Chapter 17
Chapter 17
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: Grinding E-Rank Gates
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“17”
“You crossed the line.”
I stood close to Choi Cheolmin, glaring at him as I spoke.
“You damn scammer!”
He swung a fist at my face.
Choi Cheolmin’s punch was fast, but not fast enough for me to dodge. Still, guys like this needed to see the gap in our levels to back off, so I just stared straight at the incoming fist.
With a thud, his fist hit my cheek, but my face didn’t budge an inch.
A punch like that wouldn’t hurt even if I let my guard down, but I’d deliberately focused my defense on my face, boosting my defense stat even higher. It was only natural.
Now that my Regeneration Skill had leveled up, I could alter specific parts of my body. Complex changes were still tricky—only simple visualizations worked—but something like making a spot tougher was straightforward and effective.
“Gahhh!”
Instead, Choi Cheolmin screamed, clutching his fist in agony.
“My turn now?”
I drove my fist gently into his gut as he writhed in pain. I wanted to hit him full force, but that might rupture his organs and kill him, so I held back.
His body lifted slightly off the ground before collapsing in a heap. Then he started vomiting on the floor with wretched heaves.
“Cheolmin, send the money quick.”
I spoke in a low voice to Choi Cheolmin, who was retching and streaming tears. He had no choice but to pay up anyway—the Hunter App contract made it binding.
He either heard me or not—his eyes rolled back, and he passed out. Had I hit him too hard?
Fights between Hunters could cause trouble, but he’d thrown the first punch at Sangheon and me, and I’d only landed one measured hit in response. No punishment for me. Word was, Choi Cheolmin was getting disciplined by the Awakener Management Bureau.
After the closing ceremony, the Hellhound subjugation—which had dragged on thanks to all the incidents—finally wrapped up, and I returned to my daily routine.
Subjugation rewards, first-place score bonus, and the bet money from Choi Cheolmin had fattened my wallet considerably.
* * *
Back home, I tidied up and immediately booked an E-Rank Orc Gate.
My first E-Rank Gate, but I wasn’t tense at all.
Orcs were monsters a bit bigger than an adult male, with aggressive temperaments.
I entered the gate relaxed, and a wide-open plain stretched out before me. After walking a bit across the plain, I ran into a scouting group of orcs.
Spotting me, they let out roars and charged.
After dealing with Hellhounds in the pitch-black mountain night, these orcs charging straight at me across an open plain looked painfully slow.
Tired of waiting, I rushed toward them myself. Closing the distance in an instant, I smashed my fist into the lead orc’s side before he could even swing his raised sword.
It wasn’t a simple thud—it boomed like a cannon, sending out a shockwave. The hefty orc’s body flew sideways, defying gravity, and the ones behind him froze in shock.
I followed up with an uppercut to the second one’s jaw, then slammed my fist into the third’s face. I charged the remaining two watching from behind and took them down too.
In mere seconds, I’d handled five orcs.
For me, now E-Rank, hunting orcs was easier than I’d expected.
I harvested the manastones with the dagger at my waist and gathered their weapons. I’d made good money already, so I considered leaving the weapons, but I couldn’t bring myself to. Orc weapons fetched better prices than goblin ones, I rationalized, as I packed them all up.
I hadn’t been nervous to begin with, but the first fight being so one-sided made it feel like a picnic.
* * *
Four hours had passed when I cleared the gate and exited. Far faster than other E-Rank parties. Truth be told, I’d cleared it in an hour, but mining manastones and gathering materials while lugging them around tripled the time.
This was inefficient. But abandoning them felt wrong too.
Time to hire a collection service. In my past life, I’d worked as a porter for parties and collection agencies—now I was in a position to hire them.
“Sangheon, know any good gate collection services?”
The only company I knew was the one I’d worked for before, but from the inside, it wasn’t one I wanted to use. Shoddy work, and the guys skimmed materials and manastones. So I called Sangheon, who knew more.
“...Hyung, didn’t you hear me?”
Sangheon sighed.
“Huh? Why?”
“I told you my dad runs a collection company. Said to call him if you needed it.”
He’d mentioned it at the resort too.
“Oh... right. Sorry. Haha, mind if I ask him now?”
I laughed awkwardly and made the request.
“Sure, I’ll tell Dad.”
Sangheon’s dad called, and we met in front of the gate.
“Lee Jiseok, Hunter? Nice to meet you. I’m Yang Cheolhyeon, president of Hwagok Collection Services. Heard my son’s indebted to you.”
Sangheon’s dad handed me his business card, greeted me warmly, and gripped my hand tightly in thanks.
“No, no. Sangheon’s helped me a ton too.”
“Please keep looking out for him.”
