Chapter 7

Hearing Lee Sooah’s voice brought me back to my senses.

The situation was what it was, and I was already upset about Chae Suhyeon.

‘Ha… Did I get too immersed in it?’

I quickly pulled myself together while looking at the shattered pieces of the Medusa’s stone.

I must have looked strange, going on a rampage like a madman.

“Yup.”

I put aside my feelings of anger towards Chae Suhyeon for the moment and became a gentle sheep instead.

After all, I was just a rookie in this guild.

Moreover, I was only an E-rank hunter.

The other party was Lee Sooah, a hunter who could be considered the best in the country.

“Are you okay…? How are you feeling?”

She seemed to genuinely care for her team.

‘Ha.’

Seeing Lee Sooah reminded me of Chae Suhyeon’s face.

‘Ah. Oppa. I need to do well first. I need to succeed for everyone to do well, right?’
‘Aish. This is why men are all immature. Why do they keep trying to divide things equally? You have to give it all to me first for me to grow quickly.’
‘Oppa, the way for me to succeed is the way for all of us to succeed. I told you that from the start. You need to give it all to me for me to do well, don’t you?’
‘No, how can I give something that I can’t? Only you can give to me. So you obviously need to do that for me, right?’
‘Don’t you know the phrase “ladies first”? Why do you keep saying such silly things?’

It was clear.

Chae Suhyeon had always been someone who put herself first.

In contrast, Lee Sooah was completely the opposite.

Even when she herself was in danger, she was concerned about me.

“Are you sure you’re not hurt? Our team seemed to have shown a bit of a poor side today. This isn’t how we usually are…”

She had a rather apologetic expression.

It seemed like a lot of complicated thoughts were running through her mind in this situation.

“No, I’m fine.”

“But that skill… was it something you already had?”

Then came the question about the skill.

She asked it with a very cautious tone.

It was understandable; an E-rank hunter suddenly rushed in and rampaged alone must have seemed strange in the eyes of an S-rank hunter.

“Ah, yes.”

I stammered at first.

It was the first day, and I thought there was no need to draw unnecessary attention.

From my experience so far, whenever I mentioned my traits, people tended to laugh or react with disbelief.

Moreover, the circumstances under which I obtained those points were quite complicated.

First of all… I should mention that I was dumped by Chae Suhyeon.

Bringing that up with a beautiful woman I had known for less than 24 hours felt like a crazy thing to do.

“Why did you choose that skill?”

Her tone suggested she was genuinely curious.

It felt much closer to confusion rather than suspicion.

After all, having a skill that an E-rank Hunter wouldn’t typically have was indeed something worth looking at oddly.

“Haha… it just happened that way…”

“I’m really glad.”

She let out a sigh.

Having picked up on my reluctance to talk, she seemed to decide not to pry further.

“I’m really glad. Earlier, you did something amazing. We were on the brink of total annihilation. The government team reported they were still over 10 minutes away…”

It seemed she was recalling the terrifying situation from just moments ago.

She shuddered a little at the thought.

“Yes. I think I was just lucky. But is it normal for you to operate so dangerously?”

I still couldn’t understand how the Blue Guild operated.

They didn’t enter a dungeon with enough preliminary information?

A guild of this size?

Just yesterday, Lee Sooah had been ranked number one among S-rank Hunters.

“No, this is strange. Medusa shouldn’t normally appear in this dungeon. The dungeon’s attribute doesn’t support that at all…”

She wore a thoughtful expression, as if pondering something.

“Hmm. I wonder. Could it be because of me?”

I had to entertain the possibility since my presence seemed to be the only variable.

“Well, either way, it’s all over now, so it doesn’t matter.”

“Phew… Hunter Lee Sooah… We’ve wrapped everything up for now. I think it would be best to finalize things for today.”

Although the dungeon clear itself still had a bit more left, everyone seemed to think that it would be impossible to continue due to the shock they had all experienced.

“Alright. Let’s call it a day for now. Hmm…”

Hunter Lee Sooah then glanced at me subtly.

“I would like for us to have a welcoming dinner today. Everyone needs to recover from the mental shock. And our Hunter Baek Jihoon also saved all of us.”

“Ah. Yes. Understood.”

*

“Wow. Senior.”

I returned to the guild office to wrap things up. Hyungseok came rushing toward me without giving me a chance to do anything else.

“You were totally amazing today. Wow…”

He couldn’t hide his admiration, visibly excited.

“I’ve heard bits and pieces about it. They said you almost faced ruin?”

