The Hunter a.s.sociation was located near the Samsung station.
Enjoying the relaxing afternoon, Si Hyun stepped off the subway in Samsung station.
“The Korean Hunter a.s.sociation…Is that it?”
Because it was such a large building, it was hard to miss.
As if they were trying to show off, their outer interior was grand and luxurious.
Si Hyun even thought that maybe he should’ve dressed up before coming here.
After entering through the revolving door, the first floor was larger than he thought. There were a lot of people as well.
Si Hyun started looking around to see where he had to go when a lady that was standing near the entrance approached him first with a wide smile.
“h.e.l.lo. How can I help you?”
“Oh, I’m here to register for a Hunter’s License.”
“I see. Do you see the first entrance on the left? That office is in charge of everything related to the Hunter’s License. Just take a number and wait.”
“Thank you.”
After thanking her, Si Hyun headed to the office.
They probably play an important role when it comes to new hunters.
That’s probably why they were located in the first entrance.
My number was 42, and there were five people in front of me.
It was the weekday and awakened ones weren’t common, so I wondered why they required for us to take a number. Just then, I heard people arguing at the counter.
“Isn’t the machine broken?”
“The mana calculator is working fine. There’s a policy to check it every morning.”
“Oh jeez. So are you saying that I don’t have any mana?”
“That’s right. Are you able to see your stats window?”
“I-I can! I definitely saw it! Last night, after I drank, I laid down on the sofa and the stats window in front of me…”
“Seems like you were hallucinating.”
“No way! I really saw it!”
“Yeah, yeah. If you keep acting like this, we’ll have no choice but to use force. I’m sure you now, but the Korean Hunter a.s.sociation is a national agency.”
Despite of her soft expression, she was able to handle the situation professionally, which made me think this kind of situation happens often.
She looked over at the two gentlemen who were wearing dark suits and gla.s.ses.
That was when the middle-aged man, who seemed like he was still drunk, coughed and walked away.
‘Oh, so that’s why…’
Si Hyun nodded his head as if he knew what was going on.
I’m not sure he if was delusional, but it seemed like there were people who mistaken themselves as an awakened one. Well, while working as a ward, I did meet people that thought they were different and special when compared to other people.
The second person was the same case.
Si Hyun turned his interest elsewhere and looked around the room.
‘Guild.’
The other side of the room was prepared for those that was part of a guild. There were names of guilds that Si Hyun knew of and there were some he was unfamiliar with.
It seemed like the people that were working were sent here. At times, there would only be one employee and on other days, there would be at most, three.
Moments later, the guild section of the room became busy.
From the counter, it seemed like a person that acquired a B rank Hunter’s License came.
The confused guy looked like he was in his 20’s and the representatives of each guild looked at him as if they were competing against each other.
“First of all, congratulations on becoming a new hunger. The Cheongseong guild is affiliated with large companies, so we’ll be able to support…”
“Our guild takes pride in attacking the best gate. For us, the most important thing is a hunger’s safety…”
“Wouldn’t you rather be the best at a normal guild than be a loser at the best guild? Our guild wholeheartedly supports…”
‘So this is how they do business.’
Si Hyun looked at him with an envious expression.
The new hunter probably just graduated from college, so being treated like this was probably new to him.
He probably felt like he could fly.
This is how they treat B ranks, so how awesome would it be for A ranks?
I can tell without witnessing it.
They would be treated like royalty.
‘…I guess this is why Soo Jin became like that.’
I acknowledge it.
Si Hyun let out a quiet laugh.
It seemed like the guy picked a guild, because the other guys had a disappointed look when they went back to their seats. Seeing those faces, it seemed like, depending on the number of contracts they make, it determines their pay.
The hunter made a contract with the guild that was affiliated with the large company.
In this day and age, being stable is the best choice.
Ding dong.
As the bell rang, the counter displayed the number, 42.
Si Hyun sat in front of the counter after organizing his clothes.
“h.e.l.lo.”
The female staff greeted him with a warm smile.
“h.e.l.lo. I’m here to apply for a Hunter’s License.”
“I see. First, we’ll calculate your mana with the calculator. There may be a slight error, so we’ll do it twice.”
“Do I just need to sit?”
“Yes, just sit comfortably.”
The female staff grabbed what looked like a speed gun and headed towards Si Hyun.
There was probably a calculator in there.
Beep.
As soon as the she pressed the red b.u.t.ton, a number appeared.
-99.
“First result is 99. I’ll do it once more.”
Beep.
-99.
“The second result is 99 as well. It’s unfortunately, but you’ll be part of the E rank because you lack one point.”
Si Hyun felt defeated.
He hoped that due to some kind of error, it would fill that missing point so that it would display 100, but it seemed like that machine wouldn’t allow any kind of error.”
“It’s just one point. Can’t you just place me as a D rank? Honestly, I don’t think there’s a big difference between 99 and 100.”
“I’m sorry, but those are the rules. It might not seem like a big deal, but we’re talking about a hunter’s life, so we cannot take this lightly. Also, that one point makes a big difference.”
She smiled at him.
“Really?”
“Yes, the difference between ranks is quite big. There are hunters that have said that a point difference ranks is bigger than those on the same rank with a difference of 100. Of course this isn’t written in stone, but I can tell you that there’s that big of a difference.”
