Chapter 18
Chapter 18
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: Iowa State Hunter (2)
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The next morning.
Seo Dae-hyun and Kim Hyun-jun arrived to pick up their father for discharge.
Since they needed to fit four people, they drove a Korean-made midsize sedan.
For a moment, his modest appearance had made them forget, but Kim Tae-seok was one of the major landowners in Iowa's breadbasket region.
He donated a portion of his earnings back to the local community and enjoyed thick trust from those around him.
Even through the rampant racial discrimination of 20 or 30 years ago, he had endured silently and risen to this position.
There was a meeting scheduled with Hunter Association agents, but it was in the afternoon, so they had some leeway.
"Why not rest a bit more before discharge?"
Park Mi-ju chimed in agreement with Seo Dae-hyun's words.
"Good grief, what am I supposed to do with this stubborn man? I swear, I'm not living out my days in peace because of him!"
"I nearly died, and you're talking about work in this situation?!"
Park Mi-ju scolded her husband, but Kim Tae-seok remained as unmoved as a rock.
"...The losses aren't minor."
The quality of the harvested corn had been damaged by the magical beast's attack.
As a boss leading employees below him, he carried a strong sense of responsibility.
This wasn't just his own affair.
Other employees could rest, but the boss couldn't afford to.
Naturally, the family opposed it.
They had barely managed to stop him from heading straight to work right after discharge.
He was tougher than anyone—a true man's man—but even he couldn't win against his wife, Park Mi-ju.
In the end, they compromised: he'd rest fully at home today and return to work tomorrow.
Heal
Saaaaah—
He cast the Heal skill toward Kim Tae-seok, who lay in bed.
Dark, thick healing mana seeped into Kim Tae-seok's body.
It sank slowly, like descending into the deep sea.
The hospital exam showed no issues, but Heal had the effect of stabilizing body and mind.
Kim Tae-seok set aside his worries and fell into a peaceful sleep.
Just for today, he needed to indulge in that rest.
While Kim Tae-seok slept, Seo Dae-hyun, Kim Hyun-jun, and Park Mi-ju gathered at the dining table to discuss.
They had come together to lighten their father's heavy burden, but no good ideas came to mind.
Farming was one thing; sales were an entirely different field.
Suddenly, Seo Dae-hyun thought of one person.
He made a call, and it was answered in less than a second.
The person on the line was David.
Unsure of how to handle this himself, Seo Dae-hyun sought David's advice on the spot.
It was less advice and more a silent plea.
David knew someone well-versed in business among his connections.
"...I see that's what happened."
David listened to Seo Dae-hyun's story and came up with a solution.
"I have a way, so no need to worry!"
David declared confidently.
Seo Dae-hyun didn't ask for details.
The final say on this matter belonged to Kim Tae-seok.
He decided to just bridge the gap between Kim Tae-seok and David, leaving the rest to them.
"I'll meet with President Kim Tae-seok to discuss this."
"If you're free this week, please come by."
Just then, his mother subtly asked if they could invite David over.
Thanks to David's call to the hospital, they had enjoyed a VIP room and a personal check-up from the director.
And now he was helping again.
"Call me whenever it's convenient, ma'am."
David didn't decline the invitation.
He had work to handle, but building ties with those around Dae-hyun was more important.
Seo Dae-hyun offered his belated thanks to David.
"...Thank you."
"Hahaha. It's only natural welfare for our state's hunter. And since it stemmed from our oversight, I'm the one who should be grateful."
At this point, he wasn't even officially an Iowa State Hunter yet.
David had made the call on his own before negotiations.
"Then, see you at the meeting."
They ended the call on a warm note.
All three wore faint smiles.
The issue was resolved.
"Hyung!"
"Dae-hyun!"
The two hugged Seo Dae-hyun tightly, expressing their gratitude.
David had solved it, but without Seo Dae-hyun, they wouldn't have even tried.
Connections with the branch chief weren't something just anyone had.
Seeing their joy, Seo Dae-hyun felt glad he'd become an Iowa State Hunter.
Having secured the hunter's privileges, now it was time to fulfill the duties.
He left home to attend the upcoming meeting.
Seo Dae-hyun arrived at the Hunter Association.
There had been a summons from the Association.
Seo Dae-hyun attended the meeting.
He couldn't skip an emergency meeting related to Iowa State.
The meeting proceeded informally.
They needed to prepare for far more gates appearing than before.
The purpose of this meeting was to discuss countermeasures.
Officially announcing this would cause at least 10% of Iowa's population to flee.
Before that, they had to swiftly analyze gate outbreak points and tackle them.
There were fewer than 10 people in the conference room.
David's eyes met Seo Dae-hyun's.
Seo Dae-hyun nodded slightly, giving silent permission.
"This is Seo Dae-hyun, our newly certified Iowa State Hunter."
These were the people he'd work with for the next year; no point hiding it.
It was already on the Association's notice board, even if in a tiny slot.
Seo Dae-hyun was prepared for his face to become known.
