Have we met? (1)
Wow, what is going on?
When I checked my phone in the morning, I was surprised by the number of messages I had received.
New Comment
New Comment
New Comment
.
.
I unlocked my phone and stared at the ‘999+’ next to the app.
“Are you the real Jeong Si-woo? This is an app that can only be used after acquiring a hunter license.”
“It seems that all your provided details are in order. Welcome to the app.”
“Do you want to join my Raid Squad? Can I join yours? I am a huge fan! “
“Wow.”
The comments reminded me of popular Pop Stars’ fan pages. There were lots of requests for me to send them an autographed picture.
Was I this famous? I hadn’t realized that before, while I was still living at the academy.
“Damn. That’s going to be annoying.”
If I filled my Squad with fans, they would probably do anything I told them to. The thought made me uncomfortable. I had to scroll through a lot of nonsense before I found a serious reply.
“I can offer you the center position in a good Squad. Although we usually require a higher qualification than 3rd Class, I am willing to make an exception for you.”
With my interest piqued, I visited the person’s Squad page.
They had been active for many years. There were thousands of comments on their page, and their current Squad seemed to be very experienced.
I contacted them without hesitation.
* * *
The streets were fairly busy, especially for the early hour. Shopkeepers were opening their stores, and many cars passed by the woman. She entered a park that was full of people on their way to work.
Among them all, she spotted a lonely man sitting on a bench, with a can of beer in his hands.
An ice-cold drink. Water droplets were rolling onto his hand.
He opened the lid and swallowed the contents. The man looked very tired. People around him were completely ignoring him while drinking their beers or smoking cigarettes. The woman joined him on his bench.
“What do you think?”
Slap!
He slapped her on both cheeks at the same time. Suddenly the intense flavors of tobacco, coffee, and alcohol mixed in the woman’s nose. She used to indulge occasionally before she had decided to become a hunter.
Now, she couldn’t afford those weaknesses anymore.
“Ah, Cheon Myung-seok. First to arrive, as usual.”
“Where are the others?”
“Coming soon. Did you even eat anything today?”
“Nah. If you eat something before entering a Rift and get twisted…”
“Ah, come on, we’re not going to get twisted. Let’s grab a bowl of soup or rice.”
She stood up and dragged him to the nearest restaurant. Sure, there was a risk of getting twisted in Rifts, but he had to eat something; he looked miserable.
The door opened. A man with a baseball cap deep in his face entered and sat down at our table.
“You weren’t in the park, so I went looking for you.”
“Sorry, who are you?
“Oh, right, I’m sorry. I am Jeong Si-woo. I left you a message on the board. You told me to meet you outside?”
He took off his cap so they could see his face.
“Oh, yes, of course. I’m sorry that we weren’t outside, we were just going to go in here for a quick soup. I’m glad that you could make it on such short notice. You’ll probably want to get paid right away? Hold on a second, please.”
She had been very happy when she had found Myeong-seok. It’d been a real struggle to recruit competent hunters lately. The good ones usually joined a Guild, and the level of Rifts she and her Squad usually entered was too high for the recent graduates.
“You look like I should know you from somewhere.”
Hye-sun muttered, barely audibly. Next to the two men who looked like they were in their late 30s, she looked very young. She didn’t usually go looking for hunters on the Internet, but one of her friends had sent her the link to Si-woo’s profile.
‘Jeong Si-woo…I’ve heard that name somewhere,’ Hye-sun pondered.
“I get that a lot.”
He replied with a warm smile. Suddenly it hit her. This was Jeong Si-woo.
Why would such a famous Hunter join her squad instead of joining a Guild and leading his own team?
“Shall we start?”
* * *
I had to travel a few hours by bus to the place where I met Myung-seok and Hye-sun. Fortunately, the Rift was only another 10-minute walk from there.
“We don’t often have a person in the central position. Usually, we roll with two tanks or two DPS. It’s hard to find someone who can work the central position.”
“We are really good, though, so we do well, even when our teammates are bad.”
“Hahaha. Hye-sun could easily enter a guild, but she prefers to run with us. It would be difficult to find a suitable replacement.”
“It’s good that some people still have a sense of loyalty. Often young people learn what they can from seasoned Freelancers, just to then join a Guild and never look back.”
They were pretty fun people once I got to know them a little. Cheon Myung-seok was a big man who worked as a tank. Park Joon-hyuk was a support, and Lee Hye-sun, with her bow and arrow, was our damage dealer. It was a great combination.
“Ah, Cheon Myung-seok! Who is that guy? Is he new?”
“Yes, this is a new member of our Squad.”
