From Today, I'm a Player

Chapter 31: A Test

“I think this is the first time I’ve ever seen the unrivaled Lee Jun-Kyeong get nervous,” said Kim Su-Yeong with a genuinely surprised face. Lee Jun-Kyeong had his fists clenched and a pale complexion. Kim Su-Yeong felt it was strange to see him like that.

“Am I not a human, too?” responded Lee Jun-Kyeong, relaxing a little after hearing that.

“Yes. I thought you weren’t human…”

“...”

Kim Su-Yeong continued, “Am I wrong? You’re never nervous, even when you enter a dungeon. In fact, you were calm when you entered the Rhine River Gate.”

Lee Jun-Kyeong wondered if that was true, and after some thought over this, he agreed that it was the case.

“It looks like you’re nervous about meeting the Association President, right, Mr. Lee? Well, I guess he isn’t someone anyone can just easily meet.”

“...”

“Still, there’s no need to be too nervous. It’s not like you were called over because you made a mistake. The Hunter Association just wanted to congratulate you on your achievements and have some simple conversations,” Kim Su-Yeong consoled.

There was definitely nothing wrong with what the other man was saying because it was already information that was known to the public. But sometimes, Lee Jun-Kyeong looked over at Kim Su-Yeong and thought that he truly could be an idiot.

‘Is he just naive?’

On the other hand, maybe Kim Su-Yeong was the type of person who could still be positive even after knowing the situation. Lee Jun-Kyeong couldn’t figure out if Kim Su-Yeong truly believed the Association President’s words, or if he was just simply taking what the Association President’s subordinate had said at face value.

"Mr. Kim."

Lee Jun-Kyeong tried to awaken a little sense of reality in him.

"Yes?"

"More than fifty Hunters died at the Rhine River Gate."

"…"

Kim Su-Yeong was taken aback by the sudden topic change, but Lee Jun-Kyeong didn’t stop talking.

“Among them, the main leadership of the Northern Army Guild, which had already established itself as a guild, was annihilated.”

To be precise, it was the guild that?he?had been interested in and wanted to raise.

Kim Su-Yeong tentatively interjected, “What you’re saying is…”

“They didn’t just call us to congratulate the survivors and get a report of the situation. It’s an uncommon way to perform…” Lee Jun-Kyeong said with a slightly bitter smile. “...an interrogation.”

“...”

Kim Su-Yeong stood there with a furrowed expression. To be frank, there was no reason to tell him this. Whether he knew or not, Lee Jun-Kyeong didn’t have an obligation to inform him.

‘Grow up a little.’

Lee Jun-Kyeong wanted him to look at the situation from multiple different viewpoints. The reason he had told him this was because he wanted Kim Su-Yeong to think a little more and grow a little more. Lee Jun-Kyeong liked Kim Su-Yeong’s character. He was a neutral person who was neither too kind nor too weak. Therefore, Lee Jun-Kyeong had no hesitation in growing attached or building a friendship.

“I would like to keep meeting with you, Mr. Kim.”

Lee Jun-Kyeong was relieved to see Kim Su-Yeong’s reaction. Instead of looking displeased or falling disappointed, the man had a certain zeal to his expression.

‘Good.’

“Mr. Lee, it’s your turn.”

Then, the secretary of the Association called Lee Jun-Kyeong.

***

On the path to the Association President’s office, Lee Jun-Kyeong mused about the last time he met Yeo Seong-Gu while following the secretary.

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‘I want to enter Asgard…’

Yeo Seong-Gu seemed to be completely taken aback.

“That’s not something I can decide. As you may already know…”

It was the first time Lee Jun-Kyeong had seen Yeo Seong-Gu that flustered. Asgard, what sort of feeling did that name bring about in him?

Lee Jun-Kyeong knew roughly about the situation he was in.

[Heimdall was dissatisfied with Asgard’s behavior; while its original purpose had been for humanity, Asgard had fallen.]

He had seen it in the Book of the Demon King.

When Heimdall had met the Demon King, he had already held a great skepticism regarding Asgard. True to its secret organization status, he found it challenging to find an avenue to escape. It wasn’t until after he had met the Demon King that the two of them were able to succeed in running from Asgard. In fact, the Demon King had also belonged to Asgard for a while.

The reason Lee Jun-Kyeong had wanted to join Asgard was that he would be able to grow rapidly based on the information and strength he’d obtain from there.

‘I’m going to join Asgard faster than the Demon King.’

He would swallow it all until it ran out of its usefulness. That was the goal he had set. But, in order to get there, he had endured the risks that accompanied selling his face and chose to gain fame.

