A Land-Grabbing Game
Meanwhile, the other members of Team C had gathered at the training grounds early and were drilling on their own.
"Mmm…!"
Kim Ji-eun refined her mana, making it purer to deepen her resonance with her spirit.
"Hyaah!"
"Hup!"
Kang Gi-tae and Lee Min-jae practiced attack and defense in tandem, hammering out their combined tactics, while Kim Jin-woo worked on refining his detection skill, trying to wield it with finer precision.
Not enough. I need to get closer to my spirit…!
Whether it's my detection skill or anything else, I have to prove I'm useful….
Am I just going to be a dead weight, Kang Gi-tae?!
In this weakened state….
The current members of Team C were: Kim Jin-woo, an A-rank detection-type hunter. Lee Min-jae, a B-rank defense-type hunter. Kang Gi-tae, a C-rank reinforcement-type hunter. All of them had realized the same thing over the course of their two missions.
They were weak.
They hadn't been able to do anything.
Their moment to shine? Every bit of it had belonged to Lee Ji-hoon.
Kim Ji-eun in particular couldn't help admiring him — a low-rank hunter just like herself, yet constantly searching for answers, constantly taking action.
And in that admiration, a quiet respect began to take root.
"Everyone's working hard, I see?"
Just then, Baek Kang-hyun came walking toward them.
"B-B-Baek Baek Baek Kang-hyun, Hun— no, Branch Director, sir!"
Kim Ji-eun stammered, flustered. Baek Kang-hyun gave a light smile and looked around at the members of Team C.
"In the middle of training, are you?"
It had been right after facing the Jormungandr, of all things.
If anyone had an excuse to be exhausted, it was them.
But instead, Lee Ji-hoon's performance had lit a fire under them.
So Baek Kang-hyun casually drew a dagger.
"Nothing beats practical experience for practice. You all know my characteristic is All-Weapon, correct?"
"Ah…!"
"How about some special training?"
Free coaching from an S-rank. There was no way they were letting this chance slip by.
With profuse thanks, every member of Team C began sparring and training with Baek Kang-hyun.
After a brief round of greetings, Ji-hoon found himself watching the videos Yoon Do-ha was pushing toward him.
"So, in our assessment, the conditions for gate mutation are…."
Watching Yoon Do-ha chatter away in his excitement, Ji-hoon honestly wondered if this man really was S-rank.
He looked exactly like a small child showing off something he'd discovered to his parents.
Besides, everything he was saying right now?
Half right, half wrong.
Because Ji-hoon had already learned a thing or two about the current situation — through Doobu, and through Abel's fog.
"…And by satisfying these mutation criteria… Ji-hoon-ssi?"
"Ah, yes?"
"Is something the matter? Your concentration seems to have slipped."
Of course it had.
He'd been rambling on by himself for over an hour already!
"I, uh, need to head back to the camp now…."
"Ah, right, right, of course, of course. You should go. You really should!"
Jin Seo-yoon, who had been dozing off beside them, finally stirred awake.
"Mmgh…. I was planning to watch too, keep an eye out for any decent talent today. What about you, Do-ha? Did you get a good long talk in with Ji-hoon-ssi?"
Yoon Do-ha looked up at the ceiling.
"Not nearly enough… Alright then, just this one last thing!"
He added that there was exactly one more thing Ji-hoon should remember from this camp mission.
"Ji-hoon-ssi, you're not F-rank, are you?"
"I get asked that so often I'm sick of it. I'm F-rank, believe it or not."
He wasn't even teasing.
At Ji-hoon's deadpan response, Yoon Do-ha gave a light chuckle.
"An F-rank body, but S-rank command of your abilities."
"What good does that do me? The body's still an F."
"No, no, no, no. That's not it at all."
Yoon Do-ha's gaze flicked to Jin Seo-yoon, then back to Ji-hoon.
"The last gate — top contribution was Ji-hoon-ssi, wasn't it?"
Ah, crap.
They must have watched everything from the situation room.
Ji-hoon swallowed hard.
Depending on what this mad scientist — this crackpot researcher — said next…
…I might have to take him apart.
Arms crossed, he lightly gripped Choco's quill-spikes wrapped around his right wrist.
"Oooh~ those fierce eyes! The heart of a beast defending what's its own! Absolutely magnificent!"
"…Is there anything else you'd like to say?"
