Chapter 40

It was late, and I’d even used Divinity, which I wasn’t used to yet.

I felt like I could fall asleep anywhere I closed my eyes. I sluggishly returned to the Association.

Once the sun rose, I’d be busy without a moment to breathe. Before that, I had to fill my head with the things I was curious about.

As soon as I entered the archives, I pulled out all the materials related to Demons that I could access with a Rank 4 clearance.

From then on, I sat down and began to read through them.

The fact that the Demons were fundamentally a religion that served Monsters, that they had to offer an Awakener as a Sacrifice to make a contract with a Monster, that their ranks were divided into S-Rank High Priests, A-Rank elders, B-Rank Apostles, and C-Rank and below were all Acolytes…

“Tsk.”

Perhaps because of the rank restriction, most of it was useless historical data, and if not, it was stuff I already knew.

Still, thanks to staying up all night, I did get one thing.

A yearly summary of Demon-related incidents.

The number had been rising exponentially over the past few years.

And most of them were cases of people becoming Demons by offering their comrades as Sacrifices.

Looking at it this way, I could kind of see why the people in my department freaked out at the mere mention of Demons.

I stretched my stiff body.

Damn it. I was going to crawl into the sleeping quarters and get at least a wink of sleep. But sunlight was peeking its head through the window.

I checked the clock; it was 8 in the morning. It wasn’t the first or second time I’d pulled an all-nighter, so I was used to it by now.

While I was washing up in the shower room and changing into a spare set of clothes, my phone vibrated several times.

I thought it might be Hong Gyeong-pyo again, but it wasn’t.

Yuja: [Photo]

[Photo]

[Video]

[Uncle, when are you coming to visit? Dad is so busy these days ㅜㅜ]

In the photo, Yuja was giggling while playing Nintendo with her friend. Was her name Dajeong?

-I’ll stop by soon.

After sending a reply, I took the opportunity to leave a message in the group chat as well.

-I’m on my way to the lobby cafe now, does anyone need coffee?

-Me!

-Me too!

-I love you!

As if they had been waiting, replies poured in.

I chuckled, ordered some snacks, and was just sitting down in a corner seat.

“How is it that everywhere you go in the Association these days, all you hear is Choi Gi-woong. Aren’t they sick of it?”

My head turned at the unexpected mention of my name.

Who was that? I knew his face but couldn’t remember his name, which probably meant he wasn’t a very high Rank.

“It makes sense. He restored Ilseong and made JW double their sponsorship funds. In a way, he did something even Seong Yo-han couldn’t.”

“Is that why? He hastily put a team together.”

The man with his arms crossed spoke with a sullen face.

“At a time when they should be learning the ropes, I’ve never seen anyone who stiffens their neck and says, ‘I can’t work under someone else,’ last long.”

“True. That team’s level is a bit, you know.”

“It’s not just a bit. Where on earth can you even use them?”

“Choi Gi-woong may be doing well, but it’ll be hard for them to make it big, right?”

“I guarantee you, that team will be disbanded within half a year.”

Deciding I didn’t need to hear any more, I got up from my seat.

It was then. I made eye contact with a person outside the window.

The person, who had been looking around as if searching for someone, froze stiff. It was the general manager of the JW Chairman’s office. A moment later, the general manager strode into the cafe.

“General manager? What brings you here?”

The man who had been grumbling with his arms crossed shot up and greeted him.

“Instead of this, how about some coffee…”

“I’m busy right now.”

The general manager, who had brushed the man off, approached me.

In that instant, my eyes met the man’s. Seeing his trembling pupils, he must be recalling everything he just said. He also seemed anxious about whether I had heard him. I was making it blatantly obvious that I had heard everything very clearly when the general manager bowed his head deeply.

“Hello, Secretary Officer Choi.”

As if he had completely erased the memory of fighting with me a while ago, the general manager’s face was full of smiles.

“What is it?”

“It’s about…”

What came out of the general manager’s pocket was an envelope. The luxurious packaging showed that quite a bit of money had been spent.

