NOVEL NEXT Chapter 147
Chapter 147: The A-Class Healer’s Arrival
“Whoa?”
The staff member’s eyes widened.
A great commotion erupted among the guild members seated nearby.
They had also checked the monitor.
A-Class.
An incredible A-Class.
It’s a super-rare breed that makes up less than 1% of all Awakened Beings.
Even though the license issuance wasn’t even over yet, the representatives from the major guilds stood up.
Sun Guild, White Dragon Guild, Blue Star Guild…
The representatives from the prestigious major guilds were finally getting off their heavy behinds for the first time.
Their faces were all flushed with excitement.
They had to get this one.
They absolutely had to.
Landing an A-Class would be a monumental achievement, and missing out would bring unprecedented criticism.
The A-Class was truly the might of a major guild.
Having more A-Class Awakened Beings was vital for gaining an advantage in competition with other major guilds.
“…What’s the budget?”
Surprised, Si-hyun seemed taken aback, having not expected an A-Class to appear.
He thought a B-Class would be the highest possibility.
“We can manage 11 billion,” Cheol-hyung replied.
That was the standard annual salary for an A-Class.
“Can you actually catch an A-Class with just 11 billion these days?”
Just like prices rise year after year, hunters’ salaries had also been gradually increasing.
Especially for hunters in fierce recruitment competitions like A-Class, their salaries could only go higher with competition heating up.
“We could spend about 1 billion more,” Cheol-hyung smirked.
He too hadn’t expected an A-Class Awakened Being to show up.
Among the existing Awakened Beings inquiring about transfers, there were none at A-Class.
B-Class was the highest.
In fact, once you reached A-Class, you were treated exceptionally well in major guilds, so there weren’t many transfer requests.
“I see.”
Si-hyun wore a contemplative expression.
It was like expecting a quail but suddenly encountering a phoenix.
If everything went as he imagined, it would be a monumental success.
But the rank was so high that whether it turned out as he anticipated was still uncertain.
Then a loud commotion erupted in front of him.
“Healer, healer!”
“A-Class healer?”
“Whoa… this will be some fierce competition!”
“I think it’ll go for at least 150 million!”
Although they had no money to participate in the recruitment battle, the representatives from mid-sized and small guilds were keenly watching this competition with gleaming eyes.
And it wasn’t just them.
People around the other counters also gathered toward the first counter after witnessing the ruckus.
“What’s happening?”
“They say an A-Class has appeared, an A-Class!”
“What? An A-Class? Is that for real?”
In an instant, the first floor of the association building became as noisy as a market.
As if they couldn’t miss this exciting spectacle, everyone surrounded and whispered among themselves.
The association staff didn’t particularly interfere with their behavior.
They understood that it was customary for such events not to be preventable every time an A-Class appeared.
“…It’s a healer,” Cheol-hyung muttered.
An A-Class healer would be indispensable for Yangji Guild.
The Yangji Guild only had a B-Class healer.
However, he had no confidence in winning a money battle against the major guilds.
Surely, the major guilds would offer absurd amounts of money.
Someone predicting 150 million wasn’t an exaggeration.
For an A-Class healer, it wouldn’t be strange to ask for even more.
It was literally a wild money battlefield.
Cheol-hyung couldn’t hide his disappointed expression as he glanced at Si-hyun.
Si-hyun, however, still looked deep in thought.
Even with an A-Class healer appearing, he showed no signs of actively moving.
He seemed like someone who had emptied his mind.
“Chief, I think we need to have a talk,” someone said.
Letting an A-Class pass by without any action would be a dereliction of duty.
They had to at least make an attempt to recruit.
“That’s right. But let’s wait for now,” Si-hyun said.
He definitely seemed to have something in mind.
So Cheol-hyung didn’t stand up just yet.
However, his mind was busy calculating what conditions they should present.
In the meantime, the A-Class healer finally obtained her license and stood up from the counter.
Unlike earlier with the E-Class, the representatives from the major guilds hurried over to greet her like they were in a competition.
Some bowed at a 90-degree angle like they were greeting a superior.
“Greetings! First of all, congratulations, Hunter! As you know, our Sun Guild is the proud number one guild, providing the best treatment that lives up to our reputation. We offer everything beyond your imagination….”
“Our White Dragon Guild doesn’t just talk about money. Money is merely basic courtesy for our hunters. We have never failed to reach a boss on time during joint raids. Keep that in mind….”
Some representatives were openly mocking the Sun Guild while trying to pitch their guild.
The face of the Sun Guild representative turned bright red.
However, it was quite amusing to see them unable to openly retaliate in front of the new A-Class healer.
The representatives from the mid-sized and small guilds found their reactions funny but were barely holding back laughter, afraid of getting on the bad side of the number one guild.
Si-hyun chuckled softly.
The A-Class healer seemed completely uninterested in the talks of the major guilds.
With a blank expression, she half-listened and casually glanced over at the guild members.
Cheol-hyung watched her with a puzzled expression.
For an A-Class, one would expect her to disregard guilds outside of the major ones. Her behavior seemed a bit odd.
But Si-hyun had a look as if things were playing out just as he hoped.
“What should we do, Chief?” Cheol-hyung asked.
“Let’s wait and see for now.”
Just as he finished his reply, the A-Class healer moved.
