Chapter 13
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 013
Chapter Title: Second Summon (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
A strange sea otter doll was in the middle of pilfering(?) the magic stone from the living room.
The dim dawn light filtering through the window made the scene even more awkward.
For a moment, Jeong-woo's mind went blank. Then he found the answer to this unprecedented situation in his status window log.
Slot 2 unlocked: You have acquired Sea Otter Archmage (S).
Sea Otter Archmage (S) has been summoned!
'Ah, the quest must've cleared while I was asleep.'
He'd apparently slept like a log afterward, oblivious to the automatic summon.
Jeong-woo examined the sea otter's appearance.
'Archmage? A magic-type summon?'
From the pointed hat on down, its outfit was blatantly wizardly.
Just like with the Teddy Warrior, it looked like nothing more than a giant, silly toy outside of combat. Especially now, as it flailed desperately to stuff the special magic stone into its clam doll.
Pop! Pop! Pop!
No matter how much it had been processed, the special magic stone was still huge.
It was just a bit smaller than a kid's head, and its smooth surface made it impossible to lodge properly in the clam doll's mouth.
Yet the sea otter kept grunting away, determined to make it work somehow.
Jeong-woo watched quietly for a bit before asking,
"Want me to help?"
It happened right then.
Pop...
The sea otter hugged the clam doll and magic stone tight, hiding them from Jeong-woo's view.
Its eyes were like tiny slits, impossible to read.
But it was clear enough that this was its way of saying, 'This is mine.'
A realization dawned on him.
'Summons all have different personalities. Doesn't seem like a strict hierarchy like with regular summons.'
He could probably force it away if he wanted, but Jeong-woo gave up.
'It'd drop rapport.'
Rapport was one of the invisible metrics that boosted a summon's stats.
It was a proven theory, so why fight it?
Since this sea otter seemed to like clams and stones despite its grand title, better to just let it play.
'Sea otters get depressed if you take away their favorite rock, right?'
That was his rough understanding.
That's when it happened.
"Mmm..."
"Ah, Segi woke up?"
Segi toddled out into the living room, rubbing her eyes.
She stared blankly ahead... and froze solid.
Clunk!
Segi's eyes blinked.
Her unfocused, dazed gaze sparkled to life, filling with wonder.
Her mouth gaped wide.
"Sea otter...?"
Pop?
"Sea otter! Sea otter! Sea otter!"
Pop!?
"So cute!!!"
Segi dove into a frenzy of excitement and charged at the sea otter.
The giant sea otter doll, topped with its wizard hat and plopped right there, had apparently gone straight to her head.
Without a hint of suspicion, she barreled toward it in pure delight and leaped.
The sea otter caught her bottom to keep her from slipping, cradling the squealing girl who buried her face in its chest like the most precious treasure.
And then, it even handed over the magic stone it'd cherished so dearly.
The difference in treatment was obvious.
'It was so guarded when I tried to touch the stone.'
A heartwarming sight, and valuable info.
'It prioritizes Segi, too.'
Whether due to his aptitude or something else, the Sea Otter Archmage—like the Teddy Warrior—ranked Segi extremely high in priority.
His suspicions edged closer to certainty.
'As I thought...'
This Perfect Parent (L) aptitude.
It felt like an ability focused more on Segi than on him.
A stretch maybe, but the fact that it'd summoned a sea otter—the very one Segi had been singing about—didn't seem like coincidence.
Just what was this aptitude, anyway?
The question resurfaced once more, only to loop back to the issue at hand.
Jeong-woo's head tilted.
'So, what can it do?'
The hunter interface was notoriously unhelpful—aside from names and categories, users had to figure everything out themselves. No quick way to check this.
He'd analyze it step by step later. For now,
"Segi, time to get ready for daycare."
"Yeah! What about sea otter?"
"It has to help Daddy with work."
"Whoa! Good sea otter!!!"
Pop!
Time to start the workday.
The Anomalous Disaster Response Agency headquarters was the hottest topic in the hunter world right now.
For two reasons.
First, Korea's very first native-born S-Rank hunter had made it his nest.
Second, his actions since settling in were outrageously bold.
From the outside, all sorts of rumors flew.
Some said his orphan background made him hate monsters so fiercely that he'd joined to wipe them out.
Others claimed he'd schemed his way into sucking up corporate magic stones without tax worries.
Not that? Maybe his birth parents who abandoned him worked there, and he was infiltrating for revenge—baseless gossip galore.
This chatter stood out especially in hunter communities that required verification to join.
Agency's set for life now. Their rep's blown up thanks to it.
Kya~ As expected of Jeongwoo-hamssi~
Internally, it's gotta be a headache. Some total outsider parachutes in as top brass—mountains to teach, right?
For real lol
"Introducing our new colleague starting today, Shin Jeong-woo. Jeong-woo Deputy Manager, please introduce yourself... Don't be nervous, we'll all report to Vice Manager Shin Jeong-woo from now on..."
Jeongwoo-ham wouldn't screw up something like that. Those guys grumbling "failed the paper test" behind his back lol
Stick to managing your guild. Always teetering on the edge of red ink.
Yes sir, ^PaperFail^ ^GoddessOfGates^ ^Big3GuildsLol^ ^^7
(Comment deleted for violating community rules.)
Geun-ho's the top dog here... Can't even S-Rank touch him lol
Skill at skirting rules and poking without drawing blood is already S-Rank;;
He didn't bother with the nonsense rumors, but their practical guesses were reasonable enough.
He boosted the agency's standing with raw combat power, but he'd stir up noise in admin work—that was a gripe anyone who'd dealt with hunter paperwork could relate to deeply.
