Returnee's S-Rank Management Guide

The Manager Who Returned (1)

"That guy, he's been declared dead, right?"

At the words spoken with a hint of laughter, a man turned around.

"Come on, chief, someone might hear you. Can you say things like that a little quieter?"

"Why should I? Should I be sad just because one guy I hated to even look at died? Especially when it's just some bottom-tier road manager."

The man called Chief gave a snort and swept his gaze around.

A few other employees flinched under his gaze and turned their eyes away.

"Still, wasn't it a serious accident? If it weren't for him, our people might have been caught up in it as well."

"Hey, Assistant Manager Kim. Are you taking his side?"

"N-no, it's not that. I just thought about our public image..."

"Hmph."

At assistant manager Kim's cautious words, the Chief chuckled in disbelief.

"It was that road manager's mistake to enter the dungeon in the first place. Well, I guess, like you said, thanks to him, our people survived, so maybe he did his job?"

"They were just lucky. If S-rank Hunter Shin Ah-yeon hadn't been there by coincidence, it would have turned into a national disaster."

"That's true. But I heard from Shin Ah-yeon herself that it was that guy who first sensed something wrong with the dungeon?"

"He did have an oddly sharp sense. Apparently, right away he sent our people out and clung to Shin Ah-yeon, who was on standby at the site, begging her for help."

"Ah~, I can picture it. That's just like him. This time, was he just lucky that his intuition was right?"

"... Well, yes."

The Chief also knew well what had happened afterward.

That place they thought to be a simple dungeon had a 'gate' open inside it.

'It was an extraordinary incident.'

There are very few cases worldwide of a gate opening inside a dungeon.

Gates open suddenly, and their locations vary greatly.

They occur rarely, but because monsters pour out indiscriminately wherever they emerge, in the past they caused far greater disasters than dungeons ever did.

Of course, these days, everything could be predicted, so it wasn't as big a problem.

However, in the exceptional cases where a gate forms inside a dungeon, even modern equipment could barely detect it.

On top of that, if a gate opened inside a dungeon, the catastrophe was beyond comparison to either a dungeon break or a standard gate.

So-called gate rifts.

A phenomenon also referred to as dimensional collapse.

A disaster that swallows up an entire region like a black hole, wiping everything out.

"Were there any other casualties besides that guy?"

"No. He was the last to evacuate, so he must not have made it out."

Of course, there were ways to stop a gate rift; if, before a rift occurred from the gate inside the dungeon, the core was destroyed and the gate shut, you could prevent it.

But doing something like that was impossible unless you were an S-rank Hunter.

It was truly luck that S-rank Hunter Shin Ah-yeon—nicknamed the 'Great Mage'—happened to be there.

Thanks to her, the rift was subdued before it became catastrophic, and the damage stopped within just a few hundred meters.

"Even so, S-rank Hunters really are monsters. That guy got sucked into the rift, but Shin Ah-yeon was even closer and walked out fine?"

"She said she took some time off because she was in shock after seeing someone sucked in right before her eyes, though..."

"Still, there's a world of difference between the living and the dead, isn't there? I'm just glad that troublesome guy disappeared for good."

Humming contentedly, the Chief turned his back, and Assistant Manager Kim let out a faint sigh.

He then turned his gaze toward an empty desk.

It was the desk of the manager involved in the recent accident.

"Really, what was he thinking risking his life like that..."

There was no answer to his regretful muttering.

***

"Seriously, stop stepping on the area attacks!!"

In a dark room, a woman was pounding her keyboard as if to break it.

When 'Quest Failed' appeared on the screen, she leaned her forehead against the desk with a faint sigh.

"Ugh, what's with all the trolls in this stupid game..."

Dragging herself up, she opened the fridge in her kitchen and popped open a can of orange juice.

The sour taste finally cleared her fuzzy mind.

"What time is it, anyway...?"

She'd been on an upside-down sleep schedule for so long, she barely knew what time it was.

As she drank and walked, she happened to catch her reflection in the mirror.

