The Recruitment of the Outlaw
010-****-1234.
It wasn't a perfectly symmetrical number, but it had a certain charm to it. Still, because the digits were consecutive, it was easy to memorize. I now knew who the owner of this number was. It belonged to Yoon Jinki, a staff member at the Korea Hunter Association.
Yoon Jinki was a year younger than me, and he had such a sociable personality. While we were in the car together, he chirped away all day long. He was like a human canary. My ears felt like they were going to give out from the machine-gun fire of stories pouring out of his mouth.
Ah, why was I in the car with him? He had personally come to pick me up this morning. I didn't know the exact reason, but I could only guess in my heart that something must have gone terribly wrong with my paperwork.
“Alright, we’ve arrived!”
“You really didn’t have to go this far. It’s a bit burdensome.”
It was a strange experience, having someone open the car door for me for the first time in my life. Feeling a bit awkward, I scratched my cheek as I spoke, and Yoon Jinki smiled good-naturedly.
“Oh, come on, Hyung-nim! Don’t be like that!”
He led me toward an elevator. By the way, Hyung-nim? How long have we known each other for him to call me that? I cleared my throat and asked my newfound younger brother, who I didn't even know I had.
“So, what exactly did I fill out wrong?”
“Hmm? I don’t actually know! The Team Leader will explain it to you, so let’s go first!”
“…….”
“Nice to meet you, Awakened. I am Oh Wontaek, the Talent Management Team Leader of the Korea Hunter Association. Please, have a seat.”
The man who introduced himself as Team Leader Oh Wontaek pulled out a chair from a stark white square table and gestured for me to sit.
‘Team Leader? Not a detective squad leader?’
He had an impression that looked tough at a glance. A scar running across his face made that feeling even more pronounced. His chest was so broad he didn't look like an office worker at all. The slight tension I felt when I was with Yoon Jinki turned heavy and oppressive the moment this person named Team Leader Oh Wontaek joined us.
‘This feels exactly like that…’
Do you know about "bad cop, good cop"? Simply put, it means one person plays the role of the disciplinarian while the other plays the role of the pacifier. And as far as I could tell, the bad cop was the Team Leader, and the good cop was Yoon Jinki.
“Awakened Kim Uju!”
Startled, I lifted my head to look at Yoon Jinki, who was standing by the side. He grinned and asked,
“Would you like some coffee?”
Outside, he called me Hyung-nim, but here inside the office, he called me very formally: "Awakened Kim Uju!"
“Yes. I’ll have an iced Americano.”
I requested it iced because I wanted to drink it quickly. I wanted to drink it fast and get out of here quickly. The atmosphere here was weird. It’s possible I made a mistake on the paperwork. But do they really talk about such things in a place you have to enter via a private elevator, so secretly?
When I first filled it out, I did it in a place where people were walking around and chatting happily, didn't I? No matter how I thought about it, the vibe was strange.
‘What on earth is their motive? Asking me to come in person, and then suddenly treating me with such extreme courtesy… the whole thing feels off…’
Did they find out that I’m the Rabbit? I thought about that for a moment, but I quickly concluded that it couldn't be. The rabbit mask I use? It really only has holes for the eyes, nose, and a tiny mouth. They’re going to identify a person just by combining those? They might be suspicious, but it would be hard for them to be certain.
‘It must be that, right? Breaking the record on the 2nd floor.’
No matter how much I thought about it, that was the only thing I could think of.
“Awakened Kim Uju. It’s nothing else, but one of our staff members accidentally shredded your registration documents, so we called you to ask you to fill them out once more. We apologize for the inconvenience.”
The middle-aged man bowed his head slightly as he spoke. Ah. So that was it.
But to say that, did they really have to drag me all the way into this deep, restricted area? My guard remained up. Doubts continued to bloom. As I sat still, lost in my own thoughts,
Swish.
A sheet of paper was pushed in front of me in earnest. It was the Hunter Association registration form I had seen before. A ballpoint pen was offered next, and Yoon Jinki, who had returned just in time, brought the iced Americano I had requested.
“Do I just need to fill this out and leave?”
“If you have any questions, feel free to ask.”
No. I’m not interested in making this conversation any longer. I’m just going to handle the business and go home. After quickly downing the coffee, I immediately picked up the pen.
Actually, there wasn't much to write. First, name, gender, age, residence, phone number. I quickly filled in the list that anyone would know if they were the person in question. Then, awakening timing, awakening trait, awakening grade.
When was the awakening timing… when was it again? For now, I’ll just put about a month ago. And for the trait and grade.
“I can just write it the same as I did before, right?”
Trait: ‘Physical Enhancement’. Grade: ‘D’.
I quietly set the pen down and pushed the paper back toward Team Leader Oh Wontaek. I wanted to get up from my seat now. Even if I don't look like it, I’m a busy person today.
“Then, I’ll be going now.”
I tried to stand up as naturally as a salmon swimming upstream, but—
“Uh…”
“Ah…”
Sounds of hesitation burst out from both sides, as if they wanted to say something immediately but were choosing their words. No. I have nothing more to hear. I paused for a moment, then stood up and started to walk away, but—
“Awakened Kim Uju!”
Team Leader Oh Wontaek’s voice, filled with resolve, caught my ankles once again.
“There are many Awakened who are reluctant to reveal their abilities. We fully understand that. Since it’s impossible to use abilities in reality, if you have a powerful trait, there is a possibility of being harmed by people with malicious intent. If you don’t want to reveal it, you can just keep it covered up like this!”
