The Hunter of the Other World Who Is Being Misunderstood Chapter 390: Don't Live a Life of Sin (3)

Chapter 390: Don't Live a Life of Sin (3)

But they couldn't just stay silent forever. Prioritizing efficiency, the true mage side was the first to shift the topic.

"Anyway, are you going to use the textbook I made?"

"Oh, yes, yes. Of course."

"Then please sign here. I couldn't find a copy of [Knight's Oath], so I got one of a slightly lower grade. Still, if we break the promise, we'll both get notified."

"The main condition is just to keep it a secret?"

"If it cos out that I know these tips, a dozen more S-ranks like the ones we saw at the main gate earlier will show up."

"OK. I understand."

It wasn't long before their agreent was finalized. Setting aside the fact that he had even ntioned [Justitia] to show confidence in his physical condition.

"Above all, I was wondering how I'd manage to make ti for classes, since it's so hard to step away from work..."

Good. The idea of improving basic skills this way sounded quite appealing to a busy modern person.

"Oh, and just so you know, learning through writing alone might not work well. If you really get stuck, I'll personally guide you. But there's absolutely no refund."

At that mont, Kim Giryeo voiced his concerns, but from the Earthling's perspective, the chances of success actually seed quite high.

"Anyway, there are ditation books and weight training books in this world. Why wouldn't it be possible to practice skills through writing?"

The contract was finalized more smoothly than expected.

"Ah."

And at the very mont the coffee he had asked his subordinate to prepare arrived in the room.

Click.

While Esther was reviewing the contract, Kim Giryeo briefly wondered whether he should knock over the coffee cup. But as he kept his mind busy, a phrase that was just right to say happened to co to him.

"Hunter Esther, earlier you asked why I'm sharing the know-how only with you."

"Hmm?"

It wasn't exactly far from the truth.

There was a perfectly good reason to hide all the ugly parts, yet he couldn't rember it earlier. Putting the question aside, Kim Giryeo continued the conversation.

"I think the reason I'm sharing tips with the country's top-ranked first and second is exactly because of that."

"How...?"

"Just like I've done until now, I hope that you'll continue to protect the people of this country (including when I retire)..."

"..."

"And to do that kind of work, it helps to be even a little strong. Unfortunately, there aren't any other hunters whose character has been verified besides you..."

This should sound reasonably convincing. Of course, behind it were honest thoughts like, 'If I hadn't already spent labor creating the book, I might have pretended to forget the promise I made to you,' or, 'Is there any reason I wouldn't increase my disciples other than laziness?' But Kim Giryeo smoothly skipped over these and returned to pondering the coffee.

"..."

But it was at the very mont when he, an Alphauri, finally attempted to spill the liquid as if by accident.

He explained the reasoning behind sharing the information, saying that people who care about the nation should grow stronger and continue to have a positive impact on South Korea.

Clatter-clatter.

Sohow, the woman who had been consuming caffeine in an unstable posture finally began to think.

"Damn, there really was an awakened agent."

To think that the reason he moved, refusing even the billions a country like the U.S. could offer, was sothing so trivial.

"That's true. Our country didn't abolish the intelligence agency just because of a dungeon shock. Naturally, soone working there would always have been sowhere, perfectly fine."

It was almost impossible to let it slide without misunderstanding.

"But when I asked my grandfather, he said the current president doesn't know Kim Giryeo... Then is this so kind of high-level secrecy? Or could it be that he didn't start operating only under the current administration...?"

Even the previously realistic leader of the large guild had fallen into a quagmire. Moreover, the fact that a re twenty-sothing youth held superior information alone was bound to raise serious questions.

Just like the chanism that had fooled Jung Haseong, she too had fallen into the misconception that 'this has to be the way for everything to fit together."

"I..."

For reference, before her awakening, Seo Esther was still just an ordinary recluse. At the sa ti, she had a strong interest in popular culture. Soon, she raised a question based on a long-standing curiosity.

"B... but, could I ask one more quick question?"

"Yes."

"Agents... when operating secretly overseas, do they really disguise themselves with silicone human-skin masks like in the movies?"

"Haha."

"Nowadays, they'd probably mostly use items. Well, artifacts, if you think about it, can get detected quickly because of the mana..."

"What's that... No, really, what on earth are you talking about all of a sudden?"

Huh? Isn't this an Earth-style joke?

By the ti Kim Giryeo began to question it, he was already a step too late. Rushing to verify the facts afterward, he found that Jung Haseong and Esther had only received ergency treatnt at the hospital. In reality, they hadn't even spent half a day together in the sa room.

"So you hadn't heard it from Hunter Jung Haseong... No, now that I think about it, he did pass out halfway through, didn't he?"

"Yes!"

"Why did I assu that all the lies had been explained as a matter of course? Was my mind out of it because of the 128 missed calls...?"

