Awakened as a Money-Spending Genius Enhancer - Chapter 71

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 71

 

Chapter 71. Let’s Go! Level Up!

 

The company dinner was as chaotic as it was exciting.

 

Kang Hoon didn’t even have time to check his mobile phone, enjoying the cheerful atmosphere.

 

Today’s main topic of conversation was naturally

 

the arrogant American guild, Apex Circle.

 

“Those Americans~! Did you see their expressions at the end?”

 

“Of course I saw it! The secretary was practically sobbing!”

 

“At first their noses were so high they could pierce the sky. But when they left, their pride was completely flattened.”

 

Even in Korea, they get pushed around here and there.

 

Their ranking isn’t quite heavenly tier, but it’s not low either.

 

They’re upper-middle tier Hunters.

 

Mediocre talent is a curse.

 

This is especially true in the Hunter world where talent equals skill, and skill equals rank.

 

Usually people can’t endure the wall of reality and quit.

 

Still.

 

The ‘Cheongjeong’ Guild Members have persevered through tenacity and loyalty alone.

 

Having rolled around in this field for so long, enduring all kinds of contempt,

 

the changed attitude of the world’s number one guild, Apex Circle, couldn’t help but be satisfying.

 

“I’ve never seen such a sight in my life.”

 

“How could it just be the first time seeing it? I’ve never seen such a scene even in videos.”

 

“That’s right. Apex Circle is so arrogant. They treat everyone else like bugs. No wonder they’re called not just ‘racists’ but ‘human discriminators’?”

 

Watching the excited Guild Members, Kang Hoon also felt a bit tipsy.

 

‘I’m really glad I became an Enhancement Specialist.’

 

It wasn’t something Kang Hoon chose to become, but

 

anyway, he thinks it’s fortunate and lucky.

 

It feels good that everyone is united in celebrating his achievement.

 

“Kang Hoon. Drink slowly, you’ll get drunk at this rate.”

 

Placing a piece of beef on Kang Hoon’s plate,

 

Seri handed him a glass filled with water instead of alcohol.

 

“You can’t drink like the combat types. Are you that happy?”

 

Seri’s face was also flushed red.

 

“Yes. I feel good.”

 

“Hehehe. I feel good too. Today those Apex bastards crawled on their bellies. Right?”

 

“No. More than that.”

 

Still, Kang Hoon is an Enhancement Specialist.

 

What’s in his head is nothing but enhancement.

 

“Today’s enhancement was successful. That’s why I feel good.”

 

“…Good grief. Now you’re making me look materialistic.”

 

Like that, one word, two words.

 

Listening to the conversations flowing in the pleasant atmosphere,

 

‘Oh right. Come to think of it.’

 

Victor Chan’s words suddenly came to mind.

 

His words about a catastrophe-level dungeon appearing that would put all of America in crisis.

 

– Of all places, it had to be in the American ‘city’.

 

So to Seri, who was both a ‘strength type’ and an ‘intelligence type’,

 

he asked.

 

“What do you think Americans mean when they say ‘American city’?”

 

“Huh? ‘City’?”

 

At the sudden quiz, Seri tilted her head.

 

“Is this a riddle?”

 

“No. I’m seriously curious.”

 

After thinking for a moment,

 

Seri quickly raised her hand saying ‘correct answer’.

 

“If that American lives in New York, ‘city’ would just mean New York. New York is called ‘The City’ to them.”

 

“Oh?”

 

Wasn’t that quite a plausible answer?

 

Kang Hoon gave a second quiz.

 

“What was it, Hunter’s Tower? Where is the building where Apex Circle is located?”

 

“Is this a riddle quiz?”

 

“No. It’s a serious quiz.”

 

“Then the answer is New York.”

 

That means Victor Chan is also from New York.

 

What Victor Chan said into the translator was ‘The City’!

 

‘That got translated as ‘city’ and delivered to me.’

 

In other words, the place where the catastrophe-level Gate appeared in the stratosphere.

 

And in a precarious state just before exploding.

 

The city in crisis that must be protected even by paying 150 billion won to an Enhancement Specialist from South Korea.

 

──That place is New York.

 

‘Crazy… Grandpa Victor. No wonder he was too busy to come.’

 

A shield is called a Tank’s heart,

 

but that passionate Tank couldn’t come to the scene where his heart was being enhanced.

