CH 7

Baek Eun-hee was trying to win her favor through a gentle attitude, but Yoo Ji-an was stimulating a sense of indebtedness.

Seo-ah was a little embarrassed, but his shameless strategy worked anyway. She did believe that kindness should be repaid.

But there was one thing she had to make sure of first.

“I still haven’t heard the reason. Why do you need me?”

His gaze deepened, and she felt uneasy once again.

Yoo Ji-an blinked once and the ominous feeling vanished. She rubbed her nape subconsciously.

“You have a special power.”

Fortunately, it was the same reason as Baek Eun-hee’s. That was somewhat relieving.

Even though his eyes seemed like they had more to say, instincts told Seo-ah not to push further.

“Do you know what my abilities are? I don’t know them yet.”

“All I know is that I need them. I don’t have any more information than you have.”

Baek Eun-hee and Yoo Ji-an were both clearly referring to her abilities as an S-class supporter. She wondered how they were affected by them despite being currently locked.

‘Do S-class hunters simply have keen senses?’

From what Baek Eun-hee showed her, she seemed to grow stronger just from physical contact. However, the only skill Seo-ah could see at the moment was ‘Recovery’.

“But you’re already strong. Do you need me for that as well?”

Yoo Ji-an glanced at the damaged table. “I guess Baek Eun-hee showed off her strength.”

“Please answer me.”

He met her gaze directly and opened his mouth, “It would be better to say that we need each other. Otherwise, you and I will both die.”

“What? What do you mean? Why would you die?”

Yoo Ji-an laughed, but his eyes were noticeably cold. “Park Seo-ah, an E-class healer who had never before participated in a raid. That means that it was your first time being swept into a gate the last time.”

“So?”

“Your special status must have been awakened there.”

Seo-ah’s eyes shook in disbelief at his accuracy.

“If I can’t see it with ‘Observation’, then it’s not activated yet. But there’s usually a fixed period of time for activation in those cases.”

“How do you know that?”

In fact, she had to awaken as an S-class supporter within 99 days, or else the system would kill her.

“I’ve gone through that too.”

Her jaw dropped. Really? Yoo Ji-an? She’d never heard of anything like that. She only knew that he’d been an S-class hunter since birth.

Then, had he also needed to touch people and all that? It was an unimaginable scene.

Yoo Ji-an saw Seo-ah’s dark brown eyes sparkle and added, “Of course, I was born an S-class hunter.”

‘Fine, we’re different, I get it.’

“How much time do you have left?”

“99 days.”

Still, it was nice to meet someone who knew about this phenomenon.

“By the way, why are you going to die too?

He promptly shut up.

“…You’re not going to die right away, are you?”

He nodded.

Seo-ah sighed. “You surprised me! Why would you say that so suddenly?”

“Anyway, choose me. There are so many reasons to.”

“But…”

She agonized, considering Yoo Ji-an, who was looking calmly at her, and looked up determinedly.

“You may come in now.”

The door swung open immediately, as if on cue. Everyone took their seats again.

“For now, I’ll take turns working with both guilds.”

Baek Eun-hee looked at Yoo Ji-an with puzzled eyes, but he did not respond.

Han Seok-hyun spoke up, “Aren’t you going to join a guild?”

“Yes, but I’ll put it on hold for now. I don’t know what will happen in the future. I may not be as useful as I expected.”

If she joined a guild and got the millions of won she was offered, and then proved to be useless…

Her straightforward personality wouldn’t accept that.

Unjustly swallowing large amounts of money would one day make one sick.

“Ji-an…?” Han Seok-hyun whispered.

Seo Ah-hyun quickly presented a contract before Baek Eun-hee could speak. “This is a one-time contract for hunters who want to join a raid.”

Seo-ah began to fill out the paperwork, then paused. “Will my safety be guaranteed?”

“I won’t let a single hair of yours come to harm,” Yoo Ji-an answered.

It was a line that would normally make one’s heart flutter, but given their situation, it was more like a line that everyone in the room agreed upon.

As she was a vulnerable E-class healer, her safety was obviously left to the senior hunters.

She was almost finished signing for both guilds when her phone dinged.

< Hunter Community >

[ (imloser): Yes, everything is fine. The conditions seem to have been met, so I’ll close the contract! Thank you for contacting me! I’ll see you tomorrow at Autumn Park! ]

[ (imloser) sent a down payment of 100 thousand won. Accept? ]

Seo-ah gasped. Someone had responded to her inquiry into an advertisement she’d seen as she was riding the bus earlier.

It was an unexpected outcome.

She finished signing the papers in front of her and pushed them aside. “By the way, I’d like to wait a few days before I start.”

“That won’t be difficult, darling, but why? What’s the matter?”

“Actually,” Seo-ah hesitated, “I contacted the person listed on a job ad I saw while on the bus before I returned here. I think I’ll have to go to a raid the day after tomorrow.”

The ad was made by a D-class hunter looking for a low-level healer.

Recruitment announcements on the Hunter Community were not just posts. When a suitable person responded, the party leader could immediately send down payment on the spot because accounts were linked to legal identification.

That was why there was a warning message on every post reminding users to be careful.

According to community rules, if a user accumulated three or more cancellations, they would no longer be able to see job postings.

“With a D-class hunter at the lead, I won’t let you, darling. How can your safety be ensured that way?”

Seo Ah-hyun calmly corrected her, “Well, there are many cases where D-class hunters are the party leaders who raid low-level gates.

“How much is the down payment? Why don’t you cancel it? We’ll pay twice as much. Of course, you’ll get a warning, but it won’t be your third yet…” Han Seok-hyun stepped.

While it was true that low-level hunters ran raids in low-level gates, having a D-class hunter as the party leader meant that eight others of a similar grade would have to be present to be approved to enter an E-class gate.

It was dangerous, and a large number of people meant a higher risk of misunderstanding each other and attracting enemies.

Above all, when an accident occurs, no one would be able to properly protect Seo-ah.

“I can’t do that. The raid is the day after tomorrow, so they’ll be in a lot of trouble if I leave. When I contacted them, they said that the party was almost complete and I only needed to fill up the vacancy. It won’t be a big deal. I also told them about my rank and inexperience, and they said that I could just stay at the back and use ‘Recovery’ every now and then.”

“What are you going to do if something bad happens while you’re out with those?” Baek Eun-hee asked uneasily. “Say something, Yoo Ji-an.”

“She can go.”

Han Seok-hyun jolted. “What? Ji-an, are you serious?”

“It’s not a bad idea for her to experience it beforehand. There’s nothing for her to do in high-level gates, so it would be helpful for her to experience being a hunter somewhere else.”

After gaining his support, Seo-ah’s expression softened.

“But…” Baek Eun-hee stood, obviously worried, and only sat back down when Seo Ah-hyun pulled her hand.

“Well, I’ll make a reservation for the gate and call you in a week,” he said calmly.

After deciding on which dates they would go on raids, everyone left the conference room.

Fortunately, Seo-ah was able to shake hands with Seo Ah-hyun and Han Seok-hyun, and so her score went up by two points.

‘One more…’

She followed Yoo Ji-an, tentatively reaching out her hand to brush her fingertips against his.