episode_0016

After training as usual.

When I was asked to meet with Jeong Soo-in, I heard shocking news from her.

“You suddenly left the team! What does that mean?”

“That… .”

Jeong Soo-in, who was more courageous than anyone else, explained what had happened in an unusually depressed manner.

He felt that his talent was infinitely lacking compared to other team members, and no matter how much he practiced, his skills did not seem to improve.

“I feel like even if I were there, I would only cause trouble to everyone… . I think it’s right to leave as quickly as possible.”

“Suin… .”

“Sorry. Producer. You cared so much… .”

Jeong Soo-in was going through a slump that often occurs among lower-ranked hunters.

I feel like my skills are lacking, and I feel skeptical about the present that is not improving and the uncertain future.

‘I can’t let it go like this.’

In order to win Jeong Soo-in’s mind back, I told her about the possibility, just like in the case of Bang Han-na.

“Suin. The speed of growth varies from person to person, so you may feel like you are lacking right now. But that’s definitely not the case. You are not a poor person. Not without talent! I promise. Because I was the one who chose you out of so many candidates.”

Then Jeong Soo-in looked at me with somewhat resigned eyes.

Then, in a calm tone, he asked a question.

“Producer, do you think I can become Class A?”

Grade A.

I was speechless at that one word.

According to my ability, Jeong Soo-in’s potential is up to B rank.

If you grow to the limit and gain experience, you can achieve skills equivalent to A rank.

but… .

A rank and B rank belong to completely different dimensions.

No matter how hard he tries, Jeong Soo-in cannot become A-rank.

“… … .”

I couldn’t bear to lie, so I looked at her quietly, sparing an answer.

Jeong Soo-in spoke calmly, raising the corners of her mouth weakly, as if she had already expected this.

“My parents run a small restaurant in my hometown. They say they are having a hard time these days, perhaps because they are old and because they are short of workers, so they are planning to go back to their hometown.”

I could tell that she had already mentally prepared herself.

“… okay… .”

And then I decided to give up trying to persuade him any more.

If the story continues longer, it will only make both me and her suffer.

“… You run a restaurant? Do you plan on inheriting it at all?”

“I think I need to think about it slowly.”

“… okay. Think about it carefully. If you need anything, be sure to contact me.”

I sighed deeply out of regret and gently shook her hand to say goodbye.

“You’ve had a lot of trouble so far.”

There will be no more hunters named Jeong Su-in active in the future.

She held my hand bravely like when she first met me,

“Thank you. Producer.”

He accepted my last greeting.

*

“Yes!? Are you a prisoner!?”

“What!?”

The next day, Han Gyu-ri and Kim Jun-hyung, who heard the news about Jeong Soo-in, reacted with disbelief.

“Why? What on earth is happening!?”

“Explain it properly! Why did Suin quit the team?”

I shared with them the story I shared with Jeong Soo-in.

She said that she felt great shame about her talent and also felt deep doubt about her life as a hunter team.

“I had organized my mind to the point where I couldn’t persuade myself. I couldn’t hold on any longer.”

“Oh my god… .”

“You’re in big trouble… .”

While the two were saddened by Jeong Soo-in’s situation, they also began to worry about the survival of the team itself.

“What should I do? If there are not enough team members, team registration will not be possible… !”

“No one can fit in… .”

Hunter teams can only be officially recognized when at least three team members are registered.

Among them, teams with no activity history are classified as ‘temporary teams’.

There is only one week to maintain a temporary team due to a lack of team members.

If you can’t register team members within a week and can’t even maintain a temporary team… .

Team Seoul City Hall’s business itself will be judged unsustainable, Bang Han-na and Kim Na-rae will lose the team, and there is a high possibility that Han Gyu-ri and Kim Jun-hyung will be held responsible for everything.

‘One o’clock is urgent.’

After explaining the situation, I asked him to take charge of the training of the remaining team members while I searched for new team members.

“… Yes?”

“You want to scout?”

“Rather than leaving it to two people, I’m faster on my feet.”

Fortunately, I have the ability to read other people’s abilities.

