LIKE how greedy idol agencies shouldn't debut minors, the government shouldn't let children become Hunters either.
Well, Ahn Navi knew her statement was quite a stretch.
After all, it would be in the parents' or the guardians' sole discretion whether they'd allow their minor child to become an idol at such a tender age or not.
But if you were an eight-year-old kid who awakened as a Hunter during an apocalypse?
Fat chance.
You have no choice but to step up and become a hero.
Navi would know because that was exactly what happened to her almost twelve years ago.
Back then, she was only in her second grade of elementary school.
It was in late January, right after the students returned from their Winter break, that a Dungeon Break occurred at their school.
Their school premises had suddenly turned into a zoo.
Only the "wild animals" that had appeared back then were unusually large dire wolves…
… with those stupid little green goblins riding on the monsters' backs.
[Congratulations on awakening as an S-Class Hunter, Ahn Navi-nim.]
That was the first message Navi received from the Status Window that popped up in front of her for the first time.
Yes, she awakened as a natural S-Class Hunter at only eight years old.
[The Sola System would teach you how to catch the Dungeon Strays in 3, 2, 1…]
And that was the day Navi became South Korea's very first natural S-Class Hunter.
But she wasn't the only child who awakened as a Hunter back then.
She had killed thirty-five out of the sixty-eight dire wolf monsters and twenty-seven out of the fifty-three goblins that attacked the school at the time. The rest had been eliminated by the other four kids who also awakened as natural S-Class Hunters.
Later, the five of them would be known as the 'Elites.'
The appearance of the first Calamity years ago solidified their position as South Korea's most elite superheroes.
"Eomma[1], that noona[2] doesn't have a face!"
The upbeat Korean pop music coming from Navi's old wired earphones ended at the same time a young boy yelled while pointing a finger at her.
Yeah, she didn't have a face.
She wore a hooded tracksuit as a disguise, but someone still noticed her unique features.
Thanks to that, she had to catch strays when she was just minding her business while grocery shopping.
There's a reason why I went here alone, but I didn't expect to be caught by a mean kid.
Navi already wanted to cry because her favorite brand of instant potato soup declared bankruptcy yesterday, and then the company announced they would stop producing their products altogether.
That was why she was busy filling up her grocery cart with what could be the last batch of her favorite instant potato soup.
She was already sad, so she didn't need a reminder that she didn't have a face.
Well, to be exact, I appear faceless to other people. But almost everyone in South Korea who knows me is already used to my ghost-like appearance. So, only little kids get freaked out when they see me.
"Sweetie, don't be rude to that young miss."
Oho?
The mother of the nosy kid calmly explained to her son.
"That precious young miss saved our world from the first Calamity. But despite that, she's still a kid like you."
Navi wanted to cry even more.
Aside from the fact that people could no longer see her face, her growth was also halted.
I still look like the sixteen-year-old me even though I'm turning twenty in a few weeks.
The higher your level as a Hunter, the more your appearance was supposed to improve the older you get— and it was supposed to continue improving until you hit the legendary S-Grade Visuals that most S-Class Hunters enjoyed.
I lost that privilege.
It was no thanks to the curse that Navi received after killing the Calamity that appeared more than three years ago.
And, yes, she single-handedly ended the Calamity by sacrificing half of her Core— aka the source of Mana of every awakened Hunter. Hence, she was the only one who got cursed by the bitter Calamity that she slayed back then.
That century-old bitch seriously had beef with the sixteen-year-old me.
Yeah, the Calamity back then was some sort of an old deity or something.
"A hero? But that noona looks more of a monster than a hero, Eomma."
Ah, the kid wasn't done yapping yet.
"Sweetie, she's no monster— that young miss used to be the #1 Hunter in our country."
'Used to be' as if Navi wasn't active anymore.
But it's true that I'm no longer the #1 Hunter here.
Oh, well.
Navi realized that she was already gaining attention from the other shoppers.
I used a skill to minimize my presence, but that skill works better on monsters than humans.
Hence, once someone fully paid attention to her as the nosy and overly curious kid did, the "charm" was broken.
I gotta dash now.
That was the plan.
However…
"Eomma!"
The nosy boy let out a loud cry when all the lights in the grocery store suddenly went off.
