I Am The Anti-Mage - Chapter 152: Obtrude

The next day, everything went as usual. The martial law status had got lifted from South Korea after several days of ensuring Seoul and its surroundings were safe. They also managed to catch up and clean up the remaining Portal Gate creatures during that time. Now, it was time to clean up and recover the damage they suffered, whether financially or the country’s overall strength. It also included the living situation of the ordinary people and public infrastructure.

On the other hand, news about the Spatial Bag got widespread among hunters and brokers in South Korea. The video clip of Ji-woo’s could keep up with two S-rank hunters also spread widely and became a hot topic in all South Korean guilds.

The hunters and brokers wonder if Ji-woo was an S-rank hunter or an Apex-ranked hunter. The former was not uncommon, considering one hunter managed to touch the rank limit every year. Meanwhile, the latter was rare and influential news if it became a reality.

Six years after the appearance of the Portal Gate, South Korea only had one Apex-ranked hunter. And that wasn’t enough to make hunters and brokers believe that the country was safe from the Red Gate threat.

If South Korea had two Apex-ranked hunters, then the country’s name would have good credibility in the world. Magic item transactions would get processed smoothly, and inviting other countries’ hunters would get easier.

A safe country, of course, would bring prosperity in this time of misery. That was what most people in the world believed.

It was an era where it was not money that determined the status and face of the country. But, how high-ranked were the hunters and how many there were. Not having a single Apex-ranked hunter could get categorized as a low-class country. And it was predicted to get crushed at any moment by the invasion of the Red Gates.

At the same time, the news did not go unnoticed by ordinary people.

“The young man’s face is not too ugly. Strong and handsome enough. That’s great as a new South Korean icon.”

“I agree!”

“Hey, girl. Don’t be happy just yet! We don’t know if this video is real or not. After all, we’ve just got hit by a disaster. Why should we bother with this?”

“Right. We’d better clean up our ruined place so we can work as usual again.”

“Aigo! Don’t be tacky! How pathetic you are. What are you doing yourself watching the video? You can only talk about other people, but you are the same. Hum!”

“You brat! I was just saying, don’t get excited just yet. If it’s true, that’s great. We can feel safer than ever before against those monsters.”

The reactions of the people could be said to be varied. Some like it, and some doubt it. Well, they were just ordinary people who could only hope for help from the hunters. They didn’t really care about the news of the hunters as long as they could feel safe.

Meanwhile, several guilds also took the initiative to recruit Ji-woo to their place without any shame. Even though it was clear that their resources were below the top three South Korean guilds, however, they were still stubborn. It was, of course, gave Ji-woo a headache.

Ji-woo had no other choice but to move his mother and sister last night after Dong-hyun and Yu-jin left. He bought an apartment house for 1.7 billion won in the Itaewon neighborhood, Yongsan district.

Elijah and Ji-won didn’t understand at first why they had to move away for a while. Ji-woo finally explained reluctantly. He told them that he had sold a magic item for billions of won, so many people were looking for it. So, in order not to disturb his mother and sister, he bought a new place.

Of course, it was all an excuse made up by Ji-woo. Otherwise, Elijah and Ji-won wouldn’t be willing to move, much less accept him buying such a luxurious place instead of renting it.

This time, Ji-woo couldn’t make things suspicious anymore. His mother had sensed that there was something odd about his behavior these past few days. If he had to go on a rampage, killing people who came and disturbing the peace of his family, it would be hard to avoid the attention of his mother and sister. Also, it was too time-consuming because he could only do it at certain times.

Ji-woo temporarily didn’t want to do that pointless activity. He desired to take the matter of possession of the Portal Gate first to the Hunters Association. Only then did he send a warning via the re-evaluation of his rank later. If the forewarning didn’t work, he couldn’t help but do it in vain to kill them one by one as an example to those out there who dared to look for him.

In the meantime, at the headquarters of the Demigod guild. Gang-ho was rubbing his forehead at Ji-woo’s information as a member of his guild. No matter how many times he read it, he still couldn’t understand what was going on in Ji-woo’s mind.

