I can’t be sure that the management office and the association are involved in this.
But my experiences and instincts so far have told me otherwise.
‘After all, I have to take the promotion exam. Should I sneakily ask Maeng Seong-yong about it? Hmm… No, that would still be dangerous.’
We were still too weak to actively take action, and we didn’t know our opponents well.
How strong do we need to become, anyway?
Even after surpassing Jo Gi-man, another powerful enemy seems to be waiting.
An endless fight.
We have thrown ourselves into such a battle.
‘Let’s hold off on looking into the management office or the association for now.’
I organize my thoughts about the Evolved Creature organization. If I take their words at face value…
‘The cornerstone to prevent the destruction of the future…’
‘A figure, presumably stronger than an S-rank Hunter, they refer to as the chairman.’
‘A drug that allows even Non-Awakened Ones to use their powers for a short time.’
‘Though I’ve seen the world on the verge of collapse in my past life, who would act on the certainty that this world is going to end?’
Then, let’s formulate a hypothesis by combining all of this.
‘…Could it be that they are preparing Non-Awakened Ones to respond to something that will happen in the future…? Am I going too far here?’
Recalling the faint memories of my past life, the ones who suffered the most during the Orc Legion Commander’s invasion were not the Awakened Ones who fought back.
It was the Non-Awakened Ones who, unable to respond properly due to multiple gates opening simultaneously, faced immense losses.
What if the Non-Awakened Ones could run away faster, like they were wearing the Rune of Swiftness?
‘A cornerstone to prevent the extinction of humanity…’
If that’s the case, let’s think about the chairman under this assumption.
‘…… It must be one of two things. The chairman is either a Regressor who has experienced the future or someone with foresight of the future.’
It might be an absurd assumption, but since I’m a Regressor myself, it makes sense to consider it likely and prepare for it.
‘He can’t possibly be Jo Gi-man, right?’
Though his behavior was quite different, I couldn’t completely dismiss the possibility.
A Regressor or someone with foresight of the future.
‘…It’d be better if he were a Regressor.’
Considering the extremely twisted situation and the completely different path from the future that we are walking, I think it would actually be easier for us to deal with that.
However.
‘If he has the ability to foresee the future, that changes things. It would be exhausting to deal with him.’
If there is someone who can see through the constantly changing future…
‘Then does that mean the chairman hasn’t seen me sneak into the building?’
I don’t know how much the stolen Evolved Creatures are worth, but there are over a thousand bottles I brought back.
Even if each bottle is valued at 100 million, that’s over 100 billion.
But the actual price is probably much higher…
They say other branches seem to have it too. At least more than ten branches.
‘A business worth trillions… Even so, what I did today would have a big impact. The fact that he didn’t respond means… he really is a Regressor.’
As I stroked my chin lost in thought, Yeon-hee was sitting on the bed with her eyes closed, seemingly tuning into something.
‘She’s probably analyzing the new abilities. It seems she’s studying a bit more seriously than usual.’
She had experienced a situation where someone died because of her.
If things didn’t change, that would be strange.
After some time passed, Yeon-hee opened her eyes and began fiddling with her phone again. She seemed to have made up her mind.
“The call isn’t going through. What should I do… It seems it’s because it’s the weekend.”
‘Rather than contacting them, how about…’
I wondered if it would be a good idea to contact Kang Yeon-su through Ran.
‘Kang Yeon-su has independent forces and wouldn’t have a reason to tell Jo Gi-man.’
“Oh… Is it okay? I don’t want to burden my sister.”
Yeon-hee looked a bit frustrated as she hesitated, so I grabbed her finger and started pressing the phone.
“Aah- Wait, don’t! Ah, really.”
With Yeon-hee having limited contact options, she quickly found Kang Yeon-su in her recent contacts.
“Huh…”
Di-di-di—
Eventually, the connection tone rang, and Yeon-hee turned to me with a pout before starting a conversation with Kang Yeon-su.
“Oh, hello. Yes, yes— It’s not that…”
Yeon-hee spoke about the organization making the Evolved Creatures, and as soon as Kang Yeon-su heard this, she showed anger and announced she would rush over immediately.
Even without a detailed explanation of how Yeon-hee arrived here and got tangled with such a group, it was both heartening and a bit pitiful that Kang Yeon-su came running just on Yeon-hee’s word.
‘Yeon-su… You were bored this weekend, huh?’
Somewhat lively tone revealed Kang Yeon-su’s mood.
As a side note, Kang Yeon-su doesn’t have anyone to meet on weekends.
Though she had a wide network because of the guild, it was purely business relationships, and she could count on one hand how many true friends she had.
‘So I sometimes called her.’
She had refused since following Jo Gi-man, but before that, we used to meet quite frequently on weekends.
“Yes, but sister, you’re not planning to come alone, right?”
– Of course, I’m going alone. It’s a disturbance to wake the kids below at this hour on the weekend. The younger generation is sensitive to those kinds of things and will make a fuss to the management office. Yeon-hee doesn’t know that, right? Oh, back in the day, we never had such things. If the seniors called, we just rushed out. These kids these days are really—
“Oh— Yes, yes. Right. Yes.”
Yeon-hee was flustered by Kang Yeon-su’s sudden rambling.
But considering the strong wind starting to blow, it seemed she was already on her way here.
