Return of the Irregular Appraiser
Chapter 5

[Translator – Angel Dust]

[Proofreader – ChuSync]

Chapter 5: Resolve

The situation took an unexpected turn due to the sudden intervention of Hunter Kim Junghyun.

The bastard’s inability to say anything was proof of that.

“Oh, it’s nothing serious. We just had something to discuss at the office level because of this recent attack.”

“Yeah, we wrote up a new contract for this job, and he’s here to say we’ll stick to it, right?”

I asked with a grin, and the asshole with the shit-eating face struggles to pull it off and nods.

“Y-yes, that’s right.”

“It’s my first time in Sector E, so I got worried about what to do if monsters pop out again, so I asked about hazard pay. Check this out. It’s been promised that if monsters attack, they’ll pay ten times the agreed-upon wage this time. Isn’t our boss quite generous?”

I casually pulled out the contract and showed it to Kim Junghyun. He seemed a bit taken aback, but it didn’t matter.

He’s a nice guy, so he won’t get angry over this.

I just wanted to see that bastard’s expression a little more.

“No…! You can’t just show me the contract like that!”

As expected, the bastard became restless and suddenly snatched the contract from my hand and hid it.

“Oh, was I not supposed to show it? My bad. Sorry.”

“Right… From now on, don’t do that, okay? Hm?”

That bastard, with a forced smile, replied, perhaps because he was in front of Kim Junghyun.

As I reached out my hand, a few more tendons of his carotid artery protruded. It was clear that he was forcibly suppressing the rage that had surged to the tip of his head.

“Please give me the contract. It’s mine, isn’t it?”

“…Here.”

I took the contract and put it in my inner pocket.

His face contorted in frustration, despite his efforts to conceal it, made me feel unexpectedly good.

“If it’s 10 times, you’ll get quite a lot. Did you just guess there would be a surprise attack?”

Kim Junghyun, who had been silently observing them, asked.

“Yes. We were nearly got killed by the surprise attack, so it would’ve been disappointing not to earn much money, right? That’s why we tried it once.”

“Then, about the hazard pay—”

“Ahaha! Hunter Kim Junghyun, we have to hurry back to the office.”

“Oh, I see. I’m sorry I think I held you back too much.”

“No, it’s fine!”

Desperately gesturing with both hands, the jerk kept insisting everything was okay.

He never bent his head in front of me, but in front of Kim Junghyun, he bowed down without even trying, as if his neck was broken.

“Woogil… What’s your surname?”

“It’s Kim… Kim Woogil.”

“Ah, Mr. Kim Woogil. Here’s my business card. Thanks to you, we were able to get through this without much damage. Thank you.”

“Oh, no! It’s nothing. It happened by mistake.”

“Still, it was helpful in the end. Please contact me if you need anything; I’d like to repay the favor.”

With those words, Kim Junghyun smiled and left.

The bastard glares at me with a puzzled expression.

It must be surprising that Kim Junghyun speaks so highly of me.

Of course, I was also surprised. He was exceptionally kind. Among hunters with high arrogance, it’s hard to find one with such a good character.

“I would appreciate it if you could deposit 10 times the amount within today.”

“This guy… just because Hunter Kim Junghyun treats you well, you think you’re something?”

“It’s not like that. It’s a contract, isn’t it?”

“Ha! Fine, not today. We have office matters to attend to, so if I have time—”

“Ah, I see. I was a bit hesitant about what to accept since Hunter Kim Junghyun offered to repay me. It worked out well.”

In my words, the asshole’s face turned red.

“Are you threatening me now?”

“What? Me?”

“…You fucking bastard.”

Muttering curses under his breath, that asshole couldn’t contain his anger and left.

Just by looking at the back of his head, it was evident how much he was boiling with rage.

Earlier, I was in a bad mood because of the crazy guy who hit people with that truck, but now, thanks to this jerk, I felt better. S~ᴇaʀᴄh the NøvᴇlFirᴇ(.)nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

Indeed, a jerk is always a jerk.

“Woogil, are you alright?”

Junpyo approached me with concern.

“Yes, I’m fine. It’s better if you don’t ride with the office car today, sir.”

“Uh, alright.”

As Salvation’s soldiers crowded into Sector E and began their investigation, and since I was also present at the scene, I was questioned about what had happened.

“You were lucky. If Hunter Kim Junghyun hadn’t been there, it could’ve been a disaster.”

The female investigator remarked, seemingly impressed.

“Yes, I was lucky.”

“Yes, the investigation is over. You can go home now.”

I stepped out of the investigation room and returned to Earth through the gate.

The bright sunlight shining down made me feel very good. Earth is truly the best.

