"Here's the list of our C-class hunters and above that are available next week, Sir."
William handed me a 3-paged document consisting of some of our hunters' names and abilities.
When making a party for dungeon raids, we had to take into consideration, not just the hunters' strength, but also constitution, abilities, and skills, to make sure they would last well and have no difficulties when dealing with the dangers awaiting in the dungeon. The raid in HW-12 district is for the A-rank dungeon there, bordering to S-rank, so I had to pick the members myself, the Guild Master.
Dungeons with a ranking of A and above are the ones I directly manage while the guild executives deal with B-rank ones and below, and come to me for confirmation and approval.
While this is what I usually do, the dungeon we had to clear this week is a special case. Even though its rank is A, the trickiness and complicatedness of its clear conditions was something that of an S-rank dungeon. The first party to clear it almost got stuck inside because of the puzzles and riddles you have to solve and finding the hidden requirement to open the gate to leave. If I didn't realize and found out about those things then, I wouldn't be here now in this office doing paperwork. And so, as someone who has plenty of knowledge about the dungeon, I'll also be joining the party as the leader.
I finished reading the first page and skimmed through the rest of the document before putting it down. I can't look through all of them right now since I have somewhere to go. I got up from my seat and wore my blazer that was hanging on the armrest.
"Tell Vincent to come here later. I'll talk to him about the list after I come back from the Association," I told William as I fixed myself up. "Where's Igor?"
Igor Zelensky, one of our guild's three executives. He's coming with me to the Association for the Guild Meeting today. He should've been here already, but he likes going here and there that I'm not sure where he is most of the time.
"I heard he went to the rooftop to sleep."
"Again? He has his own office, why's he sleeping there?"
Also, why is he sleeping at this hour? It's already almost 11 in the morning.
"I asked him the other day and he told me it's nice feeling the wind up there."
"...Huh."
What's up with that? It's not like it's hot inside the building. Did the air conditioner in his office break?
I went to the rooftop using the elevator and saw Igor there, lying down on the floor.
This looks like one of those dramatic scenes in dramas and comics where the character sees someone sleeping on the rooftop then have their moment. A soft chuckle left my lips as I imagined the situation in a 3rd person perspective. Then I was reminded of 'my' novel. Did this also got mentioned there? It would be quite embarrassing if it did and It was narrated like those dramas.
"Igor."
I called out to the young executive. He flinched when he heard my voice and immediately got up.
Looking at him every time really makes me realize that his appearance doesn't fit his name. Contrary to the stereotype for people with the name Igor, he looks like a soft and energetic boy. His babyface feels so off that it startles me everytime I look at it. The only thought left about him would be "that isn't an Igor."
"Oh, hey there boss! What's up?" he waved his hand at me with a wide grin on his face. I--
"What do you mean 'what's up?' We have a meeting to attend in a few minutes."
"Ah, right! It's my turn this week!"
This guy seriously forgot his schedule and just decided to lax in here. Fricking hell... He's always been a clutz, so it's a bit annoying. I'm just glad that he's still a huge help whenever needed.
I tossed him the car key. "I brought my car today. You drive there, I drive back."
"Okay! My bad."
"Yeah yeah, try setting up an alarm a month in advance."
"Yeah, I think I should..."
We made our way to the car in the underground parking and drove off.
I opened the novel while we're on the road. I quickly scrolled through the chapter where today's Union meeting would be mentioned. Unlike what I thought earlier, the chapter started only when we've finally arrived in the Hunter's Association HQ. So me fetching Igor wasn't included.
Basically, they'll just be briefing us, discuss topics relating to certain departments, and the usual giving of overview on our districts. They won't get too detailed with the topic of the dungeon, probably because the rights were already given to Choi Soohye in discreet. They would let the respective guild leaders tell their members of the situation after.
Though which reminds me, how did he manage to persuade the Chairman to let him have it even though it's in Ju Feng's 'territory'? That old man from the Association is known to be strict and stingy. Could he have been preparing for it for a while now? If so, how did he know that the gate would appear there beforehand? It's all too suspicious.
"You're frown is kinda intense right now," Igor broke the silence inside the car. "What were you looking at that you're like that, boss?"
