A Hunter on Borrowed Time Keeps Surviving - Chapter 12

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 12.
Monday morning, 10 a.m.
Si-ul sat waiting on a sofa in an unfamiliar office.
The representative’s office of the Rising Guild.
Framed photographs of various dungeon raids and records of the guild’s achievements hung throughout the room.
‘For a two-story building, this guild has quite an impressive track record.’
As Si-ul was surveying the office, the middle-aged man sitting behind the desk set down his papers and spoke.
“Si-ul? Your résumé as a rookie hunter is remarkably impressive.”
The man who approached with praise was someone whose face seemed hauntingly familiar.
Park Jung-gi. Park Do-hyeon’s father and representative of the Rising Guild.
He had a solid build and wore a crisp shirt. His bearing suggested a seasoned businessman rather than the sharp edge typical of hunters.
“Do-hyeon speaks of you often. He says your skills are truly outstanding—he kept emphasizing it.”
“That’s too kind of you to say.”
Si-ul lowered his head sheepishly, and Park Jung-gi waved a hand dismissively.
“No need for modesty. I’ve reviewed your records working with Min Hyung-sik’s team, and I’ve verified your personal achievements as well.”
Park Jung-gi chose his words carefully as he flipped through the documents, then moved directly to the main point.
“Which is why I wanted to ask—an A-rank Dungeon raid is scheduled for just four days from now. Would you be willing to join that party?”
Si-ul’s eyebrows arched.
The offer came sooner than expected.
Park Jung-gi seemed to catch that reaction and smiled awkwardly.
“Normally we wouldn’t scramble to fill A-rank dungeon slots like this, but there’s a problem.”
Park Jung-gi laid out the situation frankly.
“We recently acquired a Gate at auction, but the window for bifurcation isn’t wide anymore. We need to clear it this week.”
Bifurcation. Every hunter knows the term.
If a dungeon isn’t conquered within a certain period, the magical balance inside the Gate destabilizes.
The result: monsters from within the dungeon break through the Gate and spill into the real world.
The Wyvern Goblin incident that occurred in the heart of the city is a prime example.
“Unfortunately, another A-rank raid is scheduled for this same week, which puts us in quite a bind.”
Park Jung-gi continued, sighing.
“All our skilled hunters are deployed there. We can’t split our team, and when we tried asking outside contractors, none of them fit the requirements.”
In other words, they’d won the Gate at auction but didn’t have enough manpower to tackle it.
Si-ul felt the pieces clicking into place.
‘So that’s why they accepted me so easily.’
An officially ranked D-rank rookie hunter.
Whatever his actual skill, the risk factor couldn’t be overlooked.
Yet from Park Jung-gi’s perspective, it was a gamble worth taking.
A mid-tier guild couldn’t afford to pass up a cheap A-rank Gate, and they’d have opened their wallet to anyone willing to take on such a high-risk venture.
“I understand the situation.”
Si-ul answered thus, and Park Jung-gi’s expression brightened slightly.
“So then…”
“I’ll do it.”
At Si-ul’s confident confirmation, Park Jung-gi beamed.
But Si-ul had more to add.
“On one condition—let me go alone.”
Park Jung-gi’s pupils trembled slightly.
“What do you mean…?”
“I’ll clear that dungeon by myself.”
“Pardon?”
Park Jung-gi’s face contorted.
Dungeon raids typically involve teams of six to ten hunters.
It’s common knowledge that even exceptionally skilled hunters should avoid solo clearing.
One mistake and the entire plan collapses—it’s an unreasonably dangerous undertaking.
Yet here was a D-rank rookie proposing to enter an A-rank dungeon alone.
Park Jung-gi couldn’t even laugh.
‘Is this guy arrogant, or does he have some confidence I don’t know about?’
Contrary to Park Jung-gi’s concern, Si-ul’s expression showed no fear.
‘I don’t die. I can clear the dungeon alone. The real question is how to convince this man to trust me.’
