Don’t Look for the S-Class Hunter with Retirement 1

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Chapter 1. Retirement

[Welcome to Veritas System access.]

[Chat┃What the hell is Magnetic really (21)]

Hasn’t it been over a year since he last conquered a tower? Why is he still ranked #1?

(21 comments)

-There’s a rumor he’s the system’s favorite pick

└(Author): Really?

└└Would it really be true?

└└└ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ So fucking funny

-Does that mean the points he accumulated before were that much of an insurmountable wall ㄷㄷㄷ

└Seems like it? The system is precise about these things

└└He was a fucking monster…

* * *

[Chat┃Anyone know what Magnetic’s been up to lately? (30)]

Seriously curious

(30 comments)

-If only Magnetic was still around, we could have beaten the American record right away, it’s such a shame when I think about it… Right now the top guilds are all in chaos from lack of dealers, seriously where did this hyung go? I miss him

└(Author): He’s not dead, is he?

└└If he died he’d disappear from the rankings, so that’s not it. He probably just became a total recluse?

-If I were him I would’ve quit being a hunter too ㅋㅋㅋ After hard carrying alone with those hopeless bastards and clearing everything, then they blamed him for the dead guy’s responsibility just yesterday ㅋ What the fuck, now they’re saying they miss him ㅇㅈㄹ ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

└(Author): Did I curse at him? Why are you going off on me?

└└Just leave him, probably one of those Magnetic dick-riders

-Magnetic, we miss you…

-You bastard come back! You bastard come back! You bastard come back!

* * *

[Issue┃Yeoun Guild’s 55th Floor Conquest Failure (4591)]

(Video)

(Source: Yeoun Guild Official Channel)

Even though the tower difficulty suddenly got insanely hard from the 50th floor, they somehow conquered it, but the 55th floor really had no answer even watching it. If even the stubborn Slope gives up, that says it all.

They managed to see the floor boss’s face somehow, but the damage output wasn’t enough… At least it was Yeoun so they made it to the boss.

(4,591 comments)

-(4:11) What’s this part? They break through like that?

└??: Ah ㅋㅋ You just melt this kind of thing with poison ㅋㅋ

-Where are those pants Slope is wearing from?

└(Link)

└└What the hell is that price

-Times like this make me miss ‘that bastard’

└Come back Magnetic

└Light-netic

└Ahh… God-netic, we miss you…

-Before they were cursing him as a murderer who killed people, now they’re whining that they miss him. Seriously these Veritas bastards are fucking idiots ㅋ

└Though they really did bash him like he was a serial killer back then…

└But isn’t it true that bastard just stood by and watched?

└From the dead hunter’s family’s perspective, he’s a fucking bastard ㅋㅋ

└└This is why he’s not coming back ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

* * *

[Recruitment┃Top-tier ranker guild ‘Yeoun’ is recruiting hunters. (481)]

(www.guild-afterglow.co.kr/recruit/1073)

Please check the Yeoun Guild homepage for detailed information. Thank you.

(481 comments)

-Eligible rank B or higher ㄷㄷ

-No openings for support or healers? Why do they always only look for dealers?

└Seems like they want dealers after failing the 55th floor…?

└└Someone I know is in Yeoun and that’s right ㅇㅇ The guild master judged it was lack of damage, healers and support were all fine

-Looking at them, they seem to just clear towers with pure DPS

└Guilds tend to follow their guild master’s personality

└└ㅋㅋㅋㅋ This is right. They just melt mobs with damage before even figuring out mechanics ㅋㅋㅋㅋ But I heard higher floors are mechanic-focused, hmm…

└What is DPS brute force?

└└Google it

└└It’s short for “press down with DPS”^^ Come to my hunter log and check out terms frequently used on Veritas board then go~ Well then… *scurries away* @>—-

└└└Thank you^^ By any chance, can a middle-aged hunter in their 50s get recruited by famous guilds?

-The guild master interview is fucking intense ㅋㅋ If you make eye contact with Slope one-on-one you’d probably piss yourself

* * *

Lee Doun slowly sat up. He couldn’t even remember what his last meal had been. Though he’d been starving for quite a while, his body was surprisingly fine.

‘I’m tired…’

Even though he spent most days sleeping, he was still tired. It wasn’t physical fatigue but mental exhaustion that wouldn’t go away. The series of motions—tearing open the medicine packet and swallowing the pills—was utterly mechanical.

Buzz—

The phone he’d left on the bedside table vibrated. What appeared on the flashing screen was that sickeningly persistent message.

[Good morning, Magnetic-nim (｡•̀ᴗ-)✧]

Aren’t you tired of this yet? Doun muttered quietly and shut himself in the bathroom. After a quick wash and change of clothes, he pulled out black contact lenses from the drawer.

