NOVEL WEB Chapter 22 - Issue of Business Ethics
Translator: FenrirTL
Editor: KYSOIWDI
================
[ Chapter 22: Issue of Business Ethics (1) ]
[Lee Mi-sun – A-rank]
[Main Weapon – Sword]
[Master of Guild Dasun]
[Director of Hunter Academy]
[Chairman of Seung-yeon Scholarship Foundation]
[Standing Committee Member of the Pacific Dungeon Joint Countermeasures Committee]
[Chairman of the Hunter Rehabilitation Medical Center]
……
…
* * *
“Well, today….”
Three mages’ eyes sparkled.
…Honestly, Park Seo-hyun’s eyes were not very visible. Sometimes she lifted her bangs, but today didn’t seem to be one of those days.
In contrast, Kim Chae-min’s whole body screamed to hand over the runes immediately. Considering what he had done to Hong Seok-young, I should be grateful he wasn’t grabbing me by the collar.
“…Since all three of you have gotten used to the concealment runes and support runes, I think I’ll teach you a new rune.”
“Yes, teacher!”
Kim Chae-min raised his hand high.
“…What are you curious about, Mr. Kim?”
“How many runes do you know?”
“Why is that important?”
“As a student, I can be curious about my teacher’s skills!”
“Teacher, you say.”
I grimaced.
“Don’t say scary things. I’m not a mage, so I can’t be Mr. Kim’s teacher.”
At my words, Kim Chae-min looked hurt. His eyes, however, were smiling. This is why mages….
A mage’s teacher and disciple relationship is a legally binding contract. There’s a reason why it’s trendy for mages to find disciples among their relatives.
“And as I’ve repeatedly said, I don’t know the principles of the runes. I’m just sharing what I know.”
“That’s something.”
With that answer, I looked to the back of the classroom.
Most of the students, realizing that the rune class wasn’t as interesting as they thought, had fled after the first class. It was no surprise, considering all they did was copy the runes I drew on the blackboard.
Lee Seung-yeon had shown up a few more times but stopped after the third class.
The surprising one was Oh Hyun-wook. He wasn’t particularly interested in the rune class or diligent in attending, but he consistently showed up. Even when I tried to talk to him, he only gave short, curt answers before leaving, so I had no idea what he was thinking.
Ah, high schoolers in puberty.
Was I like that? No, I wasn’t.
Anyway, today Oh Hyun-wook also attended the rune class.
Sitting next to Oh Hyun-wook was Hong Seok-young. Since Kim Chae-min joined, Hong Seok-young didn’t always watch the class, thinking it unnecessary to keep an eye on it all the time. If Hong Seok-young were here, all other classes would stop. But today, he came to my class.
Probably…. I shifted my gaze from Hong Seok-young.
Snap.
The annoying sound of gum chewing.
Snap.
“…….”
Lee Mi-sun swallowed her gum, startled when our eyes met.
“Sorry. It’s a habit. I won’t disturb you.”
Ah, okay….
Trying to be a teacher, something not in my destiny, twisted my stomach. I barely managed the mandatory education for the Awakened.
No….
Thinking negatively only leads to endless depression.
Think positive. Remember the initial goal. Isn’t it going smoothly?
There’s even hope to enter that damned Bangi-dong Dungeon!
“…Teacher?”
“Ahem.”
Focus and start the class.
“The rune I’ll teach today… I call it the Shadow Rune.”
I glanced at Park Seo-hyun. This was a rune she developed. It was just like her to create such a rune.
“First, let’s draw it.”
* * *
‘This man?’
Late at night.
When Lee Mi-sun first saw that man at the closed training center, the first thought that came to her mind was,
‘…He’s handsome?’
Was it because of her father’s nagging lately about meeting some men? As if she wasn’t busy enough with work, now men? And besides, all the blind dates her parents arranged were always with businessmen. Lee Mi-sun had no interest in men weaker than herself.
‘No, that’s not it.’
It couldn’t be helped that she was curious since he was the man her cute nephew kept talking about every day.
He saved her life by sacrificing himself at a critical moment. She understood why her young nephew was so infatuated with him. Still, she wished he would be more cautious. It showed that her brother and sister-in-law had spoiled him.
