43

I went straight to Do-Bong mountain. I didn’t have a car or a driver’s license, so I had no choice but to take a cab.

As I neared the entrance to the mountain, I could hear some loud sounds.

“Just let us take some photos. Ko-gu-Rea guild is not even here.”

“I already told you that it’s not allowed. Just go down quickly.”

“What do you mean no? Just let me in, I’ll take only one snap.”

I moved toward the voices and saw the teleporter Kim Yoo-Jeong. She was arguing with some ordinary people who wanted to go up and take photos of the gate. They didn’t notice me.

“I’m a photographer; I’ll just take one shot and go. I know you are civil servants. My tax money pays your salaries.”

“I already said you are not allowed. Please go down.”

The same conversation was repeated over and over again.

When I sighed, both of them suddenly turned and noticed that I was there. Their faces were filled with surprise.

“Who—who is this man? And when did he arrive?”

I ignored the man’s reaction and looked at Yoo-Jeong. This time, she wasn’t wearing a skirt. I guess I couldn’t really say anything about that now.

“You’re wearing appropriate clothing for the job.”

“…You told me to do so.”

“That’s way better than before.”

“Oh… Thank you. I wasn’t expecting you to say that.”

I wanted to continue the conversation with Yoo-Jeong, but the photographer interrupted me again.

“Are you in charge of this operation? I’m a photographer. I need to take a photo of this gate so tell these Hunters to move.”

That was just a laughable sentence.

“I’m not your servant, you know.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be a civil servant? I pay a lot of taxes, I also donate the money that I earn from my photos.”

Was that how donations worked? To be honest, I wasn’t sure about that.

“Just go down. It’s for your own safety.”

The photographer laughed.

“Just go down? Is that what civil servants say to citizens? Who do you think you are?!”

“What are you going to do? Are you going to file a complaint?”

“Why shouldn’t I? You civil servants must know that we are the ones who pay your salaries…”

I stopped listening to his blabbering and quickly stretched my hand out. I grabbed his camera and crushed it in my hand in one swift motion. Then I took his bag and burned it. I didn’t know what was inside of it, but that didn’t matter at this point.

“What—what are you doing?”

“Well, sir.”

“………..”

“I’m not your friend.”

“…………”

“What’s with your rude attitude? Will you learn some lessons if I throw you inside the gate?”

“…You maniac! You are insane!”

How did he know that?

Perhaps he could see it from my face.

“There won’t be another warning. Go down if you want to live.”

The photographer stepped back and eventually hurried down to escape. I did the same thing to the other people who were blocking our way. I used my aura to crush all their equipment, just a simple snap of my fingers was enough to do the job.

“We are in control of this situation. Get out while I’m still being nice. If you don’t leave in ten minutes, you’ll die.”

Pretty soon, everyone else had gone, and only the team members of ROKHA remained near the gate. I smiled at Yoo-Jeong.

“You must have been working hard. Since I took care of them, your job will now be easier.”

“Oh… Thanks.”

“You are welcome.”

After solving the crisis, I sat down at a nearby tree and saw Gi-Hoon coming toward me.

“Are you really planning to work at a fried chicken restaurant?

“What?”

“I just saw what you did there. The cameras you broke cost a lot, at least $10,000 each. Also, the watches you broke cost about $1,000 as well.”

That made me a bit guilty. Geez, why were those so expensive?

“If you don’t work more, your salary will be theirs.”

Jeong Gi-Hoon only chuckled. His joke made me laugh as well.

“If it doesn’t end well, then I suppose I’ll do as you say.”

“…That was just a joke, you know.”

I sensed some uneasiness in Gi-Hoon’s words. Why was he showing this behavior?

“Why? Should I not do that?”

“…It’s your choice, but I think that would be a waste of your power. At least it seems like a waste to me.”

I shook my hands, but I don’t think he understood what I meant.

I am an expert cook. If I work as a chef at a fried chicken restaurant, I’m sure that I’ll be successful at it.

Jeong Gi-Hoon then changed the topic. “Did it go well?”

He meant my business with my brother.

“Yes, it did.”

“Glad to hear that.”

I checked my watch for the time. It was currently 10:30 am. I lifted my head, and, at the corner of my eye, I could see a woman standing at a distance from us.

Kim Yoo-Jeong, the teleporter from ROKHA.

Coincidentally, our eyes met, but she immediately turned her head away. I chuckled and called her over.

“Hey, no need to be afraid. Come over here.”

“Um… Do you mean me?”

“Yes, you. Come over.”

***

Yoo-Jeong couldn’t believe what she had just seen.

Hwan had crushed a lot of cameras and equipment and told the photographers to get lost. Even if he is the supervisor of ROKHA, he was still a civil servant. How could he be so confident? How can he possess the strength to do that?

To be honest, he was cool.

His encouragement was not bad as well.

Then they had locked eyes, and he had asked her to come. Yoo-Jeong approached him, a bit nervous. Meanwhile, Hwan asked her a question.

“Am I scary to you? This is just my curiosity.”

“…Huh?”

“Your legs are shaking. Don’t you feel it?”

Yoo-Jeong noticed that her legs were indeed shaking. What was wrong with her?

Lee Hwan smiled softly.

“Sit next to me.”

“…Alright.”

Yoo-Jeong sat next to him, wondering why he had called her over. While she was lost in her thoughts, Hwan opened his mouth.

“Is ROKHA treating you well?”

“Yes… I’m fine with my job.”

“I see. I suppose you are okay with it when I pointed out your outfit.”

