Just Say I'm Your Disciple

"Please begin whenever you're ready."

The staff member set a cylindrical weight down above the marked line. The format was simple enough: move that thing into the circle on the far side, and the test was over.

They said it was the same specification as last night's, but...

No matter how I looked at it, the weight on the test floor seemed lighter than the lump of iron I'd been dragging around until dawn. For a moment, every hardship and humiliation of the past day flashed through my mind.

"What? Hurry up."

"...Yes, noona."

I swallowed the rest and reached my hand forward.

Whooom—.

The weight rose slowly from the floor, slipped diagonally past the obstacles standing in its path, and settled into the circle without so much as brushing a line. If this had been a competition instead of an assessment, it was a feat that would have earned a perfect score with room to spare.

At this point, this much wasn't even difficult. Perhaps because the weight left me some margin to work ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠with, controlling it felt almost comfortable.

"All done. Thank you for your effort."

"...That's it?"

"Yes. Rank assessments at C-Rank and below only require a simple practical verification. If you'd like, you can challenge for D-Rank right now. Shall I file the application?"

"Ah—no. No, thank you."

I waved my hands quickly, before Hunter Baek Seorin could hear. It wasn't that I lacked ambition, but I didn't exactly make a hobby of walking into hell of my own free will.

"Here is your E-Rank hunter license. Please carry it with you whenever you enter a Gate from now on, and contact the Association immediately if you lose it."

"Ah... thank you."

Ahh. The cool, heavy feel of the license against my palm. At last I had shed the status of a slave—a mere porter—and become a full-fledged hunter, a nobleman by comparison.

E-Rank, though, at that...

Even so, this much was something. Honestly, I was more grateful than anything. Now that I was a licensed hunter, it was time to start earning real money. I'd make it fast and make it plenty, live in a proper house, and enjoy a little comfort for once.

"Ah. The allowance for the Gate you visited two days ago will also be settled by the end of today. Would you like to review the itemized statement first?"

A payout?!

The screen I hurriedly scanned was packed from top to bottom—from the rescue bonus for Doa to the emergency-entry cooperation fee for the Yeonhwa Gate and hazard pay for the restricted zone. On top of that, the payment for the mana stones from the monsters Hunter Baek Seorin had killed had all been credited to my share.

"I'm receiving the mana stone payment as well? All of it?"

"Yes. Hunter Baek Seorin transferred the full amount to you."

When I turned around, Hunter Baek Seorin shrugged as if it were nothing.

"You carried the whole lot out. Without you, none of it would have left the Gate anyway."

"Still, you're the one who killed them all, noona. How am I supposed to take all of—"

"If you hate it that much, give it back."

"—of course not, and I'll accept it with gratitude."

I bowed my head faster than anyone alive. Maybe it came with becoming an awakened one. My body felt noticeably lighter than it had a moment ago.

"Ahahaha. You're hilarious. How do you switch gears that fast?"

I shot a glance at Hunter Baek Seorin laughing at me, then turned my eyes back to the screen. The estimated pre-tax payout, after fees, was 684,320,000 won. I counted the digits from the right, then counted them again just to be sure. The number refused to change.

"...Wow."

At this rate, a decent house was as good as settled. And since it had come to this, why not buy a car too? A genuinely nice one, at that. This was nearly 700 million won, after all. Buy a house, buy a car, even pick up the things I'd always wanted, and there would still be plenty left—

"That happy? You do know almost half of that goes to taxes, right?"

"...Of course. Even with half left over, I'm truly grateful."

Mm. The car could wait. Better to start hunting for a house first. It had only been last week that I'd resolved to scrimp and save and somehow earn 100 million won within a year, and now I was about to hold more than triple that in my hands. Before the money had even landed in my account, it felt like my wounded side had already healed.

With a faint trace of envy, the staff member brought up a different screen on the tablet.

"There is one more matter we need the three of you to confirm."

