Chapter 70
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 70
Chapter Title: Mary
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Typically, Otherworlders have something called a "batch."
It's kind of like a college student's class year or a training cohort.
People thrown into this unfamiliar world around the same time get grouped together for training and adaptation, forming a single batch.
On average, a new batch emerges every three months.
We became colleagues simply because we'd all arrived at around the same time.
We trained together, adapted to this world side by side, and found comfort in each other.
It's a different vibe now.
These days, with the Association's fully established system and all sorts of protocols, things feel a bit more rigid and impersonal.
Just look at Seol Yu-wol—her connections with other Otherworlders have dwindled.
Anyway, that's how it was back then.
Seol Yu-wol's batch was probably 31-3.
The third batch of 2031.
And I was... 25-4.
I'd crossed over during that transitional period when systems were starting to take shape but everything was still chaotic—a living fossil, you could say.
And then.
From that era.
One of my batchmates.
Mary.
She was the one stepping out of the dungeon on TV right now.
Back then, batch 25-4 was called the Golden Batch.
It was packed with exceptionally talented Otherworlders.
They said even the weakest could hold their own as A-rank Hunters—an unprecedented pool of talent.
Truth be told, that's partly why I got into Haetae Guild so easily.
Back then, guilds would scoop up anyone from the Golden Batch without asking questions.
I signed the contract in a frenzy, too.
Though in the end, I feel bad for Team Leader Wi Jae-wan...
Looking back now, out of everyone in 25-4, I was the only dud.
At least as a combat operative.
I hear most of the others have settled in perfectly by now.
A-rank Hunters at minimum. Top aces in major guilds if they really made it big.
And among those batchmates, the two shining brightest were right there on the TV screen.
Mary. And Choi Si-hyeok.
Choi Si-hyeok and I weren't that close, but I was at least friends with Mary.
Or at least, that's how I saw it.
We naturally drifted apart once we each went our separate ways to our guilds and got busy.
We never fully lost touch, but distance has a way of creeping in that words can't quite capture.
I just stared at her face on the screen—the face of someone who'd become a person from a completely different world than mine now.
But then I shook my head.
Sure, it was once the position I dreamed of... but now, I'm okay with it.
I've decided to do what I can.
"Hey, buddy."
I called out to the system.
[Yes! You called?]
"You remember her, right?"
[!]
[Of course! Mary Hunter, your batchmate!]
She was actually the first person to experience my raw, unrefined abilities.
Back then, I couldn't even tell good choices from bad—I just followed whatever she said.
Lots of options I'd reject now.
Luckily, the outcomes were positive from my perspective.
That's where my trust in the current system comes from.
Mary's an Otherworlder, but...
Her original world was a bit unique.
Or rather, unfortunate.
Either way, it couldn't have been easy for her.
- Ding.
A message arrived then.
[Jin Sea]: Seon-woo, sorry. Dungeon break alert just went out—we're on call.
[Jin Sea]: Catch you later.
Jin Sea had messaged me too.
I'd half-expected this ever since seeing the disaster alert earlier.
Mana backlash almost always follows a dungeon clear.
The scale depends on the dungeon's rank.
Other dungeons can react to that massive mana surge and collapse.
Or field beasts might stir and charge into the city.
So the standard protocol is for nearby guild Hunters to go on standby.
[Yoo Seon-woo]: Got it, good luck. No need to reply.
Jin Sea's probably swamped right now.
I kept my reply short.
"Ugh."
Standby duty. Hate even thinking about it.
Good thing I'm not a Hunter anymore.
Time to focus on my own work.
I sat at the counseling office desk and launched the new remote consultation program.
But.
There was one thing I hadn't considered.
"...Ah."
If all the Hunters are on standby...
Who's going to book a session?
It'll be hours at least before things settle.
Maybe the whole day.
"..."
Suddenly, it was like I had a day off...
But I couldn't just be thrilled about it.
If there's no work...
I'll prepare.
Spending months away from home, dancing on the edge of life and death, is never easy.
Mentally or physically.
When the body tires, the mind crumbles in an instant.
A good chunk of those folks will probably knock on my door soon.
I resolved to make the best preparations I could for them.
"Time to grab some files."
I stood up to research similar cases.
Heading to the Association's archive room.
"..."
Of course, if they're all fine, that'd be even better...
But the one knocking on my door...
I hoped it wasn't Mary.
She was my proud batchmate.
I just wanted her to be safe.
That was my small wish as her fellow batchmate.
The mana backlash from a dungeon clear.
Once it dies down, the first thing to watch is the epicenter.
A new, unpredictable dungeon could open there, or another dimensional transfer might occur.
So even Haetae's emergency reserve, Jin Sea, headed that way.
To Jin Sea, the site already looked mostly wrapped up.
Haetae's follow-up team was helping out the exhausted lead members, who were stumbling from the rubble.
But none of them looked good.
'...What's going on?'
No visible wounds.
Not just wounds—their gear and weapons were in great shape too.
Impressively intact for an S-rank dungeon.
But their eyes were all glazed over.
Lifeless, hollow... deeply sunken.
More mental exhaustion than physical.
Even the rushed medical team shook their heads.
No injuries to treat.
Yet the Hunters' conditions were clearly off.
Then.
One person caught Jin Sea's eye.
"..."
Unlike the others, standing alone without support.
Mysterious pale purple hair that shifted colors like the aurora depending on the light.
And someone Jin Sea knew.
Yoo Seon-woo's old batchmate. Haetae Guild Hunter.
Mary.
She looked virtually unscathed among them.
But right then.
A Hunter trudging toward the medics froze behind her, eyes locked on her.
Staring piercingly for a few seconds...
Then he lunged at Mary.
"Grab him!!!"
A desperate shout echoed across the site.
But Mary just turned her head.
- Thud!
With a single gesture, she slammed the charging Hunter into the ground.
Pinning an A-rank Hunter with one hand.
"Kill the cameras! Now!"
Vice Master Haewang Kang Min-ho bellowed at the reporters with their cameras up.
Jin Sea watched the chaos impassively.
The man's eyes were definitely crazed.
Drool dripping from his mouth.
Something was definitely wrong.
Haetae hadn't cleared the dungeon cleanly.
Then.
Jin Sea's eyes met Mary's in midair.
Mary flashed a bright smile at her.
As if the man who'd just charged her was no big deal.
Like it was routine.
And she bowed politely.
Jin Sea returned the bow in kind.
That seemed to be it.
But Mary slowly approached Jin Sea.
Jin Sea didn't dodge.
Mary stopped right in front of her.
Their distance less than an arm's length.
Finally, she asked softly.
"How's... Seon-woo doing?"
The first thing Mary asked Jin Sea up close was about Yoo Seon-woo's well-being.
No greetings. No introductions.
Jin Sea's lips curved slightly.
"Too well."
She added in a gentle tone.
"Especially these past few months."
To Jin Sea, always.
Every time.
Mary had been the most annoying, grating presence.
The first woman Seon-woo met in this world.
Someone who knew parts of Seon-woo's past that she didn't.
So from the moment Jin Sea started cherishing Yoo Seon-woo.
Mary's mere existence had been a thorn.
But.
That passed in a flash.
Ancient history now.
The time Mary and Yoo Seon-woo shared was shorter than the time he'd spent with Jin Sea now.
Jin Sea was certain.