A Reply from the Golden Hunter
“Huuuh?!”
A few hours later, at Double Black’s dorm. The five exhausted members had just returned from the practice room and were taking a break. That’s when Park Sa-ha came tumbling out of his room like he was rolling, prompting the remaining members in the living room to freak out and ask.
“W-What’s wrong?!”
“What happened?”
“Did something go wrong with the stage?!”
Leader Kim Yu-jun, eldest brother Seo In-ah, and the youngest Park Ho-young, who had just come down from upstairs, in that order.
Park Sa-ha shoved his phone in their faces, his expression still frozen in shock.
“A c-comment came in.”
“……Huh?”
“What comment? Where’d you post?”
“The fan cafe. The Hunter’s fan cafe.”
“……And?”
Seo In-ah asked patiently. He’d wondered what the big deal was, but it was just a comment on a fan cafe. Even Kim Yu-jun and Park Ho-young looked disappointed as they scolded him.
Sa-ha, you scared us.
Bro, relax.
Park Sa-ha swept back his bangs in frustration and pointed at the screen.
“No, it’s who left it that matters!”
“Who?”
“Hunter HamsulDeokKoon!!”
The one and only friend of Lee Seonjwa Hunter! As if saying now do you get it?, a brief silence settled over the living room.
And exactly three seconds later.
“For real? For real?! That person?!”
“Hyung, hyung! Let me see! Gimme the phone!”
“I’m telling you, it’s real! Look, here—Admin!”
Kim Yu-jun and Park Ho-young gaped blankly at the clearly displayed ‘Admin’ label.
Whoa, it’s legit.
Park Sa-ha, overwhelmed by the thought that his impulsive post might have reached Lee Seonjwa herself, let out a silent wail of emotion. The other two pounded the floor in envy.
“Man, you’re so lucky, Sa-ha. That’s huge……”
“Aaaah! Why only you, hyung! Last time you even met Jun-yeol hyung outside! Why! Hyung! Why!”
“I joined as one rep, remember? You said just one for insurance.”
Park Sa-ha pushed away Park Ho-young’s whiny face and flashed a victorious grin.
Seo In-ah, watching the scene, just shook his head.
These guys are so loud……
“More importantly, today……”
Seo In-ah scratched the back of his head and stared out the window. The clear spring night sky edging into dawn reflected in his dark eyes. As he stood up, Kim Yu-jun asked curiously.
“Hyung, where you going?”
“Gym. Bringing Jun-yeol.”
“Ah, see you later.”
“Yeah.”
Seo In-ah crammed his sneakers on haphazardly. With only about a week until the concert, everyone was practicing day and night. He was no exception. It pained him to see the members eagerly awaiting the day they’d meet their fans.
This concert’s gonna get canceled.
Something big enough to shake the whole world—and bury their little concert—was about to happen.
But he couldn’t tell anyone. Even if he did, it wouldn’t be to the members.
If anyone…… that person, maybe.
No. Telling her wouldn’t change anything……
Seo In-ah wiped his face. His fingertips felt cold. Even though pretending not to know felt a bit futile.
……Gotta see it through. Still.
He couldn’t forgive himself for ignoring what needed doing right now just because it’s obvious anyway.
Stay grounded in reality.
He pulled his black cap low and headed to the practice room. The members’ bickering voices from beyond the closed steel door felt endearing.
The next day, eleventh dungeon.
Whoosh—
The blood-tinged sea washed over the black sand. Far on the horizon, purple-black smoke seeped from the water.
Poison gas. It blanketed the sky so thickly, you’d swear it was a ceiling.
The wind whipped his blond hair. Ryu Shin-ah rested a hand over his eyes and whistled.
“Jungle yesterday, now this? Gonna be fun. Reminds you of old times, right, General?”
The dungeon where Kwon Yul and Ryu Shin-ah first teamed up. The one that sparked their friendship going public: Vast Beach of the Black Sea.