On the screen was the press release announcing Han Doa's return. The precise measurement results: S-Rank. Scheduled announcement: 11 a.m. tomorrow. But the body of the text was still riddled with blanks.

"We need to decide how much of Hunter Han Doa's return will be made public. And Hunter Yoon Jaemin's identity as well."

"Just leave him out."

"Ah... that has become quite a bit more difficult."

As the staffer swiped the screen, a photo taken in front of the Foundation appeared, followed by one of us emerging from the Yeonhwa Gate. In both, my face had been captured far more clearly than I would have liked.

"This is material the Association secured. These photos leaked from the scene and are already in the reporters' hands, so if we hide your name, they'll only dig harder for your identity."

"Then just mosaic the face."

"The Association's own releases and cooperative outlets can do that, but..."

"Meaning the rest won't listen. Got it."

Hunter Baek Seorin crossed her arms and tapped the floor with the tip of her foot.

They really did take a lot of photos. I had no idea.

Out of all of them, not a single one showed me looking remotely normal. In one I was clutching my side; in another, they had caught the moment I was staggering, and the pose was downright comical.

Of all the things to capture, why only those?

"Fine. Then we release the name."

"Yes. However, we will also need an explanation of why Hunter Yoon Jaemin was traveling with Hunter Baek Seorin."

"Just say he's my disciple."

Wondering if I'd misheard, I turned my head.

"I'm your disciple, noona?"

"I taught you myself last night, so it's not exactly a lie. And it'll make it easier to drag you along from now on."

The Association staffer double-checked Hunter Baek Seorin's intent, as if asking whether it was really all right to write that. And a moment later, a brand-new phrase sat boldly beside my name.

And just like that, overnight, I had become the disciple of an S-Rank hunter.

"Then should I call him my disciple too? Teachers are a good thing—more is better, right!"

Doa, who had been listening nearby, slipped in.

Since when is more teachers better?

My eyes met Doa's. She ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was smiling brightly, but strangely, her gaze showed no intention of letting go. That look, clinging to me slowly like something seeping in, sent a chill down my spine for no good reason.

"If you want him hounded by reporters for the rest of his life, go right ahead."

"...Tch. I guess that's off the table for now."

...For now?

Hmm...

In any case, it seemed the catastrophe of serving two S-Rank masters at once had been averted.

"That settles Hunter Yoon Jaemin's identity... Now, how shall we announce the circumstances of Hunter Han Doa's return?"

"Just say Seorin unnie saved me. That she used the same method she escaped with to bring me out too. And Jaemin oppa was simply there with her as her disciple."

"Then as for the method of escape..."

"No need to think about that. Would anyone dare ask Seorin unnie that in the first place? I certainly don't think so."

Definitely not. Who would dare put that question to Baek Seorin? In a way, it was tied directly to her trauma. Unless they had two lives to spare, the answer had to be no.

"Yeah. Do it that way."

The staffer's hands moved busily across the tablet. The one who saved Hunter Han Doa: Baek Seorin. Me: Baek Seorin's disciple, who had happened to tag along to the scene. It wasn't even a complete fabrication—Hunter Baek Seorin had entered the Yeonhwa Gate, and I had escaped with Doa. Both were true.

"We will process Hunter Yoon Jaemin's personal information as private. All external contact will be routed through the Association as well."

"Lock down his address and family relations for certain."

"Yes. I will file the protection request at the highest level."

The words family relations grated a little.

Not like anyone would turn up even if they dug.

For a moment, I wondered whether it might be better to spread the word openly and get at least one look at their faces. The thought came and went; I shook my head soon enough. I had no need for parents who would only come crawling back once the rumors grew big enough to make the news.

The staffer finished drafting the press release and closed the tablet.

"Then we will make the announcement at 11 a.m., as you have decided."

Thanks to the new-hunter training, I had been at the Association since morning.

