093. Player selection
The scene I saw outside the window of the director’s office kept coming back to me.
The sight of Lee Yeon-ju and Jeong Hye-yeon hugging reminded me of Jeong Hye-yeon’s back as she left.
My mouth felt bitter.
But it was definitely necessary.
You can’t go on a trip with a bunch of useless luggage.
Because you can only go on a proper journey by taking away only what is necessary and necessary.
Even though I know it can’t be helped, I guess I can’t help but feel a little uneasy.
While fiddling with my phone to send one last text to Jeong Hye-yeon, I ended up sending it to someone else.
At least when he moves to another team, he asks for good luck so that he can move in without any difficulties. It was a text message to Kim Sung-jun.
‘I guess you can sort that out… … ‘
Kim Sung-jun is actually one of Lehmann’s subordinates, and Lehmann is probably also close with Chairman Lee Geun-taek.
Moreover, since he is a practitioner, it would be better than speaking directly to Chairman Lee Geun-taek.
It was then that I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and tried to calm my mind.
Lee Yeon-ju opened the door to the director’s office and came in without answering.
“Why why……!”
He seemed quite excited, breathing heavily, and his cheeks were flushed red.
On the other hand, in contrast to his appearance, his speaking voice was small, as if crawling.
‘I guess that’s because it was somewhat expected.’
That we can’t continue to be together.
For Lee Yeon-ju, Jeong Hye-yeon was a teammate who had been with her at PER for a long time, so it must have been even more complicated.
It’s his first team, and he’s never moved to a different team before.
So I understand.
But regardless of understanding, it was something that had to be done.
If it doesn’t stop here.
Something that could have been put off, but must be done someday.
That’s what happened.
“Why didn’t you catch me… … .”
Lee Yeon-ju’s voice was heard as if crawling.
“What are you going to do by holding on to him?”
I had to make a cool-headed judgment. It’s good to work together as a team, but that team can’t be just anyone.
Because this is reality.
“It was necessary, and it was a decision I made as the owner and manager. It was absolutely necessary to improve PER.”
Even if it seems cold-blooded, there’s nothing I can do about it.
The sweet fruit of victory is, on the other hand, bitter.
Because it is something that can never be taken without a price.
“Instead, we must definitely take the best shot in Part 1. It has to be something that Jeong Hye-yeon can be proud of, right?”
Yeah, that’s how it should be.
It’s been the same goal since the beginning of my return, but is it because I realized once again that there are countless people who passed by without receiving the spotlight?
Somehow, the weight of that goal seemed to feel heavy all over again.
***
PER became a second division team and experienced continuous changes both inside and outside the team.
After Jeong Hye-yeon and Shin Seung-hyun’s work was finished, most things went smoothly.
Since Kim Seong-jun was in charge of the detailed negotiations, talking to other players wasn’t that difficult.
Of course, they would join, but there was no player who would refuse the possibility of a new contract and better treatment.
‘Besides, since the budget provided by Lehmann was generous, there was no need to continue to negotiate… … .’
“Is it okay to give this much? There were teams that offered me these conditions… … Honestly, didn’t our team not have much money?”
Yoon Han-gyeol said proudly. Anyway, he’s a nice guy.
“You’ve come to use this building this time. What do you think?”
“So now the sponsor is fast? Okay. Then I’ll look forward to it more next time.”
Meanwhile, Kim Do-jun’s mouth dropped open when he saw the amount of his salary increase this time.
His expression clearly showed his satisfaction, but his words were the exact opposite.
“Is this all? When you joined the team, I gave you a big share.”
“Really? Is this not enough? Then leave it alone.”
“Ah, don’t think so. Now that I think about it, it seems okay.”
It was actually a pretty good deal, but I was about to throw in the towel because I could tell he was being rude.
Lee Gil-han and Lee Yeon-ju were not much different. They seemed surprised, as if they had never been offered such a large sum of money before.
