Infinite Evolution Hunter - Chapter 36

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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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36
I recalled when my Regeneration skill had risen to B-rank in my previous life.
It had been a day when my condition was optimal. I was drawing out holy water to hunt low-tier undead when a ghost approached before I could even sprinkle it. Since there was no real danger and it was just tedious, I swung my arm thoughtlessly. In that moment, life force erupted from within me, shattering the ghost, and simultaneously my skill advanced. I racked my memory trying to recall if I had done anything else particularly noteworthy, but nothing came to mind.
One thing was certain—the skill had risen from defeating that ghost.
* * *
“Hunter Lee Ji-seok, has your Gate entry restriction still not been lifted?”
A call came from the Awakener Management Bureau.
“No, it’s been lifted.”
“Ah… I checked the records and saw the restriction was lifted, but since you’ve only been entering the Undead Gate repeatedly, I called to confirm whether it was actually lifted.”
“It’s been lifted. I’m going in because I need something.”
“Could you tell me what that is? If I inform other hunters, it might reduce the avoidance of the Undead Gate going forward.”
His voice brightened with hope that the Undead Gate might become even slightly more appealing.
“I’m going to train against undead, so it probably won’t be helpful for other hunters.”
“Ah… training, I see… understood.”
He hung up with a tone suggesting he didn’t quite comprehend.
It wasn’t strange that the Awakener Management Bureau had called. I’d been cycling through multiple Undead Gates daily for over a week now.
I was suffering from the ghosts’ attacks, but Bae Na-young and Yang Sang-heon were also in a state of extreme exhaustion from following me around.
“I’ll go alone from now on. You two should rest.”
“Then… just rest a little…”
“I’m going. I’m not tired.”
Yang Sang-heon started to say he’d rest with a flushed face, but before he could finish, Bae Na-young said she was going.
“No… then what am I supposed to do?”
“Oh, you can rest. The two of us can go together.”
“Yeah, get some rest. Help your father out a bit.”
It didn’t matter if the two of them went. Now that Bae Na-young could clear E-rank Gates on her own, she was sufficient as support.
“Are you really not going?”
Leaving Yang Sang-heon behind, grinning at the prospect of rest, I set out for the Gate.
Today I had little potion reserves left, so I replenished my life force with magic stones instead. While potions had better cost-effectiveness and I used them, I had quite a stockpile of magic stones at home anyway.
It was a method I’d discovered in my previous life too, but back then I didn’t have the abundance of magic stones I had now, so I couldn’t use it as frequently.
After enduring a ghost’s assault for quite some time, I had absorbed a full ogre magic stone until it crumbled to dust, replenishing my life force.

I had been taking one-sided attacks for a while. With my memories and experience from my previous life, expelling life force should have been effortless, but since I couldn’t do it, the frustration was overwhelming.

My consciousness was beginning to blur, so I gripped a magic stone in my fist and absorbed its life force.

But at the same time, I was attacked by dozens of ghosts, my life force being whittled away, so the sensation of replenishment felt almost negligible.
‘Let’s see who wins.’
Irritation and stubbornness surged through me. I grasped the magic stones I’d brought in both hands and absorbed with all my might.

In that instant, vitality erupted through my body like a violent surge. The life force swelled beyond capacity, beginning to seep from my skin.

[Regeneration Skill has advanced from C-rank to B-rank.]

“Huh?”

Looking down at my fist, I saw a mass of vitality rippling within it.

I stared at the concentrated life force swirling around my fist for a moment, then hurled it at the ghost.

“Kyaaaaaaagh!”

The ghost shrieked with a bone-chilling wail and dissolved into smoke, vanishing.
They were being consumed.
The other ghosts attempting to flee were dispatched without difficulty as I wrapped my fist in an aura of life force.

“Lee Ji-seok! You did it, didn’t you?”

Bae Na-young, who had been watching from a distance, rushed over with delight.

“I needed to overcharge the energy, it seems.”

