Black Slime Material Delivery (1)

Kang Eunyoung's next lesson wasn't scheduled for another three weeks, so there wasn't much different from what I'd been doing up until now. Carrying out B-rank requests to qualify for a B-rank promotion, and gathering as many awakening points as possible through maximum sex. For the time being, I'd decided to focus solely on those two activities.

Getting affiliated with a company was a necessary step to climb even higher anyway, so performing B-rank ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠requests was something I'd have to keep doing regardless. On top of that, there was the special request I'd received from senior Choi Hwayoung, which was separate from any company affiliation and likely something I'd continue handling going forward. In this world, connections with pharmacists who catered to awakeners were just as crucial as ties to weapon craftsmen.

Gathering awakening points through sex was a must, especially since the recent Kraken subjugation had heightened my sense of crisis—and accumulating points was the core way to make myself stronger in the first place.

Thanks to the sex with Do Sihee on the yacht, and the sessions over two days with Eunyoung noona and Hyeun, I'd managed to recover my awakening points from rock bottom to this level. From now on, my goal was to keep at least 500 points in reserve. With that much, I'd have a way to escape or resolve any crisis.

Of course, during the Kraken ambush, I'd had over 1,200 points saved up and still nearly died—so if anything, it was just bad luck. Killing that thing required the mithril greatsword anyway, and dumping nearly all my remaining points into it had turned out to be the right call in the end. I'd lost the points, but the weapon remained—a semi-permanent tool I could keep using indefinitely.

Mithril or not, it wasn't completely maintenance-free, so I'd need to consult a weapon craftsman with the know-how every now and then. But that could be handled by having Eunyoung noona introduce me to that acquaintance of hers whenever the time came.

Lost in those thoughts, I realized I'd arrived at the Hunter Association Gangdong Branch before I knew it. It felt like ages ago—over a month, even—since my last visit about five days back, though all the chaos lately made it unavoidable.

After entering the Hunter Association, I headed to the request counter to pick up the requests Esilra had selected, just like last time. That's when I ran into something unexpected.

"Ah, it's been a while, Mr. Kim Sungcheol."

The guide at the counter actually remembered my face.

...Even though I hadn't shown her my hunter badge yet.

Sure, someone could argue it wasn't strange since I'd handled plenty of requests here—but that ignored the artifact I was using entirely.

The Mystery Mask was supposed to blur my features to anyone who didn't already know my face. I touched my face just to check, but the mask was firmly in place, as expected.

Sensing something off, I mentally asked Esilra about it.

'What's going on, Esilra? Isn't the Mystery Mask supposed to make people unable to recognize me?'

'In one-off encounters, it blurs the impression enough to prevent memory retention. However, repeated meetings while wearing the mask can sometimes lead to recognition of the altered impression.'

'...So it defeats the purpose of hiding my identity?'

'For those unaware of the face behind the mask, the artifact creates an entirely new impression, so they can't connect it to your original face, Master.'

'...Ah, got it.'

So wearing the mask was akin to transforming into someone else entirely—not the human male Sung Taekyung, but some ambiguous figure whose gender was unclear, age hard to guess, and features hard to recall. Still, enough repeated encounters would stick in memory, which explained why the request counter guide—who I'd seen frequently lately—had memorized this new face.

'It doesn't make me look like a guy, right?'

'The artifact gives a neutral appearance, but given that you've completed multiple B-rank requests, Master, it's unlikely they'd assume you're male.'

'Good, that's perfect.'

It was exactly the functionality I'd hoped for. There were plenty of people—like this guide or others I needed to meet incognito—where maintaining this impression for ongoing interactions was actually beneficial. In my book, it was the most efficient setup possible.

"...Mr. Kim Sungcheol?"

"Ah, sorry. I was lost in thought for a second."

I apologized to the guide for leaving her hanging after her greeting, then promptly showed my hunter badge and accepted one of the requests Esilra had scouted.

I took just one instead of three because today was finally the day to deliver the Black Slime materials to senior Choi Hwayoung. With one request already in hand, grabbing two more risked missing the delivery deadline. I'd already texted her this morning to confirm my visit.

It was a trust-based ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠deal, after all—no need to start off on the wrong ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠foot. I'd already delayed once, which made me a bit anxious anyway.

Even setting aside awakening points, building ties with a potion-maker was valuable in itself. Worst case, I could always pass them on to Hyeun, Cha Yuri, Sihee, or Mina to use.

The points were just a bonus.

"Request accepted, Mr. Kim Sungcheol."

"Thanks."

As I turned to head to the dungeon entrance counter with my badge, the guide called out again.

"One moment, Mr. Kim Sungcheol."

"Yes?"

"There's also a message from the guild."

A message from the guild? Usually handled by the request counter staff? When I asked, she explained right away.

"We didn't have your phone number on file, so we couldn't contact you. Since you always stop by the request counter, I volunteered to pass it along."

"...I see. Sorry for the hassle."

...Karma, all of it.

"No, no—that's not it. About the message."

"Yes."

"Your B-rank promotion exam is coming up soon. If you'd rather not take it, please let us know now."

Finally.

All those bottom-tier requests I'd grinded must have paid off—the Association was finally scheduling my B-rank promotion.

They probably didn't want to leave a talent like me stuck at C-rank forever. This was the perk of the Association's fast-track promotion system.

Of course, I felt a twinge of guilt since I planned to jump to a company right after promoting...

But I couldn't let sentiment derail my goal of becoming the world's top hunter.

"I'll take ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the exam."

"Understood. I'll inform the higher-ups of your intent..."

"When's the exam date? I could do it tomorrow... or even today. As soon as possible, if you can."

"Ah, no! The date needs coordination—we can't rush it like that!"

"...Sorry."

Excited about the promotion, I'd made a fool of myself. I apologized to the flustered guide.

"We've confirmed your intent, so the guild will arrange a proctor—likely an A-rank hunter, though a B-rank might step in if no one's available."

"Got it."

"We'll coordinate the date with the proctor and let you know. We'll aim for the earliest possible slot per your request, so please wait a bit."

"Appreciate it."

After a few more guidelines on the exam, I headed to the dungeon entrance counter—where, predictably, another greeting awaited.

"Ah, Mr. Kim Sungcheol. Which B-rank dungeon today?"

If even this staffer remembered my face, I'd really been grinding hard.

"...Tar Pit Dungeon."

"Yes, sir. Activating the warp gate now—please step onto the platform."

As the pure white light whisked me to the Tar Pit Dungeon, I thought quietly to myself.

...Better to switch gigs quick, before I get too attached.