The Hunter of the Other World Who Is Being Misunderstood

S-Class Hunter, Jung Haseong. Despite having a few months of hiatus, he quickly became the center of attention again. No matter what anyone said, he was the nation’s hero and an awakened being who had never once lost the top spot since his awakening.

[T***: Wow, how many gates has Jung Haseong destroyed as soon as he returned?;;]

[J***: It’s not as intense as before, but it’s still terrifying. How does he manage such a speed of conquest all by himself?] 

Jung Haseong is the best Hunter in Korea. At least within this country, no one would dispute that statement. However…

But if you ask, “Is Jung Haseong the strongest Hunter?” that’s when things start to change.

On the internet, opinions were always divided on that topic.

[Fact) But no matter how much we talk about it here, we won’t know for sure until S-rank Hunters actually fight it out, lol.]

Korea had yet to see any precedent of battles between S-rank Hunters. So the question of whether Jung Haseong was the strongest couldn’t be easily answered.

However, who would have thought that this fiery debate would come to an end with just one man’s words? On an afternoon with heavy snowfall, Hunters who had visited the market were shocked. They witnessed an unimaginable scene at the front gate.

[p** : Did you just hear about the conversation between Hunter Jung and Hunter Kim at the market’s front gate?]

[j*** : Did I really just see that?]

[k***** : Weren’t those two on bad terms??]

The ‘Ranking 1st Place Fainting Incident.’

In front of the emergency room.

And with the Inevitable Malice that followed, including Jung Haseong’s attitude in the media, it almost became a fact on the internet that the national hero and the 4th S-rank hunter were not on good terms. However… seeing the two of them talk today, Jung Haseong was surprisingly friendly and polite, rather than hostile.

[k**: Even if you look at it with a prejudiced eye, they didn’t seem to be on bad terms?]

[j**: What kind of crazy person would run up to someone they hate and ask if they’ve eaten?]

So, anonymous people started making various speculations about Jung Haseong’s behavior. Some say that Hunter Jung Haseong and Hunter Kim Kiryeo aren’t on bad terms, and the rumors were exaggerated. Others claimed that any past issues had been resolved. Some even suggested that the two were originally close friends, and that the seemingly critical interviews were just part of their usual dynamic. Everyone seemed to be agreeing that there was no real discord between them.

[p**: Honestly, if it weren’t for the conversation that followed, I might have just thought that the two were just managing their image to be conscious of public opinion…]

The hunter who was writing on the bulletin board burst into laughter as if he was dumbfounded.

[p**: I never thought I’d see the day when Garion was recruiting hunters, lol.] 

Yeah, actually, this is a more important topic. Even if the fact that Jung Haseong and Kim Kiryeo exchanged greetings is something to be glossed over, the mention of this guild name is a matter that hunters can’t ignore.

[Bl***: [Breaking News] Garion Guild Recruitment Cut for S-Class [Breaking News] Garion Guild Recruitment Cut for S-Class [Breaking News] Garion Guild Recruitment Cut for S-Class]

[j*** : If this was going to happen, why did you even receive our resumes!!!]

[T*** : 100% of the article main impressions are this ㅋㅋㅋ]

Garion.

It is a small-scale Hunter guild in South Korea. However, in terms of reputation, it wasn’t easily outshone even by the Korean Magic Tower. After all, its leader was a famous national hero.

[[Seonhan Daily] Jung Haseong Establishes ‘Garion’ Guild… Hunter Recruitment Chaos] 

Top 1% appraiser specialist.

The best healer in the country.

Since the S-class itself gathered the best personnel for his convenience, it’s only natural that the environment is excellent.

– The top-ranked player has established a guild!

– Oh, if I join now, will I be one of the original members?

The news that Haseong was forming a guild caused quite a stir in the industry. There were so many hunters trying to submit their resumes that Garion’s email was temporarily overloaded.

“Haha, I even ended up submitting my resume back then because of the hype…”

Tuk.

