Chapter 20
“An Offer from the Guildmaster”
“Hunter Juhyuk, if it weren’t for you, we’d all be dead.”
“You soloed the Lich King by yourself, right? Are you insane or something?”
The party members, who had returned from the gate and recovered from their hallucinations with the help of neural suppressants, were now fully lucid.
And after hearing what had happened inside, everyone reacted the same way—with pure admiration.
“I knew you weren’t ordinary when I heard you took down that mutant alone, but this… this is on another level.”
Of course it was.
A mere F-rank Hunter entering a D-rank gate and performing like an MVP was unthinkable.
He’d wiped out the entire skeleton army and even defeated the Lich King by himself.
Anyone not surprised would be the strange one.
“It’s nothing special. I just got lucky—the enemy happened to be weak to me.”
“In this business, luck counts as skill. Besides, even with good compatibility, a rookie taking down a D-rank boss is anything but common.”
Their leader clapped him on the shoulder approvingly, then raised a hand to calm the others.
“Anyway, we all owe you our lives. You worked hard, really. Don’t worry about the payment—we’ll make sure you get a fair cut.”
“Thank you.”
Juhyuk bowed slightly in gratitude, his expression calm and untroubled despite the fatigue written on everyone else’s faces.
“Well then, I’m exhausted. I’ll head home first.”
“Yeah, go get some rest.”
They let him go without protest—after what had happened in the gate, he’d more than earned it.
The praise felt nice, but his mind was worn thin. He just wanted to go home.
‘With this raid, I can finally cover Mom’s hospital bills and our living expenses.’
Not a bad haul.
Between the E-rank magic stones from the skeleton mobs and the D-rank stone from the Lich King, it would be a tidy profit.
And since the leader had promised a fair division, a solid sum should be in his account by tomorrow.
Feeling a little lighter at the thought, Juhyuk made his way toward the bus stop—planning to visit his mother before going home.
That’s when someone called his name.
“Juhyuk.”
It was Jihoon, his teammate from today’s raid, walking up beside him.
“Heading straight home?”
“Yeah.”
“Yeah…?”
There was a strange tone in his voice.
The sound of cars rushing by filled the silence between them.
“I was gonna ask if you wanted to grab dinner. Talk a bit.”
Jihoon turned his head, meeting Juhyuk’s eyes.
“I wanted to talk about something serious.”
“…”
A faint tension prickled in the air.
Juhyuk suppressed a sigh and replied,
“If this is about joining your guild, I’m not interested.”
“Hah, well… that was part of it.”
Jihoon smiled faintly.
Then he let out a long breath.
“You’re incredible, you know that? When I asked if I could trust you earlier, I honestly wasn’t sure. Hard to believe, you know?”
“It’d be weirder if you did trust an F-rank Hunter.”
“Hah. You and I both know you’re not really F-rank.”
And it was true.
Anyone who’d seen Juhyuk fight today would never believe he was F-rank.
He was at least C-rank, maybe higher—B-rank potential, even.
“But you’re stronger than I thought. Way stronger.”
Jihoon still couldn’t believe how drastically Juhyuk had grown.
During their academy days, his progress had been sluggish, like a caterpillar crawling uphill. Now, it was like watching a rocket take off.
“I was shocked when you beat Im Hyungjoo, but this time… this time it’s beyond words.”
He couldn’t help but wonder how.
Was it the fruit of relentless effort?
That’s what Jihoon had believed—until now.
But then came the strange part.
“I heard you haven’t even gone through a reawakening?”
The question hung between them.
“There was an updated registry a few weeks ago—you’re still listed as F-rank.”
“…”
“I’m not teasing you. I’m just amazed. You took down the Lich King without reawakening? That’s… unbelievable.”
An F-rank Hunter, unawakened, defeating a D-rank boss alone—
No, “unbelievable” wasn’t enough.
“How did you do it, seriously?”
There it was—doubt.
Was he doping? Using illegal enhancement drugs to temporarily boost mana output? Or maybe he’d had a reawakening and falsified the records?
But neither fit.
If Juhyuk had used drugs strong enough to let an F-rank solo the Lich King, the side effects would’ve shown by now. He was perfectly fine.
And data manipulation? Impossible.
His reawakening test had been at Mir Guild—
a mid-tier but reputable guild. Their results were public on the Hunter Association site.
Even large guilds avoided tampering with those records; getting caught meant immediate dissolution by the International Hunter Association.
A mid-tier guild like Mir wouldn’t risk it for a rookie.
Juhyuk said nothing.
He remembered Jihoon’s expression during the raid—the only one who’d stayed sane till the end.
So he had a hunch where this was going.
