Chapter 91: Chapter 91

‘Heh. This fool.’

Hwang Gyeongryong laughed internally while looking at Choi Yeonseung. If Choi Yeonseung knew his plan, he would jump up in surprise.

‘He will be in charge of the company the moment he becomes A-grade.’

‘I think he’s plotting something very strange.’

Choi Yeonseung?was?Hwang Gyeongryong’s master. A constellation-household member relationship! Of course, Hwang Gyeongryong had always been the type to show it even if he was hiding something. His expression just now was a trivial one, just like when he secretly tried to feed Choi Yeonseung mint chocolate ice cream in the past.

‘I’ll let it slide.’

Choi Yeonseung spared Hwang Gyeongryong. Hwang Gyeongryong had many bad quirks, but he had one good trait. He was?a good person! He could spend his later years comfortably, so Choi Yeonseung was very grateful when he tried to help after seeing that Choi Yeonseung had become a constellation.

“Well, why not accept the money I can get? I’ll take it well if Black Cactus sends it.”

“You would’ve gotten the rewards if you had cleared the dungeon. It’s a pity.”

“It’s fine. I’m more concerned about my rating than the rewards.”

Hwang Gyeongryong nodded at Choi Yeonseung’s words. Choi Yeonseung and Hwang Gyeongryong agreed. Their primary goal was for Choi Yeonseung to be an A-grade hunter! Being an A-grade hunter was comfortable in many ways. Choi Yeonseung’s authority would increase dozens of times.

If Choi Yeonseung said, ‘Everyone, the current US president is actually an alien,’ then most people wouldn’t believe it.

However, if he were an A-grade hunter, people would be swayed and say, ‘Wouldn’t an A-grade hunter have some basis for saying that?’

That rank carried that much authority.

“Will my rating go up?”

“Let’s see... Honestly, it’s hard to determine when it comes to ranks above B-grade.”

Up to B-grade, the screening was a bit loose.

Even if they lacked performance, inexperienced hunters could still receive a rating if they showed magic, skill, or talent. This was how the manipulation scandal broke out! However, the standards were very strict from B-grade onward. If a B-grade or higher hunter made a mistake, then the damage they’d incur would be ridiculously large.

Choi Yeonseung’s current rating was B-. He managed to reach that rank because he had quite a lot of dungeon-clearing experience from 30 years ago, but strict judges selected from each country wouldn’t raise that rating further if they didn’t have anything to use as a basis.

Performance! In the end, performance was the answer. Just as how there were idiots who couldn’t kill a monster even with good magic spells, there were hunters who could clear dungeons even with garbage skills. The hunters that people needed were the latter.

“I have to clear dungeons and kill monsters, after all.”

"Indeed."

Choi Yeonseung nodded. This hadn’t changed from 30 years ago. If he wanted to prove his skills, then clear a dungeon!

“Still, I think it will rise from B- to B...”

A B- rating was still in the B-grade, but it was given to ambiguous hunters whose skills were still a mystery. Choi Yeonseung had just returned after 30 years in the Abyss, so his skills hadn’t been tested until now. Having proven himself, there was now nothing wrong with him rising to B-grade.

“The rating is none of my business, so I’ll do my own thing.”

“Your own thing… as in deadlifts?”

“How did you know?”

“... Really?”

Hwang Gyeongryong asked, bewildered. He said that as a joke...

It was funny and amazing to see that Choi Yeonseung hadn’t lost his original determination and was doing this even though he had become a constellation...

“It’s a joke. Deadlifts are great, but I have people to teach.”

“Ah...! You’re trying to raise the hunters of the Icarus clan. This guy!”

Hwang Gyeongryong was moved. Dungeons and monsters would continue to emerge in the future, and some of them could be dangerously difficult. Choi Yeonseung couldn’t fight them all alone, and he shouldn’t have to do so. He required reliable hunters. Hence, he decided to train?the Icarus clan members!

