Chapter 61

Ian’s words from the Rewind shimmered in my mind.

That was the first time Ian, out on an expedition, had felt his life was in danger.

After the job was done, the count who had commissioned the ogre hunt sent ten high-ranking knights instead of the payment.

-I survived thanks to you. Thank you.

And the one who saved Ian was the knight the count cherished most.

-No need to thank me. I, too, was disgusted by that man’s tyranny.

-What will you do now, Sir Knight?

-Having betrayed my lord, I’ll have to live the rest of my life as a fugitive. This is the path I’ve chosen, so do not worry.

-By any chance, would you like to learn Aura Blade?

-? What are you suddenly talking about?

-I will teach you the principles of Aura Blade. I believe this would be more than enough as payment, what do you think?

-···I’ve heard the rumors. The greatest talent as a Mage since time immemorial, they say? Do you perhaps know how to use Aura Blade?

-No. I am a Mage.

-Then how do you intend to teach it to me?

-The principle isn’t that difficult. It’s impossible for me to use it with my own body, but I can teach it to others.

-···Is that true? If you could do that, I would be eternally grateful. That’s not something one can receive for merely saving a life.

The Knight’s blazing eyes were vivid.

Ian put a stop to it there.

-I don’t mean you’ll be able to use it right away. I’m merely showing you the milestone. The higher your level, the more easily you’ll be able to reach Aura Blade.

At Ian’s words, the Knight wore a dumbfounded expression.

-That’s precisely why Knights hit a wall. Because they don’t know which direction to move forward in. And you’re saying you’ll show me that direction? That’s an even greater feat than simply teaching Aura Blade.

-To name it, I suppose we should call it a Growth-Type Swordsmanship.

Ian said it was nothing special, but it was actually something tremendous.

It meant that if you tweaked a Skill Book according to this principle, you could turn an A-Rank Skill into a C-Rank Growth-Type Skill.

Finishing my thoughts, I looked ahead.

Park Do-jin was speaking awkwardly.

“Uh, so you’re looking for A-Rank Skills?”

“Yes.”

“And these three will be using them?”

“Yes.”

“···I see.”

He nodded his head reluctantly.

What’s this? He should have plenty of stock, right? And the Black Market agreed to cover the cost.

Could it be that he thinks it’s a waste to give them to me?

If that’s the case…

As my thoughts continued, Park Do-jin singled out Choi Soo-jung.

“Understood. First, shall we take a look at the Ranger?”

What?

I never gave him any information about the trio. They didn’t even bring their equipment.

So how did he figure out that Choi Soo-jung was a Ranger?

“I’ve developed a small talent from being in this business for a long time. The person next to her handles a sword, and the one next to him is a Tanker, aren’t they?”

Having said that, Park Do-jin gave an awkward laugh.

“May I ask one thing as well?”

“Yes.”

“The people here seem to be C-Rank, so why do you need A-Rank Skill Books?”

“……!”

Figuring out their Class is one thing, but getting their Rank right is by no means a small talent.

Now I kind of get why those two Ilseong employees were making such a fuss.

And the reason for his reluctant reply earlier.

He must have been flabbergasted that C-Rank Awakeners were looking for A-Rank skills.

“In any case, we’ll proceed like that. By what standard should I choose the Skill Books?”

“I’ll leave it all up to you, CEO.”

“To me, all of it?”

“Someone who can guess Ranks at a glance would make a better choice than me, no matter what they pick.”

At my words, Park Do-jin’s eyes widened, then turned bright red.

“I will do my absolute best.”

From then on, Park Do-jin got down to business in earnest.

He took measurements with a tape measure and had various conversations with the trio.

“When you shoot your bow, do you feel like your center of gravity is leaning forward?”

“Whoa. How did you know?”

“When you use an explosive Skill, don’t you feel like the tip of your sword wavers?”

“Oh! That’s right! That’s exactly how it feels!”

“Sir Tanker, you’re worried because you’re short on Aggro Skills? Follow me. I have just the thing prepared for you.”

