I Alone Level-Up Chapter 93

Lee Minsung's face darkened.  The man who just forced his way through the reporters and a.s.sociation President Go Gunhee that took that man inside.  What was that about?

"What's a.s.sociation President Go Gunhee's schedule today?"

"His morning's completely freed up."

"Does that mean he freed up his entire morning for that man?"

chatter chatter

After the appearance of Jinwoo and the a.s.sociation president, the mood no longer seemed appropriate for an interview.  Just how much work had he, Lee Minsung, put toward this day? With an expression like he had swallowed a bug, Lee Minsung glared at his manager.

'f.u.c.king useless manager. You couldn't even take care of something like this properly.'

The manager could not meet his gaze; all the man could do was lower his head without energy.  As Lee Minsung was now an rank Awakened Being, he could not even use his strength to overpower the man anymore.

'…'

After glaring at his manager for some time, Lee Minsung's head naturally turned to another direction.

"Cue!"

Oh s.h.i.+t.

Like kicking a man while he was down, the cameras were now rolling.  This was a live broadcast. If this chaotic situation was broadcast to the nation, the efforts that he had made to raise his value with the t.i.tle of an rank Hunter would disappear like bubbles.  However, raising the mood of the interview after the appearance of a.s.sociation President Go Gunhee would be a great ordeal. If only that big shot hadn't appeared in an important moment like this…

'Is there anything I could do to change the mood?'

His scheming mind quickly turned with ideas.

'Yes, I need to say something with great impact.'

The reporters here for his rank unveiling weren't here for something as simple as his opinions and feelings.  They wanted to know what the rank of Superstar Lee Minsung would be, and what he would do as a Hunter from now on.  If Lee Minsung gave them what they wanted, surely the mood would improve again.

'Let's change the plans and move up my testing.'

An ugly smile appeared on the actor's face.  As the people who really knew him knew, the man's brain for scheming was top notch.

"Alright, excuse me everyone. I'm going to have a small talk with the a.s.sociation's employees about today's plans."

With that, Lee Minsung headed towards the a.s.sociation building.  He was not planning to have a "small talk" about moving up his testing; he was determined on making it an order.

'With how much money my father gives to the a.s.sociation, they better be crawling on the floor in front me.'

But.

'Huh?'

Before he could get to the doors, HSD Hunters poured out of the building.  They lined up and blocked the entrance.

'What the h.e.l.l is this?'

Lee Minsung's face scrunched up again.  He looked at the badge on the man in the center.

'Hunter a.s.sociation Hunter Surveillance Department, Chief Woo Jincheol?'

Lee Minsung asked this Woo Jincheol a question,

"What is this? Why are you blocking the entrance?"

Woo Jincheol looked down on Lee Minsung with sungla.s.ses over his eyes,

"Currently, another Awakened Being is undergoing a remeasurement testing. Until the testing is complete at 11 o'clock, no one else is allowed to enter the building."

"Excuse me?!"

Another Awakened Being… Is he talking about that man who just entered?

Lee Minsung looked at his watch.  It was 10:30 a.m. His own ranking tests were at 11 a.m.  And no one could enter until then? His scheme to overturn the mood by pulling his testing forward was about to be destroyed.  Lee Minsung first spoke diplomatically,

"Why don't you just let me in? I have some things I want to talk over with the employees."

"I apologize."

With a stern reply, Woo Jincheol closed his mouth tightly.  Frustrated, Lee Minsung began to show his true nature,

"Look, do you know I am? I'm Lee Minsung. Lee Minsung!"

His words had gotten rough, but Woo Jincheol showed no indication of moving.

"sigh-"

Lee Minsung sighed, dumbfounded,

"You're aware that the Hunter a.s.sociation's biggest sponsor is Yoojin Construction, right?"

The corners of the actor's mouth rose,

"Yoojin Construction's Vice President Lee Wongyu is my father. And do you see the people behind me?"

Lee Minsung gestured to the packed ma.s.s of reporters below the stairs,

"In front of all those reporters, you want to mistreat the son of Yoojin Construction's vice president?! Do you think you can withstand the aftermath?!"

