Chapter 54

This is the second time I’m having a private meeting with Association President Yeo Ju-kyung.

Maybe it’s because I’ve become an A-Rank, or maybe it’s because I’ve fully grasped Yang Won-hoon’s Mana from head to toe.

I can now truly feel just how powerful Yeo Ju-kyung is.

And also, that there’s an enormous gap even between those of the same S-Rank.

“If it weren’t for you, we would have had to bring down the entire Black Market.”

Before, I would have been on pins and needles, thinking two deadly nuclear bombs were about to drop.

But seeing her now, it’s different.

If she were to step in herself, Yang Won-hoon’s head would be lopped off in a single strike.

Seong Yo-han, who had stared at me intently as he left the conference room, was also far stronger than Yang Won-hoon.

And as for me.

Compared to those three, I’m still nothing more than a fledgling chick.

If I could at least completely master Advanced Magic, would they treat me like a pullet?

“You did well.”

“Thank you.”

I stopped my thoughts and bowed my head.

“It was all thanks to you believing in me, Chairman.”

“I didn’t believe in you.”

So she didn’t.

“How could I believe someone who says they can turn a Demon into a human? Especially after you’d already failed once.”

‘It’s as good as you having solved it, Chairman,’ ‘this is all thanks to you, Chairman,’ ‘all hail the Chairman,’ and so on.

The sycophantic remarks that were about to pour out of my throat hit a speed bump.

“At the last executive meeting, you supported my opinion…”

“Even then, I was more drawn to Yo-han’s side of the argument.”

Yeo Ju-kyung smiled meaningfully.

“The Black Market is a shame to lose, but I thought it was a good opportunity to show those who can’t get their act together and are running rampant just what we’re capable of.”

I should just keep my mouth shut.

If I say any more, I won’t even break even.

But still, why did someone who didn’t even believe in me give me a chance?

As if reading my mind, Yeo Ju-kyung leaned back in her chair and said.

“I didn’t believe it, but it was because of some guy who kept stubbornly insisting I should. He nagged me so much that I decided to wait and see.”

Stubbornly insisted? Nagged her? Who could it be? Head of department Kim Yoon-joong?

No.

If he had proposed it cautiously, maybe, but even Head of department Kim Yoon-joong didn’t believe in me that much.

“In the end, we took over the Black Market without spilling a single drop of blood, so it turned out for the better.”

“…I see.”

“So this wasn’t my doing, but purely yours.”

So, does that mean I don’t have to thank her?

She has a meticulous personality in the strangest of ways.

“Thank you.”

As I bowed my head with a lighter heart, Yeo Ju-kyung smiled.

“As for the method, I wouldn’t be able to use it even if you told me. In the future, if I leave it to you, can you turn Demons into people?”

“It will probably be difficult.”

I answered firmly.

Yang Won-hoon was able to return to being human largely because his own will played a significant part.

“It’s possible if the Demon is much weaker than me, but it’s more efficient to just eliminate them in that time.”

“Then that’s settled.”

Chairman Yeo Ju-kyung brushed it off without any lingering attachment.

An appearance that looks like she’d be whining all the time, yet the attitude of a sage who has lived through it all.

No matter how many times I see it, I can’t get used to this.

“How long has it been since you became a Rank 4?”

“A little less than a month.”

“And you’re already a Rank 3? Not even Seong Yo-han or Jung Hye-in were this fast.”

Chairman Yeo Ju-kyung clicked her tongue.

“You’ll be promoted to Rank 3 around next week. I’ll let the HR Team know.”

It flowed so smoothly that I almost nodded my head without thinking.

“…Next week?”

“Mhm. Why? It’s not like you didn’t expect it.”

I did expect it. Considering how many lives I saved this time, it would have been more shocking if I didn’t make Rank 3.

But still.

There’s a procedure for an agent’s Rank to go up. You have to take a strict test and go through an interview.

Cases like mine, getting a special promotion, are rare. That’s why I thought it would be processed next quarter at the earliest.

“If you don’t like it, I can change it to something else.”

“No. It’s great. Thank you.”

