Return of the Irregular Appraiser Chapter 36

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HEL SCANS

[Translator – Angel Dust]

[Proofreader – Prototype]

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Chapter 36: Trust

At the training grounds for the Awakened, there was a visitor who appeared before the drenched Haruka, soaked in sweat.

“Miss Haruka, it’s been a while.”

A rugged man with a round-brimmed hat pulled down low.

Draped in a long overcoat that reached his ankles, he sat down on a chair.

“Oh, come to think of it, is it already time? Just wait a moment.”

Haruka finished her shower, changed into her casual clothes, and returned to sit across from him.

“I’ve mentioned this before, but I don’t appreciate you showing up out of the blue like this without any prior notice.”

Despite her complaint, the man casually nodded his head.

Unable to determine whether his nod meant genuine understanding or not, she clicked her tongue softly.

With his hat pulled down low, obscuring more than half of his face, she couldn’t discern his expression.

All she could see were sharp jaws and pale lips.

Other than the fact that his voice was surprisingly high-pitched for a man, there wasn’t much else she knew about him.

“I’ve come to collect.”

As before, with no preamble, he got straight to the point, unmistakably the same man as before.

“Alright. A deal is a deal.”

This man was an appraiser hiding in the shadows. This is the man who once appraised the Voice of Enchantment and gave the Sword Dragon Unit a Grade-A artifact.

Back then, he had said he would come back in a year to ask for one of her possessions.

Haruka had agreed, and now the time had come.

“Here’s my collection.”

As she was showing her collection, she felt a moment of déjà vu.

Didn’t I show the collection to an appraiser named K not long ago because I lost in an appraisal contest?

And I had been robbed of the ancient book.

“Where’s the ancient book you showed me last time?”

“I gave it to someone else.”

Silence emanated from the man at that moment. Despite his expression being unreadable due to his hat, she could tell he was angry by the slow movement of his jaw.

‘What is so special about that ancient book that both that appraiser and this man are seeking it?’

She realized that this man had helped her back then because of that ancient book.

Though she had initially thought the ancient book was useless, the man subtly hinted at its value.

Recognizing his exceptional appraisal skills, Haruka had refrained from selling the ancient book until now.

But the nagging question remained, why didn’t he take it then and instead came back after a year?

“Who is it?”

She had felt it then as well, this man was no ordinary person. She couldn’t understand his appraisal abilities nor his way of acting.

Therefore, Haruka found this situation rather amusing.

“He’s an appraiser named K. He’s in Korea. I don’t know his true identity, but Kim Junghyun seemed to know something.”

“…I’ll take that.”

The man picked out one item from her collection, and Haruka furrowed her brows.

It was a sculpture in the shape of a bird with folded wings. It looked slightly eerie, but there was nothing particularly special about it.

When mana was infused into it, red light flowed out through the internal mana circuit, accompanied by a cawing sound.

However, for some reason, she couldn’t bring herself to discard it. It was a hunter’s intuition.

Suddenly, that seemingly worthless item seemed like a valuable artifact when this man took it.

“Here.”

Haruka took it out of the safe and handed it over to him, and he left immediately.

There were too many unanswered questions.

Who exactly was that man, and what was the ancient book? And what abilities did that bird sculpture possess?

“I hope they end up fighting and tearing each other apart.”

* * *

Negotiations between Korea and Japan were settled according to the conditions proposed by the Strategic Planning Team after several intense debates.

From the beginning, it was a fight Japan couldn’t win. The Voice of Enchantment was an artifact powerful enough to enchant even people.

Attempting to deploy such a dangerous artifact into Korean operations without precise appraisal analysis was problematic, regardless of the intentions.

Furthermore, the fact that the Korean and Japanese outposts were closest to each other on the Herta planet exacerbated the situation.

Although, in terms of distance, they were significantly farther apart compared to other countries, the situation was far from ideal with animosity brewing between them.

In a situation where cooperation was essential amid the surrounding monsters, there was no choice but to settle things amicably in the end.

