Even if I Make It Roughly, Ex-rank Items Continue to Accumulate - Chapter 15

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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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Even Hastily Made Ones Keep Stacking Up as EX-Rank (15)

Am I Suspicious

The day after the brief meeting with Lim A-yeon ended.

Lee Si-hyeok was assigned an empty office in the Termion Security Building.

Instead of commuting to the Transportation Team from now on, he could come here and handle his schedule.

That said, he wasn’t particularly tied to the company either, so if he wanted to proceed with artifact development, it was fine to go to the Research Lab.

“This building will need to be completely renovated too.”

Lee Si-hyeok muttered as he walked through the office corridors.

He had taken a stroll-like tour from the first floor, and the interior of the building was far too empty. The small number of employees made it feel even more so.

“Rather than just doing interior remodeling, it would be better to tear down the building entirely and build anew.”

As a ‘security company,’ they couldn’t give the impression that the building was shoddily constructed. It needed to be flawless and thorough. It should have a fortress-like image to attract more customers.

Various ideas floated through Lee Si-hyeok’s mind.

Mana Barrier System? Arcana Shield?

‘Runeforged Defense would be good too.’

He didn’t need to worry about construction costs. Lee Si-hyeok could easily take responsibility for that level of revenue.

What was needed now was just the ‘manpower’ to support the justification.

It was just as Lee Si-hyeok was passing by the Deputy Representative’s Office.

“Business Advisor!”

Lim A-yeon, seeing Lee Si-hyeok walking lost in thought, rushed out of her office.

“What’s the matter?”

“Yesterday you asked me to post a security personnel recruitment notice. I wanted to show you the results.”

“Oh. It’s out already.”

“Yes, people applied much faster than expected. Just like you said, Advisor.”

She looked at him with admiring eyes.

“How did Advisor Lee Si-hyeok predict all of that? You spoke with such confidence that the situation would unfold this way.”

“Well, isn’t it obvious? We’re already experiencing the tremendous impact of an EX-rank Awakened.”

Just going online showed the whole world in an uproar over Lee Si-hyeok’s story. There were already people who had dug up his residence.

It was a bit scary. It would be good to quickly establish Termion Security’s system.

“Wow… But you’re really amazing. How did adding just one sentence make people who weren’t applying before apply in such numbers?”

“How many people applied?”

“80,000 people. Exactly 24 hours since we posted the recruitment notice. That many applied in just one day.”

“…Huh.”

Lee Si-hyeok made a surprised sound. He had expected people to flock, but not to this extent.

“Just filtering through those applicants must have been incredibly difficult.”

“It was difficult. All the employees gathered and worked on it all day. But it was something you instructed with confidence, Advisor. What employee would oppose it?”

She smiled.

“Our employees are people who endured until the company reached this state, so their mental fortitude is quite strong. Except for the CEO.”

“…I see. Then out of those 80,000 people, how many are A-rank Hunters?”

“A-rank, let me see…”

Lim A-yeon checked her tablet.

“About 10%. More than expected.”

“What about S-rank? I don’t think there would be any applicants.”

There was a reason he thought this way.

S-ranks basically earned an absurd amount of money from the profits of clearing one Gate.

They would commission Lee Si-hyeok for crafting if anything, but didn’t need to go as far as doing security work to obtain artifacts.

Of course, this didn’t mean the value of artifacts Lee Si-hyeok created was low, but it meant there was considerable risk for S-ranks.

‘Everyone will probably check how the situation unfolds before making their move.’

So for this first recruitment, he planned to hire A-rank Hunters.

However, Lim A-yeon said something different from his expectations.

“There is one, S-rank.”

“There is?”

“Yes. Exactly one person applied.”

Lee Si-hyeok’s eyes widened greatly. As he stared blankly for a moment, Lim A-yeon handed him the tablet.

He looked down at the tablet. A resume was displayed there.

 

[「Isaac Reynolds」

Awakening Grade: S-rank Combat Type

Country of Origin: Britain

Affiliated Family: Reynolds Family

Main Abilities: Assassination and Stealth Specialization

Career: Blackburn Raid Team Member (Currently Withdrawn)]

 

“Reynolds Family?”

