Chapter 276
Clan Establishment (5)
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“It’s been a while, Jae-hyun.”
A soft voice is heard, and a beautiful smile settles on her lips.
Seeing that, I thought I was lucky.
Because.
This smile is a painting that can’t be easily found anywhere else.
In official settings, she rarely shows emotions, and when meeting people, she’s often evaluated as cold due to her unique atmosphere.
Yet, only in front of me, she would.
‘She’s so pretty when she smiles…’
Of course, she’s beautiful even normally.
But when she smiles, it feels like her usually cold aura is melting away.
A flower blooming in the snow.
Is there a phrase that could describe her more perfectly?
Her main rune [Snow Plum Blossom] suits her better than anyone else.
Like a flower blooming beautifully in a snow field, she seemed to shine nobly alone.
It was my master, Yoo Eun-seol, whom I hadn’t seen in what felt like months.
“Hmm… Has it been so long that you won’t even greet me?”
“Ah…!”
Her lips part again, and I hear what sounds like a playful reproach.
Only then did I realize that I had been staring blankly at my master without responding.
“I’m, I’m sorry, Master.”
“Were you lost in thought?”
“No, just…”
I scratched my head as I answered.
“Your smile is so pretty, Master… So I was just thinking it would be nice if you smiled more often.”
I thought about making an excuse but decided to be honest.
After all, if it’s Master…
She’d probably see through such a small lie right away.
“…What?”
But it seems Master’s thoughts were different.
She couldn’t hide her surprise at my words.
I could see her gaze wavering and her body trembling slightly.
I inwardly scolded myself as if hitting my own head.
‘Ah, why did I say such an unnecessary thing…’
I should have just made some excuse.
It’s been so long since we met, I worried she might think it strange.
“Ahem. You said you went to Russia this time, right?”
So I quickly cleared my throat and changed the subject.
After conquering <Transcendent’s Chamber: Canales> with me, Master had been traveling around domestically and abroad.
With just one purpose.
To find ways to develop her rune from various angles.
Even though she’s already at the pinnacle of skill in certain areas, reached S-grade Holder status, and gained all the honor… She constantly strived to elevate herself to higher levels.
Perhaps this initial mindset and passion is why she receives so much respect from domestic Holders.
Anyway, this time Master had briefly gone to Russia and returned today.
“Ah… Yes. Though there wasn’t much gain.”
Master, who had been briefly flustered, quickly regained her composure.
Her usual cold-like atmosphere returned.
But after seeming lost in thought for a moment…
She soon smiled slightly and said to me, “It seems Jae-hyun has been up to quite big things while I was away?”
…Somehow, it looks like a very awkward smile.
Is she smiling because of what I said earlier?
‘…This level of delusion is a sickness.’
I shook my head to clear away such idle thoughts.
“Yes. I’ve had quite a headache because of it lately.”
“For something like that, your clan members seem quite impressive? You even brought along colleagues who had worked with me for a long time.”
“I was lucky.”
Of course, it wasn’t just luck.
Since new clans start at a disadvantage in every aspect compared to regular clans, I did offer some radical conditions and treatment.
I created incentives that could definitely attract skilled unaffiliated Holders.
Thanks to that, despite concerns pouring in about the clan, many skilled individuals confirmed their entry.
…Among them, getting top-tier personnel like Lim Hyun and Jeong Seon-young was truly a case of good fortune.
“So, is clan member recruitment all finished?”
Master asked me with a strange expression.
To that, I swallowed nervously and carefully answered.
“There is… One more person I’d like to recruit.”
“There is…?”
“I’m not sure if they’ll join. They’re such an amazing person.”
As I said this with a slight laugh, Master also smiled.
Though we spoke indirectly, we both knew who the subject was.
The undisputed pinnacle of the assassin category.
An unaffiliated S-grade Holder…
Yoo Eun-seol.
The woman before me was the final puzzle piece in this clan member recruitment.
And after a moment of silence, her lips soon parted.
“I’ve been thinking about it too.”
“Re, really?”
I couldn’t help but ask in surprise.
Not only did she go straight to the point without beating around the bush, but the content being a positive signal was even more surprising.
S-grade Holders, of which there’s only one in each of the top 3 domestic clans.
If such an existence were to join a newly created clan…
Its status could become incomparably greater than now.
“But, there’s a condition.”
Master raised her right hand and held up one finger.
“A condition?”
“Yes. I don’t care much about entry contracts or annual salary. You can do whatever you want with those. Just… The ultimate skill.”
“The ultimate skill?
“I’m talking about the ultimate skill Jae-hyun mentioned before. The skill he said he discovered unfinished during the Wolfenser raid. I’d like us to research together to complete that skill, and then I hope you’ll teach it to me too.”
