Nutrient (2)
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“How far have you come with it?”
Seung-ho asked Yu-hwa, who was handling magical energy on his fingers.
Ma Gi-tae was watching them in the same room, as he tried to call other hunters who may be candidates for Seung-ho’s training.
Instead of answering, Yu-hwa laughed and shot the energy over Seung-ho’s head.
Paaah!
Ma Gi-tae was surprised by the magical bomb exploding over Seung-ho’s head, but the two didn’t seem to care.
“Three stacks?”
It shot out as one magical beam, but it exploded three times.
“Yeah, isn’t it amazing?” Yu-hwa said, expecting Seung-ho to be overwhelmed.
Seung-ho laughed and fired his own over their heads.
Paaaaht!
“It’s the same triple stack you made, but you know what’s different between yours and mine?”
In response to Seung-ho’s question, Yu-hwa frowned.
“It’s the difference in the casting time,” Seung-ho added, leaving Yu-hwa with his brows furrowed.
“Mr. Branch Manager.”
“Yes, Seung-ho?”
“We don’t need a lot of people. Just gather candidates who fit the criteria I have suggested.”
Ma Gi-tae thought the criteria Seung-ho made was ridiculously high.
“The standard you’re asking for…”
“Cha Su-yeon is the standard. People who can pull at least 30 strands of energy. Less than that, even if their measurement is really high, they are nothing but strong bears. We need skilled and talented people, at least three, who can be compared to Drax in the early days.”
Seung-ho’s tone was sincere.
It seems to imply that he would not yield.
* * *
A heated argument erupted between the executives of the Association.
They were gathered to discuss the coercive demands that Seung-ho made to Ma Gi-tae.
“He’s too cheeky… he thinks that we will ignore our principles. Isn’t that why people don’t respect the Association as they did before?”
“Yes, even though we have agreed to employ him, it’s unacceptable to keep tolerating him.”
“But we can’t ignore his words…”
“However, are you still going to let him go his way every time, without even questioning it?”
The conference hall was noisy, but everyone quieted down when the Vice-Chairman raised his hand.
“Anyway, he’s on our side, so let’s agree with him to some degree,” the Vice-Chairman said in his deep voice.
However, his words didn’t appease the executives who felt that the Association was insulted.
“But…”
“However,” the Vice-Chairman continued, cutting them off. “it is impossible to give all the mana stones only to hunters that meet his standards. We need a lot of other hunters to solve the other high-class gates until the first-class gate appears. We need to tell him that we can’t afford such an act. However, the Association also respects his opinion as much as possible. We would provide 10% of our mana stones to the personnel he designated.”
The majority of people in the room nodded their agreement, but one of the executives muttered, “This isn’t over…”
The Vice-Chairman smiled at him. “If we cannot accommodate his demand entirely, we should at least make a counter-offer.”
Finally, the mood of the meeting became lighter and brighter; then, they were ready to move on to another topic.
“Drax… he’s always been unique, but what is this?”
“Why did he decide to return? Is he angry that someone took his place? I don’t know it for sure, but it seems like he’s aiming for his former position. Doesn’t he realize how many mana stones he had to consume to catch up with Seung-ho? Considering that the higher your level is, the efficiency of the mana stones efficiency decreases… he must take an overwhelming amount… they will need a lot of gates.”
The executives started to pull out their mobile phones at Vice-Chairman’s words. “Will we give Drax the same conditions?”
The Vice-Chairman shook his head and pulled out his own cellphone.
“I’ll make the call. I will offer him an 80-20 share. If this is what it takes to get him, won’t we shake our tails?”
* * *
Drax has been retired for the past 20 years, but the Drax Guild still handled more than half of the top gates worldwide.
Nevertheless, the call they received from the Vice-Chairman to give them the African region was surprising.
On top of that, a third-class gate in Sweden did not lack to start up Drax return.
“What’s the gate gauge?”
“A little over 200,000. We have Team 1 and Team 3 here. Teams 2 and 4 have just finished the German gate yesterday, and they are resting.”
“At 200,000, either 1 or 3 can do it by themselves.”
“Are we going to leave the team captains as is?”
“Well… is there anyone who can replace Eid?”
Kanye looked embarrassed at Drax’s question. “Well…”
“Teams 2 and 4 will both be under Baldrow for the time being.”
Drax and Kanyu got off the car and walked to the front of the Swedish gate, where teams 1 and 3 are gathered.
However, instead of going straight to the gate, Drax climbed up onto a small platform in front of the teams, to declare his official return.
“Some of you saw me 20 years ago, and some of you are seeing me for the first time in person. A lot has happened from the time I retired 20 years ago, but the fact that our guild is still the best guild has not changed. But, I am not the best hunter now…”
Drax paused for a moment and slowly looked around the crowd before continuing.
