Chapter 80

“Good grief, Suho! What on earth is going on?!”

The voice boomed through the phone the instant he answered, nearly making his eardrums bleed. Suho wore an awkward expression as he replied.

“Haha... Hello, Uncle.”

“Never mind hello! Your face suddenly popped up on the news, and I nearly fell over! How are you feeling? Are you all right? You’re not hurt anywhere?”

“I’m fine. I’m not hurt, either.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really. I’m perfectly fine.”

“Switch to video!”

Without further ado, the call switched to video. A middle-aged man leaned toward the camera and looked Suho over.

“Let’s see. Your face is as handsome as ever. And your physique... You’re in even better shape? You really are fine.”

“I told you.”

“Thank goodness.”

Only then did Suho’s uncle, Yoo Jinho, heave a deep sigh of relief on the other end.

“You little rascal. I thought you were quietly painting at school. When on earth did you become a hunter? If you awakened, you should have told your uncle right away.”

“I’m sorry. I’ve been so busy lately that I forgot.”

That was no mere excuse. Ever since he had awakened, one incident after another had erupted every single day. Even Suho himself found it strange to think that barely a month ago, he had been an art student quietly painting ants in front of a canvas.

Yoo Jinho clicked his tongue at Suho’s transparent excuse.

“Of all the things to forget. You really are your father’s son. Does thoughtlessness run in the family? You haven’t told your grandparents, either, have you?”

“No. What would be the point? They’re enjoying a peaceful life in the countryside. I’d only worry them for nothing.”

“That’s true. Imagine what it would do to their hearts if they saw the news about what you got caught up in. My own heart was pounding so hard after I saw it that I postponed every meeting I had today.”

“I think your heart is in worse shape than theirs, Uncle. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Grandma or Grandpa sick in my life.”

“Oh, hush, you brat! Anyway, thanks to you, my schedule’s wide open now. You have time, don’t you?”

“Right now? I do, but...”

“Do you have any idea how many people died in this disaster? I don’t think my heart will settle down until I see you in person, so let’s get together. It’s been a while. You know where my company is, right?”

“You want me to come to your office now?”

“Hmm. No, wait. Going out in the current situation could be a nuisance if people recognize you. I’ll send my chauffeur, so just throw something on and come in my car.”

And with that, he hung up. Suho shrugged as the call ended.

“Well, maybe this works out.”

He could see his uncle for the first time in a while and shake off those annoying flies outside, too. Suho threw on some clothes to go out.

* * *

SCREECH.

A little while later, a black limousine arrived outside Suho’s home.

“Mr. Sung Suho? The CEO sent me.”

‘An awakened person?’

A flicker of interest crossed Suho’s eyes as he sensed the familiar aura of mana from the chauffeur.

‘Did he send a chauffeur who doubles as a bodyguard?’

As with Dr. Min Byunggu, not everyone who awakened wanted to risk their life entering dungeons. In fact, quite a few awakened people preferred safe work outside dungeons like this, provided the salary was right.

The chauffeur promptly stepped forward.

“Please take the back seat. Allow me to open the door.”

“No, I can manage.”

Suho was just about to stop the chauffeur from politely opening the rear door for him when—

“W-wait! Stop right there!”

“Mr. Sung Suho! Let’s have a quick word!”

The scouts who had been waiting for Suho to leave his house rushed over and blocked his path.

“I’m a headhunter from Hyunmoo Guild! I understand you’re still a freelancer. You have a moment to talk, don’t you?”

“Hear our terms first! No C-rank hunter could get an offer like this anywhere else—!”

“Hey! Why are you shoving? Mr. Sung Suho, let’s head to a nearby café first.”

The scouts jostled to thrust their business cards at him, even grabbing his wrist without warning and trying to drag him away. Suho’s brow furrowed slightly at their rudeness.

[Scouts from major guilds tend to be like this. They’re particularly overbearing toward mid-tier hunters and below, since they think they hold all the cards.]

Familiar with this sort of thing, Quay whispered so that only Suho could hear.

The chauffeur stepped forward.

“Would you get in first, sir?”

Removing his dark sunglasses, he positioned himself in front of Suho.

“I’ll handle this.”

Without the sunglasses, his cold eyes were sharp enough to cut.

Yet the scouts paid his menacing appearance no mind. Instead, they began bearing down on him with an air of authority.

“Hey. Don’t you know when to stay out of things?”

“Do you know who we are? How dare a mere chauffeur interfere?”

“Do you have any idea what a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity this is for Hunter Sung Suho?”

The problem was that the scouts were awakened people, too. Since their work involved dealing with hunters like this, winning the initial battle of wills made it easier to force through their own terms.

Just as the atmosphere between the chauffeur and the scouts grew ominous, Suho raised a hand to stop the chauffeur and stepped forward.

“It’s all right. I’ll talk to them.”

The scouts’ faces lit up. Looking as though they had expected nothing less, they began addressing him with smug familiarity.

“Haha! Now that’s more like it!”

“Young people really are easier to reason with!”

“I guarantee it. Once you hear our offer, your eyes will pop right—”

At that instant, they froze.

“...!”

The scouts, who had been speaking so enthusiastically, rapidly turned pale.

They had seen it: the unfathomable gaze with which Suho regarded them indifferently. The pitch-black abyss whose depths they could not begin to measure.

[‘Effect: Fear’ activates.]

[All targets’ stats are reduced by 50% for 1 minute.]

Then Suho spoke.

