I Became a Mythical Hunter After Killing the Golden Goblin - Chapter 44
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 44. Moon Kang-un
I stepped out of the taxi and gazed up at this towering landmark, my expression darkening.
Perhaps it was because I held nothing but unpleasant memories of this place—merely seeing it stirred an irritating sensation within me.
Last time, I had clashed here with the head of Changsung Group, my parents’ enemy. As it turned out, I not only landed a blow against them but also managed to conceal my true capabilities cleanly.
‘Regardless, they will certainly continue to receive reports about me.’
They wouldn’t maintain twenty-four-hour surveillance, but they would undoubtedly receive updates on my general movements. And the moment they detected anything unusual or unexpected variables, they would dispatch assassins without hesitation.
‘I must conceal my strength until I grow powerful enough.’
I reveal only the level of power a promising prospect could display—precisely that much and nothing more. Furthermore, I ensure nothing beneath that threshold becomes visible.
If I demonstrated anything less than what they had assessed, they would certainly grow suspicious, and matters could become far more troublesome.
This was why I had sought out the Association—to take the [E]-rank promotion examination.
Admittedly, it was a somewhat early promotion test compared to previous top-ranked hunters, but revealing this much posed no problems.
Moreover, since hunter rank determinations were made by humans rather than systems, and the ranks themselves operated on ambiguous criteria, there existed an atmosphere of accepting certain disparities, so nothing would prove particularly problematic.
I approached a receptionist in the Association Lobby and registered for the promotion examination. Checking my phone, the test would be held three days from now.
Since registration closed three days before the examination, the timing was perfect. I left the Association immediately after completing my registration.
There was no need to risk catching the eye of the Association Chairman or that female Inspection Bureau chief, as that would only prove bothersome.
“Perhaps I should visit Seo Mi-na?”
She had insisted on visiting me, but I had refused by making excuses that there was nothing wrong and that I was simply staying hospitalized to be with my brother. I owed her at least one visit.
It was absolutely not because she had left a chilling threat in our last call, vowing revenge if I didn’t visit immediately after her discharge.
That’s right! I was absolutely not intimidated by the power of Seohwa Group. I was simply going to appease a sulking colleague.
She was valuable connections destined to become an SS-rank Hunter, and it would be troublesome if our relationship deteriorated.
I turned my steps in that direction and headed straight to Seohwa Group, where I spent the remainder of the day entirely devoted to lifting Seo Mi-na’s spirits and matching her mood.
***
“Damn it. Damn it. Damn it.”
A man with wild, crazed eyes spewing crude profanities pulled his hat low over his head and hurried forward, weaving through the CCTV cameras as he made his way swiftly toward his destination.
Beneath the brim of his hat, his face was covered in stubble, his eyes hollow and vacant, his hair matted and unkempt.
“How dare you reduce me to this?”
He continued cursing relentlessly, making no effort whatsoever to conceal his madness.
Moon Kang-un—the former Scouter Team leader of Seongwun Guild, the mastermind who had commissioned the assassination of Shin Ju-ha through his company, now cast aside by Seongwun Guild and forced to disgorge massive compensation, a parasite whose life had crumbled to dust.
Moon Kang-un ground his teeth together. He could not accept that such a thing had happened to him.
‘Why? Why?!’
He had been the Scouter Team leader, no less. He held a position of immense authority, overseeing the entire critical domain of scouting for Seongwun Guild—a top-five major guild.
Naturally, intoxicated by power and drunk on his own importance, he had used his influence and connections to do whatever he pleased, and he had done plenty.
What protected him was, ultimately, his position as Scouter Team leader of Seongwun Guild.
But this time, he had crossed the line. He had actually attempted to assassinate the precious jewel of the Seohwa Group—the princess herself?
Naturally, it was terrible luck. His target was supposed to be Shin Ju-ha, not the Seohwa Group Princess.
But the result was that he had ended up targeting Seo Mi-na instead.
Naturally, this matter far exceeded anything Seongwun Guild could cover up. Looking at guild rankings alone, Seohwa was rank two, while Seongwun was rank five.
Moreover, Seohwa was the nation’s premier conglomerate, whereas Seongwun was merely a group barely clinging to the tail end of the top three corporations. No matter how you looked at it, the disparity in power and influence was incomparable, and naturally, both Seongwun Group and Seongwun Guild had chosen to crush this parasitic problem.
But Moon Kang-un thought differently. If Seongwun Guild! If Seongwun Group! Couldn’t they easily withstand that level of pressure?!
How much had he sacrificed for this guild! How many talented recruits had he discovered and contributed to the guild!
They were abandoning him over a single mistake?!
His rage naturally turned toward Shin Ju-ha. No matter how much he ranted and raved, he lacked the courage and madness to defy Seohwa or Seongwun.
“Here it is.”
Moon Kang-un approached a mansion. The security guards, sensing the troublesome approach and exhaling in exasperation, furrowed their brows and had the youngest among them step forward to block his path.
“Get lost.”
Indeed, befitting the residence of a major conglomerate chairman, all the guards were D-rank or higher Hunters with awakened mana. Moon Kang-un trembled at the sharp hostility they radiated, but he soon amplified his madness further and stepped toward them.
“I’ve come to present a proposal to Chairman Lee Seo-yong. Please let me through.”
That’s right. This was the home of the Changsung Group chairman—Shin Ju-ha’s enemy.
Moon Kang-un had happened to witness Lee Seo-yong and Shin Ju-ha confronting each other in the Association Lobby that day. And he had thought: the enemy of my enemy is my ally.
Even if he still had some connections, he alone could not eliminate Shin Ju-ha, who was under the protection of Seohwa Group. But with Changsung’s help, he could easily take his revenge on Shin Ju-ha.
The problem was that even presenting such a proposal seemed far from easy.
“Ha… what a pathetic bastard. Is the chairman your friend? If you have a proposal, should he be grateful and meet with you?”
“What? This beggar again? Hey… just beat him a few times and send him back.”
“Yes, senior. You hear that? Let’s rough this bastard up.”
As the guard finished speaking and grabbed Moon Kang-un by the collar, attempting to drag him away, he began to resist and thrash about.
“Damn it! Just deliver the message first! You fucking bastards! You gate-keeping dogs! Do you know who I am?!”
“I’ve never seen such a crazy bastard.”
Thud!
A B-rank Hunter’s fist drove into the abdomen of the ordinary man Moon Kang-un.
Gag.
Watching Moon Kang-un double over in an L-shape, unable to breathe, vomiting bile, the guard frowned.
“If you’re going to fall apart after one punch, why did you even bother coming?”
He was about to swing his fist again.
The sound of a car approaching from the distance reached their ears, and the security guards quickly assembled in formation.
The guard who had been beating Moon Kang-un kicked him to the ground and hastily joined the line, bowing his head.
The car arrived swiftly and came to a stop before them.
Screech!
When the car—one they would normally ignore and let pass—came to a halt, they panicked and bowed their heads even lower.
Soon, the window rolled down smoothly, and a man’s hand extended outward, gesturing. His finger pointed unmistakably at the new guard who had just beaten Moon Kang-un.
The guard’s face drained of color in alarm, but knowing he dared not disobey the command of the one he served, he rushed forward and stood before the car, bowing deeply.
“What is it?”
A soft, refined voice came from inside the car. Yet the new guard trembled as if hearing the voice of death itself, bowing even lower as he shouted his response.
“It’s nothing of importance, sir!”
At his cry, all the guards’ faces stiffened. A moment of silence followed, and with a sigh, the man’s voice spoke again.
“Did I ask you to judge? A dog guarding the gate judges on behalf of its master and answers. I asked what happened, not for you to judge and answer on your own. Did I ask you to make a judgment?”
The courtesy from before vanished, replaced by sharp words. Though the new guard was flustered, he quickly sensed the piercing gaze and cold atmosphere emanating from behind him and corrected his answer.
“Some madman came to the front of the Mansion demanding to make a proposal to the Chairman, so we were dealing with the situation.”
“Hmm… A proposal?”
“Yes! But judging by his appearance, he seems to be either a beggar or a lunatic.”
The man fell silent in thought, then issued a command.
“Bring him here.”
“Yes…? Yes, sir!”
The new guard rushed over, lifted the trembling Moon Kang-un from the ground, and dragged him to the young master they served.
“This man? He does look like a beggar. Filthy and repulsive. But… his eyes are alive. I quite like that madness in them.”
As a soft chuckle accompanied the assessment, Moon Kang-un regained consciousness and looked inside the car.
A handsome man sat there, looking down at him.
He was Lee Seo-yong’s grandson, Lee Ji-yong. The C-rank Holy Knight who had attacked Shin Ju-ha.
“So what proposal did you come all the way to someone else’s Mansion to make?”
At Lee Ji-yong’s question, Moon Kang-un opened his mouth, trembling in pain.
“Shin Ju-ha. I want to make that bastard suffer. Killing him would be even better. Please help me. You can use me like a dog, like a tool. Please, just help me.”
As he prostrated himself, spouting madness, Lee Ji-yong laughed with interest.
“Shin Ju-ha… Shin Ju-ha, you say. You’re talking about that worm who humiliated both my grandfather and me.”
Though it was weeks ago, he remembered it vividly. At his grandfather’s request, he had provoked that top-ranked student of this batch to test him, only to be humiliated himself and ridiculed on the Hunter community forums for a while afterward.
He had paid the Driver to suppress the incident, but there had been too many witnesses at that location, so his reputation had suffered greatly.
Even those who had praised him as a Holy Knight mocked him as just another reckless chaebol heir, saying that even with awakening, money-driven delinquents never change.
How had he managed to shed his delinquent image and earn his grandfather’s recognition, only to become entangled in scandal because of some F-rank newcomer’s schemes?
‘That arrogant worm.’
His grandfather had told him to leave it alone and merely submit a brief report, but… Lee Ji-yong had no intention of doing so.
Since the worm had tarnished the name of himself, his grandfather, and Changsung Group itself, it would have to pay the price.
“How intriguing. Get in. Let’s take a drive and discuss this further.”
At Lee Ji-yong’s words, spoken with the refined composure of a chaebol heir once more, Moon Kang-un immediately pressed his head to the ground in gratitude.
The guard opened the door, and during the approximately one hour Moon Kang-un spent in the car conversing with Lee Ji-yong, he formulated his revenge plan.
“Then I’ll help you only up to that point. Let’s see if you can prove your usefulness. If you handle this well… the position of Scouter Team leader at Seongwun Guild will be yours.”
“Thank you. I’m truly grateful. I swear! I will absolutely sever that bastard’s life.”
“Ah… you understand that neither Changsung nor my name can be revealed, yes?”
“Of course I understand. Now, go inside.”
Moon Kang-un, bowing at a ninety-degree angle, wore a smile that suggested he had obtained far more than he’d hoped for, and three days passed in this manner.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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