Choi Jun-ho walked out, and Chun Myeong-guk looked at the president cautiously.
The president’s face, which seemed to be full of excitement, had turned calm. The president was the pinnacle of politicians. Changing his facial expression was not that difficult.
“Did you fire Gu Byeong-do for Choi Jun-ho?”
“Yes.”
“Why...”
“Because Gu Byeong-do lacks vision.”
The president’s voice was firm.
“It doesn’t matter what he said about Choi Jun-ho before. We have freedom of speech in our country. But now that Choi Jun-ho has demonstrated his abilities, the situation has changed. He needs to take responsibility for the things he had said. It’s shameful to say those things and then accept the benefits Choi Jun-ho has to offer, isn’t it?”
“......”
“And Gu Byeong-do has been profiting too much from the Magical Energy Corporation. It’s about time to consider a replacement. This is a good opportunity to use it as a warning to be careful when dealing with Choi Jun-ho. The administration can change, but Choi Jun-ho’s value will remain unchanged.”
Touching Choi Jun-ho could lead to being fired, even if they’re close to the President.
Gu Byeong-do would be a good example.
“Director Cheon, remember this too. Choi Jun-ho is an untamable beast. If he’s in a good mood, he’ll cooperate with us, but if the conditions are wrong, we can be bitten at any time.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Fire Gu Byeong-do immediately.”
***
The position of president of the Korean Magical Energy Corporation was a key position.
It’s where all the byproducts of the South Korean government’s hunting teams converged, and where the vast profits were made.
Money equated to power. The president of the Korean Magical Energy Corporation was a position that only the president’s confidants could hold.
The President’s close aide was gone overnight. They announced it as a voluntary resignation, but those who knew the hidden details whispered behind the scenes.
“...Director Gu Byeong-do was cut because he seemed resentful of Choi Jun-ho. So, we should be cautious when talking about Choi Jun-ho. Is that right?”
Jung Ju-ho said to me with a sly smile, clearly trying to subtly extract information while acting nonchalant.
“It could be, or it might not be.”
“In my opinion, it’s a hundred percent true. The President was enjoying his approval ratings, so others were also following suit. Don’t you think so?”
“Well, I’m not sure.”
“Anyway, I should be careful from now on. I don’t want to get fired just because I upset someone, you know?”
“There’s no need to worry about that. And if you do get fired, you’ll have plenty of places willing to take you in. Do you still have to worry about such things?”
“Hey, it’s not like I have no worries. I think a lot.”
That’s a bit of an exaggeration.
Before Nuri appeared, Jung Ju-ho made a significant contribution to a large-scale villain suppression operation.
The National Security Agency led the operation, which aimed to capture more than a thousand villains. This had earned Jung Ju-ho the evaluation of being the first to seize the opportunity for promotion in the three agencies.
Jung Ju-ho’s tactical skills were highly praised as he successfully executed a strategy that encompassed the entire three agencies.
The only downside, according to him, was that Jung Da-hyun’s way of dealing with villains became too strong. Wasn’t that a compliment in itself?
“What’s a ‘Crazy Witch’? A Crazy Witch! Da-hyun was walking such a splendid path, and it all went downhill because of you!”
“It’s kind of an odd compliment.”
“It’s not a compliment, you little rascal! Why? Are you unhappy because I yelled at a Transcendent, huh?”
“I’m not unhappy. This was Da-hyun’s choice.”
“You influenced her decision. Making you her adjutant was the biggest mistake of my life. I thought Da-hyun could control you, but instead, you’ve corrupted her. That pure and just child is now saying we need to cut the villain’s legs off... when she caught the grenade the villain threw and put it in the other’s mouth, it was like, whoa!”
It seemed like he held Jung Da-hyun in high regard. Shouldn’t he be happy about it then? With just a change in mindset, the post-Jung Da-hyun and pre-Jung Da-hyun were on entirely different levels of strength.
I believed her current choice was the right one. If she worked harder, I think she could reach level 7 sooner than she did in my past life.
I comforted the distressed Jung Ju-ho.
“Stress is one of the signs of hair loss.”
“That’s easy for you to say. And I’ll take care of it, so don’t worry. I’m just talking about this to you because I can’t talk about it to anyone else.”
“Last time, when I saw Yoo Heung-ryul, it actually looked refreshing to shave all that hair off. Director Jung, you have a pretty good head shape, so maybe consider it...”
“Get out now!”
Driven away by the furious Jung Ju-ho, I had no choice but to leave the director’s office.
He was getting more hysterical by the minute. Since I heard that he had the best chance of getting promoted, I was being a little generous. But I seriously thought he would look good with a shaved head and a mustache.
I would have to try persuading him again next time.
