Monday, 10 a.m.
Siul sat waiting on a sofa in one corner of an unfamiliar office.
It was the Guild Master’s office of the .
Framed photographs of various Dungeon Raids and records of the Guild’s accomplishments decorated the room.
‘For a Guild operating out of a two-story building, they’ve accomplished quite a lot, haven’t they?’
As Siul looked around the office, the middle-aged man seated behind the desk set down the documents in his hands and spoke.
“Mr. Kim Siul? You have quite the impressive track record for a rookie Hunter.”
The man who approached him with praise had a face that looked extremely familiar.
Park Jung-gi.
Park Do-hyun’s father and the Guild Master of the Rising Guild.
He had a sturdy build and wore a neat shirt. Rather than the sharp air distinctive to Hunters, he gave off the impression of a seasoned businessman.
“I’ve heard a lot about you from Do-hyun as well. He said you were exceptionally skilled. He must have emphasized it several times.”
“…That’s more praise than I deserve.”
When Siul lowered his head in embarrassment, Park Jung-gi waved a hand.
“There’s no need to be modest. I looked over the records from your time with Min Hyung-sik’s team, and I checked your individual achievements as well.”
Park Jung-gi flipped through the documents while carefully choosing his words, then finally got to the point.
“So, about that…. We have an A-Rank Dungeon Raid scheduled in just four days. Would you be willing to join that party?”
Siul’s eyebrows rose sharply.
The offer had come sooner than expected.
Park Jung-gi seemed to notice his reaction and gave an awkward smile.
“Normally, we wouldn’t fill vacancies in an A-Rank Dungeon party this hastily, but we’ve run into a bit of a problem.”
Park Jung-gi frankly explained the situation.
“It’s a Gate we won at auction not long ago. The problem is that there isn’t much time left before a Gate Break. We have to clear it sometime this week.”
A Gate Break.
It was a term everyone in the Hunter industry knew.
If a Dungeon remained uncleared for too long, the Mana balance inside the Gate would collapse.
As a result, the monsters inside the Dungeon would break through the Gate and emerge into the real world.
The Wyvern Goblin incident that had occurred in the middle of the city was one such example.
“To make matters worse, we have another A-Rank Dungeon Raid scheduled for this week, so we’re in quite a difficult position.”
Park Jung-gi continued with a sigh.
“All of the skilled Hunters in our Guild have already been assigned to that one. We can’t split the party, and when we tried to hire an outside team on short notice, we couldn’t find anyone who met the requirements.”
In other words, they had successfully acquired an A-Rank Gate but lacked the manpower to actually clear it.
Only then did the pieces click into place for Siul.
‘So that’s why he accepted me so easily?’
A rookie Hunter officially registered as D-Rank.
Although Siul possessed abilities completely at odds with his recorded rank, there was no denying that he was still a considerable risk.
From Park Jung-gi’s perspective, however, he must have been a risk worth taking.
A small-to-mid-sized Guild could hardly afford to abandon an A-Rank Gate it had acquired cheaply, and Park Jung-gi would have been willing to open his wallet for practically anyone willing to join such a high-risk party.
“I understand the situation.”
Park Jung-gi’s expression brightened slightly at Siul’s answer.
“Then….”
“I’ll participate.”
Park Jung-gi’s face lit up at Siul’s decisive answer.
However, Siul still had something to add.
“But let me go alone.”
Park Jung-gi flinched, his pupils trembling.
“What exactly do you mean by that…?”
“I’ll clear the Dungeon by myself.”
“Excuse me?”
Park Jung-gi’s entire face twisted into a frown.
Dungeon Raids were normally carried out by teams of six to ten Hunters.
No matter how skilled a Hunter might be, common sense dictated that solo clears should be avoided.
One mistake could ruin everything, making it an extremely dangerous undertaking.
And yet a mere D-Rank rookie Hunter was claiming that he would enter an A-Rank Dungeon alone.
Park Jung-gi could not even laugh.
‘Is this young man arrogant, or does he have something he’s relying on?’
Unlike the worried Park Jung-gi, Siul showed no trace of fear.
