Chapter 33

Chapter 33

If it was the Archer Joo Minjeong… then that was one of the twins famous for both being ranked S-Rank alongside the Gunner Joo Minju.

When I saw them on TV, they seemed like a pretty serious person, but in reality, were they actually quite playful?

I recalled the message that was, by anyone’s standards, nothing more or less than spam, and could only manage a weak smile.

“Since I’ve also apologized, I’d like to cut to the chase and get straight to the point. Our Heewon Guild would like to scout Hunter Yoon Seohee and Hunter Yoon Juyeong.”

“Ah….”

“And… you’ve probably already confirmed this, but if you accept our scouting offer, we intend to provide at least 2,000, up to a maximum of 5,000 won in support funds.”

“Excuse me? …How much was the maximum?”

“5,000 million.”

50 million? Did I really just hear 50 million?

I couldn’t quite believe what I’d heard, so I cautiously looked over at Mr. Yoon Juyeong. He shifted his gaze from staring intently at Hunter Kang Mujin, met my eyes, and immediately gave me his usual smile.

I already knew the meaning of that smile. It meant that this situation was real, so I shouldn’t try to run away from it.

“I’m truly grateful for the scouting offer and the support funds, but….”

“Have you received a scouting offer from somewhere else?”

“Ah, no! It’s not that. To be honest… I don’t understand why Huiwon Guild would go to such lengths for me.”

What kind of place was Huiwon Guild? Not only was it Korea’s top-ranked guild, but even on a global scale, it was a guild with a considerable reputation.

‘It’s not even a place where A-Rank hunters can just waltz in.’

Excluding the so-called ‘inhuman’ S-Rank hunters, Huiwon Guild was a place where even A-Rank hunters, considered the strongest, needed a long period of effort to get into.

And yet, a place like that was trying to recruit a mere C-Rank hunter, even offering money to do so. Honestly, anyone who heard that would probably snort and laugh, asking what kind of delusion this was.

“As you already know, I’m an extremely ordinary C-Rank hunter in terms of combat ability. I’ve been a hunter for quite a while… but I don’t see any room for further growth.”

Nearly two years had passed since I started my life as a hunter, but I hadn’t grown much from the time of my initial awakening until now.

If I were to honestly evaluate myself, I’d say I have no talent. I was lucky enough to awaken, but I don’t have outstanding physical abilities, nor do I have exceptional intelligence.

I’m just the lowest-grade awakener you’d find anywhere.

That’s all I am, nothing more and nothing less.

I met Hunter Kang Mujin’s steel-colored eyes without a single tremor and opened my mouth to ask again.

“Why exactly are you scouting me?”

Hunter Kang Mujin didn’t answer right away. Instead, he spent a considerable amount of time scrutinizing me, as if observing me, before slowly lifting his heavy lips.

“There are two reasons. Would you like to hear them?”

“Yes.”

“First. Because there was a recommendation from Hunter Jeong Seojin.”

“…….”

This was an answer I had expected to some extent. I nodded without adding anything else. It was a situation I wasn’t entirely comfortable with for various reasons, but regardless, it was true that Jeong Seojin had taken a strange interest in me.

“Second. Because I found a particular detail in what he mentioned about you.”

“A particular… detail?”

“I heard you tamed a monster.”

“…….”

So he had heard about that from Jeong Seojin as well.

It was common sense, or an unwritten rule, for a hunter in the industry to report any anomalies or peculiarities discovered during a dungeon raid to their guild master or the Dungeon Management Committee.

‘Of course, knowing Jeong Seojin’s personality, he probably didn’t report it to the DMC… no, I’m sure he didn’t.’

It wasn’t a one-time thing for Jeong Seojin to only report dungeon-related matters to his guild master and not properly report them to the government or the DMC.

To give you an idea of how bad it was… even I, who assumed Jeong Seojin had ‘obligatorily’ or ‘as a matter of common sense’ reported my abilities to his guild master, had never once thought he would have reported my abilities to the government.

“As you probably already know, there has never been a single case of taming a monster recorded anywhere in the entire world.”

Pulling myself away from the other thoughts I’d been having, I looked back at Kang Mujin in front of me and fell silent. But Kang Mujin, as if he already knew my silence was a form of affirmation, didn’t press me for an answer and instead continued his own words.

