He is a legendary prison guard. - Chapter 8 Hunter Association
Episode 8: Hunter Association
The Hunter Association was located in a place lined with high-rise buildings near Samsung Station.
Sihyeon got off at Samseong Station, enjoying the leisurely ride of the subway in broad daylight on a weekday.
“Korea Hunter Association… Is that it?”
Because it was such a large building, it was easy to find even on my first visit.
As if to indicate the current status of the Hunter Association, it boasted a grander yet more sophisticated exterior than the surrounding buildings.
For some reason, Sihyeon even wondered if she should have come dressed in a suit.
As I passed through the revolving door and entered the first floor, I noticed a larger space than I expected. There were quite a lot of people.
As Sihyeon was looking around to see where to go, a woman who appeared to be an employee standing near the entrance approached her and greeted her with a grin.
“Hello. What brings you here?”
“Oh, I want to get a hunter’s license.”
“Yes, that’s right. Do you see counter number 1 on the left over there? They handle hunter license work at that counter. Just take a number and wait.”
“I see, thank you.”
Sihyeon said hello and headed toward the left window.
Is it really the most important task related to the new hunter?
Maybe that’s why he was in charge at window number 1.
When I took a number, it was number 42, and the number was 5.
It was a weekday, and being an awakened person was not at all common. As I was wondering why this number was called, I heard voices arguing at the counter.
“Isn’t there something wrong with the machine?”
“There is no problem with the horsepower meter. We have a company policy to check it every morning.”
“Huh, wait. Then I don’t have any magical power.”
“That’s right. Can you see the status window?”
“I can see it! I definitely saw it! I was lying in the living room after drinking last night, and the status window appeared in front of me.”
“I guess you’re mistaken.”
“That can’t be possible! Did you really see it?”
“Yes, yes, if you continue to do this, we will have no choice but to use coercive force. As you know, the Korea Hunter Association is also a government organization.”
This seems to be a fairly common occurrence, and even the seemingly delicate female employee handled it skillfully.
She pointed slightly at two large men wearing black suits and sunglasses.
Only then did the red-faced middle-aged man, who must still be sober, clear his throat and step away.
‘Aha, that’s why…’
Sihyeon nodded with an expression of understanding.
I don’t know if it was megalomania or something, but it seemed like people who mistakenly thought of themselves as awakened people came to visit me like that. Well, while working as a prison guard, I often encountered people who thought they were different and special from others.
The second person was also a sham awakener.
Sihyeon clicked his tongue, stopped paying attention to the window, and looked around.
‘Guild.’
On one side, seats were reserved for people from the guild. From very famous guilds that Si-hyeon had heard of to small and medium-sized guilds whose names were unfamiliar,.
It seemed that people in charge of the Hunter Association had been dispatched. From as few as one person to as many as three people.
Suddenly, the place where the guild was located became busy.
It seemed like someone who had obtained a B-class hunter license came out of the window.
Representatives from each guild greeted the man, who appeared to be in his 20s, with a still-dazed expression, as if competing.
“Hello, first of all, we sincerely congratulate you on becoming a new hunter. As an affiliate of a large corporation, our Cheongseong Guild provides stable support.”
“We boast the highest gate penetration rate in the industry. We always prioritize the safety of our hunters.”
“How about a snake’s head rather than a dragon’s tail? We offer our full support with our guild’s sign.”
‘That’s how they do business.’
Sihyeon looked at that figure with envious eyes.
I don’t know, but a new hunter who looks like someone who just graduated from college would never have experienced being treated like this anywhere else.
Right now, you’re probably feeling like you’re flying away with pride.
B-level hunters are like this, but what about A-level hunters?
It’s obvious, even if you don’t look at it.
It must have been princess treatment.
‘… Su-jin deserves to be hit by a hunter and throw herself to sleep.’
admit.
Sihyeon let out a quiet laugh.
After a while, the other managers returned to their original positions with sullen faces, probably because the new hunter had chosen the guild.
Looking at those facial expressions, it seemed like performance bonuses per contract accounted for a large portion of their income.
It seems that the new hunter ultimately chose to sign a contract with a guild affiliated with a large company.
In these days, pursuing stability was the easiest choice.
Ding dong.
The bell rang, and the number 42 flashed on the window.
Sihyeon adjusted her clothes and went to sit down at the window.
“hello.”
The female employee had a friendly smile on her face.
“Hello. I want to get a hunter’s license.”
“Yes, I understand. Then, first, I will measure your horsepower with a horsepower meter. There may be a slight error, so I will measure it twice.”
“Can I just sit down?”
“Yes, please sit comfortably.”
A female employee picked up a machine that looked like a speed gun and pointed it at Sihyeon. There’s probably a magic stone in there.
Beep.
When the female employee pressed the red button, a number appeared on the monitor.
-99
“First measurement: 99. Let’s measure again.”
Beep.
-99
“The second measurement is also 99. Oh, you may be really disappointed, but 1 is missing, so you meet the standard for an E-class hunter.”
Sihyeon felt sick inside.
There was an implicit error of about 1, so I was hoping to get 100, but that damn machine seemed so accurate that it wouldn’t allow such an error.
“It’s the first round, so how can I not get a D? Actually, I don’t think there’s that much of a difference between 99 and 100.”
“I’m sorry, but rules are rules. It may seem trivial at first glance, but for hunters, such matters can be life-threatening. Moreover, the difference is not as small as you might think.”
