CH 176 Promotion
If you haven't noticed yet then let me inform you the Harem chapter is out and I already uploaded the pics so go there and give some likes.
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Today's anime meme is here. [ ]
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'I don't give a rat's a*s about this Rhee Min-Seong or Rhee Min-Gun or whatever.'
Im Tae-Gyu flinched in surprise and took a step back when two rather terrifying glares landed squarely on him.
'What is up with these two b*stards all of a sudden?!'
***
'What's this? Choi Jong-In, and Baek Yun-Ho, too?'
Rhee Min-Seong grinned deeply.
He was already familiar with Chairman Im Tae-Gyu when they met during the signing of the contract.
Rhee Min-Seong signing up with the Reapers Guild, which had been criticized for being a shell of its former glory, while disregarding the country's top two Guilds, was a calculated move on his part.
'I mean, with this, I'll enjoy the image of someone willing to stand up for the underdogs.'
Crudely speaking, celebrities survived on their public image. And Rhee Min-Seong was really meticulous about maintaining his.
'The best Guilds in Korea are fighting over me….'
He wasn't thinking of carrying on this Hunter lifestyle for long, but still, that sight naturally made him feel even better about himself. Soon afterward, his manager entered the reception area.
"Min-Seong-ah, they say they are ready now. Let's go and do the press conference."
"Alright."
The manager took the lead. He opened the glass front entrance and allowed Rhee Min-Seong to emerge from the Association building; camera flashes exploded in a scary cacophony of endless shutter clicks.
Click, click, click, click, click….
As he would do every day, Rhee Min-Seong formed a fake smile towards hundreds of lenses surrounding him.
It was then.
*Vroom Vroom*
The high-speed car engine roared, its powerful sound reverberating through the Association's parking lot. A sleek LaFerrari, a symbol of speed and luxury, expertly slid into place between two high-end imported sedans. The stars had arrived.
With synchronized precision, both car doors swung open, revealing Jin and Esdeath, each clad in their iconic attire that demanded attention.
The paparazzi, still engrossed in capturing images of Rhee Min-Seong, scrambled to shift their focus to this new spectacle.
"It would have been much quicker if we walked," Esdeath remarked with a hint of annoyance in her voice as they strolled towards the Association's entrance.
Jin, with an air of nonchalance, replied, "It's not about efficiency or money... it's about sending a message."
As they approached, the commotion grew louder. Esdeath couldn't help but complain about the noise. Jin, amused, shot her a sideways glance.
"What did you expect when you're dressed like that?" he teased, his gaze raking up and down her figure as she sported her iconic General's attire. Her long sleeves adorned with buttons, a blue scarf gracing her neck, high-heeled boots, and a long rapier hanging elegantly from her slender waist all formed a striking ensemble.
Her lips curled into a sly grin. "Well, it's my first appearance in front of the whole world. While society may be advancing with its laws, let them be well aware of the boundaries. If they dare to cross those lines, they'll find themselves in a world of pain they never imagined. I'll paint the ground crimson with their intestines," she proclaimed with confidence.
Jin nodded in understanding. "Mmm, do as you like."
A possessive glint gleamed in his eyes as he added, "After all, I wouldn't appreciate it if anyone did more than just glance at my women."
Their entrance sent ripples through the crowd, and it was clear that this dynamic duo had made a memorable impression on the Association.
The entrance to the Association was swarmed with reporters and onlookers, creating a near-impenetrable wall of people. Jin and Esdeath contemplated their options, aware of numerous ways to circumvent this chaotic scene. They could have used 'Stealth,' effortlessly slipping past the crowd, or formed a breeze to part the sea of reporters. Even jumping over the throng was an option. They could have searched for a discreet back entrance.
However, they had scheduled their re-evaluation test weeks ago. Going through the back door to avoid the reporters felt unnecessary, especially when they cared so little about the obstacle before them.
With confident strides, they approached the tightly packed reporters. Murmurs and whispers filled the air as they moved closer.
Then came the shocking display. As Esdeath's heel touched the ground, a thin layer of ice began to form beneath her feet. It snaked its way toward the reporters, freezing the ground as it went. Instinctively, the reporters jumped back, fearing that standing on that path would leave their legs encased in ice. They couldn't comprehend what they were witnessing.
