Breaking Up with the #1 S-Class

Gates are usually ranked by their strength using alphabets.

The more difficult ones are closer to S, A, and the easier ones are closer to F.

And there are also cases where special difficulty gates are named, such as Abyss-class, Astaroth-class, etc.

But besides that classification, gates are also categorized by the number of people who can enter.

Gates that only one person can enter are single-person gates.

Gates for 2 to 5 people are small gates.

Gates for 6 to 9 people are medium gates.

Gates for 10 or more people are large gates.

And typically, conquering a large gate is referred to as “running a raid.”

Raid.

It’s common knowledge that the more people who can enter, the greater the rewards of the gate.

Of course, not all gates are like that, but on average, you can think of it as the reward grade increasing by about 0.5 grades each time the size of the gate goes up one level.

In other words, conquering an A-class single-person gate is considered equal in value to conquering a C-class large gate.

However, the difficulty is significantly lower and becomes more efficient.

So if you can conquer it, it’s usually most efficient to focus on conquering large gates.

Even if you divide the rewards, unlike single-person gates, you can create synergy with party members in various ways and often proceed more comfortably.

That’s why we’re now cooperating with another guild, making up 10 people, and running a raid.

Large guilds can find enough manpower for raids within their own guild, but for small and medium-sized guilds, that’s realistically difficult, so it’s common to cooperate with each other to run raids.

“Si-woo. Have you ever run a raid before?”

“Hmm. Yes, I ran many before I retired.”

“Wow. Si-woo, you’re really amazing…”

“Haha… That’s old news. Well.”

We were now heading to a place near a construction site where a gate had opened.

As we were almost at the meeting place, Park Jin-soo asked me with a slightly trembling voice.

It seems Park Jin-soo is quite worried right now.

“Since this is my first time running a raid, I’m so nervous. If something happens…”

“I don’t think you need to worry too much.”

“R-Really?”

“Yes. With large gates, there are many people, so it can actually be more comfortable in many cases.”

I spoke comfortingly to Park Jin-soo.

Park Jin-soo had registered as a hunter less than a week ago and hadn’t explored other gates sufficiently, so he was nervous about challenging a large gate.

‘I also had times like that.’

I remember trembling like Park Jin-soo when I first ran a raid.

It’s a memory from when I was actively working as an A-class hunter.

At that time, I was also extremely nervous like Park Jin-soo and worried that there might be terrifying dimensional creatures waiting in the large gate.

But in the end, raids are often not a big deal once you actually do them, despite the initial worry.

That was the case for me, and it would probably be the same for Park Jin-soo.

It seems like there’s no need to worry too much.

“By the way, may I ask what kind of gate it is?”

“Hmm. We were simply asked to provide fire support.”

“Is that all?”

“Yes.”

I asked Park Jin-soo about the gate just in case, and as expected, we weren’t assigned a very difficult task.

There are many really difficult tasks in gates, and if we were assigned those, it could have been a tough time.

But the task we were assigned was what you might call a “sweet position.”

“We’re here.”

While chatting, we eventually met the party members from the other guild we were supposed to meet.

“Are you the young folks who agreed to cooperate this time?”

Excluding us, there were a total of 8 party members, and among them, an older man who looked like the leader of the party approached us warmly.

“Yes. Are you the ones who requested our company? Nice to meet you.”

“Haha. Some fine young people have come. I can rest assured. Let me introduce myself. I’m Kim Jong-pal.”

“I’m Park Jin-soo. This is Hunter Lee Si-woo.”

“Hello. I’m Lee Si-woo.”

The middle-aged man who introduced himself as Kim Jong-pal smiled at us.

And in response, Park Jin-soo also returned the smile.

“By the way, is this the gate we’re going to conquer? It’s really huge.”

“Right. But, what could be in there? The association said it’s only B-class.”

“T-That’s true. Haha.”

After exchanging simple greetings, Park Jin-soo looked at the gate in front of us.

And seeing the gate that was larger than most buildings, he was slightly taken aback.

Kim Jong-pal laughed at Park Jin-soo, showing a calm attitude as if he were an experienced hunter.

“Here. The contract. Read it carefully and sign it. I’ll go smoke a cigarette in the meantime.”

