[The tutorial zone is currently sealed.]
[You do not have enough entry tokens to access the tutorial zone.]
[Complete the special quest: Toward the Core.]
The Bead lodged in the heel of Sword Emperor Kang-Hyun extinguished. The purple glow emitted by the Assault Gear, which enhanced the mobility of Hunters, faded, and it returned to its original colorless translucent shade.
“Sir, we’ve run out of Mana Smoke reserves. It might be best to head back to the Bureau and report the situation. Even though it’s earlier than planned, there’s no point in staying here any longer.”
Kang-Hyun looked down at the seemingly bottomless pit beneath his feet. The entrance to the Core was about five hundred meters down. It had taken twenty Dives just to reach this boundary between the Core and the tutorial zone.
We’ve already scouted the entire area, he thought.
He had scoured every part of the entrance to the Core, but the special quest “Toward the Core” still hadn’t appeared.
Just as Aileen had suggested, there was no further reason to remain here.
Kang-Hyun looked up at the sky and met the rain pouring heavily as if the heavens had torn open.
“Let’s head back,” he declared.
In the heavy rainfall, Yong-Yong, cradled in Do-Jun’s arms, gulped nervously.
Despite stepping through puddles and trudging through muddy fields, no sound or trace was left behind. Do-Jun was at the level where silent and traceless movement was not just possible but was effortless.
What the hell is this guy? Yong-Yong thought for the umpteenth time.
Such fine, delicate mana control was impossible even for himself. He could try to mimic it, but the absolute absence of sound or trace was beyond reach, even if he were to spend multiple lifetimes trying to learn it.
Realizing this, Yong-Yong thought himself incredibly lucky to have survived his first encounter with Do-Jun.
Do-Jun finally arrived at the rooftop of a side building of the Hunter Academy. He could see the lights on in various dormitory rooms approximately two hundred meters away. Further off, he spotted the training Fissure from earlier, glowing faintly.
Do-Jun glanced at his wristwatch and then leaped toward the Fissure.
[Nergess is watching you.]
[Special Quest: Toward the Core is in progress.]
Do-Jun poured the entry tokens from his pocket into the chalice in the plaza of the Fissure, then pulled out an Assistant Bead and infused it with internal energy.
The Bead began to spin slowly, circling him. But despite waiting for a whole minute, nothing happened.
Peeking up at the motionless Do-Jun, Yong-Yong tilted his head in confusion.
“Master, what are you doing?”
Do-Jun retrieved the token he had accidentally left behind in his pocket and tossed it into the chalice.
With a loud rumbling sound, the Fissure began to shake as if it would collapse at any moment. Seven rays of light—red, orange, yellow, green, blue, navy, and purple—swirled out before coalescing into a single point and re-entering the chalice.
Soon after, the violently shaking ground settled.
With a faint popping sound, a small fairy, no larger than the palm of a hand like a typical fairy from storybooks, emerged from the chalice.
He looked at Do-Jun and flashed a mischievous smile. “So, you’re the challenger who woke me.”
“You must be Nergess,” Do-Jun replied.
“Precisely. I am Nergess, the guardian of the tutorial zone of the Core. First, I must thank you. You’ve awakened me from an eternity of sleep.”
Nergess then spotted Yong-Yong at Do-Jun’s feet and looked startled. Wasn’t that Izaas, the Dragon Lord?
“Why... why are you here? You dragons are supposed to be in eternal slumber!” Nergess commented.
“What’s this thing even saying? Master, we can go home if we kill this thing, right?”
Do-Jun nodded to Yong-Yong’s question, who then turned to Nergess. “You heard him. Time to die quietly.”
Shocked, Nergess immediately took a step back. Even though he was the tutorial zone’s guardian, he was at the lowest rank among other monsters of the Core and didn’t stand a chance against Izaas.
“Wait, wait! Aren’t you one of the great dragons born from the Core? Why are you obeying the orders of a mere human? And calling him ‘Master’? That demeans the dignity of your noble race!”
Wearing an indifferent expression while listening to Nergess’ pleading, Yong-Yong scratched his ear with his paw and yawned.
“So what?” he asked Nergess.
“Whether I was born in the Core or not, what does that have to do with you? And who cares about the dignity of dragons? Is pride going to feed me? Huh? Is it going to serve me braised ribs or chicken?!”
Nergess looked at Do-Jun with a dumbfounded expression, stunned by Yong-Yong’s words. Izaas was a mighty being who once resided in the Core—not just anywhere but in the Deep Realm. How did a human bend such a being to his will?
Do-Jun checked his wristwatch. Three minutes had already passed since they entered the Fissure. He had about two minutes remaining.
“Any last words?” he asked Nergess, not wasting any more time.
“He’s asking if you have anything you want to say before... you know,” Yong-Yong said.
“I guess not,” Do-Jun said and triggered his Assistant Bead. It melted like clay, then morphed into a small, dull black dagger that was plain and unadorned.
Just as the dagger, with the surging dark energy like electricity, was about to rush toward Nergess, he shouted, “W-wait! If you kill me, you won’t be able to advance to the Core. Are you sure you want to go through with this?”
Nergess had his eyes tightly shut. Begging a human for his life—in his own tutorial zone, no less—was a disgrace to his role as the guardian.
But survival was the priority.
