Chapter 33

Translator: Azure, Flameu Editor: Yunan
 

 

A monotonous silver ring without any pattern.

 

 

 

Nevertheless, Seol Yoon-hee couldn’t stop smiling.

 

 

 

 

Do-jun glanced at his watch and confirmed that there were about 10 minutes left before the program starts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Hunter History, huh…”

 

 

 

At B-2 Exhibition Hall, the Hunter’s History Guide Program was being held.

 

 

 

One guide was explaining the history of the emergence of Hunters from 10 years ago when the Rifts started to appear.

 

 

 

In the museum were the equipment used by Hunters and preserved remains or artifacts of monsters that appeared.

 

 

 

In addition, the very popular part of the museum was where various fauna and flora are displayed which can only be seen inside the Rifts, so we had to wait in line.

 

 

 

– Father, hearing this brings back a lot of memories, right?

 

 

 

Do-jun smiled as he watched Seol Yoon-hee, who was humming while rubbing the ring.

 

 

 

He felt strangely grateful for his daughter who was very thoughtful of him.

 

 

 

Suddenly, Do-jun thought about how he’d be living right now if Seol Yoon-hee hadn’t come.

 

 

 

According to the details of their contract, Seol Yoon-hee would take on all the troublesome tasks such as cleaning, laundry, food, and handling various utility bills.

 

 

 

If it weren’t for her, he’d be struggling with a lot of things all by himself right now.

 

 

 

“Here, Yongyong.”

 

 

 

「Yum yum. One more!」

 

 

 

“No. You won’t be able to eat dinner later if you’re already full.”

 

 

 

「Cheapskate.」

 

 

 

Seol Yoon-hee put jelly in Yongyong’s mouth.

 

 

 

Yongyong, who was obsessed with jelly, kept asking for more.

 

 

 

For Do-jun, this daily life felt so natural.

 

 

 

And he thought he wanted to protect this forever.

 

 

 

 

＊ ＊ ＊

 

 

“Hello. I’m Bae Nara, deputy chief of the Hunter Management Agency, and I’ll be your guide today. It’s a pleasure to meet you all.”

 

 

 

A woman in her late 20s dressed in a suit bowed her head and greeted the crowd.

 

 

 

When they entered inside, contrary to its exterior, it was quite spacious and they didn’t feel cramped up at all since each group was only composed of 20 visitors.

 

 

 

“Now, as you probably know, 10 years ago Rifts started appearing here on Earth. And here, as you can see…”

 

 

 

Jiiing.

 

 

 

Bae Nara laid out her palms in the air.

 

 

 

There, a stone sculpture modeled after a Rift appeared as a holographic photograph.

 

 

 

“This was the first Rift that ever appeared in Korea. It was discovered in Geumjeong Mountain in Busan. Although the Rift is now closed, a stone statue of the Rift was erected in place. It is now designated as a monument. Now, I’ll ask everyone a question, and whoever gives the correct answer gets a prize.”

 

 

 

Bae Nara waved a small box about the size of the palm of her hand.

 

 

 

“Here’s the question. The Rift I just mentioned is also otherwise known as the…”

 

 

 

“First Break!”

 

 

 

Seol Yoon-hee raised her hand and shouted.

 

 

 

Even though she still hadn’t finished her sentence. Bae Nara smiled and held out the prize.

 

 

 

“That’s correct. Thank you for your active participation.”

 

 

 

“Thank you.”

 

 

 

Seol Yoon-hee showed Do-jun the prize and smiled.

 

 

 

Yongyong, who was in Do-jun’s arms, showed interest in the prize and sniffed it.

 

 

 

But soon he squeaked and clicked his tongue.

 

 

 

「Tsk. It’s not something edible.」

 

 

 

“……”

 

 

 

Seol Yoon-hee sighed, looking at Yongyong.

 

 

 

After eating the braised short ribs, his appetite had increased tremendously.

 

 

 

She thought that she had caused Yongyong’s misbehavior.

 

 

 

“Maybe I shouldn’t have fed you so much.”

 

 

 

「Are you crazy, human?」

 

 

 

Afterwards, she moved along with Bae Nara and listened to her explanation.

 

 

 

She saw the equipment used by the first Hunters and learned how things developed from that poor environment when there was still no <Body Strengthening> up to the present day etc.

 

 

 

Tap.

 

 

 

Bae Nara stopped walking.

