“Y-you, why are you there?”
“Good question. Why am I here indeed.”
“Then perhaps…?”
“Perhaps what? You already know.”
Kim Sangsik’s complexion turned as dark as someone with constipation.
Seeing his face made me feel like a ten-year-old bowel blockage was finally clearing.
Ah, this must be what they call a poophoria.
“Anyway, let’s step back a bit.
You’re not alone here, right?”
As I took a step forward, Kim Sangsik retreated weakly.
Other scouts surrounded me with their business cards.
“We’re from Peace Guild. We promise the best treatment.”
“Why don’t we move somewhere else to discuss…”
Scout offers rained from all directions. In moments, dozens of business cards filled my hands.
So this is how it feels.
Strange yet fascinating. Things I’d never experienced in seven years were unfolding before my eyes.
In just half a day, the world around me had changed.
No.
I’m the one who changed.
They say C-rank is where real Hunters begin. Outstanding abilities, high salary, a mid-rank Hunter recognized by society.
Finally stepping onto that path felt real.
And… this is just the beginning.
With the system’s power, I can keep growing.
Like that, I’ll advance down a new path faster than any Hunter.
“If you have any conditions, we’ll meet them unconditionally.”
“Ah, yes. I’ll contact you later.”
“Really? We’ll be waiting!”
No. Don’t wait. I won’t be calling.
“Alright everyone, please calm down now.”
Association security guards blocked the persistently clinging scouts.
Usually they wouldn’t go this far for a C-rank Hunter, but I seemed to be drawing extra attention as an unusual case.
Well, jumping up so high from one re-awakening.
This feeling isn’t bad at all. No, it’s rather good.
I suppressed my rising smile as I left the Association. But even then, one person kept following.
“Tae-kyung! I mean, Mr. Tae-kyung!”
“Huh.”
I swallowed a laugh looking at Kim Sangsik.
Just thirty minutes ago he was calling me a little shit, and now it’s “Mr. Tae-kyung.”
“What is it?”
“About earlier, I’m sorry.
For everything that might have hurt you before.”
Kim Sangsik rambled, spilling out all his past wrongs against me.
After finishing his untimely confession, he got to the point.
“So, let’s forget everything and think of this as business.”
“Business.”
I roll that word on my tongue.
Good sound, bad feeling. Especially with Kim Sangsik and Picnic Guild as business partners.
“Honestly, you know too. Unless it’s a major guild, they’re all the same.”
“I know. Even major guilds extend offers to C-ranks.”
“Think about it carefully. They won’t miss you.
C-rank Hunters aren’t hard to find in their neighborhood.
The treatment will be just that level too.”
Kim Sangsik continued, spitting words:
“Whatever others offer, we’ll add more unconditionally. This is guaranteed—the Guild Master approved it.”
Picnic Guild had been steadily declining for years.
The situation must have the Guild Master really shitting his pants.
This bastard too.
His reputation in the guild was already rock bottom, and now the F-rank Hunter he arbitrarily fired days ago had re-awakened as C-rank.
My lips curled up anticipating what might happen when the notoriously hot-tempered Guild Master finds out.
“Just think positively. Actually, let’s go somewhere nice and have an honest talk. The Guild Master is on his way…”
“Mr. Kim Sangsik.”
My quiet voice made him shut up.
“If you want to recruit me, tell your Guild Master exactly this.”
“What?”
“That disgusting human. If you get rid of just that one person, I’ll consider it.”
Who I meant was crystal clear.
Leaving Kim Sangsik’s twisted face behind, I got in a taxi.
Yeah, this’ll do.
I leaned back into the cushy seat.
Grade reassessment and meeting old grudges.
I felt both indescribably elated and deeply satisfied.
“Where to?”
“Songnae Station, Hope Goshiwon.”
The taxi driver chuckled at me.
“Oh, it’s you again.”
“Ah.”
Fucking Seoul taxis.
“What’s the occasion? You buying all this beef?”
We spread a mat and set up a grill on the goshiwon rooftop. Jin-ho looked contentedly at the cooking meat and said:
“Good. Seeing your sincerity, I’ll forget about the referral fee.”
“Wasn’t planning to pay it anyway.”
“You little punk.”
“Right back at you.”
We sat facing each other, tilting soju glasses.
“But where’d you get the money? Weren’t you whining about barely making it this month?”
“Today’s pay.”
“How much could that be? Getting fired from the guild, giving up on life?”
“How much?”
I couldn’t help but smirk.
“Oh, you’re laughing?”
“Of course I am. When you’re treating ten million won like pocket change.”
Jin-ho froze.
“How much?”
“Ten million won.”
“You earned ten million won today?”
“Actually a bit more, but for now…”
“You didn’t…”
Jin-ho swallowed hard. Pretty sharp. I gave him a meaningful smile.
“That’s right, today I…”
“Sold your organs?”
Should I kill him?
I heaved a sigh and downed my drink.
“Tell me the truth. As gosiwon supervisor, I have a right to know.”
Sounds more like Prime Minister than gosiwon supervisor.
“I earned it at a Gate.”
“Show me proof. I only believe what I see.”
