SMH 117
Chapter 38 – To North Korea (6)
TL: Boko
Editor: Frost
Dozens of aura clad illusionary swords aimed for Tae Yong’s body.
“T-This monster…!”
There were thirty one illusionary swords aiming for Tae Yong; his eyes moved busily and was narrowly able to read their trajectory. However, he didn’t think he would be able to dodge them all.
He was only able to utter a few words before he was gruesomely torn apart by the illusionary swords.
“Ugh!”
His arms and legs were severed and the rest of his body was torn apart, so Tae Yong weakly fell. Blood began to gather atop the white marble floor.
“Colonel Park Tae Yong was killed!”
“Are we retreating?”
“It doesn’t seem like he’s been poisoned!”
The Supreme Guard Command, who put their trust in Tae Yong, fell into chaos. They had thought that Sung Joon would be poisoned, but he wasn’t, and Tae Yong, who had been on standby had been killed so quickly that the normal people couldn’t even see it.
“Don’t say something so stupid! Our Leader is still here underground!”
The officer, who was a Colonel just like Park Tae Yong, angrily scolded his subordinate for suggesting a retreat. It was the duty of the Supreme Guard Command to fight if the Leader willed it, even if there was no chance of victory.
With their do-or-die spirit, they continued to fight against Sung Joon.
“They remind me of the Imperial Army and their excessive loyalty to the Empire,” Rishubalt spoke with a sick and tired expression, as hundreds of North Korean soldiers kept coming no matter how many Sung Joon cut down. Though he had once pledged his allegiance to the Empire, his end hadn’t been the best.
“Wouldn’t it be best to use Dragon Fear?”
“They’re mostly weaklings. It’s better to save my mana against weaklings,” Sung Joon replied. There was occasionally an rank Hunter mixed in here or there, but aside from them, the rest of them were low-ranked weaklings. Not only was using ‘Dragon Fear’ against them excessive, it was also a waste.
Thud.
At the climax of him cutting down the North Korean soldiers… The party leader of team one broke the wall and something popped out. Once the dust settled, he was able to see what it was.
“They even brought a tank, huh…”
Sung Joon shook his head looking speechless. What came out of the walls was two tanks.
However, Sung Joon was moving at high speeds, so they couldn’t even aim at him. The speed at which the gun turrets rotated was much too slow to aim at him.
“Slash!”
Sung Joon aimed at the tanks and launched an aura slash at them. Because the tanks were close together, his one aura slash was able to destroy both tanks.
“He’s destroyed the tanks too!”
“Shouldn’t we run away?”
Since even the tanks that they had trusted in were destroyed, the soldiers were shocked. Sung Joon was dominating the battlefield. There would be a fountain of blood anywhere he passed. Because he was so fast, the soldiers couldn’t even aim properly. The majority of the Hunters couldn’t even resist and fell in succession.
From the start, North Korea’s card had been the ‘poison’. Since it didn’t work, it was expected that they would fail.
“At this rate, everyone will die!”
“S-Shut up! Fight for our great Leader! Those who run will be executed!”
The officers pulled out their handguns and shot straight up into the air, trying to create an atmosphere of terror. However, the Supreme Guard Command soldiers were already in a state of panic. Rather than fighting Sung Joon, they would rather fight against the officers blocking their path, so they leveled their guns at the officers.
“Y-You bastards…!”
The moment the officers were about to aim their handguns, the soldiers had already pulled the triggers.
“AH!”
“Ugh!”
As soon as the officers blocking off their retreat fell, half of the surviving Supreme Guard Command escaped. Sung Joon didn’t bother killing the retreating soldiers.
Even the Supreme Guard Command soldiers who had excessive loyalty to Jang Woonhad, at the very least, realized that the situation had worsened to this extent and couldn’t endure.
“I will correct my statement. They’re different from the elites of the Imperial Army.”
Rishubalt fixed his thinking. So long as there wasn’t an order to retreat, the elites of the Imperial Army would never retreat. That was what was so scary about the Empire.
Sung Joon plunged his sword into the chest of the lastly resisting Hunter; the Hunter spewed blood from his mouth and collapsed.
“Absorb.”
“Your synchronization rate is at 47%.”
