Obtained End-Game Gear for a Bowl of Ramen - Chapter 2

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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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Chapter 2. EX-Rank
The fallen hunters, the badly wounded A-rank Kwon Min-gi, even Son Jeong-ho who had erased the Weeping Stone Statue with a single Fire Bolt—none of them had anything to say.
[Weeping Stone Statue 17/17 destroyed]
[B-rank Gate cleared!]
[Contribution: Son Jeong-ho (100%)]
An F-rank hunter, Jeong-ho, had cleared a B-rank Gate with a single shot, alone.
[Gate clear reward: Living Plaster (Common) x6]
[First-place contribution exclusive rare reward: Blood Stone Ruby (Unique) x1]
He thought it must be a dream, then the Gate clear rewards arrived. He had no choice but to believe it was real.
“That—that was Inferno. I’ve only heard rumors about it!”
“Hunter Kwon Min-gi really studied abroad and learned Inferno!”
“Wow. A B-rank Gate in one shot…….”
It wasn’t Inferno. It was Fire Bolt.
Were all these collapsed hunters dreaming or something?
‘I guess I can see why they’d be confused.’
When other people cast Fire Bolt, the spell was barely worth the name—like throwing a match set on fire.
The relatively stronger mage hunters might use it as an offensive spell. But even then, each casting was just a single arrow of flame, and that was it.
But Jeong-ho had unleashed a downpour of fire—volcanic eruption, armageddon, impact like a meteor strike.
Why was it so powerful?
—The dimensional shop [Dapanda] deals exclusively in Originals. Everything you’ve obtained in the Tower, in Gates, are all counterfeits mimicking the Originals. The dimensions are different.
He remembered what Dae-yeong had said in the Hero’s Tower.
If even Fire Bolt, the most basic of the basics, was this strong, how powerful must the other Originals be?
‘I don’t know about anything else, but I’m pretty strong, aren’t I? At this level…… Ugh, uh…?!’
Sudden nausea surged up, blood gushed from his throat, and his head spun.
[Warning! Mana Pollution 99%!]
[Warning! Mana Pollution 99%!]
[Warning! Mana Pollution 99%!]
‘Oh, right. The Mana Pollution…….’
Originally, there was no Mana on Earth, and humans were not originally Hunters.
There were naturally limits to how much Mana the human body could accept.
If you used a skill stronger than your Rank, consumed an elixir, or equipped an item, Mana Pollution would accumulate and drive a Hunter to death.
If Mana Pollution reached 100%? Certain death.
Jeong-ho strained to lift his smartphone.
“Please send an ambulance here!”
* * *
Jeong-ho managed to open his eyes.
An unfamiliar ceiling and the smell of disinfectant greeted him.
“Where…… am I?”
The doctor reviewing a chart answered casually.
“Ah. A hospital. Don’t worry.”
Strangely, his body felt light and perfectly fine.
If Mana Pollution had reached 99%, wouldn’t certain death have been inevitable?
“Doctor. About my Mana Pollution—”
“Mana Pollution? It’s only around 1%. That’s just the level of natural Mana exposure.”
The doctor even showed him the test results directly.
Below various Hunter stat estimates rated around F, it showed Mana Pollution at 0.8%.
“See? It’s nothing serious, so just rest before you go. The state covers 99% of medical bills anyway for Gate incidents. You can be discharged right now if you’d like.”
“What about Hunter Kwon Min-gi? How is he?”
The doctor’s expression turned grave.
“He’s in the intensive care unit.”
“Ah, yes. I understand.”
After the doctor left, Jeong-ho lay back on the bed.
‘Hunter Kwon Min-gi. He’s alive. Thank goodness.’
It was good that he’d chosen to cast Fire Bolt instead of running away back then.
Jeong-ho felt proud of himself for mustering the courage.
‘Where did all that Mana Pollution go?’
Mana Pollution could naturally heal—albeit at a rate comparable to radioactive decay.
Searching on his smartphone turned up no useful information, and there wasn’t anyone he knew who would understand these things…
‘Actually, there is.’
Dae-yeong, who lived in the Hero’s Tower.