“Okay, you may enter.”
I hadn’t seen this in a long time, but this was the normal procedure when entering a Rift. Unless the Guilds took care of it, usually Freelance Hunters or Mercenaries were tasked with clearing the Rift, and the local government had control of who was allowed to enter and leave a Rift.
In the meantime, I haven’t suffered by entering the Great Rift or the Rift in an urgent situation, but this was the normal strategy that most hunters proceed with. Cheon Myung-seok seemed to know the person at the gate already.
When entering the Rift, I felt a strange sensation throughout my whole body. It was like being sucked into the Rift. I would never get used to that.
[Information browsing activated]
[Name: Dense Forest]
[Risk Level 3]
“Is everyone familiar with the Forest Rifts? Mr. Woo, do you need a briefing? I don’t recall you mentioning being in a Forest Rift in your profile?”
“No, I’ve been in a Forest Rift before.”
Cheon Myuk-seon nodded and took the lead.
[Name: Cheon Myung-seok]
[Talent: Endurance (C)]
[Very resistant to pain and all types of damage. Incoming damage is not reduced, but the Tank is good at fighting through it.]
[Skills: Tough Skin (C), Defensive Expert (C), Shield Mastery (C)]
With a cry, a Goblin popped out of a nearby bush. It completely surprised me.
However, others didn’t seem too surprised by his appearance. Myung-seok immediately raised his shield.
“Forest Goblin. Main weapons: spear and dagger.”
“Okay.”
With one hand, he raised his large shield to block the attack. With the other, he grabbed the Goblin by the neck to keep him from running away. The Goblin floundered in his strong grip for a moment before it was hit by an arrow and killed.
Tuwong!
That was only the first one, though.
“I can hear one big guy on our left and a wolf to our right. The wolf is closer. It’s a Leaf wolf.”
“Joon-Hyuk, you take care of the wolf.”
“Okay, I’ll hold it off, and the newbie and Hye-sun will take care of it.”
With a giant leap, a two-meter tall wolf sprang out of the bushes.
[Name: Park Joon-hyuk]
[Talent: Good eyes (C)]
[Excellent vision and perceives time at a slower speed than usual.]
[Skills: Slow (C), Stun (C), Haste (C)]
Damn it!
Park Joon-hyuk raised his fingers and applied Slow, Stun, and Haste. Those were common buffs that Hunters in support positions often had. However, how he used them was not very common.
He had sped up one of the wolf’s front legs and slowed down the other. The wolf couldn’t adapt to the new way his legs worked and fell on its nose.
He was far too proficient with this skill for a Class 3 Hunter.
Damn it!
He raised his fingers once more. This time, he had stunned the wolf.
“Nice!”
Hye-seun had waited patiently for her opportunity to shoot the wolf right between the eyes.
Tuwong!
[Name: Lee Hye-sun]
[Talent: Precision Shot (C)]
[You can shoot more accurately.]
[Skills: Sharpshooter (D), Fast Shot (C)]
They worked very well together as a team. The wolf and another two Goblins died quickly, and none of them seemed tired, let alone injured.
“The big one on the left is going to be on top of us at any moment!”
They were very skilled third Class Hunters. However, I was more interested in someone else.
Cheon Myung-seok.
Thud. Thud.
A huge monster slowly trampled through the bushes towards us.
Vicious fangs and an ugly, green face. It was an Ogre with a large branch in his hand. It was a tough opponent for a 3rd Class Hunter, but no one looked even a little concerned.
“Everyone, watch out!”
He raised the shield and moved slowly towards the Ogre. Those subtle movements reminded me of someone I knew. I couldn’t quite remember who.
“Jeong Si-woo, what are you doing? Have you never seen an Ogre before? Why are you just staring at me…?!”
“Quiet.”
I took Lee Hye-sun’s bow out of her hands. She was great with it, for a 3rd Class Hunter, but I was better.
“What are you doing?”
Wow.
The crude bow was quivering in my hands.
Tuwoong.
Pop!
“…?”
The bow had made a completely different sound from when Hye-sun used it. The arrow, almost reluctantly at first, flew at the Ogre like an unleashed storm. When it smashed in its head, it made a sound like an exploding bomb.
Only
BOOM!
The others stared at the Ogre in disbelief. I was still looking at Myung-seok, trying to figure out who he reminded me of. No, I think I had it…or did I? I should ask him.
“Hunter Cheon Myung-seok?”
“Yes…yes?”
He responded a bit hesitant.
“Are you Kim Seung-hyun?”
That’s who his technique had reminded me of. Kim Seung-hyun, the greatest warrior to ever live.
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