The One Who Saved a World Before Will be Best at Saving Another

This wasn’t just anyone’s office. It was the Korean Association President’s office. To kick open the door like that was incredibly rude.

“Hey, what are you…!”

The Association President began to yell with an angry expression, but stopped mid-sentence when he saw who entered.

I turned to look and understood why he had suddenly gone quiet.

“Team Leader Yoon Sung-hyun?”

The person who had kicked in the door was Yoon Sung-hyun of Taebaek. At that moment, the hierarchy between the companies and the Association was clearly imprinted in my head.

No matter how powerful the Association President was, he couldn’t raise his voice in front of a team leader from Taebaek, one of the top three companies in Korea.

“Hey, Sung-hyun. What brought you here all of a sudden?”

“President.”

Yoon Sung-hyun gave a brief greeting—or whatever it was—and then looked at me.

“Let’s have a quick talk.”

He wasn’t armed, and the magic power stored in his body wasn’t moving at all.

In terms of rank, it seemed Taebaek stood above the Association, but not to the point of overwhelming superiority that would allow outright use of force.

“What would you like to talk about?”

Yoon Sung-hyun responded to my question.

“Seems like you made a statement in your interview saying you had no plans to join a company. But didn’t I warn you?”

Ah, so that’s what this was about. I smiled and replied,

“I only said I had no plans for now. The transfer market will open soon, and when it does, I’ll become an FA.”

FA (free agent). Hunters without affiliations could naturally be approached and signed during the open transfer period.

Yoon Sung-hyun frowned and said,

“Then why didn’t you contact Taebaek directly?”

“Hunter Lee Se-eun from Jannabi introduced me to a few requests.”

“And?”

What do you mean, ‘And’? I continued in a gentle tone.

“Joining Taebaek doesn’t have to be immediate, but it would be incredibly rude to reject the requests Hunter Lee Se-eun handed to me on the spot.”

The implication was that I would, of course, join Taebaek once I became a free agent.

I figured that should satisfy Yoon Sung-hyun, at least partially.

“I understand.”

And it worked. But it looked like he still wasn’t entirely pleased.

“That’s all I needed. By the way, President, what were you discussing with this guy?”

The Association President let out an awkward laugh.

He wasn’t in a position to say something like, “What business is it of yours?” right to his face, so he just smiled to signal he didn’t want to say.

You don’t want to say it? Then I’ll say it for you.

“Nothing much. The President was introducing me to a few requests.”

The President looked at me, and Yoon Sung-hyun looked at the President.

“But I’m not someone worthy of receiving help from the Association… and I have no way to repay the favor yet, do I?”

At those words, Yoon Sung-hyun replied. And in that moment, a subtle, implicit alliance formed between us.

It was one thing to have received help from Jannabi, but now the Association President himself was trying to get involved with me.

This development wasn’t favorable to Taebaek, which was eyeing me.

“Requests recommended by the President, huh. Now I’m curious too.”

I turned to the President at Yoon Sung-hyun’s words.

“Is that alright?”

He had shown me a request that wasn’t meant to be seen by Taebaek. What would he do if he said no now?

The President nodded, and I obediently showed Yoon Sung-hyun the request.

After scanning the content, Yoon let out a faint scoff and looked me over.

“So you’re thinking of getting into politics? Touching patriotism like that, it’s admirable. There are even Hunters who became National Assembly members, so I guess it’s not a hopeless dream.”

“I’m not thinking that at all. I already declined.”

Yoon Sung-hyun nodded at my words.

“Power is power. Authority is authority. A Hunter should focus on building their own strength.”

Strength, huh. His comment gave me a glimpse into his values. But…

“If you don’t mind me asking, I have a question.”

“You can ask, but you’d better be careful with what you say.”

“Was that statement you just made Taebaek’s ideology, or your personal belief, Team Leader Yoon?”

So, did that question offend you?

“That’s Taebaek’s ideology. Hunters in Taebaek constantly train and grow stronger under the law of survival of the fittest.”

“Thank you for answering.”

After hearing his reply, I made up my mind about what kind of relationship I would have with Taebaek moving forward.

Anyway, it seemed Yoon Sung-hyun wasn’t happy with the requests the President had offered me.

“President, Hunter Yoo Chan-seok is one of the Hunters Taebaek has its eye on.”

“I’m aware. I heard you were the first to approach him.”

At the President’s comment, Yoon nodded.

“A good gem only shines after proper polishing. It’s fine to support Yoo Chan-seok, but I’d prefer it be done more cautiously.”

It was a warning to be more careful in the future, but also a not-so-subtle message to back off.

“If you’re not busy, join me for lunch.”

Yoon stood up as he said that. There was no reason to refuse a free meal, so I stood and followed him.

“This place suits my taste.”

