Chapter 40 : A Trick of Fate
Chapter 40: A Trick of Fate. (10)
People crowded into the elevator.
Na Sang-min, a judge and an S-rank hunter, along with the twelve first-round passers, were riding the elevator.
Go Pil-hoon did not participate in the second test because he had a schedule in the afternoon.
Before he left.
He came up to me and asked for a handshake.
“Choi Yong-gi 씨. I’m looking forward to your future performance. Please make sure you survive to the very end and join the Dio Guild with us.”
Go Pil-hoon kept smiling, as if he liked me.
Beside him, Lee Yu-seol deliberately avoided my gaze.
To think that someone who wanted me and someone who didn’t would exist in the same guild.
‘Interesting. Choosing the Dio Guild really was the right call.’
A thick smell of blood lingered in the air inside the elevator.
Due to the aftermath of chair snatching, everyone had suffered minor or major injuries.
Blood was also flowing from my ear.
‘Should I use that?’
With <Regeneration>, an injury like this would be healed in an instant.
But.
I felt a scorching gaze.
Na Sang-min was staring at me as if he were about to bore a hole through me.
It was an intensely aggressive stare.
I couldn’t openly use my ability while he was watching.
‘I can’t show any more of my hand.’
Since I had already revealed <Judgment of the Superhuman>, I needed to be even more cautious.
“Is there something you want to say?”
I spoke while looking at Na Sang-min.
“Huh?”
He let out a hollow laugh.
He probably found it strange that an F-rank like me was acting boldly in front of an S-rank.
“The more I look at you, the more confusing you get. Are you gutsy, or are you just thoughtless?”
Perhaps because we had a scuffle earlier, he seemed to harbor some lingering resentment toward me.
“Choi Yong-gi 씨. Let me ask you just one thing. What were you planning to do if I had really hit you?”
“Well. I guess you would’ve gone easy on me, wouldn’t you? There’s nothing for you to gain by laying a hand on a low-tier hunter like me.”
I wrapped it up with an appropriate lie.
Distorting the truth without changing my expression was another one of my specialties.
“Huh?”
Na Sang-min chuckled hollowly for the second time and pressed his face close to mine.
His sharp eyes pierced straight into me.
“You knew, didn’t you? You knew CEO Go was coming, and that’s why you acted cocky. Right? Because there’d be someone to stop it anyway. Because you had something reliable to lean on. Huh?”
Na Sang-min radiated undisguised hostility.
The cramped elevator filled with a thick killing intent.
The first-round passers could barely even breathe.
This place was a narrow space with no room to step back.
Not only could I not properly use Speeder’s ability,
but if Na Sang-min so much as made up his mind, he could slaughter all of us in an instant.
Of course.
‘That won’t happen.’
If he did, the Dio Guild wouldn’t stay silent either.
It was ironic.
Compared to his older brother, Go Pil-hoon lacked talent as a hunter.
Judging purely by combat power, the strongest person in this building was obviously Na Sang-min.
And yet, he still had to mind Go Pil-hoon’s reactions.
In a capitalist world, the power of money was this overwhelming.
I bowed my head slightly toward Na Sang-min.
“I’m sorry if I offended you.”
In truth, this kind of simple-minded type was easier to deal with.
Instead of getting angry back, all I had to do was take it in stride.
“I sincerely apologize. Please conduct the second test with fair judgment.”
Which meant—
that the first test hadn’t been particularly fair.
As a judge, he had evaluated me while letting his personal feelings interfere.
Na Sang-min’s face flushed bright red.
“You little shit……!”
Ding.
Just before Na Sang-min exploded.
The elevator stopped, and the doors opened.
The rookie hunters who had been riding it scrambled out as if fleeing.
“I-I’ll get off first!”
“I really need to use the restroom…….”
“L-let’s get out quickly. Judge! We’ll see you later!”
Silence settled between Na Sang-min and me.
“Tch.”
Clicking his tongue, Na Sang-min threw out a final warning.
“Fine. I’ll be watching to see how long you keep fooling around.”
He glared at me to the very end as he stepped out of the elevator.
Bang Su-hwan, who remained beside me, clutched his chest with his large hand and let out a sigh of relief.
