▶ Chapter 11. My First Disciple (1)
The reason I didn’t immediately use a suppression skill wasn’t because I was tired.
Maybe Han Junggeun wanted to make it clear that he had absolutely no intention of attacking.
A white flag?
He was standing there very calmly, holding one in one hand.
Seeing a man with such an enormous build and such a fierce-looking face doing that...
It’s kind of funny...
I barely managed to hold back my laughter.
“Hunter NotAHunter.”
Han Junggeun spoke in a serious voice.
“As an SS-rank swordsman, I have a talent for sensing the presence of living beings. That’s how I knew you were nearby last time, Hunter NotAHunter, and I can sense you now as well.”
Han Junggeun was staring directly at the place where I stood.
He’s quite skilled.
I was impressed, but I didn’t become wary.
Even if Han Junggeun attacked me—or even if Han Yonghwan joined him—I could suppress them immediately.
“Last time, you seemed to prefer that we didn’t approach you, so I didn’t greet you. But right now, I believe we may be able to offer you a little help, so I came forward to introduce myself.”
Han Junggeun very slowly pulled something out from inside his clothes and placed it on the ground.
They were business cards.
Three of them.
“These are the business cards of the three of us brothers. There are no devices hidden inside them. If you’re worried about being tracked, you can call us from a public phone. Would you please take them?”
I neither answered nor moved.
“Things are rather chaotic right now, so when you have time later, please contact any one of the three numbers. We would like to purchase the monster materials, mana stones, boxes, and other items you possess. I promise you the best possible treatment.”
Han Junggeun took one step back and bowed deeply at a perfect ninety-degree angle.
“Thank you for listening.”
After thinking about it, I picked up the business cards.
I slowly moved away again, and once there was about a hundred meters between us, I glanced back.
Han Junggeun was still bowing politely in exactly the same position.
David Stefano, an SSS-rank Hunter from the United States.
He was extremely furious.
Why?
He had become a Hunter at the age of ten and endured all kinds of hardships, steadily building up his contribution to world peace until he finally became the number one Hunter in the world.
He had held that position for five whole years.
Now thirty years old, everyone praised and respected him as the greatest Hunter alive.
And yet, some person who had appeared completely out of nowhere had suddenly stolen the number one spot from him!
Of course, rationally speaking, David understood.
The System did not lie.
Nor could it be manipulated.
In other words...
NotAHunter isn’t some kind of fraud...
That person really had contributed more to world peace than David himself!
He understood that logically, but emotionally, the shock was too great for him to accept.
And more importantly, he had suffered an enormous loss.
I lost the special privilege for being number one in the world!
The privilege allowed him to connect his Search skill to a game-like map.
Ever since David had become world number one, he had used that ability constantly, both inside Gates and in everyday life.
Why?
Because... Because...
I HAVE NO SENSE OF DIRECTION!!!
That was right.
David Stefano had a terrible sense of direction.
Oddly enough, it wasn’t a problem in everyday life.
But inside Gates, it became absolutely horrible.
For a tank who was supposed to lead the way, that was an enormous weakness.
In the past, he had always brought a buffer who possessed a Navigation skill with him.
Even then, he had gone the wrong way several times and ended up in dangerous situations.
Things changed after he became number one in the world.
Thanks to his special privilege, he could navigate perfectly anywhere without needing a Navigation skill.
That was why I could perform even better, like I’d grown wings.
And now that privilege was gone!
I’ve become directionally challenged again!!!
David simply could not accept this tragic reality.
It might have been a little easier if someone universally acknowledged as an incredible Hunter had proudly taken his position.
But that wasn’t the case.
Of course, defeating a Grade 9 Break alone in less than five minutes was impressive.
But still...
What the hell kind of name is NotAHunter?!
That nickname was an insult to all the Hunters who risked their lives protecting world peace.
As someone who worked himself to the bone as a Hunter—
and had, in fact, broken plenty of bones—
David simply could not calm his anger.
Only after entering a suitable Gate and beating monsters for quite a while did he finally feel a little better.
He came back out to rest—
and immediately received new information.
“NotAHunter appeared again?!”
His manager, Benjamin, quickly answered.
“Yes. Yesterday, a Grade 7 Sudden Gate appeared in Seoul, and it was cleared approximately twenty-two minutes later.”
David frowned.
“NotAHunter cleared a Grade 9 Break in less than five minutes, but a Grade 7 Gate took twenty-two minutes?”
“It seems the extra time was spent rescuing survivors. Twenty-seven people were caught inside the Gate, and nineteen survived. According to their testimony, five of the eight people who died were attacked and killed immediately after being pulled inside.”
