Chapter 83

SMH 83

Swordmaster Healer – Episode 83

TL: Boko

Editor: Ren

Chapter 28: S-rank Healer Hunter (1)

After they finished with their group dinner, Sung Joon exchanged contact information with Ha Yeon and parted ways.

After his synchronization rate became 34%, he felt as if his combat abilities had grown tremendously; though in reality, they actually had. Sung Joon wanted a rank re-examination, but it was too late in the night so he promised himself that he’d go tomorrow.

And the next day…

“Are you going to the Hunter Bureau?” Rishubalt asked. Sung Joon nodded his head and opened his mouth.

“It’s because if I become an S-rank Hunter, I get more benefits. I think that it’d be best to get a rank reexamination and register,” he said.

Sung Joon was sure that he would be judged an S-rank in his rank re-examination.

“I will accompany you.”

“That’s what you always do anyway.”

Sung Joon saw Rishubalt following behind him and smiled. He contacted Hyun Sung beforehand and then drove his car to the Hunter Bureau.

Though the rank re-examination had a procedure as well, they dropped it because Sung Joon had called Hyun Sung beforehand.

“Mr. Kang Sung Joon!”

When he arrived at the Hunter Bureau, Hyun Sung, who had been waiting at the first floor, ran out.

The Bureau placed more importance on maintaining a connection with Sung Joon than on Hyun Sung’s pre-existing work, so the moment Hyun Sung had picked up the phone, he was freed from his current responsibilities.

“Have you been well?” Sung Joon joyfully greeted. Hyun Sung smiled and nodded his head.

“Yes, not much happened. Come to think of it, I heard that you successfully assaulted an S-rank dungeon with Dike and Royal Cross just a little while ago. Congratulations. I heard that there weren’t any casualties… You’re truly amazing.”

“I was just lucky.”

“Do you think I hadn’t looked through the records? It’s all due to your skill.”

The two men’s conversation stopped briefly while they walked up the stairs. They walked through the hall that led to the office, and Hyun Sung said, “The examiner is waiting for you. We’ve omitted the troublesome procedures.”

When they went inside the office, someone other than the investigators at work was waiting for them; he was differently attired from the others and carried a black briefcase.

He was the examiner in charge of Sung Joon’s rank examination.

“Mr. Kang Sung Joon?”

“Yes, that’s me.”

“Can I see your Hunter’s License as confirmation?”

“Here it is.”

When they had finished the minimal procedures, which couldn’t be skipped, the examiner took out and raised his measuring tool. It was different from the ones that Hunters carried.

“I’ll begin your examination.”

The measuring tool gauged Sung Joon’s mana.

Beep!

After the measuring tool was finished, the examiner’s expression rapidly changed, and his eyes quaked.

“C-Congratulations! Starting now, you’ve been registered as an S-rank Hunter, Mr. Kang Sung Joon. Your rank is fourteenth place…!”

Yang Dong Jin had died in the Eroding Dungeon and Kyu Tae had argued with Sung Joon, causing him to retaliate in ‘self-defense’. Therefore, South Korea’s S-rank Hunters had been reduced to thirteen, but now, there were fourteen S-rank Hunters.

Since he had just been registered, they had calculated his ranking based on his rating, and he was put at last place. Despite that, it didn’t change the fact that he was an S-rank Hunter now.

Now, no one in South Korea could mess with him.

“I’ve become an S-rank Hunter, so there’s obviously some preferential treatment, right?” Sung Joon asked.

He had looked through Hunter.com to the point of boredom and was well aware of what that preferential treatment was, but he wanted to hear it personally from someone else.

“As soon as the registration procedure is finished, the President will confer a magic sword on you. You will become tax exempt and your family will be supplied with first class guards from the National Police Agency. Also, if you want, you can also accept an executive position. Finally, you can utilize the army’s planes and cars.”

The examiner explained the preferential treatment. The magic sword was a sword created with pure magic stones; although it wasn’t an item, it would be given to him by the president, and would be equally symbolic.

Of course, he was most pleased with the tax exemption.

