Every Great Fortune Begins with an Absurd Imagination

Park Hae-soo looked at the gate rippling behind Cheon Yu-shin’s back and spoke.

“Are you really going in alone? Please, think about it once more. How about taking some of our Hunter Management Department hunters with you?”

“Team Leader, I didn’t think you were the type to be scared.”

“No, that’s not what I meant.”

“You want me to go in there with those greenhorns? That’s basically telling them to go die. Did they do something wrong to you, Team Leader?”

“Ah, no, it’s not that….”

“Forget it. Besides, if those guys show up inside that gate, taking them along would just be a hassle. I’d have to look after all of them. I’d rather go in alone.”

He had already heard what kind of monsters would appear inside. Even if the grandfather of all demons showed up, he’d just slap him and leave him for dead; mere fodder monsters were nothing….

“Ah, but because of that bastard, I’m going to be running around like crazy.”

If they had just left it to him from the start, he could have hunted at a leisurely pace for a few days before catching the King Slime. But to drag it out and then run away when there’s only one day left….

That really made him want to land a solid punch to someone’s face.

“But aren’t we giving you a one-week special vacation?”

For a salaryman, there was no reward sweeter than a vacation. However.

“Going to work is more comfortable.”

Being home alone was boring. But if he went to play at the Hunter Management Department—no, if he went to work—they’d feed him. When he got bored, they’d talk to him. If he felt sleepy, he could just lie down on a bed and nap. He wondered if there was any workplace better than this.

Well. Either way.

“Just have some tea ready. So I can head straight home as soon as I come out.”

The situation was unfolding urgently, but Cheon Yu-shin’s face was full of composure. And with everyone’s eyes on him, Cheon Yu-shin slowly stepped into the gate.

Blue House Emergency Response Meeting Room.

President Cha In-soo and all the ministers related to safety were in attendance. The atmosphere in the room was heavy. No one could easily open their mouths.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

“Why on earth did it fail?”

President Cha In-soo looked at Minister Choi Jeong-won. The hunter who had entered the C-rank gate to clear it was an A-class hunter, no less. He was a hunter who even had experience clearing C-rank gates that had occurred overseas. Yet, such a person had barely managed to return alive. With all his guild members dead.

Minister Choi Jeong-won spoke in a heavy voice.

“Mr. President, the cause of this failure is a monster called a Slime.”

“…A Slime?”

The President’s eyes widened as if asking what that was.

“Yes. Slimes are largely unaffected by physical attacks. Even if you inflict damage, they regenerate immediately. Furthermore, when attacked, they split into multiple entities, and the problem is that these split entities all move independently. It means a single Slime can multiply in an instant. Do you remember the East Timor incident?”

“Are you talking about the incident where the country of East Timor collapsed?”

“That is correct.”

A groan escaped President Cha In-soo’s lips. In games, Slimes were classified as beginner monsters, but in reality, they were not. Their ability to corrode everything they touched—items were no exception. If hunters ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠used their weapons, for example, a sword, to strike a Slime, it wouldn’t even pull out easily. Even if they did pull the sword out, that was a problem. If the corrosive liquid on the sword touched the hunter’s body, they would melt away instantly. This made hunting itself impossible.

There was a solution. A mage with fire-attribute skills could burn them away. Or, if the military used their firepower to incinerate the Slimes that spilled out due to a gate break. But there was no way a small country would have such capabilities. Thanks to that, the small country of East Timor was swallowed by Slimes. After confirming there were no survivors, the United States eventually launched a nuclear strike.

But they couldn’t launch a nuclear strike here like they did then. Because the gate had appeared right in the middle of downtown Seoul.

“…….”

A heavy silence descended upon the meeting room.

“Hunter Kang Minho’s abilities are in the swordsman category, and his guild members are also close-combat specialists. The lack of long-range dealers was the reason for this failure.”

“Then can’t we just deploy a guild that has long-range dealers?”

To the President’s question, Minister Choi Jeong-won shook his head.

“These crazy things… ahem, excuse me. They will absorb every single attack. So, the attacks of most hunters won’t even work.”

However, there were no hunters with holy abilities in South Korea. If there were, they would be the A-class hunters from the UK known as Paladins, but they, like Japan and China, had refused the request for support.

“Then is there a countermeasure?”

“Hunter Cheon Yu-shin has been deployed.”

“…Hunter Cheon Yu-shin? But isn’t it useless even if he goes in? I understand he doesn’t have holy-type abilities.”

A complex expression flashed across Minister Choi Jeong-won’s face.

“Mr. President, Hunter Cheon Yu-shin is different from ordinary hunters. We haven’t fully grasped the skills he possesses yet. And according to his own confirmation, he says he can catch the Slimes.”

There were less than 8 hours left until the break occurred. The Minister of National Defense, who had been silent, spoke up.

“Mr. President, we must prepare for the worst. We must assume the case where even Hunter Cheon Yu-shin fails. We all know what will happen if a break occurs. Monsters will pour out into the city. Therefore, we must evacuate the civilians to prevent casualties. Also, we will deploy 30 K2 Black Panther tanks and 15 K9 Thunder self-propelled howitzers within a 1km radius of the gate. We will install anti-tank mines and directional mines 100m in front of the gate, and bury C4 explosives between the buildings. Our military will block them off so they can’t get out at all!”

Bang!

At that, President Cha In-soo’s fist slammed onto the table. The tension in the meeting room escalated.

“Absolutely not. Are you in your right mind right now?”

His face flushed red with anger.

“Evacuate the civilians? Where on earth are you going to evacuate that many people from Seoul? And tanks and self-propelled howitzers? If we use those weapons in the city, our capital will regress 50 years.”

