Chapter 49

Early morning.

I eased my eyes open.

Ding.

System

Exiting Sleep Mode.

The System notification came with a sigh of relief.

“Phew.”

Thank goodness. It hadn’t all been a dream.

It had only been one day, but yesterday had changed my life. If I’d woken up as Jin Taekyung, F-rank Hunter, reality would have felt like a nightmare.

I rustled my way up—and that was when it hit.

System

Afflicted with the Status Effect Hangover.

“Urgh.”

Last night’s aftermath was no joke. I clutched my spinning head and sat cross-legged on the mattress.

According to the System, circulating my qi could detoxify me, too.

System

Beginning Qi Circulation.

Following the formula of the Jin Family’s Cultivation Technique, I guided my internal energy. The moment I began circulating my qi, the headache started to fade. About ten minutes later, the message I’d been waiting for appeared.

System

Hangover disappears.

But I didn’t stop. I knew that ending the circulation abruptly midway would make it less effective.

Something I learned in Murim.

A full hour passed before I finally uncrossed my legs. My head was clear, and my body brimmed with energy.

The problem was…

Why am I taking in so little qi?

To increase my internal energy, I had to draw in qi from outside, store it within myself, and circulate it. But during my first attempt in reality, strangely little qi had entered my body.

And it’s murky, too.

It was like a tiny serving of bland food that took forever to arrive. I frowned.

Maybe it’s the pollution?

Since internal energy was based on pure natural qi, that was possible. Compared to Murim, the natural environment of modern society was in dire shape.

Or maybe it’s the location.

A single room in a decades-old goshiwon¹ was hardly a nature-friendly place. It stank, and the facilities were run-down.

Despite being the goshiwon¹ manager, Jinho hyung² was always questioning what this place had originally been.

“Maybe it used to be a torture chamber. During the Great Cataclysm, they probably dragged monsters in, tapped them on the balls with a knife, and asked where the Demon King was. They would’ve given up the location of the Demon King’s parents, too.”

…You had to give him credit for his imagination.

He should be sleeping by now, right?

He treated getting up in the morning as a disgrace, so there was no need to check. I was wondering whether to go grab breakfast when—

Bzzzt.

A text arrived on my phone.

└ 〈 Designer-Brand Junkie

└ Designer-Brand Junkie

└ Do you have some time?

The sender was Designer-Brand Junkie—or rather, Team Leader Choi.

A glittering chandelier. Stylishly dressed people. Soft classical music playing in the background.

I couldn’t tell whether our meeting place was a café or a high-end restaurant.

“May I take your order?”

Shit. Even the waiter here looks like a celebrity.

He had a model’s proportions and the face of a handsome Greek god.

Is this how everyone turns gay?

While I was experiencing an identity crisis, Team Leader Choi calmly placed his order.

“One Black Ivory, please. What about you, Mr. Taekyung?”

The Greek god turned toward me.

Something about the atmosphere made me feel like I shouldn’t order a caramel macchiato.

“I’ll have the same.”

The coffee that arrived a little later was decent enough.

“It’s good. This is Black… what was it?”

“Black Ivory.”

Even after hearing the name again, I still had no idea what it meant. I just accepted it and moved on.

I muttered my honest take.

“It looks expensive. Do they use good beans?”

“It’s elephant dung.”

“Oh.”

I quietly set down my cup. Team Leader Choi let out a short laugh, then spoke.

“Congratulations.”

The congratulations came out of nowhere, but I immediately understood what he meant.

He was talking about yesterday’s rank reassessment.

“You’re fast. It’s personal information—the Association wouldn’t have opened all of it.”

“C-rank reawakened Hunters are rare. Besides, I saw what happened yesterday with my own eyes. How could I not know?”

Fair enough.

As I nodded, Team Leader Choi held something out to me. A single envelope lay neatly on the table.

“What is this?”

“You’ll know when you look.”

Don’t tell me—money?

