CHAPTER 119 OFFERS

If the Healer-type Hunters could heal any and all types of sickness with magic, then without a doubt, every single hospital in the land would have closed up, and doctors would have ended up on the street, begging for food. But fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, such an event didn't occur. Healing magic only sped up the regeneration. The healing magic was limited to healing only external injuries. Although magic could miraculously cause an amputated arm to grow back, it could not lower the temperature of a child sick with the flu or cure mutations in cells. 

'Well, thanks to that, I managed to not end up unemployed, though…..' The doctor stared at the President of the Association getting ready to leave the office.

'If only I could borrow magical power as great as the President's and cure him in full….' However, both the healing magic and modern medicine couldn't do much at this stage. All this doctor could do was offer his advice.

"You need to maintain calm no matter what, sir. Also, you need to take a regular break, even if it's for a little while."

"I wish I could do that, as well." Unfortunately, if he did take a break, then just what would happen to the Hunters Association? Go Gunhee used his gentle laughter as a replacement for his words.

'An Association without Go Gunhee, is it?' The large Guilds were spending huge sums of money to grow even larger at this very moment. Their might already equaled that of some nations' military forces in Asia. The only reason why the Association could still flex its muscle among these Guilds was because of the presence of Go Gunhee as its President, not because the government was backing the Association. The moment the Association lost its true trump card, the Hunters would become rein-less wild horses and run amok.

'Not just yet…. Yes, not just yet.' Indeed, he couldn't retire just yet. The Association was the only rope that could rein them in. With no viable alternative in place, how could he even think about leaving the scene?

'In order to show how robust and healthy the Association is, I must stay.' The rank S above all the other S ranks. Indeed, the name of Go Gunhee was a must-have. So, until that time, he must….

"M-mm!" A pained moan leaked out of Go Gunhee. He grabbed his chest and the tidy shirt crumpled under his grip.

"President, take this…." The doctor brought along a painkiller pill and a glass of water.

"Thank you." He could just barely regain his bearings after ingesting the painkiller. It was then.

'Mm?' His phone issued a ring. But, he ordered no one to disturb him when his doctor was here. Go Gunhee frowned slightly and picked the phone up.

"I'm with my doctor at the moment." It was at this point that the urgent voice of his male PA came from the phone's speaker.

– "Apologies, President. But this news is too urgent, sir."

"Did the Japanese call again?"

– "They did, but this isn't because of that, sir."

Go Gunhee's brows quivered slightly.

'Bigger problem than the ants of Jeju island?' Just what could it be?

"Tell me what's going on." Before Go Gunhee's patience had the chance to run out, the PA replied just in the nick of time.

– "I just received a call from the Evaluation Division, sir."

"From the Evaluation Division? Why?"

The role of the Evaluation Division was to assign ranks to various Gates as well as to newly Awakened. Such a department wouldn't be a likely candidate to cause much trouble.

'Or, could it be….?' Did they make another blunder with assigning a Gate's rank? Thinking back to the debt he had to owe the White Tiger Guild not too long ago, Go Gunhee's expression crumpled a little. But his unhappiness lasted only for a short while. The news conveyed by the PA easily exceeded the scope of 'problem' Go Gunhee had been expecting.

– "Just now, the Evaluation Division had an Awakened who couldn't be measured appeared, sir."

***

"The President of the Hunters Association, Go Gunhee??" 

Did I hear that right? Jin didn't doubt his own hearing. He could hear the sounds of wing flapping of a fly. A man often referred to as the most powerful Hunter in South Korea wanted to talk to him and chased him all the way to this hospital??

'Isn't it too soon….'

Just as Jin stood there not wholly convinced, Woo Jin-Cheol pointed behind him, further driving the point home.

"Yes, the Association President is here." Woo Jin-Cheol looked a bit anxious as he waited for Jin's reply. The carefree expressions of Esdeath told him she doesn't care and will follow him.

He knew just by the footage he saw of them together and how much time both were inside, yet Esdeath didn't do anything, just stood behind him. Which is both good and bad for him - at least someone could control a woman who could be dangerous for them. While it also told that if they are together, nothing could stop them.

