FTE 008

I had never seen my partner looking so disheartened while going to kill monsters. This was true even if we weren’t close and I only knew his name and face.

“But if you aren’t human either, then it’s the same for me. So, let’s get along as monsters.”

“And not changing rooms?”

“Not changing rooms. Honestly, I don’t think I can handle Hunter Chae well, but let’s give it a try.” Chae Won-u’s eyes subtly brightened. Despite having a reputation for being reckless, sharp-tongued, bad-tempered, and unruly based on appearances alone, his actions contradicted those assumptions. He seemed more akin to… an animal, perhaps? I gently patted his cheeks, treating him like a child needing reassurance.

“So, please don’t underestimate me, Hunter Chae. If you give up now, I’ll die out there. Just thought I should let you know.”

My hands trembled slightly, and my palms began to sweat. We’d been thrown into this mission without even a week of training together. This was fucking ridiculous.

What exactly was going on with this guy? It wasn’t clear whether the Hunter Association wanted him as their prized asset or merely as cannon fodder. They hadn’t provided any information about him but instead treated him like an accessory, tagging along with me.

So, here we were, surrounded by monsters, and my life depended solely on this weirdo.

“You won’t let me die, right?”

Chae Won-u nodded. “Okay then. Trust me and fight with all your might, Hunter Chae.”

A helicopter arrived outside. The sound of its military-grade engine was deafening. Had it not been for the bulletproof glass surrounding the building, likely at least thirty millimeters thick, chaos would have ensued.

As I turned to leave, Chae Won-u grabbed my wrist and handed me something.

“Can you hold your breath for a few seconds?”

It was goggles and a waterproof bandana similar yet slightly different from his own.

“…I’ll try my best.”

His cryptic question reminded me that I had scored level one on the lung capacity test as I braced myself mentally.

***

My resolve crumbled as soon as I saw them.

“Shit!”

I ran my hand through my hair, but it was futile. My locks were already soaked from falling eight times into this pool, and I knew for sure that twelve more dunks awaited me. Goggles really were essential gear here. The bandanna covered everything below my nose, but what I needed most was an oxygen tank.

“You’ve got to be kidding me!”

Muttering curses under my breath, I adjusted my grip on the dagger. There had to be a reason they gave us these instead of guns. Even if we’d been provided firearms, the ammunition would have gotten wet anyway. Thus, we found ourselves forced to fight primitively.

In one hand, I held a knife often used by the US Navy with a serrated edge on one side. It might look like I’m wildly swinging both weapons around, but that’s not the case. Slashing and stabbing require much more strength than people realize.

“Ack! These damn bastards!”

Especially now with a swarm of low-level monsters approaching through a stream. When a dungeon broke out, it became a zero zone. Sometimes, it was like falling into a sinkhole, while other times, it was difficult to invade, as if there were barriers blocking entry. There were more nuanced variations, but currently, we faced the latter scenario. The level of dungeons was determined by the number of external barriers resembling electric curtains. Fortunately, this one wasn’t too challenging at B-rank.

However…

“Hunter Chae Won-u!”

The dungeon had unfortunately appeared on a road, resulting in twenty-one casualties. Cars, whether their drivers managed to escape or not, floated in mid-air with paint peeling off. Their bodies remained intact, allowing me to climb onto them. Three vehicles were stacked like a tower, providing some time to prepare.

I climbed to the top of the car and changed my gloves. As soon as I put on new gloves, water flew at me from behind. It was an incredible amount of water, making my head ring and drenching my gloves.

“Hunter Chae!”

This bastard! I barely managed to suppress swearing aloud. His use of power was rough and unpredictable, like throwing things around randomly as children do. Despite it being common sense for hunters to form squads of two, we were inexplicably assigned separate zones just the two of us.

At my outburst, Chae Won-u turned back and opened a nearby car door. Once inside a dungeon zone, hunters rapidly develop their strength due to compatibility with the environment. He ripped off the locked door effortlessly, using it like a surfing board beneath him. His stance truly resembled that of a surfer.

“Could it be…?”

The saying ‘kill or be killed’ is true enough to have been passed down by our ancestors. Chae Won-u twisted his wrist with a cracking sound, causing waves of blood and flesh below him. It was disgusting, making me grimace.

“You called?”

“…Can’t you just arrive normally?”

“Normally here?” In an instant, Chae Won-u reached my car tower, smiling as if amused by my suggestion. My stomach churned at this sight. I should’ve avoided engaging in conversation with someone prone to conflict from the start.

