Chapter 226 – I Decline

It took Min Do-jun only 20 minutes to arrive in Korea from China.

However, by the time he got there, the meeting seemed to have ended, as hunters were already coming out of the Association building.

‘Seo Jin-cheol? Where is he? Did he leave already?’

Waiting at the Association entrance for him to come out, fortunately-

‘There he is!’

Seo Jin-cheol’s figure appeared, just stepping outside.

‘Awoo, memorize that bastard’s scent.’

[Woof!]

[The summoned beast has memorized the scent.]

[Real-time location tracking is active.]

[Currently memorized scents: 5 types.]

Four targets for revenge, plus Shin Kyung-min’s younger sibling.

He had memorized the scents of five people.

‘Done! With this, they’re all in the palm of my hand.’

Knowing he could track and kill them anytime eased his anxious mind considerably.

At that moment, Seo Jin-cheol and Min Do-jun’s eyes met.

But it was only for a brief second.

Seo Jin-cheol, narrowing his eyes, soon turned his gaze away as if uninterested and walked off.

‘Go ahead, leave. No matter where you go, I’m not worried anymore.’

Promising himself to meet Seo Jin-cheol again soon, Min Do-jun turned to leave as well.

“Hey? It’s Hunter Min Do-jun.”

“That’s him? The famous Magic Swordsman…”

“Isn’t he the one who took 1st place in the Tower of Infinity?”

Hunters who noticed Min Do-jun late started whispering and staring at him.

He tried to ignore them and walk away, but someone grabbed his attention.

“Hunter-nim!”

It was Shin Kyung-min and Kang Hyuk-su.

“Where have you been? We’ve been waiting for you.”

“Do you know how worried we were when you didn’t show up?”

Who was worrying about whom?

Suppressing a chuckle, Min Do-jun replied calmly.

“I’m sorry for making you wait. I had personal matters to attend to, so I intentionally didn’t come.”

“I see.”

No one pressed him about those personal matters.

It would be rude, and besides, no one wanted to upset the domestic rank 1.

“We were so bored without you, Hunter Min Do-jun.”

“Did the meeting go well?”

“Yes. It was decided to apply priority rights to S-rank dungeons as well. I’ll summarize the details and send them to you via text.”

‘No need for that.’

Though there was no need for such effort, Min Do-jun expressed his gratitude for Shin Kyung-min’s consideration.

“Then we’ll head out first, Hunter Min Do-jun. Let’s meet in a dungeon next time.”

“Sounds good. Contact me.”

After Shin Kyung-min’s group left, Min Do-jun also departed.

Having memorized Seo Jin-cheol’s scent, he had achieved his primary objective.

‘Good thing. I was nervous I might miss Seo Jin-cheol.’

However, what still puzzled him was Justin Walker’s intent.

‘I can’t figure out what he was thinking by gathering the hunters.’

Even though he had intermittently monitored the meeting through Parasite, there was no unusual activity during the session.

No suspicious individuals were spotted either.

‘Did he gather the S-rank hunters’ attention to gain some advantage elsewhere…?’

With so few clues, thinking about it alone led nowhere.

To get solid information, he would have to ask Justin Walker directly.

‘Of course, he won’t just tell me straight.’

He’d have to overpower him, torture, or threaten him…

‘But even then, I doubt he’d open his mouth easily.’

For now, no clear method came to mind.

‘Should I just keep observing the situation a bit longer?’

Putting the matter on hold and heading home, a call came in.

It wasn’t on Heo Ji-pyeong’s phone, nor on Ahn Kwang-hyun’s.

It was a call to Min Do-jun’s phone.

‘Who is it?’

It was an international call from an unknown number.

“I’ve answered.”

-Is this Hunter Min Do-jun’s phone?

Expecting a foreign language due to it being an international call, Min Do-jun was surprised to hear Korean.

“Yes, it is. Who’s calling?”

-Hello! I’m Adam Bishop, the master of Overlord Guild.

‘Adam Bishop?’

It was a name he had heard of even before his regression.

The person who made Overlord Guild a world-class guild.

He was also known to be an S-rank hunter.

“Are you really the master of Overlord Guild?”

-Yes, I am.

“I’ve heard you’re American, so how do you speak Korean so well?”

-Haha, my homeland is Korea, so I’ve learned Korean bit by bit over time.

Given that the guild master himself was calling, Min Do-jun could guess his intent.

‘He’s probably trying to recruit me for real now.’

Currently, Min Do-jun’s status was soaring sky-high.

Since he had put off joining a guild and hadn’t contacted them in a while, they must have grown anxious and called directly.

Though he could guess the intent, he pretended not to know and asked.

“What brings the master of a world-class guild to call me…?”

-Haha, I’m at a loss for words hearing such praise from the top hunter who claimed 1st place in the Tower of Infinity. I’m calling because you said you’d contact us when the time came, but we haven’t heard from you in a while.

‘As expected.’

His response was already decided, but he chose to hear him out first.

“So, you’re calling because I put it on hold.”

-That’s right. We at Overlord Guild highly value you, Hunter-nim. We see you as someone with boundless potential for growth, so we’re prepared to add 200 billion to the previously offered amount.

