Chapter 14 – To Bite or to Join Hands

Is she reminiscing about her time as a lord in another world?

Has nostalgia for that past driven her mad?

I looked at Karin with a pitiful expression. It seemed I’d been too preoccupied with making a living to pay her much mind.

“What’s with that look, Ajeossi? You don’t believe me, do you?”

“No, that’s not it. Dad believes in our Rin.”

“Wow, so annoying. The reason I’ve been eating so much is because of my awakening quest, you know?”

She’s been playing too many games. I think she’s lost her mind a little.

“Alright, Level 1 Lord. What kind of abilities do you have?”

“Right now, the skills I have are Relief and Currency Exchange. And Letter Transmission.”

Relief? What relief? She’s the one who needs relief right now.

“Oh, right. It’s set up like a game, with quests you have to complete. And the reason I’m eating so much is because I’m synchronizing with my territory.”

They say getting too absorbed in games is bad for you. But something about that caught my attention. The part about synchronizing with a territory.

“Is there an item called ‘Synchronization Rate’ by any chance?”

“Huh? Oh, hold on.”

Karin swiped at the air as if she could really see something.

“Yeah, there is. It says my Synchronization Rate went up to 5% because I’m good at politics.”

I have a Synchronization Rate too. As far as I know, other Hunters don’t have a stat like that.

In my case, once my Synchronization Rate reaches 100%, I’ll completely regain the powers I used to have.

But hers is a little different. She says it’s her territory’s Synchronization Rate.

Does that mean her territory, the floating island, is synchronizing with this place?

Even if the world has become like a game connected to a system, that’s just too unrealistic.

“Aish, it’s real, I’m telling you.”

“No, I believe you.”

“Really?”

Karin’s suspicious gaze.

“I have a Synchronization Rate too. I have two status windows right now. One is for my Supporter awakening. The other seems to be for the Hero side, and I think I’ll get my Hero powers back if I fill up the Synchronization Rate.”

“Eh, no way.”

And here I finally decided to believe her, and this is the reaction I get.

In any case, the fact that Karin has awakened isn’t a bad thing. No, it’s actually great news.

In that other world, Karin is a high priestess of the highest rank. She was so beloved by the gods and performed such miracles that she was even called a saintess.

Honestly, she’s very capable.

If she regains her powers as a priestess, she’ll be a truly reliable ally.

More importantly, the floating island currently in the sky could return to where it originally was.

‘And Karin herself could return to her own world.’

Here, she’s just a game-addicted shut-in, but over there, she’s the lord of another world. The two environments aren’t even comparable.

While we were talking, the delivery food arrived. Seeing the food, Karin excitedly scurried out to get it.

How can she be that happy?

If she wanted to eat that badly, she could have used the money for my equipment to buy as much as she wanted.

Surely she knows how to use a delivery app, even if she’s from another world. She plays games, after all.

* * *

The two of us ate our fill for the first time in a while.

Karin inhaled her food like a mukbang streamer about to get showered in donations.

When you see someone eat like that on a broadcast, it whets your appetite, but watching it in person somehow made me lose mine.

No, it’s not that she looked messy while eating. She actually ate with a hearty, satisfying gusto.

So why did I feel so uncomfortable? Is this what the great saint felt like while raising a baby dinosaur?

When it was time for my appointment, I went to the Gate Management Bureau. As it was the hottest government agency these days, the building was impeccably maintained.

“Welcome. I’m Kim Min-jung, the one who called you.”

“Hello.”

She was a beautiful woman who looked stunning in her business attire. Her glasses also gave her an intelligent air.

But after we exchanged greetings, she stared at me so intensely it was unnerving.

“Have we met before?”

Ah, that’s a total pick-up line.

It just slipped out. I wonder what she’s thinking.

She probably thinks I’m some crazy guy hitting on her during a professional meeting.

The secretary, Kim Min-jung, twitched the corner of her mouth slightly.

It was subtle, but I definitely saw it.

And just like that, I’ve created another dark chapter in my personal history.

“The Director is waiting for you inside.”

Following her lead, I entered the agency.

Seeing the white-collar workers walking around inside with their employee IDs made me feel like I’d come to some impressive place.

“Well now, is this the young man? You’re tall and handsome.”

The Director had a surprisingly affable appearance and seemed to be a very frank person.

So frank, in fact, that he only speaks the truth.

“I will bring some tea.”

The secretary bowed politely and left the Director’s office. The Director welcomed me as if he’d known me for a long time, gesturing for me to sit on an expensive sofa.

Seeing the many smile lines around his eyes, he seemed to have a very good personality.

But that was only his outward appearance.

There are many people who act like they’d give you their liver and gallbladder, only to offer you poison for their own benefit.

I’d had more than enough of those experiences in the other world.

Don’t make unnecessary enemies. The more you have, the more obstacles you’ll face.

“I’ve never seen such a spectacular record on the very first day of awakening. I thought the guy who submitted the report made a mistake and wrote it up wrong. Haha.”

The Director placed a report on the coffee table. It contained everything from an overview of the Anyang Amusement Park incident to a detailed investigation.

“Why were the news articles blocked?”

“Articles? What articles are you talking about?”

I asked him straight out. There was no need to waste hours on pointless small talk.

The middle-aged man before me was a slippery old snake.

Even after I said that, he reacted as if he had no idea what I was talking about. But I saw his eyes flicker for a moment.

A tiny, almost imperceptible movement that served as evidence, lending credibility to my suspicion.

