Chapter 7: The One Who Must Die (1)

On the day of the cataclysm, Korea was the first in the world to overcome the chaos, thanks to two awakened individuals who appeared like comets.

Onil and Ason taught the panicked masses how to deal with monsters, use skills, and handle items, maintaining an almost eerily calm demeanor, as if they had foreseen the situation.

After the chaos subsided, they revealed they were siblings and that Onil, the older sister, possessed a foresight skill, which explained their composed response.

The unaware public took their word at face value, but Ion knew the truth.

They had simply used Teacher’s teachings to steal the early spotlight that should have belonged to Jin Seongha.

“What’s wrong with badmouthing those jerks when they’re not even here? They’re too busy partying to bother with the agency. They’ll just show up for re-assessment and leave.”

“Hey, keep it down. This place is full of Hunters with sharp hearing.”

“Let them hear! Deep down, everyone agrees with us.”

Ion’s reason for leaving the two alone was exactly this.

They had stolen the initial attention, but they gained neither trust nor favor.

If they had acted like true heroes devoted to the greater good, they would have earned overwhelming public support. Instead, they only pretended briefly before revealing their true colors.

They ignored urgent requests from the government and the Hunter Association to subdue monsters, citing lack of profit, or showed up drunk to press conferences announcing dungeon raids, making fools of themselves.

Worst of all, when a dungeon overflowed in the city, causing numerous casualties, they were exposed for throwing a lavish party at a luxury villa, drawing widespread condemnation.

“I’ll give them credit for their early contributions, but after that? They’ve been acting arrogant, building their own power. They’re ruining the image of Hunters. Because of them, people think Hunters are just greedy, worldly mercenaries.”

“…The A-rank dungeon in Ganghwa recently—despite the Association begging D-NATE, they refused to go. In the end, Jin Seongha and Association Hunters handled it.”

“Right. Jin Seongha finished a raid the previous night, didn’t even rest, and went straight in. Poor guy. The other S-ranks in Korea are trash, so he’s overworked alone.”

“Why did they refuse? High-risk dungeons usually yield valuable byproducts. This time was an exception, but… there’s no way they knew the byproducts were worthless in advance…”

“They did.”

“…”

“Don’t you get it? Those siblings use their foresight skill to gauge a dungeon’s material profitability. If the effort outweighs the gain, they refuse, even if it’s in the middle of a city. They don’t care about public safety!”

“Now that you mention it, you’re right. I wouldn’t be surprised if they sell D-NATE to a foreign country later—probably the sister’s homeland.”

“What don’t you get? It’s a hundred percent certain. If we don’t want foreigners snatching Korea’s assets, the Association needs to act fast.”

Ion stood up after hearing this much.

Moving indoors, he sat next to an ivy pot. It was quieter here, with no one chatting.

“Foreigners, huh…”

Whether because Teacher was Korean or the novel’s author was, Teacher gathered talented children in Korea.

Among them was a child with Korean citizenship but not the typical black hair and eyes. Two mixed-race children survived to the end, one being Ilon.

Ilon had fiery red hair and blue eyes.

Post-cataclysm, many Hunters’ hair and eye colors changed to match their unique energy, so red hair and blue eyes weren’t particularly unusual.

However, Ilon’s features were too exotic to be considered purely Korean.

Despite her Korean nationality, language, and culture, many suspected the siblings might one day sell their guild to the sister’s supposed homeland—some Western country—solely because of her appearance.

Ion wasn’t close to Ilon. Their starkly different views on Teacher kept them distant after childhood.

Ilon was usually reserved, speaking in short sentences. Saeon, on the other hand, was sly and talkative.

Ion wanted to keep his distance from Saeon, knowing he disliked Teacher, but Saeon would always throw an arm around him warmly. Each time, Ion brushed him off.

‘He’s probably been delaying re-assessment too, but came because of the Moniti Dungeon.’

A few days ago, Daon had said:

‘Get your rank re-assessed first. Soon, all gates will be managed by the Association. Hunters without recent assessment records—guild or mercenary—won’t be allowed in dungeons.’

‘That’s happening fast.’

‘We’ve intervened, Ion. Things will move faster than in the novel, so you’d better prepare.’

The Association managing all gates meant a dungeon bidding system was coming. The Association would open bids, guilds would apply, and the Association would assign dungeons based on conditions. This system was supposed to start after Mosi was developed.

‘We’re forming a team around Jin Seongha to bid for the Moniti Dungeon. If we hire you, we’d have two S-rank Hunters, boosting our chances.’

‘D-NATE has two S-ranks too—Park Yujik and Ilon.’

‘We have Jin Seongha, who has three or more skills. D-NATE’s public reputation is poor, so with one more S-rank, we can compete.’

‘…I don’t want attention. I don’t want S-rank.’

‘A-rank then?’

‘I’m staying B-rank.’

‘…Sigh. Fine. Just get the re-assessment. I’ll figure out a way, so let’s be on the same team, okay?’

