The First Partners

Heat haze shimmered up off the ground. Lightning crackled along my outstretched fist.

A low whistle of admiration slipped out of me all on its own.

"Whoa."

The crater Heavenly Exploding Strike usually left behind was about the size of a truck. This one was twice that.

Must be because of Spirit Eye.

Spirit Eye fed its user an endless stream of natural energy, and energy of the purest grade imaginable. Lightning energy was just a subset of that current — which meant Heavenly Exploding Strike, a technique that ran on lightning, had grown on the back of it.

Which means every nature-attribute skill I have from here on out is going to feel this...

Helping Lee Yeonhwa had been the right call after all.

"That's... that's the same Heavenly Exploding Strike as mine...?"

"Ah."

Growth aside, Jo Youchan's Heavenly Exploding Strike was just... weak.

Looked about as strong as mine was at level one.

So that was it. The gap between us came down to skill level.

"Was that really Heavenly Exploding Strike just now? You're telling me Heavenly Exploding Strike can actually hit that hard?"

"Yep."

Jo Youchan stood there stunned for a beat. Then a full-body shiver ran through him.

"Could my Heavenly Exploding Strike get that strong too...?"

"If you keep at it, why not? I'll teach you next time."

"For real!? You mean it! Waaaaah—!"

Though I had a feeling the gap between us wasn't just about skill level.

Looking back, even on the lower floors I never really fell behind hunters who'd cleared around the thirtieth. Reflexes, physical ability — all of it. I just seemed to have a freakish edge.

I should pull some data in the Special Training Room.

"You got a Master Clear?"

"Yeah. You didn't?"

"I think it's because I already cleared this floor."

His contribution had been close to zero anyway. The system had probably logged it as a solo clear.

"Huh?"

"What's wrong?"

What was this? That message had never popped up before.

A moment later, three treasure chests materialized in front of me. Jo Youchan didn't seem to see them.

Wait.

I knew those shapes. I knew them intimately.

HuntMan's random rewards!

So that was what the Team system was for.

In HuntMan, clearing a floor handed you a three-choice random reward. You climbed the Tower, took the reward, used it to grow your team, and the stronger team climbed higher still. That loop was the entire spine of the game.

The new Team feature had been a team-building function all along. Right. This was hunter management.

Alright then.

That gacha pull. I had missed this feeling. My mouth was already watering.

It wasn't a pure crapshoot. Even if you drew junk, the pool was weighted toward things that would help the team. A jackpot would be nicer, of course.

I've got a good feeling.

First reward. Dead center. That one.

The chest cracked open. Light and a burst of effect chimes exploded outward.

Ah.

...Junk.

First pull, and it was a consumable. A rice cake, no less.

...No. Actually, this is fine.

There was a superstition among HuntMan players. If your first pull was trash, luck spent the rest of the game making it up to you. Even I, sitting at rank one, had drawn garbage on my opening roll.

"Is that a reward? Wait, no way!"

Items did drop in the real Tower. Rarely. Extremely rarely. Higher clear ranks improved the odds.

I've never gotten one, but it's not like I'm unlucky, right?

In reality, you were lucky to see an item once in a hundred clears. That was why they cost a fortune.

"Do you always get a reward for a Master Clear?"

"Uh... probably?"

It would come every time from now on, most likely. HuntMan handed one out on every floor.

"Wow... Master Clears really are something else."

And then, just as we were about to leave—

"Huh!?"

"What is it this time?"

Another message that never used to appear. And another one I knew by heart.

This is a special event!

Another team-growth event, same as the rewards. So the Team feature had this baked in too?

I switched on Spirit Eye and swept the floor. There.

"Wait here a second."

I crossed into the dokkaebi camp and found a small animal cage I had missed. Inside was a fox cub, its tail running translucent as flowing air. A wind spirit.

"Hey there."

"Kyeeeng..."

Ears and tail drooped. Round, shining eyes looked up at me, welling. Adorable.

"Hang on."

I started with the bars. Lightning coiled around my finger as I held it out, and the fox immediately began lapping at it.

"Hah—!"

Insanely cute. The high-purity natural energy from Spirit Eye must have tasted incredible.

"Th-that's dangerous. Move back. I'll get you out."

A lightning flick of the finger smashed the cage open.

Tang—

The fox sprang straight into my arms.

I've never heard of anything ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠like this happening in the real Tower.

The Tower always repeated. Always reset. Encounters like this did not exist, and taking a Tower creature outside was supposed to be impossible.

But a HuntMan team grew as it climbed — and every so often, you ran into a special event exactly like this.

"If you're a HuntMan system reward, that means you can come outside, right?"

"Kyeeeng?"

I headed back to where Jo Youchan was waiting.

"What were you doing?"

"You can't see this?"

"Hmm?"

No spirit-mage aptitude, apparently. He couldn't see it at all. We left the Tower together.

"Kyeeeng!"

"So you came out too, huh?"

"Who are you talking t— wait! Wh-why are you here!"

"Hm?"

Someone else was here?

"Master!"

"Ah, Yeonhwa. You came."

Of course she had. She'd been waiting.

