READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 290. World Artifact Expo (3)
Huh?
‘The winner is a Hunter from America?’
It turns out that the one who acquired [Triaina] at the IHT was none other than Enzo Chiano.
‘Strange. China didn’t seem willing to let the first prize go to a foreigner at all?’
Gi-ryeo suddenly fell into doubt.
This is because the tournament arena he remembered was full of hidden tricks.
If one knows the exact location, any time they could break it and increase the external magic concentration with the magic stone, coupled with environmental features that favored a specific Hunter.
‘So basically, the game was rigged.’
The Great Mage naturally thought Zhu Han would win.
And according to Seonwoo-yeon’s testimony, Enzo did show a lot of weakness early in the match…
Of course, that was when the viewers were temporarily distracted by the dishes. The fighting scene had flipped right afterward.
“Hmm.”
“I definitely remember there was a lot of talk about Enzo Chiano Hunter’s victory.”
But, well, does it really matter?
Whether it’s Triaina or Enzo, in the end, they were topics that third parties wouldn’t find necessary to care about.
“I must have been mistaken.”
Finally, the ice cream arrived.
Seonwoo-yeon handed the finished ice cream cone to Gi-ryeo.
“Enjoy.”
Now, he could enjoy being a spectator along with a refreshing snack.
But just then.
Without even bringing the snack to his mouth, Gi-ryeo asked the official a question.
“By the way, I’ve been meaning to ask. How was last week?”
“Excuse me?”
“They collected the scales. So that means you must have met Kang Chang-ho in that process. Are you sure he’s really okay?”
There was a brief pause in conversation.
“The person who came to find the items was someone else.”
“Who?”
“Just someone older… I don’t know exactly, but anyway, he connected you with Kang Chang-ho through video call and identified himself as the representative.”
“I never would have thought of that.”
“Anyway, I handed over the scales. I still wonder how things would have turned out had they not kept their promise.”
For reference, at that time, all the personnel meant to protect Seonwoo-yeon were focused on the building collapse site in Mapo.
“Did that person who came to search for items quietly leave after receiving the scales?”
“To be precise… the Kang Hunter’s side seemed curious about what kind of conversation we had.”
“Uh-huh.”
“But when I tried to be vague, they didn’t pry any further. It felt like they didn’t expect much from me in the first place.”
“You were vague?”
“I hid it well.”
Seonwoo-yeon said calmly.
“I kept the secret. After all, the Hunter asked me to do so.”
It was something unexpected for the listener.
The association employee in front of him, without much thought, was unrolling sentences that came straight from the heart.
Seonwoo-yeon simply focused on her silence as a request made by him.
Not even thinking of the dreadful curse in an unconscious conversation.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
That was Seonwoo-yeon.
This official had a strong sense of steadfastness which served as both a strength and a weakness.
Assuming that some level of trust had built between them.
From a young age, she had a strong tendency to take the statements of conversation partners at face value.
At times, it could even be a bit excessive.
【 For the payment, please give me tea leaves
= I didn’t ask for money
= Then I should give tea leaves instead of money 】
So, even if she received somewhat excessive help, she never felt the need to make additional payments based on her own assumptions.
No matter how much socializing she had done, such refined methods of consideration were difficult for Seonwoo-yeon’s intuition to grasp.
【 This is a secret. So don’t talk about it anywhere. 】
No matter how many times one sees it, it still seemed mechanical.
As long as a clear statement was made, they would keep it as if it were a matter of life and death, even if they suffered a loss.
Considering some particular traits, it was inevitable that the promise with Seonwoo-yeon would be kept for a long time.
“….”
Kim Gi-ryeo seemed to fall into thought for a moment before he spoke.
“Anyway, as long as you’re in one piece, that’s good.”
“Where are you going?”
“I’ll be looking around alone from now on. Besides, I got a good return ticket thanks to a friend.”
“That….”
“If I don’t show up at the airport on the last day, just keep it in mind for a bit then.”
Crunch crunch.
The haste of devouring the snack at a rapid pace was an added bonus, seeing the sign that requested food to be consumed within the premises.
Doesn’t even leave my teeth cold.
“Wait a minute!”
A man in a suit was about to tidy up the trash and go outside.
Seonwoo-yeon called out to him.
“Yes?”
But had she known it would be for this reason, she would have just ignored it.
