“Hmm…? Is that really true?”

Lee Sooah had a somewhat skeptical expression.

Maybe she sensed the strange atmosphere.

“Haha. No, I really mean it! Why do you ask?”

The manager was trying hard to calm her down and send her back.

“No. You’re saying someone can quickly rise from E-rank to D-rank? Didn’t you prepare beforehand?”

“Haha. Yes. I was originally closer to D-rank than E-rank, you see.”

I was just trying to fit in with the mood.

It wasn’t entirely my intention, but the atmosphere made it inevitable.

Everyone was looking only at me.

I couldn’t help it.

I had to keep an eye on things and navigate social interactions.

After all, I had decided to bury my roots in this guild instead of being tied to Chae Suhyeon.

It wouldn’t do me any good to sour relationships with these people.

“Hmm… I see. Well, it’s good news for sure. Everyone was so cheerful that I couldn’t help but come out and see what was going on. Hunter Baek Jihoon, I’ll be looking forward to it.”

Lee Sooah shot a sharp look at the manager, then spoke to me in a very friendly manner.

“Haha… Yes, yes.”

Clack, clack.

Lee Sooah seemed to be in a good mood as she hummed while entering her office.

Clack.

As soon as the door to Lee Sooah’s office closed, sighs of relief were heard from various corners.

“Wait. But suddenly becoming D-rank?”

Anyone with knowledge in the hunter field would understand how absurd this situation was.

Typically, it takes almost a year to rise a single rank, even for those incredibly talented.

Of course, Chae Suhyeon became famous after reducing that time to less than six months with my help.

“Phew. Thank you! I might have gotten into big trouble if I hadn’t been careful. She gets really angry over trivial matters. As long as it involves some profit for the guild, it’s fine. Phew…”

“Hey, manager. How can you say something like that so suddenly? I’m not ready yet.”

“Ah… Well, if I fall, there’s nothing I can do about it. I’ll just get scolded then. Hehe.”

Seems like they were living in the moment.

“But Baek Jihoon, is it true that you’re closer to D-rank than E-rank?”

“No.”

“Oh dear…”

Of course, that’s not true.

I’ve been stuck with Chae Suhyeon all this time.

It doesn’t really matter.

Even though this situation turned out like this, I had no worries because.

It was clear that I had recovered points.

Adjusting my plans just a moment ago didn’t change things at all.

I could quickly grow by taking the hunter assessment test every month.

Since it turned out like this, I planned to grow as rapidly as possible.

“Oh dear. What should I do about this?”

“Exactly, manager. How can you just say anything? You can’t take responsibility for that. You really need to fix that habit of yours.”

“Hey, what else was I supposed to say in that situation?”

“I guess you’re right.”

Everyone appeared to be in a teasing mood towards the manager.

Of course, it looked like they all felt there was nothing they could do about it.

“It’s alright, Jihoon. Let’s make the most of the time we have and put in our best effort.”

“No, it’s fine. I’ll give it a try. I can elevate my rank.”

To be precise, it’s not that I can elevate it; I just need to elevate it.

I just have to distribute my accumulated points appropriately.

“Hmm, there shouldn’t be any limitations on that.”

I thought it would be a good idea to max everything out to S-rank first, then raise my rank by one level monthly.

Of course, it would take time to study the whole tech tree.

I planned to approach it a little differently than Chae Suhyeon did.

Her tech tree felt more focused on external promotion and flashy skills rather than practicality.

I wanted to concentrate on useful skills.

“Just don’t overspend on skills; I should mainly invest in my basic stats…”

“Haha. Then Jihoon, this might help, so take a look at this.”

The manager brought forth a rather thick encyclopedia-like book.

It was a Hunter Skill Book.

“Wow, are you serious? 5,000 pages?”

“When am I supposed to read all of this?”

“This contains information we’ve gathered in our guild. It’s probably overwhelmingly more than what you can find online. Let’s get prepared step by step with this!”

The manager was grinning as though he wasn’t aware of what he had just done.

Well, it didn’t really matter to me, so I chose to focus on point distribution.

“First, let’s invest in the essentials.”

I felt like I had a lot of work ahead of me.

*

“Hmmm…”

Lee Sooah was back in her office, resting her chin on her hand, lost in thought.

She still couldn’t focus at all today.

“Why is everyone else having fun while I’m left out?”

“Hmm, is it because I’ve been too strict about work lately?”

“Ugh. Baek Jihoon seems to be having an interesting time.”

“Hah… I want to be part of that, too.”

“But I can’t just jump in suddenly.”

Lee Sooah seemed eager to find a way to join in their conversation.

