Chapter 43 — First Practical (3)

The Hunter Emergency Response Team that had arrived became the dog that had been chasing after the chicken that flew to the roof [1] due to the situation already being resolved. But seeing as human casualties could have occurred had Kang Joon's team been any later in their response, they didn't take issue with it, but were instead grateful.

[1] saying that describes chasing after something to no avail, something's been all for naught

The soldiers that arrived checked the collateral damage and started on the work of gathering evidence. This sort of work in the aftermath was much more bothersome than the actual work of subduing the monster.

In the short duration of the battle, just counting cars, more than six of them were damaged, and several other pieces of infrastructure, including the asphalt and streetlights, were destroyed. Even calculating the minimum cost, property loss exceeding the 100 millions (won) had occurred in an instant.

In the already collapsed monster, an extractor had been inserted and Core was being pumped out. As repayment for contributing in such an emergency situation, the jurisdiction would only be handed only 1 tenth of the Core, and 9 tenths would be allotted to Kang Joon's team.

It may seem absurd for them to take their share when they hadn't even done anything, but the thing called jurisdiction played that important of a role in the management industry.

The Knight that had arrived as the emergency response team looked at Kang Joon and greeted him [2].

[2] it says lit. she pretended to know him, idiomatic expression meaning she acknowledged his presence bc she knew him from somewhere

"We're acquainted [3], right?"

[3] gumyeon , lit. old face, asking if we're old face is asking, 'we've met before, right?'

"Ah…. Could it be back then."

"Yes. We met in Kang Nam Station. I'm Do Ho Yeon."

"My name is Choi Kang Joon."

It was the rank Knight that had arrived as the emergency response team at Kang Nam Station, Do Ho Yeon. It seemed like she was acting as Loeschen's emergency response and that she was personnel deployed without distinction of territory in emergency situations. Quite a while had pa.s.sed, but Do Ho Yeon still remembered Kang Joon.

Since news of the Hunter-turned-manager kept going around, there was no way she wouldn't remember. Seo Aran and Ji Won were in the middle of wiping off the monster's blood with the towels that the soldiers had handed them, and Choi Ji Na was standing by the monster's corpse and watching the sight of Core being extracted.

"Even then, I heard that Hero Management didn't have a single Hunter, but it looks like you've already a.s.sembled a team."

Do Ho Yeon looked at Kang Joon's team members with a surprised expression as if she was honestly impressed.

"In many ways, I've heard a lot of news."

"What news?"

"Just, that Hero Management is perfectly back on its feet again, news like that."

"There's still a long way to go."

"If it's someone who's put together a competent team in just a few months, I feel they could achieve anything, no?"

Do Ho Yeon acted favorably towards Kang Joon. Although not all Knights were like this, she had a warrior's temperament, and she knew the difficulties of battle. Therefore, she paid her own sort of homage towards Kang Joon who had advanced to a B-rank Hunter despite being pure human.

"If you view it like that, I'm thankful."

"Last time, too, we would've gone through h.e.l.l if not for Choi your help, but now it seems like we've received your help once again."

If Kang Joon hadn't been there, the Gangnam Station Trap Core incident could have been a catastrophe. The one who had cleaned up the situation in the end was Magical girl Acacia (Choi Ji Na), but if Kang Joon hadn't kept the situation under control until then, the battlefront could have fallen apart in an instant.

This time as well, it was a dangerous situation in which who knew how many escaping people could have been ripped to death had the Eaglebear not been taken care of.

But all the people did were spectate as they watched the demolished cars after the warning alarm was retracted, and there were but a few people who knew that it had been a situation truly fraught with danger.

"It must hard working as part of the emergency response team."

"Haah…. well, I need to be on standby all day long, and even when I'm sleeping, I get called over, so it is pretty hard."

The emergency response team that had Do Ho Yeon as its leader was composed wholly of Hunters of rank and higher. Of course, it probably wasn't their only emergency response team, but since they had to come running even while getting on with their daily lives, they must be under enormous stress.

