Chapter 29 – Bait

A so-called “Guild Town” has sprung up around the Hanul Guild.

Winners Guild Must Apologize!

Reveal the Truth Behind the Incident!

Today, like every other day, a middle-aged woman was staging a one-person protest, holding a sign with those words.

I’ve been seeing her ever since I joined the Hanul Guild over a month ago.

“My son… he Awakened and promised he would finally be a good son to me! He said he was going on his first assignment with the Winners Guild, and he never came back!”

The woman, who no longer had any tears left to cry, shouted at the main gate of the unresponsive Winners Guild headquarters.

The sign, which passersby once occasionally read, now garnered no attention, left to battle the cold wind alone.

Being a Hunter carries the allure of striking it rich and the romance of fighting monsters to protect people.

But where there is light, there is also shadow.

The number one dream job for elementary schoolers.

Hunter (Hero). Yet, behind the title lies a grim reality.

It has been eleven years since the Gates appeared.

In the beginning, the Awakened formed guilds simply to survive.

To train Hunters and fight systematically.

But the ideal of eradicating monsters slowly faded, devolving into a business.

Realizing that entering dungeons, killing monsters, and mining mana stones was a path to wealth, everyone clamored to become a Hunter. But few places had a proper system in place.

The training period I believe is necessary is at least half a year, starting with basic combat and survival training.

The Hunter mortality rate is thirty percent.

The Winners Guild, just up ahead, is especially guilty of this.

The shorter the training period, the less money the guild spends, and the sooner Hunters can run dungeons, the faster the mana stone revenue flows in.

Mass-produced Hunters. That’s the most fitting description.

I soon arrived at the Hanul Guild. As I stepped into the lobby, I could feel people’s eyes on me.

“Oh, it’s the Team 3 Leader.”

“I heard he soloed an intermediate dungeon boss. Something even the Tushin guys couldn’t do?”

“Wasn’t Team 3 completely disbanded?”

“Didn’t you hear? They say the Team 3 Leader took it down all by himself.”

“What? Isn’t he a Porter-class Awakened?”

“Actually, there’s a rumor he’s not a Porter, but a damage-dealer type.”

I could hear the murmurs of the office workers sitting in the first-floor coffee shop.

To be precise, I was a dual Awakened Porter and Hero, but I was keeping that information confidential for now.

‘Porter Level 14, Hero Synchronization 3.8%.’

Thanks to diligently clearing dungeons lately, my Porter level had reached 14.

As a Porter, I’d also gained a variety of new inventory skills.

Freshness Preservation, Flawless Sterilization, Flawless Bleaching, Flawless Cleansing. The downside was that I’d only acquired a bunch of skills that sounded like they belonged on a washing machine, making them utterly useless.

Honestly, no matter how hard I tried to imagine a use for them, they were completely worthless.

My cleanliness level just kept rising by the day.

In contrast, my synchronization rate as a Hero hadn’t increased at all.

It had only risen by a mere 0.3% in all that time.

And that small increase had only happened yesterday, after nearly a month of it not budging.

‘I guess I need to raise my Salvation stat.’

A Hero is, by definition, a hero.

What must a hero do to remain a hero?

It means overwhelming others with martial prowess and intellect, becoming someone people can look up to.

In other words, the stat increases when I save someone or perform heroic deeds in front of others.

‘I need to start seriously Awakening my powers as a Hero.’

Rather than just leveling up as a Porter, I had to focus on my Hero abilities—on quickly inheriting the powers I once wielded in the other world.

I had left the items I’d looted from the dungeon yesterday at the appraisal office.

It didn’t take long to get the total market value, which came out to a net profit of roughly 150 million won.

The Insect Summoning skill was only worth five million won, but the Recovery Boost skill was worth a whopping 145 million.

I decided to keep Lakios’s Shield for myself.

It was technically an item for tankers, but having a shield equipped dramatically increases one’s survival rate when getting ganged up on or facing multiple enemies.

I especially liked its +5% Damage Reduction and +10 Stamina options.

I went straight up to the president’s office on the eighth floor. One of the reasons I was looking for Im Jae-joon today was Kim Tae-yang.

After clearing the dungeon yesterday, I’d had a drink with the former team leader of the Hwarang Guild.

There was a reason he hadn’t been there the day I visited, hoping to join the guild.

He told me the Hwarang Guild wasn’t what it used to be.

Like Hanul, Hwarang also had a new guild master, and a generational shift was underway. Factional infighting had broken out, and the former team leader had been pushed aside.

As a result, he’d been moved from a management position to a field position.

They say that wherever three people gather, sides will be taken. It wasn’t an exaggeration.