By using absorption, his synchronization rate increased. Sung Joon felt that it was indeed easier to increase his synchronization rate by killing his fellow Hunters, and smiled faintly.
“Have we pretty much taken care of them?”
Sung Joon raised his head and surveyed his surroundings. The party area, which was as wide as a soccer field, was filled with corpses. The only one living and breathing was Sung Joon.
He checked himself, his body dyed with the blood of his enemies, and looked to an Asura who came down to mete out punishment.
“Heal.”
Sung Joon used his mana and cast Heal. After fighting against several Hunters and being rained down by bullets, he ended up being injured.
He wasn’t hit by the guns, but his left thigh was deeply cut; however, an S-rank Hunter’s overwhelming ‘Heal’ allowed him to recover quickly.
“Someone is coming,” Rishubalt said.
“Yeah. Seems like an rank Hunter.” Sung Joon also grasped the presence, replied and nodded his head. Eventually, a man appeared who turned out to be the man who alerted him of Jang Woon’s plan, Colonel Lee Jung Soo.
“You neatly slaughtered them all.”
“Were you close to any of them?” Sung Joon asked. When he thought about it, he could’ve killed some of Jung Soo’s comrades as they were all North Koreans. However, Jung Soo shook his head and opened his mouth.
“I’m part of the Ministry of the People’s Armed Forces, and these people were part of the Supreme Guard Command. The two organizations are completely divided, so there wasn’t anyone I was close to here.”
“Then that’s a relief.”
Sung Joon roughly brushed off the blood on his clothes. Because his priest vestments were an item, when he tried to brush off the blood that seemed to have seeped into the clothes, the blood quickly came out.
“It’s good that you’re here. Where is that asshole Kim Jang Woon?” Sung Joon asked. The moment he said his name, his anger surged. How dare Jang Woon try to kill him? He wouldn’t let him survive.
“I came here to tell you that. Leader Kim Jang Woon is hiding in the final restricted area.”
“Final restricted area?”
“Yes. It’s the bunker that’s the deepest in this underground facility. There are several soldiers stationed along the way, but you should be able to break through them quite easily, Hunter Kang Sung Joon,” Jung Soo said. From the head of the Ministry of the People’s Armed Forces, Lee Hae Sung’s point of view, Sung Joon had to kill Kim Jang Woon. That way, the Ministry of the People’s Armed Forces will be able to take control of the leaderless North Korea.
“You’re not asking me to take him out for free, are you? This should be helpful to you guys, too,” Sung Joon said. He was the type of person to get all that he could even while he was proceeding with his revenge.
“The head of the Ministry of the People’s Armed Forces has promised to pay you the magic stones exactly like Kim Jang Woon did.”
“That’ll be enough.”
Sung Joon smiled. Now that his relationship with Jang Woon was messed up, he wouldn’t be able to obtain the magic stones; but since the head of the Ministry of the People’s Armed Forces, Lee Hae Sung, had promised him the magic stones, he felt relieved.
“Please take me there. I’m catching a pig today.”
After Jung Soo nodded his head, he took point and led Sung Joon to the final restricted area. There were Supreme Guard Command soldiers stationed along the way, but none of them could stand up to Sung Joon.
“Is it here?”
There was a giant concrete wall in front of Sung Joon.
“Yes. There’s a code squad coming to release the lock.”
The concrete wall was so thick that he couldn’t even imagine how thick it was and it wouldn’t be an easy task opening it. Therefore, Jung Soo had called a code squad, but Sung Joon shook his head and opened his mouth.
“That’s not necessary. I’ll take care of it.”
Sung Joon extracted ‘Anvel’s Master Key’ from ‘Waltger’s Dimensional Pouch’.
“Is it an item?”
Jung Soo looked curious. Sung Joon just nodded his head and brought the master key to the recognition device. As soon as he infused mana into it, the master key began covering the recognition device in blue light.
Beep.
A mechanical sound was emitted and the recognition device responded. The recognition device was electronic equipment, but as he had expected, the master key worked. The thick concrete wall gradually started to open and he could see what was inside.
Inside lay a vast and long passageway. And as soon as the door opened, twenty two soldiers, including three Hunters shot at Sung Joon and Jung Soo.
“Ha!”
