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Translator: penny
Chapter: 137
Chapter Title: The Value of Human Life (2)
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Im Hyeji woke up from the sweetest sleep after a wild romp with Kang Jik that afternoon.
Lately, nothing beat sleeping with him.
Kang Hana and Lee Sua probably felt the same, but after taking in Kang Jik's semen, her body and mind relaxed completely. Sleep came easily, and waking up left her utterly refreshed.
She knew it was the semen's effect, but attributing it to Kang Jik himself made her like the man more and more.
And it was reassuring.
Even after becoming an SSS-rank Hunter and the Saintess, the world had started to feel a little scary, if she was honest.
She'd imagined nonstop happiness, with people envying and cheering her on. But reality was different.
Of course, there were people who supported her and liked her.
But a huge number envied her luck and abilities, seething with jealousy.
Especially the double-edged sword of her Resurrection skill—it weighed on her like something too heavy and sharp to handle.
She figured that without Kang Jik, she'd have been tossed around by everyone until her mental fortitude crumbled.
Being grabbed by strangers on the street, their pleas to save their dying family members ringing in her ears, forced to apologize and say she was sorry while enduring curses from every corner of the world—it wasn't easy for a 23-year-old Im Hyeji.
Kang Jik was the one who'd set her straight.
From their first meeting, she'd thought he was a guy lacking in social graces. Now she realized it was his self-defense mechanism for surviving in this society.
He was endlessly cold and cynical to others.
But to Im Hyeji, at least, Kang Jik was kind, warm, and attentive.
"Don't even bother with those bastards. They're useless in life. It's just people scheming to use your abilities by tugging at your heartstrings. A hunter's power is money—why give it away for free? No need to feel sorry. Just claim it's on cooldown and ignore them."
Even responses that seemed cold or selfish at first glance sank deep into her heart as profound empathy. He was a man with real depth.
"Your precious people. Your family. They could die any moment—if you waste it on some stranger and it's on cooldown when it really matters? Could you handle that? So with you and me, we've got two Resurrections—wasting cooldowns is a shame. When we use them, minimum A-rank... no, S-rank magic stones. That's the only way we take that risk: to save people desperate enough to pay that price."
His words pierced straight through her mind.
Exactly.
Her abilities were a stroke of luck, and while hunter skills were meant for clearing dungeons, beyond that, they were hers to use as she saw fit.
There was no need to use Resurrection to save crowds of people, no reason for her to stress over it.
If she used it outside, it should be for someone truly precious—a close acquaintance or family.
The moment that thought solidified, her heart felt so much lighter.
It was like finding the answer to a burden she'd carry forever.
She liked Kang Jik even more.
He'd given her the miracle of Resurrection and even hinted at how to handle it.
Im Hyeji vowed to stay by his side forever.
A vow she'd already made. She reaffirmed it now.
She'd dozed off into a lazy afternoon nap and woke in the dim evening.
Kang Jik was gone.
"Tch."
Kang Hana had gone out too, leaving his empty house.
She knew he might not come back even if he went to Han Semi's place, but on the off chance, she ate dinner and lay on his bed to wait.
If he showed, great. If not, she could rest while inhaling his scent.
As she lounged there with nothing to do, her phone rang.
The caller ID read Kim Gapsu, Team Leader.
"Hello?"
"Hunter Im Hyeji. Good evening. This is Kim Gapsu, team leader from the Hunter Association."
"Yes... what's going on...?"
"Can you come to Ganghwa Island right now? Hunter Gyeo Yeon-su has died."
"...What? Suddenly?"
"I'll explain the details when you arrive. She's still inside the dungeon, and it'll take time to transport her out. You need to come immediately to make it in time."
Her mind reeled in an instant.
She knew who Gyeo Yeon-su was.
An SSS-rank Hunter.
Someone she'd entered a dungeon with on Hwaseong Island.
She sprang up instinctively, grabbing her coat to head out.
"A car will come to your place."
"I'm at... Big Brother's... the Guild Master's house."
"...We'll send it there."
"Ah!"
And in that moment, as she moved to leave without thinking—
Kang Jik's words flashed in her mind.
Be wary of those appealing to your emotions to get your powers for free.
"But still."
"Yes, Hunter? Go ahead."
The flustered, panicked voice on the other end steadied.
"How did Hunter Gyeo Yeon-su die?"
"...I'll explain when you—"
"Don't we have time before the car arrives?"
"...An accident during an SS-rank dungeon challenge."
"Was it a backflow dungeon? No, probably not, since you didn't call me then."