The hunter typing the comment paused, reflecting on the past. Looking back now, everyone was so passionate at that time. Some hunters applied simply out of admiration for Jung Haseong, while others, like hungry hyenas, were drawn by the prestige of the hero’s name.

‘An A-rank hunter could compete with an S-rank if they had the right equipment, and if they were lucky enough to end up on a regular team with Jung Haseong, their profile would skyrocket… Well, there were quite a few people with that mindset.’

But do you know what happened to those who made such plans? Whenever he thinks back to that time, cold sweat starts to bead on his forehead.

– The final interview will start now.

Indeed, those who had their applications accepted from all corners faced an insurmountable trial.

– Kyaaaaak!

– Heuk!

– Uggh!

The final interview for Garion was to endure the flames of the guild master, Jung Haseong. However, the results were even more devastating than imagined. When Jung Haseong unleashed his skills in earnest, the once overconfident hunters collapsed within seconds. It wasn’t that he had directly burned them; most of them were equipped with elemental resistance gear.

– Aaaah! I was wrong! Stop it!

And yet, despite that, so many strong individuals were utterly defeated merely by the heat radiating around them.

‘I was crazy back then. Oh, how did I sign the interview consent form even knowing the test content?’

The interview at the time revealed one crucial fact to the hunters. Whether using equipment or receiving buffs, the deep gap between A-rank and S-rank could never be filled.

[j***: So when all the interviewees were rolling around on the floor, Jung Haseong looked at them with a pitying look and said, “If you can’t even endure this much, you can’t be on my team. So I’m really sorry, but I’m going to disqualify you all….]

Moreover, Garion stopped accepting hunter applications starting from the year after its establishment. The reason was quite provocative.

【 20XX Hunter Interview 】

[Reporter: Guild leader! On the 23rd, Garion Guild officially declared that it would no longer be recruiting members. Why did you suddenly make this decision?]

[Jung Haseong: Garion has always aimed for a small elite group. So, when recruiting awakeners, we only intended to bring in a few who would join my team…]

[Reporter: Did no one pass (the final interview)?]

[Jung Haseong: Yes.]

Awakeners who can’t withstand my flames will not be accepted!

‘Crazy.’

Thanks to this, Garion became synonymous with a one-man guild. Since that day, the nation’s hero hadn’t recruited a single hunter besides himself. Netizens joked that only S-ranks could join Garion, but… the reality was even harsher. A year ago, during a dungeon break, Jung Haseong had unintentionally burned a fellow hunter.

[Anonymous: Oh no, this means teaming up with the Tower of Magic is off the table too. ㅜㅜ] 

[Replying Author: Yeah, Hunter Esther said the same thing before. She’s willing to team up with Jung Haseong, but after doing a mock battle, she realized it was impossible due to the curse effects.]

Of course, when it comes to awakened beings of the same rank, they can more or less manage to accompany each other if they’re properly equipped with elemental resistance gear.

But what does that really mean? Ordinary people who don’t fully understand the nature of awakened beings often think that loading up on high-grade equipment will make someone endlessly powerful… But in reality, this was impossible.

Hunters have a special limitation called the [Equipment Slot System].

‘We have a limit to the number of artifacts we can handle at 100% efficiency.’

No matter how powerful an S-rank hunter is, they can’t just walk around with a bunch of items hanging off their body.

If you use elemental resistance gear to block the flames, you naturally have to remove other main equipment. To be honest, this wasn’t particularly beneficial for dungeon raids. That’s why S-rank hunters implicitly chose to work separately for efficiency.

– Hunter Kim Kiryeo, would you join our guild? 

But, now that Garion is accepting guild members?

– Thank you for the offer, but it might be difficult. After all, the level gap between us is just too big… 

Moreover, to see the nation’s hero being criticized like this! The witnesses couldn’t keep their mouths shut. They interpreted Kim Kiryeo’s words in this way.

