Chapter 10
“(Breaking News) East Sea’s Ipado! Lands in Seoul!”
“Ipado, South Korea’s second-ever S-rank Hunter, has been spotted landing at Gimpo Airport. Although his rating assessment appointment scheduled for tomorrow has been largely canceled, it indirectly revealed that his destination is the Association. Further details are not yet disclosed.
South Korea’s first S-rank Hunter and hero who single-handedly protected Seoul, Association Chairman Yoon Byung-geun, remains silent…”
It was an article about the guild master of Busan’s largest guild, East Sea Guild, visiting the Association.
“So he’s here.”
This was the news Saebyeok had been waiting for.
She examined the photo in the article.
Next to the rugged-looking Ipado stood a pretty little girl.
She bore a strange resemblance to Ipado, yet not entirely—the girl was his only daughter.
“Today is March 28… The incident will happen on April Fool’s Day, then…”
Saebyeok had already done the calculation but double-checked the date anyway.
The “incident” she planned to resolve wasn’t directly linked to <Destruction>.
However, it would have a significant indirect effect. More precisely, if left unresolved, it would later become a problem.
“Solving it is fine… but what about the cleanup afterward…”
Her frown deepened as she pondered, prompting Kim Ihan to lean toward her.
“What are you looking at with such a serious expression?”
Seeing Kim Ihan glance at her phone, realization struck Saebyeok’s mind.
What she was fretting over was… silly.
“Hunter Kim Ihan,” she began.
Before her stood a major guild master doing everything to get her attention.
“I’ll give you the info you’re curious about regarding the title.”
Kim Ihan’s eyes widened in surprise.
“But there’s a condition.”
“Tell me.”
“Tonight… a date.”
Evening fell over the slopes of Bukhansan.
Saebyeok leaned against a tree, tapping busily on her phone, clad in the light leather armor she wore during the day.
“Good. Everything’s going as expected.”
She was checking the news.
Articles were being posted in real-time about Ipado and the Association chairman meeting at a high-end Korean restaurant.
Ipado, who rarely left the Yeongnam region, had come to Seoul personally because of the East Sea. Not the guild, but the actual sea.
“He’s here to warn that something’s off with the eastern sea currents.”
In his previous life, the Association chairman dismissed it as nonsense.
“Without a clear reason or explanation, he just said things felt off, the waves were strange…”
That muscle-bound man was inarticulate, and the Association assumed he was scheming for special favors, so they sent him off.
But that was a huge mistake.
“Who would’ve known that the odd signs he mentioned would actually be hints of <Scenario>.”
The <Scenario> that drove the world toward destruction.
Its first occurrence began in Busan.
Technically, it started in the Pacific, passed through Japan, and reached Busan.
<Monster Attack>.
It was the first mission the <Scenario> issued on Earth—or rather, the <Tutorial>.
As the name suggests, monsters suddenly appeared across the five oceans.
Each of the five monsters, in different forms, invaded separate lands.
The Indian Ocean Kraken-headed monster headed for Peru, while the man-eating whale went to Russia.
The Pacific monster, bigger than most cargo ships, went westward and first reached Chiba, Japan.
Japan failed to stop it and even lost an S-rank Hunter sent to hunt it.
After devastating Chiba, the monster returned to the sea and a few days later appeared at Busan Port.
Learning from Japan’s experience, the Korean Association deployed S-rank Hunters en masse.
Or tried to.
The one S-rank Hunter who ignored the dispatch order? Ipado.
A native of Busan and guild master of East Sea Guild.
The reason?
Simple.
He was looking for his daughter.
At the time, he was so obsessed with finding his kidnapped daughter that he couldn’t even notice monsters.
“The Lee Cheong-hae kidnapping incident… That must be prevented.”
His daughter had come to Seoul with a friend, only to suddenly disappear.
People dismissed it as a typical college student staying out overnight, but Ipado went berserk, insisting his daughter wouldn’t do that.
He searched the entire club district and found CCTV footage showing her being kidnapped.
But for over three months, he couldn’t locate her.
When he finally did, she was already…
“This time, Ipado must be deployed in the <Scenario>.”
To do that, the kidnapping had to be prevented.
As she sorted through information from her past life, she sensed someone approaching.
“How special of a date do you plan to give me to call me out to a secluded spot like this?”
Kim Ihan appeared and whispered into her ear.
