Chapter 63
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 63
Chapter Title: Exploring the Hunter Gallery
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Elise sat in front of a public computer tucked away in a corner of Union Guild's top-floor lounge.
Afternoons without missions were boring.
There was still a long time until quitting time.
She rested her chin on her hand, staring at the computer screen.
What was she looking at?
"……."
With a serious expression, she slowly tapped the keyboard into the search bar.
[Hunter Gallery.]
The online space her sister had learned about through the teacher during her first counseling session.
She knew she was popular with guys, of course…
But discovering a place brimming with such blatant, primal desire had been quite a shock to her.
So Elise occasionally popped in to browse.
Today was no different.
Without hesitation, she hit enter.
✪ Latest Guild Ranking for This Quarter [221]
Author: Anonymous | Views: 98,139 | Likes: 1156 | Comments: 221
The quarterly guild rankings from last week or so.
No changes in the top 10 guilds themselves, but some shuffling inside?
[1st][Dahae]
[2nd][Monarch]
……
[5th][Union]
[6th][Esther]
[7th][Haetae]
……
[10th][Azure Heaven Alliance]
Elise confirmed Union Guild—her guild—at 5th place and nodded.
Considering it had been 6th last quarter, it was impressive growth.
Once the internal rankings among top guilds settled, they rarely shifted, so it had been cause for celebration with a party in the guild.
Luna and Elise's performances had been key, according to intel team reports.
But Haetae Guild dropping to 7th was unexpected.
Sure, there'd been that unsavory incident recently… but it hadn't impacted their hunter strength much.
With overwhelming S-rank hunter Jin Sea and a solid lineup of A-ranks, it wasn't a ranking to lose easily.
Elise rested her chin on her hand and scrolled down.
And that curiosity… was being hotly debated in the comments.
Rescue Squad: But Haetae didn't even do anything wrong, why do they keep tanking in rankings?
They had a kidnapper from their guild, you call that doing nothing? Bought Haetae stock?
What the hell do you want me to do about it?
Ah, got it.
Average members don't matter much since it's Jin Sea carry—it's all about supporting her. New team's just worse at it?
Why'd they suddenly change the team?
No idea.
Elise tilted her head.
'They made the scrim public…'
But the reviews were bad?
Public scrim.
Recordings of mock dungeon raids within the guild, played back as replays.
Of course, key raid scrims were top secret.
But sometimes they'd release some to boost stock or show off.
From Haetae Guild's perspective, it was probably a confident reveal of their new team…
Elise hadn't watched it yet herself.
Without hesitation, she opened the video site.
[Haetae Latest Frontline Public Scrim]
At the top, under the familiar Haetae Guild logo, one video popped up.
She moved the mouse and clicked play.
Grand background music swelled, and the intro [HAETAE'S NEW FRONTIER] appeared.
The screen shifted to the backs of hunters standing at the mock dungeon entrance.
The video progressed quickly.
As always, Jin Sea's overwhelming carry.
Her lightning swept the dungeon clean.
The other team members looked like janitors cleaning up debris.
"……."
Something felt off.
The raid itself was fine… but it creaked awkwardly somewhere.
Elise immediately pulled up an old Haetae public scrim video and played it.
"……Yeah."
Definitely different.
New team vs. old team. The flow was similar.
Jin Sea's one-woman carry.
But the old team moved like a single organism centered on Jin Sea…
Whereas the new team resembled a wagon pulled by a massive horse named Jin Sea.
Elise opened both videos side by side, searching for the difference.
"Huh?"
And soon, she found it.
The old team video.
Right in the center of the front line.
A man naturally positioned between the A-rank tank and S-rank hunter.
He showed no flashy abilities or overwhelming power.
Just standing behind his comrades, gesturing simply and constantly directing with concise mouth movements.
And he was.
The teacher.
"The teacher…."
She knew he was a hunter.
And that he belonged to Haetae Guild.
But she hadn't realized he played such a crucial role.
She kept watching him in combat gear, fighting on screen.
"…He's so cool…."
She'd have to rewatch this at home.
With lingering regret, Elise closed the video and returned to the gallery.
Well, she got the gist of Haetae's ranking drop.
Probably recover once the team gels…
Not that she cared much either way.
"Next post…."
