Machine God with EX-rank talent (Deus ex machina)

A coffee shop within the Hunter Association.

Hyeon Su-ho sat down with Jin Seo-yeon and Hong Chang-sik, whom he had met by chance.

They asked him what had happened since he was now wearing a sleek chain sword and leather armor.

"You're a hunter... now?"

"It just sort of happened that way."

They still thought of Hyeon Su-ho as a repairman.

Having a secondary profession as a hunter was not unheard of, but it was quite rare.

Usually, it was the wealthy who would hire professional hunters to level up.

For Hyeon Su-ho, who struggled just to make ends meet, it was an impossible task.

Hyeon Su-ho explained briefly.

"It turns out my profession isn't a repairman. I only found out after leveling up."

"Oh!"

Jin Seo-yeon nodded as if she understood.

"Congratulations."

"No, I'm still a novice hunter."

At that, Hong Chang-sik, who had been pondering something, spoke up.

"Wait a minute. Does that mean an EX-rank hunter has been born?"

Hyeon Su-ho had been mocked not for his rank but for his profession as a repairman.

The world's first EX-rank repairman.

But if he wasn't a repairman, then he was an EX-rank hunter.

"If that's true, it's an amazing—no, an incredible feat! Becoming a top-ranker is almost certain..."

Suddenly, Hong Chang-sik's eyes sparkled, and he grabbed Hyeon Su-ho's hand on the table.

"Join our guild! If you join our guild, we'll give you the best treatment in the industry!"

He had heard the term "best treatment" before.

But back then, it was as a repairman. The meaning now was completely different.

"We'll offer a five-year exclusive contract with a signing bonus of 10 billion won. We'll provide all necessary equipment for free and split the hunt earnings 9 to 1..."

Was Hong Chang-sik always this talkative?

Hyeon Su-ho couldn't keep up with the barrage of words.

It was Jin Seo-yeon who finally put the brakes on Hong Chang-sik.

"Mister! Stop it! You're overwhelming Su-ho!"

"Miss! This is no time for decorum! Once this news gets out, every guild will come running! And having an EX-rank hunter would be a great asset to you."

"Please! Calm down."

With that, Jin Seo-yeon bowed to Hyeon Su-ho and spoke.

"I'm sorry. Once Mister Chang-sik gets going, no one can stop him."

"It's, it's okay."

In fact, Hong Chang-sik's offer wasn't bad for Hyeon Su-ho.

It was actually so good that it would be hard to find better conditions.

But Hyeon Su-ho politely declined for now.

"I appreciate the offer, but I'd like to think it over."

For now, he preferred to work alone.

"I still have the business card you gave me last time, so I'll contact you if I decide."

At those words, Hong Chang-sik smacked his lips in disappointment, and Jin Seo-yeon nodded in understanding.

Leaning back in his chair, Hong Chang-sik spoke.

"It's truly astonishing. An EX-rank hunter has finally appeared in our country. And two of them at that."

Despite its small size, Korea was a hunter powerhouse. In terms of population ratio, it had an overwhelming number of rankers and high-rankers.

But, unfortunately, there were no top-rankers among the top ten in the world.

That was because no EX-rank hunters had emerged until now.

When the first EX-rank profession appeared, the entire country cheered.

"You're talking about the Silver Knight, right?"

His name was Eun Hui-gwang.

He was 27, the same age as Hyun Soo-ho.

By some twist of fate, two EX-ranks were born in Korea in the same year.

But their fates diverged dramatically.

One became the Silver Knight, emitting silver flashes, while the other was just a repairman.

Eun Hui-gwang received massive media attention as a potential first top-ranker for Korea, while Hyeon Su-ho was quickly forgotten.

On the first day, there was only a small article in the corner of the newspaper calling it a "flash in the pan."

Meanwhile, Eun Hui-gwang was said to be growing rapidly with major government support.

His every move was considered a national secret, so no one knew his whereabouts.

