The Next Morning | Si-woo entered the Hunter’s Association building and was immediately welcomed by the high-ranking members of the organization.
They had gathered specifically to greet him and introduce themselves.
The entire process took fifteen minutes at most, granting Si-woo the opportunity to meet a variety of interesting people who worked tirelessly behind the scenes to maintain a semblance of balance in a world where monsters existed.
They returned to their respective duties just as Woo Jinchul approached, wearing a rare smile on his face.
The blonde man extended both hands, holding an official hunter’s license between them.
“Congratulations on officially becoming a hunter, Mr.
Kang,” Jinchul offered, the smile remaining fixed on his features.
“Thank you,” Si-woo whispered, accepting the card.
“Hunter Kang.
I see you have already received your license.
Congratulations,” a smooth, amiable voice cut in from directly behind Si-woo.
“Thank you, Guild Master Choi,” Si-woo answered, an excited glint flashing in his eyes.
“From what I gather, you wish to start field deployment right away.
Well, there is a newly opened gate we have just secured, and we would appreciate your assistance in clearing it,” Choi Jong-in nodded, a small grin playing on his lips.
The Hunters Guild was poised to receive an immense amount of practical benefits because of Si-woo’s unique arrangement with the Association.
The addition of another S-rank hunter would drastically increase the frequency of high-ranking gates they could clear, which naturally translated to a massive increase in valuable dungeon loot.
Even though half of the cleared loot would legally be split with the Association, the remaining portion still represented a staggering amount of wealth.
Furthermore, the guild was not required to pay Si-woo an individual share as he was an association employee in the end.
Jong-in had initially aimed to negotiate additional government subsidies as well, though Go Gunhee had firmly shot down that proposal before the man could even finish his sentence.
However, they were still granted priority bidding rights on high-ranking gates.
The designated gate was located an hour away from the Hunter’s Association building.
Choi Jong-in personally drove Si-woo to the site, aiming to build some rapport with the powerful young man during the commute.
He seemed to have succeeded in his goal, as they had both comfortably dropped the useless formalities by the end of the one-hour drive, something that was unusual for the both of them.
The sleek G-Wagon pulled into a beautiful, mountainous terrain, stopping directly in front of a swirling blue vortex.
Si-woo raised an eyebrow as his senses registered the sheer volume of mana radiating from the gate.
“An A-rank?” he assumed.
“Yes.
Very perceptive of you, especially for your first time standing directly in front of a high-level gate,” Jong-in affirmed, an impressed expression crossing his face.
The remaining members of the raid party arrived no more than five minutes after them and were promptly introduced to Si-woo.
“I will reintroduce you to Hunter Cha.
She will be acting as the official team leader on this raid,” Jong-in initiated.
“Please take care of me,” Si-woo greeted Cha Hae-in with a polite smile.
“You as well,” she replied, lowering her handkerchief and taking a half-step closer to his side.
The rest of the clearing party consisted of six A-rank hunters and two B-rank support hunters, bringing the total number of personnel to ten.
“I’ll leave the gate to you then, and I wish you all the best of luck,” Jong-in said smoothly.
He turned around, climbed back into his vehicle, and departed the area.
Cha Hae-in and Si-woo entered the glowing portal side by side, with the rest of the party following closely behind them in a tight, orderly combat formation.
They were immediately greeted by an oppressive, scorching desert landscape the second they stepped through to the other side of the gate.
“I don’t like this environment already,” Si-woo muttered with a visible grimace.
“You don’t like hot climates?” Hae-in asked conversationally, though both of them remained on full combat alert.
“Hm.
I prefer the cold,” Si-woo answered.
He brought his hands together before slowly drawing them apart.
In a sudden, fiery swirl of magical energy, a long, two-handed sword materialized directly between his open palms, though he was handling it with one hand .
The blade measured roughly 130cm in length, featured a slight, elegant curve, and possessed a single, razor-sharp edge.
The hilt was the color of a vibrant copper metal, while the blade itself shone brighter and whiter than any standard metal.
“An impressive sword,” Hae-in commented after a brief moment of silence.
Si-woo did not get a chance to reply, as his senses instantly registered a high-velocity projectile hurtling directly toward their position.
Moving like a blur, he reappeared instantly in front of the party’s A-rank healer, swinging his weapon to cleave the incoming fireball cleanly in two.
Hae-in dropped low to the ground and accelerated at blinding speed toward the creature that had launched the magical attack.
The healer Si-woo had just saved gulped hard, quickly regaining his composure before casting a targeted speed buff on Hae-in.
The enhancement instantly amplified her movements, enveloping her in a vibrant red aura as she moved like the wind.
She swept her sword forward in a powerful horizontal arc across the salamander’s flank, though the creature’s dense, reinforced scales saved it from being killed by the initial strike.
Another dense fireball launched toward her position, but the projectile was abruptly intercepted by a thick wall of pressurized water materializing directly in its trajectory.
Meanwhile, Si-woo was engaged with a separate salamander further down the slope.
The creature measured over two meters in length and possessed protective scales that proved harder than reinforced steel.
Si-woo ducked low beneath a heavy swipe, severing the monster’s front legs in a single, fluid motion.
Utilizing his freed hand, he drove his flat palm straight through the top of the beast’s gaping mouth.
His hand punched completely through the upper skull of the salamander, killing the creature instantly.
There was no time to rest, however, as he blurred back toward Hae-in’s position.
He tackled her firmly to the ground just as a concentrated stream of intense plasma fire erupted through the exact space where she had been standing an instant prior.
The thermal energy was hot enough to instantly melt the desert sand beneath them into a glowing, molten sludge.
The rest of their party members were currently preoccupied with a salamander of their own, leaving them unable to provide assistance.
Si-woo gave her a brief nod before leaping high into the air.
He extended his sword to his side, utilizing wind magic with his free hand to increase his descent velocity.
He came down upon the target creature with a fierce roar, spinning his body to generate centrifugal momentum, which allowed him to sever its massive head in one clean rotation.
The blow was strong enough to case a shockwave in the surroundings.
The remaining salamander roared in fury, rearing up on its hind limbs as its sharp claws became coated in volatile blue flames.
With surprising agility, the creature brought its ignited claws crashing down toward Si-woo.
Hae-in blurred directly beside the monster, executing a swift strike that severed one of its claws completely at the wrist.
Si-woo smoothly evaded the remaining claw, sliding directly inside the salamander’s defensive guard to position himself right in front of its soft underbelly.
With one fluid, vertical motion of his sword from top to bottom, he ripped through the torso, and the creature collapsed heavily in a spray of blood.
The two S-rank hunters turned their attention to the skirmish involving the rest of their party.
They observed two of the A-rank brawlers firmly restraining the front limbs of the final salamander, while the designated tank was positioned directly on top of its head, repeatedly bashing the creature’s skull with a heavy shield.
The engagement ended with a loud, distinct crunching sound as the salamander died, its neck twisting at an unnatural angle.
“Good work, team.
Form up, administer healing to the injured, and rehydrate,” Hae-in ordered the group, granting them a minute to recuperate while she and Si-woo maintained a vigilant watch for any further threats.
“Thank you, Hun—” Hae-in started, turning toward him with her hands resting behind her back.
“Thank you as well, Hunter Cha,” Si-woo interrupted gently, although he hadn’t truly been in any real danger during the encounter.
“I have a feeling we will be saving each other quite a bit throughout the course of this raid.
Let’s do away with these formalities.
Please, just call me Si-woo.” A small, genuine smile formed on Hae-in’s face.
“Please call me Hae-in as well, then,” she nodded.