I thought before saying anything. "I was spoiling myself. But it's something else why I'm frowning."
"Eh."
Technically, I really was spoiling myself by reading about later events. It's such a strange thing, casually reading about the future. But while I am very curious about who Null is, the writer and sender of the novel, I think I should prioritize figuring out what to do in the near future and confirming my suspicions on Choi Soohye. If things take a bad turn, it'll be really disappointing.
'After all the things he taught me, just for him to be a bad guy...'
I don't want to believe he's a genuinely horrible person.
***
Hunter Management Chief Daniel Lee was there at the entrance when we were about to enter the Union. When he noticed us, you can see wrinkles form when he narrowed his eyes as he smiled and greeted us.
"Welcome, Master Yuhan. Hello there too, Igor."
"Howdy, Chief!"
"Good morning, Chief," I smiled back. "Who's already arrived?"
"Everyone's already here except for a Luzberg executive."
"We're not late are we?" I half-jokingly said.
"Ahaha, not at all. You're just right on time."
The Chief went in together with us. We continued talking as we walked to the Union hall. I decided to poke a bit on today's topic by vaguely giving a question related to what I read on the way here.
"It'll still be the usual meeting, right, Chief?"
The random question made Chief Lee's ears perk up. As expected, he immediately noticed the underlying implication of my words.
"I did heard that Master Soohye called for a Masters' Meeting the other day. Was it about that?"
"Yes, he told us it won't be, if not briefly, mentioned today. Especially regarding the rights."
"Hoo... How was the response?"
"Master Li didn't like it but had no choice but to concede since everyone trusted Choi Soohye with his decision, though they have their doubts."
In my peripheral view, I noticed that Igor, who was just a couple steps behind us, was confused about our conversation. He seemed to want to ask a question but didn't want to interrupt. I ignored him and continued talking. I asked the Chief what I was wondering about earlier.
"But do you happen to know how he managed to get Chairman Rivietz to give him the rights right away?"
Chief Lee pondered a bit before answering.
"Even I have no clue. While they do have a history together, it isn't enough to influence the Chairman's decision making. Master Soohye is quite unpredictable in some ways so I'm not too sure."
So even the Chief can't take a guess. He's usually sharp about things like this so I figured I'll ask for his insight about the matter, but even he doesn't know.
I didn't even realize that we were already in front of the door to the hall. Chief Lee was a step closer to the door than me, so I was confused why he still hadn't opened the door and just stood still.
"Chief...?" I called out to him.
"How about you, Master Raich?" Chief Lee turned around to face me. "Do you also have doubts about the matter?"
My doubts, huh. Of course he would get curious about that.
Right now, because of the novel, I'm rethinking some things. But if it weren't for that, I wouldn't have minded it quite much. I'd wonder what made him do it but not really doubt him. He's someone that can be trusted with matters like this and it's actually one of the reasons that made me hate him. Though the me in the novel actually inwardly criticized him heavily, which I feel doesn't make that much sense.
"...Not really," I just replied with that.
"..."
Chief Lee stayed silent for a while then softly chuckled, like he already knew something. "I see. Then shall we go in?"
The Chief opened the door, and the view of Association officials and hunters from different guilds greeted us. As we entered, some of them were chattering away, having their own discussions.
Chief Lee parted with us and headed to his designated seat. Igor and I did the same and walked towards the set table in the southwest-most part of the hall.
Our table neighbours, Fuxiu and Vienna guild, greeted us and exchanged a couple words.
Each guild's seats were arranged similarly to the areas our guilds were in charge of. Fuxiu and Vienna's F districts and VI districts were the closest to our HW districts, that's why our tables were close to each other. And so, while the meeting hadn't started yet, Igor joined the executives from the two mentioned guilds while their guild masters approached me.
"How was the drive here, Raich?" Agreste asked with a bright smile. With that youthful face, you wouldn't be able to tell that he's already in his forties at first glance.
"So-so. Igor drove the car well and there were no issues."
This time, it was Ju Feng that spoke up. She leaned forward on the table and lowered her voice. "So, have you told your guys about the dungeon?"
