Chapter 61

Team Building (6)

No additional [Chain Blade] skill cards had been found since Kim Ji-Hoon had learned them. Unless a card suddenly popped up from the ground, I needed to explain how I used the skill. I found my way around it with lies about my unique skill. Lee Ji-Soo checked again.

“So, you mean that you, Seo Jin-Wook, could have been the one to experience what Kim Ji-Hoon is experiencing now.”

The public official’s face stiffened rapidly, having learned the meaning of the current situation. Nate’s eyes turned fierce when he heard Hibiki’s interpretations, and the shadow shook slightly. Fortunately, Hibiki stopped him right away, and the shadow stopped moving.

I spoke with an air of innocence, “I didn’t know…. It was such a scary skill. It was activated regardless of my will, but I would have been in trouble without my unique skill.”

The real [Replica] didn’t work that way. But what did they know?

With his eyes turned upside down, Kim Ji-Hoon spat out a cry and screamed hoarsely, “Aghhhh! Arghhh!”

He couldn’t even faint.

‘I would have killed him here if I could.’

After my reincarnation, my beliefs did not change. If I left the man who was after me as he was, he would definitely come back to do more harm. Of course, I didn’t intend to let him live, but I put the plan on hold slightly. I looked down at Kim Ji-Hoon with contempt.

‘Wait for a while. I’ll find you again.’

Weing!

When Lee Ji-Soo tore the scroll, Kim Ji-Hoon, who was frantic, fell asleep. It was not just sleep magic, but magic close to an anesthetic that paralyzed the nervous system. The bleeding on the leg barely stopped when I applied the paste artifact from the emergency box.

“You!” Shin Gyeong-Pyo glared.

‘Kid, you’re so blatant.’

I hastened the public official. He did not have the authority to grade but oversaw the overall process.

“As promised in advance, officer.”

Shin Gyeong-Pyo intervened, “Wait! Are you going to believe his words right now and move on?!” He shouted, spraying spit everywhere, “We all know that the relationship between the Celestial Dragon and the Grand Croix is bad, but wasn’t this an opportunity to set up a trap in advance to keep Hunter Kim Ji-Hoon in check….”

Scratching my head, I said, “I told you, my unique skill isn’t perfect yet. And…. That’s quite unexpected from you.”

“What?”

“If I were to side with Grand Croix, I would never mention what Hunter Shin Gyeong-Pyo just said.”

It was only then that he realized his mistake, and his face turned red.

It was not me but Kim Ji-Hoon, who proposed a fight in the first place when the guilds were not getting along well with each other. He had been acting up against a Hunter, who had been Awakened for less than half a year, and was beaten in reverse. He was the one who tried to set a trap.

‘He was blatantly after my neck. A non-Awakened public official might not have noticed it, but a hunter would have noticed it. It was Kim Ji-Hoon who would be at a disadvantage when Lee Ji-Soo testified.’

On seeing my ability, I sensed he struggled an attempt at releasing sword energy in my direction. It would be a mistake, however, though I laughed inwardly at the baffled look upon his face.

“This….! This….!” Shin Gyeong-Pyo struggled for speech.

‘Well, being Awakened doesn’t correspond to intelligence, so.’

I hurried us on, “I think we need to get Kim Ji-Hoon Hunter out of the dungeon as soon as possible. Let’s wrap this up and head out.”

The official nodded his head.

“As agreed in advance…. We will confirm the final grade of Seo Jin-Wook Hunter as SS-Rank.”

I watched him sign the electronic documents floating on the holograms.

‘It’s done!’

The promotion process was finally over.

*

There was no need to go back to the center to reissue Hunter’s card. The database update for promotional information was made immediately, and the contents of Hunter’s certificate were automatically changed without a separate reissue.

“Wow! This is amazing!” Nate murmured when he saw that his Hunter’s rating had changed to S.

Shin Gyeong-Pyo called someone on the phone, and then came back and talked with the public official.

‘Someone might have thought he belonged to Grand Croix.’

The official sighed and said, “We can’t reverse the result of the promotion. Implementing their discretionary power means that the standards for promotion were made by the evaluating officers, yourselves. Overturning the rules would mean it has to be done before it is implemented. However, we promise to conduct a separate investigation into any unlawful acts in the process of the battle.”

Even if he looked back at the video for 100 days, nothing would come out. All that would be found would be the color and shape of the sword energy, that covered my sword, perfectly matching that of Kim Ji-Hoon.

‘Kim Ji-Hoon tried to do me dishonestly, but he was counterattacked.’

