[ My Person (2) ]
“What the hell?!”
“This crazy bastard?!”
F3 lunged at me to snatch the contract. I kicked out at his ankle, sending him sprawling forward. I grabbed him and—
BAM!
—slammed him into the table. Wow, the glass is pretty sturdy.
“Y-Yujin!”
Yu Myungwoo, utterly flustered, staggered up from his seat. D also jumped up from the sofa, glaring at me with a menacing expression.
“So this bastard isn’t just an F-rank after all! Even so, you’re probably just level 1 or maybe as strong as an E-rank? Damn it, I’ll make sure you stamp your finger in blood!”
D spat out threatening words. Thanks to my gear, I’m a bit stronger than that, but I didn’t want to go all out and have to clean up a corpse.
I stood up, shielding Yu Myungwoo behind me, and took out my phone. D and the other guys sneered at me.
“Calling the cops now is too late—”
“Come in.”
THUD!
With a loud noise, the sturdy metal door that had been locked was half-crushed and torn off its hinges.
I hadn’t been trying to make a call; I was ending one. I smiled at the figure standing in the doorway as I pressed the call-end button with Kim Seonghan.
“Can I ask you to take care of this?”
I could handle this alone, but I had someone to protect, after all.
That’s why I had called Kim Seonghan before ringing the bell. Even if I was just dealing with regular people, if there was any risk, I thought I’d ask for help. It’s better to take a slight risk and cover up the evidence than let something happen to Yu Myungwoo.
But to my delight, they all turned out to be hunters.
“You had a partner!”
D shouted, trying to muster some courage.
“You might be a tough guy, but I—”
“That face! Isn’t that Kim Seonghan? The Haeyeon Guild Shield!”
F1 interrupted D, pointing with a terrified expression.
“A-rank, that guy, no, that man is A-rank!”
A-rank. Just that one word and the atmosphere turned icy. D-rank, E, F, F, F—all of them were panicked and started looking around nervously.
With just his face recognized, Kim Seonghan instantly took control of the room, his eyebrows twitching slightly.
“Kneel.”
Thud, thud.
Five pairs of knees hit the floor simultaneously. They’re pretty obedient.
“What should we do with them?”
Kim Seonghan asked me. Why is he asking me? He’s much higher-ranked than me; he could handle this on his own. Maybe he’s so used to following Yuhyun’s direct orders that it’s become a habit.
“Hmm, in situations like this, they say ‘an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.’ How about we do the same to them?”
These guys would just keep preying on innocent F-ranks like flies if we let them go. They’re not worth showing mercy.
I took out an S-rank contract from my inventory. It cost over 20 million won, so it’s a bit of a waste, but I didn’t buy it with my own money, and I can just consider it paying off Yu Myungwoo’s debt.
“So… you, the D-rank over there, what’s your name?”
I knew it from using my Promising Talent Skill, but I couldn’t let on.
“…Kim Deoksu.”
He reluctantly answered. He may have knelt before an A-rank, but he clearly wasn’t happy about being talked down to by an F-rank. I’m the one in charge here, and yet he’s clueless.
“Kim Deoksu. You need to answer my questions honestly. If you lie, I’ll cut off one of your fingers. No need to stamp your thumbprint; I’ll just shove it down your throat.”
I shoved the contract and pen in his face as I spoke.
“Write down your skill and sign it.”
“T-This is…”
“It’s an S-rank contract. You’d better write down a skill that has an immediately noticeable effect. If you lie and your skill gets sealed, I’ll cut off a finger and have you sign the next contract. Don’t worry, I’ve got plenty of different contracts, enough to chop off all your toes too.”
In reality, this was my only one, but how would he know what’s in my inventory?
Kim Deoksu swallowed dryly and wrote down his skill before signing. I really should buy some cheaper contracts to keep on hand. They work surprisingly well as lie detectors. Though, of course, it’s best if I don’t have to use them.
“How many guild members do you have in total? Just the official members.”
“…Eleven.”
Not many for a guild with a C-rank leader. Well, they are a trash guild that preys on F-ranks, so it’s no surprise they’re small.