"Oh, of course there is. Though that's something we can discuss in due course…."
Yoon Do-ha tapped at the tablet, tap-tap, and then played footage from the interior of the gate they had cleared recently.
"You need this gate, don't you?"
"The… gate?"
"Yes. Those adorable yet utterly lethal monsters you've tamed. You're not planning to raise them out in human society, are you?"
Did that mean he was supposed to raise them in a gate?
Well, in a gate, Poppi, Choco, and Doobu could exist in their true forms.
"Think of it as a stable of sorts."
"Then why are you telling me this? Are you offering me the gate?"
"No. That gate is already yours, Ji-hoon-ssi, isn't it?"
Cleared gates were sold to the Administration Bureau, with the Bureau handling their management under the standard contract — so the gate they'd cleared yesterday was naturally slated to pass into the Bureau's possession as well.
"What exactly are you saying…."
"Handing it over to the Bureau is fine, but I'm saying you should keep one gate for yourself, Ji-hoon-ssi. A personal one."
Yoon Do-ha's point wasn't without merit.
What if every single creature from Hell Farm crossed over?
At that point, raising them all at home would be out of the question.
"If you want, I'll set one aside for you. Without the Bureau knowing."
"…And the conditions?"
"Allow us to harvest materials from those monsters of yours."
Wriggle.
Ji-hoon's eyebrow twitched, ever so slightly.
"These aren't just any monsters — you'd be getting rare materials from boss monsters on a regular basis? That's research material for Eden. That's progress for the entire hunter industry!"
"Hmm…."
"The price — two billion won per piece!"
"T-Two billion?!"
"Hold it, Yoon Do-ha! Orpheus was planning to make an offer too — why are you spilling everything here? Ji-hoon-ssi, come to Orpheus. We'll add another billion on top!"
Suddenly it had turned into an auction.
Not that I ever said I was leaving.
"Ji-hoon-ssi, I know everything. You can tame S-rank monsters like they're house pets. Am I right?"
"It wasn't me, it was Hunter Baek Kang-hyun who—"
"As iffff that could ever happen! That stiff-necked man would never do such a thing! Besides, this mana…."
Yoon Do-ha pointed at the collar Poppi wore, hidden in stealth.
"It's transformed into mana that is excessively, intimately attuned to you, Ji-hoon-ssi. Like a bond of subordination."
S-ranks could sense even that?
Ji-hoon let out a small sigh.
"Fine. But even knowing that, nothing changes, does it?"
"Mmm~ no, no, no! Now I've got myself a homework assignment: winning your favor! It seems that at the moment, you—"
Yoon Do-ha spread his arms wide in exaggerated fashion.
"—need some time to think things over."
"Don't cut in line, Do-ha. We put our deposit down first."
At Jin Seo-yoon's words, Yoon Do-ha only curled one corner of his mouth into a smirk.
Watching the two S-ranks trade lightning-bolt glares, Ji-hoon spoke up.
"So that's what you were getting at. Understood."
"Ooh, quick on the decision-making! Then, as expected, Eden would—"
"No."
Ji-hoon raised a finger.
"Eden, one warning."
"…Pardon?"
Yoon Do-ha tilted his head, puzzled. And Ji-hoon continued.
"Orpheus, two warnings."
"Wh-why?! I helped you so much at the last gate!"
I racked up plenty of favorability points, didn't I?!
Ignoring Jin Seo-yoon's outburst, Ji-hoon went on.
"I'm perfectly satisfied with my life right now. Three kids is more than enough to raise, and the house the Bureau gave me is plenty. What would I even do with an extra billion? Right?"
"B-but money, if you have more money—"
"I've got a steady salary coming in, for one thing. And if I sell that D-rank gate, the market rate's what, around a billion? Right?"
Except his contract with the Bureau stipulated that whatever he cleared — regardless of rank — they would buy at two billion.
Sell a billion-worth gate, get two billion for it.
Sweetest deal ever, no?
"If you want to do business with me, you'd better bring a proper offer."
"Th-then with Eden's supreme technology, we'll give you S-rank equipment…!"
Ji-hoon's finger pointed at his necklace and bracelet.
"Hunter Baek already covered that, thanks."
"Uuugh…."
Grinning brightly at Yoon Do-ha as he clutched his head in anguish, Ji-hoon turned away.
