Leveling Up From Rank F - Chapter 25

Gyutae rushed towards Jiwoo’s side as soon as he got up. 

“I’m fine, Mr. Gyutae. It’s not like anyone died. You’re the one who was hit, so why are you making that expression?” Jiwoo smiled, making Gyutae smile in turn.

“Motherfucker! Do you think I’ll stay still? I’ll ruin you fuckhead. Look forward to it, bastard. Watch your back at night, you fuck!” Jaeheon shouted off.

Jaeheon was an unlucky man because Kanghyun had released Jiwoo’s arm at that exact moment. Jiwoo flung to the man sitting on the floor and kneed him right in the face. There was no need to explain what that loud cracking sound was.

Kanghyun groaned, gritting his teeth. 

It happened in an instant, in that instant dense chakra had enveloped Jiwoo’s knee.

Jaeheon was on the floor screaming in pain. No one approached to help the man. There was no sense of comradeship, the others seemed more annoyed that their teammate was the one to instigate things first, intentionally creating problems and bringing about trouble.

“Let’s go, Hyung. Please go over there or wait in Gyutae’s car. Do you plan on killing a person?” Kanghyun yelled, furious at Jiwoo. 

“Do you think we’re staying still because we don’t know how to attack? You think we don’t know how to hit people?!”

Jiwoo was itching to crack a joke, “Yeah, pretty much” but held it in.

As he was forcibly dragged away by Kanghyun, the assault captain stared at him, astonished. He saw it all with his eyes, chakra clinging onto the low-level Hunter’s peculiar body, chakra which seemed to think and move on its own, regardless of the owner’s will. It was acting like an overprotective mother, fretting over one’s child, waiting to protect his body.

The captain had never witnessed such a scene before. He was a D-rank Tanker. He lacked the aptitude for chakra control, he was so horrible he almost cursed his own fate. His chakra proficiency was at 3% and his chakra level 6. It was through his tenacity alone that he managed to rise to D-rank. He worked himself to death joining raid after raid, raising 1 EXP, 2 EXP, and so on. His EXP accumulated in time therefore increasing his rank.

A talentless individual did not know what natural talent was. However, they could tell someone who has no talent, working ceaselessly to achieve their aspirations. The captain could see it.

What Jiwoo “has” or, in this case, “endowed with” was an enormous amount of chakra and the protection it provided.

The captain quietly dialed the Hunter Association’s number to make a minor report requesting for an ambulance since a Hunter was injured. He didn’t do it with Jaeheon’s well-being in mind. He could care less if the man dropped dead.

Eventually, the Hunter security forces arrived. Gyutae completely regained his composure by then. 

“Jiwoo, stay here for now. I think I can sort things out.” Gyutae said, then requesting for Kanghyun to hold onto Jiwoo. 

Kanghyun nodded, indicating to leave it to him.

Taein followed Gyutae out of the car. Jiwoo was grateful for that. Compared to an average person, he knew someone like Taein needed to muster 100 times the courage to act in such a situation.

Simply put, the Hunter security force was a powerful organization. It was part of the Hunter Association that worked under the government, yet they held almost absolute control. The security forces were in charge of catching criminal Hunters that attacked civilians or trafficked carcasses and Rupstones. In fights between Hunters, they would intervene as they were doing now.

The reason why the Hunter security forces were so scary was because they could punish Hunters with a summary trial. Such judgements resulted in huge backlash from the Hunter community. But they continued the practice because catching Hunters skilled in chakra control was a difficult matter.

Many kept raising the issue that the authority could exploit the loopholes in the system to bring down other Hunters. Despite their persistent opposition, it has never occurred so far, as the chief of the security force was quite the capable and upright individual.

“They say if you get caught by the chief, you’re better off biting off your tongue and killing yourself. Well, no one’s met the guy, so we don’t know what’s true and what’s not.” Kanghyun said as he looked out the car’s window.

“That’s brutal.’

“Who knows it could just be all talk. The overwhelming strength of Hunters has made the civilians worry about their own safety. It’s necessary to enact strong laws. They might have wanted the public to feel that they are protected by them.”

While they were talking, a person got off the Mercedes-Benz G-Class, where the security force members were on board. There were three more people inside, but they didn’t all exit the vehicle. They’ll come out if the discussion does not end well.

Jaeheon and the assault captain approached the man immediately. Gyutae did the same.

