Chương 142: Chapter 141: Meeting an S-Rank Hunter — the Flame Sword Saint and a 300-Million-Won Debt

The French restaurant on the top floor of the five-star Shilla Hotel offered a full panoramic view of Namsan Tower lit up against the night sky. In the candlelit VIP corner, with soft piano music drifting through the room, Lucian sat in a crisp black suit, cutting into a Wagyu steak across from Eleanor, who sipped sparkling grape juice with elegant restraint. On the table between them sat a property file for a modest Gangnam office lease Vance Earth Holdings was considering for its first operations desk. BANG!

The restaurant's automatic glass doors burst open. A small knot of bodyguards in black suits and a few reporters clustered around a man of about twenty-five striding through the crowd. He wore a leather jacket studded with glowing red magical rivets, his gelled hair standing stiff, immune to any breeze, a longsword at his hip flickering with pulses of magical fire — S-Rank Hunter Choi Hyun-Woo, known as the "Flame Sword Saint," ranked 17th in the world. Ting.

[TARGET: S-RANK HUNTER CHOI HYUN-WOO] Level: 78 | Rank: S-class Hunter (publicly recorded) The restaurant manager scrambled over and bowed nearly to the floor. Choi Hyun-Woo waved him off, voice booming with arrogance.

"The Chairman of Mir Group is coming to have dinner with me tonight to sign a major sponsorship deal. Clear every guest off this floor. I'm buying out the whole restaurant for the night." The manager glanced uneasily at Lucian and Eleanor's table — the only occupied table left. Choi Hyun-Woo frowned and stomped over to Lucian's table. He pulled a solid-gold-plated S-Rank Hunter card from his jacket and slammed it down on the table, then pulled out a ten-million-won check and tossed it beside Lucian's steak.

"Kid. You have any idea how much money I make in one hour of livestreaming? Take this ten million, grab your companion, and get out. Make room for my VIP guest." Lucian finished chewing the bite of steak in his mouth, calmly set his knife and fork down on the porcelain plate with a light clink. Lucian opened the folder Sylvia had brought: a creditor-side file lawfully assigned by a licensed finance partner from the same bank's distressed secured-equipment portfolio.

A faint red financial summary appeared only over the documents in front of him: Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. [ASSIGNED SECURED-LOAN REVIEW: CHOI HYUN-WOO] Publicly disclosed endorsement income: substantial, but volatile. Secured fire-sword and armor financing: costly maintenance schedule. Media-team and security overhead: documented in the underwriting file. Overdue balance in the assigned receivable: 320, 000, 000 KRW.

Status: lender is preparing ordinary recovery options under the signed loan documents. Lucian leaned back in his chair, dabbed his mouth with a napkin, and spoke evenly.

"Mr. Choi Hyun-Woo." He pointed at the man's stiff, styled hair.

"The creditor-side file says you're carrying a three-hundred-twenty-million-won secured balance tied to your equipment package. If Vance Earth Holdings forms the right licensed partnership, we can discuss a conditional refinancing proposal - subject to underwriting." The magical flame on the sword at Choi Hyun-Woo's hip suddenly guttered out. The entire S-Rank Sword Saint froze solid, stiff as rotten wood.

He stared down at the ten-year-old in front of him, cold sweat beading in drops the size of peas, running down through his glossy gelled hair and dripping onto the table. Eleanor lifted her sparkling grape juice and took a small sip, the corner of her mouth curving into a princess's sharp, mocking smile.

"A swordsman whose mind is shackled by debt figures and the fear of default... How could his blade ever move freely? How pitiful." Choking sound. Choi Hyun-Woo's throat caught. His face went from red to a deep purple, like he'd just swallowed a whole chili pepper. He glanced around, saw the bodyguards and reporters watching curiously, and hastily pulled out the chair across the table and sat down, dropping his voice to something close to pleading.

"You... who ARE you?! How do you know about the equipment debt and the lender's recovery file?!" Lucian slid a provisional Vance Earth Holdings business card across the table.

"I'm your future creditor. If a licensed finance partner approves an extension and a five-hundred-million-won equipment sponsorship package..." He tapped a finger on the table.

"In exchange, provide your own scouting notes, legally shareable dungeon maps, and an introduction to the proper licensed intelligence provider for the Rank S Gate near Jeju Island." Choi Hyun-Woo grabbed the card like a drowning man grabbing a rope, nodding rapidly.

"Deal. I'll send my notes and make the introduction tonight." By the restaurant's entrance, the reporters watched the world's 17th-ranked, famously arrogant Sword Saint bowing meekly before a boy in a black overcoat, and their cameras went off in a frenzy. Click! Click! Click! Less than ten minutes later, an exclusive story exploded across the global Hunter forums:'SHOCKING: Flame Sword Saint Choi Hyun-Woo Bows to Take Orders From Mysterious Young Master of a Financial Empire!' WOOO... WOOO... WOOO!

A top-tier emergency siren suddenly tore through the Seoul night sky, drowning out even the restaurant's background music. The Shilla Hotel's crystal glass windows shook violently. Three miles away, above Seoul City Hall, a massive blood-red Dungeon Gate — fifty meters across — split open in midair, radiating a wave of national-catastrophe-level pressure. Every TV screen in the restaurant switched simultaneously to emergency broadcast mode:"NATIONAL RED ALERT! RANK S DUNGEON GATE IN CENTRAL SEOUL HAS BROKEN!

A CATASTROPHE-CLASS ENTITY HAS EMERGED!"