Chapter 65: Pied Piper, Invoker of Curses (1)

On December 24th, after subjugating the Awakened criminals who raided a department store, Kim Ki-Rok returned to the main headquarters of the Hunters Association in Seoul with the Hunters who had participated in the operation.

Vrrr. Vrrr.

"Hmm?"

"Is that a call from a guild?"

"No, it's not. But the number does look familiar," Kim Ki-Rok replied to one of the Hunters.

"Wait... Could it be those Awakened criminals?"

The Hunters on the bus, who had been listening in, gave questioning looks. One of them who made the guess quickly defended himself. "No, you see, Guildmaster Kim Ki-Rok provoked the Awakened criminals quite a bit."

"Ah... right..."

It truly had been the sort of provocation that would make even the Buddha lose his temper.

It was common knowledge now that Kim Ki-Rok had significantly contributed to subduing Ma Ak-Soo. On top of that, the Awakened criminals had just suffered another tremendous loss at the hands of Kim Ki-Rok. And it wasn't just one group—multiple organizations of Awakened criminals had all suffered at the hands of one man!

"

He! He! He!

" Kim Ki-Rok just let out an eerie chuckle. "Do you know something?"

"Er... I'm not sure."

"Oh? I didn't even say what it was yet."

The Hunter who had inquired about his call earlier was laughing awkwardly, while the others on the bus snickered like they were watching a comedy routine.

"Here's the thing about crazy people."

"Excuse me?"

"You shouldn't mess with them."

"R-right... you don't provoke a crazy person."

"Precisely. But imagine that madman also happens to have a skill called Discernment, which lets him read a person's name and ability... and he has a wide network of connections that can dig up all sorts of personal info. What should you do about someone like that?"

"If it were me, I'd avoid him at all costs."

"You'd never want to get involved with him," Kim Ki-Rok reiterated.

The others who were listening in to the conversation nodded in agreement.

"There's no reason to poke a hornet's nest," one of the Hunters said.

Another one scoffed. "Those criminals have spent their entire lives on the run, anyway."

"Rather than endure what is to come, wouldn't they just give up and run if they knew that Guildmaster Kim had intervened in their affairs?"

"Although DG Guild may be mid-sized, they've got a solid foundation, so retaliating against them would be difficult."

"Not to mention their good relationship with the Shine Guild and the Golden Lion Guild. The Association is also interested in him because of his intel."

The Hunters on the bus continued to converse between themselves.

If the criminals tried to retaliate but failed to finish the job in one blow, they'd be the ones who got wiped out in the end. If Kim Ki-Rok found out about their identities, that information would spread worldwide.

The two guilds on good terms with DG Guild would join the chase. The Association, which highly valued his Discernment Skill—and, by extension, his intelligence-gathering prowess—would bolster its Criminal Pursuit Team.

"Well, for those reasons, I doubt any Awakened criminals will directly make DG Guild their enemy. They've already seen how formidable my intel skills are," Kim Ki-Rok said.

With that, the Hunters whom he had fought side by side with felt more at ease.

Vrrr. Vrrr.

His smartphone was still buzzing away.

"Aren't you going to answer it?" Min Gwang-Cheol lightly nudged him. If someone was trying so persistently, it must be an important call.

"I suppose I should." Kim Ki-Rok tapped the answer button, then switched the call to speaker mode.

"Huh?" The Hunters inside the bus all stopped in mid-conversation.

"Hello."

—Apologies for calling so late at night.

A faint, elderly voice came through the phone.

"Not at all. Hello there, Honorary Chairman Yoo Jin-Man of the UK Group."

The other Hunters went wide-eyed, looking back and forth from Kim Ki-Rok to the phone in disbelief.

***

Silence fell inside the vehicle.

—

Ahem...

It sounded like Honorary Chairman Yoo Jin-Man was the first to gather his composure.

Kim Ki-Rok addressed the elephant in the room. "If you want to ask how I know your personal number, not the publicly listed one, I'm afraid it's a bit difficult to explain."

