Auto Hunting

Episode 20

You only needed to check two things to determine whether a hunter was working with a good company.

The first was their attending physician.

From the time of the first CE injection, hunters needed medical services different from that of the general public. Hunters needed a capable doctor with whom they could entrust the reinforcement procedure and their body’s overall management.

The second was their agent, AKA manager.

This position required not just managing schedules or doing chores. The amount of paperwork that a professional hunter had to handle was not a joke.

It included applying for support over a crack that appeared, claiming prey, and processing it after the hunt was over.

The manager took care of those tasks and negotiated tax, legal matters, and operations that required cooperation from other hunters or teams/firms. An agent was a high-end staff who had to understand the industry better than most hunters.

Therefore, the better the quality of these two services, the better the hunter is said to be.

The better the organization, the better the doctors and agents were hired.

Big groups, including ‘2F4T’, attached one doctor and one agent to each hunter.

For groups without much money, an agent handled over a dozen team members, and the youngest members of the team did all the paperwork.

There were no dedicated attending physicians.

It was an awkward situation for novice hunters on small teams from their first hunt.

-Jin Chang-Hoon Medical Center-

Holding a small leather bag, Kim Sung-Wook stepped inside the elevator, wearing a slight smile on his face.

He went to the hospital director’s office and asked Jin Chang-hoon right away.

“What is his state?”

“It’s all good. It should all be over within a few days.”

Jin Chang-hoon responded without taking his eyes off the monitor he was watching.

“Watching this is just a bit overwhelming,” Chang-hoon added.

Sung-wook then raised his right hand.

“I know, right. I also watched the action cam video,” he said.

Only then did Jin Chang-hoon look up to stare at Kim Sung-wook directly.

‘How can this be?’ Jin Chang-hoon asked with his eyes. In all his years of treating Hunters, he had never seen such talent.

Yoo-seong’s skill was an abnormality. However, Kim Sung-wook just shrugged a little.

“Well?” he asked.

“Well?” Chang-hoon asked back, frowning in confusion.

“You’ve not told me what I need to know. Is his right-hand vein in a critical condition or not?”

“It looks like he’d been treated in the field. I don’t know who did it, but the person did a very good job.”

Chang-hoon paused before he continued. “If he doesn’t put a lot of pressure on those veins while resting, he will recover neatly.”

“I’m glad. Nice work.”

Only then did Kim Sung-wook’s smile widen.

“Is he resting now? What room is he in?” Sung-wook asked.

“He is not in any hospital room here.”

“Where then? Did he go out of the hospital? I told him to wait…”

Jin Chang-hoon shook his head.

“As soon as the test was over, he asked to leave. His body is fine. He wanted to train.”

Of course, except for the veins, Yoo-seong’s body was in the best condition.

He could do anything as long as he didn’t use his Aura.

…

In the hospital’s basement was a membership gym for hunters.

The room was equipped with bench presses and weights tailored to their superior physical qualities.

However, despite the good facilities, there were not many hunters who visit this place.

Once a hunter received a license, the hunter didn’t have to depend on his body alone.

Most hunters enhanced and trained various Aura manipulation techniques.

Almost everyone thought the same way.

They would not prefer to spend their time with slow-yielding training. Yoo-seong breathed in rhythm as he squatted. The exercise he was doing was called the ‘flower and foundation of weight.’

The risks attached to it were so great that even skilled people incur serious injuries if they are weren’t careful.

However, even though he had only been at it for a short time, Yoo-seong was doing it perfectly. The joints, muscles, and bones required for exercise interacted perfectly and didn’t allow any imbalance.

He lifted the last rounds, using the last of his strength.

Then, he yelled with a sense of accomplishment as he allowed the weights to fall to the ground with a loud clang. Kim Sung-wook came around to check the cause of the noise.

“Here you are. I thought I heard your voice. You don’t like the facilities here?” he asked.

Yoo-seong tilted his head to check who the visitor was.

“Oh! You’re here,” he said in surprise upon seeing Sung-wook.

“The membership fee was cheap, and the equipment seems to be more suited for a junior to learn. For a few years, this gym couldn’t avoid getting deficits,” Kim Sung-wook explained.

“Why don’t you take a break?. It was your first hunt, and you’ll have to be counting money for a few days anyway.” He joked.

“That’s why I’m still here,” Yoo-seong said as he clasped and opened his right hand.

The veins hadn’t healed, but there was no pain.

Jin Chang-hoon had told him that the Blade synthesis had been too harsh on his veins.

‘It had been a hunch.’

He seemed to know why the ‘assault’ form turned on only after he blinked.

Automatic hunting always restricted his body from crossing the line.

However, the ‘assault’ form was a kind of overclock. It was a high-level technology that went far beyond his level.

However, for some reason, it had been made available to him. Yoo-seong’s conclusion was simple upon experiencing this.

It only meant that he had to train more.

Everyone had to constantly train their fine veins before dealing with Aura to be able to withstand and overuse to some extent. Physical training would help him achieve that to some point.

Eight months.

His body had undergone numerous changes and had improved in that amount of time.

If he trained his body, he could become more efficient at automatic hunting even if he didn’t use his Aura.