“It’s for the Hunter’s ice cream. It’s about 5,000 won in Korean currency, so you can just send it via internet banking later.”
“I wonder if the state is currently delaying civil servant salaries?”
That was their final conversation on the first day.
It felt empty.
.
.
.
“Iori. What happened?”
“Sigh.”
“That Korean didn’t blow up Haneda Airport, right? And where the heck did Ito go? Is he dead?”
Meanwhile.
At the entrance of the upper exhibition hall of Building A.
“Calm down. Your guild master only went to meet the visiting member from the country.”
Hunters gathered and talked in the staff hallway which was empty of people.
“And luckily, the airport built with the taxes of the entire nation is safe.”
“Really?”
“Mr. Kim Gi-ryeo’s attitude was very mild.”
Leading the conversation was Iori Yamazaka, an S-Class Hunter of wind affinity.
“Considering what you guys have done, it wouldn’t be strange for him to cause a ruckus at any time. Yet, the guy sure is quite gentlemanly, huh?”
If the current situation was just the other party being two-faced, what would they do?
Would it be right to blindly portray Imabari in a bad light and mock them over the event where the Legendary was at stake?
“You don’t need to go that far. You know our situation well.”
“That’s why I’m cursing more.”
The shorter man shrugged in return.
But their quarrel did not last long.
Despite the words, Iori was not planning to completely distance himself from his own comrades.
“No matter how much I dislike it, you must apologize properly to the Korean.”
“Ha….”
“Last time, the person involved left first, so I only bowed my head in front of the monitor.”
“Definitely.”
“If we’ve come all the way to Tokyo, we need to at least see each other’s faces. I’ll play the middleman diligently, so please resolve things during this opportunity.”
Iori continued to speak.
“The domestic atmosphere is really concerning. With just this rate of increase in Awakened, it’s dangerous… if things go wrong, we might actually have to seek help from Korea again.”
Thus, they chatted over this strange topic and killed time.
The most important event would take place on the second day of the expo.
So conversely, there was hardly anything to worry about today.
“Iori, by the way, have you organized the items safely?”
An Imabari guild member leaning against the hallway wall asked.
To this, Iori replied.
“Items? Ah, the artifacts?”
“Yeah.”
“If it’s the ones Kim Gi-ryeo showed in the pictures, they’ve been put into storage since early morning.”
Tokyo uses some of the best vaults for items in the world.
So the stability of underground storage is higher than always keeping S-Rank items inside item boxes.
“[Triaina] at the auction.”
I never expected to act as an intermediary in the transactions of such items in my life.
“But that Enzo Hunter is quite unique, huh.”
Before the third Tokyo expo was held.
A Hunter residing in America registered his possessions for sale right after seeing the event’s announcement from Japan.
“I’m selling to Hunters all around the world, so I can get a much better price, huh? Haha, that sounds good!”
But for some reason, his actions were quite abnormal.
“I don’t even need this, after all! I planned to sell it for drink money from the moment I got it, so I might as well hand it over right away.”
It was such a trivial item, so why did he fight like it was life-or-death at the tournament?
At the last IHT (International Hunter Tournament).
In fact, most of the audience expected Zhu Han to win.
Even without considering his status as the representative Hunter of China.
Objectively, Zhu Han could be easily labeled as part of the world’s top 0.01% powerful hunters.
Yet despite countless home ground advantages, Zhu Han eventually lost.
Because of this, Japanese netizens even speculated whether China would punish Zhu Han by assigning him labor due to national prestige.
‘In a way, the victory elevated America’s status that had been collapsing in an instant.’
Fighting to win amidst all sorts of unfavorable conditions.
‘Totally a monster.’
After Brooklyn went missing.
Through many incidents, the American named ‘Enzo’ had, in reality, become the top in the Hunter industry.
The awakening displayed by that Awakened during the tournament caused quite the stir worldwide.
However, for some reason, Iori wasn’t pleased with this phenomenon.
‘I preferred Brooklyn Morgan much more.’
Suppressing the awakened forces that indiscriminately slaughtered ordinary citizens through unfair coups.
In any case, the world’s number one ranking was nicknamed ‘Angel’ for the numerous beneficial achievements done for humanity.
Brooklyn was a figure deserving of respect.
However, the newly risen peak of the industry lacked any sense of dignity in contrast.
“Hmm.”
