I Am The Anti-Mage

Chapter 142: Too Good to be Real

“Are you serious about that!? You’re not drunk, right? Talking about fighting with him, and the result is a crushing defeat!?” Chairman Yu exclaimed.

But, after looking into Dal-soo’s eyes, Chairman Yu realized that Dal-soo wasn’t joking or making up stories. Although, he didn’t know whether the story was true or not. He finally chose not to interrupt and listened further.

“Fine. Let’s just say your story is true. And if he’s really as strong as you describe. Wouldn’t that be the same as you saying that the youngster is an Apex-ranked hunter? That kid suddenly seems to come out of nowhere.

“How long have you known him? I should have checked the hunter’s data at the Hunter’s Association before coming here.” Chairman Yu regretted his carelessness. He then picked up the phone and called the staff in the management division.

Dal-soo, who saw that, did not stop Chairman Yu’s actions. He was confident that the information held by the Hunters Association was not that different from that of the Demigod guild.

Not long after, Chairman Yu, with a look of confusion and disbelief, glared at Dal-soo, who was sitting on a chair. But, before he opened his mouth, Dal-soo interrupted first.

“I know he’s only get listed as an E-rank hunter. But the truth is, he’s powerful, as I said earlier. I’m not kidding about this. I didn’t dare to say he’s on par with Apex-ranked hunters, but what was clear was that even a few S-rankers wouldn’t be able to match that young man.

“Right now, he’s still indifferent. However, he has a temper. So I don’t want to turn the situation into an internal fight here. At least for the Hunters Association’s benefit, it’s better not to investigate or interrogate him. Let alone go to where he lives. I strongly discourage it.”

“How scared are you of that young man!?”

“Hyung, you’ve never experienced fighting him. So, you don’t know how useless we S-rank hunters are in front of Ji-woo’s presence.”

Dal-soo then began to talk about his experience from the first meeting with Ji-woo. He didn’t go into many details of their fight and about the Portal Gate Ji-woo entered. He only focused on the fact that Ji-woo was really strong.

Honestly, he sometimes felt that Ji-woo wasn’t as strong as an Apex-ranked hunter. But every time, he remembered his crushing defeat. Somehow, the Mana in his body became irregular. Even though it wasn’t a big thing, fear came uninvited into his mind.

Inevitably, it made Dal-soo put a label on Ji-woo. That was a hidden danger!

“Hyung, you know how I imagined his strength after our fight? Even with ten S-rank hunters, I still don’t see Ji-woo’s defeat coming.”

“Aren’t you overestimating the young man too much?”

“What I said is arguably still underestimating him. Of course, what I say is only my personal opinion this time around. But the previous one was purely from my observations after meeting that young man.”

Chairman Yu fell into deep thought. In fact, he still had a hard time accepting Dal-soo’s words about Ji-woo. Based on the data from the Hunter Association, Ji-woo had not been a hunter for long. He understood that the concept of hunters growing stronger existed, but going from E-rank to S-rank in a few months was impossible.

Not to mention S-rank to Apex-rank. It was not a trivial matter and a mere theory alone. The two ranks have a very different system from the rankings below them.

“I’m trying to approach and persuade Ji-woo to lend a hand if we or South Korea are in trouble. Hyung, you saw what he could do, right? Just one person can make up for the shortcomings of several S-rank hunters. Coupled with losing thousands of hunters, being able to guarantee him helping us is a good thing. All Hyung needs to do is leave this matter to me.”

Seeing Chairman Yu wavering, Dal-soo revealed a little about Ji-woo.

“I can guarantee that as long as Ji-woo is willing to lend his power, any tier of the Portal Gate will get crushed easily.”

Chairman Yu was astounded, listening to what Dal-soo had to say. At that moment, he was digesting the meaning of the sentence.

No matter how hard Chairman Yu racked his brain, the concept of being able to conquer all tiers of the Portal Gate was absurd. The Mana Restriction couldn’t get crossed even by an ArchMage, let alone a lower rank hunter.