Their eyes met, and she smiled faintly. Even in the darkness, his presence seemed to shine.
“Really… you came?”
Saebyeok was dazed. She had thought there was a chance he wouldn’t show.
“You’d be too curious not to come.”
With a playful wink, Saebyeok let out a faint laugh.
“Curiosity kills the cat. Didn’t you think it might be dangerous?”
“Investments are high risk, high return. I have insurance,” he said, showing her his phone.
Jin Seong-cheol: I’ve got the raid team on standby.
It was a chat with Bugilma. If anything happened to him, the Glory Guild would immediately act—a subtle threat.
Saebyeok smirked at the audacity but seemed pleased.
“Well done. Shall we go?”
She took out a suitable branch she had picked up earlier.
“Kim Ihan, your role is simple. Stay hidden and buff me. Don’t complicate things. Once it’s over, you’ll get full credit.”
Kim Ihan tilted his head in confusion, but no further explanation came.
“<Glimmer>.”
Shaking the branch lightly, tiny, round white lights appeared and floated around like ping-pong balls.
<Skill: Glimmer (C→E)>
Everyone experiences dark times. But even a faint light can serve as a lighthouse for a lost ship or give strength to a weary traveler.
The firefly-like lights softly illuminated the pitch-black mountain.
“This 2.1 billion won is going to be worth it. I promise.”
Bathed in the slender glow, her mischievous smile was captivating, mesmerizing even the teasing Kim Ihan.
Saebyeok’s reason for giving him credit wasn’t noble.
It was calculated.
The simplest reason: to make him feel indebted. A sense of debt would allow her to extract small favors later.
A more cunning reason: to observe his buff abilities firsthand.
She had heard rumors but never seen them in action.
From her past life, she knew that when <Destruction> invaded Korea, Kim Ihan, the first S-rank to collapse, was vulnerable. She could guess his buffs were ineffective against <Destruction>.
This time, she wouldn’t let him fail.
For future <Scenarios>, Kim Ihan needed to be strong.
Also, selfishly, she didn’t want to do all the cleanup herself.
“Here we are.”
Deleting <Glimmer>, she pressed against the steep rock wall while Kim Ihan crouched beside her.
“There it is.”
She pointed beyond the rocky path.
There stood a roughly built wooden structure and several tents, guarded by armed men, creating a menacing atmosphere.
“That symbol… Scavenger Guild?”
“You recognize it?”
Saebyeok was slightly surprised at his recognition.
“Seong-cheol said he’s been seeing black lights there often, so I’ve been keeping an eye on them,” Kim Ihan explained.
“Bugilma sees black as well as silver and gold?”
“Yes. The exact meaning isn’t clear yet. Villains sometimes show black, so we assumed it represented evil, but the worst criminals often don’t, so we’re still figuring it out.”
It seemed like a small information exchange in return for bringing him here.
“By the way… what’s going on?”
Kim Ihan squinted at the carts entering their hideout.
Normally cheerful, he had no smile now. Understandably so—the new carts didn’t just carry potion crates or weapons; people were tied up like cargo.
“Human trafficking? Drugs?”
“Cult,” Saebyeok said.
Kim Ihan’s eyes widened.
“The Scavenger Guild is a cult?”
“There’s a separate cult. The Scavenger Guild’s role is to deliver the victims.”
Those kidnapping Lee Cheong-hae weren’t typical criminals—they were part of a cult.
Saebyeok planned to raid the place where the cult leader resided.
“The women are given as offerings, the men enslaved and exploited.”
Lee Cheong-hae’s case had become public because of his famous father, but the cult kidnapped new victims weekly.
This meant there were likely numerous slaves in the hideout.
Also, the brainwashed followers would be freed if the leader was taken down, leaving them unstable.
She couldn’t just raid the place and leave; follow-up measures were essential.
Doing it alone was impossible; calling the Association meant a long investigation. She wasn’t even registered as a Hunter yet.
“This is why I dragged you in, Kim Ihan—to handle the cleanup.”
Swallowing the truth she couldn’t tell him, Saebyeok’s eyes scanned the hideout sharply.
“This place is relatively small… Three months later it was double this size… Wait.”
Her frown deepened as she followed the guards’ movements.
“Uh…?”
New people were being pulled from the carts: two women, two men, and one child.
“Crazy!”
Dizziness hit her. Understandably…
“Why are you here…?!”
The man and child tied up there were none other than Kang Suho and his sibling.
