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Chapter 29 — A United Front (4)
Cooperating with each other to save lives, Min JaeHyun and Ahn HoYeon started to hunt the monsters.
When HoYeon provoked the enemy, JaeHyun killed them with his spells, and when JaeHyun led by blocking a monster with a Chain, HoYeon crushed them. This kind of pattern repeated continuously.
JaeHyun spoke with a calm expression.
“Four remaining opponents. Let’s finish this quickly.”
At JaeHyun’s words, HoYeon nodded and quickly used 《 Taunting Roar 》 once more.
JaeHyun could not but admire his capability. Just how much mana did he have that he could use such a high-level skill continuously?
For a cadet who hadn’t gone to Millaes yet, Ahn HoYeon’s mana capacity was rather enormous.
‘A talented person really is different. But his mindset is as weak as I’ve heard.’
As they continued to fight, JaeHyun recalled HoYeon’s pale face from a moment ago frightened by the goblin attack.
Even before he returned to the past, Ahn HoYeon was unable to reach the top ranks although he had great potential and talent.
His weak mentality had held him back.
As a result, even though Ahn HoYeon could have grown much stronger, he was stunted as a B-rank Raider.
‘But if I can bring him to my side, I can change that.’
JaeHyun purposely approached Ahn HoYeon with a plan to bring him over to his side.
‘Personal connections. In this world where the law of the jungle is everything, nothing is more important than personal connections.’
A weak temperament? He just had to crush it.
Even before he returned to the past, JaeHyun had a good grasp on how to socialize. He’d previously also managed to slowly persuade Lee JaeSang over to his side, after all.
Even before then, there were many times wherein JaeHyun brought people who he didn’t get along with over to his side, never mind convincing such a weak person.
Moreover, JaeHyun knew how dangerous Millaes Academy was. It was impossible to succeed there alone.
Millaes was a place JaeHyun had to pass through to become a strong Raider, but at the same time, it was the most dangerous place he could go.
As he was organizing his thoughts—
HoYeon glanced at JaeHyun and hurriedly yelled.
“Behind!”
“I have it covered.”
JaeHyun smirked as he struck the heart of a goblin attacking him from behind.
A single blow was all it took.
JaeHyun cleanly pierced the demonic creature’s heart with no unnecessary movements.
Ahn HoYeon stared at JaeHyun with an expression of shock.
‘What on earth is that guy? How can he manifest such a move?’
Dazed by JaeHyun, HoYeon promptly turned his head. Soon after, they finished taking care of all the goblins on the street.
“You did good. I’m Min JaeHyun. You?”
“I’m… Ahn HoYeon.”
***
<A moment later>
The raiders dispatched by the government association arrived. They took the two’s statements and asked in disbelief.
“…Are you really okay?”
“Ah… I am a bit uncomfortable due to the bloody smell, but…”
“N-No. That’s not what I meant. I’m asking if you have any injuries.”
“No, as you can see.”
Park KyungHoon, a C-ranked Warrior dispatched to the area, scratched his head with his ballpen.
A moment ago, when they were contacted at the association, the situation was still dire.
A Dungeon Break had occurred, and dozens of goblins had run out, turning the streets into a wasteland.
As a result, he—who was waiting to get off work—received the order to quickly dispatch to this area.
That was surely what had happened.
“Damn. I don’t know how to report this to the higher-ups.”
He couldn’t believe it at all.
The two students in front of him seemed to be maybe high schoolers.
But these two somehow defeated almost 30 goblins by themselves?
If he didn’t see it with his own eyes, he really wouldn’t have believed it to be true.
Hadn’t he also quickly gathered his team to come here as soon as he received the mission from his superiors?
“…No matter how hard I look, it seems there really are no injuries.”
“Yes. I’m completely fine.”
“So it seems… but did the two of you really kill all of those monsters scattered there?”
“As a matter of fact, I wanted to talk about that.”
JaeHyun didn’t seem at all nervous as he spoke to Park KyungHoon. Park KyungHoon tilted his head as he saw JaeHyun smiling at him.
“Just like Raider Park KyungHoon, no one would believe that we killed all these goblins ourselves. So you should take all the credit.”
“…What?”
Park KyungHoon blinked slowly and looked at the boy in front of him, who continued to appear calm.
KyungHoon quickly replied with a slightly bewildered expression.
“But that’s clearly against Raider Law Article 21…”
“You’re saying that in case any of the CCTVs here are working, I assume?”
Earlier, JaeHyun had intentionally destroyed all the CCTVs in the vicinity while fighting, reckoning this situation would happen and hoping to make use of it.
“That’s…”
In the air was the tone of someone very skilled in dealing with people.
JaeHyun was used to these kinds of conversations. It was one of the few skills he’d learned when he worked as a raider in the past.
“Think about it. If you deliver the report that all these goblins were taken care of without missing a single one, wouldn’t Raider Park KyungHoon’s promotion come a bit quicker?”
“How do you know about things like that, too…?”
‘This kid… He’s an unusual one.’
Park KyungHoon realized this intuitively. The kid in front of him was much more cunning and insightful than he’d thought.
But how does such a young student know so much about the detailed inner workings of the National Raider’s Association?
To begin with, how did he defeat all of these monsters?
There were several unknowns, but Park KyungHoon stayed true to his ambitions.
“Okay. Then what is it that I have to do for you?”
“You’re easy to talk to.”
A slight smile appeared on JaeHyun’s face. Even as Park KyungHoon was suspicious of him, he planned to make use of this situation.
