[ Fear Resistance ]
The breeding area located to the right of the lobby was lined with neatly arranged enclosures. They were more like rooms than cages, each equipped with air purifiers, heating and cooling systems, and CCTV. The smaller enclosures were designed to hold creatures with stats up to B-rank at level 10, while the largest could accommodate up to A-rank.
The unicorns had already been transferred here.
Peace and Blue had nameplates attached to their enclosures. Whenever I was away, they would stay here under the care of a designated Hunter.
I placed Comet in the nest Sesung had provided, inside one of the unclaimed enclosures.
-Hiss, hiss!
The baby dragon coiled its long tail around my wrist, hissing at Blue, who was loitering outside the enclosure. Even though she knew she couldn’t win—given the obvious size and stat difference—she still seemed rather indignant.
“There, there. Blue can’t come in here, so you can rest easy.”
I then left Blue and Chirp in the care of the breeding staff. I planned to take them home after I moved my things from the dormitory. I didn’t have much stuff, but considering I’d be moving with them—especially Blue—I doubted much would survive the move.
Kang Soyeong left to go shopping, determined to decorate Comet’s new home. Han Yuhyun could learn a thing or two from her. He should hurry up and show up to bring a luxury pet bed for Peace’s enclosure.
“There’s a mini portal to the second floor, but you’ll need a registered key to use it.”
Seong Hyunjae said, pulling out a slim plate the size of a business card from his inventory. It was made of S-rank mana stone, finely carved with a passcode. Why on earth does he have the key?
“There are six keys total. One was given to each of the four guilds, excluding MKC. The remaining two belong to you, and one has already been sent to Haeyeon. You can retrieve it from there.”
“Does my privacy not matter at all?”
Why do they all have copies of my house key?
“There’s another door inside. You don’t need to worry.”
“A regular door is just paper to an S-rank, though.”
“It’s more like plywood. But it’s custom-made, so it’ll take a bit more than a tap to break.”
Not exactly reassuring. Still, I suppose it’s necessary—there’s no guarantee things won’t go wrong inside the house.
“The outer walls of the house can withstand an A-rank combat Hunter for about thirty minutes, I’ve been told.”
“That’s pretty sturdy.”
“They used the leather of a Grade 3 Armor Dragon for the exterior. Since the required technology for processing doesn’t exist here, A-rank Hunters had to help out.”
Much appreciated. We don’t even have dungeons in the country that spawn Armor Dragons yet, so it must’ve been imported.
I couldn’t go inside the house because the key had been sent to Haeyeon, but I assumed it was all set up properly.
Seong Hyunjae went on to give a detailed explanation of the other facilities, including the training room, management office, and reception hall. It was overly thorough. Poor Song Taewon hadn’t gotten a word in the entire time, and I tried giving him a few looks of sympathy, but they didn’t seem to reach him.
‘He didn’t come here just to give me a tour, did he? He must have some other reason for being here.’
I couldn’t exactly tell him to “shut up and go away.” Or… could I? If I didn’t do something soon, Seong Hyunjae would probably finish the tour and say, “We’re done here, let’s go,” dragging Song Taewon out along with him. That was likely his goal from the start.
But Song Taewon wasn’t someone who’d give up easily. It was obvious the two of them were headed for a confrontation at some point.
I decided I should do something about it.
“Guild Leader Seong. You’re probably very busy, so I feel bad for taking up so much of your time. I’ll get the rest of the details from Chief Song.”
Please take your leave now. I smiled politely. Seong Hyunjae turned his gaze toward me, a thin smile curling at the corners of his eyes.
“Don’t worry. Time spent with you is never wasted.”
Damn it, subtlety wasn’t going to work.
“I’m starting to feel uncomfortable. Please leave.”
I said it directly this time. He looked at me with a wounded expression. What the—? …This guy is seriously crazy.
“You’re colder than you look.”
“We’re not close enough for that to matter.”
“I thought I’d been quite attentive. Other than that time I tested your skills, I’ve never treated you poorly. If I’m being honest, most people wouldn’t have taken a risk like that.”
What nonsense was he spouting now? …Wait.
‘Come to think of it… has Seong Hyunjae really… treated me well?’
Looking back, aside from resisting his skill attempts, he hadn’t actually caused me any harm. He’d been friendly during my visit to Sesung, even giving me gifts like Peace’s toys and the earrings. In the dungeon, he’d been more of a problem for others than for me, and he’d even brought me a gift when I was hospitalized. And yes, his car did destroy Song Taewon’s, but it also made my journey more comfortable.
