Chapter 21

Chapter 21

The Director first sent Haeseong and the secretary outside.

Then he sat in his desk chair, putting as much distance between himself and Sahyeon as possible, before finally opening his mouth.

"...Ahem. I take it the reason you've shown up out of nowhere at this hour is the Gate grade change? A grade jump this sudden is a first for us as well — highly unusual. Not a good sign."

As if to mask his anxiety, the Director rattled on and on.

All the while, his eyes stayed glued to his phone, as if debating whether or not to call the Association President.

Sahyeon let out a snort and dropped into the single armchair at the head of the room.

"There was something more serious than that."

"...More serious?"

Damn it!

Cold sweat beaded on the Director's forehead.

"...Ah, you mean that unidentified hunter from earlier?"

The corner of Sahyeon's mouth tilted up.

"An Awakened of unknown identity was roaming around inside the Gate. S-rank at minimum, too."

"Wh-What did you say?"

The Director, startled, blinked blankly.

An S-rank Awakened of unknown identity!

Even a low-grade Awakened was a serious threat to non-Awakened.

But an S-rank, an outlaw freely coming and going through Gates at will.

"Didn't know, did you?"

When Sahyeon asked it with a mocking edge, the Director answered as if wronged.

"If I'd known, you think I'd have left it alone?! And how exactly am I supposed to find an S-rank Awakened who's deliberately staying hidden?!"

"Bold of you."

For a man who's supposedly the Director, "I didn't know" isn't exactly a point of pride.

When Sahyeon said it as if impressed, the Director cleared his throat needlessly and looked away.

The way this guy handles things, honestly.

Sahyeon clicked his tongue, then sank deep into the chair and got to the point.

"I'm going to need some restraints."

"What??"

The Director shot up from his chair as if he'd heard something absurd.

"You think restraints are an item just anyone can walk off with?!"

"Should I use regular handcuffs, then?"

Sahyeon tilted his head.

They'd be worth less than a string bracelet against an S-rank Awakened.

"That's—!"

The Director's lips flapped for a moment, then he jabbed a finger again, veins bulging in his neck.

"Do you know how much a single pair of restraints costs? Who knows what'd happen if I left it in your hands!"

Restraints — hunter cuffs that sealed every ability, including an Awakened's traits and skills, as well as all items.

Studded with rare, high-purity Mana Crystals, they were worth an astronomical sum.

"Then is there another way?"

Sahyeon's interest, however, lay elsewhere.

The blond brat who'd fled with a Return Stone.

There was no telling what mischief he'd pull next, so a countermeasure was needed.

"I'll assemble a special response team to track him down separately. You needn't concern yourself."

When the Director shook his head firmly, Sahyeon crossed his long legs with a low "hmm."

"There's no hunter besides me and Baek Iwon who could handle it. Can you manage?"

At present, Hunter Baek Iwon was being deployed nonstop due to the sudden Dungeon Break.

Even so, the Director was confident.

"Of course! Do you have any idea how many capable hunters there are in this country?"

"Capable?"

Sahyeon slowly rose from his seat.

"Wh-Why are you getting up? Talk from over there, hey — I said don't come over here!"

The Director stammered in alarm.

Sahyeon stopped only once he'd reached the desk.

"Those guys your capable hunters worked so hard to catch......"

"......"

"You let every one of them walk after they slipped a little cash into your pocket."

"......!"

H-How did he know that...!

The Director's lips flapped.

What a transparent expression.

Sahyeon let out a small scoff.

"Looking into the heads of the guys locked up in there is literally my job. You think I wouldn't know that much?"

"...D-Do you have proof? Where do you get off slandering—!"

He tried to play dumb and deny it, but Sahyeon merely shrugged.

"Well, I'll fabricate some if I need to."

"......"

"I wonder if restraints cost more than the Director's chair......"

Sahyeon narrowed his eyes and muttered to himself, then added like a warning.

"You'd do well to watch your conduct."

Unless you want to be dragged down from that Director's seat.

"......"

I really should have blocked his return to the end, the Director thought, squeezing his eyes shut.

'Of all people, that man......'

Unlike the Director, whose face had gone ashen, Sahyeon left a breezy smile.

"Ah. And there's something else you need to hand over......"

***

SLAM—

A door flung wide open.

"Should've handed it over when I asked nicely."

Sahyeon cracked his neck side to side as he stepped out of the Director's office.

Haeseong, who had been cradling something the size of a forearm wrapped in white cloth, rose from his seat.

"Ah, Mr. Sahyeon!"

Just as he was about to welcome Sahyeon, who'd reappeared after so long—

His gaze landed on the glinting object visible between the folds of Sahyeon's coat.

"......! Are those restraints?"

Cuffs hanging from Sahyeon's belt loop.

A red Mana Crystal embedded in them.

Sahyeon gave a light nod, then spoke while studying his smartphone screen intently.

"I've got somewhere else to stop by, so head back first."

"You're not returning straight to the Academy?"

"The Director gave me a piece of information."

