Ch 89
Became a swordsmanship instructor at the academy
Chapter 89
For an A-rank Hunter to take the S-rank promotion exam, they must meet various conditions.
There are slight differences between countries, but basically the magic level of ten million is the same, and in addition to that, various experiences such as the number of A-grade portal clears and records of catching special monsters are required.
The examination is evaluated by portal conquest like the A-grade exam, but since S-grade portals don't exist, the evaluation is conducted through A-grade portal conquest.
The examination takes place over a total of 3 days, conquering one A-grade 4-person portal per day, and passing if successful.
In preparation for emergency situations, one S-rank Hunter examiner and two A-rank Hunters accompany them.
There is no help whatsoever until the exam candidate requests it or the main examiner judges it to be a critical situation, and naturally, receiving help results in failure.
Although the conditions for taking the exam are quite strict and the test is difficult, there's actually a much faster method.
"Tea... Teacher Kang, you're not joking, are you? Are you being serious?"
"I have no reason to joke with Reporter Eunji. I'm serious. I'll go apply and come back, so please write the article first."
STB.
Stronger is The Best. It means the stronger one is the best, and it's a system where if you fight an existing S-rank Hunter and win, you're recognized as an S-rank Hunter.
Of course, the STB system can also only be applied for by A-rank Hunters, and even A-rank Hunters require some basic experience, but compared to the S-rank exam application standards, it's considerably lenient.
It's been a system since the establishment of the World Hunter Association, but actually, cases of becoming an S-rank Hunter using STB are extremely rare.
Even at the same level, usually the one who reached it earlier is far ahead.
As long as it's the same country, you can designate any S-rank Hunter, so if you have acquaintances or family members who are S-rank Hunters, you can choose them, but there are no cases of going easy or deliberately losing.
Even if you become an S-rank Hunter through the STB system, if it's thought that they went easy or deliberately lost, any S-rank Hunter can challenge you to a duel within a month and you can't avoid it.
In the first place, being designated through this STB system is quite an insult to S-rank Hunters who take pride in their rank.
It means 'I'm an A-rank Hunter, but I think I can beat a weakling like you.'
Moreover, if an S-rank Hunter is defeated in an STB duel, they have to retake the S-rank Hunter exam to re-prove their skills, so S-rank Hunters have no choice but to give their all.
"Wait a minute. Then who are you going to designate?"
"Ares Guild Master Kim Dae-chan."
"Ki, Kim Dae-chan Master? Isn't Shin-hyeok close with Se-jin?"
"We're close. But absolutely not like lovers."
"Then why...?"
"Kim Dae-chan is behind the sniping article about me that came out this morning."
"What? No, why on earth?"
"I said I'd explain about the article after I come back. I'll be back."
Getting up from my seat and leaving the cafe, I head to the office on the 2nd floor of the association. Just like when I entered the association earlier, I can feel people's gazes so much that the back of my head stings.
Arriving at the office, I take a number and wait, and there are quite a few people.
"Huh? Hey, isn't that person Kang Shin-hyeok?"
"You're right. There was an article saying he didn't even go to school and ran away. What's he thinking coming here?"
"Oh, Jung-mi, you were here. I followed him from the 1st floor. He came out of the cafe on the 1st floor with some woman."
"A woman? Could that woman be the mother of the kid from the article?"
"Anyway, being handsome is useless. Pretty boys always act up, don't they? How can he be so shameless to two-time..."
"Hey, he can hear you."
"So what if he hears? He should be ashamed."
I tried not to be conscious of it, but hearing it constantly, I unconsciously clench my fists.
When I looked at the article comments earlier, it seemed like there were some people on my side...
"Number 340, Hunter?"
A female employee calls my number and I go to the counter, but as soon as she sees my face, her expression hardens drastically.
Apparently this employee also saw the article.
"What business brings you here?"
Her tone is so stiff it's like talking to a robot.
"I'd like STB application documents, please."
***
"Manager Kim, that bastard didn't go to school at all. Didn't the information leak?"
Things went as planned and the guy became complete trash, but it's a bit disappointing.
Since I wanted to humiliate him in front of the students his school teaches, I even lied about providing additional information to the media and deliberately set a time for the article to come out.
"That's impossible. To prevent our identity from being exposed, we sent all materials by quick service, but I had the quick service delivery person tailed, and confirmed he went straight into the Deathpatch building without stopping anywhere."
Then... Ah! Could it be that Se-jin girl?
It seems like it.
"Come to think of it, there's a place that comes to mind. Well, it doesn't matter much. That bastard will now have a hard time showing his face in Korea. Good work. Manager Kim, you're the best."
"Not at all. Um, but... Director, the young lady must have been quite shocked..."
"What young lady. You don't need to use honorifics. She's a foolish girl who fell head over heels for a man and ran out without listening to her father."
She seemed to have no idea that Kang Shin-hyeok was secretly meeting another woman, completely clueless.
"Still, weren't you thinking of bringing her back? Director, what did the young lady do wrong? She's an innocent young lady who only practiced since childhood, and it's that bastard's fault for deceiving her."
"You're right, Manager Kim."
She's been obedient and well-behaved since childhood without ever rebelling, but that bastard Kang Shin-hyeok corrupted the child.
"How are you planning to bring the young lady back? Even if you offer penalty fees, Kim Man-dong probably won't easily let the young lady go."
"No, man. Now there's justification."
"Justification?"