“How long will it take for me to be formally registered?” Sung Joon asked.

“We’ll take care of it as fast as we can. There shouldn’t be anything that you have to take care of separately, Mr. Kang Sung Joon. I guarantee it,” Hyun Sung replied. His voice was shaking slightly.

Although he had expected this, Sung Joon had actually become an S-rank Hunter, and he was able to bear witness to this historic moment. At the moment, he was feeling various emotions.

His first thought was a ‘promotion’. Since a while back, he had maintained his connection with Sung Joon and more so than the current S-rank Hunters, he thought that Sung Joon had a high possibility of being appointed (as an S-rank Hunter).

If Sung Joon was successfully appointed, his promotion would be assured.* (*Basically, what the author is saying is that once Sung Joon is officially recognized as an S-rank Hunter, he’s already passed the hurdle. He gets designated as an S-rank Hunter, then he actually gets promoted. The author just wrote this more complicatedly than he needed to.)

“I’ll leave it to you,” Sung Joon said, and left the office.

Hyun Sung went up to the rooftop, raised his phone and called someone.

Had five minutes passed after his phone call?

Byung Seo* came up to the rooftop. He checked his surroundings and shortly after, discovered Hyun Sung; he walked quickly, closing the distance. (*Byung Seo is the Hunter Bureau’s Investigation Chief, Hyun Sung’s boss, and a C-rank Hunter.)

“Team Leader Kim, is what you just told me over the phone true?”

“Yes, I also checked with my measuring tool.”

“As I had expected, I was right. I told you that Mr. Kang Sung Joon would definitely become an S-rank Hunter!”

Byung Seo was excited. He, too, was participating in the plan to scout Sung Joon, so if he succeeded in doing so, he was guaranteed a promotion.

“I had anticipated his appointment, but I hadn’t expected his growth to be this fast. We may be watching South Korea’s first SS-rank Hunter’s life story right now.”

Hyun Sung assessed Sung Joon highly. All the Hunters grew and were promoted, but Sung Joon’s growth speed was extraordinary.

It was to the point that he thought that Sung Joon may be the birth of the first SS-rank Hunter in South Korea.

“If that’s the case, then would South Korea be the seventh country that possesses an SS-rank Hunter?”

There were currently only six countries that possessed a SS-rank Hunter, and America spared no expense in their aid for their SSS-rank Hunter. America was the only country that had an SSS-rank Hunter.

“I think it’s a distinct possibility.”

“Does the Blue Dragon Group know of this yet…?” Byung Seo asked. Hyun Sung shook his head and opened his mouth.

“They may not know right now, but they’ll know soon, since there’s the magic sword conferment ceremony,” he said.

Since the magic sword conferment ceremony was broadcasted live, everyone will know that Sung Joon had become an S-rank Hunter.

“Contact him before the Blue Dragon Group figures it out. It’d be great if he comes to our side, but even if he doesn’t, we have to get him to join a governmental institution. Also, we have to make sure that the worst-case scenario, like with Park Kyung Seok, doesn’t happen.”

“If you’re talking about Mr. Park Kyung Seok, then you must be referring to the Hunter who defected to America.”

“Yeah. Due to the international treaty, they can’t join the army, but Hunters are national power. We cannot, under any circumstances, allow this information to leak to foreign countries.”

“Mr. Kang Sung Joon isn’t unsatisfied with South Korea and something like that probably won’t come to pass.”

Hyun Sung was absolutely sure.

* * *

Sung Joon was in a good mood since he had judged an S-rank Hunter. He hummed as he drove towards the hospital where his father, Soo Hyuk, was currently hospitalized.

He wanted to tell his father the good news quickly.

“My lord, it’s a bit late, but congratulations on your promotion,” Rishubalt congratulated.

Sung Joon smiled and said, “Thanks.”

There weren’t a lot of cars on the road, so he arrived at the hospital quickly, and went to Soo Hyuk’s hospital room.

Soo Hyuk was receiving intensive care because the Seraphim guild accommodated him. Therefore, when Sung Joon had visited him just a little while ago, his father had told him that his condition had improved significantly.

