3.

There was a square in front of Bucheon City Hall.

It was a stage set up for festivals and events hosted by the city, and so wide that they could not feel crowded even if a hundred people gathered.

But now the square, where a hundred people had gathered, seemed so full that no one could come in anymore.

It meant that the spirit of each person filling it was so huge and intense.

The basis and evidence of such spirit were the marks that most of the people who filled the square had on the back of their right hand.

Awakeners.

Furthermore, they were hunters, who used the power of the Awakeners to hunt monsters.

'How long do we have to wait?'

'Damn it, they told us the time is three o'clock!'

In addition, among the parties in the area of the Mac Clan, they had paid the highest number of monster stones to the Mac Clan.

In terms of ranking, they ranged from first to seventh.

Now they were the predators who were more familiar with the smell of monster blood. It was natural that their spirit was intense.

'6 p.m.'

'… they have kept us outside for three hours.'

'The sun is already gone.'

They had blankly faced a cold winter wind like a blade for three hours now.

Their image was not the same as a predator. A predator didn't need this patience.

Nevertheless, there was one reason why they stood in the square in front of the City Hall where the cold wind was blowing for more than three hours.

'I can't help it, I'll have to hold on until I can.'

'I'd rather die if I were frozen to death here, I can't leave.'

'When I were left out of his eyes, I would be dead.'

Kim Tae-hoon, who was the leader of the Mac Clan and those here, had called them.

That was why they were patient.

There was no dog that didn't wait when the owner called.

"You're all here."

Finally, for the first time, a man, not a cold wind, appeared in front of them.

"Oh, it's cold. It's really cold today."

But it wasn't the man they were waiting for.

Jang Sung-hoon, who was Kim Tae-hoon's right-hand, showed up in a thick jumper that seemed warm to everyone's eyes.

'Is that him again?'

'Pht.'

Some of them grit their teeth at his appearance.

No one was afraid of Jang Sung-hoon. There was no reason to be afraid. He was not an Awakener, nor was he strong in the public. He was not even wearing a military uniform like Kim Tae-hoon's soldiers, or carrying a gun.

"Is it cold, everyone? Can I get you a used hot pack?"

But there was no one who ignored him, either. His words were the same as those of Kim Tae-hoon.

"It's been a long time to see you since I met you at the negotiations after the death of Lee Jin-sung. This is the first time that we've gotten together. There are some faces that I saw there, and there are some faces I am seeing for the first time."

No one complained, and they just looked at Jang Sung-hoon.

'They are going crazy to kill me.'

'If it was not for Kim Tae-hoon, they showed the will to kill Jang Sung-hoon immediately.

In front of them, Jang Sung-hoon smiled lightly. 'It's just the look I want.'

That was why Jang Sung-hoon came out three hours later than this appointment time.

'When they are stuffed and their backs are warmed, lying comes out, and at least at this time they will reveal their true intentions.'

'I will change the Mac Clan to a Guild here today, and at the same time, I will select a Clan to work under the Mac Guild.'

'I will give guns and ammunition to the Clan that is selected, and even relics.'

'It is dangerous, of course.'

'Guns are terrifyingly powerful, but if the muzzle of the guns that they received were directed at the Mac Guild, the damage would not be small.'

'Above all, they should never trust a human being, a black-haired animal!'

But nevertheless, he had to let those in front of him hold their guns and swords.

'This day finally comes.'

'Nothing happens as it is now.'

'It is not a good choice to tie the hands and feet of those who can become a competent power in a situation where their present safety may be threatened and if they don't kill, they will die.'

Above all, there were already enough threats.

'Well, I'd rather be glad if anyone could become strong enough to threaten the Boss.'

'Therefore, it will be better to have someone who can threaten Kim Tae-hoon's stronghold. Kim Tae-hoon has a limit to what he can do alone.'

"Well, let's start talking."

'Of course, it is foolish to give without end.'

So he deliberately exposed them to the cold wind for three hours, not to hear the plain-spoken words, but to hear the real thing that popped out without them thinking about it.

Even if they were an Awakener with power, their heads would become stiff if they were exposed for a period of time to this winter wind.

