As Yusin lowered his right arm, a storm of fireballs rained down. The aoutus hastily activated its shield generator, and a shimmering force field materialized.

'Kaboom!'

'Boom!'

Battered by the relentless barrage, the force field shattered. The device that projected it turned to ash and clattered to the ground, followed by a series of direct hits. The monster's body was charred and torn to shreds in a flash of explosions.

With the appearance of a mage, a human wielding a completely new kind of power, aoutus was thrown into a panic.

"What are you waiting for? Learn the spell! Try shooting it back at me!" Yusin shouted.

The spell continued to fire without pause, engulfing the area in a sea of flames. The scorched, blackened creature tried to flee, but a fist swung like a hammer from behind, knocking it to the ground.

Muddy hands shot out, seizing aoutus's arms. The monster tried to break free with brute force, but Yusin simply clenched his fist.

<Petrify>

'Creeee!'

The mud golems abandoned their malleable forms, hardening into solid statues. It was a new effect Eunsol had recently added. With the monster's movements completely immobilized, Yusin asked in his mind, 'Ea. Besides its head, tell me what other salvageable parts this thing has.'

-Price list updated. The aoutus's armor is twenty dollars. Thigh muscles are sixty dollars.

'Pathetic.' Yusin raised his arm.

<Copy Magical Position>

<Rapid Arrow>

Countless magic circles unfolded above aoutus's head. 'No more talk. Fire.'

A golden downpour rained upon the restrained monster. Its body was not just riddled with holes; it began to melt into a pulp. Everyone watching stood with their mouths agape. A monster that had annihilated a party of rank-5 hunters and was on the verge of evolving into a Disaster was being brought down with shocking ease.

"A-Amazing."

"Rank-4 hunters really are on a different level."

The spectating hunters were speechless. But none of them knew that just a week ago, this young hunter had been an uncertified, ordinary player.

Yusin finally stopped the spell and approached. The aoutus was a steaming, molten wreck. Only its head remained perfectly intact; Yusin had deliberately aimed to avoid it.

<Wind Cutter>

A blade of wind formed over his palm and sliced through the aoutus's neck, severing the head. Yusin picked it up and placed it in the subspace pouch he had received from the management agency. A subspace pouch was an ultra-expensive, rare item typically carried only by top-tier hunters, but Nara had given it to him for his contributions during the recent Disaster.

"I caught it, so it's fine if I take this, right?" Yusin asked, looking up at the other hunters. They could only nod, still dazed.

"Sa-Salute! Sergeant First Class Changseop Yoon! Thank you for your cooperation!" A non-commissioned officer came running over, out of breath.

"Of course. Thank you for your hard work," Yusin replied.

"I'm sorry, but we'll need your cooperation regarding the jurisdiction of this hunt. If you could just spare a moment..."

'Screeeech!'

A black sedan skidded to a halt right in front of Yusin and the NCO. The side door clicked open, and CEO Shin Nara appeared.

"Good hard, Yusin!"

"Thank you."

She looked at the surrounding soldiers. "I'm Shin Nara, CEO of Garam Management."

"The C-CEO?" a soldier stammered.

"Mr. Kim needs to be deployed to the next rift. One of my staff members will handle any further discussion."

Just then, a manager got out of the car carrying a briefcase. Yusin immediately took the empty seat.

"Let's go," Nara said.

"Yes, Ms. Shin."

Leaving the aftermath to his management, the car carrying Yusin quickly departed from the scene.

* * *

"Thank you so much, Yusin!" Nara said, beaming from the seat next to me. "It was a rift that appeared without warning, but you came running right away!"

"I was in the area, so I figured I'd stop by."

Garam Management had contacted me about a rank-5 aoutus. I knew the creature—it was the very thing Eunsol had been pestering me for, insisting she needed it to build her golems. It was out of stock on the E-Market and couldn't be bought even with money. I'd come out to get the materials for my third-floor administrator and, frankly, for a change of pace.

To be honest, I was incredibly stressed. I had died over and over against Anton without landing a single effective blow. I wanted to beat something to a pulp. I wanted to unload my magic on a real opponent, not just fire it into empty air.

"Oh my, you look exhausted since I last saw you," Nara noted, eyeing the dark circles under my eyes.

"It's because I've been dying too much," I answered nonchalantly.

"Dying?" She tilted her head, then clapped her hands. "Ah! You're talking about a game, right? I love games, too!"

"That's not quite..."

"I know what it is! You have a secret identity, right? You know, one of those tropes! Someone who's normally a game-addicted shut-in, but when the world is in danger, you appear as a heroic hunter!"

"No... well, hmm. Let's just go with that." I gave up trying to explain.

"Come to think of it, so many hunters are obsessed with games. I don't get it sometimes. They hunt monsters in real life, so why would they want to hunt monsters in a game, too? It seems like it would get boring." After chattering away, Nara glanced at my face again. "So, did you get bored with the game? Or just tired of it?"

Just as I thought, she was sharp.

