Mad Dog Shin Ji-hye
Yuseong Guild. One of the top guilds representing South Korea in name and reality. Ten S-rank hunters, dozens of A-ranks. If you include everyone down the ranks, just the hunters number over a thousand. Each hunter has about twenty support staff attached, and that's not even counting all the other employees. Around 40,000 staff in total. And that's just the direct hires at Yuseong Guild—add in subcontractors and partners, and the number swells even more.
-Mr. Yoo Sung, the guild master requests your presence in her office immediately.
The guild master of that massive corporation was summoning me. The announcement blared before I'd even swiped my entry card and stepped into the elevator.
"Ugh, so crowded... Excuse me."
The elevator during rush hour was always packed. I squeezed in among the suit-wearing office workers and hit the button for the top floor.
-Ding.
As the floors climbed, employees trickled out one by one until I was alone. The doors opened to the top floor. I'd been here plenty of times, but it never got old. Lights mimicking sunlight, marble floors everywhere. It looked like a chaebol chairman's office.
'Probably richer than any chaebol chairman.'
Hunters were a high-value industry. Mana stones, monster byproducts, treasures from gates. Even as a D-rank like me, my salary was in the nine figures. The guild master? Who knows how much.
"Ah, Hunter Yoo Sung! You're here."
"I'm not a hunter anymore, Chae-eun."
Right outside the elevator was the secretary's office. Lee Chae-eun, the guild master's secretary, poked her head out with a bright smile to greet me. Watching her stirred something primal.
'Office-look secretary is fucking hot...'
"Fuck, you crazy bastard."
A side effect of Lilith's Authority. It peered into even a monster's desires like 'I want to chew through your skull!' Humans were even easier. And the trigger was just physical contact, so it was always active on myself. A former college kid in a tight office outfit, smiling so sweetly—it was hard to resist.
I pinched my cheek to snap out of it, and Chae-eun's eyes went wide.
"H-Hunter Yoo Sung, is something wrong?"
"Nah, no. Just haven't been sleeping well lately. So, why'd the guild master call me?"
"No idea... She didn't tell me. Just said to come up as soon as you clocked in."
"She's inside?"
"Yeah, you can go in."
"Okay. Thanks, Chae-eun."
"Yes! Fighting, Hunter Yoo Sung!"
Her tiny fist clenched in encouragement was so damn cute... I desperately suppressed my dick's reaction and headed to the guild master's office.
I flung the door open.
"...You crazy fuck. Where'd you sell your manners?"
The guild master, sitting at her computer, glared at me. Those eyes were hot as hell. Fucking bitch. No, snap out of it, you psycho.
"We've seen every inch of each other. Manners my ass. Hey, Shin Ji-hye, mind if I grab some coffee?"
"No."
"Yeah, fuck off then."
Shin Ji-hye. Guild master of Yuseong Guild. First-gen hunter like me. Hell, the guild itself started from our team—named after one letter from each of our surnames.
"Don't chaebol bosses just buzz and get their secretary to bring coffee? Why's there a machine in here?"
I brewed a capsule from the million-won machine—over ten grand per cup. That's why the office coffee was the best. I'd sneak up here whenever I craved some.
"'Cause you're not my secretary. Hey, make me one too."
"Am I your bitch?"
"Not secretary, but employee. Wanna get fired?"
"That's wrongful termination. I'll report you to labor board."
"Go ahead."
"Fuck."
I grumbled but brewed one for her anyway. Shin Ji-hye was a severe caffeine addict. Hence the machine in her office.
"Here."
"...You didn't spit in it, right?"
"Busted?"
"You psycho. Brew another."
"Kidding, you crazy bitch. Just drink it."
"Tch..."
She clicked her tongue but took the coffee. I perched on her desk and checked her face. Dark circles down to her knees.
"You look beat. Something up?"
"...Gate bidding. Seongjin pricks are making it annoying."
"Guild master woes. What'd they offer?"
"Our bid's higher... but they must've bribed Hunter Association. Stirring up public opinion too."
"Classic Seongjin. Giving up?"
"No."
Typical Shin Ji-hye. No way she'd back down easy.
She clicked her tongue at the screen, set it aside, sipped her coffee, and looked at me.
"Hey, Yoo Sung."
"Yeah?"
"You really satisfied as a guide?"
"...Want my resignation?"
"Not that. Are you really content?"
Before retiring, I'd gotten offers. First-gen D-rank still carried weight. College hunter departments wanted me as prof, corporations as instructor. I could've kept hunting, but I turned them down and stayed at Yuseong.
"Yeah. Gotta stick around while I can. You trying to kick me out?"
Know your place. Imagine facing new-gen hunters as a D-rank prof or instructor in another guild. Kids who outranked me at awakening—would they listen to a mental-type D-rank?
'Hell no.' Lucky if they didn't ignore me outright. I had to stay at Yuseong.
"If you boot me, nowhere to go. No one's calling."
"......"
"That look—you really gonna fire me? Guild master, I'll brew coffee daily. Change my title to 'Coffee Machine Guy.' Please."
"Told HR to switch you to guide formally."
Her eyes narrowed. Those dark-circled eyes like that? Sexy as fuck.
'Fuck, you perv, cut it out.' My livelihood was at stake, but my dick wouldn't behave.
"Originally, thought vice-guild master."
"We don't have that."
"Then make one. I'm guild master."
"...Right, yeah. You are. But why?"
"That's what I wanna ask."
Lipstick mark on her coffee mug. Fuck...
'Stop.' Pinched my cheek.