Since I have a sufficient budget and full authority over the team, I can recruit new team members without any restrictions.

‘This could actually be an opportunity.’

“Anyway, I’m going to leave right away, so I’ll ask for just one week. Explain it well to the kids. Gyuri, please ask me a favor.”

“Ugh… .”

At that time, I was busy packing my bags and leaving the office.

“Do Ji-hyuk.”

Kim Jun-hyung grabbed me and asked me in a very serious tone.

“… Can you do it?”

He asked this question as the person in charge of Team Seoul City Hall.

“There is only one week. If you don’t meet the deadline… , I really don’t know what will happen.”

I glanced over his shoulder at Gyu-ri Han, who was looking anxious, then made eye contact with Jun-hyung Kim again and answered quietly.

“I have to do it.”

At first glance, it seemed like an extremely irresponsible statement, but… .

“… okay. I only trust you.”

Kim Jun-hyung seemed to have clearly accepted my will and gave me strength by tapping my shoulder.

*

It’s already been 5 days since we started looking for new team members.

‘ruined.’

I still couldn’t find a new teammate.

At first, I thought it would be easy to find… .

It was a complete miscalculation.

There was no shortage of candidates themselves.

Every ‘Rank Measurement Week’ held in the first week of every month, rookies who have just awakened their abilities and hunters who have updated their ranks pour out.

In an era where 3 out of 10 people are talented, it is absurd to say that we cannot hire people because there are not enough people.

Since the ranking measurement week has already passed, it is not possible to catch fresh talents who have just come out, but there are many places where you can look for candidates.

Hunter training center, hunter-only training center, academy, etc… .

In addition to places commonly visited by scouts, you can also use your ability to find candidates on the streets.

the problem is… .

‘I don’t like anyone.’

It wasn’t easy to find someone who met my standards.

What our team needs right now is a main dealer position.

Since it is a female team, of course it must be a woman, and it must be someone with specialized abilities in attack work.

This alone has already filtered out most candidates, but since they are looking for people with at least B rank or higher potential, the odds are almost extreme.

To be honest, I briefly thought about compromising a bit on the conditions and filling up the number of people appropriately… .

Even though it was a support position, I could never give up the main dealer position.

“Ha… .”

After wandering around so many different places and using my abilities at random, I felt a pounding headache, so I stopped at a nearby cafe to take a break.

‘Where should we go now…’ .’

Right then.

Uuuu…

The cell phone on the table started ringing.

[Hunter High School 36th class Kim Junhyung]

It was Kim Junhyung.

“… … .”

I saw that it was still training time with the clock floating in the corner of the screen, and I silently answered the phone, feeling that he had called to remind me.

“… hello… .”

however.

[You haven’t found a teammate yet, right? ]

“… It’s not easy.”

[Then, go to Chuncheon. ]

“… Huh?”

Kim Jun-hyung delivered unexpected news.

[An official notice was posted in Chuncheon saying that a ranking measurement schedule has been set. They say it starts at 4pm, so go check it out. ]

The story was that a ranking measurement schedule was suddenly set.

‘It’s been pulled!’

If there are a lot of people during the week of ranking measurement, the process may be slightly delayed for those with reservations to prepare for congestion, and today seems to have been that day.

“Thank you! I’ll go right away!”

I drove straight to the rank measuring center in Chuncheon.

Roaring Roaring─ Roaring Roaring─

As if the rumor had already spread, several people who appeared to belong to various guilds were seen from the parking lot.

‘There are a lot of competitors.’

The biggest reason why people flock during rank measurement week is by far the scouting that takes place in real time.

The electronic display board outside the measuring station displays the number of people in the newly measured rank each time, but since it is decided to measure one person at a time, in reality, there is no choice but to know who is in what rank.

As a producer, I rarely come to places like this… .

The measurement center was a place where a battle of wits took place between scouts trying to recruit new recruits and guild members trying to protect their hunters.

‘Is it starting slowly?’

I mixed in with other people and took a seat at the exit of the measuring station.

And then I was leaving feedback on the training video of Bang Han-na and Kim Na-rae that Gyu-ri Han sent… .

