Chapter 40

“This is… really good?”

“Right. Equipment really does matter.”

Inhwan and Sang-yeon were acutely aware of the capabilities of their new gear. 

While lower-grade equipment might have been merely “okay,” the gear crafted by the craftsman at the academy was on a different level.

Not only did it enhance the abilities as described by the craftsman, but it also provided a general boost to other fundamental capabilities. 

Inhwan experienced an increase in his basic magical power, Sang-yeon in his physical abilities, and Seonghyun also saw an increase in his magical power.

Of course, since they couldn’t use this equipment in the next competition, it might not mean much there, but getting accustomed to the gear was the priority.

“Now that we’ve checked the performance, let’s officially submit our request for the hunt.”

At Seonghyun’s suggestion, Inhwan and Sang-yeon looked a bit worried.

“But where do we find two more members?”

“Yeah, finding two more is the biggest issue…”

“We might be able to find two people quickly.”

Seonghyun spoke as if he had already decided on the two, and both looked at him with puzzled expressions.

“Let’s spend tomorrow getting them, and if they join right away, we’ll submit our request. There are many unassigned gates available, so we should be able to set out immediately.”

“I’m curious about who they are, but I guess we’ll find out tomorrow.”

After wrapping up their brief hunt for the day, the three went their separate ways home.

The next day, Seonghyun met one of the two he planned to recruit for the raid team.

“Hayeon, can we talk for a moment?”

Seonghyun’s first choice for recruitment to the raid team was none other than Hayeon. While he could have persuaded others, Seonghyun felt that time was of the essence.

Thus, he approached Hayeon, one of the individuals who had previously shown him kindness, to join the raid team.

“Me? Ah, okay!”

Surprised, Hayeon hurriedly gathered her things and followed Seonghyun.

“Hayeon, would you consider joining our raid team?”

“Raid team?”

To Hayeon, raid teams were something usually operated by guilds.

“Yes, we’re preparing for the interclass competition, and as you know, we need at least five members…”

Hayeon nodded her head as if it were the most natural thing in the world, even before Seonghyun had finished speaking.

“Of course! I’m always ready to join. When do we start the raids?”

“We just need one more person. If things go really well, we could start today, probably tomorrow at the latest. The number of Grade 4 raid teams has decreased recently.”

As Seonghyun had expected, Hayeon accepted his proposal.

“The favor I owe you from before, we can consider it settled with this.”

“What? But just for this…”

“No, it’s easier for me this way.”

Seonghyun had never intended to claim a return favor, but he preemptively addressed it knowing Hayeon might feel indebted.

“I’ll contact you once everything is finalized.”

“Okay!”

Hayeon immediately returned to her class, and Seonghyun headed to the next classroom.

Classes hadn’t started yet, and a somewhat noisy atmosphere lingered in the air.

“Excuse me…”

As he carefully opened the door, the once noisy classroom suddenly fell silent.

“Haa-!”

The silence was broken by none other than Hwang Ui-hyeon.

‘W-Why him?’

The sound came out involuntarily, and fortunately, he was sitting at the very back, so other students couldn’t see him.

‘I haven’t done anything, absolutely nothing…!’

Was it a primal warning? His hands started to tremble.

That wasn’t all.

Cold sweat began to form, and his mouth started to dry.

‘Ugh…!’

His heart was beating so wildly that it didn’t match the current silence at all.

Even a slight mistake felt like it could stop his wildly beating heart.

‘Please just go…!’

Other than the first moment when he peeked out, Hwang Ui-hyeon hadn’t been able to meet Seonghyun’s eyes.

No, he couldn’t even look in Seonghyun’s direction and just kept his head down, wondering why Seonghyun had come.

“Is Kang Sung-wook here…?”

‘It was because of me after all! He came to ask Sung-wook!’

“Se, Seonghyun? Why are you here…”

“Can we talk for a moment?”

“Huh? Of course!”

Soon, Sung-wook stood up and followed Seonghyun, while Hwang Ui-hyeon kept his head down, waiting for Seonghyun to leave.

‘Is he gone?’

Thinking he had left, he slightly raised his head to look where Seonghyun was, only to find Seonghyun staring right at him.

With an expression void of any emotion.

“Uh…”

His trembling hands stopped, and his wildly beating heart calmed down.

However, it was hard to breathe.

Just avoiding this gaze seemed like it could bring back the unforgettable pain once more.

After about three seconds of eye contact, Seonghyun turned around and left the classroom.

“What’s the matter, Seonghyun?”

“It’s nothing much, just wondering if you’d be interested in joining the raid team?”

“Me, suddenly?”

Sung-wook looked at Seonghyun with a somewhat foolish expression.

The only ability he possessed was to discern others’ capabilities, which was rather insignificant.

Moreover, from what Seonghyun was saying, it seemed like they were planning to raid a low-level gate, and the capabilities of the monsters in that gate were already well understood.

“I… I wouldn’t be of any use…”

“Not of use? Your ability is the most important.”

“The most important?”

Sung-wook found it hard to believe that Seonghyun, who possessed healing abilities, was saying this.

