Chapter 22
Hwang Taesan did not take her hand.
He continued to glance back and forth between her hand and her face with suspicious eyes.
“You’re the type who doesn’t shake hands, huh?”
Saebyeok let out a cheerful laugh and withdrew her hand.
Anyone else might have been offended at having their handshake refused, but she brushed it off with ease.
That was because she had already known he wouldn’t take it.
He had been the same in her previous life too. He disliked physical contact, let alone handshakes.
There were still famous stories about him—like when he reflexively grabbed a falling child, only to jerk away as though he had touched something hot, or when he violently flung aside a young hunter who had clung to his arm asking for an autograph.
Since Saebyeok already knew his tendencies, she didn’t mind being rejected.
What she didn’t consider was how different this might look in Taesan’s eyes.
An S-class hunter who had just had their “composure” disturbed, yet wasn’t acting prideful—this was a rare sight.
The tension in his shoulders eased slightly, and the way he looked at her changed.
“I haven’t officially registered yet, but according to my status window, my title potential is S-class. As for Hunter Kim Ihan—I only accompanied him that day for mutual benefit. We’re not personally close.”
Saebyeok, who had bartered every piece of information with Kim Ihan, shared everything with Hwang Taesan with surprising ease.
She knew well that with someone of his compassionate disposition, honesty was the best way to lower his guard and earn his favor.
“My title, as I said earlier, is Spear Knight of Dawn. My main weapon is a spear. Strictly speaking, it’s a title that requires me to have a spear.”
She gestured toward the pipe slung over his back.
“That’s why I fought with that pipe the other day.”
Elemental mages were usually specialized in one attribute.
But Saebyeok used all of them.
Because she had no elemental restrictions, in her past life she had even been treated as if she carried an “invincible” title.
But on closer examination, that wasn’t entirely true.
Her limitation was clear.
She was a spear knight.
<Title: Spear Knight of Dawn (S)>
Even in the longest night, dawn will always come. Dawn, arriving silently, colors the sky and covers the world. Rays of light dwell within your spear.
Her power resided in the spear, so she always needed one.
“If there’s anything else you want to know beyond what I’ve explained, go ahead and ask.”
Taesan looked at her again, his expression slightly stiff.
But unlike earlier, it wasn’t suspicion—it was confusion.
“Why are you telling me all this?”
He wasn’t doubting her exactly, but he was trying to figure out her intent.
“If all that is true, isn’t it information you should be doing your utmost to hide?”
The fact that all her strength was restricted to spears could easily be seen as her biggest weakness.
Why was she laying it all out for him?
“From the way you managed to rope in Kim Ihan to hunt villains with you, or how you went straight to the craftsman as soon as you set foot in the Dragon’s Den—you don’t seem naïve about the world.”
It was hard to believe she was blurting all this out just out of innocence.
Could this be a crafty trick, distracting him from a bigger weakness?
But he still didn’t know enough about Han Saebyeok to draw any conclusions.
“That’s because I want to get along with you, Hunter Hwang Taesan.”
“…Deliberately?”
Normally, S-class hunters didn’t get along.
S-class hunters stood at the top of the profession. They were overflowing with confidence and pride.
Everywhere they went, they were treated with honor and respect, so when they encountered others on the same level, they couldn’t help but compete—whether openly, like Lee Pado, or subtly, like Kim Ihan.
They all harbored that same competitiveness.
Taesan was no different. He wasn’t one to try to dominate others, but he had no intention of standing in a subordinate position either.
That was why most S-classes merely agreed to respect each other’s boundaries rather than actually being “friendly.”
Revealing one’s weaknesses so openly was even more unthinkable.
“Yes, deliberately.”
But Saebyeok nodded firmly, her eyes unwavering.
She even looked as if she was surprised at his surprise.
“In this harsh world, having a hunter you can contact without worrying about betrayal or cold shoulders—that’s a huge blessing.”
Her words were strange yet profound.
It meant she thought highly of Hwang Taesan, and that she wanted him to think of her that way too.
Positive, double-layered meaning—that shook him deeply.
