Chapter 2697 – 2697. Dragon Hunter
I showed Oswald various items until we arrived in the great city of Gigantria, trying to find something that would sell.
“Hunter-nim. This is….”
“Ah, that’s a super-vibration blade. It can cut through rocks.”
“It can cut through rocks! It would work on a Lesser Dragon, too! But how do you repair it when the blade gets dull?”
“You just repair it well.”
“……As an emergency item, I think it might be worth about 300,000 skel.”
“Only that much when it can kill a dragon? Don’t you know how amazing a super-vibration blade is?”
“Hunters have their own equipment, so they wouldn’t prefer it, and ordinary people who aren’t hunters can’t keep up with a dragon’s reaction speed. Running away is more likely to ensure survival than fighting.”
My ambitious super-vibration blade received a harsh review. Just in case, I took out a refrigerator, but… even at the city level in this world, refrigerators were already common.
“…Then, do you have this?”
“What is it? It’s something I’ve never seen before. Is it made of iron?”
“It’s a can of cola. The container isn’t made of iron, but aluminum.”
“Aluminum? Ah, I’ve heard that alchemists handle it. I never imagined it could be used to hold a drink.”
“The important thing is the contents. Try it.”
“Oh? Ooooh?! Amazing! This is a very innovative drink!”
“Right? How much do you think this could sell for?”
“It depends on the supply. If the supply is low… it will become precious. For the rich, 100,000 skel. Yes, I think it’s worth trying at least once for 100,000 skel.”
“Cola is best sold in bulk. What if we sell it to commoners?”
“I don’t know since I don’t know the cost… but with this amount… I think they would buy it without hesitation for about 3,000 skel.”
“…The value of 350ml of cola is only that much?”
“3,000 skel is the price of a decent meal in the city. I think that’s appropriate for the middle class. And it’s not like there aren’t any alternative drinks….”
“…….”
Vroom, vroom.
The loud engine sound made me and Oswald look out the carriage window.
Several trucks were speeding down the road. The truck beds were loaded with several dragon corpses. The trucks quickly overtook the carriage.
“Those are hunters.”
“…Why don’t you use trucks? Your merchant guild….”
“It’s the Flack Merchant Guild.”
“Right. The Flack Merchant Guild. They’re quite well-known in Gigantria, right?”
“Trucks themselves aren’t cheap, and fuel is expensive. Unless it’s urgent, carriages are much cheaper.”
In the end, it was about money. I guess that’s natural for a merchant.
I slumped down and took out a comic book from my inventory.
It was a comic book called ‘I Alone Am a National-Level Hunter.’ I brought it to distribute in the [Baekhwan] world, and it was quite fun. The feel of turning the pages was also nice.
“…‘I Alone Am a National-Level Hunter’? It’s a comic book I’ve never seen before, but the art style is very clean.”
“What…!”
I looked at Oswald with shocked eyes.
I, who didn’t have any elitist thoughts, was genuinely surprised. I never thought a primitive fantasy NPC merchant would be able to read Korean.
“Can you… read Korean…?”
“It’s natural since the first thing we learn from our parents when we’re young is Korean.”
Come to think of it, he had been naturally talking to me in Korean all this time. He also used English often. Chinese characters were also included. Even the Iron Dragon was written in Chinese characters.
‘This might be….’
I handed him ‘I Alone Am a National-Level Hunter Vol. 1.’
“Try reading it.”
“Thank you.”
Oswald didn’t refuse.
“Ooooh! Such a novel worldview! It’s a better work than any comic book I’ve ever seen! Monsters instead of dragons! I never imagined such creatures!”
Oswald made a fuss and was noisy. But I understood with a generous heart.
‘It’s natural for him to be excited since he’s encountering hunter literature, which is the best of all literature, for the first time.’
Many people consider hunters to be a genre of genre fiction, but that’s just what those who don’t know say.
Hunter literature is a culture in itself. I’m not saying that because I’m an S-class hunter, but it’s objectively true.
“A status window! If such an ability actually existed, it would be a great help!”
“You know a thing or two. The status window is the core of hunter literature.”
Through my conversation with Oswald, I realized the problem with this world. Civilization and technology had developed quite a bit, but the literature that should have developed in proportion hadn’t. Also, the difference in civilization between cities and villages was severe.
‘I should buy a large number of books from reality and sell them.’
Setting up a printing factory in this world to print books directly? It seems like a waste of time.
‘It’s all available in reality. And I have a lot of money.’
I just need to buy them and sell them.
I’ll sell not only comic books and novels but also movies and dramas. I should also bring Japanese AVs and onaholes to sell.
‘And with the money I earn, I’ll buy dragon hearts and dragon heart blood.’
The virtuous cycle of the economy is insane.
‘It’s a perfect plan.’
• • •
We arrived in Gigantria.