"Everyone's having a really hard time acting as the emergency response team as it is. Since everyone's nerves are on edge…. Once anyone's a.s.signed here, the first thing they do is cry foul. Everyone is already stretched to their limits, so whether it's the manager or us, we're all working our a.s.ses off the same…. Our team also got only two hours of sleep."

Kang Joon laughed awkwardly at hearing those words. Some places had problems due to an overload of work, and some places had problems due to lack of work. An emergency response team was a team that was deployed when there was a shortage of manpower. However, if the situation was not resolved, it was par for the course to just be called first, so there were many cases in which even if they couldn't actually be deployed, they had to first set out and see. On top of that, since their cover range was broad in accordance to their label of rank, it seemed that Do Ho Yeon's team was called around from place to place. Watching Do Ho Yeon who looked exhausted even from a fleeting glance, Kang Joon momentarily fell into thought.

This could be an opportunity.

"Ho Yeon-ssi."

"Yes. Please go on."

"How are the team ranks of Loeschen's emergency response teams on average?"

"First of all, they're B-rank and higher. Since we have to be able to improvise on many levels."

"Then you must be deployed for C, D, F-rank emergency response missions as well, or?"

"Basically. Since there's no manpower left over anyways…."

Loeschen was a corporation big enough to be counted as one of the Big Three management companies. As much as they had therefore scheduled their personnel tightly rather than letting them laze around, most Hunter teams would have been conferred a task. Rather, it was due to this that an oversight had occurred.

'And these days, Loeschen should be lacking people all the more because of the personnel newly deployed to the new city."

The Big Three management companies had deployed Hunter teams to the new city, so perhaps it was natural that they would be lacking manpower.

It was obviously a waste of human resources to deploy elite B~rank personnel to emergency missions of C, D, F-rank, and it was inevitable that grievances would acc.u.mulate.

"By any chance, is Loeschen thinking of outsourcing emergency response missions?"

"Outsourcing?"

"Yes."

In other words, he meant whether they had any intentions to contract with an outside supplier [4]. The work of the emergency response team was work considerably avoided by Hunter teams. Therefore, even if it were a low-rank Hunter team, they would definitely dislike being a.s.signed to the emergency response team.

[4] waejoo means outsourcing, outsourcing is a loan word, written with same p.r.o.nunciation in Korean, author uses loan word the first two times then clarifies with korean synonym, so I just tled as a definition.

"Well…. From where we stand, that'd be great, but…."

Do Ho Yeon had an expression of wis.h.i.+ng it would really end up that way. Just looking at the locations they managed, Loeschen had jurisdictions not only Seoul, but also elsewhere in the Gyeonggi area [5], and rather, they didn't have any manpower to spare due to this. So to speak [6], they were basically continuing a precarious tightrope act.

[5] Gyeonggikwon refers to the area of Gyeonggi-do province, which actually means area around the capital, but can also include Seoul as well.

[6] mal geudaero , lit. 'just like the words,' so people think it means 'literally,' but actually just used for emphasis for what follows, so I tled as 'so to speak'

"I'm not sure whether the head office will give permission."

"Not to mention they're low-rank missions, if we hand over a certain amount as premium, I'm thinking Loeschen might also approve, since they're earning profit without consuming manpower."

But Do Ho Yeon's eyes shone while looking at Kang Joon.

"It seems like they would. Hm, I think it's definitely something worth suggesting."

Do Ho Yeon benefited since she wasn't called over for low-level situations, and it was a relief for Hero Management that they had managed to land some work. Above all else, Hunters were also people. No matter how much they liked money, nothing mattered if they couldn't maintain a life befitting of humans.

Being an rank Knight, as much as she was a top employee even at Loeschen, her voice likely couldn't be ignored. Furthermore, if the current emergency response team members of Loeschen all pleaded overwork, Loeschen would either accept Kang Joon's proposal, or extract personnel from elsewhere and organize a low-rank Hunter team as emergency responders.

