Chapter 10: To Catch a Hunter, Head to the Hunter Guild (2)

To form relationships with Hunters who would earn me Awakening Points, the fastest method was, naturally, to join the Hunter Guild and become an official Hunter.

Once I became affiliated with the same Hunter Guild and managed to get acquainted with existing Hunters somehow, it would probably be much more convincing than a complete stranger asking for sex.

Since there were quite a few snake-like men who falsely claimed to have been raped by famous Hunters, it was common sense not to give a second glance to gigolos who showed up offering themselves for free.

Of course, Hunters aren’t a hive mind but a gathering of individuals, so there were certainly people who resolved their sexual urges thoughtlessly, whether they were gigolos or not, but such people wouldn’t have pent-up urges in the first place, meaning they had no connection to me.

The primary targets were Hunters who lacked the courage to take a man, or who couldn’t resolve their sexual urges with men due to societal pressure.

Furthermore, the more accumulated sexual urges from a long career, the better. Those kinds of people would hand over a lot of points at once, just like Kang Hye-eun.

Finding Hunters who could efficiently supply points, rather than just any Hunter to satisfy urges, was indeed the first priority, and for that, the title of a Guild-affiliated Hunter was not an option but a necessity.

Fortunately, I possessed the weapon of Level 3 Swordsmanship, so I could use it to slowly build up my Hunter rank from the bottom.

Even becoming just one of the few C-class male Hunters in Korea would make it not too difficult to find Hunters willing to release their long-accumulated sexual urges as if letting off steam.

There were broadly three Guilds managing Hunter personnel in Korea.

Including small and medium-sized Guilds, dozens of organizations operated throughout Korea, but the ones with branches in Seoul, known as the ‘Big Three Guilds’, were only three.

Eun & Ok Co., Ltd., the Hunters’ Autonomous Union, and the Ariel Foundation.

The Ariel Foundation, operating in a unique way, was irrelevant to me anyway, so I’ll skip it. To live somewhat ‘respectably’ as a Hunter in Korea, it was common to be affiliated with either Eun & Ok Co., Ltd. or the Hunters’ Autonomous Union.

Therefore, the Guild I would join must naturally be one of the two: Eun & Ok Co., Ltd. or the Hunters’ Autonomous Union.

There was also the option of joining a new or small/medium Guild and growing with the organization, but as mentioned earlier, it would be somewhat difficult to find Hunters with long careers and accumulated urges in such places.

For convenience, I’ll refer to the two potential Guilds I’m applying to as the ‘Company’ and the ‘Union’, respectively. Both the Company and the Union had their own set of pros and cons.

First, the Company, living up to its name as a corporation, offers quite decent benefits and provides a steady base salary according to rank, even if performance is slightly lacking.

For someone choosing the unstable profession of a Hunter, this aspect of employment stability was quite important, which is why aspiring Hunters naturally considered becoming Company-affiliated Hunters their top priority.

The downside, however, was the requirement to fulfill a certain number of mandatory weekly work hours. While there were bonuses for achieving results, the compensation was a bit stingy compared to the performance.

I heard this directly from an industry insider (Hye-eun), so it’s likely accurate. Another notable point was that the entrance exam was slightly more difficult compared to the Union.

Conversely, the Union’s nature was the complete opposite of the Company’s, standing at a polar extreme in its structure.

Work hours were completely autonomous with no minimum requirement, and if one achieved results like defeating large monsters, they were granted the right to dispose of those achievements freely, without the Guild reclaiming them.

Of course, a single Hunter wouldn’t have separate buyers for materials, so they’d eventually submit them to the Union for rewards, but the compensation for achievements was, on average, higher than the Company’s.

However, unlike the Company, benefits were virtually non-existent, there was no base salary, and an entrance fee called the ‘Union Maintenance Fund’ had to be paid every time one entered a dungeon.

Due to this peculiar organizational structure, the disparity in skill among affiliated Hunters tended to be quite pronounced.

There were broadly two types of Hunters within the Hunters’ Autonomous Union: highly skilled Hunters who remained because earning achievements in the Union was more efficient than joining the Company, essentially those who could survive anywhere.

And the weaker Hunters who lacked the skill to join the Company and barely scraped by in the Union.

If the Company’s relationship with Hunters was employment-based, the Union’s relationship was akin to a freelance contract.

Both had their respective pros and cons, but the Company was far more advantageous in terms of stability, including basic safety training and equipment support provided for C-class and above Hunters.

With that judgment made, my steps naturally turned towards the Gangdong District branch of Eun & Ok Co., Ltd… or so it should have, but the direction I was walking was, from the start, towards the Hunters’ Autonomous Union Guild, located in the opposite direction of Eun & Ok Co., Ltd.

It wasn’t that I was heading to the Union because I was worried about the Company’s entrance exam. If I couldn’t even pass a test of that level, it would mean I wasn’t ready to be a Hunter in the first place.

Yet, the reason I specifically chose to walk towards the Hunters’ Autonomous Union was because Kang Hye-eun was affiliated with Eun & Ok Co., Ltd.

If Kang Hye-eun were to hear about my current actions-becoming a Hunter, entering dungeons, and hunting monsters-she would undoubtedly lecture me and desperately try to interfere with my hunts.

And as I mentioned before, the reason for joining a Guild wasn’t just to hunt monsters, but to get acquainted with other Hunters and earn Awakening Points through gigolo activities.

If Kang Hye-eun were to find out about me doing this, there was a high probability that our relationship, along with her stable supply of points, would be jeopardized, accompanied by a lecture about not ruining my life through self-abandonment.

