Chapter 17. Rating Test (2)
[So, I'm asking you for that favor. Is it possible?]
[It’s my first day off, give me a break…]
[I’ll give you 30% of next month’s salary.]
[Is there anything else you need?]
A smirk escaped me as I saw the sharp reply that flew back from Yoo Ho-jun.
The favor I had just asked was a rather troublesome kind.
Seeing him get baited by this amount of money hammered in the impression that he was a very easy guy to handle.
At the same time as I put my phone away, I felt the bus I was on come to a stop.
It seemed we had arrived at the test site.
“Hey. Wake up.”
I said, tapping her shoulder, and Seo Ah-in, who had been sleeping like she was practically unconscious, strenuously pushed her eyelids open.
“Did you drink yourself silly last night or something?”
“…Do you have to put it like that? It’s true I had a rough night, though.”
I didn't even need to ask why.
It was obvious she had been up all night worrying about taking the test at a facility run by the Hunting Alliance.
“So. Was the ride comfortable?”
“…It’s my first time on a bus, but it was better than I thought.”
Good for you, bourgeois.
As I gathered my things and got off, a bustling crowd came into view.
I could feel the gap between guilds starting from here.
The lowest-tier guilds were the ones like me and Seo Ah-in who came on a public bus.
Those who were better off arrived in private cars operated by their guilds.
And the more extreme cases were guys like those over there.
-!
The ferocious roar of an airplane engine turned the attention of the large crowd all at once in that direction.
“…Amateurs, full of nothing but bluff.”
Seo Ah-in, with narrowed eyes, muttered in a rare hostile voice.
It was understandable, as it was a group she had more than enough reason to be hostile towards.
Jeokpungdae.
One of the super-large guilds that dominated South Korea, and a sworn enemy that had fought with the Hunting Alliance, a group of similar status, for a long time.
While the Hunting Alliance had many excellent front-line Climbers like warriors and assassins, Jeokpungdae was a place specialized in rear-line talents like shooters and mages.
Then, from the private jet that had landed nearby, a group of people wearing the same uniform disembarked all at once.
The stiffness in their shoulders and necks showed that they knew they were hot stuff.
The one at the very front was a face I knew as well.
‘Jeong Min-woo.’
The son of Jeong Seong-pil, the leader of Jeokpungdae.
One of the main supporting characters of the game.
As befitting his affiliation with Jeokpungdae, he was a guy specialized in long-range shooting.
A ‘main character’ in a similar position to Seo Ah-in.
But, well.
‘I probably can’t get close to him.’
That was because this guy was going to get beaten to a pulp by me soon enough.
It was for a similar reason to how I had given Seo Ah-in a traumatic defeat in her graduation exam.
There were things to be gained by beating this guy up.
‘The good thing is…’
I didn't need to feel guilty about it.
In the first place, this guy was one of the top five characters with the worst personality.
Even his reaction right now showed that.
“Huh?”
Jeong Min-woo, who was striding forward with his chest puffed out, immediately stopped when he found Seo Ah-in glaring at him with her arms crossed.
Soon, a sleazy smile bloomed on his face.
It was the face of a thug who had found a new target to bully.
‘Come to think of it…’
Wasn’t there a setting where he and Seo Ah-in had known each other for a long time?
And as if following the relationship between their guilds, these two were the ones among the main characters who got along the worst.
As soon as Jeong Min-woo started walking this way, the cadets from minor guilds who didn't want to get involved with him turned pale and made way.
“Well, well. Look who it is. Isn’t it the ‘prospect’ of the Hunting Alliance?”
Seo Ah-in’s expression crumpled even more than before as she watched him approach with exaggerated gestures and pleasantries.
“I heard you got stuck in some trash can guild this time? How’s it been?”
“…Just go on your way. How vulgar.”
Seo Ah-in replied bluntly, but seeing that reaction, the smile on Jeong Min-woo’s face only deepened.
He had noticed that she was being defensive because she had no comeback.
“Why so cold? Just because you’ve become a worm doesn’t mean you have to show your inferiority complex like that, right?”
Seo Ah-in gritted her teeth, but Jeong Min-woo continued to sneer, unconcerned.
