“…Why is it so quiet?”
That was the first thought that came to Ji-hoon when he opened his eyes.
It was morning, but there was not a sound.
Only then did he notice the sunlight streaming through the window.
[Big Brother.]
“Oh, Poppy. Did you sleep well?”
[Yes. Thanks to you, Big Brother. By the way, something is a little strange.]
[Big Brother Poppy’s lying. The two of us stood guard.]
Guard?
At Ji-hoon’s question, Poppy lowered his voice.
[The mana in the area felt strange, so we stood guard just in case.]
“Ah….”
Then again, considering what had happened the day before, it was only natural for them to worry.
Ji-hoon scratched his head and checked his phone.
Two text messages and several emergency alerts.
“…Ha.”
It was true.
They all said that a Gate had appeared nearby.
–Ji-hoon! Are you all right?!
Baek Kang-hyeon shouted over the phone when he called moments later.
“Yes, well. I’m fine. But you said it’s D-rank, right?”
–That is correct. Still, I was worried that something like last time might happen. But I think it will be all right.
Apparently, White Lotus and Titan of the Five Great Guilds had already arrived.
Well, then.
“Is that why you called?”
–Ah, yes. And because of your move. I thought we could get it done quickly after lunch.
They had originally planned to leave in the morning.
But the Gate had appeared right in front of Ji-hoon’s old home.
Practically on its doorstep.
“I wouldn’t have gotten any sleep if I’d stayed there.”
And losing sleep would have been the least of it.
By the nature of Gates, anyone near the site where one formed could be caught in the fallout.
With Poppy, Choco, and even Woo-jae there, nothing serious would likely have happened.
Still, there was always a chance.
“Woo-jae, you’ll come with me too, right?”
“Yeah. I’ve got to help bring your things back too.”
Woo-jae, you…!
Even if trouble broke out around the Gate, Ji-hoon only had to trust Woo-jae.
Ji-hoon squeezed Woo-jae in a tight hug.
“Big Brother? What’s wrong?”
“Our Woo-jae is all grown up! Your big brother is moved!”
“Ugh, this is gross! Get off me!”
[Look at that, he does not even appreciate Big Brother’s grace! Little Brother Woo-jae! You must not act like that!]
[His belly’s gotten so full he’s forgotten his place. Big Brother’s embrace is as good as a year’s worth of rewards.]
The A-rank Tanker barely managed to pry Ji-hoon away. Deciding to ignore Poppy and Choco, Ji-hoon went to his old home with everyone and packed up his belongings.
***
Fortunately, the situation near the Gate had already been brought under control.
There was no possibility of it being a Mutation Gate either.
Why?
“Damn, it’s a bust.”
Choi Ji-tae, the Guild Master of White Lotus, emerged from the Gate and spat on the ground—PTOO!
“I was hoping it might turn into an S-rank Gate.”
“Is that why the Guild Master himself came all this way?”
“Han Ji-seong, you’re no different.”
Han Ji-seong, the Guild Master of Titan, shrugged.
“I could not let the Management Bureau take it.”
“…Hmph.”
Because the Guild Masters could be seen having a conversation like that.
Of course, I had no idea who either of them was.
“Wow, Hunters Choi Ji-tae and Han Ji-seong are here…!”
“You know them?”
“How can you not know who they are?! Well, I guess you might not. So….”
According to Woo-jae, Choi Ji-tae was an S-rank Hunter, the Guild Master of White Lotus, and an Attacker.
Han Ji-seong was an S-rank Hunter, the Guild Master of Titan, and a Tanker.
And they had come running to claim the Gate Management Rights first if it turned into an S-rank Gate.
“They’re simple people.”
“That’s what makes them charming.”
“Sure, sure.”
The world of fandom was a mystery no matter how much one tried to understand it.
“Anyway, let’s pack up. Poppy, Choco, you two help too.”
[Yes, Big Brother!]
[When are you feeding us?]
“After we move.”
[Then Choco will work hard!]
With the help of the Management Bureau employees, the move was completed in no time.
***
Ji-hoon and his companions were in the middle of moving.
