No Need for Evacuation
"No need to evacuate after all."
Park Haejun muttered as he watched the pack of bladed mantises fleeing. Wherever Seoya went was turning into a shelter in itself, but the bigger issue right now—bigger even than Seoya's safety—was...
"Oppa, don't we need to catch those things that ran away?"
The monsters, which normally had to approach humans first to attack them, were now fleeing from Seoya with their tails between their legs. Unless every other monster around them was wiped out, they always charged straight at humans without fail. So this scene unfolding before Park Haejun's eyes was utterly unfamiliar, even to a seasoned hunter like him.
"...Of course we do."
With a sigh, Park Haejun stepped out of the car, and Seoya's eyes sparkled as she flung the door open wide.
Approaching Lee Gayeon and Baek Yena, Seoya asked in a light tone.
"Unnie! Can I go catch those?"
"...Ah."
They clutched the backs of their necks, having just been watching the magic circle Baek Yena had activated in the spot where the monsters had vanished. Right, this feels familiar.
"Ugh, our lovable... little rascal."
Baek Yena swallowed tears inwardly as she looked at Seoya beaming innocently. Sure, if they'd waited just three more seconds, the magic circle would have triggered and wiped out all the monsters... But now, because they'd fled, they'd have to hunt them down one by one...
Our baby's too adorable to blame.
Feeling more exhausted than ever, Lee Gayeon spoke in a resolute voice.
"...Let's go catch them."
"...Yes, ma'am."
"...Okay, Captain."
The bladed mantises were already far off into the distance, their speed astonishing.
"Great!"
Only Seoya replied with unbridled excitement, gearing up to dash. It had been n days since arriving in this world with barely any outings, and this was her first real hunt in ages.
"Life really! Not a single normal day goes by!"
Baek Yena shouted as she chased after the distant pack of fleeing bladed mantises. She could kill them easily if they came close, but the monsters were running away from the humans! The thought of tracking down the ones scattering in every direction made her neck ache. At least it was a sparsely populated area—that was a small mercy. She didn't want reporters snapping pics of Neverending's guild chasing mantises around like this.
Meanwhile, instead of following the group, Seoya focused intently on the mantis pack.
They're not that fast.
She could catch up in just a few leaps. The only question was how to deal with them.
Can't make it look like I'm doing it directly.
Her weeks in this world had taught her one thing: society here monitored and controlled every human action. ID registration, CCTV cameras recording everything...
But are those mantises just gonna keep running like that?
Watching them sprint reminded her of that documentary she'd seen earlier.
-Now, let's look at the mantis wings. They can fly temporarily. Not for long, but far enough. Females are bigger and heavier, so males fly better.
"They're flying! Herd them together—don't let them scatter!"
At Lee Gayeon's shout, the distant mantises began lifting into the sky.
"Skill: Light That Does Not Reflect!"
Baek Yena quickly activated her skill, taking out a few still grounded on the earth.
But the flying ones?
No time for second thoughts. Action came swift. Seoya was always relaxed knowing everyone here was weaker than her, but she'd never let prey escape right in front of her eyes.
Burst them.
Seoya slowly moved the hand she'd hidden behind her back. A blue dome of mana formed over the mantis pack like a lid. Concentrating her power, the translucent dome began glowing blue.
Crackle—pop!
"What the—?!"
A small explosion rang out.
"Ah, dust."
Seoya squeezed her eyes shut against the blowing wind, then opened them. Nothing remained where the wind had passed. Just heaps of unpleasant dust on the ground.
That was easy.
Watching monsters this simple get dealt with using inefficient skills and such was unbearable.
"...Where'd they go?"
Lee Gayeon, standing in front of the smug-looking Seoya, murmured in bewilderment. Dead monsters should leave corpses—at least traces—but there was nothing.
"Taken care of."
"...Completely gone?"
"Yup."
Glancing back, a blue gate hovering in the air was closing—no monsters left unsolved. The Neverending guild members sighed deeply, reminded once more just how powerful the girl they had with them was.
To them, how strong Seoya was didn't matter.
Just...
"Ha. Good job, kid... "
Baek Yena plopped down right there, her voice a strange mix of weeping and relief. Seoya found the gate, chased off the monsters, then wiped them out. She'd caused the mess and fixed it herself—so did they praise her or what? Anyway, now they had to clean up the aftermath of her handiwork.
"Hmm, this... what do we do?"
Lee Gayeon racked her brain over the spot where the monsters had vanished without a trace in an instant. Would they have to pull the "invisible hunter" excuse again like last time? If Neverending was always where this "invisible hunter" showed up—and they were the only ones spotting them—anyone would suspect they were hiding something...
"That's why we were gonna catch them ourselves... No, our Seoya did great..."
Right, what did a kid know about adult troubles? Swallowing tears, Lee Gayeon began praising Seoya's good deed. Proper praise was essential for good actions.
Standing there blankly, Seoya stretched contentedly, beaming with pride. She really needed these outdoor activities. Cooped up inside since falling to this world, her body—once soaring freely on Toda—felt stiffening up.
Then, she sensed someone approaching from afar, drawn to her presence. Sure, passersby oblivious to the recent monster chaos came and went, but Seoya reacted sharply to this person's aura.
That one's kinda strong?
A tall man with jet-black hair. Black coat, all-black clothes. His sharp features looked chiseled and firm, shadows darkening his cold eyes. His expression was more serious and solemn than any human Seoya had seen on Earth.
Hmm.
The aura of a powerhouse. The leisurely stride of one who'd never needed to flee. Movements ignoring all threats, never imagining anyone could challenge him. Confidence born of power allowing free action without care for consequences.
Instinct told Seoya: this was undoubtedly one of this world's elite. The leisure only lifelong dominants possessed.
Maybe even her kind of person. She'd never sensed that level of ease from Baek Yena, domestic rank 4 and world rank 97.
Seoya focused sharper, probing his aura...
Her head tilted instinctively.
Strong, but... kinda dull?
A true powerhouse would sense her scan and go on guard, aura keen. But he felt nothing.
Seoya withdrew her probe. Not worth her full caution after all.
Strong by this world's standards, I guess. Everyone here's weak anyway.
He'd lived a relatively strong life here, but compared to her? Not even close. She'd known Earth's humans were weak overall from their reliance on skills, and this guy was no exception.
"Isn't that Go Heejae the hunter?"
Park Haejun muttered, just now noticing the man, surprise and tension in his voice.
"He's strong?"
"Domestic rank 1. And also..."
"World rank 1. Ah, that annoying jerk. Days I run into him never go right."
That's the strongest in this world?
For real?
Eh.
Totally deflating. This world was nothing special. Now she got why no monsters had tensed her up. If that was world rank 1, the levels were just different.
Even ten of him couldn't beat Ibin unnie.
No need for Seoya herself—Toda's second-strongest pioneer, Ibin alone, could take them all.
Maybe me not being affected by the System is 'out of spec' too?
Yeah, even Seoya admitted the gap between her and Earth's people was huge. If the System applied to her, she'd top the ranks naturally, breaking balance.
By now, the man—Go Heejae—stood before Lee Gayeon, his expression inscrutable, like he had something to say. Seoya, still a bit curious, sneaked glances at him sidelong.
The moment Toda's rank 1 met Earth's rank 1.