Returnee's S-Rank Management Guide

Riding the Flow (1)

"This can't be."

After the broadcast ended, I couldn't hide my shock.

"I had no idea you could give such an ordinary interview."

"... Just how do you see me, exactly?"

At my reaction, Shin Ah-yeon looked at me with an exasperated expression.

Honestly, I was half-joking, but it was also partly how I really felt.

'I thought there would be at least a couple utterances that needed to be muted.'

Of course, since Ah-yeon was experienced with broadcasts, she wouldn't just burst out with curses or anything.

But not all dangerous words are necessarily curses.

'Thinking about the things she sometimes says while gaming...'

Anyone would probably understand why I was worried.

"So, how were the ratings?"

"Well, if you just ask right away—"

Bzzzzzz!

Before I could even finish speaking, my smartphone started vibrating violently.

Naturally, the caller was none other than our President, Choi Sung-hwan.

Currently, president Choi Sung-hwan and Director Song were likely at Unique, watching Dungeon Exploration.

Normally, Ah-yeon and I would have stayed as well, but given the things we had to do later, we had no choice but to leave.

【Why aren't you answering the phone?!】

"I was about 5 seconds late, just 5 seconds."

【Uh, really? Ahem, anyway! It's chaos right now!】

"The ratings must have been pretty high, huh?"

【Pretty?】

Sung-hwan let out a small incredulous laugh as if he couldn't believe what he just heard.

【It was a whopping 11 percent average. On top of that, the peak viewership hit 18 percent!】

"Huh? 18 percent?"

【I'm telling you! What the hell did you do? Is this even possible?】

Recently, dungeon Exploration's ratings at best barely reached 6 percent.

Of course, that figure isn't bad at all.

In fact, for a variety show featuring hunters, that's a solid number.

But 18 percent?

'That's 12 percent higher than usual.'

Naturally, I expected things would go well to some degree.

But 18 percent was far beyond what I had imagined.

Even by a simple calculation, that's three times the usual.

To put it bluntly, we were now surpassing normal variety shows, not just niche hunter programs.

'Even the most popular hunter shows don't attain ratings this high.'

In the hunter variety genre, surpassing the so-called "wall" of 15 percent is a massive feat.

This was, without a doubt, likely the top rating among all hunter shows this year.

"18 percent? Wait, is that our Dungeon Exploration viewership?"

Maybe she overheard me talking to Sung-hwan, but Shin Ah-yeon's eyes went wide.

She looked as if she couldn't believe it at all.

"Even back in my heyday as a great mage, I never saw those kinds of ratings..."

"I guess you weren't as popular as you thought."

"It's just that hunter variety shows weren't this big back then."

Ah-yeon bristled at my comment and shot me a sidelong glare.

Well, from what I remember, even back in those days, sometimes the numbers were really good, but let's just let it slide.

In fact, whenever she appeared on entertainment shows during her great mage days, she consistently maintained at least 10 percent ratings.

Because of that, even if she wasn't a 'blockbuster', producers used to seek her out, knowing she could always guarantee a certain level of ratings.

"For the record, the shows I did back then were all about the dry theories of magic."

"Yeah, yeah."

"And, I mean, I'm kind of good-looking for a hunter, right? So I got a lot of calls from regular variety shows too, but Future Guild didn't like me appearing on those, so I couldn't do them."

"I get it, I get it."

Ignoring Ah-yeon's chatter beside me, I kept checking my smartphone screen.

On the screen, countless messages and calls were popping up nonstop.

I figured Sung-hwan and Director Song back at Unique were facing the same situation.

'Honestly, calls and messages are the best we can hope for.'

It wouldn't be strange if journalists or TV staff, who'd been waiting for this, came rushing in.

That's why Ah-yeon and I left work early.

"Do you think the President and Director Song will be alright?"

"Hey, still, president Choi's got enough experience—he'll handle it just fine."

Probably, an even bigger wave of offers would flood in now, completely eclipsing the time we did 'To the King Once You Log In'.

Shin Ah-yeon was, by far, the hottest hunter at the moment.

