“Is... Is that so?”
“Haven’t you actually become a lot stronger? Think about it.”
Naturally, hunters grew stronger by fighting.
Recently, there had been all sorts of incidents on Earth. As such, Kwon Yeongseung had been fighting quite a lot, which naturally meant he had grown stronger.
In addition, experts considered that the recent turmoil had helped Kwon Yeongseung overcome his biggest weakness.
-Hunter Kwon Yeongseung is a genius, but he seems to rely too much on his talent. He doesn’t put that much effort into training or practicing because he thinks he doesn’t need it.
-Isn’t it because he puts too much energy into other activities such as broadcasting? I think he needs to be more focused on his career as a hunter… It’s a big loss for South Korea.
-We can say that to a B-grade hunter, but who can say it to an A-grade hunter?Even if you tell him, he won’t listen.
A lazy genius—that was the assessment that often came up when Kwon Yeongseung was mentioned. Indeed, he was a talented individual who had reached the A-grade at a young age, but people often said that his growth was slow because he didn’t put any effort into training.
Of course, everyone thought it was a meaningless argument. How could they say something like that to an A-grade hunter? Anyone who tried that would certainly regret it…-What?You’re not training?
-Why don’t you train?
-That’s great.In any case, the clan hunters will be going to the dungeon for a training session. You should join them!
-You want to rest? You seem fine… Yeah, you seem totally fine. Get moving.
-Who do you think I am? I am the household member of the Undefeated Incarnation of Training!You can still do more.
-You have to appear on a show?Why?Don’t you have a lot of money already?If you miss it, the show will lose its fun?Let’s check it out.Um...It doesn’t seem like it.I think the show will be entertaining enough even without you. Those people only treat you well because you’re an A-grade hunter.
...But there was one lunatic out there who could mercilessly make Kwon Yeongseung train.
That person’s experience and abilities were enough to crush Kwon Yeongseung, so he wouldn’t dare to complain to anyone.
Kwon Yeongseung’s father, the clan leader, also seemed pleased with this situation. He was grateful every time Kwon Yeongseung met with Choi Yeonseung.
“I think I’ve become a bit stronger, but… It’s not a matter of strength. It’s a matter of whether the hunters who will fight alongside me will cooperate with me or not!”
Kwon Yeongseung pointed out the fundamental problem.
Objectively, Korean hunters weren’t weak. Given the size of the country and its number of hunters, there were quite a few formidable hunters out there. However, most six-versus-six clan battles imposed restrictions on the hunters’ individual strength, making team synergy the true deciding factor.
In this regard, Korean hunters had gained a reputation for not being able to work as a team…
“...”
Jeong Wonuk averted his gaze as he had nothing to say regarding this point.
Thinking about the situation, Kwon Yeongseung suddenly got an idea.
“Oh, why don’t we ask the Iron-Blooded Ice Emperor to supervise us again?”
“Are you actually heartless?” Han Seha looked at Kwon Yeongseung as if she were looking at the scum of the earth. She couldn’t believe that he was trying to bring back Lee Changsik after how much he had suffered because of disobedient hunters and how much the media had attacked him in his later years.
Kwon Yeongseung flushed with embarrassment, as he couldn’t deny Han Seha’s accusations.
However, the mention of the Iron-Blooded Ice Emperor inspired Jeong Wonuk.
“No!”
“Do you really want to bring back the Iron-Blooded Ice Emperor? I think that’s too much...”
Han Seha looked at Jeong Wonuk, flustered. If even the hunter whom people called a rabid dog thought this was too much…
“No, I’m not saying that. I’m thinking we can ask Hunter Choi Yeonseung.”
“...”
“...”
The two young A-grade hunters were silent for different reasons.
Kwon Yeongseung had just escaped Choi Yeonseung’s radar for a while, so the thought of being worked to death again caused him to go pale.
“Th-that’s a bit...”
“It’s not right. Hunter Choi Yeonseung is so busy right now,” Han Seha spoke in a more serious tone. “Inviting someone like that to be the director as if playing house?”
“I-It’s not playing house though...?”
Kwon Yeongseung was getting emotional. Of course, this upcoming competition wasn’t a real fight to the death. But in a way, these clan battles and international competitions were grand battles of pride.
The prizes and the pride of the fans were not to be taken lightly.
“I guess you appreciate being treated like a plaything. The more meaning you give to the international competition, the more you become a traitor when you lose, right?” Han Seha wondered.
“...”
Kwon Yeongseung had nothing to say to that.
“Hunter Choi Yeonseung isn’t the type to do something he doesn’t want to do.” Jeong Wonuk didn’t give up. “There’s nothing wrong with asking.”
“Um... Alright.” Kwon Yeongseung nodded with determination. To be honest, the thought of having to train with Choi Yeonseung gave him goosebumps and sent a chill down his spine…
But he was ready to accept that if it meant achieving victory. He would do it for South Korea, for the fans who cheered for them, and for the Iron-Blooded Ice Emperor, who had been disgraced unfairly for the mistakes of others!
“Guys, you’d burden him just by asking! Don’t try to take advantage of people’s goodwill!”
“...”
“...”
Kwon Yeongseung and Jeong Wonuk didn’t think Choi Yeonseung was that kind of person at all…
***
Even though Choi Yeonseung was still busy with the recent events, he didn’t decline this request.
“What? The bastards who set Changsik hyung up as a target and subjected him to all types of abuse are planning to compete with others again, so they called me in?”
“...Y-Yeonseung, it’s water under the bridge…”
Lee Changsik was embarrassed and tried to stop Choi Yeonseung.
