After separating the Orc Mage’s head from its body.
Sir Isra strode over proudly.
【Hahaha! What did you think of my performance?】
“I watched it very well.”
【There is no need for praise. It is only what a knight should do.】
What?
It seemed there was a slight misunderstanding.
“Can you not see that its armor has melted?”
I pointed at the Armed Zombie Warrior with my index finger.
After taking the Fireball head-on.
The armor, which had previously suffered only scratches from ordinary attacks, had melted considerably.
【Wounds are a knight’s medals.】
“And repairing those wounds is my responsibility.”
【……】
Sir Isra firmly closed its mouth.
“Grrrugh. Followed Knight Commander’s order.”
“I will let you off.”
There was no point scolding someone with limited intelligence.
I needed to scold the so-called Knight Commander instead.
【I ended the battle quickly for your safety.】
“Next time, assess the situation before you act.”
Whew.
This was why I could not operate many undead at once as an E-rank Hunter.
Every time I cleared a Gate, the repair costs were enormous.
My Craftsmanship had risen tremendously through repairing undead countless times, of course.
After meeting Sir Isra.
And gaining Heavenly Martial Physique.
I thought I would have less work to do.
But it caused an accident like this?
“Please, I am begging you.”
【I shall remember that.】
Whew.
Would things improve next time?
I did not really trust that they would, but I would leave it there.
After sighing inwardly, I checked what I had obtained.
The Orc Mage had dropped two items.
[Hollow Spirit Staff]
Rank: Magic
Classification: Staff
Restriction: Mage
Durability: 231/300
A tree left as an empty shell after the Dryad departed.
It has excellent Mana sensitivity, but earns the hatred of nature.
*Mana Amplification Lv. 21
*Elemental Resistance Lv. 9
*When using magic, there is a very low chance of inflicting Confusion Lv. 10.
[Fireball Spellbook]
Rank: Magic
Classification: Skillbook
Restriction: Fire Element Mage
A book containing the skill ‘Fireball,’ a spell that throws compressed flame Mana in the form of a sphere.
Using it allows the user to learn Fireball.
The Fragmented Soulstone had not dropped.
“Still, it gave us a good Skillbook.”
The melee DPS spoke in admiration.
“Is it expensive?”
“Yes. Fireball has respectable power and can even be used as an area attack, so it should sell for around 50 million won.”
That was as much money as I earned from clearing a D-rank Gate alone.
Hm.
How long had it been since I advanced?
Yet my sense of money was already beginning to become distorted.
Do not lose your original mindset, Minho.
“Does the staff seem decent?”
“Ah. That is a little…….”
After the Resentful Axe, I had received another defective item.
There was no one to use the staff.
And it did not seem as though it would sell for much, so I would store it for now.
I could give it to a Skeleton Mage once I made one.
I had a usable corpse right in front of me, after all.
[Death Space]
[1/10 → 2/10]
The stretched-out shadow swallowed the corpse whole.
Really.
Without this skill, I would have needed to drag around three Spatial Storage Carriers.
Hehehehe!
[You have received 100 D-rank Magic Stones as a clear reward.]
One hundred Magic Stones lay inside a leather pouch.
“Please take half.”
“Th-thank you.”
I needed to keep my promise.
The Magic Stones obtained during the clear itself were mine.
【It is unfortunate that we did not obtain a Fragmented Soulstone.】
“Today is not the only day.”
We could clear it again tomorrow.
“Pardon?”
“Do you all have plans?”
“Ah, no.”
“Then it is settled.”
We only needed to take a bus here.
How could I pass up an event that made money appear out of thin air?
More importantly.
Renting a forge every time I entered a Gate was becoming troublesome as well.
Now that I was earning quite a lot of money.
I should look for a private workshop after leaving the Gate.
***
Baek Seonghyeon, Director of Seven Stars Guild, examined a report.
“Another SSS-rank clear in Challenge Zone?”
“Yes. It was ten minutes ago.”
The news had been delivered with the utmost urgency.
The Personnel Bureau Director could confidently say that they had acted faster than any other Guild.
“Have you identified the Hunters near the Gate?”
“Yes. We have confirmed most of them.”
Baek Seonghyeon clicked his tongue as he examined the list of Hunters.
“The information is thin.”
A question mark seemed to appear over the Personnel Bureau Director’s head.
