Jeon Jae-woo invited Commissioner Yoo Jeong-tae and his employees into his studio apartment.
Since they were guests visiting his home, he ought to offer them something.
‘Would coffee be enough? He is an important person. What if it is not to his taste?’
It was not as though he had ever entertained someone of such high status before.
“I am sorry I do not have anything better to offer you.”
“Oh, no. I will gratefully accept anything. I am the one who should apologize for showing up so suddenly.”
Yoo Jeong-tae was still doing his utmost to express as much goodwill toward Jeon Jae-woo as possible.
Of course, Myeolgeop remained nearby, concealed from sight as it observed the humans.
“But why did you suddenly come all the way to my home?”
“Well. There is something I wanted to ask you, although I realize this is rather sudden.”
There were two things Yoo Jeong-tae wanted to ask Jeon Jae-woo.
First, he wanted to confirm whether Jeon Jae-woo had cleared the Legendary-grade Ruin ‘Grave of Swords’ and, if so, request that he trade the resources obtained there through the Hunter Administration.
He also had another reason for coming.
He wanted another chance to persuade Jeon Jae-woo.
“It was you who successfully cleared another Legendary-grade Ruin, the one called Grave of Swords, correct?”
“Yes. That is correct.”
Of course it was.
Jeon Jae-woo’s name was plainly recorded in the Ruin System.
“Then may I ask what kind of reward you received for clearing it?”
“There were no resources this time either. Just a huge number of swords. I think there were more than a hundred.”
The moment Yoo Jeong-tae heard that, his eyes lit up.
He had no idea what kind of swords they were, but anything obtained from a Legendary-grade Ruin was unlikely to be an ordinary armament.
“Hunter Jeon Jae-woo. Please trade those items through the Hunter Administration as well. We will offer you the best possible price.”
Jeon Jae-woo did not particularly care whom he sold them to as long as they paid him a fair price.
However—
“Ah, that might be difficult. I already used them all.”
“??”
When Jeon Jae-woo scratched his head and answered, Commissioner Yoo Jeong-tae’s eyes widened.
‘W-What does that mean?’
Used them all?
They were swords, of all things. How could he have used all of them?
Jeon Jae-woo was presumably a Hunter whose main strength lay in combat.
Even if swords were his primary weapons, only a few days had passed since he cleared the Ruin. What possible reason could he have had to use more than a hundred swords already?
Yoo Jeong-tae’s eyes began trembling violently.
“D-Do you mean you sold them somewhere else?”
If he had traded them to a domestic company, that would at least be reassuring.
‘But if someone overseas discovered Hunter Jeon Jae-woo’s existence, approached him, and made a deal…’
Yoo Jeong-tae suddenly felt dizzy enough that he nearly lost his balance.
Fortunately, Jeon Jae-woo immediately denied his assumption.
“No. When items come out of Ruins, there is a way I can use them in connection with my Trait. I meant that I used them myself.”
“Ah… Ah! I-I see. Hahaha. You did well.”
“……??”
At least he had not traded them to a foreign country.
That was a relief.
But what kind of Trait required him to use more than a hundred swords?
“The swords themselves are still intact, though.”
“What? What do you mean…?”
“I only used the special Mana attached to them. So the swords themselves are still there.”
Yoo Jeong-tae’s eyes immediately lit up again.
A moment later, Jeon Jae-woo brought out one of the hundred or so swords and placed it before him.
“Oh…”
Yoo Jeong-tae let out a brief exclamation as he examined it.
He did not possess an Appraisal Trait, but even he could tell that it was an exceptional sword.
It was unfortunate that the special Mana originally dwelling within it was gone.
Even so, the sword itself was still an extraordinarily valuable resource.
If these blades were placed in the hands of elite Hunters, they would undoubtedly produce a tremendous increase in combat power.
Yoo Jeong-tae clasped both of Jeon Jae-woo’s hands.