Hair, neither brushed nor trimmed, trailing past her waist.

Dark circles under her eyes.

At least, thanks to her metabolism, she hadn't gained weight, but her health was clearly shot.

'Guess I should at least do some simple work soon.'

If anyone saw her like this, they'd be shocked speechless.

One of the seven greatest mages in the world.

Korea's greatest magical genius!

S-rank Hunter Shin Ah-yeon.

... That's what she was called, up until about three years ago.

But what about now?

After the incident three years ago, Shin Ah-yeon's body was ruined and she could no longer use magic.

A mage who can't use magic.

It didn't take long for her to go from being the star of her guild to becoming a useless burden, quickly cast aside.

'Not that I regret it, though...'

Three years ago, Shin Ah-yeon had entered a dungeon at a manager's request and sealed the rift.

To hold back a rift on the verge of bursting required squeezing out all her strength, and when the rift briefly opened, she'd really thought she would die.

'At least I survived by sacrificing all my magic power and abilities as a mage...'

But the manager who warned everyone didn't make it.

'If only I had done a little better.'

He'd come back to her after evacuating everyone else.

He steadied her as she wavered and helped her close the gate.

But as a result, he got sucked into the rift.

'If he hadn't helped me, I would've been the one pulled in.'

She could still picture the scene clearly.

The man letting go of her hand.

"Haaa..."

The price for stopping a disaster.

Her body was ruined, and she couldn't save the manager.

For a while, she was celebrated as a hero for averting disaster and even received a medal, but that was it.

Shin Ah-yeon, not the Great Mage, was nothing but a worthless liability.

It didn't take long for her management agency to kick her out.

So, at the young age of 21, she became half-retired as a Hunter.

"Even at home, everyone nags me, so guess I have to find some kind of job."

Her earnings as an S-rank Hunter had been beyond immense, but—

Shin Ah-yeon, who'd done nothing but Hunter work, had lost a fortune on reckless coin and stock investments and could do nothing but hole up at home.

'Ugh, I really thought at least one would hit big.'

But now even that was running out.

Her balance was clearly dwindling before her very eyes.

'So depressing.'

She wondered what she could do for work.

Having lived as a Hunter her whole life, she'd never done any proper job or had the confidence to start.

Should she try streaming online?

To be honest, her looks weren't bad.

She'd been popular even during her days as a Great Mage.

'But if I buy streaming gear, my bank account's really going to be cutting it close...'

Bzzzzt!

At that moment, Shin Ah-yeon's phone vibrated loudly.

Who could it be?

She glanced at the screen—it was an unknown number.

The only people who ever called her were her parents, so it was certainly strange.

'Spam loan? Voice phishing?'

That crossed her mind, but just in case, she answered the call.

【Hello, is this Hunter Shin Ah-yeon?】

In her ear came a unfamiliar—but strangely familiar—male voice.

'Where have I heard this before?'

It didn't seem like someone she didn't know.

But "Hunter"? When was the last time she gave up that work and vanished?

Whether or not he knew her thoughts, the man continued speaking.

【I just wanted to say hello—it's been a while, so I thought I'd check in.】

"A while? Have we met before?"

Shin Ah-yeon searched her mind for any man she knew with this voice, but then nearly dropped her phone at his next words.

【Three years ago, at the gate rift.】

"... What?"

That voice.

She'd wondered where she'd heard it, but as soon as he mentioned the gate rift from three years ago, it all came back.

The manager who knelt before her back then.

And the one and only "missing person" she'd never been able to save.

His name was—

"Are you by any chance Park... Jung-woo?"

【Yes.】

As Shin Ah-yeon stammered his name, he replied with a voice carrying a hint of laughter.

【I returned a week ago.】

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
It's a slow start with an asshole boss.
We also saw Shin Ah-yeon which I assume will become the FMC.
The MC only appeared at the end and we learned about him through other people's perspective.
Nothing unique yet, it's a cookie cutter premise of Players, gates and Dungeons, with
Seems good so far.
【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】