Retire 285

285 Death (1)

A new semester had begun at the Hunter Training High School.

All it took was changing the sign above the classroom door to “3-1,” and yet the students were buzzing with excitement.

“Mood is everything, you know!”

“Just wait ten years. You won’t even remember how old you are.”

“Oh, come on.”

“Teacher, you sound so old when you say things like that.”

The kids burst into laughter, finding everything hilarious.

They say children can laugh at a falling leaf… Well, never mind. Better to laugh than not. Laughter is always better.

Anyway, the number of students at Yangseong High had increased by just one. A new first-year.

But there was still only one class. From first-years to third-years, everyone attended together. Since the curriculum wasn’t really differentiated, it wasn’t a problem.

Well, not exactly the same, of course. The upperclassmen had their own head start. They’d been training for combat all along. If someone caught up to them too quickly, wouldn’t that make the older students feel pointless?

No matter how talented Yoo Ji-eun was, the others were just as capable in their own ways.

…Still, if you’re a year ahead—especially a third-year in high school—shouldn’t you be better than a first-year? It’s funny to call that a “head start,” but still.

“I want to go into the dungeon too!!!”

Yoo Ji-eun was not accepting the situation.

“Why does he get to go?!”

“Ji-eun! Don’t talk to Tae-woo like that! He’s older than you! Tae-woo, I’m sorry.”

“It’s all right, noona.”

Even with only ten students, every one of them had a strong personality. Once one started making a fuss, the room quickly grew noisy.

Ji-eun glared at her older sister, then looked back at me.

As soon as word spread that the third-years, including Kang Tae-woo, would be entering a dungeon in April, this was the result.

Ji-eun wasted no time expressing her dissatisfaction at being left out. More precisely—

“Why does he get to go and I don’t?!”

She was especially unhappy about Tae-woo being allowed in.

“I want to go into the dungeon!”

“I said no.”

“Why not!!”

There’s no point beating around the bush with her. She won’t get it unless you’re blunt.

“Because you’re not skilled enough.”

I never thought I’d see the day I’d say that to Yoo Ji-eun. Living long enough, you see everything.

Ji-eun’s face stiffened. A few students nearby, overhearing, glanced at her nervously. The one who knew her best, Yoo Hye-eun, was nodding vigorously in agreement with me.

I softened my expression and spoke to Ji-eun.

“You need more combat training.”

“But…!”

Her spirit deflated a little. That was just pride making her push back.

“Dungeon practice starts in second year.”

“…Since when?! Starting now?”

“No. It was decided in the faculty meeting.”

She looked like she didn’t believe me, but what reason would I have to lie about this? It was true.

First-years focused on basic training, second-years began practicals in the second semester, and third-years specialized in their chosen fields.

I’d borrowed from the academy curriculum. With so few students and teachers, it was still rough around the edges. But someday…

“Your sister only got to enter a dungeon once she was in second year. You can’t expect everything at once. Wait until you’re ready.”

“……”

“One mistake in this line of work can cost a life. You can’t always get your way.”

“…Okay.”

Ji-eun gave up when I spoke firmly.

The defiance faded from her face. No one knows your abilities better than you do.

“Work hard on your training.”

“Yes…”

All right, that’s Ji-eun handled…

With Hong Seok-young away, I could probably keep things calm at school for a while. Yangseong High was still drawing plenty of attention. Better to be cautious than to push too hard. Once Gamble was ready, there’d be another world-shaking announcement… Before that, I should investigate the place the fairy Tati had mentioned inside the Jirisan dungeon.

Of course, that was for after Hong Seok-young finished his dungeon raid and returned. He’d left, boasting it wouldn’t take long.

By now, he must have entered the dungeon.

He’d left for America just before the new semester began. He’d even promised Woo I-rok he’d bring back that… ridiculous pink cat plushie while he was there. As if a cat plushie would be enough to win him over.

…Lately, I’m afraid it actually might be.

I shook my head. If he ended up burning all his dolls later, that was none of my business.

“All right, attention.”

The noisy students quieted at my word. I looked over each face. Some met my gaze with bright smiles, others tensed a little. All of them looked well.

Good. Then—

Bang!!

“Teacher Woo!!!!”

Kim Chaemin burst through the classroom door.

“Teacher Kim?”

“Now, hurry!!!”

Without any explanation, Kim Chaemin grabbed me. Her face was pale. She didn’t care that the students were startled, just dragged me out of the classroom.

I could have shaken her off if I’d wanted to.

“Teacher?”

“It’s bad.”

“Bad?”

“Yes. Really bad.”

---

Kim Chaemin headed for the director’s office.

The director’s office?

She wouldn’t act like this for no reason. She flung the door open without hesitation.

Inside, Lee Miseon and several Daseon hunters were gathered. Lee Miseon was pacing anxiously with a grave expression, but when she saw me, she bit her lip hard.

