Chapter 11

Chapter 11
## Chapter 011

### Core Cleared

—

The moment the emergency communication frequency was triggered, a notification was broadcast to the Gyodong Island dispatch coordinators. It was the specific directive from their superior that they had been desperately awaiting only minutes prior.

⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
[All Gyodong Island dispatch coordinators must gather in the briefing room within 30 minutes. Tardiness will result in severe disciplinary action. If you are delayed, present your credentials and commandeer a police vehicle if necessary.]
“…”

The thought of why they had to be on shift during such a day didn’t even occur to the coordinators. The hunters who had committed to this assignment were currently facing the prospect of devastating casualties.

In an environment already starved for capable hunters, they simply could not permit them to be eliminated in such a senseless manner.

“Move… we need to move now.”

They scrambled to organize briefing data while simultaneously indexing a roster of hunters from the emergency backup pool who possessed the skill to manage this disaster.

“I’ve arrived!”

One by one, the staff began to pour in.

“I have a preliminary list of the hunters who picked up the emergency signal. Secure transportation immediately.”

“I will take charge of directing the hunters to the rally point; someone else handle the logistics!”

“What is the status of medical reinforcements?!”

“We have secured a partnership with the general hospital located on Ganghwa Island!”

“Hey, are you going to take that surgical mask off or what?!”

“Wait? Oh, damn, I completely forgot it was on!”

The coordinators were scurrying about like panicked animals, yet certain protocols simply require a fixed amount of time to execute.

Regardless of the level of urgency, the clock does not tick any faster.

“A fourth death has been confirmed!”

“Are you people failing to direct the hunters? Are you trying to lead them to their graves?!”

At that precise second, one of the staff members on the line turned deathly pale and shouted out.

“The reinforcement hunters responding to the call have reached Gyodong Island… but they’ve encountered a swarm of monsters. Hostile interference is preventing them from making landfall.”

A heavy quiet blanketed the briefing room instantly. If they had managed to land, they could have dug in and waited for help, but even that option was now off the table.

“Relocate the rally point.”

“If we divert them to a different landing zone now…”

“I am well aware of the risks, damn it. But do we have any other choice?”

Everyone present felt a lump in their throat at those words, yet they proceeded to relay the order to shift the rendezvous. More deaths were now a certainty.

In that thick, suffocating atmosphere of dread, one staff member suddenly cried out in a strangely upbeat tone that felt entirely out of place.

“Incoming report: the monsters are vanishing!”

A wave of confused whispers surged through the office. There was only a single reason why a mass disappearance of monsters would occur like this.

The Erosion Core had been liquidated. Just as the room’s supervisor was preparing to order a scout team to find the cause, a separate report arrived from another frequency.

“Yoo Chan-seok Hunter, the individual who went dark first, has just transmitted a message!”

“What? Did he not enter the Erosion Core? There is no way his transmitter should be functional.”

“This is vital! Projecting the transmission on the main monitor now!”

With a sharp ping, the text from the newcomer hunter filled the screen.

⚙ ALERT ⚙
[The Alpha Erosion Core of Gyodong Island has been neutralized as of this moment.]
Every person in the room rubbed their eyes, staring at the text to ensure they weren’t hallucinating.

“Do we have a localized fix on Yoo Chan-seok Hunter?”

The signal from the rookie who had vanished from the radar was back in the system.

“Coordinates confirmed. He is standing exactly at the center of the Alpha Erosion Core site on Gyodong Island.”

“This… this is impossible…”

The coordinators, who had been working in a frenzy, were now frozen in a state of shock. He had cleared the Erosion Core by himself? A hunter on his very first official job?

To neutralize a Rank 3 Erosion Core during a debut assignment.

No hunter in history had ever achieved such a feat. Actually, one had. The legendary original hunter. But that individual was already considered a myth.

This Yoo Chan-seok had just replicated the record of a living legend.

