TL: Hayath
PR: SWAN
Chapter 11
Episode 2: Making Luck (4)
I found him…!
The moment the blonde hunter appeared, Shin Dae-hoon silently cheered inside.
It was because he confirmed that his intuition was correct. But he couldn’t just be happy.
The chilling sensation of being at risk.
Even though it was for short, he could instinctively feel it.
That moving meant death.
Thanks to that, Shin Dae-hoon couldn’t even smile and had to stand still, but fortunately, it seemed like the young guy behind him had no immediate intention to harm him.
“turn around slowly.”
The young man, who Shin Dae-hoon had seen at the exchange moments ago, said from behind him.
Feeling the pressure on his neck from the sword, Shin Dae-hoon had no choice but to comply with his words.
The blonde hunter, with his sword still aimed at Shin Dae-hoon, maintained his posture.
“What’s the reason for chasing me? Lately, there have been incidents of attackers targeting hunters fresh out of dungeons. Are you one of them?”
It was a story frequently heard in recent news.
Hunters coming out of dungeons in a state of distress, being attacked, and either disappearing or having their items stolen.
Shin Dae-hoon quickly denied it.
“N-No. I’m not one of them. I’m Shin Dae-hoon, a section chief from the Hunter Bureau’s Personnel Department. I even have my government ID hanging around my neck, you can check it if you want.”
“The Hunter Bureau?”
Shin Dae-hoon swiftly flipped his government ID hanging around the back of his neck.
Han Sang-woo approached Shin Dae-hoon and checked the ID.
It was the same government ID he had often seen while assisting in the dungeons.
However, since there was a possibility of forgery and he hadn’t confirmed the reason for being chased yet, he didn’t signal to sheathe his sword.
Han Sang-woo continued to interrogate Shin Dae-hoon from behind.
“Why are you chasing me?”
When he glanced back earlier after noticing the pursuit, he was a stranger.
Moreover, the reason for his visit was absurd.
“That’s… because I wanted to offer a recruitment proposal to the blonde hunter here.”
“Recruitment?”
“Because you seem to have outstanding skills. I wanted to propose you to join the Hunter Bureau and be active there.”
Approaching us using words like ‘Do you believe in luck?’ would have been more credible than this.
Hunters don’t do street casting. The most important thing in raids is level and stats, which cannot be judged just by appearance.
As Han Sang-woo and the blonde hunter remained silent, Shin Dae-hoon hastily continued speaking.
“Um, well… Can I show you a video real quick?”
Did Shin Dae-hoon know he was grasping at straws?
He hurriedly proposed. He didn’t have a weapon at his waist, and there seemed to be no intention of attacking.
Han Sang-woo Nod.
At Han Sang-woo’s nod, the blonde hunter sheathed his sword.
The cold sensation around Shin Dae-hoon’s neck disappeared.
After wiping his chest, Shin Dae-hoon handed over his phone with a video playing.
“This is a video I saw two days ago.”
Han Sang-woo, checking Shin Dae-hoon’s phone, furrowed his brows slightly.
It was the skill verification room of the Southern Hunter Bureau.
Inside the phone was a video of Taeseng GilgeoI hitting a sandbag.
A blond man in armor stepped in and briskly destroyed the sandbag with his shield.
“I knew there were CCTV, but to track this quickly!”
Han Sang-woo inwardly admired the tracking skills of the Hunter Bureau. And he quickly came up with a solution.
Knowing there are no eternal secrets in the world, but he didn’t want things to get noisy already.
Fortunately, in the video, Taeseng GilgeoI’s appearance wasn’t clear.
The angle was too high for the face to be distinct, and the lighting was dim, making it difficult to be certain that it was Taeseng GilgeoI.
“Well, it looks similar, but I don’t think it’s my friend. It’s too blurry.”
*Actually, it’s not important whether the person in this video is him. Even if it’s someone else, my opinion won’t change.
“Weren’t you looking for this hunter?”
“I just want to recruit skilled hunters like the one in the video to the Hunter Bureau. If your friend is as skilled as the hunter in the video, I still want to recruit him.”
Certainly, being the head of personnel, Han Sang-woo accurately grasped the concerns and conveyed his opinion.
From the moment Shin Dae-hoon showed the video, his purpose was being somewhat achieved.
