6. From Now On, I Take Command (1)

"…"

Cha Yunha and her manager took a good few seconds to react to my unexpected intrusion.

"…Hey, hold on a second! Mr. Baek Dohyeon!"

Before Cha Yunha could get a word in, the manager wedged himself between us and shoved me back. Strange — we hadn't even exchanged introductions, yet he knew my name like it was nothing.

"What do you think you're doing? Don't you dare go approaching Yunha as you please!"

A hideously rude response for a first meeting. He must be wary of my infamous reputation — afraid I might try some swindle on his precious S-Rank hunter.

Not that I had any particular reason to antagonize him. In the end, I did intend to bring her over from Black Sword, but there was no sense in needlessly fanning his suspicion.

I answered with as much gentleness as I could manage.

"My apologies. But I simply couldn't let this pass."

"What on earth are you going on about?"

I pointed a finger at the black oxygen mask Cha Yunha was wearing. "I can hear air leaking from Ms. Cha's mask. It sounds as though a crack has formed somewhere."

"…"

The manager glowered at me, brow creased, for a long moment. "…Enough nonsense. See yourself out." A fishy smile crept across his face. "This is the newest German-made oxygen mask, specially commissioned by Black Sword for Cha Yunha. And I personally confirmed it was defect-free before carrying it here."

"You can't hear the noise the mask is making?"

"…What noise are you even referring to? I hear nothing."

"Ms. Cha Yunha?"

"Yunha. You don't need to listen to a word this man says. Just ignore him and—"

"…To be honest, I have been hearing a strange sound from the mask since a little while ago."

"! Yunha?"

Cha Yunha pulled the mask off and turned it over, an odd look on her face.

"A low, hissing sort of sound — like something softly sizzling. At first I assumed it was just the runestone inside the mask generating air, but come to think of it, it did seem strange. My previous mask never made a noise like that."

"…"

As if such a thing were impossible, the manager snatched the mask out of Yunha's hand and pressed it to his own ear.

"……!"

He held it there, listening intently for a long moment — and then his eyes flew wide open in shock.

"Uh, uh-oh…"

"It appears you heard it after all."

At last, we could have a proper conversation. "You'll need to have the Association bring out a spare mask. Their standard-issue gear is perfectly serviceable, too — proudly domestic, no less. Isn't that right, Manager Kim?"

"Ah, ah-ah? Y-yes. Th-that's right?"

"Sorry for butting in. I'll be off, then. Ah — one more thing."

"…"

"One doesn't wait until arriving on site, moments before the gear is needed, to check it. That mask should have gone through precision testing on dedicated equipment before it ever left for here. Better yet — no test rig required. Had he simply worn the thing once himself, he would have discovered the fault in the strap fastenings long ago."

"…!"

"I trust you didn't merely check it by sight."

"…"

Grrit. A faint sound reached my ears — him grinding his teeth.

Had I overstepped?

But there was simply no way I could have looked the other way. An S-Rank hunter's manager — and one attached to Black Sword, a top-tier guild at that — neglecting the most basic of the basics: equipment inspection. Equipment was a hunter's lifeline, and keeping it in working order was the manager's and the guild's responsibility. …No need to grate on his nerves any further than that, of course.

"Manager Kim, shouldn't you be seeing to a replacement mask for Ms. Cha?"

I tossed the spotlight over to Manager Kim to change the subject.

"Uh-uh… Yes! Of course! Ms. Yunha, this way!"

Manager Kim glanced back and forth between me and the other man, then hurried the two of them off toward the temporary supply storage.

"…"

Cha Yunha's manager burned me with a look of open hostility as he brushed past.

Ha. Do a good deed, and not so much as a word of thanks.

Well. That's just how the world works.

I watched the three figures recede, and was just starting to think about heading back to the command tent for the observation—

—when Cha Yunha turned her head slightly in my direction. "…?"

Our eyes met. She hesitated for a moment, faltering… then lowered her head toward me in a small, slight bow.

"!"

I was startled for a beat, but quickly answered in kind — a slight bow and a smile. Cha Yunha turned forward again and walked away.

"…Lucky me, huh?"

Quite by accident, I seemed to have stacked up a few favorability points with her.

The Association's command tent doubled as a situation room of sorts — tracking the strike team's progress through its screens and issuing orders as the operation demanded. Leaning against the tent wall, I took stock of the interior. A row of large screens had been installed, linked to the drone cams that would move with the strike team and to the action cams worn by some of the hunters. And on the huge table before those screens sat gate-dedicated radios, manned by headset-wearing Association staff.

In the center seat was the female Association official who had run the briefing earlier. Judging by the atmosphere, she was the one commanding this operation.

"The strike team entered the gate ten seconds ago. Establishing comms in three, two, one…"

One after another, the screens flickered to life. What they showed was the otherworld beyond the gate — a desolate wasteland of nothing but sand filling every monitor. This gate opened onto a desert-type planet. At ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the heart of that desert, the drone cams captured a blue portal, and the hunters who had just now emerged from it.

