Chapter 66 - Chapter 66 (1/2)

Park Hui-Jin had realised something back then.

And that would be the level of terror an upper-ranked dungeon could possess, and how powerless she was in front of such overwhelming odds.

'It's like, I'm the one who ended up learning what Mister Seong Jin-Woo wanted to teach Hahn Song-Yi....'

It was kind of embarrassing, but what could she do? Pretending that terrifying things weren't terrifying was an exercise in foolhardiness and stupidity.

The experiences she had back in the Red Gate were enough to make her skin crawl. However...

However, just because of her fear, she couldn't give up on all the sweet treatment and the status enjoyed by a rank B Hunter.

The sky-high annual salary!

The plentiful societal benefits!!

And finally, the public recognition!

If one disregarded the inherent danger, then being a Hunter was pretty much the perfect career. Precisely because of the high-risk factor, the return on 'investment' was equally huge.

But now, Park Hui-Jin had figured out a sure-fire way to decrease the risk associated with her job.

'And that is to go on a raid together with the team leader Seong Jin-Woo.'

The one person Park Hui-Jin was utterly envious of back in the Red Gate dungeon was none other than Hahn Song-Yi. There was only one reason for that.

And that would be the promise Seong Jin-Woo made towards Hahn Song-Yi.

- I brought you here with me, so I will take full responsibility and protect you.

If you analyse those words in a different way, then he was trying to say that he had no reason whatsoever to protect other team members besides Hahn Song-Yi. No, they were just baggage.

So, she was constantly worried that those two folks would abandon the group and sneak away unnoticed.

But on the sixth day....

Seong Jin-Woo really did clear the upper-rank dungeon all by himself and took Hahn Song-Yi home, safe and sound.

He had kept his promise.

Seeing that, Park Hui-Jin became sure of one thing. And that would be...

As long as she was working for him during the raids, she'd never find herself in danger.

The moment she realised this, her heart began pounding uncontrollably. And the level of her excitement hadn't cooled off even until now.

His calm and cold decision making.

His excellent abilities.

And not only that, his sense of responsibility, too.

She really wanted to go on a raid together with Seong Jin-Woo. That was why she came up with that term of hers.

'They must put me in the team leader Seong Jin-Woo's raid team, no questions asked.'

Baek Yun-Ho and Ahn Sahng-Min chatted to each other. And a little bit later....

"We accept your terms."

Baek Yun-Ho smiled genially.

"In that case, Miss Park Hui-Jin, act together with Chief Ahn for the time being."

"Thank you very much, sir."

However, she was well aware that scouting that man wouldn't be easy. Seong Jin-Woo was more than well aware of his own true worth, after all.

'Even during the Red Gate, he was always so full of confidence.'

indeed, making him 'move' would be one hell of a challenge.

'Still....'

She now had another chance to meet him again. An imperceptible smile formed on Park Hui-Jin's lips.

Baek Yun-Ho was pondering something until then, before opening his lips in some difficulty.

"Chief Ahn."

"Yes, sir."

"I'd like to know Mister Seong Jin-Woo's contact details."

"Guild Master, that is...."

Ahn Sahng-Min decided to tell everything regarding on why he had to conceal the matters regarding Jin-Woo until now.

Baek Yun-Ho wordlessly listened to it and gravely nodded his head.

"It's understandable that he wishes to remain anonymous, what with him possessing such incredible abilities. After all, there are enough people in this world who wish to stay out of the limelight, too."

But then, such a guy did reveal his powers in front of quite a few eyewitnesses. Sure, the situation back then might have been urgent, but it was also likely that he felt more or less okay about letting the world know of his powers.

"As long as the matter isn't blown out of proportion, I'm sure Mister Seong Jin-Woo won't blame you, Chief Ahn."

Ahn Sahng-Min nodded his head.

Of course, no one present in this room wished to leak this story beyond these walls. Never mind for Seong Jin-Woo, it would not be a good thing for both the Association and the White Tiger, as well.

"That's that, but...."

Ahn Sahng-Min was worried about something else, though.

And that would be his boss rushing things and ending up screwing everything up because he didn't know of Hunter Seong Jin-Woo's rather decisive character.

He dearly wanted to prevent that, at least.

"Sir. I think… you directly contacting him is a bit...."

Baek Yun-Ho quickly figured out what Ahn Sahng-Min was trying to say here.

"Ahh, don't worry. I'm not trying to contact him in regards to the recruitment."

"Pardon me? But then, why....?"

"It's as Mister Seong Jin-Woo said last night."

Baek Yun-Ho realised something after listening to Park Hui-Jin's debriefing. Seong Jin-Woo was the White Tiger Guild's benefactor.

