The Golden Hunter License
Exactly thirty minutes had passed since Do-ha received his Hunter License.
What a circus.
His name was on every tongue — not just online, but on the lips of every passerby in the street. Korea's first Cheonwaecheon. The identity of the SSS-rank Hunter. Whether the rumors were true or false. Everywhere he walked, people were talking about the new Cheonwaecheon.
Took a little longer than I expected.
Do-ha checked his watch and nodded. He had figured that the moment he left the Association, the staff member who had been in the room with him would start spreading word of an SSS-rank's appearance. And of course he would — this was an SSS-rank, the kind they called Cheonwaecheon. A rank that had never once appeared in Korea. There was no chance anyone would keep quiet about that.
Classified or not, he had expected SSS-rank to be the exception.
Good thing I hid my identity.
If he had revealed his real name and face, the streets around him would already be packed with people.
He slipped a hand into his pocket.
Hmm… a Hunter License, huh.
Do-ha pulled out the golden card and studied it. The Association clearly had never expected to produce an SSS-rank license either — he still remembered how the staffer's hands had trembled when they handed it over.
So my DNA is in this thing, which means it can't be forged?
It was more than a simple card. A Hunter License contained DNA, allowing for instant identity verification. That feature had not existed until a few years ago, when the global criminal syndicate of awakened Hunters known as New Age began forging and stealing licenses. In response, the World Hunter Association had developed the technology.
And because no personal information was entered during DNA registration, there was no risk of a family name or real identity leaking out.
"This world's technology really is superior."
Science itself had advanced further here, so that much was only natural.
He kept walking.
"This the place?"
After a long stretch on foot, Do-ha arrived in front of a Gate. Its color was yellow — a C-rank Yellow Gate.
Same system as the Hunter Licenses.
Hunter Licenses, like Gate ranks, were divided into eight tiers:
Gold Gates were SSS. Gray Gates were SS. Purple Gates were S. Red Gates were A. Green Gates were B. Yellow Gates were C. Sky-blue Gates were D. White Gates were E. And finally, Gates housing monsters like dragons or liches were classified as Unknown.
Strictly speaking, though, Gate ranks differed from Hunter Licenses in one important way. Licenses simply stepped up one grade at a time, but Gates were subdivided within each rank into Highest, High, Mid, and Low. C-rank High. C-rank Mid. C-rank Low. That sort of thing. If monsters swarmed in large numbers, a Gate climbed to High; if only a handful appeared, it dropped to Low. Bosses were treated as Highest.
At first there was only a single rank for each, I heard.
Eight years ago, the international system had been refined for a reason — the death of the world's most famous A-rank Hunter at the time. An A-rank Hunter had entered an A-rank Gate, only to be overwhelmed by a monster swarm and killed.
Every safety regulation is written in blood, isn't that what they say?
That was why the international community had introduced the finer subdivisions.
The best way to grow stronger is still real combat.
Training? Fine. It was a necessary process if you wanted to get stronger. But training alone had its limits.
The martial artists of the Eastern Continent loved their closed-door cultivation…
But that was only ever preparatory study. In school terms, it was preview work — nothing more.
"For gauging my current level, these things are perfect."
The Gate he had come to was one that spawned Hounds — wolf-type monsters. They typically moved in pairs, each about the size of a compact car.
In Belhart, Hounds ran in packs of five…
Here, they only traveled in twos. That was why this place rated as a C-rank Gate. If they had bunched up in fives the way they did in Belhart, any Gate that spawned Hounds would have been bumped up to B-rank.
His footsteps carried him forward.
"I'd like to enter the Gate."
Do-ha approached the stall set up at the Gate entrance, where a Hunter sat scrolling on his phone. Every Gate had an owner. Most belonged to guilds; the rest were Association property.
This one's Association-owned.
Which meant the entry fee was cheaper than at guild-run Gates.
"You alone?"
"Yes."
"Alright, Hunter License."
The Association Hunter manning the entrance — Go Myeong-soo — didn't even look up. He simply held out his hand.
Do-ha passed it over.
"You know this place spawns Hounds, right? If three or more gather, get out of there immediately and—?!?!"
Go Myeong-soo, still explaining the Gate while staring at his phone, caught sight of the license's color — and shot to his feet with a violent jolt.
"Th-th-this is…"
"Is there a problem?"
"…"
Stunned, Go Myeong-soo looked back and forth between the license in his hand and Do-ha himself.
What is this? A forgery?
No. If you were going to forge something, you'd pick an ambiguous rank. What kind of lunatic would fake a golden SSS-rank Hunter License?
"Hello?"
"S-sorry."
Snapping back to himself, Go Myeong-soo pressed the license against a machine. A sharp beep answered — not unlike scanning a barcode, except this device was reading the chip embedded in the license.
"Mr. A… Confirmed."
Only then did Go Myeong-soo understand who he was dealing with. He swallowed hard.
Just moments ago, he and his colleagues had been talking about the newly appeared SSS-rank Hunter. Go Myeong-soo hadn't believed a word of it. An SSS-rank Hunter showing up out of nowhere was already absurd — and operating under the name A? Face covered? He had dismissed the whole thing as a boring rumor.
B-but it was real…
His heart was hammering. Whether from pure shock or from the dizzying mix of thrill and fear that came with meeting an SSS-rank, he couldn't tell.
"I'm good to go in, right?"
"Yes! O-of course!"
Go Myeong-soo returned the license, then hurriedly cracked open a bottle of water and held it out.
"Y-you've come all this way — please, wet your throat a little…"
An SSS-rank Hunter — a Cheonwaecheon — was a national strategic asset. They were treated on par with heads of state. Of course, the only actual head of state was the president, but the treatment alone spoke to how different an SSS-rank's standing truly was.
