The Great Showman (1)
As Lee Jun stepped up onto the stage, he thought to himself that this very moment was, without question, the most important one since his regression.
It will succeed. As if that were already a settled fact — it must.
Repeating the self-suggestion like a mantra, he took his place. Directly ahead of him sat the five judges. Freya was watching him with an odd expression on her face; the others looked thoroughly bored.
Of course, that was less genuine indifference than political theater. The people he'd spent years squeezing and shaking down for every last coin were now sitting in judgment of him — as if they could possibly not care.
And to the right. Anyone facing the judges would find the auction participants lined up along that direction. Lee Jun stole a glance that way and steadied himself.
Right. Seen this way, it was the same scenery he'd looked at every single week. Nothing to be nervous about.
Though before the regression, I skipped it for almost eight years straight.
Still — familiar, if nothing else. One by one, he committed to memory the faces of the guild representatives watching him with intrigued eyes.
They must find it strange too, he mused. Getting to watch the former Vice-Chairman of the Association compete as a bidder. The people who came here were the same crowd every time, so watching this unfold would no doubt stir up a hurricane of mixed feelings.
As if answering those stares, Lee Jun gave a slight bow of his head.
"…Then, shall we begin."
Whoosh—
And with an exaggerated flourish, he pivoted half a turn — positioned so that his back faced the bidders while his upper body remained visible to the judges. Every gesture, down to the very rhythm of his breathing, was controlled and orchestrated to build the moment's momentum, as though he had become an actor on a grand stage. Standing before his precious audience, he turned slowly around.
It was time to show them that Lee Jun was still very much alive and kicking.
"Whew."
A single short exhale — now pure habit. And with that, the bidding presentation began.
Yoon Seol watched the man ascend the stage.
How interesting.
That man never failed to draw every eye in the room. He absorbed the crushing pressure of all those gazes as if they were mere sheets of paper. Of course, stack a few hundred or a few thousand sheets together, and even paper becomes heavy. Impressive, if nothing else.
Hm. What has he prepared?
As she pondered this, their eyes met. To ordinary people it would have been a fleeting moment, but to hunters it was anything but — for these were beings for whom even a tenth of a second could stretch long if they willed it. And in that impossibly brief instant, Yoon Seol saw him smile at her.
So he's confident.
Among the guilds gathered here today, four could be called top-tier — and Seolwon's Guildmaster had come in person. And yet the man radiated certainty. She tried to guess the source of that confidence, but nothing came to mind.
Come to think of it, it had always been that way. That man… had always been that way.
A strange man.
That had been her first impression of him. And from then on, nothing changed.
…Truly interesting.
Lee Jun bowed once and turned his body; Yoon Seol let her gaze drift to the side. In the seat next to her, Lee Hyeon-ah was staring straight ahead with a grave expression. She, too, seemed wary — and understandably so. Even with the Guildmaster present in person, a failure to win the gate bid would deal a brutal blow to public opinion. And the very fact that she was worrying about it meant Lee Hyeon-ah, too, considered the possibility of losing.
Lee Jun was a man who always showed them something. The world might murmur about bubbles and fraud, but as the old saying goes — even a rotten fish is still a mackerel. Even if the entire nation dismissed him, the hunters gathered in this room, at the very least, could not afford to ignore him.
He was no longer the Vice-Chairman; he had officially retired from hunting, and in every database in South Korea he was registered as nothing more than a private businessman. And yet everyone here regarded him as a competitor and kept a wary eye on him all the same.
"Remarkable."
Feeling the ease in his smile, Yoon Seol murmured under her breath. Lee Hyeon-ah flinched at the murmur and turned her head — but before her gaze even reached Yoon Seol, the Guildmaster had already sunk back into concentration. Into the atmosphere of this auction hall. Into the atmosphere Lee Jun was deliberately building, layer by layer.
As the presentation rolled on, Lee Jun studied the reaction of each judge in turn. Freya wore an expression that said just as I expected. Choi Seung-yo, Guildmaster of Baekma, looked faintly restless, and the others were little different — though the Vice-Guildmaster of Samhwa, whose guild had placed a bid on this gate, seemed positively conflicted.
The truth was, a presentation like this wasn't anything special. It was a show. The judges were human, after all — intelligent beings in whom emotion and reason were hopelessly entangled. Their preexisting impressions of the presenter bled into their judgment as well. That was why a truly great orator had to perfect everything: logic, emotion, and the very life he had lived. And Lee Jun, well… the standing he'd built as Vice-Chairman of the Association covered all of that rather neatly. There wasn't a single person in the guild world who hadn't been wrapped around his finger at least once while dealing with Association business.
The direction of the presentation mattered just as much. Lee Jun had deliberately left a few gaps in it — or more precisely, he'd skipped over certain points without explanation. This funnels a person's thinking down a single path.
"That concludes the evidence portion of my presentation. I believe I've covered this sufficiently, and the presenters before me have all touched on it as well, so let's move directly to questions."
