Chapter 9

On the way to the welcome dinner.

“Wow… Senior… You looked really cool today.”

Hyungseok was guiding me to the dinner while continuously expressing his admiration.

Seeing him give me a double thumbs-up made me feel somewhat embarrassed.

“Hey… stop it. What’s with that…”

“No, today was really amazing! Senior, the work you did today was incredible. I don’t think you realize how big of a deal it was just hearing the situation.”

Suddenly, he took out his smartphone.

“Look at this. Our guild has already started operations on it.”

“Operations?”

[ Did you know that Team A of the Blue Guild almost got wiped out today? ]

ㄴ Why wiped out? Isn’t Lee Sooah there?

ㄴ I heard Lee Sooah almost died too?

ㄴ Why? How would Lee Sooah die? Even if she’s a has-been, she’s not that weak.

ㄴ Lee Sooah’s got the goods. I want to touch.

ㄴ Everyone, let’s stop this nonsense. Creating baseless rumors.

[ They say a Medusa appeared in the Yongsan War Memorial Dungeon, and that’s why Lee Sooah’s team almost got wiped out. ]

ㄴ No way. Why would a Medusa appear there? It doesn’t even match the dungeon’s attributes.

ㄴ If you’re going to make up stories, at least make them plausible.

ㄴ Is there anyone out there writing fresh and believable stories? There’s a lack of talent.

[ That post from earlier seems legit? The Blue Guild seems to have acknowledged it too? ]

ㄴ What are you talking about? Stop with the nonsense.

ㄴ I won’t believe it until there’s proof.

ㄴ If a Medusa appeared in the War Memorial Dungeon, I’ll cut off my own balls. That dungeon isn’t even that type.

ㄴ But I heard no one was prepared, so they almost got wiped.

Various posts were appearing across multiple communities.

“What the…?”

It seemed that people still couldn’t believe it.

“What’s this about?”

“Well… You did something amazing today, right? So, our guild wants to leverage that~ That’s what I’m saying. The Guild Master was really angry today about Lee Sooah getting pushed out…”

It indeed seemed that there was chaos in the guild because Lee Sooah was pushed out due to Chae Suhyeon.

“But?”

“So, the Guild Master wants to spotlight you~ that’s the stance.”
“Guild Master what? Me?”

I couldn’t help but be perplexed by the sudden turn of events.

“Hey. You know our Hunter Lee Sooah is a rival to Hunter Chae Suhyeon, right? Well, I don’t know if it’s right to call it a rivalry, but still. Anyway, I casually mentioned your relationship with Hunter Chae Suhyeon to the Guild Master.”

“What? Why?”

Honestly, it wasn’t a good thing for me if such information got around.

Of course, I knew how others would think about it.

Everyone would laugh at me.

A foolish E-rank Hunter who dedicated himself as a slave to an S-rank Hunter only to be discarded like trash.

I didn’t want to spread a bad image.

“Ha… I’m going to end up looking like a pushover again.”

“Ah, don’t worry.”

When I frowned, Hyungseok lightly tapped my shoulder.

“Senior. I’ve got this. I won’t let it go in the direction you’re worried about.”

He seemed to have some confidence.

“Our Guild Master is quite perceptive. I think they might be expecting something from you.”

“Expecting? What kind of expectation?”

“Well, you know, someone who has a connection with Hunter Chae Suhyeon has come into our guild. It wouldn’t be a bad thing, would it?”

It seemed like the situation was getting complicated without me even knowing it.

I hadn’t taken any action, but Hyungseok looked like he was diligently scheming behind the scenes.

“You just focus on what you need to do. I’ll work hard behind the scenes. After all, the goal is, ahem, Hunter Chae Suhyeon, right?”

Hyungseok cleared his throat for a moment and said with a wink.

He had an attitude as if he knew everything.

‘Did I give too much away?’

Well, considering I had walked around with an annoyed expression all day, it was understandable if he noticed.

My ex-girlfriend was on TV causing a ruckus while being celebrated, and here I was, joining a new guild at the bottom rank in a wilted state.

It was hard not to notice.

“Well, that’s true.”

“If you don’t have lingering feelings for Hunter Chae Suhyeon…”

“Ugh. Why would I have any feelings left for that b*tch?”

I suddenly got angry.

It wasn’t just a simple breakup.
There are definitely various ways for people to break up.

But this woman is going beyond just ending things unpleasantly; she’s attacking me in a very petty way.

‘Am I really going to interact with Chae Suhyeon again?’

I ground my teeth.

“Alright then. We’ve been keeping a close eye on Hunter Chae Suhyeon. After all, Lee Sooah has been in first place for a long time. To be honest, we haven’t really talked about it, but today’s incident was a huge shock to our guild.”

Then he sighed deeply. This guy usually doesn’t sigh, so this issue must have been quite serious for him too.

“So, we’re thinking of pushing for you to take on a more prominent role in our guild.”

“Why me?”