The commotion over the D-rank Gate’s sudden appearance was reported to have been quickly resolved.
“Two S-rank Hunters went into a D-rank Gate. Tsk, tsk.”
Management Bureau Commissioner Lee Gyeong-mun clicked his tongue as he received the report.
“What about Hunter Lee Ji-hoon? Did his move go well?”
“Yes. He should be unpacking around now.”
“Good. I heard he slept at a motel instead of at home yesterday?”
“Yes. Perhaps his tremendous mana sensitivity even allowed him to predict that a Gate might appear.”
Lee Gyeong-mun nodded at Baek Kang-hyeon’s words.
“We have no way to gauge the extent of his abilities. Even Poppy the Griffin alone can match you, can he not?”
His equal?
Could that truly be called equal?
There was Poppy when Baek Kang-hyeon had encountered him in the Gate, bereft of reason.
And there was Poppy now, his reason restored and Ji-hoon’s commands and safety his highest priorities.
If one were to ask which was stronger, it was naturally the latter.
‘Back when Poppy charged at Jin Seo-yoon….’
He had wrapped his entire body in mana to strengthen it, opened his beak to form a sphere of mana, then struck as if jabbing with a baseball bat.
Because the attack had taken the form of a thrust with a rounded stick, Jin Seo-yoon had been able to block it.
What if Poppy had sharpened his beak and shaped his mana into an awl as well?
‘It would have pierced straight through Jin Seo-yoon’s body.’
It had been a surprise attack, but he had still put an S-rank Hunter out of commission.
If he were to fight the current Poppy.
He shook his head and cast the thought aside.
“What is it?”
“It is nothing. There truly seems to be no way for us to gauge Hunter Ji-hoon’s power.”
That was why they would continue to watch him closely.
Not to surveil him, but to protect a hidden card of the nation like him.
“Strengthen his security. And give Hunter Ji-hoon’s parents’ chicken restaurant some publicity without letting him know. I want your team dinners held there too.”
“Yes, understood, Commissioner.”
“We should also organize what we need from Hunter Ji-hoon and ask him for it. Do your best to ensure we can help each other. I will leave everything to you.”
“Yes. On that note, Commissioner, I would like to go out on fieldwork.”
“Fieldwork? Where?”
“To support Hunter Lee Ji-hoon.”
Was he planning to help with the move?
The Commissioner cocked his head, then gave his approval.
***
As the Management Bureau’s special management began,
Ji-hoon hummed in his new home, unaware of everything.
“Fin!”
[ish!]
[ed!!!!]
Waaaaah–!
THUD–
Ji-hoon, Poppy, and Choco cheered, then collapsed onto the living room floor, now neat and tidy.
[Big Brother, moving is no easy task. It is not that I lack stamina. It gives me a headache.]
“Right? Deciding where everything goes is seriously a puzzle game. A puzzle game.”
[Choco’s so tired… Food… jerky….]
A growl rumbled from the Giant Bear’s stomach. Ji-hoon grinned and took out the meat he had just placed in the refrigerator.
“Heh-heh, I actually bought some meat from the Hunter Market!”
[Gasp! Big Brother, that meat is!]
[Huff, huff… SLURP… Hurry and give it to me!]
[Unprepared Monster Meat (C): Meat that a monster gave up on preparing. Recovers an extremely small amount of health and mana.]
He had paid a staggering 25 million won for it at the Hunter Market.
It was not as good as what they had eaten at Hell Farm, but right now, he was lucky to have even this!
Ji-hoon held up the meat and infused it with mana.
“Demonic Beast Feed Crafting (S)!!”
FWOOOSH–
Mana enveloped the meat. Soon, the brilliant light dried and shrank it.
It then transformed into an appetizing red treat.
“Complete!”
[Mid-Grade Mana Jerky (B): A meat snack made by infusing it with mana. Demonic Creatures love it.]
Drool streamed from Poppy’s beak and Choco’s mouth as they stared at the finished jerky.
“You want it, don’t you?”
Nod, nod.
“Sit.”
THUMP!
“Poppy, Choco. Shake at the same time!”
