Chapter 110:


    I’ve finally made it this far.


    <i>‘Whew!’</i>


    Yeah. This was my goal from the beginning. If there hadn’t been this much of a threat, I wouldn’t have bothered contacting the Association in the first ce.


    “Listen first.”


    Based on the conversation so far, I made several demands to them. First, they must take responsibility and restore my damaged reputation. Second, I will not follow any further orders from the Association, and I will not ept any penalties that arise from this. However, the final condition I presented was actually good news for them


    “And third, put me on the list of S-ss Hunters.”


    “Yes…?”


    Contrary to their expectations, I decided to be Korea’s new S-ss. After hearing my demands, the Association president asked why I had suddenly changed my mind when I initially refused toply with their wishes. However, there is a slight misunderstanding here—I never said I wouldn’t dere myself as S-ss.


    “What I meant was that I don’t want to follow your orders. Recognizing my higher rank is a separate issue.”I’m saying this now, but I’ve decided on a position after much thought. Since I’ve already attracted attention nationwide, it would be safer to make a name for myself as an absolute powerhouse. A hunter with special abilities that can even finish off S-ss monsters. But if it turns out that I’m just a low-rank Awakener, what kind of dangers might await me in the future?


    <i>‘Kidnapping, robbery, etc.’</i>


    No matter how I think about it, a kidnapping in three stages just doesn’t seem right. So I decided to ept the position of S-ss Hunter while crying.


    “Y, you’re really going to admit that you’re an S-ss?”


    However, even if I break the obligations of a high-ranking Awakened through threats, I’ll still get criticized by the public if I don’t show up during a dungeon break. I might as well demandpensation in advance for the mental distress this will cause me in the future.


    “Of course, it won’t be for free. In exchange for bing Korea’s fourth S-ss, I’d like the association to prepare 3 billion won…”


    “What did you say!”


    “By the way, I’d like the funds toe from your personal ount, President Go. I don’t want to be med for touching taxpayer money. You’re the head of this ce, so take responsibility for at least that much.”


    3 billion won. Given the nder and damage the awakened one has suffered, this amount should be just right to help him catch his breath.


    “Is the home address and reputation of an S-ss Hunter really not worth even 30 billion won?”


    I got straight to the point. I intended to extort money from them through threats.


    “You won’t even handle the gate, and you won’t evene to the dungeon break, and yet you’re only asking for 3 billion just to list your name?!”


    As soon as President Go heard that, he started getting really angry, but you shouldn’t be so surprised. I’m suffering this humiliation because the Hunter Association didn’t properly protect my identity.


    “President, this is cheap. Look at the cases in other countries. It costs several times as much to recruit one S-ss Hunter…”


    “That’s on the condition that you work under them, so the premise is different!”


    With all this attention, making money is tough. I had to somehow get the price of the lungs in order to survive.


    “What, what if I can’t give you that money?”


    However, the other person seemed to have lost his mind for a moment at the sudden offer. Let’s summarize the situation at this point.


    “It doesn’t matter if you don’t give it to me.”


    “Huh?”


    “If you really can’t give it to me, I’ll just solve the investigation.”


    “…!”


    “Or something else might happen.”


    <i>Tuk.</i>


    I picked up my cell phone from the table and spoke briefly.


    “You don’t even know what type of Awakened I am.”


    Could there be a more brutal extortion than this?


    Ever since the Gate was created, the intellectuals of Earth have been brainstorming and figuring out each other’s skills. However, even after 7 years since the Dungeon Shock, it’s unlikely that all the world’s secrets have been uncovered.


    “Anyway, if I had a talent for telekinesis and could crush your brain with invisible hands…What would you do if something pushed you into the street from behind while you were walking down the street?”


    “…!”


    “By the way, don’t even think about trying to silence me. I’m saying this out of genuine concern—if something happens to me, there’s another S-ss who will be extremely angry.”


    Magic is an unknown realm to them. Like deep-sea creatures, skills beyond their imagination can appear at any time.


