𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟑𝟑: 𝐌𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐫
Siwoo arrived at the highest floor of the [𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐆𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝].
His younger brother’s office took up the entire floor.
“Welcome.”
The secretaries across from the elevator entrance stood up to greet him.
“The Chief is currently out of the office. He should be back soon. Would you like to wait inside?”
Min Si-joon’s employees, who knew Siwoo was his older brother, led him inside.
Siwoo drank the coffee on the table and looked out the huge window.
Things have changed so much.
【𝔽𝕠𝕠𝕕, 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕡𝕣𝕚𝕔𝕖 𝕙𝕒𝕤 𝕘𝕠𝕟𝕖 𝕦𝕡 𝕒𝕘𝕒𝕚𝕟.】
. . . Crazy bastard.
Siwoo recalled the events of a few days ago.
The cave had been destroyed.
It seemed Crow had blown it up just as Siwoo and his party were escaping.
‘𝙄 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙨𝙝𝙚’𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚 𝙨𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙙𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙮 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧.’
I have a rough idea who it is, but it’s not urgent, so I’ll check later.
Because the cave collapsed, Hwang Jeong-gu was busy with the investigation.
It was said that countless Hunters were busy clearing away the debris of the cave and recovering the bodies.
However, the HSIU’s recognition skyrocketed thanks to the annihilation of the underworld organization called 〈BESTIA〉.
Just go to Hunter Tube and all you’ll see is news about it.
Baek Geon-ho awarded Hwang Jeong-gu and Chu Ha-min of [𝐖𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐋𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐆𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝], who helped him.
Siwoo hated anything troublesome, so he asked to be left out, and the matter was concluded with the two of them resolving it.
“Senior, are you really okay with this? You’ll get a commendation and a cash prize.”
“Oh, if I accept that, I’ll have to write interviews and reports instead.”
” . . . . . .”
Hwang Jeong-gu had written all the reports so far, but he didn’t bother to argue.
‘𝙋𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙞𝙪𝙢.’
The results of this operation were better than expected.
He had avenged the killer who had killed Jeong Min-jun and destroyed the organization the killer had belonged to.
And he had gained good subordinates, Red Ear and Volk, and found out who was behind it all.
“But why in Pandemonium . . .”
It was an organization that had been banned and disbanded by each government because they worshipped the Demon King.
Siwoo investigated Pandemonium through the HSIU database as soon as he returned, but he couldn’t find anything.
All that came up was the weak organization he had known from a dozen years ago.
Even that had disbanded long ago.
He had a hunch that it would be much more difficult than when he was chasing Black Mamba just by looking at her face.
‘𝙄 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙𝙣’𝙩 𝙧𝙪𝙨𝙝 𝙩𝙤 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙢𝙮 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚.’
【𝕊𝕙𝕦𝕥 𝕦𝕡 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕗𝕚𝕟𝕕 𝕒 𝕘𝕠𝕠𝕕 𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕦𝕣𝕒𝕟𝕥. 𝕀’𝕞 𝕙𝕦𝕟𝕘𝕣𝕪.】
He promised that he would definitely feed Pre rice bread as soon as he came out of his body.
BAM.
“Hyung, when did you get here?”
The door opened and Si-joon entered with a welcoming expression.
“I just got here. Where did you go after calling me here?”
“Sorry, sorry. One of the killer groups was annihilated, and the Hunter Association sent a document asking for help.”
“Oh?”
“Don’t you know, hyung? The BESTIA incident. I went with the Team Leader and Chu Ha-min Hunter, who you fought with. . . Don’t you know anything about it?”
“I don’t know.”
His younger brother narrowed his eyes and gave him a suspicious look.
That’s because Siwoo was the only one who could act as a hub between Hwang Jeong-gu and Chu Ha-min.
The combination of two Hunters who didn’t get along at all.
Of course, HSIU Branch Manager Baek Geon-ho and Choi Sung-il of [𝐖𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐋𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐆𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝] said it had been discussed in advance, but it was unbelievable.
“You didn’t go to that cave with them?”
“Why would I?”
【𝕐𝕠𝕦’𝕣𝕖 𝕤𝕠 𝕤𝕙𝕒𝕞𝕖𝕝𝕖𝕤𝕤. 𝕀 𝕕𝕠𝕟’𝕥 𝕓𝕖𝕝𝕚𝕖𝕧𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕒𝕟𝕪𝕞𝕠𝕣𝕖.】
Siwoo plopped down on the guest sofa.
Min Si-joon couldn’t shake off the creepy feeling, but he couldn’t keep tripping over the fact that he said no, so he decided to let it go.
“Anyway, what’s the matter?”
“Oh, that’s right! Do you know the Hunter Shin Ji-soo who came out of the Tutorial Tower with you, hyung?”
“I saw her on the 1st floor.”
Siwoo hadn’t forgotten Shin Ji-soo’s name.
He just pretended not to know because it was fun.
“The two of you are connected, so I sent her when you were giving a lecture last time. Did you see her?”
“I saw her. It was a mess.”