“Please sell these swords to the Hunter Administration as well. Once again, we will offer you the highest possible price.”
“Yes, sure. I can do that.”
From Jeon Jae-woo’s perspective, dealing with a domestic Hunter organization was probably the safest choice anyway.
“Thank you!”
Yoo Jeong-tae repeatedly bowed his head in gratitude.
It was rather bewildering to see none other than the Commissioner of the Hunter Administration behaving like this, but from Yoo Jeong-tae’s perspective, his reaction was entirely understandable.
South Korea was not a weak Hunter nation, but neither was it quite strong enough to be considered a major Hunter power. Its overall strength occupied an awkward middle ground.
Until now, obtaining even a single Legendary-grade Ruin in a given month had been considered fairly fortunate.
Then Jeon Jae-woo appeared out of nowhere, cleared two Legendary-grade Ruins, and conducted business with the Hunter Administration on both occasions.
He had effectively brought South Korea unprecedented gains.
Of course, none of that particularly mattered to Jeon Jae-woo at the moment.
‘Are they leaving now?’
If they were finished with their business, he wished they would hurry up and go.
He was dying of sleep deprivation.
Unfortunately, Commissioner Yoo Jeong-tae still had one more question.
“Hunter. There is one more thing I would like to ask, although I hope you will forgive the imposition.”
“Yes. Go ahead.”
“Do you intend to continue clearing only Legendary-grade Ruins from now on?”
Jeon Jae-woo tilted his head at the question.
It was not something he had given much thought to.
“I am not sure. Maybe I will, maybe I will not…”
At present, he only had Myeolgeop, a Golem possessing Transcendent-grade Traits.
If he managed to increase their numbers, he thought Ancient-grade and even Mythic-grade Ruins might become entirely feasible.
To be honest, considering that Myeolgeop could explore a Legendary-grade Ruin in only an hour, it seemed possible that it could somehow handle an Ancient-grade Ruin by itself as well.
Still, safety came first.
Yoo Jeong-tae clasped his hands together and spoke with an exceedingly solemn expression.
“There is something I must ask of you as Commissioner of the Hunter Administration.”
“Yes? All right.”
“From now on, would you refrain from clearing Rare-grade or lower Ruins and focus exclusively on Legendary-grade or higher Ruins?”
“What?”
“Every Hunter has a limited number of Ruins they can clear. From the country’s perspective, allowing someone of your ability to use those opportunities on lower-grade Ruins would be an enormous loss.”
Jeon Jae-woo agreed with that reasoning.
‘Hmm. That is true.’
The Ruin System imposed a fixed limit on how many Ruins each Hunter could clear.
In that case, using the limited clear opportunities of someone capable of finishing a Legendary-grade Ruin in an hour on low-grade Ruins would indeed be an enormous waste.
“But is that not something South Korea guarantees as a matter of individual freedom for Hunters?”
“I am absolutely not trying to force you. I am asking you this as the head of the Hunter Administration. If there is anything you want, simply name it. I promise you the finest compensation we can provide. If you do not trust the Hunter Administration, then at the very least, please consider cooperating with a domestic Company. The Hunter Administration will do everything it can to assist you.”
“……”
Jeon Jae-woo understood perfectly well what Yoo Jeong-tae was saying.
However—
“There is not really anything I want.”
Yoo Jeong-tae’s mouth fell slightly open at the indifferent response.
“What?”
“Clearing even one Common-grade Ruin already earned me more than enough money… I can make plenty of money, buy a reasonably large and comfortable house… I think that is enough for me.”
“……”
Jeon Jae-woo was an ordinary person who believed that having more money was generally better and simply wanted to live comfortably.
The difference was that Jeon Jae-woo could now obtain all of those things on his own without anyone else’s help.
Remaining beside Myeolgeop, the ultimate combat Golem, was the best guarantee of his safety, and having already cleared three Ruins, he had earned an enormous amount of money.
