Breaking Up with the #1 S-Class

Before retiring, I was active as an A-class hunter, and at that time, I was quite strong.

Due to various events such as sudden party expulsion and Yoo Eun-ha’s awakening from F-class to S-class, I eventually quit working as a hunter, but I was certainly a fairly successful hunter in the past.

It’s not just my own illusion.

In fact, I received several scout offers.

And one of the guilds that made me a scout offer was [Witch’s Temptation].

“This is it.”

An impressive high-rise building in Seoul.

This building is the headquarters of Witch’s Temptation.

I entered this building.

“Si-woo. It’s been a while.”

“Hello, Guild Master.”

And I was able to meet the guild master, the Witch, Min Seo-jin.

Min Seo-jin.

That’s the name of the cold-looking beauty with long purple hair standing in front of me now.

Currently ranked 8th among S-class hunters, her hunter ability uses various magics, which is why she is called the Witch.

I knew Min Seo-jin from the past.

When I was A-class in the past, Min Seo-jin was also A-class, and we cleared gates together as fellow A-class hunters, and we briefly ate from the same pot, so to speak.

Of course, after I retired, there was no contact at all, but I remember getting along pretty well in the past.

So it would be correct to say we’re acquaintances now.

“But Si-woo. You’ve become really handsome since I last saw you. You weren’t bad-looking originally, but somehow you feel very different?”

“Thank you for the compliment. Guild Master, you seem to have become even more beautiful as well.”

“Ahaha. I didn’t say that to hear such compliments, but I’m pleased.”

Min Seo-jin slightly puzzled, gave me a compliment.

I also returned the compliment with a bright smile as courtesy.

Is this the business-like greeting of a guild master?

The atmosphere certainly became somewhat warm thanks to our mutual compliments.

“Here. Let’s go into the office and talk.”

“Yes. Understood.”

Min Seo-jin pointed to a reception room and spoke to me.

I followed Min Seo-jin into the reception room.

It was a bright room like a conference room.

“Have you been well, Si-woo?”

“Yes. I’m always doing well.”

Min Seo-jin made me a coffee mix and handed it to me.

I placed the coffee mix in front of me, and we continued exchanging pleasantries.

“By the way, I’m surprised. I didn’t expect you to contact me like this after 3 years.”

“You said to contact you anytime, Guild Master, right? Haha.”

“Hehe. Si-woo, you’re still funny.”

And we continued with our jokes.

It’s certainly been 3 years since I exchanged contact information with Min Seo-jin.

It was Min Seo-jin who tried to scout me before I retired as an A-class hunter.

I brought up the conversation we had 3 years ago.

Some might think I’m being shameless based on my statement, but that’s absolutely not the case.

In the end, hunters are beings that anyone would try to scout if they have the skills.

Despite retiring for 3 years, now that I’ve obtained the Hero skill, I have the same level of skill as I did 3 years ago.

No, now I have even more skills than that.

“So, what’s your conquest record after returning?”

“I have enough skill to conquer a B-class single-person gate.”

Min Seo-jin asks me about my performance.

And I showed Min Seo-jin the data from the gate I conquered yesterday.

“Oh. That’s certainly decent skill.”

Min Seo-jin’s expression brightened upon seeing my data.

“It’s quite a surprising achievement for a returning hunter. Even if you were A-class, after retiring for 3 years, it’s normal to remain at C-class level skill.”

Certainly, not just anyone can conquer a B-class single-person gate.

Only those with a certain level among B-class can conquer a B-class single-person gate.

Just by showing this data, it was proven that I have the skill of a strong contender among B-class.

“In that sense, Si-woo might have quite the talent.”

“Haha… You’re too kind.”

The usual condition for entering a large hunter guild is that upper C-class is often the cutoff.

In that sense, as someone with upper B-class skill, I would be considered quite a good asset from the perspective of a large guild.

So I waited for a positive answer.

“But… what should we do.”

“Huh? Why?”

However, Min Seo-jin’s expression darkened, contrary to my expectation.

“It seems I have to decline this job application.”

Min Seo-jin put down the documents and gave me a regretful expression.

“Hmm… Is my performance not satisfactory?”

“No. The performance is sufficient. Normally, I would have accepted you right away.”

“Then why?”

“Because the current situation isn’t normal.”

Min Seo-jin expressed her intention to reject me.

It seemed she couldn’t accept me.

“Could you explain in more detail?”

The statement was too vague.

I couldn’t help but continue to look puzzled.

