Edited By: Sebas Tian
“H-huh……?”
As expected.
The members that were on the ground started coming back to their senses.
They didn’t know what happened, so they looked around with a blank expression.
And when they found Hyun-Soo standing tall before them, they realized that they came back to reality, so they released a sigh of relief.
Some released their anger by using profanity while hitting a wall and others stretched out on the ground knowing that they were safe.
A a few started crying.
“Ahhhhhh. It was really scary! Hiccup!”
Katrina was one of them and when she found Hyun-Soo after looking around, she started crying and ran towards him.
Hyun-Soo felt some sort of burdened, so when he slightly moved his body, she cried even harder.
‘I have that egg in my pocket.’
It felt like he made a kid cry, so when he patted Katrina’s head, she stopped crying for a moment and then started crying again.
They mentioned books, studying, failing, so they probably had a traumatic experience related to those things.
While Hyun-Soo was calming down Katrina, the members overcame the remaining illusions.
“Damn it, I didn’t realize it was an illusion.”
Eugene spoke while massaging his temple.
“On top of that, it felt like I was stuck in another illusion within that illusion! It’s an experience I never want to experience again.”
“How did we come back to reality though?”
When one person asked, the rest naturally turned their attention to Hyun-Soo.
“I cleared the portal.”
That meant that he killed the monster that owned this portal.
“What?”
“Really?”
The hunters all looked surprised when they heard that.
They didn’t realize that there was a monster and on top of that, they were helpless against the monster’s skill.
But the new member, Hyun-Soo, detected the illusion by himself and even cleared it.
In the members’ eyes, Hyun-Soo took the necessary steps.
“Where’s the monster that you killed?”
They just came back to their senses and the hunt was already over.
The members wanted to see the monster that Hyun-Soo killed.
Hyun-Soo led them to where Karazhan’s corpse was.
“A psychological monster…”
“There are theories that says that they could exist, but who knew one would actually appear…and on top of that, at a place like this.”
David massaged his head, most likely because of a headache.
When the members confirmed that a psychological monster existed and that they were helpless against the monster’s skill, the members had mixed feelings.
“First, let’s take the corpse with us. Hyun-Soo, when we return to the base, please stop by my personal room.”
“Understood.”
After the members placed Karazhan’s corpse inside a plastic bag, they exited the portal.
As soon as they exited, the staff that were waiting started asking a lot of questions.
But Kim Yoo-Na refused to answer their questions and calmed them down.
They were probably extremely curious, but there weren’t any information she could share with them right now.
The members didn’t really know much anyways.
Hyun-Soo was the only one that had a lot of information.
After returning to the base, Hyun-Soo met with Kim Yoo-Na.
***
“Thanks for letting me know. You really helped out a lot.”
“I only did what I thought was right.”
“That’s not true. If it weren’t for you, our clan would’ve died inside that portal. If the first group doesn’t come back, the second group will enter and after experiencing the same thing that we did, the monster will kill them”
When Hyun-Soo informed everything he knew, Kim Yoo-Na thanked him.
It was easy to assume that it was a corpse, but when informing her about the appearance, size and distinct features, a lot of time had already passed.
“This situation is so serious that it could cause an issue. I can’t even imagine how big of an issue it will be.”
Kim Yoo-Na looked straight at Hyun-Soo after mumbling.
“I really don’t know how to pay you back for this. I’m already having a hard time paying you back for the things I got…”
With a troubled look, Kim Yoo-Na stopped talking midway.
Like she mentioned, if Hyun-Soo wasn’t with them, they would’ve failed the hunt.
Like the guilds and groups that didn’t return, their clan could’ve disappeared after being labeled as a failed clan.
‘But we succeeded.’
They succeeded twice in a row.
They didn’t know how big of an effect this success was going to bring them.
But there was one thing they knew.
The clan now had a lot of power.
A power called information.
People only made theories about psychological type monsters and since the clan now had information that no other clans had, they had the advantage.
This was all possible because Hyun-Soo was there.
“I’ll gladly take the credit for all I’ve done, but it’s really fine. I didn’t do it because I expected something in return. Actually, you trying to reward for everything that I’ve is more burdensome. I just did the right thing as a member of this clan, so giving me a reward makes me feel like an outsider.”
“…That wasn’t my intention. If you felt that way, then it’s my fault. I’m sorry.”
Even though she apologized, Hyun-Soo had an idea why Kim Yoo-Na was acting that way.
She felt indebted.
It was the same thing he felt towards Kim Yoo-Na a long time ago.
Kim Yoo-Na was feeling the same thing towards Hyun-Soo.
It’s because she clearly knew that Hyun-Soo’s actions affected the clan greatly.
On top of that, she felt emotionally indebted towards him when it came to Hye-Na.
If he just left things the way they are now, she might try to pull the Cinderella plan again.
