Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Instead of going home, Hyeon-jun headed directly to the Exchange.

There, he sold everything except the Skill Rune and Kim Seok-dae’s dagger.

“I’ll use the dagger myself. But what should I do with the Skill Rune?”

He had chosen not to sell it.

Now the question was whether he should use it.

There was a limit to the number of Runes that could be equipped to a Soul Circuit.

“F-rank allows eight. E-rank allows ten.”

He currently had five equipped.

Only the Five Major Stat Runes.

That left five additional slots.

But once a Rune was equipped, it couldn’t be removed.

So the choice had to be made carefully.

“Do I really need a magic Skill?”

Magic Skills worked best for people who had awakened Traits related to magic.

Their Traits usually came with passive Skills that enhanced magical effects.

“I don’t have anything like that.”

Wouldn’t it be better to use the remaining slots for other Skills?

Maybe Skills that further enhanced his physical ability.

Or passive Skills that increased Stats.

“Thinking back to the fight with Kim Seok-dae, I might actually have some talent for physical combat... Or maybe not?”

The fight had been much easier than expected.

And during it, all kinds of combat details had flooded into his head.

Could that count as proof of talent?

Or had he only seemed talented because he possessed superior Runes and had watched countless combat videos?

“Hard to tell.”

Normally, additional Runes followed the direction of someone’s Trait.

If his Trait had specialized clearly in one direction, the choice would have been easy.

But Primordial Eye didn’t lean toward anything in particular.

That made choosing a path difficult.

“Should I just do both?”

Physical combat and magic.

A hybrid build.

The sort of setup commonly called a jack-of-all-trades.

Its peak potential would be lower.

But its minimum performance would be higher.

“And compared to Hunters around my level, I’d probably be much more versatile.”

If he only hunted alone in fields, that was fine.

But joining dungeon parties or guilds might become harder.

Those places usually recruited Hunters specialized for specific roles.

“Well, I don’t really care about that.”

For safety reasons, he planned to spend most of his time in hunting grounds anyway.

He would occasionally enter dungeons.

But only enough to satisfy promotion requirements.

“There are plenty of people who operate like that.”

Hunters who stayed in hunting grounds until it was time to rank up, then formed a dungeon party when needed.

Hyeon-jun intended to do the same.

So becoming a hybrid wasn’t a major disadvantage.

“Good. I’ve decided. From now on, I’m going hybrid.”

His first step would be Magic Arrow.

Unfortunately, he had no Copy uses left today.

He would have to wait until tomorrow.

“I’m already excited.”

Until now, he had only seen magic Skills through videos.

Gathering storm clouds in a clear sky and dropping dozens of lightning bolts.

Throwing an enormous fireball that dried up an entire lake.

There had been a time when their sheer spectacle fascinated him completely.

Magic Arrow won’t be anything like that, but still...

Magic Arrow was low rank.

It wasn’t flashy.

It was the most basic of basic spells.

But Hyeon-jun was still excited.

“I wish tomorrow would hurry up.”

Hyeon-jun stood from the Exchange bench.

He left and boarded the bus home.

On the way, he planned the next day.

Tomorrow, I’m entering a dungeon.

Now that he had experienced party hunting, it was time to attempt one of the requirements for becoming an E-rank Hunter.

Clearing an F-rank Closed-Type Gate.

I need to find a good party.

No matter how low the rank, a dungeon was still a dungeon.

He couldn’t let his guard down.

There were quite a few Hunters whose records simply ended after entering an F-rank dungeon.

Maybe a major guild has something they manage directly?

Closed-Type Gates, commonly called dungeons, were managed by private guilds rather than the government, unlike hunting grounds.

Guilds managed them by region.

Usually, large guilds held the rights and subcontracted lower-rank Gates.

An F-rank dungeon raid managed directly by a major guild instead of a subcontractor would probably be much safer. I should look for one.

Hyeon-jun connected to HunterNet’s recruitment board using the bus Wi-Fi.

He set the filters to Closed-Type Gate, F-rank, Seoul.

