Rank
74th, it has 3 monthly views
Summary
– “I’m sure nothing weird will happen here.”
“I’ll be right next to my phone, so if something does happen, give me a call right away.”
– “Got it, Chief.”
Ahn Sahng-Min ended the call only after making sure his right-hand man fully heard his ‘request’. It was at this point that he felt his starvation kick in.
Rumble…
‘I’ve been paying way too much attention on this matter….’
The lunch hour had flown by some time ago, but well, he’d been waiting with bated breaths for Seong Jin-Woo’s arrival and completely forgot to fill up in the meantime.
The thing was, he didn’t know when Yu Jin-Ho’s team would show up here and so, couldn’t leave his position to buy something to eat.
Now that he found himself some leeway, Ahn Sahng-Min looked around his vicinity to find a place to eat, before eventually settling on the local convenience store.
‘I’m not trying to skimp on food expenses, though….’
No one was around here to make fun out of him, yet he couldn’t help but think that it was a bit uncool to enter a restaurant or a diner all alone. So, after a lengthy deliberation, he chose the cup ramen from the convenience store, instead.
He poured the boiling water provided from the store in the cup and waited for three minutes before getting his wooden chopsticks ready, but then….
Ring….
“Eii! I’m trying to eat here, so who dares to call me now?!”
When he took a look at the phone’s screen, a familiar name showed up.
[Right arm]
‘Hyun Ki-Cheol, you dumba*s….’
Ahn Sahng-Min answered the call, full of irritation.
“Why are you calling me already?”
– “Chief, that’s not it…..”
“What do you mean, that’s not it?? If you’re calling me over nothing, you will be eating nothing but cup ramen as your lunch for the whole of next week!!”
– “That’s not it, Chief!! Those two came out of the Gate already!!”
Just like a paused frame of a movie, Ahn Sahng-Min’s hand froze in the mid-air, just before it could deliver chopsticks full of noodles to his mouth.
“What did you say??”
– “Just now, Yu Jin-Ho and Seong Jin-Woo came out from the Gate, Chief! And they are getting ready to leave along with the rest of the team!”
Indeed, he didn’t hear that wrong.
Ahn Sahng-Min hurriedly checked his watch.
“But, it hasn’t even been 30 minutes yet! Did they give up on the raid midway?”
– “No, Chief. The Gate is shaking right now.”
What nonsense was this?!
Even if the difficulty between different C-ranked dungeons varied somewhat, there was simply no way that someone could solo one of those in less than 30 minutes!!
“Check again!! Is the Gate closing for real?”
– “Yes, Chief. Should I record some footage and send it to you?”
“…No, no need.”
Ahn Sahng-Min ended the call and dazedly stared the empty air.
Clearing a C-ranked dungeon in 30 minutes when normally, a rank A Hunter would need two hours to do so?
What a funny notion that was, that man being only a rank B….
Using only the objective information available to make his educated guess, then at the bare minimum….
“He’s above rank A….”
Now, this was an unimaginably huge jackpot.
***
Outside the Gate….
“Hyung-nim. Is there some other business you need to attend to later?”
“No, not really. Why do you ask?”
“I haven’t seen you hurrying up this much with hunting before.”
Yu Jin-Ho was feeling truly astonished today.
He already knew very well that Jin-Woo was strong, but today, he seemed to be on another dimension altogether.
But, that was par for the course, really.
Jin-Woo inwardly laughed out.
‘Well, monsters in this dungeon were Werewolves, after all.’
[Title: Slaughterer of Wolves]
A Title given to a hunter skilled in hunting wolves. When facing animal-type monsters, all of your Stats will increase by 40%.
The buff given by the title ‘Slaughterer of Wolves’ of course came into effect against the Werewolves as well.
How could the monsters from a rank C dungeon contend with him, when his level was already so high to begin with, never mind the effect of that buff helping him out, too?
Thanks to that, Yu Jin-Ho had been kept real busy while trying to extract all those magic crystals from the dead monsters. He even had to drink five vials of the HP potion, too.
He shook his head several times, complaining that he wouldn’t be able to eat lunch now, after the potions filled him up completely.
‘That’s that, but….’
Jin-Woo slowly raised his head.
He had been sensing someone’s gaze coming from somewhere.
‘I don’t sense any magical energy, so he can’t be a Hunter.’
He took a look around, but couldn’t spot anyone suspicious.
