‘Strangely, there are a lot of herbs here,’ Choi Yeonseung thought to himself as he picked up the surrounding herbs one by one.
He had heard that this area had been changed by magic power, but it was still a strange phenomenon.
‘Am I seeing this right?’
[Chinese Knotweed Filled with Magic Power:
It is Chinese knotweed that has an enhanced health recovery effect due to magic power.]
[Ganoderma Lucidum Filled with Magic Power:
It is a ganoderma lucidum that has a strong detoxification effect due to magic power.]
-Is it possible that the realm where martial arts becomes stronger also has an increased amount of medicinal herbs?
-Um, it sounds plausible.
The city had essentially gone back in time, so it actually made sense for there to be more medicinal herbs around. Choi Yeonseung didn’t understand why such a realm was created, but…‘This constellation’s taste is really weird.’
Choi Yeonseung hadn’t really seen any martial arts while wandering around in the Abyss. The skill had been fairly unpopular, and yet it had expanded in this enormous area.
Choi Yeonseung knew that constellations ran a kingdom according to their own preferences, but this was a bit absurd.
‘Alright. First, I have to pick up everything I need...’
[Giant Angelica Filled With Magic Power:
It is a giant angelica with an enhanced hair regeneration effect due to magic power.]
‘Okay, that’s all.’
Of course, there were also many useless herbs, but Choi Yeonseung still took everything he could find. He didn’t know much about company management or the weird fluctuation of the stock market, but there were still a few things he had learnt about business.
For example, he knew that developing one new product and making a hit required hundreds of attempts. Dragon Artifact had produced and released a decent artifact. Wasn’t the performance impressive?
‘If one or two herbs out of a hundred are good, it’ll be a big hit.’
-Isn’t it better to get rid of the hair growth effect and look for increased health or magic power recovery?
-I will take it all with me.Also, I have to mix in one or two useless things to make it look better.
-Successor, you seem to have the qualities of a good merchant.
***
Choi Yeonseung was about to return after finishing his task when he noticed a small house on the ridge in the distance.
“...?”
At first, he thought it was a farmer’s hut or a rest stop for hikers. However, its appearance was too peculiar for that. It was like...
‘It looks like the inn I once ran among the demons!’
-Can your actions really be considered running an inn...?
The goddess of sloth cocked her head. If that was management, couldn’t robberies also be considered a type of transportation business?
“I have to check it.”
“How can a house be so blatantly suspicious?” Han Seha muttered in amazement as she followed Choi Yeonseung.
Knock knock knock.
Choi Yeonseung knocked on the door, to which the person inside shouted, “Yes! I’m coming now!”
“...???”
The Bulgae hunters were startled when they recognized the faces of the hunters inside. Surprisingly, they were hunters from the Kunlun clan.
The Chinese government even put a bounty on the hunters of the Kunlun clan, the order being to ‘exterminate those rebels.’
Why had these hunters, who should be worrying about things in the city, come all the way here to this remote mountain to run an inn?
‘They’re even cosplaying?’
The Kunlun hunters were wearing robes and martial arts uniforms similar to those seen in martial arts movies. The fluttering and cumbersome attires seemed quite uncomfortable.
“Welcome. The menu is...”
“Hey, you fool. You can’t just stay here and tell us about some menu. What, are you about to tell us about the pasta you’re selling?”
“T-that’s right. Then what do you want to eat... Aish, there’s nothing anyway. We only have bamboo leaves and noodles for food.”
After hearing the words of the Kunlun hunters, Han Seha asked politely, “Excuse me, are you out of your mind?”
“...”
“...”
“We aren’t doing this because we like it!” exclaimed one of the Kunlun hunters in an emotional tone.
“We’re doing this because this is what Master wants us to do. Do you think we want to dress up in these weird clothes and do such strange things?”
“Be quiet! You’re ruining the mood!”
Surprisingly, the Kunlun hunters hadn’t lost their minds. It was actually the constellation who had ordered them to act like martial artists from movies!
...It was utterly ridiculous, but what could they do? If the constellation had told them to do it, they had no choice. Moreover, they would receive more power from the constellation if they acted naturally and not forced.
