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The people going out today were Shin Jiho, Lim Seung Joo, and four other guildmembers, making a total of six.

Three of the guildmembers were already ready and waiting, talking and laughing amongst themselves. When Jiho arrived, they went quiet.

They greeted Jiho while smirking, as if Jiho was their bread shuttle. Jiho thought to himself.

‘They were cursing me.’

Jiho swallowed back the sigh that was about to come out. People even curse the king behind his back, so what can he do?

While the three hunters finally started picking up their equipment, Jiho turned his gaze to Yang Hojin, who was standing alone far away from the others. 

Yang Hojin is a 22-year-old hunter, and it hasn’t been very long since he awakened. Although he’s only a C-rank hunter, because he’s a valuable healer, Jiho has been paying particularly special attention to him after recruiting him.

Even though Hojin has a fine stature and good-looking face, he seems somewhat shy and lacks self-confidence.

Truthfully speaking though, from his outer appearance alone, he looks like a sneaky fox: someone who knows how to reap his benefits….

During the interview, Hojin stumbled over his words so much that Jiho asked him if something was wrong. His record is fairly average, with nothing particular standing out.

Hojin doesn’t really get along with the other guildmembers. Jiho’s seen Hojin avoid them when they tried to talk to him. He doesn’t talk behind Shin Jiho’s back either.

However….

‘He’ll get used to it eventually.’

People who greet Jiho normally like Heo Sori does are rare.

People who’ve never talked behind someone’s back before are all easily swept in by the atmosphere. One of the people in the group just now is even a newcomer.

Plus, even though the person they’re mocking is the person paying them, he’s also their guildmaster who assigns them work, so it probably tastes especially sweet to talk behind his back. Newcomers are easily pulled in.

Since they’re not only in the same building, but also hunters with better hearing than normal people, Jiho’s heard them talk about him multiple times.

Jiho doesn’t expect much from newcomers.

While absorbed in these depressing thoughts, Jiho finished getting ready to go out.

A guild’s definition of working outside is different from that of a normal company, obviously.

A hunter’s job is to take care of the various issues that result from a fissure. 

And a mid-tier guild like No Name is in charge of taking care of the fissures that appear here and there in the city.

Thankfully, thanks to a prediction system that a genius awakened one had invented, fissures can be predicted with an accuracy rate of at least 98%.

Because the Hunter Association notes the margin of error before assigning fissures to guilds, there are usually no major accidents.

The system can predict the start, size, and general location of the fissure. But since it isn’t perfect, the guilds assigned to the fissure usually split up into teams to patrol the areas.

According to the system, an F-rank fissure will appear near Bangbae-dong today.

Fissures are split into ranks, with the most dangerous one being S-rank, followed by A-rank all the way down to F-rank.

Thus, today’s F-rank fissure is one of the easier ones. Thanks to that, it’s the perfect kind to take a newly awakened hunter out and train them on. 

Shin Jiho split everyone up into three groups of two. One group was made up of just guildmembers while Lim Seung Joo and himself each took one newcomer. 

“Then let’s go.”

“Yes….”

Yang Hojin kept stealing nervous glances at Shin Jiho. Jiho, who met eyes with Hojin, tried his best to show a friendly smile.

“Hunter Yang Hojin. Have you adjusted to the guild yet?”

“Yes? Yes!”

“If you have any concerns, feel free to tell me anytime. I will listen and try to accommodate you.”

“Ah… that… there is nothing.”

“Do the guildmembers treat you well?”

“Yes….”

“They’re not very territorial but they can be a little harsher on scenes since there’s a chance you can get hurt.”

“Ah, yes….”

“I heard that you did well on your first time on the scene. Today will probably be easier. You don’t have to be so nervous. It’s not like you’re alone, either.”

“….”

“If you happen to get hurt, tell me immediately. You may use however many potions you want, so don’t hold back.”

“Yes.”

“If you get even a small injury, I can connect you to Chungram Hospital to get it checked.”

“….”

“That is all.…”

The conversation keeps cutting short. All of Hojin’s answers seem curt and insincere.

Jiho stopped talking since it didn’t seem like the other was thinking of continuing the conversation.

Yeah, it must be uncomfortable. There’s no way it’s comfortable to be alone with the guildmaster. And Hojin might’ve already been affected by those three people talking behind Jiho’s back as well.

