Chapter 377: A Clue (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 377: A Clue (4)
“You’d have to die, I suppose.”
He said it with all traces of the smile he’d worn just moments before completely gone.
Baek Hyeon-a felt a chill that seemed to freeze her to the bone.
His presence alone felt like it had already killed her once.
That was the feeling she got from his expression and tone, which held nothing but the unvarnished truth.
Her breath caught in her throat.
I understand what he means.
She understood what he wanted from her.
If he was under some kind of restriction, he didn't have to say it directly.
Instead, he wanted her to make contact with another member of the organization living under a cover identity like hers, or with their superiors.
In short, he meant to use her—the lead he’d paid a high price to find—as bait to catch another lead.
His words about leaving work early to meet friends could only be interpreted that way.
And if she did that, he would let her go.
Scowling, Baek Hyeon-a bit her lower lip.
I have no choice.
Unless she was prepared to die, she had no other option.
To live, she had to at least pretend to help him.
“…I’ll accept your ‘favor,’ Student Do-jin.”
Accepting the threat disguised as a favor, she struggled to her feet.
“Ugh…!”
But it wasn’t easy.
Every time she tried to stand, a sharp pain shot through her abdomen.
“Here.”
Kim Do-jin extended a hand toward her.
“…I’m fine.”
But instead of taking it, she slapped his infuriatingly offered hand away.
Smack!
“First you give me the disease, then the cure…”
She’d slapped it so hard that Kim Do-jin shook his hand in the air, a stinging sensation spreading across the back of it.
He smiled wryly and said, as if to placate her, “Try to understand. If I’d held back and the magic hadn’t dissipated, we’d both be in a much worse situation right now.”
“……”
He had a point.
If the half-hearted pain hadn't canceled the magic, she would have immediately fired an Electric Nova at him.
Kim Do-jin, who seemed to have more hidden skills than he let on, might have survived the hit.
But the building would have been obliterated, and she would have taken countless lives with her own hands.
When she thought of that moment, her current situation was certainly not the worst-case scenario.
Still, she didn't want to admit it so easily.
He’s so infuriating.
Every time a dull, throbbing pain pulsed through her, his smiling face seemed unbearably vexing.
Maybe it was because this was the first time she’d felt such intense pain from a person, not a monster.
Just once, she wanted to see his expression crumble.
“So… what are you going to do with me now?”
“What do you mean?” Kim Do-jin asked, a puzzled look on his face.
She replied to him, “Are you just going to do nothing? What if I pretend to help you and then stab you in the back?”
She thought saying that would at least make him flustered or cause him to frown.
But Kim Do-jin did neither.
“Huh, you’re right. What should I do then?”
Instead, he asked her back with a naive expression, as if he genuinely didn't know.
That, too, was infuriating.
It wasn't a look of genuine ignorance.
He knew she wouldn't do it and was clearly teasing her.
“…Just how much do you know about me?”
“Who knows?” he replied with a shrug.
“Just that to you, Professor, there’s probably not much difference between me and them.”
Baek Hyeon-a frowned at the vague, ambiguous answer.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
A handsome smile spread across Kim Do-jin’s lips as he answered, “Both sides are forcing you to make a choice you don’t want, aren’t they?”
“……”
She was now genuinely curious.
Just who was the informant who had fed him this information?
Who could it be? Who knows such trivial details?
While she wondered, he continued.
“I don’t know the specific circumstances. But I’m sure of one thing.”
Kim Do-jin grinned at her as she stared at him, her face blank.
“I’m still better than those guys.”
“Pfft.”
A small laugh escaped Baek Hyeon-a’s lips before she could stop it.
“You sound like some scoundrel trying to hit on a girl who already has a boyfriend.”
“Not entirely wrong. If you add the fact that her boyfriend is a bad guy… no, a complete bastard.”
That was, in fact, what he wanted.
Whether it was people or things.
He wanted to take everything good that Hexagram had, not just the woman before him.
They took what was his first, so wasn't it only natural that he’d want to make them pay a fitting price?
After barely managing to stifle her untimely laughter, she spoke with a serious expression.
“Promise me one thing.”
“Go on.”
“That no matter what happens, you’ll guarantee my life… my safety.”
