Chapter 47
Unicorn Hunt (3)
Eating is the best~ Friends, gather around~ ♬
In a corner of the workshop, a children’s song played from the speakers.
Holding Woong, who couldn’t take his eyes off the TV, and stroking his head, Inha sang along.
“Always~ so tasty! What are we eating today, I wo-onder!”
Kkiu-ung~!
Woong let out a happy little cry.
Seeing this, Jia looked on fondly, and Sehyun approached her.
“Did you really want to see this? That little bear?”
“Yes. Doesn’t he reach out whenever the TV is on?”
“Exactly. That’s why we didn’t let him anywhere near it. Do you know how much that TV cost?”
“Oh… that makes sense.”
Turning on the TV with some skepticism, Sehyun watched as Woong became completely absorbed.
From this, they could also see his preferences:
A place with no sunlight, snacks to nibble on, a cozy blanket, and warm heating.
All things a homebody would love.
“So that’s why he hated going outside so much.”
Now it made sense why he always tried to head toward the crack whenever they took him out.
Still, questions remained.
“Even Jia said she doesn’t know why he eats soulstones.”
With ordinary monsters, maybe, but even contracted familiars of tamers weren’t known to have that habit.
And Woong wasn’t even a monster—it was an animal.
Though, at this point, even that was a bit suspicious.
“I guess we’ll just have to learn little by little.”
And to do that…
“So, have you thought about it? Joining our community.”
“Hahaha… about that…”
Jia gave an awkward laugh and shook her head.
After safely getting out of the last crack, Sehyun had invited Jia to join his community.
Being a tamer was one reason, but there was a bigger one.
She was the only one who could communicate with Woong, and above all, he valued her ambition to improve.
“But… I ended up refusing at the time.”
She couldn’t betray her current team.
Yet the more she knew about that team, the stranger it seemed.
They had left her in the crack and gone off on their own, and she wasn’t even officially a member.
The excuse was that Jia was underage and lacked qualifications as a tamer, but it was mostly a trick to use her as they pleased.
“Still… I’ll think about it.”
Even after hearing the truth, Jia shook her head.
She probably felt a strong attachment since it was the first team to accept her.
If that was her decision, Sehyun wouldn’t press further.
The only way he could help was to hire her in a part-time role, looking after Woong.
Unlike that cursed team, he made sure she got proper pay.
“Is there anything else I can help with? Woong stays calm if the TV’s on… but it looks like you have other things to do too.”
Jia looked down at the jar Sehyun was handling.
“It’s fine. That’s not something you can help with.”
Sehyun closed his eyes and placed his hands on the jar.
Vwoooom—
As he prepared to concentrate and manipulate astral energy, a heavy voice called out.
“Nam Sehyun, are you there?”
Looking up, he saw the large figure of Choi Seongcheol standing before him.
“Oh, hyung. Long time no see.”
“I heard you’ve been busy. You never seem to stay quiet.”
“Yeah, a bit of hard work.”
Without exchanging many words, Sehyun naturally received the gauntlet Seongcheol handed him.
‘It’s been a while. This big, raw sensation…’
Come to think of it, it was the first artifact he had properly made after returning.
After some time, a glance revealed that the soulstone in it had blended well with Seongcheol’s astral energy.
“You came earlier than usual. What’s the occasion?”
“…You don’t know? I came to check the equipment for the regular hunt. Notices have probably been sent to most communities.”
“Oh, a regular hunt…”
Regular hunts.
Four times a year, a celestial-level crack opens, and one of the Four Sacred Beasts’ minions appears.
What began as multiple teams taking on a celestial-level crack together eventually became a regular hunting event.
Since it’s winter, it’s probably a subordinate of the White Lion Rudnff.
“So it’s happening in Korea this time?”
“Yes. Plus, there’s a big bounty, so everyone’s paying attention.”
“A bounty too? What came out…?”
“They say it’s a ‘Unicorn.’ A huge sum is on its horn.”
“…Oh?”
The unicorn.
A fantasy-type monster specialized in stealth, known for only showing itself to those it wished to.
Additionally, tracking it with astral energy was difficult, requiring special personnel to find it.
‘Not a soulstone, and the bounty is on the horn…’
Sehyun noted this fact—not a good thing.
‘Tch, of all things to put a bounty on…’
Knowing the horn’s value, he was unimpressed.
Even in his previous life, it had drawn attention, but the material wasn’t that exceptional.
‘Hard to process. Later, could be made using ultra-slow heat treatment on gold dust.’
Rare, occasionally traded, but as long as substitutes existed, it was mostly just a collectible.
“How much is it?”
“10 billion.”
“…Crazy. Ten billion for just one horn? Who?”
“Ever heard of the Collector? Famous as a wealthy player for whom 10 billion is trivial.”
‘…The Collector?’
He surely knew him. But why his name came up here was curious.
In his previous life, he only collected soulstones and never cared about materials like this.
‘…Did I somehow influence this?’
Regardless, just his involvement was unsettling.
Seongcheol tilted his head, seeing Sehyun showing no interest.
“I thought you’d care about materials, even if not money… So, you’re not joining this hunt?”
“Well, even if I wanted to, I don’t meet the requirements.”
