[We have to hurry, Ji-eun. One of the KTX trains has already…!]
“Damn it. My ass is already on fire, so stop talking to me!! Hah, hah.”
This guy was great, but his nagging was a serious problem. With that thought, Ko Ji-eun of the Blue Sword Guild ran so fast it felt like her eyebrows would fly off. Ko Ji-eun was the most elite Knight in the Blue Sword Guild.
A monstrous greatsword that didn't suit her slender frame and a bold fighting style. This dissonant charisma had made Ko Ji-eun a celebrity, famous enough to have her own fan club. She was currently running with a deep scowl on her face.
This kind of mobile warfare was what she hated most. It wasn't because of the weight of her huge greatsword. It was just annoying to have to track down and beat up Monsters one by one.
Her preferred method of combat was to drive herself into a dangerous area and annihilate all the Monsters at once. Although she disliked mobile warfare, as a baseline A-rank Knight, her running speed was faster than most cars. Ko Ji-eun could soon see the KTX train with her own eyes, and as always, a rough curse escaped her lips.
“Shit.”
Four of the train's cars had already toppled over. Her eyes narrowing, she sent a communication to her Guild Leader.
“It’s the work of the Taurus that broke through the Safe Lines. Looks like there will be dozens of injured. I think… there might be deaths, too. I’ll send the coordinates, so send three healers.”
[I’ll send them right away. You don’t need any combat support?]
“Don’t need it.”
[You said it’s a Taurus. Their rank may be low, but…]
Click.
Ko Ji-eun cut off the communication. This level of nagging was a sickness, she thought.
“You’ll pay the price for making me go through this hell.”
Ko Ji-eun also knew that the Taurus’s Charge skill had a destructive power of Physical Level A or higher. But this kind of power struggle was exactly the style Ko Ji-eun preferred. Either their four horns would break, or her bones would break.
It would be one of the two. It could be dangerous if she took a direct hit from their attack, but the Blue Sword Guild's current forces weren't in a position to carelessly request support. An enormous number of Monsters had burst out, enough to crumble the Safe Lines that had never once been breached.
Clang.
Ko Ji-eun drew the greatsword from her back and leaped. As if to mock the fact that she held a greatsword in her hand, she flew dozens of meters in a single leap. Just as the greatsword, easily over two meters long, was about to glint under the sun, she had to relax her arms.
“Huh?”
Even from a distance, she had felt a sense of unease. The Taurus, which should have been ramming into things nonstop, were gathered together. But when she got closer and checked, the Taurus were slumped on the ground.
No, they were beyond slumped; they were already dead. Their necks were twisted at bizarre angles.
“What… in the world…”
Was it the aftereffect of colliding with the KTX? Ko Ji-eun considered it, but then shook her head violently. Although the train’s frame was much sturdier than in the old days, it wasn't strong enough to withstand a Taurus’s Charge.
In fact, they should be thankful the train cars had merely toppled over instead of being sent flying.
‘It definitely looks like they collided with something…’
Ko Ji-eun turned her eyes and began to assess the surrounding scene. First, she should be thankful there was no secondary damage. She reconnected to the communication channel she had cut off.
Beep.
[Didn’t I tell you not to cut off communications during combat…!!!]
“Situation’s over.”
[…Already?!]
“I didn’t do it. When are the healers coming?”
[There are too many injured Hunters. For now, one C-ranker is on the way.]
“What? How is one C-ranker supposed to treat this many injured people?”
[We’re barely managing to re-establish the Safe Lines, so you try to manage the people there.]
“You irresponsible piece of…”
Just as another string of vicious curses was about to erupt from Ko Ji-eun, her mouth suddenly stopped. It was because people were coming out of the train in groups.
“Huh?”
Even in an age where Gates and Monsters were familiar, seeing a tragedy and experiencing it were on completely different levels. People who were directly struck by a Monster would all fall into a state of panic. But the expressions on the faces of the people inside the train were strangely calm.
