Chapter 15. Sharp Kim Song-cheol (3)

It was a Portal.

A mass of brilliant blue light floated above the Portal Tablet.

The surrounding flora emitted a strange glow as they caught the light.

“Let’s go.”

The members of Team 25A quickly approached the Portal.

They had been inside the Dungeon for fifteen hours.

It was a bit early to leave now, but considering the injured, they couldn’t afford any further delay.

Ser Gang-jin set the German down on the Portal Tablet right in front of the Portal.

Just being carried on someone’s back this long must have been a significant burden.

His breathing had become very weak.

Rrip!

Ser Gang-jin quickly pulled the Taegeukgi patch off his right arm and stuck it onto the German’s chest.

Beneath the Taegeukgi, the words ‘Special Tactical Education Center’ were embroidered.

+ Interest

Attaching the national flag was a sign that we had rescued this Hunter.

According to international agreements, the rescue of Earth Hunters was mandatory, but rewards for doing so were also established as an obligation.

Once this Hunter returned, Germany would have to repay Korea in Points.

“You’ll be able to receive treatment soon.”

Ser Gang-jin offered words of comfort that the man couldn’t hear and pushed the German all the way into the Portal. The mass of light swallowed the German starting from his head until it eventually enveloped his toes.

Then, it boasted its blue light again as if nothing had happened.

An escape Portal sends a Hunter back to the place they entered from.

They didn’t know where the Dungeon’s Portal Tablet was located in Germany, but he would have been transmitted there.

“Haa… Shall we head back too?”

Kim Song-cheol said, gasping for breath.

The team members nodded with exhausted expressions.

The members of Team 25A stood in a circle around the Portal.

This was because the regulations required them to enter simultaneously.

“Team 25A personnel check complete. We are exiting.”

With Mun Gi-jeong’s declaration, the four of them stepped into the Portal at once.

Kim Song-cheol felt dizzy for a moment. His vision turned completely white.

But that was only for a moment.

He felt a solid floor, and suddenly, his surroundings came into sharp focus.

The first thing he saw was the medical team.

There were four doctors and four nurses in white gowns.

Whenever Hunters enter a Dungeon, medical staff are always on standby.

This is because they might return with injuries.

As soon as Team 25A returned, they jumped up from their seats.

“No injuries. All four personnel have exited.”

When Mun Gi-jeong gave a short briefing, the medical staff finally smiled as if they were relieved.

“Excellent work.”

The medical staff bowed toward Team 25A and stepped out of the room.

Only Kim Myung-joo remained.

He gave a light nod and waited quietly.

The post-processing wasn’t over yet.

Team 25A had not yet stepped down from the Portal Tablet.

Kim Song-cheol stood there gasping for breath and wiping away sweat. He was still feeling the aftermath of the grueling mountain trek.

Mun Gi-jeong wasn’t much different, but he had work to do.

Mun Gi-jeong tapped on a hologram floating in the air several times before speaking.

“Preparing for Point transfer. Recipient set. You may proceed with the transfer.”

Points gathered in a Dungeon accumulate individually. However, legally, all Points are the property of the state.

Once a Hunter becomes strong to a certain degree, there is some flexibility, but for now, it was better in many ways to just transfer everything.

At any rate, there was nothing to buy with just a few meager Points.

‘How much did you gather, Kim Song-cheol?’

Kim Myung-joo waited with a faint smile.

All Points earned at the Training Academy are transferred to Kim Myung-joo.

Since Kim Myung-joo was also a Hunter who had entered a Dungeon once before, he had the authority to receive Points, and he also had data on the Points Hunters had earned until now.

‘The average is 600 Points. I hope he earned at least 900. That much would put him in the rankings for Points collected in a first Dungeon.’

[Hunter Mun Gi-jeong has transferred 642 Points.]

A message popped up before Kim Myung-joo’s eyes.

He gave a small nod.

It was a reasonable amount of Points.

[Hunter Oh Song-hui has transferred 1256 Points.]

‘…’

Kim Myung-joo furrowed his brows.

1256 Points.

Something was wrong.

Team 25A hadn’t even stayed in the Dungeon for very long.

And yet, an amount of Points that couldn’t be earned by simply clearing an F-rank Dungeon had appeared.

[Hunter Ser Gang-jin has transferred 1321 Points.]

“What on earth…?”

Just as Kim Myung-joo couldn’t hold back and started to speak.

[Hunter Kim Song-cheol has transferred 2365 Points.]

Kim Song-cheol’s Points appeared before his eyes.

Kim Myung-joo’s eyes flew open.

“Two thousand three hundred…? What, what is this?”

This went beyond the level of being fortunate to have earned a lot.

These were Points that couldn’t possibly be achieved without getting caught up in some kind of incident.

That incident would surely be a life-threatening crisis.

Since the four of them returned alive, it meant it was resolved well, but as the Director of the Training Academy, he couldn’t help but feel a chill down his spine.

However, the parade of Points did not end there.

Even larger Points remained.

[Hunter Johann Müller has transferred 10000 Points.]

Points had been sent from Germany as well.

Kim Myung-joo leaned against the desk, holding his forehead.

His head was dizzy.

“What in the world happened?”

Now was truly the time to hear an explanation.

“Ha… We hiked too many mountains.”

Only then did Kim Song-cheol speak as he stepped down from the Portal Tablet.

It was not at all what Kim Myung-joo had expected to hear.

“Pardon? Mountains…?”

Kim Myung-joo frowned as much as he could. Points weren’t something you could get just by hiking mountains.

