Leveling Up From Rank F

Part 2: Transport Hunter

Im Jeong was able to take out the weapons freely and place them on top of the restaurant tabletop. The hand ax was the very weapon to come out, to which she pushed in front of Taein. Then, bows and several knives of various sizes and blade shapes came out. There was also a stun gun, which wasn’t used on monsters; instead, they were used to subdue rebellious Hunters.

“You can't use this on a Hunter unless you pour chakra into it. Hunters are basically chakra-wielding beings after all."

The Tanker continued to pull out more weapons and diligently explained them. All sorts of things came out. It was to the degree they didn’t know what bizarre thing would come next had they not stopped her.

"By the way, where did you get all these items? You don’t have to take more out." Jiwoo interrupted her.

"Shall we stop here then?" Im Jeong said before pushing the bag under the table.

Just the fact that she brought all the weapons by herself was amazing on its own. A Hunter's power was sometimes beyond Jiwoo’s imagination. He was still surprised every time when he saw things that were naturally accepted.

"The security force has a supply of weapons and equipment." As she spoke, Im Jeong held a knife with a round blade shaped like a sickle.

"This was the first weapon I used, Blade. It’s comfortable to wield because the handle fits well in my hand. Among all the Blades, this one had a very strong cutting power. It may feel uncomfortable, but it’s effective. If you know you’ll get crushed by the monster's feet, you can aim and cut its ankle. You won't be able to use this as a main weapon though. It's not very effective in inflicting consecutive damage."

Before Im Jeong began a full-scale explanation, Jiwoo stopped her to demand another explanation from her.

"How did you bring all of this? Even if they do belong to the security forces, they’re not items that any individual can take out and leave with as they please, By any chance, did you steal them?" Jiwoo asked, which made her tilt her head.

“I didn’t steal. Well, if I had to put it, I took them without permission? I’m going to use them for a while and then put them back. I won't get caught. I'll return them after I’m done with them.”

There seemed to be no end for how casually Im Jeong behaved. Kanghyun told Jiwoo not to dwell on it too much.

“In times like this, it makes you look like an old man, Hyung. She’s trying to give us a little help. Scratch that. Why don't you just go out with me, Noona. To be honest, it doesn't make sense why you like him."

Naturally, she took what Kanghyun said as a joke.

“And this is a hand ax. I brought it for Taein." Im Jeong said to Taein like a peddler pitching an item.

"Kanghyun, you’re probably unaware of this so I’ll let it slide this time, but no one ever makes that kind of swipe at me. You're bad at making jokes, aren’t you?” She then said Kanghyun.

She was blunt and offhanded with her remark, but Kanghyun had spent enough time around her to get what she was saying. He could feel the hairs on his body stand up.

"Yes, it was a joke. Just a joke."

"Of course it was.” She casually replied. She grabbed the Blade and stared at it, lost in her thoughts.

"Wow, looking at this makes me reminisce about the time I tried to hunt my first monster. I couldn’t aggro well so it was chaotic. Fortunately, there were no big issues since I had good Dealers around me to kill it. It wasn’t too scary either because it was a Class 5 monster. It's cute, isn’t it. Oh, I got a good idea."

She clapped her hands once and looked at the other three Hunters.

“For the time being, we'll be going to a Class 2 swamp. I’ve always faced Class 2 monsters, so whenever I see Class 5 ones, they look really cute to me.”

"I don't think it's a good idea to go around a Class 2 swamp. I'm still scared of Class 5 monsters, so I can't. There are also only four of us. Even if 10 people participate, there will be injuries. That’s how life is.” Kanghyun gave her a firm warning.

He was anxious that Im Jeong would grab them and charge straight into the Class 2 swamp had he not alerted her. She didn’t seem stubborn in her decision. If she truly wanted to, she could easily put these low-level Hunters in her car and drive them to the location without telling them where they were going.

There were still signs of fear and nervousness, but these three were the people Gyutae had been bent on teaching up to now. Everyone picked up a weapon from the table and got a feel for the grip by taking a swing.

Taein did not put down the ax from his hand. It appeared as though he had already made his decision.

"There are not many ways to attack using a hand ax. The weapon itself is pretty heavy so you’ll need to practice a lot in order to wield it comfortably. Rookies get flustered because they can’t take their weapon out after they attack. Then, the monster will be just as bewildered as you, won’t they?” Im Jeong’s words were serious and her expression indicated the need for caution.

