The Demon God Returns as a Max Level Player – Chapter 20

—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
—————————————————————–

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

 
At the same time, in the Returnee Management Director’s office.

A sly smile spread across Kim Dong-jun’s face as he sat at his desk.

“Heh heh… Jo Kang-hyun, Lee Seong-jun. You’ve chosen the wrong opponent.”

There was no need to consider failure.

He had entrusted the task to Yoon Gi-seong, an S-rank villain.

There was no way Jo Kang-hyun, a mere A-rank, could detect Yoon Gi-seong’s presence.

“Those idiots won’t even know Yoon Gi-seong is following them, and they’ll be leaving evidence everywhere.”

Although there was a hefty upfront payment of 500 million won, he had no regrets.

No, it was rather fortunate.

With his exceptional skills, Yoon Gi-seong usually didn’t accept requests for less than 1 billion won, or in other words, anything not involving S-rank Hunters.

Therefore, Kim Dong-jun’s request would normally have been rejected immediately.

However, Yoon Gi-seong couldn’t easily refuse the request since Kim Dong-jun’s father, Chairman Kim Seok-hoon, a long-time client and owner of a large corporation, was backing him.

“Jo Kang-hyun, Lee Seong-jun, your fraudulent scheme won’t last long, kuh-huh.”

Just as a broad smile spread across Kim Dong-jun’s face as he imagined the happy future that would unfold,

Buzz-

His smartphone on the desk vibrated, signaling an incoming message.

‘Yoon Gi-seong?’

The contact came sooner than expected.

‘Did he already find evidence? As expected of his reputation.’

With a wide smile, Kim Dong-jun slowly picked up his smartphone.

However, contrary to his imagination, the content of the message was completely unexpected.

“Wh, what…?”

The message itself was extremely concise.

But it was hard to believe even after seeing it with his own eyes.

“He’s refusing the request?”

A question naturally arose in his mind.

‘Why?’

But the question was fleeting. Kim Dong-jun’s expression hardened.

He had commissioned Yoon Gi-seong for numerous requests, but Yoon Gi-seong had never abandoned a request midway.

There had to be a valid reason.

Therefore, Kim Dong-jun touched the screen of his smartphone and called Yoon Gi-seong.

“Hello, this is Kim Dong-jun, who requested the commission. May I ask if there’s a specific reason for suddenly abandoning the request?”

-A specific reason… I can’t tell if you’re playing dumb or if you’re actually stupid.

Irritation welled up due to the incomprehensible situation and Yoon Gi-seong’s seemingly condescending tone.

But he couldn’t let that emotion show in his voice.

This was because Yoon Gi-seong was an S-rank villain, a wicked person who wouldn’t hesitate to kill based on his mood.

Kim Dong-jun had no choice but to ask his question as cautiously as possible.

“I don’t quite understand what you mean. Could you please explain?”

-The request itself was flawed. Didn’t you say it was a simple investigation that wouldn’t be difficult?

Kim Dong-jun’s eyes narrowed.

He clearly remembered the details of the request, having made it himself just a few hours ago.

‘Investigating Jo Kang-hyun and Lee Seong-jun.’

He had clearly informed Yoon Gi-seong beforehand that they were A-rank and F-rank Hunters, respectively.

There was nothing in the request itself that could be faulted.

‘…Could Jo Kang-hyun have grown to S-rank?’

That was absurd.

Recently, Jo Kang-hyun hadn’t had time for proper training or hunting due to his heavy workload, so how could he have grown stronger?

However, judging by Yoon Gi-seong’s attitude, he couldn’t rule it out completely.

So, Kim Dong-jun subtly posed a question.

“Shouldn’t you be able to move without even being noticed by the A-rank Jo Kang-hyun?”

-I said the request itself was flawed. Why are you bringing up Jo Kang-hyun?

His attempt to deduce the reason through clever questioning had failed miserably.

While he was relieved that Jo Kang-hyun hadn’t reached S-rank, the question that had arisen in his mind remained unresolved.

‘Then why?’

He racked his brain, but couldn’t find an answer.

In the end, Kim Dong-jun had no choice but to ask directly.

“Then which part of the request did I misrepresent?”

-F-rank Hunter, Lee Seong-jun…

After a brief silence, he heard Yoon Gi-seong gulp over the receiver.

-I guarantee that man is definitely not a mere F-rank.

“Not an F-rank? What…?”

Just as Kim Dong-jun’s head tilted back, Yoon Gi-seong clicked his tongue over the receiver.

-Tsk, judging by your reaction, you’re just stupid. Whatever. It makes sense that you couldn’t even protect your own position if you’re this incompetent.

Kim Dong-jun’s face flushed red at Yoon Gi-seong’s scathing remarks, which touched upon a sore spot he wanted to forget.

But he couldn’t express his anger.

“…”

-Out of consideration for my relationship with your father, Kim Seok-hoon, I’ll give you a piece of advice. If you want to keep that position you’ve secured by offering up even company shares, it’s best to keep quiet and not cause trouble.

The moment Yoon Gi-seong hung up after his warning, Kim Dong-jun threw the nameplate on his desk against the wall as if he had been waiting for it.

Crash!

