#233. I'll Leave It to You.
Thomas and Jang Deok-gu climbed to the hotel rooftop, luggage in tow.
"This might feel a bit awkward given the circumstances, but I'm Steven Butler. I run a hunter agency out of New York."
"Agency?"
Hunter agents hadn't taken root in Korea due to fierce guild opposition, but in North America, they were as commonplace as sports agents.
They represented their hunters' interests in guild contracts, provided hunting training programs and legal services, and went beyond that—securing sponsor deals to maximize profits while handling media promotion and image management to boost a hunter's value.
Of course, they couldn't touch hunters from major guilds. Unlike athletes, hunters wielded raw power. Not that they swung it recklessly, but with their strength capable of swaying national security, even governments had to tread carefully.
This meant agents couldn't approach purely for profit.
Most scouted promising early awakeners or freelancers, nurturing them in mid-to-small guilds.
The goal was a blockbuster transfer to a major guild, triggering bonus clauses for a huge payout.
Major guilds tolerated agents in personal matters, as long as they didn't interfere with contracts or hunting.
So it was no surprise Steven eyed Jang Deok-gu with gleaming anticipation. He'd been deeply impressed watching him dismantle the carnivorous wasps.
Seizing the moment, Steven channeled his professional instincts. No business card was a bummer, but he launched into an impromptu pitch anyway.
"Your name...?"
"Jang Deok-gu."
"Not a U.S. citizen, I take it. Eastern name... Chinese? Korean?"
"Korean."
"Ah? From Korea, then. Here in the States to break into the North American scene...?"
"This guy's got zero tension, even as a civilian."
Thomas chuckled as he pushed open the rooftop emergency door.
"You know that saying in baseball? 'Even hell would fetch a lefty fireballer.' Hunters have something similar: 'Trade even a red gate for a hunter who wields weapons well.' That's probably it. I'm from a major guild myself, but I've never seen anyone slice monsters as cleanly as Mr. Jang. And without a drop of mana, no less."
Decades after gates appeared.
After the chaos of the long war, humanity had settled into a prolonged peace without world-ending catastrophes. Hunter lifespans stretched, and the industry hit rank inflation.
Plenty of high-rank deadweights emerged—strong on paper but useless in high-grade gates where fundamentals mattered.
New metrics separated wheat from chaff, but every scout and agent agreed: traits topped the list.
Weapon mastery came next.
In a world overflowing with skills that leveled buildings, carved mountains, and rerouted rivers, some dismissed weapons as mere option carriers. But the better the weapon, the more crucial mastery became—to push it to its limits.
Jang Deok-gu's Weapon Master trait was a rare gem in that regard.
"He's spot on. Seventeen years as a hunter agent, and I can tell at a glance. Those cuts you can't explain by rank alone, the precision without stance or focus—hitting vitals dead-on. Experience alone can't forge that. New York guilds are hunting weapon specialists right now. We can match any salary. What do you say? Interested...?"
Jang Deok-gu shook his head, impressed by Steven's business drive even now.
"I'm affiliated. And this isn't the time. So, what's the plan?"
He turned to Thomas, shifting gears.
"Heard of infrasound?"
"No."
"Comes up in noise complaint issues between floors. A Korean mage came up with it."
"Must've suffered through some hellish upstairs neighbors."
"Not sure about that. Anyway, it lured monsters during the Singapore carnivorous wasp outbreak. Old record, but proven effective."
Thomas briefly outlined the infrasound strategy.
Nothing groundbreaking.
Vibrate building windows and walls to resonate, spread noise outward to draw wasps outside. Once out, focus sound on the hotel roof with magic, pull them in, then unleash AoE attacks.
"Humans hear 20 to 18,000 Hz. Wasps pick up lower frequencies. Causes mild stress in people, but no real harm."
"You know your wasps."
"Theoretically. This body's no fighter, so I optimize. Memorized every public monster guide and tactic report."
Jang Deok-gu pegged Thomas as Kang Moo-hyuk's type.
Hunters who couldn't cut loose.