What did that imply? This felt even more significant than just earning a title. It resonated more deeply with everyone watching.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Shortly after I hit send on that message, my device began to vibrate.

“Yes, this is Yoo Chan-seok.”

— Yoo Chan-seok Hunter. Above all else, I want to express our profound gratitude.

A mountain of unread texts on my screen flickered through my thoughts.

“It seems like a lot went down while I was off the grid.”

— Can we go over the specifics once you have returned to base?

The voice sounded like a police officer trying to be polite to a suspect.

“The atmosphere here has completely shifted.”

The island had felt suffocatingly bleak even under the sun, but now, even with night having fallen, the air felt crisp. It was clean, possessing that raw quality of nature found only in the deepest wilderness.

It was likely due to the removal of the Alpha Erosion Core. I verified the meeting coordinates in my messages and started walking that way.

It wasn’t just hunters waiting at the rally point—paramedic units were out in force as well.

“Yoo Chan-seok Hunter… you actually made it back in one piece.”

Kim Min-je walked toward me, looking completely drained. He seemed uncomfortable, almost hesitant to speak.

It wasn’t just him; the way the other hunters were staring at me was incredibly intense.

“Because of your actions, we are still breathing.”

Kim Min-je was nursing an injury. In reality, finding a hunter in this crowd who wasn’t bleeding or bruised was a challenge.

“I was never taught that monsters spawned from a Rank 3 Erosion Core could coordinate with that level of strategy.”

Han Sang-ah approached with a noticeable limp to say hello; her uneven stride was hard to ignore. I cracked a quick joke.

“What happened, did you go and catch a whale or something?”

“Commercial whaling has been strictly prohibited in Korea since the first of November, 1985.”

“The ‘whale’ I was referring to wasn’t a literal sea creature… never mind.”

The truth is, there’s no reason to go whaling anyway.

After spending less than twenty-four hours in her company, I could read her personality perfectly. She was a blunt, transparently odd person.

“Han Sang-ah Hunter was quite remarkable herself. She did the work of three or four people—honestly, probably more—all on her own.”

Han Sang-ah shook her head dismissively at Kim Min-je’s praise.

“I received a great deal of assistance.”

“What kind of help could I have possibly provided?”

Their interaction was surprisingly wholesome. Are they planning on getting a room together later? Purely on aesthetics, Han Sang-ah is the clear winner.

I looked away while preoccupied with that thought. In the middle of the crowd of wounded hunters, five individuals wearing business suits caught sight of me and began walking over.

They looked exhausted. The man leading the group greeted me.

“I am Byeon Jeong-tae, the Branch Chief for the Incheon North 3rd Branch of the Korea Operating Corporation. You are Yoo Chan-seok Hunter, correct?”

A branch chief. In the hierarchy of the police, what kind of rank would that translate to?

“Yes, that’s me. Nice to meet you. Yoo Chan-seok.”

“Do you have a moment to talk?”

Byeon Jeong-tae escorted me toward a temporary command tent.

He cleared his throat—ahem—and began to speak.

“In the resolution of this sudden crisis, Yoo Chan-seok Hunter, you played the most critical role.”

I answered him in a quiet, steady voice.

“To be perfectly honest, if your team had taken my first warning with a bit more gravity, the death toll might have been significantly lower.”

I gave you a heads-up. And you all brushed it off. Byeon Jeong-tae went quiet.

“There will be transparent disciplinary actions taken regarding that failure.”

“Is that so?”

He gave a firm nod at my query.

“I was the commanding officer for this mission. Naturally, the burden of responsibility falls on me—I will be filing a formal letter of apology and accepting a salary reduction for a determined period.”

Does this guy not have a family to support? The Operating Corporation is a state-run entity, right? Usually, branch chiefs at public firms don’t volunteer to damage their professional standing so easily.

“Even if I don’t push the issue, are those penalties mandatory?”

