The Golden Goose
“What do you think we should do about him?”
“Try recruiting him first, I suppose.”
The guildmaster of Haeshin Guild, Yu Seok-hyun, and the guildmaster of Red Hunting, Han Yu-ra.
Two titans of the hunter world, gathered at the same table — all because of the man in the photograph.
“Every time Poong-rim comes home, all he talks about is this man. It's been keeping me up at night…”
“My daughter's the same. She keeps bringing him up — and this is a girl who never spared so much as a glance at anyone, let alone a boy.”
On the surface, it sounded like the ordinary concern of two parents.
Their expressions said otherwise.
Yu Seok-hyun's face had gone dark, and something like killing intent was bleeding out of his eyes. Han Yu-ra was smiling as she spoke, but she had the air of someone who would kill anybody on the spot if you just handed her a knife.
“Heh heh.”
“Ha ha.”
They laughed.
Like a pair of lunatics.
“Yu Jina! Your mana is leaking!”
“Yes, sir!”
Jina gathered her mana and unleashed a barrage of spells.
“Jin Pung-rim! Fix your leg balance!”
“Yes, Master!”
Pung-rim adjusted his stance, and his form immediately improved.
The gate we were in was C-rank, but it was exactly right as a sparring ground for those two.
Looks like the framework is finally starting to take shape.
A week since I'd started training them.
At first they wouldn't listen to a word I said, but as the lessons went on, they fell in line little by little. By now they obeyed my instructions without a single word of complaint.
At this rate, in another two weeks I could set my sights on an A-rank gate.
The original goal had been to train them in a B-rank gate, but if we kept this pace, an A-rank wasn't out of reach.
Come to think of it, geniuses really are geniuses, huh?
I felt it acutely every time I taught them.
Point out a flaw once, and they never made the same mistake twice. They even pushed one step beyond what my coaching called for. To someone like me — no genius — they were practically monsters.
My ability and skill were the product of effort, not talent. And these two kept growing as if they intended to dig all the way down to my foundations and strip-mine everything I'd built.
Thud!
Pung-rim's fist dropped the gate's last monster.
A fist hardened with mana enhancement — without using a single skill.
I clicked my tongue at the sight.
He's already picked up mana enhancement?
Give me a month of teaching them, and I'd run my well dry for real. If things kept up like this, we'd have a problem. Or so the thought crossed my mind.
Goblin Playground has been cleared.
Calculating experience points.
Since I hadn't lifted a finger, I received a speck of experience — but those two would walk away with plenty.
“Pung-rim, spread your points evenly except for stamina. Jina, focus on mana and spread the rest evenly.”
At my words, they distributed their stats without argument.
A short wait later, the exit opened.
At their current level, they were roughly on par with a pre-breakthrough B-rank Awakener.
I'll keep them at A-rank level for now.
Thinking that, I crossed through the gate and stepped out.
Two vehicles were waiting at the exit.
“Huh?”
“Mm?”
The moment they saw the cars, both of them frowned.
If they recognized the vehicles, odds were good it was guild business.
I should get out of here fast.
Normally I'd have bought them ice cream at the corner store and sent them on their way, but right now, a quick exit seemed wise.
My plan was made moot by a voice at my side.
“Awakener Han Jin, I presume?”
“We're from Haeshin Guild.”
The first speaker was a scout from Red Hunting; the second, one from Haeshin.
“What's this about? If you're here to collect the kids, their training just wrapped up, so feel free to take them.”
“No, sir. Our business is with you.”
I tried to hand them off smoothly, but of course that didn't work.
When it's like this, better to strike first.
“I have no intention of joining any guild.”
“At least hear our contract terms.”
“Whichever one you choose, you'll find them satisfying.”
Had the two guilds coordinated? The scouts were working in perfect sync.
This wasn't a situation where a simple refusal would make them back off.
“Kids, go home with the nice scouts.”
Saying my piece to the two watching me, I launched into my footwork.
Basic form.
Speed.
“Wait a—”
“At least talk to us!”
They reached to grab me, but my footwork was faster.
They'd probably assume I'd used some skill or item.
Which is going to be a headache, but…
A person who can hold skills or items that allow escape from exactly that kind of situation. To a guildmaster, that's a mouthwatering treasure.
Would be nice if those two smoothed things over for me…
They were young, but they were heirs in name if nothing else. If they spoke up for me, the whole thing would blow over.
They… will speak up for me, right?
For a moment, a flicker of unease crept in.
I forced the feeling down and left.
“Hmm…”
Inside the gate, I stopped mid-hunt and frowned.
Ever since I'd shaken off those two scouts, I'd been plagued by saboteurs.
Whenever I finished training the kids and ran a gate solo, someone would tail me in, hunt the monsters, and poach my precious experience points.
And the two of them are taking turns at it?
Day one, Red Hunting. Day two, Haeshin. After that, the two guilds alternated, following me into every gate I entered.
