My Skill Book My Way: Chapter 35
Chapter 35
"Wait! Hold on!"
I ignored Haji Ho's shout and raised my spear above my head as if to strike down on his.
"I-I lost! I'm telling you, I lost!"
I lowered my spear.
"Then you don't have any complaints about us passing the S-rank exam now?"
"……."
"It seems you still have complaints."
I deliberately infused my spear with another Lightning Spear. Golden currents crackled and sparked.
"Damn it! No! I said no! Do whatever you want about passing or not!"
"And a few more things."
I spoke while still holding my spear.
"Apologize for deliberately withholding the Return Stone to put my party in danger, and for your insulting remarks toward our guild and the Guild Leader."
"What?"
"I'm not such a magnanimous person that I'll overlook and tolerate your words and actions. I'm holding back from wanting to slit your throat right this instant."
"……."
Haji Ho gritted his teeth.
"If you don't want to apologize, I'll simply act in a way befitting a petty person."
His eyes darted between the broken sword and my halberd.
"So-..."
Haji Ho, who had barely opened his mouth, stopped there. It seemed his pride was blocking him until the very end.
Crack.
Thinking to give him a push, I slammed my spear into the ground right in front of his eyes.
The ground exploded, sending dirt flying in all directions.
"Ack! S-sorry! I'm sorry! I'll apologize! I was wrong!"
Haji Ho shouted, covered in dirt.
"You should have done that from the start."
I pulled out my spear.
Haji Ho fled as if running for his life, got into his car, and left the exam grounds. He seemed to have a recovery skill, as he was no longer bleeding by the time he got in the car.
"Kya, that's satisfying."
The old man laughed heartily and gave my back a light slap.
"Well done, Hwajin."
Unlike the old man, who looked to be in a good mood, Hyeri wore a worried expression.
"I'm worried this might strain our relationship with the Paewang Guild……"
"It'll probably be fine."
I said, looking at Hyeri.
"That arrogant bastard probably won't report to his guild that he was humiliated in a duel with an A-rank Hunter. He has his position to think about."
"Aah, I suppose you're right."
Hyeri looked less worried than before, but her expression still wasn't bright.
About an hour later, we returned to the city hall and were issued our S-rank Hunter licenses.
"Congratulations once again on becoming S-rank Hunters."
Jeongyeon said, handing us our licenses.
"You three are truly amazing. To become S-rank Hunters less than half a year after becoming A-rank."
Jeongyeon wore a joyous expression, as if our passing was her own affair.
"As far as I know, only two people have ever had such dramatic promotions. But now, with the three of you, that number has suddenly increased by three."
"There were others who ranked up as fast as us?"
The old man asked.
"Yes. One was a C-rank Hunter who rose straight to S-rank in just a year. They were a Supporter, and I believe they're currently in the Paewang Guild."
"Who was the other one?"
"That person was even more incredible than you all."
Jeongyeon's eyes drifted as if recalling a memory.
"What was so incredible?"
Hyeri urged Jeongyeon on, seemingly intrigued.
The fact that they were even more incredible than us piqued my curiosity as well.
"I didn't see this myself; my senior told me about it. Apparently, one day a D-rank Hunter came and said they wanted to challenge the S-rank exam."
"Isn't that impossible?"
Unlike the A-rank Hunter exam, one could only qualify to take the S-rank Hunter exam after becoming an A-rank Hunter.
"Yes. So when told that one had to become an A-rank Hunter to qualify, they immediately said they'd take the A-rank exam. But their stats and skill scores were already at S-rank level."
As she said that, Jeongyeon looked at my face.
"After passing the A-rank exam with ease, they participated in the S-rank exam……. Without teaming up with anyone, they passed all three missions alone."
"Unbelievable……."
Hyeri muttered.
"Is that even possible?"
The old man also looked like he couldn't believe it.
"Do you know which guild that person is in now?"
When I asked, Jeongyeon shook her head.
"After that, I never heard that person's name anywhere. With such ability, the Paewang Guild surely would have scouted them, but there was no word of it. I wanted to see them in person too……. According to my senior, when that person swung a long sword once, the boss and elites of a 6-star dungeon were all split in two."
The more I heard, the more unbelievable the story became.
I had also tried to take down the Reaper with Charge and Single Flash before it could cast its curse, but the Reaper's incantation was faster.
"Could that be the person who held the 5-star dungeon time attack record before us……"
"Yes. That's the Hunter I just told you about."
'Just what kind of human are they…….'
I wondered if they were even human.
Then again, Hunters might as well not be human to begin with.
***
The first thing I experienced after becoming an S-rank Hunter was receiving various congratulations.
"That's really amazing."
The guild members looked astonished. Those who knew we had become A-rank not long ago even asked what method we used to get so strong so fast.
"I had no doubt that Hwajin would pass."
The Vice Guild Leader was delighted that the number of S-rank Hunters had increased by three at once.
With us passing the exam, the guild now had eight S-rank Hunters and could take on more raid quests.
The new S-rank Hunters—myself, the old man, and Hyeri—decided to participate in raids often.
Those two were especially zealous because the spare money they had used to buy mana stones had disappeared.
For me, it wasn't just about the money; I was also greedy to obtain more soulbound items from field bosses.
But things didn't go as I planned.
On the first raid after becoming an S-rank Hunter.
I ran to the field boss faster than anyone and poured out a combo of Lightning Spear and Single Flash, shattering its core.
Then, a familiar voice rang out.
[You have repelled the field boss.]
[Individual raid contribution has exceeded 50%!]
[A portion of the field boss's soul is bound to you.]
Green light enveloped my body.
My heart pounded as I waited to see what kind of soulbound item would appear this time, but an unexpected message followed.
[Current soul capacity limit has been reached.]