 

Now he understands the circumstances.

 

‘Now I understand why their General Manager kept it classified. If rumors spread that New York was in an emergency situation, stocks and everything else would crash.’

 

At least you can reason with terrorists.

 

Monsters can’t even be negotiated with.

 

If this fact became known, it wouldn’t be strange for an immediate great depression to hit.

 

‘They kept promoting that all developed nation barriers were safe!’

 

But such a crisis has come to the most advanced and strongest nation, New York, America.

 

Smaller countries.

 

There’s no law saying Korea won’t face the same.

 

‘New York, America. That’s like Seoul for our country, isn’t it?’

 

Suddenly.

 

He thought of the proud Han River View Apartment located in Seoul.

 

[Park Kang-hoon’s House +5] came to mind.

 

‘What if a catastrophe-level Gate appeared above our house?’

 

Then housing prices would naturally plummet.

 

Countless Hunters would die en masse like 19 years ago.

 

If the barrier were to tear, demonification would begin like in North Korea.

 

Kang Hoon would lose his precious home too.

 

‘I can’t let that happen.’

 

After long thought, Kang Hoon reached one conclusion.

 

‘I need to level up faster.’

 

In order to create a [Liberated Solaris Shield +6].

 

Kang Hoon had spent ten days up until today.

 

‘At this pace, it’ll be hard to handle emergencies.’

 

Regardless of how excellent the options were and how beautiful the characteristics.

 

In the end, it was just one item that only one Hunter could use.

 

‘And even that’s just one piece of one-hand equipment?’

 

Any other Hunter would have been shocked to hear this.

 

An Enhancement Specialist belittling equipment that even legendary-class Tanks would raise both hands in joy for.

 

However.

 

Kang Hoon’s position was somewhat different from others.

 

His way of thinking was also different from others.

 

‘From +4 Enhancement, the success rate is 50%, so it ate up too much time. If I raise my level more, then maybe +4 Enhancement probability will become 100% success.’

 

So I need to protect Korea.

 

And I need to eat well and live well too!

 

The moment he reached that conclusion.

 

“…Kang Hoon?”

 

Knock knock.

 

Tapping Kang Hoon’s shoulder like knocking, Seri had a bewildered expression.

 

“Huh?”

 

Coming out of his private thoughts, Kang Hoon looked around.

 

For some reason, all the Guild Members filling the restaurant were looking only at Kang Hoon.

 

“…What were you talking about?”

 

“Oh, come on~! We asked Kang Hoon to give a toast~!”

 

“Ah.”

 

Hastily going along with the excited atmosphere.

 

Kang Hoon picked up a cool glass of beer and stood up from his seat.

 

“A toast.”

 

And he shouted loudly.

 

The goal that had occupied his mind.

 

“Let’s go! Let’s go! Level up!!”

 

“?”

 

“?”

 

“…?”

 

The Guild Members were bewildered for a moment.

 

Looking up at Kang Hoon who was serious to the point of being resolute,

 

“Uh, uhahahat!”

 

“Puhaha!”

 

They each picked up their glasses and started laughing.

 

“Hunter Park Kang-hoon, are you already drunk?”

 

“Why, the toast is just great! Ahahatat!”

 

“Oh right, right! Level up is the best~! Right!?”

 

“Toast, shout it! Let’s shout it!!”

 

Screech!

 

Pushing their chairs back, all the Guild Members stood up.

 

Clinking their glass cups against the air, it was time to repeat the toast.

 

“Let’s go! Let’s go! Level up!!!”

 

A loud cheer filled the restaurant.

 

* * *

 

“…That toast. Were you serious?”

 

Cheongjeong’s Dungeon Manager, Park Do-jin’s office.

 

Adjusting his square glasses, Do-jin blinked his eyes.

 

None other than Park Kang-hoon.

 

The Enhancement Specialist had suddenly come to see him, requesting consultation.

 

Asking him to recommend some good Dungeons for leveling up.

 

“Hmm? Then did you think it was fake?”

 

Kang Hoon asked back, and Park Do-jin waved his hands.

 

“Oh, no, it’s not that. Uh. You’re someone who’s so unpredictable.”

 

It wasn’t unreasonable for Park Do-jin to be this flustered.

 

The fastest path to ‘leveling up’ was of course clearing Dungeons.