A map displayed on Sahyeon's phone screen.

A red dot on the map pointed to a particular location.

Seeing it, Haeseong let out a gasp of realization.

"...Ah! Is that the location of that blond summoner from earlier?"

"Not him."

Sahyeon answered, zooming in on the red dot.

"Vicious criminals who'd know all about guys like that."

"...I-I see......"

Haeseong lowered his eyes and pursed his lips.

I'd half thought of coming along, but I'm glad I didn't ask first......

While Haeseong felt relieved—

Sahyeon checked the precise location of his destination one last time, then glanced back at the Director's office.

'He's got his uses after all.'

Just as he was about to set off—

"Ah! Mr. Sahyeon!"

Haeseong held out the object he'd been cradling.

Sahyeon took it without much interest and peeled away the white cloth, revealing a black sword.

"Ah."

Sahyeon drew the hilt with disinterest.

A sword with a spike-shaped pattern etched into its sharp blade.

It was the reward item from this mutated Gate.

After the unidentified Awakened had fled and they'd given chase, the Gate reward had been left forgotten.

"I appraised it a bit while you were inside. Turns out it's an ordinary D-rank weapon."

"The Gate changed but the reward stayed the same, huh."

"Yes, but......"

Haeseong, continuing calmly, scratched his cheek.

When Sahyeon gave him a prompting look, Haeseong nodded and went on.

"It has a Latent Ability."

"Latent Ability?"

"Yes."

Items with traits that boosted an Awakened's stats or skills.

Among the items obtained from Gates, a weapon with a Latent Ability would surface at an extremely low probability.

An additional trait that manifested randomly through a weaponsmith's forging.

The conditions for manifesting it, however, were demanding.

Specifically, it required reforging by a blacksmith who possessed a Latent Ability Unlocking skill.

This was an exceedingly rare skill, making a suitable candidate hard to find.

"Might as well look into that while I'm out."

Sahyeon tossed the weapon into his inventory, then rummaged inside for something else.

"Where are you headed?"

Could the vicious criminal be a blacksmith? Haeseong asked, unable to resist his curiosity.

Meanwhile, Sahyeon pulled a black hat from his inventory.

He pulled it down low over his head.

"......!"

Haeseong, who had been idly looking up at him, went wide-eyed.

A disguise item...?

Sahyeon's features, strangely altered.

"It's nothing much."

From an unfamiliar black mole beneath his left eye, to oddly softened features, to a noticeably gentler voice — everything had changed.

Apart from the grey eyes, it was hard to recall his original face.

Sahyeon casually readjusted his leather gloves.

"Going to dig up some information."

***

A space thick with hazy cigarette smoke.

Everything from the clink of glasses to raucous shouting blended in a chaotic din.

"...It's even worse than I expected in person."

Standing in the middle of it, Sahyeon scrunched his brow.

A playground for outlaws, rife with gambling and drugs.

He'd seen it so many times through criminals' memories that it felt as familiar as a place he visited regularly.

'Should've asked for more cuffs.'

Quite the banquet laid out here.

Sahyeon let out a small exclamation and slowly surveyed the dark hall.

Multiple tables came into view, raucous with foul-mouthed shouting.

And among them, the innermost one.

His gaze stopped at an especially rowdy table.

"—Where the hell do you get off pulling skill tricks?!"

SLAM—!

A massive man, Min Yong, slammed his fist on the table.

The table rattled violently, and the cards and chips on it scattered into a mess.

A force that would've split it clean in two had it not been made from special materials.

"Skill tricks? What are you on about? Throwing a tantrum because you lost?"

The man across from him grinned.

Pathetic, the man thought, just as he was about to sweep the chips off the table—

"And where do you think you're reaching."

Min Yong seized his hand and growled threateningly.

The atmosphere grew increasingly menacing.

"Oooh!"

"Fight!! Hahaha!"

The other players and onlookers watching the game began egging them on.

The big man rolled up his sleeve pointedly.

"You see this?"

A small Hunter Association emblem inked on the inside of his wrist.

"......!"

"!"

Everyone who spotted it sucked in a breath in unison.

There was no one here who didn't know what it meant.

It was a brand carved only onto the vicious criminals released from the Hunter Penitentiary.

Reading the mood, Min Yong spoke triumphantly.

"You know what A018 means?"

"......"

Gulp. The man whose wrist was caught swallowed.

"It's my Hunter Penitentiary number. I survived that Mirror Mask's interrogation and walked out in a single day."

Min Yong narrowed his eyes and whispered menacingly.

"Pull any tricks and you might just lose that wrist."

"......"

Just as everyone but Min Yong was holding their tongues, letting out only trembling breaths—

"A18?"

A voice broke the silence.

"What kind of bastard is that?!"

At the phrasing that somehow sounded like a curse, Min Yong bristled and turned around.

A pair of eyes, hands in pockets, studying Min Yong's face closely.

That's him, A18.

Sahyeon's grey eyes gleamed coldly.

"We keep running into each other."