Chapter 9 …

After returning home, Lee Hyun took a quick shower and went out again.

Minjung asked,
“Son, aren’t you helping your mother today?”

“Mother.”

“Just tell me.”

“I have to visit a client today.”

“Oh, is that so?”

Minjung nodded, as if to say, “Ah, it must be something important then.”

She assumed it had something to do with making money with game items these days, which seemed plausible.

Lee Hyun was slightly puzzled that Minjung didn’t try to stop him this time as he stepped outside.

The truth was, he really was going to a client.

‘I need to get my mana stones sorted soon.’

Even though he had registered as a Hunter, if he didn’t settle his mana stones properly, it might raise suspicion.

‘I’ll just sell the ones from the 3rd floor.’

That would be just enough to maintain the pace of a low-level Hunter.

He arrived at the nearby administration office without much delay.

After taking a number for mana stone settlement and waiting, his turn came.

“What brings you here today?”

‘…I took a number for mana stone settlement, so of course I’m here for that.’

For some reason, the same government officer who had handled his Hunter registration before was sitting there.

‘Aren’t there other officers here?’ He thought, but, as he had seen before, the other counters were busy and functioning normally.

Still, it was somewhat good for Lee Hyun that fewer people were paying attention to him.

“I’m here to settle my mana stones.”

“Alright, please take them out.”

The officer, still focused on the monitor, slid a small tray in front of him.

‘…Isn’t he supposed to be doing his job instead of staring at that screen?’

Lee Hyun placed nine F-rank mana stones on the tray.

The officer quickly counted them and spoke in a dry tone.

“Okay, nine F-rank mana stones. 450,000 won will be deposited into your account. Please fill out these forms.”

A simple set of forms with the stone grades, quantity, source, and personal information consent.

Lee Hyun finished filling them out in no time.

“All done.”

The officer still didn’t look away from the monitor.

‘Well, I didn’t sell everything, but still, 450,000 won… could’ve been more.’

Lee Hyun felt a vague sense of regret.

Still, as the floors got higher, his income would increase significantly, so patience was key.

As he was about to leave, having observed the polite service at other counters, someone suddenly grabbed him.

“Hey, wait! Sir, sir!”

Lee Hyun wondered if it was someone apologizing for the earlier rude service.

It wasn’t.

A middle-aged man, looking fairly seasoned in age, approached him.

“Sir, you just settled your mana stones, right?”

“…Yes, that’s correct.”

Lee Hyun nodded reluctantly.

It was strange being called “sir” by someone who looked at least twenty years older than him.

“Wow! You’re a Hunter? That’s amazing, sir!”

“They were just F-rank mana stones, it’s nothing special.”

Lee Hyun truly thought it was nothing.

The man nodded in agreement.

“Yes, it’s true that nowadays there are a lot of Hunters, so I suppose it may seem ordinary.”

But hearing it from someone else made Lee Hyun feel proud.

I did it in one shot!

Six consecutive S+ clears!

“Do you know the secret behind creating a special Hunter?”

Of course, Lee Hyun knew.

The awakened mana stone gun.

And the 15 stat points per level, the stealth cloak, and so on…

“I don’t know.”

“Hahaha! That’s fine, beginner Hunters are all similar. Here, take a look at this first.”

The man handed him a business card and a stiff catalog.

[Byproduct Disposal, Hunter Consultant
Jang Deokhoon
P.H. 101-8888(탑탑탑탑)-93972(Byproduct Disposal)
E-mail towerduck@hunternow.com]

The business card looked cheap and flashy.

Reading the text beneath, Lee Hyun was greatly surprised.

“!!!!”

“Oh, I see you’re surprised. These days, people try all sorts of jobs just to make a living.”

“No, it’s not that…”

Lee Hyun alternated his gaze between the card and Deokhoon’s face.

[He’s only 23 years old this year!]

“When did you even make this card…?”

“Eh? Of course, this year. Here, I have last year’s too.”

Truly astonishing.

“Ah… you’re very young.”

“Hahaha! I’m often told I look mature for my age.”

No, it’s not maturity—just a very old-looking face.

“Don’t worry, I have all the certifications, despite my age!”

He flipped open a wallet full of certificates.

Deokhoon was impressive in many ways.

Lee Hyun couldn’t help but feel a lot from it.

It seemed there was a reason Deokhoon called him “sir” even on their first meeting.

The business card aside, what about the catalog?

[Beginner Hunters, struggling with low income?
Come find Deokhoon at your nearest administration office!
We offer the highest prices, with the utmost courtesy!
Confidentiality guaranteed!]

As soon as he saw it, Lee Hyun roughly understood—this was a guide for selling various byproducts from the Tower.

It didn’t seem trustworthy, especially if handed out near schools.

Deokhoon cheerfully spoke.

“Sir, selling only mana stones is tough at first. You need equipment, repairs, and all that!”

“Yes, that’s true,” Lee Hyun said.

Though it didn’t apply to him yet, he could see why other Hunters struggled.

“Read this catalog carefully and if you find something useful, be sure to contact me, sir!”

“Hmm…”

Lee Hyun hesitated. The byproducts could be a useful source of income, but somehow he didn’t want to contact Deokhoon.

Or perhaps, considering how enthusiastic Deokhoon was, he might feel obligated to call…

Deokhoon lowered his voice and said, seemingly misunderstanding Lee Hyun’s hesitation.

“Haha, normally this consulting is only for paying clients, you see.”

“What…?”

“From what I saw, you’ve cleared the 3rd floor roughly, right?”

“Ah, yes.” Lee Hyun shrugged slightly.

“No shame at all. Even the Divine Archer started at the 3rd floor, sir. Soon, you’ll reach the 5th floor…”

Deokhoon glanced around as if nobody else could hear.

