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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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After finishing the usual byproduct settlement, Lee Seong-joon was walking alone in the darkening evening when he suddenly stopped.
‘…A presence?’
His eyes narrowed. He was at an abandoned construction site on the outskirts of Seoul. Although there was a gate here that spawned Gray Orcs, the most efficient B-rank monsters to hunt, the Association had restricted access to both civilians and hunters under the guise of a safety inspection.
‘A lot of people have been visiting lately.’
Most of these visitors were uninvited, which was quite bothersome.
‘But… this time, there’s no need for a pointless probing.’
Fortunately, this uninvited guest wasn’t an unknown eccentric like Baek Mu-jin. He had met this person before and even participated in a raid with him, so he knew exactly who it was.
“Song Seung-jun.”
The moment he uttered the name, Song Seung-jun’s eyes, hidden in the darkness, flickered. But his surprise was short-lived.
“I thought I’d hidden my presence quite well, but I didn’t expect you to detect me so quickly.”
Song Seung-jun emerged from the shadows, scratching the back of his head with an awkward smile.
“First… allow me to formally introduce myself. I am Song Seung-jun of the Nuri Guild.”
Song Seung-jun’s eyes darted around.
‘I came here just in case…’
It was the same as when they raided the gate together.
‘As expected, I can’t read anything.’
The only difference was that the darkness surrounding him seemed even deeper than before. It felt like looking into an abyss. A chill ran down his spine, and goosebumps rose on his arms.
‘What is his true nature…?’
It was something he couldn’t figure out right now, but fortunately, there was no doubt about his skill.
‘Lee Seong-joon defeated the SS-rank villain Jo Se-hyuk.’
To be honest, he wasn’t entirely without doubt. He had briefly clashed with Jo Se-hyuk in the past, so he knew.
‘The abilities of Jo Se-hyuk’s skills were real.’
Although Jo Se-hyuk couldn’t fully control them due to his lower base stats, the abilities themselves were comparable to the masters of the five major guilds, especially those in the top tier.
‘Even I would have had to go all out against him in a head-on fight.’
And Lee Seong-joon had defeated Jo Se-hyuk one-on-one. Moreover, it happened only a week after he had cleared the raid gate.
‘…Although he performed remarkably well in the raid gate, it wasn’t to the extent of being able to defeat Jo Se-hyuk.’
It meant that in just a week, he had achieved tremendous growth, enough to defeat the SS-rank villain Jo Se-hyuk. It was absurd, even considering the rapid growth rate of returnees. Even his master, Yoon Min-soo, hadn’t grown at that pace.
‘He must have been hiding his power, just like me.’
No, even now, he probably had hidden power. It wasn’t a baseless assumption. He had thoroughly investigated Lee Seong-joon in advance, to the point of being able to predict his movements and lie in wait.
‘Lee Seong-joon has been hunting constantly for the past month, with the Association’s support.’
Considering Lee Seong-joon’s past growth, he must have achieved considerable growth.
‘There’s no one more suitable than Lee Seong-joon as a partner for Nuri.’
Having already calculated everything, Song Seung-jun bowed his head and apologized to Lee Seong-joon, who was looking at him with cold eyes.
“I apologize. I know this kind of visit must be unpleasant, but it would be best to talk as soon as possible, so I came unannounced.”
There was no reply.
Lee Seong-joon just stared at him with cold eyes, showing no reaction. He couldn’t possibly welcome someone who had not only followed him but also appeared at an abandoned construction site late at night.
“Get to the point.”
Despite Lee Seong-joon’s cold reaction, Song Seung-jun continued,
“Since you seem to dislike long conversations, I’ll get straight to the point. Following the Hunter Association and Baekho, we, Nuri, would also like to offer you joint affiliation, Hunter Lee Seong-joon. We offer a contract fee of 250 billion won and an annual salary of 20 billion won.”
Song Seung-jun’s voice was laced with confidence. It was only natural. Currently, Lee Seong-joon was jointly affiliated with the Association and Baekho, a factor that inevitably lowered his value.
Yet, Nuri was offering him the same conditions as an SS-rank Hunter. Of course, those conditions alone wouldn’t sway Lee Seong-joon.
“Lastly, we offer you a 10% stake in our Nuri Guild.”
It was a condition he had barely managed to get approved by his master, Yoon Min-soo. Naturally, receiving a stake had significant advantages.
‘As Nuri grows due to Lee Seong-joon’s individual growth, he can also reap significant profits.’
