Chapter 55: Faster Than the Eye (1)

“Wow, that’s Vice Guild Leader Kang Yongseok for you. I can’t believe he’s standing up to the notoriously meticulous Cha Yerim like that.”

“Right? I bet our guild is the only one that can squeeze profits out of Shinwa.”

On the 29th floor of Line Square, in Shinwa Guild’s dedicated appraisal room for the Precious Artifact Hall, Kang Yongseok downed a shot of soju, swelling with pride amidst his guild members’ fawning praise.

“Hmph, so what if they’re one of the Big Three Guilds? So what if it’s the legendary Cha Yerim herself? If we refuse to budge, they won’t be able to sell a single item properly.”

He glanced at the pile of artifacts stacked in a corner of the appraisal room—special, sealed artifacts whose information could only be revealed by a professional appraiser.

It was highly unusual for such a large number of artifacts to be routinely acquired during the Guild’s regular expeditions.

For Kang Yongseok and the Hyunahn Guild, this commission was a major opportunity they couldn’t afford to miss.

“Well, there’s no way a decent item would turn up among this trash,” Kang Yongseok chuckled, kicking one of the artifacts scattered on the floor.

It resembled a longsword, but its blade was broken in the middle. The remaining portion was crudely coated in a tarnished, gold-colored substance. To be honest, it barely qualified as gilding; it looked more like the blade had been haphazardly wrapped in gold foil. It was clearly a C-Class or lower piece of junk.

But even with such trash items…

“Without an appraisal, it’ll be hard to get rid of them.”

“Che Yerim has no choice anyway.”

Shinwa would have to agree to whatever HyunAn demanded.

The biggest reason was that there was simply no alternative. HyunAn Guild controlled 90% of the Item Appraisers in South Korea. If the volume of routine appraisals had been smaller, they might have been able to hire freelance appraisers to handle the backlog. But the sheer quantity of items piled up here was far beyond the capacity of two or three freelancers, especially given the one-month deadline for item registration at the International Federation Headquarters.

Ah, since it’s come to this, should I try to negotiate for double the down payment?

After all, HyunAn held all the cards.

Just as Kang Yongseok was about to burst into laughter at this thought,

Click.

The appraisal room door swung open, and Che Yerim stepped inside.

“Oh, President, you’re here so quickly!” Kang Yongseok greeted her, rubbing his hands together and flashing a sly grin. “So, I assume you’ve made your decision? Now that you’re here, I’ve been thinking… the initial contract fee we received was a bit…”

Before he could finish, Che Yerim cut him off. “Vice Guild Leader Kang Yongseok, you’ll need to return two days’ worth of the contract fee.”

“What?”

“Immediately deposit two days’ worth of the contract fee into the Guild’s account and leave this place within an hour. We’ll bill you separately for the damages caused by your breach of contract.”

Kang Yongseok and the Hyun-an Guild members froze, their faces slack with shock.

“Are you even aware of what you’re saying?” Kang Yongseok sputtered.

“Of course I am,” Che Yerim replied calmly.

Unlike Che Yerim’s sly smile, Kang Yongseok’s face flushed crimson with anger.

“Is that so? Then how do you plan to dispose of all these artifacts? You wouldn’t dare sell them off cheaply through back channels without proper appraisal, would you?”

“Of course not. Every item will be thoroughly appraised, registered in the International Item System, and then sold properly. Shinwa would never resort to illegal distribution methods.”

“Then how…!”

Kang Yongseok’s voice erupted in fury, his face contorted with rage.

“I’ll handle the appraisal of these artifacts.”

A voice drifted in from behind Che Yerim.

All eyes in the Hyun-an Guild turned toward the entrance of the appraisal room, where a figure stood with his arms crossed.

The young man who had been with Che Yerim earlier at the Precious Artifact Hall was Lee Taejun.

“You’re taking charge of this?” Kang Yongseok asked.

“Yes,” Taejun replied.