"Tsk tsk, didn't you also say earlier that Se-jin would be greatly shocked by this incident? Others will think the same as you, so if I put forward the justification of comforting and caring for Se-jin as family, even Kim Man-dong would have no choice."
"Wow, I never even thought of that. Did you think of all these aspects from the beginning?"
"Of course."
"You're amazing, Director."
"Well, this much is... What?"
I told them not to let anyone in, but suddenly the door opened and Secretary Park entered.
"Director, we have a big problem."
"What big problem? I clearly told you that I had urgent business with Manager Kim and no one should come in."
"I'm really sorry about that, but it's really urgent... Please look at this."
What on earth could be so urgent to make such a fuss...
I'll have to fire him if it's nothing important, I thought as I took the phone.
[Breaking News. Korea's first STB Challenge has been issued. Kang Shin-hyeok designates Ares Guild's Kim Dae-chan.]
***
After finishing the application and returning to the cafe, Eunji is typing diligently.
"Are you still writing the article?"
"No, you already finished applying and came back?"
"It didn't take long."
I was going to apply first without giving explanations in case the documents were complicated, but the documents weren't as complex as I thought.
Rather than filling out the documents, it seemed like finding the forms took longer for the employee.
"I posted the breaking news first... Wait a moment, I'm almost done."
There are many people glancing at us from outside the cafe and inside too, but it's amazing how she doesn't care at all.
"Good, done. I just posted it. Would you like to see it?"
"If you've already posted it, wouldn't it be meaningless for me to see it?"
"Ah, since you said you already applied, I was too anxious... Sorry."
"It's fine. I'm sure Eunji wrote it well. Now about the explanation for the article that came out this morning..."
"Teacher Kang, could we move somewhere else for that conversation? The gazes have been too piercing since earlier, but I was holding back in case someone might steal the scoop..."
"Ah... Yes, let's do that."
We left the association, moved to a nearby cafe, and I explained everything step by step.
Since I had organized my thoughts while eating breakfast, it didn't take very long.
After all, none of it was true anyway.
"Um, Teacher Kang, there's one part of what you said that bothers me..."
"Which part?"
"The house being too luxurious is a bit concerning. I understand you helped out of pure goodwill, but letting someone live in a luxury residential-commercial complex worth over 2 billion won for free..."
"You're saying it's excessive, right? I didn't give it to them for free, I just let them live there temporarily..."
"The rental income isn't small either. It's not close to where they used to live, and buying an expensive residential-commercial complex in Gangnam just to let them live there for free seems strange by common sense. The public won't understand... Ah, did you already own the residential-commercial complex?"
"No. The residential-commercial complex purchase was in mid-February as reported in the article."
For me, I bought it because that place would be the safest later, so I never thought about this aspect, but she's sharp, as expected of a reporter.
"I heard Do-hyun's mother is quite beautiful. Please be honest. Don't you have even a little bit of feelings for her?"
"Really not. I'm not going to let them live there forever, and later when Do-hyun graduates, they'll become independent. Since I might live there later too, I thought it would be convenient to buy near my building for later. I might sell it if it goes up a lot."
"I understand what you mean, but if I write the article that way, some people will think it's an excuse."
Even Eunji seems a bit skeptical...
‘Sigh, can't be helped.’
"Really not. I was going to avoid saying this because I thought you'd think I'm too conceited... But aren't I pretty decent?"
"What? What do you mean..."
"Twenty-six years old, A-rank Hunter... No wait, if I win the STB, I'll soon be an S-rank Hunter. I have a decent job and although only 50% is mine, I own a building in Gangnam worth close to 10 billion won, and honestly, my face is also pretty..."
Letting someone live for free in a house worth over 2 billion won might be incomprehensible by common sense, but someone as great as me meeting Do-hyun's mother is also incomprehensible by common sense.
"I understand what you mean, so you can stop talking now. You want to say that someone as great as Shin-hyeok wouldn't want to meet a widow with two children, right?"
"Haha... Your expression is a bit harsh, but you seem to understand the meaning correctly. Please write it in the article like this."
"Are you serious? If you publish what you just said as an article, there might not be people who keep nitpicking, but it will cause considerable damage to the good image you've built up... Even I think Shin-hyeok is really conce... Ah, sorry."
"Still, it would be better than now, right? I'm not going to go into politics later anyway, and I wasn't that kind of person to begin with. Ah, please soften the expression about widow with two children."
"Seeing how you take care of others first even in this situation, you are a kind person. Softening the expression won't prevent you from getting criticized, but I understand."
"Thank you. Ah, and there's one more thing I'd like to ask. Please leave out the part about Kim Dae-chan being behind this incident and the proposal he made to me regarding Se-jin's WHCU victory from this article."
"Why? According to your story, it's 100% certain that Kim Dae-chan is behind it."
"There's no evidence. Although I accepted the proposal, we didn't create a separate contract, and Kim Dae-chan probably didn't reveal his identity when tipping off Deathpatch."
"Even without evidence, there are witnesses. If we call Se-jin... Ah, no matter what he did, he's still her father, so she might not cooperate. You're planning to ask, right?"
"No. If I was going to ask, I wouldn't have told you about it at all."
"Then..."
When I hung up the phone with Se-jin the day before yesterday, I made a resolution.
Now I'll really see the end of this tiresome bad relationship.
"Of course I'll reveal it. At the most perfect time, perfect place, perfect situation where Kim Dae-chan absolutely cannot deny it."