In truth, it wasn't difficult at all. He had simply memorized it from his time doing business before he became an active Hunter, but there was no neat way of clarifying that now.

Yoo Jin-Man hesitated before responding.

—It seems your intelligence network is truly impressive, just as the reports say. Alright. It piques my curiosity, but since you said you can't explain it...

On the contrary, the Honorary Chairman sounded more impressed than alarmed.

"Thank you, Honorary Chairman Yoo Jin-Man."

—No need to be so formal.

"So then, did you call because you plan to replace the department store's president?"

The older Hunters in the bus nearly had heart attacks upon hearing how casually he spoke to such a bigwig executive. Meanwhile, the younger Hunters watched in awe.

—

Hahaha.

No, it's not that.

"Really? You're not replacing him?"

—Indeed not. Suddenly swapping out a company president is quite a difficult task.

"Yoo Tae-Sung," Kim Ki-Rok said abruptly.

—Guildmaster Kim Ki-Rok?

"He's thirty-two years old. Been married three times, divorced three times. Well-known for...

tsk...

let's just call it his

affairs

with famous female models."

—What? That bastard is still...

hrm!

Apologies. Please, continue.

"Hunter department stores make so much money to the point that Awakened criminals are willing to target it. As it stands now, it's way too easy to skim a little off the top."

—What do you mean?

"I'm saying that because the store's so profitable, theft and embezzlement are a breeze. But the main problem is that the manager in charge, the one running the place, is a total scoundrel. Actually, worse than that. A complete scumbag."

The Hunters listening made horrified faces. It was one thing to speak bluntly in private, but to fling direct barbs like this at a megacorporation chairman who could hire any Hunter he wanted with his wallet alone was... bold, to say the least.

Kim Ki-Rok continued, "I don't know who this giant rascal is currently dating, but he seems to have caught a 'business bug.' Problem is, he copied the project that Il-Sung Group had already started."

—W-what?!

"He's going to crash and burn. On top of that, unscrupulous managers are already running rampant skimming funds. The store's profits, which were already falling, will likely be cut in half."

—That's just speculation. For all we know, it might succeed.

"It's already failed."

—Pardon?

"I know you've been off fishing or camping and haven't paid much attention to the group..." Kim Ki-Rok gave a wry laugh, then, noticing silence from the other end, spoke again. "You can check for yourself. You'll see revenue's already been cut in half. Your department store is still clinging to second place in the rankings, but they've brought in another new 'project' that I've heard about. Not just the stolen concept from Il-Sung Group—there's a second one, too."

Another pause.

—Do you know what project it is?

"Yes. Do you happen to remember I.V. from England?"

—You mean Iron Voice?

"Yes. Do you remember the company's internal procurement project they were working on?"

—Wait... You can't mean...

"Yes. He is trying to copy that idea."

—That son of a...!

Back in England, Iron Voice had operated a Hunter department store of its own. It had once been the third-largest but aimed to jump to the top spot with an overly ambitious initiative—only to fail miserably.

The project was about the internal procurement of raw materials. They would monopolize a Gate to gather raw materials themselves, produce equipment in-house, and sell those products directly, boosting their net profits. They recruited Hunters with technical skills, negotiated with the Association to monopolize a particular Gate, and so on.

On paper, not a bad plan. The problem was that a Hunter department store earned most of its revenue by partnering with workshops and selling the goods those workshops produce.

Iron Voice, in an attempt to hire more technical Hunters, effectively poached them from the very workshops that had contracts with them. The outraged Hunters who owned these workshops not only refused to sell to Iron Voice but blacklisted them.

That wasn't all. Iron Voice had assigned only the Hunters in their company to protect the civilians who collected materials at their Gates.

Initially, the civilians thought it would be okay because the company was paying them a generous hazard allowance. But to reduce costs, Iron Voice never hired from outside guilds for additional protection.

Monsters weren't exactly a problem because they had monopolized Gates with low-level monsters, prioritizing the safety of civilians as well as long-term supply of materials.

