2. Is This Earth?
2. Is This Earth?
Through the suddenly appeared gate, Shingen and the woman were able to come out.
"Ugh..."
As they came out, the blinding sunlight made their eyes hurt.
But his vision quickly returned to normal, and he looked around.
"This is..."
It was a very familiar landscape.
The towering buildings that rose endlessly were similar to those in Noir Earth, but they were intact and undamaged.
The sky was blue, and no gunshots or screams could be heard.
A world that was too peaceful. And it was the world Shingen had so longed for.
'Have I returned to Earth...'
He instinctively realized that this was the Earth he had lived on.
At that moment, he was immersed in the peace of Earth after a long time.
Click.
The familiar sound that reached his ears shattered Shingen's emotions.
When he turned his gaze to where the sound was coming from, there were soldiers holding strangely shaped guns surrounding him.
"...Huh?"
The only emotions he felt from them were fear and killing intent.
Shingen could have cut down all those surrounding him in one strike, but he didn't.
Because he didn't want to cause trouble by killing someone after returning to Earth for no reason.
Carefully setting down the woman he was supporting on the ground, he raised both hands to show that he had no intention of resisting.
Then, the soldiers also lowered the gun barrels they were aiming after a moment, and the one who appeared to be the leader made a call via radio.
"Black gate closing. We have secured A-rank hunter Shin Yeo-ryeong and one unidentified returnee."
He moved by car following the soldiers who referred to him as a returnee.
His suit, soaked profusely with blood, stained the car seat, but there was nothing to be done.
Even while riding in the car, Shingen looked out the window at the scenery outside.
When he asked the soldiers, they said this was Seoul.
The Seoul he knew was a paradise of corruption and crime where corporate organizations took over and fed bribes to hollow politicians to manipulate things to their liking.
He didn't know how long it had been since he saw such a peaceful Seoul.
But it had changed a lot from the Seoul on Earth that Shingen knew.
What should I say? The buildings felt more flashy and sophisticated, I suppose.
After driving on the road for a while, the car suddenly stopped in front of a building.
The door opened, and as Shingen got out of the car, what caught his eye was a huge temple-like building of incomparable size to other buildings.
[Hunter Association Seoul Branch]
On the building's signboard, it was engraved in relief.
'...Hunter?'
He was somewhat puzzled by the term Hunter Association, but no time was given to ask anything.
Guided by the soldiers, he immediately entered the building.
The interior of the building was several times wider than seen from outside, and it strongly showed a modern aspect.
But the place he headed to was not up, but down.
Taking the elevator underground, a corridor with a gloomy atmosphere appeared.
Proceeding through the corridor guided by the soldiers, at the end was a small room.
The soldiers stopped there, and Shingen, after gauging the situation, soon opened the door and went inside.
Opening the door and entering, a room with an antique style unfolded.
In the center of the room, a woman was sitting.
As if she had been waiting, she opened her eyes at the same time the door opened. The two looked at each other.
"You've come. I was waiting."
"......."
"My name is Ban Yeo-hee. You must have many questions. You must be confused too. I'll explain everything, so please sit down first."
"...I am Iwamoto Shingen."
Shingen sensed that he felt no emotion from her and felt puzzled, but he decided to listen for now.
...
..
.
As soon as he sat opposite her, she explained about the changed world.
'Hunters, gates... and magical beasts.'
After he disappeared, gates appeared in the world, and hunters who use supernatural abilities also appeared.
The resources and spoils that came from the gates made humanity advance to a higher stage, and the current situation is that it's still expanding in real-time.
'...It's not particularly surprising. Is it because I experienced too much in that world?'
It's safe to say he had experienced every kind of mysterious event a person could imagine.
That's why even if the world had changed like this, he wasn't surprised and could easily accept it.
"You're not particularly surprised?"
"Because I experienced more amazing things than this in that world."
This much was nothing.
"Returnees. So, there are more people like me?"
