F-Rank Secretly Becomes Stronger - Chapter 24

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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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24

“A B-rank Gate, you mean.”

“That’s right, I need some Froking Leather this time.”

Han Sanguk said, turning his gaze toward the items placed in the center of the sparring hall.

“It’s a request to bring back leather, and I’ll give you the weapon upfront. If it’s going to a B-rank Gate and back, it’s worth enough.”

A hastily made-up request for Juhyeok, who was reluctant to receive gifts.

It happened to be decent conditions since Juhyeok had been contemplating entering a Gate one level higher than the ones he’d entered before.

‘If it had been a C-rank Gate, I would have worried less about it.’

His worries deepened at the ambiguous condition of B-rank.

Just as Juhyeok was lost in thought for a moment.

Sui, who had been quietly listening to their conversation, suddenly interjected.

“Telling an F-rank Hunter to go to a B-rank Gate is ridiculous.”

“If he were an ordinary F-rank Hunter, maybe, but that guy is different, isn’t he? Besides, there’s a pretty strong guy in the party too, so there shouldn’t be any problems.”

When his granddaughter made a displeased expression, Master Han Sanguk answered with a gentle smile.

No matter how he looked at it, it was a scene he couldn’t get used to.

“Besides, if he’s strong enough that Sui came home and chattered so excitedly about him, then he should be more than capable of protecting himself in a B-rank.”

She had talked about it even after going home?

She had looked happy enough during sparring, but to think this quiet girl had chattered so much at home.

Even when he tried to imagine the scene in his head, he couldn’t easily picture her chattering excitedly with that face.

“Anyway, the choice is yours.”

Master Han Sanguk crossed his arms and stared with an arrogant expression.

“It’s not a bad proposal. When else would an F-rank get to enter a B-rank Gate if not now?”

“….”

A B-rank Gate.

Practically a level that was hard to reach as long as he had the label of F-rank Hunter attached to him.

No matter how famous his name had become among Hunters currently, being F-rank made it difficult to even join a party.

If he had a Guild, he might have been able to find party members through support, but unfortunately, he couldn’t join a Guild.

In such a difficult situation, to provide all the equipment and simultaneously make it possible to enter a B-rank Gate.

“I’ll do it.”

No matter how Juhyeok looked at it, there was no reason to refuse.

*

“Juhyeok.”

“Hello.”

When he came to visit Mother, Yena was already waiting.

Without even giving him time to exchange greetings with Mother, she dragged him outside the hospital and asked with an unpleasant expression.

“I heard you’re entering a B-rank Gate this time.”

“Where exactly do you hear such news?”

“I need to have that level of information network to be a dedicated scout. Anyway!”

She lightly tapped the back of the bench and continued.

“No matter how much of a monster rookie Hunter Juhyeok is, a B-rank Gate is too much. It’s on a completely different level from D-rank.”

“I know that too.”

D-rank and B-rank, not just one level, but skipping two whole levels.

With just the track record of carrying once in a D-rank Gate, it was unreasonable to easily challenge it right away.

“Do you know how worried Mother would be if she found out?”

“Mother doesn’t need to know.”

Saying that, he turned his head toward Yena.

Juhyeok lowered his voice and asked.

“You didn’t tell Mother everything, did you?”

“…I didn’t. How could I tell her when she wouldn’t be able to eat properly if I did?”

“That’s a relief.”

If she had told Mother everything randomly, regardless of the relationship they’d built up or anything else, he wouldn’t have taken her calls anymore.

Even though she always seemed to push herself on him burdensome, she maintained boundaries in aspects like this, so he didn’t feel rejection toward her as a person.

“What’s so relieving about it? Are you going to keep hiding it and going to Gates every day?”

“I have to tell her gradually. As long as it’s not abnormal stories like entering B-rank on the third try, Mother will accept it.”

“So you do know it’s not normal.”

A reproachful remark.

She let out a deep sigh and turned her head toward the distant mountains.

“I really do know that Hunter Juhyeok is strong.”

Combat power that was hard to believe for an F-rank Hunter.

He possessed martial prowess that would never lose to most D-rank Hunters, including herself.

“Since I’ve fought alongside you directly, I know you’re not someone who would get hurt from being careless somewhere.”

Moreover, with cold rationality, he always found the best course of action in any given situation and achieved the best results.

