E-rank Hunter — Sung Jin-Woo. No matter what Jin-Woo did, this epithet followed him like a tail. Jin-Woo's stats were nearly identical to a normal person's. Aside from being slightly tougher and recovering a little faster, he was no different from an average person. Because of this, he was constantly covered in injuries. He had even died and come back several times. Of course, Jin-Woo wasn't doing this because he enjoyed being a Hunter. The job was dangerous, he was always looked down upon, and the pay was mediocre. If it weren't for the medical subsidy provided to Hunters affiliated with the Hunter's Association, he would have already returned his Hunter's license and gone back to living as a normal person. However, in his mid-twenties with no special talents, the only way for Jin-Woo to cover his mother's hospital bills, which ran into hundreds of thousands each month, was to be a Hunter. He had no choice. That's why, even that day, Jin-Woo had reluctantly joined the Association-led raid.
***
Hunters active in the same region usually knew each other well. When a Gate opened, all the Hunters in that area would gather together. Those who arrived first were sipping warm coffee handed out by Association staff and exchanging greetings.
"Hey, Mr. Kim. Over here, over here." "Oh, Mr. Park, what brings you here? I thought you were quitting the Hunter business?" "Well... My wife got pregnant with our second out of the blue." "Hahahaha. Yeah. When you're looking to make a quick buck, nothing beats a raid." Mr. Kim laughed heartily, and Mr. Park, awkwardly following suit, asked:
"By the way, the Association hasn't been calling much lately? Have Gates been opening less frequently?" "Nah, that's not it. It's just that these days, the guilds are working harder than the Association. With so much money on the line, guilds are going at it like their eyes are on fire." "Then this raid, run by the Association, should be safe to assume?"
As Mr. Park began to worry, he glanced around nervously. The rumor that guilds weren't participating meant there wasn't much profit, and Gates with low profit potential usually had significantly lower difficulty. But nothing was ever 100% certain. Not just Mr. Park, but other Hunters also looked around with anxious eyes.
"Hard to say..."
As Mr. Kim was dodging the question by finishing his coffee, he spotted someone approaching from afar and waved cheerfully.
"Oh, there he is. Mr. Sung! Mr. Sung!" Other Hunters, seeing him, also brightened up.
"Hello." The voice belonged to Sung Jin-Woo. Jin-Woo gave a slight bow to the welcoming Mr. Kim and walked right past him. Once Mr. Kim confirmed Jin-Woo had passed, he smirked confidently.
"Jin-Woo's here. So this place is safe." Mr. Park's eyes widened, and he sidled up to Mr. Kim.
"What's that? Is Sung Jin-Woo that strong?" "Ah, Mr. Park, you wouldn't know. He started coming around not long after you left. Among the Hunters here, there isn't one who doesn't know Sung Jin-Woo." "He's that strong? But why does he work for the Association? Why not a big guild or freelance?" Mr. Kim, grinning, glanced sideways.
"Do you know what his nickname is?" "How would I know? Stop dragging it out and tell me." "Humanity's Weakest Weapon." "...Weakest Weapon? Not the Final Weapon?" "Come on. That's the nickname of the Final Hunter, the S-rank one. This guy is the Weakest Weapon. Probably the weakest Hunter in all of South Korea." "What?" Mr. Park frowned. If Sung Jin-Woo was that weak, why was everyone so happy to see him? He was someone whose back you'd need to rely on in an emergency. He couldn't understand the other Hunters' reactions. As Mr. Park tilted his head in confusion, Mr. Kim smiled and nudged him in the ribs with his elbow.
"That's why raids where Sung Jin-Woo shows up are bound to be low difficulty. The Association would never assign him a tough job. What if someone got killed?" Only then did Mr. Park's face brighten.
"R-really?" His wife had worried a lot about this being his first raid in a while. In truth, he had been feeling anxious himself. But hearing Mr. Kim's words put his mind at ease. Mr. Kim continued.
"There's a rumor that guy even got injured on an E-rank Gate and spent a week in the hospital." "A Hunter got injured on an E-rank Gate?" "That's right. No one expected someone could get hurt on an E-rank Gate, so they didn't even bring a healing Hunter along." "And he was hospitalized for a whole week because of that? Pffft-hahahaha!" As Mr. Park laughed too loudly, Mr. Kim gave him a warning look.
"Hey, you fool! Mr. Sung might hear you!" "Oh gosh, I didn't think of that." Mr. Park, cautiously glancing at Jin-Woo, snickered under his breath. Fortunately, thanks to the distance, Jin-Woo didn't seem to have heard their conversation. But that was a mistake.
*'I heard everything, you old men.'* Jin-Woo forced a wry smile, pretending not to notice their stares. At times like these, he particularly resented his unusually sharp hearing. It was still too early for the raid to start.
*'Did I arrive too early?'* Looking for a way to kill time, Jin-Woo spotted the Association staff member handing out coffee and approached.
"Could I trouble you for a cup of coffee?" "Ah, Hunter Sung Jin-Woo... I'm terribly sorry, but the coffee just ran out." "..."
