It was just a plain silver ring without any design, but despite its simplicity, Yoon-Hee’s lips were curling upward as if she couldn’t help but smile.
Do-Jun glanced at his wristwatch, confirming there were about ten minutes left until entry time.
“The History of Hunters, huh...”
It was an exhibition program held at Gallery B-2 where a guide would explain the history of the Hunter world, from when the Fissures first appeared ten years ago to the present day.
It was set up like a museum, displaying equipment used by Hunters, various monsters that had appeared, and the flora and fauna that existed only within the Fissures, all integrated with hologram technology. The program was quite popular, and visitors had to line up to get in.
“Maybe listening to this might help you regain your memories, don’t you think so, Father?”
Do-Jun remembered Yoon-Hee’s words from earlier and smiled faintly as he watched her hum a tune while fiddling with the ring. He felt grateful to have a daughter who would think of such things for her father.
Suddenly, he wondered how he would have lived if Yoon-Hee hadn’t shown up. Cleaning, laundry, cooking, managing bills—she handled all the tedious tasks according to the contract. Without her, he would have undoubtedly struggled to keep up with all the necessities even now.
“Here, Yong-Yong.” Yoon-Hee popped another jelly into Yong-Yong’s mouth.
“Nom nom. Hit me again!”
“No, you have to save some space for dinner,” Yoon-Hee declined his request.
Yong-Yong kept whining for more, having developed a taste for the jelly.
Before Do-Jun even realized it, his new daily life came to feel so natural that he wished he could protect it forever.
“Hello, everyone. I am Assistant Manager Bae Na-Ra from the Hunter’s Bureau, and I’ll be your guide for today’s Hunter History program. Nice to meet you all.”
A woman who looked to be in her late twenties, dressed in a suit, bowed her head slightly as she greeted the group.
The space inside was much larger than it appeared from the outside, and with each tour group being limited to twenty people, it didn’t feel crowded at all.
“As you all probably know, Fissures began appearing on Earth about ten years ago. And as you can see here...”
Bae Na-Ra extended her hand into the air and a holographic image of a stone sculpture modeled after a Fissure appeared.
“This is the first Fissure that appeared in our country. It was discovered at Geumjeongsan Mountain in Busan. Although the Fissure has since closed, a monument and a Fissure statue were erected at the site, which is now designated as a memorial,” Bae Na-Ra explained.
“Now, here’s a quiz for you. And there is a prize for the correct answer,” she continued, shaking a small, gift-wrapped box about the size of her palm. “Here’s the question: the Fissure I just mentioned is also known as—”
“First Break!” Yoon-Hee shouted, raising her hand.
The question hadn’t even been fully asked yet, but Bae Na-Ra smiled and handed over the prize. “That’s correct. Thank you for your enthusiastic participation.”
Yoon-Hee showed the prize to Do-Jun with a bashful smile, while Yong-Yong, nestled in Do-Jun’s arms, sniffed it with interest.
He then clicked his tongue and muttered, “Oh, it’s not food.”
Yoon-Hee sighed at Yong-Yong’s reaction. Ever since he got a taste of her braised short ribs, he had developed a stronger appetite.
Thinking she might have spoiled him, Yoon-Hee muttered, “Maybe I should have just fed him pet food.”
Hearing that, Yong-Yong retorted, “Are you out of your mind, human?”
They continued to follow Bae Na-Ra and listened to her explanations on various topics, such as the early equipment used by the First Hunters[1], the harsh working conditions before the development of physical enhancement, and how things had improved up to the present day.
Then, without warning, Bae Na-Ra stopped in her tracks in front of a glass display case that held a claw over five meters long.
Do-Jun quickly skimmed the information on the plaque as Bae Na-Ra explained.“Three years ago, a Fissure opened in an apartment area in Busan. It’s a famous story, so many of you might already know it. A monster—a dragon, specifically—escaped from the Fissure, causing many casualties. And this here is the claw of that dragon.”
Masalis the Dragon was an S-rank monster that was responsible for 857 deaths and 1,494 injuries. Though classified as S-rank, it was in a league of its own compared to other S-rank monsters, with its Breath attack alone being enough to kill Rankers[2] instantly.
Yoon-Hee flicked Yong-Yong on the forehead.
“Ow! W-what was that for?!”
“Yong-Yong, you better not do anything like that,” she said sternly.
“I... I was just sleeping in my nest when you people barged in, okay? Going wild outside is something only low-class beings would do. But... ugh, look at me now. Look what you’ve done to me, ”Yong-Yong whimpered.
He looked at Do-Jun with pitiful eyes.
“Master... please release me back into the wild. I promise to live quietly in my own little corner and never cause trouble ever again.”
“So, you’re saying you won’t eat braised short ribs anymore?” Do-Jun teased as he smiled slyly.
Yong-Yong clicked his tongue and grumbled, “Tsk, nasty old man.”
Do-Jun chuckled at that. He knew that if Izaas wanted to escape, he could have done so anytime. If he truly disliked being dragged around on this purely for-show leash or enduring Yoon-Hee’s teasing, he could have transformed back into his true form or gotten angry.
But there was a reason he didn’t.
Do-Jun stroked Yong-Yong, who had fallen asleep in his arms.
In the main conference room of the Hunter’s Bureau, Young-Chul sat at the head of the long, circular table, flipping through the documents his aide had handed him.
“So, it wasn’t just a one-off event.”
About a month ago, in the Umyeonsan Mountain area of Seocho-gu, a presumed S-rank Great Fissure had been detected.
