“A-all of this…! How much money is this?!”
The enormous donation made in Kim Si-hyeon’s name.
The amount far exceeded anything Kim Jin-cheol had imagined.
Given Yoo Han-seok’s extraordinary affection for his blood relatives, he had expected the man to give generously.
But this went beyond even that.
It was—
“The Association’s entire annual budget.”
Chief Secretary Choi Tae-woo, who had come to the Association in Yoo Han-seok’s place, spoke calmly.
“…….”
Kim Jin-cheol could only stare blankly at the numbers displayed on the laptop.
South Korea prohibited domestic conglomerates from owning Guilds.
Why?
Because chaebol families already possessed money and influence.
If they were allowed to possess overwhelming military force on top of that, it would be nothing short of a disaster.
South Korea was not the only country with such a policy.
And now, looking at the amount before him, Kim Jin-cheol understood the reasoning more clearly than ever.
Conglomerates really should not be allowed to own Guilds.
‘I heard capitalists made enormous profits from new materials and energy after the Great Upheaval, but just how much money did they make?’
“The Chairman wanted to come personally and express his gratitude, but an urgent business trip came up.”
“So he really intends to donate this amount?”
“Additional sponsorship is also planned.”
“…Additional?”
Kim Jin-cheol stared blankly.
Then he suddenly came to his senses and looked at Choi Tae-woo.
“Wait. You said ‘planned’?”
“Yes. There are conditions attached to the additional sponsorship.”
Of course there were.
Kim Jin-cheol’s expression cooled, though his eyes remained fixed on the laptop.
Even if this was repayment for saving Yoo Han-seok’s children, the amount was simply too large.
Which meant Ironblood Yoo Han-seok had another calculation in mind.
“…Ahem. Even so, something like an improper favor would be difficult.”
His eyes remained glued to the laptop, but he somehow managed to force the words out.
“If it is something within my authority, I will consider it.”
“There are two conditions, but you do not need to worry. I believe both are proposals you will find quite appealing.”
“Then tell me quickly.”
He needed money anyway.
When Kim Jin-cheol showed no sign of refusing, Choi Tae-woo continued.
“First, we would like to provide personal sponsorship to the Hunter who rescued our twins.”
“…Personal sponsorship?”
Kim Jin-cheol narrowed his eyes.
“As I said, personal sponsorship in the literal sense. We made the donation in Hunter Kim Si-hyeon’s name, but given how the Association operates, he cannot personally use all of that money, can he?”
“You understand well. But personal sponsorship is impossible.”
Kim Jin-cheol folded his arms.
“As you know, there is nothing wrong with a Hunter receiving sponsorship. Association Hunters are different. That would be a bribe.”
Strictly speaking, Association Hunters were also Civil Servants.
Even if the money came in the form of sponsorship, they were not allowed to earn outside income unrelated to Association work.
Of course, if Kim Jin-cheol knew that Kim Si-hyeon had left work at that very moment to earn money, he might have thought differently.
“Ah, perhaps I explained it poorly. As I said, it would still be ‘additional sponsorship.’”
Choi Tae-woo smiled as though he already knew there was a way around the problem.
“The additional funds would also be donated to the Association. However, surely some flexibility can be exercised in how those funds are used?”
“Hmm.”
If that was the case, there might be a loophole.
‘Park Min-ho, that lunatic, already spent an entire year’s budget on Kim Si-hyeon alone anyway….’
They could certainly provide that much convenience to an SS-rank Returnee.
Yuseong’s intent was obvious as well.
They wanted to establish ties with Kim Si-hyeon through additional sponsorship.
‘Looks like they have already noticed something about Hunter Kim Si-hyeon.’
Then again, his performance inside the Anomalous Gate had gone far beyond anything expected of a rookie.
They had probably already realized Kim Si-hyeon was no ordinary Hunter.
In that case—
“Fine. But as you already know…….”
“We will remain silent regarding Hunter Kim Si-hyeon. We have already instructed every employee who was present at the scene, and we have also secured the Myth Guild’s cooperation.”
As expected of Yuseong.
“Good, good. And what is the second condition?”
Perhaps because he already sensed the negotiations with Yuseong would end favorably, a satisfied smile spread across Kim Jin-cheol’s face.