[<F-rank> Dobongsan Hiking Trail Entrance]

-Location: Dobong-gu, Seoul

-Members: [3/6]

-Manager: Nabi (Primary), Lemon Shark (Secondary)

-Participation Fee: 10%

-Requirement: 250+ Runes

-Notes: Looking for damage dealers.

The first listing was for a dungeon near Dobongsan.

The primary guild, Nabi, had subcontracted it to Lemon Shark Guild.

I’ll skip places like this for now.

Of course, even subcontractors would probably be trustworthy.

If something went wrong, the primary guild would ultimately be held responsible.

In this industry, a single serious incident could be enough to destroy a guild.

Still, I want something safer if possible. If there’s nothing else, then I’ll settle.

Hyeon-jun continued scrolling.

Because Nabi Guild managed the Seoul area, practically all F-rank Gates were handled by Lemon Shark.

Let’s widen the area.

He expanded the search to the greater metropolitan region.

The list refreshed.

It now included Incheon and Gyeonggi Province.

Most listings were similar.

But before long, Hyeon-jun found something unusual.

“What’s this?”

[<F-rank> Tier-1 Guild Michuhol Recruiting F-rank Rookies]

-Location: 263 Central-ro, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon

-Members: [-]

-Manager: Michuhol (Primary)

-Participation Fee: Free

-Requirement: F-rank Soul Circuit only. 350+ Runes.

-Notes: Michuhol Guild is recruiting talented Hunters. Parties composed of applicants will be sent into an F-rank dungeon and their clear times will be measured. Hunters with top records may receive offers to join the guild.

Please include your exact Rune count in the application message. Only Hunters with F-rank Soul Circuits may apply. If deception is discovered later, strong legal action may be taken.

“So guilds recruit Hunters this way too.”

Michuhol Guild managed the entire city of Incheon.

It was a private guild founded in Incheon and one of the largest guilds in South Korea.

Unlike other major guilds backed by giant corporations, Michuhol had risen from the bottom on its own.

Because of that, its results had always lagged behind other top guilds.

“Shouldn’t they be recruiting higher-quality Hunters instead of doing something like this?”

Hyeon-jun knew a fair amount about how guilds operated.

Michuhol had aggressively invested for years in an attempt to catch its competitors.

The result?

Perpetual last place.

After repeated failures, people had begun saying even calling it a major guild was generous.

And now they were recruiting F-rank Hunters?

The choice was difficult to understand.

“This seems like it has more disadvantages than benefits.”

What exactly were they trying to accomplish?

Had they given up on conventional methods and changed direction?

“Maybe they want to recruit talented people while their rank is still low and raise them themselves.”

Not every Awakener began with an F-rank Soul Circuit.

The initial grade depended on the awakened Trait.

Of course, ridiculous Traits usually start at ridiculous grades.

For example, S-rank Hunter Hong Myeong-ho of Seongsam Aegis Guild.

He had awakened the Trait Sword Saint.

His starting Soul Circuit had been A-rank.

It had been an extremely rare event even internationally and had attracted enormous attention.

Maybe Michuhol realized they can’t compete with other major guilds for Hunters like that.

In a way, it was a smart decision.

A Hunter’s talent wasn’t determined entirely by starting rank.

There are plenty of Hunters who start low and continue climbing endlessly.

Even with the same number of Runes, some Hunters performed far better than others.

Natural physical ability.

Combat sense.

Decision-making speed.

Reflexes.

Talents unrelated to the Trait itself.

Maybe Michuhol was searching for people like that.

Should I apply for this one?

Because Michuhol itself managed the event, it would probably be safer than a subcontracted raid.

And since Hyeon-jun had no intention of joining the guild, there was little chance of being punished later if his Soul Circuit grade was discovered.

Without much hesitation, Hyeon-jun sent in an application.

Michuhol Guild headquarters in Incheon.

A man lay sprawled inside an office on the top floor.

“Yaaawn.”

He had long hair, sharp features, and loose clothing.

The huge yawn made him look like a complete loafer.

Bang.

The door opened.

The man immediately sat upright.

Then he saw who had entered and sighed in relief.

“What brings you here?”

