Chapter 17: Honey Badger

“Don’t talk bullshit!”

Blunt’s voice was full of rage, veins popping in his neck.

But he had no choice but to shut his mouth.

How could he speak when his mouth had already disappeared?

His face, and even his upper body, vanished with a single gesture from Yoon Kang-hyun.

He defeated the enemy I had risked my life to fight as if crushing a bug.

I knew he was strong, but it was awe-inspiring every time I saw it.

How many S-class Hunters could do what Yoon Kang-hyun could, no matter how skilled they were?

This was the best S-class Hunter in South Korea.

His abilities were so classified that they were considered a national-level secret.

Yoon Kang-hyun was called South Korea’s last line of defense.

Isn’t giving someone like that a free pass for certain crimes a disaster?

“Okay, pest control is done.”

He dusted off his hands and gave a bright smile.

Is it fortunate that someone like this is on my side…?

“Mr. Kim On-yu, there’s something I want to ask you first.”

“…What is it?”

“Did you summon me using a skill, perhaps?”

His deep eyes stared at me.

Should I tell the truth?

The fact that my ‘Investment Prodigy’ skill trait had been unlocked…

I’ve known Yoon Kang-hyun for over ten years already.

Telling him might not be a bad choice.

“Actually…”

[Warning]

[Disclosing information to a third party is prohibited.]

[■■■ restricts your voice.]

A sharp pain, as if someone was squeezing my vocal cords, shot through me.

The muscles in my face seemed frozen, and I couldn’t even let out a short scream.

My lips moved, and a voice came out on its own.

“I obtained a disposable artifact and summoned the Guild Master.”

That wasn’t my true intention.

It felt as if my voice had been controlled by someone for a moment.

Only when I finished speaking did the pain subside, and my mouth regained its freedom.

“Is that so? Well, we can think about that later. We have things to do now.”

“…Yes.”

What was the name that appeared on the system window just now?

It was mosaicked, so I couldn’t even identify the name.

No, how could anyone interfere with the system?

If that was possible, the owner of that name might not be human but a being close to a god.

I couldn’t figure out what they wanted from me.

The system would likely remain silent.

Only unanswerable questions lingered in my mouth.

★★★

“This is a big problem.”

I wiped the sweat from my face with the back of my hand.

Seo Han-soo’s body was covered in shallow wounds.

Iblis’s body wasn’t unscathed either, but he was in better condition than Seo Han-soo.

Seo Han-soo had been gaining the upper hand in the beginning.

‘Damn it, he was hiding his magic power.’

Iblis’s skill wasn’t all that it seemed.

Who would have known he was hiding his true abilities!

I was distracted by worrying about the teacher, and the tide of the battle started to turn.

‘I need to go quickly, I think something happened to the teacher!’

Iblis kicked off the ground and quickly closed the distance between himself and Seo Han-soo.

Straight lines, downward angles, and diagonals.

Iblis’s sword was erratic and flexible.

Seo Han-soo had no choice but to dodge as much as possible and parry the sword.

“Are you tired already!”

“Damn it!”

I confidently rushed in, but it would be unsightly to die to this guy.

To avoid an embarrassing afterlife…

Seo Han-soo had a better magic power application ability than other S-classes.

He reduced wasted magic power and gathered it into his fist, thinly and purely.

I’ll end it with this one blow.

Iblis also drew out all the remaining magic power and prepared for the final strike.

They were about to collide as they rushed toward each other.

Both Iblis and Seo Han-soo stopped simultaneously, sensing a chilling energy that pierced their necks.

‘Could it be the magic power of the giant man who was with Iblis!?’

This is bad.

I’m barely holding on as it is, but if another S-class joins, the result is obvious.

The corners of Iblis’s mouth turned up in a victorious smile.

“Blunt killed that teacher! Now, once Blunt arrives, you’re…”

Iblis stopped speaking.

His victorious smile froze.

The magic power that seemed to engulf everything disappeared like a lie.

As if returning from existence to complete nothingness.

The disappearance of magic power meant one thing.

“No… there’s no way someone here could kill Blunt….. That teacher killed Blunt?!”

His face turned pale, almost pathetically blue.

