“Good morning!”
“Good morning!”
I felt like a mob boss. Every time I took a step, rookie Guild members bowed ninety degrees and greeted me from every direction.
They were fresh out of training camp, still green as grass. In terms of years on the job, I was certainly their senior by a wide margin.
This industry does take seniority and junior status pretty seriously.
The problem was that some of the rookie Guild members were late-blooming Hunters older than me.
“It’s an honor to meet you!”
A rookie who looked to be well into his mid-thirties bowed with his eyes shining brightly.
Then I saw his crown shining even more brightly than his eyes, and my heart ached.
“Yes. Good luck…”
“Thank you!”
“Thank you!”
Was that an echo or something?
And I wasn’t talking to all of you. You full-haired bastards.
I was looking at the rookies while clicking my tongue inwardly when my gaze suddenly stopped on one young man.
That one might actually be useful.
He was the best among the new recruits. The energy I sensed from him was impressive, and every movement he made was restrained like that of a martial artist.
The young man, noticing my gaze, gave me a broad grin.
“Good morning, Senior.”
He was definitely different. Unlike the other rookies, he wasn’t nervous or obsequious.
In my experience, people like him fell into one of two categories.
Either they had absolutely nothing to back up their pride, or they were confident in their own abilities.
The guy standing in front of me belonged to the latter category.
“You there. What’s your name?”
“My name is Kim Jinsoo. I graduated at the top of the B-rank course at the training camp. I was also the first person to destroy a Golem’s core during this raid.”
“Really?”
“Yes. It was my first time in an A-rank Gate, but it wasn’t as difficult as I expected.”
What an interesting guy.
He had no hesitation about gilding his own face. He was the type who would always make sure he got his share wherever he went.
When I stared at him, Kim Jinsoo laughed good-naturedly.
“And you can speak comfortably with me, Senior.”
“We just met. I’ll drop the formal speech once we get more comfortable. The same goes for everyone else, so I’d appreciate it if you skipped the loud greetings from now on.”
“Yes!”
“I’ll keep that in mind, Senior!”
“…”
He wasn’t listening at all.
The deafening noise echoed through the hallway, and the office door at the far end slowly opened.
A stiff white shirt and neatly ironed black slacks. There was only one Hunter in our Guild who came to work dressed like that.
“You’re lively this morning.”
“Too lively, if you ask me.”
Like a scene from a commercial, Team Leader Choi held a coffee cup and jerked his chin toward the office.
“Come in and have some coffee. Let’s calm things down.”
The office was spacious and comfortable. Perhaps because it had been decorated to suit Team Leader Choi’s tastes, expensive furniture was scattered throughout the room, and a silver nameplate sat on the desk.
Team Leader Choi Minwoo
Even the nameplate looks expensive.
Moving the Guild House and recruiting all those new Guild members must have cost an enormous amount of money. Apparently, it was true that the Peace Guild had extracted an astronomical settlement from the Star Guild, where Won Myunghoon had been Guild Master.
As I was admiring the nameplate, a cup filled with black coffee suddenly appeared in front of me.
Team Leader Choi followed my gaze and asked,
“Would you like me to have one made for you? A nameplate.”
“I’m fine. I don’t actually have a position or anything.”
“We can always create a position. General Team Leader. Head of Headquarters. Whatever you want.”
“Anything?”
“Yes.”
“Then something modest. Guild Master.”
“…”
“I’m joking. If I became Guild Master, I’d run the Guild into the ground.”
Besides, even if I did become Guild Master, I would obviously just be a figurehead. What would be the point?
I accepted the coffee and sat down on the sofa. More than twenty newspapers were stacked on the glass table.
They ranged from the major domestic daily papers to foreign newspapers filled with writing I couldn’t even begin to understand. Just looking at them made my eyes spin.
“You actually read all of these?”
“I read them to keep track of overseas developments and collect industry information. It’s nothing special. Knowing around five languages is enough to read them.”
“…”
That was extremely special. Five languages? What kind of life had this man led?
Shaking my head in amazement, I glanced at one of the open newspapers.
A vivid color photograph of a man who looked to be in his thirties caught my eye, along with several headlines printed in bold.
- The late Hunter Jung Hyunwoo (photo attached)
- Accidents continue. The Gate—a space of death that even A-rank Hunters cannot escape.
