Chapter 11
Chapter 11
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 011
Chapter Title: Core Cleared
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As soon as the emergency contact network was activated, a message went out to the Gyodong Island request handlers. It was the one from their boss they'd been hounding him for just moments ago.
“...”
Why did it have to be today of all days for duty? That thought didn't even cross the handlers' minds. The hunters who'd signed up for this request were about to take massive losses.
In a situation already short on hunters, they couldn't afford to lose them in such a ridiculous way.
“Hurry... let's hurry.”
They hastily prepared briefing materials while compiling a list of hunters from the emergency responders who could handle this crisis.
“I'm here!”
One by one, the handlers started arriving.
“I've roughly sorted the list of hunters who responded to the emergency call. Find us some transport quick.”
“I'll handle guiding the hunters to join up, you do the other stuff!”
“What about medical support?!”
“Requested cooperation from the general hospital on Ganghwa Island!”
“Hey, you gonna take that face mask off or what?!”
“Huh? Oh crap, forgot about it!”
The handlers were all running around like headless chickens, but some things just take the minimum time required to get done.
No matter how urgent you feel, that doesn't make the work finish faster.
“Fourth casualty reported!”
“You guys not guiding the hunters properly?! You trying to get them all killed?!”
At that moment, one of the handlers on the phone turned pale as a ghost and spoke up.
“The backup hunters who responded to the request have arrived at Gyodong Island... but they've run into monsters. Interference is preventing them from landing.”
Silence fell over the situation room in an instant. If they'd at least landed, they could hold out and wait for reinforcements, but even that was impossible now.
“Change the rendezvous point.”
“If we redirect them to the new rendezvous now...”
“I know that, damn it. But what choice do we have?”
Everyone swallowed hard at those words, then followed the order to change the rendezvous point. More casualties were inevitable.
In the heavy, anxious air, one person working away suddenly shouted in an oddly bright voice that didn't fit the mood.
“Report coming in: the monsters are vanishing!”
A murmur rippled through the room. There was only one thing mass monster disappearance like this could mean.
The Erosion Core had been destroyed. Just as the situation room controller was about to issue orders to investigate the cause, another report came in from elsewhere.
“Yoo Chan-seok Hunter, the one who went missing first, just sent a message!”
“What? Didn't he enter the Erosion Core? No way his signal should be picking up.”
“This is critical! Putting the message up on the central screen!”
Pop, and the message from that rookie hunter appeared on the screen.
Everyone rubbed their eyes and double-checked the text on the screen.
“Got a lock on Yoo Chan-seok Hunter's position?”
The signal from the rookie who'd vanished was back online.
“Location pinpointed exactly at the Alpha Erosion Core site on Gyodong Island.”
“This... this...”
All the handlers who'd been frantically working froze in stunned silence. He'd cleared the Erosion Core solo? A hunter on his very first request?
Clearing a Rank 3 Erosion Core on your debut request.
No hunter had ever pulled that off. Well, one had. The very first hunter. But that guy was practically legend already.
This Yoo Chan-seok had just matched what amounted to a legend of this world.
Which meant...? This felt even bigger than claiming the "first" title. It hit people harder.
Not long after sending the message, my phone rang.
“Yes, Yoo Chan-seok speaking.”
― Yoo Chan-seok Hunter. First off, I'd like to pass along our thanks.
A flood of texts on my smartphone scrolled through my mind.
“Looks like a lot happened while I was out of pocket.”
― Can we continue the details after you return?
Sounded like something cops say to a drunk.
“The vibe here's totally revived.”
The island had felt oppressively gloomy even in broad daylight, but now, even at night, the air felt different. Fresh, like the untouched nature you only get in wild spots.
Probably because the Alpha Erosion Core was gone. I checked the rendezvous point in the texts and headed there.
Hunters weren't the only ones waiting at the rendezvous—medical teams were there too.
“Yoo Chan-seok Hunter... you're in one piece.”
Kim Min-je approached, looking exhausted. He seemed awkward, hesitant.
Not just him—the other hunters' stares were pretty intense too.
“Thanks to you, we survived.”
Kim Min-je was injured. In fact, among the hunters gathered here, the uninjured ones were rare.
“Never learned that monsters from a Rank 3 Erosion Core could move that organized.”
Han Sang-ah limped over to greet me, her awkward gait kinda memorable. I tossed out a joke.
“What, you catch a whale or something?”
“Whaling's been officially banned in Korea since November 1, 1985.”
“The whale I meant wasn't that whale... never mind.”
Truth is, you don't need to catch whales anyway.
After less than a day together, I could already read her like a book. Straightforward, transparent weirdo.
“Han Sang-ah Hunter was impressive too. Handled the work of three or four—no, more—solo.”
Han Sang-ah shook her head at Kim Min-je's words.
