Yangyang
“I’m Nam Hyeong-deok, team leader of Protection Team 1.”
The man standing on the platform spoke in a flat, even tone.
Come to think of it, this was the first time I’d seen another team’s leader.
Compared to that creepy leader of Suppression Team 3, this guy was bulkier… and decked out in some strange protective gear.
A full-body defense suit or something?
Looked like it even came with a helmet.
“Before the briefing, I’d like to ask Ms. Park Ha-yeon to explain the special nature of this phenomenon….”
After that, well.
It was all stuff I already knew.
…Should I just get some sleep?
“Wow, I really thought I was gonna die….”
To push a dragon this hard.
I’ll give you that—you’re strong….
“How can anyone make something this boring…?”
“Hey, Unni! You can’t say stuff like that!….”
Anyway….
Judging by the vibe, the people who’d be sticking together had already formed parties.
A few were going it alone, too.
Either way, streaming had slowly gotten the green light, so I’d fired up the broadcast as well.
“Where are we supposed to go?”
“The first assembly point is Yangyang. Looks like there are signs of a gate collapse there.”
“Yangyang, huh. That’s pretty far.”
“But the Association’s even providing a plane for us!”
Plane support.
Honestly, me flying there myself would be way faster.
But, well….
If I said that out loud, Ha-eun would get mad at me again, right?
So I decided to just go for it.
“Ha-eun, I’ll give you a ride, so hop on my ba—”
“Unni!”
“But for real, even if I can’t ‘cause money’s tight, Terra could probably manage it, right?”
“That’s not allowed either!”
Is that bastard Mahail?
Alright, from now on, you’re on the blacklist.
“By the way… the more I think about it, the more absurd it is. Should I just blow up the Association first?”
“What?!”
“Why the hell are they stopping me from flying? Humans get to ride planes.”
“That’s a completely different thing!….”
“I’ve been putting up with a lot, but honestly, more and more people keep popping up who get on my nerves. What the hell do they even take me for.”
“Uh, Unni? Still—”
“Haa… I don’t know how much longer I can hold back, Ha-eun.”
“Y-Yes?”
“Remember that I’m a dragon, too. You should keep that in mind. No, if they just left me alone I wouldn’t get mad.”
With that, I boarded the plane.
“If I can’t hold it in anymore, I might just flip everything upside down.”
“U-Uh….”
“Of course, you’d be exempt from that.”
“….”
That was when Na Su-han, who’d only been trailing behind us, entered my field of view.
His expression had shifted, just a little.
When I looked at him, he offered a single line.
“…Are you growing disillusioned with humanity as well?”
“Huh?”
“If so, I’ll lend a hand in moderation. In accordance with the grace of the Immovable.”
Apparently his words hadn’t made it into the stream, judging by the viewers’ reactions.
“Pfft… So what, you’re saying you’ll betray them?”
“I can.”
His voice was flat.
But the look in Na Su-han’s eyes right now was something else entirely.
“It seems you’re the one who’s grown cautious after ceasing to be human.”
“That’s how I look?”
“There are things that can only be cut down precisely because one is human.”
Things that can only be cut down because one is human, huh.
“Why bring that up all of a sudden?”
“Humanity gained great power far too quickly. That’s why it’s easy to forget.”
“Forget?”
“…It applies to those who climb up relying solely on their own power.”
With that, he took a seat in one of the plane’s seats.
Neither the people around us nor the broadcast seemed to have caught his words.
As if a mute had been slapped on him.
I sat down as well and thought it over.
Was it because the Immovable had to remain in his place that even his voice could stay fixed there?
And from the way he was talking now, maybe the reason he was at the Ark was….
“…I’m ending the stream for now. I only turned it on as a survival check today. I’ll turn it back on after we arrive, tomorrow. And Ha-eun, wake me up when we get there.”
“Y-Yes!”
Click—
I needed to close my eyes for a bit.
It’d been way too boring for a while now.
“Haaah….”
“Uh, Unni…?”
I had no idea how much time had passed when I opened my eyes to Ha-eun waking me up.
Faint as it was, mana clung to my fingertips as well.
I widened my eyes and spoke to Ha-eun.
“…Ha-eun, I didn’t do anything while I was asleep, did I?”
“Huh?”
“…Never mind. As long as nothing happened, it’s fine.”
I gave my face a dry wash and stood from my seat.
That bastard in my mental world, just what the hell….
No. Not now.
I’d think about this later.
The Wild Hunt was right in front of us for now.
“Damn it….”
“Unni?”
“Sorry, Ha-eun. I think I need a moment to think.”
As I forced myself up from the seat, Terra looked up at me and spoke.
“Goldy-nim? Just now—”
“…Shh. Let’s talk a little later, Terra.”
Even Terra, bound to me by contract, seemed to have sensed something from me.
“Alright~ Hunters, this way please!”