“T-That’s . . . because she doesn’t have any real-world experience.”
“Anyway, why her?”
His younger brother wouldn’t have called him for someone else’s business.
“Could you maybe be her mentor?”
“Mentor?”
Siwoo frowned.
His reluctance was obvious, so Min Si-joon hurriedly continued.
“No, I don’t mean teach her every day. I just want you to guide her from the sidelines so she can use her skills.”
“Because her skills are unique?”
“Oh! How did you know?”
Certainly, the skill Shin Ji-soo had shown him a little while ago was quite unique.
Basically, the ability to control other living beings was an absurd ability in itself.
Some skills are fixed with the ability they had when they were acquired, but in Shin Ji-soo’s case, it was a growth-type skill.
A fraudulent ability that could have crazy effects depending on the user’s ability.
【𝕀 𝕤𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕖𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕟 𝕚𝕥 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕤𝕥𝕦𝕗𝕗𝕖𝕕 𝕚𝕥 𝕚𝕟 𝕞𝕪 𝕥𝕣𝕦𝕟𝕜!】
“She told me herself.”
“She did? Maybe she told you because you’re reliable, hyung.”
“Well, maybe it’s because she’s an idiot.”
” . . . Um.”
Siwoo chuckled.
From his experience with her for a few days, Shin Ji-soo was quite intelligent.
It was just that the education she had received at the Academy was strange.
“So . . . I just want you to teach her the basics. We want to teach her on our side, but there’s no one with similar skills.”
Usually, the role of mentor is taken by a Hunter of the same lineage as the mentee.
For example, a melee Hunter who uses flame magic would learn from a senior Hunter who fights in the same way, and a Hunter who uses tracking magic would learn from a tracking-type Hunter.
However, manipulators like Shin Ji-soo were not common, and the ability to manipulate monsters in particular was rare worldwide.
Siwoo understood his younger brother’s words roughly.
Of course, there was no such concept as a mentor-mentee for the 1st generation Hunters.
They had to develop their skills on their own, and they had to learn how to fight monsters by watching the person next to them.
‘𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙮𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙢 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙜𝙤𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙣 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧.’
Thanks to this system, the Hunter mortality rate had plummeted.
Of course, there was a fatal flaw in the lack of diverse experiences.
“I guess you told Baek Geon-ho about this in advance?”
“That’s right. He said he’d support us with potions and equipment. And he said he’d give you the position of advisor to the [𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐆𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝].”
It was Min Si-joon that Siwoo felt sorry for, not HSIU.
He could have asked him as his older brother, but since his brother belonged to HSIU anyway, he thought it wouldn’t be bad to connect him with them.
“And you like teaching people, hyung.”
And this one sentence moved Siwoo’s heart.
“It’s a waste to let such an ability go to waste.”
Siwoo had enjoyed the fact that he was able to help someone develop their abilities ever since he had taken on his first disciple.
Just as Min Si-joon was now because of Siwoo’s teachings.
“Then I’ll leave it to you! Advisor Min Siwoo!”
Min Si-joon bowed his head playfully to Siwoo.
“Leave it to me, Guild Leader of the [𝐄𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐆𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝]. I’ll guide you in your training as Guild Leader later.”
” . . . I sincerely decline.”
Siwoo waved his hand casually and walked out the door.
It seemed like he wouldn’t be bored for the time being.
🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷
Shin Ji-soo was in the Hunter training room.
A place with simple gym equipment and equipment for practicing magic.
Of course, the weights were too heavy for ordinary people to even lift.
“Hup!”
She lifted the bench press with all her might.
Her whole body shook and her arm muscles screamed.
It was twice as heavy as what she had lifted before going up the Tower.
Her physical abilities had improved compared to ordinary people after her awakening, so she had to do this much.
CLANG.
“Whew.”
She was exhausted.
Honestly, it was hard to work out every day, but it was also satisfying to see her muscles gradually grow.
“At this rate, I’ll be able to catch even a troll with one shot?”
“With your shitty skills?”
“Ack—!!”
Shin Ji-soo was startled by the sudden voice and hit her forehead on the bench press bar as she raised her body.
“Are you practicing your shitty shot?”
“Ouch, that hurts . . . What are you talking about!”
“I told you. You’re shitty.”
“Not that kind of talk!”
“Hey, stop talking nonsense and get up.”
Shin Ji-soo got up from her seat grumbling.
” . . . What’s the matter?”
“Didn’t Si-joon tell you?”
“Tell me what?”
“I’m going to teach you from today.”
She stared blankly at Siwoo with her mouth open.
She had heard that they were looking for someone to teach her because there were no Hunters of the same lineage as her.
“Close your mouth. A fly will get in.”
” . . . Yes.”
“And what is this you’re doing? Weights?”
“I need to build up my strength to wield weapons when I’m hunting monsters!”
“What about magic training?”
“Sir Hunter Siwoo taught me that . . . you know.”
“That’s why you’re doing that?”
” . . . “
Shin Ji-soo avoided his gaze, just twiddling her fingers.
