Chapter 70
In the end, Jiokchammado became Hyun-jun’s. He had sworn himself to it, and the domination ritual had sealed the bond as well, so there was no danger of it slipping out of control. All it had asked for in exchange for its loyalty was one thing: that he never put it inside an interspatial pouch.
Carrying equipment around in an interspatial pouch was convenient, but plenty of Hunters walked around with weapons on them anyway, so it was only a minor nuisance. Socially, it was no problem. Hyun-jun decided he would tolerate the inconvenience for Jiokchammado’s sake.
"It should be about time..."
Hyun-jun muttered to himself. He was sitting on the guild leader’s office sofa, waiting for someone.
"Are you waiting for that executive chief?"
Jiokchammado asked. Thanks to Hyun-jun’s explanations through the night about the present situation and the relationships among the people around him, it had picked up at least a basic grasp of the world, though not much more. Even so, it was still lacking, so Hyun-jun had brought a smartphone over to it and was showing it a channel of internet news.
"Yeah. He went in for a rank reassessment."
As he answered with a nod, Hyun-jun switched the channel. Until moments ago it had been political news, but now it was a broadcast focused on Hunters.
"It’s always been that way. Mortals seem to like assigning grades to their own strength, using them to set themselves apart from others. To think they’d even assign one to me."
Jiokchammado sounded displeased, as if it didn’t care for the idea. Hyun-jun silently shifted his gaze toward the door. He sensed someone nearby.
Knock, knock.
"This is Executive Chief Kim Tae-min."
"Come in."
The moment permission was given, the door opened and Tae-min walked in. One look at him told Hyun-jun the result had been good. There was a full bloom of joy on Tae-min’s face.
"Looks like it went well."
"Yes, Guild Leader. With this reassessment, I’ve been promoted to an A-Class lower-rank Hunter."
At Hyun-jun’s question, Tae-min answered while holding back the happiness that threatened to burst out. Becoming an A-Class Hunter was no easy feat. It was also something he had dreamed of. More than anything, the fact that he could now be of even greater help to Hyun-jun left him elated.
"Congratulations, Executive Chief."
Hyun-jun offered his congratulations sincerely. He did not ask what had happened along the way. That wasn’t important. He hadn’t said so, but with elite Hunters like Lee Gyu-hwan joining in, Tae-min must have had a lot on his mind. Still, that had become a new stimulus for him, and now that he had been promoted to A-Class, most of those worries must have been resolved.
"I’ll continue to do my best."
Tae-min lowered his head as he spoke. Even while brimming with excitement, his usual calm voice remained unchanged. Just as Hyun-jun was about to continue the conversation, the door opened again and So-jin entered in a suit.
"Hyun-jun. Have some coffee while you work."
"Noona, you should rest a little."
Unlike the past few days, there was some breathing room now, so he could see her face clearly. She looked exhausted. Hyun-jun told her to take a break, but So-jin shook her head.
"No, I’m fi...ne..."
She couldn’t finish. So-jin swayed violently, then collapsed weakly.
"Noona!"
"Ms. Han So-jin!"
Before So-jin’s body even hit the floor, Hyun-jun rushed over and caught her. But she had already lost consciousness.
"Prepare a car immediately."
"Understood!"
Tae-min hurried down to the underground parking lot. Hyun-jun picked up the unconscious So-jin and carried her on his back. When they reached the first floor, Tae-min was already waiting with the vehicle parked out on the road.
"To the hospital."
"At once."
The car carrying the three of them shot forward. Tae-min drove like a madman, ignoring every signal. Thanks to the reflexes of an A-Class Hunter, they didn’t crash, but for a few moments it felt like his soul had left his body. Even so, they made it to the hospital quickly.
"It’s overwork. She’s accumulated a lot of dungeon fatigue too... her condition is serious, to say the least."
That was the doctor’s diagnosis. There was such a thing as dungeon fatigue. It was basically the aftereffect of running dungeon after dungeon without enough rest. Put simply, it was a chronic depletion of mana.
If you pushed yourself harder while already suffering from dungeon fatigue, even Hunters with excellent physical abilities could collapse from overwork.
"Executive Chief. Please explain."
Hyun-jun’s gaze turned to Tae-min.
"I’m sure the Guild expansion has been continuing as you know, Guild Leader. It seems that despite the workload piling up from that, she rarely rested and kept conquering dungeons one after another to build results."
At Tae-min’s answer, Hyun-jun almost scolded her out loud, but held back. It wasn’t her fault. Given So-jin’s personality, even if Tae-min had tried to stop her, she would have kept taking on dungeons in silence, or simply never shown any sign of being strained.
"I’ll stay here, so get back to work."
"Understood."
Thanks to the black funds and the success of the raid monopoly, the guild’s finances had become abundant, and expansion continued without pause. Someone with at least a certain level of authority had to remain at the guild office. So-jin had collapsed, and Hyun-jun needed to stay for her care, so it was time for Tae-min to take that role.
After the doctor and Tae-min withdrew, Hyun-jun stayed by So-jin’s side for about two hours. How much hardship had she gone through? He looked down at her sleeping face with a steady gaze and held her hand. Perhaps she sensed the warmth, because So-jin slowly opened her eyes.
