The Horned Goral
When I arrived at the fishing supply store, two officers in charge of the area were crouched low, pistols trained on the pitch-black trail. Even with their small handguns, they might get lucky and take the creature down, but there were obvious limits. I approached them without a sound.
"Where is it?"
"We spotted it near the trail. Right now it's—"
"I see it."
I followed the direction the officer pointed, closing one eye and forming a makeshift telescope with my thumb and forefinger. In the darkness, a single faint blue light swayed like a fishing float. Once my eyes adjusted, the creature's form gradually came into view. It had a massive body, and two sharp tusks jutted from either side of its snout. And… horns?
"A goral?"
"What? A goral?"
The tusks made sense, but why the horns? When I muttered "horned goral," the tension drained from the officers' shoulders. Sighs of relief rippled through the group. Still, calling it a goral didn't mean there was no problem.
"It's… coming closer. And it's not alone."
Several ordinary gorals moved around the blue-horned beast as if escorting it. The sight almost made me laugh. They think that thing's their new leader, huh?
I readjusted my grip on the shotgun with both hands.
"Radio the station. Tell them if it crosses the streetlight, I'm taking the shot."
One officer began urgently reporting the situation over the radio. Park Gyeong-wi's reply was the same as always.
"Leave the call to Hunter Jang."
Right. All responsibility on me, as usual.
"You heard him?"
The officer beside me asked awkwardly, but instead of answering I silently climbed the metal stairs beside the store and headed for the roof. From the rooftop, an unsettlingly shimmering sky spread out before me. Thanks to that strange light, however, I could clearly see the approaching herd of gorals. At least that was something.
First, I needed cooperation from the officers below. Leaning over the railing, I called down in a low voice.
"Stay in the patrol cars. When they reach the streetlight, hit the high beams. Got it?"
The officers glanced up at me, then wordlessly climbed into their vehicles. The plan was simple enough; they didn't need an explanation. Smart guys. Once the gorals froze in the glare like any other animal caught in headlights, I'd take the shot.
With the officers in their cars, the lead goral grew even bolder, turning its glowing blue horns toward us and slowly advancing. The others followed a step behind, playing escort. Then the leader let out its signature hideous cry.
"Eeeek! Eeeuuuueeek!"
Hearing that sound eased some of the tension in my shoulders. Yep, still a goral. I hoped it would realize crossing the streetlight would be a very bad idea. Or that it would simply get spooked by the human neighborhood and run. But the creature, drunk on its newfound horns, showed no fear. It crossed the line we had drawn.
At that exact moment, the patrol cars' high beams blazed to life, triggering the unpleasant memory buried deep in the animals' instincts. As expected, the leader froze mid-stride, dazed by the sudden light. I didn't miss the opening. I pulled the trigger.
Bang!
The sharp report shattered the night. The bullet struck the lead goral squarely in the head. Its arrogant posture vanished as it collapsed in an ugly heap, eyes bulging. The moment their leader fell, the rest of the herd scattered into the darkness, their brief moment of courage gone. No matter how strong they became, gorals were still gorals.
I descended from the roof and walked over to the fallen leader. Up close, its grotesque corpse glowed with ethereal blue light from the horns, like stars in the night sky. The crystals themselves emitted a soft, steady shimmer.
Jackpot.
Whether the goral had been struck by lightning or eaten something strange from the ground, it had somehow grown a mana stone in its head. At that size, I could probably quit being a yeopsa and live comfortably for the rest of my life. A laugh threatened to escape, but I held it in for now.
I grabbed the creature's hind legs and dragged it back toward the officers. As expected, their attention was fixed less on the goral's size and more on the radiant mana stone embedded in its skull.
"What, thinking of retiring with that thing?"
My joke sent the officers into laughter.
"Come on, no way we'd get away with hiding something like that."
"Hunter Jang, you hit the jackpot. You're going to make a fortune."
"Can't do that with two mouths to feed at home."
While I bantered, one officer suppressed a grin and radioed the station.
"Situation resolved. Hunter Jang handled it, but… the mana stone is enormous."
"Seriously?"
"Yes. It's as big as a deer's antler."
"Bring it straight here. No, wait. I'll come to you."
Park Gyeong-wi's voice over the radio carried more irritation than joy. The reason was obvious. If something like this appeared in the village, it meant reports and investigations at the county level, not just the village. No one was getting off work until tomorrow afternoon at the earliest.
A short while later, Park Gyeong-wi arrived, out of breath. He clicked his tongue at the sight of the lead goral's corpse.
"This village must be cursed. First the mudskipper, now a goral in one week…"
"Want to split it? The horns are already in two pieces."
"You little—! A civil servant can't do that!"
He shot me an incredulous look, then pulled out his smartphone instead of the radio. After taking photos of the mana stone from several angles, he immediately made a call. Right, when things get urgent, phones beat radios.
"Yes, this is about the mana stone. Our yeopsa landed quite the catch today."
A heavy sigh was audible even from where I stood.
"Yes, yes. It's bigger than a deer's velvet antler. …Hunter Jang? She's right here, want to speak with her? …No? Then are you coming now? …Understood."
The mix of formal and casual speech suggested the county environmental department was also in an uproar over this "big catch."
After hanging up, Park Gyeong-wi said, "They'll come as soon as the Dimension Deviation alert ends."
Watching him fiddle with his phone, I grabbed the goral's hind legs again.
"Can't leave it here looking like this. I'll move it in front of the station."
"Yeah, thanks."
Leaving Park Gyeong-wi and the other officers behind, I headed back toward the station. The goral was heavy, and up close it really was massive—about the size of those reindeer you see in pictures from up north. When I finally dragged it in front of the station, the officers who had been resting inside came out one by one, staring and sighing. In a world full of strange things, a mana stone this large was apparently a first for all of them.
"Keep an eye on it so nobody steals it."
After giving the instruction, I turned back toward the village entrance where Park Gyeong-wi was. My work wasn't done yet. I still had a job to do.
On the way, I glanced toward the village hall. Aside from the officers guarding it and a few elderly residents returning from the restroom, the area was quiet and deserted. The evacuation bus sat idle with its engine off. It looked like tonight would pass without further incident.
As I had predicted, aside from the brief disturbance caused by the horned leader, the night passed peacefully. Around dawn, the sky that had been rippling unpleasantly all night cleared as if nothing had happened, revealing a bright, sunny morning. I didn't know how other cities had fared, but at least Dohoang-ri had made it through safely once again.
Yeah. That was enough. Nureongi and Bbi-ppi were safe. The elders at the village hall and the officers who had worked through the night were all unharmed. In the end, tonight had only claimed one goral—the one that had gotten cocky after growing strange new horns and paid the price. Nothing more, nothing less.
Leaning against the rooftop railing of the fishing supply store, I watched the morning sun rise peacefully, as if the earlier commotion had never occurred. Warm red rays spilled over my face, which had been stiff with tension all night. Feeling that warmth, I allowed myself a faint smile.