The Rescue
Honestly, right up until the moment they slapped cuffs on both my wrists and bound my body, I assumed my life would always spiral into misfortune.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“......”
“I’m so sorry. I completely misunderstood and—”
But after my ability activated on its own once again, the female hunter who had been radiating a terrifying aura suddenly broke into a cold sweat and released my restraints.
The moment I was freed, I tried to breathe a sigh of relief, but her hand suddenly moved toward my face.
“D-don’t touch me!”
“Ah.”
“It hurts…”
She had only meant to brush the dirt from my hair, but I reflexively knocked her hand away and curled into a ball.
Ah, right. I don’t have that incurable disease anymore.
The lingering trauma from years of excruciating pain whenever something touched my skin had caused me to overreact.
“I-I’m sorry…”
“Ah…”
I quickly bowed my head in apology, but the female hunter—who had been blankly rubbing her hand—grew even paler.
“Seong-a, you can’t just reach out like that.”
“…It was my mistake.”
When the middle-aged hunter who seemed to be her senior scolded her, I looked up at them for a moment before gathering my courage to speak.
“Um… excuse me.”
“Y-yes?”
“Thank you for releasing me.”
A brief silence followed.
“No, it’s us who should apologize.”
“We’re the ones who are sorry…”
In that silence, the eyes of both hunters as they looked down at me gradually darkened.
“To think it really was a nine-year-old child…”
“……?”
“And such a good kid, at that… Damn those cult bastards.”
What exactly had they seen when my ability activated earlier to make their attitudes shift so drastically? Whatever it was, it was a frightening power in its own way.
“Um, so…”
While I was thinking that, the clearly nervous female hunter hesitantly spoke up.
“You can speak casually to me!”
“Huh? Oh, right…”
To ease her tension, I told her it was fine to drop the formal speech. Even though she stammered even more, she managed to introduce herself in a trembling voice.
“First, my name is Do Seong-a. I’m a state-affiliated hunter.”
“Seong-a…?”
“Just call me Seong-a Noona.”
Do Seong-a. I knew that name to some extent. She was one of Korea’s promising talents who had become an A-grade hunter at a very young age—someone my younger sibling had often been compared to. It felt strange to meet in person a face I had only seen in newspapers or on the internet.
“Go on, try saying it.”
Still, calling her “Noona” felt a little ticklish given my current appearance. But since she had been older than me even before I became like this, it was probably fine.
“S-Seong-a Noona.”
“Yes, yes, that’s it…”
After a moment of hesitation, I called her name in an embarrassed voice. She smiled as if I had done something praiseworthy, then scratched her head and asked,
“Hmm… What should we call you?”
“Uh…”
I hesitated to answer the simple question and averted my gaze.
“I… I’m not sure.”
“Hmm?”
“I’m sorry.”
Since things had turned out this way, I wanted to hide my past identity and start a new life. I also didn’t want to burden my sibling any further after they had taken care of me my entire life.
“In this situation, you…”
“Ah, um… I’m sorry.”
“Sigh, step aside.”
When I kept fumbling for words, the middle-aged man suddenly stepped in front of me and spoke instead.
“Hello? Is it okay if Uncle asks you a few questions?”
“Y-yes.”
“Alright, then… First. You’re nine years old, correct?”
Nine? Was he talking about me? Well, I did look this young, so the misunderstanding was understandable.
“Actually, I’m not nine.”
“Hmm?”
“I’m nineteen.”
Figuring an explanation was necessary, I put on a serious expression and began.
“Why do you think that? Mind if I ask?”
“Because I really am nineteen.”
“Hmm… I see?”
I had spent most of my time bedridden in a hospital room and had fallen unconscious so often that my sense of time was warped, but I still remembered my real age.
“The doctors and nurses all said so before the surgery. So I’m probably nineteen.”
After I finished explaining and stared at them blankly, a heavy, ominous atmosphere suddenly filled the air.
Crack.
The middle-aged hunter who had spoken to me so kindly now had a terrifying scowl on his face as he ground his teeth.
“Those sons of bitches… what the hell did they do to a kid…”
“…Senior.”
