The Aftermath

A day had passed when I finally paid a visit to the Association. However, the area surrounding the building was so packed with people that I couldn't even get close to the entrance. I stared at the crowd from a distance, wondering what was going on, when Arin chimed in to explain.

“I think... they're all here to see you, Yoo-cheon.”

Countless hunters had abandoned their raids just to loiter around the Association. On top of that, reporters, still riding the high of yesterday's sensational events, had swarmed the place in droves.

I could understand why. Still, the sudden spotlight felt incredibly awkward. It was one thing if it were just ordinary citizens like yesterday, but today, the crowd was thick with Awakened. It made me feel needlessly tense.

“I can't just walk in like this. Can you help me out a bit?”

“How?”

“Until this whole situation is sorted out, I don't want to look easy. I need to make sure those people don't take me lightly. Is that asking too much?”

I didn't have a particularly fierce look, and my mana capacity was pitifully small. If I wasn't careful, I was a prime target to be looked down upon. Of course, no matter what happened, Arin's abilities could bail me out. But frankly, I didn't know if I had the mental fortitude to handle a confrontation with cool composure. That was why I was asking for her help right from the get-go.

“I got it. Just trust me.”

I felt a bit uneasy, but what choice did I have? I had to trust her.

“I-it's done. Yoo-cheon, let's go quickly. I'm already feeling dizzy.”

Even for a Myth-grade, exerting her power over such a massive crowd of Awakened must be exhausting. There were bound to be some formidable high-rankers mixed in there, after all. In any case, I stepped out onto the street with the Seiren by my side.

The buzzing street outside the Association froze into absolute silence the moment I appeared. The eyes that had been brimming with anticipation and curiosity were instantly consumed by sheer terror. People flinched, scrambling backward to part a path for me. It was like the parting of the Red Sea.

Did Arin project the emotion of fear?

There were so many people, yet every single one of them was cowering. Ironically, it gave me a sudden surge of confidence. I strode down the narrow path they cleared for me, carrying myself as if I were walking a red carpet. It was half confidence, half sheer pressure.

Arin followed closely behind me. For the record, Arin's existence was still unknown to the public, overshadowed by Yugi. Because of this, she was using her power to make herself look completely human to others. Unlike me, Arin was radiating one hundred percent confidence. To the onlookers, she probably looked like a top-tier A-list actress.

Thanks to her power, I made it to the entrance without any trouble. But just as I was about to step into the Association building, someone shoved their way through the crowd and blocked my path.

“...What is this?”

I spoke in the driest, coldest tone I could muster. Right now, I needed to play the part. I couldn't let them look down on me, nor could I let it slip that my anger from yesterday had subsided—especially considering my purpose for coming to the Association today.

“Please, just spare me this once! I only did it because my life has been so hard! I swear I'll never open my mouth again!”

The man blocking my path wailed desperately, slamming his forehead onto the hard pavement.

Is he one of the bastards who sent me those malicious texts?

“It's already too late,” I said coldly.

At my words, the man burst into hysterical sobbing. He repeatedly lifted his torso only to smash his head back onto the ground, begging for mercy. His forehead split open, and blood began to trickle down his face.

“Please... just spare my life. I have elderly parents to support! Please, just this once...”

“Did you say your goodbyes?”

“What? N-no, sir. I haven't yet.”

“Then go do it.”

I brushed past him without a shred of mercy. The man's desperate, agonizing wails echoed down the street outside the Association.

Well, this is awkward...

I had made some threatening remarks yesterday, but I had absolutely no intention of hunting down every single one of them to kill them. I simply didn't have the stamina for that. Since becoming an Awakened, my life had been incomparably happier than before, but because of that, I had been running on fumes without a single moment of rest. Besides, with my personality, murder was out of the question. You never know what life might bring, but I wasn't about to commit murder over some internet comments.

I had only done it to get Kim Hosung to stop his bullshit and to put an end to the endless flood of text messages. But I couldn't exactly announce to this massive crowd, "Hey, actually, I was just bluffing."

Well, putting that aside, that man still deserved to pay the price for his malicious comments. Letting him sweat like this and giving him a chance to reflect on his actions was punishment enough. So, without sparing him another glance, I walked into the Association with Arin.