“C-rank leader, I’m guessing. What about the rest?”
“D-rank.”
“Give me their phone numbers.”
Since he might try something stupid, I took his phone and called them myself. I baited them by saying I’d caught a C-rank healer with a rare skill, and the Deoksu guys were struggling to keep him. I claimed to be a newly contracted F-rank, and they agreed to come right away.
“Where’s the healer?”
Not long after, the C-rank guild leader burst in.
BAM!
“Oof!”
And got knocked out cold by a single punch from Kim Seonghan. Stats really are everything.
Soon after, the five D-ranks arrived, making a total of eleven men, all kneeling in a line. The room felt cramped.
“Is there a C-rank dungeon where we can throw these guys?”
At my words, the color drained from their faces. With just one C-rank among them, entering even a lower-level C-rank dungeon would spell disaster. But who cares? They’ve been doing the same to others.
There were over thirty contracts piled up in their safe. Less than half of the people involved were still in one piece. These guys were monsters.
“I’ll contact the guild and find out.”
“I’d prefer it to be a privately owned dungeon. Is it alright if the guild gets involved?”
It is one thing if it’s a personal issue, but if the guild moves directly it could be seen as overstepping, potentially causing problems. It would be like issuing a death sentence without any legal proceedings.
“This can be handled cleanly.”
“Even so, there’s no need to risk creating potential issues over something minor. Hmm, it’s better to hand them over to the Association instead.”
Kim Seonghan’s expression became somewhat complicated at my words.
“If they claim it was a legitimate contract, the worst that will happen is losing their licenses.”
“That’s only if they report it without any further action.”
I brought out the blank contracts and amended them, changing the guild name to the Hunter Association and the contract period from 10 years to 50 years. Aside from that, I didn’t need to alter anything; it was already a perfect slave contract.
Actually, let’s change the profit split to 1:9. Making it zero would be too obvious.
I placed the amended contracts in front of the kneeling men, one by one. They looked up at me in shock. What are you staring at?
“Stamp your thumbprints.”
I threw an ink pad at them. The C-rank’s cheeks quivered with either rage or frustration.
“This is outright fraud!”
Now that’s just hypocrisy.
“You’re being offered an easy and profitable job, just picking up valuable stuff, and you call it fraud? That’s harsh. The only thing that’s changed is the contract target, from a C-rank guild to the Hunter Association, so a little adjustment in terms isn’t a big deal.”
I’m even letting you keep 10%. How greedy can you get?
“Besides, who knows? You might get lucky and end up in a decent guild.”
Though, more likely, they’ll be sold off to a guild as shady as theirs.
Once these kinds of contracts reach the Association, they usually end up as items in a marketplace. Buying and selling people is illegal, of course, but buying and selling contracts is fine as long as both parties agree. This applies to hunters, at least.
Despite their resentment, the men pressed their fingers into the ink.
“Make sure you stamp the amended sections, not just the signature line.”
Stacking up contracts like that, and you don’t even know the basics.
“Consider this a warning.”
I said, collecting the thumb-printed contracts.
“Don’t make a fuss and challenge the contract, or you’ll just make things worse. When the Association contacts you, just tell them you agreed to the terms. If you try anything, I’ll personally find a C-rank dungeon to throw you into.”
I’d like to do that now, but I don’t have the money. C-rank dungeons are expensive, especially if they’re privately owned.
To prevent them from running, I took down their resident registration numbers, hunter license numbers, and phone numbers. If they try to flee, I’ll just ask Do Hamin to track them down.
Yu Myungwoo was still dazed as we left and got into the car. His mouth opened and closed like he didn’t know what to say, but he eventually managed to speak in a small voice.
“…Thank you.”
If you’re grateful, hurry up and get a skill so you can pay me back with your work.
“I don’t know how I’ll repay you… I don’t even have a way to repay you…”
“Don’t worry about it.”
Just sign with the Haeyeon Guild later and give me a nice incentive.
“Don’t worry about it? But I…”
Tears started to well up in Yu Myungwoo’s voice. Oh no, he’s not going to cry again, is he? Please, don’t cry.
