The Promotion I Never Asked For
The Association President’s office was in total disarray. Shin Hyung-chul, who had just stormed out, had clearly thrown a tantrum. The President called for his staff with the weary air of someone accustomed to such scenes. When you hold the position of Hunter Association President, this level of chaos is just another Tuesday.
“Clean this up, and bring me the files on the Seocho Branch.”
What concerned him more than the mess was the Seocho Branch itself. Shin Hyung-chul, having rushed over immediately after clearing an A-class dungeon, had insisted on talking about a new recruit there. He claimed that thanks to that recruit’s judgment, the entire party had been saved from total annihilation. He had also ranted about the emergence of a new Unbound awakener and demanded that dungeon operations be privatized immediately. The President pushed aside the talk of privatizing dungeon management—that was a broken record he heard every day—and began reviewing the files the staffer had brought.
“What a complete disaster.”
Calling it a “disaster” was actually being generous. Finding a government department where tax money wasn’t leaking was harder than finding a needle in a haystack. But even setting that aside, the staff’s work ethic was abysmal. Take the ‘Dungeon of the Cult of Monsters’ incident: the initial person in charge had put together a bizarre raid party composition. Because healing-type hunters were hard to find, they had just stuffed the roster with random combatants. It was a pathetic display of incompetence that completely ignored combat efficiency and cost-cutting. It was a mystery how they had even passed the entrance exam.
On the other hand, the employee who took over the assignment, a man named Shin Jiwoo, was different. Though he hadn’t been with the company long, every task he handled was impeccable. Not only that, but he had been the top scorer on his entrance exam—the highest in history, in fact.
“…What? He’s from that family?”
Then, he discovered a startling fact. Shin Jiwoo was a member of ‘that’ legendary hunter family, known to everyone in the hunter community.
“So, the bloodline doesn’t lie…”
Even though he was a non-awakened individual, perhaps the talent in his blood couldn’t be ignored. He was already showing immense promise as an Association employee. And if he was from that family, it made sense that he had the eye to recognize an Unbound awakener.
“This deserves a reward. If I don’t treat him well, the Ilseong Group might actually snatch him away.”
Extraordinary. As soon as he read Shin Jiwoo’s profile, the President realized the truth. He might just be the talent the Association desperately needed for the future. If he continued to perform like this, perhaps one day he would even make it to the Seoul Headquarters.
“Shin Jiwoo… interesting.”
The President immediately dialed the head of the Seocho Branch.
“…So, there will be a special promotion soon.”
After hearing the situation from the Branch Manager, I couldn’t keep my mouth shut. No, seriously—if I had just stayed quiet, the whole thing would have blown over. But he ran straight to headquarters the moment the raid ended and told them everything? And the D-class free hunter we sent to sabotage the raid turned out to be an Unbound awakener? Even a web novel wouldn’t get away with writing a plot this ridiculous!
“…But I didn’t do anything. It was just a coincidence. I refuse.”
I refuse the promotion. I don’t want that! I haven’t even been here for a year; what is this talk about becoming an Assistant Manager?
“…As expected, you’re humble, Employee Shin Jiwoo. Just as I heard.”
“Excuse me?”
“Oh, it’s nothing. Anyway, there’s no need to be humble. I was truly surprised that you were the one to identify the Unbound awakener. I haven’t been paying enough attention to Dungeon Management Team 3. I’ll be keeping a close eye on it from now on, so work comfortably. And Assistant Manager Kim Hee-yeon will receive a light disciplinary action. It happened because I wasn’t supervising properly, so I apologize.”
“It’s not something you need to apologize for, Branch Manager. A special promotion just for handling one dungeon? I truly cannot accept this.”
“It’s not just ‘one dungeon,’ Employee Shin Jiwoo. In the SC-339101 case, countless high-ranking hunters, including an A+ rank, were deployed. But the Association failed to realize it was a dungeon where the mana grows stronger over time, and we nearly lost all those precious hunters. If a break had occurred in a dungeon of that type, the damage would have been far beyond a simple A-rank. You, a single employee, Shin Jiwoo, stopped all of that.”
“No…”
I didn’t intend for any of that. I didn’t even know the mana was increasing. Even as I tried to persuade him further, the Branch Manager’s expression remained stubborn. He didn’t look like he had any intention of listening. And since the order came from headquarters, the Branch Manager couldn’t refuse it either. If this kept up, I’d become an Assistant Manager, and Kim Hee-yeon would be fired. If she got fired, it would only highlight my “achievements” even more. But I need Kim Hee-yeon around if I want to find similar opportunities in the future. That, at least, is something I absolutely have to prevent.