“……Wow. Hyung-nim. My legs are shaking. Standing up to a monster like that—amazing. If it were me, I’d have flattened myself and crawled on the ground.”
I shrugged and said,
“I was scared too.”
“Puhaha! Hyung-nim. You’re honest.”
While we were exchanging jokes, I felt a presence behind us.
When I turned around, someone in a corner was looking our way.
“What, are you gay? You guys seem awfully close for two men.”
He was a man with snow-white hair and a slender build.
At a glance, he was such a refined beauty that one could mistake him for a woman.
Strangely enough, there wasn’t a single wound on his face.
After all that chaos, for him alone to be completely fine.
‘Does he have a healer-type skill?’
No, that wasn’t it.
His clothes were completely stained with blood.
‘He didn’t get hit even once.’
I vaguely remembered.
In the midst of the pandemonium, he had leisurely avoided the hunters,
and in the end, he was the one who secured the chair.
I checked the name tag on him.
< Lee Ji-jun >
Expected Rank: B(降)
The Chinese character next to the rank caught my eye.
降, meaning “demotion.”
It meant his rank had been lowered by one level due to causing an incident.
Originally, he was an A-rank, but he had been demoted to B-rank.
There had to be a story behind that…….
“What? You c-crazy bastard! Wanna die?”
Bang Su-hwan snapped angrily, as usual.
But the way he awkwardly cursed in a trembling voice didn’t suit him at all.
Lee Ji-jun smirked.
“If it’s not, then it’s not. Why get so angry over it? Then are you friends?”
“……We are friends. Right, Hyung-nim?”
Bang Su-hwan scratched the back of his head and backed down.
The guy stepped closer to me and held out his hand.
“I’m Lee Ji-jun. Nice to meet you.”
Though he seemed to approach casually, his sharp eyes quickly scanned me.
‘He’s not looking down on me. If anything, he’s being cautious.’
I took Lee Ji-jun’s hand.
“I’m Choi Yong-gi.”
“Yong-gi, huh. That’s a pretty cool name.”
Bang Su-hwan slipped in and introduced himself.
“I’m Bang Su-hwan—outstanding Su(秀), joyful Hwan(歡)…….”
Lee Ji-jun held a smile as he grabbed the elevator door that was about to close.
“Let’s meet again.”
With that, the guy leisurely disappeared.
Was it mysterious?
I felt curious about Lee Ji-jun, who seemed to be carrying some kind of secret, much like me.
Bang Su-hwan awkwardly withdrew the hand he had stretched out.
“Hyung-nim. Let’s go.”
“Yeah.”
The elevator arrived at basement level seven of the Dio Guild building.
Unlike the wide-open banquet hall that had been the first test site, this place had a low ceiling and was dimly lit.
Thick concrete walls enclosed it on all sides, and state-of-the-art ventilation ducts were installed everywhere.
“Let’s see.”
Na Sang-min flipped through the documents.
“This place is a special air-raid shelter designed to prepare for monster ambushes. It’s where employees, including the Dio Guild’s executives, evacuate. A-and then…….”
Perhaps because it hadn’t been long since Na Sang-min himself joined the Dio Guild,
it didn’t look like he had a deep knowledge of headquarters information.
“It’s designed to withstand nuclear war, radiation and…… ah, screw it. Shit! I’m not doing this.”
When Na Sang-min tossed the documents aside, a Dio Guild agent hurriedly picked them up.
“Anyway, the point is, this place is safe and incredibly solid. For example.”
Na Sang-min stretched out one leg and stomped on the floor.
Sand poured down from the ceiling.
The floor only cracked.
It didn’t shatter or break apart.
“You see this? I was planning to punch through down to basement level eight, but I failed. Well, if I really set my mind to it, I could probably do it.”
The twelve hunters broke into nervous murmurs, sweating bullets.
“……That’s insane leg strength.”
“No wonder he’s S-rank.”
“He’s the scariest one to me.”
Regardless of his casual speech and behavior, Na Sang-min’s outstanding skill was beyond any doubt.
Na Sang-min held out his hand to the agent.
“Hey. Hand that over.”
“Yes. Here you go.”
Receiving a new set of documents, Na Sang-min began reading.
“All right then. Dio Guild rookie selection. We’ll begin the second test. Hunter Bang Su-hwan, Hunter Lee Gil-yong. Step forward.”