“I got a lot of help.”
“What help could I have possibly given?”
Their back-and-forth was heartwarmingly wholesome. They booking a room together tonight or what? If we're talking looks, Han Sang-ah's the winner.
I shifted my gaze while thinking that. Amid all the injured hunters swarming the place, five guys in suits spotted me and were heading over.
They looked beat. The one slightly ahead greeted me.
“I'm Byeon Jeong-tae, Branch Chief of the Incheon North 3rd Branch, Korea Operating Corporation. You're Yoo Chan-seok Hunter, right?”
Branch chief, huh. In police terms, what rank would that be?
“Yes, first time meeting. Yoo Chan-seok.”
“Got a moment?”
Byeon Jeong-tae led me to a makeshift tent.
He cleared his throat—ahem—then spoke.
“In resolving this sudden emergency, Yoo Chan-seok Hunter played a pivotal role.”
I replied softly.
“Honestly, if you'd taken my initial message a bit more seriously, the casualties might've been lower.”
I warned you all. And you ignored it. Byeon Jeong-tae fell silent.
“There will be clear post-action measures on that front.”
“Oh?”
He nodded at my response.
“This operation was under my command. Naturally, I'll take responsibility—submitting a written apology and accepting a pay cut for a set period.”
What, no family at home? Operating Corporation's a public enterprise, right? Branch chiefs at public companies don't usually take hits to their rep so lightly.
“Even if I don't make an issue of it, those measures are mandatory?”
I wouldn't have said that if he'd spouted empty promises about "improving with a sense of responsibility" or some bullshit.
A guy who owns his mistakes instead of blaming others? Rare breed. And rare breeds deserve a pass on one slip-up. He answered.
“Might not go as far as the pay cut, but I'll still submit the apology.”
I nodded.
“Ah, does that mean your pay cut goes straight to my account? I'd be willing to complain then.”
He gave a faint smile and shook his head.
“Then I won't complain.”
Truth is, it wasn't just the Operating Corporation that ignored me—the hunters did too.
Everyone blew off my warning, so singling out the branch chief for punishment would be silly.
“You look wiped.”
“Pardon? Oh, yeah. Came straight from on-site command after it wrapped.”
Their job's no joke either.
“I pulled an all-nighter anyway. How about we grab some coffee and chat?”
“Sounds good. Hold on. There's supplies for the Gyodong Island hunters anyway.”
At my words, Branch Chief Byeon Jeong-tae stood right up and mixed two cups of instant coffee.
“Incheon City Hall's probably gotten a report on you too, Yoo Chan-seok Hunter.”
“Hope the report's all good stuff.”
He scratched his head, looking ambiguous.
“You did ignore the handler's messages and contacts to approach the Alpha Erosion Core on your own... but the outcome was great. Not just Incheon's integrated branch—the city hall's paying attention too.”
I eyed his expression and said,
“Something still bugs you, huh?”
Branch Chief Byeon Jeong-tae glanced at me, then asked as if he'd made up his mind.
“Yoo Chan-seok Hunter, mind sharing your goal in all this?”
I answered flatly.
“If a clogged toilet's spewing shit, someone's gotta run through the overflowing crap and unclog it.”
“...I see.”
After hearing that, he spoke cautiously.
“You're gonna get famous. Talented hunters have huge popularity. Companies'll want you for ads, TV shows might come calling.”
City hall'll send a fancy plaque, reporters'll swarm for stories. I could guess what he was getting at.
“Worried I'll crash and burn, huh?”
He downed the coffee in front of him and set the cup down.
“Yeah. Plenty of promising hunters get drunk on fame and glory, lose sight of their purpose.”
He scratched his head vigorously after finishing.
“Just cross the Armistice Line, and you'll hit Erosion Zones crawling with deadly monsters. That's hell.”
Everyone knows how dangerous the front lines past the Armistice Line are. He continued.
“Korea's the only place fully safe from those monsters and cores.”
“Called the last sanctuary on earth.”
He nodded.
“Back to the point: what you did this time is huge. In tough times, people desperate for hope will flock to you. That's what worries me.”
Like promising athletes who do too many ads and shows, skip practice, and tank their form.
Hunters are similar. He fears the spotlight'll intoxicate me, drag me down.
“Thanks for the advice.”
I've lived too long and suffered too much to get swayed by that crap.
We were about to keep talking when his smartphone buzzed.
“One sec.”
After the call, he looked at me.
“The mayor wants to meet you.”
Incheon mayor? Guess he wasn't kidding. Looks like clearing that core left a big impression on folks.
“Great. We didn't set extra pay for handling a Rank 3 infection source, right?”
My request was to patrol Gyodong Island and report or handle any new Erosion Cores.
No mention of pay for actually clearing a Rank 3. Since the mayor's meeting me, I can negotiate there.