‘It was so embarrassing’
Hyun-Soo remembered the embarrassment he felt then, so he decided to end things here.
“There’s no need to apologize. Hm…then can you allow me to take one thing?”
“What is it?”
“This.”
Hyun-Soo took out the egg from his pocket.
He forget about it since he was focused on sharing information about Karazhan, but he remembered it at the right moment.
“What is that? An egg?”
“Yes, I think it’s Karazhan’s egg.”
Hyun-Soo knew it belonged to Karazhan, but if he confirmed that it was, then she could become suspicious, so he answered vaguely.
“Oh wow…this is the first time I’ve heard a monster leaving their offspring.”
Kim Yoo-Na expressed her surprise as she looked at the small, purple egg with gold patterns on it.
“Is this…alive?”
“Touch it. It’s warm.”
“……!”
After Kim Yoo-Na carefully took the egg from Hyun-Soo, she admired it.
“I’ve been surprised many times already.”
“The colorful portal itself is pretty surprising. It wouldn’t be weird if more surprising things happened on top of that.”
The portal itself was already surprising.
Normally, colorful portals aren’t supposed to exist.
If that was true, then portals and the existence of hunters wasn’t a normal thing.
“Can you make it hatch?”
“Yeah, probably. I’m thinking about trying.”
“If you need anything, just let me know. I’ll support in any way that I can.”
Kim Yoo-Na promised to help in any possible. It seemed like she was thinking about the possible outcomes after it hatches.
“An incubator would be nice.”
“I’ll have it prepared for you right away.”
Kim Yoo-Na quickly added more information on the report she created and then nodded her head.
She gladly agreed to him keeping the egg.
She could’ve asked to hand it over to the clan, but she didn’t hesitate in her decision.
But she must’ve felt excited about it, because she offered to do some research to see if something similar happened before.
There was a very small chance, but Kim Yoo-Na looked pretty excited.
***
As soon as Hyun-Soo returned to the dorm, the first thing he did was wrap the egg with a blanket. He then placed it in a warm area.
‘I hope the incubator comes soon.’
It showed on Interface as well.
That he needed to be careful and gently take care of it.
On top of that, he had to be cautious when holding it.
‘…I kept it in my pocket all this time, but it should be fine, right?’
He used Interface to check and luckily, there wasn’t anything different.
It was night and Hyuna visited after attending her afterschool program.
The egg was the first thing she discovered as soon as she walked in, so she started observing it with interest.
“This is a monster’s egg? It’s so pretty though.”
“Insects and animals that are poisonous look pretty too.”
“Yeah, but they’re a monster.”
“It’s the same when it comes to being dangerous towards humans.”
When Hyun-Soo said they were all the same, Hyuna shook her head.
“You lack emotion, Hyun-Soo.”
“…What’s the point in being emotional towards a monster?”
He almost got killed by a monster that played with human emotions.
Since it wasn’t a good experience, Hyun-Soo spoke bluntly.
“No one is bad right when they’re born. Even though they’re a monster, don’t you think things will be different based on how they’re raised and treated?”
She was referring to wild beasts that were raised by humans.
“I don’t know.”
When Hyun-Soo didn’t show any reaction, Hyuna said, “Maybe not, but still!”
“I heard you’re trying to hatch it. Then we should hope for the best. Who know? If we tell them that they’re nice and kind everyday, they might really hatch with a nice personality. There’s a reason why moms believe prenatal education is important.”
“Then why don’t you come over and take care of it?”
“Really? Can I?”
Since Hyun-Soo wasn’t the gentle type, he welcomed it.
Hyuna smiled brightly when Hyun-Soo gave her permission.
If Kim Yoo-Na brings the incubator and Hyuna takes care of the egg, then 24 days will definitely pass by really fast.
Hyuna poked his side while Hyun-Soo was thinking about what a relief it was.
“But you have to take care of it too. It’s your responsibility since you brought it!”
“Can’t you take care of it?”
“Nope. When an animal hatches, the first figure they see is engraved into their mind. Since you brought it, you’re the owner.”
Hyuna lectured him after telling him about the duck that saw a human right when they hatched and how the duck started following the human, thinking that it was their mother.
“I got it.”
He wasn’t sure if it was true, but Hyun-Soo nodded his head because he felt pressured by Hyuna.
Hyuna created a temporary incubator by placing every lamp on top of the egg. She already started taking care of the egg.
But Hyuna’s shabby incubator was soon replaced by an incubator that a staff brought.
“I hope it grows up without any issues.”
Hyuna mumbled while looking at Karazhan’s egg that was neatly placed inside the incubator.
“Me too.”
Hyun-Soo agreed with her.
He was looking forward to the thing that was going to come out of the egg.
24 days.
The days left until it hatched.
<Black Market #1> End.
