Chapter 8 - The Hunter’s Association (2)
<The Hunter’s Association (2)>
The money in the gift card was a whopping one billion won. Wow, I just told you that I needed money and you threw me a billion won. Is this really possible? Don’t you need to pay gift tax? Are S Classes exempt from gift taxes?
Dazed, I put the card away and entered the shopping mall.
The Hunter’s Mall was located from the 3rd to the 6th level of the Hunter’s Association building. On the 3rd and 4th floor, you can purchase items that are C Class or below, on the 5th floor you could purchase B Class items and on the 6th floor you could purchase A Class items. S Class items were only sold in auctions.
Since I was sure that I had enough money, I went directly up to the 6th floor. There were only a few guests on the 6th floor, along with a line of neatly dressed staff standing in a line at regular intervals like mannequins.
“Where are the S Class contracts?”
When I asked the question to the nearest female employee, she replied with a beautiful and kind smile.
“I’ll show you right away, sir. Would you please come this way?”
The employee guided me to a drawing room where the reception room was located, surrounded by glass walls. I looked around the drawing room and saw that there were a few reception rooms situated in this place.
When I sat down on the sofa, another female employee asked if I wanted a drink.
“Coffee.”
“Do you have any beans that you like?”
It’s just a Mac X…… But there was no instant coffee in this place.
“Uh, orange juice please.”
They will not ask about the different types of oranges. Fortunately, the staff only asked if I wanted ice before squeezing the orange straight into an expensive-looking glass.
‘It’s delicious.’
Was it an expensive orange? While I was sipping juice, a man who looked like he was around his mid to late 30s came over and greeted me with a 90 degree bow.
“My name is Ki Yunseo, the manager of the Hunter’s Mall on the 6th floor.”
Even though the contract was probably cheaper than the items on the sixth floor, the person in charge showed up. Isn’t this service a bit too much? The person in charge sat opposite me with a polished smile.
“S Class contracts are rare so people who are looking to buy them have to wait for around a few minutes. I have just sent workers down to the warehouse; I thank you for your understanding.”
“Oh, yeah. That’s okay.”
I nodded. Although the S Class contract was a decent price, it was still rare for someone to buy it.
After all, all the S Classes in South Korea were guild masters, with an exception of just one person. Since I was going to sign a contract with an S Class, it appeared that I was either of a similar level or I had a deep connection with them. That was why the person in charge came all the way out here to flatter me.
It wasn’t long before the staff brought in a luxurious leather case.
“There are currently 5 types of S Class contracts in our shopping mall. The most popular one is the Ability-Reduction contract.”
The person in charge said, taking out a contract made of parchement paper from the case and placed it onto the table.
“It’s a contract with S Class Hunter Clown Marionette Manuella Shusler’s S Class curse skill; if the terms of the contract are broken, your total stats will be reduced by 20% for a year. It’s a strong contract that cannot be escaped unless you use a skill or item to nullify the SS Class curse. Actually, nothing can resolve the curse apart from a saint. The contract is valid for up to 10 years.”
Wait, so I won’t receive any disadvantages for breaking the contract? My curse resistance is L Level. An S Level curse wouldn’t so much as tickle it.
‘This could be quite useful.’
The thought surfaced in my head for a bit but I quickly got rid of it. I wouldn’t be the target of the contract, and even if an F Class’ stat were to drop by 20%, there would be not much of a difference. If it wasn’t a contract from the association, which would just cause a decrease in skills and stats, but an illegal contract that was life-threatening, I could take advantage of it, but I had no intention to use such a contract.
“There are also Skill Level Decrease and Seal contracts. However, since it is only limited to one less than S Class, it is less efficient for someone with SS Class skills. The Permanent Stat Reduction contract could work as well, but the other Hunter would not easily accept it.”
Even if they wanted to keep the contract, they would be reluctant to do so.
I bought a 1 year Stat Drop contract and a 1 month Skill Seal Contract. In a flash, 50 million won disappeared. Nevertheless, there was still 950 million won remaining. That little brother really doesn’t know how much money is worth.
I will have to thank him for the money he gave me.
“Please show me your mana-boosting equipment as well. The type that can be worn, and the type that will increase mana by a fixed amount, not by percentage.”
The price of equipment that increase stats by percentages was much higher, but they had no use to me. After all my mana stat was only 2. The world ranked Hunters would rush in for equipment that gives a +50% to stats, but a C Class and below equipment that simply gave a +5 to stats was much better for me.
Soon, velvet-wrapped luxury cases were placed on the table.
“There are all equipment with certificates from the Korea Hunter’s Association A Class Appraiser Park Jiyeon.”