The two hunters who had fought in the square the other day, saying things like “I will be the Murim Lord, so you take care of the Heavenly Demon,” had been blessed with truly unbelievable power.
That was why the hunters had to put up with this.
“The Master of Slowness and Silence has a strange taste.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I heard the Master of Slowness and Silence made you do this?”
“Our master is the Angel of Martial Arts from the Future, not the Master of Slowness and Silence.”
“...??”
Who was that?
***
Choi Yeonseung was confused, but he listened attentively to the story of the Kunlun hunters. Apparently, the Angel of Martial Arts had appeared one day out of nowhere and made a proposal to the Kunlun hunters.
-If you serve as my hands and feet, I will free you from the tyrant.
“Tyrant?”
“The constellation considers the government to be a tyrannical ruler.”
“Ah. That’s how constellations are like.”
The hunters had taken hit after hit from the government, and after their dissatisfaction had reached the boiling point, they eventually accepted the proposal.
“It’s a bit unusual, but we don’t regret it.”
“I see... Wait, it’s not my place to ask, but why are you telling me this?” asked Choi Yeonseung, wondering if something was wrong. After all, he had come here at the request of the Chinese government, which made him the enemy of these hunters.
Even if Choi Yeonseung and his group were considered guests, it wouldn’t be strange if the Kunlun hunters attacked right away.
In response to his question, the Kunlun hunters rubbed their noses embarrassingly and replied, “Well, you fight against the oppression of the party, just like us.”
“...?”
“What are you talking about...?” asked Han Seha, flustered. Who would think that Choi Yeonseung had formed an alliance with the Kunlun clan?
“Have you ever formed an alliance?”
“We haven’t even talked to each other,” a Kunlun hunter replied.
“What?! What's the matter with you? Get lost!”
“Wa-wait. Choi Yeonseung, please… Think back on your actions. You also accepted the hunters who defected from China last time...”
“...I accepted them because my life would’ve been in danger if I hadn’t.”
“Even the other day, the party was bombing the city and you put yourself in front of the missiles.”
“If I hadn’t done anything, innocent civilians would’ve died...”
Regardless of Choi Yeonseung’s words, the Kunlun hunters looked at him with gleeful expressions.
-Even if you say things like that, you truly are the great champion of democracy!
“...If you don’t stop staring at me like that, I’ll make some adjustments to your eyeballs.”
“...”
“I-it was supposed to be a compliment.”
“Even if you meant it as a compliment, your distorted image of me makes me feel dirty.”
Certainly, the majority of Chinese hunters were bound to be dissatisfied. The clans that were close to the party benefited greatly, but that was only a part of them. The rest of the hunters had to run back and forth to obey unreasonable orders.
Hunters in other countries made money by selling monster cores, but the Chinese hunters couldn’t go abroad as they pleased, so it was natural for them to be angry and fed up with the party. From their perspective, it was natural to have a reaction like “Wow, Choi Yeonseung is protesting vehemently against the party’s inhumane measures! His spirit of democracy and justice is amazing!”
“Thank you for letting me know, but don’t get your hopes up. If the situation changes, we’ll fight the monsters,” Choi Yeonseung told them.
“This...! We believe in you, Hunter Choi Yeonseung! You will never become an evil servant of the party...”
“Oh, shut up!” Choi Yeonseung snapped before he punched the nearest hunter.
The hunters admired his perfect display of Pressure Point Attack. Was this the skill of a martial arts master?
“Six-Winged Angel Who Hunts Dragons, I think there is something wrong with the information you’ve given me.”
[The ‘Six-Winged Angel Who Hunts Dragons’ apologizes.]
[He apologizes for misinterpreting the information of his household member.]
It was extremely rare for a constellation to apologize, which made the apology of the Six-Winged Angel Who Hunts Dragons a historic event.
Choi Yeonseung suddenly remembered something which further perplexed him.
‘Wait. Wasn’t Illaphael the one who found this information?’
-Maybe the angel made a mistake?
Choi Yeonseung could guess who made the mistake. Illaphael had come up with that piece of information, so he had to be the one who had made a mistake.
However, Choi Yeonseung didn’t bother to point this out. As an ally, he showed the bare minimum of courtesy!
