Capítulo 240: Chapter 226
The White Tiger and The Black Tortoise Guild were rivals known throughout the country. They had similar numbers of Hunters, similar brand value, and their names were both derived from the Four Guardian Beasts, the White Tiger and the Black Tortoise. Because of this, the two guilds were always mentioned together. But this was truly unfair to the Black Tortoise Guild.
– Our guild was created a year earlier!
– And 'Black Tortoise' wasn't even from the Four Guardian Beasts.
– It's just taking 'Hyunmoo' – (in Korea meaning black turtle-snake) from Hyeonmoo Gang! We just named it after the guild master's name!'
– That's right.
It was just a straightforward name. But then one day, a year later a guy named Baek Yoonho left the Guild and established the 'White Tiger Guild,' named after himself. From then on, people started mentioning the White Tiger and the Black Tortoise together.
That's when the Black Tortoise Guild started having headaches.
– Friendly competition? That's not the problem. Competition between guilds is perfectly okay. The issue is Baek Yoonho.
'What? Baek Yoonho, that hypocrite, made another donation?!'
It was maddening. A new guild established a year after their own. They should just stick to hunting and making money. But the White Tiger Guild started doing too many good deeds.
Conquering unprofitable fields.
Rescuing low-rank Hunters.
Taking care of the miners' welfare.
As a result, the White Tiger showed a rapid growth rate and people started praising Baek Yoonho. So the Black Tortoise Guild was suddenly compared to them and criticized just because they had similar names. In terms of sales alone, the White Tiger could never beat the Black Tortoise Guild. Because they mostly did things that didn't make money!
On the other hand, their brand value was quickly surpassed. Even low-mid rank Hunters who had just awakened admired the White Tiger Guild and were eager to join them. As a result, their office was always overflowing with applicants, while the number of Hunters applying to the Black Tortoise Guild, which was only being criticized, gradually decreased. Then, when the White Tiger Guild announced that they would only recruit Hunters with beast transformation skills, the number of applicants to the Black Tortoise increased again, but that was also annoying to Hyeonmoo Gang. At that time, beast transformation Hunters were treated as half magical beasts and feared by the public, so Baek Yoonho's bold decision to embrace them personally gained him great favor with the people. It was only natural that the technically innocent Black Tortoise Guild was once again compared and became the subject of gossip. For these reasons, strictly speaking, the two guilds weren't on bad terms; it was a one-sided dislike from the Black Tortoise Guild towards the White Tiger.
"Baek Miho." Hyeonmoo Gang glared at her blocking his way, with displeasure.
"What are you trying to do?"
"What are You trying to do to Hunter Sung Suho?"
"I'm just making a recruitment offer to a new S-rank Hunter. And I'm offering very generous terms."
"Not a slave contract?"
"…Baek Yoonho." Hyeonmoo Gang's expression crumpled once again at the sight of Baek Yoonho, who appeared beside Baek Miho.
"Slave contract? What nonsense is that?"
"You know that better than anyone, don't you? There are rumors in the industry that the Black Tortoise Guild forces slave contracts on Hunters."
"Ha! That fake news…"
"Fake news? A 10-year contract. A huge penalty for leaving the guild. Can you confidently say that's fake news?"
Flinch. Hyeonmoo Gang's expression twitched momentarily at Baek Miho's words, but he stepped forward with an even more brazen look.
"There's clearly a confidentiality clause in the contract, but I guess there were some loose-lipped people. Yes, there are indeed such contracts. But what's wrong with that?"
"What?"
"It's a contract that the Hunters themselves decide on and sign. A penalty for leaving? So what? We gave them a huge signing bonus, so it's a natural clause, isn't it?"
"Natural? It's only been two years since the Cataclysm, how is tying Hunters down for 10 not a slave contract?" Suho scratched his cheek as he watched them fiercely bickering.
'…There's no room for me to intervene.' It was awkward. He had no intention of signing a contract with anyone anyway, whether it was the Black Tortoise Guild or anyone else. More importantly, Suho was more concerned with how many S-rank Hunters had gathered at the Association.
'…Don't tell me those five are all of them.' He needed the approval of five S-rank Hunters to go to North Korea. But only five had gathered…
He turned his head to look at Chief Director Lee Se-hwan, who had arranged this meeting. But he was busy talking with his subordinates, and only shook his head…
"Yes. It seems like this is all of them. The other S-rank Hunters are either in the middle of dungeon raids and can't be reached, or they've expressed their intention to decline because they're busy."
Indeed, it was rare for S-rank Hunters to gather in one place except for a reason like today. They were so busy that it was difficult to coordinate their schedules, and the opportunity cost was also enormous. And if a dungeon break occurred somewhere far away, who would take responsibility for the many civilian casualties that would result? So even in a case like today, only five S-rank Hunters responded to the Association's invitation.
"Still, consider yourself lucky that we managed to gather five. The problem is that everyone here has to agree for you to go to North Korea…" At Chief Director Lee Se-hwan's words, Suho looked at each of the five S-rank Hunters, excluding Baek Miho.
First, Lim Tae-Gyu of the Reaper Guild. He looked at Suho and asked,
"Suho, I don't see Dogyuun. Where is he these days? Don't tell me you took him to India too?"
"…He's been working hard at the gym these days."
"Oh, is that so? That's good. Moderate exercise is good for your health."
"Yes, of course."
It wasn't moderate at all, but having strong legs would certainly be good for his health. Thanks to the mummy bandages and healing potions, there was no need to worry about him dying.
"…" Still, Suho couldn't help but avoid Lim Tae-Gyu's eyes.
Anyway, the other four.
