The Yuseong twins.
They were sheltered flowers who had grown up in luxury without ever knowing hardship from the day they were born.
And at this very moment, those Yuseong twins were—
“Ugh!”
“Do we have any more Healing Potions?”
“That was the last one.”
“Just hold on a little longer!”
They were pouring every Healing Potion they had into saving the C-rank Mercenary.
The C-rank Hunter, Kim Young-gyu, looked as though his entire body had been reduced to rags.
“Gaaaaah!”
Perhaps the Dark Elves' arrows had been coated in poison, because even the Potions were not healing him properly.
“This will not do.”
In the end, Yoo So-ha, the older sister of the Yuseong twins, reached into her clothes.
“Noona, not that!”
Her twin brother, Yoo Seong-ha, realized what she was about to do and urgently tried to stop her, but Yoo So-ha did not hesitate.
What she pulled out was a purple liquid contained in an ornate porcelain bottle.
It was an item known as an Elixir.
A Legendary-grade Item said to be capable of reviving even the dead.
Their father, the Chairman of Yuseong, had given it to them for use in an emergency.
In reality, it could not resurrect the dead, but it could save someone who had already reached the brink of death.
There were only a few of them in existence throughout the entire world to begin with, so even the twins possessed only one.
“Why? Is there a problem?”
Yoo So-ha glared at Yoo Seong-ha.
“We are the ones who brought him here because we wanted to become Hunters. He ended up like this trying to save us. Of course we have to save him.”
The Item was worth tens of billions of won per bottle, perhaps even more.
Was he reluctant to use something that valuable on a Mercenary who was only being paid a few million won per day?
Yoo So-ha narrowed her eyes, beginning to question her twin brother's character, but Yoo Seong-ha looked at her as though she were the ridiculous one.
“No, that is not an Elixir.”
“…Huh?”
“That is Hydra Poison.”
“Ah!”
Yoo So-ha hurriedly rummaged through her clothes and pulled out another bottle.
The liquid inside was a similar color, but the pattern on the porcelain bottle was subtly different.
This, too, was an emergency Item the Chairman of Yuseong had given them in case something happened.
“…S-sorry.”
She had nearly finished him off instead of saving him.
“Just hold on a little longer. People will come to rescue us soon.”
As she spoke, Yoo So-ha poured the Elixir into the C-rank Mercenary's mouth.
The C-rank Mercenary's expression immediately relaxed.
“Haa, thank goodness.”
Yoo So-ha and Yoo Seong-ha finally breathed a sigh of relief.
But neither of them looked particularly reassured.
“…Will they get here in time?”
Yoo Seong-ha asked.
They had carried out this operation after a long period of planning, all for the sake of awakening as Hunters.
But the outcome had been the worst possible one.
An Anomalous Gate.
“It will not be easy. This is an Anomalous Gate. We have no idea what kind of entry conditions might have been attached to it.”
Yoo So-ha shook her head.
Wanting to become a Hunter had never been mere talk for them.
Hunters, Gates, Monsters.
They had studied countless things and committed them to memory.
What was so damn frustrating was that even after going this far, they still had not awakened as Hunters.
Kieee.
The cries of Dark Elves echoed from not far away.
“You know what Dark Elves are like, right?”
Yoo So-ha looked at Yoo Seong-ha.
“…I know. I also know that we are being hunted right now.”
Starting from A-rank Gates, Monsters generally possessed a certain degree of intelligence.
Their behavioral traits became especially pronounced, and Dark Elves had a habit of driving their prey into a dead end as though playing with them before finishing the hunt.
All for their own amusement.
Then Yoo So-ha rose to her feet.
“They might already know about this cave. We do not know when the rescue team will arrive, either.”
“What are you planning to do?”
“I will go out and draw their attention. Run away while I do.”
Yoo So-ha fiddled with a ring as she spoke.
Items poured out in an instant.
It was a top-tier Subspace Item that could be used even by someone who was not a Hunter.
“Maybe we took this too lightly from the beginning. With Items like these, an Elixir, and even a Mercenary accompanying us, how were we supposed to feel truly threatened inside a D-rank Gate?”
“…Hey, Yoo So-ha.”
“Maybe now that we are actually in danger of dying, this is our chance.”
Yoo So-ha began equipping the Items one by one.
Without the physical enhancement provided to Hunters, the equipment felt heavy, but it was still bearable.
“I will go.”
At that moment, Yoo Seong-ha stepped in front of Yoo So-ha.
“I will lure them away, so you run, Noona.”
Yoo So-ha's eyes widened.
Yoo Seong-ha had always complained that he should not have to call her Noona when she was only one minute older.
This was the first time he had ever called her that.
“What are you talking about?!”
“…You are hurt.”
Yoo Seong-ha pointed at Yoo So-ha's leg.
Bright red blood was seeping through.
“We gave all the Potions and the Elixir to that Mercenary, and you got hurt earlier because you were protecting me.”
“Hey!”
“That is why I have to go…!”
That was when it happened.
Both Yoo So-ha and Yoo Seong-ha instinctively lowered their bodies.
They did not know why.
It was simply a strange sensation coming from somewhere far away.
And there was one more thing.
“…The Dark Elves' cries… stopped.”
The cries of the Dark Elves, which had sounded as though they were mocking their prey, abruptly ceased.
“…Shh.”
They shut their mouths and held their breaths.
THUMP. THUMP.
Perhaps because of that, the sound of their hearts pounding seemed deafeningly loud.
STEP. STEP.
Footsteps came from the entrance of the cave.
Yoo So-ha and Yoo Seong-ha exchanged glances.
Two pairs of eyes trembled with fear.
