Chapter 1240: Man of No Honor
Days went by, and there was no movement from either side. The Hunter Association’s chairman, Han Du-sik, was still looking into Morpheus in his own ways, while the latter had basically disappeared from the face of the planet.
"Am I doing the right thing? He seems unfit on the paper for the role. But at least he is honest and doesn’t have an idealistic worldview.
I can trust someone like that over these pretenders who preach about honor and justice while putting up a facade of kindness and heroism in front of the media." spoke the chairman as he watched the bustling lives of the city from the top floor of their building.
"I do not like him either, sir. But I believe he is a far better choice compared to all the other candidates. Especially because he is of a neutral origin, doesn’t desire or need money and fame.
Besides, idealistic people who check all the boxes often turn out to be snakes with hidden agendas.
If Mr. Morpheus can take the command... I’m sure he would be uncorruptible by those people.
Our hands are already tied down because of the pressure from all sides. But if we have him as the leader... we might be able to keep everyone under our authority." spoke the man with spectacles, standing behind the chairman.
This person was the secretary of the chairman named Jung Gu-won.
At this moment, they were discussing an important mission that was still undisclosed to the public but would eventually garner all their attention.
"But the biggest question is... what does Morpheus truly want?
What could we offer him to take this role instead of those hyenas from the guilds and business corporations?" asked the chairman as he sighed.
He contemplated for answers but couldn’t find anything.
It was right then, the door of his office was knocked by someone.
A few seconds later, a woman in her mid-30s entered the room and handed out another report.
"Sir... there was an incident. The police asked for our help since it seemed that a hunter was involved.
Our investigation team had given their final report, but I think you should see this..." she spoke with a hurried tone.
Han Du-sik looked at the report, and his brows furrowed. But soon he revealed a shocked countenance and quickly went to his desk, opened his drawer, and started comparing it with another report he received just yesterday.
"The attack patterns and the claw marks... no trace remaining of the assailant, but not a single survivor among the opposition.
How long ago was this?" asked the chairman.
"The day before yesterday. I was the one who catalogued both reports, so I thought you should see it first.
This time... it was a group of human traffickers that had hunters among their ranks.
The leader was believed to be a hidden S-Rank herself. Her gang kidnapped and sold young girls from the slums to clubs with rich clientele.
And among the victims... they described him as a terrifying existence than their captors.
One of them said she was more afraid of their savior than of those traffickers.
And she described him as a demon in the form of human flesh," iterated the employee.
"I see... so that’s his thing." replied Han Du-sik and let out a small grin.
"Finally... at least one decent S-Rank hunter in decades.
Gu Won-ah... find me his whereabouts. I know what we have to offer him.
Morpheus isn’t just a hunter..." spoke the chairman with an elated smile.
"He’s a Vigilante."
******************
3 Days Later...
Morpheus was found again. This time... he was seen in a bar.
Just like before, the chairman interrupted him and started presenting his proposal.
Now, he revealed the whole truth.
The main reason he approached Morpheus again and again was that the Hunter Association was in dire need of an S-Rank hunter for an expedition.
Unlike the dimensional rifts, their world also had dungeons and towers that hunters could venture into either to cull monsters inside or gather resources.
In the past 3 decades, the world developed commerce around it, and basically, many countries integrated it into their economy.
If the governments truly wanted to save people... they would have focused on closing and clearing all these dungeons and towers.
But instead, they used it as a means to harvest resources and sell them for money in the real world.
This economy also needed mascots, so they gave rise to Hunters and presented the profession as a way to become rich and popular.
At most, they closed a low-level dungeon in case of an outbreak or just to make appearances in front of the masses.
Even in their own country, the hunter association chairman had been fighting against this dogma for years and wanted to close off more than half of the dungeons and towers as they posed an imminent threat to the normal citizens.
But since when have the rich, elites, and the governments truly cared about the lives of your average person who spent his/her entire life slaving away after wages, paying taxes, and dying as a mere number?
At this moment... There was a similar dilemma because a high-level tower appeared a week ago, and everyone was fighting for the stake in its possible resources.
The hunter guilds, the mega corporations that had teams of their own elite hunters and independent hunters of high rank, also wanted a piece of the pie.
Thus, an expedition was proposed under the authority of the hunter association, where all the elite hunters would gather and venture together.
Their goal was to clear the tower and close it off for good.
However, Han Du-sik knew the reality.
No matter how everyone talked about saving mankind... they all just wanted to earn money and fame. None actually cared about clearing these things and saving innocent lives.
After hearing his plea... Morpheus replied.
"Will there be other S-Rank Hunters too?" he asked skeptically.
"Yes. That is obvious." responded Han Du-sik.
In return... Morpheus revealed the most devious smile the chairman had ever seen in his life.
Instead of a human, Han Du-sik saw a sinister devil in Morpheus and asked himself...
[What the hell is he planning?]
