Chapter 284 – Part 2 – Yang Jo-young’s Proposal

‘Why did Yang Jo-young call for me?’

Since it was an unexpected summons from someone he hadn’t anticipated, Seong-min’s mind couldn’t help but become complicated.

‘I don’t know if this is a good thing or a bad thing.’

Either way, one thing was certain.

That those above were paying attention to him.

Knock knock-

“Hunter Yang Jo-young, sir. I’ve brought the trainee you requested.”

“Come in.”

When the instructor opened the office door, Yang Jo-young greeted Seong-min with a grin.

“So you’re the one? The guy they call this batch’s elite.”

“My name is Seong-min.”

When Seong-min bowed his head politely, Yang Jo-young burst into pleased laughter.

“Haha, now that you’re no longer a commoner, is it proper to introduce yourself with just your first name? You should introduce yourself with your surname too – Choi Seong-min.”

‘Seeing that he knows my surname, he must have investigated me to some degree.’

If he investigated an F-rank trainee to this extent, he must have definitely caught his interest.

Choi Seong-min inwardly relaxed.

Looking at the atmosphere, it didn’t seem like he was called for something bad.

“Looking at the rankings, you were just promoted to E-rank a little while ago.”

“That’s correct.”

“E-rank in just one week… Do you have an S-rank trait or something?”

“Yes.”

“No hesitation in your answer? That must have been a difficult question.”

“I’m not bold enough to lie in front of a Hunter like yourself.”

“But the Hunter Management Center where you work knows it as an F-rank trait. Which is the truth?”

“That’s…”

Seong-min, who had been hesitating, confessed as if he had no choice.

“I lied to the Center saying it was F-rank.”

“Why?”

“At the time, there was a senior who was bullying me, and I was worried that if I said it was S-rank, he might get jealous and bully me even more, so I downplayed it as F-rank.”

“Hmm… So there was such a reason. Is that bullying senior still working at the Center?”

“No. I understand he went missing a few weeks ago.”

“What’s his name?”

“Nam-gi. Oh Nam-gi…”

Yang Jo-young, who had been checking the ranking system for a moment, chuckled.

“He’s not missing but dead, it seems. He doesn’t show up in the search.”

“Ah…”

“Good riddance. I was going to kill him myself.”

“…”

From that statement, Choi Seong-min realized.

‘Yang Jo-young wants me.’

The reason he had specifically called him to his office.

“Anyway, since you’ve become E-rank, you’ll be discharged early when dawn breaks. How do you feel about that?”

“Um… I feel a bit bewildered.”

“You might not know this, but being discharged isn’t the end. It’s just the beginning.”

Choi Seong-min had an intuition.

That Yang Jo-young was gradually getting to the main point.

“If you want to make a living as a Hunter, you’ll inevitably have to go through dungeons. And to enter dungeons, you absolutely must have a team.”

The dungeons in this world were essentially government property.

Therefore, to use them, you had to belong to an authorized team.

If you tried to enter alone or trespassed without permission, you would immediately become subject to punishment.

“Since you belong to the Center, you’ll probably have to join a team created by them. A team that just gathers random nobodies.”

This was exactly why the Center secured Hunters.

To form teams to enter dungeons when situations like this arose.

“Teams made by such places are obvious. They won’t have good teamwork and hunting efficiency will be poor. They’ll give you a stingy ratio and work you like commoners.”

“…”

“I think it’s such a waste for a talent like you to rot in such a place. So I’m saying I’ll specially put you in a team I created.”

“You have… a team?”

“Of course I do. It’s an E-rank team I created as soon as dungeons opened, and I’ve gathered only elites like you, so it should suit your level. You’ll be able to hunt efficiently too. Most importantly, our team has a high ratio. Other teams are 2:8, but ours gives 3:7. Ah, you know about the ratio system, right?”

“Yes.”

The ratio system referred to sharing the sales proceeds of items obtained in dungeons with the government at a certain ratio according to rank.

‘What a highway robbery system.’

For example, if you obtained items worth 10 million won in a dungeon and the ratio was 2:8, the government would take the items and only give the acquirer 2 million won.

In short, it was a system created for the country to rake in money.

‘They say they take a portion of the revenue earned from dungeons since dungeons are national property, but…’

In reality, it was nothing but exploitation to fill the bellies of the 8 Heroes ruling the continent.

‘They say the ratio goes up according to rank, but even so, E-ranks can only take 20%…’

Still, no Hunter avoided dungeons.

Even taking only 20% was dozens of times more profitable than what they earned as commoners.

“How about it? 3:7 is a good condition, right? Your original 20% share increases to 30%.”

“It does seem like a really good condition.”

“Then you’ve decided to join our team?”

“I’d be grateful for that, but I’m tied to the Center…”

“I’ll talk to the Center, so you don’t need to come to work anymore.”

Certainly, Yang Jo-young’s private team with a higher ratio would be better than the Center.

“Thank you. I’ll work hard.”

“Good, good.”

‘I didn’t expect to escape from the Center and end up under Yang Jo-young.’

For Choi Seong-min, it wasn’t a bad proposal.

‘No, it’s not a proposal but a notification. I didn’t have a choice from the beginning.’

If he had refused the proposal, he would have been bullied continuously.

‘In the worst case, he might have died without anyone knowing.’

Yang Jo-young had more than enough power to do that.

That’s why Choi Seong-min was bowing his head.

In a world where those with power were the authority.

‘Until I build up my strength, it’s better to play along with their tune.’

Bowing his head wasn’t difficult.

“I’m in a good mood from getting a new team member. This is the first time I’m seeing you, but I like you.”

Yang Jo-young, who had been laughing happily, took something out of his inventory.

“Take this.”

“What is this?”

