"… Nothing."
Eunha wandered around the empty gate, then stopped in her tracks and muttered.
The fifth Named monster did not appear.
It felt like a few weeks had already passed. It was strange for the gate to be so quiet for so long.
[Gate reset is complete.]
[ – – – Loading – – – ]
[Lv. 30 'Red-Eyed Black Tiger' has appeared!]
There was another strange thing.
The tigers, who used to run madly towards anything they encountered, became calm, perhaps because of their mood.
They still respawned over and over again, but they didn't attack Eunha unless she made the first move.
And even if Eunha attacked first, there were monsters that did not bare their teeth until the very end, although they would run away.
'Is it the result of repeated learning?'
Suddenly, Eunha remembered a documentary about killer whales she had seen a long time ago.
The reason why killer whales, which are said to be very vicious, did not attack humans first. There were many hypotheses about them, but one of the strongest hypotheses was that they remembered the 'Human Killer Whale Massacre'.
"…"
Peek.
Eunha turned her gaze towards the 'Red-Eyed Black Tiger'. The monster whined, cried weakly, and then began to run away.
'Can repeated learning also apply to monsters? That can't be.'
Eunha tilted her head while chasing it. At least, the guys that Eunha had been dealing with hadn't seemed that smart.
Thud!
With a dull sound, the tiger slammed into the floor. Even if it were carrying a white flag, there was nothing Eunha needed to look out for against the monster.
For her, armed with various loot and powers, Lv. 30 monsters were no longer on the food chain.
'I have to go back empty-handed today.'
Eunha turned with a clouded face.
The number of resets she remembered had already exceeded twenty. From experience, she knew that the fifth monster would probably not appear today.
Eunha wanted to look around a little more, but she wasn't in good shape. It might have been because she had searched for the gate and went several days without sleep. So, Eunha thought it would be better to go back and rest for today.
"…"
After returning to the hut, Eunha looked at her reflection in a puddle of water.
She drew a red line from her cheeks to the line of her neck with the blood that had splattered onto her from the battle.
Eunha, who was quite accustomed to her appearance, raised her sleeve and gently wiped off the bloodstains.
Ding.
[The divine beast 'Cat Wandering in Darkness' wakes up from a nap.]
[It stretches, comes up to you, and rubs your cheek.]
"Today was a waste of time."
Unlike the happy-looking cat, Eunha mumbled in a subdued voice.
"Can I get out of here?"
[The divine beast 'Cat Wandering in Darkness' tilts its head and asks why you want to get out of here.]
[Didn't you choose to stay here in the first place? I don't understand you.]
It wasn't wrong.
Eunha had chosen to stay here on behalf of her colleague. A yellow message window appeared once again in front of Eunha, who had closed her mouth.
[The divine beast 'Cat Wandering in Darkness' quietly warns that it is dangerous outside.]
However, Eunha's thoughts were a little different.
'I don't think monsters will kill me even if I go outside at this point.'
It wasn't a baseless idea.
In the case of a Named monster, its level would increase by 10 each time.
The first Named was at Lv. 68, the second 78, the third 88, and the fourth a whopping 98.
The maximum known monster level was 99. In other words, Eunha had beaten a monster that was almost at the highest strength.
[The divine beast 'Cat Wandering in Darkness' coaxes you, saying that it would be better for the two of you to live alone happily.]
The cat said had so, but Eunha still left the hut the next day and the day after that to get the last loot. But again, she couldn't find any clues regarding it, let alone the loot itself. The fifth Named monster couldn't even be spotted in the shadows.
'Why?'
For monsters to appear, certain conditions must've been met…
Maybe it was a simple internal system error. The error may have also been the reason for why the monsters hadn't been attacking themselves lately.
'I don't know.'
Eunha leaned against the wall of the hut and stared at the space in front of her blankly with a tired face. Carved bars lined the inner walls of the cave. Eunha, who had been gazing at them with a weary face, habitually touched the wish bracelet on her left wrist.
'Mother's death anniversary must be over by now.'
Eunha couldn't time it exactly, but she could guess.
No matter how busy she was with her hunter life, Eunha visited her mother's grave every year without exception. No one else ever visited but her.
'I think it's been over two years.'
In other words, her mother's grave was left unattended for two or more years.
It must have been overgrown with weeds by now, and a thick layer of dust had to have accumulated on the tombstone. Maybe a wild animal would've dug it up into a mess.
At this point, Eunha had gotten up from her seat.
[The divine beast 'Cat Wandering in Darkness' bites the hem of your dress.]
[Weren't we going to play word chain together today? Don't tell me you forgot?]
tl/n: if you don't know what word chain is, it's basically that game where a person says a word and the next person has to make a word with the letter that the first word ends with.
"… I'm sorry, but I want to get out of here as soon as possible."
Humans were so pathetic.
It wasn't like this when Eunha gave up on getting out, but the moment she had the faint hope of "maybe", she changed her mind.
[The divine beast 'Cat Wandering in Darkness' looks at you with sad eyes.]