Every time Park Do-jin said something, the kids reacted as if they’d been poked.

He’s far more amazing than I thought.

So much so that if I hadn’t learned Advanced Magic, I might have gotten a consultation myself.

“Excuse me.”

I turned my head to the side. It was the man who had been apathetically picking out items until a moment ago.

Now, he was the complete opposite. He was fidgeting, a look on his face that said his mouth was bone dry.

“Could you perhaps pick some out for me too, CEO? It would be even better if you chose them yourself.”

At those words, the female employee smiled brightly.

“Of course. Would you mind taking a seat over here for a moment? Would you like coffee or tea?”

Just a moment ago, she was fretting about how she had to secure the Ilseong customer, who was acting so apathetically.

The female employee’s expression had become endlessly bright.

“Thanks to you, Agent Choi, we’ve gotten some great publicity.”

She said, clenching both her fists.

“If you ever need me for anything, just use me!”

We chose three Skills for each person.

Park Do-jin said that if we filled all ten Skill slots at once, they wouldn’t be able to digest it and it wouldn’t be good, so for now, we just picked what was necessary.

While Park Do-jin and the female employee went to Release the anti-theft Seal magic,

Come to think of it, the trio has been standing there silently for a while now.

Just a moment ago they were marveling at Park Do-jin’s consulting, and now they’re frozen as if they’ve been hit with Mental Magic.

I guess it’s starting to sink in now that they’ve chosen all the Skills.

“Why are you so nervous? You were chattering away until just now.”

At my words, the trio turned their heads with a creak.

“W-well, of course. How could we not be nervous in this situation? A-Rank…!”

Choi Soo-jung stopped mid-sentence and looked around.

Is she doing that in case someone overhears?

Choi Soo-jung lowered her voice drastically and said.

“It’s an A-Rank Skill! And we’re going to learn it!”

“You won’t believe me, but aren’t we going to be taken to some Extraterrestrial research lab? You know, like Area 51!”

Kim Soo-gyeom glanced around as if in agreement.

“Instead of this, shouldn’t we shut that CEO’s mouth first? I saw earlier that he figured out we were C-Rank right away! If he happens to spill the secret, we should just…!”

Lee Won-sik smacked Kim Soo-gyeom on the back of the head.

I told him ‘good job’ and said.

“There’s no need to shut his mouth, and Area 51… You, stop watching weird stuff.”

I clicked my tongue and continued.

“If we were going to be taken, we would’ve been taken long ago. Over something like this?”

Even if there were guys who would be taken, we’re safe inside the Association.

Because we have the reliable shield that is Yeo Ju-kyung.

“So if we learn the Skills, can we just use them freely? Without needing to hide them?”

“Why would you hide them? I’m teaching you so you can show them off as much as you want.”

There have been rumors going around lately, anyway.

That their Stats are high, but when you look closer, their Skills are nothing special.

People sure are quick on the uptake.

Finishing my thought, I turned back to see not frozen statues, but three overly excited monkeys.

I said a word to the guys who were chattering on about Advanced Swordsmanship this and A-Rank that.

“I think you guys are misunderstanding something. I told you, just because you learn it doesn’t mean you can use A-Rank Skills right away.”

I’m sure I told them several times before we came here, but they paid no mind, as if the words went in one ear and out the other.

That’s also a reaction that comes from trusting me implicitly.

Is it because of what I’ve shown them? They’re at a point where if I said the moon was the sun, they’d believe it.

“Hyung.”

“Oppa.”

“Get off me, you brats.”

I pushed away the three clinging to me.

Leaving the guys who were still laughing happily, my gaze naturally drifted to the store’s TV screen.

A moment ago, a noisy variety show was playing, but now it had switched to the news.

-Breaking news. Mercenary King Hwang Mu-yeol. Returns to the country after closing the Shanghai S-Rank Gate. No issues with his safety.

The camera panned over the airport. The sound of shutters and flashes were focused on the man emerging from there.

It was a face I knew as well.

The Mercenary King, Hwang Mu-yeol.

One of only ten S-Rank Awakeners in the country, and the only man among the S-Ranks with no enemies.