‘Hunter Kim Si-hyeon really is a blessing. A blessing.’
So what if his epithet was Slaughterer and he was terrifying enough to earn it?
Kim Jin-cheol hardly ever had to meet him directly.
‘I wonder what our blessed Hunter is doing right now?’
Meanwhile, at the Special Division office.
“Hey, Ji-woong…….”
“Yes… Director…….”
Park Min-ho had just returned after hearing from Association President Kim Jin-cheol about the enormous sponsorship Yuseong had provided.
The amount was so large that the Association President, who had recently been calling everyone one bastard or another, had even started calling him “our Min-ho.”
—Our Min-ho! You have worked hard all this time. Go tell Hunter Kim Si-hyeon we are going to support him properly from now on!
Carrying that wonderful news, Park Min-ho had come straight to the Special Division.
But—
“What are we going to do?”
“…I know.”
“You know?”
Park Min-ho looked at Choi Ji-woong.
“You crazy bastard—!”
Park Min-ho’s roar shook the Special Division building.
“What the hell do you mean Hunter Kim Si-hyeon disappeared?!”
“Well…….”
It was exactly what it sounded like.
Kim Si-hyeon had disappeared.
Choi Ji-woong had gone to the Safe House that morning to pick him up for work.
Instead of Kim Si-hyeon, he found a single note.
[Money.]
That one word was written on it.
Below that was another note.
[Annual leave.]
“That is not how you submit annual leave…….”
Park Min-ho pressed a hand to his forehead as he listened to Choi Ji-woong mutter beside him.
“Haa, this is driving me insane. What about the search?”
“Everyone went out to look for him!”
“You… you…!”
No wonder the Special Division building felt so empty.
“Haa.”
Park Min-ho sighed.
“What are we seriously going to do?”
This was not a situation he could take lightly.
An SS-rank Hunter had disappeared.
Not just any Hunter, but a Returnee known as the Slaughterer.
What if he was actually evil?
Of course, Kim Si-hyeon had shown no sign of that so far.
If anything, he had displayed heroic qualities, such as rescuing the twins alone.
The problem was his terrifying strength and Killing Intent.
Judging by his Killing Intent alone, Kim Si-hyeon seemed more vicious than any criminal.
Would someone need to destroy an entire world to radiate an aura like that?
‘This could become a major disaster.’
No one knew what kind of incident he might cause.
They could not even launch a large-scale search.
Finding an SS-rank Hunter who was deliberately hiding would already be difficult enough.
But Kim Si-hyeon’s existence itself was top-level classified information.
They could not ask for outside support.
And that was not even the worst possibility.
“The United States, Saudi Arabia, Russia… China… There have not been any unusual movements from foreign agents, right?”
The note with the word Money written on it bothered him.
Kim Si-hyeon had already signed a contract with South Korea.
But it was also true that the treatment he received was nowhere near sufficient.
And what if another country had learned that?
They would obviously do whatever it took to lure Kim Si-hyeon away.
“We requested cooperation from the National Intelligence Service, but they said there have been no unusual movements.”
“Haa.”
Park Min-ho stood up.
“Where are you going?”
Choi Ji-woong asked.
“Where do you think I am going?! I am going to look for him! Get up!”
“Yes!”
They could not request outside support, so in the end, Park Min-ho, one of the few S-rank Hunters available, had no choice but to handle it personally.
“…Honestly.”
Park Min-ho stopped at the door and spoke hollowly.
“I almost wish he still could not control his Killing Intent.”
If that were the case, someone would already have reported him.
With that certainty, Park Min-ho left with Choi Ji-woong to search for Kim Si-hyeon.
And at that exact moment, Kim Si-hyeon was……
I had survived for thirty years in a world filled with Zombies.
What had been the most necessary thing for survival?
Money?
It had been nothing more than scraps of paper.
A single can of food was worth more than a human life.
Then strength?
No.
Of course, it mattered more than money, but a single human being could not fight thousands of Zombies with brute strength alone.
That meant the most necessary thing was—
‘Selfishness.’
The ability to abandon everything in the world and think only of myself.
The selfishness to discard friends, comrades, and even my humanity if that was what it took to survive.
That was how I had survived.