“Hmm. Should I break down the office wall…?”

“Or should I rearrange this meeting room and move Baek Jihoon’s department here instead…?”
EP.35

*Hmm. What should I do?*

Baek Jihoon’s department was quite far from Lee Sooah’s office in terms of location.

Lee Sooah was constantly pondering how to get closer.

[ Ms. Lee Sooah, the Guild Master is really angry. You need to submit your work today. Please do so. ]

[ I’m sorry, but you absolutely have to submit it today. If you don’t, I’ll have no choice but to report to the Guild Master. ]

[ This is already the third day. Did you get hurt somewhere? Have you not recovered yet…? ]

Today, just like before, she was receiving messages concerning her piled-up work.

But today was a bit different.

Everyone was warning her while mentioning the Guild Master.

*Ugh. Damn it.*

The mention of the Guild Master made Lee Sooah flinch.

Even the great Lee Sooah couldn’t move under that name.

It was the Guild Master of the Blue Guild.

*Ugh. There’s no helping it. Sigh… I’ll just get it done today.*

Everyone sent their warnings as if it was the final red line.

In response, Lee Sooah grumbled about how she had no choice but to start working.

She half-heartedly began her tasks, as if working was merely an obligation.

*

*Hmm. So, raising basic stats is enough for D-rank instead of focusing on skills.*

I was absorbed in my studies.

This information was completely different from what I had gathered over the years.

Up until now, I had been distributing points based on Chae Suhyeon’s suggestions.

*Hey, bro. Just raise it up.*

*Yeah, yeah. Shouldn’t agility just be raised to about 150?*

*No, that skill isn’t needed. It’s not like I’ll mention it when I’m  on TV later, right?*

*Exactly. That’s it. Raise that one!*

What each skill meant and how the hunter system worked were not particularly important.

I was too busy earning points every day just to offer them to Chae Suhyeon.

*Phew. It seems like I can finally study properly now.*

There was a recommended tech tree provided by the Blue Guild.

If I simply followed that path, I was sure to reach S-rank without issue.

In about six months, I could likely reach the S-rank assessment.

And then Chae Suhyeon would be left speechless.

“By the way~”

While I was deep in concentration, the manager came over to talk to me again.

“Yes?”

“Baek Jihoon, do you perhaps know our Guild Master?”

The Guild Master of the Blue Guild.

Of course, I didn’t know.

Neither did most people.

He was known for not engaging in external relations.

A hidden person.

“No? Why do you ask?”

“Well, Jihoon, although you might not know it, there’s actually a movement within the guild to push for your recognition.”

This seemed unrelated to Lee Sooah.

It probably had to do with what Hyungseok mentioned not long ago.

*They’re trying to promote me? Why? I’m just an E-rank.*

A latecomer in life, I had just entered as a rookie E-rank hunter.

Yet now, the Guild Master of the Blue Guild was supposedly paying attention to me.

*What’s up with that? Why?*

When I heard this from Hyungseok, I didn’t think much of it.

No, I felt that it couldn’t possibly be true.

So I didn’t pursue the matter further.

Yet here was the manager, bringing it up again.

“Why? Why me specifically…?”

“Well, I don’t know~”

The manager shrugged his shoulders.

He genuinely seemed to have no idea.

“So I asked. Do you happen to have a close relationship with the Guild Master?”

“No. I don’t know who they are at all.”

*Hmm~ So it’s my potential that’s outstanding?*

I could only nod and look at the manager.

“Ah. Our Guild Master has a remarkable ability to discern a hunter’s potential, like someone who knows how stock prices will rise. A true fortune teller. He’s had a 100% accuracy rate so far.”

“Hmm…”

I began to think that maybe he had a knack for recognizing other people’s potential.

*Could he have noticed that I have a lot of points?*

It wasn’t strange, considering I could also see other people’s status windows.

Yet, how could he assess potential?

“Well, in any case! From that, it seems that Baek Jihoon is a valuable asset. You might even become an S-rank!”

“Haha… That would be great. I’ll have to work hard.”

Well, it was indeed true that I had to work hard.

Given the situation, I wanted to become an S-rank and make Chae Suhyeon lament and regret her past actions.

And then there was Lee Sooah.

I wasn’t so sure if it meant she’d genuinely come to like me, but if I were to end up dating her, that wouldn’t be so bad at all.

Slowly, expectations for the future began to build up.

*First, I’ll aim for D-rank at the assessment test in three days…*

*Then Chae Suhyeon will be shocked and faint from the surprise.*

*I bet Lee Sooah will also look at me differently.*

*Alright! Let’s go!*

I tightened my grip on the pen in my hand.

To be continued…