The moniker Mercenary King was given to him because he handles everything by himself.

His martial power is also tremendously strong, so people who like to rank things sometimes place Hwang Mu-yeol within the top five.

Just then, the female employee who had finished packing the Skill Books and was approaching me had a stiff expression.

Her gaze, like mine, was fixed on the TV.

“Do you know him too, Secretary Officer?”

“There are probably few people in our country who don’t know Hwang Mu-yeol.”

“He’s my father.”

I was honestly surprised by the sudden statement.

I didn’t know Hwang Mu-yeol had a daughter, nor did I know that person was this close by.

Still, I didn’t let it show. Judging by her expression, the father-daughter relationship seemed worse than I thought.

“I see.”

I’m not idle enough to meddle in other people’s family affairs.

It’s unexpected, but that’s all.

The Association is always bustling, but today the atmosphere is a bit different.

Perhaps because it’s the public recruitment season for Association employees, it’s full of young blood.

Come to think of it, did they say today was the day for physical examinations?

“Whoa, damn. Did you see that person who just passed by? Isn’t that Im Han-na?”

Nope. Im Han-na is waiting for me and only me at the Training Arena right now. When I asked if we hadn’t already fought once, she said it felt like she’d drunk seawater and was even thirstier now.

“I saw Seong Yo-han earlier. Crazy, when I asked for an autograph, he even took a picture with me.”

It’ll be completely different once you experience him firsthand.

Throwing such retorts in my head to people’s comments, I went to the lobby cafe.

Hmm?

The murmuring sound has gotten even louder.

“Hey, hey! It’s Choi Gi-woong!”

“Awesome. Hey. Go talk to him.”

“You go first.”

Ah, right.

Come to think of it, my name has gotten a bit famous recently.

The topic is still burning hot on the internet.

It was no use even when the Association released a press statement officially recognizing my Potential Rank as S-Rank.

On one side, people were making a fuss that the eleventh S-Rank would appear, and on the other, there were loud voices criticizing that he’s just barely an A-Rank and it’s 10 years too early.

There are also many people who don’t believe it at all.

Perhaps because of that, although many people whisper behind my back, no one comes close.

No, wait.

There’s one person.

“Squad Leader Choi. You were here?”

“Hello.”

One of the Association executives chummily slung an arm around my shoulder.

This geezer, didn’t he look down on me when they were talking about making a man out of Yang Won-hoon?

Why is he acting like this all of a sudden?

The executive, who pressed a coffee into my hand even though I said I was fine, casually struck up a conversation.

“My daughter is about at the age to get married. By any chance, are you interested in a blind date?”

“…Excuse me?”

“I’m not just saying this because she’s my kid, but she’s quite a catch…”

“He’s too busy to have time for dating.”

The person who said that was Head of department Kim Yoon-joong.

Head of department Kim Yoon-joong, dressed to the nines unlike his usual self, separated me from the executive.

“Even if he did, you’d have to pull a number first. Chairman Lee Jeong-hwan had his eye on him first.”

“What? Lee Jeong-hwan? That old man is interested in this kid?”

“It’s not just interest, he’s at a level where he’d welcome him with open arms.”

At the mention of Chairman Lee Jeong-hwan’s name, the look of defeat deepened on the executive’s face.

“R-right. Let me know if you change your mind later. I’ll show you a picture.”

The executive disappeared, smacking his lips. The effect of Chairman Lee Jeong-hwan’s name is powerful. I should use that line myself if I get similar questions in the future.

After the executive had completely disappeared, I asked what I had been curious about.

“By the way, where are you going?”

“Not going, waiting for someone to come.”

Head of department Kim Yoon-joong readjusted his tie.

He was in full gear, not his usual shabby attire.

His expression was also full of determination, as if heading to a battlefield.

“Waiting? For who?”

“Hwang Mu-yeol.”

“Why him?”

“To try and tempt him into joining the Association.”

Then, Head of department Kim Yoon-joong sent me a meaningful look and said.

“So you should come in with me too.”