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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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Chapter 41: Main Quest (1)
"You're surprised that I received 555? Wasn't 555 the worst score?"
"No, 555 is the minimum stat allocation given by the system. If you can't even get that, you're considered beyond saving. Normally, it would have been 333—basically trash."
Strength 3, Agility 3, Magic 3?
Just how useless was I?
No matter how I look at it, the First Fruit of the World Tree feels far too generous for me.
Even the leaves of the World Tree continue to be effective.
I should eat the gifts I received first.
"Guess the best choice is the Magic Encyclopedia."
"Yeah, that's a good call."
When I touched the Magic Encyclopedia, a message appeared.
[Would you like to form a soul mediator contract with the god Athena?]
Upon accepting it, the magic book vanished.
[The Magic Encyclopedia skill has been created.]
[The Magic Encyclopedia skill is analyzing the user's mana and skills...]
The list kept growing longer and longer.
Figuring it would finish eventually, I dismissed the system window.
[SP gains for the god Athena increase by 1.4 times. Mediator Kim Jiho receives 15% as a commission.]
[Due to the skill's low level, it cannot mediate all SP earned by Athena on Earth. Only certain regions are being mediated.]
Even with the skill at level 2, it seems I can't mediate for the entire Earth just yet.
Still, with the increased ratio for everyone, the SP gain should be substantial.
After finishing the contract, I couldn’t stop glancing at the Amplification Sword Yeoui and the Fragment of Astrape.
"I’d like to take the rest of these items too, but I guess that's impossible for now?"
"Of course. Just clear the quest quickly and take them all."
"Understood."
"Well, I suppose it's time to head back. See you after you complete the quest."
As Pollux waved, a teleportation portal appeared again.
After bowing to him, I stepped into the portal.
Upon exiting, I found myself on the top floor of the Association.
Kang Shia, who had returned to Earth with me from Kevrian, approached.
Her face looked gaunt with exhaustion, and she held a file in her hands.
"Jiho."
"Oh, Shia. You didn’t take a break after returning to Earth?"
"I’m going to rest after reporting some changes to the Kevrian expedition."
She opened the file.
"First... 49 members have declared they want to quit the expedition."
"49? Why?"
"Even though the experience rewards are high, surviving in such an extreme war zone isn’t easy. Many died painfully after being caught by Uruks."
"Hm... I see. Were you okay, Shia?"
"I almost died too, but I barely made it. What should we do about them?"
"It doesn’t matter if they want to leave. We can recruit new members. But wouldn’t they need to die three times to actually quit?"
"They said they’d commit suicide."
How bad was it for them to even consider suicide?
That would mean they’d rather die one or two more times...
Even for people who became D-rank hunters after competing their way up, the trauma must have been severe.
"Also, there are 243 people who didn’t revive and return to the battlefield within 15 minutes after dying. It’s a tricky issue. Those who were torn apart by Uruks said it was impossible to recover and return so quickly."
If they died in a gruesome and painful way, I can understand why it’d be hard to jump back in immediately.
After organizing my thoughts, I spoke.
"For now, tell those who want to quit to take their time to think it over until we head back to Kevrian. If they haven’t changed their minds in a week, let them go."
"In a week?"
"Yes. It’s better for them to die while still part of the expedition since they’ll face fewer experience penalties that way."
"Understood. I’ll let them know."
"As for those who didn’t revive immediately, it’s hard to penalize them since we didn’t have any rules in place. For now, give them a verbal warning. Let them know they’ll be expelled from the expedition if it happens again."
"Got it. That seems reasonable."
Out of 1,000 members, 49 decided to quit—about 5%.
I suppose that’s a fortunate number.
"We’ll need to recruit new members."
"Should I ask those who followed us to Kevrian but weren’t part of the expedition if they’d like to join?"
"Oh, that’s a good idea. Approach those who match the vacant roles."
"Alright, I’ll handle that."
"Isn’t this too much work for you? I feel like I should pay you a salary."
Despite her exhausted face, Kang Shia smiled.
"Jiho, not at all. I’m gaining so much by handling this."
"Gaining, how?"
"People might wonder, 'Why is she doing this for him? Is she close to him, one of his inner circle?' Those perceptions are a tremendous asset."
She closed the file and swept her hair back.
"Becoming the first C-rank Hunter is an unprecedented achievement. And for someone who became an Awakened just months ago to become the strongest on Earth... Whether they like it or not, this industry will have to adapt to you, Jiho."
"It’s not like they need to tread lightly."
"You’ll see. Once word of what happened at the fortress spreads, people will scramble to recruit you or curry favor. Anyway, being perceived as part of your inner circle is incredibly beneficial for me and my guild."
"In that case, I’ll put you to work as much as I want."
"Yes, that’s exactly what I want."
With Kang Shia’s enthusiasm, we discussed the expedition issues.
The Kevrian expedition was set to resume in a week.
Meanwhile, I headed home for some much-needed rest.
As soon as I closed my eyes in my new home, I drifted into dreamland.
[Your magic is sufficient to learn 4th-circle spells.]
[Your magic skill level is insufficient to learn 4th-circle spells. Currently undergoing training to increase skill level...]
