Chapter 32: Joot (3)

Han Suyeon, whose wounds were the shallowest, was the first to wake up.

Because the Curse had turned her injuries to stone, her recovery seemed surprisingly fast.

The Association President, who appeared to have poured all his attention into her, turned around quicker than anyone else and approached Han Suyeon.

“Are you alright?”

Han Suyeon’s last memory was probably of the Boss Monster’s tentacle scraping her leg, but now, seeing the Association President standing before her with moist eyes, she looked visibly flustered.

“Uh… Dad? Where am I…?”

“The curse has been lifted.”

“Dad… you must have worried a lot… I was careless. I never imagined the Boss Monster would use the Curse of Petrification…”

“It’s alright. It’s lifted now, after all.”

“But lifting the curse must have been really difficult. How did it happen?”

The Association President’s eyes turned toward me.

“It was fate. It just so happened that Minjun’s brother grows a plant with purification ability.”

Following the President’s words, Han Suyeon’s gaze shifted past Minjun and settled on me.

“Oh, so that person must be our benefactor.”

Leaning on the bed, Han Suyeon struggled to stand.

The Association President reached out with a worried look to stop her, but she shook her head and finally got to her feet.

“Ah! You’re not fully recovered yet. You should rest more instead of getting up…”

I was startled and tried to stop her as well, but she approached me with a resolute expression.

“Thank you. Thanks to you, I was freed from the curse. I don’t know how to repay this favor…”

Han Suyeon bowed deeply, almost bending at the waist to a 90-degree angle with sincere eyes.

“Ah, no need for that. I just did what was right. There’s no need for such formalities.”

Despite my protests, Han Suyeon only straightened her back long after.

From the conversation with the President, she seemed to be his daughter, but the formality felt a bit overwhelming.

A moment of silence passed before a rustling sound came from a corner.

One of the vanguard soldiers, the swordsman Bae Jinsu, struggled to get up and leaned diagonally against the head of his bed.

“Hmm? Where am I…?”

“This is a hospital. You were under the Curse of Petrification, but that friend over there just lifted it.”

Once again, the Association President was the first to approach.

“Ah, thank you. Lifting a curse like that can’t have been easy. How did you manage…”

“That question’s already been asked by Suyeon.”

“I see. What matters most is that you’ve been freed. Thanks a lot. I will definitely repay the favor to our benefactor.”

“That’s also been said already.”

Bae Jinsu chuckled awkwardly, clearing his throat, then lay back down on the bed.

Now that they were awake, I remembered I had brought something for them.

Digging through the box that held the Porti, I found eggs and chili peppers hidden underneath.

I handed them to Han Suyeon and Bae Jinsu.

“Aren’t these eggs and chili peppers? Why these…?”

A natural reaction.

They weren’t cooked or prepared food, just raw eggs and peppers, which would seem odd out of nowhere.

But they’d be surprised if they knew the effects.

“You might not believe it, but these permanently increase your stats. Please, eat them.”

“Huh?”

“Oh, wait. Chili on an empty stomach might hurt, and raw eggs could feel heavy… maybe it’s better to give these again later.”

Worried about the patients, I tried to take them back, but both of them cried out in shock.

“W-Wait! I-I’ll eat it! Right now!”

“Are you sure? That might upset your stomach.”

“It’s fine!”

They looked ready to leap out of their hospital beds, so I handed the items back to Han Suyeon and Bae Jinsu.

Watching this, the Association President looked impressed and nodded knowingly.

“Oh? Aren’t these the items that caused such a stir at the recent auction? I heard the competition was fierce, yet you managed to get your hands on them.”

He reminisced about the information he had, but then furrowed his brow with suspicion.

“But if I remember correctly, only eggs and peanuts were auctioned back then… Are you sure these chili peppers also have stats attached?”

He said he clearly remembered because he had participated in the auction to get those groundbreaking agricultural products.

“Sorry to say this, but we’ve still got them because we haven’t decided who to give them to yet.”

Minjun’s party might be the promising talents inside the Superhuman Association, but there were certainly other similar Hunters as well.

Since these agricultural goods were limited in quantity, careful consideration was necessary.

I hesitated whether to admit I grew them, but then remembered Minjun said these were trustworthy people.

“Well… um… actually, I grew these crops myself. The eggs and peanuts were registered for sale at the Gangwon Branch of the Superhuman Auction House in Hongcheon, and the peppers are from later harvests, so I haven’t sold them yet.”

Everyone’s eyes widened, staring at me.

They understood because the Auction House never revealed sellers’ identities due to customer confidentiality, so no one could find the source.

Not even those bigwigs knew.

That made me trust both the Auction House and Kim Sanghyun even more.

“Minho, are you planning to sell more at the Auction House next time?”

Kang Daehan’s eyes gleamed as he asked.

As a businessman, he seemed eager not to miss the chance to become a regular trading partner.

“Ah, yes. I’ve promised someone to continue trading through the Auction House.”

“I see. May I ask who that person is?”

“Kim Sanghyun… why do you ask?”

“If you don’t mind me asking, is the promise you’re protecting the one with him or with the Auction House?”

I hoped he wasn’t going to threaten me like in the movies, trying to steal my client.

“It’s a promise with Kim Sanghyun.”

“Good to hear. I’ll step out for a moment.”

Kang Daehan left the hospital room, still with a shining gaze.

“Don’t worry about him; he’s like that sometimes. There’s no harm in it.”

The Association President’s words were met with a nod from Minjun, reassuring us not to worry.

Seeing that everyone trusted him, Kang Daehan seemed like a man who inspired confidence among his peers.

“Hyung, you brought mine too, right? Hurry and give it.”

