Chapter 21

Instructor Choi Mi-hee (2)

Kim Dong-seok, a manager at Dawn Management, was in an exceptionally good mood.

He had gone from being Seong Chan-yang’s dedicated manager to having two additional clients, Lee Shin and Choi Bom, but he had no problem with the increased workload. Kim Dong-seok had always been a workaholic.

‘Chan-yang said she’s doing really well.’

Seong Chan-yang was someone whose talent Kim Dong-seok had recognized back when she was still a junior. He had brought her into Dawn and helped nurture her career.

Considering how long they had known each other and the age difference between them, Seong Chan-yang was practically like a daughter to Kim Dong-seok.

Kim Dong-seok considered Lee Shin a benefactor. Not only had he saved Seong Chan-yang when she had been dying, he had even helped her regain the cheerfulness and optimism she had recently begun to lose.

Even if Lee Shin had never brought him armor like the one from before, or any other such items, Kim Dong-seok would still have been loyal to him.

And now, Lee Shin had entrusted someone named Choi Bom to him.

“We’ve finished preparing all the consumables, such as potions, and auxiliary equipment provided by Dawn Management. It’s just that the quality of the equipment is a little too high to invest in a trainee....”

“If that causes any problems, I’ll pay for it out of my own pocket.”

“Then what about the personnel assigned to her care...?”

“I’ll handle everything personally. There isn’t a manager in this agency better than me. More importantly, I won’t feel at ease unless I handle it all myself. If I need more people later, I’ll ask for them, so you don’t need to worry about it.”

Kim Dong-seok was even handling minor tasks himself, as though he had gone back to his early days at the company.

Considering Kim Dong-seok’s position within Dawn Management, it was remarkable.

“What about the crisis management team?”

“We’ve assigned a security detail for now. The most notable upcoming issue is the field training at the Cheorwon Rift. The academy holds the event every quarter....”

“I know about the field training. There probably won’t be any problems, but....”

Unlike the early days after Rifts first began appearing, a proper system had now been established, so accidents during field training were virtually unheard of.

But that didn’t mean there had never been one.

Kim Dong-seok thought for a moment, then canceled his entire weekend schedule.

Sleep a little more and leave himself with lingering unease.

Or sleep a little less and be thorough.

Kim Dong-seok was the kind of man who always chose the latter.

“Arrange the weekend personnel.”

***

Despite undergoing systematic education and repeated training, rookie Hunters still ended up injured or killed.

No matter how elite their training was, practice and actual combat were fundamentally different.

That was why field training was a mandatory part of the Hunter Academy’s curriculum. The difference between someone who had experienced a real Rift and someone who hadn’t was simply too great.

Cross over into an unknown world, become a hero of humanity, and fight monsters.

Put into words, it conjured up the romantic, glamorous life of a protagonist.

But Instructor Choi Mi-hee, a former Hunter who had spent five years in the field, knew the reality all too well.

“I’ll say it again. Do not let your guard down!”

Having fought on the fiercest battlefields, Instructor Choi Mi-hee was known for being stricter, sharper, and more sensitive than the academy’s other instructors.

Naturally, that also made her the least popular instructor among the trainees.

“Yeees....”

Instructor Choi Mi-hee heard their listless response.

Their expressions practically screamed, Why are you taking this so seriously?

Scattered around in front of the shimmering Rift, the trainees were excited like college students on an orientation trip or high school girls on a field trip.

She could even hear some of them grumbling about how disappointing it was that they couldn’t take photos or videos.

Choi Mi-hee had to forcibly suppress the urge to grab those trainees by the collar, ask if they thought this was some kind of joke, and kick them out of the program on the spot.

“Instructor Choi, loosen up a little today.”

As Choi Mi-hee sat by herself, a pleasant-looking man, Instructor Oh Seong-cheol, held out an Americano to her with an easygoing smile.

Unlike Choi Mi-hee, he was extremely popular with the trainees.

