Chapter 1
“Again…?”
The head of the Suwon branch of the National Hunter Agency, the special government organization in charge of managing Korea’s Hunters, was in quite a troublesome situation.
“Yes. The agent we sent to that bakery a week ago has handed in his resignation.”
“That makes three now…”
The branch chief slowly closed his tired eyes and opened them again.
A bakery had suddenly appeared out of nowhere and taken Korea by storm, creating a nationwide craze for bread lovers.
And lately, that bakery had been giving the branch chief nothing but sleepless nights.
There was definitely something suspicious about it.
The fact that it had suddenly appeared and started making an absurd amount of money was strange enough. But the fact that it was located right next to the Dungeon of Beginnings was even more suspicious.
There were also rumors that the customers who visited the bakery were… unusual.
The branch chief had sensed it.
There’s something seriously weird about this bakery.
At first, he had only sent a few agents there out of curiosity.
But then…
Every single one of them either suddenly took a long vacation or quit.
Every agent working for the National Hunter Agency was an Awakened.
Because they carried out secret missions, they even had to hide their identities from their own families. They were supposed to be the best of the best.
And yet, they were suddenly disappearing one after another.
At this point, the branch chief had come to one conclusion.
This bakery was dangerous.
“I suppose there’s no other choice. I’ll go there myself.”
Thump. Thump.
His heart was pounding.
Seeing how fast his heart was beating, this bakery had to be a threat to the peace of humanity!
Ding!
“Welcome!”
The branch chief headed straight to the bakery.
Unfortunately, there were so many customers that he had to wait for quite a while before he could finally get inside.
The owner, a young man with an attractive face, was placing freshly baked bread onto the display shelves.
When he noticed the branch chief, he gave him a small, pleasant smile.
There was something incredibly relaxed about him.
Strange.
There are only two visible employees—the owner and one part-timer. So why does he look so relaxed?
Pulling his cap down over his face, the branch chief tried to look as natural as possible as he headed toward a table in the corner.
Then he suddenly stopped.
He couldn’t help letting out a small gasp.
Huh? That person is…!
A man was sitting quietly in the corner of the table, cleverly hiding his face so the bakery owner couldn’t see him.
The branch chief held a fairly high position himself.
But even he rarely had the chance to meet the person sitting right in front of him, casually picking at his bread.
It was none other than the director of the National Hunter Agency—
Baek Gijun.
Why is the director of the National Hunter Agency here…?
Baek Gijun was the head of the entire National Hunter Agency.
Now in his late forties, Baek Gijun was a living legend within the agency.
He had a handsome face that made it hard to believe he was in his late forties.
And judging by the murderous look in his eyes as he stared at the branch chief…
He had clearly noticed him a while ago.
Eek.
Why is the director looking at me like that?
The branch chief nervously straightened his shoulders, which had instinctively shrunk.
Could he be telling me, “How did you only discover this dangerous bakery now?”
The branch chief completely misunderstood his gaze.
He hurried over and whispered.
“I-I’m sorry, sir. We’ll get to the bottom of this bakery as soon as possible and investigate every last detail so we can prepare for any potential threat—”
“…Get.”
“Pardon?”
“Get out of here right now. Leave, and forget everything about this bakery. And forget about the owner too.”
The branch chief blinked in surprise.
In other words, the director was telling him not to investigate the bakery or its owner.
Just who the hell is that owner?
The branch chief quickly turned his head, intending to take another look at the bakery owner.
But at that exact moment—
“Don’t look at him. His face might wear out.”
A cold voice came from directly behind him.
The branch chief hadn’t sensed anyone approaching at all.
Despite considering himself a fairly skilled Hunter, he was startled and immediately turned around.
A man was standing there, staring at him with an annoyed expression.
Half of the man’s face was hidden behind a mask.
The branch chief’s eyes widened.
“Fath—”
He quickly corrected himself.
“Director. Even if you’ve put up a disguise barrier that leaves this old man out, you’ll get caught if you stay here like this. You know what happens if they find out, right? Come on. We need to leave.”
The man was Baekho.
A Hunter who had been breaking youngest-ever records one after another, and the star Hunter of Legend, the No. 1 guild in the world.
The black-and-white Taegeuk-patterned mask covering his face was his trademark.
“Of course, you should leave too, old man. And as for this bakery…”
Baekho gave him a meaningful look.
“You heard what you’re supposed to do, right?”
Baek Gijun spoke immediately after him.
“I’ll give you enough time to erase everything from your mind.”
He took another bite of his bread.
“Go take a break. Actually, you can take a permanent break if you want. I’ll make sure your severance pay is generous.”
The moment the branch chief met the two men’s terrifying gazes, he finally understood why the agents had quietly disappeared.
They had all been threatened like this.
The branch chief nodded like crazy, swallowed hard, and hurried out of the bakery as if his life depended on it.
His heart had been pounding like mad ever since he entered.
The director of the National Hunter Agency and Baekho are protecting that person this fiercely.
Just who is that bakery owner?
Unable to hold back his curiosity, the branch chief rushed back to his office.
He immediately logged into Another, the private network space exclusively available to Hunters and built by the system.
Search keywords: Dungeon of Beginnings, bakery, owner.
A little hourglass icon appeared as the system searched for the keywords.
The search was taking longer than expected.
And just as the branch chief was beginning to wonder why—
Suddenly, every window disappeared.
A message from the system appeared.
<System: This keyword has been restricted from being searched at the request of an ‘Interested Party.’ Entering the restricted keyword one more time will result in a one-month suspension from Another.>
Interested Party?
What the hell is an Interested Party?
The branch chief sat there with a stunned expression.
In all his years, this was the first time he’d ever seen the system itself protect someone’s information.
