I was Kicked Out of the Hunter’s Guild

About an hour had passed since the hunters had carried out a series of bombardment-like attacks.

Before them lay the corpses of hundreds of Abyss.

And even in that hellish scene, only a few dozen Abyss—barely clinging to life—continued struggling, attempting to climb the hill.

“Out of bullets!”

“Same here!”

All the incendiary rounds, prepared in advance under Jinhyun’s orders, had been completely used up.

Now, all that remained was to finish off those few survivors—creatures barely breathing, crawling through the lingering hellfire in a final attempt at survival.

“Switch to regular bullets. We’re wiping out the remaining stragglers.”

“Yes!”

While large-scale annihilation like before was no longer possible, it hardly mattered. After all, 90% of the enemy forces had already been eliminated.

In fact, using incendiary rounds at this close range near the hill could risk harming their own allies.

Besides, the Abyss were now so densely packed at the base of the hill that there was barely any need to aim.

“Fire!”

At Iare’s command, the hunters opened fire once again.

Flames and smoke burst from the barrels of their guns as they mercilessly finished off the last Abyss—those pitiful creatures making a desperate final push, only to collapse after being melted and torn apart by the previous incendiary bombardment.

Just like that, as the last Abyss collapsed before them—

“We… we won!”

“We won!”

“Woohoo!!!”

The hunters erupted in shouts and cheers, finally letting themselves feel the joy of victory.

Before them lay the bodies of hundreds of Abyss, piled high like a mountain.

The water in the valley had turned black, stained by the blood of the fallen creatures, resembling ink.

The entire area bore the marks of devastation—rocks scorched by incendiary bombs, corpses littering the ground, and the lingering aftermath of hundreds of lives extinguished.

But…

Despite the massacre, not a single hunter had been lost.

Aside from some mild fatigue and a few minor burns caused by the heat of the incendiary blasts, most of them were completely unharmed.

No deaths. No serious injuries.

Even considering the hunters’ superior combat abilities, which outmatched the average Abyss, this level of one-sided victory was unprecedented.

In fact, none of the hunters present had ever experienced a battle that ended so decisively, with such overwhelming results, and in such a short period of time.

As they processed the magnitude of their achievement, one thought naturally rose in their minds.

The person who had designed this flawless plan—

The one who had made this impossible victory a reality—

Their new lieutenant.

The figure of a man named Lee Jinhyun was now etched clearly into their memories.

‘This is insane…’

‘I knew something was off when he started reciting the habits of the Abyss during the briefing.’

‘And when he told us to pack that many incendiary rounds, I figured this wouldn’t be a normal battle… but I never imagined it would end with gathering the Abyss like this and burning them all at once.’

The hunters reflected on their past battles with the Abyss.

Especially fights in mountainous terrain—those had never been like this.

Whenever the guild received a mission in the mountains, the hunters would instinctively frown.

They would be forced into full armor by default.

Every Abyss encountered during the march had to be taken down quickly and quietly, always worrying that one might escape and summon reinforcements.

At best, these battles were tedious.

At worst, they were downright brutal.

In extreme cases, they would camp for days and nights, staying awake in shifts, constantly on edge for Abyss that could ambush them at any moment from the forest.

If they were lucky enough to find an Abyss colony hidden in a cave, the next step was even worse—

They would have to crawl into that dark, narrow, repulsive space, completely out of sight, and somehow kill every last Abyss inside before making it back out alive.

And if that failed?

The final option was even more extreme: after all the effort and danger, they would simply blow up the entire forest as a last resort.

Given how grueling these operations were, mountainous missions were considered some of the worst assignments for hunters.

It was like crawling through ant-infested hell.

Even without the complexity of the operational plan, there was a clear reason why the government spent large sums of money to assign these types of requests specifically to Black Hunters.

On the other hand—

In that respect, today’s operation was…

To be honest, when they first received the request, they had mentally prepared themselves for several grueling days in the mountains.

Yet, in the end, the entire battle concluded in less than half a day—
with an overwhelming victory.

It was a result that left a deep impression on every hunter who participated.

The mission had been completed in just a few hours—without the need for full armor, exhausting marches, or camping.