Now it was completely pitch-black there.
As if that wasn't enough to scare the Civilians, the ground started to buckle. And, all of a sudden, they found themselves free-falling into a black void.
The abrupt descent was followed by the Civilinas' loud cries.
And then it stopped— both the "freefall" and the crying.
As soon as the ground stopped dragging them to "hell," the sound of people falling on their butts one by one followed.
Of course, Navi maintained her balance and didn't fall.
She remained standing while looking up at the reddish sky, watching the orange sun as it slowly disappeared behind the dead volcano.
Yes, the ceiling of the grocery store was replaced by a sky.
And their surroundings?
Obviously, they were no longer in the grocery store.
They all found themselves in the middle of a vast yet dry field. It looked similar to a field of baked earth after a long drought. There was no sign of life there visually.
But everything will change once the sun completely disappears.
Navi's gut feeling was almost never wrong, huh?
Actually, she was on her way home earlier when she felt some strange vibes in the air. But the alarms that were supposed to go off if a Sinkhole was detected weren't activated.
Hence, she decided to stay in the area to observe.
That was how she ended up grocery shopping instead of going home.
But damn.
My stock of instant potato soup is gone.
"D-Did we fall into a Sinkhole?!"
"Isn't it obvious? This is a dungeon!"
"E-Eomma, are we going to die?"
As expected, people who realized that they had fallen into a Sinkhole panicked.
The term 'Sinkhole' got a new meaning after the apocalypse happened.
Now, it was also a term used to describe a type of dungeon that would swallow up an entire area— causing the victims to fall inside its "stomach."
"Don't worry, sweetie. Didn't I tell you that the young miss over there is a Hunter?"
Aigoo.
Navi felt the gazes of the people around her after the mother of the nosy kid said that.
On a brighter note, the people who were panicking earlier calmed down a bit when they realized who she was.
I'm the only faceless Hunter in the country, after all.
"It's Hunter Ahn Navi…"
"She's been inactive recently, but she's still a Hunter…"
"Thank goodness there's a Hunter among us…"
Oh.
Now I have to work.
It wasn't like Navi didn't want to save these people.
It's just that I'm kind of banned from raiding dungeons at the moment.
"I don't think we should be grateful that we're stuck in a dungeon with a Hunter like that."
Excuse me?
Navi turned around to face the person who said those words.
It was a man who looked at least fifteen years older than her. He dressed in a sloppy black suit, and he looked exhausted as well. It didn't help that he had huge dark bags under his eyes.
He looks like those corporate slaves working for sketchy private guilds.
That or an unemployed thug.
"Ah, just my luck," the grumpy man said while pulling his hair as if he was frustrated. "Out of all the Hunters in Korea, why does it have to be the one who lost her powers years ago?"
Wow?
"Mister, you're being rude," the mother of the nosy kid called out the grumpy man. "Hunter Ahn Navi is still a Hunter. She's still capable of fighting monsters."
"Ahjumma[3], you don't know what you're talking about," the grumpy man said, talking back to the nosy child's mother haughtily. "That kid can't fight monsters anymore because of the penalty she got when she killed the Calamity in the past. She's nothing but the Hunters Association's fancy mascot now."
Ah.
'Fancy mascot.'
That was the name coined by Navi's haters.
"Ahjussi[4], where do you usually shop for groceries?"
Navi's seemingly random question confused the grumpy man, as well as the people around them.
"Why are you suddenly asking where I shop for groceries?"
"I'm curious where you get your audacity from, that's all."
The grumpy man looked confused by Navi's response.
On the other hand, those who caught her sarcasm had to stifle their laughter. Most of them were people around her age who tried to conceal their laugh by either faking a cough or clearing their throats.
Of course, that didn't work.
As a result, the grumpy man's face turned red as if he was embarrassed.
Imagine saving the world and losing so much at sixteen years old, and yet people still have the audacity to hate you now that you're not active as a Hunter anymore. I'm telling you; humans are not worth saving— they're just a bunch of ungrateful jerks.
Oh, well.
Nobody asked me to save the world back then, so it's on me.
Navi was about to drop it and start preparing to protect the Civilians, but the grumpy man said the one thing that never failed to make her snap.
