Retire 367
by Cristae367 The Anchor of Toulon (1)
“They replied?”
Toulon, a port city in southeastern France.
“From where? Who sent it? Are they going to help with the raid? When?”
“Calm down and come over here.”
“I thought everyone was ignoring us, but I guess they did check. That’s a relief. At least they can read.”
The guild Anchor of Toulon, based in this city on the Mediterranean coast.
A young man burst into the guild office, making a fuss.
“It’s been almost a year, right? Since we got a reply. Good thing the dungeon’s been quiet all this time!”
“Romain.”
“Yeah, what?”
Anchor of Toulon wasn’t a large guild. But it was made up of seasoned Hunters who had worked together for years, earning the trust of the city’s people—and they were passionate about repaying that trust.
So when the government refused their request to raid the S-rank dungeon fifteen kilometers from the harbor, they were furious. The government’s reasoning was clear: the dungeon wasn’t unstable.
“How long do they think that dungeon will stay quiet? It’s crazy to just leave a dungeon that close to the city.”
The man couldn’t argue with his nephew. He’d ranted about the same thing himself for the past year.
As he said, no matter how stable a dungeon seems, you never know when it might suddenly break. Even if it’s out at sea, it’s still only fifteen kilometers from the city. If it exploded, the damage would be catastrophic.
The Anchor of Toulon’s master, Nicolas de Funès, had seen firsthand how devastating a dungeon break in a city could be. You didn’t have to look far—just last year, what happened in Korea? It was pure luck that the dungeon in the capital didn’t cause even greater damage.
That luck was having S-rank Hunters and an archmage in the country at the time, ready to respond instantly.
If the dungeon off Toulon’s coast—nicknamed the Hanging Garden—broke, the Anchor of Toulon couldn’t handle it alone. The best thing was to clear it while it was still manageable.
But with the government refusing, Funès didn’t have many options. He sent requests for raid support to every Hunter he knew, hoping someone would bite. One of those was Hong Seok-young in Korea…
“So, where did the reply come from? They’re really going to help?”
“Korea.”
“Korea?”
Apparently not the country he’d expected, Romain sounded puzzled.
“Korea? You sent a request there? To who? Who’s in Korea?”
Funès didn’t answer. There weren’t many famous Korean Hunters his nephew would know.
Sure enough, Romain quickly figured it out.
“No way—Hong? That Hong?”
“That’s right.”
“Why would he come here?”
“Is Toulon off limits to him?”
“No, it’s not that, but… You know him?!”
“We raided together in Geneva.”
“Geneva…”
Romain, recalling his uncle’s career, nodded. That had been a major raid, still talked about years later. A few Hunters from Anchor of Toulon had taken part, including Funès himself.
“Were you close enough for Hong Seok-young to do you a favor?”
“Do you not realize how big a deal your uncle is?”
“Still, you and him are on different levels.”
Romain eyed Funès skeptically.
Funès coughed, uncomfortable, but didn’t blame his nephew. He understood exactly why Romain was skeptical—he felt the same way himself.
Romain finished his thought anyway.
“And honestly, there are dungeons more urgent than Toulon’s. We want to clear ours, but…”
He wasn’t wrong. That was why the government had put off the raid. Even within the guild, there’d been debate, and Funès’s requests were more about trying everything before it was too late.
So he hadn’t expected much. Especially not that Korea’s Hong Seok-young would respond.
Strictly speaking, the reply wasn’t quite what Funès had hoped for.
He handed his nephew a printed email. Romain looked at him, confused, but only read the email after being prompted again. Guild Mimi. Hong Seok-young’s signature. Guild Dasun’s endorsement.
“…So it’s not Hong Seok-young himself, but someone else coming?”
“His disciple, apparently.”
“Disciple? I never heard he had one.”
“There were rumors.”
Funès pointed to the next page.
“There’s a résumé attached… but nothing remarkable. He did a bunch of raids in the past year, but before that, there’s nothing. Until last year, he was only a D-rank Hunter.”
“That’s a really weird résumé.”
“Did you see the Association’s recommendation?”
“The Association gives recommendations?”
Funès flipped to the last page, showing the Association’s official seal.
“Probably worked for the Association.”
“Oh, I think I know where. From there? It’s not forged, is it?”
“Why would anyone forge the Association’s seal? One phone call and they’d find out.”
He didn’t mention he’d already checked.