I had found it strange.

So many reporters had been there. And yet, not a single proper article was published.

An article that just ends with ‘An incident occurred. It was resolved smoothly.’ is strange, to say the least.

Honestly, I really thought it would be made into a big news story and become a hot topic.

If that happened, my recognition would increase, and my market value would naturally rise with it.

But things didn’t unfold as I had expected.

Which meant someone had intervened.

And I thought about who would have enough power to control the press.

There wouldn’t be many. Applying the process of elimination, I narrowed it down to those involved with Hunters.

Finally, I pinpointed the person who had hurriedly arranged a meeting at a time like this.

“Wasn’t it you, Director, who blocked the articles?”

The middle-aged man in front of me smiled, as if watching the antics of a naive young man.

“There’s nothing to be gained by us controlling the press. People may call them trash reporters, but do you think the media can be suppressed just like that? Besides, the more Hunters are active, the better it is for us. Why would we need to stop it?”

He laughed. The slippery old snake.

“Why would you have such a misunderstanding?”

A misunderstanding. It’s no misunderstanding. It’s a clear fact.

“Because you’re short-staffed for national affairs. It’s hard to recruit talent when government agencies offering honor as an incentive have to compete with guilds that boast high salaries.”

Hunters fundamentally get hazard pay.

But when you work in the name of the country, your compensation inevitably goes down because of that thing called patriotism.

All in the name of an honor that doesn’t fill your stomach.

Of course, I enjoy gaining the attention of others and pursuing wealth and fame. You might call me a snob.

But I’d like to ask those who would judge me.

“Would you be willing to work for no pay, burning with patriotism for your country? Or perhaps take a pay cut?”

The company would profit that much more, after all.

It’s ridiculous, right? You receive fair compensation for your labor.

And you’re given fair pay based on an assessment of your abilities.

There’s no need for unnecessary emotions to get involved.

“We are short-staffed. Hmm. It’s difficult for anyone who isn’t burning with a sense of duty to work for a government agency.”

Saying this, the Director crossed his legs, rested his hands on his knee, and asked casually.

“What about you?”

What about me? It’s about the money.

“I’m looking for a good guild.”

The secretary brought in the tea. It had a pleasant, subtle aroma.

“Money is good, of course. But the pride of working for a state agency is nothing to scoff at. There’s no rush, so take your time and look around.”

“Is it possible to work as a freelancer?”

“A freelancer?”

“I need to find a good guild, get a good salary offer, and build a foundation for growth. But couldn’t I satisfy that sense of pride separately?”

At my words, the Director smiled with interest.

“Go on.”

“I’m saying that if the agency needs a freelancer, I’ll offer my services. You’re always short on Gader personnel, after all.”

The safety keepers who guard or patrol dangerous areas.

Even if it’s temporary, becoming a Gader comes with various benefits.

Tax reductions, welfare support, and free entry into dungeons.

Being able to enter dungeons freely is a huge advantage for me.

Of course, higher-level dungeons are difficult to enter without a bid.

The Director tapped his fingers on the armrest of the sofa. His smiling face gradually faded.

“In a national emergency, all Hunters are to be summoned. By the power of public authority.”

“But the ’emergency’ card can’t be played all the time, can it?”

Figure out what the other party wants. And what I want. That’s a negotiation.

“You can just provide me with what you can as compensation whenever I’m of help. I’m not asking for much, for the sake of the nation.”

He wants me. Is it because I’m a promising sprout? Or for some special quality I possess?

If not, there would have been no need to arrange this ridiculous preliminary interview. Forcibly twist things now? That would only create animosity.

I learned this many times in the other world.

You only show your fangs when you’re going to bite and kill in one strike. Jabbing clumsily only provokes your opponent’s anger and makes them wary. If you’re going to do it, do it decisively. If you’re going to aim, do it coldly.

The Director, who had been tapping the armrest, felt the corners of his hardened mouth lift again.

“Hmm, it seems the report was a bit mistaken.”

“The report?”

“Yes. Military exemption. No social experience, a high school dropout.”

After saying that, the Director smiled faintly.

“Our country does have a tendency to judge people by data. Perhaps I have an overly loyal subordinate.”

He must have put a block on it on purpose so that no one else could snatch me up.

No matter how much power the guilds or the media have, the one holding the most power right now is the Gate Management Department.

Society almost collapsed in the early days because of the gates.

It’s barely maintaining order now, but the number of Hunters with outstanding abilities is growing. And the state’s power to control them is gradually waning.

In times like these, the Gate Management Bureau even has the authority to mobilize special forces to manage Hunters and prevent gate rampages.

“Because those are the kinds of people who protect the motherland.”

* * *

“How was he?”

This was the young man the Director had taken an interest in. He had uncharacteristically created this ridiculous preliminary interview and had even blatantly applied pressure to block all the articles.

Thanks to that, the guilds hadn’t even been able to make prior contact with Lee Hyunbin and were just watching from the sidelines.

There was nothing to be gained from getting on the agency’s bad side.

It might be different if there were only a few guilds, but there were many competitors, and any of them could join hands with the government at any time.

“He’s peculiar.”

“Peculiar?”

“Yes, peculiar.”

The Director trailed off, lost in thought. Then, a corner of his mouth lifted in interest.

“A freelance contract. Can you draw one up?”

The secretary, not understanding the Director’s words, blinked her eyes.

It had been a long time since a young man had made such a bold demand of him.