Chapter 361

Click.

The man lying on the bed operated a wireless device.

It was a remote control that allowed him to control the tablet screen without having to sit up.

After scrolling through the post several times and confirming that he had not misread anything, the man browsing the web suddenly froze, his eyes widening.

“Is this for real?”

Hunter Kim Giryeo had sold a [Surprise Box]...

No, more importantly, he had possessed such an artifact all this time.

Tuk.

Jo Sangoh, lying diagonally against his pillow—more precisely, the A-rank Awakener famous as the ace of the Hanshin Guild—rested one arm behind his head and continued thinking.

[Surprise Box]...

Of all things, a [Surprise Box].

That hunter had actually consigned one for an on-site auction sale.

No matter how powerful their abilities were, most people spent their downtime in fairly ordinary ways.

Recently, Jo Sangoh had been spending much of his time browsing various online community sites.

For several reasons, the number of days he had actually worked this year had dwindled, leaving him with more free time than before.

Once he finished checking the newest posts on Site A, he would move on to Sites B and C.

After exhausting all the new content there, he would return to Site A and refresh the page again.

That was the kind of idle life he had been living.

[Curtain | Guild Rating Comparison & Expert Answers on Hunting Allowances]

Yet today, among the usual spaces he browsed simply because he was a hunter, an unusually interesting sighting had appeared.

[Legendary comment from a troublesome teammate during last week's Han River bridge raid <<]

[Guys, how much do you usually spend on potions per month? (Poll)]

Most of the board was usually filled with meaningless chatter, so it was difficult to know whether an anonymous poster could really be trusted.

‘Hmm.’

Jo Sangoh clicked the remote repeatedly, suspicion written across his face.

[Hey, are you sure that person actually listed the item?]

But when he refreshed the page, he found a new post sitting right at the top.

[Everyone, check the auction app—Hunter Kim's eye is selling the Screaming Stake!?]

[Comment: Ah ==== Does hiding the name even matter?]

[Comment: =====]

[Comment: Crazy ===]

[Comment: A super-rare collector's item soaked in an S-rank hunter's aura? I'd sell my family's estate to get my hands on that, yeah, if someone let me buy it directly]

[Comment: (Info) In our country's auction system, only the transaction record is visible; you can't purchase an item by specifying the individual who listed it. So if you wanted that exact one, you'd basically have to buy up every stake on the market...]

Now it had been confirmed that one particular hunter's artifact really was up for sale.

Most people focused on the fact that it belonged to Kim Giryeo himself.

Some even joked that if direct private trading of offensive artifacts were legal, a weapon once used by such a famous hunter would command an absurd premium.

But Jo Sangoh looked at the situation from a different angle.

‘Wait. [Surprise Box] is that artifact famous for its stunning effect, isn't it?’

He tilted his head slightly to one side.

At that moment, an edited clip from an old video flashed through his mind.

In fact, the hunter Jo Sangoh had once been humiliatingly subdued by Kim Giryeo.

For a long time, he had attributed that defeat to the overwhelming magical power of an S-rank hunter.

‘Huh?’

But as he looked over the belongings this newcomer had possessed, another possibility suddenly occurred to him.

‘Then back then... was the reason I couldn't control my body because of that item?’

There had been witnesses.

YTube.

The public.

And perhaps even Jo Sangoh himself had only now realized that the person involved in the incident had misunderstood something all along.

Still, the feeling was too vague to call certainty.

In the past, he would probably have immediately thought, ‘Ah, Kim Giryeo cleverly exploited his items. Even an S-rank can't do much without tools,’ and used that as an excuse to criticize him.

‘Hmm.’

But recently, three Beasts had infiltrated South Korea, and that fourth S-rank hunter had personally dealt with the resulting chaos.

‘Ah, whatever. There's no point obsessing over something that happened ages ago.’

Trying anything openly insubordinate again was practically impossible.

So even after gaining this new information, Jo Sangoh did not immediately change his behavior.

But...

About forty minutes later.

At a restaurant downtown.

“Hey, hey! Drink up, drink up. I'm paying again today!”

“Awesome!”

“Ah~ as expected, Sangoh Hyung really is the best! You know I've always respected you, right?”

To reiterate, Jo Sangoh had not had much work lately for a variety of reasons.

With so much free time on his hands, he had fallen into the habit of gathering with acquaintances for drinks nearly every evening.

“Oh, by the way! Did you guys hear the news from the industry? Hunter Kim Giryeo, who's been laying low all autumn, apparently showed up at a local auction this morning...?”

“Gasp!”

“Hey, shhh.”

One of the people at the table had made a mistake.

Clouded by alcohol, he had carelessly mentioned a name Jo Sangoh usually disliked hearing.

‘Ah! This idiot has no sense at all. How could he bring that up when the guy paying for everything clearly hates that topic?’

‘Doesn't he know what happened between Jo Sangoh and Kim Giryeo?’

But when the subject came up, the man seated at the head of the table simply spoke.

“Yeah. I saw it on the forum too.”

“...”

“Huh?”

It was Jo Sangoh himself.

