“Hmm…”
Hunter Lee Yeji appeared to be very busy.
Typically, she was an unoccupied support-type S-Rank Hunter.
Her trait was to nullify the effects of other Hunters, so there weren’t many specific duties she needed to handle.
Of course, there were the typical busy tasks that come with being an S-Rank Hunter.
‘Hmm. Baek Jihoon is really something special…’
She was recalling the status window she had seen earlier.
She had observed countless status windows of other Hunters, but this time she had encountered a very rare and unique Hunter for the first time.
‘So many points?!’
Although she didn’t show it on her face, internally she was astounded.
‘How can there be over one hundred million points? How did he earn that?’
She thought it was unbelievable.
Moreover, the fact that they were ‘surplus’ points was problematic.
‘It can’t be an error, right?’
‘Did he invest and still have that much left?’
‘No, I distinctly heard he was E-Rank and upgraded this week. So he should only be D-Rank.’
‘But even so, if he used all those points, he would still have nearly one hundred million left, right?’
‘Isn’t that enough to max out all his skills?’
Although she couldn’t show any sign of it in front of Baek Jihoon, she was genuinely astonished.
‘It seemed Hyungseok had no clue about it…’
‘What on earth is this person?’
She searched through all the data she could access.
However, nothing related to it came up.
‘And it’s not just the points; his traits are strange too… what is that…?’
‘Can he invest in others?’
‘Is it a form of investment where he even earns interest back?’
Naturally, she couldn’t help but be perplexed.
Most existing Hunter traits were attack-related.
Her own trait was quite unique.
But Baek Jihoon’s trait felt completely novel.
‘It’s also odd that something like this hasn’t been reported until now.’
‘Could it be that Hunter Chae Suhyeon stopped it?’
She subtly thought of Chae Suhyeon.
Then she also considered Park Hyungseok and Baek Jihoon.
There was definitely an atmosphere suggesting that Chae Suhyeon had some sort of relationship with Baek Jihoon.
‘Could those two be dating? Did Baek Jihoon invest in Chae Suhyeon… and got a return? What is it…?’
‘And what kind of trait does Hunter Chae Suhyeon have? A succubus or something?’
She wore quite a complicated expression.
“This won’t do. This is a problem I can’t solve alone.”
*
“Um… Yeji, what’s going on?”
A very calm and quiet voice was heard.
Another S-Rank Hunter, Lee Haru.
She was the top Hunter of the Undersea Realm.
Primarily, she maintained a low profile, avoiding media attention.
A very composed and elegant Hunter.
“Hmm… you know, I found something strange.”
“What is it?”
“I saw a status window of a Hunter yesterday…”
Hunter Lee Yeji spoke with an expression of confusion as she began to share her story.
“Huh? There’s a Hunter like that? That sounds completely new to me.”
Lee Haru tilted her head.
“You think it’s strange too? What is it?”
“Well…?”
“But it seems to be related to Hunter Chae Suhyeon as well…”
Among the S-Rank Hunters, Chae Suhyeon was a hot topic.
It made sense, considering her incredible growth rate compared to others, alongside her hidden personal life and identity.
Then suddenly, she shot up to take the number one spot in S-Rank with the news of being scouted by the Baekho Guild.
Everyone was looking at her with curious gazes.
“What’s going on…? Did Baek Jihoon give points to Hunter Chae Suhyeon?”
“I wonder…?”
The two Hunters pondered while tilting their heads, yet no conclusion was reached.
“I think it would be better to ask Ah-reum. She might know something.”
“Hmm… is that so? But Haru, you know how loose Ah-reum’s lips can be.”
“That’s true, but she’s really good at gathering information, isn’t she?”
“Hmm…”
Lee Yeji couldn’t contain herself any longer.
This was definitely a huge matter.
And it was bound to become public knowledge sooner or later.
“Alright, I’ll ask Ah-reum.”
*
Lee Ah-reum.
She was known to be close with almost every S-Rank Hunter.
She could be called the epitome of information prowess.
This was only appropriate since her trait was the ability to search for detailed information on all monsters, dungeons, items, and traits.
Other Hunters could only check basic information.
“Um… Ah-reum.”
Hunter Lee Yeji cautiously opened her mouth.
“Yeah. Yeji! It’s been a while. What’s up?”
Lee Ah-reum nodded slightly as she spoke.
She seemed pleased to meet Lee Yeji again after a long time.