 

 

 

In front of <Claws> displayed in a glass tube, which was over 5 meters long.

 

 

 

Do-jun skimmed through the explanation on the sign.

 

 

 

“Three years ago, a Rift appeared in an apartment in Busan. It’s such a famous anecdote that everyone probably knows it. At that time, a dragon escaped from the Rift and wreaked havoc which caused severe casualties. These are the dragon’s claws.”

 

 

 

The Dragon Masalys.

 

 

 

An S-class monster that caused a total of 857 deaths and 1,494 casualties.

 

 

 

Although it was classified as an S-class, it was unique enough to be considered even beyond such classification.

 

 

 

Because one shot of Dragon’s Breath was enough to kill multiple high rankers instantly.

 

 

 

Flick.

 

 

 

Seol Yoon-hee flicked Yongyong’s forehead.

 

 

 

「Ow! W-Why did you hit me!」

 

 

 

“Yongyong, don’t you ever think of doing that, okay?”

 

 

 

「…No, I just sleep in my nest. Going out there and running around is for the undignified. But… Well, it turned out like this now.」

 

 

 

Yongyong sighed and looked up at Do-jun with pitiful eyes, whimpering.

 

 

 

「Master… Please send me back to my lair. I’ll just shut myself in and won’t mess around.」

 

 

 

“Then you won’t be able to eat braised short ribs anymore.”

 

 

 

Do-jun smiled and threatened him.

 

 

 

Yongyong mumbled, clicking his tongue

 

 

 

「You sly old man.」

 

 

 

Do-jun smirked at the remark.

 

 

 

In fact, if Izaas had tried to escape, he could’ve easily done so if he tried.

 

 

 

If he really didn’t like being dragged around with a leash or hated Seol Yoon-hee’s pranks, he could’ve changed to his original appearance or gotten angry.

 

 

 

But he didn’t.

 

 

 

Do-jun patted Yongyong, who fell asleep in his arms.

 

 

 

 

＊ ＊ ＊

 

 

 

Hunter Management Conference Room.

 

 

 

The director of the Hunter Management Agency, Jung Yeong-cheol, was sitting at the front of the long round table while flicking through the material his aide had handed over to him.

 

 

 

“…It wasn’t an error.”

 

 

 

A Great Rift estimated as ‘S-class’ was detected around Umyeon Mountain in Seocho-gu about a month ago.

 

 

 

At that time, for about 10 seconds, the level of Rift waves exceeded 9,999 in the Umyeon Mountain area.

 

 

 

Analysts concluded that it was an error in the detector and reported it to Jung Yeong-cheol.

 

 

 

However, once again, a strong wave was detected in Umyeon Mountain.

 

 

 

“What about the figures?”

 

 

 

“It’s 1,581.”

 

 

 

“Are you sure this time?”

 

 

 

The moment the number recorded on the Rift detector exceeds 1,000.

 

 

 

The Hunter Management Agency will be on high alert.

 

 

 

For the emergence of an S-class Great Rift.

 

 

 

Considering that the figures last time when the dragon ‘Masalys’ appeared was 2,200, this time, it was relatively easier.

 

 

 

But an S-class is still an S-class.

 

 

 

They couldn’t let their guard down.

 

 

 

“Yes. However, the numbers… they’re increasing little by little. Currently, the elite members of the Icarus Guild, including Kang Min-hyuk, are controlling the entrance.”

 

 

 

“What about the Sword Emperor?”

 

 

 

“He’s probably still in the center and won’t be able to return until the scheduled date. That place is out of reach so…”

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Central Plains.

 

 

 

A danger zone also called the ‘Vortex of Rifts’.

 

 

 

Ten years ago, a huge hole appeared in Odae Mountain, Gangwon-do at the same time as the First Break emerged.

 

 

 

Unlike ordinary Rifts which have special networks built with Mana Stones for communication, all external communications will be cut off when entering the hole.

 

 

 

The three members from the Behemoth Guild <First Hunter>, including the Sword Emperor Lee Kang-hyun periodically enter the heart of the center and explore its environment.

 

 

 

Once they enter the center, they will decide and communicate a fixed date that they would return in case of any unforeseen circumstances that would prevent them from returning on the agreed date – the Hunter society would be on full alert.

 

 

 

“How’s the progress on that side?”

 

 

 

“According to a report submitted after the last Dive, about 1.4 percent.”

 

 

 

Listening to his aide, Jung Yeong-cheol shook his head in response.