Maybe he really had put in effort for me like he said…
‘…But why does this feel like a scam?’
Considering he’s the leader of the most powerful guild, he’s been incredibly accommodating. Even now, after being told to leave, he wasn’t showing any signs of anger.
Everything he said was true, and yet, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was being played.
While I stood there feeling uneasy, Yerim suddenly grabbed my arm.
“Mister, don’t let him trick you!”
Who’s getting tricked? I already feel gross about this.
“You’re right. You’ve been considerate toward me so far.”
I acknowledged it. I smiled at him, continuing.
“So please, be considerate once more. If you could leave without causing any trouble, I might actually be touched.”
If you’re going to be nice, be nice all the way to the end.
At my repeated request for him to leave, Seong Hyunjae’s eyes briefly grew cold. Calm down. I’m taking care of your kid, remember?
“I have no choice. The one who falls first is the one who loses, after all.”
What is he even talking about?
He glanced once at Song Taewon before finally turning and leaving without further protest. He definitely had some ulterior motive, but him giving up so easily made me feel uneasy.
Still, at least he was gone for now.
“Yerim, shouldn’t you head back to your lessons soon?”
“How could I leave you behind, Mister?”
“This is my house now. Besides, there are already Hunters stationed here.”
Yerim shot a glare at Song Taewon, who was standing silently nearby.
“They’re only A-rank. I’ll go once that old man leaves too.”
Even though she couldn’t stand a chance against Song Taewon in a fight. Among Hunters, he probably had the most combat experience, especially against other Awakened. Someone like Yerim would be no match for him.
“Why are you so on edge? He’s a civil servant, after all. It’s not like he’s going to arrest someone without following proper procedures.”
“Sometimes I do.”
Song Taewon said matter-of-factly.
…So you do arrest people out of nowhere. I didn’t know that. Yerim tightened her grip on my arm. Ouch.
“Any Hunter ranked B or higher is capable of mass destruction, so I can detain them at my discretion. Depending on the skill, this also applies to C-rank or lower.”
“…Mister, aren’t you a B-rank now?”
Yerim whispered, frowning. My stats were F-rank, and I had no offensive skills to speak of, but technically, she wasn’t wrong.
“To be honest, you’d probably be arrested before I—ouch, ouch.”
Stop pinching me. Given the company she keeps, I wouldn’t be surprised if I have to visit her in a detention center one day.
“Of course, that’s not why I’m here today. So long as you haven’t committed any crimes, you have nothing to worry about.”
…There might have been some killing, threatening, and assault, but it’s nothing that’ll get me in trouble. I told Yerim to get back to her lessons again, and she reluctantly agreed, though her suspicious gaze didn’t waver.
“This isn’t going to end up all over the 9 o’clock news, is it?”
“If it does, bring me some snacks while I’m locked up.”
As Yerim grumbled and left, I suddenly remembered something. I pulled a pen and notepad from my inventory, items made from dungeon by-products. I scribbled down two phone numbers and handed the note to Yerim.
“If, for some reason, I go missing, call these numbers and ask them to find me.”
“Whose numbers are these?”
“You’ll find out when you call. Don’t contact them unless it’s necessary.”
The numbers belonged to Do Hamin and Yun Yun.
I had changed my phone, but my old ID was still active. Do Hamin could easily track my location if needed, and now that Yun Yun had S-rank stats and a long-distance gate skill, she could come rescue me quickly and safely.
As long as I was alive, there’d be no problem.
Once Yerim finally left, it was just Song Taewon and me. Since there wasn’t much else to look at, we headed toward the reception hall we’d passed earlier.
“You’re really not here to arrest me, right?”
I asked jokingly as we walked.
“No. I met with your brother recently, though.”
“…What?”
“There were several casualties during your kidnapping incident. It was the first time the Haeyeon Guild Leader had been so cooperative with an investigation.”
“The first time? Meaning… this kind of thing has happened before?”
“It’s more of a quarterly event.”
Quarterly… as in four times a year… Yuhyun?!
My thoughts were swirling as we reached the reception hall. It was a luxuriously designed room, with one wall made entirely of glass. There was a large pantry as well. It was empty for now, but I’d probably have to hire staff soon.
“I hadn’t heard much about that. Were there ever any particularly serious incidents?”
“There’s not much public information about them, so it’s understandable that you wouldn’t know. With S-rank Hunters, things are rarely not serious. But still, it’s much better these days. Dungeon breaks don’t happen nearly as often now.”