Edited By: Sebas Tian
“H-huh……?”
As expected.
The members that were on the ground started coming back to their senses.
They didn’t know what happened, so they looked around with a blank expression.
And when they found Hyun-Soo standing tall before them, they realized that they came back to reality, so they released a sigh of relief.
Some released their anger by using profanity while hitting a wall and others stretched out on the ground knowing that they were safe.
A a few started crying.
“Ahhhhhh. It was really scary! Hiccup!”
Katrina was one of them and when she found Hyun-Soo after looking around, she started crying and ran towards him.
Hyun-Soo felt some sort of burdened, so when he slightly moved his body, she cried even harder.
‘I have that egg in my pocket.’
It felt like he made a kid cry, so when he patted Katrina’s head, she stopped crying for a moment and then started crying again.
They mentioned books, studying, failing, so they probably had a traumatic experience related to those things.
While Hyun-Soo was calming down Katrina, the members overcame the remaining illusions.
“Damn it, I didn’t realize it was an illusion.”
Eugene spoke while massaging his temple.
“On top of that, it felt like I was stuck in another illusion within that illusion! It’s an experience I never want to experience again.”
“How did we come back to reality though?”
When one person asked, the rest naturally turned their attention to Hyun-Soo.
“I cleared the portal.”
That meant that he killed the monster that owned this portal.
“What?”
“Really?”
The hunters all looked surprised when they heard that.
They didn’t realize that there was a monster and on top of that, they were helpless against the monster’s skill.
But the new member, Hyun-Soo, detected the illusion by himself and even cleared it.
In the members’ eyes, Hyun-Soo took the necessary steps.
“Where’s the monster that you killed?”
They just came back to their senses and the hunt was already over.
The members wanted to see the monster that Hyun-Soo killed.
Hyun-Soo led them to where Karazhan’s corpse was.
“A psychological monster…”
“There are theories that says that they could exist, but who knew one would actually appear…and on top of that, at a place like this.”
David massaged his head, most likely because of a headache.
When the members confirmed that a psychological monster existed and that they were helpless against the monster’s skill, the members had mixed feelings.
“First, let’s take the corpse with us. Hyun-Soo, when we return to the base, please stop by my personal room.”
“Understood.”
After the members placed Karazhan’s corpse inside a plastic bag, they exited the portal.
As soon as they exited, the staff that were waiting started asking a lot of questions.
But Kim Yoo-Na refused to answer their questions and calmed them down.
They were probably extremely curious, but there weren’t any information she could share with them right now.
The members didn’t really know much anyways.
Hyun-Soo was the only one that had a lot of information.
After returning to the base, Hyun-Soo met with Kim Yoo-Na.
***
“Thanks for letting me know. You really helped out a lot.”
“I only did what I thought was right.”
“That’s not true. If it weren’t for you, our clan would’ve died inside that portal. If the first group doesn’t come back, the second group will enter and after experiencing the same thing that we did, the monster will kill them”
When Hyun-Soo informed everything he knew, Kim Yoo-Na thanked him.
It was easy to assume that it was a corpse, but when informing her about the appearance, size and distinct features, a lot of time had already passed.
“This situation is so serious that it could cause an issue. I can’t even imagine how big of an issue it will be.”
Kim Yoo-Na looked straight at Hyun-Soo after mumbling.
“I really don’t know how to pay you back for this. I’m already having a hard time paying you back for the things I got…”
With a troubled look, Kim Yoo-Na stopped talking midway.
Like she mentioned, if Hyun-Soo wasn’t with them, they would’ve failed the hunt.
Like the guilds and groups that didn’t return, their clan could’ve disappeared after being labeled as a failed clan.
‘But we succeeded.’
They succeeded twice in a row.
They didn’t know how big of an effect this success was going to bring them.
But there was one thing they knew.
The clan now had a lot of power.
A power called information.
People only made theories about psychological type monsters and since the clan now had information that no other clans had, they had the advantage.
This was all possible because Hyun-Soo was there.
“I’ll gladly take the credit for all I’ve done, but it’s really fine. I didn’t do it because I expected something in return. Actually, you trying to reward for everything that I’ve is more burdensome. I just did the right thing as a member of this clan, so giving me a reward makes me feel like an outsider.”
“…That wasn’t my intention. If you felt that way, then it’s my fault. I’m sorry.”
Even though she apologized, Hyun-Soo had an idea why Kim Yoo-Na was acting that way.
She felt indebted.
It was the same thing he felt towards Kim Yoo-Na a long time ago.
Kim Yoo-Na was feeling the same thing towards Hyun-Soo.
It’s because she clearly knew that Hyun-Soo’s actions affected the clan greatly.
On top of that, she felt emotionally indebted towards him when it came to Hye-Na.
If he just left things the way they are now, she might try to pull the Cinderella plan again.
