Chapter 46 – Civil Servant Hunter

Government Hunter ‘Hunter Do Kyung-won?’

He was the government hunter from the Gongju branch, the man I saw when preventing a dungeon break three months ago.

‘I remembered his name since we met three months ago, but I didn’t expect to see him again in a place like this.’

Do Kyung-won approached and extended his hand. “Nice to meet you, Min Do-jun. We’ve met before, right?”

“Yes. You’re Hunter Do Kyung-won, aren’t you?”

“Haha, you even remember my name. That makes me feel good.”

Do Kyung-won naturally joined the table.

“This guy said he had met Do-jun before, and it was true?”

“See, senior? I told you we really knew each other.”

Min Do-jun looked at Hwang Eui-cheol as if asking what was going on.

“Ah, well. When I said I knew you, he asked me to arrange a meeting. So I thought I’d meet up to see your face too.”

As it turned out, Hwang Eui-cheol and Do Kyung-won were close senior and junior colleagues. Usually, the hunter industry doesn’t distinguish between seniors and juniors, but government hunters were an exception.

“Was it three months ago? This guy was making a fuss about a legendary hunter appearing, and I just went along with it, but it turns out he was talking about you, Do-jun.”

“At that time, when I said a level 150 hunter had taken down 80 werewolves alone, senior didn’t believe me. Moreover, when I said he was a magic swordsman, you got upset, didn’t you?”

“Do-jun, are you really a magic swordsman? I heard there was a video on YouTube and looked it up, but it’s hard to believe.”

“Yes. I am indeed a magic swordsman.”

Upon hearing Min Do-jun’s confirmation, Hwang Eui-cheol looked at him with curious eyes.

“In my 10 years, I’ve seen people attempt to become magic swordsmen, but never someone who succeeded. It seems you’ve managed it.”

“Do-jun is more than successful! It’s only been three months since then, and he’s already raised his level to 700.”

Feeling embarrassed by the effusive praise, Min Do-jun turned to Do Kyung-won and asked, “By the way, why did you want to meet me? Do you have something to say?”

Hunters don’t move without considering gains and losses. It’s unlikely he wanted to meet just because he was a fan.

“Actually, I wanted to make a scout offer.”

“A scout offer?”

“Kyung-won, is that why you came here?”

It seemed even Hwang Eui-cheol didn’t know. Do Kyung-won straightened his clothes and spoke in a serious tone.

“Min Do-jun, I’ll make a formal offer. Would you like to join our branch as a government hunter?”

“Hmm…”

Min Do-jun pondered. It wasn’t because the offer of being a government hunter was tempting.

‘Yang Seung-hyun. That guy was a government hunter.’

He was considering how to use this situation.

‘To contact Yang Seung-hyun, I’ll need the help of a government hunter…’

Originally, he had planned to casually bring it up when the time was right during a meeting with Hwang Eui-cheol. To create a connection with Yang Seung-hyun.

‘But if I approach first, I might be suspected when he dies later.’

It would look better if they invited Min Do-jun on their own. Less suspicious too.

‘It’s not time yet, but I can’t miss this opportunity.’

He had no intention of accepting the offer, of course. But he couldn’t flatly refuse either. He just needed to pretend to be interested. Like this:

“I thought government hunters had to take a qualification exam?”

“That’s usually the case, but when recruited by a branch, it can be exceptionally waived. However, only if certain conditions are met.”

“Conditions?”

“If you’ve achieved a notable accomplishment in the area the branch is responsible for, or if you’ve solo cleared a dungeon higher than your grade more than 30 times, or if you have skills equivalent to B-grade, you can pass without an exam. Of course, Do-jun, you meet all the conditions, so you can get a free pass.”

“Hmm…”

That meant he was more than qualified. But as Min Do-jun rested his chin on his hand, appearing to be in deep thought, Do Kyung-won saw his chance and started emphasizing the benefits.

“If you become a government hunter, you won’t have to hunt hard like now. You’ll get a steady salary from the government. And it’s not a small amount either.”

“How much is it?”

“It varies depending on grade and level, but in your case, it would be about 120 million won monthly. That’s over 1.4 billion won annually.”

It’s certainly not a small amount of money. But to Min Do-jun, it seemed far from enough.

‘I already have over 6 billion won in my account.’

It meant he had earned 6 billion won in 4 months, so the income of a government hunter naturally seemed low. Moreover, as his level increased, his future earnings would go up too. On the other hand, it’s difficult for government hunters to level up.

‘Personal hunting is prohibited during work hours.’

Due to the nature of the job that requires constant standby to prevent dungeon breaks, they couldn’t do personal hunting even if they had free time. Hunting could only be done after work hours or on days off.

‘That’s the biggest problem.’

Apart from money, Min Do-jun had no reason to become a government hunter as he needed to level up and become stronger as soon as possible. Nevertheless, Do Kyung-won seemed to think Min Do-jun was showing some interest and continued his passionate speech.

“The main duty of a government hunter is to reset the break time of dungeons that no one has attempted. But this only involves being deployed about twice a week, and most of the time is spent on standby, so it’s quite relaxed. In other words, it means you can earn money safely.”

He emphasized safety, but that also meant less income and slower leveling up. Although Min Do-jun knew these drawbacks, he didn’t bother to point them out. Instead, with a curious look, he asked about something he was interested in.

