Chapter 11
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: A-Rank Gate (3)
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As she thought that, smiling to herself, one of her close aides—a team member—approached the deputy team leader and whispered in her ear.
"Brother, but is this really okay?"
"What do you mean?"
"Even if mana measurement rank and hunter rank are separate, they usually go hand in hand. What if that returnee really has S-rank power? What are you going to do then?"
"Yeah, it could be. But it doesn't matter anyway."
The deputy team leader smirked.
"Whether that guy has skills or not, we have plenty of justification for a boycott. Would you want to go into a gate raid with an S-rank whose teamwork you don't even know as your team leader?"
"No."
"That's because you value your life."
With that, the deputy team leader narrowed her eyes at the murmuring team members.
"The other team members think the same as me, so boycotting the new S-rank won't be hard."
"B-But what happens after that?"
The aide looked uneasy.
"If we do this, Seosung won't let us off the hook. And how are we supposed to tackle the gate?"
The deputy team leader scratched her nails and muttered in a low voice.
"This A-rank gate isn't that tough, judging by the measured mana output and type. We can clear it with our team members alone. We don't need an S-rank."
"......Is that so?"
"And Seosung can't afford to ditch us."
The deputy team leader grinned with sleazy eyes.
"You don't know how much money and time it takes to build a hunter team, do you? What about rebuilding one? If Seosung has any brains, they'll try to placate us and negotiate. They won't even think of firing us."
"I-Indeed."
"Yeah. And when that happens, I'll negotiate with HQ to take the team leader spot. I'll make you deputy. Remember the deputy allowance I told you about last time? It's pretty lucrative."
"......! Thank you, brother."
"So, rally the guys well. If this goes smoothly, we'll get better settlement shares and raises. Don't be too obvious—just subtle. Got it?"
"Yes, sir!"
As the aide left beaming, the deputy team leader flashed a oily smile.
Raid day couldn't come soon enough.
Time passed, and the day arrived for Seosung's assigned A-rank gate raid.
Kim Hyun rode in Team Leader Lee's car toward the gate's location.
"Hm."
Resting her chin on her hand as she gazed out the window, Kim Hyun asked without turning her head.
"So, where'd Agent Choi go?"
"......On vacation."
"Oh ho. Vacation sounds nice. Lucky her. I want one too."
Kim Hyun drawled lazily.
Chae Seol-ah, in the passenger seat, asked awkwardly.
"V-Vacations are great, right? Does Kim Hyun have anywhere in mind?"
"Hmm. Maybe the North Pole sometime."
"P-Pardon?"
Stunned by the bizarre suggestion, Chae Seol-ah turned to stare at Kim Hyun.
Kim Hyun replied without batting an eye.
"The North Pole's great. Cool. Penguins too."
"I-Isn't it cold, not cool?"
"Try spending 10,000 years in hell. You'll appreciate the cold."
"I-Is that so?"
"Yep. After bathing in lava, you'd kill for an iced drink. Sigh. Now I want ice cream thinking about it. No Vera's on the way?"
"Sadly, we're almost there. Grab some on the way back."
As Lee Min-hyuk said, a massive gate loomed far ahead through the window. Kim Hyun smacked her lips as she eyed the red rift cracking the sky.
"Tch, too bad."
The car pulled up at the rendezvous point.
Bang!
Stepping out, Kim Hyun first noticed the barricades around the area. Though in a provincial city, the gate had spawned smack in the urban center, so they'd cordoned it off to keep people out.
"Feels dreary."
Glancing at the empty streets prepped for potential gate break evacuations, Kim Hyun turned her gaze forward.
There, to the left of the gate, stood about a dozen people. That must be Seosung's raid team, formerly led by Hwang Won-uk.
Staring at them for a moment, Kim Hyun muttered.
"Don't like the looks they're giving me."
Chae Seol-ah and even Lee Min-hyuk jumped like meerkats at her words.
"W-What do you mean all of a sudden...?"
"Nah, the way they look at me sucks. Like they've got a grudge or something."
A grudge?
Lee Min-hyuk scanned the Seosung team. They all looked sullen, dissatisfied.
'Is there something to be grumpy about?'