I checked the contents. Instead of a check, tiny printed letters packed the page.

“It’s a contract.”

“These are the best terms our Guild can offer. Give it a read.”

I was already reading it, from the first line to the last. Every clause brought another surprise.

“This doesn’t look like a C-rank contract.”

After seven years in this business, I’d seen plenty and heard even more.

Yet even I had never seen a contract this generous.

“They’re good terms even among B-rank contracts.”

“Then why offer them to me…?”

“Because I trust myself.”

“What?”

“I trust my instincts and my eye for people. That’s why I want to sign you, Mr. Jin Taekyung.”

Team Leader Choi set down his empty cup.

“Will you sign?”

Honestly, I was wavering. A lot.

It wasn’t only the terms. Someone had recognized me and wanted me this badly. I wanted to nod right then.

That was why I hesitated longer today than I had yesterday. By the time I finally made my decision, the coffee had gone cold.

“I’m sorry.”

My reason was the same as yesterday.

Under the contract, I would have to work as a Hunter affiliated with the Guild for at least one year.

I was grateful for the offer, but… I couldn’t rush this.

“Have you already signed with someone else? Or are you planning to?”

“No. I just need more time.”

“Time.”

Team Leader Choi sighed.

“I suppose it can’t be helped.”

I was about to apologize again when he said,

“Here’s my second offer.”

“Pardon?”

Team Leader Choi pulled another envelope from his jacket. Still dazed, I took it and checked the contents.

“A provisional contract?”

“You have a rough idea of what that is, right?”

Of course I did. I knew it well.

If the Manpower Office was day labor, a provisional contract with a Guild was temp work. You’d be attached to the Guild for a short stretch, basically a mercenary.

“You won’t turn this one down too, will you?”

It wasn’t quite as generous as the formal contract, but the terms were still excellent. More importantly, the contract period had been left blank.

“Write down whatever period you want.”

“Oh. Right.”

I took the pen he offered, still somewhat dazed.

After thinking it over, I wrote seven days. A week should be enough time to see whether the System would last.

Once I’d signed, Team Leader Choi held out his hand.

“I look forward to working with you.”

“That’s my line.”

As we shook hands firmly, it finally sank in that I’d taken my first step as a C-rank Hunter.

Even if it’s only a provisional contract.

My chest swelled with emotion.

“Should I come in tomorrow?”

“No.”

Team Leader Choi tapped his watch.

“Starting now.”

Vroom.

Team Leader Choi’s car was a large military vehicle. He looked like the type to collect expensive supercars, so this was unexpected. I only understood why after we arrived at the Gate.

“Pick something.”

“Pick what?”

“Equipment.”

Team Leader Choi pressed a small button, and a trunk large enough for five grown men to lie down in appeared.

“I had it modified for work. Leaving all this at home felt kind of off.”

I stared into the trunk with my mouth hanging open.

Holy crap.

Equipment worth at least several million won³ was neatly stacked and sorted inside. Armor and weapons were only the beginning. There were all kinds of potions and even disposable magic scrolls that most people considered too expensive to use. He had everything.

“…Is all of this yours, Team Leader?”

“For now. Some were gifts, and I bought some because they looked nice.”

Ah. So he bought equipment because it looked nice.

How rich do you have to be to think like that?

C-rank Hunters made good money, but Team Leader Choi’s spending was already beyond that. He must have been rich enough that money was never a concern.

Gulp.

“I think I’d rather rent something. If I borrow yours and it gets damaged, it’d be a little…”

“They’re out of fashion, so it doesn’t matter.”

Ah. So he even cared whether equipment was fashionable.

I gave up thinking about it around there and picked my equipment.

The System made the process easy.

Item check.

Ding.

System

Item Window

Lizardman Hunter’s Leather Set

Type: Armor

Grade: First Rate

Restriction: None

Description: Made by skinning a Lizardman and using its hide whole.

Scale Armor activates when the full set is equipped.

This looks pretty good.

