Here's an Opportunity
Chapter 46: The Meeting (2)

Chapter 46: The Meeting (2)

In a conference room on the third floor of the Hunters Association Headquarters.

Representatives of all C-Class or higher Hunter guilds located in Seoul had gathered here today, which meant that the guilds attending this meeting were at least somewhat famous.

All of these famous guilds were currently focusing their attention in one direction.

"She's from the DG Guild."

"That guild, huh?"

"If I had a cute, young niece like her, I'm sure I would be turning my wallet inside out buying gifts for her."

"She really is cute. How adorable."

They weren't looking at Kim Ki-Rok. They were all muttering amongst themselves while staring at Kim Ji-Hee. She was currently occupying the lap of Lee Yeon-Hwa, the Guildmaster of Shine Guild.

Kim Ji-Hee had been munching away at her cookies, but upon hearing her guild name mentioned, she lifted her head and glanced around. As she sensed that everyone's gazes were focused on her, she smiled back at them bashfully.

"My heart... my heart is..."

"Aaaaaaah, I'm meeeelting!"

"Wow, her nickname as the Smiling Angel is truly no joke."

The female Hunters began shifting in their seats, as if they really couldn't stand it any longer. If the president of the Hunters Association hadn't thrown open the doors to the conference room and entered the room at that very moment, they would have surely rushed over to get closer to Kim Ji-Hee.

"It seems that everyone is here—hm?"

Just as he entered the conference room, the President of the Hunters Association froze in his tracks.

For a few moments, Kang Man-Ki seriously pondered whether he should overlook the presence of a child. But no... regardless of the circumstances, was it really alright to bring a child along to such an important meeting?

Although, she was certainly a cute child.

In fact, if Lee Yeon-Hwa wasn't the Guildmaster of the Shine Guild, Kang Man-Ki would have already begun scolding her for bringing a child along.

However, he soon realized that this girl actually did possess the necessary "qualifications" to participate in this meeting.

She might be young, but Kim Ji-Hee was indeed an Awakened Hunter, and she also happened to be quite the famous figure due to the role she played as DG Guild's mascot.

Also, her guild happened to be very pivotal to today's meeting.

"So this is Ji-Hee." Kang Man-Ki greeted her with a nod.

From her position seated in Lee Yeon-Hwa's lap, Kim Ji-Hee bowed her head and returned his greeting. "Hello."

"Since there's no way that young Ji-Hee here would be participating in this meeting as her guild's sole representative..." Kang Man-Ki slowly looked around, only to relax once he found a man who was sitting all on his own. "It's a pleasure to meet the Guildmaster of the most trending guild in South Korea. As far as I'm aware, this will be our first time meeting in person."

Kim Ki-Rok nodded politely. "That's right. I've visited the Hunters Association many times in order to purchase Gate rights or handle any guild issues, but this is my first time meeting you in person."

Kang Man-Ki returned the nod. "Then allow me to introduce myself. I am Kang Man-Ki, President of the Hunters Association."

With that casual greeting, the President of the Hunters Association moved to take his seat at the head of the table. The Association staff who had followed him into the room quickly readied their presentation by connecting a laptop to a large monitor.

"Even at this very moment, new Gates are still being discovered. Let's get started immediately," Kang Man-Ki declared.

"Understood, sir," responded a glasses-wearing staff member, who turned to address the representatives sent by each of the guilds. "Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedules to be here. With the authority of the Hunters Association, I, Manager Han Dong-Soo of the Gate Management Team, declare this meeting in session. Allow me to get straight into our report on the situation."

Since the situation was urgent, the manager signaled for the staff operating the laptop to begin the presentation.

Click.

The screen of the monitor turned on, displaying a map of the country.

"On the tenth of December, at 12:25 a.m., the Gate Management Call Center received a report from the DG Guild's Guildmaster, Guildmaster Kim Ki-Rok, informing them of the appearance of three separate Gates. After confirming the accuracy of the report, the Gate Management Call Center sensed that there was something strange about the sudden appearance of these Gates and gave the order to all Hunters employed by the Hunters Association to go on patrol and search for any other Gates that may have appeared."

Circles were drawn one after another onto the map.

"As a result, we have been able to confirm the appearance of a total of thirty-nine different Gates. The classes of the Gates cover a wide range, but we have been unable to confirm any of their rewards. The monsters that appear in each of the Gates are also different from each other, but there is one similarity that all of these Gates share."

Small windows popped up beside each of the circles that marked one of the newly appeared Gates, offering more detailed information about each one.