If Lee Ji-Soo, who seemed to have a bad relationship with him, testified what she saw, things would only be against Kim Ji-Hoon. If the rumor spread, I’ll kill two birds with one stone.

‘The SS-Ranked, who was like a freshly Awakened, beat the S-Ranked veteran.’

Besides, I had a unique skill that has never been seen, and I also had talented people from abroad.

‘This was how we built the game.’

I was about to disappear with Nate and Hibiki, but suddenly Lee Ji-Soo came.

“Congratulations, Korea’s first SS-rank. The country is going to be turned upside down from today.”

I received the greeting calmly, “Thank you.”

“Can I talk to you for a second? I won’t take much of your time.”

Kim Ji-Hoon was transported in an ambulance, and Shin Gyeong-Pyo attached himself to him as if he had become a servant. They disappeared together. Since we decided to return in a separate vehicle instead of returning to the center in a public official car, there were only the three promoted people, and Lee Ji-Soo left. I decided to listen to her for the sake due to her favorable attitude.

“We don’t have much time to move to another place.”

“It’s enough to talk here. First of all, here’s a business card.”

I accepted her business card. Her name and contact number were written on the background of the ‘Golden Circle’ guild’s emblem decorating the center of the card.

‘Golden Circle was the next tier to the four major guilds. They were keeping their distance from all four major guilds. Keeping a neutral position.’

Although they were now reeling, Celestial Dragon had long been regarded as Korea’s best guild. Grand Croix, Destruction Blade, and Gate Keepers threatened Celestial Dragon’s position by scale and force. Gates Keepers, who walked their line, were not involved in the force fight, but the other three guilds were engaged in a dirty battle in alliance with minor guilds.

‘Like Grand Croix and Shin Gyeong-Pyo’s guild being in the same boat. It was pathetic, with not enough time to prepare for the future altogether; they were dividing themselves and picking fights with each other…. I would need to clean up this floor as soon as possible.’

With this in mind, I spoke to her, “I don’t have a business card yet.”

“That’s okay. I’m just going to ask you one thing.”

Straight to the point, she asked, “I was wondering if by taking those mercenaries and moving with them separately from the Celestial Dragons, it meant you might be thinking of building a new guild. Is that so?”

I shook my head, “That’s not the case.” Everyone will know what I’m going to do from now on anyway.

Lee Ji-Soo shrugged her shoulders, “Really? Too bad. The rumors about the internal situation must have been exaggerated.”

She may have been talking about the conflict with Seo Gyu-Cheol and rumors about me running away from home. If she was, as the rumor went, they might have thought I was leaving Celestial Dragon for good.

‘With that possibility in mind, she wants to make a separate tie with me.’

If, as she predicted, I was to make a guild with a small number of people, I’ll probably work in conjunction with a big guild like the Golden Circle.

“The 3333 rumors are pretty accurate, but oddly enough, all those related to you are only empty shells. Oh, except for one. They say you’re a genius, who will rewrite the history of Korean Hunters.”

She had the gift of speaking the kind of praise that would flatter and cause embarrassment.

“You must know a lot of jealous people, huh? Did you have some internal forces that kept you in check? Why are you being ridiculed and being called sick?”

Now she was talking about the gossip regarding my mental illness. It seemed like she was genuinely curious, but I didn’t answer and gave a bitter smile. She shrugged her shoulders.

“Well, there must be some background situation that I don’t know. Anyway, contact me anytime if you change your mind. You know why I’m doing this, right? To be honest, I want to get along well with you in the future.”

“I understand.”

“If the Constitutional Department asks for an interview because of Kim Ji-Hoon, I will make a statement as I saw it, so don’t worry.”

She knew what I want to hear before I asked her for it. I liked her.

“Oh, wait a minute,” I said quickly.

“Hmm?”

“Can I ask you one question?”

“Of course.”

“Do you know anyone from the Gate Keepers Guild?”

Blinking curiously, she replied, “Gatekeepers? Of course, I know some. But they’re not of the four major guilds. Why?”

“Can you introduce me to them? I need an idle dungeon. But it’s not an official request….”

“You want a route you can approach carefully, so the press or into other guilds don’t get wind of it?” She was sharp, of that I was certain.

“Yes.”

Lee Ji-Soo looked around me, then towards Nate and Hibiki, as if she found us interesting. She sensed my intentions immediately.

“Okay, I’ll introduce you.”

*

Secretary Kim parked in a refugee protection zone located somewhere in Gyeonggi-do. Many people had yet to return to their previous lives after losing their homes and jobs due to the dungeon breaks that followed the Cataclysm. The place he was visiting was one of the residential areas for such people.

