Auto Hunting

Chu Seo-jin, the CEO of Tenz Korea, sat across the table. There was another seat beside him.

It had remained empty for hours.

“Your Master…”

“He will come soon.”

Yoo-seok seethed with anger.

He was the CEO of a respected firm. There was no reason to keep him waiting like this, even if he was meeting the president of Tenz.

“I can’t keep waiting like this,” he raised his voice. “I also have a busy schedule and no matter…”

The door suddenly opened. Yoo-seok cleared the displeasure from his face and stood up to greet the guest. It was the head of Tenz. One of the strongest hunters in the Ship Zone – Jin Wei-baek.

“Ah, is this your friend?” the old man spoke to Seo-jin.

Yoo-seok did not expect the Master to look like this. He imagined an old man with long eyebrows and beard, dressed in traditional Chinese clothing.

However, the man before him looked quite fashionable.

“It’s rude to stare at people,” the old man remarked.

“Ah, excuse me!” Yoo-seok hurriedly bowed to hide his humiliation.

The Chinese greeting that he had practiced beforehand came to his mind.

“It’s an honor to meet you! I am Ki Yoo-seok, the CEO of Gung-on.”

“I heard,” Jin Wei-baek answered in Korean, then yawned in front of him. Then, the old man turned to Chu Seo-jin.

“Then, let’s go home.”

Both Yoo-seok and Seo-jin were stunned at the response.

“But Master, we have…”

“I thought I’d take a light walk before coming here, but because of that guy… I’m tired. I think I’m going to sleep all night.”

The old man rearranged his sunglasses before looking at his disciple, who had an absurd expression on his face.

“What? I met this man. I saw his face. We’re done. Let’s go home. I’m tired.”

At that, Chu Seo-jin rose from his seat. He wouldn’t dare disobey his Master. However, Yoo-seok had a different reaction.

“Wait a minute!”

He had been sitting for over three hours and had been drinking only plain water as they waited. He thought this was going to be a business meeting, but so far, he had only been disrespected.

His emotions exploded at the rude treatment he has received. His arms found their way to clutch at the old man’s arm, stopping him from turning around.

Suddenly, the room felt chilly.

The only sound he could hear was Chu Seo-jin’s sharp intake of breath. He realized that he had made a mistake.

“I’m sorry to raise my voice, Mr. Jin. However, I have been waiting for a long time to meet you. I really want to discuss…”

Jin Wei-baek remained still as if Yoo-seok’s explanation didn’t mean anything to him.

Then, the old man spoke in a low voice.

“Did I not tell you…?”

Goosebumps suddenly sprouted on Yoo-seok’s arms, and he took a step back unconsciously.

He was ranked third amongst all hunters, and his body switched to combat mode. Strangely, Jin Wei-baek still hadn’t moved from his position, but his body reacted as if it was facing a horrible threat.

The old man’s gaze was like a dagger, and he could feel it burning through him from beneath the sunglasses.

“Did I not tell you that I’m tired?”

Chu Seo-jin hurriedly opened the door and went out. Yoo-seok could hear him from the outside as he conversed with a waiter.

Inside, the room remained cold and quiet.

“Okay,” Jin Wei-baek sighed. “Do you have something important to say?”

“Uh, well… I must show you this…”

Yoo-seok picked up something from his seat.

It was a sword within a scabbard. The scabbard was designed with an ornate pattern. It was his precious weapon, and he brought it to the meeting, intending to show his value to Jin Wei-baek.

“Well… why don’t you try pulling it out?”

“What?”

“Try pulling out the blade. Whatever the trick you were trying to do, why don’t you try it here?”

Yoo-seok felt cold sweat drip from his forehead as he looked at the sword.

“But…”

“It would be fun.”

Yoo-seok was shocked at the man’s choice of words.

Fun? Pulling a sword against a person?

It was ridiculous, but Wei-baek seemed serious about it.

Yoo-seok looked at the old man in front of him. Although he had not made any threatening move so far, and he had not released any aura, Yoo-seok’s survival instinct has been stimulated.

He desperately denied it to himself, but something about this person made him feel like he could die in an instant. In fact, his knees were trembling.

“But… I…”

“Well, I think we’re done,” Jin Wei-baek suddenly announced, and Yoo-seok suddenly felt relieved.

The dangerous atmosphere that filled the room disappeared in an instant.

Then, Yoo-seok’s legs gave way, and he sank to his knees uncontrollably. Jin Wei-baek turned around and approached the door.

“It certainly looks like you have a lot more to learn,” the old man said, without turning.

Yoo-seok couldn’t say anything. He felt small and powerless as he knelt on the floor.

“You are a dog,” he heard, as he kept his head down.

He couldn’t even bear to look at Wei-baek, even if he was being insulted.

“Dogs only take what their owners throw at them.”

The words crushed him.

“A dog should not dare touch its master’s arm. Keep that in mind.”

