Chapter 41
Although Hyuk-Soo had visited the Fissure Management Planning Team at the Hunter’s Bureau several times before, he couldn’t help but feel nervous each time he sat inside the conference room, enclosed by transparent partitions within the office.
Feeling increasingly thirsty due to his nerves, Hyuk-Soo gulped down the barley tea on the table and began to thoroughly review the meeting documents he had already gone through dozens of times.
“Everything will go well. Don’t worry too much, Senior,” Do-Jun comforted him.
At 9 AM that morning, the Seoul City Hall Fissure Management Division received a call from the Hunter’s Bureau regarding another discussion of the B-rank Great Fissure Management Rights Transfer, which had been previously shut down.
Moreover, the Bureau offered to accommodate Seoul City Hall’s schedule for the time and place of the meeting, and seizing the opportunity, Do-Jun suggested they meet at 2 PM that very day.
I don’t mind their quick responses, Do-Jun thought, recalling the events from the day before.
***
“I’d like to offer you a proposal,” Young-Chul said, handing Do-Jun a document.
Do-Jun picked it up and began reading while Young-Chul swallowed nervously.
“I won’t do it,” Do-Jun said as he put down the document before even finishing it.
The contents were simple. It was an application for the Hunter qualification exam. Young-Chul wanted Do-Jun to become a Hunter.
“I can’t fully estimate your abilities, Supervisor Lee, but if you became a Hunter, you can get anything you desire. As far as I know, as a ninth-grade civil servant, you’re likely earning about 3 million won per month, and that is considering the Fissure Management role pays slightly more than other civil servant positions.”
“You are well versed regarding my income. Yes, I make about that much.”
“But if you become a Hunter, it wouldn’t be a reach to say that you could earn 300 million won in a single day. In fact, it might even be easy for someone like you.”
Do-Jun sighed at Young-Chul’s words.
“You seem to be misunderstanding something. Money isn’t that important to me,” he said as he glanced over at Yoon-Hee, who looked surprised.
His life in the Central Plains was one filled with the stench of blood. Even though he had money and fame, in the end, all that remained was emptiness.
Compared to that life, he had none of that glory at present.
However, he had made valuable connections through his work, and when he returned home after a day’s work, he had a family waiting to welcome him warmly.
However, Do-Jun’s eyes narrowed. It was clear that Young-Chul was desperate at this moment. And it made sense. Without Do-Jun’s help, they wouldn’t have been able to defeat the boss of the S-rank Great Fissure yesterday.
There was no guarantee that similar situations wouldn’t happen again in the future, and for the Hunter’s Bureau, the more talented Hunters they had, the better it was.
“That being said, Chief, if you show some sincerity, I might reconsider.” Do-Jun threw out a bait.
Young-Chul’s face lit up but quickly grew uncertain. In most cases, the word sincerity referred to money. But since Do-Jun didn’t seem concerned about money, he wondered what kind of sincerity Do-Jun was referring to.
Do-Jun took out his smartphone and showed a photo of an official letter from the Hunter’s Bureau regarding the B-rank Great Fissure Joint Inspection sent a few days ago. The letter mentioned that the inspection had been canceled and would need to be rescheduled once Seoul City Hall met the requirements for B-rank Great Fissure management.
As Young-Chul quickly processed the information, Do-Jun said, “Can you take care of this?”
This was asking Young-Chul if he could use his influence to transfer part of the management rights for the B-rank Great Fissure.
Young-Chul carefully re-read the letter and replied, “It’s impossible. As stated in the document, it’s against our policy and the law.”
“Ah, I see. Then I guess there’s nothing we can do,” Do-Jun said drily.
“That is, for now, at least... However, if Seoul City Hall can meet the requirement for the number of B-rank Hunters, we could transfer part of the management rights to you anytime...”
As the Bureau Chief desperately tried to continue persuading him, Do-Jun watched him with amusement.
Seeing Do-Jun’s expression, Young-Chul couldn’t shake the feeling that he was playing right into Do-Jun’s hands. However, since Do-Jun was a man worth the trouble, he decided to put aside his pride for now.
“So, I’ll make sure that you can meet that requirement,” Young-Chul offered.
