Chapter 33

Bzzt—

There was a vibration in his pocket. It was from the terminal, not his cellphone.

・2031/8/6/Wed.

・H Hotel in Banha-dong, Seoul – Crack occurred around 7:00 PM. (Detailed coordinates: 829, 337)

・Estimated difficulty level: B+

▸ Guilds currently participating: Corps (82.6%) / Paradise (11.9%) / Roar (3.5%) / Million Volt (2.0%)…

'It's nearby.'

Siwoo put the terminal back with a sullen face. It wasn't the message he had been waiting for.

After a while, Siwoo picked up his phone, deciding to send Eunha a text message.

[You] [7:43 PM] Sunbae, where are you?

…No reply. The '1' next to the message showed no sign of disappearing at all.

tl/n: in kakaotalk (the app he's using), a number indicates how many people haven't read a message (in this case, the 1 is eunha)

He stared at his phone for a while.

"Customer, here's your order of two bowls of sundae rice soup and kimchi dumplings for two."

The worker brought the cart and laid out the food on the table.

After the employee left, Siwoo took out the spoons and chopsticks from the cutlery given and set them neatly in front of and opposite himself.

As time passed, the line at the entrance of the restaurant grew longer and longer.

"Customer, you're still here?"

"Ah, yes. They'll be coming soon."

Waiters stopped by the table from time to time to drop a hint.

Had he known this would happen, he would have rented the whole store. He had avoided that method since Eunha was a person who would be too burdened by such things, but now, he regretted it a little.

Siwoo, who had been guarding their table like Mangbuseok, finally made up his mind and grabbed the phone he had turned over.

tl/n: mangbuseok is a fabled wife who turned to stone waiting for her husband (you can find more online for the actual legend)

Brring—

「The person you are trying to reach is currently unavailable…」

She didn't answer.

Again.

Brring—

「The person you are trying to reach is currently unavailable…」

Siwoo's anxious face reflected on the black screen. At this point, he was a little worried.

'Did something really happen?'

Siwoo glanced at the table. The soup, which had been boiling in an earthenware pot, had already cooled. The people waiting at the entrance of the restaurant were swarming like ants.

"Customer, if you don't mind, can you pack it…"

The employees were also tired of waiting and began to give him signs in earnest. 

"They'll be coming soon."

Siwoo repeated the same words like a parrot.

He had said that, but… Blue eyes fixed on the phone once again.

The cellphone never rang in the end.

* * *

Step, step.

By the time she got used to the sound of the embers, Eunha realised that she had reached the centre of the gate.

[Lv.36 'Hardened Magma' is burning hot. Warning. A flame sphere is being created!]

In the case of a normal gate, the level of the monsters that appeared would increase as you went further in. She believed that she had passed the centre.

The baseball-sized flame sphere created by the monster flew towards Eunha at a great speed.

Fwooom!

Then, it exploded.

"It's useless."

It would need something else other than a flame sphere.

Eunha put out the remaining embers like it was a match and walked towards the monster.

Thud!

When she kicked the monster's stomach with her right foot, it made a dull sound and crashed into the wall. A web of cracks spread across the concrete.

Ding!

[The divine beast 'Cat Wandering in Darkness' says that this guy doesn't taste good and will give you something to flavour it if necessary.]

Eunha frowned slightly. The cat seemed to think Eunha enjoyed eating monsters.

When she was trapped in the unknown gate, she had no choice. She would be in danger of starvation if she didn't eat.

[The divine beast 'Cat Wandering in Darkness' is rummaging through its fur.]

[Congratulations! You have obtained 'Sour Ketchup'!]

"I don't need it."

Eunha confirmed that the monster was dead and waved her hand as she turned her head away. She had something more important than ketchup at the moment.

On the floor, there were mottled splotches of monster fluid and black ashes. Eunha squatted and looked at the floor carefully.

'No.'

It wasn't here either.

The golden dog tag.