Water escaping a broken levee always pours through the same breach. The judges would inevitably question the missing pieces, and how beautifully he answered would determine the polish of the entire presentation. In other words, he was using the judges themselves as instruments of his show.
Freya, catching on, regarded him with a look of grudging irritation. What can I say? It's better when everyone wins, isn't it?
"If anything puzzles you or piques your curiosity, please ask freely."
Lee Jun had omitted exactly three things from his presentation. First, the method for conquering the gate's theme. Second, the gate's mechanics as he had personally analyzed them. And third — how exactly an organization of just two members intended to clear an S-Class gate. All three were weapons he had prepared.
In truth, only the second had been left blank originally; seeing how today unfolded, he'd added the other two on the fly.
These things are supposed to stay fluid.
Smiling with satisfaction, Lee Jun faced the judges. They were reviewing the notes they'd scrawled, turning his presentation over and over in their minds, ready to pounce and tear into him the moment they spotted a single flaw to exploit.
Wow. I really must have made myself unpopular with the guilds.
And soon enough, one of the judges posed a question. A sharp-featured woman — Baek Seo-in, Vice-Guildmaster of Skullfy.
"I enjoyed your presentation. However, there is one thing I find curious."
Let's see. Baek Seo-in's class was rogue, if I remember right. Pathfinder specialization. Then… this must be about the mechanics.
"The dungeon in question has already disclosed the entrance mechanics in advance, and from what I understand, they're quite demanding. Yet your conquest strategy for that portion doesn't seem to have been properly explained."
Good.
It would have been even better if the question about the theme's conquest method had come first, but this order worked fine too. After all, patching two holes with a single pointed-out flaw doubled the effect.
"That part is simple. But to explain it, there's something I need to establish first."
"Which is?"
"That this gate has a shifting theme."
"…Pardon?"
A shifting theme. Exactly what it sounded like — a gate or dungeon whose theme changed on a fixed cycle.
"This gate is currently an ocean zone. The mechanics disclosed so far involve maze formation through tidal shifts, which as far as I know is a mechanism that consumes enormous time. But this gate's theme cycles on a two-week rotation, which means it's due to change any moment now. No longer a problem, is it?"
"Now, hold on. A shifting theme? How can you possibly be certain of that?!"
Because I lived through it myself.
…Not that he could say so. Admitting that here would earn him nothing but the label of lunatic and a one-way ticket out of the room. Fortunately, the industry had a magic phrase for exactly these moments.
"That's a trade secret. I didn't come all this way just to have my whole hand laid bare, you know?"
"And how are we supposed to believe a word of that?!"
"Simple."
With that, Lee Jun raised his wrist and glanced at his watch. This was the kind of thing you patched together with improvisation — a performance made possible only because the auction had been stretched out so much longer than usual. Confirming that the hands pointed straight at twelve, he spoke.
"The date has just changed. As of today, it has been exactly fourteen days since the S-Class gate in the Taesan region first appeared."
At his words, the judges frantically checked the time. It really was the fourteenth day. Having confirmed it, they stared at Lee Jun with dumbfounded expressions.
It wasn't difficult. Timing your staging to the clock is Showmanship 101. It was something Lee Jun did as naturally as breathing in his everyday life.
"If you contact the Taesan branch right now and have them verify the gate, it will be confirmed before I even finish the remainder of my presentation."
Granted, this only worked on the assumption that the gate hadn't changed from its previous cycle. But contingency plans existed for the other cases as well. If Lee Jun was right, his credibility simply rose; and even if he was wrong, his third weapon could cover for it.
Thinking this, Lee Jun turned his gaze toward Yoon Seol.
Right? My final weapon.
"……"
She met his eyes with her usual expressionless face. Lee Jun, for his part, returned the gaze without letting his faint smile slip. After that brief exchange of glances, he turned back to the judges.
"Any further questions on this point?"
"I have a question as well."
"Yes, go ahead."
"Since you've called it a trade secret, I won't ask for your method. That's the custom, after all. But might we at least know what the next theme will be? We need grounds for our own judgments, you understand."
A man whose crisp suit suited him perfectly — Kang Min-jun, Vice-Guildmaster of Samhwa.
"Hm… you're asking about the next theme?"
"That's right. You're this certain — surely you came prepared knowing at least what comes next?"
Here's where I bait the hook, just once.
Sure enough, Kang Min-jun lunged at the opening immediately. Perhaps because Samhwa Group had presented right before him, he seemed determined to pick apart every flaw so as not to be unfavorably compared. In this case, though, it would backfire.
"The current theme is an ocean zone, yes? Which is why Seolwon — whose conquest methods suit it — is currently the likeliest candidate to win the bid."
"The outcome isn't decided, so please just answer the question."
At Kang Min-jun's words, Lee Jun brought his hands together in a great clap.
