Chapter 25

025. Hunter Han Seong-yun (5)

Hwang Man-ho trembled, his fists tightly clenched.

Looking at him, I smiled slightly.

‘He must be shocked, not expecting me to pass the Hunter exam.’

I had completed the most difficult stage of the exam in an instant.

Hwang Man-ho must have felt both flustered and ashamed.

He probably recalled how he had mocked me, saying I was nothing and had no chance of becoming a Hunter.

But after being summoned to the Tower of Trials, I had grown as if I had become a different person.

Thus, the result was something Hwang Man-ho had not anticipated.

Crunch.

The sound of his teeth grinding faintly reached my ears as Hwang Man-ho opened his mouth.

“Haha, congratulations, sir, or should I say, Hunter Han Seong-yun now.”

Forcing a smile, Hwang Man-ho continued, but he could no longer maintain his perfect composure.

Seeing this, I felt a bit exasperated.

‘I don’t even know why he harbors such animosity towards me.’

I wondered what I had done to make Hwang Man-ho dislike me so much.

All I had done was consistently train hard.

Of course, that thought soon vanished from my mind.

Well, why he harbored animosity towards me was no longer important.

‘It was tiring, but I don’t need to see him anymore.’

Thinking this, I felt a bit more at ease and spoke.

“That’s right, I heard that before retiring, Director Hwang Man-ho was a C-rank Hunter.”

“Y-Yes, haha.”

“Then we are now of the same rank, Director.”

“...”

Upon hearing this, Hwang Man-ho’s fists clenched even tighter.

His poker face completely crumbled.

He seemed to have understood the implications of my words.

I, who was once just a Hunter aspirant, was now on equal footing with him.

‘I meant it in a general sense...’

Judging by his expression, he seemed to have understood very well.

Approaching the agitated Hwang Man-ho, I added one last remark.

“But that equality will soon come to an end, unfortunately.”

Depending on how you interpret it, there’s only one way to understand this.

I would soon surpass C-rank and become a Hunter of a higher rank than Director Hwang Man-ho.

“...Haha, I doubt that will be easy.”

His tone was stiff, as if he was trying to provoke me, but I smiled even more.

“Who knows, it’s something to be seen. After all, a perennial Hunter aspirant can become a C-rank Hunter, right?”

Hwang Man-ho’s expression turned cold upon hearing this.

It was clear that he was getting more agitated.

‘Surprisingly, the provocation worked well.’

Hmm, he might really take action now.

Just then,

“Enough, Director Hwang Man-ho.”

Supervisor Kim In-ho, who had been quietly observing the situation, intervened.

“There’s no point in making things worse for both of us. Why are you acting this way?”

Kim In-ho continued in a cold tone, unlike his earlier professional demeanor.

“We will take care of Hunter Han Seong-yun from now on, so you don’t need to worry about him.”

“...Are you saying you’re willing to ruin our relationship just for this guy?”

Hwang Man-ho responded with a low, threatening voice.

However,

“Yes, that’s how I see it.”

Supervisor Kim In-ho stood his ground and was quite firm.

While I was surprised by his sudden intervention, it wasn’t entirely incomprehensible.

He wouldn’t want a fight to break out within the Hunter Association, especially not with a promising candidate who had just passed the highest level of the exam.

But there was one thing that bothered me...

‘Ruin our relationship...’

His words implied that there had been some kind of relationship between them.

For a relationship to be ruined, it must have been quite close.

‘I didn’t expect him to have connections with a supervisor.’

Indeed, as the director of a famous gym, it was surprising.

The Hunter Association, despite its reputation, only dealt with large guilds.

I never thought the Baekryeon Gym would be involved.

However, it seemed that their connection wasn’t as strong as it appeared.

“...Damn brats.”

Hwang Man-ho expressed his dissatisfaction, turned around, and left the exam room.

Bang!

The door of the exam room slammed shut, and the room fell silent.

However, Kim In-ho, observing the situation, spoke calmly.

“Hmm, the situation is settled.”

“...It seems so.”

“With that in mind, I have something to say regarding the issuance of your Hunter License...”

Kim In-ho’s eyes focused on me, and a smile appeared on his face.

“Can you spare me a moment?”

“Sure.”

Getting the Hunter License as soon as possible is always better.

Despite some noise, I had quickly achieved my goal.

‘Time-saving and the issuance of the Hunter License.’

I had compressed a process that should have taken three days into just one.

It couldn’t be any cleaner.

“Let’s move to another location. I’ll issue your Hunter License.”

Nodding, I followed Kim In-ho.

Only then did I start to feel like a real Hunter.

‘From now on, I’m Hunter Han Seong-yun...’

It was a subtle rank for the seven years I had invested, but it wasn’t bad.

Just being able to move past the starting point was enough.

***

“This is your Hunter License, which you will use from now on.”

I carefully read the rectangular certificate handed to me by Kim In-ho.

「Hunter Han Seong-yun」

「Rank: C」

「Type: Melee」

「Registration Date: 2026 – 01 – 21」

It felt good.

I felt a sense of accomplishment after all the time I had invested.

As I looked at the Hunter License, Kim In-ho continued.