“What is this?”

“It’s an invitation.”

An invitation?

“The director…, that is, the Chairman’s daughter, was declared fully cured of her Mana Disease yesterday.”

Ah. Come to think of it. I had given them all the Mana Disease treatment potions at once, thinking it would be fine.

I’d been so busy I had forgotten, but she had been cured in the meantime.

As I was thinking, the general manager spoke in a desperate voice.

“We’re planning to hold a banquet to commemorate it, and the Chairman said he would be very grateful if you, Secretary Officer Choi, would attend.”

I’m grateful for the invitation, but.

“I’ll speak to the Chairman separately…”

“Please, couldn’t you just come?”

“Pardon?”

The general manager cut me off.

Did he get threatened with death if he didn’t bring me? What’s with that expression?

“I don’t have much time these days…”

“I know you’re busy, Secretary Officer Choi. But this is also an opportunity for you to broaden your horizons.”

What horizons are there to broaden at a celebratory party?

As if he had read my thoughts, the general manager quickly turned on his phone and held it out to me.

I looked and saw it was the guest list for the party.

And the moment I saw the guest list, the thought I just had vanished.

Daehyeon, Daehu, and though it’s an outlier, even the Black Market. All the top leaders you only see in the media were attending. The Black Market is full of blatant criminals, so they’re an exception, but just making an impression on the rest would be a gain.

My hand moved on its own.

“It’s a happy occasion, so I can make time. Thank you for the invitation.”

The general manager let out a sigh of relief, like a soldier who had returned alive from a battlefield.

“I’m the one who’s more grateful. If you had said you weren’t attending, Secretary Officer Choi, my head would have rolled.”

“……”

He’s joking, right?

It wasn’t just that man; the general atmosphere in the Association was like that.

Choi Gi-woong is doing great, and he’ll continue to do great. But his team is a bit of a shame. No, a big shame.

Head of department Kim Yoon-joong was at the point where he would tell me to form a new team with proper members whenever he had the chance.

The more successful I became, the more I would hear such things.

But if I were going to go solo, I would have gone solo. The reason I made a team was to recruit people I could trust.

Being strong came after that.

And well, if it really came down to it, I could just make them that way.

Look at this.

Thwack-

The arrow Choi Soo-jung shot pierced the target violently.

With this much power, no one would call her a D-Rank.

She had entered C-Rank faster than I expected, and I was smiling with satisfaction, but Choi Soo-jung herself let out a groan.

“What’s wrong with this?”

“What’s wrong?”

“I can’t get the zero right. Look at that.”

Choi Soo-jung pointed at the mangled target. The hole was far from the center.

“Oh, you’re right. Wasn’t zeroing your strong suit, Noona?”

“It’s been like this for a few days. It’s driving me crazy.”

“You don’t know the cause?”

“Suddenly, I’m using too much strength. No, should I say I’ve gotten stronger? But I can’t adapt to it.”

“You too?”

Lee Won-sik, who was holding a shield, stomped on the ground.

“I broke my shield a while ago. I don’t even think I used much force.”

“Shouldn’t we ask Gi-woong-hyung, no, our Squad Leader about this?”

“You want to add another burden to someone who’s already busy? I’d rather spend my own money to hire a personal coach.”

Choi Soo-jung shrugged as if it were no big deal. Kim Soo-gyeom let out a dry laugh at that.

“In front of Gi-woong-hyung, you act all composed, like you don’t care about the gossip.”

“What! What! You’re the same, so don’t act all different.”

“Coffee’s here.”

I said as I approached. Relief bloomed on their troubled faces.

“You’re here.”

“I was just craving coffee, I’ll enjoy it.”

“Hyung. This noona here.”

“Hey!”

Choi Soo-jung shouted, then looked at me and clicked her tongue.

“It’s nothing. I’m just in a little slump.”

“It is a big deal when an archer can’t zero her aim and a Tanker breaks his shield.”

Choi Soo-jung looked like she’d been struck by lightning.

