Dragon Slayer's Prize

Countless test shots, confirmed bullet groupings at the same distance and position, penetration precision that drove the bullet right up to the edge.

I'd trust it. Now was the time to trust myself.

Breath in.

Thump. Thump.

The distortion effect faded, and the barrier began closing in real time. I didn't panic.

The key was just one shot—slipping my bullet through that rift.

Pfft.

I finally pulled the trigger.

The suppressed report grazed my ears,

and now it was all down to the result. If I missed here, it was probably over. I'd played my hand, and the high-rankers had done all they could.

"......"

For a moment, time seemed to freeze. Hitting the intended target precisely at this range came with the burden of heightened senses on edge.

Hit. Just hit, and it's done.

The attack power trait I'd earned while teetering on the brink of death. [Steady Shooter], its damage incomparable to practice sniper rifles.

And then,

- SPLOOOOOT!

"!!!"

Hit.

My sniper shot struck the hatchling.

I didn't even know where its weak point was, but the judgment came back ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠critical.

Cartibes's body erupted with a massive explosion. Through the night vision, I saw its huddled form shatter into chunks of flesh floating inside the barrier.

Dead.

No, die already. Just go.

Its health bar was just under two notches, and after my shot, it plummeted straight to zero.

『Kieeeek!』

A scream echoed out. But unlike other mobs or bosses, it didn't vanish upon defeat.

- Crack-crack-crackle! Craaack!

The massive spherical barrier began shattering completely. No way it could maintain that in its exploded, fragmented state.

It couldn't even emit mana anymore; the thick black mana filling the inside was being sucked into my bullet.

『......』

- Shhh...

The undead swarming across Seoul began pixelating all at once. A hunter on the verge of being impaled by an executive undead's sword opened his eyes to find himself in a silent, empty cityscape.

- Whoosh. Whoosh...

Massive clouds of gray ash rose into the sky.

- Rumble-rumble-rumblle

Purple energy churned at the spot where the Cartibes hatchling had been. The orb-like vibrating mass

- BOOOOM!

- "Ngh!"

exploded, dealing damage even to Cheon Seung-hyuk who was standing guard nearby, then spatial erosion occurred on the spot, turning into a gate-clear whirlwind like ink draining away.

The undead pixels were sucked into it.

The moment that happened,

Messages popped up before my eyes.

A design I'd never ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠seen before.

Titles, huh. High-rankers had all sorts attached to them—this must be it.

The problem was the last line. Whatever it was, it soured my mood instantly.

Having seen that much, I hopped through Jenny's distortion point and quickly returned to my one-room apartment.

- Thud. Thud. Rumble...

Noises echoed from all over Seoul. Utility poles toppled and shattered by the undead rampage.

Inside the shelter, sturdy behind its barrier. Looking out the window, fragments of the barrier fell from the sky like purple snowflakes.

Yoon So-i awoke in a hospital bed.

Gasp! Her mind snapped alert as she sat up, scanning her surroundings.

An uneasy silence. She'd lost consciousness after losing to Eteron, so she had no grasp of the situation.

One thing was clear: the twisting pain in her body was gone. Flowers and letters piled up by her bedside.

Then the hospital room door opened, and a B-rank holy hunter entered, startling when their eyes met.

"Y-You're awake! Hunter Yoon So-i has regained consciousness!" He shouted urgently, rushing to her. Yoon So-i scolded him instead.

"Why are you here!"

Holy hunters were rare in Korea—you could count them on one hand. He should be out there helping instead of...

"C-Cartibes has been defeated!"

"What?"

"We survived. All of us...!"

She heard the full story.

After Eteron's return to normal, Cartibes had hatched after all, but the high-rankers and Unregistered halted its growth. They'd pooled their strength and succeeded in killing the hatchling.

Yoon So-i had been out cold for a full day and a half before regaining consciousness. She hurriedly pulled up her status window to check the data—from the Management Bureau and Hunter Universe uploads.

It's real.

Videos of Cheon Seung-hyuk and the high-rankers fighting desperately. Records capturing the screams of dying hunters.

But in the end, Korea had won. Not just the egg—they'd killed the hatched hatchling.

The finale was Unregistered's inexplicable power. It didn't seem like holy power, but they'd torn space itself and dealt damage.

"Haaa."

Tension drained from Yoon So-i as she lay back. The holy hunter fretted over her condition worsening, but she felt fine. The gloomy and damp mana of Cartibes seemed completely purged.

"You did well. Glad you're conscious."

"......Whatever."

Only then did ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the distant sounds of citizens' memorial processions reach Yoon So-i's ears through the hospital window.

We survived.

She'd thought it was the end.

State Funeral

Countless portraits of fallen hunters and civilians.

Including casualties from the apostles' regional attacks.

Even high-rankers came to bid farewell to their fellow hunters.

"......"

Seol of Hongmaehwa sat in a corner, staring blankly into space with a emotionless expression. She stayed for a while before vanishing.

Hae-dong had come to Seoul with his Dokgakchon goblin family for the day.

"Hiya!!!"

"We'll provide the muscle-!"

All over Seoul, they lifted heavy building debris, entered dangerous sites to rescue victims, aiding in post-disaster recovery.

"Ow, go help over there."

"Yes, bro."

Kim Chi-gon brought his yakuza underlings to escort bereaved families. He spat on the ground with a scowl but didn't light a cigarette.

Ribbons lined the streets.

"Injured here!"

They weren't just marching; wearing ribbons, they patrolled the streets, cleaning up ruined Seoul.

"Clearing a path this way! Make way!"

