September 14, 2025.
It was a peaceful Sunday night, but the atmosphere in the office of the Blue House wasn't so good.
"Hey!"
Park Tae-seok, the 20th president of South Korea. He became president at a relatively young age of 53 and was a competent politician.
His unique charisma and determination made things go smoothly. Less than a year had passed since he was sworn in as president, but his achievements weren't limited.
Thanks to that, he gained great trust from the people. He also earned the honorable nickname of 'Bulldozer.'
"How dare you fuck me like this!"
Park Tae-seok had always maintained a poker face, but not that day. He threw a bunch of papers at the chief of staff next to him in a very anxious manner.
"How the hell do you deal with this? Why can't you just keep this stuff in order?"
"I'm sorry."
The chief of staff couldn't even raise his head. To be honest, he was on the verge of going crazy, but he didn't dare say anything back.
Park glared at a bunch of crumpled documents with eyes that looked like they would shoot a beam of light. Multiple curses came out of his mouth.
"Ichigon, you bastard! Fuck you bastard! What the hell is that bastard doing?!"
The curse words aimed at the president of the Hunter Association continued for a while. After a while, Park got up and gritted his teeth.
"Get the car on hold."
"Yes, sir!"
The chief of staff immediately responded and turned away. The moment he tried to leave the office, the door opened, and someone entered.
Not only the chief of staff but also the president were stunned for a while. Who dared to enter the president's personal library? The one who entered the building looked suspicious. It was a man that wore a thick hood.
"What… What?!"
The chief of staff stepped back in surprise. The president calmly opened a chest of drawers and held a pistol in his hand.
"Who are you? How did you get here?"
He spotted someone unconscious and scattered on the ground through the gap in the open door. The chief of staff turned pale. He sent a radio message to the security team in a hurry, but the line was silent.
"Security team, security–eok!"
Soon, the air in the office became heavy. As if being sucked into the depths of the sea, a tremendous sense of pressure weighed on the chief of staff. He couldn't hold on for a second and fainted.
"…"
The pressure evaded the president. Thanks to that, Park Tae-seok didn't lose consciousness, but he sweated a lot.
"… Who are you?"
Park Tae-seok suppressed his nervousness with a superhuman wit. Sweat dripped from his grip on the pistol he secretly held.
The unidentified man slowly moved his hand to remove his hood. Park Tae-seok felt his heart stop beating when he saw the face of the mysterious man.
"It's the first time I've actually met you, Mr. President. It's a little late, but congratulations on your election."
"You… You're here in Korea?"
"I just got back. Well, I'll be leaving again soon. I'm a very busy person. Whoops."
The unidentified man sat on the office sofa with a playful smile and said, "Can I talk to you?"
"…"
'Talk? You want to talk? How dare this little bastard try to deceive me?'
Park Tae-seok's anger boiled up, but he wasn't stupid enough to let it out. He gently put down his pistol and approached the sofa. No, it was no use to point a needle at a dragon.
"What kind of violence is this? Do you think your actions now can be forgiven?"
"Forgive me. Huhu."
The mysterious man laughed coldly and said, "Mr. President, do you know that forgiveness and tolerance are what the strong give to the weak?"
"… I am the president of this country." Park Tae-seok didn't back down and responded.
It was no exaggeration to say that he survived in the political arena with a bunch of thugs. However, it was inevitable that the brief time of arguing with that monster felt more difficult than his past political life.
The monster relaxed his expression and said softly, "Huhu. Well, I'm sorry for being a little rude. I don't know much about formalities because I'm short on education. Please forgive me with broad generosity."
"What's the matter? You didn't come to me to talk nonsense."
"You are cool. Of course, that's President Bulldozer. Whoo-hoo! Yeah. I like to be straightforward too, so let's get straight to the point."
The unidentified man shook his head for a few seconds before he opened his mouth.
"Mr. President."
"Say it."
"Don't do anything."
"… What?"
"It's exactly as it sounds. Don't do anything from now on, just stay put."
