Chapter 12
Seoul has a total of 25 districts.
In each district, a veteran Hunter known as the 'district representative'—one of the most renowned Hunters in Korea—serves as team leader and directs field operations.
The public believed that 25 veteran Hunters were managing supernatural phenomena in Seoul… but the reality was a little different.
Seoul has 25 districts, and 25 veteran Hunters assigned to them.
But even if they were all called district representatives, their abilities weren't all equal.
As a result, Seoul's Hunter landscape was effectively divided into five regions based on where people lived and worked.
The central region, centered around Jung-gu.
The northwest region, centered around Mapo-gu.
The southwest region, centered around Guro-gu.
The southeast region, centered around Gangnam.
And the northeast region, centered around Nowon-gu.
Those were the five regions.
At the heart of each was a Hunter known as an 'old hand,' someone ranked even above veteran Hunters, who represented and managed their region.
Team Leader Myo, the representative Hunter for Nowon-gu, was one such old hand.
In emergencies involving supernatural phenomena, they were granted absolute authority. For a brief moment, they could even be said to stand above all public authorities, including the police, the military, and the law.
And so.
"Isn't Team Leader Myo kind of scary…?"
"Kind of? Hey, you're pretty gutsy. I piss myself every time I make eye contact, so I wear diapers."
"Come on, I pissed myself the first few times too. After doing it so often, I got used to it. Oh, I know a good brand of adult diapers. Want me to send you the link?"
"Sure, send it over."
Among the Hunters of the northeast region, the saying that you should never make eye contact with Team Leader Myo had been passed down like a proverb.
Sometimes, if they had an operation together, it even led to the bizarre phenomenon of Hunters showing up in diapers.
That was how bad it was.
"Hey, has anyone here ever seen Team Leader Myo show emotion on her face?"
"How would we see her expression when we can barely even look her in the eye?"
"What expression? Hey, I've never even heard her voice."
"Team Leader Myo doesn't speak much unless it's work-related."
"Could Team Leader Myo perhaps have no human emotions at all?"
"That makes sense…!"
Among the Hunters, rumors spread that Team Leader Myo had forgotten human emotions after spending so long as a Hunter.
Or that she'd traded away her human emotions to reach her current position.
But any Hunter who heard those rumors and saw what was happening now would realize they were nothing more than rumors.
That was because…
"Hmm… The soil over here is a little bland. Let's go back."
The Hunter wearing a name tag that read [Kang Yul] said this as he dipped a finger into the dirt and sucked it clean.
Then he retraced his steps and started walking in the opposite direction from the one he'd just been heading in.
"Ah, the soil this way is sweeter than before. I think this is the right direction."
Then, after leaving the trail and reaching an overgrown area, he scooped up a handful of dirt and tossed it into his mouth.
Soon, he smiled like a child who'd found a sweet dessert and strode forward without hesitation.
"This sweetness is like chewing on a premium chewy cookie marshmallow. We're close."
Team Leader Myo couldn't understand a word that being was saying.
Soil was supposed to be dry and gritty when you chewed it. How on earth could it feel like chewing a premium chewy cookie marshmallow?
"It's here. This is the sweetest spot. It must be somewhere around here."
But before long, Team Leader Myo gave up trying to understand.
Although Team Leader Myo had also strayed a little from the bounds of humanity to achieve her goals, there was no way to understand something that had so openly abandoned its humanity.
So Team Leader Myo decided to trust only what she could see before her.
[Skill 'Myo's Eye' activated.]
[This action will work in your favor as a masterstroke.]
She couldn't understand it, and it made absolutely no sense, but…
Everything that being did was a masterstroke in Team Leader Myo's eyes.
Team Leader Myo recalled what had happened so far.
.
.
.
"Somewhere in this forest, a sentient entity that spreads spores is hiding. We need to find it."
[Skill 'Myo's Eye' activated.]
[This action will work in your favor as a masterstroke.]
"From what I've found, there's an area in the forest hidden by an illusion barrier. I think the sentient entity is hiding in there."
[Skill 'Myo's Eye' activated.]
[This action will work in your favor as a masterstroke.]
"Hmm… Come to think of it, the soil around this mushroom is strangely sweet… Ah, could it be making the surrounding soil tasty? If so, I might be able to find it. So, give me a moment… Munch, munch… Hmm…! That's the taste…! Ahem. Anyway, let's head this way."
[Skill 'Myo's Eye' activated.]
[This action will work in your favor as a masterstroke.]
.
.
.
"…"
Remembering that whole series of events made Team Leader Myo dislike the being before her even more.
It behaved in a repulsive way, sometimes even leering at her chest…
And it was a suspicious being with a much denser mana presence than she'd expected.
…But.
"I found the illusion barrier. Looks like there's a fairly deep underground cavern inside. No wonder we hadn't found it until now."
