A Variable That Should Not Exist
When someone born with talent desperately yearns for something and pours every ounce of effort into it, they are bound to achieve results. Lee Yeonhee had spent the last three days desperately practicing to shape her mana at her fingertips, recalling how Ilwol had manipulated his power. On the third day, she finally succeeded. A thread of mana rose from her finger and formed a small, stable circle.
"Whew... This is incredibly hard."
Shaping raw mana into a specific form without relying on a skill was normally impossible for ordinary hunters. It wasn't something you could copy and instantly master, yet she had done it in just three days. Of course, Ilwol's own talent that had allowed him to realize this principle on his own was on another level entirely, but she too deserved to be called a heaven-sent genius. What mattered was whether it could be done at all. Now that she had succeeded, her growth would surely accelerate.
She immediately tested the idea that had occurred to her on Wangwang.
"Woof?!"
Crackle—
The faint sphere of mana she created settled onto Wangwang's body. She grabbed the spot and shook it, but the mana clung as if glued there.
"Woof??"
"Hehe... I-it worked."
She was already beginning to glimpse new possibilities for summoners.
In an empty office, a man with slicked-back hair wearing a perfectly tailored dark blue suit rose smoothly from the floor. Even at the sudden appearance, Jo Giman showed no reaction whatsoever.
"This contains the latest data concerning Hunter Lee Yeonhee."
"......"
Jo Giman simply stared blankly at the file Jeong Ju-in had placed before him. Sensing that his boss was not himself, Jeong Ju-in waited silently for orders.
After a long time, Jo Giman's voice finally emerged—dry and ice-cold.
"Disappear."
"......Understood."
The leader of the White Knight Guild and Jeong Ju-in's direct superior was clearly furious. Why? He always reacted to any news about Lee Yeonhee... Jeong Ju-in knew better than anyone how special Lee Yeonhee was to Jo Giman. The reporting cycle for her movements was even shorter than for the Blue Eye organization that consumed most of his attention.
He became extremely sensitive after the report I submitted yesterday. Was there someone particularly important among them?
Jo Giman periodically handed over lists with orders to uncover every detail about the individuals on them. Yesterday, as usual, Jeong Ju-in had submitted several such reports.
As he sank back through the floor, Jeong Ju-in thought, I need to review the materials again. He wanted to identify immediately who had dared disturb the one he served.
Once Jeong Ju-in had vanished, Jo Giman, who had been staring vacantly into space, slowly regained focus. His muttering gradually grew louder.
"Why... why did Yoon Han-gyeol die...? Why the hell!!"
Only yesterday had Jo Giman learned of a variable that had never appeared in any of his six previous lives. Yoon Han-gyeol, who had always awakened in the spring of 2021 and lived as a hunter, had already died in 2020? And he had suddenly lost consciousness and collapsed a month ago? It made no sense.
No matter how much he thought about it, Jo Giman could not recall doing anything that might create such a variable. The current situation was incomprehensible.
"Damn it. Without Yoon Han-gyeol... what now? I'll have to reexamine every single plan..."
Crumple—
Without realizing it, he had crushed the report on Lee Yeonhee's movements. Irritation flared, and he hurled the documents to the floor.
"Fuck... Fuck!"
This was no time to worry about Lee Yeonhee. He needed to find a hunter who could replace Yoon Han-gyeol—or at least one whose sensory stats came close. Then he would bind that person to the guild and wait until they were properly seasoned.
"Jeong Ju-in, come up."
At Jo Giman's murmur, Jeong Ju-in rose from the floor once more.
"You called, Master?"
"Find one person. Someone who matches these conditions."
Jeong Ju-in accepted the memo Jo Giman had hastily written, bowed respectfully, and vanished immediately.
"Hoo— Yoon Han-gyeol, what in the world happened to you? You were supposed to die by my hand..."
Done. Preparations complete.
These two could be called my current trump cards, hehe—
I still didn't know their exact destructive power, but I could only hope I wouldn't need to use them anytime soon. Deploying these bombs would mean an unforeseen disaster had occurred. Unless an enemy on the level of the Fang monster or stronger appeared, they would likely remain unused.
Yeonhee, who had woken in the empty living room, walked out with small, sleepy steps.
"Ah, g-good morning?"
"Clack clack clack!!"
Why does she look so tired?
Aside from Yeonhee seeming a little exhausted, it was a perfectly ordinary morning. I listened to her shower, watched her eat, and... Bang— She still changed clothes inside her room.
"Shall we go?"