“Thanks to this news and your last match, interest in martial arts probably tremendously increased. No matter how idiotic the hunters are, this has to be enough to get their interest, right?”

“... Hyung.”

“... Why are you calling me Hyung?”

Hwang Gyeongryong suddenly felt nervous. Choi Yeonseung usually only called him ‘Hyung’ when he did something wrong...

“I was talking about the Mount Hua Sect’s hunters...”

“Hey! Isn’t that too much?!”

“Not at all. I’ll help the Icarus clan hunters if they’re interested in martial arts. However, the Mount Hua Sect hunters are also very interested in martial arts, so...”

“Forget it! Dude!”

Hwang Gyeongryong was very upset. Choi Yeonseung had to work hard to appease him. Nevertheless, Hwang Gyeongryong still?lent?a facility. Besides those in the Icarus clan, he had dozens of training facilities.

-First of all, I hope it’s wide. There have to be at least 10 pieces of equipment with the strength to withstand blows. I don’t want the surroundings to be noisy. I’d like to have magic items on hand so they can recover if they get hurt. I also want to be able to turn on the Otherworld...

-... Doesn’t it feel bad that you only talk so much when it comes to training? How will you get a girlfriend at this rate?

-The number of times Hyung has divorced makes me wonder if marriage is even a good thing.

-I-I married because of love! That love just broke apart.

-...Ah, sure...

Hwang Gyeongryong’s marriage(s) didn’t make sense to Choi Yeonseung. What type of guy got married so many times and divorced so many times? It was an unbelievable change for someone who had once worried all the clan members by crying because he had been dumped.

[The ‘Cat of Lava and Magma’ says that is the way this male chose to reproduce. Doesn’t he have many children?]

‘Cat constellation. In the human world, the more children you have, the more money you’ll lose. It isn’t an advantage.’

If Hwang Gyeongryong wasn’t in charge of a huge company, he would’ve gone bankrupt a long time ago.

[The ‘Cat of Lava and Magma’ is telling you to find a good companion among your minions.]

‘Among my minions? What about the constellations?’

[The ‘Manipulator of Dreams and Desires’ says that there are some constellations who play casually with their minions.]

‘They’re like trash.’

[The ‘Cat of Lava and Magma’ shouts urgently that it didn’t do this!]

[The ‘Manipulator of Dreams and Desires’ wonders if that is the type of trick the ‘Goddess of Balance Who Walks Ahead’ tried to do to you...]

‘It wasn’t a trick. It was just a misunderstanding...’

[The ‘Cat of Lava and Magma’ says you are weak against the goddess.]

[The ‘Manipulator of Dreams and Desires’ agrees.]

‘You’re annoying.’

Being constellations didn’t mean they had no desires. Of course, the love of a constellation wasn’t as ordinary as that of humans. There were many types of strange and twisted love. Be it locking up their favorite household member in their hands forever or attacking and destroying the enemy constellation that they coveted, removing the household members and making this constellation their own...

True love and war were fitting words for constellations.

[The ‘Cat of Lava and Magma’ asks if the incarnation ever had a lover.]

‘I’ve had a few.’

A hunter was a popular profession 30 years ago, and Choi Yeonseung wasn’t unpopular. Moreover, he belonged to the silent, handsome type if he kept his mouth shut.

[The ‘Cat of Lava and Magma’ shouts that it’s curious about what happened!]

[The ‘Manipulator of Dreams and Desires’ is also very curious.]

‘We broke up because I was busy training.’

[The ‘Cat of Lava and Magma’ complains that it isn’t interesting...]

[The ‘Manipulator of Dreams and Desires’ agrees but says to keep quiet because it could hurt the incarnation.]

‘...I won’t answer you anymore if you ask me questions in the future.’

[The ‘Cat of Lava and Magma’ urgently apologizes!]

[The ‘Manipulator of Dreams and Desires’ agrees!]