    “Cough!”


    The association president must be feeling desperate by now. With the public still focused on the unprecedented disaster of the Inevitable Malice, the revtion that they ignored the appraiser’s warnings will likely cause a massive bacsh.


    <i>‘Perhaps he might end up taking responsibility and resigning?’</i>


    Moreover, as if that weren’t enough of a headache, on the other side, there’s an S-ss hunter putting on all sorts of pressure. It’s truly a situation where he’s thoroughly caught.


    “As expected, is 30 billion from personal funds a bit too burdensome after all? Should I add more conditions?”


    I added, pretending to be kind.


    “Let’s make a promise. If I be recognized as Korea’s S-ss Hunter, I will never be hostile towards the association in the future.”


    “What?”


    “Since I’m ignoring your orders anyway, why would we touch each other? In particr, I will never harm the association president.”


    To be exact, it is an F-ss, so it is ‘impossible’ to harm him.


    “H, h, how can I believe that? After you’ve threatened me like this, what if you change your mindter on…?”


    I anticipated that the association president might say something like that, so I came prepared with appropriate measures. In modern society, there are more reliable ways to ensure a promise than just pinky swearing.


    Rustle.


    I took out a piece of parchment folded in half from my pants pocket.


    <b><i>[Knight’s Oath]</i></b>


    The president broke out in a cold sweat after reading the contract written on the item. Although I have mostly lost my ability to read others’ inner thoughts, I can still infer what he might be thinking.


    <i>‘He is probably shivering with hatred toward the higher-level Awakened.’</i>


    It was only natural for the established elite to dislike hunters. For them, awakened individuals are truly undignified predators who took away the power they had cultivated their entire lives with violence.


    ***


    A few hourster.


    <b><i>[[Full Video] Press Conference of Hunter Association President Go Byeongdo.]</i></b>


    I turned off the video I was watching on my phone and got up from my seat.


    <i>‘Hahaha!’</i>


    And as can be seen from this reaction, yesterday’s negotiation ended very sessfully. The other party eventually signed the contract.


    <b><i>[(Breaking News) Korea, 4th S-ss Appears!]</i></b>


    <b><i>[OECD Hunter Possession Rankings by Country]</i></b>


    <b><i>[‘Great Transformation in Crisis’ A New S-ss Is Born?]</i></b>


    In just one day, public opinion turned around. I talked to President Go Byeongdo and decided to be a secret Awakener that the association had kept hidden. I made a usible excuse that I had no choice but to pretend to be an F-ss for a special entrapment investigation.


    <i>‘All those unpleasantments have suddenly disappeared!’</i>


    Anyway, I can’t believe they readily handed over 3 billion just for a use saying I won’t harm the association president in the future. If my true rank ever gets revealed, things definitely won’t end peacefully.


    But for now, I guess I don’t need to worry.


    “Is this all?”


    I’ve just proven that I’m an S-ss.


    “Y, yes! You can really leave now. Thank you for your cooperation, Hunter Kim Kiryeo.”


    During the third awakening test to correct my rank, I pulled a clever trick. I drank a potion infused with ground mana stones to interfere with the machine’s measurement values.


    <i>‘Easy.’</i>


    Reporting an inted awakening score—this time, it’s a tant act of rank maniption with no room for excuses…!


    <i>‘Who told you to make the machine so shabby?’</i>


    Of course, I felt no guilt about pulling off this scam. After all, even without the test, I was already being implicitly treated as an S-ss. This was just my way of rewarding their faith in me.


    “Hmm.”


    After finishing the rank test, I grabbed the coat I had taken off and left the measurement room. However, the reactions of the Earthlings I encountered in the hallway were amazing. The pedestrians nced nervously at me as I passed by.


    <i>‘A look of fear.’</i>


    That’s right, that look of fear is the privilege of the strong.


    <i>‘No one will dare mess with me anymore.’</i>


    I enjoyed their reaction. For a moment, I felt like I was back in my prime.


    But then.