Not missing the chance, JaeHyun spoke as he put his hand in his pocket.
“Please send all the money to this guy’s account after selling the goblins’ corpses and removing the tax. That is my condition.”
“Is that all?”
Having thought that a bigger reward would be asked, Park KyungHoon blinked owlishly. JaeHyun nodded.
“Of course. Raiders from the Association already get a pittance. I can’t possibly ask for more.”
After saying so, JaeHyun turned around and headed home.
But as he did so—
Ahn HoYeon grabbed him by the shoulder and muttered.
“J-Just a moment! What does that mean? You’re the one who actually took care of all the goblins a moment ago! So why…”
“Just take it.”
“I can’t do that.”
Ahn HoYeon shook his head. No matter how many difficulties his family had right now due to their finances, this went against his principles.
But he couldn’t help but freeze up at JaeHyun’s reply.
“Is it really okay? Don’t you need the money for your mother’s hospital bills?”
“H-How did you…?!”
At HoYeon’s words, JaeHyun smirked.
“You’re a pretty famous kid. Ahn HoYeon, the genius prospective raider with a Combat aptitude of 92. I saw a documentary about you a few days ago on TV.”
“Ah…”
In all honesty, Ahn HoYeon was currently a celebrity that everyone in the country knew. From a very young age, he went in and out of different broadcasting stations, and he’d recently starred in a documentary.
The broadcasting stations had recorded it ahead of time so that they could continuously show it on TV once he became an S-rank raider.
The documentary that JaeHyun said he’d watched was one about Ahn HoYeon and his family situation.
In it, Ahn HoYeon’s mother could be seen not doing well with a scene stating that Ahn HoYeon had decided to become a raider because of it.
‘To think that the documentary I’d watched back then would be of help like this. It’s a good thing I watched it even if it made me jealous.’
JaeHyun smiled internally.
‘Meeting Ahn HoYeon now was really good luck. I need to bring him over to my side.’
If he managed him well, he would become a card of many uses. If he could bring Ahn HoYeon over to his side, he planned to make good use of him at Millaes Academy.
But HoYeon had no way of knowing JaeHyun’s dark intentions.
He thought for a moment and shook his head.
“Thank you for the thought. But I don’t want your help. I will treat my mother after becoming a raider with my own skills. So…”
“If you miss this chance, your mother might die.”
JaeHyun’s sudden words struck like a dagger to HoYeon’s heart. JaeHyun looked at him with pity.
Although the words were crude, they were not a lie.
‘Ahn HoYeon’s mother dies right before he becomes a raider.’
If there was a God of Fate, it made one want to ask why they were so cruel to him.
On the first day Ahn HoYeon went to fight as a respectable raider, his mother died in her own fight against her disease.
“The illness your mother is suffering from is something that can be cured with enough money. I understand how you feel, but it might be too late if you wait. Think about it carefully and decide.”
“…Thank you.”
HoYeon bit his lip and bowed deeply. Declining after hearing such words would be immoral and disrespectful.
In addition, HoYeon truly loved his mother immensely. If his mother and all her love for him suddenly left his side, what would he do?
Would he be able to maintain his sanity and continue living?
It was why he disliked his father.
Even as he spent millions of dollars to make HoYeon an S-rank raider, he didn’t pay his wife’s hospital fees on time.
What the hell was fame and money that it made a person so cruel?
That was what made Ahn HoYeon become fed up with the occupation of raiders.
However—
The boy in front of his eyes was different.
With the righteousness and cool-headedness to quickly run over to save people in danger, along with that unworldly aura—
It was as if he was actually meeting the raider he’d dreamed of being. HoYeon felt moved by JaeHyun’s demeanor and actions.
“Then, I’ll be leaving first.”
JaeHyun left HoYeon behind and nodded slightly toward Park KyungHoon. Startled at his words, Ahn HoYeon raised his head.
“C-Could I at least have your contact number? I will pay you back whenever I can.”
“It’s fine… And you don’t have to keep using polite speech. I’m the same age as you. Ah! We’re also both hoping to be raiders and prospective cadets at Millaes Academy, so we should be seeing each other often once school starts.”
“…What?!”
HoYeon looked at JaeHyun with a shocked expression.
‘I had a feeling… but we were actually the same age? And he’s a raider-hopeful like me? But his fighting skills…’
He simply couldn’t believe it. But there was no reason for JaeHyun to lie about this right now.
As if JaeHyun read his mind, he smiled self-consciously and scratched his cheek.
“I know what you want to say. If possible, I’d prefer it if you could keep what happened today a secret. There are some things I have to consider.”
“…Okay. I’ll do that.”
HoYeon nodded his head.
‘It’s actually more strange that such a talented person wasn’t discovered by the mass media. He really must have his own circumstances.’
However, the truth was that JaeHyun just found it burdensome. Since it was an excessively worshipful gaze when he’d only helped to make use of him.
<A moment later>
The two went their separate ways after sharing their contact information.
JaeHyun walked down the main street beside the department store and headed home.
“Ahn HoYeon… Since I’ve analyzed his Combat potential, there will be many places where he’d be useful. This was an unexpected harvest.”
JaeHyun turned on his phone with a smile and checked the calendar.
“All preparations are finished.”
There were 7 days left until the start of Millaes Academy.
JaeHyun was waiting for it after preparing everything as perfectly as he could.
It was still fresh in his mind—
the terrible event right ahead of him.
____