Chapter 3
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: Queen Hornet
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While stirring the cooling gukbap with her spoon, her eyes remained glued to the screen.
"So, citizens, please become our eyes and ears. We earnestly ask for your active participation in tip-offs."
Sharp eyes that seemed ready to burst through the screen flashed fiercely.
What was that feeling like our eyes just locked?
At that piercing gaze that felt like it was boring straight into her, sweat beaded and trickled down Sejin's back.
Even her upper lip felt damp with sweat.
'Ha, damn. Look at those killer eyes.'
She'd already been chased right to the brink by Han Kitae more than once or twice after secretly closing gates and slipping away.
Each time she'd escaped by the skin of her teeth, her blood had run ice-cold.
[What do we do? That guy's completely pissed.]
"Seriously... I'm already stressed out of my mind. Why's he gotta go and do that?"
Pretending to be on a phone call, Sejin vented her frustrations.
Why am I even putting up with this crap? Irritation flooded her.
Am I doing this just to get by on my own? Huh? Just so I can hog all the glory and riches?
Her teeth ground together in raw injustice.
She dunked her face into the cooling gukbap and vigorously stirred the half-eaten, now mushy rice.
'Why does life have to suck this hard?'
Cheonhui, who had sealed her sister's soul bent on destroying the world. Suddenly, Sejin's own lot—born saddled with that soul—felt crushingly heavy.
Watching Han Kitae glare wide-eyed amid a storm of camera flashes, Sejin heaved a deep sigh rising from her dantian.
'I'm not trying to do anything bad, okay?'
Her gut boiled with circumstances she couldn't share with a soul, but it soon settled into numb resignation.
The solitary life of an unregistered hunter, unrecognized by anyone.
She couldn't even dream of going to college like normal people.
Because she always had to stay on standby, ready to hunt for gods who might awaken at any moment.
As she zoned out blankly, Han Kitae's briefing vanished from the screen, replaced by a commercial.
"Seize your opportunity."
A low, resonant voice from an unfamiliar man filled the screen.
The moment the camera panned to his face, light cascaded along his red hair.
A handsome man in a billowing black guild uniform slowly raised his head with dramatic poise.
'Oh.'
Sejin craned her neck toward the TV as if she could dive in, her mouth falling open on its own.
Solid shoulders, a toned physique that no uniform could hide, and a relaxed smile to top it off.
The man on screen was perfection.
"Silver Spirit Guild will be your opportunity."
The camera raced upward along a towering skyscraper.
Its glass facade gleamed with a massive golden ER guild logo proclaiming its owner, city lights shimmering across it.
With the metropolis at his feet, the hem of his black coat fluttered once more.
It was Do Jaegyu, head of Silver Spirit Guild—famed for its stylish uniforms.
[What a poser.]
Evidently displeased, Breaking Army Star tsked and sneered.
Too hot to call him a poser.
In the old days, hunters had been like soldiers—government employees.
Better perks than regular office workers, sure, but ultimately living off the state's dime.
The government had monopolized gate byproducts, and the corruption and scandals surrounding those profits never ended.
Do Jaegyu was the first to drag it all into the open.
Backed by a massive corporation, he'd gathered fellow hunters who shared his vision and founded a guild.
From that day on, hunter treatment improved dramatically.
Guilds sprouted like mushrooms in his wake.
Hunter market values skyrocketed, forcing the government to sweeten deals just to stem the exodus.
A fine example of healthy self-regulation, you could say.
Handsome from any angle, Do Jaegyu promoted his guild.
Small wonder he was called Han Kitae's rival.
"Hmm. He's handsome."
[So anyone good-looking is A-OK with you?!]
"No one's saying I like him... Can't I even comment?"
Just calling handsome guy handsome—what's the big deal!
Lips pursed in a pout, Sejin stared holes into the screen showing Do Jaegyu leaping off a rooftop.
Flashing a breezy smile, he winked at the camera.
"Eek, was that at me?"
[Snap out of it. Sheesh.]
At Breaking Army Star's utterly done tone, Sejin chomped into the cubed radish kimchi in front of her. So good.
Then, as Sejin kept eating, Breaking Army Star shouted urgently.
[A Ghost Gate just opened!]
"Right now?"
She gazed longingly at her barely touched gukbap, but Breaking Army Star prodded her.
[You can come back and finish later! What are you waiting for—move!]
"Ah, fine, I get it."
Should've crammed the gukbap down instead of watching TV.