Jung Soo threw his body to the side and avoided the bullets while Sung Joon quickly swung his sword, cutting apart all the bullets, and used high-speed movement forward.
He instantly closed the distance and their guns weren’t able to keep up with Sung Joon’s movements.
The Hunters tried to intervene, but by the time they’d channeled their mana, Sung Joon had already plowed into the center of their ranks and had swung his sword.
“AH!”
“Ugh!”
He cut off the Hunters’ heads first. Next, the soldiers armed with automatic rifles spurted blood and collapsed.
“How impressive. I couldn’t see what had happened at all.”
Jung Soo was an rank Combat Hunter, but he couldn’t even estimate Sung Joon’s level. He had already passed a 45% synchronization rate and he could overpower most S-rank Hunters. If his rating had been higher, he would’ve already been in the top ten of S-rank Hunters.
“I’m counting on you to keep guiding me,” Sung Joon requested, and Jung Soo nodded his head and took point. There were soldiers stationed at every corner, and there was even a trap set up, but those couldn’t stop him.
Finally, he ended up in front of a reinforced iron gate.
“Leader Kim Jang Woon is hiding within,” Jung Soo said. Sung Joon approached the reinforced iron gate. He wanted to use ‘Anvel’s Master Key’, but the built in mana was used up opening the previous concrete wall.
“It’s not as thick as I expected. You can break through it if you use aura.”
After Rishubalt had inspected the door, he spoke. Sung Joon swung his aura clad blade to cut through the iron gate, and went inside.
Jang Woon was shaking inside.
“Protect our Leader!”
The four soldiers guarding Jang Woon, who appeared to be Hunters, moved. Considering the mana he sensed from them, they were rank Hunters.
“Fire Spear!”
There was a Mage Hunter mixed in. The sharp flaming spear aimed for Sung Joon’s chest, but Sung Joon cleaved through it with his Spell Breaking Sword.
The Fire Spear, which had been cleaved in twain by the Spell Breaking Sword, futilely dispersed into the air and disappeared.
“He cut through the spell?”
“Gale Sword.”
He didn’t even give them a chance to be surprised. Sung Joon calmly spoke the activation words and used his Gale Sword. He charged forward, and as soon as the sword winds spread, one rank Hunter weakly fell.
“Shield!”
The other Hunters were able to survive due to the Mage Hunter’s Shield. They attacked Sung Joon together but it didn’t work.
“Ugh!”
One of the Hunters lost their left arm and both legs, and fell. It would be difficult even for an S-rank Hunter to continue the fight if he didn’t advance forward.
“Wind Cutter!”
The other Hunter sprayed sharp aura shards together with the Mage’s wind blades.
“Aura Spray?”
However, Sung Joon didn’t panic. It wasn’t a common ability on Earth, but he had experienced it several times in his past life. He swung his sword and decapitated the remaining two Hunters. Then, he stood in front of Jang Woon.
“L-Let me live…”
Seeing Jang Woon, who was quivering in fear, Sung Joon opened his mouth with a cold expression.
“It seems like you gathered info on me through the General Reconnaissance Bureau… Then, you should know already.”
Sung Joon didn’t show him any respect any longer. Jang Woon was merely an ‘enemy’ that tried to kill him. He raised his sword.
“I don’t have any plans on giving an ‘enemy’ that tried to kill me a peaceful death.”
And for five hours, Jang Woon’s tortured screams didn’t cease. When Jang Woon was unable to even utter a scream, Sung Joon cold-heartedly swung his sword and beheaded him.
SMH 118
Chapter 39 – The Person who Comes to Mind (1)
TL: Boko
Editor: Frost
Seol Ah nervously walked out of her mansion and got in her car. Today, her expression wasn’t good. That’s because her grandfather, Yoon Tae Seok, had nagged at her in the mansion.
Tae Seok wanted Seol Ah to make Sung Joon a part of the Blue Dragon Group as quickly as possible. Seol Ah was starting to like Sung Joon, but whenever Tae Seok spoke to her about such matters, she felt a mysterious rejection towards Sung Joon due to her rebellious spirit.
‘I want to see him…’
Despite her repulsion, she wanted to see Sung Joon from deep within her heart. She raised her phone in order to call him, but she soon realized…
“He’s not in South Korea right now…”
Sorrowful emotions leaked from Seol Ah’s eyes.
