The Scout's Rude Awakening
Yang Jongchan, the HR team leader, was in charge of gate management for the MNL Guild. In truth, being a gate manager was a miserable job—sweltering in the summer and freezing in the winter. Since there was no electricity in the makeshift shacks, there were clear limits to how much cooling or heating could be done. Yet, surprisingly, gate management was a position many people coveted. If you just sat there and killed time, you could easily pull in three million won a month. It was pocket change to hunters, but for an ordinary person, it was by no means a small sum.
However, there was a bigger reason. Namely:
"Heh heh heh, what do you mean the entry fee is 200,000 won?"
It was the kickbacks he pocketed by inflating the entry fees. Park Jongcheol—no, Yang Jongchan—thought back to Cheon Yooshin, who had just gone inside. The guy had brought a hunter license that was so fresh the ink hadn't even dried yet. He’d become a hunter today, only to stupidly show up wanting to enter a gate alone. So, Jongchan had quoted him a price much higher than the standard 100,000 won entry fee. A whopping double: 200,000 won.
The clueless kid had grumbled but handed over the 200,000 won without a fight, and half of that had gone straight into his own pocket. Even if the kid complained later, it wouldn't matter. The records would clearly show he had paid 100,000 won.
'Heh heh heh. Anyway, what should I eat for dinner?'
He was lost in a happy daydream about his free money when the red-lighted gate began to vibrate.
"Huh?"
Jongchan’s eyes widened. A vibration meant that—
"Wait, there aren't even many monsters left?"
It meant the gate had been cleared.
"W-what is this?"
Jongchan quickly checked the entry log. Forty-five minutes since he went in. Why? How? As if he couldn't comprehend it, Jongchan asked in a trembling voice.
"You... did you become a hunter today?"
"That's right."
"And this is your first time entering a gate, right?"
"That's right."
"And your rank is E-rank, correct?"
"So what?"
Even though the gate had been partially cleared, lowering the difficulty, it wasn't as if there were only one or two goblins inside. Novice hunters usually ended up running for their lives and crawling back out of the gate in a panic. But he’d cleared the gate on his first entry? And in less than an hour?
While rank symbolized a hunter's strength, it wasn't absolute. There had been cases where an E-rank hunter who had trained in kendo for decades defeated a D-rank hunter. So, if there was potential, even an E-rank hunter could be treated well enough.
The look in Jongchan’s eyes, which had been dismissive of Cheon Yooshin just moments ago, changed in an instant. He pulled something out of his desk drawer and handed it to Yooshin. It was a pamphlet outlining the benefits of joining the guild—a promotional brochure of sorts. What stood out most was, of course:
'Free entry fees... that’s not bad.'
But for Yooshin, who had already tasted the money from magic stones, the contents of the pamphlet were no longer interesting. Just as Jongchan was about to open his mouth, Yooshin spoke.
"I'll read it later. Where's the nearest trading post?"
According to HunterNet, there were trading posts that handled magic stones. They said the best value was to trade directly through HunterNet, but who had the time for that hassle? He needed the money right away.
At that, Jongchan smiled kindly, a stark contrast to his earlier blank expression.
"Hunter-nim. Our guild can purchase them for you. Shall I help you with the sale?"
"If you could do that, I'd be very grateful."
Yooshin handed over the entire bag. A moment later, Jongchan, who had finished counting all the magic stones, let out an exclamation.
"Whoa... this is incredible. Sixty-three in just one hour. That's amazing. Oh! And let me tell you about the market price. The HunterNet market price is 100,000 won per stone, and the trading post purchase price is 70,000 won. Quite a difference, right? Heh heh heh."
Ah, he’s really trying to rip me off. Should I just sell them on HunterNet?
Yooshin hesitated for a moment at the 30% difference—not even 10%—when:
"Our guild welcomes talented hunters."
What was that? Yooshin frowned at the sudden remark, but his expression smoothed out immediately because of what the employee said next.
"So, we will purchase the magic stones you acquired at 130,000 won each."
Huh? He was going to pay more than the HunterNet market price?
"Are you sure about 130,000 won?"
"Normally, even our guild follows the trading post purchase price, but as I said, we welcome talented hunters. Hehehe. So, this is special treatment. Special treatment!"
He didn't know why the gate manager was so desperate to recruit hunters. Of course, the employee had his reasons. Guilds were working hard to recruit promising hunters. In a way, it was an obvious fact. The most important material in the current industrial system was the magic stone that came from monsters. In other words, for the guild, securing as many hunters as possible who could efficiently bring in magic stones was crucial.
