ch 237
Became a Swordsmanship Instructor at the Academy
Chapter 237
It's already been a week since the new year began.
Tomorrow, the World Summit will finally be held.
The meeting venue is Seoul. I heard that most have already arrived.
Including the United States, quite a few countries personally requested to see me.
I refused using fairness as an excuse since I didn't want to meet today and replay the same conversation we could have tomorrow.
Actually, there's another reason.
Tomorrow's summit will have a total of 80 countries participating. At first glance, it seems like quite a lot, but under international law there are 245 countries, so it's not even 1/3.
Of course, among those there are territories and extremely small nations, and places that are practically the same country, but even by UN standards there are 195 countries, so not even half are participating.
I thought I had proven myself to some extent by annihilating Antas, but I was a bit disappointed.
Most free world countries, the superpower United States, and most European countries are participating.
France and Italy didn't participate, but those two countries are currently facing impeachment rumors, so I understand to some extent.
Most non-participating countries are small nations with modest scale and communist bloc countries.
North Korea constantly insulted and rejected me from the very beginning when I first made the proposal, but both Russia and China notified their non-participation just two days before the summit.
They're not just not participating, but even raised suspicions that I'm trying to stand at the center of world power through this summit.
When I handed over the Antas bosses, they acted like they'd give me their liver and gallbladder, but I really never thought they'd stab me in the back like this.
Typical of communists, I guess.
"Teacher?"
"Huh?"
"What are you thinking about? We've arrived, so please give me your ID."
I stopped thinking and looked out the car window to see a checkpoint.
"Do I need an ID too?"
"Didn't you bring it? I don't think it really matters for you, Teacher."
"No, I did bring it."
I took out my wallet and handed my ID to Se-jin who was sitting in the driver's seat.
We drove a bit further and stopped the car in front of the checkpoint, and soldiers in military uniforms approached the car.
We rolled down the window, briefly verified our identities, and continued moving.
I can see police officers and soldiers with guns here and there.
I guess it's because of the location.
The car Se-jin and I were riding in moved forward for about 3 more minutes before stopping in front of a large building.
I'd seen it on TV a few times, but I never thought I'd actually come here.
This place with its impressive blue tiles is the Blue House main building.
As we got out of the car, an elderly man with graying hair approached us from among the people in suits.
"Hello."
"Thank you for coming all this way. I'm Chief of Staff Han Young-bok."
So this person is the Chief of Staff.
"The President is waiting inside. Please follow me. I'll guide you."
"Yes."
Se-jin and I followed the Chief of Staff into the main building.
From the outside it looked traditional, but the interior is quite modern.
It's exactly like the image I saw on TV.
"The reception room is on the 2nd floor."
"Yes."
We passed through stairs covered with red carpet and arrived at the office.
The Chief of Staff knocked and opened the door.
"Please come in."
"Nice to meet you for the first time. I'm Kang Shin-hyeok."
"I'm Kim Se-jin, Guild Master of Ares Guild."
"I've heard much about both of your reputations. Please go to that sofa over there. You may leave now."
"Understood."
He got up from his seat and personally approached to offer a handshake - quite a warm welcome.
Well, I did annihilate Antas last time and came here after refusing a meeting with the US President, so this much is appropriate.
As we settled on the sofa, a staff member brought three cups of tea.
"This is tea that the Japanese Prime Minister gave as a gift when he visited last time - it has a wonderful fragrance."
"Yes. Thank you."
"The fragrance is really nice."
Se-jin said this after taking a sip, so I drank too, but it's just astringent.
Honestly, I prefer coffee over tea, and soda over coffee, but I can't complain about drinks after coming here.
"You must be busy preparing for tomorrow's conference, so thank you for making time for us."
"The preparation, well, I'm not doing it directly, and I have some things to tell you, and most importantly, I'm also a citizen of the Republic of Korea."
It seems like he's treating me well, so I gave him some lip service too.
President Kim Cheol-hwan. I have a connection with this person and quite like him.
Not because he's good at politics or because of his beliefs, but because I remembered that this man would become president and invested in election theme stocks to make a good amount of money.
I did have some mental stress in the middle, but the result was really good.
Of course, this man has no idea about that.
That was already 2 years... No, 3 years ago by count. Time really flies.
"Thank you for saying that - it makes me feel a bit less worried."
"Worried?"
"Like the non-participating countries claim, aren't there concerns that Hunter Kang Shin-hyeok is trying to stand at the center of power?"
"Mr. President, that's ridiculous..."
"Se-jin."
I stopped Se-jin who was getting worked up and trying to step forward.
It is ridiculous nonsense, but since it's the President speaking, I'll listen to what he has to say.
"Please continue."
"The abilities Hunter Kang Shin-hyeok showed while annihilating Antas this time - honestly, they're incomparable to any hunter in the world... It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call them fraudulent, would it? Actually, many people in our South Korean government are expressing concerns."
I honestly expected this to some extent.
Though I didn't know even our country would be worried about me.
"You don't need to worry about that. I stepped forward this time solely to save lives from the crisis that will come in the future, and I have absolutely no interest in power."
"Do you happen to know the saying that 'position makes the person'? Even if Hunter Kang Shin-hyeok has no interest, the abilities you've shown and the attention from those around you won't leave you alone..."
It's not strange that the President thinks this way, since even both international and domestic media are pouring out speculative articles about me becoming the president of the World Hunter Association.
Of course, I have no interest at all.
"Even a provincial governor can quit if he doesn't want to do it. Although I'm currently involved in many things here and there, I originally hate troublesome things. Once this conference ends well and preparations are complete, I plan to return to my main job."