As befitting the name of a great city, it was about the size of Seoul. Even though the buildings lacked the cleanliness and sophistication of modern ones, most of them were over 10 meters tall.
What surprised me was the tower that stood tall in the center of the city.
‘I knew it from the original comic, but… that 200-meter tower is the Dragon Hunter Headquarters? It’s huge.’
Though not as big as the Boji Tower.
The carriage stopped in front of the Dragon Hunter Headquarters.
“Hunter-nim. Thank you for everything. If we get dragon hearts and dragon heart blood, I will contact you. Also, our Flack Merchant Guild wants to continue trading with you in the future.”
“I’ll contact you when I’m ready. You should also prepare.”
I wanted to bring things from reality, but… I didn’t have time for that. I had an appointment with Han Ah-young tomorrow in reality.
‘So, I need to sell off the items I brought from other worlds first. Starting with rice and wheat, and even magical artifacts.’
Before that, I needed to establish myself in this world. It wasn’t difficult. I just needed to be officially recognized as a dragon hunter. Dragon hunters were respected everywhere. Even if it wasn’t legally mandated, hunters were of a higher status.
I entered the first floor.
The spacious first floor was a kind of large restaurant. Hunters were gathered there, eating. No one paid attention to me. It was natural since there were 30 people passing through the main entrance of the first floor at this very moment.
On one side, there were dragon hunting requests and wanted posters. On the other side, there were market prices for dragon corpses, herbs, and other things.
I headed to where the receptionists were. There were three receptionists, and it seemed quiet. Two were men, and one was a woman. The woman was average. But she was better than the men. I walked towards the female receptionist.
“Hello. Are you from outside the city?”
“How did you know?”
“Because you’re wearing clothes that people in the city don’t wear.”
It was a black tracksuit. I looked around. Most of the hunters’ outfits were like something from the end of the century.
“I came to become a dragon hunter. My rank is S-class.”
As soon as I uttered the word S-class, the hunters who had been focusing on their own work all looked at me at once.
The receptionist seemed a little flustered but replied.
“New hunters start as F-class without exception. You can only raise your rank by accumulating achievements, so please understand.”
“Achievements here too. …I know the association president is S-class. If I kill the association president, will I be recognized as S-class, and can I take his place?”
“Th, that’s….”
It was the moment the receptionist’s kind smile broke.
‘I asked just in case, but I guess you can’t get anything for free.’
I felt hostility from behind. I turned my head back. A man with bulging muscles was glaring at me, fiddling with the greatsword he had placed next to the table.
“Hey, kid. Do you know where you are, spouting such nonsense?”
Crackling!
Blue lightning surged from my right hand. Mana. The energy called magic power in this world overwhelmed the surroundings. The man who had shown hostility towards me started sweating profusely.
“I’ll let it slide just this once. Quietly eat your food.”
If I wasn’t in a position of disadvantage, I wouldn’t have let it slide.
I contained the lightning and magic power and handed 200,000 skel to the receptionist.
“This is the hunter registration fee.”
“Ah, yes. Please fill out this form.”
It was things like name, place of origin, and age. They also asked about my special skills, such as martial arts or weapons I used. There was also a section to write down companions and recommenders.
I ignored everything and just wrote my name and handed in the form. The receptionist looked like she had a lot to say, but she quietly lowered her eyes. Instead, she handed me a copper necklace. It was a necklace that said F-class.
‘Me starting from F-class. It’s a strange feeling.’
“This is an F-class hunter necklace. You can carry out requests from the Hunter Association, and you can recruit companions from the Hunter Association. 50% of the request fee is paid to the association as a brokerage fee. Instead, you can get a 5% discount when using the Hunter Association facilities.”
“Even this restaurant?”
“Yes. You can eat or book a room at a 5% discount.”
I understood why all the hunters were gathered in the first-floor restaurant.
I headed to the request board. It was divided from F-class to S-class. Unfortunately, there were no S-class requests. I looked at the next highest, A-class requests.
There was only one criterion for looking.
It had to be in the closest location possible.
I tore off one request from the board.
[Dragon Subjugation Request
Subjugation Target: Blazing Dragon, Impulse
Subjugation Rank: Ancient Dragon.
Subjugation Location: 60km west of Gigantria, Rocky Highland.
Request Success Reward: 3 billion skel.
Other Notes: The association will purchase Impulse’s dragon heart for 55 billion skel. Negotiation possible.]
‘If they take 50% as a brokerage fee, that’s 1.5 billion. They take a lot.’
It couldn’t be helped since I was F-class.
‘Well, what really makes money is the dragon’s byproducts.’
The ownership of the byproducts belonged to the hunter who hunted the dragon. They could sell it to the association or to other merchant guilds.
‘No matter what, I’ll get the dragon heart and dragon heart blood.’
I left the quiet association headquarters.