Chapter 431

“G-guards... the guards...”

“I haven’t killed anyone yet, so don’t worry about them.”

Thud.

Regardless of whether the people around him were thinking about the hunter rankings or not, one particular awakened person casually dropped into a nearby chair as he pleased.

“Anyway, to pick up where we left off...”

The cheap government-issued office chair gradually tilted back to conform to the contours of the man’s body.

“I can’t agree with the Magical Tower’s argument. Of course, there may be only one guild in this country with that much capital at its immediate disposal, but smaller companies could pool their resources with others and still win the bid, couldn’t they?”

“Just where did you eavesdrop on the meeting...?”

“But why are you ruling out the possibility already and saying there won’t be any competition?”

Kang Changho, still comfortably settled into the fabric chair, added a few more words.

Whispers.

Of course, the people around him weren’t exactly paying much attention to him.

“Besides, there’s no need to even consider forming an alliance with another guild. I already have plenty of money on my side.”

At that remark, the murmuring in the room suddenly died away.

“By the way, it’s not like anyone feeds me this information. I just followed the 5-rank hunters because they were all gathering in one place. So let me make this clear in advance—don’t go accusing some poor innocent person of being a spy.”

“Haha.”

The man in his thirties laughed.

The head of the Hunter Association. The Neo Sisters guild. And, positioned more or less in front of the projector, the hunters ranked first and second.

Before long, all of them had fallen silent, glancing toward the back of the conference room.

“Everyone here runs a company with plenty of people depending on them...”

The man buried in the darkness continued speaking nonchalantly.

“Having sold a company like that, I’d probably have better liquidity than most.”

But that calm atmosphere didn’t last long.

“Hey, you piece of trash.”

The age difference. Their respective positions in society.

Despite all that, Esther had successfully managed to curse him out.

“Yeah. Honestly, I’ve been wanting to say this for a while. I mean, is there anyone living in South Korea who hasn’t even heard of [Nan Steel]?”

“Hmm.”

“Because you suddenly dumped such a huge company without making any preparations, countless employees who depended on that steel mill for their livelihoods were left out in the cold!”

Director Seo Esther.

“What exactly are you so proud of about doing something that damn reckless and then bragging about it?”

“First of all, I understand what part you’re criticizing. But I’m sorry, causing that kind of hardship for ordinary people was never really my intention.”

“Ah, yes. Of course. Someone like Hunter Kang could short-sell his own company’s stock and somehow have no ulterior motive behind it, I’m sure.”

“Haha.”

The cursed sorcerer’s voice showed no sign of growing quieter.

“Why don’t we try looking at this a little more simply?”

Perhaps it was precisely because of that absurd explanation that the tension refused to subside.

“This was simply the result of an individual putting something he owned on the market. That’s all there is to it. I honestly don’t understand why even trivial incidents always attract such harsh criticism.”

“You don’t understand? And you’re someone who even went to college?”

“All right, listen carefully one more time. To summarize the Nan Steel incident...”

The moment she heard that, Esther thought about the relationship between corporate ownership and ethics.

My feelings.

But before she could even come up with an appropriate response, everyone’s minds went completely blank.

“And the company’s shareholders, as well as everyone who specifically chose to work at our steel mill, all acted according to their own intentions too.”

“I had no malicious intent. So, if possible, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t glare at me so fiercely. Take me, for example. Even if I suddenly suffer enough that blood pours from my eyes, I don’t make a huge fuss about it or start arguing with people, do I?”

“This is the worst...”

Kang Changho.

Before awakening, he had been poised to inherit a mid-sized steel company—a genuine silver spoon. He was still young, and there was plenty of inheritance waiting for him regardless. As an ordinary civilian, he had simply lacked fame, but judging by all accounts, he had apparently always lived with that same brazen attitude.

Above all, stories of his exploits circulated everywhere in the form of eyewitness accounts. Even people who had diligently gone about their lives without believing those rumors were quickly taken aback once they met him, because the man in his thirties immediately displayed his distinctive personality without restraint.