His voice was filled with conviction, without a hint of hesitation. Ah. This is 100% because they saw my 3rd place record on the 2nd floor, right? Or maybe not? Perhaps they’re doing this because they saw my trait listed as ‘Physical Enhancement’.
Some of the gossiping people who saw me in the special floors spread rumors that the rookie Kim Uju’s main weapon was a light bowgun. And since my trait is Physical Enhancement, using a light bowgun as a main weapon is like a kickboxer fighting only with their fists. Physical Enhancement = Gauntlets. It’s like a formula you just have to memorize. To think I overlooked that.
I had written down the same content as before to get out of here quickly, and it had brought this trouble upon me.
‘But…’
Before answering, I scanned their eyes to quickly grasp the atmosphere.
‘Why are their eyes so desperate?’
I just saw the desperate look of a golden retriever who had its snack stolen, hidden behind the face of a tiger. I should have just avoided eye contact and answered at my own pace. As I met their gazes, my head felt even more complicated.
As I sat there for a moment, Team Leader Oh Wontaek continued.
“However, we would like you to act for the national interest!”
National interest, huh. The Team Leader was suddenly talking about the interest of the nation, not individual profit.
“When you say national interest, does that mean you want me to formally join the Association and work for you?”
Recently, the topic of ‘Guilds’ had started to emerge, led by the United States. The Hunter Associations of each country were trying to block the creation of individual guilds and instead act as the main body, operating like a giant guild themselves. It was a topic that started appearing frequently in the news, so it was a fact that not only I, but even young children who didn't know much about the world, were starting to understand.
Perhaps the ‘national interest’ Team Leader Oh Wontaek was talking about was, in the end, just telling me to join the Association and do as they say, right? I really want to decline. I asked with the intention of refusing.
“No. Of course, the mainstream opinion of the Association is currently leaning that way, but we think a little differently.”
A negative answer, not an affirmative one, came back. I sat back down, thinking I should listen a bit more. I kept one leg pulled out toward the exit so I could jump up and leave without regret if things felt undeniably strange.
“We intend to sign contracts with Awakened and form a TF team.”
“A TF team?”
However, what I heard next was something completely unexpected. A TF team? A TF team usually refers to a team formed by gathering experts to solve a specific problem. But isn't the characteristic that it is operated on a ‘short-term’ basis?
“Yes. Like climbing the highest floors in the country, or being active in special floors, or concentrating on supplying necessary items to enchanters, and so on.”
Hmm. Does it feel like a team where short-term goals are continuously updated? By the way.
“You have multiple goals?”
“Since the maximum number of people for entering the Tower, excluding special floors, is 5, it can’t be helped. There are only two purposes for creating a TF team. The first is to prevent the brain drain of Korea’s talent, and the second is to distribute power.”
“Distribute power?”
“To explain it simply, it’s like the separation of powers.”
Perhaps realizing that I was willing to listen, the Team Leader tore a memo pad from the side and scribbled on it. He drew three roughly shaped ovals.
“Just like the democratic principle of dividing national power into legislative, executive, and judicial branches to check each other, we intend to divide power among the Association, the Awakened, and the Enchanters in this ecosystem to check each other. That way, the concentration of power can be prevented, and everyone’s freedom and rights can be protected. If too much power is concentrated on one side, eventually, the dictatorship of that one side begins, doesn't it?”
“And part of that method is…”
“Yes. This is it.”
A new sheet of paper was pushed over the memo with the three circles drawn on it. The stack of A4 paper, stapled at the top left, boasted a fairly thick thickness, and on the very top of the first page, the word "Contract" was proudly displaying its large, neat form.
“A contract?”
“Yes. A contract.”
“In other words, I wouldn't be working as an Association affiliate, but would remain only in a contractual relationship? And the reason is to prevent brain drain while maintaining the balance of the ecosystem?”
“You’re quick to understand, as expected. You can understand it in that context.”
“But aren't you and Yoon Jinki strictly affiliated with the Association? Is it okay to just proceed with work like this while ignoring the mainstream opinion?”
Proceeding with work while ignoring the mainstream opinion at a company? Wouldn't that be impossible unless you had some serious guts? Or unless the person pushing the work is the Chairman’s own child. I couldn't grasp their intentions.
I looked back and forth between the Team Leader and Yoon Jinki, but their expressions didn't change, as if they had already coordinated everything they were going to say.
“You don’t have to think about it in a complicated way. Just as there are ruling and opposition parties in politics, we are such existences. However, the number of people who share our will is small… so we are trying to slowly build our strength, even if it’s weak.”
I see. Now I understood why they were holding me back and explaining things in such detail. Since the number of people who shared their will within the Association was small, it seemed they were trying to attract Awakened to build their power. After all, the actual power of the Korea Hunter Association comes from the Enchanters and Awakened who move around and do the legwork, not the people doing desk jobs.
It’s notorious that the Korea Hunter Association is full of problems. Because of that, the fact that even a few such people exist is something that makes me feel reassured. But I wasn't naive enough to believe everything they said at face value.
“No, did you get dust in your eyes?”
Frustrated, I blinked habitually, and Yoon Jinki, who had been maintaining a business smile on his face, finally asked me with a worried expression.
‘Ah, right. This doesn't work in reality, does it?’
Skill: ‘Hawk’s Eye’. It’s a skill that helps you see the current psychological state when used on people, and the reverse scale (weakness) when used on boss monsters, although it is said to be a status window when you blink your eyes twice quickly. A leaky pot leaks outside just as it leaks inside. I had habitually used it whenever I felt frustrated inside the Tower, and it appeared unconsciously like this in reality.
But.
Huh? Why is this popping up?