TOP 15

Chapter 15 – Biting the Bait

“What would you like to drink?”

“Water is fine.”

“Alright. Secretary Kim, bring some water and step outside for a while.”

Ji Hyun-woong spoke to a woman who looked like his secretary. She brought me a glass of water, then quietly left the room.

Right now, I was at the Hyunwoong Clan headquarters, meeting privately with Ji Hyun-woong.

Stopping the Dungeon Break had been a prerequisite quest for creating this very meeting, so this was the natural next step.

Except…

“…Didn’t you say you’d grant me a private audience?”

“Mm, I did.”

“Then what’s with that person?”

A private audience—face-to-face with only the two of us.

Yet standing behind Ji Hyun-woong was a short-haired woman, sword at her waist, standing stiff as a board.

“She’s our Hunter Team 1 leader…”

“That’s not what I’m asking.”

“Don’t mind me. Just pretend I’m not here.”

“Even if you say that…”

“…Yujin, could you just let this one slide? I tried to talk her out of it, but she insisted she had to act as my guard…”

“…”

“I didn’t realize you were that strong.”

Sigh.

Here’s the story:

It all started when I used my One Punch skill on the Blade Wolf boss.

The impact had been so strong that, now, if I were left alone with Ji Hyun-woong, they feared there might be a risk of assassination. She had insisted—no, demanded—that she be there to guard him.

So showing off too much power can be a problem too, huh.

“…Fine.”

“Thanks!”

In the end, I accepted her presence as his guard. Honestly, I didn’t have any urgent need to speak with Ji Hyun-woong entirely alone anyway.

This counts as a debt.

If I could use this later as leverage to gain a more favorable position, that could be worth more than the inconvenience.

“Anyway, thanks to you, the damage was kept to an absolute minimum. I owe you my thanks.”

With the guard issue settled, Ji Hyun-woong bowed his head slightly in gratitude.

“Think nothing of it.”

“No, really. Especially our youngest—he said you saved his life.”

He meant that 1-star Hunter I had saved during the battle.

So that was the Hyunwoong Clan’s youngest member.

No wonder he seemed inexperienced.

Still, something nagged at me.

“Was it really necessary to go that far?”

I meant—was it really worth sending even a rookie like that into such dangerous real combat?

They could have chosen to simply abandon the Dungeon Break defense altogether.

“…Couldn’t be helped. I couldn’t just let people die.”

It was clear Ji Hyun-woong had never even considered letting the Dungeon Break run its course.

His mindset was that human lives came before the organization’s losses.

I was genuinely impressed.

“That can’t have been an easy decision. I respect that.”

“Haha. It’s only natural.”

He answered as if it was nothing, but my admiration was 100% sincere.

The Gwangcheol Clan would never have done that.

They would have abandoned the defense without hesitation if it meant avoiding losses.

From a Hunter organization’s perspective, failing to stop a Dungeon Break isn’t necessarily a problem.

If anything, it’s a net loss—waiting in front of a dungeon for an unpredictable break time wastes resources, and if the break happens, it means the monsters are stronger than the organization’s forces.

Trying to stop them right after a break risks severe injury or death to Hunters.

It’s more efficient to wait until the monsters weaken or drive them to another area.

But—

The Hyunwoong Clan was different.

They camped at the gate and stopped the break themselves.

That might not sound impressive, but monsters right after a break are at their strongest, only weakening over time.

Hyunwoong Clan had put themselves in the most danger possible just to prevent even minor civilian casualties—pulling in every Hunter they could, even low-ranked ones.

If I hadn’t been there, the losses would’ve been huge.

That made me like them even more.

In a world full of selfish opportunists, it was nice to know a group like this still existed.

Just as the rumors said—this is a good place.

I felt reassured that I’d chosen to come here instead of to any other group.

After a bit more small talk, the conversation shifted to the real reason I’d come.

“I think we’ve done enough pleasantries. Why did you want to see me?”

Time to be direct.

“I’d like to sign a short-term contract with the Hyunwoong Clan.”

That I’d like to work with them for a while.

“…A short-term contract?”

“Yes.”

“Why short-term? If you’re joining, why not make it long-term—no, wait, wrong question.”

He shook his head and rephrased.

“Why join our clan in the first place?”

I met his searching gaze calmly, gathering my thoughts.

Thanks to One Punch, Ji Hyun-woong thinks I’m a much higher-ranked Hunter than I actually am.

From the way I took down the Blade Wolf boss, he likely believed I was at least 4-star.

Even the woman guarding him probably thought I might be stronger than him.

So he wanted to know—why would someone like me join a small, local group like theirs?

If I really were a 4-star, I could head to Seoul right now and get far better offers.

Most 4-stars do just that—unless they plan to lead their own organization like Ji Hyun-woong or Ma Gwangcheol.

Sure, there are citizenship and tax issues, but a 4-star can handle those.

So yeah, it would be suspicious.