Her actions seemed to be entirely disregarding the representatives from the major guilds.
They looked flustered.
It was the first time an A-Class hunter reacted this way.
“Huh?” Cheol-hyung made a perplexed face.
She was walking towards the guild members.
Especially toward this side.
No, it wasn’t just a feeling.
She was truly walking this way.
“Do you know her?”
“Not really. I don’t know her well, but I did see her earlier.”
Si-hyun gave a vague answer, wearing a smile.
Cheol-hyung looked intrigued by his response.
Everyone cast curious eyes this way.
She was now almost right in front of Si-hyun and Cheol-hyung. Her expression remained blank, making it impossible to tell what was on her mind.
“Are you the leader of Yangji Guild?” she finally spoke.
“…Ah, yes. That’s right,” Cheol-hyung replied, slightly flustered at the unexpected situation.
“What can I do for you…?”
“Let’s sign a contract.”
She stated it very coolly.
A moment of silence fell.
Then, just like that silence was a lie, the commotion spread like wildfire.
“What? What’s happening?”
“Did she just say she wants to sign a contract?”
“Is she actually saying she wants to sign a contract?!”
“A contract? Where’s that?”
“It should be Yangji Guild!”
“Yangji Guild? Is she seriously throwing shade at major guilds like Sun and White Dragon to sign with Yangji Guild?”
“Don’t you know? These days, Yangji Guild is doing quite well.”
“No way, but still… major guilds aren’t major for nothing.”
“Wow, that girl’s bold. Making major guilds look foolish like that.”
People muttered and chattered away.
An A-Class making a choice that wasn’t a major guild was a sight to behold.
Thus, the murmurs happened all around.
Only Si-hyun wore a knowing smile.
He recalled when he went to get his wallet from the parking lot earlier.
At that time, he had seen her.
Specifically, he had seen her with the E-Class hunter she just signed a contract with.
◈ ◈ ◈
As Si-hyun was about to close his car door after putting his wallet away.
He heard a man’s voice from over there.
“I’m a little nervous.”
“Come on, you got this, my husband.”
He also heard a woman’s voice.
Si-hyun almost shut the car door to leave, but curiosity struck him, and he looked towards the source of the sound.
There stood a couple.
They seemed to be a married couple based on their earlier conversation.
Si-hyun leaned in to listen to them speak more.
“Well, if I want to work with you, I need a decent offer to come in.”
At the man’s words, the woman hesitated before responding.
“…I’ll just demand your contract as a condition, so let’s just…”
“No, that’s out of the question.”
The man firmly cut her off.
“I don’t want your help for that sort of thing. I want to find a job myself.”
“I understand, but…”
“Of course, I’d like to work at the same place as last time, but if not, it can’t be helped.”
“…Okay.”
“Well then, I’ll head in first. Wait here. I’ll bring back good news.”
With a determined look on his face, the man said that and walked toward the entrance of the Hunter Association building.
‘Did he awaken?’
Listening to their conversation, Si-hyun thought in amazement.
It was the only conclusion he could draw.
Married couples awakening? He had seen something like that in overseas topics, but to think it happened in Korea was fascinating.
However.
From what he heard, the husband seemed to be a low-rank Awakened Being.
In contrast, the wife at least sounded like she was confident enough to ask for the husband’s contract, so she seemed to be at least B-Class.
Even if a C-Class could make such demands at a smaller guild, there was no way they could get away with that at a decent guild.
‘If this goes well…’
Si-hyun pondered.
From the wife’s expression, it seemed she truly wished to work at the same place as her husband.
If not for the husband’s stubborn attitude, she probably would have made the request to work together.
Then…
Perhaps he could reel in a B-Class right from the first day.
Si-hyun smirked subtly and followed the husband into the building.
◈ ◈ ◈
‘Things are going according to plan.’
Si-hyun smiled brightly.
No, it was beyond what he had imagined.
An A-Class healer, now that was a jackpot.
Such talent wasn’t something you could just request and obtain at will.
“Hey, excuse me Hunter! Can I have a moment?”
“Hunter! At least let us pitch something!”
“Here… just write down the amount you desire! We’ll wire it immediately!”
The representatives from the major guilds hurriedly rushed toward her.
As sales representatives, they had no choice but to be desperate.
Securing an A-Class hunter would mean astronomical bonuses.
On the contrary, failing to do so would surely affect their standing within the company.
There were plenty of people who wanted this position.
Consistently failing to show skills could easily lead to being fired.
“I’m not interested in signing with any of you, so please be quiet.”
She seemed to have quite the cool personality, contrary to her cute appearance.
Was she a cold city girl, only warm towards her husband?
Si-hyun chuckled.
“Quickly hand over the contract.”
She looked at Cheol-hyung and said.
“Ah, yes.”
In a daze, Cheol-hyung took out the contract and pen from the dossier.
Even though the contract’s monetary section wasn’t even filled out yet, she boldly picked up the pen and signed the contract in front of the representatives from the major guilds.
The expressions of the major guild representatives quickly soured.
Especially, the Sun Guild representative’s expression turned dark.
They had just suffered humiliation at the hands of Yangji Guild.
If their guild leader found out about this, he might take it out on them severely.
“Jeong Euna! Let’s make this work moving forward.”
The day an A-Class healer first joined Yangji Guild was quite the spectacle.