Chapter 42

Chapter 42

The [Capture] card did not have a Card Spirit drawn on it like the other cards.

It was simply a blank card.

I only understood why nothing had been drawn on it after checking the card’s effect.

[Capture]

Sealing Card

★★★

Captures monsters of 3-Star or lower and seals them inside the card.

You can command sealed monsters!

3

※ If you wish to increase the number, absorb Blue Etherium to duplicate the card!

※ Each time your grade increases, the number of Capture Cards increases by one!

※ The capture success rate varies depending on multiple factors, such as your disposition, grade, the target monster’s disposition, grade, and so on!

‘It seals monsters? Inside a card?’

Frankly, I was surprised.

It was a concept I had never heard of or seen before.

To think I could seal monsters inside cards and command them.

I wanted to test it immediately, but there was no suitable target.

Not only did I have no desire to put filthy monsters like Man-Eating Roaches into a card, but thanks to Ra Sihyeon burning all of them, not even one remained.

“C-Congratulations.”

Ra Sihyeon approached and congratulated me for raising my grade.

“Mm.”

“B-But.”

“……?”

“Um, did I do well just now?”

“What?”

“I was just wondering if I did well…….”

“You worked hard.”

“Is that all……?”

“Why?”

“I-I thought I would receive praise this time.”

“That is a Mage’s role, so why would I praise you for it?”

Ra Sihyeon’s shoulders drooped.

‘Not a chance.’

Praise?

It was not as though I could not offer that much lip service.

But the other party was Ra Sihyeon.

I did not want to give her any excuse to become arrogant.

The higher her nose rose, the more exponentially likely she would be to die by my hand.

“Still…… what you did just now was not bad.”

“……Really?”

Ra Sihyeon’s expression brightened noticeably.

Instead of answering, I checked the fledglings’ condition.

“How are you all?”

“I am fine, Big Brother.”

“I am fine too.”

Oh Taegwon and Kim Seunghye were fine, just as befitted their Role Categories.

“I think one of my arms is broken, but I can endure it.”

Park Seokho grimaced in pain.

“Hold still.”

I took the [Healing] card out of my deck and treated Park Seokho’s arm.

It was only one broken arm, so there should be no need to call Undina as well.

“What about Hobin and Instructor Kim?”

“We do not know.”

Kim Seunghye wore a troubled expression.

“Still, the three of you somehow managed to stay together.”

“We were lucky.”

“Ah, that matters.”

People often overlooked it, but Luck was more important than they imagined.

Especially when working as a Hunter, there were many times when one painfully realized how important it was to have good Luck.

That was because even a very small variable could often change the situation by a full one hundred eighty degrees.

In that sense, the [Luck] card was truly useful.

Runes or items that raised an abstract ability like Luck were extremely rare…….

“Let us form a bond first.”

After forming a bond, we started moving again.

“May I ask what the plan is, Big Brother?”

Oh Taegwon asked cautiously.

“First, we have to find Hobin and Instructor Kim.”

“Then the next plan is……?”

“We will have to see the situation.”

There were too many variables for me to give a definite answer, so that was all I said for now.

It was because a troublesome environment called the [Fog Labyrinth] had formed of all things.

“Everyone, put your hands on the shoulders of the person ahead and follow me. Keep checking. If you fall behind by even a few steps, you may end up somewhere completely different.”

Nod, nod!

The chicks nodded up and down.

“Watch your muzzles, and if you need to fire, say so before you shoot. If you recklessly pull the trigger first and shoot an ally to death, I will not let it slide.”

Ra Sihyeon placed her hand on my shoulder and threatened the team members.

“If your gun does not fire, stay calm and clear it the way you were taught. Do not panic and fumble.”

For goodness’ sake.

Why are you saying what I was supposed to say……?

“What was that?”

“Wh-What do you mean?”

“What was that just now?”

“I said what Big Brother was going to say for you.”

Ra Sihyeon looked oddly proud.

“That is not something you should be saying.”

“Let us hurry. We have to find that idol big brother and Instructor Kim.”

Ra Sihyeon quietly changed the subject.

I considered flicking her forehead once, but I held back.

As she said, finding Instructor Kim Sangeung and Jeong Hobin came first right now.

***

Moving through the Fog Labyrinth was mentally exhausting.

In a situation where enemies could leap out at any time and from anywhere, walking through a fog where we could barely see a few meters ahead put everyone’s nerves on edge.

But what drove people even more insane than that was the mixture of every kind of noise.

Explosions, screams, monsters’ growls, gunfire, and more.

Since space had been distorted and tangled together, the various noises that came through in fragments gnawed away at people’s minds every moment.

Everyone was so tense that their eyes were turning bloodshot merely from following me.

“Everyone, relax a little.”

Unable to watch any longer, I had no choice but to speak.

“As long as you follow me, nothing too dangerous should happen, so do not be too tense. When you are tense, even things that should work will not.”

“B-But.”

Park Seokho looked around in every direction as he spoke.

“If you die, you die. Why are you so frightened?”

“Pardon……?”

“The average survival rate for first-year Hunters is around thirty percent. That means seven out of ten die within a year.”

“Huh?”

“Why are you pretending to be surprised now? It has been fifteen years since the Transference Crisis occurred. How many of the First-Generation Hunters who first Awakened are still alive now? Even in the Republic of Korea, you can count them on one hand, can you not?”

“Th-That is true.”

“That is a Hunter’s life. The life of a fly. Yes, that is exactly what it is.”