To hunt with limits, efficiency ruled. Precise monster intel was key, forcing focus on what others skipped.
"Steven, hide inside that vent. Escorted you to safety, but can't babysit anymore."
Steven obeyed without fuss. Agents knew to heed hunters around monsters.
"So I just guard you?"
"Yes. Need a combo skill, but my state means AoE cast delay. Cover me till it's ready—I'll be wide open."
"Don't worry."
"Beginning now."
"Kyaaak!"
The woman hiding under the hotel bed screamed. Peering from under it, she froze at the wasp head. Her pants soaked. Her face drained of color.
Jeff... Mommy's...
Her son at home flashed first. She'd raised him alone after monsters claimed his dad, even dropping him with her mom for this trip. Dying so pointlessly? She fretted more for the boy left behind.
The massive wasp's jaws neared her skull.
Kiiing!
The monster recoiled with a strange cry, wings buzzing wildly. Ignoring her, it smashed through the remaining window shards and fled outside.
Others pursued.
She stared blankly out the window. Nearby buildings showed the same—hundreds, thousands flooding human turf in terror.
She fainted, unable to endure.
Johanna had defied her guild for sabbatical, picking America—East Coast to LA—for her dream world tour.
Shopping near her hotel for travel clothes when hell broke loose.
"Cazzo!"
She smashed a wasp skull, cursing in Italian.
Head pulped, its stinger stabbed her side like a rapier.
She yanked and snapped it, jamming it into the thorax. Wings stilled. She tossed the corpse, back to the wall. A dozen wasps arrayed before her.
"What rotten luck. Incident hits right when I arrive?"
Her party leader had begged her to stay due to manpower shortages. She'd left firm; curses flew.
'Hope a gate blows up your vacation spot!'
It had.
"That bastard leader. Learned a new skill? Damn if it didn't come true."
Irritation surged, but the swarm weaving the mall was the threat. Not these grunts.
Queen and escorts. Totally different league. Mess up, and I'm toast.
Full gear? She'd fight. But vacation armor and basics only. No match for the queen.
Her kit was safe at the hotel. Survival first.
Wasps lunged.
All heads snapped to the entrance.
Johanna tensed at the anomaly.
A grating tinnitus hit her ears.
She clapped hands over them; wasps bolted outside. Queen and guards followed.
The mall cleared in seconds.
She realized: the mystery noise lured them.
"Luring this many?"
Insane.
Or...
High-rank mage.
Or guild response.
She headed out to witness the cull.
"Let's see how Yankees hunt."
Thomas scaled the rooftop steel frame. Dusk fell; tower lanterns flickered.
Perched, he scanned. Wasps flickered between buildings.
Most inside, then.
Mana flows pegged over a thousand. Many dead, many survivors. No time for building sweeps.
Too many. No other guilds? Everyone's slammed... Citywide assaults?
Spring's outbreak showed imperfect response.
Suburban, but simultaneous hits wiped inner zones.
Downtown without hunters? No spare forces.
"Gotta nail this."
He steeled himself.
His eyes glowed gold. Arms wide, palms pushed air. Mana winds rippled concentrically, tapping buildings gently.
Windows hummed without shattering; walls resonated, shaking railings.
Abandoned cars quivered; asphalt noise surged through manholes, rattling concrete and glass.
Invisible to eyes, but wasps' sensors screamed attack.
Wings beat. They swarmed out, hunting.
Thomas drew sound to the roof. A sonic path formed; wasps pursued. Whining filled the air from all sides.
He swayed. Nose bled. Acid rose. He swallowed hot bile, grinding teeth.
A bit more... just a bit...
Not all gathered yet.
One AoE chance in this state.
Firing now? Half at best.
Whiiing!
A wasp dove at precarious Thomas.
Defenseless.
He didn't flinch.
Trusted backup.
Thwack!
Stinger shy of his heart, a blade erupted below, pulping the head. Wings severed, it plummeted to mush.
"Keep at it. I'll hold till you cast."
Thomas nodded back.
Then, I'll leave it to you.