A S-Class Hunter With Great Agility - Chapter 165
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 165: Butterfly (2)
I moved to the address Yeon Na-yeon had sent me. It was the address of Butterfly headquarters.
‘It’s more ordinary than I expected.’
As soon as I arrived at the building in the middle of the city, that was the impression I felt.
‘Red Dog was in an abandoned factory, Eden was incredibly flashy. Blue Dragon was also cool-looking since it was a new building.’
The exterior of Butterfly Guild was unexpectedly a plain high-rise building.
Zing—
I opened the automatic door and entered, receiving guidance from a staff member.
“The Guild Leader is waiting for you.”
Taking the elevator to the floor the staff member pressed, I saw a scene no different from any other company.
‘But why are there so few people here?’
Jegal Hyeon was nowhere to be seen either. The same went for the other Hunters I had encountered back then.
I tilted my head curiously and opened the door to the office labeled Guild Leader’s Office.
“Ah, welcome.”
There was a small-framed woman with long, flowing pale pink hair.
“Ms. Yeon Na-yeon.”
Was this the first time meeting her since the year-end party? I greeted her with a bow.
Creak.
Yeon Na-yeon stood up from her seat and offered me a handshake. The hand I lightly grasped was very small.
‘And yet she’s been leading this guild for 10 years already… I remember hearing news about another female S-rank appearing around the same time Sister Yu-kyung awakened.’
Every time I saw her, she looked incredibly youthful.
“Shall we have some tea? I’m quite fond of black tea.”
Yeon Na-yeon rustled around in a corner of the office for a moment, then eventually brought over teacups. A strong herbal fragrance spread.
“…I’ll enjoy it.”
It was tea with an impressive pinkish hue.
Personally, black tea wasn’t my preference, but to lighten the mood, I readily lifted the teacup and sipped.
“I’ve been watching your activities with interest since Hunter Academy. Thanks to that incident, our Butterfly Guild also decided to lend our strength in catching the Goemin Sect.”
“….”
“I thought you were an unusual person… but I never expected we’d have friction with you too. Ah, I’m not blaming you. This incident was our fault.”
“More precisely, it was the Association’s problem. Though it was because of recent events.”
Yeon Na-yeon also nodded while taking a sip of her black tea.
“It was unfortunate. The Korean Hunter Association is already struggling to gather talent… and now another loss occurred. Well, fortunately the Association President and Guild Leader Choi Yu-kyung were safe. Let’s leave this topic here.”
Clink.
Yeon Na-yeon set down her teacup.
“The item?”
I took out the shopping bag I had been holding in one hand. Inside was a sack I had brought from home.
“This, right?”
When I opened the sack, the Siren’s Tear fragments sparkled abundantly.
“…That’s right. There’s more than I expected.”
“I used skilled collectors. Whether byproducts or magic stones, they swept up everything without leaving a single piece.”
They were ready to scrape up even the dungeon’s earth ground. Should I have added a bonus to their contract fee?
I placed the Siren’s Tear fragments on the office table.
“So, you need this?”
“Yes. It’s a rare item, so I’m glad to see it like this… Currently, there isn’t a single dungeon left in Korea where Sirens appear.”
“I see.”
No wonder these wealthy people were so obsessed with it.
So now it’s something you can’t obtain even if you want to.
“Now…”
Soon Yeon Na-yeon leaned back in her chair. It looked like she was ready to start negotiating.
“How much do you want?”
“….”
“I can pay higher than the usual market price. Whatever it is, that would be cheaper than overseas expedition costs.”
Yeon Na-yeon’s pink eyes blinked a couple of times. Sleepy-looking eyes that seemed uninterested in the entire situation.
However, she clearly wanted these tear fragments intensely. She was skilled at hiding her expressions.
“Well. I think I need something only Butterfly Guild can provide more than money.”
I spoke calmly.
“…?”
Yeon Na-yeon furrowed her brow as if asking what I meant. I continued with my explanation.
“You must know too, Ms. Yeon Na-yeon. The current industry situation isn’t very good. The available properties are limited, but the Association that distributes them is practically paralyzed… When duplicate reservations occur to this extent, explaining how serious it is would just be a waste of breath.”
“….”
“Large corporations like Butterfly can just endure some losses, but for unaffiliated hunters like me or people from small to medium organizations, every day feels like a war. Because of the skyrocketing prices.”
It was the same when I went to the auction house. The atmosphere was full of people keeping each other in check.
‘Though I’m in a slightly different position from them.’
If dungeons were daily necessities in life, the hardship would be indescribable.
“That would be the case. But… it’ll be restored soon. We’re not just sitting idle during this crisis either.”
“How long will it take?”
“About three months.”
Three months. It was neither a long nor short period of time.
‘However, I can’t just twiddle my thumbs during that time.’
That’s why I’m making this proposal.
“What I want isn’t money.”
Money is too simple. In this situation, there was one advantage that only Yeon Na-yeon could provide.
“Do you happen to have some dungeons stashed away?”
I asked with a smile around my eyes.
“…Dungeons.”
“….”
“You know that it might be cheaper to go on an overseas business trip to find a Siren Dungeon instead, right?”
“Well, I’m not sure about that, but I was just thinking that the reason Ms. Yeon Na-yeon came to find me instead of going overseas wasn’t simply because of money.”