Lee Si-hyeok’s mouth fell open. It was a name that any Awakened, no, any person living in this era couldn’t help but know.

—The Reynolds House.

A family that began making a name in Britain and was now known to possess enormous wealth and power capable of swallowing the entire world.

All of it stemmed from power.

The members of the Reynolds Family were all composed of A-rank or higher Hunters. Within that family, A-rank was considered low, and you had to be S-rank to be acknowledged.

The reason Britain was called a Hunter powerhouse was precisely because of the Reynolds Family.

‘But why would such a Reynolds come to our company?’

Lee Si-hyeok couldn’t hide his bewilderment.

It wasn’t that he had forgotten he was EX-rank. He knew well how amazing that was, but no matter how much he thought about it, there was no reason for a Reynolds to join this company.

Especially while withdrawing from ‘Blackburn,’ the top existing Gate raid team.

Lee Si-hyeok raised his gaze to look ahead. But for some reason, Deputy Representative Lim A-yeon was hesitating.

“…What’s wrong?”

“Well, we haven’t made any contact with Isaac Reynolds yet.”

“Yes.”

“But we got a phone call earlier. To the company.”

“Don’t tell me…”

She nodded.

“He said he was Isaac Reynolds. He notified us he’d visit today and then hung up.”

“So he’s coming to the company now?”

“Probably. I have no idea how he found out our phone number…”

“Oh no.”

Lee Si-hyeok pressed his forehead.

Someone of that caliber could easily find out a phone number. However, since this wasn’t part of the plan, he needed to organize his thoughts a bit.

‘Is this a bad thing for me?’

No. Rather, it was good, very good even. The opportunity to have an S-rank Hunter as backing wasn’t common.

But it was a bit suspicious. What reason did he have for applying to Security? Lee Si-hyeok furrowed his brow.

He had no choice but to meet him directly and ask.

Just as his thoughts were getting organized, ding! The sound of an elevator opening was heard.

Simultaneously, enormous mana that seemed to press down on the air began to be felt.

“…He seems to have arrived.”

“Pardon?”

“Isaac Reynolds has arrived.”

 

* * *

 

The company’s private office.

Lee Si-hyeok sat in a chair, making eye contact with Isaac across from him.

A slender build and sharp facial features.

After a moment of silence, Isaac was the first to speak.

“Nice to meet you.”

Why is he speaking informally? Though that thought came first, Lee Si-hyeok responded calmly.

“You can speak Korean.”

“Thanks to awakening the Translation Skill.”

“Does that skill not include honorific functions?”

“Honorifics?”

Isaac tilted his head.

“What’s that? What are you supposed to honor?”

“…Never mind. That’s not what’s important right now.”

“….”

“Anyway, Isaac Reynolds, you applied to our Termion Security as security personnel, correct?”

He nodded.

“Why? I’d like to hear your reason.”

“Reason, reason…”

Isaac seemed to hesitate for a moment, then continued speaking.

“What I’m about to tell you here. Is confidentiality guaranteed?”

“Yes. It won’t leak out.”

“Are you certain… No. It’s unseemly for me to have such doubts when I came here for an interview.”

He downed the coffee Lee Si-hyeok had offered in one gulp.

“I’ll keep it simple. I became disillusioned with our family.”

“The Reynolds Family?”

“Yes. It’s not publicly known, but our family has many secrets.”

Lee Si-hyeok moved his gaze to check if the door was properly closed. Even without knowing exactly, he sensed that what Isaac was about to say was by no means trivial.

“Before profit, everything else is worthless. That’s the Reynolds family motto. Can you guess?”

“…For profit, you don’t hesitate to do unethical things, something like that?”

“Unethical? I don’t know what that means, but it’s roughly the same nuance. My father slit my older brother’s throat right in front of me. This was when I was 7 years old.”

Lee Si-hyeok swallowed his surprised breath.

