Chapter 9
Chapter 9
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 09
Chapter Title: American dream (2)
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David's hand was covered in blood.
It was a wound from slamming the desk just moments ago.
He was grateful and sorry that David had gotten so worked up over something that wasn't even his own business, even injuring his hand in the process.
Seo Dae-hyun used his Heal skill to treat David's hand.
It worked not just on soldiers, but on ordinary people as well.
That was the difference from soldiers.
The recovery was slower than when he'd healed the Bear Wolf's wound.
The effect seemed to be halved, roughly.
Even so, it rivaled the recovery skill of a top-tier healer.
"Thank you."
"It's nothing."
A-Rank healers were in short supply compared to demand, holding value comparable to S-Rank combat hunters.
And his main class wasn't even healer, but Necromancer.
'It's nothing!?')
The fact that he could use Heal alongside summoning abilities was outright cheat-level.
"Hah—"
David let out a sigh without realizing it.
"Is something wrong?"
Seo Dae-hyun asked, wondering if the wound on David's hand wasn't healing properly.
It had been a long time since he'd used Heal on a 'person.'
"No, it's fine."
David let out a hollow chuckle.
The situation was just too absurd.
"Hunter Seo Dae-hyun, you seem different from the typical hunters I know."
They said ripe barley bends its head low.
Seo Dae-hyun's humble demeanor, not getting arrogant about his abilities, left a strong impression.
At his age, most would want to show off their power.
'The more I see, the more I want him.')
David had taken a liking to him from the start, knowing he was ex-military.
His own father, also a soldier, had died in war, so he empathized deeply with his pain.
'To discard a true soldier like that!')
It still made him angry just thinking about it.
Regardless of Seo Dae-hyun's abilities, discarding a soldier who'd sacrificed for his country like a used rag was unthinkable in America.
Even after enduring such injustice in Korea, he recounted it all flatly, without a trace of emotion.
David brought up the naturalization request.
It was something to discuss with the president, association chairman, and congressmen, but there was no harm in looking into it now.
In the meantime, as he hesitated with honest feelings, he didn't want to let him slip away.
Pride and negotiation battles were set aside.
After hearing his story, David’s resolve had softened.
If this was calculated, it was impressive in a whole other way.
They'd skipped the long drawn-out process and gone straight to wrapping up the negotiations.
Normally, hunter naturalizations took six months at the fastest, or one to two years at the longest.
Anyone could see Seo Dae-hyun had no reason to feel pressed.
With his abilities, any country would welcome him with state honors.
David was prepared to take responsibility and push through whatever demands he made.
Of course, once his abilities were revealed, it would sail through smoothly.
There was no demand for revenge against Korea among the naturalization requests.
"...Who in the world hates their own country?"
Seo Dae-hyun didn't hate the Republic of Korea.
There was plenty he was grateful for in Korea.
He'd received the grace of being raised despite being an orphan.
The targets of his revenge weren't Korea itself, but the Ministry of National Defense, Military Manpower Administration, and Hunter Association.
If the Dungeon Gate rating equipment he'd entered had been accurate...
If there'd been no supply corruption, his comrades wouldn't have died.
Seo Dae-hyun's reason for going to America was to dismantle Korea's unjust system.
He didn't want another soldier to go through what he had.
And revenge was something he'd handle with his own hands, not borrow someone else's for.
He would use them, though.
Even so, he doubted it would change the Military Manpower Administration or Ministry of National Defense.
Seo Dae-hyun continued.
"Don't process them as deceased."
David tilted his head while listening to his requests.
"What do you mean by that?"
No death processing if the family or the person themselves wanted it.
He couldn't grasp what that implied at all.
They were already dead—could they really choose not to be processed as such by their own will?
Seo Dae-hyun glanced at Kyle.
He thought he'd relayed all his abilities to David.
As expected, Kyle had reported his abilities to David in the meantime.
He'd been so captivated by the power he'd shown that he'd momentarily overlooked the crucial essence.
Suddenly, David recalled a monster among the summoned soldiers that closely resembled a human in appearance.
"Ah?!"
He'd received the report from Kyle but hadn't listened closely.
The necromancy wasn't limited to monsters.
Seo Dae-hyun nodded emphatically.
It wasn't a monster resembling a human—it was a real human.
Handling the dead raised human rights issues.
Especially using the unconscious as one's limbs was a desecration of the dead and a violation of human rights.
There had to be a reason if it was Seo Dae-hyun.
He decided to hear him out first.
The reason for using the dead as summons was understandable.
In that situation, it had been the only choice.
The problem was afterward.
Of the five dead, he'd released three and kept two, based on the families' and their own wills, making release impossible.
"Wait. Their own?"
Something didn't add up.
Of the five, three were released, leaving two—but only one soldier had been visible then.
"One soldier is resting at his parents' house. He has his consciousness, you see."
David turned to look at Kyle.
He didn't say it, but he knew.
"It's true. Other agents saw it too, not just me."
Even Kyle wouldn't have believed it if he hadn't seen it himself.
Commanding the dead was an ability that could shake the world.
If it even restored their pre-death consciousness...
Chicken skin rose on David's forearms in an instant.
After seeing him summon soldiers and use Heal, he'd thought there was nothing left to surprise him with.
He was wrong.
Regardless of rank, his abilities were on par with national-level power.
"We can't reveal that ability."
"Please keep it secret for the time being."