‘I should go and have a drink alone.’
The only thing that could soothe her loneliness right now was alcohol. At least, that’s what Seol Ah thought. Seol Ah drove her car to her usual drinking spot.
Contrary to when he had first come to North Korea, he wasn’t busy before his return trip to South Korea, but because he had so many magic stones to transport, the South Korean government sent him a few military planes.
“It was an honor to serve you, Hunter Kang Sung Joon.”
The Ministry of the People’s Armed Forces’ Colonel, Lee Jung Soo looked at Sung Joon and said his farewells. Though there was a change in the regime, when he considered the relationship between North and South Korea, they most likely wouldn’t meet again in the future.
“If I have the chance, I hope we can meet again.”
“I won’t forget you.”
It wasn’t easy, but Jung Soo spoke genuinely. Sung Joon smiled and replied as he boarded the plane. As soon as he embarked onto the military plane, the Korean soldiers brought out their equipment to collect the magic stones and stored them on board the plane.
“There are more magic stones than I expected. It seems like it will take about an hour,” the first class sergeant said. Sung Joon nodded his head, then sat in his seat, and turned his head towards the window while they were in the middle of transporting the magic stones.
The South Korean Air Force had sent three planes, which showed how many magic stones were dropped by the Winter Sovereign and its minions.
‘They said it would take about one hour, so should I rest…’
Because he didn’t know what could happen in North Korea, he always maintained a slight vigilance. He was still in North Korean territory, but perhaps because he was inside of a South Korean Air Force plane, he felt mentally relaxed.
“We’ll depart now.”
As soon as he heard the pilot talk through the speakers, the plane Sung Joon was on accelerated on the runway. Eventually, the three planes took off from the airport and flew towards the south.
It didn’t take very long before they touched down at an airport in the metropolitan area. The door opened and Sung Joon was the first to disembark from the plane. Then, a first class sergeant approached him.
“There’s a car waiting for you. I’ll take you to the Hunter Bureau.”
When he looked to the side, there was a regular car waiting for him, not a military one. If he had one question, it was the fact that they were taking him to the Hunter Bureau, not his studio apartment.
“Is there a reason that I must go to the Hunter Bureau?”
“It seems like the Hunter Bureau has business with you, Hunter. We haven’t gotten any information aside from that,” the sergeant answered. He strode over to the car and opened the door. Sung Joon had a good relationship with the Hunter Bureau, and they accommodated him in several ways, so he decided to visit them, even though he was tired.
“Please get in,” the sergeant said. As soon as Sung Joon got into the back seat, the sergeant carefully closed the rear door and got into the passenger seat. The chauffeur confirmed that everyone was on board and drove off.
Because the Hunter Bureau wasn’t very far, they were able to arrive quickly. As soon as he disembarked from the car, Hyun Sung, who had been waiting in the parking lot, dashed over to him.
“Mr. Kang Sung Joon!”
“It’s been a long time.”
Sung Joon smiled, and greeted him.
“How could you say it’s been a long time, even though it hasn’t even been two weeks since we’ve last met.”
“It just feels that way.”
Sung Joon and Hyun Sung walked towards the main buildings urgently. Even when their conversation was briefly cut off, they silently walked towards the building.
Then, when he entered the first floor of the main building… Sung Joon paused, and he looked at Hyun Sung and opened his mouth.
“Why did you call me here?”
“It’s because of work. Since it’s something that I couldn’t tell you at the cafe nearby your studio apartment,” Hyun Sung explained, and Sung Joon nodded his head. The two went up to the roof. Since they were busiest at around this time, there pretty much wasn’t anyone at the rooftop.
“Please come over here.”
Hyun Sung led Sung Joon to a corner. This corner was a particularly secluded place, even for this quiet rooftop.
“I heard that you went through a lot in North Korea.”
“It’s fine. Since I gained quite a lot there as well.”
He had acquired all of the magic stones that the Winter Sovereign had dropped. If he sold them all, he thought he’d at least gain $800 million.
With just this, it was a huge harvest, but above all, he had participated in the Winter Sovereign Raid, and killed North Korean Hunters, so his synchronization rate had increased to 47% which was huge.
“The people at the top are really happy. You will even get an invitation from the Blue House soon.”
