Obtained End-Game Gear for a Bowl of Ramen - Chapter 35
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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 35. Korea is My Home
Jung Ho and Ronald between them finished two packages of five instant noodles each. Ronald’s appetite defied imagination. You’d think the world’s number one would eat like that.
‘And yet he talks about eating modestly. What is he, some kind of ascetic? Even a cow wouldn’t eat that much.’
At the same time, Jung Ho felt a pang of sympathy. How long had Ronald been going without proper meals since arriving in Korea?
“EX. Thanks to you, I’ve eaten very well. Would it be possible to share the recipe? I’d like to try making it myself back at the hotel.”
“It won’t taste the same if you make it at the hotel.”
“Why is that?”
Ronald’s satisfied smile froze instantly.
“Instant noodles taste best when you eat them after working up a sweat. Half the flavor of noodles is the experience taste. Noodles after a full day of swimming in summer. Cup noodles eaten on a mountain in autumn. Noodles eaten while facing the cold winter wind…….”
Ronald’s expression showed he didn’t quite understand.
“Is the difference really that significant?”
“It is. Look right now—we just finished fighting the Gate Welcomers, so it tastes better. Even if I boil it leisurely at the hotel, it won’t have this flavor.”
“Experience taste, I see. Instant noodles are deeper than I thought.”
Jung Ho was satisfied. It pleased him that Ronald understood the profundity of instant noodles. Plenty of people would dismiss such talk as nonsense.
“Anyway. Ronald. What will you do going forward in Korea?”
After eating lunch and filling his belly, Jung Ho asked what he’d been curious about.
Ronald’s naturalization in Korea was because of EX-rank. Actually, because of Jung Ho. But Jung Ho couldn’t very well stick to Ronald’s side year-round.
“The Korean Hunter Management Bureau has agreed to provide housing, a car, an administrator, and security personnel. They’re also setting up a smartphone, bank account, and cards for me.”
At least he had a plan to live well on his own. Jung Ho had worried it might come across like he was an EX-rank follower, but this worked out well. He preferred being independent anyway.
“That’s fortunate. Oh, and will you join a guild?”
“I will not. I might meet a second Roger.”
Ronald looked forlorn. But could he really operate without a guild? If the world’s number one went unaffiliated, would people leave him alone? A battle to claim Ronald might very well break out.
Then again, he couldn’t just join any guild either. How many guilds would want to make a killing off the world’s number one, the strongest Ronald?
‘Look at me—how many hunters claim to be EX-rank? Ronald and I are noodle friends, having boiled them together. I should give him a recommendation.’
There happened to be a perfect guild. One with connections to Jung Ho but without excessive ambitions, capable of embracing Ronald. A guild with its own strength, unbowed by outside pressure.
“Ronald. Do you happen to know Hunter Kwon Min-gi?”
Kwon Min-gi’s guild—the one that makes and sells High Potions—would be ideal. High Potions are the lifeblood of Korean hunters; who would dare cause trouble there? Even the Management Bureau would approve.
“Kwon Min-gi? I’m afraid not. My apologies. Korean hunters aren’t particularly famous in the United States.”
“Well, you know now. Look him up and go find Hunter Kwon Min-gi. It was the Baekdam Guild, I think. Tell him that an EX-rank recommended you, and I bet it’ll work.”
Jung Ho disliked trading on his EX-rank name, but he’d use it when necessary.
“EX. What kind of person is Kwon Min-gi?”
A hunter who, on the day Jung Ho first awakened, died while protecting a Gate and evacuating civilians to the last. A hunter who could have monopolized the High Potion recipe Jung Ho had given away, but sold it at a fair price instead.
“A good hunter.”
A good hunter didn’t need long explanations. Ronald smiled gently with understanding.
“A good hunter vouched for by an EX-rank. I will certainly seek him out. But pleasant times end quickly, don’t they?”
Jung Ho glanced outside the miniature tent. The Management Bureau was still combing the area searching for the missing Ronald.
“If we stay here much longer, we’ll have a Ronald missing persons case on our hands.”
“I’ll go and explain everything to them. EX, it was wonderful to meet you again.”
Ronald shook Jung Ho’s hand firmly and departed. After walking a distance, Ronald turned back. Both the miniature tent and Jung Ho had vanished without a trace.
‘Come to think of it, I never even asked EX’s name.’
There would be another chance someday. Ronald turned back toward the Management Bureau staff.