However, since there was no Hunter that would welcome that duty, there was a higher chance that they would rather choose the option of outsourcing to another place. It might be gruelling with low pay, but first and foremost Kang Joon's team needed practical experience. Right now, they weren't in a position to be picky between cold rice and hot rice.

Do Ho Yeong contemplated for a moment and soon nodded her head with a determined expression.

"I'll try my best to somehow see it done."

"Contact me through here."

Kang Joon offered his business card to Do Ho Yeon. Her eyes were sparkling at the thought that she could become comfortable.

"If it goes well, I'll treat you to a meal later."

"Hahah, if it turns out like that, I should be the one treating you."

Within an amicable atmosphere, the conversation came to an end, and after the Core extraction work, Core distribution work commenced under the supervision of Kang Joon and the emergency response team manager. Although it was a C-rank Core, because it was Boss-level, the total amount of Cores extracted was 50. Since Loeschen took 5, a total of 45 C-rank Cores were given.

Because all of them didn't have a sense for conversion to money, they didn't know what sort of value that 45 C-rank Cores possessed. Looking at the cyanic crystals before her, Choi Ji Na opened her eyes wide and round.

"How much is it if you convert this all to cash?"

"You can think of it simply."

As the traffic restriction had already been lifted, they retreated to one side of the road. Kang Joon returned to the van after sweeping in all the Core that had been extracted into the Core box. Since the roads were extremely congested, it seemed like it would take quite a while to return.

"If two F-rank Cores are combined, they become a D-rank Core."

"Yes."

"If two E-rank Cores are combined, they become a D-rank Core. In the same way, two D-rank Cores make a C-rank Cores, and like this, synthesis up to an rank Cores is possible."

"What? It's that easy?"

At Choi Ji Na's question, Kang Joon lightly replied.

"Because in the first place, the Core extractor itself was made in order to be able to objectively measure energy-levels. Rather than the nature of Core being this way, it should be seen as the extraction method being set in order to also make it easy to calculate the energy-levels of Core. Since even with the same F-rank monsters, it also happens that some drop two F-rank Cores while some drop one. In the same way, Aether and Cubes can also be calculated by the same rules, so keep this in mind."

"I see…."

In order to objectively measure the amount of energy contained in each crystal, the extractor was made. There was chaos on many levels in the early days of the emergence of monsters, but now, it had been quite stabilized.

"There are price fluctuations, but on the whole, F-rank Cores go for about 50,000 won [7] apiece. F-rank Aether crystals toe the line of around 200,000 won, and F-rank Cube crystals around 500,000 won. As long as nothing crazy happens, these prices won't fluctuate by too much, so keep it in mind."

[7] 1 dollar = 1,165.46 won, 50,000 won = 42.9 dollars, 200,000 won = 171.61 dollars, 500,000 won = 429.02 dollars. easy if you disregard 3 zeros and look at it from the thousands, then think it's a bit less than that.

"Yes."

"Hyung! Then how much is all this right now?"

Jiwon said while pointing at the box that contained the Cubes. Kang Joon wracked his brains for a moment, then soon tapped at the calculator with his phone.

"Since there are 45 C-rank Cores…. Calculating simply for the time being, that'll be 18,000,000 won, and after excluding the company's share and dividing it by 7:3, looks like you three get 12,600,000 won. When you divide this again by three, it'll be around 4,200,000 won per person."

"No way."

"Yaay! I'm rich!"

Seo Aran fell into a mindblown daze while Choi Ji Na had on a disbelieving expression, and Ji Won swung up his arms and shouted hurray.

Even though they had fought with their lives on the line, they still each received an income of 4,200,000 won thanks to that moment's battle. It was revenue earned from a single C-rank Boss-level monster. Because Choi Ji Na had actually worked as an office worker, she keenly felt exactly how unbelievable this was.