"It would have been better if Hunter Cha Hyein was here instead…"
Cha Hyein.
The current #2 Hunter in South Korea.
And the person people dub as the 'Second Ahn Navi.'
"Ahjussi, it seems like you don't trust me enough," Navi said, flashing her business smile. "So, I'm not going to force you to accept my help and protection."
The grumpy old man looked confused by what she said.
But she wasn't done talking yet.
"The same goes for everyone," Navi said, raising her voice a little. "Those who want my protection, stand behind me. Anyone who doesn't trust me can go and join Ahjussi over there."
It was a no-brainer for the Civilians, of course.
Everyone— whether they secretly hated Navi or not— stood behind her.
The grumpy man remained standing alone on that spot.
"Ahjussi, it's fine if you hate me," Navi said while pulling out a glass container from her Inventory. "I really don't care as long as you're not loud about it— not in my face, at least."
She inspected the glass container in her hand.
It was actually a small terrarium with a miniature greenhouse inside a round and transparent glass sphere.
This is enough to protect everyone here.
"Is telling the truth a crime now?!"
Navi lifted her head and met the grumpy man's blazing eyes. "No, but it's very stupid of you to antagonize a Hunter while you're stuck in a dungeon. Who would save your ass if not me?"
As if the grumpy man had just realized his mistake, panic quickly dawned upon his face. "You can't choose whom to save, Hunter Ahn Navi! You're supposed to save everyone! That's your role as a Hunter!"
"But I'm not a proper Hunter in your eyes, am I?"
"You…!"
"I save who I want to save," Navi said, dropping the glass container in her hand. "And I don't want to save you, Ahjussi."
After saying that, she dropped the glass sphere containing a mini ecosystem inside.
As soon as the glass sphere hit the ground, it broke into tiny pieces.
And that was when the magic began.
The miniature garden inside the glass container came to life.
Huge trees and plants started to grow, the baked earth was replaced by healthy soil covered by green grass, and colorful flowers started to bloom one by one.
The best part?
It was bright inside Navi's Terrarium, making it look like it was daytime inside.
The sudden change in the environment helped the Civilians calm down, and now they were whispering among themselves again.
"Hunter Ahn Navi is really the Fortress Goddess…"
Oho?
It had been a long time since Navi heard the first title that the world had given her: the Fortress Goddess.
Admittedly, it sounded cringeworthy.
But I like it.
After all, she got that moniker because she was the only Hunter in the world who could change the terrain of a dungeon, whatever grade the dungeon was.
I've taken pride in my title as the Fortress Goddess.
By the time the Terrarium had fully manifested, Navi's ego was already inflated.
In just the blink of an eye, the miniature greenhouse had turned into a real-life terrarium— with Navi and the Civilians safe inside the giant glass sphere.
Except for one person, of course.
"Let me in!"
The grumpy man, who was the sole person outside the giant terrarium, slammed his fists against the glass wall again and again.
Veins popped out on his forehead and neck while yelling.
Navi just turned her back on the grumpy man and faced the remaining Civilians who looked bothered by her cruelty. She smiled at them anyway. "Who wants donuts?"
***
FEEDING the Civilians was one of Navi's duties as a Hunter.
Hence, she pulled out an entire kiosk with a hundred dozen of assorted donuts and a hundred water bottles.
Yeah, one of the perks of being a natural S-Class Hunter was having a huge Inventory.
So big that I actually have a house inside.
As for the donuts instead of a proper set of emergency food…
Well, it's been a while since I've been on active duty. So, the only food I have in my Inventory is my recent hyperfixation snack. But that hyperfixation ended the moment I bought several dozen of donuts, that's why they just ended up in my Inventory.
Anyway, after feeding the Civilians, Navi sent a signal to the others.
By 'others,' she meant the kids from the same Elite Team as she was.
Signals don't work in dungeons, but the five of us are special to the Sola System. That's why we can communicate with each other using our Status Windows. But since I know they'll just nag at me, I just sent them my coordinates. They're all familiar with my Terrarium, so I'm sure they'll find their way in.
"Noona, are you a bad person?"
Navi was sitting on the ground while stacking twelve donuts when the nosy kid sat beside her. "It depends on who you ask. I'm a good person to those who like me, and I'm a bad person to people like that ahjussi."
