A S-Class Hunter With Great Agility - Chapter 55

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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 55: Kang Hyun-cheol (2)

 

“Association President, are you feeling unwell somewhere?”

 

Inside Yeo Jung-eun’s office, an Association staff member holding a document file asked worriedly. Yeo Jung-eun pressed her forehead and couldn’t answer for a while.

All that came from her was a deep sigh.

 

“Hah…”

 

How did it come to this? Yeo Jung-eun couldn’t bring herself to voice the words swirling in her mouth.

Wasn’t there another way? Even thinking about it, there were no other options available right now.

 

‘Blue Dragon…’

 

A place you never knew which way it would jump. Especially the veil covering Lee Cheong-ryu showed no signs of being lifted yet.

To such a place, of all places to Blue Dragon. To plant such a bomb there.

 

This time I really got hit hard…

 

Yeo Jung-eun closed her eyes and barely managed to mutter a few words. Eun Hae-dam…

 

“I… unknowingly let a tiger cub in.”

 

* * *

 

The Mountain Lord drooped his tail listlessly.

White fur embroidered with tiger stripes swayed back and forth before my eyes.

 

“Do you think my head is some kind of bedroom?”

| It’s more comfortable than you think. At least it’s not a stone head, so that’s fortunate. |

“How long are you planning to stay?”

 

The Mountain Lord spoke bluntly.

 

| Isn’t that your problem? |

“Excuse me?”

 

What’s this about now?

 

| When you canceled the Spirit Descent, where did you sell your manners? Because of that, that Thunder fellow is throwing a fit. |

“…Ah.”

 

 

Right. That’s what happened.

 

“I was in a hurry and had no choice. It was either die or lose it.”

| Even so, you should at least say goodbye next time. It’s basic courtesy. Do you think Thunder’s voice is moderately loud? Because of that, I absolutely can’t go back… |

“Oh, this is delicious.”

 

Ignoring him is the answer. You should pay a fee for nagging too. I wondered if I should show him a holiday nagging menu.

 

“I’m glad I came to the market. I heard Busan fish cake was famous, and it really is.”

 

Mmm, so chewy.

I chewed the fish cake while pretending not to hear the Mountain Lord’s nagging.

 

| …That child keeps staring at you. |

“Ah, right.”

 

In the direction the Mountain Lord pointed, there was a child. The child was glaring at me like I was some weirdo.

I quickly brought my cell phone to my ear.

I’d rather not be treated like someone talking to ghosts and muttering to thin air.

 

“Anyway, so I have to stay here a few more days. Because of what happened yesterday.”

| I know. You’ve gotten involved in troublesome business. |

 

I was waiting for contact from Lee Cheong-ryu, who had taken custody of Kang Hyun-cheol.

I was just a bit bored, so since I was in Busan anyway, I was going around visiting various places worth seeing.

 

“Are you planning to keep sightseeing with me? If you stay much longer, you might become a Jangsan Tiger.”

| How dare you compare me to such a lowly ghost, tsk. |

 

The Jangsan Tiger refers to a tiger-shaped yokai that appears on Jangsan Mountain in Busan.

Except for being a deity rather than a yokai, it’s quite similar to the Mountain Lord currently on my head.

I giggled as I joked.

 

| And it doesn’t look like you have time for sightseeing. That square thing is making noise. |

“Huh.”

 

The mobile phone I was holding while pretending to talk vibrated with a text message. I quickly turned on the screen.

 

 

Tap tap.

 

 

‘Faster than I thought.’

 

I clicked the link with a newly surprised expression. How do you use maps again?

 

“Mountain Lord, are you good at finding directions?”

| Is there any place on the Korean Peninsula I don’t know? |

“…What year is that based on?”

| … |

 

The latest updated version of the map is probably from the Joseon era…

I sighed and checked the location of the Blue Dragon Busan Branch that Lee Cheong-ryu had sent me.

Well, I’ll have to find it somehow.

 

* * *

 

 

Wow, damn… I finally arrived…

 

I raised my head. After many twists and turns—I’ll skip the detailed explanation for the sake of dignity—the Blue Dragon Busan Branch came into view.

A dragon-shaped sign and glass windows with a blue tint.

For a guild that hadn’t been around long, the scale was impressive, but it definitely had that new building vibe.

 

“Phew.”

 

‘So Kang Hyun-cheol is in here.’

 

I definitely made the right choice entrusting him to Blue Dragon. With this kind of scale, escaping wouldn’t be easy.

