Infinite Evolution Hunter - Chapter 17

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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17
“You’ve crossed the line.”
I stepped close to Choi Chul-min and glared at him as I spoke.
“You fraudulent bastard!”
He threw a punch at my face.
Choi Chul-min’s fist was fast, but not fast enough that I couldn’t dodge it. However, with someone like him, I needed to demonstrate the difference in our levels, so I simply watched the incoming fist without moving.
With a dull thud, his knuckles struck my cheek, but my face didn’t budge an inch.
A punch of that caliber wouldn’t cause damage even if I’d been careless, and since I’d deliberately concentrated my defense on my face to strengthen it further, the outcome was inevitable.
As my Regeneration skill leveled up, I’d gained the ability to alter specific parts of my body. Complex transformations remained difficult—only simple, visualizable changes were possible—but this kind of hardening was straightforward and remarkably effective.
“Aaaagh!”
Instead, Choi Chul-min screamed, clutching his fist in agony.
“Now it’s my turn?”
I drove my fist upward into his writhing stomach. I wanted to strike with full force, but if I did, his abdomen might rupture and kill him, so I held back and struck with measured restraint.
His body lifted slightly off the ground before crumpling, and he immediately collapsed to the floor, retching violently.
“Chul-min. Send the money quickly.”
I spoke in a low voice to the vomiting, tear-streaked Choi Chul-min. There was no way he could refuse. Contracts through the Hunter App carried binding force.
Whether he heard me or not, his eyes rolled back and he lost consciousness. Had I hit him too hard?
Fights between hunters carried high risk of complications. However, since he’d thrown the first punch at Yang Sang-heon and me, and I’d only struck once with appropriate restraint, I faced no penalties. From what I heard, Choi Chul-min was being disciplined by the Gate Management Bureau.
After the closing ceremony and the lengthy Hellhound subjugation filled with incidents, I finally returned to my ordinary life.
With the subjugation reward, the first-place score bonus, and the wager money from Choi Chul-min, my pockets had become considerably full.
* * *
I returned home, organized my things, and immediately booked an E-rank Orc Gate.
It was my first E-rank Gate, but I felt no nervousness whatsoever.
Orcs were monsters slightly larger than adult men with aggressive temperaments.
I entered the Gate without worry and found myself in an open plains. After walking through the plains for a bit, I encountered a patrol group of Orcs.
Upon spotting me, they shrieked and charged.
After facing Hellhounds in the dark depths of a mountain cave at night, watching Orcs charge straight at me across an open plain made them seem incredibly slow.
Growing impatient with waiting, I charged toward them as well. Closing the distance in an instant, I struck the lead Orc’s flank before its raised sword could even descend.
Instead of a dull thud, a thunderous boom erupted with a shockwave. As the heavy-looking creature flew sideways, defying gravity, the Orcs following behind froze in shock.
I then drove my fist upward into the second Orc’s jaw, then planted my knuckles into the third’s face. I charged at the remaining two Orcs watching from behind and knocked them down as well.
In mere seconds, I’d dispatched five Orcs.
For an E-rank hunter like myself, Orc hunting proved far easier than expected.
I extracted the magic stones with the short sword at my waist and gathered the weapons. With so much money earned, I’d considered leaving the weapons behind, but my feet wouldn’t move. Since Orc weapons commanded better prices than Goblin weapons, I rationalized keeping them and collected everything.
Though I hadn’t been nervous to begin with, the first battle with Orcs proved so underwhelming that I felt as though I were on a casual outing.
* * *
Upon clearing the Gate and exiting, four hours had passed. Far faster than other E-rank parties. In truth, I’d cleared it in an hour, but extracting magic stones and gathering materials to carry had multiplied the time several times over.
This efficiency was terrible. Yet I couldn’t just leave everything behind.
It seemed the time had come to use a recovery service. In my past life, I’d worked as a porter for parties and recovery services, but now I’d reached a position where I could hire them myself.
“Yang Sang-heon, do you know any Gate recovery service companies?”
At this point, the only company I knew was where I’d worked before, but from my experience working there, it wasn’t one I wanted to use. The work was chaotic, and the workers would pocket materials and magic stones bit by bit. So I called Yang Sang-heon, who had more information than I did.
“…Brother, you didn’t listen to what I said, did you?”
Yang Sang-heon sighed as he spoke.
“Huh? Why?”
“My father runs a recovery service company. You said to contact him if you needed anything.”
I vaguely recalled mentioning something like that at the Resort.
“Oh… right. Sorry about that. Haha, so could I ask for your help right away then?”
I laughed awkwardly and made the request.
“Yes, I’ll tell my father.”
Yang Sang-heon’s father called me, and we met in front of the Gate.
“Lee Ji-seok the Hunter? Pleased to meet you. I’m Yang Chul-hyun, president of Hwagok Recovery Service. My son told me you’ve been a great help.”
Yang Sang-heon’s father looked at me, handed over his business card with a greeting, and grasped my hand firmly while thanking me.
“Not at all. I’ve been receiving a lot of help from Yang Sang-heon as well.”
“Please continue to look after Yang Sang-heon in the future.”
His tightly clasped hands were full of worry. Though he ran a recovery business, his concern for his Hunter son was no different from what my Mother felt. Especially after hearing that his son had nearly died in a Gate.
Yang Chul-hyun explained in detail how recovery companies operated. I already knew all of it, but since officially I had never used a recovery service, I listened quietly.
