Chapter 134 - Chapter 140

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Translator: penny

Chapter: 140

Chapter Title: Ordinary Person Certification

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Kim Gapsu led me into a quiet room.

"Off the record, if I may ask. Please don't take this the wrong way—this is a serious matter tied to your safety, Mr. Kang Jik. We're paying close attention to the bizarre phenomena unfolding in Korea, from China to the US and Russia. Specifically, the suspiciously artificial awakenings happening around the Jik Guild. Naturally, we suspect you're at the center of it. No one's made a move yet... but there could be people who've already entered the country."

I'd known things might escalate to this point with what I'd been doing.

But hearing it straight from someone else still put me on edge.

"From what we've pieced together so far, we suspect your ability lets you consume magic stones to artificially create power."

"And if I said I had that kind of ability, would anything really change?"

"...We could definitively assess your hunter rank, register you as a hunter, and protect you under the association's umbrella."

"If it's that big a deal, why not just protect me outright? I'm just a civilian with a knack for spotting talent—I've uncovered two double SSS-ranks and another SSS-rank today."

"..."

Honestly, at this point, I was curious.

If everyone was taking it so seriously, did it even matter what my ability was?

Did they need a clear justification?

Or was there some other reason they had to know the real deal?

That suspicion made me hesitant to cooperate.

"Off the record, Team Leader Kim, I can say I see no malicious intent on your part and that you're doing this for Korea's sake. I'll take your word for it and let it slide."

"...Let it slide?"

"Do you really think it makes sense that I could awaken other hunters—let alone into SSS-ranks? And if I could, that I'd only pick pretty women? What kind of woman-obsessed lunatic do you take me for?"

"..."

Reveal just enough and compromise.

Truth be told, I couldn't go full lone wolf forever. Things hadn't blown up yet, but reality wasn't forgiving.

This wasn't some novel where the protagonist gets buffs and survives anything.

Remember that crazy Chinese SSS-rank hunter wreaking havoc in another country's dungeon? My safety could be at risk anytime, so I needed precautions.

In that light, there was no need to outright reject the Hunter Association if they could offer some protection.

Best to use them wisely.

So I gave them a sliver of truth.

It wasn't wrong to say they could overlook it.

I could see hunters' status windows.

It was essential for pregnancies, sure.

But I could view un impregnable guys' too, so... if that counted as an ability, fine.

"If you really want to verify my ability, I'll set one condition."

That also signaled I wasn't hiding anything on purpose.

"What condition?"

Kim Gapsu's eyes lit up again at my cooperative stance.

"Give me an SS-grade magic stone from the Hunter Association. Mercenary guild support, whatever. Then I'll let you inspect my ability clean and proper. You saw that poker game? To peek at someone's hand, bet your whole stack."

"...It involves using magic stones, right?"

"Yeah, I need to absorb them to see. It's not the ability itself, though."

It was an outrageous demand, but surprisingly, Kim Gapsu's face brightened.

He must've seen my cooperation as a real breakthrough.

And maybe that's why.

"Deal."

Kim Gapsu accepted my condition.

"But I'll add one of my own."

"Pardon?"

"I want a 10-year contract with the Hunter Association for you, Mr. Kang Jik, along with Hunters Im Hyeji, Lee Sua, and Kang Hana. You'll operate under the Korean Hunter Association for those 10 years, with double penalties for breach."

"..."

"It won't make you direct association hunters. Since your mercenary guild already has a contract, we'll just amend and renew it."

It was a heavy condition, so I asked,

"You can really use an SS-grade magic stone just like that?"

"...As I said, plenty of countries are watching Korea. I'm just doing my job. The SS-grade stone isn't mine anyway—it's for the association's growth."

I figured he'd get chewed out for this.

But from my side, no reason to refuse.

"Sure."

Truth be told, for all my talk of fleeing to America, I had no plans to leave a good country like this.

Even with the contract, I could always pay the penalty later if I bolted somewhere.

I hadn't expected things to move this fast here.

"While we're at it, let's do it now."

Kim Gapsu seemed fed up with the delays.

They say you gotta roast people to get results.