I was hoping to see Jung Da-hyun before I left the National Security Agency, but she was out on patrol. She’d been promoted to team leader for her success in this latest villain hunt, and now had her own villain task force team.
I left her a message on chat. My usually vacant chat was filled with Berserker’s domestic travel content.
Anyway, Jung Da-hyun’s growth was impressive.
“Once one decided on a path, progress would be swift.”
That certainty could sometimes consume oneself, but it could also serve as the strength to move forward without hesitation.
While everyone around me was amazed at my hunting skills, hunting Nuri was nothing special to me.
The only new thing, perhaps, was that it was a level 8 monster that I first captured while I was in my right mind. It was more challenging than I thought, but that was all there was to it for me.
But the way the world saw me had changed. To the point where Oh Jong-su complained that the number of calls from he’s receiving had increased so much that it’s hard to handle. The solution was simple. I told him to unplug the phone line.
If it’s something really important, Director Cheon would handle it. There were plenty of employees there, so they would filter it out for me.
I left the National Security Agency and went to the headquarters of the Sacred Guild. Without going through the front, I went straight up to the team leader’s office from the parking lot.
“Welcome. Why does it feel like it’s been a long time since we last met?”
“I saw you at the previous National Guild Union meeting.”
“Back then, I saw you from a distance. Please, have a seat.”
Lee Se-hee, who welcomed me, looked as splendid as usual. She wore a white jacket over a black two-piece with full, wavy curls. It was distinctly different from the calm and simple outfit I saw the last time.
I came to see her because I wanted to hear the rumors circulating around and seek advice. I was also curious about how my request was progressing.
The potion for attaching severed parts was in a precarious state. I decided to invest more once money came in, and Lee Se-hee agreed to that.
“Jun-ho-ssi, there’s a big uproar in the foreign countries because of you.”
“Why?”
“Because you single-handedly captured a danger level 8 monster. There’s a rumor that the Avant-garde Guild has been significantly weakened. However, it’s been firmly denied by Guild Master Lee Chan-taek, and this denial is only fueling the curiosity further.”
“Is there anything to be curious about?”
“Well, how Choi Jun-ho managed to capture the Nuri is a topic of great interest.”
I had seen Lee Chan-taek’s interview. Avant-garde officially apologized for underestimating my abilities during this hunt.
It seemed like a good way to handle things. Now that I was not a villain anymore, and I became a nationally certified Transcendent, I decided to give those on the blacklist some time to apologize.
Thanks to Lee Chan-taek’s apology, the blacklist was brought to attention once again.
It’s a desirable outcome.
Even if I couldn’t personally confront them, just the fact that the blacklist was mentioned would make them nervous and fearful. Maybe they would apologize one by one.
Lee Se-hee asked me with curious eyes, “How did you capture it?”
“I just did.”
“You’re making it sound so simple. It involves understanding Nuri’s habits and exploiting its routines to identify opportunities. It’s not just about luck; there are many tactics and strategies that should be at play.”
“No, there aren’t. Just get close and bash it in the head, that’s it.”
“...If it’s that simple, then all hunters wouldn’t have such a hard time hunting monsters.”
She didn’t seem to believe me.
“And it’s great that you managed to charm Transcendent Lee Chan-taek.”
“Should I do it more often?”
“I’m just an ordinary person, but I’m willing to help.”
Lee Se-hee, pretending to be an ordinary person, was truly a fox.
Especially considering how defenseless my parents had been under Lee Se-hee’s influence. It made me even more convinced.
“Jun-ho-ssi’s ability to capture Nuri intact has also been noticed. Usually, the bodies don’t arrive in such good condition. Do you have any secret methods?”
Because I brainwashed it to the death.
Thinking back now, it seems like Nuri was observing my actions without any response.
Maybe that was a sign of taming?
I had never tried taming before, so I couldn’t be sure if it worked or not.
I could try it again next time.
Lee Se-hee was using the reaction of those abroad as an excuse, but I knew very well that she was gathering information through this conversation. Despite her mischievous attitude, there was a mutual exchange between us, so I decided to let this slide for now.
“Many people will come to Korea to see Nuri in person. They would probably want to see Jun-ho-ssi as well. It might be a bit troublesome.”
“If it’s troublesome, I don’t have to participate.”
“That’s not so easy. If Jun-ho decides not to participate, Director Cheon will suffer again.”
“He’s a capable person.”
“Well, he’s originally a famous person.”
With messages coming in from all directions and foreigners visiting, I decided to delegate everything to Cheon Myeong-guk and his subordinates. At least if they came, they should be able to speak Korean.
“I’d like to say that I want to buy the monster core, but it would be difficult, wouldn’t it?”
“I heard that the government had the first right to purchase.”
