Chapter 07
His thick black hair fell straight, and his slightly long bangs would naturally fall to the side whenever he shook his head.
What I had thought were black eyes revealed their true color only when sunlight spilled across his face—a deep, shadowy wine-red, reminiscent of the door we had passed through earlier.
Since awakened hunters often had their appearances altered by skills or special circumstances, I assumed this was simply one of those cases.
“I used to work night shifts at a convenience store.”
“Why night shifts?”
“They paid 200 won more per hour.”
The more I spoke, the more it felt like I was stripping myself bare, and my voice grew smaller.
He asked in detail how many hours I worked, what time I usually went to sleep, and when I typically woke up.
I wasn’t sure if guilds usually investigated such things, but since this was my first time as a hunter, I couldn’t tell what was normal or not. So, I answered sincerely.
“So, you usually come home in the morning and only wake up in the afternoon, correct?”
“Yes.”
“Then you must be quite sleepy right now.”
…Am I supposed to answer ‘yes’ to that?
I couldn’t tell whether he was testing me or genuinely concerned. With that unreadable expression, Jung Hwan rose from his seat.
Narrowing his eyes as if checking something on the screen, he looked back at me.
“Then, starting tomorrow, why don’t we let you rest properly and begin at 3 a.m. instead?”
“…Pardon?”
“Forcing yourself to break your natural routine only lowers efficiency. If 3 a.m. doesn’t work, I’ll set aside another time before dawn. Just call me when you wake up. I won’t do anything strange—that would be a violation of contract terms.”
“Um… but if I have to come to the company at that hour, there won’t be any buses or trains running.”
Taking a taxi at that time meant paying the surcharge. It sounded pathetic, but I couldn’t help thinking of it. I didn’t even have a license yet, let alone a car. What was I supposed to do?
Jung Hwan fell silent, as if my words had stumped him. Then, after a brief pause, he pulled out the black gem I had returned to him earlier.
“…May I ask what that is?”
“It’s something like a gift from my assigned handler. Everyone sees it differently, but I alone can see its true form.”
“Ah, but… something so important, and you just kept it in your pocket while handing it to me…”
He went quiet at the pointed remark. Perhaps he was looser than he appeared.
Pretending not to hear, he floated the gem into the air. His lips moved as though whispering, and from it, crimson light scattered like wine.
“You may not have noticed earlier, but there’s a clause in our contract. It states that I am responsible for covering all expenses necessary for our work—food, travel, everything.”
“Yes, I saw that.”
“I could cover your transport costs, but I’d rather not entrust my exclusive healer to an unknown driver.”
Then a void of pitch-black space unfolded before my eyes. With that portal at his back, Jung Hwan met my gaze.
“I’ll come pick you up. Wherever you are, at whatever time you wake.”
That, of course, meant it didn’t necessarily have to be exactly 3 a.m.
“….”
“Ah, and don’t worry—I’m not the kind of shameless man who would just barge into your house.”
“That’s not what I was worried about… Don’t you need to sleep in the early morning?”
“That’s nothing you need to concern yourself with. It’s part of the company’s welfare policy.”
Wait… is this really how guilds work? Do they actually change the guildmaster’s sleep schedule just to accommodate a healer’s needs?
It made no sense, and yet he said it like it was common courtesy for a guild leader.
As if his explanation was complete, Jung Hwan straightened and checked the time.
“Unlike ordinary companies, guilds don’t throw recruits straight into work after training. In our case, we have basic courses for new hunters. Would you like to take one?”
His tone implied I was free to go home if I wanted.
If this were the convenience store, I’d have left without hesitation—the moment he said it, I was probably already working unpaid overtime.
But this was different. I still had the One Time Buff active.
The One Time Buff—the enthusiasm and loyalty that glowed within new hires on their very first day, filling them with determination to work hard and volunteer for anything.
“Yes, please! I’ll do my best!”
“…This is a standard service. There’s no need to be so formal.”
He blinked slowly, looking somewhat flustered at my energy. After making a call and rummaging through some files, he turned back to me.
“If you head to the 11th floor now, you can start training. Once the machine portion is finished, there’ll be coaching sessions for situational reports and such. I’ll personally handle your coaching. Oh, and here’s my card. Contact me directly if you need anything.”
He handed me a sleek, luxurious business card and bowed lightly. Sensing this was the right moment to excuse myself, I took a step back.
Should I say, ‘Goodbye’? Or, ‘See you tomorrow’? No… maybe…
“G-Guildmaster, I’ll… I’ll call you at dawn!”
Only after stumbling out did it hit me—if anyone overheard that, it could be seriously misunderstood.
But hey, it was his idea to give up his dawn hours, not mine. Blaming him under my breath, I headed down to the 11th floor.
Instead of people waiting, I found the area divided into small cubicles. On the screen before me, one instruction was displayed:
[Please enter a booth of your choice, put on the headset, and play the training program on the desktop.]
So the great Hunter Era still uses such analog methods, huh.
I slid into an empty booth. The black headset looked expensive. After slipping it on, I clicked the file on the desktop.
Instantly, the booth around me shifted as though into augmented reality.
No, augmented reality was too weak a term. It felt as though I had been transported to an entirely different world.
“Please, wait! Who are you?!”
If a figure clad in armor hadn’t suddenly appeared, I might have continued marveling.
The one standing tall in the vast expanse—unbelievable compared to the cramped booth I had just been in—wore a veil over their face and looked straight at me.
“Greetings. I am the guide for the Valkyrie Network orientation. This program is an official video distributed by Valder to all hunters, and cannot interact with you. If you have questions, please direct them through your assigned staff.”
The voice didn’t so much echo in my ears as hammer directly into my eardrums. The guide, likely a training mascot, spoke while gazing into empty space.
So it wasn’t made by the guild. It was something distributed from even higher up.