Kim Chaemin alone was enough to make me uneasy, but Lee Miseon too?

“…What’s going on?”

They were all gathered around a monitor, as if watching something together.

Lee Miseon stepped aside when she saw me.

“Look at this first.”

“What is it?”

Something was playing on the screen. The low quality and shaky camera made it hard to make out, but there was no mistaking the ruined city and the monster floating in the sky.

The person filming gestured frantically for others to run. Yet they themselves kept filming the monster in the sky to the end.

The white feathers in the shaky footage reminded me of Sam Bloom’s wings. And that unidentified monster from inside the dungeon.

“This was filmed in Boston two hours ago.”

Lee Miseon’s voice cut off my thoughts.

Boston? If it’s Boston…

“They say it appeared after blowing the roof off a safe house. The news is just starting to break here in Korea.”

“The child?”

I cut her off, asking urgently.

Kang Tae-woo’s little sister was in Boston. I remembered Gamble complaining about sending her so far away when she herself was in sunny California. Had she done it to throw off pursuit?

With this crisis, I’d planned to bring Sohee back to Korea, at least. She was from that research institute, after all, and since we already had Woo I-rok, one more child wouldn’t make much difference.

Lately, with Kang Tae-woo acting like he was missing a few screws, I thought it might help stabilize him too.

But now…

“We only managed to get in touch thirty minutes ago.”

I was terrified Lee Miseon would say something bad.

“The child is safe.”

A weight lifted from my chest.

Lee Miseon collapsed into a chair. The wheeled seat spun around and around.

I watched the video replay. It was filmed from a distance. The monster in the sky was huge, even compared to the surrounding houses. Considering the size of American homes…

I narrowed my eyes.

Something like a tiny insect was flying near the monster. Something… that looked human.

Lee Miseon paused the video. A black dot remained, now clear enough to see arms and legs.

“That’s Hope.”

She spoke flatly.

“If he’s still fighting, he’s been holding it off alone for over two hours.”

“Hope?”

“They said he was still fighting at least thirty minutes ago.”

“…And the others? I thought Association hunters went with him.”

“They ran with the child. The dungeon break has thrown everything into chaos. Half of Boston’s power grid is down, which is why it took us so long to figure out what was happening. We only just managed to get in touch.”

“There was a dungeon break too?”

“Otherwise, where do you think that monster came from?”

“……”

Well, that’s true.

The monster in the still frame looked too bizarre to be called a monster. It was a monster, yes. But…

It was hard to put into words.

Kim Chaemin couldn’t hide her anxiety either.

“Was this Henry Lehmann’s doing?”

“If Lehmann had a way to trigger a dungeon break, then it would be. The timing seems too perfect, though.”

Was there just so happening to be a depleted dungeon in Boston? Or…

Analysis could wait. For now—

“Can we reach them now?”

“No.”

Lee Miseon shook her head.

“With the blackout and unstable internet, Boston is practically paralyzed. Some videos are being uploaded, but not many.”

This was a compilation of the few that existed.

Most of the footage was similar. No one could get close to the monster, and if they tried, the video cut off as they ran from other monsters that had emerged from the dungeon. Whoever they were, I hoped they got away safely.

“Hope told them to run with the child first… so they just got out. At least the child wasn’t hurt. That was the last report.”

“…And Hope was still fighting at that point.”

“Right now, it’s only been a short while, and with the internet down, no one can identify Hope. We know because we got the report.”

“But…”

“Once things settle down, it’ll be different. Hope is easy to recognize. And he’s apparently wearing an FBI jacket right now.”

“……”

The unidentified monster had appeared over a residential area. There would be many witnesses.

Is it really okay for Hope to be fighting like this? No matter how I looked at it, this wasn’t the level of an Australian A-rank hunter. And an FBI jacket? I was grateful this wasn’t my mess to clean up. Maybe that’s why Lee Miseon looked so grim.

I bit my lip.

All of this could be dealt with later.

“He’s been fighting for two hours, you said.”

“Probably.”

“Alone?”

“……”

“Hope could have run away.”

Even in the short video, I could see how Hope fought. I’d been on the receiving end myself.

He moved like a magician, using teleportation for mobility. His feet almost never touched the ground. I couldn’t analyze this type of monster, since I’d never seen one before, but…

Hope wasn’t running. He was fighting.

And as a human, Hope would eventually tire.

“Is there no way to help him?”

“…I don’t know. Team Leader Kang said she’d go back, but…”

No matter how much money or strength you had, you couldn’t overcome physical distance.

“…If you get in touch with the hunters again, tell Hope to just get out.”

Lee Miseon nodded, her face stiff.

“Anyway, staying alive is what matters. Does Gamble know about this…?”

I jerked my head up.

“Teacher Woo?”

Kim Chaemin beat me to the window. I hurriedly grabbed her and pulled her away. She was too fearless!

“……!”

In that brief instant, mana surged violently.