Song Taewon gave a faint smile before continuing.
“When dungeon breaks occurred, it was impossible to regulate the use of offensive skills. Back then, you had to be prepared to lose an arm if you were unlucky. You know the Haeyeon Guild Leader’s temper isn’t exactly mild.”
“…”
“I apologize.”
Unsure of how to respond, I hesitated, and Song Taewon ended up apologizing first.
“No, no. I should be the one apologizing. It sounds like my brother has caused a lot of trouble.”
Damn it, Yuhyun, what the hell have you been doing? Why is the phrase “prepared to lose an arm” coming out of a public official’s mouth?
“Please don’t worry too much. It’s not unusual for high-ranking Hunters to become edgy when cleaning up a break instead of raiding a dungeon. And if two or more S-rank Hunters entered the same break area, all we could do was set up barricades, have Healers on standby, and wait for them to calm down. It was a tense time, though not widely reported. Compared to then, it’s much more peaceful now.”
“Haeyeon’s Guild Leader… Has he ever… uh…”
For the first time, Song Taewon looked slightly uncomfortable.
“I’d rather not say. Let’s just say that all early S-rank Hunters went through something like that at least once. That’s why I was so concerned when I heard four S-rank Hunters were entering the same dungeon. Especially since two of them were… never mind.”
They bickered a lot, but nothing serious happened in the end. I remembered Yuhyun mentioning how rare it was for so many S-rank Hunters to gather in the same dungeon. The lack of breaks had probably caused tensions to build up over time. Their abilities had changed a lot since then, so it made sense they’d be curious about each other.
Still, they shouldn’t have. Wait for an official ranking match, for heaven’s sake.
“Would you like something to drink? I could make you some coffee.”
Coffee wasn’t expensive, so it should be fine. Song Taewon nodded, so I headed to the pantry. There was a large coffee machine inside. How do I even use this thing? After a moment of hesitation, I found some instant coffee packets in the cupboard.
“I’m here today to check on your condition, Han Yujin.”
I was in the middle of tearing open a coffee packet when his voice sounded behind me. Couldn’t he just wait outside?
“My condition?”
I turned around to find him looking down at me with that calm expression of his.
“Yes. Your stats are F-rank, yet you possess high-grade special skills. That makes you an ideal target.”
I already knew that. Yuhyun had even suggested I be locked up for my own safety. I’d taken precautions to set myself up in a secure position.
“Even though the five guilds have come to an agreement, the balance has been disrupted because of MKC. Han Shin has been under considerable pressure as well.”
So that’s why I hadn’t heard from them.
“Even under those circumstances, you entered an A-rank dungeon. Naturally, that raises some suspicions.”
Technically, I brought them into the dungeon, not the other way around.
“Have you suffered any physical or mental harm?”
“Huh? Well, they kept arguing, so I was pretty tired, but that’s about it.”
“You can speak freely. Isn’t it strange that you came out unscathed? There are skills and items in the Hunter world that allow people to control others as they please. In fact, the lower the target’s stats, the easier it is to manipulate them.”
I knew that already. I’d almost been a victim of it once. But for now, I wasn’t too worried.
Mental abilities, especially brainwashing, were much less effective if the target was mentally stable, even at F-rank stats. And the easiest way to shake someone’s mind was through fear. All you needed was a bit of violence and some threats.
‘But I’ve got my Fear Resistance skill.’
Even SS-rank monsters didn’t make me flinch anymore. What could they possibly do? That’s why I wasn’t concerned about such skills or items.
“I’m fine, so you don’t have to worry.”
Still, I appreciated his concern. But instead of relaxing, Song Taewon’s expression grew more serious.
Suddenly, I felt his hand on my neck. His fingers gently pressed over my pulse, his thumb lightly resting on the spot where my heartbeat pulsed.
“Chief Song?”
I was confused and a little startled.
“Are you really untouched?”
His voice grew heavier.
“Huh? Of course I’m— Ugh.”
His grip tightened. A sharp pressure cut off my airway. My mind registered that I needed to escape, but I had no idea how to break free. Maybe I should’ve been carrying an emergency alert bell with me.
But more than that, I couldn’t understand why this was happening.
“Cough, cough!”
Fortunately, it didn’t last long. He let go after a moment, and I gasped for air, coughing as I looked up at him. What the hell—?
“I apologize. It seems the problem lies with you, not the guild leaders.”
“Huh?”
He pulled out a potion and handed it to me, speaking as if nothing had happened.
“I’ve been observing you since the hospital.”