It was light, and the leather was both tough and hard.

As soon as I put on the entire set, the Scale Armor effect activated.

“Oh.”

Green scales rose from the leather, forming a dense layer over my entire body. Team Leader Choi nodded when he saw me.

“You picked a good one. You’ve got a good eye.”

It’s the System that’s good.

I smiled awkwardly and rummaged through the weapons. Come to think of it, I’d only ever seen Team Leader Choi use a sword, but there were more than five types of weapons in the trunk alone.

They’ve all been used, too.

I could see traces of the effort he’d put into finding the weapon that suited him.

A little later, I found myself holding a spear.

System

Item Window

Lizardman Slayer’s Harpoon

Type: Weapon

Grade: First Rate

Restriction: None

Description: On a successful attack, Bleeding has a high chance of activating.

Anyone who saw me would think I had a Lizardman fetish.

The spear completed my equipment selection. Team Leader Choi let out a short laugh.

“What’s so funny?”

“I was just thinking that things are going well.”

“Pardon?”

“You’ll find out soon enough.”

I had no idea what he meant, but I followed him to the front of the Gate. Instead of an Administration staffer, some man was standing there.

“You’ve arrived.”

He bowed at a perfect ninety-degree angle. Even more surprising was how naturally Team Leader Choi accepted it.

“How’s the Gate?”

“Yes. I received your call yesterday and restricted access.”

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“Not at all, Young Master.”

That term could be used by a woman to address her husband’s unmarried younger brother, but there was no way this man was Team Leader Choi’s sister-in-law…

So Team Leader Choi was the young master of some rich family.

No wonder.

I should have realized it the moment I saw him decked out in luxury equipment from head to toe.

And being fashion-conscious enough to care about equipment design? You couldn’t pull that off unless you’d been born with one hell of a gold spoon.

That guy has everything.

The man who had everything turned to me.

“All right. Let’s go in.”

“Right now?”

“The equipment is taken care of. Is there a problem?”

His tone made it sound so obvious that I looked around.

There was me, Team Leader Choi, and the unfamiliar middle-aged man. That was everyone.

“What about the other team members?”

“They’re right here. The team members.”

“Oh, I see. He’s going in too, right?”

The middle-aged man cut in, his voice heavy.

“I’m not.”

“Then…?”

“It’s just the two of us. There’s no one else.”

Team Leader Choi’s answer left me dumbfounded.

“No one else?”

“No.”

“Not even one person?”

“We’re not bringing so much as a dog.”

Look at how decisive he was. Who was he, Judge Bao?⁴

“So the two of us are clearing the Gate alone?”

“Why not? It’s only a D-rank Gate.”

“This is my first D-rank Gate.”

“I’ve been to plenty.”

No, fuck…

A D-rank Gate wasn’t some neighborhood discount store.

“If it’s just the two of us, I’m backing out.”

To raid a D-rank Gate safely, you needed a team of ten D-rank Hunters. I could use the System, and I’d learned martial arts, but that didn’t eliminate every danger.

“I know what you’re thinking, Mr. Jin Taekyung. But let me tell you one thing.”

Team Leader Choi continued in a relaxed voice.

“I’m a reawakened Hunter, too.”

“Reawakened? I thought you were C-rank, Team Leader…”

“C-rank was what I received when I was first measured. My reawakening happened afterward.”

Meaning his abilities were at least B-rank.

The odds were slim, but he could be even higher.

A B-rank Hunter.

If that was true, the situation changed. Just the two of us also meant a bigger cut for me.

“If you want to go back, I won’t stop you. I can go in alone. It wouldn’t be the first or second time.”

He walked in and out of D-rank Gates alone on the regular?

“Then take care. Starting tomorrow, we’ll look for E-rank Gates.”

That sealed it.

I grabbed his shoulder as he turned away.

“Team Leader Choi.”

“Yes?”

“I want to… raid.”

Team Leader Choi smiled warmly.

“Let’s do our best.”