"Here is my business card. If you ever have the intention of joining a guild, please contact me directly. I will guide you kindly. And the payment for the sale will be deposited within the day, so you can return home safely. Thank you."
At those words, a look of suspicion flickered in Yooshin's eyes.
"Are you sure? Is it really going to be deposited? What if I trust you and go home, only for you to run off with the magic stones?"
At that gaze, the gate manager, Yang Jongchan, forced a laugh.
"Hahahaha, Hunter-nim. This is a guild I studied hard to get into. And look at my face. Doesn't the word 'Integrity!' practically scream from it?"
Nope, it doesn't.
In fact, he didn't even trust the 200,000 won entry fee. As soon as he got home, Yooshin planned to scour HunterNet. He would look up the numbering of this gate to see if the entry fee was really 200,000 won. If the guy had cheated him? Heh heh heh. He could leave that to his imagination.
"I'll trust you for now, but if anything untoward happens, you'll deal with the consequences."
"Yes! Have a safe trip, Hunter-nim!"
Jongchan bowed at a right angle to Yooshin as he turned away. The processing was fast. Even before he reached home, his phone chimed, and over 8 million won was deposited.
'So this is why people say "hunter, hunter."'
He had earned 8 million won in an hour. He couldn't even remember the entry fee. Of course, the fact that the employee had paid a premium to recruit him played a big part, but still.
When he arrived home, the scent of fragrant food was vibrating in the air.
"Son, you're home?"
"Mom, are you already up? You should have slept a bit more."
His mother had finished her night shift and come home after 9:00 AM today. And the current time was 2:00 PM. She had woken up after sleeping less than three or four hours to cook.
"It's fine. I slept enough. You're hungry, right? Sit at the table quickly."
His mother hummed a tune, seemingly in a good mood as she prepared the food. Before long, his mother and Yooshin sat side by side at the table, where the food was already set. Yooshin said to his mother cautiously.
"Mom?"
"Yes. What is it?"
"Look at this."
Yooshin took out his phone and showed her the account balance.
"Huh? W-what is this money?"
It was natural for her to be surprised, seeing over 8 million won in the account. "Mom, I actually became a hunter."
At those words, his mother, who had been drinking water, stopped moving. Then, water trickled down her chin and fell to the floor. Was it that surprising?
Yooshin quickly snatched the cup from his mother's hand. "That hunter I know, are you talking about that?"
"Yes. That's right. It turns out I have that kind of talent."
Yoo Insook clutched her forehead as if she were feeling dizzy for a moment. In fact, Yoo Insook remembered exactly what had happened yesterday. No, that had become an event she would never forget even after decades. It was the day her son had woken up again, the day she had almost died from a monster attack, and it was impossible to forget the sight of her son hunting those monsters so easily unless she had dementia. And she had been guessing it to some extent. That perhaps her son might become a hunter.
"...You know it's dangerous, right?"
"Dangerous? Them? No, Mom..."
Yooshin tried to laugh and deny it, but at his mother's serious expression, Yooshin had to put on a serious face as well.
"Don't worry. I'll always be careful, and then careful again."
"Phew... Alright. Always put your body first..."
Even after that, his mother's warnings continued. It was a mealtime where he couldn't distinguish if he was eating rice or eating nagging.
"Mom, that's why I'm saying this, can't you quit that job? You're not young anymore, and I think it's hard to stand and work all day."
At Yooshin's cautious words, his mother burst into laughter.
"That's enough. They say there are hunters who earn a lot of money, but there are also hunters who don't, right? So I have to keep a stable job. It will cost a lot of money when your sister goes to college, so it's a bit difficult to quit my job carelessly."
Hmm... Yoo Insook looked at her son with proud eyes.
"Still, I was really surprised that our son earned such a large amount of money in one day. If you want me to rest, bring me 10 billion won. You said hunters who earn money well find that amount easy, right? Then I'll consider quitting."
Yoo Insook was proud to see Yooshin already acting like a son just two days after waking up. However, she did not anticipate it. That it wouldn't take that long to bring in 10 billion won.
That was when it happened. Ding-dong!
Someone pressed the doorbell outside the door.
"Oh my, who could it be at this hour?"
Yoo Insook was nervous for a moment. The only people who would come to their house were loan sharks. But since they had already come yesterday, there was no way they would come for a while.
"Mom, I'll go out."
"Uh-huh. Will you?"
Yooshin jumped up and walked to the entrance. When he opened the door, a man in a suit was standing there.
"Hello. I am Yang Jongchan, the HR team leader from MNL. You are Cheon Yooshin, right?"
MNL? Was that the guild the gate manager mentioned earlier?
