Even if I Make It Roughly, Ex-rank Items Continue to Accumulate - Chapter 16

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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 (16)

An Eye for an Eye, a Tooth for a Tooth

Chronos Industry.

An artifact manufacturing company that runs alongside Termion Corporation as one of the twin pillars of the magical engineering industry in South Korea.

However, there was a slight difference from Termion – Chronos was a mysticism-oriented company.

Chairman Lee Young-hoon of Termion, widely known as a former hunter turned businessman, has a media-friendly disposition and maintains a familiar image with the public.

In contrast, Chronos has a much more secretive and sinister reputation. This is likely due to their unclear founder’s existence and their business strategy of avoiding external contact.

“That’s why their influence is somewhat lacking. In the end, people are naturally drawn to what’s familiar rather than companies they don’t understand how they operate.”

“I see.”

Isaac, with his arms crossed, looked down at the two unconscious Chronos employees and replied. A hint of interest flickered in his dark eyes.

“This is the first time I’ve heard such information.”

That would be natural.

Whether Chronos or Termion, while they were globally famous companies, such aspects of social perception wouldn’t be well known.

“But why was Chronos tailing Boss?”

“…I don’t know that either.”

So now they had to find out. When Isaac suddenly brought captured employees, it was bewildering, but now that things had come to this, they had an opportunity to interrogate them directly.

It might have been dangerous alone, but now Lee Si-hyeok had an S-rank Hunter by his side. There was nothing to worry about.

“Ugh…”

How many minutes had passed? One of the employees groaned for a while, then came to his senses and opened his eyes wide.

As soon as that sign appeared, Isaac concealed his presence with his stealth skill.

“Wh-where is this…?”

An unfamiliar place. A scene he’d never seen before. His pupils shook violently, then soon discovered Lee Si-hyeok’s presence.

“…?!”

He didn’t speak first. Lee Si-hyeok, sitting with his legs crossed, simply raised the corner of his mouth in a smirk while glaring at the employee’s eyes.

The other’s mouth opened and closed repeatedly. Meanwhile, he turned his head to survey the surroundings.

‘It won’t do any good though.’

The employee who had been tailing Lee Si-hyeok together was still unconscious. Moreover, both of them had their limbs bound with mana rope, making resistance nearly impossible.

“…How did you notice?”

He was asking how they had noticed the tailing.

Lee Si-hyeok didn’t answer immediately and stared at the other’s face for a moment. When the employee’s Adam’s apple gulped, he opened his lips.

“I’ll be the one asking questions.”

“…!”

The employee’s eyes widened as if they might tear. It seemed to be an unexpected answer that left him quite flustered.

However, even before asking a question, Lee Si-hyeok caught something suspicious in the atmosphere.

The employee’s expression.

Between his eyebrows and forehead twisted with fear, there was somehow an inexplicable confidence showing.

“…What are you going to do to me.”

In addition, his tone had become somewhat more aggressive than before.

Why? Did he have something to rely on?

Normally, this wasn’t a situation to hold one’s head up so stiffly. In a way, wasn’t this a life-threatening situation? His limbs were bound, and the target he’d been tailing was glaring at him from right in front.

Yet the guy was confident. To think he’d staked his life on this mission – his attitude was too light for that. Then why on earth…

“If you don’t have questions to ask, you’d better let me go quickly.”

Lee Si-hyeok’s brow twitched. At the employee’s tone that bordered on threatening, he realized what he’d been missing.

‘Because I’m a crafting-type Awakener.’

Crafting-type Awakener.

In other words, it meant ‘non-combat type Awakener.’

The combat ability of non-combat type Awakeners wasn’t much different from ordinary people. They might be slightly superior in that they could handle mana, but compared to hunters who had awakened combat skills, they were far inferior – that was common knowledge.

“You must be a Hunter?”

That meant the employee in front of him was definitely a hunter, and he was acting so boldly relying solely on that one combat skill.

“…?!”

