Chapter 71: The Path to a B-Rank Hunter (4)

The morning after the C-rank Hunter Kim Sungchul, who appeared like a comet in the Guild Union, completed three requests.

“Haaaah~. Ugh…”

Choi Hwayoung, the owner of ‘Lakeside Pharmacy,’ a private pharmacy run by a former Hunter turned pharmacist, was starting her leisurely morning.

10 AM being her wake-up time was quite a late start to the day for a pharmacy owner, but it wasn’t much of a problem since Hwayoung’s shop wasn’t affiliated with any hospitals and was more like her personal hobby.

Choi Hwayoung’s life, having once ranked as an S-rank Hunter, didn’t involve any particular hardship due to lack of money even after retirement, and the pharmacy she opened was less about handling official medications and more about selling the potions and antidotes she mainly used during her active days.

Opening the shop according to specific hours wasn’t a particularly important factor for Choi Hwayoung. In the first place, the potions she made were items sold targeting Hunters, and most of them were directly supplied to the Guild anyway.

“My head’s gonna split… Did I sleep too much?”

After roughly tidying up her messy hair and sleep-crusted eyes in the bathroom, symbols of a deep sleep, she put on at least a white gown befitting a pharmacist and came down to the shop on the first floor.

Being a pharmacist targeting Hunters was surprisingly a comfortable profession.

Since Hunters with no fixed work hours were the main customers, she too could open the shop leisurely without much issue, and the white gown, the symbol of a pharmacist, greatly reduced the time she had to worry about what clothes to wear.

Whether she wore a t-shirt or sweatpants underneath, surprisingly many people tended to judge the first impression solely based on the white gown, so for Hwayoung, who hated hassle, being a pharmacist was a quite attractive profession.

If she hated hassle that much, rather than doing nothing and leisurely spending the rest of her life with the money she saved would have been a much better option, but there was a more important reason than money for her choosing pharmacy as a second career after retirement.

Because she learned that a pharmacist license was necessary to purchase the materials she collected and used as a hobby during her active days, it became an unavoidable choice.

For Choi Hwayoung, addicted to special cigarettes made from Black Slime mucus, a habit she picked up during her time as a Hunter, the profession of pharmacist was a necessity, not an option.

Although distribution and sale were illegal in many countries due to its high addictiveness, the production and use of Black Slime materials and items made from them were not illegal.

In other words, in South Korea, the only way for Choi Hwayoung to secure her preferred stimulant was to change her profession to pharmacist.

Of course, even so, since that Black Slime material hadn’t come into her possession at all recently, it was unavoidable that she felt fundamental doubts about her profession.

“Haaah, I’m really craving tar cigarettes… It’s already been several months since the material stopped coming…”

It was part of Hwayoung’s usual routine to lounge at the pharmacy counter, suffering from being unable to consume her preferred stimulant for already several months, muttering things like this.

“Should I raise the purchase price? …Still, it doesn’t seem like it’ll come in, though…”

She naturally knew how difficult dealing with Black Slimes was, having experienced it during her active days.

How much trouble she caused her party members during her active days because of her hobby.

Considering those things, it would be better to raise the purchase price of the material, but to truly make other Hunters seek out Black Slime material requests aiming for ‘profitability’ itself, it would have to be raised to nearly double the current purchase price at least.

It was not at all appealing to Choi Hwayoung, who already thought she was spending a lot of money on her hobby, so the purchase of Black Slime material had to always be a source of worry for her.

“If I knew it wouldn’t come in like this, I should have smoked the stuff I had left before sparingly… These withdrawal symptoms are really driving me crazy…”

Next time I place an order, even if it means paying double the amount, I must purchase it first.

Around the time Choi Hwayoung, lost in such thoughts, was dying slumped over the counter.

‘Ting Tiring Dingding~♬’

“…”

Hwayoung’s work mobile phone began to ring with its ringtone, so she, still tired, picked up the receiver in a drawn-out voice.

“Yes…. This is Lakeside Pharmacy….”

It was probably a call from a company or the Guild Union regarding the purchase of potions and antidotes for the next quarter, so she received the call without much thought, but.

“Yes…. That is my request… Yes?”

At the welcome news coming from the other side of the receiver, Hwayoung’s body automatically lifted from her seat.

“I’ll go get it right now!”

Hwayoung’s stopped time began to flow again.

…Although it was a little regrettable that it was because of the tar cigarette material.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

Choi Hwayoung, who arrived at the Hunters’ Autonomous Union Guild’s Gangdong District Branch, ran out to the Union’s request counter without a shred of hesitation.

“I heard the Black Slime material arrived!”

“Yes, yes?!”

“Quickly! I have the buyer’s certificate here, so quickly check and give it to me quickly!”

Hwayoung thrust the buyer’s certificate at the guide staff, showing an excited expression almost like a drug addict.

