Chapter 18

Do Yehyun’s face showed clear confusion. It wasn’t like I’d claimed to be S-rank—I’d said F-rank. And he still didn’t believe me? Do I really give off that untrustworthy of an impression? A laugh slipped out before I swallowed it down. Yehyun flinched and looked at me.

I stepped closer.

"You’re suspicious, huh."

"...Sorry."

"No, suspicion’s better. Beats getting stabbed in the back. If there’s something you don’t know, ask. I’ll answer everything. And yes, I really will pay off your debt."

"Eight hundred sixty million is too much... And if you give that money to the guild on my behalf, then I..."

The same refrain, over and over.

So it was just guilt. Instead of wasting energy feeling sorry and ashamed, he should be worrying about surviving. I pictured the hazy silhouette of Im Haekyung.

The first time I saw Yehyun, I even considered killing him and stealing his skills. Honestly, that was still Plan B. I smiled faintly at him.

"Then I’ll just take it back later."

"...What?"

"I’ll pay it off first. Then later, we’ll go get it back."

"How...?"

"Train hard. Grow your skills. Until you’re strong enough to beat that bastard down."

"...But he’s a C-rank hunter."

"Don’t call me 'ajusshi,' it’s creepy. Just call me bastard instead. And so what if he’s C-rank? Seowon you met today was B-rank, and you almost smashed his skull in."

Yehyun fell quiet instantly. Guess he was remembering how close he came to caving Seowon’s head earlier.

C-rank hunter? With the right skills and items piled on, beating one and taking their money isn’t hard. ...Or rather, it wouldn’t be once I made it that way.

His eyes wavered. Yeah, he wanted to believe me. After all, I’d just handed him a way out of debt, a chance at revenge, and a future without crawling back to the guild.

Less guilt. A clear goal.

"Think about it. For now, just get some sleep."

Not that it was early—it was already late as hell. Smiling lightly, I shut the door again.

His Status Window lingered outside for a good twenty minutes before it finally faded.

***

I let myself sleep in an hour later than usual. Body still stiff, fatigue heavy. But I hated breaking my routine, so I dragged myself down to the hotel gym first thing.

After a quick workout and shower, I came back to find Yehyun’s bedroom still shut. By nine, I gave up waiting and knocked.

"Yehyun. Open up."

"...Yes?"

Still half-asleep, he shuffled out. I got him ready, then prepared myself. First stop today: real estate.

If my apartment hadn’t been destroyed, I wouldn’t need this hassle. Then again, training at home would be cramped—better to get something bigger anyway.

'Yeah, think positive.'

I whispered to Yehyun as we toured houses with the realtor, his eyes still glazed with sleep.

"Keep your eyes open and pick whichever you like best."

"Me?"

"Yeah. You’re living there too. Unless you want your own place? But this’ll be easier."

I planned to give both Seowon and Yehyun their own rooms. Too much effort to monitor them separately if they lived apart.

"I... don’t really know how to judge houses."

"Just go by looks. I’ll handle the rest."

He followed the realtor like it was some mission I’d assigned, diligently inspecting each property. Kind of funny, considering within the conditions I’d already set, they were all basically the same.

"Um... Hunter-nim, do you care more about sunlight? This place is so big the heating bill might be high..."

Not like he’d be paying it. But I nodded anyway.

"Yeah. Find something cost-effective."

Whether the utility bill was a hundred or ninety-nine, what difference did it make?

But really, was he planning on clinging to that shitty title forever? He knew my name. Yet every time, Hunter-nim. Creepy.

In the end, we went with a detached house on the outskirts—the one he thought looked best. Houses were a pain to maintain, but since it was his choice, I didn’t argue.

As we signed the same-day contract, Yehyun didn’t look all that happy despite being the one who picked it.

"Thank you. I’ll contact you later."

"Yes~! Thank you very much. Enjoy your new home!"

At least with a house secured, I felt a bit more settled. Ryu Taeyoung had mentioned government compensation—wonder how much it’d be. Probably not significant.

"You must have... a lot of money, Hunter-nim."

That was after seeing me drop the deposit. I shrugged.

"Not little, at least."

Whether that money meant anything in this wrecked economy was another question. Still, enough to get by for now.

Next priority: recruit a magi-engineer.