A minor clue, deduction, and conclusion. While Lee Si-hyeok had naturally derived this process like flowing water, it wasn’t the same for the employee.

‘…How did he know?’

Of course, even though he had been openly showing hostility, the employee who hadn’t expected the other to catch on so quickly rolled his eyes with a shocked expression.

‘Th-this is an EX-rank Awakener…’

Naturally, the employee also knew. No matter how non-combat the opponent was, the current situation was very disadvantageous to him.

Nevertheless, the reason he was acting so defiantly was simple.

A hopeful thought.

Compared to hunters, crafting-type Awakeners were considerably gentler. While there were rumors of a few crazy eccentrics existing, it wasn’t to an excessive degree. Even that madness was limited to artifacts only.

“Just listen to the questions and let’s finish this quickly.”

Therefore, the employee quickly regained his composure.

He didn’t know how that engineer had noticed the tailing, but he wouldn’t harm him.

Moreover, wasn’t this central Seoul right now? Having just had his awakening officially announced by the Association recently, he wouldn’t cause trouble so soon.

“Hah…”

In fact, the employee’s guess wasn’t wrong.

Lee Si-hyeok hadn’t particularly intended to directly touch the other. He narrowed his brow and looked at the employee.

‘This is ridiculous.’

He had thought to just ask questions nicely and send him away, but his mind changed. With this attitude, it would be difficult to get accurate answers. Well, that didn’t mean he still intended to threaten him directly.

Snap!

Ignoring the smirking employee, Lee Si-hyeok made a sound using his thumb and middle finger. The action commonly called a finger snap.

As soon as that sound was heard, something rippled beside Lee Si-hyeok.

A wave that non-awakeners couldn’t feel.

However, everyone present could read that wave. Energy, mana, magic power. The flow fluctuated intensely. Intimidating and sharp enough to make all the hair on one’s body stand on end.

“Wh-what…?!”

The employee’s mouth fell open. As if that wasn’t enough, he struggled and tried to get as far away as possible.

Still, the waves didn’t cease.

Whooom, oom!

Soon, beside Lee Si-hyeok who was sitting with his legs crossed wearing a leisurely smile, a human silhouette appeared.

A handsome man with a slender build. Though from a distant country, he had a face that anyone living in this era couldn’t help but know.

Britain, the S-rank Hunter of the Reynolds Family.

“A-A-Isaac Reynolds!”

If he didn’t intend to step forward himself, he just had to make others do it.

The reason he had recruited bodyguards for Termion Security in the first place was for this. To gather people who would handle combat-related matters and protect Lee Si-hyeok.

Well, that employee must have seen that recruitment notice too.

But he would have had no idea that the recruitment had already ended. Moreover, he couldn’t have imagined that a big shot like Isaac had applied directly.

“Why on earth is Isaac here…!”

Shing! Isaac drew his signature weapon, a dagger, from his pocket.

Then the employee, while struggling, inadvertently banged the back of his head against the wall with a thud. Clearly Isaac hadn’t said anything yet.

“Hieek!”

Lee Si-hyeok shrugged and looked at Isaac. He was blocking Lee Si-hyeok’s front while pointing the dagger at the employee.

Though he didn’t have a large build or intense momentum, the atmosphere that settled heavily was sharper than anything else.

It was striking anew.

The fact that an existence who could instill fear in others just by being there was of a lower rank than himself.

Moreover, the fact that he had declared he would stake his life and bet his future on him.

Feeling once again that his life had changed, Lee Si-hyeok opened his mouth.

“Will you accept questions?”

“…Y-Yes! I’ll answer anything!”

* * *

When Isaac revealed himself, the interrogation proceeded quickly.

Just then, the other employee also regained consciousness, and upon seeing Isaac, immediately prostrated himself and they took turns answering questions.

“We’re contract agents from Chronos Industry’s External Cooperation Management Team.”

“Yes, yes, that’s right.”

“What does that department do?”

The employees exchanged glances with each other.