For this, he’d thought of a plan the night before.
Si-ul took a breath and carefully recited the line he’d prepared.
“What I’m about to tell you, sir, is for your ears alone.”
Si-ul opened the conversation with a meaningful tone.
Whatever Park Jung-gi imagined, Si-ul was certain to surprise him far beyond that.
“The truth is, I’m connected to Special Hunters.”
“…!!”
The atmosphere in the executive office dropped dead, as if severed by an axe.
“Wh—what did you just say?”
Park Jung-gi’s eyes looked ready to bulge from their sockets as he repeated the words back.
His heart pounded rapidly.
Special Hunters—mere mention of that name made anyone’s knees buckle.
“Could you say that again? Si-ul, you’re…what exactly?”
Yet the person whose heart was racing wildly wasn’t Park Jung-gi at all.
It was Si-ul himself, who’d just uttered the words “Special Hunter.”
‘I’ve done it…!’
Impersonating a Special Hunter.
If discovered, it was a crime warranting arrest.
And yet Si-ul had put forth this fabrication.
…albeit twisted slightly.
“Someone similar to a Special Hunter, rather.”
“……?”
Park Jung-gi tilted his head, visibly perplexed.
“Similar to a Special Hunter…what does that even mean?”
Park Jung-gi asked in a bewildered tone, as if hearing the category for the first time.
“Due to the nature of my work, I’m unable to provide detailed explanations. Information leaks would cause me considerable harm.”
That much was true, at least.
“As you can see from my record, I’m not a D-rank Hunter. I’ve been concealing my actual rank and ability.”
The statement didn’t sound like a lie.
The raid records with Min Hyung-sik’s team—all showed excellent results, dungeon clears without a hitch.
Even based on what Park Do-hyeon had told him about Si-ul’s dungeon contributions, it was fair to say Si-ul had single-handedly fed the team.
Moreover, he had the achievement of jointly clearing a Wyvern Goblin with Jang Jin-young, an executive at the Daeho Guild, Korea’s premier private hunter organization.
‘Accomplishments a D-rank novice hunter couldn’t even dream of….’
Park Jung-gi accepted Si-ul’s words without a shred of evidence.
Someone similar to a Special Hunter, or whatever—he figured it was plausible enough.
‘But why reveal this classified information to me?’
If he operated in secret like a Special Hunter, there’d be no reason to expose his identity.
Park Jung-gi decided to listen carefully to what Si-ul had to say.
“I currently need to tackle A-rank Dungeons due to a mission. But hearing about your situation, I thought we might benefit from collaborating.”
Si-ul continued his pitch, weaving fact and fiction together with calculated precision.
“Including this assignment, I’ll be entering dungeons alone going forward. That way, I won’t need to hide my true strength, making combat more efficient—and you’ll be able to slash personnel costs dramatically, won’t you?”
It was a tempting proposition.
As mentioned earlier, dungeon raids typically require six to ten personnel.
They come with legally mandated minimum wages, hazard pay, and insurance premiums all attached.
But if Si-ul could clear a dungeon solo, Park Jung-gi would be cutting personnel costs by a factor of six to ten.
“In return, should the dungeon clearance succeed, please pay me triple my standard share. And keep my identity strictly confidential. That’s my proposal to you.”
Once Si-ul finished, Park Jung-gi slowly closed his gaping mouth and organized his thoughts.
He grasped the gist of what Si-ul had said.
Yet one doubt remained unresolved.
“I’ve heard Special Hunters take on various types of assignments. So what you described seems plausible. But why…why come to our guild specifically?”
Si-ul felt a pang of anxiety, but he forced down any sign of alarm.
“If you’re someone like a Special Hunter, wouldn’t the government provide you with A-rank Gates?”
That was the most suspicious part to Park Jung-gi.
“If you’re short on Gates, you could even ask one of the major guilds under government backing.”
The more he spoke, the more suspicious it sounded.