She hadn’t seen anyone around her who continued the training Siwoo had taught her.
It was too difficult and complicated, so everyone had given up.
“Oh? Isn’t that Ji-soo?”
Then someone approached and pretended to know her.
It was Kim Byung-guk, a Hunter and trainer belonging to the [𝐄𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐆𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝], and his followers.
“Oh, hello.”
“Speak comfortably. Haha, are you working out? Shall we work out together today?”
“That’s . . . I think I should go out now . . .”
“Why? Oppa will teach you.”
Shin Ji-soo hesitated, then glanced at Siwoo and continued.
“A new teacher came to teach me.”
“Oh, really? But he’s not from our Guild. Shouldn’t you be taught by someone from the same Guild?”
Kim Byung-guk said to Shin Ji-soo with a smile.
Kim Byung-guk, who was quite a playboy, had met many novice Hunters using his position.
To him, Shin Ji-soo was a very attractive target.
‘𝙎𝙝𝙚’𝙨 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙗𝙤𝙙𝙮. 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙨𝙖𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙜𝙞𝙧𝙡𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙙𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙥 𝙖 𝙘𝙧𝙪𝙨𝙝 𝙤𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢 𝙖 𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚.’
So he had been teaching her how to lift weights little by little over the past few days, but then a strange guy appeared and tried to steal her away.
“First, let’s warm up your body with some exercise. You need basic physical strength no matter what you do.”
Kim Byung-guk was also a seasoned Hunter and A-Rank, so he knew the faces of most Hunters.
However, the trembling face next to Shin Ji-soo was unfamiliar.
That’s why he treated him like he didn’t exist and spoke only to Shin Ji-soo.
“Lie down again. Oppa will check your posture.”
“Yes. . .? B-but . . .”
Shin Ji-soo hesitated, stuttering.
Then Siwoo, who had been watching from the side, sighed and said.
“Hey, why are you lying down? This kind of thing won’t help you in hunting even if you do it a hundred days.”
” . . . Who are you to speak so rudely? I’m a Hunter trainer for Shin Ji-soo.”
Kim Byung-guk looked Siwoo up and down and made his own judgment.
He didn’t know what Shin Ji-soo’s skill was, but she didn’t have a mentor yet.
Some Hunters who had been grumbling had gone to the Guild Leader to ask if they could teach her, but they had been flatly refused.
‘𝙅𝙪𝙙𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙗𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙖𝙘𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄 𝙙𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙜𝙣𝙞𝙯𝙚 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙛𝙖𝙘𝙚, 𝙝𝙚’𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙝𝙞𝙜𝙝-𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙮𝙗𝙚 𝙝𝙚’𝙨 𝙖 𝙡𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙗𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙝𝙚’𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙖𝙨 𝙅𝙞-𝙨𝙤𝙤.’
Kim Byung-guk frowned.
“From what I can see, you’re a lecturer belonging to some second-rate Guild. Don’t get caught up in something you’ll regret and learn from me. I’m an A-Rank Hunter of [𝐄𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐆𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝].”
“What’s the point of rank? This kind of thing is why your skills don’t improve.”
“What did you say. . .??”
Kim Byung-guk was furious at Siwoo’s words.
Even though he wasn’t a ranker himself, he wasn’t so insignificant that he would be ignored by this guy.
He wasn’t a high-ranking member or a captain of [𝐄𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐆𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝], but he was still a senior Hunter.
“How ridiculous. You little punk who’s as small as a goblin’s dick, you like Hunter Shin Ji-soo, so you came out here to catch her in front of her, but shut up and get lost.”
“The one catching her is you.”
“Do you really want to lose? I’m not the kind of person who uses violence in front of women, but you keep asking for it. Why don’t you grab me and hit me?”
“I’m busy teaching her today. Make an appointment in advance.”
Kim Byung-guk felt his sanity slipping away.
“Follow me. I’ll show you how to lose in front of the woman you like.”
There were quite a few other Hunters in the training room besides them, and Kim Byung-guk was going to show them how he was being ignored without any filter.
If he just passed over this kind of humiliation, the juniors would definitely ignore him too.
‘𝘿𝙖𝙢𝙣 𝙞𝙩, 𝙤𝙛 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚, 𝙞𝙣 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙎𝙝𝙞𝙣 𝙅𝙞-𝙨𝙤𝙤.’
Kim Byung-guk led his party out first.
Siwoo and Shin Ji-soo followed, and the Hunters who had been watching nearby began to follow them stealthily.
“I’m . . . s-sorry. I’ll go and apologize, so in the meantime, why don’t you contact the Guild Leader. . . ?”
“Why him?”
“Hunter Kim Byung-guk may not be talented, but he has a lot of experience as an A-Rank!”
“Didn’t I tell you that I’ve been to another world?”
“You. . . did?”
Siwoo ruffled Shin Ji-soo’s hair.
An exclamation of Ah! Why! Don’t do this! was heard softly.
“The first lecture is a viewing, so watch carefully.”
Siwoo twisted his lips as he entered the sparring room.