* * *
[Skill Used: Shadow Swap Original]
[Swap positions with your shadow.]
Pop! Jung Ho teleported home instantly, swapping places with a shadow he’d left there beforehand.
‘Today was fulfilling. I was exhausted from fighting the Gate Welcomers, but I’ll take a break from the Tower today.’
Jung Ho washed, changed clothes, and sprawled out lazily on the bare floor. The cool hardness of the ondol tile seeped into his spine.
Then he suddenly sprang up and began boiling instant noodles—even the aluminum pot made with his Earth Manipulation skill.
“Hero’s Tower Entry.”
[Skill Used: Hero’s Tower Entry]
[Entering Hero’s Tower.]
Jung Ho entered the Tower intending to call for Dae-young but froze. The Big Shadow Dae-young was stretching tentacles like an octopus, boiling noodles.
Water trickled from empty air and pooled in Dae-young’s pot.
Dae-young pulled out two hourglasses from within.
—Inverted Hourglass Original (Legendary): An hourglass capable of reversing one recent event.
Causality reversal? Time regression? What kind of cheat item is that? And not just one, but two? All just to boil a single serving of instant noodles?
His shock must have leaked out into his thoughts. Jung Ho and Dae-young’s eyes met.
“I was just about to.”
Jung Ho wasn’t interested, his eyes fixed only on the pot he’d brought. Dae-young glanced at the one he’d been boiling away at, then casually swept it through the portal and out of sight.
“Wasn’t that the ramyeon you were cooking earlier?”
“I never said I’d give it to you. Don’t count your chickens before they hatch.”
Dae-young’s eyes flickered.
“Not quite. As far as I know, it’s the broth from white kimchi.”
Jung Ho stopped mid-explanation and grinned wickedly.
“Curious? Want to try some?”
Even as he said it, he’d end up getting fleeced anyway. Jung Ho snickered and lifted the pot lid.
“Never mind all that. Just eat the ramyeon. It’s gotten a bit soft by now.”
Precious ramyeon—a phrase as strange as hot ice cream. Dae-young devoured it, but his reaction was more subdued than usual.
“It’s not good, is it?”
“That’s not it. It’s just that what really makes ramyeon taste good isn’t here.”
The shadowy tentacles writhing out from Dae-young like a malevolent octopus monster retracted.
“Experience. The taste of playing in the water on a hot summer day, sweating buckets. Or eating instant ramyeon while the cold autumn and winter winds hit your face. Could you ever know that taste, Dae-young?”
……
Dae-young suddenly fell silent. Did I say something wrong? What’s with this awkward air? We’ve never had a moment like this before.
Good—he didn’t seem angry or offended. I almost slipped up there and made things weird between us. I need to be more careful about mentioning experience from now on.
“Dae-young, have you heard of the Gate Welcomers?”
“I don’t know either, that’s why I’m asking. So even Dae-young doesn’t know everything.”
“Gates.”
A few of Dae-young’s tentacles poked out from beneath his robes and writhed. His tone sounded amused, but his demeanor was oddly irritated.
“I don’t understand what’s so great about Gates anyway.”
Dae-young was openly displeased.
And now I was curious again.
“What exactly are Gates?”
Dae-young suddenly unleashed a barrage of nagging. Why aren’t you climbing if you have the talent? What’s a talented person doing by not trying? In my day, I’d already climbed past the tenth floor by now. And so on.
“Geez, you sound exactly like my mom. Hey! I was going to climb! But now I don’t want to after all your nagging!”
“You said I shouldn’t be one before.”
Dae-young fell silent in thought for a moment.
“Is that a complaint or a compliment?”
Dae-young slowly stretched his upper body and whispered into Jung Ho’s ear.
* * *
The two news headlines that American Hunter Management Bureau Chief Roger had been anxiously awaiting flashed simultaneously. Roger watched the reports with joy, then dropped his phone in despair.
The cracked screen spread in a spiderweb pattern, but the news image was still visible through it.
-At 11 a.m. today, Ronald, who had naturalized in Korea, was demonstrating his newly refined Scorched Earth skill when he was attacked by Gate Welcomers.
-With Ronald’s swift response, all of the Gate Welcomers were arrested, and miraculously, there were no casualties.
Some quarters praised the EX-rank Hunter, saying that had an EX-rank Hunter appeared in time to protect the citizens, an EX-rank truly deserved the accolade.
