Chapter 682: I’m Gyeol
At the moment, the country that officially possessed the greatest number of high–rank Hunters — S–ranks — in the world was the United States. The land and population were huge, of course, but the real key was their aggressive recruitment of top Hunters. From neighboring Mexico and South America to across the Atlantic in Africa, countless Awakened had crossed the ocean, chasing better treatment and better conditions in America.
Of course, that didn’t mean the US was some land of pure sweetness for Awakened. If anything, lobbying and lawsuits aimed at reining in this new energy source and new industry burned hotter there than anywhere else. All sorts of shady deals churned beneath the surface, but even so, Hunters were heroes who protected the nation and its people.
A ticket to a developed country where you could emigrate along with your entire extended family. A largely positive public image of Awakened. The world’s largest Hunter marketplace. Dungeons that were, relatively speaking, well–managed. Comprehensive settlement assistance scaled to the Awakened’s rank.
For Hunters trapped in systems where guild disputes were vicious, where administration was a mess, where just keeping their families and guilds safe was already a struggle, these were offers that were hard to refuse.
Thanks to all that, the number of upper–tier guilds in the US easily exceeded a hundred. S–rank Hunters everywhere were the same — none of them wanted to serve under another S–rank — so there were dozens of S–rank guilds alone. Those guilds went through cycles of cooperation and competition, and an informal hierarchy arose on its own. It wasn’t a precise ranking. Florida had Guild A, Chicago had Guild C, Texas had Guild F — each state or city had its own representative guild, and a guild’s prestige changed depending on where it reigned.
At the same time, every state and city wanted its own representative guild to be better than the ones in other regions. Local safety played a part, but regional rivalry and pride were a huge driver. That was why guilds in different regions often didn’t get along, and when you added race and origin issues on top of that, it was practically unheard of for them all to gather in the same room.
“I didn’t expect to see New York and Los Angeles in one place.”
Gyeol spoke exactly the way Seong Hyunjae coached him. The guild leader of LA’s representative guild immediately scowled.
“It’s Los Angeles and New York. Alphabetical order, yeah? L–M–N!”
“Guild Leader Seong’s eye for things is as sharp as ever.”
At New York’s representative guild leader’s remark, the air chilled. But unlike usual, no harsher words or weapons flew. Because of the guest seated at the head of the table.
Emily Spence. She was someone even S–rank Hunters had to bow their heads to if they valued their lives. The only healer who could, so long as a person was still breathing, purge poison and curses and restore them perfectly to their original state. The only reason all these famously bad–tempered S–rank Hunters from across the United States had gathered here quietly was because none of them could refuse her invitation.
Emily sank into the plush armchair and wore a gentle smile.
“How far along is the discussion?”
As he walked forward slowly, Gyeol asked.
“They’ve had the basic explanation.”
Isabella, who had entered the conference room ahead of him, replied. Gyeol approached the long table ringed with people and pulled out a thick stack of contracts from his inventory, laying them down with a thump.
“Then let’s move on to signatures.”
A nearby Hunter flipped quickly through the contract and frowned.
“What’s all this about all of a sudden?”
“I trust the people gathered here. And at the same time, I don’t. I imagine you all feel the same way.”
Gyeol — Seong Hyunjae — continued.
“As you’ve heard, an incident similar to the monster disaster in Japan will occur again in the near future.”
He did not mention the bet involving Han Yujin’s group. If they lost and an entire country disappeared, it was all too easy to guess where the arrows of resentment and blame would be aimed.
The true culprits were the Transcendents, no doubt. But people often attacked the fence in front of them before they attacked a tall, distant wall they had no hope of climbing. They vented their anger at the easy, convenient target, then called it a day, while conveniently looking away from the real enemy.
‘Humans are wiser and more righteous than you’d think, but at the same time, they can be even more foolish and vile than you’d imagine.’
That was how Seong Hyunjae had warned Gyeol and urged him to keep that part buried.
“At that time, Korean Hunters cooperated with Japanese Hunters to stop the monsters. But this time, the country, the region in question may very well be abandoned.”
“All the S–rank Hunters present here are already aware of it. That nothing that happens from now on would be surprising.”
Emily backed up Gyeol’s words.
“Because our time has already been turned back once.”
The Hunters fell silent. There was no hard proof of regression. What they had seen was merely part of Han Yujin’s memories that Chatterbox had dragged out. But even that incident alone — those memories spilling into the heads of people all over the world, then being collected again — had been enough to set off alarm bells.
There existed a being whose power far surpassed what even S–rank Awakened could imagine.
Dungeons, too, were something created by that “something.”
“This time, it could be the Americas.”
With a flick of his finger, Gyeol snapped one of the contracts forward. It slid across the table and came to a stop.