The winter wind stung the tip of his nose. Jin-Woo rubbed it with his index finger. It was a frustrating day when even the coffee ran out just as it was his turn.
***
"Why are you so insistent on being a Hunter?" "I'm sorry."
Jin-Woo bowed his head deeply. The beautiful spellcaster, Lee Joo-Hee, who was treating him, pouted with dissatisfaction.
"I'm not saying this to get an apology. I'm worried about you. If you keep fighting like this, someday it'll get really dangerous."
Jin-Woo looked over Joo-Hee's shoulder at his fellow Hunters fighting. Beyond the Gate lay a Dungeon. This Dungeon's rank was roughly D. Over a dozen Hunters were clearing out the monsters inside with relative ease. But for an E-rank Hunter like Jin-Woo, even that was overwhelming. Normally, treating injured Hunters was the job of the healing Hunters waiting in the rear. Jin-Woo, who got injured in every raid, was famous even among healers. Joo-Hee asked cautiously.
"Is there some reason you can't quit the Hunter business?" Jin-Woo shook his head firmly. He didn't want to reveal his deeply personal reasons.
"I do it as a hobby. If I didn't do even this, I'd probably die of boredom."
Joo-Hee pouted even more.
"If you treat this as a hobby, you'll be raiding in the afterlife soon enough."
The careless Jin-Woo burst out laughing. As a result, Joo-Hee's scolding continued.
"Ah! Don't laugh, don't laugh! The wound will reopen!"
Jin-Woo asked, stifling giggles.
"Where did you even learn to say things like that?" "Where did I learn? From Mr. Kim right over there." "Oh man, that guy, seriously..."
While they laughed and chatted, the treatment came to an end. But it was already too late. The raid was wrapping up. Jin-Woo's expression hardened.
*'Today, I only caught one monster.'*
And it was a single E-rank one. Jin-Woo fidgeted with the one E-rank mana crystal in his hand. The lowest-grade mana crystals from E-rank monsters weren't even worth 100,000 won. It was pitiful compensation for risking his life.
*'I hear a mana crystal from a C-rank monster is worth over a hundred million won...'*
But for a mere E-rank Hunter like Jin-Woo, a C-rank monster was a completely unattainable foe. Just then, someone shouted.
"Huh? There's another entrance here?"
Nearby Hunters flocked over.
"Oh, you're right!" "There really is another entrance!"
As the discoverer had said, another Dungeon entrance was hidden within the Dungeon.
"A double Dungeon... so such things actually exist in real life."
Mr. Song, a ten-year veteran Hunter, peered into the Dungeon entrance with amazement. The interior of the cave was dark and hard to see. Mr. Song cast his signature fire spell and tossed it inside. The fireball flew in, illuminating the path. The tunnel stretched on endlessly. Soon losing momentum, the fireball fell to the ground, sputtered briefly, and then went out. The cave was plunged back into darkness.
"Hmm... Everyone, gather around for a second."
Mr. Song, the de facto leader, called all the Hunters together. Jin-Woo and Joo-Hee, whose treatment had just finished, also joined them. Looking around at the Hunters, Mr. Song spoke.
"As you all know, no Gate closes until the Dungeon boss is defeated. Since we've cleared everything out but the Gate is still open, the boss must be in there." Mr. Song pointed to the hidden Dungeon entrance. The Hunters exchanged glances and nodded. There was no room for disagreement. Mr. Song continued.
"Normally, in this situation, we should report to the Association and wait for their decision... But if we do that and other Hunters take the boss, our income will drop significantly."
The Hunters' faces fell. Especially Mr. Park, who needed a lump sum for his wife's upcoming delivery.
*'Just the cost of postnatal care these days is enormous...'*
The meaning of risking their lives for the raid would be lost.
"So I suggest we take the boss down ourselves and get out... What does everyone else think?"
The Hunters fell into thought.
"..." "..."
Of course, since this was an unusual situation, it was true that safety couldn't be guaranteed. But this Dungeon's difficulty was very low. And thus, the hidden Dungeon inside probably wasn't too difficult either.
"Ahem." Mr. Song cleared his throat.
"There are 17 of us in total. Let's decide by vote. Once we decide, no one complains later. How about it?" Everyone nodded at Mr. Song's proposal. No one objected.
"I'm going." Mr. Song raised his hand. Then, those who had been hesitating began raising their hands one by one.
"I am too." "I vote for going as well." Mr. Park raised his hand first, followed by Mr. Kim and other Hunters. Naturally, there were also many against.
"We shouldn't go." "Shouldn't we wait for the Association's decision first?" As the "go" and "don't go" camps faced off, the vote came around to the last two: Jin-Woo and Joo-Hee.
"I'm sorry..." Joo-Hee bowed her head to Mr. Song and added another vote for "don't go." Now it was 8 to 8. A tie. Mr. Song asked Jin-Woo, who was wavering, directly.
"Mr. Sung?"