Chapter 4
Chapter 4
Taesan, and Cheongryong
The ring, which had rolled briefly on the ground, came to a stop.
I stared at it for a moment, then paused.
And then, without a word, I looked at Baek Un-seok and Lee Hye-na.
I was curious.
‘What kind of reaction will they show?’
After being discharged from the military, I entered the job market at the age of twenty-two.
After that, I was lucky enough to get a job at Comet Guild.
My social life had mostly been a series of concessions.
In my early twenties, I yielded because I was young.
In my mid-twenties, I was pushed around by employees with connections.
In my late twenties, I yielded again to coworkers who tried to check me for their own promotions.
‘I kept yielding the entire time just to continue working without making trouble.’
Should I do the same this time as well?
While I was thinking that, Baek Un-seok spoke up.
“I don’t think the calculations will be difficult. Lee Hye-na?”
“Yes.”
“How many magic stones in total?”
“Thirty-seven.”
“Then I’ll take twelve, Hye-na will take ten, and Do-yun will take fifteen.”
Then he shrugged with a playful expression.
“The ring goes to Do-yun, of course, right?”
“Of course. I have no objections.”
Lee Hye-na immediately agreed with Baek Un-seok’s words.
I narrowed my eyes.
…This kind of treatment is a first for me.
“Then let’s go with that. Since Do-yun dealt the finishing blow on the boss, the ring will probably be suited for a magician. Ah, calling it finishing blow might be a bit misleading?”
“…Hmm. It was the finishing blow, but also the first strike, so it’s a bit unusual. Should we call it one-shot one-kill?”
“I like that. I like it.”
Baek Un-seok nodded lightly with a smile.
He walked over and picked up the ring, handing it to me.
“Take a look.”
“…Thank you.”
I accepted the ring, inwardly surprised by the kindness I had never experienced before.
A message immediately appeared.
Mana Ring (F)
A rough iron ring. Mana +20. Additional mana regeneration.
Options that were exactly what I needed.
And just at the right timing, I had leveled up while defeating the boss.
I immediately invested my points into mana.
[Magic stat has changed]
[Magic: 3 → 5]
[Mana: 30 → 50]
[Mana recovery rate increases]
[Magic effects are enhanced]
Then, after equipping the Mana Ring,
[Mana: 50 → 70]
My mana instantly approached 70.
Considering that I had only 10 mana before entering the gate, that was a sevenfold increase.
An enormous gain from a single gate clear.
“Um… Kim Do-yun?”
At that moment, Baek Un-seok, who had been standing in front of me even after handing over the ring, carefully spoke.
“If it’s not too rude to ask… are you currently affiliated with any guild?”
I looked at him calmly.
Through six years of learning to read the room, I had already figured out the reason behind his question.
‘A recruitment offer.’
Naturally, there was no reason for me to refuse joining.
However, there was a condition.
‘The most important thing is the contract terms.’
I had a responsibility to protect my family.
Although it wasn’t intentional, it was undeniable that my younger brother Do-hyeon had been covering most of the hospital expenses until now.
If I signed a contract under favorable conditions now,
I could definitely relieve that burden.
For that, of course…
It would have to be a large guild.
“I’m not affiliated with any guild. I only awakened this morning.”
At my words, Baek Un-seok’s expression brightened.
He reached into his pocket and handed me a business card.
“This is good news for us. If possible, I’d like to introduce you to our HR team.”
I accepted the card for now.
At the same time, I thought to myself.
There’s no way Baek Un-seok belongs to a large guild. I’ll have to decline politely later…
‘…Huh?’
…What is this?
I looked at the business card again with a slightly bewildered expression.
On the white card, elegant golden letters stood out.
Taesan
“.......”
Taesan… Taesan, as in that Taesan.
Honestly, I was quite taken aback.
I tried to hide my surprise and my thoughts.
The “1 Zenith, 4 Emperors.”
A phrase that neatly summarizes the current state of guilds in Korea.
The “1 Zenith” refers to the overwhelmingly strongest Comet Guild.
