Body Processing Reaches C-Class

An additive boost to the stat increases.

In other words, take something like this:

Forty percent of five percent.

Thanks to the skill effect, another two percent gets tacked on.

“Pretty decent, I guess.”

“Your evaluation is far too harsh, My Lord.”

“With Master’s skill enhanced, our abilities have increased as well.”

“Can you actually feel the difference?”

“Of course. A knight must always grasp his own capabilities with precision.”

“Same for a mage. You have to stay in peak condition if you want the efficiency of mana rearrangement to climb.”

They picked up even the tiniest shifts in their specs without missing a beat. As expected of the owners of SSS-grade talents—people who had stood at the absolute peak of their respective fields.

Right. Snap out of it, Minho.

Disappointed just because the growth margin looked small? Where the hell did you sell off your beginner’s mindset?

Slap!

“What in the world are you doing all of a sudden!”

“Master?!”

My cheek stung.

“Felt like I’ve been getting a little complacent lately.”

Many a little makes a mickle. A handful of big accomplishments lately and my mind had gone completely slack. Just like my two retainers said—any option that raised specs was unconditionally good.

Next up.

A Zombie Enhanced Soldier was a monster whose specs had been jacked up with drugs. During the crafting process you injected reagents and mana into specific parts, and the result was a creature that utterly outclassed an ordinary zombie.

“The drug compounding’s on the alchemy side, isn’t it?”

“Looks that way.”

Honestly. Just how much of a hodgepodge was this class supposed to be? I never thought it would go so far as to tell me to learn alchemy next.

“Ingrid.”

“I’m sorry. I never studied alchemy in any real depth.”

“Nah, that’s fine. Just checking.”

I’d only asked on the off chance.

“A pity. So crafting the Enhanced Soldiers will prove difficult.”

Huh? Who said that, Sir Isra?

“We’re making them.”

“Did you not claim yourself to be utterly hopeless at preparing medicines, My Lord?”

“I never said I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was the one doing it.”

Those reagents? Every last one of them was sold on the open market. Take a good look. This was the power of capitalism!

“There are quite a few more prerequisites than ordinary necromancy, though.”

“Can’t be helped.”

“Still, the undead Master crafts himself turn out far stronger.”

Undead usually received a slightly lower evaluation than the grade listed on paper. They had clear weaknesses to holy power and fire, and their physical abilities lagged behind same-grade monsters. Once you knew the tricks, they were easy prey.

But the undead I made were different. Overwhelming specs! The “+” grade that only ever showed up on boss monsters—every single one of my Armed Zombie Warriors carried it.

“Sharing My Lord’s motor nerves is also a formidable threat.”

My retainers enjoyed the effects of Heavenly Martial Body right alongside me. That was why a single Armed Zombie Warrior could overwhelm a D-class boss monster.

“Draco isn’t ordinary either.”

Ingrid said it while scratching under Draco’s chin. A natural-born B-class retainer. If word got out that a D-class hunter had created it, every textbook on hunter theory would have to be rewritten.

And on top of that, my two greatest masterpieces—my retainers.

The drawback that they took a lot of work? Please. The advantages were so much larger.

“Still, I’m not learning alchemy.”

Blacksmithing techniques. Swordsmanship. Magic. Just how many fields was I already studying? Those ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠three at least overlapped with my specialties plus my retainers’ talents, so I could justify them. Alchemy didn’t even have a related skill.

“If I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠spread myself any thinner, I’ll end up master of nothing.”

“A wise thought. In that spirit, what say we resume sword training?”

“That’s enough out of you, iron head! Trying to monopolize Master?!”

While the two retainers snarled at each other, I examined the Dark Hood crafting method that had been engraved into my mind.

“This one’s a mage type.”

Unlike a Skeleton Mage, it was a creature that straddled the half-spirit realm.

The materials going into it looked pretty expensive. I’d buy them whenever they showed up on the Hunter Market.

With both skill ranks raised, I finished the gate raid and stepped back out.

“You’ve worked hard.”

The coffee Director Baek held out washed the fatigue right off me.

“You too, Director.”

“Do you have any plans this evening?”

“No.”

“Hmm. Actually, I received a call from the Rift Bureau.”

Director Baek’s expression was fairly serious.

“About what?”

“I’ve heard the Rift Bureau has recently launched a new project.”

Wait. A new project?

“I’ve heard something similar.”

I passed on the story Director Jeong Seungil had told me at the gopchang restaurant.

“It appears they intend to recruit Hunter Park into that new project.”

“You don’t know the concrete details, right?”

“Correct.”

I would probably have to meet them face-to-face and hear it myself.

“Come with me, Director Baek.”

“Me as well?”

“I’d like you to judge whether the Rift Bureau’s proposal is any good.”

“Thank you for placing your trust in me.”

“What time’s the appointment?”