“Yes, what if the gate we enter undergoes a mutation, or if hostile hunters appear? Then your ability will be crucial.”

“Ah…”

Sung-wook felt grateful for Seonghyun’s words.

More than just vague assurances of being helpful, he appreciated the precise explanation of how and where his ability would be needed.

“If there’s anything I can do, I’ll do it.”

“Thanks. We’ll probably start the raid today or tomorrow. I’ll get in touch.”

“Okay. Thanks for considering me.”

Seonghyun, Inhwan, and Sang-yeon were free from classes thanks to the academy competition, but Hayeon and Sung-wook were not, so Seonghyun, along with Inhwan and Sang-yeon, headed to the association.

“Wow, the association is huge.”

“What, is this your first time at the association?”

“So what if it is?”

The two bickered as they entered the building, and a secretary at the door, surprised to see Seonghyun, approached him with a startled expression.

“Mr. Kim Hunter…? What brings you to the association?”

“Oh, I have something to discuss.”

The secretary momentarily worried that something had gone wrong, but realized it was not the case seeing Inhwan and Sang-yeon behind him.

“The vice president is not in at the moment. Would it be alright if I take the message instead?”

“Of course. Actually, it wasn’t necessary to come all the way to the association, but I thought it best to speak in person.”

Normally, submitting a raid request could be handled with just a few clicks on a computer or smartphone, but that was only possible for official guilds.

Seonghyun and the others followed the secretary to a room, and Seonghyun briefly explained their reason for visiting.

Throughout Seonghyun’s explanation, the secretary’s expression remained neutral.

It was an inscrutable face, giving nothing away.

“A raid team… for a Grade 4 gate, you said?”

“Yes, since we’re planning to form a raid team, we need to at least register as a group to be officially assigned to a gate.”

“Haa… Would you mind, but could the other two please step outside for a moment?”

“What was that? Ah, yes!”

“Sure.”

Inhwan, reddening, left the room at the secretary’s request, and Sang-yeon, looking somewhat disdainful of Inhwan’s reaction, followed him out.

“Mr. Kim Hunter. We haven’t mentioned this before because of the incident we caused, but…”

“Yes, yes.”

Seonghyun looked slightly flustered by the secretary’s somewhat angry tone and expression as he waited for her to continue.

“You need to be aware of your position!”

“My position?”

The secretary seemed pleased as she headed towards the bookshelf.

She began to pull out various items and started stacking them neatly in front of Seonghyun.

“Secretary…?”

After laying out several bundles of documents in front of him, the secretary took a deep breath and sat down on the sofa.

“Mr. Kim Hunter. Do you know what all these are?”

“I-I’m not sure…”

The secretary unfolded the document on the far left of the table and explained.

“This is the list you saw before, right? The list of people from various countries who requested treatment.”

“Ah, I remember.”

There had been an incident involving delivering potions and a visit from the association in the United States.

Since then, there had been no major incidents, so he had forgotten about it.

“And these are invitations from various countries for you, Mr. Kim Hunter.”

“Invitations?”

These were matters that the association had handled internally without informing Seonghyun.

“I apologize for not informing you and handling these matters internally. However, the association decided that it seemed you were focused on your academy life and the competition.”

“Oh, that’s okay. I wasn’t planning on going anyway.”

“That’s a relief, then.”

The secretary pointed to the top part of one of the documents and said,

“Although these meetings aren’t with the top hunters or power brokers right away, they still involve leaders of well-regarded guilds from various countries.”

“Why would I be invited to a gathering of guild leaders…”

“Their motives are clear. If the heads of guilds are gathered, discussions about gates will surely come up, and they’ll probably want to go on raids with you while you’re there.”

“…That does sound exhausting.”

“Exactly. Once they experience your capabilities firsthand, they might bypass the association and come directly to you.”

Seonghyun suddenly felt uneasy, reminded of the time the American association had sought him out.

“…You haven’t had any trouble, have you?”

“Ha, no.”

The secretary, looking suspicious, was about to explain the rest of the documents but then folded them back up and said,

“All these documents behind are also related to you. There are personal requests to treat families of various power brokers.”

“Even personal requests…”

“And not only that…”

“Yes?”

“Ah, never mind.”

The secretary seemed about to say something else but then closed her mouth.

“Anyway, such actions are too risky… I should tell you.”

The secretary’s demeanor had changed slightly since an incident a few days ago.

Before, she had been strictly businesslike, but now, there was a hint of concern in her manner.

“Then, you can’t grant the permission?”

“Yes.”

“…That’s unfortunate.”

Seonghyun was taken aback by the firm response, but he understood the secretary’s reasoning and showed a resigned expression.

“However, we cannot just outright deny it.”

“Excuse me?”

“I will speak to the vice chairman and arrange a separate space for it. Would that be alright?”

“That would be very much appreciated.”

“I will inform the vice chairman when he returns.”

“Thank you.”

Feeling somewhat relieved that an alternative solution was being arranged, Seonghyun nodded slightly and then left the room.