With that, the meeting brutally ended.

Yoo-seok heard the door close. It took him a few moments to stand and compose himself.

***

Outside, Chu Seo-jin was waiting.

“Master, how did it go?”

“Ah, your friend showed me a cheap sword.”

Seo-jin held his breath, deciding whether to speak further.

Then, he sighed.

“Master… That man, Ki Yoo-seok, is a big name in this country. I have already confirmed his talent and achievements with the Samjae Sword he brought…”

Jin Wei-baek laughed. Chu Seo-jin immediately bowed, with worry written on his face.

“I’m sorry, Master,” he apologized, thinking that he had disrespected his Master setting up the meeting.

“Ah, I’m so tired. That guy…”

Chu Seo-jin felt puzzled. Since meeting him this evening, his Master kept repeating that he was tired.

But what made him tired?

“That guy’s quality… is at the level we want,” Jin Wei-baek yawned once again.

Seeing how the meeting with Yoo-seok went, he was obviously talking about someone else.

“Can you tell me more, Master?”

“I came to see him. That guy… The one named Oh Yoo-seong.”

Chu Seo-jin’s eyes widened.

Then, he understood something. The reason why his Master could criticize Yoo-seok after such a brief meeting was very simple.

After eating food with a very strong flavor, every other food you took after it would taste bland.

“It looks like you were satisfied.”

“Well, I am.”

Coming from someone like Jin Wei-baek, it was a tremendous compliment.

‘He must have been very impressive’, Seo-jin thought.

Of course, he wouldn’t have been able to imagine what his Master suffered that evening.

Getting slapped in the face, losing to a bet, having an unpaid debt…

His only thought at that moment was: ‘There will be one more disciple.’

Chu Seo-jin smiled faintly. Then, another question popped up in his mind.

“Oh… The business you had to attend to, did it go well?”

“Ah, yes. I got the medicine case.”

“Finally!” Seo-jin couldn’t hide his joy.

“But it’s not on me right now,” his Master added.

“Huh?”

For the first time, he saw his Master scratch the back of his head, as if in mild annoyance.

“I gave it to that guy.”

“How… what… to Oh Yoo-seong?”

Chu Seo-jin’s heart skipped a beat.

It was unthinkable. Could Yoo-seong impress his Master that much?

The medicine was of such value that it should have been given to another disciple who had trained for a long time, not someone whom his Master just met. Seo-jin had a lot of things to say about the unconventional decision, but as always, he checked himself and held back.

Instead, he watched his Master’s face.

It could have been something that he imagined, but he thought he’d seen his Master’s expression tremble.

‘How could it have happened, he thought.’

His Master handed over the treasure to a foreigner, who wasn’t even a disciple.

…

Yoo-seong lifted the button.

‘Later’, he thought. There wasn’t an emergency. He was lucky. Since it was only a small, low-class crack, there weren’t many beasts beyond it.

Even before the pulse breaker was fully charged, the rush team had already cleared up the monsters near the rift’s area.

“This looks like good luck,” the team leader smiled as he approached Yoo-seong. “See you in 19 hours, I guess.”

“Yeah.”

“Good luck, Oh Yoo-seong.”

Yoo-seong shook hands with the team leader and the members who came to escort him.

“We’ll close the crack now.”

“Thank you. Good work.”

There was a loud buzz as the pulse breaker was activated. One by one, the members of the rush team escaped before the crack closed completely.

Soon, there was an intense flash of light.

When the glare subsided, Yoo-seong looked around. Finally, he was alone in another world – the world beyond the crack.

“July 19, 20xx. 1:02 PM.”

Yoo-seong spoke to the tape recorder he brought. It was part of the equipment provided to hunters who participated in the dive.

“Hunter Oh Yoo-seong. Dive, start.”

Nineteen hours from now, another crack would open 52 kilometers away from his starting point.

He had to survive and arrive at that point within 21 hours.

“Checking exploration equipment. Everything is working properly. No issues found.”

Yoo-seong opened the last compartment of his large bag. It was where hunters usually store personal items or their favorite foods.

Inside the compartment was his neck armor.

He didn’t know if it was a good thing to bring. It was just something he just grabbed and placed in the bag at the last moment.

Suddenly, he felt the ground rumble.

He reacted quickly, turned to where the sound was coming from, and pressed the button. His body moved immediately.

However, the stance he took was not for combat. It was for running away.

‘What?’ Yoo-seong thought. ‘Am I facing such a strong monster from the beginning?’

As he ran, Automatic Hunting opened the neck armor he brought.

Inside was the medicine case. Automatic Hunting quickly popped the case open, and the glossy, golden pill inside was popped into his mouth.

“Uh!”

The moment it entered his mouth, he felt a bitter taste spreading from his tongue to his whole body.

It quickly dissolved and passed through smoothly down his throat. It was a move that he wouldn’t be able to reverse.

The Golden Pill was already being absorbed by his body.