Chapter 14
It was another peaceful Monday morning.
As usual, Do-Jun woke up at 7 AM, showered, dressed for work, and sat at the dining table. The only unusual thing was the food on the table.
“When did you prepare all this…?” Do-Jun asked in surprise.
Instead of white rice, there was a bowl of rice mixed with various grains and chopped mushrooms. Accompanying the rice bowl was a plate of shredded radish, stir-fried anchovies, a fried egg, and a bubbling pot of doenjang jjigae[1].
The most notable menu on the table was a well-grilled mackerel and three bite-sized pieces of pear for dessert.
“Hehe. Eat up,” Yoon-Hee said.
“Why did you make all this in the morning? You should have gotten more sleep instead.”
“Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Eating well in the morning gives us energy for the day!”
“I get it… Thank you.”
Yoon-Hee sat across from Do-Jun, resting her chin on her hands, watching him eat with a bright smile. Then she picked up her chopsticks and placed a piece of mackerel that she separated from its bones on Do-Jun’s spoon.
Although Yoon-Hee usually took good care of Do-Jun, this felt much more than usual. The only reason he could think of for her change was that he had offered to pay her tuition fee of 50 million won.
Indeed, he had promptly paid the tuition after their conversation.
“I’ve been so happy lately,” Yoon-Hee said.
“I’m glad to hear that. Anyway, thank you for the meal. I should get going.”
Do-Jun wiped his mouth with a tissue and stood up, and Yoon-Hee quickly followed him to the front door.
As he was about to leave, she called out, “Ah, hold on a moment.”
Yoon-Hee approached Do-Jun closely to straighten his crooked tie and smiled sweetly.
“Have a good day at work, Father.”
***
8:40 AM.
Hyuk-Soo was reading a web article as he sipped on his coffee.
It was about a Fissure Distortion that occurred in the Swamp of the Dark Ogre, an A-rank Great Fissure located at the entrance of Guryongsan Mountain.
“Mejai Guild defeats the Monarch Ogre!”
The article was brief. A Fissure Distortion occurred in the Swamp of the Dark Ogre, followed by an appearance of the Monarch Ogre, an A-rank boss monster, which was defeated by the leader and three elite members of the Mejai Guild.
﹂incu****: Wow, the Mejai Guild seems to be on a roll damn (Likes: 92,231 / Dislikes: 11,531)
﹂dokd***: They killed an A-rank Great Fissure boss with just three A-rank Hunters? Another A-rank Great Fissure in the neighboring area wiped out seven A-rankers before it was released... The ranking evaluation results aren’t out yet, right? I bet their skills are already S-rank. (Likes: 72,231 / Dislikes: 29,461)
﹂sinh****: But what’s this about an F-ranker being there? Enough with innocent passersby getting caught in this stuff! (Likes: 32,231 / Dislikes: 2,511)
﹂tutu****: Give us the name of the F-rank Hunter. They seem to want attention, so let’s give them some. (Likes: 9,231 / Dislikes: 6,531)
“Good morning, Hyuk-Soo,” Do-Jun greeted his senior as he placed his bag down at his desk.
Hyuk-Soo raised his hand slightly to acknowledge the greeting and continued reading the comments.
﹂jds7****: That’s that, but I heard they had an emergency cam with them, so why isn't the video being released? Even if the emergency cam broke during the fight, there should be footage until that point. Something smells fishy hmmmmm. (Likes: 33,231 / Dislikes: 199)
“Three A-rank Hunters killed the boss of an A-rank Great Fissure…” Hyuk-Soo murmured.
Though he wasn't well-versed in the world of B-rank or higher Hunters, he still knew how implausible this was.
The boss of a Great Fissure had stats at least one level higher than the rank of the actual Fissure, and with its special abilities, the Monarch Ogre’s rank had to be at least S.
But three A-rank Hunters defeated an S-rank monster?
“Something definitely does not add up, don’t you think so too, Do-Jun?” Hyuk-Soo asked.
