Chapter 51
Chapter 51
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: An Ordinary Morning
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An ordinary morning.
Jeong-hyeon, walking down the alley in disheveled clothes, was approached by someone in a suit.
Of course, Jeong-hyeon was aware of his approach, but he wore a listless expression for some reason.
The man in the suit quickened his pace the closer he got to Jeong-hyeon until he finally blocked his path and spoke up.
"Excuse me, Hunter Han Jeong-hyeon?"
"Ah, not interested."
Jeong-hyeon slipped past the man with ghostly agility, not even bothering to make eye contact.
It was the full deployment of his E-rank Combat Sense and D-rank Agility.
To the suit-wearing civilian—who wasn't a hunter—it was impossible to even tell when he'd been bypassed.
The man didn't give up, though, and reached out a hand.
"No, that's not it. We—"
"Not buying."
Jeong-hyeon gave no quarter whatsoever, lightly deploying Stealth to make his escape.
"Huh?"
Naturally, E-rank Stealth looked like a movie invisibility cloak to ordinary eyes.
Lately, more and more sketchy types—salespeople or cultists, hard to say—had been showing up near Jeong-hyeon's place.
Sure, they dressed neatly in suits, but didn't scammers always keep up appearances?
They even knew his name.
It was exasperating, not knowing how far personal data got sold off in this day and age.
'Ugh, such a pain.'
He could shrug it off once or twice, but it happened on the way to the convenience store for breakfast, too.
"Excuse me, Hunter Han Jeong-hyeon?"
"Sigh—hey, what! I'm not buying!"
"No, it's—"
They even snuck up on him during early morning workouts. Pure annoyance.
'How do they know I'm a hunter anyway? Like any hunter lives in a dump like this.'
Their faces changed every time, too, suggesting more than a couple staking him out.
In the end, their nonstop clinging only fueled Jeong-hyeon's resentment.
'Heard cults targeting hunters have gotten aggressive lately. No wonder, with sales pitches this dedicated.'
In his mind, the suits had been demoted to pushy new-age cult recruiters.
Ordinary folk might scoff, "Why would hunters fall for cults?" but damages were spiking.
They preyed mainly on young hunters short on life experience, and plenty bit without thinking.
Plus, hunters were high earners by default.
Hit up a hundred, snag one—you're in the black.
HunterNet was full of tales about normal-seeming colleagues turning out to be cultists.
Associations and guilds ran aggressive prevention campaigns.
Unaffiliated or not, Jeong-hyeon stayed on top of it and wanted to shut them down at approach.
Meanwhile, the suit who'd been brusquely(?) brushed off by Jeong-hyeon.
He pulled out his phone with a defeated look and dialed.
"Hello, Team Leader?"
- Yeah, Young-hoon. How'd it go?
"Not biting at all. Gotta get a word in to explain who we are, but he just vanishes."
- Damn, what now? Linked up with another guild already?
"Doesn't look like it. Been watching a few days—other guilds' guys are striking out too."
Truth was, they were HR staff from some guild.
No—all the recent pests bugging Jeong-hyeon hailed from solid guilds.
Dream workplaces for low-rank hunters.
Cultists didn't typically haunt rundown studio districts, after all.
They'd gotten a lead from Dan Jong-woo and tracked him here, but Jeong-hyeon gave no openings. Frustrating.
Finally, the team leader sighed heavily over the line, like he'd decided.
- Fine. Head back to HQ. Shin Pil-jung takes over tomorrow.
"Pil-jung?"
Shin Pil-jung.
One of HR's rare ex-hunter staffers.
Trait: D-rank Movement Speed.
Useless day-to-day, but perfect for this.
Around then, every guild chasing Jeong-hyeon hit the same conclusion.
Hunters to catch hunters.
But.
"Hello! Han Jeong-hyeon! I'm not some weirdo. Just hear me out—"
'Ugh, crap! Now they're sending hunters!'
Their grand schemes ended in irreversible disaster.
Days later.
Jeong-hyeon lost it upon spotting the new suit—Shin Pil-jung—keeping pace with a smile, not even winded despite his all-out flight.
The presences he sensed suggested the cults had upgraded: plenty of hunters lurking now.
"Huff... huff... Who knew hitting the convenience store would be this brutal?"
He'd finally ditched Shin Pil-jung, scowling fiercely.
He'd tolerated it so far—what could randos do?—but deploying hunters crossed the line.
Jeong-hyeon whipped out his phone.
'Never imagined calling her stone-cold sober.'
-Cha Ye-rin Section Chief
Powerless everyman had one recourse: the law.
Bit early, but Ye-rin picked up right away.
- Hello?
"Ah, Section Chief Cha Ye-rin?"
- Yes, Cha Ye-rin speaking.