Had I been entrusted with that too…?

But looking at Minjun’s impatient face, if I didn’t give it quickly, he looked like he might punch me.

I wasn’t particularly curious about the fist of an S-Grade Hunter, so I better hand it over.

“Here. Congratulations.”

“Congratulations?”

It made sense he wouldn’t know about the crops with stats since he hadn’t told anyone. Minjun probably didn’t know he’d become an S-Rank Hunter by eating just one more.

Without a word, Minjun stuffed three peppers—A-, A, and A+—into his mouth at once.

“They say if I eat just one more, I’ll become S-Rank?”

“Is that true? Do you know how hard I’ve worked to create S-Grade Hunters in Korea… Finally… finally!”

The Association President asked with a look of emotion.

He seemed a bit prone to mood swings.

Though who wouldn’t be emotional in this situation?

“Check your Status Window immediately. Minjun, you can see your Status Window, right?”

“Status Window.”

Minjun chewed and swallowed the peppers, then called up his Status Window as the President instructed.

“Hoo… Agility increased. Now I’m S-Rank!”

It was the moment the first S-Rank Hunter in Korea was born.

“Don’t register with the Association just yet. You don’t know what they might do in America.”

According to the Association President, America’s rise as a Hunter powerhouse wasn’t just because of their own citizens.

Before Dungeons even appeared, America was already a strong nation.

They spent huge sums naturalizing promising Awakened individuals emerging worldwide.

Through generous investment, they nurtured S-Rank Awakened.

“I’ll be active in Korea. No matter how much America tries to persuade me.”

“I know. That’s why I told you not to register yet.”

It didn’t make sense to be active in Korea but not register as an S-Rank Hunter with the Korean Superhuman Association.

But the President’s next words sent chills down my arm.

“If the U.S., which controls the World Superhuman Association, sees an S-Rank Hunter rise in another country, what do you think they’d do? At first, they’ll try to persuade. But if that doesn’t work…”

“No way…”

“They’ll destroy you before you can have it. There’s plenty of evidence. In other countries, the moment someone is promoted to S-Rank, they’re sometimes crippled or even killed.”

Everyone fell silent at this grim reality.

“So, we’re supposed to keep S-Rank status a secret and work that way? Even though there are S-Rank Dungeons here domestically…”

“They’re left abandoned until they’re on the verge of a Raid.”

S-Rank Hunters must be included to clear S-Rank Dungeons.

It’s the rule of the World Superhuman Association.

“No, I mean look at the bigger picture. If these crops can nurture Korea’s Hunters, wouldn’t that increase the number of S-Rank Hunters?”

“You want to register all at once, so S-Rank Hunters can unite and protect each other.”

“Exactly. That would be safer. It would be much harder for anyone to mess with them.”

I had no idea the Superhuman Association was dealing with such politics.

I had only been preparing to become a Hunter, so there was no way I’d know information that senior officials were aware of.

“Then we shouldn’t just sell everything on the Auction House…”

To quickly raise Korean Hunters to S-Rank, promising Hunters must be carefully selected and nurtured first.

For that, many agricultural products will be necessary.

“I won’t force you. These crops are yours since you grew them. Selling is the seller’s choice.”

But after hearing all this, how could I sell them for personal profit?

The money already earned from sold items was beyond imagination. Using it to nurture Korean Hunters seemed the right thing to do.

The problem was Kim Sanghyun.

I couldn’t just break my promise unilaterally.

It was a matter of trust, and betraying someone who had kept my information secret was unthinkable.

Just then, Kang Daehan entered the hospital room and said,

“You don’t need to worry about Sanghyun anymore.”

“Huh? What do you mean…?”

Buzz~ Buzz~

[Incoming Call: Kim Sanghyun]

Kim Sanghyun was calling.

‘He’s not one to mess with.’

Since I was in the middle of something important, I was about to put my phone away and call him back later, but Kang Daehan urged me to answer.

He said I’d understand once I did.

“Hello? Yes. What? How did you… Yes? Ah, yes. I look forward to working with you as well.”

What was going on…? Suddenly I was being brought into a powerful group?

“So, we can consider it resolved?”

Kang Daehan smiled gently.

That was his plan.

While he had stepped out briefly, he had managed to recruit Kim Sanghyun.

When I told him I’d promised Kim Sanghyun not to sell elsewhere, he contacted Sanghyun directly and scouted him.

“You’re remarkably proactive and driven.”

“This is the kind of place it is. Ha ha ha.”

Then I could put my worries aside.

All I needed to do was focus on farming to help nurture Korea’s Hunters.

‘Kim Sanghyun became my manager.’

From now on, if I had crops to sell or research, I wouldn’t need to contact any powerful groups directly but proceed through Kim Sanghyun.

‘Well, that’s more convenient than going to the Auction House myself.’

Most of the work was done now, so all that remained was to return to Chilcheon-ri, but a lingering unease remained.

‘Park Janghyeon Hunter still hasn’t woken up.’

When I first arrived at the hospital room, he was the one with the most fatal wound, already turned to stone.

Minjun told me that to finish the battle, he had charged headlong, taking countless tentacles on his body to stab the Boss Monster’s heart with a spear.

“Hyung, are you waiting for Janghyeon to wake? Hurry up and get things done. It’ll take a long time to get to Chilcheon-ri.”

“Uh, but…”

“It’s alright. I’ll contact you when he wakes.”

“Got it. Then I’ll leave the remaining Porti and crops here just in case.”

I was worried about the fields I’d hurriedly left behind during farming season.

Of course, a person’s life was more important, but since there were people to watch over him until he woke, it would be alright.

We said our goodbyes with plans to contact each other again soon, then left the hospital room.