Chapter 29

 

Suho hadn’t seen wrong.

He quickly checked the information on New Blood.

 

 

Suho’s eyes widened as he read the information on New Blood. This was truly a trait he had never seen before. Moreover…

‘This is a top-tier S-rank trait…!’

Unlike skills, traits don’t come with assigned ranks. However, the association often assigns ranks based on the skills or effects embedded within a trait. The fact that New Blood, which Suho had obtained, had S-rank effects—no less than three of them—was incredibly rare.

Suho proceeded to check the details of the effects granted by New Blood, one by one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

As he read through the descriptions, Suho couldn’t help but smile.

‘With options like these, it’s no wonder the seal on the Vampire Blood skill was lifted…!’

He then moved on to check the information on the unsealed Vampire Blood.

 

 

Suho’s eyes widened as he reviewed the information. It was slightly different from the Vampire Blood he was familiar with.

‘Royal Vampyr?’

The Vampire Blood that the Blood Emperor had obtained was rated A+. However, Suho’s Vampire Blood was ranked S+. Moreover, the words ‘Royal’ and ‘Original’ hadn’t appeared in the Blood Emperor’s version, indicating that the effect of New Blood might be responsible.

Suho then checked the information on the first stage of Royal Blood’s effect, ‘Original Vampyr,’ a special option in the Vampire Blood that could be gradually unlocked, similar to Dragon Blood.

 

 

As the flood of information poured in, Suho was a bit surprised.

‘Is it really this powerful?’

It was no wonder. He couldn’t recall the Blood Emperor’s Vampyr skill having such information.

‘Moreover, unlike me, the Blood Emperor was a Half-Blood Player whose race value had changed, yet my skill’s options are more abundant.’

He let out a small chuckle.

Having gone through regression, Suho thought he would only need to monopolize the existing S-rank skills. But things had turned out differently than he had anticipated.

‘It seems that as time goes on, the likelihood of not following my original plans increases.’

But that didn’t matter. Although things had diverged from his initial plan, the results were far better than expected.

Finally, Suho checked his status window.

 

 

The newly added category, Trait, was listed on his status window. Next to it, the name New Blood was prominently displayed.

Suho invested all his bonus stat points into Perception and then closed the window.

‘Time to head out.’

He had defeated the Cursed Prince and acquired the trait he had been aiming for. There was no reason to stay here any longer.

Suho began to walk out of the gate.

 

***

 

“So, you just let him leave?”

“…Yes, that’s correct.”

Inside the Korean Hunter Association building, Jung Cheol-min was being scolded by the vice chairman.

The reason?

Naturally, it was for failing to bring Suho in.

As Jung Cheol-min’s voice grew quieter, Vice Chairman Park Gyuman furrowed his brow.

“Team Leader Jung.”

“Yes.”

“I didn’t ask you to do something difficult, but you couldn’t even handle that?”

“…I’m sorry.”

“Sorry isn’t going to cut it. The chairman has already cleared his schedule to meet that young man. So no matter what, bring him in. Understood?”

“…Yes, understood.”

“Good, then I’m counting on you, Team Leader Jung.”

Even though his voice wasn’t raised, it was essentially a tantrum. Maybe that’s why…

As he left the vice chairman’s office, Jung Cheol-min felt a deep sense of frustration.

‘Should I just quit and join a private guild…?’

The frustration he felt at times like these was no joke. But soon, he shook his head.

Why did I join the Korean Hunter Association in the first place?

He had joined to work for the public good.

So he decided to endure once more and steeled his resolve.

At that moment, someone called out to him.

“Well, if it isn’t Team Leader Jung?”

The person addressing him informally was someone he disliked almost as much as the vice chairman.

It was Pi Seong-yeol, the head of the Special Division.

“Ah, Chief Pi.”

“I heard you’ve been having a hard time because of that Ahn Suho kid?”

Pi Seong-yeol.

He was the head of the Special Division and had held the position longer than anyone since the Korean Hunter Association was established. Like the chairman and vice chairman, he was an ‘Awakened Player’, not an ordinary person.

So, at first glance, he might seem better than the chairman and vice chairman, who don’t understand the way things work in this field…

‘But they say the devil you know is more dangerous, and that guy knows too much, which is the problem.’

That’s why Pi Seong-yeol was someone Jung Cheol-min disliked for entirely different reasons.

But dislike is dislike, and social etiquette is social etiquette.

Jung Cheol-min forced an awkward smile.

“Haha. Well, yes…”

But really, is it that the Special Division’s intelligence network is fast, or is it just that rumors spread quickly in this building?