Ring—

My phone vibrated. Checking at this hour, I found that the jerk had sent me 2 million won.

‘Wow… Was this guy always this quick in handling things?’

It seems that blackmailing him using Kim Junghyun’s name was quite successful.

Due to the sudden attack this time, Salvation would’ve had to compensate for the damage to the office. But I’m sure he’ll be very upset that he was robbed of 2 million.

‘He must be boiling with rage.’

Just thinking about it was exhilarating.

As soon as I got home, I sat down at my desk and opened a book.

“The first thing is to improve my skills.”

I felt this once again from this incident.

That monster who cursed me with confusion. I heard that the named monster was the leader of the attack on Sector E this time.

The name is ‘Soul Reaper.’

Even though Kim Junghyun intervened this time, Soul Reaper, whom they failed to catch, tried to curse me and failed.

‘Insight abilities are beyond my imagination.’

[TL/N: Changing Insight Eyes -> Insight]

I even saw through the monster’s stealth ability.

If only I had enough mana, the danger on the battlefield would be greatly reduced.

There were countless dangerous moments even when I was with the excavation team.

Especially since I was not awakened, dealing with those moments wasn’t easy.

How much I wished to awaken at those times. But even now that I’ve awakened, I wasn’t planning to rush into the battlefield recklessly.

Insight.

It’s understandable why Teraunus was the King of the Ancient Magical Civilization at its peak.

But entering the battlefield with mediocre skills is nothing but inviting death.

I’ve seen too many Hunters in Salvation, drunk on their own prowess, vanish into thin air.

I had no intention of becoming like them.

I leaned back in my chair and unfolded the book ‘[Understanding Mana]’.

[Insight activates.]

The ancient language began to be interpreted rapidly. And at the same time, as I read, the contents were firmly imprinted in my mind.

‘If I continue like this, I’ll finish reading in a week.’

The interpretation of the ancient language, combined with the simultaneous understanding of its contents, significantly reduced the time to a remarkable degree.

‘I shouldn’t go out for a while.’

Now was the time to fortify my resolve.

Hmm—

But before I could think of anything else, the name [Asshole] popped up on my phone.

“Well… I don’t have to answer”

Without hesitation, I turned my phone off.

* * *

About a week passed.

“This is beyond ridiculous.”

Reading books, eating meals, researching information about awakened individuals, sleeping, and reading books again…

I repeated the same routine relentlessly for ten days without a single break.

Finally, I unfolded the last page of [Understanding Mana].

[…Mana should be viewed not just as a simple source of energy, but as a different existence altogether. Even with this book, it’s difficult to fully understand the entirety of mana’s existence. But at least if you have thoroughly read and understood this book, the world will appear new to you.]

As I deciphered the complex ancient languages that continued like a code, a blue light emerged from the ancient book.

‘Alright! It was the original…!’

Woogil, who had been worn out by fatigue, cheered inwardly.

The white light flowing along the cover of the book emitted a gleam and penetrated into my mind.

[Understanding of Mana increased rapidly.]

[The body will accept mana more easily.]

[Mana will feel clearer.]

[Mana Control will become easier.]

Successive messages emerged.

‘…Whew.’

Following those words, I tried moving my mana.

Particles of energy called ‘mana’ felt through my magic. They moved around as if they were alive, swirling around the magic.

‘…So this is what it means by seeing the world anew?’

As I moved my mana, natural mana was drawn into it and began to blend with it slowly.

The absorption capacity had clearly changed compared to before. Although the total amount of magical power itself wasn’t much larger, the efficiency of converting mana into magical power had increased by almost double, at least perceptibly.

‘So this is the legacy…….’

At that point. I was very curious about the rewards of first deciphering another book.

At the same time, a rush of fatigue drove me straight to bed.

‘I need to rest my eyes for a bit.’

After about three hours of sleep, I shaved for the first time in a while, fixed my hair, got dressed, and left the house.

It had only been a few days since I returned to the past, but my physique had improved considerably.

Upon reflection, I had quite the handsome face. It’s just that I didn’t make good use of it, swept away by the bitter storms of life.

When I turned on my phone, that asshole’s insults filled the messages again today.

Well, after pocketing the money and disappearing for ten days, his temper probably exploded, given his personality.

If he knew where I lived, he would’ve probably come over and caused a scene.

Hmm— Hmm—

The phone vibrated.

[Asshole]

Speak of the devil.

Should I pick it up or not? It felt like I could see the jerk’s expression through the phone receiver.

I couldn’t help but smile.

Beep.

– He’s not picking up again… What? He picked up? Hey, are you crazy?

“….”

– Hey…!

