Chapter 393

The weather had remained bitterly cold lately. And yet, why did my eyes keep welling up like this?

"Seri, remind me to call and apply for installment payments on my taxes at 9 a.m. on February 1st."

Swallowing back the faint tears, I began putting together a new plan.

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

As expected, the most common obstacle standing in the way of a researcher's dreams was money. Of course, an ordinary scholar would never find themselves staring down a colossal 40-billion debt like this...

***

About ten hours after the long-awaited collection period began.

"Phew."

Monday. As soon as the month changed, I contacted various government agencies, having already received some advice from a tax office expert. After taking several measures, I managed to repay part of the 40-billion debt and legally defer the remainder.

"I've been worrying myself sick until now, but strangely enough, now that the wave has actually hit, I feel surprisingly calm."

Unlike the fear that had gripped me beforehand, once everything began proceeding smoothly, a sense of peace gradually settled over me.

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

Part of the reason I managed to face it head-on was the thought, 'What worse could happen than being banned from leaving the country?' That's how the world usually works. Of course, it's easy to be frightened by something you've never experienced before, but in reality, many problems turn out to be surprisingly manageable once you actually put in the effort.

"Anyway, it's a good thing."

For the time being, I'm free from my tax obligations. Even if the deferred portion becomes a problem again later, I've already completed my second awakening, so one way or another, I can build up enough wealth to deal with it. After considering everything from every angle, my perfectly rational mindset finally returned.

"Retirement really is just around the corner!"

The situation itself had taken a positive turn, and my irritation vanished along with it. And since I was already in such a good mood...

"With all this energy flowing through me, I might as well take care of the things I've been putting off."

Sshk.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket.

[Jung Haseong 臣]

Without wasting another moment, I placed a call. For reference, the reason I was contacting the nation's number one Hunter was essentially to request some A/S.

.

.

.

A few hours later, before I even had time to properly reflect on whether my wording had been appropriate, I found myself face-to-face with the number one ranked Hunter.

"It caused enough of a stir that an S-rank Hunter came all the way back from overseas. I wonder if what happens today will end up looking like yet another duel."

Jung Ha-seong, whom I hadn't seen in a while, hadn't changed at all. He explained that thanks to the mana-control tips I'd taught him, he'd recently gone to a hair salon, and while getting his gray hair dyed, he'd also had it thinned out at the same time.

"Hmm."

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

'Looks like Kim Giryeo is insensitive to changes in his compatriots. And now that I've started thinking about it, this body is even terrible at those "spot the difference" games!'

Well, since there was nothing I could do about that, I escaped the situation with the all-purpose phrase, "Your haircut looks great," and the moment the topic shifted, I moved straight on to the A/S I'd called him here for.

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

"Yes. I've decided to make some corrections to the new technique you've perfected."

For now, Jung Ha-seong had recently succeeded in using Divine Transformation. However, the timing of the magic's activation had gone beyond what I'd anticipated, which meant the ultimate technique carried the risk of injuring its caster as well. So I decided to take precautions before that unstable power could cause an accident. Once you've taken on the role of a teacher, you can't just go through the motions. At the very least, you have to see things through properly as a mentor.

"By the way, Jung Haseong, you've probably noticed this yourself, but if you really wanted to, you could intensify the flames even further. It's almost as though the limits of its range and power extend far beyond what you've already seen."

"Aah, yes. That's right."

"But even if you feel that way, a fire-attribute superhuman must never increase the firepower any further at the final stage."

"Why?"

"If you use the technique that way, you'll die instantly. So don't release more power than you can handle."

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

"That's right. Technically, it is a finishing move. The problem is that the caster ends up dead within seconds without being able to do anything afterward. That makes it a completely different matter..."

The conversation continued. As I passed various pieces of information on to Jung Haseong, the short amount of time flew by. But no matter how long we talked, there was only one goal.

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

"Yes."

"And I stressed this from the very beginning—once your body catches fire, you absolutely must not force even more power into it. That's no different from kicking a lit bomb, you know?"

"I'll be careful... No, actually, I've already been careful about that since last time..."

"Don't talk back. I'm repeating myself because this is important."

"Yes, yes."

Today, I was determined to give him thorough safety training. Nothing is more pointless than having to do the same thing twice. So while I had the opportunity, I kept hammering the warnings into him until the caveman's ears might as well have started oozing pus.

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

But just then—while a soul that wasn't even Korean by birth was worrying about housing prices.

"Hunter Kim. By the way..."

The nation's top-ranked Hunter cautiously tested the waters before speaking.

"Are you still receiving sparring requests these days?"

He was probably asking whether foreign Hunters were still contacting me. The moment I understood the question, I answered without hesitation.

"I ignored all of them, so they stopped coming."

"Ha, I see. I'm glad it worked out, but looking back, I was definitely too careless. I apologize for causing you trouble back then."

"It's fine."

It would have been nice if the conversation had ended there. But instead, that Korean named Jung Haseong, despite his decent build, went and started spouting nonsense the moment he had a little breathing room.

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

"What are you talking about?"

"Exactly what you heard."

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

"Oh—so you're saying the message I saw... wasn't some elaborate scheme by Hunter Kim Giryeo to deceive even all three telecommunications companies through electronic records?"

"Absolutely not."

"I see."

'This incompetent b*stard... how the hell did he even get into veterinary school?'