“This is a special SS–rank contract.”
They’d stolen it from Chatterbox’s vault.
“Contracts can only be enforced — and dissolved — by someone with a higher grade than the contract, which means I can’t undo this one myself.”
Emily took out a signed contract from her inventory, her wrinkled eyes softening.
“We’ve already finished things in Europe.”
At Emily’s request, Marisa Moore had also willingly cooperated. The influence those two held in the European Hunter world was more than enough to secure the signatures of S–rank Hunters.
“Does that mean East Asia has agreed to cooperate as well?”
“Ignore that.”
Seong Hyunjae murmured to Gyeol. Pretending the questioner didn’t even exist, Gyeol opened his mouth.
“We’ve already contacted Russia.”
“Guild Leader Seong! Can you not hear me?”
Leisurely, Gyeol turned his head and looked at the dissatisfied Hunter.
“I don’t have the talent to talk someone into understanding something they couldn’t grasp even while looking right at it.”
“What the…”
“He’s Guild Leader Seong, you idiot.”
Another Hunter snapped at him. Just the fact that he was here was more than enough. Yet another Hunter clicked his tongue.
“Did you nod off earlier? Director Dodam of the Breeding Facility was the first to catch on and ask for help, and Guild Leader Seong stepped up with him. That means East Asia’s pretty much taken care of.”
“He’s totally obsessed with SF, Japan’s representative guild leader. And there’s the Murim Alliance too.”
Those were things that were more or less known under the table. Cooperation in the other regions was steadily moving forward.
“Even so, putting it in writing like this feels… off.”
“Honestly, we can take care of ourselves. When it comes to the last line of defense in a world overflowing with monsters, that’s still the USA.”
“Feels like we’d just be helping for free.”
“America’s not going down. Our Hunters will handle things before outside help arrives.”
The Hunters who were keeping quiet mostly out of deference to Emily seemed to be thinking the same thing.
“The contract only sets penalties for not cooperating, there’s no mention of compensation.”
“Other countries might sign that, but we should be getting paid.”
“And that concludes the extras’ nonsense~.”
Clap clap clap. Grinning broadly, Hwang Rim applauded. The S–ranks glared at him, faces hardening at the word “extras.”
“You remember the Chatterbox party. Some of you were even there. How are you saying this with a straight face? Don’t you remember being yanked around and playing Background Extra 1, 2, 3? Hey, Mister! Weren’t you the one who got knocked out first by the Police Commissioner? How many seconds of screen time did you get again?”
“That’s–!”
“S–ranks had their memories erased the least. You should know better than anyone. Chatterbox — those hazy memories — there are others like that.”
Neatly folding one of the papers on the table into a plane, Hwang Rim kept talking.
“They made Manhattan. They summoned the monsters. They moved S–ranks around like chess pieces. They nullified deaths that happened during the fight.”
The Hunters who’d participated in the party, or even just watched the broadcast, unconsciously clenched their fists or swallowed dryly. Shadows from the broadcast blurred their vision, items had blocked their view. But that party had been wrong. Off.
“And the supporting cast who couldn’t even win, who couldn’t even rip Chatterbox’s collar, are this confident? Maybe if you were our Jin.”
What had they done, exactly? The paper airplane left Hwang Rim’s hand and sailed out.
“Anything can happen. America as a whole might disappear. It’s not like we’re expecting that much from a signature anyway. It’s not like we can do much. But the more people you have, the more options you get.”
The paper plane dropped and tapped lightly against the floor.
“This contract is also part of Chatterbox’s legacy.”
Said Gyeol.
“There are higher–grade ones, too.”
Not just SS–rank, but SSS–rank as well. Items even S–rank Hunters would struggle to obtain. Even with the memories of the party intact, many Hunters still looked like they were thinking, “No way.” Maybe they simply didn’t want to look straight at it.
They were S–rank Hunters from a superpower. They’d spent their lives doing whatever they wanted. Even if every dungeon in the country blew at once, they believed they’d not only withstand it, but suppress it. That was the kind of confidence they carried.
Then, suddenly, they’d found out there were beings who dwarfed S–ranks entirely.
To admit that they themselves were weak — that they might, in the end, be unable to do anything — that they could be like all those mids, lows, and non–Awakened they’d looked down on… For people who’d stood at the very top, it was not an easy truth to accept, even when it was right in front of their eyes.
In the silence that fell,
“…That’s weird.”
One Hunter stared hard at Gyeol.
“Your presence feels strangely faint, but your mana seems exactly the same, so it threw me off.”
He took a step closer to Gyeol. Gyeol did his best not to panic.
“Oh dear, caught already.”
