Chapter 34: The Play's the Thing
A-Rank Attack Hunter and Spear Master Oh Jin-woo — the man who, while everyone else scrambled to join the great guilds, had walked silently through the doors of the Management Bureau instead. He had wanted to hold one of the pillars of power ever since he was young. Joining a guild would have earned him money, but power was another matter entirely. What caught his eye back then was the position of Bureau Inspector. An inspector had a hand in managing cleared Gates and served as a balancer, reining in the excesses of the guilds. The pay couldn't compare, but it was a position even guild masters couldn't casually look down on.
"Oh Jin-woo, Deputy Director and Inspector of the Management Bureau, reporting for duty!"
And so he had applied. He was the first A-Rank Hunter ever to apply to the Bureau, so the Commissioner and everyone else welcomed him with open arms. His inspector's credentials felt like a general's tally of command — and to a man hungry for power, they fed something deep inside. Naturally, followers began gathering around him within the Bureau.
There was just one problem.
"What? Baek Kang-hyun?"
The strongest man in the Bureau. In pure skill, no one could touch him.
"Why would the S-Rank, Rank 1 apply to the Bureau...?"
When Baek Kang-hyun walked through those doors, Oh Jin-woo's life was turned upside down. The title of strongest in the Bureau had been returned long ago. And whenever he visited a guild, everyone said the same things.
"Why should we take orders from you?"
"Bring Hunter Baek Kang-hyun, then come back."
"Or shall we settle it right here?"
His standing as an inspector eroded away. The credentials he'd once brandished with pride like a badge of command were now nothing but scraps of paper. It was all Baek Kang-hyun's fault. And so he had waited — waited for the day Baek Kang-hyun crumbled on his own. Fortunately, the man was all talent and zero political sense. Oh Jin-woo exploited that weakness, needling him bit by bit. The results were meager, but the pressure never stopped.
And then, just yesterday, everything blew open. A rumor that Baek Kang-hyun had dumped a boss monster he'd tamed onto an F-Rank while he himself reaped the rewards. That in the process, he'd exploited the F-Rank Hunter like a slave. Plenty of witnesses, plenty of evidence. To Oh Jin-woo, it was the opportunity of a lifetime.
"With an A-Rank like Oh Jin-woo, the Bureau can handle anything." That was the perception he needed to plant, and this incident was perfect for it. They'd been secretly running some Returnee Development Project, had they? Now it's my turn to deliver. He'd reclaim his position in the Bureau, put Baek Kang-hyun beneath him... Just imagining it was delightful.
Just as a small smile crept across Oh Jin-woo's lips —
"D-Depu-Deputy Director, sir!"
"What is it?"
His executive secretary came sprinting in, breathless. Was it the press again? He'd told them to handle interview requests with moderation. Clicking his tongue, Oh Jin-woo rose from his seat.
"I told them to start refusing interview requests."
"Th-that's not it... First, just — look at this."
What now? Oh Jin-woo took the phone his secretary thrust at him. And then — all he could do was blink.
"G-Get me the car! Now!"
"Yes, Deputy Director!"
Oh Jin-woo hurriedly gathered his jacket, his secretary scrambling after him. On the phone screen, clips were playing back to back:
"They're ignoring him just because he's F-RANK! IGNORING HIM!"
"Ostracized by the Management Bureau itself! Oh Jin-woo must resign! Resign!"
"As you can see, gathered here in front of the Bureau at this very moment, the alleged victim of this incident, F-Rank Hunter Lee Ji-hoon, claims he is being ostracized by his new inspector as well..."
"The practice of dismissing low-Rank Hunters has been carried on even within public institutions..."
"Deputy Inspector Oh Jin-woo, dispatched in place of Hunter Baek Kang-hyun, has been revealed to have a history of routinely belittling low-Rank Hunters..."
It was a continuous stream of footage: a livestream of the protest where Ji-hoon, Poppi, Choco, and Ddubu were screaming their lungs out, intercut with clips from the broadcasting stations filming in front of them all.
Even as he shouted, Ji-hoon allowed himself a small smile. Pretty effective, wouldn't you say? In the end, everyone had just been looking for an excuse to tear into something. It had started with Baek Kang-hyun, but at the core, it was the same story. Don't disrespect low-Rank Hunters! From what he'd learned that morning, there were far more of them than anyone realized.
