Chapter 31
To some extent, I could understand his feelings.
It was certainly a generous offer that seemed unbelievable for a B-rank hunter.
However, the problem was that the contract period was a full 3 years.
For Lee Seong-jun, who was confident he could reach SS-rank within a year, there was no reason to accept contract terms for merely the highest tier of S-rank.
"Thankfully, the Association offered me even better terms than what you're proposing now."
Im Jae-hoon's eyes widened.
'The Association offered better terms than this?'
It made no sense.
There was no way the Association, as a public institution with limited funds, could offer better terms than this.
However, he couldn't dismiss Lee Seong-jun as lying.
'There's no way he'd maintain a contract with the Association if it was causing him losses.'
Clearly, the Association must have offered some special conditions he wasn't aware of.
But unfortunately, he couldn't figure out their intentions at the moment.
'No, there's no need to figure it out.'
Hwanseong never lets go of prey once they've targeted it.
They either obtain it or destroy it - there are only those two options.
A sardonic smile spread across Im Jae-hoon's lips.
"I understand your intentions, Returnee Lee Seong-jun. But... it seems you care a lot about your family. In the past it might have been different, but I'm not sure if the declining Association can continue to protect them."
Lee Seong-jun's eyes narrowed.
"What do you mean?"
"It's just a concern, since villains have been appearing frequently in safe zones lately. You may not know, but the Association is no different from a toothless tiger right now."
Im Jae-hoon shrugged nonchalantly.
But he couldn't fool Lee Seong-jun's eyes.
As someone who had ruled over an entire continent as a Demon God, he could read emotions to some extent just by looking at a person's eyes.
'How insidious.'
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the Im Jae-hoon standing before him was someone who could plot any vicious deed if it suited his needs.
"But if you're with Hwanseong, we can definitely protect your family. If you change your mind, please call the number on my business card. I hope you'll make a wise decision."
With a nod as a farewell, Im Jae-hoon turned and left.
Lee Seong-jun's gaze as he watched Im Jae-hoon's retreating back was ice-cold.
There was no immediate danger.
However, since it involved his family, he couldn't just let it slide.
'...I'll have to move quickly for a while.'
Fortunately, being under the Association's protection meant they couldn't act rashly.
But judging from Im Jae-hoon's attitude, it was only a matter of time. Before long, they would reach out with malicious intentions towards his family.
'The Association certainly has its limits.'
Ultimately, it meant a situation would arise where he'd have to resolve things on his own.
'So... I need to become stronger myself.'
Strong enough that even the top 5 guilds representing South Korea wouldn't dare to act carelessly, like now.
Of course, achieving such growth in a short time was by no means an easy task.
But for Lee Seong-jun, who had been called a Demon God, nothing was impossible.
Moreover, the current Earth had an excellent growth aid called the Force System.
That's why he was confident he could become a powerhouse standing above Hwanseong, one of the top 5 guilds, during the short time the Association bought him.
'I'll teach them exactly what happens when they try to touch my family.'
With cold anger simmering inside, Lee Seong-jun began walking as he raised his smartphone.
* * *
47 years ago.
Monsters that were believed to exist only in imagination appeared on Earth.
Naturally, encountering monsters filled with murderous intent was not a pleasant experience.
In just one day, countless people died.
When the world was plunged into despair, a miraculous event occurred, and beings called Awakened came into existence.
Thus began the Great War, which lasted for 10 years, extinguishing many lives.
However, it was not enough to face the monsters pouring out of the endlessly opening gates.
Eventually, humanity found itself at the edge of a cliff, facing a decisive battle for its fate at the final line of defense.
When everyone was contemplating the end, another miracle appeared on Earth.
Once again, gates opened all over the world, and intelligent otherworldly races appeared.
Elves with pointed ears, beastkin with half-human half-animal appearances, and even orcs and goblins who, unlike the mindless monsters driven only by bloodlust, possessed reason and showed a friendly attitude towards humans.
They were all benevolent towards humanity and willingly lent their strength in the war against monsters.
Naturally, the flames of counterattack rose, and the Awakened, led by the otherworldly allied forces, were able to reclaim some of the land taken by monsters.
But that was as far as it went.
Even the brave otherworldly allied forces hesitated to advance in the face of beings revered as gods or kings by the monsters.
The Awakened had to acquiesce as well.
They were not ordinary monsters.
They were rulers who had lived for ages, beings who reigned supreme.
It was premature; they had to wait for a later time.
It wasn't just a vain hope.
Because in 2055, amidst the ongoing war, people who had disappeared returned as Otherworld Returnees, igniting a spark of hope.
Not immediately, but in the near future, when humanity's strength grew greater, they could reclaim the lost lands.
Thus, humanity adapted to the changed world, following the flow while brainwashing themselves.
The Awakened and Returnees, who now call themselves Hunters, were no exception.
As humans are social animals, they too formed their own forces and societies to seek stability.
That's how the World Hunter Association was created.
A law was quickly passed stating that any country with even a single Hunter must join this association.
Of course, due to concerns about power concentration, countries with numerous Hunters were given the authority to create their own national Hunter associations.
