CH 116 Calm Before the Storm.

BONUS CHAPTER WE DID GREAT THIS WEEK SO HERE IT IS THE BONUS CHAPTER AS A THANK YOU FROM ME

THE AUTHOR LOVE YOU ALL.

....

"Having someone saying you're okay as you are and being needed by that person... It was nice to have someone like that."

Taiga Aisaka

Some thing only few will understand.

....

Also known as the 'Ultimate Weapon', Choi Jong-In. Just one word from him, and the country's most powerful raid team would mobilize like a slick, well-oiled machine.

A man like that was fawning over you, so how could anyone feel bad about that?

Choi Jong-In pulled out a cigarette and asked.

"Will it be fine if I light one up?"

"Oh. Please, go ahead."

"What about you, Chief Park?"

"I'm fine, thank you."

Choi Jong-In, relaxedly sucking in the cigarette, exuded the air of a man who had achieved everything there was to achieve pretty early on in his life.

'Is this that elusive thing called charisma?'

As Chief Park stared at him as if he was bewitched, Choi Jong-In threw out a question.

"By the way, it sounds like Block B is a bit noisier than usual today."

"Block B, you say?"

Chief Park looked out the window and at Block B.

Truth be told, Chief Park couldn't hear anything at all.

However, Choi Jong-In was a rank S Hunter. His five senses should never be compared to that of a regular person's. If Choi Jong-In said it was getting rowdier down there, then something must've happened for real.

An honorable guest had come to visit, so what a shameful blunder this was. Chief Park frowned slightly and spoke up.

"Let me go and find out what's happening."

"No, wait."

Choi Jong-In discarded the cigarette and killed it with his foot.

"I'm also getting curious, so…."

Choi Jong-In raised his head, and a mysterious flash of light could be seen in his eyes for a moment. And an equally mysterious smile formed on his lips.

"Why don't we go together?"

…

The entirety of the B block had become deathly silent.

'J-just now, definitely, impossible to measure….'

'D-does that mean, that guy's a rank S?'

'I've only ever heard of it, but seeing an impossible-to-measure rank with my own eyes is….'

Gulp.

The recruitment agents dispatched by various smaller Guilds were busy swallowing dry saliva as they stared at Jin turning in their direction.

However, none of them tried to talk to him.

"..."

"….."

"….."

If he was a rank C, then they would've started a war of nerves trying to sign him up to their respective Guilds. They would have formed the proverbial queue just for a chance to talk to him.

What about a rank B, then?

They would pounce on him like crazy while throwing around quite attractive-sounding offers, such as 'guaranteed spot as a high-ranking officer in the Guild', or 'shares in the Guild', etc., etc.

Onlookers would probably see it as an all-out war or something.

Well, it was not such a weird thing when considering the value of a Hunter ranked B, or the fact that they would receive a fat bonus by luring a high-ranked Awakened like that to their Guilds.

There were enough rank Bs who fell for the sweet-talk, after all; anyone would rather prefer to be the head of a snake instead of the tail of a dragon.

However, the story changed when it came to a rank A. A rank A would be showered with a crap ton of special privileges by entering large Guilds, never mind small-to-medium Guilds.

Being selected as a member of the main raid team was a given, and since the main raid team only targeted high-ranked dungeons, the financial reward would be quite enormous as well.

Was that all?

If the offers of the Guilds weren't to your liking, you could just establish your own Guild and become its Master.

You could just make a small or a medium Guild by yourself, so was there a real reason to sign with one?

Indeed, rank A were that kind of existence.

However….

This man, who got his magic energy measured just now, was supposedly a rank S.

Not an 'A', but the 'S'.

It might be an easy thing to say, but the truth was, that single letter was only used to denote the very best Awakened in the country, with only nine of them existing in South Korea.

'With that man included, it'll be ten, won't it?'

'The tenth S rank Hunter…..'

This youth was not someone these headhunters from the various small Guilds could even attempt to talk to.

Gulp….

Nope, all they could do now was to silently swallow their saliva. He was literally a pie in the sky to them. A mountain that can't be conquered.

But, it was then.

'Wait a minute…..'

'This, couldn't this be my opportunity?'

A handful of quick-witted scouts suddenly had this remarkable idea: How about acting as a middleman, guide this new S-rank Awakened to a large Guild, and get paid handsomely for their efforts?

The contract signing fee for an S-rank would easily exceed tens of billions of Won, at the least. Just one percent of that fee as their commission would prove to be a good enough incentive to quit their current Guilds.

And, if one got lucky and got on the good books of that youth to become his personal agent, then hell, you'd be set for life. They could sleep on the bed completely made of money, and even the law can't touch them.

S-rankers are just that much powerful without using their own power, and even the near vicinity of one comes with perks that a normal man could only dream of.