They could grow together, supporting each other. It was a guarantee of not only present but also future value. It was certainly not a bad offer for Lee Seong-joon. To be precise, it was a very satisfactory offer.
“Good.”
As Lee Seong-joon slowly nodded, Song Seung-jun’s eyes gleamed, and he spoke again,
“There’s one condition.”
Despite the sudden remark, Lee Seong-joon’s expression remained unchanged. He knew such a good offer wouldn’t come without conditions.
“What is it?”
Song Seung-jun answered as if he had been waiting for the question.
“I’d like us to raid the Treasure Gate together, just the two of us, using your priority raiding rights. As you know, the fewer the raiders, the better the rewards. Although it’s standard procedure to form a party of at least five due to the high difficulty, if it’s just the two of us…”
As Song Seung-jun continued, his eyes filled with desire, Lee Seong-joon’s cold voice cut him off.
“I refuse.”
Song Seung-jun frowned.
“Please reconsider. Tomorrow is the 30th day since the Treasure Gate raid was postponed. The Association can’t delay it any longer.”
Due to the high difficulty, Treasure Gate raids had occasionally failed in the early days of the Great Change. So, although they hadn’t obtained any actual rewards from Treasure Gates, they had learned one thing.
‘Treasure Gates disappear automatically 100 days after they are generated.’
Unlike ordinary gates, from which monsters poured out in an ‘outbreak,’ Treasure Gates simply vanished.
‘It means losing the chance to obtain the Treasure Gate’s rewards.’
Therefore, there was an international law stating that if the hunter with priority raiding rights didn’t conduct the raid within 30 days, the rights had to be auctioned off for the benefit of mankind.
“Judging from the fact that you haven’t revealed your party yet, it seems you don’t have suitable members. It would be a wise decision to take the rewards with me, rather than being stubborn.”
He tried to pressure Lee Seong-joon by mentioning the approaching deadline, but Lee Seong-joon’s expression remained unchanged.
“Why would I share it with you?”
Song Seung-jun shook his head at Lee Seong-joon’s relaxed smile.
“Hunter Lee Seong-joon, I acknowledge your skills, but… greed begets misfortune.”
“…….”
At Lee Seong-joon’s continued indifference, even after his sincere advice, Song Seung-jun frowned.
“I know overconfidence is a characteristic of returnees, but this is too much. I’ll teach you the harshness of reality before we continue this conversation.”
It was at that moment that Song Seung-jun drew his sword. A sharp aura emanated from him. It was a warning. A cold smile appeared on Lee Seong-joon’s lips.
‘Teaching me…?’
It was something unimaginable to Lee Seong-joon, who had been hailed as the Blood Demon and Demon God.
“Interesting.”
As my expression hardened, Song Seung-jun’s figure before me dissolved like a mirage. But there was no reason to panic just because he couldn’t see him. His movements were clearly captured by my senses, which were spread wide.
“…This will sting a little.”
Song Seung-jun’s confident voice came from behind, and a white blade, gleaming in the moonlight, sliced through the air.
Whoosh—!
But the sword cut only air. I had vanished from Song Seung-jun’s sight. His eyes darted around, searching.
‘To the left?’
He saw me.
‘No, to the right?’
I was there too.
Song Seung-jun couldn’t hide his surprise at my two figures.
“Body Displacement Technique, as expected… you were hiding more power.”
But the victor wouldn’t change. Thinking that, Song Seung-jun gripped his sword with both hands and widened his stance. His single sword split into two.
His true strength wasn’t as a knight wielding a single sword, but as a dual-wielding swordsman. He wouldn’t have been praised as a genius by his master, Yoon Min-soo, if he were just an ordinary knight. His true power was unleashed when he wielded two swords.
‘This is my true strength.’
Now fighting seriously, he swung the swords in both hands with cold eyes.
‘환영검무 (Phantom Sword Dance).’
Dozens of blades, imbued with sharp sword energy, split and shot out in all directions like a whirlwind.
‘Even if he moves quickly, one must be the real body.’
If he cut both at the same time, one would inevitably be hit.
However, that was only if he could cut them.
‘Star’s Protection.’
The moment I imbued the invisible barrier generated in the air with my energy…
-Clang-! Clang-! Clang-!
Song Seung-jun’s sword wind, which had been flying with fierce momentum, bounced off with a screeching sound.
“W-What…?”
Song Seung-jun’s eyes widened. He had drawn his dual swords, his true strength. He hadn’t been certain of victory, as he didn’t know the extent of Lee Seong-joon’s hidden power. But he had expected a close fight.
‘But they can’t even touch him…?’
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