Chapter 135: Why Do Hunters Have to Do This Too (2)

“I’m heading up now. Team Leader, is Hunter Jin Seong-ha here?”

“Yes. He should be filming in the training room. You’re quite calm, Hunter Ion. Hong In-su was practically vibrating with excitement.”

“That guy… well, I bet. He even posted a photo of himself wearing a face mask in our group chat yesterday. Apparently, he’s been getting skin treatments for days, so please make sure the production crew gives him plenty of screen time.”

“Hahaha, you two must be close. Hunter Hong In-su talks about you a lot, too. By the way, would you mind showing me that group chat?”

There was nothing strange in it, so Ion readily showed him and took his leave. Since Ion’s name was widely known, cameras immediately latched onto him. Adjusting his grip on Sanse from one angle to another, he made his way toward the training room.

“Oh, it’s Ion!” “Ah, the kid is here.” “The one who just arrived is the Phyto-sexu… I mean, the Plant Lover we told you about. Along with Hunter Jin Seong-ha, he’s an indispensable ace of our team.”

The training room was a cacophony of noise. Horizon provides various welfare benefits for hunters: game rooms, sleeping quarters, massage rooms, libraries, and more. Yet, leaving all those behind, the entirety of Special Team 1 was packed into the training room. Most were shirtless or in tank tops, diligently refining their physiques—guild members and mercenaries alike, each with a camera dangling nearby…

‘Seriously… where do they even find people like this…’

Ion marveled at the members of Special Team 1, who seemed to become more pathetic with each passing day. The highlight, however, was elsewhere.

“Hehehe… this is my skill. I call it ‘Dark Shadow,’ the shadow of darkness…”

It was Hong In-su, wrapping himself in pitch-black shadows like Count Dracula. Originally, he didn’t use his shadows as clothing like that; he was definitely imitating Blan.

‘He thought Blan looked cool…’

Hong In-su, who had been striking various poses, spotted Ion and approached.

“Hey, Ion. Looking at you like this, you really look like a student. Are you sure you didn’t fake your age? Why do you look so young?”

“Hyung, there’s only a one-year difference between us.”

“Our Ion’s head is so small and round.”

“Hyung, how are you going to handle the aftermath once filming is over?”

“…….”

Hong In-su pulled his hand away.

“Where is Hunter Jin Seong-ha? I have business with him.”

“Don’t know. Haven’t seen him for a while, so the crew actually put out a search notice for him.”

Ion left the training room to look for Jin Seong-ha but couldn’t find him. The production crew was looking for him too. If a ‘Munchkin’ decides to hide, who could possibly find him? Ion eventually released his mana. Sneaking away from the cameras, he opened an emergency exit door and found Jin Seong-ha resting while watching Purre perform ‘Aegyo No. 7.’

“Oh, Commander. You’re here.”

“Hunter Jin Seong-ha. I need to use Haidian’s mirror.”

“Hmm? Now? Here? Suddenly?”

“This is an open area, we don’t know who might stumble in. Let’s move.”

Ion grabbed Jin Seong-ha’s wrist, and he followed obediently. Since the only place without people was the locker room, Ion dragged him inside and locked the door. He hadn’t considered for a moment that a camera might be filming that very scene.

The previous night, Ion had already used the communication items he possessed, so he used the ‘Sage’s Mirror’ to check on Blan. Fortunately, things on Blan’s end didn’t seem serious or heavy. In fact, it was quite peaceful. Blan was in a place filled with books, getting nagged by the subordinates Ion had seen before, while Baba was rolling around next to him.

“Rolling around?”

“Yes. He’s become perfectly round. Like children who gain weight after a trip to their grandparents’ house, he’s gotten quite plump. If you grabbed and squeezed him, he’d probably be incredibly squishy.”

Ion mimicked the motion of grabbing something round with his hand. It was an unconscious gesture, but Purre tilted its head and flew right into his palm.

Purrung?

Ion continued talking while kneading Purre, who had opened its eyes wide as if asking if it had been called.

“Anyway, since nothing seems to be happening with Blan and Baba, I want to check Haidian’s mirror.”

“Alright… but why the sudden urge to check on Idea? You haven’t said much until now. Didn’t you say you and Aide Dam had a perfectly fine conversation?”

That’s because the Apostle didn’t even look at Jin Seong-ha while talking about him. He couldn’t say that. For all he knew, the Apostle might be watching Jin Seong-ha right now.

“I just wanted to see.”

“Hmm… as I thought, you’ve taken Aide Dam to heart.”

“Stop talking nonsense and hurry up.”

With a short laugh, Jin Seong-ha pulled the ‘Sage’s Mirror’ from his inventory. The mirror flickered and showed Haidian from a third-person perspective. Haidian was drinking… He had clearly had a lot, as he was clinking glasses with Sarah and Sieg with a flushed, drunken face. There were so many bottles on the table that it felt like the smell of alcohol was wafting through the mirror.

“I don’t see Aide Dam.”

“I guess not.”

It seemed that amidst these alcoholics—no, ‘Alcohol-Brachiosauruses’—he had suffered a defeat and was collapsed somewhere. If they were leisurely downing drinks like this, it meant there were no major problems, right? Just as Ion felt relieved, Sarah flinched and lifted her head. Then, she stared directly at the mirror and said something.

“She’s saying, ‘Haidian, someone is watching you,’” Jin Seong-ha translated.

Setting aside the fact that Sarah noticed the mirror’s gaze and Jin Seong-ha knew lip-reading…

“Since when did you know the language of Idea?”

“I’ve been studying lately. Aide Dam gave me some textbooks before he left.”

He said it so casually. The language of Idea wasn’t something you could master with a single textbook.