“How many government hunters are there nationwide?”

“Currently, about 500.”

“That’s not many, is it?”

“No. That’s why we sometimes get sent to other branches when they request support. We also have a communication network for exchanging opinions among ourselves.”

“Is that why you know the teacher even though you’re from different branches?”

“Well, not exactly… There’s a social gathering for government hunters, and I met and became close with the senior there.”

“Oh, they even have social gatherings…”

Hearing the seemingly envious voice, Do Kyung-won quickly took the bait.

“Actually, there’s a gathering this evening. Would you like to come along, Min Do-jun?”

“What? Me?”

“Yes. The reason I came all the way here from Gongju, taking two hours, is partly to see you, but also because of today’s gathering.”

Min Do-jun showed a surprised expression, but it was all an act.

‘He took the bait.’

He had magnificently taken the bait Min Do-jun had cast.

‘I already knew that government hunters had social gatherings.’

That’s why he had naturally guided the conversation to bring up the topic of gatherings.

‘But I didn’t expect there to be a gathering today.’

He had simply thrown out the bait to get information about the next gathering, but he got more than he expected.

‘But I don’t intend to participate in the gathering.’

Min Do-jun spoke in a cautious voice.

“Ah… But wouldn’t it be strange for me to join? I’m not even a government employee.”

“It’s fine. You’d be greeting them as a prospective government employee. If you feel uncomfortable, you can just show your face briefly.”

“Still, I don’t think it’s right for me to go. I haven’t even decided to become a government employee yet.”

“If you insist…”

Do Kyung-won clicked his tongue in disappointment at Min Do-jun’s refusal.

‘Tch… If he had said he’d come, I would have tried to persuade him somehow by getting him to sit down…’

Seeing his disappointed expression, Min Do-jun inwardly smirked.

‘Judging by his attitude, it wouldn’t have been easy to get out of it if I had said yes.’

He refused the gathering, but he achieved his goal. He found out when they hold their gatherings.

‘Now all that’s left is the location.’

Finding out the location was simple.

‘Aou, use tracking skill on Do Kyung-won.’

[Woof!]

He had the ghost wolf, which he had summoned earlier, sniff Do Kyung-won’s scent.

[The summon has used the tracking skill.]

[The summon has memorized the scent.]

[Tracking location in real-time.]

[Distance to target: 1m]

‘Now all that’s left is to secretly follow Do Kyung-won after we part ways this evening.’

This way, he could find out the meeting place without arousing suspicion if problems arose later.

After that, the three people who had been chatting pleasantly got up from their seats. Time had passed quickly as they talked. The three shook hands as they left the cafe.

“It was nice meeting you, Do-jun.”

“It was nice meeting you too.”

“Please think positively about becoming a government hunter.”

“I will.”

“Do-jun, let’s meet like this occasionally even if you’re busy.”

“Alright, teacher. I’ll see you next time then.”

Min Do-jun stood watching the backs of the two as they walked away. Then he turned away without regret.

‘I can track him in the evening anyway.’

Min Do-jun, who had returned home to rest, looked out the window. Dusk was falling. It was time to start moving. He put on comfortable clothes, pulled down his cap, and went out.

[Distance to target: 34.91km]

He got his bearings and hailed a taxi. When the distance narrowed to about 2km, he got out of the taxi.

‘Aou, guide me.’

[Woof!]

From here, he slowly followed the ghost wolf. Walking like this made his heart pound, just like when he was tracking Kang Cheol-gyu. Because if he followed like this, he would be able to meet the target of his revenge.

Of course, the current target of tracking was Do Kyung-won, but Yang Seung-hyun should be where he was.

‘What if he’s not there?’

The probability that Yang Seung-hyun wouldn’t come to the social gathering. It’s not zero. Just because it’s a gathering doesn’t mean the attendance rate is 100%. Moreover, all 500 people wouldn’t gather in one place. They would likely have the gathering in several sessions.

‘If he’s interested in socializing, there’s a high chance he’ll come out, but…’

If not, he’d have to think of an alternative plan.

‘For now, I can only hope he shows up.’

With such thoughts, he walked until he was close to his destination.

[Distance to target: 28m]

‘Is it there?’

When he stopped and looked, there was a Korean beef restaurant. It was the venue for the government hunters’ gathering.

‘They probably rented out the whole place.’

Through the windows, he could see the bustling figures of people. They must all be government hunters.

He took a position where he wouldn’t be noticed and watched the entrance. There was no need to go inside the restaurant. It’s better to wait for them to come out on their own than to risk being discovered by going in unnecessarily.

One hour, two hours. After waiting without taking his eyes off, people presumed to be government hunters came out. Do Kyung-won, whom he had met earlier that day, was among the group.

‘What about Yang Seung-hyun?’

He scrutinized the faces of nearly 50 people, but couldn’t even see anyone who resembled Yang Seung-hyun.

‘He’s not here?’

Although he didn’t know much about Yang Seung-hyun, he clearly remembered his face. It was a distinctive face with slanted eyes and protruding lips.

‘Is he really not here?’

He looked through the crowd again meticulously, but he wasn’t among them. As he was feeling disappointed, the group started to move away.

‘What should I do? Should I follow them?’

He wondered if he should continue tailing them even after confirming Yang Seung-hyun wasn’t there.

It was just then.