Interlude - Why Only Me?

That day, I was simply unlucky.

A team leader like me being stuck with basic training for newly awakened hunters was absurd on its face. One of my subordinates, the one originally assigned to run the session, had suddenly called in sick that morning, and the whole tedious mess had been dumped on me.

It was an S-class gate, sure—but the surface level was nothing more than a forest path leading down toward the Dungeon proper. Safer than an E-rank gate, really. The occasional pack of starving wolves might charge you, but that was about the worst of it.

Aoulbears and other large monsters of that caliber did show up from time to time, which was why safety regulations required full combat gear. But as long as you didn't go poking around in the deep forest where their territory lay, there was never any real trouble. Association staff who weren't rookies routinely cut corners—carrying only partial gear, or none at all. The maintenance costs on equipment rated for C-rank hunters and above weren't cheap. Why waste that kind of money on a handful of wolves?

So on my way in that morning, I bought myself a plain iron sword. Just like I used to back when training duty was still part of my regular rotation.

"What a pain."

Yeah. Under normal circumstances, that was all it would have been—a pain. Wander the forest a bit, yell at the trainees when they got on my nerves, and if any wolves showed up, hand them off to the junior. A boring, annoying day. That was how it should have gone.

So where exactly did everything start to go wrong?

Herding a bunch of greenhorns who could barely walk straight from mana sickness through a leisurely forest stroll was dull work. Still, I appreciated that the wolves—usually such a nuisance—didn't show so much as a single trace of presence that day.

"Are you even listening to me?!"

The second we reached our destination, that green lizard brat with the horns and the tail started grating on my nerves. She'd already pissed me off by showing up late and throwing off the whole schedule—and now, out of nowhere, she was throwing a fit in the middle of a rest break, insisting something was coming.

First time in a gate, feeling a little spry, and already acting like she ran the place. I didn't like it one bit.

"Hey. Just ignore her."

I dismissed her outright, but the little pest wouldn't let up.

"I'm serious! Something's coming from over there!"

The ramblings of a clueless kid. That was how I meant to write it off—until an actual Aoulbear came charging straight at us. The fact that the brat hadn't been talking nonsense after all only made it more irritating.

"Damn it! What the hell is an Aoulbear doing all the way out here?!"

Who could have imagined a creature that never took a single step outside its own territory would push this far into the forest's edge? Facing down an Aoulbear with nothing but a junior and a cheap sword between us—I really was out of luck.

Still, the junior had come fully geared per regulations, and I'd handled Aoulbears a few times before. It would be rough, I figured, but nothing we couldn't manage.

That was before the sword I'd driven into the Aoulbear's neck snapped clean in half.

I hadn't realized the blade was that much of a piece of junk. Truly unlucky.

I could no longer guarantee the trainees' safety, but given enough time, I still believed the junior's magic would be enough to put the thing down.

"Dodge it! Kid!"

The idiot must have wanted to play hero. He took the Aoulbear's charge head-on like a complete fool. A mage couldn't possibly withstand a full-body rush from an Aoulbear—he had to know that. Maybe his legs just locked up from the panic.

Once the junior went down, it didn't matter how long I held the line. With a broken sword, I couldn't finish the Aoulbear. If I forced it and my stamina gave out, I'd go down too—and then every last trainee would become monster chow.

In that case…

"Hey!!!"

Wasn't it the rational call to make sure at least a few of them survived? That irritating brat's voice was still yelling from behind me, but holding out any longer would just get us all killed for nothing.

If I got out of the gate and pinned the whole thing on that green kid, there'd be no problem. By the time the so-called rescue team—basically a body recovery unit—was ready to move, I'd be the only one left who knew what really happened.

I'd been unlucky all day long. But at the very end, it seemed fortune was finally tipping my way.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Or so I thought.

That was how it should have been—so why did I open my eyes in a hospital bed? Why was everyone still alive and well in a place that should have been littered with corpses?

"Six whole months of suspension over something this minor?!"

"Indeed. Six months is quite unreasonable."

"Branch Director…!"

