The Demon God Returns as a Max Level Player – Chapter 27

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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Gang-hyun Jo’s eyes widened.

“Pardon?”

“Why so surprised? Were you worried I’d think Hunter Lee Sung-joon was a fraud?”

He couldn’t bring himself to deny the pointed remark.

“…”

Tae-hyun Ko burst into laughter at Gang-hyun Jo’s stiff expression.

“Haha! Team Leader Jo, aren’t you underestimating me too much?”

With so many sycophants within the headquarters, he couldn’t lead the association based solely on reports and hearsay.

Therefore, he had planted numerous informants in secret.

The case of Returnee Lee Sung-joon was no different.

He hadn’t been without suspicion.

“I’ve done my own investigation, so don’t worry unnecessarily.”

He could trust because he had already finished assessing Returnee Lee Sung-joon through his informants beforehand.

“Even so…perhaps it’s my age, but I can’t think of a gift that would satisfy Hunter Lee Sung-joon.”

The Frenzy Gate incident – the Association couldn’t avoid responsibility.

They had to pay appropriate compensation.

Gang-hyun Jo’s eyes sparkled, finally understanding Tae-hyun Ko’s intentions.

“I’ll make sure to prepare that part. In return, I’d like to make a request to the Vice President.”

“…”

“If it’s a reasonable request, I’ll grant it.”

“I’d like you to grant me the authority to establish a dedicated team for managing Hunter Lee Sung-joon.”

He had been waiting for an opportunity, and a definite chance had arrived.

‘Right now, I’m the only one in the Association who has researched and understood Hunter Lee Sung-joon.’

But soon, many employees seeking promotion would try to cling to Hunter Lee Sung-joon.

He had to monopolize Hunter Lee Sung-joon before that happened.

‘The surest way is to gain Hunter Lee Sung-joon’s favor.’

To do so, he needed to create a dedicated team to fully support Hunter Lee Sung-joon.

That’s why he was making this somewhat abrupt request.

“Hmm…”

Tae-hyun Ko pondered briefly, then readily nodded and spoke.

“If you produce definite results this time, I’ll approve it.”

“Thank you!”

“But you must prepare thoroughly so that Hunter Lee Sung-joon isn’t disappointed.”

“Yes! Leave it to me! I’ll make sure Hunter Lee Sung-joon is one hundred percent satisfied!”

A bright smile bloomed on Tae-hyun Ko’s face at Gang-hyun Jo’s confident and resounding reply.

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At the same time, on the way home.

A shadow fell over Sung-joon Lee’s face as he sat in the back seat of the car.

‘…My body is a mess.’

The price for wielding power beyond his level was greater than he had expected.

It seemed like it would take about a week for his body to fully recover.

‘It’s a waste of time, but it can’t be helped.’

The encounter with the Earth Worm could be considered an accident.

He had also secured appropriate compensation for it.

‘I’ve clearly imprinted my value on the Association.’

He would be able to gain a considerable advantage in future negotiations with the Association.

Of course, if this was all he gained, the week of recuperation would have been quite painful.

‘The Association part is just a small part.’

The true rewards he gained were from hunting the Earth Worm.

Low-rank, Survivor.

A smile appeared on Sung-joon Lee’s lips.

‘Good.’

He equipped the Low-rank, Survivor title in the previously empty title slot.

The ability to increase all stats by 5!

Just by wearing the title, he could enjoy the same stat increase as when he had opened the Im-dong Meridian.

The resulting stat increase was so significant that it was almost unnecessary to mention.

Perhaps because his physical body hadn’t directly changed, the stats in the (+) section increased as if he had increased them with bonus points.

‘Well, it doesn’t matter.’

The important thing was that he had become stronger.

To a degree unimaginable for a level 36 Hunter.

But what satisfied Sung-joon Lee the most wasn’t the increase in level and stats.

It had been judged as S-rank, so there was no need to doubt its effectiveness.

‘This will be a tremendous help in utilizing the Blood Cult’s martial arts.’

For Sung-joon Lee, who knew all of the Blood Cult’s martial arts, it was a skill of immeasurable value.

The most challenging aspect for Sung-joon Lee in handling the Blood Cult’s martial arts had been the mental aspect.

‘Madness would consume my mind if I used it even slightly excessively.’

Sometimes, it had been more frightening than the weapons and spears of the enemy right in front of him.

A battle against himself – it was the most arduous part.

Of course, Sung-joon Lee had achieved a clear mind without being consumed by madness, but since he had lost all his power upon returning to Earth,

He thought he would have to fight against the Blood Cult’s martial arts until he reached at least the Harmony Realm.

But with the acquisition of Indomitable Will, this problem was completely solved.

‘I won’t have to worry about my mind being consumed by madness even when performing powerful Blood Cult martial arts.’

Naturally, having reached the level of Blood Demon, Sung-joon Lee knew countless powerful Blood Cult martial arts, including the Ten Thousand Demon Asura Fist.

He had simply refrained from using them properly because he was wary of his mind being consumed by madness.

But now, as long as his internal energy allowed, he could use them as much as he wanted.