Seo Han-soo didn’t miss the opportunity and wore a wicked smile.

“Looks like the guy you believed in is dead. Aren’t you in big trouble now?”

Seo Han-soo closed the distance with Iblis and swung his fist.

An opponent who has lost the will to fight is the easiest opponent of all.

Iblis muttered, moving his lips.

Swish-!

Iblis’s form shrunk, and only his clothes remained on the floor.

‘He disappeared?… No, is this a transformation?’

I couldn’t let him get away, so I slammed my fist into the ground where I felt the magic power.

The ground cracked and caved in.

When I lifted my fist, all that came out was dirt.

“That slippery bastard, he’s quick at running away.”

Still, it’s a relief that the problem seems to have passed without any major issues.

Seo Han-soo scratched the back of his head.

No ma how much he thought about it, he felt uneasy about leaving loose ends.

“Mr. Seo Han-soo!”

A familiar voice came from afar.

The principal, shirtless, ran over happily.

At first, Seo Han-soo didn’t recognize the principal and frowned, thinking he was a pervert.

The principal also seemed to have gone through some hardship, with bruises and wounds all over his body.

“Where is the teacher?”

He must be the most injured among us.

He defeated an S-class all by himself.

“Ah, he’s coming over there.”

“Teach… Huh? Why is that guy here…?”

The teacher was more unscathed than I thought.

His clean skin, without a single wound, didn’t suggest that he had been in a fierce battle.

The problem was Yoon Kang-hyun next to him.

Cold sweat trickled down, soaking my back.

Seo Han-soo had a history of scamming and running away from the Hongyeom Guild before he left.

‘Should I run away now?’

‘Yeah, once I’ve decided, I should run right away…’

Yoon Kang-hyun’s eyes met mine.

His face was smiling, but I instinctively realized that killing intent was flowing out.

It was already too late to run away.

“Ah, I’m screwed…”

★★★

Fortunately, Seo Han-soo was safe when we arrived.

“Long time no see, Mr. Seo Han-soo? How have you been?”

“Ah… yes.”

Seo Han-soo avoided eye contact as much as possible with an awkward expression.

Why is he acting like this again?

Yoon Kang-hyun grabbed Seo Han-soo’s shoulder and squeezed, “creak.”

“I’m glad you’ve been well. I’ve been quite worried because the artifact you sold turned out to be a plastic lump.”

He didn’t scream, but I could see his brow furrow in pain.

You couldn’t find anywhere else to scam, so you scammed the Hongyeom Guild?

No wonder Yoon Kang-hyun’s face hardened whenever he heard Seo Han-soo’s name.

Seo Han-soo looked at me with pitiful eyes.

His eyes were full of pleas for help, but I deliberately looked away.

In the end, it’s all your karma.

“Te, Teacher, you’re not abandoning me, are you? Wait! Time!”

“There’s no such thing as ‘time’ here.”

Seo Han-soo’s terrible screams echoed in the air, and I covered Shin Ahyeon’s ears.

Yoon Kang-hyun, having taken his revenge until his anger was relieved, dusted off his hands with satisfaction.

Seo Han-soo, slumped on the floor, continued to twitch.

Wow… that’s harsh.

“Mr. Kim On-yu.”

“Yes, yes!”

Am I next!

The terrible state of Seo Han-soo made me feel nervous all over.

He wouldn’t do that to me, would he?

“Haa… how can someone with a magic deficiency get caught up in something like this?”

“Haha…”

Fortunately, he doesn’t seem to have noticed that it’s a fake magic deficiency.

I’m relieved that I don’t have to worry about being dragged back to the Hongyeom Guild.

“Well, I’ll hear the explanation later and change Mr. Kim On-yu’s workplace to another location.”

“…Pardon?”

Yoon Kang-hyun stroked his smooth chin and pondered my workplace.

So, he’s saying that he’s going to move my workplace from Lava Elementary School to another place.

I absolutely can’t move my workplace.

If I’m not there, the world can’t avoid destruction.

“Guild Master, didn’t you say that you needed me to take care of the children?”

“Mr. Kim On-yu, what I value most is the safety of our guild members. After what happened today, I think we need to move your workplace to a safer place.”