Park Jung-gi’s eyes narrowed to slits as he scrutinized Si-ul from top to bottom.
“That’s…well….”
Cold sweat trickled down the back of Si-ul’s neck.
Time seemed to slow to a crawl.
In that suffocating moment where one second stretched like an hour, Si-ul blurted out the first desperate excuse that came to mind, unfiltered:
“Helping small and medium-sized enterprises!”
“…….”
Silence hung for roughly five seconds.
Si-ul froze, unable to take back words he’d spoken carelessly, while Park Jung-gi blinked slowly.
“Small and medium-sized enterprises… you mean save them?”
“Yes, yes! The government directive is that if we’re going to raid dungeons anyway, we should raid ones owned by small and medium guilds rather than large ones!”
Si-ul threw out words without thinking, as if he’d given up trying to make sense of anything.
“Hmm.”
Park Jung-gi stood with his arms crossed, turning Si-ul’s words over in his mind.
“So… senior government personnel are being deployed, which naturally makes clearing dungeons easier, but we’re giving that benefit to small and medium guilds instead of the large ones?”
Si-ul nodded awkwardly, his head moving in jerky motions.
Then, after a moment, the corners of Park Jung-gi’s mouth lifted.
“Such profound vision! As expected, only the government thinks about looking after small and medium guilds!”
…….
Si-ul pretended his collarbone itched and rubbed his chest.
‘Thank goodness he has the same personality as Park Do-hyeon….’
He’d truly felt his blood run cold.
If Park Jung-gi hadn’t been so straightforward and optimistic by nature, he might have pressed the issue relentlessly until he finally reported Si-ul to the government.
“It’s convenient timing, since we needed personnel anyway, and if a high-caliber operative like you can resolve this, then naturally I should accept the conditions you’ve mentioned!”
“Ah, then…….”
“For successful solo raid completion, we’ll triple the settlement ratio, and we’ll keep your identity strictly confidential!”
Si-ul swallowed hard and exhaled in relief.
He’d worried, but by good fortune he’d escaped the crisis.
Meanwhile, Park Jung-gi, wearing a beaming smile, tore up the documents concerning emergency dungeon raid personnel shortages.
“Thank you so much, Special Hunter…! Or rather, someone similar to you, Si-ul!”
* * *
At the bus stop on the way home after signing the contract with the Rising Guild.
Si-ul’s legs went weak and he collapsed onto a bench at the stop.
‘Maybe I’m just not meant to live a comfortable life out of others’ sight…. If I die on the death date, I should at least write an apology in my will….’
Still, thanks to this shoddy lie, an opportunity had arisen to preserve his consecutive quest success record.
‘Seriously, this is crazy…. That such a method would actually work.’
In fact, the idea had come from Jang Jin-young and Min Hyung-sik.
He’d been able to receive help from them all this time because they mistook him for a Special Hunter.
At first, that fact had been absurd, but when he thought about it from another angle, he realized there was no stronger justification available.
‘Coincidentally, his track record was full of bizarre achievements that couldn’t be explained unless he were a Special Hunter.’
Yet he couldn’t boldly declare himself a Special Hunter.
At the limit of Si-ul’s conscience was deceiving people by saying he was something like a Special Hunter.
“Anyway, it’s resolved.”
Si-ul exhaled with satisfaction and stretched.
Kang Ho-cheol and Baek Ka-hyeon were watching from behind the bus stop’s digital display board.
“Senior, what exactly is ‘something like a Special Hunter’?”
“No idea. Is it a new category?”
The two exchanged remarks and broke into quiet laughter.
“The more you watch him, the more entertaining he gets.”
“I’ve started looking forward to surveillance outings these days.”
Kang Ho-cheol and Baek Ka-hyeon watched Si-ul board the bus intently.
Their smiles turned cold the moment he disappeared into the bus and it pulled away.
“So this surveillance mission is over now.”
“Yeah. Approval came down from above.”
A death-limit Hunter continues to survive
Author |
Kutsumattsu
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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