Chapter 189
Chapter 189
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 189
Chapter Title: Overseer's Eye
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Plush—
'Wow, what kind of sofa is this...'
The furniture in Jeong-hyeon's house wasn't cheap by any means, but the moment he sat on the sofa in Jin-ho's office, Jeong-hyeon was inwardly stunned.
It felt like a sofa made just for him.
Money might not be everything, but it wasn't for nothing that people said it could solve almost anything.
Jeong-hyeon was discreetly pressing down on the sofa where his hand rested, trying not to draw attention.
Jin-ho spoke up.
"Actually, I've known about you, Hunter Han Jeong-hyeon, for a very long time."
"Yes?"
A very long time? Since when?
'No way... am I some hidden son of a chaebol family?'
Such things didn't happen in real life, but who knew what the world held.
Of course, that wasn't what Jin-ho meant.
"To be precise, I knew about your trait, Hunter Han Jeong-hyeon."
"!"
Jeong-hyeon froze in place, forgetting even to stop pressing the sofa.
His trait, 「Trait Shop」.
How could this man know information he hadn't told anyone?
But Jeong-hyeon didn't react immediately.
The man before him was someone who had revived a company on the brink of collapse.
He couldn't completely hide the reaction he'd already shown, but he couldn't just assume all his secrets were exposed either.
He might be testing him.
"Ahaha... As expected of KP Group. I thought the Association was controlling the information well."
He'd hide rank details as much as possible and just dangle bait.
Truth be told, given who the man was, Jeong-hyeon's momentary surprise was natural. But calmly considering it, it was more absurd to believe Jin-ho knew his exact trait.
It was far more realistic that he'd heard from Association sources that Jeong-hyeon was S-Rank, not just the publicly known A-Rank.
However, when Jin-ho let out a short, hearty laugh and spoke his next words, Jeong-hyeon couldn't help showing wariness even to a civilian who wasn't a hunter.
"There's no need to hide it from me. It's EX-Rank, isn't it? If my guess is right, you must have kept even that from the Association."
"......"
He said it clearly.
Not S-Rank, but EX.
Traits ranged from F to S in seven ranks.
No other ranks existed.
Yet he had pinpointed Jeong-hyeon's trait as EX.
It was a question he couldn't make without solid information.
"Who the hell are you?"
Jeong-hyeon unleashed his senses at full power, senses he'd kept suppressed until now.
Since Jin-ho knew his most guarded secret, there might be a hidden room in this office where he could try something foolish.
Jeong-hyeon had no intention of going down easily.
But within the range of his expanded senses, there were no suspicious presences besides himself and Jin-ho.
'Doesn't seem like it... But what the hell is this guy?'
It went without saying that a hunter unleashing full power also radiated proportional killing intent.
It was no pressure a civilian could withstand.
Unless Jeong-hyeon deliberately dispersed the intent aimed at him—which he wasn't doing right now, without even basic precautions.
If Jin-ho were truly a civilian, he'd be foaming at the mouth and collapsing any second.
Yet Jin-ho merely wore a faint smile before such a Jeong-hyeon.
"I'll explain everything. Please hear my story first."
"Why should I trust you?"
He knows me.
But I don't know him.
There was no more dangerous situation than this.
Even if the opponent appeared powerless on the surface.
Especially since he was KP's owner.
Tension crackled between them.
Jin-ho looked straight into Jeong-hyeon's eyes and said,
"I'm S-Rank too."
"What?"
"It's true. There are circumstances, so I haven't registered."
"You're insane."
Jeong-hyeon shook his head and stood.
He had no idea how he'd learned the term EX-Rank, but there was no point listening further.
KP Group's chairman suddenly claiming to be an unregistered S-Rank Hunter? Absurd.
How he'd successfully run a mega-corporation until now was beyond Jeong-hyeon, and not his concern.
As Jeong-hyeon turned to leave through the door he'd entered, Jin-ho stopped him without any physical action.
With just one phrase.
"System Prompt."
Freeze—
"What the fuck are you?"
Jeong-hyeon twisted his face and turned back.
EX-Rank aside, what was "System Prompt"?
Jin-ho smiled faintly and asked,
"Now willing to hear my story?"
"You crazy bastard..."
Jeong-hyeon muttered lowly and sat back on the sofa.
The sofa that had felt incomparably comfortable moments ago now felt as uncomfortable as a dragon's maw.
"Your info first."
KP Group's owner was actually an S-Rank Hunter.
That alone would rock the world.
But Jeong-hyeon still couldn't fully believe it.
