Chapter 63

Why All of a Sudden?

Three days had already passed since the shocking incident of Sia’s rampage.

Thanks to Rokan taking care of me in every possible way, I recovered quickly from the aftermath. Of course, I still wasn’t in any condition to clear Gates, or even handle proper training, but thankfully I had recovered enough to manage ordinary daily life.

The same was true for Sia. According to Rokan, it would probably take a few more days for her to recover completely, but even so, her recovery was faster than expected.

Rokan had added one more thing.

It’s all thanks to you. Because you forcibly stopped the rampage, her mana never reached the point of complete depletion.

It was a relief that Sia was doing better than expected, but my heart still wasn’t at ease.

What if this leaves her traumatized?

What happened that day had been an unfortunate accident no one could have predicted, like an earthquake or some other natural disaster. But according to Rokan, Sia seemed to be blaming herself for everything.

As if to prove it, ever since that day she had stopped making the video calls she used to make every day. She wasn’t even calling normally. All she sent were a few short lines by message.

Her entire mood had changed by one hundred and eighty degrees, so of course I couldn’t help worrying.

Even if I keep telling Sia it wasn’t her fault…

She had already convinced herself otherwise. No matter how I tried to comfort her, my words probably wouldn’t reach her right now. For the moment, all I could do was wait and hope that time would heal the wound.

I took a sip of the Elixir Rokan had left behind and lay down on the bed. I didn’t know whether it was still the aftermath of the accident or simply exhaustion from having too many things to worry about, but I had spent the past few days in a constant daze.

They said sleep was the best medicine, so I was about to close my eyes again when my phone started ringing. When I checked, it was an unfamiliar number.

Another call from some guild representative or reporter…?

I pressed the volume button and silenced the ringtone. The calls weren’t coming as often as they had right after my rank reevaluation, but every time I started to forget about them, another one would come through.

I couldn’t simply turn my phone off either, since Sia might call at any time. It looked like I would have to keep putting up with this inconvenience until Rokan finished creating the guild.

It’ll probably take some time.

He had been busy taking care of Sia and me, repairing the dungeon Gate, and dealing with everything else. Where was he supposed to find the time to create an entirely new guild on top of that?

For now, there was probably nothing I could do except stop worrying about it. I put the phone beside my head and tried to sleep again.

Or rather, I was about to.

Knock, knock.

Someone knocked on my door. I hadn’t ordered a package or any food, so I assumed it might be Rokan and opened the door without thinking much of it.

But the person standing there wasn’t Rokan. It was a man I had never seen before, and he wasn’t even Korean.

He was a huge white man dressed in a neat suit, easily close to two meters tall. What were the odds that a foreigner in a suit would show up at my apartment without warning?

“…Who are you? Ah, no. Who are you?”

There wasn’t a single ordinary thing about the situation, and in my surprise I stumbled over my words.

“Excuse me. Are you Hunter Yoon Minjun?”

Perfect Korean came out of the man’s mouth, completely at odds with his appearance. I had been too startled to notice at first, but looking more closely, I saw that he was wearing a translation artifact around his neck.

“…Yes. Why?”

I hid my surprise and asked as calmly as I could.

“My name is Chris Wood. I am the executive secretary serving Lia Black, Guild Master of the Aura Guild.”

“…What?”

The Aura Guild was famous even in the United States, the strongest Hunter nation in the world, and ranked among the country’s top ten guilds. On top of that, its Guild Master, Lia Black, was one of the few SSS-rank Hunters on the entire planet.

But setting that aside, why had the Aura Guild suddenly come looking for me? Had news of my rank reevaluation spread all the way to the United States?

Even if it had, a guild like Aura had to be overflowing with high-rank Hunters and promising talents. Why would they bother coming all the way to Korea?

While I stood there dumbfounded, Chris continued.

“Our Guild Master has taken a great deal of interest in your recent achievements, Hunter Minjun. As such, she would like to meet you personally.”

The leader of a world-class guild had sent her secretary just to tell me she wanted to meet me. Plenty of people had contacted me before, but this was the first time the Guild Master of a guild this enormous had reached out personally.

The moment I heard that, two contradictory emotions rose inside me at once. I was irritated that they had not only obtained my private contact information but also tracked down my identity and home address before showing up without warning.

At the same time, I felt grateful that the Aura Guild had come all the way from America solely to recruit me.

…This felt strange. Was I supposed to be angry or thankful?

And there was one more problem.

I already know where I’m going anyway…

I appreciated that they had come this far, but I had no intention of accepting any guild’s recruitment offer no matter what terms they presented. What mattered to me wasn’t money or status. It was awakening the power of a dragon as quickly as possible so I could remain by Sia’s side.

Not that I could tell them that honestly.