The higher my vitality, the more excess life force I could release. In hindsight, it was obvious, yet I hadn’t grasped it until now. Looking back at my previous life, the reason my skill had advanced was likely because my total life force had simply reached the necessary threshold for release.

Suddenly, my legs gave way and my body swayed.

“Lee Ji-seok! Are you alright?”

Using life force as an aura was inefficient. With my vitality already depleted, channeling the aura had drained all strength from my body.
Though I hadn’t gained a level from defeating the ghosts, my stamina had increased by 3 points—still insufficient. Until I raised my level further, I would need to refrain from using the aura unless absolutely necessary.

“I lack the technique yet, so I poured too much power into it, I’m afraid.”

“Rest for a bit.”

Bae Na-young had me sit down and pulled dried meat from her bag, cutting small pieces for me to eat. At the same time, I replenished my life force from the magic stone.

“Thank you.”

I gazed at Bae Na-young sitting beside me. The atmosphere would have been pleasant otherwise, but the rotting violet floor and undead monsters scattered everywhere ruined any such mood.

“The world is purple, so it’s beautiful.”

Without thinking, I turned my head sharply to look at Bae Na-young.

Beautiful? Is she a witch or something? Her senses are different from normal.

“Um… beautiful? Is that strange?”
Bae Na-young asked, noticing my expression.

“No, not at all. The purple is beautiful. Ah, you’ve worked hard helping me. Starting tomorrow, take a break for a while.”

“That sounds good. What will you do?”

“I’m going to make my rounds through the Gates.”

“I see.”

Bae Na-young sighed.

* * *

Smack!

Mother struck my back.

“Ow! My hand!”
I felt the impact, but Mother’s hand couldn’t possibly hurt me. If anything, only Mother’s hand ached from striking me.
“Mother… why are you doing this?”

“Hey! Don’t you feel sorry for Bae Na-young?”

“Bae Na-young? Why?”

“What do you mean why? She’s been helping you for over ten days. Aren’t you going to repay her?”

“Before that, she’s helped me a lot too.”

“Did you inherit your lack of perception from your father?”

“Why are you bringing up my late father?”

“Never mind. Since Bae Na-young is going shopping today, go along and carry her bags.”

“How did you know that?”

“I spoke with Bae Na-young’s mother. I told Bae Na-young that you needed new clothes too, so she must have figured it out.”

“Mother, you can’t just decide things on your own like that.”

“Enough. I need to see grandchildren someday, don’t I?”

Truth be told, I do have feelings for Bae Na-young, but the world might turn upside down. Marriage is impossible right now. Perhaps once some of these problems are resolved.
“And wear your clothes more neatly. You earn plenty of money—why don’t you care about your own appearance? This works out perfectly. Go ask her to help you pick out some outfits.”
Pressured by Mother’s insistence, I changed into proper clothes and headed to the living room, where Bae Na-young was waiting.

Her face was flushed red all the way to her ears—she’d clearly heard everything.

“Well… shall we go?”
Embarrassed, I quickly ushered Bae Na-young out of the house.

“Oh dear… I’m sorry. My son is so slow to pick up on things.”

“Not at all. Bae Na-young is quite oblivious herself, so it’s frustrating for me too.”

Even after leaving the house, I could hear the mothers’ voices clearly in my ears.

Bae Na-young wasn’t as sensitive as I was, but her senses were sharper than an ordinary person’s, so she’d heard it all too.

“I’m sorry. You’re being forced into this because of me.”
Bae Na-young spoke with her head bowed.

“No, I was planning to buy clothes anyway. Really.”

“Truly?”

“Yes. I just haven’t had the time, and I don’t know much about fashion. Would you help me choose?”

“Just trust me!”

I took Bae Na-young to the Department Store and headed straight for the luxury goods section. In my past life, I’d had no interest in such things—or rather, they were simply beyond my reach. Now, with money flowing abundantly, they were merely comfortable possessions to acquire.

“Not here. Let’s go up a bit.”

Bae Na-young took my arm and led me upstairs, where we found the mid-range men’s clothing section.

“The lower floor is wasteful. Too difficult to maintain.”