“What do you mean I won’t be able to advance to the Core?” Do-Jun asked him.
“If I die, there will be no guardian for the tutorial zone, which means that you won’t be able to descend to the next floor, and you’ll never uncover the secrets of the Core.”
The current expedition team, Behemoth Guild, was attempting to breach the Core with Korea’s top three Hunters, including the Sword Emperor Kang-Hyun himself. In addition, Min-Hyuk, Min-Ji, Kwak Young-Ho, and Yang Cheok-Gi were also scheduled to be deployed. Even Bureau Chief Young-Chul had asked Do-Jun to join the expedition team.
Frankly, Do-Jun didn’t care if he joined the team. In fact, he preferred not to. It was probably going to be a hassle, anyway.
Do-Jun made up his mind.“I don’t think I mind that.”
As Do-Jun increased the energy infused in the Assistant Bead, he looked at the trembling Nergess and sighed. If he had known the monster was this weak, he would’ve just let the Academy students complete the quest.
“P-please, spare me... I beg you,” Negress pleaded.
[You have gained the Acknowledgement of Nergess.]
[You have obtained a Bunch of Entrance Tickets.]
[From now on, the tutorial zone within the Core will be opened. Only challengers with entrance tickets may enter the tutorial zone.]
[Would you like to announce your achievement to the Core?]
Do-Jun picked up the pouch that had dropped at his feet. It was full of entry tokens. He then approached Nergess, who was staring at the ground in terror.
Do-Jun patted Nergess on the head and walked toward the Fissure’s exit.
With teary eyes, Negress watched Do-Jun walk toward the exit with Yong-Yong trotting along after him.
7 AM, Fissure Management Division, Seoul City Hall.
Hyuk-Soo, who had arrived to work early as usual, noticed that the office security system had been deactivated and tilted his head in confusion. Normally, no employees would have arrived so early, so the security system should still have been active.
Hyuk-Soo walked over to the Fissure Exploration Unit office and found Do-Jun already working on an Excel spreadsheet.
“Oh, good morning, Senior.”
Placing his briefcase on his desk, Hyuk-Soo asked, “Why did you come in so early today?”
“I guess it just happened,” Do-Jun replied, thinking back to the events of last night.
“Can’t we just all sleep together in the living room, Father?”
It was probably the horror movie, and maybe the gloomy weather had also played a part. Whatever the case, that night, Do-Jun had no choice but to sleep on the living room floor.
He had tried suggesting that Yong-Yong and Karsiel sleep beside Yoon-Hee, but it didn’t work. In the end, he had to lay out a blanket next to the mattress on the living room floor and spent an uncomfortable night, wide awake, with the two dragons and a terrified girl.
“Shall we have some coffee?” Hyuk-Soo asked Do-Jun.
“Yes, that sounds good.”
Do-Jun went to the break room, grabbed two instant coffee packets, and poured them into separate paper cups. He added hot water and stirred with a spoon, then handed Hyuk-Soo one of the finished cups.
Hyuk-Soo smiled as he accepted it.
“Thank you. By the way, Do-Jun, you’ve been here for almost a year and a quarter now, right?”
“Have you completed all your required training hours?”
To be promoted, civil servants needed to complete a required number of ongoing education hours. These included online courses, in-person training hosted by educational institutions, and mandatory social welfare training, among others.
“You’ll be up for promotion to level 8 in about three months, but you need to complete all the required training hours to be eligible. You didn’t even attend the new employee training, so you’re probably quite a bit behind. I saw that the Hunter’s Bureau is offering a training session soon. You should attend that. I’ll let our Chief know.”
Do-Jun nodded. Though he didn’t particularly care whether he got promoted, it was probably best to keep up with the standard flow of things.
“Let’s see, when was it?” Hyuk-Soo said.
He returned to his desk, logged into the Seoul City Administrative Portal, and searched for the relevant notice. It didn’t take long for him to find the training schedule for March.
After checking the dates for the training hosted by the Hunter’s Bureau, he informed Do-Jun, “There’s one next week. Monday to Wednesday.”
Do-Jun glanced at Ye-Ji, sitting next to him, engrossed in her smartphone. She seemed to be in an exceptionally good mood, even humming a tune.
Curious, Do-Jun slyly peeked at her phone screen and saw that she was searching for “Best Restaurants Near Seoul City Hall Station.”
That’s when Do-Jun remembered Ye-Ji’s request to have dinner together. He had agreed and also promised that it would be just the two of them.
“Mr. Administrator, Mr. Administrator. Do you like gambas?” Ye-Ji asked suddenly.
“Gambas al Ajillo. It’s a Spanish dish with shrimp, garlic, and olive oil. If you’ve never tried it, should we have that?”
Since there was no reason to refuse, Do-Jun nodded, seemingly catching Ye-Ji by surprise a little bit.
“T-then, how about this Saturday?” she asked tentatively.
“Saturday is a bit... ah, how about next Monday?”
“I have to attend a training session at the Hunter’s Bureau starting next Monday. You need to visit the Bureau too, to apply for your special promotion, right? We could have dinner together after that.”
“Then, next Monday it is!” Ye-Ji said with a bright smile.
“Yes, let’s do that.”
That’ll be a good time to drop off the entry tokens, too. Do-Jun thought about the pouch sitting in his drawer.