Chapter 13: She Didn't Even Twitch

"Eun-ha-ya, we're here."

Having parked the car in the parking lot in front of the headquarters building, Kang Tae-woo spoke cautiously to the still-sleeping Hwang Eun-ha.

Because Hunters never know what might happen inside a dungeon...

There are cases where, if woken up abruptly, they might instinctively lash out with their abilities in self-defense. It was a mandatory rule to observe when waking up a Hunter or a former Hunter.

"Eun-ha-ya?"

However, Kang Tae-woo watched her sleeping soundly and, for some reason, wanted to watch that peaceful appearance just a little longer.

He had pestered her so much to join the guild, but she had gotten annoyed and refused every time he spoke.

To him, seeing her sleeping so quietly like this was a truly rare sight.

"Eun-ha-ya, wake up."

Of course, even so, he couldn't let her sleep forever.

Kang Tae-woo reached out his hand cautiously toward her arm, inwardly preparing himself just in case she used telekinesis to slam him—along with the car—into a wall.

As his hand touched Hwang Eun-ha's arm and he shook her gently...

"Mmm, are we already there?"

Fortunately, contrary to his worries, she woke up calmly.

"Yaaawn."

I got out of the car, yawned, and stretched my body.

How did I end up with a constitution that falls asleep whenever I get in a car?

I asked myself, but no matter how much I thought about it, I couldn't find an answer.

'Is it because of my second year of high school?'

Back then, rather than attending school...

If I got a call that a dungeon appeared, I was busy running out even in the middle of class.

Nowadays, many guilds have formed, and with the Association establishing basic Hunter education methods, it has become easier for Awakened to enter the Hunter industry.

But back then, weak Hunters didn't know proper strategy or combat methods, so they were busy dying left and right.

Consequently, the number of Hunters was fewer than the number of Gates, so it was a time when I was always busy.

Naturally, my rest time became limited to the time spent inside a vehicle traveling to clear dungeons.

Perhaps this constitution of falling asleep in cars is something I can't do anything about.

"Is this it?"

"Yeah."

"The building is huge."

As soon as I got out, I commented on the "glass palace" building in front of me, which looked to be about 10 stories high. Kang Tae-woo reacted nonchalantly, "I guess."

Usually, Hunter buildings get bigger because they house training rooms, offices, and various other facilities inside.

Still, I wondered if they really needed to use an entire building of this size.

"Some large guilds build skyscrapers much bigger than this and even rent out space."

"Hmm."

"Anyway, let's go in. I didn't announce we were coming, but they'll welcome us if we go..."

"Oh my, Tae-woo. Today isn't a raid day, so what brings you to the guild?"

Speak of the devil.

A woman's voice came from behind. Turning my head, I saw a woman with reddish hair, accompanied by a person in a suit, smiling at us.

"Wearing sunglasses that don't even suit you... Ack!"

"Oh my, is that person the Hunter Hwang Eun-ha?"

"I'm not a Hunter anymore, but yes, I am Hwang Eun-ha."

Wow.

She just stomped on his toes with her sharp heel.

Even for a Hunter, that must hurt quite a bit.

"Nice to meet you. Shall we go in?"

"Yes. But he is..."

"Ah, he'll last a little longer because of my ability, so you don't need to worry about him."

I glanced at Kang Tae-woo, who was hopping around in pain from his crushed toes.

I wondered if he was really okay, and leaving him here seemed a bit harsh, so I lifted him slightly with telekinesis and followed behind her.

"Oh my, Miss Eun-ha. Why are you carrying that hopeless case?"

"Yes? I just felt bad leaving him in the parking lot while he was in pain."

Wow.

She called me Miss Eun-ha (Eun-ha Yang), not Hunter Hwang Eun-ha.

Finally, I'm getting treated like a civilian...!

"But if you returned your Hunter License, you aren't supposed to use your abilities..."

"Well, my ability base isn't mana, so wouldn't it be fine? The law specifies 'use of abilities utilizing mana'."

"Well, it's not like you're using it for bad things, so I guess it doesn't matter."

It was clear she was indeed the Guild Master; passing Hunters and office workers all greeted her whenever they saw her.

I watched that sight with fascination.

We followed her into the elevator and went up to the top floor.

In the wide hallway spreading left and right from the elevator, various framed pictures and decorations were hung.

"Oops, my introduction is late. I'm Kang Si-hyun."

"Kang Si... Huh? Wait a minute. If you're a Kang..."

"I'm siblings with the idiot following behind us. Of course, I'm the older sister (Noona)."

I tilted my head looking at the two, who didn't seem to resemble each other, starting from their hair color.

Biological siblings were a rare sight for me, so I accepted it with intrigue.

Kang Tae-woo, seemingly unhappy with my gaze, said, "Could you not look at us like that?"

"Bullshit. Being born a few months earlier makes you a Noona?"

"It seems our Tae-woo hasn't been beaten enough yet."

"Uh, uh? I'm telling Dad!"

"Anyway, would you like to come in? It's our home."

Setting aside the fact that they used the entire top floor of the guild building as a penthouse...

In a country like Korea with a low birth rate, the existence of Hunter siblings right in front of my eyes felt quite fascinating.

"He didn't say a word to me."

"Hey, if it were you, would you want to talk about it?"

"You just called your Noona 'you'."

"No, I'm telling you to stop making a fuss just because you were born a few months earlier!"

Furthermore, seeing them bicker like that actually made them seem close...

I wonder if that idiot at my house (Jin-wook) is helping out well at his father's store.

"Kuaaack!" (Sound of Tae-woo getting hit)

"Anyway, welcome. I was curious who the Hunter that caught the Ghost Steel Frame was. It's an honor to meet you like this."

