Things That Shouldn't Happen
These days, Seoya spent her time holed up at home, lost in thought all day long. Of course, it would be great if she could go out and clear the dungeons popping up left and right, saving people in the process. But ever since hearing those words from Jeong Sira, her mind had been a whirlwind of confusion.
'Higher world...'
That cryptic message that had appeared on Earth not long ago.
We will never permit rebellion against the current regime.
Earth's people thought it was just another standard alert from the System, as usual. But...
Seoya and Jeong Sira knew the truth.
'That came from the higher world.'
Ibin had definitely created this System, but it felt like the higher world was increasingly meddling with it. Seoya was starting to feel a growing sense of urgency.
'How am I supposed to beat the higher world?'
And so, Seoya sat at home, brooding over the higher world. On top of that, the Neverending Guild was blocking her from going outside, which kept her even more confined.
The dungeon and monster updates had caused several issues. First off, people like Lee Gayeon, Park Haejun, and Baek Yena were insanely busy and had no time to look after Seoya. Taking care of her in dungeons was part of their duties, but in this recent emergency, they just didn't have the bandwidth.
Second, if Seoya got involved, it messed up the existing hunter protocols for handling dungeon outbreaks. Normally, when a dungeon was reported, the nearest guild's hunters contacted the Dungeon Safety Bureau before entering. Sometimes guilds overlapped and went in together, but if Seoya entered a dungeon, other guilds had to prioritize her and back off. That just complicated everything.
Third, and most importantly, Seoya had to avoid contact with other hunters. She didn't want to reveal her identity, so she needed minimal interactions—but in times like these, with hunters scrambling everywhere, that was impossible.
With the hunter operations still in disarray after the System update, it was unrealistic to expect everyone to accommodate Seoya like before. And so, Seoya's days at home had become a very regular, leisurely routine: breakfast, pondering the higher world or crunching equations with Kwon Yooseok's help, nap, dinner, TV, evening snack, reading, sleep.
It was a stark contrast to the hunters who'd been grinding non-stop lately.
Seoya recalled the reactions she'd seen from the hunters around her.
"Overtime again today? Man, every day's so intense and thrilling~."
"...Ha, feels like forever since I did fieldwork."
"Stay sharp, folks—let your guard down and boom, accident. Ah, I barely see my kid's face anymore 'cause I'm never home..."
"Me? I like it—more time at home than when I was in grad school?"
...It felt like there was one spy in the mix, but anyway, everyone was swamped.
With the System's "level up" kicking in, Lee Gayeon, Park Haejun, and Baek Yena were run off their feet. The one spending most of her time with Seoya instead was Ji Sein.
"But why aren't you doing fieldwork, sis?"
"Huh?"
Ji Sein, who'd been typing furiously on her laptop at the kitchen table, looked up. The table was littered with snack crumbs. She waved her hands in disgust.
"Eww~ Hunter work seems way too dangerous! I hate dangerous stuff!"
Even as world rank 7, she was probably the only top-ranker who completely avoided hunter duties.
Curious, Seoya tilted her head. "What'd you do before becoming a hunter?"
"Just~ your average college student~."
"Do you have to be a hunter once you awaken? Can't do other stuff?"
Seoya thought of So Eunsu and So Euneung, who ran a Nutube channel. Was that an exception?
"Nah~ no rule like that~."
"Then why'd you drop out of college but not hunt?"
Ji Sein gazed at Seoya with her clear light-brown eyes, then winked playfully.
"Just 'cause!"
"What the—."
Seoya deflated, dumping the jelly pouch in her hand into her mouth. She'd thought there was some backstory, but nope—just a hikikomori, like Baek Yena said.
Watching her, Ji Sein said thoughtfully, "Hmm~ Just one year and eight months more of chilling! Then I'll either hunt or go back to college!"
"What's with that specific deadline?"
"Three years off feels perfect, right? The number 3 just has a nice vibe!"
Seoya gave her a deadpan stare. Wait, she'd already been living like this for a year and eight months?
Shaking her head, Seoya picked up the crumpled equation paper she'd shoved aside and racked her brain over it. Ji Sein completely ignored the suspicious paper in Seoya's hands.
'I'm at my wit's end now...'
A few days ago, Seoya remembered the day she'd freaked out after hearing Lee Gayeon's words and rushed off to meet Jeong Sira.
"Even if the disasters hitting Earth are because of you, we'll protect you."
After discussing "the disasters plaguing Earth and Toda" with Jeong Sira, Seoya had hesitated, unsure how to face going home. Jeong Sira said firmly,
"Just because Gayeon figured it out doesn't mean she'll chew you out. If anything, she'll ask how she can help from now on..."
"I just... feel uneasy. How do I even go back?"
"...What time is it?"
"Uh, almost 10."
Jeong Sira, more serious than ever, replied,
"Gayeon won't blame you for being from another world or for some of Earth's disasters coming from your people... but..."
"Yeah."
"She will chew you out for coming home late. Get back before that."
"Uh, okay..."
In the end, following Jeong Sira's advice, Seoya slunk home awkwardly—and nothing happened.
"Seoya, you're back?"
"Huh? Yeah..."
Lee Gayeon, on the sofa, gave a casual greeting and headed to her room like it was no big deal. Ji Sein munched bread while watching drama on the sofa, and Baek Yena waved from her phone-scrolling spot on the sofa.
'Seriously, nothing...'
From then on, Seoya acted like everything was normal. Now, even when she openly pored over shady equation papers at home, her guardians pretended not to notice.
"Ah, got something to talk about today..."
"What?"
One day, as usual getting Kwon Yooseok's help with equations and rising to leave for home, he spoke up.
"Hold on~."
He pulled out his laptop, displaying something on the screen.
"Got a request for you. Technically, on behalf of BlackPen Guild."
"A request for me? Dungeon-related?"
At the plea for help, Seoya fixed her eyes on the monitor. Kwon Yooseok pointed to one side.
"BlackPen recently got assigned a dungeon with no civilians inside. This is its location..."
"What's that mean, 'no civilians'?"
"Dungeons without trapped civilians are great for training rookies or research, so guilds compete fiercely. Government auctions them off."
The screen showed the dungeon's location.
"We sent a team: five B-ranks and four A-ranks. Then contact cut off."
"You mean..."
"They died inside."
"What's the dungeon rank?"
"A-rank."
Seoya tilted her head. As far as she knew, Neverending had cleared an A-rank recently with five B-ranks and five A-ranks. The difference of one A-rank couldn't decide life or death between BlackPen and Neverending hunters. Something was wrong with this dungeon.
"Were the monsters unusually strong?"
"Lemme show you their last chat logs from inside."