âOh, howâd you know? Youâre right . It depends on the contract, but thatâs a possibility . Thatâs why people that know it call it a slave contract . But itâs that effective . People try not to use it that often though . â
He understood after listening, but since there were human rights issues, no one really uses it .
âBut Yoo-Na chose to use it because she wanted to make it official . When people join forces or become allies, they donât really use it . But itâs better to be safe than sorry . And for a colorful portalâ¦itâs worth it . â
They were still studying the Puppeteerâs corpse .
They havenât found anything yet .
But everyone agreed that a colorful portal was a lot more valuable than an ordinary portal .
The world was focused on the monster that FE killed and FE itself .
Thatâs why Kim Yoo-Na was being cautious .
There was a new group that was joining them and she needed data as well as security .
âIâm sure weâll get approved since we submitted a request . â
After that single visit, they received all of their approvals on time .
Thatâs why they should be getting the approval soon .
âI have a lot to do before then . â
The time until the next hunt .
Hyun-Soo will be prepared by then .
***
âThe investigation teamâs report was simple . â
They were having a meeting regarding the colorful portal they got approval for .
Theyâve received simple reports like this before .
Colorful portals didnât have noteworthy information .
So even though they requested for an approval, no one knew what kind they would end up with .
But the report was simple?
âThis feels like deja vu . ââ
This happened before .
The report was extremely simple and peaceful, so it didnât sound like a colorful portal .
And everyone experienced hell in there .
Although Hyun-Soo was able to find out the portal ownerâs skillâ¦
âThe members barely made it out alive . It affected them pretty badly after . â
The sight of Katrina crying hard was engraved into his head .
Anyways, that simple report led to one conclusion .
If it didnât have an owner like Karazhan and if the portal didnât have an owner at all, there was only one answer .
âItâs the place we went to last time . â
The members were pretty smart, so they understood .
All of them didnât look so good .
âKarazhanâ¦â¦ . â
This had to be fate .
âThis complicates things a bit . â
Brad enveloped his head with his hands .
Brad was known to be quiet, so if he made a comment like that, it meant that even he wasnât looking forward to it .
Well, it was understandable .
âA monster like didnât exist until now, so itâs natural for them to act that way . â
There were theories about psychological-type monsters existing, but they actually encountered one .
And it was in a totally brand new portal too .
All the members didnât like it, but not Hyun-Soo .
âIsnât this our chance?â
He kept his excitement to himself .
He was currently learning how to make Riri useful .
And if he obtained another Karazhan?
âThe power will be increased by several folds . â
But there wasnât a guarantee that this Karazhan had an egg .
He had a 0% chance of obtaining Karazhanâs egg in a portal that didnât have Karazhan .
Thatâs why going into a portal that was Karazhanâs was a good opportunity .
But the others werenât looking forward to it .
Obtaining more power was great, but when heard who their opponent was, they became disappointed .
Hyun-Soo, who was very hopeful, raised his hand .
âWhat are your thoughts on this, Hyun-Soo?â
Kim Yoo-Na understood why the members were acting that way, so she was in an extremely difficult position .
People can lose lives during a hunt and if the hunters didnât have good reactions, then there was no point in hunting the portal .
If they did that, FEâs fame and actions will be affected negatively, but their lives were more important .
It felt like the hunt would bring bad results if they decided to go for it .
And Hyun-Soo raised his hand despite of them reacting that way .
He was like a ray of hope to Kim Yoo-na .
âI know that there are people that are still feeling doubtful even though we cleared three colorful portals . Since we teamed up with another group for the third one, I didnât think it was fate and there are rumors that we got lucky on the first and second portalâ¦if we clear this portal, donât you think those rumors will go away?â
When Hyun-Soo finished, everyone had different opinions .
âYou think we donât know that? It would be nice if it was possible . But, Karazhan is a monster that can control the mind . Even though theyâre still researching, they havenât found anything important . In this situation, itâs the same thing as walking in there to die . Or are you telling us to just trust you and participate in this hunt?â
Marcus was the one that spoke .
âBut it makes sense . If we kill the same monster again, itâll be proof that weâre actually strong and that it wasnât all luck . And he said it so confidently, so Iâm sure he has a planâ¦I donât think itâs a bad idea to think about it while considering that fact . â
The members that liked Hyun-Soo reacted positively .
When most of the members reacted that way, Marcus and the members that followed him crossed their arms .
It was obvious that they didnât like it .
