Chapter 64

Chapter 64
## Chapter 64: The Midday Sellsword

The specialized bayonet had been fixed on my position for a grueling quarter of an hour. During that window, Jeong No-hun hadn’t let up for a second, maintaining a relentless barrage of gunfire. It was only when the blade finally ran out of kinetic energy and clattered uselessly onto the tiles that I ran a hand through my hair to steady myself.

“Whew. That was actually a challenge.”

“And that’s my limit. I’m throwing in the towel. Hunter Yoo Chan-seok, you really are the freak of nature everyone claims.”

Taking a long, stabilizing breath, I turned my gaze toward him.

“It looks to me like you’ve still got the stamina for three more volleys at that intensity. If you’ve got the spark, come work for me.”

Despite his ragged breathing, a sharp smirk pulled at the corner of his mouth.

“You’re aware of it, aren’t you?”

He had suddenly dropped the formal honorifics.

“Aware of what? That the knife sitting on the floor still has enough juice to fly back up?”

The discarded bayonet was still pulsing with residual mana. It definitely had one more lethal strike left in it.

Jeong No-hun fell silent at my observation.

“Next time, just go for it. Don’t telegraph your moves with small talk.”

Honestly, who announces their intent before a surprise attack? Jeong No-hun let out a dry, disbelieving chuckle and stared at me.

“A Rank-1 Erosion Core? I haven’t even dared to touch one of those yet. And you mentioned this crew you’re putting together isn’t part of the Academy.”

“Think of it as an apprenticeship of sorts.”

There is a fundamental psychological gap between a student and an intern. Both are there to learn, but one gets a paycheck to be taught, while the other pays tuition for the privilege. The perceived worth is night and day.

Of course, that’s the theory behind internships. I’m well aware of how they usually play out in the real world.

Regardless, I had successfully reeled in one candidate. I was aiming for a lean, high-performance unit anyway. Identifying one talent out of three hundred Hunters wasn’t a bad harvest, especially since it hadn’t cost me a cent.

“Just so we’re clear on one thing from the jump: if the price is right, I’ll do literally anything.”

I leveled a flat stare at Jeong No-hun as he made his declaration.

“Anything?”

He gave a firm nod.

“People usually call me ‘The Midday Thing’ behind my back.”

“That’s quite the reputation.”

His grin didn’t waver as he pushed further.

“Put simply, if someone offers me a fatter stack of cash than you do, I’m gone in a heartbeat.”

“I’m trying to figure out why you’re being so transparent about being a mercenary.”

“So you don’t have any room to act surprised when it happens.”

I clicked my tongue dismissively.

“I’ve heard there are some stray cats living in the Association’s lower parking garage. Some kittens, too.”

“What about them?”

I balled my right hand into a fist, extended my thumb, and jerked it toward the floor.

“Go slaughter the lot of them. Decapitate them and bring the heads back to me.”

Jeong No-hun let out a short snort of derision.

“Why are you acting like that’s some impossible task? Fine, whatever you say.”

He began to shift his rifle back over his shoulder. I watched him for a moment before letting out a smirk.

“Why keep up the act? You’re not actually the type who’d do just anything for a buck.”

He froze mid-step and looked back.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“People who are truly soulless about money don’t react the way you just did.”

His gaze turned a bit colder.

“Is that so? And how was I supposed to react?”

“You should have asked me what the payout was first.”

A man who truly lived for the highest bidder wouldn’t agree to a job without negotiating the rate. It was a dead giveaway.

“You aren’t some ‘pay me and I’ll do it’ mercenary. You’re just playing the part.”

I reached out and gave his shoulder a firm pat.

“You’ve got a different objective entirely. Money is just the tool you need to get there. I don’t know your business, and frankly, I don’t care.”

They say for every hundred people, there are four hundred different reasons to chase wealth.

“Regardless, you’re on the team. Keep that in mind.”

Thinking it over, a long-range specialist was a necessity. I wield a spear, and Han Sang-ah is a swordswoman. Even if Lee Se-eun climbed aboard, she’d be swinging a greatsword.

Jeong No-hun could provide high-caliber sniper cover from miles away with terrifying precision. There was no reason to turn him away.

“What if I had…”

“Yeah?”

I handed him my contact details. He took the card and spoke up.

“…actually asked about the money? What would you have done then?”

“I would have just assumed you were exactly the greedy bastard you claimed to be. It wouldn’t have changed my mind.”

I would have simply adjusted his compensation to keep a money-motivated person loyal. You don’t let a talent like that walk away to the competition.

“But a person’s character matters, doesn’t it?”

I gave a short, mocking laugh.

“You remember I spent a significant amount of time in Europe, right?”

“Everyone knows that.”

It was common knowledge even before my recent return. My time in Europe only solidified my perspective.

“Those people used to be the loudest voices for culture, ethics, and social equity—all those high-minded concepts.”

I clicked my tongue and continued.

“Nowadays, most of those same Europeans would gut their pregnant neighbor just for a sack of compostable food scraps.”

And it isn’t because they are inherently evil or hypocritical.

“A person’s character is like interior design.”

If you can afford it, you make it look nice. You invite people over, they praise your taste, and you feel a sense of accomplishment in maintaining it. You change the wallpaper, you follow the trends, you remodel.

But it does absolutely nothing to help you survive the day-to-day grind.

The moment the money runs out, the decor is the first thing you abandon. Personality and home styling have that in common.

“So, you think character is just a fake facade?”

