The Blade of Misunderstanding (3)
In the high-level meeting room of the Hunter Association, a man slammed his trembling fist onto the table.
Slam!
“This is an insult!”
But the others merely watched him in silence. The man was left to swallow his own rage.
Just as his breathing began to steady, Kim Na-hyun spoke up.
“...Who gave you permission to summon reporters and even request an investigation?”
Park Yuchen was a rookie hunter. Managing newly awakened talent was strictly Na-hyun’s responsibility within the Association. Unless there was an exceptional circumstance, no one was allowed to act without her authorization.
Yet, blinded by greed for achievements, Field Team 1 Leader Baek Seung-hak had taken it upon himself to approach Park Yuchen. The result was an absolute disaster. He had likely succeeded only in earning the hunter's deep resentment.
Because of this, Na-hyun made no effort to hide the anger boiling inside her—a rare sight for her usually composed self.
“Did you not know that I am... personally managing him?”
However, Na-hyun’s influence within the Association was limited. She had secured her position as team leader solely through her sharp intellect and unique utility skill; her actual combat capabilities were negligible.
“Ha! Is that what matters right now? Our Association was just publicly humiliated!”
In contrast, Baek Seung-hak, who operated on the front lines, had earned his title through raw, overwhelming power. Naturally, his words carried more weight. The other team leaders in the room cast skeptical glances at Na-hyun, wondering why she was suddenly being so aggressive.
But this time, Na-hyun refused to back down.
“You should consider ourselves lucky that we were only ignored.”
“What?”
“He is an awakened who not only conquered a D-grade gate but also solo-cleared a C-grade gate in mere minutes. And he awakened only a few weeks ago. Do you truly not understand the implications of that?”
“...”
As an active field hunter, there was no way Seung-hak didn't understand. It was simply the classic psychology of the moderately strong—the urge to prod and test an unverified powerhouse before they could fully establish themselves.
Though not quite at the level of the 10 Strongest, Seung-hak was still an A-class hunter. He had wanted to establish a hierarchy before Park Yuchen grew any stronger. After all, a pecking order established early on was incredibly difficult to overturn later.
Yet, his plan had crumbled spectacularly. He had been publicly humiliated and forced to dismiss the reporters he had so hastily summoned. For an A-class hunter to have to bow his head and apologize to journalists, his pride must have been utterly shredded.
Of course, Seung-hak didn't spend a single second reflecting on his own mistakes. A fractured collective—that was the Association. A group possessing great physical might, but destined never to be truly strong.
Na-hyun let out a deep sigh. Pushing aside her mounting frustration, she seized this crisis as an opportunity—a chance to completely block anyone else from approaching Park Yuchen. She had no intention of letting the small opening Yoo-cheon had provided slip through her fingers.
“He is an unprecedented hunter. Do you intend to handle him poorly and create another uncontrollable monster, just like we did with Kim Hosung?”
Na-hyun had never voiced her opinions so fiercely in a meeting before. But now, no one dared to dismiss her.
“We are the Association. Picking petty fights with the hunters who protect this nation is a thug's game. Our duty is to act as their partners, supporting them from the sidelines so they can focus on their duties.”
An uncomfortable silence settled over the meeting room. It wasn't that the people gathered here didn't know this. The truth was simply inconvenient and troublesome. Yet, at critical moments, the truth possessed a gravity that could not be ignored.
“If anyone here disagrees with me... I ask that you refrain from interfering in Park Yuchen's affairs from this moment on.”
Surprisingly, no objections were raised. That didn't mean everyone was in agreement, of course. Even in this silence, there were undoubtedly those who sneered at Na-hyun in their hearts.
She nodded to herself and asked, “In that case, how about we entrust the B-grade gate that recently appeared in Gangwon-do to him?”
Entrusting a B-grade gate to a newly awakened hunter like Park Yuchen was absurd by any conventional standard. Yet, Na-hyun merely offered a faint smile.
“Yes...”
Because she was the one who understood Yoo-cheon's true capabilities better than anyone else. He would undoubtedly conquer the B-grade gate. She didn't have a single shred of doubt.
“Sounds good.”
On the surface, it seemed like a clean resolution, but beneath it lay a different story entirely. Both sides were sharpening their blades in secret. And whose blade would prove sharper depended entirely on Park Yuchen.
Arin’s territory, where an emerald lake rippled gently.
Kieeeek!
The lively cries of kaijus echoed through the air.
They were Giant Spike Salks. Though, having lost their fangs, they were now nothing more than 'Giant Salks.'
“Quiet,” Arin muttered, glaring at them from where she sat perched on a boulder.
Instantly, the frolicking beasts froze and shut their mouths.
Honestly, when I first brought them here, I had been a bit unsure of how to handle them... but there was really no need to worry.
Without Arin’s emotional manipulation, these beasts—devoid of both mana and fangs—would have lunged at me immediately. In fact, they had tried once before, only to be blocked by Arin’s water droplets. That was why I had been able to extract all of their fangs without the slightest hesitation.
Yugi had to do quite a bit of heavy lifting, of course. Still, since they were creatures destined to live out their remaining year as ordinary animals once their magic cores were extracted a couple of times, I kept my distance. I did feel a bit sorry for Arin, though.
“...Stop running around so disgustingly in my territory,” Arin grumbled, her brow furrowing.
I walked over to her, rummaged through my pocket, and pulled out a gemstone.
“Have you ever heard of a blue sapphire? I wonder if they only exist on Earth.”
