The Worth of a Name
Cha Yu-sik flinched for a moment at Kang Hyun's declaration that he could not become a disciple—then calmly asked,
"May I ask the reason?"
Once, being a mere student had been enough. Now the situation was different. More than anyone, he wanted to become Professor Kang Hyun's disciple. He wanted to keep receiving his teachings.
"Because you're weak."
Kang Hyun answered flatly. Cha Yu-sik bit down hard on his lip. It was the answer he had expected—but hearing it aloud still stung.
I'm trying to learn from you because I want to get stronger! If I were already strong, would I even be here?
So he shot back at once.
"Then why did Baek Yu-yeon become your disciple? Are you saying Cadet Baek Yu-yeon is stronger than the rest of us?"
"Of course she is. You think she's weak?"
"Excuse me?"
"I never said strength was measured by raw power. Is there anyone here with better memorization than Baek Yu-yeon, anyone who has martial medicine completely locked down?"
Silence settled over the room. Of course there wasn't. Baek Yu-yeon's memory was monstrous even outside the Academy—the kind of talent the world itself rarely produced.
"No one? Baek Yu-yeon is an irreplaceable powerhouse in her field. But what about the rest of you?"
Kang Hyun swept his gaze across them.
"People stronger than you, people better with a blade—you could walk out that door right now and find enough of them to fill tens of thousands of trucks. You're just run-of-the-mill hunter hopefuls."
The sheer weight of the truth left the students without even the luxury of feeling wronged.
"Then… are we never going to be able to become your disciples?"
Cha Yu-sik pressed on relentlessly.
Hmm.
Kang Hyun clicked his tongue inwardly.
Originally, I only planned to take disciples from those with the makings to form the Chilyojin—the Seven Star Array.
These ones didn't have that kind of talent. They were better than ordinary people, sure, but they had nothing like the innate gifts of the Baek sisters. Of course, Murim wasn't entirely without methods for forcing someone without talent to reach that level.
But those methods are far too cruel.
Kang Hyun himself had endured horrific things at the hands of those old monsters just to gain an ability similar to the Cheonmaegan. Gwangsu and that damned old man Hwangcheon Doksu—the two of them taking turns smearing poisonous herb juice onto his bare eyeballs, over and over. The other constitutions were much the same. Could these kids endure that kind of pain? Was there any reason they should have to walk through that hell?
But still…
When that day finally came, it wouldn't just be the Demon God Asura they had to face. They would also need people who could hold the line against his forces. So he changed his mind.
"Someday."
Kang Hyun spoke to the dejected students.
"When the day comes that you can breathe and move without flinching inside the killing intent I unleash—"
That much would be the minimum needed to stand against Asura's subordinates.
"—then I might consider taking you as disciples."
"…So you're saying you won't take us."
Cha Yu-sik found himself thinking, for some reason, that becoming Kang Hyun's disciple would be far harder than inheriting Cheonrang.
A stretch of silence passed.
"Since you're already here, come in."
Kang Hyun tipped his chin. The students filed awkwardly into the professor's office and settled into place.
"It's cramped, so space yourselves out and sit on the floor."
With a scrape, Kang Hyun opened a drawer, pulled out the packaged boxes he had brought, and handed one to each of them.
"What is this, Professor?"
"Open it."
As the students carefully unwrapped the packages, the scent of medicinal herbs washed over them. Nestled inside each box was a spiritual pill, carefully set in place.
"Th-this is—!"
Yoon Hyun-jong reacted at once.
"Isn't this an Azure Treasure Pill?"
"An Azure Treasure Pill?"
The other students recoiled in shock. Even cadets knew the premium manufactured elixirs by name—especially their prices.
"…These go for two hundred million won apiece…"
It was the kind of pill that even a high-ranking officer in a major guild would only grit their teeth and buy for their child once, if at all.
"All of you, take them."
"These?"
"I originally planned to give you one before the midterms."
The students swallowed hard. The disappointment and gloom from being told they wouldn't be accepted as disciples melted away like snow under the sun—vanished by a single pill. Instead, their chests swelled full.
What kind of insane professor spent a billion won of his own money on mere lecture students who weren't even formal disciples?
Money didn't lie. How could anyone casually put a two-hundred-million-won elixir into someone's mouth without caring about them?
"Professor…"
Kwak Do-jin and Yoon Hyun-jong felt their noses sting.
Cha Yu-sik pressed his lips tightly shut. Seo Hae-in's eyes welled with tears, and Han Tae-ho's fists trembled.
We're sorry we were so ungrateful—sorry we felt disappointed without understanding what you meant for us!
"Don't even think about making excuses after taking an elixir. Ingest it, sit down, and circulate your qi. I'll watch over you."
Excuses? Dare to take a two-hundred-million-won pill and then lose the midterms in some pathetic fashion? That wasn't something a human being did. They had to win even if it killed them. Even if it cost their lives!
"We'll take it with gratitude!"
Kwak Do-jin swallowed first, and the rest of the students tipped theirs into their mouths right after.
Hunter Association Headquarters, Republic of Korea.
