Chapter 41 (2/2)

Because of this, Ahn Sangmin was confident that Baekho could more than double Yoojin Construction’s offer . Suddenly, Jinwoo’s eyes filled with coldness . .

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“How did you know?”.

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“H-hmm?”.

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Surprised at an unexpected response, Ahn Sangmin stuttered his words, unbecoming of a chief of a large Guild . .

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“How did you know to seek me out?”.

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If words had physical weight, Ahn Sangmin felt like he would be crushed by Jinwoo’s . .

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‘What is this pressure?’.

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It appeared that the man sitting across from him registered him as an enemy . Now that he thought about, he did place a tail on Jinwoo and had asked to meet him out of nowhere . Looking at it from Jinwoo’s perspective, it was reasonable that his actions would invite hostility . Ahn Sangmin started explaining in panic,.

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“Ah, ah, please don’t misunderstand . We did not purposefully single you out for investigation . It’s just that someone was taking up all the C-rank Gates in our Guild’s territory, and when we looked into it, your name came up . ”.

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“…”.

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Jinwoo looked away into the distance . .

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‘So that’s what it was . ’.

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Contrary to what he had thought, it appeared that the man sitting across from him did not start an investigation after realizing the truth about him . Jinwoo was just naturally noticed after completing a rapid succession of Raids . .

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‘I don’t particularly sense any bad intentions from him . ’.

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Jinwoo relaxed his expression slightly . The nervousness between the two men eased up as well . .

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‘Phew…’.

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Ahn Sangmin sighed in his head, but all he had accomplished was bringing their relationship back to neutral . Now would begin the real trial of earning Jinwoo’s faith . .

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‘There’s no better way to earn someone’s trust than sharing information . ’.

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Ahn Sangmin was a recruitment specialist!.

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He erased his panicked expression and put on his smile again . .

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“This might be a top-secret information, but we’re well aware of Chairman Yoo Myunghan’s plans to make a new Guild . ”.

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“…”.

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Jinwoo neither confirmed nor denied . Ahn Sangmin continued,.

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“And when we noted Yoo Jinho, the man’s son, and Hunter Sung Jinwoo-nim had made contact, we were able to piece together a conclusion . Hunter Sung Jinwoo-nim is a Reawakened Hunter, and Yoojin Construction wanted you for their Guild . ”.

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As expected, Ahn Sangmin thought that he was a Reawakened Hunter . .

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‘Well, I’ll let him believe that . ’.

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Jinwoo had no reasons to contradict him . Ahn Sangmin quickly added,.

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“We had hoped to speak to you before you signed an official contract with Yoojin . That’s why we contacted you out of the blue like this . We apologize again for our rudeness . ”.

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“It’s alright . ”.

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It would’ve been different if they had approached him with ill intent, but now that they were apologizing like this, there was no need for Jinwoo to be angry . .

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‘More importantly…’.

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How to handle this now . This was Jinwoo’s quandary . Noticing his hesitation, Ahn Sangmin spoke up again,.

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“Have you by any chance signed the contract with Yoojin Construction?”.

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Perhaps the man thought he had, seeing his hesitation . Jinwoo shook his head . Ahn Sangmin, who had looked a little defeated, immediately became happy . .

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‘Perfect! He is a free agent!’.

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This was the chance to obtain a Hunter would could solo clear a C-rank Dungeon in just 30 minutes . Although a D-ranker had followed him into the Dungeon, to a man who was above B-rank, the D-ranker would’ve been nothing more than a baggage boy . .

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‘Imagine if Sung Jinwoo retests as an A-ranker under the Baekho Guild!’.

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Ahn Sangmin kept suppressing his smile and struggled to keep a calm expression[3] . Meanwhile, Jinwoo was scratching his chin . .

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‘This man, he’s counting the chickens before they’ve hatched . .

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Well, Baekho wouldn’t be that bad . It was one of the top 5 Guilds and was even gunning for the number one spot . But right now, Jinwoo had no desire to enter a Guild . .

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‘My value only rises as I level-up . ’.

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Additionally, although it may be far down the road….

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‘Just like how I’m solo clearing a C-rank Dungeon right now, what if I can eventually solo clear a B-rank, maybe even an A-rank Dungeon?’.

