Chapter 25 – Why Fight with Words?

“What? Are you kidding me?”

Jo Han-seon threw his contract down. The other team members reacted similarly.

“I could transfer to another guild right now and get paid way more than my old salary. Are you trying to lowball us?”

“No. It’s not about lowballing you.”

It seemed they didn’t understand, so I felt the need to explain it kindly.

“I gave you the analysis report last time. I’ve done a comparative analysis with hunters of the same salary grade from other guilds.”

It revealed just how terribly the Hanul Guild had been managed.

Once I compared them.

“The achievements you all have made so far. Your individual abilities and team operations. They’re all pathetic.”

“This is ridiculous. Who the hell do you think you are?”

I gave Jo Han-seon a faint smile in response to his words.

“The leader of Team 3. If you have a problem with that, you’re free to go to another team.”

“Are you messing with me? Do you realize this is an abuse of power? Some damn parachute hire!”

“Team Leader Lee. I understand what you’re saying. But if you drastically cut our salaries like this, won’t it make not just us, but everyone else in the Hanul Guild anxious?”

Following Jo Han-seon’s aggressive outburst, Deputy Team Leader Kim Ki-moon’s gentle, persuasive explanation followed.

“Especially with all these baseless rumors going around that the Hanul Guild is failing or shutting down.”

His voice seemed to carry the wisdom and consideration of an elder. But I knew.

I knew he had dozens of sly snakes hiding inside him. And that the truly rotten one was this man, Kim Ki-moon.

“There’s no need to worry. A guild isn’t a charity.”

It would be better for them to think of it as the new team leader’s stubbornness.

“KPI. Carrying people who severely underperform on the organization’s key performance indicators is something a charity would do, right? This is your performance record during the contract period. Is there really any need to renew?”

In any case, the owner, Im Jae-joon, was on my side. And he was in the process of replacing all the guild executives.

In other words, it was time to clean out the stagnant water.

“Are you saying you’ll run the team without us?”

“I’ve been running it by myself until now.”

“And you’re going to keep relying on such flukes?”

Kim Ki-moon asked back, feigning bewilderment.

“Yes, I don’t think people like you are necessary for the team I want to build.”

Now that I’d said it outright, the faces of Kim Ki-moon’s clique turned dark. It was a good look. Better than their fake smiles.

“However, I’d like to give you a chance. If you can show me your worth, I’ll acknowledge it. No, I’ll promise you even better treatment than before.”

“And what is that?”

Let’s answer as if I’d been waiting for the question.

“I’m planning to implement a new training curriculum. It will be a trial run, just for Team 3. If you follow the curriculum and achieve good results, I will reconsider.”

“Training?”

“I’ve heard enough. This is absurd. Hey! Are you crazy, parachute? With all our years of experience, you want us to roll around like new recruits? You think this is the only guild? The only team?”

Jo Han-seon couldn’t hold back any longer and shot up from his seat, shouting. The other team members chimed in with their own curses.

I smiled.

For the first time since my arrival, the team was united. It was bitter that their purpose was to criticize me, though.

As I thought, these people are unnecessary.

They aren’t my people.

I have no need for losers who just huddle together and lick each other’s wounds.

“Fine. Performance? Yeah, great. But do you have any? Besides clearing a few low-level dungeons recently. We, who’ve lived by the sword for at least three to six years in this business, are valued at thirty, forty million. And you, a mere porter, are worth six billion?”

“I’m worth six billion because I have the ability, wouldn’t you say?”

At my words, Jo Han-seon laughed as if in disbelief.

“You confident?”

“Yes, I am.”

Jo Han-seon’s expression hardened. Good, this was the atmosphere I wanted.

I crossed my legs and looked at Jo Han-seon.

If you’re going to pounce, do it already.

“Wow, this is driving me crazy. Can you show me?”

“How should I show you?”

“Follow me to the training ground. What, getting cold feet?”

Isn’t it the ideal progression for a war of words to evolve into a fistfight?

“I didn’t realize you were so passionate about training.”

Many people rely solely on the system’s power and skills they gain upon awakening as a Hunter.

