Why Did It Have to Be That Guy?
"Of all the useful guys, why did it have to be that one..."
The reason these two mortal enemies were raiding a dungeon together boiled down to one thing: the concert. Yul's concert.
There were just two days left until the big event. Until then, they had to deal with the surge of outbreak gates caused by the tower's aftermath, plus all the existing precursor gates. They needed to ensure civilian safety, both publicly and in reality.
Advertising the concert as safe was pointless if everyday life turned into chaos beforehand—it'd just become a joke.
Ryu Shin-ah quickly assembled the most suitable personnel for the job. The only issue? One utterly unappealing name on the list.
The private chat from the hunter channel was still fresh in his mind.
And with that, the persuasion was complete. Joo Young—who would lose his mind at the mere mention of Yul, or rather, already had—immediately shouted okay.
Thus, a gate-closing party featuring the domestic ranks 2 and 7 was formed. Thanks to that, over the past few days, the two had been clearing every dungeon popping up nationwide, either solo or as a duo.
...Of course, the process wasn't exactly smooth.
"Guess it's time to head out."
Ryu Shin-ah lightly kicked off the ground.
Thud.
He landed gracefully beside Joo Young. His golden eyes scanned the translucent monitor. The screen showed an alert: all monsters, including the boss, annihilated.
"This one's done. Let's close it and go."
"...Isn't Lady Lee Seonjwa coming?"
"The Queen's busy. Having both of us here for a C-rank is already a waste of manpower. No need for her to—"
"If she's busy, we can't bother her, sure."
Joo Young, masking his disappointment, pulled the black cape around his neck up to his mouth.
Ah, whatever.
Shaking his head, Ryu Shin-ah suddenly tilted his head.
"...Now that I think about it, that's kinda unfair. Why do you only like the Queen? I helped save your ass that day too, y'know?"
"Bullshit. Save me? Please."
"You ungrateful punk? Should I tell our Queen exactly how rude you've been to me...?"
"Wanna die?"
"Try it."
"Scammer talks big."
"Wanna have your baby-diaper black history spilled to that scammer?"
Their voices rose, a tense, murderous air crackling between them.
"You shouldn't even be near Lady Lee Seonjwa."
"Who are you to decide that? It's the Queen's call."
A pitch-black scythe appeared in Joo Young's hand, while Ryu Shin-ah placed his fingers on the translucent keyboard materializing in midair. Their blazing black eyes and irritated golden ones locked—
BOOM!
Their powers clashed.
At that moment, someone new set foot on the barren wasteland. Yul, looking as unchanged as ever.
She slung her baseball bat off her shoulder and muttered in bewilderment.
"...Why are you two fighting like idiots?"
She'd come to help out of gratitude for their hard work, only to find them team-killing each other.
[Our Yul took time out of her busy schedule to come, and you're all playing around pathetically, it clicks its tongue.]
"If we leave them, Ryu Shin'll be in danger."
A backup specialist couldn't possibly match them. Yul kicked a pebble with her foot and casually twirled her bat-wielding wrist.
Let's see.
Tracking their movements with her eyes, she swung her hand.
Whoosh—!
"...!"
"Ah."
A heavy pressure sliced between them. Their bodies froze stiff, gazes snapping to the same spot.
Yul rested the bat back on her shoulder and greeted them indifferently.
"Sorry for interrupting, but I didn't want my friend dying."
"L-Lady Lee Seonjwa...?"
"Queen?"
Joo Young sucked in a breath, while Ryu Shin-ah called out to her curiously and rushed over.
Yul looked at him pitifully. A shallow scratch marred Ryu Shin-ah's cheek—from the earlier clash.
"Watch your opponent before you show off, Ham-su."
"Queen, that's harsh! Take my side!"
"It's true. How do you expect to last against that guy? You're lucky you didn't end up dropped in the middle of Siberia."
Space traits were notoriously tricky and versatile among combat types.
At her words, Joo Young flinched, his body trembling. His black eyes, which had been blankly staring at her, rippled.
A memory etched into his soul from long ago surged like a wave.
Hunter nickname: Fanatic. Real name: Shin Joo-young. Korea's first and last space-type hunter. His ability to slice and teleport through shadows drew attention on its own. And his rank? A-grade, top-tier at the time. For an 18-year-old not even fully adult, it was almost too much.
Paired with his cocky, brash personality, Joo-young was the textbook "rude" and "unlikeable" hunter.
"Look at that punk strutting like his power makes him invincible."
"Kid who can't even grow a beard properly..."
He'd brought a lot of it on himself, but the backlash was sometimes excessive.
"Losers who can't even fight whispering behind my back. Hunters without power are just corpses. Age doesn't feed you in dungeons?"
"Wanna argue? Level up first. Talking shit from the gutter hits zero. Idiots."
The more it happened, the more Joo-young armored himself in pride, arrogance, and spite. He'd spit even truths coldly, flaunt his powers blatantly, and rampage.
But there was one existence even he couldn't defy.
"No matter how much you strut, you can't beat rank 1, you rude little shit."
"Think you can match her? She's a monster. A monster."
"Sure, maybe domestic 2nd, but 1st? Impossible. Unshakable world #1."
The unshakable #1. Absolute ruler. Living legend and national savior of the hunter world.
Lee Seonjwa Slayer—Yul. The one who alone shattered his pride.
He hadn't met her in person back then, his hunter career still short. All he knew was the infamous "Legendary Debut: World's Strongest Lee Seonjwa (NerTube)" video everyone had seen.
He hadn't been impressed. The "overwhelming dignity" people raved about? He witnessed it himself not long after.
Four years ago, in a dungeon.
BOOM!
The sand dune shook like it'd been bombed. Joo-young was sent flying helplessly amid the flying sand.
"Guh...!"
His breath caught. His whole body ached like it was shattered.
What the hell is this? Why are these things...!
Dungeon: "Vast Beach of the Black Sea." Precursor gate, estimated B-rank. A pitch-black sea that chilled you just looking at it, endless purple sands stretching forever.
But from the moment they entered, something felt off—the difficulty was way beyond B.
Lizard monsters crawling from caves, krakens surging from the dark sea. Mid-bosses, bosses—all at least A-rank.
"B-block it!"
"No more electric hunters left?! We need to electrocute that thing...! Guh!"
"Aaaagh!"
The other hunters who'd entered with him were long since overwhelmed.
"Nngh...!"
The only ones holding on were him and Sae-byeok Bich, guild master of Twilight.
Sae-byeok Bich whipped her white hair as she gritted her teeth, raising an ice wall.
Crack!
A kraken tentacle slammed into the wall. She barely blocked it, but she wasn't unscathed.
"Get up! Stay there and you're dead! That thing right—"
"Ha."
Sae-byeok Bich, trying to help Joo-young up, lost her words at the sight before her.
Joo-young ground his teeth in exhaustion too.
The retreating kraken tentacle was scooping up the ocean floor.
Rumble...
The ground quaked, the sea flipped. Layers inverted, top becoming bottom.
A wall of water towering to the sky surged toward the beach.
A tsunami that dwarfed anything from foreign news—child's play by comparison.
This fucking octopus bitch causing a tsunami...?!
Joo-young gripped his scythe tighter, forcing open space in front of the sand.
That's when—
"—Ham-su. Evacuate them."
A calm voice pierced his ear. Before he could turn, someone blocked their path.
Black, wavy bob hair fluttering. White bandages peeking through. A frame two heads shorter than him. Even the plain black tracksuit.
Sae-byeok Bich murmured unconsciously.
"L-Lady Lee Seon..."