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Chapter 193

Aaron Chester knew a lot about the fifteen-year-old boy in front of him. Born into no great family, an orphan. Just a few months ago, he hadn’t even awakened his mana, living the so-called life of a “mana-deprived” child.

The words of a kid who knew nothing about society. It was a statement that wasn’t even worthy of serious consideration. Naturally, he had to harden his face and leave this place. It was that rude.

Yet, Aaron found himself unable to swiftly reach a conclusion. Sitting in the quiet café, sipping coffee, he felt oddly out of place as he tried to sort out his thoughts.

‘Looks like I’m more frustrated than I thought.’

Aaron, defining his state this way, snorted quietly. He really had no idea what was happening right now.

What was supposed to be a simple apology for a rude letter sent by their guild leader had suddenly turned into a proposal for revolution.

The funnier part was that he was intrigued by the proposal. He had thought he just wanted to earn a decent living, but maybe he was someone with some ambition after all.

However, he had to approach this carefully. It could just be a casual comment. If he got too excited and dived in, it would only be himself who ended up regretting it.

“Surely, you have a proper way of handling this, right?”

“Of course.”

Contrary to the malevolent smile from earlier, Yeon-woo now wore a refreshing grin that made Aaron think, as expected.

Unlike the guild leader’s thoughts, a dragon contract couldn’t possibly be that easy. If you’re going to contract with a dragon, it seems one should at least manage to crack a refreshing smile while saying they want to ruin someone else’s guild.

*

It turned out that there were more guilds resembling the nobles than he expected. However, most of those guilds usually couldn’t even reach the scale of mid-sized guilds.

The reason was simple. Humans are greedy creatures. They always want their achievements recognized, and once recognized, they want to be treated accordingly.

This was also true for the Hunter Guild, akin to a labor dispatch company. What the guild could provide these individuals were promotions, benefits, and salaries.

What if someone thinks that their work doesn’t match their current treatment?

In a company, they might hesitate to change jobs, but the guild is different. There are headhunters constantly trying to snatch up talent from other guilds.

This means that from the guild’s perspective, the carefully nurtured hunters keep leaking out to other guilds. There’s no chance to climb higher, leading them to seek paths elsewhere.

Still, the reason nobles can cling to mid-sized guilds is largely due to Edward’s immense fame.

His outstanding treatment of heroes and their companions satisfies their thirst for recognition.

It seemed almost impossible to stir discontent among such people and weaken Edward’s standing. However, with just a little time, it could certainly become feasible.

What if they’re not able to feel dissatisfaction?

“Then you create an environment for them to feel discontent~”

Aaron looked at Yeon-woo with disbelief as he spoke these thoughts. It sounded like madness. With trust already in short supply, how could one create an environment for dissatisfaction?

“I’m not suggesting you lock them up and feed them pineapple pizza three times a day. Being a noble means that if someone is absent from the party chosen by the guild, they can’t go to the gate, right?”

“Yes, that’s correct. You know quite well.”

“Usually, those responsible are venerable, older veterans. That’s the nature of such guilds. The method is simple, Mr. Aaron. You have the authority to form a party. Use the excuse that I couldn’t finalize the contract, take a break from being a secretary, and dive back into the front lines.”

“…Oh ho.”

Aaron Chester nodded knowingly.

“So you’re telling me to give them a proper experience in the field. It feels a bit wrong to say this, but our guild’s party leaders can be quite harsh when it comes to managing people.”

“Exactly. The structure can only be maintained due to the guild leader’s charisma. If you’re in the gate where the guild leader’s eyes don’t reach, they’ll definitely lend an ear to you, Mr. Aaron, as their newly trusted secretary.”

“But wouldn’t I get fired for inciting dissatisfaction?”

“So if you successfully raise a certain level of discontent, you’d need to return to your position as a secretary right away. You’d say that it seems the younger generation has a lot of discontent nowadays and that it would be great if their rights were slightly pampered. If it doesn’t work out, that’s fine too. There are other methods.”

Aaron let out a snicker at that. What Yeon-woo was suggesting sounded quite simple. It was almost laughable how easy it seemed to chip away at the upper management’s influence.

The fact that he hadn’t thought of something so simple made him feel almost gaslit.

Or perhaps working as a secretary had dulled his perception of the current situation in the field.

“Alright, let’s give it a shot. I’m not really sure what you’d gain from this, though.”

“Are you sure? You seemed like the typical person who just wants to live life in a long, lean way.”

“Well, I do appreciate being raised to B-rank, but deceiving kids and signing unfair contracts is part of the truth too.”

Yeon-woo nodded as if he understood that remark. A B-rank hunter who had been through thick and thin was now stuck as an office worker out of necessity—it turned out he was a victim too.

He couldn’t speak up directly due to the contract, but this was his way of getting a little vengeance.

“If you’re asking what I’d gain… it’ll reduce some unwanted troubles in the future, right?”

“Haha, how modest.”

The two men shook hands.

*

Days passed, and unsurprisingly, other academies had come and gone in the meantime, leaving a pleasant air of relief in Harmony City.

