The Hunter of the Other World Who Is Being Misunderstood Chapter 393. Don't Live a Life of Sin (6)

Chapter 393. Don't Live a Life of Sin (6)

The recent weather was still bitterly cold. Yet, why did my eyes keep welling up with moisture like this?

"Seri, remind to call and apply for the tax installnt paynt on February 1st at 9 a.m."

Swallowing the faint tears, I set about formulating a new plan.

"Yes. I'll add the schedule to the calendar right away.

As expected, the most common obstacle to a researcher's dreams was money. Of course, an ordinary scholar would never encounter a colossal deficit of 40 billion debt like this...

***

About ten hours after the long-awaited start of the collection period.

"Phew."

Monday. As soon as the month changed, I contacted various governnt agencies, having received a heads-up from a tax office expert. As a result of several asures, I had already repaid part of the 40 billion debt, and had arranged to legally defer the remaining amount.

"I've been worried a lot until now, but strangely, now that the wave has actually hit, I feel surprisingly at ease."

Unlike the fear that had gripped before, now that the process was proceeding smoothly, a sense of calm gradually arose within .

"It wasn't a big deal after all. I worried for nothing. Even an alien could handle this easily."

Part of the reason I faced it head-on was thinking, "What worse could happen than being banned from leaving the country?" That's how the world usually works. Of course, it's easy to get scared in front of sothing you've never experienced, but in reality, if you just make a proper effort, many problems resolve themselves surprisingly easily.

"Anyway, it's a good thing."

For the ti being, I'm free from tax obligations. Even if the deferred portion of the debt becos an issue again, I've already completed my second awakening, so I can manage to accumulate wealth one way or another. After going through various considerations, a fully rational mindset has now returned in my head.

"Retirent is really just around the corner!"

The situation itself had turned positive, which also erased my irritation. So, now that my mood had improved anyway...

"With this energy flowing through my body, I might as well tackle the postponed tasks imdiately."

Sshk.

I pulled the phone out of my pocket.

[Jung Haseong 臣]

He also made a new call without a mont's delay. For reference, the reason I was contacting the dostic number one was essentially to make an A/S request.

.

.

.

A few hours later, before I even had a chance to properly assess the appropriateness of my words, I found myself face-to-face with the number one ranked hunter.

"It caused such a commotion that an S-rank hunter ca all the way from overseas. I wonder if today's events will inevitably look like yet another new duel."

Jung Ha-seong, whom I hadn't seen in a while, hadn't changed at all. He explained that thanks to the magical power control tips I'd taught him, he'd recently gone to the hair salon, and while he was dyeing his gray hair, he also got his hair thinned out, all in one go.

"Hmm."

I had no idea what exactly had changed. In this case, even the original body owner's senses had subtly influenced the outco.

"Looks like Kim Giryeo is insensitive to changes in his compatriots. And now that my brain's been triggered, it occurs to —this body is even bad at those "spot the difference" gas!"

Well, since there was no way to solve it, I dodged the situation with the all-too-common line, "Your haircut looks great," and as soon as the topic shifted, I imdiately moved on to the A/S at hand.

"By the way, the reason I asked you to co to the gym today, as I ntioned over the phone earlier, is..."

"Yes. I've decided to give so corrections on the new technique I've perfected."

For now, Jung Ha-seong had recently succeeded with Divine Transformation. However, the timing of the magic's activation had exceeded my expectations, aning that the ultimate technique carried the risk of harming the caster as well. Therefore, I took precautions in advance to ensure that the unstable power wouldn't escalate into an incident. Once you take up the role of instructor, you can't just go through the motions—you have to at least see it through properly as a ntor.

"By the way, Jung Haseong, you probably noticed it yourself, but if you really wanted to, that technique could intensify the fire even further. It's as if the limits of its range and power lie far beyond what you've seen."

"Aah, yes. That's right."

"But despite that feeling, a fire-attribute superhuman must never push the firepower any further at the end."

"Why?"

"If you use that skill like that, you'll die instantly. So don't unleash power you can't handle."

"Just from the explanation, it sounds like so kind of finishing move."