“Simply put, there’s no TO (Table of Organization) right now, so I can’t accept Si-woo.”

And after hearing my words, Min Seo-jin sighed and began to explain about this in detail.

“Si-woo. You know that among the four large hunter guilds, Yoo Eun-ha’s hunter guild was the most dominant, right?”

“Yes. I know well.”

“Yoo Eun-ha’s hunter guild monopolized almost everything for a long time. That’s the privilege of being the dominant number one guild.”

The first thing Min Seo-jin brought up was Yoo Eun-ha’s guild, which collapsed recently.

Yoo Eun-ha’s guild.

That guild, belonging to the number one ranked hunter, was the guild with the most dominant position in the country.

“But after Yoo Eun-ha’s guild collapsed, the position of the number one guild hasn’t been determined yet. Someone needs to fill that vacancy. Because of that, competition has started to heat up.”

I continued to listen to Min Seo-jin’s words.

Yoo Eun-ha’s guild collapsed along with Yoo Eun-ha’s downfall.

This much, I also know.

“Everyone was desperately trying to recruit many guild members to become the number one guild. Because of that, there were even cases of people being killed.”

The story I heard from Min Seo-jin after that was something I didn’t know.

“So the Hunter Association passed a law saying not to compete too much, and now all guilds are not allowed to accept more than 10 new people a year.”

Min Seo-jin explained why the [Witch’s Temptation] guild couldn’t accept me.

The Hunter Association, an institution belonging to the government, not a hunter guild, manages hunters, and it seems this institution has introduced a new law.

In short, because of this law, it seems very ambiguous for the guild called [Witch’s Temptation] to accept me.

“So because there’s not much TO, our guild plans to accept mainly upper A-class or S-class. I’m really sorry.”

Min Seo-jin bowed her head to me.

A regretful expression was added.

“Ah… I see.”

I understood Min Seo-jin’s words.

The hunter guilds in our country are said to have a structure of “1 Emperor, 3 Kings.”

Yoo Eun-ha’s overwhelmingly dominant hunter guild was the 1 Emperor.

The remaining three large hunter guilds, like [Witch’s Temptation], were the 3 Kings.

In such a situation, Yoo Eun-ha’s hunter guild has collapsed, so the large guilds are inevitably in a state of emergency.

Without Yoo Eun-ha’s hunter guild now, everyone is trying to take Yoo Eun-ha’s dominant position.

The competition started to heat up, and the association, unable to watch, seems to have imposed sanctions.

As a result, they can only accept 10 hunters a year.

It seems very ambiguous to accept an ambiguous hunter like me.

Certainly, Min Seo-jin’s action was a completely normal situation.

They can’t accept an ambiguous hunter when there are no positions available.

That’s why she rejected me.

But there’s a huge error in this logic.

If I were truly an ambiguous hunter, it wouldn’t be a problem.

But I was not an ambiguous hunter.

“Hmm… I would be quite strong. Isn’t there any way?”

I asked Min Seo-jin once more to accept me.

I am now a hunter with an EX-class skill called [Hero].

As such a hunter, I can’t possibly be weak.

I would be of help to Min Seo-jin’s guild, not a hindrance at all.

“I’m really sorry, Si-woo. We really want to accept Si-woo too, but… it can’t be helped. Our guild wants to become the number one guild now… so we need to be selective about whom we accept.”

But as expected, Min Seo-jin’s answer was firm.

She rejected me once more. With a regretful expression.

‘Hmm… should I tell her what skill I have?’

I had to think for a moment.

Just whether to tell her that I have the [Hero] skill. That kind of thought.

If I tell her that I have the [Hero] skill, Min Seo-jin will definitely try to recruit me.

She would never miss out on a talent with an EX-class skill, not just any skill.

Then I could enter the [Witch’s Temptation] guild.

‘No. I think it’s better not to tell after all.’

After a moment’s hesitation, I decided not to tell about my ability.

I currently have an unprecedented EX-class skill.

To enter this guild, I would have to say I have an EX-class skill, but the risk is too great.

If I were asked whether I should enter [Witch’s Temptation] even bearing such risk…

The answer was no.

“Ah. I see. It can’t be helped. Guild Master, thank you for your time today.”

“Yes. Si-woo, get home safely.”

Min Seo-jin and I finished our greetings and parted ways.

In the end, I couldn’t enter the [Witch’s Temptation] guild.

But I wasn’t particularly disappointed.

“Hmph.”

I guess it wasn’t meant to be.

I left to look for another guild.RetryClaude can make mistakes. Please double-check responses.