Chapter 93
Chapter 93
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 93
Chapter Title: Seeing is Believing
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People accept things they experience with their own bodies far more readily than what they hear.
That’s why the saying “Seeing is believing” had been in common use from the era it originated right up to the present day.
Seo Sang-ho, who hadn’t believed in the existence of beastkin, had no choice but to acknowledge them after witnessing their abilities firsthand.
The idea of beings other than humans existing clashed with everything he knew, but with the evidence right in front of his eyes like this, acceptance was only natural.
“Residents from another dimension...”
After hearing the full explanation, Seo Sang-ho felt the foundations of his common sense shaking.
“This is a world where monsters and hunters actually appeared, so it’s not impossible, I guess.”
Seo Sang-ho muttered to himself, trying his best to make sense of the situation.
Kang Jin-hyuk’s actions up to now hadn’t exactly followed any logic anyway.
A mere D-rank Hunter had risen to become the guild master of a major guild in less than a year.
Having witnessed such an unreal history firsthand, he couldn’t exactly freak out over the arrival of some beastkin now.
“Where on earth did you find this many beastkin?”
“A secret.”
Kang Jin-hyuk had no intention of telling other hunters about the dungeon’s existence.
Seo Sang-ho and Lee Hye-na seemed trustworthy enough, but he planned to keep that one thing hidden.
Seo Sang-ho felt a bit slighted, but he understood Kang Jin-hyuk’s attitude.
As a hunter, it was wise to keep your trump cards secret to the end.
“A secret, huh... Then how are you planning to explain them to the Association?”
“I’ll ask Lee Jun-cheol to whip up some fake identities.”
“All of these beastkin?”
“All of them.”
Seo Sang-ho let out a hollow laugh.
If Lee Jun-cheol and his organization put their efforts into it, Pantheon’s power as a major guild made it far from impossible.
Seo Sang-ho pictured the trials Lee Jun-cheol would face in the process and silently wished him peace in the afterlife.
“Even if the identities get sorted, if you’re not planning to reveal them to the Association, parading them out in the open would be tough.”
“I’ll call them out only if another guild attacks or there’s a monster swarm.”
“Then where will they stay in the meantime?”
“There are plenty of rooms here.”
The current Pantheon headquarters building, left behind by Tyrant, was packed with facilities for guild members.
But hardly anyone was using those facilities right now.
Lee Jun-cheol and his organization members already had their own places to stay.
And the guild members who joined from Titan mainly operated in Titan’s territory.
Kang Jin-hyuk figured it was far more profitable to hand the empty rooms over to the beastkin than let them sit unused.
“Staying here would definitely put our minds at ease.”
Living mixed in with ordinary people would be even more burdensome for the beastkin.
Seo Sang-ho agreed that having them protected within the guild, living comfortably, was the better option for them.
“Alright, let’s say the beastkin issue is more or less settled.”
Seo Sang-ho pointed at the pure white figure next to Kang Jin-hyuk.
“What the hell is that lizard?”
『Watch your tongue, human.』
The dragon, shrunk down to human size, showed clear displeasure toward Seo Sang-ho.
『For the sake of the Lion’s face, I’ll forgive you this once. Dare to speak so rudely again, and prepare for death.』
Hearing the voice directly in his head, Seo Sang-ho looked at the dragon with wonder.
“It doesn’t even seem like a beastkin just by looking. What the heck did you bring with you?”
“I didn’t bring it. It followed me on its own.”
Kang Jin-hyuk glanced at the dragon and let out a deep sigh.
The dragon’s power was immense, but there were no urgent situations here that required deploying it.
With no certainty it could be controlled properly, the dragon’s presence was nothing but a burden to Kang Jin-hyuk.
“Can’t you just go back home?”
The dragon vigorously shook its head with dignified movements in response to Kang Jin-hyuk’s sincere plea.
『Absolutely not.』
Dragons were beings who pursued knowledge by nature.
It couldn’t pass up the rare chance to witness another dimension with its own eyes.
“At least turn into a human or some other animal form.”
『No.』
To the dragon, transforming into a human was on par with turning into a cockroach.
No matter how much Kang Jin-hyuk asked, it had zero intention of becoming such a lowly race.
“Then you plan to wander around looking like that?”
『I’ll use invisibility magic most of the time. No need to change form then.』
As soon as it finished speaking, the dragon demonstrated by turning itself transparent.
Kang Jin-hyuk, who had seen it once before, wasn’t impressed, but Seo Sang-ho and Lee Hye-na were.
“Invisibility? That’s impressive.”
“Even among assassin-class hunters, no one can hide that perfectly.”
Seeing the two in awe, the dragon puffed up with pride.
『This is child’s play.』
The dragon reappeared and stared intently at Kang Jin-hyuk.
Faced with that gaze demanding approval, Kang Jin-hyuk finally surrendered.
“Fine, do whatever you want.”
『Thank you.』
“But absolutely no killing anyone without my permission.”
『......Understood.』
The dragon hesitated briefly but soon accepted Kang Jin-hyuk’s condition.
What it wanted was to investigate this other dimension, so there was no need to kill any humans.
