Chapter 19: Even the bone marrow has a heart, Part 1

Hunter Association Director, Seo Da-In.

She was a remarkable figure who had risen to a prominent position within the Hunter Association in her late twenties.

The Association’s executive ranks were mostly filled with individuals who had distinguished themselves in raids during the initial monster appearances.

It was practically a hall of fame for the heroes who had saved humanity.

Seo Da-In, who had risen to the Director position later, was rumored to be struggling, surrounded by such charismatic leaders.

‘A spar with the Hunter Association Director?’

Antagonizing Seo Da-In was equivalent to antagonizing the entire Hunter Association.

Unlike Seo Da-In, who insisted on eradicating all monsters, the other executives believed that temporarily abandoning the surface might be necessary for humanity’s survival.

They didn’t see eye to eye, but Seo Da-In was still valued by the older members of the Association.

Her hostility towards monsters served as a driving force for Hunters, preventing them from succumbing to fear in the field.

She constantly emphasized that monsters weren’t beings to be avoided, but to be defeated, and that humanity was capable of doing so.

Inspired by her words, young Hunters bought time until the completion of shelters designed to protect humanity.

So, the Hunter Association held her in high regard.

‘There’s a reason they made her Director.’

Jo Sung-Il sighed, looking at the quest window.

‘Should I just give up on this quest?’

If he messed with Seo Da-In, he would be swarmed by Hunters.

Even if he could defeat them, it would be a hassle, and he couldn’t afford to waste stamina indefinitely, as he needed to consume prey to replenish his energy.

Any encounter with Seo Da-In required extreme caution.

“Hectos.”

The World Tree, who had entered the Olympic Stadium, stood beside him and asked,

“What are you looking at?”

She seemed curious about Jo Sung-Il staring into space.

“World Tree.”
“Yeah?”
“Don’t you have a status window or something?”

Jo Sung-Il asked, turning his gaze to her. The World Tree tilted her head.

“Like a blue square?”
“Yes, that.”
“I have one, but I turned it off.”
“Aren’t you going to turn it back on?”
“No. It blocks my view.”

A simple reason indeed. A very World Tree-like reason, Jo Sung-Il thought, as he looked back at the quest window.

‘…Something very good.’

This time, the reward was listed first.

But the description was incredibly vague.

However, the phrase “something very good” piqued his curiosity.

‘Is this a joke, or will they actually give me something good?’

Judging by the mission’s difficulty, it seemed likely they would offer something substantial.

“Let’s check it out.”

Jo Sung-Il stood up.

“Hectos, where are you going?”
“I’m going for a walk. Watch the house.”

Jo Sung-Il left those words and walked into the spore smoke.

Hunter Association Headquarters.

Several black luxury cars were lined up on the road in front of the building.

“…President!”

An elderly man with a heavy build, about to get into the back of a car with the help of a staff member, stopped at the sound of Seo Da-In shouting as she ran towards him.

“Please reconsider! That monster is a dangerous target that needs to be found immediately!”
“Director.”

White hair fluttered in the wind.

Association President, Kwon Joo-Hwan, with a large cigar nestled beneath his equally white mustache, narrowed his eyes and spoke in a deep voice.

“According to the reports, that monster hasn’t shown any hostile behavior towards us. Is it really necessary to pull S-ranks from their missions for a mere search operation?”
“President, that monster is not ordinary. It’s a rare monster that appeared at a predicted second wave location. Based on eyewitness accounts, it’s clearly an apex predator.”
“And did it threaten us?”

Seo Da-In fell silent at his question.

Kwon Joo-Hwan removed the cigar from his mouth with his gold-ring-adorned fingers and exhaled a puff of white smoke.

“Even if you’re right, we don’t have enough justification to mobilize S-ranks with different objectives.”
“But….”
“Da-In.”

Kwon Joo-Hwan placed his hand on Seo Da-In’s head.

