Episode 14: Is This Really Okay?

“…I figured you seemed trustworthy, so I didn’t think it would matter much.”

The young man who had visited the office this time.

A rookie Gate Helper.

He flashed a bright smile.

And then,

Fzzz!

The black hair that had been covering his eyes slowly began to rise.

Before long, it transformed into platinum blonde, and his eyes turned blue.

It was the appearance of a very famous figure.

“…The Thunder Emperor.”

Tae Ihyun smiled gently and slowly raised his hand.

Rumble!

Massive storm clouds began to gather in the sky.

Then, a small golden sphere slowly descended from the heavens.

At that moment,

Howl!

Sensing danger, the blue wolf let out a fierce howl unlike anything heard before and charged at Tae Ihyun.

The blue wolf bared its teeth and lunged forward,

Roar!

Its gaping maw closed in an instant, ready to swallow him whole.

At that moment,

[Thunder Wheel.]

Tae Ihyun lightly flicked the golden sphere that had descended from the sky.

For a moment, it seemed as if all sound in the world disappeared, and the sphere became a single beam of light, shooting towards the blue wolf at incredible speed.

The golden light tore through the air.

Boom!

With a tremendous roar,

A massive lightning bolt enveloped the blue wolf.

-!

The wolf’s death cry, unable to even form a sound, echoed through the valley.

And then, like a dying ember, it slowly faded away.

Not a trace of its form remained. Not even a handful of ashes.

It was complete annihilation.

A truly futile end.

Rumble!

The aftershock of the enormous impact shook the ground and then gradually subsided.

“Phew…”

A sigh escaped simultaneously from the lips of Man Saseong and Ki Seungho.

They were left in a daze, their faces blank from the incredible spectacle that had just unfolded.

It was so surreal that they couldn’t believe it was reality; they had witnessed something utterly unbelievable.

But only these two men fully grasped the situation.

In the midst of chaos and near annihilation, Tae Ihyun had appeared and, with a blindingly bright lightning bolt, had swept away the monsters in an instant.

“Keep it a secret that I was here, okay?”

The electricity surrounding Tae Ihyun’s body vanished, and he returned to his original appearance.

The handsome young man with black hair, his words made the two men nod unconsciously.

“Alright then, I’ll leave the rest to you two and be on my way.”

“What? Wait, hold on!”

Before they could stop him, Tae Ihyun flashed a smile and,

Zap!

With a small flash of lightning, he disappeared from the spot.

Like a mirage.

[Hmm… It’s good.]

“Really?”

[Yes. It’s much better than before. The details of the story, for instance. The battle scenes I mentioned last time feel much more realistic now. With a bit more refinement, it seems possible.]

Tae Ihyun’s eyes widened.

“When you say possible…”

[Yes. With a little more effort, I think it’s possible. Launching.]

“…!”

Tae Ihyun asked in a trembling voice.

“L-Launching? Really?”

[Haha! Of course! Honestly, the piece you sent last time seemed daunting, but the one you sent today gives me hope. Please keep up the effort. I’ll do my best to help too.]

“I-I’ll work hard! Thank you.”

[Then, good luck, author.]

After hanging up the call, Tae Ihyun trembled with excitement and let out a joyful shout.

“Yes! I did it!”

He jumped onto his bed and bounced around.

“Finally! Finally!”

At that moment,

Bang!

“Hey! Wannabe! Can’t you keep it down?”

Someone kicked open Tae Ihyun’s door and entered.

A woman with severe dark circles under her eyes.

It was Crimson Flame Tae Yiseo.

She glared at Tae Ihyun with a face full of exhaustion.

“Ahaha… You were home? Whoa! What’s with your face? Did something happen?”

“Something happen? What do you mean something happen?”

Tae Yiseo smiled, but it wasn’t a genuine smile.

It felt like she was cursing him with her eyes… Was it just his imagination?

“You know, this incompetent sister of yours is only S-rank, so to tackle the highest-level Gates, I have to give it my all with my party members. Not like someone who can just flick their fingers and wipe out monsters.”

Gulp.

“And two years ago, some damn Legendary Hunter decided to retire out of the blue, so there are more dangerous Gates we have to handle. What can we do? We have to work even if it means losing sleep, right? So.”

It was as if red laser beams were shooting from her eyes.

