Chapter 68
Chapter 68
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 68
Chapter Title: Misunderstanding Erupts
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"Here. Have some too, Ji-eun."
I handed a bowl of warm soup to Ji-eun, who had sniffed it out like a ghost. Since she was Ye-seul's senior, it couldn't hurt to treat her nicely.
I chatted with Ji-eun for a bit to calm her down, then returned to Ye-seul's side.
"Ye-seul, when did you start your hunter career?"
"I'm in my fourth year now."
Being C-rank in four years was average growth for a typical hunter—neither slow nor fast. But for someone who would later become A-rank, it was a bit slow.
Healers leveled up faster when healing people whose lives were in danger or who were strong. In other words, their leveling speed depended on the environment. And unlike warriors, a healer's hunter rank wasn't heavily based on achievements but on the amount of healing, buff potency, and presence of special skills. So as long as they leveled up, their rank rose naturally.
"Hmm... What's the hardest part about growing?"
I asked because everyone needed different things. Plus, I had no information on Ye-seul at this point.
"Nothing in particular."
Her short answers remained the same.
"Were you in another team before?"
"No. I joined temporary parties here and there or did medical support."
Temporary parties couldn't tackle gates tough enough to build real skill, and medical work without life-threatening cases didn't yield much EXP. But now that she was in Rose Guild's A-rank gate party, her levels would rise.
We chatted intermittently as we moved, and we cleared the gate without much trouble.
"Hahaha, Hunter Lee Ji-seok! Thanks to you, we cut the time by more than half and barely used any consumables! Let's team up again next time!"
"Sure."
I needed to level up too, and I had to find ways to support Ye-seul.
* * *
Lately, Na-young had been sticking to me unusually close. I didn't mind, but whenever I said I was going somewhere, she'd hurriedly get ready and tag along.
And Sang-heon's guilty-looking expression.
"You did something, didn't you?"
Sang-heon flinched while looking away.
"What is it? Spit it out."
"Hahaha..."
Sang-heon gave an awkward laugh, then stopped and bolted.
I spread my aura wide without condensing it and released it at Sang-heon's fleeing back.
"Urk..."
Sang-heon tumbled across the floor from the non-lethal aura blast.
"Hyung?! Did you just use aura? At home?!"
"I controlled it. Now talk. I won't hold back this time."
"...Hahaha, well, you see..."
* * *
"Noona, you need to be careful."
"Huh? Why?"
"I saw hyung being super nice to the women in the gate."
"...Women? Who?"
Na-young's face turned ice-cold.
"Uh, he looked after others too, but there were a couple of female healers he paid extra attention to."
Hearing "healers," Na-young felt her heart drop. Was her witch self no longer needed? Did he prefer healers over witches after all? She bit her lip hard while thinking that.
Oblivious to Na-young's expression, Sang-heon kept rambling.
"Man, it was the first time I've seen hyung step up like that for anyone besides you, noona. He treats us well but then drills us in training and stuff. But he shared food, talked to them, oh! The gate was freezing cold, right? He even generated body heat to act like a heater. Well, that benefited guys and girls alike."
"I see."
Na-young's voice showed no interest in Sang-heon's words anymore. Her mind was swirling with various thoughts.
Na-young stood up.
"Where are you going?"
"To make a call."
***
"No... Hunter Bae Na-young. Well, you see..."
Bureau Chief Baek Young-shin was breaking out in cold sweat over the phone.
"Director, you don't need to say more. If you don't promote me to A-rank, I'm done with healing gigs. No, I'm quitting hunter work altogether."
The Awakening Bureau had benefited greatly from her healing activities so far. If she stopped suddenly, it wouldn't just mean lost gains—they could even take a loss.
"Aren't you already advancing exceptionally fast? What's the rush?"
"My... position is in danger."
"Position? What position?"
"Anyway. A-rank. Right now."
* * *
"So... you told her I was hitting on women in the gate? Especially the healers?"
"That... the wording is very different from what I said..."
Sang-heon, who had been banging his head on the floor, peeked up as he spoke.
"Who told you to get up?"
Sang-heon slammed his head back down.
"You little punk. Can't help your hyung, and instead spread rumors behind my back?"
"No! But you were nice to the healers, right?"
"Getting up again? Want to make it a spar instead?"
Sang-heon quickly planted his head back on the floor.
"Tsk..."
This seemed to have caused unnecessary misunderstanding.
"You're explaining this to Na-young later with me."
Na-young had suddenly been called to the Awakening Bureau, so we could talk when she got back. She'd left with a bright expression after a while, but I had no idea what was up.
I had to handle today's schedule before Na-young returned. I couldn't change plans freely anymore since I wasn't going solo.
Sang-heon and I headed to a gate, cleared it with the Rose Guild members. Having seen their styles once, it felt more comfortable, and clear time shortened.
"Good work!"
The support hunters greeted us.
"Good work, everyone. See you at the next gate."
We bowed to each other as we exited the cleared gate.
"Ye-seul, isn't that a D-rank staff?"
It wasn't unusable for a C-rank hunter like Ye-seul, but it definitely wasn't good.
"Yeah, it is."
"Even a C-rank one would boost your healing more, no?"