Staff approached Ma Chul-woong, who stood with his arms crossed and a hard expression on his face. Secret manuals rested in their hands.
"You were right, Hunter."
"Meaning?"
"They really did cleverly mix the Heavenly Wind Saber Art and the Blood Fiend Saber together. It's a fake."
"…Those goddamn bastards."
Ma Chul-woong seethed. Nearly throwing away thirty billion won was infuriating enough—but more than that…
If I'd trained with that thing thinking it was real?
He would have wasted months clinging to a worthless manual. The thought of every rival climbing higher while he alone marched in place made his blood reverse course.
"You should confront the American Association immediately."
"We've already sent a formal letter—"
"Are you joking right now?"
A low rumble rolled out as Ma Chul-woong unleashed his presence. The staff swallowed their screams.
"A letter? What letter? Call them right now and tear into them directly. The Americans guaranteed it, didn't they? Make those bastards take full responsibility."
"P-please calm down! The other party is the American Association, so we need to approach carefully first—"
"Carefully?"
Ma Chul-woong snorted and shoved his face close to the staffer's. To that man, it must have felt like a yaksha from the underworld had descended.
"Looks like you still don't grasp the situation. The American Association has plenty to lose, so sure—they might watch the public eye."
Ma Chul-woong bared his teeth.
"I don't have any of that."
"…Hiiik."
"Whether you run articles or make a scene, get out front and settle this. If you try to let it fizzle out because you're worried about America's feelings?"
A sharp crack split the marble floor beneath his foot.
"Then I'll start by tearing this entire Association building apart. Understood?"
A few days later.
"Whoa—Kang Hyun, sir!"
Lee Se-ah, who had been grinding ink and taking a short break, let out a shriek.
"What?"
"An article just dropped! Look at this."
She thrust her smartphone screen at him.
"Oh."
Kang Hyun sounded impressed.
"If articles are going out, things must have moved quite a bit."
"I'll read it for you."
Lee Se-ah checked the article and relayed it.
"At first, the American Hunter Association side completely lost it."
"And then?"
"They told them to compare it against the original Heavenly Wind Saber Art and Blood Fiend Saber. They'd have the data, after all."
They would have a copy of the fake Ohodanmundo manuscript, too—they made copies of everything when they stamped the certification seal.
"Nothing left to say, then."
"Exactly. It matched down to the last character."
Kang Hyun sipped his whiskey with mild interest, and Lee Se-ah grew even more animated.
"The funny part is what came next. Once the American Association grasped the situation, they tried to grab the appraiser and the dungeon broker—but both had already gone dark ages ago. And the executive who gave final approval? Resigned a month back and vanished."
"Of course. Professional con artists."
"So now it's a full emergency. They're ordering a recall and re-verification of every manual that passed through that executive's hands over the past year."
As Kang Hyun had expected, they wouldn't have made just one fake. They had probably been fleecing weaker nations first and foremost. The Ohodanmundo only got caught because it was Kang Hyun looking at it—if it had gone into Ma Chul-woong's hands as planned, it might have taken months to surface.
"Good. So? Anything else in there?"
"Anything else?"
"Feels like something important is missing."
"Like what…? Wait…?"
As Lee Se-ah scrolled further down the article, her eyes went round.
"W-wait—?"
Her lips trembled.
"Nice."
Only then did Kang Hyun take another satisfied swallow of whiskey.
"H-hold on a second."
Suddenly uneasy, Lee Se-ah typed her own three-syllable name into a portal search bar. Related searches cascaded down the screen.
[Interpreter Lee Se-ah]
[Lee Se-ah Ohodanmundo]
[Lee Se-ah Identity]
She rubbed her eyes. She was being mentioned not only domestically but overseas as well—and the comments from globally renowned interpreters were already rolling in.
"Uuuugh."
On top of that, two brand-new breaking stories had just gone up.
The response was genuinely excellent. Domestically, the impact of Gale Step was even bigger than the Ohodanmundo—because it was far more accessible to the public.
"I told you. Your name was about to blow up."
And sure enough—
Buzz. Bzzzt. Buzz-buzz-buzz!
Her personal smartphone—not her work phone—had been ringing nonstop for a while now.
She was an agent of the Hunter Management Bureau's special operations team. Naturally her identity was classified, so she had told even family and friends that she worked at a trading company.
"Haa… what am I supposed to do about this."
Watching the drunken professor grin at her despair only made him more annoying.
"…It feels like my entire career changed overnight."
"That's a good thing."
"How is this good… My face is out there and everything."
"In exchange, the money comes in, doesn't it?"
"Money…?"
Lee Se-ah's eyes went wide. Hadn't she just been lending her name? What money?
"I don't force patriotic pay like those government types. I'll make sure you get at least the worth of the name."
"How much… exactly?"
When Lee Se-ah asked carefully, Kang Hyun knocked back the rest of his whiskey in one go and grinned.
"Now that's something we should talk about."
He pointed at Lee Se-ah's smartphone with his chin.
"Set up a meeting with the Director."