"Sorry."
At Eunha's will, the yellow message window disappeared into the air like scattering puzzle pieces. To leave no more room for arguing, Eunha left the hut without looking back.
***
Seoul, South Korea. 6:31 PM
Kim Gwanghyun, the team leader of the Hunter Association, stared intently at the piece of paper in his hand.
▷ Name: Shin Siwoo
▷ Registration number: –
▷ Affiliation: Wolf Guild
▷ Stamina: S
▷ Magic: S
▷ Combat Power: S
▷ Potential: 120%
▷ Unique Ability: Nature
▷ Remarks: Non-registered (requires the issuing of a license)
… No matter how many times he checked it, the contents printed on the paper did not change.
The measurement record didn't indicate whether or not there was a divine beast contract or any details related to the divine beasts, because they didn't want it.
However, even without such an indication, Gwanghyun already knew that the divine beast was the 'Incarnation of the Dog'.
Gwanghyun, who withdrew his attention from the measurement results, raised his head and looked at the young man sitting in front of him, Shin Siwoo.
Siwoo wore an oversized hoodie. Even though there was a person in front of him, he still had one of his earbuds plugged into his ear, and his chin resting loosely on his hand.
Siwoo hid his navy blue hair into his hood and sucked on the straw that was in his drink.
Gwanghyun had the illusion that water was flowing in Siwoo's blue pupils. Otherwise, he might have simply been yawning.
In front of Siwoo, Gwanghyun spoke very carefully and politely.
"Regarding the tutorial I mentioned, it is an unavoidable and mandatory course, so even if you have been measured as an S-Class, you cannot skip it."
"… So if I just do that, I won't be bothered anymore, right?"
Siwoo, who had been quietly listening to his words, made eye contact with Gwanghyun for the first time.
It'd been exactly 49 minutes since Gwanghyun began chatting with him here in the cafe. It seemed that the unbreakable ice had finally cracked. Gwanghyun, who might've missed the opportunity, quickly nodded his head.
"Of course. When you complete the tutorial, you will be recognized as an official hunter, so you can continue with your future activities as you wish. If you have any other thoughts, feel free to contact our association…"
"Alright."
Siwoo got up from his seat without letting him finish. He put on the earbud he had removed, stuffed his hands into his pockets, and then flashed a blue glance at Gwanghyun.
"Then, I'll see you in an hour. I'll leave my bag here."
Siwoo left the cafe without taking his luggage.
The B-Class gate that Gwanghyun spoke of was a short distance away from the cafe.
When he arrived at the gate, the police who were guarding it recognized and approached him.
"Hunter Shin Siwoo, is that right?"
"Yes."
The policeman stared at the young man.
'This person is the son of the Wolf guild leader…?'
Because he was the next owner of the largest guild in Korea, 'Wolf', the public paid all kinds of attention to him, which had probably started since his birth.
However, for some reason, he had never appeared in front of the public and was under a veil up until now.
Very few people knew that the S-Class hunters 'Baekrang' and Shin Siwoo, who had been hot topics recently, were actually the same person.
The Siwoo he met in person was quite different from what the policeman had imagined. It seemed that his weak body was just a rumor.
'On the outside, you're just an ordinary college student.'
… No, he corrected. His appearance was too conspicuous for an ordinary person.
As if blue paint had been dripped onto his black hair, his navy hair shone even bluer under the streetlight.
His eyes, calm as a lake and as clear as ice, were closer to the pale colour of water rather than blue. Eyes changing in colour due to the influence of awakening were common these days, but nonetheless, it was still a very unique colour.
So the sixth S-Class hunter in Korea had this kind of appearance. If he revealed his real name and face to the public, he would surely become a huge hit, so why was he hiding his identity?
The policeman opened his mouth while holding down questions that could not be posed.
"The association has contacted us in advance. Let me know when you're ready so I can open the gate."
"Please open it now."
Siwoo answered briefly.
'You're going to enter the gate like this?'
The policeman's eyes widened in disbelief.
He only wore jeans and a hoodie, and it seemed that all he had was his cell phone in his back pocket.
Hunters with a high rank usually had special weapons or armor, but despite that, he was dressed very lightly.
But what could he do? If they want it open, he'll have to open it. The policeman put his hand on the gate-opening device.
When the device was activated, the barrier that covered the gate entrance disappeared. The bright green gate opened, as if inviting him.
"What time is it?"
"It's 7:23 PM."
"Thanks."
Siwoo ran into the gate without hesitation.
"Oh, Hunter Shin Siwoo. Please fill out the consent form fir—"
The policeman said belatedly, but Siwoo had already disappeared into the gate.
"…Will it be okay?"
A junior police officer approached and whispered softly. A young hunter jumping into a B-Class gate like a blood god seemed concerning.
It was only concerning because he didn't know that the young man who had just jumped into the gate was the sixth S-Class hunter in Korea and the real son of the Wolf guild leader.
The policeman shrugged his shoulders, his mouth itching to talk, but he obeyed the rules.
"I think I'm going home early today."