On the top floor of the Association, inside the President's office, two team leaders were bowing their heads deeply before me as I sat in the seat of honor. They had introduced themselves as the heads of the Situation Analysis Team and the Awakened Management Team.

According to their explanation, Kim Hosung had intervened to trigger the Dungeon Break, blah blah blah. But then Kim Hosung committed suicide, leaving them utterly flabbergasted, blah blah blah.

I'm flabbergasted too. What kind of nonsense are they even spouting?

In any case, I couldn't let my confusion show, so I just sat there in silence. The woman next to them was complaining about Kim Na-hyun of the New Recruit Discovery Team, but she kept pouring out a stream of excuses, claiming they never had any intention of causing me harm...

A day had passed, and while my anger had cooled down significantly, it hadn't vanished entirely. Even after the two team leaders finished their excuses, I didn't say a word. Beside me, Arin crossed her arms and glared at them.

As my silence stretched on, the Association President swallowed hard and finally spoke.

“...I am deeply sorry. As the leader of this organization, I can only offer my profoundest apologies.”

Only then did I open my mouth, making it clear that I had no intention of conversing with the two team leaders who did nothing but make excuses.

“I did ask you to present your justification, but I didn't come here today just to listen to that.”

The President's expression stiffened, looking like a man bracing for the inevitable.

“Please, go ahead.”

“No matter what you say, it doesn't change the fact that I was the one harmed here. I believe it's time we discuss compensation.”

“...You are entirely correct.”

“You will need to provide compensation separate from the reward for clearing the B-grade Gate.”

Arin nodded in agreement. Does she even understand what we're talking about?

The President also nodded, his expression fraught with complexity.

“...Is there something specific you desire?”

“Actually, there is one thing. I'm not sure whether to call it a house or land.”

The President nodded with a gentle smile, seemingly relieved, thinking it wouldn't be anything too demanding. Too bad for him. It's going to be incredibly demanding.

“Around four hundred acres. Or perhaps more?”

“...What?!”

The President's composed facade shattered for the first time. The two team leaders, who had been keeping their heads bowed, looked as if their eyes were about to pop out of their skulls.

“I-I apologize, but in the Seoul metropolitan area, it is difficult to secure even a single house, so how could we possibly...”

“I'm not asking for Seoul. Isn't there land that was abandoned due to the influx of kaijus from the Yellow Sea? Like that military base in Gangwon-do.”

He was referring to the territory that had practically ceased to be South Korean soil. To me, that place was nothing short of a land of opportunity. The kaijus roaming the area would be nothing but snacks for Yugi, and since it was ownerless land, I could monopolize all the Gates there. Furthermore, if the land was vast and uninhabited, I could keep the Gates open indefinitely. That way, my contracted kaijus could freely travel back and forth between Earth and their own realms.

Even the lack of amenities or the loneliness of isolation—things others would worry about—meant absolutely nothing to me. If I connected my current house to the new territory via a Gate, I could travel ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠back and forth whenever I pleased.

But the President, entirely ignorant of these facts, was utterly bewildered.

“That land is practically kaiju territory. Setting aside whether it's even possible to grant it, it's hard to even call that a compensation...”

“What I am demanding is not just the land, but absolute authority over it.”

“...Excuse me?”

I smiled at the dumbfounded President and stood up ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠from my chair.

“I will take care of the kaijus there myself. As for what else you will throw in on top of that... I'll be looking forward to it.”

Leaving them with a cryptic smile, I turned to leave. Just before opening the door, I threw out a final warning.

“I hope you don't assume I'm fine just because I didn't lose my temper today. I'm only holding back because of a favor I owe Team Leader Kim Na-hyun. I suggest you don't try to sweep this under the rug with some half-hearted offer.”

With that, I leisurely strolled out of the Association. My steps were relaxed, but behind me, it must have felt like a category-five hurricane had just swept through.

Naturally, the world was turned upside down by the news that I had soloed a 4th Grade Kaiju. All the way back home, I couldn't escape the sound of people talking about me. It was the same even in my own neighborhood.

“Mom! That's him, right? That's the ahjussi!”

“Shh! Don't look!”

