[ Fire Lizard ]
Song Taewon had already evacuated everyone in the Breeding Facility and sent emergency standby alerts to nearby buildings, including Haeyeon Guild and the adjacent building. Watching his swift response, I realized this wasn’t his first time handling something like this.
When I told him everything was fine now and apologized for making him go through unnecessary trouble, his calm reply reassured me: there’s no such thing as unnecessary precaution in situations like these. Prevention is always the best course of action, after all.
“I’ll go tomorrow and handle the negotiations, so until then, behave yourself, okay?”
“Yes, I’ll wait.”
Noah nodded obediently. For now, we gave him some spare training clothes we had in the guardroom. His original clothes weren’t dungeon items, and even if they were, there are limits to items that adjust to the wearer’s body. Full transformation Hunters like him require special equipment.
Normally, a Hunter with a full-body transformation skill wouldn’t show up for quite some time. Naturally, there aren’t any places that offer the necessary custom treatment for his gear yet. I guess I’ll have to look into that. What materials would they need again?
After sending Noah off with Song Taewon, I brought only Chirp back with me. Blue was already asleep, and bringing Comet back at this hour would’ve been a hassle, especially with Yuhyun still lingering and Peace being another issue. It’d be better to let them rest properly and introduce them to each other during the day. Comet’s much calmer in the daytime and will leave a better impression than in the chaos of night.
— Grrr
Peace, now back to his smaller form, approached me with the red egg still in his mouth. He hadn’t lost it. Good boy.
“Peace, we’ve moved while you were gone. The new place is much bigger, so you’ll be more comfortable.”
It’s still a bit cramped for a fully grown adult, but it’s more than enough for an adolescent. The lower floors are spacious enough for an adult to roam, and he can go out and play in the rooftop garden anytime. No more living in cramped quarters like before. …Though both places will need repairs.
With Chirp on my head and Peace in my arms, we headed inside. Yuhyun, acting like it was his own house, opened the door for me. I gave him the key to the front door, but when did he get the portal key? Did Kim Seonghan stop by while I was asleep?
After setting Peace down to explore the new place, I opened Yerim’s social media page. I’d originally planned to talk to her about Noah today, but Yuhyun showing up threw off my plans, and I hadn’t contacted her yet.
‘Looks like she met with Kang Soyeong.’
There was a photo of a towering pile of cake slices on a plate, and a bowl of shaved ice next to it. For lunch, she’d apparently had yukhoe and yuk sashimi. She really is a die-hard meat lover. She eats whatever side dishes I bring, but still.
‘…Even if you’re an S-class Hunter, don’t stand on a moving motorcycle to take a selfie.’
She wasn’t even wearing a helmet, although it’s not like S-class Hunters are subject to safety equipment regulations. They’re exempt from it, just like vehicles used during dungeon breaks. No point in calmly unbuckling your seatbelt before jumping out to fight a monster. Helmets for motorcycles would just be cumbersome.
Yerim will have to come with me tomorrow since she’s also involved, but she’s probably asleep by now. What time do kids her age usually go to bed? I should just contact her tomorrow.
“…The garden.”
Yuhyun mumbled quietly.
“Huh?”
I turned to follow Yuhyun’s gaze. Reflected in the large screen—technically a window—was the rooftop garden, mid-repair. Even in the dead of night, the streetlights showed the broken trees and dug-up ground in stark detail.
“It looks worse than I thought.”
“And whose fault is that? The damaged area is smaller than you think. That side’s dug up because of the toxic fumes.”
I’d planned to use My Kid Is The Best skill on Blue to start training tomorrow, but with the training room wall busted… At least the interior facilities should be fine.
“You said you were sleepy. Go to bed. Myungwoo’s using the left bedroom, so use any other room.”
“Yu Myungwoo is staying here?”
“He comes and goes. Not sure what’s keeping him so busy, but he shows up occasionally.”
I mentioned the bedroom, but I don’t recall seeing him sleep in the last couple of days.
“He’s working on something secret. If you run into him, be nice. With the way S-class weapons are coming out, it won’t be surprising if an SS-class one shows up next.”
I picked up the egg Peace had dropped on the floor and placed it on the table. Meanwhile, Peace had climbed up to the second floor, grabbed Blue’s cushion, and was now gnawing on it. He then jumped down and headed toward the monster room, growling softly. He came back dragging Comet’s nest and dropped it at my feet.
