At my words, Yoon Seong-hyeon hesitated for a moment, then scratched his head and spoke.
"You're not an academy graduate, right? I'll explain it simply. The ranks of company-affiliated hunters are usually divided into three: Junior, Senior, and Partner."
A hunter who has just joined becomes a Junior, and after gaining some experience, they move up to Senior.
Both Juniors and Seniors belong to teams led by a Partner hunter and receive a salary, so in essence, they're fundamentally the same rank.
Juniors and Seniors receive a fixed annual salary from the company, along with additional incentives depending on various contract conditions.
"Partner hunters don't receive a salary. Instead, they hold company shares and split the company's net profits."
Partner hunters operate independently, securing requests from the government or corporations for corrosion-zone exploration and core removal. They either move together with the Juniors and Seniors under their command, or dispatch them to carry out these missions.
As I listened, an involuntary sound escaped my mouth.
"That's basically just like lawyers…."
"Yeah. I heard the hunter who originally founded the company modeled it after a law firm. Of course, it's not exactly the same."
Come to think of it, lawyers who take on cases and hunters who take on requests do feel somewhat similar.
Then hunters who aren't affiliated with any company would be like solo practitioners.
After pondering for a moment, I came to a conclusion.
"Thank you for the offer. But I'd like to think it over a bit more before deciding."
Yoon Seong-hyeon chuckled and replied.
"What, did you think I was going to ask you to sign in blood right here?"
After speaking, he placed both hands firmly on my shoulders and met my gaze.
"But you'll need to choose carefully."
Was he here to recruit me, or to warn me? In the momentarily tense atmosphere, all I could do was smile.
"Yes. I'll do that."
I didn't like this kind of mood. There was no way I'd be joining Taebaek.
After Yoon Seong-hyeon left, I decided to hear what the Jannabi side had to say as well, and contacted Lee Se-eun.
— I'm at the cabin on the second floor of the association building. I'll send you the location.
That reply came, and the call ended immediately. I headed straight to the place Lee Se-eun had indicated.
The "cabin" wasn't an actual cabin, but the name of a café. I'd heard it had around 280 branches worldwide. The main branch was supposedly in Ikseon-dong.
As I approached the entrance, a staff member stopped me.
"Hello. I'm sorry, but entry to Odumak is limited to members and up to three guests."
"Hunter Lee Se-eun told me to come here."
At the mention of Lee Se-eun's name, the staff member looked momentarily startled. After checking something briefly, they nodded.
"Confirmed. I'll guide you to your seat."
As I followed them, I spotted Lee Se-eun sitting there, sipping an iced chocolate noisily through a straw.
"Sit."
"As you said, only one person came to see me."
"Yoon Seong-hyeon from Taebaek. Nothing worth seeing. Once Taebaek sets its sights on someone, the smaller guys back off on their own."
"But Jannabi should be different, shouldn't it?"
From what I knew, they weren't inferior to Taebaek in either reputation or ability. At my words, Lee Se-eun let out a small "Hm?" and then laughed.
"I don't plan on recruiting you."
"…What?"
What was that supposed to mean? She'd come here to evaluate hunters for recruitment, hadn't she? Had I misunderstood something?
"How about not joining any company and going solo? Freelance, I mean."
"That's not what I was expecting to hear, but… I'll listen for now."
At my response, Lee Se-eun interlaced her fingers, looked straight at me, and said:
"You were offered a Junior position, right?"
"Yes, from what I've heard, it's pretty similar to a law firm."
At my words, Lee Se-eun nodded and made a thoughtful "hmm" sound.
"You don't have to belong to a company and go through the Junior and Senior stages to become a Partner hunter."
After thinking for a moment, I let out an "Ah."
"I get it. If you become famous and build up results that people can't argue with."
As the thought clicked into place, Lee Se-eun rummaged through her pocket again and held out a piece of candy. What was this about? Was she trying to assassinate me by giving me diabetes?
Still, a gift is a gift, so I took it.
"Juniors and Seniors are salaried workers. And at those ranks, you're always assigned to a team under a Partner hunter, taking orders and working—so your autonomy is limited."
"That part did bother me."
Lee Se-eun continued with a grin.
"That's why I'm giving you advice. For now, don't join a company. Take requests on your own and work independently."
I made an awkward expression. I did feel like she was genuinely advising me, but no matter how I thought about it, it didn't make sense.
Don't join a company—work alone?
"If I work alone, where do I even get jobs from?"
It was a matter of credibility. No matter how good an impression I'd made here, without connections or experience, it would be hard for someone like me to receive proper commissions.
At my words, Lee Se-eun poked her own chest with her thumb.
"I'll build the bridge for you—for free. If you successfully handle just a few of the jobs you get through my help, requests will start flooding in after that."
"I don't understand why you're willing to help me this much."
Lee Se-eun replied,
"If in the future you build enough achievements and fame to be worth recruiting as a Partner hunter… just remember, 'Ah, there was a place called Jannabi too,' okay?"
"You're thinking far ahead. Sounds like you're planting a debt."
Stirring her iced chocolate with the straw, Lee Se-eun answered,
"This world needs outstanding hunters. I don't think they all have to belong to Jannabi. Now or in the future, if you don't want to join, I won't force you."