Thinking it over, his face hardened.
A very uneasy suspicion bubbled up.
'No way, don't tell me...'
And it was exactly as Lee Min-hyuk suspected.
"Team 2 will boycott this raid. Reason: absence of an S-rank team leader."
"D-Deputy team leader? What the hell...? Don't you see the person who arrived?"
The Seosung guild members buzzed at the sudden declaration. The deputy team leader turned to them.
"The entire Team 2 agrees. Tell HQ. We're not entering the gate with an unproven returnee of unknown skill and teamwork as team leader."
She glanced at Kim Hyun as she spoke.
Chae Seol-ah, startled, quickly grabbed Kim Hyun's clothes and clung.
"K-Kim Hyun! D-Don't get mad! Calm down, calm down!"
"Hey, you're stretching my clothes."
"E-Even so, you can't kill someone over this...! We can still talk it out!"
"What're you on about?"
Kim Hyun stared at her blankly.
Chae Seol-ah trembled.
"Y-You're not gonna kill them?"
"Anyone hear that thinks I kill for fun."
"T-That's not what I meant...!"
Kim Hyun clicked her tongue at the fumbling Chae Seol-ah.
"No plans to kill or fight."
"Phew."
"Whew."
Only then did Chae Seol-ah and Lee Min-hyuk relax.
"Still, this is a problem."
Lee Min-hyuk crossed his arms with a groan.
"A group boycott... Seosung clearly didn't see this coming. This means..."
"I can just do it alone, right?"
"Pardon?"
Kim Hyun nodded at the gate.
"I close it solo. Don't need help."
Lee Min-hyuk's eyes changed at her response.
'Right, she can totally solo clear it.'
National power-levels could solo S-rank gates. No way she'd struggle with an A-rank.
'Might take a bit longer, but...'
Kim Hyun wouldn't fail this raid.
'Actually, this might work out?'
She wouldn't owe Seosung anything.
She got no help from them.
No guilt claiming all the byproducts and resources from a solo clear.
If anything, Seosung owed her for the team's stunt souring things.
Lee Min-hyuk glanced at Team 2.
'Idiots.'
What were they thinking?
'Not just distrusting Kim Hyun... probably money.'
Maybe they knew and were pushing anyway.
Well-resourced teams took time and cash to build, so Seosung would negotiate.
But not this time.
With national power-level Kim Hyun here, and the proposal from the vice president herself...
'They smeared the VP's face. They're done for.'
As Lee Min-hyuk pondered...
Kim Hyun strode toward the gate.
The Seosung Team 2 whispered at her sudden move.
"What's she doing?"
"Mana measurement?"
Soon, mocking voices rose from Team 2.
"Who knows, maybe she thinks she can solo it."
"Thinks she's national power-level?"
"Pointless. Ignore her. We just wait for deputy team leader's orders."
Reaching the gate, Kim Hyun scanned it top to bottom. A smile crept on her lips.
"Ah, this structure?"
And the next moment...
Kim Hyun slipped inside.
"Huh?"
"Sh-She went in!"
"What?"
The crowd buzzed in shock.
"N-No way she's really soloing...?"
"Pfft, solo what Hwang Won-uk couldn't? Makes no sense."
"Obviously scouting for estimates."
"Why send a clueless newbie in to estimate?"
"Well..."
Of course, the watching deputy team leader snorted.
'What a show.'
Whatever the S-rank was up to, ignore it.
'She can't clear it anyway.'
Soloing an A-rank required top-tier S-rank. Mob clears were tough, let alone soloing the raid-boss boss.
Top S-ranks were defined by A-rank solo capability.
'A fresh returnee that strong? Ridiculous.'
Even if she was, returnees lacked gate experience.
Monster hunting and gate raids were worlds apart. Even veterans struggled on first raids.
Impossible.
Common sense.
"She'll be back soon."
The deputy team leader muttered.
And true enough, after about five minutes, Kim Hyun emerged.
And...
Simultaneously, the gate began to change.
"Wh-What?!"
"What's happening?"
The blood-red gate faded to translucent. The spiderweb cracks around it vanished.
Classic gate clear signs.
The gate before them was cleared.
By Kim Hyun alone.