81 Chapter 80 (1/2)

”Will you take responsibility if I get fired?”

”Excuse me? What are you even talking about?”

”You see, regarding the events of yesterday, the Association President issued a gag order. He even said that, if the identity of the Awakened in question gets leaked out, he will use whatever means necessary to find out who was responsible and harshly punish them.”

”President Goh Gun-Hui said that? But, he has never done anything like that before, so why now?”

”You think I know what's inside the Association President's head?”

”….”

”If that is all, I'm hanging up.”

”…..I'll call you again at a later date.”

Click.

And that's how the phone call ended.

The expression of Im Tae-Gyu, the Master of the Reapers Guild, wasn't good at all.

'What on earth is happening here….?'

When the leader of this large Guild heard the news that, after two long years, a super-powerful rookie had appeared, he immediately called his contact in the Association.

However, he didn't expect to hear this type of answer at all.

Taking responsibility after getting fired?

Who would be stupid enough to hire an ex-Association employee that got personally fired by none other than the Association President Goh Gun-Hui himself?

There was no guarantee the recruitment of the mystery rookie would be successful just because his identity was discovered, too.

'Finding out the guilty ones by any means necessary and punishing them, is it….'

Coming from Goh Gun-Hui's mouth, that sounded plausible.

'But then, why is the geezer doing something he has never done before? Maybe, he's finally gone senile?'

What had gotten into him?

To forbid everyone from leaking the identity of the mystery Awakened like this….

This was unprecedented.

Thanks to that, the Guild Master of the Reapers had no choice but to suck on his thumb and wait for the official announcement.

That wasn't the only thing he felt wronged about, though.

'Then, how did Choi Jong-In and Baek Yun-Ho find out and go there yesterday?'

Was it the difference in their spy networks?

Was this the sign of the Reapers influence waning even further?

If that powerful rookie appearing yesterday signed up with either the Hunters or the White Tiger, the already-widening gap between them and the Reapers would become impossible to bridge.

That was the current situation, yet that inexplicable gag order was blocking the Reaper's path.

'Could that geezer have a grudge with me from a past life or something??'

When Baek Yun-Ho decided to quit the Reapers Guild and created his own, the White Tiger Guild, it was precisely that geezer who helped facilitate the whole process and made sure everything went smoothly. The ensuing aftermath forced the Reapers off the position of the top Guild in the country.

Both the Hunters and the White Tiger were already so far ahead, yet the Reapers Guild was circling around in the exact same spot.

'I mean, isn't that enough by now? Can't you help out the Reapers at least once?!'

Suddenly, he began to resent Goh Gun-Hui.

Even then, he still found himself left with no tangible way forward.

Im Tae-Gyu could only anxiously stomp on the ground, feeling rather aggrieved over this development.

'I finished the Daily Quest.'

Feeling light-hearted, Jin-Woo began searching the internet.

There were two more days to the reassignment test. He decided to gather more information on the artefact trade during this time period, so he switched on his computer.

'Heok?!'

As he browsed through the available information on the auctioned goods, Jin-Woo's eyes grew wider and wider.

'….The minimum starts in the hundreds of millions, huh.'

Was that all? Items that looked okay to his eyes commanded an average of several dozen billion.

'Then again….'

To Hunters, good equipment was like their lifeline.

There was no need to even mention the obvious fact that using better, more expensive equipment made you safer.

Most Hunters made quite a bit of coin, and when given the chance to buy tools that would allow them to hunt faster and safer, was there a reason for them to hold back with their money?

Jin-Woo could understand it. Indeed, he could, but that didn't change the fact that he was taken greatly by surprise.

Seeing the pricing of various artefacts, he was getting more nervous by the minute.

'This… I don't think it'll be enough with what I have in the bank….'

He didn't find a defensive artefact designed to defend against flame-type damage, but it looked increasingly likely that the amount he had would not be enough to buy high-grade defensive equipment at all.

'And I thought that I had enough money now….'

That opinion was from the perspective of a normal person. As a Hunter, it fell far, far too short.

He had around 1.7 billion Won saved up in the bank. If he were to purchase artefacts he wanted, he definitely had to sell the 'Bead of Avarice'.

Now that he was the seller, Jin-Woo's expression rapidly changed.

'Needing a lot of money to buy an artefact means that I can sell my own artefact at a sky-high price.'

Click.

He moved the mouse and continued to search, until the list of the magical tools currently on sale appeared on the monitor.

'.....'

No matter how hard he searched, he could not find a single artefact that doubled the magic damage. The best ones he found had the enhancement of around 20~30 percent. And those artefacts boasted scarcely-believable asking prices.

'Man, these prices for the magic tools are no laughing matter, aren't they?'

When he thought about it, though, the boost of 20% was not small at all. Only the upper tier, no, the very best Hunters out there, would be able to afford such an expensive artefact.

However, with their already-excellent strengths being enhanced by 20%? The difference would be quite incredible to behold. The high-ranked Hunters knew this point as well, so no wonder they were prepared to shell out big bucks for them.

Actually, he could frequently spot the goods being on sale only a moment ago suddenly sporting a 'Sold' tag.

The '20%' artefacts were selling out fast like this, so….

'So, just how much should I sell this guy for?'

Gulp.

Jin-Woo swallowed his saliva.

Not too long ago, he didn't even dare to dream about touching an artefact. Not too surprisingly, he couldn't even begin to imagine how much money others were willing to pay for his artefact at the moment.

'That's why there's the thing called auction, right?'

He prayed that, when he put the Bead of Avarice up for auction, a suitable bid would be called out in the end.

With a satisfied smile on his face, Jin-Woo exited the auction information page.

According to his research, there was two obvious way to sell an artefact.

One, selling it via the official route. Or, sell it in the black market.

However, he had no way of approaching this elusive black market at all. Well, there was a limit to the information one could find on the internet, after all.

'I mean, if you can access it via a couple of mouse clicks, it shouldn't even be called the black market anymore.'

Besides, the Bead of Avarice didn't have any disreputable background anyway, so there was no need to go through the black market in the first place. The best available option was to let the artefact specialists handle the bead and sell it via auction.

Sure, there was the issue of taxes and commission fee, but this was still the best and quickest method that wouldn't produce any unnecessary baggage in the long run.

'So, the only remaining issue would be with me providing the information on where I've found this thing….'

A rank E Hunter showing up with a crazy artefact that shouldn't even exist in the first place.

Would anyone quietly accept that?

The Korean Hunter Auction House was a huge corporation that oversaw all transactions between Hunters. They would surely try to confirm and investigate every single suspicious detail they find.

'That is why I need my new licence.'

The new Hunter licence with 'rank S' nicely printed on it – he took the reassignment test solely for that licence.