“There are items. Two Knight Brigade necklaces and five rings. I’ve already extracted the otherworld energy.”
As soon as Sung Joon absorbed the mana from the bodies, Rishubalt checked how many items were on them. With his help, Sung Joon rapidly collected the two necklaces and five rings.
“How are you going to deal with the bodies?” Rishubalt asked.
Contrary to the Awakening Dungeon, this was Earth, not the other world. Plus, they were human, not monster corpses, so they didn’t vanish.
If he left five corpses in the park, it would become troublesome for him later, even though he was an SS-rank Hunter.
“I have someone who’s good at things like this,” Sung Joon said, and raised his phone. And dialed someone’s number.
“Mr. Kang Sung Joon? It’s been a long time since you last called.”
The receiver was Jung Chul. It was daybreak, but it seemed like he was already awake as he sounded extremely energetic.
“I have something that I need your help to deal with, Mr. Park Jung Chul.”
“If I can, I’ll take care of it,” Jung Chul replied. Sung Joon explained the situation simply, but withheld information regarding the Empire’s movement across dimensions.
“Unknown attackers… I understand. I’ll send someone over for now.”
Jung Chul didn’t ask any questions. He was well aware of how tough it would be to deal with the situation if he was too curious.
Ten minutes hadn’t even passed before two black sedans arrived. And Jung Chul, as well as six burly men exited from those cars. The six men began to clean up the corpses, as well as any traces of the battle. They were garbed in black, wearing hats and masks.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“Do you really think I’d get hurt?”
Jung Chul asked, and Sung Joon replied back sarcastically. Jung Chul just smiled.
“In any case, it’s strange. To think you’d use Mage Hunters to ‘clean up’…”
“It’s a method often used by the criminal underworld. There’s nothing better than a Hunter’s magic.”
Because a Hunter’s magic was quite diverse, it could be applied in various situations.
“It’s quite early… Please leave this to us, and go rest. I’ll report back to you in the morning.”
Jung Chul said, and Sung Joon nodded his head. He was quite exhausted as he had solo cleared a S-rank dungeon, as well as being ambushed right after.
Though he could replenish his stamina and mana through ‘Absorption’, he’d accumulated quite a lot of mental fatigue.
“Thank you.”
“It’s nothing. Just make sure you pay me later.”
“Hahaha. I understand.”
Sung Joon smiled in response to Jung Chul’s reply. He began walking towards his parked Hunter sedan.
“There’s no one following you,” Rishubalt reported after scouting the area. Sung Joon didn’t sense any strange movements from his Presence Detection either.
“I guess I can go home now.”
Sung Joon drove his car back to his studio apartment. It was dawn, so there weren’t a lot of cars on the road and he arrived quickly. He, who had finished parking and returned home, took out the two necklaces, as well as the five rings he’d acquired from the recent battle.
He didn’t know why, but the knights hadn’t been equipped with any other items besides the rings and the necklaces.
“What about the otherworld energy?”
“I had already extracted the otherworld energy when I confirmed that they were items.”
“Good. Combine them.”
Sung Joon took off the necklace and the ring he had equipped. As soon as Rishubalt gathered his mana, the rings and necklaces placed on the table gleamed and resonated.
As soon as the fusion was complete, the necklace and the ring were engraved with the number ‘355’. Sung Joon took out his measuring tool and activated the appraisal feature.
B+ rank.
Verifying Aura Persistence effect.
A-rank
Verifying Mana Recovery effect.
‘The item’s rank went up.’
The necklace’s rank didn’t change, but once the ring was upgraded to +8, it went up to the B+ rank. The ring’s Aura Persistence effect should’ve improved considerably as well.
It seemed as though the Mana Recovery effect of the Knight Brigade’s Necklace had become more effective as well. As soon as he equipped it again, he felt his mana quickly being replenished.
“The Mana Recovery effect has improved considerably. Would you like to try out the Aura Persistence effect as well?” Rishubalt asked. Sung Joon wordlessly drew his sword and activated his aura. The aura danced upon his blade; Rishubalt examined it closely and then opened his mouth.
“It seems like the Aura Persistence effect has improved as well. You shouldn’t have to worry about maintaining your aura during a long battle anymore. Congratulations, my lord!”
Sung Joon deactivated his aura and turned his sword into a ring again. Roel’s ‘transform’ ability had been helpful in a lot of ways.
“So that’s it with the items… Shall we start with the main topic?”
Sung Joon grabbed a cold drink from his fridge and spoke while sitting on the sofa. Rishubalt moved in front of Sung Joon.
“It’s safe to say that the Knight Brigade knows where I live, considering that they attacked me, right?”
“Because I don’t know what the current Knight Brigade report system is like, I don’t know how much they relayed. However, I believe they haven’t figured out the location of your studio apartment yet.”
Rishubalt accessed the situation calmly. Sung Joon nodded his head in agreement and listened.
“But I recommend that you move to another residence that is equipped with the most up to date security equipment.”
The security in his studio apartment wasn’t very good, and there was a chance that innocent people could get caught in the crossfire. Because of his memories as Roukel, he wasn’t the type to worry about that, but he had to be somewhat concerned about it in today’s society.
“Yeah, I should move to a place with a large garden.”
