MDITS Chapter 5

Rift or Gate.

Ten years ago, people witnessed a great phenomenon wherein inter-dimensional portals, also known as Rifts, began appearing in this world.

There were horrendous monsters lurking beyond these Rifts, and only those brave enough to slay them could be rewarded with a Mana Stone of various shapes and sizes that drops depending on the level of the monster slain.

Those who were allured by fame, power, wealth, and glory soon began training vigorously and brandished themselves as “Hunters”.

And this ushered the New Great Age of Hunters as a prestigious profession.

 

The scenery inside the F-class Rift in Myeongil-dong, Gangdong-gu, was generically simple.

It was a vast expanse of grassland.

In the field, F-class monsters, Goblins, could be seen running around in groups of three to five.

Do-jun took out a Tablet PC in which they called the ‘Space Tab’ issued by the department to him and ran the <Rift Management System> application. The Space Tab began chiming in a seemingly robotic voice of a woman.

 

[Welcome to the Rift Management System.]

 

The app launched, and Do-jun clicked on the [Register New Rift] tab.

 

When he selected the particular region and location he was in right now, he was automatically given a management number.

 

[You have registered a Rift in Seoul City, Gangdong-gu, Myeongil-dong – 002.]

[Please select a rating for the Rift. If you enter the rating of the emerging monster, the rating of the Rift will also be automatically entered. Also, select the ‘Exception’ option if the Rift is measured to have a higher grade.]

 

Do-jun recalled what happened yesterday while shopping with Seol Yoon-hee.

In which a “Temporary Rift” suddenly appeared, and a Goblin emerged along with it.

He clearly remembered Seol Yoon-hee mentioning Goblins being F-class monsters.

 

Tap tap tap.

 

After roughly entering the information, he put the tablet back to his briefcase.

All that’s left to do now is to check whether or not a Boss Monster would appear in here.

Thus, they began to explore the Rift.

 

“Let’s get started.”

 

Do-jun took several pictures of the interiors of the Rift for their documentation.

Cha Yeji nodded and clasped her sword.

There was only one thing she had to do.

To protect this civil servant who’s conducting the Rift exploration.

 

‘Let’s also try… No, let us do well.’

 

An F-class Hunter is treated almost like a civilian.

They were only used as porters during expeditions. Being scouted by a guild is nothing but an impossible dream for hunters under F-class.

But thankfully, she was hired as a contracted hunter for the Seoul City Hall, so she didn’t want to miss this opportunity.

 

“Kereuk!”

 

There were already quite a few people inside the Rift besides Do-jun and Cha Yeji, most of them were Hunters.

It hasn’t been a few days since the Rift in Myeongil-dong appeared; however, rumors about it being F-class circulated around which flooded the area with amateur hunters.

 

“Status.”

 

Name: Cha Yeji

Level: 4

Title: None

Strength: 6

Agility: 11

Vitality: 8

Mana: 0

Skill: Scholar’s Swordsmanship (S)

 

Disappointing specifications that fall behind most adult men who exercise quite a bit.

Do-jun stared blankly at the screen as he saw the S-class skill “Scholar’s Swordsmanship”. He was stunned because she has an S-class cultivating skill which only a few individuals have here in Korea.

 

[Skill – Scholar’s Swordsmanship]

– Classification: Passive

– Rank: S

– Effect: You can learn the “Scholar’s Swordsmanship”

– Current Phase: 1st

(You cannot have mana until you reach 3rd Phase.)

 

When she entered the academy, she was at the top of her batch.

Especially when it comes to the written test, she prides herself for never having a score below 100. No one could beat her in her class in terms of Hunter Basics, Equipment, and Theories.

However, when she took the Hunter Administration Test, which heavily relied on physical skills, qi manipulation, and practicalities in combat, she was deemed as F-class.

During the skill demonstration stage, she could not bring herself to produce practical results. It was because she didn’t have the aptitude to cultivate mana in her body.

 

“Ms. Yeji.”

 

‘If I try hard, I’m sure I’ll be able to succeed one day.’

 

“Ms. Cha Yeji.”

 

‘I don’t know how to raise the ‘Scholar’s Swordsmanship’ skill to the 2nd Phase. But if I do my best, I might be able to do so and join a guild someday.’