They even followed me into a Geumgang Guild gate? Seriously?
As two of the so-called Top 3 guilds, they'd always guarded their own territories jealously — and now they'd broken that unwritten rule to walk into a Geumgang gate.
Did I do something?
I racked my brain, but the only grudge I could've given either guild was turning down their recruitment offers.
Still, if that were enough to break the rule, it would've been broken long ago.
What the hell is the problem… should I just quit teaching them?
Maybe training the two of them had been the mistake. Guild politics — someone eyeing the guildmaster's chair, or the kids making enemies on their own.
Is that the answer?
It was half the answer, anyway. Yes, the guild members were coming in because I was teaching the kids.
The other half, however — it wasn't guild officials. It was the kids' own parents, sending them directly.
Because their beloved children did nothing but talk about me.
Not that there was any way I could have known that.
“I'll wrap up early today.”
I cleared the gate as fast as I could and stepped out.
Once outside, I headed straight for the Association.
It was the Association President who'd arranged this work for me — if anyone knew a way to fix this, it was her.
“Hah…”
Having heard my explanation, the President let out a long sigh.
Apparently something had clicked.
“In any case, I can't do this job anymore.”
“I'm sorry… I never imagined those two guilds would come out swinging like this.”
Mob stealing.
It ranked among the very worst of unsporting conduct. Snatching another hunter's prey was outlawed outright.
“Give me a little time, would you?”
“I can't wait. Twenty gates. Does that sound reasonable to you?”
In the five days since that day, I had entered twenty gates in total.
All twenty had been sabotaged by the two guilds. If not for the interference, I'd have leveled up at least once.
“Then bear with me just a little — I'll make some calls right now.”
“If you insist that strongly, Madam President… fine.”
Since the Association had brokered the work, I understood why she reacted like that.
Still, what about my precious experience points?
I was thoroughly sulking on the inside. No matter what compensation they offered, I wouldn't cave — that's what I'd told myself.
“I had a firm talk with both guilds.”
“And?”
“As compensation, they're handing over ownership of one B-rank sustained-type gate.”
“Excuse me?”
The compensation coming out of the President's mouth made no sense.
I figured I'd misheard and dug a finger into my ear.
“I must have wax buildup — I heard that wrong. What exactly are they giving me?”
“A B-rank sustained-type gate.”
Same words the second time around.
A B-rank sustained-type gate.
A gate whose name was its price tag. It didn't end with a single clear — it remained in place indefinitely, a perpetual source of income.
That was the value of a sustained-type gate.
They're just… giving me that?
Not just giving it, technically — but even so, the scale of the compensation was on another order entirely.
I studied the President across from me with suspicious eyes.
She definitely did something.
The President must have pulled strings. Otherwise there was no way a reward this size would materialize out of nowhere.
“Well? Are you happy with the compensation?”
“Happy? I'm thrilled. This is way too good.”
That said, it wasn't as if I'd refuse just because her fingerprints were on it. Turning down an offer like this would be plain bad manners.
I should thank the two guildmasters.
Thank you for the mob stealing, truly.
I pressed my palms together and offered a silent bow of gratitude to both guildmasters.
I'll educate your children with the utmost devotion.
I made the vow inwardly.
I would train those two to the breaking point and beyond.
And so I resolved.
“That son of a—!”
The guildmaster of Haeshin slammed his fist on the desk.
All because of the phone call that had just come in from the Association President.
Don't cross the line, old friend.
A single sentence laced with warning.
One line was enough to catch his meaning instantly.
His daughter — the child he loved more than his own eyes — did nothing but talk about that man. As a father, fury was the only natural response.
Ring, ring!
Just then, a direct line lit up: Han Yu-ra of Red Hunting.
Yu Seok-hyun steadied his breathing and picked up.
“Hello.”
— Did you get the President's call too?
“Seems you did as well.”
A short silence followed.
That silence spoke volumes about what both guildmasters were feeling.
“What did you make of it?”
— They wrung a B-rank sustained-type gate out of us as compensation.
“And you just handed it over?!”
A sustained-type gate was a goose that laid golden eggs.
To have that goose snatched away — Han Yu-ra's stomach had to be in knots by now.
— Couldn't be helped. After the last incident, I didn't have a leg to stand on.
“I don't envy you there…”
— Anyway, the reason I called. What are we doing about that man?
That man.
The trash who had bewitched their only children.
“We can't just sit on our hands.”
— Then we deal with him, don't we?
“How?”
Trash or not, the man enjoyed the protection of the Association President — and of Han Min-joon himself.
He couldn't be killed carelessly.
— We send Him.
“You'd truly resort to that?”
At Han Yu-ra's words, Yu Seok-hyun recoiled and shot back in disbelief.
— Do we have a choice? If we want it done for certain, that's the only way.
“…Understood.”
And so the call ended.
The moment the line went dead, two people, in two different offices, arrived at the exact same thought.
This is your fault — you bewitched my child.