At this point, I couldn't even tell whether my credibility was high or low. When it came to something I genuinely wanted him to believe, he'd nitpick and ask whether I was lying. But when I sincerely laid out the truth, he'd twist it all by himself and sprint off into some absurd tangent—what a mess.

'Seriously, what is wrong with this human?'

Just as I was grumbling to myself in such harsh terms, Jung Haseong suddenly began sweating bullets. On top of that, he lowered his gaze as though he'd just been scolded. Before he could sink into some unnecessary gloom, I made sure to finish what I was thinking.

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

"Yes?"

"I'm lacking in plenty of areas too, aside from handling my superpowers."

It wasn't some grand declaration. I was only repeating a fact I'd already acknowledged. No matter how you looked at it, Jung Haseong was a top 0.5% genius on this primitive planet. But humans simply weren't built to live with perfectly hexagonal stats. So I didn't particularly look down on him just because his problem-solving ability fell short in certain areas. If anything, the way he seemed to distribute his intelligence according to priority almost looked efficient.

"Me, a genius?"

But somehow, that bit of idle chatter seemed to affect Jung Haseong far more than I'd expected. The face of the nation's number one Hunter suddenly brightened, and before long, he raised his voice in delight as though he hadn't been cautious only moments earlier. It was surprising to see how dramatically a single word of praise could change his mood.

'And more than anything, I can't shake the feeling that... his basic independence... has somehow failed...'

But this wasn't the time to pick apart such vague and ambiguous issues one by one—especially since I was beginning to feel hungry.

Grrumble.

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

"Ah!"

The conversation suddenly changed direction.

"Um... and I'm not trying to argue or anything, but from my perspective, Hunter Kim, you really are flawless."

"Hmm."

"When you said you're lacking in various areas—honestly, that's just excessive modesty. I'm sure the people around you would all say that's absolutely not true."

There was no need to correct such a trivial self-deprecating remark this seriously.

"Hmm. Well, I just haven't been on Earth for very long. Once I get used to things, I'm actually quite capable, aren't I~"

While swallowing down a confidence I couldn't reveal to anyone, I listened as Jung Haseong continued.

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

"Wait, outsiders?"

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

The moment the dungeon's name came up, my attention naturally shifted in that direction.

"Of course, since the dungeon is currently causing so much trouble, I can completely understand why they want to resolve it as quickly as possible, but..."

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

"Yes. Not only has it not been cleared, but I've heard that even maintaining the dungeon has become difficult."

As soon as I brought up the subject, the Rank 1 Hunter immediately began explaining. The A-rank—or possibly higher—phenomenon-type gate that had appeared in England was apparently still giving Hunters a hard time. Until now, Hunters of the same rank with high magical resistance had been assigned to deal with it, but... once a human entered the [Sin Classification] dungeon and came back out, their personality seemed to change so drastically that they would fly into a rage. In some cases, they were even consumed by unprecedented envy and ended up harming their own kind. In other words, no matter how much potions could heal them, both the human body and mind were inevitably going to suffer damage.

So it was hardly surprising that a movement like this had already emerged at the site of the first [Sin Classification].

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

I nodded as I checked the online article Jung Haseong had shown me.

"Looks like this is about to become a social issue."

For the moment, the Sin Classification gate was somewhat too difficult to maintain using Hunters of the same rank. But if they tried assigning stronger individuals—those better able to withstand the feeding box's attacks...

S-rank.

In other words, if a mutant who had surpassed the previous ranking system lost their mind, who would take responsibility for restraining them?

Because of that concern, it seemed no one had attempted to send an S-rank expedition into the Sin Classification gate, not even experimentally.

'At least I'm the only one who already knows from the American reports that even top-tier Hunters are affected.'

After browsing the internet, it seemed netizens had completely convinced themselves that this was precisely why I'd postponed my overseas trip.

'Misconceptions are running wild all over the world.'

Let's skip over humanity's misunderstandings for now. In any case, most of the judgments the Earthlings were making were fairly realistic. Especially if someone like Jung Ha-seong, who had completed his growth, were to become infected by the rage of [Sin Classification].

Although I wasn't exactly pleased with Pixy Corp.'s attempt to monopolize the technology behind magical detection equipment, there was at least one thing worth acknowledging.

The systematic structure of the ranking system.

On Earth, the danger posed by an S-rank monster and an S-rank Hunter was understood to be roughly equivalent.

'The problem caused by even a lower-ranked gate is escalating this much...'

After our lengthy conversation came to an end, Jung Haseong and I returned to working on strengthening the skill. Yet the name [Sin Classification], which I'd barely managed to put out of mind, came up again less than an hour later.

"Ah, Hunter Kim. I'm sorry. I really need to speak with you for a moment."

"Okay~"

As could be inferred from the exchange inside the gym, some information had already reached the national hero's personal contact number.

'Maybe it's because his job has him outdoors so often, but Jung Haseong always keeps his phone volume pretty high.'

It was a piece of news I quietly picked up thanks to my body now being fully enhanced by the second awakening.

While we were going about our schedule for the day, the third [Sin Classification] had appeared on this planet.

And, as though punishing those who habitually indulged in gluttony, the gate had reportedly appeared filled with various traps designed to torment anyone with poor self-control when it came to food...

'How dare a species with one of the most voracious appetites in this entire universe use a feeding box like that?'

The Gisimche's actions were becoming increasingly irritating.

And now, even I was beginning to feel a creeping sense of disbelief.