Chapter 2

This industry has turned into a den of thugs too

“...Yeah. That actually makes it more believable.”

There was a sound of something slamming into the iron door from the other side.

Boom!

The sword blocking the iron door shook violently, but it was not pushed back.

Instead, when Baek Seorin reached out her hand, only the red aura surrounding the blade grew slightly denser.

“That is...”

It was a technique I had seen several times in videos at the training center.

Sword Control.

I hadn’t thought much of it when I saw it on video, but seeing it right in front of me felt completely different.

I had no idea how hard whatever was beyond the door was pushing, but a sword untouched by any human hand was holding the iron door firmly in place.

“Hey. Transporter.”

“Y-Yes?!”

“An ability like that probably has a time limit. How much time is left?”

I hurriedly checked the remaining time and saw that there were still close to thirty minutes left.

“There are about 30 minutes left. We just have to go back the same way I came, but there’s one spot in the middle where we’ll have to crawl through.”

I pointed toward the gap I had entered through earlier.

Even on the way here, I had barely managed to squeeze through it with the flashlight in my mouth, so my first concern was whether Baek Seorin could get through in her current state.

Baek Seorin examined that direction for a moment before speaking.

“That’s the only part we need to get through, right? Then move.”

Before I could ask what she meant, she raised one hand.

Whoooom—.

At that moment, the air vibrated.

KABOOOM—!

At the explosive sound, I reflexively covered my face and ducked.

The collapsed stone wall burst apart from the inside, and fragments large and small poured across the corridor.

When the dust settled somewhat and I lifted my head, I was left speechless.

The gap that had barely been wide enough to crawl through was now spacious enough for a person to run straight through.

“...Wow.”

On the way here, I had scraped my entire side raw just trying to squeeze through there.

Baek Seorin had simply blown away the entire wall as though the solution to a narrow passage was to widen it.

‘So this is South Korea’s youngest S-rank.’

She really was different from someone like me, who had finally Awakened only to gain the ability to create a return portal.

“N-Now we just have to keep going straight that way. There’s a gap in the wall at the end of the straight corridor I came through, and the return portal is beyond it.”

“Really? Then we can just run straight there. Hmm...”

Baek Seorin trailed off and seemed to think for a moment.

Then, as if she had made up her mind, she raised her head again.

“Then let’s get out right away. Once I open the door, those things will chase us. I’ll handle the rear. You just look forward and run.”

That was the end of her explanation.

I nodded and untied the rope around my waist, dropping it to the floor.

There was no longer any concern about getting lost anyway.

In a situation like this, it would only get in the way.

I also picked up the pendant that had been lying by Baek Seorin’s feet.

The moment I touched it, the blue trail that had led me all the way to her briefly spread out, then vanished again when I put the pendant into a pocket of my backpack.

Instead, the guiding line that ran along the floor all the way to the exit remained.

After confirming that I was ready, Baek Seorin walked up to the iron door.

“Here we go.”

The sword bracing against the floor rose into the air.

As if it had been waiting, the iron door was shoved inward.

Bang!

As the door opened, black figures poured through in a tangled mass.

The sword floating beside Baek Seorin immediately flew forward and cut down the ones in front, while a wave of force that followed swept into the approaching creatures and shoved them all backward.

For a brief moment, the area around us was clear.

“Run!”

I immediately turned around.

At first, I thought I could somehow manage to keep running.

But it took only a few seconds to realize I had been mistaken.

“Huff—. Huff—.”

The taste of blood filled my throat, yet the distance between Baek Seorin and me was visibly growing.

I ran with everything I had, but the backpack kept pounding against my back and my breathing quickly became ragged.

Baek Seorin, who had been running ahead, must have sensed something was wrong because she eventually stopped and looked back.

“Why are you so slow?”

“I— huff. I just Awakened. I was originally a porter.”

Baek Seorin’s gaze briefly lowered toward my entry pass.

“...Ha.”

She let out a sigh and ran back toward me.

Then, before I could say anything, I felt my body being lifted.

One of her arms supported my back while the other slipped beneath my knees.

“H-Hunter. Wait...”

“If you don’t want to fall off and die, hold on tight. I’m going to run at full speed before they catch up.”

Screeeech—.

The sound of something scraping across the floor was drawing closer behind us.

There was no choice to make.

I hurriedly wrapped my arms around Baek Seorin’s neck, and the ground beneath me shook.

Then the corridor itself seemed to grow thin.

“Urgh!”

The distance that hadn’t shrunk even when I had been running for my life vanished in an instant.

The wind made it difficult to keep my eyes open, and when I tightened my arms because it felt like I might fall, Baek Seorin spoke right in front of me.

“That doesn’t mean you should choke me so I can’t breathe.”

“S-Sorry.”

I loosened my grip a little and looked behind us.

The sword that had been blocking the iron door earlier was flying after us.

Whenever the black figures closed the distance, it changed direction and knocked them away one by one, even though Baek Seorin never once looked back.