Didn't a personal agent of some S-rank Hunter get a Porsche as a birthday present or something?!

'….Should I try it?'

'My silver tongue won't lose to anyone, anywhere, so, like….'

'Should I just man up and jump in?'

Within a blink of time, all sorts of thoughts entered and exited the minds of the scouts.

The ridicule of the failure would only last for a short while, but the sweetness of success would last forever, possibly for generations, as S-rankers hardly show any signs of aging; they still look the same as they were looking ten years ago.

Just as the scouts sneakily glanced at their peers and began inching forward….

Someone suddenly pointed towards the entrance of Block B.

"Huh? Isn't that….?"

Was it because everyone was so tense already?

No one could tell who did it first – everyone seemingly shifted their gazes over in the direction the first man to open his mouth pointed at. The eyes of the scouts widened immediately.

"Heok!"

A man wearing a stylish business suit was entering Block B. There wasn't a single person present who didn't know that man's name.

"Choi.... Choi Jong-In?!"

"Why, why is the leader of the 'Hunters' here?"

Sure enough….

Choi Jong-In felt the gazes of the crowd and lightly tidied up his suit before walking straight towards Jin-Woo.

'But, isn't this too fast for him to get here after receiving an alert?'

'No, wait a minute. Did he already sign up with the Hunters?'

'Did the Hunters know about him? Well, the top Guild sure operates on another level, no?'

'Yup, as expected….'

Scouts present all readily accepted the inevitable conclusion to come.

Perhaps, it was a relief that none of them stepped forward and tried to chat up the youth. How embarrassing would it have been when one of them started yapping on and ended up running into Choi Jong-In, instead?

Only now did they realize the direction this situation had taken.

'Well, with Choi Jong-In's entrance, the picture is complete.'

'Hiya~. This is so cool.'

'To think that the leader of the Hunters Guild has personally stepped up…. Indeed, treatments for S-ranks are totally different from the rest, no?'

Although the scouts did feel a bit rueful, they nevertheless witnessed this scene of the leader of the South Korea's top Guild meeting with the Awakened blessed with the highest rank there was, with warm expressions on their faces.

On the other hand….

Jin was somewhat shocked by the sudden turn of events. After all, this shouldn't be happening unless there are spies in this building who report to higher guilds. He was just placed at the grand entrance of Choi Jong-In.

'What a turn of events as it was soon.'

He was pondering how this man could be here, and if he is here, then another one will also be here soon if he is not already here.

Jin inwardly thought of events and Choi Jong-In, and simply walked past the latter. And Choi Jong-In's eyes widened in surprise.

'Huh? This can't be right.'

Choi Jong-In hurriedly called out to Jin.

"Excuse me, can you stop for a second?"

Jin stopped walking away and turned around to look.

"…..?"

Choi Jong-In's eyes gleamed brightly as he stared into Jin's face.

'This man's the tenth….'

Choi Jong-In beat around the bush with Chief Park about checking out the situation together or some such, but the truth was, he already had sensed what was happening before coming here.

'I mean, they've been yapping on so loudly about impossible to measure this and device error that, so how can I not hear them?'

Thanks to that, though, he was given a huge opportunity here.

This guy was a rank S. The rank S!!

By signing this man, the Hunters Guild would then boast the services of three S-ranks and be able to brush shoulders with the best Guilds in the world, never mind those found in South Korea.

How could he not salivate over that prospect?

'There's no need to borrow a measuring device, either.'

Just a short meeting of their gazes, and he immediately sensed the depths of the youth's strength. Without a doubt, this guy was the highest-grade Hunter there was. Hell, Choi Jong-In saw absolutely no reason to wait for three, four days at all.

"Hmm, hmm."

Choi Jong-In cleared his throat and formed his trademark smile.

"I'm Choi Jong-In, the leader of the Hunters Guild."

Of course, Jin knew that already. Well, that man's face could be seen frequently enough whenever a TV was turned on, after all. And he clearly saw him in the story.

Jin didn't need to wonder why such a famous man was trying to talk to him after coming all the way to the Association, but well, he didn't have the leeway to ask for the clarification.

Jin sneaked a glance at the clock mounted on one of the walls.

Then sensed who seems to enjoy the book.

'It's already ten to six….'

If he thought about the time it would take for her to register as she was going to go through a deep analysis, then the same drama is going to unfold for her. So, he needs to go 'there'. He was cutting it pretty close.

When Jin formed an expression that implied 'Okay, you're done with your introduction, so hurry up with what you want to say', Choi Jong-In became a bit flustered as he continued.

"Ah, well, actually…. I'm aware that you just had your Awakened rank evaluation."

"Yes."

"By any chance, have you thought of a Guild to join?"

"No."

A bright smile formed on Choi Jong-In's face when he heard that reply.