In the mirror’s reflection, above his pale face, one of his previously jet-black eyes was glowing blue. The eye that used to change only when using skills had been blue all day for a long time now. Every time Doun saw his changed left eye, he felt nauseous. It felt like a warning never to forget that day.

‘Why do I have to live like this?’

He knew he was broken. Nothing felt worthwhile anymore, and his heart ached from the sense of powerlessness of having become a worthless human being. Even though he took medicine to live, breathed, and moved his body, memories of that day would assault him whenever there was a gap.

‘Doun hyung! Me, please save me, save me!’

Doun pulled a black cap down low and put on a mask. Dressed entirely in black, he picked up the phone with the message notification and stepped outside. The scorching summer sunlight soaked into his entire body.

‘Fuck. It’s hot.’

He seemed to have worn all black for no reason.

* * *

“Min-ah… That’s stalking, it’s a crime.”

Yeoun Guild’s sub-guild master Choi Jiyoon pressed her forehead. In front of her was a rough-looking man who looked like a thug at first glance, lounging on the sofa while fiddling with his phone.

“Stalking? I’m courting.”

“Do you know what courting means?”

“Of course. Gu for ‘seek,’ ae for ‘lover.’ Seeking a lover. Something like that.”

“You know Magnetic is a man and you’re still doing that shit?”

“Of course. Is there any ranker who doesn’t know Magnetic’s face?”

Kyung Samin, lightly ignoring the sub-guild master who was looking at him with pitying eyes, moved his fingers at rapid speed.

[They say the weather is very hot today ( ᴗ_ᴗ̩̩ ) Our Yeoun Guild has a newly constructed building equipped with the best heating and cooling systems. How about having a cup of coffee with me in a cool office on this hot day? (｡˃́⌔˂̀｡)]

“Ugh. What are those emoticons?”

Choi Jiyoon, who had sneaked a peek at the phone, pretended to gag. A guy who looked like he’d mug passersby on the street was using cute emoticons that didn’t suit him at all. This was the first time she’d seen Kyung Samin clinging so passionately.

“Why are you peeking? Get lost.”

“Magnetic might get pissed off at your shitty texts and come looking for you.”

“Then that would be Yeoun Guild’s glory.”

“Min-ah. We’re supposedly a top-tier ranker guild, you know?”

“We couldn’t even clear the 55th floor, so top-tier my ass.”

“…”

Choi Jiyoon shut her mouth. The cause of the 55th floor conquest failure was clearly the lack of offensive hunters. Guild master Kyung Samin had pointed it out, and all participating guild members had acknowledged it.

Yeoun Guild still lacked dealers to break through new floors alone. Despite their guild master being ranked 2nd domestically.

‘If only Magnetic would come, we wouldn’t need to worry about damage output.’

Choi Jiyoon crossed her arms and looked down out the window.

Offensive hunter Magnetic, whose whereabouts had been completely unknown for a year but who still remained ranked 1st domestically. Real name Lee Doun. A man with a pretty face who even had an obsessive fandom for a hunter. He mainly used offensive magic and had gone into hiding a year ago after completing the 44th floor conquest.

Somehow Kyung Samin had found out Lee Doun’s contact information and had been persistently sending messages for a month. But he’d never sent a single reply. It wasn’t that he’d blocked them though, since calling would ring for a while before connecting to voicemail. It meant he was just ignoring them.

“So if Magnetic, just hypothetically, very hypothetically, came to our guild.”

“Yeah.”

“Then could we clear the 55th floor?”

“…”

Kyung Samin, who had been clutching his phone, blinked. He seemed to have had a brief happy fantasy as the corner of his mouth curved up crookedly.

“You’re stating the obvious.”

A guild with both the 1st and 2nd ranked hunters as dealers. Even if it was a high floor, there was no reason they couldn’t conquer it. Fighting alongside the idol he’d only seen in videos. Just imagining it made his heart feel like it would burst.

Just as Kyung Samin’s eyes were lighting up, his phone flashed.

[Magnetic: Stop sending messages before I come destroy your guild]

Kyung Samin, who had been staring blankly at the screen, suddenly jumped up from his seat.

“What? What’s wrong?”

“I got a reply.”

“From who? Magnetic?”

Choi Jiyoon asked back with her eyes wide enough that they looked like they’d pop out.

“What does he say? What’s he saying?”

At her urging, Kyung Samin hugged his phone tightly to his chest and mumbled.

“He says he’ll destroy our guild…”

“What?”

“If I keep sending messages, it seems like he’ll come all the way here to destroy our guild himself, so I should definitely keep sending them, right?”

Choi Jiyoon’s face contorted.

‘With this crazy bastard as guild master, is our guild really going to be okay?’

She couldn’t help but sigh.