"Uh… thanks."
The sudden shift in attitude left Do-ha slightly flustered.
"Not at all! No need to thank me."
"Well then. Keep up the good work."
Do-ha started toward the Gate — then stopped.
"Just in case… I'd appreciate it if you kept my visit here a secret. Crowds are a hassle."
"…"
Go Myeong-soo, still clutching his phone, gave an awkward smile. The truth was, the moment Do-ha entered the Gate, he had planned to brag to every colleague and friend he had. And more than that, protocol required reporting who entered a Gate and when — to prevent accidents, and to recover a body if a Hunter died inside.
"I do have to file a report with the Association…"
"If you keep it quiet, then in return I'll… what's your name?"
"Go— Go Myeong-soo, sir!"
"I'll make sure to remember the name, and later on I'll do Myeong-soo a favor. How's that sound?"
"…"
Go Myeong-soo steadied his racing heart and smiled. A figure on the level of a head of state — a superstar — had just promised to remember his name and help him someday. Who in their right mind would turn that down?
Failing to file a proper report would earn him a dressing-down from his superiors, but right now that barely registered.
"Yes! I'll do that!"
In the end, Go Myeong-soo nodded. So what if he got yelled at a little? An SSS-rank Cheonwaecheon Hunter was going to remember him.
"File the report after I come out."
"Yes! Go on in without a worry."
Do-ha gave a short laugh at that, then threw himself into the Gate.
The door burst open.
"Hah… hah… Wh-who was it. Who was the staffer in charge of this."
"Th-that would be me."
The man who stormed into the room, breathing hard, was Kim Hee-jae — A-rank Hunter and President of the Association. He fixed his eyes on Lee Woo-jin, the man who had measured Do-ha's rank. It wasn't anger. It was pure, unfiltered excitement.
"You're certain? He's really SSS-rank?"
"Yes. Definitely SSS-rank."
"The mana crystal actually glowed gold?"
"Yes. We measured twice. Both times it lit up gold."
"Ha!"
After asking the same questions several times over, the Association President clapped his hands and broke into a smile. How long had he waited for an SSS-rank Hunter to appear? The United States, China, and Russia each had two or three. Korea had zero.
I thought our first SSS-rank would be one of those two…
The President stroked his chin, thinking of Korea's current SS-rank Hunters. Han Se-ah, Guild Leader of the Doksa Guild. Kang Ji-hwan of the Yuseong Guild. He had expected one of those two to break through to SSS.
"What did he look like?"
The moment he heard the report of an SSS-rank Hunter, he had bolted over without listening to another word. He knew neither the name nor the appearance.
"Well… he was handsome."
"…"
The Association President frowned at Lee Woo-jin's report. Who asked for that?
"H-he was wearing a mask, so I couldn't really tell what he looked like."
"You just said he was handsome."
Hadn't he? You'd have to see a face to decide someone was handsome, wouldn't you?
"A black mask covered his mouth and nose."
"Then how do you know if he was handsome or ugly?"
"Just the eyebrows and eyes were enough. He was handsome."
"…"
The Association President sighed. Plenty of people had nice eyebrows and eyes. More than a decade ago, during the global pandemic, half the world had looked better the moment they put on a mask.
"And the name?"
"A…"
"What?"
"He said he would operate under the name A."
"Why?!"
Why on earth? Face covered, and now a fake name on top of it? He was throwing away every benefit, every fortune, every scrap of fame that came with the rank. For what?
"Could it be New Age…"
The Association President started to speak, then shook his head. If the man had been an awakened affiliated with New Age, he never would have walked into the Association and done this. Besides, nearly every awakened in New Age was already on a wanted list.
"Any other distinguishing features? Something we could use to figure out who he is."
"Hmm… ah! He seemed like he didn't believe his own rank."
"Didn't believe it?"
"Yes. Like he was thinking, Why SSS-rank? That's why we ran the measurement a second time."
"??"
The Association President tilted his head at the report. Lee Woo-jin was a senior staffer here. He had measured countless Hunters — including Korea's current SS-ranks, Han Se-ah and Kang Ji-hwan. His eye for people was reliable. And yet even he had found the man strange.
"Anything else?"
"Nothing."
"Well now. From the very first appearance, this one's going to drive people crazy with curiosity."
Face hidden. Name hidden. Even puzzled by his own rank. The President wanted to track him down right then and start asking questions.
"Uh… Mr. President."
"?"
While the Association President stood with his arms crossed, lost in thought, another staffer behind him spoke up.
"If we cross-reference the building's internal cameras with the street CCTV a few times, we should be able to figure out where he went… shall we try tracking him?"
"Why."
One of the President's eyebrows climbed.
"Excuse me?"
"Why would we track him. Is he a criminal?"
"Th-that's not what I—"
"Then why track him? Fine. Let's say we do. We find him, and then what? 'We tracked you down to find you'? To a Cheonwaecheon? Are you insane? Have you lost your mind?"
The Association President's face tightened, and the staffer who had spoken hung his head. He had only meant to be helpful, seeing how curious the President was.
"More importantly — you do know that everything that happens inside this building is classified, right?"
The rumor that an SSS-rank had appeared was probably something Hunter A had already anticipated. But that was as far as it went. No further. A simple An SSS-rank has appeared — that was the limit. That much gossip the other party would have expected and could overlook.
But tracking him down and showing up at his door? That was picking a fight.
"I just want to know what kind of person Korea's first SSS-rank Hunter is. I have no interest in crossing the line and earning his anger. So drop the nonsense about tracking him down. Everyone clear on that?"
"Yes, sir!"
Everyone inside Room 5 answered as one.
"If I catch anyone wasting time scrolling through CCTV trying to find him… getting fired will be the least of your problems."
With that final warning, the Association President swept out of the room.