How could that be possible?

From the moment the Portal Gate appeared, Mana restriction had been acknowledged and tested by all organizational factions. And the result was the same, impossible to penetrate. No matter how much Mana one had, it couldn’t get used to breaking through the restrictions of the Portal Gate.

Was this another story that felt like crap like before?

Chairman Yu didn’t want to believe everything, but it was too good to ignore it.

“You…, you’re not talking nonsense, are you!? Even the International Hunters Association never said anything like that at all. You understand what it means to be able to crush all tiers of Portal Gate, right?! You’re sure you mean that that youngster can enter all of it? Not a team but a hunter?!” Chairman Yu asked in shock and confusion.

Dal-soo could only nod, assuring Chairman Yu that he was serious about it. The plan was to either sweet talk or negotiate with Ji-woo for favors. At least, if all went well, South Korea would have the trump card to overcome the current Portal Gate crisis.

Well, it was a situation without considering the problems that might occur. Given Ji-woo’s unconcerned attitude, it was hard to imagine the plan succeeding so smoothly.

“This is crazy stuff. So, for you know, I still have my doubts about all of your words. No matter how good our relationship is, I can’t just believe it all.

“But, I’ll leave this to you. And I’ll try my best to keep the information hidden for as long as possible. Regarding the issue about the weapon store that had a source that supplies items, I’ll also try to suppress it for as long as possible.

“Instead, I would like to see with my own eyes everything you said earlier. You must understand my position as the leader of the Association. It is not easy to do this without witnessing firsthand. If indeed that young man is able to help us manage the Portal Gate. I will stand with you and support that young man with whatever I have.”

Chairman Yu’s decision to follow a plan with an unknown source might seem like a foolish move. But, it also signified how desperate they were for the problem of the Portal Gate, which was constantly there and took many lives.

People who got hit by despair were usually easily swayed by hope for which there was no certainty. Look foolish? Yes, it was true. But, people who were not in the same situation would never know how it felt and could only scorn it.

“Hyung, thank you. I’ll also try to talk to him to re-evaluate the rankings. That way, we can attract mercenary hunters to work with us.”

Chairman Yu sighed. “Before that, we need to prepare measures in case any guilds want to pull Kim Ji-woo to their side by force.

He then saw Dal-soo contemplating something and knew the S-rank healer had some sort of countermeasure to it. He then urged Dal-soo to share his thoughts. 

“Hyung, you don’t have to worry about that. Also, thank you for trusting me.”

For Dal-soo, he believed he could keep Ji-woo interested and gain favor in the process. Namely by giving access to the Portal Gate to Ji-woo. With the help of the head of the Hunters Association, it was possible. That way, he might be able to dissuade Ji-woo from being interested in the other guilds.

“Can’t you tell me? Well, it’s up to you. Don’t get excited just yet. It’s just a plan. Before I see it in person, I’ll just do things the way it is. Hopefully, he does have the powers you describe.”

It was a glimmer of hope even though it sounded fake to Chairman Yu’s ears. Hearing that from one of the people he could trust increased the credibility of the story a little bit.

He didn’t think it would be Apex-ranked. It was too good to be true. Ji-woo proved to be strong, and getting an S-rank certification alone was plentiful. Moreover, the main point of the youngster was being able to enter the various tiers of the Portal Gate. That alone was beyond the knowledge of mankind, who knew about magic.

That made him very confused because the ArchMage, who was the highest-ranked due to his magic and high elemental attainment alone, couldn’t even do that.

“Alright. Let me know what’s next. I entrust this matter to you.”

Chairman Yu said goodbye and left the room, leaving the Demigod guild headquarters. Dal-soo also got up from his seat and was about to follow behind. However, his steps halted when In-ah stopped him at the door.

“If I hadn’t forbidden the guild members to stop by on this floor. What you were talking about would have been overheard by the crowd. A careless mistake that you usually did not make. Actually, what are you planning to do?!”