"Most of them are F and E-Rank. Generally, Hunters only really start working from D-Rank."
"Honestly, from E-Rank down you're either a porter or you've got nothing to do. Auna and Ji-eun had unusual skills, so they had it a bit better."
According to Kim Ji-eun and Kang Gi-tae, low-Rank Hunters were everywhere. And on Shadow, the workplace community site Kim Jin-woo had shown him, the posts were full of the same refrain — Awakened or not, once you got a job, you got looked down on there too. The humiliations suffered at the Bureau and in the guilds were repeated in ordinary workplaces. So Ji-hoon had come up with this.
'Drag it into a cowardly war of public opinion, will you?' Then I'll fight you fair and square — with manipulation and fabrication! Don't you dare underestimate a hundred years of mental armor forged from the humiliations suffered by a man who survived Hell itself.
"Hyung-nim, look over there! The humans are filming us!"
"How about it? Want me to strike a pose?"
"Choco, calm yourself, little brother. What your elder brother wants is for us to look as pitiful as possible."
"I already searched up how to act pitiful in front of humans."
Screech– Whump– Fwoosh–
Poppi, Choco, and Ddubu let out wheezing deflation noises and flopped down onto the ground. The crowd's eyes sparkled at the sight of the adorable tamed animals, and some shed tears of sympathy.
"Poor things, it breaks my heart..."
"And they had to end up with an F-Rank of all people..."
"Aren't those the ones Baek Kang-hyun supposedly tamed? He's the one who passed them off? How could an S-Rank do that to an F-Rank..."
"That's not the point! They're pitiful, aren't they? Or what, did he look down on them because he's F-Rank himself, huh!? HUH!?"
"N-no, that's not what I meant..."
By the reactions, it was a roaring success. Ji-hoon deliberately clutched his bandaged arms and shuddered.
"Ugh... the lingering effects of the last battle..."
The crowd's concern for him grew louder, and the reporters who had arrived late hurriedly crowded in for interviews.
"Please give us a statement!"
"So the rumors the Bureau treats you with contempt were true! How do you feel right now!"
"Every Hunter who dismisses low-Ranks must be made to wake up!"
Mmm, excellent. This is what a war of public opinion looks like.
"Hunter Lee Ji-hooooooon!!!!!
At that moment, a man in a suit came sprinting out from inside the Bureau building. Squeal–
"Hah... hah... Wh-what is the meaning of this!?"
"Meaning of what?"
"Why all this manipulation and fabrication—"
"You started it. The manipulation and the fabrication."
Crunch– Oh Jin-woo's brow furrowed.
"You'd really come out and play it this way?"
"You started it first. And besides, I am the actual victim here? Ah, look at this, everyone! The Bureau bullies F-Ranks!"
"Deputy Inspector Oh Jin-woo! What is your position on this matter!"
"We were here first, you bastard!"
"Didn't you see we claimed the beat first? Coverage is ours first!"
Even the reporters began scuffling among themselves, while the citizens diligently photographed and filmed the whole scene. Oh Jin-woo's reputation was being torn down in real time.
"Yo, insane. Looks like that Shadow post was real."
"Said he was drunk on power, ugh. Trash of the highest order."
"Definitely the type I never want to get near."
"Bet he's not even popular with women?"
Murmur murmur. Trembling all over, Oh Jin-woo barely managed to scrape together a business smile.
"Ah, ahahaha. Our Hunter Lee Ji-hoon? Time to head in for your mission, no?"
"You had time to skip out on missions earlier? Look at this! This recording file... oof! Mmph!"
"Now, now~ why are we doing this? Heading out for Team C's mission, folks! Interviews later — much, much later! That's all for now!"
Whoosh–!
Oh Jin-woo fled, dragging Ji-hoon along, with Poppi, Choco, and Ddubu bounding after them to nestle into Ji-hoon's arms. The crowd left in the plaza all put on knowing grins, and slowly the manipulation and fabrication began to spread by word of mouth, accumulating exaggerations and outright lies along the way.
"Are you OUT OF YOUR MIND, seriously!!!!"