They also guided vehicles and personnel for recovery efforts.

YouTube, communities, SNS, and Hunter Universe were hotter than ever about this gate clear—but weighed down like cooling lava.

The world's attention focused intensely on Korea's 'Legendary-grade' gate clear.

Analyses comparing Korea's gate clear speed to other nations' handling of Cartibes or disaster/legendary-grade monsters flooded in.

It wasn't even comparable. One side hurtled toward extinction or near-extinction; this side cleared in record time.

Even Russia, the closest comparison, took two years to overcome a similar 'Legendary-grade gate' national crisis.

Korea wrapped up a Legendary-grade gate while handling apostle attacks in the provinces and undead devastation in Seoul as aftermath.

And the reason they achieved this?

'Thanks to Unregistered and our Korean hunters.'

Baek Moon-seong, overseeing it all.

All he'd done was stubbornly hold out against the UN's opportunistic clauses with an old man's stubbornness.

- Grind.

As tension eased, anger surged. Their disgraceful behavior wagering Korea's fate. Freely adding clauses amid national extinction stakes.

"You need rest. You'll collapse."

Kim Chun-gyu assisted him. The white-haired elder's health, sweating profusely, was deeply concerning.

"One thing left. My job."

Baek Moon-seong rose from his seat and headed directly to the high-ranker control team's station.

The spot where Kim Chun-gyu directed email sends.

A day had passed, but no rewards yet. They'd come eventually.

The skill completed belatedly.

Bound to come in handy someday, so I'd stock it.

Finally getting some real rest. I swept the trashed room corner with the [Clean] function.

- Shoooo...

Shelter upgrades pissed me off looking at the menu, but performance was solid.

Dust vanished in 5-10 minutes. Walls, floors, moldings—all spotless in an instant.

Used [Furniture Placement] to move the bed. Felt too exposed in the expanded shelter, so to the corner,

and installed a decent table, kitchen sink, gas range. Love this feature. Like the washer/dryer, no separate gas/electric needed—cooking works.

Stocked food from [Supply Depot]. Gaining confidence in meals now. Careful, and I won't go hungry.

Bought ingredients, back to the room for a proper meal with Jenny in ages.

No—challenging cooking itself.

Survived, got a pendant exemption once,

Challenge accepted!

Moments later,

"Huff! Huff! Huff! Huff!"

Couldn't use chopsticks, so I fed her, and Jenny was experiencing a new world.

Behold: 【Jja-pa-ghetti】.

Black bean ramen from the corner stash—cooking success. Perfect meal. I stuck to rations, but Jenny doesn't care.

"Good work!"

"Huuuuh!"

Black bean sauce smeared on her mouth, slurping noodles, her whole body trembled.

"I-I can't believe it! I can't believe it!!!"

Time to pay Jenny her gold soon. Her employment description said she needed it for her sick family. Lump sum, whatever the amount.

Handed her [Supply Standard Fresh Fruit Juice (Strawberry)] from the depot for dessert, then I settled into rest.

A day later, outside the shelter was chaos with disaster cleanup. Time for my cleanup: fatigue recovery.

Too damn exhausting.

But I survived. Really thought I was done this time. If Muyoung Bullet hadn't cracked the barrier, I'd be toast.

"Huff! Huff!" Sent juice-drinking Jenny to the agent quarters, then I lay down.

"......Mm."

Turned off system alerts all day—too noisy. Emails and sponsorships pouring in like crazy. Bureau's big bucks probably among them. Check later.

Contract requests too. Get this:

"What a shitshow."

Translated to my language, but the content was bullshit galore.

I already knew from Cartibes battle classified docs how foreign powers schemed during Korea's disaster.

Now probing me—since I didn't contract with the Bureau, I look tasty.

Fuck off. Foreign countries? Korea's fine. Couldn't go even if I wanted—guys like me can't.

Kim Yu-hee, S(EX)-rank outlier hunter stuck in his room. No desire anyway.

[Reject] [Reject] [Reject] [Reject] [Reject] [Reject]

"Fucking absurd pricks."

Then, ding! Mail from the Bureau. Always alerted for ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠them.

This was different.

Sender: Director Baek Moon-seong.

The white-haired, kindly-faced higher-up I'd seen through Jenny.

A thank-you note.

Quite long. Elevated tone unlike Kim Chun-gyu's.

An elder going this far left me at a loss. But I'd contributed properly this time, so I read comfortably until,

『...and requests your agent's attendance for in-person handover of physical materials beyond spoils.』

What the hell.

Ruining any chance of peaceful downtime. Necrophilia's assault was just beginning.

Details via physical delivery; requests agent for face-to-face from Bureau besides spoils.

Need to know this.

That ominous message when killing Cartibes. Anubis and kin targeting me.

Seemed like a continuation.

Resolved to reorganize forces quickly and negotiate with Bureau. Just need settlement soon.

Then,

- Whoosh!

Settlement finally done—level up.

Killing Cartibes, straight 10 levels even without exp save makes sense.

And more.

Solved gates before, but never this flashy special reward. Legendary-grade perks?

First, titles from the initial snipe.

Dragon Slayer, Undead Slayer, Savior.

Effects were [View Unavailable] before—now viewable.

And items arrived.

"?"

Rewards with serious presence. Checking now.

What I wanted was clear.

Item to fix HP penalty. 'Legendary-grade'—worth scrutinizing.

Starting with the top one.

This was Holy Relic grade.

A small glass shard. Like a shattered crystal orb.

......Found it.

Perhaps the real hope—a clue.