Offense, defense, utility.
It is perfect in every aspect.
Setting aside my personal grievances toward Comet,
it is the dream guild of all hunters in Korea.
‘And Taesan is one of the Four Emperors.’
Taesan Guild is known for its strong tank lineup.
In terms of pure tanking, some even say it might surpass Comet Guild.
Often called the “man’s guild.”
But because of that, its weaknesses are also clear.
‘Lack of damage dealers, lack of utility.’
Thus, the first type of recruit Taesan Guild seeks is a magician.
Because they can handle both damage and utility.
Baek Un-seok spoke again with a light smile.
“To be honest… I’m not a high-ranking hunter, so I can’t fully assess your abilities, Kim Do-yun. However, I do have some connections in the HR team, so I can arrange an entry test for you.”
I looked at Baek Un-seok, who was smiling gently.
A sense of composure was visible in his expression.
It must be because he trusts and takes pride in the name of Taesan Guild.
“Thank you. I’ll be in touch.”
I had no choice but to nod.
Honestly, this was a tremendous opportunity.
Once affiliated with one of the top five guilds, the salary would be enormous.
There was no reason for someone in my situation to refuse an entry test…
“Wait a moment.”
At that moment, Lee Hye-na cut into my thoughts.
“Coincidentally, I also have some connections in HR. Could you reach out to our side as well?”
With a playful smile, Lee Hye-na reached into her pocket and handed me a business card.
A black background.
A deep blue dragon drawn along the edges.
Cheongryong
“I’m similar to Baek Un-seok in that regard… but I’m actually part of HR myself. Allow me to formally introduce myself. I’m Lee Hye-na, a scout for Cheongryong Guild.”
She suddenly extended her white hand.
Taken aback, I shook it, only to be caught off guard again.
Baek Un-seok also extended his hand from the side, unwilling to back down.
I had no choice but to shake hands with my left hand instead.
Zing!
Baek Un-seok and Lee Hye-na glared at each other.
After exchanging numbers with Baek Un-seok and Lee Hye-na, I returned home.
I felt somewhat dazed.
“What just happened?”
Taesan, and Cheongryong.
Two massive guilds among the Four Emperors had offered me tests.
Of course, whether I join would depend on the test results,
but the mere fact that they handed me their business cards made my heart race.
But I was also curious.
‘How did they end up waiting there as if they knew I’d come?’
And that question was soon answered.
─“Talking about hanging around gates with Taesan and Cheongryong scouts.”
└LOL who doesn’t have that
└I ran with Comet lol
└But they won’t even give you a card if you’re trash lol
└True, they don’t even show it. I know their faces but still got nothing
└That’s their standard. If someone says they’re from a big guild, they go overboard trying to get recruited and end up injured lol
A search through the hunter app revealed that it was common for mid-to-large guilds to station themselves near F-rank gates near certification centers to recruit new hunters.
Some even had permanent teams.
Lee Hye-na had introduced herself as part of a scouting team, so she was likely part of such a permanent unit.
“Still… meeting both Taesan and Cheongryong at once. I got lucky. And I even received their cards.”
Slurp!
I smiled contentedly as I ate.
Jjajang ramen I bought for dinner.
I also grilled some pork belly alongside it.
I dipped the perfectly grilled meat into salt and oil and popped it into my mouth.
The rich flavor filled my mouth.
Chewing slowly, I fell into thought.
“Why are they trying to recruit me?”
The reason was simple.
Even though I was F-rank, the magician class itself was highly valuable, so they accepted me into the party.
After seeing my magic in action, they likely decided to recruit me.
That was very good for me.
I had no intention of revealing my unusual trait for now,
but if my value increased, I had no reason to refuse.
“By the way, why was the final spell so strong?”
Flame Lance
A power that was hard to believe belonged to a mere tier-1 spell.
Even though it was an F-rank gate,
instantly defeating a boss was quite surprising.
It was worth investigating.
I opened an anonymous forum and posted a question.
