Became the Transcendent Monarch of the Corner of the Room - Chapter 67
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
Episode 67
“What? On the 16th Floor?!”
“Y-Yes, sir. On the 16th Floor, all the level 35 Hunters from our Union returned with their right hands cut off.”
Huh-!
Lee Jung-woon, leader of the Phoenix Union.
He couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh at the report from his subordinate.
“Are you telling me to believe that story right now?”
“B-But it’s true… All 10 Hunters selected from the guilds within the Union had only their right hands cut off…”
“No one died or got injured anywhere else?”
“That’s correct.”
What kind of nonsense was this supposed to be?
Lee Jung-woon felt his head throbbing.
If all 10 had died instead.
Then Lee Jung-woon might have brushed it off as just another usual incident.
But they all came back with only their right hands cut off?
All of them?
“Do you think that makes sense? We only sent 10 Hunters who were conquering the 30th Floor to the mere 16th Floor?”
“…”
Lee Jung-woon shouted with veins bulging in his neck.
He was so angry that his eyelids were trembling.
“If you’re not wearing your head as decoration, think about it. If that report is correct! What kind of person do you think the opponent must be?!”
The gap between a level 16 Hunter and a level 30 Hunter was like the difference between heaven and earth.
To begin with, it would be questionable whether 10 level 16 Hunters could even defeat one level 30 Hunter.
Yet they cut off only the right hands as if it was planned?
That meant-
“They were toying with us. They were toying with us.”
Someone of much higher level.
What else could it mean other than that they deliberately toyed with the Phoenix Union members?
“…That seems highly likely.”
“So, did you find out who did it?”
Unable to contain his anger.
Lee Jung-woon pulled out a cigarette from inside his jacket.
He put it in his mouth and lit it.
Sssss-
Haaa-
Now he felt a little calmer.
Contrary to the smoke-filled room, a glint of sharpness appeared in his eyes.
“I gathered information on all the rankers who could pull off something like that…”
“And?”
“There was no one with perfectly matching physical description.”
“What did he look like? We have data on most of the notable ones, don’t we?”
Lee Jung-woon bit down on the cigarette end as if chewing it.
It seemed a bit soggy, but he didn’t seem to care.
“Just describing his appearance, first of all, he was bald.”
“Bald, well, there are quite a few of those.”
“Plus his clothing was a bit unusual… He was half-naked.”
“What…?”
“He was wearing something like strange leather clothing, but it was a bit ambiguous to call it conventional armor. And he had a large golden axe…”
“Wait, wait, wait. If he really looked like what you’re describing…”
Lee Jung-woon, who had been calmly listening to his subordinate’s report.
He urgently stretched out both hands and waved them.
Bald, half-naked in leather clothing.
Plus a large axe?
Combining those elements, an image assembled in his mind whether he wanted it to or not.
“…This is just a barbarian?”
“It’s almost identical. I asked each of the 10 Hunters. It didn’t deviate much from this description.”
Could he be a ranker?
No, that couldn’t be.
At least within Lee Jung-woon’s knowledge, there was no ranker running around in such strange attire.
“I can’t think of anyone from the top 100. Among those who use axes, I don’t think there are any bald ones.”
Lee Jung-woon dropped cigarette ash on the floor with a displeased expression.
His subordinate seemed to be reading his mood, then-
“Um…”
“What.”
“May I say something?”
“What is it, man.”
He cautiously brought it up.
“I’m not sure if he’s a ranker. But there is one person I suspect.”
“Who?”
“Do you remember the Manwol Guild’s raid from a while ago?”
Manwol’s raid.
As soon as he heard those words, Lee Jung-woon’s expression crumpled.
Remember it.
Of course he remembered.
After all, shitty memories are the kind you can’t forget even when you want to.
“I remember it fucking vividly, so continue.”
“If my memory is correct, among the Hunters who helped with Manwol’s raid, there was someone with a very similar physical description.”
Twitch.
As soon as Lee Jung-woon heard that, he gestured toward his subordinate.
“Bring the materials. Tell those bastards with cut hands to come too.”
After gathering the 10 Union members who had become patients.
Lee Jung-woon played the video file containing Manwol’s raid.
‘Fuck… This makes me feel bad no matter how many times I watch it.’
Even though it was data kept for analyzing hostile guilds.
Watching the Manwol guys get the raid for free was infuriating no matter how he looked at it.
“I’ll fast-forward to the end of the raid, so you guys make sure to find out whether that bastard appears or not.”
“Y-Yes…”
“Ah, understood…”
The Hunters with their right hands wrapped in bandages like mirror images.
They stared intently at the playing screen with tense faces.
Dozens of Hunters were deployed.
Scenes of them wandering in the maze for a long time flashed by.
Then dozens of cavalry appeared.
The moment a muscular Bald Warrior appeared after them.
“Ah! That’s him!”
“There! That’s the person!”
“This bastard?”
“That’s right! The one who cut off our wrists this time, that’s him!”
All ten Hunters simultaneously pointed at one part of the screen and shouted.
Lee Jung-woon bolted upright from his seat at that.
He squinted and moved closer to the monitor.
“…Who is that?”
“His identity hasn’t been confirmed, but there’s a high probability it’s the same person.”
“Isn’t there a way to confirm his identity? He’s definitely a Hunter after all.”
“W-well, that’s true, but… the Awakening Management Agency’s policy is not to disclose information about individual Hunters…”
This won’t do.
