Transferred to an SSS-rank Production Class

“H-Hunter Yun Gaho. What was that just now?”

“A skill.”

“That’s not what I’m asking!”

Lee Kang-to huffed, saying he knew that much. How much should I explain to him? After a moment’s consideration, I answered concisely.

“It’s a skill belonging to a hunter I worked with when I was a rookie. I didn’t expect to see it here again.”

Lee Kang-to, who would normally have made a fuss about seeing such an unusual crow, just nodded quietly. He had clearly sensed something amiss from my conversation with the crow.

“Mr. Kim, you look terrible. Are you feeling unwell?”

“I’m fine. Those people covet everything they see, so Sori, it’d be better if you stay hidden.”

“Are you really okay?”

The goblin hesitated before slipping into the pocket attached to my clothes.

“You seem like you don’t want to run into them. Why don’t we just run away…”

“If we do that, we’ll be chased all day. They’re as tenacious as leeches.”

I clicked my tongue, remembering the time they chased me demanding an absurd amount of penalty fees.

We needed to secure first place within a day; there was no time to play hide-and-seek with those people. It was better to deal with them briefly and shake them off.

“Mr. Kim, the footsteps are getting closer.”

“Yes.”

With the goblin’s warning as background noise, I nocked an arrow.

The figures that had looked like elongated dots gradually took on clearer forms as they approached. The one-eyed man swaggering in the center was Kim Cheol-yeong, the one with nunchucks slung over his shoulder was Kwon Si-hyeong, and the woman on the far right was unfamiliar.

As soon as they entered my range, I fired an arrow. As intended, it grazed Kim Cheol-yeong’s cheek. After rubbing his cheek to confirm he was wounded, Kim Cheol-yeong, unable to control his temper, came stomping towards me.

“You disrespectful little shit!”

“If you come any closer, this time…”

“What?”

I let my words trail off as I tapped my temple with my index and middle fingers.

Judging by his grimace, my intention seemed to have been conveyed properly, but Kim Cheol-yeong instead widened his stride, approaching quickly.

“Hey, Mangtang. Looks like your head’s gotten a bit big, huh? You dare threaten me?”

The crow perched on Kim Cheol-yeong’s shoulder flapped its wings as if ready to fly at me at any moment.

That hot-tempered man would turn violent at the slightest provocation. I kept my grip firm on the bow.

“Has this brat always been this charmless? Don’t get too worked up, brother.”

Kwon Si-hyeong, who had caught up to Kim Cheol-yeong, grinned unpleasantly. Thinking about how much I suffered at his hands in the past, when I had just awakened and knew nothing, made my teeth clench.

“This doesn’t seem to be a pleasant reunion for either of us, so shall we part ways?”

“Not happy to see us? I’m glad to see you. Our Gaho, you’ve grown your hair out and become prettier, but if you act so cold, men won’t like you. Seong-a, you shouldn’t learn from this.”

“…Yes.”

Kwon Si-hyeong pointedly stroked the hair of the woman standing next to him.

‘That filthy habit of his hasn’t changed.’

The woman, who looked barely over twenty, lowered her head as if used to it. She probably wasn’t always like this. She must have given up after being criticized as oversensitive or dramatic whenever she spoke up.

“Touching someone’s body without permission is sexual harassment. If you don’t know, just memorize it.”

Perhaps because I saw my younger self in her, I couldn’t stand by and watch. I stepped forward and removed Kwon Si-hyeong’s hand from the woman.

“Tsk, we took in a useless hunter and tried to teach him. This is why you shouldn’t take in black-haired beasts.”

“You should watch your words. You didn’t teach me anything; you exploited me with an unfair contract.”

Despite paying a pittance for basic wages, they always pushed me into hazardous situations. When I got injured, they didn’t even process worker’s compensation and even docked my pay for the hospitalization period. It was a daily occurrence for them to say I should be grateful they took in a C-rank hunter with no skills.

“Heh, weren’t you the one who signed the contract with your eyes clouded by a man?”

“Why are you bringing up Jeong-rok-sunbae here?”

Kim Cheol-yeong and Kwon Si-hyeong joked around, saying I didn’t need to deny it. Making fun of me and Choi Jeong-rok had long been their favorite pastime.

Choi Jeong-rok, my senior from the university club, was the one who introduced me to these two. As one of the few awakened ones around me, I relied on him a lot, but I’ve long since cut ties with him. He pretended to do me a favor by introducing me to a difficult job, but it turned out he was receiving a commission behind my back.

“There’s no way you could’ve gotten into a decent guild. Is that man over there your sugar daddy this time? He seems way below Jeong-rok’s level…”

“Y-you’re going too far!”