He had a look of significant excitement on his face. His sparkling eyes were fixated on me, curious about what was making his heart race.

“Well, I’m glad…”

“No, but how on earth do you have that skill? That’s a garbage skill that hardly anyone would pick.”

Hyungseok is a die-hard Hunter fan. He’s memorized almost every single piece of information about Hunters.

Of course, it’s ironic since he’s not actually a Hunter. He has always expressed a desire to become one.

But the heavens did not grant him that opportunity.

Thus, he studied every detail about Hunters rigorously and was currently playing an important role in the Blue Guild, known as the best guild in the country.

“Then why on earth do you have such a skill… But it’s a good thing. Because you had it, you were able to deal with that Medusa so easily; if you hadn’t had it, it could have been a major issue.”

He was chattering away as if he had been right there in that situation, excitedly discussing it.

“Lee Sooah’s Team. As you know, it’s our guild’s A Team.”

The A Team is regarded as the team that represents the guild, possessing the highest capabilities and performance.

“But today, it almost seemed like the A Team was about to vanish in an instant. If that had happened, I bet it would have been plastered all over domestic news, as well as the front page of international news!”

A face that looked utterly terrible.

“Phew. That’s a relief. If that were the case, Chae Suhyeon would have become even more arrogant.”

It was certain.

She was always grinding her teeth behind my back.

“Ha. No way, oppa. You think that girl is pretty? She’s way more attractive!”

“I will definitely make her eat her words once I rise to the top.”

She was the embodiment of jealousy.

Looking back, it was strange, but at that time, even that side of her seemed pretty.

“Oh my. Senior. You really made an impression as soon as you walked in. Our guild is in complete chaos. Everyone was shocked when they heard about Medusa. I thought it would be a guaranteed 100% annihilation, but turns out everyone is fine, and I was left speechless.”

He kept rambling on, trailing behind me.

He must still be too excited, bouncing around as he followed me.

“Wow… at this rate, are you dating Hunter Lee Sooah?”

He playfully nudged my shoulder.

“Hmm?”

“Hunter Lee Sooah. She rarely opens her heart to others. She doesn’t ask for favors or rely on anyone. But today, she’s indebted to you in an enormous way for the first time.”

He was giggling as if he found it immensely funny.

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“Come on, you never know what might happen. At the very least, I think you’ve made quite an impression on Hunter Lee Sooah. Ha, I really think my recommendation was spot on. When you get married, I’ll be the one to officiate!”

Suddenly, he seemed to gulp down an entire pot of kimchi soup by himself.

‘Does this guy have any idea how dangerous it was today? Suddenly bringing up pointless topics.’

I had been feeling completely restless all day because of Chae Suhyeon, so I wasn’t really paying attention to his words.

I thought he was just babbling due to his mood.

“Oh, by the way. But do you know this, senior?”

Hyungseok, who had been chasing after me excitedly, suddenly changed his expression and switched the topic.

“Hmm? What is it?”

“Ugh. While you were in the dungeon, Hunter Chae Suhyeon…”

“Hmm? What? Did that woman come looking for me here?”

“No, it’s not like she came looking for you…”

She made a slightly incredulous expression.

“Guess what? Your name’s on the Hunter Blacklist.”

“What?”

I couldn’t help but frown at yet another terrible piece of news.

The Hunter Blacklist.

It’s a place where they list Hunters who’ve caused trouble in dungeons or have negatively affected others through malicious actions.

‘Ha. This is ridiculous. Is she out of her mind?’

I was completely taken aback.

Anyone in my position would feel the same way.

“By what level did they put you on?”

“Hmm… Black.”

Black.

It means being categorized as the most dangerous individual.

Skipping over the Red and Blue grades, one goes straight to being listed as Black.

‘No way. Is she insane?’

Not only did she turn against me, but she also put me on the Blacklist?

And it’s the Black grade, no less.

If you’re Black, all guilds will avoid you.

“Well, it’s a good thing. I’ve processed your guild membership quickly.”

It meant that Hyungseok already cut in before Chae Suhyeon could take action.

“Our guild’s HR team had some concerns, but fortunately, you performed well in today’s dungeon. I don’t think there will be any issues. Our guild usually doesn’t care much about being Black or Red as long as you do your job well.”

He had a look on his face that said there was nothing to worry about.

‘No, the problem isn’t joining the guild right now; I should be thinking about the fact that this freaking idiot is trying to bury me.’

Hyungseok was looking at me, but he wasn’t managing his expression well.

It felt like everything I had carefully prepared over a long time was about to come pouring out all at once.