“Uh, hey sister. I can’t hear you well. Yes! I can’t hear!”
She was coming at such a speed faster than a plane, so there was no way the call could go through.
‘Looks like a precious guest is arriving.’
As things moved suddenly, Yeon-hee had a face that seemed to question if this was really okay even after hanging up.
‘It seems I can’t use [Disguise] today.’
After the call with Kang Yeon-su, I laid Yeon-hee down on my lap and stroked her head to calm her down.
Yeon-hee quietly felt my touch, and then, in a whisper, she started to speak.
“Hah… Il-wol, you know, today I acted so foolishly… It was really hard for Jinhyeok because of me. I just…”
‘I know. You were just trying to do your best.’
It must have been a long day.
She’s probably in a mentally drained state.
And the day isn’t even over yet.
Once Kang Yeon-su arrives, we’ll immediately rush to that building, and no one knows what will happen then.
‘If there’s still no preemptive response this time, the chairman who formed the Evolved Creature organization is likely a Regressor.’
But if there’s an S-rank waiting in that building, then I should be mentally prepared.
Suddenly—
Yeon-hee, though initially tense about Kang Yeon-su coming, relaxed her tension and fell asleep as she realized there was nothing to fear once she got here.
‘Kang Yeon-su…’
Excluding hunters like Jo Gi-man and Hyeon Joong-gil who are positioned in the divine sphere, she is certainly among the strongest hunters in the country.
‘Once she arrives, it’s all over for S-ranks or any ranks. The only concern is the one above her. If they truly have foresight…’
Not too long after, as I was creating my scenarios, Kang Yeon-su entered our room.
“Wow!! What’s going on? You look amazing?!”
When I opened the hotel door, Yeon-hee was soundly asleep, but as soon as Kang Yeon-su saw my changed appearance, she started to fuss, ultimately waking her up.
“Wha…? Oh, sister. My mind is gone.”
Yeon-hee was startled and quickly got off the bed to greet her.
“Hey, our cute Yeon-hee. Have you been well?”
“Yes, sister. I dozed off for a bit.”
“It’s okay. But why is she looking so much cooler? I barely recognize her. At a glance, she could be a summoned creature!”
“Hehe— Right?”
Kang Yeon-su was looking me up and down with a twisted lip.
‘Ugh… Scary.’
Although she was just looking without any ill intentions, I felt goosebumps all over me. Maybe it was because I had come with a different mindset for the upcoming fight.
Soon, she turned her attention away from me and began talking seriously with Yeon-hee. She must have had a lot of questions.
‘Kang Yeon-su… the woman who sacrificed herself to save me in my past life.’
The last I saw of her was when she rushed to save me, so I’d永 that I would never know what happened to her afterward.
But I predict she may have met the same fate as me.
The woman who saved me from the brink of death and the woman who risked her life to come for me.
Being in the same space with both of them feels oddly surreal.
“Oh man, look at my hair.”
“Huh? No, it’s fine. Sister! You look pretty.”
“Really?”
‘How did she keep her hairstyle intact?’
Even after rushing in, with eyebrows flying, Kang Yeon-su’s hair was impressive for not looking disheveled at all.
“Let’s take a look at the items first and then talk.”
“Y-Yes.”
Pong—
As soon as Kang Yeon-su received the bottle of Evolved Creature, she opened the cap to smell it.
“Hmm— Certainly. There’s a curious energy lurking in here. Can you give me a rough recap of what happened?”
“Um, well…”
We explained that we were ambushed by mysterious hunters without reason, and luckily managed to subdue them, only to find this in their possession.
Sensing something suspicious, we traced their movements back to the building, where we infiltrated with a summoned creature to find out what they were up to.
“I see… This is… a scent I’ve smelled a few times before. This is definitely related to Evolved Stones. The scent is faint, but my nose can’t be deceived.”
Kang Yeon-su, who had requested the backstory, seemed mostly uninterested in our somewhat distorted tale.
Sniff sniff—
She was relying solely on her own senses to make judgments.
“But your summoned creature has quite a talent. The infiltration into the building— that was Il-wol’s doing, right?”
“Y-Yes? Uh, that… Um…”
“Hehe, no need to answer. I’ve got a rough idea. By the way, what will you do? Going together would be a good experience, but you need to be prepared.”
Kang Yeon-su asked with a rare serious expression.
It’s understandable to be worried about taking us, intermediate hunters, into a clash of S-ranks.
“Um… Yes, we would like to go together.”
“Oh really? I don’t mind going together. But remember this one thing. Once I enter combat and time passes, I won’t be able to look after my companions. You’ll know when you see me later. You have to take care of yourself.”
“Ah, of course!”
“Well, it’s your friend who will take care of things anyway.”
‘Tch… I thought I was hiding it well; I guess not.’
It seemed Kang Yeon-su easily gauged my upgraded status.
“Huh— A Skeleton Soldier capable of stealth… I’d want to keep it by my side just to observe.”
“Uh? Oh, that… Il-wol is not…”
“Hehe, that’s just a saying. This one.”
“Yes, yes.”
Sweat beads were forming on Yeon-hee’s forehead.
Though Kang Yeon-su has a cunning and calculating side, she’s not a bad person at heart. However, the aura emanating from someone so far beyond the S-rank makes people tense.
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