Chapter 18: Even If Exhausted

Pruung?

Hearing its name, Purr emerged from Snowball’s white fur, fluttering over.

“Did you understand we were talking about you?” Jin Seongha asked.

Pruung-pruung!

“So cute.”

Jin Seongha petted Purr enthusiastically.

Meow! Woof!

Cats and dogs crowded in, demanding attention. Jin Seongha fairly petted and hugged them all. Choi Jungho, still unaccustomed to the sight despite years, felt queasy.

“Look at you, going wild. If I posted a picture of this online, people would call it a bad edit,” Choi Jungho teased.

Jin Seongha’s doting expression didn’t waver, embodying “foolish affection.” Choi Jungho chuckled. Well, if he’s that happy, who cares?

Whine. Meow.

Pruung, pruung.

Meow. Woof!

Jin Seongha watched the animals’ “conversation” with a warm smile, while Choi Jungho tilted his head.

“Are they talking?”

“It feels like they understand each other,” Jin Seongha said.

“Don’t casually drop world-changing bombs like that, man. Monsters communicating with Earth animals…”

“If I reveal this, maybe people’s hostility toward monsters would lessen.”

“I’m firmly against it, Seongha,” Choi Jungho said sternly.

“There’s no evidence other Incons like Purr can communicate with Earth animals.”

“We don’t know. Many groups are studying monsters. They just might not publicize the results.”

Monster experiments were widespread—government, corporations, individuals. Some, like cult groups, fiercely opposed them, but the benefits of monster research swayed public opinion in favor.

This was why pet monsters like Purr weren’t easily accepted. If monsters became pets, ethical issues would arise, complicating live experiments.

“Posting a video of Purr talking with Earth animals could reduce hostility,” Jin Seongha suggested.

“Seongha… If people accepted monster pets without resistance, that’d be weirder. Lowering guard against monsters invites complacency, endangering the world.”

“…”

“Pets, commercial use, military training—everyone would want monsters. Even now, kids pester their parents, ‘I want a cute monster like Jin Seongha Hunter!’”

Choi Jungho had seen small, cute monsters turn violent. Purr acted sweet with Jin Seongha, but near a baby, who knows? Coexistence might come someday, but not now.

Jin Seongha, however, disagreed.

“In a world undergoing reform, blind hostility toward monsters hinders humanity’s progress. If we don’t open the door to coexistence early, changing perceptions later will be impossible. Living human-centrically without coexistence will repeat the pre-cataclysm mistakes.”

He’d announced Purr for this reason.

He wasn’t wrong. Before the February 5, 2049 cataclysm, Earth was hurtling toward ruin due to human negligence and arrogance. Everyone acknowledged the root cause: human-centric thinking.

Choi Jungho sighed.

“Sounds nice, but the real reason’s you want to keep Purr, right?”

“…”

Pruung!

When Jin Seongha’s petting paused, Purr nudged him. He resumed without refuting, petting diligently.

“Honestly, Purr’s cute, and I get your point. I just hate seeing you stressed. The media and internet have been tearing you apart for days,” Choi Jungho said.

“D-NATE’s Ason’s copying you, saying he’ll get a snake monster as a pet. I wanna punch him,” he added, annoyed.

“Ason Hunter can control it, so it’s fine.”

“Hey! You haven’t seen his SNS. It’s not small and cute like Purr—it’s a human-sized, garish purple-and-yellow snake. Creepy as hell.”

“Sounds cute.”

“…I picked the wrong guy to argue with, you animal freak.”

Choi Jungho clicked his tongue and downed his drink.

“Want one?”

“…”

“Right, you can’t get drunk with S-rank dungeons popping up anytime.”

Since awakening as S-rank, Jin Seongha never touched alcohol, even refusing cocktails or wine at parties despite his body’s resistance. Unlike D-NATE guildmasters who fought drunk on awakened-grade soju.

“Thinking about it, staying in a dungeon might be better. No summonings. How about chilling in a safe C-rank or lower until things calm down?”

“Daon said I need to keep engaging publicly for now.”