“Damn...”

Soon afterward, Esther also muttered a curse under her breath.

Even after awakening, he’s still as strange as ever. Why can’t he just enjoy his hobbies quietly and live his life?

She thought for a moment.

From an outsider’s perspective, he really is one damn irritating person.

Although it had been at the request of her benefactor, Kim Giryeo, she had nonetheless placed a high-level [curse] on someone she had never even met before.

What Kang Changho had just said was essentially a criticism of that [curse].

The real difference between South Korea’s second- and third-ranked 5-rank hunters was practically just whether one of them had been prosecuted or not.

Esther was at least somewhat aware of her own flawed tendencies, and because of that, she had once quietly made a certain resolution to herself.

Still, if he ever showed a decent side, I was planning to personally ask him how he saw that previous fight.

For some reason, the thought carried a strong whiff of the high-handed attitude typical of Alphabet. Yet from the cursed sorcerer’s perspective, it was an entirely natural conclusion.

After such careful consideration, Esther’s thoughts eventually returned to the same place.

[Elixir].

“Filthy human...”

Perhaps Kang Changho had been avoiding her all this time precisely because he had anticipated a situation like this?

Elixir.

But the small questions still remained unresolved.

“So, in the end, Hunter Kang Changho’s suggestion is that the government should sell the Elixir dungeon through the usual process.”

“It would certainly be excellent for securing tax revenue.”

At that point, the vice president of Neo Sisters stepped forward.

“I’m sorry, but I strongly support Hunter Esther’s opinion.”

That was more or less the position of the large South Korean guild.

One month. Three months. Six months.

Perhaps the dungeon could safely be leased out for as long as a year.

But with a panacea hidden inside it, would criminals really leave such a place alone?

“There could also be interference from foreign powers.”

The Neo Sisters side considered the various security problems that would arise if the gate were transferred into the ownership of a specific individual.

Besides, if the [Elixir] dungeon really went up for sale, it would effectively mean beginning the process by turning one of the 5-ranks present here into an enemy, which would only increase the danger further.

“Come to think of it, this is ridiculous. They could’ve just cleared the gate themselves and kept quiet, but instead they went and reported it.”

“C-could you please... lower your magic power a little, Hunter Seo?”

“Phew. What a miserable life for someone who can’t live without the law.”

At this point, Esther spoke again.

“Anyway, let’s hear that first. Why on earth is Hunter Kang Changho so interested in [Elixir]?”

There was a questioning edge to the woman’s voice.

“You’re still young.”

“And it doesn’t look like there’s anything wrong with your body either.”

“Yeah. I’m perfectly healthy.”

“Besides, we’ve already awakened as 5-ranks. It’s not like people at our level of power are ever going to get sick again for the rest of our lives, right?”

Even Esther, who had caught every illness that happened to be going around during her school years—colds, eye infections, and everything else—had not fallen ill even once since undergoing her mutation.

That distinction mattered.

The Elixir had no special effect on external injuries. It merely had a slight rejuvenating effect and had been proven to cure cases of mana intoxication.

Moreover, the claim that it could cure every illness was based entirely on the subjective impressions of the person who had used it.

For injuries sustained while working as a hunter, using a top-grade potion readily available on the market seemed far more practical.

But then why was that hunter so interested in it?

Don’t tell me he plans to stash it away for thirty years and drink it right before he kicks the bucket?

Esther cast a sidelong glance at the person who had thrown the entire room into chaos.

But apparently, there was no need to bother listening to someone else’s retirement plans.

“The reason I’m interested in the panacea?”

And then, from Kang Changho’s mouth came an answer no one could have imagined.

“Well, honestly, I doubt I’ll manage to get it. But if I’m lucky enough to obtain it...”

“So what?”

“Even then, the medicine would probably end up being handed over to a psychic named Kim Giryeo.”

To someone else.

