Episode 40
The person Jonghyeon called was none other than Bori.
"Hello?"
Although they were master and disciple, it was the first time Jonghyeon had ever called Bori.
She would occasionally receive calls, but she deliberately pretended to be asleep or busy to avoid them.
Instead, they handled everything through messenger, and even while quite busy, he would meet her in person to correct her sword form.
The reason she avoided phone calls was simple.
"Master!!! It's been so long. What brings you to call me? What do you need me to do?"
This endless stream of questions.
From Bori's perspective as a learner, there was so much to absorb from Jonghyeon, and as a result, she would ask quite a lot of questions.
From information about dungeons to swordsmanship and personal matters.
And embarrassingly, since Jonghyeon had never properly exchanged words with a woman before, he was quite awkward in this regard.
But Jonghyeon absolutely never showed that side of him.
"It's nothing much. I have something I want you to do. It'll help you too."
"What is it?"
And so, the innocent Bori fell for Jonghyeon's suggestion and came to the front of Jonghyeon's house.
Jang Biseo officially announced that they would conduct tests based on the applicants who had applied so far.
"Please line up over here."
At Jang Biseo's shout, a considerable number of participants fell into line accordingly.
It was an audition where they even received numbered tickets, just like audiences entering a concert.
"This is my disciple. However, please understand that they are wearing a mask for security reasons."
The mask Bori wore was no ordinary mask. Normally, wearing a mask narrows one's field of vision.
There was also the risk of it coming off during combat, so it was an appearance-altering item commissioned from a mage.
Not only the issue of vision, but people also could not tell that the opponent was a woman.
"I will give priority to selecting those who win in a 1:1 match against my disciple. However, since it is a match, the use of all abilities except techniques is restricted. I am hiring a bodyguard, not an ability user."
That was ultimately Jonghyeon's judgment.
The swordsmanship of the Cheonwon Simje was incredibly strong and sharp. It also had defensive aspects and was a martial art capable of flexible response.
Setting aside monetary value, it could be said to be a martial art close to first-rate.
And recently, Jonghyeon had taught Bori starting from stance again, familiarizing her with the Cheonwon Simje swordsmanship.
Although Bori was merely a prospective Hunter in the Hunter department of a university, even Jonghyeon thought her talent was beyond imagination.
She absorbed what Jonghyeon taught endlessly, like a sponge soaking up water.
'There aren't many people who can beat Bori in a 1:1, at least.'
Of course, if abilities were used, the results would change, but Jonghyeon judged that if they fought 1:1 without abilities, Bori would be quite a strong opponent.
The Cheonwon Simje swordsmanship was one thing, but the fundamentals Bori had learned while preparing for university entrance exams for about two years had come from Yu Jinseong.
To be precise, she had learned from his disciple, but tracing it back to the source, it was Yu Jinseong.
Therefore, Bori's fundamentals themselves were unimaginably different from those of ordinary people.
'If I had to guess, if they don't use abilities, even among C-ranks, Bori could hold her own.'
While Jonghyeon was thinking, the first participant's match had already begun.
The first opponent was an E-rank mage.
"Um... I'm a mage. How am I supposed to beat someone holding a sword without using my abilities?"
The mage spoke as if he felt wronged.
But Jonghyeon was cold.
"As I said, I am hiring a bodyguard, not a dungeon-clearing party member. If your basic physical fitness isn't up to par, you are naturally disqualified."
By filtering them out based on that first example, they could narrow it down to about 1,500 people.
Nevertheless, it was an enormous schedule that would take 100 days even if they faced 15 people a day.
Thankfully, because Bori performed quite well, only 20 people were tested on the first day.
Of course, those twenty couldn't even touch a single hair on Bori's head. Since it was a bodyguard audition, there were quite a few ordinary people, and even among rankers, most were E-rank.
'But at this rate, what if we don't pick anyone?'
Bori's swordsmanship was far more monstrous than expected. Not only ordinary people but even active E-rankers were completely overwhelmed.
Jonghyeon felt that she was more worth nurturing than he had thought, but as expected, he didn't show it.
★ ★ ★
Weaver arrived in Korea and immediately sought out Jonghyeon's house.
But due to a large-scale protest, he couldn't even make contact, let alone see inside the house.
'What the hell. He said he was hiring bodyguards; what's with this protest?'
With a bit of searching, Weaver was able to find out what was happening in front of Jonghyeon's house.
Thinking things were unfolding quite interestingly, Weaver realized there was no way to contact Jonghyeon right now anyway.
Korea had definitely noticed his departure.
Ever since they had poached Mr. Choe, Korea's greatest prospect, the relationship between Gaia Guild and Korea had not been good.
'If they snatch Mr. Ryu away this time, they might even officially protest.'
But that didn't mean Korea could openly go to war with Gaia Guild.
However, staying in Korea for a long time meant receiving that much "attention," so he had to wrap things up quickly and depart again.
Just as Weaver was agonizing over how to make contact, Jonghyeon issued an announcement that he was officially starting the audition.
Weaver applied as a bodyguard right before the deadline. Of course, using an alias.
Since he couldn't just barge into the house anyway, and they were currently recruiting bodyguards, he was in a position where he couldn't wait indefinitely.
'Rather, it would be better to take the bodyguard application test to at least see his face once and talk.'
Weaver's outstanding talent lay solely in his mouth, but that alone couldn't make him an executive of Gaia Guild. He was an excellent chakra user.
The term chakra originated in India and came over to Japan. Research on chakra had begun in ancient India, but its practical use was started by Japan. And this ability was, in a way, similar to China's martial arts but differed in the scope of its use.
It was an ability that could be considered closer to magic, and it wouldn't be wrong to say it was specialized in sorcery and physical strengthening. Only, while physical strengthening through martial arts used pure internal energy, chakra used something called "attributes."
Anyway, because he was such a rare user of chakra, Weaver thought there was no way he would fail the application. However.
-Thank you for applying. Please try again next time.
He was eliminated without knowing why. He had already sent two complaint emails, but the person in charge hadn't checked them.
What was the problem?
Whether it was ability or age, there was no disqualifying factor in any regard. And since he had used an alias, not many people would recognize him.
Because he went around scouting people, Weaver paid quite a bit of attention to his personal security, and he was hard to recognize unless one was truly interested in the guild system.
After a week of restless waiting, a reply finally came.
And upon that reply, Weaver couldn't help but feel anger, which was rare for him.
-I am an upper-tier chakra user even among B-ranks. I am a man with no disqualifying factors for bodyguard work, so could you tell me why I was rejected?
-We do not hire foreigners.
Were they saying they rejected a B-rank chakra user without even a test for such a ridiculous reason?
Weaver already hadn't had a very favorable image of Korea, but as this situation continued, he began to feel quite annoyed by the country called Korea.
Wasn't ability supposed to be the priority?
Of course, Korea was a country where connections and capital came first, and the next important thing was checking whether one's hair was black.
'Should I just barge in?'
But Weaver knew Korea was definitely watching him, so he couldn't cause a commotion.
If he caused a commotion, the Korean government would intervene regardless of the scale.
Reluctantly, Weaver wrote an email again. Of course, mixing in lies.
-I am writing once more. I fell for a Korean star and came over from England. If you hire me as a bodyguard, I am willing to change my nationality. Could you please let me take the test just once?
Weaver, who held tremendous position, wealth, and honor in Gaia Guild, used such words for the first time.
Perhaps because that fact was so humiliating, he repeatedly drank at the hotel bar, raging about this situation for quite some time.
★ ★ ★
Before he knew it, about 800 people had taken the bodyguard test. Less than half remained.
Bori also invested her time in testing in Jonghyeon's house courtyard instead of her daily training routine.
And surprisingly, accumulating practical experience worked brilliantly for Bori.
'That kid's growth speed is truly no joke.'
Jonghyeon had never thought of himself as having talent. But he was perfectly capable of evaluating the talent of others.
And in his eyes, Bori's talent was...
'If raised properly, she'll reach C-rank within three years.'
Ordinary people entered private Hunter academies or university Hunter departments, took the national exam, and started as E-rankers.
Honestly, it was funny they were even called rankers, but even the lowest grade, E-rankers, earned more than the average employee at a small-to-medium-sized enterprise.
It was the price of working with their lives on the line, but also because the process of becoming a Hunter was so difficult.
That was why the word "talent" wasn't used unless one truly had it.
The stage where those who already possessed basic talent gathered and started was precisely E-rank.
But looking at Bori's pure skill alone, she had already surpassed E-rank. Since standards varied by country, it was ambiguous to assign an exact rank, but she showed that she wouldn't be pushed back even against C-ranks among the 800 participants.
Of course, it was partly due to the rule forbidding ability use, but conversely, if Bori were backed by an ability, reaching C-rank would be trivial.
Jonghyeon predicted it would take about three years to build up that ability.
"Jonghyeon-nim. That foreigner sent another email."
"Again? I told you to tell them foreigners aren't allowed."
Jonghyeon, sitting at his desk drinking cold green tea, waved his hand dismissively as if annoyed.
"I think you should read the original email first."
Jonghyeon looked at the email content Jang Biseo showed him, thought for a moment, and then spoke.
"He's a scout, you said?"
Jang Biseo was quite knowledgeable in areas Jonghyeon didn't know, and had instantly figured out who Weaver was.
"Yes. He used an alias, but judging by his ability and face, he is definitely Weaver of Gaia Guild."
Jang Biseo spoke with a confident attitude, and Jonghyeon fell into thought again.
Jonghyeon was no fool. On the contrary, in psychological warfare like this, he was exceedingly cold and precise.
And such a Jonghyeon thought that this man named Weaver was going this far precisely to make contact with him. That opponent was none other than Gaia Guild, the world's number one guild.
'There won't be any conflict. Then it must be a scouting attempt.'
Of course, Jonghyeon had no intention of joining anywhere, whether it was ranked 1st or 200th in the world.
However, if he sent Weaver away without making contact even once, he couldn't get a good read on whether the next person from Gaia Guild would be an assassin or an even bigger enticement.
And in these cases, it was usually an assassin.
Jonghyeon knew to some extent the nature of the guild world. He also knew that if he refused this contact, there was a high probability they would make a move against him.
Jonghyeon had to make a choice.
---------= Afterword ---------=
I was quite happy to hear someone say they read it and enjoyed it. Because it's the first time.
I probably won't be able to do this often... but I quickly finished the chapter with a happy heart.
(I actually had work today, so I was planning to upload only one chapter.)
Thanks to that, I won't be able to sleep much, haha...
Nevertheless, thank you for giving me the motivation to post consecutive chapters at this dawn hour.
I will work even harder in the future.