“And he even stutters? This is rich. Hiya, Gaho, your standards have really dropped, huh?”

My cheeks burned hot. I could hardly bear the shame of Lee Kang-to finding out that I had been played by these worthless men.

But if I ran away now, I would feel even more ashamed later.

I looked straight into Kwon Si-hyeong’s eyes, who was sneering that they would take me back if I promised to be obedient, and retorted.

“How long are you going to keep living like that?”

“What?”

“And are you even qualified to contain me?”

Instead of arguing further, I held out my awakened person registration card. The emblem of a rose and a gun crossed was clearly imprinted in the guild affiliation section.

It was the emblem of Hwangya, known to every hunter, no, every citizen of South Korea.

“You got into Hwangya?”

Kwon Si-hyeong’s face, which had been smiling all along, contorted hideously. It was clear he couldn’t believe that I, whom they had looked down upon so much, had entered what was called the ‘dream guild’.

‘You think anyone will hire you once you’re out there?’

‘Your pay isn’t enough? Such a young thing, only caring about money!’

‘Why are you working so hard? You’ll quit once you get married anyway.’

In the past, these repeated criticisms made me feel small.

Now I know. I’m not the person they think I am. Those people deliberately acted that way to undermine my self-esteem. Because it made me easier to use.

‘And even now.’

As my head cooled a bit, I could see through their shallow tricks. They probably wanted to lure me in and steal the beads. I smirked as I noticed Kim Cheol-yeong’s eyes fixed on the basket Lee Kang-to was holding.

“I have nothing more to say to you. Get lost.”

As I finished speaking, I reached for my quiver. This alone should have conveyed my intentions clearly enough.

“…We tried to be nice, but you’re not cooperating.”

Kwon Si-hyeong snorted and let his hand holding the nunchucks dangle downwards. This was the stance he usually took when preparing for combat.

“I don’t know how you got into Hwangya, but that doesn’t mean your skills have changed, right? Brother, let’s teach this brat some manners today.”

“For bad manners, a beating is the best medi— Argh!”

Kim Cheol-yeong, who was about to slap my cheek, grabbed his hand and screamed. Lee Kang-to, who had somehow appeared in front of me, had struck his hand with his tail. Lee Kang-to’s face was unusually expressionless.

“Ah, ah, seeing such ugly things is truly a torment.”

“Even Mr. Kim can say the right thing sometimes, huh?”

“I’m sorry for getting you both involved.”

“It’s a golden opportunity to make Hunter Yun Gaho indebted to me, so I’m grateful!”

After saying this, Lee Kang-to wiped his precious tail on my clothes, claiming filth had touched it. The unfamiliar expressionless face had already disappeared.

“Sori doesn’t mind either!”

I could feel the goblin rolling around in my pocket. I tapped it gently in gratitude and nocked an arrow.

Taking my action as a signal to start, Kwon Si-hyeong and Kim Cheol-yeong adjusted their grips on their weapons. Even the woman named Seong-a, unable to resist their intimidation, took out a crystal ball.

It was a powder keg moment, with no telling when the battle might start.

“Ahahaha, I followed a delightful scent, only to find such sweet conflict laid out!”

A sudden burst of laughter broke the tense atmosphere.

“Fortune, more fortune!”

Following the clear voice, I turned my head to see a small boy who had appeared from somewhere between the valleys. The child, dressed in bright blue like a young groom, approached us with his eyes closed.

Clink, clink.

Something clattered with each of his steps.

“…A tail?”

As the child emerged from the shadows of the valley, the source of the sound was finally revealed. A bundle of bone-like tails trailed behind him.

I barely managed to catch Lee Kang-to, who was about to rush forward with his mouth agape.

“Mr. Kim, don’t be fooled. That’s the yokai.”

Every time the yokai disguised as a boy clapped his hands cheerfully, the valley shook. It was palpable that this yokai was on a different level from those we had faced so far. Everyone except Lee Kang-to, who was too busy marveling, lowered their breathing.

‘Only commander-class yokai take human form, they said.’

But I heard the conquest team had taken care of all of them. Did they miss one? We couldn’t rule out the possibility that a new one had been born in these chaotic times. Either way, it was clear this would be a difficult opponent.

As much as I disliked it, cooperating was our only option in this situation.

“Let’s call a temporary truce. Does anyone know anything… Where did everyone go?”

Kim Cheol-yeong and Kwon Si-hyeong had vanished without a trace, leaving only the woman with an anxious expression behind. The woman, meeting my eyes, spoke in a trembling voice.

“…The party members used their saving point to escape.”

“Leaving you behind?”

The woman couldn’t bring herself to continue and just slumped her shoulders.