“Sarah Harundas seems sensitive to gazes, too. Noticing one directed at someone else, not even herself… she truly is the second protagonist of . Oh, she’s greeting us. ‘Are you Earthlings? Helloooo.’”

“You can stop translating now.”

Jin Seong-ha waved his hand, even though he knew he couldn’t be seen through the mirror. The first meeting of the two protagonists had happened quite anti-climactically. Regardless, seeing them smiling brightly put Ion’s mind at ease.

“So, are you relieved now?”

“Yes. I ended up wasting a use of the mirror for nothing.”

“At least you’re reassured. It’s better than being anxious.”

Jin Seong-ha tapped a leaf of Sanse with his finger.

“He’s dressed up nicely since the cameras are here today.”

The corners of Ion’s mouth twitched upward.

“Purre’s ribbon on its tail is quite cute, too.”

In a good mood, Ion readily complimented Purre back. The two of them, having shared compliments about their companion plant and companion monster, stepped out of the locker room in a harmonious mood. Ion was startled to find a camera filming right in front of them the moment they stepped out. And it wasn’t just one or two.

‘Surely they didn’t hear us?’

Meanwhile, Hong In-su was staring at them from a distance with a look of pure betrayal, which was even more confusing. A staff member behind the camera asked:

“You two… what were you doing in the locker room with the door locked…?”

“We were just discussing some work.”

“Then why is Hunter Jin Seong-ha… smiling so handsomely?”

“Ah, Commander Ion doesn’t usually compliment Purre, but he said it was cute.”

Purre-rung.

“Isn’t Purre very cute today?”

“Yes, c-cute. But… are you and Commander Ion originally close?”

“I’m working on getting closer. Purre, Aegyo No. 6.”

Purrut!

Since Jin Seong-ha had started Purre’s performance, the production crew would be tied up for quite a while. As Ion tried to slip away, Hong In-su stealthily attached himself to his side.

“Hey, did you really just talk about work in there?”

Ion answered while checking the following camera.

“Yes.”

“What about me? What about your sidekick? Why don’t you talk about work with your sidekick?”

So that was the source of the betrayal. He couldn’t brush Hong In-su off with the camera right there.

‘Sigh.’

Ion simply let out a long breath while readjusting Sanse to the angle where it would look the prettiest.

The subsequent filming was a complete mess.

Clink! “Wait, that chain?” “Ah, it’s my skill. I was thirsty. Hahaha.” Someone used a skill to fetch bottled water.

Whoosh! “Wait, a sudden flame from your body?” “Ah, it’s my skill. The towel was too far away. Ahahaha.” Someone used a skill to evaporate their sweat.

Whir! “Wait, suddenly floating in the air!” “Ah, it’s my skill. I was too lazy to move my feet. Hohoho.” Someone even used a levitation skill. Everyone was putting their all into showing off their skills in front of the camera.

“Everyone… stop overdoing it for the filming and act like you usually do,” Lee Jin-ah said, unable to watch any longer.

But… “What are you saying, Team Leader? All we ever do is train. Ah… I want to improve my skills quickly to save more lives…” “Hunters and training are inseparable words. Horizon’s training facilities are perfect. Long live Aide Dam.” That was all they said.

After the filming ended, Ion overheard the production crew talking as they packed their gear.

“I heard this team only raids A-rank dungeons and above, so I thought they’d be desolate and scary, but to think they’re this pathe… I mean, have such a human side.” “I know, right? They seemed like people you could just see anywhere. Maybe because they’re around my age, they felt like friends.” “Hong In-su and Commander Ion are younger than my daughter. Sigh. To think such people have been going into dangerous dungeons…”

It didn’t matter how they got there; the goal was achieved. If anything, the crew was feeling a sense of intimacy toward their ‘pathetic’ side.

After the production crew left, Team Leader Lee Jin-ah gathered the members. It was because of the lifesaving operations scheduled for the next day. While Ion was in Idea, a Hunter Law had been fast-tracked. It mandated that for a certain period in the first and second halves of the year, hunters must collaborate with rescue teams for lifesaving work.

A hunter is a profession that slaughters monsters, giants, and other horrors. It is a brutal job where one must kill them in the shortest time possible. Broadly speaking, this slaughter is ultimately a part of saving human lives. However, after repeating only monster slaughter for nearly two years, some hunters failed to realize this. They had begun to define themselves not as ‘Hunters who save people’ but as ‘Hunters who kill monsters.’ Thus, the law was pushed forward to remind them: ‘Your purpose is not to kill monsters, but to save people. You have a profession that saves people.’

However, that law didn’t have the enforcement power of ‘go to jail if you don’t comply.’ Unlike Horizon and D-NATE, who recognized the necessity of lifesaving activities and complied willingly, Udumbara announced that they would not set aside time for such activities. Their surface reason was a lack of training time. Of course, Ion knew the real reason.

‘They’re a group that wants to create a paradise only for the Awakened, so of course they would.’

Even so, for now, they couldn’t refuse when emergency rescue requests came in. It meant Wendy Lowell’s Awakening Ampoule was still incomplete. Once that ampoule was finished, they would just stand by and watch whether people burned to death in a fire, drowned, or were trapped in collapsed buildings. Anyway, Special Team 1’s turn for lifesaving activities had arrived, and they were split into pairs to be scattered across the country.

“And the last pair: Jin Seong-ha, Ion. Your area is Seoul.”

“Oh, we’re in Seoul. I’m glad it’s not far.”

Ion pressed his palm to his forehead. It wasn’t an exaggeration—since returning to Earth, he had been facing Jin Seong-ha every single day. Next week would be the Idea connection dungeon. After that, they would be stuck together even more… It was a bleak prospect.

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