Hunter Registration
Thankfully, the girl's house was still standing. It was possible only because she'd bought it outright, not rented. Of course, if she'd been unlucky, it might have been swept away when the first gate opened, but her place was in a relatively safe area. And that 'relatively safe' status held true even now. Thanks to it, land prices in the neighborhood had skyrocketed, eventually surpassing even Gangnam.
The next big change was, predictably, gates and Hunters. Five years ago, gates appeared out of nowhere, and Hunters awakened thanks to their power... Anyone who'd read a web novel would recognize the setup that spread across the entire Earth. But now, Constellations had been added to the mix.
A world with Hunters and Constellations. The Constellations up in the sky formed apostle contracts with Hunters, lending them their powers in exchange for faith. Those powers determined a Hunter's rank, and the Constellations' own stature created further divisions. The Association assigned the ranks, guilds competed, recruiting Hunters... Whatever. She didn't care.
The girl turned from the monitor and powered on her finally updated phone. Naturally, the first thing she checked was her banking app. It required a fingerprint and password to log in, but that was no issue. She could just change the fingerprint, and digging through her memories got her the password.
Once logged in, the girl finally recalled her own name.
Yoo Haneul-nim.
It had been a guy's name back then, but now as a girl, it didn't feel too off. No need to change it—lucky her. Mumbling the name to herself,
"Haneul. Haneul? Haneul... Hmm..."
The unfamiliar yet familiar two syllables rolled off her tongue repeatedly. Then she added her family name and tried again.
"Yoo Haneul. Hmrr..."
Still weird. She'd only been called that a tiny handful of times over there.
"Gotta get used to it now."
It'd be a shame if they called her by her old name here too.
"Sigh... Alright, time to check the balance..."
She took a deep breath—huff huff—and long-pressed the reveal amount button. A smile crept onto her lips...
"Wha...?"
No smile—just her face twisting in horror.
"H-Hold on."
She frantically checked the transaction history.
"My money... it's gone?"
No incoming funds. After 625 billion years, that 625 billion won should be sitting there, but even the original amount had vanished. No way they'd leave her with just 170k. She'd had a job, and her only hobby was watching internet broadcasts... At least two commas should've been there...
"Wha... no way..."
Inflation? Skyrocketing land prices? Whatever—maintenance fees had gone insane. What the hell did they even do to justify that...?
"Even the phone and internet bills piled up without me using them... That's so unfair..."
At this rate, she couldn't pay next month's fees either. Power cut, gas cut, water cut, phone and internet gone...
"At least 500 million...!"
Her fingers flew, logging into every banking app. But 625 billion? Nowhere to be found.
"Whoa, this one's got 50k. Fifty 1,000-won punches... No, hey!!! Where's my money?!?!"
She ended up screaming at the distant sky.
"Money!! Give it back!! You promised!! My 625 billion!!!"
If they weren't gonna erase her memories, they could've at least given her the cash. Memories intact and no money?
"Y-You... you thieving bastards!!"
Thud—
Her piercing shriek must've been too loud; the neighbor knocked on the wall.
"Eek."
Invisible to them, she bowed her head apologetically, then just pursed her lips and hissed through gritted teeth.
Shitty soundproofing, but they gouge for maintenance. Leave her with 625 billion years of memories but no cash. She wanted to grab something and beat the crap out of it, but on Earth? Not an option.
Her rage boiled over—tears welled up, snot streamed down...
Suddenly, the clear sky darkened, and plip plop—rain began to fall.
When Haneul cries, the sky cries...
"What a drag..."
Staring at the pathetic raindrops, Haneul recalled Pposik from earlier. Pposik, that Behemoth variant, had emerged from a massive gate. A disaster-grade one, rumor had it? Killing gate monsters drops mana stones, which you sell for cash. Mana stones go into most daily products and Hunter gear, of course. Rare gate-exclusive materials make everything pricey.
That's why Hunters rake it in—and blow it just as fast.
She ignored the blowing part and focused on the raking.
"Money..."
Haneul didn't need nutrients, but she had fond memories of tasty things. She wanted to eat some. Plus, to support her VTuber? Cash required. Ten million won... or at least enough for those 1,000-won punches.
