Chapter 117

S-Class Hunter Jung Haseong.

Despite having been absent for several months, he quickly reclaimed the public’s attention upon his return. Whatever anyone might say, he was the nation’s hero—an awakened individual who had never once relinquished the top position since the day of his awakening.

[T***: Wow, how many Gates has Jung Haseong cleared already since coming back?;;]

[J***: He’s not going as hard as he used to, but it’s still terrifying. How does he clear them that fast all by himself?]

Jung Haseong was the best Hunter in Korea.

At least within the country, no one would dispute that statement.

However...

Ask whether Jung Haseong was the strongest Hunter, and the answer became far less certain.

Opinions on the internet had always been divided.

[Fact) No matter how much we argue about it here, we’ll never know unless the S-rank Hunters actually fight each other, lol.]

Korea had never witnessed a battle between S-rank Hunters.

As a result, the question of whether Jung Haseong truly was the strongest could not be answered so easily.

And yet, who could have imagined that this long-running debate would be brought to an end by a single man’s words?

On an afternoon of heavy snowfall, Hunters visiting the market were confronted with an unbelievable sight near the main entrance.

[p**: Did anyone else hear the conversation between Hunter Jung and Hunter Kim at the market entrance?]

[j***: Did I really just witness that?]

[k*****: Weren’t those two supposed to hate each other??]

The “First-Ranked Hunter Fainting Incident.”

The confrontation outside the emergency room.

And then there had been the Inevitable Malice incident, followed by Jung Haseong’s attitude in the media.

Taken together, these events had all but cemented the belief online that the national hero and Korea’s fourth S-rank Hunter were on terrible terms.

Yet judging by their conversation that day, Jung Haseong was not hostile in the slightest.

On the contrary, he was unexpectedly courteous and friendly.

[k**: Even through the most biased lens possible, they didn’t look like enemies.]

[j**: What kind of lunatic runs up to someone they hate and asks whether they’ve eaten?]

Naturally, anonymous users began offering their own interpretations of Jung Haseong’s behaviour.

Some argued that Jung Haseong and Kim Kiryeo had never been on bad terms at all, and that the rumours had simply been exaggerated.

Others believed that whatever conflict had once existed between them had already been resolved.

A few even suggested that the two had always been close, and that the interviews that seemed critical were merely part of their usual dynamic.

Whatever the explanation, nearly everyone agreed on one point.

There was no genuine animosity between them.

The Hunter writing on the bulletin board burst out laughing in disbelief.

[p**: Never thought I’d live to see Garion recruiting Hunters, lol.]

Yes.

In truth, this was the far more important issue.

The fact that Jung Haseong and Kim Kiryeo had exchanged a few friendly words could be dismissed as idle gossip.

But the mention of that guild’s name was something no Hunter could ignore.

[Bl***: [Breaking News] Garion Recruitment Requirements: S-Class [Breaking News] Garion Recruitment Requirements: S-Class [Breaking News] Garion Recruitment Requirements: S-Class]

[j***: Then why the hell did you accept our résumés in the first place!!!]

[T***: This is literally the main takeaway from the entire post ㅋㅋㅋ]

Garion.

It was a small Hunter guild based in South Korea.

In terms of reputation, however, it could scarcely be considered inferior even to the Korean Magic Tower.

After all, its guild master was the nation’s most celebrated hero.

[[Seonhan Daily] Jung Haseong Establishes ‘Garion’ Guild... Recruitment Frenzy Among Hunters]

An appraiser ranked within the top one percent.

The finest healer in the country.

Since an S-class Hunter himself had assembled the best personnel available for his own convenience, it was only natural that Garion offered an exceptional working environment.

—The number-one-ranked Hunter has founded a guild!

—Wait, if I join now, does that make me one of the founding members?

News that Jung Haseong was establishing a guild sent shockwaves through the industry.

So many Hunters attempted to submit applications that Garion’s email server temporarily crashed.

“Haha. I got swept up in the excitement and submitted my résumé back then too...”