 

 

 

There have been over 20 Dives in total over the last three years.

 

 

 

However, the progress had only been 1.4 percent.

 

 

 

 

“We’ll just focus on that when Lee Kang-hyun returns. Any information on Mount Umyeon?”

 

 

 

“There’s nothing. There have been cases where one can’t get out after entering too soon.”

 

 

 

“Is it distorted?”

 

 

 

“Yes, just like last time in ‘The Dark Ogre’s Swamp’, there’s a chance that they’ll go into reconnaissance and get wiped out when they attempt to establish ground within. I’m sorry for making decisions of my own accord.”

 

 

 

Jung Yeong-cheol shook his head.

 

 

 

His aide’s judgment was good.

 

 

 

As he said, if a distortion occurs, we don’t know what’s going to happen.

 

 

 

“I just remembered. Was there a Hunter who had been promoted to S-class recently?”

 

 

 

“There are a few A-class but…”

 

 

 

“No. Not an A-class.”

 

 

 

Jung Yeong-cheol recalled the Rift Distortion that happened in the Dark Ogre’s Swamp.

 

 

 

And remembered the masked hunter he had seen on the emergency camera.

 

 

＊ ＊ ＊

 

 

“Oh? Those people…”

 

 

 

Seol Yoon-hee saw three Hunters signing autographs for the people lining up in a booth.

 

 

 

They were the three elite members from the Magi Guild, which had become a hot topic these days.

 

 

 

More than 300 people lined up to get their autographs.

 

 

 

“I envy them.”

 

 

 

“You want to get an autograph?”

 

 

 

“Y-Yeah…”

 

 

 

Seol Yoon-hee admired Hunters.

 

 

 

Even more so if they were skilled Hunters.

 

 

 

Recently, the Magi Guild subjugated an A-class Great Rift with only three people.

 

 

 

To the world, they were already famous enough to say that their skills were S-class.

 

 

 

“Then, shall we also line up?”

 

 

 

“…Is that okay, Father?”

 

 

 

“Yeah. We’re here to have fun today. If there’s anything you want to do, you should do it.”

 

 

 

“Thank you!”

 

 

 

Seol Yoon-hee smiled bashfully and ran to the waiting line.

 

 

 

Yongyong, who was in Do-jun’s arms, looked at him.

 

 

 

「Those guys are idiots, why bother getting a sign from them when there’s a great guy here?」

 

 

 

Yongyong commented.

 

 

 

Do-jun smiled and walked to Seol Yoon-hee.

 

 

 

The line shortened quickly.

 

 

 

It took them less than 20 seconds for each person to get a sign.

 

 

 

Occasionally, there were people who made strange requests, but they just skipped on them.

 

 

 

“Next.”

 

 

 

Soon, it was Seol Yoon-hee’s turn.

 

 

 

Magi Guild leader Han Dong-hyun greeted her with a smile.

 

 

 

“What’s your name?”

 

 

 

“Seol Yoon-hee.”

 

 

 

“That’s a nice name. Is there anything else you want me to write about here?”

 

 

 

“N-Nothing.”

 

 

 

Han Dong-hyun just wrote, ‘Have a happy day’.

 

 

 

After scribbling his sign with his name below it, he handed it over to Seol Yoon-hee.

 

 

 

Upon receiving the autograph, Seol Yoon-hee showed it to Do-jun, who was standing beside her, with a bright expression.

 

 

 

“Good for you.”

 

 

 

Do-jun said with a smile.

 

 

 

At that moment,

 

 

 

Han Dong-hyun jumped up from his seat.

 

 

 

Yoo Mira and Yoo Jung-ho, who were signing autographs next to him, looked at Han Dong-hyun in surprise.

 

 

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

 

 

Yoo Mira asked.

 

 

 

But Han Dong-hyun ignored her.

 

 

 

No, he didn’t hear her as he only focused on Do-jun who was in front of him.

 

 

 

‘That voice…’

 

 

 

Han Dong-hyun stared at Do-jun.

 

 

 

As Do-jun turned his back, leaving with Seol Yoon-hee.

 

 

 

He hurriedly ran from his seat and grabbed his shoulder.

 

 

 

Do-jun looked back.

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Yes?”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then,

 

 

 

The silhouette of Do-jun and the ‘Masked Hunter’ seemed to overlap in his eyes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

“…Mr. Kim Hyun-woo?”