Chapter 21
Near the restrooms adjacent to the Awakener Association's test room.
A female judge who had hurried outside under the pretext of using the restroom hastily made a call.
“Yes. Unnie. It’s me. Where are you now? Ah! You just arrived in Korea? Actually, there’s this tanker I evaluated today. Ah, yes. The one who reached maximum awakening. Yes. That’s right. We absolutely must recruit him. He’s completely amazing.”
She was giving a passionate speech to someone about how they must recruit Junhyuk.
“His tanking was absolutely perfect, I tell you! I’m confident he could become the perfect card to complement our Genesis Guild’s biggest weakness—our tank line. That person. We must recruit him no matter what. Huh? Ah! Of course I know. But what if we just watch during the protection period and he gets snatched by someone else? Taebaek’s Jang Seok-hwan or Heaven’s Joo Sung-jin have probably already contacted their guilds.”
The Genesis Guild? That’s right. She was Yoo Min-jung, team leader of Genesis Guild’s second team and a tank herself—one of Korea’s top three guilds.
The Genesis Guild possessed Korea’s most powerful dealer lineup, but conversely, their tank line was so weak it might as well belong to a minor guild.
That’s why they’d recently been pushing to strengthen their tanks.
And the person she was speaking with was Kang Ji-eun, guild master of Genesis Guild and Korea’s #2 ranked dealer—the Scarlet Sorceress.
“Haah, I’m telling you it’s true! We must recruit him no matter what. No matter what! Ah, yes. Understood. See you soon then.”
After hanging up, Yoo Min-jung gnawed on her fingernails, determined to bring Junhyuk into their guild by any means necessary.
At the same time, in another restroom, a different judge was on the phone with someone.
“Yes, Daesoo hyungnim. Are you on your way now? Huh? You’re eating first? No, this isn’t the time for meals! Do you realize what kind of situation... Gah! S-sorry... Ugh! No, I didn’t mean to be rude in my haste... Gasp! My apologies! Ah, yes. The thing is we’ve found something incredible here. A real treasure.”
He too was passionately arguing that they must recruit Junhyuk.
“No, not an actual package... Ah, for god’s sake! It’s a metaphor! A metaphor! Ah! What do you mean ‘what kind of law is a metaphor’? This isn’t the time for explanations! There’s this tanker I evaluated today! Choi Junhyuk. Ah, yes. Correct. The maximum awakening one. That guy is the real deal. He received unanimous top scores already. If our Taebaek Guild—the kingdom of tanks—doesn’t take in such a rookie, who will?”
The Taebaek Guild was one of Korea’s top three guilds and had built the most powerful tank lineup.
“The Guild Master? Of course I contacted him first. He said tanker management is entirely under your jurisdiction and to talk to you instead. Anyway, details when we meet. Yes.”
Taebaek Guild’s Jang Seok-hwan also seemed anxious that Junhyuk might be snatched by Genesis or Heaven.
The last judge, Heaven Guild’s Joo Jin-sung, was also on call with his guild master Kim Yoon-ho.
“Yes. Definitely skills worthy of your attention, Master. His tanking itself was flawless. Impeccable with no weaknesses whatsoever. Yes. All three judges gave unanimous top scores. If we can bring him into our Heaven Guild, I believe he’ll become significant combat strength.”
Compared to the other two, Heaven’s Joo Jin-sung remained remarkably composed.
“With maximum awakening and such perfect tanking skills, I’m certain he’ll grow to at least Lee Daesoo’s level. No, all conditions are already met for him to surpass that man—precisely because his HP depletion was merely 3% while tanking for exactly 37 minutes straight. Yes. In my judgment, that’s correct. Yes. Yes. Since the other two guilds may make moves if we don’t act first, it would be good to take measures preventing them from doing so. Yes. Ah, yes. You’ll come right after eating? Understood.”
Having calmly ended the call, Joo Jin-sung walked off with an impassive face.
Meanwhile, Junhyuk, who had finished his test, changed back into his original clothes and returned to the first-floor lobby.
He then approached the desk clerk Joohee, who smiled as she spoke.
“Welcome back. How did the test go?”
“Yeah, so-so.”
Junhyuk answered nonchalantly as if it were nothing.
“Please wait seated over there. The Awakener registration should be ready shortly.”
“Ah, okay.”
Following Joohee’s direction, Junhyuk moved to sit at a table prepared in the lobby area.
A short while later, after about 10 minutes, Joohee came from the desk and approached Junhyuk.
“Registration’s ready. Huh? Wait—C-grade? That’s odd. Is this correct? First awakening C-grade?”
Normally, first awakeners received total grades between F and E, with D-grade being the best-case scenario.
While occasional C-grades happened, such cases were extremely rare globally.
The difficult feat Junhyuk had accomplished.
“What about C-grade? Is there a problem?”
“Huh? A problem? No, not exactly, but first awakening C-grades are quite uncommon.”
“Really? Haha, I worked hard. Glad the results turned out well.”
“Truly amazing. First awakening C-grade... Anyway, congratulations.”
At the congratulatory words, Junhyuk nodded lightly and responded.
“Haha, thanks.”
“By the way, the hunters dispatched to Thailand should arrive at the association in roughly an hour. Will you... watch them before leaving?”
Inside and outside the association, massive crowds had gathered to see them return.
Junhyuk normally disliked such bustle and would leave without a second thought, but today was different.
‘Can’t waste a perfect opportunity like this. Who knows when it’ll come again?’
“Yes. Well, they’re Korea’s top hunters after all. Hard to see them outside media. Should at least see them in person. Haha.”
As he said, top hunters were rarely encountered outside media coverage.
Now, with this lucky chance to see them in person, he couldn’t waste the opportunity.
Just successfully copying one of them meant gaining tremendous power.