After the explanation ended, I received dozens of Trackers made from magic stones and stuffed them into my pocket.
“Have a safe and enjoyable hunt. I’ll see you shortly.”
I left Yang Chul-hyun’s farewell behind and entered the Gate.
Without even wearing a backpack, carrying only a short sword and a pouch containing candy and a Tracker at my waist, my body felt remarkably light.
The E-rank Orc Gate had become far too easy for me—my stats no longer increased from it. I simply had to clear a certain number to advance to D-rank. If subjugation quests came in, I’d handle those too, but until my house was properly organized, I planned to only clear Gates I could complete in a single day.
“Then let’s go!”
I kicked off the ground and began sprinting through the Gate.
* * *
When I emerged from the Gate, Yang Chul-hyun and a Gate Management Official were conversing.
“President.”
“Huh? Ji-seok? How are you already done?”
Yang Chul-hyun checked the time and his eyes widened in surprise. Clearing an E-rank Gate in just an hour was certainly remarkable.
“It’s finished. I’ve scattered all the Trackers, so please collect them. I’m heading to another location, so come to the next address once you’re done collecting.”
I left the bewildered Yang Chul-hyun behind and moved to the next Gate. The travel took two hours, but clearing the Gate itself took just over an hour. I could have cleared it faster, but since Yang Chul-hyun wouldn’t make it in time anyway, I took it a bit slower this round.
“President, it’s Lee Ji-seok. I’ve finished here.”
I called after clearing the second Gate of the day.
“Already?! I… I’ll get there as fast as I can. Hey! Kim Deputy Manager! You finish up here and follow me! I’m heading to the next location first!”
“What? President! Where are you going?! There’s still plenty left here! President!!!”
Through the still-connected phone, I could hear the sound of frantic movement and what seemed to be Kim Deputy Manager’s panicked shout.
Hwagok Recovery Service was a name I’d never heard of in my previous life. That meant it was a small-scale operation.
Just by looking at it, they seemed to lack both personnel and equipment, making it difficult to handle many Gates quickly.
“Hello? President, if you’re busy, should I contact another company?”
“No! I’m coming. Please wait a moment!”
His tone had become more polite. Recovery companies made their living off commissions, and it wasn’t easy to build connections with capable Hunters who cleared multiple Gates. But finding a Hunter who could clear several in a single day—he wouldn’t want to lose that opportunity.
“Yes, take your time.”
After hanging up, I grew bored waiting around, so I ordered pizza delivery. Korea truly is remarkable at times like this—bullet-fast delivery right to the Gate’s entrance.
I’d ordered dozens of pizzas for the Hwagok Recovery Service staff and the Gate Management Official, and we were eating when Yang Sang-heon and his employees arrived.
“You… you actually cleared it.”
Yang Sang-heon’s face went blank as he confirmed the Gate’s color had changed.
“I still have time—can another one be collected?”
“Another one?! Well… I’m sorry, but today’s collection might be difficult. If you give us advance notice next time, we’ll prepare everything properly.”
At my question, Yang Chul-hyun broke into a cold sweat and bowed his head. I didn’t want to push further or switch to another company—I owed that much to Yang Sang-heon. Today would have to be enough.
“Understood. Then we’ll start again tomorrow morning. But sir, please speak comfortably.”
“No, no! I couldn’t possibly do that with a customer. Tomorrow morning, though?”
His demeanor had completely shifted from treating me as somewhere between a friend’s son and an ordinary client to handling me like a top-tier customer.
“Yes. At today’s pace, I think we could handle about six locations tomorrow. I’ll send you the route after making the reservations.”
Yang Chul-hyun’s expression was a bizarre mixture of joy and worry. The money was good, but he seemed anxious about whether they could actually handle six locations in a single day. Still, it was what I needed, so there was no helping it. If they couldn’t manage, I’d simply use another company.
* * *
“Yang Sang-heon.”
Yang Chul-hyun, Yang Sang-heon’s father, called to his son in a voice heavy with exhaustion.
“Yes, Father.”
Yang Sang-heon’s voice too carried a thick layer of weariness.
“Have I done something wrong by you?”
“What? No.”
“Then why are you doing this to me?”
“You could just refuse.”
“Sigh. I can’t do that.”
Even as they spoke, their hands never stopped—splitting open an orc’s chest and extracting the mana stone.
“How many is this now?”
Yang Chul-hyun said as he placed the mana stone into a pouch.
“This is the fourth one.”
Yang Sang-heon gathered the weapons and loaded them onto the cart.
“The fourth?! And there are still two more to go?”
“At minimum.”
“If I die from overwork, the company goes to you.”
“I’ll renounce my inheritance.”
Thanks to Lee Ji-seok, Yang Chul-hyun’s recovery service business had entered an unexpected boom. They were hiring temporary workers left and right and recruiting permanent staff, but manpower didn’t multiply overnight—so they’d even called in Yang Sang-heon, the hunter son, to help with collections.
The problem was that this hunter named Lee Ji-seok simply refused to rest. While most hunters cleared one to three Gates a week, this madman cleared six in a single day.
Making idle complaints, the two of them expertly gathered their equipment. Their bodies were utterly exhausted. But thinking that just one month following Lee Ji-seok could earn them dozens of times the previous quarter’s operating profit, they couldn’t afford to rest.
Their minds wanted to refuse, but their bodies couldn’t escape this sweet swamp of money.

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