Chapter 108
Chapter 108
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 108
Chapter Title: First Public Party
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"Ah, and your first hunt will be in a public party."
"Pardon?"
Such a casual tone paired with such shocking content.
Jeong-hyeon was startled by Nam-sik's words and asked back.
"A public party? Is that really okay?"
"Yes. You can't hunt only with people you know or friendly faces forever."
"Still..."
"We'll issue you a disguised hunter ID."
Then Nam-sik brought his hand to his face toward Ji-hee and mouthed the words.
A shock therapy session once in a while might be good.
'Hmm...'
Shock therapy.
He could understand why Nam-sik thought that.
But was it really the right thing for Ji-hee's current state?
'Something that has to be done eventually, I suppose.'
"I-I'm fine with it."
At that moment, a small voice reached Jeong-hyeon's hesitating ears.
It was Ji-hee.
He hadn't expected her to agree to a public party, which made it all the more surprising.
He had assumed it was just the Association pushing it unilaterally.
"Someday... we'll have to do it anyway..."
She added in a mumbling voice so faint he had to concentrate to hear it.
He didn't know if this had been discussed with her beforehand, but if the person involved said she was okay, it felt odd for him to object.
That didn't mean his worries vanished completely.
"Alright for now. But with a public party..."
Jeong-hyeon trailed off.
Nam-sik could guess what came next and nodded.
"Of course, if you submit the participant list to the Association, we'll review and confirm it."
Ji-hee was S-Rank, but mentally unstable.
If a villain or troublemaker slipped in, it could lead to an irreversible situation.
She was already anxious about gates and monsters; trauma from a hunter would be the last straw.
Jeong-hyeon's worries didn't fully disappear, but what could he do when they were going this far?
"Fine. I'll gather the party then."
"Thank you. Ah, could Hunter Choi Ji-hee head to the operations room first?"
This wrapped up the general meeting.
All that remained was to head out once the party was complete.
As Nam-sik spoke with a smile, Ji-hee nodded once and rose from her seat to leave.
"Anything you want to say?"
Sending Ji-hee ahead first meant Nam-sik still had words for Jeong-hyeon.
Jeong-hyeon asked first.
Nam-sik, who had been smiling brightly until now, straightened his expression.
"There are precautions to mention before the hunt."
"Precautions?"
Precautions?
His head was already throbbing from everything discussed, and now this?
If there were such things, they should have been mentioned sooner.
Still, he had to hear the info, so Jeong-hyeon waited quietly for Nam-sik to speak.
"When Hunter Choi Ji-hee uses magic... stay far away."
"......?"
"Her magic is still unstable. Whether it's a control issue or the trait hasn't stabilized yet isn't clear, but sometimes... it affects allies near the enemy."
The silence after 'sometimes' felt ominously heavy.
'What the f... Sigh.'
Jeong-hyeon barely suppressed a curse.
What good would getting angry do?
'Yeah, just avoid it.'
"Let's pretend it never happened."
"We already signed the contract."
"I'll pay the penalty."
"You meet Hunter Choi Ji-hee and then act so heartlessly..."
"......"
"She'd be devastated if her partner bailed now... Though you won't see it yourself, so no big deal."
'Damn... damn it...!'
Nam-sik kept stabbing at Jeong-hyeon's conscience with an expression like he bore the world's misfortunes alone.
In the end, Jeong-hyeon surrendered.
"...I'll be careful."
"Thank you! As expected of Hunter Han Jeong-hyeon! Shaking up the Association!"
"But let's check the measurement room first."
"Ah, of course. Right away."
As the one gathering the party, he couldn't skip verifying before the hunt.
Nam-sik told him to head to the measurement room first and bounded out with a grin.
Soon after, the three reconvened in the measurement room.
Whether Nam-sik had warned her ahead, Ji-hee's face was flushed red as she stood before the monster.
The summoned monster was A-Rank Level 3.
The highest level measurable with the room's equipment.
'They even have monsters like that?'
Jeong-hyeon widened his eyes at the manifested monster.
The highest he'd measured before was B-Rank Level 5 at Jeongjin Guild.
He'd thought B-Rank 5 and A-Rank 3 were comparable, so he hadn't bothered lately, but this monster tier was different.
Three gargoyles and one Death Knight.
All known as Level 6 gate monsters.
The measurement system wasn't designed assuming full clears, so even A-Rank 3 was beyond them.
'Definitely unstable.'
Jeong-hyeon shifted his gaze from the monster to Ji-hee and nodded.
Even as a holographic simulation, her anxiety dripped from her back alone.
He wondered if she could cast properly like that.
"Ugh..."
