The Beginning of a Misunderstanding

"What on earth is..."

I stood there, utterly speechless, my face pale. The swarm of ants was tearing itself apart. Some fought each other, others committed suicide, and a few even launched a collective assault on their own queen. The Magic Core had already been shattered, meaning the gate was on the verge of collapsing. If I didn't want to get trapped inside, I needed to make my exit soon.

Yet, leaving just like this felt like a waste.

How wonderful would it be if Yugi could absorb that precious mass of mana? I had already wiped out all the Grade 10 kaijus in the nearby abandoned factory just to raise Yugi's equivalent age to eight. Leaving all this raw power behind felt like something I would deeply regret later.

"Yugi, should we sweep them all up?"

I asked hesitantly, unsure if such a command was even feasible. But Yugi carried out the task so quickly it made my worries look foolish. Yugi's serpent-like tail whipped through the air in a fluid, elegant arc.

Crackle.

Any ant kaiju touched by that tail crumbled into dust. It didn't even look like physical force; it was as if he were delivering death itself. A shiver ran down my spine, but I couldn't help but marvel at the sight.

"Whoa... wait, stop!"

I called out to Yugi, leaving just one last monster alive. It was a single, half-dead ant kaiju. A sudden, useless curiosity flared up inside me. I'm technically an awakened hunter too. Surely I can take down a single, dying Grade 10 kaiju?

When else would I ever get to experience real combat? Besides, Kim Na-hyun was waiting outside, and she'd promised that as long as I survived for ten minutes, she would save me even if I was on the brink of death.

With those thoughts in mind, I slid down from Yugi's shell.

Tension washed over me. I swallowed hard and clenched my fists. The ant was about the size of a wild dog, and it was already half-dead. Plus, a faint trickle of mana was flowing through my body. I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠definitely had a fighting chance.

I slowly approached the ant kaiju. I could feel Yugi's bewildered gaze burning into my back, but the sheer adrenaline left no room for embarrassment.

The ant kaiju tensed, on guard. The creature that hadn't dared to make a peep in front of Yugi suddenly perked up its antennae the moment I drew near. That stung my pride. Humans were supposed to be the ultimate apex predators of Earth.

I steeled my resolve, determined not to lose.

A brief standoff ensued. The ant kaiju was the first to lunge. It must have thought I was an absolute pushover.

Crunch!

The ant slammed straight into my shin. I had tried to dodge, but it was larger and faster than I anticipated. I nearly lost my balance and fell, but managed to grab onto the monster's body just in time. A disgusting, slimy texture rubbed against my palms. Gritting my teeth, I raised my other hand high and slammed it down with all my might.

Crack!

Fortunately, the strike connected. However, it wasn't enough to finish the beast off, and it thrashed in a desperate final struggle.

Sssss!

A stream of formic acid sprayed directly toward my face. I threw up my arm to block it. A searing, burning agony tore through my flesh. My vision began to blur. Instinctively, I yelled out to Yugi, who was pacing around anxiously.

"Argh! Yugi!"

"...Gyu!"

Yugi rushed toward me, his tail whipping out in a flash.

Crackle.

The ant kaiju crumbled into nothingness.

My blurry vision slowly cleared. Wow, I am never doing that again. If you're stupid, your body suffers. It took a painful lesson for me to finally understand that.

Still, it wasn't a fight where I walked away with nothing but injuries.

If I recalled correctly, our bond had been at 87 before I summoned him. Clearing this gate had raised it by two points.

"Oh, you were really worried about me, weren't you, Yugi?"

Suppressing the throbbing pain, I gently patted Yugi. His face was pitch black, making it hard to read his expression, but I chose to believe his eyes were filled with deep concern.

"More importantly, this place is an absolute mess."

Clearing the gate was headache enough, but if Kim Na-hyun saw this wreckage, it would lead to a massive, uncontrollable misunderstanding. Honestly, explaining things was going to be hard enough as it was. Either way, I had to get out of here before things spiraled further out of hand. I couldn't let her step foot inside.

Closing my eyes, I focused my mind. I activated Gate Summon—specifically, targeting the location connected to the gate I had just used to summon Yugi. The searing pain in my arm made it hard to concentrate, but this much was still manageable.

Teleportation.

While not a perfect method, I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠could use a loophole in my Gate Summon skill to traverse massive distances in an instant. This was the main reason I had been bold enough to enter the gate alone in the first place. If things went south, I could always summon a gate and escape.