『Killing is one thing, but is it alright if I run a few experiments on them?』
“No.”
Seeing the dragon’s crestfallen expression, Kang Jin-hyuk felt it once more.
He needed to send this dragon back to where it came from as soon as possible.
‘If I leave it alone, who knows what kind of accident it’ll cause.’
To Kang Jin-hyuk, the dragon was like a nuclear missile.
The problem was that the launch button might get pressed on a whim.
It’d be a hundred times better if it didn’t exist at all.
But what could he do? With the damn missile having a mind of its own, all he could do was placate it carefully before it exploded in a fit of pique.
* * *
“Huh? Vacation?”
Jeong Dae-yoon, hearing the news from Lee Hye-na, stared at her with disbelief and suspicion.
“You said the guild would fall apart without me?”
Up to now, Pantheon had been making up for its shortage of guild members with Jeong Dae-yoon’s illusion skill.
The mountain of MP Potions piled up next to him showed just how long he’d been working without rest.
“The guild master brought in reinforcements. No more need to fool people with tricks.”
“Is that for real?”
“Do I look like someone who’d lie about something like this?”
“No, it’s not that.”
Jeong Dae-yoon had simply never taken a single day off since Pantheon’s founding, so he couldn’t comprehend the idea of a vacation.
He’d completely forgotten how to rest.
“Um... what do people even do on vacation?”
“Maybe start by getting some sleep?”
In Lee Hye-na’s eyes, Jeong Dae-yoon looked like a dried-up husk ready to crumble any second.
It was a blessing Kang Jin-hyuk had brought the beastkin before someone in the guild keeled over from overwork.
“Good for you. Even I think you need some shut-eye. Head home already.”
Lee Jun-cheol, working in the same office, congratulated Jeong Dae-yoon on his vacation.
Jeong Dae-yoon noticed the dark circles under his eyes too.
“If we’ve got reinforcements, shouldn’t you take a break too, Mr. Lee?”
“Those guys only know fighting...”
Lee Jun-cheol couldn’t assign the beastkin, who didn’t understand a word he said, to any of his tasks.
As a result, instead of his workload lightening, he’d gotten saddled with the extra job of securing 50 fake identities.
“I’ll make sure you get a break once this is wrapped up, so hang in there a bit longer.”
“No, it’s fine. My body’s tired, but the money’s piling up on its own, so I’m in a good mood.”
Lee Jun-cheol meant every word.
Jumping into the market using a major guild’s power was a hundred times better than shady back-alley deals.
“Pantheon’s a new guild, so we need to squeeze it hard now to keep profiting later, right?”
First impressions were everything.
Lee Jun-cheol didn’t want the connections he’d brought his entire organization along for to end with just some mediocre guild.
Even if it wore him out body and soul, he wanted to get this guild on the right track.
“By the way, what country are these people from that you can’t even reveal their original nationalities?”
“The guild master said it’s a secret, so we don’t know either.”
“Jeez. Dropping a bombshell like this and calling it a secret. Our guild master sure does whatever he wants.”
Lee Jun-cheol grumbled outwardly, but a smile bloomed on his lips.
Gaining 50 combat personnel was something he’d wished for dearly.
No matter how much you shored up the internals, without enough ‘soldiers,’ nothing worked.
The aftermath of the Titan-Tyrant clashes was finally fading, and other major guilds were starting to raise their heads one by one.
There’d be more than a few eyeing a newbie guild like this.
“You’re sure about this info you gave me?”
“Mr. Sang-ho tested them personally, so I can guarantee it 100%.”
“Seo Sang-ho’s evaluation... That’s trustworthy enough.”
The documents Lee Jun-cheol was reviewing listed the beastkin’s specs.
They had almost no skills, but their physical abilities more than made up for it.
In pure melee brawls, their strength would outshine most guild members.
‘The more I see, the more baffling this guy is.’
Lee Jun-cheol decided to stop wondering where Kang Jin-hyuk had found these people.
He probably wouldn’t tell even if asked.
Poking at his curiosity would just sour things between them, so now was the time to focus on using these recruits most efficiently.
“Oh, right. About this request from the guild master—is this really necessary?”
“Which one?”
“This. This thing.”
The paper Lee Jun-cheol handed Lee Hye-na outlined Kang Jin-hyuk’s demands for their outfits.
“A hood with a firmly secured hat, beanie, and mask... You’re seriously making this the uniform?”
“If we want to hide their identities from other guilds, it’s unavoidable.”
“Good lord. Dressed like that, they’ll look less like guild members and more like some gang.”
“They’re not the type to put out front anyway, so it should be fine.”
Kang Jin-hyuk planned to deploy the beastkin only when danger threatened the guild.
Showing their faces too often risked exposing them, and he didn’t want to work his recruits like dogs anyway.
“Anyone who sees them would think you recruited criminals.”
Lee Jun-cheol mulled over his own words and burst into dry laughter.
Using criminals as guild members—that described him and his organization perfectly.
The thugs who used to scrap in the black market were now working openly here, so adding a couple more groups wouldn’t raise any eyebrows.