“Sure, you have to keep a tight rein on these kids, but haven’t you heard of the carrot and the stick? If your instructor evaluation score hits rock bottom again this year, you might not be an instructor anymore next year.”

“...I don’t care.”

“How can you not care? Having your own philosophy and convictions is important, sure, but making a living comes first. These kids are going to cause trouble whether you’re lenient or strict with them. You know that, don’t you?”

“.....”

“Living like that is exhausting. And you’re not just like this with the trainees. You’re a stickler for the rules even with the other instructors, so you eat lunch alone every day and don’t even have a single friend you can talk openly with. If you’re too rigid, you’ll break. People break, you know.”

Just as Instructor Oh Seong-cheol had said, Choi Mi-hee was unwelcome among both the trainees and her fellow instructors.

Holding the Americano he had given her, Choi Mi-hee sat there blankly for a while.

Oh Seong-cheol returned to his group and called out,

“All right, my little chicks! Once we finish the entire field exercise, I’ll give you your phones back, so let’s get through this without any problems. Anyone who wants to can get permission to take photos or videos afterward. Change your profile picture, upload it to your feed, whatever you want. Just give me one clean run through this thing, got it?”

“Whoa! Instructor Oh is the best!”

“Yaaaaay!”

The trainees under Instructor Oh Seong-cheol were delighted.

The other instructors said similar things, and seeing that, the trainees under Instructor Choi Mi-hee began looking at her expectantly.

“Don’t get your hopes up. We’re following regulations.”

But Choi Mi-hee couldn’t do that.

She heard the faint grumbling that erupted around her, but she wasn’t someone who could live like Instructor Oh Seong-cheol, nor could she compromise with reality just enough to secure another contract like the other instructors.

Choi Mi-hee thought,

This world needs someone like me, too.

“We’re going in!”

Unlike the other trainees, whose morale was soaring, those following Instructor Choi Mi-hee grumbled.

Why did we have to get Bitch Mi-hee? This sucks....

She could hear comments like that, but Choi Mi-hee ignored them.

She could endure as much criticism as they wanted to throw at her.

The Hunters assigned to the Cheorwon Rift entered first through the shimmering entrance nestled among the towering trees of the rugged mountain terrain.

The experienced Hunters went inside, then soon emerged again and made an okay sign with their fingers.

It meant there were no problems.

Only after seeing the signal did the instructors enter. Once they had determined that it was safe, the trainees were finally allowed inside the Rift.

With a strange sensation like plunging into water and emerging again, the trainees crossed over into the world beyond the Rift.

“Whoa, it’s seriously huge....”

“It feels kind of creepy, too.”

The hilly terrain and lush natural scenery they had been looking at moments ago had completely vanished.

The world beyond the Rift was a land covered in gray ash, with an enormous plain stretching out before them without a single building or tree in sight.

“You should all know that the Rifts follow a designated theme for each cycle, with a cycle repeating every five years. The theme of the fourth cycle, which will conclude at the end of this year, is [Legion]. Its defining characteristics are....”

Even during the field exercise, Choi Mi-hee never neglected her explanations, much to the trainees’ annoyance.

They looked as though they were thinking, Here she goes again.

Meanwhile, Instructor Oh Seong-cheol, who was walking right beside them, was wondering whether they should have pork belly or fried chicken for the team dinner after the exercise.

So why are we the only ones stuck with this?

“Ah, seriously. Fucking Bitch Mi-hee.”

“You’d think we were in the middle of a war or something.”

“On the next instructor evaluation, I’m marking ‘extremely dissatisfied’ for everything. The seniors did it too, and my mom said the same thing. Apparently, if her ratings are bad enough, they won’t renew her contract and she’ll get fired. Bitch Mi-hee seriously needs to get fired.”

