A Monster's remains could be either useful or useless for
several purposes.
If a monster's bones were sturdy and its skin tough, then they
could be recycled as base materials for making weapons to fight
against other Monsters, and if the Mana accumulated into the
heart and became a Mana Stone, then that Monster's carcass
would be used up as the basis for creating magic and miracles.
Miracles, because scientifically unexplainable magical effects
could be given to people and items they wield by the so-called
"enchanting" effect.
The one tasked with the disposal of the Monster remains was
the Government. This arrangement came about because those
in power wanted to correctly gauge the situation within the
Monster territory and to provide the adequate response if
needed; and also to prevent the greedy and money-craving
private entities from potentially defrauding the Knights or the
Hunters.
But the "The Monster Remains Disposal Through Public
Enterprises Act" couldn't be found anywhere else except only in
South Korea. That was why this country was called a Heaven for
people making a living off Monster remains and consequently,
there was a higher ratio of Knights, Mercenaries, and Hunters
among the Korean population.
"Two Brown Wolves. Here's the government reimbursement
of $880 as well as your new Low Tier Hunter license.
Congratulations on your promotion of rank, sir."
Currently, Sae-Jin was inside the government-run "Monster
Store" where the remains were disposed of. This was the place
where the remains could be sold, the various equipment bought,
and at the same time, get the administrative works done.
And that was to determine the ranking of the Hunters. This
was directly tied to his or her current results, while the said
results could be calculated via the number of Monsters hunted
down and killed. So, Hunter's union handed over the full
responsibility of assigning the hunter's rank to the Monster
Store a long time ago.
"The rest of the remuneration amount should be deposited
into the account number you have provided us with after the
final calculations are carried out. Anyways, isn't your
dismantling skill really great? And the achievements you have
piled up so far are also amazing... It's scarcely imaginable that
you've been a Hunter for only a month now."
The female government worker smiled as she spoke up to
here.
"....Is that right. Wasn't aware of it."
Maintaining his expressionless face, Sae-Jin just grabbed his
new Hunter license and turned on his heels to leave.
Sae-Jin received the title of Lowest Tier Hunter around 30
days ago. The registering process was really simple and easy. All
he had to do was to catch a single Monster and bring it in, thus
becoming a Hunter from then onwards.
After becoming a registered Hunter, Sae-Jin decided to sell
around 2~3 portions of Monster materials every 4 days or so.
More than that, it'd be too eye-catching and he might be seen as
someone suspicious, and due to his current condition, he'd
rather avoid such kind of attention with all his might.
Obviously, Sae-Jin wasn't the only person in the entire world
to possess a Trait but, nobody in their right minds would believe
the crazy talk of 'a Trait changing a person from a Human to a
Monster.' It'd be more believable, instead, to claim that a
The monster was posing as a human. Actually, there was an incident
like that not too long ago, and the new term Monster Man was
coined from that very incident.
'...40 minutes left.'
This Store was the closest to the Monster Field but to someone
like Sae-Jin whose very life was directly linked to the ticking
clock, he still had to leave quickly.
– Yesterday afternoon, around 7 o'clock. At the mountain
regions of Gangwon Province, a strange incident occurred in the
so-called 'Monster Field.'
Sae-Jin's footsteps were halted by the sounds drifting from a
television. The interior of the Monster Store was configured
similarly to that of a modern bank and for those waiting in
the queue, a hologram TV with absurd clarity was installed here.
-This was an incident in which one Brown Wolf rescued
Hunters from the dangers of getting eaten alive by another
Brown Wolf. Recorded by the Low Tier Hunter Mister Kim Tae-
Jo using a Recording Lens, these images were uploaded to Social
Networking sites and were widely shared by many people. Shall
we take a look?
The anchor stopped here, and the projection changed to the
playback of a blurry recording.
– Out of Mana bullets and his stamina depleted, stranded in a
life or death situation, Mister Tae-Jo runs into a starving Brown
Wolf. Unable to abandon his grievously wounded comrade,
Mister Tae-Jo resolves to meet the Wolf head-on and he grabs
the shotgun with both of his hands.
The ugly shape of the starving wolf threateningly growling
was the first image seen on the projection.
– He swings the rifle with all his might but as if he has given
up, Mister Tae-Jo closes his eyes.
Then the projection blacked out for a moment.
– When nothing happens after a passage of time, confused
Mister Tae-Jo ever so carefully reopens his eyes.
Now visible insight was an image of another Brown Wolf,
much bigger than the one before. The neck of the starving wolf
that threatened the Hunters was pierced by the fangs of this
creature.
– This giant Brown Wolf suddenly appeared and bit to death
the other wolf attacking Mister Tae-Jo. However, Mister Tae-Jo
still couldn't escape the feeling of despair. Because he thought
this giant Brown Wolf would surely kill him now. But, this Wolf
was different.
Instead of attacking, the Brown Wolf picked up the as-good-
as-dead fellow Hunter in its mouth before trotting off to
somewhere in a relaxed manner.