When going from a rank E to D, was there really a big growth?
I think it’s because I’ve never partic.i.p.ated in a raid before.
There was never a time where I really used my powers and there was no need to.
“..I guess it can’t be helped. Please give me the E rank license.”
“Okay, I’ll have it ready for you. Please provide me with one pa.s.sport-sized picture and your social security number. Please write your name and phone number here and initial places where there’s a check mark.”
While Si Hyun was signing the paper she gave him, she looked at the monitor and started typing on the keyboard.
“Okay, I have confirmed your information. What’s your occupation?”
“You’re talking about the awakened occupation, right?”
“Yes, that’s right. It’s required to register the occupation into our system.”
Occupation.
In Si Hyun’s occupation window, there were two.
Occupation: Ward (Main), Executioner (Sub)
Of course he didn’t want to tell her either of those occupations.
“I have a question.”
“Yes?”
“If I had two occupations, what should I do? Which one should I tell you?”
After looking at her monitor, I could tell she froze up.
“Excuse me? What did you just say…? You have two occupations? Multiple jobs?”
The employees that were working behind the counter turned their attention towards us.
But, turning my attention towards the guild’s representatives, they didn’t have much of a reaction.
I’m sure they heard it too.
‘No reaction?’
Si Hyun noticed.
The guilds didn’t know, but the employees of the Hunter a.s.sociation knew of this information.
I didn’t know this was a top secret information that the country took care of.
Was having multiple jobs that big of a deal?
Other than what was revealed on the internet, there was no way to see other people’s stat window. Si Hyun thought there were others that had multiple jobs.
But seeing their reaction, that doesn’t seem to be the case.
They looked like they saw some rare species.
“Ha ha. I’m not saying that I do. I was just curious as to how I should answer if that were the case.”
As soon as Si Hyun said that, the others probably thought there was no way an E rank could have two jobs.
“Right...well. From what I know, awakened ones only have one occupation. After working here, it’s like that as well.”
She quickly changed the subject.
“I see. Thank you. Oh, you said I had to tell you my occupation, right?”
“Yes.”
“I’m a soldier.”
Si Hyun told her the occupation he already had in mind.
He couldn’t say he was a healer or a buffer, so out of all the other ones, he thought a soldier was the best choice.
“Oh, you’re a solider. I understand. Please wait here. I’ll print out the Hunter License momentarily.”
He waited for about three to four minutes.
She handed Si Hyun the Hunter License that just printed out.
The Hunter a.s.sociation…I liked how fast they handled things.
And they were more amazing than what I had imagined.
Exactly how are they training their employees that the information isn’t leaked to the guilds.
“Congratulations of being an official hunter. Go into the Hunter a.s.sociation website and register your number. Please complete the required 12 hours online cla.s.s.”
“I understand. Thank you for your help.”
After thanking her, Si Hyun turned around.
As expected, the guilds didn’t have any reaction.
They were pa.s.sionately recruiting the B rank hunter earlier, but now, they just seemed uninterested.
It was as if Si Hyun was invisible to them.
‘In a guild, an E rank hunter is considered the contractor and the guild is the owner.’
It was the same as saying they wanted me to go up to them first and beg them to take me in.
As he was contemplating on whether he had to give up his pride for the quest, luckily, a guild representative headed towards Si Hyun.
The guy had a really messy beard and was wearing wrinkled clothes.
He looked like he was in his 50’s.
He extended his hand and asked for a handshake.
“Congratulations. My name is Im Sang Hyuk of the Grace Guild.”
“Thank you. I’m Lee Si Hyun.”
“If you’re interested in joining a guild, do you mind talking with me over there?”
Im Sang Hyuk pointed to the second floor.
It was a café that was located within the Hunter a.s.sociation building.
“Sure, why not?”
Si Hyun gladly agreed.
After taking their seats and ordering an Americano, they continued their conversation.
“How are you feeling?”
“Excuse me?”
“Weren’t you feeling disappointed because of the guilds’ cold reaction?”
“I kind of a.s.sumed, so it’s fine.”
Sang Hyuk nodded and explained.
“For midsized and large guilds E rank hunters have filled their positions long ago. Well, even if you do go to those guilds, you’ll be nothing but a carrier.”
“What exactly does a carrier do?”
“They stay behind the hunters and once they’re done hunting, they place all dropped items into a bag that has weight reduction magic casted on it and follow the hunters until the gate is cleared.”
“Now that you mention it, it would be funny to see hunters pick up all the dropped items themselves.”
“Yes, the role distribution is understandable, but the hunters with this role won’t feel so great.”
Si Hyun made a face that agreed to his statement.
“But…you said you were part of the Grace Guild?”
“Yes, that’s right. And Grace is the name of my daughter.”
“…Really? Then are you the person in charge of the guild?”
“That’s right. I’m in charge of the Grace Guild.”
Si Hyun’s eyes widened a bit.
Seeing his shabby clothes, he thought it was a small guild, but he didn’t think the person in charge of the guild would come to the Hunter a.s.sociation themselves to recruit.
“Hm, I see. Anyways, is the Grace Guild different? What about the role of an E rank hunter?”
End