- Myeongdong Guild expresses regret over the deceased’s untimely death…
It looked like there had been another accident.
The Myeongdong Guild? That’s Jihoon’s Guild.
Just as I was about to look more closely, Team Leader Choi elegantly tilted his coffee cup and continued.
“The Peace Guild will continue to grow. We’ve already recruited twenty B-rank Hunters and thirty C-rank or lower Hunters. That kind of growth is unprecedented in the domestic market, which has become thoroughly stagnant.”
Just as he said, the Peace Guild’s growth was terrifying.
Only about four months had passed since the Guild was founded, but if we maintained this momentum, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call ourselves a mid-sized Guild.
Of course, compared to other mid-sized Guilds, we’re still seriously lacking in the number of affiliated Hunters.
That was because we hadn’t recruited more people yet, not because we couldn’t.
The fact that the Guild’s website had gone down due to excessive traffic was proof enough. I’d heard that hundreds of employment-related inquiries came flooding in every day.
“And I played a major role in that. The biggest contributor.”
“That’s true.”
Team Leader Choi continued smoothly.
“It is true, but I’m not giving you a bonus.”
“…You’re quick to catch on.”
I’d tested the waters just in case, but it hadn’t worked at all.
As he watched me silently smack my lips, Team Leader Choi smiled.
“However, I’ll think about it positively if you do me one favor.”
“What favor?”
“I’d like you to take charge of the rookie Guild members for a while.”
“…The rookies?”
“Yes. We carefully selected and recruited them, and they all have talent. But they’re still rather clumsy in many ways.”
“Of course they are. They’re beginners.”
No matter how much training someone went through, the atmosphere of a real battle was different from the air in a training camp.
There was a reason people said that a lower-rank Hunter with ten years of experience was better than a top Hunter who had just finished training camp.
“But why me? There are other people here.”
“I already spoke to Butler Kim and Song-i this morning. I suggested that we all take turns teaching the rookies.”
“What did they say?”
“They agreed. Very willingly, without the slightest hesitation.”
“…What about Uncle Kkeokjeong?”
“I haven’t been able to ask him yet. He’s long past his usual arrival time, and he isn’t answering his phone.”
Team Leader Choi checked the time and continued.
“Wouldn’t it be a good idea? The rookie Guild members are hoping that Mr. Jin Taekyung will teach them, too. Most of them applied to our Guild because of you.”
“Thank you for putting me on a pedestal and all, but…”
I scratched the back of my head.
Dark Heaven had revealed its fangs in Murim, and Jeok Cheongang was still unconscious.
Even if I spent thirty days in the modern world, only three hours would pass in Murim. I had time to spare, but with A-rank Gates to clear, teaching a bunch of greenhorns wasn’t exactly the most rewarding use of it.
If I was going to spend that time on something, being with my family would be a hundred times better.
“Leave me out of it. From the Guild’s perspective, wouldn’t it be more efficient for me to clear another A-rank Gate instead of teaching those guys?”
“More efficient…”
“Yes. Efficiency.”
“Then I suppose it can’t be helped.”
A sinister smile formed around Team Leader Choi’s mouth.
“I’ll be counting on you with our rookie Guild members.”
“What?”
“All the A-rank Gates have been booked solid. You won’t have a chance for at least the next week.”
“Don’t lie to me! You scam artist!”
“If you don’t believe me, you can see for yourself.”
I snatched the paper Team Leader Choi held out. It was densely covered with the reservation schedules for A-rank Gates across the country.
Damn it. He was telling the truth.
“I’ll give you a 200 percent performance bonus this month. You get to go on raids and teach your juniors. How wholesome.”
“…”
“Or you can stay home and do nothing.”
The corners of Team Leader Choi’s mouth rose in an infuriating smile.
I was just about to shout, I’m not doing it!, when the System notification rang.
Ding.
System
- The Quest It Was Too Much Money to Say “I’m Not Doing It!” has been generated!
Will you accept the Quest?
Y / N
“What do you say?”
“…”
“I’ll take that as your acceptance and get the rookies ready. I’ve already reserved a few B-rank Gates.”
Ding.
System
- You have tacitly agreed.
- You have accepted the Quest!
Goddamn it.
—Grrrrr.
The rough breathing of monsters closed in from every direction. Twenty pairs of anxious eyes swept across the surroundings.
Huff. Huff.