[Skill 'Myo's Eye' activated.]
[This action will work in your favor as a masterstroke.]
It was capable enough to find the source of the erosion in just three hours, when the Association hadn't managed to find it in over three years.
It also had the rational judgment to propose a 'contract prohibiting the disclosure of its identity' so it could blend into human society.
That made this being useful.
Its abilities would help Team Leader Myo achieve the goal she was determined to accomplish.
"Ah, …should I take some dirt with me…?"
Rustle, rustle—
Though it still regularly displayed strange behavior—like shoveling dirt into its mouth or stuffing it into its pockets—because it wasn't very good at imitating a human…
Taking care of that would be Team Leader Myo's role from now on.
"By the way, Team Leader Myo."
"Go ahead."
"At this point, I think I've done my part. Can I start heading out? Our agreement only covered finding the source of the erosion, after all."
"Yes. Hunter Kang Yul has completed the assigned mission. The Association will take over from here."
"Then, the secret between us…"
"I'm planning to assign you as my direct Hunter, Hunter Kang Yul. It will only be on paper, but that alone should keep the Association from pestering you in the future."
"!"
And so, that day…
'At last, I can trade as much as I want without worrying about the Association! And even if it's only on paper, I'm assigned directly to Team Leader Myo… Does this mean I've made a connection? Team Leader Myo must've taken an interest in me!'
'I've put a bell on my direct Hunter, so once we get back, I'll have to find a way to put a leash on them.'
The rather peculiar relationship between Kang Yul and Team Leader Myo began…
But neither of them noticed the oddness of it before they said their goodbyes and parted ways.
#####
The day after returning from Suraksan.
───
[Title : ❗❗Breaking News: Suraksan Gate Disappears❗❗]
[Anonymous]
(Article about the representative Hunters for Nowon-gu and Dobong-gu removing the source of the Suraksan erosion)
Not a lie, yeah.
Heard they found the source of the erosion and the two representative Hunters who happened to be there took it out just like that.
Now land prices around Suraksan are gonna skyrocket lol?
───
[Comments]
[Why is this actually real?]
ㄴ[ㅋㅋ You too? Me too ㅋㅋ]
ㄴ[What? I figured it was obviously bait.]
ㄴ[The article says it's a special entity with an illusion barrier. How on earth did they find it?]
ㄴ[Heard a rookie Hunter who got high on spores went around tearing up the mountain and found it by accident?]
ㄴ[Excuse me??? Seriously????]
ㄴ[Here's the link to the bodycam footage the Association shared. Hold on.]
[Suraksan Exploration Bodycam <Link>]
ㄴ[Holy shit ㅋㅋ Looks like he was really high ㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
ㄴ[He was shoveling dirt into his mouth and eating mushrooms and making a huge scene ㅋㅋㅋ]
ㄴ[Doing all that with such clear eyes makes him look like a real lunatic;;]
ㄴ[What is he saying? Can't hear anything, so I have no idea.]
ㄴ[He was hallucinating, so he was probably saying whatever came to mind.]
ㄴ[Anyway, poor guy. They must've had to clean up a rookie Hunter's corpse.]
ㄴ[? No, that rookie Hunter's alive. There's even an article saying he signed a separate contract with the Association over this.]
ㄴ[Excuse me? What did you say??]
ㄴ[He survived that?]
ㄴ[Yeah, not sure how, but apparently his stomach was tough enough to withstand it?]
ㄴ[They say it's something related to his class.]
ㄴ[Shit ㅋㅋ And that's supposed to explain it?]
ㄴ[What is he, some barbarian warrior who eats supernatural creatures alive?]
ㄴ[A Hunter I know who was there said he's a wizard?]
ㄴ[Oh, this is no fun at all ㅋㅋ Don't lie ㅋㅋ]
ㄴ[So he's just a young man who likes eating dirt?]
ㄴ[Hey, you can't leave Mushroom-kun out of this!]
.
.
.
.
.
Even though only a day had passed, the disappearance of the Suraksan erosion had become quite a big story, drawing plenty of attention on the Gallery as well.
"Posts about me get an upvote from me."
Wriggle-?
﹝Anomaly﹞
: It feels deep affection for you?
"Ah, come to think of it, I didn't explain what happened yesterday…?"
Kang Yul recalled the conversation with Team Leader Myo before they parted ways yesterday.
.
.
.
"This incident is going to be made public through the media. Some information related to you, Hunter Kang Yul, will be made public in the process as well."
"Is there a reason you have to reveal information about me?"
"Three years have passed since the erosion at Suraksan began. The public—and the higher-ups—are bound to be interested in how we found it. Checking my bodycam footage is standard procedure."
"So you're saying my actions will be made public one way or another if we deal with the erosion."
"That's right. So we'll act first and make the details that come out look as coincidental as possible."
"That probably is the best option. Hmm… Then what should I do?"
