Chapter 40
An A-Rank Gate.
A name that carries a weight entirely different from a B-Rank.
For an ordinary hunter, it’s naturally difficult to approach such a place with a light heart.
“I’ll be back. Make sure to lock up properly before Yena arrives.”
“Alright. Don’t worry and hurry back.”
Juhyeok was different.
His steps were as light as on any other day he went out for training.
Being an A-Rank gate didn’t cause him any particular tension or anxiety.
‘I’ve already faced Cerberus once. An A-Rank is nothing.’
He had fought a life-or-death battle against the S-Rank Cerberus.
Now, entering an A-Rank gate with a body that had become much stronger than before, there was no reason to be tense.
If anyone heard him, they might describe him as arrogant.
‘But my preparation is solid.’
Being prepared for all scenarios.
This wasn’t arrogance; it was confidence.
An eternity of time that no one could even imagine.
Then, the Dreamthistle he consumed, defying death itself.
He had even demonstrated skill on par with the Association President, who is considered S-Rank level.
All of that was the result of countless, immeasurable efforts.
That’s why Juhyeok had no worries.
‘And the hunters going with me are all A-Rank or above, so it should be fine.’
An A-Rank gate is named for a difficulty level that two A-Rank hunters can clear.
For such a gate, a minimum of four A-Rank hunters are assigned for safety during the assault, making it even less dangerous… but.
“Long time no see, Hunter Juhyeok.”
“…”
Right now, in front of the A-Rank gate, aside from the soldiers, there was only one other person.
“Hunter Park Hanseong?”
“No need for the honorific. Just calling me Hunter is fine.”
“…Understood.”
It was still a bit difficult to drop the honorifics for a senior with over ten years more experience in the industry.
But putting that issue aside for now, he looked around.
“Where are the other party members?”
“Today, it’s just the two of us entering the gate.”
“Just the two of us?”
“Well, S-Ranks sometimes enter A-Rank gates alone anyway.”
It was true; an S-Rank had the capacity to clear an A-Rank gate alone.
Of course, it might be slightly difficult for a support type, but since he wasn’t a support type, it shouldn’t be a problem.
“I didn’t have anything to do anyway, and I heard you were entering a gate.”
The problem here was why this person specifically volunteered to enter a gate with just the two of them.
‘If an S-Rank hunter comes to an A-Rank gate, people trying to network would surely cling to him.’
The fact that there wasn’t a single such person suggested that he had probably intervened on purpose.
There was no concrete evidence, but based on his words, Juhyeok felt fairly certain.
“I’m not joining a guild.”
“Haha, I figured that out when you stubbornly refused last time.”
Hanseong laughed heartily at Juhyeok’s suspicious gaze.
“Today, it was just curiosity.”
“Curiosity?”
“An F-Rank hunter clearing B-Ranks, and now even going for A-Ranks? Wouldn’t anyone be curious?”
It was something to be curious about.
No, beyond curiosity, it was something that would naturally pique the interest of anyone living in this world.
Of course, his words weren’t entirely without credibility.
“But if you’re just going to list such convenient excuses, I’ll be going.”
Would a busy S-Rank, constantly being summoned everywhere, really go through the trouble of arranging an A-Rank gate just to satisfy his personal curiosity?
No matter how eccentric, if an S-Rank hunter went around making such conspicuous actions so casually, rumors about that kind of behavior would have been plentiful long ago.
The Park Hanseong he knew was not someone who caused such problems.
“…You’re very perceptive.”
His speculation had hit the mark.
“The Association President asked me to.”
“The Association President?”
“Yes. He said there would be people keeping an eye on you.”
Upon hearing that, he immediately recalled the incident from a week ago.
[…I’ll keep that in mind.]
The man who had suddenly pulled out a gun and shot a trash can.
“Legal guilds are one thing, but when you’re young, you might foolishly yield to strange temptations.”
The ‘strange temptations’ he mentioned surely referred to those illegal hunter organizations.
It wasn’t uncommon for rookie hunters, naive and tempted by promises of high pay or fantasies of the underworld, to get involved with them.
It was a persistent problem, as hunters received special treatment compared to ordinary people.
“So the Association President asked me. To keep an eye on you for a while.”
“I see.”
He didn’t feel he was in a position to need protection from anyone, but from the Hunter Association’s perspective, it was natural to worry about a promising rookie showing sudden, massive growth.
‘If I knew this would happen, maybe I should have told the Hunter Association instead of Yena.’
He had deliberately only asked Yena for help, thinking that involving the Hunter Association would lead to a lot of hassle.
But if he knew someone would be assigned to tail him like this, he thought maybe he should have just told the Association.
“But don’t worry too much. I was asked to watch over you inside the gate.”
“The fact that you didn’t tell me any of this beforehand is what worries me the most… Well, whatever.”
Arguing about this wouldn’t achieve anything; what could the person who was just asked to do this really do?
Besides, the opportunity to enter a gate with an S-Rank wasn’t common, so he decided to think positively.
“Then, as the one being watched, can I ask one favor?”
“I’ll hear your request first and then decide.”
Juhyeok asked without batting an eye.
“Can I sweep this gate clean by myself too?”
He needed Magic Stones.
A lot of them.
‘The artifact has been acting strange since I ate the Dreamthistle.’