"What the heck was that?"
"Oii, what are they doing??"
"What the hell?"
"What's wrong with them?!"
"Who did that?"
"How did she do that?"
"Who are they?"
Confusion and disbelief spread among the reporters, deep frowns etching across their faces. In the blink of an eye, a clear path emerged in front of Jin and Esdeath. They walked upon the ice path created by Esdeath, which meandered through the dispersing throng of reporters.
As they approached the steps leading to the Association's front entrance, it seemed their ordeal was over. However, before they could take another step, a burly, muscular man abruptly blocked their path.
"Oii!!"
He was Rhee Min-Seong's manager. His eyebrows rose up as he growled menacingly.
"Who the hell are you? You work for the Association or something?"
Neither Jin nor Esdeath didn't bother to avert their gaze and met this manager's glare squarely, before shaking their heads.
'Huh? Would you look at these b*stard?'
The manager's thick eyebrows quivered.
"Can't you see all those reporters behind you?!"
Jin took a short glance at the reporters. They were all shooting them with unhappy glares. Even Jin could understand that they were trying to do a press conference here. However, it wasn't as if they had rented out the whole entrance, now had they? There were plenty of eyes watching, and Jin and Esdeath didn't particularly want to raise their voice here, so they were going to ignore this idiot and walk right by, but at that moment….
"Go back to where you came from. You can't go through here. Get lost, punk."
The manager blocked the path again and tried to shove Jin's chest away. The light in Jin's eyes changed immediately; more importantly, Esdeath's hand was moving toward her reaper.
Before the manager's hand could even come close to touching Jin, his hand moved and clutched the manager's wrist.
'….What was that?!'
The manager was taken by a huge surprise.
He was a melee-type rank D Awaken, and pushed this young punk away with the full intention of embarrassing him, but the guy didn't even budge from the spot as if his legs were nailed to the ground, and he did not only grab his wrist but also he felt he was free his hand from the young man's grip.
The manager had used enough force that would've injured a regular person greatly, breaking their bones. Jin also knew that fact very well.
"….."
That was why he wordlessly glared, and that alone was enough to gradually drain the manager's face of all color. As he tightened his grip on the man's wrist, causing him grime.
"What the heck? What's the matter with that guy?"
"What happened? Are they going to fight?"
Bustle, bustle…
The reporters present all sensed the atmosphere becoming rather strange, and they became noisy quite quickly.
Cold sweat was pouring out of the manager. But even that froze solid when he just glanced at Esdeath as he felt his life was swaying away.
If there was no one watching, he'd have conceded already and stepped aside. However, never mind the reporters, his employer Rhee Min-Seong was watching him from behind at the moment.
Rhee Min-Seong walked closer to the manager and whispered with a deep frown.
"Argh, hyung, what are you doing? Hurry up and get rid of this loser already."
"Uh, uh….. S-sure thing."
If he showed a shameful sight here, then he'd lose his job without a doubt. The manager's expression crumpled unsightly, and he raised his voice up high.
"You can't pass by here, so get lost already!" As those words came out of his mouth, Esdeath's hand moved with insane precision, as she just about swung her sword, but then came his life-saving grace.
"And just who said you can block the entrance like this?"
'Uh?'
The reply didn't come from the manager's front but from his back. The manager quickly spun his head around, as Esdeath's reaper returned to its place.
The Hunter's Association President Goh Gun-Hui stood tall in front of the glass doors, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
Which meant he came running here. So he either saw them on cameras or someone reported to him about them being here.
So he must have come running as soon as he heard the voices; he knew that idiot is going to get himself killed if he continued to stand in front of them. Even Jin won't do it, but Esdeath will definitely do it.
He had just seen her one time, but his very instinct told him she was a very dangerous woman who had plenty of blood on her hands.
The eyes of the reporters grew extra round. They were so shocked that they even forgot to operate their cameras.
"G-Goh Gun-Hui?!"
"President Goh Gun-Hui's here?"
The once-chaotic bustling atmosphere immediately cooled down with the entrance of someone completely unexpected. Goh Gun-Hui walked right up to the steps and spoke up.
