I brought the juice to my lips and watched Seong Yumi open and close her mouth wordlessly.
Despite being an S-Rank Hunter, she looked exhausted.
As her appearance demonstrated, Association Hunters were notorious for having grueling workloads.
As a slave to capitalism, giving up that much money left an unbearably bitter taste in my mouth. Still, those grapes were probably sour anyway, so there was no need to eat them.
The fact that the juice I was drinking tasted unbearably sour and bitter was entirely because of my mood....
“....”
What was this?
Why was this juice so sour and bitter?
I frowned when I saw that the can I had picked up happened to contain grapefruit juice.
I had chosen poorly.
I should have taken the apple juice beside it instead.
I quietly set the can down and turned my attention back to Seong Yumi.
She finally seemed to have regained her composure and was now staring calmly at me.
“...So you are refusing?”
“Yes.”
In truth, it did not matter whether the grapes were sour or sweet.
I could not accept the offer anyway, so what was I supposed to do?
Seong Yumi released a long sigh at my firm answer.
“Why?”
“There are times when I need to be away.”
“Could you tell me where you need to go?”
“Hmm....”
I quietly shifted my eyes to the side.
[The Master of the Twisted Netherworld advises you to think carefully before answering.]
What an insidious bastard.
His threat could not have been more direct.
Seeing me press my lips tightly together, Seong Yumi nodded as though she understood.
“Then answer just one question clearly. I will not ask anything else afterward.”
“What is it?”
“Do you intend to join any particular organization?”
“Not at the moment.”
I would probably have to join one eventually if I wanted to make a living as a Hunter.
However, now was not the time.
There was something more important I had to do first.
Perhaps she liked my answer.
Seong Yumi nodded in satisfaction.
“That is enough. That is all I needed to know.”
“Why did you ask?”
“Oh, no particular reason. There is simply one place I absolutely do not want you to join.”
A place she did not want me to join?
As I tilted my head, Seong Yumi picked up the apple juice, opened the can, and drank deeply.
“There is a guild called Seolhwa.”
“Is that not the number-one guild in Korea?”
Korea was a powerful nation when it came to the Awakened.
There were ten S-Rank Hunters in this tiny country alone.
The S-Rank title was reserved for people whose strength was so far beyond existing standards that it could not be properly classified.
With ten such extraordinary beings, Korea was recognized as a major Awakened power.
‘Although we are weaker than the countries next door.’
China and Japan each had easily more than three times as many S-Rank Hunters as Korea.
Ten was still a large number by global standards, but it somehow felt unfair.
In any case, even when considering foreign guilds, most had no more than two or three S-Rank Hunters.
Yet Seolhwa Guild, in a country with only ten S-Rank Hunters—
“It has four S-Rank Hunters.”
It was a guild containing four S-Rank Hunters, beings often described as powers equal to nations.
There could not possibly be anyone who did not know—
“What are you talking about, Mr. Black Dragon? Seolhwa has five S-Rank Hunters now.”
“...Five? Who joined?”
“Sun, Kim Taeseong. He has been affiliated with Seolhwa since he was an F-Rank Hunter.”
“...?”
I blinked blankly.
Sun?
What was that supposed to be?
More importantly—
“What happened with Kim Taeseong?”
“Oh, perhaps you do not know. While you were wasting 4,444.4 hours inside the Tutorial Tower, Kim Taeseong, who had been an A-Rank Rookie, was promoted to S-Rank.”
“....”
My jaw dropped.
Before entering the tower, I had seen an article saying that he had cleared an A-Rank Gate alone.
But was it really possible to become an S-Rank Hunter in only half a year?
“Did you know Hunter Kim Taeseong?”
“Yes, more or less.... We are not exactly on good terms.”
We had been fairly close when we worked at the construction site.
Things had soured after he became a Hunter.
Perhaps fame had gone to his head, because he ignored me no matter how many times I contacted him.
The first and last message I received from him after he became a Hunter had been, ‘We live in different worlds now. Please do not contact me again.’
He was also a significant part of the reason I had wanted so desperately to become a Hunter.
I had wanted to knock him down a peg.
“I see. Then I will make you another offer.”
“What is it?”
“Do you remember the special benefit Chanu mentioned before today’s exam began?”
I nodded silently.
“If you promise that you will never join Seolhwa Guild, I can immediately promote you to C-Rank Hunter.”
“...!”
My eyes widened at Seong Yumi’s words.
A C-Rank Hunter.
That meant I would be free to enter Gates inhabited by Orc-level monsters.
Put differently, it meant I could save two months of time.
“What do you think?”
“...Why are you going this far for me?”
“Hmm.... To explain that, I suppose I first need to tell you about my Unique Skill.”
Seong Yumi quietly covered her left eye with her right hand.
When she lowered her hand, her red pupil had become a long vertical slit like a cat’s.
“This is my Unique Skill. It is called Magic Eye.”
The skill’s effect was extremely simple.
It allowed her to see through to the ‘essence’ of something.
“Do you know something? I do not even want to be sitting here right now.”
“....”
“Every time I look at you, Mr. Black Dragon, I get chills.”
Perhaps because she had used Magic Eye for so long, her body had grown accustomed to the skill even when it was not actively being used.
Her instincts now analyzed others automatically.
Her eyes, which had never been wrong before, were sounding an alarm.
They warned her not to dare attempt to analyze him.
She had decided to heed her skill’s warning.
“I have no desire to become enemies with someone carrying an unidentified bomb.”
An unidentified bomb.
If she was referring to Black Dragon, she was correct.
