Is this what it feels like to be trapped in a dimensional rift without a return stone? After the license ceremony ended, I found myself in a perplexing situation. Interest, greed, envy, and so on.
Dozens of people stood before me with intense gazes. Will I even make it home today?
“I'm Jegal Cheon from the Republic Daily News! If you don't mind, could I have a moment for an interview…!!”
“Hey, you. I've been waiting here. Have some professional courtesy!”
“Mr. Cheon Hae-seon! You've been judged an S-rank for the first time in ten years. How do you feel?”
“Move it! Hunter Cheon Hae-seon promised to meet with me earlier.”
When did I ever, you fool. Seeing them not just reach for me but even bring up promises I never made, they must be truly desperate. I want to hurry home and share this good news with my sister, but at this rate, it seems I'll have trouble just leaving the headquarters, let alone getting home.
“To be fair, I'll say one thing to everyone.”
“Ooh!!”
Fair and simple.
“I'm very happy, and I won't be doing any interviews for the time being.”
“Huh???”
I politely pushed aside the reporters one by one. A normal healer would have struggled to push through the crowd, but my body was already on par with a D-rank Hunter. To others, it might have looked like I was just lightly waving my hands, but the body of a mere (?) reporter couldn't stop my actions.
“Mr. Cheon Hae-seon.”
Hmm.
After the reporters, is it a bald man? A middle-aged, bald man in what looked like a martial arts uniform called out to me.
“I am the representative of the Bishop Guild. My name is Ga Yeol-chan.”
‘Oh.’
The Bishop Guild. It's not as big as the Glory Guild, but it's a prestigious guild that everyone in the regional areas knows. The number two guild in the Republic of Korea, which oversees the Busan area.
“Hello.”
“A pleasure to meet you. Have you, by chance, heard of our Bishop Guild?”
“Yes. Of course.”
Ga Yeol-chan's lips stretched wide from side to side. It seems he's the type who can't hide his expressions.
“That is very good to hear. Our Bishop Guild is desperately seeking talented individuals like you, Mr. Cheon Hae-seon. If you have the time…”
“Ah, but.”
“??”
“I have no intention of joining the Bishop Guild right now.”
His stretched-out lips gaped open. I almost laughed. He's the kind of guy who's fun to talk to because his reactions are so great.
“Why have you made such a decision already… May I ask the reason?”
“It's too far.”
Was the word 'far' that shocking? Ga Yeol-chan's jaw, which had dropped to the first basement floor, instantly plummeted to the third. His expression seemed to say, 'What kind of person is this?'
But the distance was a critical disadvantage for me. The Bishop Guild's jurisdiction covers Busan and the surrounding Gyeongsang Province. This would inevitably mean living separately from my sister, and there was no reason for me to go that far just to join the Bishop Guild.
Unless they managed to secure a jurisdiction near Seoul, that is.
“If… if it's too far… then you're only looking at guilds in the capital. Then perhaps the Glory Guild…?”
“No. I'm not going to the Glory Guild.”
The Glory Guild, the top Hunter collective in the Republic of Korea. Most of the Hunters who passed today would want to sign with them. But even if the sky were to split in two, I would never sign a contract with the Glory Guild.
“If it's not the Glory Guild, and not our Bishop Guild either…”
Is it because he's overthinking it? A hot energy gathered on the crown of Ga Yeol-chan's head. Ah, that's right, they said this man was an Esper.
At this rate, my face is going to cook from Ga Yeol-chan's heat.
“I'm not thinking of joining a guild right now. I don't have anywhere else in mind either. I plan to slowly look for a place that's advantageous for me.”
“Oh, I see.”
Does he think there's still hope since I'm not going somewhere else? A light of optimism rose in Ga Yeol-chan's eyes. And soon, that light was extinguished by the icy tone of someone's voice.
“…Representative Gu.”
“Representative Ga. So you were here.”
A voice with a distinctive resonance came from behind me. Gu Geon-yi, the representative of the Glory Guild. He was slowly walking over, pinching his spiky hair.
“I called the other day to see how you were, but you must have been busy.”