Crack—
The sound rolled up into the tension-heavy ceiling of the auction hall. Savoring the resonance for a beat, Lee Jun put on an artlessly innocent tone.
"Oh, right! There was Samhwa, wasn't there? I found your presentation quite impressive earlier. Your planning director speaks remarkably well."
"……"
"Just one thing, though. There was a bit of a leap in your mechanics-breakdown section — I'd recommend revising it. You can't simply port over the method for solving an ocean maze. In this case, the mechanism rearranges the maze's structure through irregular shifts between high and low tide, so deploying a few cruising markers along the route would actually be far more effective."
Faced with this rebuttal disguised as friendly advice, Kang Min-jun's brow furrowed. Who on earth brought such a sloppy plan to the table? You can spot the problems just from half-listening to the negotiations with Yoon Seol — what have they been doing all this time without fixing it?
"And as for the changing theme? Of course I can tell you that much. I may not hold the position now, but I'm still a hunter who once worked at the Association devoting himself to the safety of the public. I can share that much with my hardworking colleagues in the same industry. It will be a lava zone."
Honestly, that part was just something he'd wanted to say. Stop looking out only for your own interests and do your jobs properly for once. Now that he'd stepped down from public office, this roundabout way was the only route left to say it.
"……"
"……"
The judges were struck speechless.
What, nothing more to ask?
The moment he thought that, the man who had been sitting silent until now finally opened his mouth — Choi Seung-yo, Guildmaster of Baekma.
"I also have something I'd like to ask."
Ah yes, I was wondering why you'd been so quiet. Unfortunately for you, there's exactly one flaw left to pick at. Well — one more will appear after this, but at this point in time, that's all there is.
"Let's say you win the bid on this S-Class gate, Mr. Lee Jun. Even so… it seems to me that conquering it with just the two of you would be rather difficult, wouldn't it?"
"On that point—"
"Besides. Didn't you retire from hunting altogether? Frankly, your very presence here is questionable."
"……"
Wow. This bastard just interrupted me? And he's even questioning my eligibility? That's so far beyond common decency it flew clean past my predictions.
Incredible. You've actually shattered my expectations, Guildmaster of Baekma. Bravo.
"…First of all, I am fully qualified to be here. I am the head of an organization, after all. And while I did declare my retirement, my license remains perfectly valid. S-Class, no less, isn't it?"
Here, shamelessness was a necessity. It was about preserving his standing. Who in this room didn't know that Lee Jun was, at best, half an S-Class hunter? He knew it better than anyone. But everyone also knew how much weight the name of S-Class carried — and so he could stand tall. If it bothers you that much, go become an Initial Awakener yourselves.
Then there was Choi Seung-yo's first question: how could two people possibly conquer an S-Class gate? Lee Jun had given plenty of thought to how he would handle it.
"Conquering it with two people is, of course, impossible. Even for S-Class hunters, that would be a stretch. Coming from me of all people, it would be nothing but reckless bravado."
"Then…"
"However. The answer is simply to make it more than two."
With that answer, Lee Jun turned to look at a certain spot in the auction hall. Every gaze in the room followed his naturally. And where his eyes came to rest—
"Isn't that right, Guildmaster of Seolwon?"
This world ran on mutual use and mutual exploitation. Even if you'd been mocking someone mere moments ago, the situation could flip on its head in under ten minutes. In this endlessly repeating churn of circumstance, the single most important thing was—
when to seize the moment, and when to strike at your opponent's back.
And so Lee Jun had deliberately saved Seolwon for his final move. Here, Seolwon could not back out. The momentum of the auction hall had already tipped in Lee Jun's favor, and by exposing the shifting theme, he had effectively drawn the judging panel's confidence to himself as well. Only moments ago, Yoon Seol had been the one offering to let Lee Jun join Seolwon's gate conquest. But lo and behold — once the presentation was laid bare, the situation had inverted. Now it wasn't Lee Jun attaching himself to Seolwon; it was Seolwon being made to ride on Lee Jun's coattails.
Moreover, this was, in its own way, a display of provocation returned. Lee Jun had any number of supporting arguments, but he chose Seolwon on purpose — because answering a taunt with a taunt was simple common courtesy.
Yoon Seol coming to this venue in the first place was the mistake.
Had she not been here, the impact would have been far weaker. And thanks to the wager they had proposed first, Lee Jun had been free to weave Seolwon into his presentation without a shred of hesitation. He would have won the bid on his own regardless. But by driving Yoon Seol's name into the deal to raise the odds even higher — and seizing, on top of that, the chance to squeeze a legendary-grade artifact out of Seolwon itself—
"That move of yours earlier was a self-destruct."
Had Yoon Seol heard his murmur? Of course she had. He was certain of it — hearing even a mumbled aside at this distance was well within a hunter's abilities.
Yoon Seol stared straight into his eyes. By now, every gaze in the auction hall had already converged on her.
"……"
Yoon Seol simply blinked, slow and silent.