After finishing his purchase bids on the Auction House, Yoo Seonghyeon stayed on the internet a little longer.
There was nothing special going on.
[Where would Meteor Lord rank in the Hunter Rankings?]
[Day 4 of praying to meet Meteor Lord.]
[Current state of the Meteor Lord claimants reported to the Association.]
Ever since he became Meteor Lord, stories about him kept appearing on the internet.
How could he possibly resist his curiosity?
But then,
[I knew that Hunter who was going viral these days would turn out to be overrated.]
???
A post with irritating content caught his eye.
***
[I knew that Hunter everyone suddenly made such a fuss about would turn out to be overrated.]
Author: Myeongwang
Meteor, who has been mentioned a lot lately.
Seeing as no first-place notification appeared this time, his ability is completely overblown.
Honestly, I acknowledge that taking first place consecutively at the beginning was something unprecedented.
But look how quiet he is now that it is time to move up to E-Rank.
In the end, that is the level of his ability.
Stop worshiping him already and live your real life.
***
Judging by the way they had written “Meteor,” it seemed they were definitely talking about him.
The post claimed that his ability was overblown.
Yesterday, he simply had not entered a Ranked Match because he had gone into a Defense Battle…….
To think they reacted like this just because he had failed to take first place for a single day.
-SubiSubisu: Do you think taking first place in a dungeon is as easy as you imagine? This is why people who know nothing about dungeons should be banned.
└ cncn: Agreed.
-Andong Station 4: I was kind of expecting a first-place notification yesterday too.
└ Teuk2Gong: Even if someone like you is disappointed, Meteor Lord does not know you exist.
└ Andong Station 4: When did I say I was disappointed? I said I was expecting it…….
└ Teuk2Gong: Same thing…….
……
Fortunately, the comments were in an atmosphere of defending Meteor Lord.
But he could feel that everyone was subtly waiting for news of another first place.
That made the sense of responsibility weigh heavily on him again.
Well, there was no need to enter a dungeon specifically to meet their expectations.
For now, he merely grasped what they were thinking.
Then he prepared to go out.
He had to deliver the items whose sales had been confirmed to the Association.
***
The Association’s training room.
Min Ju-ho was conducting training for F-Rank Group 3.
Even though they had safely cleared their first Defense Battle field mission, any shortcomings had to be corrected.
“Now, yesterday, after you encountered the rescuee in the Defense Battle, how did you arrange your formation?”
“We maintained the existing formation and had the rescuee follow at the rear.”
“As expected.”
Group 3’s response was exactly as Min Ju-ho had predicted.
After all, the basic education had not included the rescue process.
“On what basis did you make that judgment?”
He asked the question, but Min Ju-ho could roughly predict the answer.
First, they must have felt burdened by the need to maintain the basic formation.
And because they assumed the rescuee was an ordinary Hunter, they must have entrusted him with rear defense…….
“We thought that since we did not know what situation might arise, we should not change the formation carelessly. And since the rescuee was still a Hunter, we thought he could handle one person’s share.”
As expected, Yoon Du-sik’s answer was exactly as he had predicted.
The fact that he had thought through his basis and made a judgment was indeed leaderlike.
It meant that even in the tense situation of a dungeon, he had used his head.
The problem was that his thoughts had gone in the wrong direction.
Min Ju-ho continued his feedback.
“To evaluate it, the fact that you made a judgment and moved in that situation deserves praise. However…… that formation could have been extremely dangerous.”
“Oh…….”
At the words “could have been dangerous,” the Group 3 Hunters looked puzzled.
They had not thought a formation was that important, so they had never expected that it could have been extremely dangerous.
“What if the rescuee was a Villain who had secretly infiltrated?”
“!!!”
And with that one sentence from Min Ju-ho, the danger struck them all at once.
They had assumed the rescuee must naturally be an innocent Hunter, but what if he had been an infiltrating Villain?
The moment they entrusted him with the very rear of the formation, the situation would have been over.
Seeing them understand rather quickly, Min Ju-ho smiled.
‘As expected, once I teach them one thing, they understand everything quickly.’
Then he continued the remaining explanation.
“It was very good that you treated the rescuee as one person’s worth and assigned him a role. However, his position should have been directly behind the tank. In the formation, he should have been placed toward the front.”
“Then we would be able to observe the rescuee’s actions!”
“That is right! Exactly.”
The mood of the training grew warm again.
After that, the training concluded with more feedback, such as the angle of the skill that had touched the boss door and methods for setting routes efficiently in a labyrinth.
When the training ended and everyone was preparing to leave,
Min Ju-ho approached Jo Myeong-su.
“Mr. Myeong-su! You understood what you heard today, correct?”
“Ah, yes. Thank you for your hard work.”
Jo Myeong-su took the simple greeting lightly and gathered his things.
However, perhaps Min Ju-ho still had business left,
because he remained standing there.
“That…… yesterday, I noticed that Mr. Yoo Seonghyeon? You seemed to know him…….”
“Ah, Mr. Seonghyeon?”
Jo Myeong-su wondered what this was about.
They often talked about related matters during education or training.
However, Min Ju-ho had never spoken to him separately outside of that before…….
He was someone completely absorbed in Association work.
But what he was saying now was entirely personal conversation.
“Yes, I know Mr. Seonghyeon a little because we registered as Hunters together. It turned out we were Tutorial classmates.”
“Oh, Tutorial classmates……. Then do you perhaps know his contact information as well?”
“Ah, his contact information? ……I do not know that.”
Jo Myeong-su thought back and remembered that Seonghyeon was a Hunter he had met entirely by chance.
Judging by the fact that he had no memory of exchanging contact information.