Of course, Yeon-woo was different.

It was at that moment when he realized that the week he thought he would get a bit of a breather after the Harmony Festival melted away like snowflakes on asphalt.

He found himself in class, and with a soft thud, he slapped his forehead.

Of course, he didn’t neglect spending time with his family. Nevertheless, adding mandatory family time to his schedule meant less time available for other tasks—there was no escaping that.

‘Is this the weight of being a head of the household…?’

Yet, if shouldering that weight allowed the kids and Nea to smile, it was something he had to do.

‘Still, it’s pretty brutal…’

As he entered the second semester, the classes available to him had significantly decreased. He had cut back a bit recklessly since he could earn credits through practical experience. Still, several subjects were mandatory.

First up was training in unarmed combat under the Demon King, Hyuk Mu-ryeon. Although he could use a variety of weapons including swords, mastering martial arts with bare hands was essential.

To put it simply, his goal was to survive even if he was thrown into a gate stripped of all equipment.

The second was magic item creation. This was out of personal curiosity. If he could craft magic items himself, it would make things much more convenient.

While one might wonder if it was necessary to learn when Nea and Shar were there, talent due to dragon traits was one thing, but actually making items was another story.

Moreover, there was no guarantee that the knowledge they had was the same as that back on Earth, so some comparative analysis was necessary.

However, even though the class content had moved towards more serious topics, the day he could actually create a magic item still seemed far away.

The third was understanding artifacts. This was a fundamental course among general subjects. He picked this subject, believing that studying artifacts might someday prove beneficial.

There were a few other simple courses left, but they were of little import. When Yoo Ha-yeon saw his schedule, she remarked that she had never seen a first-year act so spoiled starting from the second semester, and she playfully tapped his head, but it didn’t bother Yeon-woo at all.

‘It’s time to focus now.’

His first target was to eliminate the rulers of the western forest before the first year ended.

Of course, he didn’t plan to go alone. Fortunately, his connections had widened, so there were a lot of people willing to support him in forming a party.

If he suddenly suggested going to clear out the western forest, it would be obvious that they would be startled, so he planned to share strategies and even arrange formations in advance.

The reason he suddenly decided to tackle the western forest was simple. Whether he was looking to see the evidence of the Sword Saint cleaving through dimensions or whatever else, he needed to step into the martial arts realm, which was categorized as a high-risk area even on Earth—and the conditions to enter it were quite stringent.

At a minimum, a recommendation from three or more B-rank or higher hunters was required, along with three or more magic countermeasures regardless of the type of equipment…

Amid such detailed and demanding regulations, what surprised Yeon-woo was that the B-rank hunter was the hardest milestone to reach.

It was great to occasionally drop by the guild to gather credits, but the promotion standards for C-rank had surged significantly, making it impossible for him to meet the criteria for B-rank or even C-rank simply by taking on requests in his spare time.

Seeing Yeon-woo let out a long sigh, Noel spoke in a warm voice, sounding concerned.

“Yeon-woo, you look tired.”

“Wouldn’t I be tired then?”

As Yeon-woo responded with frustration, Noel replied in a hurt and childlike tone while quickly slashing her sword. It was a speed too hard to perceive, but thanks to the distance, he managed to react just in time.

Even a mere touch against the blade sent a jolt through his palm and alerted him with a sense of danger. He barely managed to block the strike with all his strength.

When it came to pure speed and power, that strike surpassed even Namgung Seong.

Though he had successfully defended against it, the intense friction felt like his hand was about to catch fire.

“Your power and speed are great, but Noel, you’re still lacking in the intent to kill.”

Hearing Yuri’s cold comment made Yeon-woo want to shed hot tears.

Honestly, did Yuri hate him? After all, if he wasn’t trying to kill, she wouldn’t have had to block him like that.

“On the other hand, Yeon-woo, your defense has become quite solid. Your reaction speed is a bit lacking, so pay attention to that.”

“Well, even if you say that…”

Yuri’s sharp glare cut off any excuses that would escape Yeon-woo’s mouth. But he felt this wasn’t an excuse.

‘The opponent is a master who’s reached the realm; I’ve done well enough to react like this!!’

With a kind face, Noel giggled, following Yuri’s signal and gripped her sword once more.

Coincidentally, this seemingly pure-hearted hero, who had traveled the world while collecting all sorts of innocent bystanders, was a martial artist who had stepped into the realm of an aura master, two or even three levels above.

‘Even heaven is fickle. How could they give birth to both Noel and me…?’

Attempting to do chin-ups on an aura master’s dedicated iron bar at only fifteen years old was just monstrous…

This was the nature of Yuri’s lessons lately. A repetitive cycle of being thoroughly thrashed by Noel every day.

The most frustrating part was that he could realize he was indeed improving his understanding of swords. At this point, he could even claim to be at the mid-expert level.

Under the brilliant sky with the shimmering sword light, Yeon-woo had to constantly dart around, trying not to die. This too shall pass… or maybe it won’t.

(Continued in the next chapter)

 

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