"Today, Mac Clan will become the Mac Guild, and at the same time, the Mac Guild will recruit Clans to work under its command. Of course, there will be guild-level support for the Clans that work under the Mac Guild."

The glittering of the eyes that had frozen coldly began to change at his words.

"There are two main items of support. One is guns and ammunition."

Most of them changed the glitters of their eyes in a moment when they heard about the support items.

'Finally, we are provided with guns.'

'This day finally came!'

The Awakeners here were strong.

They had strengthened their ability by eating monster stones, and they had also made items through monster hunting.

But their power was still not up to a gun.

'A gun is such a powerful weapon. It is powerful, and most of all, it is not difficult to use.'

'If we are provided with guns, we can kill orange-grade monsters. So if we are given guns right away, it will not be so difficult to kill an orange-grade monster.'

It was also the reason why the people here had paid a lot of monster stones. They had been loyal to the Mac Clan, waiting for this day to come.

If the Mac Clan weren't stupid, they wouldn't give a gun to those who didn't show that kind of sincerity.

But the story was not over there.

"This is the second support."

When Jang Sung-hoon gestured, the soldiers of the Mac Clan who were waiting nearby, now the soldiers of the Mac Guild, brought over the goods.

They were relics that anyone could see and use.

"I'll give relics to the qualified."

At that moment, everyone's eyes concentrated in one place.

'I don't think that's a normal item.'

'If it's a relic, it's a big fish.'

Dae Poong Moo Ae (大風無礙).

Choosa Kim Jung-hee's writing caught everyone's attention. Some of them slipped their hands into their pockets and touched their smartphones. Even now, they were anxious to find out the grade and effect of the relic through the smartphone cameras.

However, Jang Sung-hoon did not intend to relieve their anxieties.

"This is about support. Of course, there are conditions. There are several conditions. I've already prepared a contract of seven pages. It was hard to turn the copy machine to take these… paper and electricity are more precious than Rolexes."

Flutter! Jang Sung-hoon shook the bundle of contracts, fluttering them in his hand. "I'll tell you the most important conditions."

At that moment a man walked towards Jang Sung Hoon.

Gulp! Everyone swallowed at his appearance, the most obvious sign of who he was.

Kim Tae-hoon!

His aura was different from his appearance, wearing ordinary cotton pants and a little jumper, holding the sheath of the Sword of the Imperator.

His aura was more like that of a beast. The presence of the Black Snake and those devil eyes was flowing out of him.

"The guns and relics are dangerous things in many ways. I will give you the guns, but there's no guarantee that the muzzle won't be directed at us."

Kim Tae-hoon stood in front of Jang Sung-hoon and Jang stopped talking.

"The teaching of hunting know-how, the provision of hunting grounds, the provision of items, including guns and relics, and other additional benefits."

Cheureung! The Sword appeared from the sheath held in Kim Tae-hoon's left hand as he said the words.

The Sword, which appeared so quickly, was stuck to the ground so fast that it was hard to measure its speed with the naked eye.

'What is it?'

'Did he use the Telekinesis to move the Sword?'

'But it's so fast!'

It was like a thunderbolt had hit the ground. Everyone looked at the Sword of Imperator stuck in the plaza stones, dazed by what had happened so quickly.

"I can't give you these things for nothing," Kim Tae-hoon said from behind the Sword.

"The price for establishing a Clan and receiving support is your finger. It doesn't matter which finger it is. One finger is enough."

The Sword of the Imperator flashed its blade like a smile. As if the Sword, which became stronger when it was bloodied, was delighted to think of human blood.

Everyone's spine was chilled, and they were frozen so that they could forget even the cold wind.

On the other hand, Kim Tae-hoon and Jang Sung-hoon were cool. This was not just an evil act for them, but important to them.

As he said, the establishment and support of the Clan was a kind of double-edged sword to the Mac Guild, and there was no guarantee that those who had guns and ammunition would not betray them afterward.

Above all, there was no reason to give them for free.

'There is no free. It should not be.'

A price should be paid, of course.

'But in this world, money, gold, and unregistered bonds cannot be the currency; in this world, half a pet bottle of gasoline is worth more than ten Rolex watches.'