The person in charge said, opening the cases one after another. People were able to know the performance of equipment after they were worn, but they could sometimes be cheated through magic or curses. Therefore expensive equipment would come with a certificate.
“This is a red lumelusus ring. It is an A Class accessory that can raise your mana by 30.”
Mana was a stat that was hard to increase, therefore an A Class equipment would only increase the stat by 30. I don’t think one ring has enough mana.
‘This is really fancy.’
The size of the red jewel in the silver ring was as large as a quail egg. There were even diamond-like gems wrapped around it. How do you wear this?
“This is the bracelet of Auris Hall. It is also an A Class accessory that can increase your mana stat.”
There was a bracelet woven with walnut-sized blue beads followed by shimmering sapphire necklace and then a leather ribbon headband, each placed in front of me one after the other. Why did they all look so bad?
“As you know, the sex ratio of male Hunters in the upper levels is more than twice the number of female Hunters, so simple accessories are sold out more quickly.”
The person in charge told me this excuse after seeing the wrinkled expression on my face. Still, wasn’t this too much? Plus, rings and bracelets are embarrassing to wear regardless of gender.
“These are the Black Fairy Earrings. They are A Class accessories that can raise your mana stat by 29. This is the last A Class mana enhancement equipment product that we have; the remaining products are all C Class or less.”
It’s not even B Class but C Class. I worried as I looked at the Black Fairy Earrings. They were simple earrings with small black gems that were as small as a grain of rice. I hate that I would have to pierce my ears, but I’m sure that this accessory would hardly catch anyone’s eye.
“What is the stat increase for C Class equipment?”
I still asked, just in case.
“The stats can be increased by 5 or 6 points.”
No way. That’s too much of a difference. If it were an increase of at least 10 points it would have been worth it.
Eventually, I purchased the Black Fairy Earrings. The price was 230 million won. This was considered cheap for mana-boosting A Class equipment. The price of a few hundred million won was considered cheap. Truly, the upper Hunter society was a completely different world.
The earrings were put on without the need for piercings. With it, my mana increased to over 30.
I also bought some gloves that increased stamina and strength, and a belt that increased agility.
[Awakened Han Yujin
Titles – Dragon Slayer (L), Perfect Caregiver (L)
Level 1
Stamina: 6(+51) | Strength: 4(+20) | Agility: 5(+16) Spirit: 4 | Mana: 2(+29)]
Equipment
Black Fairy Earrings (A), Manticore Leather Gloves (A), Lightweight Belt (B)
Skills
Spirit Up (E): Spirit of the target + 5% (Immediate effect, similar and/or identical skills cannot overlap), duration 30 minutes
Agility Up (E): Agility of target + 5% (Immediate effect, similarity and/or identical skills cannot overlap), duration 30 minutes]
‘Except for mana, all my stats are now at the average of 26.5. Those are C Class stats.’
Although it was unbalanced with a concentration towards physical stats, I had still raised three of my stats with a reasonable amount of money. Of course, if my level increases the rating of the stats would drop sharply. That was why people preferred equipment that increased stats via percentages.
I had purchased two more pieces of equipment, but nearly 500 million won was still left. I had always thought that if I had money, I would be able to spend it all but the surprisingly the amount of money wasn’t going down by a lot. I couldn’t use this gift card outside.
I bought 20 lesser mana potions and a set of health potions. And then.
‘Let’s buy armor and weapons.’
With good equipment, an F Class lower dungeon could be cleared.
“Please show me dungeon equipment that can increase stats by a fixed number.”
There were so many options for those that this time, instead of showing me the items themselves, a catalog book was given to me. There was a large variety of weapons available, but there were only a few things that I could use. I mainly used the spear before the regression. I had only partaken in simple battles where I placed buffs on people from behind and also stabbed things with my spear. The reason I was able to kill Lauchitas was thanks to the fact that I had received some of Yuhyun’s combat skills along with his memories.
I bought a pair of daggers, a pike, and light armor. They were all placed in my inventory as they could not be worn normally. It was okay to wear armor but if you were caught carrying a dungeon weapon, you would get a fine and be penalized. If a Hunter had accumulated more than a number of penalties within a fixed period of time, their Hunter’s qualification would be suspended. If this was repeated a few times, the qualification would be taken away.
‘Now roughly how much did I spend? There’s not much money left… well.’
I’ve found the perfect thing for me.
“Do you have any items with poison fog or similar effects? Curses are good, too.”
Something like a poison spray or something that could make you lose your sight. I could completely nullify the effects on myself, so I could use it most of the time.
After hearing my words, an employee brought over a black bead that had double protections placed on it.
