A Sister's Protection and a Strategist's Plea

While wandering around the Murim Alliance guild building... I ran into my sister, Seohui.

"Sister? What are you doing here?"

"More importantly, what are you doing here instead of clearing a Gate?"

With her rank, shouldn't she be out raiding Gates with a party right about now?

"Well, I... I have some other business to attend to."

What kind of business makes her avoid my gaze like that?

"Is this the person in question?"

An intellectual-looking woman wearing glasses suddenly appeared out of nowhere and chimed in.

"Hmm...?"

Unsure of what was happening, I looked back and forth between the two of them.

"You haven't told her yet?"

"Sigh..."

Letting out a deep sigh, my sister introduced the woman to me. She was from the Murim Alliance's legal team...

"She's currently handling a case related to you, Sister."

"A case...?"

My sister sighed again and began to explain. Apparently, she was planning to teach a harsh lesson to the netizens who had dared to leak an **S-class** hunter's personal information and subject her to sexual harassment...

"The guild is taking this matter very seriously as well."

An **S-class** hunter wasn't just a powerful weapon with outstanding combat skills; their very existence was a premium brand, meaning their public image was incredibly important. Therefore, people on the internet gossiping and making crude remarks about my body was a direct blow to that image... So, they intended to sue them to make sure they never uttered such words again.

Since I knew absolutely nothing about the law, I told my sister to handle it as she saw fit. To be honest, I was actually grateful that she had taken the initiative without me even having to ask. I had been worrying about that issue a little bit... but they were taking care of it for me? Talk about a stroke of good luck.

On top of that, after speaking with the legal team's lawyer, I learned that doing such things to a real, living person was strictly a crime. While these cases were sometimes settled out of court for a reasonable sum, their goal this time was to issue a stern warning through severe punishment, so there would be no compromises...

"Do whatever you think is best."

"Yeah, I will."

"Right, you do that... By the way, are there any decent commissions available?"

I asked, wondering if I could take on some work similar to what adventurers or mercenaries did in the Other World.

"Commissions? What kind of commissions?"

"Ah, is it different here? I just want to get some active field work in."

"Oh, you mean you want to find a party?"

"Yeah. Ah-young and Gyuri are busy with their training, so I was thinking of heading out on my own."

"What level of difficulty are you thinking of?"

What level, indeed...

"Well, first of all, the guild's activities are largely divided into three categories."

I actually knew this pretty well from what I'd learned at the Academy.

The first was running **Dungeon-type Gates**. Farming mana stones to make money was the most standard method, and since there was no competition, it was a stress-free way to get by.

The second was clearing resource Gates. This involved wiping out the surrounding monsters to harvest resources, and then standing guard to ensure the boss or any remaining beasts didn't approach. After the initial sweep, it mostly consisted of boring downtime... but apparently, that made it quite comfortable. The pay was on the lower side, though...

The third was emergency dispatch. This meant responding to suddenly appearing Gates or dealing with monsters that had escaped due to a **Gate Break**. Under the direction of government agencies, hunters would deploy to conquer the Gate or secure the perimeter. Because of this, guilds had to maintain standby teams so they could deploy hunters at a moment's notice.

"Our guild gets called for emergency dispatches quite often."

Compared to other guilds, we took on the dirty work for a relatively low price, so whenever something came up, people would contact us first and call us out frequently.

"Hmm, I guess I should go with a dungeon then."

"Really? In that case..."

With my sister leading the way, I headed over to the party recruitment area. From what I could see, hunters would post recruitments with their destination and objectives, and others would check the listings and pick whatever suited their tastes to form a party... At first, it would be a gathering of strangers, but over time, everyone would be fellow guild members and familiar faces, making things much easier.

"If it's you, Sister, even a **B-class** Gate should be a breeze."

I had only shown a fraction of my combat capabilities... but it seemed my sister judged that the offensive power of my *Sacred Fire* alone would make **B-class** Gates easy. As expected of an **A-class**... perhaps because she had been through so many real battles and gained so much experience, she was quick to grasp my capabilities.

"Honestly, Sister, you'd be fine just handing out buffs."