"Oh, what's your problem. My ears are ringing."
Ji-hoon plugged his ears with his fingers and put on an exaggerated wince.
"This! This is all a lie and you know it! You weren't even hurt!"
"Does it show?"
"Of course it shows!"
Oh Jin-woo gathered mana into his hand.
"Keep this up and things stop being fun for you!"
"Oh? You're going to throw your weight around? For real?"
Ji-hoon raised his hand with a smooth sweep. Poppi swelled his right wing enormously, raising his feathers to razor sharpness like blades. Shff– Snick–
The feather touched the back of Oh Jin-woo's neck. The sensation that his throat could be slit at any instant. 'This is no mere threat...!' These monsters were serious. Cold sweat poured down Oh Jin-woo's back.
"An S-Rank boss monster. Think you can handle one?"
"...Let's talk this through."
Heh– Ji-hoon grinned and tapped the chair behind Oh Jin-woo, tap tap.
"Have a seat, Mr. Deputy Inspector."
"..."
"Knock it off. Move it, chop chop."
Whirr–
Poppi's wingtip pushed deep against Oh Jin-woo's throat. Only about two millimeters of shallow penetration — but 'my barrier!?' Was an A-Rank's barrier really this soft, like jelly? Poppi's feather had punched clean through Oh Jin-woo's barrier armor with barely a touch. 'How did Baek Kang-hyun tame these things?' An absolute monster of a man.
Thump–
Oh Jin-woo sank into the chair at last.
"Should've done that from the start."
Ji-hoon beamed a winning smile, then patted Oh Jin-woo's shoulder soothingly, tap tap.
"So — where's Baek Kang-hyun?"
A hidden room deep within the Bureau. A special space built for Baek Kang-hyun's training — a place no one but he could enter. Whenever his mind grew restless or his composure wavered, he trained here freely. And that was why he'd come now, working through drills for his All-Weapon trait.
"Whew... whew..."
Normally, sweating it out like this would calm his mind and keep his anger in check. But now? Nothing was working. I tormented Hunter Lee Ji-hoon? If anything, I helped him. I never tormented him. But — no, wait. He'd actually received quite a lot of help from me...
"If I say he 'only ever received help,' does that count as tormenting him too?"
A snort of laughter escaped him.
"Haaah!"
WHOOM– WHOOM–
"Piercing Heavenly Sword!"
Shreeek– Shff– The dummy monster split clean in two. He sheathed the sword. This time, a spear. Thrusting it forward, he thought: Who set this up? A mole inside the Bureau — Bae Yu-na — is she part of it? Or the new faction? The internal rivals gunning for me? Whatever the answer...
"Keep a low profile for now. There's nothing to gain from being in the public eye at a time like this."
The Commissioner was right. A political novice — no, a complete illiterate, and a man whose personality made politics impossible anyway.
"...S-Rank, Rank 1?"
Pathetic. But he couldn't just resort to brute force either. The moment he did, he would stop being a Hunter and become a murderer. He'd pass on that kind of madness. Plenty of Hunters tried to solve everything with raw strength, and in the end they were culled and became criminals. So no. Not me. Endure. The time is not yet right. A little more time, and the opportunity will surely come...
"So this is the place?"
"Huh?"
"This the right one?"
"Uh, yeah... probably..."
"You sure? This it?"
"Grrrrl, GWAR!"
"Looks like it. Attack."
"...Attack?"
KRAK, KRAK.
The entrance to the secret training room crumbled. 'That door is made from the hide of an S-Rank Gate boss monster!?'
"Pretty tough. Going all out."
"Grrrrrrh, GWAAAAAR!!!!"
KRAK– KWA-BOOOOM!!!!
The door shattered and flew apart.
"Oh, this really is the place."
"H-how did you get in here..."
Lee Ji-hoon had arrived together with a giant-sized Choco.
"You planning to sulk in here forever? You're not a teenager going through puberty."
"Even if I did go out..."
"Ugh, suffocating. Are you really S-Rank?"
At Ji-hoon's bark, Baek Kang-hyun finally lifted his head.
"Let's go out. I've already laid the whole stage for you."
Heh–
"You just worry about keeping the beat, will you?"