Chapter 174 (1/2)
Chapter 174 – Black Market Fifteenth Shopping (1)
As Sungjin shook his hand, Mustafa stood there blankly for a moment, before shaking him off and asking,
“Who are you, do you know me?”
Sungjin was flustered but quickly regained his calm. Mustafa’s response was to be expected. A raid was a battle where one placed his life on the line. Hunters were always tense because of the enemies, as well as their allies who might turn out to be trolls. With this in mind, it was natural to reject a hunter who approached you and abruptly started shaking your hand even though it was the first time you’ve met him. Sungjin began to introduce himself,
“Ahh, my apologies Mustafa. I am…”
At that time, one of Mustafa’s teammates who had been resting in the back suddenly jumped up and pointed at Sungjin as he spoke.
“Hrm? Master Hunter? Master Hunter Kei?”
Sungjin stared at him. For some reason, he looked familiar.
“Do you remember me? We met inside the Dragon’s Lair.”
It was the ‘Barbarian’ that had been one of the two people to tank Khal Gal. His outfit and his weapon had changed, but Sungjin still remembered him.
“Ahh, I do remember you. So you’ve made it this far safely.”
“Yes, my luck was good. After we separated then, I wanted to meet you at least one more time and we’ve come to meet like this. I’ve heard stories about Master Hunter Kei from the other hunters.”
As he had expected, it seemed that there were stories about him circulating amongst the hunters. The ‘Barbarian’ reassured Mustafa.
“Ahh, Mustafa there’s no need to be on guard. This person is Master Hunter Kei. He’s not a troll. On the contrary, he’s a famous troll hunter.”
The suspicion in Mustafa’s eyes diminished when he heard the words of the ‘Barbarian’. He glanced at the four swords that Sungjin had equipped before saying,
“Hrm… I think I’ve heard about him as well. A swordsman wielding four swords that goes teleporting through the dimensions in order to hunt trolls.”
Sungjin beamed. It would be easier to talk if things were like this.
“However, what is your purpose in coming here? Is there a troll in our party?”
Mustafa inconspicuously looked at the three people that he was sitting with. The other three hunters flinched, before they each spoke up.
“Not me, Mustafa.”
“Me neither.”
“We worked together before, didn’t we, Mustafa.”
‘As expected… His skill from before is still there.’
Just by seeing this, Sungjin knew that Mustafa had an incredible influence over the party. For someone to have great influence over a group of people who had just met, it could only mean that he was powerful. Sungjin asked Mustafa and his teammates,
“Do you mind if… Mustafa and I talk by ourselves for a moment?”
Mustafa’s teammates all nodded their heads, while Mustafa was the only one who had a troubled expression.
“We had planned to rest for only 5 minutes before continuing on with the raid… There’s also a lady who’s off resting by herself…”
At that, Nada came out of nowhere and spoke up,
“I’m okay with that as well.”
She was wearing her leather armor once again.
“Please go speak with him and then come back.”
Having received the agreement of the other hunters, Sungjin and Mustafa separated from them before the two began to converse. Though this party would not actually be short on time with both Nada and Mustafa in it, but since the group had said that they were in a rush, Sungjin, taking it in consideration, got straight to the point.
“I’m gathering teammates. Strong teammates that can make it to the final raid. Ten people, including me.”
Mustafa quickly understood what Sungjin was saying.
“So, what you’re saying is that you’re picking out ten elite members to enter the final raid with?”
Sungjin nodded his head. Then, to make his proposal more appealing, he added,
“That’s right. If you accept my ‘Choosing’, then you will receive the ‘Chosen One’ title which will give you an incredible bonus to your Stat Points. What do you think?”
However, Mustafa was interested in something other than the bonus stats that Sungjin could offer.
“From your point of view… You mean to say that only ten people will remain alive out of all of these hunters?”
Sungjin did not deny it.
“That’s right. It’s a realistic assessment.”
“Hrm…”
Mustafa fiddled with his mustache and did not speak up for a long time. He seemed to be lost in thought. He briefly muttered to himself.
“Elite… Elite… God’s will… Is he talking about that?”
Sungjin was incredibly nervous as he was afraid that Mustafa would reject his offer.
‘If he rejects it…’
Before Sungjin could finish his thought, Mustafa nodded his head.
“Good. What do I have to do to become your teammate?”
*
After finishing the raid and returning to the Black Market, Sungjin immediately headed towards the cafe. He was extremely thirsty after roaming through the jungle for several hours.
“Iced Americano. Cold.”
This time, after ordering, Sungjin added,
“Ah, right. I’ll have it as a takeaway today.”