Bluffing hard from the start had clearly paid off.

One issue remained, though.

The ability check.

How to handle an artifact that would expose my abilities and skills in full.

"Gimme a sec to hit the bathroom."

Time to learn the ability I'd been putting off.

@

This tip had popped up ages ago.

Around when I formed the Jik Guild? Or maybe before.

I'd wondered if someone suspected my ability.

'Survive First'—level 4 was 80P, level 5 was 300P.

It had leveled to 3 for free, so paying P to go higher felt wasteful. I'd been saving it until a real crisis hit.

But with an SS-grade stone on the line, now was the time.

I'd figure out exactly how it hid things once I tried, but if the tip said so, no doubts needed.

I burned through the 15 B-grade stones from Han Semi and scraped every last P to level it up.

＊ Enters Stealth (SS) state using mana.

＊ Reduces mana consumption.

＊ Uses large mana amount for 1 second of Absolute Stealth (SS). (Ignores all attacks)

＊ Conceals status window from all artifacts and abilities SS-grade or below.

"Sex!!"

Just as expected.

I'd never doubted the system, but these options put my mind at ease with a smile.

Perfect.

Let's test it.

Clean as can be.

My heart skipped—if that stealth message hadn't shown, I'd have broken down crying.

PTSD.

Of course, civilians can't even see the unawakened message.

Only hunters who've dreamed of their status window vanishing overnight get that panic.

I strode out of the bathroom confidently.

After all that fuss in the stall, I spotted Kim Gapsu waiting outside late.

"..."

"...I just really wanna have sex."

We headed silently and awkwardly to the ability inspection room.

The 300-million-won S-grade artifact—I placed my hand on it boldly.

Wooong.

Mana swirled.

Kim Gapsu's face twisted oddly at the message.

I grinned and offered a handshake.

"Let's make it work from here on out. Can I get that SS-grade stone now? Give it to me, and I'll bring the whole guild tomorrow to sign."

All in all, today felt like my birthday.

@

By the time I got home, dawn was breaking.

Late-night call, trip to Ganghwa Island, and a little mishap at the association.

Times like these, past midnight felt normal.

Exhausted, we crashed at the nearest spot—Han Semi's place.

I was the only one grinning ear to ear, pockets fuller, showered, and flopped onto Han Semi's bed.

She slipped in quietly.

"...Tomorrow."

"Yeah. Just wanted a hug for all the hard work."

With 16 B-grade stones' mana stored in my balls, tomorrow and the day after meant all-out pregnancy war with Han Semi till the quest timer ran out.

So for now, I just wanted some rest.

Im Hyeji and Kang Hana were outside anyway.

The one upside to Han Semi's age—practically the only one—was snuggling up and sleeping cozy.

For sex and pregnancy, her age was a killer drawback.

But the life experience, the comforting warmth you could lean on? Younger girls didn't offer that easily, and male pride got in the way anyway.

Though with Han Semi, dominating hard in bed felt even better.

"What do you think? As a guild management pro."

"Huh?"

So before sleep, I asked.

Someone who could give an objective view.

I'd do what I wanted anyway, but I had to avoid crossing dangerous lines.

"Did I push too hard today?"

Han Semi smiled, kissed my forehead, and said,

"That's Jik's charm. You never know where you'll go next, but you have the power to pull it off. Me, big guild masters, even SSS-ranks—they know better than to try. They're scared of the backlash. But you qualify, you've got the strength and resolve, so it all worked out fine, right? That's a skill in itself. I thought it was hot. Pulling aggro for Hyeji, for the guild."

"Yeah?"

Hearing it from the Semi Guild Master eased my mind a bit.

Though I'd pushed hard, so more prep ahead.

I showed off the confidence her praise sparked.

"Speaking of, Hana's penalty—those three A-grade stones. Just forgive 'em. We're family guild now, right? You saw Hanlim Guild today? Without Hana... mmph-mmph!"

Trying to slyly weasel out, I ended up smothered in Han Semi's chest, wriggling for a good while.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Read 349 more chapters ahead on NovelDex!

https://noveldex.io/series/i-impregnate-skills

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━