Instead of making the other feel even more uncomfortable, Jiho kept his mouth shut and focused on work. Truthfully, though, because there wasn’t much to do, it was more like they were taking a stroll around the neighborhood than patrolling it.

As time passed, the quiet atmosphere gradually changed. 

Once the time for the fissure to appear got closer, people started to evacuate.

Of course, the evacuation process wasn’t easy.

“Just a minute. I don’t think I turned off the gas!”

“Senior, I will check, so please evacuate first.”

“Are you saying that you’ll be entering other people’s houses?!”

From the people who insisted on returning for random reasons…

“That person over there, stop taking pictures and leave!”

“Stop taking pictures!”

…to the students who were laughing and taking pictures of the evacuation scene or hunters… 

“No, this way is a shortcut. I won’t go inside, alright? I’ll evacuate quickly.”

…and to the people who insisted on going through a danger zone.

Even though the police were trying their best to convince the people, it was difficult to control the situation.

Had the rank of the fissure been higher, the people would have evacuated in a flash, at least to save their own lives. Yet because this one’s rank is low, everyone was underestimating it.

Actually, monsters that come out of an F-rank fissure can be handled by normal adults with weapons.

In the beginning, people evacuated quickly, even with F-rank fissures. But now that three years have passed since the world changed, people have developed a certain level of insensitivity to safety.

“I think it will be best for us to help them control the people.”

Hojin’s eyes widened at Jiho’s words.

“I-is that also a hunter’s job?”

“Not really, but it’d be nice if this gets resolved with our help….”

Before he could finish his words, Jiho’s eyes were drawn to another place.

Someone was walking towards them with a crowd of people from a busy alley.

A very familiar man stood at the front of the crowd approaching Jiho and Hojin. Short, red hair and a big frame that reminds one of a character from an old basketball manga. Even if a normal person was 100m away, it’d be hard to miss that guy’s appearance.

A sigh automatically slipped out of Jiho’s mouth.

“Of all the people….”

Jiho thought about avoiding that man and running away, but they had already met eyes. The man stopped in front of Jiho, acting all nice and friendly by smiling and gesturing towards the people.

“Now, I have to help this useless hunter, so I will only take you all this far. Though it’s just an F-rank fissure, monsters are still monsters, so please evacuate quickly.”

Even though his voice is deep, his light tone makes the man seem more approachable. After his light laugh, all of the people behind him answered him energetically.

The people took a glance at Shin Jiho, who suddenly became a useless hunter–though he might’ve been a useless hunter from the start–before turning around and laughing. Because Jiho was used to people laughing at him with hints of mockery in their voices, however, he wasn’t that angry. 

Although it looks like the police were feeling a little helpless when the situation calmed down with one man’s appearance, they still greeted the man with relieved expressions.

“We can breathe easy thanks to you, Hunter Seon Tae Woong-nim.”

“No, this is something that I should be doing. I checked the areas I went through, so the police should check the other areas and then evacuate as well.”

They laughed and complimented each other back and forth like this. They work well together.

Yang Hojin, who was observing from the side, asked Shin Jiho quietly.

“…Who is that person?”

“You don’t know him?”

“I-I don’t know….”

“He is Seon Tae Woong.”

It looks like Hojin doesn’t recognize his name.

Seon Tae Woong is an A-rank combat hunter and the guildmaster of the guild, Apollon.

His skills are all of the flame attribute. As he is both a strong combat fighter and has good battle-sense, he’s among the top A-rank hunters.

Instead of complimenting the man who hates him, Jiho summed it up into a few words.

“He’s Apollon’s guildmaster. Since that guild is nearby, we run into each other pretty often.”

“Oh.”

“Do you know Apollon Guild?”

“No….”

“You must’ve not had much interest in this field before. Despite his looks, he’s actually quite famous.”

Even though Jiho didn’t mean anything by those words, Hojin’s ears turned bright red. Thinking that he should be more careful, Jiho pretended not to notice as he continued explaining.

“Our guild is near Bangbae Station, right?”

“Yes. I l-liked that it was close to the station.”

“Mm. That’s good. Anyways, Apollon is a guild between Sadang and Bangbae Station.”

“Oh….”

“Do you understand now?”

Yang Hojin nodded.

