The Hunter’s Gonna Lay Low - Chap 261
The once green rookie, who had become too spirited to still be called a newbie, frowned. The small scars on his face contorted as well.
“You know this area has been fully ‘whited out’ and is dangerous. Hunter Jung Bin clearly told you not to wander around as you please…”
“Oh, come on, I had no choice. Something urgent came up. And what are you doing here?”
“I was patrolling. Looking around to see if there are any survivors nearby.”
“Survivors? What survivors?”
“What? People trapped between buildings… or anyone we haven’t found yet. Why are you asking that?”
The rookie scratched his head. Something felt off. Searching for survivors in a wasteland. Restricted area. A rookie who seemed more experienced than Cha Eui-jae remembered. He blinked. The rookie still didn’t show up in the Tracker’s Eye field of vision, as though he existed here but didn’t exist.
Could it be?
Cha Eui-jae quickly turned to Lee Sa-young, who gave him a nod, having noticed his gaze. The rookie scratched his cheek and spoke up.
“Anyway, I’ll report that you were here, as it’s my duty…”
“Oh? Sure. By the way… which way is the exit?”
“Pardon? The exit? This isn’t a dungeon, so there’s no exit.”
Honeybee’s hand, which had been running through her hair, froze. The rookie spoke with concern.
“You’re acting really strange today. Could it be… you were hit by some kind of mental attack?”
“…No. Just tired.”
“Got it… The way out is over there. I’ll keep patrolling, so you might want to go see Hunter Nam Woo-jin.”
The rookie walked off, disappearing into the other end of the wasteland. Once Honeybee was alone, she snapped her head around and marched over, whispering fiercely.
“What the heck? Did I get hit by a mental attack without me knowing? What on earth was he talking about?”
“No, it’s not that…”
“We’ve been dragged into a strange place.”
“What?”
Lee Sa-young stood up and extended a hand to Cha Eui-jae. When he took it, he helped him up as Lee Sa-young dusted off the white ash that clung to the hem of his coat.
“Erosion is the process of merging with the destroyed world… you know that, right?”
“Yeah, I know at least that much.”
“Then why does erosion only happen in dungeons?”
“Huh? Isn’t it because dungeons are connected to…”
“How simple-minded.”
“Wait, hold on…”
Honeybee’s face went pale as she trailed off. A possibility dawned on Cha Eui-jae’s mind as well, like a light bulb turning on. Humans turning into monsters. Honeybee frowned.
“Don’t tell me… you’re saying the destroyed world has turned into a dungeon?”
Lee Sa-young tilted his head with a crooked smile.
“That’s right.”
“How does that even make sense?”
“Is there any reason it shouldn’t? Even the powers we use don’t make sense by ordinary logic.”
“Wait, wait… so the purpose of the apocalypse is…”
“Terraforming.”
Cha Eui-jae’s lips moved in the dead silence as if the air had frozen, and he spoke words that didn’t feel like his own.
“Terraforming to turn a world into a dungeon.”
“…”
“Humans become monsters, civilization crumbles and turns into dungeon structures, and the things we create become dungeon items.”
“…”
“We gain power through the system’s laws, but we’re ultimately trapped within its chains. The stronger we get, the stronger monsters we become, and the more our world advances, the stronger a dungeon it will become.”
“…”
“The more we struggle to survive, the happier the end is. Because it’ll become a more powerful dungeon.”
The voice stopped. His mouth, which had been moving on its own, shut. Cha Eui-jae blinked slowly. Honeybee and Lee Sa-young were staring at him as if they’d seen a ghost. He rubbed the mouthpiece of his mask. What did I just say? A chill ran down his neck. Honeybee muttered under her breath.
“J, that thing you just said…”
“…Ah.”
Cha Eui-jae rubbed the mouth of his mask.
“Sorry. Just… pretend you didn’t hear that…”
“Hold on, that was way too important to just ignore! What exactly do you know? Wait. Are you saying all the dungeons we’ve defeated so far were actually places that once existed?”
“I really don’t know. The words just came out…”
“Are you serious right now…!”
“Honeybee.”
Lee Sa-young held Honeybee back and shook his head.
