Neo-Joseon Cyberpunk

Chapter 99: Clan Induction (1)

The reception room of the Safe House.

A room said to reveal a clan’s character depending on how it was decorated.

Judging by that, the Aguiggun Clan’s reception room was extremely unique.

It was because, like an interrogation room from some movie, a single light bulb hung there, illuminating the interior by itself.

“…….”

“…….”

In the room where silence flowed, the first to open his mouth was Diesel.

“The person who was supposed to come—?”

“……It looks like they’re running a bit late.”

When Kang Da-hee answered the question, Betty let out a sigh and spoke.

“That dragon-brain’s been like that since they were young. I’ve never once seen them keep an appointment.”

“Hm……. Not a good first impression, then.”

“I agree as well.”

As the Aguiggun Clan members chatted among themselves, the guest who had come to see them frowned.

“Um? What kind of conversation is this supposed to be?”

The one asserting her presence was none other than the Melee Mage, Kali.

She too was in the process of applying to join the Aguiggun Clan.

“There’s no need to even meet them! Why don’t you just tell them not to come, even now?”

“We should at least see them once.”

“But since when were you this proactive about recruiting clan members, Diesel?”

When her words were completely ignored, Kali waved her hand back and forth and said,

“Am I invisible or something? Huh?”

“He’s a swordsman, so that’s why.”

“Ah, you said you were preparing a double position as a Melee Mage, right? Then maybe we could get a bit of help with swordsmanship.”

“What kind of help would you get from that guy? He probably has no talent for teaching people.”

Listening to the conversation, Kali tilted her head and asked,

“……What? Diesel, you’re preparing to be a Melee Mage?”

“Yeah.”

When Diesel answered, Betty tilted her head and asked,

“Huh? You knew this person?”

“It’s more than just knowing her. I was the leader for her first Ghostcatcher job, you know?”

“What……?”

“…….”

At Kali’s words, both Betty and Kang Da-hee turned to look at Diesel at the same time.

“Diesel, is that true?”

“Well……. Strictly speaking, it was the first ‘group’ job.”

“Come on, team jobs are the real Ghostcatcher jobs. By that logic, are bounty hunters Ghostcatchers too?”

Finally sensing that the attention had shifted to her, Kali smiled and spoke.

“Anyway, I’ll introduce myself. My name’s Kali. My position is Melee Mage. I came to apply for induction into the Aguiggun Clan.”

But when she soon realized that the attention wasn’t the positive kind, her expression stiffened slightly.

“W-why is everyone like that?”

“……No, it’s nothing.”

“Diesel’s first job……. First job…….”

As Betty muttered as if chanting a spell, Diesel sensed something dangerous.

To lighten the atmosphere, he quickly brought up the next topic.

“You want to join our clan?”

“Yeah……! You can tell if you look at the documents, but I’m a fairly high-ranking Ghostcatcher, you know?”

At Kali’s words, Kang Da-hee brought up the holographic documents and read through them carefully.

“Acceleration-type and Slow-type double Melee Mage…….”

“If you know attribute combination theory, you’ll know what tier my mana combination is, right? An overwhelming Tier 1. Of course, that’s limited to Melee Mages.”

“You’re twenty-four years old, but you have eight years of experience?”

“That’s right. I started pretty early.”

Hearing that answer, Kang Da-hee asked another question.

“Does that make sense? Becoming a Ghostcatcher in middle school.”

“……Huh?”

“That’s when you’re usually studying the hardest.”

A very studious question befitting a Magic University graduate.

It might have been rude to someone like Kali, who had lived a life in the backstreets.

Diesel stepped into the conversation.

“You didn’t take a level assessment test.”

“Why would I take a test given by corporate bastards? It’s not cheap either.”

As Kali said, level assessments were a paid service that required going directly to a joint Megacorporation institution and paying a fee.

Because of that, it was also a test with a lot of controversy.

From the start, the entity assigning it was ‘corporations.’

“Who knows. If I get super famous later, they might assign me a level on their own.”

There were times when level assessment institutions arbitrarily measured the levels of famous individuals who dominated the world.

They usually did that to famous figures above Level 6, said to be the limit of the human realm.

Ripple Knight Garcia, known to be Level 7, was one such example.

‘It’s so transparently obvious.’

Naturally, this kind of action wasn’t done as free charity—it had a clear purpose.

It was part of marketing to instill the concept of levels into people as something natural.

“But you haven’t joined any clan until now?”

Betty asked as she quietly reviewed Kali’s history.

“Why, after having no clan for eight years, are you trying to join our clan now?”

“That’s a very sharp question. You’re Betty Barosi, right? A Half-dragon Spellcaster from the Brain Dragon Magic Tower.”

“……That’s right.”

“The reason I want to join the Aguiggun Clan is—”

Kali continued while forming a circle with her fingers.

“Because of this.”

“Money……?”

“Yeah. Money.”

“…….”

“The reason I didn’t join other clans was also because of money. When you work at the clan level, a lot gets taken out here and there.”

“Then why our clan…….”

“Because, for some reason, that guy smells like money.”

She answered while jutting her chin toward Diesel.

At that, Diesel muttered inwardly.

‘……No way.’

Had information about the Ji-Cheon Man-Geum Rite leaked out?

‘No. That can’t be.’

It was a ritual the Meihua Group protected with their lives.