"This gentleman and the lady are my guests."
And then, Goh Gun-Hui stared at Rhee Min-Seong.
"I hope you haven't forgotten who gave you the permission to hold a press conference in this place, Mister Rhee Min-Seong."
Rhee Min-Seong recovered his wits right away.
"O-of course, sir."
The first day as a Hunter, he falls out of favor with the Association President and loses the location of the press conference – Rhee Min-Seong couldn't afford to suffer such a humiliation when there were so many eyes watching him right now.
Rhee Min-Seong frowned and quickly signaled to his manager; the burly guy bowed slightly to them, Goh Gun-Hui, Jin, and Esdeath, and voluntarily stepped aside.
"Please, follow me, Sung Jin-Woo Hunter-nim. And Ms. Esdeath Hunter-nim."
Even until Jin and Esdeath disappeared into the Association building under the guidance of Goh Gun-Hui, the gathered reporters couldn't hide their confusion at all.
Noisy, noisy….
"What was that all about?
"Who were those, and why is the Association President personally coming out to greet them?"
"And what's up with those honorifics, especially with the beautiful woman?" Said one the reporters as they clearly heard how Chairman greeted them with honorifics, especially with Esdeath, not only getting "Ms." but also "Hunter-Nim" added to her name.
"Does anyone know who they are?"
Reporters felt frustrated and raised their voices, but there was no one answering them.
Rhee Min-Seong's expression stiffened right away.
A mysterious man and an extremely attractive woman cut through the throng of reporters, and then, the Association President Goh Gun-Hui, who came out to personally escort them into the building.
"How does President Goh Gun-Hui's schedule look like for the rest of today?"
"I hear he canceled everything for the morning."
"Are you telling me that the Association President canceled the whole morning's worth of appointments for that man and woman?"
Noisy, noisy….
This place had become too restless after those two men's and woman's sudden entrance, and the current situation was no longer suitable for holding a press conference.
But, just how much effort did Rhee Min-Seong pour into today's event? He shot a glare at his manager with an expression of a man chewing on insects.
'D*mn idiot of a manager who can't even take care of something so simple…'
The manager couldn't meet that glare and powerlessly lowered his head; now that Rhee Min-Seong had become a rank A Awakened, the manager couldn't even win against him in physical strength anymore. He had no choice but to cower accordingly.
'.....'
Rhee Min-Seong glared at his manager for a long time, before his head naturally spun towards his side.
"Cue!"
'D*mn it!'
Like throwing salt on the wound, the camera crew from the news stations was getting ready to leave. They were supposed to broadcast everything live. If this 'distracted' spectacle got on the airwaves and was broadcast to the rest of the country, then there was a good chance that all of Rhee Min-Seong's hard work to increase his brand's value by becoming a rank A Hunter would go down the drain for good.
However, the Association President Goh Gun-Hui's entrance caused too much of a ripple to calm the mood down and restart the press conference. Just why did someone so big have to appear at such an important time??
'Isn't there a way to reverse this situation?'
The quick-witted Rhee Min-Seong began kicking his brain into gear.
'Right. Only a big something can reverse a situation like this one.'
These reporters didn't come here because they wanted to find out about his feelings regarding the rank assignment test or some such. No, they came here to find out what the top star Rhee Min-Seong's Hunter ranking would be, as well as what his future plan was after he got his license.
If he gave them what they wanted, then everything would return to order.
'I should start the assignment test ahead of schedule.'
A sly smile formed on Rhee Min-Seong's face.
Indeed, his ability to come up with schemes on the fly, something others around him had already acknowledged him for, remained rather exceptional.
"Excuse me, everyone. Allow me to go have a quick chat regarding my schedule today with the Association's representatives."
Blurting out that nonsense to the reporters, Rhee Min-Seong then headed to the main Association building. It was not to 'discuss' the change of schedule but to 'declare' his intentions.
'I mean, do you have any idea how much my dad donates to the Association? The Association or not, they should grovel accordingly before me.'
Unfortunately…
'Huh??'
Just before he could push open the glass front door, Hunters from the Monitoring Division rushed out first, and he was pushed back instead. They stood in a line to block off the front entrance.
'What the hell is this now?!'
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Stones?
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone