GM Ch6

“Then shall we change seats?”

“I’m fine here. But, is there something you would like to say? I understand that you are a busy person.”

“You’re jumping the gun. Here, take this first. It’s the price of a magic stone, minus the commission.”

Soohyuk pulled a white envelope out of his pocket and held it out to Minjun. Instead of taking it, Minjun stared back at him.

Magic stones, which could be obtained by hunting monsters, were the backbone of the hunter industry. After the first cataclysm, magic stones became the most important energy resource, replacing the broken nuclear power plants. Compared to nuclear or thermal power, it was safe, pollution-free, and could be supplied domestically.

In Korea, where hunters were licensed, magic stones were also controlled by the government. While it didn’t prevent private transactions, the government was the biggest buyer of magic stones, so it was able to control the market price.

The swift horned rat was a grade D, so the magic stone was also a grade D and sold for around 100,000 won. It seemed unlikely that a busy S-class hunter would come here for such a small amount of money.

“And then?”

“Have you ever been told that you look like hunter Kim Minjun, who went missing eight years ago?”

“…?”

The question was so unexpected that Minjun stiffened as he held up his Coke.

‘No way? He recognized it? How?’

Even though he knew he should be calm, Minjun couldn’t hide his emotions. As his eyes widened, Soohyuk laughed soundlessly. The man was so powerful looking that his aura was similar to that of a villain in a movie.

“Didn’t you know?”

“But I don’t look like him.”

“You do look like him. A lot. I thought you might be related, so I ran a test, but there was no connection. I apologise for running a test on you without your consent, but in this field, results come first.”

Minjun was puzzled. He didn’t know what the genetic test was for. He hadn’t seen any news about his relatives.

“When you say testing, you mean genetic testing, right? Hunter Kim Minjun doesn’t have any family members, does he?”

“I know.”

“I saw the documentary.”

“It’s accurate because it was done with hunter Kim Minjun’s own blood.”

Minjun was about to ask how he got the blood, but he stopped himself. In the past, the hair and blood of S-class hunters had been traded for an unknown amount of money.

Soohyuk’s explanation gave Minjun a moment to collect his thoughts. Certainly, looking at his current form, it would be more reasonable to assume that he was related to Minjun than to suspect that he was Kim Minjun himself.

Ever since he fused with the spirit stone and changed his appearance, he had thought that something must have changed on a genetic level. So he wasn’t surprised to find out a genetic relationship was not found.

It was no wonder Soohyuk had done the genetic test without telling him. He was an S-class hunter with a tenuous conscience and tons of money and power. He probably did some background checks, and when he saw the information that Minjun had lost his memory, he ran the test just in case. Minjun could understand that, but he didn’t understand why Soohyuk had to come and explain it to him in person.

What was the reason?

This time, when Minjun stared back with a questioning look, Soohyuk pulled his lips together and turned his face to the side to hold back a laugh. The man coughed once before returning his gaze.

“Just so you know, I’m not hitting on you, and I don’t want you to get the wrong idea.”

Minjun wondered what this meant, but then another man at the table next to him coughed loudly, and then said in a low, quiet voice.

“That’s even weirder.”

In an unexpected situation, Minjun looked back and forth between Soohyuk and the man.

“My guild’s vice guild leader. Jung Seongwon. He came with me because he was afraid I’d cause trouble.”

Minjun made eye contact with Jung Seongwon and bowed his head in greeting. Then Jung Seongwon waved his hand, telling him to continue talking with his complicated face.

“Seongwon hyung is worried, I should not be thinking about this about a kid eight years younger.”

“About?”

Minjun eventually asked why, and Soohyuk pulled out his business card and placed it on top of the envelope.

“If you want to be tested again, get in touch, and if anyone approaches you claiming to be a member of hunter Kim Minjun’s family, contact me also, because they’re all scammers.”

“Ah…”

Suddenly, Minjun understood why Soohyuk had come to him. He had a lot of respect for the hunter Kim Minjun, and he wanted to prevent him from being taken advantage of.

Minjun, who hated scammers, felt an odd sense of kinship with Soohyuk. He was about to say yes, but Soohyuk warned him with a smile.

“If you get caught impersonating, it doesn’t end in a social burial.”

“Yes.”

“I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but we don’t know anything about hunter Kim Minjun’s paternity, so don’t fall for it if they say that your mother might have another brother or be a brother’s niece. Understood?”

