No Way That's Possible
While Daesung and the others were deep in heated discussion about the people and the Spirit King, a low whirring hum pierced the quiet skies above the junkyard. Whirrr— whirrr— thud thud thud thud— Two heavily armored helicopters roared in overhead.
Screeech—! Boom—!! Out on the narrow two-lane road in front of the junkyard, a dozen massive armored vehicles and black special task force vans slammed to a halt with screeching brakes.
"Everyone out! Maintain encirclement formation! Do not let any unidentified entities inside escape!!"
Vehicle doors flew open like they might shatter, and elite agents from the Special Disaster Management Bureau—fully geared in tactical equipment—poured out, leveling their weapons at the junkyard's front gate in unison. A-rank hunters dispatched by the government at their urgent request had drawn their weapons too, radiating killing intent.
"Commence entry! Entry now!"
Boom—! The junkyard's shutter exploded inward, revealing the interior.
"Alpha Team, entry complete!! Survivors spotted!!"
Caught off guard by the sudden chaos, Daesung and the group just stared blankly at the scene.
"Wh-what the hell!?"
They looked like special forces. Why are they storming my place?
"Wh-what is this? What do you think you're doing breaking into someone else's home!?"
But despite my shouts, the intruders ignored me, chattering into their radios among themselves.
"Survivors look fine!! No other unusual entities inside!"
What the fuck are they talking about?
That's when Baek Hayeon muttered from beside me.
"C-could it be… the government's disaster detection system picked it up…?!"
"What do you mean?"
Seo Ara jumped in hurriedly to explain. "It's not that. Spirits, unless they're bound in a contract under the hunter system, are basically just mana clusters themselves… in other words, classified as monsters!"
"Monsters?!"
Which meant…? The Wind Spirit King Eriel had just descended to Earth in a wild state right before contracting with me. So the government's mana detection system must've registered that massive Spirit King's aura as an unknown monster outbreak and sent this whole force barreling in.
"Judging by the Spirit King's energy earlier… the government might've pegged it as an S-rank or higher disaster-level boss monster."
"Ah, shit… so what now? Do we have to cooperate with an investigation or something?"
My head was already pounding from worrying about roof repairs, and now I had to deal with state military intervention on top of it.
"Director, calm down. Isn't that why you contracted with me? To have a shield like this for times like these."
Baek Hayeon straightened her clothes and stood up.
"You and the others stay back, Director. I'll handle this and be right back."
She strode confidently to the junkyard shutter and stepped outside. I snuck up behind her to peek out.
"Survivors, it's dangerous! Get over here quick!… Huh?!"
The on-site commander from the Special Disaster Management Bureau, megaphone in hand mid-warning, faltered with a squeak. The agents with guns trained on us and the government hunters all widened their eyes at the blonde beauty emerging through the dust cloud.
"Huh? Roijir Guild's Guild Master Baek Hayeon?!"
"Wh-why is she at a junkyard like this…?!"
As the flustered commander lowered his megaphone, Baek Hayeon flashed a relaxed smile and raised her hand.
"Everyone, lower your weapons! Please don't attack!"
"G-Guild Master! We just detected an unknown mana surge here far exceeding S-rank! Could there be a transcendent-grade monster inside…?!"
"Monster? Oh, is that what this is about!?"
"Pardon? Do you know something?"
Baek Hayeon smiled and held up her spirit communication resonance stone.
"That mana wave just now? It was a little mishap during resonance training with the new spirits I recruited. I guess I haven't perfected my power control yet, so some mana leaked out."
"An… accident? That insane surge was from your training, Guild Master?!"
"Yes. You should've gotten reports about me being on the cusp of breaking through to S-rank, right?"
Under her commanding presence, the commander and agents just exchanged awkward glances, dumbfounded. Of course, it was highly suspicious. No way a single spirit user's mana surge could produce something that massive. But there were no visible threatening monsters in front of them, and above all, no field agents could ignore the political clout and authority of Korea's 11th-ranked guild master.
"…Haa. Understood. No other threats visible, and your identity checks out, so we'll withdraw. But you'll need to come in for questioning."
"Of course. Gotta cooperate after causing a stir like this."
"Expect a hefty fine too."
"Can't be helped. Hehe."
"Haa… Please file proper reports next time and proceed carefully. This is really troublesome."
"I'll keep that in mind."
