Chapter 20
They called it a ‘bounty,’ but the Hunter Association didn't pay rewards in cash.
Instead, it paid in points, an asset used within the Association. Points issued by an Association affiliated with the International Association could be used anywhere in the world.
But the real jackpot was...
these weren't just ordinary points.
“Hunter Association points... That's a nice score for someone who's barely entered the industry.”
“Right? I heard they're kind of like voting rights. Is that true?”
What could you do with points?
If you asked Hunters, they'd answer:
“Anything.”
You could exchange them for cash, at least in small amounts, but few Hunters used them that way.
The safest bet was to trade them for rare items held by the Association that weren't available on the market.
I thought of them that way, too, but Zephyros went on.
“You'd be wise to save your Association points.”
“...Why?”
“You can buy items with money, but points give you the right to wield ‘influence’ that money can't buy. Well, I never had any reason to do that, and I hope I never will, but... There was once a big shot in the Association who got caught up in a crime. It was a murder case. He put all the points he had toward a request for parole, and the Hunter Association actually threw all its political clout and influence behind him and got him paroled.”
You could get away with murder if you had enough points?
As I gaped, Zephyros patted my shoulder and said,
“That's one of the Association's darker sides. You know I'm not telling you to use them like that, right?”
“Y-Yeah, of course.”
“Anyway, it's reassuring to have them. You'll get around 50,000 points for this bounty, so hold on to them and use them when you need to.”
I didn't need cash or items right away, and I wasn't even sure what I should exchange them for...
So I'd hold on to them like Zephyros said and put them to good use later.
**
The next day, we visited the Hawaii State Hunters Association.
Partly to collect my bounty in points, and partly to see some of Zephyros's connections.
Just as he'd promised, Zephyros was quite a big name here.
It seemed like even more people recognized him than in Korea...
They were hugging him, shaking his hand, making quite a fuss.
They chatted about something, but how could I understand when I didn't know English?
As I stood there like a fifth wheel, someone handed me something.
It was a necklace.
“... What’s this?”
I squeezed out every English word I knew and asked the woman who'd handed it to me. She smiled and said,
“A translation necklace.”
Hearing fluent Korean suddenly come out of a blonde, blue-eyed woman's mouth was a bit startling, but...
A translation necklace?
That was convenient.
Just as I reached to take it, she pulled her hand away and continued,
“Ten thousand points.”
“...This thing costs ten thousand points?”
I might be getting 50,000 points, but I couldn't spend 10,000 on something like this.
“Then no thanks. Shoo, shoo.”
Instead of me, who was waving her off, Zephyros took the necklace.
“Deduct the points from my account.”
“Yes, sir.”
Then Zephyros handed me the necklace.
“Here.”
“...She said it costs ten thousand points. Aren't you the one who told me to save my points?”
“Am I supposed to carry all my points with me to the grave at my age?”
“You're not that old yet, are you?”
“It's just a saying. I'm retired anyway. In any case, I'd rather buy one than watch you standing there like that, so I told her to bring it over.”
“...I'll put it to good use.”
My debt to him had grown a little more.
Would the day ever come when I could pay back everything I'd gotten from this man?
As I took the necklace, its item information window appeared.
[Whisper of the Wind Spirit]
[Grade]: Legendary-Grade Accessory
[Description]: A necklace containing a sealed wind spirit. It whispers the true intent behind all forms of communication conveyed through sound in a form the wearer can understand.
[Effect]: Converts all types of language conveyed through hearing into a form the wearer can understand.
Once I put on the necklace, the English conversations around me finally came through as natural Korean.
I guess I wouldn't need to rush to study English after all.
As I walked among them, a bearded white man greeted me and vigorously shook my hand with his big, hairy one.
“Hahaha! I'm Jake Anderson, chairman of the Hawaii State Hunters Association. Zephyros and I used to work together.”
So he was a big shot. Still, the necklace had even translated an expression like ‘used to work together’ from a Western old-timer... It really worked well...
“I'm Kim Segyun, a Hunter from Korea.”
“Oh, the Conqueror of the Impossible! I've heard all about you from Zephyros! You cleared the Stage 3 and Stage 11 Impossible Gates in Korea, didn't you?”
“I was lucky.”
I really had been lucky, to some extent.
“And humble, too. That's why I like Asian Hunters. Unlike the young guys these days, who make a big show of themselves over the slightest thing.”
“Hahaha.”
As I scratched my head awkwardly at the compliment, a woman's voice came from behind me.
“Dad, that's racist.”
“How is it racist if it's a compliment?”
“Stereotyping people's individual personalities based on their race is racist.”
“Ugh, this world these days...”
When I turned around, I saw a beautiful woman with fiery red hair and even red eyebrows.
She had the kind of looks that would turn heads wherever she went.
I stared for a moment, then something occurred to me.
That white guy who looked like Homer Simpson and seemed like a beer lover... and this young lady...
“Are you two father and daughter...?”
“Yes, we are. Surprising, isn't it?”
“I hear all the time that I did a great job raising my kid. Hahaha.”
Damn...
You didn't just do a good job, sir.
It's like roses bloomed where you'd planted beans.
“I'm Scarlett Anderson.”