“…Well, your statement was correct. I don’t have any hard feelings for you.”

Lee Hwan slowly nodded in response. Then Yoo-Jeong, with a serious face, asked him, “Are you… suggesting I resign?”

Hwan formed a strange expression at her words. “What are you talking about?”

“……….”

Yoo-Jeong couldn’t say anything; she thought that it was a reasonable question. Hwan slowly continued.

“I can see that you did some martial arts. Kendo, I suppose? You also did karate and mixed martial arts. Did you study those for two years?”

She felt astonished at his words. Everything he said was correct. How could he possibly know that?

“Seeing your reaction, I can tell that I’m right. The amount of aura you have is one-third of Jeong Gi-Hoon’s, but… your physical ability is D-rated. Am I correct?”

Yoo-Jeong nodded immediately.

“You have weird characteristics. You do have a lot of aura, but your physical ability is quite lacking. You’re more like a wizard… but you trained yourself as a warrior. That’s weird.”

“……………”

“But I must ask you this. Can the supervisor ask someone to resign? I didn’t know that.”

“Well… before you came along, there was no supervisor, so I don’t know much about that.”

“But you know that your power is lacking. That’s why you thought that I was asking you to resign.”

Yoo-Jeong couldn’t say anything; she just continued to listen to what Lee Hwan was saying.

“How long have you been working as a teleporter?”

“…Five years.”

“That’s quite a long time.”

Yes, she had been doing this for quite a long period already. In addition to that, she was also the most important team member. Because of her ability, ROKHA could move and resolve emergencies quickly. That was why she was receiving the highest salary among the members of ROKHA.

That, however, was no longer a fact ever since Lee Hwan arrived.

“I’m not going to say anything if you are already satisfied, but as far as I can see, there are a few people in ROKHA that are training the wrong way. You are one of them.”

“………..”

“Do you know the training center in the main office?”

“…Yes.”

“It’s not compulsory, but come if you can.”

Lee Hwan was speaking softly, but the surroundings were quieter than his voice. Everyone, including Ee-Na and So-Eun, could hear their conversation.

Hwan then pointed to Ee-Na and So-Eun.

“The two of you are required to go. Don’t you dare be late!”

The two women and Yoo-Jeong gulped loudly, and Hwan smiled to put them at ease.

“Anyway, I heard that you have been working in ROKHA for five years. Have you worked at the gates a lot?”

Yoo-Jeong answered promptly. “I have… worked at the gates a lot of times. Before, ROKHA had control over all the gates. But now we control S-rated gates only.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. As guilds started doing everything by themselves, we had less work to do.”

After Lee Hwan had returned from Valhalla, he didn’t know much about the current world.

“I’m not sure about the exact date, but I suppose it happened just two months ago. I heard that my brother cleared an S-rated gate alone.”

“If you mean the gate on Rushmore Mountain, then yes, he did.”

“Lee Ho was able to do that much, but the Ko-gu-Rea guild is weaker than my brother. Can they clear this gate by themselves?”

Yoo-Jeong could feel that he really had been missing for ten years.

“Do you know how the gates are rated?”

“I don’t.”

“One of the big three Hunters, Sophie Winsted, has a unique skill called ‘measuring.’ She is from England and can use her ability to measure the rank of the gates.”

Measurement? Lee Hwan thought about the comic books he used to read as a child.

“Is that like a scouter from Dragon Ball?”

“Well, that’s another way of looking at it. When a gate appears, she goes there to measure the strength of the gate. The gate Master Lee cleared was near an SS-rated. In contrast, this gate is more like a lower A-rated gate.”

That was interesting to hear. Lee Hwan murmured.

He thanked Yoo-Jeong for the information, and Yoo-Jeong also smiled. He was a nicer person than she had expected.

Suddenly, a lot of people arrived all at once. They were the Hunters from the Ko-gu-Rea guild. One man, who was big and tall, caught sight of Lee Hwan and immediately headed in his direction.

“You must be Lee Hwan.”

Lee Hwan wondered who this guy was. His voice sounded vaguely familiar.

“Do I know you?”

“Oh… I’m Jang Hyeok, the vice president of the Ko-gu-Rea guild. We talked through the phone.”

“I see.”

They shook hands, and Hyeok grabbed his hand tight. It meant that he had something to talk about.

“I heard that you are getting about $30,000 salary in ROKHA, correct?”

“That’s about it.”

This only made Hyeok smiled brightly.

“Will you be conducive to a $100,000 offer?”

Everyone froze. It was a sudden recruitment offer.

Hunters from the Ko-gu-Rea guild were the most surprised out of everyone there. Their vice president usually didn’t offer jobs as spontaneously as this. He was known for his calculated and deliberate attitude. What was happening?

As Lee Hwan smiled mysteriously, Hyeok raised his offer.

“How about $200,000 and a house and car?”

“That caught my attention.”

“We can discuss it some more and offer some benefits as well. How does that sound?”

Lee Hwan was still smiling mysteriously.

“Would you let go of my hand first?”

“Oh, please excuse me.”

Without hesitation, Hyeok did as he said.

There was a moment of silence as Hyeok waited for Hwan to accept his offer. Hwan finally opened his mouth.

“First of all…”

“I’m listening.”

“My contract with ROKHA ends in a year. When it is over, then I’ll think about it.”

Hyeok was delighted to hear that answer. This was happening way above his expectations.

He looked at Hwan and said, “Allow me to ask you this.”

“Go on.”

“If the Hunter authority dissolves, can you join us immediately?”