'No way the broadcasting stations would just sit back and watch this.'

Just thinking about the mountain of offers coming in tomorrow already had me stressed.

From now on, we could actually start picking and choosing which shows to do.

***

【Leadership? I learned in-game~. A quote from Shin Ah-yeon】

【Shin Ah-yeon, pushing the limits with her orders. Is that okay?】

【Ushering in a new paradigm in the world of magic?】

【Shin Ah-yeon's new magic overturns current magic common sense】

The day after Dungeon Exploration aired, articles about Shin Ah-yeon flooded the internet.

As a result, more sensationalist headlines appeared than usual, but the contents were mostly the same.

'A crisis with the appearance of an A-rank monster was decisively resolved by Shin Ah-yeon.'

No matter what, there were almost no articles criticizing Shin Ah-yeon, who had saved countless lives.

Anyone who tried would inevitably face the wrath of countless netizens.

Of course, some journalists tried to target Shin Ah-yeon for attention, but most of the attacks were directed at Dungeon Exploration itself.

"Ki-sung! Did you submit your article?"

"Yes, of course I did. But, honestly..."

There were so many articles out already that, even with a clickbait headline, it was impossible to stand out.

Ki-sung was deeply impressed by Dungeon Exploration last night, which made his disappointment all the greater.

"This is nuts. Who said Dungeon Exploration was on the decline?"

"It was, though. Who could have guessed Shin Ah-yeon would turn it around like this?"

At the senior journalist's comment, Ki-sung grumbled in disappointment.

If he'd known this would happen, he would've at least tried to secure an interview with Shin Ah-yeon back when she first rose to fame on 'To the King Once You Log In'.

Who could have predicted she'd turn out to be such a game-changer?

"The academic magic community is in an uproar, too. Apparently the magic she used was a completely new kind?"

"How would I know? But it was fascinating. Like, the ground just collapsed suddenly. But it didn't seem like she physically destroyed the terrain either."

"Looks like her utility has improved a lot... If the magic world is in turmoil, there has to be a reason."

From the videos alone, her magic seemed subtle. But if the academic world was in an uproar, it was certainly something unusual.

But since analysis from the video alone brought no answers, the only thing journalists could do was obvious.

"Then why not try for a direct interview?"

"Today's Daily tried that, but was flatly rejected. That's why they had to fill their article with other Dungeon Exploration hunters."

There were already dozens of interviews with other hunters.

Trying late would just get you buried among them all.

'Is there nothing good?'

Normally, this is when a journalist would give up and move on to another article.

But Ki-sung simply couldn't let go.

'Interview, interview...'

If only he could secure an exclusive interview with Shin Ah-yeon.

'Come to think of it.'

Suddenly, Ki-sung remembered something Shin Ah-yeon said during Dungeon Exploration.

Someone she mentioned again and again.

'Shin Ah-yeon's manager.'

The man who brought her, after three years of seclusion, back out into the world.

With that thought, Ki-sung shot up from his seat.

They say: "If you want to catch the general, shoot his horse first."

Ki-sung was going to put that into action.

***

"That's magic I don't recognize."

A massive build, arms like logs, and a hardened body.

If you looked only at his appearance, he seemed like a trained awakener—but he was, in fact, an ordinary human.

Except, his true status proved he was anything but 'ordinary'.

"President... All of our hunters analyzed it but none recognized it."

"How many A-rank hunters who specialize in magic do we have in our agency?"

"A little over thirty."

"And none of them know what it was?"

"Y-yes, sir."

A middle-aged man, balding considerably, kept wiping the sweat from his brow as he answered the man addressed as 'President'.

This man was Jin Su-hyuk, who had built Grand Nova into an industry leader.

The sense of pressure from him was enough to make even S-rank hunters feel insignificant.

"Is Grand Nova finished, then? We can't even analyze magic used by a half-retired hunter."

"..."

"And, have you found out about the manager who brought Shin Ah-yeon out, the one who used that amazing magic?"

"Yes, yes. That..."

"What is it?"

