Chapter 198: After the Fall

Episode 198

‘Come to think of it, I haven’t looked into Ukobachi yet.’

He remembered deciding to research it after his previous visit to Luis’s office, intrigued by the name.

But he had been too busy to even think about it.

Joining Boko Haram, rising through the ranks of the Triunfo Clan, participating in the Newbie Showdown – he had been constantly on the move, without a single day of rest.

‘I’ve been living a hectic life. Even though it hasn’t been that long.’

“Here you go.”

Luis’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

He took the hunter bracelet from Luis, put it on his wrist, and turned on the screen.

Name: Josh

Age: 24

Occupation: Hunter

Demon World Dungeon: Cleared Floor 25

Tower of Trials: Cleared Floor 25

He checked the new profile displayed on the screen, and Luis said,

“I chose the dungeon floors arbitrarily. Usually, if you’ve cleared at least Floor 25, you’ll be treated well anywhere in the New Continent, even in the Alpha Clan.”

“Oh~! I see. Thank you.”

“No, thank you.”

Luis extended his hand for a handshake, his eyes fixed on Kim Jinsung’s.

“I’ll say it again, don’t die. Ukobachi is the only hope for people like us.”

He was repeating the exact same words he had said during their last encounter.

“I look forward to your future endeavors. Come visit again.”

He finally released Kim Jinsung’s hand.

As he left the office, Kim Jinsung thought to himself,

‘I need to search for Ukobachi as soon as I get back.’

Unlike last time, he was determined to research it immediately.

What was Ukobachi that made Luis react that way?

He was dying to know.

* * *

The Red Zone, also known as the R Zone.

Located just inside the Black Zone, also known as the B Zone, it was a relatively safe area with regular Paladin patrols.

Newbie hunters who started their lives in the New Continent in the B Zone often tried to save up money and move to the safer R Zone.

Therefore, residents of the R Zone were generally considered to have successfully adapted to the New Continent.

Since the R Zone was mostly populated by experienced hunters, the average skill level was much higher than in the B Zone.

Just living in the R Zone could earn you bonus points during clan recruitment tests.

Some Major Clans even had a minimum requirement of residing in the Red Zone or higher to even apply.

As a hub for skilled hunters, the R Zone was also home to many hunter-related businesses.

The most common were mercenary guilds and information brokers.

“Your payment has been processed. Please check.”

‘Finder’ was one of the many information brokers in the R Zone.

“Ah, it’s fine.”

“Thank you for your business. Please visit us again!”

The man, Park Do-joon, the owner of Finder, bowed deeply to the departing customer.

“And you don’t have to come all the way here next time. You can use the app I just installed for you.”

“Ah~! Okay.”

“Have a good day!”

He bowed again and sat back down after the customer closed the door.

He removed the card from the machine and turned to the man behind him.

“Junghyun, here’s the card.”

“Yes, sir.”

Kim Junghyun took the card and inserted it into a machine on the table.

The customer’s profile appeared on the monitor.

“Blue rank, right?”

“Yeah.”

Junghyun had already assigned the customer a ‘Blue’ rank before Park Do-joon could even answer.

He continued processing the information and said,

“We’ve been getting a lot of Blue rank customers lately, haven’t we? Did you know that all five people who registered today were Blue rank?”

“I know. And the number will keep increasing for a while.”

“Really?”

Junghyun looked at Park Do-joon in surprise.

Finder categorized its customers into five ranks.

‘White’ rank: Hunters with average skills, capable of handling only D-rank or lower requests.

‘Blue’ rank: Hunters who frequented dungeons above Floor 10 and had established themselves in the B Zone or higher.

‘Purple’ rank: Verified hunters residing in the R Zone or higher, typically handling B-rank requests.

‘Red’ rank: Executives of small to medium-sized clans or established members of Major Clans, well-known skilled individuals who could handle up to S-rank requests depending on the situation.

“Not White rank, but more Blue rank customers?”

Junghyun was surprised because ‘White’ rank customers, the most numerous, usually accounted for the majority of requests at Finder.

There weren’t that many ‘Blue’ rank hunters in the New Continent, so he was already surprised by the recent influx of ‘Blue’ rank members.

And now Park Do-joon was saying that even more would join.

“It’s inevitable, considering the recent events.”

Park Do-joon replied matter-of-factly.

“You know the FCC Clan collapsed, right?”

“Of course. Everyone in the New Continent knows about it.”

The fall of the FCC Clan, once considered the strongest clan in South America.