In various ways, the current state of affairs was regrettable, but it didn’t seem like the time to worry about that.
‘Right now, Kim Gi-ryeo is here in Tokyo.’
Hunter Iori refocused on the current situation.
“Anyway, should I get up soon?”
Just a few minutes ago.
Four of Japan’s S-Rank Hunters had resolved to personally apologize to improve their relationship with the other party.
When they asked if they could briefly meet him, the Korean Hunter replied like this.
– Go ahead. But since we’re spending time, let me see the items too. I came to Tokyo after seeing a photo of their article.
He only flew out because of a promotional photo from the World Artifact Expo, huh?
“Isn’t that a good thing?”
It means that Kim Gi-ryeo isn’t here to claim compensation!
A former colleague who had once partnered with him in Imabari spoke with a cheerful expression.
But Iori only furrowed his brow and whispered in a small voice.
“What is he happy about? Thanks to that response, I’m currently this tense.”
“Huh?”
“In our country, there are three S-Class Hunters who tried to kill him. And this time, Mr. Kim Gi-ryeo hardly came alone.”
“…!”
“If that’s the case, the incident during the Dragon Raid will naturally be interpreted as having caused him some stress, even if it’s just a little?”
It was as if he were saying that any confrontation previously experienced could always be repeated again without a care.
Iori highlighted the context and warned everyone to be seriously careful.
Then, one of his comrades, shocked, covered their mouth with their hands.
After all.
The fact that that Korean man had come to Tokyo means it’s truly a fearsome show of confidence.
‘Oh my god. Just how confident is he in his own strength…?’
At that moment.
Tap, tap, tap.
Suddenly, the sound of footsteps began echoing through the corridor connecting Exhibition Hall A and B.
Normally, the approach of an ability user can be sensed by the magical power they possess.
But the man who appeared in the hallway now made that perception useless.
Like a sneaking snake.
Or like an owl gliding softly.
A new generation of predators who gave no warning to their prey.
“Ki, Kim Gi-ryeo Hunter.”
A hunter with dyed hair who traveled from across the sea soon stopped in front of them.
And the other party delivered a stiff and mechanical translation through PIXY’s device.
– Hello.
Just exchanging greetings made him so nervous.
Indeed, all matters of this world are about resources. What on earth was he thinking when he tried to mess with such a terrifying individual before…?
*
‘Wow, that guy next to me amassed some good gear in the meantime. Iori seems fine, but having four of them standing next to me makes me nervous because of their magic.’
Hmm.
‘Well, either way, I’m just a broke guy who has nothing Legendary, so they probably won’t come after me, right?’
Looks like I came to Tokyo for nothing.
‘They… won’t come after me, right? My friends from Earth?’
About 45 minutes after arriving at the Artifact Expo.
I received a call from the Japanese Hunter Iori and moved to the designated meeting location at Exhibition Hall A in Tokyo.
I once again met the four top-tier Awakened led by Ito.
But upon seeing their intimidating Earthling faces, regret washed over me immediately.
‘If a fight breaks out now, I’ll definitely be a goner…’
The Japanese S-Class Hunters gathered before me once again sincerely apologized for the events during the Dragon Raid.
But from the perspective of the weak, this felt more like the appearance of a constricted snake bowing before a frog, so I couldn’t feel too pleased.
“Uh… forget about that. Just show me the items already.”
As they kept bringing up past events, my anxiety grew unnecessarily.
So I tried to steer the conversation to something else, but for some reason, the Hunter Iori seemed overly eager to start giving directions.
He led us to a storage place for an item that had appeared in an internet article.
“If it’s the item in the picture you showed, then this should be it. It was exhibited beforehand since before the event opened.”
The room we arrived at was dark, with only the transparent object placed at the center illuminated by separate lights.
The target was in a case.
But just encountering the material I was aiming for confirmed its identity immediately.
‘That’s definitely it!’
However, no matter how superior my emotional perception might be, I couldn’t divine the name of the object. So, I decided to confirm it first.
‘I wonder if this machine I bought before departure will work properly overseas.’
Beep.
‘Ah, it works. The output language is perfectly coming out in Korean… wait a minute.’
As I pointed the commonly used portable analyzer at the object, various pieces of information soon appeared before me.
【Midnight Fragment】
[Grade: Epic]
[Description: Nullifies skills of all grades upon contact.]
[(※Caution….)