“Yes. Jun-ho-ssi is part of the government, so the government has the rights. It’s actually established by law. If the government gives up on the purchase, someone else can try for the next turn, but it’s rare for a level 8 monster core not to be immediately purchased.”
“If the law says so, there’s no helping it.”
I didn’t particularly like the law, but it’s better to act like you’re following it to some extent.
Lee Se-hee looked disappointed.
“But there’s something Jun-ho-ssi can’t just pass over.”
“What is it?”
“Jun-ho-ssi can process the monster core, right?”
“That’s right.”
“The government measures the value of a monster core based on its unprocessed state. If Jun-ho-ssi can process it and have it evaluated, you can likely get a much higher price for it.”
“Is that so?”
This was something I didn’t expect. I got triple the value for a level 6 monster core, but what about a level 8? Level 6 had a lot of impurities, so I could refine it well and turn a 10 into a 30, but a level 8 monster core was already quite refined, so even if I processed it, it wouldn’t have a revolutionary effect. At best, I could turn 1000 into 1500?
Still, if the efficiency was 1.5 times, then 1 trillion could become 1.5 trillion, so that would be beneficial.
“Yes, but it won’t be easy. The government agencies also have a lot of pride.”
“It doesn’t matter. If they keep insisting, I won’t sell it to them and sell it to the Sacred Guild or something.”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
***
The monster core was an excellent source of energy.
Every monster core contained a certain amount of Force, and this energy was so environmentally safe that all power plants were being replaced with monster cores.
The problem was that the numbers required were staggering. And the key power source had to be a level 8 monster core.
The government had no choice but to do this, because if a nuclear power plant was attacked by a monster, it would be irreversible. In fact, several had been attacked, and the worst had already happened.
So, governments around the world attempted to supply electricity through eco-friendly power plants once they acquired monster cores.
However, the need for monster cores extended beyond power plants to countless other areas.
Guilds used monster cores to create weapons that amplified their power and armor that enhanced their defenses. They conducted research to integrate them into various aspects required for hunting.
As a result, an implicit rule was established: the government’s hunting team was responsible for what they hunted under the government’s jurisdiction, while what guilds hunted belonged to the guild.
In the beginning, the government’s hunting team was strong, but as the situation reversed, large guilds began to harvest much more.
Ironically, one might even hear people say that the Sacred Guild Research Institute was better than the National Science Monster Research Institute.
In the midst of all this, I caught Nuri. The president told me that the National Science Monster Research Institute contacted him 15 times when the news broke out.
“Oh, this is a level 8 monster core!”
A middle-aged scholarly-looking man who identified himself as Lee Myung-hak, the director of the National Science Monster Research Institute, exclaimed when he saw the core I handed out to him.
The fist-sized core was shaped in such a way that a stranger would mistake it for a gemstone. The flowing Force inside it had a captivating power that could seize one’s soul.
“It’s undoubtedly a level 8 core.”
“How much is it worth?”
“This should easily be worth 1 trillion!”
Lee Myung-hak spoke with a voice two tones higher than usual.
Processing this further would bring in even more money.
“Processed items tend to have higher prices.”
“Yes, our research institute will have the best craftsmen working on the processing.”
“What level of efficiency improvement can be achieved by processing this?”
“The level 8 monster core is already refined, so it won’t increase dramatically. Typically, processing it well can result in an efficiency increase from 1.1 times to 1.2 times.”
As expected, I should handle this myself.
“Then it’s better for me to handle the processing.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I know how to process it.”
“Still, it’s a level 8 core! In the research institute, there are experts who have processed level 8 cores!”
Well, I couldn’t say I have more experience than them in processing monster cores when I was the Blood Master.
Sometimes, it’s frustrating to pretend not to have experienced what I went through in my previous life.
“I believe I can do it better.”
“It’s absolutely not allowed!”
“I can do it well.”
“No matter how much you say...”
He was so stubborn that persuasion was impossible.
I changed my approach. I thought about what these people feared the most.
Government officials were primarily concerned about job security, after all.
But why wasn’t I scared of that when I was a government hunter?
“Well, let’s do it this way. If I can’t process it properly, I’ll provide the heart for the next level 8 monster I capture for free.”
“Are you talking about over a trillion?”
“Yes. But please take care of your own neck.”
Lee Myung-hak’s expression turned pale. Why was he suddenly acting like that?
“I, I’ve never cursed you behind your back, Transcendent-nim. I actually hoped for your successful return after the hunt.”
His reaction was strange. He began to step back, clutching his neck with both hands.
The President and Cheon Myeong-guk, who had been watching silently, looked at me as if I was crazy.
As I wondered what was wrong, I remembered mentioning the word ‘neck’.
“I didn’t mean your literal neck. I mean, stake your job on the line.”
“......”
“I mean it.”
He seemed completely distrustful.