'Yup, it's done.'

One of the top three Guilds in the world – 'Hunters'.

What a sweet title that was. From today onwards, it'd not be a simple daydream anymore.

'You're mine.'

Choi Jong-In's chest puffed up from happiness, and he spoke the line that might be recorded in the annals of history.

"I'd like to speak to you regarding that issue, so can you spare a minute to talk, please?"

"Sorry, but I don't have the time. There is someone who's waiting for me, and she doesn't like waiting."

Jin quickly voiced his refusal and hurriedly left the Block B building.

"..."

It happened so fast that Choi Jong-In didn't even have the chance to think about stopping the youth from leaving. Meanwhile, the Association employees and the scouts from other Guilds belatedly realized what had transpired and began freaking out.

"What the hell??"

"Wait, did Choi Jong-In get kicked to the curb?!"

"No matter who sees it, he was ignored!"

Mutter, mutter…..

The waiting room became very noisy all of a sudden. Choi Jong-In did his best to maintain his calm and looked to his side.

"Chief Park?"

"Yes?"

Chief Park replied with an awkward look on his face.

"Did I make a mistake during my introduction?"

"W-well, I….. I wonder. I'm not sure."

Obviously, Chief Park heard everything as he was standing to the side. Still, this wasn't the right time to say that out loud, no?

When Chief Park shut his mouth, Choi Jong-In sheepishly scratched the side of his head.

'Was I too careless with my approach….?'

Still, there was no reason to feel disappointed here. Without a doubt, he was one step ahead of other Guilds.

'I'm the only one who knows about the appearance of the new rank S.'

The re-measurement was scheduled for five days later. There was still some time left until the official announcement.

'Before that, though, I gotta find another opportunity to talk to him, no matter what….'

Wasn't there a good way?

While Choi Jong-In began pondering his options, he spotted someone else hurriedly running towards the building.

'…..Wait, isn't he…?

Now that was definitely a familiar face.

When that man pushed open the glass door and entered, Choi Jong-In spoke up with a surprised expression on his face.

"Chairman Baek? What are you…..?"

Baek Yun-Ho's eyes also widened after recognizing Choi Jong-In.

"Master Choi?"

Choi Jong-In quickly deciphered Baek Yun-Ho's expression.

'It's like, he knows he's been busted….'

It was not very likely that he came running after an informant rang him up just now. No, the time of his arrival didn't make sense if that was the case.

'I mean, the distance between the White Tiger Guild offices and the Hunter Association is pretty long, so….'

That's right – Baek Yun-Ho knew from the get-go.

….He had prior knowledge regarding what would happen here.

'Meaning, he knows about the existence of that man already?'

But, that couldn't be. If so, he'd never let that man go through the reassignment test in this fashion.

'If it were me, I'd make him sign the contract first and then let him take the test.'

It was here that the scattered puzzle pieces in Choi Jong-In's head began falling into their respective places.

'…..No way. Could it be?'

The White Tiger Guild. The incident during their training. The Red Gate. The mystery helper. And then, the newly-appeared rank S Awakened.

And even after his tries, the media wasn't able to pressure them into releasing the name of their secret helper, which somewhat damaged their images.

As their mysterious hunter, he was also the reason behind the Aakivara Incident. Yet they kept their mouth shut.

– The White Tiger must've received help from someone they don't want others to know about.

– A newbie who hasn't gone through the rank assignment test? Or, maybe a convict whose identity can't be revealed?

Now everything made sense.

…..Found him.

'So, it was that man, huh.'

Baek Yun-Ho was completely out of breath. He must've run really hard and fast to get here. Most likely, he had not left that man to his own devices. No, the Master of the White Tiger Guild actually couldn't stop the youth even if he wanted to.

Choi Jong-In stared at Baek Yun-Ho and formed a knowing smile.

'You let him slip through your fingers.'

Because he wasn't the same as Baek Yun-Ho…..

'Thanks for the opportunity.'

Choi Jong-In didn't say anything else and relaxedly walked past Baek Yun-Ho.

Meanwhile, Baek Yun-Ho took a look around. He couldn't spot Jin-Woo anywhere.

'Am I too late?'

Baek Yun-Ho could only look on at the distancing back of Choi Jong-In and softly sigh.

"Fuu-woo…."

Who knew that the Master of the Hunters Guild would be at the Hunters Association?

Baek Yun-Ho scratched the back of his head and muttered to himself.

"Things just got complicated…."

….

On the other side, Jin sprinted out of Block B and walked towards the parking area. After reaching his car, he didn't sit; he just opened the door of the co-driver's seat.

...

BONUS CHAPTER WE DID GREAT THIS WEEK SO HERE IT IS THE BONUS CHAPTER AS A THANK YOU FROM ME

THE AUTHOR LOVE YOU ALL.