"…We will now begin the operation. Strike team, respond."

Through the communicator set on the table, the official traded words with the strike team.

"Very good. Everyone — masks fitted properly? All of them functioning?"

"Confirmed. Before the assault proceeds, a quick review of the operation."

Her briefing went as follows. This gate was a Level 3 on the five-tier risk scale. Clearing a Level 3 called for a raid party of at least ten, including hunters of A-Rank or higher. This party numbered sixteen, with S-Rank Cha Yunha included as its leader — more than enough, on paper, to clear it without incident. But complacency was forbidden. The advance team's survey had found the otherworld to be desert terrain where venom-laced snake-type monsters roamed: the team was to advance while staying alert for ambushes from monsters bursting suddenly out of the ground. And the objective lay four hundred meters ahead of the entry point — the Mana Core.

The mission goal was the same as for any ordinary gate: destroy the Mana Core, the power source binding the otherworld to Earth, then return through the gate before it closed.

…For a 'quick' review before kickoff, that felt rather long, but let it slide.

"—And that concludes the review. Any questions?"

"Very good. You may begin the assault."

With that, the strike team on screen began to advance. Their formation was textbook. Cha Yunha held the center as leader and all-around firepower support; two close-combat tanks were posted at each of the four cardinal points around her; and just inside them stood one shorter-ranged damage dealer apiece. The remaining three — a priest, an archer, and a mage — moved together near Cha Yunha. Yoon Sol's position was directly behind the front-line tanks.

And so, for a good while, the raid members advanced in formation — slowly, but without a single hiccup. I turned my eyes from the monitors and surveyed the others in the command tent. Aside from the Association staff, every outsider present but me was a hunter's manager. Apparently they all trusted this raid to go smoothly: none of them seemed particularly tense, trading murmured small talk among themselves.

Ah, networking. I can network too, you know. But with no connections to speak of in the hunter industry, all I could do was hide my loneliness, turn back to the monitors, and put on a grave, deeply focused expression. …It had the side benefit of letting me avoid the eyes of Cha Yunha's manager, who had been boring hostility into me this whole time.

About three minutes had passed, perhaps.

"Here it comes! Ground movement detected, twenty meters northwest!"

Something lurking beneath the earth came slicing through the sand toward the strike team—

"Poison Snake confirmed!"

A massive, ochre-colored serpent revealed itself.

The first battle. It ended anticlimactically.

The four tanks let out taunting war cries laced with mana, and the serpent's gaze swung toward them. The Poison Snake immediately came gliding across the ground and surged at them, jaws spread wide.

But in that instant, Yoon Sol slipped out to the side and smashed an electrified fist squarely into the snake's temple. As the serpent reeled from the blow—

Hssss—

Cha Yunha's ability finished casting, and the snake's head froze solid. Head sheathed in a great mass of ice, the Poison Snake toppled onto the sand.

"That's Cha Yunha for you. Freezes a Poison Snake solid with a flick of her hand."

"Ah… you think a guild like ours could ever land an S-Rank like her?"

The managers watching the operation marveled at the sight of her.

"Well. That much is hardly difficult for our Yunha."

Her manager puffed up right along with the praise.

"Cha Yunha's Cha Yunha, but who's that electrokinesis user? Not bad movement at all. That's some serious firepower she's packing, too."

"Yoon Sol — just promoted to B-Rank. She's already gone viral on social media for her looks, so she's fairly famous, and then that incident a while back spread her name even further."

"That incident? …Oh."

Seriously, why? Who goes poking at a man sitting quietly by himself? I forced myself to ignore the managers' glances and fixed my attention on the monitors.

The raid flowed on smoothly from there. One, two, sometimes three at a time, Poison Snakes kept flinging themselves at the party in scattered waves — and under Yunha's direction, every last one was dispatched without fuss. Pressing ever forward, the strike team at last reached its objective: a green crystal the size of a house, gleaming at the desert's heart.

The Mana Core. The power source that generates the gate binding the otherworld to Earth. Why such a thing existed in an otherworld at all — whether it arose naturally or had been placed there deliberately, and if placed, by whom, and to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠what end — despite round upon round of research, its true nature remained unknown. …At least, 'so far'. One thing, in any case, was certain: destroy that core, and the gate would close. Which was why the strike team's objective was to destroy the Mana Core before its monsters could pour onto Earth, and withdraw before the gate sealed shut.

Cha Yunha conjured an enormous ice spear above the green crystal — and let it drop.

Kra-kaang!

With a sharp crack the crystal burst into shards, and its light went out.

"Destruction confirmed. Measuring the time remaining until the gate collapses." The woman glanced at the monitor beside her. "Estimated time until collapse: thirty-eight minutes. Excellent work out there. You're clear to begin your return."