The problem arose with Awakened criminals.

Although there wasn't a high-level requirement to enter the Gates, they were filled with various precious metals. When the Awakened criminals confirmed that the company had not signed any contracts with other guilds, they attacked the Gate.

"Well, I'm sure you're well aware of how that fiasco ended. But ironically, while they studied the failures, some diligent employees revised the plan and tried to salvage it. Meanwhile, the 'scumbag' boss of that store doesn't have a clue."

—Then, there might still be hope?

"The problem is that the rascal cut ties with the Iron Guard Guild."

—Arrgh!

As soon as the UK Hunter Department Store saw that the Iron Guard Guild had made it to A-Class, they severed their contract on the spot.

"Even if the employees persuade that troublemaker to prepare for the threat of Awakened criminals by hiring a guild, that so-called boss is sure to go for a B or C-Class guild instead, to cut expenses."

—Our strategy team can try to talk some sense into him.

"They might. But thanks to the store's halved net profits, there's not much money available. Not enough to hire an A-Class guild, that's for sure."

—Ah...

"Yup."

—So we're broke. Our department store... we've got no money left.

"That's right. None."

Even if the employees worked hard to persuade the rascal, it would be no use.

They were broke.

Not only was the UK Hunter Department Store on the verge of bankruptcy due to the failure of an ambitious project that halved their net revenue, but its executives were also embezzling money undetected by the incompetent CEO. The lack of funds forced them to contract with B-Class guilds to cut costs, yet the senior executives still pocketed the remaining funds after the reductions.

"Well, let's say that an A-Class guild wants to build a relationship with the UK Group and take the contract at a loss."

—Yes. Let's say that.

"Where will you find the technical Hunters?"

—What about independent craftsmen who aren't part of workshops?

"Let's see. On one hand, we have the Il-Sung Department Store that sells the work of a renowned workshop. On the other hand, the UK Hunter Department Store sells that of craftsmen who are newly graduated from their respective workshops..."

—

HAHHH!

"Well, let's go over everything. The rascal who owns the department store, a secret

friend

of many women, has gotten sick of business and turned into a troublemaker. The employees will work hard to clean up this mess that this fool somehow got himself into over the internet. And the higher-ups will continue to fill their pockets."

Another heavy sigh came from the speaker.

"It's an endless cycle. To recover their revenue to what it was before, they'll try to carry out projects, fail, move on to different ones, and fail again. All because of this giant rascal who won't listen to reason, the lower-level employees will write resignation letters while the higher-ups continue to embezzle company funds."

—

Ha, ha, hahaha...

"I doubt the UK Department Store can even make it to first place at this rate. It will most likely drop to third place if another one of their projects fail, and fourth place after another one..."

—Secretary Choi, bring me the blood pressure medication!

His worn-out yelp echoed throughout the bus.

One Hunter hurriedly covered his mouth to suppress a laugh, while another tightly shut their eyes and tried his best to recall a sad moment.

"And then there's that guy

sponsoring

his wo... Ah, nevermind. Anyway, we've gone through all the details now, so let me give you the quick summary."

—There's really no need for that...

"The scumbag who loves playing secret sponsor has evolved. Now he's a full-blown, business-obsessed scumbag."

—

Haah...

Let's leave it at that for now...

"Yes. You'll contact me again next time?"

—Yes. Once everything is settled, I'll pay you a personal visit.

"Understood. Oh, and..."

—There's more?

"Yes. There is." Kim Ki-Rok nodded, then slowly said, "Vice President Choi Tae-Gwang."

—What about him?

"Chances are, he's been arrested. The Hunters Association's Criminal Pursuit Team and the police have likely given him a visit by now."

—What?

"The reason the Awakened criminals targeted UK Hunter Department Store was not just because they had security contracts with B-Class guilds."

The elderly Yoo Jin-Man, pushing seventy, went silent for a moment. Then his mouth opened again.

—Fuck.