"...I don't really care who it is."
"Come on, there has to be some kind of rookie Hunter you're hoping for!"
"If not their position, then what about their personality or looks? Or even their gender or age?"
"Hmm..."
Taebeom's brows drew together. Seeing that he was actually giving the question some serious thought, Geumyi and Jihan's eyes sparkled with anticipation.
"I..."
How much time passed like that?
At last, Taebeom's lips parted.
Geumyi and Jihan focused on every word.
"...Just... someone considerate. Someone who gets along well with the team... and is kind."
"A kind person? Come on!"
"Hahaha! What kind of answer is that?!"
Geumyi and Jihan burst into laughter.
Seo Munhyeok himself had personally recruited this rookie. There was no doubt the newcomer would be a considerate, sociable, genuinely decent person.
"You're only wishing for the obvious!"
"Exactly. That's way too ordinary!"
"Hahaha."
"Hehe."
Even Taebeom's stiff expression softened at the sound of their laughter.
"...I guess you're right."
Just as Geumyi and Jihan nodded in agreement—
Bang!
The tightly shut lounge door swung open.
Instead of just Seo Munhyeok, two men and a small child walked inside.
"...?"
Wasn't Seo Munhyeok supposed to come alone?
The unexpected arrival of strangers left the three guild members frozen in confusion.
Then they heard the voice of an unfamiliar young man.
"So these are the brats who had the nerve to order me around?"
"Mr. Pyo Haram, please..."
"Hmm. Whatever. Just explain everything and get it over with. I'm tired, so don't expect me to wait long."
Considerate...?
Sociable...?
Kind...?
None of it.
Absolutely none.
It wasn't that he was just lacking those qualities a little—they seemed completely absent.
The presumed rookie stood there with his arms crossed, openly chewing Seo Munhyeok out.
The guild members stared in disbelief, their eyes shaking as though an earthquake had hit.
Every expectation they had for the newcomer shattered on the spot.
Seo Munhyeok's reaction only made it worse.
"I told you to wait in the car."
"The car's too cramped and stuffy. You should've bought a bigger one."
"...Yes. My mistake."
"Good. Glad you understand."
Seo Munhyeok didn't scold the unbelievably arrogant rookie.
Instead, he quietly accepted the lecture.
Even stranger, it looked... familiar.
Had they known each other for a long time?
Was he some kind of privileged hire?
The guild members stared at Seo Munhyeok, silently demanding an explanation.
A bead of cold sweat rolled down his forehead.
"...Sorry. Just a minute."
After asking everyone for a moment of understanding, he led Haran and Sua back out of the lounge.
The way he practically fussed over them...
It didn't resemble the Seo Munhyeok they knew at all.
"Did the Guild Master get blackmailed or something?"
"Maybe something's wrong with his head..."
"..."
While the remaining members exchanged bewildered comments—
The lounge door opened again.
Seo Munhyeok returned alone.
He looked utterly exhausted.
Judging by the sounds from outside, he'd apparently left Haran and Sua in the small reception room next to the lounge.
"What was that just now?"
"Who was that?"
"Don't tell me that's the new Hunter the Guild Master recruited?"
"Who is he? Some chaebol's youngest grandson or something? Wow... I've never seen anyone throw their weight around that naturally before."
"...Explain. Now."
And thus, the interrogation officially began.
Who exactly was this person who had somehow made that Seo Munhyeok act so humble?
How extraordinary was he?
How had the two of them even met?
The questions came one after another.
Almost all of them centered on Haran's identity.
"All right, I'll explain everything. One thing at a time."
Seo Munhyeok gestured for everyone to sit.
After taking a seat on the sofa himself, he pulled something from his pocket and placed it on the table.
"This is...?"
It was Pyo Haram's Hunter ID—the one Haran had handed over beforehand.
The rank printed on it was E-class.
And his position was Healer.
"E-class...? It really says E-class Healer, doesn't it?"
The guild members' expressions turned grim.
Geumyi scratched at the printed "E" with the tip of her fingernail.
Jihan rubbed both eyes as if he thought he was seeing things.
And Taebeom...
"..."
He simply sat there with his eyes closed, his expression as unreadable as ever.
Seo Munhyeok fully understood their reaction.
After all, Eclipse already had a B-class Healer.
Recruiting another Healer wasn't the problem.
The guild didn't yet have a sub-healer.
The problem was the rank.
An E-class.
Normally, guilds recruited a sub-healer only one rank below the main healer.
An E-class Healer simply wasn't a position Eclipse needed.
"E-class is a little..."
Isn't that just too weak?
Jihan, Eclipse's main Healer, looked at Seo Munhyeok with a wounded expression.
"...Was my healing not good enough? Did we really need an E-class support healer?"
"No, no. It's not like that. Everyone, calm down. I'll explain everything."
Before the atmosphere deteriorated any further—and before his guild members collectively beat him to death—Seo Munhyeok hurriedly launched into the explanation he and Haran had prepared beforehand.