“I was. A certain guild in Seoul has been poaching Hunters who were about to sign with us, so we had to find replacements.”
Judging by Ga Yeol-chan's attitude, it was easy to guess which Seoul guild he was talking about. So the rumors were true, that they were indiscriminately scooping up even Hunters who had preliminary contracts, paying their cancellation fees. Seeing that they don't hesitate to start a conflict with the nation's number two guild, it seems they fear nothing.
“Hahahaha. It seems there's been a misunderstanding.”
“A misunderstanding?”
“We simply made an offer through official channels. A preliminary contract is, after all, just preliminary.”
Oh, dear.
The crown of Ga Yeol-chan's head, which had just barely cooled down, started to radiate heat again. I inconspicuously shuffled back behind him. Hey, Ga Yeol-chan.
Since you're so pissed off, why don't you shoot a crimson laser at that bastard. If you do, I might reconsider my contract.
“Early success is said to be one of the three great calamities. If you continue to be so arrogant, you will pay the price.”
“I'll keep that in mind.”
However, contrary to my expectations (?), Ga Yeol-chan didn't lose his reason. Instead, he showed the meticulousness to give me his business card before leaving. A hot heart and a cool head.
Is that the kind of person he is? Perhaps that's how he was able to become the leader of a region. While I was lost in these thoughts, Gu Geon-yi spoke to me.
“I apologize for what happened that day.”
“…An apology?”
“Hearing the full story, I can see why the old woman felt wronged. And you nearly lost your life in that area too.”
“……”
“It's understandable that you would hold a grudge against me. It was an unavoidable choice, but the victims couldn't have accepted it.”
His words were like scratching an itch. The words I had wanted to hear that day at the Hunter Association headquarters. What a shame.
If I had heard these words the first day we met, I might have tried to understand the Glory Guild. Not in this current situation, where they're trying to recruit an S-rank Hunter.
“I'm glad you understand now.”
“Right. If you're free, we could go to a nearby coffee shop and…”
“I hope you maintain that mindset in the future.”
I turned my back on Gu Geon-yi's dumbfounded face and walked away. It seems the bastard put too much faith in the prestige of the Glory Guild. To think he would try to mend our relationship with such cheap sweet-talk.
“I can make you Maria's successor.”
A heavy, low voice filled with Ether stopped me in my tracks. Ah, I forgot again that I need to protect my ears when talking to him. He would never dream of it.
That if I were to dream of being someone's successor, the target would not be Maria.
“Not interested.”
With those words, I ended the conversation with Gu Geon-yi.
[Don't worry too much. He's a friend with plenty of potential, so he'll get a promotion soon.]
[I am ashamed. I'll be in your care.]
In the car on the way back to the headquarters, Gu Geon-yi exchanged messages with Yoo In-won. The Yoo In-won from the morning, who looked as bright as if he'd conquered the world, was no longer of this earth.
All that remained was a father with the expression of a man who had lost his country, having sired an E-rank healer.
“Did you feel a little better?”
“Yes. It's been a long time since I've seen an Imperial Tiger, so it was fascinating. It's also been a while since I've seen such perfect healing.”
‘Every time she opens her mouth, it's about Cheon Hae-seon.’
A corner of his heart felt uneasy, but Gu Geon-yi decided to be satisfied. Maria's voice sounded quite bright, unlike before. Wasn't she the one who had engaged in a long period of self-harm after the Gaebang District incident?
At this point, he had achieved his initial objective.
“By the way… I'm worried about the Vice Chairman. A child's affairs are more important than one's own…”
“We did what we could. No need to worry about it anymore.”
“What did you do?”
Oops.
Gu Geon-yi, who had answered carelessly, snapped to his senses. Maria had a gentle and tender heart. Because of that, her true feelings sometimes slipped out naturally.
“We arranged for you to be an examiner. That was the greatest favor we could offer.”
With Maria already suspicious, he couldn't just confess. The fact that they had taken Yoo Ji-won to the lab and injected him with a massive amount of Ether must never be revealed.
‘That's probably what caused the side effects…’
Ability and Ether were directly proportional. An Awakened's skills grew in tandem with the Ether they accumulated step by step. But Yoo Ji-won was hit with an Ether bomb before his abilities could even awaken, and he couldn't exhibit healing powers commensurate with his levels.