She wasn’t ungrateful for him saving her nephew.
But that was that, and this was this.
Hong Seok-young had praised him, saying he saved students even while escaping from Bangju, and that he had good character. But… that guy was so generous with his praise that she couldn’t believe it.
A guy from that organization had good character? Saved students?
‘Anyone can see it’s suspicious!’
To be honest, one reason Hong Seok-young trusted others was because of his skill. Who would dare to think of deceiving the best hunter in Korea? Even Lee Mi-sun would never do such a thing.
Ah. Still, the story about his younger sibling was unexpected. Hong Seok-young hadn’t shared that information with her, so she first heard about it in the basement of the training center.
If a guy who used to be an operative in an illegal organization saved children for no reason, it would be suspicious, but if he had a motive, it made sense.
Especially if it was to save his younger sibling? That was a motive she could immediately understand. It made so much sense at once that she still found it hard to shake off her suspicions.
‘Mi-sun.’
‘What?’
‘You’re too suspicious of people. Sometimes, people genuinely act out of goodwill.’
‘Who said otherwise?’
‘I’m telling you to trust people.’
Her brother had said that once.
Lee Mi-sun chewed her gum out loud and made eye contact with the man in question, Woo Hee-jae.
‘…What?’
Was he picking a fight now?
Frowning, Lee Mi-sun realized her mistake when she saw the two young mages and even Kim Chae-min at the desk staring at her.
Embarrassed, she swallowed her gum.
“Sorry. It’s a habit. I won’t disturb you.”
The eyes that had been on her finally looked away.
‘Anyway, runes.’
She had come to this remote place because of Bangju. As if she wasn’t already busy enough, they had called her all the way here for something like this. She felt a surge of irritation.
‘What’s so important about runes?’
Dragging a Bangju associate out forcibly? Because of Hong Seok-young’s stubbornness, the aftermath was her responsibility again.
Still, the fact that Kim Chae-min was attending the class held her back. If the Grand Mage was doing this, there had to be something to it.
“The rune I’m going to teach you today… I call it the Shadow Rune.”
Woo Hee-jae started to speak slowly.
A tall frame with broad shoulders. Though not the kind of sculpted handsome man people usually talk about, he didn’t have the kind of face you’d see everywhere. Right now, he was wearing shabby sweats that seemed to have been hastily bought at the market, but overall, he had the impression of someone more suited to a desk job than wielding a sword. If he were dressed a bit more decently and stood in a secretary’s role, he would fit in without any awkwardness.
Even though the hunters in the guild took good care of their appearances, there was always something lacking about them because they were fighters. If even half of what her nephew said about Woo Hee-jae was true, she would want to scout him for the guild.
‘…No, stop getting sidetracked.’
She was under tremendous stress because the guild couldn’t recruit new members that met her standards.
The reason she decided to support Hong Seok-young’s pilot high school project was, in fact, because of this. While her nephew’s education was a consideration, she also wanted to cultivate talent stably. Soon Soon-jin was a child she had personally mentored from a young age.
‘Focus, focus.’
When was the last time she had sat in a classroom? It had been more than ten years, so it was no wonder she couldn’t remember. Even back then, she had distanced herself from studying, and now, attending a class…
Woo Hee-jae drew a complex figure on the board made up of shapes and symbols. Just looking at it made her head spin. Was that a rune? Not just random doodles?
But Woo Hee-jae spoke lightly.
“Simple, right?”
“You know that sounds annoying.”
“Easy and difficult are relative.”
Woo Hee-jae didn’t flinch at Kim Chae-min’s complaint.
“Compared to the shielding rune and auxiliary runes, isn’t it simple?”
“When you put it that way, I guess it is.”
“You’ll find it easier than you think once you draw it.”
“What does it do?”
“Draw it first.”
“What effect does it have?”
“Just draw it.”
“Can’t you just tell me?”
“That wouldn’t be any fun.”
Woo Hee-jae calmly told not only Kim Chae-min but also the other young mages.
“What are you all standing around for? Draw it.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Yes!”
Their voices had a strange tension. Was he a surprisingly strict teacher?
