Translator: Nox
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: A Savior to Some
After successfully harvesting the mandragoras, Cheon Do-yoon was descending the mountain when he paused at a strange sound.
The clatter of weapons echoed from somewhere in the distance.
‘Sounds like Hunters are nearby.’
In the demon realm, the sound of weapons could only mean one thing—Hunters. And if Hunters were present, there was likely a return stone too.
Cheon Do-yoon grinned. With a return stone that could open a Gate, he could travel back to the human world whenever he pleased.
“Why is my luck so good today?”
First mandragoras, now a return stone run. There was no reason to pass up such an easy opportunity. With an excited look, he ran toward the source of the sound.
* * *
D-Class Hunter Kim Tae-hoon.
He had come to the demon realm looking for a big payday—and now he was filled with regret. His injured comrade gritted his teeth as well.
“They used us as bait and ran…! We should’ve never trusted those bastards!”
He focused the last of his strength into the barrier surrounding them. Outside, they were surrounded by hundreds of snow rabbits.
White fur and long ears—cute in the human world, but not here.
Kim Tae-hoon shivered as he stared at the sucker-like mouths that revealed themselves whenever the rabbits opened their jaws.
Getting bitten by one meant death. They both knew that, and their bodies tensed with fear.
‘We’re done. I don’t have the strength left… The barrier’s going to break!’
Just as they resigned themselves to death, something crashed down into the middle of the rabbit swarm with a deafening boom.
“Wh-What is that? A person…?”
A man draped in gray fur like a sack had landed in the center of the rabbit horde.
He looked like a caveman, but they couldn’t laugh.
The assumption was that he’d lost his clothes in a brutal fight with monsters. What stunned them was the bizarre phenomenon unfolding before them.
“What the… The rabbits… they’re parting?”
Both men froze in disbelief.
Cheon Do-yoon had leapt down from the cliff and was walking toward them.
With each step, the rabbits split to either side. Eventually, they didn’t just make way—they scattered and fled in all directions.
‘Am I hallucinating right now?’
Kim Tae-hoon stared, mouth agape.
Snow rabbits of the frozen mountains were B-Class monsters. They moved in packs and were known as a death legion—encounter them, and there was an 80% chance you’d die.
Yet now, they were fleeing from a single person.
“W-Who… Who are you?”
“Cheon Do-yoon.”
That wasn’t the question—but the name alone sent Kim Tae-hoon’s thoughts into overdrive.
‘Never heard of him. But if monsters flee on sight, he’s at least an A-Class named Hunter… Why don’t I know him?’
‘Is it an alias? Or maybe he’s one of those reclusive types who rarely makes public appearances?’
Either way, he was their savior. They quickly lowered their barrier and bowed their heads.
“Thank you. You saved us.”
“I’m Kim Tae-hoon. This is Oh Sung-joo.”
“Skip the introductions. Why don’t you have any gear?”
“Huh?”
“You didn’t come here empty-handed, did you? Where’s your stuff?”
At that, both of their faces darkened.
“We were betrayed by our team. There were seven of us originally, including us two…”
“As soon as the snow rabbits appeared, they took our supplies and bolted.”
“They planned this from the start. They were going to take our gear and leave us to die!”
Kim Tae-hoon gritted his teeth in frustration.
“Damn it, I should’ve known better than to trust those B-Class Hunters!”
Low-rank Hunters getting backstabbed like this was all too common.
It had been nearly 90 years since the Gates first opened. Hunters no longer fought for the world’s sake.
They were businessmen now—only out for profit.
‘What a waste of time.’
Without a return stone, there was nothing more to do here. As Cheon Do-yoon turned away, Kim Tae-hoon and Oh Sung-joo followed after him.
“If it’s not too much trouble, may we accompany you? We won’t get in your way.”
“Even as porters is fine. Please, let us come with you.”
They were desperate. Without return stones, their only hope was to join up with another team of Hunters and escape that way.
They had no idea that Cheon Do-yoon actually *lived* in the demon realm.
“We’re both D-Class Hunters. We can’t last long here. Please, help us. We’ll definitely repay the favor.”
The amount of time an Awakener could survive in the demon realm varied greatly. For these two D-Class Hunters, they had less than an hour left.
Once they crossed that threshold, their bodies would no longer be able to purify the demonic energy—and they’d die. That was the fate of those who lost their return stones.
‘Back when I was a Chimera Hunter, a lot of people died that way too.’
Sure, they might run into another group and return together, but the odds of that were slim.
‘They probably won’t make it.’
He didn’t have a return stone either, so it was practically guaranteed they’d die.
No point in scaring them by saying so. Without a word, Cheon Do-yoon resumed walking.
Mistaking it as permission to accompany him, the two followed with smiles.
“Thank you!”
“Truly, thank you! We’ll never forget this kindness!”
“Whatever. What were low-rank Hunters like you doing in a place like this? You had to know the demonic energy gets thicker up here.”
“Well… honestly, we got greedy.”
“There was a guild bounty to capture a chimera alive. The reward was huge.”