“Spiter Colony is classified as a Risk Level C area, but the problem is that abnormal fluctuations have been detected there, altering the movements of the monsters.”

Junghyun explained the current situation to Woogil over a meal at a private restaurant.

“You’re worried about Named monsters appearing.”

“Yes, according to our analysis, there’s a possibility of upgrading from C to A-rank.”

“Salvation will have no choice but to intervene, then.”

Risk Level C zones are where intermediate-level monsters reside.

It takes about 20 to 30 soldiers armed with modern weapons to capture one intermediate-level monster, and one intermediate-level monster’s combat power is almost on par with that of a C-rank hunter.

However, if it’s upgraded to Risk Level A, then the story changes.

Colonies where Named monsters exist. The fact that they form groups implies that Named monsters possess intelligence comparable to that of humans, and if monsters start using military tactics, it means trouble.

Dealing with them becomes much more difficult, requiring significantly more power, and the damage escalates rapidly.

That’s why the National Defense of the Korean branch of Salvation requested support as if they had a fire on their backs.

“Therefore, we need to handle that place cautiously without losing any firepower.”

“We have Hunter Kim Junghyun, so we’ll be fine.”

Kim Junghyun is South Korea’s leading S-rank Hunter. Unlike other S-rankers, he is loyal to his country for the sake of justice alone.

However, he doesn’t just do what the state tells him to do.

He’s a man of strong convictions and is willing to lay down his life like a dog to save the weak.

“Thanks to Woogil, the triple resonance of the Triple Ring is now possible, and I think I can handle any named monsters by myself.”

“You will play a significant role in this operation.”

“Yes, ah! And I brought the items you requested as compensation for this operation.”

He took out five books from his bag and laid them on one side of the table.

I had asked for a few selected from the hundreds of ancient books stored by Salvation.

Most of them were trash, but there were some that seemed usable among them.

Since he had gathered all the valuable ancient books separately, retrieving these from the trash pile was quite a significant harvest.

“I wanted to bring a few more, but it was limited to five.”

Unfortunately, there were no books by Kartiana Arcana.

Well, even if the value of their books was unknown at this point, it would have been unreasonable to obtain them so easily.

“Thank you.”

“I knew you had expertise in ancient languages, but… are you perhaps a mnemonic?”

When it comes to studying ancient magic civilization, ancient languages and mana circuits are among the most difficult.

Ancient languages were so vast that it was impossible to memorize and decipher it all, and the mana circuits varied incredibly in terms of technological advancement.

Even now, they were barely at the level of replicating the technology from around B.CD 1000s.

Perhaps the United States or China had advanced to the level of B.CD 2000.

But I not only possessed the knowledge of mana circuits in my early twenties but also mastered ancient languages, so it was understandable that it was hard to comprehend.

It wouldn’t be unreasonable to think that I might be a mnemonic, someone who remembers everything they’ve ever experienced.

“Haha, I just have a slightly better memory.”

“If that’s just slightly better, then I must be a fool.”

“Did you expect me to make such a joke?”

“Were you not amused?”

“No, I wasn’t.”

“Ah… Sorry.”

“No need to apologize. So, would you like to hear an interesting fact?”

I chuckled.

Seeing Woogil’s demeanor, Junghyun tensed nervously. Whenever he made such a smile, something surprising always happened.

“The appraiser from the Salvation in Japan will soon contact you, Junghyun.”

“Me?”

“Yes, they’ll need to learn how to use the Voice of Enchantment. They’ll probably ask for introductions and resort to all sorts of bribery tactics.”

“But would those prideful individuals really do that? The Japanese appraisers I know don’t even bow their heads to American or Chinese appraisers.”

“It’s different this time. No matter how strong their pride is, the pride of their superiors is more important.”

With this negotiation, the Japanese appraisers must have faced a significant crisis.

What they thought was a Grade-A artifact turned out to be a Grade-S one. If they failed to figure out the proper usage of that Grade-S artifact, the higher-ups wouldn’t stay silent.

‘It’s not just Japan, it’s the same for other countries too.’