“How about that? Am I good at surfing?”

As he spoke, Chae Won-u rapidly fired water droplets at a flying monster approaching us from behind. Suddenly drenched in blood, I glared at him.

“Well, you surf well but can’t fight.”

“Really? But I always have the highest kill count!”

“It’s not about quantity, it’s about quality.”

This time, I stabbed at a bug-type monster trying to cling behind Chae Won-u. Then with my other hand wrapped around the stab wound, I twisted it clockwise. There was a cracking sound as the exoskeleton broke. Knowing its substance was like a mountain, I kicked it away before green blood could stain my hands. It meant losing one knife but no matter.

“You fight very dirty and fundamentally wrong. You might meet an untimely death fighting like this.”

At that moment, a bright blue light flared up from behind us. The Esper Team had reached the energy tower, which was the core of the dungeon. Only Espers could clear the dungeon by neutralizing that tower. Despite being almost useless in actual combat, this is why they were treated with such reverence. Soon after, an alarm sounded through our earpieces.

“15 minutes left.”

It was countdown time.

“Can’t we talk again after 15 minutes?”

“If you are still alive afterwards.”

“Ey. Are you joking?” Chae Won-u burst out laughing. Then he grabbed my shoulder and pulled me into his arms. After only being together for one hour, I immediately noticed what this idiot was trying to do. I sighed and plugged my nose.

Soon, countless droplets of water rose from below and exploded. The air instantly became humid as the tiny droplets targeted us like bullets.

“You know, it really hurts when this happens.”

“So?”

“I need a tight hug.”

He was freaking out. But wasn’t that why I was hired? I took off my gloves and lowered my bandana. Holding onto Chae Won-u’s body, I leaned down so my cheek touched his.

“Feel free to scream and rave.”

“I’m excited.”

You’re excited? I am struggling.

I held my breath. Once the countdown started, the battle situation would change. The eyes of the agitated monsters turned bright red. From now on, it was just like a dogfight. A pure brawl for survival, where we had to hold out while the Espers did their job. In this dogfight, Chae Won-u’s ability finally shone. He was already great in many ways, but from this moment, he became dazzling. Literally dazzling.

“It’s beautiful.”

The shining eyes of the monster and the headlights of the car automatically illuminated the water droplets like Christmas tree lights. It matched perfectly with the red color.

I stared blankly at it before strongly embracing Chae Won-u. Unexpectedly, his knees buckled. His body collapsed against my shins, and I caught him by placing his arm around my shoulder. He was definitely running a high fever. His cheeks were bright red, and the veins in his eyes were swollen.

“Tell me honestly. There was no need to use such power.”

“Of course not. They were just small monsters.”

“But why did you do it?”

“Because this is our first team play, so I wanted to look cool?”

“Don’t waste your efforts from now on.”

“Why?”

Again, again. This guy’s curiosity didn’t care about time or place. I unbuckled Chae Won-u’s belt, reached inside his shirt, wrapped my hand around his waist, and replied:

“Even if he’s younger, he’s just cute, wouldn’t you say? How could he be cool?”

“Why do you say that? Younger guys can be cool too.”

“I guess I’m just old-fashioned.”

I slid down from the car hood. Unlike Chae Won-u who could tear off the entire door, I could only break the window, so I used the useless gun to smash it and open the door. Then I sat Chae Won-u on the wet seat. It was hard to concentrate with him above me. My palms covered his warm cheeks. I rarely did this because of shyness, but my previous partner reacted aggressively whenever I tried, resulting in immediate rejection. So, instinctively, I embraced him tightly. And if given more time, I would’ve pressed our foreheads together. However, feeling that would be too embarrassing, I hoped to end it here. After all, we had known each other for just a few days.

“Focus. The second wave is almost here.”

Every five minutes or so for fifteen minutes, monsters would be summoned en masse simultaneously, and we needed to prepare for up to three waves. In hindsight, it was regrettable that this reckless fellow had been so vocal earlier.

“The heat… it feels like it’s escaping through your hands.”

“That’s good.”

My heart pounded heavily. It felt as if I were carrying two hearts within my chest – heavy, burdensome, yet strangely addictive. My mouth went dry instinctively, and I licked my lips while lifting my head. Sweat trickled down my neck, making me uncomfortably damp.

“Oh.” Suddenly, his thigh trembled beneath my touch.