Taesan knew all too well what people thought of him.
His rough appearance, his harsh past environment.
And because he was half Chinese, the media and politicians often branded him as an ethnic outsider, a Chinese spy, or worse. The public viewed him negatively.
And yet, when they actually met him, they couldn’t even make eye contact. That hypocrisy frustrated him.
The merchants and guild members of the Dragon’s Den respected him more, but even they kept a subtle distance.
They were afraid. His looks were intimidating enough, and his title was that of a berserker who fought alongside dragons…
“And besides, even though I made it sound dramatic, like some great secret, it’s really not much of a limitation.”
Why was this woman making things sound so easy?
“A ‘spear’ is interpreted pretty broadly.”
Unaware of the ripples her words were causing in his heart, Saebyeok continued.
She misread his silence as asking for more explanation.
Reaching toward the craftsman, she plucked the pencil stuck behind his ear.
Holding it upright, she quietly recited a skill name. From the tip flickered a droplet of water, a spark of static electricity, and a pea-sized flame, one after another.
The system recognized even an ordinary pencil as a “spear.”
“Since things like hairpins and toothbrushes also work, I think basically anything long and stick-like qualifies.”
She handed the pencil back to the craftsman.
“Even weapons labeled differently, like staves or daggers, can be used in place of a spear. So honestly, I don’t think of it as much of a weakness.”
But the craftsman didn’t even glance at the pencil. His focus was completely on the key pendant.
So Saebyeok tucked the pencil into her tied-up hair and looked back at Taesan.
“Is that all your questions?”
Taesan thought for a moment, then spoke.
“That door earlier—what was it?”
“It’s related to my ability. But since I haven’t fully figured it out myself, I can’t explain it in detail.”
“And that key?”
“Think of it as the medium that connects me to that ability.”
“And the reason you came here?”
“To duplicate the key.”
“Your ability lets you duplicate items?”
“I’ll have to actually try to be certain, but… probably?”
He tossed out questions, and she tossed back answers.
Taesan faltered briefly at how smoothly her responses came. He hadn’t expected her to answer so openly.
“If it’s just duplicating items, wouldn’t there be blacksmiths in Glory or Dangun who could handle it? Why come all the way to Black Dragon?”
Saebyeok smiled, as if she’d been waiting for that question.
“If you mean why I chose this craftsman—it’s because the key is rather unusual, and I needed a truly skilled blacksmith.”
She pulled a small notebook from her jacket pocket.
The leather cover was frayed, and the pages had yellowed with age.
“If you mean why I came to the Dragon’s Den—after making the request to the craftsman, I planned to head to the 4th floor detective agency.”
She held out the notebook to Taesan.
He glanced between her and the notebook before finally taking it.
The moment he did, his brows furrowed slightly.
<Item: Hydra’s Record Notebook vol. 9 (F)>
Vol. 9: “The summoned Greed and Hatred shall hold a festival of the world’s sins.”
Each head of the Hydra has the duty, by Pandora’s will, to ruin the world. This is the notebook bestowed upon the ninth head to record its journey.
<Passive: Report to Record>
All records written in this notebook are automatically reported once a month to vol. 0.
“I found it on the cult leader we killed yesterday.”
As she explained, Taesan flipped open the notebook.
Inside were writings incomprehensible to ordinary people—runes, often seen in ancient-related items.
“The cult leader’s body was burned, but this survived intact. I think it was specially treated to protect it.”
Scattered among the runes were entries in English and Chinese, dated and meticulously written. It looked like a diary, or a record for reporting.
“It was protected with such care, and yet it talks about a ‘duty to ruin the world.’ I couldn’t just ignore that. Especially since what the cult leader was actually doing in the mountains was demon summoning.”
The notebook’s description—“summon greed and hatred to hold a festival”—lined up disturbingly well with the cult leader’s actions.
Saebyeok explained her unease.
“So you wanted to commission our detective agency to investigate?”
Taesan asked matter-of-factly. Saebyeok nodded.
“Exactly. The request is to track down the remaining heads of Hydra.”