Tap.

The Hunter typing the comment paused and looked back on those days.

Everyone had been so passionate then.

Some had applied out of pure admiration for Jung Haseong.

Others, like starving hyenas, had been drawn by the prestige attached to the hero’s name.

‘An A-rank Hunter can rival an S-rank with the right equipment. And if you’re lucky enough to land a permanent place on Jung Haseong’s team, your reputation will skyrocket... There were plenty of people thinking along those lines.’

But what had become of those ambitious applicants?

Whenever he remembered that period, cold sweat gathered on his forehead.

—The final interview will now begin.

Those whose applications had survived the initial screening soon found themselves facing an insurmountable ordeal.

—Kyaaaak!

—Hrk!

—Urgh!

The final interview for Garion consisted of enduring the flames of the guild master himself, Jung Haseong.

The result was even more disastrous than anyone had imagined.

The moment Jung Haseong began using his abilities in earnest, the Hunters who had entered the room brimming with confidence collapsed within seconds.

It was not as though he had burned them directly.

Most of the candidates were wearing equipment that granted elemental resistance.

—Aaaagh! I’m sorry! Please stop!

And yet, even with that protection, countless powerful individuals were utterly defeated by the heat radiating from his body alone.

‘I must have been insane back then. Why did I sign the consent form when I already knew what the test involved?’

That interview had taught the Hunters one crucial lesson.

Neither equipment nor enhancement buffs could bridge the fundamental gulf between A-rank and S-rank.

[j***: So after every applicant was rolling around on the floor, Jung Haseong looked at them with this apologetic expression and said, “If you can’t endure even this much, you won’t be able to join my team. I’m truly sorry, but I’ll have to disqualify all of you...”]

To make matters worse, Garion stopped accepting Hunter applications entirely the year after it was founded.

The explanation was provocative, to say the least.

【20XX Hunter Interview】

[Reporter: Guild Master, on the twenty-third, Garion Guild formally announced that it would no longer recruit new members. Why did you suddenly make that decision?]

[Jung Haseong: Garion has always aimed to remain a small, elite organisation. When we opened recruitment, we intended to accept only a handful of awakened individuals who could join my combat team...]

[Reporter: Did no one pass the final interview?]

[Jung Haseong: No.]

Awakeners who cannot withstand my flames will not be accepted!

‘He’s insane.’

From that moment onwards, Garion became synonymous with the concept of a one-man guild.

The national hero had not recruited a single Hunter since.

Netizens joked that only S-rank Hunters could qualify for Garion.

The truth, however, was even harsher.

A year earlier, during a dungeon break, Jung Haseong had accidentally burned another Hunter fighting alongside him.

[Anonymous: Oh no. So partnering with the Magic Tower is impossible too. ㅜㅜ]

[Original Poster: Yeah. Hunter Esther said the same thing before. She was willing to team up with Jung Haseong, but after a mock battle, she realised it was impossible because of the effects of her curse.]

Of course, awakened individuals of the same rank could, to some extent, operate alongside one another if they were properly equipped with elemental-resistance artifacts.

But what did that truly mean?

Ordinary people who did not understand the limitations of awakened individuals often assumed that piling on sufficiently powerful equipment would make a Hunter endlessly stronger.

In reality, that was impossible.

Hunters were bound by a special restriction known as the [Equipment Slot System].

‘There is a limit to the number of artifacts we can operate at one hundred percent efficiency.’

No matter how powerful an S-rank Hunter might be, they could not simply cover themselves from head to toe in artifacts.

Equipping resistance gear to withstand Jung Haseong’s flames inevitably meant removing some other essential piece of combat equipment.

From the perspective of dungeon clearing, that was rarely an advantageous trade.

For that reason, S-rank Hunters had tacitly chosen to operate separately whenever possible.

—Hunter Kim Kiryeo, would you join our guild?

But now Garion was accepting a new member?

—Thank you for the offer, but I think that would be difficult. The difference in our levels is simply too great...

And now the nation’s hero had even been criticised to his face!

