This person didn’t change even after decades! Seeing Hwang Gyeongryong made Choi Yeonseung suddenly miss his former clan members.
‘I wonder what Changsik is doing...?’
Lee Changsik could be rigid and strict, but he was a good person. Arguing with Hwang Gyeongryong had to have hurt him.
“What are you thinking about?”
“Hmm. Aces are usually prideful, right?”
“That’s right.”
Hwang Gyeongryong had gathered hunters treated as aces in other clans and put them in one place—the Icarus clan. Considering they were treated as the strongest in their clans, their pride would likely be no joke.
“But my hunter rank is C+.”
"Right?”
“If we gather all the useful ace gemstones all over the world, I think they’ll all be around B-rank.”“That’s right. Their ranks are usually around B- and B+. C-grades aren’t accepted very well.”
More than 90% of hunters retired in D or E-grades without ever stepping foot into C-grade. Even a C-grade hunter was an instant power-up for ordinary clans, and those who rose to B-grade became their face and ace. Collecting so many people like that...
“Do you have any A-grade hunters?”
“...Why would an A-grade hunter work there? Those powerful enough to reach that rank become independent.”
An A-grade hunter was a strategic weapon managed by the nation. Hence, seeing them in normal dungeons was rare. Only A-grade hunters who had made great achievements could receive the title of S-grade as a special honor... Taking that into consideration made him realize how amazing it was that Hwang Gyeongryong was S-grade. Less than ten people in the world had been granted that title!
‘He had to have fought a lot.’
It was clear that while Choi Yeonseung was wandering the Abyss, Hwang Gyeongryong had been fighting critical battles on Earth. He couldn’t have gotten fortune and fame just from fighting one or two battles. Their ranks are so high. Won’t they hate it when a C+ martial artist like me joins out of nowhere?”
“Um. They will hate it.”
“......”
“You can just raise your rank! Isn't that your only option anyway?”
“Ah, true.”
“Let’s start by doing what we can. Pass the UHC qualifiers first.”
“Qualifiers?”
“Considering the number of hunters that want to join the UHC, do you think they’ll just accept anyone? Doing so would tarnish the league's reputation. You have to win and pass the qualifying rounds to be accepted as a professional in the league.”
The UHC divided hunters into hunter ranks rather than weight classes.
The A-grade League was for hunters who were A-grade or higher.
The B-grade League was for B-grade hunters.
Finally, the C-grade League was for C-grade or lower hunters.
Of course, he could only reach those ranks once he had won the regular qualifying rounds.
“Why is the competition so fierce?”
“You have no idea how much money they can make, do you? Popular C-grade League hunters can earn over a million dollars per game.”
“......!”
Even though they were just in the C-grade League and their match wasn’t a championship game, their matches were still worth a million dollars.
‘There’s a reason why hunters don’t run raids anymore and just flock here...’
In order to make a million dollars from one raid, they had to aim for at least a C-grade dungeon. The rare skills gained from a dungeon couldn’t be bought with money, but many hunters were more satisfied with money than risking their lives to acquire these skills. This option didn’t put their lives at risk and came with a large income, so why would they go to raids? They could live a much more comfortable life if they let go of their ambition.
“Your expression already tells me what you’re thinking about. Why do hunters do this instead of running raids?”
“No. Well, it’s their choice.”
“How boring. In any case, it isn’t bad to sign up for the league now. You can get a B or A-grade rating If you get the chance to show your skills, but it'll be less troublesome to move up ranks if you clear the preliminaries while you're still a C-grade.”
“What would happen if my hunter rank increases while I’m in the C-grade League?”
“You’ll go to the B-grade League. That rarely happens, though.”
"Why?"
“Think about it properly.”
“... Ah. I see.”
Choi Yeonseung quickly understood. Hunters playing the C-grade League rarely participated in raids. The easiest way to raise their hunter rank was to run raids. Therefore, the hunters would continue to remain frogs in the C-grade well.
… They were rich and happy frogs, though!
‘Well, it could be better than forcing themselves to rank up.’
“How long do we have until the qualifiers...? Ah. There’s a week left. This is good. Go to the qualifiers in a week. Until then, you should use your time to adapt.”
“Adapt?”
“Do you even know what a smartphone is, Yeonseung? Tsk tsk.”
***
Odaigon was enjoying his smartphone. Smartphones were a novelty even for the goblin king. The magic engineering developed by goblins was several times more advanced than that of humanity, but they had never thought about this type of application!
‘Uwah. This... This is it!’
“How do you open this?”
“You just need to press this.”
One of Hwang Gyeongryong’s secretaries gave Odaigon simple instructions on how to use it. When Choi Yeonseung came out, he was puzzled by the sight.
“Odaigon. Is it that fun?”
“I-It isn’t. I am just bored.”
“I think you did quite a lot for being bored...?”
The mobile game called ‘Gold Run,’ which required the player to create gold coins, seemed to have matched Odaigon’s taste. How could there be such a game so goblin-like game it revolved around collecting gold coins?!
Odaigon saw that it already had more than 10 characters. Odaigon glanced at Choi Yeonseung before asking the secretary a question.
“... How do I get these characters here?”
“You have to pay for it.”
“Umm. Well, if I just have to buy it, then...”
“No. you don't directly buy the character. You pay for the right to do a draw, which will give you a chance to get the character.”
“...?? I paid for it but it won’t just give it to me...?”
“Yes.”
“No, how can these people be so vicious?!”
Odaigon was astonished. Wasn’t this a scam?
The secretary was taken aback. “N-No. These days, all games are like this.”
-Master! Human beings are so corrupt!
-Umm. I’m a bit curious as well. Why is this so popular?