"That's right. Technically it is a finishing move, but the problem is the caster ends up dead in just a few seconds without being able to do anything. That makes it a whole different matter..."

The conversation flowed on. As I passed various pieces of information to Jung Haseong, the short ti flew by. But no matter how long we talked, the goal remained only one.

"So from now on, you just focus on extending the skill's duration, no matter what!"

"Yes."

"Besides, I emphasized this from the very beginning—once your body's on fire, you absolutely must not force too much power into it. That's the sa as kicking a lit bomb, you know?"

"I'll be careful... No, actually, I have been careful about that since last ti..."

"Don't talk back. I'm repeating this because it's an important point."

"Yes, yes."

Today, I was determined to give a thorough safety training. Nothing is more pointless than doing the sa thing twice. So, while I had the chance, I kept repeating the warnings until the caveman's ears practically oozed pus.

"How did I even teach you? You're not allowed to die until the Archmage retires and properly enjoys the sweet life. Keep a close watch on South Korea's property prices until your hair's gone completely white."

But just at that mont—when a soul that wasn't even a native Korean found itself worrying about housing prices.

"Hunter Kim. By the way..."

The nation's top-ranked hunter cautiously tested the waters and spoke up first.

"Are you still getting sparring requests these days?"

He must be asking whether foreign hunters are still reaching out. As soon as I caught the question, I answered right away.

"I ignored them all, so they don't co anymore."

"Ha, I see. I'm glad it was resolved well, but thinking back on it, I was definitely too careless. I apologize for troubling you back then."

"It's okay."

But it would've been nice if the conversation had ended there. Instead, that Korean nad Jung Haseong, despite his decent build, went and spouted nonsense the mont he had so free ti.

"Since you're fully affiliated with the nation, it's only natural you wouldn't leak secrets to other countries. And with the situation getting that noisy... I imdiately understood why you chose to pass on your know-how so quietly."

"What are you talking about?"

"It's just as you heard."

"I already explained in detail back in January by text that it was all nonsense. And you, Jung Haseong, checked it thoroughly too."

"Oh—so are you saying the ssage I saw... wasn't so elaborate sche by Hunter Kim Giryeo to even fool the three telecom companies using electronic records?"

"Absolutely not."

"I see."

"This incompetent b*stard... how on earth did he even get into veterinary school?"

At this point, I can't even tell whether my credibility is high or low. When it's sothing I really want him to believe, he nitpicks asking if it's a lie. But when I lay out the truth sincerely, he twists it up all on his own and runs off into so absurd tangent like that—what a farce.

"Seriously, what on earth is wrong with this human?"

Just when I was grumbling to myself with such harsh words, Jung Haseong suddenly started sweating bullets. On top of that, he lowered his eyes as if he had just been scolded. Before he could sink into needless gloom, I made sure to finish voicing my thoughts.

"But well, if you're born a genius in one field, it's only natural you might fall short in others."

"Yes?"

"I'm also lacking in many areas, aside from handling my superpowers."

It was nothing more than repeating a fact I'd already admitted—not so grand statent. Jung Haseong was, no matter how you looked at it, a top 0.5% genius on this primitive planet. But humans, structurally, aren't built to live with perfectly hexagonal stats. So I didn't really denigrate him individually just because he lacked problem-solving ability in certain matters. If anything, the way he seed to allocate his intelligence by priority almost looked efficient.

", a genius?"

But sohow, this bit of small talk seed to hit Jung Haseong harder than expected. A sudden brightness spread across the face of the nation's number one hunter, and before long he was raising his voice in delight, as if he'd never been wary a mont ago. It was surprising to see how just a single word of praise could flip his mood so drastically.

"And more than anything, I can't shake the feeling that... my fundantal independence... has sohow failed..."

But it wasn't the ti to point out such vague and ambiguous things one by one—especially since I was starting to feel hungry.

Grrumble.

Just as my thoughts were about to shift to the pressing matter of dinner.

"Ah!"

The conversation suddenly shifted.

"Um... and this isn't trying to argue or anything, but from my perspective, Hunter Kim, you really are flawless."

"Hmm."