I'd only gone through all that because I was unlucky. Everyone else did the same things I did—so why was I the only one getting punished? Burning with injustice, I'd stormed out of the hospital room and gone straight to the Branch Director.

"Once the six months are up, you'll be handed another six-month suspension under a different pretext."

What came out of the Branch Director's mouth was even more outrageous. Six months was already excessive—and the moment it ended, another six on top of that? It was completely absurd.

"This is tyranny! All because my gear was a little light…! Fine—I'll resign."

"Do as you like. I wouldn't recommend it, though."

A B-rank hunter never lacked for offers—corporations, private parties, take your pick. I'd only stayed with the Association for the benefits. Walking away right then shouldn't have been a problem at all. More than a few companies had already reached out to me multiple times.

"You said there was a position open!"

But the moment I left the Association, every company suddenly claimed they'd already filled the slot. Job boards still listed openings, yet the second I called, it was the same answer every time: nothing available.

"If you seize my equipment, how am I supposed to make a living?!"

The trainees from that basic training session came after me one by one, as if they'd coordinated it. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Every last one of them seemed to come from a family with serious pull. High-powered legal teams from major firms filed into the courtroom and wrung staggering settlement sums out of me.

The brand-new apartment I'd scraped together the money to buy had been seized ages ago. Now I was bouncing between goshiwon rooms so thin-walled you could hear every neighbor breathe. And because I still couldn't keep up with the settlement payments, even the expensive gear I'd poured my savings into had been confiscated.

"Shit…"

No matter how many times I entered a dungeon, the debt piled up faster than I could earn. Ever since I'd woken up in that hospital bed, my right leg had limped with every step, and it grated on me constantly. Every time I headed for a dungeon and happened to cross paths with that junior, my blood boiled.

Why did it have to be me?

What had I done that was so wrong?

Why was I the one slowly sinking deeper into the mud, dragged under inch by inch?

That junior who'd been right there with me had joined Y-Group as a hunter and was thriving. So why was I the only one still stuck like this?

"Shit!"

It was all because of that green brat. Who could have imagined a lizard kid like that had ties to someone as powerful as Madam Yu of Y-Group? If I'd known ahead of time, I would have left everyone else behind and still saved that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠one brat. Then it would have been me joining Y-Group—not the junior.

"Mr. Lee Hyeok-soo. You do understand that the work we do is dangerous, correct?"

If things had gone that way, I never would have needed to get my hands dirty for money. I never would have so much as glanced at something like illegal Mana Stone smuggling.

And then—

"Mr. Lee Hyeok-soo. Don't hold it against us too much. We're just doing a job we got paid for, same as anyone."

—I never would have taken a knife in the back like a complete idiot.

All because of one green lizard brat…. Lizard…?

"Seriously, why go and do something you couldn't handle? Still, don't worry. We're not going to let you die over a little stab wound."

A tail…. Horns….

"Do you have any idea how furious our elder is? Honestly—why would you go poking at something as dangerous as a dragon?"

Ah…. Damn it….

I really was… unlucky….

In the middle of working through a stack of paperwork in the company office, a text message landed on my phone.

"Haa…. Well, it's satisfying, but what's Sae-ah going to say if she finds out?"

I'd wanted to crush that bastard myself, of course—but with Min watching, I'd stuck to thoroughly legal methods and ground him down the proper way. Apparently one of the elders, the sort who never shied away from dirtier tactics, had lost patience the moment that particular insect crawled into view and squashed him personally.

The method was a bit extreme, but I'd already been preparing to lock him away for life for Min's safety anyway. Less work for me was hardly a bad ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠thing.

"Since I've got the free time, maybe I should take Sae-ah shopping."

Last time I checked, she was still slapping on men's lotion like it didn't matter. Couldn't have our future daughter-in-law being that stingy about looking after herself. I'd take her to that department store I'd quietly converted into a personal wardrobe behind Min's back and pick out a few things for her.

Someday I hoped we'd go get spa treatments together. I'd always been a little jealous of my cousin, chatting away through her appointments with her own daughter-in-law.