Chapter 302: Anxiety (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 302: Anxiety (1)
A young, spirited Hunter who kicked away the path to becoming a millionaire. Or just a madman.
That's the public's current assessment of me.
The word "madman" might sound negative, but the reality is quite different.
Most of the people calling me a madman are just saying it because they think it's a waste of money.
They can't understand why I'd pass up the chance to have money pile up in my bank account just by releasing the spell formula for a fee. They say they'd never do something so foolish.
"The reaction's great."
Madman, sucker, and so on.
The words sound bad, but my public image is skyrocketing.
There will always be opportunities to make money. But chances to manage my image don't come by so easily.
Especially considering my future will soon be noisy with woman problems, I need to manage my image whenever I get the chance.
So what's the ultimate goal in all this?
"A guy with no flaws except for his woman problems."
A man you can't completely write off as a bad guy.
That's the image I'm aiming for.
Once you become S-rank, you basically get what you could call a free pass from criticism, but that's no reason to manage my image like crap and get pointed at.
Besides, everything I did wasn't just for image management.
Wasn't I given a duty to commit deeds, whether good or bad?
"Yeah, I kicked that opportunity away real good."
The bracelet visible only to me, the ‘Scales of Karma.’
One of the two orbs hanging from it was now filled with a pure white light.
More than half of that was earned from distributing the spell formula for free.
This taught me one thing.
"Even hypocrisy counts as a good deed, huh?"
I might have dressed it up in fancy words, but releasing the formula for free was entirely for my own benefit.
The damage from the new drug?
Why should I worry about all that?
I'm the type of person who's content just taking good care of the people around me.
Regardless of my intentions, the Scales of Karma granted me good karma.
In other words, even if it's hypocrisy, as long as the result is beneficial, it's recognized as a good deed.
"Sigh, I guess I'll have to do a lot of good deeds."
Looking at the black energy—the bad karma—piling up in the other orb makes me sigh.
It's just a little less than the massive amount of good karma I just earned.
If I'd gotten all this from doing bad things, I'd just accept it and say it's my fault, but...
"Seriously… what am I supposed to do if I accumulate bad karma every time I have sex?"
…All of this piled up from sex.
The act of sex itself can't be a sin.
If it were, would every married couple with children be a sinner?
I'm guessing the problem lies with the relationship I have with my partners.
"I mean... I've slept with a married woman, and I'm messing around with this woman and that woman without dating any of them."
By societal norms, it wouldn't be strange to be called a total piece of trash.
Of course, it's unclear whether this bracelet judges my sins based on societal norms, but anyway.
"Just letting bad karma pile up makes me uneasy."
The two opposing voices told me to accumulate karma.
There must be something given to me later based on that karma.
When it's hard to tell which side is better or worse, it's best to have a foot in both camps.
That way, I can cut ties with one and switch to the other at any time.
"Anyway, the urgent stuff is over for now…."
My personal business is done.
What's left... the Hunter Qualification Exam, I guess.
"I should raise the training level by another notch."
After almost getting bitten by those Zodiac bastards, I'm starting to feel a sense of crisis.
Among those with the ‘One with Aptitude’ trait, is he the only one who's formed a group?
I don't think so.
For now, I've only had friction with them, but who knows what will happen over time.
So, I've decided to build up my own force.
Nothing grand, just a small, elite group where each member is a match for a hundred.
The starting point will be my team members.
I don't know how many more will be added in the future, but as the de facto first generation, they need to be dependable.
"In that sense, I should raise it by two levels."
Gotta raise them strong, yep.
* * *
The God-Serving Society (奉神會).
A group considered a guild within China, but treated as semi-villains by the rest of the world.
However, their leader, Lu Bu, was recognized both inside and outside of China as a bona fide S-rank Hunter.
The reason was simple: they feared the considerable repercussions of branding him a villain.
『Among men, Lu Bu.』
Just as the Lu Bu of the Three Kingdoms era was called, so too was the Lu Bu of today.
He was a powerhouse among powerhouses, one of the few S-ranks who could even face him, leading some to argue he was effectively above S-rank.
And now, that very man was unleashing his fury.
Rumble…!
A rage so intense it shook their entire base in the heart of Beijing to its foundations.
The reason was singular.
"Say that again."
"…Sales of Red God's Might (赤神威) have reached a point where they are practically impossible."
Red God's Might (赤神威).
The true name of the red pill they had created, introduced to the world as 'Rage-13'.
The reason they gave it such a grandiose name—'The Majesty of the Red God'—was because it contained the power of a true god.
The mana of their one and only god, Lu Bu.
The God-Serving Society had planned to sell it worldwide to secure funds and pursue their grand dream.