I wouldn’t have bothered saying that if he had just offered some hollow corporate jargon about “moving forward with a renewed sense of duty” or some other nonsense.

A man who claims his errors instead of shifting the blame? That’s a rare find. And rare finds deserve a break on a first offense. He responded.

“The salary cut might be negotiable, but the formal apology is non-negotiable.”

I gave a small nod.

“Ah, does that mean the money from your pay cut goes into my bank account? Because I’d be happy to file a formal complaint if that were the case.”

A faint smile touched his lips as he shook his head.

“In that case, I won’t be complaining.”

The reality was that it wasn’t just the Operating Corporation that ignored me—the other hunters did as well.

Since everyone dismissed my warning, picking out the branch chief for specific punishment would be petty.

“You look like you’re about to collapse.”

“Excuse me? Oh, yes. I came straight here from the command center after things settled down.”

Their side of the job is no walk in the park either.

“I’ve been up all night anyway. Why don’t we find some coffee and have a talk?”

“That sounds excellent. Just a moment. We have rations here for the Gyodong Island hunters regardless.”

Following my suggestion, Branch Chief Byeon Jeong-tae stood up immediately and stirred two cups of instant coffee.

“Incheon City Hall has likely received a full briefing on you by now, Yoo Chan-seok Hunter.”

“I hope the briefing only mentioned the good parts.”

He scratched the back of his head, his expression becoming unreadable.

“You did disregard the coordinator’s instructions and went dark to approach the Alpha Erosion Core solo… however, the result was undeniable. It isn’t just the Incheon integrated branch—the city administration is watching you closely now.”

I studied his face and remarked,

“There is something else on your mind, isn’t there?”

Branch Chief Byeon Jeong-tae looked at me, then asked a question as if he had finally made up his mind.

“Yoo Chan-seok Hunter, would you mind telling me what your ultimate goal is in all of this?”

I gave him a flat, direct answer.

“If a toilet is backed up and spraying filth everywhere, someone has to wade through the mess and fix the pipe.”

“…I see.”

After listening to that, he spoke with visible caution.

“You are about to become very famous. Hunters with your level of talent gain massive followings. Corporations will want you for endorsements, and television networks will be knocking on your door.”

The city hall will present a commemorative plaque, and the press will hunt you down for interviews. I could tell exactly where he was going with this.

“You’re worried I’ll lose my edge and burn out?”

He finished the coffee in front of him and placed the cup down firmly.

“Yes. I have seen many gifted hunters get intoxicated by the prestige and the fame, eventually losing sight of why they do this.”

He rubbed his head vigorously after he finished speaking.

“Just across the Armistice Line, you find Erosion Zones filled with lethal predators. That place is a nightmare.”

Everyone is aware of how suicidal the front lines beyond the Armistice Line are. He went on.

“Korea is currently the only region on the planet truly insulated from those monsters and cores.”

“They call it the last refuge on earth.”

He nodded.

“Returning to my point: what you achieved today is massive. In these desperate times, people craving a savior will gravitate toward you. That is what concerns me.”

Like a star athlete who signs too many contracts and appears on too many talk shows, eventually skipping training and losing their skill.

Hunters follow a similar path. He was afraid the limelight would go to my head and ruin me.

“I appreciate the counsel.”

I have lived far too long and endured too much hardship to be manipulated by that kind of vanity.

We were about to continue our conversation when his phone began to buzz.

“One moment.”

After finishing the call, he looked back at me.

“The mayor is requesting an audience with you.”

The Mayor of Incheon? He really wasn’t exaggerating. It seemed that destroying that core had made quite an impression on the higher-ups.

“Excellent. We never actually established a bonus for clearing a Rank 3 infection source, did we?”

My initial contract was simply to scout Gyodong Island and report or deal with minor Erosion Cores.

There was no clause regarding payment for successfully purging a Rank 3. Since the mayor wants to see me, I can use that meeting to negotiate my rate.