Just as the staffer had said, the moment the clock struck 11, the articles came flooding in. My name was in every single one of them.

That last one should come down soon, though...

In any case, there were a great many names for me now: Yoon Jaemin, E-Rank hunter, first disciple of the Sword Saint Baek Seorin, and so on. Right. All those titles, and yet the photo—

Would it really have killed them to use a different one?

The photo splashed across the front page of the first breaking report, taken at the exact moment I was clutching my side and staggering. Apparently it had been promoted to my official portrait, because it appeared without fail in every article that mentioned me. I understood it was for the click count, but if the people behind those headlines had hearts at all, they would not have done this.

What exactly is the species called "journalist"...

A thought I had been having unusually often lately. If anything, public attention was focused less on the photo than on the word disciple. Baek Seorin had personally taken a freshly awakened E-Rank hunter as her disciple. That single line dragged every wild theory along behind it.

That I was hiding an ability. That I wasn't really E-Rank at all, but a strategic weapon whose identity the state was keeping under wraps. There was even nonsense claiming Baek Seorin and I had known each other for ages, and that I was the true love she had waited for and longed after through those seven years.

No, it hasn't even been a week yet...

If we really had been close for years, the way the comments claimed, I wouldn't feel this wronged. I told myself to let it go and scrolled past the posts again and again, but once something caught my eye, it refused to leave my head.

"Hunter Yoon Jaemin."

I was deep in my phone when the Association staffer came into the waiting room.

"We have received requests for interviews and broadcast appearances. Four top guilds have also sent special recruitment offers. For reference, I ignored all the offers from small and mid-sized guilds entirely."

"Please decline all the interviews and broadcasts. Just leave me the guild proposals."

"There are also three advertising inquiries. Shall I decline those as well?"

"Yes. Decline them right aw— actually, hold on. Could I at least see how much they're offering first?"

Beside me, Doa, who had been playing a game on her phone, lifted her head. And the look she gave me was oddly pitying.

...

Come on. I was a licensed hunter now; I had to make money. Interviews and broadcasts were a risk—questions about my ability could come up—but advertising was a different story. They take a few photos, film a little, and pay me on top of it. Was there any reason to refuse?

"Here you go."

"Thank you."

I decided to review the ads at home and paged through the guild proposals one by one. The signing bonuses ranged from tens of millions of won on the low end to the hundreds of millions at the top. Hardly the kind of money you'd put in front of a hunter who had just finished registering as E-Rank.

What they actually want isn't me, is it.

Hunter Baek Seorin was currently unaffiliated with any guild. And since no one would dare approach her with a membership offer directly, they had apparently decided that snagging her disciple first would improve their odds. As much as I needed the money, I had zero intention of stamping my name on proposals like these today.

"I'll ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠take these and look them over."

Still, they had gone to the trouble of bringing them, so I gathered up the proposals and rose from my seat. Now I truly wanted to go home and rest properly. I had been abandoned inside a Gate, made it back alive, been hauled straight to the Foundation, gone from there straight to another Gate to pull out one more person, trained through the night to raise my rank, and then sat for my assessment first thing in the morning.

At this point, if I collapsed the second I walked through my door, nobody could say a word. That was what I'd been thinking—

"Hunter Yoon Jaemin. You can't leave through the main entrance right now."

Before I could even reach it, the staffer stepped in and blocked my path.

"What's the matter?"

"Reporters are blocking the exits. On Hunter Baek Seorin's orders, I will guide you through ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a separate route."

No way, I thought, and looked down at the main entrance through the window. The area in front of the Association was packed solid with reporters. Scattered among them were plenty of people who were hard to call journalists. Between the cameras and microphones, the pickets bearing my face, blown up huge, caught my eye in particular. Every single slogan was vicious.

Leech?

No, when exactly had I attached myself to anyone? If anything, I was the one who had been grabbed. I couldn't speak for the rest, but that one stung as genuinely unfair.