“Was it perhaps you, Hunter, who cleared the Altar of the Apostle of Death, one of the Legendary-grade Ruins that appeared this month?”
“……”
As expected, Commissioner Yoo Jeong-tae asked about the Legendary-grade Ruin.
It was exactly what Jeon Jae-woo had anticipated before coming to the Hunter Administration.
There was hardly any need to think deeply about it.
A South Korean citizen had obtained ownership of a Legendary-grade Ruin. From the Hunter Administration’s perspective, they naturally had to investigate.
At the same time, however, the Hunter Administration found the situation difficult to believe.
‘He is not an established Hunter, but someone who just awakened?’
Was such a thing truly possible, no matter how extraordinary a Transcendent-grade Trait might be?
To use a martial arts novel as an analogy, it was as though a protagonist who had just entered the martial world with unparalleled talent—someone born with the legendary physique of a Heavenly Martial Body—had single-handedly wiped out one of the great martial clans such as the Nangong Clan or the Zhuge Clan.
Perhaps not quite on the level of defeating the Alliance Leader or the leader of the Demonic Cult, who stood at the very pinnacle of such a world, but still absurd enough.
Yet those doubts were ultimately trivial.
A Transcendent-grade Trait holder had suddenly appeared immediately after the news that someone had cleared a Legendary-grade Ruin.
At present, this young man was by far the most likely candidate to be the mysterious clearer.
In fact, Commissioner Yoo Jeong-tae was already virtually convinced that the young man sitting before him was the one.
‘This is uncomfortable.’
Jeon Jae-woo did his best to avoid Yoo Jeong-tae’s intense gaze before cautiously opening his mouth.
“Uh, the Legendary-grade Ruin?”
“The Ruin System announced the clear, and it has become a worldwide sensation, has it not? I believe that the person at the center of all that attention is you, Hunter Jeon Jae-woo.”
“……”
To be honest, Jeon Jae-woo had planned to feign ignorance at least once if the Hunter Administration asked him about it.
He had thought there might be a chance they would simply let the matter pass.
But the Commissioner of the Hunter Administration was staring at him so intensely that it seemed as though his gaze might bore a hole straight through him.
“……”
This was hopeless.
There was simply no way he could deny it.
“Yes… I believe that was me.”
In the end, Jeon Jae-woo nodded and admitted it.
At that moment, Commissioner Yoo Jeong-tae and the other employees swallowed hard.
‘So it really was him.’
Now that they had confirmed the identity of the Legendary-grade Ruin clearer—
‘It is time to move on to the next step.’
Yoo Jeong-tae gave a subtle glance to the subordinate standing behind him.
The employee immediately placed a document on the table.
“??”
Jeon Jae-woo’s eyes widened when he saw the paper in front of him.
‘A contract?’
He had not even received his Hunter Registration Card yet, and they were already moving this quickly.
“Hunter Jeon Jae-woo. I am speaking to you now as the Commissioner of the Hunter Administration, representing the Hunters of the Republic of Korea.”
“Yes?”
“We very much want you to work with us. Whatever treatment or accommodations you desire, simply name them. And if you have any criminal record, please tell us. Even if it happens to be serial murder, we can make the problem disappear cleanly.”
“……”
For a moment, Jeon Jae-woo doubted his own ears.
‘Is the head of a government agency really allowed to say something like that?’
Even the Hunter Administration employees standing behind Yoo Jeong-tae were staring at their superior with bewildered expressions.
Jeon Jae-woo had expected something along these lines, but he was still somewhat taken aback.
When he glanced over the contract, he found that the terms were nothing short of exceptional.
Naturally, every condition had been structured overwhelmingly in Jeon Jae-woo’s favor.
He could hardly deny that he was a somewhat(?) exceptional talent.
‘Still, I did not expect them to come at me this aggressively on the very first day I registered.’
Commissioner Yoo Jeong-tae’s eyes were practically blazing.
They were the eyes of a man utterly determined not to let an outstanding talent slip into someone else’s hands.
‘But I am not an object for someone to win or lose in the first place.’