Woo Hee-jae glanced to the back. She thought their eyes met, but it happened so quickly that she couldn’t be sure.
‘Come to think of it, that man was an illegal awakened one.’
Naturally, he didn’t even have a proper identity. If so…
‘How skilled is he?’
Recalling her nephew’s testimony, Lee Mi-sun shook her head. Despite her deep love for her nephew, he was at an age where he would embellish the truth. The exploits of someone who had saved his life would be exaggerated.
If he had skills worth noting, Hong Seok-young would have mentioned them.
Of course, Lee Mi-sun never dreamed that Hong Seok-young would neglect to check such basic details.
“How is it? Manageable?”
“Well… yes.”
Choi Jin-woo answered with a reluctant expression.
“It’s a simple rune, so you should be able to draw it in one go.”
She couldn’t see their faces, but the backs of the young mages seemed to say a lot.
“How many runes are we going to learn from now on… You can’t spend days and nights practicing each one, right? You’re used to drawing runes by now, aren’t you? Then you need to practice doing it faster.”
“Yes…”
“Draw the auxiliary rune on top of it. That’s the final stage for all runes.”
The mages groaned as they drew the runes. It was a fascinating sight for Lee Mi-sun. Seeing mages drawing runes so diligently piqued her interest. She was curious to see what they would demonstrate next.
Once the runes were completed, Woo Hee-jae stood up Park Seo-hyun.
“Activate the rune.”
“…Yes.”
Woo Hee-jae had called this a shadow rune. Lee Mi-sun crossed her arms and watched calmly. While she didn’t have high expectations, there had to be a reason Hong Seok-young had insisted she sit through this.
So…
“What do you think? Can you tell what its effect is?”
Lee Mi-sun blinked. Somehow, Park Seo-hyun seemed to have lower image quality compared to the surroundings. With the eyes of an A-rank hunter, she confirmed that Park Seo-hyun looked oddly darker.
Woo Hee-jae turned off the classroom lights, then approached the window to draw the blinds. With no other light sources in the container classroom, the room quickly darkened.
“Still can’t tell?”
Woo Hee-jae seemed to be enjoying this. Lee Mi-sun rubbed her eyes. Her vision was strange, as if it were dusk, making everything unusually dark. Especially Park Seo-hyun, who seemed to blend into the surroundings as if her edges were erased.
“Simply put, this rune allows one to merge with their shadow.”
“Merge… with their shadow?”
Choi Jin-woo said in a hesitant voice.
“It’s not very noticeable in bright places… but in the dark, the effect is dramatic.”
Woo Hee-jae opened the blinds again, and Park Seo-hyun became visible once more.
When Woo Hee-jae took the rune from Park Seo-hyun and tore it, the change was even more pronounced. Park Seo-hyun looked at her own hand in wonder.
“How do you think this rune could be used?”
“Um…”
“Teacher Kim Chae-min? You know, right?”
“Well…”
“Park Seo-hyun?”
“…I-I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay not to know. That’s why you have a teacher. You’ll learn gradually.”
“I’m sorry…”
“It’s fine, really.”
Lee Mi-sun pondered Woo Hee-jae’s words. Merging with one’s shadow? At first, it seemed useless, but the key was not in the light but in the dark. In a dungeon with no light…
Biting her nails thoughtfully, Lee Mi-sun suddenly looked up. Something was bothering her.
“Excuse me, Woo Hee-jae.”
“Yes?”
“I’m curious about something.”
“Yes?”
“What’s the shielding rune you mentioned earlier?”
“…It’s a mana shielding rune.”
“Mana shielding rune? Does it, by any chance…”
“Yes, it shields mana, as the name suggests.”
Woo Hee-jae asked her back.
“Didn’t Seung-yeon tell you? He used it in Myeong-dong to save them.”
“…”
Lee Mi-sun took a slow, deep breath.
She recalled her nephew’s awkward attempts to change the subject whenever he talked about what happened in Myeong-dong. She had been worried he might have developed trauma and had been searching for a doctor who treated hunters…!
Lee Mi-sun suddenly stood up and grabbed Hong Seok-young by the collar.
“You already made my nephew keep his mouth shut?! You have no sense of ethics!”