The Hunt Is Over (Part 1)
“Did we really catch this with just the three of us?”
Two C-rank hunters examined the mana stones and fangs we had carried in, eyes wide with admiration. Senior Yoo Jung kept glancing back with a regretful expression. Behind us, the gate—whose mana stone had been extracted, its power draining away—shrank gradually, growing dim and hazy.
When instability began, anything could burst out from inside, so we had to exit the gate as fast as possible. Normally the labra’s leather or bones would have fetched a hefty price, but there was no time to separate them and no strength left to carry anything else.
The price of greed is poison. Reluctantly, we had no choice but to run through the gate with only the labra’s fangs and mana stones. Senior Yoo Jung kept glancing at the labra’s corpse, then drove us toward the entrance while scolding herself.
And now, as the two C-rank hunters scanned the fangs and mana stones, Senior Yoo Jung stood with a hollow expression, rolling the mana stones in her palm. Since C-rank monsters yielded so much, she looked genuinely disappointed. The gate team was dismantling the camp. A member carrying a tablet approached us to settle the harvest.
“Yes, please settle the patrol team’s share. You secured the gate boss’s mana stone and, in addition, captured the labra’s mana stone and fangs?”
“Yes.”
Senior Yoo Jung nodded. Her nod was so listless it looked like a reed bending in the wind. Yi Chi was nearby, gulping water from a soldier’s canteen in big swallows. I called out to a passing soldier.
“Can I have some water too?”
“Mmm-hmm.”
Yi Chi shook her head at my request, then offered the water bottle she had been drinking from. I took it and drank, and she gave me a thumbs-up. I returned it, not knowing what she was doing, and she smiled. I raised my own thumb.
A calm, businesslike voice reached us as well.
“Yes, patrol team members. Thank you for completing your mission so splendidly despite the gate instability. The earnings will be settled separately and transferred to the leader’s account today.”
“Yes, thank you for your hard work.”
Senior Yoo Jung bowed to the recorder, then looked at us. The weapons and shield I had ordered were gone from my hands. I clenched my empty fists and felt a strange emptiness. Yi Chi had stuck to my side like glue, watching Senior Yoo Jung before glancing sideways and saying, “There’s an empty seat.”
Senior Yoo Jung smiled at Yi Chi’s words, then glued herself to my side. She leaned her head heavily against my shoulder and spoke.
“Ah, it was so tough. How was it today?”
“It was really tough.”
“I thought we were going to die.”
At Yi Chi’s words I recalled the way she had been lifted into the air. Indeed, it had been a near-death experience. Thinking about it sent chills down my spine. If the falling drum hadn’t been there, who knew what would have happened.
“Really, we were lucky,” I said.
“Right.”
“Su-hyeon and Senior Yoo saved us.”
Yi Chi hugged my side tightly as she spoke. Her body, which had been dashing about for so long, let out a groan. I awkwardly raised a hand and patted her back. Senior Yoo Jung, busy around us, kept tapping my shoulder with her head.
The C-rank hunters called in as emergency support stood with cigarettes in their mouths, conversing with the gate team. The man holding the tablet spoke in a polite tone.
“Thank you for your cooperation today.”
The hunters shook their hands, smiling kindly.
“Not at all. In an emergency we must come. Thank you for your hard work.”
“Yes.”
The hunters walked toward us. Senior Yoo Jung opened her eyes a little and watched them. She straightened her posture, releasing her lean against me. I tried to stand but, because Yi Chi remained glued to my side, I only adjusted my seat and bowed.
Yi Chi, exhausted, kept nodding off with sleepy eyes. The hunter who had been fiddling with her phone glanced at me carefully and said, “Oh, but isn’t this friend…?”
“That friend? Who?”
“You know, the one who won the rookie tournament this time? That… Ada Destroyer.”
“Ah! Ada Destroyer!”
The C-rank hunter startled and pointed at me with a finger. Every eye in the vicinity turned. Yi Chi jolted awake at the sound, looked around, then Senior Yoo Jung smiled awkwardly at me. The C-rank hunter grinned and said, “Whoa, we’ve met a celebrity. Hey, can I get your autograph? My son is starting middle school this year.”
“You’ll give it to your son?”
“No, I want him to brag about it. This autograph should only belong to me.”
“Hahaha…”
I laughed while unable to stop. Forcing a smile, I accepted the pen. Did autographing really stir up such complicated emotions? The C-rank hunter beamed as she received it, then showed it to the hunter beside her.
“Look at this. I can’t believe it.”
“He got a signature from a rookie hunter.”
“Hey, you can tell just by the name. Doesn’t it scream that this guy will become an even greater hunter than us? Eh? That fire in the name! Youth!”
“Disgusting. There was some idiot who used that name back then too. The one who entered the rookie tournament, got disqualified for the name, and quit the academy.”
“Ah, that guy?”
The C-rank hunter let out a nasty laugh. I frowned slightly at the hunter. The hunters didn’t offer me their names, only exchanged glances, then nodded at me and said, “Anyway, thanks for your hard work. Let’s meet again sometime.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
Senior Yoo Jung bowed. The two C-rank hunters bowed to her as well, then headed toward their car. While vehicles buzzed past, the soldiers and equipment slowly exited the gate. The gate owner rubbed his cigarette and said, “You’re not leaving?”
“Ah, we should.”
We had to stand up again. Yi Chi rubbed her eyes and looked around, then clung to my arm, swaying. Senior Yoo Jung grabbed my other side with a stubborn expression. I had to stretch my waist straight and brace my arms like a puppet in a tug-of-war.
A vehicle carrying the two C-rank hunters stopped in front of us. The hunter gave me a thumbs-up and grinned. Before we could react, he sped away. Through the receding windows came a wave of laughter.
******
From morning, the face of Black Dragon Chamber’s “Thunder Sword” Lee Jun-hyeok had been deeply wrinkled. This was because every day the TV and broadcasts featured stories about “Heavenly Demon” Lee Hyun-woo. Occasionally a petition asking for the Black Dragon Chamber to surrender the “Heavenly Demon” nickname had arrived, and on air Choi Soon-hong was mentioned outright, saying he was forced to forgo the name because he already had it.
Lee Jun-hyeok found all of this deeply unsatisfying. Therefore he believed it was time for the Black Dragon Chamber leader to claim the “Heavenly Demon” name as soon as possible.
“Leader, I’m coming in.”
When Lee Jun-hyeok opened the door, Black Dragon Chamber leader Choi Soon-hong was lounging in the office chair, watching TV with slack arms and the remote. On the newly purchased QLED 4K TV he intended to watch the show in high definition, Lee Hyun-woo appeared.
[Ah, our Heavenly Demon, Mr. Lee Hyun-woo! We have been honored.]
[Eh, Heavenly Demon? No, the name belongs to our senior, the Black Dragon Chamber leader, as he reserved it.]
[Eh, I’m sure he’d agree that name suits our Mr. Lee Hyun-woo. Say, while the cameras are rolling, how about sending one video message?]
[Suddenly?]
Lee Jun-hyeok stared silently at the leader. He was watching the TV with a blank expression. Lee Hyun-woo turned his head toward the Black Dragon Chamber leader and spoke. He too looked uncomfortable.
[Ah… it would be an honor. Leader.]
“Jun-hyeok.”
In the dim room only the Black Dragon Chamber leader’s voice rang out. The TV had gone dark. The leader’s face looked thinner than ever. He blinked, then looked at Lee Jun-hyeok again.
“Am… am I not a person worthy of the Heavenly Demon?”
Hearing those words, Lee Jun-hyeok had no answer.