“It’s a gift to commemorate joining the team.”

What Yang Jo-young gave him was a ring.

[Ring of Acceleration]

-Category: Ring

-Rank: E

-Effect: Agility +12, Attack Speed +10%

-Durability: 1,200/1,200

-Usage Restriction: E-rank or higher

-Description: Allows you to cut down enemies faster.

“Your main weapon is a dagger, right? This is a ring I’ve been keeping because I didn’t have time to sell it, but it seems like it would suit you.”

“Th-thank you.”

Choi Seong-min looked bewildered.

It was an unexpected gift he hadn’t anticipated.

‘The options are quite good for an E-rank ring.’

The ring he had purchased only gave +11 Agility, but this one not only had 1 more Agility but also had an additional Attack Speed option.

‘Fast attack speed is essential for assassins.’

Fast attack speed had many advantages, but the best thing was that it made it easier to deal with sudden situations.

‘If an enemy’s counter comes in while attacking, you’d normally have to take it, but if your attack speed is fast, that risk decreases. You can respond immediately.’

This was why assassins insisted on fast daggers.

You couldn’t properly utilize the advantages of agility while holding a heavy hammer.

‘To give this level of bribe to a mere E-rank Hunter like me. He must really want to pull me into his people.’

He didn’t know what they planned to do by supporting and raising him, but for Choi Seong-min, there was nothing bad about it.

“Thank you again for giving me such a precious item, Hunter.”

“Yeah. I’m giving it to you to work hard.”

“I’ll do my best to meet your expectations.”

Choi Seong-min bowed his head.

As long as it helped with growth, he could play along with these kinds of tunes as much as needed.

---

When morning came, Seong-min held a simple discharge ceremony and got in the vehicle.

Receiving envious looks from other trainees.

“By Hunter Yang Jo-young’s orders, I’m personally taking you home. No complaints, right?”

“Complaints? I’m just grateful.”

Seeing Instructor Park Chang-seok personally take the wheel, a saying came to mind.

‘This is why they say people need to ride the right lines.’

Now Choi Seong-min had truly become Yang Jo-young’s person.

‘I don’t know how influential Yang Jo-young is from above, but having him as backing won’t be bad.’

Park Chang-seok seemed to think the same, as he said during the ride home that it was good that he caught Yang Jo-young’s attention.

“You’re quite lucky. To join Hunter Yang Jo-young’s team. They haven’t really been active yet, but who knows, it’s probably a team that gathered only elites. In such a place, you’ll have a lot to learn and can grow much faster.”

“I’m really looking forward to what kind of team it will be.”

“At least you won’t be looked down upon for being a commoner. You’re now of the same status as merchants.”

“Is that so?”

“Your family will be really happy when they find out. Thanks to having a good son, they’ve all risen in status together. Now all that’s left is to succeed as a Hunter.”

“Haha… I’ll work hard.”

While chatting with the instructor like this, they arrived in front of his house.

“Trainee Seong-min. No, I should call you Hunter Choi Seong-min now. Good work for a week. Let’s see each other again if there’s occasion. I’m also Yang Jo-young Hunter’s person, so we’ll probably see each other occasionally.”

“Yes, Instructor. Thank you for everything. Take care.”

Only after the instructor disappeared did Choi Seong-min go down the stairs and open the door to the semi-basement.

“I’m home.”

“Oh, Seong-min!”

“Oppa!”

The mother and daughter greeted Choi Seong-min with faces mixed with joy and worry.

It was a family reunion after a week.

“Did you all do well? It was only a week, but still.”

“We’re more worried about you than us. Being dragged away so suddenly, do you know how worried we were?”

“Oppa, are you okay? I heard you went into the mountains somewhere for training?”

“You know well.”

“I heard from people at the company. Not just oppa, but F-rank Hunters from the entire continent were taken.”

“I heard you can only come out when you become E-rank. What happened? Did you come out on temporary leave?”

Since the family members weren’t Hunters, they couldn’t check the ranking system and didn’t know that Choi Seong-min had become E-rank.

“It’s not leave, I was discharged.”

“Discharged?”

“I was promoted to E-rank this time.”

At those words, the family’s eyes widened.

“You already became E-rank?”

“Oppa, it’s only been a week. I heard it takes at least a month even at the fastest?”

“Depending on skill, you can rise in just a week.”

“Wait, Seong-min. Then…”

The family knew what being promoted to E-rank meant.

“Does this mean our family has escaped commoner status?”

“Yes. Now you can use surnames in front of people. Ms. Jeong Hee-seon.”

“Really, oppa? Can I now be called Choi A-yeon too?”

“Of course. Not only that, but you don’t have to go to work starting tomorrow. Only commoners are obligated to work. Mother, you don’t have to go to the restaurant either. I’ll earn the money.”

“How can a mother let her son suffer alone? I can’t just sit around, so I’ll continue working.”

“You really don’t need to…”

“Oppa, we’re going to save money to buy a house first, right? Then I’ll keep working too. I want to contribute even a little.”

“…”

Considering the money he would earn in the future and the emergency funds hidden in the house, there was no need for the two to suffer.

‘But they probably won’t listen if I just tell them, so it would be better to move quickly…’

But moving immediately might raise suspicion from those around them.

Since they supposedly had no money on the surface.

“Then please endure for about a month. After that, we’ll move.”

“Alright.”

“Tell your workplaces that your status rose because there’s a Hunter in the family. If they ask which Hunter, give them my name. Then they’ll pay you 4 times higher hourly wages than when you were commoners.”

“Oppa, when do you start your Hunter life?”

“Starting tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?”

“What about your job?”

“I don’t need to go to work. I found a good team. Ah.”

Choi Seong-min corrected himself.

“Whether it’s good or not, I’ll have to see for myself.”