Chapter 22
“Did you see it too?”
“Yeah.”
The team leader said to the handsome hunter guy without a look. He then just shook his head and gave her his affirmation.
“Hyunjoo, did you really miss everything? You don’t know what happened?
The tattooed girl face was then blank before she waved her head and answered.
“Yes. I wasn’t able to see it… Even after fighting it, I completely missed three shots. Sorry.”
“No… I’m more ashamed compared to you. I should be sorry.”
The leader doesn’t know if she’s happy about her apology or not. She then just turned back around.
“No way… could it have been a villain?”
“No. There was never a villain. If there was then we would have never gotten any help in the beginning.”
“Really? I don’t think that was it, that wouldn’t be understanding at all. Except for one thing… There possibly could have been something.”
The tattooed girl started to think about what he had just said and replied.
“I’m like a Debauzer too. Maybe I could find out something but I’m not too sure.”
“…”
They all shook their heads as if they understood.
“Haven’t they come into our country this year and appeared twice?”
“Yeah. We missed it before but they won’t get away. Do you guys understand??”
“Yes.”
They all answered to their leader.
Debauzer… a natural Gagseog… They referred to them as true Gagseogs. A Gagseog wouldn’t have its nobility without being able to develop on its own. They decided to give their all possessions to the clan as a form of help. The power of those possessions were really needed… And because of that, Jaehwang was excessively kind.
The nation’s hunters skills were divided by category. They were divided between the highest and lowest, the 5th and 6th place could still make it. There were no natural Gagseogs and Debauzers and that was the reason why they really wanted to have Jaehwang on the team…
Of course they just couldn’t throw the others out like trash. They especially took pride in their national clan certificate membership. They didn’t stand for being compared to any other sloppy clans. They had found a shiny gemstone by chance and now they’re greedy about it.
“I’ll let you guys know but I’m not sure… The information was protected. I’ll have to talk to those incharge of the clan, alright? Let’s make the best team relationship…”
“Maybe he blacked out?”
Said the handsome guy hunter while dragging the skinhead out the door.
“Yeah.”
The same thing had happened to their leader but he got better faster than he did when she fell off the cliff.
“She gave him a card but will we ever see that person again?”
The tattooed girl tilted her head without answering. It had been a while and that was only their first meeting. In the end, she left it to fate since there was no one who knew everything.
***
-What was that about?
-What?
She asked in reply to the Jaehwang’s out of the blue question.
-She said that she were a Debauzer. Do you think they understood what she meant? Don’t they like to just follow along?”
Jaehwang then asked in a low voice.
“Even if they were just playing along, I don’t have to be any clearer. They knew my intentions. So I think you should just keep it down. And… I’m still lacking in luck.”
They would gain something if a Debauzer shone through them. It was understandable and it would be as logical as the world receiving something crucial and important.
However, it doesn’t want to reach the lowest point.
-It’s not the same anymore. I’m very weak now.
-You still seemed really calm, though.
-When?
-When you were fighting that monster. The arrow broke on the first attack.
It was cool. Even after that happened you were still shooting arrows…
-Well… It was something I trained for.
-Train?
She asked back when Jaehwang brought up the fact that he used to train. He had some crazy traditional training techniques… He first remembered one called ‘Perfect Shot’ but he didn’t remember exactly what it was. He must have learned it when he was about 7 years old… His dad gave him an arrow as a toy and he called it ‘Shooter’.
He was hesitant at first but the arrow that his father gave him couldn’t hurt anyone. He used it safely and a little after that, he started to shoot as far as his father could.
Of course, it wasn’t a sharp arrow. He was raised just like his father. It was an arrow with a point of a round splint and when he first received it from his father, the rules were simple. It was a rule that when he shoots, he would stand up straight and never close his eyes. The only thing that his father allowed him to do when he shoots was to take a step forward. He started playing like that until he was 13 and by then it wasn’t playing anymore. He stood like a real archer.
