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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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Vice President Taehyun Ko entered his office with Sungjoon Lee, pointed to a nearby sofa with a bright smile, and said,
“Please, have a seat.”
Sungjoon Lee nodded silently and sat down on the sofa.
As Taehyun Ko sat down facing him, Sungjoon Lee discreetly glanced at him.
‘He’s definitely different.’
A week ago, when they met in front of the Frenzy Gate, Sungjoon hadn’t been able to properly perceive it because of his poor physical condition.
But now, facing him in peak condition, he could tell.
‘As a martial artist, he’s about at the Transcendent level.’
Just from the aura emanating from him, it was sharply honed.
In the past, Sungjoon had dismissed rumors and stories about Hunters as mere boasting or self-promotion.
However, now that he had accumulated a wealth of experience and knowledge and was facing one directly, he thought that Earth Hunters might be more skilled than he had initially thought.
‘…And what I see now probably isn’t everything.’
They likely had hidden strengths, trump cards.
He was once again reminded to be cautious.
‘I should definitely be fully prepared even when fighting lower-ranked monsters or Hunters.’
While Sungjoon Lee was gathering his thoughts, Taehyun Ko, sitting opposite him, asked,
“Do you have a preferred tea?”
“Anything is fine.”
“Then would green tea be alright?”
“Yes, that would be great.”
Taehyun Ko turned his gaze and nodded slightly. Secretary Minhyuk Kim, who was standing by, began to expertly prepare the green tea.
In no time, Minhyuk Kim prepared two cups of green tea and carefully placed them in front of Sungjoon Lee and Taehyun Ko.
After taking a sip of the green tea in front of him, Taehyun Ko spoke again.
“First of all, I’d like to formally congratulate you once again on reaching B rank.”
“…”
Sungjoon Lee responded with a silent smile.
He didn’t feel any particular joy since it was a natural outcome.
Taehyun Ko slowly nodded at Sungjoon Lee’s somewhat indifferent reaction.
“As I heard from Team Leader Jo Kang-hyun, you seem to prefer getting straight to the point.”
“To be precise, I dislike beating around the bush.”
Taehyun Ko’s expression hardened at Sungjoon Lee’s sincere smile, and he immediately said,
“Since you have officially reached B rank through the re-evaluation, as of this moment, we will raise your contract terms to the highest B-rank treatment: a contract fee of 20 billion won and an annual salary of 2 billion won.”
As he finished speaking, Kang-hyun Jo, as if waiting for this moment, placed a contract in front of Sungjoon Lee.
“Here is the contract. After you’ve read it, please feel free to tell us if there are any conditions you’d like to change or add.”
“Yes, I’ll review it.”
There wasn’t much difference besides the contract fee and annual salary, so there wasn’t really a need to read it.
Besides, he could renew the contract at any time, so there wasn’t any need to pay close attention to it right now.
Sungjoon Lee briefly scanned the contract and nodded.
“There’s nothing in particular.”
“Then we’ll proceed with the contract. I’ve told the accounting team to pay special attention to the additional contract fee of 15 billion won, so it will be deposited into your account by today.”
“Thank you for always taking care of me.”
“Don’t mention it. I’m just sorry that we can’t offer you more, considering your outstanding abilities.”
Taehyun Ko waved his hand dismissively and continued, seemingly embarrassed.
“Although it’s not much of a substitute…as a sincere apology for our Association’s shortcomings, we’ve put a lot of thought into preparing this gift.”
At Taehyun Ko’s signal, Kang-hyun Jo, as if waiting, immediately took a ring out of his pocket and placed it down.
“This is a ring equipped with a subspace function. It’s an artifact made by the dwarf master craftsman, Childre, and the subspace is about 33 square meters, quite a spacious area, by Korean standards.”
Taehyun Ko immediately continued,
“Actually… I wanted to just give it to you, but since the Association is a national institution, that wasn’t possible.”
It was only natural.
A subspace ring, depending on its size, would cost at least 20 billion won for 33 square meters, and since it was made by a dwarf master craftsman, a premium of several billion won would be added.
On the other hand, the Hunter Association was a public institution funded by taxpayers’ money.
Even Taehyun Ko, considered the power broker of the Hunter Association, couldn’t just hand out such an expensive item as he pleased.
“So… I’m going to lend this subspace ring to you, Hunter Lee Sung-joon.”
“Lend it to me?”
The act of lending an artifact wasn’t that surprising in itself.
He knew that guilds or alliances acting as supporters also lent high-grade artifacts to capable Hunters.
However, Taehyun Ko’s next words were somewhat surprising.
“The lending period is up to one year, and you can use it not only during gate hunts but also in your daily life. Lastly, the period can be extended further if you wish.”
The maximum lending period for artifacts like subspace rings was usually one week.
Even then, they could only be borrowed when going on gate hunts.
However, the conditions Taehyun Ko offered had no such restrictions.
‘Indeed…’
He finally understood Taehyun Ko’s intentions.
‘He wasn’t just saying he put thought into it.’
It was practically an unlimited loan, no different from giving him the subspace ring.
But if he were to give it away for free, others might find fault with it.
In the worst case, a hearing could be held, and the damage wouldn’t be limited to Taehyun Ko but would also affect him, Sungjoon Lee.
However, simply lending it wouldn’t be a big problem.
‘He’s saying he’ll give it to me without any repercussions.’
The corners of Sungjoon Lee’s mouth curved upwards.
‘Excellent.’
Despite being a high-priced item worth hundreds of billions of won, subspace rings were in short supply, and some Hunters were even on waiting lists to purchase them.
Naturally, there was a reason why Hunters were so desperate to buy them.
‘It changes the income you earn.’