They had confidently attacked the Triunfo prospects during the ‘Newbie Showdown’, only to have most of their elite forces, including Master Dumont, wiped out by a single hunter named Alopsky.

The FCC Clan, weakened by the loss, had been completely destroyed after an all-out war with the Triunfo Clan.

It was breaking news, having happened less than a week ago.

“Countless hunters lost their jobs because of the FCC Clan’s collapse. Including the members of the subcontracted clans who relied on the FCC, at least a hundred hunters became unemployed overnight.

I had drinks with a guy who used to work for an information broker run by the FCC Clan. He said the number could be as high as 500.”

“Wow…”

“What’s so surprising? It’s not surprising considering the size of the FCC Clan. Do you know why they’re called a ‘Major Clan’?”

He chided Junghyun and continued,

“And those 500 aren’t small fry either. They were subcontracted by a Major Clan, so they must have at least some skills.”

“Ah~! So you’re saying most of them are ‘Blue’ rank hunters? And some of them are using our services…?”

“Exactly. You’re not as dumb as you look.”

He wasn’t finished yet.

“And there are also those who are taking on requests to capture them. You know Triunfo has issued many wanted posters for former FCC Clan members, right?”

“Of course. That’s why all the information brokers are making a killing these days.”

“You need to be at least a ‘Blue’ rank hunter to capture those guys.”

“Ah~! That makes sense. You need to be a verified hunter residing in the R Zone or higher to even get a low-ranking position in a Major Clan.”

“So, for various reasons, the number of ‘Blue’ rank or higher customers has increased since the FCC Clan’s collapse. We need to work hard and make a lot of money while we can.”

“Wow…! You’re still trying to make more money even though you already have so much?”

Junghyun, amazed, asked,

“What are you going to do with all that money? You already have…”

“I’m going independent.”

Park Do-joon cut him off.

“I can’t keep working as a subcontractor under the Korean Clan forever. I need to become independent and do whatever I want.”

“What do you want to do?”

“Information broker.”

“…Huh? But that’s the same as now.”

“You idiot. It’s completely different working under the Korean Clan’s 24/7 surveillance and working on my own.”

Junghyun scratched his head sheepishly at Park Do-joon’s scolding. “Well, I guess you’re right…” he muttered.

“Every time the Korean Clan contacts me and nitpicks about something, I feel like I’m getting every disease in the book.

I need to make money and become independent soon. I have everything else ready, I just need the money…”

“Do you think the Korean Clan will let you go independent?”

Junghyun asked, seeing Park Do-joon trailing off.

“They’re notorious for not letting go of their subcontractors. They’ll even kill you if you insist on leaving… Mmmph.”

He stopped abruptly as Park Do-joon put a finger to his lips.

Park Do-joon looked at him with a disappointed expression and said,

“Don’t worry about that. I’ve been in this business for years. Do you think I would try to become independent without a plan? I have everything under control.”

“If you say so…”

Junghyun nodded trustingly.

He never doubted Park Do-joon’s abilities. Having worked alongside him for so long, he knew him better than anyone.

“And this is the perfect opportunity, with the Korean Clan obsessed with capturing Kim Jinsung.”

Park Do-joon continued,

“There are a lot of subcontracted information brokers trying to get on the Korean Clan’s good side lately. They’ll draw attention away from me, making it easier for me to become independent.”

“Hmm…”

Junghyun thought for a moment and asked again,

“I’ve always wondered, what’s Kim Jinsung’s ultimate goal?”

Park Do-joon looked at him.

“At first, I thought he was just trying to hide his identity and live quietly. But the fact that he joined the Triunfo Clan shows that he has some ambition to become the strongest hunter.”

“That’s true.”

“But now that the Korean Clan has openly asked other Major Clans for help in capturing him, it’ll be difficult for him to join another Major Clan secretly.”

“……”

“So I’m curious. Does he really have the ambition to become the strongest, as I suspect? And if so, how will he overcome this situation?”

As he finished speaking, the door opened, and a stranger entered.

Park Do-joon immediately stood up and greeted him with a bright smile.

“Welcome. Is this your first time here?”

“Yes.”

“Please have a seat.”

He led the customer to a seat facing him and inserted a new card into the machine.

“Please place an item that can verify your identity on the scanner. A hunter watch, a clan badge, anything will do.”

The customer took something out of his pocket and placed it on the scanner.

Information appeared on Park Do-joon’s monitor, and

“……!!”

His entire body froze.

—