"Well then, I'm off to the camp. Do give it some thought, won't you?"
Bang—!
The door slammed shut.
And so it was that Jin Seo-yoon, staring blankly at the door, and Yoon Do-ha, anxiously gnawing his nails to shreds, were left alone with the silence of the situation room.
When Ji-hoon returned to camp, familiar faces were there to greet him.
"Branch Director?"
Baek Kang-hyun smiled. Beside him, the utterly spent members of Team C lay sprawled across the ground.
"Wow… hah… he really… is… S-rank…."
"Korea's… number one… for good… reason…."
"How is anyone supposed to block that… hah, hah…."
Kang Gi-tae, Kim Jin-woo, and Lee Min-jae were dripping sweat like rain.
Only Baek Kang-hyun, who hadn't shed a single drop, remained perfectly dry.
"Seriously… you're all strong…."
Having felt that enormous gap firsthand, the difference truly had been on another level entirely.
"But Ji-hoon-ssi, hah hah… how on earth did you become Hunter Baek Kang-hyun's assistant?"
At Kim Jin-woo's question, Ji-hoon shot Baek Kang-hyun a look. Baek Kang-hyun gave a small smile — a gentle invitation to play along as best he could.
"Just got lucky, I suppose. So, did you all have special training or something?"
"Th-that's right…! We're not going to drag you down, Ji-hoon-ssi — not anymore!"
Kim Ji-eun said, struggling to resonate with her water spirit. Dark circles ringed both her eyes.
"Oh my, why on earth would you push yourselves so hard…."
"Because… you keep drifting further ahead on your own."
Kim Ji-eun lowered her head.
"Yesterday… we couldn't do… anything."
"If an F-rank works that hard, we have to do something too!"
"I'm only an A-rank in name — I was hopeless out there. Time to start moving."
"What good is being a defender if I can't hold a single boss monster? Training. It has to be done."
So they'd all been carrying their own burdens.
And with Doobu having shown herself at the last gate, no less — of course it had left an impression.
"That's why they were all out here since dawn. I came out for my morning exercise, saw them, and joined in with the training."
"You weren't just beating us one-sidedly, right?"
"I have at least that much sense, hahaha."
Thanks to Baek Kang-hyun's All-Weapon characteristic, he'd have been able to offer advice on every weapon and ability present — a heaven-sent opportunity for this group.
"You're all stronger than I am, so why do this? Don't feel any pressure, okay?"
"You're too modest, Ji-hoon-ssi. You could go around bragging, honestly."
"Modest, my foot."
By the way — where were the kids?
No matter how hard he looked, there was no sign of Poppi, Choco, or Doobu.
Still sleeping, maybe?
"Everyone, please gather to the center!"
Just then, the voice of the Administration Bureau supervisor came through a microphone.
I'll dock their snack rations for every minute they were late.
Once everyone had assembled, the supervisor explained the format of this mission.
"This time, it's a team-based land-grabbing game."
"Land-grabbing?"
The moment someone voiced their confusion—
Flash—
Rumble—
The entrance to the Simulation Gate materialized.
"First, the conditions. In this simulation, only the equipment provided inside may be used."
Murmur, murmur—
No personal gear meant no signature equipment — essentially, they'd all be tigers with their teeth pulled.
"Anything can happen inside a gate. Think of this as training in how to adapt."
"Um, excuse me — then are spirits okay? They're skills, so…."
"Spirits are permitted. However…."
The supervisor's gaze turned toward Ji-hoon.
"Monsters tamed from outside are not allowed."
"Why not?"
"I'm sure you can guess the reason."
They wanted to see how he'd cope in a variety of situations, then.
Ji-hoon nodded.
"Further details will be explained once we're inside the simulation."
Some protested and fumed, but there was nothing to be done about it. With sighs all around, everyone filed into the gate.
Will the kids be okay without me?
It'll be fine.
It's a simulation space, after all.
And Poppi's collar and Choco's bracelet are with me.
Besides, they've worked hard enough up until now, haven't they?
It's about time the team members got their moment to shine, right?
With those thoughts in mind, Ji-hoon and the rest of Team C stepped into the simulation.
And the shadow that had been watching them let out a sigh.
"Yes, they've been quarantined~"
The figure lowered the smartphone with a heavy hand.
"The F-rank has been dispatched as planned~"