“Argh-! That dirty villain bastard! How dare he ignore me!?”

Despite shouting and venting his anger, his heart wouldn’t calm down.

No, his anger only intensified.

Honestly, he wanted to take revenge on Yoon Gi-seong.

But Yoon Gi-seong, an S-rank villain, was too fearsome.

Therefore, Kim Dong-jun’s surging anger began to shift towards Jo Kang-hyun and Lee Seong-jun, whom he considered the root cause of this incident.

‘Come to think of it, if it weren’t for those two…!’

He wouldn’t have been reprimanded by Yoon Gi-seong, nor would he have been reminded of past events he had tried so hard to forget.

‘So, everything that happens from now on is your own fault.’

Yoon Gi-seong’s advice to keep quiet had long been buried under the weight of his anger.

Just as Kim Dong-jun, his eyes bloodshot, picked up his phone to compose a message to someone,

Ding!

Kim Dong-jun’s face contorted as he saw a message suddenly pop up on his smartphone screen.

“Shit! Why is this happening to me!?”

The association’s internal investigation team had started moving.

The news came through an informant he had planted inside.

Fortunately, he wasn’t directly targeted by the internal investigation team.

It was simply the regular annual inspection period.

But for Kim Dong-jun, who had many skeletons in his closet, it was a difficult situation.

He had no choice but to halt the plan he had been so determined to carry out.

‘If by any chance I get caught…’

In the worst-case scenario, all his past misdeeds could be revealed.

He was now in a position where he couldn’t move forward or backward.

“…Damn it!”

Bang, bang, bang!

In the end, all Kim Dong-jun could do was vent his anger on his innocent desk.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

A week had passed since the E-rank Gate incident.

Many things changed during this seemingly short period.

And the biggest change was his ‘level’.

From 20 to 30, a whopping 10 levels had increased, and the resulting stat boost was impressive.

A satisfied smile naturally spread across Lee Seong-jun’s face as he sat at the dining table in the living room.

‘Good.’

It took an average of three months for typical Hunters to reach levels 20 to 30, but he had raised his level by 10 in just a week.

‘It was a good decision to sign the contract with the Hunter Association back then.’

Without the association’s help, it would have been difficult to grow this fast.

‘…Because I wouldn’t have been able to hunt so many Red Goblins, which are essentially bonus monsters.’

Red Goblins weren’t called bonus monsters for nothing.

They were the easiest E-rank monsters to hunt and provided a large amount of experience.

Therefore, the Gates where Red Goblins appeared were among the most popular, attracting many Hunters.

To exaggerate slightly, there was a saying among Hunters that it was harder to find Red Goblins than to hunt them.

Yet, Lee Seong-jun had monopolized the Red Goblin hunt for a whole week.

‘I never thought they would declare a Gate inspection for my growth.’

Managing Gates within the safe zone was one of the Hunter Association’s most important tasks.

Therefore, the Hunter Association conducted an annual inspection of Gates within the safe zone to prevent monster populations from growing excessively.

However, in places frequently visited by Hunters, like Gates inhabited by Red Goblins, there was no need to control the monster population.

In fact, the Red Goblin Gates hadn’t been inspected even once in the past three years.

Some Hunters complained about this Gate inspection.

However, as it was one of the Hunter Association’s most important tasks, directly related to the city’s safety, they couldn’t openly oppose it.

Of course, if someone had seen Lee Seong-jun hunting alone in the Gate, the Hunters’ complaints would have grown louder.

But the Hunter Association, seemingly mindful of this, had given him a position.

‘Safety Inspection Officer.’

It became natural for him to frequent the Red Goblin Gate.

Thanks to this, even though he was repeatedly seen entering and exiting the Gate, it didn’t become a problem.

‘Actually, this position had considerable perks…’

Normally, at least five officers were deployed for Gate inspections.

However, thanks to Vice President Go Tae-hyun’s influence, he was able to hunt alone without any interference.

Of course, Vice President Go Tae-hyun’s favor wasn’t without reason.

‘It’s a kind of mutual benefit.’

Potential. The biggest reason the Hunter Association offered Lee Seong-jun the best conditions was because they highly valued his future potential.

In the short term, the contract with Lee Seong-jun could be seen as a loss for the association.

Therefore, the Hunter Association was trying to help Lee Seong-jun grow quickly to maximize their gains as soon as possible.

Of course, these matters of interest weren’t important to Lee Seong-jun right now.

‘Thanks to this, I’ve been able to achieve considerable results in a week.’

It wasn’t just his level that had increased.

His realm itself had risen.

‘I’ve reached the definite realm of a first-rate martial artist. Now…’

He could materialize and utilize his Blood Qi.

He could now wield what was commonly called Sword Qi.

Woong-

Indeed, as Lee Seong-jun spread his palm wide, red-colored Blood Qi began to emanate like a heat haze.

Just by materializing and enveloping himself in this energy, not only his cutting power but also his durability drastically increased.

The destructive power of his martial arts had reached a different level.

A satisfied smile spread across Lee Seong-jun’s face.

‘Now, I wouldn’t need to use internal striking techniques even against that Super Gorilla.’

It was an incredible growth, almost unbelievable considering he had achieved it in less than a week.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