One Month to S-Rank
Before exiting the Seungcheon Tower.
“Let’s grab everything worth taking.”
【Is there still more to claim?】
“Corpse crafting comprehension.”
【You mean to analyze the Skeleton Knight remnants!】
“That’s my Ingrid.”
【Hohoho. How could that iron-head ever grasp the master’s intent?】
【Begone!】
Corpse Processing
I projected mana into the Skeleton Knight remnants. A single specimen would never let me fully map the structure. Still, I told myself that dust piled high enough becomes a mountain…
You have completely analyzed the structure of the Skeleton Knight.
You have learned the Skeleton Knight crafting method.
What?
Come again?
“It worked in one shot.”
I had ground through several ghouls and Skeleton Archers just to learn their recipes. This felt almost hollow by comparison.
No. Look on the bright side. With the Skeleton Knight blueprint as a foundation, I could start remodeling Sir Isra.
Resurrected had no fixed rank. The same had been true when I first housed her soul. Leave only the spirit and rebuild the entire body, and the specs could climb without limit.
【Spec enhancement is well and good, yet I still desire a proper body.】
【You iron-head. Who told you to price yourself so high?】
【I possess no talent for meddling in my lord’s dreams!】
I let out a belch. I hadn’t even eaten lunch, yet my stomach felt full. Everything worth taking was already mine. Without a second thought I pushed open the door to the outside.
A heavy gugong echoed as light spilled through the crack. After a few blinks, dozens of reporters swam into focus.
【It seems they have been waiting for my lord.】
I had expected as much. Last time I hit S-rank they had hunted me with bloodshot eyes. During the C-rank promotion exam I had accidentally drawn every eye in the country; once they realized I was the main character of that spectacle, of course they would camp the exact entry point I had used.
The moment the reporters parted their lips, Baek Seonghyeon stepped squarely in front of me.
“Hunter Park Minho is affiliated with our Seungcheon Agency.”
“All questions will be taken at a later press conference.”
A press conference?
Come on. I’m not a celebrity—why the hell would I need a press conference?
“Then you should never have made those bombastic statements.”
“Pardon?”
“In the interview you declared that S-rank was already a done deal.”
Ah. That. A tragedy born of one tiny slip of the tongue.
“You went on about how nervous you were for your first C-rank exam and so on. I nearly jumped out of my seat when I saw the articles.”
“Umm… I’m sorry.”
“Humility is fine, but with me I want honesty.”
Huh?
“If I had known it would turn out like this, I would have blown the trumpet far louder.”
“Weren’t you scolding me for the slip of the tongue?”
“That is also true, and this is also true.”
Ugh. Either scold me or praise me—pick one already.
Explosive growth unprecedented not only in Korea but across the entire world!
From the outside, the domestic Top Five showed little reaction to the newcomer who had just set the hunter industry ablaze.
“Can we make contact with Director Baek Seonghyeon?”
“Yes. He asked us for media massage last time, so the line is still open.”
“Can you reach out again?”
“Are you certain, sir?”
“I’ll bow my head to Director Baek once. No big deal.”
“It was the Chairman himself who dismissed him.”
At the executive’s pointed reminder, Chilseong Guildmaster Shin Junyeong let a thin sneer curl his lips.
“Perfect. This will prove even Father is only human.”
As an A-rank hunter, Shin Junyeong had been able to build one of the nation’s Top Five guilds only because of the Chilseong Group’s shadow. Background was not everything, yet in an industry where raw strength came first, no one could deny how heavy that shadow truly was.
This is my chance to peel a little of headquarters’ influence away.
He kept succession in mind while simultaneously securing a means to recruit a genuine talent. Whether the recruitment succeeded or failed, the situation already favored Shin Junyeong.
“Don’t poke him the way Mir did.”
“Understood.”
In contrast, Mir Guildmaster Yong Cheonwoo made no effort to hide his displeasure.
“All because of that summon of his.”
“A summon, sir?”
“I sparred with it. It was rather impressive.”
“For the Guildmaster to offer praise—it must be something else.”
“It was no ordinary zombie.”
“Even so, it’s still a low-tier undead. Once he grows, it won’t be usable anymore.”
That Minho belonged to the necromancer lineage was already certain. Undead came with fixed ranks. No matter how much you enhanced a skeleton, it would never match a troll. The secret to Minho’s strength—those “beyond-rank” minions—had an expiration date.
Yong Cheonwoo nodded, pleased with his new personnel director’s assessment.
“Correct observation.”