Tanker, dealer, support.
You had to meet the minimum number in each role to qualify.
Since Inha was alone as a combatant, solo crack clearance wasn’t allowed—there was no way to qualify for a celestial-level crack like a regular hunt.
“You don’t meet the conditions?”
Seongcheol blinked his sharp eyes.
“With Inha and the girl next to you, that’s three—it should be enough.”
“…Huh?”
“Me?”
Jia blinked, pointing at herself.
‘…Now that I think about it…’
Sehyun smiled—he had a good idea seeing her.
A week later, at a spacious open area along the Han River.
Foundation personnel disguised as park staff blocked civilian access.
“Sorry for the inconvenience. Filming in progress, please use the detour. For walkers, use the path over there…”
“Excuse me? Filming?”
The crowd was diverse in nationality, race, and attire.
But all carried weapons that wouldn’t be used in the modern day.
From the outside, it looked like a normal movie shoot.
While civilians turned away unsuspectingly, Sehyun’s group showed their IDs and entered.
Jia gaped at the size of the crack under the tent.
“Wow… I’ve never seen a crack this big.”
“Well, it’s a celestial-level crack.”
A space torn tens of meters wide.
Beyond it stretched tundra with vast moss-covered meadows and coniferous forests.
But even more impressive than the crack was the scale of people gathered.
Easily over a thousand.
Most were teams of three or four, but some communities brought large expedition teams.
The travel expenses alone to reach Korea must have been enormous.
The Collector’s bounty clearly drew major attention.
“All units—advance!!”
“Yes, Sir!!!”
The knights’ thunderous cries, clad in medieval armor, overwhelmed the plaza.
As armored boots stepped in unison into the crack, the hunting teams began entering one by one.
“Let’s hurry too.”
“Yeah.”
“Yes.”
Following Sehyun, Jia and Inha entered the crack.
The cold air inside was as piercing as the scenery.
Faint auroras shimmered in the polar night sky—a stunning sight.
Before they could take in the view, teams dispersed to search.
But Sehyun merely scanned the surroundings, not moving.
Jia looked at him anxiously.
“Is it okay to stay still? What if someone finds it first…”
“No rush. You can’t catch this one by hurrying.”
Though weak in combat, all of the unicorn’s celestial-level skills were focused on stealth.
Even mobilizing many people couldn’t solve the problem.
‘Not without knowing the method.’
Sehyun shook his head, recalling his previous life.
“So… it’s not easy for us either?”
“Right.”
“…But can we really be this calm?”
“Well, I’m not here to catch the unicorn.”
Jia’s eyes widened.
“…What? Not catch it?”
“There’s something more valuable than that.”
“More valuable than the unicorn’s horn…?”
More valuable than the 10 billion bounty?
Jia looked at him with expectant eyes. Sehyun pointed at a withered tree.
A fresh vine twisted around its trunk—a special material only found in this crack.
“You mean… that vine?”
“It survived in this environment, so it’s got strong tensile strength. Wrapping it around the handle gives a good grip.”
“…You joined the hunt just for that?”
“Just?? Huh, people really don’t appreciate rare materials. Don’t you know how important grip is for a weapon?”
“Yeah, I get that… but still…”
Compared to a 10 billion bounty, it was hard to believe.
At that moment, a very irritating voice sounded.
“Still alive, huh?”
Sehyun turned—his former team, who had abandoned Jia in the crack, had returned.
“Now you’re with the hyenas who scavenge crack leftovers, right?”
“….”
They recognized Sehyun and tried to rile him, but when he didn’t react, they turned back to Jia.
“Poor thing, we took you in, but you kept trolling until the end. Do you know how much we spent hiring a new tamer because of you?”
Jia hung her head weakly at the leader’s shouting.
“You know formal tamers are expensive, right? You’re the one who messed up the last hunt!”
“B-But…”
“I’d like to charge you for everything, but I’m holding back for past favors, got it?”
The leader continued ranting.
“Listen and use your abilities properly! That’s why we said don’t let minors near, but you—”
“Enough. She’s bleeding from her ears just listening.”
Sehyun stepped in front of Jia, scolding the leader.
“You’re fussing over a single scorpion too.”
“…What?”
Then he turned and showed the massive jar on his back.
The leader immediately recognized it.
A perfectly preserved Porter Scorpion, just smaller in size.
“Y-You caught it? Just the two of you?”
“Not two, three.”
Sehyun put his arm around Jia.
“Jia here tied up the boss—she’s the MVP. Unlike someone who couldn’t catch even one.”
The leader glanced between them, clicked his tongue, and walked away.
“Hmph! Try handling that burden kid well, you hyena.”
Sehyun flipped them off as they left.
“Sorry… it’s my fault.”
“You don’t apologize—you shouldn’t have to.”
Sehyun’s response made Jia lower her head. Tears welled up slightly.
When had she ever been treated so valuably?
Just as her heart warmed from the unexpected kindness…
“Now, here.”
Sehyun handed something to Jia.
Looking down, it was a saw.
“Time to work, right? We can’t waste precious manpower.”
“…”
“Let’s give it our all.”
Though grateful for being valued, Jia decided she needed more time to think about joining the community.