Unpleasant curses resounded loudly through the phone.

I held the phone away from my ear for a moment, then brought it back when it quieted down.

– Hey! Can’t you hear me? Ugh!!

“I can hear you. And you should give me a chance to speak.”

– This jerk!

“My grandmother passed away and I went to China for a while. My phone was broken, so I didn’t see it.”

– …Are you kidding me? You expect me to believe that?

“It’s true. And I’m quitting this job now. I’ll pay the cancellation fee.”

– What? Ha! How are you going to pay? Did you receive any money?

“Heh heh… Actually, my grandmother had some ancient things with her and those were just appraised for the first time this time, and it turned out they’re considered artifacts. But my grandmother transferred ownership to me, so I guess I’ll be the one to have them.”

– What? Artifacts? Is that true?

The excited voice of that asshole, which had been filled with excitement, suddenly sank rapidly.

“Yes. And it’s at least A-grade, they said. I’ll be able to pay the cancellation fee by selling it.”

– …Ah, well, of course! Hey, if it’s an A-grade artifact, you’ve made it in life, huh?

In just a few seconds, the voice filled with anger and animosity turned into a soft, excited one.

“Of course! I won’t have to do any more difficult work like collecting for a excavation team.”

– That’s obvious. So, when are you getting the artifacts?

“I’ll probably get them next week. Once I have them, I’ll sell them right away to pay the cancellation fee.”

– Got it. You’ve worked hard all this time.

“You too, sir.”

– When you get the artifacts, come to the office. We need to cancel the contract.

“That’s right.”

– And bring the artifacts. I know an appraiser for artifacts, so I’ll make sure you get a proper price. I can also check out the auction house for you.

I barely restrained myself from swearing at the unexpected kindness.

It was a good thing we were on the phone, or I would have been embarrassed by the look on my face.

“….That’s a bit… I’ll handle the selling myself.”

– Ha, hey. No matter how much I’ve been messing with you, would I take away the artifacts? The ownership of the antiquities is probably designated to you. If I forcibly take them away and you report it, I’m done for, man.

“I know that, but… Do you really know someone?”

– Yeah. Even though we’ve had a rough relationship, it’s better to end it nicely, right? I don’t want to end things badly with you, now that you have the antiquities.

“I understand. I’ll bring them when the time comes.”

– Alright. See you in a week. Rest well.

“Yes.”

Beep.

As the call ended, I let out a cold sneer.

“Asshole… He thinks he can act all nice and get away with it, huh?”

Suppressing the rising annoyance, I moved my steps towards Yongmundong, where I had bought books before.

[Ancient Bookstore]

Last time, I didn’t get to look around properly, but this time, I intended to take his time.

“Hello, sir.”

I greeted the shopkeeper warmly, but the elderly woman merely waved her hand dismissively without showing any interest.

‘Well, this is more comfortable, I guess.’

If there’s someone earnestly reading books written in ancient languages, people might find it strange.

‘Hmm…’

This time, I carefully searched through the books one by one, starting from the top of the shelf.

[The Disappeared Children]

[The Story of the Goats on the Echoing Mountain]

[Love in the Blooming Darkness]

[Bizarre Tales]

.

.

.

I’ve already checked almost all of the ancient texts in this place, and these are the only ones that come up.

‘Well, would I even be lucky enough to find two books by Kartia? Asking for more than this would be shameless, right?’

Just as I was thinking about checking the few remaining books, I realized I had to go back.

[Mana Circuit Theory]

Finally, I found a book title that seemed useful. I immediately took out the book and checked the author.

Author: Emperor Cartia De Marié Swakalen

‘This too… by Cartia? Why are there so many books from Kartia here?’

Suppressing my amazement as much as possible, I muttered exclamation after exclamation inwardly.

And then, I looked at the last book standing next to it.

[ Fundamental Concepts of Magic ]

Author: Arcana Van De Morelindo Pionias

‘…By Arcana?’

Arcana Van De Morelindo Pionias, who was hailed as the greatest magician of the ancient magical civilization’s golden age.

I had stumbled upon a magic book written by him.

[TL/N: I saw many people found the last two chapters confusing because of the section where Kim Junghyun was mentioned and it seemed to them that it was in 3rd person. So i just wanted to clear the confusion that Kim Junghyun is not the MC, the MC’s name is Kim Woogil. And this novel is only 1st person when it is going from the MC’s perspective so if the story jumps to someone else’s perspective it will change to 3rd person even if the MC is involved in that scene. I hope this clears all confusion]

[Translator – Angel Dust]

[Proofreader – ChiSync]

Sᴇarch the NƟvelFɪre.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.