“We organize communication and information with partner companies, and collect field situations and data…”

“Are you joking?”

“…We’re sorry.”

“You should know that’s not what I’m asking about.”

Isaac, who had been spinning his dagger beside them, looked at Lee Si-hyeok. An atmosphere threatening even to an assassin’s senses. His cold voice was laced with thorns. Though he didn’t show it, Lee Si-hyeok was furious.

“The, the actual work we’re assigned is unofficial surveillance of specific individuals or companies. Specifically, opening laptops in cafe stores and sitting within the target’s line of sight, taking a few photos, and, and things like that!”

“…”

…More than expected.

These were more trivial tasks than expected.

Though aimed at tailing and spying, they were the kind of work that would be hard to gain any concrete results from alone.

‘So they’re disposable, is that it.’

That’s how Lee Si-hyeok judged it.

After all, wasn’t it the ‘External Cooperation Management Team’? They must have recruited external personnel so they could cut them loose without concern even if their tailing was discovered and they were interrogated like now.

“There’s nothing more we can learn this way.”

“I agree, Boss.”

Though he interrogated them thoroughly, probing for any hidden information, the answers that came back were always the same. Even when they said different things each time, the conclusion was always back to square one. Going round and round, ultimately just saying ‘we don’t know.’

Lee Si-hyeok clicked his tongue and muttered quietly.

“After you leave here, forget everything that happened today.”

There was no longer any reason to hold onto the employees. He could take them hostage and try threatening Chronos, but that method didn’t seem likely to work.

Moreover, since that approach wasn’t Lee Si-hyeok’s style either, he untied the mana ropes without delay and let the employees go.

“Is it okay to let them go like this?”

However, Isaac, who had lived his whole life in the Reynolds Family—that family where nothing had value in the face of profit—seemed unable to understand.

“It doesn’t matter. Those employees are external contractors anyway. They know their position well. They know that if they run their mouths carelessly, they won’t receive anyone’s protection.”

“…”

“So naturally they’ll have no choice but to keep quiet. Well, even if they do blab about it, we didn’t do anything wrong, did we?”

When you think about it, Lee Si-hyeok was the victim here. He thought there was no need to act rashly over something he hadn’t even done wrong.

“Phew…”

Lee Si-hyeok shook his head and slumped down in his chair.

It was full of complicated matters.

He had expected things wouldn’t flow easily from the moment he didn’t hide his EX-rank awakening, but he didn’t know it would come this quickly. And that it would be Chronos Industry, of all companies.

Until yesterday, he hadn’t given Chronos much thought… no, rather, he had favorable feelings toward them. As South Korea’s representative artifact company, Lee Si-hyeok had quite a lot of interest in Chronos too.

But now that he realized Chronos was targeting him?

‘…The feelings that arise aren’t exactly pleasant.’

Naturally. Could he maintain a comfortable mindset after being so blatantly disrespected? He felt like his insides were boiling with anger.

Disrespect. Though Chronos might not have meant it that way, to Lee Si-hyeok, there was no greater disrespect than this.

‘There were many other methods they could have used.’

Arranging a meeting, or making contact separately.

Just looking at Chairman Lee Young-hoon of Termion Corporation shows it was entirely possible. Didn’t he show goodwill toward Lee Si-hyeok and provide various courtesies?

Yet despite this, Chronos deliberately chose the roundabout way.

Due to the meager results from the interrogation, he didn’t know the exact reason. Whether this tailing was meant as a check, or simple curiosity.

“What are you going to do about Chronos, Boss? Don’t tell me you’re just going to let this slide?”

“No.”

“Then?”

Did he plan to let it slide ambiguously? Not at all.

“I’ll have to find a way.”

An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.

Magical engineers are that kind of breed by nature. Even if their actual force is far inferior to hunters, they’re a breed with boundless imagination and creativity dwelling within.

Then coming up with countermeasures to deal with those who look down on him and carelessly provoke him.

That wouldn’t be such a difficult task either.

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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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