Chapter 40: Chapter 40

Translated by: ShawnSuh

Edited by: SootyOwl

Upon entering the restaurant, the four local hunters, one of whom were sporting a snake tattoo on his arm, called out to the owner.

“Where’s my money? Business seems to be booming. I don’t see why you’re falling behind on payment. How do you explain that, huh!?” the man with the snake tattoo said intimidatingly.

At which point, the owner became teary-eyed and replied, “How am I supposed to make a living when you keep asking for more and more?”

“Sigh. Look, lady. Do you think you’ll be able to have a thriving business without our protection? Have you forgotten about that?”

“That’s not what I meant…”

“I expect to see your payment by today,” snake tattoo said in a heavy, intimidating tone, and the owner, sighing deeply, replied, “… All right.”

“Oh, and make sure to feed my boys well, will ya?”

With an evil smile on his face, snake tattoo sat at a table at the center of the restaurant. Meanwhile, while Min Sung was focused on the movie, paying no attention to the hunters, the waiter made his way to the champion’s table. Glancing in Min Sung’s direction, the man with the snake tattoo waved at the waiter and said, “Hey, you. Bring them over here.”

As the flabbergasted waiter looked back and forth between the champion and snake tattoo, the man with the snake tattoo said impatiently, “Now! Before you regret it.”

Sweating profusely, the waiter looked toward Min Sung nervously and took the steaming plate of sweet-and-sour pork to the snake tattoo’s table. Seeing his order end up at another table, Min Sung looked toward the hunters. At which point, snake tattoo rose from his seat and walked over to the champion.

“You got somethin’ to say?” he said, chuckling. Pausing the movie, Min Sung looked at the man’s face and returned the question, “What do you think?”

“Then, why don’t you go out and become a hunter yourself? What the hell is this guy watching anyway?” snake tattoo said, peeking at Min Sung’s phone. Then, he shouted to his crew, “Eh!? Ey, boys! This guy’s watching ‘War Against Crimes’ on his phone! Puahahaha!”

“Was he gonna eat like the actor in the movie? Who does he think he is? Jung Oh Ha? Hahahaha!”

Hearing that, Min Sung quietly poured himself a cup of water, downed it, wiped his mouth with a sheet of tissue paper and rose from his seat, bumping past snake tattoo while saying, “Outside.”

A look of disbelief appeared on the man’s face. However, it wasn’t long before that look turned into a ridiculing one. At that point, the rest of the crew, who had started eating, put their chopsticks down and rose from their seats, snorting. Just like that, the four local hunters, chuckling ominously, exited the restaurant.

Within one minute of leaving the restaurant, Min Sung came back inside and returned to his seat while wiping the blood off of his sleeves. At which point, the rest of the customers paid for their food in a hurry and rushed out of the restaurant in fear. While the crowd of customers was running out of the restaurant, Min Sung rang the bell on his table.

‘Ding!’

Startled by the sound, the waiter, who had been standing there in a daze, walked over to the champion’s table.

“… Sir?”

“Where’s my order?” Min Sung asked, looking slightly displeased.

“Oh! We-we’ll bring out a fresh batch as soon as we can! I apologize!” the waiter replied, bowing at a ninety-degree angle and making a run for the kitchen.

With that, Min Sung picked up a piece of pickled radish, brought it up to his mouth and savored the refreshing flavor and crunch. Soon, the sweet-and-sour pork and fried-dumplings made their way to the table. Since the movie was much better than he had expected, Min Sung decided to eat while watching it.

First, Min Sung opened the bottle of soju and poured himself a glass. Then, looking toward the sweet-and-sour pork, he was mildly surprised by its unusual appearance. Unlike the usual golden-brown pieces of deep-fried pork doused with a golden, syrupy sauce, the sweet-and-sour pork on Min Sung’s table had a much lighter hue to it.

‘Well, one should never judge a dish without first tasting it.’

Picking up a decently-sized piece of pork with his chopsticks, Min Sung brought it up to his mouth. Followed by the unique texture of the tender and lightly-battered pork, the sweetness of the sauce filled his mouth.

‘I don’t think I’ve had sweet-and-sour pork like this before. What did they do differently?’

Then, when he looked down at the menu, the answer became clear.

‘Ah! Sticky rice! That’s it!’

Although there was no honey in the dish, the sweetness made Min Sung question that speculation. Then, with his eyes fixed on the move playing on his phone, Min Sung picked up a piece of fried-dumpling, dipped it in soy sauce and brought it up to his mouth. Followed by a big crunch, the juice inside of the dumpling filled his mouth. Breathing out hot steam, Min Sung raised his glass with his eyes fixed on his phone. Then, he poured the glass of soju into his mouth.

Swallowing, he nodded with deep satisfaction. A good movie accompanied by good food. There was nothing better. Watching the movie, Min Sung ate unhurriedly, savoring every bite.

Meanwhile, after mustering up courage, the owner went outside. She was filled with shock by what she saw. Breaking out into cold sweats, she looked toward the champion cautiously with her employees, one of whom she kept poking at to go check on the mysterious customer. Shaking uncontrollably, the employee approached Min Sung cautiously and reluctantly.

“S-sir?” the employee started off.

“Yes?”

“T-those hunters outside… T-they’re not dead, are they? Otherwise, we might have to call an ambulance…” the employee asked, still shaking. At that moment, a line from the movie reverberated from the phone in a timely fashion.

