The Jackpot Event (1)
"Whoa..." Park Jihun couldn't tear his eyes away from the extravagant feast spread out before him.
"It's been two whole days and I'm still not used to this."
Every kind of Southeast Asian dish imaginable, alongside high-end Western cuisine. The spread was so mouthwatering it put a five-star hotel buffet to shame. Every single item had been prepared exclusively for Jihun and his familiars.
"Thanks for the meal!"
"This is Kar's! The meat is Kar's!"
"You damn wolf?! Finish what's in front of you first before taking more!"
"This noodle-like dish has a rather unique flavor."
"Every country has completely different food cultures, after all."
With their large numbers, mealtimes were always loud and lively. Sira ate with the refined grace of nobility. Kar and Serina bickered back and forth. Briana and Ruze sampled the Southeast Asian dishes with curious fascination. And watching over them all with a satisfied smile were Jihun and Shin Jiyeon.
It was the very picture of a relaxed, leisurely vacation.
"Should we tour the city tomorrow before we leave?"
"Sounds good. We have plenty of time before the flight."
Tomorrow would be their third day—the last day of their exclusive resort rental. Once they checked out, this luxurious, carefree holiday would come to an end. Of course, with their wealth they could easily find somewhere else to stay for a few more days if they wanted.
But Jihun honestly felt three days was enough rest. He planned to head straight back and schedule their next gate run.
'Rather than money, I need to increase the number of gates I clear. That'll raise my rank faster... and raise the chances of meeting new monster girls.'
Jihun still intended to work hard for his dream.
"Sir, this is..."
At that moment, a staff member approached with awkward Korean and handed him a note.
'...What's this?'
For two full days the resort staff had acted like NPCs, never interfering and simply staying in their positions. Now one of them was suddenly passing him a note?
"Hunter Association President Chien Bao. He asked me to deliver this."
'The Hunter Association President...? From Vietnam?'
The note was from Vietnam's Hunter Association President, Chien Bao. Curious about its contents, Jihun opened it.
'It's probably something like "Please come to our country~"' Or, considering Vietnam's current situation, it could be a request to clear gates as a mercenary.
"Hmm..."
Just as he expected. The note, apparently written with the help of a Korean staff member, was composed in fluent Korean. It was a formal request asking him to clear several gates as a hunter mercenary. The compensation would be paid as standard, with all items acquired from inside the gates becoming the hunter's property. It was the usual contract for foreign hunter mercenaries.
However, it also stated that Jihun would receive an additional special hiring fee.
'Must be because of my familiars.'
Jihun was B-rank, yet not quite B-rank. When including all his familiars, his party's actual combat strength rivaled an A-rank raid team. On top of that, his Alpha Male skill let him display near S-rank fighting power against female opponents. He could essentially be considered S-rank level personnel.
Even with the special fee, he was the kind of mercenary who should be receiving ten or twenty times a normal B-rank rate.
'What a pain.'
Honestly, he wasn't particularly pleased. After all, he and his party had come to Vietnam for a vacation. Who would feel good about being asked to handle another country's problems while on holiday overseas?
'Wait, hold on a second.'
Then one particular phrase caught his eye.
Especially in higher B-rank gates and above, highly intelligent humanoid monsters appear frequently, resulting in significantly elevated danger levels...
The note went on at length about just how dire Vietnam's current crisis was. And from that sentence, Jihun saw a new possibility.
'Holy shit, if I think about it... isn't this basically a power-up event?'
A sudden massive outbreak of gates. That was a monster spawn rate increase event. The frequent appearance of highly intelligent humanoid monsters in higher gates. That was a 1+1 familiar taming event. And on top of that, they would even pay him for clearing the gates?
"This place is an event goldmine."
Jihun's eyes gleamed. For the sake of his dream—acquiring even more and even higher-grade female monsters—this was an essential event he absolutely had to clear.
Ring ring~
"...!"
The direct line to the Association President's office began ringing. Chien Bao stared at the phone with nervous tension.
Not many people could bypass all the Association's intermediaries and call the President's direct line. And recently, there was only one person who might have reason to call.
"It must be Hunter Park Jihun..."
He was the only one. After delivering the note, Jihun had been given the direct office number. The fact that he was calling could only mean a positive response. If he had no intention of accepting, he wouldn't have called at all.
"Hoo..."
Thinking this, President Chien Bao hurriedly summoned a Korean interpreter with an excited heart and answered the phone.