From the very beginning, the operation had taken full advantage of the Abyss’s extreme aggression, luring them into terrain favorable to the hunters.

And then—

They annihilated the enemy.

Pouring incendiary bombs into an open valley, they swept away the Abyss in one decisive strike.

It was a fighting style the hunters had never even imagined.

Such a result would have been impossible without a complete understanding of the Abyss’s habits and the careful, advance selection of the ideal battlefield.

Depending on one’s perspective, it might seem like a cruel tactic—a vicious strategy of torturing enemies and digging traps to carry out a massacre.

But such moral considerations only applied to human-on-human conflicts.

When it came to monsters, notions of cruelty or mercy were nothing more than the naive ramblings of fools.

At this moment—

The hunters who had just finished the battle felt no guilt. No bitterness.

Only relief, exhilaration, and the joy of victory.

It was the first time they had ever experienced something like this—

The result of witnessing the work of an adjutant who pursued efficiency and safety in the most extreme way.

All the doubts the hunters had harbored about Lee Jinhyun until now had almost completely vanished.

In their place, trust in their commander had taken root, along with strong expectations for the future.

***

The Hunters of Dreamers returned to the company after completing their mission.

As Lee Jinhyun looked at the girls lined up before him, he felt an unexpected weight settle on his shoulders.

‘What should I even say? Their reaction seems a bit too much for handling just a single B-class request… It feels a little dramatic, doesn’t it?’

The hunters stood there, eyes gleaming so brightly that their excitement was obvious at a glance.

Apparently, from their perspective, the outcome of this mission had been more than satisfactory.

To some extent, this had been the effect Jinhyun was aiming for.

After all, one of the most important responsibilities of an adjutant in command of a battle was earning the trust of their subordinates.

If soldiers didn’t trust their general, command would crumble, and the entire system would collapse.

Moreover, when it came to tackling more difficult and complex operations—far beyond simple requests like this one—trust between commanders and subordinates was absolutely essential.

In that respect, gaining the hunters’ trust this time was undeniably a good outcome.

However, their dramatic reactions were placing a heavier burden on him than he had expected.

‘Come to think of it, I remember getting a similar reaction after completing an S-class mission back at the Hunter Guild…’

‘No, these hunters are A and B-class, so I guess it’s pretty similar. But still, back then, Isena and Yujin scolded me for acting like it was no big deal…’

On the other hand, at this moment—

There wasn’t a single sign of dissatisfaction on the faces of the people standing before me.

Not among the B-class hunters.

Not even among the A-class hunters, Kwonsoon and Glass, who were now looking at me as if they were seeing me in a new light.

In particular, when I glanced at Iare, I noticed her face flushed, clearly expressing her joy at the current outcome.

After observing the hunters’ reactions for a while, I turned my gaze back to them and spoke my final words as their commander:

“Thank you all for your hard work in today’s operation.

Thanks to each and every one of you, we were able to complete this mission perfectly without any casualties.

I’m grateful that you followed my guidance, despite its shortcomings, and I look forward to achieving even greater results together in the future.”

The words came out sounding somewhat like a principal’s closing remarks at a graduation ceremony, leaving me with a strange feeling.

Right after I finished speaking—

Led by Iare, the hunters straightened their postures and saluted in unison.

“We look forward to working with you. Thank you for your excellent command, Adjutant!”

“Thank you, Adjutant!”

***

After announcing the end of the mission, the hunters began to disperse.

Feeling a bit tired myself, I decided to head back to the dormitory.

But at that moment—

“Hey, Jinhyun. Wait a second.”

“Huh? What’s up?”

I turned around at the sound of Iare’s voice calling from behind.

There stood three A-class hunters, including Iare, all looking straight at me.

“Well… we’re planning to have an after-party right now. Would you like to join us?”

“Honestly, you’ve been busy adapting and preparing for the request. This was your first mission with us, and it ended successfully. You should celebrate with us.”

“The protagoniste shouldn’t skip the after-party. I hope you’ll join us, aide.”

To be honest, I was a little exhausted.

But after hearing them go this far, refusing felt a bit rude.

Besides, as they said, since I had successfully completed my first mission with them, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to relax and celebrate a little.

“Alright. I’ll come along.”