The Top Hunters Convene
The entrance to the Dungeon Safety Bureau building flashed endlessly with bursts of camera lights from every direction. Every time a famous Hunter stepped into the building, reporters scrambled to coax out even a single word from them.
"What agenda items are scheduled for discussion at today's meeting?!"
"Could you tell us what role Ranking 0 will play in this meeting?!"
"Do you have any predictions about the current situation?!"
Of course, their questions had all been pre-coordinated with the Hunters, so there were no particularly aggressive ones. Everyone knew the purpose of this meeting.
As time passed, the Hunters arrived one by one, in reverse order of their rankings. Kwon Yooseok stepped out of his car, naturally shielding his eyes from the blinding camera lights. His skin gleamed unusually pale under the flashes, and beneath them, his snake-like eyes coldly scanned the reporters. Even at this official event, he wore his signature mocking expression and entered the building without answering a single question.
Next, So Eunsu and So Euneung got out of their car together, arm in arm—playing the part of loving siblings. So Euneung clung to her brother's arm, but her lips trembled as she forced a smile, clearly dying to shake him off.
"We'll do our utmost to devise the best countermeasures for the sake of our citizens," said So Eunsu in his suit, maintaining a calm smile and composed demeanor.
"Everyone's going through such tough times these days—I really hope we can be of help!" So Euneung, in her dress with her hair perfectly styled, shouted in a bright voice and struck a fighting pose.
As the reporters' attention turned their way, Ji Sein emerged from the car driven by Park Haejun. Unlike her usual self, her light brown curls were neatly half-up, and she wore a bright floral dress. Masked up, she hurried inside to escape the flashes.
Domestic Ranking 6th, Lee Jiseon—also guild master of SpringRain Guild—arrived right after, answering a few questions with a relaxed attitude.
"How's life at home these days?"
"Yeah, I'll pass on the personal questions~."
Her hair tied back neatly to keep stray strands in check, Lee Jiseon kept smiling until the end as she disappeared into the building.
Next, a car screeched to a halt in front of the building at a terrifying speed. Everyone knew who the mad driver was, so the reporters raised their recorders again. Gwak Mansu hopped out and strode toward the entrance with huge steps.
"Ah, save the questions for after the meeting!" That gruff remark was all he tossed at them.
The moment Baek Yena appeared, the camera flashes exploded at a whole new intensity.
"Hunter Baek Yena! Many people are wondering if you plan to launch another massive monster purge!"
Baek Yena just nodded curtly without a word and vanished inside. Her fierce expression and silence might come off as arrogant, but no reporter there would think negatively of her.
Following Ranking 4th Baek Yena came Ranking 2nd Na Seonghyeon. Dressed like an office worker commuting to work, he kept a fresh-faced smile, though the dark circles from overwork were impossible to hide.
"What are your thoughts on the recent Na Corporation hiring scandal?!"
"With Na Corporation facing allegations of involvement in state affairs manipulation, do you plan to continue accepting their sponsorship?!"
The devoted capitalist pretended not to hear a thing, gave a natural greeting, and headed inside.
When Ranking 1st Go Heejae finally appeared, the reporters suddenly grew cautious in their movements. It was well-known that he had such ironclad respect for the law he'd report jaywalkers to the police on sight... So instead, they scrutinized him from head to toe, mentally pricing his outfit and hunting for new story angles. Fortunately, today's Go Heejae seemed disinterested in them. Uncharacteristically, he didn't enter the building right away but stood there for a long while, as if waiting for someone.
The reporters were about to ask what he was waiting for when—
"It's Ranking 0!"
"Hey, hey! Swing those cameras around!"
No one had expected Ranking 0 to show up. Seoya, cloaked in a white mantle that hid her face and made her look utterly otherworldly, pushed through the crowd of reporters. They tried to shout questions at her, but Go Heejae, who had come to greet her, blocked them.
"Then, shall we go?"
Nod.
Seoya gave a curt nod to Go Heejae's words, and the two entered the building together.
One of the reporters broadcasting live snapped back to attention and delivered his closing line.
"...Through this emergency countermeasures meeting of the nation's top Hunters for the safety of our citizens, we sincerely hope for enhanced security in the Republic of Korea. This has been YOTI News reporter Lee Giri."
