Previous Chapter|Index|Next Chapter
22. Noblesse Guild (3)
As I finished my conversation with Sangmin-hyung, a call came.
“Yes. Hyung.”
“Uh. What’s up Min-Cheol?”
“Hyung, I’ve only been here for an hour. Hyung, perhaps you like me?”
“I just had a bad feeling. If there is nothing wrong, that’s fine. Please let hyung know if you become suspicious or notice something strange. Talk to you later then.”
‘What the? Boring. Only talking about himself and ending the call.’
After the call ended, master Park Hyun spoke towards the where the guild members grouped up.
“Everyone, thank you for your hard work. I reserved a BBQ rib place in front of here, so I’ll see all there.”
“Yes!”
“Understood!”
I had given up a day that could have been used for hunting, but it was a time where I could gather a lot of information.
With this much, it should more than make up for the lost time, right?
I left the west section association branch and leisurely headed toward the restaurant.
To make sure that all 500 members could be hosted, she must have selected a restaurant where the entire building was dedicated for use of the restaurant.
From the beginning of the guild war to the end of it, and even when we were moving toward the restaurant, he warily kept an eye, avoiding me as best as he could.
‘There walks my bento.’
“Hey! Hwang Jae Hyuk!”
“…..”
“What happened to the days you used to beat me up for not responding? Why are you doing it yourself?”
“Get lost. I don’t want to even speak with you.”
“Pff! You must have grown stronger since, huh?”
“You little piece of shit! You only got strong using money!”
I guess you could misinterpret my growth like that. But I was not going to be nice and explain to him that he had misunderstood.
I quietly went next to Jae Hyuk and put my hand on his shoulder.
Then.
“Do you not understand your situation? You’re going to die at this rate.”
“Urk.”
Putting a lot of strength in my hands, I squeezed his shoulder.
He could only groan pathetically at the incomparable strength since last time.
“You still think you’re the best huh?”
“G-guh. Let me go you piece of shit.”
“I told you last time? That there is no way I’m forgiving trash like you so easily. I hope you don’t ever change!”
“…..”
“Guess you don’t remember being hit last time? It was really sad to see how much pain you were in before.”
I raised my hand and move it towards his face, making him flinch and close his eyes.
Then.
“Please stop! We’re going to be one big family, so we shouldn’t fight you know?”
Guild master Park Hyun had headed toward us.
“Ma….master.”
Soon as Jae Hyuk saw Park Hyun, he ran toward her.
‘Bullying bitch….. He must do really well at work. 1 But becoming a family? Aren’t we just guild members?’
“Mr. Min-Cheol. Let’s stop and go up to eat. Mr. Jae Hyuk should also stop this and go.”
In that short period, I felt something strange in the way Park Hyun looked at me.
Perhaps it was due to Jong Ho-hyung telling me about the rumors. It could be just me being biased.
But my guts told me that she was hiding something.
After eating out, it was 11 at night.
Since my mother was staying at home, I decided not to hunt till morning and instead head home.
While I was shaking my hand to catch a taxi on the side of the road, someone called out to me.
“Mr. Min-Cheol.”
“Yes.”
“Did you hear?”
“What…?”
“Ah, I guess you didn’t hear. All new guild members are to have an interview with me. So I asked a message to be sent asking if you had time tomorrow, but I guess it hasn’t arrived.”
“Ah, then let’s see each other tomorrow.”
“Let’s. Please come to the office at 7 in the evening.”
We said our goodbyes and I went toward home.
But during the entire way, couldn’t help but be suspicious.
‘Do guild masters really talk this often with their members like this?’
I knew that there were several new members who joined as well.
But Park Hyun did not even give them a glance towards them.
The more I thought about it, the more I became suspicious of her.
* * *
Next day, 7 in the evening.
For the interview with Park Hyun, I arrived at the guild building.
I went to Park Hyun’s room and knocked on the door.
“Yes, come on in.”
As I opened the door and went in, Park Hyun greeted me as if happy to see me.
