Instead of going home, Hyun-jun headed straight to the Exchange.
There, he disposed of all the items except the Skill Rune and Kim Seok-dae's dagger.
“I'll use the dagger. What should I do with the Skill Rune?”
He hadn't sold it for now, but he was torn over whether to use it or not.
That was because there was a fixed number of Runes that could be equipped in a Soul Circuit.
“8 at F-Grade and 10 at E-Grade.”
He currently had 5 Runes equipped.
Only the main Stat Runes.
He could equip 5 more Runes, but once equipped, they couldn't be removed, so he had to choose carefully.
“Do I really need a magic Skill?”
Apart from stat values, magic Skills maximized their effects when used by those who had Awakened magic-related Traits.
That was because the passive Skills gained along with the Trait amplified the effects of magic Skills.
“I don't have anything like that.”
Wouldn't it be better to fill the empty slots with other Skills?
Something like a Skill that further strengthened physical abilities, or a passive Skill that raised stats additionally.
“Considering the fight with Kim Seok-dae earlier, it seems like I do have some talent for physical fighting...... or not?”
The fight that had been easier than he'd expected, and the details of combat that had filled his head during the fight.
Could those be seen as evidence of talent?
What if it was just because of his superior Runes compared to his opponent, and the indirect experience of all the combat videos he'd watched?
“It's ambiguous.”
Additional Rune slots were usually filled according to one's Trait.
If his Trait had developed in one direction, the decision would be easy, but since it was neither, it was tricky to set a direction.
“Should I just do both?”
Using both the body and magic, a style commonly called a jack-of-all-trades.
It was a choice that lowered the ceiling but raised the floor.
“Instead, there'd be a pretty big gap between me and Hunters of a similar level.”
If he just roamed hunting grounds alone, it might be different.
Joining dungeon parties or Guilds might become a little difficult.
When such places recruited people, they usually picked specific positions specialized in one area.
“Well, honestly, that doesn't matter.”
He had planned to mainly roam hunting grounds in the first place, if only for safety.
Of course, he would occasionally go into dungeons, but he was only planning to do so as much as was needed for promotion.
“I know there are quite a few people who actually work like me.”
People who only roamed hunting grounds and then formed dungeon parties when it was time for promotion.
Hyun-jun planned to work like those people too.
So there wasn't much to regret even if he became a jack-of-all-trades.
“Good. It's decided. My path is now the jack-of-all-trades.”
The first step was Magic Arrow.
He had no duplications left today, so he had to wait until tomorrow.
“I'm already trembling.”
Until now, he had only encountered magic Skills through videos.
Gathering clouds in a clear sky to drop dozens of bolts of lightning, or dropping a giant fireball to dry up a lake.
There had been a time when he was utterly intoxicated by that splendor.
‘Magic Arrow won't be anything like that, though.......’
Magic Arrow, low in Grade and not flashy.
It was the most basic of the basics, but he was trembling all the same.
“I hope tomorrow comes quickly.”
Hyun-jun, who had been sitting on a bench at the Exchange, got up.
He left the Exchange and got on a bus heading home.
On the way back, he made plans.
‘It's about time to go into a dungeon.’
Now that he'd experienced party hunting, it was time to take on clearing an F-Grade closed-type Gate, one of the requirements for E-Grade Hunter.
‘I need to find a decent party.’
As long as it was a dungeon, he couldn't let his guard down even at F-Grade.
In fact, quite a few Hunters' records disappeared with an F-Grade dungeon entry as the last entry.
‘Is there one where a Guild takes people in directly?’
Unlike hunting grounds managed by the state, closed-type Gates, also known as dungeons, were all managed by Guilds, which were private companies.
They managed them by region, and since the managing entities were usually large Guilds, they subcontracted lower-Grade Gates.
‘An F-Grade dungeon raid led directly by the large Guild that holds the main contract, not a subcontractor Guild, would be much safer. I should look for one.’
Hyun-jun borrowed the bus's Wi-Fi and accessed the HunterNet recruitment board.
He set the filters to ‘closed-type Gate,’ ‘F-Grade,’ and Seoul.
[<F-Grade> Dobongsan Hiking Trail Entrance]
-Location: Dobong-gu, Seoul
-Members: [3/6]
-In charge: Butterfly (Primary), Lemon Shark (Secondary)
-Participation fee: 10%
-Conditions: 250 Runes or more.
