A top-of-the-line bed.
Delicious meals.
The freedom to enjoy his hobbies.
Ah, could there be another heaven like this?
Ji-hoon lay on the bed with a streaming show playing and crunched away at some snacks.
KNOCK, KNOCK–
“Good day, Hunter. This is the room service you requested.”
“Ooooh, finally!”
“As requested, your meal consists of royal-style braised short ribs, slow-cooked with the utmost care using 1++-grade Hoengseong Hanwoo beef, and a clear soup made with blackthroat seaperch freshly caught and delivered from Jeju.”
There were all sorts of desserts and drinks as well.
Ji-hoon’s mouth watered.
“Thank you for the meal.”
He took a bite of the beautifully presented food.
A recently released dating show called You Too, Solo Hunter was playing on the streaming service.
“This is the best vacation.”
One hundred years spent in Hell.
He had not rested for a single day since returning.
–Lee Ji-hoon, you are someone I need.
He remembered when he had first fallen into Hell.
Abel had said the same thing to me back then.
–Hehehe. So tell me what you desire.
At the time, the entire situation had felt so unreal that Ji-hoon could only stammer in confusion.
As a result, he had failed to make a single demand, such as asking Abel to shorten the Contract Term or provide him with an unlimited supply of Hell’s currency for the duration of the Contract.
And in truth, Abel had been quite fond of Ji-hoon.
–These are snacks made from Hell earthworms. Eat.
Granted, the food Abel gave him in the name of looking after him was inedible to humans.
–The Demon King from the neighboring territory will come to inspect the farm. Show the visiting Demon King the Demonic Beasts you are raising, and I shall reward you.
He had also seen Abel hand him even more Demonic Beasts with a devilish smile that seemed to ask whether raising them was not a joy.
Still, Abel had tried to look after him in his own way.
And now.
These humans on Earth claim they need me, yet they plan to treat me like shit?
“I’ve got a hundred years in Hell under my belt, you bastards.”
That was how Ji-hoon had ended up here: a top-tier five-star hotel with unobstructed views of Seoul’s Han River and Jamsil Lake, staying in the VVIP suite on the highest floor of the Jamsil L Tower Hotel.
“Oh, come on! How can they flirt like that? Even I wouldn’t do that.”
Ji-hoon grinned as he enjoyed life as a hostage.
His captor was having a very different time.
“Haa….”
A woman sat on the living room sofa, sighing as she pressed a hand to her forehead.
–What? You agreed to every one of his demands?
“If I did not, he might have caused a sceeene….”
–What could an F-rank possibly do even if he caused a scene?!
“But there were maaany witnesses who said it looked as though Hunter Lee Ji-hoon caused a mana explosion inside the Gate.”
Bae Yu-na said she had no other choice.
“I have done all I caaan. You will have to handle the reeest.”
–If you do not want to get paid, then quit.
All we have to do is cut off our tail.
Bae Yu-na fell silent for a moment at the other person’s words.
Then.
“…Understood.”
CLICK–
Bae Yu-na switched off the phone before the other person could even respond.
“Excuse meee, Hunter Lee Ji-hoon?”
“Hahahaha! That moron is acting like an idiot over there!”
“Huuunterrr?”
“Go ahead. I can hear you. Good grief, what an absolute villain.”
Bae Yu-na’s expression hardened.
Then she slowly leaned in until her face was right in front of Ji-hoon’s.
“What are you doing? I can’t see.”
“You are a hostage, Hunter. Is that correct?”
“That’s right.”
“Then why are you making yourself so comfortable?”
“Would you prefer that I stay uncomfortable? You know I’m Hunter Baek Kang-hyeon’s partner, right?”
He could not bring up Poppy and Choco.
This was the best card he could play from among the facts.
Bae Yu-na’s eyes narrowed at the mention of Baek Kang-hyeon.
“I know. I know very well. But the Branch Director is buuusy right now.”
“Why?”
“Because he is probably in a meeeting.”
“So?”
“What do you mean, ‘So?’!”
CRASH—!
Unable to bear it any longer, Bae Yu-na smashed the dining table laden with food.
“Oh no, my food!”
“Listen, Hunter Lee Ji-hoon. I have been trying to be nice, and you still do not understand?”
Two short daggers dropped from the empty air with a SHING—
SNAP–
Bae Yu-na adjusted her grip on the two daggers.
The blue-edged blades, sharp and menacing, drew close to the nape of Ji-hoon’s neck.
“Eek!”
“Do you think an F-rank Hunter can defeat a B-rank Hunter?”
“Fine. What do you want? You need to tell me—Agh, it’s touching me! I’m bleeding! I’m bleeding!”
The blade had not even touched his neck yet.
Even so, Ji-hoon reacted dramatically as he moved.
“I do not want to hurt an F-rank either.”
“Of course. Yes, I understand completely!”
“Then talk. Tell me what happened inside the S-rank Gates.”
Two S-rank Gates had opened one after another recently.
There was one Hunter who had entered both Gates.
And the Hunter who had returned alive was none other than Lee Ji-hoon.
That meant there might be some connection between the S-rank Gates and Lee Ji-hoon.
“Or you know a secret. That is what those people think.”
“I see… But you said I was a hostage.”
Ji-hoon tilted his head.
“Who are you planning to negotiate with?”
“Hunter Baek Kang-hyeon.”
Negotiating with Baek Kang-hyeon, the greatest Hunter in the country.
Ji-hoon did not know who their client was, but they certainly had nerve.
“Those animals you showed us at the Management Bureau last time. They were monsters, right?”
“Yes. They are E-rank Demonic Beasts that I tamed. They’re the same grade as chickens and ducks.”
“They did not look that way.”
“Sounds like you need glasses. Agh! Please, move the knife away while we talk!”