“Dammit!!!”
The news Roger had been waiting for did come through. Ronald was attacked. The Gate Welcomers were arrested. Yet the specific details were the exact opposite of what he’d expected.
“Why did Ronald—who should have died—end up arresting the Gate Welcomers? What are the American second and third-rankers I sent doing? Is this Korean media control?”
Ronald checked Hunter On. Even China couldn’t control information on Hunter On. But the Hunter On news feed was far worse.
<Ronald’s Dazzling Debut! Gate Welcomers Arrested on His First Day as a Naturalized Citizen!>
<The Newly Improved Scorched Earth: A Tremendous Success. Collateral Damage Reduced by 99% from Previous Levels,>
<Black Crystal Set Does It Again – The Secret to Survival for Management Bureau Staff Unharmed Despite Gate Welcomer Terror Attacks>
<Was an EX-rank Hunter on Scene? Mysterious Skill Usage Traces Discovered.>
<American Second-Ranker Taylor and American Third-Ranker Eric Found Unconscious at the Scene. Defeated in Combat with Gate Welcomers?>
“No! This can’t be!”
The Korean people had accepted Ronald. Ronald had even succeeded in controlling Scorched Earth. But from Roger’s grasp, Ronald had slipped away like water.
“No. Ronald, you can’t escape like this. Do you know how much I’ve cleaned up after you all this time? How many people have you killed, how many buildings have you destroyed? And now—you’re just going to run off and be happy on your own!”
Boom—
Roger’s smartphone rang. Caller ID blocked. Roger took a long gulp of cold water and answered.
“Yes, Mr. President. This is Roger.”
A long sigh came through the line. He could hear fingertips tapping rhythmically on a desk. After an uncomfortable silence, the voice on the other end spoke.
-Roger. We sent someone to make contact with Ronald.
“Pardon? Sir, how could that be? Ronald belongs to the American Hunter Management Bureau…….”
-Ronald has naturalized in Korea, but he’s expressed a willingness to continue working in the United States. If Ronald is friendly toward America, there’s no need for sanctions. In fact, America plans to promote Ronald. After all, he is American.
A terrible premonition seized Roger. Something was going terribly wrong. The President’s office contacting a Hunter directly, bypassing the bureau director? And promoting Ronald—a walking nuclear bomb?
“Mr. President, if I may be so bold, what exactly do you mean…….”
-Roger. We’ve leaked all evidence of your corruption to the media. Ronald will become a noble American sacrificed by a greedy bureau director. An unfortunate S-rank Hunter who destroyed lives and property against his will. Doesn’t that sound splendid?
Blood rushed backward through Roger’s veins. His eyes blazed crimson with rage.
“Mr. President!! I have devoted my entire life to the greatness of America!!”
-And to your own wallet, no less. No matter how desperate things were, how could you have colluded with the Gate Welcomers? Because you recklessly diverted America’s second and third-rankers, the Gate Welcomers nearly destroyed the Statue of Liberty, didn’t they?
“That… Sir, how could you possibly know that?”
No one should have known about his contact with the Gate Welcomers. He hadn’t used his phone, hadn’t met them physically. Yet the American President knew.
-They gave us the information. We’ve already verified everything. Roger. I’ve talked your ear off long enough. Return to America as quickly as possible. Otherwise…….
Bang bang bang bang! The hotel room door shook under rough, urgent pounding.
“Roger! Korean Hunter Management Bureau here. Open this door now! We’re taking you into custody on charges of Hunter abduction and kidnapping.”
-Dear me. The Korean Hunter Management Bureau is probably even less hospitable than America. Director Roger. Best of luck to you.
Bang bang bang bang! The pounding grew fiercer. Roger’s smartphone slipped from his trembling fingers. Thud! As the screen flickered from the impact, a headline appeared.
<Ronald’s Press Conference Statement: Korea is the home of my heart. I will love Korea, which loved me, for the rest of my life.>
To be continued ▶
Got the final item after one bowl of ramen
Author
Hayan Gotgam
Publisher
Kim Seok-hwan, Choi Se-ra
Published by
Grae Publishing
Inquiries
[email protected]
Publication Date
August 24, 2026
UCI
G720:N+A327-20260423069
※ This e-book is protected by copyright law. Unauthorized reproduction and copying are prohibited, and violators are subject to both criminal and civil legal responsibility.
※ Pentagram welcomes precious manuscripts from writers.
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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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