“We have a work meeting, but you’re telling me to go visit Mr. Kang Sung Joon?” Seol Ah asked.

Seol Ah was preparing documents, but when she heard the secretary, Ara, speak, she furrowed her brows. Today, they would discuss the establishment of the Blue Dragon Group’s guild, as well as other corresponding important matters.

“It’s the Chairman’s orders.”

“Grandpa knows how important this upcoming meeting is. I’m well aware that Mr. Kang Sung Joon was hospitalized, so I planned on meeting him. But there’s no reason to go meet him now, is there?”

Chairman Yoon Tae Seok would command the plan from behind the scenes, but she was still responsible for the plan. They would be dealing with several important matters in the upcoming meeting, so she thought that she definitely had to attend the meeting.

It stung, knowing that Tae Seok thought that the meeting would proceed smoothly without her.

“The situation has changed.”

“What are you talking about?”

“We procured the S-rank Hunter, Choi Eun Joo’s statement which was given to the Bureau.”

The mood had suddenly turned serious, so Seol Ah felt extremely anxious.

“Could you please explain it to me?” Seol Ah requested, and Ara passed her Eun Joo’s written statement. Seol Ah quickly read her statement.

The contents of the statement were certainly astonishing.

“This.. is it all true?”

“If you’re talking about the fact that he defeated the S-rank class monster, the Spirit King, by himself then yes, we confirmed that it was all true from the Bureau,” Ara replied.

The Bureau had sent an additional surveying party and had already investigated the corresponding contents.

“Based on the Bureau’s investigation, they are not absolutely sure that it was the monster called the ‘Spirit King’, though they are sure that Mr. Kang Sung Joon battled the S-rank Boss alone, and defeated it.”

“He defeated an S-rank Boss alone?”

Although Seol Ah wasn’t a Hunter, she controlled the plan for establishing the Blue Dragon Group’s guild, so she had a broad knowledge of the dungeons and monsters.

Thus, she knew how amazing it was for Hunters to fight the slightly stronger Bosses* alone, rather than the monsters of an equivalent rank, in exchange for compensation. (*Bosses, as you may know, are typically monsters that appear on the floor one rank higher. e.g. B-rank dungeon Bosses are typically normal A-rank monsters.)

‘So I was just a chess piece to grandpa..’

Seol Ah bowed her head in order to hide the disappointment on her face, which was directed at Tae Seok. She realized how amazing Sung Joon was, but apart from that, she was disappointed in Tae Seok.

While she had agreed to a certain degree that they should strengthen their ties with Sung Joon, when she was told that she was exempt from the meeting and heard her orders to meet Sung Joon, she was tormented with the realization that she was nothing more than a chess piece.

‘My position as head of the guild plan was in name only.’

Seol Ah had a lot of pride. Thus, when she felt like she had been unfairly treated, she felt like she would cry, but she restrained herself.

“Miss, what will you do?”

“Which hospital is it?”

“It’s close by. Shall I get the car ready?”

“Please do.”

That’s how Seol Ah came to visit the hospital that he had been admitted in.

* * *

“You already had a visitor?” Seol Ah said softly while walking into the hospital room. She glanced at Eun Joo, who was sitting beside the sickbed.

‘The Shining Sword?’

S-rank Hunters were as popular as celebrities in Korea. It wasn’t possible for the one responsible for the Blue Dragon Group’s guild plan to not know of them.

“Mr. Sung Joon, is this someone you know?”

On the other hand, normal civilians and Hunters weren’t familiar with Seol Ah’s face. Therefore, Eun Joo had no choice but to ask Sung Joon about her.

“Yes, I know her personally,” he replied.

“I can sit down, right?” Seol Ah asked, as if it were obvious. Sung Joon nodded his head and Seol Ah naturally sat opposite to Eun Joo, on Sung Joon’s left.

“I-I’ll leave first.”

