CH 37

[The Constellation ‘Mutant of the Abyss’ whispers that Seo Dojoon, as expected, seems to be the type who is greedy about items] 

‘The treasure warehouse in the Ahyeon Guild… Guild members and so on are all excuses, and it’s just like a personal warehouse, right?’ 

[The Constellation ‘Mutant of the Abyss’ says it seems very likely to the point he was very astonished.]

He didn’t look like that on the outside, but he was greedy. 

At that time, Seo Dojoon sighed heavily.

“Seo Dojoon-ssi, what’s wrong?”

“I thought it was a pity that it was a bow. If it were at least a sword, I would have bought it somehow.”

The bow wasn’t his main weapon. Having an unfamiliar type of item wasn’t a big help.

“Is it that great?”

“Yes. Maybe the distance dealers will turn on the lights in their eyes and run.” 

Apparently, Seo Dojoon was too excited to become self-objectifying. Seo Dojoon also had sparks flying in his eyes.

When Bobby’s turn was over, another monotonous evaluation time continued. Everyone seemed to lose interest after seeing Bobby Rollins’ work. 

Even though items that were not bad continued to appear, there was no product that beat Barbie’s bow. 

“Noodles, are you still sleeping?”

As expected, Haeun had already been doing something else for a long time.

“Noodles, are you really tired?”

Haeun whispered to the sleeping noodle in the form of a bracelet on her wrist. 

Noodles had been in bad condition before she came to America, and last night it ate some of the magic stone and went back to sleep again.  

She feels frustrated because she doesn’t know why it is like this. Should she ask Haniel’s craftsmen to check it out once?

At that time, the atmosphere in the evaluation room changed.

「Boss, you’re here!」

Scott Ederson, who was conducting the evaluation, suddenly jumped up and shouted.

「Senator Nelson is here too.」

It was Brian Nelson, a Republican who Naomi said had an appointment with her boss today.

A white man with rich blonde hair. He was dressed in a high-class suit and exuded dignity.

Then he said arrogantly.

「I stopped by because I wanted to look at these exhibits before I left. Did it get in the way?」

「Of course not. Welcome, Senator.」

「Good afternoon, Mr Jung. Were there any items that caught your eye today?」

「I find Bobby Rollins’ work the most attractive.」

In response to Frederic’s question, Jung Jinho calmly expressed his impressions. 

Seo Dojoon wasn’t the only person who admired Bobby’s new work. Jung Jinho also thought that he had created a good item.

Even if Bobby is a human being who doesn’t have a guilty conscience and often fights with Jung Jinho, his skills are worth seeing.

Frederic laughed pleasantly at Jung Jinho’s evaluation.

「Haha, as expected, I know that too. If Mr Jung says so, it must be a high-quality item. I think you can expect a lot from this expo, Brian.」

「Of course.」

Brian arrogantly raised his nose.

「It’s Haniel Industries supported by the world’s strongest United States. As a country with the best hunters and craftsmen, this is basic.」

「It would have been hard without your support, Brian.」

「Haha. We can’t cut the budget for Haniel. Don’t worry about next quarter’s budget. If this expo ends successfully, we can draw more support.」

「I’m counting on you.」 

The atmosphere was pleasant, perhaps because a well-received item came out. 

Haeun, who was watching from a distance, narrowed her eyes. The person Haeun’s gaze reached was Brian Nelson. 

‘I think I saw this person somewhere—’

Among Haeun’s acquaintances, there can’t be a white man with a butt on his chin.

Still, it felt somehow familiar. Has she seen him somewhere in a movie before? The floating feeling of déjà vu doesn’t disappear. 

Brian, who felt Haeun’s persistent gaze, turned his head. The eyes of the two met. 

Even Frederick showed interest, so Jung Jinho introduced her.

「This is my daughter. She said she wanted to see this place today, so I’m going with her.」

「I heard about it from Scott.」

Frederic asked, inviting Haeun to shake hands.

「How do you feel about seeing Haniel in person?」

「It’s really amazing.」

There would be no place other than Haniel that could produce items with a systematic system on such a huge scale. It was unimaginable in Korea, where both the talent to produce items and the government’s support were lacking, that holy-level items were pouring in.

「Besides, the bow from earlier is Legendary, right? I heard the guys over there talking. If it’s a Legendary item, it’s a precious thing that only high-rankers can use. It’s so cool!」

「Haha. Is that so?」

「Still, my Dad makes better items.」

「What? Hahaha!」

Frederic burst into a pleasant laugh at Haeun’s honest remark. He turned to Jung Jinho and said.

「Your daughter’s father’s love is extreme. It’s cute. I always wanted a daughter. In reality, I only have three sons.」

「Isn’t it fun to raise a son in his own way?」

「It seems to have a strong side now that they have grown up. Brian, don’t you have a daughter, too?」

「That’s right. She’s ten years old now.」

For the first time, a soft smile appeared on Brian’s face. It was a face full of affection. 

