The Hunter’s Gonna Lay Low

Chapter 261

The rookie, who was once a bright-eyed newcomer, had grown so much that it no longer felt appropriate to call him a rookie. His aura was remarkable. He frowned, and the small scars on his face distorted along with his expression.

“This is a dangerous area, you know. It's a white-out zone. Hunter Jung-bin specifically said not to move around freely…”

“Oh~ I couldn’t help it. I had urgent matters. And what are you doing here?”

“I was on patrol, looking to see if there are any survivors in the area.”

“Survivors? What survivors?”

“Huh? People trapped between the buildings or anyone we might have missed. Why do you ask something like that?”

The rookie scratched his head, something felt off. Searching for survivors in this wasteland, within a restricted zone. The rookie seemed more experienced than Uijae recalled. Uijae blinked. Even with his heightened perception as a tracker, the rookie didn’t appear in his field of vision. He was present, but it was as if he didn’t exist.

No way.

Uijae quickly turned to look at Sa-young. Feeling his gaze, Sa-young glanced at Uijae and nodded. The rookie scratched his cheek and spoke again.

“Anyway, I’ll be sure to report that you were here. It’s my duty, after all.”

“Oh? Sure, go ahead. But… where’s the way out of here again?”

“Huh? Way out? This isn’t a dungeon, where would a way out be?”

Honeybee’s hand, which had been brushing her hair, suddenly froze. The rookie looked at her with concern.

“You’re really acting strange today. Have you been hit by some kind of mental attack…?”

“…No, I’m just tired.”

“I understand… The way out is over there. I’ll finish my rounds and then you should report to Hunter Nam Woo-jin.”

The rookie calmly walked off into the wasteland. As soon as he disappeared, Honeybee quickly turned her head and strode up to them, hissing under her breath.

“What was that? Did I get hit with a mental attack without knowing? What the hell was he talking about?”

“No, that’s not it…”

“We’ve been dragged into some weird place, haven’t we?”

“What?”

Sa-young stood up and extended his hand to Uijae. Once Uijae took it and rose, Sa-young dusted off the white ash clinging to the hem of his coat.

“The erosion phenomenon… you know it’s the merging of the world that’s been destroyed, right?”

“Yeah. I’ve been briefed on that much.”

“Then why does the erosion phenomenon only happen inside dungeons?”

“Huh? Well, because the destroyed world’s dungeon and….”

“How simple.”

“Wait, hold on…”

Honeybee’s face slowly paled as she trailed off. Like a light bulb flickering on, a possibility dawned in Uijae’s mind. Humans turning into monsters. Honeybee frowned.

“Don’t tell me… you’re not saying the destroyed world is becoming a dungeon, are you?”

Sa-young tilted his head and smiled crookedly.

“That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

“How could that make any sense?”

“Is there any reason it couldn’t? The fact that we use powers isn’t exactly grounded in common sense either.”

“Wait, wait… Then the apocalypse’s purpose is…?”

“Terraforming.”

Silence. Uijae’s lips moved involuntarily. The wind stopped. In the eerie stillness, it felt like even the air had frozen. His voice came out, but the words didn’t feel like his own.

“Turning a world into a dungeon through terraforming.”

“……”

“Humans become monsters, civilization crumbles into dungeon structures, and the things we create turn into dungeon items.”

“……”

“We gain power from the system’s rules, but we can never escape its constraints. The stronger we become, the stronger the monsters we turn into. The more advanced our world gets, the stronger the dungeon becomes.”

“……”

“The harder we fight to survive, the more the apocalypse thrives. Because it will make the dungeon that much stronger.”

The voice stopped. His lips, which had been moving on their own, finally closed. Uijae blinked slowly. Honeybee and Sa-young were staring at him as if they’d seen a ghost. He rubbed his mask. What did I just say? A cold chill ran down his spine. Honeybee muttered softly.

“J… what you just said…”

“…Ah.”

Uijae rubbed the mouth part of his mask.

“I’m sorry. Just forget it…”

“Wait, that was way too important to just brush off! What do you know? Hold on, are you saying the dungeons we’ve been clearing were once actual worlds?”

“I don’t know. The words just came out…”

“And that’s supposed to be an excuse…?!”