Well, they had become connected through situations like a terrorist attack and a Defense Battle, so they had not exactly been in a state of mind to do that.
“Ah, I see. Yes, thank you for your hard work today. I will see you at training tomorrow.”
Min Ju-ho quickly looked dispirited.
That was because he wanted to recruit Meteor Lord…… no, a Hunter as powerful as Meteor Lord.
No one knew when he would have a chance to meet him again.
***
At that time, Yoo Seonghyeon was at the Association.
He had come to transfer the loot whose sale had been confirmed to the Association and to receive the items he had purchased.
‘By the way, this building is different again.’
The Association’s Trading Room was yet another building with strict security.
Every time he came, he ended up entering a new place.
At this rate, he wondered whether he might eventually occupy the branch manager’s office at the very top.
With that thought, he arrived in front of the Trading Room.
The Trading Room was blocked by a thick glass door.
In front of it, a single mechanical pillar stood tall.
[Authentication Required]
[CARD]
‘Oh, cutting-edge technology.’
When he placed his Hunter License on the top of the pillar,
BEEP—
the sound of his Hunter License being recognized rang out, and the glass door opened to both sides.
Then,
“Welcome, Hunter.”
The Trading Room staff member greeted him.
His response, dressed neatly in a suit with a clean appearance, was concise.
“What is the purpose of your visit?”
A question stripped of idle words, using the simplest possible sentence.
Pressed by the grand atmosphere, Seonghyeon felt as though he had to pay attention to his behavior accordingly.
“I have items that I sold through the Auction House.”
“This way.”
After hearing his purpose, the Trading Room staff guided Seonghyeon inside.
The place they arrived at was a room that looked like a bank teller’s window.
After telling him he could use this place, the staff member left.
‘Uh…… so…….’
There were no people in the room, only devices.
So he had to look around the interior carefully.
The staff member did not waste words, but he had not explained how to use it either.
【Sales Item Registration】
[Authentication Required]
[CARD]
There was a display like this on one side, which looked like a teller window.
As expected, he would know if he tapped the card.
BEEP—
【Sales Item Registration】
[Yoo Seong*]
Wasp Wax - (0/5)
Soul Fragments - (0/7)
Deathwing Claws - (0/21)
Skeleton Bone Fragments - (0/11)
Contrary to his worries, it was not difficult to use.
If he took loot out of his Inventory and passed it through the window,
the mechanical devices handled it on their own, and the registration was completed.
I matched the items for sale and came back outside.
“Do you have any other business?”
“!”
He was startled while leaving.
It seemed the staff member he thought had gone away had been guarding the front.
The man asked again in time with my exit.
“I also have items I purchased…….”
“This way.”
This time, too, he followed the staff member and arrived at a certain room.
The procedure was not particularly different from the item registration.
However…….
【Inventory】
Low-Grade Magic Stones 75,867
Honed Goblin Dagger 1
Mo Enchantress’s Cloak 1
Giant Bull Hide 4
Elixir of Strong Bones
Endurance Elixir
Hundred-Year Ginseng
Thousand-Year Ginseng 2
Small Summoning Pill
‘The Magic Stones…… duplicated?’
After settling the Auction House items once, his Inventory looked completely different.
The elixirs filling it were one thing, but what felt most significant was the Magic Stones worth over seven hundred million won.
A fortune large enough to easily buy a high-end car had certainly entered his possession.
At this rate, buying a house would be possible by next month.
Filled with satisfaction, he came out of the Trading Room.
“Huh? Mr. Seonghyeon……?”
“Ah!”
Someone in the same Trading Room spoke to him.
Once again, he could not quite remember the name.
But it was the man he had seen together with Jo Myeong-su yesterday…….
“I am Gong Yeong-beom. Do you remember me?”
Right, Gong Yeong-beom.
He had not thought they would meet again.
He had not kept him in mind, yet they had already met two days in a row.
It was true that the world was small.
“Yes. Of course, of course.”
Seonghyeon was about to tell Gong Yeong-beom that he remembered him,
when the staff member whispered quietly.
“Hunter, we ask for silence in the Trading Room.”
“Yes.”
How embarrassing.
The Trading Room’s security was thorough enough that even a small conversation earned a warning.
“What brings you here?”
They left the Association building and continued their conversation at a quiet pavilion.
“Ah. I happened to obtain one piece of loot.”
He did not openly tell him everything.
As he remembered from last time, Gong Yeong-beom had felt somewhat ominous.
Had he said he duplicated Magic Stones?
“Ah, as I told you back then, my skill is like that. Haha.”
Gong Yeong-beom said the same thing again this time.
Well, now that Seonghyeon thought about it, he seemed much the same.
Though in his case, it was not actual duplication, but something he earned from dungeons…….
“Oh, you must be earning money with that ability.”
“Come now, I am not greedy for money. I am helping other people.”
How could his word choice smell so strongly of fraud?
Seonghyeon felt he would truly have no reason to get involved with this man in the future.
“Here, Mr. Seonghyeon. If you need help too, please contact me here.”
Gong Yeong-beom handed him a business card.
Well, he would never contact him, but he accepted it for now.
It would be awkward to refuse.
『[Brada Company]
Magic Stone Duplication, Appraisal, Loans.
“I am the person who came to help you.”
-Director Gong Yeong-beom』
“Yes, ah. You run a company.”
After roughly slipping the business card into his pocket, Seonghyeon hurriedly rose from his seat.
“Ah, I forgot. Right, ah…… I have something else I need to take care of. I will head out first.”
“I see! Then please go take care of your business. Contact me if you need help!”
It was not that he had actually forgotten anything.
But if he stayed with him any longer, the man seemed likely to ask for his contact information too.
So for now, he had evacuated into the Association.