Where the hell did she drop it? Eunha touched her empty neck and clenched her jaw.

'It's almost time for the boss to come out.'

When a boss appears and gets killed, the gate would then close within a few tens of minutes. There would be no way to re-enter the gate once it had been closed. So now, she had to find what she had lost before she defeated the boss.

However, the inside of the gate was engulfed in flames, and black ash covered the floor as well. Finding a dog tag here was like searching for a needle on a sandy beach.

'What do I do?'

It was when she was searching through the ashes with a troubled face.

"Woahh!"

A boy's voice was heard from not too far away. If she wasn't mistaken, it was definitely a boy's voice.

A questioning look appeared on Eunha's face as she stared in the direction the voice came from.

'Survivors?'

There was no way. Eunha was now well past the centre of the gate. To get here, you had to break through layers upon layers of flames. In other words, it could be concluded that ordinary people could never reach this place.

Eunha started walking in a straight line towards the place where the unidentified voice was heard. It was southwest, beyond the flames that bent like waves.

Whoosh— Bang!

When a sphere-shaped flame shot towards the fire wall, a path was created like the miracle of Moses. Eunha quickened her steps.

'Is the firepower greater than I thought?'

Meanwhile, Trickster looked at the bazooka in his hand with black ashes on his face.

It was heavy, so it was inconvenient to carry, but wasn't bad with its level of destructive power. Trickster hugged the bazooka with a satisfied face.

'It's a good thing I brought it.'

He held it lovingly, like it was a pet.

Trickster hummed as he walked down the road. Footprints were embedded across pitch black ashes. 

'I'm very lucky today. There is no problem with my newly-developed darling, and I even got something for free!'

Trickster laughed and rummaged through his pocket. Seeing the twinkling golden dog tag, he smiled happily.

"You are my treasure number 79."

Where would he put it? If he left it at headquarters, it might get damaged, so he'd better keep it in the basement safe, right?

'No, no. I won't be able to see it then.'

Hm. It would be better to order a specially-made glass tube. It could be made to be very strong so that it would never break.

As soon as his thoughts reached that point, he wanted to get out of this place as quickly as possible, even by a minute or a second.

Trickster cherished the golden dog tag around his neck. He needed to show this to the guys right now. What kind of face would everyone make? Maybe they'd be surprised?

It was when he turned the corner with an excited step.

"…Oh?"

[Lv.40 'Giant Fire Moth' flaps its wings. Warning. The ambient temperature rises rapidly!]

Right when he was looking for it, the boss monster directly revealed itself. Thanks to it, he could save himself some trouble.

Trickster paid attention to the purple gem embedded in the centre of its body.

It was the core.

He needed it to go back and get out. He didn't have any more business here. Trickster balanced the bazooka he was carrying on his shoulder.

Kachak.

The moment he loaded the bazooka—.

Whoosh! Bang!

"Eh?"

Kieeek… 

He hadn't done anything yet, but the boss monster just fell to the floor.

Trickster alternated between looking at the boss monster crawling on the floor and his bazooka. He hadn't attacked yet…? Did he have auto-attack enabled?

Aha, it seemed that his colleagues had already arrived. Those guys, it was amazing how their skills improved by every passing day.

Flap… Flap flap flap!

The fire moth that fell to the ground trembled and shook its wings. It was like a cockroach that had been directly hit with pesticides.

A thick liquid was smeared on the floor following its faint movements.

[Lv.40 'Giant Fire Moth' brings out its embers. Warning. It will explode soon.]

As if it had been doused with oil, flames began to spread slowly along the wings in leaf-like outlines. They couldn't steal the last hit. The moment Trickster straightened his bazooka.

"Stay back, kid."

An unfamiliar voice was heard. It wasn't a colleague's voice.

He lifted his head and saw a slender figure hovering over the blazing fire.

Swish!

The figure walked nearer and cleared the flames with a single gesture.

As if taming the flame, she repeated the movement until the fire died down at her touch.