Magi-engineering. A field born after the Gates, interpreting mana from an engineering perspective. It was thanks to magi-engineering that dungeon mana stones could even be processed and used.

But more importantly, I wanted one for myself. It overlapped with my old field, after all.

'It’s easier to approach mana scientifically than 'feel it out.''

For the talented, intuition worked. For me, a more academic approach made sense. I’d already skimmed some papers that morning. Aside from the incomprehensible mana-specific parts, it was basically just my major plus some extras.

And really, I preferred handling my own materials. Even if someone was "trustworthy," there were always limits.

Of course, I couldn’t just start from scratch. Kwon Taehan never touched magi-engineering in the novel—the story was all dungeon clears. S-rank dungeon, clear. A-rank dungeon, clear. Rinse, repeat.

Still, there was one person worth noting.

'Neo Core’s Sung Eunha.'

The current Big Five guilds were Haeseong, Damyeon, Neo Core, Cape Prime, and Clavis. In order: Haeseong, Damyeon... then some debate over whether Cape or Neo ranked higher, but usually Cape, then Neo, then Clavis.

I remembered the forum threads I’d read last night.

Hunter Board | Best Posts

Title | Rank the Five Big Guilds

Haeseong

Damyeon

Neo Core

Clavis

Cape Prime

"So what’s the real order?"

Comments

— Ha > Dam > Cape > Neo > Clavis

└ Bullshit. After Neo got Sung Eunha, Cape’s nothing. They’re on par with Dam.

└ Exactly. Ha > Dam > Neo >> Cape > Clavis.

└ Nah, Neo only rose ’cause of Ahn Hyeri’s enchant buffs and grinding their researchers to death to monopolize top gear. Pure combat power? They can’t touch Cape.

— Nah, Ha > Dam > Cape = Neo > Clavis. Neo’s only equal to Cape now.

└ As if. You sound like Neo kicked your ass, lol.

— Honestly, aside from Haeseong, the rest are all about the same.

└ That’s pushing it. Dam’s on another level.

— And Haeseong’s only top-tier in Korea. Overseas, they’re trash-tier.

└ Trash-tier? The fact is, no one rivals Im Haekyung among mental types.

└ Mental types are inherently nerfed. Once hit, they can’t defend and they die.

Hunter/Dungeon | HOT Threads

[Notice] 『Notice Violation』 Excessive guild shilling prohibited.

[Discussion] ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) Doesn’t Neo Core feel like it’s on a weird path?

— They’re not aggressively recruiting like Haeseong or Damyeon.

— They’re not pushing frontliners like Clavis with Tae Hyunjin. (Sure, Haeseong has Im Haekyung, but their structure is solid.)

— Instead they’re boosting their hunters with enchanters and magi-engineers. Totally new approach, lol.

— Not saying it’s bad. Just unusual. Can’t think of many guilds worldwide doing this.

Comments (5)

— True lol, it’s interesting.

└ And yeah, they seem to value magi-engineers. That’s good.

└ But Sung Eunha doesn’t get treated that well, right? You barely see her at public events.

└ Yeah, but maybe she’s got private deals or something.

— Haeseong and Damyeon have brute-force guild masters. Guess Neo had to innovate to survive.

I’d only searched Haeseong, but other posts popped up. I skimmed three before giving up, but still got what I needed.

The timeline was about six months ahead of the novel, and sure enough, Neo Core already had Sung Eunha—a magi-engineer—and their position was climbing.

About a year from now, Neo Core would rocket to Korea’s #2 guild. The reason? Their signature combo of enchanters and magi-engineers.

By raw personnel, Neo Core wasn’t strong. But those two roles compensated, elevating the entire guild.

And the magi-engineer who’d make her name there was Sung Eunha, a prodigy even before Gates appeared. She’d led the field from the start.

But in Neo Core, her treatment wasn’t great. Probably because other researchers already had the real control. She was in a precarious position.

When you’re obsessed with research but support is shaky, even a rotten rope looks worth grabbing.

And I was ready to be the best rotten rope she’d ever find.

"Hunter-nim."

God, this shitty honorific again.

"How long are you going to keep calling me that? You know my name."

"You... want me to call you by name?"

What next, sweetheart? Of course by name.