Secrets always came out eventually, but it was too early now.
He could even get kidnapped by other S-Rank hunters.
Seo Dae-hyun's current rank was C-Rank.
His potential was SSS-Rank, but his current rank was C.
David rested his chin on his hand and groaned.
He wanted to inform the president and association chairman right away for naturalization, but the necromancer ability held him back.
He needed to proceed more cautiously.
"Branch Chief. How about measuring Hunter Seo Dae-hyun's rank first?"
Kyle suggested.
Come to think of it, neither of them knew his rank.
Only Seo Dae-hyun himself did.
Even if he said C-Rank, they probably wouldn't believe it.
Since he'd reawakened, he needed a rank inspection.
Hunters were legally required to measure their rank once a year.
"Can we postpone the rank measurement?"
"It's not a problem on our end, but it might complicate the naturalization process."
The branch chief had authority to delay it.
"May I ask why you'd like to postpone the rank measurement?"
Hunter naturalization wasn't a standard case.
Under the Hunter Special Act, the minimum rank required was B-Rank.
But Seo Dae-hyun's was C-Rank.
Seo Dae-hyun wanted to measure it only after reaching a 'safe' minimum S-Rank.
"I'd like to do it after preparing a bit more."
David nodded.
"Understood."
The deadline was three months from now.
He needed to be at least S-Rank by then.
At minimum, S-Rank.
By then, he'd have built enough power to protect himself against the world's power players.
It might sound impossible, but only Seo Dae-hyun with SSS-Rank potential could do it.
He was the first to have SSS-Rank potential behind his rank.
Seo Dae-hyun had precedent for jumping from F-Rank to A-Rank.
It hadn't even been a full day since awakening.
It wouldn't be too late even after getting a bit more used to his power.
The one feeling the pinch was the other side, not him.
David wanted to grant him citizenship on the spot but held back.
In this situation, Seo Dae-hyun was the one in the driver's seat.
He had no choice but to go along with what he wanted.
After Seo Dae-hyun left, only David and Kyle remained.
"David, is it really okay to let him go like this?"
He'd expected him to push the naturalization through to the end, but this was unexpected. Backing down?
"Building trust requires long patience."
"Still, granting his requests before he's even naturalized— isn't that too hasty?"
David had pulled strings to avoid death reports for Michael and Kim Hyun-jun.
Kyle continued in a worried tone.
"What if he naturalizes somewhere else..."
"Do you think Seo would do that?"
"...You never know with people."
Even if he was a good person, there was no guarantee he wouldn't waver under temptation.
Rationality, alcohol, gambling— everyone had their weaknesses.
David understood Kyle's concerns.
"Don't lump him in with ordinary hunters."
Seo Dae-hyun was someone who needed special handling in America.
To win his favor, they had to do whatever it took.
"We can't give him citizenship yet, but we can grant permanent residency."
"Even with permanent residency, without citizenship..."
He could still leave.
He didn't say it outright, but David read Kyle's mind with keen insight.
David smirked and said,
"I'm planning to appoint Seo as our state's hunter."
Each city had designated hunters from the association responsible for their districts.
Guardians of the city, essentially.
With gate outbreaks becoming more frequent lately, they desperately needed a high-rank hunter.
Granting him permanent residency was the bare minimum qualification to become an Iowa State Hunter.
Usually, verified A-Rank or higher hunters took those roles.
"But Hunter Seo Dae-hyun's rank is D-Rank."
Since they'd postponed measurement, the association's records showed D-Rank.
His actual rank was C-Rank, just one step higher, but neither knew his precise rank.
They assumed it was A-Rank.
No one would believe that Heal was from a C-Rank hunter.
Seo Dae-hyun had started as an E-Rank healer and raised his rank treating severe casualties on the battlefield.
That was why his healing mana purity was higher than other healers'.
Asking for time to prepare meant he wasn't S-Rank yet.
The three months sounded like prep time to reach S-Rank.
David intended to support him materially and otherwise to make him S-Rank.
"There's no law saying a D-Rank awakener can't be a city's state hunter."
Among America's 50 states, handling one as a hunter wasn't for just anyone.
Iowa State's recent dungeon gate mana waves were abnormal, so headquarters had approved it.
S-Rank hunters could take it easily if they wanted, but A-Rank and below faced fierce competition.
Not all 50 states even implemented it—actually fewer than 20.
It was a position of honor and fame.
There were frequent cases of A-Rank hunters becoming state hunters and advancing to S-Rank.
They got priority authority to raid city dungeons.
Hiring an Iowa State Hunter required the branch chief's strong influence.
Since taking the position, he'd turned down bribes from those wanting to become one.
"Wasn't Ryu Jin originally slated for that spot?"
Ryu Jin was the Chinese S-Rank hunter David had recently connected with.
David had met him because Iowa's dungeon outbreak rates might increase.
Naturalizing a Chinese hunter outright was risky in many ways.
Most Chinese-origin hunters pretended to naturalize, acted as spies, then returned to China.
So the plan was to grant U.S. permanent residency first, appoint him Iowa State Hunter, and monitor for one to two years.
Ryu Jin versus Seo Dae-hyun.
"Who would you choose?"
He could only pick one.
The answer was clear.
Even if Ryu Jin was slightly stronger now, Seo Dae-hyun would surpass him upon reaching S-Rank.
He hoped he'd become an American citizen in earnest.
A young man who'd risked his life for his country deserved that much value.