"Chief Cha, are you feeling better now...?"

It took quite some time before Chief Cha finally came to his senses.

"Sigh... I'm sorry, everyone. I guess I was too shocked."

He was slowly regaining his composure.

"Geez, Ji-hoon. How can you suddenly become an S-rank like that? I almost had a heart attack!"

"Seriously, is this real? Weren't you an E-rank just last week? You were E-rank when you joined, so how do you suddenly become S-rank in just a week? Did you save up your points without using them?"

Everyone was looking at me with strange, questioning eyes. A moment ago, they were focused on waking up Chief Cha, but now that he was fine, all the attention turned to me.

"Uh... yeah, something like that," I replied, scratching the back of my head awkwardly.

"That doesn't make any sense! Are you saying you've been hoarding 50 million points this whole time?"

They all exchanged skeptical glances.

'Well, it's only natural they'd find it odd... There's nothing I can do about that.'

"Yeah, that's right," I answered.

"Why? Why didn't you use them?"

"Oh, well... I had them invested somewhere for a while, and they accrued interest."

I tried to brush it off casually.

"What? Is there a feature that gives you interest if you save points?"

They were still puzzled, murmuring among themselves. But they didn't press further. The world of Hunters is so varied that there are plenty of things people don’t fully understand.

"Ji-hoon, you're a real treasure for our guild. You did great, really great," Chief Cha said, looking at me with a face full of affection.

"Uh, Chief Cha?"

The noise and commotion had drawn the attention of the Hunters from Teams 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, and they all crowded in.

"What’s going on? Why is it so noisy here? Are you throwing a party at work or what?"

Their tone was aggressive. Lately, there had been rising discontent regarding Hunter Team 6, and it was clear why. Traditionally, Teams 1 and 2 had always been the representatives of the A-Team.

"Hahahahahahaha! You know what? Now our Hunter Team 6 has two S-rank Hunters! Not just Yoo Hana, but Baek Ji-hoon here is also an S-rank Hunter."

The five team leaders stared in disbelief, tilting their heads in confusion. It was shocking enough that Yoo Hana had joined the Blue Guild this morning, but now, a new recruit had suddenly become an S-rank Hunter? They couldn’t believe it.

"What? This guy is an S-rank Hunter?"

"Yep."

"But why? How?"

They all looked at Chief Cha as if he were spouting nonsense.

"Are you out of your mind? Do you need to go to the emergency room?"

"No, I'm fine."

Chief Cha answered very firmly.

"Ji-hoon, give me that."

He snatched the rank card I had just received from the Hunter Assessment Center.

"Look at this~~~!"

The card gleamed with a golden light, with "S-Rank" boldly inscribed on it.

"What...? Seriously?"

The leaders of Teams 1 through 5 stared at the Hunter rank card, then back at me, their faces filled with shock.

"See? I told you. Our Hunter Team 6 is the real deal now~."

Chief Cha looked incredibly confident.

"What... the hell? What is going on?"

The leaders of Teams 1 through 5 had gathered in the conference room, looking completely bewildered.

"Are we finished? Why are there suddenly two S-rank Hunters in Team 6?"

"Exactly! This doesn’t make any sense! How does this happen in just a week?"

"Sigh... But wasn’t it Yoo Hana who brought that Baek Ji-hoon person?"

"Yeah, and didn’t she say she would be assisting him? What’s that about?"

They all seemed unable to accept what was happening. It was strange enough that Yoo Hana had returned in the morning, but then a newcomer from last week had suddenly become an S-rank Hunter.

"Sigh... This puts us in a tough spot..."

"What about Lee Soo-ah? Didn’t she mess up the department reorganization last week?"

"Right? I have no idea what’s going on with her. Should we investigate that guy?"

"Wasn’t there a rumor that Lee Soo-ah was dating him when he first joined?"

"Yeah, right?"

"What’s going on with that now?"

"I have no idea. Nothing has been said since then."

"So, is he dating Yoo Hana now? What is this, a love triangle?"

They couldn’t accept the situation. Until last week, Teams 1 and 2 were the stars of the A-Team, the top performers in the entire Blue Guild. They even had the highest number of A-rank Hunters in the country. But now, the atmosphere had shifted drastically.

"Hey, Jin-soo."

"Yes, sir."

Park Jin-soo quickly approached.

"Sigh... What’s going on with you and Baek Ji-hoon? Weren't you getting close to him?"

"Uh, lately, I’ve been busy, and Baek Ji-hoon has been away often, so I haven’t had much chance to interact."