Then interest will naturally decrease.
"By returning to your main job, do you mean... as a director of the Hunter Association...?"
"The Hunter Association director is an honorary position, and I have a real job separate from that."
"Separate... what? Wait. Then do you mean you'll return as a faculty member at 1st Hunter School?"
"Even if not necessarily 1st School, I plan to return to teaching children."
"If not 1st School, then perhaps abroad... Did you receive scouting offers or something?"
He's completely barking up the wrong tree.
Hmm, this wasn't what I originally planned to talk about today.
"These are things I was going to announce at tomorrow's conference, but since you're no one other than our country's President, I'll explain a bit in advance. Mr. President, what measures do you think are necessary to prepare for the future crisis I warned about?"
"Um... first, wouldn't we need a system to monitor portals and shelters to evacuate citizens?"
I don't know if he thought of this directly or if his advisors told him beforehand, but being the President, he seems to have some insight.
Of course, it's not a 100-point answer, about 60 points?
"For the portal monitoring system, I plan to utilize existing radar systems and request advanced countries to share with nations that lack systems or have insufficient accuracy due to inadequate systems."
Most advanced countries and reasonably well-off nations have portal detection radar systems, but weak and poor countries don't have such systems.
Beyond portal detection radar systems, among African countries there are probably nations where even the internet isn't widespread.
I plan to have advanced countries support such infrastructure construction, operational know-how, and if possible, even the costs.
"Under such conditions, our Republic of Korea can also contribute."
"Thank you for saying that, Mr. President. It's reassuring. Next is the shelter construction and evacuation drills you mentioned."
"Evacuation drills?"
"Each country should promote shelter construction, and it shouldn't end with construction, we need to actually practice evacuation."
"If we conduct such evacuation drills, there will be social chaos..."
"We don't need to do them frequently. At minimum once a year, except for the requirement that all citizens must participate, I think it would be sufficient to proceed similarly to the current civil defense drills."
Even if the future has been twisted because of me, the original events are still far off, so there's no need to be too impatient.
"Hmm, if it's that extent, it's not a very difficult problem. By the way, about returning to your main job earlier..."
"The shelters and detection systems I mentioned earlier are just prevention, not solutions. To deal with monsters pouring out of portals, we'll need many hunters."
"In your last press conference, you said completely different, powerful monsters unlike anything before would appear, right?"
"That's right. Threatening and powerful monsters with completely different intelligence from before will appear. So we'll need many capable hunters."
"I understand that hunters are important, but increasing their numbers won't be easy at all. Although I'm not a hunter myself, I understand from what I hear around me that the number of people with hunter talent is limited..."
As the President says, the number of people born with hunter talent is fixed.
Even aside from this incident, in a world where hunters themselves are evaluated as national power, South Korea only has 7 hunter schools.
That's because there are only enough people with hunter talent to fill 7 schools.
Recently there was news about building one more hunter school in Gangwon Province, but this is because there were many complaints that only Gangwon Province didn't have a hunter school, and I heard they plan to recruit fewer students compared to other schools.
That's how few people have hunter talent.
But I have a method.
"Before entering hunter school, I was briefly dispatched to China."
"Yes?"
The President looked puzzled and asked me again, but I ignored it and continued.
"At that time, I obtained a fortuitous encounter in a portal. That encounter wasn't everything that made me who I am now, but it contributed significantly."
"Is... is there such a thing? How interesting."
"Do you happen to know the difference between magicians and regular hunters?"
"I understand they use different magic."
"That's right. But if you learn the skills I obtained, such distinctions disappear. Like how Se-jin Hunter here and I currently use both magic and sword simultaneously."
"Oh, so that's the background behind both of your abilities."
"If existing hunters learn the skill, they will be able to escape the limitations of magic. Not only that, but people without hunter talent can also handle magic. I plan to reveal my skill at this World Summit and gather talented people to teach."
Of course, it's not the Xiantian Sect's internal energy cultivation method that Se-jin and I learned, but the basic mental cultivation method of the Wudang Sect that Eunseo learned.
Even if it's slow, its stability is the best.
"Is... is that really true?"
"Yes."
Honestly, it would be a lie to say I don't feel it's a waste, but I made the decision to raise the level of hunters and increase their numbers.
"So, I heard that the 8th hunter School in Gangwon Province is almost finished... if it's okay, could I educate the selected people there?"
"If Hunter Kang Shin-hyeok takes charge, we would wholeheartedly agree."
He's answering more readily than I expected… Surprising.
Is it because I haven't properly explained yet?
"I plan to operate it a bit differently from regular hunter schools. Not as a school, but as a place to learn only the skil, as a course for about one to two months."
"I'll leave the curriculum entirely to Hunter Kang Shin-hyeok."
"I haven't even properly explained yet..."
"I trust Hunter Kang Shin-hyeok. Besides, if it's as you explained, South Korea's hunters will increase and their level will rise, which is no different from South Korea itself becoming stronger, right? As South Korea's President, I naturally must cooperate."
As expected, he's misunderstanding.
"The students entering my academy won't be just Koreans… I plan to accept them from all over the world."
Because the crisis from the Demon King's advent will occur simultaneously worldwide.
His expression looked slightly displeased, so when I said that since Korea is providing the location and cooperating, I would accept a few more Koreans, his expression finally relaxed.
Typical of Korea's President.
Well, I'm Korean too anyway.
I think the academy discussion is sufficient for now, so I should start with the real main topic.
"Mr. President, and there's one more thing I need to tell you.”