“Assistant Manager Kim Hee-yeon is not at fault. Dungeon Management Team 3 has been swamped with work lately, so she must have been distracted. Please, reconsider the disciplinary action.”
“…If you insist, I will take that into account.”
“And I really don’t need the promotion. I’ll be going now.”
I bowed and left the Branch Manager’s office. Unfortunately, it seemed like he hadn’t heard a word of my last request.
“Damn it…”
I swallowed the curse that was about to spill out and headed back to the office. Dungeon Management Team 3. We call it ‘Dungeon Management’ for short. As I walked in, it seemed the news had already spread; the staff were whispering among themselves.
“Did you hear about Jiwoo? It was amazing, wasn’t it?”
“Did he really know that and take the assignment away from Assistant Manager Kim?”
“Is it true he’s getting a special promotion?”
Their gazes were a mix of surprise, envy, and jealousy. Most of them were envious of the news that I was getting a special promotion. I’m sorry, but I don’t want a promotion.
“Jiwoo. About this time…”
Kim Hee-yeon, who had been watching from the corner, approached me late, her voice trembling. Now that her mistakes had been brought to light, she seemed worried.
“…Assistant Manager. If something like this happens again, just give it all to me.”
“W-what…”
I meant it sincerely, but Kim Hee-yeon’s face twisted as if she thought I was mocking her. No, I’m being serious! I really don’t want this promotion!
“Ugh, I really don’t want to go to work—”
Have I ever hated going to work this much? Obviously not. Ever since I regained my memories of my past lives, I’ve been dreading every single day. But my body, accustomed to waking up early since my exam days, was already prepared.
“Ugh, shut up! Why are you like this so early in the morning…”
As I was thrashing around in the living room, my younger sister emerged from her room. She must have been sleeping until just now, because her hair was a complete mess.
“Shut! Up! I said shut up!”
Thwack— Thwack— Thwack—
My sister delivered a soccer kick to me while I was lying on the floor. It hurt like hell.
“Is it okay for an S-class hunter to kick a person like this?! That’s a crime!”
“What are you talking about! Seriously. So annoying!”
Thwack— Thwack—
This is total domestic violence! I curled my body into a ball and waited for her kicking to end. Since our physical abilities were overwhelmingly different, resistance or running away was useless. I had learned long ago that the best strategy was just to take the hits and minimize the pain.
“Phew… Anyway, I heard you’re getting a promotion?”
“How did you know? I don’t think I told you.”
“W-well, if you’re in the industry, you hear things! Don’t think I’m always asking about you to see if you’re doing your job well!”
“I didn’t think that far.”
“A-anyway! I heard you identified an Unbound awakener? It’s been a long time since one appeared in Korea, so it was natural to hear about it.”
“Ah.”
It seemed rumors about the Unbound awakener had spread among the hunters as well. Unbound awakeners are very special, even among hunters. In the US, there’s a hunter called the [Steel King] whose skin is made of steel, and in nearby Japan, there’s someone who replaced their legs with ones that can run incredibly fast. Unbound awakeners are the most important resource, alongside S-class hunters. If a country has hunters of that caliber, their national power increases significantly. So, naturally, rumors about Lee Jiyoo had spread.
“They said it was a unique trait with a strange form. To think you recognized it… well, you’re, uh, amazing. Hmph.”
Look at this. Even my sister, who only knows how to soccer-kick her brother every day, is saying I’m amazing. But the important thing is that it wasn’t intentional. I really didn’t know Lee Jiyoo was an Unbound awakener.
“I didn’t do it. I don’t want a promotion or anything! Aaaaaaaargh!”
“Why are you acting like this all of a sudden… Just go make some food.”
“No. I have to go now.”
“Why are you leaving so early? You always leave in the morning and come back late at night, so why are you leaving even earlier today? Do you know how little time you spend at home lately?”
Maybe it’s because you’re always acting like a psycho whenever I’m home? That’s part of it, but I had to leave early for another reason. Today was the day I had to go to the field myself.
“I have to go to the field. Ugh, I don’t want to go to work~”
After resisting my sister with all my might, I grumbled and put on my shoes. The place I was going today was a B-class dungeon. Dungeon Management staff sometimes have to go directly to dungeons to manage them, and unfortunately, today was that day. I took a different bus than usual and arrived at the site.
