Translator: Nox
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: Playing with Fire
Cheon Dowoon took Ki-seok’s silence as agreement and stood up.
“I’ll go catch it, so get ready to make it.”
“N-no, wait!”
As Cheon Dowoon looked like he was about to leap, Nam Ki-seok threw himself in front of him.
“C-chicken has to be made from chicken to taste right! That thing will taste gamey and awful!”
“You’re saying it’s inedible?”
“Yes! It’s a dish with tradition. Many people have tried making chicken with other meats, but it never tastes authentic. That’s why the dish itself is called ‘chicken’—because it uses chicken!”
“Short version, please. What’s your point?”
“You can’t make it with that!”
Nam Ki-seok shouted with all his might.
“And we don’t even have frying tools, or oil, or ingredients for seasoning… If we return to the human world, please contact me! I’ll fry you the best chicken with the best recipe!”
He secretly planned to ask his parents for emergency chicken-frying lessons until then.
“No thanks. If I can’t eat it now, I don’t need it.”
Cheon Dowoon lost interest at the thought of not eating it immediately. Nam Ki-seok let out a breath of relief. But he also felt anxious.
It was a relief that Cheon Dowoon didn’t try to fry a monster, but being rejected every time he offered something stung a bit.
He couldn’t afford to miss the chance to build a connection with a strong A-Class Hunter.
“T-then I’ll bring all the tools and ingredients for frying chicken next time I come!”
“Suddenly?”
“You said you’ve never had proper chicken, right? If you want it, of course I’ll make it happen!”
“Why am I your hyung (big bro)?”
“Come on, in our field, strength is what matters—not age! The strong are hyung or noona, right?”
Nam Ki-seok beamed with his trademark friendliness.
“I’ll bring everything next time!”
“What’s the price?”
The sudden question made Nam Ki-seok falter. Of course this guy wasn’t easy. He gulped but couldn’t back down now.
“Please train me!”
“That’s more random than the chicken offer.”
“Please! I know how to read people. You’re the strongest Hunter I’ve ever seen. Right?”
He wasn’t flattering—this was sincere.
“I may be a B+ Hunter… but I’ve been stuck there forever.”
The “+” symbol meant he had potential to rise. But he had it for six years now without promotion. He was basically stagnating.
“If I had the right mentor, I could break through my limits. But I haven’t found one, and it’s been driving me crazy.”
He spoke earnestly. He felt it was fate to meet Cheon Dowoon here and didn’t want to waste the chance.
“Please. Teach me, hyung!”
“You’re weird. Why are you asking me? We’re not even close.”
Far from it. They’d started as enemies. Cheon Dowoon looked indifferent, and Ki-seok suddenly dropped to his knees.
“Whoa, don’t be weird.”
“I’m really sorry I attacked you! I was desperate… for hair growth… I mean, that’s not the point right now!”
Nam Ki-seok poured out emotion.
“Sometimes bad starts can turn into great teamwork. Happens all the time in our field, Master.”
“Now I’m Master, huh?”
“Please! I’ll bring chicken, beer, pay for lessons—just be my mentor!”
If he could learn from someone as skilled as Cheon Dowoon, he’d pay any amount.
“You seem serious. Is Hunter ranking really that important? B+ is already respectable.”
“Maybe so, but A-Class is a whole other world. And I have my reasons. You see—”
“Don’t care. Keep your reasons to yourself.”
“Yes, sir.”
Nam Ki-seok shut up immediately.
‘Hunter ranking… I got one too, didn’t I?’
Cheon Dowoon remembered.
Most people awaken as F-Class, then raise their rank over time through annual reviews and performance.
‘Most stall around C-Class, maybe C+ if they’re lucky.’
Even reaching B-Class was a big deal.
Cheon Dowoon himself had been evaluated once during his time as a Chimera Hunter.
His result? “Unmeasurable.”
The tools back then couldn’t measure his stats. It caused a stir at the Hunter Association.
[We’ve never seen this much mana. His physical movement is extraordinary. This could go down in history.]
[Did we contact the lab that made this chimera? We must buy him at any cost.]
[We’ve informed the government. A response should be coming soon.]
The lab panicked. By law, human experimentation with chimeras was punishable by death.
Fearing exposure, the researchers scrambled to hide Cheon Dowoon.
[See? I told you we shouldn’t have measured him!]
[How could I know this would happen? I submitted it through an affiliate lab! I thought it’d be safe.]
