Even Today, the Ranker Dreams of Retirement

‘I really need to teach him a lesson.’

As expected.

The employee who came to find them brought news that Caligo wanted to scout Habin and had requested a meeting at the training institute.

If it was from Caligo, it was obvious who sent it.

‘I’m disappointed in you, Taeseo… Even if you’ve lost your social skills over the years, you should still be able to separate personal and professional matters.’

By the time she heard that, Habin had made up her mind to give her old friend a warm collar-grabbing when they met.

‘Does being ranked number one mean everyone around him is kissing his ass, turning him into someone who doesn’t know proper order or manners?’

When a friend’s social skills go awry, it’s the mark of true friendship to set them straight.

As Habin nodded with a regretful expression, the secretary from Caligo quickly added:

“Of course, this meeting will replace all of today’s training.”

“Pardon?”

“We’ve already spoken with the director of the training institute. Today, you only need to visit the Caligo branch briefly, and the rest of the time is yours to use freely.”

“But I heard today’s session was mandatory?”

“We’ll process it as an alternative practical training.”

“Oh……”

Habin’s furrowed brow relaxed slightly.

So you’re saying I don’t have to go to training today and can just quickly meet Taeseo and leave?

Using Caligo’s influence like this.

In reality, it was common for guilds to scout hunters early during their training period, so they often allowed substituting a portion of the education by outsourcing it to the affiliated guild.

Habin nudged Chae Jiseok, who was still beside her, and whispered:

“Hooh, this is quite nice? Why didn’t you do something like this, Chae-ssi?”

The implication was that Solaris could have easily employed such a workaround as well.

Chae Jiseok responded with an incredulous look:

“I’m a mentor here before being Solaris’ vice guild master, you know? Does it make sense for a mentor to poach trainees and encourage them to play hooky?”

“You’re unnecessarily honest, aren’t you?”

“That’s rich coming from someone who was going on about the Kim Young-ran Act earlier……. And didn’t you say you weren’t joining our guild in the first place?”

Leaving behind the grumbling Chae Jiseok, who seemed wronged, Habin followed the secretary towards the training institute’s back door. Surprised by her resolute steps, Jiseok hurried after her.

“Huh? Hyun Habin! Are you really going to Caligo? You’re not coming to Solaris?”

He caught up and whispered urgently to Habin.

“Wait, wait a second! Hey, don’t go! This is suspicious too. There’s no reason for Caligo to go to such lengths for an A-rank. Especially this early!”

“……”

“It could be some kind of trap! Or maybe they’ve figured out who you really are, your true abilities!”

His tone was laced with genuine concern. Hearing this, Habin’s expression turned to one of surprise.

“Now that’s unexpected. Chae-ssi, haven’t you been investigating me all this time? I thought you’d already know this much.”

“What?”

By then, they had already reached the back door. The secretary opened the car door wide.

Before getting in, Habin turned to Jiseok and said:

“Kang Taeseo and I were in the same class in high school.”

“……”

“Friends can talk to each other, can’t they? Korea traditionally runs on blood ties, regional connections, and school networks, after all.”

And with Kang Taeseo, she had both regional and school connections! Same region, same school, same class, friends!

While Chae Jiseok hesitated, Habin had already gotten into the car.

“See you later!”

The door closed with a crisp sound. The vehicle that departed immediately soon disappeared from view.

Left behind, Chae Jiseok muttered:

“……Blood ties, regional connections, and school networks, you say?”

Kang Taeseo of Caligo was famous for being the least likely to care about such things.

A man who always strictly separates personal and professional matters, never giving an inch to those around him.

“……”

Clearly, there was something he didn’t know.

Chae Jiseok took out his phone from his pocket and made a call. The recipient was his one and only family register mate.

Chae Jise.

After a few rings, a familiar laugh came through the receiver.

-What’s the occasion? You calling me first. Is something not going well?

“Ah, no? I’m doing fine, you know?”

-A guy who’s doing fine, why is he so bad at recruiting one talent……?

“……”

Wearing a guilty expression, Jiseok replied as if he had no choice:

“Yeah, that. Of all people, her…… Caligo’s been on her tail since yesterday.”

-Oh my.

“So, about that…… The quest we were supposed to collaborate on with Caligo.”

-Ah, that one. Didn’t you say you weren’t going? I was thinking of sending Junhwi instead.

From the other end of the line, a faint ‘I don’t want to go!’ echoed. Jiseok shook his head.

“I’ll go.”

-Call. No more backing out now? Honestly, convincing Lee Junhwi multiple times is too exhausting.

“Agreed.”

-We pay him to do this kind of thing, but the kid’s subtly refusing.

“……”

He thought he heard a faint ‘If you keep doing this, I’m going to quit!’ from the other end of the line, but it must have been his imagination, right?