The witnesses could hardly believe what they had heard.

In their minds, Kim Kiryeo’s words meant only one thing.

[j***: Wow. Imagine telling the number-one-ranked Hunter you can’t join him because his level is too low.]

[Bl***: The craziest part is Jung Haseong’s reaction... He just nodded like he’d been expecting that answer.]

[ㄴ g*: Exactly. His reaction afterwards was even more shocking.]

This apparent reversal of the “difference in skill” prompted netizens to entertain a startling possibility.

Perhaps—just perhaps—the fourth S-rank Hunter was powerful enough to look down on Jung Haseong.

[p**: Let’s summarise. Jung Haseong inviting Hunter Kim to Garion means Hunter Kim obviously satisfies the impossible conditions of the “final interview.” But then Hunter Kim said Jung Haseong’s level was too different from his own for them to work together. Is that right?]

[Woo**: I think they’ve already fought each other. That would explain why Jung Haseong accepted it so calmly.]

If that were true, then the long-standing question—Is Jung Haseong the strongest Hunter?—had finally been answered.

[H*: Anyone who can defeat the top-ranked Hunter is a monster among monsters ㄷㄷ]

[Bl***: Then who would win if Brooklyn fought Kim Kiryeo?]

[a***: And here come the versus-obsessed lunatics again.]

Thanks to the words and actions of the newly revealed S-class Hunter, the forums remained lively for some time.

Even so, the overall mood was positive.

After all, a Hunter that powerful still belonged to Korea.

[a***: Since he apparently concealed his rank under orders from the association president, he must be directly affiliated with the association. Honestly, that makes me feel much safer about future dungeon breaks.]

Hunters on the anonymous forum reacted hopefully to Kim Kiryeo’s emergence.

But naturally, not everyone in the world shared the same opinion.

***

[Title: Look at Hunternet losing its mind, lol]

So now we’re supposed to believe Dungeon Breaks are no longer a problem just because KKR exists?

Isn’t it obvious the Association is using him to cover up the fact that they failed to detect his rank manipulation all this time? LOL

Seriously, how long has it been since he called those reporters animals? Now everyone’s worshipping him just because he’s S-rank.

God, there’s no saving these people.

Absolutely no saving them.

***

Meanwhile, the atmosphere on another community site stood in stark contrast to that of the Hunter forum.

The backlash stemmed from the language Kim Kiryeo had used during the impromptu press conference held outside his home.

—You mammalian bastards who said you wouldn’t comment.

Mammals.

He had referred to human beings with a term normally used to classify creatures.

Naturally, people had taken offence.

[COMMENTS (2)]

[That beast of a man is exactly like Changho. I knew something was wrong when he suddenly got upgraded to S-rank after finishing off monsters the Magic Tower Master had already defeated.]

[He’ll disappear after causing an incident.]

To be honest, Kim Kiryeo’s reputation remained abysmal even after his rank was corrected.

The reporters present at the makeshift press conference had twisted several of his unfamiliar expressions into sensational headlines.

[Those “beast-like” incompetents? ... New S-Rank Hunter’s Shocking Tirade]

As a result, some netizens had begun referring to him mockingly as the “Beastly Man.”

[Title: I’ll bet both my ears the Beastly Man will neglect his duties]

[Content:

(Expected excuse)

Oh, this dungeon break is below A-class, so the other Hunters can deal with it without me. Whatever~]

[COMMENT (1)]

[Seriously, top-ranked Hunters never bother with dungeons that don’t pay well.]

.

.

.

However, public opinion was completely overturned by an incident that occurred only a few days later.

[Wow.]

[???]

[What?]

That was right.

All at once.

[We were the ones beyond saving.]

[;; I suppose it’s only natural that someone so distinguished would see the rest of us as animals...]

[Hello. This is the site administrator. As of today, this community has officially become a Kim Kiryeo fan café. Any user who posts defamatory comments about the Hunter will be permanently banned and removed from the site. Those who dislike this decision are free to leave.]