"Hyun-jun? Where am I..."
She frowned slightly and looked around. Then, seeing the hospital room, she realized she had collapsed helplessly in front of Hyun-jun.
"I’ve got work to do... How long was I asleep?"
"Don’t talk about work. Just lie down and rest."
As So-jin tried to sit up, Hyun-jun pushed her back down. Then she gave a tiny, bright smile.
"So I’m on vacation? Hehe."
She said it playfully. At her innocent expression, Hyun-jun let out a short sigh and spoke.
"Yeah. You’re on vacation. I’m giving you special leave as guild leader."
"Really?"
"Yes. For one week, just do nothing and get some proper rest!"
Hyun-jun emphasized that part especially strongly. He thought that if it were So-jin, she might secretly keep handling guild work even while resting.
"N-no! You think I’d work during vacation?"
As expected, So-jin waved her hands frantically, like someone whose secret plan had just been exposed.
"That’s what it sounded like."
"Tch. That’s mean."
So-jin puffed out her cheeks. Watching her, Hyun-jun gave an awkward laugh. At some point, her cute little gestures had started feeling more frequent. It seemed that wasn’t just his imagination.
"Hey... I have one favor to ask... Will you hear me out?"
"I’ll hear you first."
At his indifferent answer, So-jin stuck out her lips. But soon she realized her behavior was childish and fixed her expression.
"Let’s go out somewhere."
It was too bright a smile to refuse outright.
He had thought a seaside trip in the autumn wind sounded nice. As long as it was with someone precious. But right now, So-jin was pouting at the different situation she’d ended up in, kicking idly at the sand.
"Haha... Sorry."
Hyun-jun apologized with an awkward laugh. He hadn’t realized she’d meant for just the two of them to go, and he certainly hadn’t expected things to become this big.
"It’s okay. You came with me, after all. Hehe."
It was hard for So-jin to hide all of her disappointment, but she didn’t want Hyun-jun to feel bad, so she tried hard to keep her feelings in check. Fortunately, Hyun-jun seemed relieved, so he apparently hadn’t noticed.
"This is enough..."
So-jin’s gaze moved ahead. The orphanage kids were splashing around in the shallows, and a little farther away Tae-min was standing guard with the executive chief hunters. On the sand, Han-seok was smashing watermelons with his bare hands.
"Hahaha! Eat up!"
"Waaah!"
"Watermelon!"
At Han-seok’s shout, the children came running over. He was so naturally friendly that he had gotten close to them in no time. Watching the younger kids carry their watermelon around and eat it, So-jin wore a faint smile. Yes, this would have been good enough. Yes, if it had ended here...
"Hunter Kang Hyun-jun! Is it true you’ve been promoted to S-Class?"
"We’re from the Forte Guild! Could we speak with you for a moment?"
"I’m from the recruitment office of the Lumotis Guild! We’ve prepared excellent terms for you!"
Reporters and guild officials who had caught wind of his S-Class promotion had swarmed in to interview him and recruit him.
"Let’s talk over there."
His voice had sharpened. He had been on vacation, and now this was getting in the way. To keep from disturbing So-jin, Jin-a, and the others’ rest, Hyun-jun led the reporters and guild officials to a secluded place.
"First, I have no intention of stepping down as Wraith Guild leader. And I have nothing to say to the reporters."
At first, he tried to send them away politely. But...
"Please just say a few words!"
"We’d be grateful if you agreed to an interview!"
The reporters were especially persistent. He tried again and again to handle things with quiet words, but they weren’t listening. In the end, irritation finally made him leak a sliver of killing intent.
"H-huh..."
"Ghk!"
It was only a little, but it was more than enough for ordinary people to feel fear.
"S-sorry!"
"We were rude!"
The reporters retreated, leaving only the guild officials who had awakened as Hunters among the rest. He was confident he could unleash enough killing intent to deal with them too, but he had no real desire to make enemies with guild officials. That would be wiser for the future as well.
"I’ll say it again. I have no intention of stepping down as Wraith Guild leader. If you keep trying to persuade me, I’ll take it as you intending to make yourselves my enemies and Wraith’s enemies. In that case, any possibility of me joining your guild disappears completely. In fact, I might even join one of your rival guilds instead."
At his sharp words, no one could speak.
"Calm down. None of us has any intention of making an enemy of someone with the fastest growth in South Korea."
"I have no intention of standing against a supernova. Please forget today’s discourtesy."
"I’m sorry. We’ve ruined your vacation, so if the chance ever comes, we’ll be sure to apologize properly."
The guild officials withdrew. And then...
Hashashin’s sinister laughter warns you of danger. Someone is aiming for your heart.
Hashashin warned him.
"Come out."
At Hyun-jun’s cold warning, a human shape rose out of the building’s shadow.
"You... How did you know?"
As the shadow peeled away, a face flooded with shock and fear was revealed. He was a Hunter Hyun-jun knew. They had never met in person, but Hyun-jun had seen his photo online.
"Kang Jin-myung..."
An S-Class top-rank Hunter. The vice guild leader of Asura Guild. And the appearance of the third-strongest Hunter in South Korea.