Home/The F-class hunter wants to get a job again today/ch 4

Chapter 4

Centipede's stinger struck the barrier hard. Cracks began to spread across the protective shield.

Seong Si-hyeon sprang up as if he felt no pain, grabbed his sword again, and conjured a massive fireball—so large it dwarfed the ones he'd made before.

Three fireballs flew straight into the center of Centipede's abdomen with a thwump—and exploded.

Centipede shrieked in agony as a gaping hole burned through its midsection. But it was still the "Underground King," an A-rank monster—it wouldn't crumble so easily.

"Up!"

Seong Si-hyeon lifted me with one hand and flew into the air. Centipede, enraged by our height, began raising its body as high as it could.

"Now."

He muttered briefly, then raised his sword. The flames enveloping it burned fiercer than before—incomparable to earlier. A violet flame flickered along the blade as he aimed it at Centipede. When the monster finally raised its body to our level, Si-hyeon plunged straight down.

"Whoa!"

I squeezed my eyes shut and clung to his neck at the breakneck speed. A sharp slicing sound followed, then the noise of something thick being severed.

"Gyaaaaa!"

Centipede thrashed wildly. Seong Si-hyeon landed firmly, then unleashed a frenzy of ten massive fireballs from his hands.

Boom—crash—bang! The explosions against Centipede's body rang out in succession, and the ground shook violently from the recoil. Trembling, I kept my eyes closed for a long time.

...

When no more movement came from Centipede, I cautiously opened my eyes.

Through the dust, I saw the Underground King Centipede—half its body reduced to ash, letting out a dying wail.

Half of its body was burning. As the remaining parts turned to ash, Centipede's cries faded.

The moment it became nothing but embers, the long-awaited notification window finally appeared.

[The dungeon will disappear within 1 minute.]

Thank goodness. I survived.

"I survived!"

I clenched my fist in relief—but only for a moment. Seong Si-hyeon collapsed onto the spot and pointed to one side.

"Cough... Bring that box over there."

Right. He had an Appraisal skill that let him see hidden information and special abilities on items.

I ran to the center of the dungeon. Just as he'd said, there was a black box gilded with gold foil.

I grunted as I carried it over to him. His lips were dry and cracked as he spoke.

"Open it."

"Yes, sir."

Inside the box were a golden ring engraved with a centipede design, and one of Centipede's legs.

Ugh, gross.

I wrinkled my nose.

"That leg—hand it to me."

"Here you go."

I lifted the grotesque leg with both hands and brought it to him. He struggled to bring it to his mouth and began eating it. A centipede leg—really!

It must have had restorative properties. He probably knew that thanks to his Appraisal skill.

Crunch, crunch—

The sound of him chewing on the leg echoed through the room. Watching him eat that brown centipede leg wasn't exactly pleasant, so I turned my head away.

Then the gold ring caught my eye, glinting. If I sell this as dungeon loot, I could cover my rent and still have plenty left. With that shady thought, I grabbed the ring while Si-hyeon wasn't looking.

Suddenly, the ring began to glow blue and absorbed into my hand.

<Acquired Ring of Centipede's Soul: Cures 'Poison.'>

Oh yeah! Poison immunity! Now I don't have to worry about poison toads and the like!

Humming to myself, I was about to head toward the exit that had opened in the boss room when Seong Si-hyeon grabbed my arm.

"Starting tomorrow, come work for my guild."

"Huh? What did you say?"

He repeated himself, enunciating clearly.

"I said start working tomorrow. I'll treat you well. What do you say?"

"You want me? Why?"

"Why? You got a buff skill, didn't you?"

But I didn't want to get involved with Seong Si-hyeon. Joining his guild was practically a guaranteed ticket to hardship.

"I'm fine, thanks."

"What?"

He seemed shocked—his eyes widened. It was as if no one had ever refused his offer before.

I bowed politely and headed for the exit. But he was persistent. He grabbed my left wrist and said:

"Then how about a monthly salary of 10 million won, excluding bonuses? What do you think?"

10 million won?

My hesitation didn't last long. I quickly extended my hand for a handshake.

"Hello, boss. It's an honor to meet you through such a great opportunity."

---

First day at work. Perfect suit. Neatly packed lunchbox.

I adjusted my posture in front of the mirror, then stepped outside.

From what I'd looked up, Seong Si-hyeon ran a small-scale guild. So there probably wouldn't be much work.

I'd wanted to avoid working alongside the novel's protagonist, but I had no choice. My throat was my stomach, and his offer was too good to refuse.