They were even lining up in two rows (!) and slowly carrying out their luggage.
“What in the world is going on here.”
Ko Ji-eun approached the people with wide eyes. She laced her voice with Ether and shouted to everyone around.
“Everyone! A healer will be here soon! Please raise your hand if you saw a critically injured person in your train car!”
“Oh? It’s Hunter Ko Ji-eun! I saw you in a commercial!”
“That’s not important right now, the patients…”
“There are no patients.”
A man who looked to be a college student pointed inside the train with his thumb.
“The person inside healed everyone. He took care of those bulls, too.”
“What?!”
Ko Ji-eun couldn't believe her ears.
‘Beating up a Taurus’ and ‘Healing’.
Weren't these two abilities that couldn't coexist? If one person could fight and heal on their own, what would be the point of classifying Hunters?
“Are you from the Blue Sword Guild?”
A voice reached the confused Ko Ji-eun's ear. It was a voice even younger than the college student she had just spoken with. A sharp-featured man leaped from on top of the train and landed in front of her.
“The patients have mostly been treated. There were about nine critical patients, but they’re fine now.”
Healed nine critical patients in an instant? Ko Ji-eun had built a wall between herself and studying during her school days, but right now, she had to run her brain at full capacity. A healer who could patch up critical patients in a flash and take care of dozens of injured people at once.
Considering the healing power and the time it took, he had to be at least an A-ranker. She carefully studied the face of the man before her. He looked a little sharp, but he was a handsome man she had never seen before.
‘Son Jun-gi… no, he’s better looking than that guy.’
There weren't many A-rank Healers, but if there was one this strikingly handsome, there could only be one in all of Korea. The healer who had made a grand entrance, cleaned up a Poison Dungeon, and was walking the path of a hero. The Hunter that reporters were doing all sorts of things just to get one interview with.
“Are you… Hunter Cheon Hae-seon?”
“Yes.”
Cheon Hae-seon answered curtly, then hopped around the rice paddies here and there. What is he doing? Why is he acting like that?
But her curiosity was short-lived, as something else caught Ko Ji-eun’s eye.
‘He’s really agile.’
Though she hated running, Ko Ji-eun had some skill in battle technique herself. But Cheon Hae-seon’s movements had a special quality that went beyond mere battle technique. Something different from the movements of a typical high-rank Hunter.
She had discerned that Cheon Hae-seon’s Poison Step was no ordinary movement. Cheon Hae-seon, having retrieved something from the paddy, stood before Ko Ji-eun again. In his hands were cone-shaped lumps of metal.
“I got these before Blue Sword arrived, so… I can take them, right?”
Only then did Ko Ji-eun realize that the objects were the horns of a Taurus. The Horn of Taurus was exceptionally strong, making it a perfect material for Hunter devices. It showed excellent performance not only in weapons like swords and spears but also in shields.
But to Ko Ji-eun, whether he took the horns or not was not an important issue at all.
“That person earlier said you caught the Taurus, is that true, Hunter Cheon Hae-seon?”
“Yes.”
“H-how?”
The Difficulty for a Taurus was 4-star. Its physical level reached B-rank, and its Charge skill possessed power even greater than that. And he killed not one, but four of them?
A healer, all alone? In Ko Ji-eun’s vision, Cheon Hae-seon was gently scratching the back of his neck. It was a gesture she herself sometimes made.
When something was really annoying to explain.
“Just, you know.”
“Just… you know…?”
At the clear sign of annoyance, Ko Ji-eun let out a hollow laugh. Even the representative of the Blue Sword Guild didn't treat her with such indifference. The handsome young man before her seemed to have no interest in anything other than the Horn of Taurus.
“The Blue Sword Guild can handle the Cores. As you can see, my hands are full.”
“No, please explain in a little more detail…”
“The closest station from here is… let’s see…”
He pretended to be searching for something, but his hands remained as they were. As if something would automatically appear if he just stood like that. She started to think that he was a strange guy in many ways.
