The Regressor Invests in the Future
“If possible, I’d like to go with you too.”
The moment the contract with Asakura Eri was sealed, Lee Seoyul set her sights on entering the city ravaged by the Break.
Under international law, while foreign hunters couldn’t enter Gates—classified as resources—they were free to act at their own discretion during emergencies like Breaks, regardless of nationality. Once a Gate turned into a disaster rather than a resource, hunting monsters within counted as relief efforts. So Lee Seoyul, stepping forward confidently to recruit Asakura Eri, paused at her unexpected words.
“It’s not that I don’t trust you or think you’ll half-ass it. I just wonder if you can really find my house just from my directions… Navigation won’t work in this mess, right?”
Eri wasn’t wrong. In normal times, an address would suffice, but now the city was buried in sand, the landmarks a total wreck. Unless you had an innate sense of direction or knew the streets like the back of your hand—and Lee Seoyul was a total stranger here—could she really navigate by description alone to Eri’s house and rescue her grandmother? Lee Seoyul had her doubts.
Without some specialized tracking ability, “You said every second counts for survival odds. So…!”
Considering the risk of getting lost, going together made sense. Sure, the deal was sealed; alive or dead, Lee Seoyul could still take Eri to Korea. But…
Better if the family survives.
From both leverage and favor angles, saving Eri’s grandmother and emigrating the whole family to Korea would pave a smoother path ahead. After a brief moment’s thought, Lee Seoyul nodded.
“Let’s go.”
With her abilities, escorting Asakura Eri through that chaos wasn’t impossible. And if things went well, it might even trigger Eri’s early awakening.
Originally, Asakura Eri only fully awakened after the Minagi Prefecture Break ended. By then, the family she wanted to protect with that power was dead, buried in sand with no bodies to recover… Lee Seoyul remembered hearing how that trauma hit her psychologically hard.
So, with a sense of dedication to the Asakura Eri who’d suffered pointlessly in her past life before a hollow death, Lee Seoyul decided to accompany her.
“I shouldn’t be saying this after asking, but are you sure? I might just be a burden…”
Eri was stunned. She’d never imagined Lee Seoyul would actually agree to her impulsive plea, born of frustration at standing idle.
“Would you rather wait here twiddling your thumbs?”
“No, of course not. I’ll go. It’s just… so unexpected.”
Protecting someone mid-battle was no easy feat. Escort missions were notoriously tough; safeguarding a civilian while fighting monsters? Scanning for threats that could pop up anywhere, trudging through the mess like a camel with a hump—it was exhausting just thinking about. Yet here was Lee Seoyul, accepting it calmly. Eri couldn’t help but admire her confidence.
Incredible self-assurance.
In her panic, Eri hadn’t vetted the stranger’s skills before striking the deal, but this poise inspired trust. Purposefully approaching her meant she had the chops to back it up. Lives were on the line, sure, but Eri decided to put her faith in Lee Seoyul.
Steel resolve in place, Asakura Eri followed her out. Thus began their journey.
And just five minutes in, Eri felt her determination waver.
“Don’t stand there.”
“Huh?”
“Sand Predators incoming.”
No sooner had Lee Seoyul yanked Eri to safety atop a high-rise jutting from the sand than,
[KIIIIIEEEE!]
a grotesque, armored worm-like monster burst from the sand where Eri had stood defenseless. Big enough to swallow a grown man whole, its saw-like teeth grinding with an eerie screech. It looked almost disappointed at missing its prey.
Eri gulped, face paling at the oppressive presence of her first real-life monster.
“Danger rating D. Sand Predator. A staple from desert Gates. It hunts by sensing vibrations in the sand.”
Like a lecturer, Lee Seoyul explained while drawing a dagger from her waist.
“Not that powerful individually—E-rank at best. But its danger rating’s D because—”
“Eek?!”
Five more Sand Predators erupted.
“—as you see, they hunt in packs. Plus, they’re tenacious, with vibration sense on another level. Shaking them’s a nightmare.”
Hunters despised Sand Predators—top-tier annoyances. Once encountered, you couldn’t just slip away; you had to kill them. Lousy drops didn’t help, making desert Gates a pass for most. The environment sucked too, of course.
“Stay on the concrete no matter what. I’ll handle them.”
With that, Lee Seoyul leaped lightly from the rooftop. The instant she seemed to land in the sand, two Sand Predators split apart, splattering viscous green fluid across the dunes.
[KIIIIIEEEE!]
[KKIIEEK! KII!]
The monsters screeched like they were communicating. Watching, Eri swallowed dryly.
This… is real combat.
The tension dwarfed any blockbuster film. Even just spectating from afar, an indescribable thrill washed over her.
Beautiful…
Lee Seoyul swam through the sand, countering the pack’s coordinated assault with clean, smart precision. No flair—just pure practicality and efficiency. Minimal stamina drain. Maximum strike power. Optimized motions wasting no energy, each blow lethal. Eri stared, awestruck.
Even to a layman, it was elite. Stripped of showiness, the movements embodied functional beauty.
How strong is she? B-rank? A?
They’d chatted en route, gathering basics, but monsters cut it short. She knew Lee Seoyul was a newbie agent from the Korean Hunter Association, vacationing in Japan.
Someone like her is a rookie…? Are all Korean hunters this good?
Korea’s model response to their last Break, thriving with only two S-ranks until recently…
Maybe lacking top tiers but higher average power? System difference? Either way, immigrating to Korea with Grandma sounds safe.
This ordeal shifted her thinking. Korea seemed like a golden opportunity. Unbeknownst to Eri, Lee Seoyul was an outlier, not the norm—but Japan’s pathetic Break response made Korea shine in her eyes.
No intent behind it, yet Lee Seoyul had unwittingly won Eri’s favor.
Time to wrap this up. No point wasting time here; more monsters would complicate things. Riding the momentum, she dispatched the rest in a flash.
The Sand Predators crumbled to ash, leaving only mana stones and fluid-soaked sand. As Eri thought, It’s over, she voiced a question.
“They didn’t run.”
The monsters had charged to the end despite the gap in power, leaving her uneasy.
“Monsters aren’t like normal creatures. They might feign retreat slyly, but they never actually flee. Kill or be killed—that’s what they are.”
Beings brimming with murderous intent toward humans.
“Plenty have tried talking to them. Zero successes.”
“Huh? But some monsters can speak human language…”
Studying Gates at university, Eri couldn’t reconcile this with what she knew.
Lee Seoyul flicked the fluid from her dagger, sheathed it, and replied firmly.
“Speaking doesn’t mean communicating.”
Smart monsters mimicked human speech, sure. But it wasn’t dialogue.
“It’s just bait to lure and hunt humans. Not conversation.”
Like the clap of slapping a wall solo versus high-fiving someone. Same sound, worlds apart. Monster speech was an empty echo, like that wall slap.
Eri nodded, accepting it. Watching her, Lee Seoyul sighed softly, wishing others grasped it as quickly. Naive eras had fallen for the illusion of peace with monsters, leading to humanity’s critical decline.
She’d build power and influence this time to prevent it.
I need enough sway to warn everyone before they get duped.
But it gave her a headache. People pushed back—pull, they shove; shove, they pull. Convincing the world, tangled in interests? Daunting.
Possible or not, it must be done.
She half-wished for a charisma skill. Plenty of time. Find a way.
Shaking it off, Lee Seoyul nodded to Eri.
“Let’s keep moving.”
“R-right!”
The pair pressed on through the sand-choked city, Eri praying for her family’s safety.