Chapter 46
Chapter 46
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 46
Chapter Title: A-Rank Skill, Appraisal
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Astonishingly, she possessed an A-rank Appraisal skill that could roughly discern information about people or objects.
Thanks to it, he could check the rank and condition of opposing superhumans.
Of course, that included artifacts, equipment, and items as well.
'Dia's Appraisal skill will come in handy.'
It would let him figure out the rank and condition of auction items.
Normally, to check an item's information, one had to use an Appraisal scroll.
Of course, there were superhumans with Appraisal skills, but they were extremely rare.
'Superhumans with Appraisal skills... At this point in time, maybe just the Twilight Alchemist or the Golden Sun Blacksmith.'
But those individuals were making names for themselves in America and Europe, not Korea.
Which made Dia's Appraisal skill a huge merit.
Vrooom.
At that moment, a single car approached the main gate of Black Tortoise Hall where Shin Yu-hyun was waiting.
One glance was enough to tell it was a foreign luxury model.
"That's..."
Shin Yu-hyun's face showed a hint of surprise.
Choi Jung-hoon grinned in response.
"Yes, it's exactly what you're thinking, Hall Leader. The Clan Leader sent over a fine ride. We stored it in the Arant garage."
"I see."
Shin Yu-hyun smiled back at Choi Jung-hoon's reply.
Screech.
By then, the luxury car had pulled up right in front of Shin Yu-hyun. The foreign car sent by Shin Sung-il was none other than a top-tier S-Class model from Vants, the one Shin Yu-hyun had been eyeing.
'Not even surprising anymore.'
Shin Yu-hyun chuckled inwardly.
After all, he'd confirmed the black card loaded with 10 billion yesterday.
"Please, hop in."
As the S-Class came to a stop, Choi Jung-hoon promptly opened the rear door.
Shin Yu-hyun gave a slight nod of thanks to Choi Jung-hoon before climbing into the back seat.
"Good morning."
Someone in the driver's seat greeted Shin Yu-hyun.
For a split second, Shin Yu-hyun looked surprised. An unexpected person was behind the wheel.
"Wait, why is Secretary Ishia...?"
Astonishingly, the driver's seat held Ishia, her expression as businesslike as ever.
"From now on, I'll be assisting you comprehensively, Hall Leader. I look forward to working with you."
"Is that so? The pleasure's mine."
"Ah, and you can drop the formalities."
'Huh?'
Shin Yu-hyun was taken aback by Ishia's response.
Drop the formal speech?
'Is she testing me?'
Shin Yu-hyun let out a hollow chuckle.
"No, it's fine. I prefer being polite."
"...I see."
Ishia fell silent for a moment before responding to Shin Yu-hyun's words.
She still wore her usual businesslike face toward him, but inwardly, she was shocked.
It was because his attitude differed from that of the other successor candidates in the clan.
'I can't drop formalities just yet.'
Meanwhile, Shin Yu-hyun chuckled to himself.
Superhuman society fundamentally revolved around ranks.
Even if someone's position was lower, if their rank was higher, a minimum of courtesy was required.
That was why Shin Yu-hyun used formal speech with Vice Clan Leader Choi Jung-hoon, HR Director Lee Yeon-hwa, and Finance Director Kim Jae-hyun.
Moreover, he'd done the same with the Black Tortoise Sword Division members he'd met in the Arachne nest.
Lee Dae-young and the others ranged from upper 3-star to top 3-star, similar to or slightly above Shin Yu-hyun.
Except for the youngest, Choi Seung-hyun.
But with his second brother Shin Cheol-jin and youngest brother Shin Cheol-ho, he spoke casually.
They were both rude bastards anyway.
Direct kin didn't fuss much over etiquette or formality to begin with.
They were rivals competing for the successor position—what courtesy was there to observe?
That said, he showed minimal respect to his eldest brother and eldest sister.
p>They were powerhouses who had already reached 5-star realm.
His second sister Shin Ji-ah was also a 5-star powerhouse, but they spoke casually and got along comfortably.
For these reasons, Shin Yu-hyun turned down Ishia's offer.
Shin Yu-hyun gave Ishia a meaningful look.
Right now, she was emitting the aura of an upper 3-star.
So it wouldn't be odd for him to drop formalities at her suggestion.
But Shin Yu-hyun knew.
That her actual realm was higher than his.
And.
"That said, I should be able to drop formalities with Secretary Ishia before long."
"That's... something to look forward to."
For a moment, a crack appeared in Ishia's businesslike expression.
'Catch up to me, a lower 4-star?'
The rank she knew Shin Yu-hyun to have was upper 3-star.
About a three-step gap.
It was just three steps, but the chasm between them was immense.
Normally, it'd take years to bridge.
Yet here he was, declaring he'd drop formalities soon.
That meant he intended to grow strong enough to match her in short order.
"Then let's head out."
"Yes."
At Shin Yu-hyun's urging, Ishia shifted gears and pressed the accelerator.
With that, the S-Class carrying Shin Yu-hyun sped toward the Charlotte Hotel, the venue for Namdu Group's auction party.
A few hours later.
Shin Yu-hyun arrived at the special first-class Charlotte Hotel.
As Ishia opened the rear door at the entrance, Shin Yu-hyun stepped out of the S-Class.
"I'll come back around when the party ends."
"Got it."
After exchanging goodbyes with Ishia, Shin Yu-hyun headed to the desk in the hotel's first-floor lobby.