That guy who deals with monstrous artifacts—he’d know something, wouldn’t he?
* * *
A-rank Hunter Kwon Min-gi opened his eyes in the intensive care unit.
A Hunter Management Bureau staff member watching over him with concern cried out.
“Director! He’s awake!”
Director Oh Seung-woo of the Management Bureau burst through the door.
“Hunter Kwon. Are you conscious? Do you remember who I am?”
Kwon Min-gi forced open his parched lips with effort.
“The Management Bureau… Director Oh? The Gate—what happened to it?”
Director Oh Seung-woo smiled and nodded.
“Hunter Kwon. You did well. We nearly had a major disaster on our hands, but you’ve learned Inferno after all, I see?”
“That wasn’t me. I can’t use Inferno.”
Director Oh Seung-woo’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“But didn’t you go to China for two months to study and learn Inferno?”
“That Red Mage bastard! He never taught me Inferno—he just worked me like a slave for two months! If anything, he stole my skills!”
Beep-beep-beep!
The machine connected to the bed started blaring.
“Calm down, Hunter Kwon. I apologize. I won’t ask any further.”
“No, no—it’s not your fault, Director. From what I can tell, something’s wrong. Either the Gate was about to collapse or something unprecedented happened. A monster using Inferno must have escaped. We need to track it immediately—!”
“The Gate was cleared on schedule. No explosion, no anomaly.”
Hunter Kwon Min-gi fell silent, stunned.
“Then who was it? Who used Inferno?”
“The Bureau is still investigating, but honestly, we’re in the dark.”
Kwon Min-gi held his aching head and tried to piece together his memories.
—It was over in one blow?
Someone had been there. While everyone else was dying, one person stood unscathed.
That person was the Hunter who used Inferno, but who were they? He’d never heard that voice before and hadn’t gotten a good look at their face.
‘Whoever they are, I’m grateful.’
Without that Hunter, he’d be dead by now.
He didn’t know who they were, but he wanted to find them no matter what.
He wanted to thank them, to take them as his master.
That person was far stronger than the Red Mage, who ranked ninth in China.
* * *
[Skill Activated: Entering Hero’s Tower]
[You are entering Hero’s Tower.]
A brilliant light engulfed the world, then faded.
In the familiar stone hall, the silhouette of Dae-yeong appeared as well.
“Dae-yeong, I’m back. I wanted to ask you something today.”
Dae-yeong held out what looked like a shadow hand.
<One hundred Mana Stones per question.>
“Huh? Mana Stones only drop from the Tower. You said not to climb before—”
<Hero’s Tower is a tower that selects heroes. If you’ve proven yourself worthy of climbing here, then climb you must. You’ve got decent skill, I’ll grant you, but that’s separate from this.>
It was somewhat unexpected, but the logic wasn’t wrong, and Jeong-ho had always wanted to climb the Tower eventually anyway.
“Understood. I’ll gather one hundred Mana Stones from Trial Tower, right?”
<Khehehehe. Even so, if you bring me ramen, I’ll answer one question.>
“I don’t have ramen today.”
Jeong-ho showed his empty hands.
Dae-yeong froze like a still frame, then—
<K-khehehehe. It d-doesn’t matter. After all, it’s just shabby, worthless food. Even if I eat more, it won’t change anything. I’ve had a taste—that’s enough. Better yet. From now on, bring Mana Stones instead of ramen!>
“What do you mean? Ramen tastes different every time.”
Dae-yeong flinched.
<Different? Ramen is ramen. It’s all the same.>
The red glow in those eyes trembled slightly.
But didn’t it seem like he was actually dying to know what it tasted like?
“I have a different kind at home from the ramen I made before.”
Dae-yeong pretended not to hear.
“If you answer just one question, I’ll let you try it next time I come.”
Dae-yeong still pretended not to hear, but his robe rustled noticeably.
“Well, if you don’t want to…”
<Fine! You’ve promised me this? I’ll answer one question for you.>
“Where did all my 99% Mana Pollution go?”
Dae-yeong’s red eyes narrowed to slits.
He looked exactly like one of those weeping stone statues.