It truly was a ticking time bomb that kept trying to explode inside my body.
Now that I understood everything, I nodded at her words.
“All right.”
It was not a difficult promise to make.
Even if I received a recruitment offer, I had never intended to join the same guild as Kim Taeseong.
Seong Yumi smiled with satisfaction at my easy agreement.
“Good. You will become a C-Rank Hunter before the end of the day.”
“I thought you would make me sign a written pledge.”
“I do not know. Is this not a matter of trust? If I want you to trust me, should I not show you trust first?”
“I appreciate that.”
I had received a far greater benefit than I expected.
I was going to become a C-Rank Hunter immediately.
‘Not that Black Dragon will be satisfied.’
The ‘Black Dragon’ residing inside me was not the sort to be satisfied by mere Orcs.
Even after becoming C-Rank, I would still have to enter the tower if I wanted to raise my Synchronization Rate by any meaningful amount.
“Now then, C-Rank Hunter Han Mir. I hope we will see each other often.”
“...You are an Association Hunter, and you want to see me often? Is that not more of a curse?”
“Oh....”
Seong Yumi looked as though she had only just realized her mistake.
Association Hunters were, in other words, the police of the Hunter world.
Seeing one frequently was not necessarily a good thing.
As I watched Seong Yumi hurriedly explain herself, I quietly sank into thought.
‘Setting that aside, she said I had been reported missing....’
I had heard news reports about people entering the Tutorial Tower alone and subsequently being reported missing.
However, Boss had been beside me when I entered the Tutorial Tower.
Therefore, I should not have been registered as a missing person.
There should have been a report stating that I had entered the Tutorial Tower.
‘This will not do.’
I had intended to wait, thinking he would contact me eventually.
However, I needed to visit Boss’s home.
‘I should go today.’
I was already outside, so I might as well stop by before returning home.
With that thought, I rose from my seat.
“If we are finished here, I will be going.”
“Ah, wait. Could you give me your phone number?”
“...Do you not already know it from your investigation?”
“I do, but asking is still the polite thing to do.”
I clicked my tongue softly and gave Seong Yumi my number.
Then—
“Here. This is my number.”
I unintentionally obtained the phone number of an S-Rank Hunter.
“Call me if anything happens. I will help if it is within my power.”
“I doubt I will ever need to call, but what is this other number?”
“Oh, that is Chanu’s number. Consider it a bonus.”
The phone number of the strongest A-Rank Hunter had been included as a bonus.
***
After we exchanged numbers, Seong Yumi removed me from the room with a casual snap of her fingers.
Apparently, the room’s location could not be revealed.
Thanks to that, I arrived on the first floor in a single second.
I smacked my lips softly and looked at the Hunter Card that had just been issued to me.
“...It really says C-Rank.”
I had gone straight from F-Rank to C-Rank.
How many levels had I skipped?
I slipped the Hunter Card into my wallet and walked out of the Awakened Association.
The streets were packed with people.
Still, I felt as though I had forgotten something....
“Squeak?”
“Ah, right. Cheori was here.”
Cheori poked his head out of my pocket as though asking whether everything was finally over.
I had completely forgotten that I had brought him with me.
After gently scratching his head with my index finger, I looked around.
‘...Should I take a taxi?’
Six months ago, I would never even have considered it.
Perhaps because I had become a C-Rank Hunter, I felt as though I could afford this small luxury.
“We will stop somewhere briefly, buy you something to eat, and then go home.”
“Squeak!”
I was already exhausted, and I had even exerted myself physically during the exam.
I felt as though I could collapse asleep at any moment, but things like this needed to be done as soon as I thought of them.
Putting things off was not to my taste.
I called a taxi on my phone and released a long yawn beneath the bright midday sun.
***
“...I must have been insane.”
What had possessed me to take a taxi?
Still, a taxi was indeed a taxi.
Compared to the subway or bus, the difference in comfort was remarkable.
“Think positively.”
I had spent money, but I was less tired because of it.
That made it worthwhile.
Comforting myself with that thought, I entered the elevator of an apartment building.
“Boss lived on the sixth floor.”
After taking the elevator to the sixth floor, I stopped in front of one of the apartments.
Unit 622.
I had not visited often, but it was still a place I could never forget.
“I wonder how Boss’s Wife is doing.”
She would occasionally contact me and tell me to visit, then pack enough side dishes for me to take home.
She was such an excellent cook that I could live on those side dishes alone for an entire week.
‘Perhaps I should have bought something more appropriate.’
It had been a long time since I had seen them, so coming empty-handed felt inappropriate.
I had bought a bottle of juice, but now I wished I had brought something more substantial.
I smacked my lips softly and pressed the doorbell.
“....”
DING-DONG—
The cheerful sound of the doorbell rang out.
A moment later, I heard footsteps approaching from beyond the door.
When the door opened, I could not say a word.
“Who is it?”
“...What?”
A complete stranger stood before me.
My eyes trembled as I stared at the person who appeared to be the current owner of the apartment.
This was definitely the correct place.
I had even saved Boss’s address on my phone in case I forgot, and I had checked it again.
There was no mistake.
This was Boss’s home.
Yet someone else was living here.
I swallowed dryly and asked,
“Excuse me, do you know where the people who lived here before you went?”
“I am not sure. The place was listed cheaply because it was vacant, so I moved in. I do not know anything about the previous tenants.”
“Then have a good day.”
With that, the tenant closed the door and returned inside.
Left alone in the hallway, I quietly dragged a hand down my face.
No wonder everything had been going so well today.
At that moment, I felt as though I understood Kim Cheomji a hundred times over.