 

‘While investigating his background…’

 

 

‘I should investigate the true nature of this flower.’

 

It’s better to know the exact value of what you’re holding. Thinking about how I accidentally sold an expensive Buddhist painting for cheap in the past still made my blood pressure rise even in my sleep.

Whether it simply serves as a mana potion, or if there’s something more to it…

 

‘The Association President probably wouldn’t tell me even if I pestered him about it.’

 

Why did Kang Hyun-cheol target this? I needed to find out directly.

Find out, and if it can make money, make the maximum profit.

 

“Let’s go.”

| If you go, I go too. |

 

I couldn’t shake the feeling of walking directly into a tiger’s den, but since I had a real tiger perched on my head, it was fine.

I flashed my eyes and started walking.

 

* * *

 

The interior of the building was also modern.

If Eden’s headquarters had a literally ‘natural’ feel, this place was decorated in a contemporary style.

 

— Ah, the Guild Leader told us about you! If you go to the 3rd floor of the building, you’ll find her there.

 

The lobby staff kindly guided me with a strong Busan accent. Thanks to Lee Cheong-ryu’s heads-up, I passed through safely.

Now I just need to find that blue-haired guy.

 

“Why isn’t he here?”

 

I turned my head in confusion.

I had walked around the entire 3rd floor, but I couldn’t see Lee Cheong-ryu, let alone a single ant.

 

| Are they playing children’s games? |

“No, why isn’t anyone here? They clearly said 3rd floor…”

| I see one guy over there. |

“Oh, you’re right.”

 

Finally. Someone was walking from the opposite corridor. This was the first person I’d found since entering the building.

 

But something was…

As the other person approached, I gradually became bewildered.

 

‘Why is he so big?’

 

Thump, thump.

 

A person with a build that could fill the entire corridor stood in front of me.

It was a man wearing a blue judo uniform.

 

“Outsider?”

 

I looked up to meet his eyes, and that was the first thing he said when he saw me.

The man frowned and looked down at me. Honestly, I was a bit intimidated, but I barely managed to endure it with my 200 mental strength stat…

 

“…Uh. Um, hello?”

“Who are you?”

“Well, I’m Lee Cheong-ryu’s guest…”

“Guest?”

 

He scrunched up his face as if he didn’t understand the answer.

 

“That’s nonsense. I wasn’t informed that anyone was coming today.”

“No, I think there’s some misunderstanding.”

“State your affiliation and name.”

“I don’t have an affiliation…”

 

The man’s eyes turned menacing. Shit, crazy. I need to answer this well. I quickly racked my brain.

 

“Ahem. I’m not an outsider, well, I am an outsider but! I’m just an acquaintance of Lee Cheong-ryu who came here briefly for business. I’m not a suspicious person.”

“Acquaintance?”

 

Nod.

 

“If you’re an acquaintance, then a friend?”

 

How does that even work? I couldn’t come up with a proper answer. That’s when it happened.

 

Kwaaang!

 

“What…!”

 

Damn, that startled me. What the hell?

 

Suddenly, the man’s fist struck the wall right next to me. The fragile wall bore the clear imprint of his knuckles.

 

‘Ah, seriously!’

 

I got goosebumps at the distance of less than 1cm from my face.

Soon the opponent spoke with his fist still embedded in the wall.

 

“Our Guild Leader has no friends.”

 

Oh…

So that’s why he was suspicious?

 

* * *

 

“Oh my. So that’s what happened. I’m sorry about this.”

“Not at all. It seems like the message didn’t get through properly.”

“Yes. I was in a dungeon until this morning. I came straight here after finishing, so I was late getting the news.”

 

I took out my mobile phone and showed him the text messages I’d exchanged with Lee Cheong-ryu.

The man smiled sheepishly as if nothing had happened.

 

‘Blue Dragon’s Vice Guild Leader, A-rank Hunter Choi Geon.’

 

That’s how the man introduced himself.

 

‘Vice Guild Leader… So he’s in the same position as Choi Yu-il.’

 

 

‘Mental power is a complete victory on this side.’

 

Well, who could beat Choi Yu-il’s mental power anyway…

In any case, the rest were roughly similar abilities, excluding each person’s individual attributes.

Choi Geon guided me across the corridor while speaking.

 

“Come to think of it, I did hear a report that an Association Staff member was brought in. So you’re saying you came here regarding that staff member.”

 

When I nodded in agreement, Choi Geon made an interested expression.

 

“The Guild Leader’s eccentric behavior isn’t anything new, but bringing an Association Staff member was a first for us too, so it was quite surprising.”