The Contaminated Orc's Garrison

Difficulty: Levels 51~60

Reward: Unable to confirm

The Hanan Fief Occupied by Contaminated Monsters

Difficulty: Levels 75~80

Reward: Unable to confirm

Contaminated Lizardmen's Underground Ruins

Difficulty: Levels 41~55

Reward: Unable to confirm

"Contaminated?" Kang Man-Ki read aloud with a frown on his face.

This word was in each of the names of those three Gates.

"Yes," Han Dong-Soo said. "All of the Gates that have appeared thus far have had "contaminated" in their names. The Hunters Association launched its own investigation in order to find out why this came to be and, as a result, we have confirmed that the monsters in those particular Gates have been contaminated with dark mana."

Kang Man-Ki asked, "Does that mean those dark magicians have something to do with these Gates?"

Periodically, there would be Gates in which the main threat was a group of dark magicians wielding used dark mana. Naturally, monsters contaminated by dark mana were also found within those Gates.

Han Dong-Soo nodded. "Yes, that is safe to assume. However, after comparing the environments on the other side of the Gates' entrances, we have concluded that the appearance of these Gates wasn't something that could have been managed by just one or two dark magicians. Some of the Gates are located in forests, some are deep within the mountains, and a few others are even up the snowy alps."

"So that means there must be a whole group of dark magicians behind this," Kang Man-Ki concluded.

It seemed that Kang Man-Ki had already analyzed the information contained within this report in advance, as each of his interjections was helping compress Manager Han Dong-Soo's report into a more structured and simple explanation.

"Yes, that is the conclusion that we have reached." Han Dong-Soo nodded once more.

"Do the strengths of these contaminated monsters match their levels?" Kang Man-Ki inquired.

"Not at all," Han Dong-Soo replied. "They're stronger by about five levels."

Kang Man-Ki frowned. "In other words, we need to add five levels to the degree of difficulty confirmed for each of these Gates by the Appraisal System."

"That is correct," Han Dong-Soo said before changing the subject. "That is all for our report on the situation. Now then, allow me to explain why we have gathered representatives from each of the guilds in Seoul that have reached C-Class or above. I'm afraid that new Gates are still appearing even now. While there's no way to know how many Gates will appear in total, as of this moment..."

The representatives from the guilds all instinctively dry swallowed, their gazes fixed on Manager Han Dong-Soo.

"The United States has recently discovered fifty-seven Gates. Japan has forty-seven, and China has fifty-two," Han Dong-Soo gravely revealed.

Furthermore, it seemed like those numbers would only increase from here.

"Could the difference in the number of confirmed Gates per country be due to their differences in search speed?"

Manager Han Dong-Soo shook his head in response to this question that was voiced by one of the guilds' representatives.

"There's no way to be sure of that as of now. However, the Hunters Association currently speculates that the difference in the number of Gates appearing per country is based on the number of Awakened in each country or, in other words, the number of Hunters," Han Dong-Soo said confidently.

So the number of Gates appearing in each country would differ based on the ratio of the number of Awakened to the rest of the population, not the total landmass. South Korea might have a small landmass, but it did have a highly concentrated total population.

Han Dong-Soo took a deep breath. "South Korea might be a small country, but we have a large number of Awakened. That is why the Hunters Association has concluded that still more Gates may appear, and because of that, we need to quickly destroy the Gates that have already been discovered."

One of the guilds' representatives nodded his head. "So you need the guilds to make a move."

"Yes. That's right." Han Dong-Soo admitted right away.

Another Hunter frowned in concern. "Even though we don't know the clear conditions?"

"It is possible to infer the necessary conditions. Either all monsters must be destroyed, or the source of the dark mana must be erased. If it's not either of those, then..." Manager Han Dong-Soo turned his head to look at Kim Ki-Rok of DG Guild, one of the many guild representatives attending this meeting, and continued speaking. "We plan to check the clear conditions of these Gates with the help of Guildmaster Kim Ki-Rok before we make any moves."

Having "awakened" with Discernment, Kim Ki-Rok asked with a bright smile, "Will there be any reward for my help?"

"Since the Gates will be cleared by each of the guilds gathered here, we have judged that it would be problematic for an outsider to claim a part of the rewards from each Gate. Therefore, all the necessary compensation for your services will be provided to you by the Hunters Association and the government," Han Dong-Soo promised.

"Normally, the person who discovers a Gate's clear conditions is entitled to a tenth of the Gate's rewards. But you're saying that, in this case, the government and the Association will pay me an equivalent reward?" Kim Ki-Rok asked for clarification.

"That is correct." Han Dong-Soo nodded firmly.

Everyone knew that the guilds hated having to share a slice of the pie[1]. The government and the Hunters Association were taking responsibility for providing the reward for his services so that the guilds wouldn't have any reason not to cooperate with Kim Ki-Rok.