“Now that you are registered with the Hunter Association, you can officially start your Hunter activities.”

Hearing this good news, I responded.

“So, I can now enter dungeons and sell items.”

“That’s right. Of course, you can only enter dungeons of your rank, and the same applies to selling items.”

After answering, Kim In-ho looked at me for a moment and then adopted a serious expression.

“Hunter Han Seong-yun, I have a proposal for you.”

“Hmm, a proposal...”

“I think you can guess. Would you consider becoming a direct Hunter of the Hunter Association?”

“...”

It was a sudden proposal, but I wasn’t too surprised.

To Kim In-ho, I must have been a very appetizing prospect.

‘An unaffiliated and undetected talent.’

To be honest, there’s no one as unique as me.

Usually, a promising candidate refers to talents nurtured by large guilds.

So, in general, the Hunter Association can’t recruit promising candidates.

‘But I’m not a guild’s promising candidate, and I have no affiliation.’

Moreover, I confirmed that I had a bad relationship with the only industry insider, Hwang Man-ho.

A perfect situation for the Hunter Association to recruit me, with no reason not to.

Of course, I didn’t think this proposal was bad.

‘Direct Hunters of the Hunter Association receive a steady income even if they don’t do much.’

Unlike Hunters who bear the burden of hunting in dungeons, direct Hunters of the Hunter Association take on tasks like escorting or suppressing.

Escorting famous celebrities or suppressing Hunters who have killed others—these are the tasks of the Association’s Hunters.

However, only those who want to receive special allowances for these tasks.

‘If you’re willing to respond when called during specific periods, you don’t need to work much.’

Despite this, the salary is quite high, and direct Hunters of the Association are generally well-regarded.

It’s a pretty good place, except for the mandatory response to emergency summonses.

While securing my Hunter License, I casually asked Kim In-ho.

“What’s the salary for a direct Hunter of the Association?”

“The base salary is 10 billion, and it’s negotiable if you want more.”

This is a strong contract compared to a basic high-ranking Hunter.

An unbelievable amount of money to earn without doing anything.

“The Association’s direct Hunter, quite strong, I see.”

“That’s because we see potential in you, Hunter Han Seong-yun.”

However, Kim In-ho acted as if it was a given.

‘Direct Hunter of the Association, honestly, it’s tempting.’

Earning money without doing anything, considering the time I’ll spend in the Tower of Trials, it’s quite good.

But.

‘Thinking about the connection with Hwang Man-ho, it feels a bit off.’

The Hunter industry is quite dirty.

There are many sordid incidents in dungeons, like murders.

There are even Hunters who specialize in disposing of bodies.

If you put a body in a dungeon that will disappear, no one will ever know.

The Hunter industry has its dark side, and so does the Hunter Association.

There are many suspicions, like giving higher ranks in the Hunter exam for money.

‘In that sense, Kim In-ho is quite suspicious.’

Large guilds’ promising candidates receive higher ranks through backroom deals with supervisors, while other guilds’ candidates are given penalties.

Famous guilds are always embroiled in such suspicions every year.

Would the treatment of a weak player with no connections be any different?

Perhaps they tampered with my exam as well.

‘There were many differences from the previous exams I took.’

Honestly, the Hunter exam was quite peculiar.

From the items provided to the elemental weaknesses of the monsters, there were many suspicious points.

For example, a player who took a D-rank weapon for a 7th stage exam, but in a 10th stage exam, only F-rank weapons were provided.

Or summoning a fire elemental, which should be impossible to defeat.

While the 10th stage exam is considered special, I haven’t said anything about it.

‘There’s plenty of room for suspicion.’

If that’s the case, accepting this offer would be very foolish.

If they tampered once, they might do it again.

Of course, there’s no concrete evidence, just suspicion.

Even so, an immediate answer wouldn’t be wise.

“I appreciate the offer, but I need to think about it.”

“If it’s about the salary, we can negotiate further.”

“No, it’s not about the salary, but due to some circumstances.”

“...I see. If you change your mind, please contact me.”

Kim In-ho, looking disappointed, handed me a business card.

「Supervisor Kim In-ho, Hunter Association」

“Feel free to contact me whenever it’s convenient.”

Taking the card, I nodded and replied briefly.

“Understood, thank you.”

“I hope we can have a good relationship.”

With that, I left the Hunter Association’s lobby, escorted by Kim In-ho.

‘Direct Hunter of the Association...’

I do need to think about it, but I still have something to finish.

‘Now that I have the Hunter License, I can sell items.’

With only a three-day return, I needed to move as much as possible.

‘The price of Return Stones is surprisingly low, so soon there will be an influx of returnees.’

This will inevitably cause fluctuations in the item market.

Items from the Tower of Trials and the increasing number of players will bring changes.

Whether good or bad, a turbulent era is inevitable.

To prepare for that, I need to move faster than others.

“I need to make some money first.”

It’s better to sell items at a higher price than at a low price.

And I needed money immediately to prepare for the Tower’s trials.

‘To prepare for the Tower’s trials, I need money to be ready for anything.’

My first Hunter activity would be to sell items.