“If our sudden visit has offended you, I sincerely apologize. We had no intention whatsoever of making you uncomfortable, Mr. Minjun.”

“…Ah, yes. It’s fine.”

He apologized before I could even say anything, almost as though he had read my thoughts, which only made rejecting him feel even more awkward.

“If this is uncomfortable for you, I will leave without another word. However, if you don’t mind, could you hear me out just once before I go?”

As expected of an experienced secretary who served the leader of a massive guild, Chris continued speaking in an exceptionally polite tone.

“In fact, our Guild Master came to Korea personally in order to meet you, Hunter Yoon.”

“…?”

It wasn’t just the secretary? An SSS-rank Hunter had personally flown from the United States to see me?

“The Guild Master said that bringing you into the Aura Guild is her first objective. However, regardless of whether you sign a contract, she also wishes to meet you personally and have an honest conversation with you, Hunter to Hunter.”

“…”

Why were they doing this? It was already more than enough pressure just talking to the secretary, yet the Guild Master herself had come all the way to a foreign country?

“It does not have to be today. If you tell us what time is convenient for you, the Guild Master said she will adjust her schedule as much as possible.”

Apparently, the Guild Master of the Aura Guild was a master at putting people under pressure. I had never even heard of such an aggressive recruitment style.

Is this how people do business in America?

Cold sweat was beginning to run down my back. After they had gone this far, how could I coldly shake my head and refuse to meet her before even hearing what she had to say?

Besides, SSS-rank Hunters weren’t people you could meet just anywhere.

“…All right. You’ve gone to this much trouble, so I can’t exactly refuse to meet her. I just woke up, though, so I need time to get ready. Could you give me exactly one hour?”

“Of course. I will see you again in one hour.”

Chris bowed and left without another word.

What in the world is happening right now?

As I got ready to go out, I thought it over carefully, but there were still too many things I couldn’t understand. Even so, was I really worth an SSS-rank Hunter personally coming to recruit?

“I’m sure there’s another reason besides that.”

I didn’t have any concrete evidence. But there was a saying that no favor came without a price. Someone important enough to hold all the leverage wherever she went had personally come to me and was treating me like some honored guest. There had to be another reason.

I had absolutely no idea what that reason might be, though.

It looked like I would need Rokan’s wisdom this time. After changing clothes, I called him.

Unfortunately, whether he was busy repairing the dungeon or dealing with something else, Rokan didn’t answer. So I sent him a message briefly summarizing the situation, then left home.

“Then please allow me to escort you.”

Receiving almost excessive hospitality, I followed Chris.

❦ ❦ ❦

Chris finally stopped in front of a luxury imported car that looked as though it cost several billion won. He personally opened the door for me and gestured inside, explaining that there was a small refrigerator for drinks and that I could have anything I wanted.

Out of curiosity, I opened it once and found it filled with bottles of alcohol that looked expensive from the bottles alone.

Why are they treating me this well?

At this point, I was starting to feel nervous. No matter how much potential they thought I had, or how curious and hopeful they were about me, even I could tell this was excessive.

There had to be something else they wanted from me besides simply joining the guild.

While waiting for Rokan to contact me, I kept wondering what their real motive was, but no matter how hard I thought, nothing came to mind.

After an unknown amount of time passed, Chris said, “We’ve arrived.”

He opened the car door for me. Since we would presumably be discussing a contract, I had expected to meet somewhere quiet and private.

I was wrong. In front of me stood one of the five most luxurious hotels in the entire country.

At this point, I was becoming more frightened than surprised or pleased.

“We’re meeting the Guild Master in this hotel?”

“That is correct.”

Chris guided me to the room where Lia Black, Guild Master of the Aura Guild, was staying. The moment we arrived, he pressed the doorbell.

“Guild Master, Mr. Minjun has arrived.”

“Please come in.”

Chris unlocked the door and let me inside. Once I entered, I finally came face-to-face with the person who had summoned me here, Lia Black.

She had healthy bronze skin, hair as black as a moonless night, and rare amber-colored eyes.

She’s even more… overwhelming in person.

Lia Black was an SSS-rank Hunter famous not only for her strength but also for flawless beauty. Seeing her in person, her appearance exceeded anything I had imagined.

It wasn’t just her face, either. The atmosphere around her was extraordinary. I had Sia, so it didn’t affect me that way, but any man without a girlfriend would probably fall for her at first sight.

Maybe she could even charm women just as easily.

And those clothes…

I knew Western fashion could be more revealing than what people usually wore in Korea, but I hadn’t expected it to be this revealing. I had no idea where I was supposed to look.

If Sia saw this, she might panic and cover my eyes immediately.

Whether or not Lia understood my predicament, she gave me a smiling look. Then she called to me in a voice so alluring it was almost cloying.

“Welcome, Mr. Minjun. You must be tired after coming all this way.”