My buffing abilities were so outstanding... that with them, **C-class** and **B-class** hunters wouldn't just go up by one tier, but by two or more, which would be more than enough. As someone who had personally received my buffs, she noted that while there were other support hunters capable of buffing, mine were incomparably, absurdly powerful.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"I suppose so."

I needed to explore various Gates to find any connection to the Other World...

After listening to my sister's brief explanation, I strolled over and casually browsed through the recruitment posts... when an unfamiliar man approached me.

"Ahem, a pleasure to meet you."

"Oh, uh... Nice to meet you too?"

I wondered who on earth he was...

"I am Jegal Cheon, the Vice Guild Master of this guild."

Jegal Cheon? I was well acquainted with the surname Jegal. Wasn't it the same surname as Zhuge Liang (Jegal Gongmyeong) from the *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*?

"You have a double-character surname too? How fascinating."

"Haha, indeed. First of all, thank you very much for joining our guild."

I wondered if it was really something to be that grateful for... but then I recalled the state of the Murim Alliance guild that my sister had described.

"Well, that's fine, but what brings you to me?"

A figure of the Vice Guild Master's stature wouldn't come looking for me without a reason. A simple thank you? He didn't need to deliver that in person. There had to be a reason.

"Ahem, naturally, I came to welcome our new **S-class**."

"Is that so? If this is going to be a long conversation, let's talk somewhere else."

He nodded and smoothly guided me somewhere. As if highly accustomed to hosting guests, he flattered me quite a bit as we walked. It wasn't unpleasant to hear... though it was clearly just professional courtesy.

We arrived on the 10th floor of the building...

"Hmm..."

And entered the private office of the Vice Guild Master, Jegal Cheon.

"Would you like some coffee?"

"Sure."

I sat comfortably on the sofa, crossed my legs, and waited. The coffee wasn't just simple instant mix. It was a proper, machine-brewed cup that clearly took some effort. The issue was that it didn't have a single grain of sugar in it. It was bitter and not quite to my taste... but the aroma was nice.

"So, what did you want to talk about?"

"There are a few matters I would like you to handle."

First, he explained the current situation of the Murim Alliance. The Murim Alliance had started with righteous intentions, but that had backfired, leaving them somewhat ostracized by the rest of the hunter industry... Other guilds and hunters didn't want to provide free services to corporations or the government; they wanted to inflate their market value. However, because the Murim Alliance kept accepting jobs at low rates, it made it difficult for them to do so. As a result, they were being treated as public enemies.

"I understand that as corporations, they must turn a profit, and I also understand their desire to raise their market value, but..."

From the Murim Alliance's perspective, they viewed those high ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠prices as a bubble and fundamentally wrong. In fact, the Murim Alliance was running their guild perfectly fine while only receiving the standard rates set by the government. Seeing that...

"Well, isn't that just how things are?"

They were risking their lives to make money, so it was only natural to want to be paid more. Unless the world was on the brink of destruction like the Other World... it was human nature to want to be treated well.

"Haha, indeed it is."

So, what Jegal Cheon, this Vice Guild Master, wanted to entrust to me was...

"Using my **S-class** healer abilities... to build connections with lucrative clients..."

It was an unwelcome proposal. While the compensation coming my way would be substantial... the fact that the work wasn't actual hunter activity made it highly unappealing. It was the act of treating the so-called VIPs...

"As soon as the news of your recruitment was published, Nix, the guild was flooded with requests."

They offered massive sums of money in exchange for treatment... The demands were incredibly diverse. Since I was an **S-class** healer, their expectations were sky-high. But if they were VIPs, couldn't they easily hire an **A-class** healer? Were those healers unable to cure them?

"Hmm..."

"I... I know this must be uncomfortable for you, but..."

The man bowed his head, pleading for me to treat at least a few people for ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the sake of the guild.

"Why are you acting so subservient?"

Was this really something he had to bow his head to beg for? Wouldn't it be easier to just refuse them?

"If we fall, the tyranny of the corporations and other hunters will only grow worse."

Mmm...

"Only when we stand firm as a bedrock... as the standard, can we suppress their outrageous behavior."

"Oh-ho..."

