Returnee's S-Rank Management Guide

Chapter 166 : Things Falling Into Place (2)

Things Falling Into Place (2)

The date for the Odyssey was set for October 15th.

There was roughly about a month left until then.

So, from the standpoint of the Korea Hunter Association, it was about time to finalize the members participating in the Odyssey.

"In the end, there are a total of five S-rank participants?"

"That's right. Two from our side, two from Grand Nova, and one from Moon Halo."

"So who's sitting out from Grand Nova? The Sword King?"

"Why?"

"Because he cares about his image, so maybe he doesn't want the public to see him lose?"

Shin Ah-yeon's assumption sounded plausible, but unfortunately, it wasn't correct.

"Kang Min-gi won't be joining."

Martial God Kang Min-gi.

Grand Nova's representative hunter and the person always mentioned as Korea's strongest.

Not only Shin Ah-yeon, but the rest of Unique's members also seemed surprised by this, as if they hadn't expected Kang Min-gi to sit out.

"If Kang Min-gi doesn't participate, public opinion won't be good, will it?"

"But, at least he can keep his reputation."

Grand Nova also announced that this was a measure to ostensibly protect their S-rank hunter.

After all, Kang Min-gi was the face of Grand Nova, and they didn't want to risk anything that could damage his image or result in a serious injury.

"But is Alencia participating as the U. S. representative?"

At Director Song's words, everyone's eyes turned to Alencia.

Just then, Alencia, who was busy checking videos to upload to her internet channel, nodded awkwardly.

"Uh, y-yeah, right? If I refuse, my dad will have to eat nothing but broccoli."

In reality, Alencia was in a position where she could 'never' refuse to participate.

The reason was the recently released "Titan Subjugation" video.

It had an enormous impact in Korea as well, but it was utter chaos in the U. S., which could be called Alencia's home.

Among existing Awakener, there had never been a single person to defeat an SS-rank or higher monster alone, so people were bursting with pride believing the world's strongest hunters 'all' belonged to America.

"If there's someone closest to being the world's strongest hunter among those alive..."

Lee Soo-ah murmured, lost in thought.

Having worked as a hunter for quite a long time, Lee Soo-ah would naturally know.

The summit of the world's 52 S-rank hunters.

The one closest to it.

"Owen McGregor."

Lion King Owen.

An S-rank hunter known for wielding a massive greatsword so effortlessly he could split a mountain with a single slash.

Of course, in public opinion, Alencia was often regarded more highly since she soloed the SS-rank Titan, but given those extreme conditions, many still considered Owen the strongest.

Besides them, I listed every contender for the strongest position—each and every one S-rank Awakener that we'd need to keep an eye out for in this Odyssey.

"But as expected, Korea doesn't have a single person who's risen to fame in the Odyssey."

"There's no helping that."

Korea last participated in the Odyssey back in the days of Hunter Jung Yoo-shin, which was a long time ago.

Naturally, public evaluations were low, and the only well-known name, Kang Min-gi, was sitting this one out.

"But I have at least some reputation, don't I?"

"You faded from debate after it became known the mana hall was destroyed. Now that news of your recovery is out, people will be wary again."

Especially if the video from Jeju Island spread.

Back then, even weather manipulation was caught on camera.

'That's why I asked for that video to be released after the Odyssey.'

Even aside from me, Shin Ah-yeon's strength was clearly shown in that footage.

It would only be tiring to be on everyone's radar ahead of time.

"And you still have to go to Odin's Eye in the middle."

"Ugh, I really don't want to go to that."

Shin Ah-yeon was invited to Odin's Eye on October 20th.

Because Odyssey would last roughly two weeks, she'd have to leave in the middle.

If Shin Ah-yeon, one of the few great mages in the world, was absent mid-event, Korea's combat strength would appear even weaker on the surface.

'But this is just right.'

Korea's position was excellent at this moment.

A small nation boldly stepping into the Odyssey, its golden generation leading the way.

To countries who'd competed in the Odyssey for a long time, Korea would look like easy prey.

"Manager, do you think we're strong enough to compete on the world stage?"

Seemingly having checked online reactions, Lee Soo-ah nervously asked while glancing at me.

No matter how talented, it hadn't even been a year since Lee Soo-ah became S-rank.

Of course, fighting other S-ranks would feel burdensome.

"We're not just strong enough to compete."

"Huh?"

"We can blow them away."

Though Shin Ah-yeon's participation was delayed, Lee Soo-ah was a rookie, Hwang Yeon-ji was still only A-rank.

The rest included Baek Hojun and two S-rank hunters from Grand Nova who might not even listen to me.

"...... Are you serious?"

"Of course."

This was more than enough firepower.

More importantly—

"Don't you have me?"

As those layered words resounded, only then did Lee Soo-ah nod her head.

***

Yun Seung-hyuk, an A-rank hunter at Unique Management.

He was one of the new members who joined Unique when Park Jung-woo started making a name for himself.

His original rank was C-rank.

But after months of receiving Park Jung-woo's feedback, he became the fastest among his peers to reach A-rank.

"At this rate, you could participate in the Odyssey, Seung-hyuk."

"Excuse me?"

It was this morning when Park Jung-woo said this to Seung-hyuk, who was swinging his sword as always in the training hall.

"The Odyssey, sir? That's impossible for me!"

A grand tournament where S-rank hunters gathered.

A-rank hunters were technically eligible, but none ever actually participated.