Jeong-ho perked up his ears and focused intently.

“……?”

What kind of sophistry is this?

It’s like the paradox of Achilles and the tortoise.
No matter how much the Pollution accumulates, you recover 1% before it hits 100%? And that makes you immune to Mana Pollution?

Whether it’s a curse or a compliment, the upshot is I can still use Fire Bolt. That’s something, at least.
Still, I can’t just spam skills carelessly. Other things could go wrong, and if the Pollution ruptures in the middle of a fight, I’m dead.
“Is there any way to prevent Mana Pollution?”
Whoosh!
Dae-yeong spread his robe wide like a bat unfurling its wings.
Beneath the robe, a black universe sparkled, and countless artifacts, items, and elixirs glowed with light—more than anyone could possibly catalog.
-Original Monkey’s Paw (Legendary): Grants three wishes……
-Original Ambrosia (Legendary): Transcend humanity to reach the realm of demigods……
-Original Gongqing Oil (Legendary): Permanently enhance all stats dramatically……
-Original Yunqi Zhushi Skill Book (Legendary): Swift recovery in any circumstance……
And innumerable other items besides.
Countless item descriptions overlapped and shimmered like the Milky Way.

Jeong-ho swallowed hard.
Right. This is a Dimensional Shop. A place where you buy and sell.
Whether it’s an elixir to raise your Mana, a skill to help manage it, or even just an item—anything can be purchased here.
‘Fine. I’ll climb the Tower to mine Mana Stones.’
Mana Stones only come from Tower rewards, after all.
‘But first, let me sell this.’
Jeong-ho pulled the Gate rewards from his inventory.
Six chunks of Living Plaster. One red Blood Stone Ruby.

“Would you happen to accept items for sale as well?”
There was a Hunter Auction House, of course, but if an F-rank like Jeong-ho listed Unique items there, it would be a disaster.
How could an F-rank possibly obtain something like this? Must be stolen goods?
The state would launch a full investigation, confiscate the items, and subject him to intense interrogation.
And that’s if he got lucky.
If luck turned against him, the Hunter Guild or a criminal organization would snatch him up—and the state, at least, might eventually release him. These groups? Never.
“How much would it sell for?”

“16? No—if I sold this at the Hunter Auction House, I’d get at least 500 Mana Stones!”

Jeong-ho hastily gathered his items back. Even a ripoff artist would blush at this.
This won’t do. I’m too wronged to let it stand—I’ll climb the Tower, raise my Hunter Rank, and sell these myself.
“Just you wait. I’ll climb the Tower and bring back Mana Stones.”
A brilliant flash of light enveloped him, and Jeong-ho’s figure vanished.
* * *
[Skill Used: Trial Tower Entry]
[Entering Trial Tower, Floor 1.]
As Jeong-ho stepped out of the light, a clearing in a dense forest came into view.
[Floor 1 Objective: Defeat 1 Trial Scarecrow.]
[Time Limit: 6 hours]
Floor 1 is a tutorial zone—you don’t even die here.
Newly awakened Hunters test their abilities here, and the goal is simply to destroy the scarecrow, which has an absurdly bloated health pool.
The problem is, it’s rock solid. Even Ronald, the world’s number one ranked Hunter, took 13 minutes to clear Floor 1.
Every time you hit it, the scarecrow teleports; there are traps scattered about, and chasing it means risking stepping into a trap—you might not die, but injuries are almost guaranteed.
With all his stats at F-rank, Jeong-ho could die from a single trap.
‘One clean strike. End it in one blow.’
If the Mana Pollution hit ninety-nine percent, he’d be coughing blood again.
Fighting a monster while vomiting blood? That’s suicide. From here on out, every battle ends in a single strike—that’s the only winning move.
The moment Jeong-ho stepped outside the safe zone, he fired a Fire Bolt.
[Skill Activated: Original Fire Bolt]
A crimson fireball bloomed above his head.
Boom!
[Trial Tower Floor 1 cleared!]
[Clear Time – 00:00:03 seconds.]
[Clear Grade: EX]
[EX-rank Reward: You obtain 19 Mana Stones.]
[EX-rank Special Reward: You obtain 1 Evidence of Hero.]
[Reclaimed 1st Place! Record updated!]
Thank god—it ended in one strike.
Jeong-ho forced down the blood rising in his throat.
He’d expected it, but the Original Fire Bolt’s power exceeded imagination.
Nineteen Mana Stones from the first floor alone?
And EX-rank rewards? Evidence of Hero?
What is this. I’ve never seen any of these before.
* * *
In that moment, at the Hunter Management Bureau in Korea’s large monitoring screen.

