The Weight of a Name
The sound of the gate measurement circuit snapping. The sharp crackle of electrical wires tearing apart….
Crack!Bzzzzzt….
Sparks were flying wildly in every direction.
“…”
“…”
Yuhwa stared at the mangled lump of scrap metal that had once been a high-end measurement device.
‘Should I be happy about this?’
It felt like she had proven her own strength. At the same time, it also felt like she had caused a massive disaster.
‘Hmm.’
She hadn’t even put that much force into it. Looking at their faces, everyone was completely stunned.
‘Come to think of it, I heard coins can be converted into real-world currency too.’
And then Yuhwa became painfully aware of something.
She was the one who had just destroyed a single machine and was now fidgeting like an idiot! The great dragon herself was trembling over something so trivial!
Yuhwa hurriedly activated her mind control techniques. Soon enough, she managed to regain her composure. She brushed the metal fragments from her palm onto the floor with a few light flicks and crossed her arms.
She jerked her chin toward the staff member who was still deathly pale, mouth opening and closing like a goldfish.
“What is the rank?”
“…Pardon?”
“I am asking what rank this level of power would qualify for.”
At Yuhwa’s icy question, the association employee looked back and forth between the shattered machine and her face, then wiped his face with a trembling hand.
“Ah… aaaaah…. Th-that is….”
“That is?”
Yuhwa glanced around.
Everyone was staring at her in a daze. Every single person was looking her way with a mixture of awe and shock.
A damp, satisfied smile nearly crept across her lips, but she barely held it back.
“C-could we… perhaps move to another location?”
“Where to?”
“I will escort you to the Association President’s… to the President’s office!”
“Very well. Lead the way.”
About twenty minutes later.
Inside a VIP reception room located on the top floor of the association building, equipped with the highest level of security and soundproofing.
Yuhwa lounged lazily against a luxurious leather sofa.
Sitting across from her was the President of the Korean Hunter Association, Park Jin-tae, his necktie half-undone and his face completely stiff.
The president swallowed dryly and carefully opened his mouth.
“Allow me to introduce myself once more, formally. I am Park Jin-tae, President of the Korean Hunter Association.”
He rose from his seat and bowed deeply to Yuhwa at a perfect ninety degrees.
Anyone else watching might have laughed at the sight.
One of the nation’s highest authorities lowering his head to a single individual… what a farce.
But this was that kind of world. A world where this was necessary.
There were plenty of countries where awakeners and the military were currently at war because they hadn’t done this.
That was why Park Jin-tae felt no shame whatsoever.
“…I have been informed of the destructive power you displayed in the measurement room just now.”
The president sat back down and spoke with a grave expression.
“Yuhwa, you appear to possess power on the level of at least National Power-class.”
“Is that so?”
When Yuhwa answered indifferently, Park Jin-tae let out a hollow laugh.
“I will be honest with you. With that level of strength, neither the laws nor the systems of this country can restrain or control you by force.”
His eyes were filled with exhaustion.
“You have no need to join any major guild, nor do you need to follow the directives of our association. To put it bluntly, we are essentially powerless to bind you.”
“I suppose so.”
Yuhwa nodded as if it were only natural.
National Power-class, or whatever they called it…
The power she possessed could not possibly be defined by such insignificant words!
And Park Jin-tae… was carefully reading Yuhwa’s expression. Sensing that she seemed pleased, he subtly changed the subject.
“Um… if I may, there is one thing I would like to ask very carefully.”
“Speak.”
“Previously… a silver-haired dragon-kin whose aura was remarkably similar to yours visited our association.”
The president’s eyes flickered sharply as he observed Yuhwa’s reaction.
“Do you happen to know anything about that individual?”
Of course she knew. Yujin had given her a detailed report.
“Ah, you mean Yujin.”
The moment the name left her lips, the president’s shoulders jerked violently.
“Y-yes! The one who called herself your kin! Do you… know her?”
Yuhwa nodded.
“Naturally. She is a child who serves the same master as I. Something like a little sister to me.”
“…!”
In an instant, all color drained from the president’s face.
“Y-you serve… the same master?”
His voice cracked with pure horror.
That silver-haired dragon and this woman… both served someone?
Yuhwa crossed her legs and answered casually.
“Indeed. By now, she is probably attending to the one you people are desperately searching for—Life Ruined.”
“L-Life Ruined…!”
“I, too, am merely one of that person’s many servants.”