“Are you with that secretary right now? I keep hearing voices from the side.”

-Of course.

“That person can’t quit. He’s the strongest mage class in our guild, so we need to take good care of him.”

-Right. That’s why I’m taking such good care of him, but he doesn’t seem to feel the love. When he says he’s too tired to work, I even use heal on him diligently.

He could still hear a faint echo of ‘Please, both of you, leave me alone, and while you’re at it, instead of using heal, please give me some sick leave’ from the other end of the line.

Jiseok ignored it and continued:

“Anyway, keep an eye on the Caligo side too, noona. You’re more-“

Specialized in the prophecy skill than I am.

Solaris’ Guild Master ‘Chae Jise’.

Chae Jiseok’s older sister.

Unlike Chae Jiseok, who is an assassin class, Jise’s job is ‘Golden Priest’. They share the same constellation, ‘Nearest Light’

Even with the same star as their constellation and the same skills.

The prophecy skill ability is bound to be more specialized for the priest class than the assassin class.

-Alright. I’ll take a look when I have time.

“Okay.”

There probably isn’t a more reliable source of information in this world.

Having received the answer, Chae Jiseok hung up the phone.

◆◇◆◇◆

Meanwhile, the car carrying Habin was heading towards its destination.

Caligo Guild, Gangnam Headquarters.

Habin glanced around at her surroundings.

‘It’s quiet.’

She had noticed it since leaving the training institute. There was only one secretary in charge of guiding her. Even when they left, instead of departing noisily through the front door of the training institute, they had quietly slipped out the back door after only informing the relevant staff.

Just then, the secretary driving the car spoke:

“Our guild has also been informed that this is just a personal appointment with your classmate for now.”

‘Now this I like.’

Considering how Kang Taeseo had barged into the restaurant yesterday and caused a scene, she had worried that this time too, he might have come in a flashy or noisy manner.

‘If people saw and gossiped, or if even a single line of news came out, I’d really……’

If that happened, friend or not, it wouldn’t have mattered.

However, looking at the current atmosphere, it seemed they had paid attention to the gazes of others and privacy to some extent.

Feeling a bit better, Habin muttered to herself:

‘Taeseo has become much more considerate after entering society, it seems.’

Ahezar pointed out:

[Didn’t you say earlier that he had lost his social skills and was a shameless person hiding his constellation?]

‘Did I? No? Our Taeseo has become a true adult who knows how to use loopholes and power.’

[……?]

Habin, who had always possessed a broad mind and flexible thinking. Her about-face was quite swift.

“This way, please.”

The secretary who had guided them through a private, exclusive passage to the guild master’s office bowed her head. Habin strode in.

‘Well then, let’s hear what this constellation-hiding power-concealing dork has to say.’

Not exactly a dork who hides his power…… but a ranker who hides his power, anyway.

Habin folded her arms crookedly as she saw Kang Taeseo’s figure beyond the door.

◆◇◆◇◆

While Habin had come here with the grand purpose of escaping the training institute, she was also somewhat curious about how her friend, whom she hadn’t seen in a long time, was living.

In fact, during the 30-minute meeting at the meat restaurant yesterday, they hadn’t talked about anything other than rejecting the guild recruitment, and there were too many eyes around.

Habin looked around the empty office with a surprised expression.

‘But this place is too……’

[What’s the problem?]

‘It feels too inhuman.’

Inside the office, neatly arranged in a dark grey tone.

A table, sofa, a pile of documents on the desk, and a cot. Even the only bookshelf present had just a few documents and file binders stuck in it.

‘There’s not even a TV, or even a small decoration.’

Habin knows the stories circulating on HunterNet.

Title: Kang Taeseo reportedly barely goes home, eats and sleeps only in his office.

Content: No one knows why.

└ Probably because he’s busy. I heard he’s a workaholic

└ Lol… Then his office must be bigger than our house… Not something for commoners like us to worry about

Judging by the dented pillow on the cot, it seemed he really did sleep here.

Unlike the marble-covered floor and the grand exterior of the building, the office had a rather lonely atmosphere.

Ahezar offered a guess:

[A true warrior can be like that. Always ready to go out and fight!]

‘What? A warrior? Kang Taeseo? He wasn’t that kind of person to begin with!’

Habin suddenly recalled the past. She had visited Taeseo’s home once.

‘Ta-da, look at this. You have no idea how many second-hand shops I had to scour to collect these…….’

The sight of a bookshelf filled with favorite manga and novels. Taeseo smiling innocently as he showed it off. Though the room was very narrow and shabby, it was filled with objects carrying many memories.

Habin asked without thinking:

“You used to collect a lot of web novel hardcovers and manga, right?”

“……Ah, those.”