Arin’s scowl instantly melted away into a bright expression.
“...Pretty.”
It was an astronomically expensive piece of jewelry. But I finally had the funds to afford such a luxury, thanks to selling off all the Spike Fangs.
Since they were consumable materials used in crafting weapons and armor, the demand was massive. According to Shin Won-chul, most of the fangs that hit the market were of terrible quality. Because the fangs were the beasts' primary weapon, they inevitably suffered severe damage during combat.
But I had extracted these fangs without engaging in any combat whatsoever. When fangs of such unprecedented quality hit the market, a minor frenzy occurred, and all sixteen were snapped up instantly.
As a result, my bank account was now loaded with a jaw-dropping sum of hundreds of millions of won. It was the first time in my life seeing so many zeroes, and I never expected to see them in my own account. To make it feel real, I had splurged on the blue sapphire and gifted it to Arin.
She seemed to love the deep blue hue, which was even richer than the lake itself, judging by how her mouth hung slightly open in awe. And well, the most direct proof was this:
Your Bond with the Seiren has increased.
Current Bond: 77/100
We were really getting close. If I just gifted her gems about four more times at the right moments, wouldn't we hit 100?
“Ahem. Arin, if we get the chance later, let's go pick one out together.”
“When?”
“...Well, the two of us might be ready, but people on Earth are colder than you'd think. How should I put it... they tend to reject other races.”
Arin suddenly looked at me with sorrowful eyes.
“...Yoo-cheon too?”
“To be honest, I used to be like that too. But you and Yugi are exceptions.”
Arin nodded.
“I don't care about other people. I can fool their eyes with my ability anyway.”
“You can do something like that?”
“Yes.”
“...I can't believe I never thought to ask you about that.”
It felt like we had worried ourselves over nothing. From now on, I decided I should ask Arin about her abilities before making any decisions.
“...Can Yugi do it too?”
Arin narrowed her eyes.
“No. My mana doesn't even work on him anyway.”
After finishing up my business at the gate, I met with Kim Na-hyun separately.
“...Do you really intend to remain unaffiliated?”
“Well, it's not particularly inconvenient. Though that's mostly thanks to Shin Won-chul doing such a great job.”
“Ahem, I'm glad to hear that.”
In truth, before meeting Na-hyun, I had posted a message on the hunter community forum. I stated that I had no intention of joining any guild for the time being, and that from this moment on, any further recruitment attempts would be treated as an act of hostility.
It was a rather shocking and aggressive statement. But the effect was immediate. My phone finally started functioning normally again. While texts still trickled in, most people had the sense to back off.
In any case, following my record-breaking solo clears of the D-class and C-class gates, my bold declaration spread like wildfire. It had reached the point where I was actually terrified of searching my own name online. That was why I had come to see Na-hyun—not because I had called her, but because she had requested a meeting first.
“...Association staff visited you yesterday, didn't they? I'm so sorry... I should have blocked them beforehand.”
“I was annoyed at first, but it wasn't too bad. They didn't really push their luck.”
Na-hyun let out a soft chuckle. It seemed that even though the employees had gone on Baek Seung-hak's orders, they hadn't been particularly thrilled about the assignment either.
“I'm glad. Actually, the reason I asked to meet today was to apologize for that incident, and also to make a proposal.”
“A proposal?”
Na-hyun placed a leather briefcase on the table. She unbuckled the straps and pulled out a thick stack of documents.
Hearing the word 'proposal' made me slightly wary. In this world, receiving something usually meant having to give something in return. Of course, with enough raw power, one could simply take without giving back—but I had no desire to treat Na-hyun that way. Hoping it wasn't some burdensome, highly calculated deal, I shifted my gaze to the documents.
“It's closer to a favor than a proposal, really. And we intend to compensate you handsomely for it.”
What on earth could it be? As I listened to Na-hyun's explanation, my eyes quickly scanned the documents for key terms. Gangwon-do. B-grade gate. Dungeon Break. 4th Grade Kaiju. I caught those words, and Na-hyun began to weave them into a coherent explanation.
“It's an unrevealed gate. The Association made an initial attempt to clear it but failed, then passed it to a guild, which also failed.”
“And you want me to clear it?”
Na-hyun nodded, carefully reading my expression.
“It's a gate discovered by the Association, but because of its difficulty, we were planning to hand it over to a major guild. It's very close to a Dungeon Break. However, if you wish, we can grant you the priority raid rights.”
I nodded slowly, falling into deep thought. Seeing my silence, Na-hyun spoke up first.
“...To be honest, I think the Association higher-ups have some intention of putting you in a difficult spot.”
“Why? Are they still upset about yesterday?”
“That might be part of it... but it's more likely because they dislike me.”
Na-hyun looked down with a bitter expression. I didn't fully understand the internal politics, but I didn't pry. That was just how organizations worked. Regardless of her circumstances, my priority was to do what benefited me.
A B-grade gate. As long as my safety was guaranteed, there was no reason to refuse. It was a perfect opportunity to explosively grow Yugi and test the limits of Arin's abilities. And...
“Of course... even so, the Association is prepared to meet any conditions you demand. Including the compensation.”
It was also a chance to get exactly what I wanted without owing the Association any favors.
“...I'm definitely interested. Should I head over tomorrow?”
“Pardon...? Even if you form a party and rent equipment, wouldn't it take at least two days to prepare? It's a 4th Grade Kaiju.”
“I plan on going alone.”