“Baek Je-hyeok? Why are you here?”

“I’m just here.”

“Tch. Unemployed bastard.”

“Seriously? The first thing you say when you see me is...”

“Whatever. Look at this.”

A man in a neat suit approached Baek Je-hyeok and handed him a smartphone.

A text message was displayed on the screen.

“It’s Uncle?”

“Read the message.”

It was a long message.

Baek Je-hyeok’s eyebrows gradually furrowed.

“What the hell has that bastard been doing?”

“Don’t you manage your little brother?”

“I knew he suddenly started raising hell about becoming a Hunter, but how the hell did he almost get Rune Killed? I’m more surprised people still do that these days. Father doesn’t know yet, right?”

“If Father knew, do you think you’d still be lying around here?”

“Ah.”

Their father always prioritized the youngest sibling.

There was a large age gap.

And compared to the other siblings, the youngest had been born with very little.

Because of that, he had received almost all of their father’s affection.

Whenever something involved him, their father became especially unreasonable.

“W-When does Father come back?”

“Still a few days.”

“Whew... This didn’t reach the media or anything, did it?”

“You think the media cares about Je-jung?”

“That’s true. Thank God.”

The man smacked Baek Je-hyeok on the head.

“Ow! Why are you hitting me?”

“What do you mean, thank God? Uncle is obviously going to tell Father.”

“Why are you hitting my head again?”

“Want me to hit you more?”

The man raised his fist.

Baek Je-hyeok flinched and covered his face with both arms.

“N-No. But this is unfair. It isn’t even my fault.”

“How is it not your fault? If you hadn’t filled Je-jung’s head with all that bullshit about ‘romance,’ would he still be F-rank?”

“Wasn’t that already solved? I heard he bought Runes.”

“The problem is he didn’t buy enough to reach E-rank.”

The man sighed deeply.

Baek Je-hyeok watched his expression carefully, then asked.

“So what do you want me to do?”

“I don’t know either. Apparently Je-jung is participating in the guild admission test this time.”

“Admission test? Why doesn’t he just ask you to make a spot for him?”

Smack!

“Ow! Again?!”

“He says getting hired through family connections has no romance.”

“That bastard treats romance like something he can conveniently pick and choose whenever he wants...”

Deep down, Baek Je-hyeok knew that was probably accurate.

Still, he suddenly found his younger brother irritating.

“Je-hyeok. You take responsibility for Je-jung.”

“Hyung, if this keeps up, Father is genuinely going to kill me.”

“Then just die.”

“Hyung!”

“If you hate it, participate too.”

“Why would I participate?”

“Not in the test. As an observer. We’re short on people right now. There are way more applicants than expected.”

This was the first F-rank admission test ever held by a major guild.

The project had begun from an idea another sibling raised during a meeting.

[Talent isn’t determined only by Trait and starting rank.]

It was extremely experimental.

Nobody knew how many people would apply.

That uncertainty had created the current shortage of staff.

“How many teams are there?”

“More than a hundred teams of six.”

“What? Wasn’t the requirement 350 Runes?”

“That means there are a ridiculous number of F-rank Hunters with that many.”

Baek Je-hyeok shook his head and clicked his tongue.

“Looks like someone as great as me has no choice but to help.”

“Stop acting important.”

“I say I’ll help and you still complain. But Hyung, seriously. Do you think this has any chance of working?”

At Je-hyeok’s question, the man pressed his lips together.

Searching for raw talent among F-rank Hunters.

There was no precedent overseas either.

Why had nobody done it before?

There was probably a reason.

The man didn’t believe this project would determine the guild’s future.

“I honestly think it’s meaningless.”

Baek Je-hyeok was openly negative.

Maybe if they were E-rank.

But even with more than 350 Runes, F-rank was still F-rank.

The level was simply too low to evaluate someone as a future prospect for the guild.

“I think so too. But if we want to survive, shouldn’t we try everything?”

“I guess...”

“Who knows? Maybe someone with talent that transcends rank will appear.”

For once, Baek Je-hyeok and the man shared the exact same thought.

They both hoped someone like that really existed.