In any case, I also heard that Kim Tae-yang was indeed on disciplinary leave and that his current standing within his guild was extremely poor.

Frankly, I was probably the only one who could control Kim Tae-yang; anyone else would have a hard time making him compliant.

Which meant I was planning to recruit him for the team I was about to build.

As I reached the executive floor, someone was just coming out of the president’s office.

Though I couldn’t recognize their face, hidden behind a hat, sunglasses, and a mask, I had a strange feeling I knew who it was.

“Hello.”

“Hello.”

It was Seo Hyun-ji, the fourth S-rank Hunter to Awaken. What was she doing here?

After what I’d said to her, I would have thought her pride would have driven her to a different guild.

“I’ve decided to sign with Hanul.”

“Ah, I see.”

“I’m going to join Team 3.”

“Team 3?”

Seo Hyun-ji, who had at some point pushed up her hat and lowered her mask, confirmed it.

Team 3. In other words, she was coming to my team.

Why?

“Why?”

“What do you mean, why?”

Right now, I was the only one on the team. No, to be precise, there was also Vice-Leader Kim Gi-mun, who was stubbornly holding on.

“As a formerly famous trainer, aren’t you happy to have an S-rank Hunter joining your team?”

I should be happy.

That part was true. But not with her.

Seo Hyun-ji’s physical condition was terrible.

Some might look at Seo Hyun-ji’s slender figure and call her beautiful. But monsters in a dungeon don’t say, “My, you’re lovely,” and then decide not to attack.

They attack regardless of whether you’re pretty or ugly. Non-combat types like Seo Hyun-ji, in particular, are usually the first to be targeted.

And to top it all off, this woman apparently intended to juggle her celebrity career with her Hunter duties.

I couldn’t help but sigh.

She should have been focusing solely on being a Hunter, but instead, she just wanted the title to garner public attention. There was no way I could approve of that.

“You’ll have to eat a lot and train hard. Are you still sure you want to join our team?”

“I eat plenty.”

Eat plenty, my ass. The real big eater was the rice thief living in my house.

To maintain that stick-thin body, Seo Hyun-ji looked like the type to pick at her rice one grain at a time with a toothpick.

“Here, take this.”

“What is it?”

“My signed CD.”

I didn’t need that crap. I’d already refused it once before.

What was the point of having a celebrity autograph? It wasn’t going to build any muscle.

“I don’t need it.”

“Why not? The songs are great.”

I glanced down at the CD Seo Hyun-ji was holding out.

Four-Gal.

Ah, now I remembered. I recalled a four-member girl group that used to sing a song called “Protect My Boyfriend” on a music show Katrinne often watched.

They were a group with a unique Hunter concept. So Seo Hyun-ji was a former girl group member.

“We’re going to be on the same team. You should at least know a little about me, right?”

She wasn’t wrong, but the sentiment felt misplaced.

“Make sure you listen to it!”

It was a hassle, but I nodded in agreement. I said I’d listen, but I never specified when. I figured as long as I got around to it sometime in this lifetime, it would be fine.

After my encounter with Seo Hyun-ji, I went straight into the president’s office, where Im Jae-joon greeted me.

“We’ve decided to sign Seo Hyun-ji. She’ll be joining Team 3.”

“Can’t you send her to a different team?”

Im Jae-joon gave a wry smile at my question.

“Weren’t you the one who said you wanted to handle her?”

“What kind of training can she do with that body? She looks like she’d struggle just to sing and dance.”

“But you’re good at that sort of thing. Didn’t you turn that spoiled princess into a respectable Sword Master back in the day?”

I didn’t even want to think about that time. Every day had been an exercise in pure frustration.

Compared to that princess, though, Seo Hyun-ji was an outstanding prospect. She was stamped as an S-rank right from the get-go, after all.

Having her on the roster would make it easier to meet the requirements for dungeon bids.

A certificate. Yes, that was the perfect analogy.

An S-rank was good for securing dungeon bids and served as a symbol for the guild.

Even more so if that S-rank was a popular celebrity.

“With Seo Hyun-ji on board, we’ll be able to start tackling high-rank dungeons. And you’ll be the one leading the charge.”

I’d probably make a lot of money. My own growth would accelerate, too.

I understood perfectly what Im Jae-joon was saying. But I had to feign some reluctance to state my own conditions.

“Then give me more team members.”

“Team members? Is there anyone you have in mind?”

I told him about Kim Tae-yang and Kim In-ho.

Kim Tae-yang’s position was so precarious that poaching him should be easy enough. As for Kim In-ho, I had no real basis for it, but I had a gut feeling. The kid wanted to come with me.

