Chapter 40: 39

I Alone Level-up: Chapter 39

 

Ahn Sangmin was at a complete loss for words.  The maximum amount of profit you could earn in a C-rank Gate was 200 million.  To use 250 million on such a Gate was utter foolishness.

 

“Their original bid was about seventy million. But when I outbid them with a hundred million, those bastards raised their bid to two hundred and fifty million.”

 

In Baekho Guild, the default maximum for reserving C-rank Gates was 100 million.  If what he said was true, it was reasonable for Hyun Gicheol to feel wronged.

 

‘Who the hell are these bastards?’

 

clack clack clack

 

Ahn Sangmin’s fingers blazed across the keyboard.  The search results immediately came up on the screen.  As Hyun Gicheol had said, the raiding permissions for all the C-rank Gates in the area were being bought out at an incredible speed and an unreasonable price.

 

“Who the hell are these crazy sons of…”

 

This area was under the management of the Baekho Guild.  At first, he thought it might’ve been another Guild’s way of hindering the Guild.

 

‘No, there’s no way.’

 

There was no Guild stupid enough to start a fight with the Baekho Guild.  Even the other top 5 Guilds would have to be prepared for an all out war if they did something like this.

 

‘It’s not a Guild…’

 

Then who? And why?

 

Ahn Sangmin gulped and pulled up the party information of the ones who reserved all the Gates.  The leader’s name was “Yoo Jinho”.

 

“First time I’m hearing of him.”

 

It was Ahn Sangmin’s job to scout potential new recruits.  As such, even a freelancer with the smallest amount of fame would be known to him.  But the name “Yoo Jinho” was completely unfamiliar to him.

 

‘Ok, next.’

 

Ahn Sangmin slowly scrolled through rest of the party members, confirming each Hunter one at a time.  There was not one that he recognized.

 

Except one.

 

One of the names was familiar to him.

 

‘Sung Jinwoo? Sung Jinwoo… Where did I hear that name before…?’

 

After combing through his memories, Ahn Sangmin remembered the Double Dungeon incident 2 months ago, which became a hot topic among those involved.  The Guild that was pulled into assistance by the Association at the time was Baekho.

 

“Gicheol, do you remember the Double Dungeon incident two months ago, when our Guild was called to mobilization?”

 

“Yes, of course. Didn’t we find only one survivor in the Dungeon with no magic beasts?”

 

“What was the survivor’s name?”

 

Hyun Gicheol had a good head.  He could not be called a genius, but his memory was the one thing he was proud of.  The man did not need to perform a search or look through any documents.

 

“E-rank Hunter, Sung Jinwoo.”

 

‘As I thought!’

 

He had wondered about the possibility and came to a conclusion through intuition.  There was something here. The gut feeling that appeared in situations like this had never steered him wrong.  Ahn Sangmin shouted to the rest of his team,

 

“Everyone stop what you’re doing and bring me every single bit of information on D-rank Hunter Yoo Jinho and E-rank Hunter Sung Jinwoo! Right now!”

 

The response speed of the employees at this sudden order was beyond imagination.  They were called elites for a reason. One by one, the reports quickly appeared before Ahn Sangmin.

 

To be honest, there was nothing that special about Yoo Jinho.  He was the second son of Yoojin Construction’s Chairman Yoo Myunghan, but other than that, there was nothing noticeable about him.

 

Sung Jinwoo was different.

 

“So including the Double Dungeon incident, he’s been involved in a total of three different incidents. And he came out of every one of them unharmed?”

 

Hyun Gicheol added on,

 

“And as an E-rank Hunter, too.”

 

Sung Jinwoo and Yoo Jinho met during Yoo Jinho’s first Raid, and they were the only ones who survived that Raid.

 

And now, the pair had formed a team and was clearing 2~3 Dungeons a day.  This was an unfathomable speed.

 

“Something about this smells…”

 

“What do you think they’re doing?”

 

“Hmm… Wait, wasn’t there a rumor recently that Chairman Yoo Myunghan was making contact with various S-rank Hunters?”

 

“I’ve heard that rumor, yes.”

 

“And Yoo Jinho is that Chairman Yoo Myunghan’s son…”

 

It appeared that Yoo Myunghan planned to make a Guild.  This would be a top secret information that would shake the industry.  And if this was true, Yoo Jinho’s current actions would definitely be related.

 

“Could it be…?!”

 

A piece of the puzzle fell into place in Ahn Sangmin’s head.

 

That would make sense! Watching his superior’s expressions change, Hyun Gicheol gulped.  Ahn Sangmin spoke with a confident voice,

 

“This son of a bitch is a Reawakened Hunter!”

 

“A Reawakened Hunter?!”

 

Hyun Gicheol’s looked like a deer in headlights.

 

“Yes.”

 

An E-rank Hunter was barely above an ordinary person.  If there was an accident, they were all but counted as dead.  But Sung Jinwoo had gone through multiple incidents where his teammates had died without being harmed.

 

‘Of course, he could just be lucky as hell, but,’

 

The third incident.

 

The incident where Hunter Surveillance Department Hunter Kang Taeshik committed murder was different.  The records showed that a C-rank Mage and a B-rank Healer teamed up to defeat Kang Taeshik.

 

‘There’s no way. The HSD Hunters’ primary job is to fight other Hunters.’

 

Unless Kang Taeshik was a moron, he would’ve tried to take care of the one with the highest rank but lowest combat ability, the B-rank Healer, first.

 

‘And they say a C-rank Mage-class Hunter stopped him from doing that?’