[The field boss's soul is dissipating.]
Immediately after hearing those words, the green light surrounding my body vanished.
'What!?'
I screamed internally.
Even after waiting, the light didn't return.
'What the hell is soul capacity! If something like that exists, you should tell me in advance!'
No matter how much I questioned it, there was no answering voice.
Drained of energy, I changed my approach for subsequent raids, participating moderately without going all out.
Still, the income from valuable materials and mana stones was quite substantial, which was somewhat comforting.
As an S-rank Hunter, I could now receive government-issued quests with even greater rewards.
The Vice Guild Leader occasionally asked us to lead A-rank and lower Hunters on quests.
"S-rank Hunters need to know how to act as leaders. You let those below A-rank gain experience, while you accumulate experience as the party leader yourself."
We gladly followed his advice.
Just as the Guild Leader had prepared equipment for us, we thought it was only right to contribute to the guild.
***
After a month of busy days filled with quests and raids, nearly several billion won had accumulated in my bank account.
Worried about how to spend such an enormous sum of money for the first time in my life, I decided to take Jinhui and Seono on a wish-fulfillment spree.
The first thing that came to mind was taking them to a super high-end restaurant to try a course meal costing nearly a million won per person.
Before eating, the first thing we had to do was go to a department store to buy clothes.
"Ugh……."
Seono, wearing a child's suit, stuck his finger into his collar and tugged, seemingly uncomfortable.
"Why do we have to dress like this just to eat?"
I held back from saying "I wonder myself" and gave a wry smile.
Just then, the fitting room door opened.
"H-how is it?"
Jinhui stepped out in a dress and asked us.
Seono's jaw dropped.
"Wow! Noona, you're so pretty!"
"Ma'am, it really suits you!"
The shop clerk chimed in with enthusiastic praise.
Jinhui looked at me with a shy expression. The dress looked luxurious at a glance and suited Jinhui perfectly.
"Yeah. You look great."
I meant it. Even if the clerk was just using sales tactics, Jinhui right now looked exactly like a young lady from a wealthy family.
They say clothes make the man, but I didn't know someone could change this much.
I held out my card to the clerk. As the clerk walked to the register with a beaming smile, Jinhui whispered close to my ear.
"But oppa, is this really okay? Aren't we spending too much?"
"It's fine. One raid earns us dozens of times what we spent today."
Until now, we had never owned a proper set of clothes.
If it were back when we couldn't even afford rice for tomorrow, I would have cursed myself out, asking if my sanity had fled for spending hundreds of thousands on clothes, but now the situation had changed.
We put on our new clothes and headed toward a pristine high-rise building rarely seen these days.
Inside the building, decorations made the entire place glitter.
Jinhui and Seono had anxious faces the whole elevator ride up.
"Somehow it feels like a place we shouldn't be."
I related to Jinhui's words but didn't show it.
"What are you talking about? From now on, we can come to places like this as much as we want."
At that, Jinhui replied "Really?" and smiled.
"Welcome. Do you have a reservation?"
Upon entering the restaurant, a neatly dressed waiter asked.
After giving our name, the waiter guided us to our reserved table.
"Wow… this place is really nice, oppa."
Jinhui whispered quietly as she sat down.
Plush chairs, soft lighting. And beyond the large window beside us, the blue sky and cityscape stretched out below.
Soon the waiter brought the food, explaining each dish one by one. There were so many unfamiliar terms that I couldn't understand.
But the explanations didn't matter much.
"Oh my. Oh my! Oh my goodness……."
It was the sound Jinhui made after putting the first dish in her mouth.
"Wow!"
Seono also exclaimed in surprise, then devoured the dish as if he'd lick the plate clean.
I too felt my eyes widening.
Everything from the texture of chewing and rolling it around in my mouth, to the aroma bursting when bitten, the taste spreading across my tongue, and the feeling passing down my throat.
Everything was a new experience.
Afterward, Seono repeatedly exclaimed how delicious it was from start to finish, and a smile never left Jinhui's face the entire meal.
"Oppa, thank you so much. It felt like coming to a different world."
"Thank you for the meal! It was really delicious!"
Hearing what the two said as we left the restaurant, I felt proud, thinking I had made a truly good choice.
Despite spending several million won on a single meal, I still had billions in my bank account.
***
Boom!
My body vibrated with the explosion. From behind, I heard gunshots and a man's shouting.
I glanced to the side to see Seono with a terribly tense face, holding his breath with his fists clenched.
The next moment, silence fell. Several seconds passed after the gunshots and explosions ceased—
Bang!
"Aack!"
Seono screamed and jumped up.
I couldn't help but burst into laughter at the sight.
After the movie ended, I used the remote to turn off the screen and drew back the blackout curtains covering the windows.
The beam projector hanging from the ceiling and the DVD shelves covering the wall caught my eye.
"Was it fun?"
"Yes!"
Seono said, his eyes sparkling.
"Making this room into a home theater was a good idea."
After selling and throwing away all of Jang Soyu's belongings, the house had emptied out.
We had left it alone until now, but with money to spare, we decided to each make the space they wanted.
I made a home theater, Jinhui planted a garden full of flowers and saplings, and Seono, despite his young age, made a study.
"When I was little, Father's room had so many books……."
At those words, I didn't ask anything more and gave Seono exactly what he wanted.
After that, Seono would occasionally go into the study and stay there for a long time before coming out.
Besides that, the house filled with various cooking appliances, latest-spec computers, exercise equipment, and so on, but the numbers in my bank account showed little change.
'Who knew I'd get tired of spending money.'
Besides, as long as I kept working as a Hunter, my money would continue to increase.
'So this is how peaceful it is to not have to worry about starving.'
I muttered inwardly.