Obtained End-Game Gear for a Bowl of Ramen - Chapter 30

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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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Episode 30. The World’s Greatest Hunter
Ronald was the world’s strongest hunter. But he was not the world’s greatest.
[Orc 44/44 Eliminated]
[C-Rank Gate Cleared!]
[Contribution Rate: Choi Jeong Soo (25%)……]
[Troll 16/16 Eliminated]
[C-Rank Gate Cleared!]
[Contribution Rate: Yu Jun Ki (70%)……]
[Giant Spider 7/7 Eliminated]
[D-Rank Gate Cleared!]
[Contribution Rate: Baek Mina (100%)……]
By the time a B- or C-Rank Hunter arrived at a gate worth opening, it was already cleared. The gate map the US Hunter Management Agency had sent him was essentially useless.
“Late again.”
Ronald muttered to himself as he watched the spacetime rift closing—the gate. Mina, still catching her breath in the Blackstone Set, turned to look at him.
“Wait—Ronald?”
“Yes, that’s right. You know me?”
“Of course! World’s strongest. Number one in the world. A walking nuclear bomb.”
Ronald let out a bitter laugh at the last nickname.
“That’s the former ranking now. There’s an EX-Rank Hunter, after all.”
“You came to close the gate, I take it? We already shut this one down. Sorry about that.”
Ronald shrugged.
“Why apologize for closing a gate? Hunters are just doing their duty.”
“Hold on. Ronald—why did you come to Korea? You sat out the last S-Plus Rank gate and just watched from the sidelines. What’s changed your mind now?”
“If I’d used Scorched Earth back then, civilian casualties would have been far worse.”
“A man who worries about civilian casualties comes to Korea to close a mere C-Rank gate? That’s basically blackmail. Look around you—what happens to that apartment complex if you unleash Scorched Earth here?”
Baek Mina pointed a finger at the dilapidated apartment complex sprawling across the slope. Every other development in the area gleamed with new construction, but this one stood ancient and weathered.
“Hunters close gates. It’s our duty. Nothing more.”
Ronald thrust his hands into his pockets and walked back to the car. The moment he got in, his American driver brought up the navigation and headed somewhere.
“A healer.”
Ronald muttered under his breath. If America had healer hunters, things might have been different. They could mitigate the collateral damage from Scorched Earth.
But America had no healer hunters. Perhaps only Korea had them. Healers were useless in the Tower of Trial, after all.
The Tower of Trial was the New Cold War—a competition between nations. Countries that climbed higher and achieved better results gained greater international influence. America discarded hunters with no use for the Tower. It was Manager Roger’s ruthlessly pragmatic decision.
‘South Korea is an interesting country. Roger would curse them as foolish romantics.’
Ronald gazed quietly out the window. Korea’s night was more beautiful than its day. The night scenery glittered like jewels in a darkroom.
‘Las Vegas was beautiful like that too, once.’
A gate had opened in the hotel, and at the same moment, Ronald awakened. He used his unique skill, Scorched Earth, to seal it.
The hotel was erased from the map. More people were hurt because of Ronald than by the gate itself, yet Roger from the US Hunter Management Agency moved swiftly.
-Ronald has the talent of an S-Rank hunter. He is America’s hero!
Roger’s words were true. Ronald really did become number one in the world, and he alone rewrote the Tower of Trial records, holding first place firmly until Li Wei climbed higher. It was all thanks to Roger.
But Ronald had never felt toward Roger the way a friend might. It felt more like being an accomplice.
-Ronald! Your Scorched Earth is powerful. To unleash every single weapon stored in your inventory at once. This is a revolution in military strategy!
Roger used his authority as head of the Hunter Management Agency to contact the US Department of Defense. He crammed vast quantities of weaponry into Ronald’s inventory.
The Scorched Earth skill grew more powerful, more uncontrollable, and its collateral damage multiplied. A walking nuclear bomb was born. The now-burdened Ronald tossed and turned in discomfort.
“Driver. What’s our next destination?”
The driver glanced at the navigation screen.
“A residential alley about 500 meters away. The gate is expected to open in approximately 34 minutes.”
A residential alley. Ronald’s gaze drifted toward the distant streetscape beyond the window. Low-rise houses clustered tightly along the slope. He could imagine all too clearly what Scorched Earth would do.
Suddenly Ronald remembered Roger’s schedule. He’d heard that Roger had held meetings with Korean business and political leaders immediately upon arriving in Korea.
Someone might be pleased if that residential area on the slope was leveled by Scorched Earth. That old apartment complex earlier, for instance. Ronald swallowed hard.
-You are the gun, I am the trigger. You do exactly as I say. I will bear all the guilt, all the responsibility, all the shame.
That’s what Roger had said, but Ronald’s guilt only grew. He raised his hand to make the sign of the cross, then stopped and smiled bitterly.
“Driver. What’s the predicted gate rank?”
“C-Rank.”
“Let’s go somewhere else. The fast Korean hunters will handle it fine on their own.”
“Should we skip it? The next location is 200 meters from an apartment complex, with an expected gate rank of…….”
“Are there no S-Rank gates?”