I stared blankly at the sight.

Apparently, S-ranks really couldn’t be judged by ordinary human standards.

“Where exactly did you say the exit was?”

“It’s the gap in the wall at the end of the corridor... Just keep running straight this way.”

“You really can see something, right?”

“Yes. I can.”

After hearing my answer, Baek Seorin increased her speed even more.

I had no idea how long we ran like that.

Soon, the return portal began to appear at the end of the long blue line.

“There! That’s it.”

“Got it. I’m going straight in.”

The moment we entered the return portal.

A blue window appeared before my eyes.

[You Are Accompanying the Rescue Target.]

[Return Condition Has Been Met.]

My vision flipped all at once.

After a brief sensation of my toes floating in midair, a familiar smell reached my nose.

Instead of the stone dust and rotting corpse smell from moments before, I smelled disinfectant and oil.

In front of me stood the white tent where I had stayed briefly before entering.

“...I’m alive.”

The moment I said those words, all the tension drained out of me.

But the atmosphere around us quickly turned strange.

The employees preparing to withdraw stopped what they were doing one by one and stared in our direction.

Their attention fell on me before Baek Seorin.

The employee who had handed out equipment that morning called my name with an expression of disbelief.

“... Transporter Yoon Jaemin?”

At those words, murmuring began around us.

It was only natural they would be surprised when a porter who had already been written off as dead walked out of the gate alive and well.

Baek Seorin put me down.

My legs still hadn’t regained their strength, so I staggered briefly, and during that moment, a familiar man pushed through the crowd and approached.

“Transporter Yoon Jaemin.”

I recognized his voice before his face.

It was the chief who had pressured the employee trying to confirm whether I was alive over the radio, saying I had probably just died inside.

“How exactly did you get out? We confirmed that the inside had collapsed, and there was no response, so we withdrew. If you left the group on your own, you cannot hold the company responsible. And who is that beggar with you? What did you touch inside that made you suddenly come out here? If anything has gone wrong with the gate, you’ll be responsible for all of it.”

The words came pouring out without giving me a chance to catch my breath, and I had no idea what to answer first.

“I didn’t leave the group. I got left behind when it collapsed. I even used the radio...”

“The radio? The field record says there was no response. The evidence is this clear. Are you lying right now? This won’t do.”

Seeing him cut me off so calmly made the words that had risen to my throat get stuck again.

He probably just died in there.

Hurry up and write the report so we can go home.

He had clearly said exactly that, and now he was talking about the field record as though I were the one lying.

It was so unfair that I couldn’t even get a proper rebuttal out.

Perhaps taking my silence as an opportunity, the chief became even more aggressive.

“This is why porters are always... For now, let’s start with an investigation. If you touched any equipment or facilities inside the gate without authorization, we’ll have to confirm that as well.”

Baek Seorin, who had been standing behind me until then, stepped forward.

The others still didn’t seem to realize who she was.

Dust clung to her tangled hair, and dark red blood had dried across her torn clothes.

Even someone who remembered how she looked in photographs seven years ago would have had difficulty recognizing the current Baek Seorin at a glance.

The chief also looked at her without any particular suspicion.

“We’ll need to verify the identity of the person who came out with you as well. Could you tell us your affiliation and name?”

Instead of answering, Baek Seorin turned to look at me.

“Transporter. Were you left inside because you fell behind?”

“No. I was separated from the main force when the collapse happened. I used the radio too.”

She asked nothing further.

“You heard him.”

The chief’s expression hardened.

“No. How much could you possibly know about what happened at the scene...”

Before he could finish speaking, the atmosphere changed.

The air grew heavy as though it were being crushed down, and the tent trembled faintly.

The voices of the people who had been murmuring moments earlier naturally died away, and the hunters at the scene all stiffened almost simultaneously.

Several of them unconsciously took a step back.

The chief was no different.

The mouth that had been pouring out words without hesitation just moments earlier could no longer open.

Baek Seorin slowly looked over them.

“You abandoned someone inside, and now that he’s come back alive, the first thing you do is argue about responsibility.”

Her low voice carried clearly through the now-silent tent.

At that moment, one of the hunters standing to the side looked toward Baek Seorin and stiffened.

Beside her, a sword was floating without even touching the ground.

“...Wait. That sword.”

At those words, several gazes turned toward Baek Seorin at once.

When Baek Seorin turned her head, the hair covering her face slid aside.

Red eyes appeared through the dust and bloodstains, and the nameplate beneath her torn collar also came into view.

Someone standing nearby read the name written on it.

“...Baek Seorin?”

At that moment, the inside of the tent went completely silent.

The color instantly drained from the face of the chief who had been berating me moments earlier.

South Korea’s youngest S-rank Hunter, who had been missing for seven years.

As the people slowly connected the woman before them with that name, Baek Seorin twisted the corner of her mouth in disbelief.

“Was I really gone that long?”

Her red eyes slowly turned toward the chief.

“While I was gone, this industry turned into a den of thugs too.”