"...They're expensive."
"Huh? You're doing A-rank gates, and you're short on cash?"
"My expenses are pretty high."
She'd been donating and sponsoring the needy for a long time.
"Then come to our workshop sometime."
"Regen?"
"You know it. I can get you a good deal."
"You're only taking Ye-seul? Take me too!"
Ji-eun came rushing over and clung to my arm.
"Ji-eun, you already have good gear."
"You never know. Might need something."
Ji-eun pouted. Forcing her away would just lead to her taking it out on Ye-seul later, so I took Sang-heon along to Regen too.
"Hyung... what're you planning?"
"Hm?"
"I don't know anymore..."
After arriving, Sang-heon went off to handle his business, and I guided Ji-eun and Ye-seul to the special exhibit room.
"Oh my... Isn't this not sold on the market?"
The item Ji-eun was looking at was a prototype Jae-in had made experimentally—not for external sale.
Regen's goal wasn't just me making money; it was providing high-quality items at reasonable prices to boost hunters' survivability. That meant focusing on small-variety mass production for better price-performance rather than custom multi-variety.
"Right. Our head developer made it. All custom-made, with stats superior to mass-produced ones."
"So many intriguing things... This staff boosts physical attack power directly? Is that right?"
Ye-seul read the specs on the display case.
"Yeah. Experiments led to some unexpected results."
The two admired the items one by one.
"Chairman, the president is looking for you. Should I tell her you're coming?"
One of the staff came in.
"No need. I'll go. You two keep browsing the items."
I told them to look around and headed to the president's office.
* * *
"Isn't this super expensive?"
"Probably? I think that's made from the drake bones they caught recently."
Ji-eun and Ye-seul were busy chatting over the items.
"Who...?"
Na-young entered the exhibit room. Jae-in handled the functional designs, but Na-young was heavily involved in the aesthetics. Lately, she'd even set up a workshop behind the exhibit.
"Oh, these are Rose Guild folks. Don't mind them. They came with Hunter Lee Ji-seok."
Ji-eun glanced sideways at Na-young and spoke dismissively, like she was addressing a subordinate.
"With oppa?"
"Oppa? Oh, you're his little sister?"
Ji-eun straightened up and scanned Na-young.
"Hmm... Thought we were close, but didn't know he had a sister."
"Tch... Close? Wait, you're the Rose Guild healer?"
"Ah, you talked about me to your family? How embarrassing."
Na-young's face hardened like ice, and an ominous purple mist spread around her.
"Um... Hunter Jeong Ji-eun, there's a misunderstanding..."
Ye-seul tried to intervene.
"You're his sister, but you don't look alike~. So what'd oppa say about me? I'm curious."
"I'm... not his sister."
"What, an employee then? Can employees call the chairman so casually? No manners."
Ji-eun had misunderstood Na-young as staff herself, but being honored like one bruised her pride.
"What? Manners?!"
"Whatever, go do your job. Oh, call Hunter Lee Ji-seok when you see him."
The treatment and pay gap between A-rank hunters and workshop staff was like heaven and earth. Few openly disdained like Ji-eun, who was operating on her own assumption.
"You..."
"Hunter Jeong Ji-eun, there's a misunderstanding right now..."
Ye-seul tried to hold Ji-eun back.
"Why do you keep interrupting?! And don't you have any tact? Hunter Lee Ji-seok calls you, you make space. Why tag along?"
"No, the issue isn't us right now, it's her..."
Slap!
"Talking back again? You think I'm a pushover these days?"
Ji-eun slapped Ye-seul, snapping her head to the side.
"What are you doing!"
Na-young yelled at Ji-eun.
"Who are you? Didn't I tell you to go work? Fuck, why do I keep running into trash like you lately?"
"Watch what you say to Hunter Jeong Ji-eun..."
"Shut up!"
Ji-eun raised her hand to hit Ye-seul again, but Na-young grabbed it, stopping her. Both taller than Ji-eun, they now looked down on her.
"I hate people... looking down on me!"
She yanked her arm free and slapped Na-young. Na-young's head turned, then whipped back as she punched Ji-eun in the nose.
"Kyaa!"
Ji-eun fell backward.
"You crazy bitch!"
The fallen Ji-eun used her short stature to charge, grabbing Na-young's legs and throwing her back.
Rules forbade using skills outside, and both unconsciously avoided them to keep the fight from escalating.
Startled by the surprise attack, Na-young couldn't break her fall properly and hit the ground with a thud. Ji-eun mounted her.
Even as a witch specializing in debuffs and healing, both were A-rank hunters with superior base physical abilities. Their brawl was faster and fiercer than any non-awakener martial arts league.
"You fucking bitch! Daring to swing at an A-rank hunter?!"
"Hunter Lee Ji-eun! She's not staff!"
Ye-seul grabbed Ji-eun from behind to stop her.
"I told you to shut it!"
Ji-eun shoved Ye-seul with her arm; Ye-seul slammed into the wall and passed out. Even as fellow healers, a two-rank gap meant overwhelming strength difference.
"I'll teach you some manners."
Ji-eun pulled her arm back to punch Na-young's face.
And Na-young's eyes glowed purple.