It Won't Stop Rising

Jisu looked into Chaerin's eyes.

There wasn't much different from before. Bright yellow irises, glittering like sunlight. If he had to pick out a difference, it was that her gaze today seemed to burn just a little hotter.

"Where's the raid taking place?"

"There's an uninhabited stretch not far from here. The Association manages it in secret."

"Is there a reason it has to be kept secret?"

Chaerin answered without the slightest hesitation.

"It's nothing. I just don't think it's time to go public yet. That's all."

The answer wasn't particularly satisfying, but he didn't press the point.

He turned his attention to the woman standing beside Chaerin. He remembered her from the duel — blonde hair tied neatly back, the kind ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of person who gave off a distinctly intellectual air.

"This is Seo Ayeon. S+ rank Hunter."

"A pleasure to work with you."

She offered her hand as she spoke, but her voice was completely flat. Jisu, who never put much stock in other people's attitudes, took it anyway.

"The pleasure's mine."

After the dry handshake, Chaerin took the lead. Ayeon fell in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠behind her as naturally as breathing. Like a shadow.

"Are we heading there now?"

"That's right."

"...We're not walking, are we?"

Chaerin paused at that, then picked up her pace without looking back.

"If that was meant to be a joke, I apologize. I don't care for humor."

It wasn't a joke, though...

"There's a helicopter on the roof. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠We'll be there in thirty minutes."

"...Ah."

Come to think of it, he'd ridden a helicopter the first time he'd come here, too — thrown into a raid without warning. Using a helicopter to get around. It was the kind of thing he'd only ever seen in movies, but it was no longer out of reach. If anything, it was becoming routine. Whether he wanted it or not — there was no going back to the life he'd had before.

So places like this exist in Korea, too.

Jisu looked out from the helicopter. He'd been told it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was remote, but this was genuinely dark — not a single light anywhere in sight. You'd expect at least some kind of military-looking building out here. There was nothing of the sort.

He turned back to look inside the cabin. Chaerin sat with her arms crossed, motionless as a statue. The only thing that proved she was a living, breathing human being was the thick veins standing out clearly along her forearms.

Ayeon wasn't any different. She sat staring at a point forty-five degrees below eye level, unmoving. In short, this was not a situation in which Jisu could just start asking questions.

I was going to try striking up a conversation, but there's no way I can do that right now.

Jisu let out a long sigh and pulled out his smartphone. He usually avoided doing this around other people, but—

Let's see.

Lately, checking Bitstorm had become a habit whenever he had a spare moment. He pulled up the major coins first.

Nothing noteworthy, as usual.

Then he checked Masterchef. The price was shifting a little, but it wasn't swinging wildly. Overall, though, it had ticked up slightly.

Still nothing from Wildcat?

No notifications from the group chat, so there probably weren't any messages. Wildcat had promised to give him a heads-up when it was time to sell.

That was when it happened.

"Hyun Jisu. You've got a rather refined hobby."

Jisu's entire nervous system short-circuited. He snatched the phone away and whipped his head around, hiding the screen as fast as a high schooler caught looking at something he shouldn't by his parents.

Chaerin was still sitting there, not moving a muscle.

"Bitcoin, is it? Well, I hear all the young people are into it these days."

She was talking like that when they were clearly around the same age. Jisu found it genuinely absurd, but he didn't let it show.

"Wait, uh... you know what Bitcoin is?"

He wasn't in much of a position to say this, but Chaerin was the textbook example of someone who looked like she'd have absolutely nothing to do with this kind of thing.

She didn't even turn her head.

"I didn't particularly want to."

She fell silent for a moment, then continued.

"I heard something about a coin related to the Hunter Association. Since I'm the president, I looked into it briefly — just to figure out what on earth that was supposed to mean."

"Ah... so something like that actually exists?"

"The Hunter Association doesn't do stupid things like that."

"Yeah, I suppose not."

Jisu let out a hollow laugh, more at himself than anything — he'd been the one to ask. What government agency would officially adopt this kind of cyber flea market, anyway? That was as far as the thought got.