“You can just enter the room.”

Lee Jun-Kyeong had arrived at the office of the Association President and looked ahead.

[Office of the Association President]

Terrifying words were written on the door. Despite being strong, the Association President was not an easy person to meet. In this era, the Association President wasn’t simply an administrative person who had to handle the public office.

‘It’s a position that needed to be backed with the strength of a Hunter.’

It required political power, informational power, and even strength. The man that sat in such a demanding position was someone who needed to be able to satisfy them all.

Creak.

As Lee Jun-Kyeong opened the door and entered, a man momentarily looked up at the sound. Then, he raised his head and looked at Lee Jun-Kyeong directly.

“Ah, look at me, inviting a guest over and being completely out of it. Today has been busier than ever.”

He rose from his seat and approached Lee Jun-Kyeong with a benevolent smile. Lee Jun-Kyeong was 190cm tall, but the man, who looked to be in his forties, didn’t lose out at all. Instead, he felt even larger than Lee Jun-Kyeong. Lee Jun-Kyeong wondered if this was what was called ‘presence.’

As those thoughts ran through his mind, the man held out his hand and spoke.

“Nice to meet you. I may be lacking, but I am the head of the Korea Hunter Association. You can call me Jang Hyo-Jin.”

Lee Jun-Kyeong suppressed his trembling emotions and grasped the offered hand.

‘This man is…’

The Northern Army Guild had followed this man with such awe. He was a terrifying person. His story would be passed down into the future and had been mentioned several times in the Book of the Demon King. Lee Jun-Kyeong thought about the first time he had seen any mention of him in the Book of the Demon King.

[He has strength that one had no choice but to acknowledge. So strong that even I couldn’t guarantee that I’d win easily.]

Clench.

Lee Jun-Kyeong felt the strength in the man’s grasp and responded.

“My name is Lee Jun-Kyeong.”

The man relaxed his grip and spoke while smiling kindly again.

“Shall we skip past the small talk and get to the main point?”

His voice suddenly rang in Lee Jun-Kyeong’s ear.

“What is your identity?”

Even up until this point, the man hadn’t erased the kind smile from his face.

***

Although Lee Jun-Kyeong had considered various different outcomes of the meeting, he hadn’t considered that things would have evolved to the current situation.

“It looks like you already know the answers to everything you wanted to know. Is there really a need for me to waste energy on repeating a pointless conversation?” Lee Jun-Kyeong replied boldly.

“Don’t you already know that I am the ‘person’ they spoke about?”

He seemed to have no intention of hiding anything from the very beginning. He was one of the few people in the world who had gotten a familiar this early on. That same familiar, Huginn, would have already reported everything it had heard between Lee Jun-Kyeong and Choi Yeong-Seong.

While Lee Jun-Kyeong was a little stiff, the tension that Kim Su-Yeong had felt from him earlier on had disappeared.

“Sounds good.”

If the Association President was laying his cards on the table outright, then he would be more than happy to accept.

Rumors claimed that the Association President had an incredibly mysterious temperament that was hard to grasp. He was an influential figure recognized within political circles and a well-known manager within the corporate sphere as well. More importantly…

‘Our experiences are different.’

The experience that Lee Jun-Kyeong had accumulated was an era apart from the experience of the man in front of him. Lee Jun-Kyeong knew a lot of information, but his ability to use and wield it in information warfare was severely lacking compared to the Association President.

‘He’s not just as he seems.’

From the abilities he was rumored to have to his appearance of being in his 40s, not a single thing about him was true.

[He was like a raccoon. Don’t believe anything about him, as everything about him was most likely a lie.]

It was much more comfortable to have things out in the open rather than fighting over every inch with someone like him.

“Where are my manners? Why don’t you sit down first.”

He comfortably guided Lee Jun-Kyeong to a seat that had been prepared and then went to his own chair and sat down. Then, as they faced one another, the man fished for more information.

“You’re such an impressive young man. It doesn’t seem to be like everyone else. Isn’t that right?”

“I am exactly as I seem.”

“Good, good.”

The man had obtained another piece of information, that Lee Jun-Kyeong and he were not the same. Furthermore, he learned that Lee Jun-Kyeong knew about his identity.

Very few people knew the secret of the Association President. However, Lee Jun-Kyeong’s reply was the same as his admitting that he knew this unknown secret.

“You’re such a unique young man,” he said while taking out a certain document.

As it passed by, Lee Jun-Kyeong was able to glance at what was written on it. He saw his name in large letters on the first page.

“Was rescued by the ‘League Guild’ from a Gate and became a Hunter.”