"A monthly salary of 10 million won, excluding bonuses. What do you think?"

Oh my.

I love it.

I'd nodded eagerly before he'd even finished speaking. With that money, I could do anything. These days, wealth disparity had grown so wide that most entry-level office workers made around 2 million won a month.

And this was five times that? I had to accept.

Walking down the street, I couldn't help humming. What should I do first with 10 million a month? First, move out of that cockroach-infested semi-basement studio and buy some new clothes.

I even helped an elderly woman collecting cardboard as I crossed the street, and treated myself to an iced Americano at a cheap café.

Arriving at Gangnam Station, packed into the crowded Line 2, I stood in front of the most prominent building among the high-rises.

Seeing the imposing structure, I swallowed hard. This was where all the top hunter guilds in Korea were based. And at the very top floor sat Seong Si-hyeon's guild.

After getting a temporary pass in the first-floor lobby, I took the elevator.

Ding—

The doors opened to reveal a spacious, neatly arranged office. At the front desk, one man was dozing off. I cautiously poked him.

"Excuse me. I'm Han Yu-on, starting work today."

He jolted awake and wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth.

"Oh, you're here. You came early."

I glanced at the clock—8:40 AM.

Work started at 9, so it wasn't that early. Still, to match the sharp-looking man's courtesy, I smiled and replied.

"Yes, I came early since it's my first day. Where should I go?"

"This way."

He stood, brushed off his suit, and guided me. As we walked, all I saw were monochrome sofas and floor-to-ceiling windows—no people in sight.

"Is there no one else here?"

"Yes, it's just me and you, Yu-on."

Maybe there's more work than I thought...

Let's see. Will I be handling everything from accounting to business planning? At least being under the number one ranker meant marketing and advertising were unnecessary. I sighed at the suddenly increased workload.

After walking for a while, the man stopped in front of a door. He knocked twice.

"Boss, Yu-on is here."

"...No answer."

"He's asleep again."

The man turned to me.

"Go on in."

"Excuse me? But—"

The man smiled dangerously and struck the locked door with his hand. With a click, the doorknob fell off far too easily. I felt a chill run down my spine. I thought he was a civilian, but he must be a combat-type awakener.

Creak—

The door swung open to reveal not Seong Si-hyeon's office—but his bedroom. A spacious floor-to-ceiling window, a large bed, a wooden desk, and a rug. There, sprawled on the massive bed, was Seong Si-hyeon, fast asleep.

Sleeping soundly, he looked like a noble prince. When awake, he usually gave me mocking or dismissive looks, so I hadn't noticed—but damn, he really was a beautiful piece of trash.

The man shook him mercilessly.

"Please wake up."

"...No response."

He sighed, then gathered energy in his hand and tried to chop Si-hyeon with his palm—but the attack was blocked by the sleeping man's hand.

"...Don't you know you don't bother a sleeping dog?"

"You were awake the whole time—why didn't you get up?"

"Too lazy."

"Ha... Yu-on is here."

"I know."

"Then why aren't you getting up?"

"Just because."

The man sighed deeply, clenching his fist and trembling. A red aura rippled around his hand. Judging by the color, he was at least a high-ranking B-rank Hunter or above.

Wow, look at that aura. One hit and I'd be greeting the King of the Underworld.

He must not have wanted to make headlines as the Hunter who punched his boss, because he reined in his energy and spoke to me with a tired expression.

"I don't want to be in the same room anymore, so I'll step out, Yu-on."

"Yes, sir."

Their relationship seemed both good and bad. I stood awkwardly in front of Seong Si-hyeon. He was dressed only in a robe, and through the gap, I could see his toned muscles—embarrassing. I averted my eyes toward the ceiling.

"Good morning, Si-hyeon."

He buried his face in his pillow and grumbled.

"Why so early? Annoying."

"Well, most jobs start by 9 AM."

"From now on, come at 11."

"Yes!"

Fine by me.

Smiling, I looked at him. He pouted at my grin, then suddenly smirked mischievously and wiggled his fingers.

Sensing danger, I stepped back cautiously.

"Wh-What is it?"

"Come here. Hurry."

Reluctantly, I moved closer.

Before I knew it, Seong Si-hyeon had laid me down on the bed and was looking at me with his piercing, ruby-like eyes.

What is this situation? What is this?

"Hmm. With this level of physical contact, the stat boost isn't much."

