Evolution Theory of the Hunter

Evolution Theory of the Hunter (ETH)
Volume 1 Chapter 92

Jongsawon and the rest of the bike enthusiasts were still at the motorcycle store.

"Partyhead."

Han Joonseok said, the first one to realize I was there.

"Did you guys find anything good?"

"Yes, we found a few that would be suitable to ride even on unpaved roads. I figured if we were going back to the forest, we would need bikes that would be able to move quickly in that landscape rather than one to stow in the truck."

"Good thinking."

Though we were there only for a brief time, it was quite apparent that mobility would be an issue with just the truck alone.

The narrow forest pathways were restricted even further by the growing branches of the trees.

The roads that our truck would be able to drive through were limited.

We definitely needed a different mode of transportation for that reason.

But there weren’t too many of our party who could ride a bike. Park Hanb.u.m and Jong Sawon could ride one skillfully.

Han Joonseok and Cho Youngoo knew how to ride from their time delivering chicken, but riding one on the unpaved roads of the forest was a different matter altogether.

So what he had chosen was an ATV, All Terrain Vehicle – a vehicle that would be able to traverse across all terrain.

It was a four wheel bike that could be seen in many a touristy areas.

"With this, even someone who isn’t used to riding a bike would be able to get around. They even have two seater vehicles for those who aren’t comfortable driving at all. They can just ride shotgun in the pa.s.senger seat."

"Well, let’s just keep it in mind as an option for now. We might not even have to go back to the forest area for a while."

If I were to be completely honest, I hoped we wouldn’t have reason to go back there.

The main reason being because fighting against humans has a much higher risk factor than fighting against monsters.

Though the reward was that much higher as well, what use is all that money if you were dead?

Ring ring ring-

As we were headed to go eat, my cell began to ring.

I glanced at it to see that it was Lieutenant Sohn Aram. I sent everyone else to go ahead to the restaurant while I took the call.

She was quiet for a moment. Unable to wait a second longer, I spoke first.

"Is there anything wrong?"

-[That is…I have a sort of difficult request to ask of you.]

"What sort of request…?"

-[Would you be able to accompany me to the forest?]

I immediately said no. There was no reason for us to go. But what she said after that made me halt mid-step.

Lieutenant Aram was hand selected by the inspector to head the Forest Research Committee, and one of her duties involved hiring the appropriate

I couldn’t shake off the feeling this all happened because of the bulletin I had posted.

Because of that bulletin, we forced the police’s hand and someone had to go explore the validity of that posting. Since no one volunteered to enter the dangerous forest, they hand chosen her.

"So…I guess this is pretty much my fault."

-[It isn’t entirely your fault. And it wasn’t my goal to use your guilt to force you to join me. But it is the truth that you are the only person I thought would be of any help on this task.]

"Hm. It’s a bit difficult for me to make my decision immediately. I’ll meet with my party members and discuss the situation with them first before I commit to an answer."

-[I will await a positive response.]

I never imagined things might end up this way. I expected that we would be able to get some more rest while we pondered the issue of the Chinese hunters and awaited updates from our bulletin. Since we had earned quite a bit of money, we would have had the freedom to do so.

But this changed things – accelerated our plans quite a bit. In fact, they were scheduled to explore the forest by tomorrow; meaning I had to make my decision by today. Would my party members be up for going back into the forest?

"I want to go."

"We have to go."

"It would be better to go."

"…"

Instead of answering, Jong Sawon just nodded his head in agreement with everyone else.

It was a unanimous decision to go. It seemed I was the only reluctant one of the group.

"I have said this several times, but I will say it again. It might become dangerous in there."

"Why are you worrying so much? Were we ever not in any danger? I don’t know why you are always stressing danger as if we can’t take care of ourselves?"

Sooah said as she stared at me.

"Because this isn’t a decision we should make lightly."

I was concerned that no one was taking this seriously. One wrong move and it could mean a life lost.

No one knows just how many enemies could be hiding within the forest.

Han Joonseok spoke up.

"I can understand why you are worried. But we are all hunters here. We are all aware of the dangers we face and the dangers we could face at any moment."

"I feel like Sunbeh Oppa only thinks of us as children or people you have to take care of."

"Haha, are you saying you can’t trust us that much?"

At their responses, I could feel the heat rising to my cheeks as they turned a bright red.

They were right.

Each and every one of them were fellow hunters, not people I had to look after as if they were my children.

"Anyway, even though I don’t like that Sohn Aram lady, since this happened because of us, I think it’s only right that we take responsibility."

"But are we going to be paid for this? I mean, we can’t lend ourselves out for free. Right?"

"I will call her and ask."

-[I’m sorry but…we can only pay 2,000 per person.]

"Isn’t that the same thing as not paying us anything?"

-[Haa, this is all we can do with our budget. Can you understand better now why I contacted you instead of other hunters?]

I had expected that they wouldn’t be paying us much. But 2,000 was a bit harsh. Even if they were to hire level 1 hunters, they would have had to pay more than that.

"The price is too low. It would be difficult for me to persuade my party members with that amount."

-[Can’t we work something out? I know this is a favor but…]

If she needed to, she could have forced me to come for that low fee by playing on my guilt. Her not doing that was considerably attractive to me.

My team wanted to help, and so did I. But we could not do it for free. And 2,000 was the same thing as free. We needed to be paid in some way or another that matched our worth.

"Would it be possible for us to get some ores out of this deal then?"

-[Ores? Why on earth…]