Still, rumors being what they were, the odds of any reflecting reality were slim to none.
Those actually watching Jeong-woo handle his duties—like the agency's command staff—spent their days in awe.
Lunchtime.
As the command staff sat cozily finishing their meals and sipping coffee, Administrative Officer Chae Da-ye spoke up.
"That guy's living his second life, right?"
"Out of nowhere?"
"No, his paperwork's too clean. Processes stuff several times faster than anyone. And he barely even needs to learn."
"Ah, yeah, that's true."
She wasn't exaggerating.
It'd been just over a week since Jeong-woo started, but something special was already obvious.
Hunter paperwork was notoriously finicky, full of nitpicky details due to complex regs.
A total newbie needed at least six months to get comfortable; even academy grads struggled through a full quarter.
Yet Jeong-woo adapted on day one.
Not fumbling cluelessly, but like he just needed to adjust to the agency's specific ways.
Unable to wrap her head around it, Da-ye had casually asked why he picked it up so fast.
His answer?
-I studied.
Short and utterly unsatisfying.
But doubting it changed nothing.
Of course. Too young for prior hunter experience, and his background was squeaky clean.
End result: "Shin Jeong-woo's a second-life hunter." A guess so spot-on yet unbelievable that even the speaker dismissed it.
Data Division's Joo Gi-yoon chuckled, adjusting his glasses.
"Good for us, right? Like the community's saying, he'll be our boss soon enough."
"True. S-Rank, killer performance already, and the Director's taking personal reports—clearly grooming him."
Audit Officer Pyo Haeng-seo, chomping chicken breast, chimed in.
"Finally filling the deputy spot? Director's hated nagging so much he left it empty forever."
"Please. Please."
Murder flashed in Da-ye's eyes.
"Every time we report paperwork to the Director, watching him slack off boils my blood. I'd rather Jeong-woo shoots straight to Director and gets these damn approvals on time! On time! Please!"
She vented her long-pent-up rage for a good while.
Lunch ended; everyone headed back to work.
Da-ye rubbed her stiff neck, eyeing her afternoon stack.
She felt reassured seeing what Jeong-woo had already neatly finished and approved.
Skimming, she noted a few missing ones and headed to his desk.
"Jeong-woo, the Gwanak-gu files..."
"Ah, just finished them."
"Thanks? You're insanely fast..."
"Pardon?"
"No, nothing."
Was he some paperwork monster?
Feeling queasy anew, Da-ye glanced absently at what he was reading.
He always spent downtime on personal study after wrapping up.
'Usually gate incidents or origin theory papers.'
Same today?
She peeked—and her head tilted.
"Magic systems? You into magic-type hunters, Jeong-woo?"
"Ah, just a few personal curiosities."
Jeong-woo smiled brightly.
His words hit like a thunderbolt.
"Got a new summon, and it seems magic-type."
Freeze!
The command office went dead silent.
Gi-yoon and Haeng-seo, eavesdropping curiously, also stiffened.
You could've heard a pin drop—or a fly buzzing.
That's when Director Jin Ho-jong strolled in late as usual, eyes darting around.
"What's this vibe?"
Gi-yoon said,
"Jeong-woo got a second summon."
Ho-jong slurped his Americano, paused in silence.
Then asked Jeong-woo,
"Another doll?"
"Yeah, sea otter."
"Should we sell merch?"
"Outta nowhere?"
"Internet's blowing up over sea otters. My eldest grandkid loves your teddy bear."
Da-ye asked, dumbfounded,
"That's what's important right now? With his growth like this?"
Ho-jong shrugged like it was no big deal.
"Work's work."
Da-ye felt dizzy.
All skills' efficiency scales with understanding of their mechanics.
Since the Millennium Shock, hunters had poured astronomical sums into researching skills and interfaces.
Magic was well-known among them thanks to that.
'Another attacker. Parenting skill, and it's this vicious?'
The interface's "magic" meant "supernatural attack method," not "mystical phenomenon."
How strong? Clues let you infer.
Same rank as Teddy Warrior.
Same skill tab subcategory.
Summons grouped like this without differing-rank support usually matched in power.
It might look like a dumb stone-obsessed sea otter doll, but it packed monster-level attack power like the bear.
'Gotta test the spells to know for sure, though...'
Lucky break amid it all?
That curiosity wouldn't last long.
"Director, heading to the site."
"Huh? No Teddy today?"
"Yeah, direct dispatch request. Yeouido gate in Yeongdeungpo-gu."
Who'd request him specifically?
He'd answer if asked.
"Victory Blood Guild."
Yeongdeungpo's management guild.
Victory Blood Guild oversaw Yeouido—home to the National Assembly—with deep history and deeper issues.
Founded by first-gen hunters, now entangled with the Management Bureau, even handling their slush funds?
Not just aggressive lobbying.
Its elders included political hunters who'd cashed out big and retired.
In short: intertwined directly with the Management Bureau and political hunters.
And they requested Jeong-woo on-site.
Ho-jong and Jeong-woo knew exactly what that meant.
Their first countermeasure.
"Walked into a trap, huh?"
"Yeah, figuring they rigged something inside the gate."
"You good?"
"Density exceeded threshold either way. Plus..."
Jeong-woo grinned.
"Perfect timing for a test run. Bonus: scope their counterattack."
Ideal timing.
Fresh unknown card.
An S-Rank—the pinnacle of their system—confirmed combat summon.
If they'd set a trap, he could flip it and hit where they least expected.
Chance to shatter the stalled standoff.
Anticipation swelled.
'Wonder if the sea otter's melee-type after all?'
Verification time approached.