— Krrng
He must’ve caught the unfamiliar scent. He didn’t look too happy.
“There’s a new girl, but I’ll introduce you tomorrow. Her name’s Comet. She’s a black baby dragon. Come on, Peace. Wanna sleep with me tonight?”
Peace’s tail swished irritably, but he came to me obediently. Obviously, he wasn’t thrilled about the constant influx of new monsters. But what can I do? Raising them is literally my job.
“Have you been feeding Peace properly?”
“He’s been hunting on his own.”
“Wow, he’s all grown up.”
Should I start catching live monsters for him now?
Just then, Myungwoo appeared out of nowhere, as usual, surrounded by a wave of heat. Almost at the same time, Yuhyun stepped in front of me protectively, and Peace’s ears perked up in alarm.
“…What’s that?”
“What do you mean? It’s Myungwoo.”
“No, I mean, that’s not normal fire.”
Really? I mean, it’s a bit hot, but it’s not dangerous. Myungwoo smirked at Yuhyun’s comment.
“Ismuar’s flames are quite something, aren’t they? There’s no purer magic-infused fire in this world.”
Yuhyun’s pride seemed a bit bruised, but he didn’t argue, meaning there must’ve been something different about it after all.
“So what’s that?”
Myungwoo pointed behind me. I turned to see the egg on the table—the red egg with a crack running down it.
…Why was it cracked? This egg was supposed to be unbreakable. I instinctively reached for it, but Yuhyun’s hand was faster.
“Don’t touch it. We don’t know what’s going to come out. It could be dangerous.”
He took a step back. In his hand, the egg shook slightly. The crack widened with a tut-tut, creating a small opening. Inside, a flicker of flame began to dance.
The flames licked at the shell, melting and consuming it as they spread.
Whoosh!
The egg burst into flames. It was surprising, but thanks to my fire resistance, it didn’t feel hot.
The fire quickly died down, revealing a small lizard made of flames. The tiny fire lizard slithered up Yuhyun’s hand, coiling around his wrist.
In my confusion, I activated Promising Talent.
[Fire Spirit ? F-rank
Contractor: Han Yuhyun]
“…A fire spirit?”
At my mumble, both Yuhyun and Myungwoo turned to look at me.
“A fire spirit? I didn’t know spirits were a thing.”
“Ismuar said there were no spirits in this world, didn’t he?”
There hadn’t been. Even five years later, no spirits had appeared. Only mysterious eggs like this one existed.
Could it be that those mystery eggs were actually spirit eggs?
“…There hadn’t been any changes with the egg until just before you appeared, Myungwoo. You mentioned the heat was from Ismuar’s flames, right?”
“Yeah. The thing I’m working on needs a lot of Ismuar’s fire, so some of the energy spilled over. Could that have woken it up?”
“Probably. It must need the touch of a kindred spirit’s power to awaken.”
That would explain why those mysterious eggs hadn’t hatched despite all efforts over the years—because there were no spirits in this world.
Yuhyun was staring at the tiny lizard coiling around his hand, fascinated. He created a small flame on his fingertip. The lizard froze, then watched intently as the red flame turned black. Once it was completely black, the lizard opened its mouth and gobbled it up.
“Looks like it’s completely immune to fire. Might not be all that useful, though.”
“If you raise it well, it might get as strong as Ismuar. It was born from an SSS-class egg, after all.”
“That tiny thing?”
Myungwoo said, sounding skeptical. He must’ve gotten pretty close to Ismuar in the meantime.
If these eggs really needed a corresponding spirit to hatch, the others would probably remain a mystery forever. What a shame.
When I woke up, it was already past 10 in the morning. With Blue and Comet gone, I’d slept soundly without any interruptions.
— Grrr
As I got up, Peace immediately rubbed his head against me. Chirp flapped his wings in the basket nearby. It seemed like they’d been awake for a while, but they hadn’t bothered me. Such good kids.
I picked up Chirp from the basket and headed to the living room. Without Blue, the space felt a bit empty.
Yuhyun must’ve already left for the guild. After being away for a few days, he probably had a lot of work to catch up on. He’d also need to check in with the Association. Maybe I should’ve woken up earlier and made him breakfast.
— Chirp chirp!
Chirp climbed the pet stairs onto the sofa and pressed a button on the remote. He sat there watching TV like a seasoned pro. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if he started ordering VODs and snacking soon.