If he got serious about discovering who it was, then he should be able to find the person; but then, as the target didn’t emit any killing intent or hostile intentions, it’d take a really long time to track the culprit down.
‘……’
It might be nothing, too.
Perhaps inevitably, the gaze disappeared before long.
“Hyung-nim, is everything alright?”
“….It’s nothing. Let’s get going.”
There was no time to waste here.
Jin-Woo took one last look around and climbed into the van.
*
He couldn’t sense anyone looking at him by the second Gate’s location.
….Both the times when he entered, and also when exiting the Gate.
‘Was I being overly cautious?’
What a relief it was, knowing that it wasn’t something serious.
Meanwhile, Yu Jin-Ho walked over and apologetically lowered his head.
“Hyung-nim, I’m really sorry about this. This is the last Gate for the day. Other ones were just too far from here.”
“Don’t worry about it. That’s not something you should apologise for, anyway.”
The sun was still pretty high up in the sky, but thanks to the duo’s antics, just about every Gate that appeared in the district had been taken care of, so their day had to come to an end here.
“Thank you all for working hard, everyone.”
“What do you mean, working hard. It’s you, the raid leader, who worked hardest.”
“See you tomorrow.”
“Take it easy now.”
After sending everyone away, the remaining two men climbed aboard the driver’s and the passenger’s seats of the van.
“Let me take you home, hyung-nim.”
Before anyone had noticed it, Yu Jin-Ho had become a trusty chauffeur. Him sitting behind the wheel looked perfectly normal now.
Jin-Woo looked Yu Jin-Ho with pitying eyes.
‘Just because he wants a shot at the position of the Guild Master, a scion of a wealthy family now has to work as a chauffeur….’
Yu Jin-Ho had been smiling brightly while pressing on the accelerator, before realising that Jin-Woo was staring at him and asked with an equally bright voice.
“Eh? Is there something on my face, hyung-nim?”
“…..Nope. Never mind.”
Jin-Woo pretended to know nothing, before suddenly recalling something else rather important, and he pulled out his phone to check the time.
‘Right now, it’s…. 16:46.’
Indeed, it was still too early to go home. How fortunate that he still had one thing he could do.
‘I’m sure it was around here, right?’
According to his memories, at least.
Jin-Woo spoke up quickly.
“Hey, Jin-Ho.”
“Yes, hyung-nim?”
Yu Jin-Ho replied while professionally turning the steering wheel. The van the two of them were riding on smoothly went around the curve on the road.
“Head to the Mirae department store.”
“Mirae department store?”
Yu Jin-Ho formed a confused expression.
“Yeah. Let’s go there.”
“Well, yes. It’s just around the corner from here, but…. I did notice it back during the hunting, so like, is there really nothing going on, hyung-nim?”
“….For some reason, you’ve been talking a lot more than necessary lately.”
That prompted Yu Jin-Ho’s head to rigidly stare forward and nowhere else.
“I shall get us there at the speed of light, hyung-nim. Please hold on tight.”
Yu Jin-Ho quickly changed his attitude and drove the van like a stuntman, never once touching his brake pedal.
The distance to cover wasn’t a lot, so they arrived at the destination pretty quickly.
The van came to a screeching halt in front of the building. The overall vibe given off by the Mirae department store located smack dab in the city of Seoul’s CBD was quite something to behold.
When Jin-Woo climbed off the van, Yu Jin-Ho followed suit.
“Hyung-nim, our Guild’s gotta use this kind of a building as our headquarters in the future. What do you think?”
Yu Jin-Ho stared up at the department store building and threw half a joke.
However, there was no reply. Sensing that something was weird here, Yu Jin-Ho hurriedly took a look next to him.
“Ehh?”
Jin-Woo was no longer standing there.
“Hyung-nim?”
No matter how hard he looked around, Jin-Woo was gone without a trace.
“H-hyung-nim??”
***
[With the death of the Boss, the interior of the dungeon will revert back to its original state.]
‘I levelled up again twice in the department store instant dungeon.’
The steps taking Jin-Woo home were light and cheery.
It had been a while, but the key to the instant dungeon had finally come out of the random box recently. And that key was supposed to be ‘used’ at the Mirae department store.
He was wondering when to go, but decided to visit the place today since he found himself with enough free time.
[“H-hyung-nim??”]
Jin-Woo recalled the dazed face of Yu Jin-Ho as the kid searched for him, and couldn’t help but chuckle.