Jin knew why someone like Go Gunhee was looking for him. While he was planning to meet the old man as his presence assured peace in Korea, so Jin was thinking of doing some favors for the old man.

And why the meeting so soon? He could think of the result of the rank reassignment test he took… and Esdeath who nearly ended this country.

'Of course, they want to lure me into signing with the Association?' However, the Association was a non-profit organization. Its President wouldn't necessarily show up with the top agent from the Monitoring Division in tow just to headhunt a lone Hunter.

"Okay, show me the way." Jin agreed, and so did Esdeath. She nodded again, showing a clear sign that she was following him. Woo Jin-Cheol formed such a bright expression that the anxiety of a second ago seemed like a lie long forgotten.

"Thank you very much!" His voice sounded incredibly earnest just then. 'This ahjussi with that stonewall of a face can also form such expressions, huh.' Jin was inwardly surprised as he and Esdeath followed after Woo Jin-Cheol.

When they walked past the corner, he could see an old man sitting in one of the waiting room's chairs. 'So, that must be….' Jin, without any hesitation, looked at the old man as Esdeath followed his line of sight.

The heaven above heaven. The S-rank Hunter Go Gunhee, also known as the sky above the sky.

After discovering both young hunters who caused chaos not only in this country but the whole world with just a move, between Jin-woo and Esdeath, Go Gunhee stood up from his seat.

"You must be Sung Jin-Woo, Hunter-nim. And following behind you must be Miss Esdeath."

He might be over 80 years old, but his physique was still quite impressive. Indeed, his size reminded one of either a retired pro wrestler or a traditional grappler.

However, he didn't emit any of the overbearing aura one might expect from someone like that. 'That's surprising.' Judging from his appearance or his status, Jin expected him to be a bit of a douche, a stuck-up sort, yet the entourage accompanying that man carried scarier expressions instead.

"Yes, I'm Sung Jin-Woo."

"Mmm," Jin replied. Esdeath just made some sounds while nodding, acknowledging his existence. Go Gunhee extended his hand for a handshake with a bright face.

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, both of you, the strongest of the generation. I'm Go Gunhee."

The two men shared a short handshake. Go Gunhee pointed towards the chairs in the waiting area, already rearranged in a way that those sitting there would look at each other.

"Why don't we have a chat after taking seats?"

"Thank you." Jin-Woo sat down first, and Go Gunhee too parked himself on the opposite chair.

As he looked at Esdeath and saw that she wasn't sitting, no, she just stood behind him. This caused him to be dumbfounded. Jin and Esdeath inadvertently caught the glimpse of a golden badge pinned to Go Gunhee's jacket. This man currently served as a member of the National Assembly, and at the same time, as the President of the Association as well.

'And a rank S Awakened on top of that, too.' Go Gunhee wasn't someone anyone could meet just because they wanted to. One couldn't even count the number of people who wanted to speak to this man, be they giants of the financial and political world or bigshots from other countries.

And now that he thought about it… 'After Choi Jong-In, it's the turn of Go Gunhee, isn't it?' Just in one day, he ran into two men who could proudly boast the title of the 'best,' in a row. ….Even though he wasn't officially confirmed as a rank S yet.

Go Gunhee began speaking.

"I'd like to congratulate you on becoming the newest rank S Hunter. So does Miss Esdeath."

Jin tilted his head.

"But, the result of the reassignment test hasn't come out yet. She is not even a hunter yet; heck, she doesn't even have her hunter license."

Go Gunhee shook his head immediately.

"Actually, the test itself does not have much meaning."

"Excuse me?" While Esdeath formed a confused expression, Go Gunhee was forming a gentle smile as he finally saw some expressions on her face.

"The truth is, the so-called precision measuring device is used to draw a finer line on the level of one's powers. It's not designed to sense something that has already exceeded the scope of other devices' measuring capability."

"Then, how come…."

"Do you wish to ask me why we created another process called re-evaluation?"

Indeed, she did want to ask that. If the end results were going to be the same, then why go through yet another cumbersome process and waste her time, the precious time she could spend with her hubby?

Go Gunhee answered in a rather straightforward manner.

"It's because we were looking for a grace period."

