Chapter 303: Chapter 303

“You’re here to provide me with hunters? I’m not sure I follow… Can you elaborate on that?”

There was no way she would bring hunters from Hanseong Group to the clan, right?

Even though hunters from companies had extensive experience and certain skills, there was no guarantee that they would do well in the competition… Above all, wasn’t it crazy to take out a large number of veteran hunters who were responsible for the company’s affairs and use them for the competition?

It was just like in baseball. No matter how bad a pitcher threw, they didn’t bring in the manager to replace them. It was the same in the hunter industry.

“The hunters from the Hanseong Group...”

“Cough!”

“...I can’t give them to you...”

“Phew.”

“...Did you really think I was going to hand you over hunters from Hanseong Group?”

Han Seha looked at Lee Changsik in a dumbfounded manner. It didn’t make much sense. How could someone as experienced as Lee Changsik have such delusions?

“Of course not. Ahem.”

“Of course, I can’t give them to you, but I can give you the nomination rights that Hanseong Group has.”

“...!”

The nomination rights meant many things depending on the field, but in the hunter world, they only meant one thing: the privilege of big companies to recruit hunters ahead of everyone else!

Even though South Korea didn’t have large-scale educational cities like other overseas countries, they still nurtured talented hunters in high schools and universities, and it was the Korean companies that sponsored those institutions.

In return for sponsoring the institutions with huge amounts of money, companies could approach promising hunters and make offers before regular clans.

As far as Hanseong Group was concerned, they clearly had invested tremendous amounts of money in those schools, which meant they could easily reach out to any talents from said schools.

“I appreciate the suggestion, but why are you doing this?”

“Some idiots were stupid enough to take something they shouldn’t have.”

“??”

Lee Changsik didn’t know what Han Seha meant, but since she had come with this offer, he decided to accept for now. After all, wasn’t it a guaranteed profit for him?

“I understand. Thank you. I’ll take a look around with Hunter Choi Yeonseung.”

“Uh...”

Han Seha had a very complicated expression, which puzzled Lee Changsik.

“What’s wrong? If it’s uncomfortable for you to meet him, I can just meet him by myself.”

“Ugh...”

Hearing that, Han Seha’s expression became sad, which further confused Lee Changsik.

‘Should I call him?’ he wondered.

“...”

“I’ll just call him.” Lee Changsik made a firm decision.

Han Seha was rather amazed by this. As expected, not everyone could become an A-grade hunter!

***

“Pick hunters and bring them into the clan...”

“It’s a very interesting proposition.”

Demon No. 139 was intrigued. Aside from supporting Choi Yeonseung, his goal was also to learn more about Earth’s culture. After all, acquiring knowledge about Earth enriched the Demon of Contract and Order.

No. 139 really had many things to study on Earth, such as systematic work processing, efficient calculations, and of course, working without breaks.

The arrogant beings of the Abyss bragged that they had nothing to learn from the uncivilized humans of Earth, but No. 139 didn’t think so.

Demon No. 139 muttered, “The nomination right is also very interesting.”

“Really? Isn’t it something ordinary?”

“Yes! You just have to pay a small amount of money to acquire future talents. I really want to learn from this.”

“...N-No. The method isn’t that wicked... right?”

When it came to the nomination rights, the companies always gave notice in advance, so it was a win-win for both parties. However, Choi Yeonseung had mixed feelings after listening to No. 139.

If a demon admired the nomination right, there had to be something sinister about it.

“Umm.”

“No, Hunter Choi Yeonseung. It’s a good method. In fact, the constellations of the Abyss are now seriously considering getting their hands on humanity.”

“!”

Choi Yeonseung turned his head at the unexpected words.

“What do you mean by ‘seriously considering it’? Wasn’t that their original goal?”

“Well, they have failed countless times in trying to gain control of humanity by force. They can just admit their mistakes and change their approach, right? Of course, most constellations don’t have the same interest in humanity as my master. However, there are probably other constellations that have also grown to understand humanity a bit more and are coming up with new methods.”

‘...That sounds concerning.’

-It always happens. The constellations rule over the household members, but sometimes, the constellation is influenced by their household members.

-Like the goddess of balance?

-That’s a bit... Isn’t that different?

Still, it was necessary to listen to No. 139. In reality, as far as gaining control of humanity went, the constellations had only used crude and ignorant methods so far. If the goddess of sloth had told Choi Yeonseung to invade Earth, he would’ve done a much better job than the others.

If the constellations came up with more intuitive and complex methods...

-What methods for example?

-If it was me, I would disguise my household members as humans and send them to Earth.

-As hunters? They’d get caught in no time.

-No, as ordinary people. Businessmen and politicians would be perfect. They would have to build up their reputation through a steady performance, gradually increase their power, establish a friendly regime, change the law and rise to the position of supreme ruler...

-......

The goddess of sloth was impressed by Choi Yeonseung’s immediate answer. Other constellations would never think like that. First of all, they wouldn’t accept the idea of disguising their subordinates as humans and letting them stay on Earth!

“Is it here?”

Hwangryong High School.

It was a high school with gorgeous buildings on a large site, and it was quite different from the high schools that Choi Yeonseung remembered.

There were already a few cars in front of him. He saw several expensive foreign cars and immediately knew who was driving them.

‘It looks like scouts are here.’

Many of the scouts were former hunters who still walked around displaying their opulence like they did when they were on active duty. However, their extravagant appearance wasn’t meant only for bragging.

