The Transparent Hunter
'Whoa, they look absolutely hideous.' Seoya marveled at the herd of red water buffalo monsters.
How could something with its body split open like that walk around just fine? It was genuinely fascinating. Didn't they feel pain?
'They don't look that strong, though.'
To get a better look at the monsters, Seoya climbed over to the front seat, propped her legs on the passenger side, and crouched down.
"Aaaah! I'm gonna die!"
"Don't kill me! No, just chop me up and make it quick…."
"What?"
Creepy sounds were coming from the people fleeing behind them. What was their deal?
Seoya glanced at Baek Yena and Lee Gayeon, who were staring down at the ground, avoiding eye contact with the monsters as if preparing something.
Weird. Why couldn't those people even look the monsters in the eye?
'Why are they freaking out over things like that?'
Seoya tilted her head sideways, eyeing the red water buffalo herd at a slant.
When preparing to use mana, Seoya's indigo eyes gleamed with a bright yellow light. Her sharp yellow eyes locked straight onto the herd.
This was a clear warning. If you come any closer, you'll end up with your head and body separated and crushed.
The red water buffalo, sensing Seoya's aura, shuddered violently. One that met her gaze head-on bowed its head low and tucked its tail between its legs.
'Yeah, they're weaklings, all right.'
Just eye contact made the herd back away, which was a total letdown. She'd thought monsters would be different from regular animals, but to Seoya, they seemed pretty ordinary. Normal animals bolted the second they locked eyes with her anyway.
Seoya pouted her lips, then met the eyes of Baek Yena and Lee Gayeon, who were staring at her.
"Unnie!"
The moment Seoya flung open the car door and hopped out, they looked horrified.
"No! Get back in!"
Seoya stared at Baek Yena, who had placed hands on both her shoulders and was trying to shove her back inside.
"Unnie."
"Huh?"
"If those guys keep backing up like that, could they go back into that hole?"
"…No. Gates only let things out—you can't go back in."
"Got it."
Hmm. So if they let the red water buffalo herd flee like this, they'd run into the people and hurt them.
'In that case….'
Seoya dodged Baek Yena's hands pushing her and toddled forward. Her small feet hit the ground without a sound, but each step carried an unmistakable pressure.
The hunt had begun.
'No way.'
Lee Gayeon clamped a hand over her mouth, glancing back and forth between Seoya and the red water buffalo.
With every step Seoya took forward, the buffalo retreated two.
'Just with a look?'
The most shocking part was that Seoya stared the monsters down without any sign of mental strain.
Did she have insanely high mental strength? No, more like….
'She doesn't even seem to have a mental strength stat.'
As Seoya's eyes flashed bright yellow, blue mana swirled around her hands. Snapping out of it, Lee Gayeon shouted.
"No!"
She rushed forward, pointing at Seoya's hand and yanking her arm down. The blue mana faded away smoothly.
Seoya stared at her blankly, as if asking why she'd stopped her.
"Can't I kill them?"
"It's not that you can't…."
Seoya's face was bright and carefree, without a hint of worry about consequences.
'She seems ridiculously strong, but….'
Still, siccing a kid like this on monsters felt wrong, conscience-wise. Sure, there were hunters her age active in this world, but….
'Why does she look so damn young?'
It wasn't just appearance. She looked young enough that it was forgivable, so why did it feel like shoving monster-slaying onto a little kid?
'Is it because she's from another world—fundamentally different from Earthlings?'
"Unnie, I'm super strong, you know?"
'…And kinda thoughtless.'
She should've realized it when Seoya slapped the steering wheel earlier.
Lee Gayeon sighed, then glanced around. Dashcams on the cars, CCTVs everywhere. Maybe reporters zooming in from nearby buildings, filming this.
If Seoya was that strong, showing it off would be trouble. She wasn't registered in the hunter ranking system.
People would hound her for sure.
"You can't just use that power freely in this world."
"Why not?"
"It could get annoying if it gets out."
"Hmm…."
