Kim Seo-jun took out 3 kilograms of gold ore and six artifacts from his backpack.
When Shin Woo-jin turned around after being caught by the signal at the gate, he saw this and nodded slightly.
“That’s… by any chance—”
“Please don’t ask where I got these. I just want to sell them at a fair price. I think there might be some minor issues if I try to sell them myself.”
“Alright, I’ll help you.”
A bold answer without even a second’s hesitation.
Shin Woo-jin could easily anticipate why Kim Seo-jun referred to these items as ‘loot.’
After the deaths of Lee Hyung-mo and Lee Han-soo, several artifacts and 2 kilograms of gold ore were recovered from their belongings.
Since they had no family, some of these items were scheduled to be officially transferred to the Rift Management Bureau through proper procedures.
Shin Woo-jin, who had returned to the bureau yesterday to report, had checked the belongings but felt the amount was a bit less than expected.
Now he realized the reason was that some of the loot was with Kim Seo-jun.
“…Well, since you’re willing to help, thank you. I’ll send the payment to a separate account.”
Kim Seo-jun seemed a little flustered by the rapid agreement, and his words came out slowly.
“Kim Seo-jun, I wanted to meet like this precisely because of the compensation issue. I thought it would be better to talk face-to-face rather than over the phone.”
“What compensation?”
“It’s about the boss corpse you brought. Including the corpse of the Burg that was in the frozen transport truck, you could get at least 700 million won. I plan to transfer all that to your account.”
This caught Kim Seo-jun completely off guard.
Originally, he planned to make a good sum by selling the corpse, but since everything had already been handed over to Shin Woo-jin no matter what the circumstances, he thought even a few tens of millions would be fortunate.
But now, Shin Woo-jin was saying he would give him the entire amount from selling the corpse.
“On top of that, the Rift Management Bureau will give you a special bonus for successfully closing the rift. I’ll give you 50.5% of that bonus.”
Now even 50% of the bonus was being handed over.
Kim Seo-jun almost instinctively wanted to say “Thank you,” but he swallowed it.
Trying to appear modest, he said, “That’s too much… The money from selling monster corpses should be divided into fifths. We all went through hardships together. Even 20% of the bonus would be enough.”
Professor Shim Jae-deok was included in the compensation distribution.
He wasn’t the kind of person to care for even that much.
Honestly, Kim Seo-jun wasn’t too keen on including other hunters besides Shin Woo-jin.
But since Shin Woo-jin took care of selling the loot, it was only polite to include the other hunters in the distribution.
Did Shin Woo-jin somehow sense Kim Seo-jun’s true feelings?
He quickly responded.
“Dividing it into fifths? That’s nonsense. How about this: we keep only 100 million won out of the 700 million from selling the corpse. The other hunters agreed to you getting 50% of the bonus, so you don’t need to worry at all.”
Kim Seo-jun felt that if he refused any further, his benefits would really decrease, so he reluctantly accepted.
“Well, I can’t help it then. Let’s do it that way.”
“Good thinking. This is all we can do for the one who saved our lives, so I feel sorry about that.”
“I’ve received enough in my heart already.”
Kim Seo-jun smiled, and Shin Woo-jin returned the smile brightly.
Then, as if something came to mind, Shin Woo-jin’s expression hardened slightly, and he glanced at Baek Mi-reo.
“Kim Seo-jun, are you really okay with just leaving Professor Shim Jae-deok alone?”
Shin Woo-jin knew well.
Shim Jae-deok was someone who would betray at the first chance.
“He’s not much to worry about. Everything he said and did in the cave is recorded in high quality.”
“Oh, really? That’s a relief.”
Shin Woo-jin sighed with relief, impressed by Kim Seo-jun’s preparation.
In fact, Kim Seo-jun had secretly filmed everything—Professor Shim kneeling and begging for his life, revealing all the truth—on a body camera.
He had prepared this without anyone knowing, and it looked like it would be very useful.
With that footage, Shim Jae-deok would never dare do anything else.
Kim Seo-jun thought that rather than just sending Shim Jae-deok straight to jail, it was better to thoroughly use him, squeezing out every last drop—this was the surest punishment.
“Anyway, I’m counting on you.”
“Yeah. I’ll handle it today so it’ll be deposited by tomorrow morning.”
“Thank you. Ah, this is a good spot. Please park here.”
As soon as his business with Shin Woo-jin ended, Kim Seo-jun stopped the car—this time beside a trash bin on the roadside.
While Shin Woo-jin got out, opened the rear door, and threw away the drink he had just finished into the bin, Kim Seo-jun quietly disappeared, wearing his cloaking mask.
*****
A new week began.
Kim Seo-jun spent the weekend reviewing his greatly increased stats and almost fell asleep on the subway.
[Kim Seo-jun]
- Mana: 95 / Inner Power: 77
- Mysteries: Reverse Calculation Mechanism (13%) / Solar Fist (12%) / Pyrokinesis Barrier (1%) / Sura Extreme Island (1%) / Mind’s Eye (1%)
Thanks to over five hours of energy cultivation on Sunday evening, his inner power had risen to 77.