“The news had been so quiet that I was wondering what he'd been doing. I thought maybe some money had come in or something. But apparently, he really did show up just to sell items.”

And unlike his usual reaction, Jo Sangoh looked remarkably relaxed and confident.

“But I don't know if you guys heard this part. When Kim Giryeo showed up at the auction this time, the thing he sold was none other than a [Surprise Box]! The one with that insanely powerful luck effect. And of all people, he's the guy who was actually using one.”

Although he had been pretending not to care, Jo Sangoh had secretly been bothered for quite some time by the idea that an S-rank hunter had completely overpowered him using sheer magical strength alone.

In truth, he had been waiting for an opportunity to clear up that humiliation.

“Ugh, I've been so frustrated I thought I'd die. Seriously, this is all because of that Han Jeheon or whatever his name is. What a pain in the ass.”

“That's right, that's right~”

“I told you before, didn't I? Kim Giryeo definitely used items behind the scenes too.”

Jo Sangoh continued while chewing on the fried food spread across the table.

“And besides, if you actually watch Kim Giryeo fight, his mana output really isn't that different from anyone else's.”

“Whoa. Then those eyewitness accounts were completely exaggerated?”

“Exactly. I mean, how much faith did you put in someone like Han Jeheon anyway? He's F-rank.”

Kim Giryeo was an S-rank hunter, so naturally he had access to far more unusual artifacts than most people.

That was probably why he had been able to endure the drawbacks of [Surprise Box] and continue using it.

Yet despite the fact that none of this had ever been properly verified, Jo Sangoh began laying out his theory as though it were established fact.

“Actually, I'm the one who managed to hold out through sheer willpower even when Kim Giryeo used an item on me. You think any of those other A-ranks would've lasted even that long?”

At first, he had merely been saying whatever came to mind in order to protect his pride.

But as the drinking continued, Jo Sangoh gradually began to convince himself that his excuses were actually true.

“Seriously, Kim Giryeo is at best around the same level as Kang Changho or Seo Esther. And now these lunatics online are comparing him to Jung Haisong?”

To escape the lingering sting of humiliation, a little distortion of reality was useful.

And so Jo Sangoh kept insisting to the others that he had only been immobilized because of the unexpected effect of [Surprise Box].

Without that artifact, there was no way he would have been crushed in the middle of the street.

At least, that was what he claimed.

‘Heh~ unbelievable. What a petty, sneaky bastard...’

As the backbiting continued, anger he had almost forgotten began resurfacing inside him.

‘Come to think of it, he only managed to knock people down with the power of an item himself. And all this time, he's been keeping quiet about it!’

According to Lacol, revenge was not something you personally carried out.

You simply waited until your enemy's corpse floated down the river on its own.

Perhaps the problem was that the fourth S-rank hunter possessed a water affinity, making it unlikely that he would ever drown in a river.

Whatever the reason, no matter how long Jo Sangoh waited, there was no sign of his opponent sinking.

Eventually, his resentment burst out through the haze of alcohol.

That hunter Kim Giryeo only looked impressive because he happened to be surrounded by powerful S-rank allies.

In truth, Jo Sangoh thought, the man himself did not seem particularly exceptional.

“Ah, that bastard's rotten personality is so obvious. I hope something happens that makes the whole country curse him out.”

Jo Sangoh hated how much most people seemed to overestimate Kim Giryeo.

Because of that, he found himself hoping for some kind of scandal that could overturn the man's reputation entirely.

Something like an S-rank hunter getting exposed for tax evasion would be perfect.

If a story like that broke, his wish would practically come true overnight.

Even Jo Sangoh knew the odds of such a thing happening were slim.

So once again, he drowned the rest of the evening in alcohol.

He kept paying for everyone in order to show off his wealth, and whenever he heard that a new recruit had joined the guild, he bought them expensive gifts as well.

That was simply his way of reminding everyone of his position.

[Tring]

[Web Message] [Verified Sender Number]

[Sender: Korea Hunter Association]

It was much later when a message finally arrived for the man who had been living such an indulgent life.

“Ah. What now?”

For an Awakened to be suffering from a hangover caused by liquor brewed from dungeon ingredients...

And then, on that very morning, to receive an official notice from the Hunter Association.

***

So why had the Hunter Association contacted the son of the Hanshin Guild?

“They're already calling us in for consultation over this?”

“Exactly. Christmas isn't even close yet.”

“Seriously, this country runs on pure dedication. Just a few days ago, they dragged hunters in and caused a whole commotion over the college entrance exam too.”

“Come to think of it, I thought this year might be different. But did they end up using the same list of top hunters for exam security again?”

“Ah, I don't know. I don't care about that kind of thing. Anyway, I can't believe something like this is happening during the best time of the year~”

Murmur, murmur.

The Korea Hunter Association.

The enormous auditorium, large enough to accommodate a great many people, buzzed endlessly with conversation.

The Hanshin Guild had once experienced a nightmare when every hunter had been forced to gather together in one place.

And now, in an age as advanced as this, Korea had fallen into a crisis serious enough to replace the usual warnings about heavy snowfall.