“Honeybee.”

Sa-young placed a hand on Honeybee’s shoulder, shaking his head.

…How do I know this? Uijae found himself strangely unfamiliar to himself. Am I even me? He massaged his stiff arm. It felt cold. Honeybee, after cursing softly under her breath while staring up at the sky, whipped around to face Uijae.

“Okay, fine. Whatever. So what, are we in a destroyed world now?”

“It’s a kind of dungeon, I’d guess.”

“So, the eroded dungeons are all connected into one big dungeon?”

“It’s only a theory, but yes.”

“This is insane…. Ugh!”

Honeybee clutched her head and screamed. After taking a deep breath, she pointed with her chin in the direction the rookie had indicated earlier.

“Fine, whatever. Either way, we need to get out of here. Jung-bin and Nam Woo-jin are probably here too.”

“They might not be the people we know, though.”

“Well, we’ll find out soon enough. Let’s go. Sitting around won’t solve anything.”

After hoisting the monstrous remains of her comrade onto her back, Honeybee strode off. But Uijae’s feet wouldn’t move. It was as if roots had grown into the ground. Then, cold fingers grazed the back of his neck, making him jump. Sa-young leaned in close, looking him right in the eye.

“Hyung.”

“……”

“Let’s go.”

The hand that had tickled the back of his neck gently nudged his back. Without realizing it, Uijae took a step forward. The second step came easier. Walking in stride with Sa-young, Uijae asked suddenly.

“…Aren’t you going to ask?”

“About what?”

“What I just said.”

“You said you didn’t know. Would you even be able to answer if I asked?”

Uijae nudged Sa-young in the ribs with his elbow. Without showing any sign of pain, Sa-young continued.

“Instead of thinking about that, just focus on keeping your promise.”

“Huh? What promise?”

“Don’t pretend you forgot.”

Sa-young’s lips brushed lightly against Uijae’s temple before pulling away. Then, without another word, he strode ahead with quick steps. Uijae pressed a hand to his temple, blinking. His ears reddened in an instant.

---

Phew. Jung-bin let out a short sigh and pressed his fingers against his tired eyes. Papers filled with numbers and charts were scattered all over his desk in disarray. The chaos outside showed no signs of stopping. With dozens, sometimes hundreds, of casualties being brought into Seowon Guild every day…

One day, white ash began to fall from the sky. People didn’t take it seriously. Something must have changed again, they thought. What’s the difference between this and snow? The Hunters will take care of it, anyway. It was complacency born from years of peace.

If only they had reacted sooner, maybe things would have been different. But by the time people realized the danger, it was too late.

The white ash blanketed everything, buildings crumbled, and white monsters began to appear. The monsters tore down buildings, tore up the ground, and devoured humans. The areas they ravaged became wastelands uninhabitable by humans.

People began calling the phenomenon “white-out.”

Jung-bin clasped his hands together and closed his eyes. Hunters fought fiercely on all fronts, but the frequency of white-outs only increased. It was impossible to hide that humans were turning into monsters.

He felt completely trapped.

There was a knock on the door. Jung-bin erased the weariness from his face and forced a smile.

“Come in.”

“……”

The trio that entered was an odd group. J, wearing his black mask, Lee Sa-young, and a visibly irritated Honeybee. Had the three of them ever come together like this before? Jung-bin asked with a puzzled expression.

“What brings you all here so suddenly?”

“Uh… well, you see. The reason we came is…”

Honeybee stammered as she spoke, glancing at Lee Sa-young standing next to her. Jung-bin also turned his gaze to Sa-young. Strangely, there was no hostility in Sa-young’s eyes. Wasn’t he the one who couldn’t stand even being in the same room as Jung-bin? Every time they met, he had made it abundantly clear how much he loathed him, cursing him to “get lost” whenever possible.

But this time, instead of turning his back and storming out, Sa-young simply shrugged.

“We’re here to talk.”

“…Talk?”

“About the way the world is going.”

“……”

Jung-bin’s heart sank. There was an old saying about how people who change overnight are close to death. He stood up abruptly. The desk rattled, sending a few

 papers fluttering to the ground. Sa-young looked at Jung-bin, confused.

“What’s wrong?”

“…Did you… did you kill someone?”