42 Chapter 41

One couldn't find the addresses of Hunters on the Association's

website. The only things appearing there were the names of Hunters

and their ranks.

A Hunter could provide the relevant information themselves, but

Jin-Woo didn't even leave behind his contact number there.

But, not only had this guy known his phone number, he was

waiting near Jin-Woo's home, so without a doubt, he must've

gathered enough information before showing up here.

'Ah, now that I think about it....'

He abruptly remembered something.

"I sensed a gaze on me earlier today, so I'm guessing that

belonged to one of your people?"

Jin-Woo's voice became a level colder.

The guy on the phone apologised with a polite tone of voice.

Jin-Woo pondered for a while, before speaking up.

".....I'll be there shortly."

"The Hunters, the Reapers, the Knight Order, the Shining

Star, and then us, the White Tiger. I'm sure you've heard of

these names before."

Ahn Sahng-Min read off the names of the top 5 Guilds in South

Korea, one by one.

The number one Guild was the Hunters.

However, the Hunters didn't start its life as the number one from

the get-go. No, it was the Reapers who used to be the top dog.

However, after White Tiger separated itself from the Reapers, the

number one spot changed hands.

Was this the case of the student becoming the master?

After going independent, the White Tiger leapfrogged the Reapers

a long time ago. And they were aiming for the number one spot that,

originally, belonged to the Reapers.

Ahn Sahng-Min was completely sure of it now.

He was sure of the fact that the man sitting across him, Seong JinWoo, would become an important piece of the puzzle and help the

White Tiger 'reclaim' the glory of the past once more.

Ahn Sahng-Min presented his business card.

[Ahn Sahng-Min, Section Chief, Second Division, White

Tiger Guild]

"My name is Ahn Sahng-Min, and I'm in charge of the

Second Division of the White Tiger Guild, one of the top five

in the country. Our role is to scout talented Hunters and

manage them."

If Seong Jin-Woo was any other Hunter, he'd have lowered his head

90 degrees before a business card was even brought out, and only

then get to the main topic.

Unless one was an S-rank or an A, pretty much all Hunters

dreamed of entering the White Tiger.

Honestly, Ahn Sahng-Min was hoping for that kind of reaction as well.

Unfortunately, Jin-Woo was different.

Not showing much reaction at all, he calmly asked what he wanted

to ask first.

"Why does an officer of the White Tiger Guild perform

background checks on someone like me?"

Ahn Sahng-Min inwardly flinched.

'He's not pressured even after hearing the name of the

White Tiger?'

They haven't spoken for long, but for some reason, Ahn Sahng-Min

sensed that it'd be rather challenging to scout Seong Jin-Woo.

On the other hand, that only made him even more desperate to

bring Seong Jin-Woo into his guild now.

Well, it wouldn't be a bad thing for a newbie to be rather confident

about himself, now would it?

'Right, you gotta have at least balls as big as this, so we

can start throwing you into whatever assignment that comes

our way.'

Ahn Sahng-Min firmed his resolve once more.

"Let me get straight to the point. We wish to scout you,

Mister Seong Jin-Woo. We promise to offer you double the

amount of terms as offered by the Yujin Construction, no

strings attached."

Ahn Sahng-Min smiled deeply.

Yujin Construction was still in the middle of testing Seong Jin-Woo

out. 'They are being stupid.'

The speed at which he could clear a rank C dungeon, the publicity

value of a Re-Awakened Hunter, and the calmness he was displaying

in the current situation, etc....

No matter which side it was, there was no need to test this man

out at all.

'There's no way that they have offered anything good, since

they wouldn't have figured out what his true worth is.'

That was why Ahn Sahng-Min was confident of doubling whatever

terms Yujin offered this man. No, he was confident of offering

something even better.

However, Jin-Woo's stare became even colder.

"How did you know?"

"P-pardon me?"

Being on the receiving end of a reaction utterly contrary to his

expectations, Ahn Sahng-Min ended up stuttering slightly, which was

quite unbecoming of an experienced headhunter working for a large

Guild.