A brief silence.
Kim Gapsu's voice came late.
"Correct. It happened during a guild raid."
SS-rank guilds had to raid an SS-rank dungeon once every two years to prove their rank.
Guild ranks, like hunter ranks, boiled down to whether you could clear that level.
SSS-rank and above hunters didn't challenge SS-rank dungeons due to the risk, but guilds did.
It reduced the number of potential backflow SS-rank dungeons through large-scale prep, and brought honor and perks.
SS-rank and higher hunters joined to prove their worth too.
Semi Guild had one coming up soon, so this was clearly during a scheduled guild event.
Coldly speaking, it was a personal accident.
"So, is this a commission?"
"...Hunter, if you help, surely Hunters Gyeo Yeon-su and Hong Si-jun will owe you—"
"Sorry, but I'm a member of Kang Jik Guild. I can't act personally ignoring guild rules."
Her hands trembled even as she spoke.
Her voice was firm, unwavering, but her mind buzzed chaotically.
What if she's really dead?
Losing an SSS-rank Hunter would be a huge blow to Korea.
Should she save her first and talk later?
Gyeo Yeon-su had been polite during their few meetings on Hwaseong, even greeting her kindly.
Was she being too selfish?
As Kim Gapsu said, saving her might lead to mutual aid someday.
But Kang Jik's words had resonated so deeply with her just half a day ago.
It wasn't blind faith because it was him.
It made sense to her.
She empathized, felt it in her bones.
'Hyeji, the world treats you like a sucker if you act like one. Act like an asshole, and they'll treat you well, fearing you'll screw them over. Look at Eom O-su. He lives like a prick and still gets respect.'
She had no intention of bullying like Eom O-su, but at least Resurrection wouldn't be forced on her by others outside her own standards.
The "debt" thing was laughable.
If Hong Si-jun had called personally, she might have agonized and gone anyway.
"We're here, Hunter. Please get in..."
"No. Contact Big Brother first, get a formal commission, and then I'll move."
Despite her wavering heart, Im Hyeji played her final card.
Kang Jik had told her.
If you can't hold it together, dump it on me.
I'll handle it.
"...Understood. I'll call right away."
It worked.
Kim Gapsu hung up, then called back every ten minutes, increasingly desperate as it went to voicemail.
And thirty minutes later.
"Hyeji, let's go."
"Big Brother?"
Kang Jik and Han Semi appeared out of nowhere.
He grabbed her waist, and her view shifted abruptly.
"Kyaa!!!"
"Whoa, hold on. It's Han Semi's spatial warp."
The whipping scenery settled in seconds on a quiet rural gate—a massive dungeon portal surrounded by mountains.
@
"One Resurrection for one S-rank magic stone."
Im Hyeji had done well.
He must have called her first, but she held firm and told him to contact me instead. That's why Kim Gapsu was begging like this to a mere civilian.
He couldn't pull his usual crap on a double SSS-rank hunter, and his half-assed threats to me were laughable.
"You know phones record everything these days, right? Shall I post it on Hunter Gallery?"
"..."
"This isn't the '80s. Why handle things like this? The Hunter Association has plenty of money. If you're gonna owe an SSS-rank hunter a debt, the Association owes it—not us making Hyeji foot it. Hand over an S-rank stone, stick them with the debt, and cash it in later. Why should our Hyeji pay? Do hunters have some debt-sharing club? Why pass the buck?"
Gyeo Yeon-su's name popped up out of the blue—welcome, but urgent too.
With that terrifying SSS-rank hunter Hong Si-jun by her side, I hadn't even fantasized about sleeping with her.
But she had to be alive to even imagine it occasionally.
Dead, she'd just be "that hot girl who was around... what a shame."
Still, a brand-new mercenary guild couldn't break rules for this.
Not even for Hunter Association mediation.
Who the hell were they to boss us around?
If they could've forced it, they'd have cited some law demanding cooperation ages ago.
There was no law forcing double SSS-ranks anyway, and the only binding stuff was national disasters—this didn't seem to qualify.
"...Understood. We'll prepare."
My hunch was right; Kim Gapsu surrendered.
I stuck to Han Semi, whom I'd woken and prepped earlier.
Before hanging up, I reminded him once more.
"Prepayment. If we go and there's no stone, you're dead."
Thirty minutes late from their car estimate, we arrived twenty minutes early.
Right on cue, Hong Si-jun emerged from the massive SSS-rank gate, cradling the blood-soaked Gyeo Yeon-su.
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