“Your identity has been confirmed. Here are the ten Black Slime cores you ordered…”

Before the guide staff’s explanation even finished, Hwayoung, receiving the material, entered the Union Guild’s smoking booth without looking back and dropped a few drops of Black Slime mucus into a long pipe she took out from inside her gown.

“Ignite.”

-Hwa-reureuk.

With a single command from Hwayoung, a small flame flared up once at the end of the pipe in her mouth, and it immediately began to slowly burn the tobacco and Black Slime mucus inside.

Although she had retired from the front lines now, she was someone who could easily create a flame enough to replace a lighter, so this soon led to Hwayoung’s quick smoking of the substance she had craved for so long.

“Hoo-ooooo…”

I feel alive.

It was the impression regarding the preferred stimulant she had inhaled for the first time in almost half a year.

During the half year she had to endure with regular cigarettes because there was no material, she had never once forgotten the memory of this rich taste, so Hwayoung’s expression gradually relaxed due to the highly satisfying thick air filling her lungs.

To the point that even other Hunters using the smoking room stared strangely at that dramatic change in her expression.

“Sseuuup, Haaaaaah….”

A moment of volatile pleasure continuing with another deep breath.

‘It was worth it, even skipping the expensive Warp Gate to fly here.’

Thinking so inwardly, she consumed the Black Slime components she had been lacking for 5 minutes to her heart’s content, and soon returned with a satisfied expression to the request counter where she had received the material.

“I’m sorry about earlier. I just couldn’t stand it anymore.”

“It’s okay. Normally, working in this profession, you meet a lot of people even stranger than you, Ms. Hwayoung.”

“While I’m here, I’ll renew the request too. The content is, like last time, ten bottles of Black Slime mucus…”

As Hwayoung was saying up to there, one thought flashed through her mind, so she stopped the request renewal she originally intended to make and quickly corrected it with different content.

“Ah, no. I’ll apply for this as a designated request.”

“A designated request?”

“Yes, I’ll apply for this as a designated request to the person who completed it. The request content will be the same, ten cores and ten bottles of mucus, but the reward will be slightly increased…”

Continuing continuous transactions with adventurers capable of hunting Black Slimes.

It was Hwayoung’s judgment, made thinking it would be sufficiently helpful even if it wasn’t necessarily for supplementing her preferred stimulant, but unfortunately, her wish did not come true as she wished.

“I’m sorry, but you cannot entrust this request as a designated one.”

“Why, why is that?”

“The person who completed this request is a C-rank Hunter. It’s the regulation that Hunters ranked C or below cannot receive designated requests.”

“C, C-rank…?”

Basically, to defeat a B-rank monster like the Black Slime, at least one B-rank Hunter capable of both physical and magical attacks would have been needed.

Upon hearing that the person who completed the request was a C-rank Hunter, Hwayoung’s eyes widened greatly.

“Wasn’t it completed as a party? Surely it’s not possible that both people are C-rank Hunters?”

“I don’t quite understand what you mean, but it says this request was completed solo by one C-rank Hunter.”

“What nonsense…”

Just before the words “What nonsense are you saying…” could pop out of her mouth, Hwayoung immediately took back what she was about to say.

She knew at least that Hunter ranks were ultimately just arbitrary ranks assigned by the Guild for easier personnel management, and didn’t represent a Hunter’s absolute skill.

“Right, indeed. If not for that, they wouldn’t have taken this troublesome request…”

Realizing her request had become experience points for someone wanting to raise their Hunter rank, Choi Hwayoung gave a bitter smile.

She had thought she might finally be able to receive a stable supply of Black Slime material.

If they had the skill to complete her request alone, which would normally require at least two B-rank Hunters or one A-rank or higher Hunter, she could easily guess that once they raise their Hunter rank, they wouldn’t even glance at her request.

“Then I’ll just renew the request and leave…”

“…”

Recognizing Choi Hwayoung’s dejected expression that anyone could see, the guide staff member immediately observed her mood.

For her, who had worked as a guide staff member at the Union Guild for a long time in her own way, Hwayoung was one of the important figures.

As a pharmacist who makes potions and antidotes, she was a major customer importing dungeon products, and conversely, she was an important client in the aspect of supplying a certain amount of made potions or antidotes to the Union every quarter.

“Ms. Hwayoung.”

“Yes?”

“Because of regulations, designated requests cannot be accepted, but how about this proposal instead?”

“What proposal are you talking about?”

“This Hunter who completed Ms. Hwayoung’s request, even though they are new, they have been quite active recently.”

Hwayoung quietly waited for the guide staff’s following words with some doubt.

“Perhaps next time this Hunter appears, I’ll contact you, so how about meeting them in person to talk?”

“…Can I do that?”

“Well, this side isn’t violating any regulations, so.”

“Of course, we’ll need to get the other Hunter’s consent too,” the guide staff member added. At their words, Hwayoung didn’t hesitate long.

“Then please do that.”

It was the moment their connection began from an unexpected opportunity.