What employee dislikes a promotion? The faster, the better.

The authority that comes with Rank 3, the missions I can take on, and the remaining steps to Head of department Han Seung-hoon.

All sorts of thoughts floated above my head.

This is good.

“Ending it here seems a bit lacking. Is there anything else you’d like to receive?”

This is more than good.

Now that I’ve resolved a high-caliber case, gifts are pouring in by the bundle.

I took a deep breath, calmly collected myself, and answered.

“I will accept whatever you see fit to give me, Chairman.”

“You’re thinking of the Association President’s reputation, and that rather than trying to get something mediocre, you’ll just take what I’m sure to give you?”

Did she take a trip inside my head? She hit the nail right on the head. Seeing her expression, she didn’t seem offended, so I admitted it meekly.

“My imagination is a bit poor.”

Yeo Ju-kyung, who chuckled at my answer, slowly rose to her feet.

“By any chance, have you been to the warehouse? The thing about giving you one of my Items for resolving the Ilseong incident.”

“I haven’t had the time, so I haven’t been able to go yet.”

“You’re probably the only person in the whole wide world who says they don’t have time when offered an S-Rank Item.”

Yeo Ju-kyung looked at me and smiled strangely.

“Seeing that, it seems like Items aren’t particularly helpful to you.”

It’s not that they aren’t helpful, it’s just that the only use I have for an S-Rank Item is to strengthen my Mana Heart.

My current situation isn’t like before where I was desperate to increase my Mana, and even if I were, I could just ask Wi Jeong-rak to make me some Elixirs.

To use a precious S-Rank Item for something so simple… it started to feel like a waste.

As she pondered what would be good, Yeo Ju-kyung suddenly said.

“Come to think of it, your Skills are all a bit on the peculiar side, aren’t they?”

“They aren’t ordinary.”

It’s not like I’m revealing my past life, so there’s no need to hide it.

Besides, I figured the Association President would have noticed that I use magic, not Skills.

But why bring that up?

“The Oracle. Have you ever heard of them?”

“I’ve only heard the name.”

“What they’re researching has something in common with the Skills you use.”

In common?

“Go meet them once. It’ll be helpful.”

The phrase ‘in common’ floated in my mind.

Could what the Oracle is researching be magic?

In the past, I would have laughed it off, but my thinking had changed now.

I’d discovered Divinity in the middle of nowhere, even if it was only a half-measure, so what’s to say magic is impossible?

Furthermore, S-Rank magic-type Awakeners were said to be holed up in the mountains, doing nothing but research.

That sounds suspicious just by looking at it.

Perhaps I might find a hint about Advanced Magic, the very thing I’m struggling with the most right now.

As I finished my thoughts and came outside, Yang Won-hoon was standing there stock-still. With incredibly sparkling eyes.

He’s been staring at me like this ever since the experiment ended. It’s extremely burdensome.

“It was truly… an incredible experience. To control Mana like that in such a short moment, convert the energy, and then cause an explosion, that was…”

The words he spewed out were so fast I couldn’t even catch half of them.

I boldly skipped over words like ‘thank you’ and ‘I won’t forget your kindness.’

We could talk about that gradually.

I asked about something that had been bothering me for a while.

“By any chance, did you have any sort of trouble with Mr. Seong Yo-han?”

“…Trouble?”

Yang Won-hoon asked back, looking puzzled.

“For example, doing something that would warrant being killed, something like that.”

“Something that would warrant being killed. We’ve seen a lot of Association agents as our organization grew, but…”

After thinking for a moment, Yang Won-hoon shook his head.

“I haven’t had any particular contact with Seong Yo-han.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. If it were a figure of that caliber, I would have remembered.”

Then why on earth did that man react so sensitively?

In recognition of my achievement in turning a Demon into a human, I was given a three-day vacation.

In truth, it wasn’t a vacation, but Head of department Kim Yoon-joong’s way of getting me out of the way to control the heated atmosphere both inside and outside the Association.

-This is absolutely top secret. Absolutely. You can’t breathe a word of it even if you meet a reporter. Got it?