Up to this point, it was for the stability of the world and control of Hunters, but what followed was different.
Now, corporations began to move to gain profits.
Although Hunter was a profession that had never existed in the world before, its value on the current Earth was immeasurable.
This was because mana stones, items that could be obtained from monsters, offered humanity possibilities beyond nuclear power.
Therefore, the Hunter profession was a new stepping stone for the development of Earth's science and chemistry.
As it was an opportunity to accumulate vast amounts of wealth, sharp businessmen, ambitious Hunters, and even existing influential conglomerates all set their sights on it without discrimination.
It was inevitable because in human society on Earth, money is power.
No matter how powerful a Hunter is, if they handle their power recklessly or act violently, they will face sanctions from national armies and police, or the Hunter Association, and if they surpass even that, from the World Hunter Association.
But in a capitalist society, there was no way to prevent the free use of money.
Moreover, in the current Earth, if one has a vast amount of money, they can buy people's hearts, power, and even others' lives if the price is right.
Everyone knew this fact, which is why they fiercely competed in the Hunter business.
As a result, many companies and guilds were born in South Korea as well.
However, only 5 places stand out as representative guilds of South Korea.
Sasin, Nuri, Bulssae, Baekho, and Hwanseong.
All were guilds that could represent Korea with tremendous prestige, but among them, there were still rankings, strongest and weakest.
First, the glory of being called the strongest was claimed by Nuri, led by Yoon Min-soo, an SSS-rank Hunter and Sword Master.
And the most inglorious position of the weakest was held by Hwanseong.
The reason was simple.
Unlike Sasin, Baekho, and Bulssae, Hwanseong had only one SS-rank or higher Hunter, the guild master Kim Dong-hyun.
In fact, it could be considered a miracle that Hwanseong was even called one of the top 5 guilds.
This was because Hwanseong had the latest start among the current top 5 guilds.
Under conditions where everyone was a startup, starting late was overwhelmingly disadvantageous.
Nevertheless, the reason they could proudly put their name among the top 5 guilds was thanks to the enormous financial power of their sponsor, the major corporation Myeonghye Group.
Receiving support from Myeonghye, Hwanseong spent money like water and managed to recruit an enormous number of Hunters, rapidly inflating their forces.
However, even with vast financial resources, they couldn't solve the problem of lacking SS-rank or higher Hunters.
This was natural.
No matter how much money and time are invested, it's a rank that can't be reached without talent.
Therefore, Hwanseong also thought that their only weakness was the lack of SS-rank or higher Hunters, but it was a difficult problem to solve.
Then, just in time, Hwanseong's information network detected a talented individual named Lee Seong-jun, a Returnee with considerable potential to reach SSS-rank.
With more than enough money, they approached him with terms they thought he absolutely couldn't refuse, and were waiting, thinking they would surely succeed in recruiting him.
But now, unexpected words were flowing from the mouth of Im Jae-hoon, the head of the Human Resources team.
"...I'm sorry, we failed to recruit him."
"What did you say?"
As Kim Dong-hyun's eyes narrowed, the large-bodied man sitting next to him, Kim Dong-jun, shouted as if he had been waiting for this moment.
"Brother, didn't I tell you? That Lee Seong-jun is a very ill-mannered guy! Just because the Association gave him a little special treatment due to his talent, his nose is stuck up in the sky!"
Kim Dong-hyun's face crumpled.
'...This incompetent fool is just making noise.'
But he couldn't say it out loud.
Although he was currently suspended, Kim Dong-jun held the position of Director of the Returnee Management Department at the Hunter Association.
This meant he could obtain information about talented Returnees in advance.
In fact, through Kim Dong-jun's information, they had succeeded in persuading quite a few Returnees to join Hwanseong, which was one of the driving forces behind Hwanseong's rapid growth.
'He seemed to be bringing some useful information lately... but in the end, trash is trash.'
They had lost the most crucial, important talent.
'It can't be helped.'
It wasn't for nothing that Kim Dong-jun was the first to be eliminated from the succession battle.
The ultimate incompetent, a collection of inferiority complexes.
Knowing these facts, his siblings had concentrated their attacks on him first, eliminating him from the succession battle.
'Come to think of it, it was my mistake to try to use such a guy as an informant.'
As irritation rose to the top of his head, Kim Dong-hyun quickly composed himself.
In the first place, what was important now was not past events, but future moves.
"If by any chance another guild recruits him, it could become quite troublesome."
Right now, Hwanseong was barely hanging on to its position among the top 5 guilds.
If Lee Seong-jun were to join a large guild like Kingdom or Pegasus that was chasing them from behind, they might have to give up their place among the top 5 guilds.
Thinking about the worst-case scenario that could result from this:
'I could be completely pushed out of the succession battle like Kim Dong-jun.'
However, Lee Seong-jun was too tempting a talent to simply dispose of immediately.
'If Lee Seong-jun grows as much as I expect...'
Hwanseong would be discussing the top position in South Korea.
It meant he could cleanly wrap up the complicated succession battle.
"Hmm....