“Oh, Daon’s word is law.”

Choi Jungho knew Horizon’s capable aide. He’d met her once during his contract signing—cold, beautiful, twenty but looking mid-twenties, likely due to her sharp suit and aide role. Daon was a key figure at Horizon; you had to stay on her good side.

“Then let’s pray an S-rank dungeon pops up downtown. Clear it, and public opinion will flip,” Choi Jungho said.

“Hyung,” Jin Seongha warned, his expression darkening.

“Don’t look so scary. Can’t I joke?”

Choi Jungho grumbled, chugging from the bottle. It was non-awakened soju, so Jin Seongha didn’t stop him.

“Saving animals, people, now monsters. You’re overflowing with justice.”

“I save people while saving animals. The truly righteous one is someone else.”

“Who?”

“I told you. Ion, Corps Leader.”

“Oh, that young mercenary?”

Pruung!

At Ion’s name, Purr bristled, curling its tail and hiding in Jin Seongha’s palm.

“Doesn’t seem righteous to this little Incon. Must’ve been rough.”

“It was a dungeon monster. It looked small, but you can’t know its power. He went all out, no holding back.”

“Hmm, makes sense.”

“Ion stopped short of killing it when he realized it was a baby. He spared it but couldn’t care for a monster himself. So he left it with someone rumored to love animals.”

Ion would faint hearing this story.

“Have you talked with him?”

“Not really. He’s ignoring my calls.”

“You’re on the same team now. You’ll talk eventually. Don’t trust him too much. You see people too kindly, and that worries me.”

“Me? You’re mistaken. I only care about animals. I save people to ultimately save animals.”

“Who’s mistaken here? I’ll just drink.”

Jin Seongha gave Choi Jungho a disapproving look as he guzzled. Then he glanced up at the ceiling.

“What’s up? Nothing’s there… Got a ghost-seeing skill now?”

“I felt eyes on me.”

“Seriously?”

“…Finish your drink and leave. Guests stress the animals.”

“Tch, whatever.”

Choi Jungho grumbled, popping snacks into his mouth.

Jin Seongha, unimpressed, looked up again. Lately, he felt strange gazes—not just at home but during interviews or travel.

Either I’m stressed…

Or…

Someone’s using a skill.

Pruung.

Purr peeked from between his fingers. Its soft, squishy touch made Jin Seongha smile.

Only animals could soothe his weary heart.

I’ll find a curse expert tomorrow.

The guild would support it. Guildmaster Ji Pyeongseop would rage about someone targeting their member, while Daon would coolly say, “Maintain decorum.” Picturing their sitcom-like dynamic made him chuckle.

The next day, Jin Seongha didn’t request a curse expert. The feeling of being watched stopped.

Amid unresolved unease, media interviews continued, stress mounting.

Then, a gate appeared in Naju.

Located downtown, the Association sent a gate Hunter immediately. The “entry restricted” gate reopened minutes later, the Hunter not returning—likely dead before using a return stone.

A higher-rank exploration team was sent; only one of five returned, bloodied, reporting the gate stone’s size.

“Fif… fifteen meters…”

Below 4-7m is B-rank, 7-10m A-rank. Over 10m is S-rank, with 14m+ classified as S+ due to extreme difficulty.

This 15m S+ dungeon was the third globally and the highest in Korea since the cataclysm. Dungeon danger typically correlated with byproduct value—S+ byproducts were worth trillions.

A chance to make a guild’s name globally, with high profits.

Many guilds bid, narrowed to D-NATE, Udinbara, and Horizon.

Jin Seongha faced the media again, not for the pet monster controversy but for the Naju dungeon bid.

Exhausted or not, he couldn’t let the careless D-NATE or the cult-rumored Udinbara take an S+ dungeon that could overflow anytime.

And… he said this dungeon’s byproducts would develop ‘Moshi.’

Horizon had to secure it to commercialize Moshi, reducing unexpected overflow damage.

Not for humans, but for animals—better human lives mean better animal environments.

For animals, Jin Seongha could endure any exhaustion.

No matter how others interpreted him, that was his truth.