"Not tired of it, but... how should I put it? There's an opponent I want to defeat, and I keep challenging them, but for days now, I haven't even been able to lay a finger on them. No matter how many times I try, I don't feel like I'm making any progress, so I'm just feeling helpless."

"Aha! I know that feeling! When I used to play Candy Crush, I'd get so mad when I couldn't beat my friend's high score! Ugh, it's so frustrating!"

Yusin fell silent.

Did she actually understand? Maybe she did.

"If you obsess too much over the goal, you just become impatient and unhappy," she said, her voice a little calmer. "The thrill of achieving a goal is fleeting, but the journey getting there is long. The process 'is' life itself! When you look back, you realize that the moments you took breaks, chatted with friends, and admired the flowers on the way up the mountain are more valuable than the moment you reached the summit. What's important isn't the goal, but the act of challenging yourself."

I stared intently at her face.

"Oh my, was that too preachy?"

"No. You sound very mature."

"Ohoho!"

We chatted about this and that, catching up. Then I casually asked, "Ms. Shin, do you know of the Healer's Union?"

She answered with a bright smile. "Ah, you mean those losers?"

"...That's a blunt assessment."

"What else would you call people who couldn't get into major guilds, but whose pride is too big for mid-tier ones, so they form their own little club and bully people weaker than them? But why do you ask?"

"I was just wondering what kind of relationship they have with our management."

Suddenly, Nara's face turned bright red.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Say it again!"

"What?"

"'Our management'! To think you said 'our management'!"

Yusin was too stunned to speak.

It seemed that her fan-girling was starting up again. After making a fuss for a while, she belatedly composed herself and continued. "We have our own exclusive healers, so we don't run into the Union often. Sometimes, when we're short-staffed, we have no choice but to use them. But even then, we try to hire mercenaries from other guilds if possible and avoid using healers from the Union."

"Why is that?"

"Hehe, why do you think?" She shook her head. "There's a reason the major guilds gave up on them. Every single one has a character flaw. It's better to avoid people like that, even if it means abandoning a dungeon raid."

For Nara to talk about them like that... they must be a real piece of work.

Lost in conversation, we arrived in Sanggye-dong before I knew it. As I got out of the car, she said, "I could give you a ride all the way home. And while I'm at it, maybe I could come in and eat some ramen at your place..."

"...I'll pass."

"I'm kidding! Kidding! Thanks for answering the emergency call today! I'll text you once the payment is processed!"

"Take care, Ms. Shin."

After parting with her, I immediately walked toward the Sanggye Restricted Area.

-Tower Master.

'Yeah.'

-Two individuals, on your left and right. You're being followed.

...So now they're tailing me. Seeing as they were waiting in Sanggye-dong, they must have already investigated me. Of course, I had already scouted an escape route for a time like this. I entered an empty, uninhabited building near the station.

'Rune of Tracking.'

I placed the rune on the first floor and went up to the third. Then, I channeled Light Devastar into my right foot and waited for the tails to enter the building. The moment they stepped inside, I leaped from the third floor and activated Devastar.

'Fwoosh!'

My body flew over the barbed-wire fence, landing inside the restricted area in a single leap. From this distance, I could get there directly without being caught on camera. They would just think I had suddenly vanished.

-You're already being followed.

'Yeah. It's the Healer's Union, right?'

-That is my assessment as well. I checked to see if they were caught by the Rune of Tracking, but unfortunately, it seems they bypassed it.

I went straight into the Magic Tower.

"Welcome back!"

"You've returned."

Bora was stirring the contents of a magic cauldron with a ladle as usual, while Seojin was tapping away at his laptop in the lobby with a serious expression.

"Guys. I was being tailed."

The two of them looked at me with wide eyes. "T-t-t-tailed?"

"I see. It seems they've started to make their move seriously," Seojin responded calmly, turning his laptop screen toward me to show me an article. "...What is all this?"

[Side Effects of Alchemia Potions Discovered; Concerns of Vomiting, Paralysis, and Excessive Bleeding.]

[Interview with Potion Victim: "I drank a potion in a dungeon and suddenly experienced symptoms of paralysis."]

[A Study on Potions That Threaten Players' Lives; Urgent Need for Guidelines.]

[Alchemia Certification Process Finished in Just Two Days; Suspicions of Collusion Between Academy Graduate Kim Yusin and Association President.]

[What is the True Nature of These Potions, Distributed Without Disclosing Any Ingredients?]

[Professor Lee Hwasun: "The fact that these products are selling like hotcakes just because they're called 'items' is a strange phenomenon unique to Korea."]

[Korora Guild: Two Party Members Seriously Injured Due to Potion Side Effects, Preparing to Sue Alchemia.]

Bora covered her mouth, trembling, while Seojin let out a deep sigh.

"Who's behind this?" I asked.

"The Healer's Union. I'm certain of it." Seojin showed me the data. "It seems they hired a number of people to pose as dissatisfied customers to stir up controversy. The Korora Guild also has close ties with them. Since it happened in a dungeon, it won't be easy for us to prove our innocence, so they'll likely continue to create controversy like this."

Seojin placed his hands on the table and declared, "This is a declaration of war from the Healer's Union."

* * *

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