…How do I know these things? He felt a strange sense of unfamiliarity with himself. Am I really myself? Cha Eui-jae massaged his stiff arm. It was cold. Honeybee cursed under her breath at the sky, then whipped around to look at Cha Eui-jae.
“Fine. Whatever. So, are we in the destroyed world now?”
“This place would be a kind of dungeon, too.”
“Are you saying eroded dungeons are connected together to form one big dungeon?”
“It’s only a guess.”
“What a mess… Agh!”
Honeybee clutched her head and groaned, then took a deep breath before jerking her head toward the direction the rookie had pointed.
“Fine, whatever this place is, we need to get out. Jung Bin and Nam Woo-jin seem to be here, too.”
“They’re probably not the people we know.”
“Whatever. I get the gist. Let’s go. Sitting around isn’t going to help us find a way out.”
Hoisting the monster that was once a comrade onto her back, Honeybee started marching forward. Cha Eui-jae found his feet strangely immobile, like they’d taken root in the ground. Then, cold fingers brushed the back of his neck. He startled and looked up. Lee Sa-young had leaned in close, staring at him.
“Hyung.”
“…”
“Let’s go.”
The hand tickling his neck gently pushed his back. Without realizing, he took a step forward. The second step was easier. As he matched Lee Sa-young’s pace, he asked abruptly,
“…Aren’t you going to ask?”
“About what?”
“What I said earlier.”
“You said you don’t know, right? Would you even be able to answer if I asked?”
Cha Eui-jae nudged Lee Sa-young in the side with his elbow. Lee Sa-young, unbothered, replied,
“Instead of that, just keep your promise.”
“What? What promise?”
“Don’t pretend you don’t remember.”
A light touch brushed his temple— a quick peck before Lee Sa-young strode ahead with brisk steps. Cha Eui-jae blinked, holding his temple. His ears flushed red in an instant.
***
Whew. Jung Bin let out a short sigh, pressing his fingers firmly to his eyes. Papers covered in rows of numbers and charts were scattered messily across his desk. The sound of commotion at his ears showed no signs of stopping; casualties were brought into Seowon Guild by the dozens, even hundreds, every day.
One day, white ash began to fall from the sky. People didn’t think much of it. Something else changing, they figured. How’s it any different from snow? The hunters will handle it anyway. Perhaps it was a sense of invulnerability from the prolonged peace.
If only they had responded then— would things have turned out differently? But it was already too late for regrets.
It happened in the blink of an eye. The white ash covered everything, buildings crumbled, and white monsters began to appear. These monsters tore down buildings, clawed through the earth, and devoured humans. The places left in their wake became wastelands, uninhabitable by humans.
People began calling this phenomenon of rampaging monsters and desolated lands the “Whitening.”
Jung Bin clasped his hands together and closed his eyes. The hunters fought desperately on all fronts, but instead of decreasing, the frequency of Whitening incidents only grew. The occurrence of humans turning into monsters could no longer be hidden, either.
It felt as though he was trapped on all sides.
Knock, knock. A sound came from the door. Jung Bin quickly erased his weary expression and put on a smile.
“Come in.”
“…”
The trio who entered was an unusual combination; J, in his black mask, Lee Sa-young, and a visibly irritated-looking Honeybee. Had he ever seen these three together before? Jung Bin asked with a puzzled look.
“What brings you here so suddenly?”
“Uh… well. Why we came here, uh…”
Honeybee stammered, glancing sidelong at Lee Sa-young beside her. Jung Bin also looked at Lee Sa-young, noticing something unusual. There was no hostility in his face as he looked at him. Didn’t he hate even being near him? In the past, whenever they crossed paths, Lee Sa-young had never been shy about showing his distaste, cursing at Jung Bin to disappear or outright demanding he leave.
But now, instead of turning his back to leave, Lee Sa-young shrugged.
“We want to hear a story.”
“…A story?”
“…”
Jung Bin’s heart sank. There’s an old saying that if someone changes overnight, they’re not long for this world. He stood up abruptly. Bang! The desk shook, and a few sheets of paper fluttered gently to the floor. Lee Sa-young looked at Jung Bin with a perplexed expression.
“What’s wrong?”
“Did you…”
After a deep breath, Jung Bin asked,
“Did you kill someone?”
