"Oh, hey! Mr. Torres! Over here!"
"Huh? Mr. Raul? Didn't you quit being a Hunter?"
"Well… My wife's pregnant. I am having my sixth child."
"Pffft—Hahaha! That so? Yeah, if you want to make a quick buck, nothing beats a raid."
Torres laughed heartily. Raul chuckled awkwardly before lowering his voice.
"Hey, doesn't it feel like we're getting called in less often lately? Are there fewer rifts now?"
"Nope. The Guilds are just all over them these days. Way more profit than before, I hear."
"In that case… if the Association's in charge this time, it should be safe, right?"
Raul scanned the area nervously.
No Guilds meant no profit—but also, usually, no danger.
But nothing in life was guaranteed.
And Raul wasn't the only one feeling uneasy. Other Hunters were glancing around, just as tense.
"Hmph… Who knows," Torres muttered, avoiding the question as he finished his coffee.
Then his eyes lit up.
"Ah! Look! There he is—Hey!"
"Isaac!"
"Isaac!!"
The others looked up and greeted the newcomer cheerfully.
"Hello."
It was none other than Isaac Hofmann.
He nodded politely at Torres and passed by.
As soon as Isaac was out of earshot, Torres grinned.
"Well, Isaac showed up. Guess that means today'll be nice and easy."
Raul's eyes widened.
"Huh? Is that guy strong?"
Torres snorted.
"Wouldn't expect you to know. He started after you left."
"But trust me, every Hunter around here knows him."
"Is he that good? Then why's he stuck with the Association?"
"Why not join a Guild or go solo?"
Torres chuckled again, then squinted.
"You know what they call him?"
"How would I know?"
"Grade 10 Hunter."
"…Grade 10? What the hell? That's not even a thing."
"Exactly. He's the weakest Hunter alive. I mean it—weakest in the world."
"Really…?"
Raul frowned.
Then why did everyone greet him like that? Didn't they need someone reliable to watch their backs?
While Raul tilted his head, Torres elbowed him playfully.
"Think, man. The Association only assigns easy raids when Isaac's around. They're scared he might die on anything harder."
Raul's face slowly lit up.
"Ah… Right, that makes sense."
His daughter had begged him not to go—first raid in a long time. Truthfully, he'd been anxious, too. But after hearing that, it felt like a weight had lifted.
Torres kept going.
"Word is, he went into a Class 9 Rift, got injured, and ended up in the hospital for a week."
"A Hunter got injured in a Class 9 Rift?!"
"Yup. They didn't even bring a Healer. No one thought anyone would get hurt."
"And he landed in the hospital? Pfft—Pu-hahahaha!"
Raul's laughter turned heads, so Torres quickly waved him down.
"Quiet, man. That guy might hear you."
"Ah—right, right."
Raul glanced over, still giggling under his breath.
Luckily, they were far enough away and Isaac didn't seem to notice.
They were wrong.
'I hear every word, you fossils.'
Just then, a blond-haired man near the rift waved someone over.
"Hey, Daisy, Carlos! I found our guy!" he called.
Isaac stepped forward and approached the group with a calm, polite smile.
"Hi, everyone. I'm Isaac Hofmann. Nice to meet you all," he said, nodding as he joined them and disappeared into the rift.
* * *
Grade 9 Hunter, Isaac Hofmann.
No matter where he went, that label clung to him like a shadow.
Isaac's physical ability was barely above average. Aside from slightly better strength and marginally faster healing, he was just like any other ordinary person.
So, of course, getting hurt was a regular occurrence. He'd even come close to death more than once.
It wasn't like Isaac had any love for the Hunter profession.
It was dangerous, people mocked him for it, and worst of all, the pay was nothing to write home about.
If not for the medical benefits provided by the Hunter Association to its members, he would've already handed in his license and tried to live like a normal civilian.
But for someone like Isaac—mid-twenties, zero marketable skills—there wasn't another option if he wanted to keep up with his sister's massive hospital bills every month.
Could you really say he had a choice?
That's why, even though he didn't want to, he just had to survive one more raid. Like always.
* * *