There was a strange mood between Sung Joon and Seol Ah, so Eun Joo misunderstood and stood up from her chair. Sung Joon didn’t really try to stop her. Eun Joo was somewhat hurt that he didn’t stop her from leaving, but left the hospital room.

“Is she your girlfriend? You’re good.”

“We don’t have that kind of relationship,” Sung Joon said firmly. However, Seol Ah smiled for a reason that he couldn’t understand, and opened her mouth.

“The way she was looking at you, Mr. Kang Sung Joon, wasn’t normal, though?”

“It’s probably just the ‘suspension bridge’* effect. She could be misunderstanding.” (*The suspension bridge effect, or the misattribution of arousal, is when you mistake what makes you feel aroused. In other words, she might be misinterpreting her fear in the dungeon for love or what not, since they have similar physiological symptoms.)

Sung Joon thought that Eun Joo’s feelings were a misunderstanding that resulted from the tension from the special situation known as the dungeon, as well as several other psychological factors that accompanied it.

“Is that so?”

“That’s right. Anyway, what did you come for today?”

“I explained it to you last time, right?” Seol Ah responded, and Sung Joon sifted through his memories.

“Did the Chairman send you?” Sung Joon questioned. Seol Ah sighed shortly and nodded her head.

“They are desperately trying to create ties with you with whatever method necessary.”

“Is this regarding the Blue Dragon Group’s guild plan?”

“Basically, yes. After all, it’s advantageous to nominate a famous Hunter as the Guild Leader.”

Seol Ah didn’t say it out loud, but the Blue Dragon Group was already treating Sung Joon as if he were an S-rank Hunter.

They were getting more and more sure of their hypothesis that Sung Joon was an S-rank Hunter who hid his mana. Even if that wasn’t the case, Sung Joon’s growth was worth observing.

“I refuse to do anything that’s troublesome.”

“Grandpa won’t bother you so long as he dances to my tune.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. Please don’t be so worried,” she answered definitely, and Sung Joon smiled faintly.

“I’ll be sitting here, so please just rest.”

Sung Joon raised the illustrated monster guide. He had recently awakened more memories of his past life, and he had fun comparing monsters that appeared on Earth and the other world.

While he read the illustrated monster guide, Seol Ah incessantly checked her phone.

“You seem to be busy?” Sung Joon asked. Seol Ah put down her phone, and spoke.

“That’s because there was a work meeting. I was originally supposed to be there.”

Her voice was tinged in sorrow. When she had been appointed head of the guild plan, she had been overjoyed. However, now that she thought about it, she was just a connecting link to Sung Joon.

“I had always tried, but it seems like grandpa never acknowledged me. This time, too, he said it would be fine if I skipped the work meeting, and told me that I should visit you, Mr. Kang Sung Joon.”

Sung Joon wordlessly listened to her complaints. He didn’t know the situation very well, so if he rashly tried comforting her, he thought it might have the opposite effect.

Therefore, he maintained his silence and it became a chance to win her favor, albeit a little.

“Are you alright?”

“It seems like I talked too much.”

Seol Ah weakly shook her head and checked her watch.

“He told me to stay for an hour, but.. I ended up staying for two hours.”

Seol Ah stood from her chair and packed her things. Then she opened the door to leave.

“Are you leaving?” asked Sung Joon.

“You need to rest now. If I have the time, I’ll come see you again.”

Sung Joon nodded his head and Seol Ah left the hospital room. A little while later, Team Leader Kim Hyun Sung came to visit.

Hyun Sung asked about Sung Joon’s health first.

“How are you feeling, are you alright?” he asked.

Sung Joon nodded his head, so Hyun Sung was relieved, and sat on a chair beside the sickbed.

“That’s a relief. Everyone was really worried.”

Sung Joon asked, “You probably haven’t contacted my father, right?”

If his father had heard that he had collapsed and been hospitalized, Soo Hyuk would definitely be really concerned.

