I was Kicked Out of the Hunter’s Guild

Early morning hours.

At this time, when the world lay asleep beneath the veil of darkness…

She arrived alone, with no one else around.

A wide stage reminiscent of a theater.

And… a large grand piano placed beside it.

Slowly approaching,

she cautiously sat down on the chair and lifted the piano lid.

“Ha…”

A deep sigh.

Contained within it were memories of the past days… and the deep sadness those memories carried.

Feeling the weight of it all, she slowly placed her rough hands on the keyboard.

Her piano playing began just like that.

In this empty space, without a single audience…
she started playing, surprisingly skillfully.

A melody of calmness and serenity.

A performance that seemed to sing of pure joy.

However, at some point, the music—flowing so steadily—came to an abrupt, slightly awkward stop.

It wasn’t because she had lifted her hands from the keys.

Her hands…

They were still resting on the piano, though now, they trembled ever so slightly with emotion.

It wasn’t a mistake.

At this moment… she was waiting.

Waiting for her turn to come.

Waiting for the end of their stage.

And after a while—

She moved her fingers once more, pressing the keys again.

As if praising the sun about to rise at this very moment.

No more pain. No more suffering.

Just as one rejoices in a future filled only with hope.

Like that…

After delivering such an intense performance of joy,

her trembling fingers pressed down on the keys—then stopped.

In this moment, she was expressing her truest feelings.

Feelings she kept hidden behind a constant smile.

Because since that day,

she hadn’t been able to smile sincerely—not even for a single moment—with her true heart.

***

Sitting on the sofa in the office, I slowly began to go through the materials.

These documents outlined the general trends of the Hunter Guilds and the military—information that had been periodically delivered to me over the past few weeks.

The source of this information?

It came from Jiseon, who had agreed to form some kind of pact with me in exchange for forgiveness.

‘I see… so this is how things are progressing…’

I nodded slowly as I took in the military trends I had barely been able to grasp since quitting my position as an adjutant.

Although, in principle, there was no direct connection between the Black Hunters and the Hunter Guilds.

While the private company Black Hunters, the soldier-run Hunter Guilds, and the military units all operated armed groups and Hunter squads, they had no legal right to interfere in each other’s affairs.

In other words, even if Seoul were under attack and the military urgently requested support, legally, we could refuse without consequence.

However… aside from this lack of official obligation, there was a natural way for the military to get us involved.

Money.

In other words, the military dealt with Black Hunter companies by indirectly issuing orders through formal requests—just as they always had.

To the Black Hunters, the military acted as a water source, providing the flow of work we depended on. Because of this, I always needed to monitor the military’s movements closely, especially in relation to incoming requests.

And based on the information I had received from Jiseon, I reached the following conclusion:

‘Given the current situation… it’ll be impossible to get any decent requests from the military for a while.’

The Abyss eradication requests that had been flowing in abundance over the past few months, offering fairly decent rewards—

The reason these requests were so frequent was due to a power vacuum created as the military focused on preserving its strength ahead of large-scale operations.

However, according to the data Jiseon sent, the large-scale operation would begin soon. In other words, for the time being, there would be no reason for the military to spend large sums on Abyss eradication requests.

While such requests might resume later, it was typical for the military, during the early stages of a large-scale operation, to showcase its own strength without hiring outside forces. This was done to attract media attention and gain public approval.

But that didn’t mean we would just sit around twiddling our thumbs.

Generally, most requests involving battles with the Abyss came through the military.

However… that was only one type of request.

There were plenty of other jobs the Black Hunters could take on. Especially for us—since we had A-class hunters—there were opportunities to receive requests with even more lucrative rewards than those offered by the military.

The catch?

In these cases, the targets were likely to be humans rather than the Abyss, which meant taking on additional risks.

‘But it’s not like we can stick to Abyss missions forever. I’ve adjusted enough here… maybe it’s time to take on a request involving people in earnest?’

Of course, dealing with people required a fundamentally different approach than dealing with the Abyss.

Unlike the Abyss, which relied solely on instinct, people thought, learned, and adapted. Because of this, handling them was far more complicated.

However, that didn’t mean I found this challenging.

The fact that people could think for themselves—

In other words, it meant there were countless methods I could use to deal with them.

***

“Since the situation has turned out like this, I think we’ll have no choice but to work under another employer for a while.”

“Mm…”

While explaining the current state of the military, I briefly conveyed the fact that we would have to take a different route—something Abyss Hunt was already aware of.

Kwonsoon looked slightly puzzled as she listened to my words.

On the other hand, Iare showed surprisingly no reaction, and Glass, rather than being indifferent, appeared quite curious.

“Aide, what do you mean by another employer? As you know, the jobs we can take on are pretty diverse. Do you have something specific in mind?”

“There’s something I’ve been considering, but I think it would be best to discuss the details with all of you. Although I have quite a bit of experience working as an adjutant, that experience is mostly limited to battles with the Abyss. Since you have more experience in other fields, I think it would be wise to rely on your opinions for the time being.”

“Yes, that makes sense.”

“I see what you mean. Then, as Mr. Jinhyun said, let’s take some time to discuss it together.”

Agreeing with my suggestion, they took the list I had prepared and began reviewing its contents.

At that moment…

“Haa… is this how it ends?“

Kwonsoon let out a deep sigh as she looked through the list.

Then, gazing quietly at the ceiling, she spoke in a voice filled with regret.

“To be honest, I’m sick of dealing with people… It’s so much easier and better to take down the Abyss with some excitement.”

“Hahaha… True. You don’t have to hold back with them, and they’re easier to deal with since their behavior is predictable to some extent.”

In response to Kwonsoon’s words, I offered a slightly bitter smile at the corner of my mouth, expressing my sympathy.

However, no matter how much you might prefer it, people can’t eat only delicious food forever.

Sometimes, even if you don’t feel like it, there are things you have to swallow to survive.

With that mindset, we began searching for our next employer, reviewing the list of requests.

Unlike Iare and Glass, who examined the list relatively actively, Kwonsoon still seemed reluctant. Eventually, she put the list down without even glancing at its contents.

It was a bit unexpected.

I had always known her to act decisively and enthusiastically, always with a smile on her face.

‘It seems Kwonsoon is quite sensitive when it comes to this kind of work. Well… everyone has their own preferences.’

With that thought, I looked away from her and prepared to share my opinion with the other two.

But…

At that moment, I didn’t know.

This journey

This event

Would end much sooner than expected.

And it would become a massive turning point in my life.