“Sorry, what are you talking about…”
Do-Jun was internally surprised to see the event that happened just two days ago already on Hyuk-Soo’s screen. He still maintained a calm expression and replied as if he knew nothing, “If you say so, Senior, then it must be.”
Do-Jun sat down at his desk and turned on his computer.
“You should start reading up on Great Fissures as well, Do-Jun. Considering Ye-Ji’s growth rate, reaching B-rank doesn’t seem too much of a reach. But we’ve never had a Hunter with a rank B or higher in our team, so I’m not even sure what to prepare.”
Though there were provisions and regulations outlining the necessary measures, they lacked practical experience with the work itself.
If Ye-Ji were to actually advance to B-rank, they would need to start considering the management of B-rank or higher Fissures on a regular basis. They couldn’t always leave Great Fissures under the jurisdiction of the Hunter’s Bureau.
“Oh, right. I forgot to give you this.” Hyuk-Soo handed Do-Jun a file with the title “The Orc Forest.”
“What is this?”
“It’s a new Fissure that appeared in Deogyang-gu, Goyang-si, in Gyeonggi-do. I briefly checked the area just inside the entrance during a recent trip, and there were orcs. The estimated Fissure rank is C, and since Hunter Ye-Ji has recently reached C-rank, I thought it wouldn't hurt for you two to check it out.”
Do-Jun only had one Fissure under his management until now.
Even as Hyuk-Soo handed over the Fissure management work, he looked apologetic, and understandably so, as C-rank Fissure management was originally Hyuk-Soo’s responsibility.
“Yes, understood.” Do-Jun accepted the file with no complaints.
“I hope you don’t resent me; it’s the Chief’s order.”
“No, I appreciate it. It shows you trust me.”
Hyuk-Soo’s eyes widened, then he chuckled. “You’ve been doing well lately, Do-Jun.”
“Thank you, but I still have a lot to learn.”
“Feel free to ask if there’s anything you don’t know. If I can help, I will.”
“I will, thank you.”
Just then, the door to the Fissure Management Division opened, and a young woman in her early twenties hurried in. It was none other than Ye-Ji.
She then took her now-designated seat next to Do-Jun, glanced at her wristwatch, and saw that it was 9:03 AM.
“Sorry for being late,” she said.
She tidied her hair with her hands, which seemed to have not been dried properly due to the morning rush.
Do-Jun glanced around the office to notice that out of the seven employees of the Fissure Exploration Unit, he was the only one with his assigned Hunter present with him in the office.
“Um… Hunter Ye-Ji, it’s okay for you to stay home when we don’t have a scheduled trip to a Fissure. Actually, that’s the protocol,” Hyuk-Soo said quietly.
Ever since Ye-Ji received her C-rank assessment, Hyuk-Soo and the other Fissure Exploration Unit staff had been treating her with more respect.
“O-oh, it’s fine! I’m being paid, so of course, I should show up on time!”
“That’s not what I was trying to say…”
While Hyuk-Soo and Ye-Ji conversed, Do-Jun began skimming through the Orc Forest file. As expected, no proper mapping had been done yet, and the monster information was also not completely reliable. Even the name of the Fissure, Orc Forest, was merely provisional.
“Do you have any pressing work today, Hyuk-Soo?” Do-Jun asked.
“Why do you ask…”
“Since you brought it up anyway, I am thinking of taking Ye-Ji there.”
“Hmm. We should report to the chief first…”
As if on cue, Cheol-Soo stood up abruptly from his seat, walked briskly toward Do-Jun, pulled out his wallet from inside his suit jacket, and took out two 50,000 won bills.
Then he pressed them into Do-Jun’s hand.
“Buy her some Korean beef!”
Cheol-Soo then beamed at Ye-Ji. “Please be careful, Hunter Ye-Ji.”
***
The C-rank Fissure was in Seongsa-dong, Deokyang-gu, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do.
Upon arrival, Do-Jun understood why Cheol-Soo had suggested treating Ye-Ji to Korean beef.