Hong Chang-sik looked around cautiously and whispered.

"I'll keep your EX-rank status a secret, but please contact me if you change your mind."

"Ah, okay."

Hong Chang-sik didn't press further.

Then, suddenly, Hyeon Su-ho became curious.

'Do they know about the Death Star?'

[There is no trace of it. It's more than 90% likely they don't know.]

Well, the Death Star was said to be known only by the highest authorities.

Even a successor of a major corporation might not know yet.

'Maybe ignorance is bliss.'

The impending doom of Earth.

Thinking about it made his head ache, so perhaps it was better not to know.

Hyeon Su-ho had no intention of sharing that information with them.

He planned to just drink his coffee and leave.

There was still much left to sort out.

At that moment, a man noticed their group and approached.

Step. Step.

He appeared to be in his early thirties.

A man in a luxurious black coat.

His eyes were narrow and his hair was slicked back without a strand out of place.

His face, expressionless to the point of looking rigid, had one corner of his mouth unnaturally slightly upturned.

Overall, he was a handsome, cold-looking man, but there was a sinister atmosphere that made one feel they should not get too close.

The two in front of him noticed him approaching and visibly tensed up.

The man looked at them with cold, snake-like eyes and spoke.

"It’s been a while, Seo-yeon."

"Sa-geol... oppa."

His name was Jin Sa-geol, Jin Seo-yeon’s cousin.

He was also a strong rival in the competition to succeed Jinryong Group.

Jin Sa-geol was the third oldest among the third generation of the Jinryong family.

There had originally been more above him, but several had mysteriously died in certain incidents.

Of course, no one considered those deaths mysterious.

Like how Jin Seo-yeon's expedition team had fallen into a trap, their deaths were the result of someone's schemes.

Of course, there was no evidence.

Even when they interrogated the illusionist who had trapped the expedition, they found nothing.

All those who had contacted or given money to him were found dead.

If someone were to ask Jin Seo-yeon who she suspected the most, she would, without hesitation, say this man, Jin Sa-geol.

He was a dangerous person, even without the succession competition.

Feeling Jin Seo-yeon's gaze, Jin Sa-geol smirked and spoke.

"Aren’t you being too cold to your brother whom you haven't seen in a while?"

"Indeed. Should I run over and give you a hug?"

"That would be even better."

With a sly smile, he sat down without permission and said.

"I heard about you. Nearly got caught in some trap, didn't you?"

"Yes. Some filthy bastards pulled a stunt."

Jin Seo-yeon, usually calm, showed her emotions surprisingly.

As she spoke sharply, Jin Sa-geol waved his hand.

"Whoa, whoa. Calm down. Why would I, your loving brother, put you in a trap? There are so few of us left. Haha!"

Of course, it wasn’t certain that Jin Sa-geol had set the trap for the expedition.

However, at least two or three of the deceased siblings were undoubtedly his handiwork.

"I hope you're telling the truth."

"Hmm~"

Perhaps disliking Jin Seo-yeon's attitude, Jin Sa-geol turned his attention to Hyeon Su-ho, who was quietly sitting there.

"And who might this be? A boyfriend? Haha!"

As the target shifted to Hyeon Su-ho, Jin Seo-yeon hurriedly spoke.

"Leave him alone! He’s just an acquaintance."

At those words, Jin Sa-geol's eyes gleamed.

“Oh! You have a male acquaintance? Really? You used to hate having men around except for Fireballer, didn’t you?”

"Because of you!"

Gritting her teeth, Jin Seo-yeon responded.

She avoided having men around her due to being tormented by Jin Sa-geol since childhood.

She had to lead the expedition, so she didn’t show it outwardly, but she struggled even to converse with men.

It was only after hearing Jin Sa-geol’s words that Jin Seo-yeon realized she had approached Hyeon Su-ho without hesitation.

Noticing the subtle emotions, Jin Sa-geol’s eyes sparkled.

"Then... we should get along even better. Hey!"