“Ah, Mr. Min-Cheol. Welcome. I was just about to contact you. There was no difficulty coming, right?”
“Yes, thanks to you. Thank you.”
“Haha, I see. So, it was the first time you’ve seen a guild war, right? How was it? Wasn’t it fun?”
“Yes. It was very exciting.”
“Guild war is like true sports. The strong and superior become the winners, and the weak and inferior become the losers…..”
As she spoke, her face looked passionate and as if reminiscing about something.
But what I saw was a slight childlike madness.
“If a winner and loser is decided, I guess that would make it similar to sports.”
After that.
Many insignificant questions and answers continued.
Then.
“Ah, when Mr. Min-Cheol was younger, is it true your father passed away?”
‘What? Did she check my background? Since it’s something you can learn about just by looking up my life history record, should I be worried?’ 2
“Yes, that’s right. At the age of 12.”
“Rumors say that it was due to debt.”
“Yes.”
“How was it for you?”
“Well, I have no emotions toward it.”
“Hm, did you not get along with your father?”
“…..”
“Ah, I’m sorry. Since I’m interested in Mr. Min-Cheol, I have lots of questions about you. My apologies if I was rude.”
“Ah, it’s fine.”
“Thank you. I also kind of feel bad for your father. But if the weak owes the strong, and is unable to pay the debt, they should take responsibility. I find this world ruled by the law of the jungle. From that point of view, I guess I could see your dad as a sacrifice. Don’t you agree?”
“…..”
Hearing her question, I asked while closing my past.
“Sorry but, what are you trying to get at?”
“Ah, I became to serious. Sorry. I just wanted to know how you were doing, but I went off track.”
“School and hunting, I do not do either excessively or with negligence.”
“I see. Then we’ll end the interview here. Please come to the guild often, I have great expectations of you.”
“Yes. Then I’ll be going.”
After the conversation, Park Hyun had the intern secretary escort me home safely.
On the ride back, there was no conversation, but perhaps due to the feats performed yesterday, I felt a silent pressure.
I’ve felt it before, but he really did stay emotionless without an expression. Due to the sunglasses he always wore, I could never tell what he was thinking.
* * *
“I’m back.”
“Ah. For what reason has my son returned home so early?”
“We haven’t had a day together after you quit work. I came so we could spend time together.”
Even while talking, she went to the kitchen to grab a metal pot and rice cooker, and asked.
“That’s my son. Did you eat yet? You should eat.”
“No, I already ate. What did you do today? What’s that in the living room?”
“Ah, that? Staying at home all day made me bored so I took some small jobs near here.”
“Ah, I told you to get some rest instead of doing that. Your son earns well!”
My mother couldn’t help but laugh with happiness at my complaints.
“Just hearing that from you makes me feel strong! I’m doing it because I’m bored so don’t you worry and go take a shower.”
“Don’t do work like that but do something fun that you want to do. Like the mothers that you see on TV that draw or do flower arranging. I’ll take a quick shower and come back out.”
* * *
After checking that my mother went to her room, I went into my room and laid on the bed.
The words Park Hyun said.
What objective in mind did she say those words with.
It wasn’t an interest you showed toward a new guild member, and it caused me great distress.
Jong Ho’s words that Noblesse has connections with radical groups came to mind again.
The part that really stuck in my mind was how she said the weak being crushed was the natural course of things.
Perhaps she plans to drag me into the radical group?
Is that why she offered those ridiculously beneficial conditions for me when asking me to join?
Does that mean she knows my ability? How much of it?
Perhaps that’s how all the guild members are, or perhaps there is a different reason. I needed more detailed and credible information.
Jae Hyuk would be coming to school tomorrow. Since he missed any more days, he would not be able to meet the required days to attend and possibly have his Awakened license be revoked.
“If I interrogate him, perhaps something will come out?”
Despite Jae Hyuk not being in the guild for a long time, but I thought I could get at least a little bit of information out of him.
Ending my thoughts, I left a text for Jong Ho.
‘Hyung, I need you to help me. I have a question about something you told me yesterday.