She then looked over her shoulder to point her puckering lips at the grumpy man who was still banging his hands on the glass wall.
He looks like he's on the verge of losing his mind.
It was understandable since the sun had already disappeared. Although it wasn't completely dark yet— thanks to the bright lights coming from Navi's life-size Terrarium— the vibes had already changed.
Yeah, the dungeon monsters were about to show up at any moment.
"I think Noona is a bad person."
"Yeah, same thoughts," Navi said casually, and then she turned to the nosy kid. "Use me as an example of what a bad adult is, so you would know what kind of person you don't want to be when you grow up."
After sharing those wise words with the nosy kid, she compressed the donuts in her hands— and then she took a bite as if she were eating a burger.
"Noona, that's not how you eat donuts!"
"My donuts, my rules."
"Noona, I'm going to report you to Hunter Won Yiwon."
Pfft.
Navi couldn't help but laugh when she heard that lovely name. "Do you think Won Yiwon would care?"
"Hunter Won Yiwon is the #1 Hunter in the country. He's the best and the strongest!" the nosy kid insisted, and it was clear that he was a big fanboy of Won Yiwon. "He listens to Civilians, so I'm sure he's going to listen to me if I report a bad Hunter to him."
"Are you a fan of Won Yiwon?"
"I am Hunter Won Yiwon's number one fan!"
"Then you'll just get your heart broken, kid," Navi said while gently patting the nosy kid's back. Actually, she was just wiping her hand on the child's T-shirt to clean the sugar off her fingers. "Won Yiwon likes me too much to punish me."
The nosy kid looked confused, and he was about to yap again when…
THUD!
A winged monster hit the glass wall.
It didn't break, but the ground shook a little.
Hence, the Civilians who were silently eating their donuts earlier began to panic again— especially when the winged monster became two winged monsters…
Then three…
Then four…
And then you can no longer count them.
Navi observed the winged monsters and realized what they were.
Oh, Vesperos.
Vesperos were bat-like creatures. Their average size was two-meter tall, with a wingspan of up to 2.4 meters. Those monsters were like small furry dragons with a bat-like head.
And, just like most dungeon monsters, they have an appetite for human flesh.
"HELP!"
Navi turned to the grumpy man that she left outside the Terrarium.
The dude was already on the ground, shaking while looking up at the huge Vespero that was about to grab him using the sharp claws on its feet and thumbs.
No wonder the grumpy man had wet himself.
Oh, poor guy.
"Noona, save that ahjussi!" the nosy kid cried while hugging Navi's leg. "Please!"
"Nah," Navi said indifferently while covering the nosy kid's eyes with her hand, and then she looked up. "I'm no longer a heroine."
"AHHH!"
It wasn't just the grumpy man who let out a blood-curdling scream after a Vespero grabbed him— most people inside the Terrarium also did as they watched the scene in horror.
Aren't they overreacting?
After all, it didn't take long before the Vespero crumbled and rotted.
Yes, crumbled and rotted while in mid-air.
The bat-like creature aged up really fast, causing its bones to break and its flesh to rot in an instant.
And, eventually, the Vespero turned into dust.
"HELP ME!"
Of course, that meant the grumpy man got to experience freefalling once again.
Navi couldn't care less because, at the moment, the only person she could see was the man suspended in the air.
Handsome.
Tall and lean.
Jet-black hair.
Glowing red eyes.
My modern Northern Duke.
Won Yiwon— South Korea's current #1 Hunter— looked so chic in his all-black uniform with fashion harness. And the way he put on his black leather gloves after killing those Vesperos?
So hot.
The "background" behind the masterpiece that was Won Yiwon was the Vesperos turning into dust one by one.
So cool.
"You."
Navi couldn't hear Won Yiwon's voice because she was inside the Terrarium, but she could read his lips.
And, honestly, she could hear his voice in her head even without telepathy.
"You're under arrest, Ahn Navi."
Excuse me???
***
Please ADD
[1] Korean term for 'Mother.'
[2] Korean term used by younger males to address older females, blood-related or not.
[3] Similar to 'auntie,' a term used to address middle-aged women.
[4] Similar to 'mister,' a term used to address middle-aged men.