The car stopped at a red light. The driver took the opportunity to pull out his smartphone and scrolled through it quickly.
“No S-Rank gates. If there were, word would have spread by now.”
“What about A-Rank?”
“None of those either. The best we have is a B-Plus Rank.”
“Let’s skip all that and head straight there.”
“But the Management Agency…….”
“Come on. Besides, Korea will handle closing anything B-rank and below just fine on their own.”
Ronald muttered something under his breath.
“I’m the gun. You’re the trigger. The gun bears no responsibility, but…….”
Ronald tilted his chair back and closed his eyes. He was exhausted. Sometimes he couldn’t tell if he was living or dying.
* * *
[Skill Used: Earth Manipulation (Original)]
[You manipulate earth, stone, and minerals.]
[Hero’s Power, Level 4, resonates!]
[Divide Mind activates!]
[Skill copied: Earth Manipulation (Original)]
Crack-crack-crunch! Jeong Ho crafted an item based on the blueprints the Volcano Blacksmith had given him.
‘The completion quality of my items has definitely improved. Maybe now I should try making some proper equipment for myself?’
Until now, Jeong Ho had owned only two pieces of equipment: the Bow of Fading Cherry Blossoms and the Magic Sword Arc Spark. Just two weapons.
Armor—he had none. Not a single piece. In other words, he’d been climbing the Tower of Trial and closing Gates practically naked. Any other Hunter would have needed a hundred lives.
‘At least with Water Shield (Original), I haven’t had any serious life-threatening moments.’
But Water Shield wasn’t active twenty-four hours a day, and it wasn’t passive either. Plus it took up a Divide Mind slot.
“Earth Manipulation.”
Crack-crack-crunch!!
Jeong Ho put on the handmade Blackstone Set piece by piece: cloth tunic, trousers, ring, necklace. Even a hat……?
‘Wow. This is fashion from another planet.’
It looked nothing like something a human should wear. Never mind the performance—the design was absolutely terrible. After several attempts, he finally created something barely wearable. Everything except the hat.
‘No matter what hat I wear, it just doesn’t work. But if I wear a helmet, I stick out too much. Maybe instead……?’
Crack-crack-crunch! Jeong Ho crafted a Blackstone Wig and put it on his head. Finally—head armor that didn’t stand out.
‘That’ll do. Now I actually look like a proper Hunter. People at the inspection office might even believe I’m EX-rank?’
When he’d gone to the inspection office before, he’d been in completely casual clothes. Looking back on it, he’d noticed there were quite a few Hunters in full gear back then.
Now that he thought about it, the staff had seemed unusually kind to those people. Suddenly Jeong Ho felt a surge of something bitter.
‘Filthy appearance discrimination.’
Tower climbing was the best cure for fouled spirits. But he’d already cleared today’s tower twice. Maybe he could find a Gate to vent on instead?
[Authority Used: Gate Guide]
[Dimensional Sight opens!]
Flash! A Gate about to open appeared nearby.
<Gate Type: Mid-to-Large Gate (B+)>
<Time until Opening: 04:02:17>
‘Near Lake Park. Four hours from now. Wait, what……?’
Flash! The remaining time on the Gate suddenly whizzed down like a fast-forward reel.
<Time until Opening: 00:08:22>
‘Again! Did the Welcomers cause trouble around here again?’
He’d caught Jack the Ripper and blocked an S+-rank Gate—you’d think they’d leave him alone for a while. Apparently the Welcomers still had their hooks in Korea.
‘Whatever. Let me just close the Gate. Close it, come back, shower, make some ramen, and sleep? Ugh.’
[Entering Gate remotely via Dimensional Sight!]
Flash! Jeong Ho dropped straight into the middle of Lake Park. Why were there so many people? There were so many that no one even noticed him materialize out of nowhere.
Quite a few people were wearing Blackstone Sets. Did these people have no fashion sense?
“Hey, this is the Blackstone Set that’s trending right now? I splurged and got one set recently.”
“Dude! Look at that finish. Man, I want to try one on.”
“No way! This is designer stuff, designer. You’re not even a Hunter.”
“Oh my. Is that person wearing the Blackstone Set prototype?”
“Where? Nah. That’s second-gen. That person’s fourth-gen. Fourth-gen has better finishing than second-gen, but it lost that signature raw quality.”
“I heard some guilds even adopted the Blackstone Set as official equipment.”
“Those are third-gen. They had the most units released. But honestly, the prototype—the two prototypes—are still the best…….”
Hearing the chatter of passersby, Jeong Ho had nothing to say. So the Blackstone Set was already considered luxury goods? Looks like people had already named the generations and ranked them.
‘Anyway, what’s going on today? A fire festival? Oh, they must have moved it up because of rain tomorrow. Wait, that could be dangerous.’
Tipping them off would just cause panic. But he had the ability—as soon as the Gate opened, he’d just slam it shut instantly and be done.
Jeong Ho used the Gate Guide authority to figure out where the Gate would open and moved into position. But there was a food cart sitting right where the Gate was about to appear.
‘What’s this? Should I warn them? Though something feels off…….’