“C-Can we come in?”

“Go ahead.”

The young hunters of the Mount Hua Sect timidly entered. Hwang Gyeongryong’s state-of-the-art training facilities were truly spectacular! The hunters couldn’t help but feel intimidated when entering such a place.

‘We trained in an old gym...’

‘It didn’t have such flashy training equipment.’

The Mount Hua Sect valued tradition. It was so miserable that they were even forbidden to use the Korean-English loan word ‘jump!”

-Uh... Did you just say jump... !

-No, there are many guys here who have English names. Why are you only doing this to me?

-Even if you follow like sheep and have an English name, you shouldn’t lose the spirit of noble martial arts!

-Ah really!

“H-Hunter Choi Yeonseung.”

“You don’t have to be so formal. You can speak casually.”

“But we’re here to learn from you...”

“You can think of it as comrades walking on the same path of martial arts, okay?”

“But you’re thirty years older than us...”

“Do you want to get lost?”

“......”

“......”

“Hum hum. In any case, speaking casually will help you learn.”

“Then uh... I have something to ask...”

“What?”

“Can we train using this state-of-the-art facility?”

.

“Hey, why are you asking that question?”

“That’s right. It’s tacky.”

The hunter who brought up the question was criticized. Why ask something like that only to be told, ‘No, martial arts is something done best with nothing!’

“Why can’t you use it?”

“T-Thank you!”

“I-I’m excited!”

“? ?”

Choi Yeonseung was puzzled. Why were they acting like this?

‘Ah. Do they like to train?’

Choi Yeonseung slightly brightened. There was no one he felt more friendly toward than those who liked to train. However, Choi Yeonseung’s training had always been lonely.

-Wouldn’t I become stronger if I train for 25 hours a day?

-What? Dating you? You’ll be the reason why I’ll miss out on training.

-Crying after breaking up? Don’t cry. You’ll experience muscle loss. You’ll also lose internal energy. Endure it.

‘Still, it is good to be motivated.’

“H-Hello. P-Please look after me.” One of the hunters came out and bowed. She was on the short side, but she had extraordinary muscles. Her good physique made her curves clearly visible.

‘A mixed race?’

There were a lot of mixed-race people among the young hunters of the Mount Hua Sect. They were Chinese-Americans born in the United States. The hunter in front of him had golden hair that was braided and tied back.

“I… I am the representative of the Mount Hua Sect’s young hunters. Ah. You told us to speak comfortably. It... It’s a pleasure.”

“... Really?” n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Choi Yeonseung was embarrassed. No matter how he looked at it, the other person seemed weak and timid. Her constant stuttering and inability to make eye contact didn’t indicate a strong personality. Of course, she could be a hunter with a timid and weak personality, but it would be difficult to lead these hunters.

“She is indeed our representative.”

“Iris Li is the most skilled among us young hunters.”

“Are you from Li?Yuyuan’s?family?”

“Ah. How did you know? I’m his daughter.”

“... By any chance, are you thirsty?”

Suddenly, Choi Yeonseung’s voice became very kind. He couldn’t help it. After all, he was a fan of Li Yuyuan!

***

Iris stared at Choi Yeonseung with a pounding heart. She had always had a nervous and anxious personality, but it was especially bad today. Iris had heard so much about Choi Yeonseung.

-He is the only one who can resurrect our clan.

-He’s clearly continuing the noble spirit of martial arts, which has now disappeared. Hey! You! Why are you using cheeky English with martial arts?

-Have you seen the news? Wow, I’ve seen Hunter Choi Yeonseung fight, but he truly is the real deal. His fight at the UHC wasn’t a coincidence.

She couldn’t help but feel nervous due to all sorts of inflated expectations and anticipation. In addition, she felt pressured not to make mistakes! The idea that Choi Yeonseung could mercilessly drive them away if they did something wrong ran through her mind.

“... By any chance, are you thirsty?”

“Huh?”