“From what we saw yesterday and in this video, this kid is definitely not an E-rank hunter. Moreover, Mana can’t get sensed from him. That certainly makes him not simple.”

At Gang-ho’s words, Dal-soo smiled awkwardly, not knowing what to say. He knew enough about Ji-woo but didn’t think it was appropriate to reveal it.

Meanwhile, In-ah, who was with the two of them in the room, was also silent, even though she had little information about Ji-woo. To be more precise, news that she had yet to confirm. She then looked at Dal-soo.

Dal-soo noticed In-ah’s gaze. But, he just shrugged his shoulders, indicating that it was up to the Vice-headmaster about Ji-woo.

In-ah quickly turned to Gang-ho and opened her mouth. “Headmaster, how about I just investigate the hunter named Kim Ji-woo?”

Dal-soo wanted to give advice on the investigation. But, it turned out to get a surprising answer from Gang-ho.

“No need. Leave the kid alone. People with such powers usually have eccentric personalities. After all, he’s a member of our guild. Don’t make him feel uncomfortable.”

“Alright,” In-ah replied while clicking her tongue.

Dal-soo slapped his forehead. Gang-ho’s decision to let Ji-woo out was bound to end badly. That was because only he knew that Ji-woo was already disinterested in the guild. Even if it were not written or not official, Ji-woo would quit being a member of the Demigod guild sooner or later. And that was indisputable.

“What’s wrong!? What are you doing?” Gang-ho noticed Dal-soo’s strange behavior.

“Oh, nothing,” Dal-soo awkwardly answered while shaking his head.

Gang-ho then shifted his face to In-ah. “In-ah~ya, I’d like you to take care of the Vanguard team’s training for these few days. We’ve delayed our hunt for a tier-5 Portal Gate too long.”

“Suddenly?” In-ah asked while frowning.

“I want us to enter the Portal Gate next week. The list of hunters that will make up the team is on Dal-soo. You can take it from him later.”

Dal-soo just stayed silent at that. He knew of Gang-ho’s plan for a long time because he was the one who put together the hunters’ list in the Vanguard team. He wouldn’t get surprised if Gang-ho rushed to enter the tier-5 Portal Gate even if the situation wasn’t that great.

In-ah took a deep breath. “Our guild is suffering losses because of the four Red Gates. Wouldn’t it be better if we built up the lost power instead of hunting?! Not only the Shadow guild and the Artates guild. But, we also lost quite a lot of hunters!”

Gang-ho then knocked on his desk.

“In-ah~ya, I told you the list is already there. And the hunters that were there are all still alive. Dal-soo himself confirmed that.”

“You don’t have to worry and just do some training based on the information about the tier-5 Portal Gate dungeon in our repository. It will help us prepare later.”

“But, Headmaster!”

“I’m sure we’ll get some unexpected stuff in the dungeon and be able to recover some of our lost strength.”

In-ah sighed. “Okay then. I’ll leave first.” She answered with a heavy heart. She then walked out of the room while reminding Dal-soo to send her the list of hunters on the Vanguard team.

Dal-soo also got up from his seat and was about to leave the room. However, he got stopped by Gang-ho.

“Put Ji-woo in the Vanguard team. I think we need his strength at the tier-5 Portal Gate. With that, at least the chances of us succeeding in conquering the dungeon are higher than before.”

Dal-soo turned around and answered with a serious face. “In this regard, I cannot promise you anything, Headmaster. Even though he is a member of our guild, he might refuse my invitation. Like what Hyung said, he might have an eccentric personality. So, it’s hard to be sure. I apologize in advance for that.”

Gang-ho raised his eyebrow. “Why would he possibly decline the invitation? He’s a member of our guild. He should know his responsibilities. This and that differs in his personality. So, don’t confuse the two.”

Dal-soo seemed to be in a pinch because of Gang-ho’s request because, on the other hand, he knew what kind of person Ji-woo was.