Free Web NovelAt first, I thought maybe he just didn’t know my name. But Do Yehyun had been right there when I signed the contract. It’s not like he didn’t know it. Unless he couldn’t read Hangul.
“Doesn’t matter, does it? Joo Seowon calls me Seo Jehyun too.”
“Still, how could I...? I’m younger, I shouldn’t just call you by name.”
Then what the hell does that make me, who’s been calling Joo Seowon by name?
He was so damn stiff about it that I just shrugged. Yehyun sat there /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ pretending to think it over for a while, then finally gathered his courage and called me:
“Then... hyung-nim.”
“......”
Great. I tell him to quit calling me Hunter-nim, and now I’m a mob boss. Fucking perfect.
***
A few days later, I went to the Neo Core building to meet Sung Eunha. I told the receptionist on the first floor I was here to see her, and she told me to wait.
I don’t know how long I sat there before I finally saw a tired-looking woman approach from the distance.
Name: Sung Eunha
Age: 31
Rank: E
Title: –
Main Skills: Flame Beam (E), High-Temperature Furnace (E)
Growth Limit: C
With her hair tied back in a ponytail and glasses on, she looked a little smaller than I’d imagined. She studied me carefully before slowly speaking.
“You were asking for me?”
“Yes.”
“Um... and you are?”
I’d spent the past few days seriously considering how best to reel her in, and I figured the most direct approach was best.
“Would you happen to be looking for an assistant?”
Right now, Sung Eunha was completely immersed in magi-engineering, so much so she spent entire days buried in her research. Her funding was a little thin, sure, but that sort of thing never stopped love.
The best way to get close to someone in love was to act like a fellow fanatic. Otaku 101: nothing hits harder than another otaku in the same field. Look at professors. They see some bright-eyed undergrad and—bam—straight into grad school.
“...Excuse me?”
“On your days off from Neo Core, or whenever’s convenient, or whenever you happen to need help, I can work for you free of charge. If you need it, I can even support you personally.”
“...Huh?”
She blinked, looking utterly confused. I gave her my brightest smile.
“I’ve read all of your papers, and they’re just... beautiful.”
“...What?”
“I want so badly to be your assistant, I haven’t been able to sleep lately!”
At first, she tried to take me seriously, but then her expression shifted—like she was staring at a lunatic.
“I can give you whatever support you need, so please, just take me on as your assistant.”
“R-right now, I...”
What the hell. Short on manpower, short on funding, and she’s acting like she wants to run? Sure, she looked like she wanted to escape from the crazy guy who’d just cornered her, but I stuck to the act. Because in the end, this was the best way.
“Ah, I’m sorry. I got too worked up... Do you happen to have time right now?”
“I... do, but...”
“Oh, that’s wonderful! I can’t believe this day has come. Ah, was I too aggressive? I apologize, I just love magi-engineering so much—”
Still looking bewildered, she sat down, and the moment she did, I launched into a monologue about the history of magi-engineering.
***
In the end, my conversation with Sung Eunha went well.
At first, she looked at me like I was a raving maniac, but once the talk shifted deeper into magi-engineering, at some point she started speaking up on her own. After I cracked the dam, all I had to do was nod along. “That’s amazing. Truly moving. Beautiful. My god. The best!”
“Ahem! Well then, if you give me your number, I’ll—”
“Of course. Call me here. Don’t forget.”
That was basically a promise. Hopefully she’d reach out soon. Before I joined SH Guild, I wanted her to process at least one item for me.
I’d just left Neo Core and was about to hail a taxi back to the hotel when my phone rang. It was Joo Seowon, and the first thing out of his mouth was a random question.
“Why?”
—Are you seriously joining SH?
“What’s with you all of a sudden?”
What the hell? Did Haeseong put out an announcement about crushing SH or something? But instead of explaining, Seowon just asked me where I was.
—Where are you right now?
“Just left the Neo Core building.”
—Neo Core? What the... never mind. You wouldn’t get it even if I explained. Anyway, did you see the news? A Gate just opened in Sokcho.
“The news? No.”
A Gate in Sokcho? I put in my earbuds, held the phone up, and searched for the article.
[Breaking News] A-rank Gate Appears in Sokcho, Gangwon Province — Residents Ordered to Evacuate
Sokcho. A-rank Gate. That sounded familiar.
—That used to be a C-rank Gate. And the entire SH Guild is inside right now. They’re all fucked, aren’t they?
Ah.
I remembered. The Sokcho A-rank Gate. It had come up as a brief anecdote when Kwon Taehan was recalling his time in SH Guild. A rare case where a C-rank Gate suddenly spiked to A-rank as the mana fluctuations skyrocketed.
