In South Korea, the two major groups that hold power over Hunters are:
The first is the Hunter Managent Bureau of the South Korean governnt.
The second is the International Hunter Association, an organization created for the close cooperation between nations and to protect the rights of Hunters.
This Hunter Association is an international organization, with 190 countries as its mbers, and each country has a branch of the association.
In the case of the forr, once a person awakens in South Korea, they are required to register with the Hunter Managent Bureau and serve a mandatory 39-month service period.
Typically, after the 39-month service, most Hunters transition to freelancing, but so do end up staying. It’s said that the governnt provides all necessary equipnt to Hunters affiliated with the state.
Then, there’s the latter.
The International Hunter Association, abbreviated as "IH," is a global cooperation body.
When a mber country faces a crisis, Hunters from affiliated countries are dispatched to help, fostering mutual support... well, that’s the ideal, but as expected when humans co together, they end up fighting over power to protect their own rights, a common sight in any human organization.
The reason the IH gained so much power was that they began to use Dungeon byproducts to craft items, making the value of these Dungeon byproducts skyrocket.
New tals, plants, and animals—resources that could not be obtained from Earth—began flowing into the planet, and paradoxically, Earth’s resources beca more abundant thanks to invaders from other realms.
The lting of the Arctic ice caps raised sea levels, power plants built to lower electricity costs exploded, dispersing radiation in the sea, and the pollution from machinery designed to reduce labor costs worsened the air, making natural resources scarce. The dungeons were a completely new world that erged, full of unexpected treasures.
And the Hunters, in essence, were like miners, harvesting resources from this new world.
As the value of the Dungeon byproducts increased, so did the value of the Hunters who could bring them in, and naturally, the power of the Hunter Association grew.
Today, I had been summoned by the Hunter Managent Bureau.
The massive building of the Central Hunter Managent Bureau in Gwanghwamun.
I was supposed to head to the office on the 13th floor.
When I entered, I was surprised to see a lot of people. Hunters around my age were bustling around.
To be honest, when I heard it was the central bureau, I thought there would be separate staff just for S-rank Hunters, but when I arrived, I realized how absurd that imagination was.
"Excuse ..."
"Ah, yes. Please first go fill out the paperwork."
A stern-faced woman wearing glasses, sitting behind a glass window, barked at without even looking up. Her tone felt more aggressive than stiff. It seed like she was tired of the crowds in the office.
"..."
Well, it wasn’t unfamiliar. The staff at the community center, who would occasionally deal with welfare or living issues for people like Jung Da-jeong, often acted like that. There are kind people, but public servants who have no protective barriers from low wages and strange complaints always act like this.
I went to get the paperwork placed in the center of the office, muttering under my breath.
"I thought an S-rank Hunter would get better treatnt."
"It’s actually the opposite."
Yoo Han-ul chuckled.
"Once you register as a Hunter, you have a 39-month mandatory service, and after that, it’s very rare for an S-rank Hunter to stay with the governnt. No matter how well they treat you, you're going to leave anyway, so the governnt’s basic stance is to milk you for everything while they have you."
It was a sharp analysis, just like his previous comnt about how having a sharp sense of reality is an important talent.
"If you don't serve the 39 months of mandatory service..."
"Well, any country that’s part of the IH won’t accept that Hunter. This is a global rule that’s given to all Hunters as a basic obligation. Ah, China might accept them, but I wouldn’t recomnd it."
"Why?"
"Well, China actively accepts B-rank Hunters and offers high prices. If you’re S-rank, they’ll probably co running barefoot. But the problem is, once you go to China, communication usually stops. In fact, several Hunters who went to China for high prices about four years ago completely lost contact."
"That's... unsettling."
No matter where you escape, there's no utopia, and in the end, you have to belong to the governnt and serve your 39 months without a way out.
So, of course, the governnt isn’t going to set up special offices or centers for soone who’ll only work for 39 months.
Even if they wanted to give special treatnt to S-rank Hunters, they'd need a budget and staff for that.
In a country that has developed by grinding through manpower instead of resources, this is a typical way of handling things.
"Even the reception desk at the central bureau is the sa. They hire few people, but handle all sorts of requests related to Hunters—registration, allowances, and other paperwork. It’s no wonder the staff is always on edge. And the most important thing is..."
"The most important thing?"
"Low wages."
A sigh escaped .
In a country where even the term ‘financial therapy’ exists because of its money-first ntality, dealing with low wages... was a real punch to the gut.
"Most people don’t want to work here, so they shove new hires in."
"Sounds like just a Hunter's version of a community center."
"Yeah, that’s exactly what it is. But, at least I ca with you. If it gets too much, I’ll put in a complaint for you."
"Honestly, I don’t really want to file a complaint..."
Judging by her deanor, she clearly wasn’t soone with magical circuits developed, and handling a Hunter would be tough for an average person. Hunters, by default, are physically enhanced and used to violence, so their behavior outside of dungeons can be rough too. Being rude to the custors is almost like a defense chanism for her.
After finishing the paperwork, the tired-looking woman snatched the papers from , quickly skimd them, and then checked my face and ID.
Her sharp gaze softened just a bit.
"Ah, Jung Da-on... you're a Hunter. I heard you were coming today."
Her tone was a bit kinder now.
"Here, here. You see the empty space? Please fill it out and submit it."
