Chapter 84 - Chapter 84 (1/2)

Jin-Woo didn't ponder for long before speaking up.

"I see."

"If that's what you think, then there's not much I can do."

"Where should I show up tomorrow?"

"....Eh?"

After hearing this unexpected reply, Foreman Bae's eyes went extra round in shock.

'Wait, I haven't made a mistake just now with what I said, right?'

Didn't he definitely say that tomorrow was going to be more dangerous than today?

Mister Seong's expression wasn't so good after hearing Bae's story, so the older man was just about ready to forget about the matter completely. However, what was the meaning of this?

Thanks to this youth, it looked like Bae wouldn't have to worry about finding another miner for tomorrow.

'Is that all??'

Mister Seong could easily do the work of four or five people all by himself. And that was on his first day, too.

The boy's work speed that even managed to impress the 'ace' of the mining team, Mok Jin-Su, was indeed pretty shocking the first time Bae witnessed it.

From Jin-Woo's declaration that he'd come tomorrow, Foreman Bae felt like he had gained a powerful, trustworthy ally and he was filled up with lots of confidence.

"Mister Seong, you made the right choice!"

Foreman Bae's moustache quivered as he formed a blindingly brilliant smile. And then, to make sure that Jin-Woo's mind wouldn't change overnight, he even came up with an unprecedented offer, too.

"I'll have a good chat with the person in charge, and make sure that you get double the normal daily wages tomorrow."

"Will that be okay?"

"Of course. You think I won't be able to do that much for you, Mister Seong?"

Foreman Bae confidently pounded on his chest.

"Mister Seong, don't you worry about a thing and just come to work tomorrow."

Quite obviously, who would sweat over paying twice as much in daily wages to a guy capable of doing the work of 4-5 people?

If Bae was the Chairman, never mind double, he'd triple – no, maybe even more with an eye towards the future.

'Didn't expect myself to rue the day that I'm not the Chairman of the Hunters....'

Foreman Bae could only swallow back his laughter.

Jin-Woo asked him a question, then.

"Ahh, right. I promised to meet someone tomorrow evening, so will I be able to make that in time?"

Earlier this morning, Yu Jin-Ho gave him a call.

- "Hyung-nim, can I come and speak to you?"

For some reason, he sounded worn out.

'That kid was on the top of the world yesterday, saying that everything had worked out alright, yet today.....'

Jin-Woo was taken by surprise, but unfortunately, the call came only after he had already applied to become a miner. He had no choice but to delay the meeting until tomorrow evening.

Foreman Bae chuckled out loudly.

"From what I hear, tomorrow's dungeon should be much smaller in scale then today's one. So, we should be finished well before 6 o'clock."

Weren't they able to finish today's work around five PM today? They should be even faster tomorrow, not the other way around.

Jin-Woo nodded his head. That would be fine for him, too.

"In that case, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Alright. Take care."

Watching Jin-Woo turn around and walk away, a satisfied grin formed on Foreman Bae's lips.

'If I did marry, I'd probably have a son around his age by now.'

Why did that boy's back look so wide and trustworthy? How wonderful would it be if the world was filled with newbies as excellent as Mister Seong?

A thick smile refused to leave Foreman Bae's lips.

However, he wasn't the only one smiling.

While walking towards the bus stop, an imperceptible smile was floating on Jin-Woo's lips, too.

'Well, it's not like I'm wishing for the raid team to make a blunder tomorrow, but....'

But, if something were to happen, then his existence would prove to be a huge help either to the raid team or to the mining team.

It wasn't as if he had a change of heart, either.

Perhaps ironically, the success rate for clearing rank A Gates was actually greater than those of the lower ranks.

'For one, the Association doesn't hand over the permit to any ol' Guilds, and....'

And, once the Guild was given the opportunity, they would commit all of their resources and try to conquer the dungeon, too.

However....

'The Hunters Guild isn't committing their everything in tomorrow's dungeon raid.'