That was over four times more growth compared to just before participating in the Rift Raid.
Additionally, he had newly awakened three mysteries: Pyrokinesis Barrier, Sura Extreme Island, and Mind’s Eye.
I’ll master up to Thunder God’s Celestial Palace and then focus on improving proficiency.
Rather than spreading out into many martial arts, it was necessary to concentrate on training a few to increase expertise and proficiency, thereby raising overall power.
Also, once proficiency reaches 20%, mana increases as a bonus, so this was something he absolutely had to do.
Beep.
A notification sound broke Kim Seo-jun’s thoughts.
Looking at his phone, it was a bank alert linked to his account.
[Deposit Notification (Daehan Bank)]
From Shin Woo-jin to your account has been transferred.
- Deposit amount: 1,320,000,000 won
- Account number: 274-×××-×××-×××
- Account holder: Kim Seo-jun
Kim Seo-jun blinked for a moment and double-checked the message.
1.32 billion? It really was over 1.3 billion.
He had expected about 900 million, but this was 420 million more than that.
In his previous world, money didn’t matter much, so he wasn’t very sensitive to amounts, but now, with all his childhood memories intact, he fully understood how huge 1.3 billion won was.
It feels like I just won the lottery.
Kim Seo-jun gazed out the subway window at the dark wall and kept muttering, “Huh, huh.”
A female student sitting right across gave him a strange look, but then, seeing his handsome face, she blushed slightly.
Kim Seo-jun immediately composed himself and sent a message to Shin Woo-jin.
[Received well. Thank you.]
There was no need to ask why so much was sent or how the transfer happened so early Monday morning.
Shin Woo-jin’s reply was simple.
[I’m the one who should say thanks.]
He was a truly straightforward person.
Judging from his behavior inside the rift and their subsequent conversations, that quality was even more evident.
Clear likes and dislikes, a sharp line between friend and foe—Shin Woo-jin was a man of steel.
Father and I… we saved a good person.
Kim Seo-jun felt a swelling pride and good mood.
Soon after getting off the subway, he walked lightly into the academy and entered the lecture hall with a bright expression.
*****
Inside the lecture hall, students glanced at Kim Seo-jun as he entered, whispering something.
Following their gaze, Kim Seo-jun saw a few students scowling deeply.
They were a group closely associated with Go Han-seok.
One of them, ranked second in their hierarchy, caught Kim Seo-jun’s eyes.
But as soon as he saw Kim Seo-jun, he scowled coldly and turned his head away.
Look at that reaction.
Though he probably didn’t realize that he was the one who had sent Go Han-seok packing, Kim Seo-jun had expected some trouble, considering he had knocked Go Han-seok down during practice.
Yet, perhaps having matured or realizing he wasn’t capable of taking on Kim Seo-jun, he had done nothing but ignore him since last week.
For Kim Seo-jun, this was much easier, but it drained the spirit of a girl immersed in gang bullying.
“I was just about to give you a proper fight if you challenged me…”
He clenched his fists in frustration but said nothing.
For now, Kim Seo-jun decided to ignore the school bullies.
He took a seat near the middle of the room.
Soon the bell rang, and Professor Shim Jae-deok entered, looking a bit tired.
Students burst into applause immediately.
“Professor, you’re awesome!”
“He’s the pride of our academy!”
“Even in real battles, he’s strong!”
They praised Shim Jae-deok for his remarkable achievements in the 57th Rift Raid.
Amidst the students’ enthusiasm, Shim Jae-deok awkwardly glanced at Kim Seo-jun, then slightly nodded.
The professor had acknowledged Kim Seo-jun before the students did.
“Professor! Please tell us about your adventures in the rift today!”
“Yes! We want to hear what monsters you faced and how you fought!”
The students eagerly awaited Shim’s tales.
“Ahem. Listen carefully. The rift isn’t an easy place as you might think. Even a slight mistake can cost your life. You have to trust your comrades until the end; hiding and being selfish only leads to death. So stop thinking of it as an exciting game. Now, let’s begin today’s class.”
Perhaps aware of Kim Seo-jun’s presence, Shim Jae-deok scolded the students in a serious tone before starting the lesson.
Near the end of the morning class, Shim Jae-deok wrapped up five minutes early and suddenly called Kim Seo-jun.
“Kim Seo-jun, if you have time, could you come see me for a moment?”
The gentle smile he wore made the students exchange suspicious glances.
Shim Jae-deok had never looked at Kim Seo-jun like this before.
“Yes, professor.”
Kim Seo-jun quietly responded and followed Shim out of the lecture hall.
The two sat across from each other in the professor’s office.
It was a modest-sized room, about 10 pyeong.
Glancing around, Kim Seo-jun asked, “Is this place safe?”
He was basically asking if their conversation here would remain confidential.
Shim nodded hastily.
“Of course. I installed anti-surveillance artifacts here, so nothing can be overheard. Ahem.”
“That’s a relief. I also needed to talk to you.”
“Go ahead. You first.”
“No, professor, you first.”