He tilted his head for a moment, then tapped the air—likely checking his status window. That reminded me of my skill again.

<Title acquired: 'Abandoned to the point of no return—let's just duo it': Physical contact enhances all stats of the designated target. The degree of the stat buff and duration (30 minutes) vary depending on the intensity of physical contact.>

A buffer effect.

The problem was the intensity of physical contact. Si-hyeon had said before:

"Don't tell anyone about this."

"I wasn't planning to."

"Anyway, just don't. This skill could put your life at risk."

Risk. He was right.

Getting dragged into dungeons would be the least of my worries. Healers were rare, but buffers? Almost nonexistent. If this got out to a large guild, I'd be forced to live in dungeons until I died.

That was bad enough. But there were also illegal guilds—assassination contractors. If that world found out, I could be used to help kill people.

At least being discovered by Seong Si-hyeon was a blessing. In the novel, he was sincere about killing monsters.

After all, he'd awakened as a Hunter after losing his family to a dungeon break. His life had no purpose beyond entering dungeons, killing monsters, and destroying them to save lives.

But...

Why is he taking off his robe so suspiciously?

As he removed it, Seong Si-hyeon's chiseled, toned body was revealed. Scars from battles with monsters and marks from being abused by other Hunters as a child lined his body.

My gaze naturally drifted downward. Thank goodness he was still wearing pants. He looked down at me and said:

"Seen enough? You'll have more chances to see."

"What, what do you mean?"

"I wanted to see how this buff effect changes depending on how close we are."

Despite confidently taking off his robe, Seong Si-hyeon hesitated in front of me. Actually going through with the hug seemed to embarrass him.

Tick, tick. The sound of the second hand echoed on the floor. Tired of waiting, I asked him:

"What are you doing? Aren't you going to check?"

"I—I will!"

He squeezed his eyes shut and pulled me into a tight embrace. I caught the scent of a cool, woody body wash he used.

Ding—

A notification appeared before my eyes.

<Skill 'Abandoned to the point of no return—let's just duo it' has been activated.>

<Designated target's stats are enhanced: Duration 30 minutes -> Stat buff effect: 150%>

Holding me in his arms, he muttered.

"Definitely a bigger boost with clothes off."

"Still, it's my first day—could you keep some distance..."

Even in this embarrassing moment, I managed to use honorifics. He was my employer, after all, and he'd be paying a massive bonus.

Surprisingly, he let go willingly. He got off the bed and started pulling a shirt from the closet.

"Get used to it. We'll be doing this often."

"Doing what..."

He smirked as he fastened his tie.

"Rubbing against me."

Wow.

"Oh—in dungeons?"

This is the worst.

"Can you turn your head? I'm putting on pants."

I quickly turned toward the window. I heard him taking off and putting on his pants. My face flushed with embarrassment.

"Don't hate it too much. I'm better than some old geezer, aren't I? My face isn't that bad, is it?"

Your face isn't just "not that bad."

He glanced at the mirror beside the closet and roughly fixed his hair. If I did that, I'd look disheveled, but he looked model-like even in just a suit.

"Get up. There's a meeting of all Hunter guilds today."

"I'm going too?"

I'm just a newbie who started today—

He pulled on a black coat.

"Yeah. Ah, I had business cards made too."

He walked over and handed me a box of cards on his wooden desk.

Han Yu-on | Sunlight Guild Hunter | Tel 010-1234-5678 | 34F Hunter Tower, Seocho-daero 74-gil, Seocho-gu, Seoul

It was nothing special, but this was the first business card I'd ever had in this world. It moved me somehow. I wanted to shout to my mom in the world outside the novel: "Mom, Mom! Your daughter got a job making 10 million won a month!"

As I was lost in emotion, Seong Si-hyeon tapped the wooden desk.

"Let's go. The meeting starts at 9."

"Ah! Then we're late!"

He leisurely opened the door and said:

"It's fine. I own this building. Dae-un-ah, lock the door when we're gone."

"...Yes. Have a good trip."

"He's not coming with us?"

"He went last time, so he doesn't need to. You don't seem to know anything—how dungeons work, the Tower, guild situations. This is a good chance to learn. Once we enter dungeons, I can't protect you all the time."

"Understood..."

It hit me again—being a Hunter with no skills was depressing.

Ding—

The elevator arrived, and the doors opened. As we descended, it stopped at the 20th floor. Seong Si-hyeon glanced down at me—perhaps worried—and added:

"And don't ever let your true identity be exposed."

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