<There is a donation of 1 trillion won there. You can take it if you want, but only if you can survive in the hands of the Head Breaker.>
After the donation event, it became a big news story. What I had initially intended as a pure act of donation had turned into a scheme to dismantle corrupt charity organizations.
To an observer, it might seem like I had set up traps to dismantle them.
This somehow reminded me of when I told Director Lee Myung-hak to take care of his neck.
Back then, there was room for misunderstanding, but in this case, people could have taken this literally.
But I didn’t see any articles pointing that out.
On the contrary...
<What’s the hidden truth behind the 1 trillion won donation? What is the secret message Choi Jun-ho is sending to people?!>
...Reporter Go Ye-jin seemed to be stirring the pot even more.
I told my parents about setting up a foundation when I didn’t hear back from any charitable organizations.
“I won’t do it.”
I was rejected in a single stroke.
“I’m satisfied with our current life, and I don’t think it’s good for us to have an active role in this.”
“That’s right, we’re satisfied here too.”
My parents were afraid of how their actions might affect their son. They also pointed out that setting up a foundation could make them a target for villains because it would involve a lot of money.
They weren’t wrong. There were still villains lurking in Seoul. I guessed my thinking was short on that part. I apologized to my parents.
“It’s okay. We’re benefiting a lot from our son too.”
“Do what you want to do, Jun-ho.”
“Yes.”
What I wanted to do... let’s think about it slowly for now.
The idea of donating was something that came out of nowhere and it just stuck. So it wouldn’t hurt to think about it a bit more.
The next day, I headed to the Sacred Guild with Heartworker.
Heartworker, who visited the headquarters of the Sacred Guild for the first time, which was not only the top conglomerate but also the top guild in South Korea, looked around with wide eyes, then had a surprised expression when he saw Lee Se-hee.
“Welcome, Jun-ho-ssi.”
Lee Se-hee, wearing a white blouse and an H-line black suit skirt, greeted me.
“Is he the one Jun-ho-ssi mentioned?”
“Yes, he’s the one. He’s the one who will learn core processing in the future.”
“I’m Kim Jong-hyun. It’s an honor to meet you, Se-hee-ssi.”
“Yes, nice to meet you.”
Heartworker, even when I gave him warnings, still persisted with a noticeable flirtatious tone in his voice.
Lee Se-hee, with her composed voice, offered a seat.
“I heard about the charity organization. I didn’t know you had such thoughts about donations.”
“I share the same thoughts as Se-hee-ssi.”
This guy kept interrupting.
“I’ve just confirmed that my thoughts are quite different from yours.”
“Even if they wrap it in good intentions, many donations are just aimed for tax deductions or social recognition. Those organizations are after that kind of blind money. I understand you may be disappointed, but there are also many people genuinely volunteering to help those in need.”
“By the way, doesn’t the Sacred Guild also make donations?”
“We do operate a foundation on a group level. But if you want to donate here, I’ll have to decline.”
It seemed like she had read my thoughts.
Lee Se-hee smiled.
“You can trust the system, but not the people. When suddenly a large sum of money comes into play, desires that didn’t exist before can surface. What I want to say is that you don’t need to start big from the beginning. Start with a small amount, gradually increase it as you see how it’s working.”
“Having the authority to audit would seem unreasonable to them.”
“Yes, donation organizations have expenses that are essential for their operations. If we closely examine and cut these expenses too much, there may be situations where people want to help but are unable to do so effectively due to the financial constraints placed on the organization.”
Even if those operating expenses are reasonable.
I might not have such intentions, but other people might not be the same. Lee Se-hee added.
“I can recommend a few good places.”
“You’re as kind-hearted as you are beautiful.”
“Thank you.”
“It’s nothing.”
There was Heartworker, who was intruding without any sense of discretion, but Lee Se-hee didn’t particularly show any reaction. I suppose this was the extent of her tolerance.
Since I had brought Heartworker here and my next appointment was nearing, I slowly got up from my seat.
“Well, I have another appointment.”
“Was it the special lecture?”
“By the way, you were an Academy graduate, right?”
“Yes, so was Da-hyun. It was really nice back then. We didn’t know anything, and it felt like a field trip. The competition among the kids, looking back now, was at an adorable level. If you find someone promising, please recommend them to me.”
“Isn’t that last part your actual purpose?”
“I know right? If you go to the Academy, the kids will be quite happy. Since they’re still young, please look at them with fondness.”
“Kids need to learn responsibility to become proper hunters.”
There had been numerous cases of hunters with terrible personalities abusing ordinary citizens.
That’s still happening now.
It was quite common to see cases of young, inexperienced individuals who were recognized for their potential, looking at the world with great confidence.
I intend to instill a strong sense of responsibility in these guys. Cultivating responsibility was not difficult. When one became engulfed in the thought, ‘If I don’t succeed in this, I’ll die,’ anyone could complete the task they had been entrusted with.
I gestured toward Heartworker.
“First, help him adapt. After that, I’ll share the processing method.”
“Yes, now that he’s part of the Sacred Guild, I’ll take care of him.”
“Alright.”
