Chapter 56

There were three main things done there. First, apprehending Hunters who had committed crimes, second, mediating disputes between Hunters, and finally, certifying ranks.

In truth, people divided ranks by Total Ability, but originally it wasn’t done that way—one had to receive official certification from the UN for it to be recognized. Back when the Hunter profession was still unfamiliar, UN certification was mandatory.

However, as time passed and Hunters became deeply integrated into society, the fact that the Total Ability shown on the system could never be false was proven multiple times. Eventually, the social consensus shifted to recognizing a rank based on Total Ability alone, even without official certification, as long as it exceeded a certain threshold.

The group had come here to have their abilities officially certified. Three of them already had Total Ability scores exceeding A-Rank. The others, however, hadn’t surpassed 300.

Their combat abilities surpassed those of other Hunters. Seungho in particular was overwhelmingly strong compared to the rest of the team. Of course, he still couldn’t compare to Jaeha or the Corpse Puppet.

The reason for that was partly Seungho’s talent, but also the sparring sessions with Jaeha’s jiangshi.

They were beings who had once ruled as absolute sovereigns of an entire world. What they gained from sparring with such beings for over ten hours a day was beyond imagination.

That was why the students’ combat abilities exceeded A-Rank. But their Total Ability scores still kept them from reaching S-Rank.

“So we came here to get official certification that everyone has at least reached A-Rank.”

Jaeha said that, then looked at Seungho and continued.

“You might even be able to go for S. Hajin-hyung probably can too.”

“Of course.”

“Right. You start first.”

“Got it.”

At Jaeha’s words, Seungho immediately went through the procedures and stepped into the rank verification machine. Getting a rank certified was simpler than expected. If you could clear a monster wave belonging to a certain rank by yourself, you were recognized as that rank.

In simple terms, if you wanted to be recognized as A-Rank, you just had to clear a monster wave from an A-Rank dungeon by yourself.

Seungho entered the machine and began fighting holographic monsters. Before long, he emerged victorious and received his A-Rank certification. Seungho looked at the supervisor and spoke.

“I’d like to challenge S-Rank.”

The supervisor was briefly taken aback, then composed himself and said.

“Since you’ve obtained A-Rank, challenging S-Rank is possible. But as you know, S-Rank certification can genuinely be fatal.”

Up to A-Rank, even if you got hurt, it ended at minor injuries or, at worst, serious ones. And healers were standing by as well. But S-Rank was different. You could actually die.

“I’m fine with that.”

The supervisor eventually nodded and spoke into his microphone, relaying various instructions. Before long, new monsters materialized. As they appeared, Seungho gripped his sword tightly and charged toward them.

* * *

[Shocking—All five have finally achieved A-Rank.]

[Even two of them reached S-Rank! Na Jaeha, just what is his limit?]

“Thank you all for your hard work. I hear that everyone except Hajin-hyung and Gemma will be transitioning to their own personal broadcasts. So to each of your fans, please head over to their respective channels and continue enjoying their content. I’ll be taking about two weeks of rest before returning.”

—Then what about the other two?

—I want to watch Hajin’s broadcast too.

“Hajin-hyung said he wants to rest for a bit first. And he mentioned he’d be visiting various dungeons to find the monster that suits him best. As for Gemma, she says she’ll rest a little and then return to the entertainment industry. Apparently she’s been cast in a movie featuring Hunters. She’s been scouted for the lead role and is preparing for it.”

—I see.

—A movie. That sounds fun.

After a brief pause, Jaeha smiled calmly and spoke.

“Thank you all for your hard work.”

With that, he ended the broadcast and turned to the group.

“Everyone worked hard. I don’t really care how each of you lives your life from now on, but if you use the power you have now to go around doing something shady, I’ll have no choice but to step in. Let’s not make things troublesome for each other.”

Having said that, Jaeha headed home with Seungho.

Chapter 3

About three days after returning home following the broadcast, Sia, who had been teaching John and the others, came to Jaeha and spoke.

“It’s done.”

“What?”

“The students.”

Jaeha thought for a moment before speaking.

“Ah, you mean John and the others?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“You finished all the material?”

“Yes. It’s done.”

“So what do they want to do now?”

At Jaeha’s words, Sia smiled as she spoke.

“They said they’d like to return home now.”

“Well, they should go back. There are over 220 people waiting for them there, and they need to pass on what they’ve learned.”

“Yes.”

Sia nodded, and at her words, Jaeha rose from his seat.

“Let’s go see them. Where are they?”

“In the living room.”

With that, Jaeha headed down to the living room. Seeing John and the others sitting on the sofa, he spoke.

“So it’s all done?”

As Jaeha approached, John stood up from his seat and replied.

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“No need for that. Sit down.”

Jaeha took a seat as well and continued.

“You want to go back?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Alright. That makes sense.”

Jaeha nodded at their words. Then he sat quietly for a moment before speaking again.

“You must have something on your minds. Say whatever it is.”