“This is the Black Poison of S Class Hunter, Poison King Leon Louis Han. If you do not have an A Class or higher poison resistance skill or item, you will die within 10 seconds of inhalation depending on your current poison resistance rating; neutralization of the poison has to be done within 5 seconds. The effective radius is 5 meters and you will be immediately arrested and executed if this is used outside of Dungeons.”
Poison resistance skills are known to be extremely rare and are A Class skills. There were no S Class poison resistance skills. Therefore, even someone with an A Level poison skill would be able to finish off all their opponents.
“Is there anything that affects a wider radius?”
Instead of 5 meters, if there was a melee monster 100 meters away, I would be able to break even a C Class Dungeon by my own with my items and skills. For Dungeons B Class and onwards, there are many monsters that could travel 100 meters in three seconds, so there was no way I could win there.
“Among the items currently being sold, this Black Poison Bead has the widest effective radius while still maintaining a good effect. That’s because the effect of poisonous fog gets lighter in proportion to the radius it is dispersed over. The further the opponent is from you, the longer they would take to die and therefore the rating of the poison is reduced. In the case of the Black Poison Bead, F Class monsters within a 50 meter radius can be killed within 10 seconds, and they would also be incapacitated within 3 seconds.”
50 meters in 3 seconds. I could clear an F Class Dungeon. The enemies would face a big loss.
“Most of the curses that randomly target foes are not very effective. Due to the nature of curses, there is a large difference between someone who randomly receives a curse and someone who signs a contract with a curse. There are also some kinds that can increase their effectiveness through sacrifices.”
“That’s enough.”
This was just for emergency usage. Where would I have the time to sit down and offer sacrifices?
Eventually I used the rest of the money to purchase three Black Poison Beads and then left the area. An employee opened the glass door and I took a step outside.
[F Class Hunter Han Yujin who has just registered his Awakening today. A Class Hunter Kim Sunghan is looking for you. Please visit and contact the Missing Child Protection Center immediately after hearing this broadcast.]
A broadcast sounded out, looking for me.
Fuck, that Kim Sunghan was looking for me through the fucking broadcast. And why was it the Missing Child Protection Center? He could have just asked me to go to the front door. With a curse, I quickly headed towards the Missing Child Protection Center before a second broadcast could come out.
Kim Sunghan was standing in front of the Missing Child Protection Center like a gangster who came to collect money. Parents who went there to look for their lost children would be scared to death.
“Where did you go?”
He said, furrowing his brow. Both his expression and his baritone voice was as fierce as a punch. If there had been no Fear Resistance to save me, I would not even be able to make a sound.
“I went to buy the contract. Did I not say that?”
“You did not.”
“I forgot. Sorry about that.”
My dry apology made Kim Sunghan’s face even more ominous. Hey, surely you wouldn’t swing that fist at me in anger, would you? I’m your Guild Leader’s brother. Please don’t forget that.
“Do you have any other business?”
What should I do? It’s a long way to Myeongdong Station but should I go there to look for Park Yerim? Or should I go home first? Yuhyun said that he’d move my things, but I still hadn’t packed them.
“Please go to my house. The address is–”
“There’s nothing there.”
Really?! I couldn’t move out without a landlord!
“Where have all my things been moved to? The Haeyeon Guild staff quarters?”
“It’s been moved to a spare room in the Guild Master’s living quarters.”
I refuse to live with my younger brother. I want to live independently and well, not in the hands of my younger brother, who wasn’t even my parent. Yuhyun-ah, let’s just carelessly burn down our relationship until it’s around half the relationship we had before my regression. Yeah?
“…then let’s go back to the guild. I have to organize my things.”
As I walked towards the elevator that was connected to the parking lot, the gazes of the people around me stuck to my face. The gossip backlash was coming.
“Is that the F Class guy who came here with the A Class?”
“What is the relationship between those two?”
“Kim Sunghan even tried to find him through a broadcast. There must be something.”
“Hadn’t they mentioned the Missing Child Protection Center earlier?” “At that age.”
That woman over there, don’t laugh! Were they collecting people who liked to talk dirty about others, or were they collecting Awakened people! That F Class F Class talk was stinging my ears.
‘Are you an S Class?’
As I had increased my mana, I peered at the people around me. As expected, there were F Classes everywhere. Even if there were C Classes, they would not be hanging around as they would be going straight to the guilds.
Named guilds accepted members that were C Class and above. From B Class onwards, you would get proper treatment wherever you went and people were anxious to bring in one more A Class.
‘He’s an F, he’s an F, you’re an F… huh?’
That man was just too much!
[Awakened – Yoo Myungwoo
Current Stat Class F
Awakening Available: Stats F
Optimization of Initial Skill
Master of the Golden Forge (SS) Failed to Obtain
Knife Grind (A) Failed to Obtain]
‘Master of the Golden Forge?!’
<The Hunter’s Association(2)> End