“How long does the Guildmaster estimate that shelf life to be?”
After replaying the sparring match in his mind, Yong Cheonwoo finished his calculations.
“Anything above B-rank is impossible.”
With pure grit, most people could climb to C-rank inside five years. Hunt monsters for levels, bounce off the Seungcheon Tower a few times, and promotion eventually came. B-rank and C-rank, however, were worlds apart.
“There’s a reason they call it the Wailing Wall.”
Warrior-types needed Mana Release. Mage-types needed to deploy two or more spells simultaneously. Simply retaking the exam never taught the knack. Past B-rank, only genuine enlightenment opened the door.
“We’ll watch for now.”
“Report only if something special happens.”
Recruiting Minho was off the table. Open interference was equally unwise; a clumsy touch would only stain Mir’s image. The moment those peculiar minions stopped packing a punch—namely, the moment Minho himself reached B-rank—would be the perfect time to apply pressure.
Phoenix Guildmaster Yang Seoyeon also received word of Minho’s promotion.
“I’d love to bring that kid over if we can.”
“Former Chilseong Director Baek Seonghyeon is attached to him. It will be difficult.”
“Nothing we can do, then. Still, send a congratulatory wreath under my name.”
“A wreath alone won’t get us a recruitment, ma’am.”
“Hey. Last time he saved our people when they were about to die, didn’t he?”
“He did.”
“Even if it’s not about recruitment, we still say thank you. As human beings, you know?”
“I’ll take care of it.”
The remaining two of the Top Five, having never dealt with Minho directly, simply watched. The domestic hunter industry was in violent flux. Who would profit from the storm one man had kicked up?
Not only the Top Five but the large guilds beneath them also observed in silence. The fact that Mir and Minho had already clashed once was common knowledge. If Minho’s steep growth continued, a head-on collision with Mir was inevitable.
Park Minho won’t win that fight.
In the end he’ll have to take someone’s hand.
Whoever scooped up a cornered Minho would rise to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the Top Five. They waited for the butterfly’s wingbeat to become a typhoon.
Chinese Superhuman General Bureau.
Ling Shamei took a sip of tea. The rich fragrance spreading across her palate drew a natural smile.
“How is Jung Shinho?”
“He has fully digested the Dragon Heart.”
“That is not what I asked.”
“He failed the promotion. He claims he can succeed next month.”
A soft clink as she set the cup down.
“Idiot.”
The hunter who had boasted that a Dragon Heart alone would carry him straight to S-rank had produced nothing. His confidence now looked ridiculous.
“Just one more month. Please give him a little more time.”
“This is exactly why you can’t trust those Koreans.”
She spat the insult, yet she had fully anticipated the outcome. Absorbing a Dragon Heart and achieving enlightenment were separate matters. Overflowing mana could sometimes push someone past their limit, but the probability was never one hundred percent. Ignoring even that basic truth and swaggering about promotion had guaranteed this fiasco.
“Press Jung Shinho harder.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“By the way, interesting news has been arriving from Korea.”
“The S-rank promotee, I presume.”
“He achieved S-rank on his very first attempt, I hear.”
“Feats of that caliber are rare even among the Twelve Heroes.”
A handful of hunters had earned S-rank on their first promotion exam; a few of the Twelve Heroes were among them. Yet not a single one had done so a mere month after ranking up in the first place.
I should have moved the moment I first heard the news.
At the time they had been deep in the Jung Shinho naturalization project. Negotiations were in the final stretch, leaving no bandwidth to approach Minho. Korea’s Rift Authority was not incompetent; concentrating on the clandestine contact with Jung Shinho had been the Korean branch’s best option.
“Is contact possible?”
“Korea’s Rift Authority has raised its alert level.”
“I asked whether it is possible.”
“We will create an opportunity.”
“Good.”
“May we deploy the Battle Wolves for this project?”
Battle Wolves—elite superhumans cultivated by the Superhuman General Bureau specifically for anti-hunter operations. The request was a polite way of saying they would not hesitate to use force if contact proved difficult or persuasion impossible.
“Are you prepared to deliver results?”
“Yes.”
“Very well. Submit the paperwork and I will stamp it.”
“Thank you.”
“Remember this well. Outstanding superhumans must be brought into the Party’s fold.”
Otherwise, kill them.
Ling Shamei smiled once more and brought the cup to her lips. The smile twisted.
“The tea has gone cold.”
Without hesitation she tilted the cup. Lukewarm tea poured into the wastebasket.