“Or, should we go a round like we used to? I can tell your skill level from the fact that you’re stuck in a guild like that. It’s no trouble at all to make a half-wit like you feel the wall…”
“That’s enough.”
As I cut off his sentence with a yawn, Jeong Min-woo snapped his mouth shut.
No, just listening to him was absurd.
I knew they didn’t get along, but his sadistic intention to crush Seo Ah-in in front of everyone was so obvious.
Soon, Jeong Min-woo’s face was filled with deep displeasure as he turned his gaze towards me.
“Hey. Who said you could butt in? You must be from the same trash can. Shouldn’t you know your place?”
Hearing that answer, my own annoyance flared up.
Ah.
This guy, that guy.
They were all just a bunch of ruffians who I’ve never seen show a shred of courtesy on our first meeting.
Well then.
There was no need for me to be gentle either.
“Who are you to decide that? Parasite.”
As I retorted indifferently, the people around me all looked at me with expressions of shock.
That was because the word ‘parasite’ itself was one of the harshest insults one could direct at a rear-line Climber.
It was an insult, saying that the rear-line, who usually played the role of finishing off Demonic Beasts, was like a parasite for taking a portion of the reward without contributing anything to the actual battle.
Of course, not all rear-line members were like that, but those with poor skills didn't stray far from that category.
And I had just thrown such a remark at a member of Jeokpungdae, the most powerful rear-line guild in the country.
“Is-is that bastard crazy?”
“Leave him be. Don’t even make eye contact. It’s best not to get involved…”
I heard such murmurs from the surroundings, but I stared at Jeong Min-woo without batting an eye.
A frozen killing intent was creeping over his entire face.
“…You’re asking for it. You piece of trash. You’d better apologize right now. It’s the last chance from the generous me…”
“Yeah, parasite.”
As I sneered once more, sparks flew from his eyes.
Jeong Min-woo immediately brought his hand to the holster at his waist.
He probably really intended to pull out his gun and shoot me.
The reason I expressed it as ‘intended to’ was because someone had grabbed Jeong Min-woo’s hand.
“Is there a problem, Cadet Jeong Min-woo?”
Jeong Min-woo’s eyes flickered wildly, but he soon paused as he realized who was there.
Team Leader Kim Jae-han of the Hunting Alliance.
He would also be in charge of overseeing this event.
“…Is that really Kim Jae-han? From the Hunting Alliance?”
“Why is such a big shot here all of a sudden…?”
I could feel the surroundings stir as soon as this man appeared.
Well, a B-grade Climber was a celebrity whose face was often seen in the media. Of course, this much attention would be drawn.
I could tell just by the look of dismay that appeared on Jeong Min-woo’s face.
“Team Leader Kim Jae-han. It’s been a while.”
“Yes. It has been a while. But please answer my question just now. Is there a problem?”
As Mr. Kim Jae-han spoke bluntly, Jeong Min-woo grimaced and looked down at his own hand.
The firm grip was eloquently expressing the intention not to tolerate his recent action.
“…No. Nothing.”
“Good.”
Hearing that, Mr. Kim Jae-han immediately let go of Jeong Min-woo’s hand.
Jeong Min-woo, who clicked his tongue a few times, soon glared at me and muttered.
“Count yourself lucky, trash. See you next time.”
“Cadet Jeong Min-woo.”
And seeing that, Mr. Kim Jae-han let out a sigh and opened his mouth.
“You seem to be mistaken about something. I just saved you.”
“…Pardon?”
“I’m advising you out of old affection, but you should stop. You’re playing with fire in a powder keg right now.”
“…”
Jeong Min-woo’s mouth gaped with a dumbfounded expression, but instead of explaining further, Mr. Kim Jae-han turned to me.
“It’s been a while. I hope you’ve been well.”
And his gaze turned to Seo Ah-in.
“…You too, young lady.”
“…”
As Seo Ah-in shut her mouth with a gloomy expression, Mr. Kim Jae-han turned his gaze back to me.
“Would you follow me? I have something to tell you.”
“Shall I?”
Well.
I had expected him to come around this timing anyway.
It was obvious what he was going to talk about too.
***
“You want me to reduce the number of categories I’m applying for?”
As I brought it up, Mr. Kim Jae-han nodded his head a little slowly.