“Let’s go.”

Put new wine into new wineskins.

And I was going to pour new wine.

* * *

“What? The Team 3 leader and Jo Han-seon are fighting?”

“I heard the parachute team leader slashed all the team members’ salaries, so Jo Han-seon got pissed and challenged him to a fight.”

“That’s crazy. Didn’t they say the parachute was a porter class?”

“He might be a porter, but he has the largest inventory in the country. Plus, he can even store living creatures.”

“That’s unique, but so what? What does being able to carry a lot of stuff have to do with being a team leader?”

Though no one had advertised it, the training ground was packed with spectators. After all, there’s nothing more entertaining than watching a fire or a fight.

“It’s crowded.”

“If you’re scared, you can get out of the ring now.”

Jo Han-seon taunted with a leisurely air.

Hyunbin simply replied with a gentle smile.

He hated that confident face.

Jo Han-seon prided himself on being quite skilled in this line of work.

Of course, he was often lazy and complacent. But he had always fought on the front lines, risking his life. The rewards for it were few.

It was always the bear that did the hard work while the master reaped the benefits.

That was why Jo Han-seon did everything with a certain degree of nonchalance.

But today, unlike usual, he planned to give it his all.

‘This bastard has a lot of real combat experience. If I underestimate him, I’ll be the one getting stomped.’

Currently, he was the strongest in hand-to-hand combat in Team 3. He could hear his teammates cheering for him to crush the new leader.

“Don’t be too rough on him.”

The big brother of Team 3, their pillar of support, Deputy Team Leader Kim Ki-moon, said kindly. Jo Han-seon smirked.

Mr. Kim’s only flaw was that he was too gentle and kind for a Hunter.

He had the image of a modern-day scholar. But he was a man who cared deeply for his people.

He had even lent a large sum of money to Jo Han-seon, who was always drowning in debt, with no deadline for repayment. When he tried to pay it back, Kim Ki-moon had adamantly refused.

*It was a gift to you, so don’t worry about it.*

He could see the deputy team leader’s face, smiling benevolently as he said those words. For his honor, too, he was going to crush this arrogant team leader today.

“Looks like people from Team 1 and Team 2 are all here. You ready to be utterly humiliated?”

“Are you saying you’re ready to be utterly humiliated?”

“No, not me, you.”

“As expected of someone whose mouth is the only thing that’s awakened. Why do you only want to fight with your mouth?”

“Get ready to get your ass kicked.”

The two men put on their headgear.

“Hey, is it working right?”

“Yeah. That bastard is so screwed now.”

Cha Hyun-soo, who had fastened Jo Han-seon’s headgear, smirked viciously.

There was another reason for Jo Han-seon’s confidence.

Before the match, he had taken a stimulant item.

It was an item that temporarily increased all his stats by +5.

It was a banned substance, considered doping in official matches or competitions. But in a minor sparring session like this, no one would check for such things.

The referee signaled the start of the spar.

Hyunbin was relaxed, while Jo Han-seon charged confidently toward his opponent.

It was a no-rules freestyle fight.

Jo Han-seon threw a low kick at Hyunbin. Hyunbin stepped back to dodge it. Not bad. But that was all. The attack was meant to be dodged in the first place.

*Thwack!*

Jo Han-seon’s swift straight punch smashed into Hyunbin’s face.

He had been so focused on the low attack that he hadn’t been aware of the attack to his head.

He could hear cheers from Team 3 behind him.

Jo Han-seon felt a surge of vitality throughout his body. Hyunbin staggered. In an instant, he cornered him and unleashed a shower of punches.

*Thud! Thwack!*

Hyunbin’s face was one of disbelief. No, even before that, the barrage of blows to his entire body made him fear for his life.

“What? What are you gonna do! Huh? A damn porter! Huh? What’s wrong? Huh? Hey, are you kidding me?”

The sparring match was completely one-sided.

The crowd, which had been cheering wildly, began to murmur amongst themselves, wondering if they should stop the fight as they saw the blood splattering on the ring.