The same was true of the red monster stones. They were the only valuable thing they could give right now. But to be honest, the red monster stones were not so expensive compared to the value of relics and support.

He didn't want to sell relics and guns for such a cheap price.

'What price would he accept? If he receives it right away, he will be at a loss.'

'So it is better to get it later, and after a while, those who can't pay now can pay for it after they are able to pay enough.'

'That is the point, whether they can pay the price after a while, or not.'

'You must be prepared to pay a finger to get guns and ammunition.'

They could not give them to those who did not even have the determination to cut off a finger to get guns, ammunition, and relics to hunt more monsters.

"We'll take an applicant." Kim Tae-hoon finished his speech.

Naturally, most of them hesitated. No, they seemed more frightened than hesitant, unable to do anything.

Above all, they were in the cold wind for three hours, without knowing the reason. It would not be easy to calculate quickly at this moment.

As Jang Sung-hoon designed, most of them had pure self-conceptions, not calculations, in their minds at this moment.

'It's crazy, do I have to provide my finger?'

'They act like Yakuza…'

'It's ridiculous. This is crazy. I did not do anything wrong, but I have to provide my finger?'

Of course, no one was willing to join in this ridiculous thing right away.

If they wanted guns and ammunition, if it was not crazy to cut their finger, then there was nothing in the world that was not crazy.

But not everyone did.

If they were prepared to do that, if they could get a powerful weapon, guns, and ammunition, there was no reason to hesitate for those who were willing to give a finger.

"I'll apply."

"I'll apply."

Two people raised their hands.

It was Yang Jung-hwan and Lee Soo-young, the heads of the top and second-ranked parties that paid the most monster stones.

The two stepped forward without hesitation.

They began to walk towards the Sword of the Imperator stuck on the ground, as if they were competing.

Shiyik!

However, when they reached a very short distance from the Sword, it immediately entered its sheath. Again, it moved like a lightning bolt.

"I allow the establishment of only two Clans. You two choose one relic. Jang Sung-hoon."

"Yes."

"Write a contract."

"I understand."

Kim Tae-hoon left immediately after finishing his speech, and Jang Sung-hoon handed Lee Soo-young and Yang Jung-hwan a contract.

The two men who received the contract did not read it properly. They immediately wrote their names on the lines.

Everything was done quickly. The rest of the process was silently watched by the others.

When all was over, Jang Sung-hoon waved his hand lightly toward the remaining ones and gave the last word.

"I'll see you here soon, and I will give you some advice. What my boss wants from you is not loyalty. He wants to know if you are worth investing in. How well and how many monsters can you kill if you hold a gun? That's all."

4.

"This is a contract, and this is a smartphone that has photographed the marks of the Awakeners of the two newly created Clans."

Jang Sung-hoon handed over a contract with the smartphone.

Kim Tae-hoon did not look at it, because he could not take back what he had already done.

"What relics did they choose?"

"They put their choice on hold because they wanted to use the relics and choose afterward."

"They'll find a relic that they can be the owner of, I see."

"If a pig's neck is hung with a pearl necklace, the number of people who want to eat the pig only increases."

Originally, they wanted to find the owners of the relics. Finding the owner meant giving the relics to those who had the ability to use them.

However, it was not necessary. Therefore, Kim Tae-hoon immediately moved on to the next topic.

"Tell the two Clans to hunt more than one orange monster a week."

"Do I give them this mission right away?"

"Do they need a probationary period or period of adjustment?"

"I'll deliver it," Jang Sung-hoon nodded.

Kim Tae-hoon asked him a surprise question. "When will the leather armor of the Black Snake be completed?"

"The workshop chief, Park Gap-soo, said that he could complete the prototype tomorrow, and once the boss signs OK, they can produce two sets every day."

The leather armor of the Black Snake was a powerful item that could not be rivaled by any protective equipment that had been made so far.

Of course, the moment he got it, he had to act accordingly! "It's time to find a new target."

"I'll check the Daedongyeojido and select the candidate group." With those words, Jang Sung-hoon took out Daedongyeojido from his bag, immediately opening it to the page that he remembered, showing the city of Bucheon.

"Boss..." Jang Sung-hoon said with a grim expression at that moment.

"The green dots around Bucheon City have moved..."