“Was learning the Hunters’ names and ranks the best you could do?”
Baek Seonghyeon tapped the report.
“When did they Awaken? When did they advance? How often have they entered Challenge Zone?”
The Personnel Bureau Director’s back grew damp.
‘How am I supposed to check all that?’
It might have been possible with enough time.
But he had gathered the information immediately after hearing that an SSS-rank clear had occurred.
He had been congratulating himself for finding out this much.
“I will investigate immediately.”
“When will I receive the results?”
“Three hours.”
“Two hours.”
“Yes, sir.”
Baek Seonghyeon muttered as though organizing his thoughts.
“Hmm. He is hiding himself quite carefully.”
By this point, there should have been some sort of trail.
Either the Hunter himself would have been unable to hold back and revealed something.
Or a witness would have appeared.
But there was nothing at all.
That was why he had demanded additional information from the Personnel Bureau Director.
“Challenge Zone only allows parties of five, correct?”
“That is right.”
“He even made his teammates keep quiet.”
“Did you not say it was likely a last-minute raid party?”
“It seems he got along rather well with Hunters he met by chance.”
The important fact was that this extraordinary Hunter was cautious and skilled at concealing himself.
“Could another Guild have already scouted him……?”
“If that had happened, they would have posted notices about it everywhere.”
An S-rank advancement recipient appearing after five years.
There was no reason to stay quiet.
“He knows very well how to raise his market value.”
How clever.
He was strategically increasing his worth.
That was something only someone who understood his own value could do.
……At least, that was Baek Seonghyeon’s judgment.
“Did you say an SSS-rank clear also occurred at a D-rank Gate in Hanam?”
“Yes. We are checking the CCTV footage.”
“There is no need to overstep the law or force the matter.”
The Personnel Bureau Director held back a sigh.
That was not something the man who had just pressured him could say.
If CCTV footage had been obtainable and useful.
Baek Seonghyeon would have been the one to order it first.
“Have you checked Director Jeong Seungil’s schedule?”
The Personnel Bureau Director blinked several times.
Why had they suddenly moved from discussing the S-rank advancement recipient to someone from the Rift Management Agency?
Baek Seonghyeon clicked his tongue again.
“The report stated that the Gate where the SSS-rank clear occurred was close to becoming a Break-risk Gate.”
“Ah. Then an Agency employee would have been there.”
“They would have checked the Hunter’s identity through the registration card, would they not?”
The Rift Management Agency had the information.
With a high probability.
Jeong Seungil, the hero of Korea and legend of the Rift Management Agency, would make a move.
“I-I will check immediately.”
Did he need to explain even something this simple?
Baek Seonghyeon almost said something but restrained himself.
He had likely already exceeded his limit for lecturing.
The employee did not meet his standards, but overlooking mistakes generously was also a superior’s virtue.
If the Personnel Bureau Director had known Baek Seonghyeon’s thoughts, he would have submitted his resignation on the spot.
‘Has someone else taken the lead?’
Even so.
Baek Seonghyeon was not terribly disappointed.
The Rift Management Agency was, at its core, a government organization.
It could not offer particularly exceptional conditions.
A hidden dragon who had carefully concealed himself to increase his market value.
Could the Rift Management Agency afford him?
‘Director Jeong Seungil. Lead that S-rank Hunter to us.’
No matter what conditions the Agency offered.
Seven Stars could offer twice as much, or more.
In fact.
The Rift Management Agency moving first would only highlight Seven Stars’ better offer.
“Report all developments on this matter as the highest priority.”
“Understood!”
The recruitment war was becoming fierce.
Baek Seonghyeon was certain that he would be the one smiling at the end.
***
My search for a new workshop had begun impulsively.
I searched a real-estate app for a suitable property.
【Did you not say you would be fine for the time being?】
“Thanks to someone, I am no longer fine.”
Look at the melted armor.
Hm?
I could repair severed body parts in the makeshift workshop under my room.
All I needed was thread and Mana.
However.
Heat-warped parts had to be reshaped directly.
【Did you not say the structure could not be separated?】
“I am different.”
Before I acquired Death Space.
Had it forgotten how I used to transport Sir Isra?
Separating the circuits took some effort, but that was all.
I could temporarily divide and reconnect the parts as often as I wanted.