“Kim Segyun.”
“I know. And... I wanted to thank you.”
“...Me?”
“One of the people who was killed by that robber... was a close friend of mine.”
Ah, maybe I should've just killed that robber bastard.
“...I'm sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you.”
“Before I'm the Association chairman, I'm one of the victims' loved ones, and I want to thank you, too. If there's anything you need, just say the word. If it's something I can do, I'll do it.”
The thing is... I had no idea what this old man could do for me.
I glanced at Zephyros for help, and he seemed to get the hint and stepped in.
“This guy doesn't have a USDE license yet.”
“You said he was a rookie? That figures.”
“Could you pull some strings for him?”
“What level is he now?”
“Fifteen.”
“I might be able to get you Double-A, though Triple-A would be tough. Two Impossible Gate clears...”
“Make it Triple-A. There's quite a difference between Double and Triple.”
“The world has changed. I can't just hand it out whenever I feel like it.”
“I'm just asking you to pull some strings.”
“Getting you Double-A was already pulling strings!”
The two of them bickered over ranks with me caught in the middle, but the problem was that I knew absolutely nothing about USDE rankings.
“What's the difference between Triple-A and Double-A?”
To clear up my confusion, I asked Ms. Scarlett beside me, and she began to explain.
“The easiest way to put it is that Double-A is regional, while Triple-A is nationwide. Dad can issue up to Double-A on his own authority, but for Triple-A, he has to submit a proposal to the National Association and get approval. He's just being lazy because it's a hassle.”
“I see. What about the difference in benefits between Triple and Double...?”
“There won't be much difference. Still, if you can start at Triple, the road to S gets shorter... Something like that.”
“Oh, then how do you get S?”
A fast pass through immigration sounded nice.
“From S onward, it's all about your track record. Once you build up enough accomplishments at Triple-A, they convene a committee, and if you get its approval, you earn S rank.”
“I see.”
While we'd been talking, the two of them had been arguing back and forth for quite a while. At last, the Hawaii Association chairman, the hairy old man, said as if he had no choice,
“Fine, but I need to see it with my own eyes. You said you're Level 15, right? Clear a Stage 15 Gate, and I'll recognize you and submit a proposal for Triple-A.”
“That's no problem. Segyun, you can do it, right?”
“...Out of nowhere?”
“This guy doesn't trust my judgment.”
This looked like some kind of male pride contest, no matter how I saw it.
Still...
Korea's next Stage of the Impossible Gate was Stage 27.
I had a long way to go before I could enter it, so I needed to level up anyway.
“Is there a decent Gate?”
“There is.”
As he said that, the hairy old man grinned meaningfully.
He looked like he was up to something. What was it?
“Then I'll pick the Gate.”
“Dad! Don't tell me... You're thinking of that one?”
“Of course! If you want Triple-A, you should be able to clear something like that!”
“Aah... Honestly...”
Scarlett held her head and shook it in disbelief.
Why? What was the problem?
“That one... is a hybrid-type Gate.”
“Hybrid type...?”
“It means a Gate where monsters with two or more attributes appear.”
Zephyros answered my question for me.
He looked at the chairman with a stern expression.
“I think I know which one you mean. Jake, you bastard, that's cheating.”
“Now, now, didn't you say you were confident against anything? And isn't he your disciple?”
The chairman laughed heartily, his red face looking like he'd had a whole lot of beer.
“That Gate was the first one you ever cleared, wasn't it?”
“...Zephyros cleared it?”
I was supposed to clear a Gate Zephyros had cleared first?
“It's the worst of the hybrid-type Gates.”
“Heh. That's why no one could even touch it until you cleared it.”
“A volcano right on the coast. Ocean-type monsters and fire-type monsters appear at the same time.”
Being a Hunter didn't mean you were good at hunting every type of monster.
Hunters had clear strengths and weaknesses based on their abilities, and they chose Gates according to those matchups.
But a dungeon where monsters with two completely opposing attributes appeared at the same time was obviously going to be difficult.
“I heard you already cleared a similar dungeon with fire-type monsters.”
Was he talking about the Stage 11 Gate?
I'd talked about the general strategy in the media, but had the rumor really spread that far?
“But... can you say you're confident against ocean-type monsters, too?”
“Hmm.”
Well... I actually am pretty confident... with ocean-type monsters...
After fighting the Sawblade Ichthyosaurs every week, I was thoroughly used to them, and my skill at controlling No. 2 underwater had reached its peak.
And Zephyros had watched all of that with me, hadn't he?
Zephyros should know I had no problem with either ocean-type or fire-type monsters.
When I glanced at Zephyros, I saw him desperately covering his mouth.
Don't tell me this guy...
Was he trying to hold back a laugh?
He managed to hold it in, cleared his throat once, and then spoke again.
“Well, we can't leave a wager out of this, can we?”
“Hey, gambling's illegal in Hawaii.”
That was why, despite casinos being packed into nearly every major resort destination in the United States, there weren't any casinos in Hawaii's resorts.
Zephyros grinned at the chairman and said,
“Chicken?”
It was a single, devilish word that hit a man's pride right where it hurt.
I never expected it to work on an American, too.