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Chapter 3
[Summon Rank: E-Rank]
[Summoning an attack-type dragon using the Bronze Sword as a medium.]
[Summon Limit: 1/1]
A Red Dragon appeared in the living room.
It was still small for now.
Small enough to be summoned comfortably inside the house.
The summoned dragon stared at me with bright eyes.
At this stage, it looked more like a baby dragon.
Of course, that was only “cute” by dragon standards. It was not actually cute.
An E-Rank dragon.
Only when that guy grows stronger will my summoning skill rank rise as well.
“Starting all over from the beginning really feels overwhelming.”
A dragon’s growth did not happen overnight.
Even before my return, it took three full years for that dragon to reach S-Rank.
For a dragon to grow, it first had to be strengthened.
And once enough strengthening was completed, its growth would naturally happen.
Along with my own rank.
How do I strengthen it?
Simple.
Feed it artifact fragments.
To everyone else, artifacts were completely useless.
They were just broken and rusty scraps lying around inside gates.
Naturally, ordinary hunters treated them like junk.
Unlike items with stat bonuses, artifacts truly had no obvious function.
But I was not an ordinary hunter.
I was a growth-type hunter.
Those artifact fragments everyone ignored as trash were precious materials used to strengthen my dragons.
And where could you obtain artifact fragments?
Inside gates.
Even before my return, I spent countless hours searching for them to strengthen my dragons.
I even revisited gates that had already been cleared, collecting artifact fragments that others passed by without a second glance.
But there was one important requirement for entering gates.
You had to belong to a hunter guild.
Unlike the Tower of Trials, gates were strictly managed.
Ordinary civilians were not even allowed within a hundred meters of them.
Even hunters could not enter unless they belonged to the guild managing that gate.
“I guess I should find a guild first.”
I picked up my smartphone.
[Connected to the Hunter Community.]
The Hunter Community.
A space accessible only to hunters.
Ordinary people could not enter.
And it was not just a place for chatting.
There was all kinds of information necessary for hunter activities.
Tower strategies.
Monster encyclopedias.
Types of gates.
And much more.
I accessed the Hunter Community because this was where guilds recruited new hunters.
[Looking for A-Rank Hunters! We promise the best rewards!]
[B-Rank and above, please join our guild!]
[Where are the S-Rank big shots?! Come to our guild!]
“The entry barriers are insane.”
I laughed bitterly.
The second post asking for B-Rank hunters was actually one of the more reasonable ones.
Guilds only wanted high-ranking hunters.
After scrolling down further, I noticed a recruitment post near the bottom.
A very simple title with no special qualifications.
[Recruiting Porters.]
“Porters…”
A job responsible for carrying and managing loot gathered inside gates.
Since the high-ranking hunters handled the fighting, a porter’s job was mostly simple tasks like stuffing loot into backpacks.
Of course, ordinary people still could not work as porters.
Non-awakened people were strictly forbidden from entering gates.
Even porters needed to be at least F-Rank hunters.
Which meant that an E-Rank hunter like me would practically be accepted automatically.
In fact, guilds preferred low-ranking porters.
They were cheaper to hire.
“Maybe this is actually better.”
Work as a porter while secretly collecting artifacts inside the gate?
That was killing two birds with one stone.
The only use for artifact fragments was strengthening dragons.
And I was the only awakened person on Earth capable of summoning dragons.
Which meant I was also the only person who knew artifacts had value.
Since I had no competition, as long as I could enter gates, every artifact fragment inside would belong to me.
I checked the guild information.
[Gaya]
Hunter guild names were usually like this.
Names of ancient Korean kingdoms.
Gaya was a newly established guild with fewer than thirty hunters.
Their strongest members were only a few A-Rank hunters.
They did not even have a single S-Rank hunter.
A small guild.
Honestly, a place like this was perfect for quietly collecting artifacts.
Not that I had much choice at my current rank anyway.
“Apply for membership.”
I applied to join the Gaya Guild as a porter.
The reply came quickly.
At this point in time, newly awakened hunters were still rare.
Most existing hunters already belonged to other guilds, so even a low-rank hunter was valuable to a new guild.
[You have passed the document screening for Hunter Guild Gaya.]
“As expected. There was no way I’d fail.”
Though calling it “document screening” sounded fancy, it was nothing special.
They had simply received my information from the Hunter Management Bureau.
“Ding.”
A text message immediately followed, informing me of the date for the second interview.
Of course, the second interview was mostly just a formality too.
As long as there was nothing seriously wrong with your personality, nobody failed a porter interview.
The Gaya Guild office located in Gyeonggi Province.
“My name is Kang Hyuk. I’m here for the interview.”
“We’ve been expecting you. Please head upstairs to the interview room.”
Someone sitting at the front desk on the first floor guided me to the second floor.
Though it was a small guild, the office looked properly organized.
In most cases, hunter guilds earned massive profits.
The countless spoils obtained from gates.
Even small guilds made hundreds of millions of won every month just by selling magic stones.
Hunter Guild.
Gaya.
And the guild master here.
Lee Sunjin.
He was an A-Rank hunter.
Being a guild master did not necessarily mean he was old.
In fact, he looked much younger than me.
In a world where hierarchy was determined by hunter ability, age meant nothing.
And by “ability,” people meant awakening rank.
A system where everything started with luck.
That guy was simply lucky enough to awaken as A-Rank.
He greeted me with a smile.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Lee Sunjin, the Guild Master of Gaya.”
“I’m Kang Hyuk. I’m 29… no, 26 years old.”
I almost said my age from before returning.
Since I had gone back three years, I had naturally become three years younger too.
Before my return, I had been close to thirty.
But right now, I was only twenty-six.
I never thought I would experience my mid-twenties again.
Looks like I’d need time to adjust to that too.