Do-Jun finally nodded in satisfaction, then firmly said, “But I’m still not becoming a Hunter. I have no intention of quitting my job, and civil servants are prohibited from holding dual employment. I’m sure you already know that.”
Young-Chul wanted to argue that he had already shown his sincerity. Moreover, Do-Jun was a crucial asset for the Hunter’s Bureau not just because of the S-rank Great Fissure but for an even more fundamental reason: the Core. This was the enormous hole that had appeared in Sotaesan Mountain, Gangwon-do.
Even as they spoke, the top three Hunters were leading an expedition there.
The Behemoth Guild, formed by the Sword Emperor Kang-Hyun, simultaneously studied the Core’s ecosystem and attempted to subjugate it under Young-Chul’s direction.
However, not only was the progress extremely slow, but the expedition team reported that past the five-hundred-meter depth point, the monsters’ ranks rose sharply, with the minimum rank being S-rank.
Considering that the current monster ranking system only went up to S, it was possible that the monsters below the five-hundred-meter mark could potentially be ranked SS.
“Perhaps the Fissures appearing on Earth are caused by the Core.”
That was the speculation from the expedition team, though nothing had been confirmed yet.
Placing his cup of tea down, Do-Jun continued, “But if you ever truly need my help, Chief... I might step in for the sake of your sincerity. But only when it’s truly necessary.”
Young-Chul stood up abruptly and bowed deeply at a right angle. “That is more than enough for now. Thank you for your time today.”
His assistant also stood and followed him out.
When Young-Chul reached the doorway, he turned around and said, “Oh, and there’s one more thing, Supervisor Lee...”
This content is taken from fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm.
***
Two men popped their heads up like meerkats, peeking over the partition to look into the conference room.
One was Cha Dae-Cheol, who had been promoted to assistant manager three years after joining the Hunter’s Bureau, and next to him was Kang Seok-Hoon, the head of the Fissure Management Planning Team 4.
“Boss, the guy sitting on the left is the...” Cha Dae-Cheol trailed off.
“Yes, he is the commander-in-chief everyone’s been talking about,” Kang Seok-Hoon confirmed.
“Even so, it’s surprising that the Mejai Guild agreed so easily.”
“Well, if the Chief tells you to do it, wouldn’t you?”
“I.. would, yeah,” Cha Dae-Cheol said.
“Let’s head in.” Kang Seok-Hoon took a deep breath, then walked confidently toward the conference room with Cha Dae-Cheol following closely behind.
As the glass door swung open, the two civil servants from Seoul City Hall turned their gazes toward them.
Kang Seok-Hoon approached Hyuk-Soo with a friendly smile and extended his hand. “Ehem, Supervisor Kwon, long time no see! How have you been?”
“Oh, Chief Kang Seok-Hoon, how are you?”
“You look more handsome every time I see you, Supervisor Kwon. Haha!”
While Hyuk-Soo and Kang Seok-Hoon exchanged formal greetings, Cha Dae-Cheol glanced at Do-Jun. He had the tall, well-built physique and good looks that seemed wasted on a civil servant. Even in a suit, his broad shoulders and solid frame were apparent.
When his eyes met Do-Jun’s, he quickly looked away. Why... why did I look away? What are you doing, Cha Dae-Cheol?
Seeing this, Do-Jun smirked slightly, stood up, and bowed politely. “Hello. Nice to meet you. I’m Lee Do-Jun from the Fissure Management Division at Seoul City Hall. Thank you for taking the time to meet with us today.”
“Ah! So, you’re the famous commander! It’s an honor to finally meet you. I’m Kang Seok-Hoon, the head of Fissure Management Planning Team 4. Please, everyone, have a seat.”
Kang Seok-Hoon wet his finger, flipping through the papers he had brought, and turned the document toward Do-Jun and Hyuk-Soo after reaching page sixteen. It displayed a list of three B-rank Great Fissures to be transferred to the Fissure Management Division. This included Daehyeonsan Mountain Park’s B-rank Fissure, which had previously been deemed impossible to manage for Seoul City Hall.