This meant that he wouldn’t be easily pushed back even in battles against stronger opponents.

‘Excellent.’

As he was looking at his rapidly improving stat window, Jin-hyuk Kim, who was driving, asked him a question.

“Is this the right place?”

He turned his head, and a row of orange villas came into view.

His gaze stopped at a familiar apartment building among them.

“Yes, it is.”

As Sung-joon Lee spoke, Jin-hyuk Kim immediately got out of the car and opened the back door for him.

“Then please rest well.”

“Thank you.”

After a brief exchange of greetings, he walked towards the front door of his house.

A distance of no more than 10 meters.

Normally, he would have covered this distance in an instant, but today, it wasn’t easy to close the gap.

His legs trembled, and cold sweat trickled down his back like rain.

His physical condition seemed worse than he thought.

‘I need to rest as soon as possible.’

Sung-joon Lee carefully made his way to the front door, opened it, and entered the house.

Seo-yoon Lee, who was cooking in the living room, poked her head out to greet him.

“Oppa, you’re back?”

“Where are Mom and Dad?”

“They’ll both be a little late because of work.”

A look of relief flashed across Sung-joon Lee’s face.

‘That’s a relief.’

Even walking a distance of just over 10 meters was difficult.

There was no way he could sit at the dining table with a smiling face as usual and eat dinner.

He had been worried about what to do because his family would definitely be concerned if he acted differently than usual, but a chance to naturally excuse himself from dinner had presented itself.

“Then I’ll just rest today.”

Sung-joon Lee said, trying to maintain a casual expression as much as possible, and entered his room.

Thud.

But he couldn’t fool Seo-yoon Lee’s eyes, who had lived with him for decades.

‘Is he sick?’

His face was pale.

It was obvious that he was trying not to show it, so she had considered pretending not to notice, but no matter how she looked at it, he seemed unwell.

After a brief moment of contemplation, Seo-yoon Lee made up her mind and carefully opened the closed door.

“Are you sick?”

There was no answer to her question, but she heard a sufficient response instead.

“Ugh…”

With a groan, Sung-joon Lee lay sprawled on the bed, his face contorted in pain.

Seo-yoon Lee rushed over to him.

“Are you feeling very bad? Should I call an ambulance?”

Sung-joon Lee’s eyes widened, as if he had only just noticed Seo-yoon Lee’s presence after she had approached and spoken.

“No, I’m fine, so don’t worry and do what you need to do.”

Sung-joon Lee waved his hand dismissively, but after seeing his previous state, she couldn’t just ignore him.

“Easy for you to say, do you think I wouldn’t worry if you were this sick?”

With a worried expression, Seo-yoon Lee placed her hand on Sung-joon Lee’s forehead, and her eyes widened.

He was literally burning up with fever.

“…Wait a moment.”

She hurriedly brought a cup of warm water and the emergency medicine she had prepared.

“Take some fever reducer and painkillers for now.”

“Thank you…”

“No need for thanks, just focus on resting.”

Sung-joon Lee, still lying in bed, sat up halfway and took the water and medicine Seo-yoon Lee offered.

Gulp!

Afterwards, he lay back down on the bed and closed his eyes.

After about 30 minutes, the medicine began to take effect, and the pain started to subside. In the warm house, under the care of his family, Sung-joon Lee could finally rest comfortably.

A week, not a short period, but during this time, Sung-joon Lee hadn’t entered a gate even once.

Because of the internal injuries he sustained from wielding power beyond his level, if he tried to force himself to move, it would gnaw at his body like poison.

Avoiding injury was always the best course of action, but once injured, one had to focus on a stable recovery.

However, he didn’t intend to waste the week just because he couldn’t hunt.

He strived to live the life he had longed for, a happy life with his family.

He hadn’t been able to spend proper time with his family due to being busy.

No, he tried to spend even more time with his family, creating memories together.

Dinner outings, trips to the Han River, weekend getaways… After spending five days filled with happiness, he received a call from Gang-hyun Jo.

A re-evaluation request.

It wasn’t mandatory, but it was recommended for contract renewal.

Sung-joon Lee readily accepted Gang-hyun Jo’s re-evaluation request since he was resting anyway, unlike when he had been actively hunting in gates.

So, the next day, Sung-joon Lee visited the Hunter Association headquarters early in the morning.

The reason was simple.

Since rank was directly linked to income and annual salary, there were too many Hunters who wanted re-evaluations.

Moreover, unlike handling byproducts, a direct examination was required, so they couldn’t have someone else wait in line for them. This naturally led to a large crowd.

Among them were those who weren’t satisfied with their rank and caused a commotion.

Due to these complicated circumstances, the average waiting time for a re-evaluation was two hours, and sometimes even more than three hours.

The infamy of the re-evaluation waiting time was even circulating among the public.

Of course, one could dismiss it as mere rumor.

However, having already witnessed a queue of over 20 people while handling byproducts, Sung-joon Lee didn’t consider it just a rumor.

‘Since I have plenty of time anyway, there’s no reason to delay.’

That’s why he left home early in the morning to get an early turn, but the scene at the re-evaluation center was completely different from what he expected.

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