Chapter 2

‘The proficiency is 100%?’

Proficiency, as the name implied, referred to how skilled one was with a given skill. The closer the proficiency was to 100%, the higher the efficiency, damage, and versatility of the skill.

For most hunters, proficiency was determined at the moment of skill acquisition based on the compatibility and understanding between the hunter and the skill. After that, proficiency could be raised through frequent use—but Jaeha’s newly acquired Divine Physician¹ Hua Tuo’s Secret Art had been at 100% proficiency from the very start.

“That means I have a talent for herbal medicine, acupuncture, or Healer skills. And the rank is Ancient, too.”

Skill ranks, from lowest to highest, were Normal, Advanced, Rare, Hero, Legendary, and Ancient. And Ancient-rank skills had barely ever appeared in all of human history.

Even counting every recorded appearance, they’d fit within ten fingers. Of course, that was based on written records, so it wasn’t entirely accurate—but still.

Swallowing his saliva, Jaeha muttered and used the Divine Physician Hua Tuo’s Secret Art. A system window appeared before him.

[1. Acupuncture]

[2. Herbal Medicine]

“…….”

What Jaeha had done up until now fell under supporting hunters from behind the scenes. That meant he knew quite a lot of hunter-related information.

But this kind of mechanic was something he’d never seen before, so he was a bit taken aback. After thinking for a moment, Jaeha selected Acupuncture. The moment he did, a long list of sub-skills began to appear. Tapping through them one by one to check the information, Jaeha found an acupuncture skill that suited him.

“[Constitution Improvement Art].”

Upon finding it, Jaeha slowly began reviewing the details.

[Divine Physician Hua Tuo’s Secret Art — Constitution Improvement Art]

[Usable at 100% proficiency or higher]

[Capable of improving constitutions that work disadvantageously against the recipient]

Since it was a sub-skill contained within the larger trunk of the Divine Physician Hua Tuo’s Secret Art, it didn’t provide detailed explanations of this or that.

Still, the sub-skill’s name gave him a fragmentary understanding of what it did. Though he was a little worried, Jaeha figured it wouldn’t work against him, nodded, and immediately used the skill.

[No acupuncture tools required for use exist.]

“Ah……, so I need acupuncture tools.”

Realizing he needed acupuncture tools, Jaeha thought for a moment before checking his cell phone to see if he could buy them.

It didn’t seem like they were sold on internet shopping malls, and after continuing his search, he managed to find information that he could get them by going to Gyeongdong Market, where many herbal medicine shops were concentrated.

“Going right now isn’t ideal. I should finish things up at the company first.”

With that thought, Jaeha went into the bathroom and washed up quickly.

* * *

Arriving at the company a little before lunchtime, Jaeha took out his phone and called Seungho.

<Where are you?>

“I’m in front of the office right now.”

<Why are you so late? Are you really quitting?>

“Yeah.”

<……You spend a lot on medicine, you know. You won’t be able to cover it with another company’s salary.>

“I Awakened.”

<For real?!>

“Yeah.”

<Whoa, seriously?>

“Yeah.”

<Congratulations. I guess if you live diligently, real opportunities really do come.>

Seungho, who had been offering his congratulations, suddenly went quiet—perhaps realizing that even if Jaeha, who couldn’t use mana, awakened, not much would change. Jaeha, having a rough idea of what he was thinking, smiled and spoke.

“I’ll head up now.”

<Alright.>

With that, he hung up and headed to the office where he worked. Walking in, Jaeha made his way straight to the team leader’s desk, drawing everyone’s gaze.

“Hm?”

She had been browsing online shopping on her computer when someone stood before her, and she looked up.

“What is it. What do you mean showing up this late? If you’re sick, you should contact me and say you’re sick.”

At her words, Jaeha gave a small smile and pulled a letter of resignation from his pocket, handing it over.

“What’s this? ……A resignation letter?”

“Yeah.”

“Huh?”

“You’re not my superior at work anymore. There’s no need for me to keep using polite speech with you.”

“……Well, even if I’m not your superior, I’m older than you, Jaeha. You’re going to talk to me like that?”

“Don’t act so surprised. You know what you did. Then again, someone like you might not have even realized…….”

“Hah……, are you going to die tomorrow or something? Why are you going so hard?”

“What do you mean, going too far? Given what you’ve done to me, this is being generous. The fact that I did three to five times more work than the other employees already says everything, doesn’t it?”

At that, she had nothing to say in response and remained silent.

“……A person can just be bad at their job sometimes.”

“Even if your mouth is crooked, you should still speak straight. You’re not bad at it—you just don’t do it.”

Having said that, Jaeha walked over to where his desk used to be. Then he pulled out all the documents stacked there and brought them to her.

“If I listed all the things you’ve done wrong, a whole day wouldn’t be enough, but I don’t want to dirty my mouth any further, so I’ll stop here. Still, the company has to keep running. These are things I organized so that whoever takes over can do the work easily, in case I ever collapsed.”

“Hah…. You’re really not going to regret this? You’re actually going through with the resignation?”

“Yes, yes~ Please do.”

Jaeha said this to the team leader with a smile on his face.

“And by the way.”

“…….”

As Jaeha started speaking, she looked at him.

“The truth is, I have a bit of a wicked side.”