"Just keep quiet. I'll handle the rest. And this is my number, so contact me if anything happens."
"In that case, I'll trust you to handle the rest, Team Leader Myo."
.
.
.
If Kang Yul had wanted to rise through the ranks as a Hunter affiliated with the Association, taking all the credit for this incident wouldn't have been a bad idea.
But all Kang Yul wanted now was a quiet life, mining in his own little(?) Gate while keeping his identity hidden.
So he was in the ironic position of having to reveal his identity in order to keep it secret…
'…Well, judging by the Gallery comments, it looks like Team Leader Myo handled things pretty well.'
But explaining even something like this to the Worm would be too complicated. Besides, the Worm didn't seem particularly curious about it.
So Kang Yul decided to give it a brief account of what had happened yesterday.
"Do you remember the dirt and mushrooms you ate yesterday?"
Wriggle-!
﹝Anomaly﹞
: It thinks the soil was pretty tasty.
"I went to a mountain full of that soil and those mushrooms for a while. A new friend I made asked me to find the nasty mushroom that had changed the mountain like that."
Wriggle-?
﹝Anomaly﹞
: It wonders if you brought that soil back.
"Oh, that? I tried to sneak some back, but it looked too dangerous, so I gave up. I heard there was something really dangerous deeper inside."
Kang Yul opened his status window and checked the Compendium, which had been updated yesterday when he found the illusion barrier.
Ding-!
───────────
[Gate Compendium] - [Spore Colony Forest]
- A forest transformed into a dreamlike realm by the mana of a Spore Colony.
- Somewhere in the forest, a 'Sentient Entity' that spreads Spore Drones is hiding.
- An area hidden by an illusion barrier exists in the forest.
- Inside the illusion barrier, a 'Guard Entity' protecting the 'Sentient Entity' is present.
※ The Guard Entity is an extremely aggressive and dangerous entity.
───────────
"A Guard Entity? Just looking at that, it seems obvious I'd lose if I fought it."
Kang Yul was greedy.
He was the sort of greedy person who'd charge into a reckless choice everyone else would give up on, thinking, 'Seems doable,' as long as there was even a sliver of a chance.
But the moment Kang Yul saw that Guard Entity, even he thought, 'Ah, I'd die if I fought that.'
For Kang Yul, who had no combat ability whatsoever, being told to fight a supernatural life-form (physically) was no different from being told to die.
"So I turned around right away and said I was going home, then got out of there."
Wriggle-!
﹝Anomaly﹞
: It feels deep affection for you!
: It thinks you could just eat the soil!
"I know. I thought maybe I could manage somehow if I summoned you, Worm. But I was in a situation where I couldn't summon a Gate."
Wriggle-!
﹝Anomaly﹞
: It feels deep affection for you!
"All right. If something like that happens again, I'll be sure to call you, so don't be mad."
Wriggle…!
﹝Anomaly﹞
: It feels deep affection for you.
: It wants to eat tasty soil.
"Sure. Let's go. I was planning to mine a lot of coal starting today anyway. We can pile it up and eat our fill."
Wriggle…?
﹝Anomaly﹞
: It feels deep affection for you?
"Why am I mining so much all of a sudden? That's simple."
Kang Yul looked at the contact for the first XX chromosome he'd ever saved on his smartphone.
[Team Leader Myo] : 010 - XXXX - XXXX
"I've got a way to sell a whole lot of it in bulk."
Kang Yul and Team Leader Myo were practically in the same boat now.
Just before they'd parted ways yesterday, Kang Yul had casually asked if he could sell some mana-rich coal of unknown origin. Team Leader Myo had told him she could give him an answer after checking its quality.
Wriggle…?
﹝Anomaly﹞
: It feels deep affection for you?
"What does that mean? Simply put, Worm, our lives are set! We can eat as much tasty soil as we want, three meals a day!"
Wriggle…!!!
﹝Anomaly﹞
: It feels deep affection for you!?!
The Worm stretched its body out and began trembling, as if to ask whether that was really true.
"That's right, that's right. It's true, Worm. So… you'll help me mine, right…?"
Wriggle-!
﹝Anomaly﹞
: It feels deep affection for you!
: It wants to eat tasty soil!!!
"Good! That's the spirit! Let's mine enough today to make up for what we couldn't mine yesterday!"
Wriggle-!
And so, that day…
Kang Yul and the Worm worked a twelve-hour mining shift without a break.
The following day, in the late afternoon…
Kang Yul and Team Leader Myo met at a quiet cafe near the Association building to have the coal's quality appraised.
And the result was…
"I'm sorry. This isn't something we can handle on our end."
"Excuse me?"
Kang Yul's proposal to sell his mana-rich coal was rejected outright.
"The quality is too good."
"Excuse me???"
And for the absurd reason that the quality was too good.