Haeun thought that he could be an authoritative person, but he would not be a bad father.

「You’re going to see Bobby, right?」

「Yeah. I want to take a closer look at this new work.」 

「Then I’m busy with work, so I’ll go first, Hunter Jung. Please take good care of it until the end.」

Frederick left with Brian.

When he left, there was an uproar in the room.

「Can we expect more support this time?」

「He even came here to check the item himself, so wouldn’t it be okay?」

「Rather than support, it would be nice if export restrictions were lifted first. There are those who want to buy it more expensive, but you always have to hand it over to the Hunter Association first.」

「Ey. Still, they are not sold in China.」 

Haeun didn’t know it, but Brian Nelson and Frederick Haniel were actually college alumni. 

Also, it was Brian Nelson who made Frederick Haniel jump into the item business from the existing military business. He read the future and predicted the market. 

Considering that he was also a non-Awakened person, it was a great talent.

‘I think I’ve seen him somewhere.’

Still feeling deja vu, Haeun tilted her head and took out her phone. It was strange that his name and face continued to feel familiar. 

She turned to the Internet right away and looked for Brian Nelson’s name. Basic information, such as his date of birth and family composition, appeared.

‘US Senate Republican. Proposal for the use of low-level dungeons. Promotion of legalization of awakening induction—.’

The word legalization of awakening drew Haeun’s curiosity. 

What was posted on the blog was a post clipped from the article.

<Brian Nelson argued that in order to strengthen the military power of the United States, it was necessary to establish a systematic system that would continuously create Awakened people. 

And as one of the methods, it was suggested that the low-level dungeons under management be used on purpose to cause awakening. It is the position that the dungeon must be used to bring out the Awakening of the non-Awakened.>

– Is it possible to artificially create an Awakener?

This has been a controversial issue for a long time with the birth of the awakening.

Increasing the number of Awakeners has been a dream of every nation in the world. If they can raise more hunters, they can be safer from the threat of dungeons and gates, so it’s natural.

Besides, even if it wasn’t just a matter of dungeons, Awakeners had higher utility value than civilians. Because they were stronger, faster, and more durable, they showed higher productivity than non-Awakened people even when asked to do the same work. There was no way he wouldn’t be tempted.

However, in reality, the exact method of Awakening has not been revealed.

Among the various hypotheses, the most famous method known so far was to encounter a situation that could threaten one’s personal safety in a dungeon.

Then, if they are lucky, one out of every thousand people will Awaken.

It’s an ignorant way to reach with a failure rate of 99.9%, but they can Awakened anyway if they’re lucky. It was also the only method with success stories at the moment.

However, under international law, for the safety of non-Awakened persons, it was strictly forbidden for those who had not Awakened to enter the dungeon intentionally.

Brian Nelson was completely against it.

<Non-Awakened Protection Groups agreed that Brian Nelson’s claim was a senseless statement that excluded the safety of mankind, and that dungeons were a disaster to be eliminated, not an object of utilization.

Meanwhile, according to a recent survey, nearly 30% of the respondents said they want to Awaken if artificial Awakening is possible, showing a high figure…>

The radical argument created a backlash, but at the same time, there were people who sympathized.

It was because becoming a Hunter was a shortcut to success after dungeons emerged.

“Hmm.”

It was an interesting topic, but it was not the information Haeun was looking for anyway. Looking for other information, this time she entered Brian’s official Outstagram account.

There were many photos posted, but most of them were official photos taken by media companies. Haeun, who was casually looking at the photos, stopped.

“Huh?”

Baek Soyeon’s picture was posted five years ago.

The child looked much younger in the picture with Brian, but it was definitely Baek Soyeon. Even the hashtag is #FAMILY. 

‘Come to think of it, Soyeon’s original name is…!’

Only then did Haeun realized why she kept getting the feeling that Brian is familiar.

Baek Soyeon is a Korean name given to her by Baek Doohan, but her real name was Sophia Nelson. 

Perhaps because Baek Doohan’s image was so strong, she completely forgot that Baek Soyeon had another name. 

At the same time, one more fact came to mind.

The fact that Seo Dojoon, who was commissioned by Baek Doohan, could have known about Baek Soyeon’s family relationship! 

When Brian Nelson arrived, he already knew everything but pretended not to know.

Haeun turned her head to Seo Dojoon.

“Why didn’t you tell me!”

It was a word cut and shouted before and after, but Seo Dojoon understood it perfectly. Then he said calmly.

“Contractor’s personal information is confidential.”

“Wow, you’re so cheap.”

Haeun glanced at Seo Dojoon, feeling betrayed.