Please pick me up after school. There’s something I need to tell you.’
Honestly, I didn’t completely trust Jong Ho.
But I was relying on him because there was no one else in this situation who had that much information and connections.
Of course there were Sangmin and his party, but they were part of the Noblesse guild.
If I asked information from them and they had the same views as Park Hyun, I could be in deep trouble. They were my ‘enemies’ for now.
For tomorrow’s hunting, I tended to my uneasy heart and fell asleep.
Looking for the next chapter?
Current schedule: Monday and Wednesday
Not soon enough? Consider contributing to our supported chapters.
I’m confused… What exactly is he worried about?
Nvmd. I apparently missed a line about trying to draw him in. I must be more tired than I thought π
The world is like that even now. I mean, if you really think about it. How do strong and rich nations stay strong? The system is just not that easy to see.
But don’t get me wrong, radicals are always the worst.
if the guild have connections with radical groups and if they are trying to lure he in.
Probably “radical” groups in the novel means terrorists, so it would be very bad.
now about the chapter.
for me i find it all too odd that the plot about the radicals have simple be thrown out of the blue like that, i dislike it.
let’s all remember that he is “only” alive now, mainly because of her, and her 24hours cd skill that healed him, since he was poisoned and with a destroyed hand when she have find him and it was pretty remote at that time is it was at dawn so without her he would be dead without doubt, the novel points in this direction. and of course the sword and so on, of course this my be seen as odd and be “part” of her plan but at least he should have given her a little more credit and ask her in that interview or something similar since he had multiple opportunities for it in this same chapter and if after the question everything comes to worse i doubt they would try to kill him or cripple him or something similar, since he would be the one doing the first move and by doing it being in control of the situation, at least a little.
But only time will tell but if it follow the “normal” cliche for those types of events; the guild is guilty but the guild master is innocent; she does not know “who” the mastermind is; and is trying to purge those people and may want the mc help in that, let’s wait and see.
Seems to me that he’s worried that they are one of the groups that want to “reform” the government system and make it a caste system. A system where only the strong awakened have rights. Weak awakened and normals like his mother get crushed.
That seems to fit really well! That could actually be it!
Yea! At least give her some credit for actually saving you!
Awakened Supremacist radical group?
Thanks for the chapter!!!
We don’t know much about Special Skills, a skill reading Special Skill seems plausible.
Inf. Mana is a broken enough skill a lot could happen.
A high levelled awakened acting as guild master to find promising awakened and to bring them over to their side which acts on the fact the strong prey on the weak. In this case the awakened are the strong. She’s obviously noticed something about him and is trying to get him to her side by saving him, offering great deals and getting closer to him. Of course he could just be paranoid and she’s not part of a radical group and is just a bit crazy and has interest in him.
I really hope it’s the second one but I doubt the author would go for that route…
Pyon~!
I have never see someone with so little information trying to play the intel warfare!!!!!!!! He is entering a losing battle if he doesn’t have tho social skill to guet info fast.
|γ THANKS FOR THE CHAPTER!!!
|οΏ£””‘γ
|Οο½ |
β γ;οΎ γ
| γ /
|οΌ΅”” Hope his guts is real and his not paranoid
Thanks!
Whoa… The MC is surprisingly scummy. I mean, it was one thing to take action at the school since Jae Hyuk had tried to bully him again, but now, the MC is the one initiating confrontations. Doesn’t feel right.
Eh, by modern Western morals maybe he is scummy. But what you’ve got to keep in mind is that those morals are derived from religious doctrine which was constructed by rulers to keep the peasants in line. Not only were they threatened with violence from their betters if they rebelled, or even tried to reach a higher station, but also by eternal damnation from their god. This sort of morality has purposefully been reinforced over the centuries, so that now it even keeps the average man from having any chance of bettering himself in society because he is toothless, shackled by morality so that he has no chance of swimming amongst the sharks at the upper echelons of society. Usually by the time some regular joe who’s started building up a company or whatnot figures this out his company has been destroyed and absorbed by some ‘titan of industry’ because his morality kept him from playing at that level.
