By Zephyria 
“Even if you can’t fight, your experience must be extensive. That in itself is a huge help.”
At his urging, Tae-un stood up immediately without a word. Gwak Yun-sang realized once again the necessity of grabbing Kim Si-baek by the pant legs to keep him tied down in Korea.
As Kim Si-baek did some light stretching while staying alert to his surroundings, he felt a presence creeping closer. It was Bae Jihan.
“Mister!”
“……Ah, yes. Have you finished your meal?”
Kim Si-baek responded, realizing a bit late that the term was referring to him. The rest of the group was full of curiosity about the nameless hunter who had displayed phenomenal skill, but because he was an unfamiliar face, they couldn’t easily approach. However, Bae Jihan, driven by his usual personality and the reckless impulsiveness that grows stronger at that age, greeted him abruptly.
“It was my first time eating army food, and it tastes bad. Mister, you’re damn strong, seriously amazing. You’re S-class, right? Not just S-class, you’d probably hit world-class easily. Have you been active while hiding your identity until now? I didn’t know how famous Tae-un was, so I made a guess. I bet you’ve been secretly saving people like a hero in some place like Oji! Right? If you didn’t have a homegrown look, I would’ve mistaken you for a sword master playing the ‘hidden powerhouse’ concept.”
Swept away by the flood of pouring words, Kim Si-baek barely managed to ask back.
“Sword master?”
“Aw, you’re playing the concept again. Karl Werner. The sword master of Germany.”
“Ah…… I know Karl Werner.”
A strand of memory from the past flickered in his mind. As a fencer, it was a name he couldn’t possibly not know.
He was the man who had handed him a defeat in the Olympic semifinals. After the match, he had even received encouragement, saying, ‘Let’s meet again at the next Olympics, kiddo,’ but he never stepped foot in an Olympic arena again.
Since he was a genius swordsman who achieved three consecutive Olympic gold medals, it wasn’t strange that he became an outstanding hunter called a sword master after awakening.
“Of course you’d know. There’s no way you wouldn’t. But can I ask you one thing?”
“What is it?”
“Earlier, when you used your ability, light just started appearing from your sword and body. Is that your ability? I’ve never heard of light emitting while using magical power!”
Magical power was a foreign energy that began to be detected in the world after the Great Cataclysm, a power wielded by those who had awakened abilities. It was a concept he understood quickly as it meant the same thing as mak slecht.
“Your ability is levitation or flight, right?”
Bae Jihan continued to make a fuss, saying it was a technique that seemed like something out of a martial arts novel.
“Is the fact that you look so young also something like ‘returning to youth’?”
The sight reminded him of the younger children at the orphanage, so Kim Si-baek let out a small chuckle.
“Rather than a specific trait…… is it the power of faith?”
Since it was a power stemming from sincere religious faith, it wasn’t a lie.
“……With your face, if you sold jade heating pads, I feel like I’d buy them, so don’t say things like that. I’ve already been scammed by a fraud who said he’d awaken me, and I got scolded to death after pouring money into it behind my mom’s back.”
“Are there scammers like that?”
“Tons of them. Ugh, if only I could awaken, my life would change.”
As if understanding the lament, the baby crow perched on Kim Si-baek’s head fluttered its wings.
“Ah, right. Mister. That bird is a pet, right? Be careful not to lose it. If you lose it inside a portal, you can’t find it. I’ll ask people if there’s a string you can tie to its ankle.”
“It’s alright. It won’t fly far away on its own.”
“Is it damn smart because it’s a crow?”
“More importantly, Jihan-gun.”
“……Oh, yes?”
Since it was the first time someone had called him ‘Jihan-gun’ after he gave his name, Bae Jihan answered blankly. Kim Si-baek, with the bird perched on his crown, continued benevolently. He had a face that inspired trust, like a jade heating pad salesman.
“Do you happen to have a religion you believe in?”
* * *
There were four people gathered at the makeshift meeting spot, slightly distanced so their conversation couldn’t be heard. Gwak Yun-sang from the Supernatural Phenomenon Response Agency and three hunters from the 7777 Guild.
Tae-un’s voice cut sharply through the air.
“What do you mean by dividing the team into two? And separating me and Si-baek hyung?”
Gwak Yun-sang wiped the cold sweat that had trickled down his neck.
“As the Guild Master may have guessed, the department store where we suspect the core to be is not that close.”
“The host is likely someone working at the department store.”
“That’s highly probable, but when I checked with the measuring device earlier, an outer core was detected. Which means there is one more core.”
An Id Portal usually has one core, but very rarely, two or more cores are detected. In such cases, one cannot reach the inner core at the deepest point without first removing the outer core.
