Chapter 91: Wearing a New Ring
“Okay! Let’s speak comfortably from now on.”
Gu Seo-hyeong and I finished a simple verbal agreement.
With a reliable enchanter on board, I thought the future would be smooth sailing…
*
Two days later.
Sizzle sizzle.
In Gu Seo-hyeong’s temporary workshop.
Kim Gi-ryeo was sitting on the spare workbench, watching the enchanting process unfold.
He was interested in the Earth’s magic enchantment.
Most importantly, the enchanter herself had said she would finish her work today.
“Phew!”
“Hey, take it easy~”
Gi-ryeo encouraged the enchanter while waiting for her work to finish.
Knock knock knock.
But what was this?
They had an unexpected guest drop by.
“Is Gu Seo-hyeong inside?”
“Yes. Please come in.”
“Haha. Then excuse me for a moment.”
An old man with graying hair entered.
He looked somewhat familiar…
‘Ah.’
Since Gi-ryeo often watched the news, he could easily recognize the visitor.
‘It’s the Association President!’
The guest was none other than the president of the Hunter Association.
And the five people who entered with him were his aides.
‘This is the first time seeing him in person!’
But the problem was…
The association president brought a bit of a troublesome matter with him.
“Seo-hyeong, this is the enhancement request document from Japan we spoke about yesterday. Do you see the numbers listed here?”
“Ah, yes.”
“This value in yen means this much. If converted into our currency…”
“I know. I get it… but I still can’t do it right now.”
They soon began a little argument.
“Hahaha. Why is the young one so hasty? Let’s just hear everything first.”
The main speaker in the conversation was the association president.
He tried to persuade Gu Seo-hyeong with a variety of reasons.
The Japanese side urgently needed the enhancement to tackle an important gate.
If things were delayed, they might lose this good condition to Sweden…
“No way!”
But Gu Seo-hyeong absolutely refused to budge.
No matter how trivial the equipment, this was a debt to the benefactor of her life, and also her first enchantment worthy of remembrance.
“Why do you think I turned down all the scouts just to join the association?”
“That’s…”
“Have you already forgotten our contract terms? Yes?”
Gu Seo-hyeong intended to prioritize Kim Gi-ryeo’s request no matter the cost.
“I want the freedom to choose my requests!”
Besides, what if there’s an immediate loss?
She was the first enchanter in Asia.
Simply existing brought future benefits to the country.
“Even as the association president, is it really impossible to ask like this?”
“Yes. I’m sorry.”
Now she had enough power to assert her point.
“Hahaha, well then…”
With one enchanter standing firm, what could they do?
The association president licked his lips in regret at Gu Seo-hyeong’s stubborn refusal.
But he made no further demands. He quietly prepared to leave, organizing the documents he had brought.
“Hey!”
At that moment.
The awakened who had been silent until now unintentionally caught some stray fire.
“Hey, you too, get out!”
“Me? What about me?”
“You shouldn’t just barge into an enchanter’s workshop like this. Outsiders need permission.”
Swish swish.
The association president waved his hand casually at the man leaning against the desk.
Of course, Gu Seo-hyeong saw this and pleaded not to send Gi-ryeo out, insisting it was fine…
“I understand.”
Gi-ryeo nodded and followed the orders of the other party.
After all, there was nothing to gain from arguing with someone in power over a trivial matter.
‘Oh, it’s actually warmer outside.’
What a wise move.
But it was an ironic situation.
Gi-ryeo’s compliant attitude would ironically open the curtain to a great tumult…
.
.
.
How many seconds had it been since stepping into the corridor?
“Hey, young man!”
Gi-ryeo turned at the voice coming from behind, and there stood the wrinkled face of the association president.
“May I ask what Hunter rank you are?”
Initially, the president’s voice was quite gentle, so Gi-ryeo casually revealed his rank.
“F-Class.”
“What? F-Class?”
But as soon as the president learned of Gi-ryeo’s rank, the atmosphere shifted dramatically.
If that was true, it meant that a precious enchanter was working for a mere trash awakened.
“Good grief!”
The president furrowed his brow and said.
“Do you have any idea how much the country is losing because of one person?”
“Yes?”
“A rookie enchanter can’t use their skills for a good two weeks after a single enhancement. That’s plenty of time for an important gate to close.”
“…!”
“So we just lost a huge contract right before our eyes…”
Even S-Class Hunters often miss enhancements due to the specific cooldown of an enchanter’s ability.
What absurd preferential treatment this was.
“Ugh, even if Seo-hyeong does the enchantment, you should have humbly declined if you had any sense.”
Tsk tsk.
He clucked his tongue while scolding Gi-ryeo vigorously.
“Are you going to keep acting clueless going forward?”
“Huh?”
“No, if you’re F-Class, you could just buy any gear at the market, right?”
His attitude was strikingly different from how he treated the enchanter.
Honestly, it was venting his frustrations on an innocent person since he couldn’t confront Gu Seo-hyeong directly.
“You are… Sewohyeong’s benefactor, right?”
“Yes.”
“Well then, you can send your thanks later in cash. Just don’t obstruct the enchanter’s path.”
Moreover, the president added a hint of threats between his sentences.
Many administrative members of the Hunter Association were looking down on this matter.