He could shoot exactly 50 meters along with his father. The arrow that he used didn’t have much power but it could still make someone tremble. Wearing a guard helmet was enough when training but there were stories as well where things went wrong.
Every time his father used an arrow, he would become an entirely different person.
All that Jaehwang was able to see was the cold eyes of a hunter.
‘If the arrow doesn’t fly, it’s meaningless.’
‘An arrow has only one life.’
‘A hunter is not a fighter, a hunter is someone who hunts. A hunter’s mind must grow.’
And after going through that training, nothing could surprise Jaehwang anymore.
“Found it.”
She picked up Jaehwang’s compound protection that had fallen on the ground.
“It’s dented and dirty.”
It was a wreck on one side and the wire was completely undone. It looked like the monster had stepped on it.
“Okay, let’s get it.”
The cold fall wind blew across the mountains and made them feel like they were walking on ice. Jaehwang continued on as if he didn’t care and carefully inspected the arrow after he picked it up.
Their first goal was achieved. Although it was nothing compared to the arrow that the tattooed girl had given to him, he held it in his hand like it was made of gold because it was filled by his family’s memories.
-Well, should we keep going and see what else is here?
-Hm… Okay.
The spirit answered back in an uninterested tone. Jaehwang went deeper into the mountains following along a yellow string. Years ago, monster hunters would catch monsters by following their tracks. The activity that was going in the middle of this place shows that there could possibly be a monster’s nest somewhere and he wanted to find it.
He knew the mountains best. He continued to follow along the string and it suddenly began to feel as if it was leading into a sunken ground. But that place wasn’t drawn high up, it was a boulder that became a steep cliff. The thick and overgrown trees made it hard to see anywhere.
When they at that place, he heard the spirit’s voice.
-Wait. This place… It’s strange.
Jaehwang stopped in his tracks and started to look around as she spoke. It looked as if the ground disappeared along with the yellow string. There was a big hole that had been dug up in the place. It didn’t seem that there was anything they could find there.
-There’s strange energy coming from this place.
-Hm… I think we should find out what it is.
-Okay…
Jaehwang peeked inside the hole.
Whriiing…
The wind blew through his face, It didn’t seem like anything was inside but there was a strange smell among the warm air that lingered around. Gagseogs were known to have a good level of vision but the hole was still too dark to see what was inside.
-It’s too dark
-Your phone…
-Huh?
-Use it.
-Okay.
Swoosook…
Jaehwang took out his phone and turned it on. It lit up everything inside the hole as if it was daytime.
-Oh… I didn’t think of that.
He checked if the path was clear and went inside of the hole. At first he thought that it was just a rock but there were a lot of sand on the surface. He carefully went along and afterwards, he got surprised as he saw something in front of him.
It looked like a wavy transparent mirror but it didn’t reflect the light coming from Jaehwang’s phone.
-There’s lots of energy in this place. What is this place?
Jaehwang froze at her question before he gave her a nod in his head. He realized that this place was what the others had called a wormhole. This was the perfect place for a monster to make its nest but it looked like the one that stayed here was already gone. It either left through another dimension gate or it went to a completely different place.
He figured that the monster they exterminated came from here. He knew that when something like this is discovered, the hunters would pass through the wormhole and block it. Even so, if the other hunters had already sealed it with the special concrete then it would automatically cover the other way and it would not be accessible.
Jaehwang slowly touched it with his hand.
Peok…
It sounded as if he dipped his hand into water. He took his hand out to check if it was alright before putting it in deeper. Jaehwang then nervously stopped breathing when he felt the warm energy coming from the other side of the wormhole through his hand.
“Hueue…”
He took a deep breath and pulled out his hand with an anxious look on his face.
-What happened?
-The energy suddenly got stronger…
Jaehwang began to think that going through the wormhole and hunting monsters would be a good way to level up. It was not a completely bad idea because the Debauzers did that at the beginning of the dimension mashup and their skills grew because of that.
He thought that it would be a good choice for him.
Another Possibility 1, The end.