“I don’t know what your offers are, but I’ll take them by email. If you found my home address, I’m sure you know my email address, too. And if you come barging in like this again...”

DING.

[You have learned ‘Skill: Bloodlust Lv.1.’]

There was no need to finish the sentence. As the system message attested, Suho’s bloodlust was the real thing, acquired through countless brushes with hell.

“Let’s get going, then.”

Suho looked away from them and climbed into the limousine. The chauffeur watched him briefly with an odd expression, then put his sunglasses back on and bowed his head.

“Yes, sir. We’ll be on our way.”

VROOM.

The limousine drove farther and farther away.

Only once Suho was out of sight did the scouts finally release the breaths they had been holding.

“... Whew.”

“Wh-what was that just now?”

“How can someone’s eyes look like...”

“Hey, you said he was C-rank. Are you sure that information’s right?”

“Wasn’t he a summoner?”

They glanced at one another, their eyes darting as their minds raced. One could almost hear the calculators running anew inside their heads.

It was the sound of Suho’s price going up a little.

[Young Monarch, how did you do that just now?]

Beru’s excited voice reached Suho as they rode along.

[Did you actually imitate the Contempt for the Weak skill from Rakan’s Fang?]

‘Yeah. I just tried it, and it worked.’

[Oh! Magnificent! You have always been a prodigy, Young Monarch, ever since you were little!]

Ignoring Beru’s fuss, Suho checked his newly acquired skill.

[Skill: Bloodlust Lv.1]

Active skill.

Mana cost: 100.

Uses a powerful aura to inflict Fear on a designated target for 1 minute. Multiple targets may be designated.

Effect ‘Fear’: All stats -50%

‘The details are identical to Contempt for the Weak. I guess this version is a little more versatile.’

Whatever its name, its effectiveness would be much the same. After all, directing bloodlust at someone stronger than himself was hardly likely to work properly.

* * *

“We’ve arrived.”

A little later, Suho stepped out of the limousine to find a luxurious high-rise before him.

[Ahjin Soft]

The first company to make virtual reality games a success, it was South Korea’s leading game company in both name and reality. Suho’s uncle, Yoo Jinho, was its founder.

[Ahjin Soft CEO Yoo Jinho: The Miraculous Success Story of a Young Entrepreneur Who Rejected His Conglomerate Inheritance!]

That had been a news headline when Suho was very young, back when Yoo Jinho first began making a name for himself.

But no one at the time could have predicted that the game company founded by the immature youngest son of a conglomerate family would enjoy twenty full years of steady success and establish itself as South Korea’s top game company.

His first hit in particular, the virtual reality game Beautiful World, had proved extraordinarily long-lived, remaining consistently popular even twenty years later. The middle-aged gamers who had been playing it for all twenty of those years had even earned the nickname “Beautiful Old-Timers.”

“Would you follow me? I’ll take you to the CEO.”

“Oh, sure.”

Suho followed the chauffeur, leisurely taking in the company’s lavish interior.

‘There’s always something to look at here.’

As befitted a company that had made its fortune in virtual reality games, cutting-edge VR equipment was displayed throughout the spacious ground-floor lobby.

Suho had enjoyed gaming before his awakening, so he was looking around with interest to see whether any new equipment or games had come out when something caught his attention.

‘... What’s going on?’

Today, he noticed things that were different from usual.

‘Why are there hunters walking around a game company?’

Hunters armed from head to toe were prowling through the building, looking ready to kill.

‘Why? It’s not as if a dungeon’s opened here.’

[Perhaps those flies found out you were coming here and followed you, Young Monarch?]

[If that were the case, they would react when they made eye contact with Master. Perhaps they’re here on other business?]

“Business? What business would hunters have at a game company?”

As Quay had pointed out, the hunters showed no reaction to seeing Suho. In fact, a few with keen senses noticed that he was a hunter and looked at him as though they had spotted a rival.

“Who’s that idiot?”

“How confident do you have to be to turn up dressed that casually?”

‘... Huh?’

Suho grew even more confused as the hunters looked his everyday clothes up and down and sneered.

“You seem curious about those hunters.”

Noticing Suho’s expression as they walked, the chauffeur explained.

“The new game the company is planning requires some consultation from hunters. That’s why so many of them have been coming here constantly.”

“Hunters? For a game?”

That only made Suho look more puzzled.

“Yes. If the game does well, any hunter guild that helped will get a great deal of publicity. Anything beyond that is confidential, so you should ask the CEO yourself when you see him. Ah, there he is.”

Just then, Yoo Jinho came into view in the distance, talking with some hunters.

“Haha, come now, sir. Where will you find a guild with a better public image than our Hyunmoo Guild? Working with us would benefit you in so many—”

“Ahem. Still, you can’t keep showing up like this. I’ve told you we’ll select someone based on fair criteria.”

“Oh, absolutely. Of course you must be fair. That’s why we came to let you see us fully armed like this...”

Hyunmoo Guild’s Section Chief Lee Youngho was rubbing his hands together ingratiatingly as he tried to curry favor with Yoo Jinho.

As Suho approached, the armed hunters blocked his way and glared at him.

“Who the hell are you?”

“Can’t you read the room? The grown-ups are having an important conversation...”

Just then, a voice rang out.

“Suho! Good to see you! Thanks for coming all this way!”

Spotting Suho, Yoo Jinho broke into a broad smile and left Section Chief Lee Youngho behind, practically skipping over to him.

“...!”

The hunters’ eyes widened at his exuberant approach.