His clasped hands brimmed with worry. He ran a collection business, but as a parent fretting over his Hunter son, he was no different from my own mom. Especially after hearing his kid nearly died in a gate.
President Yang explained in detail how collection services worked. I already knew it all, but since my record showed no prior use, I listened quietly.
Once done, he gave me dozens of Tracker devices—manastone-powered trackers—and I pocketed them.
“Safe and fun hunting. See you soon.”
With his send-off, I entered the gate.
No backpack—just my dagger, some hard candies, and the tracker pouch on my belt. My body felt incredibly light.
E-Rank Orc Gates had become too easy for me; my stats weren’t rising anymore. I just needed to clear a quota to rank up to D-Rank, so I had no choice but to grind. I’d do subjugation missions if they came, but until my home life stabilized, I planned to stick to day-trip gates.
“Alright, let’s go!”
I kicked off the ground and dashed into the gate.
* * *
Exiting the gate, I saw President Yang chatting with an official from the Awakener Management Bureau.
“President.”
“Oh? Jiseok? Already?”
He checked the time, eyes widening. Clearing an E-Rank Gate in an hour was shocking.
“It’s done. Sprinkled all the trackers, so please handle recovery. I’ve got another one to hit, so come to the next spot after.”
Leaving the flustered president behind, I headed to the next gate. Travel took two hours, but clearing it only a bit over one. I could’ve gone faster, but since he probably couldn’t make it in time for pickup, I took it slower this round.
“President, it’s Lee Jiseok. This one’s done too.”
I called after clearing my second gate of the day.
“Yes? Already?! Uh... uh... I’ll get there ASAP. Hey! Agent Kim! Finish up here and follow! I’m heading to the next site first!”
“What? President! Where are you going?! We’ve got tons left here! President!!!”
Through the still-connected phone, I heard clattering and what sounded like Agent Kim’s wail.
Hwagok Collection was a name I’d never heard in my past life. Meaning it was a small outfit.
They clearly lacked manpower and gear—handling multiple gates quickly would be tough.
“Hello? President, if you’re busy, should I call someone else?”
“No way! I’m coming. Hang tight!”
His tone turned polite. Collection services lived off fees, but landing contracts with skilled Hunters who cleared multiple gates a day was rare. He couldn’t let this slip.
“Yes, take your time.”
I hung up, got bored waiting, and ordered pizza. Moments like this made Korea impressive—bullet delivery right to a gate.
I ordered dozens of pies for the collection crew and bureau officials too. As we ate, President Yang and his team arrived.
“J... you really cleared it.”
He checked the gate’s color change and gaped.
“Got time for one more pickup?”
“Again?! Uh... sorry, but pickups are tricky today. Give us advance notice next time, and we’ll prep properly.”
Sweat poured down Sangheon’s dad’s face as he bowed to my question. Pushing him more or switching services would feel bad for Sangheon, so I’d call it here.
“Yes, I’ll start again tomorrow morning. Oh, and please speak casually, sir.”
“No can do! Can’t be informal with a client. Tomorrow morning?”
He’d started treating me like a friend-of-son customer, but now it was full A-list VIP mode.
“Yeah. At today’s pace, I can do about six tomorrow. I’ll send the route after booking.”
Joy and worry twisted grotesquely on Sangheon’s dad’s face. Great for business, but could they handle six in a day? Still, I needed this, so no choice. If they couldn’t, I’d switch agencies.
* * *
“Sangheon.”
Yang Cheolhyeon, Sangheon’s dad, called his son in an exhausted rasp.
“Yes, Dad.”
Sangheon’s voice dripped fatigue too.
“What’d I ever do to you?”
“Huh? Nothing.”
“Then why’re you doing this to me?”
“Just don’t do it then.”
“Sigh. Can’t do that.”
They kept talking, but their hands never stopped—slicing orc chests for manastones.
“How many’s this?”
Yang Cheolhyeon said, bagging a manastone.
“Fourth now.”
Sangheon loaded weapons onto the cart.
“Fourth?! And two more after?”
“At least.”
“If I drop dead from overwork, the company’s yours.”
“I’ll renounce inheritance.”
Thanks to Jiseok, Yang Cheolhyeon’s collection agency was booming unexpectedly. They’d hired every day laborer available and even onboarded full-timers, but manpower didn’t grow overnight—so they’d dragged in their Hunter son for recovery work.
The problem? This Hunter Lee Jiseok never stopped. Normal Hunters did one to three gates a week; this madman did six a day.
Joking around, the pair efficiently packed gear. Their bodies screamed in exhaustion. But thinking of the profits—dozens of times last quarter’s—just from tailing Jiseok for a month kept them going.
Their minds wanted to refuse, but their bodies couldn’t escape this sweet money pit.