The moment they passed through the Gate's blue vortex, what greeted them was the cool autumn air and sunlight bright enough to sting the eyes. Somyeong adjusted the worn bag on his shoulder and squinted. His senses, accustomed to the damp and acrid air inside the dungeon, finally felt as though they were returning to life upon breathing the surface air.
But there was no time to savor the calm. Dozens of personnel had already formed a tight perimeter at the Gate entrance.
"Halt! You are now under the control of the White Tiger Guild Investigation Team!"
Hunters in black suits blocked their path. Behind them, van after van was lined up, loaded with magical energy measurement equipment and various analytical instruments. The atmosphere was explosive. The anomalies from the B-rank dungeon were being taken that seriously by the guild's upper echelon.
"Vice Team Leader Park Cheoljin! Are you unharmed?"
Jeong Daesik, the White Tiger Guild's Team 2 Leader who had led the investigation team, rushed over. He frowned upon seeing Park Cheoljin's wretched state. Park Cheoljin was barely standing, his legs still weak, propped up by subordinates.
"Team Leader Jeong......"
"Internal magical energy readings temporarily spiked to S-rank levels. Has the boss been dealt with? Are these three the only survivors?"
Jeong Daesik's sharp questions poured out. His gaze moved past Park Cheoljin to Jina standing in a daze, and then to Somyeong behind her, wearing an indifferent expression.
Park Cheoljin swallowed hard. He instinctively glanced back. The moment his eyes met Somyeong's, who was watching him with idle calm while shouldering his cargo bag, a chill ran down his spine.
'If I talk, I die. No—something worse than death might happen.'
The overwhelming martial force Somyeong had displayed inside the dungeon. That chilling voice that had threatened him. Both flashed through his mind. Park Cheoljin clenched his trembling fists and screamed.
"It was Hunter Kang Jina! Hunter Kang Jina did it all!"
Every gaze at the scene snapped to Jina at that frantic cry. Jeong Daesik countered in disbelief.
"Hunter Kang Jina? The C-rank hunter here for the recruitment test?"
"C-rank?! What are you talking about?! Hunter Kang Jina is...... she is a genius! When the boss went berserk from the dungeon overload, she awakened in the moment of crisis! She obliterated that horrific monster in one go! I saw it with my own two eyes!"
Park Cheoljin spewed the words as though delirious. The guilt of lying was far outweighed by the survival instinct screaming at him to conceal Somyeong's identity.
"Are you serious? A C-rank hunter solo-killed a boss monster approaching A-rank?"
"Go inside and see for yourself! Its head is crushed in a single blow! Do you think that's possible with human strength? Only a chosen talent could accomplish that!"
Murmurs spread among the investigation team members at Park Cheoljin's desperate testimony. Jeong Daesik stared at Jina with a stunned expression.
The person in question, Jina, could not hide her bewilderment. She opened her mouth to speak the truth.
"Um, actually, the thing is......"
At that moment, a heavy, warm hand settled on Jina's shoulder. It was Somyeong. He gently patted her shoulder and whispered softly.
"Jina, you worked hard. You're the pride of our family."
Within those brief words lay a strong conviction and the unspoken pressure to 'let this pass quietly for now.' Jina turned to look at her brother. Somyeong still wore his languid smile, but his eyes alone were serious.
Jina bit her lip. She could not fully understand why her brother was doing this, why he was pushing her to the front. But her instinct was clear—if she told the truth here, her brother would be the one in trouble.
"......Yes. I managed somehow."
Jina's small answer was enough to turn the atmosphere at the scene completely on its head.
"My god, it was real?"
"Solo-killing an A-rank boss before she's even twenty?"
"This is a headline. A monster just walked into the White Tiger Guild!"
The investigation team's eyes transformed with awe. Team Leader Jeong immediately grabbed his radio and began reporting to headquarters.
"HQ, this is the field. Situation resolved. Boss monster kill confirmed. And...... we've discovered an ultra-elite prospect. New recruit candidate Hunter Kang Jina. Prepare the highest tier of treatment immediately. This is not simply A-rank talent."
The scene transformed into a celebration in an instant. Park Cheoljin finally let out a sigh of relief and collapsed to the ground. He was relieved to be alive, yet trembled at the thought of the fallout to come.
***
After transferring to the White Tiger Guild headquarters, things moved at lightning speed. Paperwork and examinations that would normally have taken days were wrapped up in mere hours.
Jina was presented with extraordinary contract terms in a room full of the guild's top executives.
