Growth (1)
'Tamer' Park Jihun Brings in His Second Familiar...
The proud Korean hunter known as the world's first and only, Hunter Park Jihun, has become a major topic of discussion. On the 15th, just two days after his awakening, he tamed his second familiar inside his second gate. The female goblin Briana's appearance caused a stir last time, but this new beastkin monster's beauty is also drawing massive attention. Meanwhile, controversy has erupted over whether F-rank Hunter Park Jihun received special treatment by entering an E-rank gate with assistance from higher-ranked guild hunters...
“Ugh, fuck!”
Bang!
A man with a bulky build and a sharply angular face hurled the phone he’d been holding. He had been reading an internet article.
“Park Jihun… that son of a bitch…”
The man openly radiating hostility toward Park Jihun was Kang Sigyeong. He had awakened alongside Jihun during the same test and shot straight up to C-rank, earning him the title of rising star. Or rather, former rising star.
All the attention that should have been his had been stolen by Park Jihun and his taming skill. The fact that a worthless F-rank hunter had snatched every bit of spotlight meant for him left a bitter taste in Kang Sigyeong’s mouth. No matter how many hunter-related articles he opened, it was always Park Jihun, the Tamer, Park Jihun, Park Jihun. Not a single line about himself. How could he not be furious?
I should have been the one under every spotlight!
A C-rank awakening carried that much weight. Large guilds would normally accept him with generous terms. But they were all too busy scrambling to recruit Park Jihun, so Kang Sigyeong had been completely ignored.
F-rank. Just F-rank. A useless low-tier hunter who couldn’t contribute anything meaningful. The ones who actually helped society were mid-to-high rankers like himself. Yet the world was busy chasing the “world’s one and only” title for cheap publicity while ignoring him. It was completely ridiculous, he thought.
If I had just gotten the right attention, I could’ve joined one of the super-guilds like the Dragon King or Legend and become a national star by now with some huge achievement!
Of course, compared to what Park Jihun had accomplished in two days, Kang Sigyeong had done almost nothing. Thanks to a recommendation from an older contact, he had managed to join a decent mid-to-large guild with around 120 hunters. That was it. He had shown zero results in those two days.
If he had awakened as an S-rank, A-rank, or even B-rank, things might have been different. But a mediocre C-rank hunter who did nothing would naturally get zero coverage. Still, Kang Sigyeong blamed every bit of it on Park Jihun.
“If that bastard didn’t exist…”
While he was grinding his teeth, the guild’s affiliated hunters entered the office.
“Kyahahaha! Yo, did you see that orc bastard’s face earlier?”
“Man, every time I see shit like that I’m reminded why I became a hunter.”
A noisy group burst in, loud enough to shake the entire office. They were the core raid members of the Yongmun Guild—the mid-to-large guild Kang Sigyeong belonged to—including the guild master himself.
Every one of them had an imposing physique, bodies covered in tattoos. They were the classic “big brother” types from the back alleys. Two women were among them, but they too were inked heavily and carried sharp, intimidating auras that didn’t lose out to the men despite their smaller frames.
“Y-you’re back, big brothers, big sisters!”
The moment they entered, both the office staff and Kang Sigyeong—who had been fuming while thinking about Park Jihun—shot to their feet and greeted them with military precision.
“Yeah, good work today, everyone.”
The man at the front looked to be in his late thirties. His body was massive like a bodybuilder’s, and tattoos crawled all the way up his neck. This intimidating figure was none other than Gu Mansik, the guild master of Yongmun and an A-rank hunter.
The Yongmun Guild was fairly well-known in Korea as a troublesome organization that didn’t listen to anyone. Still, they had several hunters above A-rank and genuine skill, so neither the Association nor other guilds could touch them openly. Both sides were constantly looking for an excuse to drive them into the ground, but they hadn’t found one yet.
Gu Mansik and the ten core raid members took seats around the large circular table in the center of the office and began chatting while drinking.
“That gray orc we fought this time was pretty tough, boss.”
“You’re telling me.”
Their conversation mostly revolved around the gate they had just cleared. But something felt off. The core raid team that included Gu Mansik was an elite strike force made up of five A-ranks and five B-ranks. A party capable of challenging A-rank gates had no reason to bother with a C-rank gate.
The answer came from their conversation.
“Kyahahaha! You call that an orc? It was basically just a celebrity with gray skin!”
“She really was pretty, boss.”
“Yeah, it’s been a while since I had that much fun fucking something.”
“Ugh, I don’t get why guys are like that.”
“Heh, we all saw you two dragging off those handsome, muscular orcs for yourselves.”
The content was shockingly vulgar. They were openly discussing how they had captured gray orcs that had evolved to look more human and attractive, then gang-raped them. Yet none of the guild staff or affiliated hunters said a word about the filthy conversation. Instead, they continued working as if it were the most normal thing in the world.
Kang Sigyeong was the same. When he first arrived he had been shocked, but he had since learned that almost anything done to monsters inside a gate was overlooked. And after seeing how beautiful Briana had become after being tamed by Park Jihun, he could somewhat understand it. In fact, he found himself hoping he would one day encounter a beautiful female monster he could drag off and fuck too.
“Still, isn’t it a shame we have to leave them behind in the gate?” Gu Mansik suddenly threw out.