Before the situation worsened, Kim Giryeo decided to correct the nonsense he had spouted. But even as he finally began to explain his intentions seriously, a question popped out—"Instead, could you explain how als are provided in secret national agencies?"—leaving the alien embarrassed.

***

Alien. Special agent. Alien special agent. Special agent alien.

No matter how I arranged the words, it ford a term I didn't even want to utter. After all, it wasn't that I admitted such suspicions himself just because I was in a hurry to make money...

'Esther was sohow persuaded. I even sent a ssage to Jung Haseong a little late, but I wonder if it was properly received?'

Anyway, it wasn't long after that painful conversation.

"Hmm."

I finally finished all my tasks and returned ho. Any inquiries about the sparring matches could just be ignored on my end. By now, I had also mastered how to quietly handle the imdiate chaos with airplane mode or do-not-disturb mode.

'Since my job already involves frequently going to dungeons—areas with no communication—this is sothing I really should use just once.'

Those many foreign mammals who insisted they wanted to get hit hadn't followed this far—presumably not crazy enough to break into my ho. So I enjoyed a rare mont of leisure in my own plane, which I had not-for-disturb money.

Slurp.

Ah, for reference, that was the sound of drinking from a glass. I hadn't ntioned it before, but the swimming pool construction I had already paid for was recently completed safely.

'It's refreshing.'

The place I'm at now is a private swimming pool in the backyard of my mansion. Yes. A swimming pool! I finally got my hands on that long-dread-of Earth-made structure. Plus, thanks to acquiring a valuable unique-tier item, I managed to avoid the tax delinquency crisis. Today, I could just spend the whole day soaking in the water... but...

'Still, I should finish my drink and get in quickly. My experints are running behind.'

The topic currently on my mind wasn't about the soul, of course. I'm still too lacking in capability to pursue such a high-level inquiry.

The environnt of Earth. The weather. The detailed types of organisms. And most importantly, the structure of this body I inhabit, among other things.

At this point, personal study held little significance. If you asked who knows Earthlings best in this world, of course, there would be only one clear answer.

'For the ti being, I'll look at books written by Earth's scholars.'

Speaking of books, it reminded ... I successfully sold my handmade book to Esther—No, not that. It's fortunate that, true to a noble Archmage, I kept the promise I made. If Esther's lessons proceed smoothly, I'll have not only the taxes covered but also enough living expenses for the ti being.

'My only pleasure is watching the news. Maybe it's about ti I replace the OLED TV.'

That's right. After all, I'm not taking this money to the afterlife. From now on, I might as well use it wisely and live comfortably.

I kicked the water a few tis with my feet and then quietly slipped out of the pool.

'Even though it's still winter, swimming outdoors in cold water... If it weren't for the tall fence, word would've spread through the neighborhood that I'm crazy—'

There are two types of gold in this universe that we should absolutely cherish. One is just 24k gold, and the other is the ti of the present, which is the present mont.

***

"Hmm."

A few days later.

'By the way, I just got curious—if the human tailbone is a remnant of evolution, does that an it could disappear completely without causing any problems?'

Today is Tuesday.

'Has there really a tail here to begin with? But I guess I shouldn't just remove it recklessly, since it seems to help distribute weight when sitting...'

Yet on a date perfectly suited for going to work, I found myself in a dimly lit room. After all, I had already gotten so work done during the early to mid stages of the [Great Cataclysm]. Now, I could spend my days leisurely without worrying about society's criticism.

'In the end, I guess I should keep the tailbone. Still, for so reason, hearing that it's an underdeveloped evolutionary remnant makes want to get rid of it...'

I found small joys in everyday life. Around this ti of year, street vendors began appearing all over town. Fish-shaped pastries and warm fish cakes—foods familiar to Earthlings—were still seasonal events I had only encountered a few tis.

Lately, I have been enjoying Earth's various cultures again, repeatedly reminding myself how wonderful this planet was. But no matter how little sleep I needed thanks to body modifications, there was no real reason to wander around late at night.

'I haven't upgraded my night vision yet, either.'

Still, I spent more ti researching various things than just going out to have fun.

[Tiring]

But it was while I was passing the ti, fiddling with books from Earth.

[Task Reminder: Dungeon 1]

My phone flashed, delivering this ssage. I had marked it briefly in case I forgot. It ant that the activation date of the scroll I had confiscated from Andy Oliver was approaching.

'Ah, that's it. The ti when this artifact warned of this year's special gate appearing.'

This wasn't sothing I wrote on my calendar for anyone to see, but the dungeon that would appear today had the following characteristics.

[Upon defeating the boss, epic-tier or higher loot is guaranteed 100%]

Moreover, the scroll didn't even specify the exact next difficulty.