Both Bae Na-young and I had lived through financial hardship until recently, so honestly, this felt more comfortable to us.

“You’re right.”

I let her pull me along and tried on clothes one after another.

“My goodness, Lee Ji-seok, that suits you so well! Try this one too.”

“Oh my, your boyfriend is such a perfect clothes hanger~”

The shop attendant, her voice dripping with nasal affectation, tapped Bae Na-young’s arm as she spoke.

I silently tried on each garment that Bae Na-young and the attendant brought. She definitely had a better eye for fashion than I did.
“Isn’t trying on this many clothes a bit much?”
But the sheer volume of clothes they kept bringing was overwhelming.

“I need to try many to understand your style, Lee Ji-seok.”

Bae Na-young brought an endless variety without pause. For two hours straight, I had to try on dozens of outfits. I’d always been confident in my stamina—exceptional even among hunters—but I felt my energy draining as if I were under a mental assault.

“Can we… buy these and leave now?”

“There’s still so much more to try… Fine.”

Bae Na-young had wanted to continue, but seeing my exhaustion, she relented. With visible reluctance, she gathered the clothes we’d selected and brought them to the register.

“Wait, you’re buying all of that?”

“Yes.”

I paid for the mountain of clothes piled up before us, and even enlisted the help of a nearby shop assistant to wrap everything.

With shopping bags dangling from every part of my body, I headed to the car.

“Now let’s go buy my clothes.”

“Ah….”

I’d forgotten. We’d come here to buy clothes for Bae Na-young in the first place.

“Let’s hurry.”

Bae Na-young grabbed my hand and pulled me along.
Watching her try on outfit after outfit was genuinely enjoyable—at least for the first hour. Bae Na-young possessed the kind of beauty that made passersby turn their heads as we walked through the streets.
But once I factored in the time spent choosing my own clothes, we’d already been wandering through the Department Store for six hours.

When it came to selecting my wardrobe, I could have simply grabbed things hastily and suggested we leave. But when Bae Na-young was choosing, I couldn’t bring myself to rush her—I could only stand quietly and wait.

“Let’s check out another section.”

Without a hint of fatigue, she tugged my arm forward.

With my stamina, I could run nonstop for a week carrying heavy loads, yet in a single day, my energy had been completely drained.
“Oh my… I’m sorry. It must have been exhausting following me around?”
Bae Na-young noticed I was worn out and asked.
“Not at all. Are we done shopping now?”
“Yes, let’s go.”
Ironically, the clothes Bae Na-young had purchased for herself were far fewer than what I’d bought.
As we made our way to the parking lot, we passed by a luxury boutique, and a dress in the display window caught my eye.
It was a long one-piece dress with a green base, delicate white floral patterns that weren’t overdone, and bare shoulders.
“Bae Na-young, try this on.”
“This? I don’t think it would suit me…”
It was certainly different from what Bae Na-young typically wore. She preferred simple designs in deep, dark tones. Of course, those suited her beautifully, but since I’d worn so much black during my time as a villain in my previous life, I wanted her to wear bright clothes in this life and live a brighter existence.
“Please.”
I grasped her hand and pulled her into the store.
“I’ll try it on.”
I pointed out the dress to the attendant, who promptly led Bae Na-young to the fitting room.
After a short while, Bae Na-young emerged.
Contrary to her concern that it might not suit her, it complemented her fair complexion beautifully. In truth, with her face and figure, she could pull off any garment.
“I’ll take it.”
I handed my card to the attendant.
“Let me pay for it.”
“No, it’s a gift.”
We finished shopping in good spirits and headed home.
“What about mine?”
Mother extended her hand.
“Ah…”
I’d forgotten.
“Mother, here you go.”
Bae Na-young handed a shopping bag to Mother. I had no idea when she’d bought them, but Bae Na-young had also picked out clothes for Mother.
“Tsk tsk, what would you do without Bae Na-young?”
And I hadn’t even asked her to buy anything.
As we were enjoying this peaceful time, Baek Young-shin called from the Awakener Management Bureau, asking me to come in.

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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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