Unlike the B rank on the terminal, it was an integrated A+ top-tier dungeon. They’d entered early, rescued some solo hunters and guild members, and escorted them out—spotlighting their teamwork for the first time.
(Ryu Shin-ah had snapped a selfie with Yul inside the now-empty dungeon, calling it a historic moment. Four years later, it authenticated her first post.)
Thud.
The silver staff slammed into the black sand, shattering it with the force. Yul grabbed her whipping hair and replied.
“What’s good about remembering? It was a hassle.”
“How many lives did you save? Half the current domestic top ranks owe you from back then.”
“Half? Two.”
Yul answered flatly. No big deal over just two.
Of the hunters she saved that day, only two now ranked in Korea’s top echelon: Joo Young (now S-, via rank-up) and guild leader Sae-byeok Bich of Twilight (A+).
Ryu Shin-ah ruffled his hair and held up the terminal.
“One of ’em’s your fanatic now. Saw it on your board last time, and the fan cafe yesterday. Raced in after one comment demanding the president step down.”
“Keyboard warrior on a public board—what’s to brag about……”
“Shouldn’t you cheer for your supporter?”
“Shut up and prep.”
Yul yanked the staff free. Her constellation had pinged an incoming monster.
But she wasn’t waiting.
Step-by-step clears? Nah—just rip the head off first.
Whoosh.
She swung the staff, compressing the air into twisting waves. The pressurized atmosphere churned the poison gas into a whirlwind.
Then, as something stirred far out in the sea, she hurled the staff.
Kaboooom!
It cleaved straight through the sea. The path split like Moses’ miracle, exposing the seafloor.
And at the end, the monster hiding in the abyss revealed itself.
A purple-black crab-like beast.
Clang!
The staff collided with its tough shell. Blocked, yet the glowing silver relentlessly crushed its claw.
Yul fixed her gaze on the emerging monster and muttered.
Check it.
Ryu Shin-ah, already ready, read off the terminal.
“Sea of Poison Gas, Denizen of the Deep Seafloor. A rank. Boss.”
“Mobs?”
“Asking about mobs now that you’ve bared the ocean floor?”
Ryu Shin-ah pointed at the still-open sea. Shockwave-torn shells and crab remnants littered it.
Yul kept pressure on the staff and spat.
“Some’ll be left. You handle ’em, Ryu Shin.”
“Was gonna anyway. Save some for me while I play.”
“Try it.”
With that, the crab swatted the staff away with its front claw. Yul casually snatched the incoming projectile mid-air like an anti-air shell.
Then charged.
Bam, boom, crunch, crackle-crack.
The tough carapace shattered vulgarly, exposing chunks that weren’t quite tenderloin. Amid the brutal symphony of sounds, Ryu Shin-ah chuckled.
Oof, that’ll piss it off.
He activated his skill.
Fwoosh.
A translucent keyboard and monitor materialized before him. He placed his hands on the gold keyboard glowing green and danced his fingers freely.
Dozens of ‘views’ popped up on the blank monitor.
The enemies’ perspectives watching him.
Records were vast. Any trace—even visual and auditory memories stored real-time in the brain—counted as one.
And Ryu Shin-ah manipulated them all.
“You guys play with me.”
Tap.
His jaunty keystrokes shattered the views filling the screen. Mid-to-low monsters lurking in sand and cliffs emerged, golden shards embedded near their heads.
“Can’t interrupt the King.”
He grinned, drawing a weapon from inventory.
The beach soon drowned in fragmented brains and spinal fluid.
“Hah…… damn it.”
Gu Se-ji, who’d rushed over, ground his teeth.
“What the……”
“Insane.”
Gawps laced with shock. His guild members followed behind.
The sight greeting the ten hunters was gruesome. Sand and water scattered everywhere, the sea nowhere in sight, monster corpses blanketing the beach beyond recognition.
But more eye-catching than all that: two figures atop black basalt.
A blond man in bright contrast to the dim sky—Ryu Shin-ah. And right beside him, Kwon Yul overlooking them with a silver staff—not her usual baseball bat—slung over her shoulder.