“People asked me, am I running back to being a hunter because I was jealous that my position had been taken away? I have reflected upon it for a few days, and now I know the answer. The reason I came back is not jealousy…”
A long silence was held by the team members as they watched Drax close his eyes. Everyone waited for his next words.
“I missed the action. And yes, I missed you, guys… Let’s go! Beyond the gate!”
* * *
“I haven’t seen you in a while, Seung-ho.”
“Yeah, how are your legs?”
Min-jong lifted the leg, still wrapped in a cast.
“I’m going to be discharged next week. Let’s not talk about that – Drax entered the third-class gate in Sweden. Did you see the news?”
“I didn’t, but I heard about it.”
“I’m seeing Seung-ho for a long time.”
“Yeah, how are your legs?”
When he opened the door of the hospital room, Minjong greeted him, and in response to Seungho’s question, Minjong lifted the leg wrapped around the cast.
“I’m going to be discharged next week. Rather than that, Drachsh entered Sweden’s third-class gate. Did you see the news?”
“I wasn’t there, but I heard it.”
“More than that… won’t you tell me the real reason why you joined the Association?”
“Let’s talk about when I met Drax…”
Min-jong’s face darkened, and Seung-ho can’t help but laugh at his reaction to Drax’s name before he continued.
“I felt something strange.”
“Yes. Drax is still…”
“No, it wasn’t because of the theories you had shared with me. It was literally weird. When I saw him, he felt very familiar…”
“That’s strange.”
Seung-ho walked to the window as he sipped canned coffee, pleased that he was able to divert Min-jong’s attention to another topic.
The snow was piled up in every corner of the visible alleys, and the sky was filled with gray clouds. It seems that there will be more snow.
Suddenly, he saw Eid walking towards the hospital.
He was so surprised that he almost dropped his coffee, but it was important to find out more about the woman through Min-jong.
“A few days ago, the news said that a woman named Eid left the Drax Guild?” he asked.
Min-jong looked puzzled at his question, which came out of nowhere. “Yes. She was a great hunter and used to lead their Team 2. Why did you suddenly ask about her?”
“Uh, I saw her in the western branch. I thought I’ve seen her face somewhere when I saw her in the news; then I remembered I saw her when I first went to the western branch.”
“Really?!”
Min-jong shouted in surprise, shocking Seung-ho, but Seung-ho couldn’t afford to take his eyes off the window.
“Yeah, I saw her watching me from the hallway. I wondered why, so I watched her closely and remembered her face.”
“Why would she come to Korea?”
“Min-jong, what is the public opinion on Eid?”
Eid was on the verge of entering the hospital.
“Well… she’s Amazonian? She’s pretty tough and is considered the most famous and strongest woman hunter. There are no bad rumors about her.”
“Okay. Uh, I just need to go to the bathroom quickly.”
Min-jong began ticking away on his laptop, and Seung-ho quietly closed the door and went out.
Seung-ho wanted to spray his magic in the hallway quickly, but it may threaten her and cause a battle. People might get hurt.
Instead, he focused on suppressing his presence and ran down the stairs to the first floor.
He found her standing in front of an elevator as if she was waiting for it to come down.
Seung-ho approached her stealthily and grabbed her shoulders, letting her feel his power.
“Slowly step into the stairs…” he whispered.
He wasn’t sure that she understands Korean, so he pulled her gently towards the directions of the stairs.
“Can you speak Korean?” he asked.
“I don’t think I understand, can we talk?” she responded in English.
“Speak in Korean. Why did you come here?”
“Damn, don’t you speak English?”
Seung-ho couldn’t understand her and sighed.
Then, he switched his hands and grabbed her by her nape instead, pushing her up the stairs.
Eid felt his power and thought that he might kill her if she tried to rebel. She allowed herself to be guided.
Seung-ho couldn’t be seen by other people grabbing her neck in the hallway, so he again grabbed her by her shoulders until they reached Min-jong’s room.
“Whoa, you took a long time-“
Min-jong froze when he saw Seung-ho pull in Eid and sat her on a stool.
“Please be our interpreter. I can understand a little bit, but I’m not comfortable. Ask her why she came here,” Seung-ho told him as he held Eid by the neck again.
“Well… Eid? Why are you here?” Min-jong relayed.
“Okay, can you tell this man to remove his hand first? He’s rude.”
Min-jong shrugged and refused to translate. Eid sighed deeply.
“I came to find Khan. After getting information from the Association, I think Khan was trying to kill you, so I came to see you.”
“What made you think that way?”
“You wrote an article sniping Drax; then you become a victim of a gate out. Khan left Korea right after the gate out. Isn’t it obvious? Can you tell this man to take off his hand? His hand is like a gorilla’s paw. It’s quite unpleasant.”