‘We even brought in a private tutor for him… In the end, it just means that was the extent of his capacity.’
Yoo Ji-won had failed. Cheon Hae-seon wouldn't even give the Glory Guild a second glance.
However.
Gu Geon-yi's expression didn't look particularly dark. That was because he had anticipated Yoo Ji-won's failure from the beginning. Gu Geon-yi had no interest in 'win-win' strategies.
Instead of a mutually beneficial relationship, he wanted a situation where Vice Chairman Yoo In-won would have to come begging to him. And that plan had worked out perfectly. If he had become an A-rank or B-rank, the Vice Chairman would have had nothing to complain about, but an E-rank healer was a useless resource to the Glory Guild.
By taking in Yoo Ji-won, whom they didn't need to, he had obtained a 'key' to make demands of the Association in the future. Whether it was expanding their jurisdiction or forcing a halt to media reports on their alleged monopoly. There were plenty of things to demand from the Association.
‘The problem is Cheon Hae-seon…’
Maria's successor.
For a Healer-type Hunter, that was tantamount to the best offer possible. Moreover, the person who made the offer was the representative of the Glory Guild. In truth, Cheon Hae-seon was more than qualified.
An amount of Ether that couldn't be measured even with a Gold Core. An SSS-tier Healing Ability that instantly healed a dying Imperial Tiger. And even the star power that came from his handsome looks.
If they nurtured him well, the Glory Guild's next ten years would be smooth sailing.
‘It doesn't look like he'll go to Bishop…’
Not Glory, and not Bishop. Then where in the world would Cheon Hae-seon go? The kid is still just a novice.
There was no way he knew that they had intentionally let the residents of Gaebang District die. That was a fact even Maria didn't know. Therefore, he could still be persuaded.
I don't know which guild he'll choose, but wherever it is, I have to stop him by force.
‘Cheon Hae-seon. There is only one guild in this country that suits you.’
Looking out the window at the Han River, Gu Geon-yi nodded his head as if making a promise to himself.
“How can you even say that right now!!”
Thud!!
Yoo In-won glared at the man before him with bloodshot eyes. The chief supervisor of the first examination site. It was because of the report he had just heard from Pyo Hyeok-gyu.
“I apologize, but it's the truth. The Gold Core used today can no longer…”
It had become unusable. A dark red crack had appeared on its brilliant golden light, and its internal Ether level had dropped to zero. The absurd part was that no one knew why it had happened.
He was already boiling with rage, and now the report that one of the Association's precious assets had become useless made the back of Yoo In-won's neck stiffen.
“How on earth did you handle things!!”
He yelled at the supervisor, but in truth, he knew. Supervisor Pyo Hyeok-gyu had done nothing wrong. An applicant had appeared who exceeded the acceptable range, so he had simply used the Gold Core according to regulations.
But Yoo In-won no longer had the reason to consider such things. His gently combed-back hair was now disheveled, and his expression was no less wicked than any villain. No, he had only been maintaining a public image.
This current appearance could be called Yoo In-won's true nature.
“The Chairwoman will be back soon… This is a damn mess.”
Yoo In-won lit a cigarette from the pack on his desk.
“Hoo… What an unlucky day. It's a relief that the Glory Guild took Ji-won in, at least…”
As the Vice Chairman smoked with a deep frown, Pyo Hyeok-gyu asked in a calm tone.
“What should we do with the altered Gold Core?”
At that, Yoo In-won yelled again.
“Fuck!! Who cares!! You said its core energy reading is zero!!”
“Yes… But it's still technically an Association asset.”
“Don't ask me every little thing!! Shove it in a trash can, drill a hole in it and give it to a bowling alley, just handle it yourself!!”
For a moment, Pyo Hyeok-gyu's gaze, which had been directed at the floor, subtly changed. But it was a sight unseen by Yoo In-won, who was too busy screaming in his agitation. Pyo Hyeok-gyu bowed politely to the Vice Chairman and finished his final report.
“Then… I will take care of the broken Gold Core myself.”