But they were blocked before they could even begin.
"Because of the noise from Korea, vigilance against Red God's Might has become too high."
It's a drug that grants immense power temporarily but completely destroys the body with long-term use.
Once it was revealed to be effective on not just Awakened Beings but Hunters as well, the entire world drew its sword against Red God's Might.
No matter how many addicts there were, they couldn't sell it with governments cracking down so aggressively, so all sales routes were cut off.
At this, Lu Bu suppressed his anger and asked.
"Interest is a fleeting thing. We should be able to resume sales after this passing shower blows over."
So why were they insisting on halting sales altogether?
In response to his reprimand, the man continued.
"…The spell formula developed in Korea is too intricate, making it difficult to find a way to bypass it."
"And so?"
"The research lab reports that they will need at least one to two years."
The drug they had ambitiously developed had become useless.
Thanks to that damned spell formula, it would take a whole one to two years to resume sales.
That meant the fulfillment of his grand plan was also delayed by that much.
"…I expected things wouldn't go smoothly."
To achieve a grand dream, trials and tribulations were bound to follow.
He understood this well and had steeled his resolve to conquer any mountain that stood in his way.
However.
"To stumble before I even had a chance to start."
That was what was truly agonizing.
And it made him furious.
The fact that the source of all this was Korea enraged him even more.
"Korea…."
He was unbearably angry and irritated that his work had been obstructed by a human born on that tiny speck of land.
"Son Si-woo… Did that damn bastard make a move?"
When he thought of Korea, Son Si-woo was the one who came to mind.
An S-rank Hunter from a small country who was surprisingly skilled, and even more arrogant.
To interfere with his plans, one had to be at least at that level.
"…No, sir. It's been determined that an A-rank Hunter named Kim Do-jin handled the drug sales, and the Scarlet Witch was involved in the spell formula's development."
Lu Bu frowned.
"So that Son Si-woo bastard did nothing?"
"Correct. Though it's possible he gave orders from behind the scenes…."
"He's not the type. He'd sooner step forward himself than just give orders and stay in the back."
Then it really was a greenhorn named Kim Do-jin who had thwarted his plans.
"How arrogant."
A quick search for information only deepened that thought.
The youngest B-rank Hunter, then A-rank, and now he was even being mentioned as a potential S-rank.
The headlines of the articles about him were even more ridiculous.
Calling a young punk who just reached A-rank the rising star who would lead Korea's future, and what not.
Lu Bu's lips twisted as he read.
"This one should be suitable."
Regardless of the facts, it was clear that the Republic of Korea was pinning its hopes on this fledgling named Kim Do-jin.
In that case.
"Kill him."
It would serve as a fitting warning to the Republic of Korea for interfering with his work.
"Who should be selected for the task?"
After a moment of thought, he answered his subordinate's question.
"Tell Seongnyeom. Have him bring me the bastard's head before the year is out."
He had no doubt that his most cruel subordinate would make the arrogant bastard suffer until the moment of his death.
* * *
The training intensity was instantly raised by two levels.
The ones who kept up most easily were Elena and Shin Yu-jeong, who had high stamina, while Na-eun struggled the most.
Her stats were heavily skewed toward magic, and the rest were a total bust, so she'd probably have to suffer for a while to improve them.
Still, she won't give up.
Whenever we're alone after training, I pat her head and tell her she worked hard, and she absolutely loves it.
Now it seems like she grits her teeth and endures just for that.
Right.
"Everything up to this point is great, but…."
After I mentioned my team members at the A-rank promotion ceremony, the overall atmosphere of the training grew heavier.
Not in a bad way, but in the sense that their focus became much sharper.
An article came out.
What was the headline again?
【Who Are the Team Members of Korea's Rising Star, Kim Do-jin?】
Something like that.
Thanks to that, the expectations for them shot up as well.
They're just aspirants for now, but since they were handpicked by me, Kim Do-jin, the expectations are naturally high.
Failing the Hunter Qualification Exam in this situation, or barely scraping by?
What could be more embarrassing than that?
Anyway, for these reasons, the training is going as well as it possibly could.
Except for one person.
"…What am I going to do with her?"
Son Seo-yeon is the only one just spinning her wheels, unable to make any real progress.
She's working hard, trying to solve the homework I gave her, but…
"How can every single attempt be a swing and a miss?"
The problem is that she's just flailing, so there's nothing to salvage.
She's been watching videos of Son Si-woo on her smartphone, swinging her sword as if she's had an epiphany, only to tilt her head in confusion dozens of times.
Sensing my gaze, she suddenly blushes and approaches me hesitantly.
"Uh, um… can't you give me a little hint?"
"……."
Like I would.