"Did you just clear and step out? If it isn't too forward of me, Master, which floor did you—"

Lee Yeonhwa's voice cut off cold. Jo Youchan tapped at the empty air.

"Oh, the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠announcement just dropped."

"What announcement?"

"The Master Clear notice."

"Ah. Right. That thing."

An extremely annoying system. HuntMan had never had anything like it.

"Hey, Yeonhwa. Did your eyes get sorted ou— Yeonhwa?"

Lee Yeonhwa had gone wide-eyed, frozen in place, staring at nothing.

When she didn't respond, a tiger cub scrambled up her clothes and clung there, fussing for attention. Oh. A fire spirit?

"Master... Clear...?"

"Ah."

Come on. World's strongest? Hearing that to my face was mortifying.

"...Don't tell anyone else."

"Good heavens. Good heavens..."

Yeonhwa's muttering only stopped when the tiger that had climbed her shoved its head down the front of her shirt.

"Ah— you can't do that."

"Playful little thing, isn't it."

"Huh? You can see this child?"

Ah. I'd spoken without thinking. If I admitted I had Spirit Eye too, it would sound far too strange. I fumbled a cover.

"I know a little spirit magic. Look."

"Kyeeeng!"

"Wow, a fox!"

Jo Youchan's eyes went perfectly round.

"Wait, Master, you can use spirit arts too?"

"What, is that surprising?"

"Of course it is! Spirit mages are so rare that finding a teacher is like plucking a star out of the sky."

"Is that true? Wow!"

Jo Youchan shot Yeonhwa a look.

"What's that one so happy about?"

"Did you just... 'that one' me?"

Yeonhwa glared right back.

"Even on a first meeting, basic manners— wait. You!"

"What, 'you'?"

"You're that punk from back then!"

"What, punk!?"

"You came asking for instruction and then threw a fit saying our family's martial arts were trash!"

I looked at Jo Youchan with a face so blank it hurt.

"Wow... so you really do run wild the second you're not standing next to me."

"A-ahem! I wasn't entirely in my right mind at the time..."

"Master! The old teachings say that ink stains whatever it touches. Keep a scoundrel like that at your side and the harm will only keep spreading!"

"The hell are you even saying? Speak Korean, brat."

Aigoo. My head was already spinning. And in the middle of it, the right-hand pocket where I'd stashed the Cheonryeong Cloud Rice Cake suddenly went heavy.

The fox was hanging off it by the teeth, long muzzle clamped on the fabric.

"And what do you think you're doing?"

"Punk!"

"Brat!"

Ugh, would the two of you quiet down!

I explained spirit contracts to Lee Yeonhwa on the spot. A few red letters would pop on her status window, I'd tell her what to type, and that would be the end of it.

It wasn't even that impressive. Anyone with Spirit Eye had spirits throwing themselves at them, begging for a contract.

Ordinarily it would have been the other way around. A human was supposed to grovel and twist themselves into knots around a spirit's finicky whims.

"You're my first partner!"

"Kyeeeng!"

Surprisingly, Yeonhwa's first choice wasn't the tiger. It was the fox. She said she felt an instinctive pull — she must have been born with a heavy lean toward wind, even among the natural energies.

The other surprise:

"Me?"

"Grrng."

"You want to contract with me? Not Yeonhwa?"

"Grawr!"

Ah. Right. I had Spirit Eye too.

The fire tiger had picked me instead — after spending all that time glued to Yeonhwa.

Because of Heavenly Exploding Strike's lightning attribute, maybe?

Lightning sat close to fire. The little thing might have felt the pull.

"But Yeonhwa's the one who brought you."

Yeonhwa heard that, and she was on her feet in a flash.

"Master!"

"Yeah, it does feel a little off, right?"

"Of course it does. You cannot simply take that child with you!"

"There, see? Sorry, little guy. You're going to have to go back and—"

"But neither can we tear two fated souls apart!"

"...Come again?"

Yeonhwa beamed.

"You'll form the contract — and then you and I will have no choice but to raise it together!"

"Huh?"

"What— you little vixen!"

Jo Youchan hurled a game controller and charged into the argument.

"Hey! That's a limited controller, you maniac!"

"I-I'm sorry."

"That child is endlessly precious to me. I simply must stay close and watch over it, day after day."

"Then just take it yourse—"

"As your disciple, how could I be so ungrateful? Please pay me no mind at all, and form the contract!"

Don't take it. Don't mind her. What exactly was I supposed to do with that?

"So... the conclusion is I can contract it?"

"Of course! And I will be right there with you. I'll come by every day to look after ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it!"

"Your heart is pitch black, you vixen!"

"Be silent, you punk!"

Well. Having a spirit from the start wouldn't hurt. And honestly, this tiger was even cuter than the fox.

I took one thick, cotton-bat of a forepaw in my hand. Wow. The pads were so soft.

"Want to make a contract?"

"Kehrng!"

And just like that, the contract sealed. I could feel the link settle into place between me and the tiger.

"Oh, Master. I can see the fox and the tiger now too!"

"That's because they manifested with a spirit mage's mana."

I looked at Yeonhwa, who had the fox gathered in her arms.