Section chief Oh Dae-su paused, uncertain if he should even say what he'd been told.

That's how incredible the report seemed.

"His name is Park Jung-woo. He took Shin Ah-yeon to Unique. Notably, three years ago, he also worked as a manager at Grand Nova. But..."

"Park Jung-woo—is that the rookie manager who got caught up in a rift incident?"

"... Huh? Oh, you remembered?"

"Of course I did. You think there's a single employee at my agency I wouldn't know the name of?"

"N-no, sir."

Oh Dae-su had never dreamed that Jin Su-hyuk would remember the name Park Jung-woo.

Especially since he'd been missing for three years, presumed dead.

'How did that guy even survive? Was being sucked into the rift a lie?'

In truth, Oh Dae-su also remembered Park Jung-woo.

He'd been the annoying rookie who'd pestered him back when he was just a section chief.

So, when Park disappeared in the rift, Oh Dae-su had secretly felt relieved—serves him right, he'd thought.

"Then that means... if it's Park Jung-woo, he returned alive from the rift?"

"We're honestly not sure. There's never been a single confirmed returnee from the rift anywhere in the world, right?"

"There was one. James Walker, in the U. S."

"He was exposed as a fraud and thrown in prison, wasn't he...?"

"Yeah, right. The man who made a fortune off being 'the only returnee' was actually a con artist. To this day, there's never been a real 'returnee'. Not that there weren't some questionable details to James Walker's story, though."

Now he understood why Oh Dae-su was reluctant to say it.

If you went around saying Park Jung-woo was a 'returnee', everyone would call you crazy, a hundred times out of a hundred.

"Anyway, in all likelihood, he must have had some connection with Shin Ah-yeon and received her help, hiding away for three years. After all, Shin Ah-yeon was the only one who actually saw him get sucked into the rift."

"I've spoken with some other experts, and most seem to think that's the case. I agree, personally."

"But what if—what if he really is a returnee?"

"... Sir?"

Jin Su-hyuk tapped the armrest of his chair with his forefinger, falling silent in thought.

Shin Ah-yeon—S-rank great mage, back in action after three years.

And Park Jung-woo, the manager who brought her out of seclusion.

"If he was really a returnee, wouldn't he have made it public? Even though James Walker turned out to be a fraud, he made a fortune off just the title alone..."

"Money might not be the goal. Besides, pointless fame could be toxic. And do you think the title of 'returnee' is anything to take lightly? That's way beyond what any individual could handle."

If it had been him, he would have kept it secret, too.

Even without such a title, he'd have no problem reaching the very top of the world.

"Keep an eye on him."

"Eh? Y-you mean, Park Jung-woo?"

"That's right. My gut tells me—he's hiding something."

Jin Su-hyuk's intuition—a legend in the industry—couldn't simply be described as 'amazing'.

Even though Oh Dae-su found it hard to believe Park Jung-woo was a 'returnee', he had no choice but to nod at Jin Su-hyuk's word.

"Yes, yes. I'll monitor and file regular reports."

"As you should."

After Jin Su-hyuk's brief reply, Oh Dae-su bowed his head and hurriedly left the office.

Watching Oh Dae-su's receding back, Jin Su-hyuk rested his chin on his hand.

"An great mage bringing magic that overturns every theory so far, and a manager suspected of being a returnee..."

In fact, Jin Su-hyuk didn't much care what the truth was.

The important thing was that the two of them were clearly creating a whole new flow.

Whether they would be swept away and sink, or advance much farther, would depend on their abilities.

And so, Jin Su-hyuk planned to keep a close watch—until their story reached its conclusion.

After all, they might just be the talents he needed for the new age he would create.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
This Old man Jin Su-hyuk seems to be competent.
Not much was shown of him, a simple description that he was a legend in the industry, apparently a normal human, with a presence that could overwhelm an S-ranker, he also knows every employee he has.
It shows his competence which is pretty normal considering he is the president of Grand Nova.
Whether he's an ally or an enemy is yet to show.
I wish he is something like a kindly old man that would help MC in the future, but it would also be fine if he becomes an enemy.
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