"Are we…. allowed to earn money like this?"

"If you're talking net profit and loss, the losses from what the monster smashed to bits would actually be greater."

Since multiple cars were destroyed, the road fractured, and the streetlight destroyed, if just talking about money, the losses were greater.

"From now on, too, if we just get ahold of work, you'll be able to earn tens of millions of won a month, easy."

Rather, at this point, the sense of reality disappears. Choi Ji Na had also just been vaguely thinking she would earn a lot; when it had actually came, she was stunned stupid. But Seo Aran asked about something completely different.

"If you can only synthesize up to an rank Core, is it different from S-rank on?"

"Yes, higher than S-rank is called a Single Core, and above that can't be synthesized. The price range also drastically rises. What's used in standard energy systems are up til rank, so it's fine to consider S-rank and above as basically for Hunters-use-only."

"What do you mean, Hunters-only?"

"It means they're used for the production of top cla.s.s equipment. Things like Aether blasters, s.h.i.+eld bracelets, or ultrlight armor coats."

As much as an Aether blaster displayed cannon-level destructive power, it wasn't a weapon that just anyone possessed. After arriving at the van, once everyone had gotten on the car, Kang Joon explained further.

"Being a Hunter means you spend as much as you earn. That's why it's actually also a harder occupation to save up money in."

Saving up money and buying better equipment, hunting monsters of higher rank, then buying even better equipment; they get caught up in this continuing cycle. Therefore, as much money as they earned, they could only survive by spending just as much. The Aether swords and armor coats they had used just now also needed to recharge Core or Aether that would be used as fuel after their use.

In many ways, since they were spending as much as they earned, there were ultimately both pros and cons. On top of that, there was the penalty of having to risk their lives at every moment. They all had completed their first practical successfully, and Kang Joon was proud because they had done better than he expected.

Upon hearing the news that Hero Management had saved the day in an emergency situation, Seol Yeong was overjoyed. And she also showed a positive reaction to Kang Joon's plan.

[Sorry, Kang Joon-ssi, I should be doing stuff like this of my own initiative…. Anyways, if we're getting work, it's something we should be celebrating with both hands raised.]

It was to the extent that she would apologize. Everyone decided to store the Core they had obtained in the Hunter safe rather than monetizing right away, and because there were currently no big fluctuations in the Core prices, the talk with the president and Hunter team concluded with the decision to monetize it all at once at the end of the month.

Kang Joon thought a positive response would arrive from Loeschen,

And his prediction was spot on. A few days hadn't pa.s.sed when a message from Do Ho Yeon arrived.

[Choi Kang Joon-ssi, this is Do Ho Yeon. Apparently, there was some discussion in the upper levels regarding the outsourcing case that I talked to you about last time. They'll probably have a positive answer for you. Except it looks like you'll need to officially sign a contract before then.]

[I'll give you the president's phone number.]

[Yes.]

Kang Joon handed over Seol Yeong's number, and a few days later, Seol Yeong and a Loeschen stakeholder held a meeting. Kang Joon also partic.i.p.ated in the occasion. Lately, Loeschen was extremely lacking in manpower. After ma.s.s recruiting new Knights, they had stationed them in the new city area, so instead, the Seoul area personnel had a big hole. It was a situation in which they had to borrow even a cat's paw [8], so it could be said that Kang Joon's proposal had met a good timing.

[8] lol originally a saying from j.a.pan, what they say in a rly busy situation when even help from the cute and useless paws of a cat would be appreciated.

It seemed Loeschen intended to outsource emergency response missions to other management companies in addition to this time's contract.

JEN: *comes crawling back after deadlines have wrecked my a.s.s* BUT AT LEAST THEY EARN A TON OF MOOLA DIS CHAPTER! ermm i tried inserting the footnotes after each note?? tell me if it interrupts the flow :3