The form I had to fill out was very simple. I just had to fill in my personal information and address, and then I received the training schedule docunt.
Now, from today, I would have a leash attached to for the next 39 months.
Written in large letters on the docunt was:
‘As a National Certified Hunter, Class 18.’
The only part I liked was the pronunciation of that number.
Another group is now holding my leash besides the system. It suddenly made feel down. If the demons I know found out about this, they’d probably laugh at . Of course, there are so who would enjoy it, but...
As I quickly processed everything, I could feel the eyes of everyone in the office on .
"That’s her, right? Jung Da-on."
"She doesn’t look that great in person."
"Lee Pyeong-hwa looks way better, seriously."
"S-rank, huh? Must be nice..."
As expected, I was prepared for the attention. Today, as I was officially registering as a Hunter after the Awakened Ability Test, all the prospective Hunters from the Seoul area were bound to be here too.
I expected that so of the attention wouldn’t exactly be friendly.
Students who took the college entrance exam also took the ability test on the sa day, and I was the only one who received the potential S-rank rating nationwide this year.
While regular people might not know, I expected to receive envious glances from the prospective Hunters.
I received all sorts of disparaging glances as I submitted my papers. I didn’t react, but Yoo Han-ul, standing next to , seed uncomfortable and subtly shielded with his body.
Of course, it didn’t really help.
In fact, the mocking comnts only intensified.
"Wow, being S-rank really is sothing. Yoo Han-ul’s even personally escorting her."
"Do you think it’s because she’s S-rank? Probably just because she’s a woman. Must be nice."
"I’m so jealous, so jealous~."
"I should’ve been born a woman, too."
I turned my head.
"Who just said that?"
As soon as I spoke, the mood in the office turned cold.
I wasn’t asking because I didn’t know. The person who had spoken looked wide-eyed, clearly not expecting to respond.
"What... what do you an?"
"Was that you talking just now?"
"Uh... um..."
"Your na?"
"W-why do you want to know?"
The guy looked like a typical, unremarkable young man. Probably my age. He was short, almost at eye level with . He seed like the kind of person who had bullied at school for being inferior academically.
It was obvious.
I must have seed weak and small to him, so he probably thought I wouldn’t retaliate right away. And, of course, it seed like the group of them were enjoying themselves, mocking .
Why do humans always try to assert dominance over the weaker ones?
And why do they think they’re superior just because they’ve banded together?
This was really proof that humans are the sa everywhere.
I was tired of it.
"Da-on."
Yoo Han-ul called my na in a calm voice from behind.
"In a dungeon, against monsters, using your Hunter abilities is fine, but using them here will get you punished."
I could see the relief on the guy’s face in front of .
He must have thought Yoo Han-ul was on his side.
"R-right, if you ss with , you’ll be punished more..."
"Yeah, from today, your mandatory service starts. If you use violence and end up in detention, your service period will just be extended, you know?"
Whoosh!
A bright fla erupted from my finger. The magical fire filled the air of the office.
"So what?"
Facing the trembling eyes, a strange thrill surged through .
Ah, this feeling.
The one I had to suppress for 19 years because of Jung Da-jeong—pressuring and making the weaker ones submit.
"Guess I’ll just add another three months to my service."
But in reality, patience wasn’t a virtue a demon should have.
"Hiiiii!"
The little guy in front of recoiled in fear as the fire ca closer.
They thought all Hunters were the sa, but this little one was in for a surprise.
Quest, ‘You Will Be Blessed If You Do Good Deeds¿’ is in progress.
The system leaves the judgnt of ‘Jung Da-on’s’ actions to the social mbers.
Calculating results...
A system ssage appeared, but I wasn’t overly worried.
Just like before, as long as I didn’t kill him, it wouldn’t be a big issue.
Since my magic had already spread across the country in videos, even hitting him would bring up complaints about it. The debate would probably end up being split.
‘It wouldn’t be bad to test how much my stats drop if the opposition is stronger.’
I hadn’t raised my stats much yet, so it wouldn’t hurt to experint a bit.
And I was curious how Yoo Han-ul would react to seeing act like this.
There were a lot of calculations running through my head, but of course, anger was the most pressing.
What? Just because I’m a woman, I get special treatnt?
Maybe I should just tear it off, for real.
"Say that one more ti."
Standing face to face, our eye levels were similar. The guy, completely overwheld, took a step back.
"No, I... I didn’t an...!"
Looking at him sideways, Yoo Han-ul stood there, arms crossed, watching but not intervening.
Is he avoiding getting involved in the fight between juniors?
Well, when you think about it, this issue was between the newer batch of candidates. No matter how nice Yoo Han-ul is, he wouldn’t interfere in such matters. It’s only natural that conflicts arise in any group.
In that sense, this was sothing I had to deal with.
After all, I’d be spending the next 39 months with the others who took the ability test this year.
So it would be better to establish my position now. I had no intention of being looked down on for the rest of the ti.
The first step was crucial.
“W-wait, I didn’t an…”
It seed like the guy was already thoroughly intimidated, but I wasn’t about to let him off the hook that easily.
I clenched my fist.
“Keep running your mouth and see what happens…”
“Is there a problem here?”
The voice from behind sent a chill down my spine.
I hadn’t sensed anyone coming close, so when I turned around in surprise, a finger jabbed into my cheek.
What?
“I heard a new S-rank Hunter showed up, so I ca to check it out.”
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