With Lee Se-hee’s trustworthy voice behind me, I left the Heartworker in her care.
There shouldn’t be any problems, right?
***
Kim Jong-hyun was in high spirits.
Entering one of the best guilds in South Korea, and working with such a beautiful superior was beyond imagination.
Accepting Choi Jun-ho’s proposal was the best decision of his life.
However, I felt something strange after Choi Jun-ho left.
It felt cold.
The surrounding air had dropped about 5 degrees? No, it felt like it had dropped by 10 degrees.
What’s going on? What was this? Feeling puzzled, Kim Jong-hyun noticed that the source of the cold was right in front of him, Lee Se-hee.
She had a markedly different expression from a moment ago.
“S-Se, Se-hee-ssi?”
“First, address me properly. When you address me from now on, please call me Team Leader.”
“...Haha! Yes, Team Leader.”
“Don’t laugh. Does Kim Jong-hyun laugh in front of the Team Leader?”
“......”
Kim Jong-hyun’s mouth remained closed, concealing a calm but underlying intensity.
Lee Se-hee seemed to like that expression.
“Alright, Craftsman Kim Jonghyun. There’s something you need to remember. I’ll say it once, so make sure to remember.”
“Yes, yes!”
It was cold and imposing.
The gentle, warm, obedient, and devoted face that Lee Se-hee had shown in front of Choi Jun-ho was all a lie.
Right in front of him was a predator ready to pounce and tear his throat apart if he revealed even the slightest vulnerability.
Was this how people from Seoul were? Or was it just Seoul women?
Jung Da-hyun and Lee Se-hee were both terrifying.
“First, I am the head of the Sacred Guild’s overall team. Think deeply about what that means. Second, you were brought here by Choi Jun-ho, but you’re now a craftsman at the Sacred Guild Research Institute.”
The chilling aura emanating from Lee Se-hee was as sharp as if it was slicing through thin skin.
There was no room for dissent.
All Kim Jong-hyun could do was nod.
“Lastly, I hope we can both be more careful with each other. I see Craftsman Kim Jong-hyun as a promising talent in the company, and Craftsman Kim Jong-hyun sees me as the head of the team. Do you understand?”
“Yes, I understand. I understand, so please...”
The moment he answered, the pressure that had been pressing down on Kim Jong-hyun seemed to disappear as if it had been washed away.
The air, which had been chilly just a moment ago, felt so warm that he wondered if it even happened.
“Alright. I look forward to a constructive relationship with Craftsman Kim Jong-hyun in the future. You can leave now.”
“.......”
Eventually, Kim Jong-hyun was forced to get up from his seat and walk out. He didn’t regain his senses until an employee approached him and led him to the research institute.
“...Seoul women are frightening.”
***
The proposal for a special lecture had been coming in for a long time. And I accepted the offer to build a friendship with Go Myung-hak and observe the Academy students.
I accepted the offer because I wanted to get to know Go Myung-hak, a retired but prestigious Transcendent, and the headmaster of the Academy.
What I felt as I stepped out into the world and lived in society was that the more allies and the fewer enemies one had, the better.
It was the same for Lee Chan-taek.
I personally had no interest in Lee Chan-taek’s life or death, but I chose to save him after observing various situations. The result made me Lee Chan-taek’s benefactor, creating a situation where Avant-Garde considered me as their friend.
Now, I was not just someone who indiscriminately kill.
I also have a personal reason for visiting the Academy.
Like other kids, there was a time when I earnestly wanted to come to the Academy in Seoul when I was in my teens. It was a new experience for me to become a professor for just one day.
Now that I thought about it, how were my teenage years?
“It was colorless and odorless.”
...I was one of those kids in the class that you wouldn’t notice if they were gone.
Let’s just say it wasn’t a pleasant time.
The reason I wanted to observe the students of the Academy was because there were some “guys” who would become villains in the future.
A villain was literally a social evil. It would be better to eliminate them before they cause greater harm if possible.
For now, I planned to see how things were first. If they’re already irreversible, remove them. If there’s room for rehabilitation, train them to death and make them human. If they died in the process, so be it.
When I arrived at the Academy, I met Go Myung-hak first.
“Thank you for accepting the request. I have high expectations for the special lecture by Transcendent Choi Jun-ho.”
“Even so, I am not as knowledgeable as the professors at the Academy. It seems I’ll only be able to address a few issues I’ve observed while working in the field.”
“The experience in the field is always important. While the professors here are excellent, it’s easy for their senses to become rusty when they’re away from the field. Even the professors go hunting or visit guilds during vacations to familiarize themselves with the field. Transcendent Choi Jun-ho’s insights will be of great help to the students.”
Today, the class I was giving a special lecture to was Class A, where only the most outstanding students at the Academy gather. Furthermore, they would be the ones to step forward for the battle exchange when foreign delegates arrived.
The future of the Awakened in South Korea.
I recalled the information I had researched in advance.
“I heard there are a few troublemakers in Class A.”
Go Myung-hak smiled awkwardly.
“When I looked at the accident records, it didn’t seem easy to just attribute them to the immature actions of young children.”
