I Became a Goblin Ancestor

What is this Hunter Ranking that is updated every hour, every minute, every second?

For hunters, this ‘Hunter Ranking’ was a kind of pride, a self-validation.

How much experience they have with gates, what level of monsters they can catch alone, how many monsters they have caught so far.

In other words, it measures one’s value based on the number of gate experiences, maximum monster grade, and number of monster kills.

That is the Hunter Ranking.

The rankings of S-rank hunters, of which there are only 6, including A-rank, B-rank, C-rank, D-rank, and E-rank hunters, were always updated and revised daily based on these three factors.

However, of course, unless it was E-rank, D-rank, or C-rank where the numbers were overflowing, the rankings of B-rank hunters with less than 10,000 total members, A-rank hunters with less than 200, and S-rank hunters with only 6 members hardly ever changed.

If there were changes, it would be about a dozen B-rank hunters’ rankings changing daily and one or two mid-ranking A-rank hunters’ rankings changing.

Other than that, the Hunter Ranking had not seen significant changes in the past few years, but.

[A-rank 1st = Shin Yeon (NEW)]

[Gate Log: —]
[Highest Monster Grade: —]
[Monster Kill Record: —]

This afternoon, a big change occurred in the Hunter Ranking that should have been calm as always.

A massive change that created not just ripples but huge waves.

“…Who the hell is this?”

At the entrance of the 36th district gate.

Lee Hyun-woo, an A-rank hunter who had just come out of the gate with his party members dragging bags of mana stones, unconsciously spat out a curse.

Normally, his companions would have smacked the back of his head for such language, but it seemed that at this moment, everyone felt the same as Hyun-woo himself, having received the notification simultaneously and confirmed the same content.

“Zero gate experience, no record of maximum monster grade, and never even fought a monster before, yet suddenly A-rank 1st?”

It was literally a complete newbie hunter. A rookie hunter who had just taken the hunter exam had taken the A-rank 1st place.

Right now, Hyun-woo himself, with 4 years of experience, was barely hanging on to A-rank 76th place, and his companions were barely holding on in the 80s and 90s of A-rank, yet this rookie hunter was A-rank 1st?

How could curses not come out?

Of course, although the gazes of surrounding hunters weren’t kind due to Hyun-woo’s party’s usually poor behavior, even they would sympathize in this situation.

“It says here that the Punishment Team leader personally decided on the A-rank 1st place?”
“Huh… ‘Originally planned to place in S-rank but lowered to A-rank 1st considering backlash’? They’re really talking nonsense.”
“Exactly. There will already be a huge backlash just from this. Besides, if it’s originally a General Management Team exclusive hunter, it wasn’t decided by the Punishment Team leader but pressured by the General Management Team.”

A few seconds after Hyun-woo’s cursing ended, his companions who had regained their senses each spoke up.

As they said, as long as this rookie hunter named Shin-yeon had the tag of General Management Team exclusive, it was obvious that she had taken A-rank 1st place with the backing of the General Management Team.

The position of A-rank hunter that others had struggled to reach over several years.

Yet she had easily grasped that position, and even the 1st place of that position, with just one backing.

“There have already been two precedents of receiving a C-rank hunter certificate right after taking the hunter exam, but isn’t this just the General Management Team screwing with hunters like us?”

The General Management Team, which usually didn’t even take in exclusive hunters and showed no interest in hunters, had capriciously changed the ranking with their power for their new exclusive hunter.

Hyun-woo and his party members were truly angry at this act that A-rank hunters couldn’t help but be furious about.

“Should we try to incite the surrounding hunters? I think everyone probably feels similar to us.”
“…Isn’t that a bit difficult? Our party’s reputation was already bad, and it got even worse when you got caught bringing in drugs last time.”
“Plus, we hit rock bottom when we were caught entering the 44th district slum black market the next day.”
“Damn, should have been more careful.”

One party member had suggested the easiest method of inciting hunters, but unfortunately, due to their past behaviors, it was impossible for Hyun-woo’s party.

No matter how angry everyone was about this incident, it didn’t erase what they had done.

They were already in a situation where they couldn’t even enter the association and had to exchange through backdoor deals with helpers, so the situation couldn’t be described as good even in empty words.

Therefore, while the party members were sighing and contemplating, Hyun-woo, who had been silent, opened his eyes and spoke.

“Let’s just kill her ourselves.”
“…Kill her?”

As soon as the words ended, his party members’ eyes fixed on Hyun-woo as if asking if he was in his right mind, but Hyun-woo continued speaking regardless.

“Even if the General Management Team is backing her, anything can happen inside a gate, right? Besides, the General Management Team doesn’t have any other hunters except this Shin-yeon, so wouldn’t we be enough just among ourselves if it’s just her alone?”
“…Well, since she came in with the General Management Team’s backing, her skills probably aren’t much, and killing her would be simple.”
“It’s not impossible…”

At Hyun-woo’s logical persuasion, the party members seemed to contemplate for a moment before slowly nodding their heads.

Certainly, as Hyun-woo said, if the plan was executed, killing one girl inside a gate would be easier than blowing one’s nose.

Although it was a problem that logs were left when entering a gate, such a thing could be solved by intruding into the gate without authorization.

In other words, there was no difficulty in crushing this rolling stone called Shin-yeon.

Therefore, Hyun-woo glared at the girl in the device whose limbs would be torn apart by their hands and spoke with gritted teeth.

“Then we’ll kill her right away the day she enters a gate. Got it?”

