Success Beyond the Dream
They say interpreting a dream beats the dream itself, but damn, I really have made it. Paying tribute to an S-rank Hunter and all. The meal ended on that high note of awe, and as Yoon Sungjin savored dessert, he was lost in the lingering thrill.
Honestly, even if it had just been a throwaway line, Yoon Sungjin would've brushed it off. After dinner chit-chat, if Seo Dami had laughed it away with, "A house gift? That was a joke. You actually believed it?" he would've gone along with it, no big deal.
But no, that wasn't the case.
"I'll handle it by tomorrow. I'll send a packing service, so no need to prep for the move yourself. Just give them your address when they call."
Seo Dami meant it. With insane efficiency—not in a month or a week, but tomorrow—she was gifting him a house. Sure, paperwork like title transfer might take a few days, but she'd make it move-in ready right away.
Yoon Sungjin could only gape like an idiot.
Is this what they mean by a rich person's flex...?
She was an S-rank Hunter and owner of Crimson Guild, after all. He'd known her sense of money operated on another level, but this was beyond imagination. Yoon Sungjin stuck out his tongue in disbelief.
"Th-that might be a dumb question, but... you sure this is okay...?"
Seo Dami chuckled at his worried tone.
"Of course it's fine."
If it wasn't fine, that would be the real problem. An S-rank unable to flex like this? Other countries would be lining up to poach her immediately. Plus, for Author Yoon's safety, he needs a secure place to stay. Nothing beat having him under her wing. People who learned the truth or recognized his value might target him. And while some approaches might be friendly, the world had its share of psychos who'd destroy what they couldn't have. For Yoon Sungjin's safety—and her own interests—Seo Dami was rushing to provide him a new home.
This wasn't empty talk. She'd already texted her secretary with orders. Naturally, the secretary was probably screaming at the sudden directive with only a day's notice. But it was worth it, and Seo Dami wanted to stake her claim this way.
She was convinced Yoon Sungjin predicted the future with high accuracy, whether through prophecy or foresight. Even without that, his unique perspective on Hunters and skill usage was intriguing. This investment is more than worth it.Lezal Hunter had elevated her realm, after all.
Regardless of his shock, Seo Dami prepared a new nest for him.
I can't just watch my benefactor keep living in that cramped one-room. Investigations showed he'd probably graduate from the one-room soon anyway, given his success. Overlapping issues had boosted it—even excluding The Hunter Who Leveled Up Well, it was flying high as a pure web novel.
"I don't even know what to say..."
Still, he wouldn't have landed a mansion with a garden and live-in maid. Yoon Sungjin couldn't contain his gratitude toward Seo Dami for making it happen in one go.
Grinning at him, she said, "If you're that thankful, Author Yoon, how about granting me one little request?"
She was cashing in on the "fan service" he'd offered earlier.
"Fire away. I'll reincarnate as a cow or a horse if you want."
"Reincarnate as a cow or horse...? No idea what that means, but that's not it."
In a world changed by Gates, real "ninjas" existed in Japan, but the global hit "ninja manga" memes hadn't taken off—so Seo Dami didn't get it. She'd sigh later once she learned. For now, unaware, she asked, "I'm dying to know how Lezal Hunter's plot unfolds after the Japan incident—what happens next?"
Any fan would wonder, but Seo Dami wasn't asking just for fun. She hoped for useful future intel.
"Could you tell me even a bit about what happens in the Black Gate? Anything at all?"
"Ah..."
Yoon Sungjin hesitated briefly but decided to spill. After getting a house, refusing fan service over spoilers would be ridiculous. Seo Dami didn't seem the type anyway—even if she blabbed the plot everywhere, he wouldn't mind. She earned that right with the gift.
"It might ruin the fun if you know ahead—sure you wanna hear?"
"Don't worry, Author Yoon. I'm the type who checks if the ending satisfies before watching a movie."
Yoon Sungjin nodded at her reassurance that spoilers wouldn't kill the vibe.
"The Black Gate arc kicks off, and China pulls some shady moves during the joint Gate raid."
"China... shady moves..."
Could words fit more perfectly? Seo Dami's eyes sharpened the instant she heard it. She'd hoped for raid tips, but this was beyond expectations.
"Shady how?"
"They hit Korean Hunter forces hard, then swallow up the unguarded North Korean land."
Seo Dami's eyes twitched. This was exactly what the Korean government feared most. The Black Gate had long collapsed the North regime. The former North Korean land was officially uninhabited now. Refugees had fled south or to China, and with the Gate's dangers, it sat abandoned. Villains used northern Korea as a prime hideout.
Every regime wanted to reclaim and restore it, but reality bit hard—resources were stretched thin. The Black Gate wasn't the only issue; more land meant more Gates to manage. Korea's forces couldn't cover the whole peninsula yet. So it lingered as a buffer zone, but everyone worried: what if China stepped in?
Some ex-North Koreans had fled to China, and the Black Gate straddled borders too. Gate management-wise, sharing the load was fine, but politically, it handed China a perfect excuse for ambition.
Korea constantly fretted over China eyeing the vacant North—and now Yoon Sungjin had warned of it. In truth, it was just a clichéd plot reflecting geopolitics, but to Seo Dami, blinded by bias, it rang prophetic.
"How exactly does China play it?"
"Uh? I... haven't thought that far yet..."
"How's the Black Gate raid go? Success? If so, how big?"
"W-well, the protagonist shines and they close it—"
"Close the Black Gate?!"
Seo Dami's face lit up in shock. Watching her, Yoon Sungjin felt growing doubt in his chest.
Are we even talking about my novel?
Her reactions were just too weird.
"Uh, um, is that too over-the-top even for fiction? I figured the protagonist had to close it to fit..."
"Protagonist... closing..."
Seo Dami had never deeply pondered Lezal Hunter's protagonist, Kim Min—even after suspecting tls123 was an oracle. He was just the narrator solving problems, a symbol of hope. Events mattered more than characters.
Maybe Kim Min is...?
But now, doubts shifted. Kim Min's traits matched someone real: Cha Ye Eun.
She captured the Blood Demon. Said Lezal Hunter helped her do it. If she hadn't read it...?
Seo Dami pondered if Cha Ye Eun was Kim Min incarnate. Reality's version lagged behind the novel's—
Capturing the Blood Demon and averting disaster might've cost her the novel's skills, slowing growth.
The overlaps were striking enough for this theory, tilting her conviction.
So to close the Black Gate and thwart China's schemes, we need Kim Min—Cha Ye Eun? But a C-rank in a Black Gate? How...?
Headache brewing, Seo Dami rubbed her temple instinctively.
She could pull strings to draft Cha Ye Eun for the raid, but doubts swarmed: how could her sluggish growth match the novel's feats?
"Nngh..."
Seeing her, Yoon Sungjin wondered, Did I say something wrong? and gauged her mood.
Sensing it, Seo Dami continued casually, "And then? After closing it, what next?"
"Uh, not sure? Haven't brainstormed past that."
"That's—"
Tricky. She needed info—anything useful for the future. Part of her wanted to grab his collar and demand everything, but she held back. Pushing too hard might backfire. They said leaking heavenly secrets came with a price.
Maybe his unconscious dream-prophecy is a self-defense mechanism, not weakness—full visions would overwhelm him without this filter.
She was fully convinced Yoon Sungjin was an oracle or equivalent foreseer. No hard proof, but her instincts had carried her this far—good enough for her.