During that time, a strange phenomenon occurred for about ten seconds where the Fissure wave readings in the Umyeonsan Mountain area exceeded 9,999.
Analysts concluded that this was due to a malfunction in the detector and had reported it to Young-Chul.
But after some time passed, a strong wave was detected from Umyeonsan Mountain once again.
“What’s the reading?” Young-Chul asked.
“Are we certain this time?”
The Hunter’s Bureau went on high alert when the readings on the Fissure detector exceeded a thousand, indicating an S-rank Great Fissure.
Considering that the readings when the dragon, Masalis, appeared last time were 2,200, the current readings seemed relatively manageable, but it was still an S-rank Fissure with considerable danger.
It was a situation where they could not afford to let their guard down even for a second.
“Yes. And although it’s gradual... the readings are slowly increasing. Currently, Kang Min-Hyuk and other elite members of the Icarus Guild are controlling the entrance.”
“What about the Sword Emperor?”
“He will likely remain in the Core until his scheduled return. That area is out of communication range, so...”
The Core, also known as the Vortex of the Fissure, was a massive hole labeled a danger zone in Sodaesan Mountain in Gangwon Province when the first Fissure appeared ten years ago.
Unlike normal Fissures, which could be contacted through a special network established via mana stones, once inside the Core, all external communication was cut off.
The Sword Emperor, Lee Kang-Hyun, and three First Hunters of the Behemoth Guild periodically entered the Core to investigate its ecosystem.
Whenever they went on their Core expedition, return dates were set in advance. There were still more than three weeks until their scheduled return.
“How is the progress there?” Young-Chul asked his aide.
“According to the report submitted after the last Dive, it’s about 1.4 percent.”
Young-Chul ran his hand through his hair upon hearing the aide’s report. More than twenty Dives have been conducted in the past three years, but all they had managed was a progress of 1.4 percent.
“We’ll worry about that when Kang-Hyun returns. Do we have any information on the situation in Umyeonsan Mountain?”
“None, sir. It’s risky to enter without proper information, and there’s a chance we might not be able to get out.”
“It’s a Distortion, then.”
“Yes, sir. If we enter recklessly for reconnaissance like we did in the Swamp of the Dark Ogre and something goes wrong, there could be a total wipeout. I apologize for making a unilateral decision.”
Young-Chul shook his head at the apology, thinking the aide had made the correct decision. As he said, if it indeed was a Distortion, no one could predict what could happen.
“Ah, right, I forgot to ask earlier. Do we have any Hunters who were recently promoted to S-rank?” Young-Chul asked the aide.
“There are a few A-ranks, but...”
“Ah, don’t worry about it, then.”
Young-Chul recalled the masked Hunter he had seen on the emergency cam during the Distortion in the Swamp of the Dark Ogre.
“Oh, those people are...”
Yoon-Hee noticed three Hunters signing autographs for people at a temporary booth. They were the three elite members of the Mejai Guild who were currently making headlines.
Over three hundred people were in line to get their autographs.
“Ah, must be nice,” she said in envy.
“Do you want to get their autographs?” Do-Jun asked after noticing her tone.
“M-maybe I do... a little...?”
Yoon-Hee admired Hunters, especially skilled ones.
The Mejai Guild had become famous for clearing an A-rank Great Fissure with just three members, and there were even rumors that the skills of those members were already at S-rank.
“Then should we line up too?” Do-Jun suggested.
“W-would that be okay, Father?”
“Yeah. Why not? We’re here to enjoy ourselves today, right? If there’s something you want to do, you should do it.”
“Thank you!” Yoon-Hee smiled brightly and ran to the back of the line.
Watching her, Yong-Yong, who was in Do-Jun’s arms, commented, “I mean, we’ve got a sick-ass guy right here, so why is she so excited about those chumps?”
Yong-Yong’s not-so-subtle suck-up made Do-Jun chuckle as he walked toward Yoon-Hee.
The line moved pretty fast since it didn’t even take twenty seconds per person to get a signature.
Occasionally, there were some strange requests, but the Mejai Hunters handled them appropriately.
It didn’t take long before it was Yoon-Hee’s turn, and the first Hunter to greet her with a smile was the Guild Leader, Han Dong-Hyun.
“It’s Seol Yoon-Hee.”
“I see, that’s a nice name. Do you have any specific message you’d like me to write?”
Dong-Hyun wrote, “Have a great day,” then signed his name underneath and handed it to Yoon-Hee.
She happily showed the signed paper to Do-Jun, who stood behind her.
“That’s great, congrats,” Do-Jun said with a smile.
Dong-Hyun suddenly shot up from his chair, startling Yoo Mi-Ra and Yoo Jung-Ho, who were signing autographs beside him.
“Why, what’s wrong?” Yoo Mi-Ra turned and asked, but Dong-Hyun ignored her.
No, it was more like he didn’t hear her. The only thing he could see at this moment was Do-Jun.
That voice... Dong-Hyun thought as he stared intently at Do-Jun.
As Do-Jun turned around to leave with Yoon-Hee, Dong-Hyun quickly rushed over and grabbed his shoulder.
Do-Jun turned to look and asked, “What’s the matter?”
That was when Dong-Hyun saw the silhouette of the masked Hunter overlapping with Do-Jun.
1. First Hunters were the first people to Awaken when Fissures first appeared 10 years ago. ☜
2. Rankers is referred to anyone at S-rank. ☜