Our lunch was cheonggukjang with rice. A man with simple tastes huh. I thought someone like him would eat something fancier.

“Taebaek has 148 groups in Korea alone, not counting the directly managed ones.”

“That’s a lot.”

148 groups. At Taebaek, one group was the size of a typical company team of 15 to 20 people.

If this were a military unit, it’d be about the size of a corps.

“Managing that many Hunters must come with challenges.”

“That’s why strong leadership is necessary.”

Ten groups together formed what they called a team. In terms of size, Yoon was just one of several team leaders, meaning he commanded a company-sized force.

Each team leader also directly operated their own core group.

“You’d be placed in the direct group under Team 4.”

Team 4 was the one Yoon led as both team leader and Partner Hunter. Naturally, he planned to place me under his command.

“Even our company’s representative has remembered your name.”

“…Representative? Hunter companies don’t usually have someone called that.”

At my question, Yoon Sung-hyun nodded.

“Other companies can operate however they want. But Taebaek is the largest in the world, and our ideology is the survival of the fittest.”

The single strongest Hunter held absolute authority over all others in the company and managed them directly. That was how Taebaek was structured.

Under the Representative, there were five direct groups with specialized missions, each with distinct roles. Like special forces, if compared to the military.

“I understand your situation. It makes sense that you couldn’t refuse Lee Se-eun’s requests.”

Because I was weak, I couldn’t resist. Yoon didn’t seem to have a problem with that.

“IHC has set this winter’s transfer market to begin at midnight, 65 days from now, and last for 10 weeks.”

International Hunter Convention. Nothing too special, just a global Hunter summit. I already knew that from the press conference.

Sixty-five days huh. Not much time left.

“After lunch, I’ll report to the Representative that your transfer to us is confirmed.”

I almost stopped eating after hearing that, but I didn’t.

“You’ll have to keep your word. Otherwise, one of the Representative’s direct groups will come after you.”

“That won’t be necessary.”

I answered calmly. If I showed any hesitation or discomfort, Yoon would immediately doubt my sincerity.

That would not be good.

“By the way, how does one join a direct group? Do they recruit externally?”

Only then did Yoon smile. That question alone confirmed I was considering joining Taebaek.

“First, the Representative has to take an interest. Then you take a few tests. After that, a background check on your family and personal connections. If nothing problematic comes up, you’re selected.”

“I see.”

Taebaek intended to recruit me in the upcoming transfer window. Actually, it wasn’t just intent. They assumed it was already a done deal. Things were getting complicated.

The fact that Hunters couldn’t transfer anytime gave me some breathing room.

And I had 65 days of it. If I didn’t produce results or elevate myself within that time…

I would end up stuck under Taebaek.

And I didn’t want that.

“Survival of the fittest” as a company ideology? Was this some playground game for kids?

“Understood.”

As we continued eating, Yoon started bragging about Taebaek.

Each team had its own office, and there was a massive command center to support their operations.

“We have partnerships with several Korean banks. Affiliated Hunters get preferential interest on savings products. And when traveling for requests, we provide free lodging and meals at top hotels worldwide.”

Because of their size and influence, Taebaek’s affiliated Hunters enjoyed enormous perks.

“Of course, not everyone gets those benefits. You have to reach a certain level first.”

But if I became a Junior Hunter in a direct group, I could access all those benefits without restriction.

After briefly hearing all about how great Taebaek was, lunch finally wrapped up.

“Well, I’ll see you again soon. Probably over transfer matters.”

With those final words, Yoon left. And I immediately pulled out my phone and scoured every available request.

“Money doesn’t matter.”

I could fill my wallet later. For now, I needed to take on difficult, low-paying, annoying requests nonstop. I had to become the kind of powerhouse even Taebaek would choke on trying to absorb.

Before the transfer market opened, 65 days from now.

“Just think of it as volunteer work.”

Low pay and tough jobs? There were plenty of those around.

“Like this one.”

[The Tsushima Island Abduction Victims Group is requesting help from Hunters.]

It was presumed that a level 2 Erosion Core had taken root on Tsushima Island.

All the original inhabitants were either dead or had evacuated to Japan, leaving the island completely uninhabited.

Originally, Korea had no reason to care. Tsushima belonged to Japan, and Dokdo to Korea, right?

Oh, and Dokdo wasn’t even up for debate anymore. After the Erosion Zone crisis, Korea became massively influential in the international community, and a joint Korea-Japan declaration firmly established Dokdo as Korean territory.

“Fishermen from Geoje and Tongyeong…”

Anyway, Tsushima was Japanese land, but there was a problem.

Fishermen from Geoje and Tongyeong had to take boats out to make a living.

And it seemed monsters from the Erosion Core on Tsushima had been abducting some of them.

So far, 17 people have been taken.