To upgrade their rank, Hunters have to meet certain criteria. Withstand the pressure of the dungeon gate, have raid records, and so on. Over the past year, this so-called disciple of Hong Seok-young had cleared dungeons rapidly, but most were A-rank, with a few C- and D-ranks mixed in.
No way to become S-rank with that record.
That’s why you need a guild’s guarantee and a recommendation from a well-known Hunter. Hong Seok-young’s letter included both. Even he knew he couldn’t just send a suspicious Hunter and call him his disciple.
Likewise, the guarantees from Guild Mimi and Guild Dasun. Hong Seok-young’s recommendation. Archmage Kim Chaemin’s recommendation.
“Whew.”
Romain whistled after checking every last one.
“It’s a ridiculously flashy résumé, in a way, Uncle.”
“…Yes.”
“So, what are you going to do?”
Funès could guess why Hong Seok-young was sending this man to his guild.
Regardless of skill—no, if these recommendations were to be believed, he must have considerable skill—he probably wanted to help him build up experience quickly.
He didn’t know the dungeon situation in Korea, but that country was smaller than France, wasn’t it? Maybe there weren’t enough high-level dungeons to clear. So, with a request to Funès, he could send his disciple to handle it…
“We’ll call him.”
“Even though it’s not Hong Seok-young himself?”
Romain raised an eyebrow, clearly displeased.
Funès couldn’t blame him.
But Funès was a far more experienced adult, and he knew how the Hunter world worked.
And he knew about Hong Seok-young.
“If he wasn’t any good, Hong wouldn’t send him. It means he’s confident.”
“…I still don’t like it.”
“We can judge after we see his skills.”
Romain scowled at his uncle’s slight smile.
“You’re not just curious what Hong Seok-young’s disciple is like?”
“Of course…”
“Of course?”
“That’s what I’m most curious about.”
After all, this would be the debut of Hong Seok-young’s hidden disciple—how could you not be interested?
“Hello. I’m Woo Heejae.”
You can’t judge a person by a headshot and a few lines on a résumé.
Funès blinked as he studied the Hunter from Korea, Woo Heejae.
“…I’m Nicolas de Funès.”
Never mind the surprisingly fluent French—he looked, in his photo, more like a typical office worker than a Hunter. But in person… he was no pushover. The body beneath the suit was much more solid than Funès had expected.
It wasn’t just his height or build. There was a calm in his eyes. A sharpness, like a well-honed blade. He wasn’t holding a weapon, but his body was tensed, ready to move at any moment.
All of it told Funès that this young man had survived countless deadly encounters.
Funès let go of his last doubts. Right. Hong Seok-young wouldn’t give someone a title like “disciple” if they weren’t the real deal.
After years as a one-man guild, Hong Seok-young had finally accepted a new member. Whether it was a one- or two-person guild didn’t matter—the symbolism of being in Hong’s guild was huge.
Funès liked this young man’s steady gaze. Not just because his own nephew, of similar age, was always slacking off.
“So you’re really Hong Seok-young’s disciple?”
“…Well. Yes. That’s how it turned out.”
Woo Heejae replied with a hint of indifference.
That reaction gave Funès another certainty.
A résumé that seemed to appear out of nowhere. If he really was Hong Seok-young’s disciple, that was a bit odd. No matter how close he was to the Association, you’d think Hong would have trained his own disciple, not left him to the Association.
But the opposite made sense. If he’d found a promising young Hunter at the Association and brought him in…
Yes. That made much more sense. The young man’s awkward response only confirmed it. He probably still couldn’t believe he’d become the disciple of such a famous Hunter.
Funès’s gaze softened. He knew a little about the kind of environment Hunters in the Association’s special units came from. It wasn’t something you could do without a strong sense of duty, and those people tended to see the darker side of society.
Well, it would take Funès exactly two days to realize his mistake.
When Woo Heejae picked up a spear just like Hong Seok-young’s and swung it in exactly the same way.
“You must be tired from the trip. Do you want to rest at your lodgings before we start?”
“…No, I’d like to check the dungeon information first. With the rank, the details are restricted.”
“Diligent, aren’t you? I wish my nephew were half as industrious.”
“……”
“This way to our office. That lazy one over there is my nephew.”
“Uncle!”
“Hello.”
“Wow, your French is great! No need for a translator, then.”
“Romain!”
Watching the now-lively uncle and nephew, Woo Heejae sighed inwardly.
‘I want to go home.’
If Funès had known, he might have felt deceived.