There's Someone Inside

"Battle stations!"

Every weapon on the rescue team swung toward me at once.

"...Excuse me?"

Wait. Hold on. This is looks-based discrimination, isn't it?

"Damn it! How is there still a monster inside a cleared gate?!"

"I'm not a golem, I'm a suit—"

"Wait, please!"

The girl who'd been behind me burst out in front.

"Miss Jiyeon?"

She must have been someone well known. The moment the hunters recognized her face, the killing pressure in the air eased, and one by one the people behind her started shouting too.

"He's not a monster!"

"He's a person! He's the one who saved us!"

"There's someone inside!"

"..."

Who even said that last part. It wasn't wrong, exactly, but it still stung a little...

The hunters glanced at one another. The man at the very front lowered his weapon first.

"A... person, Miss Jiyeon?"

"Yes. I can vouch for him."

The man's eyes traveled up and down. Cracked slabs of stone. Shoulders swollen grotesquely huge. Forearms as thick as my torso.

"...That is?"

"If you keep talking like that, you're going to hurt my feelings too."

"The golem talks?! Ah, no, that's not— ahem. My apologies."

I looked down at myself as well. Cracks ran everywhere, and the whole shape had turned even nastier than when I'd first put it on. Hmm. On looks alone, your average monster couldn't even introduce itself in the same room.

No. That's not the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠point.

"If it's a skill... are you able to dismiss it?"

"I'll give it a try."

I focused on the skill at once.

...Dismiss the suit? Is this how you do it?

In my head, I willed a single thing: cancel the skill. Cancel Suit Creation.

With a grinding crack, the stones sheathing my body split all at once and poured onto the ground. The last slab wrapped around my head dropped free with a heavy thud. I lifted both hands.

"See? A person."

"..."

"...Huh. Yeah. A person."

"Honestly, I thought it was a mob."

"Hey now. Quiet."

Hunters and civilians alike—even the ones who'd stepped forward with such grim resolve—looked down at my feet. Where the pebble suit had been standing a moment ago, there I was, in faded clothes.

"We're sorry. We saw only the exterior and rashly mistook you for a monster."

The hunter at the front bowed at once.

"No. It's all right."

I looked at the pile of stone on the ground.

"I probably would've done the same."

Really.

The misunderstanding seemed cleared up, at least, so we headed for the gate exit first. I naturally fell in behind them and took a step.

I lurched.

"Huh?"

My foot shot much farther forward than ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I'd meant. I threw the other one out to catch my balance, and this time my whole body tipped sideways.

"Wait— gah!"

Don't tell me the skill has a side effect that makes you forget how to walk.

"Are you all right?"

Fortunately the hunter beside me grabbed my arm before I could collapse in a truly pathetic heap.

"Yes. Thank you."

I took his hand and tried another step.

I lurched again.

"...Now that I try, I don't think I'm all right."

With the suit that had been crushing me for hours finally gone, my feet were so light I couldn't control them, and my shoulders felt strangely bare.

And now that the tension's dropped, there's no strength left in my legs.

"I'll support you... by the way, what's your hunter rank?"

"I'm not a hunter yet."

"What? What do you mean?"

The hunter holding me up tilted his head.

"I awakened inside the gate, so I haven't even registered."

"..."

A middle-aged man following behind slipped into the conversation.

"He took down almost all the monsters by himself."

"And he carried every one of us the whole way."

"You only just awakened, and you cleared a Spontaneous Gate...?"

"I got lucky."

More accurately, the skill was good. And the gate was only F-Rank.

"...Let's get outside first. We'll need to confirm the details out there."

Beyond the gate, it was incomparably louder than inside. Paramedics and Bureau staff moved back and forth within the cordon, and the crowd packed around them had their phones up, filming our way.

But the first thought that hit me had nothing to do with any of that.

The last train's long gone. How am I even getting home? And in this condition, showing up to work tomorrow is out of the question.

I was in the middle of a grave, livelihood-level crisis when the girl walking beside me suddenly stopped.

"...Huh?"

She ran straight into a woman's arms.

"Unni!"

The moment the girl hugged her, that long hair swayed. Red, as if it were burning. A face twisted with worry and relief and every feeling in between, and still it didn't fall apart. Hours ago, this was the person swinging a sword on my phone screen.

"...Ha Jia?"

For real? Don't tell me the person I saved ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was that Ha Jia's little sister.

Ha Jia caught the girl by both shoulders.

"You're not hurt anywhere?"

"I'm fine... ah, Unni!"

"Hold still. You never know—I have to check you over properly!"

"...You really do too much, you know that."

Even so, Ha Jia didn't look convinced. She inspected the girl from head to toe for a long while before finally letting out a deep breath.

"What would I have done if you'd been hurt... Your weapon? Want me to restock your gear?"

"I said I'm fine. That oppa saved me."

The girl grinned and pointed my way.

"Hm?"

Ha Jia's gaze followed her sister's arm straight to me. She walked over and bent at the waist.

"Thank you."

"Ah, yes— but you really don't have to—"

"Not only for my little sister. For saving the other civilians in the Spontaneous Gate as well."

Someone I'd only ever seen on a phone screen, bowing right in front of me. It didn't feel bad, exactly. The pressure was just bigger.

"Which guild are you with, if I may ask?"

"..."

I feel like I just heard a similar question.