“The Fissure was inside a Korean beef shop premises,” Do-Jun pointed out.
“Y-you are right, hehe,” Ye-Ji said with a grin.
Do-Jun didn’t spend any of the 100,000 won that Cheol-Soo gave him.
Civil servants were entitled to a 20,000 won allowance when traveling on duty without using a personal vehicle, and under the rules for contracted Hunters, transportation expenses were provided for any dispatches.
“Did you have breakfast?” Do-Jun asked Ye-Ji.
“I had some bread on the way, so I'm not very hungry. We can head in right away,” Ye-Ji replied while looking at the Fissure, which was a little over ten meters wide.
At the entrance of the Fissure was a staff member dispatched from the Hunter’s Bureau along with a few other Hunters who had rushed over upon hearing the news.
I have to stay alert, Ye-Ji thought, looking at the gathered Hunters.
Among them were quite a few fairly well-known B-rank Hunters, which was natural given that it was typical practice to hunt in Fissures one rank lower than their own for safety’s sake.
This was Ye-Ji’s first time entering a C-rank Fissure, and it just happened to be one with almost no information. Who knew what dangers lurked inside?
I have to protect him, Ye-Ji resolved to herself.
At first, she had suspected that Do-Jun might be hiding his power. To be honest, she still had that suspicion.
However, Do-Jun was a perfectly ordinary person on the outside, and she had to consider the possibility that he really might not have any special abilities.
I can’t let a single monster slip through this time.
Goblins were classified as F-rank, the weakest among monsters. But these C-rank monsters were vastly different from them. A regular person could die with just one hit.
“Mr. Administrator, if I find myself in danger, please run away.”
“That won’t happen.”
“Sorry?”
As if naturally, Do-Jun refuted Ye-Ji’s words confidently, sounding as if talking about an obvious outcome.
He explained, “I mean, you’re wearing an A-rank suit, so it’s unlikely that such a situation will arise. Also, your skills were verified during the rank evaluation. You handled the Orc Warriors with ease, so we should be safe as long as we remain cautious.”
“I will keep that in mind, Mr. Administrator,” Ye-Ji said with a determined expression, taking out her suit-case and placing the bead on her chest.
Shortly after, a radiant silver suit enveloped her body.
“We’ve got a tank now, so let’s head inside.”
“We don’t have a healer in our party; be careful.”
As Do-Jun watched the Hunters forming parties and entering the Fissure, he suddenly recalled the trio from the Mejai Guild he had met in the Swamp of the Dark Ogre. They were a balanced party formed of melee, ranged, and healer.
If we ever face a Great Fissure, even Ye-Ji might struggle. Maybe it would be better to recruit a tank or healer in advance. Do-Jun started thinking of the future.
However, no matter how many hiring listings were posted, the number of Hunters willing to join as contracted Hunters at City Hall was extremely low—in fact, it was almost nonexistent.
“Ye-Ji,” Do-Jun called.
“Yes, Mr. Administrator?”
“If we could recruit a teammate, what type would you prefer? For example, a tank to draw the monsters’ attention, or a ranged class to provide support from a distance…?”
Ye-Ji’s eyes suddenly turned cold, and she took a step closer to Do-Jun and murmured coldly, “Are you trying to cheat on me?”
“Sorry…?”
“Did you not say that I was the only Hunter for you? Was that a lie? Are you thinking of contracting with another Hunter besides me?”
There seemed to be a misunderstanding on Ye-Ji’s part.
“Recruiting another Hunter doesn’t mean that I’m going to terminate your contract.”
“Mr. Administrator.”
“Yes?”
“I don’t need all that.”
With that, she walked toward the Fissure entrance. Then she turned around and smiled at Do-Jun, extending her hand in an invitation.
“Let’s go, Mr. Administrator.”
1. You can think of doenjang jjigae as a Korean version of miso soup with more ingredients such as meat, zucchini, onions, etc. ☜
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