“We sent you a notice stating that we could not transfer the management rights for these Fissures because Seoul City Hall didn’t meet the requirements. But, as you know, Chief Jung pulled some strings, and three Hunters will sign with Seoul City Hall, and everything will proceed without breaking any laws.”
Hyuk-Soo was visibly surprised by Kang Seok-Hoon’s words. He had assumed that finding B-rank Hunters would be the responsibility of the Fissure Management Division alone.
He was aware that Young-Chul’s influence as the Hunter’s Bureau Chief had played a role in today’s meeting, but he never expected the Hunter contracts to be arranged as well.
“Is... is that really true?” he asked as his expression showed clear disbelief.
Cha Dae-Cheol nodded and handed over the documents containing the list of Hunters who would sign with Seoul City Hall and the contract application forms, complete with their signatures.
Still in shock, Hyuk-Soo gawked at the papers.
“Is... is there a reason you’re going this far to help us...?” he asked, glancing over at Do-Jun, who also seemed slightly surprised after reviewing the list of Hunters.
He had anticipated that Hunters might be provided, but for them to be the elite members of the Mejai Guild was unexpected. In fact, the arranged Hunters were all A-rank or higher, including the guild master Dong-Hyun, Yoo Jung-Ho, and Yoo Mi-Ra.
No matter Chief Young-Chul’s influence, he hadn’t expected things to progress this smoothly.
“Please review the application forms. If there are no issues, you can proceed with the contracts immediately. The three Fissures being transferred have already been fully mapped, so they should be easy to manage. If there are no objections, we’ll send the transfer documents later today.”
Hyuk-Soo still looked like he couldn’t believe it, but Do-Jun noticed that the corners of his mouth were starting to rise.
It was a natural reaction, as Fissures that were already completely mapped required no additional work. All that was needed was some data entry into the Fissure management system and occasional patrols every two to three weeks.
“With this much help, I think you could handle two Fissures yourself, Senior.”
“I guess I could. Did you know all this, Do-Jun?”
“No, if I had, I would’ve told you.”
As Hyuk-Soo read through the documents with the face of an innocent child, Do-Jun asked, “Is Seoul the first city to take on the management of a Great Fissure?”
“I believe so,” Hyuk-Soo answered.
“I would like some tuna, Senior,” Do-Jun joked with a smile.
Hyuk-Soo nodded enthusiastically. “Me too, Do-Jun. Ah, Chief Kang, I think we’re good to proceed with this.”
“Great, I’ll assume there are no objections and send the official documents.”
“Thank you.”
The meeting ended quicker than expected, and Do-Jun and Hyuk-Soo left the Fissure Management Planning Team office.
“Shall we grab a cup of coffee?” Hyuk-Soo asked Do-Jun.
“I think we’ll have to get coffee back at the office. I have somewhere I need to stop by.”
“Where?”
Do-Jun’s gaze was fixed on the directory board next to the elevator, particularly the tenth floor.
***
Six hours earlier, Incheon Airport.
A young man in his early twenties took off his sunglasses and hooked them onto the collar of his T-shirt. He pulled his suitcase beside him as he stepped outside.
Shielding his eyes from the warm sunlight with one hand, he muttered in Chinese, “So this is the land of the Sword Emperor.”
He then pulled out his smartphone to check the address of the Hunter’s Bureau he had taken a screenshot of.
As the young man, Yang Cheok-Gi, clenched his bandage-wrapped fists, blue energy erupted from his knuckles. It was Fist Qi.
Looks like I’m in luck.
Being able to challenge the massive hole discovered in Korea, known as the Core or the Vortex of the Fissure, alongside Behemoth, the guild founded by the First Hunter, the Sword Emperor Lee Kang-Hyun, was a huge stroke of luck.
Although the Korean government didn’t restrict foreigners from entering the Core, most top Hunters from other countries weren’t particularly interested in it as they were too busy dealing with the Fissures in their own countries.
And with the survival rate from the Core being less than ten percent, rumors spread that attempting it was a suicide mission.
But Behemoth Guild was an exception. They had never lost a single member, even after more than ten attempts.
Yang Cheok-Gi wanted to see it for himself—both the Sword Emperor Lee Kang-Hyun and the Core.