Woo Jincheol's reply was simple,

"Yes."

"What?!"

Lee Minsung was taken back.  Just who the h.e.l.l was that man? The a.s.sociation president himself came to grab him, and now the entire building was sealed off.  On top of that, a mere section chief was blocking his way. Lee Minsung put his hands on his hips and spoke angrily,

"Just who the h.e.l.l is that other Awakened Being that the a.s.sociation's fighting me like this?"

And finally, Woo Jincheol removed his sungla.s.ses,

"If I told you that,"

flinch

When Woo Jincheol glared at him with hawk-like eyes, Lee Minsung took a step back without realizing.  Without taking his eyes off of the actor, the HSD chief continued,

"Lee Minsung-ssi, do you think you could withstand the aftermath?"

The interiors of the building were quiet.  Without a single Awakened Being waiting for their testing, only few a.s.sociation employees were walking around here and there.  It was not at all unrelated to the ma.s.s of reporters outside.

"Please, this way."

"Okay."

As he followed Go Gunhee's escort to the accurate measuring room, Jinwoo noticed two familiar faces.

'Oh?'

At a break room across the hall, Baek Yoonho and Choi Jongin were seated.  They were in the area where the scouters from the small Guilds were three days ago.  When they met Jinwoo's eyes, they both stood up and lowered their heads. Jinwoo returned their greetings and continued past the hall.

As they quietly walked, Go Gunhee smiled,

"Those two, they came here an hour ago and have been waiting for Hunter-nim."

The two representative Guildmasters of South Korea were waiting his testing results for an hour? As if reading Jinwoo's mind, Go Gunhee spoke with a peaceful voice,

"You are the nation's first S-rank Hunter in two years. On top of that, Choi Jongin even saw your prowess through his Guild member's accounts."

Jinwoo nodded.

"Oh my."

"a.s.sociation president."

On the way, few a.s.sociation employees bowed before Go Gunhee and stared at Jinwoo with awe.

'Who is that man? The a.s.sociation president himself is escorting him?'

'He must be someone amazing.'

'How does a young man like that know the a.s.sociation president?'

Even if a cabinet member came to the a.s.sociation, Go Gunhee wouldn't have escorted them himself.  And so, looking at this scene right now, the employees were shocked.

Go Gunhee spoke while looking ahead,

"I heard yesterday's reports."

The elderly man speaking looked elated.  In reality, Go Gunhee was ecstatic. As he suspected, Jinwoo truly was a rare man, unlike any other Hunters.  When he heard Woo Jincheol's report of the rank Dungeon and Jinwoo's powers, Go Gunhee clenched his fists as if he was there.

'Of course, power is power, but,'

It was Jinwoo's actions afterwards that truly moved the a.s.sociation president's heart.  Even though the young Hunter had solo cleared the entire Dungeon, he had not shown any greed at the spoils.  Instead of having a goal of earning money or fame, Jinwoo's objectives truly were to fight magic beasts and protect the people.  Go Gunhee, and by extension the a.s.sociation, was prepared to help him with every single means at their disposal. After all, helping such Hunters was the true founding goal of the Hunter a.s.sociation.

'If only I could bring him to the a.s.sociation…'

Still, what could the elderly man do? As Jinwoo said few days ago, if he entered the a.s.sociation, he would lose the opportunity to fight with magic beasts.  When he thought back on Jinwoo's abilities from yesterday, it was a power too strong to be wasted outside of Dungeons.

Soon, the pair reached the testing area deep within the building.

"Before the remeasurement, we will determine Hunter-nim's category."

Jinwoo knew this.  Depending on the power they were Awakened into, Hunters were divided into categories of Fighter, Mage, Healer, Supporter or other cla.s.ses.

The employee waiting in the testing area bowed deeply to Go Gunhee and spoke to Jinwoo,

"Please, this way."

Jinwoo followed and ended up in the middle of the testing area.  The room was like a large gymnasium found in schools. Unlike ordinary gyms, there was a strong magic power filling the walls and the floors.  It seemed that the room was reinforced to prevent any accidents.

