Chapter 36 - America's Offer (1)
TL: Boko
Editor: Frost
"My name's Hans. I'll start the briefing now."
A man wearing a suit stood in front of the monitor, and when he operated the remote, images of Sung Joon filled the screen.
"This is our mission. His name is Kang Sung Joon, and he's an S-rank Hunter in Korea."
A female agent with blonde hair that was tied into a ponytail cautiously raised her hand, and Hans turned his attention to her.
"A question? Alright."
"Do we need to take him out?"
In the Central Hunter Bureau, Delta was in charge of the foreign agents, and were also responsible for assassination missions.
"There're no plans for assassination this time. Any other questions? If not, then I'll continue."
No one raised their hands. In order to continue with the briefing, Hans pressed a button. Sung Joon's picture disappeared, and the Winter Sovereign's image replaced him, filling up the screen.
"This is the Winter Sovereign. This is a large sized S-rank monster. Based on the data that the Korean government released, the warp gate was transplanted into the monster's body. This is the first time we've seen such a phenomenon."
"What about our side's investigation results? It's honestly quite difficult to believe that a monster had a warp gate inside of it."
Someone raised their hand and asked.
"We've ultimately concluded that the Korean government wasn't mistaken," Hans replied. It was surprising, but because those listening to the briefing were trained agents, they didn't start a commotion.
"Just a little while ago, our target, Kang Sung Joon, took it out by himself."
"That's unbelievable. Are you sure?"
"Wasn't the Winter Sovereign an S-rank monster that was buffed by being a large size monster, as well as a Boss? It's to my understanding that it's nigh impossible that a similarly ranked Hunter took it down."
The agents gathered at the briefing looked in disbelief and continued to ask questions. However, as soon as Hans raised his hand, their intense reactions quieted down.
"I'll explain it to you step by step."
Hans pressed a button on the remote and the screen changed. He looked at the monitor, and then opened his mouth.
"There's another reason we're being dispatched to Korea. Gamma has finished analyzing the data, and they've passed over those results to us. That information has been proven to be all true," Hans said, and each of the agents looked astonished, and opened their mouths.
"Holy crap."
"It was an S-rank monster buffed by being a Boss, as well as being a large size monster, yet a similarly ranked Hunter took care of it alone?"
"It's hard to believe. Since he would've used mana until he got to the Boss."
The agents exchanged their opinions quietly, but the only thing coming out of them was how unbelievable it was.
"That's a good reaction. Then, I'll show you something even more unbelievable."
Hans pressed the remote button and screen changed again. Sung Joon's progress until now was recorded thoroughly.
Because the monitor was large enough to fill up the entire wall of the vast briefing room, everyone who was listening attentively to Hans could see the screen.
"The quickest to be promoted to S-rank?"
"He's a Healer, but his combat abilities far surpass those of equal rank."
"'Self-Defense', huh… What a frightening rookie."
The organized information on Sung Joon's progress was both exciting and shocking. Hans checked the agents' reactions and opened his mouth.
"Now are you starting to get an idea of what we have to do with Kang Sung Joon?" Hans said, and someone opened their mouth.
"Our objective is to induce Kang Sung Joon to defect from his own country."
"Exactly. It's likely that Kang Sung Joon will become an SSS-rank Hunter in a short period of time. We have to get Kang Sung Joon to defect from his country before Russia or China take notice and act."
In all of history, there was only one SSS-rank Hunter, and they were an American citizen. If Russia or China were to procure a Hunter with a high possibility of growing to be an SSS-rank Hunter, the balance of power could collapse.
"Then, am I going?"
The man who raised his hand with a calm expression was the S-rank Hunter, Park Kyung Seok, a Hunter who defected from South Korea. After defecting, he became a part of the Central Hunter Bureau's Delta team.
"Korea's probably already painted you in an unfavorable light. It wouldn't do us any good to start with hostilities, so the agent who can speak Korean and is an rank Hunter who doesn't lack in combat abilities, Agent Jennifer, will go."
"I'll be supported, right?"
This time, the one who raised their hand and inquired was Jennifer.
"Of course. A group of agents will assist you."
"That's relaxing to hear. When do I leave?"
"Tomorrow."
After Hans replied, the briefing continued. After he thought he'd already relayed all the important information to them, he finally opened his mouth to make a request.
"Kang Sung Joon is talented enough to become an SSS-rank Hunter. If we can acquire him, we'll be able to 'overpower' both Russia and China. Use any means necessary, so long as they aren't violent. That's all."
America had begun to act.
"You're in a lot better shape than I thought. That's a relief."
"Oh, it's you, Team Leader."
Shin Chul spoke happily and greeted Sung Joon.
Jang Hoon and Shin Chul were severely injured, but because a Healer discovered them and took measures quickly, they were able to regain consciousness early while in the infirmary.
"Is your treatment over?" Sung Joon asked.
"Yes. But they said that I have to rest for two more days," Shin Chul replied. Heal treated external wounds quickly, but they needed some more rest, just to be safe.
"I heard the news that you defeated the Winter Sovereign by yourself," Shin Chul said. Sung Joon smiled faintly and opened his mouth.
"Well, it somehow turned out that way."
"Because it was a large sized Boss, it should've been buffed significantly… You're really amazing, Team Leader. This is how I turned out after fighting just one S-rank monster," Jang Hoon said. He spoke crudely, but in his voice was purely admiration.
