‘Han Ji Seok has already applied for the matching. We’ve taken measures, so within three days, you’ll be matched and be in same party as him.’
Sung Joon recalled his conversation with Hyun Sung in the early morning as he went to the mountains. He wanted to gauge his limits precisely before he started his PK hunt.
He needed to access how far his limits were to properly utilize his past life’s skills. Sung Joon travelled to a secluded area in the mountains. Once he had arrived, he drew his sword, swinging it so quickly that even a skilled Combat Hunter would have trouble tracking it.
‘I can accelerate my body for one minute.’ he realized.
Based on his memories’ intuition, he could accelerate for a little more than a minute but when he stopped swinging his sword, he felt a weak pain invade his body. For now, this was his limit.
‘Next up is the Flash Cut.’
Sung Joon entrusted his body to his memories. Taking a single step, he swung his sword. If his memories’ intuition was correct, his limit was three minutes.
‘It’s precise.’
As he thought, when he swung his sword for three minutes, he didn’t feel anything. However, when he swung his sword for four minutes and released the tension in his body, his body became afflicted with pain.
He suddenly felt curious. If he went far beyond his limits, what would happen? It’d be stupid to try it in the dungeon, so he decided to try it here.
He regretted it.
“Argh!” he choked.
He felt as if he was dying. Although Heal would alleviate some of his pain, he could barely draw out mana due to the severity of the pain.
The pain continued for about three hours. Unfortunately, he was in a secluded area, so no one came to help him, but after an hour, the pain started to recede so he was able to use Heal.
Sung Joon performed a few more tests.
‘I’m positive now…’ he thought.
He could have somewhat guessed his limits before but now he was absolutely sure. He had thought he would’ve died from the pain but he was satisfied by the results.
‘Heal alleviates the pain but it doesn’t affect the duration of the pain.’
Sung Joon had learned quite a bit from his tests. He smiled lightly and trekked back home.
* * *
The next day, Sung Joon left his house at the appointed time in order to visit his father.
‘I’ll buy a car soon,’ Sung Joon thought as he took a taxi to the Korean Central Hospital.
The timing wasn’t right for him, since he needed to clean up after the Bureau and take care of the PKers. He thought he’d buy a foreign car after he concluded his business.
Eventually he arrived at the Korean Central Hospital and headed to his father’s hospital room, but no one was there.
‘Did he go to the park?’ wondered Sung Joon.
The Korean Central Hospital had a small park right in front of its Cancer Center. His father would sometimes talk about how much he enjoyed the park.
Sung Joon walked to the park. He could’ve called but he decided to take a stroll to clear his mind.
As soon as he got there, he immediately found his father. He was happily talking to other similarly aged patients.
“Dad,” Sung Joon called and walked to Soo Hyuk.
Soo Hyuk heard a voice call him and turned his attention to Sung Joon. The treatment had already started. His father’s face seemed to get brighter by the day, so Sung Joon felt relieved.
He didn’t feel as if had wasted $500,000.
“Son, you came?” said his father.
“Yeah, you were in the middle of a conversation?” replied Sung Joon.
“Yeah, I made some friends.” Soo Hyuk said.
Sung Joon simply greeted the three other patients. They looked to be around his father’s age.
“So you’re a Hunter?” a patient asked.
Sung Joon nodded and Soo Hyuk spoke.
“My son’s a B-Rank Hunter, hahaha,” he boasted.
His father had known for a while that his son had been promoted so he started to boast about his child.
Sung Joon simply listened by his father’s side. This was the first time his father had boasted so much about someone since Sung Joon had first awakened as a Hunter.
He felt happy, since he felt as if he didn’t embarrass his father.
“They say B-Rank Hunters make more money than executives at large firms… Mr. Kang, your son turned out well.”
“He’s dressed very nicely, so I thought he wouldn’t be a normal person!”
“I’m jealous, really jealous!”
Sung Joon laughed nervously as everyone stared at him and his father laughed contentedly. If his father was happy, so was he.
“You’re feeling ok lately, right?” Sung Joon asked, using the small reprieve. Everyone had briefly turned their attention away from him.
Soo Hyuk nodded with a bright expression.
“Don’t worry so much. I’m fine.”
In the past, his father had suffered so much pain, but seeing him now, it really looked like he’d gotten a lot better.
‘It looks like the new treatment is really effective,’ he thought, relieved.
“Should I get you some water?” asked Sung Joon.
“It’s fine, I already drank some.” replied his father.
During the brief moment that they had stopped conversing, Sung Joon received a message notification. Sung Joon walked back a few steps and checked his phone.
Sung Joon went back to his father. He attempted to hide it but perhaps the solemnity leaked out, as his father looked worried and held Sung Joon’s hand.
“Son, don’t push yourself too hard. I’ll be ok,” his father said lovingly.
Sung Joon could feel the love in his voice and smiled gently.
“Ok,” Sung Joon said.
“I’m sure you’re busy, so go on,” urged Soo Hyuk.
It was time the Dungeon Bureau contacted him. After Sung Joon took his father back to his room, he left the hospital and received a call.
“Hello?” he answered.
“Hello, Hunter. This is the Dungeon Bureau. You’ve been matched to a B-rank dungeon. There are five members, including you. Would you like to proceed?”
“Yes, I’ll proceed,” he said, unhesitant, and called Hyun Sung.
“Kim Hyun Sung speaking.”
“I accepted the matching.” Sung Joon began.
“I’ve gathered additional information regarding Han Ji Seok, but there a few suspicious things about him.”
“What are they?” queried Sung Joon.
“Han Ji Seok’s rating was pretty low just a little while ago. However, once he got on our list of suspicious individuals, his rating suddenly rose and he even got onto a regular assault team.”
To get on a regular assault team, one normally needed to be at least B-rank, or higher, and have a high rating. It not only had stringent requirements, it usually involved an interview and an evaluation as well.
“We’ve also discovered similar phenomena amongst other people on the list. We’ll have to look into this further, but with this, we’ve confirmed that there is indeed a group of PKers.”
Sung Joon asked, “Did their rating increase that much?”
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“Yes, it looks like their ratings about doubled. It’s quite amazing,” Hyun Sung replied.
However, Sung Joon wasn’t surprised.
“I’m not worried about their rating. In the end, they’re just prey.” he said confidently.