“Damn it…”
Seong-a Noona, who was gripping his shoulder to calm him down, had also gone cold again, just like before.
“Are you okay?”
“…Huh? Oh, yeah. I’m fine.”
“It’s nothing.”
I was a little startled, but seeing how they quickly smoothed out their expressions at the sound of my voice, it seemed I hadn’t said anything wrong.
“Anyway, I’m nineteen. After undergoing some kind of surgery, I woke up like this.”
“……”
“Luckily, I became friends with Wolfgell and have been under his care until now.”
Gathering my courage again, I carefully watched their reactions and gave them more accurate information. However—
“Then do you remember your identity from when you were nineteen?”
“Ah, that’s…”
The male hunter’s follow-up question left me speechless once more.
“I… I can’t remember it well.”
“……”
“I don’t really recall anything from the past…”
Come to think of it, hiding my original identity meant I should have lied about my age. I couldn’t back out and say it was a lie now. What should I do?
“Post-traumatic stress disorder, dissociative disorder… This is a total mess.”
“…If he didn’t have those self-defense mechanisms, he probably wouldn’t have survived this long.”
The mood had grown strange. As I fidgeted nervously, the two hunters who had been whispering with serious expressions turned back to me.
“Okay, so you’re nineteen. Noona will remember that for sure.”
“Y-yes.”
“But the bad guys might come after you again, so for now let’s say you’re nine. Got it?”
From the way she spoke, it seemed like she didn’t fully believe me. Still, pretending to accept my words made them incredibly kind people.
“Hey, want to go somewhere safe with Uncle and Noona?”
“Pardon?”
“If you agree, this Noona here will become your guardian.”
The tempting offer they so readily gave me made my eyes fly wide open.
If I’m protected by the Hunter Association, at least I won’t have to worry about dying.
The world was a dangerous place. A child like me needed a safe nest. And the Korean Hunter Association was one of the safest places in the country, so I naturally welcomed the idea.
“S-Senior?”
“Seong-a, if you made a mistake, you have to take responsibility.”
“…Understood.”
I was watching with an expectant expression when Seong-a Noona, who had been talking with her senior again, suddenly met my eyes.
“Would it be okay if I became your guardian, little one?”
After a moment of apparent hesitation, she crouched down to meet my eye level and asked with an awkward smile.
“Is that really okay with you… Noona?”
“Hmm?”
Honestly, I wanted to accept immediately. But I hesitated, worried I might be obstructing the promising future of a hunter who had only just become an adult and still needed more real combat experience.
“Someone like me… you don’t have to protect me.”
When I muttered that while looking down, Seong-a Noona’s eyebrows suddenly drooped.
“It’s fine, so please let me take responsibility, okay?”
She carefully extended her hand to me. Unlike her earlier flustered state, her expression was now incredibly serious.
I guess I have no choice.
At this point, accepting the offer made more sense than blindly refusing.
“I’ll be counting on you from now on, little one.”
After some hesitation, I finally took her hand. Seong-a Noona shook it with a bright smile.
“B-but… I have one request.”
“…A request?”
It was like throwing cold water on the warm atmosphere, but I still watched their reactions and spoke up again.
“Please protect Wolfgell over there too!”
Since the 2nd-grade magic beast Wolfgell, who had been growling with killing intent behind us, had now withdrawn his hostility and become my friend, he needed protection as well.
“Senior Agent of the Korean Hunter Association Gang Tae-geon and Trainee Agent Do Seong-a, thank you for your hard work.”
“Yes, you all did well too.”
“We will now take over the scene cleanup.”
About thirty minutes later, the two A-grade hunters had handed over the situation to the follow-up team that arrived at the now-cleared D-Sector Area 3 and were on their way back.
“Still, it’s fortunate there were no civilian casualties.”
“A lot of Rebirth Cult researchers died, though?”
“Are those bastards even human?”
At Do Seong-a’s icy remark as they headed toward the vehicle bound for the Korean Hunter Association, Gang Tae-geon frowned for a moment.
“Ah, right. They’re not human.”
Normally he would have scolded her for her problematic words and personality, but this time he simply scratched his head and muttered.
“By the way, that magic beast isn’t showing any signs of attacking.”