TAP, TAP!
“That’s it! Now… wait.”
Poppy and Choco focused intently.
“Good! Eat!”
The moment Ji-hoon finished speaking, Poppy and Choco each snatched up a piece of jerky—SNAP, SNAP.
MUNCH, MUNCH, SMACK, SMACK.
He had trained them this way back at Hell Farm too.
He was thinking, Aren’t they basically just like dogs? when—
KNOCK, KNOCK–
“Yes.”
Baek Kang-hyeon was standing on the intercom screen.
Ji-hoon’s parents were behind him.
‘They’re finally here!’
“Yes, I’m coming! You’re here, Kang-hyeon!”
“Hello, Ji-hoon.”
Baek Kang-hyeon addressed Ji-hoon more familiarly than before.
Ji-hoon did the same, slinging an arm around Baek Kang-hyeon’s shoulders as he ushered him inside.
“You two, come on in!”
His parents looked as though they could not tell whether this was a dream or reality.
And understandably so.
This apartment complex stood only a short distance from central Seoul.
Built for Hunters, the apartments were highly resistant to outside impacts and came with excellent insurance coverage.
Most Hunters who lived in apartments like these were at least B-rank.
Yet their son was F-rank, and he was moving into one?
How?
What did they mean, how?
“Ji-hoon has helped me a great deal.”
“Kang-hyeon kept insisting that I live here with him. He said it would make it easier for us to enter Gates together. I like the idea too.”
The foundation of every lie:
half fact and half lie.
His parents could only gape.
“O-our son….”
“Friends… with Korea’s number-one S-rank Hunter…?”
I’m telling you, it was true.
Their F-rank son, no less,
was friends(?) with an S-rank Hunter from the nation’s official Management Bureau.
“Y-you! I told you never to owe anyone anything!”
“No matter how hard life gets, you must never become indebted to others, son! Did I raise you that way?!”
“What do you mean I owe him anything?! We’re helping each other!”
At his side, Baek Kang-hyeon diligently explained Ji-hoon’s achievements while downplaying them.
He was F-rank, but possessed exceptional mana sensitivity. (That was not a lie, thanks to the Golden Guidepost.)
His ability to commune with monsters had opened a new horizon in Gate raids. (That was not a lie either.)
Then there were his contributions during all the Gate incidents so far.
His parents were still dubious, but these words were coming from Baek Kang-hyeon.
And he was speaking so passionately.
They had no choice but to believe him now.
“Whew… All right. Just don’t take on anything too dangerous.”
“Your health comes first and second. You know that, right?”
With his parents’ advice and encouragement, Ji-hoon was joined by Poppy, Choco, and even Woo-jae, who had stepped out midway to handle some work.
That day, they enjoyed a rather delicious dinner and drinks.
***
The next day.
“Why do I have to go there?”
[Formation of the Gate Anomaly Incident Investigation Team]
Ji-hoon let out a deep sigh because of Baek Kang-hyeon, who had visited early that morning.
“This is not a simple investigation. Eden, Orpheus, and even the first-ranked White Lotus of the Five Great Guilds will take part in the joint investigation.”
“Then why don’t the S-rank Hunters, or just the Hunters who are A-rank or higher, handle it? Why do I have to be involved?”
“I cannot give you a definitive answer, but we have a hypothesis.”
Baek Kang-hyeon leaned down so Poppy and Choco could not hear him.
“The Returnees who have been appearing in greater numbers lately. Our analysis suggests that they may be the cause of the Gate anomalies.”
“If you mean Returnees….”
“Yes. Hunters like you, Ji-hoon.”
One simple thing they had in common was that Returnees’ mana was unstable at first.
If that instability had kept repeating and accumulating, causing the current phenomena.
“We decided that we had no choice but to proceed with the project if we were to determine the exact cause of the current situation.”
“If that makes it possible to identify Gate anomalies quickly….”
If only that became possible,
Ji-hoon needed to be the first to enter those Gates.
“My family… should be in there.”
…In the end, he had to go.
Because they might be inside.
The rest of his family from Hell Farm.