He didn’t have the slightest clue what Kim Song-cheol was talking about.

***

Kim Myung-joo returned to the Director’s office.

It was after he had heard everything that had happened in the Dungeon.

There was a lot he wanted to say, but for now, he had sent the Hunters back so they could rest.

From the very first word, they said they had hiked a lot. You could say their stamina had almost reached its limit.

He slowly closed the door and walked toward his desk, lost in thought.

‘…He noticed an ambush? What kind of world is he living in?’

It was possible to face a powerful Quesha alone.

He had already heard about the fast casting. As long as he didn’t give up distance, it would be a significantly advantageous battle.

Even if that Quesha was a warrior who had been granted a greatsword.

What Kim Myung-joo was truly curious about was the ‘sense’ that noticed the ambush.

Not a separate Magic, but simply a sense for Mana.

He read the presence with that alone.

Had there ever been a Mage who was capable of such a thing?

At least as far as Kim Myung-joo knew, there were none on Earth.

Vrrr.

A vibration rang out from Kim Myung-joo’s right inner pocket.

His personal cell phone was in the left.

This was for business.

Kim Myung-joo took out the phone and checked the caller.

It was an unknown number.

However, he could roughly guess the caller.

Kim Myung-joo answered the phone.

“Hello?”

“This is Johann Müller. We met once a few years ago, do you remember?”

He heard an English pronunciation filled with a German accent.

Kim Myung-joo and Johann Müller had met before.

Johann Müller was also a person who headed an institution similar to the Special Tactical Education Center in Germany.

They had greeted each other once at a related conference.

“I remember. Ah, I received the Point transfer well.”

“That is fortunate. Thanks to the Korean Hunter, we were able to avoid total annihilation. I offer my gratitude on behalf of Germany.”

“We only did what needed to be done. Wasn’t rescuing a Hunter in danger part of the agreement?”

“Haha…”

Johann Müller let out an awkward laugh.

Although an agreement was in place, the truth was that no one could know or interfere with what happened inside a Dungeon.

The rule was to abandon even your own teammate if things were dangerous, so it was safe to say that no one risked their life for a Hunter from another country.

“Rescuing an unconscious Hunter is no ordinary feat. Is the Korean Hunter safe?”

“They escaped without any major issues.”

“Ah… That’s a relief.”

Johann Müller murmured strangely and then continued his words.

“Did you happen to hear what happened inside the Dungeon? Based on the shape of the wounds, we judged it to be a Quesha weapon. Is that correct?”

“Yes, I was told they fought against Queshas.”

“Can you explain the nature of the battle?”

Kim Myung-joo paused for a moment.

He had to consider everything from Johann Müller’s intent behind the question to the scope of information he could share.

It wasn’t that Germany and Korea were in a hostile relationship, nor was there any reason for them to be.

However, from Kim Myung-joo’s position, he had an obligation to protect the information of his country’s Hunters.

Especially if it was an ‘out-of-spec’ Hunter like Kim Song-cheol.

“…I was told there was an ambush using the rescued Hunter as bait.”

Kim Myung-joo was forced to mention the ambush. Even if the rescued German Hunter was unconscious now, he would say something once he woke up.

His testimony and Kim Myung-joo’s testimony could not be different.

“An ambush, you say? To engage in battle against a Quesha ambush and still have the leisure to rescue our Hunter… that is hard to believe… Ah, please do not misunderstand. I simply want to hear the situation accurately. I have no other intentions.”

Johann Müller poured out his words quickly. It was a tone that felt sincere.

In fact, it was content that anyone would doubt. If even a head-on confrontation with a Quesha was difficult, it was strange that the Korean Hunters returned unscathed if there had been an ambush.

‘I should gloss over this. Since they said that Hunter’s consciousness was faint from the start, he won’t remember the battle.’

“Fortunately, it seems there was a mistake on the Quesha’s side. I heard they noticed the ambush.”

“Ah, I see. Even so, the battle wouldn’t have been easy… It seems the skill of the Korean team is quite exceptional.”

Johann Müller seemed to truly believe Kim Myung-joo’s words.

Kim Myung-joo was able to breathe a small sigh of relief.

The Hunter transfer market is truly a silent battlefield.

Even if Korea was in a state without major problems, in the context of the transfer market, one had to think of Germany as an enemy state.

He couldn’t light the fuse for that war right now.

He had to keep Kim Song-cheol’s existence a secret at least until he graduated from the Training Academy.

“Lastly, I offer my thanks once more, haha.”

“Don’t mention it. Perhaps a time will come when Korea needs help next.”

“I will issue an order to rescue Koreans unconditionally.”

Johann Müller and Kim Myung-joo hung up the phone after a round of friendly, empty promises.

“Whew.”

After letting out a short breath, Kim Myung-joo immediately turned on his computer and began drafting a proposal.

The purpose of the proposal was ‘Item Purchase Recommendation’.

He intended to buy an item suitable for Kim Song-cheol.

In fact, there was no precedent for providing items to a Trainee.

Usually, it was common to give a fairly decent item like a diploma upon graduation.

However, Kim Song-cheol should not be treated in such a conventional way.

When a Hunter’s ability far exceeds the average, what do tradition and rules matter?

Besides, there was also a ‘reason’ to hand him something.

“Hmm… but which stat should I increase for him?”

While drafting the proposal, Kim Myung-joo stopped typing at some point and stroked his chin.

If he was going to buy something, he had to buy something perfectly suited for Kim Song-cheol.

After all, the Points he could use were limited.