Even though the students were talented and had a bright future ahead of them, they were nonetheless teenagers or young people in their twenties without much social experience. Thus, having a good appearance was the best way to reach out to these people.

“Psss. Over here.”

“???”

Choi Yeonseung looked curiously at Lee Changsik, who had his face concealed by a mask and sunglasses.

“What are you doing? Are you hiding from some enemies?”

“You should cover your face as well. Nothing good will come out of revealing yourself in public for no reason.”

Lee Changsik wanted both of them to hide their identities because they wouldn’t be able to see how things actually were at the school if everybody knew who they were.

Not all the school officials were sincere and upright. They received money from the families of the promising students, and if not, they went out of their way to offer those students more opportunities if the families promised to pay them in the future.

In exchange for that money, they would actively praise and recommend those students to important people from companies or clans whenever they visited the high school.

-The most talented hunter I’ve ever seen! He’s at a national treasure-level and will become an A-grade hunter in ten years!

-...If he’s so talented, how come he can’t even use third circle magic...?

-What are you talking about? This is an industry where the framework needs to be solid. We can’t assess a hunter's level based solely on the circle magic they can use, right?

-Well… That’s true. It’s not like a hunter needs to use third or fourth circle magic to be considered a genius. But still, this is a bit...

“So in short, they’ll all just give dishonest recommendations if they recognize you?”

“It’s not just me. They’ll do the same if they see you. I mean, think about what company you’re in charge of…”

As they were talking, Choi Yeonseung noticed a familiar person next to him.

“Seha, what are you doing here?”

“Gasp... How did you know?”

Both Lee Changsik and Han Seha wore masks and sunglasses, but Choi Yeonseung was a constellation. Starting with the magic power they emitted, he could see a person’s specific abilities with his constellation eyes if he wanted to.

“How could I not recognize you?”

“As expected...!”

“Can the two of you lower your voices?”

Lee Changsik was genuinely surprised by Han Seha’s unfamiliar appearance. He had heard that she had the worst personality among the A-grade hunters...

Han Seha fell quiet, which further surprised Lee Changsik.

“By the way, isn’t it too conspicuous if we come in like this?”

“No. You’ll know when you see it.”

Lee Changsik was right. There were quite a few people on campus who covered their faces just like them.

“It’s going to be troublesome if rumors spread that someone’s aiming for a particular student. In addition, there might be scouts from overseas.”

“Those people don’t have the nomination rights. Can they do this?”

“They do it in secrecy. Even if they get criticized, they still make a lot of profit by recruiting talented people.”

The students would also receive all kinds of criticism if they went overseas after receiving so much support from South Korea. However, some people were willing to endure that much if they could make a lot of money as a hunter.

“It reminds me of Gyeongryong hyung,” said Choi Yeonseung.

“No, this is definitely different from Gyeongryong hyung! Gyeongryong hyung had never signed any contracts beforehand or received any support! He acted purely out of patriotism. What are you talking about?”

“...I just said it reminded me of him. I didn’t swear at him, did I?”

“...”

Lee Changsik had his true thoughts revealed and cleared his throat in embarrassment. Choi Yeonseung smiled.

“Hyung, if you want to make up with him, just...”

“I don’t know what you are talking about.”

“You got mad when you thought I talked badly of Gyeongryong hyung earlier...”

“N-no, it’s not that. I got mad because this high school is named after him…”

“??”

Choi Yeonseung was puzzled by Lee Changsik’s words and thought again about the name of the high school.

‘Is the name Hwangryong really...’

Did Hwang Gyeongryong himself know about this?

***

“What do you think?”

“Not bad. Honestly, I think this person is the best one in this high school.”

People from various companies were watching the hunters with expressions of excitement. One of them was from Namhyeong Group, a Korean group that was as huge as Hanseong Group!

Given how many corporate people were here, a staggering amount of hunters would be recruited!

“Don’t be vague. Speak clearly.”

“No, I thought I made it clear...”

Kim Chandong, a hunter from one of South Korea’s three major clans, the Golden Blood Fish clan, was dumbfounded. He would’ve been angry if he had been on active duty. However, he was currently a scout, not an active hunter, and the person talking to him was an executive of Namhyeong Group.

However, that person wasn’t just a regular executive, but a direct executive on the chairman’s side!

When it came to large groups, even hunters had to bow their heads.

“Do you understand? I don’t need second place. All I want is number one.”

“Yes.”

“Say it again. Does that hunter look like number one?”

“As far as I’m concerned, he is number one.”

“Okay. I’ll take note of that.”

The other person nodded in satisfaction and left for a moment.

Kim Chandong sighed. He was sweating from the pressure that this young man put on him.

‘Are they from overseas or from a private clan?’

A few people wearing masks sat down next to him, but Kim Chandong didn’t pay much attention to them.

The students would soon graduate, which meant that various suspicious people would enter the school at around this time.

“What do you think?”

“He’s not good. He looks fine on the outside but is rotten inside. In addition, you want to avoid the ones with a bad personality, right?”

“Is it that bad? Alright, I understand.”

“...!??”

Kim Chandong couldn’t believe the conversation he heard next to him.

The hunter they were talking about, who was now warming up on the field in front of him, was unanimously considered the most talented student at Hwangryong High School.

“You over there. Why would you say that? Are you sure you didn’t get it wrong?” said Kim Chandong without even realizing it.