'A grace period…?' Even before Esdeath could ask what he meant by that, Go Gunhee spoke up first, looking somewhat embarrassed.

"It's to create an opportunity where we can meet and speak to someone like you, Mr. Song, or you, Ms. Esdeath, Hunter-nims."

"….Ah." Listening to the Association President, Esdeath finally figured it out.

"As you may well know, there aren't that many excellent Hunters in the Association, like Division Chief Woo Jin-Cheol here, compared to our size."

That was because of the large Guilds.

"And that's because of the large Guilds." But, of course. Jin nodded his head, as he knew the whole story. He wanted Esdeath to know something and introduce both.

"Signing up with a large Guild guarantees you fat salaries and fame, so who would want to come and work for the Association?"

The salaries for the Association's Hunters weren't small by any means. But then again, when compared to what one could potentially be earning by working for large Guilds, the salary was pitifully pathetic.

It was the same story regarding fame, too.

"There are some people who can recite the names of every member of a large Guild's main raid teams. But, you will have a very hard time trying to find someone who knows the name of our Division Chief Woo Jin-Cheol."

Hearing the term 'members of the main raid team', Jin recalled the rank of A Hunter Kim Cheol.

His Perception Stat allowed him to grasp another's capability. From Jin-Woo's perspective, Woo Jin-Cheol was definitely a level higher than Kim Cheol.

'They both might be ranked As, but the gap in their skills is pretty obvious.'

Jin-Woo took a deeper look at Woo Jin-Cheol. Perhaps finding the praise of the Association President and the gaze of Jin-Woo burdensome, Woo Jin-Cheol lowered his head, looking a little flushed.

'But, then….'

If Kim Cheol had made his debut as a Hunter without meeting that 'accident', then he'd have made a lot more money and become much more famous than Woo Jin-Cheol.

That was the difference between a Hunter working for the Association and someone signed to a large Guild.

"And so, we came up with a plan in case a truly exceptional Awakened decides to visit the Association."

So, that would be the re-evaluation test, then? 'Well, sure…..' If the result of the evaluation was publicly made available and was spread everywhere, would the Association have the chance to make an approach like this? It certainly made sense.

"I won't beat around the bush and get to the point."

Before anyone had noticed it, that warm smile was no longer visible on the face of the Association's President.

"We're not a corporation, so we can't promise you lots of money. However…."

Go Gunhee touched his chest area before extending his fist that was gripping onto something.

"However, we can help you in a different way. Both of you."

"I don't quite understand…..?"

"What I'm saying here is that we can help guide you, Sung Jin-Woo Hunter-nim, and Esdeath Hunter-nim, down a very different direction."

His clenched fist slowly unfurled. On Go Gunhee's palm, a golden badge gleamed brightly.

'Political power….. Is it?'

Even after that, Jin's facial expression didn't change as he knew this was coming. On the other hand, Esdeath was an expert at poker face.

"I still don't quite understand."

"Pardon?"

"Is there a reason for you to go this far for me? For her? For us?"

That was a valid question. A certain glint flickered in Go Gunhee's eyes as he continued to gaze at Jin.

Encouraged by Esdeath's behavior, he started to wonder. 'To think, this young man can still calmly ask what's on his mind, without being scared by my background, nor influenced by potential benefits right in front of his eyes…. And to think a young lady like her could so bluntly ignore my existence…'

Definitely, a situation he never encountered. ….Was I in too much of a rush? Why is she behaving like that? Didn't someone once say this? 'Patience decreases with age.' That concept certainly wasn't wrong.

Go Gunhee suppressed his smile and continued on.

"You know about the five Guilds, yes?"

How could anyone not know of them? Jin silently nodded his head. So does Esdeath, as she did her research. 

Which caused both men from the association to sigh as at least she is following along with the conversation…

"Currently, you'll find that in South Korea, the heads of five large dragons are locked in a delicate balance."

Around the capital, the Hunters, the White Tiger, and the Reapers. And in the countryside, the Shining Star and the Knight Order.

"I am sure both you and Ms. Esdeath will enter the same guild. And if you both decide to enter one of the five Guilds, it doesn't matter which one, the delicate balance will shatter and everything will change."