Before, a single B-Rank stone would have been more than enough for an upgrade.
But after consuming the Dreamthistle, the amount of magic power required for an artifact upgrade had increased exponentially.
‘I had no idea that even using up all my saved B-Rank stones wouldn’t be enough for a single upgrade.’
The percentage bar hadn’t even reached 20% despite using all his reserves.
It was clear that one or two A-Rank stones wouldn’t be enough to fill it easily.
‘I needed a lot of magic stones anyway, so this works out well.’
This hunter had already once let him handle the monsters alone.
Plus, with the current situation of just the two of them under the pretext of ‘surveillance’, it was the perfect setup for him to hoard all the stones for himself.
“…”
Hanseong looked at Juhyeok in silence.
He suppressed a sigh that rose to his throat and spoke.
“Having confidence is good, but to others, it might look like arrogance.”
“I don’t care how it looks to others.”
If he were the type to live worrying about how others saw him, he would have dropped out of the academy long ago.
Juhyeok had always lived by his own convictions, regardless of others’ opinions, and now was no different.
“If it seems like I can’t handle it, wouldn’t Hunter Park Hanseong step in and help?”
“You say that with quite some nerve.”
The corner of his mouth twitched upward in disbelief.
Hanseong thought for only a moment before quickly replying.
“Ha, fine.”
Just how confident was he to make such a request?
Although Juhyeok had denied it earlier, the story about curiosity wasn’t entirely a lie.
“I’m also curious about the skills the Association President praised so highly.”
The level of skill that made the Association President request an S-Rank as an escort.
Just how much had he grown that the Association President nearly lost control of his strength? His curiosity only grew.
“Go ahead and run wild to your heart’s content.”
He’ll probably be surrounded by a few A-Rank monsters and call for an SOS immediately.
Witnessing that scene might be quite entertaining too.
“…It seems I won’t need to step in.”
Just as he had said, Juhyeok truly ran wild.
Even though they were clearly A-Rank monsters he was seeing for the first time, Juhyeok charged at them without any fear.
Whether it was one monster or over a dozen.
He rushed in with speed on a completely different level than before, slaughtering all the monsters with optimal movement paths.
“What on earth happened?”
“I defeated the monsters.”
“Not that.”
Hanseong challenged the obvious answer.
There was only one thing he was curious about.
“Your magic power level seems the same as last time, so how did your physical abilities improve so much?”
A similar magic power level to when he last saw him.
So faint it was almost indistinguishable from an ordinary person’s.
Just what method had he used? His physical abilities had noticeably changed.
“Well, I’m at an age where my physical abilities should be growing rapidly, don’t you think?”
“Do you think that excuse is convincing?”
“It was the best answer I could give.”
Juhyeok was very politely indicating he had no intention of revealing the answer.
Seeing his firm attitude, Hanseong considered pressing further but quickly gave up.
If his magic power had increased rapidly, one could suspect he took some strange drug, but becoming stronger without any increase in magic power meant it was purely physical enhancement.
Based on Hanseong’s common sense, he could only conclude, as Juhyeok said, that his body had simply grown stronger.
He couldn’t understand how that was really possible, but it was happening right before his eyes.
“Are you really sure you don’t want to join a guild? I’m not just talking about my guild, but any guild.”
Now he understood why the Association President wanted to protect him so much.
If someone like this developed ill intentions, they would become a major headache.
He was someone you absolutely did not want as an enemy.
“Yes, I’m sure.”
And such a person had no intention of joining any guild.
The Association must be having quite the headache over it.
It wasn’t for no reason that they asked an S-Rank to keep an eye on him.
“But joining a guild would be more helpful for you.”
“Who knows. I just don’t like being affiliated with any organization.”
Fortunately, he didn’t seem interested in the illegal hunter organizations.
Juhyeok casually shook the blood off his sword and said.
“But because of that, I keep hearing talk from all over, and it’s quite bothersome.”
The constant stream of contacts from various places was annoying.
When training with Sui, he had to be mindful of employees who would sneak up and try to recruit him.
Not being in a guild caused more than one or two inconveniences.
As he frowned, recalling the days filled with such headaches, Hanseong spoke.
“Then, why doesn’t Hunter Juhyeok just start his own guild?”
“…”
Start his own guild.
Then he could probably manage to bypass things like physical examinations himself.
He had actually thought about it before but dismissed it as a pipe dream.
‘Maybe it’s possible now?’
He could gather funds quickly by selling magic stones, and he had no desire to grow a large guild, so if he could just meet the establishment conditions, that would be enough.
If he could just create one, the people who bothered him would stop.
Seeing no reason not to do it, he was lost in thought when Hanseong poured cold water on the idea.
“That was a joke. Starting a guild is incredibly difficult.”
“…Is it that hard?”
“The funds are one thing, but the conditions are not easy at all… It probably won’t be easy, right?”
A guild must pass all the conditions set by the Association to be established.
Since a guild is essentially a company doing business with hunters, it’s absolutely not something you can create easily.
“Why? Are you actually thinking about starting one?”
“…”
Juhyeok fell into thought for a moment.
Actually, he was only pretending to ponder.
‘Let’s just do it.’
Starting his own guild was a more realistic story than revealing the artifact and not being ostracized by humanity.
He had already made up his mind internally.
“Who knows.”
He decided to create his own guild.