“That’s why we often find ourselves in difficult situations.”
The era of the first-generation Awakened, who initially had no significant background, came to an end. With the transition to the second and third generations, powerful forces that spanned generations started to rise and assert themselves.
The lineage of their family and their background in the guild made it difficult for Academy professors to handle.
It was the emergence of a new aristocratic class similar to conglomerates before the appearance of monsters.
Nevertheless, even aristocrats ate and fought the same way, and their blood was just as red.
“If the Headmaster wishes, I can relieve your worries. Unforeseen accidents can happen at any time.”
“......”
While Go Myung-hak fell into silence, I examined the attendance book. Among the five classified as troublemakers, three of them were familiar names.
If I remembered them, they were either going to be killed or needed to be killed. Future villains were mostly being molded in their adolescence.
Even so, I was quiet during my teenage years.
“Those kids have only strayed for a moment. They still possess purity. Won’t you give them a chance, just once?”
“Do you believe people can change, Headmaster?”
“I don’t believe so. But I think it’s possible when the right opportunity arises.”
It’s a statement I didn’t empathize with. The cost of eliminating them was much cheaper than the cost of trying to change them.
“Why choose such a difficult path? The probability that these kids will become proper hunters in the future is slim. From what I see, there’s a higher chance they’ll become villains.”
It’s a conviction coming from someone who used to be a villain and experienced their previous life.
But Go Myung-hak’s choice was to lower his head.
“Please.”
“......”
I wondered if he was doing it for the sake of the actual students or if it was because I intended to eliminate them all. If he’s averse to the idea of killing, maybe I should just say that I would make them invalids next time.
I pondered for a moment, then decided.
“...Since you’ve put it that way, I’ll take a closer look and make a judgment.”
“That’s more than enough. Thank you.”
Only then did Go Myung-hak’s expression brighten.
***
“The kids can be mischievous, but they’re all good kids.”
I followed the class A homeroom teacher Lee Hye-ri as she explained about the class A students.
She mostly boasted about the students. She was a professor who didn’t make a big deal out of the problematic aspects, portraying everything in a positive light.
It seemed like a style that the students found approachable. The kids running around and Lee Hye-ri looking flustered were vividly imagined in my mind.
When we arrived at the classroom, it was exactly the starting time of the lecture. As we entered, there were around thirty or so teenage students.
“Today, the special lecture will be given by Transcendent Choi Jun-ho. Everyone, applause.”
Clap, clap, clap!
With applause that lacked sincerity, I stood at the podium. Unlike the insincere applause, the eyes directed at me sparkled with curiosity.
They all had well-refined aura. A sign of good training, I suppose.
That’s also the problem.
Giving power to kids who didn’t even know their own limits. When giving them power, it’s best to firmly lay the groundwork to prevent misuse.
“This is Choi Jun-ho. There must be some people here who don’t recognize my face.”
“No one here doesn’t know you!”
“That’s right!”
In response to someone’s shout, the other students echoed. Was this the future of this country? Better than the Jabalchi villains, I suppose.
“Today’s special lecture topic is the correlation between using Force and using Gifts...”
“Excuse me, Professor.”
A brazen voice interrupted.
When I shifted my gaze to the source of the voice, I could tell right away that it was a guy who had overly groomed himself. Though he looked over 20 years younger than the face in my memory, I recognized him.
Yang Joo-hyuk, the future villain known as the Inner Clown.
The only son of Guild Master Yang Gil-su of the mid-tier guild Hoyeol, he was known for his talent and caused all sorts of turmoil before becoming a villain.
The reason I remembered him was simple.
He claimed he would become the second Blood Master and roamed around, causing trouble. After making such a claim and looking for me, he got beaten by Berserker and was handed over to the Hoyeol Guild.
In other words, a fashion villain. I remembered Berserker saying that he was pretty good, though.
Thinking about it, he’s quite the unusual guy to survive even after falling into Berserker’s hands.
“Professor, we’ve already taken the class on the topic you’re going to teach. Could you tell us something different?”
Boldly interrupting the words of a professor as grand as the sky.
During the National Guild Union meeting and in various other situations, I realized that people had a common prejudice.
The mistaken belief that I would never lay a hand on them.
Especially in this country, where minors were protected by strict laws.
Did he think that I wouldn’t touch them because of that?
If so, it was a very big misconception.
I wondered how Cheon Myeong-guk and Jung Ju-ho would have looked if they had heard such words.
One would probably have had a very uncomfortable expression, and the other would have clutched his head.
“What do you want to know?”
“The method of dealing with villains! Professor, you’ve faced countless villains so far, haven’t you? We’ll become hunters in the future and may have to deal with villains during hunts. We want to know how to respond.”
From the way he spoke with a sly smile the whole time, it was obvious he was joking.
If you’re going to crack jokes without understanding the subject, you should ensure they match my style.
“Well, that’s not a bad idea.”
“It is, isn’t it? I always have these great ideas.”
“Come up here.”
“Yes?”
He looked at me with a puzzled expression.
“You want to know how to deal with villains? Stand here.”
I pointed to my side.
“You’ll play the role of the villain.”