“Before the Lich King died,” Jihoon said quietly, “he said something… remember?”
“…Did he?”
“He did. I remember it clearly.”
Jihoon had heard it—the Lich King’s final words.
Even while fending off skeletons, when their master fell, they’d all collapsed. Jihoon had been free to listen.
“Before you struck the final blow, he said, ‘Eat my magic stone…’”
The memory made Jihoon’s voice tremble. He’d seen the Lich King’s proud, regal tone twist into a pleading whisper before his death.
“And then, before he could finish, you killed him.”
“…Right. I remember now.”
So he was suspicious.
‘Well, of course he’d be. An F-rank taking down a D-rank boss alone? Anyone would doubt it.’
Especially Jihoon, who’d known him since the academy.
His sudden rise was unnatural.
But Juhyuk only shrugged lightly.
“Even if he said that… could I even eat it?”
There was no way Jihoon could imagine the truth—
that an artifact resided within Juhyuk’s body, and that to use it, he had to literally consume magic stones.
Such an idea was beyond the realm of human thought.
“Well,” Jihoon said finally, “you earned it. You deserve to keep the D-rank stone, at least.”
“…”
Juhyuk’s eyes met his.
After a moment, Jihoon looked away and nodded.
“Yeah… you did all the work. You should keep it.”
“Good. Then I’ll make sure it’s put to use.”
Just then, the bus arrived.
“Bus’s here. I’ll go first.”
“Yeah, take care.”
Juhyuk stepped aboard and disappeared down the road.
Jihoon stood alone at the stop, scratching his head with a sigh.
“…What the hell was I thinking?”
He’d actually doubted his friend—over something so ridiculous.
Anyone who’d watched Juhyuk train over the years knew how absurd that was.
‘He’s worked harder than anyone. He deserves this.’
No one embodied perseverance better than Juhyuk.
Remembering that, Jihoon shook off his doubts.
‘I’ll just have to work harder, too.’
Later that evening.
“Mom, it’s me.”
Straight from the gate, Juhyuk went to the hospital.
He wanted to show his mother his uninjured face, to reassure her that he’d come back safe.
But when he opened the door—
“Oh, there you are.”
A bearded man in his fifties was sitting beside her bed.
“…And you are?”
The stranger smiled broadly and stood to greet him.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Go Gunyoung, guildmaster of Mir Guild.”
“…”
The name rang a bell.
‘Right—the mentor of S-rank Hunter Lee Siheon. And he’s famous for discovering new talent.’
Gunyoung wasn’t just a skilled A-rank Hunter himself; his real gift was spotting potential in others.
Juhyuk shook his hand politely.
“What brings the Mir Guildmaster to my mother’s room?”
“I was visiting the hospital director and thought I’d check in. Wanted to make sure you and your mother were doing all right.”
His tone was warm, his laugh easy, almost disarming.
“How could I not pay respects to the mother of the man who saved my guild’s team?”
“…Thank you.”
“No need to thank me—it’s the least I can do.”
Gunyoung grinned, flashing perfect teeth.
Juhyuk glanced at his mother.
“Mom, I’ll step out for a bit.”
“Alright, take your time.”
She already understood.
Gunyoung hadn’t come for pleasantries—anyone could guess that.
“Shall we get some air?” Juhyuk asked.
“Good idea.”
They left the room together, eventually finding an empty bench outside.
Gunyoung sat down, then spoke without preamble.
“I heard about today. You took down the Lich King solo.”
“News travels fast, I see.”
“In this business? Especially when an F-rank solos a D-rank boss—it’s front-page stuff.”
Not even two hours had passed since the raid ended, and already the story had spread.
Recognition wasn’t bad—but it wasn’t exactly convenient either.
‘I just hope no one else comes bothering Mom like this…’
He didn’t want a constant stream of recruiters disrupting her rest, using “safety” as an excuse to nag about guild membership.
The thought alone gave him a headache.
While Juhyuk was silently worrying, Gunyoung broke the quiet.
“I’ll be direct—I’m not one for dancing around words.”
Before he could even ask, Juhyuk cut him off firmly.
“I’m not joining a guild.”
“Ha! I already heard that from Yena.”
Gunyoung chuckled. Clearly, he hadn’t come for recruitment.
“This isn’t a proposal from the Guildmaster of Mir,” he said, eyes gleaming. “It’s an offer from Hunter Go Gunyoung.”
He’d heard every detail of Juhyuk’s solo battle, and as he listened, a familiar thrill stirred inside him—the same instinct he’d felt whenever he discovered raw genius.
His long-dormant passion flared anew.
“Would you like to train under me?”