'Maybe even an F-rank dungeon could turn out to be a treasure trove of sudden fortune.'

But as my indifferent reaction after checking the phone alarm showed, the location of that coveted gate is in a distant foreign country, so the chances of any Korean person would actually be quite low...

I've told them to keep an eye on that guilty pixie-like Arican to see if any trouble arises, but honestly, under these conditions, it doesn't seem likely that any wealthy person would risk their life over it.

The conditions of this gate were far too lacking to stir the Archmage into action. So I rely inford the information for a mont and, without taking any particular steps, simply returned my focus to the studies I had been pursuing.

.

.

.

However, just a few hours later—

'It hasn't even been that long since I thought nothing would go wrong...'

Tik.

I ca up from the mansion's basent, where I had been reading, and picked up my phone.

'Is that a failure report from that guy, Andy-whatever?'

On this Earth-style electronic device, an unwelco text ssage had arrived. According to the foreign worker I had planted in advance, today's troubleso gate didn't seem to have any illegal claimants going after it—yet it had appeared with a difficulty level far too low to ignore with ease.

[Andy: What you asked of was to monitor so that the artifact's information would not be misused.

Our contract contains no guarantee about clearing gates.

Moreover, since I can no longer use the scroll's information for it gains, I am in fact strictly prohibited from attempting a monopoly raid.

Therefore, would it be acceptable if I now transfer the authority over this gate back to its original jurisdiction?]

Even if there's a spell forbidding selfish desires, he could just get around it by donating the items obtained from the raid back. But why on earth did that pixie bastard suddenly start bowing his head and trembling like that?

'What kind of dungeon has appeared? There wasn't anything noteworthy in the scroll, though?'

I ordered him to deliver the classified information. Before the response delay set by the contract had even fully passed, the other party quickly produced a new translation and sent it as a ssage.

Let's see. For now, the spawn location and the dungeon's basic structure don't seem to deviate at all from the item's [Prophecy]...

'Shall I take a closer look?'

Before long, the first special pre-announced gate of the year revealed itself. This case followed a path similar to the urban legend of chain letters that were said to be popular on Earth back in the '90s. In other words, it all began in the U.S.

An endless black field. A lone fortress with jet-black outer walls. And a passage to another world, where several beasts with crushing grip strength—enough to tear a person apart alive—were discovered.

This ti, the newly appeared monster nest in England was not to be. On top of that, the asured gate's magic level was only around lower-tier A. In other words, it was weak.

'It might sound unpleasant to ordinary folks like Seonwoo Yeon, but to be blunt, that level of feeding box is sothing any country can handle these days, isn't it?'

But such complacent assumptions were quickly overturned. Foreigners who secretly attempted the first hunt ended up tasting bitter failure one after another. It happened because that particular gate exploited the chronic weaknesses of primitive sorcerers.

[Additionally: "That dungeon unleashes powerful ntal attacks, so be careful."]

It was a feeding box that made one wonder if it was truly an A-rank or closer to EX-rank—one that demanded more from hunters than sheer physical force. That was the summary of the situation.

"Hmm."

But to sum it all up with just the phrase "ntal attack" was too simplistic... The abnormal condition first reported in that gate was peculiar in many ways. Normally, the kind of brainwashing a monster inflicted would only leave people a bit drowsy or disoriented.

And the logic behind it was simple—if they were rely dulled, it would make them easier to devour. Yet, in the case of that prophesied gate, those who fell into its abnormal state seed to show a reaction quite unlike anything seen before.

[Status Ailnt: Aggression]

'So it changes a person's very temperant to the point that you'd have to call it that?'

To think it could turn ordinary humans suddenly sharp-edged. Well, as long as it's not the sa trick so cult leader once used, mind-control magic is already well-known for being able to produce all sorts of effects.

"Oh."

But the hired hunters who returned from the gate in England reportedly suffered from symptoms far beyond what humanity had anticipated. It wasn't called "Aggression" for nothing—every one of them suddenly developed a violently hostile disposition.

'So inside the gate, so inexplicable rage wells up, making you waste your strength on unnecessarily weak enemies—is that it?'

After making an ergency escape from the problematic space, one foreign hunter reportedly continued to suffer from the effect, lashing out indiscriminately at those around him until he was physically restrained. Andy Oliver whined about the ss they had to clean up, but I decided to ignore that part for now.

"Good grief. A gate has appeared that mass-produces foreign versions of Kang Changho."

But the fortunate part was that once they ca out of the gate, their condition quickly improved. Drinking a few potions to lift the status ailnt, then resting at ho, led to the observation that raiders eventually returned to their original personalities.

"Then isn't it nothing to worry too much about? It's not permanent, and the derit is more ordinary than I thought."

However, the unfortunate thing to rember at this point is that the gates for fostering violent criminals were not closed in the end.