The Cleanup Crew
During the hunting season, Mina could have easily slaughtered the exhausted frenzy bisons, but upon spotting Seok-jun leisurely riding his motorcycle around them and toying with the creatures, all the tension drained out of her.
“If you had that much free time, couldn’t you have just taken care of them yourself?”
When Mina turned around, she saw him leaning casually against the motorcycle. She planted her hands on her hips and spoke with clear displeasure. She had rushed in, worried he might be in danger, and had gone a bit overboard using her power to wipe out the goblins—only to find him looking utterly relaxed.
“My mana isn’t the reinforcement type, so I have almost no way to inflict damage on monsters.”
That was certainly true. His mana, known as Rule Zero, seemed to be a nullification type, yet it manifested as ropes he could control, which he used to bind and subdue his opponents. Considering that nullification types almost never displayed such specialized abilities, it was quite unusual. Still, the lack of lethal power was similar to other nullification users.
“What about the guns you brought?”
She glanced at the revolver holstered at his waist and the case slung across his back, which she assumed held a Winchester rifle.
“Using them on monsters just isn’t cost-effective.”
“You’re just making excuses, aren’t you?!”
“You caught me?”
“Agh, seriously!”
Mina had already suspected as much, but watching him casually pull a white sausage from somewhere and start eating it irritated her so much that she jabbed her finger repeatedly into his side. Every time she touched him, though, the strength left her body, and the thick trench coat prevented her from poking him properly. Still, her stubbornness kept her jabbing away.
“Ahem! Hmm!”
The sudden sound of someone clearing their throat from behind made Mina flinch. She spun around to see a soldier wearing the same rank insignia as Captain Jeong, accompanied by several other troops, watching them.
“Sorry for interrupting what looks like a good time, but we’d appreciate it if you could spare us a moment.”
“I-it’s not like that…”
Realizing how the scene must have appeared, she flushed with embarrassment and moved to stand beside Seok-jun. He extended his hand in greeting.
“I’m Captain Ko Seong-jin, commander of the 3rd Guardian Battalion, Southern Plains Defense Force.”
“Ah! I’m Lee Mina, an A-grade hunter affiliated with Hanshin Guild.”
Mina instinctively reached for a business card but ended up shaking his hand instead.
“Hanshin? I’d heard you were an A-grade hunter, but you’re even more impressive than I expected.”
At his admiring expression, Mina could only smile bitterly. Thanks to Gu Gang-woo, she was currently on an involuntary leave of absence, constantly worrying about when she might be fired.
He soon released her hand and extended it toward Seok-jun.
“And you must be the nullification type…?”
“I’m Cha Seok-jun, B-grade hunter.”
Captain Ko nodded at his words and shook his hand.
“I’ve heard a lot about you from Captain Jeong. As it happens, we have a favor to ask. Would you be willing to help?”
Seok-jun frowned slightly, as if considering something.
“Will this contribute to Mina’s record as well?”
“Of course. I’ll make sure it’s counted generously, so you don’t need to worry.”
Mina couldn’t quite follow what they were talking about, but she soon understood the reason.
“Ugh, this place…”
The location Captain Ko led them to was none other than the spot where Mina had slaughtered all the goblins. The creatures’ bodies lay scattered in pieces across the ground. Even though she had done it herself, the sight didn’t feel entirely real. No matter how many monsters she had killed, she had never seen so many corpses piled up in one place. On top of that, the horrific stench—a mix of excrement, urine, and the metallic tang of blood—was anything but pleasant.
“Yes, as you can see, the contamination is quite severe in this situation.”
Mina already knew about this.
“It’s because of Otherworldliness, isn’t it?”
Dungeon breaks were problematic not only because monsters escaped the gate and rampaged, but also because of this contamination phenomenon. When a dungeon break occurred, the alien mana from inside the gate leaked out and seeped into the soil and various inorganic materials. Stones or parts of buildings could be removed and replaced, and contaminated objects could be discarded. However, soil affected by Otherworldliness could no longer be used for farming, and even if crops somehow grew, consuming them caused problems.
“Normally we’d use purification soil and heavy machinery for the cleanup, but unfortunately these were goblins.”