Jeon Jae-woo pushed the document back toward Commissioner Yoo Jeong-tae.
“Ah, I am very grateful for the offer, but I think I will decline for now.”
At those words alone, Commissioner Yoo Jeong-tae’s expression seemed to collapse.
“What? N-No, please. If you would just give it a little more thought…”
“I only awakened recently, so everything is still overwhelming. I do not really have the mental space to think this through properly. As you said, I will go home for today, give it some more thought, and contact you afterward.”
Jeon Jae-woo thought that would be enough for them to part amicably and leave the matter for another day.
Instead, Yoo Jeong-tae suddenly shot to his feet and firmly clasped both of Jeon Jae-woo’s hands.
“Hunter! The Hunter Administration—no, the Republic of Korea desperately needs the strength of someone with your abilities! Please, for the sake of your country, make this decision to save the nation…!!”
They were not even at war, so what was all this talk about a decision to save the nation?
Jeon Jae-woo gently extracted his hands from Yoo Jeong-tae’s grip.
“I know the terms are very good, and I am truly sorry. But to be honest, all of this feels rather overwhelming. I do not want to join the Hunter Administration.”
“……”
The moment he heard those words, Yoo Jeong-tae nearly lost his composure.
It was bad enough that he had yet to establish a positive relationship with the man, but now Jeon Jae-woo had outright declared that he did not want to join the Hunter Administration.
‘N-No. Do not waver. I cannot give up!’
Even setting aside the Legendary-grade Ruin clear, this was the first Hunter in South Korea to possess a Transcendent-grade Trait.
There was hardly any need to explain why someone like him was indispensable to the country.
If this man joined them, South Korea might be able to sweep up every Legendary-grade Ruin that appeared each month from now on.
‘It is unfortunate, but appealing to his patriotism does not seem likely to work.’
Yoo Jeong-tae had not been completely unprepared for rejection.
Perhaps Jeon Jae-woo was merely playing hard to get in an attempt to raise his value.
Young people these days tended to be highly individualistic, so appeals like this were often ineffective.
‘Then I will have to persuade him another way.’
He would offer the things that were easiest to appreciate: wealth, prestige, and power.
What sweeter temptation could there be for a young man in the prime of his life than the promise of riches, fame, and influence?
“If you join the Hunter Administration, I promise you compensation beyond anything you could receive elsewhere. We could even transfer several Ruins of your choice entirely into your ownership. I pledge that on my position as Commissioner.”
The employees standing behind him widened their eyes.
That was even more shocking than his earlier declaration that they could cover up a murder charge.
He was offering to hand over state-owned Ruins to a private individual?
Was that not essentially the same as permanently giving away part of the national treasury?
Yet Jeon Jae-woo’s reaction remained unchanged.
“That is all right. I have already earned enough money to live comfortably for the rest of my life.”
“……”
Clearing a single Common-grade Ruin had already given him more money than he could reasonably spend.
Jeon Jae-woo liked money, of course, but he was not obsessed with it.
He had cleared the Common-grade Ruin containing Old Golden Palace and gained wealth comparable to that of the head of a major conglomerate. There seemed little point in increasing his fortune further when he had no particular need for more.
“If you join us, you could become the greatest Hunter in the country and effectively place the entire nation under your influence!”
“I am sorry, but I do not want to live my life attracting that much attention.”
“……”
Only one method remained.
An emotional appeal.
Yoo Jeong-tae politely clasped his hands together and bowed his head.
“Hunter Jeon Jae-woo.”
“Yes?”
“I am begging you. If necessary, I will even kneel.”
“What are you suddenly talking about…?”
“South Korea is currently in an extremely precarious position. Our national strength has declined considerably, and our performance in clearing Ruins has remained poor.”
“Uh. Has it?”
“Yes! The entire Republic of Korea is longing for someone like you…!”
Jeon Jae-woo could faintly hear Yoo Jeong-tae sniffling whenever he spoke.
The employees looked bewildered by the unexpected sight of their superior.