In truth the protagonist is being brutal, sure. He’s even being a bit petty. But the fact of the matter (from a logical moral standpoint) is that this bully has already more or less given him lease to do whatever the hell he wants to. It’s like how a home invader is essentially signing a social contract when he breaks into your home and thereby implicitly threatens you which states that you have a moral right to kill him. Just as there’s nothing wrong with killing a home invader, there’s nothing really wrong with him abusing this bully to gain information. The bully already subscribed to the ‘might makes right’ way of doing things with his own actions, so he has no moral defense when his victim suddenly becomes mighty.
Honestly the idea that killing is always evil, that violence is never the answer, that brutality is purely the domain of the monsters, is nothing but a set of shackles created by the masters of our society (of all societies really, to some degree) to cripple any potential competition for the top spots. Anyone who subscribes to these types of beliefs will never rise high, and with most people doing so the playing field is pretty small for the people at the top. Some people need killing, some situations can only be resolved through violence, and sometimes the only way to protect what you love is to prove to your opponents that you’re willing to be just as brutal to them as they are to you.
I’m not religious by any means, but even I consider the MC to be acting a bit scummy towards the bully now. I somewhat agree with the old “eye for an eye” idea, where if someone wrongs you then you should be allowed to get back at them. The problem is that the MC already got back at the bully, but now he’s doing exactly what the bully did: abusing his power to bully someone weaker than him, just because he can.
Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should. Bullying the weak is certainly not something that should be required in order to become part of the upper echelons of society; that’s something that should be frowned upon, not celebrated.
Morals were basically created in order for society to function as well as it possibly could. Who or what is right and wrong is important because without that, without morals, society breaks down and chaos ensues. You could almost compare people without any morals as animals, only following their base instincts.
While I’m not calling out people with different morals as animals, I am going to say that I’m a bit disappointed that so many societies have developed differently than the one I’m from. Unfortunately, there isn’t much that can be done. Which one is right? Which one wrong? The answer could be all of them or none of them. Hmm, maybe one day we’ll all merge into one… like in Star Trek! For the Federation! π
Gotta agree with that! If you have to beat him up, just do it once and for all!
Going by this chapter it seems like the guildmaster is going to pressure him by buying the debt?
But that doesn’t really make any sense. My impression is that the debt is illegal in the first place; it could only be enforced because he and his mother had no power, and going to the police would do no good. In the first place his father borrowed money from an illegal loan shark. Even if the debt was legal, it would have disappeared when he died, at most consuming whatever ‘inheritance’ he left behind to pay it off before being nullified. At least, I imagine; I don’t know how things work in Korea, but here at least debts don’t pass down like that where a father is a pos who racks up loans and then the children have to pay it off. Unless maybe the mother was a cosigner…?
But again it seems like it was an illegal loan in the first place, so all they have to do is refuse to pay, and if the gangsters (or now guildmaster) keep harassing them then bring in the police. He’s not powerless now, he’s at least got the approval of the awakened association and if he really wanted to make a big deal of it the public since he singlehandedly stopped a dungeon breakout. Even if it came to it he could probably just pay it off at this point. I just don’t see how this is going to give the guildmaster any leverage, and feel like the author is just going to write it so that it does while ignoring all logic.
I dunno, maybe I’m misreading things and that was an unrelated comment on her part?
It going to be a betrayal
Oh no.. Min-cheol is gonna be dragged into a terrorist group!!
Sigh. Quite a juvenile power fantasy writing. I hope it gets better since i am not enjoying the dumb mc and setting atm…
Ah, radical, not in the racist/xenophobic sense, but in the ‘Awakened should trample over and dominate the world’ sense uh.
Either way, yikes.
I wonder if the guildmas has a skill like identification or appraisal.
Could be… I doubt that though. I feel like they are interested in his skills but don’t know exactly what they are. She did rescue him from the dungeon when he came out, they probably interested in him cause he solo cleared it with a boss.