Sure enough, with the monster right in front, Ji-hee squeezed her eyes shut and groaned, unable to respond properly.
Jeong-hyeon couldn't fathom why Nam-sik set it to A-Rank 3.
Common Level 4 gate monsters would have been better.
But Nam-sik didn't seem concerned.
'He must have something up his sleeve.'
No injury risk anyway.
As Jeong-hyeon decided to watch longer, the monsters moved first.
Gargoyles flapped low, Death Knight drew its sword and stepped forward.
The narrow room meant the next move would put her in attack range.
'This is bad.'
She was prey before a predator.
No need for Thought Acceleration or senses; the outcome was predictable.
As monsters closed in, Ji-hee's trembling worsened.
The moment Jeong-hyeon opened his mouth to suggest lowering difficulty—
Roooaaar—
The measurement ended in an instant.
- Against same rank and level, your percentile is top 1% or higher.
'Total cheat.'
That was Jeong-hyeon's honest impression of Ji-hee's magic.
***
"The world is chaos~ The world is unfair~."
Days later, Jeong-hyeon hummed as he posted on Hunter Net.
EX-Rank?
Who cares, give it to the dogs.
EX my ass; S-Rank was king.
Someday he'd carry multiple S-Ranks?
"Yeah~ One 'Lord of Fire' does it all."
What good were multiples?
He was barely padded with C-Ranks now, and S-Ranks were unpredictable.
Hunting with one S-Rank would be far comfier on average.
Ji-hee's trait he'd witnessed was a cheat among cheats.
Level 4, unstable, yet that power.
Other ranks couldn't survive such injustice.
Nam-sik said it drained mental strength excessively relative to power, low efficiency, quick fatigue—but who cared?
Long fights would be worse.
Of course, seeing Ji-hee collapse panting after pity was felt.
Otherwise, he'd have canceled for money and conscience.
'Tch, contract's done, so gotta do it.'
Grumbling, his goal for Ji-hee was simple.
Keep her from being overwhelmed by her trait.
Whether possible remained to be seen.
Anyway, his post was done.
- [Level 4] Recruiting 4 for 'Mid-Low Distorted Spirit Lake'.
Have agility specialist and fire mage. Need 1 healer, 1 magic enchanter, 1 tank mandatory; last spot flexible. Message if interested. Hunt in 3 days.
"Heh heh."
Jeong-hyeon grinned darkly after posting.
Half-forced Choi Ji-hee growth project, but he gained too.
Like this gate: 'Mid-Low Distorted Spirit Lake'.
When Nam-sik asked preferred gate, he picked this without hesitation.
Eat expensive on someone else's dime; same for gates.
Even with Association help, spirit gates meant waiting days—but worth it.
Jeong-hyeon, who farmed Levels 4-5 routinely, never hunted Spirit Lake.
'Need an opening to hunt or sightsee.'
Spirits require magic enchanters to hunt.
With one, it's top efficiency vs. other monsters.
Simple: Fixed full parties only, ultra-popular spot.
Even complete parties booked solid; public slots rare.
Rare openings filled instantly; busy Jeong-hyeon never got chances.
- R R R R...
In short, 3 public slots now was lotto for hunters.
Notifications blared; over 10 messages instantly.
Essential roles filled already; he pulled the post.
"Okay. Applications closed."
Just needed a decent party; no other agenda.
Disguised ID or not, too much aggro on Hunter Net was bad.
He scraped applicant info and sent to Nam-sik.
Needed to filter hidden villains or hunt-disruptors early.
Nam-sik replied fast, on standby.
- No matches on our known risk list. Still, stay vigilant.
"Yeah, risks aren't neighborhood dogs."
Formal check; Jeong-hyeon shrugged it off.
Villains usually formed own parties to pick prey, rarely joined others.
Post-penalty system like Kwak Chae-jun's, most operated underground.
No need for traceable Hunter Net.
Troublemakers filtered by ratings.
"Magic enchanter only this one, good. Healer high-rated... Hm."
Rare roles like enchanter and healer decided quick.
Left: abundant tanks and flex spot.
Spirit spots drew high-rank apps.
'Three B-Ranks... One A? Rest C, D.'
Safety: A and B-Ranks.
But Jeong-hyeon shook head.
'High-ranks might spot our disguise.'
Hunt itself didn't matter who joined.
He alone sufficed.
This was for Ji-hee's social growth and trait stability clues.
High-rank spotting oddity from her? Trouble.
His life was disguise; hers overexerting would draw eyes.
"Alright, low-ranks it is."
Final: C and D-Ranks.
Her B-Rank Level 4 fire trait.
B-Ranks acted like that; it'd pass easy.