At this point, everyone — the situation room and the hunters alike — radiated confidence that the operation was as good as won. As a rule, the trip back from the Mana Core is far easier; after all, they had already swept the monsters aside on the way in. So the strike team headed back toward the gate, formation intact but faces bright — a few of them even trading idle chatter. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Only Cha Yunha never let her guard slip, her gaze ceaselessly sweeping every direction.

"…"

Ah. There it was — that 'feeling' I hate. Call it an instinct hammered into me from rolling across battlefields in my past life: whenever things struck me as off, disaster soon followed. And right now, things felt very off—

At that moment, the sand in front of the strike team swelled up in an enormous bulge.

"! Everyone, get dow—"

Before the woman could finish, the creature tore through the sand and bared its true form: gray hide etched with purple banding, and a hood flared wide on both sides of its raised head.

"A G-Gigant Cobra?!"

The giant cobra flicked its tongue with a hiss, then hurled itself at one of the tanks with lightning speed. Too fast even to react to. The tank hadn't gotten his shield halfway up, and his head was about to be skewered on the cobra's fangs—

Thud!

In that instant, Yoon Sol flung the tank aside with all her might — and drove a punch crackling with electricity straight into the cobra's gaping palate—

Krrzzt!

Snake and hunter screamed as one and were thrown apart. The serpent, twisting in agony, dove straight back into the sand. And Yoon Sol…

She hadn't dodged clean — she'd been left with no choice but to give her shoulder to the cobra's fangs. Sinking to her knees, Yoon Sol clutched the shoulder as blood poured through her fingers. And from the wound, a violet discoloration began to spread.

The priest scrambled over behind Yunha and produced a large syringe from her inventory — the antidote issued in advance by the Association, formulated against Poison Snake venom. She jabbed it into Yoon Sol's shoulder, but…

Without missing a beat, she immediately cast a detox spell directly onto Yoon Sol's wound.

While the priest devoted herself to Yoon Sol's treatment, the rest kept wary eyes on the cobra that had vanished into the ground. Watching it all from the situation room, the staff tipped over into panic.

"A Gigant Cobra?! That's an elite monster that only spawns in the most punishing Level 4 gates!"

"What in the world happened?! What did the advance team even do, to miss a Gigant Cobra?!"

"C-calm down, please! We will devise a countermeasure as quickly as we can…"

The managers, frantic now that their own hunters were in danger, harangued the Association staff. Other personnel bustled in and out of the tent, frantically making calls.

"…A-any relief hunters coming as a rescue force would need at least fifty minutes to reach this position…" At the Association staffer's bolt-from-the-blue report, everyone went white.

"…Then doesn't that mean the people we have are the only ones who can resolve this?"

"H-hey! Do something, anything!"

"One moment, one moment! Everyone, please calm down!"

Only after the briefing officer shouted herself hoarse several times over did the uproar settle.

"Hunter Cha Yunha, do you copy? What is your current status?"

"And the Gigant Cobra?"

"What do you… oh."

Beyond the monitors, the drone feed spelled out despair. The hunters stood in formation, weapons ready — and the ground around them writhed, more than ten bodies squirming beneath the surface as though the desert itself were alive. Cobras and snakes had them wholly surrounded.

The woman bit her lip hard. "Wh-what do we do. Countermeasures for a Gigant Cobra, there's…"

"What are you all standing around dithering for? Out of my way!"

At that, Cha Yunha's manager burst forward, shoved the woman aside, and ripped the microphone from her hands.

"Yunha, can you hear me?"

"If it were just you, you could make it out. Am I right?"

"You've taken down a Gigant Cobra solo before. Even with the other monsters in the way, someone of your caliber could escape easily. The only thing tying your hands is the other hunters. Isn't that so?"

"Get out of that gate, even if you go alone. It's been nearly ten minutes already. At this rate, the gate closes on you."

"Hold on, Mr. Park Taeshik! What on earth are you—"

Ah. So that was his name — Cha Yunha's manager, Park Taeshik.

"Quiet! There is no other way, so what would you have me do! If this goes on, it's a total wipe — shouldn't we at least save the ones we can?! And strictly speaking, isn't it the weak hunters who put our Yunha in danger in the first place?!"

"You — you bastard! You'd have only your own live…!"

"Did I say something wrong? If your hunters are the reason Yunha can't get out of that gate, are you going to pay the damages?!"

The other managers closed in around Park Taeshik, and the room dissolved into a shoving match.

…

…Well. No helping it, then.

I walked over quietly, eased the tangled managers apart with both arms, and took my place in front of the communicator.

"Uh, uh-uh? What do you think you're—"

"Quiet, all of you. Do you copy, Ms. Cha Yunha?"

"There's no time. Answer my questions, and answer them clearly."

"What do you want, Ms. Cha? To slip out alone, even if it's just you? Or… to come home safe together with the other hunters — every last one of you?"

"Baek Dohyeon! What nonsense are you spouting at Yunha right now—"

"I told you to shut it, Park Taeshik."

"Ugh."

One glare from me and he flinched, finally closing his mouth.

"…My apologies for the interruption. So — your answer?"

"An admirable stance."

"There is."