‘Okay.’

That’s what he said, but Ion didn’t think Daon’s plan was a sure solution. The cleanest way would be to make Ilon, Saeon, or Park Yujik physically unable to raid the dungeon.

‘If I run into Saeon today…’

Saeon was the orphan Ion sparred with the most. As kids, Ion was small, and Saeon was tall, eventually a head taller, but Ion never lost to him.

‘Break an arm and a leg each, and they’ll give up on the Moniti Dungeon.’

No one would guess the youthful man harbored such ruthless thoughts.

“Hmm?”

The staff tilted their head.

“That’s odd. Can you inject mana again?”

“Sure.”

“…”

“I’m injecting it now,” Ion said with a smile.

The staff shook the glass bottle filled with a transparent liquid.

“What’s wrong with this? Is it broken? Why’s there no change?”

The liquid was ‘Ether,’ which changed color when an awakened injected mana: white, blue, green, lime, yellow, orange, red.

White was F-rank, red was S-rank. But the Ether in this bottle remained colorless.

“Ion… Corps Leader? You said B-rank, right?”

“Yes. My system window says B, and I was assessed as B last year.”

“Then it should turn orange. Weird.”

Frowning deeply, the staff injected their own mana. The Ether took on a yellowish hue.

“It’s working fine…”

“Maybe the Ether’s gone bad…” Ion tilted his head, feigning confusion.

“No way it’s spoiled already. Hold on.”

The staff swapped the bottle. The new one didn’t react to Ion’s mana either, only to the staff’s.

“Hmm…”

Now the staff openly eyed Ion suspiciously. Ion quickly spoke up.

“That’s strange. Want to see my skill?”

“Your registered skill is weapon summoning. Can you use it here?”

“Yes. It’s simple.”

“Go ahead.”

Ion summoned a short dagger, smaller than usual. The staff examined the palm-sized blade closely.

“This size isn’t even B-rank. No frost, flame, or poison effects. Hmm. This is D or F-rank…”

Maybe he’d been too modest to avoid suspicion.

“Oh, it has a flame effect.”

Ion belatedly conjured flames.

Whoosh.

A weaker flame than usual engulfed the dagger.

“I can adjust the size too. I kept it small here to avoid accidents.”

“Oh? How big can it get?”

“140 cm.”

The staff’s eyes widened.

‘Too much?’

Finding the middle ground was tricky.

“Adjustable from 30 cm to 140 cm? That’s definitely B-rank or higher… Ion, Corps Leader. You’re twenty?”

“Yes.”

“You look younger. Hmm.”

The staff’s expression screamed, Is this kid faking a higher rank?

B-rank and above Hunters could enter any dungeon, but C-rank and below faced restrictions. Ion needed B-rank.

“This is frustrating. My system window clearly says B. I can’t exactly gouge out my eyes to show you. Just log me as B for now and fix your equipment. There are dozens waiting behind me. You don’t want to work overtime, right?”

“Re-assessment isn’t just this. If you’re really B-rank, you’ll have to fight a C-rank monster in the underground arena.”

“Let’s get to it.”

“…Sigh. You’re not getting it.”

With a deep sigh, the staff turned the dagger’s handle toward Ion. When Ion dismissed the summon, the staff loosened their tie.

“Ion, I’m saying this like you’re my little brother.”

“I don’t have a brother.”

“It’s an era where awakened can make bank. Teens list ‘Hunter’ as their dream job. Those dazzling, unexplainable skills look cool. I get it.”

“…”

“But the money Hunters earn is blood money. It’s high because it’s dangerous. With so few Hunters, they send kids like you into dungeons without proper warnings. It’s tragic.”

“What’s your point?”

“I’m saying… faking a higher rank to go solo as a mercenary is dangerous. Join a guild or take a desk job like me. Betting your life on that tiny dagger because fighting monsters looks cool is foolish. I’m worried for you, like a brother. Got it?”

What’s with this meddling?

Ion glanced at the nameplate on the desk.

Team Leader Kim Minjun. A name mentioned exactly once in the novel. Where?

“You’re twenty-nine, right?”

“Huh? Yeah.”

“Newlywed?”

“Uh, does it show?”

“Your wife’s pregnant, isn’t she?”

“What?”

Kim Minjun, about to show off his ring, blinked.

“She didn’t mention anything this morning.”

Whoops, a spoiler.

“Why the sudden personal questions…?”

BEEEEEP—

A blaring alarm echoed through the building. The bright lights dimmed, replaced by flashing red emergency lights.

What? What’s happening? A fire? People looked around, terrified.

“What the—? No way, a gate…?”

Kim Minjun, equally shaken, grabbed his phone with a rigid expression.

In this era, everyone lived with the constant fear of an unpredictable gate overflow. But what was about to happen wasn’t that—though it would cause comparable casualties.

Kim Minjun’s name topped the death list in the ‘Hunter Agency First Monster Escape Incident.’

And it seemed today was that day.