However, now that they are in the second division, and as a team aiming for higher places, they implicitly feel that they have to perform to match that status, and they have accepted it.
In particular, Lee Yeon-ju, who had been attached to Jeong Hye-yeon who left the team, seemed to have a lot on her mind as she was signing the contract.
In this way, the first contract renewal that I took on as the owner of PER was completed.
It was a time to realize things I had not seen in my life before returning.
There were people who couldn’t even stand on the shining stage and just disappeared into the background.
The stage that everyone who becomes a hunter dreams of.
A stage where only the chosen ones can stand.
I wanted to stand on that stage again.
***
While the person Lehmann sent to handle the office work on my behalf and check the details of the contract, there were other things that had to be done.
Naturally, it was a matter of adding team members.
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‘Two out of eight players left, so six… … The minimum requirement for participation in the Hunters League is seven, but of course additional players are needed.’
Having more players available can provide even more tactical elements.
This time, he wasn’t a player who could simply be patched up as a replacement, so that aspect had to be taken into consideration as well.
So the decision was made to put up a notice in the Hunter Association that they were holding tests to recruit new players.
‘The season is over, and most of the players haven’t renewed their contracts yet… ‘
The idea was to use Lehmann’s generous support to catch just one big fish.
With that in mind, I received support from a new team member… …
Was it because the benefits and salary conditions were good?
‘There’s more than you think?’
PER’s team home and training room on the second floor.
There was a noisy crowd of applicants there.
Most of them were third-tier players, and some were second-tier players, and I saw some people I knew among them.
It was Ryu Jae-jun.
‘If he comes again, he can just come to see my face. Why is he just standing there like that?’
Anyway, I knew that guy well because I had seen him for a long time, but there were parts of him that I didn’t understand.
“Coach Lee Jong-gyu. Please begin.”
So the test to select team members began.
***
Coach Lee Jong-gyu was supervising the people who came to take the test today, and I was standing in the stands of the PER home, second floor practice room, watching the other players.
The test presented today to determine the jade stone was none other than ‘Hunter Survival’.
Since it wasn’t a typical format, some players were embarrassed…
‘Well, if you’re going to be picky, you have to be picky. What are you going to do?’
And I had a clear reason for choosing it in the first place.
First of all, there were too many people to look at them one by one.
And there was also a reason why it wasn’t much different from how I trained players in Hunter Survival before.
‘Because you can get a glimpse of most of the abilities just by doing Hunter Survival.’
Moreover, in my case, since I had been a player for such a long time before returning, I experienced frequent changes in teammates and worked with many players, so I could tell right away without having to look too closely.
I mean, who are the good players?
‘The versatility of superpowers. Synergy. And individual skills.’
Because it was a problem that could be solved by just closely observing these three things.
‘I judge the versatility of superpowers and the synergy with my teammates by observing them with my [piercing eyes]… … The rest is individual skills.’
It’s easy to determine individual skills. Just create a Hunter survival environment and throw them in there, and the indicators will be visible.
A guy who’s good at catching opponents. A guy who’s good at surviving. A guy who’s good at finding relics.
As soon as Hunter Survival began, the group started to divide into those who stood out and those who didn’t.
A guy who defeats every enemy he meets with his flashy skills. A guy who avoids all enemies with his unique pathfinding ability. And… …
Kiiing -.
dump.
The performance of Ryu Jae-jun, a supporter who overpowers dealers, stood out.
Of course, even though they were said to have overwhelmed the dealers, it didn’t look easy. This was because the conditions for this player selection were so good that there were some very strong players in it.
“Is that person’s name Kim Yu-hyeon?”
“Yes. He was originally a veteran player in the second division, but he said he took a break this season due to personal reasons.”
Somehow, he didn’t look like a third-tier player or a second-tier player with little experience.
On the other hand, I also had this thought. Originally, I was thinking of picking at most one or two people. Maybe someone like Ryu Jae-jun, but when I saw someone like that in this test, I wanted to try it out myself.