This was a compromise designed to quickly identify the conditions needed to destroy the Gates without infringing on the rights of the guilds or unfairly exploiting Kim Ki-Rok's ability.

Kim Ki-Rok turned to look directly at President Kang Man-Ki. "Sir President."

"Please speak freely, Guildmaster Kim Ki-Rok."

The president was open to any suggestions as this was an unprecedented situation, where dozens of Gates had appeared simultaneously.

During previous Attempts, Kim Ki-Rok had been offered similar rewards for his help in resolving special situations like this one. In one case, he had even destroyed an A-Class Gate, even though that Gate had actually appeared in the United States.

Kim Ki-Rok's expression grew serious. "Let's stop speaking in circles and get straight to the point. The Hunters Association believes that there is a possibility that the number of Gates will only continue to increase. So rather than managing these Gates, you intend to move to destroy them. But in order to do that, you need the cooperation of the guilds. Do I have all that correct?"

"That's right." Kang Man-Ki nodded.

"And the deal you are offering for my help, is it exactly as your subordinate has described it?" Kim Ki-Rok demanded.

"Yes, it is. After all, the Hunters Association does not possess the authority to press a Hunter into service," Kang Man-Ki assured him.

"Unless it's an extremely urgent situation, that is." Kim Ki-Rok pointed out with a smirk.

"Yes," Kang Man-Ki calmly agreed. "Unless it is an extremely urgent situation."

"Alright, I understand. The DG Guild will accept the Hunters Association's request and begin operating with the aim of destroying these Gates," Kim Ki-Rok promised. "However, since the person who destroys a Gate will receive the reward from its destruction, it's usually customary to purchase the Gate rights from the Protection Guild responsible for guarding the area where said Gate appears. But in this case..."

Rather than purchasing the Gate itself, they were actually purchasing the exclusive right to enter said Gate. This type of agreement was often made because the Appraisal System couldn't always determine the clear conditions for a Gate, therefore the purchase of a Gate had no bearing on whether or not it was even possible to clear it. This was because the clear conditions for such obscured Gates were oftentimes unique, and no one could predict what they might be before entering.

"I understand that the Hunters Association does have the right to directly take over the management of a Gate if it's a special type of Gate, or during very special situations. Will the Hunters Association be taking direct control and supervision of the Gates that have appeared during this period of time?" Kim Ki-Rok inquired.

"We will be doing so," President Kang Man-Ki verified. "Not only have multiple Gates appeared all at the same time, the word "contaminated" is involved in each name, so we have judged this to be a special situation. We have explained our reasoning to each of the Protection Guilds, and the Hunters Association has already taken control of their management and supervision."

Whenever Gates were discovered, the Hunters Association would first check any potential risks of a Gate before transferring its management to the Protection Guilds that guarded the area where they appeared.

Kim Ki-Rok nodded. "So there's no need for us to make a deal with the Protection Guilds. In that case, which Gate would you like the DG Guild to destroy?"

"We would like to offer you a selection of three Gates," Kang Man-Ki recommended.

Kim Ki-Rok raised an eyebrow. "So the Gates that I first reported?"

"That is correct."

"Understood. However, I'm afraid that we will have to pass on the Chungcheong Province Gates for now, as they are too far away."

"In that case, we will assign the DG Guild the Gate located on Bibong Mountain in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province—the Contaminated Orc's Garrison," Kang Man-Ki said, relieved.

Having achieved his intended goals, Kim Ki-Rok sat back in his seat.

Only then did the representatives from the other guilds quickly begin voicing their own interests with President Kang Man-Ki. Manager Han Dong-Soo had been quietly observing the scene, but now shifted his gaze over to Kim Ki-Rok.

It seems that this meeting will end sooner than expected, Han Dong-Soo thought to himself.

In order to avoid any friction with the Protection Guilds, the Hunters Association had already announced that they would be taking direct control over the recent spate of Gates. In their announcement, they had also reaffirmed that the Hunters Association would be preemptively claiming any further Gates discovered and reported during this time.

They would also provide a way out for any guilds facing difficulty clearing the Gates. They had publicly stated that the Hunters Association and the government would cover the cost of asking Guildmaster Kim Ki-Rok for his help in dealing with any problems keeping them from destroying the Gates.

Could he have planned for this all along? Han Dong-Soo surmised.

Right as he had thought that, Kim Ki-Rok met his gaze with a sly grin.

"He really did plan for all of this..." Han Dong-Soo muttered under his breath.

1. The original text uses the Korean idiom of having someone stick their spoon into one's bowl. ☜