Most importantly, I had to prevent the possibility of rumors spreading to Hye-eun’s mother, my benefactor from childhood, at all costs.

Rather than operating under circumstances fraught with potential trouble, it was better to operate within the Hunters’ Autonomous Union. Although the affiliation was different, it was still a viable place for Hunter activities.

With that thought, after walking along the riverside road for about 30 minutes, the building of the Hunters’ Autonomous Union Gangdong District branch appeared before my eyes.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

“Are you here to register as a Hunter with the Hunters’ Autonomous Union?”

I nodded in response to the question from the attendant sitting at the counter.

“What is your name and age?”

“I’m twenty-two. My name is Seong….”

…Come to think of it, using my real name might be a bit risky.

“Yes? Seong, what was that?”

“Sungchul. Kim Sungchul.”

“Yes, Kim Sungchul-ssi. You’re twenty-two, correct?”

“That’s right.”

That was a close call.

If I had mistakenly registered and operated under my real name, rumors could have spread even to Hye-eun, so it was better to register and operate under an alias for now.

Fortunately, operating under an alias didn’t make joining impossible. Unlike a Company that meticulously manages every employee, the Union often had Hunters operating under aliases, including myself.

With so many Hunters, including riff-raff, it was impossible to manage them all. Moreover, since the organization operated by signing short-term contracts, renting out dungeons, or reselling materials obtained from dungeons, they seemingly didn’t feel the need for strict management.

And exploiting this loophole, Hunters affiliated with other Guilds often operated under aliases within the Union. Thus, the Hunters’ Autonomous Union, sustained by the abilities of such Hunters, had no reason to abandon the advantage of ‘anonymity’ now.

“Yes, you are registered. For dungeon access, please use counters 3 through 10. For selling or purchasing materials, use counters 11 through 20.”

After finishing the surprisingly lax Hunter registration, a roughly coated piece of paper called the ‘Trainee Hunter Certificate’ was placed directly into my hand.

Unlike the system at Eun & Ok Co., Ltd., where a D-class Hunter certificate was issued immediately upon joining, the Hunters’ Autonomous Union required everyone to start as a Trainee Hunter and accumulate achievements through dungeon entries or material sales.

If anything, the trainee period itself served as the entrance exam for the Hunters’ Autonomous Union. For me, it was actually good, as I got the chance to swing my sword immediately after registering, without any further delays.

As soon as I received my identification tag, I rushed to the third counter and immediately applied for dungeon entry as planned.

“I’d like to apply for entry into the Dark Forest, Area A.”

“The Dark Forest, Area A? The Union Maintenance Fund required is 50,000 won… Ah, you’re still a Trainee Hunter. In that case, the fee is 10,000 won.”

Quietly grateful for one of the few benefits of the Trainee Hunter Certificate-the discount on the Union Maintenance Fund-I took out a 10,000 won bill featuring Princess Jeongui from my wallet and handed it to the attendant.

…For reference, in this world, King Sejong the Great’s visage is depicted on the 50,000 won bill.

“Yes, received the 10,000 won. Please proceed inside, step onto the second warp gate platform, and wait briefly.”

“Okay.”

Warp Gate. As a facility that allows travel with almost no distance restrictions, it’s a structure used by many Guilds, including the Company and the Union, for dungeon entry. I had used these warp gates several times to enter dungeons or training grounds even during high school.

I placed my feet on the familiar white platform and waited for the white light of spatial magic to envelop me. In an instant, my vision flashed white, and my body was transported to another location.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

「D-class Dungeon, Dark Forest Area A.」

As soon as I arrived via warp, a damp, overgrown thicket greeted me.

The gloomy forest backdrop, where the sun never seemed to shine, and the monsters that sprang from within were just as unpleasant as the place itself. With a slight sense of tension, sword in hand, I entered the woods and immediately spotted the very unpleasant monsters I expected.

‘Keruk?’

Torn eyes and a strangely bent nose. Long ears and green skin.

Up to this point, they looked not much different from the goblins I’d seen in games or comics from my previous world, but the goblins of this world had slightly different characteristics.

The sagging breasts hidden by loose clothing, the perpetually swollen bellies suggesting pregnancy, and that unpleasant expression whenever they spotted a male Hunter… Even setting aside the standards of men in this world, a chilling sensation ran down my spine.

They were monsters that looked like female versions of the goblins from my original world.

It was easy to understand why numerous male Hunters captured by packs of Goblina after their first expeditions were left as wrecks after being rescued.

Even I would struggle to maintain my sanity if dozens of them were fucking me 24/7.

‘Keruk?!’ ‘Keruleuk! Keruk!’ ‘Kieeeek!’

As soon as one Goblina spotted me, it shrieked, alerting its companions to my presence.

The Goblins, salivating at the sight of a human male after so long, began approaching me, each wielding a weapon.

Back in school, even dealing with two Goblins was a struggle, but now, with my Swordsmanship level raised to 3, I could probably take down about three Goblins somehow.

‘Keruk!’

Responding to the vanguard’s signal, I swung my greatsword heavily and directly at the approaching Goblina.

Perhaps thanks to the increased Swordsmanship level, the sword felt much lighter than when I swung it back in school. My first strike, intended to first incapacitate the charging vanguard and then set up a 2-on-1 situation,

-Whoosh!

‘Ke….’ ‘Kreu….’ ‘Kie….’

With just a single swing, not only the vanguard Goblina but also the two Goblins following behind were cleanly split in half and killed.

“…Huh?”

What the heck. Why am I this strong.