“While you’re at it, why don’t you create a guild as well? If you pay them a proper wage, then Park Jang Hoon and Yoo Shin Chul will definitely follow you. There’s also a high chance that Choi Eun Joo will join you as well.”
Shin Chul and Jang Hoon thought favorably of Sung Joon. If he paid them enough and gave them enough freedom, they would follow his orders. However, contrary to what Rishubalt thought, Sung Joon wasn’t so sure about Eun Joo.
“You also have to think about your father’s safety. Though they’ve increased the security in the hospital, if the main force of the Knight Brigade attacks, he’ll be in danger. Instead, it would be better to create a safe house for him and then placing him there where he can be both treated and protected at the same time.”
He brought up some good points.
“You need a fortress that’s heavily defended such that you won’t have to worry even if they find out where you live.”
“The price of houses in Seoul is quite expensive.”
“I know that the price of housing won’t be a problem for you, my lord.”
“Yeah, you’re right.”
Sung Joon smiled and replied. By selling the magic stones from the S-rank dungeon, he could acquire tens of millions; though he hadn’t been able to do so due to the ambush. If sold, he would have $1.5 billion.
“Ok, that’s that, but the dungeon I cleared was supposed to be a mid tier S-rank dungeon… It seems like it’d be more effective to bring a few people to clear an S-rank dungeon than to solo it, so I should make a temporary dungeon assault team.”
“I agree.”
Rishubalt nodded his head.
“For now, let’s go to sleep and go to the Dungeon Bureau in the morning.”
Sung Joon showered and went into his bed to sleep. And as soon as morning came, Sung Joon went to the Dungeon Bureau to sell his magic stones.
Han So Eun, Sung Joon’s exclusive Dungeon Bureau clerk, had already been contacted beforehand and was waiting for him.
“I’ve come to sell my magic stones.”
“We’re all ready for you. I’ll calculate the payment immediately.”
So Eun smiled and replied. The workers took the magic stones, and she went through the normal procedures. Because they had already prepared for his arrival, it didn’t take very long.
“It comes out to $40 million, but adding in your 30% additional reward, it comes out to a total of $52 million. Shall I deposit it into your account immediately?”
“Please do.”
So Eun immediately took care of it. She skipped the unnecessary procedures, perhaps because Sung Joon was an SS-rank Hunter. It didn’t take long before Sung Joon checked to see that the sum had indeed been deposited into his account.
“Thank you.”
“Yes. Take care.”
After Sung Joon had said his farewells to So Eun, he left the Dungeon Bureau and made his way to the parking lot. He got into the driver’s seat and turned on the car, but then, heard a bell sound.
Jung Chul was calling him. As soon as Sung Joon checked the caller, he picked up the phone.
“Yes. This is Kang Sung Joon.”
“We’ve taken care of everything. We’ve hacked the nearby CCTVs and we’ve cleaned up the scene. Of course, we’ve taken care of the bodies as well,” Jung Chul said. He was reliable as he was the type of person to get things done quickly. Sung Joon opened his mouth with a satisfied expression.
“Good work. I’ll pay you immediately.”
“Thank you. Please contact me whenever you need me.”
“Ah! Now that you mention it, may I make one more request?”
“Please go ahead.”
“I’m thinking of buying a mansion. I’d like it be a mansion that’s in an easily defensible location in case of an attack. If it’s possible, I’d like it to be in Seoul as well,” Sung Joon said. He was planning on building a fortress in preparation for an attack from the Knight Brigade.
“I’ll do that for you for free. It won’t take long,” Jung Chul said in a voice overflowing with confidence. There were a few S-rank Hunters who lived in fortress-like mansions in case of a Raid. Because of that, Jung Chul knew about a few spots that matched Sung Joon’s description.
“I’ll contact you again later.”
The next day, Sung Joon heard a bell sound while he was resting.
“This is Park Jung Chul.”
“You’re faster than I expected.”
Sung Joon picked up the phone.
“I’ve found a good mansion for you. It’ll cost more if you want to remodel it, but it costs $10 million to buy it.”
“I’d like to see it first.”
“I haven’t had to do much to do in the auction house recently, so… I’ll take you there myself,” Jung Chul said. He thought it’d be helpful in maintaining his close relationship with Sung Joon if he were to go himself.
“Are you free tomorrow?”
“Yes. I feel like around 1 o’clock in the afternoon would be alright.”
“I understand. I’ll come by then.”
“Then I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“I’ll come to pick you up.”
Time passed by, and it was now 1 o’clock in the afternoon the next day. Jung Chul came by with a luxurious sedan and Sung Joon got in. The mansion that Jung Chul spoke of wasn’t very far away.
“Here it is. There aren’t any high buildings around it, and it’s in a very defensible location. Above all, there’s a guard post of the Armed Policemen ten minutes away. If there’s a problem, you can get reinforcements immediately,” Jung Chul explained. The structure of the house made it seem easy to defend to Sung Joon as well.
“If we fortify it properly, I feel like it can become a fortress.”
Rishubalt had the same idea. Sung Joon nodded his head with a satisfied expression and opened his mouth.
“I’ll buy it. $10 million, right?”
Sung Joon much too easily decided to buy the mansion for $10 million. Now that he’d become an SS-rank Hunter, $10 million wasn’t much to him.