[Briefing on the Predicted Red Gate Rush in Mid-December]

Those words were displayed across the presentation screen onstage.

A warning that multiple Red Gates were expected to erupt in succession, almost as though they were charging forward in a wave.

“What they're describing basically sounds like a chain of dungeon breaks, doesn't it?”

“They say something similar already happened in the UK. But apparently Blue Gates become much less frequent during that period, so things should balance out somehow.”

A single year might not seem like a long time.

But to mammalian humans with relatively short lifespans, a year was a substantial period.

And during that time, their gate observation technology [N O V E L I G H T] had advanced considerably.

That technological progress had made this prediction possible.

More precisely, beneath South Korea lay clusters of dormant magical energy expected to expand during December.

Potential Red Gate generation points.

And there were many of them.

The moment the Association learned of the phenomenon, it immediately began summoning hunters by rank and making preparations.

It was one of those rare situations where the stereotype about Koreans being impatient actually worked in their favor.

“Ah, what a nuisance.”

Of course, those who were actually obligated to participate were not nearly as positive about the situation.

‘I can't just ignore a disaster-prevention summons like this and pay a fine. And pretending to be sick won't work either. I've already used up the legally allowed number of exemptions.’

Thud.

Jo Sangoh slouched sideways in the fabric-covered auditorium chair.

‘Ha~ seriously annoying. I had so many drinking plans this month.’

As an A-rank hunter, Jo Sangoh grumbled endlessly about being assigned to the disaster-prevention unit.

He disliked the idea that merely being Awakened somehow obligated him to protect the country.

Besides, in an era this technologically advanced, couldn't they just hold briefings through video calls?

Why did the Association insist on dragging everyone all the way here in person?

‘It's not like there are that many Awakened people so old that they can't even log in with a digital certificate. So why exactly can't they do this online?’

He was still swallowing his irritation when—

“Sangoh Hyung.”

Someone nearby spoke to him.

Several lower-ranked Hanshin Guild hunters had been summoned along with him.

“Once this briefing is over, we're going to a soju place tonight, right?”

“Of course. You guys are done with your raid today, aren't you?”

But as their conversation suggested, Jo Sangoh spoke about dungeon raids as though they had nothing to do with him.

There was a simple reason for that.

Earlier that winter, he had been officially disciplined.

“We're going to the second round today. Nobody's leaving early!”

Once the ace of his guild, Jo Sangoh had suddenly found himself suspended, reduced to something like a semi-unemployed freeloader.

He had always been notorious enough to receive anonymous complaints more than once.

But thanks to his powerful backing, he had never faced any meaningful punishment.

Picking a fight with an S-rank hunter, however, had backfired badly.

It became an unexpected source of trouble.

From the beginning of this year onward, even his own company had noticeably changed its attitude toward him.

The biggest problem was that information about Jo Sangoh had spread too widely outside the guild.

Not long ago, the Hanshin Guild had gone through a nightmare when applications from new hunters suddenly dried up due to the influence of a creator known as Han Jeheon TV.

As a result, the guild belatedly poured all its effort into rehabilitating its public image.

Unfortunately, one particular person had still been unable to abandon his old habits and kept causing trouble at work.

‘Haa. Well, being off work doesn't suit me, but I've got plenty of money anyway.’

In short, a man who had once lived like an untouchable emperor had been crushed by an S-rank hunter and caught in an unexpected butterfly effect.

That was how he had ended up in his current position.

Still, being the guild master's son was not a status that could be overturned by a single incident.

For now, he was merely taking a break for the sake of appearances.

Jo Sangoh remained, without question, one of the most influential figures in the company.

“Hyung, I made the reservation under my name for now. But we'll be paying with your card again later, right?”

“Obviously. You think an A-rank hunter like me is going to let you E-ranks buy my meals?”

“Haha.”

There were always plenty of people around him.

Sycophants flocked to him in hopes of catching even the smallest scraps that fell from the table.

If anything, Jo Sangoh's practical influence inside the guild had actually grown.

“Hmm.”

So even after receiving disciplinary action, he never truly lost his confidence.

And every now and then, he would even make slightly boastful remarks.

“By the way, I don't see any S-ranks here this time. Maybe they overworked themselves handling security for the college entrance exam?”

Swish.

Just as he said, there were no famous superhumans like Jung Haisong anywhere in the auditorium.

“And that Kim Giryeo guy disappeared off the radar for two whole months. Then when he finally showed up, all he did was sell a bunch of items.”

“Oh, really?”

“Ugh. Honestly, I'm not even sure anymore whether automatically making rank adjustments just because someone's supposedly high-level is the right thing to do. In my case—”

Jo Sangoh went on sharing his personal opinions for some time.

The incident where he had been defeated by a famous hunter had happened several months ago already.

Most of the emotions he had felt back then had faded.

That made it easier for him to speak so casually now.

‘Hmm?’

And then—

Right in the middle of the A-rank Awakener's boasting among the Hanshin Guild members—

“Huh?”

“What?”

“Where...”

“Isn't this a dungeon?”