    As I was passing through the hallway of the association, I spotted a familiar back figure near the front.


    Long, pitch-ck hair. To be honest, when I first reincarnated, everyone on Earth looked the same to me. But now, I’m starting to recognize and distinguish people here.


    “Hello.”


    Especially if they’re sorcerers with such refreshing mana, they’re easier to recognize.


    ***


    Around lunchtime, a staff member at the association was finishing up their morning work and taking a short break. She was buying a cup of yulmu tea from a vending machine next to the front desk.


    “Haa…”


    Seonwoo Yeon, a B-ss awakener.


    She was the person most anxious about the series of revtions that had unfolded over the past three days. Pretending not to know was not an option for her, as she had been deeply involved with that hunter from the start. Moreover, due to the events that had transpired, she had developed a personal attachment to him.


    <i>– Get out of the way.</i>


    <i>– Plus, if you don’t want to die, get out of the Imoogi’s path.</i>


    Thinking back on the Inevitable Malice incident fromst time is really creepy. If that Awakener hadn’t saved her, she would no longer be a human being in this world.


    <i>‘At that time… I was so shocked that my feet wouldn’t move.’</i>


    Panicked citizens, the screams echoing, and the cold-faced man facing the monster.


    How did Kim Kiryeo maintain hisposure even in such situations? Was it just because of his strength? Seonwoo Yeon thought back on the incidents she had experienced so far, but no matter how much she thought about it, it didn’t seem like something that could be solved just by having a high awakening level.


    <b><i>[(Breaking News) Korea, 4th S-ss appears!]</i></b>


    So, in the end, it feels as though this situation has found a rightful owner for the S-ss title.


    <i>‘People’s reactions changed in an instant.’</i>


    Seonwoo Yeon checked the inte and felt relieved once again. Just yesterday morning, there had been widespread criticism of the illegal registrant being called an S-ss. But with the association president’s rification, the forums were now filled with praise for Kim Kiryeo.


    <i>‘I’m d it was resolved well.’</i>


    Seonwoo Yeon fiddled with her cell phone while drinking yulmu tea. There was a list ofments she had written over the past three days.


    <b><i>[ye***08 : Please don’t swear]</i></b>


    <b><i>[ye***08 : Please don’t vite personal rights.]</i></b>


    She feels relieved that she won’t have to go around making such timid arguments anymore…


    “Hello.”


    At that moment, Seonwoo Yeon quickly turned her head at the sound of a voiceing from behind.


    “Ah, Hunter Kim Kir…”


    The person in question was standing there. Short blond hair and dry gaze.


    Seonwoo Yeon opened her mouth to greet the person but suddenly stopped when she noticed the other person’s attire.


    “Hello, Hunter.”


    The conversation continued three secondster.


    “I saw the article. I heard you were recently registered as an S-ss…”


    For a moment, she thought about congratting him, but then she realized that the current situation was theplete opposite of what the man, who had wanted to live quietly, had intended.


    “Ah.”


    Seonwoo Yeon changed the topic to avoid creating an awkward atmosphere.


    “B, by the way, I was wondering. What kind of items did the Inevitable Malice give?”


    “Yes?”


    “The hunting reward for contributors. I just suddenly thought of it.”


    “Ah, that.”


    Then Kiryeo took something out of the pocket of the coat he was wearing.


    “It seems to havee from the item table of the Imoogi before it matured. Honestly, it’s a dud.”


    What he took out and showed was none other than a thin and long ded dagger.


    <b><i>[Screaming Stake]</i></b>


    <b><i>[Grade: Unique]</i></b>


    <b><i>[Description: Inflicts the [Pain] status abnormality on the target when hit….]</i></b>


    What kind of performance does it have that makes it worth calling a dud?


    <b><i>[※ Caution: This is a special equipment that cannot inflict physical damage.]</i></b>


    Awakeners without analysis skills can’t visually check the effects of items.


    So Seonwoo Yeon could only think that the handle of the dagger was luxurious, without being able to react in any other special way.