The onlookers kept their tickets to the show. The truck drivers and workers at Body firm were having fun watching the situation unfold. They did feel bad for the surgeon and the low-level Hunters, but that was it. There was nothing they could do in the first place. The people were nothing more than background props.

“Mr. Gyutae… Do you think he’s okay? Shouldn’t I go out there too?” Jiwoo asked. 

His question elicited a dumbfounded reaction from Kanghyun as if he couldn’t believe what he was asking.

“What?” Jiwoo asked again.

“Mr. Gyutae is someone who was injured in his line of duty. He’s also a C-rank Hunter, meaning he’d get treated better. If those bastards knew of his rank, I bet they’d piss themselves. I saw that captain over there is a D-rank. Fucker, they’re all screwed!” Kanghyun exclaimed fervently.

“Really?”

“Yes, if I were Gyutae, I would have revealed my tattoo and made them all kneel before me. He only let it slide because he felt sorry for them since they came out of the raid. They’re all dead now, bastards!” Kanghyun’s rage did not sizzle out in the least.

“I shouldn’t have stepped in then.”

Kanghyun shook his head.

“No, you can’t just let those fuckers go.”

“Is it really okay if I don’t go out there?” Jiwoo asked impatiently.

“Yes, they’ll call you if they need you. Until then, just stay here.”

The security force member had some difficulty grasping the situation. Usually when a fight broke out between transporters and raiders, they would have already settled on their judgement before setting off for the scene. It was all too common. Pathetic Hunters would ruin the raid and torment the low-level transporters. They would then beat the living daylights out of their juniors. When the injury becomes grave, they report it to the Hunter security forces.

They would be summoned to admonish the low-level Hunters. In order to keep the incompetent raiders working, they would advise the less fortunate victims to endure such treatment. 

That was the way things went. They couldn’t rebuke those who participated in raids. No matter how incompetent or trashy the person was, they were essential for the elimination of swamps and monsters.

Yet, when the man arrived at the scene, what appeared in front of him was out of the ordinary. It was the raid member making the complaint after being attacked. The assault captain was a D-rank and the battered Hunter was F-rank. 

The security member was a C-rank Hunter who rarely bowed down to others, not even to those in the same rank as him in the Hunter security forces. There were only five B-rank Hunters in the security force, one of whom was the chief.

The rest were C and D-ranks. That said, even the D-ranks excelled in chakra control. The reason why the Hunter security forces were composed of high-ranking Hunters was because they were all experienced seniors. Regular Hunters could recognize authority when they see one.

The man immediately grimaced when he saw Jaeheon’s face. He found it more pitiful that the guy was not losing his mind from the pain. He noted in his head to get an ambulance quickly. Whoever attacked him must have done so with chakra. He was also surprised at how refined and intense the perpetrator’s chakra was to turn the guy’s face to this wreck of a state.

The assault captain and Jaeheon explained the situation from start to end. However, the necessary truth to get to the root of the problem did not come out of their mouths.

The expression on the security member’s face noticeably changed when he heard the assault captain was D-rank. It was a look that viewed him as a nuisance, to think someone as old as him would seek advice for something as trivial as this.

Gyutae approached the security member. He told Taein to wait before walking to him alone. 

The surgeon asked for a handshake. Now, handshakes were not normally initiated by someone of lower-rank. Even older people knew that age alone does not determine their standing in a rank-based society.

The security force member felt a strain on his back. As he reached out his hand, the surgeon’s tattoo caught his eye.

Rank C.

His chakra level was 1 with chakra proficiency at 100%. In terms of chakra control, this surgeon had reached the point where he could not ascend it any further. Meaning, he held the highest position among all the C-ranks.  

The man unconsciously held Gyutae’s hand with both hands. His body inclined on its own to show respect.

“What seems to be the problem?” He asked. 

He could imagine what had happened to the other man. Among surgeons, there were sometimes people like this man. They get injured while trying to raise their rank, rendering them incapable of participating in raids. They would then return to transporting carcasses, using their chakra control skills to dissect and amputate the corpses.

He had never actually met someone like him before since there weren’t too many of them. But if it was Gyutae, he could certainly crush a person like this. Regardless, it wasn’t the security force’s duty to find out the truth. Hence, he did not ask Jaeheon or Gyutae about it.

He gave a sign, and the three people inside the Mercedes-Benz stepped out of the vehicle.