They sat back in their chairs and looked at Hyun-Soo as if they were daring him to try .
âEndure it . Endure itâ¦â¦ . â
Marcus would annoy him at least once during meetings like this .
It seemed like he acknowledged Hyun-Soo after seeing him resolve many of the issues, so it mustâve been his pride getting in the way .
The meeting was originally for the portal that was approved, but now it turned into Hyun-Sooâs presentation .
Hm .
Hyun-Soo cleared his throat after everyone focused on him .
âItâs not that complicated . I understand that we donât have a way to defend ourselves against a monster like Karazhan since it was our first time . But if you think positively, this could be our chance . No one else can do it but us . Thereâs a good chance that there are other monsters like Karazhan . Since we encountered one, itâs possible that there are two, maybe three of them . â
âWe already know that . But the issue here is the success rate . If we fail, we all die . â
Some of them even shuddered while saying that the pain they experienced made them think that death was a better option .
âWhat kind of illusion did Karazhan show them?â
Hyun-Soo assumed that they brought out their opponentâs darkest memory and they repeatedly show it so that theyâll suffer and feel pain .
People usually want to bury those thoughts, but if theyâre constantly seeing the same memory, it was understandable as to why they were reacting that way .
It mustâve affected them pretty badly because theyâre usually excited about going on a hunt .
âIf youâre worried because the monster is a psychological-type monster, then you donât have to worry . â
âHow can we not worry?â
People were starting to become optimistic, but then hesitated when Marcus asked .
âItâs simple . You just need to get used to it . â
ââ¦Get used to it?â
âYes . You can think of it as doing training . â
âHow is that possible?â
âWhat? You guys have a skilled teacher right here .
Hyun-Soo tapped below one of shoulders .
It was the shoulder that Riri was sitting on .
Kyuuuuu?
When Hyun-Soo mentioned her name, Riri felt good and tilted her head to the side .
She mustâve liked the attention because she started flying .
Then she landed on top of Hyun-Sooâs head .
The small fairy, no, monster, flew around as if she wanted them to praise her .
âOhâ¦right . Riri controlled that spyâs mind not too long ago . â
âYouâre right . Iâm not sure how similar her skills are compared to Karazhan, but Iâm sure itâll help us . â
Everyone reacted positively when Hyun-Soo mentioned Riri .
The members started feeling hopeful when they realized there was potential .
They didnât have to experience those painful memories again .
People needed hope to become positive .
âI feel proud . â
Hyun-Soo rubbed under his nose while feeling proud of himself .
The members trusted Hyun-Sooâs words and they started coming up with ideas while talking amongst themselves .
Even though they got approval, the date of the hunt hasnât been confirmed .
It would be a big problem if the portal didnât appear after getting the approval, but not now .
âGreat . I think it would be good for us to do severals tests with Riri . â
Clap, clap .
After Kim Yoo-Na clapped her hands to get their attention, that was the conclusion she came up .
Hyun-Soo quietly glanced at Marcus .
He didnât have a bad reaction .
Once there was a way, he gave up pretty easily
ââ¦Itâs hard understanding him . â
Anyways, the members decided to train with Riri .
âLetâs get going!â
They were now full of energy and willing to train .
***
âWe donât have to call the other hunters, right?â
âIâm actually not sure about that . But, thereâs no reason for us to take care of them, right?â
This was what David actually meant .
They need to experience the painful themselves so that theyâll realize just how awesome we are for overcoming that .
It could be seen as being childish, but on the other handâ¦
âItâs a really good idea . â
Thatâs just human nature .
Theyâll feel thankful at first, but later, theyâll start demanding things .
âPeople will start taking advantage if you keep treating them nicely . â
Of course that doesnât apply to everyone .
The members of the FE clan was like that .
They couldâve tried to take advantage of him by using various methods, but .
âIt seems like I have pretty good luck with people . â
He also considered himself lucky because he obtained a SS rank skill like Interface and a skill like Skill Creation, which helps him grow as a hunter .
âI also agree with that . Thereâs no reason to train them . Let them experience it first . Show them that this is what a colorful portal is and we can think of it as an introduction . â
When Hyun-Soo smiled, the members smiled too .
Their smiles were similar to criminals that were planning on committing a crime .
After Riri picked out all their enemies .
After Kim Yoo-Na prepared some safety tools, some of the members from the allied guild decided to participate in the hunt .
âShould I consider them as subordinates?â
They were on different levels .
They werenât all going as equals . The FE clan was more like a babysitter .