Chapter 12
‘This is impossible.... The Savage Minotaur was cut in half from that distance...?’
Nam Gi-seok broke into a cold sweat as he watched the scene on the monitor.
It was a sight he could hardly believe, even with his own eyes.
‘The Savage Minotaur is a boss-class monster that appears as a boss in B-rank Gates.... Veteran B-rank Hunters take it down in raids, but ...it was cut in half with a single strike??’
Even after seeing it, he still couldn’t believe it.
The sight was that astonishing.
“What’s all this commotion?”
Just then, Yura returned after stepping out to take a call.
The room was flashing with red warning lights, so she asked the employees what was going on.
One of the employees—
“The testing equipment malfunctioned and generated an A-rank monster….”
“What!? Is our young lady all right!?”
At those words, Yura hurriedly checked the monitor.
But despite her worries, all she saw was Seol-a standing there unharmed, stretching to her heart’s content.
“As you can see, she’s fine.... She cut it in half with a single stroke using a sword created by her ability….”
“Excuse me…?”
Yura was slightly taken aback, too.
“Here, if you look at the screen showing the entire testing area.”
The employee switched the display to a view of the entire testing area and showed it to Yura.
Only then did Yura understand how Seol-a had defeated an A-rank monster.
A huge sword mark stretched across the floor straight ahead from where Seol-a stood, and another enormous mark was clearly visible on the wall at its end.
The strike had been so powerful that two of the cameras connected to the monitors had broken, leaving two screens blank.
‘To think the young lady is this powerful.... Maybe the Sword Emperor family can flourish again.’
Yura saw immense potential in Seol-a.
The revival of the Sword Emperor family.
‘This is bad.... I can already picture the Sword Emperor family flourishing again.... I have to do something, no matter what!’
Meanwhile, unlike Yura, Nam Gi-seok felt anxious.
The Association leaders and several guilds had meticulously prepared to bring the Sword Emperor family into gradual decline, so this was unwelcome news for them.
They’d even used the measures they’d prepared to nip this threat in the bud, yet they’d failed. He would have to come up with another plan.
“Section Chief, we’ve fixed the malfunction! We’ll get Ms. Yoo Seol-a out!”
“Ah. Please do.”
A little while later, control of the testing area was restored.
An employee opened the door, which had been shut, and Nam spoke into the microphone.
“Ah—. Ms. Yoo Seol-a, I sincerely apologize for this unfortunate incident. We’ve just restored control and opened the door, so please come out now.”
◈
Nam Gi-seok’s voice came through the speakers.
There was a little static, but his instruction to come out came through clearly.
‘I made quite a spectacle, but this should have put them on the back foot.’
In the story, Yoo Seol-a was somewhat overshadowed by the male lead, Kim Hye-seong, and the female lead, but she still managed to foil Nam Gi-seok’s dirty tricks.
Of course, that led the Association to secretly keep her under close watch, and she ended up raising hell alongside that unlucky bastard.
But I had no intention of sitting back and watching that happen.
‘It’s about time I dealt with that unlucky bastard. If I get the support of the elders and the Sword Emperor family members who don’t follow him, it should be entirely possible.’
I planned to remove Yoo Ho-ryeong, the current head of the Sword Emperor family, from his position and concentrate the family’s power in my hands.
The Sword Emperor family might be sealed off, but it was renowned around the world for its intelligence network.
Even while sealed off, it gathered and organized information from all over the world. If I made that information my own, I could prevent the Association from targeting me in the first place.
—For now, it was only being used to satisfy the family head’s selfish desires, but its intelligence-gathering ability was arguably the best in the world.
“You’re out, Ms. Yoo Seol-a. I’m glad you’re unharmed. And as the person responsible for managing this facility, I’d like to apologize.”
““We’re sorry.””
A bow.
As I stepped out of the testing area, Nam Gi-seok and the employees who’d been there approached me and bowed their heads in apology.
“No. It’s all right. I’m safe, so that’s enough.”
I had no desire to argue over something like this, so I accepted their apology and let it go.
I could have demanded compensation, but accepting it might later come back to tie my hands when other problems arose.
It was enough to show them magnanimity here and let them lower their guard.
“More importantly, what’s going to happen with my Hunter registration? There was a problem, but I think I did well on the test?”
“Ah. I’ll explain that right away.”
The only thing I cared about right now was the result of my Hunter registration.
I’d registered so quickly because I wanted to get stronger as soon as possible.
“Since you defeated the A-rank monster ‘Savage Minotaur’ because of our error, there’s no problem with registering you as a Hunter.”
“Also, it was a monster equivalent to a B-rank Gate boss, so you may enter Gates up to B-rank alone. For A-rank Gates and above, however, you’ll need to form a party.”
Nam Gi-seok’s answer was good news for me.
