Chapter 9

Chapter 9

The roar the Crocodile of the Abyss unleashed was a vibration that shook the entire cave. Stone fragments rained from the ceiling, striking the floor and raising clouds of dust. Park Cheoljin sat frozen in place, unable to produce so much as a whimper. To him, this monster was not merely an opponent beyond his ability—it was death itself, freezing the soul on sight alone.

But just before that shadow of death could descend upon Park Cheoljin's head, everything stopped.

To be precise, all kinetic energy ceased at the fingertips of the man standing before him.

"Jina."

Somyeong's low voice rang out. It pierced through the monster's roar and the crash of crumbling rock, reaching her as clearly as a whisper spoken right beside her ear.

"Close your eyes and cover your ears for just ten seconds. I'll clean this up in a moment."

Jina could not answer. No—she had forgotten even to breathe. The energy radiating from her brother's back was far too alien. The languid, absent-minded brother she had always known was nowhere to be found. What stood there now was an existence like a vast mountain range, gazing down upon all things.

Grrrrr.......

The Crocodile of the Abyss instinctively flinched and retreated. Its instincts as an A-rank demonic beast were screaming a warning. The being before it was not prey. Its primal instincts shrieked that the hierarchy had been reversed—that the most dangerous existence in this space was no longer itself.

"What, you were full of spirit a moment ago. Trying to back away now?"

Somyeong took a single light step forward.

THOOM—!

He had merely placed his foot down, yet the cave floor cracked apart like a spider's web, and a powerful pressure radiated outward with Somyeong at its center. Park Cheoljin, crushed by that pressure, lay with his face pressed to the ground, trembling. He even hallucinated a massive black wave crashing behind Somyeong's back.

'Impossible...... This is not energy a human being can emit.'

Park Cheoljin's mind flashed white with terror. Not even the S-rank hunters he had seen at the Association had ever exuded pressure like this. This was not a matter of rank. The very caliber of the being was on a different plane.

GRAAAAAAGH—!

The crocodile, its terror peaked, opened its maw in a final act of desperation. Crimson magical energy condensed inside the beast's jaws, and a destructive beam blasted forth. A single shot that tore through the cave's air as it flew, carrying enough power to reshape the very terrain of a B-rank dungeon.

But Somyeong did not dodge. He merely swept his hand through the air, as if swatting away an annoyance.

BOOM—!

With a splitting sound that cleaved the air, the transparent energy from Somyeong's palm collided with the crimson beam. It was a head-on clash of force against force, but the result was devastating. The demonic beast's killing blow crumpled like paper and scattered in every direction.

Somyeong burst through the scattering remnants of magical energy and closed the distance to the crocodile's snout in an instant.

"I told you—you're too loud."

Somyeong's fist struck the beast directly between the eyes.

CRASH—!

With a sound like a bomb detonating, the crocodile's massive head was driven into the ground. Its scales, said to be harder than steel, shattered, and its skull caved in, carving an enormous crater into the earth.

A single blow. No flashy techniques, no complex magical formulas. A result born purely of overwhelming physical strength and pristine energy.

The crocodile convulsed without managing so much as a death cry. Somyeong did not stop. He stepped down on the beast's nape.

CRACK, CRUNCH.

The sounds of bones dislocating and muscles tearing echoed through the quiet cave. The demonic beast, over ten meters in length, squirmed like an insect beneath Somyeong's foot before going limp.

It was over.

Somyeong adjusted his cargo bag and steadied his breathing. Then he slowly turned his head to look at Jina, who stood frozen.

"Jina, you can open your eyes now."

Jina lifted her trembling eyelids. The sight before her was brutal. The boss monster that had been called the master of this dungeon was crushed beyond recognition. And standing atop it, as though nothing had happened, was her brother.

'That can't be.'

Ten thousand thoughts raced through Jina's mind. Her brother, who had gone missing a year ago and returned. The gradual changes in her surroundings since his return. The unbelievable medicine she had taken yesterday, and the offhand advice her brother had tossed her way.

Every piece was merging into a single picture.

'Was Oppa...... like this from the very beginning?'

The Somyeong reflected in Jina's eyes was no longer the carefree brother of old. He was an absolute powerhouse standing at a height she could not even begin to fathom.

Somyeong left Jina's complicated gaze behind and approached Park Cheoljin, who lay face-down on the floor. Park Cheoljin had already wet himself in terror.

"P-Please...... spare me......"

Park Cheoljin's voice trembled miserably. Somyeong crouched in front of him and looked down with cold eyes.

"Examiner."