"Well, seeing just me isn't exactly something to be honored about..."

"It is amazing! I failed the S-Class test because I couldn't last 20 minutes. Not only did you endure that crazy monster for 20 minutes, but you even solo-killed it! That's incredible!"

Um.

I was about to say it wasn't a big deal, but hearing Si-hyun's words, I just swallowed it.

Actually, I wanted to say I could have killed it even easier if it were inside a real dungeon, but if I said that, I felt like I'd be told to take the license back.

"Are you the same age as Tae-woo?"

"Yes."

"Then you're younger than me. Since this is fate, can we speak casually?"

"I don't mind."

"Great. Then, could you call me 'Unnie' (Big Sister) just once?"

"...Yes?"

Is blood truly thicker than water?

For a born homebody/loner (Assa) like me, her extroverted energy (Inssa-power), which was even stronger than Kang Tae-woo's, came as a huge burden.

Plus, asking to hold hands and making such a request immediately after agreeing to speak casually.

"Just once. Huh? Actually, I always wanted a younger sister rather than a younger brother."

"Uh, um..."

Sorry, but I'm actually a man.

...I've experienced enough over the past few years in this body to know that saying that won't work on anyone except Jin-wook.

Calling her "Unnie" felt like a significant burden to me. I composed myself for a moment and spoke to her in a crawling voice.

"Si... Si-hyun Unnie..."

"Kyaa! Totally love it! Eun-ha-ya, why don't we become sworn sisters?"

"Yes?"

"Kang Tae-woo over there is just tall; he's totally boring and has a bad attitude. Let's become sworn sisters and go to places only girls can go. I'll pay for everything! How about it? Won't you?"

Excuse me, Master of the Hwaryeon Guild.

You absolutely should not expect such things from a born homebody/loner like me.

My motto is to play and eat at home, glued to the computer, killing people inside games.

"T-That's a bit..."

"Hing." (Pouting sound)

"Hey, stop asking for impossible things. She looks burdened."

"Is it really burdensome?"

"I'm sorry. I have a bit of a loner streak..."

Anyway, at Kang Tae-woo's words, she said, "Hmm, I see," and smiled instead, saying we should get close slowly.

Is this the affinity of a social butterfly? The energy of positivity? I was amazed, but at the same time, I felt myself being drawn in, and I found myself nodding involuntarily.

"Let's get close little by little..."

"Okay! Then I'm more than grateful!"

She's a really energetic person.

I guess being like that allows one to be the Master of a guild.

"Anyway, Tae-woo kept singing songs about wanting to bring you to the guild so badly, so I was curious who it was. I'm glad you seem like a good person."

"You flatter me."

"It's a shame. It's a personal choice so I can't say anything, but we need more strong Hunters like you."

Si-hyun said that, drank the coffee Tae-woo brought, and scolded him, "Hey, do you really want to die?" (implying the coffee was bad).

I stared blankly at the coffee cup placed in front of me, then stared blankly at Tae-woo.

"Why, what!"

He brought me coffee, but at my sudden intense stare, Kang Tae-woo asked in a tone that sounded somewhat chased and urgent.

"Give me Cider (Sprite) instead of coffee..."

The two of them slapped their foreheads upon seeing Hwang Eun-ha spit out a line that didn't fit the luxurious atmosphere of the house at all.

"This is our guild's Virtual Training Room."

"Aha."

"Compared to the Association, the facilities here are probably better. Theirs are a bit old."

"...I kind of smashed theirs, so they'll probably upgrade it while repairing it this time."

"Is that so? Anyway, performance-wise, this one ranks 3rd in the country."

I nodded at Si-hyun's words and cautiously placed my hand on the wall.

The wall, made of metal plates reinforced with mana, conveyed a coldness to my hand.

The slight tingling felt amidst that coldness conveyed to me that this space was overflowing with usable mana.

"Also, I have one favor to ask."

"A favor?"

"Yeah. Could you please spar with me just once?"

What is this.

I scratched the back of my head.

Asking someone who just quit being a Hunter to do this... isn't it a bit rude?

"Crazy. Hey. Are you serious?"

"Excuse me, so much has happened today that I can't adapt, but did I hear that correctly?"

"Yeah, I'm serious, and I was a bit curious. How strong an S-Class Hunter is, and how much higher I can climb."

However, Kang Si-hyun seemed to have already lost her reason to curiosity; her eyes were sparkling as she clasped her hands and pleaded with me.

How many days has it been since I entered a Gate?

I feel like my senses are all dead.

"I'm not very good at controlling my strength..."

"That's fine! Rather, that's exactly what I'm hoping for!"

As if she had prepared beforehand, the surrounding scenery changed as the virtualization training device powered on.

The scenery transformed into a desert-like terrain without a single blade of grass.

If I grabbed the sand on the ground, I could feel the texture and the sensation of sand pouring down, but no sand would stick to my hand.

"You said I don't need to control my strength, right?"

The moment I inhaled and exhaled a small breath.

As my hair began to sway from telekinesis, the sand on the ground started to scatter little by little.

Pebble-like objects were caught by telekinesis and slowly began to float into the air.

"I-I said that, but don't take it literally—Huh?"

Of course, Kang Si-hyun was included in those objects.

As soon as she was lifted, Si-hyun sensed she was screwed and said to me, "Eun- Eun-ha, wait a minute!"

"Since when did the monsters in a dungeon wait for you?"

"No, I didn't say start yet—KYAAAAAAACK!"

I smiled and threw the lifted Kang Si-hyun, slamming her into somewhere far away.

Startled by the equipment usage, the virtualization training device deactivated immediately.

As the sand dust that rose momentarily disappeared along with the deactivation of the training device, what I saw was Kang Si-hyun lying there, motionless.