The Day

Ji-woo finally had the leeway to go outside after giving his mother an excuse. He went to the Demigod headquarters, where he was the only one late out of the four newcomer hunters.

Yu-jin glanced at Ji-woo. Her hatred for Ji-woo only grew as time passed. Of the four of them, she was the only D-rank. The other hunters were E-rank.

All because of Ji-woo's suggestion. If Battle Royale didn't happen, Yu-jin was sure she would beat all the hunters and become the absolute winner. Not letting any hunters join the Demigod guild.

Though the difference between E-rank and D-rank wasn't huge. Yu-jin still had her pride as someone in a higher rank than her peers. She should have been able to wipe out all the contestants in the previous Battle Royale.

Ji-woo noticed Yu-jin's sharp gaze at him. But he didn't really care about that. He assumed it was just a brat who was still sulking because she couldn't beat him yesterday.

On the other hand, Dong-hyun, as someone who assigned the task of handling the new guild members this time, asked for their hunter ID and had them wait in front of the Training Center.

When the four of them stopped at the Training Center, Yu-jin approached Ji-woo.

It made Tae-han flinch. Even though he survived Yu-jin's scorching sun, he knew how strong she was. Because of that, he was worried that a fight would suddenly break out, and he might get hurt if not careful.

"Don't cause trouble here. We're just new recruits."

Tae-han tried to talk to Yu-jin calmly.

"Shut up! It's none of your business."

Tae-han shrugged, acting tough at Yu-jin's harsh tone. He stepped a bit away from Ji-woo and Yu-jin.

Meanwhile, Gi-tae only looked at them with his arms crossed. Again, as the supporting character on the side.

Yu-jin looked up at Ji-woo's face.

"You ... You're lucky because of the Battle Royale. If our fight goes as it should, I'll beat you to a pulp!"

Yu-jin clenched her fists. She hated being looked down on by any man.

Ji-woo wanted to say that Yu-jin could ask for a fight whenever she wanted. However, he discarded such thoughts.

If, Ji-woo beat Yu-jin with a half-assed attitude. She would keep coming back for a fight unless he defeated her with absolute strength. But that was tantamount to revealing his power too early to others.

Ji-woo didn't have time to take care of and add other problems to his already list of obstacles.

Not long, Dong-hyun came with their hunter ID.

"All of you are officially members of the Demigod guild now.

"Also, the four of you will join the tier-3 and tier-4 Portal Gate hunt the day after tomorrow. I'll brief you guys a little about our guidelines and rules in the dungeon."

Gi-tae and Tae-han didn't have any experience with Portal Gates. So, the two of them didn't know much about dungeons.

Dong-hyun explained about hunters custom on the high-tier Portal Gates. The people who had complete command and responsibility for the hunt were the leaders. A team usually consisted of 20 hunters. The team then would get divided into two groups in the dungeon, with the leader and vice leader acting as the captain of each group.

However, this time it would be a little different. Since E-rank and D-rank hunters would participate, the number of hunters increased to 50 in one team.

Furthermore, 50 hunters was a hassle if it got split into two teams. In a dungeon, it was better to move with a small party.

Moving around in large numbers was as good as telling those creatures in the dungeon that an enemy was coming.

So, from now on. The Demigod Guild would likely use the method of dividing groups of more than five units for a team of 50 hunters. Hunt in the dungeon slowly, and at the same time, train their lower rank hunters.

All of that numbers without counting the porters within the team. It was reasonable considering that not all hunts require porters. For the Guilds, the primary objective of hunting was to close the Portal Gates, even if they incurred a loss.

Alternatively, the hunters could also pick up a Magic Crystal or two themselves upon exiting the dungeon to cover the loss a little bit.

Dong-hyun finished explaining the rough plans for the Tier-3 and Tier-4 Portal Gate. Those dungeons would be the debut place for these newcomers. After that, he sent document files to each of the new hunters in front of him.