“I have something I’m curious about. But I don’t think it should get out as gossip…”
“Aha~ And why is that?”
“I thought asking you might lead to it becoming gossip.”
“Oh come on, Yeji. My lips are sealed.”
Lee Ah-reum replied with a slight chuckle.
“Absolutely not.”
Lee Yeji thought firmly.
However, she believed she couldn’t leave it as a mystery forever.
“Well, it’s bound to come out sometime, right?”
She began to ask Ah-reum various questions.
“Are you familiar with this kind of trait?”
“Hmm??”
Ah-reum appeared perplexed as she listened to the story.
She was busy fiddling with her own status window, searching for information.
But it seemed like nothing relevant was appearing.
“Nothing? There’s no information like that. Absolutely none.”
She tilted her head.
“None…?”
“Yeah, none. Are you sure you didn’t misread it?”
“I didn’t… I really saw it.”
Lee Yeji had a very determined look on her face.
She had certainly checked multiple times.
“Should I meet that person again to confirm…?”
“Who is that person?”
“Oh, I can’t say that. It seems to be personal information.”
“Come on~ just tell me~”
“No, I don’t think I can do that.”
“Aww.”
Lee Yeji and Lee Ah-reum chatted eagerly about Baek Jihoon’s traits.
But no answers were found.
‘If Ah-reum doesn’t know, then nobody will, right?’
That was definitely the case.
All information in the Hunter world seemed to originate from Ah-reum.
“By the way, Yeji.”
“Yeah?”
“Why are you so curious about this?”
Lee Yeji felt a bit flustered.
“Oh… no. I just thought it was a peculiar trait?”
Her face turned slightly red.
“Oh, is that so? Well, it is unique. But wouldn’t it be incredible if you could receive investment from that person?”
“Yeah… I guess.”
Lee Yeji was only sharing a fraction of the information.
“Are you planning to take investment?”
“Oh… no, it’s not that.”
Lee Yeji’s eyes subtly wavered.
‘More than investment… it seems like he could resolve status ailments…’
The chronic problems of S-Rank Hunters.
The status ailments that plagued them.
She felt certain that Baek Jihoon could eliminate those.
“But~ isn’t it possible for that person to remove the status ailments of other S-Ranks?”
The mind of the information expert, Ah-reum, began to race.
“Huh?”
Lee Yeji, now even more flustered.
“C-could that be?”
“Isn’t it? If he can invest points…”
Ah-reum was busy searching for something on her status window.
“I learned recently that the status ailments affecting S-Ranks are similar to having negative stats, right? So if you raise the stats, wouldn’t that resolve it?”
“Hmm. Is that so?”
“If such a person really exists, it would be fantastic news for S-Ranks.”
Ah-reum seemed a bit excited.
*
‘Hmm… So he can see others’ status windows and also invest in them…’
After parting ways with Lee Yeji, Ah-reum’s mind became quite complicated.
This was something she had been researching for quite some time.
‘Status ailments of S-Ranks.’
Research that had to be conducted almost forcibly, despite any personal desires.
Various national organizations and research institutes had approached her as well.
– I don’t know either.
– What could it be?
– Hmm… nothing comes up when I search with my status window.
This was the issue that had tormented her for a long time.
She thought it could be the answer to that problem.
“What could he be? Who is he? Lee Yeji probably won’t tell me…”
Ah-reum decided to take the initiative.
She didn’t think this issue was something to keep hidden.
*
“Doctor, have you ever heard of such a trait?”
Lee Yeji began a profound discussion with the people at the Hunter Research Institute.
It was a topic that everyone was bound to be interested in.
“Huh? There’s someone like that? I’ve never heard of it.”
Little by little, the word about Baek Jihoon’s trait began to spread.
*
“Hmm. This won’t do. I can’t hold back any longer.”
Lee Yeji stood up abruptly.
She had asked all the Hunters she knew, but everyone was hearing it for the first time.
But it was clear.
With the information she had seen, Baek Jihoon could resolve this pain and suffering.
‘I think… I should ask for help.’
Lee Yeji, who had always been the one to help others, made her first move towards Baek Jihoon.
‘Sigh… We’re not really close, and it feels a bit rude, but I’ve helped others, so… he shouldn’t refuse, right?’
After a lot of deliberation, she decided to approach Baek Jihoon.
She gathered her belongings and contacted Park Hyungseok.
“Um… Hyungseok, I have a request about Baek Jihoon…”
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