Hunters weren’t allowed to enter high-rank Gates just because their abilities and mana levels were strong.
Even an S-rank Hunter had to undergo an evaluation before being allowed to enter Gates freely.
These restrictions had been put in place because the number of seventeen-year-old Hunters who’d just become Hunters and died after recklessly entering high-rank Gates had surged.
So the government had created these rules after discussions with the Association, the guilds, and the Sword Emperor family.
ㅡTo protect the nation’s young talent.
“Since you’re an S-rank Hunter, Ms. Yoo Seol-a, you’ll be able to enter Gates more freely once you’ve undergone several evaluations.”
“However, until you turn nineteen, you’ll still be a minor, so even if you pass the evaluations, you must enter A-rank Gates and above as part of a party.”
At those words, Yura, who was standing beside me, spoke up.
“Don’t worry about that. I’ll accompany the young lady whenever she goes into a Gate.”
“I see. With an active A-rank Hunter accompanying you, there shouldn’t be much to worry about.”
I caught a hint of disappointment in his eyes.
It seemed he’d been planning something, but that plan had been thwarted before he could act.
‘Shady. So shady. He’s already thinking of pulling something. I expected it, but still.’
I could feel a sigh coming on.
Still, having Yura, a dependable ally, by my side helped put me at ease.
As long as Yura was with me, I could move around safely for the time being.
Besides, the chairman’s single appearance had made the Association somewhat more cautious.
That day, Kang Hyeon-seok, the chief of the Hunter Management Division, had been dismissed, so they had no choice.
They never knew when the chairman might show up again, or which corrupt Association official he might dismiss next.
So they were sure to act with extreme caution.
Of course, that could delay or even prevent certain incidents from happening.
But that was good for me, since I needed to prepare for them.
‘If I use this opportunity to make the Sword Emperor family entirely mine, the timing will be perfect.’
Yura picked up the outer garment she’d been holding beside me.
“Then I’ll be going now, Section Chief Nam Gi-seok.”
“Yes. Have a safe trip home, Hunter Yoo Seol-a.”
◈
“Head of the Elders’ Council, I’ve received word from Maid Jeong Yura that Miss Seol-a successfully completed her Hunter registration.”
A young man in a suit spoke to a hulking old man standing motionless in the middle of a spacious training ground with his eyes closed.
At that, the hulking old man—the Head of the Elders’ Council—opened his eyes.
“Is that true, Lee Hyeon-seong?”
Then he asked the man who’d delivered the report in a deep voice that exuded immense authority.
Overwhelmed by his imposing presence, Lee Hyeon-seong swallowed hard.
‘Even in retirement, he’s still a top-tier A-rank Hunter. I can hardly believe he’s an A-rank Hunter like me.... Could he be stronger than the family head?’
He wanted to answer, but the Head of the Elders’ Council’s overwhelming presence made it difficult to speak.
Even though he wasn’t being scolded.
“Lee Hyeon-seong?”
“Ah, I’m sorry, Head of the Elders’ Council. …I couldn’t believe the report myself, so I checked the Great Korean Hunter Association website. I was able to confirm that Miss Seol-a had registered as a Hunter.”
Of course, he could answer the second question.
He might have gotten away with not answering once, but the Head of the Elders’ Council wouldn’t let him get away with it twice.
“Hmm. Is that so? Our Seol-a finally went and pulled off something big. Khahaha~!!”
The Head of the Elders’ Council burst into hearty laughter.
All while calling her ‘our Seol-a.’
“Goodness. My younger brother up in heaven must be so happy~. She’s going to carry on his legacy!”
The Head of the Elders’ Council, Yoo Hyeok-jin, was Seol-a’s great-uncle, the older brother of Yoo Ho-ryeong, the current family head, and the Sword Emperor’s biological older brother.
In other words, he wasn’t just an ordinary member of the family, but a blood relative.
That was why he called Seol-a ‘our Seol-a’ without hesitation and was so delighted.
“I guess I should go visit Seol-a sometime soon. At the house where that child lives.”
“Shall I let Maid Jeong Yura know?”
“No. The fun of these things is showing up as a sur—prise~. I’ll go to her house according to Seol-a and Maid Jeong’s schedule~.”
“Ah. Is that so?”
Lee Hyeon-seong was slightly flustered by how happy he seemed.
‘I think this is the first time I’ve seen him looking so happy.’
This side of Yoo Hyeok-jin was completely unfamiliar to him.
Of course, whatever Lee Hyeon-seong thought, Yoo Hyeok-jin hummed cheerfully as he pulled the enormous greatsword embedded in the floor.
‘With my heart so light, even this training session is a joy. I wonder when this great-granduncle should go visit Seol-a~.’
After all, Seol-a filled his thoughts.