‘I can’t die, so clearing a Dungeon alone is entirely possible for me. The problem is how I’m supposed to convince this man to trust me….’
He had come up with one possible solution the previous night.
Siul took a breath before slowly reciting the line he had prepared.
“I’m only telling you this, Guild Master….”
Siul deliberately began in a meaningful tone.
Whatever Park Jung-gi imagined, Siul was certain the next statement would surprise him even more.
“The truth is, I’m connected to the Special Hunters.”
“…!!”
The atmosphere inside the office abruptly froze.
“W-What did you say?”
Park Jung-gi asked again, his eyes looking ready to pop out of their sockets.
His heart began pounding rapidly.
After all, merely hearing the words Special Hunter was enough to make most people’s knees weaken.
“Could you say that one more time? You’re… what?”
However, Park Jung-gi was not actually the person whose heart was racing like mad.
It was Siul himself, the one who had uttered the words Special Hunter.
‘I did it…!’
Impersonating a Special Hunter.
If discovered, it was a crime serious enough to land him in custody.
Even so, Siul had made the false claim.
…With a slight twist.
“I’m something similar to a Special Hunter.”
“……?”
Park Jung-gi tilted his head dramatically.
“Something… similar to a Special Hunter? What exactly is that?”
Park Jung-gi asked with a dumbfounded expression, as though he had never heard of such a thing.
“Due to the nature of my work, it’s difficult for me to explain the details. I would suffer serious consequences if classified information were leaked.”
Half of that was true.
“You’ve seen my achievements, so you already know that I’m not actually a D-Rank Hunter. I’m concealing my true rank and abilities.”
His words did not sound like an empty boast.
There were the records from his Raids with Min Hyung-sik’s team. Every Dungeon had been cleared with excellent results.
According to what Do-hyun had told him, Siul’s contribution to those Dungeon clears had been so great that it would not be an exaggeration to say he had practically carried the entire team.
On top of that, he had even participated alongside Executive Director Jang Jin-young of the Great Tiger Guild, South Korea’s finest private Hunter Guild, in taking down the Wyvern Goblin.
‘Those really are accomplishments a D-Rank rookie Hunter could never dream of….’
Even without a single piece of hard evidence, Park Jung-gi accepted Siul’s words at face value.
Something similar to a Special Hunter….
Well, he supposed such a position might exist.
‘But why is he revealing something this confidential to me?’
If Siul held a secret identity similar to that of a Special Hunter, there should have been no reason for him to expose himself.
Park Jung-gi decided to hear him out first.
“I’m currently in a situation where my mission requires me to clear A-Rank Dungeons. But after hearing about your circumstances, Guild Master, I thought that working together with you might benefit both of us.”
Mixing lies and truth with remarkable finesse, Siul continued his proposal.
“Starting with this job, I intend to enter Dungeons alone from now on. That way, I won’t have to conceal my true abilities, which will make fighting easier for me, while you’ll be able to drastically reduce your manpower expenses. Wouldn’t that benefit you as well?”
It was a tempting proposal.
As mentioned earlier, the average Dungeon Raid required six to ten Hunters.
Each one came with a legally mandated minimum wage, hazard pay, insurance premiums, and numerous other expenses.
If Siul could clear a Dungeon by himself, the Guild’s personnel costs would effectively fall to one-sixth or even one-tenth of the usual amount.
“In exchange, if I successfully clear the Dungeon, I want three times my normal share of the payout. And I want my identity kept strictly confidential. That’s my proposal to you, Guild Master.”
Once Siul finished explaining, Park Jung-gi slowly closed his hanging mouth and organized his thoughts.
He understood most of what Siul had said.
There was, however, one question he could not easily dismiss.
“I’ve heard that Special Hunters carry out all kinds of different missions. So I can certainly believe that the kind of mission you just described might exist. But why did you specifically… come to our Guild?”
Siul flinched inwardly, but struggled to keep the panic from showing on his face.
“If your position is something… similar to a Special Hunter, couldn’t the government simply provide you with A-Rank Gates?”
From Park Jung-gi’s perspective, that was the strangest part.
“If there aren’t enough Gates available, the government could also ask one of the major Guilds that cooperates with it.”