"I gave a little information about the dungeon of the high tier Portal Gate. It's better than the internet. You can read it and ask me if there is something you don't understand."

The four of them took out their smartphones and read the file. It contained information about the environment of the dungeon and the types of creatures. Although sometimes, the situation was not precisely the same. At least, that information could make them a bit prepared about what they were dealing with it.

Yu-jin and Ji-woo thought the matter could be put aside and read at another time.

"Dong-hyun~si, shouldn't we be better off training with other guild members? Time is limited, and these documents could get taken care of later."

Dong-hyun frowned. "You newcomers won't be able to get along with the team with the limited time. So, the four of you only need to accept our arrangement, don't complain too much."

"We still have time tomorrow. It should be enough for us to practice a little." Yu-jin answered unhappily.

"The four of you only need to watch and learn from us in the dungeon later. And one more thing, the day before the hunt, it is a day off here. The team leader ordered it so the hunters could rest their bodies and minds. So that they would enter the Portal Gate with a better condition."

Yu-jin's mood turned sour. She wanted to join any squad to prove her worth in order to get nurtured from the Guild and join the Main team as soon as possible. She was someone with high self-esteem and a thirst for power. She wanted to show that women could also be the strongest hunters. Which still got dominated by men.

And now?

Even though Yu-jin knew she was just a new hunter in the Demigod guild. She didn't want to get treated like a child who needed to be cared for and disparaged.

"I'll just go back!"

Yu-jin then left because the matter of registering the hunter's ID was over, and it didn't seem like there was anything important enough to keep her stay. Shortly after, Gi-tae and Tae-han also follow her to leave.

Of course, Dong-hyun couldn't accept the attitude of these newcomers. However, He couldn't get angry at them.

Hierarchy with power as a system was a rule by which the strong and the weak had differences in respect.

Dong-hyun sighed and looked at Ji-woo, "Did you see that? Hunters with strength and talent can do whatever they want."

"But, you don't have to worry. A talentless and weak hunter like us can become stronger too if we help each other. You can count on me for this."

Ji-woo chuckled, hearing the words.

"It's fine, Dong-hyun~si. I'm not interested in that kind of thing. Thank you for the offer. I'm sorry."

Ji-woo politely declined the invitation and gave a slight bow to Dong-hyun. He left the Demigod guild headquarters like the other three newcomers. Even though he was the type to look down on the weak, he still gave them the bit of respect they deserved as someone with good intentions offering to help.

Ji-woo was pleased with the circumstance, where there was no schedule and only needed to come on the day of the event. He didn't care about the lack of communication or encounters with other hunters. After all, he didn't have any sense of belonging toward the Demigod guild. And most importantly, they did not get in the way of his original plan.

Tilili, Tilili--

On the way back, Ji-woo's smartphone rings. It was a call from that unknown number again. It was the fourth time in the last two days. Feeling a little annoyed, he finally decided to accept the phone call.

"Finally picked up! F***ing b**tard! It's me, Jung Tae-ha. How dare you ignore me. You should be grateful I gave you my number and called you."

Ji-woo frowned and didn't say a word.

Tae-ha was puzzled. "Nerd? Ya, Kim Ji-woo? Say a word, darn it!

"Heh, are those words scaring you?"

Hahaha--

"F**k off."

Ji-woo replied nonchalantly.

"Hah?!" Tae-ha was dumbfounded at the word, feeling he heard something wrong.

"F**k off."

Ji-woo immediately hung up and blocked the number after finding out whose it was. He no longer cared about his high school life and had no interest in reminiscing.

Ji-woo returned home in the late afternoon. He then helped his mother clean the house a little and read the document files from Dong-hyun in his spare time.

The next day, Ji-woo was just busy helping his mother reorganize their renovated and repaired food stall.

Finally, the time where Ji-woo would go to tier-3 and tier-4 Portal Gate had arrived.