Although it varied depending on the monster, larger byproducts could significantly hinder movement.
A Hunter’s job could be lost due to a momentary mistake. They couldn’t afford to carry around items that restricted their movement.
In fact, Sungjoon Lee had also been unable to collect all the byproducts sometimes, even after hunting monsters, due to this reason.
But if he could use a subspace ring, such restrictions would disappear completely.
Therefore, it was no exaggeration to say that the presence or absence of a subspace ring made a drastic difference in income, even among Hunters of the same rank.
This alone was a tremendous advantage, but the benefits of a subspace ring weren’t limited to just increased income.
The interior of a subspace ring maintained a constant temperature and a perfect vacuum.
This meant he could store food and water for emergencies.
Therefore, even in emergency situations like the Frenzy Gate incident, he could maintain his condition and receive nutrients.
The only drawback was that it didn’t directly enhance combat abilities or provide support, but if he steadily regained his strength like this, it wouldn’t be a problem.
In fact, items that enhanced or supported combat abilities could become useless burdens later on.
‘Considering my growth rate, I wouldn’t be able to use them properly for even a month.’
However, a subspace ring would be useful not only now but also in the future.
“This is the perfect gift for me. I’ll use it gratefully.”
Taehyun Ko beamed at Sungjoon Lee’s delighted expression.
“I’m so glad you like it.”
For the perpetually cash-strapped Association, lending a subspace ring, an expensive item worth over 20 billion won, indefinitely was a considerable expense.
But he didn’t regret it at all.
No, it could even be considered a huge gain.
‘I’ve gained Hunter Lee Sung-joon’s favor.’
Considering Hunter Lee Sung-joon’s future value, it was a very cheap price to pay.
But he couldn’t be satisfied yet.
The higher the favorability, the better.
“Secretary Kim, bring out the B-rank promotion gift as well.”
“You’re giving me a promotion gift for reaching B rank too? The treatment is quite good.”
“Of course, we don’t normally give gifts just for reaching B rank. But as you know, Hunter society is a strict meritocracy.”
Taehyun Ko smiled leisurely and nodded. Minhyuk Kim immediately presented a document.
“I hope you like this one too.”
Sungjoon Lee’s eyebrows shot up as he looked at the document Minhyuk Kim handed him.
“This is…?”
The document in his hand was a real estate contract. Moreover, it was for a fairly well-known brand apartment.
His parents had recently been troubled by moving issues, and this was something that could solve those problems in one go.
“This seems quite expensive.”
“You don’t have to feel burdened. It’s a benefit available to any Hunter ranked B or higher who belongs to the Association.”
It wasn’t a lie.
As public housing under the Basic Hunter Welfare Act, any Hunter ranked B or higher belonging to the Association could apply for residency.
Of course, one usually had to wait for years, sometimes even decades, to move into such an apartment.
But Taehyun Ko had simply used his authority as Vice President to drastically shorten the waiting period.
“I really like it. I’ll gratefully accept it.”
Taehyun Ko suppressed a burst of laughter at Sungjoon Lee’s smiling face.
“I’m glad to hear that.”
“I hope we can maintain this good relationship in the future.”
“We would be grateful if you would.”
Sungjoon Lee and Taehyun Ko exchanged meaningful glances.
“I’d like to see it with my own eyes right away. Would you mind if I left first?”
“Not at all.”
“Then, excuse me.”
Sungjoon Lee immediately stood up.
“Thank you for your time.”
Sungjoon Lee responded with a smile and immediately opened the door to the Vice President’s office and left.
As Sungjoon Lee disappeared from sight, Taehyun Ko chuckled.
“Huh… Team Leader Jo, just as you said, Hunter Lee Sung-joon seems very pleased.”
Kang-hyun Jo scratched the back of his head.
“…I was lucky. I couldn’t find the answer in the reports, so I personally visited the Gimpo Returnee Management Team, where Mr. Lee Sung-joon was first repatriated, and I received unexpected information from the people there.”
The time when returnees expressed their most primal and earnest desires was right after they returned to Earth.
It was only natural since they couldn’t hide their surging emotions after years of longing for and dreaming of life on Earth while in another world.
That’s why he had gone to learn more about Returnee Lee Sung-joon’s desires.
‘Actually… I went there thinking there wouldn’t be much to gain.’
But fortunately, he was able to hear information that wasn’t included in the brief reports.
‘Returnee Lee Sung-joon immediately asked about and worried about his family.’
The moment he heard that, the environment of the villa village, the poor residential environment where he first met Returnee Lee Sung-joon, flashed through his mind.
He realized that an unsafe residential area would be quite uncomfortable and worrisome for Returnee Lee Sung-joon, who cherished his family. Finally, after much deliberation, he chose a house as a gift.
“But I didn’t expect him to like it this much.”
“Luck is also a skill, Team Leader Jo. You did an excellent job.”
At Taehyun Ko’s continued praise and encouragement, Kang-hyun Jo carefully spoke.
“Then… are you approving the special management team?”
“Of course. I’ll establish it right away.”
Finally, he was officially in charge of Returnee Lee Sung-joon.
This meant he had a chance to achieve a significant accomplishment, one of the conditions for promotion to Director.
Taehyun Ko smiled brightly at Kang-hyun Jo, whose eyes were sparkling.
“I hope you’ll continue to do well, just like now.”
It was something he would do naturally, even without being asked.
Although he had been given a chance, his promotion wasn’t confirmed yet.
To seize this opportunity, he had to support Returnee Lee Sung-joon even more perfectly than now and continue to build a favorable relationship.
“Yes! I won’t disappoint Hunter Lee Sung-joon!”
Kang-hyun Jo’s enthusiastic and resounding voice echoed through the room.
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