"Yes, hello."
As a sign of respect, he delivered the first greeting himself in awkward Korean rather than using the interpreter.
(Ah, yes. Hello. This is Park Jihun.)
The calm male voice that followed was immediately interpreted by the translator standing beside him.
"I'm sorry, but would it be alright if we conduct our conversation through the interpreter? My Vietnamese isn't very good."
(Ah, that's perfectly fine.)
And so they spoke—Chien Bao in Vietnamese and Jihun in Korean—with the interpreter providing real-time translation between them.
(First, regarding your offer of employment. I accept.)
"Ah, thank you!"
At Jihun's acceptance, Chien Bao's expression brightened noticeably.
(However, I have conditions.)
"Ah, what would those be?"
Chien Bao nodded at the expected follow-up. Of course there would be conditions. Jihun wasn't a fool—he clearly understood his own value. There was no way he would settle for just a B-rank hunter fee plus a small special allowance.
'It's fine. If he clears even one A-rank gate, I'm prepared to pay the equivalent of two A-rank hunters.'
Even then, it would still be cheaper than hiring a full A-rank raid team. He could accommodate that much.
But the condition Jihun presented wasn't about money.
(I will review the gate information in advance and choose which gates we will clear. I won't accept being assigned randomly or anything like that.)
"...?"
Chien Bao tilted his head at the statement. Wasn't that obvious? Honestly, given the nation's current state, Vietnam's Hunter Association had no choice but to be in the weaker position. In such a situation, it was only natural for mercenary hunters in the stronger position to only enter the gates they wanted, abandon the rest, or demand even more money.
He simply hadn't expected Jihun to make that a formal condition.
"O-of course. We will naturally accommodate that."
President Chien Bao answered that it would be fine for now.
"However, please understand that A-rank gates and above may have no available information."
He added that since nearly all hunters refused to enter A-rank gates and higher, information might simply not exist.
(Yes, that's something we'll have to account for.)
Of course Jihun had no intention of demanding the impossible.
"......"
At Jihun's cool response, Chien Bao actually broke into a cold sweat. The previous statement had merely been bait for the real condition he was about to state. The true demand was surely coming now.
(Ah, and one more thing.)
Just as expected. The real condition came after.
The true condition Jihun presented was:
(You said all acquired items from the gates would belong to me. Does that include monsters as well?)
All acquired items and monsters from cleared gates will belong exclusively to Park Jihun.
"Good thing I was ready to refuse immediately if he said no. Worked out perfectly."
Having received clear confirmation of ownership rights over any familiars, Jihun felt satisfied. It might have seemed like a trivial or obvious matter, but failing to establish it clearly from the start could cause problems later.
What if he obtained a beautiful new familiar only for the Vietnamese government to claim it belonged to the state and demand he leave it behind? While it could become an international issue and Jihun's protest would eventually return the familiar to him, they would still be forced to spend time apart during that period.
'That can never happen.'
As he was thinking this, Shin Jiyeon and the other familiars came rushing over in a group.
"How did it go? Where are we going?"
"Next battle! Next gate!"
"Where are we heading this time?"
They all seemed excited about entering a gate. Normally people avoided gates, dangerous places where monsters appeared and death could come at any moment. But these monster familiars had originally come from gates themselves. And Shin Jiyeon was a total pervert whose brain short-circuited at the mere thought of meeting female monsters, just like Jihun. So instead of fear, anticipation and excitement came first.
Besides, entering gates could increase their power and even bring new companions.
"Wait a moment. I haven't decided where we're going ye—"
Beep~
Just as Jihun was trying to calm his familiars, a perfectly timed text arrived from President Chien Bao. It contained the current list of B to A-rank gates that needed clearing.
"Siren?"
Jihun's gaze immediately locked onto the top entry—Siren's Wharf.
Siren. Wasn't that the creature that... the one that bewitched people with its song by the sea...?
"Mermaid—!!!"
At Jihun's sudden shout, the familiars jumped back in surprise.
"Mermaid? Did you say mermaid?"
Of course, only Shin Jiyeon reacted to the word "mermaid."
"This is it. It's definitely this one."
"Haa~ A mermaid... I wonder where a mermaid's genitals are located? Haaah, haaah..."
With such passionate support from both Jihun and Shin Jiyeon, their first gate as mercenaries was decided:
Siren's Wharf.