“Ah!”
The ultimate skill created in an almost trance-like state while defeating countless Virgens during the <Wolfenser> raid.
[Plum Blossom Sword Technique] Rune, [Falling Blossom Aesthetics].
A skill that dives into a group of enemies, quickly scratches all of them, and comes out.
It’s quite rare among physical attack skills…
A very powerful area-of-effect skill.
Although it hasn’t met the 5 conditions yet and isn’t a completed skill, if completed, it would be a main ability when handling assassin-type powers.
I had mentioned this to the master when we finished the dungeon raid, and it seems she’s been remembering it all this time.
“This time, Jae-hyun will be teaching me. How about it?”
And the master, smiling slightly, waving her finger.
Was it because I brought up something unnecessary earlier?
Today, she gave off an atmosphere unlike her usual self.
And at that sight…
I found myself answering as if entranced.
“…Call.”
Recruiting an S-grade assassin with just one ultimate skill?
This was a deal that had to be accepted unconditionally.
***
Ippotranslation
***
-S-grade Holder Yoo Eun-seol finally leaves freelance to join a clan!
-Yoo Eun-seol, into Do Jae-hyun’s arms… A meeting of master and disciple.
-With an S-grade Holder and numerous A-grade veterans. Not envious of large clans!
-The golden generation has all gathered! Pay attention to the 2nd-year clan members.
…
…
The news of the master’s new clan membership spread quickly and made headlines.
The fact that the pinnacle of the assassin class, who had only aimed for solo play until now, was joining a clan, and a newly created one at that, provided quite a fresh shock.
And that’s not all.
Veteran clan members who have been active solo for a long time.
Second-year students are called the golden generation and have various promising talents….
There were quite a lot of anticipated resources.
Even though it was a new clan, a force that couldn’t be ignored was being completed.
And along with that.
Expectations for our clan were rising from various places.
“Then I’ll declare the establishment right from tomorrow and prepare so that we can start activities.”
“Thank you for your assistance, Mr. Chairman.”
“Haha. No need for such words. If we’re talking about who received help, the association received much more.”
The clan establishment, which was in the planning stage, entered the concrete stage.
The list of recruited clan members, selection of civilian staff, setting up internal departments, short-term operation plans, etc…
We finished the very basic stage of clan composition and completed all related meetings with the Academy and the Holder Association.
The preparations were done, and all that was left was to make the declaration.
The implementation happened in an instant.
Especially thanks to Professor Tak Won-ho, who had been preparing for this longer than I had, our clan’s establishment proceeded quite quickly and concisely.
-Do Jae-hyun establishes a clan! The name is <Evil Hunter>…
-<Evil Hunter> finally unveiled, what path will it take?
-Scouts from each clan unanimously say, “A historic new clan.”
…
…
The clan name was decided as <Evil Hunter>.
Directly translated, it means ‘a hunter who punishes evil’, which carried on the banner of <Anti-Villain> which could be seen as the clan’s predecessor, and also encompassed our clan’s first goal of pursuing the Ludenark Sect.
‘…Actually, it’s named because of the Rune Hunter, though.’
There’s also a hidden meaning.
The fact that the name was created centered on the ‘hunter’ of my main rune [Rune Hunter].
Since [Rune Hunter] is a rune not yet revealed to the world, no one knows about this meaning… But it was quite a meaningful name in that it’s a clan created directly by my power after experiencing all the events so far.
“Luckily, we also quickly found a clan tower.”
<Evil Hunter>’s clan tower was completed centered on a building near the Academy.
Originally, it would have taken an enormous amount of time to acquire the site and build the interior, but fortunately, there was a site and building nearby that was being converted into a clan tower, so we were able to finish by purchasing this.
The clan that owned the building was <Dragon Sword>.
For some reason, they passed on the building, which was already nearing completion, to our clan at a very reasonable price.
-We’re quite late, so this much is necessary to catch up. If it were up to me, I’d like to give the building as a gift, but… There will be views from the outside… Anyway, I hope this opportunity will make us closer.
Song Do-hyuk, whom I first met at the friendly clan agreement.
He threw such a puzzling remark while trading the clan tower.
What’s late, and what are they catching up to….
As expected, S-grade Holders seem to have one quirky aspect each.
Anyway, thanks to <Dragon Sword>’s goodwill, our clan was able to quickly obtain a quite magnificent and splendid clan tower.
“Really… I’ve created a clan, haven’t I?”
The large building I face standing in front…
The so-called EH Tower…
‘Our clan’s’ clan tower.
Only after taking this in with my eyes does it finally feel real.
The moment everyone doubted, and even I thought impossible.
It has finally become a reality.
<Evil Hunter>.
A clan I established directly with my own power.
From today, I was the master of this clan.
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