"How did you find out about me?"

If Seong Jin-Woo's voice actually had any physical weight, then that

sentence would've crushed him to death, thought Ahn Sahng-Min.

'What is this? This incredible pressure....?'

It was almost as if the other party was considering him as an

enemy. Well, it was true that he had Jin-Woo followed, and onesidedly demanded to meet like this.

From Jin-Woo's perspective, it would be perfectly reasonable to consider Ahn Sahng-Min as his enemy.

Ahn Sahng-Min hurriedly explained himself.

"Ah, ah! It wasn't our original intention to pry into your

private affairs. We received information that someone was

clearing rank C dungeons in our district at an alarming rate

so we were investigating that. And that led us to find out

about you, Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim."

"....."

Jin-Woo retracted his gaze.

'So, that's what happened.'

Contrary to his thoughts, the other side didn't seem to have begun

their investigation while knowing that something didn't add up about

him. Simply by clearing dungeons far too quickly, he ended up being

noticed instead.

'And he doesn't seem to be carrying any hostile intentions,

either.'

Jin-Woo's expression softened slightly. And as a result, the taut

tension between the two men eased a little.

'Whew-woo....'

Ahn Sahng-Min patted his chest down.

Their conversation still hadn't advanced forward, though. From

here onwards, he had to get on Seong Jin-Woo's good books.

'And nothing's better than the sharing of privileged

information to get on someone's good books.'

Ahn Sahng-Min was THE specialist when it came to scouting after

all!He quickly wiped the flustered expression off his face and formed a

smile instead.

"Although it is a top secret, we know that the Chairman Yu

Myung-Hwan is planning to establish a Guild of his own."

"....."

Jin-Woo neither denied it or confirmed it.

So, Ahn Sahng-Min continued on.

"And that's how we were able to figure it out when that

person's son, Mister Yu Jin-Ho made contact with you, Seong

Jin-Woo Hunter-nim. And that is, they wish to bring you, a ReAwakened Hunter, into their new Guild."

Indeed, Ahn Sahng-Min thought that Jin-Woo was a Re-Awakened.

'Well, I'm relieved that you think that way.'

Jin-Woo wouldn't need to cook up another story here, in other

words.

Ahn Sahng-Min quickly carried on.

"I thought that we need to talk to you before you signed up

with Yujin, and that's the only reason for my one-sided

attempt to get in touch with you. Allow me to apologise once

more if you've been greatly inconvenienced."

"It's fine."

Unless the other party approached him with evil intentions, there

was no reason for Jin-Woo to get angry, especially when Ahn SahngMin was apologising this earnestly.

'Besides, what's more important here is that.... Indeed, how should he go about dealing with this now?

While Jin-Woo pondered on what he should do here, Ahn Sahng-Min

took the initiative and asked him a question.

"Have you finished negotiating with Yujin Construction

already?"

He must've thought like this, because Jin-Woo was hesitating

slightly with his replies.

Jin-Woo shook his head.

Ahn Sahng-Min's expression immediately reverted from one that

displayed a hint of anxiety, to a blooming smile.

'Yes! That means he's still a free agent!'

This was the perfect chance to catch the talented Hunter who

could solo a rank C dungeon in 30 minutes.

To be more specific, a rank D Hunter also accompanied him, but to

someone who possessed abilities exceeding a rank B, such a person

would no longer provide any help but would only serve as a luggage

carrier, instead.

'If Seong Jin-Woo enters the White Tiger, and is ranked A

after his re-assignment test, then...!'

An even bigger smile threatened to break out of his face, so Ahn

Sahng-Min was having a hard time trying to regulate his expressions.

Meanwhile, Jin-Woo was slowly scratching his chin.

'This guy, why does it feel like he's counting his chickens

way before they hatch?'

Well, truthfully speaking, a Guild like White Tiger was not a bad

choice. Not only was it one of the top five, but it also possessed enough potential to aim for the number one spot.