"Ooh yeah, have you?" Agreste was anticipating my answer for some reason.
"I plan on telling them later once Hansung has arrived."
"Ah, he still hasn't come back from Seoul?"
"Last time I heard from him was last week. Something came up then, so he had to go to Dongdaemun before leaving."
I wouldn't have known where he is at the moment if not for the novel. After this meeting, he should be already on his way to our guild, so he can report to me before heading home.
While Min Seyoung went to Seoul to represent Pandemonium to work on hunter relations, Yoo Hansung went there to help with an S-rank dungeon raid arranged by the Hunter Association there. He was hired along with other Pandemonium hunters, through Min Seyoung's recommendation. It was just formalities, but I'm sure they must've helped a lot with clearing it faster.
"Well, how about you two?," they asked me and I answered, so it's natural for me to ask back. Not that I'm curious, but to make the conversation flow, since I already know their answers.
"I have," Ju Feng sighed. "They were confused but just let it be. They were just sad that we wouldn't get to know what new materials we can get from that dungeon."
"I won't tell them. They won't be interested unless I myself mention it anyway."
Ju Feng chuckled. "You guys in Vienna remain 'outside' as always. Even during our meeting, you just laughed the matter off and didn't take any sides."
Agreste remained smiling.
He was the 'judge' of the guild masters for a reason. Lourde Agreste remains fair on everything and somehow always ends up with the best result when it comes to choices. Along with Choi Soohye, he acts as a consultant to the newer guild masters. Another thing is that, with him being the oldest out of all of us, he's like a parent that keeps an eye out for his children, in some way.
"I guess you could say that I prefer to oversee things rather than get involved in them," he shrugged.
Just as Agreste finished his sentence, the Association Chairman finally entered the hall. Everyone got back to their seats and fixed themselves up as we all waited for the last-minute technical testing to finish for the Chairman to start talking.
As for us, I had Igor hand me the report paper he had been carrying. I took some pages related to our districts and then gave back the rest to him for later.
The loud sound of the mic screeching was then heard, alerting us to look up at the shallow platform in front of us.
"Let us start this meeting by first having a brief rundown of what has happened in Pandemonium this past month."
It was the same starting statement in the novel.
["As you all know, news of rapid increasing numbers of dungeons in Russia, China and South Korea are getting more widespread. It is also the same case for us here, especially in Hollow, Vienna, and Fuxiu's area. A few more has also been reported from RD-2 district,"]
The Chairman's next statement…
"Not only that, Pandemonium's first SS-rank dungeon appeared in the F-4 district."
…was the one I was waiting for.
The executives that didn't know of this fact yet were surprised, and those that already knew had mixed expressions. As for the guild masters, all of us had a straight face.
Contrary to what some expected, the news about the SS-rank wasn't elaborated on any further. Igor also kept glancing at me, so I turned to him and told him to message Vincent and Hansung to gather at my office later.
After Chairman Rivietz finished the rundown of Pandemonium's latest happenings, he stepped away the podium and sat down at the nearby empty stool. Chief Lee then took the mic for his turn to speak.
The novel narrated the rest of this meeting with only a few words, so I'm not too sure what exactly would be talked about. The only ones that were worth mentioning were the SS-rank dungeon, missing high-class artifacts and weapons, and the ongoing negotiations with France and South Korea. So I have no clue what Chief Lee would be talking about today.
"On behalf of Hunter Crime Division Chief Qie Shajiao, who isn't here due to certain circumstances, I will be reporting on the recent deviancy in awakeners and hunters, in his stead."
Uh, doesn't this seem quite important? Especially in a plot involving crimes relating to hunters. So how come that this was skipped in the novel? Is this matter really not worth mentioning? Regardless, I decided to pay close attention to what Chief Lee would say.
"In the course of two weeks, there have been five total cases of ability misuse of awakeners, with three of them involving unknown and unregistered awakeners. One of those three have already been caught, and based on what they have said during interrogation, we could say that they want to cause chaos and disorder in Pandemonium for fun. We ask you all to increase your vigilance in your respective areas to increase the safety of people and immediately report any suspicious acts to us so that we can look into it right away."