...Is Arin still using her power?

In any case, the entire world was buzzing with my name. It was exhausting, but ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it didn't feel entirely bad. Arriving home, I threw myself onto the sofa.

“Man, I'm exhausted.”

It had been such a chore wearing a mask that didn't suit me at all. Well, despite the hassle, it had been pretty entertaining.

“I'm so dizzy... I overused my power.”

Arin, shuffling over like a zombie, buried her face in the corner of the sofa. I made some room for her and said, “You did great, Arin. Thanks to you, everything went smoothly. Go ahead and lie down.”

“Hehe...”

Right on cue, a system message popped up.

The Bond I had been steadily building had already reached 92. If things went fast, maybe tomorrow—or at the latest, by the end of this week—I would meet my third kaiju. I wonder what kind of abilities my next companion will have...

“Yoo-cheon, what's a military base anyway?”

“Ah... it's hard to explain. Just think of it as our new home. An incredibly spacious one.”

“Mmh. I can't wait.”

“You'll probably be shocked when you see it. Now that we're on the subject, I should start making preparations.”

My primary goal was to build a mansion there and let Yugi roam freely outside. I had felt a bit guilty about only bringing Arin into the house all the time. And while I had grown attached to this place, there was no denying that my current house had a rather grim history. This neighborhood was a place where a C-grade Gate had ruptured in the early days, wiping out all the residents. Entangled in complex political maneuvers, the local government had bought up the land and sold the houses at dirt-cheap prices to lower-class citizens like me. That was how I ended up living here.

I remembered how embarrassed I felt when I first showed the place to Arin. Of course, since it was Arin's first time experiencing modern civilization, she had been thrilled and bounced around happily anyway. Still, that was how I felt.

So, I turned on my phone, which had finally returned to normal. I sent a text to Shin Won-chul. It was a bit out of the blue, but I asked if he could look into how to go about building a mansion. I wondered if it was too much to ask, but for now, Shin Won-chul was the only person I could turn to for help. And while I had just given Kim Na-hyun some major leverage in front of the Association President, the least they could do was this. Having justified my request, I immediately prepared to head out. First, I planned to clear out the area with Yugi. If there were any buildings that needed to be demolished, we could just level them cleanly.

“Arin, I'm going out for a bit. Get some rest.”

Meanwhile, while Yoo-cheon was busy with his life, the online community he used to frequent was burning up with discussions about him.

The Hunter Gallery. It could seem a bit crude, but it was just a consequence of being populated by hunters who risked their lives daily. The main user base consisted of non-awakened citizens and F-class to C-class hunters. On the rare occasion a B-class hunter showed up, they would instantly become a local celebrity. And the user behind the handle KwonTaewoon11 was indeed Kwon Taewoon. He was the swordsman Yoo-cheon had met during the D-grade Gate raid, and since that day, he had been training like a madman to improve his skills.

In truth, regardless of the fact that most hunters wanted to live in Seoul, the capital was completely oversaturated. Moving into Seoul required a significant amount of time and effort. These hunters were trying to exploit that loophole by moving into Yoo-cheon's neighborhood instead. After all, it had officially become the safest neighborhood in South Korea.

As Kwon Taewoon was typing away, a real estate agent sat down on the sofa opposite him.

“Sorry to keep you waiting. We've had a sudden surge of clients today, haha.”

“Ah, it's fine. More importantly, could you show me some of the listings?”

“Of course. Let's start with this one...”

The agent pulled out a tablet, displaying a map alongside the estimated market prices. Looking at the screen, Kwon Taewoon couldn't help but frown.

“...One hundred and fifty million won? Why are the housing prices in a rural neighborhood like this so high?”

“Ah, well, isn't this the neighborhood where the famous Park Yuchen lives? Since he hasn't signed with any guild yet and there's no official real estate activity from him, the housing prices here have been skyrocketing day after day.”

“Even so, a fourfold increase makes absolutely no sense!”

It was so absurd that he could hardly believe it. However, the real estate agent merely beamed, letting out a hearty laugh.

“Haha, well, that's just how the world works.”

“...Hold on a second.”

Kwon Taewoon turned his phone back on and finished the comment he had been writing. His tone, however, had completely changed.