The possibilities of automatic hunting were endless, and it was his job to make those possibilities a reality.

There was still a long way to go.

“Teacher,” Yoo-seong spoke in a serious tone.

His performance during the last battle had been beyond explanation. It had been unusual for a beginner hunter to do those things.

Besides, there had been many witnesses, and he hadn’t hidden his talent. Rumors had spread far about the source of his abilities, but he didn’t care about what people said. He had nothing to prove to them in the first place.

However, he had to tell Kim Sung-wook.

The man had given Yoo-seong his own CE and had offered to act as a temporary agent for him. If Sung-wook wanted to know about how he pulled out the Blade…

“Teacher, I have something to tell you. I…”

“The secret why you fight so well?” Sung-wook asked, cutting him short.

Yoo-seong’s eyes widened.

“I don’t know. Do you have to tell me that?” Sung-wook asked.

“What do you mean?”

“There are many possible reasons. There could be something from your past or a secret you learned, or maybe it is a secret ability that had just manifested, or you’re a genius the world has never seen before. But, then, so what?”

Sung-wook smiled at his student before continuing. “There is no reason to say it now. Keep it as your secret.”

Right.

The auto-hunt button wasn’t something that could be easily be spoken of to any other person.

“But…” Yoo-seong began, but Sung-wook cut him short once more.

“Of course, I am curious too. Saying otherwise would be a lie. I’m the one who decided to hand over my core. I wondered what secret powers you were hiding.” Kim Sung-wook said.

“But… it wasn’t important in my choosing you as a successor.”

Kim Sung-wook’s eyes glanced over Yoo-seong’s body. Yoo-seong was sweating like rain.

He suspected the Yoo-seong had put himself through intense training before he had arrived.

“Let’s say that you are lucky to have a special ability. But what’s special about that? What if you were born with the talent of a super genius? You’re just lucky. We are all lucky in some way, whether acquired or inherent.”

Kim Sung-wook pointed his index finger at Yoo-seong’s eyes – the two eyes that never lost their focus.

“What is important is this…”

The index finger went down and pointed to his chest.

“If there is nothing in this, no matter how much luck you are born with, you will eventually become a monster. At least from what I’ve seen.”

Sung-wook’s words burned deep in Yoo-seong’s heart, but he pretended to be calm.

“It may not be what you think,” Yoo-seong said finally.

“Is that so? Well, maybe it is.”

Sung-wook kept smiling. He leaned over and opened the bag he brought. There were a lot of documents that Yoo-seong had to deal with from the hunt.

Sung-wook then spoke as he pulled some of the papers out.

“I don’t know if I’ll continue to be an agent for you, but while I am, let’s just say what is necessary. The reasons are different, but most people hide their abilities. Those people have the advantage. Besides, I’ve seen a few cases where people become guilty of saying the wrong thing in the wrong place.”

“I will keep that in mind,”

Yoo-seong kept Sung-wook’s words in his heart.

“Someday, when I’m convinced that I have built up enough trust with you. I’ll ask you myself then. Of course, you’ll be free to refuse to tell me.”

Yoo-seong hoped that such a day would come. He nodded at his mentor.

“Great! Then, let’s count the money.” Sung-wook heartily said as he handed him some documents.

“67 total subjugated monsters. No destruction. 65 are 2-stars, a 3-star, and a 4-star. Compensation is worth 550,000 won each for 2-stars, 4.1 million won for 3-stars, and 13.7 million won for 4-stars. A total of 53.55 million won will be awarded as compensation.”

Yoo-seong had just read the first line, but Sung-wook was already reading the second document as if he had a motor in his mouth.

“…The 1375kg armor and secretory glands extracted from the 65 soldier ants are already on the market’s bid awaiting list…”

Sung-wook handed Yoo-seong hold the third document and read it.

It was about how to treat the by-products of the Centurion’ and Queen Ant caught by Yoo-seong.

“This?”

“I haven’t placed an order yet. If Yoo-seong wants, I’ll just sell it, and if you prefer, we can treat it as a souvenir. Shall I do this instead of selling it on the market?”

Yoo-seong could not speak, so he simply nodded. He felt dumbfounded.

“Is that all?” He managed to ask.

“I thought you would say that,” Sung-wook said as he pulled out the fourth document.

“This is the achievement score you received this time…”

It was then that Sung-wook’s cell phone rang.

While Sung-wook answered the phone, Yoo-seong read the contents of the third document several times.

“Yoo-seong. You said that QR Corporation also called you last time?” Sung-wook asked suddenly as he ended the call.

He and Sung-wook hadn’t signed a formal agent contract yet.

“Yes.”

“Interesting. Did you give them your number already?”

Yoo-seong’s number wasn’t supposed to be a public one.

“No. Was that them?” Yoo-seong asked.

“No. This call came from Chang-hoon. We have to go there now.” Sung-wook replied.

“To the hospital?” Yoo-seong asked.

Sung-wook nodded.

Jin Chang-hoon’s hospital was considered a first-class facility. That must have been how they had tracked him so fast.

“Huh. Rumors travel fast. What you did has already spread. Chang-hoon said they would like to meet you at once.”

Then, Sung-wook added with excitement: “The CEO himself is there.”