Wanting much more than that simply sounded exhausting.
‘Is this the emptiness people feel once they have everything?’
It felt as though he had achieved every goal in his life all at once, leaving him strangely drained.
Meanwhile, Yoo Jeong-tae, who now found himself in an awkward position, bit his lip.
Someone like Jeon Jae-woo was the most difficult kind of talent to recruit.
Normally, recruitment involved giving the other person what they wanted in exchange for having them contribute to the country.
But if the other party did not want anything, there was nothing to negotiate with.
‘This cannot continue.’
From the Hunter Administration’s perspective, Jeon Jae-woo was someone they absolutely could not afford to lose.
No matter what it took, Yoo Jeong-tae had to persuade him.
If this man cooperated with them, South Korea might be able to set an unprecedented record by clearing an Ancient-grade Ruin for the first time in its history—or perhaps, if fortune favored them, even a Mythic-grade Ruin.
But if Jeon Jae-woo used up all of his available Ruin clears on his own, that dream would disappear entirely.
Still, trying to force him would not make him cooperate, and they had no right to compel him in the first place.
“Do you have any intention of attempting Ruins above the Legendary Grade in the future?”
“Yes. If the opportunity arises someday.”
When Jeon Jae-woo expressed interest, Yoo Jeong-tae inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.
At least that meant he did not intend to squander all of his available clears without thinking.
Separate from whether he wanted anything from the government, Jeon Jae-woo was personally curious about attempting Ancient-grade and Mythic-grade Ruins someday.
He also wondered what kind of rewards those Ruins might contain.
Somewhat reassured, Yoo Jeong-tae let out a breath and continued.
“Then… I would like to ask only one thing of you.”
“?”
“If the day comes when you challenge an Ancient-grade or Mythic-grade Ruin, please make sure to inform us. We will do everything in our power to assist you.”
“I was planning to attempt those Ruins alone as well.”
“Of course I understand how capable you are, Hunter. But Ruins are places where even more unpredictable things can happen than in Dungeons.”
“That is true, but…”
“Please do not worry. We merely wish to assist you to the best of our ability. We will not even ask for a share of the rewards obtained from the Ruin.”
“???”
Jeon Jae-woo and even the Hunter Administration employees were startled by Yoo Jeong-tae’s words.
They would provide assistance and give up their share of the rewards entirely?
“In exchange, please consult with us first regarding the sale of any items obtained from the Ruin. Naturally, we will always offer the highest possible price.”
“……”
Yoo Jeong-tae was making his determination to bring the Transcendent-grade Hunter onto their side painfully clear.
‘He is basically saying he will give me everything he possibly can.’
Jeon Jae-woo considered it briefly before nodding.
“Yes. Well, I do not mind that much.”
Only then did Yoo Jeong-tae break into a broad smile.
“Thank you. Thank you, Hunter.”
“No, there is really no need to go that far…”
In truth, there was every reason to go that far.
Few things could be worse than damaging their relationship with a Transcendent-grade Hunter.
Historically, how many times had the South Korean government come to regret trying to force Hunters into unconditional cooperation with the state?
It was hardly the first time Hunters had emigrated to places such as the United States or Switzerland.
If they wanted to avoid repeating those mistakes, gradually building a closer relationship was the best approach.
“Anything at all. If you ever need assistance, please contact me.”
“Anything?”
“Yes. It does not even have to be related to Hunters. If you need legal representation, money, or even a respectable position, contact me. Whatever it is, I will help you.”
“…Thank you.”
Judging by how far the man was willing to go, he must be planning to ask a great deal of Jeon Jae-woo in the future.
In any case, Yoo Jeong-tae and his party left the studio apartment a short while later.
Only then, after staying awake for several nights, was Jeon Jae-woo finally able to get some sleep.
He slept through the entire day before waking to the notification from Heaven’s Box announcing that production was complete.