Call from the Sky Hunter
I got a call from Kim Haneul.
“Are you living here?”
Haneul slowly scanned the interior.
There was no furniture.
No traces of daily life.
Just clean black walls with no dust and strange patterns carved into the floor.
She had heard it was a basement room.
But this place wasn’t a room at all.
“A gangster…”
Haneul recalled that nickname again.
He hadn’t told her where a person lived.
It was probably a hideout disguised as a house for secret deals.
“Welcome.”
The voice came from behind her.
Haneul immediately turned around.
When had she appeared? A woman with long white hair floated in the air.
Perfect appearance and figure.
Eyes that could make you lose your mind just by looking.
But the one thing that gave her the most chills was…
“I couldn’t sense her presence.”
That single fact made the tips of Haneul’s fingers turn ice-cold.
Her legs were hazy and floating in the air.
She was clearly a ghost-type monster.
Haneul tried to read the woman’s mana.
And immediately regretted it.
It felt like trying to scoop up an ocean with a paper cup.
In other words, the act of trying to read the mana was the same as trying to scoop it up with a paper cup.
The senses she had accumulated for a lifetime fell apart like toys.
Back when she had proudly called herself South Korea’s strongest hunter.
That past was so embarrassing she wanted to die.
“You’re Haneul Hunter-nim, who came for the stone trade, right?”
The ghost spoke.
A chilly gaze.
It was probably irritated by her hasty attempt to read the mana.
Haneul forced her throat to open and swallowed.
“Are you a gangster?”
“No.
I am the owner-nim’s agent.”
“Owner?”
The ghost smiled coldly.
Wow.
There was a separate owner commanding this ghost.
“I can’t meet him right now.
The owner-nim is busy lying down…”
She paused for a moment.
“No.
He’s in important work.”
“I see…”
She was terrified.
But people who flee out of fear can’t become strong.
Haneul was South Korea’s light.
“The trade.
Shall we begin?”
She said it as calmly as possible.
The ghost threw the stone she was holding onto the floor.
Troll troll troll troll troll…
The stone rolled with a strange sound.
“…”
Well received.”
It was humiliating.
Who in the world could do something like this to an S-class hunter.
Like throwing it to beggars.
But at that moment she had no choice but to act like one.
She carefully picked up the rolling stone with both hands.
Then she immediately pulled out the prepared item.
Suddenly the air grew heavy.
She couldn’t breathe.
Her legs trembled.
She discovered herself drooling with tears and snot.
“What is this?”
The ghost’s voice.
But the atmosphere around that voice had changed.
Instinctively she used her skill.
Heavenly Shield (S).
A semi-transparent shield wrapped around her in a circle.
It was a skill she had barely survived at the 50th floor of the Tower Hard Mode.
“Hic…! Hic…!”
Only then could she breathe.
She gulped down the air like a dog right before being thrown out.
“Hng…”
The ghost approached slowly with an intrigued expression.
She slowly poked her fingernail against the shield.
“T…h…i…s.”
The ghost spoke.
And slowly dragged her finger down.
“T…h…i…s…c…a…n’t…”
Vertical lines appeared on the Heavenly Shield.
“You would have asked what this is.”
Zip zip zip…
She had only used one finger.
She had only moved her wrist a little.
But the lines she had drawn vertically spread open like automatic doors.
The invincible Heavenly Shield of the Heavenly Knight was being peeled away helplessly.
Haneul clenched her teeth and chewed her cheek to regain her senses.
And she spoke before it was too late.
“This is a card with money in it!”
“Why prepare cash instead of a card? Are you trying to follow me?”
“No no no no no!!!”
She wanted to live.
Her mind was filled with that one thought alone.
“T…t…t…t…t… This card is registered under my name.
I thought the gangster-nim would have trouble handling bank affairs so I made an account in my name and deposited money there!!”
Hoo!
The air suddenly became light.
“That’s a good idea.
Certainly.”
She had survived.
Relief made her legs go limp.
She added more strength to her legs.
She had brought it just in case and survived.
“Yes!!! You can use this account and card and I can pay the taxes for you!!!”
“Wonderful.
I didn’t know you had such a clever thought…”
“N…n…n…n!!!”
“Good.
You didn’t put in less money, right?”
“I put in 10% more than the market price!!!”
“Understood.
You may go.”
The ghost took the account and card and waved her hand.
But Haneul couldn’t step back.
The rational part that had to protect South Korea clashed with the primal desire to survive.
“One more thing…”
The ghost’s gaze grew colder again.
But before she opened her mouth, Haneul moved quickly.
She opened the bag she had brought and pulled out the bag inside.
The ghost’s voice was heard.
“What is this?”
“Chicken!!!”
“!!!”
She couldn’t see the ghost’s face.
Because she had slammed her forehead into the floor and bowed the moment she pulled out the bag.
But she could feel it with the air.
The ghost was quite satisfied.
“May I ask one more thing?”
“Granted.”
She took a deep breath and spoke.
“I wonder if the gangster-nim has any particular path he plans to take from now on.”
“Hng.
Well, that’s obviously the path of an absolute being who devours all life… but that’s my opinion.
