Feathers, Chicken, and an Old Neighbor
The King of Griffins, Poppi.
Even in Hell, he had reigned as the leader and eldest brother of all monsters. An ancient beast whose single peck could crack an adamantium wall, and whose every wingbeat stirred up gale-force winds.
And this very King of Griffins, Poppi, was now sobbing, chicken-tack tears streaming down his face.
“I love it.”
Ji-hoon, by contrast, wore a contented smile.
[Sob… Hyung-nim, this is too much, sob. All because you wanted to see your little brother's bare skin…]
Poppi wept, shielding the plucked patches on his body with a wing.
It did look a little pathetic, honestly.
Ji-hoon patted him and said, “It's a necessity. If the other Hell Farm kids show up again, someone's got to take care of them. You're the eldest, so make the sacrifice.”
And there was one more benefit.
This was, after all, a genuine feather from the Griffin King. Not even a gate-clearance reward — a freshly harvested, raw feather, plucked straight from the source. As expected, the feather he'd just pulled gleamed a far more radiant ivory than the ones he'd earned as loot.
I can feel the mana.
Even F-ranks could sense mana, if nothing else. The brilliant aura seeping from the feather electrified the air across the whole neighborhood.
Ji-hoon waved the feather this way and that.
“Hey, can you make this thing invisible?”
[Sniff… Make the feather invisible? Easy. Child's play.]
Poppi touched the hand holding the feather with a single claw. Mana pulsed out — and with a soft whoosh, the feather vanished from sight.
“Oooh!”
The tactile sensation in his palm remained exactly the same.
“This'll do nicely.”
[By the way, hyung-nim, what is this for?]
“I'm making a necklace.”
He took the whip cords he'd just bought from the monster ranch and cut each one into four equal lengths. The whips became four necklace strings of just the right size. Into each string, he threaded one of Poppi's feathers.
“There we go!”
Before long, a feather-crafted necklace hung complete, like a hunter's trophy.
A necklace crafted from the feathers of the Griffin King.
Stores a set amount of mana that can be drawn upon at will.
[But hyung-nim, why did you make this?]
“If the Hell Farm kids carry this scent with them, they'll know it's yours, won't they? And the trash mobs won't even be able to come near us.”
At that, Poppi covered his beak with his right wing, visibly moved.
[As expected! Truly brilliant! Any mere rabble who cross my feather's aura will foam at the mouth and pass out on the spot! And my little brothers!]
Poppi struck a pose atop the sofa, standing as still and proud as a statue.
[All my little brothers! They will recognize you and me instantly!]
God, I hope so.
If another gate popped off, the monsters might get picked off by other hunters. Ji-hoon didn't even want to imagine it. He squeezed his eyes shut.
“Poppi.”
[Yes, hyung-nim.]
“We will bring the Hell Farm kids here. All of them. Promise me.”
The dungeon compensation payment arrived the very next day.
[My apologies, Hunter-nim, but salaries won't go out until next month…]
Baek Kang-hyun had said so over the phone — but the money Ji-hoon had earned in a single day came to a cool one billion won.
And what did he spend it on first?
“Poppi! Today, we're having a chicken party!”
Sure, feeding him mana stones was more efficient — but Poppi deserved the joy of eating, too.
For his gluttonous companion, Ji-hoon brought home chicken in every flavor imaginable: fried, sweet-spicy, soy-glazed, cheese, curry, and more.
From where?
His parents' restaurant, obviously.
[Ah! Hyung-nim, this cheese one! It is absolutely to my taste!]
Back in Hell, the moment dairy-cheese feed hit the trough, this bird would steal portions right out of the other monsters' mouths.
European legendary beast and all that — guess that explains the cheese obsession.
Ji-hoon watched him with that idle thought drifting through his head. “Poppi, your feathers are already growing back?”
Fresh down was sprouting right where Ji-hoon had plucked him yesterday.
[It will take a week for them to come in fully. And the mana here is a bit thin, so… they may lack luster.]
So chasing flavor alone really doesn't produce quality feathers, huh.
“Want a mana stone?”
[They're nutritious, I'll grant, but they taste terrible, hyung-nim. I refuse.]
Well, fair enough. Food that's good for you never tastes good. That's a law of nature.
