The Unexpected Deputy Leader: D-Rank Intern Meets the Jealous A-Rank Captain
The briefing room was nothing special—just a partitioned space with one whiteboard and a separate section for the team leader’s meeting area.
Four hunters sat in the pre-arranged chairs in front of them: Han Sia, her expression tightly displeased, Lee Cheol-uk, Jihun’s old comrade from North Korea, and the B-rank duo Mr. Kim and Mr. Lee.
Han Sia stepped forward first.
“Hello, I am Han Sia, team leader of the Hunter Association’s Haboob team. It is wonderful to be here with my longtime colleague, Hunter Lee Cheol-uk, and to assume the overall responsibility of the irregular raid group. Thank you for your presence.”
Claps filled the room in response to Sia’s self-introduction.
“Though you may have already reviewed the operational plan, this gate is B-rank and by no means a casual one. I hope you will remember to always stay alert for unexpected events while inside the gate. Now, Team Leader Cheol-uk?”
Sia wrapped up her part in her signature crisp style and passed the floor to Cheol-uk.
Cheol-uk kept it short. “I’m Cheol-uk. As a Super Regeneration user, I promise not to be shaken by anything I see, and let’s all give it our best!”
The law of diminishing returns applied here.
Instead of another short speech from Sia or Cheol-uk, Mr. Kim and Mr. Lee—two seasoned B-rank veterans—launched into a twenty-minute monologue of their first gate conquest stories and every experience they had ever collected.
Only after they finished did the turn return to Sia.
“And today I will also appoint a deputy team leader.”
A collective blank stare.
Jihun, a ten-year D-rank hunter, had never heard the term before.
No one in the room had.
“Today’s deputy team leader will be Min Jihun. In the team leader meeting, we have already decided. Hunter Min possesses a firm sense of responsibility…”
Please, please, stop! Don’t do this, Sia! I won’t forgive you!
“Veteran… rank…”
Please, just stop there! I can’t take that word!
“…D-rank. A ten-year hunter. When the team leaders are absent, please feel free to request assistance from Jihun.”
Jihun’s brain had melted.
A ten-year D-rank hunter.
The atmosphere around him suddenly grew heavy.
A dozen invisible knives stabbed straight at his face.
He could see the thoughts running through everyone’s heads.
Over in the corner, blind-to-his-own-aggression Yunju sat with her small fist clenched, mouthing, “Congratulations, oppa! Fighting!”
In this world, whether you were D-rank or even E-rank was never the real problem.
From the beginning, the rare hunters who had awakened directly at A-rank or B-rank were an extremely small minority worldwide, and even those hunters could level up their core skills and basic five stats.
So, with hard work and a willingness to die, most people would reach C-rank in two or three years, then B-rank another two or three years after that—sometimes five or six. Retirement from death, injury, or PTSD was the usual path before that.
But Jihun had been stuck at D-rank for a full decade.
The only hunter in existence who had only half-awakened and failed to open his unique skill.
Still waiting for official classification from the Hunter Association, he held a temporary D-rank intern certificate and had been active for ten years.
He had worked harder than anyone else, collected every bit of experience, and still failed to promote.
Every time he approached the association office, the officials had only said the same two things: “Bring your stat numbers,” and “Tell us what your unique skill is.”
Every re-evaluation request for the hunter who could not open his status window had been rejected.
Anyone could open their status window and level up in this world. Anyone could even share their vision with others simply by willing it.
So what would people think of someone who said, “I’ve killed so many monsters I should promote! But I can’t show you my status window”?
Fuck… this is just fucking bullshit, Sia! I thought things were finally changing recently! Son of a bitch! How the hell can someone still be D-rank after ten years?! Looking at me like I’m the biggest loser in the world! Aaaah, Sia!
Jihun’s internal scream went unheard.
Sia simply offered Jihun the same self-introduction rights she had given the others.
If she had not, hundreds of eyes staring at him would have been unbearable.
“Um… hello… my name is Min Jihun… I’m the new deputy team leader… thank you for your guidance… if there’s anything I can help with, please let me know… hahaha!”