 

Clasp.

 

She tightly held her sword as she thought about those things.

Suddenly, Do-jun snatched Cha Yeji’s clothing at the back of her neck.

 

Whoosh!

 

A wooden club swung in front of her and was about to hit her.

Only then did she snap back into reality.

She immediately scanned her surroundings and spotted the enemies.

 

“Don’t just space out in there. This is a real battle where your life might flash before your eyes at any time.”

 

Before they knew it, three Goblins surrounded the two of them.

Cha Yeji was caught by surprise. Even though the enemies were just around the corner, she failed to notice them because she was lost in thought.

 

Slash!

 

Cha Yeji swung her sword sideways, cutting a Goblin right to its chest. It collapsed right on the spot.

The wound wasn’t deep, but it was struck at a vital part and was now unable to move.

 

Whoosh!

 

The other Goblin was about to hit Do-jun with a club behind his back.

Cha Yeji turned around in a hurry as she saw the scene at the corner of her eye.

Until just now, she had vowed to do well, but now she felt pathetic.

 

‘Huh?’

 

She thought that it was the end for him. However, Do-jun easily avoided the Goblin’s attack.

Although Goblins were F-class, the lowest of the ranks, it is still considered a monster. Surely, this was too much for a civilian to handle.

 

“What are you doing! You have to move faster than that!”

“Ah, yes!”

 

Plop.

 

Cha Yeji handled the two remaining Goblins with ease.

In the end, a total of three Goblins were lying on the ground.

She quickly approached Do-jun and bowed her head.

 

“I’m very sorry, Manager! I wasn’t focusing…”

“Next time, do it right. I almost died.”

“Ye-yes!”

 

Cha Yeji apologized for her shortcomings, but she began to harbor doubts on what Do-jun said.

Remembering the situation just now – she could not make sense of what he said and began raising suspicion on his statement.

He was able to easily dodge the Goblin’s attack earlier.

Moreover, he was able to keep his composure and level-headedness, which is something you would not expect from an individual who’s not a Hunter.

 

Click.

 

Do-jun photographed the corpses of the slain Goblins, which Cha Yeji knocked down.

These corpses and the Mana Stones extracted from these monsters will then be calculated, and a percentage of it will then be deposited to the Hunter, who participated in the battle.

 

“I’ll deposit it to you later. Well then, let’s keep going.”

 

＊ ＊ ＊

 

‘Strange.’

 

Two hours have passed since they entered the Rift.

While Do-jun was walking around mapping the whole area, Cha Ye-ji would clean up the Goblins approaching them.

She tried not to let any Goblins go near Do-jun. However, she was only dealing with five of them alone, and about one or two of them would then be able to escape her grasp and rushed towards Do-jun.

 

Tadadak.

 

While Do-jun was focused on his tab entering various information, he easily evaded the attacks coming from the Goblins.

It’s as if he has an eye on his back.

He would just move slightly without even looking at the monsters at all.

 

“It’s dangerous, so please take care of these guys quickly.”

 

Do-jun said so in a nonchalant voice.

There wasn’t a hint of urgency or panic in his voice at all.

Doing it once or twice can still be brushed off as luck, but when Do-jun consistently exhibited extraordinary evasion skills, she began to doubt him more and more.

An hour later…

 

“Thanks to you, we were able to quickly finish the Rift exploration, and it seems there’s no Boss Monster in here.”

 

For Rifts without a boss monster, the Rift won’t close.

But that’s alright.

Because the absence of a Boss Monster meant that monsters wouldn’t be able to come outside the Rift.

 

Tap tap tap.

 

Do-jun calculated the number of Goblins Cha Yeji had slain today.

A total of 17 corpses were recorded. Goblins were priced 50,000 won each, and with 17 of them, she could now earn 850,000 won.

It was more profitable than expected.

Do-jun asked back with a slight surprise.

 

“If you work alone, I think you’ll get a much better pay than working with us.”

 

Cha Yeji’s monthly salary is about 7 million won.

However, with insurance and taxes, the actual amount she could only receive was about 3.5 million won. Particularly, Hunter’s insurance seems to be on the expensive side.

