Chapter 100: How to Inject Tension into a Lax Hunter World.
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 100: How to Inject Tension into a Lax Hunter World.
The next morning.
'I can't believe I'm actually a cadet.'
I honestly couldn't remember how long it had been since I last went to school.
Every time I went somewhere, a dungeon or a Gate would pop up, and I’d have to clear it.
Once cleared, I’d get a vacation as a reward, so I wouldn't show up at the Academy.
After repeating this cycle two or three times, the very act of going to the Academy felt incredibly foreign.
To think I’d spent more days away from school than actually attending since I transferred.
To an outsider, it would look like some delinquent was skipping classes on purpose.
'Before I go, let's do one last... check-up...'
I checked the remaining time on my Main Quest for the first time in a while.
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The remaining time for the NTL Quest is 329 days.
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An ambiguous timeframe—long if you consider it long, short if you consider it short.
Melanie was practically in the bag, but the reality was that I hadn't fully conquered any heroines other than Yu-min.
My Protagonist Share stood at 20.1%.
Based on a simple calculation I did before, there were four more women to come.
Heroines weren't like a game; there was no set estimate like "clearing one per month."
The fact that I conquered Yu-min so quickly? That was purely a stroke of luck.
Normally, it should be like Melanie—no opening for a sexual encounter, just gradually building up affection bit by bit.
Even today, despite hanging out together at the party, the only progress we made was "going to school together."
'It's not like I could have done anything else inside that car...'
It seemed there was no other way with Melanie and Ryu Hye-mi than to slowly build things up.
Melanie had recently entered the "fish tank" of her own accord, so she wasn't an issue.
The problem was Ryu Hye-mi, as I’d emphasized several times, but the situation had improved somewhat.
The biggest issue with Ryu Hye-mi was the lack of interaction.
However, thanks to the Club of Greed I obtained recently, that concern had vanished.
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Club of Greed :: This is the Club of Greed.
Originally, this was not intended to be obtained, but it is a mythical artifact acquired due to a reward distribution issue.
Originally an ordinary club, it became an artifact by accumulating various myths upon meeting Heracles.
As the owner has changed, all myths accumulated in the club are currently empty.
The Club of Greed's name changes according to the disposition of the user, Baek Tae-yang.
Confirmed: Recently used [Demonization] to crush an opponent in the state of [Corrupt Official].
The Club of Greed transforms into the 'Club of Greed.'
We hope you reach the level of myth through your own achievements.
List of Achievements currently contained in the Club of Greed:
[Corrupt Official] :: When striking with the Club of Greed, temporarily acquire the stats of the area struck.
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When I first got the Club of Greed, I wondered where I’d use it.
But if I showed this to Ryu Hye-mi, she’d definitely go crazy for it and stick to me like glue.
Moreover, if I told her it had changed specifically for me and explained the details, an opportunity would surely arise.
Since I’d already sprayed semen on her face once, the groundwork might be even easier.
Not bad.
After reaching a positive conclusion, I stepped out of the house.
"Why are you coming out so late? You're going to be late at this rate!"
A sharp, stinging voice greeted me the moment I opened the door.
It was Melanie, obviously.
After moving from the dormitory to a house the Bogeumjari team found for me, the distance to the Academy had increased.
If before it was a light walk, now it was a distance where taking a car made sense.
Anyway, that was why Melanie showed up in a limousine, which was excellent.
Being inside the car meant I didn't have to worry about Su-jin or Yu-min's reactions.
"How can I be late when we have a car? And if worst comes to worst, I can just hop out and ride Rocinante."
"I'm telling you to be prepared in advance. This is why you should have just moved into the house our side prepared from the start... Then we could have... gone to school together from the beginning without all this hassle... just..."
"Alright, I get what you're saying. Let's just go for now, or we really will be late."
It was something I realized late, but Melanie was a woman with a lot of hidden affection.
You could tell just by how she cautiously appealed to the benefits of being with her in that roundabout way.
If it were Yu-min, she would have bluntly suggested living together first.
I figured these differences were what solidified the rivalry between Yu-min and Melanie.
Their personalities were similar yet subtly different, and their ways of treating a lover had distinct characteristics.