[j*** : Wow, how can someone tell the top-ranked hunter that they can’t join them because their level is too low?]

[블*** : What’s even more surprising is Jung Haseong’s reaction… He just nodded as if he expected that.]

[ㄴ g* : It’s true. The follow-up reaction is even more shocking.] 

The flipped perspective on the “skill gap” led netizens to raise a certain suspicion. Perhaps, just perhaps, the fourth S-rank Hunter is so powerful and someone who could potentially look down on Jung Haseong….

[p**: Let’s summarize. The fact that Jung Haseong invited Kim Hunter to the guild clearly means that Hunter Kim passed the seemingly impossible “final interview” conditions. But in this situation, Hunter Kim said that Jung Haseong’s level doesn’t match theirs and that they couldn’t go together. Am I right?] 

[Woo**: I think the two of them have already fought before. That’s why Jung Haseong is quietly acknowledging it like that.]

If that’s the case, then naturally, the question of ‘Is Jung Haseong the strongest hunter?’ should be answered.

[H* : If someone can beat the top ranker, he’s truly a monster among monsters ㄷㄷ] 

[Bl*** : So if Brooklyn and Kim Kiryeo fought, who would win?] 

[a*** : Here we go again with the VS fanatics]

Thanks to the new S-class hunter’s actions and words, the forums were buzzing for a while. Still, the overall atmosphere was positive. After all, that powerful hunter was ultimately part of Korea.

[a***: Judging from the fact that he’s been hiding his rank by the association president’s orders so far, it seems like he’s directly under the association, so I feel reassured that he’ll be able to respond well to dungeon breaks.]

The hunters on this anonymous site showed a hopeful reaction to Kim Kiryeo’s appearance. However, not everyone in the world can have the same opinion.

==============================

[Title: Let’s see Hunternet’s reactions lol]

Are you saying that we won’t have to worry about Dungeon Breaks in the future just because KKR is around?

Isn’t it obvious that the Association is using him as a cover-up to avoid admitting they couldn’t catch the rank manipulation all this time? LOL

Seriously, how long has it been since those pigs were called beasts? Just because someone is S-rank, they’re automatically praised.

Oh my, there’s no answer. There’s no answer.

=============================

Meanwhile, a certain community site was showing a contrasting atmosphere to the bulletin board just now.  This was due to Kim Kiryeo referring to the journalists who visited his home during a recent impromptu press conference with such terms.

– You mammals b*stards who said you won’t comment.

Mammals.

He called a person with a word usually used to refer to small creatures, so naturally there was backlash.

[COMMENT(2)]

[That beast of a man is definitely like Changho. I knew something was off when he started getting an S-rank right after taking down monsters that the Magic Tower Master had already caught.]  

[He’ll probably disappear after the accident]

To be honest, Kim Kiryeo’s reputation remained at rock bottom even after the grade adjustment. During the temporary press conference, the reporters present twisted some of the unfamiliar terms the speaker used into extremely provocative headlines.

[Those ‘beast-like’ individuals with no ability? … The new S-rank’s shocking outburst.] 

Now, he’s been mockingly nicknamed ‘Beastly Man’ by some netizens.

[Title: I’ll bet my ears on the fact that Beastly Man will neglect his duties]

[Content:

(Expected excuse)

Oh, this is a dungeon break below A-class, so other hunters can solve it even if it’s not me, so whatever~]

[COMMENT(1)]

[Really, the top-tier kids don’t even bother with dungeons that don’t make money]

.

.

.

However, this public perception was overturned by a certain incident that happened a few days later.

[Wow]

[???]

[What?]

That’s right, all at once.

[We were the ones who had no answer]

[;; It’s only natural that such a distinguished person’s eyes would see other things as beasts…]

[Hello, this is the manager. As of today, this is a fan cafe for Kim Kiryeo. Anyone who writes slanderous comments to the hunter will result in a permanent ban and removal from the site. If you don’t like it, feel free to leave.]