"Y-Yes! Yes, sir! Please, go ahead!"

"Do you remember what happened here today?"

Park Cheoljin shook his head frantically.

"I-I didn't see anything! I just...... lost consciousness because of the dungeon overload, and when I woke up, the situation was already over! The boss monster was...... killed by Hunter Kang Jina after she awakened! Yes, that is correct! I truly know nothing!"

Park Cheoljin's desperate words were spoken for survival. Somyeong gave a satisfied nod and patted his shoulder.

"Smart man. That's right. Our Jina's talent is just overflowing, so she happened to awaken in the moment of crisis. As expected of a White Tiger Guild vice team leader—your situational judgment is excellent."

Somyeong's voice was warm, but the hand pressing Park Cheoljin's shoulder carried a warning that could grind bone to dust.

"But let's say, hypothetically, you have a drink or two and some nonsense slips out, or something odd ends up in the report...... I might have to pay a personal visit to your home that day. I'm terrible with directions, so I really hate looking for people's houses."

"You have nothing to worry about! I swear on my life to keep my mouth shut! I swear on my honor—no, on everything I have!"

Park Cheoljin slammed his forehead to the floor as he swore his oath. Only then did Somyeong remove his hand and stand.

***

The dungeon's atmosphere slowly began to stabilize. With the boss monster felled, the rampaging magical energy crystal lost its light and died down.

Somyeong approached the crocodile's carcass and nudged it with his foot. From between the crushed flesh, a black core radiating a brilliant glow popped out.

'Now this might be useful.'

It was among the highest grade of A-rank demonic beast cores. Somyeong shoved it carelessly into his pocket.

"Oppa."

Jina called out to Somyeong cautiously. Her voice carried a reverence and a tangle of complex emotions that had not been there before.

Somyeong turned to face her with his usual languid smile.

"What? Scared? Don't worry, it's all over now."

"......Don't lie."

The rims of Jina's eyes reddened.

"Who are you really, Oppa? Where were you for that year? What was that just now? Explain. I'm not stupid."

Somyeong was silent for a moment. The sound of water dripping from the cave ceiling seemed unusually loud. He scratched the back of his head and walked over to Jina.

"Later. I'll tell you everything later. Right now, getting out of here comes first. Mom will be waiting."

Jina asked nothing more. No matter how vast the truth her brother was hiding, the fact that he had protected her just now would not change.

"......When we get home, I'm asking for kimchi stew."

"Sure. I'll tell Mom to put in lots of Spam."

Somyeong gently stroked Jina's head.

The three of them began walking toward the Gate entrance, where light was gradually seeping in. Park Cheoljin, left behind, still could not stand, his legs trembling beneath him.

Meanwhile, at the same moment, on the 32nd floor of the White Tiger Guild headquarters in Gangnam, Seoul—the Central Control Room.

"Team Leader! We have an anomaly!"

A monitoring agent who had been watching the screens cried out urgently. The main screen displayed the dungeon's internal magical energy readings as a real-time graph.

"What is it? What happened?"

"Sector B-14, the Blue Mist Cave—magical energy readings dropped to zero instantaneously. It's been only three minutes since the dungeon break precursor occurred."

The team leader furrowed his brow and zoomed in on the screen.

"Life signs from the deep-layer boss monster?"

"Extinguished. But...... it's abnormal. There are no traces of a magical energy explosion, and almost no skill usage logs remain. It appears as though it was crushed by a single, massive physical force."

The air inside the control room froze in an instant. The fact that a boss monster in a B-rank dungeon had been dealt with in just three minutes, and by an unmeasurable method at that, was completely unprecedented.

"Who's in there?"

"Vice Team Leader Park Cheoljin, the new recruit test subject Hunter Kang Jina, and one porter."

The team leader pulled up Kang Jina's profile on screen.

"There's absolutely no way Park Cheoljin could do this. Kang Jina...... did this person really have this level of potential?"

He propped his chin in his hand and sank into deep thought.

"Dispatch a scene preservation team immediately. And the moment Park Cheoljin comes out, tell him to report to my office. I want a full debrief—every last detail."

The White Tiger Guild's Central Control Room sprang into motion. This bizarre record, shattering the silence, was the beginning of a storm that would soon shake the entire hunter world.

Somyeong stepped out of the dungeon and squinted against the brilliant sunlight.

"Ah, nice weather."

He adjusted the worn bag on his shoulder and stretched. He could feel the demonic beast core clinking in his pocket.

"Let's go, Jina. Tonight's dinner is going to have a meat side dish."