A Hunter Hungry for the Front Lines
“P-please... spare me...”
A short-haired woman, drenched in blood, was bowing and scraping so hard that the skin of her palms had worn raw as she pleaded with someone. Her name was Choi Na-young. Why was the former Echo Guild leader groveling in such a pitiful state?
As if answering that question, two people stepped into view before her.
“Sorry, but that’s not happening.”
The man holding a dagger took one step closer to Na-young and spoke. It was Tae-min’s voice. But with her life hanging by a thread, Na-young couldn’t tell who the voice belonged to. She tried to back away, only to find herself blocked by a cold, hard wall.
“Money? If that’s what you want, I’ll give you all of it! Just please, d-don’t kill me!”
When the dagger drawn from the darkness glinted with a sinister sheen, Na-young broke into frantic pleading. She lowered her head, crawled forward, and clutched at Tae-min’s leg while tears streamed down her face in a miserable torrent. Tae-min felt no flicker of hesitation. His hatred for Echo ran deep, and he believed this was necessary.
“You seem to be under a misconception. We already secured the slush fund on our side.”
“N-no...”
“I won’t pray for your soul, but I’ll make sure you die cleanly. So relax.”
“W-wait...”
Tae-min swung the dagger. He had decided there was no reason to hear any more. As the sharp blade passed in a flash, red blood burst from Na-young’s throat.
“K-kh...”
Na-young collapsed weakly to the ground. Jong-seo stepped up behind Tae-min, who was wiping the blood from his dagger with his usual calm expression, and spoke.
“All evidence in the surrounding area has been cleared. It should be fine for us to withdraw.”
“Good... Since we’ve finished what we came to do, it’s about time we headed back.”
And just like that, the two of them vanished from the alley.
*
“Guild Leader. This is Kim Tae-min.”
A composed voice came through the closed office door. Hyun-jun, who had returned from the B-rank dungeon raid only to spend his afternoon buried under paperwork, lifted his head with obvious effort.
“Come in.”
No sooner had he spoken than the door opened and Tae-min walked in. He took a quick look around the office before speaking.
“I just received word from the Guild Administration Bureau. The merger process has been completed.”
“Then Echo is now officially a guild that no longer exists?”
“Yes, sir. That is correct. We have already taken over all their records.”
“The guild members will start leaving, then.”
Hyun-jun said with a bitter expression. Wraith would remain relatively quiet, but members of Echo who had never wanted the merger in the first place would start declaring their departure. It was the sort of thing that happened often once a guild absorption was finalized.
“Yes. As soon as the Guild Administration Bureau posted the information on the website and related communities, the number of departing members began to rise.”
“Can’t be helped. How many does the executive chief expect?”
“At the very least, more than half of Echo’s original guild members are expected to leave.”
Wraith wasn’t an overwhelmingly huge guild, so that was a fairly predictable number. Hyun-jun nodded calmly.
“A lot of Echo’s main raid team members will leave too, right?”
Hyun-jun asked. Regular guild members mattered, but among them, the guild raid members who actually participated in the guild’s official dungeon operations were the real backbone. Their departure had to be prevented if at all possible.
“We expect far more of them to leave than the ordinary members.”
“Even if we have to revise the contracts upward a bit, keep them.”
Regular guild members of B-rank and above were the guild’s strength, so they needed to secure as many of them as possible.
“I will do everything I can.”
“How many A-rank hunters are left?”
“Just one guild raid team leader.”
“That’s not many.”
“Echo simply didn’t have many A-rank hunters to begin with.”
Tae-min answered. While reviewing the materials he had been given for the merger, he had gained a near-complete understanding of Echo’s circumstances.
For a guild of its size, Echo had an oddly small number of guild raid team members and regular guild members, while its executive division was somewhat oversized. Even back when it had been in conflict with Wraith, it had been steadily increasing the size of its executive division. It was enough to make one think the guild had been turned into a specialist executive force to handle dark, low-level work for the people backing it.
“Baek Han-soo... was it?”
Hyun-jun asked. He already knew about Baek Han-soo, the only A-rank hunter from Echo who had not yet left, because he had once received a personal profile summary compiled by So-jin.
“Yes. He’s a combat-type. He seems to have stopped by the guild office, so would you like to meet him?”
“That sounds good.”
At Tae-min’s question, Hyun-jun nodded and rose from his seat. He had already intended to meet Han-soo as soon as possible and have a conversation with him. If he happened to be here, this was a good chance to hold him in place.
“I’ll have a guild member pass along the message. Where would you like to meet?”
“The reception room would be better than the lounge.”
He wanted to speak seriously in a quiet atmosphere. The reception room was only used by executives, so it was well suited for that purpose. At Hyun-jun’s answer, Tae-min sent a message to a waiting guild member.
“I’ll go ahead and wait there first.”
Hyun-jun said. Tae-min nodded, and the two of them moved to the reception room on the third floor. About five minutes later, a knock came at the door, and when it opened, a man walked in. He wore glasses and had the unmistakable image of a model student. He was clearly Baek Han-soo.