“An invitation from the Blue House?” Sung Joon asked. He wondered whether they had a reason for inviting him to the Blue House.
“It’s because you crumpled Kim Jong Woon’s authority. The previous head of the Ministry of the People’s Armed Forces, Lee Hae Sung has become the new Leader of North Korea. We’re not absolutely sure, but we predict that his regime will be much safer and friendlier to us than Kim Jang Woon’s regime.”
It was difficult to figure out what Kim Jang Woon’s administration would do, and he wasn’t amicable to the South Korea government. Therefore, the Blue House were always on guard. However, since the problem was solved so refreshingly, they were thankful to Sung Joon.
“It’s a relief that you’re saying it turned out well,” Sung Joon said. In any case, he had done something helpful for South Korea, so it was a relief.
“Anyway, will the 30% increase in compensation be applied to the magic stones I acquired in North Korea?” Sung Joon asked. It was the thing he was most curious about.
“It’s not possible by the books. Since it’s not under South Korea’s Hunter or Dungeon Bureaus’ jurisdiction,” Hyun Sung said. He somewhat expected that response, but he couldn’t help but feel disappointed. Hyun Sung grinned when he saw Sung Joon slightly sigh, and opened his mouth.
“However, headquarters is making an exception this time. You can receive the 30% increase in compensation.”
“Really? That’s the best thing I’ve heard today.”
Sung Joon smiled. If he added in the 30% increase in compensation when he sold the magic stones, he might be paid close to $1 billion.
When it became the era of Hunters, S-rank Hunters’ assets surpassed $1 billion. Sung Joon thought it would be impossible for him to catch up with them, but he might obtain a sum of more than $1 billion, so he felt deeply moved.
‘Dad should be really excited when he hears the news…’
When he thought about how happy his dad would be, Sung Joon was also happy.
‘Wait a sec. If I get $1 billion, I could fund a research facility to develop a cure for my dad, or I could even buy one.’
Sung Joon was formulating a huge plan for his father’s treatment.
“Mr. Kang Sung Joon?”
It was only after Hyun Sung looked at him did Sung Joon stop organizing the plan in his head and focused on the present.
“Yes. I’m listening. Please, go ahead.”
“We’ll try as fast as we can, but the selling of the magic stones would take about an hour to process.”
“It’ll take longer than I expected,” Sung Joon said. Even when considering the large quantity of magic stones, it took way too long to take care of it. Then, Hyun Sung laughed awkwardly.
“I’m sorry. This week, the department that oversees the magic stones is focused on their work. Still, I’ll tell them to take care of it as soon as possible.”
Hyun Sung always did his best to accommodate Sung Joon. Because Sung Joon knew that, he just nodded his head without saying anything.
“And tomorrow, you’ll be sent an invitation from the Blue House.”
“When’s the party?”
“That apparently hasn’t been decided yet. They should give you some time, but it could even be tomorrow at earliest.”
“That quickly?” Sung Joon couldn’t help but be surprised. Tomorrow was too early.
“There’s always a need for a hero. I believe you’ve satisfied those conditions.”
“I just performed ‘self-defense’.”
“No one is interested in the process. The only thing that’s important is the result.”
Sung Joon couldn’t help but agree with Hyun Sung. That’s how life was.
“And finally, I have one more thing to tell you.”
Sung Joon, who thought Hyun Sung was finished relaying information to him, was going to start to walk down from the rooftop, but paused when he heard Hyun Sung.
“They’ve come to a final decision that your performance in the Raid in North Korea should be included. Mr. Kang Sung Joon, you are now the seventh ranked S-rank Hunter.”
“I rose by that much?”
“It’s because contrary to North Korea, there were very few South Korean Hunters that participated in the Winter Sovereign Raid. It seems you gained a lot of extra points from that.”
Hyun Sung didn’t explain, but S-rank Hunters often assaulted dungeons only when equally ranked dungeons appeared, and usually only played around, so that must’ve played part in that as well.
“Thank you for thinking of me. You don’t have anything to tell me, right? I want to go home and rest.”
“Oh my! I took way too much of your time. I’m sorry. You can go now.”
“Work hard.”
Sung Joon got on a car that the Hunter Bureau provided and returned to his studio apartment. As soon as he entered his apartment, he immediately went to his bed.