‘It was so embarrassing’
Hyun-Soo remembered the embarrassment he felt then, so he decided to end things here.
“There’s no need to apologize. Hm…then can you allow me to take one thing?”
“What is it?”
“This.”
Hyun-Soo took out the egg from his pocket.
He forget about it since he was focused on sharing information about Karazhan, but he remembered it at the right moment.
“What is that? An egg?”
“Yes, I think it’s Karazhan’s egg.”
Hyun-Soo knew it belonged to Karazhan, but if he confirmed that it was, then she could become suspicious, so he answered vaguely.
“Oh wow…this is the first time I’ve heard a monster leaving their offspring.”
Kim Yoo-Na expressed her surprise as she looked at the small, purple egg with gold patterns on it.
“Is this…alive?”
“Touch it. It’s warm.”
“……!”
After Kim Yoo-Na carefully took the egg from Hyun-Soo, she admired it.
“I’ve been surprised many times already.”
“The colorful portal itself is pretty surprising. It wouldn’t be weird if more surprising things happened on top of that.”
The portal itself was already surprising.
Normally, colorful portals aren’t supposed to exist.
If that was true, then portals and the existence of hunters wasn’t a normal thing.
“Can you make it hatch?”
“Yeah, probably. I’m thinking about trying.”
“If you need anything, just let me know. I’ll support in any way that I can.”
Kim Yoo-Na promised to help in any possible. It seemed like she was thinking about the possible outcomes after it hatches.
“An incubator would be nice.”
“I’ll have it prepared for you right away.”
Kim Yoo-Na quickly added more information on the report she created and then nodded her head.
She gladly agreed to him keeping the egg.
She could’ve asked to hand it over to the clan, but she didn’t hesitate in her decision.
But she must’ve felt excited about it, because she offered to do some research to see if something similar happened before.
There was a very small chance, but Kim Yoo-Na looked pretty excited.
***
As soon as Hyun-Soo returned to the dorm, the first thing he did was wrap the egg with a blanket. He then placed it in a warm area.
‘I hope the incubator comes soon.’
It showed on Interface as well.
That he needed to be careful and gently take care of it.
On top of that, he had to be cautious when holding it.
‘…I kept it in my pocket all this time, but it should be fine, right?’
He used Interface to check and luckily, there wasn’t anything different.
It was night and Hyuna visited after attending her afterschool program.
The egg was the first thing she discovered as soon as she walked in, so she started observing it with interest.
“This is a monster’s egg? It’s so pretty though.”
“Insects and animals that are poisonous look pretty too.”
“Yeah, but they’re a monster.”
“It’s the same when it comes to being dangerous towards humans.”
When Hyun-Soo said they were all the same, Hyuna shook her head.
“You lack emotion, Hyun-Soo.”
“…What’s the point in being emotional towards a monster?”
He almost got killed by a monster that played with human emotions.
Since it wasn’t a good experience, Hyun-Soo spoke bluntly.
“No one is bad right when they’re born. Even though they’re a monster, don’t you think things will be different based on how they’re raised and treated?”
She was referring to wild beasts that were raised by humans.
“I don’t know.”
When Hyun-Soo didn’t show any reaction, Hyuna said, “Maybe not, but still!”
“I heard you’re trying to hatch it. Then we should hope for the best. Who know? If we tell them that they’re nice and kind everyday, they might really hatch with a nice personality. There’s a reason why moms believe prenatal education is important.”
“Then why don’t you come over and take care of it?”
“Really? Can I?”
Since Hyun-Soo wasn’t the gentle type, he welcomed it.
Hyuna smiled brightly when Hyun-Soo gave her permission.
If Kim Yoo-Na brings the incubator and Hyuna takes care of the egg, then 24 days will definitely pass by really fast.
Hyuna poked his side while Hyun-Soo was thinking about what a relief it was.
“But you have to take care of it too. It’s your responsibility since you brought it!”
“Can’t you take care of it?”
“Nope. When an animal hatches, the first figure they see is engraved into their mind. Since you brought it, you’re the owner.”
Hyuna lectured him after telling him about the duck that saw a human right when they hatched and how the duck started following the human, thinking that it was their mother.
“I got it.”
He wasn’t sure if it was true, but Hyun-Soo nodded his head because he felt pressured by Hyuna.
Hyuna created a temporary incubator by placing every lamp on top of the egg. She already started taking care of the egg.
But Hyuna’s shabby incubator was soon replaced by an incubator that a staff brought.
“I hope it grows up without any issues.”
Hyuna mumbled while looking at Karazhan’s egg that was neatly placed inside the incubator.
“Me too.”
Hyun-Soo agreed with her.
He was looking forward to the thing that was going to come out of the egg.
24 days.
The days left until it hatched.
<Black Market #1> End.
