The Day of the Duel
The day of the one-on-one duel.
The coins he'd bought had dipped a little, and Wildcat was urging everyone to hold.
It was, in every sense, a congregation of Wildcat's faithful — and not a single person among them raised an objection. Whatever else could be said, the man had consistently turned a profit, and the trust he commanded from those assembled here would not have lost to any celebrity.
For now, at least.
Looks like I'm going into this fight as-is.
His stats were solid overall, but they kept getting nibbled away bit by bit, and that worried him. If the price climbed from here, fine. But what if it dumped mid-duel?
This one-on-one hadn't been something he'd wanted. Losing, however, was the one thing he refused to accept. He wanted to win if at all possible — and to win, the coins absolutely had to go up.
Every raid put him in the same position, and yet he still couldn't get used to staking everything on luck. But what choice did he have? The power to wipe out a monster in a single blow also meant the possibility of dropping dead from a pebble. At least, that was how it was for Jisu.
Switching to something else at this point would be ridiculous. Better to trust him one more time.
Wildcat wasn't running these calls on some noble cause, and given that free signals were bait to funnel people into the paid room, he probably wouldn't dig his heels in on false information this hard. If he'd said to sell, Jisu would have sold. So concluding that the price was likely to rise was, based on everything so far, the reasonable call.
Having settled on a course, Jisu set out for the location he'd been given.
As he walked among the office skyscrapers packed into Gangnam, one building in particular caught his eye. A glance at the address confirmed it: this was Seongwolhoe's headquarters.
Damn. How much money have they made to put up a building this flashy?
Seongwolhoe's headquarters lived up to the guild's reputation as the finest Hunter organization in the country. A curtain-wall glass tower that looked expensive at a glance. Honestly, Jisu's first thought was that the heating and cooling couldn't possibly be efficient — but anyone who could own a building like that probably didn't care about things like that at all.
Inside, it looked like any ordinary company lobby. People who appeared to be Seongwolhoe Hunters tapped their passes and headed in. A café occupied the first floor. It was the spitting image of a major corporation's headquarters.
I figured a guild would be different somehow, but this is just a company, isn't it?
As he looked around, an information desk caught his eye. That seemed like the place to start.
"Um, hello."
"Hello! How can I help you?"
"I'm here for a one-on-one duel."
"I'm sorry? Could you say that one more time? I didn't quite catch it."
"Ah, well—"
He was about to repeat the words when a familiar voice reached his ear. In that moment, at least, calling it the voice of a savior would not have been an exaggeration.
"Jisu! You made it!"
He turned toward the speaker. It was the same woman who had come to recruit him into the guild not long ago — Kim Hyunji.
"Hello."
"Hello! It's so good to see you again! Have you been well?"
She smiled with an easy warmth. Beautiful, with a cute face — the kind of woman who'd be treated well wherever she went. She'd probably lived a life where her requests were rarely refused. At any rate, for Jisu right now, she was a distinctly welcome presence.
"I've been fine, yeah. But, uh—"
"I know! You're here to see Hunter Cheon Woohyeok, right?"
"That's right."
The moment Cheon Woohyeok's name came out, the woman at the information desk went wide-eyed.
"Ah — Kim Hyunji. Thank you for your hard work."
The receptionist bowed to Hyunji at a full ninety degrees. Jisu looked at Hyunji with a flicker of surprise. He'd taken her for an ordinary staff member, but she apparently held a fairly high position within Seongwolhoe.
"Of course. You're working hard too! Ah — I'll escort this gentleman myself, if that's all right?"
"Yes, of course."
The receptionist answered, then turned and bowed to Jisu as well.
"I failed to recognize a distinguished guest. If I've given any offense, please forgive me."
"That's really not necessary."
"Come on, Hyun Jisu! Let's get upstairs — everyone's waiting."
Waving off the apology, Jisu found himself being pulled along, his arm linked through Hyunji's. The press of her chest against his forearm wasn't half bad.
The fifty-fifth floor of Seongwolhoe Guild's main building.
An entire floor had been converted into a massive raid field so that the guild's core members could keep their combat instincts sharp around the clock. The environment was far more comfortable than the aging equivalent at the Hunter Association. Every manner of weapon was stocked without exception, and a special alloy had been used so that even considerable shockwaves left not a scratch. It was, in every sense, a colosseum in the sky.
Never once had S-rank or higher Hunters fought a one-on-one duel here. S-rank Hunters were rare enough to begin with, and the occasions on which such Hunters dueled one-on-one were rarer still. In a place that could, in a sense, be called historic, it was only natural that the heavyweights of the Hunter industry would gather one by one.
