Return to the Concrete Jungle
The Elf Queen rose from her seat without a hint of lingering once she'd said her piece.
Her expression betrayed no reluctance beneath the crown of living branches crowning her head.
"If there's anything to relay, have the outsider interpreter pass it along. I've mountains of backlog to maintain the forest's barriers. I'll take my leave."
With that curt announcement, she vanished beyond the vine-woven door.
I stared at the closed door with impassive eyes, then clicked my tongue briefly.
I got that being queen meant she was busy, but summoning people and then bailing like that felt pretty rude.
The vast guest chamber now held only Korea's dazed S-rank hunters and the interpreter in his shabby modern suit.
The most pressing issue was how to process the massive info dump crammed into my head.
"You all heard that. What do you think?"
I asked, sinking into my chair with my toes dangling and swinging in the air.
Park So-jin in her red coat reacted first.
"Is this something we can even handle on our end?"
She muttered, half-sprawled in her seat, staring blankly at the ceiling—overloaded from the info avalanche. Her usual fiery energy was gone, leaving her looking like a burned-out husk.
"Hey, kid. Got any bright ideas?"
"Like I'd have some magic fix. All I know is busting heads."
Baek Ho-young tsked at my reply and started jiggling his leg.
Ryu Ji-hwan silently fiddled with his sword hilt, sorting his thoughts. Him handling his blade that seriously meant the situation was shit-tier.
Park Jin-cheol had his eyes shut, deep in thought. I glanced at Seo Ji-hoon, who could read emotions better than most.
"No signs of deception or mental manipulation in the Elf Queen's words. That grotesque monster illusion she showed us? High chance it's really something eroding this world."
As silence hung heavy, the interpreter—who'd been eyeing us nervously from the corner—couldn't hold back anymore.
"Um, excuse me! What Her Majesty said earlier... Are there really that many horrific monsters overrunning Earth? Is Korea safe right now?"
His voice trembled faintly. Three years stranded here, no word on his family—he had every reason to freak.
"Don't worry, interpreter. Korea's holding up way better than most big powers."
My casual reassurance buckled his knees; he plopped onto the floor with a thud.
I leaned forward toward him as he exhaled in relief.
"We'll fill you in on our side later. For now, walk us through what happened here in detail. How and when you got dropped here, what you've been up to."
Licking his dry lips, the interpreter dredged up memories from three years back.
"It was on my way home from work. Right in the middle of Gangnam. The sky ripped open, the world shook with a deafening roar, and the streets and buildings around me got sucked into the void wholesale."
The first day of Gate Shock, when dimensional rifts swallowed the city.
"Thought I was dead. Got swept up in the storm, blacked out, and woke up sprawled in the heart of this massive forest."
He shuddered.
"Total panic all around. Screaming for help amid the chaos, then elf search parties showed up. They bound us in seconds and dragged us off."
"They put you to slave labor or something?"
Park So-jin asked sharply. He shook his head vigorously.
"No. The elves explained the World Tree's oracle. Said it was a divine command to shelter us poor souls caught in the dimensional collapse. They gave us a wide plot on the forest outskirts to live on, plus food and survival skills."
"So they restricted you to a protected zone under the guise of safety. Never made it past the forest edges, huh."
Seo Ji-hoon's sharp insight drew a bitter nod from the interpreter.
"Right. We're fragile without any mana. They said stepping beyond their barriers was suicide. So we don't know the details—like how the Empire or beastkin are fighting back, or exactly what those grotesque monsters look like."
Unfortunately, these guys were just frogs in a well too.
The elves had kept the Earth refugee group locked in a controlled zone, feeding them minimal info while playing sanctuary. It played out just like some fantasy novel setup—couldn't help a wry chuckle.
"Hey, better than getting chomped by beasts. Farming in a safe zone beats that a hundred times over."
I hopped down from the chair. My hoodie flapped to my shins as my feet hit the floor.
"Best move is heading back to Earth and reporting up. Puzzling this out solo won't cut it."
Baek Ho-young scratched his head roughly at my firm call.
"So what about that monster subjugation the queen begged for? We just peek and bail?"
"Not bailing—tactical retreat."
I shot back coolly, looking up at him.
"Scale like this? Not something a few hunters slashing and spell-slinging can fix. Whole worlds forming alliances? This is politics and diplomacy, not brute force."
Ryu Ji-hwan crossed his arms and nodded.
"Tae-ho's right. Beyond a single hunter team's paygrade. Nation-to-nation—or planet-to-planet—negotiations needed."
Park So-jin and Seo Ji-hoon signaled agreement without protest.
Consensus reached, I turned to the interpreter.
"Tell the queen this: We heard her requests. We'll head to Earth, confer with top brass, and come back."
"Y-yes! Got it!"
He bolted from the guest chamber toward the queen's office.
Soon he returned, towing the Elf Captain who'd first guided us to this colossal World Tree.
Kyaa! Where've you been?! I missed you!
A translucent emerald wind current burst from behind the Elf Captain's shoulder.
The wind spirit shot like a bullet, slapping onto my cheek and rubbing wildly.
Mmm~ Your mana smells so sweet! You're heading back to your world, right? Take me with you?!
"Nah. Get off."
I swatted it away in disgust.
Ryu Ji-hwan nudged the clingy spirit off my hair with his scabbard tip as it whined.
The Elf Captain sternly scolded it in elven tongue, and it finally pouted and backed off.
Hmph! Captain says he'll escort you right to the hole. Follow us!
We left the guest chamber, following the real-time telepathic translation.
Passing the World Tree's massive roots toward the forest edge.
The Elf Captain escorted us to the gate, vigilance unbroken.
Before the permanent gate's surface, rippling thick with blue mana.
He handed over a leather pouch.
As I untied it, a crystal inside emitted an eerie blue glow and floated up smoothly.
It hovered between my palms, spinning faintly.
I eyed it with red eyes.
"A mana stone?"
Park So-jin peered curiously, but it lacked the murky pulse of one.
The Elf Captain instructed the spirit again.
That's a communicator! When you come back, just trickle some mana into the stone. We'll get the signal and pick you up right away—don't get shot wandering off!
"Pretty analog for a walkie-talkie,"
I muttered, snatching the floating crystal and stuffing it deep into my tracksuit pocket.
A nod served as goodbye, and I stepped into the rippling blue curtain without hesitation.
Vision inverted white; space twisted.
The humid forest scent vanished, replaced by familiar exhaust and dust stinging my lungs.
The sensation of passing through the gate back to reality.
Feet shifting from soft earth to hard concrete—that's when it hit: we were back on Earth.
Smack in the ruins of Osaka's devastated downtown, ringed by hundreds of Japanese Self-Defense Force troops and barricades.
"They're out! The Korean hunters have returned!!"
A radio shout tore through the air.
Spotlights from circling news choppers stabbed down at once.
Blinding flashes and the roar of the crowd.
Blind relief and frenzy for humanity's strongest, back alive from what they'd thought was a time bomb gate, rocked the streets.
"Haa..."
"How the hell do we even explain this."
Ryu Ji-hwan's exasperated mutter beside me drew only a heavy sigh and a ducked head in response.
For now, I just wanted to crash at home. For a long, long time.