notification.
『Hunter Association: 9,350,000 won deposited.
Balance: 15,345,230 won』
"Eh!?"
Do-hyeon swallowed hard as he saw the sudden deposit from the Hunter Association.
At first he was surprised, but then he realized it was a points settlement and looked at the balance with a dazed expression.
It was no wonder he was stunned.
The mandatory 10 percent points from the Hunter Association were returned in cash.
He remembered hearing that 1 point was worth 10,000 won.
He had learned it at the training center, but seeing it actually happen still left him bewildered.
'They really earned a lot.'
Normally, hunting in an F-rank area for a week would earn about 1,000 points.
After deduction, that meant 100 points returned, or roughly 1 million won for a regular F-rank hunter.
But Do-hyeon had earned about ten times that in a single day.
'That's why it's all about being a hunter, a hunter.'
Even just F-rank would allow earning a minimum of 400 points a month.
And that was only possible by entering the Black Gate every week.
It showed just how much F-rank hunters earned.
Was there any job more efficient than this?
For some reason, seeing the money made Do-hyeon hesitate slightly.
It was because of this.
[Would you like to convert 8,000P into AP?]
'Whew.'
8000 points was 80 million won.
Just the thought made his hand tremble.
It was almost 100 million.
But AP was still short, so he had no choice but to convert the points.
He closed his eyes tightly, regretting it but knowing he had to.
Then.
[8000P will be converted to 8000 AP.]
『Points』
▶「P: 415」
▶「AP: 9230」
"Sniff."
It was heart-wrenching to watch precious money disappear.
But there was no other way.
To master the Shadow King's Swiftness, he needed 2,000 AP.
To view Han Mu-yeol's status window later, he would need another 3,000 AP.
That was already 5,000 AP.
And to obtain even one of Han Mu-yeol's skills, at least 3,000 to 4,000 AP had to remain.
So he had no choice but to convert all his points into AP.
His stomach felt bitter, but since it was an investment, he held his breath.
Points could be earned again.
With that thought, Do-hyeon prepared to head out.
Even though cash had not appeared, this was still a cushion.
'We can afford to take it easy with this, right?'
『Scholarship Loan Withdrawal: 15,000,000 won.
Remaining Balance: 345,230 won』
"Ah..."
There was no escaping it.
He had set it up so that all earnings would go toward repaying the loan.
But at least he could take comfort in the fact that the loan was gone now.
Do-hyeon shivered as he thought of how this was where the villains' hearts should be understood.
He stepped outside, still feeling the relief.
Since he had already spent the money, he had to use it for the Shadow King's Swiftness.
As he recalled entering the Black Gate tomorrow, he muttered to himself.
'Ah, I hope there are villains targeting us again tomorrow.'
It was a rather ruthless thought.
* * *
Since Lee Do-hyeon and Ji Yu-chan had left, the Hunter Training Center had become quite packed.
More accurately, progress had slowed compared to before.
Classes that had been conducted in teams were now held together in one big group.
Even so, the presence of the two was still strong.
The remaining eight students continued to show exceptional talent compared to other generations.
Despite early graduation, the instructors were still pleased by the lasting influence of the two.
It was then that an instructor named Hwang Ha-na looked at a taxi arriving at the training center with a puzzled expression.
When the person getting out of the taxi came into view, her eyes widened in shock.
"Oh, Instructor Hwang Ha-na?"
"...Training student Do-hyeon?"
The moment she saw him, Do-hyeon smiled brightly.
A message immediately appeared before his eyes.
[Consuming 2,000 AP, acquired the skill 「Shadow King's Swiftness [A]」 of Hwang Ha-na.]
[The skill is above your current level.]
[Your stats will increase slightly above their original values.]
[Agility will permanently increase by +7.]
[You cannot use the skill at its original power.]
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