“D-did you hear?”

“I came because I thought that might be the case.”

Their ranks were forcibly raised by Buff Magic.

Thanks to that, their strength, stamina, and all sorts of Stats went up, but adapting to it was another problem.

The solution is simple. In the end, my Buff Magic is also based on Dragon Language Magic, so if they just fight mindlessly, they’ll adapt to it.

As I slowly explained the situation, the kids looked puzzled.

“Wait a minute.”

Choi Soo-jung tilted her head.

“Just listening to you, oppa, it sounds like I’ve become a C-Rank.”

I nodded.

“That’s right. You’ve become a C-Rank. Congratulations.”

“Huh? Ah, what’s with that joke?”

“It’s not a joke.”

“My Potential Rank is D-Rank, though?”

“Then your Potential Rank must have gone up.”

Though it won’t show up on the Status Window, of course.

As I was about to say what I had prepared, Choi Soo-jung beat me to it, grinning.

“But when you say it like that, oppa, it sounds real. It doesn’t make sense, but I feel like my Potential Rank has gone up. It’s strangely reassuring.”

Lee Won-sik, standing there like a bear, nodded.

“Me too. I’ll just believe that.”

Oh, what’s this? At this rate, I won’t even need to give the long-winded explanation I had prepared.

It might not have been their intention, but I also feel a little, just a little, proud. So this is what it feels like to be truly trusted by someone.

“So don’t even think about hiding things from me from now on. I’m your Team leader, so what’s this about a personal coach?”

I flicked her forehead, and Choi Soo-jung nodded with a look of realization.

Come to think of it, Kim Soo-gyeom should have said something by now, so I looked to the side.

Hmm?

Why does he look so shocked?

“I’m not going to believe you, Hyung.”

“What?”

“I’ll lose my title as the one and only C-Rank potential in the team!”

Kim Soo-gyeom clung to my pant leg.

“Th-then I’ll become a B-Rank soon, right? Right?”

I shook my head at the hastily speaking guy.

“That’s going to be difficult for a while.”

Kim Soo-gyeom drooped as if he’d been shot. Thanks to him, the cringey atmosphere lightened up a notch.

“I’m feeling generous. No training today. I’ve booked an expensive place, so let’s go there.”

Cheers erupted at my declaration. We ate, drank, and talked for a long time.

A thought suddenly occurred to me.

I had thought that I would never have anyone I could trust as much as Han Seung-hoon in my life.

But I think I could add these three to that list.

The acting head of Business Support Division 2, Deputy Director Kim Ho-seon, threw a pile of documents onto the table.

“Tell him no.”

“Pardon?”

“Tell him no. There are already a lot of places asking for Dungeons, and we’re going to push them all aside and take care of Choi Gi-woong first? Is it okay to make an exception to the rules?”

“Well, Deputy Director.”

“So what if Choi Gi-woong is an S-Rank? Did Jung Hye-in or Seong Yo-han get different treatment?”

“But it’s also a bit much to not give him any.”

“That’s how you get taken for a pushover. Once you’re a pushover, you’re always a pushover.”

“There are plenty of D-Rank and C-Rank spots left, do we really have to go that far?”

“You’re seeing the trees but not the forest. We need to tame him now so that things will be easier for us later. By the way, you’ve changed a bit too. Back when you used to torment Choi Gi-woong to death.”

“It’s because I’m afraid he’ll retaliate later.”

“See this? I tell you to look at the forest, but you’re looking at a mountain. It’ll take him at least 10 more years to become an S-Rank anyway. By then, we should have climbed higher too.”

The subordinate scratched his head with a lingeringly uneasy expression.

“I heard the Association President was looking for Choi Gi-woong as soon as he returned.”

“That’s just because he’s curious about the new S-Rank. You don’t know, but the Association President is someone who hates showing favoritism.”

Deputy Director Kim Seon-ho sank into his backrest.

“Don’t be a wimp, man. It’s not like we’re trying to do something weird. Who’s going to say anything when we’re just following procedure?”