‘These are alive, all right.’

Looking at the employee, Min Sung said, “You heard him.”

—

Upon arriving at the restaurant, the paramedics carried the four local hunters to the ambulance while the owner and her employees watched in a daze. Since the surveillance and all the black boxes in the area were fried, they had to go through a process that felt more like an interrogation. After the ambulance left and the police withdrew empty-handed, the owner and the employees stood in their places, the image of the mysterious customer who calmly enjoyed his meal while watching a movie on his phone still lingering in their heads.

—

“Hehe! Heh! Ehehe!” Ho Sung let out as he walked down the street, unable to help himself. Not only was he at a level high enough to be able to use Aura, but he had also received an extravagant gift from the champion: The Warlord’s Sword.

In order to make sure that he wasn’t dreaming, Ho Sung pinched himself on the cheeks repeatedly. However, no matter how many times he did so, the pain reminded him that he was, in fact, awake.

“Hehehe!” snickering, Ho Sung smoked his cigarette.

“Life is good!”

In the end, meeting the champion turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

‘I’ll accept him as my master. I’ll work my ass off for him,’ Ho Sung thought determinedly. Then, taking his phone out, he changed Min Sung Kang’s name to ‘Master.’

“Hm. Heh. hehe,” Ho Sung let out a stifled chuckle, feeling proud of his level and his new ability. With Min Sung away in Busan, Ho Sung decided to celebrate on his own that night by going to a pub in Itaewon, where he was a regular.

Being a Friday night, the pub was booming with people. Nevertheless, due to ethnic diversity and a large number of customers being on their own, enjoying a beer or two by himself was hardly going to be an issue. After ordering a beer, he sat at a table and stuck a cigarette in his mouth.

‘Man! I can’t remember the last time I had a break!’

At that moment, an anxiety-provoking thought entered his mind. ‘What if he comes back to Seoul? Eh, I’ll worry about it then. For now, I’m just gonna enjoy the moment, even if it’s only for a few minutes.’

Looking at the foreigners shooting pool, Ho Sung waited for his beer patiently. Shortly after, a stein of beer filled to the brim made its way to the table. Without hesitation, he raised the glass and guzzled it down.

“Oh, yeah! That’s the stuff!”

There was nothing like having a beer to celebrate an accomplishment. On top of that, having an item that went for up to five hundred million won was a huge plus and a source of insurmountable joy.

‘Yeah, this is more like it. This is what it means to live!’

“Hehehe!” chuckling, Ho Sung raised his glass to drink some more. At that moment, a group of three men approached him.

“Eh?” drinking his beer, Ho Sung looked in their direction. They seemed to be the members of the Ace Clan. Among them, was Min Wook Cho, a level 101. Sitting next to Ho Sung, he asked with a surprised expression and in a cautious tone, “Are you Ho Sung Lee? The Head of the Diamond Clan?”

‘Who the hell…?’

Furrowing his brow, Ho Sung replied, “That’s right. Can’t you tell?”

Ace Clan had a reputation as one of the more prominent clans in the streets. Since the Diamond Clan had been obliterated by Min Sung Kang, it was extremely likely that the Ace Clan had taken the opportunity to expand their territory. However, as most clans tended to be, actionable area was limited to the streets, which made it nearly pointless to compare and contrast the clans.

“I thought so! Min Wook Cho. Pleased to meet you,” Min Wook said, reaching out for a handshake enthusiastically. However, instead of shaking his hand, Ho Sung glared piercingly at him. For hunters, vigilance was a habit. Considering that their job often required them to put their lives on the line, it was a necessity.

“I don’t wanna be bothered right now. Take a hike…”

“Sir. Please take us under your wing.”

“… Eh?” Ho Sung let out, looking at them with widened eyes. By contrast, they were all looking at him with sparkling eyes. “What the hell’s the meaning of this?”

“Level 200? I can’t believe my eyes!” Min Wook said, astonished while staring up at the text above Ho Sung’s head.

“We don’t hear much about you and your clan these days, but I can see that you’ve been busy! I had no idea!”

“Wait, you two…”

“Sir, you’re going back to your clan, aren’t you?”

“Wha-?”

“With you as their leader, the Diamond Clan will surely take hold of the trading rights in Seoul without problem. In which case, we wanna be part of it!”

“But aren’t you guys in the Ace Clan?”

“We’ve been meaning to leave, anyway. For how incompetent he is, this clan head of ours is one messed up, greedy son of a bitch. He’s NOT clan head material. I can tell you that.”

It was common for clan heads to be rough around the edges, especially when they were on constant alert for potential threats. In that world, it was impossible to get by without getting one’s hands dirty.

“How did you even get to level 200 anyway? We’re astonished!” Min Wook said, him and his crew looking at Ho Sung with sparkling eyes.

“Ahem… Blood, sweat, and tears. That’s what! You gotta hustle if you wanna get to where I am,” Ho Sung said, staring into the distance.

“Ah, right. Hustle! Well, you must have gone through enlightenment at some point! Congratulations, sir!”

Min Wook couldn’t have been further from the truth. In fact, Ho Sung couldn’t have reached his level without the champion’s help. Of course, there was no way that Ho Sung was going to disclose that to the hunters in front of him.

‘I better play along and keep my mouth shut,’ Ho Sung thought.

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