Chapter 2

Thump-!!

Seoul, 2029.

The emergency bell rang at the Korean office department of hunters.

At least twenty hunters, those who were at office and training, simultaneously raised their heads.

– Unranked Gate appeared in An-Seong, Gyeon-gi, located at Bi-bong mountain.

– Teleporter preparing. Please collect your equipment and gather on the ground floor of the main building.

Even before the announcement was finished, about twenty, twenty-two hunters had prepared their equipment and gathered at the ground floor of the main building.

Yoo Ee-Na, a newcomer hunter, had also been deployed.

"What just happened?"

"I don't know."

It was the first time for an unranked gate to appear since the world had changed dramatically.

Usually, before the gate appeared, there were space distortions, and multiple collections of auras. Such a phenomenon was known as the precursor.

Yet, for the first time, a gate appeared without any warning sign.

"Maybe a pre-existing gate was the one who caused the break. What do you think?"

Lee Joo-Heon, her supervisor, immediately smirked after hearing her idea. "Don't express that you are a newcomer too much. The department of hunters catches every single gate without any errors. A gate break? That's not even possible. Quit saying useless sentences and be useful instead."

Yoo Ee-Na immediately shut her mouth.

She had worked as a freelance hunter for three years, and that experience allowed her to reach her current position. Yet, some people couldn't help but feel that her growth was unfair.

Three years was not a short period, but it was a really short amount of time compared to others.

It was a week since she had been 'appointed' as a B-level hunter under him. Yet, she already knew that she would not like him.

Jackass, she thought. It was the best word to describe Lee Joo-Heon. Ee-Na kept her distance from him.

Soon, the teleporter activated. The converging aura distorted the space before them to create a portal. Hunters entered the gate without any hesitation.

Regardless of their relationship, they were here to save the people from the dangerous creatures that would appear from the gate.

* * *

Honestly, I was mad at first.

My dear witch Yeo-Hwa ensured me that I could go back to my home, and I never doubted her words.

However, as I raised my head, I couldn't help but doubt her for the first time.

I didn't know how to describe the creature in front of me. It had a mixture of pig and human features. Green skinned, with two sharp canines curving up from its massive lower jaw.

I had never seen anything like it before in person.

However, I had at least seen something like it in a book. In the prehistoric era of the Valhalla continent, there were records that orcs existed. This creature matches the description of an orc.

Did my dear witch put the wrong destination?

Or was this some trick?

This weird creature was making bizarre sounds as it looked down on me.

That gaze showed its hostility, the willingness to kill me.

The creature was looking down on me… dear god. Who would have looked down on me?

It was a shame to say praise oneself, but my achievements were not simply products of luck.

As the monster suddenly raised its arm and swung hard, I easily lowered my head to dodge. Just a simple process. Then, my body moved naturally, reaching out to grab the creature's jaw.

"Kwaaliflsakflsf!"

The creature screamed out and stepped back. I moved one step forward. Just as I was preparing to break its neck, aura inside the orc exploded.

Boom!

Blue aura was flowing in his body. The orc's hand, with a strong grip, grabbed my wrist. Well, look at that, I thought as I chuckled. The orc's strength was similar to the one who just entered the level of master. That's all I needed to know.

I gathered my aura at my hand, then punched hard.

"Kwaaliflsakflsf!"

My fist penetrated its stomach. Aura inside him was fractured and soon exploded. To finish him off, I punched once more, digging my hand deep into the orc's stomach. Then, I unleashed my aura.

The black aura from my body swallowed the orc's body. First was its foot, then leg, and entire lower body. The orc's eyes were filled with fear. Its eyes were shaking. But who cared? I never spared my enemy's life. Even if I was back on Earth, that rule still applied.

Soon, the orc's entire body disappeared, scattering like dust. There was no blood spilled during that process. I shook both hands. There was no blood on my hands, but it was my habit.

'Now, let's find out about this place.'

Suddenly, I heard a woman's voice.

"What are you doing here? Haven't you heard of the evacuation order?"

It sounded Korean. That was my first thought. The Witch was curious about my world, so I once taught her my language. She managed to learn, but it was undeniable that her pronunciation was bad.

However, this lady had a native pronunciation. I felt sorry for doubting Yeo-Hwa. She kept her promise and sent me back to my home.

I turned my head and looked at the young woman. She was in her early twenties. She had a ponytail, and that suited her well.

However, the thing that caught my eye is her clothes. Her outfit was weird, considering that I was supposed to be in the 21st century. If my eyes were correct, that was armor. I checked once again. It was indeed armor. But why was she wearing this?

A Korean lady with armor and a vicious orc. Wow, what a match.

"Excuse me, sir. Have you not heard of the evacuation order? Never mind, just go down quickly. The gate is now…"

Toot!

The sound interrupted her words. It was a device from her wrist. I was not able to see them, but I suppose there was something written on it. Was that something like a smartwatch?

After reading the message, her face was filled with astonishment.

"The gate was ordered close immediately?"

She whispered and sighed. Then, she looked at me and asked.

"Are you a hiker?"

"Do you think I'm a hiker?"

"No," she responded.

I was wearing a black robe without a hood. It was a present from Yeo-Hwa, but there are no magical features. Underneath it, I had a black shirt and black pants. My outfit was all black. Even my shoes were black. To be honest, I liked uni-colored fashion. So, this was not how hikers looked like.

The armored woman asked. "Let me introduce myself first. I'm Yoo Ee-Na, a hunter from the office department of hunters."

Office department of hunters?

I had no idea what she was saying.

"I appreciate your job," I muttered without thinking.

It was just insincere flattery, but she smiled as if she felt recognized. Was she a newcomer? While she was trying to ask something, her smartwatch vibrated. This time, a hologram just appeared from it. Wow, technology was evolving fast, wasn't it?

Meanwhile, the man from the hologram seemed to be furious.

[ Ee-Na! Where the h*** are you! ]

"Yes, sir. I'm still at the mountain."

[Don't give a sh** about that. Why are you still there? The situation is now over. Are you lost? ]

"No, I'm not lost…"

[ You are not a child! You should act your age and make a proper decision! Did I have to call you? Huh? ]

"…I'm sorry."

[ Even if you are a newcomer… wait, who the h*** is he? ]

Oh, I guess he saw me. It felt weird to speak to a hologram, but I asked him.

"Are you asking me?"

[ Who are you? ]

I glimpsed at Yoo Ee-Na. Though I assumed that she was a newcomer, I didn't really expect her to be an actual newcomer.

I smiled and said. "I'm a hiker, sir."

[Haven't you heard the evacuation order? ]

"I was hiking, so I did not hear."

[....]

"It's a common incident while hiking. It's hard to notice any sounds when you are hiking the mountain. I am sure that everyone has experienced this. What do you think?"

[Don't you realize that what you've said is absurd? ]

"That's weird. Are we communicating in Korean? Or do you hear my language as English? If that's so, I'm sorry. I don't speak English."

I only spoke honestly, but the man's expression hardened. His eyes were filled with rage.

"F***ing brat," he whispered.

Did he honestly think that I could not hear that?

[ Hey, Ee-Na.]

"...Ye, Yes, Sir!"

[ Take him to his home. ]

Ee-Na just froze.

[ Answer me. ]

"I'm sorry. I'll do so."

The man on the hologram sneered at me for a while and then disappeared. To be more specific, the hologram turned off. Well, I guess that was fine for now. Today was the first day that I returned to the Earth. It was only right for me to start off with a positive outlook. In addition to this, they told me that they were taking me home anyway. I could tolerate what had just happened here.

"Now… where do you live?" Poor Ee-Na sighed as she asked me.