"Explain it so that I can understand."
"Don't try to do anything. For the rest of your term, you just have to enjoy and relax. Go on a trip with the First Lady and eat delicious food. Ah? I was in the Czech Republic not long ago, and it was great. The food is pretty good. It would be a good idea to go there this time."
The mysterious man raised himself and put on the hood again.
"I like people like you, Mr. President. So that's what I'm proposing."
"Are you kidding me?"
"Heh heh. A joke…"
Park Tae-seok bit his lips, and blood oozed out of the bitten area. The unidentified man just chuckled and laughed. At that very moment, an intangible force strangled the president. The president grabbed his neck in surprise but didn't succeed in alleviating it.
Soon, a formidable, pure hellish fear hit Park Tae-seok. His eyes darkened. He was so scared that he felt like he was going to pee.
The unidentified man spoke grimly. "There will be plenty of time to laugh and have fun. Think carefully."
"Oh god, get it off!"
"I'm sure you know what I mean because you're a smart man. We'll send one person. Don't ignore his message. This is a warning."
"Ah! Agh! Someone, save me…!"
"Once again, Don't do anything. Nothing."
The assailant disappeared suddenly and left only those words. Park Tae-seok was freed from the supernatural power and collapsed like a wet rag.
"Cough! Cough! Gasp, Gasp, Gasp, Gasp."
He stared blankly into space with the eyes of a dead fish. The monster had disappeared out of nowhere.
"Ahhh."
His body was still full of fear. Suddenly, he cried as if he had returned to being a child.
***
"Hey, what's this?"
The crippled tabletop was messy. A few pinches of salt, seaweed, and a slice of ham that had been roughly heated in the microwave.
Ko Byeong-gap chewed rice and looked at his phone.
"This is crazy. There's a monster in North Korea? A month ago?"
Yesterday, on a Sunday evening, the president of the Hunter Association called in reporters and held an exclusive press conference. What he said was absolutely devastating.
It was said that a Monster Wave occurred in a place that had no specific name and was simply called the Old North Korean Zone, but that date was over a month ago.
"That's a bummer."
It was only a few hours by car from Seoul.
Of course, the location of the Monster Wave occurred in the North Hamgyong Province, the northernmost part of the Korean Peninsula. Still, it felt terrifying that they had lived with a Monster Wave nearby for a month.
"I thought it would calm down now, but people would go crazy again."
He wondered if the public sentiment was finally stabilizing. The closed companies resumed operations, and the students returned to school normally.
Even when he went to the grocery stores, the long lines were long gone, but suddenly, there came a Monster Wave.
– Citizens, don't worry about anything and just engage in your business. In honor of the association, we will do our best not to cause any harm to the people.
"I'm glad they have a plan, though."
The government seemed to have an idea. It was guilds would work together to resolve the situation. The final goal wasn't only to put the Monster Wave to sleep but also to completely restore the northern part of the Korean Peninsula.
"Do it. The cracks in North Korea are all worth money. We can't leave it alone."
Ko Byeong-gap soon put down his cell phone and focused on eating. North Korea, Monster Wave, the higher-ups would take care of it. There was no reason for him to run out with his sword unless there was a monster that wandered around in front of his house.
"Let's make money. That way, I'll pay my debts, pay my mom's hospital bills, and even buy food for my children."
Ko Byeong-gap moved diligently. He went to Hongcheon-gun, Gangwon-do, to subjugate a B-rank crack that day.
"Keruk! Keruk!"
"That's right. Well done."
The skills of his attack squad improved day by day. Some almost mastered their low-grade textbooks and slowly passed over to the intermediate level.
'By the time all of them have taken their intermediate textbooks, we might be able to defeat A-rank cracks. Then, we can earn tens of thousands of won a day!'
He used to earn 600 to 700 thousand won a month, but currently, he could make tens of millions of won in one bite. It was simply a dream come true.
"Hah!"