“Six o’clock this evening. The location is that same gopchang place.”

Hmm. I could never say no to gopchang.

“I’ll stop by the Hunter Market first and time it so I get there right on schedule.”

“Understood. Then I’ll finish wrapping things up here and head over.”

Director Baek answered with firm energy.

It had been several days since my last visit to the Hunter Market.

“Got a lot more to buy today.”

First I picked up a few pieces of gear for Ingrid.

“How about this outfit?”

“Hmm. It doesn’t really suit me.”

Aha. So our Ingrid was the type of retainer who cared about looks as much as performance?

No helping it. Time to break out the cheat key.

Tight leather pants under the apprentice-witch outfit, plus a softly floating orb—together they looked almost exactly like the figure I had seen in my dreams.

“Oh my! I’m so moved!”

“Hmm. It suits her well. As expected, My Lord’s aesthetic sense is remarkable.”

Flattery will get you everywhere. I’d figured anything close to her past-life fashion would pass inspection. And I’d still made sure the performance was solid—mana amplification plus an escape skill for emergencies.

I was looking around to see if there was anything else worth buying when she spoke up.

“That ring over there—doesn’t it look decent?”

It boosted mana by a full 25 percent, and the amplification option was sky-high. The stats were good enough that you could almost believe it was Unique-grade. The problem sat right underneath.

“Ugh. Insensitivity?”

The insensitivity penalty was a mage hunter’s natural enemy. It wasn’t simply that mana rearrangement slowed down. Your very senses dulled, which also tanked spell success rates. The first two options were excellent, but the debuff had dragged the whole thing down to Rare-grade.

“That’s actually perfect for me.”

“Huh?”

“A little insensitivity like that is no penalty for me.”

Origin of Magic was said to be largely unaffected by debuffs related to mana control. Which meant I was fine too, right?

“Even without the ability’s help, a penalty of this level is nothing to a great witch.”

Oh. Look at that confidence.

“As expected of the Witch of the Solar Eclipse.”

“Hohoho.”

Strip away the Mana Insensitivity penalty and it was an item that rivaled Unique grade. I bought it and handed it to Ingrid.

“Master, I have one request.”

“What is it?”

“Would you put the ring on my finger yourself?”

“Begone! Cease your schemes, magic-wielder!”

Sir Isra exploded in outrage.

“Tch.”

The shopping total came to two hundred million. The Prismatic Orb and Long Horn leather gear had been pretty expensive. The Ring of the Dullard, on the other hand, I’d practically gotten for free.

“Thank you so much, customer!”

Must have been stuck as dead stock.

On the byproduct side, nothing particularly eye-catching turned up.

“A shame there are no byproducts carrying special options.”

“You can’t hit the jackpot every single time.”

Draco alone had already been an enormous windfall. Even if I wanted to craft more, there simply weren’t any materials on the market.

In their place I bought a large quantity of the reagents needed for Zombie Enhanced Soldiers. Just knowing the recipe didn’t make the success rate 100 percent, after all.

“You’ll be using them for further research as well, won’t you?”

“You read me like a book.”

“No one understands Master’s heart better than this maiden.”

Absorbed in shopping, time slipped past in a flash.

“Yikes. Gonna be late.”

I stuffed everything into the subspace carrier and headed for the destination.

A weathered sign that had clearly seen better years.

“You’ve arrived.”

Director Baek, who had gotten there first, gave me a light nod.

“Yep. You’re early.”

Ten minutes before the appointment. I’d figured I wouldn’t be late, but the man was diligent.

“Someone arrived even earlier than I did.”

Ah. Ahh.

“Is the Director of the Counter-Abnormal Bureau inside?”

“Yes. When I got here ten minutes ago, the Counter-Abnormal Bureau’s official vehicle was already parked.”

So he had shown up at least twenty minutes early. Talk about pressure.

“Don’t let it bother you too much.”

“Still, it’s Director Jeong Seungil we’re talking about.”

“The side making the request is the Rift Bureau. So hold your head high.”

Right. Today I was here to listen to what the Rift Bureau had to say. Let’s hear whatever proposal they had prepared.

“Hoo.”

I let out a long breath, then gave the shabby door a light push and stepped inside.

“Welcome, Hunter Park Minho.”

The second time I had ever laid eyes on one of Korea’s heroes. Director Jeong Seungil, wearing his usual rigid expression, gestured toward a seat.

“It’s been a while, Director.”

“And you must be Director Baek Seonghyeon of Chilseong. A pleasure.”

“I’m now CEO Baek of Seungcheon Agency.”

Director Baek took a quiet position at my side.

“And also the man who will speak on behalf of our Hunter Park Minho.”

“Very well. In that case we ought to order plenty of food.”

The grill plate began to heat up.

Or maybe it was the atmosphere itself that was starting to burn.