“Haha.”
Yeon Na-yeon made a laughing sound without a smile.
“We have one incredible coward in our guild… But we can’t go without that friend.”
“…?”
“Alright. I’ll accept the proposal.”
She immediately pulled out a contract from her office drawer.
[Item]
Peach Garden Oath (A)
— An eternal vow beneath the peach tree.
Those who wish to fulfill their promise, write your name here and make your vow. The contract contents cannot be broken without proper mutual agreement.
“…Peach stationery?”
Despite the impressive item name, it was pink stationery that looked like something sold at a stationery store, which was rather amusing.
Yeon Na-yeon glared at me.
“This is an A-rank item, you know.”
“Ah…”
Right, does appearance matter? As long as it has the effect.
“You’re quite thorough, using contracts like this.”
“I have to be thorough… I’m transferring a dungeon that easily exceeds the price of a decent house. Exactly how much do you want?”
Yeon Na-yeon handed me a fountain pen. I pondered for a moment, then wrote down the words.
One A-rank Dungeon
One B-rank Dungeon
* The B-rank dungeon should have mana equivalent to that of an A-rank dungeon.
“…You’re really going for it.”
“You said we can’t get them for a while. The value of any item changes according to its rarity.”
“Can you conquer them alone?”
“Don’t worry.”
I’d need to fill the minimum number of people, but it shouldn’t be too difficult.
Yeon Na-yeon didn’t say anything more and began writing down her own contract terms.
Party A will provide Siren’s Tear fragments to Party B. This is premised on providing all the tear fragments in possession.
“But you know, in that dungeon… how did you know which siren was fake?”
Yeon Na-yeon asked while moving her fountain pen.
“Pardon?”
“It’s strange. Normally, whether it’s fake or not – that’s something you can only find out after killing all the sirens in the dungeon…”
I shrugged my shoulders lightly.
“It’s a trade secret. Let’s just say it was intuition.”
More precisely, it was thanks to my ‘Spiritual Sight’ skill. An ability that can discern the essence of almost everything.
“…But you know.”
I briefly looked into Yeon Na-yeon’s essence.
[Status Window]
Name: Yeon Na-yeon
Rank: S
[Stats]
Stamina: 243 Strength: 242 Agility: 276
Mental Power | 199 Mana | 260
[Skills]
Ara Red Lotus (P) lv.max
Illusionary Garden (S) lv.9
Acrobatics (S) lv.8
Four Pillars / Imperial Grace Great Amnesty
As expected of S-rank. It was a terrifying status window.
‘But something’s strange… What is this sense of unease?’
Where did this strange sense of unease that’s been gnawing at me come from?
“There, I’m done writing. We just need to sign each other’s. Now the tear fragments…”
Swoosh—
I pulled the sack I was about to hand over to Yeon Na-yeon back toward me.
“Ms. Yeon Na-yeon.”
“…”
“Are you a fraud?”
The question burst out of my mouth on its own. But I had no intention of stopping it.
Because I had seen it.
[Skill]
Illusionary Garden (S)
— In the garden where butterflies flutter about in confusion, be careful not to lose your way.
Recreates everything desired into reality. High-level illusions indistinguishable from reality that cannot even be detected.
The illusion skill that Yeon Na-yeon possessed.
The plain building.
The corridor with not a single person.
The pale pink stationery.
Was there really anything genuine among these?
Yeon Na-yeon gave no answer. I continued to glare at her.
“I’m asking if you’re a fraud.”
A gleam flashed in her half-open eyes.
As if finding it interesting, as if she hadn’t expected this reaction from me, the corners of her mouth turned up.
“How did you figure it out?”
…So it really was true.
‘She was using a skill.’
I narrowed my brow. Then what exactly was her intention?
“Illusionary Garden, release.”
Whoooooosh—!
Before I could even question her, the office scenery began to distort in an instant.
The contracts disappeared and a swarm of pink-glowing butterflies surrounded my vision like a dream.
“Ugh…!”
It was dizzying. It was hard to distinguish what was real. Only after several flashing lights passed by did the light disappear.
Swooooosh…
In the time I instinctively closed and opened my eyes, Yeon Na-yeon’s skill was released and ‘true reality’ appeared before my eyes.
“This place is…”
No office existed. The city I had clearly passed through by subway and bus as well.
As if nothing had existed from the beginning.
‘Since when?’
From where to where had been fake?
Thud.
I stood up from my seat. What I had been sitting on wasn’t a chair but merely the stump of a dead tree.
“A garden…?”
The fragrant scent of flowers tickled my nose.
Artificial lighting shone down, and fluttering butterfly wings passed before my eyes.
“Aha… Hahahaha.”
“…”
“You really aren’t an ordinary human.”
I came to my senses at the sound of laughter.
“Ms. Yeon Na-yeon. Why on earth did you…”
Before I could finish speaking, Yeon Na-yeon brought her face close to mine. Pink eyes blinked right in front of my nose.
“How did you figure it out…? Hm? That’s strange. You look rather weak on the outside. How did you notice my illusion that even works on S-ranks?”
“…!”
“Hmm, really interesting. So fascinating. I want to tear you apart and study you…”
Yeon Na-yeon grabbed my face as if she was about to dissect me at any moment.
…Isn’t this person completely insane?!
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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