– Seemingly making a gesture with its head to follow it, the
wolf carries the fainted fellow Hunter and begins to head off to
an unknown place. Mister Tae-Jo watches on dazedly for a
moment before hurriedly getting up, cautiously following the
creature.
Walking for a while, the blurry images of the distant border
post finally appeared on the projection. Then the wolf put down
the Hunter in its mouth and returned to the forest.
– After seeing the border post that can help the injured
Hunter, this wolf lowers the man and coolly walks away.
The final shots were of the wolf's rear end, leisurely
sauntering away.
'....That was cool?!'
– Right now, this recording has gained incredible fame in
portal sites, Social Networking sites, and various community
chat rooms after being uploaded to Mister Tae-Jo's own SNS
profile. The netizens are showing hot reactions at the recording,
saying "Why does that wolf have such a handsome face? I want
to keep him, no, I want him to keep me", "I might fall in love
even if it's a Monster", "I nearly fainted at the broad,
dependable back in the final frame."
"Heuheum."
Sae-Jin's back straightened in pride for some reason. 'Was it
that cool?'
– After studying this strange incident, the experts are
cautiously theorizing that the wolf might be the 'growth type
Monster' or a Spirit Beast.
– "A growth-type Monster... there were a number of them in
the past but they have gone extinct for some time now. As the
the name implies it's a type of Monster that could grow. If it's a
Wolf, then it'll grow from Brown to Grey, from Grey to
Ebony...."
...It seemed that the experts' words always get cut off in the
middle.
– Yes, it's a really puzzling incident. If it's a Monster like that,
even I'm tempted by the prospect of being protected by it at
least once. And now, moving onto the next item. This
morning...
At the words of the beautiful anchor, Sae-Jin's face reddened
somewhat and he even coughed in embarrassment.
"Oho, how mysterious. I was out catching wolves yesterday,
now I feel a little bit regretful."
"But wasn't that an Ebony Wolf?"
"Still. Aren't they all wolves?"
From somewhere, the conversations of Hunters waiting in
the line could be heard.
Sae-Jin took a glance at the direction of the voices and
thought that their outward aura was no joke. On their backs,
they were carrying... bazookas?!
Feeling somewhat intimidated, Sae-Jin left the Monster Store
in a hurry.
***
Exiting the Store, he caught sight of the road packed with
throngs of people busy coming and going.
He couldn't help but wonder whether this was human being
ignorant to the inherent risk posed by the Monsters. Right next
to their doorsteps were the mountains of Gangwon Province,
the so-called Monster Field, yet he couldn't see a speck of worry
in the faces of the passing crowd, or from the skyscrapers tall
enough to stab the blue sky above.
Of course, the tallest building of them all was called the Eden
and it was considered the Holy Land of the Knights, and the fair
number of the crowd walking around should be either Knight
or Hunters that could single-handedly kill a Monster, so, well...
"....Fuu."
Sae-Jin grandly sighed out. He just wanted to vent his
frustration out. He felt wronged that all these people were
living their everyday normal lives yet why only he had to go
through such an unfair torment all alone. Unfortunately, he
didn't have a lot of time remaining to lament his troubles. He
only had 30 minutes of Human Form left.
– But I'm okay with it.
Sae-Jin was trying to return to the Monster Field but the
sound from an outdoor advertisement shown on a billboard
display entered his ear. His sense of hearing had sharpened up
considerably after receiving his Trait and he instinctively
turned his head towards the direction.
– Even if the injury is grave, even if all my limbs are broken
until I can't use them anymore, I'll fight on. I'm not doing it for
wealth and honor, but for the people out there.
The images were from an interview with a Knight, blood all
over his body, seemingly having prevented an attack from the
Monsters just now.
A pair of earnest-looking eyes, a manly jawline, hair dyed in
blonde – even Sae-Jin knew of this particular Knight. Treated as
the hottest commodity and appearing just about everywhere in
mass media and countless talk shows, and possessing a Trait
called "the Saviour of the Light," Knight Kim In-Soo.
– My name is Kim In-Soo, a Mid Tier Knight from the
Gaebyeok Knights Order. (Gaebyeok means Genesis. Left as it is
because, well, Genesis sounded too foreign.)
The advertisement promoting the Knights Order ended with
the images of Kim In-Soo's face superimposed on top of the
Order's Crest. Staring at the ad wordlessly, Sae-Jin's chest
tightened with equal parts of indescribable bitterness and
emptiness.
'It's also a Trait but... it's so different.'
Sae-Jin could only try to appease his aching heart and the
deep sadness dwelling within with a grand sigh, before pitifully
shuffling away.
His destination was the lonely and distant, impressive
mountain peak, slightly hidden from the view by the drifting
fog and clouds – the Monster Field.
It might have been incredibly dangerous there, but it was also
a paradoxical place where Sae-Jin of now could feel most at
home.