"Alright!"
She shot up from her seat and headed for the door—then spun back to the bed. Almost walked out buck naked out of habit.
She threw on her stretched white tee and finally stepped outside. Baggy, neck all saggy and droopy, but no wardrobe malfunctions. Even during intense movement. One power from over there, Absolute Domain, made it possible. Originally a succubus queen's tool to torment men, but hey—good is good.
No worries anyway.
"Ugh, if I become a Hunter, everyone else starves."
Grinning cheekily, Haneul strode out confidently. The rain-pouring sky outside had cleared to match her smile.
BAM!
The branch chief's door burst open amid stacks of complaint forms. The branch chief, holed up inside, only then noticed the siren blaring throughout the Hunter Association Seoul Branch.
"Don't."
"Chief!"
"I said don't."
"It's an emergency!!"
"Unless it's less serious than that monster that escaped the disaster-grade gate and vanished, don't report it."
"It's a disaster-grade gate incident!"
"...Report."
"A monster from the disaster-grade gate is heading straight for the Association!!"
Baek Seungcheol sighed wearily but sprang up regardless.
"The sky? Tunneling underground? Teleport like before? Or already inside? What is it—report faster."
"...No, it's just walking here."
"...What?"
His face twisted.
"Just boldly walking to the Association? Evacuations? Why no citywide alert, just internal sirens? Since when does our Association handle things like this? Insane?!"
"N-No... It doesn't look like a monster at all, so no need felt..."
"Need? Need!! You idiots!!!"
Rumble—
The whole building shook with his roar.
"I'll decide that!! Who are you to judge and screw around?! What about civilian safety? People die or get hurt—what then?! Just follow my orders!! Why the hell are you judging on your own!!"
"B-But... reports say it's just carrying a chubby one and coming..."
Baek Seungcheol, growling like a massive beast, tilted his head.
"What? Chubby one? What's that?!"
"Chubby... banana milk."
"Chubby... banana milk?"
What nonsense? Suspected disaster-grade gate escapee. Even Korea's five S-rank Hunters combined might barely take it down. And it's drinking banana milk?
He snatched the report from the staffer and read it himself.
"Wh-What the..."
No need to read—the top photo explained everything.
A girl in a neck-stretched tee, slippers twice her foot size flopping, slurping banana milk through a straw...
White hair, amethyst eyes—definitely the disaster-gate escapee.
But...
"Why's she so damn happy?"
"We don't know either..."
Glared at the beaming photo, then at a staffer sprinting from afar.
"Chief! Target's at the Association entrance!"
Baek Seungcheol bolted for the door.
"Civilian casualties? Injured staff? Property damage?"
"From what we've checked... nothing."
"Possible?"
"Seems to communicate, so we gave her candy at the entrance and talked... No, everyone—staff, even guild Hunters—says it doesn't look like a monster at all."
True enough—the tense staff vibe had loosened. Some even peeked out windows, cooing about how cute she was.
But as Seoul Branch Chief, Baek Seungcheol ground his teeth.
"...Wasn't she standing alone before the vanished disaster gate? Then poof? If that's not a monster, what is?"
"W-Well, yes, but she looks just like a middle-schooler. You'll feel it too once you see her, Chief—she's, uh, really, really cute..."
"You're all nuts... I'll judge myself. Could be a mental-type monster—prep thoroughly."
"Y-Yes, sir."
Thus, fully armed with the Association elites, Baek Seungcheol emerged...
"No, I am an adult! I even got a temp ID... Huh? Ice cream? T-Two of them? Slurp... Ahh, no. Gotta go in now. Eek? Don't use strength. Me too? Huh? Use strength? Whatever! Not talking to staff uncles. Get the person in charge!! Call the boss NOW!!"
All tension melted away. A tiny girl with candy bulging both cheeks, insisting she was an adult—it was impossible to see her as a monster. Real mental attack? But sensors were fine.
"...What the hell is... that."
"See? Totally... cute, right?"
No answer, but yeah—she was pretty damn cute. Cute enough to spark doubts about mental attacks.