"We'll learn real combat inside the Tower."

"Huh? Y-you're going to teach me more?"

"Of course."

"Yesss!"

"Nooo!"

I ignored Jo Youchan's wail. I had already decided to raise Yeonhwa.

Anyone who owns Spirit Eye is more than qualified as an endgame team member.

Spirit mages in HuntMan were a mixed bag. Early on they were all-rounders who shone in every composition. From the midgame forward, they got awkward no matter where you slotted them. But with Spirit Eye, they became a flawless all-purpose support.

And the more she grows, the more my Spirit Eye will level up too.

One more companion for the climb. I was still riding that warm little swell of satisfaction when—

"Snff, snff."

"Hm?"

"Kyeng!"

The fox had clamped onto my right pocket again and was hanging there by the teeth.

"Oh my, that's very rude!"

"Right. The rice cake."

The Cheonryeong Cloud Rice Cake. Spirit feed.

It was a cheat-key item for spirit growth — food that made them stronger the instant they ate it. I'd gotten Spirit Eye, so of course the "junk" pull had been tailored to match.

I took the rice cake out. The tiger and the fox both froze. They went still as statues, round eyes locked on nothing but the cake.

"O-oh? Why are they acting like that?"

I moved it to the right. Two pairs of eyes tracked it. To the left. They followed again.

"Kyaah! They're adorable!"

They really were. I tore the wrapping open. Now they were drooling.

"Hold on. I'll split it."

I tried to pull it apart in both directions, and the cake stretched in a long, glossy strand. Wow, it was unbelievably soft. And then—

"Kyeng!"

"Hey—!"

The fox jumped and bit down on the stretched middle.

"Kehrng!"

The tiger, outraged, clamped onto the fox's tail and yanked.

"Kyeng, kyeng!"

"Grawr!"

"What is wrong with you two?"

"Heavens, don't do that, children! We observe table manners in this house!"

In the end the fox managed to steal a little extra, and even while licking its sore tail it wore a look of pure, blissful satisfaction.

"That good, huh?"

"Kyeng!"

The tiger pulled a devastated face.

"Kehruuung!"

Lee Yeonhwa paid a visit to the Do household.

"Yeonhwa, you're here again?"

"I trust you have been in good health, Mother."

"My, what lovely manners!"

Do Seohyeon came trotting out of her room.

"Wow, Yeonhwa. You look so pretty without the glasses! Are you wearing contacts?"

"Not contacts. I just don't need glasses anymore."

That, too, was thanks to Hyeonseok. With the frames gone, Yeonhwa had taken one step away from the model-student look and one step closer to an ordinary, quietly pretty girl.

"I heard my brother's working overtime today."

"Oh, is he?"

She should have gone straight to Jingyeok Guild Headquarters. But a member of another martial clan coming and going from a guild building too often didn't look right.

"So what brings you by?"

"I came to deliver a token of gratitude to your brother."

"Ooh, what is it?"

Even at a glance, the bundle looked expensive. Do Seohyeon and her mother's eyes went round. Then the contents appeared.

"That's a very expensive-looking bottle."

"It is a treasure called the Royal Presence Longevity White Porcelain. Wine stored in this vessel carries a faint blessing — a modest aid toward a long life free of illness."

"......Is that an item?"

"Yes."

Do Seohyeon and her mother both dropped their jaws. The hand holding the bottle began to tremble.

"I-if it's an item a civilian can use, isn't that enormously rare?"

At minimum, it would be the kind of thing whose price started with "million."

"...Take it back, dear. Jeonjoodang may be a renowned and wealthy clan, but I couldn't possibly accept a treasure like this with a clear conscience."

"Set against the grace I received from your son, this does not even amount to a single hair. Please. I beg you to accept it."

"This is from Hyeonseok?"

"Wait, my brother?"

They heard the rough shape of the story.

"...I thought he was just rambling some difficult nonsense. You're saying that advice was actually worth this much?"

"Yes. He changed my life. I have to repay ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that debt."

Her friend stood there looking endlessly earnest. Do Seohyeon could only stare.

"Wow... Mom. I think my brother might actually be a really big deal."

"Goodness... I still can't quite believe it. It feels like only yesterday I was looking at his back while he gamed all day."

"Wait, did he just gaslight you? Did he actually help?"

Yeonhwa smiled, soft and knowing. So even someone that extraordinary could be endlessly approachable at home.

"Seohyeon. Your brother is a man who will be recorded as a great figure."

"Ugh, that's so cringey. My brother, treated like some historical legend. I can't even picture it."

Do Seohyeon recoiled in horror. Yeonhwa found the look so funny she let out a little laugh.

When I grow into a proper spirit mage, will my own family look at me like this?

Ah, she wanted to see their faces. She wanted to see the elders of the clan.

Today, at last, she would climb the twentieth floor. She would answer everything he had taught her with a result worth the debt.

"You'll understand how extraordinary your brother is soon enough."

And she was right. Before long, Do Seohyeon and her mother would witness his achievements from the closest seat in the house.

Because that evening, another SS-Rank hunter was born in the Republic of Korea.