I still didn’t understand.

“To put it simply… The Guild Master thinks of you as the right counter to Chae Suhyeon. So, if your presence becomes somewhat similar to hers, then we can blow the lid off her past. That’s what I mean.”

He returned to a bright expression.

“Is that even possible?”

“That’s what public relations is all about. Growing someone to outshine the opponent. Don’t worry about whatever Hunter Chae Suhyeon is doing. We just need to do our own thing. That will ultimately be the best revenge later.”

I could roughly grasp what he was saying.

I hadn’t met the leader of the Blue Guild personally, but they were famous enough.

For a long time, Chae Suhyeon had been compared to existing S-Rank Hunters, due to her unprecedented growth rate, making her a target of caution for other hunters.

The Blue Guild must have been paying attention to Chae Suhyeon as well. And then…I caught their eye…

I don’t know what will happen, but I felt like I had gained a solid ally. At least, in confronting this b*tch, the Blue Guild would become a very reliable friend.

“We’ll do our best to elevate you to hero status. That way, you’ll be able to stand against Hunter Chae Suhyeon.”

“Hmmm…”

It wasn’t the development I expected, but it wasn’t something I disliked either.

Well, it’s good for me. If I can get the support of a renowned guild in our country, and if that path allows me to take down Chae Suhyeon…

“Alright. Not bad.”

“Hehe. Look forward to it.”

*

“Hello. I’m the new recruit who joined today, E-Rank Hunter Baek Jihoon.”

I bowed in greeting.

“Waaaaaah!”

A surprisingly loud cheer erupted.

This was my first experience with such a lively gathering.

Although it was a welcoming event for the new member, everyone was being quite extravagant.

“Oooh… our hero!!”

“Welcome, Hunter Baek Jihoon.”

“You’re really impressive right from day one.”

Everyone chimed in with their comments.

It definitely felt like a festive atmosphere.

“Wow… no, I’ve been to that dungeon 70 times, you know?”

“Didn’t you say it was 40 times?”

“Same difference~”

“Ugh.”

“But seriously, this was my very first experience for something like today!!”

There was even a middle-aged hunter speaking in an excited state.

“We could have really died today! The government team was pretty late, by the way. The nearest team said it would take at least 20 minutes, right?”

“Exactly. I’ve never felt so anxious in my entire hunter life! I have no idea why a monster that doesn’t match our attributes showed up. Plus, it was a rare monster, right? It’s not like it comes out randomly unless someone goes out specifically to hunt it.”

“Right? And it wasn’t just one or two…”

Everyone continued discussing what had happened today.

It seemed that thinking back on the event made everyone’s hearts race.

“By the way, Jihoon. Do you have any bad feelings towards that Medusa?”

“Pardon?”

“I mean, when you were fighting the Medusa earlier, you looked really angry.”

Someone came over and casually asked.

‘Ah… I guess they’re referring to when I swung my weapon thinking it was Chae Suhyeon because I was so pissed off.’

‘Did I look that angry…’

“Haha… it was just that the Medusa caught me off guard. I didn’t expect it to come out.”

“Ugh. I thought you had a grudge against the Medusa or something.”

Everyone was in a cheerful mood.

“Jihoon. I’ll apologize on behalf of today’s event.”

Suddenly, Hunter Lee Sooah had come to sit nearby.

“Huh? No, it’s fine.”

“It’s your first day, and you’re a rookie… I should have done better at protecting you, but instead I showed you an ugly side.”

Lee Sooah apologized with a grimace.

“It’s okay. I’m just glad it was resolved well.”

“Let’s work well together from now on.”

She left with those brief words, returning to her seat.

‘Wow… to be in the same team as Hunter Lee Sooah.’

Today had been so eventful that I hadn’t thought about it until now.

In fact, if it’s about Hunter Lee Sooah, she is the most famous hunter in our country, someone everyone wants to team up with.

If there were a popularity poll online, she would surely come in first.

‘Although I lost to Chae Suhyeon, this isn’t bad at all.’

They say life is a mix of fortune and misfortune.

There were certainly some frustrating moments, but I felt lucky because there were good things that matched them.

‘Huh? What is this?’

The status window suddenly began flickering in front of my eyes.

‘Why is it flickering again?’

Usually, the status window doesn’t go haywire like this on its own.

But today seemed particularly strange.

Tick.

I lightly touched the status window to open it.

There was the status window of Lee Sooah displayed.

‘Huh…? What’s going on with her status…?’

It was a screen I had never seen before.

Depressive disorder, anxiety disorder, bipolar disorder, PTSD, obsessive-compulsive disorder, headache…

The status window of Hunter Lee Sooah was filled with various red markers.

Of course, red markers are mostly not good traits for hunters.

‘Wait, so she’s living with this status…?’

I subtly turned my head to observe Hunter Lee Sooah.

She seemed to be frowning in considerable pain.

‘Hmm… I think I need to help her…’

I moved my hand toward the status window.