81

Kim Yoo-Jeong teleported us back to the Hunter Authority’s Korean Branch building.

As soon as I stepped into my office, someone immediately came in.

It was Jeong Gi-Hoon.

“Long time no see, although it was only quite a short while.”

Gi-Hoon smiled awkwardly. “So, are you done with your business?”

Gi-Hoon didn’t know yet that I also cleared an SS-rated gate. All he knew was that I killed Bartolomeu and got connected with the CIA. I was quite sure about that.

“Where’s Yoo Ee-Na and Kim So-Eun?”

“They are at a gate now. You told me to buy all the gates in Korea.”

“So you bought them all?”

“Yes. I bought 52 C-rated gates, 23 B-rated gates, and 2 A-rated gates. We bought it in the name of Cheon-Myeong.”

“Cheon-Myeong’s name?”

“We haven’t launched our business properly yet, so I borrowed the name of Cheon-Myeong in the meantime. It’s just a formal approach. Apart from the A-rated ones, Ee-Na and So-Eun have already cleared all the gates. Right now, they’re clearing the last remaining A-rated gate.”

I nodded and asked him to sit. When he saw the woman standing next to me, he seemed puzzled. He looked at her and laughed as if he was looking at something funny. After a moment, he stood up and greeted the woman, who was covered in a robe and hood.

“You must be Emilia.”

“It’s been a long time, Jeong Gi-Hoon.”

“What brings you here?”

They knew each other. After all, Gi-Hoon was trained to become the next leader of Cheon-Myeong’s secretary team. He must have had a lot of chances to meet with important people.

She then glanced at me. “Ask him.”

With this, I explained everything to him.

“I understand.”

Jeong Gi-Hoon understood everything quickly. I know that it’s tiring to keep mentioning this, but he is a smart man.

He simplified everything into a single statement.

“So she is a hostage.”

That made Emilia frown, and Jeong Gi-Hoon smiled brightly.

“That was the cleverest plan that you can make in that situation.”

See? He knew it.

I sat down, and Gi-Hoon and Yoo-Jeong sat down as well. Emilia was the only one who was left standing, sneering at me.

Hmm.

“Should I explain it briefly? Or do you want to know everything?”

She laughed absurdly and answered. “It seems that you have a lot of time, so explain everything.”

I did just that.

“What I want to discuss is what would happen after clearing the SS-rated gates. I don’t care about who clears them.”

“After clearing the gates?”

“I want to support my brother. I think Ash could be a reliable ally, but things can change.”

“…….”

“I did this so that they won’t get me wrong. Also, I wasn’t sure whether you are a member of the anti-Hunter organization or not.”

Emilia smirked.

“What? You want me to do a strip show for you, so you can check whether or not I have a tattoo?”

“I don’t like watching strip shows.”

“Oh, yeah? Then how about the things you did in the gate?”

“That’s a different story. Anyway, stay in Korea for a while.”

I know that she didn’t like this. Who would want to be treated as a hostage? I could already see her bubbling anger.

However, she had other emotions as well.

I asked her, “Do you want to know more about me?”

“……”

“You can ask whatever you want. This is quite a rare opportunity.”

Emilia burst out in laughter.

“You are an interesting guy.”

“Interesting?”

“Yes.”

She made another suggestion. “Give me eight million dollars.”

“What’s the reason for that?”

“When I work, I get that amount of money per day. If you pay me that amount every day, I won’t complain.”

Now we were talking.

“Alright. From now, you are my hostage and hired as my supporter. Do you agree?”

“Let’s do it that way.”

With that, we shook hands.

“Your hands are hard.”

Her voice was quite soft. I think it was her way of implying that she was trying to form a good relationship with me. It was a good technique. She could convey emotions through her words and act well.

Emilia paused for a while before smiling brightly.

“I know our first impression was not good, but let’s try to get along well.”

“I appreciate your words, and I suppose you need a place to stay. I think you can stay with Yoo-Jeong. Yoo-Jeong, can you accommodate her?”

Yoo-Jeong nodded willingly. That settled it.

We went to meet Kim So-Eun and Yoo Ee-Na.

***

Around the world, some famous brothers work as Hunters. Lee Hwan and Lee Ho were two of those brothers famous for being Hunters.

The leader of the Cheon-Myeong team, Park Hyeon-Soo, and Park Hyeon-Gi were also brothers, and both of them were S-rated Hunters.

Park Hyeon-Gi observed the two women in the A-rated gate. For them, it seemed easy to clear this gate, but you should never be too confident or lose focus. Fortunately, they never let their guards down, although he was there to help them anyway.