Of course, back then, it was incredibly frustrating. The association hindered him instead of helping, hunters fought among themselves all the time, and the media arbitrarily imposed impossibly high expectations just to tear him apart…
But that was all in the past. What was the point of holding onto such an old grudge when they should be doing their best to repel the invasion of the evil god constellations?
In addition, Choi Yeonseung was now a constellation, not a mortal. It was shameful to make a constellation pay attention to such a trivial grudge. The other constellations in the Abyss would most likely have a good laugh if they found out about this…
“What do you need to know?”
Of course, Choi Yeonseung didn’t care about that. Constellation or not, grudges had to be settled.
“I’m in.”
-Really?Thank you!The hunters will also be delighted to hear this!The Hunter Association will organize a list of players who can participate...
“Wait. Let me meet with the association and talk to them first. It’s imperative that I meet with the officials before the international competition.”
-Oh, is that so? We’d be even more happy if you could talk to them!
***
There were several associations out there, but among them, the Korean Hunter Association was surprisingly weak.
Thinking about it, it made sense. Why would the prominent hunter clans, who were incredibly strong and wealthy, listen to some association?
Besides, the Hunter Association was mostly composed of former clan hunters who had retired. Most people thought of it as a worthless organization with no power, a clan made up of washed-up hunters.
But in some cases, the association actually held real power, like when it coordinated clan battles or international competitions.
Losing wouldn’t change much for a team, but winning would garner a lot of profit. Therefore, hunters and clans that wanted to be famous would offer generous bribes to the association. That was why many retired clan hunters aimed to join the association.
Chairman Kim Jinsik had a look of anticipation on his face.
“Hunter Choi Yeonseung has accepted to be the director of the team? That’s great!!”
“Yes!”
The expressions of the general secretary and executive director also lit up.
Choi Yeonseung’s reputation was legendary, but that wasn’t why these people were overjoyed. Thanks to his fame, hunters would line up to participate in this event, and that would inevitably make the association stronger.
The association members at the scene could barely contain their excitement as they thought about all the money that would soon fill their bank accounts. Besides, it didn’t matter if the Korean team lost. The greater the director’s reputation was, the more people would throw all the blame on him.
The association would get to clap regardless of the outcome.
“What hunters did Hunter Choi Yeonseung ask us to pick?”
“He made no requests.”
The association members smiled one again.
Of course, S-grade hunters were too busy to make a list of hunters and go around visiting every single one of them. At most, they would push a few decently famous hunters and let the association pick the rest…
“Should we recommend Hunter Kwon Yeongseung or Hunter Han Seha?”
“Hunter Han Seha never wants to participate, right?”
“Exactly. We can use her to add whoever we want, right?”
“General Secretary, you’re truly a brilliant mind!”
As everyone was chatting excitedly, a staff member knocked on the door.
“Hunter Choi Yeonseung is here.”
“!”
Everyone instantly rose from their seats. Even though among those people were the chairman and the general secretary of the association, their titles meant nothing in front of the hunter who was about to come in.
The members of the Hunter Association never asserted their authority and positions anyway. Doing that against a hunter was utterly useless. Rather, it was best to kneel down and pull the strings from behind the scenes.
“Hunter Choi Yeonseung, you’re here!”
“It’s a great honor to meet the Martial God!”
Naturally, everyone greeted him with the utmost reverence. Choi Yeonseung’s eyes twitched upon hearing the words “Martial God,” but everyone had their heads down, so they didn’t notice his discomfort.
“Please, have a seat!” a staff member encouraged.
Choi Yeonseung promptly sat down at the head of the table.
The atmosphere was heartwarming, and all association members smiled brightly…
Until Choi Yeonseung started talking…
“I will give you a chance now. Anyone who has stood in the way of the Iron-Blooded Ice Emperor even remotely, stand up and quietly leave the room. If you do so, I will spare your lives.”
“...”
“...”
“...”
The air left the room.
One of the association members was startled and tentatively said, “Hunter Choi Yeonseung, what do you mean...?”
“Wait.”
Choi Yeonseung’s intimidating presence was enough for him to cut off the other person.
The association member was speechless, and he felt like his heart was about to stop.
“Think carefully about what you’re going to say next. If you make a lousy excuse, you’ll leave the room through the window, not through the door.”
Everyone was left speechless.
They were on the 37th floor of a skyscraper…
Choi Yeonseung looked at his watch.
“I will give you one minute.”
These people had never realized how loud the ticking of a clock could be… Every time the clock needle moved, the sound of their heartbeats became louder.
“...I’m sorry! Please spare me!”
“If you want to live, get out.”
“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”
One of the association members couldn’t withstand the pressure and ran out of the room after apologizing. This set off a chain reaction, as everyone else quickly burst into tears and left the room after apologizing profusely.
The meeting room instantly became empty, the only remaining members of the association being the chairman, the general secretary, and the executive director.
Only the people with the highest positions remained in their seats. They weren’t as willing to concede to Choi Yeonseung as the others because they had received the most amount of bribes.
With around twenty seconds left, the chairman desperately pleaded, “Hunter Choi Yeonseung, there seems to be a misunderstanding! It’s true that the association receives support from clans, but...”
“Seventeen seconds left.”
“We spend the money selflessly! We’re really doing our best to support hunters and their competitions...”
“Fourteen seconds.”
“The other clans can attest to it. Really!”
“Sure, I’ll contact the clans to confirm what you’re saying. Eleven seconds…”
The chairman’s face turned pale. If that happened, he would have to worry more about clans sending assassins after him rather than what Choi Yeonseung would do to him.
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