And just like that, I was back at the entrance of the F-class gate. It had taken mere seconds.

"You did great today, Yugi. I'll summon you again soon."

I bid Yugi farewell and closed the gate. With that, my preparations were complete. It hadn't been my intention, but the numerous wounds on my body made it look like I had fought a desperate, heroic battle. I could easily use that to bluff my way through.

"Phew..."

My arm throbbed relentlessly. I didn't have time to stand around crafting the perfect excuse. I took a step toward the exit. Once again, a floating sensation washed over me, and the refreshing air of Earth filled my lungs.

At that exact moment, my chin collided with something hard.

"Ack!"

That squeak hadn't come from me. It was Kim Na-hyun. I was far too manly to make a sound like that. It seemed my chin had collided directly with her forehead.

Kim Na-hyun was busy smoothing down her bangs.

"...You worked hard. I'm just glad you knew when to give up."

She clearly didn't realize I had already cleared the gate.

"You've got a lot of minor cuts and scrapes. Please rest here for a moment. I'll go inside to check things out and let you know your evaluation results."

I scratched the back of my head and mumbled, "Uh... I did it."

"Pardon?"

"I cleared it. I broke the Magic Core."

"..."

A heavy silence fell over us. She stared at me blankly, as if struggling to process my words. Making eye contact with her was already intimidating enough, but she was standing incredibly close. I felt a sudden urge to look away, but I did my best to maintain a calm facade.

"...You broke the Magic Core? You're not joking, are you?"

Na-hyun's expression turned dead serious.

"Yes."

"It hasn't even been fifteen minutes."

"Yes."

"...I can't believe it. I'm going to go in and see for myself."

That was bad. I absolutely could not let her see the carnage inside. I stepped in front of Na-hyun as she tried to bypass me, screwing my face up in an exaggerated grimace.

"Ugh, you can do that later, but could we focus on this first...?"

I clutched my ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠arm, displaying the gruesome chemical burns left by the formic acid. Na-hyun's eyes widened into perfect circles.

"Oh my goodness! Hey! You should have told me about this immediately! Come over here!"

Perhaps because I had successfully diverted her attention, her frantic fussing actually felt rather nice.

Na-hyun pulled a small glass bottle filled with a purple liquid from her bag. She carefully peeled away the melted fabric of my sleeve, which had fused with my skin, and asked, "What kind of kaiju was in there?"

"The system info said they were bear ants."

"...Wait, if they were bear ants, there must have been dozens of them. Did you have a skill to handle the darkness?"

"Yeah... something like that."

I gave a vague answer. Fortunately, Na-hyun was too focused on cleaning my wound to press any further.

"Luckily, this potion should prevent any scarring. Getting injured during a raid is common, but... shattering a Magic Core against a swarm of bear ants? That was incredibly reckless."

"It was my first time, so I didn't really know any better."

Her genuine concern felt quite nice. In a harsh world like this, people like her were hard to come by. A small smile crept onto my face without my realizing it.

"This might sting a bit."

But the moment Na-hyun poured the potion onto my wrist—

"Aaaaargh...!"

I blacked out on the spot.

Letting out a bizarre groan, Park Yuchen collapsed.

"Huh?"

Na-hyun caught him reflexively, utterly bewildered. Right, I forgot. His mana capacity is practically nonexistent.

The sheer shock of him clearing an F-class gate all by himself had made her forget that, on paper, his stats were barely any different from an ordinary civilian's.

"Ugh, what an idiot. I'll have to apologize properly when he wakes up..."

But then again, this man defied all logic. How could someone with such a pathetic amount of mana take down an entire colony of bear ants alone? It made absolutely no sense. And judging by the way he spoke, it was his very first raid...

Without realizing it, Na-hyun tightened her grip on Yuchen's shoulder. His muscles felt soft. He truly possessed the mana capacity of a mere ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠F-class hunter.

To clear an F-class gate alone with that level of mana... just what kind of ability did he awaken?

As she pondered this, her face suddenly flushed, and she quickly loosened her grip.

"What am I doing to a passed-out person?"

Embarrassed, she brushed back her hair and looked toward the F-class gate. Cracks were beginning to spiderweb across its surface.

Yuchen hadn't been lying.

Had there ever been a hunter who cleared an F-class gate in under fifteen minutes during a practical evaluation? She racked her brain, but no one came to mind.

If so, what should the Team Leader of the New Recruit Discovery Team do?

Na-hyun quickly pulled out her phone.