“I’ll give the HR team a heads-up. Let me know if you need anything else. Expectations are high for the new Team 3.”

“While we’re on the subject, I need to take care of Kim Gi-mun.”

“Kim Gi-mun.”

At the mention of his name, Im Jae-joon rubbed his chin, lost in thought.

A slight smile touched his lips as he asked me.

“Wouldn’t it be better to just leave him alone?”

“Why?”

“I’ve only just taken over the guild. Causing a scene would put me at a disadvantage.”

Even the great Demon King now had opponents whose moods he had to read.

The power struggle with his half-siblings. It was a testament to his ability that he had come this far despite the handicap of being an illegitimate son.

“I believe I mentioned this before.”

“Right, I know. Kim Gi-mun’s crimes.”

Im Jae-joon slid a report on Kim Gi-mun across the table, one he had clearly already reviewed.

Kim Gi-mun was connected to a human trafficking organization.

“Are you scared?”

“The risks outweigh the rewards. It’s better to stick him in some desk job and slowly neutralize him.”

Backstabbing rookie Hunters inside dungeons. It was also known as ‘tail-cutting.’

Due to the demonic magnetic field, electronic devices like CCTV cameras were useless inside dungeons.

There were villains who exploited the fact that it was difficult to punish crimes committed within them.

Acts like using one’s own comrades as bait to hunt monsters or embezzling profits from a hunt were frequent.

This was why guilds had become so important. At the very least, guild-certified Hunters could be held socially and morally accountable.

“Hey.”

As a businessman, he was making the right call.

One wrong move, and the guild could be held responsible for Kim Gi-mun’s crimes. No, in truth, someone in the guild leadership probably already knew about his crimes.

Someone who’d been taking his bribes.

“If you’re going to act just like all the other bastards in charge, then forget it.”

Still, this guy was the Demon King, known as the most powerful sovereign in the other world.

A man like that, playing it safe because he was afraid of taking a small hit?

If you intend to kill another, you must first be prepared to die yourself.

“What do we gain from it?”

the Demon King retorted.

“Since when does the Demon King bother with an abacus? Did you lose your pride along with your horns?”

There was a piece of scum that needed to be taken out.

I was more than capable of eliminating him. But I was supposed to just let him be? That went against my character.

“I was just asking.”

The Demon King suddenly grinned and continued.

“Do whatever you want. I’ll handle the cleanup.”

Why play coy when you were going to agree anyway?

If he’d tried to stop me out of fear of the consequences, I was fully prepared to give him a rap on the head. You got lucky, pal.

* * *

After finishing my conversation with Im Jae-joon, I went straight down to my office.

Now that I had someone to handle the annoying cleanup, it was time to stir up some trouble.

I prepared the bait, making sure it looked appetizing. Then I made the necessary arrangements.

The preparations didn’t take long, so I wasn’t late for my weight training.

What should I work on today? Should I destroy my legs, or should I destroy my biceps?

As I headed down, lost in these pleasant thoughts, I ran right into someone I’d rather not have seen.

“Team Leader Lee.”

Kim Gi-mun, putting on a gentlemanly expression, brightened upon seeing me.

“I heard you cleared an intermediate dungeon all by yourself. That’s truly amazing.”

“Ah, yes.”

“And on top of that, I hear the fourth S-rank Hunter is coming to our team…”

“Our team?”

I repeated his infuriating words in disbelief, but he replied nonchalantly, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“We’re both in Team 3, aren’t we? Haha.”

The same Team 3, he said.

“Everyone is green with envy, pestering me for details, but what is there for me to tell them?”

“Nothing has been officially confirmed yet.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

Kim Gi-mun stood there in front of me, beaming about something. If he had no other business, I wished he’d move.

“Ah, but there was an urgent request from Moon Jung-il of the Management Team. I printed out the email for you.”

Just as he’d said, there was a printout on my desk. The gist was this: Team 2 was originally supposed to clear a certain Gate, but due to a scheduling conflict, they had urgently asked Kim Gi-mun to handle it instead.

“As you know, it’s impossible for me to handle it alone. It’s a task for the team.”

“I’ll take care of it.”

“But the request came to me, so it wouldn’t be right for me to sit it out entirely. How about this: you can have all the rewards from the Gate, Team Leader. I’ll just provide support.”

His offer was unexpected, and I looked up at him. He continued speaking with a smile that could belong to a truly good person.

“You can consider it a token of my apology.”

A smirk naturally formed on my lips at the old snake’s words.

“Oh, that sounds great.”

Kim Gi-mun had taken the bait faster than I’d expected.