The Hunter of the Other World Who Is Being Misunderstood – Chapter 41

Ch 41: Guild Scout （2）

“Ah! Of course, I know you refused once.”

Feeling a sense of crisis, Gwak Byeonggi hurriedly said, adjusting his glasses that had slipped down.

“So, we were temporarily giving up on scouting you, Hunter-nim.”

“But?”

“Seeing that you haven’t joined any guild yet, we contacted you, just in case.”

He explained in a courteous voice, gauging the situation.

“The last offer was a bit impromptu, so the conditions might not have been satisfactory.”

“….”

“We highly value your potential, Hunter-nim. That’s why we brought this revised contract!”

But Giryeo looked at the offered contract as if it were trash.

It certainly had an amount that was excessive for an F-rank, but it wasn’t a huge reward that would break his resolve from when he was reincarnated.

‘There are some things in the world that money can’t buy, sometimes. For example, a document that’s already been signed.’

He was an alien who fully understood the weight of the concept of a ‘contract’.

Furthermore, he was more than aware that it was dangerous to carelessly belong to an organization on Earth, given the many gaps in his memory.

Therefore, after several considerations, Giryeo hardened his heart again. He chose freedom.

After all, if he was going to spend time on research to regain his power, he had to remain unaffiliated for the time being, whether he liked it or not.

‘I even reincarnated because I hated work, and now you’re telling me to live like a hamster on a wheel again?’

Of course, putting aside all those rational reasons, he was averse to company life just from the pain of work he experienced in his past life.

“No, thanks.”

What followed was an attitude that suggested there was no value in negotiating.

Gwak Byeonggi felt like he had been hit on the head.

‘Other hunters are desperate to get into a guild, so why does it look like we’re clinging to an F-rank?’

Is that why Esther sent a team leader?

Looking at that attitude, it seemed like a regular employee wouldn’t have even been able to approach him.

“Um, Hunter-nim. Then, do you perhaps have an offer you’re waiting for?”

He’s getting impatient.

Gwak Byeonggi cautiously asked the question.

He wondered if the other party was being so cold because they already had a guild lined up.

“That’s not it. I just have no intention of joining any guild.”

However.

What came out of Giryeo’s mouth was an unexpected answer.

It wasn’t a matter of conditions. He was outright rejecting all guild offers.

“Oh, I see.”

It was an incomprehensible action.

Team Leader Gwak Byeonggi continued to appeal to the usefulness of the guild several times, but Giryeo’s response was consistent.

He maintained a cool silence with eyes like a coiled snake.

‘This can’t be what an F-rank is like.’

He thought he had become somewhat accustomed to the pressure of high-rank hunters because he was close to Esther.

This awakened one even made his past experiences seem insignificant.

It was as if he didn’t even see them as the same species, an alien atmosphere.

Gwak Byeonggi swallowed hard.

“I think we might have been mistaken. Haha, it seems like you wouldn’t come over even if we gave you a blank check, Hunter-nim!”

But Kim Giryeo didn’t hear these words.

‘Going to work… I hate going to work no matter what…’

In fact, he had been quite shocked to find the word ‘working hours’ in the contract that had been presented earlier…

Giryeo was currently in a slightly mentally and physically weakened state.

But Gwak Byeonggi, seeing him not respond, only deepened his misunderstanding.

‘Oh no, I didn’t know he’d be this displeased with the blank check talk. Is he saying not to even try to tempt him with money?’

If you live thinking that everything can be solved with money, you’re bound to have no way to deal with someone who isn’t swayed by it.

Team Leader Gwak Byeonggi eventually gave up on recruiting Kim Giryeo halfway.

‘Let’s change direction.’

It was okay. There was a matter that the Magic Tower Representative had instructed in advance, in preparation for this kind of situation.

“It seems like a formal contract is too much for you. Then, let’s consider this matter as if it never happened.”

As the personnel team leader made a statement as if he was backing down, Giryeo belatedly came to his senses.

It was at that moment.

“Then, what I’m about to say is a separate proposal.”

“Yes?”

“For example, if it’s not a formal contract, but a temporary request, would you accept it?”

The Korean Magic Tower made an unexpected offer.

“A request?”

“It’s a job related to appraisal.”

It was that they had a short task that they wanted to ask of Kim Giryeo, the appraiser.

“Actually, we acquired a piece of equipment during a gate raid recently, but we’re having trouble analyzing its performance.”

Gwak Byeonggi adjusted his glasses.

“We haven’t been able to figure out the exact usage conditions, so we were slowly looking for an external contractor.”

“…….”

“But, coincidentally, there’s someone here who cleared our maze.”

It was an attractive condition.

Logically, it wouldn’t take long to look at a single item.

‘I don’t have to worry about being overworked.’

But he had never officially taken on an item appraisal request before. What should he do?

“And this is the request fee set by the Magic Tower. Well, it might not mean much to you, Hunter-nim, but still, for the sake of procedure.”

What drove a wedge into his wavering heart was none other than that white paper.

The amount section of the appraisal request that Gwak Byeonggi took out clearly showed an eight-digit number.

『15,084,600』

Seeing this, Kim Giryeo spoke without taking a breath.

“What time should I come in for work?”

Who would have imagined it?

That this man, who seemed so cynical, was actually a money-grubber more than anyone else.

‘He has an unexpectedly soft spot.’

Gwak Byeonggi never found out the truth.

He just thought that the mysterious awakened one accepted the job because he felt sorry for continuing to refuse.

◈◈◈

Then, on Monday, two days later.

‘Did it unintentionally turn into a door-in-the-face technique（Door-in-the-face technique）?’

Gwak Byeonggi thought as he went to work at the Korean Magic Tower.

‘It stings that we failed to scout him, but it’s not bad to slowly get involved through small requests.’

Esther hadn’t actually ordered him to recruit Kim Giryeo at all costs.

She had said that it would be enough if they could build a friendly relationship.

So, Gwak Byeonggi first lured Kim Giryeo in with a minor request as bait.

‘If he experiences the facilities of the Korean Magic Tower and the best treatment in the industry firsthand, he’ll change his mind, right?’

His goal was to leave a good impression on the other party.

Of course, he was confident enough. What kind of guild was this?

“We’ve stored the requested equipment here. Please feel free to appraise it.”

Gwak Byeonggi spoke softly to the young man standing behind him.

Kim Giryeo nodded and quietly stepped inside.

The room, with a sign that read ‘Analysis Room 2’, had an overall clean laboratory-like interior.

Soon, a magical tool revealed itself.

“A sword?”

A black, one-handed sword, carefully enclosed in a square, transparent box.

A dark aura was faintly rising from its blade.

It was an unusual object, even at first glance…

As Giryeo stared at it, an appraiser from the Magic Tower appeared nearby and explained.

“It’s an item acquired from an A-rank gate. The temporary name is ‘Cursed Sword’.”

“Cursed?”

“There’s a good reason for that.”

The Hunter Association designated a total of five ranks for items.

【 General