[Your foundation in magic and mana is nonexistent. Beginning subconscious foundational training.]
When I woke up, the ongoing messages from the Magic Encyclopedia were gone, replaced by new ones.
It teaches me even while I’m sleeping?
That’s convenient.
Though I didn’t feel drastically different after just one day, when I tried using a Shield spell, it felt more efficient.
It was like giving orders with no knowledge versus understanding the system and directing efficiently.
If this progression continues, it’ll be a breeze.
Let’s see how much SP has increased.
When I checked the status screen, I saw that my SP had increased by about 700 in a single day.
To be precise, the Order faction gained 650, and the Neutral faction gained 60.
Compared to the days when I earned about 100 combined from both sides, this was a sevenfold increase.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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This is quite profitable.
If four gods can manage this much, adding two more could potentially bring in over a thousand SP per day.
I considered spending the points on stats right away but decided to hold off until I cleared the main quest.
“Yawn…”
Maybe it’s because I’ve been fighting constantly lately.
While I wanted to relax on Earth when I was in Kevrian, now that I’m back, I find myself restless.
I ordered food from a Chinese restaurant and turned on my computer to browse the news. The headline “World’s First C-Rank Awakened Emerges in South Korea!” immediately caught my eye.
Oh, has it already been made public?
Curious, I clicked on the article, but it only displayed a brief message: “This article has been removed in accordance with our policies.”
What?
Pressure from the top?
When I checked the HunterNet, which is only accessible to awakened hunters, the forums were abuzz with debates about whether a C-rank had truly appeared.
Posts claiming to have confirmed the existence of a C-rank were being deleted as soon as they went up.
Does the government not want this information getting out?
As I pondered, I noticed a text message on my phone from the Hunter Association president.
[We sincerely apologize for the media publishing an article without first considering your wishes, Hunter Kim Jiho.]
The lengthy message started with an apology.
Stripping away all the flowery words, the gist was that if I wanted to publicize it, they would actively support me, but if not, they would keep it under wraps.
So the government had deleted the articles because I hadn’t made a decision yet.
How considerate of them.
I mulled over it for a moment.
Hmm.
Is there really a need to flaunt it and announce to the world that I’m C-rank?
That sounds like a hassle.
If industry insiders find out through the grapevine, that’s one thing, but there’s no need to brag to the general public.
I asked Kang Shia, a former star, for her opinion.
-If you’re not interested in public attention, it’s better to keep it under wraps. It’ll only cause headaches.
“Right?”
-Yes. If your identity becomes widely known, paparazzi from all over the world will flock to Korea. Some hunters enjoy that kind of fame, but I wouldn’t recommend it.
“But can this really be controlled? It feels like rumors will spread anyway.”
-Complete control is impossible. But at least in the beginning, they can manage it. I’ll contact the Kevrian expedition members and ask them to keep it confidential. Also, I’ve heard that David in the U.S. is close to reaching level 50. If he gets promoted, the spotlight will shift to him.
“David… I think I heard from Smith that he’s at level 49.”
-Yes, he’s a chronic fame-seeker. Once he’s promoted, he’ll go around bragging everywhere. The public’s attention will immediately turn to him. On HunterNet, rumors about you might circulate, but the association will likely suppress them to some extent.
After hearing her opinion, I contacted the association president and told him I wasn’t interested in fame and would appreciate it if they kept things under control.
-That’s a wise choice. If you become a public figure, every little thing you do will become headline news, and you’ll be swarmed by paparazzi. Not to mention scammers and gold diggers…
Now that I think about it, I remember seeing an article a while ago about the association president divorcing his wife due to an affair.
Is this guy speaking from personal experience?
“Right now, I want to focus on the broken world. Fame won’t matter if Earth is destroyed.”
-Exactly. I’ll make sure to instruct the media to exercise strict control. However… if we do this, David may claim the title of the first C-rank for a while. Are you okay with that?
“That’s fine. It’s not a big deal.”
The gods and the forces of Chaos are already paying attention to me, so I’d rather relax on Earth.
Besides, I’ve already secured the title of the first Earth-born C-rank, so it doesn’t matter.
At my request, the association diligently dismissed any rumors as baseless and controlled the information.
Of course, the general public remained unaware, but top officials in various governments and associations knew about me.
One of the hunters who followed me was a CIA operative, after all.
Knowing what I had demonstrated in Kevrian, these powerful figures went out of their way to support me.
With the help of intelligence agents from major nations, my story disappeared entirely, replaced by a flood of celebrity scandals and infidelity news.
When news broke that David was nearing C-rank, my existence was completely overshadowed.
With the situation resolved, I focused on mastering magic.
Or rather, I let it come to me while I slept—it seemed to happen naturally.
While I could study while awake, it was absurdly difficult…
After resting for a week, our expedition team gathered at the association again.
Unlike the first time, their faces were no longer simply bright and full of anticipation.
The experience points had been sweet, but the final siege battle had been grueling…
However, word had spread about the rewards, and the number of participants heading to Kevrian had increased by 600.
“Let’s depart.”
With a total of 2,000 D-rank hunters, we all entered Kevrian at the same time.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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