“You mean you’ll pay 600 billion as a signing bonus…?”

Min Do-jun asked in surprise.

600 billion was an unprecedented amount, one no one had ever been offered.

Even in the future before his regression, it was unheard of.

Perhaps pleased with the reaction he wanted, a chuckle could be heard over the phone.

-No need to be so surprised. Considering your value, Hunter-nim, this much is only fitting.

“I decline.”

-I understand. Then let’s proceed with the contract… What? What did you say?

“I said I decline.”

Perhaps feeling wronged by the blunt rejection, a tremor could be heard in Adam’s voice.

-W-Why?

“I already have a guild. I’m the master of Guardian Guild. As a guild master yourself, you must understand. In some ways, a guild is like a child.”

-……

“I’ve decided to grow my guild well this time. That’s the reason for my refusal.”

-You’re really going to turn down 600 billion?

“Yes. No matter how much you raise the amount, my answer remains the same. A parent can’t abandon their child, after all.”

‘In truth, I declined because there’s no need to join Overlord Guild.’

Since he had memorized Justin Walker’s scent, there was no reason for Min Do-jun to switch guilds.

‘Making a suitable excuse to decline is enough.’

Whatever the reason, for Adam, it was no different from being outright rejected.

-I-I understand. If that’s the case, there’s nothing I can do. I wish only good things for the future of Guardian Guild.

Seeming to accept the reason, he ended the call smoothly.

“Hmm, judging by his voice, he sounds quite disappointed?”

The greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment must have been.

‘Well, let him be.’

As if it didn’t matter, Min Do-jun headed home.

* * *

As soon as he hung up, Adam Bishop let out a dumbfounded laugh.

“Haha…”

For someone who rarely showed emotion, it was a rare sight.

‘To think he’d refuse even after I offered 600 billion.’

Though he was laughing, Adam’s pride was quite wounded.

‘To think there’s someone I can’t bring over with money.’

The way of the world was to bow before money when it was offered.

That’s why he had amassed wealth and built the guild he had now.

‘Even world-class hunters all crumbled before the signing bonuses I offered…’

There weren’t many hunters who clung to pride in the face of money.

If they refused, he’d just offer a larger amount.

Then, more often than not, they’d abandon their existing guild and come over.

Thus, he believed no one could resist money.

‘But here’s one who did.’

To think there was a hunter who wouldn’t budge even at an unprecedented amount.

A wry laugh escaped him.

“Hm?”

At that moment, a call came in.

“Justin?”

Seeing the caller, Adam answered with delight.

“What’s the matter?”

-Guild Master. You said last time you’d recruit Hunter Min Do-jun. Has it not happened yet?

“I just spoke with Hunter Min Do-jun a moment ago.”

-How did it go?

“He declined. Even at 600 billion.”

-……

Even Justin Walker seemed stunned, as a long silence followed.

-Then what will you do now? Are you giving up?

“Giving up?”

Adam clicked his tongue as if he’d heard something unthinkable.

“I don’t fail to obtain what I want. Giving up, you say?”

-But money didn’t work to recruit him, did it?

“If money doesn’t work, I’ll offer something else.”

Though his pride was hurt, he couldn’t give up just like that.

‘I’ll bring him into Overlord Guild no matter what it takes!’

Min Do-jun was a figure worth that much effort.

* * *

Two weeks had passed.

During that time, Min Do-jun had been tailing Seo Jin-cheol.

To see if there was anything suspicious, if there were any clues related to the coup.

‘To confirm if he’s trash worth killing.’

It was to verify several things.

‘Tailing him on the ghost wolf means there’s no worry of being caught…’

The problem was that it was boring.

‘After dungeon runs, he lies at home watching TV, then drives a supercar for a spin. At night, he goes to clubs to pick up women and has one-night stands at motels.’

That was Seo Jin-cheol’s daily routine.

Though there were slight variations, it was more or less the same every day.

‘Is this the typical routine of S-rank hunters?’

He didn’t have any particularly unique hobbies or behaviors.

‘He doesn’t even meet friends, which is common.’

Though hunters often befriended other hunters, Seo Jin-cheol acted and played alone, like a lone wolf.

‘In that sense, he’s similar to me.’

But what puzzled him was why he never contacted Shin Kyung-min, his supposed high school friend.

‘Is the information about them being high school friends wrong?’

Min Do-jun shook his head.

Since the information was extracted by threatening the twin hunters, there was no room for doubt.

‘I wonder how long I have to keep tailing him like this…’

Of course, he wasn’t spending all his time solely on tailing.

Since he also hunted in between, Min Do-jun’s level had risen to 3,700.

Meanwhile, Shin Kyung-min was at 3,640, and the gap was steadily widening.

At this rate, he could maintain an unshakable 1st place.

‘That aside, I can’t keep tailing him like this forever.’

Min Do-jun decided that instead of just observing, he would create a situation.

A situation where Seo Jin-cheol would have no choice but to open his mouth.

‘He has a younger brother two years his junior.’

It was something he learned while tailing him.

‘If I use his younger brother, I can get the information I want.’

Min Do-jun decided to change the target of his tailing.

Not Seo Jin-cheol, but Seo Jin-cheol’s younger brother.