F-Rank Secretly Becomes Stronger - Chapter 21

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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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21

“Mother. Then I’ll be going in now.”

“Yes, thank you for coming all this way to visit.”

“Haha, not at all.”

The Guild Master disappeared after exchanging greetings with Mother.

As he left the hospital room, Mother asked quietly.

“So, did the conversation go well?”

“It went well.”

“Are you joining the guild?”

Eyes filled with expectation.

Since even the Guild Master had come to visit, perhaps she thought that stubborn streak might have softened a little.

“It was a similar conversation, but I just said I wouldn’t do it.”

Unfortunately, it was difficult to meet those expectations.

[How about learning under me?]

The Guild Master’s offer.

After briefly considering his question about whether I wanted to become his disciple, my answer was a refusal.

‘Learning under someone might expose the artifact in my body.’

He didn’t seem like a bad person, but that was separate from keeping secrets.

Above all, I couldn’t trust someone I had just met face-to-face today.

‘If something like this gets discovered, it wouldn’t be strange to be treated like a monster and lose my head immediately.’

That’s how much the body harboring an artifact was an absolute secret that must never be exposed.

Becoming the disciple of a big shot like Go Geonyeong Hunter would certainly be a great help in the future, but for now, refusal was the best option.

“I want to carefully choose which guild to join.”

“…Still, Mother thinks Mir would be fine.”

Disappointment clearly showing.

She seemed greatly worried that her son might get seriously hurt wandering around alone without a guild.

“You’re planning to join one later, right?”

“Of course. Joining a guild is more convenient in many ways.”

It wasn’t a lie.

If I become strong enough in the future that the artifact’s identity being discovered won’t be a problem, I might be able to confidently join a guild.

‘Still, having an artifact in my body would be troublesome…’

No matter how strong I become, if I have an artifact in my body, it would be hard to erase the looks people give me like I’m a ticking time bomb wherever I go.

Even though I’ve been fine for months since the artifact settled in, people’s perceptions won’t change easily.

‘Unless I create my own guild.’

If I create my own guild, there would be less worry about the artifact being discovered.

Naturally, to do that, I’d need to become a big shot hunter.

I’d need to be at least A-rank to have the funds to establish a guild, so it’s too distant a story.

Since it’s something for later anyway, I set aside those thoughts for now and faced Mother.

“I’ll tell you when I join one, so don’t worry and just rest well.”

“If my son joins a guild, all my worries will disappear.”

“Then just worry a little bit.”

Just how much had Yena and the Guild Master been filling her head with ideas?

Seeing Mother, who would normally let things slide appropriately, acting so persistently, it seemed the two of them had been extensively promoting Mir Guild by her side.

‘Since she’s the only person who comes to visit besides me, it’s hard to tell her not to come…’

Yena, who frequently visits to keep lonely Mother company, even though her subtle appeals are annoying.

If I told her not to come, knowing Mother’s personality, she would obviously be lonely, so I couldn’t bring myself to say not to visit.

‘Tsk, I’ll just endure some nagging.’

Since she’s putting so much effort into her appeals, if it ends with just this level of nagging, I can endure it sufficiently.

“That’s why, you’ve been like this since you were little. You were incredibly stubborn about strange things, you know?”

“….”

“Anyway, maybe it’s because you take after your father, but usually you listen well, but once you get fixated on something, you light a fire in your eyes and…”

“….”

Mother was scolding me particularly harshly today.

That day, I could only escape after listening to nagging for nearly three hours until my ears bled.

‘Should I just tell her not to come?’

*

[27,620,180 won]

“This should be enough to cover living expenses for a while.”

The settlement amount that came into his account a day after the Gate conquest ended.

Since he swept up all the Skeletons by himself and even took down the boss monster, he earned more profit than he had expected.

‘If only one boss monster had appeared at the end, I would have barely made any money, so maybe this was actually fortunate.’

The magic stones that came out in tremendous quantities from the Skeletons.

At first, he considered using them all for artifact upgrades, but if he had done that, covering hospital bills and living expenses would have been difficult.

Therefore, he converted everything except the magic stone obtained from the Lich King into cash, and thanks to his team members’ consideration, he was able to take the magic stones separately.

[Training Room upgrade and mana replenishment for operation 2/100…]

Of course, even after consuming D-rank magic stones, his mana capacity still didn’t fill up easily.

‘I need to go to places higher than D-rank.’

He might be able to fill it by steadily going through D-rank Gates.

However, getting stronger at such a snail’s pace wasn’t the direction he wanted.

In a situation where he didn’t know when his artifact might be discovered, he couldn’t leisurely go around only low-rank Gates.

Preparation for going to Gates higher than D-rank.

Today, he had arrived at a new place for that preparation.

[The next station is Jamsil, Jamsil.]

Jamsil District, where a large floating population lives.

The reason Jung Juhyeok came to this place was none other than weapons.

The weapon department store in Jamsil boasts the largest scale in Korea.

Moreover, there are many weapon shops with established brands, so it’s a place where you won’t get ripped off at least.

It was a place he had frequently visited since his Academy student days because it had everything from cost-effective weapons to high-grade potions.

‘Let me get a sword first and then think about it.’

The sword that became unusable after he handled it roughly in the last raid.