“A live chimera?”
“Yes. Apparently a lab test subject escaped. It fled into a Gate, and this mission is to track it down.”
He’d figured as much—but it wasn’t about him. Cheon Do-yoon looked bored as he resumed walking.
‘There are plenty of chimera labs. Must’ve been one of them.’
The world had already been destroyed once because of the Gates. Countless chimera labs had been set up under the pretense of “monster suppression.”
“What kind of chimera escaped?”
“Some kind of mechanical creature.”
“Mechanical? Like a movie android?”
“We don’t really know. But since they call it a ‘creature,’ it’s probably not a regular machine…”
Kim Tae-hoon tried to recall what the guild had told him.
“They said something about liquid metal. It can supposedly change its form freely.”
“So it’s a shape-shifting chimera. How do you even track something like that?”
“GPS. The client gave us this.”
Kim Tae-hoon pulled a pad the size of a phone from his pocket. A red dot blinked on the screen, with a small label next to it.
[Within 5 km]
“…Is that it?”
“Yeah. GPS doesn’t work well in the demon realm, I guess. Maybe that’s why the reward was so good.”
Kim Tae-hoon scratched his head.
Trying to find something based on that little info—without even knowing what it looked like—was like finding a needle in a desert.
“Oh, and there’s one more clue. It’s small.”
“They said the liquid metal used was really rare, so there wasn’t much of it. That’s why the chimera ended up being tiny.”
About the size of a large dog—or a human child. No matter what form it took, it wouldn’t be physically imposing.
Cheon Do-yoon was listening with interest when he suddenly stopped.
‘Again. Weapon sounds.’
Fighting noises echoed from nearby.
‘Judging by the footsteps, five people. Sounds like the group that abandoned these two.’
If so, they had the return stones. As soon as he finished assessing the situation, Cheon Do-yoon sprinted toward the sound.
“Huh?”
“Mr. Cheon Do-yoon?”
The two left behind looked around anxiously, backs pressed together.
“Let’s stay here and wait.”
If he ran off without a word, there had to be a reason. As D-Class Hunters, they’d only hold him back if they followed.
‘He has to be an A-Class or higher. Once he’s done, he’ll come back for us.’
All they could do was cling to that hope.
* * *
The edge of a cliff where the weapon sounds had come from.
By the time Cheon Do-yoon arrived, the fight was already over.
“They ran.”
Bloodstains and gear were scattered all over the snow.
Traces of the B-Class Hunters who had abandoned Kim Tae-hoon and Oh Sung-joo.
At a glance, it looked like a murder scene—but the lingering energy from a return stone was still in the air. They’d used it mid-battle to escape.
‘Must’ve been the work of that mechanical chimera they mentioned.’
Cheon Do-yoon scanned the area. Small human-like footprints and animal prints were jumbled together—signs of a shapeshifter.
Just from the tracks, he could tell the mechanical creature had completely overpowered the five B-Class Hunters.
‘Looks like the Hunters escaped through a Gate over there. As for the creature…’
Its tracks led to the cliff’s edge and vanished.
‘Jumped off, huh. Judging by the time gap, it’s already long gone.’
He was curious—but not enough to chase it.
Instead, Cheon Do-yoon opened the abandoned bags.
‘Found it.’
Three bags had been left behind in the chaos. Inside were nine return stones.
Extras they carried, along with the ones they’d stolen from the D-Class Hunters.
There were other supplies too—sleeping bags, clothes, food, cooking utensils, camping gear.
He didn’t check everything, but the weight alone told him they were packed.
“Nice haul.”
With a cheerful smile, Cheon Do-yoon packed everything up.
He had the return stones now—but he wasn’t planning to return to the human world just yet.
He had a home built with care, a waterfall fish farm, and a vegetable patch soon to hold mandragoras.
He was enjoying establishing his own domain.
‘I’ll only go back to the human world when I need something.’
Now that he had nine return stones, he could go whenever he wanted. With that, he turned back with light steps.
* * *
Thirty minutes after Cheon Do-yoon left, Kim Tae-hoon and Oh Sung-joo were slumped back-to-back, panting.
“I… I can’t last much longer.”
Oh Sung-joo, who was already injured, collapsed first. Blood dripped from his nose.
A sign that his body was succumbing to the demonic energy. His time limit was nearly up.
“Hey! Oh Sung-joo, stay with me!”
“I… I’m done for. If you make it back… tell my wife I’m sorry.”
“Don’t talk like that! Didn’t you say your kid’s due next month?! You have to survive no matter what!”
At the mention of his child, Oh Sung-joo gritted his teeth. The face that had been ready to give up now flared with determination.
He squeezed his mana core dry, forcing it to purify the corrupted energy inside.
He was surviving on sheer willpower.
“Just hold on! Mr. Cheon Do-yoon will… Look! He’s coming back!”
Kim Tae-hoon spotted Cheon Do-yoon walking toward them and beamed.
Relief, joy, the euphoria of knowing they’d make it out alive.
To them, Cheon Do-yoon looked like a savior.