No matter how high-ranking a Ghostcatcher Kali might be, if information had spread this quickly, Diesel would have noticed it as well, one way or another.

While I was thinking that, Kang Da-hee asked back as if she couldn’t believe it.

“Money…… smell?”

“Yeah. Money smell. I’ve got an insanely good nose for that kind of thing.”

Was it really just intuition?

If this had been before the world changed like this, I would’ve snorted and suspected some other motive.

But now, I knew better than to ignore that inexplicable sense.

“……Well, money is important.”

At Betty’s words, Kali continued, emphasizing her point.

“Not just important. Money is everything. Why do you think we do this damn work? It’s all to make money, isn’t it?”

“I’m not like that, though…….”

“You haven’t tasted money yet, have you? Just try working with me for one week. I’ll show you why money’s good. There’s nothing in this world you can’t do with money.”

“No! There are tons of things you can’t do with money! Just because you have a lot doesn’t mean you’re happy!”

“Hah! That’s exactly the kind of one-track-mind statement you’d expect from the magic tower crowd. Listen carefully. If there’s something you can’t do with money? That just means you don’t have enough of it.”

While Kali and Betty bickered back and forth, Kang Da-hee leaned in and whispered softly by my ear.

“You’re not actually going to accept her induction, right?”

“Huh? Why wouldn’t we?”

“Why……? Well, that’s because…….”

Kali’s ability?

She was someone who had single-handedly held back Ripple Knight Garcia.

Of course, the opponent hadn’t been going all out, but even so, it wasn’t something just anyone could do.

On top of that, she had endured Urmus’s attack back in Furry Land.

An attack from White Bear, the one called a Demi-god.

‘Judging by pure strength, she might be the strongest among them.’

And the know-how she had accumulated through eight years as a Ghostcatcher was also important.

Data from real combat experience always became a lifeline at the crossroads of life and death.

But was her money-obsessed personality really a problem?

In my experience, people who openly obsessed over money like that tended to be clean and straightforward as long as you paid them properly.

‘The ones who pretend not to care about money are usually the more vicious scammers.’

It was also possible that Kali had applied because of my fate being twisted by the Ji-Cheon Man-Geum Rite.

A woman with an uncanny nose for money joining the clan could, in a way, be a sign that the clan was about to make a lot of it.

‘And most importantly, the magic I need.’

The acceleration-type and slow-type magic Kali used.

Given the nature of a Melee Mage, who fought while reinforcing their own body, there were many aspects that weren’t easy to imitate.

I understood them in my head, but my body often failed to keep up.

At that moment, as if she had sensed that exact point.

Kali threw out an enticing offer.

“If you want, Diesel, I can help train you as a Melee Mage.”

Training from a woman who had endured the attacks of White Bear and Garcia.

“Normally, it’s insanely expensive. But for our ‘Clan Leader,’ I’ll do it for free.”

“Expensive?”

“Yeah. An eight-week course—one session usually goes for about ten million Qubit.”

Ten million Qubit for two months.

Was it because she was teaching magic?

The price was absurd.

“Think carefully. What I’m offering is a special one-on-one private class. Even the session I just mentioned isn’t one-on-one.”

At this point, there was no reason to refuse.

Still, if I had to point out one thing that bothered me…….

“No way……. Money can’t possibly be everything in the world…….”

“Hm…….”

It was the reactions of the other clan members.

‘This is something we can deal with somehow, right?’

You usually grow close by fighting together.

Come to think of it, Betty and Kang Da-hee hadn’t had a great relationship at first either.

“Alright.”

I boldly held out my hand for a handshake.

Kali grinned and clasped it.

“You won’t regret it. Looking forward to working with you, Clan Leader.”

“…….”

“…….”

Ignoring the sharp stares coming from the side, I finished the handshake.

Kang Da-hee wore a deeply displeased expression for a moment, then let out a small sigh and said,

“Please come this way. We need to do the paperwork.”

“Okay!”

“And Diesel…….”

“Is there something I need to help with?”

“No. I’ll take care of this person myself.”

“Then?”

She tilted her head slightly toward the entrance and continued.

“We’ve got another new arrival.”

At the same time.

Creeeak, with a grating sound, the door to the reception room opened.

“Why is the layout here so damn complicated?”

A rough, low-pitched unfamiliar voice.

Then someone stepped into the room.

“Hah……. That dragon-brain.”

A swordsman of the Brain Dragon Magic Tower.

And Betty Barosi’s older brother.

A blue-haired half-dragon revealed himself.

“Tae-oh Barosi.”

When I called the man’s name, Tae-oh grinned and said,

“So you’re Diesel, the Clan Leader of the Aguiggun Clan?”

After throwing out the question, he didn’t even wait for an answer. He abruptly drew his sword and thrust it toward me.

“You crazy bastard. What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

“Little sister, stay out of this.”

“What?”

“This is how men converse, by tradition.”

Men?

What kind of situation was this supposed to be?

As I narrowed my eyes and looked at Tae-oh—

Pajijijik……!

Suddenly, lightning flared up around the half-dragon.

“Hah…….”

“I suppose I’ll find out for myself.”

“You completely unhinged lunatic…….”

“To see whether you’re truly a man capable of containing me……!”

The half-dragon called Tae-oh Barosi was even more insane than I’d expected.

Neo-Joseon Cyberpunk