I’ll ask.”
Hoo!
The ghost disappeared.
Only then could Haneul lift her head.
She waited a moment and took out a potion from her inventory and sprayed it on her forehead and mouth.
The ghost appeared again.
This time she slowly appeared in front of Haneul.
“The owner-nim was very satisfied.”
“That’s wonderful…”
“Also, the owner-nim said he will focus on tower climbing for the time being.”
“I see.
If only…”
“Hehehe.
You ask a lot of questions.
Since you made the owner-nim happy, I’ll forgive you.”
“Thank you…”
“Then, is there any plan after tower climbing…?”
“I asked because I thought you’d ask that question.
The owner-nim said he will kill all life and take their souls to make his own holy land.”
“Ah… aaa…”
It was the one thing she least wanted to hear.
At the moment she faced this ghost she felt despair and at the same time hope.
If it was the gangster’s power, South Korea would be annihilated.
But if the opposite, South Korea would be safe.
“Aaaaa!!!”
“Shh!”
The ghost covered the bursting cry.
And she laughed like a child.
Evil.
That appearance was the purest evil in the world.
The mouth of evil opened and a sweet voice leaked out.
“It didn’t say that’s Korea, did it?”
“Aigoo…”
She couldn’t speak.
She thought “no way” but immediately dismissed it.
If her hope was shattered again this time, she might go crazy.
“The owner-nim told me to stop playing around.
It’s a shame.
It was fun.”
“…”
Haneul stood up.
There was still time left.
The Tower had an entrance cooldown.
Once a week.
She didn’t know how many floors she could climb but it would take more than a month.
Until the gangster moved, she would evacuate the South Korean citizens.
“I will take my leave.”
“Oh.
Already? I still have something to say.”
Haneul turned her body without answering.
If the ghost got angry and killed her now, that would be a blessing too.
A voice came from behind her back.
“Ah.
It would look too vigilant… Yes… I understand.”
Thud thump thump.
She walked weakly toward the exit.
She couldn’t lift her head so she walked looking at the ground.
And bang!
Something was blocking her.
“Haha…”
It was a skeleton.
Not one.
Five of them.
“Is this my death spot?”
It was actually good.
She had been struggling a lot.
She was only a twenty-five-year-old woman after all.
She didn’t have to watch her beloved country collapse.
Haneul closed her eyes.
Please let it end in one hit.
Clink clink clink clink…
The sound of the skeletons moving busily could be heard.
Bang!
“Hey! I said hold it firmly!!!”
A heavy thing fell.
And the ghost’s urgent voice.
She slowly opened her eyes.
The skeleton in front of her was holding a square stone slab engraved with the letter “R.”
“R?”
What kind of situation was this? Had she been trying to kill him by smashing his head with that stone slab?
She looked around.
Each skeleton was holding a stone slab.
She read the letters in order.
“S…e…r…a…p…h…?”
Then the ghost flew in front of her eyes and said.
“Surprise~!”
Clink clink clink clink!
At the same time the skeletons started dancing while holding their stone slabs.
“Surprised? It’s all a joke.
Our Haneul Hunter-nim! It’s all a joke!”
“Eh?”
“I told you.
It didn’t say that’s Korea.”
“Ah… yes…”
“The owner-nim said he would head to North Korea as soon as he finishes preparing.
He asked me to look after South Korea until then.
When he finishes, Hunter-nim’s burden will be carried by the owner-nim instead.”
“Ah…”
The hope she had thrown away began to shine again.
It was hidden under the darkness of the bottom but it rose like the sun in an instant.
One day a week she climbs the Tower.
The other six days she defends the border.
She never takes a day off.
Today was the first time she had made a fuss with the Association head to get time off.
Gogogol!
The skeletons looked like they were laughing.
“Thank you… thank you… really thank you…”
“Hehehe.
Haneul-nim must be so happy.
You’re the same nationality as the owner-nim.”
“It’s really an honor…”
“Really… really…”
“Sigh.
Stop crying.
Where’s your house?”
Ah.
She had been crying.
The moment she realized that, uncontrollable sobs came out.
“Uwaaaaaaaa!!!”
“Aigoo….
Did I go too far with the prank? Let me see… Haneul Hunter’s house… yeah, here.”
The moment those words were spoken, the ghost made a gap in the air.
And she reached her hand through that gap and forced it open.
“Ha… hahaha!”
“Oh.
You’re laughing now?”
Through the gap she could see the landscape.
This was tearing dimensions.
“You shouldn’t have done that to a grown woman just because you were playing a little earlier.
Understand?”
“…”
Haneul hurriedly put her hand on her butt.
It was wet.
“There’s no benefit to wandering around like this.
Go straight home.”
The ghost pointed her finger at the crack.
She nodded.
Haneul nodded without suspicion and moved toward the crack.
Sssssh…
The crack closed.
It had been a long time since she had fun.
Yeongwon smiled satisfiedly.
Then a voice came to her soul.
“Yaaa!!!! Come quick!!!! The chicken is getting cold!!!!”
She had said to eat first but the kind owner-nim waited while saying he would eat with her.
“I’m going right now!!!”