“Mr. Baek Han-soo?”
Tae-min asked as he stepped forward. Hyun-jun also rose to his feet.
“Yes. I’m Baek Han-soo. You must be Kim Tae-min, right? I’ve heard a great deal about you.”
While the two exchanged greetings, Hyun-jun focused his mana into his eyes to see Han-soo’s True Name.
[Baek Han-soo: Vanguard Commander of Desperate Vanity.]
His True Name appeared. Hyun-jun couldn’t fully interpret its exact meaning, but it was enough to grasp the broad shape of the man’s character.
Desperate vanity...
Hyun-jun took particular note of that phrase. With the added word “vanguard commander,” it suggested a man who wanted to stand out through his accomplishments.
“I’m Baek Han-soo. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Kang Hyun-jun.”
“Likewise.”
Hyun-jun and Han-soo exchanged a handshake as well. Instead of addressing Hyun-jun as “Guild Leader,” Han-soo used “Kang Hyun-jun.” That could also mean he still did not fully recognize him as the guild leader.
“Please, have a seat.”
Tae-min said, indicating the empty chair. After Hyun-jun sat down first, Han-soo took the seat opposite him. Tae-min moved behind Hyun-jun and stood by.
“I dislike long introductions, so I’ll get straight to the point. Is that all right?”
He believed there was no benefit in dragging this matter out. At Hyun-jun’s words, Han-soo nodded and replied.
“Yes. I’d rather not waste time either.”
“I’d like you to remain with the guild.”
“And what do I gain from that? I signed a contract with Echo, not with Wraith. With the merger complete, I now have the legal right to leave.”
Han-soo’s words were sharp, but Hyun-jun did not lose his smile. Since he was still here after the exodus had begun, and since he had come all the way to the guild office today, Hyun-jun thought the situation was not entirely negative, especially considering Han-soo had come straight to the reception room at his request.
He wants something.
It wasn’t hard to guess from his behavior. Hyun-jun didn’t know it, but the knowledge lent by the Absolute Emperor Romanov’s insight was already strengthening his analysis.
“I’ll revise your contract terms upward.”
“I appreciate that. But that feels a little lacking.”
“Is there something else you want? As long as it isn’t unreasonable, I’ll do my best to accommodate it.”
At Han-soo’s words, Hyun-jun answered in a steady voice. The disadvantage was on Han-soo’s side and the guild’s side, but Hyun-jun did not let himself appear submissive. Perhaps because of that, Han-soo’s expression wasn’t bad either.
“I’d like to try an S-rank dungeon.”
In the case of a party made up of only regular raid members or guild members from the same guild, they could challenge a dungeon one rank above their own.
“Echo’s raid team has no experience clearing an S-rank dungeon. Because of the former guild leader’s policy of prioritizing stable clears, we even have limited experience with A-rank dungeon clears.”
His voice carried a strong sense of longing. Hunters could continue to grow even after awakening. But if he had never gained enough dungeon-clearing experience because of the guild’s emphasis on safety, then from Han-soo’s point of view it must have been suffocating.
“You’re an A-rank hunter on the guild raid team... and you’ve never once experienced an S-rank dungeon? Does that even make sense?”
Han-soo said it like a lament.
“But right now, Wraith doesn’t have the capacity to raid an S-rank dungeon immediately.”
Hyun-jun said it honestly. Holding on to an A-rank hunter was one thing, but he could not force the impossible into being possible.
“I know. To challenge an S-rank dungeon, even if you’re part of a guild, you need to be at least A-rank. The only people who meet that condition right now are you and me, Kang Hyun-jun.”
“Yes, that’s right. I have no intention of denying it.”
Hyun-jun nodded readily and admitted it.
“But I saw it at the Colosseum that day. The strike you showed me then was beyond what my own eyes could fully follow.”
He was referring to the counterattack he had unleashed by using Carthago’s protection.
“It was a perfect counter. I was certain of it then.”
Han-soo paused for a moment, lifted the water bottle on the table, took a sip, and continued.
“I was certain that you were a second awakening hunter, Kang Hyun-jun. Even now, I haven’t changed my mind. That’s why an S-rank dungeon never felt that far away.”
Of course, as a matter of course, the success rate of an S-rank dungeon raid changed dramatically depending on how many S-rank hunters were assigned to the team.
“I don’t know much about second awakening hunters, but I do know their growth rate is extremely fast. The day you rise to S-rank isn’t far off. When that day comes, please let me join the raid on an S-rank dungeon!”
“I promise. If you stay with the guild, I’ll keep you in your current position as raid team leader, and I’ll also put your name on the raid team that challenges Wraith’s first S-rank dungeon. Do you have any other conditions?”
“That and a slight increase in the contract terms will be enough. I don’t want anything else.”
Han-soo laid out the exact contract conditions. From Wraith’s perspective, they were not burdensome terms, and Hyun-jun took out the contract with a satisfied expression and handed it over. After carefully reviewing it, Han-soo finished signing.
“I look forward to working with you, Guild Leader.”