At her signal, I slipped into the Dark Space for a moment before being summoned back to the dungeon. The familiar landscape of the Lizardman Swamp filled my vision. Before me, Helen and Jin-gyeong—who looked as if she had aged five years—were sighing deeply.
It seemed the incident with the man named Hyun-seok had hit them hard.
Could Jin-gyeong have had feelings for that Hyun-seok guy...?
Despite standing with an expression like she'd lost the whole world, Jin-gyeong's mouth never stopped moving.
"Ah! Seriously, even thinking about it again pisses me off so much, sis. That bastard Jang Hyun-seok! He should have paid back the money before retiring!"
"......"
"Hyun-seok has always been bad with his head. What was he thinking, throwing everything into stocks and losing it all? Still, he's not the type to run off with the money, so don't worry too much, Jin-gyeong."
"Sis, one part of my chest hurts so bad. My ten million won... Sob... I called him this morning and he said he didn't have a single penny and basically told me to cut his stomach open if I wanted the money. I almost ran straight to the hospital to do it."
"Sigh... He always talks like that even though he doesn't mean it. Don't worry too much."
What did you see in that guy to lend him ten million won? Jin-gyeong, you really can't judge people at all.
I shook my head without thinking.
"The meeting point is two hundred meters along Course C from the entrance. No Hayun asked us to meet her there, right?"
"Yes... Let's go. It looks like we arrived first."
We headed straight for the appointed spot. It was unusual to meet along a hunting route instead of at the entrance, but the party simply found it odd and moved on.
At the same time, No Hayun was already waiting at the location. Her original plan had been to observe the summoner while progressing through the dungeon raid, but her thoughts had changed.
I can't hold it in any longer. I'm dying of curiosity.
No Hayun's interest in Lee Yeonhee—or more precisely, her summoned beast Ilwol—had begun with the dungeon break in Gochang-ro. It had been an early-stage break centered on low-level monsters like goblins.
No Hayun had yawned lazily as she slaughtered the creatures. Then the 'Speaker' in the center launched its attack, startling her into a retreat. Having lived a life of constant forward momentum, putting the gear in reverse for the first time left her pride badly wounded. As an ace of a prestigious guild, she charged back into the center to protect the weak and restore her dignity.
But upon re-entering the Spore Snail's poisonous mist, she tasted despair once again.
What... what is that...? That kind of monster... It's cheating! Total cheating!!
A creature that seemed impossible to defeat even if a hundred hunters with her stats gathered together was massacring people. Its long, blade-like claws sliced through hunters' torsos and arms as easily as cutting tofu. Its vertically stretching maw bit off the head of a terror-stricken hunter in one snap and crunched it down.
Kshaaaaah—!!
The monster threw its head back and roared like a scream. The moment the sound reached her, her body froze solid. She knew she had to run, yet she couldn't move a single step.
Slice— Slice—!
It was coming. The monster was clearly approaching her.
Tremble tremble tremble—
Thud—
When their eyes met at twenty meters, No Hayun collapsed to the ground without realizing it. Even so, her powerful mental strength desperately drew forth her mana.
However...
Stream— Stream—
While her mind remained strong, her honest body had already lost control. Yet she felt no shame. Instead, she imagined the ridiculous scene of the monster clicking its tongue at her pathetic state and simply passing by.
Seolchang... please...
Overcoming her terror, she finally manifested a massive ice spear above her palm. It was not merely large. The spear rippled with a soft blue glow across its surface, proudly displaying that she had reached the second stage of ice sorcery.
Growl?
The monster tilted its head as though sensing something ominous.
Believing it had noticed her attack, No Hayun immediately cast the skill.
Boom boom boom boom—
A lethal long-range strike born from overcoming fear. Speed, direction—everything was perfect.
Yet the monster swatted at it like an annoying mosquito near its ear and casually shattered the second-stage ice spear.
Crash—!!
"Ha... Haha...? No way... My attack... that easily?"
No Hayun let out a hollow laugh like a broken person, but her eyes remained fixed on the monster. It was terrifying beyond words, yet she resolved to at least curse it with her gaze until her final moment.
But the monster didn't spare her a single glance. Am I not even worth dealing with? Just a bug?
Only then did the sense of powerlessness hit her. Tears poured down her face.
At that exact moment, from the opposite side of where she lay, fist-sized stones flew in a barrage and exploded one after another around the monster.
...What? Reinforcements?
Could a high-ranking hunter have arrived? Anyone capable of launching that much firepower dozens of times in succession would have to be at least C-grade.
When the explosions finally subsided, someone burst through the poisonous mist and slammed straight into the monster's torso.