Of course, Han Sang-woo smoothly brushed off Shin Dae-hoon’s intentions.
“I see. But my friend seems disinterested. I hope you find the hunter in the video.”
“H-Hunter…!”
Shin Dae-hoon turned his head to look at Han Sang-woo and Taeseng GilgeoI. Then, he earnestly pleaded.
“Could you please allow me to talk to the blonde hunter for just 5 minutes? I beg you!”
Kneeling down, banging his head on the ground as he spoke, Han Sang-woo sighed, watching Shin Dae-hoon.
❊❊❊❊
“Ahem, ahem…!”
Inside a cafe at Seoul Station’s item exchange, Shin Dae-hoon coughed lightly as he looked at the man sitting across from him.
It was a hard-won opportunity.
With dazzling blond hair, striking looks, and a towering height of nearly 2 meters, he seemed like a formidable figure.
Just by the atmosphere alone, it seemed like even high-grade hunters wouldn’t stand a chance against him.
Although there was a gut feeling that he might be the same person who destroyed the sandbag, there was still uncertainty, as stated by his friend.
Such a significant catch was truly a long-awaited achievement.
However, perhaps because of that, Shin Dae-hoon found himself struggling to find the right words to start the conversation.
Although the words didn’t come easily, he couldn’t hesitate.
3 minutes and 50 seconds.
The timer on Han Sang-woo’s phone, placed on the table, was ticking away.
Given five minutes, over a minute had already passed, so they needed to start the conversation quickly.
Shin Dae-hoon opened his mouth.
“once again, let me formally introduce myself. Hello, I am Shin Dae-hoon, the head of personnel at the Hunter Bureau. May I ask for your name?”
Even with the attitude of not even revealing his name, Shin Dae-hoon didn’t give up, though he didn’t seem optimistic about recruitment.
“Haha, I suppose we can leave the formalities for later. Are you Korean, by any chance?”
-No.
“Ah, but you can understand Korean. Are you currently active abroad? Or are you registered as a hunter domestically? Have you completed formal registration?”
-No.
“You haven’t registered? May I know the reason?”
-No.
Continuing with the questions, Taeseng GilgeoI only provided negative answers.
A foreign hunter who hasn’t registered, and can’t even provide a reason.
At that moment, although faint, one possibility crossed Shin Dae-hoon’s mind.
Hoping it wasn’t true, Shin Dae-hoon asked another question.
“…Perhaps, you’re not affiliated with an unofficial international hunter organization, are you?”
“Say it isn’t so, please!!”
Shin Dae-hoon silently prayed, but Taeseng GilgeoI’s response remained consistent.
“No.”
Shin Dae-hoon’s eyes widened.
By answering ‘no’ to the question of whether he belonged to an unofficial international hunter organization, it implied that he was indeed affiliated with such an organization.
Unofficial international hunter organizations refer to hunter organizations outside of official guilds, including those under the control of countries or the United Nations.
Among them, there are two influential unofficial international hunter organizations:
Divine Shield and Luminous.
The former, Divine Shield, is an unofficial organization created to pursue justice and freedom from the constraints of nations.
“Are you affiliated with an organization operating in the dark side…?”
“No.”
Shin Dae-hoon’s mouth hung open.
Luminous is an international shadow hunter organization known for various crimes and terrorism.
As an unofficial organization shrouded in secrecy, it’s said to be connected to numerous hunter-related crimes in society.
The blonde hunter’s reactions, actions, and answers all pointed towards Luminous.
Was it because of this shock?
While Han Sang-woo was drinking something beside him, it seemed as if Shin Dae-hoon didn’t notice at all.
‘Oops, I’ve stirred up trouble!!’
As that thought briefly flashed through his mind, Shin Dae-hoon saw it.
A sword was now in the blonde hunter’s hand.
There was no strength left to scream. Shin Dae-hoon tightly closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable.
And then.
“Wait, stop.”
The friend of the blonde hunter nearby intervened.
“Sorry. I’ll leave for a moment.”
After briefly apologizing to Shin Dae-hoon, Han Sang-woo took Taeseng GilgeoI and went to the restroom.
…
Nearby restroom of the cafe.