How long had it been since the news got out, and he’s already acting like he knows everything.

As Jung Cheol-min forced another awkward smile, Pi Seong-yeol spoke in a subtle tone.

“So, how about it? Should I help you out?”

“Are you serious, Chief Pi?”

“Why make such a fuss about bringing one person in? Just slap a random charge on him, summon him for investigation, and bring him in. Later, you can just say it was a misunderstanding and let him go.”

Continuing in an excited tone as if giving his junior some valuable advice, Pi Seong-yeol added,

“And if you want to make it even more elaborate, you can frame it so that the chairman himself releases the guy during the investigation. That way, the whole situation wraps up nicely, right? I heard that guy wants to join the Korean Hunter Association too, doesn’t he?”

Disgusting.

How could anyone even think like that?

Jung Cheol-min forced a smile, visibly uncomfortable.

“Haha, your jokes are something else, Chief. But I’d rather not take risks by messing with someone like that… What if things go wrong…?”

“Go wrong?”

At that moment, Pi Seong-yeol’s expression hardened slightly, then he smirked and said,

“Team Leader Jung, you’re always so nice. Why should a civil servant be scared of some mere Hunter?”

“Haha…”

“I’m not joking. You know that we have the authority to investigate and prosecute players, right? There’s a reason why people used to be scared of prosecutors. So why don’t you start thinking a bit more flexibly? You’re a team leader of the Korean Hunter Association, after all.”

“Ah, yes. I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Good, try to think more flexibly, like me, rather than sticking too rigidly to the manual. Anyway, let me know if you need help. I’ll always be there for you, Team Leader Jung. Take care.”

After patting Jung Cheol-min on the shoulder a couple of times, Pi Seong-yeol entered the vice chairman’s office.

Jung Cheol-min stared at the closed door for a moment, then brushed off the shoulder Pi Seong-yeol had touched and moved on.

 

***

 

Morning came.

Suho stopped by his old apartment to gather his belongings and then headed to Kaiser Cheongdam.

It wasn’t difficult to enter his apartment. After all, he had the original key.

Jo Jin-hwi was busy, and they didn’t see each other again until morning.

“Good morning, Suho-sshi.”

“You’re up?”

“Yes, I’d love to sleep more, but there’s a lot of work at the office.”

“I know journalists are busy. But even with all the news I’ve been giving you, you’re still swamped?”

Jo Jin-hwi chuckled and replied,

“There are a few things I’ve been handling since before you offered to partner with me. And no matter how much I’m your partner, I can’t live off just your issues.”

This time, it was Suho who laughed.

Right.

This was Jo Jin-hwi—a person who, despite having been born into a good environment, never rested on his laurels and always sought out his responsibilities with a sense of duty.

Someone who was born on third base but didn’t mistake it for a home run.

Nodding, Suho said,

“That’s why I like you, Reporter Jo.”

“Oh, a sudden confession… So, what’s your schedule for today? I need to head out soon.”

“Today’s the day. The one I mentioned before.”

“The day… Oh, you’re going to Nexus?”

“Yes, and by the way, I hit level 50 last night and also got a new trait.”

“Pfff— What?!”

Jo Jin-hwi, who had been casually drinking water, spit it out in surprise.

He hurriedly wiped his mouth and exclaimed,

“Wait, you reached level 50 already? How long has it been since you left the Tower of Trials? Weren’t you level 40 when you left?”

“Technically, I’m level 51 now. Anyway, that’s how it turned out.”

“Damn… So, you’re really joining Nexus today?”

“I have to, if I want to move forward with the plan I told you about.”

“Incredible…”

It really was.

As Suho had told Jo Jin-hwi before, he planned to meet with Nexus officials today and join the Nexus Guild.

It wasn’t that he had given up on his goal of joining the Korean Hunter Association.

This was all just part of the preparation process to eventually enter the Association.

Jo Jin-hwi said,

“Then you’ll need to dress sharply today. Come here, let me lend you some clothes and a watch.”

“No, that’s okay. It’s not like I’m lacking the means to dress well, and if it were the kind of place that cared about appearances, I wouldn’t be going in the first place.”

“Haha, fair enough. Do you need a car? With so many eyes on you, it might be better than public transport or a taxi.”

“Ah, that’s true. I’d appreciate it.”

And so, the two prepared to head to work together.

 

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T/N: Cheol-min’s last name will be spelled as ‘Jung’ instead of ‘Jeong’ from now on. I’ll go back and edit the other chapters some other day.