A Five-Star Hostage
Ji-hoon closed the market and stared at his status window for a while.
The flicker never reappeared.
Was that really Abel?
Back in the day, whenever that guy got bored and summoned him, he'd pull his light tricks from far away like this. And the place was literally called Hell Market, so it really might have been Abel.
No idea.
There was nothing he could figure out now. So instead, Ji-hoon opened the Hunter Market.
"Anything worth buying…"
The Bureau had already promised to outfit him with A-Rank gear sooner or later, so equipment was off the table. He dug through the listings looking for things he could give Poppi or Choco instead.
There was no such thing as monster feed, of course. So he'd have to make it himself after all. He'd learned the skill anyway—might as well test it.
Ji-hoon pulled the leftover pork and a carton of milk out of the refrigerator.
"Gah! Master, that looks delicious!"
Ignoring Choco, who was drooling all over the floor, Ji-hoon plucked a feather from Poppi's wing with a soft tug.
"…Refinement."
Fwoosh—
Poppi's mana scattered in a radiant glow. Ji-hoon channeled it into the refrigerated pork and murmured,
"Feed Crafting."
Bobble—
The pork floated up into the air… then dropped right back onto the floor with a thud.
"Nope. Doesn't work."
Did it only work on monster meat? Come to think of it, even in Hell, he'd made jerky from the meat of Hell's own beasts.
"Hmmm…."
That was a problem now, though.
[Master, what troubles you?]
"Hold on. Feed Crafting."
Whooosh!
This time it was the milk from the fridge. The mana-infused milk glimmered brightly, released a little puff of steam—
◈ A cheese made from mana. Low market value, but serviceable as emergency rations.
"Poppi, try this."
[This is... cheese, is it not? A gift from my Master himself. I shall gratefully partake, even of low-grade cheese!]
"I am SO sorry I could only make you garbage-grade cheese, you ungrateful bird."
Seeing the vein throbbing on Ji-hoon's forehead, Poppi snatched the Low-Grade Mana Cheese and hastily pecked it down in a hurry.
[Ahem, ahem! Master! Thank you for the meal!]
Nom… nom… chomp… gulp.
"Well? How is it?"
Poppi tilted his head, then spoke.
[It is not bad. However, it falls considerably short of what you once made for us at Hell Farm.]
So I need monster milk for that too. Ji-hoon searched the market for monster milk or monster meat.
"Whoa…."
Meat harvested from an Orc Warrior.
[Thirty million won for THAT meat?! This is madness, Master!]
[That's expensive, it is, hmm?]
[I don't really know either. But look at Master's face!]
Yeah, yeah. I'm sure I'm making a gorgeous chewed-dirt face right now.
"You're telling me food I wouldn't even give you two as emergency rations costs thirty million won? And that's for a single serving."
"Choco, is there anyone coming in with stuff like farm weeds or Orc Warrior meat?"
[Puhuhu, who'd bother hauling in garbage like that?]
"…Right, right."
[By the way, Master, how big is thirty million won?]
Ji-hoon lifted his head and stared at the ceiling.
"Fifteen hundred chickens."
[F-Fifteen hundred?!]
[Gasp!]
"Now you get it?"
Poppi and Choco flattened themselves against the floor.
[Master, I have committed a crime worthy of death! I should have brought back the Orc Warrior's corpse, not merely its meat!]
[I'm sorry, Master. This Choco should have at least fetched the Orc's dung, I should have.]
"Okay, even THAT is going too—"
It smells awful, but it's a key ingredient for mana bombs. Highly recommended for mage-type Hunters!
"…Unbelievable."
They'd stooped all the way down to dung. Ji-hoon felt a headache coming on.
"Where's Hunter Lee Ji-hoon? Did he get in safely?"
The Commissioner handed Baek Kang-hyun a cup of coffee as he asked.
"Yes, he entered without incident."
"And the security detail?"
"I was going to assign one. Then I decided against it."
"Fair enough. With a griffin and a giant bear at his side, what's bodyguarding worth."
What a strange man he was. With an S-Rank monster pressed against each side of him, it genuinely looked like a parent watching over a child. And yet the energy radiating off the man himself had been pure F-Rank—never mind the griffin feather necklace he wore.
"How's his family?"