Taeseng GilgeoI, seeming to sense the tense atmosphere, lowered his head and spoke to me.
“I apologize, my lord. I acted that way because you instructed me to refuse without hesitation…”
“No, you did well as I instructed. Now, let’s go back and take a break.”
Before entering the cafe, I reluctantly accepted Shin Dae-hoon’s earnest request and allowed just 5 minutes of conversation.
Even though some mana was expended and a potion was consumed, it was a cheap price to pay considering what could be gleaned from Shin Dae-hoon.
So, instead of refusing the deal, I gave Taeseng GilgeoI one command: to always deny or refuse whatever Shin Dae-hoon said.
However, following this directive seemed to alter the flow of the conversation strangely.
Despite Shin Dae-hoon’s earnest request to have a private conversation, we sat at a slightly distant table, momentarily distracted by incoming guests.
During that momentary distraction, Shin Dae-hoon’s expression became contemplative.
I sensed something was amiss and tried to convey instructions through thought, but by then, the conversation had already reached its climax.
‘Anyway, I need to wrap this up.’
I released Taeseng GilgeoI from the restroom and returned to the table where Shin Dae-hoon was seated.
“My friend had an urgent matter and left first. Since he’s not here to talk, he asked if we could chat instead.”
“Does your friend belong to any guild or organization…?”
Perhaps due to the earlier conversation, Shin Dae-hoon cautiously asked. I felt a little guilty but answered nonchalantly.
“I understand that he doesn’t belong to any guild… or organization. He doesn’t have any interest or knowledge about guilds or hunter organizations. He probably didn’t understand what you meant by always saying ‘no’.”
“Ah, I see. That’s surprising.”
Shin Dae-hoon didn’t completely dismiss his suspicions, but thankfully, the conversation ended without any further issues.
While I was at it, I decided to take matters into my own hands to resolve the remaining problems.
“But why exactly do you want to recruit my friend? There are plenty of other outstanding hunters out there.”
“You might deny it, but I am convinced that he is an SS-grade hunter. He may have denied breaking the sandbag, but I sensed that he possesses skills comparable to that. And right now, the Hunter Bureau urgently needs high-grade hunters.”
“Urgently?”
I raised an eyebrow.
I couldn’t easily think of why the Hunter Bureau would urgently need high-grade hunters.
Shin Dae-hoon continued from where I left off.
“Yes. You’re familiar with the recent trends in the hunter world. With continued peace, the values of money and fame have taken precedence over the original principle of citizen safety for hunters. As a result, most high-grade hunters have almost all left… It’s becoming quite serious.”
“Why is that?”
“Recently, there has been an increase in hunters losing their lives in dungeons. Due to the nature of the Hunter Bureau, even unpopular dungeons must be cleared periodically to prevent dungeon breaks. However, with a shortage of quality manpower to clear high-grade dungeons, accidents are occurring.”
Shin Dae-hoon continued his explanation with a darker expression.
*If there were more high-grade hunters, it would be much easier, but aside from the Chief of the Hunter Bureau, there are only three S-grade or higher hunters. The manpower is just too scarce.”
*Can’t they receive support from other guilds?”
“That would be ideal, but the Hunter Bureau’s budget is severely lacking. Despite offering various benefits such as tax breaks, many refuse.”
I nodded in understanding at Shin Dae-hoon’s explanation.
I understood why the manager had come all the way to Seoul Station’s hunting ground personally to recruit high-grade hunters.
However, the question lingered.
If they were so sure about recruiting Thaenggilya as an SS-grade hunter but lacked the budget, how did they plan to recruit him?
It would have been better to refrain from asking, considering the other party’s dignity, but I couldn’t help but voice my curiosity.
After pondering for a moment, I asked Shin Dae-hoon, “But if the budget is lacking, wouldn’t it be difficult to recruit high-grade hunters?”
Actually, I thought about it at that moment and wanted to give it my best shot. We would offer everything the Hunter Bureau could provide, and even then, if it didn’t work out, we would have to give up. And it was more of a feeling… That hunter seemed like he would help us. My friend felt a similar vibe.”
Hmm…
Offering everything the Hunter Bureau could provide…
I hesitated for a moment.
And then, “How about doing it like this?”
I made a proposal to Shin Dae-hoon in reverse.