To think, they'd have the balls to split a single assault team into two and prey on two separate rank A Gates at the same time. That was some confidence befitting the holder of the top spot in their profession.

But, it was undeniable that the accompanying risk was incredibly high, too.

'Regardless of what happens, I won't lose out either way.'

If they managed to complete the raid safely, that'd be the best for everyone involved. On the other hand, if an accident did occur, he'd assist the Hunters Guild, but in return, he would get to monopolise the high-ranked monsters by himself.

'Very good.'

A deeper smile formed on Jin-Woo's face as he climbed into the bus.

***

Late at night.

Cha Hae-In was tossing and turning in her bed.

'Why is he different from others?'

Occupied by various thoughts regarding the man she met back in the boss room, she couldn't fall asleep at all.

After Awakening her abilities roughly two years ago, she ran into many, many Hunters but there had never been an exception. Whenever she approached Hunters, or to be more specific, the Awakened, a deeply unpleasant stink assaulted her nose.

At first, she thought she was sick, so she went to see various doctors. However, she made no progress in that regard.

One of the doctors she went to see cautiously told her of his hypothesis.

- Could it be possible that you, Cha Hunter-nim, can sense other's magic energy through your olfactory senses?

That guess certainly held some merit; the stink would get worse the higher the rank of a Hunter was. And sure enough, the lower the rank, the more tolerable the stink was, too. Of course, regular people didn't emit any stink whatsoever.

However.....

'….This is the first time meeting someone with a pleasant smell.'

Recalling the events of earlier, her heart began beating a bit faster.

She became quite curious who that man could be, so as soon as the raid ended, she connected to the Association's website and searched for his details.

Rank E.

Seong Jin-Woo.

The information on the man, as seen on the Hunter licence, could be seen on the screen.

'There are no contact details....'

But then again, what would she even do after finding out about his contact info?

Realising that there was nothing more she could glean from the Association's website, she then ended up calling the phone number of Joh Myoung-Ki, the manager of the recruitment department. She didn't even mean to do that, though.

- "What's going on? Cha Hunter-nim, did something happen at this late hour?"

It was already well past one AM by the time she called him.

He wouldn't have answered the phone if it wasn't from South Korea's sole female rank S Hunter, who also happened to be the Vice Chairman of the Hunters Guild.

She couldn't help but think that she made a mistake after hearing the still-sleepy voice of Joh Myoung-Ki, but that lasted only for a short while.

Cha Hae-In opened her mouth with some difficulty.

"Can you find some information on a Hunter named Seong Jin-Woo?"

- "I beg your pardon? Wait, are you talking about the rank E Hunter currently working for the Association?"

Cha Hae-In was taken in by a huge surprise.

Joh Myoung-Ki was none other than the man in charge of recruiting in South Korea's best Guild. So, why did a man like that remember the name of a rank E Hunter?

"Do you know who he is?"

- "Ah, the thing is.... Actually, Chairman Choi has requested me yesterday to do the same thing as you have, you see. He asked me to uncover more information on that person."

"Chairman did that?"

- "Yes, miss."

"Do you know what's going on?"

- "Well, even I don't....."

"...So, what did you find out?"

A voice that was thick with a helpless sigh came out of the phone's speaker.

- "I did my best to uncover more, but the Association has placed a lockdown on his information. It's my first time encountering a situation like this, them blocking the flow of all information on a regular Hunter. He's not even a top-ranked Hunter, either...."

"Ah....."

- "But, why are you looking for him, Cha Hunter-nim? Is there something I should assist you with?"

"No, it's fine. I'm sorry for calling you so late. Good night."

Click.

….Those were the contents of the phone call she made three hours ago.

She worked up her courage to find out more about a guy, only for more questions to bubble up in her mind.

A mystery Hunter whose identity was being sought after by the leader of the Hunters Guild, while the Association was doing their best to hide it.

'There's definitely something going on here.'

No, wait. There simply had to be something....

She earnestly prayed for it.