“It was just a coincidence! We just happened to run into each other! Really, don’t worry about it! And besides, Kim Seonghan did most of the work.”
Yu Myungwoo chuckled through his tears.
“You’re such a bad liar.”
No, I think I’m pretty good at it.
“Of course, I’m grateful to him, but if it weren’t for you, he wouldn’t have intervened, right?”
“Well, that’s true.”
From his perspective, he had every reason to be thankful for what I did, but it wasn’t purely out of goodwill, so I felt a slight pang of guilt.
If I didn’t have the Promising Talent Skill and Yu Myungwoo didn’t have the potential for an SS-rank skill, we would’ve just passed by each other, not even knowing each other’s names or faces.
“I was really grateful when we met at the Association too, even just for the words. But today, I was truly shocked and moved. Yujin, you really are…”
Wait a second. Hold on. I shouldn’t hear what comes next…
“You’re my hero.”
A shiver ran down my spine. How could anyone say something like that out loud? I’m so embarrassed! Take the My Kid Is The Best Skill, and go away! You’d probably say “I love you” without a hint of hesitation.
“…No, I’m really not…”
Please stop looking at me with those admiring eyes. I have nowhere to hide in this car. Hero? Hero my ass, I’m dying of embarrassment here. Someone save me. Should I just jump out of the car? I’m still wearing my gloves, so I probably won’t die.
“You were seriously cool. Ripping up the contract, slamming that guy into the table, and making them sign those contracts.”
…There’s a man in the driver’s seat who broke down a metal door with one kick, and you’re praising me? Shouldn’t you be saying, “Wow, Kim Seonghan, you’re amazing! As expected of an A-rank!”
“Ah, anyway, I get it.”
Before I die of embarrassment, I quickly changed the subject.
“About the rookie hunter training! It’s starting on Tuesday.”
“You’re really letting me attend? Honestly, I’m not confident.”
Yu Myungwoo replied gloomily. He was already in a bad state, but those guys must have crushed his self-esteem even further by forcing that contract on him.
“How can you not be confident? Hey, I’m an F-rank too.”
Of course, with my skills, I can’t really be considered an F-rank, but Yu Myungwoo will soon get an SS-rank skill too, so let’s just call it even.
“…But you’re completely different from me.”
“Different how? See these gloves? They’re A-rank items that boost health and strength stats. If you wear these, you could’ve cracked that guy’s skull too.”
Assuming you have the guts to fight. With a high willpower stat, you might be able to, but most low-ranking hunters get so overwhelmed in their first fight that they can’t even swing a weapon. That’s why rookie training is essential.
“Still, I could never do what you did…”
His voice was so low it might as well have been crawling on the floor. He sounded half-dead. I hope he’s not thinking of skipping the training. Without a hunter license, he can’t enter dungeons, and without entering dungeons, he can’t grow.
After some thought, I took off the Manticore Leather Gloves. Then I tossed them to Yu Myungwoo.
“Huh?”
He looked down at the gloves on his lap, eyes wide.
“Use them for now. I’m just lending them to you, okay?”
“B-But these are A-rank items, right? They must be really expensive…”
“I told you before I’d lend them to you.”
“Of course, I assumed it would be D-rank or lower! Since I heard you could manage with lower-grade equipment… No, I really can’t!”
I forced the gloves into his hands, despite his refusal.
“What do you mean you can’t? I barely use them anyway. It’s hot these days, so just use them until the rookie training is over.”
During hunter training, you have to face monsters, and if I leave him as he is, he might freeze up and cause an accident. I’ve got experience, so I don’t really need items, but it’s way too hot to wear gloves right now. I’ll just stick to wearing a belt.
“You really are…”
Yu Myungwoo clutched the leather gloves tightly, his eyes welling up with tears. The sheer gratitude in his gaze was overwhelming.
“Yujin!”
“Wait, don’t hug me!”
…Damn it, maybe I really should just jump out.
–TL Notes–
Hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you want to support me or give me feedback, you can do it at patreon.com/MattReading
Join my Discord! https://discord.gg/BWaP3AHHpt