Substitute
After that day's incident with the substitute gig, Cha Yaeun's daily life had changed quite a bit.
"Kids, I got a skill! I'm finally graduating from F-rank!"
"What? For real?!"
"Sis, seriously?!"
They say the ground hardens after the rain. It felt like just yesterday that she'd been thinking how she'd quit porter work in a heartbeat if she could, it was so exhausting. But if you don't give up, light eventually shines through—just like that, Cha Yaeun's path had opened up.
Was it the experience from that last incident turning into actual growth? She'd succeeded in a proper awakening, not some half-baked one, and awakened her skill.
"Sis, what skill is it?"
"Active type? Or passive?"
Her siblings peppered her with questions, excited as if it were their own big news.
"It's on the passive side... called Growth Acceleration."
Cha Yaeun calmed her thrilled siblings as she explained. Since things had come to this, she might as well go full late-bloomer potential. True to that wish, the skill she'd awakened was a passive type that boosted growth.
It wouldn't spit flames from her hands or unleash sword auras right away, but it was a high-ceiling skill that let her grow bigger and bigger over time. Her growth trajectory and potential had widened dramatically, making it one of those skills highly rated in the industry.
The only catch? It didn't make her dramatically stronger overnight. With support, that wouldn't be an issue, but without it, she'd have to grind her way up to get on track. That's why most people with this kind of skill joined guilds—they valued it highly, expected her to become an ace, and provided backing.
The problem was—
"Whoa... so does that mean you're joining a guild now and becoming a promising rookie, sis?"
"Hmm, not sure yet."
"What? Why? Oh, you aiming for the Association? Being a government hunter's pretty good too!"
"It's not that..."
Cha Yaeun was agonizing over her career path.
Being a hunter meant brushing up close to death. She'd known that intellectually, but the last incident had drilled it into her bones with brutal intensity. Awakening or no, was it really time to quit for good?
She'd just gotten lucky surviving an A-rank international wanted villain. There was no guarantee that luck would hold forever. Even if decent jobs to cover living expenses, hospital bills, and her siblings' tuition were scarce, what if she ended up dead?
Death scared her, and she worried even more about the family she'd leave behind.
Now that my skill's awakened and my body's tougher... maybe I could become the queen of manual labor, empress of loading docks...
She was seriously contemplating quitting the hunter life.
But at the same time, another thought crossed her mind. Hadn't it appeared in Lebalheonda, her absolute favorite that she'd come to revere like the Bible even more after that incident?
A world where you could get dragged into danger even outside gates. It wasn't wrong. Gate predictions had gotten pretty precise, but people still got caught off-guard by ones popping up out of nowhere all the time. Her own family had been victims of just such a gate disaster.
When that happened, without "power," she'd just be powerless to cry again. Thinking that way made her question if passing up this rare chance to get stronger was really the right call.
Should I chase power like the protagonist Kim Min, to protect my family?
Before, she'd wanted to but couldn't. Now, opportunity had knocked. So Cha Yaeun was torn.
She couldn't bring herself to burden her siblings with her worries, so instead of spilling the truth, she deflected: "Well, support isn't free, right? They'll expect a return on that investment. Kinda feels burdensome."
Her siblings nodded, seeing the logic.
"True... better to build up some specs first before joining a guild or wherever—better treatment that way than taking handouts from the start."
"Yeah. No need to rush, sis. But personally, I'd love if you took the support and finally took it easy."
Cha Yaeun smiled, promised to think it over carefully, and wrapped up the talk. To celebrate the skill awakening, they ordered two chickens that night and enjoyed some family time.
If only Mom and Dad were here... she thought wistfully. But worries aside, the next day she headed out for porter duty.
Skill or F-rank graduation, she couldn't jump straight into combat jobs. She was still deciding, and money was needed no matter what path she chose. So Cha Yaeun slung on her gear bag and trailed after hunters as usual.
Then came the call.
"Huh? A substitute gig out of nowhere...?"
"Sorry! Really sorry! Please, Yaeun, save this old man's ass! The penalty fee if we bail is brutal..."
