The Southern Plains
During hunting season, Mina rode on the back of Seok-jun’s motorcycle, trailing behind the lead Humvee as she gazed at the passing landscape. With hardly a building or tree in sight, the vast, open sky looked refreshingly clear compared to the fragmented patches carved out by towering skyscrapers back in the city. Yet the unchanging expanse of the plains only brought a sense of desolation. Aside from the concrete road they traveled on, there were almost no traces of human presence.
-Ratatatatatatang!
A sudden sound reverberated across the plains. The rapid succession of explosions, so closely spaced it was hard to distinguish individual shots, could only be heavy machine gun fire. Soon enough, the sight of massive heavy machinery lined up in the distance told her exactly where the dungeon break had occurred.
By the time they reached the area behind the row of equipment, the gunfire had already stopped. But the mountain of spent shell casings piled beside the mounted machine guns on the vehicles made it clear just how many rounds had been expended.
“Even if they fire like that, doesn’t it mean nothing to the monsters?” Mina asked Seok-jun. After all, it wasn’t for nothing that the government had tried to develop anti-mana bullets.
He kindly explained. “The military can’t just sit on their hands, so they mass-produced these by drastically reducing the ratio of materials used in MPB rounds.”
Of course, compared to high-purity anti-mana bullets, the damage they could inflict on monsters was practically nonexistent. Still, they provided a slight deterrent effect, which was why they were called deterrent bullets.
“Deterrent bullets…”
Mina, hearing the term for the first time, truly felt like a rookie. Even though there was a rank difference, they were all hunters. She couldn’t help wondering if it was really acceptable for their roles to diverge this much.
While they talked, the other hunters and soldiers began disembarking from the infantry trucks. One soldier approached, accompanied by two others. Captain Jeong stepped forward first to greet him.
“Seung-jun, you made it?”
“Loyalty, Battalion Commander. Total personnel: twenty-eight. Recruitment complete.”
“Good. Start with the sensors, and try to engage more toward the interior rather than the outskirts. Same as usual, right?”
“Yes, sir.”
After the brief exchange, one of the vehicles blocking the road carefully moved aside. Captain Jeong climbed back into the Humvee and advanced slowly. Seok-jun followed with Mina riding behind him.
The only problem was—
“Um…”
“What is it?”
“The stares are really intense…”
They were moving at little more than a walking pace, which meant they were directly exposed to the gazes of the hunters following on foot. Just when she thought she was getting used to it, being stared at so openly made her confidence shrivel. She tightened her grip around his waist, and she could feel Seok-jun’s amusement.
“Think of it as the only courtesy we can offer the sole A-grade hunter in this area, Miss Mina.”
“Isn’t that a bit too much special treatment?”
She felt burdened by his words, but at the same time, it eased her mind more than before. The other hunters occasionally met her eyes, yet none seemed inclined to approach Seok-jun’s vicinity.
The Humvee stopped in front of an antenna connected to a utility pole, and Captain Jeong and the soldiers got out again.
“Anyone home?”
“What are soldiers doing all the way out here?”
As they knocked on the door below, it opened and an old man poked his head out. Mina hadn’t expected anyone to emerge from underground, but now that she looked, the concrete patch around the antenna was wider than it should have been.
“Don’t play dumb. You’re the owner of this farm, aren’t you?”
“Who’s playing dumb? This is my land, all right!”
“Then why didn’t you maintain the sensors?”
“Who says I didn’t maintain them?! I did! But then this mess happened, didn’t it? You guys the ones who installed the defective junk?”
The old man grew angry and started scolding him. Captain Jeong nodded as if he were used to this and jotted something down in his notebook.
“We’ll look into that starting now. Get to it.”
At his order, the soldiers began inspecting the antenna while the old man watched them with clear displeasure.
“Hunters, please secure the perimeter until maintenance is complete.”
But most of the hunters who had received Captain Jeong’s request immediately plopped down on the concrete road as if they had been waiting for it. Mina felt her vision blur. She was used to seeing hunters who moved with military precision and never let their guard down even during breaks. Yet here they were, looking like they had come on a hiking trip, ready to pull out makgeolli or lunchboxes at any moment. The contrast filled her with an indescribable rage.
“Cheok-jeong, you want a drink?”
“Alcohol again? Uncle Woo-seok, it’s not even lunchtime yet.”
She felt dizzy watching the men not only joking but actually offering Cheok-jeong some of the makgeolli they were drinking. She had been suffering from low blood pressure just that morning, yet now it felt like she had suddenly developed high blood pressure. Was this really a situation where monsters could attack at any moment?
Even Captain Jeong, whom she happened to pass by, shook his head as if he understood exactly how she felt. It was almost too much to bear.