“If Hunter Yoon Seohee truly can tame monsters… that value would be beyond words. To be honest, the 50 million I offered you is by no means a high price. Assuming everything Hunter Jeong Seojin said is true, your worth simply cannot be measured in money.”

“……”

“But as for the second reason… according to Hunter Jeong Seojin, he guessed you were reluctant to speak publicly about it, so he didn’t disclose the reason. The ‘official’ reason we’re scouting Hunter Yoon Seohee is stated as needing an administrative staff member who is well-informed about field situations. In that case, per company internal guidelines, the support fund is capped at 50 million… but if you ever decide to reveal your ability to the outside, we plan to adjust the support fund upward.”

I had expected to some extent that someone at the top of a guild wouldn’t go around lightly blabbing about an ability that could affect not just the domestic but the entire global hunter industry. But Hunter Kang Mujin’s conduct exceeded my expectations.

‘Well, that makes sense. That’s probably why Jeong Seojin, notorious for being so picky, joined Huiwon Guild in the first place.’

Considering Jeong Seojin’s track record, often described as lone-wolf or solo play, the fact that he was affiliated with any organization at all was quite astonishing.

After thinking that far, I turned my mind back to the conversation I’d been having with Hunter Kang Mujin.

As Hunter Kang Mujin said, considering the rarity of an ability to ‘tame monsters,’ a support fund of 50 million or more was perfectly natural.

After all, it was an ability that flatly denied what had always been believed—that except for certain monsters, coexistence between humans and monsters, or human domination over monsters, was absolutely impossible. But…

I bit my lower lip slightly and shook my head. The ‘adjusted support fund’ he mentioned was only valid under the condition that I could ‘tame monsters.’

Naturally, I had absolutely no intention of joining Huiwon Guild by putting my monster-taming ability front and center.

“There’s no need to adjust the support fund. As you’ve probably already heard from Hunter Jeong Seojin, I have no intention of revealing my ability to the outside. Frankly, even the fact that Hunter Jeong Seojin found out about my ability was embarrassing for me.”

“…Understood. I’ll keep the support fund discussion fixed at a maximum of 50 million, as originally proposed. However, if you ever change your mind, please let me know. We can draw up a new contract then.”

Fortunately, Hunter Kang Mujin didn’t seem intent on cornering me and preaching about how much money and fame my ability could bring.

Feeling a slight relief at that, I leaned back against the sofa and let out a small, quiet sigh.

‘No matter how I think about it, it’s better for my ability not to be known.’

For one thing, the mere fact that I could dominate monsters could send shockwaves across the world, and furthermore… if someone with good instincts caught on, they might realize that my domain of domination wasn’t limited to monsters.

‘It would definitely turn into a mess.’

At the very least, maintaining a peaceful daily life like now would be impossible. Given the already unstable world situation with dungeons, administrators, and quests, there would be more than enough people willing to target me, whether legally or illegally.

‘If that happens, everyone connected to me would be in danger.’

I thought of the orphanage director and the children.

The kind-hearted director who took in a five-year-old child standing silently on a snowy roadside with no memories, and the orphanage kids who always followed me around calling me older sister with such enthusiasm.

And the people who came for volunteer work, sharing all sorts of snacks.

And.

‘Yujin…’

A child who liked origami, had nimble fingers, and folded me many paper cranes. A child who carefully picked a flower from the roadside and brought it to a friend. A child who stepped forward to fight for a classmate being bullied. Kind, good-natured, but.

Just a normally pretty child.

“Hunter Yoon Seohee.”

I pulled my back off the sofa cushion, grabbed hold of the loosened thread of tension again, and stared at Hunter Kang Mujin.

“Setting aside the monster-taming ability, I’d like to ask Hunter Yoon Seohee, a C-Rank hunter recommended by Hunter Jeong Seojin, purely on that basis. Do you have any intention of joining our Huiwon Guild?”

In a way, it was a question whose answer was already decided. I recalled the faces of the orphanage director and Yujin that flickered through my mind, the tears shed by a child groaning in pain from Mana Rejection Syndrome, and opened my lips that had been shut tight.

“Honestly, unlike Hunter Kang Mujin’s assessment, I’m a person lacking in many ways… but still, may I gratefully accept that scouting offer?”

“Of course.”