A frantic call from her usual manpower agency. The porter scheduled for a gate dive in 30 minutes had been rushed to the ER with stomach pains. He'd scarfed down some sketchy fermented crab out of pity and ended up with vicious food poisoning, the manager groaned, forehead in hand.
Given the urgency, they'd double the pay if she'd fill the gap. Cha Yaeun let out a sigh.
Hunter's body is their asset. She'd been pushing hard lately and planned to rest today, looking after her siblings.
But turning him down feels bad too.
These were unit contracts—if they flaked, it dinged their credit. Bad agency rep hurt the porters too. The manager knew her tough spot and treated her like a daughter in a good way, so...
"Got it."
She accepted. Relief flooded through the phone.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you, Yaeun. Everyone else was refusing, I was freaking out..."
That raised a question. She could chalk it up to wanting a rest day, but why had the other porters turned it down? Double pay and a favor owed to the boss—prime gig. Tight timing sure, but surely someone would cab over for one call.
"Exactly! They beg for high-pay jobs usually, but when I offer, they bail— ahem. Anyway, they all say it's fishy or whatever."
"Hmm...?"
As she packed her gear, Cha Yaeun asked who the client was that had everyone calling it fishy.
"You know Crimson Guild's tackling that Red Gate this time? They need extra miners for mana stones while the guild members raid."
"Cr-Crimson Guild...?"
She flinched. Her brain flashed to the webnovel she was practically worshipping lately: the latest episodes of Lebalheonda.
Guild. Hidden piece. Scheme.
Now she got why the other temps had passed and it trickled down to her on her day off.
Lebalheonda was blowing up among F-rank hunters lately. Cheap, readable anywhere—perfect for webnovel junkies like her, and there were plenty of low-rankers like that. No wonder it topped the charts and hooked them.
And that's why everyone found it suspicious and bailed.
...Should I back out now?
Cha Yaeun felt the same urge, her conflict deepening. But explaining why she'd suddenly bail? No way.
Just the last incident—telling the truth got her weird looks from the Association agent. Embarrassing, and even she thought it sounded ridiculous. Promising to do it because it overlapped weirdly with the novel, then flaking? Absurd, and how would the manager feel?
It'll be fine. Unlike Steel Guild in the story, Crimson has a good rep.
The novel was just a novel. Shoving down her unease, she grabbed her stuff and rushed to the rendezvous.
"Kim Ilgu? Kim Ilgu?"
Headcount before gate entry. At the Crimson Guild staffer's call from the list, Cha Yaeun shot up her hand.
"Here!"
Kim Ilgu—the porter who'd eaten bad crab, landed in the ER, and forced her into this sub gig.
"Kim Ilgu...?"
A young woman, barely mid-20s, claiming to be Kim Ilgu? The name screamed middle-aged coffee-and-smokes uncle vibe, yet out pops a blooming flower of a girl? The staffer looked baffled, so Cha Yaeun explained.
"Ah."
The Crimson Guild staffer nodded.
"Heard about it. You're the sub?"
"Yes. The original guy got food poisoning and hit the ER."
"We don't care as long as the manpower's filled, but you sure? It's not basic support—it's mana stone mining."
Gates yielded two kinds of stones: mana cores from monsters, and mana stones from the environment. Mana clumped in living things became cores; saturated in the surroundings, it crystallized into stones. Cores had higher purity and density, but mana stones weren't trash—industry needed volume over quality sometimes, like for power plants.
Mana stones only from high-rank gates rich enough for crystallization. Cha Yaeun, who'd stuck to Green Gates, had little experience. Big guilds rolling mining teams mid-raid wasn't rare.
And mining meant actual pickaxe grunt work—brutal. But now? No problem for her.
Before, she'd prioritized safety and lacked specs for mining, sticking to porter. But with a full awakening? She was confident.
Safety... should be fine too, right?
She said yes. The staffer scratched his head, looking doubtful, but nodded—no choice with dive in under 10 minutes.
"No issues, please."
"Got it."
Cha Yaeun replied brightly. And so began Crimson Guild's Red Gate raid.
It'll be fine, right?
Praying for a smooth end, Cha Yaeun followed the others into the rippling gate.