Chapter 8. First Mission (1)
“Hey! Chief Choi! Long time no see!”
Jung Woo-yeon.
Guild Master of the Shinhwa Guild.
He was one of the few S-Rank Hunters in South Korea.
“Welcome, Guild Master Jung Woo-yeon.”
Choi Tae-woo warmly greeted him.
“I was going to ask if you've been well... but I suppose this isn't the time for that.”
“Please hurry.”
Jung Woo-yeon awkwardly turned toward the Gate and gestured to his Guild members.
They immediately began examining it.
This is an opportunity.
Jung Woo-yeon viewed the situation as an opportunity.
He regretted that the Yoo-seong twins were in danger, of course.
But...
How long has it been since Yoo-seong gave us a request?
A rescue request from Yoo-seong.
Especially one involving the twins after they'd caused an incident.
It was basically winning the lottery.
Just accepting the request had already earned the Guild ten billion won.
They hadn't even negotiated the success reward yet.
Normally, one of the higher-ranked Guilds with close ties to Yoo-seong would have come instead.
But...
They're all bedridden because of that unrankable Gate.
They couldn't come.
All the top Guild rankers who entered that unrankable Gate recently were still recovering from injuries.
Honestly, the fact that the Gate had been cleared at all was practically a miracle.
And the fact that there were no deaths, only injuries...
I heard their injuries weren't even that serious. Top rankers really are built differently.
In any case, Shinhwa had gained an opportunity because of their absence.
Shinhwa hadn't participated in clearing the unrankable Gate.
“Chief, don't worry. We're Shinhwa.”
Jung Woo-yeon spoke confidently.
Then Choi Tae-woo gave him unexpected news.
“The Special Division will be arriving soon as well.”
Jung Woo-yeon froze.
“...The Special Division?”
The Special Division of the Korean Hunter Association.
Jung Woo-yeon knew their reputation very well.
“Why did you call those murderers?”
The Hunter group with the second-worst reputation in the country, right after the criminal organization Destruction Society, was the Special Division.
Cold-blooded Hunters.
Their tremendous combat experience also made them far stronger than their official ranks suggested.
But that strength hadn't come without a price.
Years of dancing around death had twisted their personalities and destroyed their social skills.
Even most S-Rank Hunters found dealing with the Special Division unpleasant.
“...We should hurry.”
Then again, whenever an abnormal Gate appeared, the Association's Special Division was automatically notified.
If Jung Woo-yeon wanted to avoid them, the only option was to enter the Gate before they arrived.
“The Special Division is coming. Hurry up, everyone. We need to enter before they arrive.”
“Yes, Guild Master.”
There was another reason Jung Woo-yeon felt uncomfortable around them.
He had refused to participate in the recent unrankable Gate incident.
Shinhwa's only S-Rank Hunter, Jung Woo-yeon himself, had received a direct cooperation request.
But he had declined because he thought the Gate would be beyond him.
How many of them are coming?
Fortunately, the Special Division was always suffering from a manpower shortage.
So Jung Woo-yeon assumed only a few would come.
Even if this mission involved rescuing Yoo-seong's bloodline, there was no reason to send many elite members for a Gate that was merely A-Rank or slightly above.
Tick. Tick.
Choi Tae-woo anxiously checked his watch.
Tick. Tick.
Jung Woo-yeon did the same.
“How much longer until we can enter?”
“Almost done!”
“Whew.”
Everyone watched the time nervously.
Then...
RATTLE! CLATTER!
A noisy van appeared.
It was a miserable-looking old vehicle compared to the luxurious transport used by Shinhwa Guild.
But the mark on the front changed the atmosphere instantly.
The emblem of the Korean Hunter Association.
No.
The emblem of the Special Division.
“...They're already here.”
How the hell had they even driven that piece of junk into such a remote mountain area?
Screech!
The van stopped.
And the first person to step out was...
“...! Director Park Min-ho...?”
Park Min-ho.
Director of the Korean Hunter Association's Special Division.
One of the Association's finest.
No, a legend within South Korea's Hunter world.
Jung Woo-yeon looked at Choi Tae-woo in shock.
How much did Yoo-seong offer the Association?
No.
Money wouldn't matter to those monsters.
“Jung Woo-yeon?”
“O-It's been a while, Director Park Min-ho.”
Park Min-ho frowned at Jung Woo-yeon and walked straight toward Choi Tae-woo.
“Please report the situation.”
While Choi Tae-woo explained everything, more Hunters began climbing out of the van.
Jung Woo-yeon knew the Special Division had a decent government budget.
Where the hell were they spending it if they traveled in garbage like that?
Then...
“...?”
There were too many people.
Hunters were still getting out.
“How many of you came?”
Unless it was an unrankable Gate, the Special Division normally deployed three people or fewer.
Because they were constantly understaffed.
That was understandable.
S-Rank Hunters were special, but even A-Rank Hunters were elite.
A-Rank alone placed someone within the top one percent of Hunters worldwide.
And military-trained A-Rank Hunters were especially valuable.
Any Guild would treat people like that as top-class talent.
If they joined a normal Guild, they could easily receive at least three billion won a year along with endless support.
Compared to that, the Association...
Offers almost nothing.
It was still a government organization.
Even Special Division Hunters were technically civil servants.
Their salary was high for a civil servant, but still only around one hundred million won.
And their support couldn't compare to what major Guilds offered.
Worst of all was their work-life balance.
Fewer than thirty people worked three rotating shifts while handling countless incidents across South Korea.
When something serious happened, the very concept of leaving work practically disappeared.
And yet...
“T-Twelve?”
Twelve members of the Special Division had come.
“...Don't tell me this isn't just a normal abnormal Gate.”
Even Choi Tae-woo couldn't hide his fear as he asked Park Min-ho.
“No. It's nothing like that.”
Park Min-ho examined the Gate.
“...There are circumstances.”
“Circumstances?”
What kind of circumstances required this many members of the Special Division?
