Where Are They Hiding?
"Guild master? She came back, checked things out, and said she was heading north to scout."
"North?"
Kang Moo-hyuk tilted his head.
Pyo Beom-hee was just relaying the message without question, but he knew exactly what Joo Se-ah had been up to. He couldn't help but draw a question mark in his mind.
'Scout the north?'
Iron Will's headquarters sat at the northern edge of North Pocheon. Past Sanjeong Lake, the terrain narrowed into a chain of mountains marking the regional boundary.
In other words, there was nowhere for an orc tribe to hide.
"No other messages?"
-None. She grabbed a gate 'meal kit' and 'search kit' right after arriving and took off.
"Search kit?"
-Said it'd take a few days.
In that instant, a hypothesis flashed through Kang Moo-hyuk's mind.
Joo Se-ah, blunt and direct in her self-expression, had lumped it all under "north." That probably meant she couldn't specify the exact location.
Plus, someone who wouldn't get caught by most monsters relying on her own abilities was using a search kit? That screamed she needed perfect camouflage for something big.
There weren't many places in Korea where a hunter of Joo Se-ah's caliber needed that level of caution—and right above North Pocheon, there was one.
A place even Kang Moo-hyuk had buried in the back of his memory.
'Cheorwon?'
Any Korean hunter calling it a scouting spot would get laughed at. Hell, most wouldn't even consider it.
No matter how resistant monsters were to modern weapons, they weren't invincible. A minefield like Cheorwon—half mines, half dirt—was no picnic for survival.
And even if they could scrape by, it was no place for a tribe like orcs to gather. Monsters didn't farm; with all those mouths to feed, they needed constant hunts to sustain the group.
But in a mine-riddled zone, movement was restricted. Hunting? Forget it.
Even hunters dreaded it more than the monsters themselves.
'If the guild master headed there anyway, she must have a damn good reason. She's got bones from years in the field.'
A veteran hunter's instincts sometimes outstripped even Kang Moo-hyuk's calculations.
Such hunches often hinged on a razor's edge between insight and bravado.
Field command drew that line. And at its peak? Expedition teams. Joo Se-ah was a proven ace and party leader from a top-tier guild's expeditions.
Her gut and judgment deserved respect.
-Hey? Why the sudden silence? Something up? Wait... when the deputy does this... no way, north means Cheorwon? The guild master's in Cheorwon? Why the hell that shithole?
"Exactly. Team Leader Pyo's reaction is the norm. No one thinks to scout Cheorwon."
But what if the orcs really were there?
'Here's where it gets interesting.'
Why hadn't the orcs come to North Pocheon until now?
And why head south now?
'Something changed. The most likely trigger? Just one.'
The goblin matriarch was gone.
'Monsters don't play nice. Tribe against tribe in a resource crunch means turf wars. The goblin matriarch was definitely the orcs' natural predator.'
Physical bruisers like orcs, distant from magic, were especially vulnerable to mental attacks.
The goblin matriarch was the endgame evo in that arena—no wonder they'd hesitated to cross south.
With Joo Se-ah opening this new angle, Kang Moo-hyuk's mind spun dozens of scenarios.
In the brief pause from Pyo Beom-hee, his thoughts raced ahead, already devising contingencies.
-Silent again? Brainstorming, huh.
"Ah? Sorry. Got caught up in some threads."
-Big-picture stuff's your job, so I won't gripe. But whatever it is, shouldn't we smash the orc bastards who slunk into South Pocheon first?
"Right. Clear them out, then we can face the next threat."
It was almost a mutter, so Pyo Beom-hee didn't press.
But "threat" from Kang Moo-hyuk's lips set off alarms. She caught it wasn't just the infiltrators.
'So. You bastards. Where the hell are you hiding?'
Kang Moo-hyuk glared at the last CCTV shots of the orcs' movements.
The ground Joo Se-ah tread had shunned human feet for decades.
Cheorwon County.
Two weeks after the first gate—the Hellgate—opened and North Korea collapsed.
The government rushed to build defenses along the DMZ against the monster flood from the north.
Troops deployed from Paju to Yeoncheon, Cheorwon, Yanggu, Inje, and Goseong, blanketing the area with mines.
Cheorwon, the main invasion corridor, got half the total—tens of thousands.
They kept dropping more until hunters emerged; even the military didn't know the exact count.
Post-chaos, the DMZ-to-Cheorwon stretch became a monster-mine hell rivaling China's Northeast "Magyong."
Some even called it the Korean Peninsula's Magyong.
'Weird that monsters stayed put this long. Government's just marked it "restricted" without reclaiming it. Shady as hell.'