"The fact that you didn't die from fighting an S-rank monster is in it of itself amazing," Sung Joon said honestly. The divide between S-rank and rank was huge. Especially since Jang Hoon had fought an S-rank monster by himself, one could say that his feat was even more amazing.
"Haha! You're over praising."
Jang Hoon seemed to be in a great mood, and he laughed heartily. It would be rude to take up their time, as they were patients who needed their rest, so Sung Joon exchanged contact info with them, and left the infirmary.
The Raid was over, but they hadn't dispersed, so he returned to his lodgings within the headquarters.
Once there, he warmed his coffee and sat on the sofa.
"Your synchronization rate has reached 42% by defeating the Winter Sovereign," Rishubalt reported.
"Since my synchronization rate has surpassed 40%, I've met all the requirements for entering the Awakening Dungeon, right?"
"That's correct. I can open the doors to the Awakening Dungeon once you clear at least a C-rank dungeon and kill the Boss."
"We haven't dispersed yet, so I'll rest for few days," Sung Joon said. Because he had raised his synchronization to its very limit, he was severely mentally exhausted, and wanted to rest for now.
Because the difficulty of the Awakening Dungeon tended to be high, he had to go at it only when he had rested and is in tip-top condition.
"That's a good idea," Rishubalt said. He seemingly agreed, as he nodded his head. Sung Joon passed the time as he comfortably sat on the sofa and drank his warm coffee.
He checked his phone, and noticed that Team Leader Im Cha Hyun was calling him. Sung Joon picked up the phone and brought it to his ear.
"This is Kang Sung Joon."
"Hello. Mr. Kang Sung Joon, this is Team Leader Im Cha Hyun. Are you in your lodgings right now?"
"Yes. I'm resting right now."
"Your payment has been determined, so would it be alright with you if I came for a visit?"
"Of course. I was curious about that matter myself."
He would always be curious whenever he could gain money. He thought he heard a slight laugh through the phone at his response.
"I'll be there within ten minutes."
Just as Cha Hyun said, ten minutes hadn't yet passed, and Sung Joon heard a knock at his front door.
"It's open," Sung Joon said. Cha Hyun opened the door and came inside. He held a small tablet within his hand.
"The collection of the magic stones ended quicker than we expected. The payment is processed mechanically, so we were able to finish it even quicker."
Cha Hyun naturally sat in front of Sung Joon, and placed the tablet atop the table. And then, he tapped the tablet a few times and the screen changed.
"You can see from the screen, your total reward after adding the bonus reward as well as you defeating the Boss comes out to $312,500,000 Won."
Sung Joon had expected it, but it was a tremendous sum. When he thought about it being deposited into his bank account soon, he couldn't help himself from smiling in happiness.
"I'll deposit it right away. We'll omit all the bothersome procedures."
Perhaps he had heard from Hyun Sung, as Cha Hyun had the sense to omit all the troublesome procedures without being told.
Cha Hyun tapped the tablet a few more times and Sung Joon received a message on his phone stating that the sum had been deposited.
Sung Joon checked his bank app.
"I've confirmed the deposit."
Because it was such a huge sum, it didn't feel real, but the number written in his bank account told him that he wasn't dreaming.
"It feels like I've won the lottery."
"But contrary to the lottery, it's payment for the work you've done. And because of you, Mr. Kang Sung Joon, as you killed the Winter Sovereign before it could travel southward to the downtown area, you minimized the loss of life as well as property damage. You should be proud," Cha Hyun said, and Sung Joon smiled.
"It makes me feel good that I've done something worthwhile."
"Of course. The 400,000 citizens of Paju City are thankful for your efforts, Mr. Kang Sung Joon."
Because Sung Joon had taken care of the Winter Sovereign so quickly, there wasn't any damage to the downtown area. This was the confirmed truth, and the top media channels were starting to cover Sung Joon's role in the battle.
"The media is going crazy. Since you defeated a large sized S-rank monster by yourself."
"Is that so?"
Sung Joon smiled softly.
"It looks like you don't believe me. If you'd like to get a feel for it yourself, please go to Hunter.com. They should be making a fuss there, too."
Sung Joon wordlessly accessed Hunter.com with his phone.
[Did you say that an S-rank Hunter soloed the Winter Sovereign?]
[Is this a true story?]
[If it's an S-rank large sized monster, it would've been buffed considerably, so is it even possible for a similarly ranked Hunter to take it down? Amazing.]
[They say that 'Self-Defense' Kang Sung Joon took it down. Truly impressive.]
Just as Cha Hyun said, Hunter.com was making a fuss. Most of the Hunters said they couldn't believe it, but when other Hunters presented evidence of his feat, the Hunters who said they couldn't believe it were now saying that he was amazing.
It was to the point that some people were praising him now.
"I heard that they're making a fan club for you in Paju. And aren't you honestly pretty good looking, Mr. Sung Joon?" Cha Hyun said teasingly, and Sung Joon smiled. No one would feel bad from being called good looking.
"And this isn't the end of the good news. Your rating went up, Mr. Kang Sung Joon, and there has been a change in the rankings."
"A change in the rankings?" Sung Joon asked. Cha Hyun nodded his head and opened his mouth.
"Yes. Your rating overtook the thirteenth ranked Yoo Kang Cheol who didn't really do much compared to you, and therefore, you have become the thirteenth ranked S-rank Hunter, Mr. Kang Sung Joon. Congratulations."
//