“I’ll skip the growth process after that. It’s too long a story. Anyway, our family doesn’t hesitate to kill. That’s also the reason the Reynolds Family reached the top.”

“….”

“Of course, I’ve never harmed a person even once. I’m saying this with my hand on my conscience. I managed to slip away from it all.”

Isaac raised both hands as if declaring his innocence.

“I simply became disillusioned with it. That trash family. I wanted to escape long ago, but when I saw the recruitment notice you posted, I found my opportunity.”

“I understand what you’re saying. But why did you leave the Blackburn Raid Team?”

There were still parts to be suspicious about.

If he stayed with the Blackburn Raid Team, composed of top hunters from various countries, wouldn’t that be safer than coming to Lee Si-hyeok?

Isaac, who received the question, burst into a snicker.

“Blackburn? That’s absolutely not a safe place either. The Reynolds Family’s gaze is scattered everywhere.”

“Wait, hold on. So you’re being pursued by the family?”

“Ah, did I speak in a way that caused misunderstanding? Absolutely not. It’s just that if I remain in the family and follow the Elders’ words like this, I feel like I’ll greatly regret it someday, so I’m preparing in advance.”

He stared at Lee Si-hyeok.

“I saw potential. An EX-rank awakener. I thought someone of your caliber might be able to crush the Reynolds Family that has devoured the world.”

“…I understand. Even so, I can’t protect you, Isaac. This is originally about recruiting security personnel.”

Lee Si-hyeok was gathering people to receive protection, not to protect others in return. Right now, Isaac was seriously misjudging something.

“Do you find me suspicious?”

“Isn’t that natural?”

“Don’t worry. I’ll handle the flies that come buzzing around myself.”

After saying that, he glanced toward a corner of the office.

“Over there, is that your bodyguard?”

“…!”

The figure of Team Leader Han Da-hee, who had been in Stealth, was revealed. She opened her eyes wide as if they would tear and let out a gasp.

“You don’t need to doubt my skills.”

“That’s not what I was doubting.”

“Then you don’t trust my true intentions.”

“Yes.”

Isaac took something out of his pocket and handed it to Lee Si-hyeok.

“This is…”

It was an item Lee Si-hyeok also knew about.

The Reynolds Family Emblem.

This emblem in the shape of a small badge was essentially an ID Card proving one’s membership in the Reynolds Family.

He had previously seen in a news article that Gasol, who lost his emblem, was not treated as family and was expelled.

After hearing Isaac’s words, that ‘expulsion’ seemed to mean death.

“Do you believe me a bit more now? I’ve staked my life.”

“…Why go this far? Do you hate the family that much?”

“Yes. I shortened it because there’s no time, but I harbor hatred toward the family.”

Lee Si-hyeok looked at his face. Eyes so deep that he couldn’t see through his inner thoughts.

He still didn’t completely trust him. But was there necessarily a reason to reject him?

He shook his head. There was no need or reason to do so. To protect his own body, ironically, he had no choice but to take risks.

This would be the same even if he hired other A-rank or S-rank hunters. Then wouldn’t it be better to trust Isaac, who had even staked his own life?

“Understood. Let’s make a contract.”

“Good, Boss.”

Isaac grasped the hand Lee Si-hyeok extended.

First contract completed. An S-rank hunter.

It was a good start.

“Ah, right. Isaac. Then I’ll drop the formalities too?”

“…Do as you please.”

 

* * *

 

The afternoon of the contract day with Isaac.

Lee Si-hyeok was conducting research on artifacts to provide him. Since this was the first one, he had absolutely no intention of doing it half-heartedly.

Lee Si-hyeok’s lifeline also depended on how good a weapon he provided.

“Boss.”

Just then, the research lab door burst open with a bang.

Isaac entered carrying two people on his back.

“What’s this?”

“They were loitering near the company. They looked suspicious, so I brought them in.”

Lee Si-hyeok approached and searched the bodies of the fallen men. A square employee ID came out of an inner pocket. He examined it.

 

[Chronos Industry]

 

Termion Corporation’s competitor.

That company’s name was written on the employee ID.

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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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