-Notes: Looking for dealers.
The first thing he saw was the Dobongsan dungeon.
The main contractor, Butterfly Guild, had subcontracted it to Lemon Shark Guild.
‘I'll pass on places like this for now.’
Naturally, the subcontractor would be a trustworthy place too.
If a problem broke out, they were the ones who'd ultimately be held responsible. Given the nature of the industry, one incident could even go as far as shutting down a Guild.
‘Still, I want to pick somewhere a bit more stable. If there's really nothing, it can't be helped.’
Hyun-jun kept scrolling down.
Since Butterfly Guild was in charge of the Seoul area, all the F-Grade Gates were handled by Lemon Shark.
‘Let's widen the range a bit more.’
When he widened it to the capital area, the list was newly updated.
A list that included Gyeonggi Province along with Incheon.
He turned a few more pages, but the situation was similar.
Most F-Grade Gates were run by subcontractor Guilds.
“Hmm.......”
Just as he was wondering whether he should just go into a Gate handled by a subcontractor Guild.
A rather unusual notice caught Hyun-jun's eye.
[<F-Grade> Tier 1 Guild Michuhol is recruiting F-Grade rookies.]
-Location: 263 Central-ro, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon
-Members: [-]
-In charge: Michuhol (Primary)
-Participation fee: Free
-Conditions: F-Grade Hunters only. 350 or more F-Grade Runes.
-Notes: Michuhol is welcoming talented Hunters. We plan to send parties made up of those who applied to join into an F-Grade dungeon and measure their clear time. Those with top records will be able to join the Guild.
Please write your exact Rune count in your application message. We are only recruiting F-Grade Hunters, and strong legal action will be taken if any deception is discovered.
“So they recruit Hunters this way too.”
Michuhol Guild, in charge of all of Incheon Metropolitan City.
A private Guild founded in Incheon, it was one of the few large Guilds in the country.
Unlike other Guilds backed by giant corporations, it was characterized by having started purely from the bottom.
That was why it always recorded lagging results compared to other large Guilds.
“Shouldn't they be bringing in higher-quality Hunters instead of doing this?”
Hyun-jun knew something about the Guild ecosystem.
For quite a long time, Michuhol Guild had spared no aggressive investment, saying it would get ahead of its competing Guilds.
The result was perpetual last place.
Since they kept making a mess of things every time, there was now talk that even the title of large Guild was wasted on them.
And a place like that was recruiting F-Grade Hunters?
It was a choice that didn't make much sense.
“It seems like the disadvantages outweigh the advantages.”
What on earth were they planning?
Had they changed direction because they figured the straightforward approach wasn't working?
‘Hmm... thinking about it, this might actually be better for Michuhol.’
The talent large Guilds would want generally started at a high Grade.
A representative example was Hong Myeong-ho, an S-Grade Hunter of Seongsam Aegis.
Having Awakened the Trait ‘Sword Saint,’ his Soul Circuit had been A-Grade from the very beginning.
‘Bringing in someone like that is nearly impossible for Michuhol Guild.’
No matter how much money Michuhol spent, it was no match for conglomerates determined to pour cash.
But what if they looked for talent in an area those conglomerates didn't target?
‘Having a low Grade doesn't mean you have no talent.’
There were people who started at a low Grade despite having good Traits.
And there were people with so-so Traits who possessed a natural gift for combat.
‘Michuhol is targeting them.’
Of those two, the latter was most likely what Michuhol was aiming for.
The former stood out on the strength of their Traits alone, but the latter could only be recognized by seeing them fight.
‘Should I apply for this?’
Whatever their purpose for holding the test.
For Hyun-jun, it was just an opportunity to safely clear an F-Grade dungeon and fulfill the promotion requirement.
‘Michuhol is verifying identities and forming the parties themselves, so no one would be bold enough to commit a crime here.’
Besides, he didn't think they would put only F-Grade Hunters into a test carrying the Guild's name.
If an accident happened, Michuhol Guild would have a hard time avoiding criticism too.
‘This seems trustworthy enough to go into. And I meet the application conditions exactly.’
Only his Circuit was E-Grade; his Hunter Grade was F.
There was nothing that would be a problem.
“Good. Let's go with this.”
Hyun-jun applied without hesitation.
***
The headquarters building of Michuhol Guild, located in Incheon Metropolitan City.
A man was lying down in the office on the top floor.