However, there was a problem.
“Ha.”
Tae-un let out a scathing scoff that made even the unrelated Pi Min-hyeong and Seo Gae-un flinch.
“That piece of trash with a hit rate of less than 30 percent?”
“……It’s 27.83 percent, so if you round it up, it’s 30 percent. If only hunters had entered, we would move together, but there are many civilians. We don’t know where the outer core will be found, or if it will be found at all, so it’s difficult to search while guarding civilians.”
Therefore, the opinion to divide the hunters—one team to protect the civilians here and a small elite Special Task Force to search for the outer core—made sense. Naturally, since the combat power was split in half, the burden of protecting civilians was great, but it was a strategy that could be proposed because there were four S-class hunters present.
“I agree with Section Chief Gwak’s opinion.”
“I also think it’s a good idea. I want to get out quickly and have a proper meal. I want to eat our President Kang’s sweet and sour pork.”
But for Tae-un, it wasn’t a given.
“Then why not let me and Si-baek hyung stay and send those guys?”
“Hunter Seo Gae-un is a tanker. We have tankers in our Invitation Bureau as well, so it’s more rational to assign Hunter Seo Gae-un to the Special Task Force, and for the dealer, the Guild Master, who has the strongest firepower……”
“Me? The weak, useless me? I’d just be a burden to Seo Gae-un. Section Chief Gwak, did your frontal lobe get sliced or something? Huh?”
“…….”
Ah, fuck. Kim Si-baek isn’t even listening, so how long is he going to keep up this act? Gwak Yun-sang cursed inwardly while clenching his fists. He had to persuade him here.
He absolutely did not want to know the reason why he was acting this way, but it was obvious that Tae-un would not budge in front of Kim Si-baek. To utilize the maximum power that was Tae-un, he absolutely had to separate the two.
The unexpected relief pitcher was Pi Min-hyeong.
“Don’t you know how to play hard to get?”
“…….”
“Listening to President Choi, weren’t you stuck with hyungnim at your house the whole time? Hyungnim was the one who ordered food and ate with you, right? Ugh, just thinking about it is exhausting. You must have looked at your dark face all day long.”
“Hyung thinks my face is cute.”
“……Yeah, must be nice. I’m damn jealous.”
Having jumped in only to hear something he shouldn’t have, Pi Min-hyeong awkwardly backed away. Still, it was a definite help.
Tae-un frowned deeply with annoyance, but he reached out his hand to Gwak Yun-sang.
“Measuring device.”
While delivering the news that he had been assigned to the Special Task Force, Tae-un gave a detailed explanation. At his words that he was following along as an advisor because he was an experienced one, Kim Si-baek also encouraged him.
“Right, right. Do a good job. If you’re scared, make sure to hide behind Gae-un.”
Once he and Seo Gae-un disappeared, Biyendwe asked.
[Death and Beauty are worried about putting only two people, who are already weak, into a team.]
“Un-i said that?”
Kim Si-baek laughed softly.
“That kid is someone who faints from anemia in front of me even after fighting 17 against 1.”
✽ ✽ ✽
Id Portals inspired more fear in people than magical beasts. The idea that a family member, a friend, or oneself could mutate was a direct, visceral fear. However, humans are bound to adapt to their environment.
As the reason for the creation of Id Portals was identified and the frequency of occurrence decreased compared to the period of peak chaos, people gradually began to perceive Id Portals as something akin to traffic accidents.
Unlike in the past, when a single Id Portal occurrence would cause a stir, now it was merely mentioned as a short brief in internet newspapers. However, just as a major traffic accident takes up a segment of the news, an Id Portal that swept up more than thirty people became an object of attention.
Officials from the Supernatural Phenomenon Response Agency set up and blocked off a restricted line around the men’s clothing section on the third floor of the department store where the Id Portal had occurred. An Id Portal mutates immediately if an external shock is applied. Since they knew this, onlookers peeked but never approached closely. The families of the missing, believed to have been swept up, clasped their hands in prayer from a distance.
Reporters were also gathered, chatting among themselves.
“Has the host been identified?”
“Not yet.”
Since the host of an Id Portal could be a hint to finding the deepest point and the Portal Keeper, raid teams usually confirmed information about the host before entering. However, it was difficult to do so in places with high floating populations like department stores or when there were many missing persons.
The host of an Id Portal appears within the portal’s domain after it is cleared. Therefore, it is impossible to know if a person currently out of contact is the host, a missing person swept up, or simply someone who turned off their phone.
Although the raid team had entered without even gauging the identity of the host, the officials, onlookers, and families of the missing did not seem particularly tense.
Well, that was only natural.
“I heard the Seven Guild Master was swept up.”