Was this the 'righteousness and chivalry' that formed the very foundation of the Murim Alliance?

"Is this what you call 'chivalry'?"

"You could say it's something similar."

"Right... In that case, why don't I hear a bit of your story?"

"Pardon?"

I found myself wanting to hear about the struggles of this man carrying the heavy title of Vice Guild Master.

Jegal Cheon seemed flustered, but he summarized his past briefly. He had stepped forward with a righteous heart alongside Namgung Min, the Alliance Leader, as one of the founding members of their original party, but his combat abilities had been terrible... While his other comrades acquired new skills or grew stronger through their natural talents, Jegal Cheon had only run in place.

He had worried that he was only holding them back... but Jegal Cheon possessed an extraordinarily sharp mind. To be of help to his comrades in his own way, he took charge of accounting and administrative work, and as their scale grew, he even handled negotiations. This continued even after the guild was established... and it was the reason why he, despite being a mere **C-class** hunter, had risen to the position of Vice Guild Master.

"Well, that is the story of an unremarkable man."

"For an unremarkable man, you're running this guild exceptionally well."

At one point, his comrades had even suggested he take the position of Guild Master... but since the Guild Master needed to serve as both the ultimate military force and the public face of the guild, Namgung Min, the strongest and most famous among them, became the Alliance Leader. Regardless, they had built the guild together, bound by a deep, unbreakable friendship.

And up until now, they had faced immense pressure and interference from all sides. Even the government couldn't offer much help... because if they favored the Murim Alliance too openly, it would provoke a backlash from other guilds and hunters. And if that happened, controlling them would become impossible, leaving the government with no choice but to walk on eggshells...

But now, the situation had changed. With my appearance, the tactic the hunter industry had used to pressure the Murim Alliance—controlling the supply of healers—was no longer viable.

"Hmm..."

Listening to his story, I couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for him. Moreover, with the grand justification of acting for the greater good, it felt wrong to simply refuse.

"Just so you know, even I can't cure absolutely everything."

"Is that so?"

I didn't know how bloated the rumors about my abilities had become... but even I had my limits. Of course, I could regenerate internal organs and regrow severed limbs... But there were still things that were impossible.

Wait, can I cure hair loss...?

"Thank you so much."

Jegal Cheon bowed his head once more. Then, he brought over a stack of documents and showed them to me. He went through the treatment requests one by one. Together, we sorted out what was treatable and what wasn't, and finally, we selected the high-priority individuals from the list.

"By the way... are you saying all of these are actually treatable?"

"Yeah. Though for a few of them, I'll have to try first to be sure."

I hadn't tried yet, but it should be possible.

"I suppose so. Even with your abilities, you wouldn't have had many opportunities to test them out, so it makes sense that you can't be entirely certain."

As expected, he was quick on the uptake...

"Yeah, exactly."

In any case, the targets for treatment were, as expected, incredibly wealthy... There were plenty of chaebols and politicians, and even a few professional athletes. I didn't really care about sports... but was it even allowed for an Awakened to treat injured athletes? Well, they wouldn't have requested it if it were a problem.

"Even after narrowing it down, there are still over thirty people."

"If... if that is too much, I can reduce the list further."

"No, it's fine."

It wasn't like the treatment was difficult... it would only take a flick of my wrist. Even the most severe cases didn't look like they would take more than ten minutes.

"Instead, let's decide the location of the treatment on our terms."

At my suggestion to set a date and handle them all in one go...

"I wonder if that will be possible..."

He murmured, wondering if they would complain about being too busy, given their VIP status.

"Then just reject them."

Was an **S-class** healer's time not valuable? When I pointed that out... Jegal Cheon readily agreed.

"That is a very fair point."

Since we had to give them time to organize their schedules... we decided on roughly a week from now, with the location being the guild itself. He had asked if we should rent out another venue...

"Why bother? It's not like I need an operating room to heal them."

Were other healers different...?

Anyway, it felt like my work for today was already done. I'd have to postpone going to a Gate for next time. My sister seemed busy working with the legal team... and it felt wrong to drag away the kids who were training so hard... Maybe I should just ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠pick a spot and head out on my own?