But—
‘I do not want to live like that in this world too.’
I had survived thirty years through selfishness.
But that life had been unbearably lonely.
During that lonely existence, what I always longed for had not been a safe life or a warm can of food.
It had been people.
The warmth of people I could trust at my back and live alongside.
The Special Division had given me that.
They trusted someone like me, who could not even use mana, enough to spend an entire year’s budget on me.
That was why—
I had come here.
To a Mercenary Office.
“So, your name?”
“Kim Si-hyeon.”
“…You speak pretty casually.”
The Mercenary Office employee handling registration gave me a sidelong look.
“Age?”
“Fi… twenty-five.”
“Are you reciting multiplication tables? What is ‘five twenty-five’ supposed to mean? You are twenty-five, right? Show me your Hunter Registration Card.”
I handed over the temporary Hunter Registration Card the Association had issued to me.
“Hmm. No problem.”
The employee gave the D-rank listed on the card only a cursory glance before asking another question.
“First time doing Mercenary work?”
“First time.”
“…You really do speak casually.”
I had come here to earn money.
‘I definitely read online that Mercenary work is basically part-time work for Hunters.’
Unlike the world where money had no value, this civilized world still required it.
But my Special Division salary would not be enough.
When I searched online, I found that the Hunter Association paid terribly.
And if they had spent an entire year’s budget on Items for me, there could not possibly be any money left.
So I had taken annual leave and come here to earn some.
I intended to buy my own equipment with my own money.
‘It was sudden, but… I left a note, so it should be fine.’
I had clearly written my objective as ‘Money,’ and I had submitted my annual leave in writing just like the internet said.
Maybe I really had become a proper person of this world.
“Well, whatever. You seem a little strange, but we are short on people anyway. Mr. Kim Si-hyeon? You are a D-rank Hunter, so the job is simple.”
Other Hunters approached the employee while we were talking.
The one who appeared to be the leader spoke to me.
“We hunt, and you collect the Mana Stones. Simple, right?”
The other Hunters began chiming in as well.
“This guy is the Porter?”
“For a Porter…….”
“He is way too built.”
“He is handsome.”
“Handsome? He looks creepy.”
I nodded.
“I know.”
“…….”
A thought occurred to me.
Thirty years spent alone.
Moments endured through selfishness alone.
Even so—
“When do we leave?”
Considering that I could hold a conversation this naturally—
perhaps I was actually rather sociable.
“…Hey, is that guy really okay?”
The party members gathered off to one side and whispered while glancing toward Kim Si-hyeon.
“He looks completely insane.”
“But he is handsome. How old is he?”
“Twenty-five.”
“What? He kept talking down to everyone like it was natural, so I thought he was older. Even the way he talks sounds like some middle-aged man.”
“I do not like him. His eyes are strange too. I have a bad feeling.”
“We have no choice. There is no better deal than this.”
“What deal? How good is it?”
“Contribution-Based Distribution.”
Party Leader Choi Yoon-seo grinned.
The party members looked at Choi Yoon-seo in surprise.
“What, seriously?”
“Yeah. He said this was his first Mercenary job, and I do not think he even knows what Contribution-Based Distribution means.”
When an ordinary Gate was successfully cleared, a contribution ranking was calculated.
Naturally, clear contribution referred to combat contribution.
A Porter whose rank was too low to participate in combat was usually contracted to receive a fixed percentage of the Mana Stones collected.
But under Contribution-Based Distribution, a Porter who merely picked up Mana Stones would obviously receive no reward.
In other words, the Porter named Kim Si-hyeon would do all the hard work and earn absolutely nothing.
“This bastard is a complete scammer.”
“He is crazy.”
“A newbie who does not know how scary the world is keeps talking down to senior Hunters. Someone needs to teach him a lesson.”
“That is harsh. He looks like he only just awakened.”
“You feel sorry for him? Then give him some of your share.”
“Come on, I am not doing that. Ignorance is a sin too.”
“Now that I think about it, this is great. We get all the Mana Stones.”
“Exactly. We could manage without a Porter anyway, and we are giving him experience for his résumé.”
And so they all snickered at the thought of using the Porter for free.
Without knowing what kind of result that Contribution-Based Distribution would eventually bring.