Even after retaking old North Korean lands, leaving this central hazard? Joo Se-ah couldn't wrap her head around it.
Looking back, it felt like deliberate info control. No media coverage; guilds and agencies treated it like it didn't exist.
Without the orc incursion, even she wouldn't have thought of it. Cheorwon was thoroughly forgotten.
Click—
"Hm?"
Boom—!
The ground erupted underfoot. Dirt flipped skyward. Dust settled, revealing Joo Se-ah unscathed.
Good thing she'd shielded with mana in a split second—her armor coat nearly shredded.
"This thing costs a fortune."
It could tank a few mines, but armor coats were consumables. Felt wasteful outside monster fights.
Her custom under-armor hated scratches from anything but monsters, too.
She checked her gear like fine luggage, wary of fingerprints, then eyed the rice paddy ridges ahead.
Deceptively peaceful, but jagged mine tips poked through. Some blast remnants looked like bone shards.
Staring at this vast mine-plowed "paddy," Joo Se-ah grimaced.
'Gonna burn all my mana crossing this.'
Should've brought a supporter.
She could make a mana shield, but self-made ones via control sucked efficiency.
Mana drain before escaping the field? Possible.
And explosions like that? Might draw monsters.
No clue on local monster types, scale, or ecosystem—better not alert them needlessly.
Mulling it over, something caught her eye.
"No law says I can't."
A utility pole along the ridge edge.
Some snapped midspan, but jumpable on foot.
"Hup!"
Climbing one, leaping to the next like stepping stones, she progressed far.
Minor monster skirmishes, nothing threatening.
Oddly, most avoided mines entirely.
Testing, she dropped down—boom! Second mine.
Boom—!
"Ptoo! Bleh, dirt... Ptui! How do those bastards roam free?"
Observing closely, she got it quick.
'Smell? Scent-tracking?'
Suspicion hardened to certainty.
A tusked boar-like "fanged snout" rooted its nose, sniffing and veering.
Straight shot was close, but it detoured massively to the asphalt—clearly learned roads were safe over years here.
Joo Se-ah followed to the road, heading north.
She adjusted her shouldered bag, reached back to confirm her greatsword's hilt over her shoulder.
First time pulling her main weapon instead of fists in ages.
"Sheesh, not even gate-diving. Did I overpack? Full kit like this."
Maybe she, not Kang Moo-hyuk, was the one chained to the goblin matriarch's shadow.
She chuckled dryly and stepped on.
"Ugh, dust."
"This your car, sis? Supercar or tractor? Can't tell."
Choi Mi-ran desperately brushed dust from her beloved ride, but it was futile.
Not a day or two's worth. Parked months in the guild's North Pocheon boundary lot—needed a steam wash to reveal its color.
Her partner, Kim Seong-hyeon, tsked.
"Told you, pay pros like other hunters."
"They gouge you!"
"Or sell like me. Said it—no joyriding in Pocheon."
"No way. Can't sell her. Know how hard I grinded for this? Maxed loans too. Still paying."
"Then mana cartridge it. Needs engine guards for special zones."
"Money pit! In North Pocheon? Private loans wouldn't cover."
Kim Seong-hyeon pondered watching her dither.
'Really hunt with this sis?'
C+ cap aside, Choi Mi-ran was solid support in hunts.
Quick instincts, steady hands.
Few skills, but versatile—zero gaps against grade-appropriate foes.
Still uneasy.
'That pissy temper.'
At least milder since the new deputy.
Dust somewhat cleared, Choi Mi-ran fired it up.
"Hop in."
"Driving this turd? Embarrassing."
"You sold yours. Short on scouts, hurry up—my ride or bust."
"When'd you hustle like... oh, bonus? Orc bounty."
"Hunters chase cash! Capitalism's slave here!"
"Cringe fist-pump? Pirate king vibes?"
Kim Seong-hyeon shook his head, opening passenger door.
"Don't scratch gear—carry it."
"Yes, ma'am. Won't mar your steed..."
Sudden shadow overhead. He turned mid-mount.
Glinting metal hurtled at him.
"...!"
Crash!
He rolled as screams erupted inside.
"Kyaa! My car!"
He saw the attacker.
Axe.
And wielder...
"Can't see shit here. What? What hit?!"
"Sis! Orcs! Orcs!"
"Orcs my ass. Why?!"
"Behind! Behind!"
No time for details—two orcs.
His attacker, another closing on driver's side.
Choi Mi-ran glimpsed via side mirror.
Familiar mug.
She bailed out—aborted, dove to passenger floor.
Axe embedded in roof.
Thud!
"Enough, you orc fuck!"