It Was There, But Now It’s Gone

Deep in the night, the city was swallowed by darkness. Eight drunken hunters filled the alleyway with their boisterous laughter.

“I really wish every day was like today.”

“You too? Same here. Ha! To think we actually cleared an uncleared gate. If we keep this up, won’t we be on TV soon?”

“Damn, I need to get some skincare before that happens, right? Hahahaha!”

They walked through the residential area, laughing and shouting as if they had no idea how loud they were being. Thanks to them, windows in the neighborhood began to light up one by one. But they didn't care. From their perspective, they had every right to be this way. Their guild was named Angel’s Wings. And today, they had successfully cleared an E-rank gate for the first time in their lives. They hadn't just cleared it; they had obtained a decent item along with a red magic stone. If they sold it, each guild member who participated would walk away with 30 million won. On top of that, they now held the gate management rights for the next six months. With a fortune waiting for them, it was only natural to roam the streets drunk for one night.

Unable to stand it any longer, one resident opened a window and shouted, “Keep it down! What are you doing making so much noise this late at night!?”

At that, one of the hunters looked up and glared. “What!? What did we do wrong? It’s thanks to us that you can sleep soundly in your beds!”

As if in agreement, the other hunters laughed and shouted even louder. Anger and helplessness flickered across the resident’s face. In the end, there was nothing the powerless resident could do—except slam the window shut with all their might. Emboldened by the reaction, the hunters’ laughter and loud voices continued to fill the alley. But then.

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

Suddenly, the air around them turned chillingly cold, as if it had frozen.

“Huh? It feels like it suddenly got chilly, doesn’t it?”

“Did you catch a cold or something? Are you even a hunter?”

“No. Something feels weird.”

One hunter with sharp instincts looked around. But there was only darkness. “Hey! Why are you messing around? Just because you have nothing to say, you’re trying to change the subject!”

“Alright, alright. I won’t make you pay for the drinks, so stop pretending you’re sick.”

The other drunken hunters mocked him. At that moment.

“Do you think you’re something special just because you have a little bit of pathetic power?”

A cold voice echoed from the darkness.

“Wh-who’s there!?”

The hunters’ laughter ceased. They looked around, but there was still only deep darkness.

“Is being a hunter some kind of noble title? Why do you people who awakened by luck have such a sense of entitlement?”

The voice continued to come from the darkness.

“I asked who you are!”

“Which bastard is playing pranks on such a good day?”

“If I catch you, you’re dead.”

The hunters used their mana to instantly sober up. That was when.

Thud, thud.

A man was slowly walking out of the darkness. He had a pale face, contrasting black clothes, and eyes shimmering with a reddish light.

“Who are you, you bastard?”

“Are you dying to get killed? Huh?!”

“Come here. Come on in. You son of a bitch!”

Perhaps because they thought there was only one opponent, the tension on the hunters' faces seemed to fade. However.

Several pairs of red eyes flashed in the darkness, and they began to appear one by one. Before the hunters could even react, the owners of the red eyes appeared like shadows and surrounded them.

“Huh?! Ar-are you guys really trying to do this?”

“Who are you people? Why are you picking a fight with people who are minding their own business?”

“What is your identity?”

“Don’t you know that fighting between hunters is a felony?”

The panicked hunters stood back-to-back, keeping the red glares in check.

“You don’t deserve that. So, die.”

The man’s eyes were filled with murderous intent, and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a cynical smile hung on his lips. In an instant, the owners of the red eyes swarmed them. The hunters didn't just stand there and take it. They each pulled out their weapons and lunged, but against enemies specialized in darkness, their resistance was nothing more than a futile struggle. Before long, the lips of the red-eyed owners—the Vampires—were soaked with fresh blood.

The man watched it all with indifference, his eyes devoid of any emotion.

“Hunters who have transcended human ability, you and we are no different from monsters. To purify this world, we are all beings that must disappear, so I will hunt you down.”

In the darkness, red eyes shone cruelly.

Park Hae-soo stood there, dazed, as if he had lost all hope. He was dead. The man who had cleared C-rank gates and cleared Sudden Gates multiple times. The man who even in North Korea, no one could stop. He had died so pointlessly. He wasn't someone who should have died here. Because he was there, the broken Hunter Management Department had been running like a runaway locomotive. Now, it looked like it would stop again. Like a rusted train.

He could see the hunters in his line of sight. Baek Woo-hyun was clenching his teeth with his eyes squeezed shut. Joo Jowoon was burying his face in the ground and crying. Yoon Hye-won was sitting down, staring blankly at the sky. The other hunters were the same. Although they had been bullied by Cheon Yooshin, there was no one who didn't know that it wasn't his true intention. And because he was there, the Hunter Management Department was being revived.

Park Hae-soo gritted his teeth. He was the team leader of the Hunter Management Department. He couldn't just fall into despair like them.

“A-attention, everyone! In a little while, a rescue team from our country will…”

Park Hae-soo stopped mid-sentence. Because minute cracks were beginning to form on the floor not far from Baek Woo-hyun.

‘D-don’t tell me, is it an earthquake this time?’

Since they had just escaped a natural disaster, it was a natural thought. The cracks spread like a spiderweb in an instant. Baek Woo-hyun noticed it too and shouted urgently.

“Everyone, back away!”

Even at that moment, the cracks didn't stop. Then, with a crumbling sound, the floor broke. Along with the dust, a hand stained with blood appeared. It was a gruesome sight, like a zombie from a movie popping out from underground. The fingers moved desperately.