As long as he hid his Necromancer abilities, it would be fine.
Since he hadn't undergone re-awakening inspection, he was officially a Healer.
"I'll do my utmost to protect Iowa State."
Seo Dae-hyun gave a brief greeting and returned to his seat.
Clap clap clap!!!
More than half those gathered were combat agents.
Having witnessed Dae-hyun's abilities firsthand, they applauded enthusiastically without doubt.
The main meeting began.
......
Over an hour passed with no progress.
The rising gate probability was a given, but the issue was not knowing when they'd appear.
They needed to put out the most urgent fires first.
Dungeons normalized after a certain degree of raids.
The problem was the limited number of people who could run dungeon raids.
"How about bolstering security in densely populated urban areas?"
It was a policy implemented in cities with high dungeon outbreak rates.
Iowa State was famous for its agricultural cities.
If beasts attacked the breadbasket like yesterday, agricultural production would suffer massively.
They could embargo it once or twice, but it was only a matter of time before discovery.
And it happened right at peak harvest season.
Managing that vast breadbasket would inevitably weaken urban security.
Opinions clashed evenly: protect the breadbasket, Iowa's main revenue source, or safeguard the populated cities?
Then, Seo Dae-hyun, who had been listening quietly, raised his hand.
As an official U.S. certified hunter, he had speaking rights.
Everyone listened intently.
"Association agents handle the urban areas, and I'll take the outskirts."
The core issue was manpower shortage.
Seo Dae-hyun could fill that gap.
The breadbasket had no people, so his undead could operate freely.
This was perfect for him.
A few non-combat agents, unaware of his abilities, eyed him suspiciously.
"You might not realize how vast our state's breadbasket is, Hunter, but it's impossible alone."
"I know full well."
Before becoming Iowa State Hunter, he had been a farmer.
No one knew better than him how expansive those golden fields were.
He was confident.
"So, leave that problem to me."
David and Kyle decided to trust Seo Dae-hyun.
A 5-10km radius around a raided dungeon site wouldn't spawn new ones.
Managing the vast breadbasket solo sounded absurd, but if anyone could, it was him.
David had one concern.
Mana consumption.
Just as operating troops cost astronomical sums, he figured Dae-hyun's undead guzzled mana.
Considering his pride, David planned to persuade him later.
David and Kyle still didn't know the undead ran on demonic power, a Necromancer trait.
That was when it happened.
No sooner had words ended than a signal pinged: a dungeon raid generated.
Satellite coords and location popped up.
The site... the breadbasket again.
Association agents stayed at the branch, while four headed to the generated gate.
Another dungeon could pop in the city, and since Seo Dae-hyun vowed to handle breadbasket ones himself, they trusted and left it to him.
David, Kyle, May, and Seo Dae-hyun arrived on site.
Rumble rumble—
From the helicopter, they looked down at the gate's rift.
A charred patch amid fertile golden fields stood out like a gouged wound.
May opened her briefcase, pulled equipment, and measured the dungeon gate's rank.
1, 3, 5, 10%......
It was cutting-edge dungeon measurement gear.
Unlike the outdated military surplus, this was top-spec.
The U.S. valued hunters' lives, sparing no resources.
Not like places still using Korean War canteens after 70+ years.
"D-Rank dungeon?"
Seo Dae-hyun murmured the rank softly.
He intuitively gauged the mana leaking from the dungeon.
Military gauges errored often.
For survival, instinct sharpened automatically.
Even A-Rank hunters struggled to pinpoint below that instantly.
......98, 100%.
"D-Rank dungeon."
May confirmed.
It matched Seo Dae-hyun's guess.
May marveled at how he'd nailed it.
A- and S-Rank were obvious at a glance, but below required S-Rank senses to pinpoint.
"Um, Hunter Seo Dae-hyun. Are you really going in alone?"
To be precise, not alone, but he didn't nitpick.
"Wasn't that the condition?"
It was the stipulation for becoming Iowa State Hunter.
David had reluctantly added Kyle and May as escorts, but anxiety lingered.
Raiding a D-Rank needed at least six D-Rank hunters.
With Kyle as bodyguard, it eased worries somewhat.
"If you're that concerned, Branch Chief, come in with us."
He wanted to prove personally that their worries were unfounded.
David was the Association branch chief.
A key pillar of Iowa State.
Entering a dungeon unequipped was risky for him.
"David, it's dangerous."
Kyle grabbed David's shoulder, urging him to stay outside with May as planned.
"No. I'll join you."
His heart raced at the thought of entering a dungeon after so long.
David had retired from hunting five years ago.
Still, consistent self-care meant he could protect himself.
This was a chance to witness Seo Dae-hyun's abilities.
He'd left it to Kyle, but seeing beat hearing.
If danger arose, he'd persuade him then.
The four entered the dungeon gate.
Five minutes later.
Corpse Explosion
Boom boom boom BOOM!!!
"Th-this is..."
He was speechless.
'What the?!'
It was even more shocking than the footage.
David realized his assumptions were wrong.