The initiative for the conversation was with Kim Seo-jun.
Only a few days ago, this would have been unimaginable.
“Alright… then I’ll speak first. Actually, yesterday… no, I received a call from the client.”
Shim Jae-deok changed the name from Ko Tae-hwan to “client” midway.
Even with anti-surveillance artifacts installed, he was reluctant to reveal names lightly.
Kim Seo-jun listened silently as Shim continued.
“He kept asking about the results, so I had no choice but to lie a bit. I told him I participated in the raid to see for myself, and I succeeded in cutting off one of your arms.”
At that, Kim Seo-jun moved his two hands, bewildered.
What kind of lie was this about successfully cutting off such a distant arm?
“So?”
“The client said it was successful, but the boss rare had a healing artifact, so it was restored. They said a hunter named Shin Woo-jin actively used it to heal you because of your connection, so they collected the fee.”
“You believe that? That guy?”
“He got angry but didn’t ask further.”
Kim Seo-jun pondered.
Would Ko Tae-hwan really believe such a flimsy lie from Shim Jae-deok?
That made no sense.
But since he didn’t press further, there must be another reason.
“I see. The 57th Rift Raid incident escalated things, and if it was revealed that he tried to harm a student, they’d definitely want to back out now. Plus, since your son was caught with banned drugs, they probably want to hush things up.”
Kim Seo-jun pictured the situation.
Ko Tae-hwan must have been very anxious.
Shim Jae-deok, who initially wanted to cripple a student, suddenly found himself dealing with a rift raid that produced two casualties and a fratricidal killing among the Lee brothers.
If Shim or the hunters he bribed started revealing what Ko Tae-hwan did, it could implicate Ko’s son as well.
So it made sense that Shim felt relieved Kim Seo-jun hadn’t lost an arm and was alive.
“Did they not suspect why I was missing from the Rift Raid participant list?”
“Well, just in case, I wiped all records with Lee Hyung-mo and explained that because hunter Shin Woo-jin was worried about you, he sent you out of the rift early, so you’re not involved.”
Shim’s cunning was undeniable.
Thanks to his lie, Kim Seo-jun was seen as unrelated to the 57th Rift Raid incident.
“Well done.”
“Right? I think my story holds up well. Ha ha ha. Actually, I called you to tell you that. I want you to trust me now.”
“So you must have gotten the remaining payment, right?”
“Ah? Yes, the balance.”
Shim said he was promised 200 million won from Ko Tae-hwan as payment for this job.
Ko Tae-hwan wouldn’t have paid it all before finishing, so surely there was a balance left.
“Do you feel empty after all this?”
Kim Seo-jun smiled brightly.
Shim Jae-deok immediately noticed the reason for the smile.
“Huh… alright. Give me your account, and I’ll split it with you.”
“You’re quick to understand. I’ll only take 10%. Taking too much would burden both sides. Daehan Bank, number 274—”
Kim Seo-jun smiled as he spoke, and Shim Jae-deok frowned while writing down the account number.
“I’ll use it well.”
Kim Seo-jun tapped the empty space around his waist pocket.
Shim’s eyes looked regretful, but he couldn’t bring himself to ask for it.
“The academy and the Rift Management Bureau will also give you rewards for your excellent work, right? You can use that to buy better equipment.”
“True. Hmph.”
Shim Jae-deok acted perfectly in front of Kim Seo-jun.
Though what he thought inside was unknown, at least he wouldn’t openly show hostility toward Kim Seo-jun.
“Oh, and this.”
Kim Seo-jun pulled out a USB drive he had prepared in advance.
Shim took it, puzzled, but Kim Seo-jun’s expression turned cold.
“There’s a video inside. The protagonist is, of course, you, professor. Considering what you said and did inside the cave, I think you can imagine what that video contains.”
Shim’s hand began trembling as he listened.
“If you behave as you do now, that video will never be released to the world. You’ll keep your mouth shut forever—as long as you don’t cause any more trouble with Ko Tae-hwan.”
“Promise… I will.”
Very good. There’s a treasure I pulled from that hell, right?
Kim Seo-jun stood up and stared coldly at Shim Jae-deok.
Shim felt the gaze but couldn’t meet it.
He had seen Kim Seo-jun ruthlessly beat Park Jae-hong without hesitation, witnessed him annihilate a chrome phrome with incredible strength, and also watched him ruthlessly cut open monsters’ bellies and explore inside without a second thought.
Kim Seo-jun was deeply involved in the deaths of the Lee brothers.
So Shim didn’t want to provoke Kim Seo-jun’s temper.
Though only a 19-year-old student, Kim Seo-jun’s thoughts and actions were far from typical.
Shim Jae-deok was already thoroughly defeated in spirit before Kim Seo-jun.
“Well then, see you in the afternoon class.”
“Yeah. See you then.”
Kim Seo-jun left the professor’s office, leaving Shim trembling like a leaf behind.
“Making money’s easy.”
After the 1.32 billion won deposit, Kim Seo-jun began secretly hoping he could get some money from Shim Jae-deok as well.