But—

For now, this is the right choice.

I judged it too soon to enter Seoul for several reasons.

First: I hadn’t fully adapted to my new power.

Aside from using One Punch, I couldn’t yet use my mana to its fullest.

In particular, my inability to use Aura was a fatal flaw.

You can’t be recognized as a real 4-star without Aura.

It’s practically the trademark of a 4-star Hunter.

I had enough mana, but no proper training.

So I needed time.

Second: swordsmanship.

I had the Permafrost Blade, a unique-grade sword.

But I was probably not even drawing out 10% of its potential.

Sure, One Punch was powerful—but it came with crippling mana exhaustion, meaning I couldn’t rely on it too much.

Improving my sword skills was essential to boosting my overall combat ability.

In short, I needed time to raise my value—and I planned to use the Hyunwoong Clan to buy that time.

No need to tell him all that, though.

Instead, I gave the simpler reason.

“The Hyunwoong Clan is a good group.”

“…Ahem. But that can’t be your only reason.”

Fair enough—it wasn’t enough on its own.

So I added another reason.

“I don’t get along with the Gwangcheol Clan.”

The scumbag guild I’d been stuck with for the past three years.

I’d already burned that bridge, and I had no intention of leaving them alone to cause me future trouble.

“Hmm.”

“I heard Yong Tae-soo got wrecked. Was that your doing?”

“It was.”

Not even a few hours had passed since it happened, yet Ji Hyun-woong already knew.

Guess word travels fast…

Or maybe—

“You must have internal intel from Gwangcheol Clan.”

He shrugged. “Someone made such a scene it’s hard not to hear about it.”

“But if you’re really the Hunter from the rumors, a short-term contract might be difficult.”

“Why?”

“Because Gwangcheol Clan is desperately searching for you. You know we’re not in a position to openly antagonize them.”

True enough—Gwangcheol and Hyunwoong split the local territory, and Gwangcheol clearly held the upper hand.

Taking in someone who had just trashed them would mean war.

But I could tell—

He’s just testing me.

“So you’re saying you won’t take me in?”

“Confident, aren’t you? You don’t think I’ll refuse?”

“Correct.”

“…And why is that?”

Because I was sure he’d have to accept me.

“Don’t you plan to take down Gwangcheol someday?”

“…!”

His expression stiffened before he could hide it.

“Otherwise, you wouldn’t know so much about their internal affairs.”

The only reason a small, local clan would have a steady information line inside Gwangcheol was if they were preparing to destroy them.

At that moment—

Shff—

The guard behind him placed a hand on her sword hilt.

“Guildmaster. Shall I kill him?”

I stared at her. “Didn’t you say to pretend she wasn’t here?”

“…We can’t allow our plans to leak. Please, give the order—”

“Enough.”

Ji Hyun-woong stopped her with a raised hand.

“Yeong-hee, I told you to control that temper of yours.”

“But father…”

I blinked. Father?!

They looked nothing alike.

“Stay quiet. I’ll handle this.”

“…Yes.”

With his guard subdued, Ji Hyun-woong turned back to me.

“Sorry about that. Bit of a disturbance.”

“I’ll remember it.”

That was clearly a breach of manners—and I’d be sure to keep it as a negotiation card.

“Heh…”

“You really are something, you know that?”

“You know what I am—just a porter who got lucky and awakened.”

“We both know you’re far more than that.”

I could tell his opinion of me had gone up.

“Alright, you’re right. Gwangcheol is a target that must be destroyed.”

“I agree.”

“…Not going to ask me why?”

I smiled. He clearly wanted to talk.

“I’m curious.”

“…You’re fishing for thanks now.”

He shook his head and began.

“You were in Gwangcheol, so you know—it’s a nest of crime.”

“I know. Few people know it better than me.”

Violence, drug trafficking, illegal loans, human trafficking—anything that made money.

“That can’t be left alone, right?”

“Agreed.”

Exactly as I’d thought—our goals aligned.

Originally, I’d planned to use that as leverage to secure a place in Hyunwoong Clan.

Now, I didn’t even have to persuade him—we already wanted the same thing.

“However…”

“…?”

“I still want to think a bit more before bringing you in.”

“Why?”

He explained—this move needed proper justification.

If it looked like they were sheltering a criminal defector, they’d give Gwangcheol an opening to strike back.

In other words, my departure from Gwangcheol needed to look justifiable.

I’d already prepared for that.

“Here’s an audio recording of what happened in Gwangcheol.”

I handed him a USB.

“With this, you can easily prove I acted in self-defense.”

“Oh-ho… so you have both justification and evidence?”

“You’ll see when you check it.”

And then—I offered a little extra bait.

“I also have evidence of Gwangcheol’s crimes. Interested?”

“…!”

Over the years, I’d collected plenty—enough to shake even the most apathetic authorities.

“I see…”

And that’s when Ji Hyun-woong grinned.

“A true benefactor!”

The bait had been taken.