The female employee smiled.
“Is that so?”
“Yes, the difference when the grade changes by one level is quite large. Some hunters say that the difference of 1 between grades is larger than the difference of 100 in the same grade. Of course, it cannot be said in exact numbers, but it is just that big. “I can tell you a lot.”
Did something that big increase when going from E to D?
I didn’t feel like I had ever played a raid before.
In my daily life, I have never properly radiated the power of awakening, and there was no need to do so.
“… There’s nothing we can do. Please at least issue a class E license.”
“Yes, we will issue it to you right away. Please submit a photo of the business card you brought and your resident registration card. Please write your name and contact information here, put a check mark, and sign.”
While Sihyeon was signing the document handed to him by the female employee, the female employee was looking at the monitor and tapping on the keyboard.
“Yes, Lee Si-hyeon, it has been confirmed. What is your occupation?”
“Are you talking about the awakened profession?”
“Yes, that’s right. The job requires registration on the computer network.”
It’s a job.
Currently, there are two views displayed in the job window.
Occupation: Jailer (Main), Executioner (Sub)
Of course, I had no intention of talking about either of the two honestly.
“But.”
“yes.”
“What if I have two jobs? What should I say?”
The female employee who was looking at the monitor flinched noticeably.
“Huh? What now…? Two jobs? Multi-jobs?”
The Hunter Association employees working behind the counter were also staring intently at this place.
However, when I glanced to the side, there was no reaction from the guild staff.
You must have heard it clearly.
‘Huh, look at this?’
Sihyeon’s eyes took on a different color.
The guild doesn’t know, but only Hunter Association employees know this information.
It may have been top-secret information managed by the state.
Is that what multi-jobs are all about?
Since the status window of other awakened people cannot be seen except for those published on the Internet, Sihyeon thought that there must be quite a few awakened people with two occupations.
But looking at the reaction, it seemed like that wasn’t the case.
That’s the look on his face when he sees a rare, protected species.
“Haha, I’m not saying that’s the case. I was just curious about how to say it.”
When Sihyeon said that, the surrounding atmosphere instantly became that of an E-level topic.
“Yes, well, as far as I know, all awakened people have one job. From what I’ve worked at, it’s actually like that.”
The female employee hesitated.
“I see. I understand. Oh, I said I should tell you about my job, right?”
“yes.”
“He’s a mercenary.”
Sihyeon mentioned the job she had prepared in advance.
This is because I thought that healers and buffers would not be able to die, and that mercenaries seemed to be the easiest among dealers.
“Yes, you are a mercenary. Okay, just wait a moment. I will issue you a hunter license shortly.”
I think I waited about 3 or 4 minutes.
A female employee handed Sihyeon a freshly released hunter license.
Hunter Association… I liked how quickly and easily the work was done.
And it seemed bigger than I thought.
How on earth do they manage their employees? So wouldn’t that information leak out to the guild as well?
“Congratulations on officially becoming a hunter. Please sign up with your license number on the Korea Hunter Association website and be sure to complete 12 hours of required cyber training.”
“I understand. Thank you for your hard work.”
Si-hyeon gave a reciprocating greeting to the female employee and turned around.
And the guild’s reaction was… It was as expected.
The passionate sales efforts to B-class hunters were gone, and the people in charge were consistently ignoring them.
It’s like I can’t see Sihyeon’s face.
‘You mean the guild is the best in E-class? Hunter is Eul.’
That was no different from an implicit sign to go first and beg for a contract.
When I was wondering whether I should give up my pride for the sake of the quest, fortunately, a person in charge of a guild approached Si-hyeon.
He was a man with a somewhat dirty face due to not trimming his beard and clothes that were wrinkled due to not being ironed properly.
He looked to be about 50 years old.
He offered to shake hands.
“Congratulations. This is Im Sang-hyeok from the Grace Guild.”
“Thank you. This is Lee Si-hyeon.”
“If you’re interested in joining the guild, can we talk over there?”
Im Sang-hyeok pointed to the second floor.
It was a cafe chain located inside the Hunter Association building.
“Yeah, well. It’s good.”
Sihyeon readily agreed.
They moved to a cafe, sat down, ordered Americano, and talked again.
“How are you feeling?”
“yes?”
“Were you offended because the guild’s reaction was so cold?”
“It’s a rough estimate, so it’s okay.”
Sanghyuk nodded and explained, “I see.”
“Medium and large guilds have already filled the slots for E-class hunters for a long time. In any case, E-classes can only play the role of porters.”
“What exactly does a porter do?”
“His role is to stay back, and when the high-ranking hunters have finished hunting, place the magic stones or items dropped by the monsters in a large bag with a weight reduction spell and continue to follow them until the gate is cleared.”
“Well, it seems a bit funny that high-level hunters go around picking up items one by one.”
“Yes, it is an understandable distribution of roles, but the hunters who have to take on the role of porters are not very happy.”
Sihyeon made an expression of agreement.
“But… did you say it was the Grace Guild?”
“Yes, that’s right. And Grace is my daughter’s name.”
“Is that so? Then, are you the guild leader?”
“That’s right. I am the head of the Grace Guild.”
Sihyeon looked a little surprised.
When I saw the shabby clothes, I thought it was a small guild, but I had no idea that the guild leader himself came to the Hunter Association to do business.
“Hmm… Yes. Anyway, isn’t the Grace Guild any different? The role of an E-class hunter is?”