“I have to get to the terminal, right? I should get my license quickly.”
Cheon Hae-seon grumbled like that, then gave Ko Ji-eun a slight bow.
“Please manage the people here. Since it’s your jurisdiction, I’m sure you’ll do a fine job.”
“Wa-wa-wa-wait a minute.”
“Yes?”
Ko Ji-eun instinctively blocked his path. It was because the representative of the Blue Sword Guild, Kim Seung-hwan, came to her mind. If Kim Seung-hwan found out she met Cheon Hae-seon and just let him go, he might nag her for a whole year.
Weren't all the guilds desperately trying to recruit Cheon Hae-seon? Letting him slip away right in front of her? For the future of the Blue Sword Guild, and for her own mental health, she couldn't let that happen.
“It must be fate that you helped us like this, so I was thinking we could help you on your way.”
“…How?”
For the first time, Ko Ji-eun smiled in front of Cheon Hae-seon. We might be short on Hunters, but are we short on money? It was what Kim Seung-hwan always said.
“By air.”
“The age restriction for a driver's license doesn't apply to Hunters. You can get one as early as tomorrow.”
“Oh. Really?”
“I can't believe the great Hunter Cheon Hae-seon didn't know that. Didn't you read the guidebook you received at the license ceremony?”
“I don't really like reading books.”
“Hahaha. My, my. It seems I've been helpful to you in many ways today, Hunter Cheon Hae-seon.”
“I suppose so.”
Ko Ji-eun chuckled as she watched the conversation between Kim Seung-hwan and Cheon Hae-seon. They’re getting along better than I thought. As soon as the situation was under control, Kim Seung-hwan arrived at the scene in a helicopter and immediately turned it toward Gaebang District, where Cheon Hae-seon lived.
For Cheon Hae-seon, who didn't even have a license, let alone a car, the offer of transportation was quite sweet, and Kim Seung-hwan, as expected, rushed over and got him on the helicopter. She was horrified when Kim Seung-hwan started nagging Cheon Hae-seon as soon as they introduced themselves, but Cheon Hae-seon listened to him obediently.
Somehow, he seemed to have a high ‘resistance’ to nagging. Does someone in his family nag him a lot?
‘No way, right?’
Wasn't Cheon Hae-seon treated as a ‘hero’ among people, even if he wasn't affiliated with a guild? She couldn't quite imagine him getting nagged by his family.
“If you join our Blue Sword Guild, a private helicopter would be no problem. Haha.”
The problem with Kim Seung-hwan was that he was an excessive nagger; in other aspects, he was flawless. His refreshing appearance and cheerful personality were the epitome of a ‘bright and positive person.’
“I’m not thinking of joining yet. I already belong to a Clan.”
“I'm not asking you to decide right now. Our Blue Sword Guild plans to aggressively expand our jurisdiction starting this year. We plan to take over a part of the Seoul area assigned to the Glory Guild.”
“Glory Guild?”
At the mention of the Glory Guild, Cheon Hae-seon, who had been looking out the window, turned his head. It was a clear expression of interest. Ah, come to think of it, didn't he say he lives in Gaebang District?
Although her eyes were on her phone, Ko Ji-eun perked up her ears and paid close attention to their conversation.
“Yes. This is confidential, but…”
Kim Seung-hwan leaned in closer to Cheon Hae-seon. He’s going to talk about that. It was a story Ko Ji-eun had also recently heard from Kim Seung-hwan.
An incident that the Association, the media, and the Glory Guild were desperately trying to hide.
“One of the Glory Guild research labs was reportedly blown up. That in itself is a serious matter, but what’s more significant is…”
At the words that followed, Cheon Hae-seon’s pupils wavered ever so slightly.
“A Hunter who entered the research lab that day has gone missing. Yoo Ji-won. I’m talking about the son of the Vice Chairman of the Hunter Association.”