The Challenge
The idea that everyone in a gathering of any real size could all get along was a fairy tale — the kind of dream you would only find in utopia. Put three people in a room and factions could already start forming. The notion of everyone laughing and living in perfect harmony was, for all practical purposes, impossible.
Hunters belonging to the Hunter Association were no different. Not every hunter maintained good relations with every other. Conflicts flared up from time to time — rivalries between guilds, and grudges between individuals.
When those conflicts needed settling, the method of mediation was simple, if somewhat controversial: a style ripped straight from the American Wild West.
A one-on-one duel.
Hunter-versus-hunter duels were typically held in raid fields the Association had specially prepared, to keep collateral damage to a minimum. In the vast majority of cases, both hunters entered the fight by mutual consent.
The terms of that consent varied, but one condition sat at the core of every agreement:
Neither side shall hold the other accountable for a life.
Because these were genuine life-or-death contests fought in earnest, one-on-one duels rarely came to pass. More often than not, one party surrendered before anyone actually died. Completely without precedent, however, they were not.
And because they were so uncommon, refusing to accept one was widely understood to shred a hunter's personal standing and pride. Those who declined were frequently branded cowards.
In short, both the one issuing the challenge and the one receiving it were taking on a real risk — which was precisely why these duels almost never happened.
But that was also why, on the rare occasion one did...
That was the kind of uproar that would break out all over.
"I heard the news. You received a challenge to a one-on-one duel?"
"Yeah, well, I haven't sent a reply yet.... I have no idea what this is even about."
Hyun Jisu sighed as he laid out the situation for Jeong Seyeon. Cheon Woohyeok's side had already leaked every last detail to the press, so there wasn't much point in trying to keep it secret anyway.
"So what's the reason, exactly?"
"Honestly, the first time I met the guy, he came at me with some bizarre excuse about verifying my abilities, and we ended up going one-on-one. A monster showed up in the middle of it, so the whole thing fizzled out.... Anyway, he says he wants to pick that duel back up, and that I need to pay the price for insulting Seongwolhoe Guild."
"An insult?"
Something seemed to click for Seyeon; her voice trailed off slightly at the end. Jisu didn't particularly care.
"Yeah. I mean, a guy can turn down a guild, can't he? And they call that an insult.... Honestly, it's so ridiculous I don't know what to say. I'm thinking of turning this down — what do you think?"
"Hmm, it's not that simple. Turning down the duel itself wouldn't be a huge problem, but.... wouldn't that mean private commissions stop coming in?"
"Private commissions? What are those?"
"Oh, did I not explain that? Besides Association work, hunters can take private commissions on the side. When you deploy under a Hunter Order, the only compensation is the base stipend, right? With private commissions, you get paid separately every time you take one. That's why high-rank hunters tend to receive a lot of personal requests from some very big names."
"There was a system like that?"
Something about it sounded a lot like freelancing. Association salary plus commission fees on top of that — just how much money was that?
"Yes! You haven't been with the Association long, and the public doesn't know much about you yet, so nothing's come in so far. But if you put on a good showing in this duel, a few might start rolling in, don't you think?"
"Hmm."
Did that mean Mother would find out he was working as a hunter now?
He didn't particularly want that, but he couldn't hide it forever. And if he was going to start handling real money, it was about time he went public anyway.
"So what should I do?"
"I think you should do whatever you feel is right, Jisu. Though... wouldn't it be fine to accept the duel?"
"Why's that?"
"Just thinking about it simply.... The hunter who challenged you, Cheon Woohyeok, is S-rank. You're SS-rank, so you'd be stronger, wouldn't you? Of course, he only carries out tightly classified missions under Seongwolhoe's control, so there's no way to know exactly how far his abilities go. I can't say for certain."
"And as a high-rank hunter, refusing something like this could lead to all kinds of disadvantages down the line."
"Disadvantages?"
"Yes. Once your name is more widely known, people might keep dragging it up and holding it against you, or Seongwolhoe might just keep picking fights."
Hmm.
Jisu fell silent for a moment. Dealing with this was a hassle — but not dealing with it left a bad taste in his mouth too.
"Why did a challenge even show up in the first place?"
"Well, I don't know for sure either, but... it might be because you turned down Seongwolhoe's recruitment offer not long ago?"
"What, over something that small?"
He couldn't quite believe they'd go this far just because he hadn't joined their guild. Seyeon, however, seemed to see it differently.