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The income from the high-ranking Dungeons surpassed imagination . Conquering those Dungeons is what allowed the large Guilds to grow as powerful as big corporations . When you considered the high-quality magic cores, magic beast corpses, minerals, Runestones and artifacts, an astronomical amount of money was involved in the Hunter-related businesses . If he could maintain a monopoly of all the income from the Dungeon, was there a reason he should join a Guild?.

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‘As long as I keep leveling up, it’s not an impossible scenario . ’.

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As such, it was too early for him to go into a Guild . .

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The corners of Jinwoo’s mouth rose . Mistaking his smile for good news, Ahn Sangmin also smiled . .

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“Have you made your decision?”.

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“You said double the price, right?”.

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“Yes, of course . And if we feel that the price is lacking compared to Hunter-nim’s abilities, we may even raise it higher . ”.

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“Then what is the value of the building Baekho is using as its headquarters?”.

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Ahn Sangmin froze for a second . .

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‘Is he questioning our Guild’s financial power?’.

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Well, there was no need to panic . This was an opportunity to show off the Guild . There was no need to hide or hold his tongue . Ahn Sangmin was rather glad for the opportunity . .

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“The estimated value is about fifty billion . We’re not using the entire building, but the deed is under our name . ”.

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Ahn Sangmin spoke with pride . In the past, they had rented their office in the building, but when the Guild solidified its position in the country, they outright purchased it . It took them one year to achieve this feat . It was a testament to just how much the large Guilds earned . Ahn Sangmin was ready to go into details about Baekho’s finances and income but froze when Jinwoo spoke,.

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“That building, could you give it to me?”.

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“What?”.

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Ahn Sangmin’s eyes were wide open . He doubted his hearing and asked,.

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“W-what do you mean by that?”.

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Jinwoo happily explained,.

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“Yoojin promised me a building worth thirty billion on their end . Although it’s not quite double, I’d be happy to accept a price of fifty billion from Baekho’s building . ”.

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“Th-thirty billion?”.

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Sung Jinwoo’s Hunter career was 4 years old, but that was as an E-rank Hunter . He had not done anything noticeable until recently, meaning his Reawakening must be just as recent . So just what kind of a power did this man display that Yoo Myunghan, a man known for his business acumen, would offer him 30 billion won? And even before he got retested?.

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‘Is, is he bluffing since we have no way of confirming?’.

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Ahn Sangmin stared at Jinwoo with a suspicious gaze . As if reading his mind, Jinwoo took out his phone and made a call . .

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ring ring.

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click.

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- “Yes, hyungnim . ”.

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It was dinner time, and the café was near empty . Jinwoo purposely put the volume on the highest setting . .

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“Jinho, let me ask you something . ”.

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- “Of course, anything, hyungnim . ”.

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Jinho? As in Yoo Jinho? Ahn Sangmin gulped . .

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‘Is he planning on ratting me out to Yoo Jinho?’.

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But his guess was off . Instead, Jinwoo brought up a different topic,.

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“That building you promised me, how much was it again?”.

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Translator’s Notes:.

[1]: “Hunters, Grim Reaper, Knights, Myungsung, Baekho”.

“Hunters” (헌터스): Literal english of “Hunters”, including the plural form . “Hun” 헌 + “Tuh” 터 + “Ss” 스 . Not gonna lie, it’s going to be headache to distinguish this from the profession of “Hunter” from now on… I shouldn’t have capitalized the word Hunter . .

“Grim Reaper” (사신): This word could be interpreted in few ways, “Four Gods, Death God, Envoy” . I chose “Death God” > Grim Reaper.

“Knights” (기사단): Lit . “Knighthood” or “Knight Corps” . .

“Myungsung” (면성): Just appears to be a proper noun / name . .

“Baekho” (백호): Could be translated as “White Tiger”, which actually fits really well . I chose to leave it in Korean to give weight to the relationship between the Guild name and the Guildmaster . .

[2]: “Second Management Division” (제2관리과): “Number 2” 제2 + “administrative/management division/department” 관리과.

[3]: /r/prematurecelebration.