The man slowly read through the document with Lee Jun-Kyeong’s information on it. He resembled a grandfather reading a children’s book to his grandson.

“Awakening grade was D-Rank. To think, within close to two months after awakening as a Hunter, you became a B-Rank…”

The Association President couldn’t hide the surprise on his face.

“What an incredible growth rate. Are you sure you’re really not the same ‘case’?like me?”

“I am not.”

“Hmm… You had a clash with the Northern Army Guild. That’s right, I remember. That person was you.”

Even though he must have already known, he was pretending he didn’t. Lee Jun-Kyeong wondered if this was the president’s way of showing that he wanted to begin the fight now.

The Association President continued, “It truly is a coincidence that only the upper management of the Northern Army Guild was destroyed in the Rhine River Gate, isn’t it?”

“It was unfortunate, but it was a very possible result.”

“True. Hunters dying in a gate is a common occurrence."

Whoosh.

Thick mana began to emanate from the Association President. It was different from the bloodlust Lee Jun-Kyeong had felt from Yeo Seong-Gu, but it felt even more concentrated and insidious.

“Didn’t you kill him? Choi Yeong-Seong, the punk I raised.”

“...”

Lee Jun-Kyeong struggled to respond as the heavy mana pressuring his body made it difficult.

“...!”

“Did you see it through the crow?”

Lee Jun-Kyeong responded after breaking free of the pressure from the Association President’s mana. The Association President seemed to be in shock, as he had broken free of something that even an A-Rank Hunter would find difficult to escape.

‘Good?thing I practiced the mana stream.’

It had been more straightforward than expected for him to break free of it. Although he wasn’t able to complete the mana stream, he was able to rely on the minute flow of mana he had been able to feel during training to relieve the pressure brought on by the mana of someone with no knowledge of mana stream.

“That’s right.”

“It was me. There’s no need for me to lie. I was the one who killed Choi Yeong-Seong. What sort of problem could there be with that? I was just defending myself against a Hunter who was trying to kill me,” said Lee Jun-Kyeong confidently even though he had just admitted that he had killed a fellow Hunter.

The Association President, Jang Hyo-Jin, finally removed all his masks.

“Of course, there is a problem,” he said in a cold tone.

“You destroyed the horse on my janggi board that I had been raising. How could there be no problem?”

“But, even if you say janggi horse, it's not as if it was a general. He was but a pawn, wasn’t he?” replied Lee Jun-Kyeong.

“How…”

The older man spoke with great vigor as if he wanted to take out a weapon and strike Lee Jun-Kyeong in the neck at that very moment.

"How much do you know?"

“Didn’t you say it earlier, Association President?” Lee Jun-Kyeong responded.

The president’s eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

“To skip past the small talk and get to the main point.”

Lee Jun-Kyeong decided to push his momentum. Then, breaking free of the pressure of the Association President’s emanating mana, the mana shifted in his favor.

“Have you heard from Guild Master Yeo from the League Guild?”

While the Association President must have already known the relationship between the two of them, Lee Jun-Kyeong spoke in a way to insinuate that friendship between them didn’t exist.

“I’ll just say it outright.”

“...”

“I want to join Asgard.”

“You’re a cheeky one.”

The Association President made no attempt to hide beyond a mask any further. From this point, Lee Jun-Kyeong knew he could die at any time. But of course, he didn’t plan on dying easily.

“...!”

Just as the Association President had removed his mask, Lee Jun-Kyeong did the same. It was as if a feast of mana was gathering within the room. Lee Jun-Kyeong’s mana slowly spread and began to pressure Jang Hyo-Jin.

“I’ll say it again. I want to join Asgard.”

The president snarled, “Do you… even know… what Asgard is…”

He was definitely showing the president that he was a powerful Hunter. Though it was still a basic mana stream, he had produced a mana pressure by unconsciously applying a concept he hadn’t fully learned yet.

“Asgard was the first party of Hunters created for the purpose of saving mankind. Isn’t that right?”

“...”

Lee Jun-Kyeong pulled out his winning move. It was dangerous to provoke the Association President any further. It was time to cut out any useless words and conclude the conversation.

“And you are...the King of Asgard. Odin.”

“...!"

“Now, I’ll repeat it. I want to join Asgard.”

The mana that had filled the room disappeared as if it had been washed away.

1. ???(neoguri), better known as raccoon dog or tanuki, is known to be a trickster in East Asia. If a fox is known to be sly in the West, a neoguri is known to be a trickster, a liar, and a deceiver in the East.

2. A strategy board game popular in Korea, actually closer to Go, but called Korean chess as the premise is the same, where you win by taking units.