[Why doesn't Earth have hellbird meat, I wonder.]
In Hell, Ji-hoon had hand-made all the monsters' feed himself. Poppi's eyes grew misty with longing for those flavors.
I'm glad my cooking was that good, but still.
“Well, you can't live on chicken alone. I'll make you a mana-stone salad next time.”
[Ugh, please no, hyung-nim.]
“No complaining about your meals!”
Ji-hoon turned away from Poppi's face — frozen solid at the words mana-stone salad — and got dressed.
“Anyway! Let's head out, Poppi.”
[Yes, hyung-nim. Though… where are we going?]
“Gotta check out the neighborhood. Learn the local rules. Now, shrink down.”
Poppi shrank to about the size of a toy poodle, and Ji-hoon dressed him in a puppy-preschool outfit.
“The yellow is just perfect on you!”
[Hyung-nim, no! I am the Griffin King…]
“Details, details. Let's go!”
The colossal S-rank monster, King of Griffins.
Who was currently trotting along obediently at Ji-hoon's heels, wearing a bright-yellow baby-chick hat and a puppy costume in yellow and pink.
[This is uncomfortable, hyung-nim…]
“Poppi. Your wings are twitching.”
[But this outfit is a blow to my dignity! It doesn't even befit the name Poppi…]
Oh, right.
Ji-hoon remembered the day he'd first given him that name — back when he'd told the griffin it was the strongest name on Earth.
He offered a plausible-sounding justification. “You think real strength comes from looks? If you're genuinely as mighty as you claim, you should be able to wear a puppy costume in silence.”
[W-well, that may be so, but…]
Poppi's beak jutted out in a pout —
“Hold out, and I'll buy you a whole roast chicken from the oven later.”
[Gasp! Well then! Why didn't you say so! I look forward to it!]
Having pacified Poppi with the promise of food, Ji-hoon strolled through the streets, teaching him assorted Earth common sense along the way.
“Got it? No picking fights with people. You stay in small puppy form at all times unless I order otherwise.”
Poppi nodded along repeatedly, but his face was a wall of grievances.
[Hyung-nim, with your power, you could rule this world and still have room to spare…]
“Whoa, whoa. Dangerous talk.”
King of hunters? Me? What would I even do with that? Sounds exhausting.
Ji-hoon waved him off, absolutely not interested.
[Aww, but at Hell Farm…]
“That was Hell Farm only.”
Truth be told, he'd never had any intention of ruling Hell Farm either. How had a total nobody like me ended up like this, anyway?
He was cycling through that pointless chatter and these idle thoughts when they passed the neighborhood playground — and someone called out to him.
“Um, excuse me…”
A kid in a school uniform, AirPods in his ears — unmistakably young. Despite a face that read vaguely delinquent, the high schooler approached Ji-hoon with an uncharacteristically shy expression.
“Are you… Ji-hoon hyung?”
“That's me?”
Unable to tell if the kid was thug or model student, Ji-hoon answered flatly — and the boy lit up as if witnessing a miracle.
“Hyung, you don't remember me?”
“So who are you, exactly?”
How would I know? Surviving a hundred years remembering only my parents' faces was miracle enough.
“I'm Seon Woo-jae! I live right next to you! Unit 1402!”
“Seon Woo-jae? Next door?”
The name jogged something loose in his memory.
One hundred years ago — ten years in Earth time. The eight-year-old kid who'd lived next door, the one who cried at the drop of a hat.
“When did you get this big?”
“It has been ten years, hyung. So you're finally back! You returned!”
“Now that you mention it, it really has been ten years.”
Ji-hoon's time had frozen in Hell, but Earth had marched on for a full decade. Apparently, everyone around him had simply assumed he was a returnee all this while.
“Wow, I heard you made it back safe, but running into you like this…”
Ji-hoon remembered Seon Woo-jae vividly.
—Hiccuuuu.
—There, there. Big boys don't cry over every little thing. Stop it. Count of three.
—B-but, but, Ju-hyun in the next class… he just… hit me for no reason, and… sniff…!
—Keep crying and no puffed rice for you.
—…Eep.
A first-grader who cried every single day. His parents both worked, so Ji-hoon — a student on leave at the time — had often looked after him.
Wait, why is he speaking to me so formally?