Serious talk, and I'm like this? I'm not human, I'm an animal.
"We built this guild together. Satisfied as just a guide?"
"Yeah."
"...Why?"
"'Cause I'm D-rank."
She's S-rank. Top-tier even among them. Korea treats her like a strategic asset. One person equated to a nuke. She could probably wipe a city off the map.
"Imagine a D-rank as vice-guild master. Looks like shit. Would you join a guild like that?"
"......"
"See? Even you. So yeah, guide's fine. Oh, but pay me vice-guild master salary while guiding."
"You psycho."
She flipped me off. Yeah, that's Shin Ji-hye. Yuseong's mad dog.
"...You good at guiding?"
"What's hard? Just baby the kids a bit."
"Your ability's weird even for mental-type. Can you guide with that?"
She knew my power roughly. I knew hers.
"You know from experience... High-ranks are pretty twisted mentally. Our guild's mostly them."
"Yeah. Lots of crazies. Even some guild master I know."
"...Psycho."
Peering into desires. Mental erosion from gates. Guides ease that. Before the concept existed, I'd guided Shin Ji-hye often.
One of her desires I'd seen...
-I want to kill them all.
...Better not dwell. I'm no patriot, but seeing her want to nuke the country? Unsettling.
"Right now... Lots of S-ranks without dedicated guides. You'll probably handle them. Guiding's top secret. Last chance—are you sure?"
"Just Shin Ji-hye-level? Fine."
"...Over a hundred guides quit over them. Some hit psych wards."
First-gens like us endured hell in gates. Early Yuseong subbed for government—shit went sideways. Promised support vanished, B-rank gate turned A-rank. Shin Ji-hye wanted to raze the country each time. And she could.
"Told you, I'm good. Don't fire me."
I handled her; other S-ranks should be cake. Whine and risk getting booted from this steady paycheck gig.
"...Fine."
She reached into her desk drawer. Her leaning posture exposed her collarbone. Fucking hell... She's doing it on purpose. Makes it hotter and more frustrating.
'Agh.' Pinched my cheek.
Meanwhile, she unlocked the secure drawer and pulled out a glass vial.
"Drink this."
"What's that?"
"Imported from the US recently. Civilians caught in it saw hallucinations. Muttering about Lilith—gate's linked to her. This came from there."
"...Not some psychosis drug?"
"Not poison. Tested it. Anyway, it's tied to Lilith. Your power's Lilith's Authority. Might help. Bought it expensive. Drink."
I took the vial. Pink liquid sloshed. Unscrewed the cap—no smell.
'Lilith...'
The demon of desire. Few gates spawn demons, but the one where I awakened did. Got her authority, became a hunter. Only one worldwide awakened in a demon gate. Pure luck. Even high-ranks have shit survival odds; I walked in naked, awakened, and walked out.
'Won't kill me.'
Made me a hunter. From her gate—should be fine for me, unlike others.
I chugged the pink liquid.
"Hm."
"...How is it?"
"Tasteless. Like water? No, water has taste. No mana boost either."
Lilith's Authority
Manifests the target's desires.
"......"
"What?"
"It's Lilith shit. Got a new power."
"What this time?"
"Manifests the target's desires... What the hell?"
Manifest desires? Dangerous. If I trigger hers...
Ugh, no.
"Test it."
"How?"
"I'm here. Try."
She extended her hand.
"...Fine. You can fix it if shit hits. Gimme. Been a while since I guided Hunter Shin Ji-hye."
"Psycho."
Harsh words, but she didn't pull back. I grabbed her hand.
"...Hng."
With her low moan, I dove into her mind.
Shin Ji-hye's psyche was as I'd seen before. Standing alone amid ruins of what was once a city. Covered head to toe in human blood and flesh. Eyes still wild, unsatisfied.
I approached her mental self.
"...Hungry."
"......"
"Someone... feed me."
I stayed silent. No clue what raw talk might trigger. Instead, I gripped her shoulder.
Her ruined form seized my wrist.
Crack. Resist and it'd snap. Even knowing it was illusion, her strength felt real.
She pulled my wrist to her throat...
"Hm."
Like always, right before she forced my hand to suicide her, I cut the power.
Ruins vanished. Back to the office with its gleaming skyscrapers.
"You hungry?"
"...Huh?"
Her eyes widened. One of her desires: destruction. Her body's near-immortal. Can't even suicide. Dies, but her power revives the corpse. She'd confessed once: if the world ends, maybe then...
Such apocalypse urges from trivial shit. Mild real-world hunger/thirst amplified in her psyche.
Good thing—no corpse of mine. Serious cases showed that.
"Gimme your card. I'll grab sandwiches."
"...Ah, yeah."
She handed over a black card. I frowned and waved it off.
"Not that. Corporate card. Let's eat together."
"...Just use mine."
"That's mooching."
"Too lazy to grab another. Use it."
"Cool. Your money's my gain."
Pocketed it nicely. I'm broke; she's guild master, swimming in cash. Cookies on her dime. Mine alone.
"Italian: five pepperoni, five salami ham, onion sauce. Veggies all except olives. Right?"
"...Yeah."
"Java Chip Frappuccino, no whip, half-pump syrup, extra shot. Yeah?"
"...Yeah."
"Such a picky eater. Get mine too? You gave the card."
"...Yeah."
As I stood, she grabbed me.
"Th-that card."
"Yeah?"
"Just... my card, you..."
"Buy my own? You're loaded. Fine, I'll pay for mine."
No cookies then. Kinda bummed.
"...You can have it."
Her final mutter didn't reach my ears.