If it weren't for Baek Hayeon, we'd probably be in cuffs right there. As expected of a hunter on the verge of S-rank.
"All units, situation terminated. S-rank hunter training incident…"
The commander saluted with a uneasy look and turned to leave—
"Kyaa, kyaAAAAH!!"
A woman's ear-splitting scream erupted from the rear of the unit. The withdrawing agents and hunters jolted in shock, swinging weapons toward the sound.
"What happened?! Enemy ambush?!"
But where the scream came from, there was no monster—just a ponytail-wearing woman who looked like a government-affiliated dispatched hunter, collapsed on the ground trembling.
"Wh-wh-what is that!?"
Her finger pointed straight at me, peeking out from the busted building interior.
"Hm? Me?"
"Yes! You! What the hell are you!?"
The commander swung his gun toward me and barked.
"The person singled out, step forward now!"
What the…? Dumbfounded, I clicked my tongue and walked out.
"What is this about?"
The commander turned to Baek Hayeon. "Who is this guy?"
"He's our guild's repair director. You've probably never heard of him since we just recruited him."
"Ah, I see. Still, procedure requires—Hunter Song Soeun, come here."
Song Soeun? Luckily, she was in my mental hunter roster. One of Korea's state-affiliated special hunters, an A-rank Beast Master. A rare class that empathizes with wild animals instead of monsters and tames them as familiars. She'd appeared in a few ads with her beasts, so she was pretty famous.
Song Soeun approached and gawked at me.
"Y-you…! What the hell are you?!?"
"What do you mean, 'what am I'? Just the junkyard owner…?"
"N-no!! No way!! There's no way you're just some normal junkyard owner!!"
At her side loomed a massive Golden Retriever and a sharp-eyed eagle perched on her shoulder. But right now, those two beasts were huddled behind her, whimpering and leaking piss in fear. The retriever covered its nose with its paws, shaking violently, while the raptor had folded its wings flat to the ground, beak dipped low in submission.
The moment I saw their bizarre reaction, a hypothesis flashed in my mind.
Wait a sec.
From all those fantasy tropes I'd devoured. Beast Masters handle natural animals. And animals are innately sensitive to hierarchies. Especially to the apex predator at the top of all natural food chains.
No way… they sniffed out that I'm a dragon?!
But I couldn't just blurt out that I was a dragon. I doubled down on the brazen act, playing dumb.
"Jeez, really. What's with this girl making me feel creeped out? Did I abuse animals or something?"
At my outburst, Baek Hayeon and Seo Ara rushed over to mediate.
"Hunter Song Soeun, calm down. This is our Roijir Guild's repair director. Seems like a big misunderstanding…"
"No, Guild Master! This guy's weird!! Look! My babies are terrified, shaking like this! They don't even flinch in front of S-rank monsters!"
They looked like cute pets, but those animals were actually A-rank-plus combat beasts fattened on her mana. For them to piss themselves at a mere human's glance? Utterly illogical.
But I had a solid shield of authority.
"Man, I have no clue what you're on about! Situation's cleared up—get the hell off my private property!"
I bellowed, shooing Song Soeun away harshly. Baek Hayeon fixed the commander with an icy glare.
"You're upsetting the repair director. Pull your forces back now."
"Ah… Yes, ma'am! Hunter Song, get in the vehicle! Don't piss off someone important for no reason!"
In the end, Song Soeun grudgingly scooped up her trembling pets, shot me one last suspicious glance, and climbed into the armored car. The armed forces ebbed away like the tide, and silence returned to the alley.
Whew, that was close. Wild animals can sense a dragon's presence, huh? Gotta be careful.
Thanks to Baek Hayeon's political pull and status, the national emergency from the Spirit King's descent got swept under the rug as a mere guild master training flub.
Meanwhile, in the departing vehicle.
Song Soeun stewed in serious thought.
No way, absolutely no way he's normal. My babies don't freak out like that!
A situation she'd never encountered before. She had to resolve this mystery.
"Commander."
He turned at her call. "Yes? Hunter Song Soeun."
"You know that perk state hunters get? The one letting us join other guilds temporarily to gain experience."
"Ah, the temporary external dispatch authorization?"
"Yes! That one! I can use that, right?"
"Of course. Someone of your caliber? Guilds would be fighting to have you… Why? Got a dispatch in mind?"
"No, that's all. Thanks for letting me know."
"No problem."
A smile crept across Song Soeun's lips.
I see. So that's how it is?