Chief Lee then stepped away from the mic and walked back to his seat.
I guess that was it for the chief's part. Well, it kind of sounds like just your run of the mill terrorism.
There have been similar cases like it after gates appeared and people awakened their abilities decades ago, but it ceased at some point, as there was nothing much those hooligans could do with high-class hunters around and dungeon breaks happening here and there.
But I guess that since handling the dungeons have become easier as years passed, assholes started to cause trouble again.
Anyways, the next that came to the podium was, unsurprisingly, Choi Soohye. He would be the one to talk about the missing weapons and artifacts, as he also helps with the treasury.
Just like he did in the novel, he went on on which items were missing, namely: SS-class sword Lilith's Love, A-class dagger Myriad-Year Suffering, and SSS-class artifact Solemn Sanctuary in the form of a locket.
This topic is the one that actually worries me most, as said missing items have a reason to be kept by the Association and not us high-ranking hunters here.
Lilith's Love is a sword found in an S-rank dungeon from Vienna's jurisdiction. This sword would corrupt the mind of whoever touches it. Those who are already crazy and can bear through constant distress can wield it but it's a huge risk to leave this sword to anyone of said nature due to the destructive power it holds.
Myriad-Year Suffering on the other hand, stucks whoever it cuts, no matter how small it is, in an endless 'happy' illusion. Getting you high in serotonin before screwing you over and putting you into deep despair, causing you to die in your dreams. Even if you have a strong counter for such a mental attack, you'd still end up getting stuck in a long coma. It's a bound weapon that only the accepted owner can wield. The only way to revoke the ownership is through the owner's death.
And Solemn Sanctuary… I don't even want to talk about it. It would a pain in the ass to deal with whoever is in possession of it.
In any case, it is alarming that these items suddenly went missing. It is most probable that it was stolen, so it is quite worrisome. We would be put in a tight spot if those items get into the hands of someone with bad intentions.
"An investigation has been going on to find out where these items went and how they got smuggled out of Gates and Dungeon Research's facility. I have called in someone that could be related to this case, so I request Guild Master Lourde Agreste to remain here after adjournment."
"Understood," Agreste nodded.
"On another note," Soohye continued, "I'd like to report on the ongoing partnership projects of Pandemonium with France and South Korea."
He brought out a folder and took out papers then handed them each to the executives and the Chairman. At the same time, Igor also handed out copies of one of the documents we brought to them.
I stood up from my seat and Choi Soohye spoke up once again.
"In joint with this report, Master Yuhan shall be covering the deal with South Korea."
"I have received reports from Rounder Executive Benoit that the progress is quite rocky," he continued as each table were being given a mic each. "He is currently working with Omnivue Corporation's hunter department to further convince other huge guilds in the country that it won't be that bad to join hands with Pandemonium."
"Their planned procedures moving forward are detailed in those documents."
After finishing his part, Choi Soohye walked away from the podium back to his seat. Using that as a sign, I started talking using the mic we were given.
"I have yet to talk to Hollow Executive Hansung as he hasn't arrived back to Pandemonium yet, but according to his recent call, things seem to be going well. Negative comments were of minority and mostly coming from trolls. I have also received word from our representative dispatched there that their Association actually seems to be very enthusiastic about this."
"The chairman there looks like he knows what he's doing," the Chairman Rivietz remarked.
"Also, I have been told that the former idol, ranker Cha Jaeyoon, has been promoted to SSS-class."
From my peripheral view, I could notice the change in expression of the majority in the room.
"I wanted to mention this as, also according to our representative, said hunter has shown interest in visiting Pandemonium."
"...!"
That's right. I had to call Min Seyoung yesterday to contact Hansung for me as I can't reach him and she told me this fact before I hung up.
Everyone was pretty much surprised. Even Choi Soohye had his eyes open wide when mine met his. Meanwhile, the Chairman was in deep thought. Of course he would be.
'Cha Jaeyoon is an independent hunter, unaffiliated with any guild whatsoever."
There's a possibility that he could become Pandemonium's second SSS-class hunter after Chairman Rivietz.