“Who exactly are you?”

Taejun glanced at Che Yerim before answering, “I’m a Hunter who knows the President personally.”

“So you’re not planning to give me your name?” Kang Yongseok scrutinized Taejun’s face, hidden behind the Human Skin Mask. His lips twisted into a sneer. “Now that I think about it, you’re wearing something strange on your face. Let me guess—you’re here to sabotage our work, sent by a rival. If they knew our standing in this industry, they wouldn’t dare pull a stunt like this unless they were incredibly brazen.”

“I can assure you that’s not the case, Vice Guild Leader,” Che Yerim interjected firmly.

“This gentleman is simply a guest who visited the Precious Artifact Hall for business today. He happened to overhear the situation and offered to accompany me here,” Che Yerim explained.

Kang Yongseok, reckless as he was, couldn’t refute CEO Shinwa’s explanation. He clicked his tongue in annoyance and turned back to Taejun. “So, you’re claiming you can handle all the artifacts here yourself?”

“Yes,” Taejun replied, glancing at the fifty-odd artifacts. “This quantity should take about an hour.”

“What? An hour?”

Pfft.

A derisive snort rippled through the ranks of the Hyun-an Guild members.

“Listen here,” Kang Yongseok spat out, a mocking grin twisting his face. “Seeing you waltzing in and out of this place during preparation time, you must be a VIP at the Precious Artifact Hall or personally acquainted with CEO Cha Yerin.”

“Stop stirring up trouble where it doesn’t belong and get lost,” Kang Yongseok snarled. “And CEO Cha Yerin, I seriously misjudged you. To think you’d believe the words of a con artist like this…”

“Stirring up trouble? What exactly do you mean by that?” Taejun asked innocently.

Vice Guild Leader Hyeon-an chuckled, gesturing at the pile of items on the floor. “Do you even know what these things are?”

“Yes, I do. They’re specially sealed Artifacts, aren’t they? Items that remain dormant until their information is revealed through Appraisal.”

“Exactly. Most Appraisal Skills can barely uncover their names. These are the ones we’ve been putting off because they’re exceptionally difficult to appraise.”

“Is that so?” Taejun replied, feigning ignorance.

“Then how do you plan to appraise them all? Even if you somehow manage to start, how long do you think it will take? An hour?”

Vice Guild Leader Hyeon-an tilted his head back, utterly dumbfounded. “Even I, with my S-Class Appraisal Skill, wouldn’t dare make such a boast, you fool.”

Snickers rippled through the Hyun-an Guild members.

Taejun simply grinned and countered, “Then what if I finish appraising everything within an hour?”

“What?” Kang Yongseok’s expression froze in disbelief before he let out a derisive snort. “Hah, you’re just piling one ridiculous act upon another.”

He surveyed the mountain of unidentified items piled around them. He thinks he can appraise all this in an hour?

Kang Yongseok could confidently declare: it was impossible. Not just in Korea, but anywhere in the world. Even the Guild Leader, currently away on assignment at the International Headquarters, couldn’t achieve such a feat.

“Alright, then let’s see,” Hyeon-an said, a malicious grin spreading across his face.

“Care to make a bet?”

“If you’re so confident, let’s make a bet. What do you say?”

Just as I expected.

I inwardly cheered.

Even though I hadn’t openly provoked him, only subtly scratched at his pride, he’d taken the bait and rushed in, foaming at the mouth.

Perhaps he misinterpreted the slight upturn of my lips as another provocation.

Kang Yongseok spat out the words, his face flushed with fury.

“Fine! Since you clearly can’t finish your appraisal within an hour anyway, I’ll concede a little. We’ll split the remaining unidentified items here evenly. Whoever appraises more items within that hour wins the bet.”

I paused to consider.

A bet with Kang Yongseok hadn’t been part of my original plan.

But that didn’t mean I’d refuse.

If the prey insisted on being devoured, who was I to decline?

“Very well,” I said.