“Who does this nobody think he is? Huh? Are you crying? You crying? Huh?”

Jo Han-seon felt a wave of pleasure wash over him. The sensation on his fists felt good.

*—Get up.*

He saw Hyunbin, cornered, coughing up blood and collapsing.

Jo Han-seon spat at the downed man.

*—Snap out of it, are you okay?*

He kept hearing a voice from somewhere.

He was in a good mood after blowing off so much steam.

Then, suddenly, the background vanished as if sucked into something. Someone was repeatedly slapping his cheek.

“Are you conscious? How many fingers am I holding up?”

Someone was looking down at him. It was the referee, holding up his fingers.

Confused, Jo Han-seon blinked his eyes. He slowly looked around.

“Whoa, did you see that?”

“It was over the second the bell rang?”

Jo Han-seon wanted someone to explain the situation. But seeing the distorted faces of his Team 3 colleagues and the unharmed team leader taking off his headgear, he got the picture.

“Fuck.”

* * *

I forced a choice upon them.

“I wish you all the best in finding a good guild.”

The former members of Team 3 couldn’t say a word.

They were complacent.

The data I had reviewed before joining Team 3 confirmed it.

Salary thieves.

It was the perfect term to describe them.

Jo Han-seon and Cha Hyun-soo decided to leave the guild. The other members of Team 3 requested transfers to Team 1 or Team 2, but whether they would be accepted was uncertain.

That wasn’t my business, so I didn’t pay it any mind.

The problem was the man standing before me now.

“I’ll stay.”

Deputy Team Leader Kim Ki-moon said with a benevolent smile.

“I don’t think you heard me correctly earlier.”

“No, I heard you. I have to follow your curriculum, Team Leader Lee.”

I expected him to be the first to leave, but he said he would stay.

This was unexpected.

“Why?”

“Why else? What guild would want to take in a middle-aged, D-rank hunter?”

He was right.

A man who was only good at maintaining relationships.

Who would take someone with insufficient skills and no potential for future growth?

As was clear from their hostility towards me, the Hunter world was a place where even managers were looked down upon if they lacked experience or ability.

“Team Leader Lee. No, since it’s just the two of us, I’ll speak casually. I’m quite a bit older, after all.”

Kim Ki-moon smiled and asked.

“Do you happen to know something about me?”

“Is there something I should know?”

“So you do know.”

Kim Ki-moon looked at me with a face he had never shown before.

A smile naturally formed on my lips.

A genuine smile that came from the bottom of my heart.

Why?

Because the old monster who had been wearing the mask of a kind man had finally revealed his true form.

“A man who’s made his living by the sword, what else can he do elsewhere? You just have to keep doing what you’ve been doing.”

“I think your idea of living by the sword and mine are quite different.”

“Isn’t it all the same?”

I knew Kim Ki-moon was one of the former guild master’s men. But his true identity was something even they didn’t know.

That he was running a lucrative side business.

“Go to the police station yourself.”

“The police station? Me?”

Kim Ki-moon laughed menacingly. He took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

“Do you have any proof?”

I didn’t have any proof yet.

“I’m not sure where you caught the scent. Fine. But do you know this?”

Kim Ki-moon took out his contract.

“What I know, and what I do… if it gets out, the one who suffers the most damage is Hanul.”

He began to rip his contract to shreds right in front of me.

As if it had no value whatsoever.

“Do you understand? You shouldn’t be trying to cast me out; you should be protecting me. If only for the sake of your own parachute strings.”

Kim Ki-moon adjusted his glasses and stood up. He then pushed the torn contract towards me.

“It seems the salary on this contract is incorrect. Team Leader Lee, please check it again.”

“You’re making a choice you can’t take back.”

Hearing my words, Kim Ki-moon gave a short laugh and left the room.

Left alone, I threw the contract into the trash can.

Hidden natures. Vile desires. Two-faced reason.

I had experienced it all in the other world.

A mouth that spoke of love could spew curses, and a mouth that pleaded for justice could preach injustice.

I licked my dry lips.

I know my opponent. But my opponent doesn’t know me.