“Heh. But if Bitch Mi-hee gets fired, then we’ll be the only ones who had to suffer through this. What if the seniors only said that and actually marked ‘extremely satisfied’ for everything just to screw us over? You know, the whole ‘I’m not going down alone’ mentality.”

“Whatever. I hate her. She’s the worst.”

While the trainees continued grumbling, Choi Bom, standing among them, thought to herself,

Even so, how can everyone be so relaxed in a creepy place like this? I think I can understand Instructor Choi Mi-hee’s attitude, at least a little.

The field exercise continued for roughly thirty minutes without so much as an accident—or even the sight of a single monster.

Then, out on the previously empty plain, they spotted something unfamiliar.

“Huh? It’s a monster.”

It was a monster they had seen in video footage during training. But unlike in the videos, there was something about encountering a monster in reality that stirred an instinctive revulsion within them.

An inexplicable feeling that made them want nothing to do with it, that made them reluctant even to approach it.

The trainees, who had been excited by the unfamiliar experience until moments ago, all fell silent and hesitated.

Seeing the trainees frightened by their first encounter with a monster, one of the Hunters unconsciously smiled. Thinking back to when he had been like that himself, he found them rather endearing and drew the sword at his waist, deciding to show them something impressive.

But then—

“Huh?”

The Hunter froze.

『What... is that?』

The Cheorwon Rift monster known as the [Gray Rhino] resembled a rhinoceros and stood nearly three meters tall. It was a monster that an experienced Hunter could defeat without too much difficulty.

But there was an unfamiliar being sitting on its back.

『A scent.』

A pitch-black entity that looked as though it had been fashioned from all the darkness in the world.

Two horns protruded from its forehead, and membranous wings resembling those of a bat fluttered behind it....

A creature resembling what the media called a demon was sitting there, looking down upon them all.

『I can... smell it.』

More precisely, it was staring at Choi Bom.

『The scent of a god....』

Muttering those words, the creature rose to its feet.

At the same moment, the vast earth and the entire sky began turning pitch-black.

Black rain pattered down.

『The scent of the god... who humiliated a demon.』

The next instant, one of the trainees screamed.

“Aaaaaah!”

Panicking at the incomprehensible situation, the trainee began to run away.

But then her body abruptly stopped as though she had been frozen in place. She turned around, dropped to the ground, and began prostrating herself while howling like a beast.

As though worshiping something.

And then—

「A demon has appeared!」

A brief warning appeared in the status window.

After that warning, the same message began repeating endlessly.

「Run awayRun awayRun awayRun awayRun awayRun awayRun awayRun awayRunRunRunRunRunRunRunRunRunRunRunRunRunRunRunRunRunRunRunRunRunRunRunRunRunRunRunRunRunRunRunRunRunRunRunRunRunRunRunRunRunRunRunRunRunRunRunRunRunRunRunRunRunRunRunRunRunRunRun」

Shocked by the bizarre situation, the trainees could do nothing, and even the instructors, Hunters who had retired long ago, fell into a panic.

And the Hunters who were supposed to throw themselves into danger to protect them?

“Aaaaaaaaaah!”

With their eyes dyed pitch-black, they were grinning broadly as they prostrated themselves before the demon.

Every last one of them had already fallen into the demon’s grasp.

In this hopeless situation, Instructor Oh Seong-cheol trembled uncontrollably. His face turned deathly pale as he whimpered, then abandoned all of his trainees and began running away.

But escape was not permitted.

Oh Seong-cheol tripped and fell onto the dirt.

When he rose again, he spread both arms wide, howled like a beast, and began prostrating himself.

All that came from his mouth were incomprehensible shrieks.

“Kyaaaaak—!”

“Hngh... ah... ugh....”

As darkness seemed to close in around them, the trainees burst into tears, each crying out the names of the people most precious to them.

Unbearable terror.

An incomprehensible situation.

Helplessness, sorrow, and fear crashing over them all at once.

And yet—

“Get a hold of yourselves!”