He threw his body atop the soft bed.
“Wake me up early in the morning.”
“I understand. My lord, please rest well.”
His loyal spirit aide, Rishubalt, nodded at Sung Joon’s request. Sung Joon heard his reply and closed his eyes.
Because he was always vigilant while he was in North Korea, he wasn’t able to sleep properly. As soon as he closed his eyes, he fell deeply asleep; the next day, when Rishubalt woke him up, he was barely able to get up.
Sung Joon, who had finished eating breakfast and talking to his father, Soo Hyuk, browsed Hunter.com to pass time.
[South Korea’s proud Hunter, Kang Sung Joon has returned!]
[It seems like we don’t have to worry about missiles anymore.]
Everyone on Hunter.com was either referencing Sung Joon, or writing corresponding bulletin board messages that wrote amicably about him. Sung Joon read each bulletin board message one by one and smiled.
He closed Hunter.com and then went down to the first floor to get some lunch. Then, he got a call from Hyun Sung.
“Hello?”
“This is Team Leader Kim Hyun Sung. Mr. Kang Sung Joon, your invitation to the Blue House has arrived. We don’t know why, but it was sent to us instead of you.”
The fact that the invitation was sent to the Hunter Bureau instead of him meant that there must’ve been some sort of mistake in the process.
“I’ll deliver it right now.”
It didn’t take long after the conversation was finished for Hyun Sung to send a message that he’d arrived at the first floor. Sung Joon went down to the first floor and met with Hyun Sung.
“You didn’t eat, did you? If it’s alright with you, let’s talk while eating together.”
“I’m touched that you thought of me.”
They ate at a place nearby. As they finished eating, Hyun Sung took out a envelope, decorated in a luxurious gold, and opened his mouth.
“This is your invitation to the Blue House.”
SMH 119
Chapter 39 – The Person who Comes to Mind (2)
TL: Boko
Editor: Frost
This was his second visit to the Blue House. The first time he went to the Blue House, he had been conferred a magic sword. It had been a novel experience as the entire nation’s attention had been focused upon him.
Sung Joon played with his phone in his studio apartment parking lot while waiting for the car that the Blue House promised to send. It would be more comfortable taking someone else’s car than his own.
“They should be here soon…”
Ahn Kyung Chul was responsible for attending to him this time.It had been ten minutes since Kyung Chul’s estimated arrival time, so Sung Joon was in the middle of contacting him, but then…
A car stopped in front of Sung Joon and a familiar face stepped out from the passenger seat. The man had short hair, and wore glasses; he was the Blue House Administrator, Ahn Kyung Chul.
“Mr. Kang Sung Joon? I apologize for being late. There was a lot of traffic, you see,” Kyung Chul said. Sung Joon checked the time. There shouldn’t have been much traffic at this time, but Sung Joon let it go.
“That’s alright. Do I just need to sit in the back?”
“Of course. We’ll take you to the Blue House immediately.”
Kyung Chul helped Sung Joon open the door and ensured he sat comfortably in the rear passenger seat. After he got into the car, Kyung Chul sat in the front passenger seat and the chauffeur drove the car to the Blue House.
As soon as they exited the parking lot, two motorcycles and two black sedans followed closely behind them; it was if they were treating his car like the president’s.
“We’ll restrict the road now.”
It wasn’t done earlier since Sung Joon hadn’t been riding in the car, but it was now. The road opened completely, and the two motorcycles as well as the two bulletproof sedans accompanied his car to the blue House; it didn’t take long to reach the Blue House.
Sung Joon’s thoughts were briefly elsewhere. By the time he had refocused himself, they were entering the Blue House gates.
“We’ve arrived.”
Kyung Chul got out first, and opened the rear passenger seat door so that Sung Joon could get out easily. As Sung Joon got out, he surveyed his surroundings.
It was only his second visit to the Blue House, but whenever he came, it would evoke a new sense of charm.
“I’ll take you to the banquet hall.”
Kyung Chul began walking first, and the two walked into the President’s residence. The further they got, the fewer workers they saw, as well as the more guards they saw.