“Let this sister of yours get some proper sleep on her rare day off. Can you. Keep. It. Down?”

“…Yes.”

At Tae Yiseo’s words, Tae Ihyun nodded obediently like a scolded puppy.

Tae Yiseo, who had been glaring at him, growled and closed the door.

Tae Ihyun, who had been sneaking glances, jumped back onto the bed and kicked his legs in delight.

The word that had come from the editor’s mouth for the first time.

Launching.

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t help but smile.

Just a bit more effort.

Unlike before, a short amount of research had led to such a different reaction.

He couldn’t just stay still.

Jumping up!

“Alright. Let’s do more. More!”

Tae Ihyun hurriedly began to get dressed.

[Anomalous Event at B-Rank Gate ‘Valley of the Wolves’, ‘Gate Change’]

[Gate Change Alters Gate Rank, No Casualties Unlike the Disaster Four Years Ago]

[…Despite expectations of significant damage due to the sudden Gate Change, the Gate was successfully cleared without incident. The government is investigating the cause of the Gate Change, but experts believe it will be difficult to uncover, as it has been until now.]

- Wow, no one died?

- Amazing. Wasn’t it almost a wipeout when the Gate Change happened at the Gimhae Gate four years ago?

- Not a wipeout, but only two survived. Over 50 people died.

- But how did no one die this time?

- Wasn’t there another hidden powerhouse, like the last time with the Bulldozer?

- Do you think there’s a hidden powerhouse in every Gate raid? Be reasonable. They probably just got lucky.

- Saying they survived because of luck is even more unreasonable, isn’t it?

- Who knows. They probably managed to survive somehow in a B-Rank Gate.

- Wow, look at that attitude.

Despite being a rare and unusual phenomenon, societal interest in the Gate Change didn’t last long.

Because there wasn’t as much damage as expected, the media didn’t show much interest in the event.

Naturally, no one was curious about who or how the Gate was cleared.

Nevertheless, the two men who knew the secret precisely were quite harassed by the association’s investigation into the incident.

“Phew!”

“I’m so tired I could die.”

“Why do they have to investigate so much? At least there aren’t any media outlets rushing for interviews. That’s a relief.”

“Indeed.”

Man Saseong and Ki Seungho were utterly exhausted.

“It’s really not a job worth doing.”

If it were just about what happened, the two wouldn’t have been so worn out.

However, when it came to explaining how the enormous incident was resolved, all they could say was, “Somehow. Somehow. Suddenly the monsters disappeared all at once…” Such strange answers were all they could offer.

Of course, they knew those answers were odd.

But what could they do? They couldn’t provide any other explanation.

The funny thing was that the association accepted those strange answers from the two at face value.

Well, it was a relief that it didn’t become more troublesome.

But why were only the two of them privy to the secret?

Why, indeed.

Most people at the time had fainted or weren’t in their right minds, and those who were still conscious were busy trampling over their fallen comrades to save their own skins.

Man Saseong and Ki Seungho were the only ones who had faced the blue wolf to the end, risking their lives.

Ki Seungho, sprawled out on the sofa, muttered.

“…By the way, he was really strong. Incredibly.”

Even without context, it was clear what he meant.

Meanwhile, Man Saseong took a beer from the fridge and tossed one to Ki Seungho.

It was a drink he usually avoided during the day, but today was an exception.

It had been a bewildering and exhausting day.

Sigh.

Man Saseong took a sip of his beer and spoke again.

“It makes you wonder if he’s even human. After seeing that, I can’t go around calling myself a Hunter.”

“At that level, he’s way beyond human. More like.”

He couldn’t quite find the right word.

Not a monster, but more than that.

“A god.”

Indeed, it was as if a god in human form had come to visit the mortal world.

“……”

The silence lingered.

The two of them drank their beers in silence.

Then,

Creak.

Hmm? Who could it be?

There was no one expected to visit.

The two men, sprawled on the sofa, slowly turned their heads while sipping their drinks.

And there,

“Hello!”

Pfft!

Beer sprayed from the mouths of the two men who had been drinking.

“Cough. Cough!”

“What brings you here again?”

“I need something from here.”

With a bright smile, Tae Ihyun said.

“So I’ll be staying here for a while! Haha!”

“…What?”

Something extraordinary had arrived at a small, unnoticed C-rank guild in the outskirts of South Korea.

Is this really okay? Seriously?