“Jihyuk!”

Someone suddenly pretended to know something.

“It’s been a while since I saw you!”

It was Beomjae Kim, a scout belonging to the Cheonhwa Guild.

‘This human has come too.’

Beomjae Kim had a tendency to look down on people for a long time, so he was a person I didn’t like very much.

“How have you been? How did you change your affiliation and make a better impression?”

He readily shook my hand, giving off the nuance that he knew my news, and I calmly returned the greeting by clasping his hand.

“It’s been a while. I still only wear expensive suits.”

Then Beomjae Kim raised the corners of his mouth and spoke while patting his high-quality jacket as if showing off.

“First impressions are important, so shouldn’t you dress appropriately for your income?”

Kim Beom-jae, a successful scouter, is earning quite a lot of money.

Of course, it was far below my salary.

“Well… . Wearing nice clothes doesn’t mean you’ll make a lot of money, right?”

“Haha! That’s right!”

Beomjae Kim, who twitched the corners of his mouth and let out a dry laugh, looked me up and down and subtly asked a question.

“So… . Producer, what are you doing here?”

“I came to experience scouting. This is not usually a difficult task.”

“… Scouter?”

That was when Beomjae Kim asked back with a puzzled look on his face when he heard that he was doing scouting himself.

Roaring Roaring─

Just then, the exit of the measurement station opened and people who had completed the measurement began to come out.

Beomjae Kim and I exchanged empty words with each other and then sat down separately.

“It’s started. Anyway, it was nice to meet you.”

“Me too. I hope to see you again soon.”

And so the battle of wits finally began.

I looked at the electronic display board and checked the status… .

[ S : 0 A : 0 B : 0 C : 3 D : 9 E : 9 F : 10 ]

Currently, not a single person from Class S to Class B has emerged, and scouts are rushing in every time a C Class talent, the highest grade, appears.

“CG Guild! On our side… !”

“If you come to our Gangjin guild… !”

“Platinum Guild! sure… !”

Some of them already had guilds… .

“It’s some unheard-of guild, so hit someone!”

“What? Have you heard!? Where do you belong, you bastard!”

There was even a physical fight between members of the original guild and scouts from other organizations who were caught up by the security car.

‘That’s shit.’

As so many E and F classes were let go, people flocked to the rare C class, and fierce competition was taking place.

[ S : 0 A : 0 B : 1 C : 5 D : 14 E : 22 F : 20 ]

Finally, the number of B-level talented people changed.

Roaring Roaring─ Roaring Roaring─

The B-rank ability that created a stir was a young woman, and as expected, almost all guilds rushed to her.

“Hello! In our guild… !”

“Hello! This is Sejin Guild!”

“This is Han Ji-min, the chief scout of the Shining Dynasty Guild! On our side… .!”

She became a star in an instant and walked out of the crowd, receiving only one business card as if she had been waiting for her.

“Tch, is it Cheonhwa Guild again?”

“There are queens, but they are also very greedy.”

It was none other than the business card of the Cheonhwa Guild.

“… … .”

Kim Beom-jae, who had picked up a woman who was probably of the highest rank, glanced at me, smiled in satisfaction, and leisurely left the measuring station… .

Actually, I wasn’t really interested in her.

Because the growth of the woman Beomjae Kim took had already reached its limit.

‘All the sweet water has already run out.’

Even that is at the level of the early B level, so it can be said that it is not a very good recruitment.

“There are no young talents today.”

“That’s right. If I go empty-handed again today, it will be really broken… .”

After all the commotion, the overheated atmosphere calmed down slightly.

It was a time when most scouts were just staring blankly at the electronic display board, shedding regret.

Jiiiing─

The door opened, and a woman started walking out.

“It’s level F again this time.”

“Ugh… .”

The scouts made a mockery of her and seemed to have no interest in her… .

“!”

After seeing her potential, I was so shocked that I jumped up.

[ Name: Jin Seowon / Potential Rank: S / Possessed Ability: Heavenly Demon God Lv0 ]

A whopping S rank.

The holder of the Heavenly Demon Divine Skill has appeared.