“Fine, here.”
I handed my phone to Jin-ho.
It was a text I received on my way back from the Association reassessment.
The sender was…
“‘Label Whore’? Who’s this?”
“Team leader from today’s raid.”
“Must be loaded. Want to become sworn brothers.”
This guy. Thinks like me.
Soon after checking the message, Jin-ho’s eyes bulged.
“10.3 million won? Am I seeing this right?”
“Should be.”
According to the contract, the payment was 300,000 won. Team Leader Choi added ten million on top.
And there’s still a balance left.
The Hobgoblin Sorcerer and Great Warrior were C-rank rare monsters. Team Leader Choi added that they were looking for buyers for their equipment, leather, and magic stones.
“We’ll pay more once they’re sold.”
When I came to my senses, I found myself sweeping up all the beef I could find at the nearby mart.
“You…”
Jin-ho looked blankly between me and the phone in his hand.
“What the hell did you do and where?”
“It’s a long story.”
Jin-ho chuckled and grabbed the scissors.
“Your life thread short or something?”
Where should I start explaining?
I decided not to say anything more about the capsule.
Better to let it remain an incredible tall tale to Jin-ho.
“Two rare monsters appeared at the Gate today… At a life-or-death moment, I got lucky with re-awakening and could defeat them.” Then the Association stuff.
Though hastily patched together, the story convinced Jin-ho.
“So you’re a C-rank Hunter now?”
“Not yet, takes a few days for the readjustment process.”
“Same difference, idiot.”
Blank face, hoarse voice.
As he stared at me, tears welled up in Jin-ho’s eyes.
What’s wrong with this guy?
“Are you crying?”
“Fuck no. What bullshit.”
Despite the needless cursing and turning away, he couldn’t hide the tear that fell. I watched him roughly wiping his face with his sleeve.
“Hyung?”
“Flip the meat, it’s burning.”
“That’s not—”
“It’s burning!”
“Ah, okay.”
Sizzle.
As I flipped the meat, something tickled in my chest despite the awkwardness.
Come to think of it, I’ve known Jin-ho for a long time.
Six years? Seven? I haven’t counted so I’m not sure. Whenever I returned to the goshiwon after a hard day, he was always there.
If I had an older brother, would it feel like this? We lived like brothers, like friends, to the point where I sometimes wondered.
“Hey.”
Jin-ho broke the awkward silence. I unnecessarily flipped the meat again.
“Uh, what?”
“Good job.”
“…Thanks.”
“And.”
A small voice followed.
“You worked hard.”
Just those few words.
Something welled up from deep inside. Seven years of pent-up emotions and memories came rushing all at once.
“Congratulations on becoming C-rank. Can’t make fun of you anymore.”
“Hyung…”
“Tae-kyung…”
“Hyung!”
“Tae-kyung!”
We embraced warmly across the grill. Jin-ho whispered in my ear with a trembling voice:
“Remember what I said earlier?”
“I know how you feel, hyung. Thank you.”
“Not that. The referral fee.”
“…Huh?”
“Make sure to pay it. Times are tough for hyung.”
“You’ll be making good money now.”
Should I really kill him?
Stumbling back to my room, I threw myself on the bed.
Thinking about that one person probably grumbling while cleaning the rooftop right now made me smile.
Can’t let your guard down for a second.
So like Jin-ho. His way of congratulating, even the final joke.
I know well that it’s all his way of expressing himself.
You worked hard.
Those words keep echoing in my head. Embarrassing to admit but… I almost cried at that moment.
Yeah, I did work hard.
After father passed away, I ran non-stop. Graduated high school while working part-time jobs, had to endure for my sick mother and young sister.
At some point, all of that became normal to me.
And then.
Ding.
Status Effect [Heavily Drunk] applied.
Can be detoxified with [Qi Circulation]
Something not normal entered my life.
It started with that mysterious old game capsule.
“Game capsule, huh.”
I’m not even sure what to call it anymore. Should I call it a divine gift since it made me a C-rank Hunter?
No, maybe it’s a gift from the devil.
Is this really okay?
The reason I’m having these thoughts despite having the best day of my life is simple.
Nothing comes free.
That’s how the world I’ve experienced works. Everything has a price tag. Whether visible or not, you end up paying the price someday.
How expensive will the system be?
A hundred billion? A hundred trillion? Maybe more?
As I laughed weakly, I felt my eyelids getting heavy.
Ah right, I’m heavily drunk.
Chirp. Chirp chirp.
Insects were chirping loudly outside the window. My vision darkened as sleep poured down. And that night, I had a dream.
A dream of someone shaking me awake somewhere deep in the mountains—
“Captain, Captain!”
A voice that strangely made me want to hit them just from hearing it. While part of me wanted to check who owned this familiar voice, I was too sleepy to open my eyes.
“What should we do?”
“We need to report to headquarters right away…”
“Why is the Captain suddenly…”
Feels like listening to a broken radio.
The voices had static and kept cutting out.
So sleepy…
In my fading consciousness, I heard a small but clear voice.
“Rookie, survive.”
But when I woke up the next day, I couldn’t remember any of it.