Chapter 113
Chapter 113
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 113
Chapter Title: 21. Recruitment War (1)
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It was a completely unfamiliar experience for Kang San.
Every time he took a step amid the crowd surrounding him, hands shot out from all directions, thrusting business cards at him.
"Drake Guild would love to recruit you, Mr. Kang San. How about a simple meal sometime?"
"I'm from Flare. I've reached out personally before, but our sincerity toward you is genuine. Please, just contact us once. If we meet in person, you'll see how much Flare wants you."
"We..."
"The newly established this time..."
It was chaos.
The test results?
There was no need to even check them.
Kang San, who had been hyped up by Yu Jeong-young's remarks as having immense value, had demonstrated his ability to pass the B-Rank test right in front of everyone. For those who had already set their sights on recruiting him, it was enough to make their heads spin. In the midst of the fierce pushing and shoving, Kang San spotted one person and came to a halt.
"Congratulations."
"Thank you."
It was Jeong Hye-mi.
As Kang San smiled and replied, she ignored the envious stares around her and got straight to the point.
"I should have properly repaid you for the other day, but I couldn't, and I've regretted it ever since. You must have had your reasons for being out of touch for a few days. Would it be possible to move somewhere private and talk? I know everyone's thinking the same right now, but Heavenly Firmament has prepared a special offer just for you. You absolutely won't regret it."
"I appreciate the offer, but right now, I'm exhausted from the test and need some rest."
"Ah, of course."
The usual Jeong Hye-mi
would have backed off.
In truth, Kang San had just gone through an intense battle, and pressuring him wasn't her style. But given the circumstances—and her own boiling ambition—she couldn't help but add,
"...Will we ever have a chance to talk?"
Just once.
Once would be enough.
In that single meeting, Jeong Hye-mi intended to sway Kang San's heart however she could.
Kang San said,
"Yes, we will."
Kang San returned home.
Unlike Jeong Hye-mi, many others had clung to him persistently, but his cold responses left them no choice but to back off. After all, they wanted to recruit him. Ruining their relationship with him for no reason would only lead to poor outcomes even if they did meet, so they promised to follow up later and retreated.
Among them was Gu Jun-ho.
He had cleanly conveyed his intentions.
"I'll be waiting for your call."
Thud.
He sank into his chair.
Then he pulled up a YouTube channel on the internet.
The channel was called "Promotion Alerts," which covered stories about promotion-worthy hunters who were making waves.
As expected, Kang San's name came up right away.
[In the latest B-Rank test results, a talent has emerged that subscribers need to watch closely. He's the one who's been in the news lately—the Kang San mentioned as Yu Jeong-young's sponsor and featured in Kim Min-young's article. Yes, that's our protagonist. Most people would be surprised. Based on known info, Kang San is D-Rank, so how did he take the B-Rank test? Don't be shocked. He passed straight through C-Rank and directly to B-Rank via consecutive promotions.]
There were no secrets in this world.
As hunters became celebrities and built their fame, juicy stories spread like wildfire.
[And that's why we have 5 million subscribers. We've brought in Nam Tae-ju, who took the test with Kang San at the time!]
[Hello, I'm Nam Tae-ju.]
[Mr. Nam Tae-ju, can you describe what happened?]
[Sure. At first, I didn't even recognize Kang San. The B-Rank test has such a notorious reputation that I worried whether even he could pass. But once it started... he was incredible. He threw himself to save his teammates and even took down the vampire alone. Now that I've heard about his fame, I instantly understood why he's so renowned.]
It was an amusing situation.
Nam Tae-ju, who had just spoken with Kang San moments ago, was now passionately recounting his feats on YouTube. It was all part of the plan. Kang San had allowed real-time streaming of the test footage, so the results were bound to be publicized.
Not just C-Rank, but B-Rank.
From that point on, they were classified as exceptional talents, and B-Rank promotions always drew intense public interest.
This was fuel for the fire.
Word of mouth would spread, and spread, and spread, until the flames for Kang San burned ever brighter.
He was already under massive scrutiny from Kim Min-young's article and Yu Jeong-young's comments. Add in official recognition as a hunter via the promotion test, and his value would be incalculable. Kang San wasn't being arrogant—he objectively knew this was the perfect timing to maximize his worth.
That's why he turned down Jeong Hye-mi's meeting.
It was too soon.
Meeting her first would make it seem like a special connection, but what he wanted was the attention of everyone.
He let it simmer.
Let the rumors build.
Let them all grow desperate.
A few days would be enough for his value to fully reflect.
Until then...
"...Time to rest."
Click.
He turned off the TV screen and finally took a well-deserved break.
A few days later.
Gu Jun-ho suppressed his rising irritation as he stared at the man before him.
It was Im Chan-young.
Ignoring his mood, Im Chan-young spat out his words with a furious expression.
"Does this even make sense? He passed the B-Rank test at just late teens, and the media isn't covering it at all. It's all Kang San, Kang San, Kang San. I get that he's amazing, but shouldn't management be promoting me harder at a time like this?"