The emotion revealed on her face as she said this was not fear, but obsession.
An obsession with living.
People like that usually fell into two categories.
Those who valued their own lives above all else, who believed they had to survive even if the world ended.
And those who were forcibly bound to a reason they absolutely had to stay alive.
Which one was she?
He answered, “I don’t know if you can trust a verbal promise… but I promise.”
It was a matter of course, even if she hadn't insisted on a promise.
Guaranteeing an informant’s safety during an operation was basic common sense.
His single reply eased her mind, if only a little. A faint smile touched her lips as she said, “I don’t know how this will turn out… but let’s give it our best shot.”
*
Korea University was one of the world’s foremost Hunter training academies.
A prestigious institution that had produced countless high-ranking Hunters throughout its long history.
However, even they had one lingering regret.
“It’s that all the guilds founded by Korea University alumni are mediocre.”
Individually, they had produced many high-ranking Hunters.
It would take all night to list all their names.
Among them, there were some who had successfully established their own guilds and become independent, but that was it.
They had merely grown into respectable mid-sized guilds; not a single one had become a major guild that everyone recognized by name.
Not one in their entire long history.
It was their shame.
This was because among the guilds founded by Hunters from rival academies in the US and Europe, several were major guilds boasting worldwide fame.
Some might ask, isn’t it enough for a Hunter academy to produce good high-ranking Hunters? Why are guilds so important?
And they would be one hundred percent correct.
Correct, but… for a rival institution, there’s no easier target for them to attack.
“An academy excellent at cultivating individual abilities, but incapable of fostering leadership.”
That was an actual line from a famous American or European column comparing the world’s academies, describing Korea University’s characteristics.
It might seem like a statement that wouldn't have much impact on students aspiring to be Hunters, but that wasn't the case.
Once a person’s individual abilities reach a certain level, they inevitably start thinking about the next step.
For a Hunter, that next step is, ultimately, a guild.
To take a small guild formed with like-minded colleagues and elevate it to the ranks of a major guild that everyone looks up to—isn't that the ultimate dream, a fantasy come to life?
In fact, a fair number of promising domestic and international talents who received admission offers from Korea University ended up enrolling in North American and European academies for this very reason.
“It’s a stigma that Korea University wants to erase, one way or another.”
There was only one effective way to wash away such a stigma.
A guild founded by a Korea University alumnus had to rise to the ranks of a major guild.
That was why the university allowed them to use club rooms or spare spaces as guild hideouts, and why they sent out messages disguised as announcements for club recruitment exams to the entire student body during vacation.
“For us, the situation couldn’t be better.”
Whatever their intentions, the conditions were perfect for us.
Thanks to them, we got a guild hideout without spending a dime and the chance to easily scoop up talent that was just lying on the ground.
Shin Yu-jeong, who had been listening to me quietly, asked in a blunt tone, “So… why are you telling me all this now?”
“What do you think?”
“I asked you first. Who answers a question with a question?”
Right here, you punk.
Unable to grasp my meaning, I grabbed her by the shoulders and personally led her to the window.
“Here, look down there.”
Below the window, hundreds of Korea University students were lined up at the entrance to the main auditorium.
All of them had rushed here after seeing the university’s announcement about the guild… no, the club recruitment exam.
“All those people are here to join our guild.”
“…That’s a lot.”
“Right. But we can’t accept all of them, can we?”
“Well… you said our guild would be a small, elite group.”
“Exactly.”
There isn't room for all of them in our elite guild.
No matter how much talent is in that crowd, we’ll probably only take three to five at most.
“If we’re going to accept anyone, shouldn’t we only take the biggest and brightest of all the gems?”
“I suppose so.”
“Then what’s the best way to sort through them?”
“…What is it?”
The method for sorting the gems is very simple.
No, honestly, I didn't want to think too hard about it, so I just picked the simplest method that came to mind.
So, what was that method?
“It’s to have the gems I’ve already hand-picked clash with the prospective ones.”
“Have the gems… clash?”
“Yep.”
I placed a hand on her bewildered shoulder, gave her a thumbs-up with the other, and offered words of encouragement.
“So, do your best!”
I’ll be cheering for you from the sidelines