Seoya looked away, grumbling as if pondering. Then she perked up lightly.
"Then I just gotta make sure no one knows it was me."
Suddenly, Seoya turned her back to the monsters, as if declaring any business up ahead had nothing to do with her.
"What are you doing now?"
"Dunno. I was just standing here."
"What?"
"You unnies were just standing here too."
With that, Seoya's eyes blazed an icy bright yellow.
"Ah."
Lee Gayeon looked up at the sky in awe.
Right above the monsters floated hundreds—no, thousands—of dense blue spears.
Even after becoming hunters and seeing all sorts of unreal powers, a display of this scale was incredibly rare.
"Now."
As the small mouth moved, a deafening roar erupted.
Blue Spears
Boomboomboomboom—
Blue rain poured from the heavens. In an instant, spears rained down like mad, and the monsters were powerless beneath that massive magic.
Screeches of keeek! echoed from the monsters before a red lake of blood formed on the asphalt in a flash.
It happened so fast, so simply. That very fact made the scene before them feel even more unreal.
"See? All good?"
Seoya's cheerful voice snapped Lee Gayeon from her daze. The red water buffalo lay sprawled, bleeding out. Blue spears pierced their vital spots precisely.
Soon, the spears embedded in the monsters and asphalt faded and vanished smoothly. The shimmering blue gate beyond them began spinning shut.
Unable to process the unbelievable sight, Lee Gayeon stood silently before murmuring softly.
"…Clear."
B-Rank Monster Wave
Cleared in 1 minute
By one person alone
"…You okay mentally?"
Lee Gayeon asked cautiously, eyeing Seoya's triumphant expression. But Seoya just tilted her head, not getting it.
"Mentally? What about?"
"No mental drain?"
"Why would it drain?"
Seoya's utterly unaffected reply made Lee Gayeon's face tense. Normal humans had mental strength under 100, so slaughtering that many monsters would drive them mad from the backlash. How was this girl…?
She glanced at Baek Yena, who wore the same stunned look.
'Overwhelming.'
She was on a level Earth hunters couldn't even compare to. Maybe, just maybe….
'She could solo an S-rank dungeon.'
Realizing that, Lee Gayeon schooled her features. They absolutely couldn't let this get out.
"…So, who cast that skill?"
"We gotta think of that too? Can't we just say it wasn't us?"
Lee Gayeon smacked her forehead at Seoya's innocent look. She'd noticed it earlier—this girl really didn't think things through….
…Fine. No turning back now.
'We have to hide her.'
They had to hide and protect Seoya’s existence. That complete lack of awareness of the danger—what were the chances she would remain safe and untouched if they left her alone?
The government would track the wielder of that insane power. Not just Korea—the whole world might get involved.
And the owner was a kid dropped here from another world? She didn't even want to imagine the fallout if that leaked.
With CCTVs everywhere, Seoya had used her power in plain view. No choices left.
Lee Gayeon sighed again, watching Seoya's sparkling eyes, expectant of praise.
'Yeah… Leaving her in danger would make me trash.'
As a responsible adult—and a hunter who protected people—she had a duty to safeguard this kid….
"Yena, any ideas how to explain this?"
Lee Gayeon muttered listlessly. Baek Yena ruffled her jet-black bob without replying.
So, something stronger than world rank 1—with ridiculous mental strength—wiped the monsters, and neither she nor Lee Gayeon knew what. Even CCTV wouldn't show what made the blue spears.
What to tell the government and media? System glitch?
'Best option is….'
Pin it on someone else. System/reward excuses wouldn't stop suspicion on the three here.
Redirect that suspicion elsewhere, and they'd be free.
"There's a way, right? With only us on CCTV, who could we— Ah."
Suddenly, Baek Yena blurted an absurd idea and gaped.
Assume a hunter with insane mental strength took them all out. They needed a 'decoy' to take the heat.
And that hunter avoided CCTV somehow. Like an invisibility skill.
So….
"A hunter with invisibility."
"…What?"
"Invis, in— Invisible Hunter!"