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 was the day my life changed. If I’d opened my eyes as Jin Taekyung, F-rank Hunter, reality would have felt like a nightmare.

I had just rustled upright when—

System

Afflicted with the status ailment 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 started circulating my qi, the headache began to fade. After about ten minutes, the message I’d been waiting for appeared.

System

Hangover disappears.

But I didn’t stop. I knew that wrapping it up suddenly halfway through would tank the efficiency of circulating qi.

Experience from Murim.

I didn’t uncross my legs until a full hour had passed. My head was clear, and my body was bursting with energy.

The problem was…

Why is so little qi coming in?

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

And it’s murky, too.

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

Environmental pollution, maybe?

Internal energy was based on the pure qi of nature, so it was possible. Compared to Murim, the natural environment of modern society was in pretty dire shape.

Or maybe the location is the problem.

A one-room in a goshiwon built decades ago was hardly a nature-friendly place. It stank, and the facilities were old.

Jinho hyung was always suspicious of what this place really was, and he was the goshiwon manager.

Maybe it used to be a torture chamber. During the Great Cataclysm, they probably dragged monsters in, tapped their balls with a knife, and asked where the Demon King was. The monsters would’ve given up his parents’ location, too.

…You had to give him credit for his imagination.

He should be sleeping by now, right?

He considered getting up in the morning 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.

〈 Luxury Nutjob

Luxury Nutjob

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 the meeting place was a café or a high-end restaurant.

“May I take your order?”

Shit. Even the waiter here looks like a celebrity.

Model proportions, and a face like a handsome Greek god.

Is this how everyone turns gay?

While I was having an identity crisis, Team Leader Choi calmly started ordering.

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

The Greek god turned toward me.

Something about the vibe said I shouldn’t order a caramel macchiato.

“I’ll have the same.”

The coffee that arrived a little later was pretty decent.

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

“Black Ivory.”

Even after hearing it, I still had no idea what that meant. I just thought, Well, okay, then.

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 chuckled, then spoke.

“Congratulations.”

It came out of nowhere, but I knew what he meant right away.

He was talking about yesterday’s rank reassessment.

“You’re fast. It’s personal information, so the Association wouldn’t have made all of it public.”

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

He had a point.

As I conceded that, Team Leader Choi held something out. A single envelope, laid 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 was another shock.

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

After knocking around this business for about seven years, I’d seen plenty and overheard plenty more.

Even I had never seen a contract this generous.

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

“Then why are you offering this to me…?”

“Because they trust me.”

“What?”

“They trust my instincts, and they trust my eye for people. That’s why I want to hold on to 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. That alone made me want to nod right then and there.

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

“I’m sorry.”

The reason was the same as yesterday.

According to the contract, I would have to work as an affiliated Hunter 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?”

Another envelope came out of Team Leader Choi’s jacket. Still dazed, I took it and checked the contents.

“A provisional contract?”

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

I knew. 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 was less generous than the formal contract he’d given me, but it was still more than generous enough. Better yet, the part that mattered most to me—the contract period—had been left blank.

“Write down whatever period you want.”

“Oh. Right.”

I took the pen he held out, half in a daze.

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 had taken my first step as a C-rank Hunter.

Even if it’s only a provisional contract.

My chest swelled.

“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, revealing a trunk large enough for five grown men to lie down in.

“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.

Gear worth at least several million won apiece was stacked and sorted. Armor and weapons were a given. Potions of every kind, even disposable magic scrolls people said were too expensive to actually use. He had everything.

“…Is all this yours, Team Leader?”

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

Ah. So he buys equipment because it looks 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.

“It might be better to rent from a rental shop. If I borrow something and it gets wrecked, it’d be kind of…”

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

Ah. So he even cares whether equipment is in fashion.

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

Having the System made it easy.

Item check.

Ding.

System

Item Window

Lizardman Hunter’s Leather Set

Type: Armor

Grade: First Rate

Restriction: None

Description: Made by stripping a lizardman’s hide off in one piece.

Scale Armor activates when the full set is equipped.

This is pretty good.

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

Once I had everything on, the set effect Scale Armor activated.

“Oh.”

Green scales rose from the leather, densely covering my entire body. Team Leader Choi nodded at the sight of 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 this guy use a sword, but the trunk alone had more than five kinds of weapons.

And they’ve got wear on them, too.

You could see the traces of him trying to find what suited him.

A little later, I had a spear in my hand.

System

Item Window

Lizardman Slayer’s Harpoon

Type: Weapon

Grade: First Rate

Restriction: None

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

Anyone watching would think I had a lizard fetish.

With the spear as the last piece, I was done choosing. Team Leader Choi chuckled.

“What’s so funny?”

“I was thinking 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.”

A perfectly proper ninety-degree bow. Even more surprising was the way Team Leader Choi took it as natural.

“How’s the Gate?”

“Yes. I was contacted yesterday, and I restricted access.”

“Thanks for your hard work.”

“Not at all, young master.”

Young master?

The term was an honorific a woman used for her husband’s unmarried younger brother, but there was no way that man was Team Leader Choi’s sister-in-law…

Team Leader Choi. So he was a rich family’s young master.

No wonder.

I should have known from the moment I saw him decked out in luxury gear from head to toe.

Add being enough of a fashionista to care about equipment design, and you couldn’t pull that off unless you were one hell of a gold spoon.

That guy has everything.

The guy who had everything turned to me.

“All right. Let’s go in.”

“Right now?”

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

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

Me, Team Leader Choi, and some middle-aged guy I didn’t know. 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 words left me slack-jawed.

“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, Pocheongcheon?¹

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

“Why couldn’t we? 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 mart.

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

A safe raid on a D-rank Gate required a team of ten D-rank Hunters. I could use the System, and I had learned martial arts, but that didn’t make every danger disappear.

“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 he was at least B-rank in ability.

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

A B-rank Hunter.

If that was true, the situation changed. And with just the two of us, my cut would be that much bigger.

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

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

“Then be careful in there. From tomorrow, we’ll look at E-rank.”

That was the deciding blow.

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.”