Chapter 016
[Chapter 016]
< Undervaluation >
When I was a rookie at the Bureau.
My first task was to organize the report on the results of safety tests for supplies.
A sequence of boring data spanning hundreds of pages.
Most of my peers regarded that task as miscellaneous work to kill time.
“Company A’s premium mana potion, perfectly fine on specs. 98% recovery rate and residual amount also below standard. But why is the field return rate uniquely high?”
I scrolled down and displayed the equipment feedback reports written by field agents.
Feeling bloated after consumption.
The throat sensation is stiff when drinking in a hurry, etc.
They were minor complaints that analysts ignored and passed over.
“Wait, when drinking in a hurry?”
I displayed Company A’s potion ingredient list and the ingredient list of Company B, a nameless small-to-medium enterprise, side by side.
Company B’s potion was slightly lower than Company A in all values on specs.
“Company B’s potion has a very small amount of salamander mucus added as a stabilizer, whereas Company A’s potion... doesn't.”
In the middle of combat, which hunter would savor a potion while drinking it.
Most pour it down the bottle while their breath is up to their chin.
Company A’s potion had no stabilizer, so if drunk in a hurry, the mana absorption rate dropped instantaneously and backflowed, making the stomach bloated, whereas Company B’s potion had a smooth throat sensation and a consistent absorption rate thanks to the mucus component.
“Then this would be more suitable.”
Data only has meaning when considering the people using it and the field, and a minute difference could be discovered.
There was a pleasure to be gained there.
Just because it was expensive didn't mean it was a good potion, and among them, there were hidden pearls.
Potion.
It might seem like nothing, but there is no disagreement that it is an item directly linked to a hunter's life.
During my 3rd year.
I created a proposal for a more efficient and safe supply list.
It was rejected every time.
The higher-ups even sneered, asking if I had an illicit relationship with an unverified small-to-medium enterprise.
The year I reached my 5th year.
An opportunity came.
‘Representative Kang Tae-jun of the National Defense Committee visiting the Bureau field.’
He was a heavyweight politician famous for his deep understanding of the Tower and Hunters, but also notorious for being meticulous.
‘Is there a chance this person would see this?’
My supply improvement report which had been rejected countless times.
I placed it naturally on the desk as if I had just been reading it.
And luckily, while Representative Kang Tae-jun was looking around the field, his gaze was fixed on the pile of reports on my desk.
“What is this?”
“Ah, it's nothing much. It's just materials I've organized personally.”
I replied as if it were not a big deal on purpose, while making a gesture to slightly clear the report.
That action seemed to pique his curiosity even more.
“Let me take a look.”
Kang Tae-jun picked up the report and began to read it meticulously on the spot.
I felt his gaze moving between the data I had analyzed while underlining and the field feedback part.
After a moment, he closed the report and looked at me, saying.
“Why is this report not being implemented yet? Just implementing this would have a budget-saving effect of billions. Who is the person in charge?”
That afternoon, my proposal was passed in an orderly fashion.
Of course, Park Jin-soo was displeased that I ‘luckily caught the eye’ of an external power, and after that, he always nagged me saying I was doing useless things, but.
“10% reduction in cost... the cost of settling this accident and the compensation to be paid to the guilds will be ten times more than the money saved by that.”
“Would that guy know that. He's only blind to the results before his eyes.”
The Hunter Management Bureau is different from a normal company.
Our mistakes lead directly to someone's death.
Because a faulty potion creates a situation similar to a soldier running out of bullets on the battlefield.
If that fear spreads to other team members, teamwork collapses, and eventually leads to the worst butterfly effect of total annihilation.
It was the reason I meticulously took care of the supplies.
But I am no longer a Bureau person.
It's none of my business.
No, is it really none of my business?
There are still people here who silently keep their places, like Hunter Lee Seok-ju or Old Man No.
“Old Man No.”
“Hmm?”
“Do you really have to be at the Bureau?”
I know well what the meaning of working at the Bureau is for Old Man No.