As soon as we got off the plane, a female staffer who must have been waiting waved a flag and welcomed us.
“You must be tired from the flight! I’ll be your guide today~”
“Hey, I’d like to wash up first.”
“Yes, yes! We’ll be heading to the lodging soon!”
It kind of felt like we’d signed up for a package tour.
“Oh my? Are you a beastkin?”
“Haha… Hello.”
“Huk… Did I just make a mistake? I’m so sorry!….”
“Huh?”
The staffer who’d greeted me seemed to read my expression and immediately apologized.
What, did she have some kind of mind-reading skill or something?
“I was taught that mixing up someone’s race is extremely rude!”
“Ahaha… Is that so?”
“Then, if you don’t mind me asking, what is your race!….”
“Dragon.”
“Huk— D-Dragon?! That’s amazing!”
She even threw in a big reaction, and I gave her an awkward smile.
Full of energy, this one.
“Alright, alright! I’m Lee Su-yeon from Protection Team 1! I’ll be guiding the hunters for this operation, so please take care of me!”
Lee Su-yeon gave the flag in her hand a good flap.
At once, every hunter’s gaze locked onto her.
A skill, huh?
Yeah, when you had this many hunters to wrangle, having an ability suited for it would definitely make things easier.
After all, these were all people who could each hold their own.
And seeing that it didn’t work on the tiny handful of us that included me and Na Su-han…
Most of them are A-class.
From S-class on up, you wouldn’t be able to punch through their minds like that.
“Ha-eun, are there any National-Level hunters among them?”
“Uh… No, there aren’t.”
“For something this big, shouldn’t a few of them show up?”
“Even S-class… hunters don’t move around easily. It’s extremely rare for a National-Level to show their face in a place like this.”
Huh, is that so?
“Then that Sobyam woman I saw last time—”
“What?! You met Sobyam-nim?!”
“Ah, right, you weren’t there then. I ran into her at the Ark. But even back then she said she’d come on orders?”
“Th-That’s probably!… Sobyam Hunter is a bit of a special case!….”
From the way Ha-eun kept talking, it seemed Sobyam was a hunter affiliated with some organization.
It was rare, but even National-Level hunters were still hunters, so there were cases where they joined guilds—or in extreme cases, organizations.
“So she didn’t get any orders to come here, and the other hunters never needed to come in the first place?”
“Yes!….”
“But they’re supposed to be the strongest hunters out there. Aren’t they being a little too half-assed about this?”
At my words, Ha-eun glanced around and lowered her voice.
“I probably shouldn’t say this, but… you could say that every National-Level or S-class hunter is carrying at least one problem… and it wouldn’t be wrong.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“They’re all twisted in one way or another….”
“Ahh? I get the idea.”
The power of superhumans didn’t just show up out of nowhere.
Awakening or discovering talent could come from chance encounters, but not everyone who found it became the strongest.
Those who reached the realm of superhumans were people who’d become so obsessed with something—or clung so desperately—that they’d crossed a wall they normally never could have.
Most of those types were broken somewhere.
Take Na Su-han, for example.
He was reluctant to talk about his National-Level rank or his past.
On top of that, his personality was unreadable and he was taciturn to boot.
In cases like his, he had probably thrown himself away and immersed himself in training to forget something and avoid remembering it.
And then he’d become S-class, and the epithet had stuck to him, too.
“Hoo, this is why beings with emotions are such a pain.”
“Huh?”
“Just something. Anyway, most of the people here are A-class.”
Looking at it this way, there could be no small number of casualties.
Not a single one of them had ever experienced the Wild Hunt, after all.
“That oppa of yours. He’d better not die. He’s the one you’ll have to pin down yourself, Ha-eun.”
“….”
Thud—
We boarded one of the five buses that had been prepared and slowly started moving.
Unlike Seoul, a decidedly bleak atmosphere filled our eyes.
“Bleak.”
“Gangwon Province especially sees a lot of gate appearances. Not many people live there.”
“Is that how it is?”
Well, for sure… the regions where the Demon King’s army used to show up a lot didn’t have many residents either.
If I had to put it, those places had turned into slums.
“Ahem, welcome, hunters! For today we’ll go over the operation briefing and make thorough preparations! Then tomorrow we begin the operation!”
Standing at the front of the bus, Lee Su-yeon took the mic and continued.
“First we’ll head to the lodging~ Unfortunately, this place had a gate collapse not long ago, so water supply is still difficult!”
…Water supply?
Wait, hold on—there’s a water shortage?
“So I’m sorry, but we’ve prepared a communal bathhouse!”
“Huh?”
At that, I looked over at Ha-eun.
“Ahaha… Things like this are pretty common on the front lines….”
“No, gathering A-class and S-class hunters and then a communal… wait. Hold on.”
Communal bathhouse?
That meant….
“Ohoho….”
“Unni…? Your… eyes look weird…?”
Looks like I might get to enjoy a fun little show.