The SH Guild members had almost been wiped out but managed to escape. Because Haeseong sent backup. Im Haekyung himself, no less.
Wait. If SH Guild was in there now, maybe this was worth checking out. Nothing could earn me points with SH faster than this. And with Im Haekyung around, the safety would be... reasonably guaranteed. ...Right?
“They’re not going to look at me as some kind of appraiser and kill me, are they?”
Well, yeah. Keeping an appraiser chained to you with contracts and conditions was a hassle. Plundering one was easier.
Still, I made up my mind quickly.
“Seowon, where are you?”
—Why... why?
“Drive me to Sokcho.”
—No way. Absolutely not.
“I’m not telling you to go inside.”
—It’s A-rank, for fuck’s sake! Are you insane?
“Bring the car. Right now. Better to go in immediately.”
If he wanted me to stay out, he shouldn’t have said anything in the first place. I ignored his shouting and hung up.
(URL attached)
Hurry up.
I texted him my location and went back to the breaking news page. The articles were all short, as you’d expect in a developing situation.
Sokcho. Even on the highway it would take more than two hours to get there. And even then, would we even be able to get past the cordons and into the Gate?
“Best case, I wait until Im Haekyung shows up, ask for a ride in, hang back quietly, and just extract the SH hunters.”
I don’t know how long I waited, but eventually I spotted Seowon’s car pulling up. The moment I buckled in, he started running his mouth.
“You’re really going? Maybe you should look into another guild... Wait. In the future you saw, is it safe?”
“I don’t know everything. But Haeseong’s supposed to send backup.”
“Really? Then it’s safe?”
“Probably.”
If Haeseong shows up, then yeah. If not, well, nothing to be done.
“If they don’t, then we don’t go in.”
“...That’s a relief, at least.”
Still, it was odd that Haeseong would back SH up when they were supposedly on the shit list. Normally, I’d just accept it, but with what Seowon had told me, it made me wonder. Was there an ulterior motive? Or just an S-rank hunter doing his duty?
I reclined my seat and glanced at my phone. Someone near the Gate was streaming live on social media. Thank god for clout-chasing morons.
[I’m in Sokcho right now! An A-rank dungeon just opened! Oh my god, I’m terrified... They said it was C-rank, then suddenly the fluctuations spiked to A-rank! It could even break! What if I get caught in a dungeon break? The police are everywhere! See this? Civilians aren’t allowed past here! Please like and subscribe, I’m risking my life for you guys!]
Idiot. He had his phone shoved right up against the police line. But hey, at least it gave me an unfiltered live feed of the scene.
The rift in the air looked like the world itself had been ripped open, big enough to trigger a break any second. And inside... it was snowing.
A world could really flip overnight. For the people here, for me. I stared blankly at the screen, then turned to the window. Of course, outside it was October in Korea—clear skies, no snow in sight.
As he drove, Seowon suddenly asked,
“Why did you go to the Neo Core building?”
“To meet someone who works there.”
“An employee?”
“Yeah. A talented magi-engineer.”
“Magi-engineering...? Out of nowhere?”
“Figured I’d learn a bit.”
I answered casually, and he immediately started rattling off like a machine gun.
“What the fuck are you talking about? Learn what from Neo Core? We’re heading to Sokcho for SH and you’re screwing around with Neo Core?!”
“I don’t care about Neo Core. I care about that magi-engineer.”
“Why? Why?”
Why was he being so nosy? I gave him a look, and he must’ve noticed because he babbled in a rush.
“No, I mean—what are you planning to do with her? You’re not gonna steal her magi-engineering tech or something, right?”
“Of course that’s why I met her.”
What else? Volunteering? I did that enough already, no need to keep it up now.
“You—wait, she actually agreed? That’s leaking tech, you know.”
“If it doesn’t work, I’ll make it work.”
I made sure to sound determined, but instead of reassured, Seowon just gave me a weird look. What was that expression for? When I stared back, he hesitated and finally admitted, frёewebnoѵēl.com
“It’s just... the way you said it, I half expected you to beat it out of her...”
“Want me to beat it out of you instead?”
“No.”
What the hell does this bastard take me for?
It took over two and a half hours, but when we finally reached Sokcho, the place was already locked down. Police lines everywhere, patrol cars, ambulances. Reporters swarming the area.
“You... think you can get through this?”
“Why not.”
I started to get out, but Seowon called after me again.
“Wait—don’t hit civilians.”
“What?”
“You’re gonna try to push through, right? If you start knocking people around, they’ll die. And don’t hit cops either. Got it?”
So that’s what he was so desperate about. I slammed the door shut and gave him a look dripping with contempt.
“Hey! Don’t ignore me!”