Seong Hyunjae muttered lazily from inside the breast pocket. Fighting the urge to mash the handkerchief flat with his palm, Gyeol lifted the corners of his mouth as gently as he could.
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“In a case like this, ignoring him is usually best.”
Then you should’ve said so earlier! Gyeol grumbled inwardly. Fingering the handkerchief hiding his body, Seong Hyunjae continued.
“Even so, I doubt we can keep this going much longer. Quite perceptive, that one. Rather than making excuses, we should wait for Hwang Rim or Isabella to handle it. Or…”
He looked up at Gyeol, as if to ask what he wanted to do. Isabella also scooted her chair back a little.
“You could handle it yourself, Young Master Gyeol.”
His golden eyes flickered. If he let himself be protected, suspicion would fall on him, but with a bit of excuse–making, he could retreat with his secret intact. What would Dad have done?
Raising his hand, Gyeol signaled to Hwang Rim and Isabella not to interfere.
The Hunter came right up to his face. He was not remotely threatening for someone supposed to be Guild Leader Seong. Suddenly, the Hunter grabbed him by the collar.
“What the hell are you?”
Gyeol smiled. His body shrank in an instant. Light gray hair flushed pink, and glittering wings spread wide. His round golden eyes stared straight at the Hunter holding him up.
“This is child abuse!”
“That’s not—!”
He’d ended up looking like a guy lifting a little kid by the scruff of his neck. Flustered, the Hunter quickly let go. Gyeol fluttered lightly into the air and landed on the table.
“I’m Gyeol.”
The boy bowed politely. People stared, completely thrown.
“Hold on, so that wasn’t Guild Leader Seong?”
“What’s a kid doing here?!”
“You shouldn’t even be in a place like this!”
Voices shouted to get him out of here immediately. Over the uproar, Gyeol yelled at the top of his lungs.
“I’m the one who made this meeting happen!”
Not alone, of course. But he’d helped Dad — bringing Hwang Rim along with Seong Hyunjae. He’d gotten information from Han Yujin and pulled Emily in. He’d called Isabella himself.
“My stats are low, and there’s not a lot I can do without my dad! But this is a place I made, a place I belong! If someone’s leaving, it should be the adults!”
“Young Master Gyeol is indeed the one who gathered you.”
Emily smiled.
“I agreed because he asked me to. Asked me for help.”
“But…”
He was just a kid. A boy who couldn’t be more than ten years old. Planting his fists on his hips, Gyeol arched his brows high.
“Give me a reason that isn’t ‘because I’m a kid’! Sir.”
“Uh…”
“Mm…”
“You don’t have one, do you. Then what, because I’m weak? But my dad, Director Han Yujin of the Breeding Facility, has F–rank stats too. He’s F–rank, but he still won the party. And the only reason I’m standing here now is because of him. If Dad is SF, then I’m SK.”
On top of being F–rank, he was a child. It was ridiculous. But at the same time, the tension in the room eased. Weak, and young. And yet still determined to do something, anything. To stand against enemies so unknown that even S–ranks shrank back.
Scratch. One Hunter pulled out a pen and signed the contract. Then he shrugged.
“Guild Leader Seong is annoying, but the kid’s cute.”
“Honestly, I’m a fan. Can we take a picture together?”
“As many as you want!”
“I mean, if a kid’s working this hard, it’d be pathetic for us adults to back down.”
“Kids shouldn’t be doing dangerous stuff. I’ll sign too.”
A few people stepped forward without hesitation. Others still looked awkward, watching the room.
“…No matter how I look at it, this feels like a loss for us. Think Dodam will bump us up the waitlist later?”
“I just want them to let me meet Hunter Myungwoo once.”
The remaining Hunters began signing, slowly but surely. A couple of them, however, quietly slipped away. Hwang Rim and Isabella made sure to note who they were.
“Thank you!”
“Is that your special skill? Turning into other people?”
“Like a goblin or something.”
“I can only turn into really close, um, blood relatives. People who look similar.”
“Knew it, you’re Seong—”
“He’s my cousin! Just some cousin who happens to look like me!”
We really are related and there’s nothing going on, honestly! Gyeol insisted with all his might.
Riiiiiing–!
The alarm clock went off. When I snapped my eyes open, an unfamiliar ceiling filled my vision.
“Are you really going out?”
Next to me, where he’d been sleeping, Yuhyun turned off the alarm and asked. It was still dim outside the window.
“I have to. And it’s a good opportunity. Know your enemy and know yourself, and you’ll never lose a single battle!”
If I watched what they bought at the market, I’d get a good idea of what kind of business they were running too. Telling Yuhyun and Noah to go back to sleep, I got out of bed.
–TL Notes–
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