…The ten-year gap hit home, hard.
“So you're a second-year in high school now?”
“Yes. Though I don't actually attend school…”
“Why not?”
At the question, Seon Woo-jae's chest puffed out wide. “Because I'm a hunter.”
“What??”
“An A-rank hunter, no less.”
Though still a total rookie, of course. He tacked that on in a mumble.
Ji-hoon was struck speechless for a moment.
A gleaming A-rank hunter license was thrust right up to his face. It was still hard to believe. That snotty-nosed little squirt was an A-rank tanker?
From inside the arms of a squinting Ji-hoon, Poppi muttered quietly under his breath.
Grrrr.
[He calls himself strong? That pittance of mana? Even the laziest snail at Hell Farm could match it in a year…]
“Shh, shh!”
Ji-hoon hastily clamped Poppi's beak shut.
“Wow, that's amazing. A-rank is a huge deal, isn't it?”
“Ah, come on. Compared to S-rank dealers like Jin Seo-yoon or Baek Kang-hyun, it's nothing. I'm just a grunt who holds up shields for a living.”
Having puffed out his chest just moments ago, Seon Woo-jae's shoulders now sagged. Classic high schooler behavior.
Ji-hoon tilted his head as though genuinely unable to understand. “Still, A-rank sounds pretty high to me…?”
Well, I'm an F, after all.
“I'll just have to keep working hard. It's been my dream since I was little — to become a hunter who protects people.”
Come to think of it, that does ring a bell. Even as a little kid, he'd never been able to stand seeing someone bullied, always charging in and ending up in tears himself.
“So what rank are you, hyung? If you're a returnee, maybe you're even an S-rank… higher than me?”
“Ha, S-rank? Please. I'm an F.”
“Liar! You were gone ten years, how could you be!”
When he showed the shrieking Seon Woo-jae his hunter license, the kid finally calmed down.
“Anyway, I'm really glad you're back. Mom and Dad kept opposing me becoming a hunter — said it was too dangerous. But if Ji-hoon hyung is a hunter too, maybe they'll worry a little less?”
“You think?”
“Plus, you're a returnee! Returnee hunters always farm so efficiently — I guess it's the experience gap.”
Well, I do have a farming-optimization skill.
Still.
“If you ever need an excuse, you can use me. Got worries? I can lend an ear.”
Ji-hoon shrugged.
An A-rank tanker, sure — but at the end of the day, he was a high schooler. The world never goes the way you want it to. A world where even S-rank hunters get swindled out of their lease deals… no, political swindles, rather.
He didn't have to be a huge help. But this was the kid next door he'd known since diapers. He owed him at least this much courtesy.
“Thank you, hyung!”
As expected, Seon Woo-jae's face brightened like a turned-on lightbulb.
“Good. And drop the formalities.”
Poppi whined softly from inside Ji-hoon's arms again.
Seon Woo-jae thumped his chest like a proper tanker and replied, “Right, hyung! And if there's anything I can help with, I'll help.”
“Help with what?”
“Well, it hasn't been long since you got back, has it?”
Ji-hoon considered for a moment, then asked casually, “Then one thing I'm curious about.”
“Yeah, yeah?”
“Does this place have anything like… you know, a market where hunters sell their stuff? Like a Carrot-app sort of thing?”
“Oh, that. Of course we do. Want to see on my phone?”
Woo-jae pulled out his phone and launched a familiar-looking app.
🛒 [SELL] Low-grade Mana Stone, raw — 1kg — 2,000,000 won
🛒 [SELL] Goblin Leather Boots (D-rank Armor) — 12,000,000 won
🛒 [SELL] Worn Orc Axe (C-rank Weapon) — 20,000,000 won
The moment the app opened — A powerful friend in the palm of your hand! — Hunter Market — a flood of listings poured across Ji-hoon's screen.
“Whoa, there's so much.”
“Right? It might look pricey now, but once you start working as a hunter, it piles up fast. Need money? I could give you a welcome-back gift.”
How am I supposed to take money from a kid?… was his first thought — but then again, A-rank tanker.
Ji-hoon made a mental note to ask Woo-jae later just how much he actually earned, and kept scrolling through the Hunter Market.
And then.
He froze.
“…Why is THIS showing up here?”