"Hunter Kang Jina, our White Tiger Guild highly values your potential. An initial signing bonus of one billion won, plus a monthly dignity maintenance stipend, a dedicated vehicle, and a full support team. Equipment will naturally be fitted to the guild's highest grade."
Jina's mind went blank. Just hours ago, she had been roughing it in a dungeon corner with her porter brother, and now she sat in a place of honor at the guild receiving VIP treatment.
She stole a glance at Somyeong standing beside her. He was sipping the premium tea the executives had offered, leaning comfortably into the sofa. His attitude suggested all of this was perfectly natural.
'Does Oppa really not care at all?'
Jina could not shake her doubts, but for now, she signed the contract as Somyeong indicated.
After all procedures were complete and they had settled into the luxury sedan the guild provided, the sunset outside the window was staining crimson. Inside the car, it was just Somyeong and Jina. At Somyeong's request, the driver had been sent to a following vehicle.
"Oppa, explain now."
Jina stared pointedly at Somyeong, who was behind the wheel.
"Explain what?"
"Everything! How you killed that monster in the dungeon, and why you passed all the credit to me. Why does Examiner Park Cheoljin look so terrified of you?"
Somyeong turned the steering wheel lightly with one hand as he answered.
"I told you. Our Jina was so talented she killed it herself. The examiner was probably just overwhelmed by your presence."
"Liar! I told you I'm not stupid. I watched you crush that thing's head with your fist. And the medicine you gave me yesterday...... that wasn't normal, was it? My magical energy grew insanely after I took it."
Jina's voice trembled. It was not fear so much as the unease of feeling that the brother she had known was becoming impossibly distant.
Somyeong pulled the car over to the shoulder. He turned and looked Jina straight in the eyes. It was the warm gaze he had directed at his only blood relative—the gaze he had never lost, not even amid the storm of blood in the martial world.
"Jina."
"......Yeah."
"Where I was and what I did for that one year—I can't tell you all of it right now. It was a time longer than you could believe, and there was a lot of hard, exhausting work."
Somyeong gently stroked Jina's head.
"But I'll promise you this one thing. From now on, I won't let anyone look down on you. I'll lay the groundwork so that Mom, you, our whole family can live ordinary, happy lives."
"Oppa......"
"You just live as the White Tiger Guild's star prospect. The hard stuff, the annoying stuff—your brother will handle all of it. Got it?"
Jina could not read the depth behind Somyeong's eyes. But the sincerity within them reached her with perfect clarity. It was a promise from the Heavenly Demon who had crossed 122 years to return.
Jina nodded and leaned her head against Somyeong's shoulder.
"Then let's go home and talk more over kimchi stew. You'd better really put in a lot of Spam."
"I said I would. Let's ask Mom to grill some meat tonight, too."
Somyeong started the car again.
***
Late that night, the siblings finished the warm dinner their mother had prepared and retired to their rooms.
It was the first sense of peaceful home air they had felt in a long time. Somyeong sat on the edge of his bed and gazed at the night view through the window. The city lights were dazzling, but Somyeong's eyes could see the turmoil and fractures lurking beneath.
He pulled the boss core from his pocket, the one he had collected earlier in the day.
"Stubborn thing."
The black core sitting in his palm was pulsing faintly, like a heartbeat. It was among the highest grade of A-rank demonic beast cores, containing only the purest essence.
Hssssss.......
Suddenly, a deep crimson light began to pour from the core. It was a reaction triggered by the collision between Somyeong's pristine internal energy flowing through his palm and the energy within the core.
Somyeong narrowed his eyes.
'So the magical energy of this world shares the same root after all.'
The magical energy inside the core began to resonate with the power of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art dormant within Somyeong's body. A crimson mist filled the room, and the core, like a starving beast, tried to devour Somyeong's energy.
But Somyeong was not alarmed. He smiled faintly and clenched the core tight.
"Greedy for my energy. Bold of you."
The pitch-black energy that erupted from his grip swallowed the crimson light in an instant. The core trembled as though shrieking, then shifted its glow to a transparent gold and knelt before Somyeong's power.
The refinement was complete.
Somyeong gazed quietly at the now-golden core. More than a simple energy source, this core would become a critical key for Somyeong to plant his roots in this world.
Just then, his mother's voice drifted from the living room.
"Somyeong, are you asleep? I peeled some fruit—come out and eat."
"Yes, Mom! I'll be right out!"
Somyeong tucked the core deep into a drawer and rose from his seat. Beyond the door lay the everyday life he had most wanted to protect after leaving behind the blood-soaked battlefields.
Somyeong opened the door with a light step and walked out.