Sung Joon carefully knocked on the single room’s door and went inside.

Soo Hyuk was sitting on his bed and reading a book. He smiled brightly as he saw Sung Joon walking inside slowly.

“Son, you came?”

His father was always happy to see him.

“You’re coming to see me a lot lately,” Soo Hyuk said.

“Should I not?” Sung Joon asked sarcastically.

Soo Hyuk smiled faintly and shook his head.

“No… you can see me every day if you want.”

With a calm expression, Sung Joon sat in front of Soo Hyuk and explained to his father that he had become an S-rank Hunter.

“I remember that it hasn’t been that long since you’ve been promoted to A-rank but… are you sure?”

Soo Hyuk looked disbelieving. He wasn’t a Hunter, but he had the basic knowledge regarding Hunters. Therefore, he knew exactly how difficult it was to become an S-rank Hunter.

“Why would I lie to you, dad? It seems like I’ll receive the magic sword soon.”

“T-The magic sword…”

After Sung Joon’s calm explanation, Soo Hyuk belatedly accepted the reality.

“Congratulations, son!”

And he wholeheartedly congratulated him. He knew how hard it had been for Sung Joon in the past. That’s why he could so joyously congratulate him.

* * *

“Miss, the Chairman is looking for you.”

“Is it urgent business?”

Seol Ah was busy reviewing conference materials when the secretary, Choi Ara, approached her and relayed the Blue Dragon Group Chairman, Tae Seok’s, summons to her.

Ara looked at Seol Ah, who asked if it was an urgent matter, and nodded her head with a grave expression.

“It’s urgent. You must immediately cease your work and go to the chairman’s office.”

Although she was currently looking over important conference materials, she couldn’t refuse Tae Seok’s orders. She furrowed her beautiful long, slender eyebrows and organized the conference materials.

Then she followed Ara and took the elevator to the chairman’s office.

“The Chairman is waiting for you,” a different secretary said, bowing her head. Seol Ah knocked lightly on the door, opened it, and went inside.

The Blue Dragon Group’s Chairman, Taek Seok, was sitting with a grave expression.

“Sit down.”

“Yes.” Seol Ah sat on the sofa.

Tae Seok looked at her and said, “Kang Sung Joon has been promoted to S-rank.”

“He did?” Seol Ah was astonished. She had an informant, but it this was the first time she had heard about it. When Tae Seok saw her astonishment, he shook his head, as if he thought she were pathetic.

“I made you responsible for everything regarding Kang Sung Joon, yet you still didn’t know?”

“I’m sorry,” Seol Ah apologized, bowing her head.

“Hoo! It’s fine since you at least know now!” Tae Seok said with a sigh. He took a sip of his now cold coffee and opened his mouth once more.

“Chief Im* from the Security Office was right.” (*Head of Security who talked to Head Secretary Choi Ara in Chapter 42 and guessed that Sung Joon was an S-rank Hunter.)

“Are you talking about the hypothesis that Mr. Kang Sung Joon was hiding his abilities?”

“Yeah. If he hadn’t, it would be impossible for him to be promoted to S-rank this quickly!” Tae Seok said firmly.

Sung Joon’s growth rate absolutely couldn’t be understood with common sense.

“I heard that he successfully attacked an S-rank dungeon along with two regular assault teams.”

“I heard about that as well. I remember that there weren’t any casualties.”

“You’ve studied this, so you should already know this, but incurring no casualties in an S-rank dungeon is really huge,” Tae Seok said.

Seol Ah wordlessly nodded her head. Tae Seok emptied out his mug in one go, before asking, “What about your relationship with Kang Sung Joon?”

“It’s difficult because he has less interest in women than I had expected,” Seol Ah replied.

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“It doesn’t matter what method you use, so make him a part of the Blue Dragon Group.”

Seol Ah nodded her head and opened her mouth.

“I’ll do my best,” she said.

When Tae Seok had told her to make Sung Joon a part of the Blue Dragon Group in the past, she had responded weakly. However, he had given her a similar order today, but this time, Seol Ah’s voice was filled with an unknown vigor.