Just who is that bakery owner?!
* * *
Several months before the branch chief’s little panic attack…
Baek Seol blinked as she stared at the building in front of her.
She had come here after the owner of a local real estate office told her about a place where she could stay without paying rent.
“They don’t charge rent here. Why don’t you give it a try?”
“There’s really a place like that?”
“As far as I know, the landlord lets graduate students stay there temporarily. What? You don’t like it? If you don’t want it, give me the information back. My student is kind enough to share such valuable information with you…”
“No! No, it’s perfect! Thank you so much! I’ll go check it out!”
After failing to get a room in the graduate student dormitory, Baek Seol had been going around looking for the cheapest place she could find.
And that was how she ended up here.
She swallowed nervously.
Gray brick walls.
A gray door.
Gray windows.
The whole building gave off the vibe of a slightly run-down shop.
Will there even be a room for me here?
“Excuse me… Is anyone here?”
Knock, knock.
Baek Seol carefully knocked on the door.
There was no response from inside.
Instead, the door slowly opened by itself, almost as if it were inviting her in.
A chill ran down the back of Baek Seol’s neck.
Eek!
What was that just now?
Did the door seriously open on its own?
She quickly backed away and cautiously peeked inside.
After a moment, she slowly relaxed her tense shoulders.
…Maybe I knocked too hard?
Pressing her lips together, Baek Seol pushed the door open.
“Um… excuse me. The owner of the real estate office sent me here…”
She carefully stepped inside.
For a moment, she thought she saw an interior that looked like something straight out of a bakery.
And then—
A strange window suddenly appeared right in front of her.
<System: To enter, you must agree to the following terms.
Do you agree to the following terms? Y/N
What is this?
Baek Seol stared blankly at the floating window.
She was extremely surprised.
Not only because a window had suddenly appeared out of nowhere…
But because—
Why does it look so old-fashioned?
The design was awful.
She had seen something like this before.
Didn’t old computers from a long time ago have windows that looked like this?
A boring gray screen.
An ugly font.
Baek Seol tried to figure out what exactly this strange window was, but she couldn’t come up with an answer.
Rather than waste time on something she didn’t understand, she carefully examined the message.
Let’s see…
Does this mean I have to press Y to get inside?
Apparently, yes.
Baek Seol moved her eyes around the window to find the “following terms” the message had mentioned.
At the bottom of the window was a tiny arrow, about the size of an ant’s nostril.
It looked like pressing it would show the terms she needed to agree to.
Baek Seol blinked and instinctively pointed her index finger toward the arrow.
Then another message appeared.
<System: The time limit is almost over. If you do not agree, access will automatically be denied.>
A number appeared beside the window.
And it started counting down.
5… 4… 3… 2…
“W-Wait! Hold on!”
There hadn’t been any mention of a time limit!
After all the suffering she’d endured at the hands of her advisor, Professor Kim Gyo, her reflexes had become ridiculously fast.
Baek Seol quickly changed the direction of her finger and tapped the Y button.
If I can get a free place to stay…!
She would have to ignore how suspicious this ugly window looked for now.
Baek Seol absolutely had to get inside this shop.
First, she needed to meet the landlord.
Only then could she figure out what was going on.
Another window immediately appeared.
<System: You have agreed to all the following terms required for use.>
“Huh?”
Baek Seol blinked.
Before she could even process what was happening, an unbelievable amount of text began scrolling across the screen at lightning speed.
<☑ Agreement to Dungeon Bakery Terms of Use (Required)
Welcome to Dungeon Bakery. These terms of use…
(details omitted)☑ Consent to the Collection and Use of Personal Information (Required)
In accordance with the Human Realm Personal Information Protection Act…
(details omitted)☑ Location Information Terms of Use (Required)
Required for entry into the bakery…
☑ Dungeon Bakery Purchase & Loan Agreement (Required)
If you do not have enough points…
☑ Supporter Terms of Use (Required)
☑ …
☑ …
What the heck is this?
Baek Seol was overwhelmed by the endless flood of text.
She rubbed her eyes and stared at the window.
There were an unbelievable number of clauses.
But only one of them caught her attention.
It was impossible not to notice.
Because it was literally sparkling.
<☑ Consent to Awaken as the Owner of Dungeon Bakery ☆ (Required)>
Baek Seol’s mouth dropped open.
At that exact moment, another strange window suddenly appeared in front of her.
<System: Congratulations on your Awakening! You have Awakened as the owner of Dungeon Bakery.>
Out of nowhere, I awakened as the owner of a bakery.
……Though I was surprised at first,
“You were a Hunter?”
“N-Noona.”
The younger brother I had thought was studying for the civil service exam was actually an S-Rank Hunter.
And the father I had thought was an ordinary office worker was actually the Director of the National Hunter Agency.
“Kyung! (Give me some bread!)”
And my customers were monsters.
Was this what people called the Three Great Calamities?
—
No.
The greatest calamity was……
Seo Doha, the No. 1 Hunter in the rankings and an EX-Rank Hunter shrouded in mystery.
He spoke in a serious voice.
“I want to become family with you, Sunbae.”
Baek Seol blinked.
‘Family?’
What on earth was he suddenly talking about?
“I won’t let you lift a finger.”
“No, wait. Hoobae.”
“I’ll do anything you want, Sunbae. So, please, accept me.”
Apparently, this ridiculously overpowered Hunter who had been hiding his true abilities was saying something strange and wanted to become a part-time worker at her bakery.
“Then I’ll do anything. Anything you want, Sunbae. Even if that means putting my life on the line.”
“No, seriously, what exactly is so special about being a bakery part-timer……?”
Since when did working part-time at a bakery require an overpowered Hunter to put his life up as collateral……?