"As far as I know, you were probably the first person to ever reject a Seongwolhoe offer. From their perspective, I think that could have been a serious blow to their pride."
"Until now, the prevailing view has been that Seongwolhoe is the final destination — the ultimate goal — for hunters in Korea. Their pride is running pretty high, so having been turned down, they may well have wanted to get in your way somehow...."
"For the best hunter organization in the country, that's pretty childish."
Even as he said it, something seemed to occur to him, and he let out a short laugh. It wasn't just the hunter industry. How many times had he watched people of every age act like children the moment you put them in a group?
"Hmm. Is there anything else that comes to mind?"
"If I had to name something...."
Jisu sank into thought for a moment, and before long he arrived at something that had happened in the past.
Come to think of it — the guy whose one-on-one with him had never reached a proper finish. Hadn't his name been Cheon Woohyeok?
"There is something, but I don't think it's that significant. What you said sounds more plausible, honestly."
"Is that so? Well, anyway — what are you going to do?"
"Give me a second."
If a duel challenge had already arrived, there was no real reason to refuse it.
Just as Seyeon had said, his own stats were SS-rank and the other man was S-rank. He might be able to put him down without any particular difficulty. The last time they'd actually fought, Woohyeok hadn't been a match for him. Of course, his stats then and his stats now were very different.
And more than anything else — Jisu did not like people who swaggered around like that. If the reason they were picking a fight really was that he'd turned down a guild invitation, then yes, he rather wanted to beat that habit out of them.
"All right. Please tell them I'll accept the duel challenge."
"Understood! Is there a day you'd prefer for the date?"
"Matching their schedule is fine. Tell them to pick a date and let me know."
"Got it! I'll pass that along. There's a lot of noise around this, but it probably won't amount to much. Win and come back!"
"Thank you. If you told me to win and come back, then I should be able to win, right?"
"What?"
For a moment, a clearly flustered voice came through the receiver.
Jisu wondered if he'd said something wrong, but Seyeon recovered a moment later, her tone back to normal.
"Uh.... Ah, yes! Of course! Thank you for putting your trust in me. Absolutely! You'll do just fine, Jisu. I'll help however I can, so please don't hesitate to ask for anything!"
"Understood."
The call ended there, and Jisu let out a long, heavy sigh.
It seemed it was about time he showed himself to the world.
He'd appeared in the media before, of course, but those images had been so blurred that no one could have told it was him. For all practical purposes, this would be the first time he revealed his face.
Yeah. What the hell. Might as well go for it. I can't keep hiding behind Mother forever, can I?
And with that, Jisu steeled himself.
While Jisu was making his own preparations for the duel, the people who already knew about it had begun to stir in their own ways.
"That's how it is, so I'm counting on you. Someone of your caliber won't get one-sidedly crushed and embarrass us, right?"
Cheon Woohyeok smirked at Jeong Siyun's words.
"What do you take me for? Last time was just a light spar."
"But you didn't land a single bit of damage, did you? Even I could tell that much."
"About that — I've got something to say to you."
Woohyeok, who always carried himself with that slouching, careless attitude that made him look like he had nothing between his ears, was looking at Siyun with a genuinely serious face.
"I'm thinking of unleashing that ability. Since you're the boss, I figured I ought to get your permission."
"...."
Siyun's expression flickered.
"Hey. I think you've got the wrong idea. Hyun Jisu is a man who needs to join our guild. What are you going to do if you pull some stunt and break him?"
"Is our dear guild master that starved for a man that she'd get all worked up over a guy who can't even take this?"
"I don't like the way you talk — no manners at all — but... you've got a point."
Yeah.
If he loses to the likes of Cheon Woohyeok, then I wouldn't need to be that obsessed with him.
Thinking that, she granted him permission to unleash his technique.
"Just you wait. I'll win. I'll make you wonder why you ever wanted to recruit a guy like that. Heh heh..."
Still snide and foul-mouthed as ever — but Siyun was used to it, and didn't particularly care.
"Anyway."
She started to head out, then paused and looked back at Woohyeok.
"I'm not looking down on your skills, but don't let your guard down. Honestly, I've never seen anyone stronger than Jisu in raw physical strength. Got it?"
With that, Siyun walked out of the room.
"Heh heh heh."
Once he confirmed she was gone, Woohyeok let a vicious little laugh slip out.