“Can Flame Lance kill an F-rank boss?”
Replies came quickly.
└Sure it can. After like 30 hits?
└If you try to kill it with just that, you’re in for a hell of a grind lol
└LMAO you’ll miss and hit the tank instead
└Profit for the dumb meat shields lol
└Wanna die, sneaky magician?
└Yeah add one more meat shield here lol
“.......”
My first time using an anonymous board.
The responses were more childish than expected, but one thing was clear.
Killing an F-rank boss in one shot with Flame Lance was impossible.
‘Then why can I do it?’
Wait.
Now that I think about it, it wasn’t just the spell’s power that was strange.
Chewing pork belly, I checked the community’s skill description section.
Flame Lance
Tier 1 spell
Minimum mana consumption: 28
A primitive spell that summons and throws a spear
Damage varies greatly depending on the caster’s ability, but is generally considered weak
Cooldown: 16 seconds
“Ah…”
My gaze settled on the bottom of the screen.
Cooldown.
Right.
That was it.
What seemed odd was…
“There’s no cooldown on my magic…”
In other words, no cooldown.
I didn’t know much since magicians were not a common class,
but cooldown applies to all skills, not just magic.
Yet I didn’t have it.
I stopped eating and thought for a long while.
Then suddenly, a thought flashed in my mind.
“What do you gain when the tier of magic increases?”
└It gets way better lol
└Seriously way better lol
└Someone answer the newbie properly lol
└Power boost, cooldown reduction
└Magic application ← this is the big one lol terrain usage lol
…What?
So using terrain requires higher tiers?
I quickly added another question.
“Is terrain utilization only possible at higher tiers?”
└Not necessarily. There are exceptions.
└Chaos-aligned or chaotic-type magicians can partially ignore rules
└Gray magicians are scary af could turn villain if wrong
└To properly use surroundings, you probably need tier 3 at least
└In general, the higher the tier, the closer you get to being a monster
Reading the comments, things became clear.
Insane destructive power, no cooldown, terrain utilization.
The reason all of this was possible came down to one thing.
I was an irregular who had broken through to tier 5 upon awakening.
Chirp, chirp!
Birdsong slipped through the open window.
I woke up and groaned as I got out of bed.
I hadn’t realized it yesterday,
but my first hunt had been more exhausting than expected.
Vrrr.
As I stared out the window absentmindedly, my phone vibrated.
I smirked, thinking it might be a message telling me to come back to work.
Those damn Comet bastards.
Even if they call me back now, I won’t return.
“I’ve awakened, you idiots.”
Checking the phone, the sender was Baek Un-seok.
[Baek Un-seok: How are you feeling? Your body must be sore since it was your first time… If you have time this morning, please visit Taesan Guild. We’ll help you recover properly. Since you’re here, you can also take the entry test. HR approval was completed yesterday.]
Fast approval befitting a large guild.
It made sense.
In large guilds, each hunter is a major asset, so quick processing is essential.
Especially the HR department.
Comet’s HR team, for example, operated 24/7 with three rotating teams.
“Hm. No need to reply immediately.”
[I’ll think about it.]
Just as I was about to turn off the screen, my hand stopped.
There was another message.
Sent an hour ago.
“An hour ago… that’s 6 a.m.?”
Tilting my head, I checked the message.
The sender was Lee Hye-na.
[Lee Hye-na: Kim Do-yun Hunter! This is Lee Hye-na, the scout you met yesterday. After our HR meeting last night, we’ve prepared terms that should satisfy you. In addition, we may be able to explain a few things you haven’t yet realized. If you have time, we sincerely ask you to visit Cheongryong Guild!]
“.......”
I stared blankly at the screen.
For some reason, this side seemed even more aggressive.
And they claimed they had information to share with me as well.
“Hm.”
Now that I look at it, it makes sense.
A newly awakened level 1 F-rank hunter casting powerful magic like that…
‘Maybe my market value is higher than I thought.’
As expected, this was not a bad situation for me.
After thinking for a while, I replied to the message.