“Hwaaam.”
Long hair, sharp-lined features, and loose, flowing clothes.
The way he yawned wide enough to split his mouth made him the very picture of an idler.
Bang.
At the sound of the door opening, the man sprang up.
Then, checking the face that came in, he let out a sigh of relief.
“What brings you here?”
“Baek Je-hyeok? What are you doing here?”
“Just hanging around.”
“Tsk, unemployed bastard.”
“This guy, the moment he sees me.......”
“Forget it. Look at this.”
A man in a neat suit approached Baek Je-hyeok and held out a smartphone.
On the screen was a text message that had arrived from someone.
“It's Uncle?”
“Look at the contents.”
A long message.
Baek Je-hyeok's brow gradually furrowed.
“What the hell is this punk going around doing?”
“Can't you keep your younger brother in line?”
“No, I knew he was suddenly throwing a goddamn fit about becoming a Hunter, but he almost got Rune Killed? It's more amazing that there are still people doing that these days. Father doesn't know yet, right?”
“If Father knew, do you think you'd be lazing around here right now?”
“Ah.”
Their father, who put the youngest brother above all else.
The youngest was not only quite a bit younger, but was also born with nothing compared to the other brothers, so he monopolized that love.
That was why their father went especially wild over any problem involving the youngest.
“W-When is he coming back again?”
“There are still a few days left.”
“Whew....... This didn't get out to the press or anything, right?”
“Do you think the press is even interested in Je-jung?”
“That's true. What a relief.”
The man smacked Baek Je-hyeok on the head.
“What's such a relief? It's obvious Uncle will tell Father.”
“Ow, why are you hitting me on the head?”
“Want to get hit more?”
When the man raised his fist, Baek Je-hyeok flinched and raised both arms to block his face.
“N-No. It's unfair. It's not even my fault.”
“How is it not your fault? If you hadn't gone on about that damned romance or whatever, would Je-jung still be F-Grade?”
“Wasn't that settled? I heard he bought Runes?”
“The problem is that it wasn't enough to make him E-Grade.”
The man let out a deep sigh.
Baek Je-hyeok gauged his mood, then asked carefully.
“What should I do?”
“I don't know either. I heard Je-jung is taking part in the recruitment test this time too.”
“A recruitment test? He could just ask for a spot to be made for him, so why take a recruitment test?”
THWACK!
“Ow! Why again?”
“He said joining through family connections has no romance.”
“No, that punk treats romance like it's some kind of pick-and-choose thing.......”
Pushing romance whenever it suited him.
Even though he thought it was right in essence, Baek Je-hyeok couldn't help feeling annoyed at his brother.
“Je-hyeok. You take responsibility for Je-jung.”
“No, Brother. If it comes to this, Father is really going to kill me.”
“Then just go die.”
“Brother!”
“If you don't like it, you can participate too.”
“Why would I participate in that?”
“Not in the test. As a supervisor. We're already short on people. There are more applicants than expected.”
It was the first F-Grade recruitment test ever held among large Guilds.
It was a project that had started from the opinion another brother brought up during a meeting: ‘Talent isn't determined by Trait and Grade alone.’
Because it was such an experimental challenge, they couldn't predict exactly how many people would participate, and that had led to the current shortage of staff.
“How many teams are there?”
“With 6 per team, over 100 teams.”
“What? Wasn't the condition 350 Runes?”
“It means there are plenty of F-Grade Hunters at that level.”
Baek Je-hyeok shook his head and clicked his tongue.
“Then I have no choice but to help.”
“Don't get cocky.”
“I say I'll help and you still complain. But, Brother. Honestly, do you think this has any chance?”
At Je-hyeok's question, the man pressed his lips shut.
Searching for a diamond in the rough among F-Grades, which had no precedent even overseas.
Why had no one done it?
There must be a reason.
The man, too, didn't think this would be a choice that decided the Guild's future.
“Honestly, I think it's meaningless.”
Baek Je-hyeok was negative.
If it were E-Grade, maybe.
Even with over 350 Runes, they were still F-Grade.
The level was far too low to see potential in prospects who would lead the Guild's future.
“I think so too, but if we want to survive, we have to try anything, don't we?”
“I guess.......”
“Who knows. Maybe someone with talent that transcends Grade will turn up.”
Both Baek Je-hyeok and the man.
At this moment, they were of the same mind.
They hoped such a person existed.