It was a food cart, but there were no customers. The people inside didn’t feel like vendors there to do business. His sense stat had gone up enough that Jeong Ho could pick up on the vibe.
The moment Jeong Ho stood there, the people inside the cart began glancing at him nervously. They were clearly foreigners.
“Excuse me. What are you doing?”
The two people inside the food cart looked at each other. In that instant, a dark premonition pressed down hard on Jeong Ho’s heart.
“Water Shield!”
[Skill activated: Water Shield (Original)]
[Enveloped in a protective barrier of water.]
[Hero’s Power Stage 4 resonates!]
[Divide Mind triggers!]
[Skill copied: Water Shield (Original)]
Whoosh! As the water barrier unfurled, a silenced pistol cracked—a bullet fired and embedded itself midway through the Water Shield, unable to pierce through.
“You lot are Welcomers, aren’t you?”
“Shit.”
Tap-tap! The Welcomers abandoned their tent stall and bolted. He tried to chase, but with a sharp crack, a rift tore open in the empty air.
Crash!!
A torrent of green serpents poured from the Gate—or were they vines? A grotesque mass of writhing snake-like tendrils tangled together and fell with a wet thud.
[Snake-Vine 0/9 eliminated]
[B+ Rank Gate clear in progress]
“What was that sound just now?”
“Sounded like a Gate opening somewhere.”
“A Gate? Where? Listen, I just pulled the Blackstone Set brand new today, so—”
Leaving the murmuring crowd behind, Jeong Ho reached out his hand toward the Gate.
“Fire Bolt.”
[Skill activated: Fire Bolt (Original)]
[Launches a flaming arrow.]
[Hero’s Power Stage 4 resonates!]
[Divide Mind triggers!]
[Skill copied: Fire Bolt (Original)]
A massive fireball shot across the lake. Boom! Crimson flames bloomed against the night sky. In an instant, daylight returned to the darkened Lake Park.
[Snake-Vine 0/9 eliminated]
[B+ Rank Gate clear in progress]
Struck by the downpour of flame, the snake-vine burned away completely, leaving only its core. From the coconut-like nucleus, new tendrils regenerated.
‘The core won’t burn. I’ll just shatter it with the Magic Sword Arc Spark.’
Jeong Ho drew the Magic Sword Arc Spark from his Inventory and swung it.
[Snake-Vine 9/9 eliminated]
[B+ Rank Gate cleared!]
[Contribution Rate: ??? (100%)]
The Gate cleared in an instant. Despite the throng of people, not a single casualty—handled cleanly and completely.
The Fire Bolt (Original) was a precision-strike skill, which made it possible. Though it was a shame he’d let the Welcomers slip away…
“Scorched Earth.”
‘Huh?’
Jeong Ho turned his head. The world’s number one Hunter, Ronald, came into view—and countless portals beyond him, with countless modern weapons and military hardware bristling through them.
“Shit.”
Boom—!!
A second explosion detonated. Weaker than the burst of flames before, but enough to silence the once-bustling Lake Park.
Thick smoke billowed across the park. Ronald slowly lowered his hand and muttered grimly.
“I am the gun. You are the trigger. A gun has no thoughts and bears no responsibility, and yet… I apologize.”
Ronald began to cross himself but froze. The smoke cleared slowly. A massive stone dome emerged gradually into view.
“A rock?”
“Cough, cough. Good grief. I thought I was done for.”
Someone crawled out from beneath the stone. They were alive. Ronald rushed toward them immediately.
“You’re alive?! After being caught by my Scorched Earth?”
Ronald turned his head. Koreans were alive beneath the stone dome. All of them.
There were injured, but miraculously, not a single death. Ronald couldn’t believe it.
‘They took a direct hit from my Scorched Earth and suffered no casualties. How? Was it the Blackstone Set? This stone dome? What even is this rock? Did an EX-ranker pass through here? But I felt no trace of it at all. Just what kind of EX-ranker does Korea have…?’
“Everyone, stay calm! I’m Baek Mina, a Healer! Injured parties, come this way!”
Mina, who happened to be at the scene, deftly sorted the wounded, and the situation quickly came under control. Tears suddenly welled up in Ronald’s eyes.
He’d used Scorched Earth, yet no one died or suffered serious injury. It felt like a dream. Lake Park remained untouched. There was no collateral damage. Was this also the blessing of an EX-ranker?
In Korea. If he were in Korea. If an EX-ranker existed here, then even Scorched Earth would leave no wounds. With the world’s greatest Hunter beside him, he could act without fear. He quietly pulled out his smartphone and called someone.
“Roger. It’s me. I have something important to tell you.”
-What is it? Ronald. You had at least seven chances to use Scorched Earth today, and you didn’t use it even once…?
“I’m going to naturalize as a Korean citizen.”
Click. The call ended.
Continued next chapter ▶
One bowl of ramen, and the final-tier item came home with me.
Author
Ha Yan Gonggam
Publisher
Kim Seok Hwan, Choi Se Ra
Published by
Grae Publishing
Inquiries
[email protected]
Publication Date
August 24, 2026
UCI
G720:N+A327-20260423069
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※ Pentagram welcomes 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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