“Hello. I’m Employee Shin Jiwoo from the Seocho Branch.”
“Ah, nice to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you, Shin Jiwoo.”
“Is that the employee? The one who recognized the Unbound awakener at a glance.”
“They say if it weren’t for that employee, the precious Unbound awakener would have lived her whole life in the dark. She was blind, so no one had hired her for years.”
“He looks young, but just seeing that he passed the entrance exam… well. He’s just a civilian, though.”
“It’s funny how he’s acting all high and mighty. He’s just an Association employee.”
Voices directed at me echoed from everywhere. The hunter community must be small, as the rumors had spread quickly. I’m sorry, but I’m not that kind of person. And my shoulders aren’t tense because I’m arrogant; my trapezius muscles are just knotted from working overtime every day.
“Sigh…”
I’m leaving anyway, so let’s not worry about it. I just need to work hard and get fired…
“Is something wrong?”
“Ah, no, it’s nothing.”
The party leader for this raid asked me. Lee Yu-seung, an A-class hunter. Perhaps because of his gentle expression, he seemed like a good person. I couldn’t even smile at his kind grin and just looked over the data. It was a B-class dungeon with nothing special about it. The only thing to note was that the scale was 10. In other words, the dungeon was extremely, extremely vast. The raid had progressed to the point where they had already found the boss room.
“Hey! Let’s just hurry up and catch the boss!”
“We have the answer, so why are you looking at that so much!”
Seasoned hunters shouted, looking frustrated. Since it was such a large dungeon, the raid had taken a long time, and everyone looked exhausted. Since catching the boss would end it, everyone seemed to want to finish quickly. At that moment, a thought flashed through my mind.
‘This is it…!’
Do you know what a civil servant fears most? It’s complaints. I’m sure anyone who has experienced it knows. Hunter Association employees don’t receive complaints from civilians, but from hunters. The volume of complaints might be low, but if you get on the wrong side of someone, it’s incredibly troublesome. In particular, complaints are one of the factors directly linked to employee evaluations. That’s why everyone tries to avoid giving people reasons to complain. It’s annoying to deal with, so they try to handle things with as little friction as possible. But what if you received a massive amount of complaints? And if you failed to handle those complaints properly, leading to even more, it would completely ruin your employee evaluation. This is it. And as luck would have it, there are plenty of hunters here who would love to file a complaint against me. Since the scale is 10, there are a lot of hunters deployed.
“No. I cannot do that.”
Having made up my mind, I opened my mouth.
“What?”
“What is he talking about? Did he go crazy after one success? What are you going to do if you don’t do it that way!”
“We will search the entire dungeon before proceeding with the boss raid.”
“What did you say, you bastard?”
“When are we supposed to walk through all of this!”
As expected, a barrage of opposition erupted from the hunters. It was natural. Once you catch the boss, the gate disappears. There’s no particular reason to search every nook and cranny of the dungeon. Of course, there are cases where you have to, but those are rare exceptions. This dungeon didn’t seem to have any of that.
“The principle of dungeon raiding is to identify even the potential risks.”
“Who doesn’t know that!”
It’s a principle in name only; it’s more like an old recommendation. Nowadays, there’s no need to search every single spot. And since there are various cost-related aspects, it’s normal to handle large dungeons efficiently. However, legally, the Hunter Association currently has the authority to manage the dungeon. In any case, it means that hunters in the field must follow the instructions of the Association employee. Of course, it’s common to listen to hunters with a lot of field experience. After all, the employee wants to raise their performance rating through efficient methods, and the hunters want to finish the raid quickly and get paid. But what if I ignore that custom here and just refuse to budge? They would have no choice but to listen. In return, I would be initiating a revenge plot where they file tons of complaints against me.
Usually, an employee would be too afraid of complaints to confront hunters, but I’m different!
“No! This dungeon must have all its spaces identified. We will confirm the unexplored areas and proceed with the boss raid after searching everything. There will be no compromises. Now, please begin.”
“Did that guy go crazy!”
“Hey, you little son of a—!”
I ignored the shouting of the hunters behind me and entered the temporary tent. Hehehe… Yes, be angry. Spend days walking through this dungeon for no reason, and then get angry and flood me with complaints! That’s the only way I’ll get one step closer to quitting! Hahahahahaha!