"The way you said you're lacking in various areas—honesty, that's just excessive modesty. I'm sure the people around you would say that's absolutely not the case."

No need to correct such a trivial self-deprecating joke to this extent.

"Hmm. Well, it's just that I haven't been on Earth for long. Once I get used to it, I'm quite the capable talent, aren't I~"

While I was swallowing a confidence I couldn't reveal to anyone, Jung Haseong continued speaking.

"And besides, since everyone knows how remarkable you are, Hunter Kim, wouldn't that just make outsiders keep bothering you?"

"Wait, outsider?"

"To be precise, I'm referring to the overseas associations. I've also heard that you, Hunter, were recently contacted regarding the [Sin Classification] incident."

As the na of a dungeon happened to co up, my attention naturally shifted there.

"Of course, since the dungeon is currently giving people a hard ti, I can fully understand the other side's desire to resolve it quickly, but..."

"Jung Haseong, has the first [Sin Classification] still not been cleared today?"

"Yes. Not only has it not been cleared, but I've heard that even the dungeon managent itself has co to a halt."

As I opened the topic, the Rank 1 hunter imdiately began explaining. The A rank—or higher—phenonon gate that originated in England seed to still be giving hunters a hard ti. Until now, hunters of the sa rank with high magical resistance had been taking on the cleanup, but... Once a human entered and ca out of the [Sin Classification] dungeon, their personality appeared to change so drastically that they would fly into a rage. In so cases, they even beca consud by unprecedented envy, harming their own kind. In other words, no matter how much potions could heal them, the human body and mind were inevitably going to suffer so damage.

Therefore, it's no surprise that such a movent was already observed at the appearance location of the first [Sin Classification].

[Pushing people into the Gate of Anger is a clear human rights violation... UK hunters announce plans for a collective protest]

I nodded, checking the online article Jung Haseong had shown .

"Looks like a social issue is about to erupt."

For now, the Sin Classification gate is sowhat too difficult to maintain with hunters of the sa rank. But if we try to put stronger individuals there—those who can better withstand the attacks of the feeding box... S-rank. In short, if a mutant who surpasses the previous ranking system loses their mind, then who would take on the role of suppressor? Because of this concern, it seems that S-rank expeditions into the Sin Classification gate have not been attempted, even experintally.

"At least I'm the only one who's already aware from the Arican reports that even the top-tier hunters are affected."

After scanning the internet, it seems netizens completely assud that I had postponed my trip abroad for that very reason.

"Misconceptions are running wild all over the world."

Let's skip over humanity's misunderstandings in the middle. Anyway, most of the judgnts the Earthlings were making were fairly realistic. Especially if soone like Jung Ha-seong, who had completed his growth, were to get infected by the rage of the [Sin Classification]. Although I wasn't exactly pleased with Pixy Corp.'s move to monopolize the magic detection equipnt technology, this one thing was at least worth acknowledging.

The systematic structure of the grading system. This is because, on Earth, the risk levels of S-rank monsters and S-rank hunters are understood roughly equivalently.

"The problem with even a lower-ranked gate is escalating more than that..."

After wrapping up our long chat, Jung Haseong and I returned to strengthening the skill. Yet, the na of [Sin Classification], which had barely put out of mind, resurfaced on our lips in just an hour.

"Ah, Hunter Kim. I'm sorry. I really need to talk to you briefly."

"Okay~"

As could be inferred from the words exchanged inside the gym, so information had already been relayed to the personal contact of the national hero.

"Perhaps it's because his job requires him to be outdoors a lot, Jung Haseong always keeps his phone volu quite high."

It was a piece of news I picked up quietly with my body now fully enhanced from the second awakening. While we were going about our day's schedule, the third [Sin Classification] had made its appearance on this planet. And, as if punishing those who were usually gluttonous, the gate reportedly appeared carrying various traps designed to tornt anyone with weak self-control when it ca to eating...

"How dare a species with nearly the most gluttonous appetites in this universe dare to use such a food box?"

The Gisimche's actions are becoming increasingly irritating. And now, I'm starting to feel a creeping sense of disbelief as well.