Seeing an anonymous Korean Hunter clear the first floor in three seconds, Director Oh Seung-woo’s jaw dropped.
“Th-three seconds? Not three minutes—three seconds? It takes three minutes just to boil ramen, and someone climbed the tower’s first floor in three seconds?!”
The faster a tower is cleared, the higher the Clear Grade, and higher Clear Grades guaranteed better rewards.
S-rank rewards were roughly double C-rank rewards. Some rewards even appeared only rarely in high-grade clears.
But EX-rank? That’s higher than S. What kind of rewards are we even talking about, and how many?
Meanwhile, in Japan.
“This is a crisis. The Trial Tower’s first floor record has been updated—only three seconds.”
“Three seconds?! Is this a system error?”
“No, sir. This is direct transmission from the Trial Tower itself. Signal strength good—no errors.”
“Heavens. There’s an EX-rank above S-rank?! All the S-rank strategy guides Japan purchased are now worthless!”
“Of all things, it had to be a Korean! If only it were Japanese!”
In China as well.
“Find the EX-rank Hunter. Assemble all detection-class Hunters and send every information team, recruitment team, and assassination team to Korea!”
“Is… is that really necessary?”
“The nation’s Blessing is in danger! If they cleared the first floor with EX-rank, they’ll steal every single ranking for the floors that are multiples of five with Blessings! ”
Li Wei, China’s number-one ranked Hunter, ground his teeth.
“The nation’s Blessing can never be taken. That’s the path to serving all of humanity.”
In the United States as well.
“What the hell! EX-rank clear?! Who is it?”
“One of the super rookies Ronald’s been training? Ronald does recruit foreigners, after all.”
“The super rookies were having a White House dinner at that exact moment.”
The shocked Americans looked at each other.
“Then… who on earth…?”
In the European Union as well.
“Breaking news! Breaking news! EX-rank record updated!”
“Floor 1 in three seconds? The previous world record was thirteen minutes!”
“It must be a British Hunter.”
“No. It’s definitely French.”
“Spain will finally reclaim its past glory.”
“Don’t you know strong new Hunters have been appearing in Germany lately?”
“Everyone, calm down. It’s a Korean-affiliated Hunter.”
“Don’t you know about expatriate citizens? I’m certain it’s an Italian.”
“Whoever it is, come forward! Greece will scout you for one billion euros.”
“Portugal offers two billion euros.”
“To hold back money on this matter—how pedestrian. Switzerland respects the EX-rank Hunter and proposes ten billion euros.”
Jeong-ho’s record—first floor in three seconds, EX-rank.
The entire world was in shock.
To be continued ▶
Got the final item from a single bowl of ramen
Author
Hayan Gotgam
Publisher
Kim Seok-hwan, Choi Se-ra
Published by
Grae Publishing
Contact Email
[email protected]
Publication Date
August 24, 2026
UCI
G720:N+A327-20260423069
※ This e-book is protected by copyright law. Unauthorized reproduction and duplication are prohibited, and violations may result in criminal and civil liability.
※ Pentagram is always awaiting your precious manuscripts.

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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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