And to South Korea’s fourth 5-rank awakener, no less.

She had never expected him to be planning to give away that legendary potion.

“Huh?”

Esther, who had been standing near the screen, showed a flicker of surprise at his words.

However, the man with hypochromic body hair remained as composed as ever.

What was there to be so surprised about?

If you were attending a meeting like this, you probably already knew the fourth 5-rank’s little secret—at least the part concerning his health.

Or perhaps what he meant was something along the lines of, Wouldn’t this be a smart move for the sake of peace on the Korean Peninsula?

The executives gathered in the darkened room shifted their gazes, each checking the reactions of the others.

Huh, that’s actually... a surprisingly reasonable reason?

But to be precise, their brief moment of peace ended right there.

“Oh, right. And of course, I was also curious to see how that guy would react if I offered him a deal involving a potion supposedly capable of ‘curing every illness known to man.’”

“Yes?”

“The sight of a 5-rank hunter with transcendent power getting worked up over a single ordinary potion... I thought it might be kind of funny to watch.”

Trash.

“Dealing with a sickly mutant would only be unpleasant, but a fully healed psychic is a completely different matter.”

“If things go well, I could even draw up a proper employment contract and put him to work. Honestly, I can’t think of any consumer more valuable than Kim Giryeo right now.”

“But still, in the end, you’d basically be saving a capable hunter. Shouldn’t you be happy about that?”

Just as those particular three letters flashed through everyone’s minds, the person present with the sharpest tongue stepped forward and spoke first.

“Are you saying all this just because you want to pick a fight with us?”

“No.”

The fact that she was an awakener weaker than Kim Giryeo had already been broadcast all over the national news back then.

And now, seeing him try to recruit that very awakener right in front of her made her blood boil instantly.

I don’t even think he deserves to be treated with basic respect as a fellow human being.

But even if she used her abilities here, in a place filled with so many watchful eyes, what would that accomplish?

It would only create yet another incident, nothing more.

The purple-haired hunter calmed herself without much difficulty and soon stated her position.

“Anyway, if that’s your reason, then I definitely can’t entrust the dungeon to you.”

“Is that so?”

“I don’t know how much cash you still have left from Nan Steel, but it seems you’ve also been buying various artifacts over the years...”

“Besides, your activity level is much lower than that of the hunters ranked first and second.”

“Even if I have to take out a private loan, I won’t let that potion fall into your hands. I’m serious, so let’s not waste our energy fighting each other over it.”

Yet despite the calmness of her voice, she couldn’t suppress the faint unease stirring in the back of her mind.

What if that hunter goes out and spreads word about the dungeon’s existence...?

In other words, the trouble that would naturally follow if it became public knowledge that the mysterious cure-all had reappeared.

Announcing that hunters would be sent in according to ranking honestly wouldn’t be much of a problem in terms of justification.

But what the hell would happen if the rich people in this capitalist society suddenly found out about the [Elixir]?

Moreover, the more attention that hunting ground attracted, the harder it would become to protect.

Seo Esther ran the calculations through her head.

“Excuse me.”

At that critical moment, the 5-rank hunter sitting in another fabric chair suddenly spoke.

“Hunter Kang Changho.”

Even with the room shrouded in darkness, the young man’s movements were visible.

The hunter who had been hunched over slowly raised his head.

“Couldn’t we just clear this dungeon according to ranking?”

Jung Haseong explained in a determined voice.

“Couldn’t we just quietly reach an agreement among ourselves? Honestly, it’s not like we’re planning to clear the dungeon completely. Naturally, we’d keep it open continuously, like a ranch...”

“Right.”

“We’re basically suggesting that everyone in South Korea farm it together—that is, leave the gate open and keep extracting items from it...”

But the moment the national hero’s words rang out, a certain person casually raised a hypothesis.

“Wait. But what if the Elixir is a reward that can only be obtained from the boss?”

It was a statement that might well have sent a cold sweat down the backs of everyone listening.