The grief of losing his wife, the guilt of not being able to protect her.
The place where he endured for 20 years while embracing all that.
For Old Man No, the Bureau had a meaning beyond a job.
He didn't speak for a moment at my question, then took a cigarette into his mouth while looking far away.
“You know too. That I’m not an Awakener.”
“I know.”
Old Man No is not an Awakener.
That was the reason he stayed at the rank of 'Ban-jang' (Old Man No) even after working at the Bureau for 20 years.
But everyone knew the fact that his physical ability was trained enough to be discussed as a hunter.
20 years of field life had tempered his body like steel.
The term "seasoned veteran" was exactly for Old Man No.
“This is my place. I've worked thinking this is where I should be. It's a meaning beyond work.”
“....”
“I want to protect as much as possible, so that no one helplessly loses a precious person like me, and so that even one more person can be safe behind this shield. That is my atonement and the reason for my life.”
I couldn't say anything more before Old Man No's firm conviction.
But the doubt in my heart did not vanish.
“But... does blocking Rifts and protecting people necessarily have to be the Bureau?”
“Hmm?”
“Isn't the current Bureau in a state where it's better not to do it. If a guild operated by a corporation created a dedicated team, wouldn't they do much better than now?”
“...That's true. The capital power alone is different. But the Bureau is strongly blocking that, right? Since the government effectively gave the Bureau the monopoly on Rift response authority for the sake of the Bureau's existence.”
As Old Man No said, responding to Rifts is a job only for the Bureau.
It was a great principle that could not be changed, enacted by the government when Rifts first appeared and the world fell into chaos.
‘The control and management of all dimensional Rifts occurring within the territory of the Republic of Korea shall be performed only by the National Hunter Management Bureau, a state-direct organization.’
It was a law created under the pretext of prioritizing the safety of the citizens.
“Honestly speaking, the Bureau is rotten now. Looking at how a talent like Manager Jang was kicked out and a guy like Park Jin-soo is wearing an armband and acting up.”
Old Man No said while putting out the cigarette.
“Then Old Man No, if other guilds also manage Rifts, wouldn't you not necessarily have to be at the Bureau?”
“But such a thing is impossible, right? Unless the Bureau collapses overnight, would they let their rice bowl be taken? It's thanks to that monopoly authority that this place is maintaining its existence... Is there an S-Rank Hunter, or what? The existing A-Rank Hunters are all guys busy visiting the Blue House and playing politics.”
Old Man No smiled bitterly.
“But why do you say such a thing?”
“No, I just thought you’d do much better working elsewhere, Old Man No.”
“Manager Jang is also silly. There's no way such a thing would happen.”
He patted my shoulder, offering silent comfort.
* * *
In front of the old country house gate.
Kim Min-jun had been battling mosquitoes for five hours.
‘Make sure to meet Jang Kang-hyun.’
He came here blindly at Shin Seung-ah’s order.
He analyzed the miraculous recovery news of Hunter Lee Seok-ju and all the data of related individuals.
And he reached the conclusion that at the center of that miracle is an E-Class Hunter named Jang Kang-hyun who was recently laid off from the Bureau.
‘Right now, it's the only clue to solve Hunter Yu Jin-hyuk’s treatment.’
“By the address, it's here.”
“Are you looking for the young man here?”
“Pardon?”
It was the old lady next door.
“Ah, yes! The person who looks like this lives here, right?”
Kim Min-jun showed a photo of Jang Kang-hyun from his Bureau days.
The old lady stared at the photo for a long time, then went away after looking at him with a mysterious gaze that was neither affirmation nor denial.
‘It seems this is the place.’
But for some reason, the owner of the house was not returning.
He was just about to get bored waiting until sunset for someone he didn't know when they’d return.
‘I did process the urgent matters before coming, but did I miss anything?’
He was sitting crouched and working on his phone.
But the gaze peeking at Kim Min-jun from next door was stinging.
‘And this house, something is strange.’
In the garden, potato stems that looked ordinary on the surface were growing thick.