“The Goblin Warrior on the 5th floor is brutal. I recommend leveling to 15 with 7 total stat points per level from repeated runs on the 4th floor.”

“….”

What was he saying?

Of course, Lee Hyun already cleared the 6th floor.

He was slightly impressed that Deokhoon could estimate the floor by a quick glance.

However, recommending repeated runs on the 4th floor wasn’t really a consultation—it was basic info even found on HunterNow.

Deokhoon’s credibility slightly dropped.

Lee Hyun decided it was time to get rid of this annoying person.

“Yes, understood. I’ll be going then…”

“If you repeat runs, sometimes mana stones drop from corpses! Especially goblin skulls are valuable to those who know about the new materials. For you, sir, an extra 10% above purchase price…”

“Yes, I’ll think about it and contact you.”

Lee Hyun shook off the persistent Deokhoon.

Though Deokhoon didn’t follow him outside, he shouted after him.

“I can feel an aura from you, sir! Something big is coming your way! Strong body, rising high! Keep it up, sir!”

The repeated “sir” nearly made Lee Hyun pull his gun from inventory.

Deokhoon had sharp eyes, giving off the vibe of a hustler.

Back home, Lee Hyun logged into HunterNow.

He searched for repeated runs on the 4th floor and goblin byproducts.

“Hmm…”

There were indeed many guides and posts online.

Still, Deokhoon provided more detailed information than the simple online data.

He even gave exact total target stats and noted mana stone drops—details hard to find online.

And the goblin skull info? Completely absent elsewhere.

‘What exactly is this guy?’

The catalog prices were slightly higher than internet listings.

Five thousand won for the body (excluding skull) of one goblin, three thousand won for the skull.

Full byproducts could be automatically collected by the system, so the price wasn’t too low.

And with an extra 10% for him, Deokhoon might actually be competent.

Still, Lee Hyun tossed the business card carelessly into his desk drawer.

Why?

Taang—!

「All enemies defeated.
You have cleared the 7th floor.
Rank: S+」

Lee Hyun hadn’t just cleared the 5th floor—he had streaked through to the 7th floor with consecutive S+ clears in one shot!

‘Easy enough.’

The 7th floor had goblin warriors mixed with archers and better equipment.

What could they do? Die without ever seeing him.

He checked the goblins for possible drops.

No mana stones, and bones or skulls were scarce.

Of course.

“I blew their bodies apart, so there’s nothing left intact.”

Trying to manually gather bones for a single goblin was disgusting and tedious.

For now, he would have to rely on his retirement allowance.

Turning his attention to rewards for clearing the 7th floor:

「Item, ‘Choi Lee Hyun’s Sniper Rifle’ leveled up.
Check status window.」

The sniper rifle was now level 8.

Lee Hyun had invested 3 points each in Range and Fire Rate, 2 points each in Precision and Stealth.

Remaining stat points: 20.

‘From now on, I can just spend all 15 points each level.’

That should be plenty of reserves.

「7th Floor Rewards.
You have obtained six F-rank mana stones. Check inventory.」

“E-rank mana stones aren’t dropping consistently yet.”

It was slightly disappointing that he couldn’t boost his mana with stones, but with the current trend, 31 points would be enough.

With his two precious bullets, he could shoot a total of 33.

「S+ Clear Bonus.
Special goblin bones awarded.」

“Huh?”

What was this now?

“Just give me more mana stones…”

Lee Hyun felt disappointed.

Usually, S+ bonuses were consistent, but the goblin bones were only worth about 10,000–30,000 won—nothing special.

Maybe Deokhoon would pay a bit extra if sold.

“Ah, no luck this time.”

As he was about to put the bones back in his inventory:

Vrrr—

His gun vibrated.

“…?”

It seemed familiar.

Lee Hyun cautiously brought a bone to the mana injection port.

…

Nothing happened.

“Haha! Of course, the gun isn’t a puppy that eats anything!”

Lee Hyun laughed, tapping his forehead.

“….”

Still feeling a bit curious, he tried placing the bone in the barrel instead.

Sssslip—

“!!!”

To his surprise, the goblin bones melted and were absorbed into the barrel!

“L-Let’s feed them all!”

He poured in all remaining bones.

Ssssslurp—

All other bones were absorbed as well.

Once one goblin’s bones were fully absorbed:

「Item, ‘Choi Lee Hyun’s Sniper Rifle’ has absorbed special goblin bones.
Exclusive skill, ‘Poison Bullet’ acquired.
Function, ‘Magazine’ unlocked.」

A notification popped up.

“Woah….”

Lee Hyun was speechless from excitement.

People eat, and it goes down… but a mana stone gun grants skills and stats like this!

He first checked the description for the Poison Bullet skill.

Exclusive skills were different from the general skills every five floors.

No rank, and therefore no rank-up, but stronger depending on the user’s stats—so the more the better.

「Exclusive Skill: Poison Bullet
Fires a bullet that releases poisonous smoke on impact.
No damage to user.
Damage scales with Firepower and Stealth.
Consumes twice the mana of normal bullets.」

“This is….”

Lee Hyun couldn’t help but shed tears.

Another overpowered skill.

He had been a bit disappointed that his first skill wasn’t offensive, but now it released poison smoke—perfect.

And it didn’t harm the user.

For a sniper, it was effective offensively and defensively.

Twice the mana cost? No problem—mana would keep increasing.

He didn’t have to worry about supply officers panicking over smoke grenades anymore.

Lee Hyun opened the newly unlocked ‘Magazine’ function with an expectant look.

What kind of overpowered feature could this be…?

「Magazine
Currently empty.」

“…Hmm. Of course it would be empty. Naturally.”