Bang Su-hwan looked at me in panic.
It seemed he hadn’t expected to be chosen as the first contestant.
I nodded at him.
That alone seemed to be enough encouragement, as Bang Su-hwan let out a shout.
“Euracha!”
Bang Su-hwan and Hunter Lee Gil-yong stood facing each other.
< Bang Su-hwan >
Expected Rank : B+
< Lee Gil-yong >
Expected Rank : C-
Lee Gil-yong was short, but had a solid, muscular build.
The heart-shaped tattoo engraved beneath his eye gave off a somewhat sleazy impression.
As sparks seemed ready to fly between the two, Na Sang-min continued.
“The rules are simple. First, play rock-paper-scissors.”
Bang Su-hwan chose rock, Lee Gil-yong chose paper.
The initiative went to the opponent.
“The winner chooses the game. The loser follows. Isn’t this the ultimate fated showdown!”
Na Sang-min’s voice rose with excitement, befitting a fate-and-fortune enthusiast.
Lee Gil-yong observed Bang Su-hwan for a moment.
Then he flashed a greasy smile.
“Let’s do jiu-jitsu. Whoever taps out or loses consciousness loses.”
“Sounds good. Return to your positions, warm up for one minute, then come back.”
Lee Gil-yong provoked Bang Su-hwan.
“Hey. Nepotism hire. If it weren’t for that guy, you’d have been eliminated in round one. I saw you earlier—shaking like a scared little bitch. Your luck runs out here. Brace yourself.”
The person he pointed at was none other than me.
“…….”
Bang Su-hwan approached me with a dark expression.
“……Hyung-nim.”
Seeing such a big guy looking dejected was like watching a bear that had just lost its prey right in front of me.
“He’s right. I’m just a cowardly nepotism hire with no talent for fighting. I guess this is as far as I go.”
I had no intention of cleaning up after Bang Su-hwan forever.
However, Lee Gil-yong was wrong.
The one who had willingly sacrificed himself first to protect me during chair snatching was none other than Bang Su-hwan.
Thanks to him, I was able to grasp the situation, and by responding calmly, I passed.
In other words, I owed Bang Su-hwan a debt.
“Listen carefully to what I say.”
I whispered briefly into Bang Su-hwan’s ear.
After hearing my advice, Bang Su-hwan’s expression brightened.
“Understood. Hyung-nim!”
Bang Su-hwan and Lee Gil-yong returned to their positions.
As the two faced each other, Na Sang-min raised his hand like a referee.
“Ready. Fight!”
Lee Gil-yong lowered his stance and crooked his finger.
“For the record, I’m a jiu-jitsu blue belt. A dumb brute who only trusts his strength like you—”
In the blink of an eye, Bang Su-hwan grabbed Lee Gil-yong around the waist and lifted him up.
Lee Gil-yong flailed helplessly while suspended in the air.
“……H-hey, won’t you let go? You dirty bastard! We’re supposed to settle this with technique.”
What I had told Bang Su-hwan was simple.
“This isn’t a sport. It’s a fight. So go and smash him.”
Bang Su-hwan’s ability was strong-weak-weak-strong.
He was weak against the strong.
But conversely, against the weak, he was endlessly…….
“Screw you! You scrawny bastard!”
Bang Su-hwan slammed Lee Gil-yong hard into the floor.
With gravity combined with his monstrous strength, Lee Gil-yong crashed straight into the concrete floor.
Taking the full impact with his entire body, Lee Gil-yong foamed at the mouth and gagged.
Na Sang-min grabbed Bang Su-hwan’s wrist and raised it high.
“Okay. Bang Su-hwan wins!”
Bang Su-hwan’s roar echoed off the concrete walls, scattering in all directions.
He lifted me up high and started dancing around.
“Hyung-nim! I won!”
“Yeah, I get it, so can you put me down now?”
“Yes, sir!”
Na Sang-min flipped through the documents and proceeded to the next round.
“Let’s keep it going. Hunter Choi Yong-gi, step forward. And then…….”
What was fate, anyway?
“Lee Ji-jun. Come on!”
An unavoidable single-plank bridge revealed itself.
“Oh. I didn’t expect we’d face off this early.”
The white-haired hunter grinned broadly as he approached me.