"Just his parents. They run a fried chicken place."
"A chicken place?"
"Yes. Seems to be doing decent business for a neighborhood joint."
"Then assign security there instead."
The Commissioner's gaze drifted toward the people streaming into the Bureau's lobby.
"Under no circumstances can the 5 Great Guilds poach Hunter Lee Ji-hoon. And God forbid his family end up taken hostage—that goes double."
"I'll speak with Guild Master Jin Seo-yoon myself."
"You? Baek Kang-hyun, the man with zero political instincts?"
At the Commissioner's teasing, Baek Kang-hyun let out a sigh.
"Politics is too hard. Honestly, chopping and smashing is easier."
"Nobody finds it easy. Anyway, I'll handle Jin Seo-yoon myself. You manage the other guild masters."
Hunter Lee Ji-hoon.
The F-Rank hunter who had saved South Korea from S-Rank Gates. Twice.
An S-Rank threat, defeated by an F-Rank. That alone was enough to turn the world upside down.
Worse, being F-Rank made him dangerous.
"You know what happens if word gets out carelessly, don't you?"
A bidding war for Lee Ji-hoon could break out at any moment.
Baek Kang-hyun swallowed dryly and clenched his blue-tinged sword aura tight.
Meanwhile, at that very moment.
"Hello? Where, exactly?"
—Hiii, this is the Awakening Management Bureeeau.
"Oh, yes. What can I do for you?"
—Our branch direeector asked us to deliver you a gift, you seeee. We've prepared your A-Rank equipment.
Finally ready, huh!
"Ah, yes, yes. Just send it to my house."
—Well, about thaaat. To check the items out, you'd need to come in person, you seeee.
Ugh, what a hassle.
"You want me to come all the way to the Bureau?"
—Oh nooo, nothing like thaaat. A café near your place will do fiiine.
That much was acceptable. He could think of it as a short walk.
"Sure, then. There's actually a Big Star Café nearby that—"
—Nooo, the location's already been set. You just need to come, yeees.
"You're already set up?"
Then why ask me to come at all…
[Master, where are you going?]
"Equipment pickup."
[Those entitled, gutter-brained wretches! How DARE they order my Master about! Master! Allow me to go in your stead!]
"Oh, will you now?"
Ji-hoon said this while clamping down hard on Poppi's beak.
[Aigyagyagyagyaak! Master, ow! That hurts!]
"What did I tell you? No causing scenes."
Just imagine a griffin strolling down a public street. Within a minute the reports would flood in, hunters would deploy, Poppi's griffin roar would knock the hunters out cold, they'd fight—good grief.
He didn't even want to picture that disaster.
"You two, stay put at home like good boys."
[Or Choco could go. Choco is strong, even now, he is.]
"You're a bear. Even more reason you can't."
What was he supposed to do if a baby bear got reported escaping from the zoo?
At Ji-hoon's words, both Poppi and Choco hung their heads low.
"In exchange, I'll take these with me."
Ji-hoon plucked several quill-spikes from Choco's body.
"That doesn't hurt, right?"
[Doesn't hurt one bit. I pull them out to use as weapons anyway, I do.]
[Unfair, Master! You're that gentle with Choco, but why with me—!]
"Because you're the eldest, you brat."
[Then I shall follow you like a loyal puppy!]
"The Bureau people have eyes too. This time, I'm going alone."
Besides, he'd need to try the equipment on when he received it, wouldn't he? Hiding Poppi or Choco while doing that would be next to impossible.
[Understood, Master. Then at least take the young Seon Woo-jae along as—]
"Oh, for crying out loud, you two! Hey! I'm a grown man too, you know! Nothing's going to happen to me!"
And with that, Ji-hoon pocketed Choco's quill-spikes. The necklace made from Poppi's feathers he switched into stealth mode before wearing it.
"If trouble breaks out, I'll break something you two gave me. So come find me on your own."
[Yes, Master!]
[Understood, I will.]
Only now did they look reassured. Ji-hoon sighed inwardly, but he couldn't help feeling grateful for their loyalty.
"Off I go!"
The location was the café from the text message. What he'd obtain there was—
Finally. A-Rank equipment!
"Hum~ hmmm~♪"
His steps felt light. An F-Rank hunter, picking up A-Rank equipment.