How long would the enchanter keep helping an F-Class awakened?
What followed were sharp warnings directed at the lowest tier of hunters.
Hmmm.
But oddly enough, Gi-ryeo showed no signs of displeasure throughout the conversation.
Were they right?
Because he understood the situation.
There’s nothing incorrect about it. The equipment I hire is all cheap, so it’s better to convert the enchantment into cash.
Kim Gi-ryeo generally didn’t get angry over logical statements.
Actually, he was the type to agree more quickly than anyone else if a logic sounded plausible.
Thus, after thinking it through, he came up with this proposal.
“Oh, should I go and tell them to stop the enhancement right now?”
It was a comment that fully reflected the association president’s opinion!
However, there were a few points to address at this point.
Kim Gi-ryeo had a fierce demeanor.
And unless he consciously controlled himself, he always had a blank expression, which skewed things considerably.
“Huh?”
For various reasons, Gi-ryeo’s statement was rather misinterpreted.
“What? Are you threatening to go tell Seo-hyeong?”
From the president’s perspective, it looked like a fearsome young man was hardening his face while talking.
“You’ve got a friend or two and are trying to assert yourself like an enchanter, huh!”
The president thought the awakened in front of him was provoking him by mentioning his ties with Seo-hyeong.
How could there be anything more offensive?
This young punk, just an F-Class, daring to treat the association president with such disrespect.
What an impertinent punk!
The president flushed with anger.
At this moment, he still thought of Kim Gi-ryeo as just an F-Class who could be treated however.
“Huh?”
But then.
Swipe.
The man with the three hundred eyes suddenly turned his head to one side.
What’s this? He’s looking away while talking to someone…
The president was perplexed and was about to say something, but then his mouth shut tight.
Gulp!
A chill ran down his spine.
The president recognized the identity of this eerie sensation.
This was the unique presence possessed by S-Class Hunters…!
Ahem!
The president hurriedly composed himself.
However, he couldn’t help but be shocked again by the figure that appeared before him.
Huh? That kid is here?
Thud thud.
With heavy footsteps, none other than Korea’s third S-Class appeared.
Kang Chang-ho.
To elaborate, he was the awakened who was unusually uncooperative with the association, so even seeing him in person was a rarity for the president.
“Cough.”
The president personally found Kang Chang-ho difficult to deal with.
Well, it wasn’t just the association president; anyone would feel the same.
That S-Class had overwhelming power and an uncontrollable personality.
“Hmm, anyway, what I meant was…”
The president tried to ignore Kang Chang-ho casually.
However, he wouldn’t let that go easily.
“Kim Gi-ryeo!”
He had come to meet the F-Class in the corridor.
“Why are you here again?”
“I’ve seen you clocking in at the association every day lately. Just checking in on you.”
The association president was left stunned by the scene.
Why was Kang Chang-ho speaking to an F-Class?
What made this F-Class so comfortable to speak with an S-Class…?
“Am I not allowed to come?”
“Well, it’s a bit uncomfortable.”
“Hmph.”
“Anyway, now that you’ve confirmed everything, you can leave. There’s nothing dangerous here, common sense dictates.”
The president sensed something was off as he watched their friendly conversation.
He attempted to discreetly back away, but it wasn’t easy.
“By the way.”
Tap.
In the short time, Kang Chang-ho grabbed one of the president’s aides.
“By the way, I heard something interesting coming from your side earlier.”
To be precise, he only rested his arm on the aide’s shoulder, yet how many awakened could resist the strength of an S-Class?
“G-Gang Chang-ho Hunter! W-What are you doing right now!”
“Gi-ryeo, if I teach these guys a lesson here, would you consider taking off that necklace?”
Things escalated to extremes in an instant.
An S-Class was ignoring the association president’s words and throwing out a chilling statement.
“W-Wait, Hunter! Please maintain some safe distance! Otherwise, we might have to take action!”
The guards trembled in fear, yet followed their training and began to protect the president.
It was an admirable effort, to say the least.
“Is that so?”
Such an effort felt as insignificant as a sandcastle to the S-Class.
“Guh…!”
But at that critical moment, an F-Class started to speak up coolly.
“Um, Kang Chang-ho.”
What followed was a scene nobody could have anticipated.
“Just go,” he said.
Who could have thought that an individual at the bottom of the hunter ecosystem would resolve the situation so easily?
Kim Gi-ryeo pointed out in astonishment, and the S-Class immediately reacted.
“Don’t say nonsense about taking off the necklace.”
“Why are you so desperate to get rid of me?”
“My friend is coming soon. And that friend would be very uncomfortable seeing you.”
Eventually, Kang Chang-ho released the aide.
The president sighed with relief as he fiddled with his defensive item.
Unfortunately, this shocking event was not over yet.
“Oh dear.”
Swipe.
Immediately after, Kim Gi-ryeo turned his gaze back to the end of the corridor.
“They’re here early, even though it’s not the scheduled time.”
This was because a new awakened being had entered the building.
Thud thud.
With a clean shaved head, a piercing in his nostril, and that distinctive build.
“Hyung-nim!”
He was none other than A-Class Hunter Ahn Yoon-seung, a pride of the Neo Sisters Guild.
“Have you been well for the past week?”
