Extreme Techniques
I had been invited by the chairman of the Sejin Group.
One of the most prominent corporations in South Korea, and one deeply entangled with the hunter world. Forming even a small connection wouldn't hurt.
According to Seung-hee, the chairman had taken an interest in me.
Through Ha Seung-hee I already knew how much the chairman understood about our relationship. Hevil's Growth Accelerator. HB-1. As far as the chairman was concerned, she and I were simply business partners. The idea that I was the man who regularly fucked his granddaughter's pussy and ass would never have crossed his mind.
I hadn't refused the invitation partly to save Seung-hee face, but also because I had always expected something like this to happen eventually.
The higher you climb, the more inevitable it becomes that you meet the people already sitting at the top.
I had already lived through that truth in the worlds of fiction. The stronger you become, the more the world around you changes. My real-world stage had simply reached that point as well.
I dressed in a proper suit and headed for Ha Seung-hee's family estate.
The main house was on the level of a noble manor, its surroundings locked down under the thorough control of security personnel.
"Mr. Seong Yujin. Welcome. I hope the journey here wasn't too taxing."
A man in a black suit addressed me at the entrance.
"I'm not a child. What would be taxing about it? May I go inside?"
"Yes. The chairman is waiting for you."
I strode through the main gate without hesitation. The flow of mana shifted. My skin prickled. I immediately recognized that an exceptionally sophisticated barrier was protecting the estate.
For the residence of the Sejin Group's chairman, a barrier of this caliber is only natural.
I ignored the pressure weighing on my body and kept walking. The security systems here—cameras and everything else—trailed after me like a second shadow.
I stepped into the vast mansion.
Ha Seung-hee was waiting for me at the entrance.
"Welcome, senior. Surprisingly, a suit suits you quite well."
"You didn't need to add the 'surprisingly.' But why are you wearing a suit? This is your house, isn't it?"
"I usually dress casually too. Today just happens to be a day that requires formality."
I followed her inside. From the entrance onward, people radiating no ordinary presence came into view. They approached with smiles on their lips and handed me business cards. The cards belonged to presidents of Sejin Group subsidiaries.
"Mr. Seong Yujin. Your reputation precedes you."
I handed them the cards I had prepared in return.
"Don't throw those cards away. Keep them. They might prove useful later."
Ha Seung-hee told me.
"…I understand the importance of connections, but I'm not sure how much help they'll actually be."
"These aren't ordinary subsidiary presidents. They're Grandfather's close aides. Each of them holds a seat in the hunter market. The one who just walked past, for example, runs a mana-stone refining company. If you ever need high-quality mana stones in a hurry, a call to him will get you some."
"They're not giving me these cards just because of you, are they?"
"Those people have far too much pride for that. They wouldn't so much as twitch an eyebrow unless Grandfather ordered it. The fact that they handed you their cards means they judged you worth that much on your own merits."
"Well, I am pretty impressive."
We passed through the crowded living room and headed for the staircase leading to the second floor. At the foot of the stairs we ran into Ha Jun-soo.
"……."
"……."
Ha Jun-soo and Ha Seung-hee quietly glared at each other before looking away.
"Mr. Seong Yujin. What I said back then still stands."
"Same here."
"……."
Ha Jun-soo's expressionless face turned toward Ha Seung-hee.
"Seung-hee. I heard from Grandfather what you've been researching."
"Stop interfering. I won this round."
"Why would I interfere with something that benefits the company? I'm simply concerned about whether you can properly lead the project."
"As long as you stay out of my way, everything will go fine. I can already see the group's stock price soaring."
"Watch that arrogance of yours, Seung-hee. And this isn't over. What I've built is far greater than anything you know."
Ha Jun-soo brushed past her. At that moment a woman hurried down the first-floor corridor and linked her arm through his. It was the actress Kang Nami. I opened my eyes wide in surprise as I looked at her. Dressed in an elegant white blouse and brown skirt in the classic Cheongdam-dong daughter-in-law style, she looked several times more pure and youthful in person than she ever had on television. Ha Jun-soo's face softened slightly as he looked at her.
"Hello, young lady. It's been a while."
"Yes. It has been a while, Ms. Kang Nami."
"Is the gentleman beside you your boyfriend?"
"No. He's a work colleague."
"Hmm. Is that so."
Kang Nami offered only a light greeting and followed Ha Jun-soo into the living room. I stared after them. I had thought of her as past her prime, yet in the flesh she was young and beautiful enough that I would have believed she was still in her early twenties. On top of that, she carried the unique aura of a true actress. Maybe actresses really were built differently from ordinary people right down to their DNA.
"Senior. What are you staring at?"
I snapped out of it and tore my gaze away from the actress's ass. Ha Seung-hee was looking at me as if I were a pervert. I played dumb.
"It's my first time seeing the actress Kang Nami in person… my eyes just wandered. I'm a fan of hers, you know."
"Ah. Is that so."
"I heard Kang Nami is getting married in three months… is the other party by any chance…?"
"Yes. My eldest brother."
I stroked my chin. It didn't quite make sense. Even if it were some other chaebol family, the eldest son of the Sejin Group—one of the most powerful conglomerates in South Korea—marrying an entertainer?
"…Is Kang Nami's family actually some kind of powerhouse?"
"Completely ordinary. Father's a civil servant, mother's a full-time housewife."