Kang Yongseok’s face openly sneered.

But I calmly asked, “Then what will you wager?”

“Name whatever you want.”

He stared at the pile of unidentified items on the floor. With this many, there’s bound to be at least one decent one.

“I’d like to take one of the unidentified artifacts here. Of course, Vice Guild Leader Kang, you’ll personally compensate CEO Shinwa for its value.”

“One of these?”

“Yes.”

“Well, it’s not like you’re asking for anything from the entire Precious Artifact Hall. That’s easy enough. Agreed. But if I win the bet…”

Kang Yongseok’s eyes gleamed with greed.

“…you’ll pay a full day’s wages to every member of our guild.”

“That’s an outrageous demand!”

Che Yerim snapped, her voice dripping with venom. “It’s not like the President is the one losing out! If you overstepped your bounds without knowing your place, you should accept the consequences. If you don’t like it, get on your knees right now and beg for forgiveness.”

“Vice Guild Leader, that’s enough…”

Before Che Yerim could unleash another furious word, I smiled serenely. “Very well.”

“If I lose this bet,” I said cheerfully, “I’ll pay a full day’s wages to every HyunAn Guild Member.”

Kang Yongseok’s face lit up with undisguised glee. He must have felt like heaven had delivered him the perfect sucker.

“Great!” he grinned. “Then let’s make it official, not just a verbal agreement.”

Naturally, he had no intention of letting this opportunity slip through his fingers.

“Everyone, bring the Magic Contract! Let’s make sure this esteemed guest doesn’t back out later.”

About thirty minutes later, Kang Yongseok stood at a makeshift appraisal table on one side of the appraisal room, staring intently at the young man across from him. The youth sat motionless, arms crossed, gazing blankly into the air before a mountain of items.

This unexpected intruder had disrupted Kang Yongseok’s carefully laid plans. He seems to possess some ability, Kang Yongseok thought. He recognized that the youth had donned a Human Skin Mask to conceal his face, but he couldn’t discern Taejun’s true identity.

Regardless, Kang Yongseok had long since realized this meddler was no ordinary Hunter. After all, no ordinary Hunter could brazenly roam the Precious Artifact Hall during the preparation period for its grand exhibition. Moreover, the “mask” the youth wore was a type of item Kang Yongseok had never seen before. It must be at least an S-Class item, he concluded.

To use an Artifact worth billions of won just to conceal his identity…

He must either be incredibly wealthy or a Hunter with a significant reputation in this field.

“This is actually perfect,” Kang Yongseok muttered, a smirk tugging at the corners of his lips.

No matter how skilled he was, appraising all the Artifacts piled on that table within an hour was utterly impossible. Instead, this wager had just presented him with a fresh target to bleed dry.

“Vice Guild Leader, preparations are complete,” a HyunAn Guild Member approached Kang Yongseok, who was already relishing his victory.

Kang Yongseok glanced at the Artifacts stacked on Taejun’s table and whispered, “You divided them properly, right?”

“Yes, sir. They’ve been meticulously divided.”

Both Taejun and his table now held twenty-five specially sealed Artifacts each.

Though the number of items assigned to each of them was the same, the bet was overwhelmingly unfair to one side.

Kang Yongseok had deliberately selected only artifacts with exceptionally high Appraisal difficulty and assigned them to Taejun. These were items that would require hours of relentless effort, even with an S-Class or higher Appraisal Skill, just to extract basic information.

Meanwhile, the items Kang Yongseok received were far less challenging. He estimated that each one would take no more than ten minutes to identify.

Why did I have to stick my nose where it doesn’t belong?

Kang Yongseok couldn’t deny feeling a sliver of pity for Taejun, who had fallen into their trap. But the moment he recalled the Magic Contract they had just signed, his eyes gleamed with renewed greed.

“Ready?” Kang Yongseok asked.

Taejun, who had been staring blankly into the distance, turned his head. “Should I begin appraising immediately?”