Ptui.
Lee Jung-woon spat the cigarette he was holding in his mouth onto the floor.
The fire wasn’t completely out yet.
But he didn’t seem to care.
“Then we have no choice but to negotiate directly with the Manwol Guys.”
“…That would probably be the most reliable way to find out that person’s identity. It’s certain he’s not affiliated with Manwol, but since he helped them, Manwol should know who he is.”
“Contact them.”
“Pardon? Right now, sir?”
“Yes. Right now.”
This can’t go on.
It wasn’t about feeling sorry for the Union members who got hurt.
Or about doing his duty as a leader.
It was because of the rage bubbling up from deep in his chest.
The feeling that he needed to vent this anger somewhere.
‘So it’s you guys again, Manwol. But this time I won’t let it slide. I absolutely won’t!’
***
Get up…?
Choi Seung-hyun silently looked at his son, Choi Hyun-min.
“Get up.”
What on earth was he trying to say?
Suddenly telling him to get up.
At that moment.
Clatter.
“Hm?”
Strange sounds began coming from all directions.
Clatter. Clatter.
What was that sound?
Chairman Choi frantically turned his head left and right.
Was he looking for the source of the sound?
His eyes moved busily.
Then suddenly.
His eyes met with a Block Toy placed in one corner of the room.
A toy holding a large old-fashioned rifle.
Wait.
Wasn’t that… lying down just a moment ago?
“No, this is…”
The sound wasn’t coming from just one place.
When he hurriedly turned his head to the opposite side.
Another identical Block Toy was staring straight at him.
Even from behind—
“Ugh!”
A perfectly similar toy was standing there.
What on earth was happening?
With just one word from Choi Hyun-min.
In just a few seconds.
Chairman Choi found himself surrounded by dozens of toys holding rifles.
-Master, should we shoot?
-Is he an enemy?
-Just say the word, we’ll shoot.
“No, no. Don’t shoot, lower your guns. It’s not like that.”
Seeing the tiny toys pointing guns at him.
Chairman Choi spoke with a bewildered expression.
“What are… these things?”
It was a short question.
But various thoughts flashed through Choi Hyun-min’s mind.
‘How should I explain this?’
He pondered for a moment, then answered with an awkward expression.
“…It’s my ability.”
“They look like toys.”
“That’s right.”
An ability?
Choi Seung-hyun tilted his head as if he couldn’t understand his words.
He already knew that his son liked toys.
He’d been obsessed with toys since childhood.
“But what do you mean by ability? Are you saying you moved these things?”
That’s right.
Choi Hyun-min had somewhat expected Chairman Choi’s reaction.
He never thought showing them suddenly would make him understand completely.
“Chairman. No, Father.”
Flinch.
Chairman Choi’s body twitched at the word “Father.”
But since there was no one else in the room besides the two of them.
He didn’t scold him like usual.
Huu—
Choi Hyun-min took a breath with a slightly nervous expression.
Then spoke to Chairman Choi as if spitting out the words.
“I… have awakened.”
…
Silence.
Chairman Choi said nothing in response to his words.
As if he couldn’t understand what he had said.
Only after a long time had passed did Chairman Choi’s mouth open.
“…I think I heard something wrong.”
“I finally awakened, Father.”
Did he mishear?
Choi Hyun-min repeated the same words to his confused father.
Then Chairman Choi’s eyebrows shot up.
“…Are you being serious?”
“Yes.”
To the rather cautious question.
He answered briefly but firmly.
Silence again.
Chairman Choi pondered what to say.
Chairman Choi pondered what to say.
He quietly grasped his shoulder.
“You’ve… worked hard.”
“Aren’t you going to ask what rank I am, or what abilities I’ve gained?”
In truth, awakening itself wasn’t that important for a Hunter.
Rather, it was the rank that indicated one’s abilities.
And what abilities one could use were the real indicators of a Hunter’s worth.
Choi Seung-hyun was also a Hunter and a high-ranking player, so there was no way he wouldn’t know this fact.
“Didn’t you say you became a Hunter?”
“Yes.”
“That’s enough.”
He didn’t ask.
He simply heard that he had become a Hunter and pressed his lips tightly together.
He just nodded his head several times by himself.
“The two missions I handled before were also accomplished with my own abilities.”
He had certainly tried to hide it from others.
But for some reason, Choi Hyun-min wanted to talk a little more, at least in front of Chairman Choi.
“So that’s how it was.”
Chairman Choi’s gaze turned to the wooden sword standing against the wall.
It seemed to be something he had bought before he had secluded himself in this room.
The handle was worn smooth and shiny from how often he had handled it.
Now he finally felt like he could see something.
He had come to this room because of suspicion.
But with Choi Hyun-min’s single statement, Chairman Choi felt as if his chest had been cleared.
Even though this room was still dark and filled with stale air.
Click.
He didn’t add any more words.
Instead, he seemed to get up from his seat, supporting himself on his knees.
Then he turned around and grasped the door handle.
“Congratulations, Choi Hyun-min.”
“Th-thank you…”
“Perhaps… there might be even more things you can do for us in the future.”
Leaving only those words behind.
Chairman Choi hurriedly left his room.
He didn’t know why.
But the way Chairman Choi’s shoulders seemed to be shaking.
Choi Hyun-min must have seen it wrong.
He had definitely seen it wrong.
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
