The Value of a Hunter
"A, an executive position..."
The expression on Tae-min’s usually blank face wavered as he listened in silence from the side. An executive position in a guild directly attached to a major conglomerate came with excellent treatment and proximity to power, so every Hunter wanted it. That was why Tae-min couldn’t help feeling uneasy.
If Hyun-jun joined Jaeil Group’s directly affiliated guild, then the Wraith Guild, which had only just begun to recover, would lose its hope.
Romanov, the Absolute Emperor, strongly demands that you refuse the offer. If you provoke the imperial majesty, you will lose his protection.
The voice that suddenly rang in his head resolved his brief hesitation in one stroke.
"I refuse."
There was no hesitation. It was an attractive offer, but not enough to make him weigh it against the blessing of a powerful past life. Jina and Seok-hyeon, who had clearly been expecting him to accept, widened their eyes in surprise.
"May I ask why?"
"I don’t like the idea of someone being above me."
It was a simple answer, but a clear one. If he became an executive in a guild directly attached to a conglomerate, he would gain wealth and honor, but he had no intention of giving up even one of his past life blessings. Besides, Hyun-jun had never been the type to enjoy working under someone else.
"Is that really the only reason?"
"If you’re offering me the guild master position, I might accept."
"I think you may be overestimating your own value."
Jina spoke in a calm, measured voice. She had guessed that Hyun-jun was likely a second awakening holder, but she did not think he was at the level of leading the directly affiliated guild Jaeil Group would soon establish.
A guild master tied to a conglomerate could not rise on martial strength alone. One had to be close to power, and there were countless complicated interests tangled around the position. If one were to rise by force alone, it would have to be to the point of one-sidedly overwhelming all other candidates.
"My value may be low right now. But how long do you think that will last?"
There was more than one meaning in his words.
"Today and tomorrow will be different."
Once the video was uploaded to Tube, many things would change.
"You sound pretty confident. You must be relying on something."
"Yes. By tomorrow morning at the latest, you’ll know too, Miss Lee Jina. In that case, we’re busy, so we’ll be going."
Hyun-jun finished speaking and started walking with Tae-min. Passing by Seok-hyeon, who stepped aside for them, the two headed for the parked car. Watching them leave, Jina let out a deep sigh and shook her head.
"Let’s go back too."
"Will that be all right, young lady? Wasn’t it essential that we recruit Hunter Kang Hyun-jun?"
Seok-hyeon seemed to think securing Hyun-jun was the priority. But Jina’s thoughts were a little different.
"It would have been ideal to bring him in, yes, but he was making unreasonable demands... there’s nothing we can do. They say a second awakening holder will at least grow to S-Class, but that also means he might stop at S-Class. We can’t make the heir apparent of Jaeil Group’s directly affiliated guild out of nothing more than an S-Class Hunter."
Her standards were clear. It was a shame to miss out on someone who might grow into at least S-Class, but she had no intention of accepting unreasonable demands.
*
After getting off work, Assistant Section Chief Park Gyeong-ho of Hunter Division Team 2 at the Dungeon Management Bureau took a quick shower and opened Tube on his smartphone. Lying in bed and watching videos uploaded by Hunters on Tube was, in a way, part of his job sickness, but it was also his hobby.
'A video uploaded less than an hour ago, and it’s already hot issue?'
Tube’s main page featured hot issue videos that were receiving a lot of views in real time. Gyeong-ho made checking the hot issue banner part of his daily routine. Today, as soon as he opened Tube, he checked the banner first as always, and surprisingly, a new video was already being featured there.
'I thought that footage of the Storm Drake solo-clearing an SS-Class raid hit hot issue in two hours...'
That had been the record until now. Tube had officially mentioned it, so it was definitely the shortest record. But the video in front of him had only been uploaded about an hour ago. It was hard to believe. And yet, the moment his surprise faded, an insane curiosity seized control of his brain.
It was an ordinary clickbait title, the kind anyone might see, but Gyeong-ho, as if under a spell, played the video.
"My God..."
It was a short video, less than a minute long. But it was intense. The camera hadn’t been able to follow the course of the battle, but the result was captured clearly. The sight of a B-Class Hunter collapsed in a bloody heap, his body mangled and smeared with blood, was far too brutal to seem like the work of a mere C-Class Hunter.
The fight had happened in an instant, but judging by the result, there was no doubt that a Hunter officially rated C-Class had instantly overwhelmed a B-Class Hunter.
"This is a C-Class Hunter...?"
He was so shocked that the words slipped out of his mouth. For a C-Class Hunter, the movement was far too swift for a B-Class Hunter to have been subdued that quickly.
'At this level, he’s at least A-Class...'
A B-Class Hunter could not overwhelmingly dominate a peer that way. Gyeong-ho thought the man in the video was concealing A-Class ability at minimum.
'He looks familiar...'
The flash of brilliance had been so intense that he had not noticed at first, but now that he looked again, the face was familiar. Gyeong-ho paused the video and studied the man closely.