"The truth is... Mr. Pyo Haram..."
He explained Haran's reawakening.
How he'd changed from a Healer into a Mage.
How he'd helped during the Dragon's Nest incident.
Everything.
"...And he even saved my life when I nearly died. At the time I didn't know about his reawakening or the details of his abilities, but I knew something about him was extraordinary. So afterward I rushed to investigate him and recruited him."
Silence fell over the room.
No one believed Seo Munhyeok was the type to lie.
But what he was describing hardly sounded possible.
Pretending not to notice their skepticism, Seo Munhyeok dropped another bombshell.
"The truth is... because of an accident inside the dungeon, Mr. Pyo Haram seems to have lost... quite a lot of his memories."
"W-What?"
"He lost his memories? You mean amnesia?"
"..."
Geumyi and Jihan practically bounced in their seats, looking ready to leap up at any moment.
Taebeom also opened his previously closed eyes and quietly watched Seo Munhyeok.
"Yeah. So I'd appreciate it if everyone could be understanding, even if he's... a little—well, a lot—lacking in common sense... and his social skills are... also a lot below average."
That concluded his explanation.
Once Seo Munhyeok fell silent, an awkward atmosphere settled over the room.
Taebeom sank into thought, his expression impossible to read.
Jihan seemed fascinated by the revelation that Haran had changed from a Healer into a Mage.
Geumyi was similar.
She seemed especially interested in Haran's new position.
"So if he helped kill a dragon, does that make him an offensive Mage? What rank did he awaken as?"
Seo Munhyeok's eyes shifted awkwardly.
He and Haran had forgotten to decide what rank he was supposed to claim.
I completely forgot.
System/ Nice one, genius^^
As always, the System mocked him.
Lately it seemed to be talking more and more.
Thinking as much, Seo Munhyeok simply ignored the message.
Normally, Hunters could view their own status window.
It displayed their position, rank, title, skill names, as well as their mana, agility, strength, luck, and mental defense stats.
However, Haran—the great Archmage—had said he couldn't see his own status window at all.
Their best guess was that his soul didn't belong to this world.
"...Probably A-class?"
"...Probably?"
There wasn't much confidence in Seo Munhyeok's answer.
Geumyi frowned and changed her question.
"Then what's his exact position? What type of Mage is he?"
Fortunately, this was one of the details he and Haran had already agreed on beforehand.
Seo Munhyeok brightened.
"He uses everything. Offensive magic, buffs, healing... pretty much all of it. It's probably best to think of him as a multi-type Mage."
"...Are you joking?"
"No. I'm serious..."
Seo Munhyeok looked troubled.
At the same time, he completely understood why no one believed him.
Normally, Mages specialized in only one or two branches of magic.
Geumyi herself was proof of that.
As an A-class Mage, she could only use fire magic.
The same was true of every other Mage.
There probably wasn't a single Mage anywhere in the world who could use every kind of magic.
Even America's famous S-class Mage, Daniel, could only use ice magic.
Yeah... I can't blame them for doubting it.
And what?
Buffs and healing too?
Those weren't even considered magic here.
Of course, in Haran's original world, Buffers and Healers were also classified as Mages.
They were simply different branches of magic.
On Earth, however, Buffers and Healers were treated as entirely separate professions, despite functioning in fundamentally similar ways.
"Do you really expect us to believe that?"
"Guild Master... are you sure you didn't get scammed?"
"...It does sound rather suspicious."
The guild members still refused to believe him.
If anything, they were becoming increasingly convinced that Seo Munhyeok had fallen victim to a scam.
Seo Munhyeok hurried to defend himself, wondering if he really looked that gullible.
"I didn't get scammed. I saw everything myself at the Dragon's Nest. I verified it afterward too. I personally watched him use magic."
"What kind of magic?"
"Uh... close-range explosion magic. Restoring a collapsed building. Making objects float through the air. Creating water out of thin air..."
"Seriously...? You actually witnessed all that? Then he really can use every type of magic?"
Jihan practically squealed with excitement.
When Seo Munhyeok muttered, "That's what I've been saying," Jihan started bouncing in place, his eyes sparkling.
His inner fantasy geek had fully awakened.
"If that's true, then he's not A-class—he's S-class! No, forget S-class! That's even more incredible than a normal S-class! He'd have to be... SSS-class or something! Wow! He's just like the main character of a fantasy novel!"
"Jihan, sit down. Calm yourself."
"No! Why is everyone acting like this is normal? This is incredible!"
Now he completely understood why Seo Munhyeok had rushed to sign a contract without consulting anyone.
With abilities like that, lacking social skills was a flaw they could easily overlook.
Seo Munhyeok glanced at the others.
As sorry as he felt for the overly excited Jihan...
There was still one thing left to explain.
"What is it? Is there another problem?"
Geumyi noticed his expression first.
Seo Munhyeok nodded before carefully speaking.
"Well..."
What came next was this—
Haran had another small problem.
And it had nothing to do with his personality.