Indeed, there were far too many goblin corpses. Monster remains triggered the same phenomenon and needed to be dealt with quickly, but goblin filth was especially notorious. Their weapons and byproducts were useless, yet they appeared in huge numbers. When a low-grade dungeon break involving goblins occurred, it caused far more widespread Otherworldliness than other gates of the same rank. Clearing low-grade gates with goblins was treated with the same urgency as mid-grade ones. This particular incident had gone undetected by observers, which was how it had escalated.
“If left like this, it will require much higher costs. We’d appreciate your assistance.”
“So that’s why you brought Seok-jun…”
Mina finally realized why Captain Ko had specifically requested him. The usual purification process was complicated and expensive, but a nullification-type hunter could skip all of it and cleanse the Otherworldliness in a short time.
“I’ll begin right away.”
Seok-jun immediately sent out ropes made of his mana from where he stood amid the goblin-filled field. The ropes spread out like a spiderweb, covering a section of the ground. Captain Ko watched with a fascinated expression, which was only natural.
“As expected, I still can’t quite grasp the nature of your mana, Mr. Cha. It seems like nullification, yet it also feels like a creation type.”
Mina had seen other nullification hunters before, so witnessing a different approach felt just as novel to her. As far as she remembered, those other hunters had to walk through the affected area themselves to perform the purification.
“There’s still a lot I don’t understand about my own mana either.”
Even as he said that, Seok-jun scanned the field of goblin corpses for a moment before retracting all but one of the spiderweb-like ropes. He turned to Mina.
“It looks like I’ll need to walk the area to complete the purification. Would you like to join me?”
“Eww, walking through a field of corpses? Isn’t that a bit creepy?”
“You can just rest if you’d prefer.”
“Mmm, well…”
As she hesitated, he seemed to remember something and pulled a mask from his pocket—the same kind he was already wearing.
“What’s this?”
“It’s a gas mask. It’s not as effective as the real military version, but it’s better than nothing.”
She watched him put his on and followed suit.
Does he wear perfume?
Sure enough, the mask carried a stronger scent of the woody fragrance she always noticed on him. With the terrible smell now blocked, she decided to walk alongside him.
“Once the work is finished, please let the communications officer know,” Captain Ko said with a satisfied smile before leaving. Mina only caught the general idea, so she didn’t notice his expression as she followed beside Seok-jun.
“Do you usually handle jobs like this, Mr. Seok-jun?”
“Unless the contamination is this severe, they prefer using purification soil. So I don’t get called out very often.”
“Now that you mention it, this counts toward contribution points, right?”
It made sense—if hiring him was more expensive than using purification soil, they would only do so when necessary. Glancing at his side, she saw the single rope stretched out straight, gliding over the corpses as if alive and following his steps. Considering it could bind people, it clearly possessed physical force, yet it moved without snagging on anything. Hunters’ abilities were so varied that scenes like this never quite became familiar.
They walked in silence together, and before long the task was complete.
[All done? That’s a relief.]
As Captain Ko had instructed, Seok-jun spoke to the communications officer, who then patched him through to Captain Jeong.
[Thank you as well, Miss Mina. If you hadn’t been here, we would have been in serious trouble.]
Mina thought it was only natural, but a proud smile still crept across her face. There were many things different from what she had experienced and imagined, but this was still hunter work. That realization felt satisfying.
[We have enough personnel to handle the rest, so the two of you may return now. I’ll make sure your contribution points are properly reported.]
She handed the now-silent radio back to the communications officer. Seok-jun had passed it to her after the officer insisted on expressing his gratitude directly.
“What did he say?”
“That we’re free to head back now.”
Seok-jun walked straight to his motorcycle as if he had been waiting for exactly those words. He swung his leg over and spoke to her.
“Let’s go right away.”
“Pfft, aren’t you a little too excited?”
Mina was about to climb on behind him when he started the engine, clearly ready to leave at any second.
“Um, Hunter?”
“Yes?”
A man’s voice called out from behind as if trying to stop her. When she turned, the communications officer stood there with a stiff expression, opening and closing his mouth hesitantly.
Vrrrrroooom—!
“If it’s going to take much longer, I’ll head out by myself.”
“Ah! Wait a second!?”
But Seok-jun’s voice already carried the clear intent to ride off immediately. Mina hurried over and climbed onto the back of the motorcycle. He really would have left her behind if she had dawdled. Since she had no desire to stay here any longer either, she accepted the helmet, wrapped her arms around his waist, and the motorcycle shot forward in an instant. The communications officer who had tried to stop her was already forgotten.