"Do you also do volunteer work in your spare time?"
Listening to her now, she almost sounded like a volunteer addict. At my words, Lee Se-eun snorted and replied coldly,
"Hunting isn't something you do at senior centers or orphanages. Hunters are more useful to the world on the battlefield. I do make donations, though. I'm busy—lots of money, no time to spend it."
With an answer like that, there was nothing I could say.
"Thank you for the advice. To be honest, I think acting independently will suit me better anyway."
After spending the past forty-five years working under someone else and following orders for a paycheck, that kind of life just doesn't fit me anymore. It's a set of clothes that no longer suits me.
"Good. Wait a moment."
After saying that, Lee Se-eun made a phone call and rummaged through her bag, pulling out some documents. After about five minutes on the call, she slid the papers over to me.
"What's this?"
"An Incheon City commission. There's a place called Gyodong Island. Two years ago, they failed to eliminate the Corrosion Core, and a corrosion zone formed."
"So I just go and eliminate the Corrosion Core?"
At my question, Lee Se-eun looked at me as if I were adorable and said,
"Eliminate the core… you're enthusiastic. The original core of Gyodong Island—the Alpha—hasn't been graded yet."
Corrosion Cores are divided into four categories: Grade 1, Grade 2, Grade 3, and Ungraded.
In addition, the first core to appear in a specific area is given the additional title of "Alpha."
"Considering that corrosion cores grow stronger over time, the area around the Alpha core is always the most dangerous."
I nodded at Lee Se-eun's explanation. That made sense. I turned my gaze back to the documents.
The request from Incheon City was to patrol Gyodong Island and identify and eliminate any newly emerged corrosion cores. As I reviewed the paperwork, Lee Se-eun continued,
"They did a cleanup once three months ago, so even if new cores appear, they'll probably still be ungraded."
According to the documents, Incheon City was requesting seventy-two hunters. The fee was a 500 advance payment, with an additional 1,500 upon success. The plan was a one-week patrol of Gyodong Island.
The operation would begin one month from today.
Earning 2,000 for a week of work would certainly ease my financial worries for a while—but still.
"Considering it's a life-and-death job, I wouldn't say the pay is that great."
"It's a government commission. But you also get the added bonus of building a relationship with Incheon City Hall, right?"
From the sound of it, that was exactly what smaller hunters were aiming for when they worked hard to secure government jobs.
"One month from now…"
There was plenty of time. After finishing her drink in one long sip, Lee Se-eun stood up.
"And even among independent hunters, there are plenty who are more famous than those affiliated with companies."
According to Lee Se-eun, there were plenty of requests that needed a single tank stronger than thousands of soldiers.
"And if there's a job too big for one company to handle, they recruit additional personnel."
In other words, even as a solo hunter, there would still be opportunities to collaborate with others.
"There'll be differences in how I'm treated."
At my words, Lee Se-eun replied while putting on her coat.
"Then get stronger. Get famous. To the point where people would consider it an honor to work with you—and where you could even be used as promotional material for a company. If you reach that level, you won't face that kind of discrimination."
"Thank you for the advice."
I still had a month of leeway before officially starting my work as a hunter.
"Come to think of it, it looked like there were training facilities where hunters could stay inside the association building."
"They're probably all taken. Want one?"
At her words, I shook my head.
"I don't want to take away a training space other people are using."
"It's one that the association assigned to me. I have to go back to Cheorwon anyway, so it's vacant."
On top of that, it seemed the association had only allocated it to her for appearances' sake. Lee Se-eun herself hardly ever used association facilities.
"Then I'll gratefully use it."
Lee Se-eun manipulated her smartphone and transferred the usage rights for the vacant space to me through an app.
That was the end of our meeting.
After parting ways with Yoo Chan-seok, the person Lee Se-eun contacted immediately was another Partner hunter—the team leader of Team One, effectively the origin of Jannabi.
Kang Hoon. A man contracted with the South Korean government, currently holding back monsters coming out of the corrosion zone beyond Paju and eliminating corrosion cores.
—Did you find anyone decent?
"Not just decent. His name's Yoo Chan-seok."
As she drove back to her operational area, Lee Se-eun reported what had happened to Kang Hoon.
—He held out for over four hours. That's impressive.
"'Impressive' doesn't quite cover it. If you really want to see his true worth, you'd have to fight him. That guy."
Lee Se-eun still hadn't shaken off the mild shock.
Taking a single step that produced the effect of running ten steps. Swinging a spear once with the impact of ten thrusts.
There were no meaningless movements, no exchanges without purpose. And above all, those black flames.
Even now, Lee Se-eun couldn't properly analyze what they were or what effects they had.
—That good? Still, you must've limited your strength, right?
"Boss, I've been a hunter for ten years. Ten years of surviving by deliberately throwing myself into hellish places."
Even if they limited their power to the same level, their real combat experience and accumulated knowledge could never be equal.
"I'm the one who should be playing around. Four hours? Unbelievable."
If she had sparred under equal conditions with that academy graduate girl Kang Hoon had said showed some promise, she was confident she could've taken her down in under a minute.
—If he rises to your level, what do you think would happen?
"This might sound unpleasant… but if Yoo Chan-seok reaches my level, he could even cut short your lifespan, Boss."