‘Here we are.’

Secretary Kim looked at the map that was displayed on his terminal and walked onward without hesitation. Then, coming to a prefabricated building, he stopped, and rang the bell on the shabby door.

The door opened, and a stench poked Secretary Kim’s nose through the crack. A middle-aged man with blank eyes and a bushy beard looked at him wearily.

“Mister Yoo Kyung-Jae? You are expecting us.”

After a moment of hesitation, his mouth opened.

“That’s right. I didn’t expect you to come…. I thought it was a prank call.”

He led Secretary Kim inside with a perplexed look. After sitting down, Secretary Kim put a copy of a document on the table. Yoo Kyung-Jae picked it up with a trembling hand.

“This…. Isn’t some kind of scam, is it? I don’t have the money to consult a lawyer.”

Secretary Kim said with a serious look, “This is no joke, and not fraudulent.”

Yoo Kyung-Jae looked at the first page of the document. Written in large letters at the top, were the words, ‘Conditional Sales Contract.’

The man said hesitantly, “So…. Please let me know if I understand this properly.”

“Yes.”

“I heard that Seol… Han-Seol had passed away from the news. But… You mean that none of her family members or cousins are confirmed to be alive, right? It’s likely to be that way. Seol said she lost all of her family and relatives during the Cataclysm.” The man seemed unsure of the situation but went on, “But Seol had a stake in the Celestial Dragon Guild…. And if it stays like this, the stake will be transferred to the country?”

“That’s right. The look for an heir is ongoing, but no one has claimed the right to inherit it yet. Over time, ownership is automatically transferred to the state.”

“But I don’t have a single drop of blood mixed with Seol ···.”

“So, we are willing to spare all legal support so that Mr. Yoo Kyung-Jae can be recognized as a ‘special benefactor’ by the court.”

“I just lived with Seol for a few years. And that was a long time ago.”

Secretary Kim swallowed his words inwardly. In fact, they only lived together for a few years before Han-Seol Assistant Guild Master Awakened…. An event of a few decades prior in her life. There was not much evidence left to claim that there was actually a marriage.

‘But how the hell did the Team Leader find this guy? The man that the Guild Master hasn’t found yet!’

He continued the explanation, shaking off his unimportant thoughts.

“We’re going to argue to the court that you two were actually married. If you are recognized as a special contributor, you can inherit some or all of your shares. Our goal, of course, is for you, Mr. Yoo Kyung-Jae, to inherit all of it.”

“And the contract says, that if I sell all the shares, I will inherit it in the future at a price set by the company?”

“Correct, but this sales contract is conditional. Apart from future sales, we will pay you cash for the amount stated here as soon as the contract is signed.”

Yoo Kyung-Jae’s jaw dropped when he saw the amount. The tremors in his hands also intensified.

Taking in the scene, Secretary Kim said, “After that, we will provide you with a certain amount of monthly living expenses throughout your lifetime.”

“What happens…. If I don’t inherit it?”

“In that case, we will not return the promised down payment, and the living expenses will continue to be paid.”

If Yoo Kyung-Jae actually inherited what was promised, he would take additional down payment and living expenses from the sale price. Even if he didn’t, the down payment and living expenses were in his pocket, so there was nothing to lose.

In fact, Secretary Kim opposed the clause. If the court rejected it due to lack of evidence, the stake would be lost, and only useless money would be spent on Yoo Kyung-Jae. However, Seo Jin-Wook was so confident. He even said they didn’t even need to look for another relative of Han-Seol.

“I mean, are you sure the court will recognize my right to inherit?”

“They can’t accept it if it’s this way. There’s not enough evidence. But where there are gaps, we’ll fill it in.”

It was an indication that he would fabricate evidence if necessary.

The man held the pen in his hand as if he had made up his mind, “Yes, I’ll sign it. There’s nothing more to lose anyway….”

Secretary Kim, on obtaining his signature, had a glow in his eyes. The other company in this contract was, of course, owned by Seo Jin-Wook.

‘If this person inherits Han-Seol’s stake and sells it back to the Team Leader, the game will greatly be affected.’

Secretary Kim was still not sure whether everything would go as planned.

‘But he’s not going to do this for no reason.’

Secretary Kim said as he received the signed contract, “Well, why don’t you move from this place first? We’ve prepared a quiet and comfortable place for you to rest.”

Even if Seo Gyu-Cheol, or other guild members who belatedly learned of the man’s existence, started searching for him, there would be no trace left. In this way, preparations were being made everywhere for Seo Jin-Wook to take over Celestial Dragons.