Baek Yoonho and Hyeonmoo Gang, who were busy having a staring contest. But it was the man and the woman behind them that caught Suho's eye. Seo Jinwoo of the Blue Dragon Guild. And Ma Dongwook of the Fame Guild.
"It doesn't seem like it will be easy, does it?" Lim Tae-Gyu spoke up from beside Suho, as if reading his mind.
"I guess not."
"Even if Baek Yoonho and I agree, the other three won't readily acknowledge you. We S-rank Hunters are rivals competing with each other for guild interests, and at the same time, we don't want another S-rank to go to North Korea and die." Lim Tae-Gyu crossed his arms leisurely and leaned against the wall as he continued his explanation.
"Aside from national prestige and security issues, if the number of S-ranks decreases, the rest of us will become even busier. You might be comfortable with your many summons, but we're so busy that we feel like we are dead on our feet… But asking seriously, just how did you get so many summons?"
"Well, it kinda turned out like this."
"Don't avoid the question. That's why I came here. If you answer that properly this time, I'll allow you to go to North Korea or wherever. Ah, on the condition that you don't take Dogyuun." Lim Tae-Gyu was a father worried about his son. Even while his son was currently on the verge of being killed by Ammut even before reaching North Korea. As they say: Sometimes ignorance is bliss.
"Anyway, to get the consent of all five people gathered here, you need to prove your strength, and you'll have to meet the demands they each present. If there were more people, it might be different, but since only five have gathered, you're at a disadvantage."
[My liege. Ignore the laws of these insignificant humans. There's also a way to sneak in by ourselves for the greater good.] Beru peeked out from beside Suho and whispered like a devil.
[You mustn't be tempted by such demonic words! If you get caught, Master will be put on the wanted list as an S-rank villain! Why don't you just kill everyone here and destroy the evidence? Shall I secretly stab them with a poisoned needle?] From the other side, Que, a former villain, peeked out and whispered like an 'angel'.
[The Queen of Insects, the Plague Monarch Querehsha, has her eyes gleaming.]
"…" Suho silently shoved Beru and Que back into the shadows.
Just then, Seo Jinwoo and Ma Dongwook approached Suho and spoke.
"Wow, who were those guys just now? I heard you're an S-rank summoner, are those your summons? They look similar to the black guys we saw in the Loktak video…? Don't tell me…!?" Seo Jinwoo, the representative of the Blue Dragon Guild, was a Hunter specializing in close combat, her whole body full of fighting spirit and muscles. She seemed to have stopped by after conquering a dungeon, fully equipped with gauntlets and armor stained with magical beast blood.
On the other hand, Hunter Ma Dongwook of the Fame Guild was a gentle-looking old man with a relaxed outfit, as if he had come out for a stroll, with no armor in sight. But the problem was his size.
"Huh. You're the new S-rank Hunter!" The incredibly large old man approached Suho with a kind smile. Then, he suddenly started touching his shoulders and arms in admiration.
"Oh! Your body is very firm! Excellent physique! Oh my, I apologize. I'm Ma Dongwook. I lead the Fame Guild in Honam." As he belatedly offered a handshake after abruptly feeling up Suho's body, he also greeted him and shook his hand. But…
"Nice to meet you. I'm Sung Soo…"
Squeeze.
"…?" Suddenly, Suho felt a tremendous grip from Ma Dongwook's hand. As he looked up with a puzzled expression, Ma Dongwook's eyes, looking down at him, were now filled with a playful glint.
"I was curious. Did you really blow up that huge magical beast with these delicate fists?" Unlike Seo Jinwoo, Ma Dongwook's only interest was strength. Although the black magical beasts, known to the public as a dungeon break, were debatable, the scene of Suho blowing up a giant magical beast like a balloon with one punch was broadcast live worldwide.
"Let's see if you can withstand my strength. That's my only condition."
Rumble! A mountainous pressure began to emanate from the gigantic S-rank Hunter who was gripping Suho's hand.
'This power… He's serious.' Suho wasn't fazed, as it was a similar situation to when he first met Thomas Andre.
'It's not like I haven't met one or two old men who liked to show off their strength.' Suho chuckled and asked Ma Dongwook,
"Is that really your only condition?"
'Oh? You can withstand this…?'
"Of course! If I send someone who can't even endure my level of strength to North Korea, how could I sleep at night… Ugh?!" Suddenly Ma Dongwook, who had been laughing heartily and putting even more strength into his grip, changed his expression.
"Ugh…!" Something shocking started to happen.
"…?!"
Baek Yoonho, Baek Miho, and Hyeonmoo Gang, who were in the middle of their staring contest, stopped talking and stared at them with wide eyes. Ma Dongwook gritted his teeth, his face turning red. He, who had started this as a joke, was now using his magic power to withstand Suho's strength. Then a calm voice asked.
"Chief Director Lee Se-hwan."
"Huh?!"
"Do you have an A-rank Healer at the Association right now?"
Lee Se-hwan, who was frozen in surprise, snapped out of it and hurriedly responded to Suho's words, "O-of course. Why?"
It wasn't common for S-rank Hunters to gather like this. And since they were always with those weaker than them who they had to protect. Things like this always happened at such gatherings. Establishing hierarchy, or sparring to evaluate each other's strength for training purposes. That's why Chief Director Lee Se-hwan had an A-rank Healer on standby for emergencies this time as well. For reference, such a person had the ability to regenerate even severed limbs.
"Then it's alright." A faint smile appeared on Suho's lips as he heard the answer. And…
Crack!
"…!" A silent scream escaped Ma Dongwook's lips.
PENSAMENTOS DOS CRIADORES 
Craftyprogamer
Craftyprogamer Edited by Fotnmc
1/8/25
Status de energia semanal
-- Ranking de
Poder 
-- Pedra de
Poder