My Catastrophic‑Level Summon Devours Gates - Chapter 34

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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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Episode 34

 

A cafe located near the Domain of Challenge.

 

The only customers are me and a high-ranking person from Chilseong Guild—just the two of us.

 

“I thought you’d prefer a quiet place.”

 

Actually, no.

 

I prefer a noisy atmosphere where you can’t hear what anyone’s saying.

 

“That’s a shame. If we were at my office, I could brew it for you personally.”

 

“You make coffee yourself?”

 

“Yes. It’s a small hobby of mine. You should come try it sometime.”

 

I can’t tell if that’s a direct invitation or just polite conversation.

 

“Even if I don’t join Chilseong Guild?”

 

“I was planning to discuss the main topic slowly, but yes. Regardless of whether you join or not.”

 

A voice tone and smile that puts the listener at ease.

 

【Oh my. What a decent person.】

 

【A human with proper manners.】

 

Look at these Familiars.

 

We haven’t even started the real conversation yet, so don’t let your guard down.

 

“What would you like to drink?”

 

“I’ll have an Iced Americano.”

 

“I’ll just have a regular Americano, please.”

 

In this summer heat.

 

Hot coffee?

 

“Ice ruins the true flavor of coffee.”

 

I see.

 

I’ll just have mine with ice anyway.

 

Slurp.

 

The bitter taste flowing over my tongue.

 

This is why I drink coffee.

 

Meanwhile, the high-ranking person from Seven Stars sitting across from me leisurely sipped their coffee.

 

Right after we both wet our throats.

 

“As you probably know, we at Seven Stars would like to recruit Hunter Park Min-ho.”

 

The main topic came up right away.

 

This is nerve-wracking.

 

A recruitment offer from the Domestic Big Five.

 

Just a week ago, this would have been like a dream.

 

“These are Seven Stars’ basic conditions.”

 

[Signing Bonus: 500,000,000]

 

[Starting Salary: 200,000,000]

 

[Dedicated support team formation for teams of 3 or more]

 

[Commission: 10%]

 

[20% incentive upon rank advancement]

 

As expected of the Domestic Big Five.

 

These are incredible terms.

 

If this is the baseline, they must be offering me even more, right?

 

“These are the terms I’ve prepared.”

 

The high-ranking person from Seven Stars showed me the second document.

 

[Signing Bonus: 10,000,000,000]

 

[Starting Salary: 1,000,000,000]

 

[Dedicated support team formation]

 

[Commission: 5%]

 

[50% incentive upon rank advancement]

 

[One item per tier provided for rank advancement needs. Maximum Unique grade or below.]

 

“?”

 

A question mark appeared above my head.

 

That’s quite a lot of zeros.

 

I counted at least five times, wondering if I’d seen it wrong.

 

【Ten billion.】

 

I know.

 

I know that.

 

It’s not that I can’t count numbers, it’s just that it doesn’t feel real.

 

“Ten billion.”

 

“Yes.”

 

An amount that doesn’t feel real.

 

I had to tense my jaw muscles to keep from gaping.

 

I’d made tremendous efforts not to show any frivolous behavior until now.

 

With all that effort, it would be unseemly if my jaw just dropped here.

 

It would also be a minus in negotiations.

 

“You might think it’s too little.”

 

No.

 

I didn’t think that at all.

 

Perhaps interpreting my silence differently, the high-ranking person from Seven Stars continued their explanation.

 

“By domestic standards, the maximum signing bonus for D-rank and below is 3 billion.”

 

“…I see.”

 

It’s a bit less than 10 billion.

 

Though the trap is that even that amount doesn’t feel real.

 

“I guarantee no guild will offer better conditions than this.”

 

“Not even the other Domestic Big Five?”

 

“Yes. You’re welcome to check for yourself.”

 

I don’t really feel like going around shopping though.

 

I took another sip of coffee and thought about it.

 

“The other guilds will come looking for Hunter Min-ho within tomorrow.”

 

“You’re saying it’s fine to mention the conditions Chilseong Guild offered?”

 

“That’s right.”

 

Was he a director at Chilseong Guild?

 

Openly telling me to compare conditions. He’s overflowing with confidence.

 

【What do you think, sir?】

 

Well.

 

I got dazed the moment I saw the number 10 billion, so I’m not sure.

 

【I like that they seem to value Master highly.】

 

That’s true.

 

A high-ranking person from Seven Stars came personally.

 

And bet a fortune that most Hunters wouldn’t touch in their lifetime.

 

“I appreciate you evaluating me so highly.”

 

“It’s only natural.”

 

“I’d like to ask about the basis for your judgment.”

 

“You want to hear why you’re being evaluated so highly?”

 

I don’t have a hobby of gilding my own face.

 

I’m curious why you’re throwing 10 billion at someone who’s only achieved a few SSS-rank clears on D-rank Gates.

 

…Though I couldn’t say that honestly, so I gave a roundabout answer.

 

“You can understand it that way.”

 

“Hunter Park spent 5 years stuck at E-rank.”

 

Tsk.

 

Starting right off with facts.

 

“The big picture for S-rank evaluation. I think it’s impressive.”

 

I almost asked “Excuse me?”

 

Big picture?

 

It would be troubling if you keep making sounds like tearing canvas.

 

“Getting promoted after 5 years means you finished preparing to soar.”

 

“Ah, ahahaha.”

 

“Getting SSS-rank clears in places where people’s attention is focused, like the Domain of Challenge, also makes sense.”

 

Whirrr―

 

“The confidence that it’s now okay to reveal yourself.”

 

“Ah, hahahaha.”

 

“So I’ve prepared this. There’s no guild in our country that can offer conditions like these.”

 

I know the potential for development of my abilities.

 

But I hid it because I wasn’t certain how far it could go.

 

It seems the higher-ups at Chilseong saw it as a strategy to raise my value.

 

【Oh. Such a scheme!】

 

【Such deep cunning worthy of the young lady’s Master.】

 

That’s not it.

 

I almost reached up to scratch the back of my head but stopped myself.

 

“May I ask you something?”

 

“Of course.”

 

“Doesn’t Chilseong Guild operate a separate agency?”

 

Guild and agency.

 

Both are businesses that manage Hunters, but there’s a difference.

 

Group versus individual.

 

An agency is like a one-person management company that handles each Hunter individually.

 

The sense of belonging is a bit looser than with guilds, as a bonus.

 

The conditions would be worse than guild membership, but the binding force was weaker, so there was less burden.

 

“Yes. We do have one.”

 

“Would you be able to manage me personally, Director?”

 

A condition I was just throwing out there.

 

It would be nice if accepted.

 

But I wouldn’t be too disappointed if not.

 

No matter how many times I thought about it, guild life didn’t suit me.

 

The dual nature of Summoning System and Crafting.

 

Sir Isra and Ingrid would steadily grow stronger to match my Dexterity.

 

Minions like Armed Zombie Warriors would gradually increase too.

 

I’d also need time to work in my Private Workshop.

 

A loose contract would be best.

 

“I didn’t expect you to make me a job offer.”

 

Huh?

 

I didn’t say anything that grand though.

 

“Chilseong Agency is a subsidiary. If I, as a director, move over there, it would be a demotion.”

 

“Is that so?”

 

“If you meant it in another sense, that would mean asking me to leave Chilseong and support Hunter Park.”

 

【You are truly exceptional, sir. Such boldness and audacity!】

 

【As expected of Master! I believed in you all along.】

 

Shit.

 

No, that’s not it!

 

“You’ve said what you wanted to say.”

 

Director Baek Seong-hyeon slowly rose from his seat.

 

Wow. Bitter.

 

A bit embarrassing though.

 

“You’ll probably get calls from the other Big Five today or tomorrow. Take your time thinking it over and give us a call.”

 

He set his business card down on the table.

 

And left without even looking back.

 

Wow.

 

That uncle. He’s incredibly cool.

 

【He would be perfect to assist you.】

 

【That kind of resolve. It strikes the maiden’s heart just right.】

 

What does it matter if you two like him!

 

* * *

 

Baek Seong-hyeon boarded the waiting car.

 

Leaning the back of his neck against the seat, he reviewed the conversation from just moments ago.

 

“Heh.”

 

A streak of laughter escaped.

 

The HR Manager gripping the steering wheel glanced back slightly.

 

“I didn’t expect you to step forward personally, Director.”

 

“He was someone who warranted it.”

 

It was surprising.

 

Since joining the executive board four years ago.

 

This was the first person to propose a transfer to him.

 

It wasn’t unpleasant.

 

‘Was this all calculated?’

 

This young man.

 

The more he looked at him, the more he coveted him.

 

He had revealed his presence at just the right time.

 

And made a counter-proposal to a director of Chilseong Guild, one of the Domestic Big Five.

 

It was a proposal that could only be made by someone who either didn’t know much about the Hunter industry.

 

Or knew its structure far too well.

 

“Are you alright with this?”

 

“I expected we wouldn’t get an immediate answer.”

 

“They say Mir is already preparing to make contact.”

 

“How slow. To think they’re only preparing now when he drew so much attention in the Domain of Challenge.”

 

Tsk tsk, back in my day, Baek Seong-hyeon automatically said.

 

The HR Manager let it go in one ear and out the other.

 

It wasn’t wrong, but he’d heard it so often his ears might grow calluses.

 

“There’s no guild that can offer better conditions than what we proposed.”

 

Baek Seong-hyeon declared with certainty.

 

Rather.

 

It wasn’t the domestic side that was worrying.

 

Overseas.

 

More precisely, he was worried about China, located across the sea.

 

‘The Superhuman Bureau’s movements have been unusual lately.’

 

Suspicious fund flows moving underwater.

 

The target probably wasn’t Min-ho.

 

Hadn’t Seven Stars barely found out by following Director Jung Seung-il’s trail?

 

The movements were too fast to identify Min-ho’s identity and act on it.

 

‘The possibility is low, but I should still be careful.’

 

Baek Seong-hyeon, having organized his thoughts, opened his lips.

 

“The Superhuman Bureau might approach Hunter Park.”

 

“Hup. Ah, understood.”

 

The HR Manager made a phone call somewhere with a startled expression.

 

He had done what he could.

 

As long as no variables appeared.

 

Min-ho would come into Chilseong Guild’s embrace.

 

Baek Seong-hyeon was confident of this.

 

* * *

 

10 billion.

 

10 billion, really.

 

“Hmmmmmm.”

 

It felt like eleven digits were floating around before his eyes.

 

An enormous amount he’d never heard of in his life.

 

I almost signed right away.

 

【If your heart was moved, you should have decided immediately.】

 

“Mom told me not to follow uncles who give candy.”

 

【Candy?】

 

“The conditions are too good.”

 

【It means they highly value your worth.】

 

How should I put this.

 

I struggled to organize the fragmentary thoughts that came to mind.

 

And slowly opened my lips.

 

“I was just curious how far I could go on my own.”

 

【Master, on your own?】

 

“Meeting you all has been creating new possibilities one by one.”

 

Sir Isra – Heavenly Martial Body.

 

Ingrid Yggdrasil – Master of Magic.

 

Escaped from being clumsy thanks to Heavenly Martial Body.

 

All the undead I crafted also received that influence and became agile.

 

What about Master of Magic?

 

Even talented Mage Hunters have to struggle for over a month to raise a single magic’s proficiency to 50.

 

The fact that proficiency shoots up rapidly with just a few clicks.

 

That’s thanks to Ingrid’s talent.

 

“I can become strong even without guild support.”

 

Confidence gained thanks to my two familiars.

 

That’s why.

 

I asked about a loose form of agency instead.

 

Though it ended up being a tremendous discourtesy to the other party.

 

【To think Master would rely on this girl so much. It’s an honor.】

 

【Don’t be mistaken, mage. Our Lord trusts his first sword.】

 

“I trust both of you, so don’t fight.”

 

【Hahaha. Understood.】

 

【I’ll work harder to be of help to Master.】

 

Yes. Yes.

 

Let’s do better going forward.

 

After the high-ranking person from Chilseong Guild left.

 

I immediately came out following behind.

 

Since there was a commotion near the Domain of Challenge earlier.

 

As Director Baek Seong-hyeon said, the remaining Domestic Big Five coming to find me will be soon.

 

Since it seems difficult to work for a while.

 

I should quickly make at least one.

 

【Is there an additional minion to craft?】

 

“Skeleton Mage.”

 

Since I obtained the corpse of a perfectly intact Orc Mage.

 

I’ll make it with full power right away.

 

While I’m at it.

 

I’ll also try experimenting with the Fragmented Soul Stone.

 

I plan to resolve the matter I’ve been putting off as well.

 

【Could that postponed matter be?!】

 

Sir Isra showed great anticipation.

—————
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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