"But why did you do that? Were you expecting something? Did you know this would happen?"

The Team 1 leader found Park Jin-soo’s actions suspicious. After all, Jin-soo had approached Baek Ji-hoon when he was still just a D-rank. Park Jin-soo was an A-rank Hunter, so it was unheard of for him to be so friendly with someone so much lower-ranked in the Hunter world.

"Sigh... No, that’s not it."

Park Jin-soo seemed like he was hiding something.

"What is it? Are you hiding something from me? Spill it, man."

The Team 1 leader jabbed him in the ribs.

"Well... actually..."

"Come on, spit it out! We’re in deep trouble here. Teams 1 and 2 are going down!"

He barked angrily.

"Sigh... The thing is..."

Park Jin-soo had no choice but to start confessing.

"What? Cha Soo-hyun...?"

"Yes..."

"But why...?"

The news left the Team 1 leader even more stunned. The idea that Cha Soo-hyun, the number one S-rank Hunter, was interested in Baek Ji-hoon? It was beyond bizarre.

To make matters worse, Cha Soo-hyun wasn't just from any other guild—she was a Hunter from Baekho Guild, Blue Guild’s rival.

"Are you a spy?"

"No!!!"

Park Jin-soo exclaimed in panic.

"Really? Alright then, let's keep doing our best."

"Yes, sir."

The Team 1 leader patted Park Jin-soo on the back.

'Who the hell is this Baek Ji-hoon?'

The A-rank Hunter and leader of Team 1 couldn’t contain his frustration. He had spent years working hard but was still far from reaching S-rank. Yet this Baek Ji-hoon, a rookie who had joined just a week ago, had suddenly become an S-rank Hunter.

'Sigh... Who the hell is this guy? It feels like he's playing us...'

"Haha, but you know..."

Chief Cha began speaking again, and everyone turned their attention to him.

"So now that Ji-hoon is also S-rank... shouldn't there be a reorganization? Maybe we need to form a new team...?"

Chief Cha tentatively suggested, testing the waters.

"No way, Chief Cha! What are you saying?"

Lee Soo-ah reacted sharply.

"Are you saying you want to split the team?"

"No, no, think about it. We have two S-rank Hunters in our team now. And you're already leading the A-Team. Wouldn't it make sense to split the two into separate teams?"

"But I like things as they are now."

Yoo Hana subtly moved closer to me, almost linking arms with me.

"Ah, well... I also like things the way they are now! Why change it...?"

Lee Soo-ah seemed desperate to shut Chief Cha up.

"Well, I just think it wouldn’t be a bad idea for Baek Ji-hoon to become a team leader too, haha."

Chief Cha grinned, looking almost like he was drooling.

"Stop saying weird things, Chief Cha! You're being too much."

Lee Soo-ah pouted and walked away, clearly upset.

"Oh, we’re doing great, aren’t we? Hunter Team 6 is really on the rise. I have no idea how this happened, but it’s fantastic~," Chief Cha beamed at me after Lee Soo-ah left.

"Yeah, I’ll do my best," I responded, showing my resolve.

"Alright, everyone, let’s work hard for the Blue Guild! Where are we headed today? Let's get ready, wrap things up, and then call it a day!"

"Yes, sir!"

Thanks to Yoo Hana joining the team and my S-rank designation, Hunter Team 6 was in a very good mood.

But on the other hand...

I glanced over to the other side.

It was clear that Teams 1 through 5 were not looking at us with kind eyes.

'Hmm, I hope this doesn’t cause too much division because of me.'

It wasn’t something I should be too concerned about, but it did weigh on my mind a little.

'It’s fine. It’s not something that really matters to me.'

My phone buzzed.

[ What? Hyung, did you really become an S-rank Hunter? ]

It was a text from Hyung-seok.

[ Hyung, we need to meet up! ]

News sure travels fast. He contacted me immediately.

"Wow..."

Hyung-seok was at a loss for words.

"What’s going on? Why? How did you suddenly become an S-rank Hunter?"

He was completely dumbfounded.

Which made sense. In the world of Hunters, an S-rank was an incredibly prestigious status. I had jumped four ranks in one go.

It was almost an unbelievable, nearly impossible event.

"Holy... How did you do it?"

"Well, I just spent all the points I had."

"So, you were sitting on close to 50 million points this whole time?"

His face showed total disbelief.

Which was understandable. Most people would spend their points immediately since there wasn’t much advantage to hoarding them.

"Yeah."

"Wow... This is insane... So, now it’ll be easier for you to manage Hunter Lee Soo-ah, right?"

"Huh? Manage?"