Conviction and duty.

“Inside a Rift! Something like this can happen at any time! So do what you were taught!”

“Sniff... How are we supposed to fight... something like that?”

“You’re not supposed to fight it! How many times have I told you?! Fighting for humanity is something you do after receiving your license and proving that you’re sufficiently qualified!”

“Then....”

“Trainees are our future! As I told you before, the field personnel, including myself, will protect humanity’s future with our lives! Run! While I buy you time, run as far as you can, return to where you’re supposed to go—and live.”

Instructor Choi Mi-hee brought out equipment she had not once used in actual combat since retiring.

A shield she had maintained every single day without fail.

And a gleaming helmet resembling a safety helmet, something that had once been practically synonymous with her.

Choi Mi-hee shouted,

“DISPERSE!”

The trainees scattered in every direction, sobbing.

As Choi Bom ran after them, she looked back at Instructor Choi Mi-hee standing before that terrifying entity with her shield raised.

The hands of Choi Mi-hee, who had always barked orders at them in a booming voice, were drenched in sweat.

They were trembling with fear.

Today, her back looked unusually small and pitiful.

And then—

“Aaaaaah!”

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Black pillars dropped from the pitch-black sky, blocking the fleeing trainees.

Black walls rose between the pillars. No matter how hard the trainees pounded and kicked them, the walls did not budge.

Apparently, the demon had no intention of allowing the humans to escape.

『Move aside.』

Boom!

The demon landed on the ground and looked at Choi Mi-hee, who stood with her shield raised, biting her lip as she glared at it.

But despite trembling in terror, Choi Mi-hee shouted back.

In that same booming voice the trainees had always hated.

“GO—TO—HELL!!”

**

—You need reinforcements dispatched immediately? Understood. I’m currently in Cheorwon. I’ll take the entire personnel team and head there myself. Don’t worry.

While traveling toward Cheorwon, Lee Shin contacted Manager Kim Dong-seok.

Surprisingly, despite it being the weekend, Kim Dong-seok had remained on constant standby near Choi Bom.

Inside the vehicle racing at full speed, Lee Shin thought with a grim expression.

There had been no such upheaval in Choi Bom’s fate when he had examined it.

His readings had never been wrong before.

So why?

「TIP: It is because of the demons.」

「TIP: The resource called ‘despair’ granted to them disrupts fate and distorts the gaze of the gods. That is what they were born to do.」

It was something he had never imagined.

Then what if this had happened before he obtained the small world?

What if he had lost his friend like this?

What kind of crushing sense of loss would Lee Shin have felt?

The thought alone was painful.

Seong Chan-yang spoke.

“It’ll be okay.”

“...I’m glad Hunter Seong Chan-yang is here. But will me going there really help?”

When Lee Shin had said that he didn’t know much about Seong Chan-yang, Choi Bom had explained who she was.

Seong Chan-yang was considered one of the finest Hunters in the Republic of Korea. Whether it was her accomplishments or the skill she had accumulated over the years, no one could deny that she was an exceptionally capable Hunter.

But what about Lee Shin himself?

Could he really be of any help...?

“Yes.”

Seong Chan-yang answered sincerely.

Those were not comforting words spoken as a paladin serving her god.

They were the words of Seong Chan-yang the Hunter.

You don’t realize it, do you?

Lee Shin himself seemed completely unaware.

But Seong Chan-yang, who possessed the abilities of a paladin, could see it.

Two worlds were raging within Lee Shin.

And those worlds were radiating a terrifyingly powerful presence.

It was a power she had never seen in any Hunter before.

You have no idea what kind of monsters live inside you.

The believers of the small world, having sensed their god’s wrath, had already finished preparing for battle.

And in her entire life, Seong Chan-yang had never once felt the presence of power this overwhelming.

Yes.

Not even once.

「The god’s wrath affects the world.」

「The world trembles.」

「The Holy War begins.」