I Was A Porter - Chapter 24

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“All the stories today are about Drax.”

Seung-ho sighed. They were in a car, passing through Banghwa Bridge, to sell the by-products to the Association.

All the radio stations were running the story of Seung-ho’s experience, and how Drax saved him.

They haven’t been in a gate for a while now, so Seung-ho took out his cellphone and started to look for a low-class gate nearby.

“It is a great material for gossip,” Se-hyun smiled. “You’re currently the top hunter now, but Drax is surely going to step up again. Aren’t you anxious?”

Seung-ho snorted as he browsed through his phone. “I have more things to worry about. Just focus on driving.”

Seung-ho felt uneasy as he thought about Drax, but he soon cleared his head and focused on the gate lists.

Se-hyun glanced at him as he drove.

The only sound in the car was the announcers from the radio.

“Drax will leave Korea via Incheon Airport by 3 pm today, but it is said that there was heavy traffic in the area since 9 am because of Drax’s fans wanting to see him. What do you think is the reason Drax is so popular?”

“It’s simple. The fans are stimulated because he now has a rival. They don’t want Drax to retire, knowing that there is someone else who has a higher measurement than him.”

“I see… by the way, have you heard about the Monster Museum to be built in Korea?”

“Of course. They said they need the monsters in the best shape, stuffed. They want to exhibit monsters that are difficult to find even on the Internet.”

“I’m very curious what kind of monsters will there be?”

“Well, the most famous object is Werewolf. It’s really terrifying because of its size and appearance. The next one is vampires, but they are going to be placed in an adult-only restricted area. Students are cautioned to ensure that they are not using fake registration cards just to get in…”

Seung-ho stayed silent during the rest of the drive until they arrived at the western branch of the Association.

Then, he spoke to Se-hyun. “There are no good gates around. Just sell the stuff, then go home.”

Se-hyun’s face brightened at his words. “Yes, I’d like that.” Seung-ho was not a bad employer.

Among the conditions provided to Seung-ho to get him to cooperate with the Drax reunion was that the Association would buy his by-products at 10% more than the general market price.

They parked the car near the freight elevator and pressed the bell to call the staff. After a few minutes, an employee got off the freight elevator and approached them.

The employee looked slightly surprised when he recognized Seung-ho.

“Did you come to sell by-products?” The employee said.

“Ah, no, we’ll just load it the stuff here, and I will speak to the person in charge to settle the amount.”

The employee looked embarrassed and asked for patience; then he turned to go back to the elevator.

Seung-ho turned to Se-hyun.

“Settle the by-products here; then, you can leave.”

“Yeah. Then, I’ll see you next week.”

Seung-ho then went after the employee and boarded the elevator with him.

“I would like to meet with the branch manager,” he told the employee.

“If you get off the 7th floor and tell the staff in front of the purpose of your visit, you will be guided there.”

The employee pressed the button to the 7th floor, and they stood in awkward silence until they reached the 7th floor.

As the employee said, there was an information desk right in front of the elevator.

One of the female employees behind the desk stood up and greeted him.

“How can I help you?”

“I would like to meet the branch manager.”

“Do you have an appointment?” the employee asked, then her eyes suddenly widened as she recognized Seung-ho’s face.

“No.”

“You’re Lee Seung-ho, right? If you tell us the purpose of your visit, I will schedule you as soon as the branch manager is available.”

“The purpose of my visit is because I had a question about gates.”

“Gates, okay. Please sit over there and wait.:

The woman bowed slightly and wrote down the purpose of his visit.

Seung-ho sat down and waited. After a few moments, the employee asked if he would like something to drink. Seung-ho asked for coffee.

It was brought to him quickly, and as he sipped, he heard a door open at the end of the hallway.

The employee pressed the call button and connected it to the branch manager.

“Chief, Lee Seung-ho is waiting here. He wants to speak with you.”

“Lee Seung-ho? The Lee Seung-ho, right? The one in the news?”

“Yes. He said he had questions about gates, can I let him in right away?”

“Yes, of course, yes, tell him to come in.”

The employee came out from behind the information desk and took Seung-ho to the branch manager’s office.

She knocked and slowly opened the door. “Chief, here’s Mr. Lee Seung-ho.”

An impressive and sturdy man in his late fifties came within Seung-ho’s view. The man was seated behind a desk full of documents.

“Mr. Seungho, welcome. Would you like to sit down here and have a cup of coffee?”

“I already have one.” Seung-ho raised the cup that he was still holding and glanced toward the employee next to him.

The branch manager followed his glance and understood what he wanted to say. He sent the employee away.

As the employee went out to allow privacy, Seung-ho approached and sat down on the sofa. The branch manager walked out from behind the desk and tried to sit on the sofa closest to his desk, then changed his mind and moved a little closer, across Seung-ho.

Before he sat down, he reached out his hand.

“My name is Ma Gi-tae, the manager of the Western Seoul branch.”

“I’m Seungho Lee.”

Seung-ho also got up from the seat and took the light handshake, then sat down again and began to speak earnestly.

“Every Association office is huge,” he said.

“Well, to show off that the Association is ‘big’. I have not felt overwhelmed by it myself until you pointed it out. Don’t you think my office is too spacious?”

It was an obvious waste of money to occupy a 20-sq meter space just for a single office, but it wasn’t that important to Seung-ho.

“I think the Association can afford it,” Seung-ho said.

“Haha, most of the Association’s money is made through investment.”

“Is that so? However, as the gates are getting stronger, aren’t you earning more money with higher grade mana stone income?” Seung-ho asked.

Ma Gi-tae swallowed and appeared hesitant. With that, Seung-ho’s speculation turned into conviction.

“… I don’t know what you’re talking about,” the manager said.

“When did it start getting stronger?” Seung-ho pushed forward.

“I don’t know where you hear these rumors, but there is no such thing!”

Strong denial was said to be a strong affirmation, and the appearance of Ma Gi-tae raising his voice gave Seung-ho more confidence.

“The last one was twenty years ago. When do you predict the next first-class gate will be coming?”

“No…”

“Please tell me the truth. Wouldn’t it help us both?” Seung-ho spoke firmly.

Ma Gi-tae was trembling. It looked like he was trying to calm himself down, but his eyes betrayed him.

“Mr. Seung-ho…”

Seung-ho continued to stare at his eyes. The branch manager tried to hold the gaze but eventually turned away.

The branch manager sighed deeply as if he had finally surrendered.

“The Association has not officially announced it; therefore, you must keep this a secret for now, even from your parents,” the manager said in a low voice.

“I will keep that in mind.”

Ma Gi-tae moistened his dry lips as if he found it difficult to speak.

“The smart hunters probably noticed it little by little… signs were reported six months ago. We hoped it was temporary. The last first-class gate also appeared with these same signs.”

“History repeats… Is the Association predicting that a first-class gate would occur?”

“That’s right. To know the exact rate, we need a little more data, so we can’t confirm it yet right now… we think it would be within the next 2-4 years.”

Ma Gi-Tae’s face darkened as he spoke, and Seung-ho felt the same heavy anxiety.

“Damn it… Why is it happening again?”

“Perhaps, simply destroying the nucleus will not solve this phenomenon.”

“Then, how?”

“We have to kill the gate master. Most expect that the gate will repeat indefinitely unless the final gate master is gone. Balrog…”

Seung-ho’s mouth dropped open.