'What vibe today?'
Oddly normal reaction.
Way better than her usual over-the-top self, anyway.
"It's about—"
- May I ask who this is?
"Ah."
Only then did it hit Jeong-hyeon: he'd never called her personally.
He'd saved her card number, but she hadn't.
"I'm Han Jeong-hyeon."
- Yeah, figured.
"Shoot—"
- Pardon?
"Shoot... what a relief! You had my number."
Nearly cursed, swallowed it down.
He needed her help, after all.
- Good hunt with Chief Dan?
"Ha... yeah."
- Figured. You seemed pissed lately.
Right—amid salesman hell, he'd forgotten the debt from that orc camp with Dan Jong-woo. Still soured the memory.
"Anyway, not the point. Does your division handle cults targeting hunters?"
- Huh? Oh, those?
"Yeah! My place is swarmed lately!"
- Hm. Not strictly Division 3 turf. Definitely cults?
Jeong-hyeon nodded hard into the phone at her question.
She quizzed him on looks, speech patterns, then hung up.
- Sounds off cults, but I can handle. Thanks for the tip.
"Please do."
'Not cults? Salesmen then.'
Jeong-hyeon cocked his head.
Next day, the suits vanished clean.
Cult or con, irrelevant.
Cha Ye-rin's fix worked.
***
"Great work, all!"
"You too, Sun-hyeong oppa."
Sun-hyeong's party: atmosphere still peak.
Jeong-hyeon tagging at rear, though, looked iffy.
'Level 3's getting stale.'
This run: level 3 gate "Pitodz Goblin Village" with Sun-hyeong's crew.
Village name aside, standard goblins.
No sweat even duo'd before; his specs now? Overkill.
Plus,
[Current coins held: 7]
Full day netting six coins.
'Missed it first time 'cause Tadan Orcs, but this low?'
Goblin Village average: low-to-mid 20s percent.
Blind, he'd taken what came. Knowing? Felt like robbery.
Stuck with fave Sun-hyeong crew, but limits loomed.
Others leveled pure proficiency; his gap yawned.
Spotting Jeong-hyeon's sour face?
"Hyung-nim, something wrong?"
Sang-su sidled up.
"Nah, nothing."
Dropped honorifics 'cause awkward, yet "hyung-nim" stuck.
Jeong-hyeon denied, shaking head. Sang-su grinned knowingly.
"Level feels off, yeah?"
"Uh...?"
Nailed it cold; words failed.
"Nah, cool. Everyone knows, even kids. Guild runs me level 4s lately. Rough, but."
"Yeah?"
Sang-su nodded.
Party's lone D-rank.
Post-level 3 bump, tried level 4s.
Then it clicked.
'Not even close to hyung-nim?'
Self-styled C-ranks looked subpar vs. his recent form.
Guild peers: fixed parties got support; casuals, dream on.
'Hyung-nim's a monster?'
Not, it'd be weird.
Daily gains glaring.
Even thick-skulled would've clocked him no average unregistered.
"You doing good, Jeong-hyeon?"
HR chief Cha Jun-won grilled Sang-su like that.
Sang-su smirked, pressing on.
"Level 4 itch? Say word. Chief'll wedge you in."
"Nah... no need that far."
Jeongjin's aid always felt heavy.
Jeong-hyeon refused, shaking head.
No piling debt one spot.
Unless beyond his solo.
Home, he shoved gear carrier aside, face-planted bed.
Goblin-bashing all day: refreshingly tired? Nah, stiff malaise.
"Body hooked on level 4 now..."
Mid-regret, idea sparked.
"Oh, HunterNet updated, huh."
Skipped it lately; chatter said chaos.
Jeong-ah: hunter star ratings added.
"My page... whoa, real."
Per instructions, logged in: his rating stared back.
HunterNet stars: dodge villains (manners, not crime) and reward goods.
Association gate bookings verified co-hunters only.
Side effects? Sure. Most hunters loved it.
Filtered jerks upfront.
"My score 4? What'd I screw?"
4/5 solid, but he'd overdelivered always. Baffling.
Details: per-gate scores.
Mostly 5s.
Two 3-averages: "Cursed Castle" and "Tadan Orcs' Ruined Encampment." Ah, them.
No rater check needed.
Park Sang-jun tanked "Cursed Castle"; Dan Jong-woo "Tadan Orcs."
"Tch, weaklings ace at trashing reps."
List: one 1-star per party.
Quirky—like old mini-homepages—raters' scores viewable.
- zl Supreme Sword Sang-jun: 2.3
- I Make Jong-woo Cry Today Too: 1.1
Obvious IDs, predictably trashed scores.
"Why bother nicks? Real names, duh."
Jeong-hyeon snorted, amused.
Fun bunch, anyway.