Soohyuk’s smiling face was picturesque, but Minjun wasn’t fooled by the facade. When he thought about what it meant to not end with a social burial, he could only answer meekly. If a fraudster really appeared as Soohyuk said, he decided that he would definitely contact him.

“Is that what you’re here to tell me?”

“Yeah.”

“Thank you for your concern.”

After the perfunctory greeting, Minjun wanted Soohyuk to leave as soon as possible, but the latter remained seated with a smile on his face.

“Is there anything else you want to say?”

Minjun asked Soohyuk, who still looked like he had no intention of getting up. There were still three burgers left. Cold burgers were still delicious, but he still felt like he could put something in his mouth only when Soohyuk was gone.

At that moment, Jung Seongwon held his cell phone to his ear and rushed out of the store. He must have gotten an urgent call. Soohyuk, however, remained seated.

“Favorite’s Kiss. How much does that skill raise?”

Minjun realised that Soohyuk had used the insight skill. Otherwise, he couldn’t have known the exact name of his skill. But in this field, it was commonplace for hunters to use such a skill amongst themselves like it was just an ordinary greeting. But he actually thought it was rude to ask about the skills in detail.

Favorite’s Kiss was a buff skill that increased the hunter’s stats. Minjun wondered for a moment if he should tell Soohyuk the truth.

“A little bit.”

“If it’s possible, can you use it on me now? I’m exhausted from being bullied by the vice guild leader even on weekends.”

“Uh… Well, to use the skill, you have to kiss me, as the name implies. Oh, you can do it somewhere else, not the lips. But doing it here is a bit…”

“It’s okay. Here you go. Try it.”

Soohyuk held his right hand out in front of his face.

“Are you sure?”

“Mhm. I just washed my hands and drove. Hurry.”

Frowning, Minjun looked from Soohyuk’s face to his hand and back again, then swallowed a sigh. In a crowded burger joint, no one would say anything if he put hisr lips on the back of someone else’s hand.

Minjun ate his burger and wiped his greasy lips with a tissue. He grabbed Soohyuk’s hand and quickly pressed his lips to the back of it, then pulled away.

“Done.”

“Oh… The duration is 77 minutes. Ha, a 55% stat boost? Amazing. What’s the cooldown? How many people can use it?”

“It’s a secret.”

“How much do you want?”

Minjun laughs at the old buzzword. Originally, it was a rule not to give away the details of skills. But there was no reason to hide a buff skill that was only 55% raise. Minjun pulled up the status window to see exactly what it said.

“If it’s the same target, it has an eleven-hour cooldown, and you can use it on up to twelve people at the same time. After buffing the maximum number of people, you’re almost out of mana. When your mana naturally recovers, only about two people will be able to do so after 11 hours.”

“That’s incredible.”

While Soohyuk was thinking for a moment, Jung Seongwon came back. He sat back down as if nothing had happened.

“What about the June guild?”

“What?”

“…?”

It wasn’t Minjun who reacted to the out-of-the-blue question, but Jung Seongwon. He looked over, wide-eyed, and then quickly looked away.

Either way, Soohyuk continued his explanation.

“If I were to boast, there’s no better place to work than in my guild. Salary, bonuses, incentives. Oh, and lots of vacation time. I’ll treat you well. You’re a C-class, so there’s a cap on your salary, but I’ll give you a nice down payment.”

“As you know, I’m a C-class.”

“It doesn’t matter if you’re a C-class, if you have a special talent.”

“Thanks for the offer, but it’s alright.”

Minjun had scoured the internet for information on the hunter licence written exam, and he knew how good the June Guild was. The treatment of hunters was unparalleled, to the point that Soohyuk was proud of it, and many hunters wanted to join the June Guild.

But Minjun, who had no intention of joining the guild, politely and firmly refused, making the other’s brow furrowed as if he couldn’t understand why he was refusing.

“Why?”

“I want to play freely.”

Only authorized guilds could bid on dungeon management. However, a hunter did not have to be a member of a guild to participate in a dungeon raid. Free hunters could also enter dungeons on a part-time basis, hired by guilds, associations, or governments on a short-term basis.

Alternatively, you could set up a one-man guild and bid on the management of a low-ranked dungeon. This was what Minjun used to do back in the day when running a large guild was a hassle.