"Kang Hyun-jun?"
There was no mistaking that face. Just as he was startled by the familiar features, a call came in from his superior, Hunter Division Team 2 Leader Lee Sang-hoon.
"Yes, Team Leader."
He had gotten off work, but he had no choice but to answer. Since the moment he realized the man in the video was Kang Hyun-jun, he had expected some kind of contact from the Dungeon Management Bureau, but being called like this while he was resting was not exactly welcome.
"Assistant Park Gyeong-ho. Come to the office right now."
"Understood."
The call ended. A sigh almost escaped him, but since it was an emergency summons, there was nothing to be done. Fortunately, the Hunter Support Department received fewer emergency calls than the Dungeon Support Department. He changed his clothes and headed back to the office.
Because it was an emergency call, he took a taxi. Thanks to that, he reached the office in short order. Besides Sang-hoon, the Team 2 leader, the other team members were already gathered there as well.
'This is insane... he called in the whole team?'
The atmosphere was heavy, with the team members standing with their heads lowered. Their faces were grim from being summoned on short notice. Gyeong-ho was speechless at the sight, but he didn’t say so aloud and stir up trouble.
"Assistant Park, why are you this late?"
Sang-hoon asked in a sharp voice. Gyeong-ho’s face stiffened; he hadn’t expected to be scolded after even taking a taxi. Come to think of it, he had actually gotten off work early today. Normally, this would have been the end of the workday. The others must have been in the middle of getting ready to leave before being dragged back in.
"I’m sorry. I came as fast as I could."
"Fine. Since Assistant Park is here too, let’s go to the conference room."
Sang-hoon’s voice sounded as though he had been chewed out somewhere and come back half-broken. He waved a rough hand through the air and headed first to the conference room. Gyeong-ho followed with the rest of the team, a little over ten people in all. Once everyone was seated, Sang-hoon opened his mouth with a hardened expression.
"Why did no one report Kang Hyun-jun to me?"
Judging by his expression and tone, he was furious. It seemed he had taken a serious beating from someone above him. Gyeong-ho had once reported to Sang-hoon that Kang Hyun-jun was highly likely to be a second awakening holder, but it looked as though Sang-hoon had forgotten.
He could mention it here, but knowing his superior’s personality, Gyeong-ho decided to let it go and shook his head. In situations like this, it was better to swallow the grievance than to scratch at it and make the wound worse.
"I’m sorry."
The team members lowered their heads. Their common wish was to get out of this situation as quickly as possible.
"I’m telling you all to do your jobs properly."
Sang-hoon’s reprimand continued. The team members had not actually done much wrong, but they listened quietly. That was the fastest way to get through the situation.
"Park Gyeong-ho."
"Yes, Team Leader."
After ten long minutes of lecturing, the end of the arrow finally pointed at Gyeong-ho. At the sudden call, he answered with a tense face.
"You’ve met Hunter Kang Hyun-jun before, haven’t you?"
"Yes. I met him when he was promoted to C-Class."
"Good. It’d be better if you went instead of sending someone else."
At Sang-hoon’s words, the other team members nodded as if they had been waiting for this. It was practically a case of tossing a bomb to someone else, so Gyeong-ho barely managed to suppress the sigh threatening to burst out.
"Understood. I’ll go."
Gyeong-ho nodded with the expression of a man who had already given up on everything.
"How far are we allowed to go with the terms?"
"I think it should be enough to offer preferential handling of mana stone settlement, and maybe an executive position in the Armed Enforcement Bureau or the Special Police Bureau..."
"How good is the treatment supposed to be?"
The level of treatment mattered. In Korea, along with several other countries, the standards for treating nationally contracted Hunters were already established.
"Something on the level of a Grade 6 national contracted Hunter."
"Team Leader! Grade 6 is a level of treatment suitable for B-Class Hunters in the middle to lower ranks!"
Gyeong-ho finally could not hold back and raised his voice. His superior, Hunter Division Team 2 Leader Lee Sang-hoon, was a parachute appointment, but even so, his knowledge of the industry was so poor it was almost painful.
"So?"
"Right now, anyone can see that Hunter Kang Hyun-jun is at least A-Class. The video spread enough to be selected as a hot issue on Tube, so the major guilds must already be moving. Grade 6 treatment isn’t enough. We need to offer at least Grade 4 treatment and special dedicated privileges!"
"If I’m going to propose Grade 4, I’d have to report it to the section chief and get approval... I just got chewed out and I don’t want to see that bastard’s face again. Handle it yourself and come back."
He had gathered his courage and pressed hard, but he was rejected. At Sang-hoon’s answer, Gyeong-ho’s vision went dark. Since he was a parachute appointment, it seemed he had never intended to work properly in the first place.
"Team Leader. Hunter Kang Hyun-jun is definitely a second awakening holder..."
"Didn’t I say I don’t want to? Handle it yourself!"
He tried once more to state his opinion, but all he got back were harsh words.