"Hello, Seoya."
As Seoya entered the spacious conference room with Go Heejae and took her seat, a woman with her hair tied back in a single ponytail greeted her.
"I'm Lee Jiseon, Ranking 6th in Korea and guild master of SpringRain Guild."
She was the only one in the room Seoya was meeting for the first time. Compared to the other Hunters gathered here, Lee Jiseon looked relatively older. She even had a seven-year-old daughter.
"Long time no see~ How's life treating you these days~?"
"Haha, same as always. My husband's as stubborn as ever."
Na Seonghyeon chuckled good-naturedly and smoothly struck up a conversation, prompting Lee Jiseon to laugh lightly as she mentioned her husband. She complained he didn't listen, but there was no real dislike in her tone.
"Hunter Kim Iri is absent as usual," Lee Jiseon remarked, glancing at the room's single empty seat.
Ranking 3rd Kim Iri.
Even though the System listed someone by that name at Ranking 3rd, Seoya had never seen him in the chat rooms or in real life.
"Who's Kim Iri?"
Curious, Seoya whispered to Na Seonghyeon, seated to her left.
"Kim Iri... well, he's like a lone wolf, you could say...?"
"What?"
Seoya made a sour face under her mantle. Realizing his explanation fell short, Na Seonghyeon added, "Hunter Kim Iri is the solitary type... always acts alone. Hunters tend to lack social skills anyway, haha. Our Kim Iri seems stuck in his chuunibyou phase too."
"Uh, yeah..."
What a bunch of unique weirdos, Seoya thought, clicking her tongue at the Hunters' personalities. That's when the man who'd been there from the start—but seemed forgotten amid the Hunters—cleared his throat.
"Ahem, everyone. Shall we begin the meeting now?"
Han Daejun, already looking deflated, tried to kick things off.
"Sure thing! We all know it's just a show for the cameras, but let's get it started~!"
So Euneung spoke up in her bubbly voice, undaunted despite all the adults present.
"Hurry up and wrap it so I can go home!"
Ji Sein, who seemed to have settled into the group, made that childish remark—easy to mistake her for another high schooler like So Euneung. The two, who apparently clicked well, exchanged glances and winked.
"...Yes, first, let's review the current situation once more."
Han Daejun started speaking rapidly.
"Current situation: Increase in dungeons, increase in monster waves, new dungeon types, new monster types, stronger monsters. I'll illustrate these with some data and examples from now on."
"Everyone here already knows that. Inefficient."
"~I checked the materials ahead, and the Hunter increase stats seem off. If the data's wrong again, the Dungeon Safety Bureau really is consistent, huh~?"
"...Yes, then please refer to the distributed materials for that, and we'll move on."
As Go Heejae and Kwon Yooseok pointed it out in succession, Han Daejun swiftly changed topics.
"The current system has guilds keeping Hunters on 24-hour standby, dispatching to assigned zones as incidents occur. However, with recent disasters, aren't all you Hunters overworked?"
Na Seonghyeon nodded vigorously.
"Thus, we feel the need to reorganize the structure. Rather than guild-centric operations, we should assign Hunters by region. Right now, Hunters aren't evenly distributed across regions, which delays disaster response."
The Hunters fell silent, each weighing their own interests, some from the same guild exchanging glances. After a moment, So Eunsu spoke first.
"If we assign Hunters by region, what happens to the existing guild system?"
"Guilds will continue operating as is. We'll accommodate Hunters' preferences as much as possible, assigning members of the same guild to the same regions..."
"So it's just a fight over who gets how much of Seoul~?"
Kwon Yooseok muttered, smirking slyly. Currently, most Hunters were concentrated in Seoul. It made sense proportionally to population-driven dungeon and wave frequency, but the density was excessive. Non-capital areas had too few resident Hunters for their vast lands, so civilians there suffered more during response times. But Seoul offered better infrastructure and more lucrative dungeons, drawing Hunters inevitably.
"You didn't seriously think anyone here would vote for that, did you?"
Na Seonghyeon laughed, scenting financial loss. Regrettably, none of the nine top Hunters present cared about civilian welfare.
All but one.