‘He must be very embarrassed right now.’
***
Illaphael stared into the distance with the most embarrassed expression in the world. Seeing him like this, the other household members serving the angel constellation nodded to each other.
“Illaphael isn’t in a good mood today. Let’s all be careful.”
“Yes.”
‘I should go back to the Abyss.’
Illaphael was seriously contemplating whether he should return all his titles to the angel constellation and return to the Abyss to start his training from scratch. He had never thought he would get the name of a constellation wrong…
“Where is the Monkey King now?”
“He’s around eleven kilometers ahead. It looks like he’s on a mountain.”
A-grade monsters had such a strong presence that unless it was a special case, it was quite easy to track them. Unlike in the past, where hunters would just chase the monster, the hunters of this generation monitored the movements of monsters by using various high-tech equipment.
Despite the emergence of an A-grade monster, the hunters in the room weren’t very nervous.
These hunters were from all over the world: Armas Garcia, an A-grade hunter from Cuba, Rosemary McClure, an A-grade hunter from Canada, Daniel Foretti, a B+ grade hunter from Argentina, Mona Tharwat, a B+ grade hunter from Egypt, Milena Berriu, a B+ grade hunter from Italy, and others.
There were many hunters graded A and B+ in this room. This impressive gathering was all thanks to the money of the Chinese government!
The people at the Ministry of Finance were probably shedding tears of blood by now as they looked at how much money they had spent.
One of the hunters asked curiously, “Where’s Hunter Choi Yeonseung? I wanted to see him at least once.”
Few hunters were as interested in each other as A-grade hunters. There were quite a few of them in the world, but among them, Choi Yeonseung’s reputation was unique.
“I’ve heard he’s hanging out with lower-grade hunters right now.”
“Huh, he’s an odd one, isn’t he?”
“Hey, watch what you’re saying! ”
“What? He’s not even here…”
“Choi Yeonseung has saved one of my relatives. People who haven’t done anything should keep their mouths shut.”
“Wow, well aren’t you snappy? You think you can speak to me like that just because you’re an A-grade hunter?”
Tensions ran high within the large group of high-ranking hunters. Since they usually fought when they gathered together, they had never had the time to just talk to each other in one place.
“Please calm down. Hunter Choi Yeonseung will be here as soon as we can contact him!”
“Everyone, calm down!”
The Chinese officials desperately tried to stop them.
Top-ranking hunters were extremely difficult to deal with all throughout. Since they didn’t like staying together, the officials had to prepare separate ultra-luxury hotels on the outskirts of the city. In addition, they had to meet all the hunters’ requests.
-Bring me ten cigars right away.They must be made in Cuba.
-I need honey and milk for my skincare.If it’s not the quality stuff, I’ll return it right away. So take care of it.
-I need to pray but there are too many Chinese people. It’s noisy.Get rid of the house.If you don’t, I’ll demolish it myself.
The officials who managed hunters of lower ratings had it better.
At any rate, having to deal with so many hunters meant a generous extra income, which was good…
Bang!
A hunter slammed the door open. All the other hunters turned toward the door, expecting to see Choi Yeonseung, but much to their disappointment, it was Joseph Grant.
‘What? Ugh, it’s this bastard.’
“Hey! Get lost!”
“Heh, the pathetic losers are already barking,” Joseph snorted as he stepped inside.
Armas replied angrily, “You’re the one to talk! You’re so pathetic that the Chinese government didn’t even bother to give you a luxury hotel. Instead, they gave you a regular one.”
“Stupid... This is why you’re a loser.”
“What?”
“I talked to regular hunters here and made connections with them. Who do you think those hunters will support in the future? You short-sighted people would never understand that.”
“...”
“...”
Mona Tarwat was suddenly curious, so she took out her phone and looked on the internet to see what the public opinion of the Chinese hunters was like.
Most posts consisted of praise for Choi Yeonseung, but there were some about Joseph as well, just not of praise…
@John_Doe
-Joseph Grant is an annoying bastard.
-Is this guy running for president of the United States?Why is he campaigning?
-Oh, I wish all A-grade hunters would just gather in one room and off themselves. Why bother us?
‘Um.’
Mona Tarwat nodded and closed her phone.
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