However, in an ordinary potato garden, the life energy should head underground, but it was rather extending vigorously toward the stems and leaves.
‘And it's faint, but I can clearly feel it.’
At the ends of those stems, the remnants of mana clearly remained.
And since a while ago, that mound of soil... seemed to be squirming.
Is it a bug?
No, something was clearly alive and moving.
Something under the ground.
“....”
In the moment he was about to approach the mound of soil as if possessed.
Vroom!
The sound of a car entering the village entrance was heard.
It was Jang Kang-hyun.
“!”
Kim Min-jun quickly hid behind the car, then approached after confirming Kang-hyun went into the house after getting out of the car.
Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the door politely.
“Nice to meet you. Mr. Jang Kang-hyun.”
“Who are you?”
The door opened, and Jang Kang-hyun, whom he had only seen in photos, appeared.
Kim Min-jun scanned the opponent inwardly.
‘He said he was E-Class.’
An ordinary T-shirt and work pants.
His body was slim, closer to an ordinary rural youth than a hunter.
“I am Manager Kim Min-jun of the Hunter Management Team at MK Sphere, Future Group.”
“...What brings someone from MK all the way here?”
Strangely, he didn't look very surprised to see Kim Min-jun.
The way he accepted the business card was calm, and there was no sign of feeling unpleasant toward an uninvited guest who suddenly visited.
‘Did he know I was coming?’
It was to the point of having such an illusion.
“We are conducting unofficial scout offers from our guild targeting talented individuals who recently retired from the Bureau. In particular, we were keeping an eye on someone like you, Mr. Jang Kang-hyun, who has an outstanding career in field support and supply management.”
“...Pardon?”
Kang-hyun stared at Kim Min-jun with a face that purely didn't know.
“Me, who was an E-Class?”
“We at MK do not judge potential by rank alone. Rather, we value more the people who silently fulfill their roles in invisible places. I came to visit to ask if you could act as a consultant for our guild's supply system in an unofficial advisory role.”
Kang-hyun was lost in thought for a moment at Kim Min-jun’s words.
“Well, I don't think it's just that.”
“Pardon?”
Kim Min-jun was momentarily flustered.
He thought he was an ordinary youth from an E-Class background, but the atmosphere was unusual.
The calm eyes seemed to be piercing through all his intentions.
“I know well that my ability is not at that level. If there's another reason, it seems it would be easier to talk if you speak honestly.”
“That....”
At Kang-hyun's directness, Kim Min-jun faltered and dropped his documents.
He tried to bend down to pick them up immediately, but Kang-hyun was faster.
“...Seeing that you even prepared a contract, it seems you had something more than a simple advisory role for me in mind today.”
“!”
Cold sweat flowed down Kim Min-jun’s back.
The contract was a hidden card Kim Min-jun packed just in case.
If Kang-hyun turned out to be a more great person than expected, it was to enter into a contract with legal binding force regarding confidentiality and exclusive cooperation on the spot.
Kang-hyun was a free person without a belonging after just being cut from the Bureau.
Since it wouldn't be strange if another guild took him right away, holding out a contract wasn't an unusual thing.
‘Of course, it was a last resort to be brought out only when there was conviction that he was worth that much.’
One couldn't simply recruit him just because he had a clue to Yu Jin-hyuk’s treatment.
A judgment had to be made that he was a person who could receive the high salary of MK Sphere.
And since he had paid attention so that not even the front, let alone the edge of the document, was visible, the content was not exposed.
“Haha, w-what do you mean? It's just ordinary documents.”
“These documents, they're not ordinary paper on the surface, right? Seeing that there's not a single contamination even though they fell on the ground- they must be special paper that prevents forgery with a visible but minute mana pattern. Isn't this a special contract used only by the MK legal team because the paper is quite expensive?”
A person from the Bureau knows even such things?
Struck to the core, Kim Min-jun could not hide his expression.
‘...I’m caught.’
Jang Kang-hyun, he was not just anyone.
< Undervaluation > END