Without needing to say a word, they both rose to their feet.
But—
THUD!
Yoo So-ha swept Yoo Seong-ha's leg out from under him.
“What are you…!”
“Shut up.”
Whatever had just entered the cave, she knew instinctively.
It was not the rescue team.
No.
“Live. Survive and avenge me too. If you understand, nod.”
“Mmph…!”
“Nod. You have to save him too. We cannot let this man die because of our greed.”
Yoo Seong-ha, his face covered in tears, carefully nodded.
There was no other way.
“Good. That is my little brother.”
Steeling herself, Yoo So-ha carefully rose and walked toward the cave entrance.
She held a Unique-grade spear and shield worth tens of billions of won.
“…DIEEEE!”
Then she charged forward without hesitation.
She had trained every single day to become a Hunter.
Instead of attending the business-management lessons her father ordered her to take, she had bribed the family chauffeur and enrolled in a Hunter training academy.
After that was discovered, she secretly built a Training Ground behind her father's back and learned Weapon Technique by sparring with Yoo Seong-ha.
All to become a Hunter.
She would die here today before achieving that wish.
But—
‘Not my little brother.’
“Die….”
Yoo So-ha, who had charged forward like that—
THUD.
Dropped straight to her knees.
SWIRL.
At the cave entrance, she finally came face-to-face with the enemy.
The presence radiating from that enemy was, without exaggeration, that of a Monster.
ROAAAAAR!
It felt as though crimson flames were surging behind him.
At the same time, it seemed as though darkness was swallowing those flames whole.
It felt as though burning darkness itself was devouring her.
Before that overwhelming fear, there was nothing she could do.
“Aaaaaaaaah!”
Even so, Yoo So-ha forced herself back to her feet.
To protect her little brother.
At that moment—
WHOOSH!
Mana began surging out of her.
Meanwhile, shortly after the Dark Elves had collapsed unconscious—
‘What was that?’
I had no idea why the Dark Elves had suddenly fallen.
Perhaps Monsters simply did incomprehensible things from time to time.
I crushed their heads one by one and entered the cave.
‘They said the twins were about nineteen, right?’
I had heard the basic details about them.
They were twins, both still young at nineteen.
Just hearing about the twins was enough to remind me how peaceful this world was.
In my world, there had been no children left around that age.
‘Still… I should probably give them a stern talking-to.’
Why had they done something this reckless?
Did they not understand how precious their lives were?
Of course, I also wanted to become a Hunter and had asked to enter a Gate, so I could not say I did not understand how they felt.
But unlike me, the twins had family, did they not?
There had even been a man outside the Gate begging me to save them.
CLUNK.
‘But how am I supposed to scold them?’
No.
How was I supposed to deal with them at all?
I searched my memories for the last time I had met a human who was still a minor.
Back then….
“…….”
Do not think about it.
With those thoughts in mind, and worried that the twins might be frightened, I slowly walked deeper into the cave.
I could hear voices from farther inside.
‘Thank goodness.’
They were alive.
Aside from sounding agitated, they did not seem to be seriously injured.
‘Still, I cannot sense this thing called mana at all.’
I had thought that if I entered a Gate and encountered Monsters, I might become a Hunter and awaken mana.
‘But nothing changed even after I encountered the Dark Elves.’
What exactly was mana?
STEP.
As I continued through the cave, I finally encountered someone.
‘A girl?’
Then she must be Yoo So-ha, the older twin.
She was covered in ridiculously extravagant equipment….
“……?”
And she was pointing a spear at me.
Why?
“Die….”
That was when it happened.
“DIEEEEEEE!”
She suddenly charged at me as though she intended to kill me.
Then she abruptly collapsed to her knees.
For an instant, my heart dropped.
I thought she might die like the Dark Elves had.
Was there some kind of curse on this Gate?
“Aaaaaaaaah!”
Fortunately, Yoo So-ha sprang back up the next moment and began shouting.
The air around her rippled strangely.
CLANG!
She closed the distance in an instant, and I hurriedly knocked her spear aside.
“……!”
Fast.
I had definitely been told she was an ordinary person, so it had to be the power of her Items.
They had said that, as children of a major corporation, they would at least have brought Items to ensure a minimum level of safety.
But that was all.
CLANG! CLANG!
For some reason, her spear thrusts were filled with killing intent, but none of them could reach me.
She had lost her reason and was thrusting wildly.
And no matter how fast she moved, I could see every motion clearly.
“…Rescue.”
I tried to tell her that I had come to rescue them, but the words would not come out easily.
Even in my old world, I had rarely faced this level of hostility from another person.
But why was she attacking me?
‘Ah!’
No.
I had experienced something like this before.
Panic.
When someone became trapped by a horde of Zombies and their fear reached its limit, their reason shut down and their judgment became clouded.
Yoo So-ha seemed to be in a similar state.
‘She must have been terrified.’
For now, I should knock her unconscious—
But before I could, Yoo So-ha suddenly collapsed and rolled her eyes back.
She had clearly fainted before I even did anything.
‘Why?’
“…What did you do to my noona?”
I lowered myself to check Yoo So-ha's condition when a boy appeared.
He was probably the younger twin, Yoo Seong-ha.
“So, this is—”
I tried to explain.
But just like Yoo So-ha, Yoo Seong-ha was fully armed and was approaching as though cutting through a storm.
“Ugh! Noona…! NOONAAAA!”
It was the same.
The air around him changed strangely.
This time, it even felt as though the air itself were freezing.
“Die….”
THUD.
But Yoo Seong-ha only managed a few steps before collapsing and rolling his eyes back as well.
‘What the hell is wrong with these twins?’
People in this world really are far too fragile.