Joohee chuckled in response and said,
“That so? Well, seeing them in person might not be special per se, but it’s true they’re rarely met.”
“Haha, guess so.”
Junhyuk knew that among the hunters dispatched to Thailand was Lee Daesoo, Korea’s #1 ranked tanker.
With his fearsome appearance and violent, foul temperament, Lee Daesoo’s popularity rock bottom despite holding the title of domestic #1 tanker—but his abilities were undeniable.
Junhyuk’s primary target was Lee Daesoo.
Murmuring crowd sounds.
“Kyaaaa! Oppa, saranghaeyo!”
“Look over here, please!”
Shortly after, pushing through the massive crowds, ten top hunters dispatched to Thailand entered the association building.
‘They’re here!’
Walking at the front line were Korea’s #1 tanker Lee Daesoo, #1 dealer Kim Yoon-ho, and #2 dealer Kang Ji-eun—the strongest ranged sorceress.
Somehow, Lee Daesoo’s expression looked terrible.
‘What? Why does Lee Daesoo’s face look so rotten? This’ll ruin everything...’
Notorious for his bad temper, Lee Daesoo’s current expression signaled his mood was at its worst.
Even approaching him—let alone physical contact—seemed questionable.
Momentarily considering changing targets, Junhyuk shook his head and dismissed the thought.
‘Tsk. Whatever. Life’s a gamble. Charge forward, succeed or fail. Original target stands. Target: Lee Daesoo.’
Junhyuk watched the approaching Lee Daesoo with expressionless eyes.
Then, after a brief pause, he instantly changed his demeanor, pushed through the crowd, and hurried forward.
“Ah, hello! I’m a fan!”
Approaching the perpetually sour-faced Lee Daesoo, Junhyuk bowed deeply at 90 degrees and shouted, “Fan!”
The sudden action left not only Lee Daesoo but also Kim Yoon-ho, Kang Ji-eun, other top hunters, and the crowd inside the association building dumbfounded.
Lee Daesoo’s mood had been foul since stepping onto Korean soil through the teleport gate.
The reason? Kang Ji-eun, whom he was interested in, kept praising Kim Yoon-ho the entire time.
“Mother, Yoonho-ssi is so popular. Seems like everyone here is his fan.”
Of course, there were some Kang Ji-eun fans and others, but their voices were drowned out by the overwhelming number of Yoonho fans.
In response, Lee Daesoo scowled.
“Hmph! What’s the big deal about popularity? Does it feed you? In our world, skill matters most!”
Normally, Lee Daesoo cared nothing for popularity or fans, but seeing Kim Yoon-ho being cheered by the crowd was unbearable.
“Hmm? Popularity’s good. Besides, Yoonho-ssi is already top-tier skillwise. Domestically, he’s the supreme dealer. Ah! And popularity does feed you—didn’t you hear Yoonho-ssi’s fanclub gifted him a 4-billion-won B-grade artifact recently? Oh right, Daesoo-ssi wouldn’t know, being unpopular. Come to think of it, I don’t see a single Daesoo-ssi fan here.”
Lee Daesoo’s face twisted as he retorted,
“What? You just don’t know! I have fans too!”
“Oh? Really? You know I hate liars. Since that incident where you grabbed a fan’s collar and threw them out for ‘bothering you,’ I haven’t seen anyone claim to be your fan.”
Lee Daesoo’s scary looks and nasty temper had already left him unpopular, but that incident made claiming to be his fan exceedingly rare.
Of course, Lee Daesoo himself cared little for popularity—he even found fans annoying, hence his harsh treatment.
If not for Kang Ji-eun, he wouldn’t have cared about Yoonho’s popularity.
As Kang Ji-eun teased him with past events, Lee Daesoo flustered.
“L-lies! I’m Korea’s #1 ranked tanker! You think I’d have no fans?”
Kang Ji-eun gave him a meaningful smile.
“Hmm, really? Fine! If even one fan approaches you before we reach the association, I’ll grant your wish for a cozy meal together.”
Lee Daesoo’s eyes widened at her sudden declaration.
“Really?!”
“You know I hate lies—both liars and lying itself.”
Kang Ji-eun, who usually refused his meal invitations like a stubborn pumpkin, had set the terms herself. Lee Daesoo had no reason to refuse.
“Deal! Hahaha!”
‘Heh. No way there’s not one fan between here and the association. I’m the #1 tanker, after all!’
Lee Daesoo remained blissfully unaware that his popularity wasn’t just rock-bottom—it was digging into the underground.
Imagining a sweet date, he grinned—until Kang Ji-eun asked with a sly smile:
“But what if no fans appear? What’ll you do then?”
Caught off guard, Lee Daesoo stammered,
“Uh... Well... What do you want?”
Kang Ji-eun pounced.
“If you lose, help me once.”
“Help? With what?”
“Our Genesis Guild plans to hunt a C-grade monster. You know we’re stacked with dealers but weak in tanks. Be our main tank for this hunt.”
Genesis, one of Korea’s top three guilds, had the strongest dealers but lacked competent tanks—unlike Taebaek and Heaven, who’d already hunted C-grade monsters.
To maintain their prestige, Genesis needed a C-grade hunt success, even if it meant borrowing another guild’s tank.
“What?! C-grade hunt? Are you serious?!”
Even Lee Daesoo, Korea’s #1 tanker, risked his life against C-grade monsters—classified as calamities.
The memory of tanking one still gave him nightmares.
Kang Ji-eun stroked his pride.
“Why? Scared? Or... is our meal not worth it?”
“N-no! Fine! I’ll do it!”
With a bright smile, she extended her pinky.
“Promise?”
Trapped, Lee Daesoo hooked his finger with hers, cold sweat dripping down his back.
‘One fan... has to appear... right?’