“Yeah, strange…”
Their attention shifted to the 2nd-grade magic beast Wolfgell, who remained docile even while the tense cleanup team ran various tests on him.
“Don’t tell me… the kid tamed him?”
“Normally I would have dismissed that as impossible, but…”
Then their gazes moved again—to the incredibly cute child sleeping soundly in the back seat of the sedan.
“No matter how I think about it, that’s the only explanation.”
“How is something like this even possible?”
While both the elite among elites Do Seong-a and the veteran with countless field experiences Gang Tae-geon were lost in doubt over this unbelievable fact—
“Senior, look at this.”
“Hmm?”
“The very last field in the identity information.”
Do Seong-a, who had been examining the retrieved identity analysis device again, had discovered information they had missed earlier due to the situation.
The moment the two hunters saw that information, a new question inevitably rose in their minds.
“The recording device isn’t broken, is it…?”
“No way. Just to be sure, we checked both my information and yours earlier.”
In all the skills reported to the academic world so far, not a single one had its information obscured like this.
“Then…”
“Of course we’ll need to run a proper measurement, but…”
The meaning behind this fact was singular.
“…There is a possibility that this is the first tamer in history—a skill that doesn’t even exist in the skill encyclopedia.”
A heavy silence hung inside the sedan for a while.
“The higher-ups are going to flip when they hear this.”
“Indeed.”
“Sigh…”
Gang Tae-geon, sensing that things were about to get complicated, closed his eyes tightly before glancing back.
“The real problem is the child’s condition…”
Do Seong-a, who had also turned around, looked at the mysterious little boy she would now be responsible for protecting from today onward.
Snore… snore…
“In this rotten world, I wonder if that child’s heart can avoid getting hurt any further.”
Do Seong-a, who had been quietly watching him, felt a heavy sense of responsibility at her senior’s words and answered.
“…I will do my best, Senior.”
At the same time, the sedan’s engine started, and it sped out of D-Sector Area 3, racing toward the Korean Hunter Association.
Tutorial Quest Complete
D-Sector Area 3 2nd-Grade Magic Beast Outbreak Resolved (1/1)
Reward: A Place to Stay and a Guardian
Thanks to Do Seong-a’s help, I finished a simple examination and the moment I got into the car heading to the Korean Hunter Association, I fell fast asleep. Unlike the sleep induced by anesthetics I was used to, it had been a long time since I had fallen asleep purely from exhaustion.
“Mmm…?”
How much time had passed? When I opened my eyes again at some unknown presence, what I saw was—
“Whoa, he’s awake.”
“R-really?”
“Wow… he’s so cute.”
Female hunters surrounding me as I lay on an expensive-looking sofa, their eyes sparkling with curiosity.
“Oh, you’re awake?”
I had frozen at the sudden crowd when a welcome voice came from the side.
“S-Seong-a Noona.”
“Yes, yes. Just wait a moment, okay?”
She gave me a bright smile and a wink, then turned to the crowd with an utterly expressionless face.
“Stop staring and get back to work.”
With those words, the crowd that had gathered around me vanished in an instant.
“Welcome to the Korean Hunter Association.”
She let out a quiet sigh, then turned back to me with a gentle smile.
“Let me introduce myself again. I’m Trainee Agent Do Seong-a, and I’ll be your guardian from now on.”
“Um…”
“You can ignore them. They’re my colleagues…”
Having noticed the glances still secretly directed at me, she added while breaking into a cold sweat.
“Anyway, you can stay here comfortably for the time being.”
“……”
“This is just temporary lodging, so I’ll find you a proper place soon.”
Only then did I take a proper look around. A very comfortable space filled with magnificent facilities and equipment spread out before me. But the layout felt somewhat private…
Tutorial Quest Step 2
📍 Objective: Become the Mascot of the Female Hunter Lounge (0/1)
⏳ Duration: During the Temporary Protection Period
⭐ Difficulty: Low
🎁 Reward: ???
While I was pondering that, a new quest appeared before my eyes, and I immediately understood why.
“If anyone bothers you, you have to tell me right away, okay?”
It seemed my ability, unlike Seong-a Noona, had no intention of letting me rest quietly.