[We’ll be discovered if we stay. We need to move the entire lab.]
They hurriedly packed, burned records, and relocated. Some of Cheon Dowoon’s experimental data was lost forever.
‘That was in my mid-twenties, I think.’
After that, lab members split into two camps: those who wanted to use him in his current state and those who wanted to continue experimenting while they still could.
Greed won. They pushed him too far, and both his body and mind broke.
Now that he had regained his prime, Cheon Dowoon chuckled at the memory.
‘Back then, people obsessed over rankings too. I guess that hasn’t changed.’
He looked at Nam Ki-seok. The man had solid abilities—his B+ rank was fair.
“Your problem is lack of field experience.”
“…Excuse me?”
“You’re a rational type. Avoid dangerous requests, only take safe missions. Right?”
Nam Ki-seok flinched—hit the nail on the head.
“I’m not criticizing. That’s smart. Plenty of Hunters die because of reckless bravado. Playing it safe makes you smart.”
“Th-thank you. But… how did you know I lack experience?”
“You passed out from one kick.”
Nam Ki-seok gaped. He wanted to argue that even A-Class Hunters would fall to that kick—but held back.
“A-anyway. Please guide me. It must be fate that we met. I’m guessing you’re on long-term gate duty, right? Isn’t it a hassle to go back and forth for supplies?”
Nam Ki-seok saw an opportunity.
“I’ll be your supply shuttle! I’ll pay lesson fees upfront! Whatever you ask!”
“Money? Not a bad thing, but… it’s just dead weight here.”
Demon Realm resources fetch a high price in the human world. He even got 20 million won from D-Class Hunters in the mountains.
He didn’t need cash now, and storing it was a hassle.
“I know someone like you doesn’t lack money, but think of it as a token of sincerity. Please help me pass the next Hunter exam!”
Nam Ki-seok was desperate. Cheon Dowoon thought for a moment, then pointed at Kim Nari.
“Then spar with her.”
“What?”
“Don’t even dream of winning. She’s out of your league. But if you can land one solid hit, I’ll start teaching you.”
“That kid?”
Nam Ki-seok made a skeptical face.
He knew she wasn’t ordinary—but hadn’t seen her true power.
“She just ran away last time. She can’t handle me.”
He smiled awkwardly.
“You’ll see.”
Cheon Dowoon pointed to a nearby rock.
“Break that.”
Nam Ki-seok blinked.
The rock was dark blue—known in the Demon Realm as one of the hardest ores.
“That’s obsidianite! Even strong monsters can’t break it. There’s no way I can…”
“You can’t?”
“No! You’d need an A-Class Hunter to even crack it!”
“Got it.”
Cheon Dowoon turned to Kim Nari.
“Break it.”
“Just break it?”
“Yeah.”
Kim Nari stretched out her hand. Click, whirr—her right arm transformed on a molecular level.
A dual-rail structure formed, energy crackled and charged between the rails.
She aimed and fired a blue slug. With a thunderous blast, the rock shattered into pieces.
‘Honestly… she’s not even trying to hide that she’s a machine.’
Cheon Dowoon chuckled quietly. Maybe she was too relaxed around him, or maybe she didn’t know human limits.
Kim Nari always did inhuman things around him.
He looked back at Nam Ki-seok, who stood frozen, jaw dropped.
“She’s a decent opponent to test yourself against, don’t you think?”
“Why did she run from me if she’s that strong?”
“She has her reasons. Anyway, start sparring with her today. If you land one clean hit, I’ll train you.”
Nam Ki-seok’s face lit up. He could tell he couldn’t win, but landing one hit? That seemed possible.
On the other hand, Kim Nari shrank behind Cheon Dowoon.
“Do I really have to fight? He’s scary.”
“You’re not fighting. You’re playing.”
“Playing?”
“Yeah. Remember how you said you’re not afraid of fire anymore?”
She nodded.
Knowing she could extinguish fire made sense in her head—but she hadn’t experienced it yet.
And knowledge without experience wasn’t truly hers.
“Go play with him. Let’s play the ‘putting out fire’ game.”
The word “game” made her expression brighten. She hesitated, but nodded.
“Okay. I’ll play the fire-putting-out game with that uncle.”
She looked at Nam Ki-seok with a pure smile.
To him, it was terrifying.
‘She said putting out fire… Not putting out my life, right…?’
A cold sweat trickled down his back again.