“…….”

“There is no need to tremble. You are going to die anyway, so what does it matter whether it is today or tomorrow? If you die, you die. So………….”

Oh no.

I had said it to help them relax, but the atmosphere had sunk heavily.

Of course, I thought that being a little gloomy was better than having everyone’s nerves so strained from tension.

After all, when people were tense, they made mistakes they normally would not.

“But.”

Ra Sihyeon spoke.

“Big Brother, are you really a Prospective Hunter?”

“What makes you ask that?”

“Because you speak like someone who has been through every kind of hardship?”

“I-It is not as though I need to have experienced it to know that. It all comes out in the statistics.”

“That is true.”

“Be quiet and just follow me properly.”

Tap. Something caught on the tip of my foot.

I looked down to see what it was and found a person’s leg wearing a military boot.

“……This is.”

After I took another step or two, a horrific sight unfolded before my eyes.

Corpses, corpses, and more corpses.

Nearly twenty corpses were strewn all over the place.

“Marine Corps…… Special Reconnaissance Unit and Hunters, is it?”

Like a worn-down veteran, I could guess the identities of the dead just by looking at their clothing.

“Th-They are all dead.”

“Ugh.”

“What do we do……?”

The team members reacted as if they could hardly bear to look.

That was understandable.

No matter how insane the world had become, witnessing so many corpses was not a common experience.

“Watch the surroundings. I will examine the bodies.”

“Yes.”

I left the team members to keep watch and examined the fallen soldiers’ bodies and the situation around them.

After looking around for about a minute, I could infer to some extent who had killed them.

“This was not done by monsters.”

“Wh-What do you mean? If monsters did not do this…….”

Oh Taegwon was startled out of his wits.

“A person…… perhaps even an ally.”

“Pardon……?”

“Look.”

I pointed at the scene as I spoke.

“The direction they are lying in is strange.”

“I do not really understand.”

“Their heads and bodies are facing inward. This is not a combat formation.”

“Huh?”

“It is also strange that there are only a few spent casings on the ground. If this had happened while they were fighting monsters, there should be at least hundreds of casings on the ground.”

“Ah?”

“The wounds on the bodies are also too clean to have been caused by monsters. Every one of them is a wound from a sharp blade. As if they had all agreed on it, they were stabbed in vital spots and died from excessive bleeding. Look, this is a sea of blood. This is…… the work of an outstanding Hunter. One who uses a dagger well.”

I could be certain.

My experience told me so.

This was not done by a monster, but by a person.

“Who would do something like this……?”

If this had been another area, I would have suspected Wreckers.

But this place was Jebudo.

Since the Special Force Training Center was located here, it was not such an easy place that Wreckers could casually loiter around.

I looked over the corpses again.

‘This is the work of a butcher.’

This was not a fight, but a massacre.

Even for a Hunter, it was difficult to use a dagger this skillfully against people…….

Judging from the wounds, this went beyond simply being skilled with a dagger. It would not be an exaggeration to say that this person was well-versed in killing people.

‘The only places that systematically teach killing techniques like this are…… special forces. Though there is also the possibility that it was an Assassin-Type Hunter specialized in daggers.’

Instead of voicing my thoughts, I briefly warned the team members.

“Do not trust anyone you meet from now on. Not until I say they are fine. Never let your guard down, and suspect them until the very end. Understood?”

“Yes.”

We set out again to find Jeong Hobin and Instructor Kim Sangeung.

‘No, surely not.’

A certain thought flashed through my mind, but I forcibly erased it.

Misunderstandings and guesses were forbidden.

But one person kept coming to mind.

Even though I knew there was no way that could be true…….

***

About thirty minutes after we left that horrific scene behind.

Step, step!

Footsteps sounded from the opposite direction.

Flick, flick.

At my hand signal, the team members tactfully spread out to the left and right and formed a battle line.

Before long, the owner of the footsteps appeared.

“Instructor Kim!”

Oh Taegwon recognized the other party and looked delighted.

It was Instructor Kim Sangeung, Bravo Team’s Dedicated Instructor and my father’s junior.

“Is anyone hurt?”

The moment he saw us, a relieved smile appeared on Instructor Kim Sangeung’s face.

“Thank goodness. I was worried about all of you, but seeing you gathered like this puts me at ease. Eunseong, you must have been the one leading them, right?”

Instructor Kim Sangeung asked me.

CLACK!

Instead of answering, I aimed my rifle at him.

“……!”

The team members flinched in surprise at my sudden action.

However, perhaps because they had not forgotten what I had warned them about a little while ago, no one stepped forward rashly.

“What are you?”

“Mm?”

“I asked what your true identity is.”

Instructor Kim Sangeung’s expression hardened slightly.

“I know you are very tense, but there is no need to point your muzzle even at me. Eunseong, it is all right, so lower your gun. It is me, Uncle Sangeung.”

“Bullshit.”

I did not waver.

There was no way I would fall for such a shallow trick.

I was far too worn-down and seasoned for that.

“I see no traces of fighting monsters, only plenty of traces of killing people.”

“What are you talking about? Me, killing people?”

“You are walking around plastered in human blood, yet you are playing innocent?”

“…….”

Instructor Kim Sangeung’s face stiffened.

A brief silence passed, and then Instructor Kim Sangeung opened his mouth.

“You are quick-witted.”

Instructor Kim Sangeung’s face twisted like an evil spirit’s.

It was a chillingly grotesque expression, one that made it impossible to tell whether he was smiling or crying.