Jihun took the scorching B-rank stares like a pro and finished his introduction.
“Wow, congratulations on becoming the deputy team leader, oppa!”
Yunju’s eyes sparkled with pure envy as she looked at Jihun.
“That’s not it, Yunju…”
“Really? Overdoing modesty is bad, you know?”
“Shhh!”
Jihun quickly covered Yunju’s mouth before she could say anything else.
“By the way, those jump suits and protective gear you gave me are amazing. Ever since I started wearing them, I haven’t been hurt once.”
“Of course. I made them myself. It’s almost like you have two lives now. Oh, and there’s one more thing. Just wait a second! First I’ll go tell Team Leader Cheol-uk.”
“Take your time.”
Yunju waved her short bob and headed toward Cheol-uk, explaining the use of the dimensional intercom like a good assistant.
I should hide in a corner for a bit. I pulled too much aggro with those eyes earlier… because of that Sia bitch.
Jihun, who had unintentionally drawn attention to himself, decided it was time to slip away.
He squatted behind the partition, tried to meditate and calm his nerves, but Sia’s voice cut through the air.
“What are you doing here, Min Jihun?”
Again… again…
He wondered why she kept running into him lately, but forced a laugh.
“Hahaha! Sia! Whoa, I didn’t expect to become deputy team leader! You should have told me in advance! I’ll work hard, thank you!”
Jihun’s habit of scratching the back of his head whenever he faced Sia made him awkwardly smile, but the laughter in his voice was still bright.
“…Nothing.”
Sia gave no answer.
Jihun wondered why she was acting like this toward him, and inside he was almost on the verge of tears.
“Um… Sia?”
“Um… no. Anyway, is everything ready? Deputy Team Leader Jihun?”
“Y-yes? Yes, everything is ready!”
Jihun automatically used honorifics and created distance between superior and subordinate.
“Hmm, the suit zipper… when are you going to zip it up? Are you entering the gate as is, or do you plan to remove it first?”
Jihun looked down. The front zipper was completely open, revealing compression shorts and a small pair of briefs.
Shit!
“Hahaha! I got so flustered introducing myself in front of so many people that my face is burning up! I’m sorry you had to see that!”
“It’s fine. By the way, is this suit made of magestone?”
“Wow, you noticed the mana flow? This was a gift from Dr. Ham Yunju! Thanks to her, I haven’t been hurt in two whole years.”
At that moment Sia’s eyebrows formed a perfect X.
The smooth forehead now carried a deep crease, and her already sharp cat-like eyes narrowed even more.
Hah… x… why again? You’re A-rank! You don’t need protection gear like this! Besides, even A-rank or S-rank monsters would drain all the mana in one shot and make it completely useless!
“Hmm. Is that so? You’re on good terms with Dr. Ham Yunju from the Magic Engineering Ministry?”
“Y-yes. I saved Dr. Ham Yunju once during that gate break event, and that connection led here… haha…”
Every time Jihun said “saved” or “connection,” Sia’s eyebrows deepened with tension.
After a long silence, Sia finally relaxed her expression.
“Dr. Ham Yunju is a VVIP-level protected high-priority individual. As overall team leader, every incident and accident that occurs here is my responsibility. The same applies to her personal safety. It’s good that you two are friendly, but please keep any personal closeness to a minimum that doesn’t interfere with Dr. Ham’s protection… The gate will be entered at exactly 13:00 in ten minutes. That is all.”
“Yes! I’ll head out right away.”
Only after Sia turned her back and left did Jihun finally exhale.
What the hell is going on?
Why is she acting like this?
The word that flashed through Jihun’s mind was jealousy.
Yeah, that bitch is jealous! The reason she looked at me with disgust even though I have connections in the Magic Engineering Ministry!
Ugh… if that’s the case, it makes sense she wants to stop us from meeting under the pretext of protection…
You really are the biggest bitch, Sia. Han Sia.
Jihun, still seething from yesterday’s park bench re-evaluation of her personality, followed the rest of the team into the gate.