“I put you in that position because of your fighting spirit. But monsters are a recurring disaster, no matter how many we eliminate. Now is not the time to sacrifice manpower on a threat we can’t eliminate. Establishing a final sanctuary to protect humanity is our priority.”
“…….”
“If you’re so concerned about that monster, why don’t you go after it yourself?”

Seo Da-In looked surprised.

“Me, sir?”
“You’re A-rank, aren’t you? Your overall rank might be A-rank, but ‘one of your skills’ is S-rank.”
“If I leave, I won’t be able to manage the reports coming in from all over the country and coordinate the Association’s schedule.”
“Have some faith in your staff.”

Seo Da-In was known for handling everything herself, distrusting her staff.

Kwon Joo-Hwan pointed this out.

“Of course, it’s not ideal for the Director to be out in the field, but I’ll approve your pending vacation leave. Do what you want.”

The surrounding staff members smiled wryly.

‘Approving her vacation so she can chase after a monster?’
‘Even Seo Da-In wouldn’t want to use her vacation time for this.’
‘He’s basically telling her to stay put.’

They were filled with negative thoughts, but they didn’t fully understand Seo Da-In.

How she interpreted Kwon Joo-Hwan’s words.

“Thank you, President.”

Her questioning tone had shifted, and her expression seemed lighter.

“You’re right. I haven’t had enough faith in my staff.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, President. I’ll submit my vacation request. Once it’s approved, I’ll go look for that monster.”
“Keke, hahaha!”

Kwon Joo-Hwan suddenly burst into laughter and patted her shoulder.

“Go ahead. Do it your way.”

Kwon Joo-Hwan immediately approved a week of vacation leave.

Seo Da-In bowed to him and entered the Headquarters building, saying she would prepare for departure.

“…President, couldn’t you have given her some extra leave instead of making her use her own?”

The staff member, a man in a suit with a monocle and an impassive expression, who had opened the car door, asked.

The President took a puff of his cigar and replied,

“Then she wouldn’t take it seriously.”

Only with this kind of “penalty” would Seo Da-In consider it approval and focus on the task at hand.

“Sometimes, she’s so single-minded, it’s almost pitiful.”

Kwon Joo-Hwan recalled Seo Da-In’s past, how she lost her family and friends during the first monster invasion, and started walking.

“Alright, let’s get going.”

A smile played on his lips.

“Time for some ‘political games,’ which our Da-In dislikes so much.”

Equipped at Headquarters, Seo Da-In remembered that her spear wasn’t there.

‘I should have brought it.’

She sighed.

‘No, I couldn’t have.’

Her spear was different from ordinary spears.

It was an artifact capable of further growth up to a certain rank, and it came with a storage case.

The storage case was immovable from its original location.

Storing the spear inside allowed it to grow up to SS-rank.

Currently, her spear was A-rank. She couldn’t retrieve it whenever she wanted, as it still had a long way to go.

A fully grown weapon was essential for achieving her goal.

Even a minute was precious, so she couldn’t afford to retrieve her spear.

“Keep up the good work without me.”

She instructed her staff and got into the car, heading home.

VROOM!

She arrived at a secluded mansion in a forest in Gyeonggi Province, quickly got out of the car, and opened the door.

Her house was built where the spear’s storage case was located. Since the case couldn’t be moved, she had built her residence around it.

This was public knowledge, so thieves had tried to steal the spear.

However, only she could retrieve the spear from the storage case.

Both artifacts recognized only Seo Da-In as their owner.

Click.

As she walked down the hallway, photos of her family and friends passed by. All were now just memories.

Hum.

She stopped in front of a large storage case with a cross engraved on it. It looked more like a coffin than a storage case.

“Hear me. Knowing that my call is the key, you, the unwavering armory, I command you to return my blade, honed endlessly….”

THUMP!

Suddenly, she felt a powerful tremor. Seo Da-In, startled, looked around with wide eyes.

THUMP! THUMP! THUMPTHUMPTHUMP! KOONG!

The tremors approached her house and stopped.

As Seo Da-In turned towards the last point of origin,

Whoosh.

A gigantic eye appeared in the window, peering inside.