Even though he'd heard Hwang Yeon-ji was going, that was 'because it's Yeon-ji.'

After all, Hwang Yeon-ji had defeated Sol Mayer in battle.

But Seung-hyuk was no genius; he only barely reached A-rank in his thirties.

Of course, attaining A-rank at thirty was still a sign of considerable talent.

But that didn't mean he could hold his own against S-ranks.

"Oh, perhaps you haven't heard? This Odyssey will feature a new team event where A-rank parties compete against each other."

"Huh? Really?"

"Why would I joke about this? Of course, only one party from each nation can participate, so the selection competition will be quite fierce."

Judging from Park Jung-woo's words, even Unique planned to form an A-rank party for the national selection event.

'Me, included?'

Recently, many hunters had gathered at Unique, including several A-rankers.

Most were A-rank hunters whose evaluations had dropped at Upstream or Moon Halo, now numbering over ten.

With only five spots to fill, there were certainly hunters more skilled than Seung-hyuk.

"Are you sure it's okay for me to be part of that team?"

"Absolutely. I believe in your potential, Seung-hyuk. And not just participation—you'll be the party's leader."

"What?!"

"You've always led teams well, haven't you?"

Park Jung-woo spoke as if there was nothing surprising about it, causing Seung-hyuk to gulp.

'That's only because it was a B-rank party.'

It made sense for Seung-hyuk to lead a B-rank party as an A-rank hunter.

"And the party's manager will be Ar—no, Ban Jae-hoon, our newest hire."

"Ban Jae-hoon?"

Seung-hyuk naturally knew of him.

A tall man who recently followed Park Jung-woo around the office.

His looks were so striking that people initially wondered if Unique had recruited an actor.

"...... But Ban Jae-hoon is a newcomer."

"We can vouch for his skills."

At Park Jung-woo's firm tone, Seung-hyuk could only nod.

Among Unique members, Seung-hyuk was well known as a devoted follower of Park Jung-woo.

Without Park Jung-woo, he'd have never reached A-rank and would've remained a career C or B-rank until retirement.

"Understood. If Manager Park says so, then it must be certain."

"Thank you. Well then..."

Park Jung-woo briefly looked toward the training room exit, then back at Seung-hyuk.

"Shall we go try syncing up right now?"

"Huh?"

Right now?

***

A management agency's primary source of income is the number of A-rank parties it runs.

That has always been an unchanging truth.

With so few S-rank hunters, you couldn't work them recklessly, and even the government was very restrictive.

Of course, since they could solo most dungeons, S-rank hunters took home incomparable money compared to other hunters, but that was a separate issue from the company's income.

Unique had recently managed to form about two A-rank parties from all the new A-rankers who'd joined.

However, there was still no 'main' A-rank party.

"Looks like everyone's here."

At the entrance to the A-rank dungeon, I looked over everyone gathered.

Starting with Yun Seung-hyuk, who'd grown from C to A-rank recently, four other A-rank hunters stood in line.

They didn't seem pleased that Yun Seung-hyuk, with the least experience, was the party's leader.

'Kim Jeong-han, Shin Hyun-woo, Hong Mi-Yun, Song Ah-ra.'

Including Yun Seung-hyuk, that made three men and two women in the party.

"From now on, your party manager will be Ban Jae-hoon. You're all familiar with him, right?"

"Yes, of course."

The hunters nodded at Ban Jae-hoon, quietly standing next to me.

The men seemed indifferent, but the two female hunters were visibly excited.

"Wow, amazing. Manager Ban is really going to lead us?"

"Yes, that's the plan."

In the meantime, Ban Jae-hoon—also known as Ardan—had prepared thoroughly for his manager activities.

He had not only acquired contemporary knowledge but even got a driver's license and various qualifications. Fortunately, chairman Song Hyun-seung had mostly taken care of his identity issues, though now and then people did give him funny looks.

Ardan, being quite lacking in modern understanding, sometimes went off the rails.

"I'm sure Hunter Yun Seung-hyuk's mentioned it somewhat, but your goal is to sync up and prepare for participating in this Odyssey."

"A rookie team like us being chosen for the national spot is probably impossible, don't you think?"

At my words, the oldest member, Kim Jeong-han, raised his hand.

"I heard even the 'Ghost' party from Upstream—and of course, Grand Nova's team—will be competing. To go against them, honestly, is..."

A-rank parties usually had fixed members and official names, and Upstream's "Ghost" was one example.

The members of Ghost, if the five were together, were said to be strong enough to take on an S-rank hunter.

"It's absolutely possible."

"But we've only just started working together as a team..."

"You can sync up under tight training from now on. I've already mapped out the schedule."

At the mention of a set schedule, the hunters' faces looked puzzled.

"There's one month left until the Odyssey, right?"

"Yes."

"We'll rest the last two days, so... that means we can clear about twenty-seven A-rank dungeons."

"?"

There are about thirty A-rank dungeons in Korea each month.

Excluding three, the rest would all be cleared by this party, so the hunters couldn't help but be flustered.

"T-that's impossible. No management can monopolize A-rank dungeons like that..."

"Yes, it's normally impossible."

But only if you're talking about A-rank dungeons inside Korea.

And behind me, I had several people who could solve that problem.

"Normally, that is."

As I smiled brightly, for some reason the bodies of the hunters shivered.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=

Forced labor is the best training!

【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】