I looked at Jeong No-hun with a touch of annoyance.

“I never said I hated it. There’s nothing wrong with having a nice-looking place if you have the resources to keep it up.”

The guy really lacked any sense of nuance.

“I try to be a decent, moral person when I have the luxury of being so. When the situation turns desperate, I drop the act.”

People who cling to “character” and “morality” while they are literally starving to death? Those are the ones who truly terrify me. They’re no different from some lunatic who tries to save a plastic mannequin while a nuclear bomb is falling.

“What about the pay?”

He finally asked the question. I grinned.

“There it is. You get paid for your output. Our focus is strictly on neutralization of Erosion Cores, so the bulk of the revenue comes from harvesting monster parts and collecting Core rewards.”

And I intended to distribute the earnings fairly.

“I assumed these types of setups usually paid based on performance brackets,” Jeong No-hun remarked after listening to the breakdown.

“I figured I’d end up taking too much of the pie if we did it that way, so I’m being generous. Don’t mention it.”

He muttered a quiet “I see.”

“It turns out you’re the kind of guy who traded all his luck for raw talent.”

“If you’d prefer a flat salary, we can negotiate that.”

He shook his head immediately.

“I said you were unlucky, not that you were wrong.”

I looked him over one last time.

“Tomorrow morning, 9 AM, Training Hall 207 at the Association. If you’re in, be there.”

“Tomorrow already?”

I nodded.

“At your current performance level? You won’t stand a chance.”

“That’s a bit harsh… you’re hurting my feelings.”

Jeong No-hun put on a theatrical display of being wounded, clutching his chest with a pained expression before giving me a thumbs-up.

“See you then.”

He walked off. Han Sang-ah watched his retreating figure before turning to me.

“His technical skills are a bit lacking.”

“It’s fine. I can train him up. Are you worried he’s going to overtake you?”

She shook her head.

“I’m just hungry. I haven’t had a real meal since the Donghae incident.”

“You had the ramen and kimbap your grandfather picked up.”

“The chaos cut that short. There’s an Oduak branch in the Association building. I want to eat there.”

Now that she mentioned it, I realized I was starving too. As Han Sang-ah and I started toward the exit, someone hailed us from a distance.

“Hunter Yoo Chan-seok!”

I turned to see Choi Seung-gi from Daebak Scrap Dealers. He was dressed in a sharp suit and was waving his arms with frantic energy.

“President Choi Seung-gi.”

“Man, you are harder to find than a needle in a haystack. I’ve been camping out in this Association building for days.”

He stopped to give a deep, respectful bow to Han Sang-ah.

“Ah, this is our first meeting. I’m Choi Seung-gi of Daebak Scrap Dealers. I’m currently under contract with Hunter Yoo Chan-seok.”

Han Sang-ah gave a polite nod.

“So you’re a business partner.”

At her words, Choi Seung-gi pounded his chest with theatrical passion.

“You bet! For Hunter Yoo Chan-seok, I’m willing to work myself to the bone, loyal to the cause—I’ll wear through my shoes for him!”

“So, what’s the occasion? I received the gear and the payment you sent over.”

He flashed a wide grin and pulled out an item.

“Well, after the two of you caused that massive stir, the news spread through Korea like a wildfire. There’s someone who is very eager to meet you…”

He held out a business card.

“Sa Seung-hee?”

“The founder of the Oduak franchise. She manages the flagship location personally.”

Han Sang-ah seemed to recognize the name. Oduak’s main hub was located in Ikseon-dong, Jongno. It was a high-end cafe chain exclusively for Hunters—members only, with a limit of three guests.

Choi had managed to secure a membership for me previously. It seemed he had a personal line to this Sa Seung-hee.

“Why would she want to meet with Sang-ah and me?”

“I couldn’t tell you… Sa Seung-hee has a certain snake-like—pardon me, I mean she has incredibly deep intuition.”

A snake-like personality. I nodded anyway.

“She’s going to provide a meal, right?”

We were both famished. He nodded vigorously.

“The flagship Oduak is on a different planet compared to the others. Sa Seung-hee does the cooking herself—the ingredients are so fresh they never last more than a day because of the demand.”

The cafe operated from 8 AM to 10 PM, but the actual food usually sold out by the lunch rush.

“That’s no joke. My sister has been trying to headhunt her for four years to serve as a consultant for the F&B division at Seoul Artua Hotel.”

Four years of unsuccessful recruitment meant she was the real deal.

“Understood.”

I doubted she’d lure us in with the promise of food and then not deliver. Choi’s face lit up as he quickly made a phone call.

“Great, let’s move out.”

Choi began leading us toward the Oduak flagship.

“To be honest, hearing your interview back in Donghae really put my mind at ease.”

“If I started focusing on other things, Daebak Scrap Dealers would be in a tight spot.”

He laughed and rubbed the back of his neck. Scrap dealers make their living by processing valuable materials from the corpses of monsters inside Erosion Zones.

If the Hunter they’ve contracted stops entering those Zones? Their revenue stream vanishes.

“We just sit around hoping you’ll decide to clear one, or we have to come beg in person. That’s how I keep the lights on.”

“You don’t have to worry about that with me.”

“That’s a massive relief.”

As we talked, we made quick progress. Even though Korea was in a better state than most nations, private car ownership wasn’t as common as it used to be.

Seoul these days? In areas like Yeouinaru or Yeoksam-ro, you can easily hit 80 km/h without ever seeing a traffic jam.