It seemed even he thought it was a bit of a cautious request.
“What’s the reason?”
“There are no special benefits for applying to many categories. Even if you pass just one properly, the grade is applied uniformly. It just adds unnecessary burden.”
“Yes. That would be the superficial reason.”
As I said that, Mr. Kim Jae-han’s eyebrows twitched.
“What do you mean?”
“For some reason, nobody seems to know yet that I hold the control authority for an entire floor. It’s not a common thing for an individual to possess something like that. It’s as if someone is controlling the information.”
“…”
“I don’t know who that is, but it seems like they don’t want me to stand out. In the same vein, wouldn’t those people also dislike me distinguishing myself in this test?”
“…Wouldn’t that be the case. I suppose.”
“Right?”
Seeing Mr. Kim Jae-han’s blunt agreement, I also responded with a smile.
It was pretty obvious.
They probably thought very highly of me, and they would want to recruit me into their guild no matter what, so there was a high possibility they would want to block other guilds from knowing about me.
Then, what I had to do was simple.
I just had to get everything I could by using that.
The reason I applied for all categories, even though there was no real benefit for me, was to lead the conversation this way.
“But, I don’t dislike those people that much either.”
A different light appeared in Mr. Kim Jae-han’s eyes.
“Is that so?”
“It means I can do it for you. If you just add one condition.”
“And that is?”
“It’s nothing much.”
I said, jotting down various things on the paper in front of me.
Each one was an item as hard to get as plucking a star from the sky. The common point was that they were ‘materials’ for a specific item.
“I’d like to get these.”
“It really is nothing much. I can get you that much anytime.”
“…”
I really can’t understand the calculation units of rich people.
To say this is nothing much.
But, well.
From their perspective, they wouldn’t be able to say the same about what I was going to say next.
“And, access rights to the ‘Workshop’.”
The Workshop referred to a small group of artisans who had a secret contract with the Hunting Alliance.
Well, ‘small’ just referred to the number of people in it.
The ripple effect from the equipment they produced was something no dinosaur-sized organization could follow.
“…”
Mr. Kim Jae-han’s cheek twitched.
The astonishment that this stoic mask couldn’t hide burst through his face.
“How on earth do you know about the ‘Workshop’? That’s a recently updated confidential matter even for us.”
I know because I already knew.
“Well. Somehow.”
“…It seems you have no intention of answering.”
Mr. Kim Jae-han continued with a sigh.
“But, I don’t know. That part is difficult for me to decide rashly at my own discretion…”
Hmm.
Certainly, the ‘Workshop’ was a place with a status that even this man would find difficult to touch rashly.
But I had a way to get on his good side.
“Oh my. Didn’t you say last time that you would ‘treat me so I wouldn’t feel disappointed’? And I’m in the position of granting your request right now?”
Mr. Kim Jae-han shut his mouth.
He would surely remember saying those words when we first met.
I had received that promise for this very moment.
And given his personality, there was no way he would take such a promise lightly.
“…”
Mr. Kim Jae-han’s eyes slowly closed for a moment.
He was surely busy calculating on his abacus in his head.
“…Alright. I will try to arrange a schedule as quickly as possible.”
Hmm.
Seeing that he wasn't even digging into how I knew about the Workshop, he must really want me.
Even I didn’t know he would give such a bold OK sign.
Then, shall I also give a gift to match his favor?
“Oh. Then, about the category I’ll be applying for.”
“Yes?”
“That friend from before. Jeong Min-woo.”
I continued with a smile.
“What category is he applying for?”
“…”
The corner of Mr. Kim Jae-han’s mouth twitched.
He probably realized my intention in asking.
Mr. Kim Jae-han and Jeong Min-woo were somewhat acquainted, but according to the setting, they didn’t have a particularly close relationship.
If anything, they would be glad to see the other get into trouble.
“Rear-line… firearms, among them. Will you go with that?”
“Yes. Please.”
“Understood. Oh, and.”
Mr. Kim Jae-han hesitated for a moment before continuing.
“…Don’t be too harsh. If you end up standing out even more because of it, wouldn’t that defeat the purpose?”
“I’ll consider it.”
Of course.
I said I’d consider it, not that I’d promise.