Chapter 10

“Haa… This is driving me insane…”

Having received a special order from Jinseo, Ian was, unsurprisingly, working overtime again.

His roommate and boss, Jinseo, had told him not to even think about going home until he found that mysterious Hunter.

So Ian had been sleeping, showering, and practically living at the office.

Empty energy drink cans were scattered all over his desk.

“Where on earth did she go…?”

“Did she disappear into the sky? Sink into the ground…?”

“Wait… is she even a real person…?”

Dark circles hung heavily beneath Ian’s eyes as he stared at his monitor.

But he wasn’t the only one who looked like a complete wreck.

Almost everyone in the Hunter Association, including the Chairman’s office staff, had been forced into nonstop overtime.

The people trapped inside the Maze Gates across twenty-two countries…

Along with all of their families…

They were desperately waiting for Seoul to save them.

But what if the truth came out?

What if everyone learned that the person who had really cleared Seoul’s Gates had disappeared without a trace…

And no one even knew who she was?

The entire world would fall into chaos.

Korea could even become the enemy of the whole world.

“This is seriously unbelievable…”

Everyone understood how important this was.

That’s why they were all still working this late into the night.

Yet the mysterious Hunter hadn’t revealed so much as a single strand of hair.

They had checked everything.

CCTV footage.

News videos.

Online livestreams.

Dashcam recordings.

Witness statements.

Nothing.

Not a single trace of the woman.

“If we don’t find her today…”

“…how much worse is this going to get?”

“I’m sick of getting cursed out in every language imaginable…”

Meanwhile…

Representatives from every country and guild masters from around the world were still gathered in the conference hall, demanding answers.

If they once again tried to stall by saying Kang Jinseo needed more recovery time…

People would accuse Korea of mocking the entire world.

“We can’t keep using Hunter Kang’s recovery as an excuse forever…”

The employee sitting next to Ian overheard him muttering.

He drained the last of his iced coffee through a straw until his cheeks sank inward.

Then he slowly spun around in his chair with empty eyes.

“…Yeah…”

“No one could stay sane after this.”

Ian gave the chair another push, making it spin faster.

Then he opened the Hunter community forum he managed.

He had already read every post there…

Twice.

But there was still one thing he hadn’t checked.

Deleted posts.

Posts removed either by their authors or by moderators.

Recovering all of that data might mean reading hundreds of thousands of posts.

But…

“So be it.”

Ian finished another energy drink in one gulp.

Then he fixed his eyes on the screen once again.

Starting with the most-viewed deleted post…

He began reading.

“…Huh?”

“She predicted the gate?”

“Is that even possible?”

“Even Kang Jinseo can’t do that.”

Ian enlarged the attached photograph.

A woman wearing a cap.

Long hair tied into a high ponytail.

Tall.

Thin.

“…No way.”

If she were powerful enough to clear a maze gate so easily…

Maybe she also possessed an incredible skill that allowed her to predict Gates.

Ian suddenly leaped to his feet and shouted,

“I’M ENDING THIS OVERTIME TODAY!”

Meanwhile…

After seeing Nara off, I immediately got ready to go out.

“Mimi.”

“I’m going to Seong Hospital.”

“So early in the morning?”

“You don’t even need medicine for your sensory disorder anymore.”

“Why go to the hospital?”

“I want to tell Professor Seong.”

“She’s worked so hard trying to develop medicine for me all these years.”

“The devoted human.”

Mimi wasn’t wrong.

If there was one word that perfectly described Professor Seong…

It was devoted.

She wasn’t a Hunter.

And I couldn’t even pay her.

Yet she’d sincerely cared for me for years.

If it weren’t for her…

I’d probably…

“And while I’m there…”

“I want to ask if she knows any Hunters who’d make good employee candidates.”

“Nearly every Hunter with mana poisoning passes through Professor Seong’s care.”

Without question…

The most valuable part of the employment contract was its ability to ease mana poisoning.

It was a power that had never existed before.

Every Hunter in the world would want it.

What if I offered this contract to someone suffering from mana poisoning?

They wouldn’t reject it easily.

In fact…

If their symptoms were severe enough…

They might even beg me to let them sign it.

Twenty years had passed since Gates first appeared.

By now…

Countless hunters around the world had either retired or suffered permanent damage because of mana poisoning.

If my ability could heal not just one person…

But many…

Humanity might actually conquer the Gates someday.

That’s how extraordinary I believed this contract was.

Carefully placing the employment contract inside my bag…

I hurried toward Seong Hospital.

Every second…

The quest timer kept ticking down.

There wasn’t time to waste.

Ian, who hadn’t slept all night, sped toward Seong Hospital.

He had just heard that after throwing the conference room into complete chaos…

Jinseo had gone there for a medical checkup.

Ian drove like a madman and arrived at the hospital.

“Hey!”

“You can’t park there!”

“I’m sorry!”

“It’s an emergency!”

Leaving his car carelessly in front of the hospital entrance…

Ian took off running without looking back.

The parking attendant chased after him.

But Ian couldn’t stop.

In his hand…

Was a single photograph.

One that could determine the fate of the world.

He had to show it to Jinseo immediately.

“Huff…”

“Huff…”

After sprinting all the way to the hospital director’s research office…

Ian spotted Jinseo waiting in a chair outside.

“Hyung!”

“Hyung!”

His voice echoed throughout the hallway.

Even Jinseo had no choice but to turn around.

“Ian?”

Judging from Ian’s expression…

It seemed he’d completed the task.

Otherwise…

He would never be making such a scene.

Jinseo uncrossed his legs.

Then calmly stood up.

“Look!”

“Look at this!”

“Is this her?!”

Still breathing heavily, Ian shoved his phone in front of Jinseo’s face.

Jinseo took it.

Then I looked at the woman in the photograph.

Tall.

Thin.

Long hair tied into a ponytail.

He recognized her immediately.

She was the Hunter he’d seen inside the Maze Gate.

The blurry image that had lingered in his mind finally became crystal clear.

“…”

At the same time…

The suspicion that had stayed with him ever since leaving the Gate…

Turned into certainty.

His usually steady heartbeat began to falter.

“Hyung?”

Receiving no response…

Ian anxiously stamped his feet.

“Is it her?”

“Tell me.”

“Is it or isn’t it?”

“…Her identity?”

The moment Ian heard Jinseo ask…

His face lit up brighter than ever.

I found her.

I actually found her!

Unable to hide his excitement…

He nodded vigorously.

“I confirmed it.”

Looking around to make sure no one was listening…

Ian lowered his voice to a whisper.

“Her name is Ye Bitna.”

“Twenty-six years old.”

“She owns a shop in Mapo District…”

At that moment…

The door to the hospital director’s office opened.

Both men instinctively stopped talking and looked over.

“Ms. Bitna.”

“Thank you for the facial mist.”

Director Seong stepped out first.

Following behind her…

It was a woman with long brown hair tied into a ponytail.

Tall.

Thin.

“…Ye… Bitna?”

Ian unconsciously whispered her name.

Bitna and Director Seong both turned toward them.

The four of them stood facing one another.

Silence filled the hallway.

It was Director Seong who finally broke it.

“Oh?”

“Mr. Jinseo, you’re earlier than your appointment.”

“…”

“Mr. Jinseo?”

She tilted her head in confusion.

Even after she spoke…

Jinseo remained motionless.

He looked as though he’d been completely captivated by something.

Following the direction of his gaze…

There stood…

Bitna.