 

The opinions about Lee Cheong-ryu seemed to differ greatly between Blue Dragon members and non-Blue Dragon people.

The gap between a friendless eccentric and a cool S-rank Hunter…

I decided to side with the former assessment.

 

“Ah, this way.”

 

Soon Choi Geon stopped in front of a door.

 

“Actually, this is training time, so there are no Hunters wandering around at this hour. I misunderstood unintentionally.”

“I see.”

 

Really, at this level, isn’t this a guild obsessed with training?

Leaving my disgruntled face behind, Choi Geon opened the large door blocking our way wide.

 

Kagang!

Chaeng, chaeng!

Kwaaaaaaang—

 

The moment the door opened, all kinds of noise came flooding in.

The sounds of clashing blades, gunshots, and explosive sounds of breaking stones filled the air.

 

‘Intense.’

 

I looked inside with a curious expression.

In an incredibly spacious gymnasium, Blue Dragon Hunters were engaged in one-on-one combat. It was like a giant arena.

 

Kwagang.

Kkigigi, chaeng!

 

Two Hunters’ swords clashed smoothly. Each blade scraped against the other.

Combat that would have been precarious in real battle was taking place in the training ground.

 

“This is Blue Dragon’s group training. There are other systems besides this, but this is a particularly efficient program. The Hunters also become closer to each other.”

 

However, contrary to Choi Geon’s words, rough Busan dialect assaulted my ears.

 

Come at me properly. Today’s your memorial day!

Huh, gonna get beaten up and whine again?

What, scared? Today will be different.

Well, our Gi-seok has grown up a lot. Alright, let’s have a go today!

 

“They’re getting… closer?”

 

It was dialogue that would make pirates cry.

Choi Geon just had a satisfied expression though.

 

“The Guild Leader really. Bringing his only friend here and then leaving without a word.”

 

That’s not quite right though…

Choi Geon looked around every corner of the training ground.

 

“Ah, there you are.”

“….”

“Guild Leader! You have a visitor!”

 

When Choi Geon shouted like that, someone turned to look this way. It was Lee Cheong-ryu.

 

“Oh, you came!”

 

Even though the distance was quite far, Lee Cheong-ryu immediately recognized me.

 

“I… I lost…”

 

However, unlike him who was beaming with joy, Lee Cheong-ryu’s sparring partner collapsed right there on the spot.

An expression as if his soul had been threshed. He looked like he was about to die.

 

‘Is this really okay?’

 

Lee Cheong-ryu dusted off his hands with a refreshed face.

 

* * *

 

“What happened to Kang Hyun-cheol?”

 

Choi Geon entered the training ground while Lee Cheong-ryu and I walked through Blue Dragon’s corridor, exchanging conversation.

 

“He’s completely unconscious. Even though a whole day has passed.”

“Still?”

“Yeah. We put him in a separate isolation room, and according to the staff watching him, he’s remained in a fainted state. Still, there are more signs of life than at first, so I thought he’d wake up around the time you arrived…”

 

I frowned. Still in a coma. Lee Cheong-ryu scratched his cheek awkwardly.

 

“Let’s take a look first. Interrogation might still be difficult though. Oh, what did the Association say?”

“Well. Actually, it seems Kang Hyun-cheol isn’t affiliated with the Association at all.”

“What?”

 

Lee Cheong-ryu asked back in a surprised tone. I continued my explanation.

 

“There was originally a different staff member assigned to the job, and it seems they were switched with Kang Hyun-cheol midway.”

“Then who switched him with the real staff member? What happened to the real staff member?”

“That’s what’s strange. He was found safe and sound in Seoul. Though he says he has no memory…”

 

As expected, Lee Cheong-ryu was quick-witted.

I brought up what I heard from the Association President this morning. The story about how the staff member who was supposedly switched with Kang Hyun-cheol was found without any problems.

It was good news, but it was truly a mystery.

 

“We need to find out who gave Kang Hyun-cheol his orders. If it wasn’t the Association, then where did this guy come from. That’s what we need to know.”

 

If we knew that, we could easily reveal the identity of the Wave Tale Flower as well.

The White Dragon that guarded the flower with all its might. The mana that surged to an incredible level when consumed.

This wasn’t just about monetary value…

 

‘If Kang Hyun-cheol isn’t the only one targeting it.’

 

Additional danger could arise at any time. We needed to be prepared.

 

“Here it is.”

 

Creak.

The door to where Kang Hyun-cheol was being held opened.

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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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