There was a reason why the value of appraisers kept rising. Even when I was in the excavating team, the higher-ups kept pressuring the appraisers to properly evaluate the artifacts and artifacts they brought back.

If this pressure spread to multiple countries, it would become even more intense.

“If they come, just ignore them all. It’s not the right time for them to know yet.”

“Understood. Oh, and there’s someone who wants to see you, Woogil. Professor Won Chang-yeon, the Senior Professor of the Department of Appraisals at the Salvation Academy, was deeply impressed by your explanation of the ‘Resonance Distortion Phenomenon’ and wants to talk about it.”

If he was the Senior Professor of the Department of Appraisals at the Salvation Academy, he would be quite an authoritative figure in appraisals within Korea.

He was known for his tremendous efforts to produce outstanding appraiser readers in Korea.

“Okay, let’s meet.”

I readily agreed, smiling as if pleased.

“I knew you’d like it.”

“Do you still want me to join the Salvation, Junghyun?”

“Yes, but I’m not as strong as I used to be. I think even without joining Salvation, you can still help many people.”

“If, and only if, there comes a time when you have to sacrifice yourself to save ordinary people in danger, what will you do?”

At my sudden question, Junghyun hesitated, then looked at me seriously.

“If I can save them, I will.”

“If Junghyun dies for that choice, more people may die.”

“That’s possible. But I can’t turn away from people who need me.”

“Isn’t that to alleviate your guilt?”

Like interrogating, I asked. Although it could be upsetting, Junghyun answered seriously to the end.

“I think it’s possible. Everyone thinks I’m righteous and kind, but I’m more selfish than they think.”

“…Usually, we don’t call someone who sacrifices themselves for others selfish.”

I smiled softly.

The insight had confirmed that everything he said was true.

‘I see.’

Although Junghyun had indeed sacrificed himself to save others in reality, maybe in this world, could it be different?

Perhaps that death at that time might have been a mistake or not entirely his fault, a suspicion lingering somewhere in my mind.

So I wanted to make sure.

“If such a situation arises… please don’t act rashly.”

“…What do you mean?”

“Confirm my presence around you, and if I’m not there, contact me.”

Junghyun chuckled at my concern.

“Does that mean you’ll come to rescue me?”

“Yes, so please don’t die recklessly.”

I meant it. If Junghyun ended up dying in a situation similar to the one in his past life, I might suffer from PTSD.

“I will definitely come to rescue you.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

* * *

The next day, Woogil received a call from Junghyun, probably because Junghyun had given his contact information to Professor Won Chang-yeon.

I readily accepted the invitation to meet at his research lab at the Salvation Academy.

‘Come to think of it… was it when Kim Woo-hee entered the academy?’

Kim Woo-hee. Woogil’s only younger sister.

I didn’t know in the past that my sister had enrolled in the Salvation Academy. She hadn’t kept in touch with the family. It wasn’t until our parents told me about it that I found out.

Surely, they didn’t mention it to protect the pride of the son who had gone to Seoul to succeed.

The Salvation Academy was in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi-do. How disappointed she must have been not to receive a single call from her brother after coming all the way from the countryside.

‘It was all for my sake.’

Not knowing that, I still didn’t contact her even after hearing the news from our parents.

At that time, I was full of inferiority complex.

Despite studying and striving like crazy, I was angry and jealous that it was my sister, not me, who awakened first.

My sister had entered the academy to help me become an outstanding appraiser.

“Sigh…”

I went home and picked up the book I had put aside.

‘They say the first-year students who haven’t done pre-study these days are having a hard time, huh?’

I grabbed a blank notebook that was next to me and flipped to the first page.

“Hmm… what should I write?”

After contemplating the title of the first page for a while, I picked up a pen.

[All You Need to Know About Mana and Mana Circuits]

‘Okay. This should do.’

I guess this life was brought back to me by Teraunus so that I could clear away my past mistakes and regrets.

I pondered for a long time, twirling the pen in my hand.

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HEL SCANS

[Translator – Angel Dust]

[Proofreader – Prototype]

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