To Park Jin-tae, those words hit like a nuclear bomb dropped across the entire Korean peninsula.
If these two dragon-kin, who surpassed even National Power-class, were nothing more than ‘servants,’ then just what kind of godlike being was this ‘Life Ruined’ they served?
“U-um… I’m sorry, but….”
The president swallowed several times, stuttering without realizing it.
“If I may be so bold… could you possibly tell me what kind of person this ‘Life Ruined’ is?”
The moment the question was asked,
Yuhwa put on a deliberately serious expression and paused for a brief moment, as if deep in thought.
Then she swallowed hard.
“…?”
“…”
“Is… something wrong?”
Suddenly, Yuhwa’s shoulders began to tremble violently.
The confident demeanor she had maintained until now… seemed to shrink.
Like someone recalling a forbidden taboo, she answered in a tiny, creeping voice.
“Th-that… I cannot say.”
“Pardon?”
“They are… far too overwhelmingly powerful…. It terrifies me to even utter their name with my own mouth….”
“…!”
The president was stunned.
A dragon-kin with such overwhelming power was trembling like a leaf at the mere thought of this being!
“J-just how strong are they that you fear them this much?!”
At Park Jin-tae’s words, Yuhwa suddenly froze mid-sentence. She flinched and stared fixedly at a single point in the empty air.
As if exchanging glances with someone invisible….
Her lips were quivering.
“I-I’m sorry… I have spoken out of turn….”
Yuhwa muttered toward the empty space, then bowed her head deeply.
“No way…!”
When Park Jin-tae saw the scene and widened his eyes, reflexively preparing to react—
“Shh!”
Yuhwa shot him a sharp glare.
“Be silent. Unless you wish to offend their mood.”
At that single warning, the president clamped both hands over his mouth in terror.
He could only gasp, unable to make a single sound.
Yuhwa stared into the empty air with a rigid expression for a long while.
Then… she let out a deep sigh and relaxed her posture.
“Huu… I believe it is time for me to leave. Remaining here any longer would be unwise for both me and all of you.”
“Y-yes! I will escort you immediately! Please go safely!”
The president shot up from his seat, his face drenched in sweat.
As Yuhwa rose, she added one last remark.
“They said not to try to uncover their identity. If you become a nuisance… they do not know what they might do.”
“I will engrave it into my bones! I will immediately send official notices to the World Hunter Federation and every government agency! We will ensure no one investigates or tracks ‘Life Ruined’!”
Leaving behind the president’s desperate, life-on-the-line declaration, Yuhwa exited the reception room with a satisfied smile on her face.
“Yuhwa! You’ve worked so hard!”
As soon as she stepped out of the association’s main entrance, Han So-i, who had been waiting anxiously outside, ran over with a bright expression.
“By any chance… was that enormous commotion inside the association just now… your doing, Yuhwa?”
“It was. I merely broke one lump of iron.”
Yuhwa answered lightly and asked,
“So, what was your result?”
“Ah! You mean me?”
Han So-i beamed with joy and pulled out her newly issued hunter license.
Name:Han So-i
Rank:A-class
“I received A-class! And they said I’m in the upper ranks! This is all thanks to you evolving my spirit, Yuhwa. Thank you so much!”
Han So-i, who had jumped straight from perennial C-class to A-class in one go.
Her face was filled with the kind of joy that looked like she had conquered the world.
Watching her, Yuhwa let out a soft chuckle.
“I am glad.”
She was about to start walking again when—
“…”
Yuhwa suddenly stopped in her tracks.
Her gaze naturally drifted upward toward the clear blue sky.
“Yuhwa? What’s wrong?”
When Han So-i asked with a puzzled look, Yuhwa frowned without answering.
An unpleasant sensation prickled at her senses.
How to describe it… it felt like dimensions were being forcibly torn open, like space itself was screaming as it split apart?
‘So this is a gate.’
The information she had looked up on her smartphone back at Han So-i’s house came to mind.
When a Gate Break occurs, the metaphysical emotions and energies from within spill out into the real world.
That was exactly what she was feeling right now.
“So-i.”
“Yes! Please speak!”
“When a gate opens… does an alarm usually sound in advance?”
“Yes… well. Yes, it does.”
“But it is not perfect, correct?”
“That’s… right. There are times when it gets missed.”
“Hmm. Understood. In that case, we should report it, yes?”
Han So-i tilted her head, then nodded.
“Yes. Then make the report.”
“Pardon?”
“A gate is about to open.”
Her body was itching for action.