That day,
Im Chan-young had passed the test.
He had shown plenty of shortcomings, but his late-game firepower in wiping out monsters earned him a B-Rank evaluation. Only two passed: Kang San and Im Chan-young. Im Chan-young thought people would finally pay attention to him again for this achievement, but the media had been all about Kang San for days.
He had been shocked himself.
Logging into the internet expecting praise, he found the former F-Rank arrow sponge Kang San portrayed as an entirely new figure.
As per Kim Min-young's article, he was a heroic do-gooder in daily life and the key figure in Yu Jeong-young's revolutionary work. Plus, his proven skill in passing the B-Rank test meant he was no longer someone to dismiss. Im Chan-young acknowledged him too. Having tested alongside him, he knew Kang San's prowess firsthand—but that didn't make this situation acceptable.
He felt pissed.
Wasn't he separate from Kang San?
Kang San was 26, entering his late twenties, when he hit B-Rank.
But Im Chan-young wasn't even 20 yet.
He felt he had the right to say to Gu Jun-ho,
"If I don't show satisfactory results at Daeyang, I have no intention of staying. You know that, right? Our contract has only a year left. Mark my words—if I say I'm leaving Daeyang, guilds will line up to recruit me. You're not so incompetent that you don't know that, Team Leader?"
It was blatant blackmail.
Im Chan-young had a habit of resorting to this whenever things didn't go his way.
And it always worked.
Daeyang had invested a whopping 10 billion in him.
With sunk costs already, they couldn't just let him go.
Even if he hadn't developed as hoped, handing him off only for him to explode in potential elsewhere would be disastrous.
He was like a chicken rib—barely worth the bone.
Gu Jun-ho suppressed his anger and said,
"...Take a break and let's talk later."
The rooftop of the building.
Gu Jun-ho stepped out and lit a cigarette.
His junior followed, lighting it for him, and asked,
"...What do you plan to do?"
"Not sure. Thinking of just scrapping him."
"Scrap him!? Even if it's Im Chan-young, how can you? Upper management invested 10 billion and wants us to salvage him somehow."
Gu Jun-ho exhaled smoke.
He lit his junior's cigarette too, then chuckled wryly.
"True. The problem is the test results. People praise Im Chan-young for finally passing B-Rank, but watching the process, I thought there was no hope. He had the safest environment to cast magic—Kang San as main tanker threw himself in to block every attack. Opportunities like that don't come often. But how did he respond? He panicked, reacted late, cowered at key moments. He didn't think about optimal plays, just selfishly saved himself. That's the issue. People's nature doesn't change. Im Chan-young's rank is just for show. He won't deliver that value."
"But he's still B-Rank..."
"That's the funny part. Did he pass on skill alone? It was compensation. The test threw a massive curveball, so examiners lowered the bar a bit. In a normal test, he'd have failed again."
Daeyang Management.
Gu Jun-ho held a special position there.
Starting as a regular manager, he'd rocketed to team leader.
Thus hailed as Daeyang's ace, he'd been tasked with handling Im Chan-young.
Whether to prop him up or cut him loose.
The choice was Gu Jun-ho's.
And his protests had plunged him into serious thought.
"What about the stuff I asked for?"
"The maknae will bring it soon."
The maknae was no ordinary guy.
Right on cue, the rookie climbed to the rooftop with the documents.
"The files you requested."
"Good work."
Shff.
He took the papers.
Gu Jun-ho checked the contents immediately.
There was something nagging him.
Testimonies from others who took it with him—Im Chan-young had been aggressively hostile toward Kang San. Kang San was the man Gu Jun-ho was betting everything on. He needed to verify their relationship.
Flip.
With each page, his brow furrowed deeper.
As expected.
There was a problem.
But the info from the maknae wasn't just that.
"...This?"
"Just confirmed it. Thought it'd be useful for this issue, so I prepped it right away."
"Our maknae really gets things done."
Gu Jun-ho grinned.
Im Chan-young and Kang San's relationship.
And a document on the new development.
It was enough.
His mind cleared.
Gu Jun-ho stubbed out his cigarette and started walking.
"Let's wrap this up."
Gu Jun-ho didn't even sit.
As soon as he faced the waiting Im Chan-young, he cut to the chase.
"I heard something odd earlier. Trouble with Mr. Kang San—is that true?"
"Th-that's..."
He stammered.
Im Chan-young knew he was guilty.
Before grasping Kang San's skill, he'd aggressively complained to the examiner about switching teammates. Realizing his stutter, his face flushed red with anger. Come to think of it—trouble with Kang San or not, it wasn't the key issue now.
Im Chan-young said,
"Why bring that up now? Hey. If you keep this up, I'm really leaving Daeyang..."
"Yes, go ahead."
"What?"
Im Chan-young's eyes widened.
The immediate response.
For a moment, he thought he'd misheard.
But defying his thoughts, Gu Jun-ho said coldly,
"Terminate the contract. Isn't that what you want?"