According to the kids, Head of department Kim Yoon-joong had warned them several times to be prepared if they didn’t keep their mouths shut.

It was thanks to him.

Even when I returned from my long-awaited vacation, the Association was no different than usual.

“Mr. Choi Gi-woong!”

“Who are you?”

“Aw, not this again. I’m reporter Kim Joon-yong from the social affairs desk at Media Day.”

A reporter clinging to me like a hyena was a familiar sight.

“I don’t think we’ve met.”

“The Im Seong-joon case, I was the first one to report that you weren’t at fault, Mr. Choi Gi-woong.”

“I see.”

“Could I possibly have a moment for an interview?”

“I don’t have time.”

Normally, they would back off at this point, but for some reason, he was persistent today.

“You’re playing too hard to get. It won’t be long, just 10 minutes, please. I’ll provide a small token of my appreciation as well.”

A small token of appreciation, my ass.

I’ve heard that there are agents who buy and sell information behind the scenes.

If it doesn’t seem like a big problem, the Association just lets it be.

For example, the fact that I have S-Rank potential is something most media outlets know, even if it hasn’t been broadcast to the public.

“You seem to know all the agents’ faces, so please find someone else.”

“I’ve already asked everyone, and now you’re the only one left, Mr. Choi Gi-woong. You’re the star of our special feature, so I have to get at least one interview segment.”

I paused on my way up the stairs.

“Special feature? What do you mean by that?”

I deliberately changed my expression to be a bit warmer.

I was wondering if he had somehow dug up something related to the Demon.

“Before that, just one fact check.”

“Go ahead.”

The reporter asks with the face of someone who’s hooked a big one.

“At Ilseong and here at the Association. What on earth is your training method that has people in such an uproar?”

“What?”

But what came out of his mouth was beyond my expectation.

Training method?

“The people who trained under you, Mr. Choi Gi-woong, they all say the same thing.”

The reporter’s face grew increasingly flushed with excitement.

“They say they can’t go back to how they were before, that your Buff Magic is strange, and there was even someone who wanted to spar with you just one more time. What on earth is your secret?”

“…My secret?”

It’s a relief that it’s not about the Demon. But a training method.

As I made a puzzled face, the reporter gave a sly smile.

“I’m going to make a formal request for an interview with the Association anyway, but I was just wondering if there was any raw story I could get before that.”

After confirming that much, I turned my back again.

I wondered what it was all about. I told the reporter to make a formal request and shook him off.

Well, it’s not like the Association would grant it even if he did.

“You, you have any thoughts on doing an interview?”

That was what Head of department Kim Yoon-joong said to me as soon as I was summoned.

“Pardon?”

“It’s for Media Day. They’re a pro-Association outlet, so there’s no risk of them tarnishing our image.”

“I’m not particularly interested.”

When I answered firmly, Head of department Kim Yoon-joong smacked his lips.

“Don’t be like that, give it some thought. We live in an age where Awakeners are entertainers, too. There’s no harm in making a name for yourself.”

“You always said that agents speak through their performance, so we shouldn’t think about getting famous for no reason.”

“That’s for the mediocre ones.”

Head of department Kim Yoon-joong scratched his head roughly.

“You’re a bit different. You made Rank 3 in less than half a year since coming here. We can’t keep you completely hidden anymore.”

Come to think of it, Head of department Kim Yoon-joong’s complexion did look quite bad.

“My threats to the media that I won’t let them get away with leaking your name are starting to lose their effect. If they’re going to reveal it anyway, it’s better to do it in a positive way, right?”

Seeing him say that with dark circles sunken deep under his eyes made him look a bit pitiful.

It seems like he’s the one who needs a vacation, not me.

“An interview is one thing, but to be featured for being good at training is a bit…”

If it were something cool like being a Rank 1 agent like Seong Yo-han, maybe, but this.

When I said that, Head of department Kim Yoon-joong’s expression became strange.

“Come to think of it, you haven’t seen it yet.”

Then he opened the door to his office and led the way.

“Where are you going?”

“The Training Arena.”