“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“It’s just that—I did all your work, didn’t I? No, I basically took on almost all of our team’s work and managed it by myself.”

“So what are you getting at?”

“The work we do is supplying equipment that Hunters use and taking on subcontracts and connecting them to clients, right? When you do that kind of work, you naturally have to check how much of each item is left in stock, how much has sold, what the profit is, and report that to whoever contracted us. Isn’t that right?”

“…….”

Sensing the conversation was taking a strange turn, the team leader just listened.

“As you know, I’ve got a pretty good head on my shoulders.”

The team leader audibly gulped.

“Something didn’t add up. The documents and the actual amount of remaining inventory didn’t match. So I did a little investigating. And sure enough—items were missing.”

“I…… I never did anything like that.”

“Can’t you tell from the way I’m talking? I’ve already checked, and I have evidence. Denying it won’t do you any good. Either way, the missing items must have gone into some.one’s. pocket. Figuring out whose is what the police and prosecutors do.”

“…….”

“For your information, I’ve already organized the evidence and sent it to the department head and the CEO by email. I told them that if they don’t get rid of you, I’ll report it to the National Tax Service, the police, and the prosecutors. They’ll probably see it as a perfect opportunity and pile all their various corruption onto you.”

“Wh-when? When on earth did you prepare all this?!”

“I’ve had it prepared for years. Just in case something like this ever happened.”

At Jaeha’s words, the team leader seemed to realize something was seriously wrong. He got up from his seat, knelt down in front of Jaeha, and spoke.

“I…… I’m sorry. I was wrong. Please forgive me.”

“Yeah, it’s too late. If it’s really that hard for you, write a suicide note saying ‘I’m completely innocent~’ and go kill yourself or something.”

Having said that, Jaeha walked confidently across the office and headed outside.

Seungho, who had followed Jaeha out, looked at him and spoke.

“You gonna be okay? That bitch came in through connections.”

“Doesn’t matter. Do you think the materials I prepared were just a page or two? If I actually reported it to the prosecutors, the company would probably go under. No matter how well-connected she is, they’ll get rid of her.”

“Well, you’ve always been killer at handling things, so I’m sure you’ve got it figured out. But your body…… are you okay?”

“I’m not okay right now. But I’m going to fix it.”

“Is that possible?”

“Of course. You know my personality. I don’t say things unless I’m sure.”

“Right. That’s the kind of guy you are. Anyway, contact me once you’re feeling better. Let’s grab a drink then.”

“Yeah. I’ll buy that time.”

Having said that, Jaeha smiled and walked out of the building. Then he hailed a taxi and headed straight for Gyeongdong Market.

Arriving at the market, Jaeha headed to the store he had looked up in advance. This store sold various supplies including acupuncture equipment and medicinal herbs, and Jaeha had come to purchase the acupuncture tools needed for the constitution improvement technique.

“Welcome~”

The shopkeeper greeted Jaeha with a smile as he entered.

“What brings you here? Looking for some herbs or something?”

“No. I came to buy acupuncture needles.”

“Acupuncture? Like hand acupuncture needles?”

“Yes.”

“……I can sell them to you, but you can’t do anything weird with them. It’s illegal if you’re not a doctor.”

“It’s fine. I’m a Hunter.”

“Oh, you’re a Hunter?”

“Yes.”

“Well, that’s fine then. Want me to show you the different types?”

“Yes.”

The shopkeeper immediately started pulling out various items to show him, and Jaeha purchased several acupuncture sets filled with needles of different lengths. After paying, Jaeha looked around at the herbs displayed inside the shop and spoke.

“Do you sell herbs too?”

“Of course. We’ve got everything except what we don’t have. If there’s something you’re looking for, I can even source rare ones. So, anything you need?”

“No. Not right now, but I think I’ll need them later.”

“Is that so? Well…… if you need them, come by. I’ll give you a discount.”

“Yes, I will. Take care.”

After saying his goodbyes, Jaeha stepped outside. Then he hailed another taxi and headed straight home. On the way back, a text from Seungho came in, and he read it.

<Team Leader. She just got called in by the department head.>

Jaeha smiled at the message as he continued home. The moment he got back, worried about potential bacteria issues, he started boiling the acupuncture tools in hot water. After putting the needles into the vigorously boiling water, he waited a moment before taking them out and letting them cool.

Then, carrying them into the bedroom, Jaeha cleared away all the bedding and stripped off all his clothes. After laying out the acupuncture tools and various other items, he let out a deep sigh.

And then he used the skill. As he activated Constitution Improvement Technique, no special window appeared this time—his body simply began to move on its own. Jaeha’s hands, pulling out needles and inserting them across his body, moved as if they belonged to a god—to Hua Tuo himself.

Chapter 2

After more than thirty minutes passed, Jaeha’s hands came to a stop, and there wasn’t a single spot on his body without a needle in it. Like a hedgehog covered in needles all over, Jaeha watched as a window appeared before his eyes.

[The needles must not be removed for up to 12 hours for the Constitution Improvement Technique to complete perfectly.]

At that, Jaeha lay still without a single thought. Before long, his body began to grow hot and flushed. Soon after, feeling an unknown energy circulating through his body, Jaeha slowly drifted off to sleep.