“There are also some Hunters here as well,” Rishubalt said. It was only natural that there would be some Hunters stationed here. It wasn’t like Raids wouldn’t occur here just because it was the Blue House; Hunters stationed at the Blue House were a precaution for Raids.
These Hunters were a part of the Bureau, the National Police Agency’s Armed Policemen, or were under the direct authority of the Blue House; as long as they weren’t part of the regular army, it didn’t violate the international treaty.
‘Well, since the appearance of Hunters and dungeons were so sudden, there ought to be several loopholes in the international treaty…’
Sung Joon was well aware of how imperfect the international treaty was. He shook his head with a calm expression, and continued to walk.
“We’ve arrived,” Kyung Chul said. They arrived at a garden that was directly connected to the President’s residence. Beside the garden’s pond, there was a large table set up, and there were three seats next to the table.
Sung Joon turned his attention to Kyung Chul.
“Two of the seats are for me, and the President, but who’s occupying the last seat?”
“The Director of the Bureau, Lee Seung Tae will be coming,” Kyung Chul replied.
“Lee Seung Tae… are you talking about the one responsible for the Hunter Bureau as well as the Dungeon Bureau?”
“Yes, that’s correct,” Kyung Chul affirmed.
“I see.” Sung Joon nodded his head. He’s never met Seung Tae in person, but he had heard a lot about him. He held the highest position amongst those in charge of Hunters, so there was sometimes bulletin board messages about him uploaded onto Hunter.com.
“Could you please sit down and wait for them?”
“I really hate waiting for a long time. Please tell them to come as soon as possible,” Sung Joon said politely. Kyung Chul nodded his head and opened his mouth.
“I’ll relay that to them. I believe they’ll come within five minutes.”
Just like he said, the President and Seung Tae arrived at the garden banquet hall in less than five minutes.
Since it was the President of his country, he paid the President his respects, unlike how he treated Kim Jang Woon in North Korea.
It seemed as though the President hadn’t expected that Sung Joon would pay his respects, as he smiled.
Because most Hunters were extremely prideful, their respect towards the higher ups were lacking.
That was especially true for rank Hunters or higher.
“You have such good manners, Mr. Kang Sung Joon.”
It seemed as though the President was satisfied with Sung Joon’s attitude. He didn’t have a chance to talk to him personally during the magic sword conferment ceremony, as there were several people there and he didn’t have any spare time.
“It’s nice to meet you. I’m the Director of the Bureau, Lee Seung Tae. I was at the magic sword conferment ceremony, do you remember me?”
As soon as the President seated himself, Seung Tae came closer and joyfully greeted him. Sung Joon grasped at his memories, trying to remember Seung Tae from the magic sword conferment ceremony, but he couldn’t remember him as there were so many people that he had conversed with on that day.
“Hahaha. It seems like you can’t remember. Since it’s not like there was just one or two people who were interested in you back then.”
Sung Joon looked like he couldn’t remember, but Seung Tae just let it go. After Seung Tae had seated himself, Sung Joon sat down. Then, a suited man approached them and placed plates with food on top of the table.
“We’ve prepared food that we think you’ll enjoy, Mr. Kang Sung Joon. Please enjoy it.”
“Thank you. It looks delicious.” Sung Joon smiled and replied. Then, he grabbed some of the salad with his fork and began eating. It was delicious, perhaps because a talented chef had used the best of ingredients.
As the meal progressed, the main dish arrived and they all drank a glass of wine together. When the mood seemed to brighten, Seung Tae cautiously opened his mouth.
“Mr. Kang Sung Joon, do you have any thoughts about working for the government?”
He wasn’t the type to beat around the bush. Because he had asked honestly, Sung Joon didn’t look displeased.
“If you’re talking about work regarding the Armed Policemen Department, then I respectfully decline,” Sung Joon said. Immediately after he became an S-rank Hunter, he had been offered a high-rank executive position for the Armed Police Department. Because of his past life memories, he didn’t like working under other people, so Sung Joon obviously declined the offer.
“It seems like you’re misunderstanding; you’re not rejecting a high-rank executive position for the Armed Police Department.”
“Then are you asking me to become a Hunter for the Bureau?”
“That’s not it either.” Seung Tae shook his head. His attitude made Sung Joon curious. He thought that the only places where S-rank Hunters could work were either the Bureau or the Armed Police Department.