 

“It’s not about money. Even a porter can make up to 10 million won. I just… I wanted to belong somewhere.”

“…I’m not really sure what you mean by that, but if you say so. Anyway, you have worked hard today. The chief said you could go home after this, so I think you’d better go home now.”

 

However, Cha Yeji didn’t move a step.

She looked at Do-jun while fiddling with her fingers as if she had something to say.

Then, she opened her mouth after taking a deep breath.

 

“Manager… Are you hiding your strength?”

 

Cha Yeji expected Do-jun to be shaken up with those words.

However, he easily shrugged it off and smiled.

 

“See you tomorrow.”

 

＊ ＊ ＊

 

7 PM

 

Dash.

 

Upon returning to the office, Do-jun began writing his report for the Rift Exploration in Myeongil-dong – 002.

Kwon Hyuk-soo accessed the <Rift Management System> and looked through Do-jun’s report. It wasn’t that difficult to find it because he already knows that it’s an F-class Rift. As he looked at it, he can’t help but be surprised.

The information was written in detail as if it had been explored and investigated for months.

Surely, it would be hard for a person to generate such sophisticated information through just one exploration.

 

“…Did you really do this in a day?”

“Is there a problem?”

“Ah, no… that’s not what I meant.”

 

If there was a problem, it’s because it was so perfect.

 

“…Hah.”

 

Do-jun sighed.

As he looked to his side, he could see Cha Yeji sitting on a chair while staring at him.

 

“Why don’t you go home now, Ms. Yeji?”

“Eh? Ah! Well, I’ve also got work to do!”

 

Cha Yeji opened a notebook and grabbed a pencil.

Everyone could tell that it was obviously a lie.

In the first place, she didn’t have to do any office works at all.

Watching this scene, Kwon Hyuk-soo giggled as if he was having fun.

 

“You got along really well in just a short time. Maybe…”

“I-it’s not like that!”

 

Cha Yeji’s face turned red, and waved her hand.

He then looked at Do-jun’s reaction.

However, Do-jun only looked at the monitor’s screen as if nothing was going on.

Kwon Hyuk-soo grinned at this situation.

 

“Why don’t you go home now? Everyone else has also gone.”

“It’s alright. I’ll wrap it up first before I go.”

“Then, I’ll go first. See you tomorrow, Mr. Do-jun.”

 

After Kwon Hyuk-soo left, Do-jun and Cha Yeji were now alone in the office.

Cha Yeji looked at Do-jun’s face from time to time while scribbling meaningless graffiti in her notebook.

 

[Do you confirm?]

 

After pressing the confirmation button, Do-jun shut down the computer and got up from his seat.

Cha Yeji also followed suit and got up from her seat.

At that sight, Do-jun sighed and cleaned up the office before leaving.

 

＊ ＊ ＊

 

Tak.

 

Do-jun stopped in front of his house.

Then he turned around and said to Cha Yeji, who was hiding behind a telephone pole.

 

“If you come out within five seconds, I won’t be angry. 5, 4, 3…”

 

Dash.

 

Cha Yeji immediately jumped out from behind the pole and stopped right in front of Do-jun.

Ever since they left the office, Do-jun tried to ignore the overlapping destinations because he thought her house would be in the same direction.

By this time, however, doubts were bound to be assured.

 

“Why are you following me?”

“I-I still haven’t heard your answer.”

“What answer?”

“Are you hiding your strength?”

 

Do-jun clicked his tongue.

It was then.

 

Growling.

 

Cha Yeji blushed and grabbed her stomach.

 

“Let’s just eat together at my house.”

“C-can I?”

 

Do-jun nodded and got onto the elevator.

He then pressed the button to the 11th floor.

As the elevator went up, there was a moment of silence.

 

“Oh, for your information, I live with my daughter. And keep our work a secret. That kid thinks I’m just an ordinary civil servant.”

“…daughter?”

 

Do-jun looked to be in his mid to late 20s.

Cha Yeji, who naturally thought he would be single, was extremely surprised.

Soon the elevator stopped on the 11th floor.

Do-jun stopped at the door and rang the doorbell.

After a while, someone could be heard running towards the door and swung it hard open.

 

“Welcome home, Fa–… ”

 

Seol Yoon-hee’s face hardened.