Chapter 37 (1/2)

Episode 37

As Chu-yeop convulsed on the floor, Yoo-seong stood up and went through the exit.

Seo-jin stood still, simply watching him. He wasn’t thinking of going after him.

His body trembled as he realized that his problems had compounded. All the Master had asked was for them to bring Oh Yoo-seong to him by whatever means necessary.

In doing so, they had angered Yoo-seong and resorted to violence. Moreso, the person whom they challenged, had defeated them.

Yoo-seong insulted their Master, and it was because Seo-jin had failed to carry out his responsibility.

“Master, I don’t know what to say,” he said as he trembled.

“You don’t have to say anything.”

The voice flowing from the smartphone sounded indifferent.

“You think I’m angry? You’re mistaken.”

Seo-Jin was shocked by his Master’s words. Had his Master forgiven him so easily? By the Master’s standards, he and Chu-yeop should have been expelled from the practice.

“Well, thanks to you, I had a front seat view. I was very impressed. It was fun.”

That shocked Chu Seo-jin more.

Had the Master just used the ‘f’ word? In the over thirty years he had served the Master, he doubted he had ever heard him say ‘fun.’

The Master then ended the call.

…

It was a thrilling time for the industry.

-The Special Defense Agency announced six new hunting policies…-

-Finally: ‘Dive’ permitted with regulation… –

-The explorations have begun again… Who were the selected ‘5 people’? –

-Ranked 1 Hunter Lee Jae-hak Press Conference…-

The news was the second biggest thing since the appearance of the Shantigas.

Everyone had been expecting to see what moves the industry would make. The times were changing. It wasn’t just a matter of cracks and beasts.

The current hunters were far better than the previous ones because of improved technology for CE injections, equipment, Aura, Psy, and Tech techniques.

It had been about a week since the event where Park Kang-Han had shown off in support of the Defense Bureau Director. His performance had been so outstanding that he had silenced the other hunters who had been against him.

Yoo Jae-gon, the new team leader of TeamAwl, gathered his team members and raised his voice. They were by the bus near the barrier line.

In the distance, there was a thunder-class rift, two levels lower than the storm.

“The rift progression hasn’t been steady though it has already started,” Yoo Jae-gon started. He had just returned from the United States after completing the rookie exchange training program.

He had been overseas for five years. He had returned equipped not only with training expertise, but also practical achievements.

Upon his return, he was overwhelmed with proposals, but he politely refused and chose to take over an upper-middle ranked team, Awl.

In his philosophy, a snake’s head was better than a dragon’s tail. Besides, that snake would soon become a dragon because of his performance.

“The problem isn’t talent. It’s a matter of the quality of the skills developed through training. Sadly, in the case of past seniors, we have to start from scratch. None of them are giving us anything. But can we inherit the legacy of these seniors, like that Park Kang-Han?”

The team members of Awl were raptly listening to Jae-gon Yoo.

Most of them were young and energetic hunters. They were engrossed with Yoo Jae-gon’s words.

He pulled out a suit from a bag at his feet. It was equipment from America.

“Anyway, this is the Bugbear Suit. It has the flexibility to resist sudden temperature changes and abnormal conditions. There is no need to change equipment every time to suit different situations,” he shouted.

He was conscious of the attention he and his teammates were getting. It was the era of self-PR. One could see it just by looking at Park Kang-han.

Despite showing up just a few times, his reputation preceded him through word of mouth.

As Yoo Jae-gon expected, questions started to come in one by one.

“I heard that it isn’t made from a monster’s corpse, but with pure American technology,” a lady said.

“How much does it cost?” a guy asked.

Yoo Jae-gon raised his arms to calm them down while he prepared to answer them in pride.

“I can’t tell you that, but…”

“Hey, I’m sorry,” someone said, raising his hand.

He was reading a book, leaning against a black case that seemed to contain his equipment.

His voice was quite polite and calm. He had arrived before the other hunters on the scene, so they hadn’t noticed his presence.

“Could you lower your voice a little bit?” he asked.

Every hunter stared at him in shock.

It was only then that Yoo Jae-gon realized that his voice had been too loud.

There was still a long time before the crack would open.

Some hunters were relaxing or preparing themselves. His voice was quite distracting.

“If you have to be noisy, you can move over there.”

“Right. Don’t bother. I won’t be very loud,” Jae-gon said in apology.

“You can go inside the bus over there and read if you have to,” a lady said.

She didn’t appreciate the strange man dampening the atmosphere with his remark.

“Besides, don’t you have any earphones or something?” another hunter said.