Yoon Kang-hyun was the type to do what he said.

If I stay still like this, he’ll definitely move my workplace.

Shin Ahyeon tightly grabbed my sleeve.

Her face turned pale, as if she had recalled a bad memory.

At the same time, she muttered something.

A Hunter’s excellent hearing could even hear a child’s muttering.

“…Don’t go…”

Many teachers had already left the children.

Because of that, they had developed a distrust of adults and wouldn’t even expect anything.

“Our guild has received countless favors from Mr. Kim On-yu. We can’t put our benefactor in danger because of a little kid like that.”

Originally, Yoon Kang-hyun was cold to those who weren’t his people.

And that was no exception for children.

Yoon Kang-hyun looked at Shin Ahyeon with a coldly sunken gaze.

I could feel Shin Ahyeon flinching in my arms.

What are you doing, scaring the child!

“The workplace change will be effective from today…”

“Stop it!”

I wrapped the remaining magic power around my legs and kicked Yoon Kang-hyun’s ankle.

Yoon Kang-hyun looked quite flustered by the sudden kick.

Look at him not even feeling pain even though I put all my magic power into it!

Could you at least pretend to be in pain!

This time, I even used the ‘Whip of Love’ skill.

Ouch! That hurts like hell!

It felt like kicking a rock, not a person’s leg.

Even though it was a skill that increased damage in proportion to trust, Yoon Kang-hyun only let out a short breath and that was it.

The principal and Seo Han-soo, who were watching from the side, had shocked expressions.

Have you never seen a guild member hit the Guild Master before?

It was like a honey badger that had lost its fear challenging a lion.

“Didn’t you say you would let me live a comfortable life in the countryside? I’m sorry, but I like my current life, so I have no intention of changing my workplace.”

I glared at Yoon Kang-hyun, widening my eyes as much as possible.

Yoon Kang-hyun, who had been silently watching, slowly opened his mouth.

“…I can’t help it then. If that’s what Mr. Kim On-yu wants, I’ll let it go.”

Huh? He’s backing down this easily?

I thought I would have to push back even harder a few more times.

Yoon Kang-hyun’s stubbornness was well known.

He even snatched artifacts that other guilds were trying to buy for a higher price just because he liked them.

There was a time when the guild members called him a grumpy old man.

‘There’s no way that Yoon Kang-hyun would back down… could it be?’

I opened Yoon Kang-hyun’s system window.

+++

Name: Yoon Kang-hyun

Estimated Grade: S-Class

Trust: 96%

Status: Summoned by the Investment Prodigy skill, obeys commands, and the abnormal state will be lifted after a certain amount of time.

[Stats]

Strength: 76 Agility: 72 Stamina: 88 Magic Power: 103 Senses: 82

Investment Limit: 50

Current Investment Points: 50

+++

Oh my god…

It seemed to be because of the skill I used.

The fact that the summoned person obeys my commands means…

I reached out my hand to Yoon Kang-hyun.

“Guild Master, give me your hand.”

This is a request that Yoon Kang-hyun would never grant under normal circumstances.

Now, he obediently placed his hand on mine and looked at me as if asking what was wrong.

A moment of silence passed, and it seemed like cold sweat was trickling down.

‘This is an unbelievable ability!’

With this trait, it meant that I could use S-classes like summons.

Of course, I wouldn’t force my disciples to do anything since they’re mostly my students.

Even so, it was a useful trait.

In other words, the person I summon becomes more favorable to me than before.

I knew why Yoon Kang-hyun gave in.

By the way, I’m always amazed when I see this guy’s stats.

I’ve seen so many S-classes so far, but Yoon Kang-hyun was the first one whose stats exceeded 100.

Of course, I invested in him to raise them, but still.

Considering that the average S-class’s stats are between 40 and 50, he had crazy stats.

The investment return seems to be good, so should I ask him to go on raids with me later?

‘No.’

What I need to do now is raise the children safely, rather than become stronger.

That way, I can live peacefully after I retire.

“I’m glad to see you after so long, but it seems like it’s time for us to part ways now.”

As soon as Yoon Kang-hyun finished speaking, dozens of vehicles came rushing in. Those who got out of the vehicles were none other than Hunter Association employees.