She knew well enough that he wasn’t a foolish Hunter who would die ridiculously somewhere.

“But I can’t help worrying.”

If it were someone else, it might be different, but he was her benefactor who had saved her life.

She wasn’t so inconsiderate as to forget that moment, and moreover, it was Juhyeok who had returned alone after struggling through a crisis at the D-rank Gate she had recommended.

“I visit the hospital every day and listen to stories about Hunter Juhyeok until my ears bleed, so how could I not be concerned when such a person is entering a B-rank Gate?”

From trivial incidents that happened in childhood to the present day.

She had probably heard so many stories that she might know everything about him as much as his mother did.

“If you just joined our guild, we could solve everything from hospital bills to living expenses, but you’re so damn stubborn…”

“….”

He had nothing to say.

Because he knew how much she had been visiting his mother at the hospital and spending time together.

For the simple reason of owing her life once to someone who showed no intention of joining the guild, she always extended a helping hand in most matters.

‘If it were someone else, I would just tell them not to worry and move on.’

Since Yena had helped him so much until now, he couldn’t bring himself to push her away with such cold words.

In this situation, how should he ease her worries?

Since it had been a long time since he met someone other than his mother who genuinely worried about him, and moreover, this was the first time it was someone of the opposite sex, he pondered deeply for a moment.

“….”

Warm sunlight that had been hidden by clouds embraced his face.

A face slightly squinting from the brightness.

For a moment, he recalled his father’s face, faintly erased from memory.

Juhyeok extended his pinky finger toward her.

“…What is this.”

“A promise.”

His father’s habit.

A person cannot keep every promise in life.

However, if it’s a promise that must absolutely be kept, hook your finger.

It was his father’s way of teaching him how to give trust to others.

Some might call it common and childish, but for Juhyeok, it held meaningful significance.

“I promise to come back without getting hurt.”

“….”

The pinky finger placed awkwardly between her and him.

Yena stared at the pinky finger for a long while, then extended her finger with a voice full of dissatisfaction.

“If you come back injured, I’ll tell your mother everything and somehow make you join the guild.”

“Then I won’t do it.”

Juhyeok slightly withdrew his hand as an unreasonable condition was added.

Then Yena quickly grabbed his arm with her other hand.

“Geez.”

Forcibly connected pinky fingers.

She shook it firmly once, then separated her finger and smiled.

“You don’t have to join the guild, so just keep the promise not to get hurt.”

A bright blooming smile.

Her brown hair swayed in the sunlight.

Her sincerity remained on his pinky finger as a gentle touch.

*

“Good day.”

Party members gathered at the B-rank Gate located in Anyang for Master Han Sanguk’s commission.

The personnel consisted of one B-rank Supporter, one Archer, and one Mage each.

It wasn’t a bad lineup.

‘Including me as an S-rank, three B-ranks should be able to clear this without any problems.’

Park Hanseong, one of only two S-rank Hunters currently in South Korea.

He was one of them, currently among the top Vanguard Hunters in the entire world.

Normally, he would have handled a B-rank Gate alone or yielded it to other Hunters, but today he had personally come to this B-rank Gate despite his busy schedule because Master Han Sanguk had directly requested it.

“Oh, it’s really Hunter Park Hanseong!”

“It’s an honor to meet you! I’ll work hard today!”

The Party Members were excited about entering a Raid with an S-rank Hunter.

Park Hanseong lightly acknowledged their greetings while glancing at a man in his early twenties who was quietly observing him.

‘So that’s the guy.’

The newly added Party Member in addition to himself and the three B-ranks.

An F-rank Hunter who had cleared a D-rank Gate purely through Swordsmanship skills without Reawakening?

‘Tsk, the Master didn’t include me for nothing.’

He should have figured it out when the B-rank Gate job was requested to him.

Only after seeing that F-rank Hunter did he finally understand why he had been brought into this Raid.

‘I’ll have to enter this Raid as an escort.’

An F-rank Hunter entering a B-rank Gate.

Seeing that even all the Equipment was from the Company Han Sanguk operated, it was clear they planned to use him as a Brand promotional model later.

‘An F-rank newcomer clearing a B-rank Gate on his third attempt… It’s a story that would grab anyone’s attention.’

Perhaps even the D-rank Gate Carry was entirely a fabricated story made according to script.