“Is it perhaps the Blue House?”
Sung Joon utilized all his knowledge and attempted to guess what he was offering, but Seung Tae shook his head once again.
“Strictly speaking, you could say that you would be working for the Blue House, but… unfortunately, that’s not it either.”
“I really don’t like a game of twenty questions,” Sung Joon said.
“I’ll tell you since it seems like you’re really curious. However, you must keep it a secret. It’s still confidential information at this stage.” Seung Tae didn’t really like beating around the bush either. But because it was confidential information, he couldn’t thoughtlessly talk about it.
However, he decided that it was more important to foster a good relationship with Sung Joon, rather than keep the information secret. And thus, Seung Tae opened his mouth with a calm expression.
“You’ve probably heard about it before, Mr. Kang Sung Joon, but there have been more and more Hunters being recruited in secret intelligence agencies worldwide.”
“I think I’ve heard about that before.”
He had heard Hunter.com talking about this subject before; powerful countries were either forming armed intelligence agencies consisting of Hunters, or they were increasing the size of said agencies.
“The South Korean government is planning on making one of those agencies as well.”
“Don’t you already have the National Intelligence Service?” Sung Joon asked. It wasn’t precise information, but it was to his understanding that the National Intelligence Service possessed a team consisting of Hunters. The existence of that team also wasn’t a secret.
“The National Intelligence Service isn’t enough. We would like to form a more active organization,” Seung Tae said. Seung Tae thought that there were limitations to the National Intelligence Service. It seemed as though the President was also in agreement as he nodded his head.
“North Korea has collapsed, so is there really a need for such an organization?”
North Korea had not only sustained critical damage, but it had changed regimes and was maintaining friendly relations with South Korea. Therefore, Sung Joon didn’t understand why they really insisted on forming a new armed intelligence agency.
“North Korea has indeed collapsed, but there’s still China and Russia. Since we cannot recruit Hunters into the army due to the international treaty, so we’re going to resort to an expedient and actively use an armed intelligence agency,” Seung Tae said, and Sung Joon nodded his head.
“You did something that no one could even imagine happening. That’s what’s amazing. If we establish an armed intelligence agency, we believe that you’re plentifully qualified to be the head of the organization.”
The president, who had been maintaining his silence, complimented Sung Joon and expressed his opinion.
“North Korea probably gave you an amazing offer. I believe that the fact that you weren’t swayed by such temptation is another feat in it of itself,” Seung Tae said. Though North Korea had indeed given him an offer, it wasn’t attractive enough to call it ‘amazing’. However, Sung Joon didn’t explain that to them in order to not diminish his value in their eyes.
A moderate misunderstanding could be helpful.
“Through the event, you have proven your abilities as well as your patriotism to South Korea,” the President said.
“The President is correct. That’s why such a decision has been made,” Seung Tae continued. Sung Joon wiped his mouth. The empty plates were being removed and dessert was being served.
After tasting the dessert, Sung Joon looked at both the President and Seung Tae and opened his mouth.
“Please explain a little more in depth.”
Once it seemed as though Sung Joon was interested, Seung Tae smiled.
“It’ll be the organization that has the most authority in all of South Korea,” Seung Tae said, and Sung Joon began to organize his thoughts.
Sung Joon was indeed a bit swayed by the mention that the organization would have the most power in South Korea. However, he soon shook his head. Contrary to getting the Blue Dragon Group’s help and founding a guild as the Guild Leader, he would have to follow the President’s order if he were to head the intelligence agency. He certainly didn’t want that.
“I apologize, but I respectfully decline the offer. Since you’ve seen several S-rank Hunters before, you should know that I, like them, don’t like to work under other people,” Sung Joon said. The fact that he didn’t like working underneath other people was a common similarity amongst S-rank Hunters. But contrary to South Korea, Russia, America, and China treated their Hunters much more favorably, so there were many S-rank Hunters in their organizations.
“But you might change your mind if you hear the conditions.”
“Then, please tell me the conditions.”
Sung Joon nodded his head and replied. Seung Tae told him the conditions, but it wasn’t enticing to him.
“I’m sorry. As I thought, I’ll have to decline,” Sung Joon firmly said. He had to be firm in his refusal. If he wasn’t it would come back to bite him.