“If you don’t want to pay, you can send invitations to your friends and get the right to draw.”
“...Ugh. What are the odds of that?”
“Uh... Let’s see, that character... Upon searching, it seems it’s less than 1%...”
“?!?!”
Odaigon was shocked once more. ‘Oh my god, these thieves!’
‘It is interesting to see him like this.’
It was honestly fun to see the goblin king enjoy a game made by humans.
[The ‘Cat of Lava and Magma’ wants to play it as well!]
‘You don’t have a smartphone... What do you want to do?’
[Raising a cat!]
‘... Y-Yes. I’ll try to figure out a way later if I get a chance.’
As Odaigon was playing, Choi Yeonseung also confirmed the advantages of their civilization's advancement. Starting with smartphones, there were various convenient IT devices!
“Yeonseung. Do you remember how we took photos and made maps when clearing dungeons in the past?”
“We used to do that, didn't we”
“Now we can use unmanned robots to create 3D maps on the fly. Have you ever heard of drones?”
“......!”
Choi Yeonseung was surprised, then became puzzled.
“Can’t you just use summoning magic?”
“... T-There is meaning in saving magic power!”
“Ah, indeed...”
Seemingly curious, Choi Yeonseung checked multiple matters.
‘What is the situation in South Korea?’
Upon looking at the Korean articles, it appeared to be surprisingly peaceful. Korea didn’t seem to have gone down the same path as the United States, where the large clans openly acted like kings all over it.
‘Is it because the land mass is so small?’
The regime changed over and over again, and famous hunters came and went...
Yes, it had been nearly 30 years since the great invasion, so there was no reason for there to be a commotion now.
[Is Director Lee Changsik’s leadership really enough?]
[The fall of the Korean clans and their inability to break through the Asian League]
[The Korean national team's future looks grim!]
“???” Choi Yeonseung blinked. Why was there a familiar name?
“Hyung?”
“Huh? What is it? I’m busy right now.”
“No... Why is Changsik hyung a director?”
“Ah... He... Sigh.” Hwang Gyeongryong sounded bitter. “He’s the head coach of the Korean national team...”
“????”
What national team?
“What is the Korean national team?”
“I told you! Hunter sports! The Six Star League!”
A mock dungeon match where six players teamed up and competed against the opposing team! This league had unrivaled popularity and all types of rules and variables.
“But why is there a Korean national team?”
“You know soccer, right? Every country has a league, and it also has a World Cup.”
“Is that so?”
“Soccer and the rest of the sports combined are smaller than SSL. It’s only natural for it to have a World Cup.”
“......”
“I told you. There are two sports that divide the world. You are someone who only knows raids, but... These days, I think hunters become more famous with this.”
“So Changsik hyung is arguing with you because he is the director of the national team?”
“... Yes.”
Hwang Gyeongryong said that he fought with Lee Changsik, but his expression looked very bitter as if he had watched all the matches.
“It isn’t Changsik’s fault! All the Korean hunters are lousy!”
“If that’s what you think, shouldn’t you tell him yourself?”
“I don’t want to. I will never apologize unless he apologizes first.”
Hwang Gyeongryong’s stubbornness could never be broken whenever he acted like this. Choi Yeonseung gave up on persuading him and played the video. There were twelve hunters busy fighting and moving.
-The ‘Hwayeon’ clan players are gathering in the center! It is a decisive team battle! They are entering a decisive team battle! Ah, the opposing players are panicking. If the magic tower in the center collapses, then they will be at a disadvantage! They have to give up and come up!
‘... The world has really changed.’
He was prepared to see the world in ruins when he returned to Earth, but he wasn’t prepared for this.
[The ‘Cat of Lava and Magma’ admires it.]
‘Honestly, it must be fun.’
Complex and diverse strategies, fancy and powerful skills... A confrontation between hunters had a sense of thrill that no other sport could match.
Choi Yeonseung gave up watching any further. In any case, the place he was going to now was the UHC, not the SSL.
‘Ah. Lee Yeongdo has a new work released? I have to buy it now.’
Choi Yeonseung happily entered the Internet bookstore.
“......??”
***
Hwang Gyeongryong was busy. Not because of his usual work, though. Rather, it was because of Choi Yeonseung.
“You should contact the hunter department right now and ask them to bring the measuring equipment. Someone needs to be remeasured.”
“Got it.”
“I also need a reliable manager... Wait.”
Hwang Gyeongryong paused.
“None of you are suitable.”
“......”
“......”
The faces of the secretaries all became sullen. They were talented people who graduated from prestigious Ivy League universities!
“Where is my daughter?”
“Which daughter are you talking about?”
“Uh... 10th... 11th daughter? Um...”
Hwang Gyeongryong rubbed his forehead. He had a lot of children, so he couldn’t remember the order very well.
“You know, the child with the worst temper.”
“Ahh! You mean her!”
Hwang Gyeongryong’s secretaries had a knack for understanding him even if he spoke like a dog. This was the basic condition to be a hunter’s manager.
A hunter’s manager! It was a modern extreme job. A hunter’s agent was an external facilitator that negotiated with clans, corporations, governments, etc., on behalf of the hunter. Meanwhile, a hunter’s manager was an internal facilitator that organized a hunter’s schedule, managed their personal life, and accommodated their personal requests. In other words...
The work was very dirty!
-Oh. Isn’t it Ariana’s concert tomorrow? It isn’t as good as hunter sports like UHC or SSL, but it will be fun. Reserve a front-row seat.
-Do... Do you mean tomorrow? There are two hours left...
-Yes... I know the time well so reserve it for me. Reserve it.
-......
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