Any hunter—even without being S-Rank—exuded a certain aura visibly.
Take Ji-hee: despite her passive personality, Jeong-hyeon's senses clearly distinguished her from civilians.
But Jin-ho had none of that hunter aura.
There was some oddity, but that was it.
Where could he even begin to trust this man's words?
Jin-ho's story began.
"My trait is called 「Overseer's Eye」."
"「Overseer's Eye」?"
"Yes. It's different from typical traits. Even among S-Ranks, as far as I know, there's nothing similar."
"You seem to know a lot. How am I supposed to believe that?"
Honestly, any kid could make up a plausible S-Rank trait name.
What mattered was proving it.
"KP Group's actions after the Cataclysm are proof."
But Jin-ho spoke with unshakable conviction.
KP Group itself was the evidence.
"I was abroad during the Cataclysm. Honestly, I never thought succession would fall to me, so I ditched all business studies and just played around."
Jeong-hyeon knew that much.
It was a narrative KP had promoted, packaging Jin-ho's history.
Not in such blunt terms, but it was true he had no notable activity before suddenly becoming owner.
No, as a teenager then, it would have been weirder if he had.
"Of course, I'm not saying I kept playing after taking over KP. But isn't it stranger that a clueless guy like me raised this massive company from nothing?"
"Then why not register?"
"No need."
Jin-ho shook his head and countered.
"Why do you think hunter registration exists in the first place?"
"To safely manage traits at the national level—"
"Be more honest."
"...To operate as a hunter."
"Now that's better."
When registration started, who knew the intent. But over ten years later, a hunter license was just like a driver's license.
Entering gates unregistered was illegal.
The 'system' from the Cataclysm wasn't the only one; human society had its own, functioning fine before and after.
Once entrenched, systems stifled other thoughts.
If registration was normalized, imagining traits without it was impossible.
Just as the F-to-S scale made EX unimaginable.
"But that's still not enough. Hunter registration is ultimately for making money, right?"
Bluntly, Jin-ho was right.
Why avoid registration when awakening let you earn big with your trait, plus perks even without hunting?
Everyone knew, but no one said it openly.
The Cataclysm's shock lingered; psychologically, no one pointed out that the threat nearly wiping humanity was now a money-maker.
"So I have no reason to register."
Jeong-hyeon couldn't refute.
Even if KP's owner were S-Rank, no need to register.
Strategically useful for business, but optional, not mandatory.
"There are other reasons too. First, my 「Overseer's Eye」 isn't a combat trait."
"......"
"That eliminates any need to inform the government I even have a trait."
Nam-sik had mentioned it explaining S-Ranks: unlike normal traits, some were non-combat.
Thus, combat S-Ranks like Ji-hee or Jeong-hyeon were rarer.
He didn't know the exact ability yet, but if Jin-ho truly had 「Overseer's Eye」, the name screamed non-combat.
It factored into Jeong-hyeon perceiving him as non-hunter.
'Differentiating them must be tricky.'
Jeong-hyeon tried recalling his first impression of Jin-ho.
Per his words, this was his first non-combat S-Rank encounter.
"「Overseer's Eye」 lets me see various system info and predict directions. Like a prophet in religion, if I must compare."
"So how do I believe that?"
"For example, when I look at you, Hunter Han Jeong-hyeon, I can see your trait. I nailed EX-Rank, didn't I? Embarrassing to say, but it's why KP Group led the gate economy over any other company."
True.
No surer proof.
Jeong-hyeon had never told anyone he was EX-Rank, let alone the concept.
KP Group's post-Cataclysm economic dominance required preemptive market seizure, impossible otherwise.
But he couldn't take it at face value.
"Someone else could be EX-Rank too."
"Yes? Hahaha!"
As Jeong-hyeon eyed him warily, Jin-ho tilted his head, then burst into laughter.
"You don't seem to know what kind of person you are yet, Hunter. If you did, you wouldn't say that."
Wiping tears from laughing, he switched to a serious expression and declared,
"I'm telling you, EX-Rank is you alone worldwide, past and future."
Jeong-hyeon had to admit it.
He didn't know if the chaebol really had 「Overseer's Eye」 or was S-Rank, but he knew something.
Even more than Jeong-hyeon himself.
"Of course, I only see the rank. Trait names are off-limits to me. But I know a bit more about EX-Rank's significance."
"...What is EX-Rank?"
He was getting drawn in.
Sitting back, he'd thought he'd control the talk, but Jin-ho was now drawing out his questions.
Not probes, but genuine ones he had to ask.
"I haven't finished what I want to say, but we have time. Let's take it slow."