Who would have imagined that one of the most influential figures in South Korea’s Hunter industry would cling to someone in tears and beg them to stay?
The problem was that his attempt to force out tears was so painfully unconvincing that everyone could tell he was acting.
Jeon Jae-woo and the employees had to endure the agony of suppressing their laughter right in front of the Commissioner.
“I am sorry. My answer has not changed.”
“……”
And Yoo Jeong-tae’s supposed trump card failed completely.
After that, Commissioner Yoo Jeong-tae continued trying to persuade Jeon Jae-woo with every argument he could think of.
But in the end, Jeon Jae-woo refused to take any of the bait.
Anxiety and impatience began rising in Yoo Jeong-tae’s heart once more.
At this point, a new possibility—one he desperately did not want to consider—entered his mind.
‘D-Do not tell me… Is he planning to go abroad?’
From the Commissioner’s perspective, joining the Hunter Administration would obviously be the ideal outcome, but Yoo Jeong-tae could at least accept it if Jeon Jae-woo joined a domestic Company.
A domestic Company was still a South Korean corporation, which meant it would be relatively easy to ask Jeon Jae-woo for assistance whenever the country needed him.
But if he signed a contract with a foreign nation and left the country, that was an entirely different matter.
They had offered him the best possible conditions, yet he continued to refuse so firmly.
Yoo Jeong-tae could not completely rule out the possibility that Jeon Jae-woo already had some connection with a foreign country.
‘If a Hunter with a Transcendent-grade Trait announces that he intends to emigrate…’
Yoo Jeong-tae’s body shuddered.
If something that horrifying actually happened, everything would truly be over.
South Korea’s future—and perhaps Yoo Jeong-tae’s career as Commissioner along with it.
Trying to hide the tremor in his voice, Yoo Jeong-tae asked Jeon Jae-woo another question.
“Um. Please do not misunderstand. I do not mean anything in particular by this, but… have China, Japan, or the United States contacted you?”
“No. I have not told anyone yet that I awakened.”
Commissioner Yoo Jeong-tae looked at him anxiously, as though he found that difficult to believe.
Still, whether he believed it or not, what could someone like the Commissioner of the Hunter Administration possibly do about it?
Yoo Jeong-tae finally forced himself to let go of his anxiety and respond calmly.
The simple fact that Jeon Jae-woo had cleared a Legendary-grade Ruin alone was already enough to place him among the strongest Hunters in South Korea.
The Hunter Administration understood that perfectly well.
Even Hunters who possessed high-grade Traits still needed time to grow, and clearing a Ruin normally required them to cooperate with others.
Even on a global scale, there were only a handful of Hunters whose combat power was overwhelming enough to clear a Legendary-grade Ruin alone like Jeon Jae-woo had.
‘But this man is different.’
Was a Legendary-grade Ruin merely something he could clear by himself without any outside assistance?
What were they supposed to do now?
They could not simply allow a Transcendent-grade Trait holder to leave without accomplishing anything.
As the cornered Commissioner Yoo Jeong-tae’s eyes trembled violently—
“Ah, come to think of it, there is something I wanted to ask as well.”
“?”
“Can I sell something here?”
“Yes. Of course…”
Without warning, Jeon Jae-woo produced a suit of armor from somewhere.
It was the item he had obtained after clearing the Legendary-grade Ruin.
The armor once worn by the Skeleton Knight King.
The moment the Hunter Administration employees saw it, their eyes widened.
Yoo Jeong-tae’s gaze shook even more violently than before.
“H-Hunter. Could that possibly be…?”
Even without calling in a specialist to appraise it, he felt as though he already knew.
‘This is one of the most powerful Mana presences I have ever felt from a Magic Tool!’
Could that possibly be…?
“I got this as a reward for clearing the Legendary-grade Ruin. I do not have any use for it, so I thought I would sell it to the Hunter Administration.”
-GRAB!
Yoo Jeong-tae instantly seized both of Jeon Jae-woo’s hands once again.
“Thank you sincerely for coming to us, Hunter Jeon Jae-woo. We will offer you the highest possible price.”
“……”