The examiner asked,

"So, what can you do?"

From a corner, a.s.sociation President Go Gunhee looked upon the testing with great interest.  This was the main reason why he himself had come to escort Jinwoo. Even just a second faster, Go Gunhee wanted to see Jinwoo's abilities with his own eyes.

"I can do this."

Jinwoo summoned a single Shadow Soldier.

"Whoa!"

The examiner jumped.  Who wouldn't upon seeing a soldier clad in pitch-black armor rise from the ground? Even though Jinwoo had purposely selected the weakest soldier among his army, the soldier still gave off a dangerous aura to an ordinary man.

"Is this… summoning? You can wield summons?"

The examiner's voice was shaking.  Jinwoo wanted to explain that he was not in any danger but held his words back.  With a pitying look, Jinwoo replied,

"…Well, something like that."

"If, if that's the case, how many summons can you bring out?"

'There's no use in lying.'

After all, there were many witnesses yesterday who saw his battle.  Jinwoo rounded down the number of his Shadow Storage limit and spoke,

"About… a hundred."

Hearing the number, the examiner's eyes shot open wide,

"a hundred?"

"Yes."

Jinwoo replied calmly.

In that moment, Go Gunhee's eyes lit up as he looked at the Shadow Soldier,

'He can wield a hundred of something like that…'

At a simple glance, the Shadow Soldier had a magic power comparable to a B-rank Hunter.  If the man was able to call forth a hundred of them, in a way, Jinwoo maintained a power surpa.s.sing an average large Guild.  It was truly an amazing ability.

Jinwoo felt Go Gunhee's fierce gaze on him.  Taking in the responses around the room, he sighed deeply in relief.

'If they're reacting like this to an ordinary soldier…'

Jinwoo was glad he did not pull out Ygritte or Tusk.  Anyways, with this, his category was determined,

"Then… Hunter Sung Jinwoo-nim is a Mage-cla.s.s."

The examiner recorded the results down, then raised his head.

"Okay, we can head over to the measurement room now."

Jinwoo held up his new Hunter's license.

Sung Jinwoo. S-rank. Mage-cla.s.s.

Even looking at his face on the license, he could not believe it.

'Alright. Everything went smoothly.'

He put the license into his wallet.  As he neared the end of the hallway, the S-rankers that had been waiting for him approached him.

"Sung Jinwoo-ssi, could I have a moment of your time?"

"Hunter Sung Jinwoo-nim."

"I'm sorry. I have some things to take care of."

Jinwoo ignored them and headed to the gla.s.s doors.

"Huh? Wait?"

Baek Yoonho spoke to him with worry,

"I don't think it's a good idea to go out that way."

'Is he saying that he has a contract that I'll regret if I walk away from it?'

Whatever the case was, Jinwoo had no interest in their contracts.  He continued to ignore Baek Yoonho and walked through the gla.s.s doors.

With that,

flash flash flash flash click flash click click flash flash flas.h.!.+

The reporters past the HSD Hunters took nonstop pictures of Jinwoo.

'What is this?'

At the blinding barrage of camera flashes, Jinwoo was at a loss for words.

As she always would, Jinah went to a convenience store to buy a bananflavored milk after her third cla.s.s for the day.  She still had about an hour to go until lunch was over. If she didn't fill her stomach with at least some milk, it would be hard to focus on the cla.s.ses.

As if on cue,

growl

Her stomach rumbled in hunger.  Jinah came back to the cla.s.sroom while rubbing her belly, when one of her friends approached her with round eyes,

"J-Jinah!"

"W-what?"

Her friend's shock carried over to Jinah,

"Your brother! Your brother's on TV!"

"What? Why is my brother on TV?"

Jinah's heart sank to her stomach.  Was he hurt again? Or what if…

Without explaining, her friend impatiently took Jinah's wrist and dragged her into the cla.s.sroom.  Jinah moved her gaze over to the giant TV next to the blackboard.

"O… oppa?"

The bananflavored milk fell from her hands onto the floor.