"Thank you for visiting our hotel. Shall I check your reservation?"
"I'm here on an invitation."
Shin Yu-hyun handed the invitation from Namdu Group to the desk staff.
"Ah, you've been invited to the auction party. We'll escort you right away."
The female staffer at the desk glanced at the invitation and hurriedly called another employee.
With the hotel staff's guidance, Shin Yu-hyun reached the Sapphire Convention Hall on the third floor.
"May I see your invitation?"
Upon arriving at the hall entrance, a man in a black suit—clearly security—eyed Shin Yu-hyun sharply and requested the invite.
"Here."
Shin Yu-hyun showed it to the man. The stern-faced guard softened his gaze and said,
"All clear. Enjoy your time."
Thanks to the invitation, Shin Yu-hyun entered the party venue without issue.
'So this is the auction party venue?'
Shin Yu-hyun surveyed the interior.
It was quite spacious, with dozens of round tables arranged around.
Dozens of people sat scattered in groups of two to five at the round tables.
Shin Yu-hyun took in their faces.
'Some heavy hitters here.'
The venue held everyone from the Hunter Association's Korean branch chief to executives from Namdu Group's affiliates.
And that wasn't all.
Hunters and superhumans from various guilds, at least C-rank to B-rank, sat chatting at the tables.
'Figures there'd be folks from the Four Great Houses too.'
Korea's four great martial families.
Heaven-Splitting Swordsmanship Shin Family.
Spiral Fist Lee Family.
Six Harmonies Spear Arts Kim Family.
Ten Thousand Poisons Hidden Weapons Choi Family.
They commanded the most superhumans in Korea.
Of course, beyond the four great houses, there were various mid- and small-sized martial families, as well as guilds formed by hunters.
As expected, a few superhumans from the four great houses were visible in the venue.
'Mostly 4-stars, as you'd expect.'
Typically, 3-star superhumans made up the bulk as C-rank general hunters, followed by 4-stars as C-rank veteran hunters. Most superhumans fell into 3- or 4-star.
From 5-stars onward, their numbers dropped sharply.
Thus, 5-stars were rare in the venue, and 6-stars even harder to spot.
'Hm?'
Suddenly, Shin Yu-hyun's expression turned surprised.
At a table toward the front of the venue sat three female superhumans.
He paid particular attention to one of them.
'The Witch of Crimson Eyes.'
A beauty with classic Korean features and vibrant red hair.
Not a half-blood, though.
'Never thought I'd run into her here.'
6-star A-rank hunter, Lee Chae-hwa.
A glamorous beauty with wavy red hair cascading to her waist and crimson demon eyes.
She was the leader of Korea's Crimson Tower Guild and one of Asia's rare mages.
In the East, swordsmen, spearmen, martial artists, and such martial artists dominated.
The West, by contrast, was full of mages.
The Crimson Tower led by Lee Chae-hwa was one of the few guilds of mages, specializing in fire attributes.
Lee Chae-hwa herself owned Crimson Eyes specialized in fire, making her red hair shine brilliantly.
The two women beside her were likely Crimson Tower mages as well.
'Lucky me.'
Shin Yu-hyun smiled inwardly.
Lee Chae-hwa was one of Korea's undisputed famous powerhouses.
Even if every superhuman here rushed her, they couldn't win.
Her flame magic handled both offense and defense with overwhelming firepower.
Plus, being Korean-born among martial artists, her close-quarters combat was top-tier.
Considering Western mages' weakness up close, she was practically cheating.
And above all, her signature crimson eyes were mighty demon eyes.
Distance didn't matter—she could incinerate any foe in her sight with flame magic.
Enabling ultra-long-range attacks.
But.
'Around now, she's probably starting to have issues.'
In his previous life, Lee Chae-hwa died before the Getia invasion fully ramped up.
Due to one problem she had.
'If things go well, I might be able to bring her to my side.'
Shin Yu-hyun knew how to solve her problem.
About eight years from now, Maria, the European witch who became his lover, would discover a cure for Lee Chae-hwa.
So if he fixed her issue and won her over, it'd be hugely helpful in many ways.
She was a celebrity, after all.
'No need to rush, though.'
Today's main goal was the auction items.
Namdu Group's auction house was famous for quality goods.
He also needed magic beast corpses for his undead Deathwatch.
'For Lee Chae-hwa, I can ask Nam Yeon-ah to introduce us later.'
Shin Yu-hyun planned to approach her gradually. He had plenty of time at the party auction today.
And he figured he could ask Nam Yeon-ah or Chairman Nam Hyun-chul for an introduction. Since Namdu Group invited her, they surely knew each other.
'But...'
Shin Yu-hyun looked around.
An inexplicable unease had been nagging him since earlier.
Especially from the shadowy table in the far right corner near the entrance.
'What is it?'
Shin Yu-hyun stared at the table.
His crisis detection, honed from fleeing and surviving Getia in his past life, was ringing alarms.
Something was there.
Shin Yu-hyun briefly conversed with Dia in the shadows via mental sync.
Among Dia's various support skills was Detection.
A moment later.
Bzzz.
Through Dia's Detection skill, Shin Yu-hyun uncovered the source of the unease.
Nom nom nom!
He spotted a young girl at the corner table, inhaling a chocolate cake.
'Hiding with Stealth skill... to eat cake?'
Shin Yu-hyun looked utterly dumbfounded.
At that instant.
Shin Yu-hyun, staring at the table, locked eyes with the girl.
Pfft! *Cough*!