Lee Sunjin probably thought I had simply stumbled over my words, because he did not pay much attention.
“Well, it’s good that you’re not F-Rank. We needed a porter with at least some ability.”
Did porters really need ability?
Well, carrying heavy backpacks while running around did require some physical strength.
“So why does a porter need ability?”
“Because of villains, of course. Things had been quiet for a while, but recently incidents have started happening again.”
Villains…
The easiest way to describe them would be awakened people who actively used their powers for crime.
There were all kinds.
From ordinary criminals to extremists who committed murder.
Even hunters sometimes became targets and lost their lives to villains.
Meaning these were not weak people.
Even during the chaos when countries collapsed before my return, villains never disappeared.
While everyone else struggled to survive together, those bastards continued committing crimes.
One of the things I wanted to do after regaining my original strength was stop them.
Hunters should not lose their lives fighting each other.
And naturally, villains already existed even now.
“Sounds like there are a lot of villains lately.”
“The bigger problem is that their main targets are porters.”
That answer surprised me a little.
Porters of all people?
Though honestly, porters were the easiest targets.
Most were F-Rank hunters, with the occasional E-Rank mixed in.
Still, villains who targeted porters were probably pretty pathetic themselves.
If they were stronger, they would not be attacking porters.
“I saw that your awakening skill is Summoning. Would you mind telling me what kind of summon you use?”
“It’s nothing special. I just summon dragons.”
I answered casually.
There was no need for a long explanation.
The word “dragon” alone was enough to shock people.
“What? You summon dragons?”
“They’re only E-Rank summons. But they’re still strong enough to protect me from most villains.”
Even low-ranked dragons were still dragons.
Most hunters could not deal with them.
“Controlling dragons as summons… It’s a little unfortunate that you awakened at such a low rank.”
“It’s fine. I’m not disappointed at all.”
Because I was a growth-type hunter.
I had absolutely no regrets.
Starting from this point, I became an S-Rank hunter in just three years before.
But this time, it would not even take that long.
If it still took me three years despite returning with all my memories, then the problem would be with me.
“I’ll send you the guild-exclusive community link first. Do not share the access password with anyone.”
The guild community.
Just like the Hunter Community, it was an app used through smartphones.
Gate locations, information, and operation orders were all posted there.
When an order was issued, interested members accepted it, and a raid party was formed.
“Then I look forward to working with you.”
He smiled and offered his hand.
Honestly, I should have been the one saying that.
The only reason I joined this guild as a porter was to gain access to gates.
“Are there any decent gates available?”
The moment I got home, I logged into the guild community.
Unlike climbing the tower, gates could not be farmed endlessly all at once.
The appearance of gates was random.
Sometimes an entire month passed without a single gate opening.
Though calling that “bad luck” felt a bit strange.
[Searching for gates available for porter participation.]
[1 gate found.]
[D-Rank Small Gate]
[Time Limit: 3 days 23 hours 35 minutes]
[Entry Limit: 3/4]
[Accepted: 3]
[Rejected: 13]
[Would you like to accept?]
A D-Rank small gate.
Three hunters had already accepted.
The final slot was for a porter.
Still, seeing thirteen rejections was shocking.
Did people really ignore D-Rank gates entirely?
“Well, maybe they all had their own reasons.”
I pressed accept.
Until I became an S-Rank hunter, I would never reject a gate.
I needed to collect as many artifact fragments as possible.
[The gate has been cleared.]
“Good work, everyone.”
A party made up of three B-Rank hunters and one E-Rank porter.
Since it was only a D-Rank small gate, this number was more than enough.
After the raid ended, the guild members sat down one by one to rest.
The battle was over.
But for me, the real work was starting now.
Harvesting magic stones.
It was not as simple as just picking them up.
They had to be extracted directly.
Monsters did not drop items when they died.
We had to cut open their bodies and remove the magic stones ourselves.
It sounded simple, but it was disgusting work.
Being a porter was not just about carrying bags.
“You seem new, but you already know how to do this?”
“I studied a bit online beforehand.”
I answered vaguely.
There was no way I would not know.
I had done this for three years.
Looks like I finished gathering all the magic stones.
“Good work, everyone.”
“The harvest wasn’t bad. Let’s head back.”
Everyone dusted themselves off and stood up.
But I could not leave yet.
I still needed to find the artifact fragments hidden somewhere inside this gate.
This really feels like I’m the only one who never gets to rest.
“Would it be alright if I looked around a little longer?”
“Is there even anything worth seeing here?”
Nobody knew yet that I was a growth-type hunter.
Even before my return, people did not believe me until they saw it themselves.
If I told them I was searching for artifact fragments to grow stronger, they would think I was insane.
“It’s my first time inside a gate. I just want to look around a little.”
“Well, all the goblins are dead, so it shouldn’t be dangerous. We’ll wait near the entrance.”
But this was not something that would finish quickly.
“There’s really no need to wait. I’ll look around and leave on my own.”
“It’s because of the villains these days. Especially since porters like you are their main targets. We’ll just drink coffee near the entrance, so take your time.”
They were surprisingly kind.
They were willing to wait because villains might appear.
And for a rookie porter who had just joined the guild at that.
Of course, this was only possible because Gaya was a small guild.
At this point in time, awakened people were still rare.
For small guilds, finding porters was incredibly difficult.
In other words, they needed to stay on good terms with new recruits like me.
“Anyway…”
I looked around.
The inside of the gate had become completely silent now that I was alone.
“Where should I start searching?”
Unlike the tower, every gate had a different internal structure.
Even gates with the same rank and size had randomly generated layouts.
The locations of artifact fragments were random too.
Since I had no information, I would have to search the entire place.
Thank goodness this was only a small gate.
If it had been a large gate, just imagining it made my head hurt.