"And she's still marrying Ha Jun-soo? The family doesn't object?"
"Our family is pretty free when it comes to dating and marriage. Both my grandmother and my mother came from ordinary backgrounds."
"…I see."
I followed Ha Seung-hee up the stairs.
Kang Nami's image kept flickering in front of my eyes. Seeing the woman I had long admired in the flesh made my cock react instantly.
Absolute Hypnosis stickers… damn it. I don't have the points.
I let out a long sigh, erased Kang Nami from my mind, and focused on the matter at hand.
"We're going to meet the chairman of the Sejin Group, right? He's probably waiting for me in his study?"
"…How did you know?"
"In dramas and web novels the chairman is usually in the study."
"Aren't you nervous? Most people freeze the first time they step into Grandfather's study. A few years ago I even saw someone throw up."
"I am a little nervous."
After meeting high-ranking figures several times in the worlds of fiction, I had grown used to it.
"But I haven't done anything wrong. He didn't call me here to kill me, so there's no need to shake in my boots."
We arrived in front of an antique wooden door on the third floor. Ha Seung-hee's expression changed completely. Even she, a member of the family, tensed up at the study of Ha Heon-shin, chairman of the Sejin Group.
She slowly knocked on the door with the back of her right hand.
"Grandfather. It's Seung-hee. I've come with Senior Yujin."
"Come in."
A heavy voice came from beyond the door. Before Ha Seung-hee could even grasp the handle, the door opened and a man stepped out. He was a middle-aged man with a circular bald spot spreading across the crown of his head. His face was soaked with cold sweat. He gave Ha Seung-hee a silent bow and immediately headed downstairs.
He didn't look like a relative, so he was probably one of the subsidiary presidents.
Judging by the presidents gathered on the first floor… today must be the regular reporting day.
I entered the study with Ha Seung-hee. Even though the lights were on, the bookcases filling the room made the whole space feel dark. At the far end, by the window, a man sat at a desk.
Ha Heon-shin, chairman of the Sejin Group. Though he was actually over eighty, he looked like a man in his mid-forties.
His gaze turned toward me. The look, charged with presence, became pressure that wrapped around my body.
It was so predictable I almost laughed.
People in high places always want to crush the other person's spirit, don't they?
I wasn't about to flinch at pressure this mild. I had no intention of pretending to be intimidated either. I met Ha Heon-shin's eyes head-on.
"It's been a while. Do you remember me?"
"I saw you on Jeju Island. That day's memory was intense. Unforgettable, really."
I had met him during the Jeju Island MT. Back then it had been little more than a greeting. Ha Heon-shin could never have imagined I would one day walk into his study like this.
"It doesn't feel that long ago… yet you're a completely different person. Isn't your growth a little too fast? Do you have some special secret?"
"Consistent training is the secret. More than that, I'd like to know why you called me here."
"Bold. I don't dislike young people like you."
Ha Heon-shin pulled a document from a drawer and set it on the desk.
"This is a file of information on you. Currently enrolled at Gukcheon University. Parents work in Pyeongchang, Gangwon Province. You awakened roughly two years ago. In just two years you rose to B-Class, and your actual combat ability is A-Class. If you came from a special family I could understand it… but your background is completely ordinary."
"……."
"Ah, did investigating you upset you? If so, I apologize."
"It doesn't feel great… but it's fine. Honestly, all of that is information anyone could dig up easily."
The details Ha Heon-shin had recited were the kind a private investigator could produce in a single day. My parents were safe. They had been designated special management targets by the Association. If anything happened to them, the Association would contact me immediately.
"Maintaining composure without being shaken is impressive. At your age I wasn't very good at controlling my emotions…"
"I try to stay calm no matter the situation."
"Regarding HB-1, you signed a contract with Seung-hee. Are you really selling the rights to HB-1 for a mere three hundred billion won? HB-1 is worth far more than that."
"That discussion is already finished. I have no intention of claiming rights to HB-1 in the future. I swear it. I can even write a formal pledge if you want."
"I'll take your word for it. Well, money isn't that important to someone with your abilities. The reason I wanted to meet you in person… is to confirm your talent."
"…Talent?"
"When you rise high enough, you develop an eye for people. In my case, I developed an eye for a hunter's talent. With most hunters, one look is enough to estimate exactly how strong they can become."
"That's quite an ability."
My lukewarm reply made Ha Heon-shin chuckle lowly.
"You don't seem to believe me."
"No, I do. This world is full of people with all sorts of unusual abilities. An ability to see a person's talent wouldn't be strange at all. I just don't understand what that has to do with me."
"Do you remember when we met on Jeju Island? At the time I had no particular interest in you. Based on the talent I saw then, the boy named Park Su-ho was more impressive."
"Su-ho? He is pretty impressive, yeah."
"I believe I offered you some words of encouragement back then… but I'll be honest. I thought you would fall behind. The talent I saw in you then made even A-Class look difficult. I never dreamed you would grow this quickly and appear before me again."
"……."
Did he really possess the ability to see through a person's talent? The fact that he never forced his own grandson and granddaughter into hunter work made it highly likely that the ability was genuine.
"What's even more absurd is that even now I can't sense so much as a fragment of talent from you."
"…Hmm. I'm not sure what kind of answer you're looking for."
"I want to verify you myself. Would you care to spar with me?"