“I would like to participate in this game myself and compete against you. Please set it up.”
***
‘The salary is not low, and the options are not that great… … In addition to these conditions, the team pays for all taxes separately… … .’
For Kim Yu-hyeon, who needed money right away, the conditions were so good that he couldn’t refuse them.
Since I’m going to return to the Hunters League to find a team anyway, wouldn’t it be better to go somewhere with good conditions?
… … Since it seems like it’ll be hard to advance to the first division anyway, I need to earn a lot of money.
‘Of course, that doesn’t mean I’m not confident in Part 2.’
Even if you can’t make it to Part 1, let’s work hard to earn money in Part 2. That was Kim Yu-hyeon’s idea. And that self-evaluation actually turned out to be quite accurate.
Because he was showing off his dazzling individual skills by taking first place in kills in the Hunter Survival test that came out this time.
‘Fortunately, I’ve only just returned after a one-season hiatus, but it’s still the same here.’
At this level, I can still make a living. In the second part, I can play for a long time as a player with good options and conditions. Thin and long… …
As I was racking up kills one by one, something unexpected happened.
Someone was starting to catch up with his kill count at a rapid pace.
‘You’re following this so quickly?’
I couldn’t believe it.
That’s understandable, since the superpower [Fortification] is the best ability for dealing with multiple enemies at once.
At least so far, I’ve never seen a more efficient 1vs. many ability than this.
‘Ryu Jae-jun… … and Lee Chang-hyun?’
There were only two people who quickly caught up with his score.
But I couldn’t just keep losing like this. In a situation where I couldn’t possibly select that many team members, having two competitors was definitely not a positive sign.
At that moment, while my body was already heated up, Lee Chang-hyun, who was closely chasing the score, approached me.
‘Huh… …? I think I’ve seen it somewhere.’
Even though I didn’t know any of the players recently, their names and appearances felt familiar. But that wasn’t what was important right now.
In any case, the only important fact was that the guy I had to take down was within the range of the [Fortification] skill.
As expected, I could tell that he was no ordinary guy, as he was quickly catching up to my kill count.
‘The usability of air anchors and airbeats is ridiculous.’
Beyond being skilled, he was using it freely as if it were one body.
It’s to the point where you can literally walk freely through the air as if it were your own home.
‘That guy… is he a second-division leaguer?’
But those worries were short-lived. Even so, in this area where [fortification] had been completed, it was bound to be overwhelmingly advantageous.
The turrets hidden in plain sight between the natural objects would fire a volley the moment the guy came within range.
While I was thinking like that.
As expected, the guy came in from the air riding an air anchor… …
“… … !”
Mana bombers were fired precisely at the turrets that would never be seen due to [Fortification], with their camouflage and clever hiding devices.
Kwakwakwakwakwang!
‘Unbelievable’
It seemed like I had met the worst possible opponent.
The ability to accurately detect turrets. A setting that is prepared to be destroyed at once. Kim Yu-Hyeon thought that he might not be selected in this player selection, which will select only a few players.
I felt like I was breaking out in a cold sweat on my back.
‘Why are the levels so much higher than I thought?’
While I was so nervous, Lee Chang-hyun opened his mouth while flying with an air anchor.
“You thought it was worth a try? No way.”
It was the guy who had bombed the turret. His voice was full of laughter.
The guy was laughing at himself for thinking that the turret was completely dismantled and exposed.
As soon as my thoughts reached that point, my mood rapidly worsened.
‘What… … Do you think it’s worth a try? I don’t know about other places, but I’m a big fan of Part 2. Some guy who rolled in from nowhere… … .’
I know you have great skills. But you have been in the second division for a long time and have the experience. Even if you can’t do well in the first division, you don’t have the skills to be laughed at.
No matter what I did, I had a strong feeling that I had to kill that guy.
‘Even if I die, I’ll kill that bastard and go to hell.’
Kim Yu-hyeon decided that he would never leave gracefully.
fantasy,