 

But most Hunters rarely volunteer to go into Dungeons just to ‘level up’.

 

So this kind of talk was inevitable.

 

“I didn’t know the Enhancement Specialist was an attack-oriented type.”

 

‘Attack-oriented’.

 

Those who didn’t shy away from dangerous missions and dove into Dungeons.

 

That’s what they called combat-oriented Hunters.

 

Those who risked their lives jumping into the flames.

 

They made up an extremely small portion of the total Hunter population.

 

Thanks to the efforts of that extremely small minority of attack-oriented types, today’s world had regained peace.

 

‘Especially our country has an unusually high number of attack-oriented types.’

 

Proportional to the not-so-large population within this narrow piece of land.

 

South Korea had a strangely high ratio of ‘attack-oriented’ types.

 

Because of the national character that couldn’t stand frustration and had to see quick results.

 

That’s why they could establish barriers faster than any other East Asian country.

 

How remarkable that they were faster than China, which had the largest Hunter population?

 

‘Now that’s all in the past too.’

 

In peaceful times like these, there were hardly any ‘attack-oriented’ types.

 

The absolute majority of 2030 Hunters had become the completely opposite tendency, ‘give-up types’.

 

‘Give-up types’.

 

Those who awakened but had little interest or greed for Hunter benefits.

 

It referred to those who never entered a Dungeon even once in their lives.

 

“Honestly, I thought the Enhancement Specialist was a ‘safety-oriented type’.”

 

“‘Safety-oriented type’?”

 

‘Safety-oriented type’.

 

It referred to Hunters who belonged to Guilds and were active, but only sought out relatively safe Dungeons.

 

Those with guaranteed strategies and levels.

 

“There are Special Dungeons like the Defense Dungeon you went to before. Places where you don’t die even if you’re killed inside the Dungeon. Most Hunters typically wait for such places.”

 

“Ah. I wondered. That’s why there were so many Hunters swarming in front of the Gate back then.”

 

While nodding at Park Do-jin’s explanation—

 

Kang Hoon made a puzzled expression and asked.

 

“But Special Dungeons don’t appear easily, do they?”

 

“That’s right. But at least there’s no worry about losing your life.”

 

Moreover.

 

Even that was only ‘relatively’ safe.

 

There was no such thing as a perfectly safe Dungeon.

 

If unexpected changes occurred, it would likely lead to fatal accidents.

 

“I heard you grabbed three first-place titles in the last Defense Dungeon. And raised your level by more than ten stages.”

 

Hunters are happy enough to pat their bellies over just one level increase.

 

But after pulling up 10 levels all at once.

 

Now he wants to head to a dungeon for even higher level-ups?

 

“If the Enhancement Specialist truly wants to seriously tackle dungeons….”

 

Park Do-jin.

 

A man who lives and dies for dungeons.

 

A man who loved dungeons so much he even got a job as a Dungeon Manager.

 

For him, this couldn’t help but be heart-pounding work!

 

“I must help you!!”

 

Rolling up his sleeves immediately, he thoroughly cleaned out the office safe.

 

The many dungeons that Cheongjeong holds access rights to.

 

Among them, he began laying out candidates suitable for Park Kang-hoon.

 

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!

 

Thud. Thud. Thud.

 

Catalogs piling up messily on the desk.

 

Kang Hoon scanned through the numerous dungeons with his eyes.

 

“Not just the monsters, but the dungeons themselves come in various types. Like level-restricted dungeons that prohibit entry above a certain level.”

 

While saying this, he swept away all the catalogs for under level 15.

 

“Or ones with special gimmicks.”

 

Including Defense Dungeons that guard towers,

 

Conditional Dungeons that require passing through poison swamps, and so on.

 

Special Dungeon catalogs that were currently inaccessible also tumbled into elimination.

 

“Or ones with limited party size, restricted to specific classes only, or with excessively long clear times.”

 

Tumble.

 

Tumble tumble.

 

Tumble tumble tumble!

 

As he continued eliminating candidates.

 

“If leveling up is the goal. My recommendation is this place.”

 

At the end of Park Do-jin’s pointing finger─

 

Only one catalog remained sitting alone.

 

However.

 

“…You want me to go here?”

 

Even before opening the catalog.

 

Kang Hoon’s expression became puzzled.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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