"Uh…"

The identity of the figure was a woman in a white t-shirt and jeans, her dark hair tied up high.

Who are you? He didn't even have the time to ask that.

Eunha passed by the boy just like that and approached the fire moth that had fallen face-flat onto the ground. She then grabbed the monster's half-ablaze wings. 

'Bare-handedly?'

Trickster's eyes widened a little as he watched it. Her actions alone proved that she wasn't an ordinary person.

Trickster lowered the bazooka in his grip and watched her actions.

Flap! Flap!

The fire moth struggled to get out of her hands, but she never let go of its wings. Instead, she put more strength into her arms, pulling both sides at the same time.

Split—

'Woah.'

The wing had been helplessly torn and fell to the floor like a piece of toilet paper. At the vivid scene, Trickster whistled slightly.

Originally, it was fundamental to suppress the wings of flying-type monsters. But to tear it off… 

It was common for hunters to use their own abilities or weapons that fit their battle class when dealing with monsters.

It was really the first time he'd ever seen someone grab and tear a monster with bare hands.

'Is she part of the physical strengthening class?'

If so, then that explained it. However.

'What are you going to do about the explosion?'

He couldn't ignore the fact that the moth that was pushed to a corner would self-destruct.

The thing was already burning red all over its body.

No matter the fact that she could physically strengthen herself, serious injuries were unavoidable if she was hit with an explosion only a few centimetres in front of her.

Trickster grabbed the bazooka he had lowered.

The show wasn't bad, but at the moment, he had to step up. He didn't want to see her go off like a firecracker in front of his eyes.

However.

'…The light is gone?'

Trickster's face was dyed in joy as he stared at her, but it turned serious in an instant.

The flames that covered the wings were extinguished.

—No, no.

The fire wasn't extinguished, but absorbed.

Trickster looked carefully. The flames vanished into her palms, like she was taming the fire.

'A nature-type hunter?'

He was suddenly convinced of that.

She had put out the fire in some way. Did she deal with it using the opposite attribute, water? Maybe she had dealt with the fire itself.

If she was a hunter with a nature-based attribute, he couldn't have not known about her. This was because there were so few nature-type hunters in Korea. So, where did this woman come from?

Eunha didn't stop until she tore off every last bit of its wings.

Rip—

Kieeeek!

Finally, the moth's movement came to a standstill after its ear-shattering screech.

She even knew the strategy to attack the monster.

It was a monster that had the form of a moth. Among insect-type monsters, they were on the weaker side in terms of destructive power and defence compared to stag beetles and wasps.

However, as it was a boss monster, its endless spewing of fire and vast wings made it difficult to deal with. But it also meant that it was nothing without its fire and wings.

And she had taken care of its fire and wings at the same time.

'In a very simple way at that.'

Eunha trampled the moth with all its wings torn off.

Stomp, stomp, stomp.

At her kicks, the moth's head was gradually buried in the ashes. The appearance was alien and familiar at the same time, and it felt like she had repeated the action dozens or hundreds of times.

By the time she stopped kicking it, the head had changed to an unrecognisable shape that resembled crushed garlic.

'D-did you have to go that far…'

It was the first time in his life that he felt sorry for a monster. In the end, she delivered a final blow with brutal certainty.

Thump—!

A thick liquid spread widely over the dark ashes. Even as Trickster furrowed his brow at the foul stench, the woman turned her head towards his direction with an unchanging expression on her face.

'Heuk…'

The purple blood of the monster had splattered like paint on her pale, bloodless face.

Snap.

Eunha stepped on the already dead thing's antenna once more.

Eunha stood in front of the boy and inadvertently rubbed her cheek with the back of her hand. However, she still had blood on it as she bent her knees slightly and brought herself to eye level with the boy.

"Are you hurt anywhere?"

A drop of blood dripped down along her thin jawline. Trickster, who was staring at the bloodstains on the floor, slowly raised his head.

"…N-no."

He had used honorifics without thinking.