He was observing Kim So-Eun, a unique skill holder. She was young, but she was the chosen master of Excalibur. He was here to prevent any accidents from happening. He wanted to help her and create a good relationship, so they were here. Her master was Lee Hwan, the brother of Hyeon-Gi’s master.

It was not even hard work, so Hyeon-Gi willingly took over the job. He also helped them professionally as he observed how they fought.

First, he observed Yoo Ee-Na. Hyeon-Gi couldn’t spot it at first, but he eventually found that she was very talented. She could move quickly and shoot her gun in close range. The B-rated monster did not even have time to respond to the attack before it was killed, which means that she already surpassed the B-rated ranking. It was true that she got support from the item, but that alone was already impressive.

And Kim So-Eun was far more impressive than Ee-Na.

She was brave and determined. Even if she was faced with a C-rated or B-rated monster, she still chose to fight. She even personally fought an A-rated monster.

Hyeon-Gi observed her as she fought with and managed to kill a C-rated monster. What she did was swing her sword and block. Even if her attacks made her arms and legs break, her unique ability was able to cure them. She repeated this process again and again.

To be honest, Hyeon-Gi felt a bit afraid.

So-Eun was currently facing an A-rated monster called ‘Wendigo.’ It looked like a deer that walked on two legs, and was quite voracious. Unlike other animals, it could eat meat and humans as well. Aside from that, the Wendigo was so tall that Kim So-Eun only managed to reach the height of its knee.

After a moment, Kim So-Eun rushed towards the monster and swung Excalibur. With a loud, crashing sound, the sword was stabbed and stuck in the monster’s knee. At the same time, So-Eun’s right arm shattered. She didn’t scream. Instead, with her other arm, she stabbed the monster again, piercing its lower body.

Hyeon-Gi could imagine the pain that the monster must be feeling right now. That made him feel pity.

The Wendigo screamed and swung its heavy hand, striking Kim So-Eun. It was a critical attack. Her collarbone broke and her lungs were pressed down. She was bleeding, but she clenched her teeth to endure the pain.

With her ‘regeneration’ skill, her injury quickly recovered. She threw two of Merlin’s coins, one aimed at the Wendigo’s face and the other aimed at its lower body.

That was impressive concentration.

“Explode!”

As soon as she said the trigger words, the Wendigo’s head and lower body exploded with a loud sound that reverberated throughout the gate.

Yoo Ee-Na, after killing three Wendigos, approached So-Eun and held out her hand to the fallen girl. So-Eun grabbed it and stood up with her help.

Hyeon-Gi was certain that these two would become famous soon.

***

Kim So-Eun exhaled a harsh breath. She had gotten help from her items, but she had managed to kill an A-rated monster.

That was enough for now. She checked her status window.

Name: Kim So-Eun

Level: 12 (48%)

Title: None

Strength: 9

Stamina: 11

Agility: 14

Intelligence: 18

Unique Skill: Regeneration (?)

Skill: Throw (C), Suicidal-Kill (?)

She noticed that her stats had increased by a lot. She also found that the system was not as convenient as she had thought. Her stats had indeed increased because of the system’s assistance, but there were no explanations about the skills. She had to learn them by herself.

What kind of skill was Suicidal-Kill anyway? The name seemed like nonsense, but she kind of understood what it meant.

Yesterday, she had ignored her injury to kill the enemy. The injury she received was very critical, but because of her ability, she could easily recover. She rushed at the monster as if she didn’t care about her life. Her only goal was to kill her opponent.

The skill seemed to be quite efficient as well. After learning that skill, she noticed that her stats increased temporarily while rushing towards a B-rated monster. She understood the mechanism all by herself, and that was why she could hunt the Wendigo.

“So-Eun, are you alright?”

Yoo Ee-Na was there, lending her a hand. So-Eun grabbed it and grinned.

“I’ve never felt better.”

And so, they cleared the gate. When they finally stepped back outside, it was already evening. The Hunters from Cheon-Myeong still had other duties, so the two of them were the only ones heading back.

They were both thinking that they should have a meal first.

“I appreciate your hard work.”

Suddenly, a voice came up to them from behind. It was Lee Hwan. Yoo-Jeong had used her teleport skill to bring him here.

“I bet you haven’t eaten yet. Come with me, and I’ll cook something for you. It’s some type of eel.”

Yoo-Jeong blinked as if she couldn’t believe what she had just heard.

Eel?

Did he just call Rahab an eel?

Meanwhile, Lee Hwan was still talking.

“Let’s go back to our office.”