Bae Yu-na’s hand began trembling as she struggled to contain her anger.
“Spill everything right now. Tell me what was there and what happened. All of it.”
***
Shortly before Ji-hoon was kidnapped.
A meeting was underway at the Management Bureau to discuss the latest S-rank Gate.
“Thank you to the Guild Masters of the Five Great Guilds for coming despite your busy schedules.”
THUD–
“This is not a gathering for idle chatter, so let us get straight to the point.”
Choi Ji-tae of the White Lotus Guild frowned.
“Ji-tae, calm down. We need to discuss this calmly. Are you going to smash everything again?”
“And what about you, Oh Se-a? Has the Valkyrie Guild been putting Gates on the back burner lately because you’ve been too busy filming commercials overseas?”
Choi Ji-tae growled at Guild Master Oh Se-a of the Valkyrie Guild.
A refined-looking man in glasses could no longer stand by and spoke.
“Now, now. At least for my sake, everyone, please calm down.”
“Yoon Do-ha, what has Eden been doing lately? It looks like you can’t even manage your Gates. You got cleaned out by Hunter hackers not long ago.”
The man who threw that barb at Yoon Do-ha of the Eden Guild was Han Ji-seong of the Titan Guild, whose hulking muscles stood out.
“You all know I was the only one who entered the S-rank Gate while everyone else was busy searching for high-grade Gates overseas and filming commercials, right?”
Seriously, is anyone as diligent as me?
Jin Seo-yoon of Orpheus grumbled as she boasted about herself.
The Guild Masters of the Republic of Korea’s Five Great Guilds had gathered in one place.
“First, this S-rank Gate is not a matter we can take lightly.”
Ten years had passed since the beginning of the Hunter Era.
Only two S-rank Gates had ever formed in the Republic of Korea.
Those Gates had been claimed by the White Lotus Guild and Orpheus, respectively.
“Two within such a short period…. Not within a year, but within a single week.”
Yoon Do-ha of the Eden Guild pushed up his glasses.
“Based on Eden’s analysis, we believe that reaching the ten-year mark heralds a change in the era.”
“Eden, which handles Hunter work with brains and data, is telling a story straight out of a novel?”
Choi Ji-tae of the White Lotus Guild snorted.
“You are free to believe it or not. Just remember that this situation is abnormal enough to warrant such a conclusion.”
“That much is true. And on that note.”
Every Guild Master turned toward one person.
“Hunter Baek Kang-hyeon, what happened inside the S-rank Gates?”
Baek Kang-hyeon distributed the materials he had prepared to everyone.
An F-rank Gate had transformed into an S-rank Gate.
An S-rank Gate had formed near a C-rank Gate whose mana itself was exceptionally pure.
“What they had in common was that both possessed unstable mana.”
Gates had a metric known as an Instability Rating.
The Rating ranged from 1 to 100, and an ordinary Gate did not even exceed 30.
Yet the C-rank Gate’s Instability Rating had remained fixed at 1.
The S-rank Gate that formed nearby had a Rating over 70.
“It has stabilized somewhat for now. The Management Bureau is managing it, but….”
“But?”
“The Gate Level could suddenly drop.”
“Because it is unstable, I take it.”
Baek Kang-hyeon nodded.
Behind him, Commissioner Lee Gyeong-mun murmured in a low voice.
“Or it could rise even higher.”
“….”
“….”
“….”
That meant an S-rank Gate could become an SS-rank Gate.
“It will not happen immediately, but we should prepare.”
Everyone nodded at Oh Se-a’s words.
The meeting continued for more than five hours after that.
They discussed responses to future Variant Gates, the roles of the Five Great Guilds, the management of S-rank Gates, and how to share information about the characteristics of boss monsters.
Baek Kang-hyeon concealed what had to remain hidden and revealed what he could show them.
“This is the first time I’ve seen a Gate where a Contract with the boss monster was possible.”
“We will have to give up on collecting the corpse, correct?”
“Yes. We are currently bound by a Contract, after all. These are the only spoils I received.”
Baek Kang-hyeon showed them the Griffin Feather he had received from Poppy and Choco’s spines.
“I cannot believe things like these truly exist!”
“These are incredible items.”
“How wonderful would it be if we could harvest them directly from the corpses? But if these are one-to-one Contracts, only one person gets to enjoy the benefits.”
How Baek Kang-hyeon planned to use these items.
And how the Contracts with the boss monsters had been formed.
Everyone was curious.
“But where did the Guild Master of Orpheus go?”
“She said she had to take a call and stepped out a moment ago.”
Guild Master Oh Se-a of the Valkyrie Guild answered.
“Has she been on the phone this long?”
Just then.
BZZZT–
Baek Kang-hyeon’s phone gave a small vibration.
And then.
FLASH, BANG—!
Baek Kang-hyeon’s figure shot away like a bolt of lightning.
“H-Hunter Baek?!”
Commissioner Lee Gyeong-mun and the Guild Masters of the Five Great Guilds stared blankly at the hole in the window.
***
“Even if you ask me what happened.”
Ji-hoon insisted tearfully that he truly knew nothing.
“I’m just some lowly F-rank. Hunter Baek Kang-hyeon defeated them all.”
“Liar.”
She was quick on the uptake.
Ji-hoon clicked his tongue inwardly and asked.
“What exactly do you want to know?”
“Everything.”
Another woman’s voice came from behind Bae Yu-na.
It was a voice he had heard before.
Stunning beauty and a figure with golden proportions.
A celebrity of the Hunter world who dominated all kinds of advertisements.
“Hunter Jin Seo-yoon?”
“I will get straight to the point.”
Jin Seo-yoon lifted Ji-hoon’s chin with one hand.
“Be mine, Hunter Lee Ji-hoon.”