Their breathing grew ragged, and the hands gripping their shields and weapons turned white.
I was sitting astride a branch high above the ground, watching the scene unfold.
My expression was blank, but my head was filled with a serious dilemma.
What should I eat for dinner?
Should I have galbi, or whole boiled duck for the first time in ages?
Both options were too good to give up…
“Hold the line!”
“What are the damage dealers doing? Damage dealers!”
At the sound of those shrill screams, I looked over. It was chaos.
More than a dozen Lycanthropes were charging in and pounding on the shield wall. The pale-faced tanks were being pushed back in a line.
They’re getting pushed back because they’re trying to fight the monsters with brute strength.
Of course, it wasn’t entirely the tanks’ fault. The damage dealers were also too flustered to do their jobs.
If they had landed suppressive attacks at the right moments, this situation wouldn’t have happened in the first place.
I had warned them several times before the raid began, but they were still making the same mistakes.
That’s going to break any second.
The moment I thought it, the shield wall collapsed amid a chorus of screams.
A gap opened in an instant. One of the most agile-looking Lycanthropes charged through with a characteristic roar.
Its bright yellow predator’s eyes turned toward the healers hiding behind the shield wall.
—Graaaargh!
—Awoooooo!
To me, it sounded no different from a dog barking, but these rookie Hunters, who were only beginning their second raid, were terrified.
“Aaaah!”
“Eeeek!”
The screams of the mage and healer shook the darkened forest.
It’s already noisy enough. Those screams are going to draw another twenty or so over here.
I memorized the faces of the two people who had screamed.
From now on, their nickname is the Pied Pipers.
“Senior! Senior Jin Taekyung!”
“Please help us, Senior!”
Several round faces looked up at me and cried out desperately.
The front line had already collapsed, and there was nothing behind the rookies except one enormous boulder.
The Lycanthropes closed in, tightening their encirclement with triumphant momentum.
How did the monsters end up being better at forming ranks than they are?
I wiped the sleep from the corner of my eye and answered.
“I told you. If I help, your skills won’t improve.”
“Even if they don’t improve, that’s fine!”
“I’m not fine with it. You know what happens if you make a habit of getting help? You make a habit of shitting the bed during raids, too.”
“Even so, I don’t want to die like this!”
“But… nobody wants to die, do they?”
“Please help us!”
“Don’t give up. Fight a little harder. You can do it!”
“Please save us!”
“By the way, which should I have for dinner—galbi or boiled duck?”
“Hey, you fucking bastard!”
It was the balding rookie from that morning. The admiring light that had shone as brightly as his crown was gone, replaced by a gaze full of fury.
“Get down here, you young bastard…”
Thud!
A tank came flying in from somewhere, sending the balding rookie sailing far into the distance with him.
The momentum had effectively shifted to the monsters. I was wondering whether it was time to step in when—
Shhk!
—Kauuugh…
With a flash of light, one of the Lycanthropes let out a groan. Blood gushed from its split-open neck, and it soon collapsed.
The young man who had landed an accurate and powerful strike shouted with all his might.
“Formation Three!”
His booming shout brought the others back to their senses one by one.
Before long, the twenty Hunters had formed ranks and begun advancing slowly.
At the front was the young man, Kim Jinsoo.
“Keep pushing! Archers, get your skills ready!”
That kid has potential.
I let out a short laugh and jumped down from the tree. Then I swung my spear at the dozens of Lycanthropes that had been drawn over by the sound of battle.
Whoooosh!
“You did well.”
“Thank you, Senior!”
Kim Jinsoo grinned and bowed. Behind him, I saw three people with their heads pressed into the ground.
Two of them were the Pied Pipers, and the last was the balding rookie.
I gave the balding rookie the special privilege of holding the push-up position.
He had to protect whatever little hair he had left…
“Keep it up next time, too. You’ll improve quickly.”
“Yes. I won’t disappoint you, Senior.”
“Then go get some rest, Jinsoo. You have another raid in two hours anyway.”
Team Leader Choi was really going all out. He had scheduled three raids in a single day.
I was grinding my teeth inwardly when the phone in my pocket began to vibrate.
Designer-Brand Junkie
What was this? Had we developed telepathy?
I answered the call, still baffled, and Team Leader Choi’s urgent voice struck my ear.
“Taekyung. Come to Ilsan Hospital right now!”
Hospital?
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