'One thing's for sure: both are... too much for Min-su to handle.'
I looked at Melanie beside me as I got into the car.
"Why... why are you looking at me like that?"
"Just looking... I don't need a reason to look at you, do I?"
"Instead of doing that, shouldn't you be asking me what's been going on at the Academy lately?"
True.
I nodded at Melanie's words.
It had been so long since I’d been to the Academy that I couldn't even guess how far the curriculum had progressed.
"Really... you always make me look after you... Hmph! Since the number of Gates has been increasing lately, the frequency of dungeon training has gone up a lot... And..."
Melanie briefly summarized the current situation at Victory Academy.
Due to the surge in Gates and dungeons, the Academy instructors had become incredibly busy.
They were so short-handed that even 1st-year cadets were being dispatched to support F-Class Gates and dungeons.
"Lastly, the Always-Active Main Skill Holder Periodic Inspection is coming up soon."
"Ah... that?"
"Yes. You absolutely cannot miss this, no matter what happens."
The Always-Active Main Skill Holder Periodic Inspection.
It was a day where they gathered once a month to have their skill proficiency verified and their output officially adjusted.
Adjusting output inside a Gate was a very exceptional case.
There were opinions like, 'What if they die while limiting their output?'
However, the ultimate reason for limiting the output of an Always-Active Skill was the safety of the surroundings.
What if you unleashed the full limit of an Always-Active Skill to kill an enemy in front of you, but everyone else died in the aftermath?
It would be like burning down the entire thatched house just to catch one bug.
That was why my actions at the department store and the Don Quixote Gate couldn't be unconditionally defended.
From a consequentialist view, it was a happy ending because everyone survived, but from a procedural view, it was a gamble with everyone's lives.
"Other than that, there's not much else."
"Really? That's surprisingly little."
"I went through the trouble of telling you, so you're not just going to brush me off, are you?"
"Of course not. I haven't forgotten my gratitude."
"Honestly, your silver tongue..."
As we chatted about this and that, we were already inside the Academy.
The limousine stopped at the designated parking space, and as we stepped out, an unexpected figure appeared.
"Cadet Baek Tae-yang, did you rest well?"
The homeroom teacher of Class 1-A and one of the few Hunters described as the "strongest."
It was Jang Du-cheol.
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A few hours before Baek Tae-yang arrived at school.
The instructors were all gathered in the auditorium for a meeting.
"Although we are sending even 1st-years for dispatch due to the recent surge in Gates and dungeons, the numbers are still woefully insufficient."
"I have no idea why this is happening only in Korea. While the number of Gates is actually decreasing in other countries, it's only increasing here. We're at a point where we might need to request support from abroad."
"I believe the biggest problem is the self-interest of the Hunters. Of course, there are many who aren't like that, but with the recent surge in Gates and dungeons, more and more Hunters are excessively raising their commission fees."
"Those fools! Forgetting why they became Hunters in the first place and running around doing nonsense because they're blinded by wealth...! Even the cadets are struggling to clean up this mess!"
The meeting grew heated.
The main agenda was the discussion regarding the surging Gates and dungeons.
As the conversation suggested, the surge of Gates and dungeons occurring only in Korea, combined with the greed of the Hunters, was becoming a major issue.
If things continued like this, the image of Hunters as people who save others could turn into trash who weigh lives against money.
"Cadets Baek Tae-yang and Kim Min-su are returning this time. Won't the situation improve with their return?"
"Well, that's true. In this industry, skill is everything, and those two cleared two S-Class Gates at such a young age."
"But it's also ridiculous to say that. What are we going to do just because the cadets are skilled? Are we going to push them into Gates when they should still be protected?"
The heated meeting went in circles, seemingly destined never to reach a conclusion.
"Then how about we try this?"
That was when Jang Du-cheol, who had been silent, spoke up.
As Jang Du-cheol continued, the expressions of the instructors began to change by the second.
A few clapped in approval, while others looked reluctant, their eyes signaling disapproval.
"That method would certainly inject some tension into this lax Hunter world."
A completely new way to reform Hunters whose brains had rotted with greed.
The start of it all rested on Baek Tae-yang and Kim Min-su.