【Ah. That is true.】
“Why do you not return to your roots and try it yourself, Sir Isra?”
【I respectfully decline.】
I was serious.
What a shame.
I found several warehouse-style properties not far from my room.
They could vent heat and store a great deal of equipment.
After contacting places that met both requirements, I headed to Yongsan Hunter Market.
【Were you not looking for a workshop?】
“I am going to order the equipment in advance.”
Ordering it did not mean it would be shipped immediately.
At best, it would arrive tomorrow.
I needed to place the order beforehand, then have it delivered once I chose a workshop.
“Welcome.”
After returning the employee’s greeting, I selected a portable forge, a quenching tub, and several other pieces of equipment.
“Portable equipment has weak heat output and poor endurance.”
“I need something I can use immediately.”
The forge to be installed in my workshop would be permanent.
Staff needed to come and set it up according to the available space.
That would take quite some time.
The portable forge could fit inside my Spatial Storage Carrier.
Since it ran on Magic Stones, I could also use it for emergency repairs inside Gates.
“When is the earliest it can be delivered?”
“It can arrive tomorrow morning.”
Oh.
That was nice.
“Then I will send you the address later.”
“Please send it before six in the evening.”
Excellent.
This was Korea, after all.
What speed of delivery.
After quickly buying the essential supplies, I looked for a workshop site.
I visited three locations.
“This one will do.”
I chose a warehouse ten minutes from my room.
And signed the contract on the spot.
【How decisive.】
“Even thinking about it longer would be a waste of time.”
I had plenty of money.
It was better to clear another Gate than waste time overthinking.
【Hahaha! I like that boldness.】
I was not doing it to receive your praise.
***
The next day.
I headed to my new workshop as soon as morning arrived.
“Should I move this over here?”
“Yes.”
After arranging the portable forge and several pieces of blacksmithing equipment—
WHOOSH!
I immediately lit the forge.
It could run on either electricity or Magic Stones.
Inside a workshop, it was better to use electricity instead of expensive Magic Stones, then add fuel to increase the heat.
[Corpse Processing]
[Spiritual Energy Circuit Engraving]
I temporarily separated the armor.
CLANG! CLANG!
[Bone Metallurgy]
I reinforced the melted portions with spare bones.
[The properties of the bones differ.]
[Toughness has decreased by 5.]
What a troublesome system.
Because I could modify and strengthen it, could it become weaker as well?
I needed to buy more Owlbeast bones.
I was planning to make additional Armed Zombie Warriors too.
【You repair it quite easily.】
“Try doing it yourself. Is this easy?”
Was that something to say to someone who had just sweated profusely?
Sir Isra, did you have no conscience?
I spent the morning organizing the workshop and making repairs.
Then I cleared a Gate in the afternoon.
[Ant Nest]
Entry Restriction: D-rank or below, maximum 15 people.
“HISS, HISS.”
Ants the size of large dogs appeared inside the Gate.
SLASH!
RIP—!
This was easy.
It was a narrow passage-type Gate.
With Sir Isra and the Armed Zombie Warrior at the front, the monsters could not even approach.
Watching them hunt without needing to lift a finger made me restless.
【Do not even think of stepping forward.】
Ugh.
I had been caught.
[You have cleared Ant Nest.]
[Rank — SSS]
[You have received 100 D-rank Magic Stones.]
Including the Magic Stones recovered from the ants’ corpses, I had obtained a total of 170.
I had not received any other items.
Still.
The Magic Stones alone were worth nearly 80 million won.
“Should we enter one more?”
The armor had only a few scratches.
I had not even needed to take out the portable forge I had brought in my spatial storage.
【A good idea.】
“Grrrugh.”
Then, as we stepped outside the Gate—
A luxury sedan, which had not been there when we entered, was parked nearby.
Wow.
Was that a Ben-something?
I had heard there were fewer than a hundred of them in the country.
Why was a car like that here……?
As I glanced over curiously.
CLICK—
The door opened, and someone stepped outside.
Wait.
It could not be him, could it?
“Are you Hunter Park Minho?”
“Ah. Yes.”
“My name is Jeong Seungil. I work in the Response Bureau.”
Oh no.
It was him.
One of the heroes of the Great Cataclysm.
And a famous figure in the Rift Management Agency who was still active.
Why was someone like that……?
“If you have time, shall we have a meal together?”