"That's right. Since the population is what it is, there are many who were abducted to other worlds."
Of course, there were those who couldn't return.
She said it as if muttering to herself, but Shingen could hear it clearly.
She didn't seem to have any intention of hiding it.
"Anyway, our association can do our best to help returnees adapt to society."
"You wouldn't show such favor without any price, and you have a separate purpose."
Shingen grasped Ban Yeo-hee's intentions at once.
If something comes, something must go—that's the way of the world.
That's how the world's principles tend to work.
"That's right. As the world has changed like this, there have been movements to nationally utilize returnees for a long time."
"So, you're saying you want to borrow our strength?"
"You've understood correctly. Of course, it's not about being under someone, but closer to cooperation."
It was said that other powerful countries tend to put leashes on returnees and force them.
However, Korea's Hunter Association had no such intention.
"In exchange for giving a lot of help so that returnees can adapt to Earth, returnees handle things that hunters find difficult to move on. It's a symbiotic relationship, you could say."
"Certainly, from the returnees' perspective, it's not bad either."
I don't know how strong returnees are, but they probably wouldn't easily accept being under someone.
In that sense, the Hunter Association's policy could be said to be an excellent choice.
'If you only suppress, it's bound to explode someday.'
They support returnees and don't interfere as long as they don't cross the line.
In return, returnees must perform the requests demanded by the association.
"What do you think? I think these are decent conditions."
"......."
Shingen sank into thought for a moment.
To quickly adapt to a world with no foundation, the association's help is indispensable.
If the condition was taking on the association's requests, he could accept it anytime.
"I accept."
"You've thought well."
Ban Yeo-hee smiled with her eyes and nodded her head.
"Then, after a simple test, issuing the license will be the end."
"A test?"
"Ah, even if it's called a test, it's a kind of test. We also need to know to what extent returnees' abilities are."
"......."
Shingen didn't really like the idea of testing his power, but to receive support, he had no choice.
Because in the Noir World, all those who spoke of testing his power died.
Even now, the mindset of Noir Earth remained more than that of this Earth.
"Let's go first. The faster the test is over, the better."
"Let's do that."
The test site was also equipped underground.
The sight of hundreds of mechanical devices lined up in a wide space was spectacular.
Ban Yeo-hee and Shingen, standing in front of the nearest measuring device among them, watched the association employees who had come additionally for measurement preparing.
"We'll test various abilities, but among them, the most intuitive is pure martial power. Because most of the work returnees are deployed for relies on martial power."
"It seems most are deployed to the field."
"Because most of the things that hunters can't handle are those kinds of things."
Due to their public image, hunters can't handle the work that returnees process.
Things like killing someone or dealing with criminals, those kinds of requests.
'In a way, it doesn't seem that different.'
Hunters could be thought of as a kind of celebrity.
The only difference is that they're practical idols who risk their lives catching magical beasts inside gates.
In the current era, hunters didn't seem much different from celebrities.
Tirilik.
After a moment, a mechanical sound was heard as the test device finished all preparations.
"Do I just swing with my fist?"
"You can do it with your fist, or use a weapon, it doesn't matter."
Shingen briefly considered drawing the sword at his waist, but soon gave up and took a stance with his fist clenched.
A samurai doesn't draw his sword recklessly.
For now, two fists were enough.
When he rolled up the sleeve of his blood-stained suit, an arm filled with numerous sword scars revealed itself.
At that fearsome sight, the surrounding employees and even Ban Yeo-hee held their breath in that moment.
Shingen threw a punch.
The fist is empty but not empty.
A fist that transcends a mere tool for hitting the opponent, there's nothing it can't pierce.
Hwoong!
The moment the fist struck the sandbag-like device.
Kwaaaaaang!!!
With a sound like a bomb exploding, the measuring device was crushed to the point of being unrecognizable and shattered.
At the same time, as if uttering its last gasp, a breaking mechanical sound came through the device's speaker.
[Mea...surement, impos...sible...]