"Hunter Elise!"
"Yes?"
Just then, someone called her from outside the lounge.
It was the guild manager.
"They called about that photoshoot you did—meeting time! You should head out now…."
The swimsuit shoot from before.
Seemed they'd reached out.
Elise nodded wearily and stood.
"On my way~"
As she stepped lightly toward the lounge exit.
The door opened, and Luna entered.
Luna asked Elise,
"Where you going?"
"Oh, sis. Photoshoot meeting. Be right back."
"Okay. Have a good one."
Elise waved to her sister and vanished down the hall.
Left alone, Luna moved to sit on the lounge sofa… but spotted the brightly lit monitor.
"This girl…."
Should've turned it off.
Luna headed over to shut down the computer.
But.
[Hunter Gallery]
—She flinched.
Her outstretched hand froze at those two words on the monitor.
She glanced around cautiously.
Confirming no one else in the vast lounge.
She slowly sat down.
She'd seen it before.
No—forced to see it by Elise.
Back then, zero tolerance, passed out on the spot.
But now… maybe different.
The teacher had shown her a new world.
This could be part of the therapy, in a way.
Luna calmed her pounding heart and gripped the mouse.
She scrolled down slowly.
Then, she spotted a title she absolutely couldn't scroll past.
✪ Analysis of the Hunter Specialist Counselor Kidnapping [75]
Author: Anonymous | Views: 51,441 | Likes: 956 | Comments: 75
Everyone knows one of the new counselors got kidnapped, right?
But lots of folks only know he got rescued, no details. Let's break it down.
Suspect's Baek Si-eun from Haetae, Hestia origin, as we all know…
TL;DR… If rescue was even a bit later, it would've been game over.
Hestia's a female-dominated world to begin with…
The post's content was shocking.
Luna didn't know much about Hestia exactly.
But reading the analysis of their culture, plundering marriages custom, and abilities.
She realized the teacher had nearly crossed an irreversible line.
Luna's hand trembled on the mouse.
Pure rage.
Luna slowly scrolled through the comments.
For real? Broke up now?
Yeah, she's my owner now.
What kinda bullshit is this, you psycho?
This guy's not roleplaying. Check his post history. Really close call.
Would've felt great in a few minutes anyway.
Post?
Luna clicked the 'Xmas' ID.
His past posts scrolled up.
At first, complaints about rocky relationships.
[Xmas: Keep fighting with gf lately, sucks.]
[Xmas: Broke up. Don't date Otherworlders, guys.]
Then, at some point.
[Xmas: Tired every evening lately. What vitamins?]
[Xmas: So sleepy.]
Eventually.
[Xmas: I was the problem… Realized something lately.]
[Xmas: What's the purpose of you guys' lives as men?]
[Xmas: Know what life I wanna live now.]
[Xmas: Feeling great.]
Luna stopped reading.
Shook her head vigorously.
Yeah.
The teacher came back safe.
From now on, she'd make sure nothing like this happened again.
She had to protect the teacher.
If she could, she'd hunt down that Baek Si-eun right now…
"Hoo…."
Luna exhaled a long, hot breath.
Forcing down the boiling rage.
She moved to the next post.
✪ Elise Swimsuit Photoshoot B-Cuts Revealed [121]
Author: Armband | Views: 86,995 | Likes: 1012 | Comments: 121
(Photo)
(Photo)
There was Elise in a swimsuit.
Different from the magazine shots she'd done for the event.
Probably the B-cuts that didn't make the cut.
The reaction was explosive, as expected.
Lmao psycho
Shut up and get out of Hunter Gallery.
No man could hate this.
No man could hate it?
But the teacher was a man too…
If the teacher saw Elise like that…
"……"
'Should I do one too…?'
Luna fell deep into thought.
Not something blatantly public like that…
Just something subtle, for the teacher only…
Luna turned her head.
Remembered Elise heading out for the meeting.
The photoshoot agency had made the same offer to Luna back then.
Event-only, no need to publish, just let them shoot.
All-female staff, so comfortable—Elise had loved it.
But she'd flat-out refused.
The idea of being photographed was horrifying.
But now…
A few photos… might be okay…?
Especially teacher-exclusive ones…
"Meeting… done yet…?"
She murmured softly, standing up.