......?

Then he remembered something Jihan had said a few days ago, over drinks. Bitcoin Hunter. BCH.

Didn't he say they were going to create a currency that hunter associations around the world could exchange freely, starting with the Korean Hunter Association — no middlemen? He said the government was backing it, so the Association President sitting right here should know about it... I could ask, but...

This wasn't really the situation for that.

"Something you want to ask?"

His heart jumped.

"No. Nothing in particular."

"..."

Jisu pressed a hand to his startled chest.

What, can this person's skill actually read minds? We're not even in a raid field. How is she using it?

There was no need to bring up Jihan right now. He didn't fully understand what was going on, and a careless word could end up actually hurting him. Jihan had always looked after him like an older brother, helping him in every way he could. The least Jisu could do was not hold him back.

"We'll be arriving shortly, President Chaerin."

"Good."

Ayeon's words brought the conversation to an immediate close.

Jisu looked around. It was even more remote than before — a place with not a single trace of human civilization.

They're holding a raid out here...

The one silver lining was that no reporter would bother coming all the way out here. Jisu had already been dragged through a bizarre news cycle and saddled with an embarrassing nickname. If he could handle this quietly, he had no reason to complain.

Chaerin and Ayeon climbed out of the helicopter and took up positions, as if preparing for something. Though calling it "preparation" felt a little generous. They were just standing there. Jisu wasn't sure what he was supposed to be doing.

He ventured a careful question.

"Is the raid opening here?"

"Just wait."

At Chaerin's words, Jisu looked over at Ayeon again. Her eyes were closed, and she was murmuring something under her breath — like a believer clutching a rosary, asking God for mercy before something momentous.

That was when it happened.

"Huh?"

"Get out of the way!"

BOOM!!

Jisu threw himself aside at Ayeon's shout. Right where he'd been standing, something like a giant fist erupted from the earth. The sight was utterly surreal.

"What the hell?"

"They can come up from the ground as well. A portal must have opened beneath the surface. Once they show themselves, that's when you attack!"

"R-right!"

This was a completely different person from the silent woman on the helicopter. Watching her take command of the battlefield with such charisma, Jisu could tell the title of Vice President of the Hunter Association hadn't been handed to her for nothing.

He quickly activated the miniature receiver.

"Seyeon, can you hear me?"

"Yeah! You couldn't detect it?"

"What? No, I don't think so..."

"Jisu!"

Ayeon's voice rang out again, and another fist punched up from the ground. The moment Jisu dodged, attacks started coming from all over. The earth shook without pause, as if an earthquake had hit.

Jisu felt a wave of relief. He'd been about to ask her to check the prices anyway. They were starting to get in sync.

A brief silence followed. Jisu was just starting to feel like he was finding his footing on the constantly shaking ground when—

"Yeah, that's right! Is something wrong?"

BOOM!

Jisu moved before he even thought about it. His body had felt the attack coming first.

"Get out of the—?"

"?"

This time, Ayeon's warning came late. She seemed to notice it too — a flicker of surprise crossing her face before her composure snapped back into place.

"They're about to show themselves! Please prepare for combat!"

"Got it!"

"It did? Check the price for me, quick!"

He could stand without shaking now. Had his body adapted? But there was something he'd forgotten. This was a raid field. Every action he took was governed by his stats.

"Yes! That's the one! What's the price!"

KRA-KOOOM!

At last, the monsters emerged from the earth. They were enormous and grotesque — the only word for them was abomination. They looked like someone had grabbed a lump of muddy clay, mashed it into a shape at random, and thrown it.

"Thirty-one won?"

How much did I buy it for?

Jisu started to think — but Seyeon's voice didn't give him a chance.

"...What?"

That was the moment. The instant he remembered what he'd paid for the coin, goosebumps began to prickle across his entire body.

I bought that...

He swallowed. His heart hammered in his chest, hard and fast — like a climber who'd finally hauled himself over the edge of a sheer cliff.

I bought it at 15 won.