It was originally a sword his mother had bought him as a gift when he entered school, so it was a sword he had used for almost over 3 years.

‘Usually, you don’t go to D-rank or higher with this kind of sword.’

A design that was really faithful to the basics.

Its performance also couldn’t exceed that ordinary level.

Of course, it was an item with special memories since it was a gift from his mother, but it was difficult to continue raiding with just this.

To go to higher-rank Gates in the future, he needed a weapon with better durability and more power.

‘But where should I go.’

With so many brands, his worries only increased.

If he had little money to spend, it would be different, but since he was thinking of spending at least ten million won, his options became wider.

‘Should I just go with the most reliable brand.’

Jung Juhyeok stopped walking.

The brand right in front of him happened to be ‘Foot Op’.

An American company with considerable recognition, a brand that had everything from cost-effective to high-end items.

In America, it had such high recognition that most Hunters used equipment from this brand.

‘Right, a famous brand is definitely better than buying from an unknown place.’

He could also find reviews from people who had used their products quite easily.

Most importantly, the items had high reliability.

Rather than going to luxury brands that unnecessarily added flashy designs on top of brand name value, a place like this that was faithful to the basics and had no price bubbles was optimal for buying equipment.

Jung Juhyeok moved his hesitant steps into the shop.

“Welcome. This is Foot Op.”

A store where staff members welcomed customers with smiles, just like an ordinary clothing store.

The difference was that the interior was filled with Hunter-exclusive weapons and equipment rather than clothing.

“Could you please show me your Hunter License?”

“Yes.”

The Hunter License he showed according to procedure.

The store employee looked at the F-Rank Hunter License without changing expression and returned it to him.

“Yes, confirmed. Please feel free to look around.”

Jung Juhyeok received his Hunter License back and entered the store.

It was quite a spacious store, with items displayed in different categories at each corner.

‘The longswords should be over here.’

Walking inside, he found the longsword corner.

He didn’t even glance at the cheap ones he had bought before, quickly passing by them and slowing his steps only when the prices started getting higher.

‘They said the Foot Op 91 is what most people use…’

The design was clean, and both durability and performance received nothing but praise.

It was a sword he had wanted to try at least once since his Academy days, and fortunately, with today’s budget, he could buy it and still have plenty left over.

‘Where is it?’

His eyes busily rolled around as he walked.

Just when he spotted that sword he had often seen through his cell phone screen over there.

“…Han Sui?”

He saw a familiar face.

An expressionless face that any Academy student in the same year would definitely recognize.

Black hair that shone even blacker than ordinary people’s, as if colored with crayons.

Her profile slowly turned as he called her name.

“…”

Her facial muscles didn’t move at all even though he had called her name.

Well, they didn’t even greet each other at school, so it must have been strange for him to call her name.

‘She appeared so suddenly that I called out without thinking.’

The scene became somewhat awkward.

A moment of silence passed, and just as he was about to brush it off, she opened her mouth.

“Hello. Jung Juhyeok.”

His name was called in a cold voice that matched her expression.

It was surprising that she greeted him first, but what was even more surprising was something else.

“…You know my name?”

He didn’t expect her to remember the name of someone ranked around 200th, having never been in the same class.

He thought she might remember that they were classmates at most.

Since she was someone who always went around alone without interacting with friends, he never thought she would call him by name.

“We’re classmates.”

“That’s… true.”

“Actually, I only remembered your face and learned your name recently.”

“I see.”

Sui probably heard his name through rumors.

Without even hearing them, it was obvious what kind of stories would come up, so he quietly tried to leave.

“Well, I should get going. Enjoy your browsing.”

“…”

He subtly put some distance between them.

They weren’t even close anyway, so continuing the conversation would only be awkward.

Moreover, if she had heard rumors, she would obviously bring up annoying topics, so he wanted to quickly escape.

‘I can just ask a staff member to take it out for me.’

He moved away, thinking he should just buy the items and leave quickly.

At that moment, his sleeve was grabbed and his feet stopped.

“Why?”

“…”

When he turned around, the hand that had grabbed his sleeve dropped.

Sui stared at his face blankly for a moment and answered.

“Did you come to buy a weapon?”

“That’s right.”

“I see.”

“…”

Silence flowed again.

‘What exactly is she trying to do?’

She had been famous for her eccentric personality since her Academy days, but experiencing it firsthand made her even more unpredictable.

“If you have nothing to say, I’m leaving.”

“….”

Jung Juhyeok left his seat first.

After ending that awkward encounter with his classmate, he was planning to quietly ask the staff member to show him some weapons.

Thump thump.

It was hard to ignore the sound of someone panting and chasing after him from behind.

“Why are you following me?”

“I’m curious.”

She seemed to think this was her chance and poured out her words.

“You don’t look strong at all, so I’m wondering how you managed to carry alone.”

“I was lucky.”

“Were you also lucky when you beat the Salutatorian in the tournament?”

Sui’s emotionless tone showed conviction as she answered her own question.

“No way.”

“Think whatever you want.”

Jung Juhyeok tried to brush it off and escape somehow.

He tried to quicken his pace, but she grabbed his sleeve again, forcing him to stop.

Now annoyed beyond just being bothered, he scowled and turned around again to see her still expressionless face as she spoke.

“Fight me once.”

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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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