She shot to her feet and slung the black backpack draped over the adjacent chair onto her shoulders.
"I'm going. Let's roll."
"Creepy. So creepy."
Lucky it was out in the sticks with no traffic. If a gate popped up smack in a city neighborhood, it'd be total pandemonium.
Since detectors had missed it, the whole area was probably a warzone by now.
In the middle of a two-lane road winding around the mountain, black haze crept up around the Ghost Gate.
Sejin meticulously donned her black cap and mask.
After nearly getting nabbed by government hunters last time, a cap alone didn't cut it anymore.
She swapped into the black hoodie she'd brought, flipped up the hood on it, and yanked the drawstrings tight.
From a distance, she looked like a shapeless black blob.
"Why do I have to go to these lengths? Sniff."
Letting out a dry sob, she secured her backpack and stepped forward.
[Let's go.]
"Y-Yes, sir. Was just heading out."
Dragging her feet but knowing it had to be done, she squeezed her eyes shut and crossed the gate.
2. Queen Hornet
"Ugh, feels nasty."
Passing through the gate hit her with a weird sensation, like sticky liquid clinging to her skin all over.
What was it like? As if a slime monster had slithered across her body.
Ugh, the clammy feeling wouldn't fade, so Sejin hopped in place to shake it off.
[Not your first rodeo, and you're still making a fuss.]
"Don't whine," Breaking Army Star scolded her.
"The gross-out is the same every single time."
Tch. Turning her head, Sejin spotted bushes reaching her shoulders.
Beyond the endless thicket loomed a massive dead tree, standing stark and barren.
The enormous tree was gigantic even from afar. Up close, it'd dwarf most skyscrapers.
"That's the one, huh."
She had a hunch the gate's boss was holed up there.
[You've come a long way, pup.]
Praise delivered weirdly.
Not exactly thrilled by Breaking Army Star's compliment, Sejin trudged ahead with a sour expression.
"Gotta wrap this up quick and finish that gukbap."
[How is your brain wired for food 24/7?]
Dead on target, Sejin glared with puffed-up cheeks.
"So what? We do all this just to eat and survive. And..."
Breaking Army Star perked up as Sejin lowered her voice.
"That place is legit the real deal."
Not your average gukbap. No wonder it was packed and the owner loaded.
[Sigh, let's move. Please, for the love of—let's go!]
Parting the bushes barehanded, they trekked who-knows-how-long.
The distant tree, now close, forced her head way back just to glimpse the top—and still couldn't.
"Whoa, how the heck do I get all the way up there?"
If there was an elevator, maybe. Shaking her head, Sejin eyed the gnawed-out hollow in the trunk.
She peeked inside. The hole snaked upward in a gentle zigzag, not straight.
"Even gotta hike... Haha."
Faced with the endless tunnel, she gritted her teeth and sighed.
[When has it ever been easy?]
True enough. Easy paths hadn't existed in her life since acquiring her first god. Accepting it quick, Sejin started up the path.
Not sheer enough to be unclimbable, but the sloped climb was tougher than expected.
Silently powering through to the midpoint, she glanced at the red dot on the back of her right hand.
[Save it.]
Reading her mind, Breaking Army Star shot back dismissively.
"Hiiiing."
With only Breaking Army Star among the Seven Stars Gods so far, Sejin's power was limited.
He'd said she'd wield strength befitting Cheonhui's legend once she gathered more, but that was the point—not yet.
Exorcising the evil spirit behind this gate would already push her limits.
She knew, yet still eyed her hand with lingering reluctance.
"Feels like that gukbap's fully digested already."
Unlike the chill air in the gate—cool tipping into cold—sweat beaded on her brow.
Her overworked thighs quivered, barely holding her up.
"Huff... Once I'm out... I'm going back for more."
Hard to believe she'd just eaten—her stomach was practically kissing her spine.
And it was only her first meal of the day.
The half-eaten gukbap danced tantalizingly in her mind's eye.
[Yeah. Summit's in sight. Stay sharp.]
"Two... two bowls... gonna scarf."
[Agh.]
A deep sigh, drawn from the dantian, echoed in her head.
[Pork—sigh. No. Unknown evil spirit ahead—focus from here on out.]
Sounded like he said pork. Or did he? Sejin wiped the sweat dripping from her chin with the back of her hand.
"That's it, right?"
Whispering, she stared at the sleeping hornet burrowed into a hollow at the tree's absolute peak.