The more Park Jung-gi spoke, the more suspicious the whole thing sounded.
His eyes narrowed as he looked Siul up and down.
“W-Well, that’s….”
Cold sweat trickled down the back of Siul’s neck.
Suddenly, time seemed to slow.
In that suffocating moment, when a single second felt like an hour, a desperate answer flashed through Siul’s mind, and he blurted it out before he could even filter it.
“Supporting small and medium-sized businesses!”
“…….”
About five seconds of silence passed.
It was already too late for Siul to take back the words that had escaped his mouth, so he simply froze in place.
Park Jung-gi slowly blinked.
“Supporting… small and medium-sized businesses?”
“Y-Yes! Since we’re going to clear Dungeons anyway, the government’s policy is to prioritize Dungeons owned by small and medium-sized Guilds instead of major Guilds!”
Having reached the point of no return, Siul simply began spouting whatever came to mind.
“Hmm.”
Park Jung-gi folded his arms and carefully mulled over Siul’s explanation.
“So… since highly skilled government personnel are being deployed, clearing the Dungeon will naturally become easier, and the idea is to give that benefit to small and medium-sized Guilds rather than the major ones?”
Nod….
Siul awkwardly bobbed his head.
Then, at last, the corners of Park Jung-gi’s lips curled upward.
“So that’s the deeper meaning behind it! As expected, only the government truly looks out for small Guilds!”
“…….”
Pretending that his collarbone itched, Siul rubbed his chest in relief.
‘Thank goodness he has exactly the same personality as Park Do-hyun….’
His blood had genuinely run cold.
If Park Jung-gi had not possessed such an innocent and optimistic personality, he might have continued questioning Siul until he eventually reported the matter to the government.
“We were already desperate for more manpower, so if a highly skilled Hunter like you is willing to solve the problem for us, then of course I’ll accept your conditions!”
“Ah, then…….”
“If you successfully complete the solo Raid, I’ll triple your normal payout share, and your identity will be kept strictly confidential!”
Siul swallowed a deep breath in relief.
He had been worried, but luck had allowed him to escape the crisis.
Meanwhile, Park Jung-gi cheerfully tore apart the documents concerning the Guild’s emergency Dungeon Raid staffing problem.
“I look forward to working with you, Special Hunter…! No, Mr. Siul, who is something similar to one!”
* * *
After signing a contract with the Rising Guild, Siul headed to the bus stop on his way home.
His legs finally gave out, and he collapsed onto the bench.
‘I guess I’m not cut out for living an easy life by deceiving people…. If I really die on the date of my death notice, I should at least leave an apology in my will….’
Still, thanks to that flimsy lie, he had gained an opportunity to preserve his Consecutive Quest Success Count.
‘This is seriously ridiculous…. I can’t believe something like that actually worked.’
In truth, he had gotten the idea from Jang Jin-young and Min Hyung-sik.
The reason he had been able to receive their help until now was because they had mistaken him for a Special Hunter.
At first, he had found the misunderstanding absurd.
But after thinking about it from the opposite perspective, he had realized that there was hardly a more powerful justification he could use.
‘Coincidentally, I already have a ridiculous number of bizarre accomplishments that are hard to explain unless I’m a Special Hunter.’
Even so, he had not been able to bring himself to boldly declare that he was an actual Special Hunter.
Claiming to be something similar to a Special Hunter was about as far as Siul’s conscience would allow him to go.
“Anyway, that takes care of it.”
Siul stretched with a satisfied sigh.
Kang Ho-cheol and Baek Ga-hyeon were watching him from behind the electronic display board at the bus stop.
“Senior, what in the world is something similar to a Special Hunter?”
“I don’t know. Maybe they made a new category?”
The two exchanged jokes and chuckled.
“The more I watch him, the more entertaining he gets.”
“These days, I actually look forward to the time we spend tailing him.”
Kang Ho-cheol and Baek Ga-hyeon quietly watched Siul board the bus.
The smiles on their faces vanished into cold expressions the moment Siul disappeared from sight along with the bus.
“This surveillance ends here, then.”
“Looks that way. We got approval from upstairs.”