“What can we do? Bringing them out is illegal.”
“Even if we did bring them out, there’s no real merit to it anyway.”
His subordinates shook their heads, voicing negative opinions. Just as they said, it was illegal. Even if they took the risk, the monsters had high intelligence and would resist violently, sometimes even attempting suicide. A normal person couldn’t control them, so a hunter would have to stay by their side 24/7 to watch them, prevent suicide attempts, and force-feed them. In short, bringing them out without proper taming would only create a money-sucking headache.
At least, that had been the case until now.
“But you know that guy who’s been making all the noise lately,” Gu Mansik said with a meaningful look.
Everyone in the room knew exactly who he meant.
“The Tamer?”
Tamer Park Jihun. The F-rank hunter who had recently become a hot topic thanks to his taming skill.
“If we had that bastard, we could bring them out legally. And if he can make monsters obedient enough to be called a taming hunter, they’d probably be pretty submissive, right?”
Gu Mansik, the Dragon Head of Yongmun, had originally been the boss of a fairly large violent organization in the Incheon and Bucheon areas. He was infamous for being the kind of ruthless thug who would kill and steal whatever he desired. Everyone present immediately understood what his words truly meant.
Bring Park Jihun before me.
He was ordering them to kidnap Park Jihun so he could use the man’s taming ability to turn beautiful female monsters into his personal sex slaves.
At that moment, Kang Sigyeong realized this was his chance. Although their first meeting hadn’t been great, he had at least spoken with Park Jihun before. If he could successfully lure him in, he would make a strong impression on Gu Mansik. With luck, he might even earn a spot in the core raid team that cleared A-rank gates.
“Guild Master! This is Kang Sigyeong, the new recruit who joined yesterday. It’s an honor!”
Having reached that conclusion, Kang Sigyeong immediately rushed over to the table where they were talking.
“Oh, the new kid! When did you get here?”
Gu Mansik noticed Kang Sigyeong bowing deeply and patted him on the back.
Kang Sigyeong stayed bowed for a moment, then lifted his head sharply and said, “Boss, I actually know Park Jihun. We awakened on the same day and registered together in Bupyeong!”
In other words, leave it to him. Gu Mansik understood instantly and burst into loud laughter.
“Kyahahaha! Is that so! You awakened around the same time, right? Good, good. Then you go lure your buddy over, newbie.”
“Yes, boss!”
Having successfully made an impression on Gu Mansik, Kang Sigyeong smiled inwardly.
He’s just a worthless F-rank piece of shit anyway. A little threatening and he’ll come quietly.
This mission was going to be incredibly easy.
#
“Ugh, why is it so cold all of a sudden?”
“Huh? The weather’s been really spring-like lately… Should I close the windows?”
When Park Jihun shivered, Shin Jiyeon jumped up in surprise and closed the windows she had left wide open for ventilation and fresh spring air.
“Ah, thanks.”
Park Jihun smiled brightly and thanked her. Shin Jiyeon blushed shyly and said,
“Hehe, it’s nothing. I mean… we’re in a master-and-pet relationship now, aren’t we?”
“…Can you not say it like that? People are going to misunderstand.”
“Why? It’s true, isn’t it? Hehehe.”
Even though Park Jihun panicked and told her to stop, Shin Jiyeon simply grinned playfully.
“Anyway, what did you mean earlier about delaying the E-rank promotion?”
Realizing it was pointless to keep arguing, he quickly changed the subject. Or rather, returned to the topic they had been discussing before.
Park Jihun’s E-rank promotion. His average stats had now surpassed the 30s, which was more than enough to qualify. If he promoted now, it would be after only three days—technically two. Following his title as the world’s one and only taming hunter, this would undoubtedly cause another massive stir.
No, if the world’s only taming hunter also showed unprecedented growth speed? The combination would make the entire planet boil with the name Park Jihun.
But Shin Jiyeon had opposed it. When he asked why, she answered like this:
“Hehe, it’s not time yet, Sunbae. Things like this have the biggest impact when you drop them right as people start losing interest.”
According to her, even if the world was currently buzzing about “first” and “only,” the hype would naturally die down in a few days.
“After all, you’re still F-rank, Sunbae.”
Ultimately, he was still F-rank. No matter how unprecedented, there was a limit to how long the attention could last. People’s interest would gradually drift away, and the rose-tinted glasses would start to come off.
‘He’s still just F-rank in the end, isn’t he?’
‘Who cares if he’s the world’s only? He can’t even help clear higher gates.’
‘At best he’ll just tame some goblins and kobolds and that’s it.’
These opinions were already appearing occasionally. As public interest cooled, such comments would only increase.
“But what if, right when interest is starting to fade, you suddenly update your rank?”
By then, Park Jihun would have at least reached D-rank. A two-rank jump! The fastest growth speed in the history of rare growth-type hunters! The explosive reaction was obvious.
“There’s no need to show all your cards when people are already focused on you. That’s what I’m saying.”
“Hmm…”
Shin Jiyeon’s words were extremely convincing. So Park Jihun nodded and decided to follow her advice.
“Alright, let’s do that then.”
It was an easy decision. But he had no idea yet that this choice would later prove incredibly helpful to him.