The meeting room fell into a momentary silence. Just then, Minister Choi Jeong-won’s phone rang loudly. As everyone’s eyes turned to his phone, Minister Choi Jeong-won made an embarrassed expression and spoke as if making an excuse.

“I apologize. I can’t turn off my phone because of the gate.”

And Minister Choi carefully answered the phone.

“I’m in a meeting right now, so… What?! I-is that true?! No, it hasn’t even been an hour since he went in. But he’s already finished the clear?”

As soon as Cheon Yu-shin passed through the gate, he checked his surroundings.

“It’s a cave.”

A musty smell pricked Yu-shin’s nose. It wasn’t much different from what he had expected. It was the perfect habitat for Slimes. The cave walls were covered in sticky mucus, and water droplets were regularly falling from the ceiling to the floor. Because of this, the cave floor was full of shallow puddles. On top of them, Slimes were wriggling and tangled together. And the corpses found around them. Their owners were probably the guild members who had entered to clear the gate and died. Their bodies were rapidly decaying. By the Slimes, of course.

Even though it was a scene that would chill one’s spine, a smile spread across Yu-shin’s face. Dealing with Slimes was easier than anything else.

“Corpse Explosion!”

Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!

The corpses of the guild members scattered on the floor began to explode in succession. Then, the mucus masses of the Slimes that had been sleeping on the corpses splattered in all directions.

System alarms began to ring incessantly. Cheon Yu-shin looked at the scene he had created with indifference and ignored the alarms. As he raised his hand and stirred the air as if cutting through it, darkness gathered, and an Imp appeared.

“Oh, great Master. I shall pick up the magic stones.”

The creature bowed servilely, as if it were used to this. It thought it had been called to pick up magic stones, as always. But.

“No, there’s something else to do today.”

The Imp’s eyes widened.

“Yes?”

“Find the one ruling this place. It’s probably a King Slime.”

There wasn’t much time left until the gate break. To stop the break, he had to deal with that thing. The Imp’s expression turned serious.

“Understood. Great Master. I will bet my life to find the location of the King Slime.”

“You’d better find it as fast as possible.”

“Don’t worry, Master. I will show you how fast I can move!”

The Imp answered confidently and turned to start running. Then….

“Aaaargh!”

Cheon Yu-shin turned his gaze to the Imp’s scream. Then he clicked his tongue.

“Oh, seriously, that’s just pathetic.”

Perhaps it had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠been in the range of the corpse explosion, but there was a Slime that had survived. And the Imp, having stepped on that Slime, was writhing in pain while clutching its foot. Yu-shin stirred his hand once, and demonic energy permeated the Imp’s entire body.

“Hey, aren’t you getting up?”

The Imp, which had been writhing in pain, realized the pain had vanished and stood up hesitantly.

“S-sorry, great Master! I, I let my guard down.”

“Guard down, my foot. Aren’t you going to move?”

Only then did it start to fly, flapping the two wings on its back. At that moment, Yu-shin stirred his hand in the air. Then, the black energy that had been created flew toward the Imp at high speed. Yu-shin watched that scene blankly and muttered as he looked at the scattered mucus.

“Summon Monster.”

Then, the mucus began to move again, slowly. One by one, the Slimes began to regain their original forms. However, there was a difference from before. While they had been green before, now they were pitch-black.

“Alright, let’s go. To meet your boss.”

How ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠much time had passed? The pet Slimes he was using as summons were eating and absorbing their own kind. And a message popped up for Yu-shin, who was watching the scene blankly.

Huh? It’s weak, but that only applies among demons. That Imp got unsummoned? This is interesting. I’m curious. It was fortunate that I had planted demonic energy in the Imp as insurance, just in case. If I hadn’t, I would have spent quite a bit of time wandering around this maze-like place. Anyway.

The energy of the demonic power connected to where the Imp had died guided Yu-shin. And he arrived at the place where the creature had died. The smell of filth pricked his nose. A giant Slime was writhing there. Tiny bubbles were even bursting on its surface, over and over again. It was enough to make even Cheon Yu-shin feel disgusted. At that moment, that giant body began to slowly push toward Yu-shin like the tide.

“You little brat, you can’t even see, but you’re quick on the uptake.”

But Yu-shin did not step back. He raised his hand into the air and smirked.

Then, the core of the King Slime came clearly into view.

“There it is.”

“Dark Buster.”

It was a skill that condensed darkness to deliver an explosive attack. The downside was that it consumed a lot of demonic energy. But for Yu-shin, that was irrelevant. However, due to the Slime’s thick body, a single Dark Buster couldn’t reach the core. In other words.

Yu-shin’s barrage began.

Dark Buster. Dark Buster….

To others, it would have been a dangerous battle, but to Yu-shin, it was a boring one. But he couldn’t stop. Because his Ghost Eye was showing it clearly.

He was rapidly carving away the Slime’s body and approaching its core. And.

Now, even without the Ghost Eye, he could see the core throbbing. Yu-shin made a pistol shape with both hands and aimed at the core.

“Still one shot left.”

Then, suddenly. An absurd thought popped into his head. Did he really have to blow up the core? It was the core of a boss monster from a C-rank gate. If it were that core, wouldn’t it be a pretty decent item?

And that bizarre thought began to be put into action quickly.

“Shadow Weaver.”

At the same time, darkness shaped like a hand was created right in front of the Slime’s core. Yu-shin clenched and unclenched his fist. Then, the hand made of darkness also clenched and unclenched, following Yu-shin’s fist. This skill was another hand made of Yu-shin’s demonic energy. A playful glint appeared in Yu-shin’s eyes.

Let’s give it a try.

Because every great fortune begins with an absurd imagination.