I took the potion and drank a sip. The pain in my throat eased somewhat. So he hadn’t been ignoring Seong Hyunjae earlier—he’d just been watching me?
“I thought nothing of it when it came to Hunter Park Yerim. She’s young and seems to be quite close to you. But even in your interactions with the Sesung Guild Leader, you were completely at ease.”
“We’ve met a few times…”
“That only makes your behavior more confusing. You entered an A-rank dungeon with him, didn’t you? From what I understand, you were on the second floor when you lost consciousness after an SS-rank monster was killed. You witnessed the Sesung Guild Leader attack that SS-rank monster, didn’t you?”
I nodded.
“Seeing a power so vastly different from your own and yet remaining unfazed… That’s not the typical reaction of someone with F-rank stats. Most ordinary people would be terrified by just the sight of a ferocious dog barking aggressively. If that dog were unleashed and prowling around, almost no one would be able to stay calm. Yet, not only that, but you didn’t show any fear in other situations either.”
“Other situations?”
“Yes. You didn’t hesitate to reach out and touch the baby dragon, which has higher stats than you. Even Kang Soyeong seemed more concerned than you did. So I decided to verify it directly, though it was rather impolite. As expected, something about you is… off.”
He was probably referring to when he grabbed my neck earlier. It wasn’t that he wanted to harm me—he just wanted to see my reaction to being physically threatened.
“Even in a situation where your life was at risk, you only showed slight surprise and confusion, but there wasn’t even a hint of fear. It’s as if your sense of fear has been completely erased.”
That’s pretty accurate.
“But isn’t that a good thing?”
“No, it’s not.”
Song Taewon’s reply was firm.
“Right now, you’re like a person whose warning system has been shut off. Overcoming fear is admirable, but having no fear at all leads to recklessness. And with your low stats, that makes it all the more dangerous. Imagine a lamb that doesn’t fear wolves. What do you think would happen?”
It would end up as dinner, of course.
“But if the lamb knows the wolves are dangerous, it’ll run away.”
“That’s true, but you seem more inclined to think, ‘This distance seems safe, let’s take a closer look at the wolf,’ rather than running. You may not be in immediate danger, but that doesn’t mean you’re safe.”
Now that he put it that way…
Sure, I’d noticed that I had been getting desensitized to danger.
Even when S-rank Hunters growled and snapped at each other, it didn’t scare me—it just annoyed me.
When Yun Yun turned into the Demon King, not even the Fear Resistance skill’s message had appeared. Even though I knew she was an SS-rank monster, I wasn’t afraid.
Compared to how I’d felt about a month ago, I had definitely grown more numb to fear.
‘Is it because there hasn’t been enough stimuli?’
If this continued, maybe I was at risk of being too reckless. Should I turn off my Fear Resistance skill at home, at least? Maybe I could watch some horror movies or something to retrain my instincts.
“You’re right. I’ll be more careful. Thank you for pointing it out.”
“…You’re quite a difficult person to deal with.”
Song Taewon gave a small, wry smile in response to my thanks.
“The marks from my hand are still on your neck, and yet you’re thanking me.”
“…That is a bit odd, now that I think about it.”
I need to be more mindful. If I keep this up, I’ll definitely end up in trouble one day.
“I am personally grateful to you, Han Yujin. Regarding the Awakening Center, I had my concerns, but there wasn’t much I could do. So I sincerely hope you remain unharmed.”
He seemed relieved to hear that there wasn’t a bigger issue, as he continued. Then he pulled out a pen and a notepad from his inventory, scribbling down a number before handing it to me.
“This is my personal contact information. If you ever need help, don’t hesitate to call.”
“Thank you.”
I accepted the note.
But how was he going to get back without a car?
I offered to arrange for someone to give him a ride, but he declined, saying he’d take the subway instead.
The subway, really? I kind of wanted to offer him a lift myself if I could drive. I should probably get my license…
“Oh, by the way, I’m not sure if you’ve seen the news, but there’s been an increase in terrorist attacks targeting Hunters recently. They’ve primarily focused on the Hunter Association, but given how famous your breeding facility has become, especially with Myungwoo involved, it wouldn’t hurt to be extra cautious.”
“I’ll be careful.”
I remembered that in the original timeline, groups that believed dungeon breaks were part of divine providence only began targeting Korea much later.
While I didn’t recall the exact details of the international cases, I was certain nothing like this happened in Korea for quite some time.
Still, the future wouldn’t necessarily unfold exactly the same way, so I’d better keep it in mind.
–TL Notes–
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