However, Jin-Woo wasn't planning to enter a Guild any time soon.

'Because, the higher my level is, the better the treatment

I'd get.'

Also, even though it might be a story in the distant future, or

maybe even something completely improbable, but....

'Just like how I've been clearing the rank C dungeons, what

if I can clear rank B and A dungeons solo?'

The profit earned from high-ranked dungeons exceeded one's

imaginations.

They were the sole reason why large Guilds could grow powerful

enough to rival many large corporations now.

Expensive magic crystals, corpses of the monsters, rare materials

from the dungeons themselves, and even things like Rune stones and

other artefacts, too.

An astronomical amount of money changed hands every day.

He could potentially hog them all for himself, so was there a reason

for him to share them with a Guild?

'As long as this level up thing doesn't stop, it's not an

impossible dream.'

So, at this point in time, entering a Guild was way too premature.

The corners of Jin-Woo's lips slowly arched up.

Ahn Sahng-Min thought that was a sign of an incoming positive

answer, and smiled along as well.

"Have you made up your mind?" "You promised to double the amount offered, yes?"

"Yes, that's correct. If you find my offer not to your liking,

then I'm prepared to offer you more."

"In that case, how much is the building the White Tiger

calls home?"

Ahn Sahng-Min's face froze for a second there.

'Is he questioning the financial muscle of the White Tiger?'

But, there was no need to get worked up here. Indeed, this was a

great opportunity to advertise his Guild. There was nothing to hide,

and absolutely no reason why he couldn't talk, either.

This was for the better, he thought.

"The estimated price is around 50 billion Won. Also,

although there are different businesses using the building

aside from us, it still belongs to the White Tiger Guild." (TL:

Around $45 million)

Ahn Sahng-Min proudly spoke.

In the beginning, the Guild was renting some space in that

building. But once they stabilised and found their footing, they simply

bought it outright.

It took only one year to do so, too.

It was one of the easiest ways to learn just how much large Guilds

made in a year.

If the other side wanted, Ahn Sahng-Min was willing to disclose the

annual profit and the overall revenue, too. But then, after hearing a

single sentence uttered by Jin-Woo, he became completely

speechless. "Can you hand over that building to me, then?"

"I beg your pardon?"

Ahn Sahng-Min's eyes opened up real wide.

He doubted his own hearing, so he asked back.

"C-can you explain what you mean by that?"

Jin-Woo calmly explained himself.

"You see, Yujin has promised to hand over a building worth

around 30 billion Won. If the White Tiger's building is indeed

around 50 billion, well, it's not exactly the double the price,

but I can overlook such things."

"T-thirty billion??"

Ahn Sahng-Min couldn't close his slack jaw.

Seong Jin-Woo's career spanned four years.

However, most of those were spent as a rank E.

And it hadn't been long since he got noticed by someone. In other

words, he must've gone through his Re-Awakening process not too

long ago.

Yet, just how incredible was his ability that someone like Yu

Myung-Hwan, famous for his wily business smarts, promised the

huge amount of 30 billion Won?

Not only that, even before Seong Jin-Woo had gone through with

the re-assignment test, too?!

'W-wait. Could he be lying here, because I won't be able to

confirm if this is true or not?' Ahn Sahng-Min narrowed his eyes, feeling suspicious.

As if he had read Ahn Sahng-Min's thoughts, Jin-Woo pulled out his

phone and quickly dialled a number.

Ring.... ring....

Click.

It was in the evenings and the interior of the cafe was quiet. Still,

Jin-Woo put the phone on speaker and raised the volume to the

maximum.

"Hey, Jin-Ho. I wanted to ask you about something."

Jin-Ho? Was this Yu Jin-Ho?

Ahn Sahng-Min nervously swallowed his saliva.

'Could he be thinking of telling Yu Jin-Ho what we've been

discussing just now??'

Too bad, Ahn Sahng-Min's expectation was a bit off the mark.

Jin-Woo spoke about something else.

"That building you wanted to give to me, how much did you

say it was?"