As I turned my gaze to the TV, a breaking news banner appeared at the bottom of the screen.
Sesung Guild successfully recruits S-class Hunter.
“…Wait a second, Chirp.”
I grabbed the remote and switched channels. The Hunter channel was covering the details. Sesung Guild had successfully brought in an overseas S-class Hunter. Evelyn Miller, a long-range specialist S-class free hunter, was set to arrive today…
‘That’s sooner than expected.’
In my past life, Evelyn Miller had also been recruited by Sesung Guild, but not this quickly. Was it because Haeyeon had been expanding its ranks with S-class Hunters that they’d moved up the timeline?
‘Evelyn Miller… she was a soft-spoken person for an S-class combat Hunter.’
Although for some reason, she didn’t get along with Moon Hyunah. Her profile would make her a good candidate for a keyword, but…
‘No, I’m done using it on Awakened.’
Noah will be the last. I’ve had enough of taking risks with fully-grown S-class Hunters. Time to go get Blue and Comet.
With her long, single braid of golden-brown hair and large round glasses, Evelyn Miller appeared at the airport exit. Reporters quickly gathered, cameras flashing in rapid succession.
Evelyn waved lightly at the broadcast cameras before making her way forward. Waiting for her was the well-dressed Guild Leader of Sesung, Seong Hyunjae, in a sharp suit.
“You must’ve had a long journey. Thank you for coming.”
“Not at all. I’m grateful for the warm welcome, especially from you personally.”
Her soft smile was met with an equally warm one from Seong Hyunjae.
He opened the car door for her himself and then slid into the driver’s seat. As soon as the car began moving, Evelyn spoke, as if she’d been waiting.
“I heard about it. Noah seems to have caused some trouble?”
“He even contacted me this morning, saying he wants to return to being a free Hunter.”
Evelyn looked genuinely surprised.
“So suddenly? I thought he’d never leave your protection, especially because of Liette. That must sting.”
“It does. It’s like raising a dog, training it, putting a nice, shiny collar on it, and then watching it run away. Especially after his full transformation was exposed.”
Seong Hyunjae let out an exaggerated sigh.
Noah, with his various support skills, was useful in dungeons, but he was even more valuable outside of them.
Most importantly, the existence of his full transformation skill wasn’t public knowledge yet. Even if he caused havoc in broad daylight, like stomping down a guild, they could blame it on a gate monster from a nearby dungeon break.
“Noah may not be that strong, but his poison’s effective enough that he could’ve handled a few pests. What a shame.”
He couldn’t deal with other S-class Hunters, but sweeping through everyone below that level would cripple any guild for a while. And if they were dealing with civilian authorities backing those guilds, it would be even easier.
“So what happened? Did he not like the air in Korea?”
“I don’t know the full story yet, but I assume it’s got something to do with Han Yujin.”
“The monster tamer? Don’t tell me he half-turned Noah into a monster and tamed him?”
“Well, if that’s the case, it’d certainly be interesting.”
Evelyn tilted her head, watching Seong Hyunjae’s expression carefully.
“You don’t seem too upset about Noah running off.”
“I’m thinking of filing a complaint with the new owner for my runaway dog.”
“If it were me, I’d pretend not to know. After all, it’s not like it’s my problem. Wasn’t that guy’s stat F-rank? What if he gets scared and starts crying?”
Seong Hyunjae chuckled softly at Evelyn’s remark.
“He’s much cuter than that.”
With that, he pulled out his phone and made a call. After a few rings, an irritated voice answered.
[What do you want, Sesung Guild Leader?]
“Are you free tonight, Han Yujin?”
[Dinner? I have time, but I’d like to know why.]
“Oh, nothing much. Just asking you out on a date.”
There was a brief pause, and then Yujin’s voice came back, clearly annoyed.
[Don’t you have anything better to do as a Guild Leader? I’m busy raising your kids, so I’m hanging up now.]
And the call abruptly ended. Seong Hyunjae smirked, holding his phone up to show Evelyn.
“See?”
“…Are you sure he’s F-rank? That’s… a bit unusual. Didn’t he go into dungeons with you? How does he act like that?”
Evelyn, looking confused, watched Seong Hyunjae, who only smiled again.
“He’s even more unusual in other ways. You’ll see.”
–TL Notes–
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