“Ah. Yes.”

And Kim Jong-pal handed a contract to Park Jin-soo, and Park Jin-soo received it.

“Hmm…”

And Park Jin-soo started reading it carefully.

“Ah…! Si-woo should read this too.. Si-woo. Would you like to read it?”

And after reading for a while, Park Jin-soo seemed to suddenly realize I was watching from the side and handed me the contract.

He seems to think it’s proper for me to read the contract as well.

“Ah. Yes, Jin-soo.”

I received the contract from Park Jin-soo.

‘Well, hunter contracts are probably all the same.’

But I skimmed through the contract, checking only the necessary parts.

From my days as an A-class hunter to being Yoo Eun-ha’s manager, I had seen contracts as routinely as eating meals.

I thought hunter contracts would all be the same.

So I didn’t look at it with much interest and quickly flipped through, but.

‘Huh?’

However, I encountered a somewhat unusual contract and began to read it more carefully.

“Hmm…”

And after reading it all once more, I naturally fell into thought.

‘This is a bit strange…’

To be honest, it was an ordinary and fair contract.

This contract, which didn’t differ much from other hunter contracts in format, looked completely normal on the surface.

So an ordinary hunter wouldn’t understand why this contract was strange.

But I’m not an ordinary hunter.

Having gone through countless experiences in the hunter industry for several years, I could immediately notice the strangeness of this contract.

The problem with this contract is that it’s excessively fair.

‘Aren’t contracts like this usually not written? This is a bit suspicious…’

A contract that divides rewards fairly isn’t particularly special.

But seeing this contract that even divides all the ancillary income from the dungeon fairly, I couldn’t help but be extremely suspicious.

As Yoo Eun-ha’s manager, I worked on the front lines regarding miscellaneous tasks such as contracts apart from combat, and I know well what kind of contracts hunters use.

Ordinary hunters pursue money and honor as a profession, so it’s natural to provide rewards with some level of differentiation.

That’s how skilled hunters are recruited, and unskilled hunters don’t try to make contracts.

But this contract was completely the opposite.

Rather, it felt like a contract designed to exclude skilled hunters and attract hunters who want to earn money easily.

For example, a naive hunter like Park Jin-soo who just registered as a hunter a week ago.

I couldn’t help but feel somewhat suspicious.

“Hmm…”

So the possibilities I can think of now are one of two.

One is that this man named Kim Jong-pal has a naive personality and is an extremely kind person.

The other is a very obvious… and blatant purpose.

“Si-woo. Did you find something strange? Should we not sign it?”

As I stared at the contract for a while, Park Jin-soo asked me worriedly.

He asked as if I might have found something strange.

It seems Park Jin-soo didn’t notice the strangeness of the contract.

Well, a hunter who debuted just a week ago wouldn’t notice it.

In the first place, since he usually went with his sister, his sister probably handled all the contract-related matters.

“No. I think it’s okay to sign.”

I smiled and said to Park Jin-soo.

“Yes. I feel relieved since Si-woo said so. Understood.”

Park Jin-soo sighed in relief at my words, as if it was fortunate.

‘I’m probably just being suspicious for nothing.’

Of course, it’s still just my speculation. There was no evidence.

I can’t rule out the possibility that I’m being paranoid.

If Kim Jong-pal is really a kind and good-hearted hunter, and I’m being suspicious, then my current worry is regrettable.

So I decided to think lightly.

With the attitude of ‘What could possibly happen?’

And even if a problem arises, it probably wouldn’t matter to me now.

“Yes. Then I’ll sign.”

Park Jin-soo, after hearing my words, willingly signed. Then he walked to Kim Jong-pal and handed over the contract.

“Brother Jong-pal. Let’s go in now.”

“Haha. Don’t worry too much, folks from that guild. We’ll take care of everything anyway.”

And the time was starting to approach.

The rest of the party members, one after another, smiled cheerfully, put on their equipment, and picked up their belongings.

“Let’s start now. It’s time.”

Kim Jong-pal entered the gate first, and the rest of the party members and we also entered the gate.

The raid of hunters targeting their prey now begins.RetryClaude can make mistakes. Please double-check responses.