Ko Byeong-gap smiled as he smashed a C-class monster, the Black Centipede, with a single blow. He wished that day would end sooner. His subjugations on B-rank cracks weren't always easy, but it went smoothly nonetheless.
He reached the boss monster in about 4 hours and 30 minutes after he entered the back world.
"Wooooo! Kook!"
"It's time to sharpen the blade. That's good."
A B-class, beast-type monster, Sharp Deer. It was a large deer-shaped monster with a shoulder height of 2 meters. The fangs that stuck out of its snout, as well as its rugged hind legs, were terrifying, but that's not all.
It had horns. The sharp horns that could rip everything they touch would cost a hunter his limbs, but for Ko Byeong-gap, it was just an alchemy material.
"He's a dangerous guy. Stay back."
"Yep!"
Ko Byeong-gap pulled out his sword and stepped forward. The Sharp Deer, who had lost all of his subordinates, stomped his feet with an angry force.
"Kook, kook, kook, kook!"
"Whit!"
When he provoked it with a whistle, the Sharp Deer rushed forward. It was like facing an armored car.
He concentrated his mind and exploded the strength of his body. At the same time, he skillfully searched for a gap in his enemy's movements.
'Right leg!'
He ran face to face with the target on his head. Ko Byeong-gap twisted his body just before colliding with the Sharp Deer and aimed for its right leg. However, it wasn't that easy. The Sharp Deer minimized the damage by evading his legs with his animal instincts just before being cut.
'Damn it. It's shallow.'
He couldn't amputate its leg with a single blow. The Sharp Deer immediately kicked his hind leg and aimed for Ko Byeong-gap.
"Huh!"
Ko Byeong-gap showed his flexibility and barely avoided it.
'I almost got hit.'
He and the Sharp Deer stood face to face again. It suffered a cut in one of its legs and left it unstable.
"Koook!"
The Sharp Deer rushed in again. Compared to a while ago, its momentum had softened a lot. Ko Byeong-gap was able to catch a gap more easily.
"Hah!"
Against his fiercely sharpened sword, the Sharp Deer's right leg was mutilated. Was that all? He straightened himself and cut his enemy's stomach.
"Kuah!"
In that gap, its intestines and blood flowed like a waterfall. Ko Byeong-gap had no intention of giving it a second.
His fierce offensive continued. The Sharp Deer was unable to rebel in the face of brutal violence since it lost mobility and was fatally wounded. Soon after, the Sharp Deer completely collapsed with the scream of death.
It was his victory.
***
"Organize the loot separately."
"Yep! Thank you for your hard work!"
"Oh, come on."
After he took a bath, Ko Byeong-gap was seen off by the Goblins and left Ashvilam.
He went to a B-rank and C-rank crack that day. His body felt heavy, but his mind was so light that he felt like flying.
"Oh, it's worth it!"
He returned to Seoul with a refreshed body in his car. It was around five or six in the afternoon when he arrived.
When he tried to enjoy driving while listening to his favorite songs, he came into the forest of buildings.
Ko Byeong-gap didn't like Seoul very much, but he liked the night view of Seoul.
"I wish there was such a beautiful night view in Ashvilam."
The night in Ashvilam was just dark. Could he see the same night view as Seoul in Ashvilam someday?
"Well, I don't think it will happen until I die of old age."
Ko Byeong-gap stopped by the association while he imagined a cluster of buildings in Ashvilam. He sold the magic stones and loot as he always did every time. The work was done in no time.
"Good luck."
As he said goodbye and left his seat, an association employee caught him.
"Oh, Hunter Ko Byeong-gap. Wait!"
"Huh? Did I miss anything?"
"No, no, no, I just wanted to let you know that there's a notice for the hunters. It'll take 10 minutes, but do you have time?"
'About 10 minutes.'
Ko Byeong-gap sat back while he smacked his lips. Counselor Kim Seul-gi took something out from under the desk. It was like a booklet.
He spoke in a very business-like tone while he turned the pages of the booklet.
"This time, the association and several guilds are working together to restore the northern part of the Korean Peninsula. Do you happen to know?"