Hyun Sung smiled and spoke.

“We thought it was a delicate matter, so we put it off. We would’ve contacted your father if your condition had worsened or if you hadn’t awoken by today.”

It was the hospital’s policy to contact the guardian if his condition had worsened.

“Is there anything you need my personal statement for?”

“Choi Eun Joo has already written a statement. Therefore, I’ve come to visit you as well.”

“That means there’s business as well, right?”

Hyun Sung laughed awkwardly.

“I have something to tell you.”

“It’s about my payment, right?”

“Yes, you’re correct.”

Hyun Sung nodded his head. Sung Joon had already heard everything from Eun Joo, but he didn’t want to dash his hopes.

Hyun Sung explained in detail regarding Sung Joon’s payment. If he included the reward, Sung Joon’s share was $6.1 million, just as Eun Joo had said.

Although Sung Joon had already heard about it from Eun Joo, it was such a large fortune that it was difficult for him to believe.

“When will I get paid?”

“You could get it right now, but wouldn’t it be better to get it when you’re discharged?” Hyun Sung said.

He had certainly lost consciousness before, but since they hadn’t found any other symptoms besides mana shock, he thought he’d be discharged soon.

Sung Joon also nodded his head in agreement.

Hyun Sung was the first to break the brief silence.

“Headquarters has been in chaos ever since you defeated a Spirit King.”

“Is there some sort of problem?”

Hyun Sung shook his head.

“It’s not that there’s a problem. It’s just that everyone’s astonished. An A-rank Hunter defeated an S-rank monster alone, a Boss at that. It’s something unheard of.”

“Is it really that uncommon?”

“Yes, it’s definitely uncommon. There are around four Hunters that have done it, and all of them grew to be S-rank Hunters. Therefore, headquarters has high hopes for you.”

The Bureau had decided that Sung Joon was equivalent to an S-rank Hunter.

“Still, there’s no news of a reexamination of my rank?”

“The Bureau believes that you defeated the Spirit King in a state of temporary awakening* due to your mana shock. Is that not true by any chance?” Hyun Sung asked. (*I guess this isn’t limited to Sung Joon after all, though it’s probably limited to a temporary boost in strength for other Hunters.)

Sung Joon smiled and shook his head.

“You know exactly what happened.”

Sung Joon didn’t need to explain. He thought it wouldn’t be necessary. Hyun Sung looked satisfied at his answer and nodded his head.

“As I thought, my assumption was correct.”

After Hyun Sung conversed with Sung Joon for around ten more minutes, he stood from his chair.

“I’ll be going now. They say that you need good rest to recover from mana shock. Please sleep early today,” Hyun Sung said and left the hospital room.

That night, Sung Joon went to sleep early. The next day, Sung Joon went through the discharge procedures.

The doctor recommended that he get more rest, but Sung Joon wanted to rest at home. Besides, the hospital food didn’t taste good. He wanted to rest while eating delicious food.

“My lord, you must rest,” Rishubalt advised.

Sung Joon had returned to his studio apartment and was sitting in front of his computer as Rishubalt advised him.

“This also counts as resting,” Sung Joon responded, and accessed Hunter.com.

“A Hunter training center..?”

It was definitely a spam message, but Sung Joon was curious, so he clicked on it. As he had expected, it was an advertisement, but it was different from everything he had seen thus far.

It was a spam message that advertised a training center made with Hunters in mind. It was written that the training center was a space that allowed Hunters to exercise naturally and train, since they had physical abilities that far surpassed the average human.

Hunters couldn’t exercise naturally in a normal gym, since their activities were limited.

‘It’s not bad.. I should call them later and ask them about it,’ Sung Joon thought.

He thought it’d be a lot more expensive than a normal gym, but it didn’t matter. Sung Joon had a lot of spare money now.

Sung Joon was satisfied with getting a new piece of information, so he laid on his bed and fell asleep.

That day, Sung Joon dreamt.