After all, in this defense city, murder between hunters was just a kind of ‘accident’ that occurred more easily than anything else.

Hyun-woo and his party members’ vulgar laughter filled the entrance of the 36th district gate.

[As expected, there are some minor backlashes.]

“I guess so?”

The day after receiving the hunter certificate.

From the morning, during a call with Yeon-ah, I nodded at her words.

The news that I had suddenly become A-rank 1st yesterday. It was a very natural course for existing hunters to react against this.

While S-rank hunters were said to be quietly staying the same as usual, B-rank, C-rank, D-rank, and E-rank hunters were expressing dissatisfaction about the unfairness of obtaining an A-rank hunter certificate with just one hunter exam, and A-rank hunters were additionally complaining about the General Management Team’s abuse of power disregarding them.

Right away, the news that came on when turning on the TV was mainly discussing either ‘my talent and greatness’ or ‘excessive favoritism towards me’, so there was nothing more to see.

In short, the current hunter world was buzzing about me with positive and negative reactions split like oil and water.

[Actually, if you give us time, we can suppress all these backlashes…]

“It’s fine. As I said before, it’s best to go in the direction of convincing everyone if possible.”

[Yes, since you said so.]

Of course, as Yeon-ah had consulted with Seo-hyun from the beginning with the intention of giving me the A-rank 1st position, Yeon-ah had methods she had thought of in advance.

However, as those methods all involved coercion, I, who wasn’t very keen on them, had no choice but to discuss new methods with her.

If possible, a method that could suppress all backlash in a short time as gently as possible.

It was clearly a topic that would be annoying just to hear about, but Yeon-ah lent her thoughts without complaint, putting our heads together, and the conclusion that came out after quite serious discussion this morning was a very simple yet certain method.

“Broadcasting my gate tour live on a pre-notified broadcasting station. It’s not a bad method even thinking about it again.”

[As you said, we’ve prepared the 23rd district gate, which is an upper A-rank gate. And the broadcasting station is already prepared.]

The new method Yeon-ah and I came up with was to show everyone my gate tour through a live broadcast.

We decided to use the broadcasting station individually owned by the General Management Team, and all notifications had already been completed.

Probably showing me leisurely touring a gate that normally requires an average party of four ordinary A-rank hunters to challenge would be enough.

Fortunately, since Seo-hyun had already written that she had held back from raising me to S-rank, there wasn’t much need to hide my power.

“Alright, then shall we get going?”

[The flagship has been docked, ancestor. Please be careful on your way.]

So, as soon as it became the exact time, I got up from where I was talking with Yeon-ah and headed to the terrace outside the bedroom.

The destination was the 23rd district where cameramen were waiting.

It was time to shut the mouths of hunters who were still noisily chattering even at this moment.

Whooosh—

“……”

Beyond the sky outside the window, the flagship carrying Shin-yeon flies towards the 23rd district.

Befitting a flagship prepared for her, it quickly becomes a dot and disappears at high speed.

And Yeon-ah, who had been watching that scene from beginning to end in her office, picked up her lowered device and searched for a contact to call.

Rring— Ring, Click—

[Hello?]

A soft voice heard after less than two rings.

The owner of the voice, sounding as if not fully awake from sleep, utters the typical receiver’s words.

Immediately after, Yeon-ah spoke while putting the name of the girl listening on the other side in her mouth.

“Seol-ah, there’s something you need to do.”

[Hmm? Something I need to do…? Just a moment… I was looking at something right now…]

The person Yeon-ah called was none other than her younger sister, Lee Seol.

Her job in the General Management Team was to oversee and monitor the 2nd district where different races lived, so Yeon-ah quietly closed her mouth and waited until Seol finished organizing what she was doing.

Then, after a moment of noise, Seol’s voice was heard again.

[So what is it that I need to do?]

Perhaps guessing the purpose of her call, Seol’s voice, which had lost its usual sleepy tone, resonated from the device with seriousness.

Despite being only 19 years old, her truly reliable attitude made Yeon-ah unknowingly smile fondly before answering Seol’s question.

“From now on, follow the ancestor and see if there are any bastards trying to attack the ancestor from behind. We’ve given warnings, but I think there might be hunters who won’t stay quiet and try to cross the line despite that.”

[Okay, I understand. But if I secretly follow, wouldn’t that be infringing on the ancestor’s free will…?]

“Don’t worry. Of course, I’m not saying to follow the ancestor around like a tail. Just watch at the entrance to see if there are any bastards trying to enter until the ancestor goes in and comes out.”

[Got it.]

The call ends with a brief but determined answer.

And the last sound heard before the call ended was of a window opening and wind bursting.

Immediately after, Yeon-ah turned her body and sat down at her desk only after confirming the figure of a girl, Seol, flying away riding the wind from the tower’s window.

“…Ah, I forgot to tell her she can kill depending on the situation.”

A forgotten word that came to mind belatedly after sitting at the desk.

However, Yeon-ah put down the device she was about to use to call again, recalling Seol’s ominous expression she had just seen.

“She’ll handle it well on her own.”

Although she was the youngest among the family members, Seol was as sharp as anyone when it came to handling work.

Therefore, putting aside her worries and picking up her pen, Yeon-ah turned on the broadcasting station’s live broadcast on her device and then fixed her gaze on the documents on the desk.

“Haah… Let’s finish this quickly.”

Because her work for today had only just begun.

There were still mountains of tasks to be processed.