After a brief silence, Taeseo answered:

“I threw them all away now.”

It was truly ironic that at a time when the whole world was looking for hunter stories, Kang Taeseo had thrown them all away.

‘They say people die when they do things they’ve never done before…….’

Shaking her head with an uneasy feeling, Habin opened her mouth:

“Hey, Taeseo.”

“?”

“Don’t have any bad thoughts, okay?”

“……”

“The world is still bright.”

Habin comforted Taeseo in a tone that could have come from a public service announcement. Surprised by her words, Kang Taeseo’s eyes wavered for a moment.

Ahezar pointed out:

[What do you mean the world is still bright! If you don’t prevent the destruction, this place will soon face ruin too!]

‘Well, it’s still bright for now, isn’t it? I said “still”!’

[You have no conscience!]

While Ahezar and Habin were bickering, Taeseo opened his mouth:

“Hyun Habin, I’m sorry about yesterday. I think I was too hasty in suddenly proposing you join the guild.”

“Isn’t it equally hasty to propose it again today in succession?”

“……”

Habin’s brow furrowed once more.

She had come wondering what he was going to say, but if it was going to be the tiresome guild recruitment song and dance again, she’d be justified in storming out. Habin waved her hand back and forth.

“Besides, what’s with your way of speaking since yesterday?”

“What’s wrong with my way of speaking?”

“Where did you learn such a chuunibyou way of talking, you crazy bastard……?”

Habin rubbed her arms as if she had goosebumps.

To be honest, Habin had been very irritated by his way of speaking since yesterday.

‘I propose to recruit you into “Caligo”.’

‘I think I was too hasty.’

“When we were young, huh? Even though you were quiet, you were polite and pure, but now your words are a bit stiff and unpleasant?”

“……”

“It’s not like you’re advertising being the undisputed number one ranker in the country, so what the hell happened to you all this time?”

Taeseo’s eyebrows twitched slightly as he sat across from her.

For years, as the head of a hunter guild, he had been in nothing but urgent strategy meetings, trying to act tough so as not to be disrespected for being young, experiencing all sorts of unspeakable horrors…….

In the end, Taeseo, who had no normal interactions with his peers, had sadly picked up a bit of a formal speech pattern.

It’s like how a kindergarten teacher might habitually say “Everyone quiet, clap clap!” or how an Olive Young part-timer might automatically say “Welcome to Olive Young!” at the sound of the door chime—it could be seen as a kind of occupational hazard.

But the person in front of him now is an old friend before being a recruitment target. There’s no need to show his occupational habits.

He replied as if he had no choice:

“……It might be difficult to change immediately, but I’ll try……I’ll try.”

“Yeah, I understand. But give up on the guild recruitment already.”

Habin rested her chin on her hand with a pitying expression. Taeseo shook his head as if he had expected this.

“……No, just listen first. I’ve changed the conditions a bit.”

“Conditions? So the main point is still guild recruitment after all! I told you I’m not going to be a hunter.”

“You don’t have to be.”

“What?”

Habin turned her head at the words thrown out without hesitation. Taeseo continued:

“If you want, you don’t even have to participate in quests. Just put your name on the list, and you don’t have to enter dungeons. You can play around waiting at the entrance if you like, all participation is entirely up to you.”

“……But I don’t like being affiliated with anything.”

“You don’t have to be officially registered as a member. If you get permission from another guild, you can even have dual membership.”

“Hmm.”

“You’ll still be guaranteed all the benefits that other guild members receive. As for monetary compensation, name your desired amount within reason.”

‘Why is he being so generous?’

Habin eyed Taeseo suspiciously.

‘Isn’t he saying I can just take the money, connections, and information without doing anything? This seems too good to be true.’

As a rule, events with overly generous benefits often turn out to be a raw deal when you look closely.

As Habin, a 5-year veteran of household management, continued to eye him suspiciously, Taeseo quickly added:

“If you’re still hesitant, you can try it once or twice and back out right away. Did you know that just participating in guild-level dungeon or tower conquests counts as a practical substitute for the training you’re doing now?”

“Oh……?”

For the first time, a glimmer of interest appeared in Habin’s eyes.

“In other words, if you use this, you can just put your name on our guild’s conquest list during the training period and skip out.”

While she might not care about other things, this was an undeniably appealing proposal.

Habin had been constantly worrying about what kind of disaster might occur if she failed to control her strength even a little during the upcoming practical training sessions.

‘It’s too troublesome and difficult to use just an ant’s tear worth of salt crystal of strength!’

One small mistake, and she might reveal her power-hiding nature, causing property damage or even casualties.

‘Should I really just put my name on Caligo’s list during the training period and slip away?’

Join without actually joining, reap the benefits, and then bail out!

Habin tilted her head, seemingly lost in thought.