“Is this how most B-grade hunters behave?” Mina asked, barely suppressing her shock as she poked Seok-jun in the back. At least he was quietly keeping watch on their surroundings, aside from a few others.
“It’s pretty much like this no matter where you go. Dungeon breaks at D-grade or E-grade scatter the mana inside the gate, so they’re easy money for B-grade hunters.”
“Oh my god.”
She finally pressed a hand to her forehead. Every gate without exception contained alien mana. That mana exhausted hunters and had fatal effects on ordinary people. That was why A-grade hunters, with their high resistance, could enter and exit gates freely, while B-grade hunters—even if capable—were restricted from entering even low-grade D or E gates without proper equipment. She had never imagined the problem would be solved by letting the mana dissipate through a dungeon break.
“They’re not deliberately causing dungeon breaks, are they?”
“No, that’s not it. Originally, those gate sensors are high-spec devices capable of detecting low-grade gates within three kilometers. But as you can see…”
The logo reading “Samjeong” on the antenna the soldiers were repairing was a brand Mina knew well. Their products were renowned for reliability and used almost everywhere in the country, so the chance of them being defective was low.
“No matter how high-spec the sensors are, the Southern Plains are simply too vast, and realistically, maintenance is difficult. It can’t be helped.”
The military apparently took comfort in the fact that they could reliably detect C-grade gates and above, where the mana signature was stronger. At least it wasn’t so bad that they had to abandon the area entirely like the ocean.
“Still, isn’t this a serious case of safety complacency?”
Even setting aside the people drinking makgeolli, the sight of everyone pulling out snacks, rice balls, and convenience-store lunchboxes made her itch to scold them.
“Captain Jeong has tried talking to them several times, but they don’t listen at all, so there’s nothing he can do.”
At least they didn’t interfere with monster hunting, so they were left alone.
“Look at this. This part is broken, isn’t it? If there’s a problem, you need to report it so we can fix it.”
Captain Jeong soon received a report from the soldiers and showed the issue to the old man.
“I don’t know anything about it! Must’ve broken in the strong wind one day!”
“This part doesn’t break unless something pulls on it.”
When Mina took a closer look at the sensor, she saw a propeller installed beneath the antenna for wind power generation.
“Anyway, I don’t know anything about it!”
“A fine will be issued soon, so keep that in mind. Let’s move out.”
At Captain Jeong’s announcement, the hunters began throwing away the trash left from their meal. Some at least put it in plastic bags or their backpacks, but—
“Heave-ho!”
A few simply tossed their trash onto the ground right beside them. Mina was rendered speechless.
“What the hell are you doing?!”
“What? Grandpa, we’re the ones cleaning up your monster problem. Can’t you at least clean this much? Or should we just quit?”
“You little—!”
When even Woo-seok looked ready to pick a fight with the old man, Mina whispered to Seok-jun.
“I… I don’t think I can ever get used to this place.”
“That’s what I always think too.”
Eventually they left the area and arrived at an abandoned building. Scattered throughout were other ruined structures covered in dust and narrow paths that suggested this had once been a small village. Though it now felt desolate with no sign of life, a broken television and a banner reading “Gudong Village” lying on the ground still held traces of the past.
Captain Jeong stopped the Humvee there and addressed the hunters.
“We’ll begin the operation now.”
“What operation? We just do it like always—let that guy lure the monsters over and take them out one by one.”
When another hunter pointed at him, Mina looked at Seok-jun. He let out a sigh.
“Miss Mina, would you mind getting off?”
She dismounted at his request. Seok-jun approached Captain Jeong and held out his hand. As if he had been waiting for it, the captain handed over a fuel can.
“Do I really have to keep doing this every time?”
“When you’re around, we barely get any casualties. Just until I get promoted, okay? They count your contribution highly, and you get better pay. It’s good for you too, right?”
When Seok-jun finally took the fuel can and began pouring it into the motorcycle, Mina asked cautiously.
“Is this really okay? Do they have something on you?”
Having overheard the entire conversation with Captain Jeong, she asked with concern. Seok-jun ruffled her hair a bit roughly.
“Ow, what was that for?”
“You don’t need to worry. He may look like that, but he’s a decent person. That’s why we’ve been working together.”
“If you say so…”
While she fixed her messy hair, he set the fuel can down and closed the cap.
“Since Captain Jeong knows you’re an A-grade hunter, Miss Mina, he’ll grant most reasonable requests.”
When she nodded, Seok-jun started the engine.
“I’ll be back shortly.”
“Huh?”
-Vrooooom!
She watched his back as he sped off without even wearing a helmet, then realized.
I’m left behind all alone?!
Mina shivered as the piercing stares stabbed into her like spears.