 

Mage-class Hunters were weak against Fighter-class Hunters, and among them, their worst possible match-up would be against the Assassin-class.  Perhaps Kang Taeshik could’ve arrogantly ignored the presence of the B-rank Healer, but it was unlikely that a 3-year veteran of the HSD would make such a mistake.

 

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‘The person who stopped Kang Taeshik on that day was not the C-rank Song Chiyeol, but someone else who was with them.’

 

There was no solid proof, but Ahn Sangmin was certain of his theory.

 

Sung Jinwoo had Reawakened as a high-ranking Hunter.  Yoo Jinho had witnessed his power in their Raid and decided to test him to place him in his father’s Guild.  Everything fell into place.

 

‘This is big news.’

 

If Sung Jinwoo truly was a Reawakened Hunter, the only ones who knew his true value were Yoo Jinho and few others.  Knowing public image of Yoo Myunghan, the man would not carelessly accept anyone into his Guild, especially as a founding member.  This would be an opportunity to steal away a talent that THE Yoo Myunghan had picked.

 

‘If he defeated the B-ranker Kang Taeshik, he’s at least above a B-ranker!’

 

Their priority now would be to obtain Sung Jinwoo before the other Guilds and especially Yoo Myunghan could.  The competition would become fierce after Sung Jinwoo’s retest. Even if the man did not turn out to be that highly ranked, it would not matter.  As their numbers across the world was incredibly small, a Reawakened Hunter would be prime target of the press. That alone would make the man an incredible source of advertising power, one that could not be bought with money.

 

This was not an opportunity Baekho could pass up on.

 

‘Well, if he already signed the contract with Yoo Myunghan, it’s too late…’

 

But there was low chance of that.

 

The fact that Sung Jinwoo was being tested through C-rank Gates was the proof.

 

‘There’s a good chance that there’s nothing set in stone.’

 

This meant that the Baekho Guild still had a chance.

 

‘There’s no time to waste,’

 

Ahn Sangmin grabbed his coat on his chair.

 

“Gicheol, let’s go.”

 

He needed his right hand man for this.  Hyun Gicheol was a man Ahn Sangmin would trust with his back.

 

Hyun Gicheol was surprised,

 

“Sir? Where are we going, chief?”

 

“Where do you think? Recruitment!”

 

“The chief himself is going out for recruitment?”

 

“Of course, is that not allowed?”

 

Ahn Sangmin quickly turned to leave.  Hyun Gicheol followed him with a tilted head.

 

‘How strange…’

 

Since he became chief 2 years ago, this was the first time Ahn Sangmin directly went out for recruitment.

 

-7. The Premonition of Success-

 

From their investigation, the Baekho employees learned that Yoo Jinho’s team had reserved two Gates today.  The distance between the Gates were quite far. Ahn Sangmin and Hyun Gicheol split up and went to separate Gates to confirm Ahn Sangmin’s theory.  The pair occasionally contacted each other and waited for Yoo Jinho’s team to appear.

 

‘It’s still a little cold…’

 

Ahn Sangmin grabbed a canned coffee from a nearby vending machine.  It had been 1 hour since he started waiting for Yoo Jinho’s team. But more than boredom, he was filled with anticipation.  His heart raced in excitement.

 

‘If I’m correct, this’ll be the first great recruit in a while. A special one at that!’

 

Ahn Sangmin had become the head of the division at a young age, faster than anyone else.  This was all thanks to his great instinct. His contribution was crucial in helping the Baekho Guild grow to what it was today.  And now his instincts were telling him:

 

Sung Jinwoo was someone who could raise Baekho to greater heights.

 

‘They’ll probably call me crazy if I said that out loud…’

 

After all, Sung Jinwoo was officially just an E-rank Hunter.  But not everything was as they appeared. If it were so, he would not be where he was.  As he surveyed the Gate with hawk-like eyes, his phone rang.

 

ring ring

 

It was Hyun Gicheol.

 

“Oy, Gicheol.”

- “Chief, Yoo Jinho’s team just arrived.”

“Got it. Don’t panic and report everything you see, don’t leave out a single detail.”

- “Yes, chief. Eh? What? C-chief!”

 

The voice on the other end became strange.

 

‘Did this idiot get caught?’

 

Ahn Sangmin became worried,

 

“What is it? Talk! Talk!”

- “Chief, you were right!”

“Huh?”

 

Ahn Sangmin’s heartbeat became faster.

 

- “It’s just Yoo Jinho and Sung Jinwoo! They’re the only ones entering the Gate!”

“Of course! It’s was all to test Sung Jinwoo!”

 

As expected!

 

His guesses were right on the mark.  His instincts had not failed him.

 

‘Perfect!’

 

Ahn Sangmin pumped his fists.

 

‘While you’re busy testing the man, Sung Jinwoo will become ours!’

 

Because Baekho Guild’s Second Management Division had Ahn Sangmin!

 

While Ahn Sangmin was celebrating his victory, Hyun Gicheol’s voice continued.

 

- “So what should I do? Should I come to you?”

“No, no. Watch them for a bit longer.”

- “Sir? Didn’t we confirm your theory?”

“I’m curious about their clearing time. How many hours do you think it’ll take them to clear a C-rank Dungeon?”

- “Doesn’t it take even an A-rank Hunter about two hours to solo clear a C-rank Dungeon?”

“You don’t think they can do it?”

- “Of course not. I was just worried that you’ll be lonely while waiting.”

 

The ability to change his attitude in a flash.  This was why Ahn Sangmin could not get mad at Hyun Gicheol.

 

“Don’t worry about me. Just watch them closely and time them when they come out.”

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