"I'm not even a hunter yet."

"...Pardon?"

Mm. Same reaction as before.

"I only just awakened inside the gate."

"Awakened inside a gate..."

Ha Jia's sister jumped in as ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠if she'd been waiting for the opening.

"Unni, that oppa is seriously—"

"Hup."

"I totally thought he was a golem at first, you know?"

At that, Ha Jia cut her sister off and looked at me again.

"A golem? Did you perhaps awaken a summoning-type or production-type skill?"

"My skill is Suit Creation."

Mm. Pebble suit, if we're being honest.

A Bureau employee was waiting nearby, so I started explaining, partly to lay out what had happened.

"—so both the defense and the attack power turned out pretty decent."

"...Ha ha. That really is an incredible skill."

At the employee's reaction, I laughed, a little embarrassed myself. I'd thought the same thing the moment I first saw my status window.

Ha Jia looked ready to ask something more, then faltered at the sight of the Bureau employee.

"I'll compensate you separately."

"That's—"

"Please don't refuse. If I don't pay you, I'm the one who'll get torn apart for it."

"..."

A tired look crossed her face as she gestured at the crowd still shoving phones our way.

So this is the fate of an S-rank hunter.

In the end I took out my phone. A moment later, two new names sat at the very top of my contacts.

"I'll be in touch."

"Me too, oppa."

"...Right."

With that, Ha Jia took Ha Jiyeon's hand and left the scene. I looked down at my phone.

An S-rank hunter's contact info.

"Man. This is even harder to believe."

"You awakened inside the gate, and the time was..."

"Yes."

"Skill: Suit Creation. Limit on materials... still unknown."

"Right? I've only made them out of pebbles so far."

The Bureau employee, in the middle of finishing the paperwork, paused.

"...I suppose I should classify it as production-type."

"The skill name has 'creation' in it, so wouldn't that be right?"

"Mmm... I'll leave this field blank for now. It'll be settled by the next update."

Contrary to the this-is-a-headache look on their face, the employee flipped through the papers with perfect cool. A few more questions followed. The moment I'd been caught in the gate. How I'd dealt with the monsters. Even the trivial details.

"...This should be enough."

"Is it over?"

"Almost. If you're curious about anything, feel free to ask."

"What about clear rewards, that sort of thing?"

The hand tapping the tablet stopped.

"That part's important."

"...It is, isn't it."

The employee checked a few items, then explained the expected payout, noting that the final settlement still wasn't finished. My awakening had come late, but I'd been an ordinary civilian when I was dragged in, so the consolation money was one million won. Another million won as compensation for clearing the Spontaneous Gate. Byproducts recovered inside the gate were estimated at about two hundred thousand won.

"Of course, since it was an F-Rank gate, the byproducts aren't worth all that much."

"You're saying two hundred thousand won isn't a lot?!"

The whole time I listened, my head spun tight. Two million two hundred thousand won. Two million two hundred thousand won. Even after rent, a month's living expenses, and this and that, more than a million would be left. A huge sum. And I'd made it in just a few hours?

"Mr. Cha Sehyun?"

"Ah— yes. I'm listening."

I'd been thinking about that sweet future, and a grin had leaked out of me without my noticing. I cleared my throat once and sat up straight.

"When will the hunter registration go through?"

"As it happens, we were already entering your information into the Bureau database."

And then—

"Registration is complete. The initial rank is F-Rank, no exceptions."

A chime sounded, and a notification lit up my phone along with the employee's words.

So this is my hunter profile...

"If you'd like, you can also apply for a rank re-evaluation."

"Even though I just awakened?"

"Some people apply right after registration... and looking at today's combat record, I think you'd qualify."

The offer was tempting for a second, but I could still feel my legs trembling where they rested against the chair.

"I don't think I'm ready yet."

"Are you all right?"

"If I stay much longer, I don't think I will be."

What? I'm being serious. Why are you smiling?

Thanks to the Bureau employee, the way home was comfortable. Good grief. Tea made from monster materials, of all things.

"Haa... thank you."

"We're the ones who should be thanking you. Thank you again for saving those civilians."

Along with the thanks, I threw open the door of my familiar one-room.

"Uuugh..."

I flung myself straight onto the shabby bed. My back sank deep, and I felt the muscles that had been strung tight finally go slack.

"..."

Fatigue rolled over me. I stared blankly at the ceiling, then picked up my phone. Yellowed wallpaper. A low ceiling. Normally the sight alone soured my mood and I looked away at once, but not this time.

Why?

"...Heh heh."

Who am I? A freshly awakened F-Rank hunter, that's who.

Who am I? Proud owner of the Suit Creation skill.

"Eheheheh."

Creaking all the way, I rolled around on the narrow bed.

"Do you know how long I've been waiting to awaken!"

And money close to a month's wages is supposed to come in next week.

"Heh he— ack...!"

...I've got things to take care of, so maybe I should calm down first.

"First I'll tell the logistics job I probably can't keep showing up... and the convenience store."

Well. The settlement money wouldn't land right away.

Maybe I'll stick with it just until then.

I wanted to lay out a plan for what came next, but my eyes kept sliding shut. Ah. I'd wanted to savor this feeling a little longer, but I couldn't hold on any further...

"...Tomorrow."

"I'm going to be shut up at home all day tomorrow anyway."

"Sleep first."