Thinking back on it again, that contract with the Bureau had been an absolute masterstroke. The song just came pouring out of him.
"With a gear boost like this, I could probably clear up to C-Rank gates, right?"
He'd have to ask the Bureau employee later. And if that worked out, he could just farm the feed ingredients for the kids himself.
"Let's see, the address is…"
This was the place, right?
A small café that had opened in the neighborhood recently.
But something was off.
The café's sign was definitely lit up. Not a single customer inside, though.
New business, no customers yet?
Chime—
"Hello? Anyone here?"
And from the back of the café emerged not the owner—but a woman dressed head to toe in a light gray suit.
"Hello there. Hunter Lee Ji-hoon, I presume?"
"Ah, yes, that's me. You're the one who called earlier…"
"Nice to meet you. I'm Bae Yu-na, an administrative officer with the Bureau's 2nd Management Division, y'seee."
Something about her expression—her whole face, really—was sluggish. The textbook image of a public servant who'd rather be anywhere but work.
"Nice to meet you too."
"Don't be nervous, noo. I would neeever dream of harming you, Ji-hoon-nim."
Harm me?
Why would she?
"I'm just here to pick up equipment."
"Oh? Right, the equipment. Of course, of course. Must hand over the equipment, yesss."
Bae Yu-na slid the carrier she'd brought forward.
"Your equipment's all in heeere."
"Ooooh, FINALLY!"
A-Rank equipment!
Click—
The moment he opened the carrier—there should have been A-Rank gear, gleaming magnificently.
"…"
"What's wrong, hmm?"
"This is way too different from the stuff Woo-jae has."
Even granting that Ji-hoon hadn't been back long, the hunters he'd seen up close were S-Ranks Baek Kang-hyun and Jin Seo-yoon, and A-Rank Seon Woo-jae. Even at their worst, their gear had to be B-Rank or better.
"This isn't a knockoff, is it?"
"Oh, come nooow. It's genuine A-Rank. Look, see?"
Bae Yu-na gave the equipment a light touch and smiled.
"Oh…."
"See, tolldyou?"
"Who are you?"
Ji-hoon's eyes went ice-cold.
A Giant Bear's quill-spikes sharpened like needles the instant they sensed hostile mana directed at their master, wariness flooding through them. And right now, those spikes had risen rigid and sharp inside Ji-hoon's pocket.
"Why, I'm just a Bureau employeeoo."
"While radiating that much killing intent?"
Should've brought Poppi or Choco after all.
No. Even without them, he'd manage. He had to.
The moment Ji-hoon's fist closed tight around the steel quills—
"Hmmmm~ An F-Rank who doesn't even flinch… sharp eyes, too. No wonder they want you so badly."
"…I'm a nobody who can't get a date, though."
"And you joke well, too."
That wasn't a joke.
Then, two men appeared behind Bae Yu-na—and two more behind Ji-hoon.
So this is how you want to play it?
"You seeee, Hunter Ji-hoon~ you don't truly understand your own worth."
"…My worth?"
"Yesss. And that's why we—"
Bae Yu-na snapped her fingers.
In the empty air where nothing had existed a second ago, mana restraints materialized.
"We're here to abduct you, Ji-hoon-nim."
"Ah… I see."
"You heeard him? Kidnapping. It's a kidnapping, yesss."
Bae Yu-na reached to snap the restraints onto Ji-hoon's wrists.
"…Me?"
"Pardon? I'm afraid I didn't quite catch—"
Don't be too scared, now.
Bae Yu-na approached with a languid smile. Ji-hoon let the restraints click shut around his wrists obediently, then asked:
"Will I get… meals?"
"Excuse meee…?"
"You will feed me, right?"
Meals? Out of nowhere?
Bae Yu-na's eyes narrowed.
"Oh, and if at all possible, I'd like to be kept in a five-star hotel. One with streaming services, a big bathroom, room service I can order freely from—and hotel massage would be even better."
"Um, excuuuse me…?"
"What? You said I'm a hostage, didn't you?"
Ji-hoon tilted his head slightly.
"From your perspective, you need your hostage in good condition. That's just practical, isn't it?"
A brief silence fell.
"You'd better treat me well, then. I'll be looking forward to it."
The corners of Ji-hoon's mouth slowly curled upward.