Jin Sa-geol was already cold.

But when he spoke to Hyeon Su-ho, it felt like an icy wind was blowing.

"Your face is too pretty for a man. A man should have at least one honorable scar, don’t you think?"

With that, Jin Sa-geol took out a small dagger from his coat and threw it on the table.

Clink.

The dagger, which looked sharp enough to draw blood with a touch, spun on the table before stopping, pointing directly at Hyeon Su-ho.

"No!"

Jin Seo-yeon stood up in shock, but Hong Chang-sik, beside her, held her down.

Even the high-ranking Hong Chang-sik seemed to be extremely wary of Jin Sa-geol.

With a sinister look, Jin Sa-geol continued speaking to Hyeon Su-ho.

"What do you think? Doesn’t it sound like a good idea? Carving out your left eye would make you look more stylish."

Hyeon Su-ho squinted at the sudden situation. Alarmed, Jin Seo-yeon shouted.

"Stop it immediately! Su-ho, cover your ears!"

At Jin Seo-yeon’s shout, Hyeon Su-ho looked back and forth between the dagger on the table and Jin Sa-geol's face several times.

Then he said...

"What the hell? Is this guy crazy?"

Without hiding his displeasure.

An awkward silence followed.

"..."

"..."

Jin Seo-yeon and Hong Chang-sik were too shocked to speak.

It wasn’t just because Hyeon Su-ho had spoken harshly to a chaebol heir.

Hyeon Su-ho, completely clueless, just blinked his eyes.

Jin Sa-gul, startled, jumped up from his seat.

"W-what? How are you alright?"

Jin Sa-gul's face no longer had the relaxed expression from before and trembled as if he'd been struck in a vital spot.

Bang!

The chair fell back with a loud noise, but he seemed oblivious to it.

"Why isn't my control ability working...?"

Jin Sa-gul has an S-class profession, a Ruler.

It was a unique ability that could immobilize opponents with just a look.

As he leveled up, he gained a skill that not only suppressed others but could also force them to perform specific actions.

But this ability had no effect on Hyeon Su-ho.

"Who are you? How can my ability...?"

Of course, Jin Sa-gul's ability wasn't invincible.

Even a Fireballer could resist Jin Sa-gul's power.

However, even rankers like Fireballers needed at least a few seconds to fully break free from the ability.

It was the first time someone had moved immediately without even a moment's hesitation.

Unaware of all this, Hyeon Su-ho was simply puzzled by the man's reaction.

After all, the man had been babbling to himself and then suddenly turned pale and backed off.

Jin Sa-gul glared at Hyeon Su-ho with a twisted expression, clenched his teeth, and stormed out of the café.

Ding!

As he left, Hyeon Su-ho looked at Jin Seo-yeon and Hong Chang-sik, as if asking for an explanation.

They were equally surprised.

"How did that guy's ability not work?"

"What ability?"

"Well..."

Jin Seo-yeon explained Jin Sa-gul's profession and abilities.

After hearing this, Hyeon Su-ho scratched his head, still not understanding.

"I don't know. I didn't feel anything."

Hyeon Su-ho's baffled response.

The unexpected answer came from Nova.

[It's because you are an EX-Rank Hunter, Master.]

‘What does that have to do with it? Professions are determined by luck.’

He thought he was lucky to get an EX-Rank profession but unlucky to get a support profession.

But Nova completely shattered Hyeon Su-ho's belief.

[Do you think one's destiny is determined by their Ranks, Master?]

‘Of course. Getting a good profession changes your life.’

[That's a misunderstanding, Master.]

‘Then what is it?’

[It's the opposite. Ranks aren't determined by destiny, destiny is determined by the person.]

For a moment, he was confused.

Destiny is determined by the person?

[Professions and Ranks are divided based on a person's potential. So, you weren't lucky to become EX Rank; it was your destiny from the start.]

‘So, I...’

[It means you have EX-level talent. Mental skills of an S-Rank profession are trivial to you.]