Sadang and Bangbae Station are one stop apart from each other. Since Apollon is located not even half that distance away from No Name, it’s natural that they fight over work.

Of course, Apollon, which can raid dungeons, is a higher-level guild than No Name. However, No Name is famous in its own way thanks to Shin Jiho, so the guilds are often discussed together.

It seems that Seon Tae Woong doesn’t like having his guild mentioned alongside No Name, the target for mockery.

Other hunters are still conscious of Chungram, so even if they mock Shin Jiho when they’re by themselves, they at least act friendly in front of him.

Yet Seon Tae Woong, who only knows how to be straightforward, mocks Jiho in front of his face, in interviews, and in front of other people as well.

In Jiho’s opinion, Seon Tae Woong is better than the guys who act all friendly in front of him, only to talk about him behind his back. Of course, that doesn’t mean he likes Seon Tae Woong either. He’s just better in comparison. 

If you search Shin Jiho up, there are multiple videos with titles like, [A-rank Hunter, Exposes the Corruption of Hunter Society?], where Seon Tae Woong is attacking him. The videos reveal everything but his name–which Tae Woong probably says, the uploader just censors it out. 

It’s because of this that there’s no way Jiho could like him.

Seon Tae Woong sauntered up to Shin Jiho like a gangster. 

“B-rank. You should’ve asked your dad for money to go and play; what are you doing here?”

On top of that, his insults are at the level of an elementary school student, making the person being insulted feel embarrassed on his behalf. Jiho let out a short sigh.

“He told me he wouldn’t give me an allowance anymore now that I’m an adult, so I came to work.”

“Then go ask your boyfriend.”

“This is the problem with Koreans. They say everyone is either a boyfriend or a girlfriend. If you spread fake news, I’ll go ask my dad for money and sue you.”

“You’re really sh*tting yourself.”

“While it’s nice that you’re picking a fight, I’m busy right now. Please go on your way.”

While Jiho waved his hand as though he was chasing away a peddler, Tae Woong snorted arrogantly. 

“What do you mean go on my way? I volunteered because I was worried that you wouldn’t be able to watch this fissure, Sloppy.”

“No matter how sloppy I might be, I can still keep watch of an F-rank fissure with my eyes closed. Just leave.”

“Do you want to try with your eyes closed?”

“What will you do if I actually succeed?”

“If you do, I’ll carry you on my back.”

“I don’t want to be carried by you. And I think you’ll smell like sweat.”

“What, you brat?”

“Then do you really think I’d like to stick to you, skin-to-skin? If I really block the fissure, then you should be getting on your knees and begging for forgiveness, why are you trying to get off easy?”

“Your words are a little short.”

“We’re only one year apart, okay?”

As the childishness of the fight increased, Yang Hojin’s eyes moved nervously back-and-forth. He kept trying to interrupt with “Um, Guildmaster-nim.”, “That, Guildmaster-nim.”, “Guildmaster-nim, stop….” but because he kept getting ignored, he seemed to have lost even more confidence than before.

Shin Jiho finally woke up from the childish fight and checked the time. There was still some time left before the fissure estimation. In an attempt to comfort Hojin, who was looking very anxious, Jiho whispered to him.

“Go and bring Hunter Lim Seung Joo over here. He should be around here.”

If Seon Tae Woong starts to get physical, they need to bring out the similarly ranked Lim Seung Joo to make it a fair fight. Since even the usually unmotivated Lim Seung Joo will fight hard when put up against Seon Tae Woong, it’s good for the guild as well. 

Yang Hojin left, leaving the two alone.

Shin Jiho, who was casually playing along before, changed his face.

Even if an F-rank dungeon isn’t that dangerous, a fissure is still a fissure. If unlucky, a person can die.

But this person who calls himself a hunter disturbs people standing on watch and picks a fight with them. 

“Hey, you.”

“What?”

“You…”

Seon Tae Woong, who was going to say something, suddenly turned his head. 

Eyes widened in horror and a pale face: an expression that can be seen pretty often these days when one comes face-to-face with great danger.

A bit after Seon Tae Woong, Jiho could also feel the atmosphere change.

Before he could even process what was happening…

A great darkness swallowed the two of them.

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LaZ Bird Corner

I personally love seeing Jiho get all petty like this. Hunter Space frustration suddenly disappears.

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