Kanghyun, however, burst into laughter.

“The image of Hyung getting on top of the head of a 5-meter monster, grumbling while planting his two feet on it to pull out his ax just popped up in my mind.”

Taein didn’t find what he had said to be funny, on the contrary, he looked to be brimming with confidence. He seemed to want to swing the weapon immediately in an outdoor space.

"You want to swing your ax, right?" Im Jeong asked.

“How did you know?”

"You just looked around. It’s clear you wanted to if you weren't indoors. I’m not a psychic, I know because I’ve been there before. You have to be careful because the ax might fly away when you swing it meaning you could end up losing it. I saw the blade of an ax fall out from its handle once. It may have been an issue in the manufacturing department, so always be careful.”

“That’s quite dangerous.” Taein said nervously.

"It would be as ludicrous as getting hit by a foul ball while looking away from the baseball stadium. Imagine fighting earnestly then getting hit by the blade of an ax that belonged to your colleague. In this case, it won't simply end with the situation being ridiculous. Your flesh may get cut, or one side of your face may be lopped off.”

There was no way to gauge whether everything she said was feasible or not.

"I want to recommend this to you, Kanghyun."

She lifted the crossbow.

"I'm not telling you to keep using it. You have the grit and a good mindset, but you’re still young. You may not be ready for close quarter combat yet. It may be better to fight with a little distance for the time being."

Kanghyun was touched to find out that she had paid attention to him. However, he was still very burdened to find out Im Jeong would revise the law to lift the age restriction so that he could start raids immediately. There were many effective excuses he had before. No one could say anything if he couldn’t participate because there was a law restriction. The excuses he made were the same as limiting himself. Even if he could do more, he wouldn’t since he would be in the mindset that he couldn’t join raids due to his age. He now couldn’t make that excuse.

Kanghyun sighed, unsure whether meeting Im Jeong was poison or boon. Had he known Im Jeong had healed Gyutae’s leg, he wouldn't have thought twice about complaining.

In order to let Jiwoo gain EXP and get them to raid together, Im Jeong was solving their problems one by one. She healed the surgeon’s leg and is going to revise the law.

Jiwoo had been leaning his head toward Im Jeong for a while now, highly expecting her to recommend him something.

She placed three weapons side by side on the table, still undecided. One was a weapon that looked like an enhanced version of the Blade she used in her early days. The size increase was the most striking feature. The entire blade was about the length of a man's arm.

"You could be able to cut off the monster’s neck in one fell swoop with this one. I've never done it, but theoretically, it's possible. The monster won't stay still until you get to its neck though. Like I said before, this can't be used as a main weapon. I don't see a weapon that I would want to recommend to Jiwoo. Let's go to Extreme Hunter and pick one out together."

"Yes, I think we should. Anyway, I like this fellow, too." Jiwoo said.

It was not even a person, but it felt like the two – Jiwoo and the weapon – recognized each other. She tried to show him other weapons, but he couldn't take his eyes off the Blade.

“What is this called?” Jiwoo asked.

“Sierra Leone. I believe it’s from All That Tools. I know that the person who created the weapon named it in honor of their own country."

Jiwoo cracked a smile because of the name “All That Tools” rather than Sierra Leone.

"I guess All That Tools makes stuff like this, too."

"Do you know them well?" She asked.

"I know them very well. I don't know the company, but should I say, I know much about the girlfriend of an employee who works there?"

"Ohh, you mean the girl who made you misogynic?" Kanghyun pretended like he knew what had happened to him.

Jiwoo dismissed it though, as if she were someone who was not worth talking about.

“There are many people you haven't met in the world before. Just because you failed once, doesn’t mean it's good to be scared and give up thinking that all your experience will be like that," She explained, showing interest in the matter.

"Yes, I think you’re right. Thanks to your patience, I met such a nice person. I’ll treat you so why don’t you think about what you want once I raise my EXP."

Jiwoo’s sudden smooth reply made Im Jeong perplexed. He smiled, adding that anything else was okay too, and then winked at her. This made her blush madly, trying to figure out what other things he had in mind.

Jiwoo’s intention had been to grab a drink together, but seeing her face turn red like wine, he too blushed in surprise.

While Kanghyun was fiddling with the crossbow, Im Jeong quickly recovered and handed a sword to Kanghyun. It was a similar sword she had when she and the low-level Hunters first met.

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