Heeyeon, who oversaw the Hunter Examination Center — the first gate every Hunter passed through — was one of those heavyweights.
"Wow, these facilities are actually incredible. I heard Siyun was raking it in, but I guess it's true."
Heeyeon was looking around the interior, unable to keep the admiration out of her voice, when another woman cut in. Seo Ayeon, Vice President of the Hunter Association.
"Why are you making such a fuss? I don't understand it. Could you try to keep some composure today?"
"Come on, you're making a big deal out of it again."
"Today is important. You're not the only one in this room. There's no need to bounce around looking unsightly, is there?"
Ayeon spoke with absolute firmness, but Heeyeon was unbothered. Situations like this were plenty familiar to her.
"Yeah, yeah. Fair enough. Oh right — Mom's coming too, isn't she?"
Ayeon's expression hardened. She recovered her composure a moment later and spoke quietly.
"That person has nothing to do with me anymore. More to the point, the President came with us, so I'd appreciate it if you restrained yourself."
Color bloomed across Heeyeon's face.
"Wait, Chaerin's here? For real? So that girl was still alive, huh? But why the hell didn't anyone tell me? A text would've been nice."
"That's because you react like that—!"
Ayeon had just started to snap back when a pale hand settled on her shoulder.
"It's fine."
"…You've arrived, President."
Ayeon turned and offered a formal greeting to the woman behind her.
She wore a dark suit, and there was a sharpness about her that was difficult to place. Her chest was so full it looked ready to burst through her dress shirt; pale skin, wide hips, and thighs so thick they seemed a breath away from splitting her stockings. Her golden eyes were deep beyond measure.
She was the one who stood above every Hunter in South Korea. Yoo Chaerin, President of the Hunter Association.
"It's been a hell of a long time, Chaerin."
"…You're the same as ever, Kim Heeyeon."
"Yeah, well. Sitting around with nothing to do, living easy — it's a whole other kind of heaven."
Chaerin glanced at Heeyeon for a moment, then turned her gaze elsewhere. In the distance, Cheon Woohyeok was preparing for combat.
She watched him in silence, then looked back toward Heeyeon.
"Who's the opponent?"
"You know, that new Hunter who got SS-rank last time. What was his name — Jisu, I think? Something like that."
Chaerin was not the type to talk much. Heeyeon had always filled the silence, so it had never been a problem when they were together.
"If a life looks to be in danger, step in immediately. I'll take full responsibility."
"Come on. Woohyeok wouldn't go that far."
"No. I'm not talking about Cheon Woohyeok."
She said it, then shifted her gaze again. At the end of it stood Jeong Siyun, Guildmaster of Seongwolhoe. Heeyeon seemed to understand what that meant. She nodded.
"Got it."
Chaerin said nothing more and returned her attention to the arena. Ayeon stood beside her without moving, like a statue. Heeyeon, apparently used to the sight, paid it no mind and went back to looking around.
While they talked among themselves, Seongwolhoe's side had taken notice of their arrival as well.
"Look who dragged their heavy feet all the way here. Boss, shouldn't we throw a big welcome party? Our reputation's in the gutter. What are you gonna do about it?"
Woohyeok laid the sarcasm on thick, but Siyun didn't bother picking at it. She was his superior, strictly speaking, but there was no reason to find fault with a Hunter of Woohyeok's caliber over something so petty.
"They've clearly come to stick their noses in where they don't belong."
"Does she still think she's the one who gives me orders? I swear, I can't even…"
Woohyeok shot a look of open distaste at Chaerin, standing some distance away. Even back when they'd worked together, that woman had always rubbed him the wrong way. They were, in every respect, the type that simply didn't mix. In truth, Woohyeok was still formally affiliated with the Hunter Association, so she was technically his commanding officer — but they'd completely split ways after that day, hadn't they? Some things you just couldn't accept.
"Don't worry about it. Let's be generous today. It's the day we welcome someone special, isn't it?"
"Honestly, I don't see how an ability that makes you weaker after one attack is supposed to help anyone. But hey — if the boss says grovel, I'll grovel like hell. Not like I have a choice."
Whether it was pride or genuine conviction, Woohyeok clearly didn't think much of Jisu. He acknowledged the man's strength, but the argument that a one-and-done ability wouldn't be of much use had its own logic.
That diamond-body of his back then was a one-off too, no question. In that case, my ability will be the breakthrough…!
He was steeling himself for the fight when a voice filled the empty hall — Hyunji, the first to go out and bring their guest in.
"This way, please!"
Then, together with the sound of approaching footsteps — at last, the man's voice reached them.