“Yes. Even if we return, we’ll need to teach alchemy to our 220 comrades. At minimum it’ll take several months, and at worst, years to decades before we can do proper work.”

“No, that won’t be the case. At the shortest, a few months, and at the longest, two to three years should be plenty.”

“You…… think so?”

“Yeah. If you use the various byproducts from dungeons and the blood of Sia that I’ll occasionally send you, your situation will improve considerably. Moreover, as you practice various forms of alchemy, it’ll be recognized as a skill, and once it’s recognized as a skill, you can grow in no time using potions that raise Proficiency.”

“……I see.”

“So you don’t need to worry. It won’t take nearly that long.”

“Yes, understood.”

“And in the meantime, all you need to do is send me the various things you create through alchemy.”

“That’s certainly not difficult, but whatever we manage to produce won’t be of much use.”

“No, that’s more than enough. After all, anything I actually need for myself, I can just make it myself.”

“So you intend to use them for other purposes?”

“I’m not going to sell them or anything. But they’ll come in handy in various situations.”

“Ah, I think I understand.”

“So just make various potions and send them over.”

“Understood.”

“Good. Get yourselves sorted and head back. And before you leave, talk to Sia and take some of her blood with you.”

“Understood.”

“Good work.”

With that, Jaeha rose from his seat and headed up to his room.

* * *

Not long after, the alchemists returned to their homeland of England, and once they were gone, Jaeha spent his time playing with the spirits.

After about two weeks of rest and relaxation, Jaeha resumed broadcasting on exactly the fourteenth day.

He broadcasted from several A-Rank dungeons. But as he continued streaming steadily, things started to feel dull.

“You know, lately…… your reactions are different from before. Whatever monster shows up, you just kill it with a blank face. You barely explain anything either.”

At Seungho’s question, Jaeha gave a small smile and spoke.

“I guess that’s true.”

“Is there a problem?”

“No problem. It’s just not fun anymore.”

“Not fun?”

“Yeah. Broadcasting, hunting—it’s all the same. Combat style too. Whether I use a sword, my hands, a gun, or a bow, no matter what I do, it’s just not that enjoyable.”

“Then what are you supposed to do?”

“What do you mean, what. You live a monotonous life. Most people live monotonously like this anyway.”

With that, Jaeha slumped into the sofa.

“Then do you want to try an S-Rank dungeon?”

“S-Rank?”

“Yeah. The difficulty gap between those and A-Rank is significant, right? Besides, if you and I party up and go in together, it doesn’t seem like it’d be that dangerous.”

At Seungho’s suggestion, Jaeha mulled it over for a moment.

“S-Rank, huh…….”

“Also, I hear a lot of S-Rank dungeons have unusual clear conditions.”

“Hmm.”

“What do you think?”

After mulling it over for a moment, Jaeha nodded.

“Alright. Let’s go. It’s not like we can’t use these for the broadcast anyway.”

With that answer, Jaeha rose from his seat.

* * *

“Hello, everyone.”

—Hey hey hey

—Hello.

After greeting and spending a bit of time, Jaeha shifted his viewpoint and began speaking with a deliberate air.

“Today, we’re planning to visit somewhere a bit unusual.”

—Oh?

—Don’t tell me it’s content?

“It’s not content. Today, we’ll be challenging an S-Rank dungeon.”

The moment Jaeha finished speaking, the chat began scrolling at an incredible speed. He watched it quietly for a moment before speaking again.

“The dungeon we’ll be entering today is the Vampire’s Sanctum, a dungeon that falls in the mid-to-low tier among S-Rank dungeons.”

—That’s mid-to-low?

—Isn’t that mid-to-high?

—Yeah, it’s mid-to-high.

“……Is that so?”

Watching the chat, Jaeha scratched his head for a moment, then turned to Seungho beside him.

“They say it’s mid-to-high tier.”

“Really? I dunno. I thought it was mid-to-low. Did the difficulty go up?”

At Seungho’s words, Jaeha let out a sigh and continued the broadcast.

“Well, regardless, we’ve decided to go there. And beside me is Lee Seungho, whom everyone knows. Today, Seungho and I will be attempting to clear an S-Rank dungeon. As you all know, while the average number of monsters in other dungeons is around 300 to 500, S-Rank dungeons are known to have more than double that.”

—They say it’s not double, it’s almost triple.

—And the monsters are way stronger than A-Rank too.

“Yes, that’s correct. That’s why dungeon experts of the past used to say, ‘If other dungeons are low-rank dungeons, then S-Rank dungeons are high-rank dungeons.’ Well, regardless, our goal today is to clear this place. However, given the difficulty and the sheer number of monsters, I don’t think we’ll be able to go anywhere else besides this dungeon today. I wanted to mention that in advance…… and now, let’s begin.”

After that lengthy explanation, Jaeha entered the dungeon with Seungho. As he stepped inside, he watched the messages flooding up in the chat.