"If it's okay, could we go inside and talk for a moment? It won't be long."
"Why? You should state your business."
"Why would an HR team leader come? Obviously, I came to scout Cheon Yooshin."
At that moment, Yoo Insook appeared behind her son.
"Scout?"
Yang Jongchan also greeted Yoo Insook and answered her question.
"Yes. You heard correctly."
"Oh my. Come in. Hey! Yooshin. You shouldn't leave a guest standing outside for so long."
Yoo Insook pushed her son aside and brought Yang Jongchan into the house. Watching Yang Jongchan's back, Yooshin shook his head as if he didn't like something. But it was already a situation where his mother had let him in.
'I should listen to what he has to say first. It doesn't cost any money.'
As soon as Yang Jongchan sat at the table, he scanned the inside of the house. Old and worn-out furniture, and even mold covering the wallpaper as if black ink had been smeared on it. Yang Jongchan, who had estimated the situation, pulled a bunch of documents out of his briefcase. A guild contract. It was the content written at the very top.
While Yoo Insook was busy reading the documents, Yang Jongchan asked Yooshin.
"I heard you registered as a hunter today. Is that correct?"
"You would know if you looked it up, wouldn't you? Seeing as you even found my house."
"Hahaha. Well. I apologize if I offended you."
It was a tone that was strangely grating, but Yooshin tried his best to endure it. Since his mother was next to him.
"Well, no need to apologize."
"I have to go visit the next scout targets, so I'll get straight to the point. Would you like to join our guild?"
"Hmm. I don't know?"
He was still in the process of adapting. Moreover, he didn't even know what kind of guild the MNL Guild was. Of course, Yooshin did have thoughts of joining a guild. At first, he had thought about creating a guild himself, but.
'When would I do all that from scratch? It's a hassle. If I join a guild, they'll do everything for me.'
In fact, creating a guild was a lot of hassle. Winning the rights to clear gates, managing them, transparently selling the acquired magic stones... there were many other things to do. But he was going to do that himself?
'That's nonsense.'
What he was good at was fighting, but he was a complete stranger to those things. But he didn't intend to run wild alone either. Yooshin knew too well how scary the power of a group was. But what if the guild leader was a guy who bullied him?
'I'll just slash the guild leader and take over the guild.'
Was it difficult? He felt the need to join a guild enough, but it was premature to join right now. Perhaps that expression was revealed on Yooshin's face? Yang Jongchan smirked. Don't smile like that. You'll get hit. You'll die if you do that, you know?
But Yang Jongchan, unaware of those inner thoughts, kept flapping his mouth.
"I'll offer you an annual salary of 200 million won. Actually, even this is a condition that takes some care for a new hunter."
The answer didn't come from Yooshin, but from the side. It was his mother.
"Gasp! 2, 200 million won?"
"Yes. That's right. No matter how well hunters earn money, that's only a minority. Most hunters are still hungry. Because they have to spend as much as they earn. But if you join our guild, we will lend you all the equipment needed for gate clearing free of charge."
"I-is it really 200 million won?"
In the ears of Yoo Insook, an ordinary person, no other words were heard. Only the word 200 million won. But Yooshin was at a loss for words at the word 200 million won.
"I earned 8 million won today?"
"That might be a beginner's luck. But the annual salary is an amount you can receive whether you hunt or not."
"There must be conditions."
"Naturally, since we are the ones paying, you have to cooperate to some extent. For instance..."
"For instance?"
"The condition of participating in the uncleared gate attack team."
I think I could clear that on my own?
Just as Yooshin was about to refuse, Yoo Insook's mouth opened first.
"Go back."
The excitement from a moment ago disappeared without a trace.
"Yes?"
At his mother's clearly changed reaction, Yang Jongchan asked back.
"I can't sell my son for money. Uncleared gate? You're going to put my son into that gate without even knowing what's inside? That's enough. Go back quickly."
At those words, a bitter smile spread across Yang Jongchan's lips.
"Think carefully. And if you look at the special conditions in the contract, if the hunter dies, the condolence money to the family..."
That's crossing the line.
"Get lost right now!"
Yooshin was able to hear his mother's high-pitched voice, which he had never heard in his life, on this day.
"Phew, you'll regret it? This kind of opportunity..."
"Are you not leaving right now?!"
At the clear order to leave, Yang Jongchan put the documents back into his briefcase with a stiff face. Then he said with a cold expression.
"Opportunities are to be seized when they come. Do you think this kind of opportunity will come again? So, you people living in this kind of dump... Argh!"
Yang Jongchan clutched his heart and collapsed. And he was able to see. The hunter named Cheon Yooshin looking down at him.