His phone suddenly went off, then.
Before answering it, he checked the number on the phone’s screen, but he couldn’t recognise it.
‘Who could it be?’
Back when he was still in high school, he was too busy trying to be a mother to his little sister, and after graduation, he started right away as a Hunter so one could say that Jin-Woo’s circle of acquaintances was fairly small.
‘I shouldn’t be getting calls from unknown numbers….’
He tilted his head only for a second or two. For the time being, he decided to answer it.
“Hello.”
– “Hello. Is this Mister Seong Jin-Woo speaking?”
It was an open and friendly-sounding voice of a man.
Jin-Woo hung up the moment he heard that.
Click!
‘Well, from my experience, this kinda call is 99% someone trying to sell me stuff, or trying to entice me to get a loan, anyway.’
Just as he was about to put his phone back in the pocket, it rang again.
Buzz…
And it was the exact same number.
‘What the? It wasn’t someone selling stuff?’
Normally, these salespeople would call whoever just so they could meet their sales target, which meant that they would almost never call him back this quickly as soon as the connection was dropped.
Why? They were quick-witted enough to realise that this would be a waste of time, that’s why.
‘Which means, the guy on the other side really has some kind of business with me….’
So, he answered the call properly this time.
“Hello, this is Seong Jin-Woo.”
– “Ahh, so it was the right number. I thought I called the wrong one because the call got cut off so quickly. Ahaha.”
“…”
Jin-Woo deliberated for the whole of 2 seconds on whether to apologise or not with an excuse of him thinking that the call was about selling insurance or some such, because the man’s voice sounded a bit…
But, in the end, he decided not to.
‘It feels like me apologising now would only make it worse.’
A short bout of silence later, the salesman, no, the man with a salesman’s voice, made his belated introduction.
– “Ah, where are my manners. My bad for the late introduction. My name is Ahn Sahng-Min, and I work for the White Tiger Guild.”
Jin-Woo’s steps came to an abrupt halt.
‘Why is the White Tiger calling me?’
He couldn’t think of a reason why such a big Guild as the White Tiger would call him out of the blue.
The only thing he could think of, though, was that this Guild assisted him back in that dual dungeon incident, but….
‘But, I’m sure they aren’t calling me to investigate that day’s matters after so much time has passed by already.’
Well, he couldn’t stand not knowing, so before Ahn Sahng-Min had the chance to continue, Jin-Woo asked first.
“Why is the White Tiger Guild giving me a call?”
– “The matter is a bit sensitive to discuss over the phone, so may I come to you and have a chat face to face?”
The man was saying that he’d come to see him, not asking Jin-Woo to show up, so there was no real reason to refuse here.
Besides, he had nothing much to do the day after tomorrow, anyway.
‘Didn’t Yu Jin-Ho say he had some kind of an event back home?’
Yu Jin-Ho ‘begged’ for his understanding while saying that there was a big family event happening on that day and everyone simply had to show up, meaning he couldn’t go on any raids.
‘A big family event, eh….’
Just from thinking about a chaebol’s family event, Jin-Woo could only imagine luxurious, elaborate parties being held in a five-star hotel’s reception hall. Should he blame TV dramas for that now?
In any case, it’d be easy to set a date for that day.
“I have some free time on Thursday.”
– “Well, the thing is… Will it be fine if we meet right now?”
Right now?
Jin-Woo checked the time.
The time on the phone’s screen indicated eight in the evening.
“But, it’s already eight.”
– “Don’t worry. I’m waiting for you nearby. I just wish to speak to you for a little while only.”
“Nearby, as in?”
– “I’m in a cafe near you.”
Ahn Sahng-Min spoke the name of the cafe.
Jin-Woo was quite familiar with the place.
It was near his home so he went past it often, and not only that, but he also used it as the meeting place with Yu Jin-Ho as well.
Jin-Woo’s eyes narrowed to a slit.
‘This guy knows where I live.’
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.
- “Please accept my apologies if you were inconvenienced by that. We just wanted to confirm the situation for ourselves. We wouldn’t have called you like this if we were thinking of harming you in some shape or form. If you take some time out and listen to what I have to say, I guarantee that you won’t be disappointed.”
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 Jin-Woo, 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 one-sidedly 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 Re-Awakened 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 Sahng-Min 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.
- “Yes, hyung-nim?”
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.”
- “Please ask anything, hyung-nim.”
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?”
< Chapter 21 > Fin.
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