He had saved three new recruits of the Guild. Not only that, but he also took care of the Red Gate, thereby ensuring that the honour of the White Tiger wasn't tarnished.

Even though the Association's people made the blunder, just how bad would the impact on the Guild's public image have been if this news got out, and everyone learned of them losing almost all of their new recruits?

Just imagining it gave Baek Yun-Ho nightmares – enough to have a total freak out, almost, right here.

'And there I was, trying to stop that person no matter what just to get to the bottom of the incident....'

He could now understand the reason why the youth was feeling quite grumpy at that time.

If he didn't know the circumstances, fine, but now that he knew, he simply had to do a certain thing as a living, breathing human being.

"As the representative of the White Tiger Guild, I'd like to officially express my gratitude to Mister Seong Jin-Woo. And to properly apologise for yesterday's incident, as well."

'Ahh, if that's what he means, then....'

Ahn Sahng-Min could understand now.

With Beak Yun-Ho's straight-forward, no-nonsense personality, he wouldn't bother Seong Jin-Woo with the matters of recruitment under the pretext of thanking the youth.

And well, he also wanted to convey his gratitude as well.

"I understand."

Ahn Sahng-Min pulled his phone out and found Seong Jin-Woo's numbers rather quickly.

"What is his number?"

Baek Yun-Ho also pulled his own phone out to save the contact number.

It was then.

"His number is...."

Just as Ahn Sahng-Min was about to read the phone number, he felt something was off, and turned his head to his side.

"Uhm, excuse me. What are you doing, Park Hui-Jin Hunter-nim?"

"Ah, well, I...."

With an awkward smile on her face, Park Hui-Jin sneakily hid her phone away, its screen still displaying "Add new contacts".

***

Inside the number one Guild in Korea, the Hunters.

A rather interesting piece of news found its way to the owner of the Hunters and the currently-active rank S Hunter, Choi Jong-In.

"This... has this been confirmed?"

Would anyone knock on their bosses' doors with unconfirmed information?

Chief of the recruitment department, Joh Myoung-Ki, nodded his head.

"Yes, Sir. We received this info earlier today from the Association."

Every major Guild had one or two informants inside the Association.

It might not be a kosher thing to do, but this was the only way to stay one step ahead of the competition, contacting an exciting new talent first if one were to emerge out of nowhere.

However, earlier today, the Hunters' informant had leaked a pretty strange story. And after lengthy deliberation, Joh Myoung-Ki decided to come to his boss's office with this news.

'Why? Because, the White Tiger Guild is on a roll nowadays, and they are large enough to threaten us, the Hunters.'

So, he figured that this information was worth reporting to the boss man. Exactly as Joh Myoung-Ki had suspected, Choi Jong-In displayed great interest in the matter right away.

"From a Red Gate that killed one rank A and six rank Bs, two rank Cs returned alive? Not only that, they managed to clear the dungeon, too? That is pure nonsense."

….Even if there was one rank B among them, there was no way that this was true.

Choi Jong-In shook his head as he continued to read the memo.

"Without a doubt, there was someone else helping them out. Someone not mentioned in here."

Choi Jong-In was certain of this. His extensive experiences in raiding dungeons told him as so.

Joh Myoung-Ki replied.

"Looks like the Association also suspects that, Sir. However...."

"However?"

"It seems that the White Tiger isn't saying anything."

"So, is the Association planning to overlook it, then?"

"I heard that they don't want to conflate the matters any further, since their fault in this incident is already too significant, Sir."

"H-mm...."

Choi Jong-In rested his hand against his chin. It was a habit of his whenever he fell into deep thought.

It was understandable from the Association's point of view, but why was the White Tiger keeping quiet on this matter? There could be only one reason.

"The White Tiger must've received help from someone they don't want others to know about."

"I also thought the same thing, sir."

The opinions of the two people present matched.

Choi Jong-In's brain rapidly kicked into gear.

'A nameless helper who can rescue lower ranked Hunters from a dungeon that's difficult enough to kill most of the higher ranked Hunters....'

He could barely hold himself back from the curiosity now.

'A newbie who hasn't gone through the rank assignment test? Or, maybe a convict whose identity can't be revealed?'

Either case was okay with him.

If it was a newbie, then the Hunters must bring that person to their fold. If it was a convict, on the other hand, then he'd be able to throw some mud in the White Tiger's direction.

Choi Jong-In's eyes began sparkling.

"Looks like we need to find out who was there."

"Have you thought of a good way, sir?"

"If you want to catch a hidden racoon, you have to set the racoon's hole on fire first."

Joh Myoung-Ki's eyes grew extra round.

"Are you planning to set the White Tiger Guild on fire?!"

"You think I'm crazy?? Why should I set someone else's perfectly fine organisation on fire??"