Park Hanseong was someone who believed one shouldn’t jump to conclusions with prejudice, but the rumor of an F-rank newcomer carrying a D-rank Gate was so absurd that such suspicions naturally dominated his thoughts.

“Nice to meet you. You’re Jung Juhyeok, right?”

“Yes, please take care of me.”

A handshake exchanged while harboring inner doubts.

Just as he was greeting each person one by one.

“What’s that Recording Equipment over there?”

Something bothersome caught his eye.

A Supporter with a Cell Phone fixed to a Selfie Stick.

At his cautious question, she smiled brightly.

“Oh, I do internet broadcasting as a hobby.”

She shortened the Selfie Stick length to show him the Cell Phone.

On the screen was a channel with her face displayed.

“I was planning to do a live Raid broadcast… Hehe, would that not be okay?”

“….”

He had heard there were occasionally Crazy Hunters who would take out their Cell Phones during Raids to broadcast, but he never thought he’d actually see it.

‘An F-rank and a broadcasting Hunter, what a complete mess.’

Park Hanseong suppressed the lecture that was rising to his chin.

If it weren’t for the request from Master Han Sanguk, he would have walked away immediately.

“Filming Inside the Gate is dangerous, so please refrain from it.”

“…I understand.”

The Party Member obediently listened since it was an S-rank Hunter speaking.

Park Hanseong calmed himself and prepared for the Raid, and soon the departure time approached.

“If nothing’s missing, we’ll enter right away.”

The Party Members nodded at his words.

Everyone stepped into the Gate, and with the familiar sensation, their vision flashed before a new landscape unfolded.

‘It’s been a while since I’ve been to a Swampland.’

A Swampland Gate they had come to catch Frocking.

As Park Hanseong briefly looked around, he sensed a presence from an unfamiliar location.

‘Are they rushing us from the start?’

He hadn’t expected them to appear immediately upon entering the Gate.

Footstep sounds from somewhere and the noise of taut rubber being stretched irritated his sensitive hearing.

‘Deflect it and immediately chase after to catch it.’

A Gate at a level where he didn’t need to move urgently.

He was holding his breath, planning to identify the direction when an attack came and then deal with the monster.

“Northwest.”

None other than the F-rank Hunter spoke first and moved swiftly.

‘He heard that?’

For an F-rank, his senses shouldn’t be that sharp.

Just detecting this level of noise and getting the general direction right was surprising enough.

However, that wasn’t the end of it.

Swoosh―!

The sound of an arrow cutting through the wind.

While Park Hanseong was momentarily stunned by the sharp senses he had displayed, the arrow was already right in front of them.

‘Still not too late though.’

Just as he was slowly drawing his sword to deflect the arrow.

Jung Juhyeok stepped forward first and threw his body toward the arrow.

A clear suicidal act.

There was no way an F-rank could deflect that arrow alone.

He thought he should immediately kick his body away to make him dodge, but when he saw Jung Juhyeok in his eyes, for some reason this thought occurred to him.

‘Can he block it?’

He didn’t know the exact reason why.

It was just a feeling.

An instinctive sensing as an S-rank Hunter and veteran who had worked in the field for over 10 years.

If he was wrong, it would be a disaster, but this was close to certainty.

The certainty that he would never be hit.

Jung Juhyeok answered that certainty by swinging his sword concisely.

Clang―!

The arrow stuck into the ground.

If he was thinking of the party members behind him, it was an excellent judgment.

‘He really blocked it?’

Who would have thought an F-rank could show such movement.

Even when all party members including Park Hanseong were staring at him in stunned surprise, Jung Juhyeok didn’t stop and ran forward.

After that, he burrowed into the swampland, quickly climbed up a tree, and a scream echoed.

Kweek!

The monster’s eerie scream.

Along with it, a Frog with a quiver on its back fell to the ground.

Not long after, Jung Juhyeok struck down hard with his sword from above the Frog.

Whether he pierced the carotid artery, blood spurted like a fountain, staining his face.

He wiped off the Frog’s blue blood and said to the party members.

“There was only one.”

“….”

At that calm single statement, all party members except Park Hanseong instinctively realized.

‘It wasn’t a made-up rumor.’

The F-rank Monster Rookie who cleared a D-rank Gate alone.

That rumor, which most veteran Hunters had dismissed as a joke, was real.

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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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