“Z-zombie?” someone muttered, and as if in response, the hand moved even more violently. The forearm appeared, followed by the elbow and shoulder. And finally, a face covered in dirt was revealed. Everyone’s eyes widened. Because an unbelievable sight was unfolding. Cheon Yooshin, who they thought was dead, had appeared.

But that wasn't the end of it. Cheon Yooshin, stained with dirt, was gasping for air and dragging someone up. It was the soldier wearing a North Korean military uniform—Kim Seongryong.

“H-huff! Wh-what are you looking at! Take this man and get him out of here right now!”

Only then did the people seem to come to their senses and hurriedly took care of the unconscious Kim Seongryong. Park Hae-soo approached Yooshin and said, “This is a miracle. A miracle! To think you returned alive from there.”

“Why. Are you disappointed that I came back alive?”

“Hahaha, how could that be? I’m happy. I’m happy.”

Once again, Cheon Yooshin had created a miracle.

“Anyway, that’s enough…” As Yooshin was about to open his mouth further, he fell backward.

“Oh! Oh! Mr. Yooshin!”

But the one who caught Yooshin before Park Hae-soo was none other than Baek Woo-hyun. Baek Woo-hyun checked Yooshin’s body and nodded, saying, “He’s fainted.”

“Haha, does Mr. Yooshin even faint?”

Yoon Hye-won, who had wiped away her tears, approached and said, “Of course he does. He fought against Mother Nature like that to save us, it wouldn't make sense if his body were fine.”

Everyone’s gaze began to turn toward the unconscious Cheon Yooshin.

News that shook the world spread rapidly in real-time. It was the shocking news that Kim Jeong-yoon, one of the worst dictators of the current era, had died. It instantly graced the headlines of every major media outlet in the world. The news of Japan’s successful C-rank gate clearance was pushed to the back burner within five minutes of its announcement. At this very moment, the world’s attention was focused on the Korean Peninsula.

The reactions to the comments on each article were explosive.

Expert analysis also poured in. There were various topics such as North Korea’s power vacuum, changes in the Korean Peninsula’s situation, and the international community’s response. Meanwhile, while everyone was focused on Kim Jeong-yoon, Cheon Yooshin was just waking up in a hospital room located inside the Hunter Management Department building.

“Where am I…”

Who am I? I see a white ceiling. A cold plastic mask covering my mouth and nose. It feels unfamiliar? No way? Am I going through the trope of waking up from a coma again? A ridiculous development where everything I’ve experienced so far was a dream? But fortunately, it didn't seem to be that bad. Because Park Hae-soo was sitting on a folding chair next to me, nodding off.

‘I’m back.’

Yooshin sat up and checked his Magi first. ‘This is the first time I’ve ever run out of Magi here.’

In the Abyss, mana exhaustion was a daily occurrence. However, his Magi here was 9,999,999. Nearly ten million Magi. That kind of Magi had been completely drained in an instant.

‘Is it fortunate, though?’

His Magi was full. Yooshin recalled that moment. When the hole he had pierced was covered again by soil. At that time, he had already exhausted all his Magi, so he had no choice but to wait for death. If it hadn't been for that.

‘It was definitely a slime.’

That was what saved him. It swallowed the pouring soil whole. The slime, having instantly expanded its body, had sent him outside. But why? Why would a monster help him? Then, something ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠flashed through his mind.

‘The King Slime’s Core?’

He quickly took out the core he had put in his inventory. “…Huh?”

Before, it had been a greenish jelly form. But now?

“It’s black?”

Just like his own Magi. And an option appeared before his eyes.

“…This is a jackpot, isn't it?”

To think it was an item that could be summoned in item form, not even as a familiar. This was a first. Plus, the fact that it was the same color as his Magi made it feel even cuter. ‘But how was the seal broken?’ He had just put it in his inventory.

Just as he was harboring such doubts, Park Hae-soo tossed and turned and woke up. “You’re awake. Mr. Yooshin. I couldn't sleep all night worrying about you.”

He should have wiped his drool before saying that. The dried drool suggested he had slept soundly. He wasn't like this in the beginning. Why did he change like that? Anyway.

“Am I in Korea?”

“Yes. That’s right. This is a hospital room inside the Hunter Management Department. Since your face is known, it would get noisy if you went to a hospital. And it’s obvious that your family would find out…”

“You did well. But I didn't know there was something like this here.”

“Since hunters get hurt so often, we have medical staff stationed here. Oh, and…”

Park Hae-soo hesitated before continuing. “That, green magic stone, do you have it? Could we have it appraised? We want to check how much mana is inside the magic stone. That way, even if it’s sold later, we can get a fair price for it.”

Possession of the green magic stone. While Cheon Yooshin was unconscious for three days, the world had turned upside down. They had realized that the reason he was attacked was because of the green magic stone.

“Ah, the green magic stone. Well, it doesn't cost money to appraise it, so wait a moment.”

He tried to take the green magic stone out of his inventory. Huh? He tried to take it out, but.

“Is something wrong?” Park Hae-soo asked, puzzled by Yooshin’s surprised expression.

“…It’s gone?”

“What do you mean by that…?”

Yooshin laughed, looking dejected. “It was there, but now it’s gone.”

“…Yes?”

Despite Park Hae-soo’s question, Yooshin stared intently at the slime’s core, which had turned black. ‘This bastard is the culprit, isn't he?’ No matter how much he thought about it, it had to be this guy. Unless there was a hole in his inventory, that is.